The Bath Magazine January 2020

Bath_Mag_Cover_January.qxp_Layout 1 19/12/2019 16:56 Page 1

ISSUE 208 | JANUARY 2020 | thebathmag.co.uk | £3.95 where sold

New year, new horizons SPA’S THE WORD

How 11 European spa towns are hoping to gain a UNESCO listing

LOOKING AHEAD

Highlights and happenings to look forward to in 2020

URE A LEGEND

Midge Ure brings Vienna, Visage and his band Electronica to Bath

WANDER TO WONDER

Martin Gledhill walks through the city and finds where urban and rural meet

T H E C I T Y ’ S B I G G E S T M O NTHLY GUIDE TO LIFE AND LIVING IN BATH

Sofas and Stuff FP.qxp_Layout 1 16/12/2019 12:31 Page 1

Elmore.qxp_Elmore 297 x 210 +3mm 16/12/2019 12:25 Page 1

Boniti DPS.qxp_Layout 1 16/12/2019 12:27 Page 1

Boniti DPS.qxp_Layout 1 16/12/2019 12:27 Page 2

Sofa Smith FP.qxp_Layout 1 17/12/2019 15:35 Page 1

Project1_Layout 1 19/12/2019 11:08 Page 1

Contents jan.qxp_Layout 1 20/12/2019 15:11 Page 1

22

Contents 5 THINGS

104

54

January 2020

.......................................................................

12

Essential events to look forward to this month

URE ELECTRIC

...............................................................

68

Amanda Nicholls visits Acorn’s pop-up restaurant in Bristol

22

..............................................................

Melissa Blease meets Midge Ure ahead of his arrival at The Forum

20/20 VISION

FOOD REVIEW

A TASTE OF 2020

..........................................................

70

Melissa Blease uncovers what will be hot (and what will not)

26

..................................................................

A NEW CULTURE

..........................................................

76

Jessica Hope discovers some of the highlights of what’s on in 2020

Simon Horsford looks into the development of cultured meat

WHAT’S ON . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

BATH AT WORK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .78

Our guide to the top events happening around the city

Neill Menneer’s portrait of stained glass artist Neil Ireson

MUSICAL ACTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

A WALKING CURE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .92

Jessica Otterwell explores two new albums set to make a difference

A walk in the city that finds fascination in the familiar

TAKE TWO

......................................................................

40

COAST ON THE COAST

..............................................

Georgina Southam profiles two films at The Little Theatre Cinema

Andrew Swift makes his way along the headland of Brean Down

CITY ARTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .44

INTERIOR NOTES

The latest art exhibitions from around the city

Perspectives on Classic Blue, Pantone’s colour of the year

THE SONG OF A BOWL

..................................................

46

Dr Nicole Chiang tells the story of a Jizhou-kiln tea bowl

Emma Clegg meets illustrator Owen Gent, the creator of our cover

52

Emma Clegg visits The Bath Framer’s new premises

54

.........................................................

Discover the European spas in the frame for a new UNESCO listing

More content and updates online: thebathmag.co.uk

8 TheBATHMagazine

|

JanUaRY 2020

|

iSSUe 208

104

COMMUNITY GROWTH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .112

THE PROPERTY PAGES

Follow us on Twitter @thebathmagazine

115

...............................................

Bath’s finest homes to buy or rent

...............................................................

SPA’S THE WORLD

........................................................

Jane Moore explains how community gardening is making a difference

POWER STORIES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

IN THE FRAME

102

ON THE COVER

The cover image by illustrator Owen Gent was specially commissioned for The Bath Magazine owengent.com

Follow us on Instagram @thebathmagazine

Schmidt FP.qxp_Layout 1 17/12/2019 10:39 Page 1

Editors Letter jan.qxp_Layout 1 20/12/2019 15:20 Page 1

EDITOR’S PICKS FENCING MAESTROS

My new year’s resolution is not to start fencing, but I’m full of admiration for these two wheelchair fencers – Dimitri Coutya and Piers Gilliver who train in Bath and have all but secured qualification for the Paralympics in Tokyo 2020 after finishing last year ranked number one in the world in epée and épee and foil respectively. Find out more about our local Olympic and Paralympic hopefuls on page 27.

from the Wheelchair fencing: onEdition Editor photograph by Matthew Sterling

W

e like 2020 because it’s super easy to type on the keyboard – two index fingers are all that are required. It is so much more advanced than ‘2019’, which requires mental and visual acuity. More importantly, as we’ve been typing 2020 we’ve come across some other things that make the new year come alight.

First up is Midge Ure, who is bringing the New Romantic vibe to The Forum on 15 February when he plays his seminal 1980 Ultravox album Vienna and highlights from his Visage album. He talks to long-term fan Melissa Blease on page 22 about music, Bath and why he doesn’t jump on bandwagons.

We bring 2020 to life in more detail on page 26 where Jessica Hope looks ahead and finds a glittering overview of the events and performances coming up this year – including McFly and Billy Ocean at The Bath Festival, Michael Pennington as Prospero in The Tempest at Theatre Royal Bath, Grayson Perry at The Holburne Museum and Toulouse Lautrec at Victoria Art Gallery.

Our visionary cover image – by illustrator Owen Gent who we interview on page 48 – paints a picture of chill-out time in the Thermae Bath Spa. This captures how the new year at its best needs to encompass time for ourselves.

And talking of spas, our feature on page 54 picks up on the story of the 11 European spa towns – including our own – who have made a joint application to UNESCO for a World Heritage Site European spa billing. Read about the 10 other nominated towns – including Baden Baden in Germany and Baden bei Wien in Austria – and uncover their own historic thermal heritage.

Tuning into the experience of our own spa town, Martin Gledhill takes a group on a walk through Bath on page 92, encouraging the participants to gain a heightened experience of a familiar urban environment.

Melissa Blease predicts the food trends that will sustain us throughout the new year on page 70 – so stock up on amaranth flour and pumpkin seed butter. The vegan initiative is in no danger of abating, and Amanda Nicholls samples the food at Acorn’s plant-based pop-up in Bristol on page 68. Simon Horsford also looks into the research into artificial meat at the University of Bath on page 76 – this tunes into the same vegan vibe, because these products have the potential to further reduce our consumption of meat.

We’re feeling very blue this issue, but in a good way because we’re celebrating Pantone’s Classic Blue colour of 2020 on page 104. It’s timeless, it’s reflective, it’s confident and has the potential to recharge your interior.

What a good sentiment to start off the new year.

Emma Clegg Editor

All paper used to make this magazine is taken from good sustainable sources and we encourage our suppliers to join an accredited green scheme. Magazines are now fully recyclable. By recycling magazines, you can help to reduce waste and contribute to the six million tonnes of paper already recycled by the UK paper industry each year. Please recycle this magazine, but if you are not able to participate in a recycling scheme, then why not pass your magazine on to a friend or colleague.

10 TheBATHMagazine

|

january 2020

|

iSSue 208

FILM CLUB

FilmBath is launching a new initiative for 2020: FilmBath FilmClub, a year-round programme of the kinds of films screened at the festival. These will be shown monthly (from January to May and September, October and December) at the stylish Walcot House, with an optional movie-themed dinner following the film. Membership is £10 a year and tickets for the films will be £9/£7, with a £1 discount for members. Films will be announced four weeks before each screening. filmbath.org.uk DRESS OF THE YEAR 2019

The Fashion Museum has revealed its Dress of the Year 2019, a pleated pink tulle dress by Giambattista Valli for H&M, selected by British Vogue’s Donna Wallace. The dress became famous when it was modelled by Kendall Jenner, who wore it to the amfAR gala during Cannes Film Festival in May. The pink tulle dress, which takes inspiration from Valli’s signature multi-tiered couture gowns, was part of a limitededition, pre-collection range that was launched in selected H&M stores around the world in May 2019. fashionmuseum.co.uk

with eyes that keenly glow, ❝ January isAhere, frost-mailed warrior striding a shadowy steed of snow. ❞ EDGAR FAWCETT (1847–1904)

TR Hayes A FP.qxp_Layout 1 16/12/2019 12:27 Page 1

5 things, Bath Jan 2020.qxp_Layout 1 18/12/2019 15:05 Page 1

5

ZEITGEIST

things to do in

January

Book The city is starting off the new decade with a bang! Bath is teeming with big events this year that you won’t want to miss.

Have you seen the line-up for The Bath Festival’s Finale Weekend yet? The biggest selling British black artist of all Billy Ocean is taking to the time, Billy Ocean, will be on the main stage at The Bath Festival main stage on 24 May, while Finale Weekend in May chart-toppers McFly will headline the Saturday. Elsewhere there’s a new Grayson Perry exhibition at The Holburne Museum, and the Olympic and Paralympic Games head to Tokyo this summer, possibly with some athletes from Bath in tow. And did you hear that the king crooner Michael Bublé is heading to the Royal Crescent in July? Turn to page 26 to find out more.

Watch paint fly as the live competitive painting event Art Battle is coming to St Matthew’s Church in Widcombe on 24 January, 7pm, offering artists the chance to battle it out over who can create the best piece of artwork in 20 minutes. Could you take a blank canvas and make it into something special under time constraints? Register as a participant here: artbattle.com/artists. Or you can pop along as a spectator and cheer everyone on. The audience will vote for their favourite and there will be a silent auction to take the final pieces home. All ages welcome. Bar and refreshments available. £5–£10; artbattle.com

Laugh

Actor and comedian Omid Djalili is coming to The Forum

Bristol’s side-splitting Slapstick Festival is taking a little trip down the road as it brings its Slapstick Rolling Funder to The Forum for one night only this month with a line-up you won’t want to miss. On 22 January, 7.30pm, actor and comedian Omid Djalili will be arriving in Bath, as well as 8 out of 10 Cats star and stand-up legend Jon Richardson, stand-up stars Lucy Porter and Angela Barnes (Mock the Week and The News Quiz), and writer and actor Count Arthur Strong. The event will help raise funds for the UK’s biggest celebration of silent screen and classic comedy. Tickets from £22.50; bathforum.co.uk

Reflect Listen After years of sharing a stage together wherever possible, the first Wainwright Williams Tour is finally in the works and the duo are coming to Chapel Arts Centre on 26 January, 8pm. Singer-songwriter Sloan Wainwright is a dynamic performer who shifts with apparent ease between pop, folk, jazz and blues, while Brooks Williams is one of the most versatile musicians on the roots music scene today. £14/£15; chapelarts.org

12 TheBATHMagazine

|

January 2020

|

iSSue 208

Jane Austen is known for her commentary, critique and satirical observations of high society and marriage, but did her writing highlight anything about her own spirituality?

The Reverend Prebendary Paula Hollingsworth, author of The Spirituality of Jane Austen, will explore Austen’s faith and how it impacted on her life and writing, drawing on her letters, novels and friendships in a talk at the BRLSI on 11 January, 3pm.

Register your interest by emailing: dianawhite@talktalk.net. £10 on the door, includes refreshments; brlsi.org n

Billy Ocean: HAZE Photography/Jane Austen, based on the portrait

by Cassandra Austen, Sotheby’s/Wiki

Battle

TR Hayes B FP.qxp_Layout 1 16/12/2019 12:28 Page 1

My Bath Jan.qxp_Layout 1 20/12/2019 11:28 Page 1

The city

ist

THE BUZZ THE BUZZ

Janet Dabbs is CEO of Age UK Bath and North East Somerset, which aims to give older people opportunities to live healthier lives, build friendships and stay independent for as long as possible

Call-out for volunteers

The Bath Preservation Trust (BPT), a charity promoting high standards of planning and architecture in Bath, is looking for volunteers to fill a number of roles across the organisation, such as guides, retail assistants, front-of-house and archival staff. Here we hear from some of the current volunteers: Rowan: “I have been volunteering at the Herschel Museum of Astronomy for over a year. Astronomy has now become a passion and volunteering has taught me so much about working in heritage. The team is absolutely wonderful and always very supportive. I look forward to another day at the museum every week.”

James, MA heritage management graduate and education volunteer: “Volunteering at the Museum of Bath Architecture (MoBA) gave me experience of working on the front desk of the museum, interacting with visitors, and I also used my teaching skills by giving stone-carving demonstrations. I then became a volunteer with the learning and engagement team, assisting with school groups and other informal educational activities, not only at the MoBA, but at the trust’s other museums. I used this experience as part of my university work.”

Marion: “Originally from Canada, I have lived in the UK for many years and moved from Hertfordshire to Bath a year ago. After visiting No 1 Royal Crescent, I was keen to become a room guide despite knowing little about Georgian times, but I was poised to learn. Meeting visitors from all over the world is very rewarding and I enjoy helping them get the most out of their time at No 1.”

If you’d like to learn more about the opportunities available drop in to BPT’s open morning on 31 January from 10am at No.1 Royal Crescent or email volunteering@bptrust.org.uk bath-preservation-trust.org.uk

14 TheBATHMagazine

|

january 2020

My BATH

|

issue 208

I live on Lansdown Road, so it’s just two minutes into town and seven minutes to get to work. I’m lucky as other members of my family have to travel to work on the tube squashed like sardines and I have the luxury of a leisurely window-shop commute.

I have lived in Bath or nearby for nearly all my adult life – I don’t like to say just how many years!

My stand-out memories of first moving here from Sheffield was the huge array of independent shops – many have now gone but I love to see new ones arriving There are so many places to enjoy coffee in Bath, but my go-to place is Walcot Café, where the coffee and the food is great. I love their fish goujon flat bread and they make a fabulous smoothie which is so good after a spin class.

The weekend involves catching up with friends and family, so there’s more coffee, cake, and travelling to London to see my grown-up kids and explore new places there.

I would love more time to walk my longsuffering whippet Archie, although he can be reluctant to come out in the rain, preferring to stay under the duvet.

I’d like to read more, meditate and do yoga classes, but my main source of relaxation is meeting friends and putting the world to rights.

A Panorama programme focusing on care for older people in the community was my inspiration for wanting to work for an organisation that could make a difference, or influence how older people live later in life.

There’s still an awful lot of work to be done, locally and nationally. An ageing population has been an issue that has been kicked about for far too many years in the political arena.

My favourite part of my role at Age UK is meeting the older people who use our services and hearing what a great time they’re having or how much their lives have changed as a result. These one-to-one conversations are priceless.

Age UK B&NES is celebrating its 80th birthday this year, which is a real milestone.

I’ve been lucky enough to be part of the organisation for 13 years and even in that time, I’ve noticed an upwards shift in the age that people are coming to use our services.

This indicates that people are living longer before they’re in need of our support, which is great, but the reverse can be that many older people have more complex needs. Sadly though, many of the people who come to see us live alone and have no social contact. Over the last five years, a lot has been done in B&NES to raise awareness of loneliness in later life, and, quite rightly, people expect to have a more positive experience of older age.

There are hundreds of older people in Bath and North East Somerset who are lonely and isolated, some of whom are living in impoverished conditions. We know that many of them don’t know the benefits they are entitled to, so they can put the heating on, eat well, get the care and support they need, and join in with activities in their local area.

To keep well, we need to feel of use and connected to our community.

Ordinary people can always make a difference by donating. We rely on the support of the local community to keep our services running. Volunteers are also needed – we have a 200-strong team but we always need more support. A simple way to contribute is to take part in our Random Acts of Kindness campaign. A simple hello to an older person, putting someone’s bins out or visiting an older relative are small gestures that make a huge difference to someone’s life.

If you are worried or concerned about an older person you know, do get in touch with us, or if you would like to find out about benefits, support and care, housing options, we’re always here – you don’t have to be an older person for us to offer information and advice.

Thinking ahead, I don’t think I’ll ever move from Bath, but I would love to see more of the world. And if I’m not working, volunteering will never be far away. ■ ageuk.org.uk

Avonvale Jan 20.indd 1

18/12/2019 09:10

Richard Wyatt - Notebook.qxp_Layout 1 19/12/2019 10:47 Page 1

CITY | NOTEBOOK

Richard Wyatt:

Notes on a small city

Columnist Richard Wyatt looks back on giving up tobacco and sets himself up for the new year by taking inspiration from Roman deities. Illustration by Brian Duggan

J

anuary – and I am sitting in my favourite caffeine watering hole writing the first column of a brand new year. This is the month when traditionally we resolve to cast off the old battle-scarred remains of our no-doubt eventful journey through the year and enter a more rounded-looking new one.

Will you be striving for new beginnings?

There is an expectation around the usual list of ‘calls to action’ that has to begin at the stroke of midnight. Choose from quitting smoking, cutting down on your wine intake or how about banishing that extra stone you’ve acquired? You can even swear allegiance to your local gym and get fit. Maybe some of you will be opting for something more revolutionary as a resolution, like being nicer to people?

I haven’t touched a cigarette for nearly 29 years – thanks to the finger-waving pressure applied by my then partner.

Mind you, looking back, l cannot claim instant success. My first attempt was done publicly – with a drum roll – on a late night live entertainment programme broadcast by HTV West called The Weekend Starts Here. I stubbed out what I genuinely hoped would be my last cigarette and the whipped-up-to-a-frenzy studio audience clapped their approval.

Needless to say it took another attempt – three months later – to finally do the deed and follow through. It followed the market launch of what were then new-fangled nicotine patches by way of a free sample that I was given. Here’s where l have to admit to not being a stickler when it comes to reading instructions.

The whole idea behind this method of giving up smoking revolves around using patches of different nicotine strength. So you start with the big one and wean yourself off this obnoxious drug by gradually transitioning to smaller patches.

To be honest, I ended up looking like I had wandered into a swarm of bees with plasters of every variety covering both arms. And there was no vaping alternative in those days – the only vapours that were available then came in the form of a bottle of smelling salts.

16 TheBATHMagazine

|

january 2020

|

issue 208

The month of January – in case you didn’t know – is named after the Roman god Janus. He is the two-faced deity who can look to the past and the future at the same time. Among his many credentials, he’s the god of transitions and new beginnings. He also has responsibility for protecting doors and gates. This is not quite so glamorous, it’s true, but maybe that’s why people traditionally like to open their front doors as the clock chimes midnight to let in the new year – a.k.a. all those ‘new beginnings’. I believe that to balance the effect, the back door has to be opened too – to give the old year an escape route.

It’s very unlikely that I would open the door after midnight to someone hammering on my Jane Austen knocker, but if this were Scotland and not Lower Swainswick, the belief would be that the first person to enter a household in the new year would dictate its fortunes for the next 12 months.

A ‘lucky’ first-footer in an ideal world is a dark-haired male who arrives bearing a coin, a lump of coal, a piece of bread and a drink. This would be whisky north of the border and Bath gin down our way.

A man bearing these things is said to

represent financial prosperity, warmth, food and good cheer.

Now, I hear you ask, why does it have to be a dark-haired male? Well, according to Scottish folklore, back when the Vikings invaded, the arrival of anonymous fair-haired men on your doorstep would have signalled trouble.

Our neighbours must have felt they were being invaded when my parents threw a New Year’s Eve party when I was a child. There were no fireworks at midnight then. The grown-ups grabbed pots, pans and metal spoons and took to the street to make as much noise as possible. I’m not sure if it was the old year they were chasing away or just a couple of roosting pigeons, but the memory still rings in my ears.

Talking of pagan deities and their earthly responsibilities let’s remember Venus, the Roman goddess of love, who early in her mythological career was just a lowly spirit of the kitchen garden.

How about that for getting back to your roots?”

I hope 2020 is a good one. n Richard Wyatt runs the Bath Newseum: bathnewseum.com

BoConcept fp.qxp_Layout 1 18/12/2019 09:12 Page 1

P18.qxp_Layout 22 19/12/2019 13:46 Page 1

Follow us on Twitter @thebathmagazine

See more online thebathmag.co.uk

Contact us:

Start 2020 by seeing 2020 with

Ellis & Killpartrick Styling Opticians

Publisher Email:

Steve Miklos steve@thebathmagazine.co.uk

Editor Tel: Email:

Emma Clegg 01225 424592 emma@thebathmagazine.co.uk

Financial Director Email:

Jane Miklos jane@thebathmagazine.co.uk

Production Manager Email:

Jeff Osborne production@thebathmagazine.co.uk

Production/Web Assistant Georgina Southam Email: georgina@thebathmagazine.co.uk Assistant Editor Email:

Jessica Hope jessica@thebathmagazine.co.uk

Contact the Advertising Sales team tel: 01225 424499 Advertising Sales Email:

Liz Grey liz@thebathmagazine.co.uk

MC Publishing Ltd. is an independent publishing company and publishes The Bath Magazine and The Bristol Magazine.

The Bath Magazine is distributed free every month to more than 20,000 homes and businesses throughout Bath and the surrounding area. We also have special distribution units in the following city centre stores and coffee shops

Ellis & Killpartrick Styling Opticians

18 New Bond St. Bath BA1 1BA T. 01225 466954 www.ellisandkillpartrick.com

18 TheBATHMagazine

|

january 2020

|

issue 208

2 Princes Buildings, George Street, Bath BA1 2ED Telephone: 01225 424499. Fax: 01225 426677 thebathmag.co.uk Š MC Publishing Ltd 2020 Disclaimer: Whilst every reasonable care is taken with all material submitted to The Bath Magazine, the publisher cannot accept responsibility for loss or damage to such material. Opinions expressed in articles are strictly those of the authors. This publication is copyright and may not be reproduced in any form either in part or whole without written permission from the publishers.

W&L 303 x 216mm.qxp_Layout 1 16/12/2019 12:28 Page 1

Loaf fp.qxp_Layout 1 16/12/2019 12:29 Page 1

P21.qxp_Layout 23 20/12/2019 14:41 Page 1

Perfectly fitted bespoke eyewear

Tom Davies is an esteemed eyewear brand built on the principles of fit, form and function. Established as one of Britain's leading bespoke spectacle brands, this prestigious handmade eyewear brand offers a fully bespoke service using the highest quality materials.

TOM DAVIES

16 Pierrepont St, Bath BA1 1LA | Tel: 01225 464433 www.kathrynanthony.co.uk

BESPOKE MADE TO MEASURE EYEWEAR

January Sale

DESIGNER COLLECTIONS HANDMADE BESPOKE JEWELLERY REPAIRS AND REMODELLING

THEBATHMAG.CO.UK

|

january 2020

|

TheBATHMagazine 21

Midge Ure.qxp_Layout 1 19/12/2019 10:51 Page 1

“Songs are abbreviated short stories – little soundbites, glued together.

‘One man on a lonely platform...’

– that’s it, there’s the story”

THE RHYTHM IS CALLING

You’ll find the rhythm at The Forum on 15 February when Midge Ure and his band Electronica are playing the 1980 Ultravox album Vienna, alongside selected highlights from the Visage album. Melissa Blease talks to the man – although not in the dark – and draws out the threads of a seminal life in music

Midge Ure.qxp_Layout 1 19/12/2019 10:52 Page 2

MUSIC

“The late 70s/early 80s introduced the advent of a whole new world of music technology; I bought my first synthesiser in 1978 with the vision, the idea, of being able to keep up with it all. But in some ways I felt as though I was swimming upstream in the opposite direction to everybody else; I’d travelled from pop band (Slik), to post-punk band (The Rich Kids) to being a stand-in guitarist for Thin Lizzy, who were a huge influence on me when I was growing up.

Then in the autumn/winter of 1979 I completed the Visage project with Billy Currie and was invited to join Ultravox; the work we did on the Vienna album represented an exhilarating rush of creativity that was seldom rivalled in our history at the time.”

❝

The work we did on the Vienna album represented an exhilarating rush of creativity that was seldom rivalled in our history at the time

❝

J

anuary 1981: “a man in the dark in a picture frame, so mystic and soulful” is drawing me into a video on Top of the Pops... and I’m totally, utterly smitten.

Scroll forward almost 40 years, and that same man is walking along a SouthGate thoroughfare, heading in my direction. Of course, Midge Ure – the iconic renaissance man of the music world – has long since moved on from Vienna (even if I haven’t); today, he walks among us in Bath, where he’s been living with his family for a quarter of a century.

“I’d been living in London, in Notting Hill, for maybe 20 years and I came to Bath for a gig at the Theatre Royal,” he says, over coffee in the Tivoli Cinema. “I did that thing people do when they’re visiting a new place, which is simply take a walk around the streets. After a couple of hours, the whole city sort of dawned on me; I thought, this is just cool, this is lovely – let’s try it for a year and see what happens; 25 years later, we’re still here. I use London when I want to rather than be there because I need to; I can do my job wherever I happen to be.”

Ah, that job. Midge: what is your job title, these days? “Job title? That would have to be ‘survivor’,” he laughs. “I’ve had to survive the transitions that happen within the industry I work in – I guess that’s the case in any industry, but in the creative industry, it’s key. I create music for myself, or for others, or for films. I make videos, I make radio programmes – I make lots of different things.

But I stick to creating what I think is interesting and wait until the world catches up with me, or until I catch up with the rest of the world – I don’t jump on bandwagons.

Weirdly enough, though, jumping on bandwagons is probably exactly what it looks like I’ve been doing, down the years!”

Okay, Midge: I understand that you’re making a flippant half-joke, but I have to stop you there: surely you’re known for driving bandwagons rather than hitching a ride? “Well just between us [which it isn’t any more – sorry Midge] that’s how I always saw it; I was always slightly ahead of time.”

But for our purposes right here, right now, Midge and I are going back in time to where it all began...

Despite the title of Ure’s latest live excursion, his 1980 Tour (which visits The Forum in Bath on Saturday 15 February) represents far more than a mere retrospective of the hits that provided the backdrop to a misspent youth. For the first time ever, he and his band Electronica will be playing seminal 1980 Ultravox album Vienna in its entirety, alongside selected highlights from the eponymous Visage album – now that’s what I call a fitting 40th birthday celebration for two albums that remain, decades after they first charted, to be widely acknowledged as the most significant albums of the synthpop era.

“Autumn 1979 was a pivotal point in my career trajectory,” says Ure, who relocated from Glasgow in 1977 at the age of 24.

And history was being made on the streets, too. “The kids who instigated the punk movement were tiring of the second-rate punk bands that were doing that bandwagon thing, so they went off and created something new; I hate the term New Romantic because it was invented by journalists to give what we were doing a tag, but yes, it was the New Romantic thing.”

Ah, New Romantics: pirate shirts, peacock feathers and pantaloons, lipstick, powder and paint; for some of us, for a brief period of time, fancy dress parties were for life, not just for Christmas. “Everybody started going to a club in London called Billy’s, which was the forerunner to Blitz in Covent Garden,” Ure recalls. “Rusty Egan, the drummer in The Rich Kids, used to do a DJ night at Billy’s called Bowie Night, playing Bowie and Roxy Music and all this interesting electro-rock stuff that was coming out of Europe – Kraftwerk, Einstürzende Neubauten, Nitzer Ebb. And all these kids would go and raid their granny’s wardrobes and come out looking fabulous, not in a bin bag and safety pins way but totally OTT glammed up, living out their fantasies at a time when things were incredibly tough. Politically, 1980 wasn’t a great time for the UK, so this was escapism in its full glory. Those kids didn’t have two pennies to rub together but they were rich in a different way: rich in ideas, and rich in thought. You’d look around Blitz and without knowing it you were looking at the film and fashion world legends of the future,

and people like Leigh Bowery and Boy George – an amazing bunch of creatives.”

A bunch of creatives that included, of course, Ure at the epicentre; we’re talking to a man who, in his own unique way, went on to change the way we look at the world.

In 1984, Midge Ure and Bob Geldof co-wrote the Band Aid hit Do They Know It’s Christmas? as a fundraising initiative to raise vital funds for victims of the Ethiopian famine. The following year, the duo co-organised the dual-venue Live Aid concert at Wembley Stadium and the John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia. Today, the Band Aid Trust – of which both Ure and Geldof are still active trustees – has raised around £150m for famine relief.

Ure has since helped organise (and performed at) multiple national and international fundraising events including several Prince’s Trust concerts and, in 2005, the Live8 concerts – again, with Bob Geldof – aiming to inspire G8 leaders to take action to end world poverty. Little wonder then that in 2005 Ure was awarded an OBE for Services to Music and Charity, followed by a clutch of honorary doctorates from various universities to recognise his charitable, humanitarian and artistic merits.

So is the man who has made so many people, on so many levels, happy? “I’m always happy!” he says, without a second thought; “I’ve always got loads of things going on. I’ve just got back from gigs in Mexico City and the Dominican Republic and realised that I’m much further down the line with the new album I’ve been working on than I thought I was when I left it! And there are plans up to 2021 for shows and tours – maybe a continuation of this tour, maybe something new; I’m putting ideas together for the next step...”

And off he strides into the SouthGate throng: “the man in the dark in a picture frame” who remains one step ahead of time. n

Midge Ure – The 1980 Tour, Vienna and Visage plays at The Forum, Bath on 15 February, 7.30pm; bathforum.co.uk

THEBATHMAG.CO.UK

|

january 2020

|

TheBATHMagazine 23

P24.qxp_Layout 22 19/12/2019 17:35 Page 1

January Sale

Hand-knotted old Chinese Pao-Tao pictorial wall carpet, mid 20th Century

UP TO 50%OFF on selected items

P

ile rug production for export began in China around 1890.

This rug was woven in the northern city of Baotou, which now boasts the largest urban population in Inner Mongolia.

Woollen rugs produced in this region had thick, soft pile with symbolic as well as decorative images depicted. This particular piece has a charcoal field with a central phoenix in rose, ivory and orange.

The bird is looking towards the sun, which symbolises peace brought about by the wise emperor. It is standing on a blue rockery under a leafy tree, with large pink flowers on either side and the sun in front of a cloud in the upper right corner of the field. The decorative border includes twelve pink orbs and flower blossoms as well as light blue corner fretwork.

ENGAGEMENT AND WEDDING RINGS HANDMADE BESPOKE JEWELLERY REPAIRS AND REMODELLING

9 Abbey Churchyard, Bath BA1 1LY 01225 460072

The Designer Collections 15 Northumberland Place, Bath BA1 5AR 01225 448823

jody@jodycory.co.uk | www.jodycory.co.uk

24 TheBATHMagazine

|

january 2020

|

issue 208

Size: 195 x 124cm | Price: ÂŁ1125

Dents FP.qxp_Layout 1 16/12/2019 12:26 Page 1

2020 vision v2.qxp_Layout 1 19/12/2019 10:23 Page 1

CITY | HAPPENINGS

20/20 VISION

As we step into a new decade, we may not be able to pre-empt what will happen in the years ahead.

But there is one thing we can confirm – there’s plenty to look forward to around Bath this year.

