MANOR The Style Issue

The Region’s Premium Publication Early Autumn 2016 | Issue 13 | £3.95

On trend

Autumn /winter style guide

Spaceman

Architect Alex Michaelis

Kate Humble As I see it...

Design duo

Siobhan and Mat Hayles

PLUS

CULTURE FOOD SPACE ESCAPE SCHOOL PROPERTY

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Oake, Somerset

Totally unique and genuine lifestyle opportunity Wellington 4.3 miles, Taunton 6.3 miles, Exeter 33 miles (all distances are approximate) Beautifully converted barn conversion in a very private and peaceful location in the centre of Oake Manor Golf Course. Direct access onto the course. 3 bedroom house plus 3 bedroom annexe. Custom designed summer house, double garage, wine store, workshops and shed. In all about 1.4 acres.

Guide Price ÂŁ975,000 KnightFrank.co.uk/EXE160106 4

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To find out how we can help you please contact us. www.KnightFrank.co.uk/Exeter edward.clarkson@knightfrank.com

Lydeard St. Lawrence, Somerset

A charming listed stone farmhouse with outbuildings, land and wonderful views of the Quantock Hills.

To find out how we can help you please contact us. www.KnightFrank.co.uk/Exeter edward.clarkson@knightfrank.com

Taunton 12 miles (London Paddington 1 hour 40 minutes) Exeter 37 miles (all distances are approximate) Grade II listed farmhouse in a very rural and peaceful location. 4 bedrooms, 3 reception rooms and kitchen/ breakfast room. Courtyard of traditional stone buildings suitable for conversion. In all about 8.4 acres (available as a whole or in 2 lots).

Guide Price ÂŁ975,000 KnightFrank.co.uk/EXE160123 MANOR | Early Autumn 2016

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Contents

Early Autumn 2016

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Regulars 15 TOWN MOUSE, COUNTRY MOUSE Correspondence from across the divide

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MANOR CONFIDENTIAL The Pig Party and the Man Engine

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Features 35 THE POETICS OF SPACE

We talk to architect Alex Michaelis about Battersea Power Station and escaping to Praa Sands, Cornwall

AS I SEE IT...

TV presenter Kate Humble

Style & Beauty 16 TRENDS Puffas, floral society, roll and layer, metallic sparkle, statement fur, Victorian fairytale, velvet and bags

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BACK TO BLACK

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MY FEEL-GOOD REGIME

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THE STYLE SHOOT

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FORESTS FOR THE FUTURE

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THE BUSINESS

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DRESSED FOR SUCCESS

We meet Matthew Owen, director of charity Cool Earth

Michelmore’s Richard Cobb assesses the impact surfing and watersports is having on the South West economy

Bulgarian fashionista Denitsa Avramova-Bastable

Create an iconic look with kohl

MANOR editor Imogen Clements

Photographed by Matt Austin

Photostory 41 DREAMSCAPES Ethereal images of the region by Neil Burnell

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Culture 64 EVOLUTION OF AN ARTIST A profile of Brian Rice and his iconic paintings and prints

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ANIMAL MAGIC The work of illustrator E.C. Woodward

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SOUTH WEST MUST SEES...

What’s on around the region

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WORTH MAKING THE TRIP FOR...

Cultural highlights from the metropolis

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WORTH STAYING IN FOR...

Quality time on your sofa

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Food 100 DESERT ISLAND SALADS Jane Baxter shares some of her favourites

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BITES Food news from across the peninsula

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FOOD PIONEER Chef Chris Tanner

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THE TABLE PROWLER ...dines out at The Three Crowns, Chagford and The Stable, Newquay

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128 MANOR school 141 THE YEARBOOK Profiles of headteachers from some of the South West’s most prominent schools

Space 116 THE STYLE COUNCIL

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FIRST STEPS INTO A WIDER WORLD

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SCHOOL NEWS IN BRIEF Millfield brings home four medals from Rio including one gold; Exeter School’s rhino on display

Design couple Siobhan and Mat Hayles

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TAKE A SEAT The success of Sofa Workshop

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SHOPPING FOR SPACE Arts and crafts

Escape 128 48 HOURS IN...THE SCILLIES Two days on the idyllic islands off the coast of Cornwall

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HORSE PLAY Learning to play polo in the Cotswolds

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OWNERS DIRECT A look at the impact of Airbnb

In the first part of an exclusive new series Professor Ruth Merttens examines the issues affecting children’s happiness, beginning with starting school

Property 155 THE BULLETIN The region’s coastal hotspots

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PROPERTY OF NOTE

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SNAPSHOT COMPARATIVE

Nancorras, Cornwall

A selection of architect-designed properties from the South West and London

Back page 170 BLACK BOOK Journalist Liz Miller shares her secrets...

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is brought to you by PUBLISHING EDITOR

Imogen Clements imogen@manormagazine.co.uk

COMMISSIONING EDITOR

Jane Fitzgerald jane@manormagazine.co.uk

FEATURES EDITOR

Fiona McGowan FEATURES WRITER

Harriet Mellor ARTS EDITOR

Belinda Dillon belinda@manormagazine.co.uk

FOOD EDITOR

Anna Turns food@manormagazine.co.uk

CONTRIBUTORS

Professor Ruth Merttens, Amy Tidy, Emma Inglis, Charlotte Dear, Sara Hudston, Liz Miller DESIGN

Eleanor Cashman, Guy Cracknell ADVERTISING SALES

Kathy Barrau, Rachel Evans advertising@manormagazine.co.uk

THE COVER Dress, Maje, £280 Photographer: Matt Austin; Stylist: Mimi Stott; Model: Chanel Caldwell; Hair and make-up: Maddie Austin

Exclusive designer fashion...be different...dare to wear!

NOW IN ROYAL WILLIAM YARD PLYMOUTH Unit 2&3, The Guardhouse, Royal William Yard, Plymouth PL1 3RP Tel: 01752 941968 TOTNES 83 High Street, Totnes TQ9 5PB Tel: 01803 840823

www.traditsia.co.uk 10

MANOR | Early Autumn 2016

© MANOR Publishing Ltd, 2016.

MANOR Magazine is published by Manor Publishing Ltd, Registered office: MANOR Publishing Ltd, 12 Mannamead Road, Plymouth, Devon PL4 7AA. Registered in England No. 09264104 info@manormagazine.co.uk. Printed by Warners Midlands plc.

Welcome to The Style Issue of MANOR. We are at that time of year again, when memories of sun-kissed summer holidays fade and it’s back to school and grindstone. Time to dust down your winter wardrobe and restock it for autumn.

We decided that this early autumn issue should be The Style Issue, coinciding as it does with London Fashion Week, probably the biggest style event of the calendar, which in turn gives rise to The September Issue, Vogue’s doorstep edition of the year. That particular edition of the style bible apparently commands millions of advertising pounds from a multitude of revered designer houses, and is of such standing that a fascinating flyon-the-wall film of the same name was made in its honour. As a small independent publication, MANOR can but aspire… but September has become synonymous with style, so who are we to argue?

With that in mind, in this issue of MANOR you will find a jaw-dropping style shoot modelled by Select’s Chanel Caldwell and shot by Matt Austin. Matt delivered so many beautiful shots there weren’t enough pages in the magazine to show them all, which is where websites come in handy.

Go to manormagazine.co.uk to view the full shoot.

Style extends not only to clothes but also to architecture and how you dress your home. Fiona McGowan met Alex Michaelis of Michaelis Boyd, one of the most revered architectural practices in the UK. Michaelis Boyd was chosen as the interior architect for the 265 apartments making up London’s newly renovated and iconic Battersea Power Station. The firm is known and in demand across the world for the striking but simple elegance its designs bring to both a building’s structure and its interior. Although the 70-strong practice works out of London, Alex Michaelis has a home in Cornwall that’s visually in keeping with his credentials. It makes the most of its beautiful setting and is a regular mecca for his family.

Kate Humble is well known for Springwatch, but fronting TV is just one entry in her diary – she also runs an educational farm, Humble by Nature, has written two books, and launched Humble Skincare, a range of biodegradable beauty products. She is not just a front woman but deeply passionate about the environment, and is intent on using her celebrity to make the world a better, more conscientious place, in whatever way she can.

She opens up in As I See It. We have an arts section that is as beautiful as it is fascinating in its two artist profiles of painter Brian Rice and illustrator EC Woodard; and an Escape section that whisks you off to the Scillies, and assesses the impact that Airbnb is having on our living and holidaying in the South West, as well as everywhere else.

Although not the heavy tome of some other September magazines, The Style Issue of MANOR is packed with content that is both intellectually and aesthetically pleasing… we try our best to please.

Until next time,

Imogen Clements FOUNDER & PUBLISHING EDITOR

The views of the writers in MANOR Magazine are not necessarily those shared by the publisher. Unsolicited manuscripts, artwork or transparencies are accepted on the understanding that the publishers incur no liability for their storage or return. The contents of MANOR Magazine are fully protected by copyright and may not be reproduced without permission.

By submitting material to MANOR Magazine, MANOR Magazine Ltd is automatically granted the royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable right and license to use, reproduce, edit, distribute and display such material (in whole or part) and/or to incorporate it in other works in any form, media, or technology now known or later developed for the full term of any rights that may exist in such content. The contributor acknowledges that material submitted may

be published in any publication or website produced or published by MANOR Publishing Ltd. The contributor agrees not to submit material where they do not own the copyright and where they have not obtained all necessary licenses and/or approvals from the rightful owner.

With respect to any photographs submitted, the contributor confirms that all necessary model and property releases have been obtained from any clearly identifiable person appearing in any image, together with any other relevant consents required.

Prices and details of services and products are genuinely believed to be correct at the time of going to press, but may change. Although every effort is made to maintain accuracy we regret we are unable to honour any incorrect prices or other details that may be printed.

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Every piece comes with a story A new arrival at Sapphire Spaces, the CH22 lounge chair was the first design in Hans J Wegner’s debut collection created exclusively for Carl Hansen & Son in 1950. Crafted to Wegner’s exacting original specifications, the lounge chair is a testament to Wegner’s talent for designing and constructing wooden furniture.

Dart Business Park Topsham, Exeter EX3 0QH Tel: 01392 879320 www.sapphirespaces.co.uk

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GOLDSMITHS YOUR LOCAL JEWELLERS

Whether you are looking for a beautiful piece of jewellery or the perfect watch, visit your local Goldsmiths for friendly expert advice.

Goldsmiths Torquay 39/41 Union Street, Torquay TQ1 1ET Goldsmiths Exeter 12-13 High Street, Princesshay, Exeter EX4 3LH

www.goldsmiths.co.uk 14

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TOWN MOUSE, COUNTRY MOUSE Sweetness...

Darling...

Sweetness, I have been making stuff. Food, of course – clean food in particular – but there is something about being out of the city and close to nature that makes you want to rediscover craft, art and the making of things.

First it was focaccia: garlic and rosemary to accompany late summer salads; then I turned to clothing and knitting (it is the knitting time of year, of course), but also appliquéing. It’s all the rage – haven’t you noticed that pretty patches and embroidery are all over the glossies?

Amazing how a couple of roses, sewn or ironed on, can transform an old pair of jeans. Upcycle and recycle, there so much satisfaction to be gained from repurposing stuff, don’t you think? We are such a throwaway society, yet many a time have I cursed the passing on of clothing, as items almost invariably come back into fashion again within five years, or less.

The other rather clever thing this season is making summer dresses into winter frocks by sticking a jumper under them. Ingenious. You get all the prettiness of the dress while not freezing to death. So logical, can’t understand why it’s taken those designers so long…

Except, I suppose it’s not good business – one dress all year round, warmed up by the odd jumper, is never going to keep those Bond Street design houses afloat.

Talking of floating, I have discovered a little cluster of islands that looks remarkably like the Caribbean, just off Land’s End. The Scillies. The sand is white and impossibly fine, the water so clear you start to look for coconut husks.

Not sure why it’s taken me so long to get across there.

Either everyone’s intent on keeping it a big secret or the name has put me off. I heard it in childhood on family visits to Cornwall and always associated it with a telling off. Having been there, however, I am now a fully fledged Scilly convert. The secret is out. You must come!

I’m not sure what you mean! We city folk are highly creative. I don’t, I’ll give you, do the making myself but it takes some skill to know how to combine other people’s creations such that they look just so. Be it clothes or interiors, I have spent many an hour perusing the magazines and rifling the rails to find that one last piece to complete the look. You can’t just put any old jumper under any old dress, you know. This is the kind of trend that may look and sound simple but can go very wrong indeed. Mark my words, the wrong dress with the wrong jumper quickly starts to look like low-grade dungarees – hardly fashion, darling.

Velvet, on the other hand, can never go awry, and this winter we can wear it morning, noon and night, either from head to toe – Marks and Spencer’s midnight blue velvet trouser suit looks very haute – or with just a nod.

Accessorize or appliqué – yes, even a mere hint of velvet will bring you right up to date. There are some rather lovely velvet bags and shoes out there that I am coveting right now. Velvet shoes, quite divine.

Beyond that, it’s raw food for me. I see no reason to stop eating salad just because the summer’s over. I plan to extend my own (summer) for as long as possible with chilled rosé and plenty of leaves, combined creatively (of course) with all manner of goodness. This year I shall not succumb to the perennial stodge-hoard as soon as the temperature dips, then spend the latter winter months trying to lose it again. We’re not squirrels prepping for hibernation, after all. We are mice!

As for Scilly, sweetie, I’d love to. It’s been so long since I’ve seen the sea, I can think of no better way to catch up than staring at it perched atop a small island. I’ve heard days and summers are longer over there too? Let’s do it!

WHAT’S COOL IN THE COUNTRY?

WHAT’S HOT IN THE SMOKE?

Doctor Ink’s Curiosities is a new cocktail bar on Exeter Quay. Quirky and Victorian, it’s like having a drink in Sherlock Holmes’s front parlour. One of the ingredients in the Edinburgh Cloud is Fairy’s Tears. Curious.

Six Portland Road is open again after the summer break.

This Holland Park establishment serves a well-priced menu of Mediterranean fare. Highly rated by the Standard and nationals.

Concentricity at the New Craftsman Gallery in St Ives featuring Matthew Chambers’ unique stoneware is a must see exhibition in one of the South West’s finest galleries – until 30 September.

Burning Doors from the Belarus Free Theatre.

Banned in their own country, victims of state censorship, including members of Pussy Riot, tell their story.

On tour until 14 October.

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Show and tell

It being the change of season and The Style Issue, we thought it fitting to give a run down of runways autumn/winter 2016. Now you can plan your attire for the next few months. Compiled by Amy Tidy.

FLORAL SOCIETY

Acne AW16

Stella McCartney AW16

Erdem AW16

We can’t remember a time or season when florals were not present in some form, doubtless due to their ability to soften a harsh winter and brighten autumn hues.

Christopher Kane AW16

Christopher Kane AW16

Erdem AW16

Acne AW16

In various colours and creations, this winter prepare to be toasty and stylish wrapped up in quilted feathers.

Stella McCartney AW16

PUFFAS

ROLL AND LAYER

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Valentino AW16

Valentino AW16

Antonia Marras AW16

Altuzarra AW16

Valentino AW16

Valentino AW16

Dresses over jumpers rather than the other way around. Handy for seasonal transitions.

trends METALLIC SPARKLE

Peter Pilotto AW16

STATEMENT FUR Faux fur in many colours and guises. Stripes, piebald, over-sized or fitted, fur is still very much an easy means to glam up any outfit at any time of day.

Erdem AW16

This country excels at pushing the boundaries and creating rich story characterization from our clothes alone. Much on the catwalk harps back to fantastical tales of old.

Stella McCartney AW16

VELVET

VICTORIAN FAIRYTALE

Add just a trim, an accessory or go the full hog top to toe, velvet is de rigueur this winter.

Stella McCartney AW16

Valentino AW16

Valentino AW16

Stella McCartney AW16

Peter Pilotto AW16

Valentino AW16

Peter Pilotto AW16 Antonia Marras AW16

Altuzarra AW16

Christopher Kane AW16

Balenciaga AW16

Stella McCartney AW16

Erdem AW16

Altuzarra AW16

There was much shine and shimmer on the catwalk but in a delicate, pretty way.

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Earrings, Whistles, £35

Roll and layer

This is one of those trends that you thank the industry for. Simply take that strappy tea dress or maxi you’ve been wearing all summer and wear a fitted rollneck underneath. So easy. Add a pair of ankle boots and some drop earrings and you’re bang on winter trend.

Compiled by Amy Tidy.

Pendant, Jaegar, £40

Valentino AW16

Bodysuit, Marks and Spencer, £25

Sweater, Topshop, £14 Jumpsuit, Topshop, £80

Sweater, Whistles, £95 Bag Marks and Spencer, £29.50

Boots, Topshop, £80 Dress, Whistles, £195

Boots Zara, £69.99

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Rollneck sweater, Debenhams, £28

trends Valentino AW16

Earrings, Jigsaw, £29

Dress, Zara, £29.99 Cashmere sweater, Pure, £150

Boiled wool jumper, Jaegar, £125

Top, Zara, £49.99

Earrings, Accessorize, £15

Sandals, Next, £32 Dress, Zara, £49.99

Top, Zara, £29.99

Dress, Zara, £49.99

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Visions of velvet

Velvet, a bit like fur, has that instant ability to rich up an outfit and add a touch of glamour to day or evening wear. Deep colours and folds that catch the light are worth the investment.

Stella McCartney AW16

Earrings, Accessorize, £8

Dress, Hobbs, £349

Dress, Zara, £29.99

Boots, Zara, £69.99

Top, Zara, £19.99

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Shoes, Next, £35

Jacket, Topshop, £65

Top, Debenhams, £28

Stella McCartney AW16

trends

Shoulder bag, Next, £22

Jacket, Marks and Spencer, £119

Trousers, Zara, £15.99

Dress, Monsoon, £109

Top of the range beauty treatments from head to toe EXCLUSIVE FREE TREATMENT OFFER* Book a treatment and take this page to Visage House to receive another treatment absolutely free.

17 MAGDALEN ROAD · EXETER 01392 499249 · visagehouse.co.uk *The first treatment must be purchased before 30 September 2016 and both treatments must be used by 31 October. One offer per customer.

Least expensive treatment free.

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trends

Accessorize, £45

Bags of style

Zara, £89.99

Valentino AW16

Handbags come in all shapes and sizes as usual this autumn/winter, but it’s how you wear them that counts – shoulder bags with short straps tucked under the arm, or clutches as cuffs. As with the key trends, embellished, velvet and fur bags are the way to go this winter.

Helen Moore, £60

Zara, £29.99

Whistles, £99

Valentino AW16

Helen Moore, £120

Michael Kors, £130

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Helen Moore, £70

Stella McCartney AW16

Zara, £15.99

S

aks Exeter is immensely proud to add this accolade to the ten awards it has won since it opened its doors in Princesshay just four years ago.

Ellie Wilson, Owner of Saks Exeter, said: “I am totally astounded by this win! I hadn’t expected it but am so proud of our team who work so hard and deserve this national recognition. We are looking forward to many more successful years with our fantastic customers in Exeter.”

Saks Exeter were selected as the overall winner of the Business Salon of the Year category from entries received from across the country, shortlisted to just six salon finalists. Since launching just four years ago Saks Exeter has won as many as 11 separate awards, and this year was the only salon in Devon to reach the final of the L’Oreal Colour Trophy.

FREE COLOUR CONSULTATION AND KERASTASE TREATMENT If you want to see what all the fuss is about call Saks Exeter to book a free colour consultation. Also to celebrate this win, and exclusive to MANOR readers, Saks Exeter are offering a complimentary Kerastase Fusio Dose Hair Treatment worth £14.50 with any colour or hair service at the salon.

Come and celebrate with us, get a new look and claim your free Kerastase Fusio Dose Hair Treatment as part of your experience at Saks. To claim the Kerastase treatment simply bring this page of MANOR to your appointment.

Offer ends 30 November 2016.

2 Bampfylde Lane, Princesshay, Exeter, Devon Tel: 01392 256999 | saks.co.uk/exeter

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Back to black

Gracing iconic eyes for thousands of years, kohl is back in the limelight.

Make-up artist Elouise Abbott offers tips on choosing the right look.

O

riginating in the east, with its roots in spiritual and medical practice as well as cosmetic aesthetics, kohl has well and truly stood the test of time. It’s a true make-up essential. From the smudgy, smoky eye of silent movie vamp Theda Bara and Elizabeth Taylor’s dramatic look in the 1963 version of Cleopatra, to Twiggy’s classic doll-like eyes and Amy Winehouse’s bold flicks, each style is uniquely recognizable. As trends evolve via popular culture and ever-improving cosmetic technology, eyeliner once again is key this autumn/winter. But which style and product is right for you?

BEST FOR A SMOKY EYE One of the great things that makes a kohl pencil so versatile is its soft, creamy texture and ability to smudge and blend. A softer line is easy to apply, as accuracy is not so important, while also being flattering for all ages and eye shapes. Opt for browns and greys for a more natural, flattering alternative to black.

To create a bold but soft smoky eye, I like to use Kajal D’Orient by Laura Mercier in Noir, which has a slightly thicker pointed shape, making application a joy. Kajal pencils are similar to kohl but the formulation is slightly softer and easier to blend, so they are fantastic if you want to use them like a shadow to create a soft but intense sweep of colour. To create your own easy soft, smoky eye using a pencil, follow these easy steps.

Step 1 Draw the pencil along the lash line, working in from the outer corner and using small feathery strokes. No need to worry about being neat.

Step 2 On the outer corner of the lower eyelid, draw a little hashtag.

Step 3 Taking a small, firm blending brush – like the Charlotte 24

MANOR | Early Autumn 2016

Tilbury Eye Smudger – blend the liner along the lash line and the hashtag, again working from the outside in, until all harsh edges and lines have been blended.

Step 4 Line the lower lash line and blend. If you want to intensify the colour, set with eyeshadow.

Step 5 Draw the pencil along the top and bottom waterline for a touch of intense drama.

If a full smoky eye is a little too much, apply just to the lower lash line and blend for a modern twist.

A traditional kohl pencil is ideal if you want a little more accuracy, and for staying power try Urban Decay’s 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil. This kohl pencil is a slightly firmer formula, and while still great for blending, it’s not quite so smudgy and lasts well even on oily skin types – perfect for the waterline. With 41 shades, you can be experimental with your colour, too.

Kohl also comes in powdered form. Use loose as a powder for a softer colour or mix with a drop of water to create a deeper liquid liner. I love the decadence of Guerlain’s Terracotta Kohl Eye Powder, which comes in the most beautiful

beauty traditional-style pot with a wand applicator. Application is messy: apply before your foundation, so that any fallout can simply be wiped away.

BEST FOR A CLEAN, SHARP GRAPHIC LINE Nothing beats a sharp statement liner, great for those with a steady hand. Liquid liner is perfect for creating a super-sharp clean line – ideal for those cat’s eye flicks.

I like to use Max Factor’s Colour Xpert Liner.

Liquid liners take a bit of practice; the lines need to be kept sharp. But don’t worry if you make a mistake: just dampen a cotton bud with a drop of waterproof eye make-up remover and clean up the eye. The downside of a liquid liner is that it’s not great for smudging and cannot be used in the waterline.

BEST FOR VERSATILITY A gel liner blends the qualities of liquid and kohl liner, creating a product that is pretty much an all-rounder. You can create a sharp flick or smudgy, smoky eyes, and you can also use it on the waterline. A gel liner comes in a pot and needs to be applied with a fine brush; it’s usually matt and is great for tight lining the eyes for a subtle

look. A favourite is Maybelline’s Lasting Drama Gel Eyeliner, which comes with a cute little brush.

Complement your liner with a little eyeshadow – check out the Illamasqua Rose Gold Palette.

Complete with all the autumnal shades you could want, from apricot tones to aubergine, it also has a healthy balance of matts and shimmers. If you own one palette, this should be it.

TOP TIP To avoid eye infections, always sharpen your pencils after use to keep them clean and bacteria-free. Liquid liners and mascaras should be replaced every three months.

the perfect show for planning your perfect day...

AT WESTPOINT ARENA, EXETER 8-9 OCT 2016, 10am–4pm Spectacular choreographed fashion shows ! Live entertainment performances Wedding dresses ! Florists ! Jewellery ! Bridesmaid dresses ! Hair and beauty ! Groomswear ! Photographers ! Cars ! Venues ! Cake decorations ! Champagne bar

Tickets just £5 in advance from

www.theweddingshow.co.uk

MANOR | Early Autumn 2016

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River Teign, Devon

My feel-good regime MANOR’s Publishing Editor, Imogen Clements, was born in Kent, studied in London then took herself off to Madrid for three years, which proved to be the perfect stepping stone between a mad student existence and sedate working life. On her return to London, she worked for national newspapers before moving into advertising. For a quieter life, she headed to Devon with her husband in 2008, had twins, and on packing them off to school (and clearly a lost cause media-junkie), decided she’d launch a magazine...

