The Bath Magazine July 2017

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thebathmag.co.uk

ISSUE 178 | JULY 2017 £3.95 where sold

SERVE IT, SMASH IT, WIN IT, LOVE IT THE LOCAL BASED BUSINESS THAT PUTS THE BALLS IN YOUR COURT

THE CITY’S BIGGEST MONTHLY GUIDE TO LIFE AND LIVING IN BATH

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Contents July 2017 5 THINGS

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10

Your essential events in Bath in July

MY BATH

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A variety of new exhibitions around the city

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Jules Mittra, from local tour company Around and About Bath, shares a few of his favourite things

BATH@WORK

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Neill Menneer’s professional portrait of the month

GUEST COLUMN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

FOOD AND DRINK

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The Michelin man at The Bath Priory, a local delivery service and southern Italian wine

Penny Hay on the concept of childhood

FACE THE MUSIC

ART

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Fashion design course leader Louise Pickles from Bath Spa University

NEW BALLS PLEASE

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The family of tennis ball manufacturers behind Price of Bath

INDEPENDENT SHOPS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 HIP TO BE IN HAMBURG

A celebration of the best independent shops in Bath

EDINBURGH FRINGE PREVIEW . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 WHAT’S ON

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Theatre, comedy, music, talks and exhibitions

70 YEARS OF BACH

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We celebrate the 70th anniversary of the Bath Bach Choir

JANE AUSTEN’S BATH

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A wander in west Frome’s countryside

HOT OUT OF THE OVEN

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Emma Payne checks out Germany’s buzzing harbourside scene

THE WALK

Comedians test their acts out on Bath audiences at Komedia

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The energy efficient Everhot range of stoves at Boniti

GARDENING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92 34

Jane Moore seeks inspiration at Chelsea Flower Show

Marking 200 years since Austen’s death

SUMMER FUN

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A guide to the best summer activites and events for all the family

DRAGONS ARE COMING

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A new exhibition at Victoria Art Gallery and the programme for this year’s Bath Children’s Literature Festival is revealed

Even more great content online: thebathmag.co.uk

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Follow us on Twitter @thebathmagazine

ON THE COVER

Getting in the mood for Wimbledon with local tennis ball makers Price of Bath

Like us: Facebook.com/ thebathmagazine

Follow us on Instagram @thebathmagazine

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Editors Letter July.qxp_Layout 1 23/06/2017 16:14 Page 1

from the

EDITOR

W

ith the arrival of July, in the immortal words of Alice Cooper, school’s out.

And with the unbridled joy of children released from the classroom for what seems to them an endless summer, comes for their parents and carers the challenge of getting them off their screens and out of the house.

According to our guest columnist this month, childhood expert and educator Penny Hay, only 21 per cent of British children play outside. A sad statistic indeed. You can find out more about the parlous state of modern childhood and how a group of Bath creatives are working to improve that situation, with projects such as the Forest of Imagination, on Page 16.

But we’ve got plenty of ideas for adults organising days out and treats for children of all ages this school holiday, with our bumper summer fun feature, which begins on Page 38. There’s also a preview of this autumn’s Bath Children’s Literature Festival (Page 49), with its biggest programme ever and a starry line-up that includes Bath favourite Jacqueline Wilson and muchloved comedian Miranda Hart – tickets go on general release on Monday 10 July, so don’t miss out on seeing your favourite authors and illustrators.

We’re very proud to once again to have been chosen as media partners for one of Bath’s prestigious and successful festivals.

There’s fun for grown-ups too this issue. You can follow literally and literarily in the footsteps of Jane Austen, thanks to historian Catherine Pitt, who’s traced the places in Bath associated with the writer whose death 200 years ago is commemorated this month (Page 34). Or go for laughs as comedians hone their routines in front of Bath audiences prior to heading off to the Edinburgh Fringe (Page 24).