Jessica Hope rounds up the things to look out for in the months to come

1 MAYDAY MAYDAY May is always one of our favourite times of year – the mornings get lighter, the days are warmer, and the city’s biggest celebration of music and literature returns!

The Bath Festival is back from 15–24 May this year, and already the line-up is making us excited. The headliners for The Finale Weekend at the Bath Recreation Ground will be chart-toppers McFly who will take to the stage on 23 May as part of their national tour (with many other venues having already sold out), and they will be supported by BRITnominated trio Scouting For Girls. Legendary reggae band UB40 featuring Ali Campbell and Astro (known for Red Red Wine and I Got You Babe) will perform on 24 May, along with the biggest selling British black artist of all time, Billy Ocean. Legendary American singer-songwriter and Grammynominated Patti Smith will be making a rare UK appearance at The Forum on 22 May, and Bath Festivals is joining in with the worldwide celebrations marking the 250th anniversary of Beethoven’s birth with a series of six concerts of the composer’s entire cycle of 16 String Quartets in March and May. The rest of The Bath Festival programme will be released soon – so keep an eye out for more.

• thebathfestival.org.uk

26 TheBATHMagazine

|

January 2020

Patti Smith: Steven Sebring

PARTY IN THE CITY: Top, the lads from McFly will be bringing their greatest hits to The Rec at The Finale Weekend. Above, the queen of punk rock Patti Smith is coming to The Forum as part of The Bath Festival. Right, expect live music, street theatre, artisan food and drink stalls, and lots of fun for the kids at The Final Weekend

|

iSSue 208

2020 vision v2.qxp_Layout 1 19/12/2019 10:23 Page 2

CITY | HAPPENINGS Wheelchair fencers Dimitri Coutya and Piers Gilliver

2 CHEER ON This summer athletes from across the world will be heading to Tokyo to try their chances at bagging some medals at this year’s Olympic and Paralympic Games. While some countries’ athletes have already been confirmed, the rest of the teams will be called up over the coming months, and there’s a few locals and people who train at the top-class facilities at the University of Bath that you might want to look out for.

The British Swimming National Centre elite squad has several swimmers who are well-placed to qualify after impressing at the World Championships this year, including James Guy (also a medallist at Rio 2016) and current student Tom Dean. Coaches David McNulty and Jol Finck have already been selected for

Centre, modern pentathlete Kate French

Team GB. In the Paralympic Games, Stephanie Millward is hoping to be selected for a fourth successive games and add to the 10 Paralympic medals she has already won.

In wheelchair fencing Piers Gilliver (silver medallist at Rio 2016) and Dimitri Coutya have all but secured qualification for Tokyo 2020 after finishing the year ranked number one in the world in Category A epée and Category B epée and foil respectively.

The university is home to Pentathlon GB’s National Training Centre, so the four athletes (two men, two women) selected to represent Team GB will all be based there. Great Britain has already secured three of those four Olympic qualification places thanks to Joe Choong (World Cup Final Champion), Jamie Cooke (European Champion) and Kate French (World and European silver medallist).

Triathlete Vicky Holland, bronze-medallist at Rio 2016 and the 2018 World Champion, is hoping to qualify for Tokyo 2020, as is her training partner Joanna Brown who represents Canada. And siblings Ben and Megan Fletcher are both well placed in the qualification rankings for judo as they bid to represent Ireland.

Wheelchair fencing: onEdition

3 SWOON We got rather excited last month when the news was released that the king crooner himself, Grammy-award winning Michael Bublé is coming to Bath for two very special open-air performances this summer. As part of his UK tour, the singer will be bringing his biggest hits such as Haven’t Met You Yet, Home and Cry Me a River to the Royal Crescent on 24 and 25 July, making this the first concert to take place on the lawns of this Grade I-listed location in 17 years.

Tickets are limited – so get to it quick!

Ú

• ticketmaster.co.uk

THEBATHMAG.CO.UK

|

JANUARY 2020

|

TheBATHMAgAziNe 27

2020 vision v2.qxp_Layout 1 19/12/2019 10:23 Page 3

4 FLY HIGH Since winning BBC Young Musician of the Year in 2016 and following his solo performance at the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason has become one of the most sought after classical artists. Now he is joining Bath Philharmonia on 24 September at The Forum for an evening of myth, fantasy and aviation as they perform Wagner’s Ride of the Valkyries, as well as Jonathan Dove’s Airport Scenes and Antonin Dvorak’s Cello Concerto in B minor. Tickets £5–£35.

• bathphil.co.uk; bathforum.co.uk

5 GET YOUR ART HIT One of the most eagerly anticipated shows of the year at The Holburne Museum, Grayson Perry: The Pre-Therapy Years, will open from 24 January – 25 May, showcasing a broad range of Perry’s early works including pieces from the artist’s own collection and many works not seen publicly before. For Perry’s legions of fans, The Pre-Therapy Years will bring a new perspective to the 2003 Turner Prizewinner’s influential and inspiring outlook.

The Holburne has gone into partnership with Woburn Abbey while it is undergoing refurbishment, so from 12 June – 20 September the Roper Gallery will display a selection of paintings which are usually on display in the abbey by Canaletto, which were commissioned by the future Duke of Bedford in 1731.

Then from 9 October, the museum’s winter exhibition will feature works by Thomas Lawrence (1769–1830), who arrived in Bath in 1780 and was considered to be a boy genius like his Renaissance predecessors Raphael, Michelangelo and Dürer.

Thomas Lawrence 1780-1794: Coming of Age will present work from Lawrence’s early years, telling the story of an exceptional portraitist growing up at the end of the century when Britain created its own unique artistic voice.

Cocktail Party by Grayson Perry

28 TheBATHMagazine

|

January 2020

|

iSSue 208

• holburne.org

2020 vision v2.qxp_Layout 1 19/12/2019 10:24 Page 4

CITY | HAPPENINGS

6 TRANSFORMATIVE TIMES Last season, Bath City played in front of its highest average crowds for more than 40 years, and 2020 has the potential to be even bigger for the football club. The community-owned club is awaiting the result of a crucial planning application which, if approved, will secure its long-term future within the city. The application includes constructing a new grandstand at Twerton Park with up to 2,000 more seats, installing a 3G playing field, establishing a community hub, building student accommodation and affordable housing, and other enhancements to Twerton High Street, helping to provide better services for the local area.

After more Bathonians were encouraged to support their local club last season, Jerry Gill’s team ended the 2018/19 campaign with crowd numbers up by 58 per cent. So far this season, the number of fans attending match days has increased by a further 16 per cent.

On the pitch, the team is pushing hard to make it into the top three of the National League South, and is hoping to improve on last season’s fifth place play-off position.

Come on you Stripes!

7 NATURE

SOUNDS

The outdoor concert series Forest Live is returning to Westonbirt Arboretum from 11–14 June, offering top live music in a spectacular forest location. So far BRIT Award-winning artists Will Young (pictured left) and James Morrison (far left) have announced that they will be headlining the Friday night, Madness will be entertaining the crowds on the Saturday, while multi-million recordselling band Keane will be rounding off the concerts on the Sunday. Keep a look out as more artists are announced in the next few months.

Tickets from £44.50.

• bathcityfc.com

Toulouse-Lautrec © Musée d'Ixelles-Bruxelles / Courtesy of Institut für Kulturaustausch, Tübingen

• forestryengland.uk/music

8 YOU CAN-CAN Following a successful fundraising campaign last year, the Victoria Art Gallery will be bringing the sights and sounds of Bohemian Paris to life with more than 80 works by the renowned 19th-century French painter and caricaturist Henri de ToulouseLautrec. Toulouse-Lautrec and the Masters of Montmartre, running from 15 February – 26 May, will revisit the street art of Toulouse-Lautrec’s era, and there will be a range of evening events on offer to echo the joie de vivre of the Belle Époque and Toulouse-Lautrec’s Paris, including visual art, music, dance, and a display of personal items from the performers. Plus there will be a dressing up area. £6/free for Discovery Card holders.

• victoriagal.org.uk

Ú

Troupe de Mlle Eglantine by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec

THEBATHMAG.CO.UK

|

JANUARY 2020

|

TheBATHMAgAziNe 29

University of Bath fp.qxp_Layout 1 16/12/2019 12:35 Page 1

2020 vision v2.qxp_Layout 1 20/12/2019 17:52 Page 5

CITY | HAPPENINGS

9 NEW VISION The plans for building a Stadium for Bath have been in the pipeline for some years and although construction may be a long while off, the planning application submission will go ahead in early 2020, followed by an exhibition in a city centre location for the final designs to be put on public view.

The Stadium for Bath project aims to not only create a new home for Bath Rugby with a bigger capacity, better facilities and an improved pitch, but also regenerate the riverside between Pulteney Bridge and North Parade, connect with the wider community, and inspire younger generations through education and new opportunities.

There are plans to create a Chef Academy for young people, as well as running apprenticeships in areas such as hospitality and catering, and there will be work-space open for local charities to use.

News regarding the public exhibition will be available online soon.

10 THEATRE OF DREAMS

• stadiumforbath.com

Theatre-lovers get ready – Theatre Royal Bath has announced some of its productions for this year and it looks like there’s going to be something for everyone to enjoy. Following an acclaimed run as part of the theatre’s 2018 Summer Season, the Tony and Olivier Award-winning God of Carnage returns to Bath prior to a West End run in January, starring Downton Abbey’s Elizabeth McGovern. Tickets are already very limited for the sell-out London smash hit SIX which arrives in February, but there is availability for other musicals including the international awardwinning Irish folk production of Once, while on the other hand the Bath Operatic and Dramatic Society will be bringing Elle Woods’s tenacity to the stage in Legally Blonde The Musical, both on in March.

Henry VIII’s wives finally tell their stories in the There’s also Dial M For Murder starring Tom Chambers and Olivier-nominated SIX Sally Bretton in February, and classical actor Michael Pennington will bring Prospero to life in The Tempest in April. There’s nostalgia and naughtiness from Emma Rice’s take on Enid Blyton’s Malory Towers in May; Julian Clary and Matthew Kelly take on Ronald Harwood’s The Dresser in September; and Nigel Havers brings his new theatre company to the city for Noël Coward’s comedic masterpiece Private Lives in October. Don’t forget to keep an eye out for the 2020 Summer Season productions, which will be announced soon.

• theatreroyal.org.uk

Josh Widdicombe is bringing his new show Bit Much to Bath Comedy Festival

11 LAUGH A MINUTE You will be laughing into spring this year as venues around the city are hosting plenty of big names on the comedy circuit in the coming months. First up is threetime Edinburgh Comedy Award nominee and BBC Radio 4 regular Josie Long, who will be bringing her brand new show to Komedia on 20 February. Then, following the success of his Spoiler Alert! tour, Ed Byrne is back on tour with his brand-new masterclass in observational comedy If I’m Honest… and is heading for The Forum on 19 March. Then we’ll be treated to more fun times as Bath Comedy Festival returns from 31 March – 19 April. The line-up will be revealed soon, but what we do know is that BAFTA-nominated and star of Channel 4’s The Last Leg, Josh Widdicombe, is coming on 18 April with his new stand-up show.

Ú

• komedia.co.uk; bathcomedy.com; bathforum.co.uk

THEBATHMAG.CO.UK

|

JANUARY 2020

|

TheBATHMAgAziNe 31

2020 vision v2.qxp_Layout 1 19/12/2019 10:24 Page 6

CITY | HAPPENINGS

12 RAISE A PINT Following its huge success last year, Tom Kerridge’s Pub in the Park festival will be returning for its third year to Bath’s Royal Victoria Park from 19–21 June, bringing some of the biggest names in food and music to the city. There will be Michelin-starred and award-winning pubs and restaurants serving tasty dishes and showcasing their signature style, as well as chef demonstrations and artisan stalls. While the music line-up is still to be announced, previous years have included Texas, Tom Odell, Mel C and Gabrielle, so you can expect more big names to be bringing the festival fun to the park this summer. Tickets go on sale 7 February, or sign up to the newsletter for priority access.

• pubintheparkuk.com

13 BE THE FIRST For those wanting more films after the FilmBath Festival last November, your dreams have been answered. The festival has created FilmClub – a year-round programme of the kinds of films you’d find at the festival, but on a monthly basis. The eight films will be screened at Walcot House from January to May and September to December, and it’s a great opportunity to watch a film and discuss it afterwards.

There’s an option of having a movie-themed dinner too. A FilmClub membership is £10 and offers you priority booking on FilmClub events and a discount on film screenings.

• filmbath.org.uk/filmclub

Fashionistas, rejoice! Following the triumph of the Fashion and Textile Museum’s 1920s Jazz Age: Fashion and Photographs exhibition, which went on tour at the American Museum and Gardens in Claverton in 2017, this year the Fashion and Textile Museum’s curators will be returning to the American Museum with the exhibition Night and Day: 1930s Fashion and Photographs.

From 14 March to 19 July, a selection of pieces from the exhibition from glorious gowns to casual chic will be on display. Using women’s fashion as a bellwether, the exhibition will explore the changing social, cultural and political landscape of the period.

• americanmuseum.org n

32 TheBATHMagazine

|

January 2020

|

iSSue 208

Taken from the Fashion and Textile Museum exhibition, Night & Day: 1930s Fashion and Photographs. © Fashion and Textile Museum

14 MARVEL

Knees FP.qxp_Layout 1 20/12/2019 16:19 Page 1

what's on - Jan 2020.qxp_Layout 1 19/12/2019 16:53 Page 1

WHAT’S ON in January

John-Luke Roberts brings his ridiculously long titled show to The Rondo Theatre

From Shakespeare With Love at The Mission Theatre

U3A LECTURE: GREAT BRITISH MAMMALS n 2 January, 10.30am, The Pavilion We may not have dramatic lions or elephants in Britain but we still have a variety of fantastic mammals. Wildlife photographer and lecturer David Boag will explore how British Serengeti dramas are played out on a smaller stage where predators and prey sneak through the grass under cover of darkness.

Non-members welcome, suggested £2 donation; u3ainbath.org.uk TREASURES OF THE LIVERY COMPANY HALLS n 6 January, 1.30pm, Assembly Rooms The City of London is home to no fewer than 40 Livery Company Halls, almost as many as existed immediately prior to the Great Fire of London. In this talk, Paul Jagger, court assistant of The Worshipful Company of Information Technologists, will reveal their history and exhibits. £10 on the door, visitors welcome; theartssocietybath.com GIOTTO: FOUNDER OF MODERN ART n 6 January, 7.10pm, BRLSI Lecturer Alice Foster will explore how a new style of painting by Italian master Giotto appeared in the early 1300s which revolutionised art in western Europe. He was described by Dante and Boccaccio as someone who “brought back to light” the art of painting, and “the instigator of the beautiful new style”. Wine, coffee and tea served from 6.30pm. £8/£5; theartssociety.org/bath-evening NEW ACT COMEDY NIGHT n 6 January, 8pm, Komedia Like comedy? Want to see something new and fresh? Komedia Art’s Café is playing 34 TheBATHMagazine

|

January 2020

|

iSSue 208

host to some of Bath and Bristol’s best aspiring comedians who are new to the game. 18+. £3; komedia.co.uk SIMPLY SOCIAL n 9 January, 8.30pm, The Crystal Palace Simply Social is a social group that provides an excellent way to meet others in a welcoming atmosphere. This is a monthly gathering for existing members and potential new members – all are welcome. Have a drink, learn how Simply Social works and the various activities on offer; simplysocial.org.uk A HUNDRED DIFFERENT WORDS FOR LOVE n 10 January, 8pm, Ustinov Studio Five years ago, James met the love of his life.

Two years later, they broke up. This is James’s story of falling in love, landing broken hearted, and being best man of honour at Sarah and Emma’s wedding. £17.50/£14; theatreroyal.org.uk BATH SCOTTISH DANCERS FREE TASTER EVENING n 14 January, 7.30pm, Ralph Allen School Try out Scottish dancing at this taster evening. Classes are available for beginners and intermediate dancers. Beginners and intermediate classes also at Bathampton Village Hall starting from 16 January, 1.30pm, and classes at New Oriel Hall, Larkhall start on 6 January, 2–4pm; rscdsbath.co.uk STORIES AND NARRATIVES IN POST-TRUTH TIMES n 14 January, 7.30pm, BRLSI We live in times of great complexity and information overload. Images, messages and noise bombard our senses and clutter our

Dwelling at Bath Spa University

minds. Faced with such disorder, we turn to stories and narratives to help us organise our experiences and make sense of the world we inhabit. This talk will examine stories and narratives as prime movers in politics, business and organisations in these posttruth times. £5/£2; brlsi.org DAMIAN WILSON AND ADAM WAKEMAN n 16 January, 8pm, Chapel Arts Centre Now established as a popular UK and European touring duo, Damian Wilson and Adam Wakeman are embarking on a UK tour this month, featuring Damian on vocals and acoustic guitar and Adam on piano, vocals and acoustic guitar. They’ll play songs from their individual back catalogues and artists they have worked with, along with tracks from their joint albums, intertwined with stories and memories from their extensive touring careers in a show not to be missed. £16; chapelarts.org DWELLING n 17 and 18 January, 7.30pm, Bath Spa University Theatre, Newton Park Filmed at Poltimore House, a derelict mansion in Devon, Dwelling explores the eeriness of ruins. When emptied of humans what remains in the disused and discarded places that are stained by time? Combining film, live performance and vocal-looping, this attempts to make sense of stories that escape comprehension as it deconstructs the familial, the domestic, and the gothic. £10/£6; bathboxoffice.org.uk INTERIOR DESIGN TASTER DAY n 18 January and 8 February, 10am–4pm, British Design Academy This taster day is the ideal introduction for any interiors enthusiast wanting to learn

what's on - Jan 2020.qxp_Layout 1 20/12/2019 12:52 Page 2

FILM SCREENINGS n Throughout January, The Little Theatre Cinema This month The Little welcomes in the new year with a party at André Rieu’s castle in Maastricht on 5 January.

There are screenings of the Royal Opera House’s ballet production of The Sleeping Beauty on 16 and 21 January.

There’s also the Met Opera’s encore screening of Wozzeck on 17 January, and a showing of the Royal Academy of Arts’ bringing together Lucian Freud’s self-portraits on 20 and 22 January. Plus there’s a live screening of the Bolshoi Ballet’s Giselle on 26 January. Full programme available online; picturehouses.com/cinema/The_Little

interior design basics. Create a design scheme using colour, mood and style and make your very own mood board. £120, includes refreshments; britishdesignacademy.co.uk THE ROYAL SHAKESPEARE COMPANY: ASPECTS OF ITS HISTORY AND DEVELOPMENT SINCE 1961 n 20 January, 7.30pm, BRLSI Benedict Nightingale reviewed the RSC from 1967 onwards, and was a great admirer of the work of directors Trevor Nunn, Terry Hands, Michael Boyd and Gregory Doran. He became The Times critic in 1990, and saw everything at the RSC until 2010.

Nightingale will survey the RSC’s distinguished history over the past six decades. £5/£2; brlsi.org GOD OF CARNAGE n 20–25 January, times vary, Theatre Royal Bath Following an acclaimed run as part of the Theatre Royal’s Summer Season 2018, God of Carnage returns to Bath prior to a West End run. Elizabeth McGovern, fresh from starring in the celebrated Downton Abbey film, reprises her dazzling performance as Veronica, with Nigel Lindsay back as her bluff husband, Michael.

Samantha Spiro plays Annette and Simon Paisley Day is Alan. £24.50–£39; theatreroyal.org.uk BEING MR WICKHAM n 20 and 21 January, 8pm, Ustinov Studio The definitive Mr Wickham lifts the sheets on exactly what Jane Austen’s most roguish gent has been up to in the last 30 years. Join George Wickham on the eve of his 60th birthday to discover his version of some very famous literary events as he sets the record straight. The performance will be followed by a Q&A with Adrian Lukis and historian Catherine Curzon. £17.50/£14; theatreroyal.org.uk MAX AND IVAN: COMMITMENT n 22 January, 8pm, Komedia Say ‘I do’ to the triumphant return of Edinburgh Comedy Awardnominees Max and Ivan, as seen in BBC One’s W1A and heard on BBC Radio 4’s The Casebook of Max and Ivan. Commitment is the true story of the unreasonable lengths one best man (Max) will go to give one groom (Ivan) the greatest weekend of his life. It’s a show about dreaming big, growing up, and trying to make it in the band. £14/£13; komedia.co.uk SNOW WHITE n 22–25 January, 7.30pm (2.30pm matinee on 25 January), St Philip and St James Church, Odd Down Brand new family pantomime by 2018 Best Panto Rose Bowl winners St Philip and St James Church Drama Group. Based on the traditional story, this show is packed full of music, dance, jokes, larger-than-life characters and a few surprises. £5–£8; ticketsource.co.uk/spsjdrama

Continued page 36

➲ THEBATHMAG.CO.UK

|

January 2020

|

TheBATHMagazine 35

what's on - Jan 2020.qxp_Layout 1 20/12/2019 12:27 Page 3

WHAT’S | ON

Elizabeth McGovern reprises her role as Veronica in God of Carnage at Theatre Royal Bath

COMPOST, BREWS AND TINCTURES – A NEW LOOK AT SOIL n 23 January, 7.30pm, University of Bath Gardening Club, East Building, University of Bath Joshua Sparkes, head gardener at Forde Abbey, believes that good compost and soil are the foundation of a successful garden.

Turning to North America and Japan for inspiration, he will be telling us about those soils and revealing some of the secrets of making rich composts and organic fertilisers. £6 visitors, £20 membership; ubgc.org EAT GREEN WITH MELISSA HEMSLEY n 23 January, 8pm, Topping and Co Food writer Melissa Hemsley returns to Bath to talk about her new book, Eat Green, which provides delicious flexitarian recipes for people who want to make simple and affordable dishes, while cutting back on food waste. £22 includes book, £10 early bird; toppingbooks.co.uk LUNAR NEW YEAR ORIGAMI n 24 and 31 January, 6.15pm, The Museum of East Asian Art Celebrate the year of the rat by making adorable origami mice and new year wreaths. £10/£8; meaa.org.uk AFTER ME COMES THE FLOOD (BUT IN FRENCH) DRIP SPLOSH SPLASH DRIP BLUBBP BLUBBP... n 25 January, 8pm, The Rondo Theatre The critically acclaimed idiot John-Luke Roberts returns to the road with another ridiculously long titled show. In a brand new hour of extraordinary daft-hearted comedy, expect to not know why you are laughing once more… even when he gives you the punchline first. £10; rondotheatre.co.uk AN EVENING WITH MARTYN WILLIAMS MBE n 30 January, 7pm, The Royal Crescent Hotel and Spa Rugby fans rejoice! The night before the Six Nations kicks off, the Royal Crescent Hotel and Spa is hosting an evening with former international rugby player and newly 36 TheBATHMagazine

|

January 2020

|

iSSue 208

appointed national team manager Martyn Williams. One of the most capped players for Wales, Martyn also completed three tours for the British and Irish Lions during his illustrious career. £125, includes a Champagne and canapé reception, three fine dining courses complete with wine, followed by a talk by Martyn; royalcrescent.co.uk UP LATE WITH THE BARD n 31 January, 5–9pm, The Holburne Museum Experience the museum for free after hours on the last Friday of every month. Immerse yourself in an eclectic programme of pop-up talks, art demos, installations, performances, DJ-sets and cocktails. At this special event, celebrate the museum’s new temporary loan – a portrait of the Shakespearean actor Ira Aldridge – with an evening of theatrical performances in the galleries including scenes from classical plays and a good dose of Shakespeare. Free entry; holburne.org

A Hundred Different Words for Love at Ustinov Studio

PLANNING AHEAD...

BURNS NIGHT SUPPER AND CEILIDH n 1 February, 6.45pm, Bathampton Village Hall Two-course supper, address and short talk followed by dancing to mark Burns Night.

Cash bar and raffle. £12.50. To book, call: 07534 245555.

U3A LECTURE: BATH ABBEY FOOTPRINT PROJECT n 6 February, 10.30am, The Pavilion Bath Abbey is almost a year into its Footprint Project, a £19.3m programme of capital works to repair the floor, install ecofriendly heating using energy from Bath’s hot springs and provide new facilities including a Discovery Centre, learning space and Song School. Project director Alix Gilmer will reveal more about the project and the challenges the team is facing. Non-members welcome, suggested £2 donation; u3ainbath.org.uk

LUTHER VANDROSS CELEBRATION n 31 January, 7.30pm, The Forum The world’s premier show in celebration of ‘the velvet voice’, Experience all the hits from Luther Vandross’ amazing career, culminating in more than 40-million album sales and eight Grammy awards including many of the greatest dance anthems and love songs ever written, fronted by international Luther Vandross tribute Harry Cambridge and his 10-piece band. From £22.50; bathforum.co.uk

MARIAM BATSASHVILI PLAYS TCHAIKOVSKY n 7 February, 7.30pm, Wiltshire Music Centre Bath Philharmonia presents an evening of beauty and romanticism featuring Debussy’s melodic Clair de Lune and Prélude à l'aprèsmidi d’un faune. One of the most promising pianists of her generation, Mariam Batsashvili, joins the orchestra to perform Tchaikovsky’s 1st Piano Concerto and his heartfelt tone poem, Romeo and Juliet. £28/£10; bathphil.co.uk

FROM SHAKESPEARE WITH LOVE n 31 January – 1 February, times vary, The Mission Theatre The most universal of human emotions, Shakespeare’s stories of love still ring true today. This is a delightful two-hander entertainment exploring love in Shakespeare’s works. Featuring scenes and sonnets, personal anecdotes and live music, love is showcased in its many forms, from first love to long-term relationships.

Presented by Sun and Moon Theatre. £10/£8; bathboxoffice.org.uk

WELLNESS-SING DAY RETREAT n 8 February, 10am–7.30pm, The Gainsborough Bath Spa Hotel If you like singing, then this could be the ultimate retreat for you. Features two singing sessions led by choral director Eamonn O’Dwyer, a sound healing session with local artist Bex Bridgford, a two-course lunch on site and entry to the thermal spa pools and saunas at the end of the day – you can warm up your vocal chords before relaxing. £179, tickets via Eventbrite; thegainsboroughbathspa.co.uk n

God of Carnage: Nobby Clark/James Rowland: David Levenson

Edinburgh Comedy Award-nominees Max and Ivan bring their show to Komedia

Bath Phil FP.qxp_Layout 1 16/12/2019 12:29 Page 1

Otterwell music.qxp_Layout 1 19/12/2019 10:53 Page 1

MUSIC

Chasing the fear

Two new albums, one folk and one post punk, have pushed their creators onto the international touring stage. Jessica Otterwell explores their respective musical vocabulary and discovers the significant local support they have received

I

t seems as though 2020 will be a breakthrough year for Bath based folk troubadour, Luke De-Sciscio. With the release of his third album, Goodbye Folk Boy, things have taken an unexpected but well-deserved turn for the singersongwriter whose songs possess a maturity and eloquence that evades more established musicians.

No stranger to the local music scene, Luke can often be found at The Smoking Duck Playgroup, an open mic night run by Lawrie Duckworth and hosted at The Bell on Thursday evenings. Indeed, it seems those nights helped prepared Luke for what 2020 has in store. Luke said, “There are no graces or concessions playing here, but it’s also the most encouraging and revealing atmosphere you could ask for. Being there and loving those people and playing week on week, you learn. I’ve seen some of the most talented musicians I’ve ever watched perform in that back room at The Bell”.

Discussing the challenges facing the local music scene, Luke had a refreshing perspective: “I’ve grafted and worked and chased my fear into the light enough to be able to say it to myself and genuinely believe it is mine. So, maybe the only challenge facing anyone ever is their own acceptance that their vision for their life is one they deserve.”

The grafting has certainly paid off, after self-releasing all of his previous albums, Luke’s latest has gained label interest, leading to a tour and an album re-release in early 2020. Luke’s songs are awash with delicate and intricate finger-picked melodies. These songs recall Nick Drake, Jeff Buckley and Jackson C. Frank, but the tales of love and loss also reference the recent folk revival, such as Angel Olsen, Benjamin Francis Leftwhich, Iron and Wine and Robyn (the wistful elegance of whom recently made its way to the playlists of BBC Radio 6 Music).

Charivari

“Goodbye Folk Boy is a guitar and a voice in a room,” says Luke. It is the extraction of order from a period of chaos, the sound of returning to understanding when a preconception was violently shaken. It’s a dichotomy. As in there can be no fall from grace without having experienced it. So I’d say this album is human.”

‘Human’ very well describes the wistful, thoughtful and lamenting stories that make up the 11 masterful tracks on Goodbye Folk Boy. The narrator is at once worldly and defiant but with a resolute naivety, not least in I’m a Dream Fighting Out of a Man. The storm certainly is raging for Luke.

A tour will follow the album release, taking him to America (including the legendary music industry showcase SXSW in Texas), New York, France, Germany and the UK. In Luke’s words, “The whole journey has been a dream – I am deeply grateful.”

F

ebruary 2020 sees the release of the debut album, Descent, from Charivari. The post-punk, post-rock four-piece offer up stunning, heavy soundscapes with grunge-tinged fuzz and a shoegaze sensibility. Charivari is a band who like to take their influences from a wide range of artistic media, and this enriches their sound with a multi-layered texture.

Lead singer and guitarist Gary Say expressed concern at the perceived lack of support for the arts at grassroots level: “Kids need to be encouraged and supported to try creative pursuits.” Gary went on to praise several local outlets for helping the band on their journey, including the Saint James Wine Vaults, which he describes as “the bedrock of the alternative scene.” Also mentioned was Nine Volt Leap recording studio, run by Bath resident Dominic Bailey Clay and local music promoter and fellow musician, Reuben Myles Tyghe. The band also mentioned the

Luke De-Sciscio

number of Bath’s live music venues that are closing and that there are fewer places for bands to play and for people to experience the vibrant live music scene in the city. With that in mind, Charivari hope to bring music lovers together and celebrate the alternative and DIY scene that Bath has to offer.

The band describe their debut as, “the album with the fractured and non-linear narrative of our lives.” Gary said that the lyrics of the album are meant to, “dissolve upon the waves of sound”. Indeed the whole atmosphere that Charivari create offers space and an expanse that the listener can walk into and drift into thought. There is a mix here of isolation and togetherness, showcasing musicianship from Rik Jones with his frantic drumming to Haga’s mysterious bass melding the tracks.

The band talked of Aphotic as a favourite track to play live, with Gary stating it’s “as post punk as we get.” Other highlights include Scavengers on the Wind, a literary influenced epic. The track was inspired by the dystopian novel The Road by Cormac McCarthy and the Odyssey by Homer.