Feeling good has always been a priority for me, and laughter is an important component of that. There is no better feeling – and nothing more contagious – than head back, tear-streaming, uncontrolled laughter. I grew up with Eric Morecambe and Inspector Clouseau on the telly; my dad would do impressions of these and find his own jokes so amusing he rarely got to the punchline without collapsing in fits. I became infected by laughter at an early age. It’s something I’ve never shaken off.

Feel Good Regime is a confessional feature and I confess, I love musicals. Not the warbling Lloyd Webber type but those big band dance-heavy musicals. Brilliant dancers at work in unison – it does something to me. I get an inexplicable frisson and an urge to join them, which makes me think I was part of a chorus line in a previous life. Citing Gene Kelly and Donald O’Connor dancing to Moses Supposes in Singin’ in the Rain – back in the days of one take only, their skill takes my breath away.

In the same vein – again, I blame that previous life – I’m partial to karaoke. I’ve been known to snatch the mic from the hands of small children and hog it for most of the evening.

Likewise, Spotify Shuffle or Name That Tune is a great way to end a dinner party, in that they then don’t end for hours because, for everybody, there is always one more song that needs playing, and singing or dancing along to. Everyone needs to sing, regardless of ability – it’s life-affirming.

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I’m drawn to Southern Europe. I once met geneticist Professor Bryan Sykes, author of The Seven Daughters of Eve. His book, in its study of mitochondrial DNA, claims that all modern Europeans are descendants through the maternal line of just seven prehistoric women, who share one common maternal ancestor. In his book he puts names to each of them, and decided I was probably descended from Velda, Southern European by origin. Although said in jest, this clicked with me, as Spain feels like a second home. I spent three formative years there, still love being there, love the people, their attitude to life, the sunshine, and fiesta. If ever I need a boost (and some warmth), it’s Spain I head to.

I am also partial to weekend mornings in bed with newspapers and coffee – aren’t we all? I love newspapers – the writing, the debate, the humour, and intelligence. I will happily while away hours reading newspapers, which is a shame, as I’d like to read more books.

You may be thinking that much that makes me feel good is sedentary and alcohol-fuelled. Not true, everything in moderation. I’ve always been pretty health-conscious.

Healthy mind, healthy body. Regular aerobic exercise is a must: mountain biking, swimming and running as well as yoga for stretching, stress and agility. I like to be able to move and want to do so effortlessly for as long as I can. Exercise, though, I prefer to do alone – I’m not sporty. If I start to win at tennis,

I’ll get excited and throw the game. If I start to lose, I don’t want to play anymore.

however small, is vital – otherwise why bother getting out of bed in the morning?

I have a keen interest in nutrition, but adore most food.

So, I know I can’t cope with too much processed wheat and gluten, that sugar makes me feel lethargic, that green leafy vegetables are a must to keep skin clear and systems running smoothly, and that eating heavy meals late is never a good idea.

But, fine dining, accompanied by a heart-warming glass of good wine, is a real treat.

I’m at that age where I’ll go for a walk, on my own. It’s like the seven ages of man: as a toddler you’re desperate to walk; then on learning, you prefer instead to run everywhere; at adolescence you slouch and drag your feet; then as a young adult you drive all the time and prefer treadmills over walking; then you reach an age when you walk to ease the mind, to meditate. Which is where I’m at now. After this, it’s all downhill, so to speak, where joints seize up and walking becomes a chore. So I’ll enjoy it while I can, particularly in this part of the world, where the air’s so clean and the views so beautiful.

To create stuff is to feel good – whether it be a scarf, sketching a landscape or writing an article. It feels good because it’s something from nothing that’s arisen from effort.

Nobody enjoys the getting round to doing something – it would be much easier to watch telly and enjoy someone else’s creativity. But to achieve something that you’re proud of,

Feel good sights: Godrevy Lighthouse; the pool before the Salmon Leap on the River Teign; my children sleeping.

LANGUISHING IN MY MAKE-UP BAG Yves Saint Laurent’s Touche Éclat – I can’t believe I’ve discovered this so late. It covers up a multitude of horrors. Bare Minerals Suede tinted moisturizer – I’ve never been good at foundation, it always looks caked on me. Bare Minerals you can apply liberally and it looks like a natural ‘glow’. I’ve started to use a foundation brush to apply it, which ensures a proper blending in, no orange jaw lines. Eye-lash curlers – I have long eyelashes but they’re straight so you’d never know. Rimmel lip liner in Addiction – soft enough to use as full matt lip colour. Grey liner and mascara – no favourite here, whatever’s not gloopy and affordable.

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The Pig Party The Pig Group opened its fifth hotel on the 9 July 2016. To mark the occasion the directors invited some 600 guests to The Pig at Combe in Devon to celebrate. Angela Harnett, Mitch Tonks and Mark Hix were spotted amongst the guests. The launch party had fire-throwers, fake policewomen, lashings of champagne and delicious wholesome food in every corner. Guests ‘quaffed and troughed’ their way through each of the downstairs rooms, sampled pizza in the garden’s folly and ended the evening dancing on the front lawn under a specially erected marquee. Possibly the party of the year? Let’s see... Photos by Matt Austin.

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confidential

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confidential

The Man Engine strides across the region The ‘Man Engine’ is a 10-metre-high mechanical giant puppet, who over the course of two weeks this summer ‘walked’ the length of the Cornish mining landscape.

Cornwall is a mere 0.02% of the planet’s surface yet beneath its terrain can be found samples of more than 90% of all mineral species ever identified. The geology of Cornwall is unique in its abundance and variety of minerals (copper, tin, arsenic, lead, zinc, silver, etc) and has been central to the Cornish economy through 4,000 years of mining history: innovation, triumph and heartbreak.

In July 2006 the Cornish mining landscape was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Man Engine project celebrated the tenth anniversary of being awarded World Heritage status, as well as the successes and struggles of the people whose lives shaped the Cornish mining story.

The towering metal Man Engine started its journey in Tavistock on 25 July, then proceded through Cornwall, making his journey through each of the ten World Heritage Site areas, including the Wheal Coates on the South West Coast Path and St Agnes, until it reached its final destination at Geevor Tin Mine on 6 August.

All photos by Mike Thomas. themanengine.org.uk

Fall for fashion this autumn, right here in the heart of Exeter at Princesshay. Discover favourites from the high street or bag yourself a high-end treat. When it comes to fashion, food and good times, we’ve got it covered in our own effortless style.

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As I see it...

Kate Humble travels the world, fronting nature documentaries and the perennially popular Springwatch series. She also runs an educational farm, Humble

by Nature, has written two books, launched a range of biodegradable beauty products, Humble Skincare, and runs a boutique family festival every summer.

Interview by Fiona McGowan.

TV was an odd medium for me, because I didn’t really watch it. To be absolutely honest with you, I still don’t. But there’s

One day, in another life, I’d like to come back and turn the education system on its head. When I was at school, it didn’t

something that attracted me about the way you can tell stories and meet people. I’d always loved telling stories, I always loved writing. I didn’t want to find out stuff for an exam, but I loved reading books; finding out things – and I loved talking to people. It seemed that making television programmes would allow me to do all those things.

really feel like I was ever really learning anything – other than just learning how to get away with it. Learning how to pass exams. School should be a constant wonderful journey of discovery. It shouldn’t be about failure, it shouldn’t be about being brilliant, it should just be about the excitement of finding stuff out. Education would be so much more exciting if people could do it outside. You put a transept down on a piece of grass and get someone to count the insects, and suddenly they’re counting. That’s maths, that’s brilliant.

It’s also science, it’s also nature, it’s getting kids outside and getting their nails dirty.

A great team is the most exciting environment to be in.

Television is a tough industry – it’s not fun, it’s not glamorous, it’s not well paid, it’s none of the things that people assume that it is, but at the same time, it’s fantastic if you get a good team of people together. I loved the process of putting a programme together. I worked my way up from production assistant and learned how to edit and how to direct. I did everything, really.

I have no shame in saying, “I don’t understand what you’re talking about.” I believe that you should only author a

programme that you’re really interested in – you don’t have to be an expert. In fact, it can positively help that I don’t know anything about the subject, because I know that if I’m talking to an expert, if I get it, everyone else is going to get it. I love being the conduit or translator between an academic and our world, and I love it when a scientist feels confident enough not to think about peer pressure and engage me. If they can engage me, they can engage a 12-year-old, who could become the next brilliant scientist in that field.

I want to stay in my little cabin in France, or go and stay with a family in Mongolia, and I don’t want to pollute the water, but I also don’t want to look like a piece of wrinkled cardboard at the end of two weeks’ camping. My beauty range has been running

If we don’t totally fuck up, we are a generation that has more knowledge and understanding of the wider world than any other before us. We live in a frustrating but exciting world.

We are more aware of the damage that we are doing to the world, and the people in it, and everything that we share it with. And yet, we’re carrying on.

I’m hoping that we’ll all wake up out of this sort of torpor of short-term thinking and go: “Oh my God, it’s our responsibility.” It feels like we might just be on the cusp of

a revolution where people will stand up and yell, “We can’t let this happen to our children, we can’t let this happen to our village, our country, our world.” We need to really look at ourselves and ask: how can we fix this? I really believe that our little revolution will start in a micro way; it will start around kitchen tables, it will start with small community things, and then those things will grow into a bigger movement.

a couple of years. I thought: could we come up with a product that is completely inert when it goes into our water system, with packaging that’s as minimal as possible, both recycled and recyclable? I take it with me, I use it every day; I use it in the shower at home, because biodegradable isn’t just for camping, it’s for life.

Mother Nature is an extraordinary force. I see it time and time again. If you give nature an inch, it will grab it, and it will

I love writing and I love words. I really enjoy writing books but

“Do something that scares you a little bit every day.” It’s a

I found that I am easily distracted. When I was writing my first book, Humble by Nature, my dogs were never so well-walked, the house was never so clean, the chickens were cleaned out 16 times a week and I suddenly became really passionate about gardening. I discovered that the only way I can really write is to take myself out of real life: go and live somewhere else, be completely selfish and only think about the book. That’s what I did with Friend for Life: I would get up at about six in the morning, take the dogs for a two-hour walk, write for six hours, walk for another two hours, write for another six hours and go to bed. That became my writing pattern.

phrase that I live by; it’s attributed to Eleanor Roosevelt – a remarkable woman. I’m paraphrasing it here, but basically that’s such a good way to live. It pushes you out of your skin just a little bit and enables you to discover things – about yourself or somebody else or about a place. You’ve got to be responsible for your own destiny; you cannot rely on others.

I know that sounds cynical. Support is wonderful – people giving you a boost – but ultimately the only person that’s going to get you out of bed in the morning is yourself.

come back and it will be resilient and it will turn your life on its head. One thing that I’ve learned about being in contact with the land and with the seasons and nature, which I love, is that you can’t fight it.

humblebynature.com

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MANOR | Early Autumn 2016

Architect Alex Michaelis talks to Fiona McGowan about Battersea Power Station, diversification and taking time out in Praa Sands.

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I always do things that are connected to the place, so our plans were related – in both materials and time – to Battersea Power Station

Battersea PowerStation

S

quatting on the south bank of the Thames, Battersea Power Station looms against the skyline like an upturned table. To say it is iconic is as superfluous as saying that St Paul’s Cathedral is a well-known London landmark.

This gigantic testament to London’s energy-guzzling growth took nearly 20 years to build. Its exterior was designed by Giles Gilbert Scott: the same architect who created the (iconic) red telephone boxes and the (iconic) Bankside power station – now home to the Tate Modern.

Architect Theo Halliday added lavish Art Deco features to the biggest brick building in the world, earning it the nickname ‘The Temple of Power’. Fast forward to 1977, and a fairly well-known rock band called Pink Floyd stuck a picture of it on their album cover, immortalising the giant powerhouse beyond the reaches of the Thames, and into the consciousness of millions of young minds.

As a child, I remember travelling to London by train and seeing great plumes of smoke pouring out of two of the four cylindrical ‘legs’ of the table – only half of the coal-fired power station was operational at that time.

By 1983, all of the chimneys had given up smoking, and Battersea Power Station was closed down. A constant refrain since then has been: what will be done with this extraordinary building? Plans and dreams came pouring in, and the place changed ownership from one huge investor to another. Would it become an indoor theme 36

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park (I remember that one well)? Or a retail and leisure facility? Would it incorporate an eco-dome or could it become a biomass power station? None of them came to being, and over 30 long years it seemed as cursed as Tutankhamun’s tomb, as one developer after another gave up and passed it on.

In 2012, a Malaysian consortium of investors stepped in and finally turned the tables on the site, offering £8bn to create a luxury accommodation and leisure development. With that sort of investment, bringing in some of the world’s best architects was a given – Frank Gehry and Norman Foster for the buildings; Bjarke Ingels for the outdoor spaces. Throwing their hat into the ring for the interior architecture was Michaelis Boyd – a company renowned for smaller, super high-end projects including the renovation of Babington House near Bath; the award-winning Sandibe Safari Lodge in Botswana; Soho House and The Electric Cinema; David Cameron’s renovated home; and co-founder Alex Michaelis’s semi-sunken Notting Hill house. Having never worked on a development of these proportions, and rarely employed to work exclusively on interiors, Alex Michaelis says they were thrown in as a wild card: “We were up against all the usual development suspects… We didn’t really think we had a chance.”

Michaelis is a quietly spoken maverick. The son of a famous architect, he was initially determined to eschew

feature

Battersea Power Station

the profession, aiming to become a doctor, but soon gave in to his passion for design and architecture. Fifteen years ago, he joined forces with friend Tom Boyd to create Michaelis Boyd. While many of Alex’s projects seem ultra-modern in form, he also rejects many of the expectations of slick, modern architecture. The firm’s pitch for the Battersea job is just one example: “We decided to really do something that was true to what we do, and not something that would seem too developer-y,” he explains, leaning his rangy frame back into the chair.

“Something that was more tactile. I always do things that are connected to the place, so our plans were related – in both materials and time – to Battersea Power Station.”

Demonstrating his point, Alex pulls up images of some of the apartments that Michaelis Boyd has designed.

They have that New York-loft apartment combination of exposed brick and smooth expanses of plastered wall.

Huge windows and high ceilings. Ultra-slick open-plan kitchen layouts… The pictures above and on page 37 are startlingly lifelike, and yet the apartments haven’t been built yet. They are all actually CGI – created by Michaelis Boyd’s ‘Real Life’ in-house CGI department.

Another case in point for Michaelis’s rejection of the clichés of whitewashed modernism is his holiday home in Praa Sands – just along the coast from Porthleven, and 15 minutes’ drive from Penzance. Built on the site of a dilapidated cottage, the quirkily misnamed ‘Little Cottage’

is now a Deco-esque marvel – all curved white walls and a giant 30ft window, set in a gem-like green lawn which drops impressively away to a low cliff and a stretch of beach below. Sitting in the open-plan kitchen-cum-living room, it is impossible not to be transfixed by the huge vista. It is reminiscent of a Malibu beach home, or, as Alex says, some of his favourite beachscapes in Mozambique and Kenya. “I think that’s why I bought it,” he says, “because it felt like Africa. You get this big, wide view.

On a hot day, it just feels bigger.” Little Cottage is in a stunning location, and the architecture and interior design is, needless to say, as good as it gets. However, it is very much a home. The box-like bedrooms upstairs have the expected smooth lines and minimalist décor – there are no paintings or cosy touches – and the eye is simply drawn to the large, square, floor-to-ceiling windows that are filled with that ever-changing view of the sea. The walls are unpainted render, a design feature chosen by Alex. “I’ve always loved unpainted plaster and the way it has depth and ages. I actually like the repair patches, too.”

Alex and his wife Susana – who have seven children between them – clearly love this place. Life in London is frenetic: an endless cycle of school runs and parties, work and jet-setting. It is to Praa Sands that the family come to relax and settle into a different rhythm of life. Six times a year, they descend on the place – which is partly why Little Cottage feels so homely. The rest of the time, it MANOR | Early Autumn 2016

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Sandibe safari lodge, Botswana

Oxford Gardens

is rented out through luxury boutique accommodation brand Beachspoke – sleeping eight, it’s not cheap: prices reach £5,000 a week in peak season. Visitors to the property soon discover what charmed Alex and Susana – the accessibility of the beach, the wide stretch of garden and giant open-plan living space with its massive table, which seats at least a dozen guests. It is ideal for one large family, or two smaller families. Alex ticks off some of the family’s favourite activities when they are down: surfing is a hot favourite – Susana tells of how she was boogie-boarding with a pod of dolphins, and Alex had a close encounter with a seal recently, “It was quite scary, actually.” The trampoline in the garden is well-used, and the blonde-wood floor is comfortably scuffed. Like the smooth imperfections of sun-bleached driftwood, the whole property perfectly combines its modernist lines with a holiday, beachy feel.

Over the years, Alex and Susana have loved discovering the best things about the area. They enthuse about fabulous restaurants in nearby foodie haven Porthleven: “We really like [Asian-fusion eatery] Kota Kai and Rick Stein,” says Alex, “and there’s a fantastic crab shop there, run by old ladies who don’t like crab.

And the fisherman who no-one knows about with the crappy cardboard sign – last time we bought a huge piece of monkfish from him that fed everyone. The kids like jumping off the harbour wall in Porthleven, too.”

Catering is always going to be a challenge, but with a big 38

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Weber pizza oven and barbecue grill outside, the spacious open-plan kitchen, and some very large pots, they make it work. “Sometimes we go and pick mussels off the rocks down there,” says Susana, pointing out towards the rocky eastern edge of Praa Sands beach, “and make moules mariniere for dinner.”

Alex is constantly creating – even on a few-day visit to Little Cottage. They are currently converting a garage into a studio place (great for the teenagers: with all that open-plan living, it’s hard for the younger children to get to sleep when the teens want to stay up late). They have only recently completed their new London home near Shepherd’s Bush: a narrow, turret-like building tucked into a small space between buildings, but stretching way back to incorporate a second oval shaped building, indoor swimming pool, fireman’s pole, courtyards, a roof garden and a bridge connecting the two buildings.

Leaning forward on the long table that’s covered with coffee cups, magazines, newspapers and cuttings, Alex talks about his business. The property market, he believes, is crazy – and likely unsustainable. The 254 flats in Battersea Power Station have a starting price of a million pounds, and rocket up to £5 or £6 million for a penthouse. In the face of this craziness, Alex and his partners believe in diversification. “My view on design is that architecture and interiors and graphic design are not separate entities any more. Everything’s related.

You need to embrace it all and break down the boxes

feature

Life in London is frenetic: an endless cycle of school runs and parties, work and jet-setting.

It is to Praa Sands that the family come to relax and settle into a different rhythm of life.

Praa Sands

that we’ve made for different professions or parts of the design.” This is why Michaelis Boyd has businesses devoted to CGI, brand and website design, as well as furniture design and sculpture – creating a range of items, from a chess set and board games to a table and chairs. His wife is an art curator also advises on interior design. “I’m more involved in the interiors, the finishing and the usability,” she says, looking meaningfully at Alex. “I’m constantly trying to encourage more storage, without compromising the design.” He concurs: “I have this weird thing where I don’t really like storage, but I’m a hoarder. Every now and again, things just disappear.”

It’s his turn to look meaningfully at Susana. They clearly work well together, and are both very relaxed in Little Cottage, barefoot and wearing surfer-shabby clothing.

Susana is sitting cross-legged on the floor, outlining the plans for the garage conversion to the builder, while Alex gazes out at the sea and talks about the future.

While the private residences challenge his creativity – recent projects include a magical adobe-walled

mansion, slightly sunken and set into a remote Kenyan landscape, as well as a cool new restaurant in Hong Kong – he is also pushing to develop another arm of the business, called Demo Space. Michaelis Boyd, Alex explains, is frequently approached by clients to renovate grand, often semi-derelict buildings. It can be many months or even years before the architect plans are approved, and in that time, the buildings lie empty, at risk of being squatted, suffering decay or infestation.

It seems wrong to Alex that these often exquisite buildings are lying empty, wasted, so he hit upon the idea of taking the building off the client’s hands and making use of it in the interim time. While he won’t go into detail – the Demo Space business officially launches in September this year – it clearly fits with his belief that relevant diversification is the key to staying afloat, and thriving in what is a highly unpredictable property market. michaelisboyd.com

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photostory

Neil Burnell is a graphic designer from South West England with a strong passion and immense talent for photography. Neil uses long exposure photography, which brings a unique ghostliness to his images.

“I’ve always enjoyed photography but it’s only in the last two to three years that I’ve had the time to take it more seriously. There are so many wonderful landscape and seascape opportunities near to home (Brixham) it made sense for me in an artistic capacity to capture some of these wonderful scenes.”

Invisible – Babbacombe, Devon

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Downed – Dawlish Warren

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photostory

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Twisted – River Dart driftwood

Fade Away – Dawlish Warren

Natural Arch – Thurlestone, Devon

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photostory

Broken – Dawlish Warren

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Beacon – Shaldon Beach, Devon

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Helter Skelter – Paignton Pier, Devon

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Pathway – Dawlish Warren

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photostory

The Finger – driftwood from the River Dart

THE TECHNIQUE “Long-exposure photography is done in manual mode using neutral density filters, which darken the scene and let less light in the camera,” Neil explains. “The longer the exposure, the more silky the water appears and the more movement appears in the clouds. With the camera mounted on a heavy stable tripod, I use a cable release to start the timer and ensure there is no camera movement, and so no blurring to the static objects within the scene.”

Neil Burnell’s photography can be viewed at neilburnell.com and high quality limited prints are available for purchase.

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In his role as director of the charity Cool Earth, Matthew Owen works alongside indigenous people around the world to halt rainforest destruction. Emma Inglis tracks him down at the charity’s Truro headquarters to find out more about this small but remarkably effective charity.

N

ot long ago Matthew Owen stubbed his toe.

In normal circumstances that wouldn’t be a problem – a good clean and the application of an ice pack tends to work well for stubbed toes – but when you’re over 5,000 miles away from home in the heart of the Amazon rainforest, a stubbed toe can become problematic, especially if it gets infected. “It was rather painful,” says Matthew. But it was as nothing compared to the time he got non-pulmonary tuberculosis. “Actually, the cure was far worse than the illness. They drench you with antibiotics and as a result I

PHOTO: ALICIA FOX PHOTOGRAPHY

Matthew Owen with the Asháninka community

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picked up every sniffle and bug out there. But, really, I’ve been lucky. A lot of my colleagues have had far worse.”

Matthew Owen (below) runs rainforest charity Cool Earth, which takes him to some of the remotest parts of the planet. Infected toes and tuberculosis are hazards of the job. As the director of the Cornwall-based charity, Matthew spends his days working alongside indigenous people all around the world to halt rainforest destruction.

And when he’s not in the Amazon, Congo, or Oceania, Matthew is fund-raising for the charity, which involves “lots of trips to London”.

feature Matthew’s journey from Exeter school boy to environmental champion was not one that he’d planned.

“I’m thoroughly unqualified for the role,” he jokes. After a degree in geography at Oxford, Matthew entered the world of finance. Fast forward over a decade to 2006 and Matthew was sitting in a flashy London office, a director in equity research at one of the world’s most prestigious banks, Morgan Stanley.

But by then the city was beginning to lose its thrall. “I really wanted to move back to the South West. My eldest daughter was a year away from secondary school and I knew that if we stayed in London we’d probably be there forever as she’d put down tap roots and it would be tricky to go. So I made the rather foolhardy decision to leave banking and I was put on six months’ gardening leave.

Everyone thought that I was going to join a competitor.”

Instead Cool Earth “fell into his lap” and Matthew upped sticks to Cornwall with his wife and three daughters. The charity, founded by business tycoon Johan Eliasch and Frank Field MP, was still in its infancy. Its origins lay in a purchase of 400,000 acres of Brazilian rainforest by Eliasch (to save it from destruction), which inspired Field to contact him to suggest they set up an organization to channel the money of ordinary people to ‘sponsor’ far larger plots. Matthew was on board from day one – setting up the Cool Earth headquarters in Truro and helping refine and develop the charitable model.

Cool Earth’s Hannah Peck teaches Wabumari residents in Papua New Guinea to use trail cameras, helping to assess biodiversity and realise the value of the rainforest

Rainforests need our protection. They generate oxygen, manufacture a fifth of the world’s water, act as a carbon store and are a vault of biodiversity, containing around six million species.

PHOTO: ALICIA FOX PHOTOGRAPHY

Papua New Guinea school children from Cool Earth’s Orangerie Bay partnership

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By supporting schools, health clinics and livelihoods, Cool Earth offers communities an alternative to quick cash from loggers by ensuring that they earn more from keeping the forest standing than they would from clearing it.

PHOTO: COOL EARTH

The Amarno Collective. These women make jewellery from rainforest materials to support their incomes

His time in the city proved to be the perfect preparation for the role. “People think that it must have been a big adjustment for me in terms of my day-to-day work, but raising funds for a charity is very similar to what I’d been doing at any number of banks before. I was very used to going into a business and pitching an idea to raise money.” And today’s pitch is nothing if not compelling.