The What’s On pages (from Page 26) are rammed with events of all kinds in and around Bath. If shopping is your thing – or if you’re simply proud that Bath has so many brilliant, original shops – you’ll enjoy our celebration of the city’s indies as part of National Independent Retailer month, in which we’ve joined forces with Bath BID and Visit Bath (Page 20).

Interesting people this issue include Louise Pickles, the doyenne of Bath Spa University’s fashion design degree course, Michael Nizzerro, the new multi-talented head chef at The Bath Priory, and father and daughter Derek and Louise Price, who are justifiably proud of their family business, Price of Bath, supplying the world’s tennis players with British made balls.

Last, but not least, there’s a reminder that we’re all invited to take part in Bath Carnival, which takes to the streets of the city in all its colourful glory on Saturday 15 July. Look out for me in my feathered head dress and sequins, strutting my stuff!

Georgette McCready 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.

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EDITOR’S PICKS A NEW DAWN: the blank space on a wall in Walcot has been filled by this bright new painting, Nether, by Stanley Donwood, thanks to Bath Fringe festival who – without any Arts Council or public money – put up the funding and is now busy crowdfunding to meet costs. So far generous neighbours in the Walcot community, including Minuteman, Shannon and The Bell Inn, have contributed to this latest piece by locally based artist Donwood, who is best known for designing album artwork for Radiohead. Contributions to the fund can be made via: gofundme.com/newimagewalcotstreet. The Donwood piece, of a forest, which hung here previously, was vandalised.

SNAGGLE-TOOTHED, FEIRCE AND BRAVE: we’ve all had days when we felt like this dragon. This illustration, by Jackie Morris, is just one depicting the mythical fire-breathing creatures that will be on show at the Victoria Art Gallery this month. It’s a family-friendly exhibition with lots of hands-on activities.

We predict it’ll be a roaring success . . .

always build the future for our youth, ❝ We cannot but we can build our youth for the future ❞ FRANKLIN D ROOSEVELT

American President, lived 1882 – 1945

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Introducing Hans J. Wegner’s CH23 Chair from 1950

Iconic chairs by Hans J. Wegner - The CH25 in oak-soap, CH22 in oak-walnut oil, CH26 in walnut-oak, CH23 in oak-walnut oil, and the CH24 in oak-white oil.

S annon F U R N I T U R E LT D

Contemporary Nordic furniture from Carl Hansen and Son, Fritz Hansen and Swedese.

Lighting by Louis Poulsen. Our homewares include Marimekko, Iittala, Rorstrand, with lots of Moomin mugs, fabric and throws from Denmark, Sweden and Finland.

68 Walcot Street Bath BA1 5BD 01225 424222 www.shannon-uk.com THEBATHMAG.CO.UK

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ZEITGEIST Celebrate

5

things to do in

July

Bath Preservation Trust

Party

A very grand street party is being held this month – and we’re all invited. A Picnic in the Park is a free family event taking place on and below the Royal Crescent on Saturday 29 July, from 11am until 3pm, as part of the celebrations of the 250th anniversary of foundations being laid of the Royal Crescent.

The Natural Theatre Company will be entertaining visitors with performances along the Royal Crescent based on the stories of people who have lived in this world famous building. This will also be a fantastic opportunity to enjoy unimpeded views of the street as it will be car-free for the event. Bath Spa University students have created a walking trail with information about who lived in which house. Visit: no1royalcrescent.org.uk to read If Walls Could Talk: Chronicles from the Royal Crescent.

The Bath Carnival team has been working tirelessly to bring the city a free celebration of music, dance and colourful costume for the carnival on Saturday 15 July.

The theme this year is Colourful Creatures and everyone, of all ages, is invited to dress up and take part. There will be a series of hands-on drumming, dance and costume making workshops at Green Park Station every day from Monday 10 July to Friday 14 July, 2pm to 8pm. On the big day there’s the Party in the Park at Sydney Gardens which runs from 10am until 10pm. To take part in the carnival procession you’ll need to sign up at Bath Recreation ground from 11am to 2pm – the procession sets off at 3pm through the city centre streets.