It is influences such as these that make Charivari such an interesting band to follow.

Each song examines the depths of human existence and what it means to be alive but there is also an uplift, recognising that change is important and there’s hope hidden in that guitar fuzz. With the release of Descent Charivari will be taking their soundscapes and epic guitar pieces on the road, playing across the UK and at festival sets in Europe during 2020. n Lukedesciscio.bandcamp.com; soundcloud.com/charivariband

P39.qxp_Layout 23 20/12/2019 09:16 Page 1

THEBATHMAG.CO.UK

|

january 2020

|

TheBATHMagazine 39

Take Two Films January 20.qxp_Layout 22 20/12/2019 16:08 Page 1

CINEMA | HIGHLIGHTS

Take two: films

Our choices of the films on offer at The Little Theatre Cinema this month are two dramas, one from each of the world wars.

One is a musical melodrama and the other is a harsh depiction of the descent into war, says Georgina Southam

Cover Girl Released in 1944, Cover Girl was Columbia’s first Technicolour musical production and the first film produced by songwriter Arthur Schwartz, while its incredible score came courtesy of two songwriting giants: Jerome Kern and Ira Gershwin. Rita Hayworth stars with a young Gene Kelly; together they made magic on the screen with their chemistry and dancing artistry.

The film follows the story of chorus girl Rusty (Hayworth) who is given a chance of stardom by a wealthy magazine editor, who offers her a position as a highly paid cover girl after her horrendous audition. Rusty is a talented performer in a small-time dance troupe, directed by her beau, Danny (Kelly).

Rusty’s star quality shines through in the cover shoot audition and she is awarded the glittering role of a lifetime.

This musical melodrama has it all – with singing, dancing, romance, humour and sadness, it is quite the emotional rollercoaster.

Joyous and bounding with resonance and

1917 Set in the penultimate year of the First World War, two young British soldiers, Schofield (George MacKay) and Blake (Dean-Charles Chapman, Game of Thrones) are tasked with a seemingly impossible mission. In a race against time, they must cross into enemy territory and deliver a message that could stop a deadly attack on hundreds of soldiers – including Blake’s brother.

From American Beauty director Sam Mendes, comes 1917, an incredible story that bills itself as the first combat picture to unfold via a single, unbroken shot; using

40 TheBATHMagazine

|

january 2020

|

iSSue 208

energy, the songs tell the story of heartbreak, happiness and loss with elements of comedy and lightheartedness to offset the drama. One such song is Make Way for Tomorrow, an upbeat performance between Hayworth, Kelly and Phil Silvers (Genius, their endearing best friend) as they dance and sing together in the streets.

Columbia Pictures famously had to be convinced to hire Kelly, as in 1944 his inventive choreography and stylistic direction was unrecognised. But director Charles Vidor gave him free creative rein with the choreography, resulting in some truly spectacular numbers.

Kelly’s infamous Alter Ego Dance is the manifestation of Danny’s inner struggle, using trick photography that sees him dancing with an imaginary version of himself. Confronting his reflection within a shop window, this dramatic and emotional number confounds and delights in its technical wizardry as Danny dances with the devil on his shoulder, reflecting his anguish over the loss of Rusty.

This cinematic package of joy helped sustain the spirits of viewers during the incredible camera work and editing capabilities the film looks as though it was created in only one take.

Drawing on similarities to Saving Private Ryan with men in battle going on a wild goose chase around a war-torn country, the plot revolves around the two soldiers sent on a relief mission in rural, battle-rocked France. 1917 is more than a jaw-dropping exercise of filmmaking prowess, forgoing large-scale combat in favour of ominous stretches of silence and stillness. These moments are punctured by heightened moments of trial: a hand caught in barbed wire, a tripwire in danger of being set off and a collapsing bridge that needs to be crossed.

Mendes, teaming up with cinematographer Roger Deakins, deploys technological trickery in pursuit of a new kind of cinematic truth. By pulling the audience into the headspace of the protagonists through the use of the single-take structure, the intense psychological experience of being in a combat zone where death can come at any moment is captured. The terrible senselessness and destruction of the First World War is expressed visually by allowing the camera to linger on the carnage left from major battles, showing us the deeper psychological effects of warfare.

Second World War and the production was a huge success at the box office and takes credit for propelling the careers of both Hayworth and Kelly.

Chapman and MacKay show their acting prowess in the portrayal of two soldiers who are suddenly dropped into extraordinary circumstances, heading for a powerful descent into the hell of war. Beginning as a depiction of a mass effort to save history, the story soon becomes a race against the clock for these two men. This ability to capture the harsh immediacy of the trenches and the bleak mechanics of war makes this an adrenaline-infused viewing journey.

Mendes and Deakins have masterfully coordinated highly complex situations, marshalling hundreds of extras and integrating sophisticated digital effects into the extremely complicated set-ups, with the result rivalling the cinematic spectacle of Dunkirk. ■

SHOWING TIMES Cover Girl 6 January, 11am 1917 10 – 16 January, see website for times Little Theatre Cinema, St Michael’s Place; picturehouses.com/cinema/The_Little

P41.qxp_Layout 23 16/12/2019 13:30 Page 1

The Framing Workshop has been trading as an independent family run business on Walcot Street for over 28 years. We treasure you, our client, and spend time helping you to ďŹ nd the best way to display and protect your cherished objects, artworks and memorabilia. Creativity and respect for each artwork are core to what we do.

Every picture tells a story. Come and share yours.

80 Walcot Street, Bath, BA1 5BD Tel: 01225 482748 www.theframingworkshop.com framing@theframingworkshop.com

THEBATHMAG.CO.UK

|

JANUARY 2020

|

TheBATHMAgAziNe 41

P42.qxp_Layout 22 20/12/2019 16:09 Page 1

Digging up lost ancestors DUNCAN CAMPBELL HAS BEEN DEALING IN ANTIQUE SILVER SINCE 1986

Researching an old coat of arms is a wonderful game for January

T

racing family trees is a hugely popular pastime. By 9am on any day of the week, there will be a long snaking queue of researchers at The Public Records Office in Kew, all armed with carrier bags and thermos flasks.

For anyone tempted by this human sudoku, there is a far easier way to find such diversions with just a few books at the kitchen table.

At this slow time of the retail year, I often sneak off to play the game of Heraldry.

Before the middle of the 19th century, when people began aggrandising themselves with often fantastical and unregulated armorial achievements, the rules of heraldry were strict and the punishments for breaking them severe.

The result of this officiousness is a fun game for all the family.

Take any old coat of arms and you can pretty much guarantee, given time, finding the identity of its original owner. For those who haven’t played, the unexpected feature of heraldry is its accuracy. Although many families’ arms look similar, cousins and even brothers must ‘difference’ their arms to avoid mistaken identity.

A coat of arms can have only one holder at a time. All this increases the attraction of the game to me as there is a right or wrong answer – no fudges allowed.

Like any good puzzle, the timing is unpredictable – some can be solved in minutes and others spin on for hours. And so January is the month for tackling the toughest of shields, hoping that all the page turning will be rewarded. I have often struggled down a complicated branch line of some armorial family only to discover that the person I was looking for is a complete dullard. Needless to say, the idea is to find a name rather than to discover a thrilling tale of daring-do which might elevate and help to sell an otherwise overlooked piece of silver.

But hero or zero, the sense of satisfaction is terrific. n beaunashbath.com; 01225 334234

42 TheBATHMagazine

|

january 2020

|

issue 208

Bath Art Fair FP.qxp_Layout 1 16/12/2019 12:31 Page 1

Arts Jan 2020.qxp_Layout 1 20/12/2019 16:15 Page 1

ART | EXHIBITIONS

STATE OF THE ART A highly anticipated new exhibition and Bath landscapes feature in this month’s art showcases at the city’s museums and galleries VICTORIA ART GALLERY

By Pulteney Bridge Open: Daily, 10.30am–5pm Tel: 01225 477233 Web: victoriagal.org.uk PETER BROWN: BATH IS IT Until 2 February More than 100 new oil paintings and drawings by the ever popular Bath-based artist ‘Pete the Street’, celebrating the streets and green spaces of Bath as well as far-flung places where his easel has taken him. The works of art include scenes of well-loved Bath locations such as Widcombe, Hedgemead Park, Lansdown and Milsom Street, as well as lesser-known but equally beautiful corners of the city. These atmospheric views are captured in different states – quiet and bustling – and in all weathers, even during rain and snow. £5/concs/free for 18 and under and Discovery Card holders.

MUSEUM OF EAST ASIAN ART 12 Bennett Street, Bath Open: Tuesday – Friday 11am–5pm, Saturday 10am–5pm Tel: 01225 464640 Web: meaa.org.uk CHINA ON A PLATE Until 8 May Many beautiful artefacts that are classified as Chinese art were originally made for daily purposes and were not meant to be displayed in a museum or collected by enthusiasts as they are today. In fact, a large percentage of objects within the MEAA’s collections were originally used as food or drinking vessels.

This exhibition explores the culture of food and drink in China through a wide range of vessels made of different materials and used by various social classes over centuries.

The exhibition is the result of a joint research project between the museum and the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London.

Above, Morning Light on Snow, Marlborough Lane

by Peter Brown

Kraak basin, late Ming dynasty China (c1600–1620) 44 TheBATHMagazine

SALLY MUIR: THE DOG SHOW Until 9 February Sally Muir has had dogs all her life and for nearly as long has drawn and painted them. Some years ago she began a Facebook project, posting her dog art daily. As people became interested she became more adventurous in her materials, combining wire drawings, lithography, paper cuts, pen and ink and potato prints. The project finished several years ago, but Muir continues to find people and their dogs endlessly fascinating. She has held successful one-woman shows with retailer Anthropologie in London and Bath, and in 2017 a book of her dog portraits was published, entitled A Dog a Day. This new exhibition is guaranteed to bring smiles and nods of recognition to visitors’ faces, even if they are not dog owners. Free entry.

|

January 2020

|

iSSue 208

Arts Jan 2020.qxp_Layout 1 19/12/2019 12:00 Page 2

ART | EXHIBITIONS

NICK CUDWORTH GALLERY London Street, top of Walcot Street, Bath Closed on Mondays Tel: 01225 445221 Web: nickcudworth.com Throughout January This exhibition features original paintings and prints of Bath by Nick Cudworth. Various other subjects also feature in print form. Nick works in the studio connected to his gallery and is usually available to discuss the finished pieces and the works in progress.

Bathwick by Night by Nick Cudworth

DAVID RINGSELL The Claremont Community Centre, Eastbourne Avenue, Bath Web: real-images.com LIGHT Until 13 January David Ringsell presents a new exhibition of his latest paintings, many of which are of Bath, and provides an original take on the architecture of the city. His work features strong graphic qualities and retains a fresh painterly look.

The exhibition is available to view on Thursdays between 10.30am–12pm, and aims to support the Community Centre which is operated by the Methodist Church.

THE HOLBURNE MUSEUM Great Pulteney Street, Bath Open: Daily, 10am–5pm (11am Sundays) Tel: 01225 388569 Web: holburne.org

Bath Sunrise by David Ringsell

GRAYSON PERRY: THE PRE-THERAPY YEARS 24 January to 25 May One of the Holburne’s most eagerly anticipated shows of the year will surely be Grayson Perry: The Pre-Therapy Years. Following a hugely successful public appeal in 2018 to source Perry’s early ceramic pieces – made between 1982 and the mid-1990s – this exciting exhibition brings together for the very first time a broad range of Perry’s early works, including pieces from the artist’s own collection and many works not seen publicly before.

For Perry’s legions of fans, The Pre-Therapy Years will bring a new perspective to the 2003 Turner Prize-winner’s influential and inspiring outlook.

THE FRAMING WORKSHOP 80 Walcot Street, Bath Tel: 01225 482748 Web: theframingworkshop.com Throughout January

George Weeks works with a variety of wood veneers using marquetry techniques to produce pictures, frames and small objects. n Bella by George Weeks

Essex Plate by Grayson Perry

THEBATHMAG.CO.UK

|

january 2020

|

TheBATHMagazine 45

study of a pot.qxp_Layout 1 19/12/2019 11:01 Page 1

INSIDE | ART

Jizhou-kiln tea bowl

Jizhou kilns were introduced during the late Tang dynasty and the ware was produced for over five centuries. Tea bowls in the Song dynasty (from 1127) became symbols of prestige because they were used among Buddhist monks for tea-drinking.

Dr Nicole Chiang, curator at The Museum of East Asian Art, tells the story of a Jizhou-kiln tea bowl Left: Black tea bowl with skeleton leaf design Jizhou Kilns, China Southern Song dynasty (1127–1279)

46 TheBATHMagazine

|

january 2020

|

iSSue 208

❝

Chinese tea culture was, and still is, an art of marrying visual and taste sensations

❝

A

delicate impression of a leaf skeleton glows against a dark background. It gracefully lies at the bottom of the tea bowl, waiting to make its gradual appearance while the tea drinker slowly sips the tea. Around 700–800 hundred years ago, this would have been the scene every time this tea bowl was used in an upper-middle class household during the Southern Song dynasty (1127–1279) in China.

This little Jizhou-kiln tea bowl is one of the many hidden gems in the collection of The Museum of East Asian Art. Covered in a mat iron-oxide glaze, the natural leaf imprint clearly shows the veins, making it a piece which combines both the craftsmanship of the potter and the beauty of nature.

Powdered tea, similar to matcha, was particularly popular during this era. The decorative pattern was covered and as tea was consumed the pattern slowly revealed, adding additional pleasure to tea drinking.

Chinese tea culture was, and still is, an art of marrying visual and taste sensations.

Tea drinking has been an integral part of Chinese life for over two millennia.

Two-thousand-year-old tea leaves were recently discovered in the tomb of Emperor

Jing who died in 141 BC, during the Han dynasty. Tea was often sold in China along with tea vessels and famous tea-producing regions, therefore, often manufactured great tea wares. Jizhou kilns in the Jiangxi province, where this tea bowl was produced, along with a number of other tea-growing regions in southern China, were known for producing stunning tea bowls, as they were (and remain) major tea-growing areas.

Tea was consumed by monks to help stay awake during their long hours of sutra studies and meditation. With the spread of Buddhism in China and Japan in the Tang dynasty (618–907), tea came to be enjoyed at every level of society in East Asia. In the Song dynasty the consumption of powdered tea was especially popular. Tea powder was

placed in a tea bowl, boiled water was added, and the mixture whisked. For this reason Song dynasty tea bowls are larger than later teacups used for steeped tea as space was required for whisking.

Many Japanese monks studied Buddhism in China near the Tianmu Mountain in the Fujian province, another famous tea-growing region in China. They introduced the practice of whisked tea to Japan along with the use of dark tea bowls. In addition, Japanese potters started producing dark glazed tea bowls imitating the Chinese style. These have come to be known widely in the English-speaking world as ‘temmoku’, named after the Tianmu Mountain.

The production of powdered tea was expensive and the process of making whisked tea was time-consuming. The first emperor of the Ming dynasty (1368–1644), who came from a humble background, banned the presentation of powdered tea to court in 1391 and promoted steeped tea to help relieve the pressure of state finances. While whisked tea fell out of favour in China and the Chinese started to embrace steeped tea, the consumption of whisked tea has been preserved in Japan and is much better known today as a Japanese, rather than a Chinese tradition. n

China on a Plate: a Visual and Material History of Food and Drink, runs at The Museum of East Asian Art until 8 May. Another version of the exhibition will be shown at the Brunei Gallery at SOAS, University of London from 10 January to 21 March, where this tea bowl will be on display.

These exhibitions explore the culture of food and drink in China through a wide range of vessels used by various social classes over centuries. Visit the them to learn more about the fascinating stories around food and drink in China.

The Museum of East Asian Art, 12 Bennett Street, Bath Tel: 01225 464640; meaa.org.uk

P47.qxp_Layout 23 20/12/2019 16:19 Page 1

THEBATHMAG.CO.UK

|

JANUARY 2020

|

TheBATHMAgAziNe 47

owen gent 2.qxp_Layout 1 19/12/2019 10:56 Page 1

ARTS

Every picture tells a story

Bristol-based illustrator Owen Gent describes himself as “not much of a writer”, but he compensates with his powerful visual vocabulary. Emma Clegg talks to the artist who created the mesmerising image for this magazine’s cover

I

llustrator Owen Gent is a man of texured layers. He was a signwriter, he used to dive into the sea on the Cornish coast in between lectures, he lived in a caravan on a llama farm, he travelled around Ireland in a van, he is working on a graphic novel and his illustrations have supported everything from a report on inequality in the US penal system to the covers of Thomas Hardy novels. Oh yes, and he’s just made himself a loom.

The textured layers extend to his illustration technique, a mixture of traditional art techniques and digital processes. “I used to be an oil painter and I did sign writing for a long time. So my background is in traditional brushwork. In my current work, I use digital techniques to give me the flexibility needed while working in commercial illustration – so my work is half hand-produced and half digital.”

He scans in his own monotone watercolour paintings, adds colour and then layers on collected or hand-made textures such as old paper or dry brush strokes.

“There’s a depth that you can get from paint and pencil that you can’t get with digital,” Owen explains. “I use Photoshop a lot in my work, but I see technology like an extension of a pencil case with many different materials and possibilities. So it’s another creative tool rather than a formulaic process.”

There is a distinctive hazyness to many of Owen’s pieces with elements of mist, blur and grain. Referring to his artwork of the Thermae Bath Spa shown on the magazine cover this month, he says, “The smoky and grainy textures are all created with charcoal and graphite and created separately to the original painting. I scanned in a page of densely drawn charcoal, which was

then inverted and transferred over the painting. The steam coming off the water is graphite dust on tracing paper scanned in and layered over in a different filter.”

Owen studied illustration at Falmouth School of Art, graduating six years ago.

The course focuses on traditional illustration, with graduates going on to become book illustrators or produce editorial illustrations.

Just a few year older than his fellow students, Owen recollects that the difference between going to college after having had a full time job for a few years and coming straight from school was all about motivation: “I really wanted to be there – it really mattered to me.”

“I got into magical realism when I was at Falmouth, using literature, music and storytelling and incorporating lots of metaphors in my work. Slowly, over time, it became more about telling a story. My style is to tell a little bit of a story but then not fully explain the whole thing. It’s about implication and suggestion. Many of my figures never fully face the camera, so I leave as much as possible to interpretation.”

Owen has produced a number of book covers for clients including Hodder & Stoughton and Penguin Random House, but the ones that strike a particular chord are the series of Thomas Hardy covers he did for Penguin Vintage. In Owen’s trademark style, these are alluringly simple compositions, each with figures in mystery, facing away from the viewing plane and buffeted by the natural force of the elements. This synchronises aptly with Hardy’s familiar narrative around the power of circumstance to control lives and how human forces are inevitably rendered inconsequential.

Beyond book covers, Owen has a list of clients including The New York Times, The New Yorker, Vogue, The Washington Post, the V&A and Wired. He has also worked for organisations such as TED, The Samaritans and Al Jazeera, covering issues such as mental health, racial segregation and inequality. “A lot of the subject matter I get is quite difficult: mental health, depression or isolation. My style lends itself to that because there is something in not directly showing characterisation. It leaves a lot to interpretation which makes the content more palatable. And then people can project what they want on to that image rather than translating it literally.

“If I look at a brief from a client and see subjects such as depression, bereavement, mental health or death, there’s a sense of responsibility and pleasure to be had in finding a way to communicate those things

well. If I can make those parts of life more palatable or offer a shred of understanding or an element of relatability around them then it’s incredibly rewarding.”

Owen also collaborates with fellow illustrator, composer and animator Hugh Cowling as Uncle Ginger Animation Studio.

In 2017 they received a nomination for Best Animation in the Royal Television Society’s West of England Awards for their film How Did Hitler Rise to Power? commissioned by TED-Ed – TED’s education initiative.

Owen and Hugh are based in Bristol’s Centrespace studios, which is run as a cooperative and is shared with creatives ranging from architects and glassblowers to furniture makers and printers. Owen says that everyone there is their own island, but there is also also a real sense of collaboration, so valuable when you are freelance.

Each one of Owen’s commissions has its own character and the schedules for delivering work range from five hours to a year. “The best ones tend to be the short ones. You don’t have a choice and there’s no time to reflect or doubt yourself. There was a client recently who called me as I was walking out of the door with my coat on.

The job was great so I had to sit back down and get straight on with it until the early hours. It’s one of the rare opportunities where the life of an illustrator can feel just a little bit rock and roll.” n owengent.com

owen gent 2.qxp_Layout 1 19/12/2019 10:57 Page 2

“I like to tell a little bit of a story but then not fully explain the whole thing. It’s about implication and suggestion”

Illustration for an article in L’Express magazine exploring the potential reduction of prison sentences for sexual offenders attending voluntary sexual rehabilitation

THEBATHMAG.CO.UK

|

january 2020 2010

|

TheBATHMagazine 49 51

P50.qxp_Layout 22 19/12/2019 13:50 Page 1

A MASTERY OF MYSTERY

For all of 2020’s Celebrations

Happy New Year

Pierre-Auguste Renoir observed that “There is something in painting which cannot be explained and that something is essential.” Many artists have enjoyed devising slightly perplexing subjects that cause us to ponder and reflect upon fragments of a moment that defy immediate understanding.

A small picture at Lawrences in Crewkerne (to be sold on 17th January) does just that.

Frederick Cayley Robinson (1862–1927) was influenced by the Arts and Crafts movement and also drew inspiration from sources as diverse as Fra Angelico (the mid-15th century Florentine painter) and Puvis de Chavannes (the mid-19th century French painter). His Summer Evening of c.1910 at just 16 x 20cm captures our attention. He liked to instil an air of quiet mystery in many of his subjects and his titles are, paradoxically, specific but imprecise, permitting numerous interpretations. Cecil French, writing in The Studio in 1922, noted that Robinson blended the “synthetic with the intimate”, suggesting a union of creativity and sensitivity. A critic observed that “he seems to brood upon a world seen through the twilight of sub-conscious memories” and noted “a quite infinity [that] holds us.”

Robinson settled in London after periods of study in Newlyn, Florence and Paris. Having absorbed the serenity of the Italian Masters’ works, he also loved the aestheticism and symbolism of the Nazarenes in early 19th-century German art. Cecil French recalls his first encounter with Robinson’s exhibits at the Society of British Artists: “The potency of spell, the visionary strangeness, the almost desperate sincerity of the new, mysterious, isolated artist brought to mind the first strenuous beginnings of the English Pre-Raphaelite group.”

Robinson’s work on the theme of a winter’s evening complemented this.

Each subject has a measured concentration upon grouping, yet each person seems isolated and alone. The enclosed, cell-like space and the Annunciation theme on the wall may suggest a benevolent institution such as a school or a convent, but a modernity of tone and of atmosphere predominates: any intention to becalm the viewer with the languor of a summer evening is disrupted by the sense of something unknowable (but not necessarily malign) that is about to happen. “We are clearly in a room where children are sleeping,” notes Richard Kay at Lawrences. “Our instinct is to be quiet and to withdraw, but the figure on the left seems set on a task, and so our gaze lingers as though we may devine her purpose just by watching her. The high window encloses the space but the palette is no bleak or foreboding; it is warm, gentle and comfortingly domestic. At first glance, it is a scene of almost banal simplicity but a sense of strangeness persists. It is an intriguing sensation when a work of art leaves one wondering about its subtleties even after we have let something else catch our eye.” This little gem by Robinson is expected to make £4,000–6,000 and “the potency of spell, the visionary strangeness” may lift it a little further.

ENTRIES ARE NOW INVITED FOR FORTHCOMING SALES. IF YOU WOULD LIKE MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT: enquiries@lawrences.co.uk

Lawrences AUCTIONEERS The Linen Yard, South Street, Crewkerne, Somerset TA18 8AB. T 01460 73041

lawrences.co.uk

50 TheBATHMagazine

|

january 2020

|

issue 208

P51.qxp_Layout 23 16/12/2019 13:38 Page 1

nick cudworth gallery

Lecture Series 2019/2020

‘Treasures of the Livery Company Halls’ Lecturer : Paul Jagger

The City of London has 40 Livery Company Halls, Join us for a lecture on their buildings, art, sculpture, furniture and the history of these ancient institutions.

Warm Glow. Oil on canvas and prints at 1.30pm on Monday 6th January 2020 in The Assembly Rooms, Bennett Street, Bath

JANUARY EXHIBITION 1 – 31 January

Visitors welcome £10 at the door (No Booking required) Visit our website for membership benefits and other information www.theartssocietybath.com

5 London Street (top end of Walcot Street), Bath BA1 5BU tel 01225 445221 / 07968 047639 gallery@nickcudworth.com www.nickcudworth.com

THEBATHMAG.CO.UK

|

JANUARY 2020

|

TheBATHMAgAziNe 51

Bath Framer.qxp_Layout 1 19/12/2019 10:38 Page 1

CITY | BUSINESS

Claim to frame

The craft of the framer involves problem solving, interior discussions, colour awareness, as well as a good helping of technical expertise. Emma Clegg talks to Kelly Ann Perry about The Bath Framer and its recent relocation

“

I

t’s a great colour to work in,” says Kelly Ann Perry. The walls at The Bath Framer’s new shop at 14–15 Walcot Buildings are covered with Mylands Bond Street paint. In fact their previous premises in Walcot Buildings were too. This is Kelly’s favourite colour.

It is bold and resonant, and does make you feel good, raising you up somehow to another level, but then the new interior retail space itself sings, too. The back room with its working studio table is painted in Farrow and Ball’s Setting Plaster, a soft dusty pink that offsets the dark as a nice contrast when you come through, Kelly explains.

The Bath Framer, you see, is a framing shop with a difference. It’s where colours matter. It’s where framing is seen as an element of an interior, not as a self-contained statement. Kelly Ann is a Fine Art Trade Guild Commended Framer and also has a BTEC National Diploma in Interior Design and her understanding of design contributes significantly to the framing service offered, so customers can consult with her about the colours in their homes and where they plan to position the final pieces. A hand-picked colour range of Mylands paints is also used for barefaced frame mouldings, which Kelly says will work harmoniously in any home.

Kelly started her business seven years ago, initially as Kelly Ann Designs with a more specialist interior design emphasis. Then four and a half years ago she found premises in Bath and rebranded as The Bath Framer.

“It’s a great business to be in,” says Kelly.

“Because there are always people who want frames doing.” Despite this fact, industry figures indicate that only 10 per cent of the country have ever had something bespoke

framed. This is perhaps surprising given the fact that Kelly and her team are so busy, but it also indicates how much untapped potential there is in the market, says Kelly.

Are people put off by the expense of a bespoke frame, perhaps? “Well, it’s not as expensive as you’d think, and it can make a picture so much more enhanced,” says Kelly.

“It’s exciting for people to come in and see their pieces come to life. One man came in recently and he just started sobbing with happiness when he saw his frame.”

Moving into a bigger space has given the business much more creative potential. As well as the studio room at the back, the second large front room, where Kelly’s framing operations take place and where her mount cutter and pneumatic underpinner (which joins the frames) are housed, has open access from the first, and it connects the customers and those dealing with them with the crux of the framing action. The additional space has also allowed Kelly to take on a new framer, whereas up until now it’s been exclusively Kelly. Regular staff members Lizzie and Joe, who work on the customer side, do the fitting up of the frames, cleaning the glass and putting all the elements together so the pieces are ready to hang on the wall.

As well as private customers and regular contract customers, The Framing Workshop also provides frames for museums, and has just undertaken five of The Holburne Museum’s latest acquisitions. These use museum-quality glass, which is so subtle that you can’t see the glass at all: “It’s like an invisible protection,” says Kelly.

There are various glass choices for other commissions, starting from water white Lizzie and Joe working in the back room

glass, where the green tinge in the light passing through clear glass has been removed.

Anti-reflective glass is also available in different levels. “The choice of glass depends on where the frame is going. If it’s going to be in direct sunlight then it will have a minimum of a conservation-level glass and one with the UV protection so it won’t fade.” Kelly always uses a conservation-quality board, a cotton rag board that won’t damage the artwork.

“If you look at pictures with nonconservation-quality boards, over time the bevel on the mount goes orange, which is the acid through the card,” she explains.

The Bath Framer will take on anything that can be framed. Rugby shirts, cricket bats and balls, war medals, watch parts, old etchings, Picasso plates that required special treatment with a mount that supported the plates, a Barbara Hepworth pencil sketch, a shaped 1930s swimsuit, and even a wedding dress, set in a 4 x 5.5ft frame, pinned in a mermaid shape so the whole of the train was like a fan.

Many of the pieces for framing are in a battered or faded state, but the conservationquality products used will protect items from further deterioration. Indeed having a timeworn quality is often part of the sentimental value. As Kelly says, “Some people love the fact that it’s like that. It tells its own story, and is part of the piece.”

As if life wasn’t busy enough, Kelly still has the lease on the shops at 6 and 7 Walcot Buildings and has exciting plans for the development of a new upmarket hardware business. Whenever this happens, the interior may well be painted in a resonant statement of Mylands Bond Street. n The Bath Framer, 14–15 Walcot Buildings, London Road, Bath BA1 6AD. Tel: 01225 920210; thebathpictureframer.co.uk

Bath Framer.qxp_Layout 1 20/12/2019 15:29 Page 2

CITY | BUSINESS

Kelly in the shop with one of her pre-framed prints WWW.THEBATHMAG.CO.UK

MARCH 2015

|

THeBATHMAgAzine xx

spas unesco v4 5 pages.qxp_Layout 1 20/12/2019 12:50 Page 1

CITY | CULTURE

Spa-ing partners

The Great Spas of Europe project could see Bath become the UK’s first double-nominated UNESCO World Heritage Site. With a recommendation possible this summer, the project involves 11 spa towns across seven different countries, ranging from Montecatini Terme in Italy to Bad Kissingen in Germany. Emma Clegg considers the credentials of the sites

S

pas were a huge European phenomenon from the 18th century to the early 20th century. The Bader Lexicon of 1854 lists 652 major European spas, but only a handful of the grandest now survive. Each used natural mineral waters to treat pain and disease before industrial medication and they are testimony to the development of medicine. The towns have unique urban forms and architectural ensembles including special spa buildings and visitor facilities such as spa houses, colonnades, churches, theatres, casinos, dedicated hotels and boarding houses.

The combination of the fabric of the towns with their parks and green spaces and surrounding ‘therapeutic landscape’ was crucial.

The spas attracted highly prestigious clientele and were resorts for the rich and famous before modern mass tourism.