Rainforests need our protection. Not only do they generate oxygen and manufacture a fifth of the world’s water, but they also act as a carbon store and are a vault of biodiversity, containing around six million species.

And, then, there’s climate change – of which forest loss is a major cause. An estimated 30 million acres of rainforest are cut down every year, and the burning and destruction of the timber emits more carbon dioxide than the total annual emissions of the United States – and more carbon dioxide emissions than the entire global transport sector.

But that’s not all. The rainforest is not an empty Eden. It is home to more than 50 million people. People who have lived there for generations and depend upon it for everything – culture, food, clothing, medicine, water, their entire identity.

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But therein lies the silver lining. For those people who live there are also its best custodians. When these rainforest communities are forced to sell their forest to loggers because of “poverty, malnutrition and the pressures of change,” they do so reluctantly. What Cool Earth does is give them a choice. By supporting schools, health clinics and livelihoods, the charity offers communities an alternative to quick cash from loggers by ensuring that they earn more from keeping the forest standing than they would otherwise earn from clearing it.

So any charge of ‘green colonialism’ is unfair?

Absolutely, says Matthew. “We don’t own a square inch of rainforest, and we never will. We only work with villages that approach us, and they drive the partnership.”

Funds are put into local trusts and the villages decide when and how the money is spent – on everything from clean water and a new classroom, to midwife training and mosquito nets.

This community-led, bottom-up approach to deforestation has proved incredibly effective – even if it does require much work on the ground. “Every decision about a tree is made on a muddy path somewhere,” says Matthew. The charity has support from local governments

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PHOTO: COOL EARTH

Hygiene and Sanitation are key to healthy communities. Simple technology, such as this tippy tap, can have significant health benefits

PHOTO: COOL EARTH

and NGOs, anthropologists and local coordinators, and Cool Earth staff members routinely visit the villages to “build trust and offer reassurance.” But the ultimate aim is always to exit. “If we’re going to make a sustainable impact we need to be able to step back and see the livelihood developments that we’ve put into place work, and have the villages stand on their own two feet.”

Since its inception in 2007, Cool Earth has recruited thousands of global supporters and has protected more than 655,000 acres of the rainforest in Brazil, Peru, Ecuador, the Congo and Papua New Guinea. And “by happy circumstance”, the charity has developed partnerships with neighbouring villages that have linked up to form a huge shield to make interior forest inaccessible to loggers. Cool Earth believes that a further five million acres of forest have been saved in this way.

“We may be a small charity but we are effective,” says Matthew. Others seem to think so, too. Supporters of Cool Earth include an impeccable line-up of scientists, politicians and business leaders. Sir Nicholas Stern, the economist and author of the Stern Report on climate change, is an advisory board member, and Lord Deben, Chair of the Committee on Climate Change, and Mark Ellingham, founder of The Rough Guides, are trustees.

Naturalists, celebrities and writers are also among its supporters, from Sir David Attenborough and Ian Hislop to Ricky Gervais, Pamela Anderson, and Philip Pullman.

Charity Patron Dame Vivienne Westwood has designed T-shirts for the organization and in 2011 pledged over £1 million to the charity.

Confucius declared that if you choose a job you love you’ll never have to work a day in your life – and Matthew clearly loves being in charge of such an extraordinary charity. “I was incredibly fortunate to find such an interesting and varied position,” he says. That he gets to do it from Cornwall and live “in a lovely house in Falmouth that overlooks the water” is the icing on the cake. Stubbed toe aside, Matthew Owen is a lucky man.

Children from Cool Earth’s Ashaninka partnership in Peru queue up for lunch. Cool Earth works to protect and increase community food security

COOL EARTH STATS 655,854 acres saved 156,863,211 trees protected 170,522,003 tonnes of CO2 stored 49,844,893,143 litres of water annually

COOL EARTH’S LOCAL PARTNERS HAVE REPORTED IMPROVEMENTS IN ALL AREAS OF LIFE Enhanced wellbeing: Incidences of malaria have fallen by 60% among Cool Earth’s Asháninka partners.

Education: The charity has equipped 14 Rainforest Schools.

Greater happiness: 98% of women in Cool Earth’s Awajún partners’ AMARNO jewellery collective report feeling empowered as a result of the charity’s work.

Better health: 55 lives have been saved through emergency evacuations.

Increased incomes: C.E. supports 174 cacao growers and 64 coffee producers to improve their income through forest produce.

Stronger forest values: C.E.’s partner villages help to lock in a total of 140 million tonnes of CO2.

To find out more about Cool Earth and how you can help, go to coolearth.org

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Magic Seaweed and Michelmores team on the beach at Thurlestone

The Business

In this month’s The Business, Richard Cobb, partner at Michelmores, assesses the impact the surfing and watersports sector is having on the South West economy and how the region’s innovators have attracted global attention.

Record numbers of tourists flocked to Devon and Cornwall in the first weekend of August this year. Of those, many will have been drawn by the region’s beautiful coastline, and more than ever taken to the beaches and waves to surf, paddle board or mess about in boats. Several factors have combined to make 2016 a vintage year, and the outlook looks very good for the entrepreneurs making waves behind the scenes.

What price a decent wave?

Recent reports in The Economist, and a more detailed study from Surfers Against Sewage (SAS) in 2013 produced some fascinating figures on the economic impact of the surf 56

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sector. In the UK, the surf sector contributes at least £1bn directly and up to £4.495bn indirectly of economic activity.

SAS concluded that over £100m was brought into just the Cornwall economy annually on top of international surfing events like Boardmasters, with a further £17m.

Interestingly, they found 69% of the surfers described themselves as higher earning managers and professionals, spending £495 a year on equipment alone before paying a further £2,500 on parking, fuel and the celebrated food and drink sector in the area. The Economist cites research showing the average value of a decent wave itself is £20m globally, measured by historic satellite imagery of the expansion of beach activities.

promotional feature The impact on Brand Cornwall is hard to quantify, but there is no doubt Cornwall has reinvented the traditional summer seaside holiday and promotes a healthy coastal outdoor lifestyle for all ages throughout the year as an antidote to city living. The national success of Cornish retailers like Seasalt, and Cornish brands like St Austell Brewery show how these features travel. Whilst residents suffer the highest water charges in the country, the resulting sea water quality is exceptionally good in comparison with other areas: witness the negative impact of the water quality in Rio becoming a major Olympic talking point.

From lifestyle business to the horizon The UK surf industry is still young enough to have first generation entrepreneurs still running key businesses. Local legends such as Carey Brown, who founded international wetsuit brand CSkins, having pioneered modern wetsuit design at Gul Wetsuits, and now wholesales a wide range of surf hardware brands to retailers around the UK. Carey, understandably, puts much of the growth down to technical innovations in watersports equipment, with enthusiasts now just as likely to take to the water outside the key summer months as in them.

Another client, Magic Seaweed (main picture), set out to innovate in the prediction of wave quality with an online forecasting service that is regarded as the best in the world, and used by surfers at over 4,000 beaches.

Having helped with the establishment of the business, Michelmores were delighted to act for them last year when the business became part of a listed Australian surf retailer, in a deal which won ‘deal of the year’ accolades in industry awards. Most recently, we worked on a key private equity investment into Devon’s Red Paddle Co, which is the leading inflatable stand up paddle board (SUP) brand selling to more than 50 countries worldwide.

Despite these examples of local entrepreneurs taking their businesses to the next level, one of the attractions of the sector is exactly the fact that it can also provide a reasonable income to people working doing something they truly love. Almost without exception, people in the industry are not doing it just for the money, but for more wholesome reasons, which resonate with both founders and team members more and more.

the South West. Much of the region still suffers from low wages, weak rural internet and affordable housing issues, which are affecting next generation locals widely, well beyond the known second home hotspots like Polzeath, Rock, St Ives and Salcombe (where the first Jack Wills shop was opened).

Without a booming tourist industry and reasons for people to stay longterm, however, the region would be significantly poorer, and see increasing economic migration from the region. As it stands, the South West is, according to the ONS, the leading destination of internal migration across the UK, with a 29,600 net inflow last year, many from the 80,000 net annual outflow from London. More are moving to work or set up businesses here than ever.

Commentators suggest that Brexit itself, the resulting currency impact and security concerns in short haul holiday destinations will provide a further draw to the region for lifestyle movers and overseas visitors. The risk is that important infrastructure improvements will be paralysed by the end of EU funding support.

Amidst that choppy cocktail of positive news and unique challenges lie amazing opportunities for new entrepreneurs in the region to grow businesses, jobs, global brands and joy for waterlovers everywhere.

The bigger picture It would be wrong to suggest that growth in surfing and other watersports has caused a painless boom time in Michelmores is a Top 100 law firm supporting individuals, businesses and institutions in the private wealth sector for over 125 years.

“Michelmores is a powerhouse in the UK. They have invested both time and capital in the building of a strong team providing top quality private client work.” Judging panel, STEP Private Client Awards 2014

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PHOTO: EMMA BARROW

Bulgarian fashionista Denitsa Avramova-Bastable is taking Devon by storm with her unique designs and commitment to limited-edition garments at affordable prices. Words by Charlotte Dear.

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enitsa Avramova-Bastable shows me around her Plymouth boutique, one of two shops she has opened in the county. In the nine years since she launched her business on a mere £4,000 loan from her friend Emma Whittlesea, she has become one of Devon’s most prominent fashion designers. Her story starts in Bulgaria, where Denitsa (pictured above) was born and grew up.

She came to study at Dartington for a year as part of her art degree, during which time she met someone.

She returned to Bulgaria when the course ended and worked in a theatre for a year. The couple maintained the relationship, and she became pregnant with her son Ethan, now eight. They married and Denitsa decided to forge a new life in Devon with her then husband and child.

“I began weighing up my options as a pregnant Bulgarian woman in England. Having been raised by a fashion professor as a mother, I was only ever going to work in the creative field so set about selling ceramics.

I found a family in Bulgaria that made traditional plates and bowls using clay from their land – the men are potters and the women paint – and suggested they gave them a contemporary edge, adding new colours and patterns to suit modern British kitchens. The first lorry-load of ceramics arrived two weeks after I had left hospital with my new baby and I immediately set about selling them at craft markets and late-night shopping events.”

Eventually, Denitsa found a shop to rent in Totnes and immediately fell in love with it, and – her additional

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economics degree coming into play – Traditsia was born. “My mother is a well-known fashion designer in Bulgaria, so I decided to introduce a few of her pieces into the shop to accompany the ceramics. Some of these had been displayed in the National Museum, so it was heart-breaking to sell them to customers who were oblivious to her stature at a fraction of their worth, but this is business and it was my beginning. I am forever grateful to her for giving me these designs.”

A few years later, having built up some capital from her Totnes store and with a desire to focus more closely on fashion, and collaborate with other designers, Denitsa began by showcasing a few garments at The Hair Sanctuary in Totnes. She then took over a small unit in the Royal William Yard in Plymouth, which was to become ID Fashion.

“I’m not a designer as such, but I know what I like and can sketch the basic principal,” she says. “Once I’ve put together the bones of the idea using a mood board and selection of swatches and detail, I approach my designers and fabric cutters – all based in Bulgaria, two of which are two ladies working alone in their apartments – and they turn it into something beautiful.”

Today, ID Fashion displays the work of a handful of talented Bulgarian designers, which include Ivanka and Adelina Krumova, Mirella Bratova, Irena Vlahova, Ana Teixeira and, of course, Denitsa’s mother, Anna Avramova.

“My mother has been a constant inspiration throughout my life and now works with me exclusively. Using the oldest,

feature

It is this carefully considered sourcing of materials and workmanship that sets Denitsa’s designs apart. That, and the fact that they are very different to anything else you may find on the average high street.

PHOTO: EMMA BARROW PHOTO: EMMA BARROW

most traditional Bulgarian techniques, her signature designs involve layer upon layer of threads woven to make small ropes – a laborious and time-consuming method, of which she is an absolute perfectionist.”

Denitsa uses silk, viscose, cotton, wool and linen, all bought direct from Bulgaria, but some originally sourced from Italy. It is this carefully considered sourcing of materials and workmanship that sets Denitsa’s designs apart. That, and the fact that they are very different to anything else you may find on the average high street.

Located in the old guardhouse at Royal William Yard, the new shop looks and feels like a King’s Road boutique – it has been decorated and styled in a utilitarian, minimalist way, with whitewashed walls and metallic features to suit the neutral tones of the products.

The aluminium piping that holds up the shelves and rough timber sliding doors for the fitting rooms are the work of Denitsa’s fiancé and business partner, Richie Kavanagh, who splits his time between the business and his work on oil rigs.

“Everything we have here is very limited – I don’t want you to buy a dress or outfit and see somebody else wearing it. I also like my designs to be versatile to suit any occasion. At our store opening, similar asymmetrical tops were worn by three models and one customer, but nobody could tell as each had put their very own spin on it, and this is exactly what we encourage our customers to do. For this reason, we don’t have seasons like most retailers. We try to ensure you can wear the same piece MANOR | Early Autumn 2016

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PHOTO: beccystrongphotography.com

all year round by layering it in different ways. With so few makers, we cannot afford to sell by season, clear the shop and then fill it with entirely new products, so instead we bring in something new each week – the designs might be similar but we change the material to create a totally different look. Draped asymmetric shapes are very flattering for women and can be worn in so many different ways.”

At ID Fashion, Denitsa has appointed a team to allow her to divide her time between the Plymouth and Totnes stores. Lisa has a strong background in fashion, and Floss, just 17, who also doubles up as a model, studies at Plymouth College of Art. Together, they have recently launched jewellery-making evenings, which are held in the shop. Marketed through word of mouth, the events allow a small group to create their own necklaces and bracelets using the silverware displayed in ID Fashion, before crossing the green to continue their evening at Le Vignoble wine bar. Denitsa has also held styling evenings in the shop to promote the range.

“Every one of us has a very particular way of dressing – we tend to stick with what we know. These evenings are all about experimenting with outfits and designs, and this is where the magic happens. People arrive, they’re unsure, they buy it, then a week later 60

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they return with a huge smile on their faces, telling me it’s their favourite garment and everyone has been asking where it’s from!”

Everything in ID Fashion ranges from £39 to £250, and Denitsa is intent that her designs are accessible to all. “I have a very loyal group of customers, which I am eternally grateful for. One day I’d like to pitch to London shops, but right now we don’t have the supply; we couldn’t respond to big orders. Yes, we could have our designs made in China, but this would take away from our whole ethos. Let’s face it, in this area of mass-production you enter into the realms of Primark, where you can never win. I prefer to sell quality priced accordingly. I think I like the idea of London more than the reality, and I do strongly believe that this area of Plymouth is growing.

Similarly, people ask whether I’d like to relocate Traditsia to a busier area of Totnes, but until my landlord kicks me out, I’m staying – it’s not good for business to be so emotional but that Totnes shop is my baby and where it all began. Even now I have to have small selection of ceramics in the Plymouth store as a reminder of how it all began, even if they never sell!” traditsia.co.uk

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t: 01392 496 061 arbuthnotlatham.co.uk MANOR | Early Autumn 2016 61

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and

Culture Painter Brian Rice | Illustrator E.C. Woodward South West must sees | Worth making the trip for | Staying in

Rosie Cunningham is an abstract painter whose inspiration comes from the colour and vibrancy of the urban environment. Rosie will be exhibiting her work at 88 Albert Road, Stoke, Plymouth PL2 1AF (open Thursdays and weekends) during Devon Open Studios, 10-25 September.

4artsake.co.uk devonartistnetwork.co.uk

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In the 1960s, London artist Brian Rice produced luminous abstract paintings and prints iconic of their time. At the age of 80 he continues to paint in his home in Dorset and a retrospective exhibition will trace the evolution of his work. Words by Sara Hudston.

Deco Sunrise: 1966, gouache on paper

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L

ondon in the 1960s was especially cool for those in the art world. The crowd around the Royal College of Art included David Hockney, Derek Boshier, Peter Blake, Joe Tilson and Allen Jones.

Part of this group, one of the coolest of the cool, was painter and printmaker Brian Rice.

Rice mingled with fashion designers, rock musicians and models. Film director Michelangelo Antonioni interviewed him when researching the background for Blow-Up, which was originally going to be about a painter rather than a photographer. Rice dated the fashion designers Marion Foale and Sally Tuffin and was friends with rock musicians, particularly Ian Stewart, the keyboard player and co-founder of the Rolling Stones.

The work Rice produced is iconic of the time.

Abstract blocks of colour in bold patterns and modular paintings made from smaller individual canvases assembled to make a bigger painting. Today they look absolutely of their time, as redolent of the 1960s zeitgeist as a Habitat ‘continental quilt’ cover. Yet it was partly serendipity that Rice made these modular works. In 1963 he was living in a basement flat in Cromwell Road with two tiny rooms and a larger living space. His studio was one of the small rooms, only about eight feet square.

There wasn’t room for big paintings.

“I suddenly thought, if I work on small canvases in the studio then take them out and assemble them, it’s an obvious way round this lack of space,” Rice remembers.

“Sometimes, in the process of assembling them, I’d change my mind. They weren’t a fait accompli.” Metropol (1965), for instance, was originally going to be a rectangle, but ended up stepped like a monument.

Rice’s paintings and prints appeared in many TV commercials, fashion shoots and set designs; they were used to advertise products, including a new range of whitewood furniture, Hoover gas fires and British wool carpets. They indicated modern, they indicated cool.

They were hired to dress film sets. His images feature in Karel Reisz’s film Morgan: A Suitable Case for Treatment (1966), in Robert Freeman’s The Touchables (1968) and Michael Ritchie’s The Candidate (1972). They were used in an ad campaign for White Horse Whisky, appeared at the Ideal Home exhibition and featured in House & Garden. Rice also designed his own rugs and executed a striped pillar for Pauline Fordham’s fashion boutique Palisades on Ganton Street.

The modular pictures were one of several stages Rice’s work went through during the decade. In the early years, he had a brief political period, producing two ‘protest’ paintings: Megaton, an anti-nuclear statement, and Persil for Whites Only, an anti-apartheid one.

Although these were the nearest to Pop Art that Rice produced, he was never a Pop Artist. The influence of the American Abstract Impressionists was much stronger and he had two shows at Dennis Bowen’s New Vision Centre Gallery, which had a more Continental and avant-garde focus. Rice was always more European than American in his leanings.

This Europeanism was reflected in his admiration of the Bauhaus. Rice attended a seminal Bauhaus exhibition at the Royal Academy, which stimulated his interest in colour theory. In particular, he became intrigued by Goethe’s colour theory and the supposed ideal proportions for primary colours: three parts yellow, six parts red, eight parts blue. By the early 1970s, this obsession would produce a series of triangular paintings and prints, each made up of smaller triangles of carefully graded colour mixtures of red, yellow and blue.

Colour theory went hand in hand with his passion for Art Deco, a theme that began to feed into Rice’s paintings from the mid 60s. Deco Sunrise (1966) is an early and vibrant gouache example, in which the sun’s rays burst from the bottom left-hand corner and radiate outward, filling the picture space. Rice began

PHOTO: MATT AUSTIN

It’s important to me that my art reflects the environment where I live. Digging the garden, you find the objects that have been lost or abandoned by your predecessors.

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Rice’s paintings were used to advertise products, including a new range of whitewood furniture, Hoover gas fires and British wool carpets. They indicated modern, they indicated cool.

Circle Square. 1963, oil on 20 individual canvases, 35x45 inches in total.

This was Rice’s first large multicanvas modular painting.

noting examples of the Deco Sunrise pattern being used in everyday life and in 1972 he produced a book, The English Sunrise, co-authored with photographer Tony Evans. The book had practically no text and was simply a collection of found sunrise motifs – on doors, badges and gates, a cigarette case and powder compact, fanlights, windows and an ice cream wafer. It won three awards.

By the end of the 60s, Rice was an established abstract artist. So why was his work forgotten for 20 years? What happened to him?

Colour theory and his triangle works literally painted Rice into a corner. He lost faith in his career. The final crisis came in 1975 when he exhibited his triangular paintings at Brighton Polytechnic Gallery: “I remember sitting in the exhibition and thinking, ‘this is really boring, and I don’t want to spend the rest of my life doing this. I want to find something which is more unique to me.’”

Although Rice stopped painting for a while, his regeneration had already begun. In 1971 he’d bought a cottage in Lyme Regis in Dorset and was spending time there while still living in London. His mother’s family was from Lyme and Rice had grown up in Montacute in Somerset. He was a Westcountry boy by birth and this return to his roots was reassuring. He was further cheered by finding two metal-framed chairs designed by Chermayeff (one of his admired artist/designers) on the local rubbish tip.

In 1978 he moved out of London permanently and bought a remote, 50-acre sheep farm on the flanks of Eggardon Hill near Bridport. He brought in extra money by teaching part-time at Brighton College of Art (now University of Brighton), but most of his time was taken 66

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up with working the land and restoring the 17th-century farmhouse. In the process he discovered Bronze Age ceramic fragments and an 18th-century Donyatt pottery dish painted with the face of a Green Man, a symbol of rebirth. His archaeological finds inspired a new artistic direction, focused on the landscape and ancient traces of habitation, and he started to paint again.

Rice’s life and art merged more closely in the early 1980s when a relationship break-up forced the sale of the farm and he bought a dilapidated 15th-century house near Hewood on the Dorset/Devon/Somerset borders. Newhouse was a different proposition to the sheep farm; equally remote, it was in a terrible state of repair. For the first couple of years, Rice effectively camped in its shell while single-handedly rebuilding parts of it around him.

It took Rice the next 30 years to fully restore Newhouse. During this time, he uncovered fascinating traces of its past, including inscriptions and items of folk magic. Most astounding was a 17th-century inscription on a bedroom wall, now used as his studio, which reads: ‘Thou oh Mortall man, and worms meat, [why] buildest thou thy house so great.’

Newhouse had six acres of pasture and he kept a few ewes and bred Suffolk rams. This continuing commitment to the land nurtured his artistic resurgence, producing mature artworks imbued with a sense of place and deep connection to nature.

“It’s important to me that my art reflects the environment where I live,” Rice says. “Digging the garden, you find the objects that have been lost or abandoned by your predecessors.”

culture

Blue 8, Red 6, Yellow 3: 1970, acrylic on canvas, 30x30 inches. Explores Goethe’s colour theory

All this literal digging into the past revealed common patterns that people use time and time again across cultures and centuries. “I think there are certain shapes that are in your psyche and you find them in different sources and at different times, but the actual shapes remain very consistent.”

These shapes and patterns became the subject of his work. In 1995 he held his first exhibition for 20 years.

The solo show at The Meeting House in Ilminster was followed in 1998 by his Art and Archaeology solo exhibition at Somerset County Museum in Taunton, where he displayed his works alongside his numerous finds from the Newhouse restoration, including around 3,000 shards of pottery. Over the next decade, exhibitions in London, St Ives and Dorset followed, including two shows in Cork Street, London: a retrospective at Messum’s in 2001, and a highly successful show of his 1960s work at the Redfern Gallery in 2014.

In 2013, Rice published a catalogue raisonné of prints, and he has just published a full catalogue of all his paintings. Brian Rice: Paintings 1952-2016 features an introductory essay by leading art critic Andrew

Lambirth, which gives a full biographical and critical background. It was published in August to coincide with Rice’s 80th birthday.

With two such landmark publications having been issued, it would be tempting to think that Rice is signalling a late retirement. Not so – since the book went to print in June, he continues to make new paintings.

He’s been so busy that he hasn’t had time to produce any prints, but he says he might return to printmaking next year. There are also his long-running small 3D and found object works, which have not been catalogued at all so far.

“At some point I hope there will be another book of late works, combining all the things I’ve done,” he promises.

The Art Stable Gallery in Child Okeford, Dorset, is showing a selection of Rice’s work from throughout his career from 17 September to 22 October. The Belgrave Gallery in St Ives is staging an exhibition in spring 2017, exact dates to be confirmed.

Brian Rice: Paintings 1952-2016 is published by Sansom & Company, with an introductory essay by Andrew Lambirth. To order a signed copy email jacy.wall@btinternet.com. £45, incl. P&P.

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The curious world of illustrator E.C. Woodard is explored by Liz Miller.

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rowing up in the idyllic surroundings of rural Cornwall with a menagerie of animals was a formative influence on London-based illustrator Emily Carew Woodard. But what gives her work a darker and more curious twist is her childhood obsession with Victorian taxidermist Walter Potter’s bizarre collection of animal tableaux.

E.C. Woodard, as she is known, successfully combines this light and shade in her ink and watercolour illustrations, which depict richly drawn animal characters highlighted with colourful acrylics and gold leaf. Her work has already caught the eye of Roald Dahl’s family, Alexander McQueen’s studio and national newspapers and magazines such as The Times and Vogue.

“My passion has always been animals – when I was a child we had 24 guinea pigs, eight rabbits, four dogs and two cats,” she says. “I grew up on a farm and was allowed to milk the cows and ride on the tractors and go out and play in the fields until it was dark.