Laugh

Support One of the greatest assets Bath has for visitors – aside from its beauty and history – is its wide range of unique and independent shops. July is appropriately National Independent Retailer Month, in which we celebrate all those hard working traders who source original items for their shops. The Bath Magazine has teamed up with Visit Bath and Bath BID to turn the spotlight on some of those traders, see Page 20.

COMMUNITY SPIRIT: a scene from last year’s Bath Carnival – a free citywide day of music and dance

TESTING MATERIAL: comedian Tiff Stevenson is one of the acts bring her Edinburgh preview shows to Bath

Audiences in Bath are being used as guinea pigs – in the nicest possible way – by comedians getting ready to take the 70th annual Edinburgh Fringe Festival by storm.

Bath Comedy Festival and the venue Komedia have both laid on programmes featuring stand-up comedians, both wellknown and emerging, during July.

If their jokes and routines go down well with the Bath crowd, these comedians can head north with confidence that their material will be well received.

With more than two dozen acts to choose from and tickets starting at ‘pay what you feel the show is worth’ this is a fantastic opportunity for anyone who enjoys the frisson of experiencing live comedy – which can be like watching a tightrope act with no safety net. Find out more with our highlights featured on Page 24.

Visit High on the hill at Lansdown is one of Bath’s oldest playgrounds for adults, Bath Racecourse. And racegoers are particularly fortunate in July as there are four fixtures this month. The month’s racing opens on Wednesday 5 July with Cuban Race Night, which includes live Cuban music. The first race is at 6pm. This is followed by a gin themed evening on Wednesday 12 July, with the first race at 6.10pm. Then there are two daytime fixtures, on Tuesday 12 July (first race 2pm) and Wednesday 26 July, with the first race at 2.10pm.

For full details and to buy tickets visit: bath-racecourse.co.uk.

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TRACKSIDE DRAMA: enjoy a day at Bath Races this month

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ist

THE CITY THE BUZZ Chosen

Clothes by British designer Jonathan Anderson have been selected as the prestigious Dress of the Year by Kate Phelan senior contributing editor of British Vogue for The Fashion Museum.

The womenswear look, for Spanish label Loewe, is a cream mohair dress worn with a gold leaf leather bustier. The men’s outfit, also by Anderson for his JW Anderson label, comprises a large cream cardigan, ribbed knit trousers, white shirt and red boxer’s style boots.

Both from the autumn/winter 2016 season, the two outfits are now on display at the Fashion Museum.

My BATH

We ask Jules Mittra, founder of local tour company Around and About Bath, what he’ll be doing in July What brought you to Bath?

I first came to Bath in 2001 as a young history and politics teacher to take up my first post in Frome. I was a teacher for nearly 10 years before deciding to head to London to seek my fortune, however choosing the midst of the credit crunch wasn’t the best timing. Instead, I met my wife, Henrietta, and we ended up moving to Zambia to set up a group of schools in remote parts of the country for several years.

My wife then tired of the African sun and the zebras in the back garden, so we came back to Britain last year. Fortuitously, her family are close by so Bath was the obvious place to settle.

What are you reading?

Honestly? Nothing at the moment as I’m in the midst of peak season. Although I’m no longer a teacher, I still devour huge reams of current affairs and science editorials. However, when the season quietens down, I’m looking forward to reading Sapiens by Dr Yuval Noah Harari.

What music are you listening to?

As the former lead singer of various bands, I’d like to be able to answer this with something more interesting than the reality. What I listen to regularly now is jazz – I play it gently in the background while driving on my tours. I do still have a real love of music which ranges from the sublime to the silly. Depending on my mood, I can be found listening to Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, or singing along to S Club 7.

Explore

Take in the spectacular countryside around the city on the Circuit of Bath Walk in aid of Julian House on Sunday 24 September.