Bath has joined ten other European spa towns across seven countries in seeking UNESCO recognition for their role as leading historic spa towns that changed the culture of Europe. The group includes Spa in Belgium, Vichy in France and Baden Baden in Germany, which all developed as open air resorts with beautiful surroundings and a thermal water cure. This could see Bath become the UK’s first double-nominated UNESCO World Heritage Site, adding to its

Kissingen in Germany was the leading fashionable spa for Europe’s nobility and aristocracy from the 1830s. Here we see the Kurgarten and the Wandelhalle, a coverred walk with an integrated pump room

54 TheBATHMagazine

|

january 2020

|

iSSue 208

existing listing as a ‘cultural site’ and ranking it alongside cities like Bruges and Barcelona. UNESCO World Heritage status remains the most prestigious global accolade bestowed on any heritage site. In addition to the status and marketing potential of Bath’s inclusion, it’s also likely that a successful nomination will provide international networking potential, enabling the city to take advantage of any possible European funding streams requiring partners.

It took over eight years of collaborative discussion and planning across Europe to complete the 1,434 page Great Spas of Europe World Heritage Site nomination. With the submission passed to UNESCO in January 2019, a recommendation is possible in June or July 2020 when the final decision will be made.

As a joint bid by each of the spa towns, the process is less of a competition and more a fulfilment of criteria. With one of the four main criteria including the need “to bear a unique or exceptional testimony to a cultural tradition or to a civilization which is living or which has disappeared”, we’re already feeling confident about the merits of our own spa city. But what are the other 10 sites being considered and how do they compare to Bath? Here’s a little look at each one.

spas unesco v4 5 pages.qxp_Layout 1 20/12/2019 12:51 Page 2

CITY | CULTURE

ABOVE: The parkland surroundings of Les Thermes de Spa in Spa, Belgium, allows thermal immersion in a natural setting RIGHT: The sulphuric thermal water in Baden bei Wein in Austria comes from 14 curative hot springs that can be enjoyed in the spa environment of the Römertherme. The main building dates from the early 19th century, designed by the Classicist architects of the Vienna State Opera, August Sicard von Sicardsburg and Eduard Van der Null

Baden bei Wien, Austria Baden bei Wien is a spa town to the south west of Vienna, at the mouth of the Schwechat River’s St Helena Valley, and one of the most important sulphur spas in Europe. It takes its name from the area’s 13 hot springs, first used for healing by the ancient Romans, who knew the town by the name of Aquae Cetiae. Following a major fire in 1812, the town and its spa facilities were built in a Biedermeier style. Ludwig van Beethoven was a regular visitor in the 1820s, seeking a cure for his many ailments and he composed some of his finest works in the town. In the 19th century, it was connected to the railway running between Vienna and Graz, which led to an increase in visitors taking the waters, including members of the imperial family. The spa town has preserved its Neo-Classicist appearance with later architecture inspired by Venetian architecture and the French Neo-Renaissance style.

Spa, Belgium The name ‘Spa’ comes from the Latin Sparsa fontana (gushing fountain). Known in the first century AD, it wasn’t until the 18th century that Spa acquired such a reputation that its name was used as a generic description for other baths. Its water has been exported since the end of the 16th century, and in the 18th century prescriptions for the cure were combined with entertainment and relaxation. After Tsar Peter the Great visited in 1717, the town became the fashionable rendezvous for European aristocracy. It developed organically around its main spring, extending towards other countryside springs. The first

network of walking trails connected the springs in 1749, offering views of the surrounding hills and affirming the link between nature and a thermal cure. Spa has all the attributes of a thermal spa town, including springs, decorated pavilions, a spa complex, public parks and a covered walkway.

Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic Together with neighbouring Mariánské Lázně and Františkovy Lázně, Karlovy Vary (Karlsbad) is part of the West Bohemian Spa Triangle and is the biggest spa town in the Czech Republic with a high concentration of thermal spring outlets. It was founded as a spa town in the Middle Ages, bearing the name of Roman Emperor Charles IV. The spa area spreads in a deep valley of the Teplá River, embraced by the forested hills. The town’s architectural wealth is defined by the styles of Historicism and Art Nouveau from the 19th and early 20th century. It is characterised by noble villa districts on the slopes of the valley and the suburbs and the complex is complemented with parks, forest parks and a network of trails. Karlovy Vary represents a great spa town of the valley type whose spa area is instantly linked with the surrounding landscape.

Mariánské Lázně, Czech Republic Mariánské Lázně (Marienbad) is one of the most spacious spa towns in Europe, founded at the beginning of the 19th century when the surrounding swampy valley was transformed into a charming town of parks with Classicist and Empire houses, gloriettes, pavilions and colonnades. The springs first

appear in a document dating from 1341, but it was only in the early 19th century that the waters began to be used for medicinal purposes. The core of the spa town is a central park with the spa colonnade in the wider part of the forested valley. Spa and other buildings encircle this central park and Classicist spa buildings dominate the architectural concept. The spa architecture, houses and villas across the site as a whole include styles from Historicism to Art Nouveau and the town’s urban structure is impressively intact.

Františkovy Lázně, Czech Republic Františkovy Lázně (Franzensbad) is a sizeable spa town defined by the quality of its preserved buildings. The healing springs were already well-known in the Middle Ages, but the spa was founded later in 1793. The town’s original name was Kaiser Franzensdorf after Emperor Franz II of Austria, later renamed Franzensbad, under which name it became a famous spa. The spa was founded by Dr Bernhard Adler (1753– 1810) who promoted the expansion of spa facilities and accommodation for those seeking healing. The town owes much of its reputation to a rich sulfurous-ferric mud that is used for mud baths in the treatment of gynaecological disorders. The town centre has an orthogonal plan view with a network of parallel streets and is characterised by Classicist, Empire and Historicist houses.

The town is surrounded by a large park with individual spa buildings. The complex comprises hotels and boarding houses, pavilions over the springs, a colonnade, large spa facilities and a church. ➲

THEBATHMAG.CO.UK

|

january 2020

|

TheBATHMagazine 55

spas unesco v4 5 pages.qxp_Layout 1 20/12/2019 12:51 Page 3

CITY | CULTURE

ABOVE: The Sadová Kolonáda (Park Colonnade) in the spa centre of Karlovy Vary is made from cast-iron, and is the last remnant of the concert and restaurant hall known as Blanenský Pavilion. It was designed by Viennese architects Ferdinand Fellner and Hermann Helmer between 1880 and 1881 LEFT: The casino in BadenBaden, Germany. Gambling was an important diversion for most great spas, especially Baden Baden which sits close to the German/French border RIGHT: The health resort of Bad Ems in Germany is located on a healing spring saddle, which lets the water bubble in quantities from 15 mineral springs, including from the fountain hall in the baroque bathing castle, the former holiday residence of Kaiser Wilhelm I

56 TheBATHMagazine

|

january 2020

|

iSSue 208

spas unesco v4 5 pages.qxp_Layout 1 20/12/2019 12:51 Page 4

CITY | CULTURE

Vichy, France The waters of Vichy on the banks of the River Allier in Bourbonnais have been used since antiquity. The first-known settlement was established by Roman legionaries who found the hot mineral springs in 52BC. At its peak from the 16th to the 18th century after the creation of the first park by Napoleon I, who initiated significant building and landscaping developments, the thermal town served as a model of urban organisation and prestigious architecture. In 1903, the ensemble was rebuilt by architect Charles Lecoeur, including the oriental baths, the Art Nouveau opera building, and the pump rooms and gallery arcades. Vichy is equipped with palaces and districts, and connects to sporting facilities such as the Hippodrome and golf course. The eclectic architectural style of the ‘queen of spa towns’ – a slogan born in the 1900s – was developed through the construction of baths, theatres, hotels and villas of all styles.

Baden Baden, Germany Baden Baden, on the outskirts of the Black Forest, was founded in 80 AD by the Romans. After a period as a residential city, it was redeveloped as a modern spa town in the early 19th century. In the valley of the River Oos, the district incorporates the 12 thermal springs with their water rich in salt, the Roman bath ruins, a Baroque bath, and the classic 1877 bath house, Friedrichsbad. The

hot springs emerge at 68 degrees centigrade (compared to an average of around 40 degrees in Bath). There still exists a chestnutlined alley, built to link the old town to the spa district. There are great historic hotels and parks and green spaces and many Enlightenment influences. The Lichtentaler Allee was designed as an English landscape garden inviting informal get-togethers. Wellpreserved and still operating, the 1821 casino – the earliest preserved European example – helps makes Baden-Baden a unique representative of the ‘spielbäder’ of the mid19th century.

Bad Kissingen, Germany Bad Kissingen, on the banks of the Fränkische Saale, first developed health spas using mineral spring water in the Early Modern period (c.1500–1800). After 1815, the Bavarian State invested in the spa district, causing an economic upswing. Architect Friedrich von Gärtner built the Kursaal, followed by the novel cast-iron pavilion. The foundation of the German Empire and the establishment of a link to the railway system in 1871 resulted in the construction of elegant residential areas. Bad Kissingen became an informal diplomatic arena where decisions of global significance were made.

New spa buildings were commissioned, such as a spa theatre and the Wandelhalle covered walk with an integrated pump room. From the early 19th century, the spa town spread

out over the surrounding landscape, coming to include promenades along the river and footpaths into the woods leading to noteworthy natural sites. The heart of the spa area is now surrounded by gardens and villa districts whose borders show a fluent transition into the cultural landscape of the spa.

Bad Ems, Germany The thermal springs and their picturesque natural setting within the Lahn Valley has given this site a high profile throughout history. Buildings typify the site’s worldrenowned spa architecture and its Roman history and the Limes, Germany’s largest archaeological monument, was declared a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2005. The spa is on a health spring saddle, which lets the healthy water bubble in large quantities.

Notable buildings from the end of the 17th century are the Kurhaus (spa house), and the Catholic chapel Kapelle Maria Königin. The town is also dominated by 19th-century buildings, including an ensemble of buildings along the banks of the River Lahn. Structures that have survived include the Malbergbahn funicular, a typical 19th-century facility for leisure and recreation. Through the centuries the romantic site has seduced scores of artists, has regularly hosted kings or tsars, and was the backdrop to the famous Emser Depesche (Ems Dispatch), which sparked the Franco-Prussian War in 1870. ➲

THEBATHMAG.CO.UK

|

january 2020

|

TheBATHMagazine 57

spas unesco v4 5 pages.qxp_Layout 1 20/12/2019 14:58 Page 5

CITY | CULTURE

Montecatini Terme, Italy One of the most famous and sophisticated Italian spas is Montecatini Terme in Tuscany. The springs here were first owned by the Medicis and then the Habsburgs of Tuscany. It was the Archduke Leopold I of Tuscany (Pietro Leopoldo) who used the sulphuric springs frequently during the late 18th century, encouraging the development of the little town beneath the hill as a spa. The spa’s origin dates back to 1773, while it is defined by the early 20th century when most of the baths, casinos, theatres, hotels and private houses were built. In the centre there are nine thermal centres immersed in the green of the extensive thermal park. Among the most significant are Terme Tettuccio, Regina, Torretta, Tamerici and Excelsior. Typical of Montecatini Terme are its elegant colonnades, most of which were completed during the first half of the 20th century and led to the town being nicknamed the ‘Italian Carlsbad’. The town is also characterised by its fountains, not only within the spas, but along the streets and in the main squares.

Bath, United Kingdom The first shrine at the site of the hot springs was built by an Iron Age tribe who dedicated it to the goddess Sulis. In 43AD after their invasion of 58 TheBATHMagazine

|

january 2020

|

iSSue 208

Britain, the Romans built a religious spa complex on the site, which developed into a bathing centre called Aquae Sulis. People travelled across the country to bathe in the waters and worship at the temple. After the Roman withdrawal from Britain, the baths fell into disrepair, although their use continued. In 1590, Queen Elizabeth I granted a charter incorporating Bath as a city and royal visits in the 16th and 17th centuries increased its popularity. In the 17th century, doctors began to prescribe the drinking of the thermal waters. The first 18th-century terraces, crescents, circus and squares provided lodgings close to the baths and pump room, and the management of the spa resort by masters of ceremony contributed to the evolution of a – supposedly – polite and mannered society. This honey-coloured Bath stone and Georgian architecture remain a defining part of the city’s character. In 1878 Major Charles Davis discovered the Roman remains of the baths. The site was opened to the general public in 1897 and was excavated, extended and conserved throughout the 20th century. The Thermae Bath Spa, which opened in 2006, uses the hot, mineral-rich waters from the Kings Spring, the Hetling Spring and the Cross Spring and provides a unique modern bathing experience. n

TOP LEFT : The first spa complexes in Montecatini Terme, Italy, were built during the 15th century.

Tettuccio Terme, with its loggia at the edge of the pool, has a facade created in 1928 by architect Giovannozzi – ‘Tettuccio’ refers to the canopy roof found over the spa’s source TOP RIGHT: Halles des Sources, in all its Art Deco grandeur, is a hot spring hall in the centre of Vichy, France, with six types of thermal water, where visitors can visit for free ABOVE LEFT: The Neo-Baroque Spa Colonnade in Marianske Lazne in the Czech Republic, once known as the Maxim Gorky Colonnade, was built between 1888 and 1889 when the colonnade was at the centre of spa life ABOVE RIGHT: The Great Bath in the Roman Baths in Bath is a massive pool lined with 45 sheets of lead and filled with hot spa water. It once stood in an enormous barrel-vaulted hall that rose to a height of 40 metres

Lucknam FP.qxp_Layout 1 17/12/2019 10:38 Page 1

Carina Baverstock FP.qxp_Layout 22 20/12/2019 10:29 Page 1

WEDDINGS

The romance of 2020

The first year of a new decade is always a popular year to get married, says bridal specialist Carina Baverstock – and 2020 will be no exception

A

n enchanting journey of romance might have all started with a journey to a dreamy destination. It could have been Vienna or Paris when a question of note was asked, maybe accompanied by an engagement ring. This would have been just the beginning of a journey towards a day in a year when lifetime promises are made. For those in this situation, 2020 is a year that is unlikely to be forgotten.

Here are some ideas about the crucial elements of a special day...

The rings Engagement rings have become bigger, with opulent cushion stone settings scoring high on the ‘simple with impact level’ or the classic ‘Diana’ oval sapphire surrounded by diamonds setting, which is very popular once again. Tiaras have become the choice of headpiece, having been overlooked for years by the boho flower crown. Is it perhaps the influence of Netflix drama The Crown?

The dress The opulence then travels into the choice of wedding gown. Popular options are characterised by embellishment, with threedimensional silk flowers scattered over cascading silk or rich embroidered applique on tulle. Tulle is the fairytale fabric that we’ve fallen back in love with, no doubt inspired by Elsa’s magical dress in Frozen.

Full, flouncy skirts with tiny waists are layered with soft silk beneath the swish and swirl of undulating natural lines in spite of the fullness, allowing the wearer to feel flirtatious and special.

It’s all about femininity. Perhaps the desire is fuelled by the joy of rediscovering the allure of a princess. Maybe the bride is a nononsense business woman in her everyday life and can’t wait to take on a glamorous role on her special day to allow a softer, more feminine, side to show.

Strapless gowns showing gleaming sculptured shoulders are back again – another sign of elegant femininity. Think Audrey Hepburn in Roman Holiday as the princess in the castle and tune into the popularity of castle and château weddings where the men wear stylish navy tuxedos or full morning dress.

A dream wedding Imagine luxury venues with dreamlike views, landscape gardens with arches of clambering roses. These are the places to capture that photo of the exquisite bride and her handsome groom, encompassed by romance.

60 TheBATHMagazine

|

january 2020

|

iSSue 208

For the reception styling, you might choose a big floral statement, with tables full of summer flowers and large bouquets overblown with peonies and intoxicating roses. Classic white and green colour schemes work well for bouquets, or mix clashing shades of pinks, reds and oranges with a hint of lime green to create the wow against a rich silk mikado gown set slightly off the shoulder with a hint of décolletage.

These are all ways to catch yourself up in the romance of a new decade – and with such a brilliant, memorable date, here’s the chance for a bride to be the graceful, gentle and refined princess she’s always imagined... n Carina Baverstock Couture, 11 Silver Street, Bradford on Avon. Tel: 01225 866610; carinabcouture.com

P61.qxp_Layout 23 20/12/2019 14:20 Page 1

Saturday – Open Day & Fashion Show Sunday – Wedding Fayre

Prosecco & canapés on arrival for the first 50 couples Suppliers exhibiting

Meet with a wedding coordinator

VISIT: OLDDOWNESTATE.CO.UK/WEDDINGS

THEBATHMAG.CO.UK

|

january 2020

|

TheBATHMagazine 61

FrontlineStyle Weddings.qxp_Layout 22 20/12/2019 14:03 Page 1

WEDDINGS

Ready with style

You have found the perfect dress and now it’s time to find the perfect hairstyle. Alex Morris, master stylist at Frontlinestyle Hair and Beauty Salon for over ten years gives his tips for the big day to deeply nourish and deliver a surge of moisture to the skin. This will soothe and calm any skin redness and irritation and will then intensively hydrate. Lymphatic drainage and massage will invigorate and radiate the overall look of the face and nourish the skin. £60 for 45 minutes

Clarins Sun Glow This is the ultimate self-tanning treatment for face and body with skin-smoothing exfoliation, a deeply pampering application of an award-winning self tanner and an all-over gorgeous, long-lasting, golden colour that looks as natural in winter as in summer. You can even get dressed immediately. £46 for 60 minutes

Hair

Hair and make-up Frontlinestyle offers the very best in bespoke wedding hair and make-up, either in the salon or at a location of your choice. A complimentary consultation allows the stylist to give you ideas and advise you on hair and make-up for your wedding day.

At your practice appointment you will meet your stylist and/or therapist who will have a thorough discussion with you and try out some ideas. All you need to do is bring along your headdress or tiara, details of your wedding colour scheme and photos of any ideas you have, and we will do the rest. Simply sit back, relax and allow us to create a perfect picture for you of your special day.

Make-up treatments Clarins make-up to go This treatment allows you to try different colours and application techniques under expert guidance and will help you achieve a fresh and flattering new look. Whether you want a whole new make-up style or ideas for a special occasion, prepare to be inspired. £40 for 40 minutes Classic eyelash extensions Classic lashes add length and curl to your natural lashes. These highquality lashes will open the eye area and accentuate your eyes without the need for mascara or tinting. Patch test required 48 hours prior to your appointment. £65 CACI synergy skin rejuvenation For a brighter and smoother complexion in less than an hour choose the CACI Skin Rejuvenation Facial. This treatment uses controlled orbital microdermabrasion to exfoliate and deeply cleanse the skin, leaving a brighter, smoother complexion. The facial is perfect for dull or dehydrated skin, sun damaged skin, pigmentation and acne scarring.

It soothes and calms any skin redness or irritation and is comfortable and painless. It’s perfect for brides to be or to revitalise the skin and minimise fine lines ahead of a special occasion. It does not address the issue of lifting the face.

The facial starts with cleansing and toning after which the therapist will exfoliate the face using controlled orbital, crystal-free microdermabrasion and LED light therapy to reveal a smoother, brighter complexion. CACI’s unique wrinkle comb will then target fine lines and wrinkles around the eyes, forehead and face, providing a noninvasive alternative to collagen injections with LED light therapy to heal and trigger tissue repair. The facial ends with the CACI Hydro Mask, which is infused with collagen, hyaluronic acid and rose water 62 TheBATHMagazine

|

january 2020

|

issue 208

Frontlinestyle’s highly skilled team of professionals can cater to your every need. Whether it be a classic blow-dry, a smart gent’s cut, a hair-up do or adding length and volume with Great Lengths hair extensions, you are in safe hands. Follow our Frontlinestyle Pinterest account for all your bridal hair and make-up ideas.

Tips for the big day Don’t wash your hair on the day of your wedding – wash it a day or two before so that it doesn’t become too soft and flyaway from the intricate stylings.

Trial the style a couple of months before the wedding day – then you can try varying styles without the stress of it being to close to the wedding.

Take pictures during the hairstyle trial to look back at, bring tiaras, veils and any other accessories to help bring the final look to life.

Wedding package prices are bespoke to you and your requirements, so contact our in-house wedding specialist to obtain a quote. n Frontlinestyle Hair and Beauty Salon 4/5 Monmouth Street, Bath BA1 2AJ Tel: 01225 478478 Email: bath@frontlinestyle.co.uk frontlinestyle.co.uk

A practice appointment will allow the bride to try out the planned hair style

P63.qxp_Layout 23 19/12/2019 15:43 Page 1

THEBATHMAG.CO.UK

|

january 2020

|

TheBATHMagazine 63

Wedding Snippets DPS.qxp_Layout 1 20/12/2019 15:04 Page 1

Proposals Where better to propose than in the UK’s most romantic city, the UNESCO World Heritage City of Bath?

More than 100,000 couples will most likely have popped the question between November and February, and 40% of those will be between Christmas and Valentine’s Day. Bath’s Georgian stone buildings, the listed parks and gardens, the thermal spa waters, the Roman remains and the River Avon, all provide backdrops for that special proposal moment with the person with whom you hope to spend the rest of your life.

The view doesn’t get much better than in Parade Gardens.

Overlooked by the Bath Abbey, the Grade II-listed 18th-century garden, featuring The Monks Mill, is a popular choice for proposals, weddings and events. The riverside colonnades are available for hire from Heritage Park Weddings, who provide proposal packages. Both the colonnades and the Edwardian bandstand are licensed for civil ceremonies. The view of the famous Pulteney Bridge, inspired by Ponte Vecchio in Florence, also provides the perfect opportunity to capture your ‘loved up selfie’ to announce your exciting news on social media.

2020 will be a special year for proposals and being a leap year, 29 February is traditionally a date for ladies to take the lead and get down on one knee.

And if you have recently got engaged, congratulations and happy wedding planning. Love is certainly in the air this winter.

Tel: 01225 395014; heritageparkweddings.co.uk

The venue If you are looking for venue ideas for your marriage and reception, Leigh Park Hotel and The Limpley Stoke Hotel (shown below) are home to beautiful landscaped gardens and far-reaching views. With complete flexibility on its wedding packages, come and meet the teams and share a glass of prosecco as you talk to the dedicated wedding coordinators about how to create your perfect day.

Leigh Park Country House Hotel and Vineyard, Bradford-on-Avon. Tel: 01225 864885; leighparkhotel.co.uk The Limpley Stoke, Lower Limpley Stoke, Bath, BA2 7FZ Tel: 01225 723333; limpleystokehotel.co.uk

64 TheBATHMagazine

|

january 2020

|

issue 208

Wedding Snippets DPS.qxp_Layout 1 20/12/2019 16:43 Page 2

Spa treatments The start of a new decade is proving a popular time for weddings, and at Bath Spa Hotel is preparing for a busy 2020.

The team understands that preparing for your special day can be tough and taking time for yourself is not normally front of mind.

That said, having a radiant complexion on your wedding day is one decision you should not leave until last minute. Head to Bath Spa Hotel where you can treat yourself to the Elemis Superfood Pro-Radiance Facial. Boosted with rich superfoods and essential minerals, this facial has been clinically proven to leave skin plumper, more radiant and positively dazzling for the big day. This treatment is available as a 25-minute or 55-minute session and ranges in price with special offerings for mid-week.

Tel: 01225 476862; bathspahotel.co.uk

The ring An engagement ring represents the commitment that you have made with your significant other. Whether you choose a traditional setting or something more modern, you’ll want to celebrate your impending union with a style that truly suits you.

Mallory 1–5 Bridge Street, Bath Tel: 01225 788800; mallory-jewellers.com

Victoria round brilliant cut diamond ring with diamond shoulders set in 18ct yellow gold and platinum, £6,500

Victoria round brilliant cut diamond ring set in platinum, £12,150

Cushion cut sapphire and diamond halo cluster ring set in platinum, £13,950

Diamond wedding ring set in platinum, £2,085

THEBATHMAG.CO.UK

|

january 2020

|

TheBATHMagazine 65

Grittleton House DPS V2.qxp_Layout 1 16/12/2019 12:25 Page 1

GRITTLETON HOUSE Your Country House Wedding in the Cotswolds This beautiful family owned Victorian mansion, with its impressive double gates and tree lined drive, oozes style and charm both inside and out. As you enter, you will be mesmerised by the magnificent architectural features, fabulous ornate and high ceilings, original working fireplaces and the most stunning double staircase. Outside there are 37 acres of parkland and formal gardens, most notable are the handsome Italian sunken gardens. Add in the beautiful orangery and the new and very elegant master bedrooms you will not be disappointed.

What more could you possibly ask for, how about exquisite food, prepared in house by Michelin trained chefs, a fantastic event manager a superbly organised wedding coordinator and

exceptionally friendly and helpful staff.

The Shipp family are passionate about their beautiful Grittleton House and they love sharing it with all of their special couples. ‘We are privileged to be able to live in such a gorgeous place, and there is nothing nicer that filling the House with love and laughter’, says Vanessa Shipp. ‘Weddings are so personal and should definitely reflect the couples personalities. This is the moment many have dreamt about for years!’ Grittleton House offers ultimate flexibility with a choice of ceremony rooms, dining rooms and party rooms, you really can make your day your own.

Their chefs are not only incredibly talented but also very accommodating, they love nothing more than to showcase the couples own ideas.

‘Flexibility is key, we are always thrilled when our couples come up with new ideas we haven’t thought of before’.

Save the date We will be holding our next Wedding Open House on March 15th 2020.

Follow us on FB or Instagram for more details.

Can’t wait visit our website www.grittletonhouse.co.uk to arrange a personal appointment.

Photo by Joab Smith photography

Grittleton House, Wiltshire, SN14 6AP Tel: 01249 782434

Grittleton House DPS V2.qxp_Layout 1 16/12/2019 12:25 Page 2

LIVE LOVE LAUGH Enjoy the journey and make it last forever ♥

♥

Exclusively Yours

Invitation to an informal Taster Evening.

The opportunity to sample the exquisite food & drinks on offer

♥

Exquisite Drawing Room for bride (or groom’s) morning preparations + complimentary bottle of fizz

♥

Choice of ceremony, dining & party rooms

♥

Late licence – party till dawn

♥

Luxurious bridal suite

Photo by Oxi photography

♥

Connect with a host of fabulous suppliers

♥

Access to a range of complimentary finishing touches

♥

See our website for full details of our wedding packages including our weekend package

Acorn Bath.qxp_Layout 1 19/12/2019 10:30 Page 1

RESTAURANT | REVIEW

Acorn

Dinner delivered by these innovators of vegan cuisine proves a conversation-starting kaleidoscope of flavour – and the seed of creativity is set to grow as the team recently appeared in Bristol. Words by Amanda Nicholls

68 TheBATHMagazine

|

JanUaRY 2020

|

issUe 208

by freezing fresh apple juice to concentrate sugars prior to fermentation – was a satisfying addition for the sweet-toothed.

The last twist of the rollercoaster around the palate saw chocolate, plum and fig served with a sweet red Bertani Valpolicella 2017 of the dangerously drinkable kind, followed by a savoury sobacha (Japanese buckwheat tea) to ease digestion.

❝

Between courses there was organic damson cordial; savoury-sweet with subtle ferment flavour, it worked the way strawberries do with balsamic

❝

A

ny disciple of the plant-based diet, any West Country vegetarian or vegan worth their salt, ought to have Acorn’s award-winning cuisine on their radar. From its dining room in one of Bath’s oldest Georgian buildings, a cashew’s throw from the abbey and the Roman Baths, it has been a herbivorous bastion for years now – taking up the baton as one of the region’s leading veggie voices.

Acorn now has its sights set on Bristol, having just recently taken part in a residency at Dela in Easton, bringing over their stylish, provenance-led pop-up to test the waters at The Forge at Colston Yard. The compact but beautifully formed rustic space, completely sold out for the evening, was already full when we arrived, and we’d thought we were the keenest of the beans. Bare brickwork and long wooden benches, smartly dressed for autumn with dried flowers, thistles and seedhead centrepieces, were warmly candlelit and looked as if they’d had the Valencia treatment via Instagram; meaning the ambience was cosy to say the least.

Climbing the steps of the central staircase to address assembled supper clubbers, head chef Richard Buckley delivered the not unwelcome caveat that the six-course tasting menu advertised before us would actually be more of a 12-courser. When you have a constant stream of culinary experimentation coming out of the kitchen it must be difficult to whittle down dishes to present to a new audience in a new city, we empathised, hungrily; as excited to sample as the team clearly were to treat us.

A neat grilled broccoli dish with smoked almond and lentils got the ball rolling, served with a lip-smacking 2018 Dorset Pet Nat – a type of low-intervention natural sparkling nectar with a bit of a hipster reputation, although it actually pre-dates champagne. Hot on its heels was a carrot and hazelnut paté with garden leaves and ferments, topped with sourdough crisps made from Acorn’s leftover restaurant bread and served with a bone-dry Gloucestershire Bacchus whose acidity cut through the indulgent fattiness of the paté.

Between courses there was organic damson cordial; savoury-sweet with a subtle ferment flavour, it worked the way strawberries do with balsamic.

As the main dishes grew more robust, so did the booze. With Muscat de Provence, stock, barley and sauerkraut we supped on fruity Aramon from Languedoc poised to offset the salty muscat broth. Presently Team Acorn, which grows its own produce as well as buying from neighbours Midford Organic and is working on going fully organic, snuck in a diddy serving of smoky leek soup before platefuls of Jerusalem artichokes with girolles and almond dumplings – accompanied by a full-bodied, cherry-heavy Barbera that held its own.

For those still of the mind that, even in this day and age, vegan food is uninspiring, a night with Acorn would undoubtedly be an eye-opener, with plenty of talking points. Conversation starters in this instance included a saucer piled with white pine sherbet and fresh green apple slices, which added to the fun of the evening and signalled the inevitable direction change into the dessert domain.

Tempting as it was to plunge face-first into the pearly dust à la Scarface, we daintily scooped it up with our fruity spades, treating it like a modern-day dip dab.

Pear and cultured almond cream, mild in flavour and made with yogurt and fresh thyme, would have felt conservative in comparison had it not been for the Somerset ice cider. Its intense taste – achieved

A paragon of creativity, style and substance, this outstanding outfit has tasked itself with getting as many people as possible on board with the merits of being meat-free. The food is an incredible example of the variety achievable in plant-based cuisine. Fortunately, our very own permanent version is just around the corner in Bath...