“The Walter Potter museum opened at Jamaica Inn the year I was born, and throughout our childhood my mum used to take us, so I became fascinated by taxidermy and the macabre.” The peculiar collection, which moved from Sussex to Bolventor in 1984, was made up of animals enacting human scenes, and included set pieces called The Kitten’s Tea Party, The Boxing Squirrels and Who Killed Cock Robin, which contained 98 species of bird.

So when Woodard began studying illustration at the London College of Communication, and fellow students focused on animation and digitally based work, she remained fascinated with Victorian and 68

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ALL IMAGES COURTESY OF THE ARTIST

The Elopement

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I would describe my art as anthropomorphic, paper taxidermy, evoking the Victorian golden era and aiming to create mini dioramas.

Mr Fox

Mr Fox sketch

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Edwardian artists, such as Arthur Rackham and Edmund Dulac.

Typically, Woodard’s pieces show elegantly and formally attired animals, such as foxes, hares and badgers, posing in drawing rooms or countryside scenes. “I would describe my art as anthropomorphic, paper taxidermy, evoking the Victorian golden era and aiming to create mini dioramas,” she explains.

One of the first opportunities she took in London was to request a private viewing of the National History Museum’s archives, which contain a vast number of taxidermy specimens. “I had the whole place to myself. There were the most amazing things, like pickled armadillos and a huge great squid. I was allowed to sketch and photograph all the displays, but I wasn’t allowed to go to aisles seven and eight, which contained human remains.”

In keeping with the period, she buys all her art supplies from L. Cornelissen & Son – established in 1855, the shop on Great Russell Street “looks like an apothecary”. And although pretty handy with Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop, Woodard’s studio is a place of old-fashioned materials, colour and experimentation.

After Roald Dahl’s grandson, Luke Kelly, spotted her work at an exhibition, Woodard received a call from Dahl’s second wife, Liccy, asking her to supper and suggesting she design the sets and costumes for Opera San Antonio’s production of Fantastic Mr Fox in America.

Dahl’s darkly comic stories proved the perfect foil for Woodard’s work, and she relished the challenge of the project. “It was really fun, and when I headed out to the USA they had made my costumes so beautifully, exactly as I designed them.”

The opera toured a few cities in America, including Boston and Los Angeles, and Woodard has developed a lasting relationship with the Dahl family. She holidayed with Liccy in Sicily last year and hopes there may be some chance to work on designs for more of Dahl’s work, ideally on her favourite book, The Twits.

Currently, Woodard is busy working at her studio space in Waterloo, in a building she shares with 60 other artists and crafters, from potters to puppet makers. It’s a vibrant creative community and the artists regularly get together for social events, as well as holding two Open Studios a year.

There are two solo shows running later this year: a large exhibition in Duke Street, and a smaller one at the Art and Cultural Centre in Derry, Northern Ireland.

The Duke Street show is called ‘The Many Complaints of Elephants’, which was inspired by a sign Woodard

culture spotted when travelling in Rajasthan three years ago.

“All my shows start with a theme, and this one has a good percentage of elephants in it. I’m inspired by India at the moment, so there is a lot of colour, maharajas, princesses and animals in this show. I’m hoping for a taxidermy giraffe in the gallery too!”

She needs more than 50 pieces for the show and the proximity of the studio to Big Ben’s bell is a constant reminder of deadlines approaching. Once she has wrapped up these shows, the next focus will be an exhibition for an East Village gallery in New York in 2018.

Aside from doing more work for the Dahls, Woodard’s dream job would be to work with graphic novelist and author Neil Gaiman or film-maker Tim Burton. Generally she just loves the process of collaboration with a client. “What I really like doing is interacting with people. I really love people ringing up and getting feedback and creating something that works for them.”

Despite living in the capital, Woodard’s Cornish roots mean regular contact with nature is vital to daily life. She rides in Wimbledon and walks to work from Bayswater Road through Hyde Park, Green Park and St James’s Park with Gilbert, her miniature poodle.

And while Woodard plans to spend the next few years in London, she hasn’t ruled out a return to the West Country. “If ever I get fed up of being in town, I get onto the property websites and start looking for how much it would cost to rent a studio in Fowey or Truro,” she says.

The Maharaja

An exhibition of E.C. Woodard’s work, ‘The Many Complaints of Elephants’, will be showing at Gallery 8, Duke Street, London SW1Y 6BN, 22-27 November 2016. emilycarewwoodard.com

Places to be… E.C. Woodard My favourite beach in Cornwall is near St Keverne on the Lizard. It’s the most tropicallooking place and the water is turquoise. It’s a bit of a juggle with the tide so you have to be careful not to get caught out.

I also love Lansallos. If you are not a local then you don’t know about this beach on the other side of Fowey. It’s where they filmed the original Poldark, although I have no idea how they got the horses down there. I also like Charlestown, with its old port, which is where the tallships are. I love eating out at Sam’s On The Beach at Polkerris.

In London, I always return to the Sir John Soane museum, with its wonderful Hogarths. Across the square is the Hunterian Museum (Royal College of Surgeons), which is very much like a mini Horniman (another favourite), with a strong emphasis on the sciences. There’s also a fabulous museum called the Last Tuesday Society on Mare Street that also does drinks – the perfect combination of curiosities and cocktails.

I love Off Broadway on Broadway Market for its coffee and salads, and there’s a lovely coffee shop on Lower Marsh near my studio called Four Corners. I also like North Audley Cantine – or NAC, as it’s known – because they let me take Gilbert in with me.

My escape to the countryside is to ride at Wimbledon Stables. I used to ride for Cornwall and Devon, and galloping over Wimbledon Common I can almost imagine being back in the West Country.

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South West must sees...

Jennifer Saunders to open Chagford Film Festival This year’s Chagford Film Festival will kick off with Jennifer Saunders introducing her film Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie and fielding a Q&A session afterwards. The film brings the highly popular comedy duo Patsy and Edina back to the screen after a period of 24 years.

Chagford Film Festival has grown to be one of the best known small film festivals in the UK. Over a period of six days, it brings top industry actors, writers and contributors to Dartmoor to share their knowledge and experience, and provides a programme of films, events and workshops. On Tuesday 27 September, there will be an animation day, with special guests Aardman Animations, which will include model-making workshops, lunch, and films in the evening followed by a Q&A. One of the original founders of Aardman, David Sproxton – who created Morph with Peter Lord – will be appearing at a ‘Lunch With’ event.

The theme for this year’s festival is ‘Las Vegas’, and the week will finish with a grand finale musical street parade on Saturday 1 October.

26 September – 1 October, various locations around Chagford, Devon. See chagfordfilmfestival.com for full listings and ticket prices

The C word Bryony Kimmings creates fearless theatre to provoke social change. A Pacifist’s Guide to the War on Cancer – her latest collaboration with Complicite – is an all-singing, alldancing examination of life with a cancer diagnosis, and will look behind the poster campaigns and pink ribbons at the reality: the waiting rooms and chemo suites, the changed bodies, the family pressures and financial worries.

Expect big anthems, shiny costumes, blood, tears and real cancer patients in this rip-roaring, heartbreaking celebration of ordinary life and death. Catch it before it heads off to the National Theatre in London.

28 September – 2 October at Exeter Northcott. £18-£25.50 (concessions available). exeternorthcott.co.uk

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Access all art It’s the time of year again to swing your beaks around all those myriad spaces where the creative magic happens – Devon Open Studios. With such a diverse range of practitioners taking part, there’s no better opportunity to see new work by your favourite makers or discover something new.

Pictured is work by painter Rachael Bennet, who uses her experience with a wide range of art-making materials to produce evocative, powerful descriptions of liminal space, mostly in the form of land and seascapes. She will be exhibiting at Thomas Luny Cottage, Teign Street, Teignmouth TQ14 8EG on Thursdays and weekends (rachaelbennettpaintings.com) .

10-25 September at various venues across Devon. Pick up a brochure from TICs and arts venues or download a PDF from devonartistnetwork.co.uk

The view from here In 2013, contemporary British artist Kurt Jackson was given access to the University of Exeter’s collection of Turner engravings, produced to promote tourism through ‘the picturesque’. Jackson visited 12 of the locations in Devon and Cornwall depicted by Turner – from Land’s End to Exeter – to investigate and record the profound changes that have occurred between the 19th century and the present. The exhibition showcases a diverse body of work in a variety of media with accompanying film, sketchbooks and other relevant material. Jackson’s new works will be shown together with the engravings that have inspired them.

10 September – 4 December at Gallery 21, Royal Albert Memorial Museum, Exeter. Free. rammuseum.org.uk

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Farm life

Devon painter Peter Goodhall’s solo show celebrates the importance of the sea to the way of life around our shores. Featuring contemporary works alongside more traditional paintings, See the Sea reflects Peter’s enduring love of the coast – for 25 years he worked from a studio on a Devon clifftop.

Bea Roberts’s award-winning play And Then Come the Nightjars is set in South Devon in 2001, at the height of the foot and mouth crisis. Jeff is a dairy vet with a problem. Michael is a cattle farmer – he is a problem.

The two men have a begrudging respect for one another, usually expressed through a shared fag, a nip of whisky and some boisterous banter. But when foot and mouth sweeps the countryside, their friendship – and their whole way of life – is thrown into question. Michael watches in disbelief as his cows are rounded up, and to his horror, it is Jeff brandishing the gun. There will be a post-show talk on 21 September.

29 September – 9 October at Kennaway House, Sidmouth. Free. petergoodhall.co.uk

20-24 September at Drum Theatre, Plymouth. £15 (£11). theatreroyal.com

Going coastal

Collage a-go-go PHOTO: EDUARDO PAOLOZZI, COPYRIGHT DACS

Sir Eduardo Paolozzi (1924–2005) was one of the pioneers of the pop art movement in the UK, and is equally revered for his mechanistic sculptures and kaleidoscopic print projects. The artist, who described himself as ‘a wizard in Toytown’, transformed the mundane, the derelict and the mass-produced into images that impress with their graphic complexity. His canny alchemy is apparent in General Dynamic F.U.N, a series of 50 screenprints and photolithographs created between 1965 and 1970. The prints, which bear idiosyncratic titles such as Totems and Taboos of the Nine-to-Five Day, Twenty Traumatic Twinges and Cary Grant as a Male War Bride, do not occupy a rigid sequence but can be assembled and viewed in any order.

10 September – 8 October at Thelma Hulbert Gallery, Honiton. Free. thelmahulbert.com

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PHOTO: POLLY STOCK PHOTOGRAPHY

Sanding room only With the main stage right on the beach, flip-flops rather than wellies will be the shoe of choice at Looe Music Festival. Over three days, five stages will host 90 bands, including headliners Bryan Ferry, Wilco Johnson and Fun Lovin’ Criminals. Because it’s right in the town, camping isn’t the only way to stay and play – treat yourself to a comfy bed and a bath in a local B&B or hotel.

23-25 September in Looe, Cornwall. Day tickets £40, weekend tickets £89 adults, £25 under 18s, under 5s go free. looemusic.co.uk

David Jamin “Les Toques”

Thomas Bossard “The Great Pea Fight”

Oil on canvas 80x80cms

Oil on canvas 65x50cms

62 Church Street, Falmouth, Cornwall TR11 3DS 01326 219323 | 07913 848515 | info@artworldltd.com | www.artworldltd.com MANOR | Early Autumn 2016

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Worth making the trip for...

Express yourself Autumn 2016 at the Royal Academy is all about New York in the 1940s and 50s, as this blockbuster survey of abstract expressionism brings together the big deals, bad boys and prodigious boozers of the era. With its love of spontaneity, automatic and unconscious forms, abstract expressionism marks the moment when America took over from Paris as the crucible of modern art. In the era of free jazz and the Beat Generation, artists like Jackson Pollock (below), Mark Rothko and Willem de Kooning broke from accepted conventions to unleash a new confidence in painting. As well as the big hitters, the show places a well-deserved spotlight on lesser known figures – amongst them some of the talented women artists who struggled for acceptance within the movement in its heyday – plus photography and sculpture, to complete an ambitious re-evaluation of the phenomenon that turned New York into the world capital of art.

24 September – 2 January at Royal Academy of Arts, Burlington House, Piccadilly W1J. £19 (concessions available). royalacademy.org.uk

Blue poles, 1952. Enamel and aluminium paint with glass on canvas, 212.1 x 488.9 cm. National Gallery of Australia, Canberra © The Pollock-Krasner Foundation ARS, NY and DACS, London 2016

Sex factor

PHOTO: PETER DIBDIN

Funny, sad and raucously rude, Our Ladies of Perpetual Succour is adapted by Billy Elliot author Lee Hall from Alan Warner’s novel The Sopranos about six convent school choirgirls on a rampage across the city where they’re taking part in a choir competition. Young, lost and out-of-control, they’re hit by love, lust, pregnancy and death over the course of a single day. Contains singing, sex and Sambuca.

Until 1 October at the Dorfman, National Theatre, Southbank SE1. £15-£45. nationaltheatre.org.uk

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PHOTO: © HASSAN HAJJAJCOURTESY OF THE ARTIST

PHOTO: © JANICE WALTZER-CURTISCOURTESY OF JANICE WALTZER-CURTIS/WHAT WE WORE

Dress to impress

Janice Waltzer Curtis, London, 1965

Hassan Hajjaj, Afrikan Boy, 2012

Two exhibitions at the Photographer’s Gallery take a look at clothes and identity. From studio portraiture to street photography, Made You Look brings together a group of geographically and historically diverse photographers whose imagery explores black masculinity as performance, as play, as invention – in particular through the adoption of a dandy-esque persona. The exhibition (curated by Ekow Eshun) explores dandyism as radical personal politics, a willed flamboyance that flies in the face of conventional constructions of the black masculine. It proposes that the black ‘dandy’, with his extravagant emphasis on dress, foregrounds a hyper-visible identity which counters the heighted vulnerability, the result of a charged history of objectification. In the context of this exhibition, dandyism isn’t simply about sharp dressing but rather, consciously problematising ideas of male identity through dress or deportment that is arresting, provocative, louche, camp and gloriously assertive.

Since July, Nina Manandhar, photographer and founder of the What We Wore archive project, has been in residence at the gallery, mapping the hidden cultural history of Soho through people’s photography and stories. As independent clubs and shops are increasingly lost from the centre of the city, What Soho Wore explores the area’s rich cultural history and the role that photography has had within the multiple scenes, movements and communities that have made Soho what it was and is today. The images and stories will be presented on The Media Wall, online and during a final discussion event on 18 September.

Until 25 September at The Photographers’ Gallery, 16-18 Ramillies Street, W1F. thephotographersgallery.org.uk

Dark destroyers

PHOTO: STEVE GULLICK

Raucous, raw and constantly teetering on the brink of self-destruction, South London post-punk nihilists Fat White Family bring their balls-out brilliance to the Brixton Academy for their biggest gig to date. Their live shows are not for the faint-hearted – there’s often nudity, there’s always sweat, buckets of it – but you’ll come away feeling as if your molecules have been rearranged, which is a rare experience in music these days. Support comes from the Black Lips.

17 September at Brixton Academy, Stockwell Road, Brixton SW9. £18. academymusicgroup.com

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Worth staying in for...

Crazy in love With her debut novel, the remarkable A Girl Is a Half-formed Thing, bagging the inaugural Goldsmiths Prize in 2013 and the 2014 Baileys Women’s Prize for Fiction, Eimear McBride’s follow-up is bound to attract a lot of attention. The Lesser Bohemians is the story of an 18-year-old Irish girl who arrives in London to study drama and falls in love with an older actor, a man with a disturbing past. At once epic and intimate, unsettling and luminous, The Lesser Bohemians is about sexual passion, innocence and the loss of it, but ultimately it is a celebration of the dark and the light in love.

Published on 1 September by Faber & Faber

Electric screams In a futuristic theme park staffed by artificial beings, guests can live out their wildest fantasies. However, when the robots begin to run amok, the guests find themselves in a world where anything can happen... HBO’s new 10part series Westworld (based on the 1973 film from writer/director Michael Crichton) comes with a jaw-dropping pedigree: executive producer J.J. Abrams (Star Wars: The Force Awakens, the Star Trek reboots), writer/director Jonathan Nolan (Interstellar, The Dark Knight) and starring Anthony Hopkins, Ed Harris and Thandie Newton. Set at the intersection of the near future and the reimagined past, it explores a world in which every human appetite, no matter how noble or depraved, can be indulged. To get you in the mood, you should definitely revisit the original, in which Yul Brynner is brilliantly cast as an evil robot version of his Magnificent Seven gunfighter.

Westworld premieres on Sky Atlantic in October.

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Tune in Two linchpins of the 80s and 90s alt-rock scene are back with new albums.

On 30 September, Pixies release Head Carrier, which follows 2014’s Indie Cindy, their first album of new material since 1991’s Trompe Le Monde. In addition to the usual formats, the album is also available in a limitededition box set, featuring the CD, vinyl and a 24-page booklet. Head Carrier is also the first to feature bassist Paz Lenchantin, who replaced Kim Shattuck in 2014, who replaced original bassist Kim Deal in 2013. pixiesmusic.com

PHOTO: TRAVIS SHIN

Pixies, from left to right, Paz Lenchantin, David Lovering, Joey Santiago, Black Francis

Ma t t h e w C hamb e r s

·

On 21 October, Californian wunderkind Beck releases his 10th (as yet untitled) studio album.

Judging by Wow, the first single streamed – the video of which reminds me of that Ribena ad with the singing animals – it’s likely to be a much more upbeat affair than Beck fans might be used to. The album follows 2014’s Morning Phase, which won three Grammys, including Album of the Year. beck.com

S c ulp tur al Cer am ics

·

13 August – 2 Oc t o ber

NEW CRAFTSMAN GALLERY 24 Fore Street · St Ives · Cornwall TR26 1HE · 01736 795652 · www.newcraftsmanstives.com MANOR | Early Autumn 2016

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The style shoot With this style shoot we decided to showcase some of the looks already touched on in our trends section – florals, velvet, metallics, along with a little touch of detail: chokers, elaborate sleeving and bare shoulders.

Straightforward enough, but delivered to quite breathtaking effect by model and photographer.

There were so many perfect shots, we could have filled the entire magazine. We felt it would be a shame for them to be consigned to the archive, so to see more of what we were forced to choose from, go to manormagazine.co.uk.

PHOTOGRAPHS BY MATT AUSTIN STYLED BY MIMI STOTT

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Asymmetric bodysuit, Zara, £15.99; Missguided lace choker, ASOS, £6

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Asymmetric bodysuit, Zara, £15.99; pleated midi skirt, Zara, £49.99; Rock N Rose patterned choker, ASOS, £16

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Grey dress, Zara, £49.99; shoes, Whistles, stylist’s own

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Dress, Maje, £280

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Lace top, Zara, £29.99; skirt, Tie-dye accordion pleat skirt, Zara, £49.99; shoes, Whistles, stylist’s own

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Off-the-shoulder tulle top, Isa Arfen, £300

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Shimmer thread dress, Zara, £49.99; shoes, Whistles, £195

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Velvet bodysuit, Zara, £49.99; Aldo Lippmann choker, ASOS, £20

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Ruffled cotton t-shirt, Victoria Beckham, £195; metallic fine pleated skirt, Zara, £39.99; appliqué scarf, Zara, £9.99

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Embroidered midi dress, Zara, £99.99

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Photographer: Matt Austin; Stylist: Mimi Stott; Model: Chanel Caldwell from Select; Hair and make-up: Maddie Austin

Hems Studio, 86 Longbrook Street, Exeter, EX4 6AP Tel: 01392 435051 www.barcarchitects.com

Call us to arrange a free consultation MANOR | Early Autumn 2016

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The Art of Living Hearth & Cook brings a new experience to home lovers and makers.

Expertly gathered together in our showroom in Exeter is a selection of the finest products designed to transform homes and inspire wonderful culinary creations, including an extensive range of beautifully designed outdoor ovens from renowned Danish stove manufacturer, Morsø. Visit our showroom now to see many of these appliances in action or browse our website for more information.

• RANGE COOKERS FROM LA CORNUE AND ESSE • MORSØ STOVES & OUTDOOR LIVING RANGE • ASHGROVE BESPOKE KITCHENS Find us in Oaktree Place, yards 98 MANOR | Early100 Autumn 2016 behind Carrs Ferrari & Maserati.

Call 01392 797679 www.hearthandcook.com 14 Oaktree Place, Manaton Close, Matford, Exeter, Devon EX2 8WA

Food

Sensational salads by Jane Baxter | Bites, the latest news and events from across the region Food Pioneer Chris Tanner | The Table Prowler

PHOTO: TAMIN JONES

Jane Baxter’s watermelon and feta salad. See page 104 for the recipe

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Jane Baxter chooses three all-smiles salad recipes from her recent book, Leon Happy Salads.

Photos by Tamin Jones.

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S

alads make a refreshing change from the heavy, stodgy food in which we can overindulge. They should be fresh, vibrant, tasty and exciting; rather than weighing you down, they should leave you feeling satisfied and full of energy.

Writing this book made me realise how many everyday and classic dishes can be turned into salads very quickly. It’s important to always look at your ingredients and take the following into consideration before assembling your dish: Texture

Try to have a range of textures in the dish: crisp, crunchy, chewy and smooth.

Architecture

Look at the vegetables you are using and cut them in different shapes so the end result is pleasing. Cook some and leave others raw. Also try cooking veg in different ways like grilling, steaming and roasting.

Taste

It’s all in the dressing!

A great deal of the salads in this book are influenced by my travels around the world, with a massive

emphasis on Italy, but they also come from the many kitchens that I’ve had the pleasure of working in and from people who are great cooks. Kisir was from a holiday in Turkey, Aqua e Sale is a classic salad from Puglia. The chicken and elderflower salad is based on a recipe from Joyce Molyneux when I worked with her at the Carved Angel.

I tried to use some classic produce from Devon.

Even though chillies aren’t native to our region, the South Devon Chilli Farm is just up the road and produces some amazing varieties that we used in the Salpicon seafood and other spicy salads. South Devon Crab is in a few salads and is something that we should eat more of and support so it all isn’t exported overseas.

There are loads of watermelon salads out there; this one is a combination of all the best flavours that work together. I love the combination of smoked fish and beetroot, especially with caraway and orange. The combination of flavours is something that I use time and time again. The paella deli salad was a moment of madness with some leftover rice – I am not a great fan of rice salad and wanted to do one that was sexy and easy.

Making the rice as tasty as possible is the most important job, then you can chuck in all the other ingredients or artfully place if you are out to impress. An easy Spanishinfluenced dish for a summer day in Devon.

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Paella deli salad Serves four PREP TIME: 30 MINUTES (PLUS SOAKING) COOK TIME: 20 MINUTES WHEAT-FREE, GLUTEN-FREE, DAIRY-FREE (CHECK CHORIZO FOR DAIRY PRODUCTS) A taste of Spain, at your dinner table. This rather longer recipe is basically an assembly job once the rice is cooked, and it couldn’t be more worth it. The ingredients here are just suggestions – you could substitute cooked squid rings, mussels, fish or chickpeas and different vegetables..

INGREDIENTS

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

A pinch of saffron 250g (9oz) long-grain rice 1 tbsp olive oil 1 onion, finely chopped 1 tsp smoked paprika 350ml (12fl oz) gluten-free chicken stock 100g (3½oz) cured chorizo salami (not cooking chorizo), in either thin slices or chunks 100g (3½oz) artichoke hearts, sliced 200g (7oz) prawns, cooked 150g (5½oz) peas, cooked 150g (5½oz) French beans, cooked 100g (3½oz) piquillo pepper strips 1 orange, cut into slices 2 tbsp chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley Fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves, to garnish Salt and freshly ground black pepper

FOR THE DRESSING

• • • • •

1 tsp sweet paprika Grated zest of 1 orange 1 clove of garlic, crushed 1 tbsp red wine vinegar 3 tbsp olive oil

METHOD

Soak the saffron in 50ml (1¾fl oz) very hot water. Rinse the rice with cold water, then leave it, covered, in water to soak for 30 minutes. Drain well.

Heat the olive oil in a large pan and cook the onion for five minutes. Tip in the drained rice with the smoked paprika and cook for a minute, seasoning with salt and pepper and coating the rice with oil.

Add the soaked saffron and chicken stock and bring to a simmer. Cover, then allow to cook for about 15 minutes. Leave to stand for five minutes before fluffing up with a fork. Tip out of the pan and leave to cool.

While the rice is cooking, whisk together the dressing ingredients and season. Prepare all the other ingredients for the paella.

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Layer your ingredients up on a large serving plate, seasoning as you go. Scatter the rice over the plate, then top with the other ingredients, finishing with the orange slices and parsley leaves. Drizzle with the dressing.

TIP

This would also be stunning made with cooked black rice.

food Hot-smoked salmon Serves one PREP TIME: 20 MINUTES COOK TIME: 8 MINUTES This salad makes you want to live for a long time. It will probably help you do so.