Although the whole route is 20 miles long, participants can do as little as two miles if they wish, thanks to a unique shuttle bus service that operates via five checkpoints. Entry to the event is free, and participants are asked to raise as much sponsorship as possible for the charity which supports homeless and marginalised men and women around Bath. For further details contact Cathy Adcock on: 01225 354656, email: cathya@julianhouse.org.uk or register online at: julianhouse.org.uk/supportus/events/circuit-of-bath-walk.htm.

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issue 178

Which café or restaurant takes your fancy?

The amazing thing about Bath is just how many fabulous cafés and restaurants there now are compared to when I first moved to the area.

One of my favourites has to be the Comins Tea House on Monmouth Street. Not only is the team incredibly welcoming, I really admire their dedication. The range of teas there and the stories behind each one is incredible. Comins also benefits from being close to the city centre, but is a great refuge from the buzz of town.

Your passions? What hobbies or interests will you be pursuing?

Not many! I’m in the process of starting up another band, possibly with a blues bent, but that may have to wait until the season quietens down, and I’m hoping to find time to enjoy

some of the gorgeous July evenings I hope we’ll have and take advantage of local summer events. My love of travel is on hold for the next couple of years as I work on building up my business.

What local outdoor activity or event will you be doing or visiting?

I’m hoping to join everyone for the Picnic in the Park at the Royal Crescent on 29 July and will perhaps get out to one of the events run by the amazing Iford Arts team. As it’s such a busy time of year for me it’s very hard to have concrete plans as bookings are always coming in, but I am going to Womad.

Film or play? What will you be going to see this month?

I’m really keen to see stage adaptation of Hitchcock’s classic North by Northwest at Theatre Royal Bath. I have a deep admiration for Hitchcock’s work and am interested to see how his unique visual style will transfer to the stage. Film wise, I can’t wait to see Dunkirk – I grew up fascinated by the Second World War. Its scale both horrified and fascinated me, so by age 13 I was almost a living encyclopaedia on the conflict.

What else are you up to?

Having started Around and About Bath last July, I’m working hard to get it up and running. Our philosophy is about getting tourists and locals to spend more time exploring our fantastic landscapes, villages, history, and discovering some of our wonderful local food and beverages. We create small, crafted itineraries that allow up to eight guests to visit the likes of Stonehenge with an experience of the England us locals know about: those little village pubs, local history and those artisans and businesses that offer something unique and special. I’m happy to say that everyone who has joined us has been delighted with the experience – it is so much more than a traditional tour. The next step is about spreading the message and creating new experiences that will allow visitors to enjoy the local area all year round.

I’m really keen to see Bath tourism grow in a sustainable and qualitative way. n Visit: aroundandaboutbath.com.

We’re following @GPS_Bath (Green Park Station) the former railway station that’s now a platform for independent shops, cafes and market events – its Twitter feed featuring real people producing some great food and selling interesting stuff. Also worth an actual visit to support Bath’s indie spirit.

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FUNK Designed by Bønnelycke mdd.

Five different elements, many colour combinations

LIGHTING SPECIALIST

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Follow us on Twitter @thebathmagazine

See more online www.thebathmag.co.uk

Contact us: Publisher Email:

Steve Miklos steve@thebathmagazine.co.uk

Editor Tel: Email:

Georgette McCready 01225 424592 georgette@thebathmagazine.co.uk

Financial Director Email:

Jane Miklos jane@thebathmagazine.co.uk

Production Manager Email:

Jeff Osborne production@thebathmagazine.co.uk

Web Editor Email:

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

Liz Grey liz@thebathmagazine.co.uk

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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

2 Princes Buildings, George Street, Bath BA1 2ED Telephone: 01225 424499. Fax: 01225 426677 www.thebathmag.co.uk Š MC Publishing Ltd 2017 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.

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GUEST | COLUMNIST

IT’S TIME TO RE-IMAGINE CHILDHOOD Penny Hay is co-founder of Forest of Imagination, senior lecturer in arts education at Bath Spa University, director at 5x5x5=creativity and advocate for children

T

here is an urgent need to re-think our concept of childhood and place imagination and creativity at the heart of a more compassionate society. The current view of childhood doesn’t place enough emphasis on children’s happiness and wellbeing. The first years impact thinking and behaviour for the rest of our lives. The best investment in society is: children.