Acorn will be offering a seasonal six-course tasting menu at The Forge, Bristol on 14 February with a wine flight, if required, to accompany the meal, £91 including the wine flight. n Acorn, 2 North Parade Passage Bath; Tel: 01225 446059; acornrestaurant.co.uk

Acorn Bath.qxp_Layout 1 19/12/2019 10:30 Page 2

FOOD | & | DRINK

The festive food box

Beautifully dressed for an autumn supper

Chef-owner Richard and team grow their own produce as well as buying from neighbouring Midford Organic

food trends 2020.qxp_Layout 1 19/12/2019 11:08 Page 1

FOOD | & | DRINK

A taste of 2020

It’s a new year but is it time for a new diet? Melissa Blease investigates what will be hot and what will be dropped – from Veganuary to zero-proof drinks and flour alternatives, the future looks plant-based, sustainable and organic

W

hat have poké bowls, posh crumpets and miso caramel got in common?

They’re all – along with tacos, unicorn food, pét-nat wines, puffed rice and konjak (say whaaat?) just soooo last year. Wave goodbye to last year’s flash-in-the-pan food fads and say hello to the six top food and drink trends that 2020 is poised to bring to the table.

ZERO-PROOF DRINKS Zero-proof – isn’t that just another way of saying alcohol-free? Well yes and no.

Traditionally, alcohol-free alternatives to spirits have tended to attempt to mimic gin, tequila, vodka, etc. to varying degrees of success. Those of us who choose not to eat meat don’t need vegetarian or vegan alternatives to pretend to be meat. So in the same way folk in search of a properly cool cocktail sans the hard stuff have sparked the rise of a whole new menu of chic alternatives using herbs, spices, shrubs, fruit, pickles and vegetables to create unique flavour sensations. Following in the wake of the huge success of Seedlip (who introduced us to the world’s first distilled non-alcoholic spirit in 2015), brands such as Stryyk, Borrago, Three Spirit, Atopia, ISH Spirits, Lyre’s and Caleño have totally shaken up the mixology market, replacing the old perception of alcohol-free alternatives being ‘what to drink when you’re not drinking’ with the hippest tipples for all to indulge in.

Ironically at least three major gin producers are now attempting to create a traditional gin that tastes like a zero-proof gin created by one of the brands listed above.

I CAN’T BELIEVE IT’S NUT BUTTER Last year, we predicted that tahini would pretty much go everywhere peanut butter has already been – and in a way, we were proved right when stocks of Waitrose date and tahini cookies ran so low last spring that 70 TheBATHMagazine

|

JanUaRY 2020

|

issUe 208

there was almost warfare in the aisles.

But nut butters have far from melted into obscurity. While peanut, cashew and almond varieties still top the charts, nuts such as macadamia, walnut and almond are being buttered up in readiness for their turn in the hip foods limelight, alongside butters made from seeds including pumpkin, sesame, chia, poppy and hemp. As for palm oil as a nut butter lubricant – no, no, no! Argan oil – low in saturated fat and laden with vitamin E – is the new nut butter schmoo.

SUGAR GETS SHUNNED Sweetly seductive reductions made from familiar fruity friends (pomegranate, dates, coconut) will compete with attentiongrabbing new sweeties on the block including syrups made with sweet potato, monk fruit and sorghum (a flowering plant with grass family roots, largely cultivated in warm climates around the globe), offering us new ways to shoo sugar entirely from both sweet and savoury dishes.

your larder in 2020 as almond, quinoa, plantain, amaranth, coconut and banana – just six of the flour alternatives that are set to trend this year – dominate the flour market. Banana flour – which has been used in Africa, South America and Jamaica for years – is the current market leader; like its fellow flour bed friends, it’s gluten-free... and perfect for pancakes.

SOY GETS SENT OFF Soy has long since enjoyed the spotlight at the epicentre of a plant-based diet. It does, however, bring a bit of controversy to the table. Even if we leave the is/isn’t it good/bad for you debate aside, it’s generally accepted that soy crops are the most destructive of all the monocrops, often pesticide-laden and almost always genetically modified. Little wonder, then, that innovative blends of grains and beans that mimic the creamy textures of yogurts and other dairy products are set to soar as soy sales sink. Meanwhile, those of us who can’t imagine life without soy sauce need worry not; soy-free incarnations are already widely available and taste exactly the same as the original version.

FLOUR POWER Plain and self-raising flours may be destined to be consigned to the dark, dusty corners of

SEACUTERIE MAKES A SPLASH Scallop mortadella, salmon pastrami, swordfish salami, tuna ’nduja, lobster lomo: seacuterie will take over where the seafood platter sharing board leaves off. We’ll see sad smoked salmon, cheerless calamari and crestfallen crab pâté kicked to the kerb in favour of more complex, imaginative ways with fish and seafood, often involving processes such as dry-ageing, fermenting and salt-baking. Seacuterie is flashy, splashy and very, very hip; get ready to dive in.

food trends 2020.qxp_Layout 1 19/12/2019 11:08 Page 2

MEAT: OFF THE MENU FOR GOOD? Plant-based, vegan, meat-free, vegetarian, flexitarian: whichever label you choose to run with, the mass migration away from eating meat, which continued to gather pace throughout 2019, shows no signs of slowing down in the new year.

Cool Campaigns The Meat Free Mondays campaign launched

by Paul, Mary and Stella McCartney in 2009 will continue to gather pace in 2020, supported by celebrity endorsements from superstars including Woody Harrelson, Lauren Laverne, Richard Branson, Leona Lewis, Vivienne Westwood, Emma Thompson and Joanna Lumley. MFM aims to raise awareness of the detrimental environmental impact of animal agriculture and industrial fishing while encouraging people to help slow climate change, conserve precious natural resources and improve their health by having at least one plant-based day each week. Veganuary, however, goes one step further, asking us to give up all animal by-products for a whole month. Today, that commitment represents a far easier ‘ask’ then ever before, largely because of...

Market Forces UK food manufacturers launched more new vegan products than any other nation last year, making it the country’s fastest-growing commercial culinary trend of 2019 with a market worth of £310m. In a laudable effort to keep ahead of – or, in the case of some savvy entrepreneurs, dictate – the curve, supermarket chains will continue to stock more and more accessible, affordable vegan options and products in 2020. Meanwhile, the British Takeaway Campaign say that vegan meals are now the UK’s fastest growing fast food/takeaway choice, with meat-free orders rising almost fivefold over the last two years. The number of vegan restaurants on the online delivery platform Deliveroo increased by 168% in 2019, making it one of the company’s fastestgrowing categories.

Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner?

Even a mere decade or so ago, inviting a vegan/vegetarian friend to a restaurant gettogether or to a domestic dinner party was seen as difficult. Those following such a diet considered themselves lucky if they were confronted with the option of both vegetarian lasagne and mushroom risotto in a restaurant, while dinner party features in cookery magazines often included a sidebar paragraph headed “Help, I’ve got a vegetarian/vegan coming to dinner!” followed by a complicated recipe for cashew nut roast. But look at us now! Every restaurant in town flaunts multiple meat-free options, a vegan equivalent to pretty much every traditional ingredient (mincemeat, burgers, sausages, cheese, ham, butter... fish fingers!) is readily available, and endless recipe books and TV cookery shows make meat-free domestic menus a breeze, if not a joy. (Viewing figures for Jamie Oliver’s recent

Channel 4 series Meat Free Meals, for example, surpassed his 2012 series 15-Minute Meals series by 38%.)

The Naysayers As meat continues to drop off the menu for millions of people, myths ranging from ‘vegans don’t get enough protein’ to ‘if cows aren’t milked they explode’ are peddled at every turn, largely fuelled by meat industry moguls quaking in their boots. Fortunately the Myths section on the veganuary.com website debunks them all. Here is their answer to “Isn’t it natural to eat meat?”

What is ‘natural’? The chicken who cannot live more than six weeks, the turkey who can’t even breed without human help or the cow selectively bred to produce far more milk than is good for her health?

It’s all food for thought and it’s definitely the thinking about the impact of what we eat that is driving the food trends in 2020. n

CHANGING TRENDS

• 2.2m British people will commit to becoming vegan in 2020 increasing the current vegan population to around 2.9m finder.com • One in eight of us now identify as vegetarian Waitrose Food and Drink Report, 2018 • It is predicted that by 2040 only 40% of the global population will be consuming meat, with 35% consuming clean (lab) meat and 25% vegan meat replacements.

AT Kearney, 2019 • Adhering to health guidelines on meat consumption could cut global food-related emissions by nearly a third by 2050, while widespread adoption of a vegetarian diet would bring down emissions by 63%.”

University of Oxford 2018 study

THEBATHMAG.CO.UK

|

january 2020

|

TheBATHMagazine 71

Wine Jan 2020.qxp_Layout 1 20/12/2019 14:32 Page 1

TRISTAN DARBY To welcome in the new year, drinks columnist Tristan Darby shares some favourite winter warmers

H

appy new year, readers. To start us off in 2020 I’ve chosen a few wines with warmth, depth and palatehugging comfort to hunker down with and help you relax and recover from the festive flurry.

In the winter months, I love oak-aged whites with their extra depth, texture and spice. The problem is when the oak dominates, rather than supports the wine. Enter, Howard Park, ‘Miamup’ Chardonnay (£17.95, Great Western Wine). It’s got just the right amount of subtle but warming toasty depth from the French oak barrels the wines have been rested in – and for me, it’s the perfect drop for fireside sipping. Complex floral, citrus and slight ‘honey-on-brioche’ aromas are followed by a mouthful of creamy, spiced-peach flavour and a satisfying just-eaten-a-handful-ofcashew’s texture. The price point is great for the quality and it’s worth stocking up on as an alternative to white burgundy. Pop another log on, grab a glass and cosy up.

If oaked whites aren’t for you, then try D’Arenberg’s excellent Money Spider Roussanne (£14.95, GWW), a scrumptious unoaked white that forgoes the bracing acidity of ‘summer’ wines in exchange for more intensity and mouth-filling depth. Intriguingly aromatic and fruity on the nose, it has a dreamy, creamy and mellow mouthfeel with a touch of spice, followed up with a dry refreshing lemony-citrus finish.

Turn off the phone, find a good book and enjoy this sublime sofa-slouching sipper.

The first reds I truly fell in love with were from France’s Languedoc region, where the best wines deliver huge value and pleasure for the money.

Château Vieux Parc, ‘La Sélection’ Corbières 2014 (£15.95, GWW) is a seductive and complex wine with a smoky spiced character that will weave its mellow magic on you in just one sip. If you can wait, open the bottle to breathe for an hour or so before drinking and you’ll find aromas of Mediterranean herbs, violets, smoky black pepper, red and black fruits, liquorice, and a whiff of meaty richness (nicer than it sounds). The palate is elegant and smooth for such a buxom wine and counters the wine’s dark fruits and smouldering chocolatey richness. This is a top buy that never fails to impress. Grab a big hunk of cheddar, and thank me next time I see you.

If you’re looking for a red with more oak, fruit and flesh on the bone, without becoming a meal in itself, you need to try Bogle, Merlot 2014 (£15.95, GWW). This boasts a complex but harmonious blend of blueberries, blackberries, plum jam, cocoa, and oaky smoky spice. Again, it’ll pay to be patient if you can get this open for an hour before you tuck in, and with a smattering of tannins and a touch of winter spice, it’s also a great partner with hearty comfort food such as slow-cooked beef stews, shepherd’s pie or even posh sausages and mash. A real hug in a glass. n Learn more about the world of wine with Tristan on a course at Great Western Wine; greatwesternwine.co.uk/events

72 TheBATHMagazine

|

january 2020

|

issue 208

Welcome to Sunday lunch e food we’re cooking at our wonderfully intriguing Dispensary restaurant is all about a social style of eating, which is why we’ve introduced a relaxed and indulgent Sunday lunch to the mix. We love elevating the best of British, seasonal ingredients to create the sort of quintessentially English comfort food you really want to eat, so bring family and friends and come and try it!

The Dispensary Sunday lunch 12.30-3.30pm Two courses £23.50 / three courses £28.50 Children up to age 12, two courses £11.50 / three courses £14 Selection of breads, oils

Stters French onion soup, sourdough croutons Wiltshire game terrine, pickled onions, stout and treacle bread Matt’s home cured salmon, pink peppercorns, lemon, horseradish Wyfe of Bath cheese soufflé, burnt leeks Roasted beetroot, toasted seeds, pickled mushrooms, malt crumb

Mains All roasts served with carrot purée, Yorkshire pudding, seasonal greens, roast onion, roast potatoes, cauliflower cheese Rare roast beef, horseradish cream Braised shoulder of lamb, mint sauce Hampshire pork belly, apple sauce Roast nut tartlet, kale pesto Cod loin, lemon and chive crushed new potatoes, white wine cream sauce For a minimum of two people: Traditional beef Wellington served pink, red wine gravy Seasonal vegetables, roast potatoes (£7 supplement per person)

Puings Apple crumble, thyme ice-cream Classic lemon tart, pouring cream Chocolate mousse, hazelnuts, blood orange sorbet Bath So Cheese, homemade chutney, crackers Selection of homemade ice-creams and sorbets To reserve a table please visit www.no15greatpulteney.co.uk or call 01225 807015.

15 Great Pulteney St, Bath BA2 4BR

RIGHT HAND.qxp_Layout 23 20/12/2019 09:35 Page 1

the delicious guide the best places in the city to eat, drink and enjoy

the delicious guide to Bath featuring all the fave eateries and foodie treateries is available online at our website www.thebathmag.co.uk



Hotel & Restaurant

Watersmeet Hotel is a luxury four-star hotel with spectacular sea views offering one of the finest coastal locations in the West Country overlooking Combesgate Beach and North Devon’s rugged coastline.

Our sea view Pavilion Restaurant boasts award winning two-AA rosette cuisine whilst our Bistro offers a la carte dining. This Spring our popular Rambler’s Package is back! Retreat for three nights of luxury in a deluxe sea view room, indulge in three courses each evening and one afternoon enjoy a Devon Cream Tea in our sea view lounge.

Package price £745.00. Should you be lucky enough to escape last minute, our late availability rates are updated weekly on our website offers section. Book and enjoy the full Watersmeet experience.

@thebathmagazine THEBATHMAG.CO.UK

|

january 2020

|

TheBATHMagazine 73

GWW FP Jan.qxp_Layout 1 16/12/2019 12:24 Page 1

Bath priory editorial.qxp_Layout 1 20/12/2019 14:43 Page 1

FOOD & DRINK

Cheers to the year

With the seasonal festivities over and faced with a new year, it’s time for some pampering. Here’s a special offer from The Bath Priory that will provide the perfect treat for readers of The Bath Magazine

T

he start of a new year can often be difficult, so why not kick off with a one-off delectable lunch at The Bath Priory? It’s an easy choice as readers of The Bath Magazine choosing the four-course Champagne Pol Roger lunch at The Bath Priory will also receive a complimentary aperitif. The offer runs from 2 January to 13 February, between Monday and Saturday, at a cost of £40 per person.

For the complimentary aperitif choose from an additional glass of Pol Roger, a

cocktail, a bottled beer, a glass of sommelier’s choice wine or a soft drink. This will be served alongside delicious canapés in one of the beautiful sitting rooms in front of an open fire. You’ll then move through to the dining room to enjoy the four-course lunch prepared by executive chef Michael Nizzero and his team.

The Bath Priory’s seasonal menu could include starters such as Jerusalem artichoke soup with croque monsieur and hazelnut.

Mains feature roasted partridge with garden squash, salsify and walnuts and desserts include orange soufflé with cardamom ice cream. There is also a selection of vegetarian and vegan alternatives, as well as menus suiting dietary requirements.

Set within four acres of mature awardwinning gardens, The Bath Priory offers the best of both worlds with a country house hotel feel, set just a short stroll across Royal Victoria Park from the centre of Bath. Take time to enjoy the gardens before or after your lunch, or simply sink into one of the sumptuous sofas in one of the luxurious

public rooms, with walls adorned with the private art collection of owners Andrew and Christina Brownsword.

Known for its excellent restaurant and extensive wine cellar, this exclusive lunch offer at The Bath Priory is the perfect way to start off 2020 in style. n • To book, call The Bath Priory on 01225 331922 and quote ‘The Bath Magazine lunch offer’ • The Bath Priory, Weston Road, Bath Tel: 01225 331922; thebathpriory.co.uk

THEBATHMAG.CO.UK

|

january 2020

|

TheBATHMagazine 75

lab food.qxp_Layout 1 19/12/2019 11:13 Page 1

FOOD | & | DRINK

Meat your match

The recent growth in the vegan industry has been driven by an increasing understanding of the best food choices for health and of the environmental burden created by the production of animal products. Simon Horsford visits the University of Bath and discovers that the production of cultured meat might soon be a commercial option Dr Marianne Ellis, senior lecturer in biochemical engineering at the University of Bath, is the UK's leading expert on cultured meat

H

ow would you feel if the sausages you had for breakfast or your Sunday roast originated not from a local farm, but from a laboratory and had been created not by a farmer but by white-coated scientists?

No, this is not some nightmare scenario, but is all part of finding ways to make for a more sustainable future with the UK’s efforts in the field being led by the University of Bath’s head of chemical engineering, Dr Marianne Ellis. Ellis, who is also a senior lecturer in biochemical engineering at the university, believes cultured meat, or ‘clean meat’ as it is also known, can be an alternative protein source to feed the world.

When we meet in her office at the university, near her laboratory marked with a large sign warning ‘Bio-Hazard’, I ask if this is a real possibility?

“I think it is,” she replies confidently. “We know we need to diversify our food sources and also make our food production methods more sustainable and efficient and cultured meat could one day be an option we have.

“There are quite likely to be places in the world where it could be the main source of protein because they don’t have the climate or the available land space, such as in slums in India, refugee camps on the African continent, the favelas in Brazil and highdensity areas, such as those outside of Beijing, which are designed entirely for living and not food production.”

The point about sustainability was forcibly 76 TheBATHMagazine

|

january 2020

|

issue 208

brought home in 2019 in a disquieting BBC documentary, Meat: A Threat to our Planet.

In it the wildlife biologist Liz Bonnin showed how meat production was impacting on the planet (the world consumes an astonishing 55 billion animals a year). One third of our crop yield is also used to feed animals.

Visiting an American ‘feed yard’ that housed some 50,000 cattle, and pig farms in North Carolina, where the corporate philosophy repeated by one farmer was to “produce as much as you can as fast as you can”, Bonnin highlighted the fact that the meat industry produces more greenhouse gas than all of our transport systems. From the effects of toxic pig waste on rivers to the destruction of natural habitats, our love of food is proving unhealthy and damaging.

Ellis fears that by current rates we would need something like an additional 60 million tonnes of protein to feed the population by 2050 and she warns, “we can’t do that like we currently do”.

However, last year a report by the global consultancy AT Kearney suggested that most of the meat people will eat in 2040 will not come from slaughtered animals. It proposes that 60 per cent will either be grown in vats, or be replaced by plant-based products that look and taste like meat.

So if cultured meat is seen as a possible solution to the problem, what actually is it?

Essentially a biopsy is taken from a pig, or a cow and then muscle cells from the sample are grown on a ‘scaffold’ – Ellis and her team are currently experimenting with grass. This

is then placed in a bio-reactor (so the cells are kept ‘clean’, hence ‘clean meat’), where they are fed a solution of glucose, amino acids, vitamins and salt, which Ellis has in the past referred to as ‘Lucozade mixture’.

Ellis adds that, in theory, you can take cells from any animal. “Studies are being done looking at what animals would be the best source and how quickly they grow – chicken and turkey are quite fast. We are also looking at fish and shellfish.”

“In the early stages the cells look like a yellow goop,” says Ellis, “and aren’t particularly appetising, but this is then used as an ingredient for a more palatable food item. This is quite a simple formulation that is well established so you can make burgers, sausages, chicken nuggets or pâtés – foods that have emulsified, or been pulled together, and are not in their natural state.”

I wondered if a cultured joint of beef could be on the menu in the future – “yes,” says Ellis cautiously, “you could because you could utilise 3D printing, so it would look similar, but at the moment we are some way off that.”

Ellis is also the co-founder, together with Illtud Dunsford, of Cellular Agriculture, a biotech start-up. Dunsford comes from a long line of farmers in Wales and over the years has been heavily involved in animal health, welfare and genetics along with food production and food policy. He is an advocate of traditional agriculture, but says there will be a need in the future to manage farmland for nature, with cattle playing a role, albeit in much smaller numbers.

“In my little farm in West Wales,” he says, “ideally what I’d like to see is that we kept a range of traditional native breeds of livestock on a very small scale to an exceptionally high welfare standard. The by-product from their use as a land management tool – whether that’s in clearing land or restoring grasslands – would be the harvesting of cells for the culturing of cell-based meats.”

The first lab-grown burger was made by a Dutch company in 2013 (at a cost of $300,000) and Israel followed in 2017 with the first ‘minute steak’ (and it really was tiny – just three millimetres wide.

“Where we are leading the way,” says Ellis “is in process design and this will enable companies to grow [the meat] on a much larger scale. The big challenge is having a system that you can grow enough to feed large numbers of people.”

Other companies around the world are also using plant ingredients to create burgers,

lab food.qxp_Layout 1 19/12/2019 11:13 Page 2

FOOD | & | DRINK

These pulled carrot meatless burgers with red cabbage slaw are a typical plant-based meat substitute, but they offer a different eating experience to meat

but Ellis notes that “if you are a meat eater you can tell the difference. You just don’t have that umami with a plant.”

I wondered what the ‘gloop’ they have made so far might taste like and how flavour is introduced. “There is some taste within it,” says Ellis.”I haven’t tried it yet, but at a tasting launch a couple of years ago, Dunsford tried a recipe containing the muscle cells as a protein component.”

Apparently it was a bit like chicken. “You get the flavour by adding other ingredients, such as fat or oil. Interestingly, there are companies looking to produce fat cells, so you would then combine the two.”

One advantage of cultured meat is that, according to Ellis, it will have a very long shelf life as it is “cleaner and more sterile”.

Also from a practical point of view, as muscle has a bigger density than plants, Ellis suggests that “you wouldn’t need to eat as much cultured meat as you would a plantbased one to get the same amount of protein.

So in this case it is good for people who need a high-calorie, high-protein intake on a small amount of food, or it could be used for refugee food packs.”

One ethical hurdle is how the cells are extracted from the animals. “Cell sourcing is still under investigation,” adds Ellis.

“One idea is taking [the biopsy] from a live animal and that is still being investigated by vet scientists, although you only take a relatively small amount. The other stage we have been looking at with Dunsford is working with biopsies post-cull, after it has been slaughtered for food so you can take a bigger amount.” At the moment Ellis’ team is sourcing the cells from the Institute of Biology, Environmental and Rural Sciences at Aberystwyth University.

As regards animal welfare groups, those Ellis has had interaction with see the idea of cultured meat as a positive step and an opportunity to reduce the number of animals in the food chain. Most of the resistance, it appears, has largely come from farmers, who see it as a threat to their livelihood.

“Our approach in the UK and Europe is that it is an opportunity, so it is about having

those conversations,” says Ellis. And as Dunsford has said, as a farmer he has to adapt his 300-year-old farm to make money and this could be one of the ways to stay as a viable business.

Ellis also claims there are a lot of vegetarians and vegans who are supportive of developing this field “because this form of meat is just muscle cells and that is ok.”

Ellis, who has lived in and around Bath “forever… since I was a student here” declares she is a meat eater, “but I try to limit the amount now to maybe two or three times a week. I’m very selective where I buy, too, and go to farm shops such Lowden, Neston and Hartley, which all have highly ethical meat products.

“Also if I go out for dinner now, if it’s not clear on the menu that it is ethically sourced, I will assume that it is not and go vegetarian.” A meal out might be at The Crown in Bathford, Il Vello D’Oro near Melksham, or Yum Yum Thai or Yak Yeti Yak in Bath.

Behind all the fears about the impact of our meat-eating habits, so much of which is a part of our history and culture, Ellis

believes “there is always a risk of going too far as to how we manage food and our environment. We can be very idealistic and utopian about how we think the world could look. Also, if we have have fewer animals, we also have to think about the other products we get from them, such as lanolin from sheep’s wool.”

And Ellis cautions that it won’t be cheap to start with as the technology is still very new.

“The goal is to get it [the end product] down to price parity for an everyday consumer.

The issue is that the method we use – tissue engineering – originated from a high-value industry and the making of medical products. So we are taking quite an expensive process and using it to grow something that we need to make inexpensive.

But as chemical engineers we will develop that process to eventually make it cheaper.”

She adds that one day the mechanism for creating cultured meat will be highly transferable and could be done anywhere in the world.

“We have had workshops with Defra (the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) as to how we price the cultured meat to reflect its true value.”

Ellis also pointed out that questions have been asked about the health issues caused by highly processed foods and how much it is costing the NHS. So, perhaps, cultured meat could also be one of the keys to solving this problem.

As we wander around Marianne Ellis’ lab, wearing blue visitor coats and safety goggles, peering at test tubes and incubators, it all seems a long way from somewhere that a sirloin steak or some bacon might eventually emerge. Even renowned experimental chef Heston Blumenthal might be scratching his head.

But if it paves the way for a more sustainable, healthier and less destructive future, then the work of Dr Marianne Ellis and her team looks ever more important. n bath.ac.uk

The consumption of meat is already making way for plant-based alternatives, but what if we can eat a product that tastes like meat, that doesn’t impact the environment?

THEBATHMAG.CO.UK

|

january 2020

|

TheBATHMagazine 77

Bath at work jan.qxp_Layout 1 19/12/2019 10:12 Page 1

PORTRAIT: Neill Menneer at Spirit Photographic.

Visit: capturethespirit.co.uk, tel: 01225 483151

Bath at work jan.qxp_Layout 1 19/12/2019 10:12 Page 2

Bath @ work

Our series of photographic portraits by Neill Menneer shows Bath people at work. View a gallery of Bath@work subjects at: thebathmag.co.uk

Neil Ireson

Stained glass artist

I

moved to the beautiful city of Bath just over two years ago, having lived in London and Surrey for the previous 40 years. I decided to make a new life in a different part of the country following the loss of my late wife in 2016.

I chose to live in the centre of this vibrant city as it offers such an incredible range of activities to enjoy and appreciate – beautiful architecture, art galleries, extensive music and theatre productions as well as the diverse array of shops and restaurants, all within easy train proximity to London.

Subsequently I have met and married Anne, an interior designer specialising in lighting who has her business, Enlighten of Bath, on Walcot Street. She has introduced me to the joys of tennis at Lansdown and Excel Tennis in Royal Victoria Park from where I also enjoy early morning runs down to the river.

I studied Fine Art (painting) at Central St Martins in London under Patrick Reyntiens OBE. Patrick is the most significant stained-glass artist of his era and he created the stained glass at Coventry Cathedral and Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral, in collaboration with John Piper.

Stained glass was studied as a subsidiary subject, and I never imagined that this would form my future career. In my early twenties, I received a large commission for a private residence which led to further commissions for a central London law firm to create a backlit stained glass window depicting the London skyline, still a main feature in their offices. I received subsequent commissions in hotels, restaurants, corporate headquarters, all the time working on smaller domestic windows.

Over the years my work has taken me around the world, with commissions in the Middle East including creations for the Prime Minister of Bahrain and the Crown Prince of Kuwait. There have also been numerous commissions in Europe, the USA, the Caribbean and the Maldives.

My clients usually have initial ideas, and through discussion we develop these thoughts into a stained-glass concept. My projects are diverse, both in design – from traditional to contemporary interpretations – and in the type of buildings: residential, commercial and ecclesiastical.

Stained glass can be created to great effect both internally and externally. I have created many internal features which have been wall-mounted with LED diffused lighting to illuminate a corporate identity or a cityscape or to depic the history of an institution. Recent and current projects include two large stained-glass windows depicting the 150th anniversary of a Roman Catholic school in Surrey and the 200th anniversary of a Josephite community.

The range of applications for stained glass are enormous and as well as producing artworks for walls, doors, room dividers, and screens I have enjoyed installing beautiful glass into large domes and roof lights.

I am currently completing an intriguing commission for an art collector, a large wall-mounted backlit panel reflecting elements of climate change, war and poverty. Life has now come full circle and I am also once again working on a piece for a London law firm. n Neil Ireson: 07793 085885; neilireson.com PORTRAIT: Neill Menneer at Spirit Photographic.

Visit: capturethespirit.co.uk, tel: 01225 483151

THEBATHMAG.CO.UK

|

january 2020

|

TheBATHMagazine 79

city news jan.qxp_Layout 1 20/12/2019 11:36 Page 1

CITY | NEWS

CITYNEWS IT’S THE MULBERRY

NEW LEGAL FACES

Mulberry has opened its latest store in the historic city of Bath, just a stone’s throw away from where the brand was founded in 1971 – and the location of their UK factories, where 50% of the famous leather bags are still made. The new store at 38 Milsom Street will stock fan favourite silhouettes as well as the recently launched Belted Bayswater and Millie Tote. Located in one of the city’s breathtaking listed buildings, the space will also showcase the full lifestyle accessories range and offer services from omni-channel and personal shopping appointments to personalisation and repairs. mulberry.com

National law firm Stone King has welcomed Hannah Duddridge to its family and mediation team and Kez Bailey to head up the firm’s IT operations, both based at the firm’s Bath offices.

Hannah comes from London family law firm Dawson Cornwell, where she completed her training contract with a focus on children’s law, court of protection and finance on separation.

Kez joins the firm from Bevan Brittan LLP, where he was responsible for their outsourced managed IT Service for four years. At Stone King he will implement a number of infrastructure projects to develop the firm’s IT capabilities and enhance its mobile and agile working facilities. stoneking.co.uk

NEW FUNDS FOR FOOTPRINT Bath Abbey has received £200,000 from philanthropist Andrew Brownsword CBE DL as part of a half-a-million pound match funding pledge for the Footprint project.

This is the second time this year that the project has been given a major boost from the Brownsword Charitable Foundation, which has given a total of £375,000 in matchfunding in just under 12 months.

Every pound the foundation has donated

Did You Know? a Bath attracts people with high-spend profile and within this subset, the highest proportions are females aged 45–54 years and 65+

to Footprint has been doubled and will continue to be matched until the full £500,000 pledge has been unlocked.

Andrew Brownsword said: “A big reason for supporting the Footprint project is because we believe the abbey makes a positive contribution to the city, its visitors and the local community.

Whether through worship and prayer, music or architecture, many people feel a connection with the abbey.”