INGREDIENTS

• • • • • • • • • • • • •

1 small raw beetroot, peeled and coarsely grated 2 tbsp olive oil ½ a clove of garlic, crushed 1 tsp caraway seeds Finely grated zest and juice of ½ an orange 1 tsp balsamic vinegar 2cm (¾ inch) piece of cucumber 4 radishes 200g freekeh, cooked 100g hot-smoked salmon, in one piece A handful of watercress 1 tbsp roughly chopped fresh dill Salt and freshly ground black pepper

FOR THE DRESSING

• • •

1 tbsp crème fraîche 1 tsp lemon juice 2 tsp grated horseradish (or hot horseradish cream)

METHOD

Place the grated beetroot in a bowl. Make an orange

dressing by heating half the oil in a small pan, then adding the garlic and caraway seeds. Before the garlic colours, tip in the orange zest and juice and cook for five minutes, or until the orange has reduced to a syrupy consistency. Mix in the balsamic vinegar and the remaining olive oil. Dress the beetroot with the orange dressing, season well and mix thoroughly.

Mix the horseradish dressing ingredients together in a bowl, whisking well to combine. Add a little water to bring it to the consistency of double cream. Set to one side to let the flavours develop.

Prepare the cucumber and radishes by slicing thinly into rounds, then cutting across the rounds into thin matchsticks.

Gently pull the salmon into large chunks and place on top of the dressed beetrootand freekeh. Drizzle with the horseradish dressing and sprinkle the cucumber,radishes and watercress. Top with dill.

TIP

Cold-smoked salmon or any other smoked fish – like eel, for those of you who are more adventurous – can be used instead of hot-smoked salmon.

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Watermelon and feta Serves two PREP TIME: 10 MINUTES WHEAT-FREE, GLUTEN-FREE, VEGETARIAN A very grown-up fruit salad. Best eaten outside, in the sunshine, wearing a Hawaiian shirt, with pink wine.

INGREDIENTS

• • • • • • • • •

400g (14oz) watermelon, cut into 3-4cm (1¼-1½ inch) chunks 2 tbsp marinated red onions (see below) 60g (2¼oz) feta, crumbled 2 tbsp toasted pumpkin seeds 10 black olives 2 tbsp shredded fresh mint 50g (1¾oz) rocket Salt and freshly ground black pepper Extra virgin olive oil, to serve

METHOD

Arrange all the ingredients together on a serving plate.

Season well and drizzle with olive oil.

TIP

To toast your own pumpkin seeds, dry-fry them until they start to pop.

Marinated red onions WHEAT-FREE, GLUTEN-FREE, DAIRY-FREE, VEGETARIAN, VEGAN INGREDIENTS

• • • •

2 red onions, finely sliced or chopped 2 tsp soft brown sugar 1 tbsp good red wine or balsamic vinegar A good pinch of salt

METHOD

Toss the onions in the sugar, vinegar and salt. Cover and leave to marinate at room temperature for anything from 20 minutes to a few hours.

JANE BAXTER Chef and food writer Jane Baxter trained at the Carved Angel under Joyce Molyneux before moving to the River Café. In 2005 she set up the acclaimed Riverford Field Kitchen. She is based in Kingsbridge, where she runs food and event company Wild Artichokes. She is co-author of the Riverford Farm Cookbook and Leon Fast Vegetarian.

Leon Happy Salads by Jane Baxter and John Vincent is published by Octopus Books. £15.99

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Bites Cornish Cornucopia

PHOTOS: HARRIET FITZGERLAD

PHOTO: SEAN GEEE

This month, The Great Cornish Food Festival welcomes a crew of outstanding chefs who collectively support the burgeoning Cornish food and drink industry. Over the three-day bonanza, the Chefs’ Theatre will host a spread of gastronomic talent including Jack Stein, Tom Adams, April Bloomfield and Paul Ainsworth. Those creating mouthwatering dishes in the theatre include Stephane Delourme, head chef at Rick Stein’s Seafood Restaurant, who will be cooking roasted Cornish ray wing with chilli beans. Paul Ripley from the Cornish Food Store will be rustling up a country pâté and classic pea and ham soup, and Jack Stein and Jamie Porter from The Seafood Restaurant will deliver a crisp skinned fillet of stone bass served with Cornish white crab meat, chargrilled spring onions, pickled shallots, caramelised leek purée and chive oil.

There will be lots of opportunities to sample wares and meet the people behind Cornwall’s finest artisan products. For the sweet-toothed, Buttermilk Confections will be offering samples of its delicious fudge, brittle and honeycomb, and Brownie Baker will be luring customers with its moist chocolatey squares of delight. On the savoury side, cheesemaker Curds & Croust will serve up its unctuous soft cheeses, including the cider-bathed Russet Squire and the deeply earthy Truffler.

For liquid refreshment there will be a plethora of delicious Cornish ciders, juices and cordials to choose from.

If gin is your thing, Tarquin’s is made in the old-fashioned way using fragrant handpicked Devon violets and fresh orange zest to deliver what is described as an ‘aromatic sensation unlike any other’.

Great Cornish Food Festival, 23-25 September, Truro greatcornishfood.co.uk

Feast Knightor Volunteers from award-winning community interest company People and Gardens will take over Knightor Winery near St Austell to create a feast of home-grown food this month.

The supper, which will be cooked and served by People and Gardens volunteers alongside the Knightor team, will feature produce grown at Watering Lane Nursery, Pentewan (including heirloom tomatoes, heritage carrots, kale, herbs, salad leaves and pea shoots). There will be an optional drinks flight with Fowey Valley Cider, Knightor wines and a Vermouth cocktail.

Working with people who have learning disabilities or emotional impairments to develop work and social skills, People and Gardens grow plants and bulbs for the Eden Project and also run a successful veg box scheme in the St Austell area.

Ken Radford, Founder and Manager at People and Gardens, said: “The event at Knightor will enable our volunteers to step out of their comfort zones and open doors to real participation and presence within society. We are very grateful to everyone at Knightor for partnering with us to make this possible. It shows a real sense of social responsibility on their part.”

Tickets are £30 per person for a five-course feast and welcome drink; the event starts at 6.30pm on Friday 2 September. Profits from the event will go to the People and Gardens project, which is currently fundraising to buy new equipment and increase capacity. knightor.com/feast-nights

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Gold on Green

PHOTO: SHARPHAM WINE AND CHEESE

In his capacity as Patron of Taste of the West, the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall attended Food Fair on the Green in Exeter recently. On what was the hottest day of the year, the Prince visited all 60 Taste of the West gold awardwinning food and drink producers exhibiting at the fair. This event was organised to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Taste of the West, and their Royal Highnesses helped to celebrate by jointly cutting a large birthday cake.

PHOTOS: HARRIET FITZGERALD-ALLSOPP

Walk in the park PHOTO: LIBERTY PEARL

The Deer Park Country House Hotel welcomes Hadleigh Barrett as its new head chef. Classically trained in French cuisine, Hadleigh previously worked at five-star hotel Pennyhill Park and L’Ortolan. More recently he was head chef at the Combe House Hotel. Hadleigh will work closely with head gardener Olly Forster, who cultivates the two-acre walled kitchen garden in the Deer Park grounds. The plan is to use produce from the walled garden in every starter, main course and dessert menu.

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Roam and Relish Made using organic meat from animals reared on its farm in Bratton Clovelley near Okehampton, Eversfield Organic is launching a new range of British organic charcuterie, Roam & Relish.

The beef range, all of which is organic and grass fed, includes pastrami, salt beef, roast topside of beef with crushed peppercorns and roast topside and mustard. All of the products are produced using traditional beef cuts, which are matured for a minimum of 21 days.

Pork products include honey roast ham, smoked ham, and honey-smoked streaky bacon – all made from happily reared and freely rooting pigs. The organic smoked ham is cold-smoked over oak logs to develop a gentle, sweet yet smoky flavour.

Mark Bury, founder and director of Eversfield Organic, says: “We believe Britain has everything it needs to create exceptionally good charcuterie. We are making huge strides in the area of artisan food production due to the abundance of quality meat that is being produced using the highest animal welfare standards and care, cultivation and breeding methods.”

OP E N DA I LY F O R BR E A K FA S T / L U N C H / D I N N E R L U N C H £ 2 6 FO R 2 C OU R S E S

To book ring re s er va t io ns o n: 01637 861000, Op tion 1 or bo o k o nline a t : w w w.fifte e n c o rn wall.co.uk

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BACK TO SCHOOL With the new school term starting, this could be the time to learn something new. Here are just a few of the fabulous cookery courses on offer in the South West.

Madras fish curry

Classic French desserts

RICK STEIN’S COOKERY SCHOOL PADSTOW, CORNWALL

EXETER COOKERY SCHOOL DEVON

Friday 2 September, 6-8pm. rickstein.com

Friday 23 September, 9.30am-4.30pm. exetercookeryschool.co.uk

PHOTO: DAVID GRIFFEN

Spend an evening watching chefs demonstrate how to cook one of Rick Stein’s favourite dishes, then develop your skills and techniques while recreating the dish.

Participants then get to enjoy the fruits of their labour with a glass of good wine while overlooking the beautiful Camel Estuary.

Madras fish curry is a beautiful hot and sour curry from Southern India. Learn how to accentuate good fish with spice and enjoy your own version of Rick’s recipe.

Wild Italian cookery FAT HEN COOKERY SCHOOL PENZANCE, CORNWALL Thursday 22 September, 10am-4pm. fathen.org

This dessert preparation course covers some of those timeless classics, including crème brûlée, tarte au citron, tarte tatin and mousse au chocolat.

Students will be taken through all the steps needed to create these desserts from scratch. Techniques learned include making crème Anglaise, shortcrust pastry, meringue, caramel and baking in a bain marie.

Greek meze ASHBURTON COOKERY SCHOOL DEVON PHOTO: JAMES BOWDEN

Wednesday 14 September, 9.30-430pm. ashburtoncookeryschool.co.uk

This course is for those with a love of Italian food and a wish to make Italian staples such as pasta and gnocchi from scratch. Wild food is still very much part of Italian food and culture. Participants will use seasonal wild greens and local fish and game to create authentic Italian dishes.

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Prepare classic summery meze dishes with fresh ingredients and a great variety of flavours, from earthy and meaty to zesty and sweet.

Enjoy a Greek meze lunch and at the end take away lots of dishes and the confidence to recreate your own authentic taste of Greece at home. Typical dishes include dolmades, melanzanosalata and keftedakia arni.

food

The finest food and culinary expertise at Powderham Food Festival PHOTO: MATT AUSTIN

One of Devon’s oldest family homes, and residence to the Earl and Countess of Devon, Powderham will be throwing open its gates for a fifth time to foodies from across the South West on the first weekend of October (Saturday 1 – Sunday 2) to host the Powderham Food Festival.

In addition to the host of local producers, the Great Devon Chilli Challenge will be providing a generous helping of spice for chilli aficionados, plus a line-up of BBQ chefs, including Marcus Bowden, and Simon Dyer, winner of ITV’s BBQ Champ, will be barbecuing, smoking and broiling meat, fish and River Exe mussels from the Powderham Estate. There will also be a cookery demo tent featuring a host of talented chefs, including Tim Maddams, formerly of River Cottage, and Orlando Murrin, founder of Olive magazine.

There will be a Fun Kitchen for children and an Eat Well Live Well focus, where veg experts Riverford will be in attendance. powderhamfoodfestival.com

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Food Pioneer Chris Tanner CHEF People’s dining habits are changing, which is why we decided to sell our fine dining restaurant, Tanners, which we had been running successfully for 15 years. Our

decision was not an easy one, but people now prefer more informal and relaxed styles of eating out. Of course, this meant we also had to adapt and evolve. Plus, with our new fish and chip shop in Looe and gastropub in Kent, it felt like the right time to let the fine dining side go.

The style of our establishments is mostly driven by the buildings we choose to put them in. The Barbican

Kitchen is located in a 300-year-old gin distillery, making it the perfect location for traditional food with a twist. But that doesn’t mean we can be complacent; to stay current we constantly have to be looking at evolving trends – you can never rest on your laurels.

which means I have to do it justice on my Big Green Egg barbecue later. I love bass fishing, and know some great little spots. Sometimes it’s just nice to switch my phone off and forget about everything!

I don’t get much time off, so when I do it needs to count.

because they seemed like obvious choices, especially when you can find some of the finest produce available right on your doorstep. This is extremely important in terms of the food we serve, and by sourcing locally we are ensuring that money goes back into the local economy – so independent businesses like us can thrive.

I love Dartmoor as a place to get away and ponder. I have fond memories of taking the kids to the Saltram Estate when they were little, with the dog for long walks in the wood. The Rose and Crown in Yealmpton is good for a pint and food. It’s the same with Looe; the locals are welcoming and embrace change. It is such a beautiful part of the county. Walking along the coastal paths is breathtaking, especially over to Polperro.

Suppliers are paramount to all our businesses and we

The best food I’ve ever tasted was in New York. I was

have been fortunate enough to build longstanding relationships over many years. A great supplier is one that you can trust, as well as being regarded as experts in their field. Our main ‘meat’ man, Ian at Warren’s Butchers in Launceston, even ships all of our beef up to Kent for our pub The Kentish Hare (Kent isn’t known for its beef farming). Simply Fish in Looe is our day boat supplier, while for local spuds and vegetables we use Tamar Fresh in Cornwall.

lucky enough to be able to work there for a couple of years when I was 20. One of the guys I worked with had a special touch with food – even now, I can still taste the stuffed lobster with scallops he cooked. The lobster was from Maine, and to this day I’ve never tasted anything like it. Needless to say I stole his recipe, and, with a few of my own touches, I’ve adapted the dish over the last 25 years!

We have chosen to base ourselves in Plymouth and Looe

I love to visit the fish market in Looe. It’s a great

atmosphere and one of our main suppliers is based there.

He knows exactly what kind of fish quality we are after.

We also buy from The Catch, and as the name denotes, it’s whatever the catch of the day is! I love scallops, crab, hake and not forgetting the king of the seas, turbot.

Scallops are bang in season in September and October, along with plaice.

When I am not in the kitchen, I like to explore different places with my family, including trying to find unusual

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My food hero is without doubt Albert Roux. He kick-

started the food revolution back in the day. I worked with him for five years in my early 20s, and have stayed in touch ever since. James and I are invited to the Roux Scholarship every year.

My five larder essentials are: Cornish sea salt, rapeseed

oil, white wine vinegar, soy sauce and tomato purée.

Chris Tanner is a chef and co-owner (alongside his brother James) of Plymouth-brasserie Barbican Kitchen, Looe fish and chip shop The Catch, and The Kentish Hare pub in Tunbridge Wells barbicankitchen.com catchlooe.co.uk

food In the last issue of MANOR we presented several recipes from Nathan Outlaw’s new book, Everyday Seafood.

There was an error in one in which the ingredients for the dressing were replaced by those from another recipe.

We apologise for any inconvenience and print the recipe for Nathan Outlaw’s crab and tomato salad with horseradish dressing in full again here.

Crab and tomato salad with horseradish dressing Serves four as a starter • • • • • • • •

About 300g white crabmeat (from a 1.5kg freshly cooked crab) 12 ripe tomatoes (the best variety you can get) 1 shallot, peeled and finely chopped 100ml olive oil 50ml white wine vinegar 1 tsp caster sugar 3 tsp chopped parsley Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

FOR HORSERADISH DRESSING

• • • •

150ml soured cream 2 tbsp creamed horseradish Finely grated zest and juice of 1 lemon 100g brown crabmeat, sieved

TO GARNISH

• •

Zest of 1 lemon (microplaned) 2 tbsp flat-leaf parsley leaves, sliced

METHOD

Bring a pan of water (large enough to hold all the tomatoes) to the boil. Remove the cores from the tomatoes and score a cross in the skin on the top of each one. Lower the tomatoes into the boiling water and blanch for 20 seconds, then remove to a tray.

When cool enough to handle, peel off the skins. Cut half of the tomatoes into slices the thickness of a £1 coin; cut the rest into wedges.

Place all the tomatoes in a bowl and add the shallot, olive oil, wine vinegar, sugar and chopped parsley. Toss gently to mix and season with salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.

Check through the white crabmeat carefully for fragments of shell or cartilage. Place the crabmeat in a bowl and season with salt and pepper.

For the dressing, whisk the ingredients together in a bowl until smoothly combined. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

To serve, divide the tomato salad between four plates.

Share the white crabmeat equally between the plates and drizzle the dressing over the salad. Finish with a sprinkling of lemon zest and parsley.

An historic hotel, with outstanding food and beautiful gardens, located in the heart of Cornwall.

T H E A LV E R T O N . C O . U K S TAY@ T H E A LV E R T O N . C O . U K 01872 276 633

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Signature dish Darren Millgate is head chef at Bustopher Jones, one of Truro’s longest-standing restaurants, which reopened last year under new ownership. Since his appointment in October, Darren has been central in driving the menu forward, reshaping it around local, seasonal produce sourced from small suppliers and individuals. Joining Bustopher from the Bedruthan Steps, Darren has also worked in some of Cornwall’s finest kitchens, including the Scarlet and the Nare hotels.

Darren’s menus at Bustopher change every six weeks in line with the restaurant’s philosophy of seasonality, local ingredients and little twists on classic dishes.

“I think I’ve made bouillabaisse in every job I’ve ever had and I’m prepared to declare this version close to perfect,” says Darren. “I first made this dish during a year I spent in Aubeterre, about an hour outside of Bordeaux, working on a Cognac estate. The tomatoes grown fresh on the estate were incredible, and for me it was the beginning of an obsession with sourcing seasonal, local produce in my cooking. The tomatoes might have lifted the French version, but they didn’t have access to the mussels from Fowey and seafood that I use to create this Cornish bouillabaisse. Local tomatoes are in full flourish now as well and they beat a tinned version any day.”

Cornish Bouillabaisse Serves four

• • • • • • • • • • • • •

1 large bulb of fresh fennel 1 large red pepper 10 fresh ripe tomatoes 1 tsp smoked paprika 3 cloves garlic 3 sprigs thyme 2 large banana shallots 75ml olive oil 1g saffron 300g fresh white fish, diced 450g mussels 100ml white wine 50g fresh chopped herbs (tarragon, dill or parsley will all work well, according to personal taste)

METHOD

Start by making the tomato sauce. Roughly cut the tomatoes and place them in a pan with two garlic cloves, two sprigs of thyme and the paprika. Cover with 350ml of water and a pinch of salt and put on to a gentle heat.

Cook slowly for at least an hour until the tomatoes have broken down and are almost liquid. Remove from the heat, pour the tomatoes into a sieve and push through until you are left with just dry pulp in your sieve. Discard the pulp and retain the liquid.

Meanwhile, cut the fennel, pepper and shallots into rough 5cm dice. Put these into a heavy-bottomed saucepan with the olive oil, saffron and a pinch of salt, and cook over a gentle heat for 20 minutes until softened. Add the tomato sauce and keep warm.

Cook the mussels in a dry saucepan on a high heat.

Ensure the mussels are clean and all the shells are closed, discarding any that fail to close when tapped. Put them into a bowl with the white wine and the remaining thyme and garlic. When the pan is very hot, tip the mussels in and put a lid on the pan. The mussels are cooked when the shells have all opened, which should take around three minutes in a hot pan. Gently shake the pan every minute during cooking.

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To finish the dish, add the raw diced fish into the tomato sauce mixture and cook for roughly eight minutes, then add the cooked mussels in the last two minutes and ensure they are piping hot. Mix through the fresh herbs and serve.

Serve with fresh crusty bread and a glass of chilled white wine. bustopher-jones.co.uk

food

The Table Prowler The Three Crowns, Chagford The Three Crowns in Chagford dates back to the 13th century, and generated much excitement from locals when it was bought and fully renovated into a tidy boutique by the St Austell Brewery three years ago. It retains a number of ancient features, such as the enormous inglenook (lit throughout the winter in the front bar) and ancient granite walls lining the front, and now has an additional modern conservatory restaurant at the rear, which leads out onto a courtyard. St Austell recently sold the Three Crowns to new private owners and so, curious, we went along one sunny summer’s evening to sample the goods.

We were seated in the conservatory, and asked what we’d like to drink. I fancied a crisp dry white and was disappointed to be offered “Pinot Grigio or Sauvignon Blanc?” I said I’d have a small glass of Pinot.

“Is that a 250ml?”

“Er, no, a small glass, please.” Not keen on the upsell attempt here. Later, when served by John, the owner, I asked for a different glass of white to follow and was pleased to hear him thoroughly recommend a glass of Dart Valley Reserve from Sharpham, which I decided to try. Note to waiter: upsell wine on quality, not quantity (unless it’s a hen party).

I was in holiday mood so, to eat, chose the Cornish sardines on toast to start followed by the lobster Thermidor; he chose the ham hock terrine followed by the 8oz steak burger.

The children chose their usual fish and chips. The starter arrived promptly with the children’s – always a good sign of a restaurant when children’s food is prompt. Their fish and chips looked and tasted great – a chunk of cod perfectly battered sat on a round of chunky chips accompanied by mushy peas in a tiny saucepan. Top marks for presentation. The sardines –

filleted, headless and grilled – on toast, on a bed of red onion salad. The red onions had been caramelised and all components made for a perfect combination, again well-presented. The terrine was suitably coarse on toasted brioche with dash of yellow English mustard and sprinkling of watercress. Again, it looked good, and I got the nod of appreciation.

With optimum lag between starter and main course, the lobster arrived. On a square white plate, the pink lobster had a golden parmesan gratin and the chunky chips arrived in ‘newspaper’ in a pot alongside a handful of green salad. It was good – quite rich in its salsa rosa, but fresh. The burger was juicy – medium rare as requested – with melted cheese in a lightly toasted soft brioche bun, and met all taste and tenderness requirements. I had room for pudding, and chose my standard fare – the chocolate fondant. It was a good fondant pudding, not unlike those served in many MOR restaurants – warm and gooey on the inside – but the presentation set it apart: it arrived in the centre of a red berry compote that delivered a sharp tang to counter the smooth sweetness of the fondant; accompanying both was a perfect oval scoop of vanilla ice cream.

In all, a great meal that suited all the family – not fancy or complicated, but gastro pub fare done well and presented beautifully. Including drinks, the bill came in at less than £80, and assuming that this isn’t mere novelty value from an enthusiastic newcomer, I think the Three Crowns is set to enjoy a bustling Dartmoor winter. threecrowns-chagford.co.uk Food 9 | Service 8 | Location 8 | Ambience 8

The Stable, Newquay Newquay is a funny mix of suburban 1970s seaside town – complete with miniature Disneyland choo-choo trains with pensioners giggling on the back – and stylish surfer hangouts.

I was meeting a friend at The Stable, at Fistral Beach, for lunch and a catch up. On approach it looks like any other modern shopping centre – good parking, a range of eateries and retailers, of which one happened to be The Stable. The Stable is a modern chain of ‘pizza, pie and cider’ restaurants that was launched in Bridport in 2007 by ex-music industry couple Nikki and Richard Cooper, who’d escaped London for a life change. The restaurants are relaxed in ambience, and as you’d expect from such a couple, rustically creative, with simple fare that’s responsive to today’s dietary requirements, offering gluten-free pizzas and vegan options. Indeed, it is effectively the perfect surfers’ joint, although there are Stables now in Birmingham and Winchester, with Exeter’s branch on the horizon, as well as others dotted across the South West.

Although on approach it’s underwhelming, on entering you realise that The Fistral Beach Stable enjoys the most spectacular location right on the sea front, and its panoramic floor-to-ceiling windows are designed to make full use of the view.

The lunch we chose was minimal and straightforward. We both had the Westcountry crab salad and followed it by sharing a chocolate brownie with clotted cream. The crab salad elicited an eyebrow raise and shrug from both of us when it arrived. A decent amount of crab in a chilli-pink sauce sitting on a small green salad, with a dollop of crème fraîche alongside. The shrug was an “Oh, ok I suppose, but not a salad to set the world alight”. It was tasty but lacking, and as there wasn’t really much to it, we opted for the brownie. Sharing this was a good idea as, on the contrary, the brownie was enormous, and deliriously good. One of the best I’ve had in a while, it had a warm, softly resistant outer that broke to reveal the most perfect melt-inthe-mouth centre. When the dessert is this good you forget the mild disappointment of the main, and the ambience, menu – the pizzas looked very good from afar – and service (not to mention the brownie) will have me going back. stablepizza.com Food 7 | Service 8 | Ambience 8 | Location 10

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24A West Street, Ashburton, Newton Abbott, Devon TQ13 7DU

Tel: 01364 653613 www.barnesofashburton.co.uk 114

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Design couple Siobhan and Mat Hayles | The workings behind Sofa Workshop Shopping for space

PHOTO: JAKE EASTHAM

Peacock Blue, Dartmoor, Devon. Available to rent through Unique Home Stays and featuring interior design by Siobhan Hayles . See page 116 siobhanhayles.com

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Peacock Blue

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Imogen Clements meets power couple Siobhan and Mat Hayles, whose natural flair for design has seen them create two successful interiors businesses. Photos by Jake Eastham.