In the UK, currently 28% of children live in poverty, just 21% of children play outside, one in ten has a mental health condition, one in three is obese, nearly 80,000 children and young people suffer from severe depression, and self-harm among young people is soaring. The impact of the digital world on children includes a reduction in the time and quality of personal relationships and one-toone communications, as well as over exposure to commercial exploitation.

There is growing expert concern that the political preoccupation with children’s literacy and numeracy skills devalues children’s use of their non-verbal languages, diminishing their opportunities to communicate in other ways. High stakes testing has dominated our education system to the detriment of children’s individual progress and wellbeing.

Children learn more effectively when they are happy, when learning is focused on individual interests and dispositions, when they feel connected to the people around them. Children are born to be curious, to ask questions, take risks and learn how to learn alongside others who care.

The charitable, arts-based action research organisation 5x5x5=creativity focuses on exploring children and young people. The research is based on the view that all children and young people are creative and competent: with the adults ‘researching children researching the world’ and learning alongside them. We believe creativity is a human right. 5x5x5=creativity places emphasis on giving children the freedom to find and follow their fascinations and discovering children’s intrinsic motivations to learn. Children thrive in a calm, caring environment and quickly show that they are more self-motivated, engaged and confident.

Engagement with the arts, creativity and culture plays a crucial role in thedevelopment

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EXPLORING THE WORLD: only 21 per cent of children play outside – Forest of Imagination is a Bath project to remind us all of the pleasure and benefits of connecting with the natural world of emotional intelligence and imagination.

Involvement in expressive arts gives children time and space to revisit areas of interest, to gain multiple perspectives and a higher level of understanding.

The arts are vital to healthy learning and development; they allow children to interact with the world, to relate their understanding to others, in ways that have personal meaning and individual purpose. The arts can shape and define who we are and how we understand ourselves and others. They provide space for personal expression, help problem-posing and thinking outside the box, they promote diversity, respect and intercultural understanding.

The arts allow us to be curious, playful, intuitive and sensitive. Through being able to express ourselves in art, dance, movement, drama, music, writing, numbers and many more, children’s imaginations are stimulated and they learn to be even more creative.

Play and playing in nature is another basic human right. A connection to and understanding of the natural world is central to a child’s educational development. This is integral to developing children’s sense of responsibility and stewardship for nature.

Children often continue their play outside indefinitely, learning through first-hand experience and with absorbed concentration.

Away from the classroom children can reveal their true selves through play. Playing outdoors liberates children and offers permission for infinite creative possibilities.

Forest of Imagination (Thursday 29 June to Sunday 2 July) is a unique pop-up contemporary arts and architecture event combining multi-disciplinary installations with imaginative events: a place to celebrate the wonder of childhood. The Forest of Imagination is an opportunity – not just for four days in the year – to help professionals, parents and children think differently about the way we perceive childhood and to

imagine new possibilities.

Now in its fourth year, the Forest creates time and space for children and adults to explore nature through their imagination.

The Forest creates a context for exploration – familiar spaces are reimagined for exploring the urban and natural world as well as the internal world of the imagination.

Children readily play with fantasy and possibility through their imagination and creativity. Creativity and play are its heart.

A forest is one of the best classrooms.

Children, playing outdoors, learn through first-hand experiences and in cooperation with others. They play with ideas, thoughts and materials in a safe environment. The Forest of Imagination invites children and adults alike to explore their deep human connection to nature through their own imagination. Making a real and lasting difference to children and young people is a central theme of the Forest. We believe that creativity can enhance wellbeing and transform lives, communities, cities and economies. And the Forest is a natural realm for exploring the bigger themes in the world around social purpose – issues of conservation and the environment, creativity and responsibility. We want to engage with contemporary creativity, imagine new possibilities for the way we live and create spaces for everyone to enjoy. The Forest of Imagination brings a message of hope for children, for their rights and their future.