The Footprint project is a £19.3 million programme of restoration, building works and interpretation. Of this total, the abbey has around £0.75 million left to raise largely thanks to a grant of £10.7 million from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, and additional funds from private individuals and trusts, the abbey’s own congregation and visitors. bathabbey.org/footprint

SOUTH WEST AWARDS Over 100 tourism businesses from the south west have been named amongst the finalists of this year’s South West Tourism Excellence Awards.

Finalists include The Roman Baths & Pump Room (accessible and inclusive award, international tourism award and large visitor attraction), The Assembly Rooms (business event venue), The Lucknam Hotel and Spa(large hotel, and wedding venue), ESPA at Lucknam Park (spa and wellbeing experience), The Olive Tree Restaurant (restaurant/bistro), The Herschel Museum of Astronomy (small visitor attraction) and Bath Christmas Market (tourism event). n

BATH BUSINESS BAROMETER UPDATE: NOVEMBER 2019

provided by

High Street Footfall (month on month % change)

n The official Springboard report puts Bath footfall at a 1.7% decline for the last month compared to the previous one and in line with the national picture. The actual period measured, 27 October to 23 November, doesn’t include the week of Black Friday and the start of the Christmas Market. At the time of writing w/c 24 November was the strongest week of 2019, attracting 10% more footfall than in 2018. We know that the first four days of the Christmas Market 2019 had a 15% footfall uplift compared to the 2018 equivalent. n EVENTS: January will seem relatively quiet after the excitement of the holiday season, but there are still many performances on at our various theatrical venues. Among the unique events in the calendar is the Bath Jazz Weekend from 3–5 January, a footrace on the six-mile Bath Skyline route on 12 January and coding for girls at the Bath Central Library on 15 January. Find more on the comprehensive events calendar at bathbid.co.uk/events

Bath

-1.7% South West UK

-3.7%

-1.8% Springboard Research Ltd.

80 TheBATHMagazine

|

january 2020

|

issue 208

Stonar King fp.qxp_Layout 1 17/12/2019 10:17 Page 1

Treasure hunt with answers Jan 20 SINGLE PAGE.qxp_Layout 1 19/12/2019 11:28 Page 1

TREASURE | HUNT

How many did you identify?

In our Christmas issue we launched a treasure hunt with images showing the contents of 10 galleries and museums in Bath, with a first prize of a £100 card to use in Le Vignoble’s self-serve Enomatic dispensers – here we reveal all...

2

1

3

4

5 9

10

6

7

11

12

13

8

16

14

18

19 15

1. I stand aloft and survey the city, scroll in hand, but who am I? Answer: Julius Agricola (Roman Baths) 2. You can weather most storms with this bright jacket and tie by Michael Fish, but who gifted it to the museum you’ll find it in?

Answer: Executors of the estate of Sir Noël Coward (Fashion Museum) 3. Before technology took over, one read a book. These three are all connected, but what are their titles?

Answer: Village Churchyard, Village Observer and Village Pastor (No 1 Royal Crescent) 4. A mystery object here, perhaps one for the ladies. Find it and it will reveal its secret – what was it made for?

Answer: Making hat flowers (Jane Austen Centre) 5. This one may drive you round the bend, but that’s only to frame you. What is the name of the painting depicted within?

Answer: Robbing the Bird’s Nest (Holburne Museum) 6. Sniff me out, I’m almost 150 years old, but who made me?

Answer: Samson (French firm) (Victoria Art Gallery) 7. This angel weeps over a memorial to its right, but who does it weep for? Tell us for whom the memorial is dedicated.

Answer: Alicia Jaqueline Dowell (Old Theatre Royal) 8. Hop along to this museum to find this amphibian and tell us who made and signed it.

Answer: Shen Dasheng (Museum of East Asian Art)

82 TheBATHMagazine

|

JanUaRY 2020

|

iSSUe 208

17

9. The purrfect employee, but what was Wally’s collar number – the clue will be evident on the wall nearby.

Answer: No. 375 (The Postal Museum) 10. A famous Emma wrote this and illustrated her note with the depiction of an animal. Name the creature.

Answer: Elephant (Jane Austen Centre) 11. This object might spark your imagination, so tell us where you might find this sculpture.

Answer: The Herschel Museum 12. You don’t want to be on the receiving end of what was held in one of these curious things. What is the name of the people who used this object?

Answer: Lakac Tribe of Malaysia (No 1 Royal Crescent) 13. Don’t let its size stump you, seek out this object and tell us its approximate date.

Answer: About 1665 (Holburne Museum) 14. The pipes are calling, calling for you, for near this instrument hangs a plaque and pipes on which what words are inscribed?

Answer: Praise Ye the Lord (The Herschel Museum) 15. Wade through this museum’s objects and tell us the collection reference of this plate.

Answer: BATEA1051 (Museum of East Asian Art) 16. Set sail on your tour and name the captain of this particular ‘ship’ who was in charge in 1958?

Answer: G. S. Laxcombe (Old Theatre Royal) 17. Fashion forward Georgians kept cool with such a dress,

20 but what is the motif printed upon it called? Find out if you visit me.

Answer: Indian Pine Cone pattern, also called Patka (Fashion Museum) 18. A curse upon this house: I lie between a missing cape and cloak, but who wrote me?

Answer: Vilbia (Roman Baths) 19. It may have been too late for this object, but it’s never too late to answer this question – where was the town and county it should have ended up at?

Answer: Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire (The Postal Museum) 20. By heavens you must look up to reach the stars; below an instrument passes the time, but who made it?

Answer: Mallorys of Bath (Victoria Art Gallery)

P83.qxp_Layout 23 18/12/2019 14:10 Page 1

ocl A C C O U N TA N C Y

141 Englishcombe Lane, Bath BA2 2EL Tel: 01225 445507

www.oclaccountancy.com

Thinking of formalising your relationship?

Understanding your options

Tax scams on the rise!

The number of scam communications from HMRC has been rising and may well be linked to the self assessment payment deadline of 31st January; they advise that in 2018/19 around 900,000 possible scams were reported to them, with an unknown number not passed on.

The scams can often appear genuine and so we offer the following advice: • You will usually know if you owe some tax and broadly how much; if you aren’t sure, check your records or with your accountant.

Knowing your tax position is the best defence to fraudulent approaches • HMRC staff can and do telephone taxpayers about unpaid tax, but you will have received statements and demands beforehand from HMRC and so an unexpected ‘cold call’ suggesting you owe tax will almost definitely be fraudulent • Letters and emails can appear convincing and often have a realistic logo and typeface. Emails may contain links to tax refund / payment claim pages and even ask for bank details – all should be treated with a great deal of suspicion. HMRC do not invite you to enter details onto a website for a refund!

• HMRC will never ask for personal or financial information by text, so don’t respond to any received and never open any links within the text The HMRC website has examples of many of the scams going around at any point in time and will be pleased to hear from you if you wish to report any suspicions.

Be alert and keep your money safe in 2020! We wish Bath Magazine readers a Happy New Year!

For tax saving tips contact us – call Marie Sheldrake, Tom Hulett or Jacqui Bates on 01225 445507 We wish you all a peaceful Christmas and a healthy & happy 2020!

The idea of ‘family’ is changing. It can no longer be considered as a married couple of the opposite sex with children. The last 30 years has seen a shift in the law and attitudes to cohabiting, the introduction of civil partnerships and same sex marriage.

Additional changes will be coming into effect. From 31st December an opposite sex civil partnership can take place - a welcome development to ensure equality for all.

The team at Mogers Drewett have created an easy overview of the options available to couples looking to formalise their relationship.

Cohabitation If you live with your partner, but don’t wish to enter into a marriage or civil partnership, you may believe you are ‘common law spouses’ which provides you with rights over property or assets. However this doesn’t have any legal recognition which can lead to problematic disputes if relationships end.

A cohabitation agreement offers some protection as it outlines who owns which assets and defines how you would split those if there were a separation. This can include bank accounts, pension schemes and debts. It can also detail how you would support any children beyond legal duties.

Marriage and Civil Partnership Marriage has always been available for opposite sex couples and was also made possible for same sex couples in 2014. There is now a new option available to opposite sex couples who want to make a public commitment to one another without getting married; a civil partnership.

In terms of officially committing to spending your life with your partner, there aren’t many significant differences between marriage and civil partnership. It’s down to personal preference; a civil partnership moves away from any religious connections and the formality of a wedding.

When it comes to legal rights, marriage and civil partnerships share the same property rights, pension benefits and the ability to obtain parental responsibility for a partner’s child. They also have the same rights of next of kin in hospitals and are also exempt from inheritance tax.

What’s next for legal reform?

With the number of cohabiting couples in the UK expected to increase, and many deciding not to marry or enter into a civil partnership, the next issue will be the introduction of specific legislation for separating unmarried couples, who face unfairness due to the absence of any such statute. mogersdrewett.com Elizabeth Dowler, Solicitor, Family team at Mogers Drewett.

Call Marie Sheldrake, Tom Hulett or Jacqui Bates on 01225 445507 to arrange a no-obligation meeting

THEBATHMAG.CO.UK

|

january 2020

|

TheBATHMagazine 83

Art in healthcare.qxp_Layout 1 20/12/2019 16:28 Page 1

ARTS / WELLBEING

RNHRD patient George Odam admires the hydrotherapy pool glazed walls, designed by Christopher Tipping

Creative care

The new Royal National Hospital for Rheumatic Diseases at the RUH not only provides essential medical treatment – it has also put art at the heart of its design, creating a calming place for patients, visitors and staff

T

he Royal United Hospital has one of the largest and most accessible exhibition spaces in the Bath area, and is supported

by Art at the Heart (AATH) with an award-winning art and design programme that stimulates healing and wellbeing and creates an uplifting environment for all.

With the recent transition of moving the Royal National Hospital for Rheumatic Diseases (The RNHRD, also known as The Min) and RUH Therapies services to one combined centre at the RUH’s Combe Park site, AATH has contributed to the interior design of the centre, as well as having commissioned pieces of art, created displays, and worked with an expert conservator on The Min’s 18th-century portrait collection.

Following a consultation with patients and staff, AATH commissioned several major pieces and heritage projects for the RNHRD and Brownsword Therapies Centre, which was officially opened last autumn by the Duchess of Cornwall.

‘Flow’ was suggested as a key theme for the art on display – firstly because of the centre being located in a World Heritage spa city, and secondly because of the act of rehabilitation and the freeing of movement required for a patient’s recovery. This theme was particularly crucial to artist Christopher Tipping who created the impressive designs for the hydrotherapy pool’s glazed walls.

There are over 150 permanent artworks installed at the centre, and some patients and staff have picked their favourite pieces 84 TheBATHMagazine

|

January 2020

|

iSSue 208

which create a positive place to be…

“My favourite piece is the Cabinets of Curiosities which cleverly line the main corridor of the outpatient department with glass covered boxes containing various historical artefacts from the old Mineral Water Hospital,” says Dr Ellie Korendowych, consultant rheumatologist and medical director. “The pieces make our patients and staff smile on the way to their appointments and really brings to life all the rich history of The Min that we continue to cherish as we move forward in our new ultra-modern environment.”

“My favourite piece is an image of Bartlett Street in the snow by Jason DorleyBrown,” says James Scott, RUH chief executive. “Jason’s modern and vibrant artworks are on display in staff areas. It is important to include art for staff as well as patients and visitors – they also need to be uplifted and inspired. Good healthcare delivered alongside stimulating art and environmental design ultimately makes a happier workplace.”

“I have been a stern critic of the RUH’s takeover of The Min, but I am heartened by the genuine care, expertise and pride the RUH has shown in making the new facility as much like home as they could,” says patient George Odam. “But the crowning glory is the thrilling stained glass by Christopher Tipping that enlivens our spirit as we enter the amazing new pool area.” n For more about Art at the Heart, visit artatruh.org

Jason Dorley-Brown’s work, such as Bartlett Street, above, provides some colour to the workplace for staff, says RUH chief executive James Scott Below: Dr Ellie Korendowych’s favourite pieces can be found in the RNHRD’s Cabinets of Curiosities

Richardson Swift fp.qxp_Layout 1 19/12/2019 14:21 Page 1

IOM Jan 2020 Bath.qxp_Layout 1 19/12/2019 14:23 Page 1

ISLE OF MAN

Escape the everyday and be reminded of how life should be…

I

magine a place, a seabound kingdom with its own captivating story to tell. Where new flavours, sights and experiences emerge with the shifting seasons, a place that reminds you how life really should be.

Located at the heart of the Irish Sea, the Isle of Man is just a short flight (from 10 UK airports including Bristol) or a hassle-free sail away, making it the ideal destination for a relaxing getaway with a loved one this spring. Its UNESCO World Biosphere status recognises the island’s unique way of life and its drive to preserve its nature, wildlife, culture and heritage.

Dive into the island’s rich history and ever-changing landscapes and you’ll uncover a place where tradition lies alongside extraordinary stories of giants and fairies. Marvel at its unique heritage and journey through time as you unfold the island’s 10,000 year history, where legacies were built and culture echoes through time-forged traditions. Follow in the footsteps of Vikings, experience how the kings and lords of Mann lived, trace the island’s heroic poignant war story and journey through its legendary motorracing history which is over 100 years old.

A melting pot of character and taste, the Isle of Man takes pride in the passion and creativity of its artisans and its long history in excelent locally produced food and drink. With more than 70 award-winning Manx products to sample, whether you're after real ale experiences or locally foraged culinary delights, there's a growing choice of food and drink experiences and tours that will add exciting flavour to your itinerary.

Absorb breathtaking scenery aboard the most impressive network of heritage railways in the British Isles, powered by electricity, steam and horsepower, all preserved and operating with some original rolling stock. Choose to journey north on the Manx Electric Railway from Douglas to Laxey, a charming village located on the east coast of the island, where you’ll discover the Great Laxey Wheel. Built in 1854 to pump water from the Laxey mines, it is the largest working waterwheel in the world and a fantastic example of Victorian engineering. A climb to the top will see you rewarded with stunning, panoramic views across Glen Mooar Valley. At Laxey, you can transfer to the Snaefell Mountain Railway to wind your way up 2,000ft to the top of Snaefell Mountain, where on a clear day you can take in the spectacular views of the Seven Kingdoms of Mann, England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, the Isle of Man, the skies and the sea. The Heritage Railways will reopen for the 2020 season in March.

Put your best foot forward and discover extraordinary walks on

86 TheBATHMagazine

|

January 2020

|

issue 208

the Isle of Man. The island’s coastal paths, country lanes, forests and glens provide the ideal playground for adventurers of all ages.

There’s no better walking challenge than the island’s biggest, longest and most spectacular attraction for walkers, the Raad ny Foillan (Manx Gaelic for Way of the Gull). At almost 100 miles long, it offers the rare delight of walking right around an entire nation. For those looking for a more sedate pace, take a trip to one of the 18 mountain and coastal national glens to experience the real magic of the island.

The Isle of Man is also home to some of the finest golf courses in the British Isles and offers the ideal setting for a golf break. With eight courses, including links, parkland and heathland settings all within easy reach there is something to suit golfers of all abilities.

Should you seek something a bit more adrenaline-fuelled, take a ride around the island on the back of a trike with Isle of Man Trike Tours. Ideal for motorsport enthusiasts and fans of the world-famous TT races, it’s also captivating for complete novices, where thrillseeking aside, the tour is a fantastic way to soak up the island’s striking backdrops.

However you choose to explore the Isle of Man, you certainly won’t be short of things to see or do!

Start your extraordinary story and discover more at visitisleofman.com 

WIN! a spring break to the Isle of Man! Taking centre stage on the world’s most visual social media platform, Instagram, the Isle of Man has created an innovative way for users to interactively explore and win a trip for two to its island.

Embark on your virtual journey by visiting @iom_instatourism From here, Instagram’s account tagging feature allows users to roam the Island, hopping from one location to the other, showcasing the very best of the Isle of Man and what makes it so special, from the activities and attractions to the distinctive heritage and culture.

Hidden along your ‘Insta-Tour’ are six clan accounts to find: Adventurers, Artisans, Believers, Discoverers, Explorers, and the Movers. Collect six individual letters contained in each clan account to spell out a code word of which to enter at visitisleofman.com/extraordinarystory/instatourism for your chance to win.

P87.qxp_Layout 23 19/12/2019 11:44 Page 1

THEBATHMAG.CO.UK

|

january 2020

|

TheBATHMagazine 87

Bath Family Fun January.qxp_Layout 1 19/12/2019 11:46 Page 1

FAMILY | EVENTS

Family diary IDEAS FOR THINGS TO DO WITH THE CHILDREN THIS MONTH ROOTS AND SHOOTS n Every Tuesday during term time, 10–11.30am, Bath City Farm Toddlers can explore every inch of the farm, and make friends with the animals while they feed them breakfast. Have fun digging in the mud, learning about the bug huts, making crafts and listen to the incredible stories from the farm. Suitable for children five and under, £3.50–£7.50; bathcityfarm.org.uk SUPER PIRATES n Every Friday during term time, 10.30am, Komedia Super Pirates will be transforming Komedia’s dance floor into a fun-filled playroom. Build dens, play crazy games and let off confetti cannons. There are also playmats, toys and plenty of space for running around. Suitable for babies and toddlers. £4 per child, adults and newborn babies go free; komedia.co.uk

ABOMINABLE n 4 January, 10.30am, The Little Theatre Cinema DreamWorks Animation and Pearl Studio’s co-production takes audiences on an epic 3,000-mile journey from the streets of Shanghai to breathtaking Himalayan snowscapes. When a mischievous group of friends encounter a young yeti, they embark upon an epic quest to reunite the magical creature with family at the highest point on Earth. Suitable for all ages, £2.50; picturehouses.com DYRHAM WASSAIL n 5 January, 11am–2pm, Dyrham Park Sing and shout in the orchard as part of the wassail traditional ritual to promote a good crop and good health. Enjoy refreshments and music, you can even bring along your own percussion instruments. Suitable for all ages. Free event, normal admission applies; nationaltrust.org.uk/dyrhampark 88 TheBATHMagazine

|

january 2020

|

issue 208

FAMILY YOGA WORKSHOP WITH WILDFLOWER YOGA n 5 January, 2–4pm, Fox and Kit Cafe Reconnect with your family after the hectic Christmas period and join Chelsea from Wildflower Yoga as she guides you through a fun and creative workshop. Try your hand at different poses such as downward dog, balasana and more. Relax and release as a family with this fun activity. Suitable for ages five and over, £20–£25; foxandkitcafe.com SWAINSWICK EXPLORERS n 6 January, 9am–3pm, Swainswick House Journey from the house, exploring a series of wild places along the way. Set up camp with shelters, hammocks or a swing, and then light a campfire and cook up a feast, play and try some crafts. Suitable for ages four to 14 years, £40; swainswickexplorers.co.uk LADY AND THE TRAMP n 11 January, 10.30am, The Little Theatre Cinema The story of an American cocker spaniel named Lady who lives with a refined, uppermiddle-class family and a male stray mutt called Tramp. Watch as these two dogs meet and embark on a romantic adventure as they fall in love, wreak havoc and save the day.

Suitable for all ages, £2.50; picturehouses.com SNOW WHITE: A PANTOMIME n 16–19 January, 2pm and 7.30pm, The Rondo Theatre We all know how the story goes – a jealous wicked queen, a fair young maiden, a poor market boy, a talking mirror and a dragon.

What more could you ask for? Bath Drama’s

latest pantomime brings all of your favourite Snow White characters to life and tells you a story of love, loss and redemption through laughs, songs and spectacle. Suitable for all ages, £14 adults, £8 children under 12; rondotheatre.co.uk MEN BEHAVING DADLY n 18 January, 9–10.30am, St Swithin’s Church A monthly toddler group for dads and their pre-school children. Meet other dads, have fun and enjoy some quality time with your little one(s). There are toys, games and toast for the kids and coffee and bacon butties for the dads. £3 per adult. There’s also the occasional dads only drink at The Star – the local pub on The Paragon – allowing more time and space for conversation; stswithinswalcot.org.uk THE ADDAMS FAMILY n 18 January, 10.30am, The Little Theatre Cinema Watch as the most outlandish, funny and iconic family is back on the big screen.

Living in New Jersey, shrouded in gloom, the family begin dealing with the outside world as a mob attempts to get rid of them. Enjoy the hijinx that occur as they deal with crazy situations as only the Addams family can.

Suitable for all ages, £2.50; picturehouses.com CHILDREN’S FESTIVAL n 18 January, 10.30am–3pm, Wells Cathedral With the theme ‘Running the Race’ for the 2020 Olympics, enjoy lots of activities around the cathedral. With an inflatable

Lunar New Year Origami: Akiko Wakefield

SNOW MOUSE n 2 January – 2 February, 9.30am, 11.30am and 1.30pm, The egg Winter has arrived and the woods are covered in white. A child hurries to put on their winter clothes so they can run outside and play in a sparkly new world. Just when they are starting to feel a bit lonely, they find a sleeping mouse buried under the soft white flakes. Sliding, tumbling and laughing, they explore the winter wonderland together and keep each other safe and warm from the winter freeze. Join two new friends on their adventures in a magical forest full of play, puppetry and music. Suitable for six months to four years, £8; theatreroyal.org.uk

Snow Mouse at The egg

Bath Family Fun January.qxp_Layout 1 20/12/2019 10:16 Page 2

FAMILY | EVENTS

LUNAR NEW YEAR ORIGAMI n 24 and 31 January, 6.15–7.30pm, Museum of East Asian Art Celebrate the year of the rat – the first zodiac of the 12, it’s recognised for being diligent, intelligent and positive. Enjoy making adorable origami mice, new year wreaths and try some delicious cakes. Suitable for all ages. £10, booking essential; meaa.org.uk

Make origami mice at Museum of East Asian Art

assault course, mini Olympics, stories, crafts and more. Suitable for ages four to 11. £2, booking essential; wellscathedral.org.uk MISCHIEF AND MYSTERY IN MOOMIN VALLEY n 18–19 January, 11.30am and 3pm, The egg Based on the much-loved Moominland novels by Tove Jansson, follow this heartwarming show that tells the story of a year in Moominvalley. Each section of the story has an interactive element; enjoy a snowball fight, toast marshmallows around a fire and go swimming. The characters of Moomintroll, Snufkin, Little My and Thingummy and Bob are brought to life with puppets. Suitable for ages six and above, £8 children, £9 adults; theatreroyal.org.uk

TRANSPORTER n 24–25 January, 11.30am, 3pm and 7.30pm, The egg Go on a journey across continents and years, down city streets, through deserts, over oceans, asking questions that echo through history. Follow Maya, a girl who is forever 13 and forever on the move who weaves together stories of the local, global, personal and political as they collide. Suitable for ages ten and above, and blind or visually impaired audiences. £8 children, £9 adults; theatreroyal.org.uk MALEFICENT: MISTRESS OF EVIL n 25 January, 10.30am, The Little Theatre Cinema The complex relationship of Maleficent and Aurora continues to be explored as they face new threats to the magical land of the Moors. With Aurora engaged to be married and an evil queen on the scene, Maleficent must find a way to prove her innocence by

Snow White at The Rondo Theatre

learning more about her beginnings and bringing peace to the kingdom. Suitable for all ages, £2.50; picturehouses.com WASSAIL n 25 January, 11am–4pm, Tyntesfield Enjoy crafts in the Sawmill as you make your own shaker to rattle during a parade through the estate. The final Wassaill and blessing of the orchard will welcome in the new year with traditional music and celebrations.

Suitable for all ages. Free event, normal admission applies; nationaltrust.org.uk/tyntesfield n

Foreign Languages Centre UNIVERSITY OF

Daytime, lunchtime and evening foreign language classes for members of the public. Enrolling now!

Arabic

French

German

Italian

Japanese

Mandarin Chinese

Portuguese

Spanish

We offer a wide range of foreign languages at beginner through to advanced level.

To find out more about the courses available, or to enrol, visit our website www.bath.ac.uk/flc and apply online or call 01225 383991.

THEBATHMAG.CO.UK

|

january 2020

|

TheBATHMagazine 89

education Jan.qxp_Layout 1 20/12/2019 16:40 Page 1

EDUCATION

EDUCATION NEWS ALL HALLOWS HOCKEY CHAMPS The All Hallows Under 13 Girls Hockey side have qualified for the England In2hockey National Finals. They qualified through the Somerset round and then took part in the south west qualifiers.

The top two teams from eight counties played off and after some really tough matches they made it to the final. All Hallows are now in the last eight teams in the country and will play the top two teams from the north, midlands and south east at the national finals in May. Hockey coach Mr Callow said, “It was a real joy to see the girls show grit, determination, bravery and teamwork to overcome some top quality opposition. The calmness, focus and resilience to overcome some real challenges and work through tough situations really showed why developing character in children is a fundamental and crucial part to pupils’ education.” The team consisted of Tallula, Minty, Kambua, Tilly, Shona, Scarlett, Ava and Ryanne, and they are already preparing hard for the finals in May. allhallowsschool.co.uk

BATH COLLEGE BUSINESS BRAINS Two teams from Bath College’s BTEC Level 3 Business course created their own businesses in the lead up to the Bath Christmas Market. Each team had a managing director, came up with a team name and product idea, followed by a business and financial plan for how their business would run. They competed for a £50 investment from Metro Bank, a baseline cost to buy materials for their products. The two teams outlined their business plans to the director and manager of Metro Bank, Chris and Yani. They couldn’t pick a winner and so agreed to invest £50 in both teams. The teams, who ran the charity chalet at the Christmas Market, worked closely with local businesses, in particular Taste of Bath and Minuteman Press. Team one, Eutur, sold scented reed diffusers, and team two, Giving Gifts, sold Christmas cards and jewellery. bathcollege.ac.uk

NEW YEAR, NEW LANGUAGE If you’re interested in learning a foreign language this year, The Foreign Languages Centre at the University of Bath offers courses for members of the general public. The courses cover eight different foreign languages: Arabic, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Mandarin Chinese, Brazilian Portuguese and Spanish.

They run during the day, at lunchtime or in the evening to suit the needs of everyone.

The classes are led by qualified language teachers with years of experience teaching at every level and the courses are offered in the setting of the University of Bath Claverton Down campus or at the University Virgil Building on Manvers Street. The classrooms at the university have been recently refurbished and are equipped with up-to-date teaching technology. The courses normally last 10 or 11 weeks. bath.ac.uk/flc n 90 TheBATHMagazine

|

january 2020

|

iSSue 208

P91.qxp_Layout 23 16/12/2019 13:42 Page 1

THEBATHMAG.CO.UK

|

JANUARY 2020

|

TheBATHMAgAziNe 91

walking cure.qxp_Layout 1 20/12/2019 11:50 Page 1

Shooting simulator in action on clay pigeons

URBAN | LIVING

The walking cure

How are we affected by the environment in which we live? Martin Gledhill, senior teaching fellow at the department of architecture and civil engineering at the University of Bath, and Frances Longmore, who studied walks in Bath for her MA in literature and landscape, conduct a tour encouraging walking with a heightened awareness of your surroundings

T

he Therapeutic City Festival that took place in Bath last September explored how we all affect, and are affected by, the environment in which we live.

So how might we reimagine the psychotherapeutic potential of the city?

To help our investigation, we set out to ‘walk the talk’ and conduct a ‘walking cure’.

To wander is to wonder.

During the 1960s the architect Peter Smithson (1923–2003) embarked on a series of feral excursions to Bath. These urban rambles were eventually gathered into an enchantingly idiosyncratic guide, Bath: Walks Within the Walls; price, 37½p*. I still cherish my original, rather worn copy and the memories of being taught (and terrified)

by Smithson, which are embodied within his pithy text. It was to him that we looked as our guide.

Smithson loved Bath, for him it was not just a backdrop for a great day out.

Wandering through the city was like being inside “a living shell”, and while he acknowledged its historic past, he also recognised it as an evolving entity. Lessons needed to be learnt before they were lost to the developer’s bulldozer. His walks were a kind of architectural therapy and have a guerrilla-like quality to them. His curiosity found its way beyond, behind and below the more obviously captivating set pieces, by straying into snickets, alleyways and backyards. In these humbler parts of the

The Walking Cure took place during the Therapeutic City Festival

92 TheBATHMagazine

|

january 2020

|

issue 208

The Church of St John’s on South Parade is notable for its height

city he noticed and recorded the masons’ extraordinary skill in choreographing the city’s topographical and social contours.

This then is a place of waltzing cornices and lavish pavements where the pedestrian is sovereign. And, much as the terraces canter up the hills and the crescents gather the land to themselves, the landscape hosting our city returns the compliment as it glides into our streets and houses. Urban and rural meet.

To consider the walks as a purely architectural exercise is to overlook their wider intent, for the reader is often challenged to engage with what they see in a broader, more contemplative way. For example, when ruminating on how buildings are marked by the passing of time Smithson suggests that we “stop here and think about that other certainty we are about to experience.” Or, for those less fatalistically disposed, “Bath demonstrates above all that it is perfectly possible to build a memorable, beautiful, and cohesive community structure

of fragments…the nowhere places are grey zones for the psyche. We seem to need them.”

We probably all understand the therapeutic benefit of a country walk, especially if it includes the bait of a Sunday lunch, but what of its urban equivalent?

The link between walking and thinking, or solving by walking, has a long tradition reaching back to St Augustine, Rousseau and Darwin among others. Furthermore, the coupling of landscape (both rural and urban) to our sense of wellbeing or ‘soul’ sits at the core of much contemporary nature writing.

The ecological conscience woven throughout such work is all the more poignant and accessible on account of the writers’ use of everyday objects and local places as a lens to evoke wider issues; hearts are touched as well as minds. All very well, you might say, but what has this got to do with sauntering through the city and its therapeutic potential? More often than not our pedestrian encounters with the city are

walking cure.qxp_Layout 1 20/12/2019 14:19 Page 2

URBAN | LIVING

❝

It is perfectly possible to build a memorable, beautiful and cohesive community structure of fragments

❝

measured only in terms of the proximity of a car park or as a route march from A to B. We need to feel and think about the spirit of place which defines our city and to coin a phrase, be ‘city smart, country wise’.

With these questions in mind a group of us took our imaginations for a stroll. We met in front of the abbey and set off on part of Smithson’s Walk 1, pausing first in Orange Grove, a public space laid out to celebrate ‘the happy restoration of the health of the Prince of Orange’ – if only all our public spaces had a similar manifesto. Looking up we smiled at the zigzag roofscape of the adjacent shops holding hands like a paper doll chain, their waists decorated with shellheaded windows nodding to us as we passed by. Straining our necks further we could see on the skyline the church of St. John. The spire is notable for its height – a theological stand-off with its Anglican siblings, but now host to some unusual guests. Rare peregrine falcons nest there in a purpose-built box with a webcam acting as their guard, but also affording them a kind of avian celebrity.