T

here is compatible coupling and then there are collaborative and utterly complementary pairings. Siobhan and Mat Hayles have forged two businesses that make the very best of their keen eyes for design and complement each other perfectly.

The Hayles are a transformative couple. Siobhan has built an interior design business out of her love for transforming buildings into stylish homes; Mat has created a vintage homewares site out of a love for uncovering quirky Americana and repurposing it into statement pieces – be they lighting or furniture.

“Bizarrely, neither of us comes from a design background. We were both based in London. I was working in the travel industry and Mat was a landscape gardener by day and in a rock band by night.” Mat was the elder brother of a friend of Siobhan’s and the couple met by chance on a visit to the family home.

Although not design-specific, their former careers certainly played a role in where they were to end up.

Siobhan took a lot of inspiration from the decorative style

of the plush hotels she needed to visit as part of her job, and Rust and The Wolf, Mat’s company, has certain rock band connotations, not least in the name.

“I called the business Rust and The Wolf,” Mat reveals, “out of a love of old things that have a history and tell a story through signs of wear, hence Rust.

The Wolf comes from a love of wolves. For me, they represent a spirit of freedom and the wild. Plus, the name Rust and The Wolf had a certain ring to it.” With a name and logo that wouldn’t look out of place on the front of a bass drum, the products Mat sells are also in keeping with the rock theme. “The business evolved from my love of iconic American styling, from Western times right through to the 60s and 70s. I was keen to bring this to the fore by repurposing items which have that classic American branding.”

How, then, did this couple come to build their respective businesses in Devon? “Although we met in London, we had a springer spaniel puppy who needed masses of exercise,” recalls Siobhan. “Mat had a beatenup old Land Rover at the time and we’d bung a blow-up MANOR | Early Autumn 2016

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PHOTO: EMMA LEWIS

Peacock Blue

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Mat and Siobhan

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Their skill and unique styling turned heads such that others in the area asked them to work on their own cottages and convert them into stylish homes.

Peacock Blue

mattress in the back and each weekend escape to the coast and countryside with the dog. We’d see derelict houses, ruins and talk in depth about how we’d renovate them, then we decided to do just that – sell up in the capital and head for one of the more remote spots in Cornwall – Cot Valley, near Land’s End – to buy an old farm that we could renovate and turn one of its outbuildings into a holiday cottage.”

They’d found their forte, and their skill and unique styling turned heads such that others in the area asked them to work on their own cottages and convert them into stylish homes. On occasion, the owners were looking to go travelling, so Mat and Siobhan would offer to manage the property as a holiday home, and their first business grew from there – renovating and managing property. “At one point,” recalls Siobhan, “we were managing 12 holiday cottages, then our first child came along and like so many new parents we chose to move closer to our own. After a couple of moves and renovating along the way – this was now clearly an obsession – we were drawn to the moor and found our perfect home in Ashburton, with an additional barn also ripe for renovation.”

And so, Peacock Blue, a property that ultimately showcased both Siobhan’s interior design skill and Mat’s Rust and The Wolf product range, was born. “It was so called because a peacock used to occupy it,” says Siobhan. “The children called it Peeky. It used to watch as work proceeded, became a friend of the family and effectively inspired much of the look of the interior – both the colour scheme and the decorative flourishes.

There is a lamp, the shade of which is created from peacock tail feathers. It’s interesting, because peacock feathers are considered unlucky by some. In our case, Peeky would shed them in the barn, as if they were a gift. It seemed fitting to make use of them, make them

integral to the design and name the barn after him.”

On moving to Ashburton, Siobhan formalized her interiors training by studying an Ivy House design course and then went to work for Woodford Architects’ interior design team. “Gavin and Sarah Woodford were such great people to work with. During my time at Woodford I learned new systems of drawing, and the latest in design software. We worked on some great projects together, but after a couple of years, Mat’s own business, after months in development, was ready to launch and I decided to go freelance to help him. It turned out that he didn’t get much help from me as planned, though, as interiors jobs kept beckoning. Then, through Peacock Blue, I was approached by Unique Home Stays to design for them.”

It had always been the Hayleses’ aspiration to let Peacock Blue through Unique Home Stays, as the company is known for its high quality, interesting properties. Unique Home Stays came to view the barn and liked it so much that they enquired about employing Siobhan’s skills. “I was immensely flattered but thought they were being polite rather than serious. A few months later, however, they got in touch again and I’ve been working on Unique Home Stays projects ever since in my own capacity as a freelancer, which is wonderful.”

The arrangement is such that there is no cut, but a clear mutual benefit: Unique Home Stays sends clients Siobhan’s way, because they know that she will deliver the style and standard of design they want on their books and that will ensure properties meet their full letting potential. For Siobhan, Unique Home Stays provides a stream of clients and a wide variety of properties to work on. “In some cases the jobs are merely as a consultant to owners or prospective owners looking to buy or renovate properties, and assessing the cost in doing so. In other cases, they are partial or full interior design jobs.

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“Right now I’m working on a lodge in Bodmin, a hexagonal gatehouse that we plan to do wonderful things to. Mat travels, frequently stateside, trawling fleamarkets to source some of the most incredible American antiques for a song, then shipping them home to repurpose and sell to those looking for furniture and lighting that’s unlike anything else you’ll see.” Rust and The Wolf ’s range features oil cans repurposed as floor lamps, console tables made from Crush soda crates, and footstools repurposed from Pepsi crates, the quirkiness of which lends itself not just to modern domestic interiors but also to restaurants and cafés looking to set themselves apart.

Each business is moving a pace. Rust and The Wolf, trading for just under a year, gets busier with pop-up shops planned in Bristol and London; Siobhan is embracing the wide variety of work that comes her way through Unique Home Stays and building her portfolio. “I’m loving being involved with projects that offer up a variety of design challenges, which I’ll occasionally turn to Mat on for creative input. For him, there’s nothing better than to see something he’s uncovered in a market and repurposed, on display and being used the way he intended it to be.” rustandthewolf.co.uk siobhanhayles.com uniquehomestays.com

Explore and enjoy!

The Kitchen Shop

Fashion & Beauty

Craft Centre

Devon Drinks

Fashion & Beauty • Glass Gallery Kitchen Shop • Toy Shop Home Accessories • The Food Shop Devon Drinks • Craft Centre Stationery • Tog 24 • Big-Fire Venus Café and Takeaway Clay Workshop • Cranks Café Leather Workshop • Re-Store

Open 7 days per week, the shops can be found just 2 miles from Totnes. Shinners Bridge, Dartington, Totnes, Devon, TQ9 6TQ. Tel: 01803 847500 | Online shop: shopsatdartington.co.uk

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Sofa Workshop was a pioneer in creating bespoke sofas and chairs for the British market.

Forty years on, its business model is still innovative, accessible and well-crafted.

Words by Fiona McGowan.

A

re you sitting comfortably? Then we’ll begin…

Buying a sofa is a bit like buying a car, only more emotional. So many factors have to be considered. There’s the practical side: will it fit in the room? Who will be using it and how often? There’s the aesthetic side: will it suit the room, the décor? Will the colour and the fabric convey the right vibe? Then there’s the emotional side: how will you feel when you sit on it? Do you want to sink and lounge, or do you prefer to sit more upright and drink tea and socialise?

And, of course, there’s that unspoken status thing: how do you want to come across to your visitors? Is the aesthetic more important than the comfort? Is a practical, wipeclean brown leather sofa better than a plush velvet Regency style in teal? Add to that all the other elements, such as usage – everyday hammering versus occasional spare-room use, bedroom or guest room – and you recognise it for the minefield it is. Plus, very few people buy a sofa for the short term; most good sofas come with at least a 10-year guarantee, and the majority of buyers keep their sofa for many years. It is part of the family.

Prior to the internet revolution, the choices were minimal. Shopping for a sofa involved either going into a furniture shop or buying second-hand. Bespoke, custommade sofas cost a small fortune (often more than a family car), or you had to choose from a catalogue of readymade styles. Into this rather staid marketplace stepped Sofa Workshop. Opening its doors in 1986, the business model was to provide bespoke sofas at reasonable prices.

Focusing on the high street, the stores were accessible, friendly and, most importantly, good value. Customers could choose from a range of styles, sizes, and fabrics – essentially customising their own sofas and chairs.

While this doesn’t seem exceptional in today’s world of

online purchases, where at a single click you can alter the colour and style of everything from a pair of high heels to a camper van, it was nothing short of thrilling in the mid-1980s. Leading the pack of ‘bespoke for the masses’ furniture sellers, founder Andrew Cousins’s vision was to use as many British-made components as possible, working with long-established manufacturers who were small-scale and flexible enough to create a handmade piece of furniture for each individual order.

Forty years later, and the ethos hasn’t changed. Sofa Workshop furniture is still customised, and it is still ardently part of the high street landscape. Incredibly, the internet hasn’t damaged the business. Marketing director Megan Holloway explains that buying a sofa, like buying a bed, is something that a huge proportion of the population still wants to get physically involved with. “Many customers still want to sit down and take their shoes off,” she says. And when people are making big decisions, they want to be treated well. All employees have thorough, brand-specific training to ensure that the level of service is exceptional. Using purely anecdotal evidence, I can certainly attest to this. Wandering into one of the few shopping-centre outlets, in London’s Westfield Stratford mall, I was determined simply to peruse the offerings to get a feel for the products.

Approached by Rihanna, the friendly salesperson, I ended up spending a happy 20 minutes testing sofa-beds for my spare room, looking through the array of mattfinish cards showing each style of sofa (there are more than 60 designs, says Megan Holloway, and over 3,500 different fabrics). With such a mind-boggling selection of options, having someone like Rihanna to guide me through is more than vital. She clearly loves her job and is the perfect personality to make a sale – all the while MANOR | Early Autumn 2016

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Founder Andrew Cousins’s vision was to use as many British-made components as possible, working with long-established manufacturers who were small-scale and flexible enough to create a handmade piece of furniture for each individual order.

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space managing to be more like a helpful friend than someone on a commission-led sales-pitch.

Rihanna’s style, according to Megan, is the embodiment of Sofa Workshop’s dedication to customer service. “We give our sales staff lots of training on the job,” she explains.

“They do courses at head office, and in their first six months we send store teams to the manufacturing workshops. They also go to different stores to meet store managers and learn from their experience. We expect our staff to treat everyone like their mum. They are trained to be kind and considerate – to understand that this purchase is very important.” This is just as well: having such an array of choices can be overwhelming without someone metaphorically holding your hand through the process.

Not only can you choose from the fabrics and styles on offer, you can alter the dimensions and shape of the sofa to your liking, whether that’s for a deeper base, a higher back or a lower armrest. You can even call the shots on the squidginess of the cushions.

Although it was bought out by sofa giant DFS in 2009, the Sofa Workshop brand has remained refreshingly undiluted. The sofas are still handmade to order in British workshops. The retail outlets are still holding steady in the high street, with just a few forays into higher-end shopping malls such as Westfield. A whopping 95% of the fabrics are made in the UK. And, while high streets all around the country are falling prey to online shopping and out-of-town retail parks, Sofa Workshop has opened six new shops and plans to open three more in Bristol, Exeter and Bath in the coming months. In a transient work market, staff turnover is low, too: many of the store managers have been in the job for years, if not decades, and many of the high-level management at Head Office have worked their way up from the shop floor.

“Although I’ve only been with the company for 11 months,” says Megan, “I am surrounded by people who have been in the company for years. Our chief executive, Paul Staden, has been with Sofa Workshop for 20 years, Sara Bojonowski, head of operations, has been here for 27 years, and Jamie Borman, head of creative, 15 years.”

Such loyalty, she says, is very important, making the working environment feel both honest and friendly.

With so many online purchasing options available to the buyer, as well as the plethora of high street brands, from DFS to Loaf, Habitat to IKEA, the sofa business is a pretty saturated marketplace. In this environment, Megan and the team are keen to up the ante with Sofa Workshop brand awareness through imaginative, locally focused marketing schemes, such as sponsoring a sofa at the Guildford Book Festival or offering a night on a sofa at an outdoor cinema event, to idiosyncratic, youthful advertising campaigns. In a crowded living space, it seems as though this brand is still sitting comfortably. . sofaworkshop.com

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Arts and crafts

Tom Dixon etch mini pendant light, Amara, £100

There’s a richness to this issue of MANOR, that we felt the need to reflect on the Shopping for Space spread. As nights draw in, our thoughts turn to dark wood, sumptuous velvets, open fires and William Morris.

John Lewis

Cushion, Marks & Spencer, £15

Cushion, Marks & Spencer

Pols Potton pineapple, Amara, £48

Wrong.London Lamp, Amara, £189

Sofa, John Lewis, £1,649

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Mirror, Marks and Spencer, £129

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Clock, Laura Ashley, £90 Antler light, Next, £125

Marks and Spencer

Cushion, John Lewis, £30

Plates, Marks and Spencer, £6 each

William Morris Collection Teapot, John Lewis, £75

William Morris Collection Teacup and saucer, John Lewis, £55

Armchair, John Lewis, £999

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Escape 48 hours in...the Scillies | Polo in the Cotswolds | The Airbnb phenomenon

Sunset on the Scilly Isles

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Boasting beaches to rival the Caribbean a mere 20 minutes from Land’s End, the Scillies are the perfect island escape. Words by Imogen Clements

St Mary’s

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escape

N

ow, I consider myself to be a rational being, not prone to hyperbole, bluster or exaggeration. But, wow, why has it taken me so long to discover the breathtaking Scilly Islands? Standing on The Garrison of St Mary’s, the biggest of the Scillies, and looking out to sea, I was blown away by how stunning this little archipelago of islands is. If we did nothing else, the view itself was worth the trip: white sandy-rimmed emerald jewels with sprinklings of Dartmoor-esque granite boulders, jutting through a turquoise sea. I was spellbound. It looked like the Caribbean but had taken us a mere 20 minutes to get here in a small 20-seater propeller plane from Land’s End. There is something uniquely seductive about islands. They trigger a Robinson Crusoe response in us to sail there, escape, explore, take up residence, secluded and at one with the elements. From my viewpoint, little fishing boats bobbed, anchored off shore; further out, sailing boats glided by, and beyond lay a gold-plated horizon that stretched into oblivion.

I stood and scanned the panorama, as so many had done before me. The Star Castle is set on St Mary’s Garrison.

It was built in 1593 during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, for the defence of the Isles of Scilly. From its location on the fortified Garrison Hill, it boasts the best views of the islands in every direction, and has seen many historic occasions: in 1643, it sheltered the then Prince of Wales from parliamentary forces; it later became the headquarters of the most famous Royalist Privateer, Sir John Grenville, until it was stormed and captured by Admiral Blake. It was the last stronghold of the Cavaliers; and some of the most notorious prisoners were incarcerated within the castle’s dungeons. The Star Castle was officially opened as a hotel

St Mary’s

in 1933 by the Prince of Wales at the time, who was later to become King Edward VIII. The castle has eight rooms with a further three guardhouse rooms situated in the ramparts.

On the grounds, however, there are an additional 27 rooms, incorporating singles, doubles and suites lining the garden.

These are all ground level, adjacent to one another and from the outset reminiscent of an LA motel block, but don’t be deceived – attractive, well sized and very comfortable, the suites come complete with a lounge area boasting French windows leading out onto a terrace on which to sup sundowners and drink in the hypnotic view.

Installed in one of the Garden Rooms, we changed and went to explore St Mary’s –the best way to do so being by pushbike. There is very little in the way of traffic (there are no cars at all on most of the islands); St Mary’s is small enough to circumnavigate within an hour if you weren’t compelled to stop so often to admire the scenery.

But, mainly, cycling allows you to enjoy the peace and tranquillity that the island offers. We pedalled from St Mary’s cycle hire, behind Porthmellon Beach in Hugh Town, up past the Telegraph Tower, then took a footpath down to the water’s edge at Toll’s Porth. The sand is white and as fine as caster sugar. It looked and felt like the South Pacific, which made the crystal-clear water lapping gently at the shore particularly inviting. “Bloody freezing, though,” warned the bike hire guy. That, he said, was the only drawback that he could think of, living on the Scillies – the temperature of the sea. We dipped a toe in. Icy-cold.

No sea-swimming for us without a wetsuit. We cycled on and came across the Innisidgen Tombs, dating back to the Bronze Age (around 2500–750 BC). A number of Neolithic MANOR | Early Autumn 2016

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PHOTO: CHARMAINE GRIEGER

Holy Vale Vineyard

and Bronze Age tombs can be discovered exploring St Mary’s. I knew it – the place had a spiritual aura to it. It wasn’t just the view, it was the heritage – the land and sea as constant elements, while we mortals trod in the footsteps of our ancestors, appreciating the same aspects that so many had before. Although in those days, sea levels would have been lower and islands joined not just at low tide, but as larger masses of land, now eroded and split.

On we cycled along coastal paths, through sparse sleepy hamlets, where at every corner there was an honesty box selling all manner of things, edible or otherwise. The island’s inhabitants (approximately 1,500 on St Mary’s) were not rich – houses were practical, not showy – but they were resourceful, and happy. It was palpable that this was not an island that harboured agro or bitterness, proven by our bike hire man, who rents out his bikes without locks. “What if they get stolen?” was our immediate exLondon cyclist response. “They don’t,” he replied, “except by the odd individual heading home drunk of an evening.

I’ll get a call the next morning saying where it is and I’ll go and pick it up.” He shrugs.

We had dinner that night in the Star Castle Hotel’s Conservatory Restaurant (specializing in fish), beneath vines heavy with grapes. One massive vine from a single branch entered the Conservatory from the coastal side and covered the entire ceiling, carefully trained above our heads. The restaurant seated around 60 and was busy.

The food at the Star Castle Hotel was impressive and very well served. This was a four-star hotel that clearly boasted a connoisseur at its helm. Although fresh lobster was on the menu, we started with grilled lemon sole, baby gem lettuce, spring onions, confit lemon and sole goujons, the presentation of which was beautiful, then followed it with sea bass fillet, samphire and crayfish tail with parsnip purée and fondant potatoes. The wines were very well selected to complement the food. A great deal of thought is given to 130

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The Star Castle Hotel’s Conservatory Restaurant

the dining experience at The Star Castle Hotel.

The next day we visited Tresco – well known as the ‘wealthier’ Scilly. It has been privately leased from the Duchy by the Dorrien-Smith family for generations dating back to 1834, when Augustus Smith became Lord Proprietor of the Scillies and made Tresco his home.

The family now effectively run it as an upscale timeshare island, managing around 96 cottages. The island’s inhabitants number less than 200.

Tresco is well put together – very much a luxury resort with cottages and purpose-built beach holiday homes plus various modern, well-maintained complexes complete with leisure and spa areas for kids and mums. There are good, stylish restaurants, such as the neat and well-positioned Ruin Beach Café, with its Italian fare and wood-fired oven.

This was an island where you could rely on a certain degree of quality in every aspect. It reminded me a little of the salubrious side of West Hampstead, on sea.

The day we visited saw Tresco’s annual triathlon – a big affair that had people of all ages racing around the island.

The only pub on Tresco – the New Inn – drew hundreds; from stalls erected in its beer garden, it dished out very good burgers and even tastier bowls of steaming moules with doorstep chunks of wholemeal bread. A band played. The Dorrien-Smiths of Tresco, I’m told, are very ingrained in the community and involved in all community events, even after all these years. It is clear they are invested in the island and know how to throw a party.

We took the 30-minute boat back to the somewhat more humble shores of St Mary’s and ate in the Castle Restaurant – specializing in meat – at the Star Hotel. It’s a cosy dining room (which apparently had been the officer’s mess back in Drake’s time) with an immense fireplace. Full again, serving around 40 covers, the food and wine (this time we had roast rack of pork with crackling with chive pomme purée, crushed root vegetables and caramelized apple, followed by

coffee espresso crème brûlée) was very good indeed.

On the final day of our Scillies jaunt, we were to visit the island’s vineyard, Holy Vale. On another beautifully sunny day, we chose to cycle there and were rewarded with a crisp, chilled glass of Chardonnay by the vineyard’s proprietor, Robert Francis, who, it happens, also owns the Star Castle Hotel… aha, the mystery connoisseur! Warm and full of joie de vivre, he recounted how he’d acquired the hotel by chance. Having spent his career working in the hotel trade, his first hotel on St Martyn’s didn’t survive the recession of the early 2000s, but in the business he’d become acquainted with the Star Castle’s owner. After he’d spent a time running hotels in Cornwall, she asked him to help out with the running of the Star Castle, since she had become ill and needed the assistance. When it became clear she wasn’t going to survive (she died in her early 50s), she sold the hotel to Robert, who built it up to such an extent that it allowed him to indulge his first love, wine. Specifically, Pinot Noir. In 2009 he acquired several plots on St Mary’s, planted 7,000 vines (60% Pinot Noir, 30% Chardonnay and 10% Pinot Gris), and made it his goal to produce a high-quality Pinot Noir from his own vines. He had his first harvest in 2013 and the wine was very pleasant indeed, particularly when accompanying lobster, caught fresh that morning. Catching lobster is Robert’s first job of the day.

“I’ve been coming here since I was a small boy and know where to go to find them,” he tells us with a glint in his eye.

So, sitting on the veranda under a cloudless sky, looking out over Robert’s verdant sun-soaked vineyard that was just beginning to flower, we enjoyed fresh lobster with new potatoes and salad accompanied first by Holy Vale Chardonnay (crisper and drier than your usual Chardonnay) and then by a chilled, young – but equally drinkable – Pinot Noir. A memorable meal served up by a highly inspirational individual who’d been through ups and downs but was now living his dream – presiding over a successful hotel and his own blossoming vineyard, nipping out each morning to catch lobster with which to delight visitors and guests. Robert Francis was extremely good company, and, I’m told by the hotel staff, great to work for. A fitting endorsement of Scilly life.

The hotel took us back to St Mary’s airport, where we caught an even smaller 10-seater plane to Land’s End, and headed back home to Devon. We drove the A30 east, which we’d driven so many times before following a day at the beach. The journey was as soporific as ever, but this time felt like the return from a true holiday, one on which you lose all concept of time. We’d made a discovery that’s so near, yet a world apart. The UK’s best-kept secret: The Isles of Scilly – a hidden island paradise.

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Immerse yourself in the world of polo with an experience weekend in the Cotswold town of Cirencester. Words by Imogen Clements

P

olo – the horseback rather than the water variety – has always looked like great fun to me.

Pretty ponies tearing back and forth while their riders whack a small ball to one another. As it combines two of my favourite things – croquet, which I like to think I’m rather good at, and horseriding, ditto – I’ve always wanted to give it a go. I mean, how hard can it be?

So it was, with nonchalant arrogance, that I trotted off to Cirencester dressed in jodhpurs and armed with smarter gear for the after party. Cirencester, I hadn’t realized, is a polo hotbed, with a number of sizeable grounds and numerous polo stables. One such ground,

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Cirencester Polo Park, is the oldest polo club in the UK, founded in 1896, and it has teamed up with the King’s Head Hotel in the town to offer a ‘polo immersion’ day.

This comprises three hours’ trying your hand at the sport at Cirencester Park’s renowned Polo Academy, then an afternoon in more traditional polo mode – supping Champagne and nibbling canapés under luxury marquee cover while watching the experts at work. Something I was equally keen to try.

The experience is open to anyone, whatever your riding ability, and the quality of polo you get to spectate is of the very top class. Cirencester Park is chaired by Mark Combe, who played himself for many years.

escape

Controlling a mallet this long, hitting the ball in the direction you wish it to go, while not hitting the horse, is no mean feat.

Royalty are a regular fixture at the ground. “William and Harry play here frequently,” Mark tells me. “In fact, they’re here next weekend. It was here also, and I happened to be playing in the match, when Prince Charles fell off and swallowed his tongue.” This was the charity match, in which Prince Charles was playing with both sons, that rendered him hospitalized fleetingly.

Confirmed: polo looks, and is, a dangerous game, as much for the horses, in amongst all those flying mallets, as for the riders. We’re told at the very beginning of our lesson by the Academy Manager, Martin Ffrench Blake, that the pony is the number one priority, followed by the groom, followed by the rider. On no account hit your pony with your mallet.

Thankfully, we started with feet firmly on the ground, no pony in range, and were handed a stick – the polo mallet – which resembles a lighter croquet mallet, but with a narrower head, one end of which is tapered.

You hold the stick as you would shake someone’s hand, always in your right hand. Everyone drives on the right in polo – there is no left-handed polo.

I hit the ball. Mistake number one: just because a polo stick resembles a croquet mallet, don’t assume to hit the ball with the narrow end as if you’re playing croquet.

Hit it with the long flat side, and swing through: swing your arm behind you and use the natural momentum of the swing to power the ball, finishing so the mallet ends parallel with the ground, and the pony, turning the head as you do so it’s vertical, thereby avoiding the horse.