Crossing the road to Parade Gardens we peered down into the Roman layer of the city and remembered that this was once a monastic orchard, a kind of miniature Eden now reconfigured as a paradise of deckchairs. We looked across to North Parade constructed in the extraordinarily short time of six months. On the one hand this is testament to Ralph Allen’s innovative railway which sped stone down from the quarries, and on the other the naked exploitation of the rock beneath us which left Combe Down teetering on stone stilettoes. Spare a thought too for the men and horses who in exhausting the mines, exhausted themselves.

Heading off along Pulteney Street we discussed Smithson’s rather irreverent feeling of desolation, a “street that had become a route”, where it is “difficult to pause”.

We enjoyed the ‘kinky’ corners of Laura Place and the unfinished vista of Johnstone Street. The sagging cill courses caught our eyes; it was as though they had opted to settle rather than continue to groan under the weight of the noble façades above them.

We tried to look through the street’s blind windows and saw the fancy petticoats of lanterns, railings and fan lights all tinkling – but where are the trees that used to accompany them? Arriving at the Holburne we wondered if this was the beginning or the end of the vista. It is here that city and the park coalesce on the rear elevation (or is it

the front?) in Eric Parry’s delightful, ceramic evocation of an evergreen canopy.

Finally, having wandered through the Pleasure Gardens we dropped down to the canal towpath, a very different, squeezed world, much restored since Smithson’s time.

The post-industrial neglect which he witnessed was ‘almost painful to think about’.

We were surprised to feel that same sense of pain when passing Hampton Row, which has remained almost derelict since I first came to Bath in 1976 – the train used to stop here. But maybe we always need decaying, unfinished parts and ruins in our cities? As the Romantics knew well, our imagination flourishes and renews itself in such places.

And so, it was befitting that we unintentionally completed our walk at the soon-to-be-restored Cleveland Pools; Captain Evans’s eccentric act of philanthropy, conceived to teach children to swim as much in the water itself, as in their imaginations.

We all felt nourished after our hour-long walking cure. So then, how about undertaking your own cure, walking with your minds, hearts and eyes as well as your feet. In fact, why not simply get lost? n

ABOVE: The route of Peter Smithson’s walking cure starts at the abbey and finishes at Cleveland Pools. Peter Smithson’s original book, Bath: Walks Within the Walls, was republished in 2017 and is available from the Museum of Bath Museum BELOW: The view along the River Avon towards Parade Gardens, and Orange Grove with its distinctive zigzag roofscape in the background

The Holburne Museum’s extension is built up in layers of glass and moulded ceramic. The glass allows views through the building to the lush trees and grass

THEBATHMAG.CO.UK

|

january 2020

|

TheBATHMagazine 93

Team Bath Editorial.qxp_Layout 22 20/12/2019 12:22 Page 1

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE

FITNESS | HEALTH

Promoted content

New year’s resolutions: find a new approach

The benefits of engaging in regular physical activity are well documented, and this is the time of year that people the world over decide on their exercise resolutions for the year ahead. But how do you keep on track? James Lambdon, applied sport psychologist at Team Bath, offers some solutions

F

or most of us, new year’s resolutions will be broken in a matter of weeks, days, or even hours. So what do you need to do to give yourself the best chance of developing new exercise habits this year?

Here are some ideas for looking at resolutions in a different way to maximise your chances of turning resolutions into habits that last.

GET CURIOUS Resolutions made are typically very specific, achievement-focused goals. By polarising our progress as either a success or failure, we often lose sight of what we learn along the way. Curiosity is a great foundation from which to build impactful resolutions.

Once you have a goal that you wish to work towards (for example completing a triathlon) and have committed it to paper, start with a period of reflection before planning. Create a list of all the things that you believe you could learn along the way from never having done a triathlon before to completing your first triathlon.

In training you may learn things like how best to balance training alongside your work commitments, the importance of nutrition, how to juggle the demands of multiple sports, what equipment is best suited to complete the race, whether you would like to do another in the future, or just understanding the specific components of a triathlon. However small or obvious your responses, they are all important as this information helps you to understand what you are looking to gain.

FOCUS ON STRENGTHS New year’s resolutions are traditionally based upon a desire to change a specific behaviour (such as going more regularly to the gym) with the aim of experiencing some form of beneficial outcome (having more energy or a better quality of life). But what happens if you were to focus on your personal strengths and use these to inform your resolutions this year?

Our strengths often play out in areas of our lives where we aren’t looking for change (for example, within work). Often this means that there isn’t an immediate need to develop a new set of behaviours. The need lies with better engaging with what we are good at.

By doing so we are better able to challenge ourselves to demonstrate our strengths in the pursuit of something new or different.

For example, if you feel skilled at communicating with work colleagues face

94 TheBATHMagazine

|

january 2020

|

issue 208

to face, often demonstrating effective leadership qualities and you are looking for a new sporting challenge, then why not link your strengths to your resolution? You could join in with a touch rugby team and play in a league (providing opportunities for you to communicate and lead). By dedicating time to think about your personal strengths (and where these could play out), you are more likely to choose a resolution that excites, challenges and motives you.

USE PERSONAL VALUES Our values reflect the way that we choose to live our lives. Unlike goals, values are not future oriented. They are personally constructed to guide our behaviour and actions, and inform the activities we choose.

Think about the areas of your life that are important to you. What do you enjoy about them? What makes them important? How do you know that you enjoy spending your time in these ways? Your responses will offer insight into the values you hold and the things that matter to you. Using your personal values to underpin your resolutions gives you the best chance of being successful, and will help you to keep you on track when things get difficult, or temptation arises. So if in your responses to the questions above you noted that variety, challenge, achievement and planning are key, then creating or committing to a resolution that links values to action (for example, taking up Olympic weight lifting) would be the best course of action.

BREAK DOWN YOUR GOALS If you prefer to base your resolutions around achieving goals, then this is a good way of

approaching the year ahead. Be sure to break down your goals into three parts: an outcome goal, performance goals, and process goals (for each resolution). The type of goal depends on how often something occurs, with outcome goals occurring once, performance goals happening occasionally, and process goals taking place frequently.

Breaking down goals helps you to track progress, keep your levels of motivation high, and to recognise and reward yourself. For example, to run a 5km (outcome goal), smaller targets (or performance goals) such as running for 25 minutes straight are needed.

These are supported by lots of small (process) goals, such as running 1km, which over time contributes to the overall outcome goal.

USE A REWARD SYSTEM One of the most underutilised factors when it comes to sticking to resolutions is building in a reward system to help you to recognise and celebrate your progress. A reward system starts with you logging your progress with promised rewards at key stages. For example, if an individual is wanting to run 10km, they may plan to have dinner at their favourite restaurant once they have completed 50% of their training plan. After this, they may buy themselves a new pair of running trainers (or headphones) as a reward for crossing the finish line. Such rewards increase the future chance of engaging in the activity and help you recognise the progress that you are making. ■ For more information about Sport and Exercise Psychology at Team Bath go to teambath.com/physio-sport-science

The Orangery fp January.qxp_Layout 1 20/12/2019 12:29 Page 1

Established for over 25 years we are the experts in skin health, aesthetics and advanced beauty treatments in Bath.

Dermaplaning

Cryopen

What is dermaplaning?

Dermaplaning is a form of facial exfoliation that removes the top layer of dead, dull skin and peach fuzz.

Flawless skin in a matter of seconds Remove unsightly skin imperfections for that perfect finish

Benefits of dermaplaning • Instantly smoother and radiant looking skin.

• makeup will have a flawless finish.

• skincare will be more effective • softens the appearance of lines and wrinkles.

• Skin tags • Age spots • Milia

This treatment can be performed on its own or as a dermaplaning facial.

• Warts • Cherry angioma

All our consultations are free of charge so please feel free to book an appointment to see which is the right treatment for you.

The Body Clinic...

by Victoria Rawlinson, Heath & Fitness Practitioner Bespoke Nutrition & Lifestyle Plans available

2020 is the year to get the body you want!

The Body Clinic transformation package combines easy to follow diet plan, exercise programme and body toning treatments. Weekly consultations address the psychology of your lifestyle choices and help keep you on track.

Book in for your free initial consultation.

Don’t live with regret!

36 Gay Street, Bath • Tel: 01225 466851 • www.theorangerylaserandbeautybath.co.uk

P96.qxp_Layout 22 20/12/2019 14:34 Page 1

Jaime Brain Dip CDT RCS (Eng) GDC 142490

Not happy with your dentures?

Are your dentures loose or painful?

We can help regain your confidence and your smile

WE OFFER • FREE Consultation • New Dentures direct • Flexible dentures • • Denture repairs • Saturday appointments •

BOOK YOUR FREE CONSULTATION ON

01225 311 681

27 Walcot Buildings (Weymouth Street), Bath, BA1 6AD

www.jbdentureclinic.co.uk

Start the New Year as you mean to go on!

At running bath our specialist staff use the latest technology to analyse your running gait and goals, allowing us to recommend the best footwear and products for you.

www.runningbath.co.uk 18 High St Bath BA1 5AJ

96 TheBATHMagazine

|

january 2020

Tel: 01225 462555

|

issue 208

P97.qxp_Layout 23 19/12/2019 14:28 Page 1

CJ Beauty

15ff% o

Offering a wide range of treatments massage manicure pedicure waxing tinting facials IBX nail treatment LVL lash lift callus peel hopi ear candles microdermabrasion 10 -11 Green Street , Bath, BA1 2JZ 07840 864829

Owner Michelle previously Senior Therapist at Green Street House

cjbeauty.uk

THEBATHMAG.CO.UK

|

JANUARY 2020

|

TheBATHMAgAziNe 97

Mike Killpartrick.qxp_Layout 1 19/12/2019 11:26 Page 1

CITY | BUSINESS

Raising your sights

The technology behind seeing clearly has moved from eyeglasses balanced on the bridge of the nose to using light waves to take cross-section pictures of your retina. Emma Clegg talks to Mike Killpartrick about 40 years as an optometrist

“

T

here was a point when qualified opticians weren’t allowed to have shop windows. It wasn’t seen as professional,” says Mike Killpartrick. Any shop without a visible shopfront seems a novel idea within today’s high street. This professional regulation – while preceding Mike Killpartrick’s business, Ellis and Killpartrick, which has been in Bath for 40 years – shows the dramatic changes in the industry in an optometrist’s lifetime. It also harks back to a time before the big spectacle giants which now dominate the high street.

The idea of the business started when Mike Killpartrick met Brian Ellis at Bradford University when they were studying opthalmic optics, as it was known then. They were good friends and discussed the idea of one day opening up a practice together. This didn’t happen for a few years, but they later developed a business model and started the Bath business in 1979, at first based in George Street. Brian left the business a few years later as he didn’t want to commute to Bath any more, so they parted company amicably and are still good friends, with Brian still doing an occasional clinic.

There have been numerous shifts in the optometrist business model over the years – including the change of name from opthalmic optician to optometrist – but the main difference, explains Mike, is that there has been an increasing emphasis on how the retail part of the business operates. “A lot of what has happened in optics over the past ten years has been driven by the arrival of the large multiple chains… Boots, Specsavers and Vision Express. These companies have huge sums of money behind them and they drove the retail presence that sold glasses.”

This of course made the market very challenging for independent opticians, of whom there are far fewer nowadays. “An awful lot of independent opticians have gone because they couldn’t compete. Those who remain have found what we’ve found, that the

98 TheBATHMagazine

|

january 2020

|

issue 208

model works if you go for the high-quality eyewear and top brands.

“We adopted the luxury brands in the very early days,” says Mike. “We didn’t know about that world then, because I’m an optometrist not a retailer, but you learn as you go along.” The store’s brands now include Cartier, Chanel, Fendi, Chloé, Gucci, Tiffany, Oliver Peoples and Tom Ford as well as more affordable brands such as Exalto, Oxibis, RayBan and Charles Stone.

“Optics is very strange profession,” says Mike. “We sell glasses and we do health checks, so we’re retailers as well as health care providers.” The business model, however, Mike explains, is sustained by the sale of glasses and contact lenses rather than the health care provision. “The health side of the business isn’t sustainable on its own, but the retailing of glasses makes the whole business work. The spectacles and the contact lenses are the parts of the business that enable me to pay the rent and the rates.”

It’s not just retail that has seen changes from decade to decade, but the understanding of eye health and the associated technology.

“It’s a constantly changing field and that’s why it’s so exciting, because there are just so many developments in the technology.

Progress has moved more quickly in recent years. At the moment there are big moves forward in the use of the personalised medicine genome. By sequencing some of the eye problems we see through the technology now available, it might soon be possible to detect those who are at risk of macular degeneration by looking at the genome sequence. If we know something about your genes, we can say that you are more at risk of certain things.”

The business also uses a technology called OCT, which screens the retina. “It’s a bit like ultrasound but it uses light instead of sound so it’s giving us more information than we’ve ever had about the retina and its structure.”

One of the services the company offers is checking vision for driving, something about which Mike feels strongly. “The driving test asks for the standard of being able to read a number plate at 20 metres, but that was set in 1937 and has not been changed since. I am involved with a group who want to persuade parliament that looking at a number plate when you are 17 or 18 and reading it isn’t enough. Is it ever tested again? No. It’s checked at 70 but just as a tickbox.”

Mike went up to Portcullis House in Westminster last year with MP Wera Hobhouse and did a presentation on eyesight and driving to Labour MP Jack Dromey (the three-year old granddaughter of one of Jack’s

constituents was knocked over and killed by someone who had been told he shouldn’t drive. While the political focus on this issue has been sidelined by the Brexit process, it’s something that Mike believes deserves serious debate and appropriate legislation.

As a council member of the Association of Independent Opticians, Mike works with other independent colleagues to promote the benefits independent opticians can provide, particularly continuity of care. “The large chains find continuity more difficult to manage, although clearly they deliver a service that suits many people.” Independent opticians look to offer more bespoke products and a personalised styling service. “When you meet a spectacle wearer, one of the first things you notice is whether their spectacles suit them and if they fit well. We believe ‘self select’ often results in spectacles that are unflattering and poorly fitting. Our frame stylists can help patients select a frame that really suits them, reflects their personality and character, and crucially fits properly to provide clear vision,” explains Mike.”

If continuity matters to you, Ellis and Killpartrick will make you see it clearly. n Ellis and Killpartrick, 18 New Bond Street, Bath. Tel: 01225 466954; ellisandkillpartrick.com

P99.qxp_Layout 23 20/12/2019 14:34 Page 1

Perfect vision without glasses at any age ✜ ✜ ✜

Over 30,000 successful cataract and vision correction procedures.

Eyelid surgery, removal of eyebags, excess skin and lumps.

Virtually 100% patient satisfaction.

Javad Moayedi,

MD, MRCOphth, MSC Consultant Ophthalmic Surgeon Bath, Bristol, Somerset and Harley Street, London

Specialist in Cataract, Lens and Laser Vision Correction and Eyelid Surgery Contact No: 07885 655091 Email: javadvisionuk@gmail.com Facebook: Javad Moayedi www.javadmoayedi.co.uk

THEBATHMAG.CO.UK

|

JANUARY 2020

|

TheBATHMAgAziNe 99

hypnotherapy /cyclist plant based.qxp_Layout 1 20/12/2019 14:47 Page 1

HEALTH | MATTERS

Making a change

Plant-based cycling

The new year often brings plans for change, but resolutions can be difficult to maintain. Two local hypnotherapists explain how their techniques can help you to reinvent yourself to enable change

The rapid rise of plant-based diets into everyday diets has also made a real impact on the cycling world. A recently published book has everything that cyclists wanting to embrace the plant-based ethic need to know

January tends to bring perspective. It is at this time that you begin assessing all aspects of your life. This could include your career aspirations, and gaining clarity is paramount to the process.

If there is no clarity, then things become confusing. Quiet your mind, slow things down, gain perspective and learn about yourself. Figure out what makes you tick, what you want from life and what is going to be healthy and good for you.

A hypnotherapist’s job isn’t to advise people, but to facilitate them. Helping clients come up with their own conclusions that are right for them. With solution-focused hypnotherapy, it means you are moving forward.

Lifestyle changes tend to be the most prevalent for new year’s resolutions, but these can become rather daunting.

Something shocking could happen that kick-starts the process and then over time the incentive slowly dissipates, or it could be that motivational issues are holding you back.

This change is a learning process. Understanding how your brain works and learning how to manage your natural impulses are what matters. Naturally we are all programmed to search for food, but you can teach your brain to start making proper choices for a more sustainable plan. Leading a happy, healthy existence needs balance and sustainability.

The Bath-based Global Cycling Network (GCN), the world’s largest online cycling channel, has just published The Plant-Based Cyclist with Nigel Mitchell. Nigel is the acclaimed professional WorldTour cycling nutritionist for Team Sky and the nutrition-brains behind historic Olympic gold medals and multiple Grand Tour wins including the Tour de France.

The Plant-Based Cyclist, a complete guide to plant-powered cycling, covers everything from diet, health, biochemistry, ride and rest-day nutrition and travelling, along with essential advice on creating a plant-based kitchen for cyclists of all abilities. The recipes include goji berry seed mix, flax seed oil salad dressing, rice balls wrapped in seaweed, hummus and multigrain crackers, mixed bean chilli, quinoa/amaranth porridge, dairy-free yogurt and soya milk rice pudding. Here is an easy-to-prepare recipe from the book – homemade pistachio nut butter. youtube.com/user/globalcyclingnetwork

Tel: 07974 153487; viv@hypnotherapyandhealth.co.uk; hypnotherapyandhealth.co.uk The new year usually begins with evaluating your life and looking at how to make changes, be it in your career and work or through health, such as exercise and diet.

It can be difficult identifying exactly how this change can occur in your working life. During solution-focused hypnotherapy sessions, you become clearer and aware of your own capabilities, gaining confidence. Recognising special qualities and talents, focusing on how to enjoy and discover your unique skills. You are able to see clearly through the fog that has been holding you back, allowing you to become more focused, stop procrastinating and begin being proactive.

Solution-focused hypnotherapy also helps with making lifestyle changes in order to improve health. With people’s new year’s resolutions quickly falling by the wayside, this can cause you to feel unmotivated.

During the process of hypnotherapy, you will rewire your brain in your own way to enable change. With a new-found sense of confidence – plus your own awareness and capacity for self-determination – you will find the ability to make good changes, make decisions and take responsibility for your life.

The sessions are relaxed and the process is gentle. You will see small changes at first, which then develop through time, as you become increasingly aware of the unconscious changes that you are making.

Tel: 07949 240190; andrea@andreakellyhypnotherapy.co.uk; andreakellyhypnotherapy.co.uk

100 TheBATHMagazine

|

january 2020

|

iSSue 208

Proton fp.qxp_Layout 1 18/12/2019 13:05 Page 1

The Walk - Jan.qxp_Layout 1 19/12/2019 11:30 Page 1

THE | WALK

Make tracks to Brean Down

Start the year off with a stimulating walk along an uplifting stretch of coastline. Andrew Swift makes his way along the breezy headland of Brean Down and encounters a Second World War observation post, a 19th-century fort and views over the bay

B

rean Down, which outlies The Mendips, jutting one and a half miles into the Bristol Channel north of Burnham on Sea, forms one of the most spectacular stretches of coastline in the south west.

If your New Year’s resolution is to get more exercise, there is no better way to start than with a brisk walk along this breezy headland.

Not only are there superb views in every direction, but at the end of the promontory is a massive abandoned fort which is free to explore.

Although the walk includes rough and rocky tracks, and a steep flight of steps, there is the option of following a more accessible route along an old military road from the car park to the fort. Two all-terrain mobility scooters are also available for hire from the National Trust hut in the car park.

There are a couple of caveats, however.

The cliffs are sheer and steep, and, although the paths do not run along the edge of them, several dogs die every year by falling off them, often while chasing wild goats. The fort, meanwhile, has high walls and long drops, and, while children will undoubtedly regard it as an adventure playground, parts are potentially hazardous. For adults, 102 TheBATHMagazine

|

january 2020

|

though, on a clear and sunny day, it is one of the best places imaginable to blow the cobwebs away.

To get to Brean Down from Bath, you can either drive across country or take the motorway and leave at junction 22. For the last leg, you can either follow the coast road north from Burnham on Sea or take a turning off the A370 through Lympsham and head for the coast along a network of lanes.

Whichever way you go, the road ends at a National Trust car park, with Brean Down looming high above (ST296585; TA8 2RS).

For the more accessible route, follow the road to the right of the cafés. After 200m bear left up a gravel track and continue along it for 1.5 miles to reach the fort.

For the standard route, take the 60m flight of steps ahead, zig-zagging up to the down. At the top, you are rewarded with magnificent views – eastwards to the clifftop church at Uphill, southwards over the shining sands of Brean, and northwards over Weston Bay. The long, low white line you can see 18 miles away on the Welsh coast is Llanwern Steelworks.

As you bear left across the grassy sward, the view ahead is largely obscured by the down, rising another 20m. Down to your right,

issue 208

though, you can see the military road, with Flat Holm, and its lighthouse, six miles out to sea. Beyond it is the Welsh coast, with Barry to the left, Penarth and Cardiff to the right.

When you reach the first summit, it is worth turning to take in the view back toward Uphill and the Mendips. From here you can see the whole expanse of the down, with its few trees leaning inland away from the prevailing wind.

Migrating birds use the down as a stopping-off point and at this time of year you may see skylarks, meadow pipits, stonechats, jackdaws, ravens, crows, redstarts, thrushes, fieldfares, redwings, kestrels and peregrine falcons.

The track descends before climbing past a series of ridges which formed part of a medieval field system. The next summit is Brean Down’s highest point – 97m – and is marked by a trig point. A little further on, as the land shelves away, you can see the fort far below, with the island of Steep Holm beyond.

The climb down to the fort is the trickiest part of the walk – steep, rocky and slippery – and you may want to opt for a slightly easier option, taking a track bearing right to join up with the military road.

The Walk - Jan.qxp_Layout 1 19/12/2019 11:31 Page 2

THE | WALK

FACT FILE n Distance: 3.5 miles n Start point: National Trust car park, Brean Down TA8 2RS (ST296585); £2 a day, free to NT members

Carrying straight on down, you come to a Second World War Two observation post, whose dim, damp interior and commanding views of the channel approaches is an atmospheric introduction to the fort, built between 1862 and 1870 due to fears of French invasion. A dry moat protected it on the landward side, while treacherous rocks, reefs and riptides made it all but impregnable to attack by sea.

A shot was never fired in anger, but in 1900 a gunner discharged his carbine down a ventilator into a magazine packed with gunpowder, blowing himself and much of the fort sky high. His motive was not established, but, instead of being rebuilt, the fort was decommissioned and later became a café.

During the Second World War, the army returned. New gun emplacements were built and the fort became a weapons testing ground. A short railway track leading to the

edge of the cliff is the legacy of an ill-fated attempt to develop a flying bomb. The bomb was loaded onto a trolley which was propelled by rockets along the track. The idea was that when the trolley hit the buffers, the bomb would be catapulted far out to sea.

Unfortunately, the trolley ripped through the buffers and the buffers, trolley and bomb flew off into the channel before swinging round and exploding inland.

After exploring the fort, take the military road along the northern side of the promontory, with views over Weston Bay. After about a mile, as a WWII building comes into view, bear right across the down towards a gun emplacement with a large concrete arrow embedded in the turf to the left. This dates from WWII, when it directed trainee pilots towards bombing ranges.

From here, bear right along a track leading to the steps down to the car park. n

n Accessibility: The main route includes steps and steep sections.

An alternative route is available for those with mobility difficulties, and an all-terrain mobility scooter can be hired (see nationaltrust.org.uk/breandown) n Facilities: There are cafés and toilets by the car park at the foot of Brean Down n Suitability: Children need to be supervised and dogs kept on leads (and there is plenty of beach for them to run free after the walk) n Map: OS Explorer 153

Andrew Swift’s Country Walks from Bath is available from bookshops or direct from akemanpress.com. Andrew is also co-author, with Kirsten Elliot, of Ghost Signs of Bath

THEBATHMAG.CO.UK

|

january 2020

|

TheBATHMagazine 103

Interiors Notebook Jan20.qxp_Layout 1 20/12/2019 17:29 Page 1

CITY | INTERIORS

interiors

NOTEBOOK OBSIDIENNE WALLPAPER Pierre Frey is a traditional French fabric interior furnishing house, producing exquisite designer fabrics and luxury wallpapers. Obsidienne is an abstract design by American artist Heather Chontos and can be sourced in Bath at the Woodhouse and Law interior design showroom.

Woodhouse and Law 4 Georges Place, Bath BA2 4EN woodhouseandlaw.co.uk

CHIMNEY VASE This beautiful vase was hand blown at the Bath Aqua Glass studio. Because everything is shaped by hand, every piece is completely unique. The vase has a mirror finish effect with a beautiful lustre and the colours swirl around, aided by gravity during the making process. £100. Approximately 22cm tall by 11.5cm diameter.

AND THE COLOUR IS...

The Pantone colour of 2020 is 19-4052 Classic Blue

PANTONE 19-4052 CLASSIC BLUE Instilling calm, confidence, and connection, this enduring blue hue highlights our desire for a dependable and stable foundation on which to build as we cross the threshold into a new era.

A timeless and enduring blue suggestive of the sky at dusk, Classic Blue is elegant in its simplicity. Imprinted in our psyches as a restful colour, it brings a sense of peace and tranquility to the human spirit, offering refuge. Aiding concentration and bringing laser-like clarity, this blue re-centres our thoughts. A reflective blue tone, it fosters resilience.

As technology continues to race ahead of the human ability to process it all, it is easy to understand why we gravitate to colours that are honest and offer the promise of protection.

Since 2000, Pantone has chosen a colour of the year from trend-forecasting research performed by the Pantone Color Institute. The colour, announced each December, is chosen based on what is taking place in our global culture at a moment in time.

The Pantone Color Institute pantone.com

LOAF POT PIE

Bath Aqua Glass, 14 Cheap Street / 15 Abbey Churchyard, Bath BA1 1NA bathaquaglass.com

This is a family-sized footstool and an extra seat – with a whole load of storage space within. £565. There are nice scatter cushions, too.

THE ALWINTON SOFA

Loaf Unit 1D, Centaurus Road, Cribbs Causeway, Bristol, BS34 5TS loaf.com

Deep and substantial, this is one of Sofas and Stuff’s first ever sofa designs and an iconic bestseller. Available in several sizes and in many fabrics and colours. But when it comes to colour matching, this one makes a perfect classic. From £1,613.

Sofas and Stuff Woodchester Mill, North Woodchester, Stroud GL5 5NN sofasandstuff.com

FATBOY BEAN BAG AND ROCKER Place your original beanbag on top of the rocker and your giant luxury rocking chair awaits. The Fatboy Rock 'n’ Roll frame (£229) can be combined with any Fatboy Original beanbag.

TR Hayes stock and sell both items individually or if you really want to rock the look then both can be purchased together from £398.

TR Hayes 15–18 London Street, Walcot, Bath BA1 5BX trhayes.co.uk

104 TheBATHMagazine

|

JanUaRY 2020

|

iSSUe 208

Interiors Notebook Jan20.qxp_Layout 1 20/12/2019 17:30 Page 2

CITY | INTERIORS

HOW TO USE CLASSIC BLUE “The new colour of the year from Pantone literally does what is says on the tin – it’s a classic, sumptuously bold colour. It can be used singly to create a monotone scheme or hold its own mixed in with other colours. Either way, don’t be afraid to use it to bring a little drama into a space, be it a colour pop kitchen island or bathroom vanity unit, as splashes in home accessories, or in the plush, velvety upholstery on a sofa or accent chair,” says Vonnie Hope of the British Design Academy, Bath; britishdesignacademy.co.uk THE EVERHOT RANGE The Everhot traditional electric cooking range consists of 11 different products, in six different sizes so there really is an Everhot cooker to fit all styles and sizes of kitchen.

And it is available in so many great colours too – including this classic blue 90i.

All products are hand-crafted using traditional methods in Dursley, England.

Left: This vibrant blue wall further animates the brilliant colours in this Ian Snow Bold Floral Print Armchair, £745

Exclusive to Boniti, visit the showroom at Dunsdon Barn, West Littleton, (nr J18 M4) SN14 8JA. boniti.com

iansnow.com

PITCH BLUE

CLASSIC BLUE PALETTES

Farrow and Ball’s Pitch Blue is a strong cobalt blue with a dose of black pigment, and takes its name from the dark sticky tar often used in roofing. Pitch Blue has an almost purple feel to it and is extremely lively in south facing rooms, especially when contrasted with bright shades. It looks more sober and rich when used in areas deprived of light or those lit in the evening by candles. £46.50 for 2.5l emulsion.

Pantone has created five unique colour palettes featuring Classic Blue to help you bring this year’s special shade into your home designs. Each palette conveys a different mood, illustrating the colour’s versatility, and is supported by three suggested colour combinations. Shown below is the Ponder palette, which is surrounded by cool blues and an array of warm and soothing shades. pantone.com

PONDER PALATE

farrow-ball.com

BLUE BOOK Here is Pantone’s must-have accessory for any colour enthusiast, a limited edition journal using the Pantone Color of the Year Classic Blue, £15.60. store.pantone.com

INTERIOR BLUES This bold interior by Herman Miller Design Shanghai has bold classic blue as its keynote, offset with shades of sandy red, brown and a jazzy artwork. hermanmiller.com

THEBATHMAG.CO.UK

|

JANUARY 2020

|

TheBATHMAgAziNe 105

BDA Editorial 1 page version 2.qxp_Layout 22 19/12/2019 16:44 Page 1

ADVERTORIAL | INTERIORS

The in-vogue interior

There’s no shortage of design advice around, but staying ahead of interior trends is no easy task. Vonnie Hope of the British Design Academy offers some easy choices to bring your interiors right up to date

A

t the British Design Academy, we make it our business to watch trends as a way of keeping abreast of design influences that will be inspiring interiors.

This isn’t about one-upmanship or fashion, it’s about being creative – which is our trade – while also being responsible – which is our duty. We wouldn’t want our designers going home thinking that they need to throw everything away and start again. Or advise clients that in order to be relevant they need to be following this or that style, potentially at great expense to them, and to the environment through wastage.

So how to choose from the vast array of trends when it comes to home design? Go with a trend that speaks to you. It could be that it reminds you of a special place visited or of something from your childhood (I’ll let you into a secret: most future trends have their origins in the past). Or perhaps it simply enhances an existing colour scheme, or makes the bargain vintage dresser from that online market place the hero piece of the day.