Having practiced walking, swinging and, very

PHOTO: AFTAB, FRESH & FEARLESS

PHOTO: AFTAB, FRESH & FEARLESS

Practising on a wooden mount

King’s Head high tea

occasionally, hitting the ball with short sticks, we then mounted wooden horses and were handed full length polo sticks. These measure around 50 inches. Controlling a mallet this long, hitting the ball in the direction you wish it to go, while not hitting the horse, is no mean feat. We got in some target practice, let rip with our swing, for the most part failed to get anywhere near goal and then went off to find real equine flesh and blood.

Polo ponies are quite beautiful. Not too big (their average height is 15 hands), fit, agile and fast. Today, many polo pony bloodlines originate from Argentina, where back in the 1930s Thoroughbreds were bred with native Criollo horses. Criollo horses were used to herd cattle and prized for their ability to stop and turn quickly.

Reaching speeds of up to 40mph in a chukka, polo ponies need to be fast, yet agile, responsive and smart.

Mine was a beautiful chestnut. We got on, adjusted our stirrups and went for a ride, during which we realized quite how responsive polo ponies are. Riding with left hand only they would turn on a sixpence through neck reining alone – think cowboy or Spanish-style riding, where instead of steering by pulling at the horse’s mouth with one or the other rein (impossible to do one handed), you turn simply by moving the reins back and forth across the pony’s neck and lean into the turn. To reverse – polo ponies are good at reversing – squeeze with lower legs and pull back on both reins. After a while, riding polo-style came naturally, really because the ponies are so well trained. They almost anticipate what you’re going to do before you do it.

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A great way to spend a weekend – polo needn’t be purely for the Veuve Clicquot set. Anyone can have a go.

The King’s Head

From here we went onto the field and ‘competed’.

Or, at least, aimed to be the first to get from one end of the pitch to the other and score a goal, each with our own balls. There was a lot of missing, turning the poor pony around or going backwards to retrieve missed balls.

I’d like to say we did so at breakneck speed but there wasn’t much breaking into a trot. Even at that speed one of us fell off, and by the time we’d reached the other end of the pitch, our session, alas, was over. The other group taking a lesson, a hen party, were annoyingly better than us – they proceeded to the next stage, where all vied for the same ball and tried to score a goal. There was cantering amongst that group.

We changed into somewhat smarter (but casual) gear and went to observe how it should be done. The day of our Polo Experience happened to coincide with The King’s Head International Polo Ladies’ Match: Great Britain v Argentina, which brought together the best female polo players in the world, including the British rider, Tamara Fox. Watching them and the men’s match, The Bledisloe Warwickshire Cup (which is one of the oldest and most important annual polo tournaments in the polo calendar), I realized that one still had much to learn. The speed with which players move around the ground, the force and accuracy with which that little white ball is hit, and then there’s the vying for position – like something reminiscent of Ben-Hur, polo ponies are ridden at full pelt up alongside a rival player to drive them off course and win possession of the ball.

How they control ball and horse at a gallop while not whacking animal or rider perplexed me as I supped cocktails, nibbled canapés and then devoured a delicious Champagne high tea provided by the King’s Head, which, as tradition dictates, is the best accompaniment to 134

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The spa at the King’s Head

an afternoon’s polo-spectating.

After the matches we headed to The King’s Head, a boutique townhouse hotel in the heart of the rather chi-chi Cotswold town of Cirencester. The rooms are just what you need after a day of polo – spacious, well equipped and sumptuous. After retiring to our respective rooms and, in my case, soaking in a hot bath, our little group of polo amateurs gathered for a cocktail aperitif followed by a three-course dinner at the hotel. The next day, after a lavish breakfast, we enjoyed a full body massage to ease stiff muscles in the hotel’s vaulted spa, before experiencing the very good retail therapy offered by Chichester’s stylish and, for the most part, independent shops.

In all, a great way to spend a weekend. Polo needn’t be purely for the Veuve Clicquot set. Anyone can have a go. I, for one, have the bug. As lovely as the Champagne and canapés are, I shall no longer be content with just watching. Chukka, anyone?

The Polo Package at The King’s Head, Cirencester comprises: • Welcome briefing with tea, coffee and biscuits at Cirencester Polo Academy • Three hours of polo instruction with all horse and equipment hire • VIP tickets to access the members’ clubhouse and grandstand to watch the professional polo games in the afternoon • Overnight accommodation at The King’s Head in the heart of Cirencester with a full Cotswold breakfast the next morning • It is priced at £240 (£140 B&B with polo £100pp for a lesson) with additional guests £100. Please quote ‘Polo Mint’ on booking. Valid for Sunday nights only kingshead-hotel.co.uk cirencesterpolo.co.uk

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Share economy enterprises such as Airbnb are transforming the way we holiday – and for homeowners in the South West particularly, it can mean a handy source of extra income.

Words by Charlotte Dear.

I

n just five years, the share economy has become a formidable force. Thanks to the likes of Gumtree, eBay, Uber, Airbnb and Crowdcube, we can now buy, sell, jump in a taxi, travel the world and even fund one another’s businesses without the middle man. This peer-to-peer sharing of human, physical and intellectual resources is most commonly found in large cities, where once upon a time colossal corporations used to rule the roost in their individual sectors. Looking outside of the cities, however, and more specifically to the South West, it is the holiday market that has been utterly transformed in recent years. In a region where many people’s primary residences would make great holiday stays, with the help of this peer economy – and, in

Sparrow House, Cornwall

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particular, Airbnb – we can now earn a second-home income from our primary residence.

Set up by Brian Chesky and Joe Gebbia in 2008, Airbnb has changed the way we see our own space.

Struggling to pay the rent for their San Francisco loft, the two roommates decided to turn their living room into a bed and breakfast, complete with air mattresses and homemade pancakes. After setting up a simple website, they launched their new business, then called Airbed & Breakfast, to coincide with the hotel room shortage around the Democratic National Convention.

After several fundraising efforts, which included selling customised cereal boxes in support of Obama or McCain, by summer 2009 the then trio (with the

escape addition of Nathan Blecharczyk as third co-founder) decided to introduce a booking fee to cover their costs, a move that allowed them to staff up rapidly. With the help of a professional photography service for customers’ apartments, social media, a mobile app, celebrity endorsement and a timely London Olympic Games, there was no stopping these sharing tycoons.

This simple yet lucrative initiative is now a global phenomenon, with some two million listings spanning 34,000 cities and 191 countries. The choice of accommodation on offer has also escalated from a box room in someone’s inner-city studio flat to a multitude of weird and wonderful boltholes, which include castles, boats, yurts and treehouses.

The business model is simple: Airbnb takes a 3-5% cut for every booking from the host, and a 6-12% cut from the guests. The process is made as safe and reliable as possible for both parties. “We have a two-way review system, whereby the host and guest review each other after every booking,” says Venetia Scott-Dalgleish, Airbnb’s UK Market Manager. “This creates a real sense of accountability – if you provide a below-par experience, then you’ll be reviewed poorly and reduce your chances of getting booked again. It’s a sort of selfregulating system.”

According to a report on the site itself, 80% of Airbnb’s hosts are renting out rooms and spaces in their primary residences, so this profitable scheme isn’t exclusive to second-home owners. The same report states that 42% of Airbnb hosts work in creative careers, as freelancers or in part-time work, so it is safe to assume that online house-swap services offer the opportunity to pursue our career dreams and supplement desired lifestyles. The typical Airbnb host earns £2,822 per year, renting for just 33 nights – a tidy sum that allows our holidays to pay for themselves while we’re away.

Short-term renting and house swapping also have a direct impact on the local economy. With 85% of Airbnb guests stating they want to ‘live like locals’ during their stay, these unconventional tourists are searching for accommodation off the beaten track, heading for sleepy villages and small towns away from fellow holidaymakers. According to the site, the average Airbnb guest will stay 4.6 nights in their rental home, which exceeds the 3.1 night average of hotels, meaning visitors are staying longer, spending more money in the community by supporting small businesses like cafés, village shops and rural pubs.

So what does all this mean for the property market and the way we are now viewing potential homes in the South West? Prunella Martin of Marchand Petit explains: “Some 48% of our buyers in 2015 were from London and the Home Counties, and a lot of these people would like their property to facilitate an extra income stream – something they can either turn into a bed and breakfast or an annexe for holiday lets. With the pull

Airbnb is now a global phenomenon, with some two million listings spanning 34,000 cities and 191 countries

Mexico

Blue Mountains, Australia

Paris

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Our demand in Cornwall and Devon is staggering – it is the hotspot outside of urban areas

Converted railway carriage, Cornwall

The Rancho at Cielo Vanilla, Atenas

Italy

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of Dartmouth and Salcombe so close, more and more visitors are now looking to nearby villages, favouring the intimacy of not staying in a big hotel and discovering areas that not many people know about.”

So, from the point of view of the host, and in particular the working middle classes who are striving to live the rural dream while flipping back to the capital for meetings, having the option of hosting guests who are looking to ‘live like locals’ is a real game changer.

Christopher Bailey of Knight Frank elaborates: “People looking to move to the South West ask themselves, ‘How am I going to fund the lifestyle I’m used to beyond the commuter belt, where incomes are much lower?’ So the trick to moving to the West Country is to generate additional revenue streams beyond the core salary. One of the obvious means in this region is from property.

Airbnb has enabled people to generate an income from the beautiful Westcountry home they buy for themselves and provide a further motive to move west.”

Venetia Scott-Dalgleish concurs that the South West is an Airbnb goldmine: “Our demand in Cornwall and Devon is staggering. We have many guests wanting to book and not enough places to put them. It is the hotspot outside of urban areas and it’s crucial to us that we build our host community in these areas, as demand shows no sign of abating. In a nutshell, hosts are in a strong position in the South West!”

The share economy opens up many opportunities that didn’t exist before. Opportunities to stay in houses and places you’d never normally find on the holiday-home circuit, and – more importantly – a means of funding your own holiday. Why leave your home empty when it can be earning a tidy sum for you (and effectively be house-sat) while you’re away?

OTHER WAYS TO SHARE...

Amy Hassell (left) used the exchange site Love Home Swap for her family holiday to Spain. A variation on Airbnb, Love Home Swap organises holiday exchanges for two parties; once a user has found a home they like the look of in their chosen destination, they can message the owners and suggest a swap. The swap can either take place at the same time, or on different dates, depending on the hosts’ availability. With no exchange of money to the other party, Amy paid her £250 yearly membership fee and traded her Dartmoor house for a villa in southern Spain. “After hearing about the idea from a friend, I searched ‘house swaps’ online and this was top of this list.

It was a great excuse to do all the jobs we’d been putting off for years – repainting the kitchen, resealing the bathroom, putting up the pictures that had been laying in boxes in the loft for ages.” Before the swap, Amy was able to email the other party and exchange information and advice about her house and the local area, and vice versa. “The key is to be completely honest and even downplay your house; come clean about the less desirable parts of your home so that they know what to expect, and give as much detail as possible.

We found that staying in somebody else’s home was more stressful than letting out our own – as soon as we arrived we swiftly moved their lovely lamps and earthenware crockery before the kids could smash them!” Following such a positive experience of the service, this year Amy has decided to let out her house through Airbnb for three weeks in summer to help fund a family holiday to Costa Rica.

London-based start-up One Fine Stay takes the concept one step further by transforming high-end city pads into luxury cosmopolitan retreats. Launched in 2010, the sharing service takes all of the preparations, hospitality and customer service issues into its own hands, ensuring the host need not worry about a thing before, during and after the rental. According to the site, it dismisses 90% of applicants, accepting no less than the crème de la crème of apartments and owners. Lisa Willmott (pictured) rented out her five-bedroom Queen’s Park house while she and her family spent the summer in Italy two years ago. “I found a flier on my doorstep from the company, letting me know that the previous owners had used the service, so I thought I’d try it out for myself.

Before the trip, a team of stylists and photographers spent the best part of a day rearranging my furniture, de-cluttering the house and adding The White Company bed linen and finishing touches. My valuables and belongings were packed away into one room, which remained locked throughout the duration, turning my home into a clean, chic and hotel-like apartment. They ask you how much you’d ideally like to make a night, and then mark it up slightly. I was made to feel extremely comfortable about leaving my home in the hands of strangers; it was completely stress- and worry-free. When I returned, my house had been restored to exactly how I’d left it – if a little cleaner – so I really didn’t have to lift a finger.”

Flights to over 30 destinations this summer for business or pleasure

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exeter-airport.co.uk MANOR | Early Autumn 2016

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MANOR | Early Autumn 2016

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For teachers and parents of children studying in the South West

THE YEARBOOK HEADTEACHERS

As the School Year commences we thought it pertinent to meet the Heads of some of the most prominent schools across the South West. Some of these Heads have been in their posts for several years but many have taken up Head posts recently in their schools, so this is a chance to get to know them. We have, in true American High School style, referred to this section as The Yearbook, and hope to reveal in their mini-profiles not just the Head’s educational philosophy and priorities but also their more ‘human’ side, in asking them what they like to do in their spare time.

After all, Heads are people too!

What do you like doing in your spare time?

Sarah Dunn

THE MAYNARD SCHOOL, EXETER, DEVON

I am a keen road cyclist and rower. I really enjoyed cycling the 1020 miles from Land’s End to John O’Groats in 2013 whilst raising £12,000 for charity. Another highlight of my life was winning a gold and silver medal at the World Coastal Rowing Championships a few years ago. I just love the serenity of being out on the water, sculling the estuaries of Devon and Cornwall and seeing our spectacular wildlife.

Previous positions of note

I read Biological Sciences at Exeter University followed by a PGCE in science at Oxford University.

I then started my teaching career in 1986 at Torquay Boys’ Grammar School and went on to become the Deputy Head at Plymouth College in 1995.

Speciality

I am a Biology teacher to A-level and International Baccalaureate standard but I’m also a qualified Outdoor Education instructor in climbing and mountaineering.

Educational philosophy

Both students and staff should be given every opportunity to stretch themselves and be experimental in order to reach their full potential. Happy, creative and encouraged staff produce inspired pupils with a lifelong passion for learning.

Tell us something interesting/unusual about yourself that we don’t know

I grew up in the Bahamas and attended a really progressive International School until the age of 16. We had no TV (and of course no computers or mobile phones in those days) so my free time was spent in bare feet with sand between my toes, climbing trees, dinghy sailing, riding my chopper bike and swimming with dolphins.

Not a bad childhood!

Number of children you preside over 400

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THE MANOR SCHOOL YEARBOOK

Phillip Stapleton

WEST BUCKLAND SCHOOL, NORTH DEVON Previous positions of note Deputy Headmaster, Ardingly College, Sussex; Housemaster, Charterhouse, Surrey; Chemistry teacher, Stonyhurst College, Lancashire.

Speciality Chemistry, Games, CCF. Educational philosophy I believe in the transformative power of education, and that it is not so much what a student might get from it but what they become by it that matters most.

I relish the opportunity to offer innovative education which is all-round, all-through and all-inclusive, firmly built on the journey of the individual. I believe in learning that happens both in and outside of the classroom; that sport, music, the arts, adventure and service are integral to what a good school should offer its pupils.

There needs to be an emphasis on the importance of developing Christian values and to resist the temptation to play safe or go with the flow. I would be proud of pupils who dare to blaze new trails, have respect for others, be ambitious with a clear sense of purpose, hold a balanced view of life and possess the confidence to challenge and take risks.

What do you like doing in your spare time?

I enjoy spending my spare time thinking, often while out running, and being outplayed by my three young children at hockey and chess. I love playing the double bass at home, in an orchestra and jazz band, and also singing – although this is mostly confined to hymns in church these days. I try to take on one new challenge every year, usually an endurance event. Last (but by no means least!), I enjoy being with my wife Jules.

Tell us something interesting/unusual about yourself that we don’t know I realised in my 30s that I was not cut out for speed and now love long-distance running (my longest single run so far is 145 miles). This has enabled me to raise considerable sums for children’s charities by completing various endurance events, including the Everest Marathon, Marathon des Sables and North Pole Marathon.

Number of children you preside over 600

Mark Semmence

MOUNT KELLY, TAVISTOCK, DEVON Previous positions of note Following Durham University, I taught at Ludgrove Prep School before spending 10 years in the international sports marketing world, living and working in London, New York and Dubai. I returned to education, and following a PGCE started teaching at Rugby School, where I began as an economics teacher and progressed to be the Assistant Headmaster.

Speciality Economics.

Educational philosophy We have high expectations and this encourages our pupils to believe in themselves, to be inquisitive, to be resilient and to show ambition both in and out of the classroom. Respect for tradition and an openness to innovation are valued and we encourage our pupils to work with and learn from each other, 142

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while also showing moral courage to stand up for what they believe. We strive to challenge and develop all those who come to Mount Kelly, stretching the most able while supporting those who occasionally need a helping hand.

What do you like doing in your spare time?

I am interested in all sports, but cricket has always been a particular passion of mine. I played for England Schools U19s and Durham University and continue to play. Other spare moments centre on my family, and when they get the chance my wife and two young daughters (both of whom are at Mount Kelly) love to explore the beaches and moors of Devon.

Tell us something interesting/unusual about yourself that we don’t know A lot of cricket is played in Argentina! I spent a winter as a coach for the Argentine Cricket Association.

Number of children you preside over 600

THE MANOR SCHOOL YEARBOOK

Lawrence Coen

TRINITY SCHOOL, TEIGNMOUTH, DEVON Previous positions of note Senior Deputy Head, Trinity School; Senior Tutor Pastoral, Trinity School.

Speciality Science, specialising in Biology from KS3 to A Level. Also, P.E. from KS3 to A Level. Coach of rugby and swimming.

Educational philosophy My experiences from school and professional life form the basis of my belief that young people need to be regularly challenged and encouraged to have an open mind so that they can improve and make a more positive contribution to society. While failure is never the objective, it offers a unique opportunity to learn, provided that there is a network of support to enable the pupil to move forward stronger and more confident.

The educational needs of students in the 21st century extend

beyond memorising facts to facing challenges, dealing with ‘obstacles’, innovation and effective contribution to a team.

Creating a school where a few at the top succeed is relatively straightforward, but the real challenge is to push through the entire cohort who all achieve at or above their expected level as well as leaving with attributes that enable them to be determined, optimistic and emotionally intelligent.

What do you like doing in your spare time?

I coach at the local rugby club and am heavily involved with the Surf Lifesaving Club, from being on the committee to coaching on the beach and competing myself. I swim regularly in the sea and enjoy spending time in the outdoors with my wife and three children.

Tell us something interesting/unusual about yourself that we don’t know The three months I spent in Belize, in Central America, with Raleigh International (a youth-development charity) at the age of 25 helped confirm that inspiring and developing young people was what motivated me and where my skills were best suited.

Number of children you preside over 450

Nicola Huggett

BLUNDELL’S SCHOOL, TIVERTON, DEVON Previous positions of note Housemistress and Head of Boarding at Haileybury College, Hertfordshire; Deputy Headmistress at Downe House, near Newbury.

Speciality Politics and History.

Educational philosophy I prioritise effort over everything else. You can be what you want to be if you try hard enough and work with others. I am most proud of my pupils for their politeness, generosity and enthusiasm for all that they do.

What do you like doing in your spare time?

What I like doing in my spare time and what my four children like doing doesn’t always match up, so of course we

usually do the latter. But I love riding, running and reading most of all I think.

Tell us something interesting/ unusual about yourself that we don’t know My brother is Tom Chambers, who won Strictly Come Dancing in 2008. Being the big sister of a celebrity for four months gave me lots of credibility at school for a bit!

Number of children you preside over 820

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THE MANOR SCHOOL YEARBOOK

Charlotte Johnston

ST PETER’S PREP SCHOOL, LYMPSTONE, DEVON Previous positions of note I achieved a double first from Birmingham University before joining the consultancy team at PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PwC), and being deployed in America, Europe and the UK. I worked at St Michael’s in St Albans and then Edge Grove. I was promoted to Head of English, Head of Computing, Director of Studies and later Deputy Head. I am an ISI inspector, and have recently completed a Master’s in Educational Leadership. I specialised in Women in Leadership and the roll-out of one-to-one digital technology in the classroom.

Speciality English and Digital Technology.

Educational philosophy It is my conviction that a traditional prep school with an innovative, forward-thinking ethos is the best educational start for any child. Here, there is provision to explore a huge range of activities and opportunities: to excel academically and

Glenn Moodie

TRURO HIGH SCHOOL, CORNWALL Previous positions of note Director of Studies at Wycombe Abbey School – an all girls’ boarding school, often top of the national league tables at GCSE and A Level. Before that I worked at Uppingham School and Clifton College.

Speciality Classics – Greek and Latin – and more recently History of Art. Educational philosophy That in a girls’ school, girls really believe they can do anything and everything – and that’s got to be good for everyone in society. Our girls know they can be fashion designers or motorsport engineers, or both!

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pastorally in small class sizes; to make the most of wonderful grounds and facilities; to play team sports under outstanding coaches at a high level; to achieve a wide variety of scholarships in Art, Music, Sport and Drama. Parents who are relocating to the West Country in order to provide a quality of life not available in more built-up areas still want the best for their children post-13. St Peter’s provides the perfect foundation.

Not only is it an idyllic setting in which pupils enjoy their earlier years near coast and moorland, it also offers, through its unique Baccalaureate, unrivalled opportunities for leadership.

Consequently, St Peter’s children face the future as confident, articulate, resilient individuals as they go on to the country’s top Senior Schools, both boarding and day.

What do you like doing in your spare time?

I enjoy spending time with my family in the countryside, walking the dog on the moor or beach and exploring the coast at the weekend. I also play tennis, ski and practise yoga.

Sometimes I surf!

Tell us something interesting/unusual about yourself that we don’t know Although from Hertfordshire, we have spent all our holidays in the South West from when I was a child. In fact we were married at Padstow Church.

Number of children you preside over: 300

What do you like doing in your spare time?

I’ve been in Cornwall for two years and I’ve started to get into the Cornish way of life. I have quite a big garden, which I spend a lot of time in – not just gardening but also barbecuing! As a family we make use of what the county has to offer – bike riding, bodyboarding, etc. I enjoy reading in my spare time, which is usually only in the holidays. I’m a big fan of cricket and rugby; although, being from New Zealand, I’m usually supporting the wrong team.

Tell us something interesting/unusual about yourself that we don’t know I’ve an MA and a PhD in Classics and at both levels I focused on the works of Euripides and Sophocles – Greek tragic playwrights writing about 2,500 years ago. During both my master’s and my doctorate I taught and tutored on various university courses both at the University of Otago in New Zealand and at Bristol University. I have brought this love of Greek drama to my work in schools. At both Clifton and Uppingham, I translated, directed and produced a number of productions of Greek and Roman tragedies and comedies – and occasionally ended up with a bit part in them as well.

Number of children you preside over Just over 300

THE MANOR SCHOOL YEARBOOK

Mike Burgess

ST JOHN’S SCHOOL, SIDMOUTH, DEVON Previous positions of note Director of Inclusion, Sidmouth College.

Speciality Business.

Educational philosophy Curiously, for a teacher, I have to admit that the majority of what I have learnt in life did not come from the classroom or lecture hall – apologies to any former teachers and tutors who may take issue.! Indeed, the distinction between what I have been taught as opposed to what I have learnt becomes more apparent with age and brings sharply into focus what is actually important within our educational philosophy. What is education for? Who is doing what to whom and, crucially, why?

My personal philosophy is one that I unashamedly borrow from people far more erudite than myself. When it became apparent that I would never represent my country at either football or rugby – not that I’m making myself unavailable, even at this late stage, Messrs Allardyce and Jones – I experimented

with various alternative sports which might have filled the void created by my retiring from team contact sport. The discipline that caught my attention, and then absorbed countless hours thereafter, was Taekwondo.

Taekwondo is based on five essential tenets and it is these that I believe have the closest resonance to my own view as to what should constitute an educational philosophy: courtesy; integrity; perseverance; self-control; and indomitable spirit.

If I can inculcate students for whom I have responsibility with a sense of these values, then I will have succeeded in preparing them for a world of joyous and life-long learning. I will have taught them to learn, to fulfil their potential and to take responsibility for their lives, their futures and the world in which they are going to live. The rest they can pick up on Google!

What do you like doing in your spare time?

Property development.

Tell us something interesting/unusual about yourself that we don’t know The most interesting things aren’t stuff I can write about here!

How about this: as a single parent I moved to Southwest France for three years with three young children and renovated a massive old farmhouse (no roof, power or water). None of the family spoke French on arrival and we all lived in the house throughout, despite its dilapidated condition!

Number of children you preside over 200

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school

First steps into a wider world

The emotional wellbeing of their children at school is every parent’s number one priority. In this new three-part series, Professor Ruth Merttens provides advice on some of the key issues affecting children’s happiness, beginning at the beginning – starting school.

W

hen your four-year-old first sets off on their school career, many parents experience the ‘marmite effect’: children of that age either love school or hate it. The reasons often have little to do with the school, and a lot more to do with the child themselves. Neither is it a good predictor for whether the child will eventually enjoy school immensely, and if their school career will be successful. A small boy who screams every day for a month as he starts in Reception may nonetheless turn out to make a friend, love his teacher and thoroughly enjoy the next seven years at primary school, transforming from the protesting little monster into a happy and enthusiastic participant who works hard and is one of the stars of the ‘leaving performance’ in Year 6!

Some four-year-olds are naturally sociable. Their basic view is that any company is better than no company. They love having friends to play with and are not that good at playing on their own. Boredom is an ever-present threat for them, while other children of the same age are perfectly happy with their own toys and their own company. They like nothing better than a long day playing on their own, and regard interruptions to this happy nirvana as both unnecessary and annoying.

School, of course, comes as a horrible disruption to their contented lifestyle. They protest with every fibre of their being, and nothing makes them feel any happier about the situation.

Neither of these reactions – sociable, or content in their own company – has anything to do with the school itself, and both are unlikely to last more than a few weeks. For the sociable child, the honeymoon period will inevitably wear off slightly, as they realise that some things – yes, work! – are demanded of them too, and that not everyone likes or supports them being the centre of

attention at all times. The home-alone child discovers other – similar – individuals, and realises that some of the activities at school actually relate to those passions and pastimes they have at home. So both, in their own ways, come round to the idea that school is nice but not perfect; dull at times but not dreadful, and that the good parts can be really, really exciting.

There are, of course, those who take longer, or for whom the whole thing is far more difficult. Some children find company hard. They are naturally antisocial, and nothing is more tricky for them than having to interact with others, especially with others of their own age. This highlights one of the central functions of school as an institution, which is to socialise children.

School provides what home cannot: a safe situation in which you have to learn to mix and get on with your fellow human beings en masse. Not in twos or threes.

Not only those with whom you are familiar, but in large groups and of different types. You learn to learn as part of a class. You acquire the skills of working with, and alongside, other people with whom you may have little or nothing in common, either temperamentally or in terms of shared interests. These socialisation skills will ultimately prove more important in the child’s life than the academic skills that we all recognise schooling is for.

Children, and indeed adults, who have not learned to learn as part of a large group, who are awkward or timid about working with someone they don’t know, who are unable to take part in a shared endeavour with a group of others, are at a grave disadvantage in the workforce as well as in life. Further education can become a challenge, not intellectually but socially. All my experience has shown me that social skills, no matter how hard a small child finds them, do not get easier to acquire as they get older. They get harder. Avoidance is no answer.

However, it is possible to make school easier for MANOR | Early Autumn 2016

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school

School provides what home cannot: a safe situation in which you have to learn to mix and get on with your fellow human beings en masse.

children who find socialisation tricky. As they start school, we can make sure that some children are able to avoid contexts they find particularly challenging, socially or emotionally. For example, the playground can be a source of stress, as it is so large, open and apparently uncontrolled. However, schools do monitor play, and so teachers will, if asked, make sure that children who are struggling are supported. This can be by allowing them to withdraw from the playground into a quieter, more contained, area, such as the library, or it may be by providing more supervised activity within the playground. In either case, this intervention can make a lot of difference to a child’s school day. Knowing that they don’t have to sit in a corner or wander around unhappily, but can do their own thing, hopefully with a few others, may make the difference between liking and not liking school.

For some children it is simply the idea of school that is an issue; once they’re there, they’re fine. Here, it is very helpful if a choice can be given so that the child gains a sense of control. Obviously this choice should not be whether to go to school or not – it must be clear that this is simply not up for grabs. The choice might be whether to go by car or by bike. Or perhaps who is to take them to school, or which way they are to walk, or whether to take the dog or not, or whether to ride their scooter… and so on. Give a choice that is genuine, and then the focus of discussion becomes something about which the child can control the outcome, rather than something they can’t, like whether to go to school at all.

With a child who is not just making a fuss about the start of school but is unhappy all day, it is essential to 148

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establish the cause. Do not discuss whether they are to go to school – this must be taken as a given to provide the child with the clear and unambiguous message that you, their parents, believe that they can succeed in being happy and successful at school. The child desperately needs your reassurance, as they are not confident themselves. So insist that we can and will make school work for them. Now try asking what you could change about school that would make it better. This question presupposes that school is essential, but allows for some important elements of change and some personal control of the situation. As we will discuss in future issues, it is often possible to implement changes that have a very positive effect without going to the more drastic step of switching schools.

SUCCESS AT SCHOOL Sometimes we have to remember that school is not a rush or a race. Summer born children are particularly vulnerable to suffering a lack of confidence and parents now have the right, particularly with children who have August birthdays, to enter their child into the school year starting in the September after their birthday. This is worth serious consideration, especially with children whose emotional or social maturity is behind their chronological age. Even if they are intellectually capable, they will become less likely to succeed as they progress up the school if they have social and emotional issues. So discussing which year your August-born child should be in with the Reception teacher before they start is a really good idea.

We all want our children to be successful at school.

But it is worth thinking about what we mean by this. Schools are academic institutions and exist to promote intellectual endeavours and develop cognitive achievement. However, we have all seen individuals who, whilst they are academically successful, are fitted only for life inside another academic institution. They are not able to work with other people, to operate outside an environment focussed on purely intellectual pursuits.

Whilst this may be fine for a few, it is not much use for the majority. Schools have a broader responsibility than simply to produce academic advancement; they need to produce good citizens – contented individuals who believe themselves capable of learning new things and acquiring new skills and who are confident in their own achievements. Confidence develops from a sense of being valued and feeling safe, and children who are nervous or depressed will inevitably have lower self-esteem. It follows that ‘being happy at school’ is not, as some would have us believe, just the icing on the educational cake – it is the very substance of the cake itself. We ignore it at our peril.

In the next issue of MANOR, Professor Ruth Merttens offers advice on dealing with friendship and bullying issues that may affect your child.

Professor Merttens is Education Director of Hamilton Trust, an educational charity producing adaptable resources for primary teachers. The Trust is used by more than 65,000 teachers on a weekly basis, representing around 40% of the primary teachers in England and a similar proportion of schools. Ruth spends most of her time developing these resources but also travels the country giving practical, hands-on, in-service training on creative teaching in mathematics and English.

Professor Merttens has a particular expertise in Early Years education. She contributes regularly to professional journals, educational magazines and newspapers, and has written many training materials for the Department for Education Skills (DfES) Strategies, including the DfES Planning Guidance in the NNS and the Foundation materials for Mathematics. More recently, Ruth was one of the advisory group working with DfE on the new primary Maths curriculum. She was also asked for advice on the new Early Years curriculum. Professor Merttens is the lead-author of the Abacus Evolve Maths programme, and led a team to produce the Cambridge International Curriculum for Primary Maths. All this aside, Ruth claims that her steepest learning curve was (and is) being the mother of six children and the granny of 11! hamilton-trust.org.uk

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school Schools news in brief

Millfield brings home four medals from Rio, including one gold!

MILLFIELD SCHOOL in Somerset, considered by many to be the country’s most renowned school for sport, sent seven alumni, two coaches and one pupil to Rio. The eight competed in swimming, rowing, hockey, athletics, rugby sevens and modern pentathlon.

Millfield has built a reputation for producing some of the country’s top sportspeople, and has had Olympians at every Games since 1956. It was also the most represented British school at London 2012. In the Rio Olympics Millfield accumulated four medals, one of them gold and a Spirit of Endeavour award.

The Director of Sport is a former Olympian himself, as are several members of the coaching staff. Competitors and coaches from Millfield at Rio were: Helen Glover – GB Rowing (London 2012 gold medallist and Rio 2016 gold medallist) James Guy – GB Swimming (World Champion in the

200m freestyle). Twice silver medallist at Rio 2016 Ollie Lindsay-Hague – GB Rugby Sevens. Silver medallist at Rio 2016 Nikki Hamblin – Women’s 1500m and 5000m for New Zealand (Spirit of Endeavour Award Rio 2016) Cameron Kurle – GB Swimming (having just left school, this was Cameron’s first major international competition) Jazmin Sawyers – GB Long Jump (British Champion, Commonwealth medallist) Arthur Lanigan-O’Keeffe – Modern Pentathlon for Ireland (London 2012 Olympian) Simon Mantell – GB Hockey Jolyon Finck (Millfield’s Director of Swimming) – Team GB Swim coach Tristan Parris (Millfield’s Director of Fencing and Modern Pentathlon) – Fencing coach for Ireland

James Guy with his coach Jol FInck, Director of Swimming at Millfield

Exeter School’s rhino on display EXETER SCHOOL pupils, parents and staff have been enjoying visiting the Rainbow Rhino at Exeter’s Northcott Theatre. The life-size juvenile rhino was decorated as part of ‘The Great Big Rhino Project’, a mass public art event which aims to raise awareness about conservation.

Pupils from across the 7-18 co-educational school submitted designs for the sculpture, with Year 4 pupil Jasmine Hardy’s colourful interpretation coming out top. Then a team of pupils from Exeter Junior and Senior School worked hard in their own time to bring Jasmine’s original design to life for the project, which is run by Paignton Zoo. For ten weeks over the summer, the sculpture has formed part of a trail across the county as part of the Schools and Community Programme, helping to raise awareness about conservation issues.

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Attention to detail.

Property The Bulletin | Property of note: Nancorras, Cornwall Snapshot comparative

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MANOR | Early Autumn 2016

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property

The Bulletin Oliver Knight, from Knight Frank, reveals the South West’s coastal hotspots

T

he most desirable coastal towns and cities across the UK appeal to a wide range of buyers from all walks and at all stages of life. Demand is particularly acute among individuals and families drawn to the lifestyle and high quality of life associated with living by the sea.

It’s well documented that living by the sea comes at a cost, and our research shows that a clear premium is paid by buyers for houses in close proximity to the coast. On average, according to the latest Knight Frank Prime Waterfront Index released in June, prices for prime coastal properties are as much as 71% higher than comparable properties located just a mile inland.

But as well as a price premium, our research points to a number of towns and cities along the Devon, Dorset and Cornwall coast that have surpassed the wider property market over the last two decades in terms of price growth.

Using data from the Land Registry, based on actual sales volumes going back to 1995, we have calculated the annual

price performance of individual coastal markets relative to the average price increase across the three counties.

CROYDE TAKES THE TOP SPOT

Croyde in North Devon has been the bestperforming coastal market over this time, with annual outperformance of 4.1% on average. While this may seem relatively muted over the course of a year, over 20 years this equates to cumulative price growth of around 122% above the wider Cornwall, Devon and Dorset area.

Over the past two decades, Croyde has seen prices more than quadruple – by 432% – compared to 310% combined across the three local authorities.

A number of other long-established prime markets, including Rock, Salcombe, Padstow and Falmouth, feature in the hotspots identified in the research, and have all experienced outperformance of at least 2% annually since 1995 according to our analysis, but nowhere surpasses Croyde. Christopher Bailey, Head of National Waterfront Sales, comments: “There are

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traditional hotspots and then there are up-and-coming hotspots. The up-and-coming hotspots still offer property at good value that will deliver a return. Until recently, Croyde had been overlooked in favour of the more traditional draws – Salcombe, Dartmouth, Rock – but it has the most majestic coastline, easy access to Exmoor, a great link road to Barnstaple and a good young vibe. Property is still priced sensibly but is on the rise, given the relatively limited stock available. Nothing hangs around on the market for long. Architects and developers spotted the potential a while back and have moved in looking to capitalise on the renewed interest.”

Price growth and outperformance can be very location-specific. For example, the average annual price outperformance for the top 15 best-performing small coastal towns and villages has been 2.8%, compared with 2.6% for medium-sized coastal towns such as Christchurch, Topsham and Lyme Regis, and 2.5% for the top five large coastal towns or cities, including Bournemouth and Exeter. Higher outperformance in smaller settlements since 1995 is likely to be related to the scarcity of available stock relative to demand.

upsizers and downsizers often moving within the local area or looking for a lifestyle change, as well as second and holiday-home buyers.

OUTLOOK

The announcement in the Chancellor’s 2015 Autumn Statement that a higher rate of stamp duty would be introduced for ‘additional properties’, including second homes, from 1 April 2016 prompted a number of purchasers to bring forward deals ahead of its introduction.

In the short term, it may take time for the tax to be absorbed, especially in a market where there are notable levels of discretionary purchases. In turn, this may have an impact on pricing, potentially providing opportunities for committed buyers.

James McKillop, who specialises in selling property in the South West for Knight Frank’s Country House Department, adds: “Waterfront properties have not been immune to the adverse effect of the increase in stamp duty land tax. However, both buyers and sellers are already starting to factor this into their own calculations and expectations. The key to successful selling is accurate and realistic pricing.”

DEMAND

Demand for prime coastal property comes from a variety of sources. Such markets benefit from their appeal to

Oliver Knight can be contacted on 020 7861 5134 knightfrank.co.uk

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property of note

Best of both worlds

Nancorras occupies a unique location. It’s a dream house made reality for those looking to transport their family to a rural idyll that backs onto one of the South West’s most pristine sections of coastline. Words by Imogen Clements.

L

and or sea? Perhaps you’re a countryside or a waterfront person. For you, there may be nothing better than a view of rolling patchwork hills, and lush meadows close at hand to breeze through. Or perhaps the sea in all its guises is an endless source of wonder, with estuaries leading to it providing a haven of calm, broken only by the hum of busy bird and wildlife.

A little bit of everything is probably what many of us would crave. Yet, wide open countryside that leads you down to your own riverfront without fear of meeting traffic, or indeed a soul, in order to set sail in a boat to reach within minutes the pretty port of St Mawes, one of the most sought after patches of coastline in the South West…well, that kind of property just doesn’t exit these days, does it?

Apparently it does. Nancorras occupies possibly one of the best positions that has come on the market for some time. A new four-bedroom, oak-framed house, it sits in the middle of the most spectacular countryside, of which 15 surrounding acres are its own and another 40 belong to the National Trust. The house’s lawn leads down to the River Percuil, close to the river mouth, which around the corner leads to the port of St Mawes, one of the South West’s most sought-after locations, as pointed out earlier in The Bulletin.

Although a new build, this is not a quick-win development project. Nancorras has been loved and enjoyed by the Bray family for more than 20 years. They bought it as a 1950s bungalow, then once the children were grown up, Mr and Mrs Bray set about rebuilding it into a modern home, well built and energy-efficient, and one that made the most the beautiful setting.

They had plans approved for a two storey family home and employed the highly regarded Carpenter Oak to frame the new building, ensuring breathtaking views from all rooms.

But while the adults drink in the views, sitting around the kitchen warmed by the Aga, (it’s usually adults that truly appreciate views), the children have endless scope to play. There are extensive terraced gardens close to home to hide out it in, fields to roam, an apple orchard to scrump, or like Swallows and Amazons, they can trip down to the river with a picnic and take a rowing boat out for adventure. There is also, of course, the land, of which much is pasture, perfect for keeping ponies.

“The house has extensive riverfront and there is a derelict jetty, which we haven’t got around to rebuilding, simply because our focus has been on the house,” says Patrick Bray. “But there is no reason not too. At the moment I can simply tow the boat down to the river.”

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The house has extensive riverfront and there is a derelict jetty, which we haven’t got around to rebuilding. I can simply tow the boat down to the river.

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property of note “The new Nancorras took three years to build,” he says, “because I used a variety of tradesmen, all good, but all in demand, and this was an extensive job. I didn’t make life easy for myself but I got the very best result.

It was a complete rebuild. The house is a south-facing U-shaped new build using the same footprint as the original bungalow but with an additional storey. It is finished with stone, has a slate roof and oak cladding, and its southerly aspect and modern insulation mean that we can almost do without heating in the winter.” The Brays have enjoyed it in its finished state for four years but now turning 70, with the children all grown up and in London, they’re looking to move into St Mawes. “We’re getting old, my wife has lots of friends there and the timing seems right to move on.”

When asked what he’ll miss the most, it is obviously the setting. “The terraced gardens are beautiful and perfect for entertaining, but they are becoming too much for us now.”

Entertainment has been a key consideration in the rebuild. The house boasts what Mr Bray calls their “grand hall” - a 40ft dining room with an inglenook at the far end and floor-to-ceiling windows looking out over the gardens to the River Percuil below. There are, of course, also the terraced gardens that present numerous and varied opportunities to entertain.

“For us though it is the kitchen is the heart of the house, literally, and metaphorically. It is in the centre of the ‘U’, boasts a huge Aga and king post trusses and again has a fantastic view to look out. As a family this is where we congregate and spend most of our time – it has a lovely warm, welcoming feel to the room.”

The house boasts an additional car port and office – which could be renovated into additional accommodation for guests and family. Plus there is a 30ft barn, as yet untouched. “We did have planning permission approved to turn it into a three-bedroomed house. This has since lapsed but I’m told would be straightforward to reinstate.”

Mr Bray talks of Nancorras with fondness – they have spent a large part of their adult lives in this outstandingly beautiful, utterly unspoilt and almost hidden corner of the UK. His children have grown up here, able to roam and sail, but it’s time to move on. “I take instructions from a higher authority,” he jokes. Mrs Bray clearly knows the time has come for the couple to to downsize and be within walking distance of her friends.

Time to sell Nancorras on to a younger owner who alone or with their family can enjoy every last aspect of its 15-acre river-fronted plot.

Nancorras is on the market with Knight Frank.

Guide price £2,500,000. Contact Christopher Bailey at Knight Frank Exeter on 01392 423111 knightfrank.com

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Budleigh Salterton, Devon

A unique opportunity to re-develop this handsome period property Budleigh Beach 0.8 miles, Exeter Airport 10.3 miles, Exeter 13.2 miles (all distances are approximate) Beautifully situated within walking distance of the town and coastline. Furzedene offers a very unique development opportunity either as one large residence or as a multiple unit site. Currently an application is pending for conversion into 3 luxury lateral apartments and the development of a coach house totalling approximately 1600 sq ft. The building itself boasts many period features and is exceptionally spacious at approximately 5589 sq ft. The grounds at Furzdene total approximately half an acre and benefit from lawns, woodland and off street parking for a number of vehicles.

Guide Price ÂŁ750,000 KnightFrank.co.uk/EXE090192 160

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To find out how we can help you please contact us. www.KnightFrank.co.uk/Exeter edward.khodabandehloo@knightfrank.com

Golant, Cornwall

A wonderful family home situated in a prime waterfront position Fowey 4 miles, A30 Dual Carriageway 10 miles, Plymouth 36 miles (all distances are approximate)

To find out how we can help you please contact us. www.KnightFrank.co.uk/Exeter christopher.bailey@knightfrank.com

A delightful waterfront property situated in the heart of Golant with panoramic views up and down the Fowey Estuary. Open-plan sitting room/dining room, sun room and breakfast room. Principal en suite bedroom with private balcony, 3 further bedrooms and lower ground floor family room or 5th bedroom. Self-contained detached annexe with estuary views. Landscaped garden and grounds with detached triple garage, office, boat shed and workshop, summer house and 2 greenhouses.

Guide Price ÂŁ1,400,000 KnightFrank.co.uk/EXE160246 MANOR | Early Autumn 2016

161

NEAR KINGSBRIDGE, South Devon

â– Guide

Price ÂŁ1,250,000

A superb light and airy Grade II listed barn conversion with a detached 2 bedroom annexe, approximately 1.5 acres of landscaped gardens in a private quiet location yet only minutes from Kingsbridge town centre and local schools. No EPC required. Web Ref 91394.

Triple car port, garage and workshop | immaculately presented | many attractive character features For further details please contact our Prime Waterfront & Country House Department on 01548 855590 or Kingsbridge 01548 857588

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NEAR DARTMOUTH, South Devon

â– Guide

Price ÂŁ1,150,000

Originally two cottages, this delightful property has been sympathetically restored to create a charming 5 bedroom family home set in approximately 2.87 acres of private grounds with beautiful gardens, stream and two ponds. EPC Rating E. Web Ref 90150.

Easy access to Totnes and Dartmouth | fabulous large kitchen/dining room | garage, parking and outbuildings For further details please contact our Prime Waterfront & Country House Department on 01548 855590 or Dartmouth 01803 839190

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MANOR | Early Autumn 2016

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WEST PRAWL, South Devon

â– Guide

Price ÂŁ875,000

A charming barn conversion with stunning countryside views over the South Hams towards Dartmoor.

Converted 5 years ago to an extremely high standard with 4 double bedrooms all with en-suite, wonderful landscaped gardens and garage suitable for conversion subject to planning consents. No EPC required.

Web Ref 61716.

Close to the Salcombe Estuary and beaches | oak flooring and beams | beautiful countryside location For further details please contact our Prime Waterfront & Country House Department on 01548 855590 or Kingsbridge 01548 857588

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property

Snapshot comparative A selection of architect-designed homes from around the South West and one in the capital West Yard, North Bovey Guide price £2,500,000

Dartmoor

A contemporary renovation of a traditional Dartmoor farmstead on the edge of the open moor. Set in 57 acres of gardens, wetland area with stream and small lake, woodland and grazing land, it offers substantial accommodation including four bedrooms, open-plan living and dining spaces, a three-bedroom annexe, storage barns/garages and an old ménage. savills.co.uk

South Devon

Ivy Cottage, Ermington Guide price £675,000 An award-winning architect-designed house set in expansive gardens complete with stream and its own bridge. The open-plan living space leads onto the terrace affording beautiful countryside views.

Accommodation includes three bedrooms behind curved walls, each with en-suite bathroom; high-spec kitchen; utility room; cloakroom and a unique staircase accessing the mezzanine level. struttandparker.com

Cedar House, Fowey Guide price £2,500,000

Cornwall

A spacious and contemporary architect-designed house with fabulous harbour and sea views and large gardens.

Accommodation is spread over three levels, the large open-plan living space is situated on the lower ground floor with dining area, sitting room, kitchen, separate pantry and laundry. On the upper two floors is another sitting room and up to five bedrooms. There is a garage and parking for three to four cars. savills.co.uk

Bolton Studios, Fulham Road, London Guide price £1,300,000

London

Hidden behind terraces of the stucco fronted villas of Gilston and Redcliffe Road, SW10 Bolton Studios are newly designed modern apartments. Originally artists’ studios, they have now been renovated into double height, galleried one or two-bedroom apartments. Situated moments from the cafes and restaurants of the Fulham Road, amenities include a seven-day a week concierge service, parking permitting and access to communal gardens. struttandparker.com

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BLACK BOOK

Former Londoner Liz Miller is a journalist, lecturer and mother of two teenage girls. She shares her tips for the good life in Devon.

I’ve been living in the beautiful South Hams area of ordering pizzas and chips to soak up the Peroni.

Devon with my family for 12 years, and although that One of the loveliest places is Hotel Endsleigh, near doesn’t yet make me a proper local, it’s given me plenty of Tavistock (designed by Olga Polizzi). Guests can stroll time to discover the best cafés, beaches and culture. around the Repton-designed gardens running along When my girls, Lily (18) and Charlie (16), were the River Tamar, and enjoy a fabulous afternoon tea younger we used to spend every weekend and the whole overlooking the herbaceous borders. summer holidays at the beach I am always on the lookand our favourite is still out for lovely new shops and Lannacombe, near Start Bibi & Mac in Salcombe Point. Perfect for swimming, is one of the most stylish bodyboarding, cricket and boutiques in Devon – owner rockpooling, we’ve had some Jane has an excellent eye for memorable days on this directional pieces. Lemon sandy beach. With a tiny car Velvet in Kingsbridge puts park and no café, we usually on fun charity fashion shows take a picnic then stop for a featuring real women wearing cream tea or some delicious affordable clothes. homemade cake at nearby Interiors store Nkuku South Allington House on in Harbertonford is really the way home. well merchandised and has Now the girls are teenagers an inspirational selection they are more focused on of new and vintage items. urban life (or the closest we When in Totnes I always visit can offer in the South Hams), Penelope Tom, Gazebo which means regular trips to and Inspired Buys. We Totnes market on Friday or often drive to Ashburton to Saturday mornings. We always browse around all the antique go to The Curator Café for and vintage furniture stores. coffee and we’ve also had some Last year I walked 23 lovely dinners in the upstairs miles along the coast path Curator Kitchen, which from Dartmouth to Salcombe serves authentic Italian food. with personal trainer Jason Another family favourite McKinley, which was is brunch in Dartmouth. We a wonderful experience park by the castle and walk (although my legs felt it the past the creek at Warfleet next day). I also try to go to into town. Café Alf Resco Lucie Minne’s fantastic yoga is our first stop – the smoked class at Harbour House as salmon and scrambled egg is Lannacombe often as possible. unbeatable. The locals’ menu Earlier this year we at The Seahorse is great value and it’s a treat to settle in cycled 22 miles along the Granite Way from Lydford on the banquettes for a feast of fish. to Okehampton and back, and this summer I’m hoping Recently, a big gathering of us went to Jane Baxter’s to double that on Drake’s Trail from Plymouth to amazing new Kingsbridge restaurant Wild Artichokes Tavistock. We’ll start with a coffee at Rockets & for a delicious slap-up supper. I often meet friends at The Rascals on the Barbican and hope to get to Tavistock in Crabshell on a Friday night, where we usually end up time for lunch.

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