Ultimately, it’s about celebrating your own style and making considered choices about how far you go with a trend. ■

106 TheBATHMagazine

|

january 2020

|

issue 208

THREE INTERIOR TRENDS FOR 2020 1. Colour gets cosy Make way for corals, terracottas, sage greens and warm greys. Browns, mustards, golds and red tones worked in as accents to the above will also feature.

2. Telling tales Avoid following a set style. Layer eras and styles, old and new, mix and match and include personal treasures and souvenirs from your travels to help create your style story.

3. More is definitely more After years of less is more, maximalism has landed with a bang. Think bold colours, mixtures of patterns and materials and shapes that look casually put together are the ideas to follow.

ABOVE: 2020 wlll introduce corals, terracottas, sage greens and warm greys BELOW: Embrace the more is more vibe in your interior, with bold colours, layered personal elements and an eclectic mixture of old and new

The British Design Academy runs courses in Bath ranging from interior design tasters to longer term professional courses; britishdesignacademy.co.uk

P107.qxp_Layout 23 19/12/2019 14:35 Page 1

CURTAINS

cushions & blinds

• my curtain making skill & advice • your fabric • we’ll produce wonderful results

Email: annadesign@btinternet.com

Bath based Anna Design Email: annadesign@btinternet.com

07779951691 | 01761471663

www.Anna-design.uk

THEBATHMAG.CO.UK

|

JANUARY 2020

|

TheBATHMAgAziNe 107

Adam Henson beds.qxp_Layout 1 19/12/2019 10:37 Page 1

CITY | BUSINESS

Get your beauty sheep

A collaboration between leading bed company Harrison Spinks and farmer and TV presenter Adam Henson has resulted in a range of sustainable mattresses with comfort at their heart using sheep’s wool from local farmers, says Emma Clegg

A

new range of mattresses have taken pride of place in TR Hayes’ bed department. Made by leading bed company Harrison Spinks, the mattresses contain wool from the fleece of sheep reared on Cotswold and other British farms, supplied by farmer and TV presenter Adam Henson.

Adam grew up on a farm in the Cotswolds that was managed by his father Joe. Joe started the Rare Breeds Survival Trust in 1973, the organisation that looks after rare and British breeds of livestock. Adam and his partner Duncan Andrews took over the tenancy of Bemborough Farm and its 650hectare estate in 1999 and have run it jointly ever since, together with the Cotswold Farm Park, which is home to more than 50 breeding flocks and herds of British rare breed farm animals.

Adam has always been passionate about farming heritage and continues his father’s legacy in the conservation of rare and native breeds. “We need to look after and preserve these indigenous British native breeds – they are part of our living heritage. They are stacked with stories of where they have come from and the landscape they have shaped.”

In order to protect rare breeds, Adam explains, the animals and their products need to be useful. “The important thing is to give them a purpose and the wonderful thing about sheep is their wool. So I got talking to Harrison Spinks who already use wool in their mattresses and discussed the idea of having an Adam Henson collection using indigenous and rare breeds of sheep wool.”

The Adam Henson collection features wool chosen by Adam from breeds including Cotswold, Romney and Whiteface Dartmoor.

“The Cotswold fleece can weigh between five and ten kilograms, about three times the weight of an average fleece,” says Adam.

“It’s beautiful, long, lustrous, anti-bacterial, very fine and incredibly springy and soft but at the same time hardwearing and resilient.

And it’s self-regulating in its temperature.”

Wool is inherently anti-bacterial and fireretardant and its springy quality means that it will bounce back from compression. The wool works with Harrison Spinks’ innovative spring systems to provide support. The handteased wool pads are layered in the mattress with other natural fillings such as silk, Egyptian cotton, alpaca, kapok, cashmere and hand-teased horsehair. “Around two fleeces are used in every mattress and considering

The Burford mattress

that sheep are shorn once a year, that’s a considerable amount of wool,” says Adam.

Sustainability is clearly at the heart of Adam’s farming work. It is also the overriding ethic at Harrison Spinks. Not only do the team use the wool of local farmers in their mattresses, but their Cortec springs are also 100% recyclable, produced without glue or foam, which eradicates the need for landfill at the end of a mattress’s life. Even the outer cover is woven inhouse by Harrison Spinks.

The springs provide the supportive core of every mattress in the Adam Henson collection. Cradling the body and reacting to individual movements, they work together with layers of HD and Microlution springs to reduce pressure points and roll-together, improving the quality of your sleep.

Harrison Spinks mattresses and divan beds are available from TR Hayes. Their January sale sees prices for a standard Burford 23800 double at £1,949 for a mattress and £2,659 for a divan set. n TR Hayes, 15–18 London Street, Bath Tel: 01225 465757; trhayes.co.uk

ABOVE Each mattress in the Adam Henson range is individually crafted LEFT: Adam Henson had a little lamb...

RIGHT: Richard Hayes, Margaret Hayes, Derek Hayes and Adam Henson

108 TheBATHMagazine

|

january 2020

|

issue 208

P109.qxp_Layout 23 19/12/2019 14:39 Page 1

Create space with a garden room GARDEN OFFICES • LOG CABINS • STUDIOS • SUMMERHOUSES POSH SHEDS • TIMBER GARAGES • OUTDOOR LIVING SPACES

01225 774566 • www.gardenaffairs.co.uk Visit our Display Centre at Trowbridge Garden Centre 288 Frome Road, BA14 0DT

THEBATHMAG.CO.UK

|

JANUARY 2020

|

TheBATHMAgAziNe 109

P110.qxp_Layout 22 19/12/2019 15:02 Page 1

Transform your home or business with solar panels and help to protect our planet The IPCC, NASA and the world’s leading scientists have warned that we are facing a climate emergency and that if we continue to burn fossil fuels such as gas, coal and oil we risk a man-made disaster of global scale.

Whilst evidence for the climate crisis is alarming, there is still hope. A recent climate report, based on 40 years of data and endorsed by 11,000 scientists from more than 150 countries around the world, states that there are a number of immediate steps we can take to avoid irreparable damage to our planet.

One of these key areas is energy; we must increase and accelerate the rate at which we generate, store and distribute our energy from renewable sources if we are to slow the rate at which the earth is warming.

RECEIVE THE BATH MAGAZINE BY POST NEVER MISS OUT Solar panels make both financial and environmental sense.

Whereas the price of energy bought from the grid continues to rise year on year, the price of installing solar panels has plummeted, making it easier for homeowners and businesses to act.

Improved efficiency and advancements in technology mean that solar panels can be fitted almost anywhere and can take the form of glass, roof tiles, slates, membranes and more. They can be installed as a single technology or integrated with other renewables such as batteries, heat pumps and EV charge points; creating a bespoke solution and providing energy independence.

Solarsense has been designing and installing award-winning clean energy solutions since 1995. With more than 14,000 installations, they offer unparalleled experience within the industry.

The company pride themselves on building strong relationships and do not hard sell. They offer industry leading advice, guide you through the installation process and offer help with commissioning your EPC, planning applications and more.

We deliver to over 20,000 addresses every month. But if you live outside our distribution area or would like us to send a copy to friends or family, we offer a magazine mailing service.

ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTIONS FROM JUST ÂŁ30

For a free, no obligation desktop survey to see the difference you can make contact them today.

01275 461 800 | info@solarsense-uk.com

SUBSCRIBE ONLINE AT thebathmag.co.uk/subscribe or Tel: 01225 424 499

110 TheBATHMagazine

|

january 2020

|

issue 208

THE BATH DIRECTORY - JANUARY 2020.qxp_Layout 31 19/12/2019 14:54 Page 1

the directory

to advertise in this section call 01225 424 499

KEIKO KISHIMOTO Health, Beauty & Wellbeing

Electricians

Holistic Treatments for Wellbeing

Aromatherapy • Reflexology/Facial reflexology Japanese Cosmo Facelift • Deep Tissue Massage For more information, please visit:

www.keikokishimoto.co.uk 07739 827186 contact@keikokishimoto.co.uk

Trowbridge & Neal’s Yard Bath

Chauffeur/Private Hire

Holiday Rental

We provide Bath Airport transfers to and from all major airports in the uk. We use only Hi spec vehicles and give a near on chauffeur experience at less than regular taxi prices.

60+ luxury properties for lets 2 nights to 5 months Holidays – For business – Friends & family – Temporary accommodation during renovation/relocation

Airport transfers • City to city travel • Hi spec vehicles 1-8 seat vehicles available • Account work considered • Free Wifi in selected vehicles Card payments taken with Izettle • Prices start from as little as £39

Contact: 01225 482 225 alexa@bathholidayrentals.com www.bathholidayrentals.com

Call or email us for a quote now!

Web: romanbathprivatehire.co.uk Email: Info@romanbathprivatehire.co.uk Tel: 01225 484346

Providing 4 & 5 star self-catering properties since 2006

Health, Beauty & Wellbeing

House & Home

@Romanbathprivatehire

Create your home for life

Independent family run business with family values • • • • • •

New and Reconditioned Warranty Contracts Straight and Curved Stairlifts Services and Repairs Rental Stairlifts Removals

Call 01666 822 060

Email: info@simplystairlifts.co.uk THEBATHMAG.CO.UK

|

Web: simplystairlifts.co.uk

JANUARY 2020

|

TheBATHMAgAziNe 111

Gardening jan V2.qxp_Layout 1 20/12/2019 12:04 Page 1

The Manvers Street beds before the volunteers arrived

Weston Village Gardening Club replanting the beds

The finished flower beds in Manvers Street

Pulling together

In a city defined by its architectural highlights, there are also plenty of inbetween areas with green potential that aren’t presented at their best. Fortunately community gardening groups are making a big difference, says Jane Moore

A

fter the partying and feasting season is over, I always feel that I should start off the gardening year with some gusto, if for no other reason than to shed a few pounds and blow those Christmas cobwebs away. Well, that’s the plan anyway, although it doesn’t always happen. I could put my failure down to the downright unpleasant weather, although often it’s due to my own lack of motivation which seems to hit every January.

Still, as the new year dawns grey and drear, I do realise that I’m lucky to have a great little garden of my own, not to mention the acres to play with at The Bath Priory. I’m also lucky in that I have people to motivate me, in the form of my stalwart assistants Anna and Dominic and my perfectionist partner Paul who can always be relied upon to point out when the garden at home needs some TLC. I’m especially lucky because there are a lot of people that don’t have their own garden, those living in flats or town houses with little or no outdoor space. City dwellers often 112 TheBATHMagazine

|

january 2020

|

have nothing more than a window box or a balcony, and if they do have a garden it’s tiny. But that’s what allotments are for, right?

For a long time, an allotment was the only option, but it’s not an easy choice for busy people. Allotments demand a certain level of commitment and longevity, which doesn’t fit everyone’s circumstances.

Recently the Royal Horticultural Society has recognised this, establishing the It’s Your Neighbourhood awards as part of the Britain In Bloom competition. At the recent South West in Bloom awards, the city overall won a gold medal and six individual It’s Your Neighbourhood projects received top awards including the On Board project at Oldfield Park railway station, the marvellous Women’s Institute Garden in Royal Victoria Park and the indefatigable Weston Village Gardening Club.

It’s not just community groups that are banding together – business is playing its part too. The Bath Business Improvement District also won gold for its efforts in greening the city centre. I expect you’ve all seen the lovely new planters at SouthGate

iSSue 208

with their glorious mixture of flowers, fruit and vegetables. These are a real inspiration, especially with their focus on pollinators such as bees. The ‘rusty box’ planters on London Road, too, having looked terrible for a couple of years are now positively cared for by the Genesis Trust and are flourishing with grasses, bulbs and lateflowering perennials.

But it’s the local community groups who are really making the difference with the fewest resources at their disposal. The stalwart crew of Weston Village Gardening Club, having added numerous planters to the High Street, then wrought wonders on the tired dull roundabout by the Weston Free Church. Recently they’ve expanded their boundaries beyond Weston and are the team behind the wonderful new planting in the Manvers Street beds.

“It came about when the council decided to grass over the beds rather than renovating and re-planting them,” says Stephen Brook of Weston Village Gardening Club. “The whole planting scheme cost only £1,500 with Bath Business Improvement District, Bath in

Gardening jan V2.qxp_Layout 1 20/12/2019 14:06 Page 2

GARDENING

Weston Village Gardening Club volunteers

Local gardening initiatives Blooming Whiteway; bloomingwhiteway.com Weston Village Gardening Club; westonvillagegardeningclub.co.uk Broadmoor Lane Orchard; sites.google.com/site/ broadmoorlaneweston On Board Community Project; bit.ly/2PpPu5Y Transition Larkhall; transitionlarkhall.uk

Bloom and the nearby Indigo Hotel contributing a third each.”

The council parks department contacted the club after their roundabout success, trusting them to do something similar. They sent a team to clear the beds in advance and then the club took over, planting the whole area in a day with the help of eight or so volunteers. While the planting is easy maintenance mulched with a layer of gravel, it’s still vibrant with colour and movement for most of the season – and infinitely better than just mown grass.

In these days of cash-strapped local

authorities and lingering austerity, it’s a breath of fresh, flower-filled air to see local groups doing so much to make a difference to the city in which we live. The results are visible, tangible improvements but the psychological effect may be even greater.

As I wandered about the city doing my Christmas shopping, the greenery of Wild Walcot and the Manvers Street beds gave me a boost and fired me with enthusiasm for my own little plot. Bath is a famously beautiful city but there’s no doubt in my mind that community groups like these are making it a much lovelier place to live. n

Bath Organic Group; bathorganicgroup.org.uk Bath WI Community Edible Garden; thebathwi.com Greenlinks; wellbeingcollegebanes.co.ukindex.php/ ctivitygreen-links-com

Jane Moore is an award-winning gardening columnist and head gardener at The Bath Priory Hotel. Twitter: @janethegardener

THEBATHMAG.CO.UK

|

january 2020

|

TheBATHMagazine 113

P114.qxp_Layout 22 19/12/2019 14:36 Page 1

114 TheBATHMagazine

|

january 2020

|

issue 208

Cobb Farr PIF.qxp_PIF Full Page 20/12/2019 17:02 Page 1

PROPERTY | HOMEPAGE

E

agle Lodge is located in the heart of Bathford village, a vibrant community which lies 4 miles to the south east of Bath.

This charming property which has much character has been in the same ownership for over 40 years and could now benefit from some updating which could add significant value. There is also the opportunity subject to the necessary planning consents to extend the accommodation further if required.

The property offers deceptively spacious accommodation arranged over 2 floors.

The ground floor accommodation comprises large entrance halls, a generously proportioned well fitted kitchen and linked utility room, a handsome sitting room and open plan dining room with pretty glazed doors that lead onto the gardens and a study which could also be used as a 4th bedroom.

On the first floor there are 3 large double bedrooms, the master has a well fitted ensuite bath and shower room, a further guest cloak room and a family shower room.

Externally the property sits beautifully in a large, well stocked level walled garden with the benefit of rights of way over a gated driveway driveway and 2 garages.

Cobb Farr, 35 Brock Street, The Circus, Bath. Tel: 01225 333332

Church Street, Bathford • 3/4 bedrooms, study • Large open plan sitting room/dining room • En-suite bath/shower room and family shower room • Large walled garden • Two garages • Much further potential OIEO £650,000

THEBATHMAG.CO.UK

|

JANUARY 2020

|

TheBATHMAgAziNe 115

Cobb Farr January.qxp_Layout 1 16/12/2019 12:20 Page 1

ONE APARTMENT RESERVED

Kingston Mill Loft, Bradford-on-Avon

A bespoke refurbishment of a 19th century Grade II listed building to provide 3 unique, luxury loft style apartment, set in the heart of Bradford on Avon with central views, lift and parking.

Apartment 1 £450,000 • Apartment 2 Reserved • Apartment 3 £425,000

To arrange a viewing or for further enquiries please contact Cobb Farr Bradford on Avon 01225 866111 bradfordonavon@cobbfarr.com

01225 333332 | 01225 866111

Cobb Farr January.qxp_Layout 1 20/12/2019 17:04 Page 2

Savills Column FP.qxp_Layout 1 20/12/2019 11:07 Page 1

CITY | BUSINESS

WHY THE QUICKER COMMUTE TO LONDON COULD BE GOOD NEWS FOR HOME OWNERS MATTHEW PEGLER

A director for Savills residential team in Bath

I

t was the news so many of us had been waiting for but thought may never come. Last month saw the biggest shake-up of the Great Western Railway timetable since the 1970s. Coinciding with the introduction of new, faster trains, the restructure means a more frequent service and, crucially, a shorter journey time between the south west and London.

Now, for the first time, it is possible to get into the capital from Bath in 75 minutes, making it a much more viable commute. Those 17 minutes could make the difference for many would-be commuters and, as a result, are likely to have a knock-on effect on the property market in Bath and the villages close to Chippenham station, from where the commute into Paddington is now in and around the hour mark.

Savills analysis of data relating to house prices around 450 commuter stations shows that, for every minute a location adds to a one hour commute into London, a property loses £3k. And while we’re not predicting an immediate or dramatic spike in prices, over time we could see value relative to London drive more demand in certain areas.

Bath has a ‘jewel in the crown’ status in the south west. Over the last decade values in the city and North East Somerset have risen by 50% - outperforming the wider region, which saw an increase of 37%. Its enduring appeal is well-documented and proven by how well prices held up over the recent period of Brexit-related uncertainty.

Currently, commuters are largely drawn to the areas closest to the station – within a mile radius is typical – encompassing many of the city’s Georgian crescents and Regency and Victorian villas. Prices in these areas reflect the strength of demand, as well as the quality on

offer – at an average of £500k. Over time we could see values start to rival those of the commuter cities of Oxford and Cambridge, which saw growth of 58% and 67% respectively over the last ten years.

Outside of Bath and closer to Chippenham station, the Wiltshire villages of Lacock, Nettleton, West Kington and Yatton Keynell are already popular hotspots. Not only could we see values start to rise in these desirable village hotspots, prompted by increased demand, there is also potential that the market in second home ownership will increase as a result.

Largely well-equipped with quality amenities, these picturesque south Cotswolds villages benefit from being part of the coveted Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and proximity to fashionable lifestyle venues, like Soho Farmhouse. The likes of Castle Combe and Biddestone are already popular among commuters and the new shorter service may well prompt more buyers, who may previously have viewed Wiltshire as too far from the capital, to take another look at the area.

We saw a strong build-up of demand for property in and around Bath last year, including many buyers from London, keen to make their move but unable to secure the sale of their own home. While Brexit may continue to act as a drag in the short term, the outcome of the election last month is expected to bring a greater sense of urgency to the market – unlocking some of the deals that had been holding people back. That this shift in market conditions corresponds with the new shorter commute is welcome news for those looking to sell in 2020. n Matthew Pegler, Savills Bath. Edgar House, 17 George St, Bath BA1 2EN Web: savills.co.uk

From left to right: 51 Prior Park Road in Bath (excess of £1,000,000) is less than half a mile from the station, while Hall Barn in Upper North Wraxall (guide of £1,200,000) and Mill Farm in Broughton Gifford (excess of £1,500,000) are both 8 miles from Chippenham station

118 TheBATHMagazine

|

JanUaRY 2020

|

issUe 208

Holburne Park FP.qxp_Layout 1 16/12/2019 12:22 Page 1

P120.qxp_Layout 22 20/12/2019 17:06 Page 1

ÂŁ295,000

FOR SALE An attractive Bath stone fronted, semi-detached three bedroom home ideal for a family, couple or as a starter home within the BA2 area.

Priced for a quick sale, this is an ideal opportunity for those wishing to move into the area or for investment purposes. With easy access into Bath centre, an off street parking space and an easy maintenance garden

127 The Hollow is a must see Contact Pritchards on 01225 466225 or contact the seller direct 07843138758

[SOUTH WESTERN] LIMITED

Crafting beautiful homes

Bath | Somerset | Wiltshire | Cotswolds | Dorset

01225 791155 ashford-homes.co.uk

120 TheBATHMagazine

|

january 2020

|

issue 208

Acorn FP.qxp_Layout 1 16/12/2019 12:30 Page 1

P122.qxp_Layout 22 18/12/2019 09:17 Page 1

BE A RESOLUTE SELLER IN 2020 Peter Greatorex Managing director of The Apartment Company

Four habits to adopt from successful sellers

A

new year sees many of us making and breaking resolutions. We see the new year as a time for introducing new habits or changing old ones and when it comes to selling property, there are certain habits that we typically see in those homeowners whose property sells successfully and swiftly. So what are their secrets, and how can you adopt them when organising the sale of your own home?

Grill estate agents Successful sellers aren’t interested in commission rates – they want the agent who they believe will get them the best price for their property.

They want the agent who will hold that sale together and drive it forward, so they can be in their new home sooner rather than later.

These sellers give us estate agents a grilling. When we’re invited into their home for an appraisal, they have a list of questions ready. We love the challenge of proving our ability to perform.

Wreck it Ralph If your apartment isn’t in a good state of repair you are wrecking any chance of achieving the highest possible asking price for your home.

Become a ‘Fix it Felix’ and start to get your home in the best shape possible. Successful sellers don’t rest on their laurels when the work is done. They continue to monitor their home to ensure it is in the finest condition for when a buyer walks through the door.

Binge on Netflix If you only watch one Netflix series this January then why not catch-up on the first series of Tidying Up with Marie Kondo. With episodes covering everything from tidying up with toddlers, when two (messes) become one, and breaking away a mountain of stuff, you will learn some incredible ways to not only tidy your home, but discover some fantastic habits that will mean you never need to go back.

Having a ‘show-ready’ home and one that is impeccably clean and beautiful today is a must when selling. We must stress that this is not about turning your property into one that is sterile and void of personality, as this can give a negative impression. A home is one that looks loved and cared, for with little touches that add warmth and colour.

Don’t sit on the fence

MARDAN, BATH’S BESPOKE REMOVALS AND STORAGE COMPANY, DEVELOPS NEW TALENT

Mardan have a wealth of experience within the removals and storage industry, spanning over 30 years, ensuring customers have a stress-free and seamless move. Mardan are family run and bespoke with the experience, knowledge, skills, equipment and capacity to complete removals of any size; locally, nationally for domestic or commercial customers.

Marcus, Mardan’s founder, has always held fast, with confidence, to his belief that he can deliver a high standard of removals, exceeding that of his competitors.

Marcus knows to do this he must have trust and confidence in the skills of his staff, which he does. So when a new office position was required within Mardan instead of recruiting externally Marcus looked to develop a team member which he already had extreme confidence in and who he knew would develop into the role seamlessly, Nik. The role would include; liaising with customers, completing quotes, emailing quotes, planning the removals diary, logistics and managing the storage yard. Nik, had worked with Marcus within removals for over 10 years having a strong knowledge of all aspects of removals and with the skills necessary to lead a team from Mardan on removals. Nik has risen to the challenge and is thriving. Marcus and Nik work extremely well as a team thus ensuring all customers have a personalised service and a positive move experience. Both Marcus and Nik enjoy completing the physical removal and Marcus truly believes that to do the ‘office’ role well it’s important to continue to complete removals, thus maintaining the in depth knowledge developed throughout their earlier careers. Marcus and Nik are able to be flexible with their roles and keep their ‘hand in’ the hard physical work of removals.

Mardan continue to grow their self-storage facility, offering safe, secure and reasonable storage to upward of 100 domestic and commercial customers.

“We used Mardan following a recommendation from a friend. They moved us in and out of storage and then into our renovated house. I would highly recommend them. The service was super efficient and the guys were quick, polite and courteous. Nothing was too much trouble and all of our possessions arrived safe and sound” Emma Webster, Moon Client

Buying a property is an emotional experience and, as such, buyers get frustrated when they are not being responded to. Successful sellers respond quickly. They have a clear idea of what figure they would be happy with; they are eager to start the negotiation process and understand that delaying it could mean the buyer loses interest or finds something else. So when an offer is made, act quickly.

What home-selling habits are you adopting this year? Get in touch with us at The Apartment Company for help and inspiration to make your sale a success in 2020.

The Apartment Company Pg@theapartmentcompany.co.uk or call 01225 471144

122 TheBATHMAgAzine

|

jAnuAry 2020

|

issue 208

DOMESTIC & COMMERCIAL MOVERS • PACKERS • STORERS • SHIPPERS

Savills PIF.qxp_PIF Full Page 20/12/2019 11:07 Page 1

PROPERTY | HOMEPAGE

A

handsome detached Cotswold farmhouse, fully modernised to provide a wonderful family home. The present owners have resided in the property for approximately 12 years and have enhanced it further, with various other improvements including opening up the kitchen area into the beautiful orangery overlooking the garden. With stylish decoration and contemporary furnishings the property now has a very light and airy feel to it and unusually for a farmhouse it has high ceilings with cornicing and very well proportioned rooms.

Upper Farm is set in stunning landscaped gardens which to the rear are south facing and offer privacy and seclusion. This house benefits from a separate paddock, tennis court and stone outbuildings, together with parking for numerous vehicles.

An ecclesiastical theme features throughout with arched doorways and this theme continues within the decoration of many of the natural wood doors and glazing throughout the property.

Many of the windows have stone mullion surrounds.

It is presented in excellent decorative order and as well as the four principle bedrooms on the first and second floor, has the benefit of two further bedrooms at ground floor level with a shower room which could potentially be used as a separate annexe.

Upper Farm is approached via an entrance with high hedgerows and stonewalling leading to a large gravelled parking area. The former stone-built cow byre provides covered parking for 4 vehicles and a storage area. Adjacent to the main house is The Granary, with stone steps leading up to a first floor room. A gravelled pathway leads to the east side of the property with stone steps leading down to a tennis court which has an astro surface and is fully fenced.

Upper North Wraxall, Wiltshire • Six bedrooms, five reception rooms & four bathrooms • Approximately 1.8 acres • Tennis court • Separate paddock

Guide price – £1,850,000

Savills Bath, Edgar House, 17 George St, Bath BA1 2EN. 01225 474500

THEBATHMAG.CO.UK

|

JANUARY 2020

|

TheBATHMAgAziNe 123

Savills January.qxp_Layout 1 19/12/2019 14:40 Page 1

Savills January.qxp_Layout 1 19/12/2019 14:40 Page 2

Knight Frank.qxp_Layout 1 16/12/2019 12:32 Page 1

Knight Frank.qxp_Layout 1 16/12/2019 12:44 Page 2

Knight Frank.qxp_Layout 1 16/12/2019 12:45 Page 3

Knight Frank.qxp_Layout 1 16/12/2019 12:45 Page 4

®

Cavendish Lodge

£1,650 pcm

Furnished option · Approx. 1119 Sq. ft. · Three double bedrooms · Communal gardens · Lift access · Allocated parking space · Council tax band G · EPC rating C

T D LE EE R G A

Camden Crescent

Camden Crescent

£1,600 pcm

Unfurnished · Two double bedrooms · One single bedroom/study · No pets · Permit parking · Council tax band D · EPC rating C

T D LE EE R G A

£1,650 pcm

Vale Lodge

£1,250 pcm

Unfurnished · Two double bedroom · Close to Local Amenities and City Centre · Private Garden · Council tax band E · Private parking space and garage · EPC rating TBC

Holburne Place

Fountain Buildings

£1,300 pcm

SALES

01225 471 14 4 The Apartment Company January.indd 1

£1,550 pcm

Immaculate throughout · Two double bedrooms · Two large reception rooms · Luxury kitchen · Council tax band D · Allocated parking and garage · EPC rating C

T D LE EE R G A

Three bedrooms · Bathroom · Stunning views · Parking Permit · Council tax band: E · No Agency Fees · EPC rating D

Unfurnished · Two double bedroom · NeoGeorgian build · Light and spacious · Council tax band C · Gated allocated parking space · EPC rating B

Hayesland House

£1,150 pcm

Fully furnished · Two bedrooms · Central location · NO STUDENTS CONSIDERED · Council tax band D

Walcot Parade

£900 pcm

Furnishing is optional · One double bedroom · Fabulous eat in kitchen · Newly decorated · Council tax band B · Central zone parking permit · EPC rating C

Connaught Mansions

£975 pcm

Furnished · Prestigious address · Short walk to the city centre · Bicycle store · Council tax band B · No pets · EPC rating D

LETTINGS

01225 303 870

sales@theapartmentcompany.co.uk

19/12/2019 17:43

m

m

m

®

Leopold Buildings

O.I.E.O

£550,000

Modern apartment · Two double bedrooms · Fabulous private balcony · Light and airy · Far reaching views · Allocated parking space · Communal gardens · Approx. 1,439 Sq. ft · EPC rating B

SO

LD

Darlington Street

Portland Place

£500,000

First floor apartment · High ceilings · Large drawing room · Two double bedrooms · Stunning communal areas · Excellent views · Two bathrooms · Approx. 1,138 Sq ft

SO

LD

Park Lane

O.I.E.O

£450,000

Two double bedrooms · New build · Private parking · Open plan sitting room/kitchen · Level walk into city centre · Close to Victoria Park · Holiday Lets Permitted · Approx. 990 Sq. ft · EPC rating B

SO

LD

Great Pulteney Street O.I.E.O £330,000

Lansdown Villas

Georgian Ground floor apartment · Three bedrooms · Short level walk to city centre · Close to local amenities · Residents parking permit · Approx. 1,064 Sq. ft

Georgian apartment · Prestigious location · Two double bedrooms · Top floor · Stunning views · Period features · Approx. 992 Sq ft

Modern build · One bedroom · ALLOCATED PARKING SPACE · PRIVATE TERRACE · Luxury bathroom · Superb investment or first time buy · Approx. 527 Sq ft

Sydney Place

The Regina

St Peters Chapel

O.I.E.O

O.I.E.O

£380,000

O.I.E.O

£385,000

Two double bedrooms · Sitting room with feature fireplace · Bespoke kitchen and utility room · Private decked courtyard to rear · Own front door though front courtyard · Ample vault storage · Approx. 893 Sq ft

O.I.E.O

£375,000

Georgian Grade II listed · Upper Maisonette · Prime location · Two double bedrooms · Period apartment · Light and spacious · Approx. 852 Sq ft

O.I.E.O

O.I.E.O

£235,000

£235,000

Chapel conversion · Two double bedrooms · Luxury bathroom · Open plan living · Area close to the city centre · Excellent transport links · Approx. 829 Sq. ft · EPC rating E

www.theapartmentcompany.co.uk

The Apartment Company January.indd 2

19/12/2019 17:43

Mallory fp.qxp_Layout 1 20/11/2019 11:40 Page 1