Care, compassion and empathy developed through respectful relationships are essential for creative learning, happiness and wellbeing. Investing in creative learning and children’s wellbeing means we will have happier adults and a happier society. The attitudes, values and skills we learn in childhood stay with us for the rest of our lives. n Learn more: forestofimagination.com and at: 5x5x5creativity.org.uk.

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FACE | THE | MUSIC

A PASSION FOR FASHION

Louise Pickles, course leader of Bath Spa University’s fashion design degree, talks to Georgette McCready about her international career in fashion and why music has such powerful impact for her

I

f you were intent on becoming the next Stella McCartney or Jasper Conran you’d want someone who’d actually worked as a successful fashion designer themselves. Someone who would inspire you, encourage you and help you prepare to face the notoriously cut-throat world of the fashion industry.

For a group of lucky students in Bath that mentor comes in the form of Louise Pickles, a woman who, like her students, lives and breathes fashion. Louise founded the fashion design degree course for Bath Spa University in 2003, and under her leadership it has quickly built a reputation for being one of the best courses in the country for hands-on technical experience and insider know-how. All the teachers have wide experience in the fashion industry and their students benefit. Notable accolades include past graduates Chloe Jones and Grace Weller, each winning both the Gold award and the Womenswear awards at the prestigious Graduate Fashion Week in London in 2012 and 2014.

I caught up with Louise on her return from this year’s Graduate Fashion Week, in which her students had shone against some stiff competition.

She said: “They worked so hard and put on some great shows. We were delighted that Laura Gillings won the TU at Sainsbury’s womenswear scholarship and another of our students, Laura Capello, won the George Catwalk to Store award.

I’m very proud of them.”

She said she was also pleased that one of Laura Gillings’ outfits was singled out for a street style shoot by La Petite Anglaise, a critically acclaimed fashion, lifestyle and beauty blog, run by Ella Catliff. The site has readers in more than 100 different countries worldwide and Ella has a following of 53.8K on Instagram.

Louise studied fashion design at Medway College of Design in Kent, where designer Zandra Rhodes was 18 TheBATHMagazine

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one of the outside examiners. She worked her way assiduously up the ladder from designer to design director for the Dewhirst group, one of the most successful suppliers for Marks & Spencer and her career took her all over the world, to Los Angeles, Japan, Paris, Milan, spending time too in Melbourne, Australia as design director for young fashion chain Witchery.

But after more than two decades in the industry Louise found herself in Bath and, by chance, heard that highly respected Professor John Miles (who had taught Stella McCartney and Julien Macdonald) was revamping Bath Spa University’s

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textiles degree.

“I ended up meeting John at Oxford Circus where he encouraged me to go for the job as course leader,” Louise recalls, “and when I said I didn’t have any experience in education he said if I could survive in the fashion business, I could certainly lead a fashion design course.”

“And so I came to Bath, intending to stay for three years. But then the awards come in and you think you’ll stay a bit longer, and then you think ‘I’ll just get this year of students through’ and then there’s another year of talented students after that. And, so here I am still.”

Louise and her department are

MATERIAL GIRL: main picture, Louise Pickles, leader of the fashion design degree course at Bath Spa University Opposite, left Laura Gillings’ designs featured in La Petite Anglaise and second left, her winning design for the TU scholarship Images from Graduate Fashion Week by Kathrin Werner

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FACE | THE | MUSIC

housed in No 4 The Circus and one of the perks for her students is the nearby Fashion Museum, whose archives provide inspiration for new and innovative designs. Students are enormously privileged, to be able to book handling sessions with historic items of clothing.

She says: “This is a demanding degree course. We expect our students to treat it like a full-time job, and they do. Very often they’ll be patiently waiting for me to open up in the morning and I’ll have to gently chivvy them home at night.”

She adds: “There was a time when it was said that new designers didn’t always have the technical skills required to actually realise their designs, so at the heart of our course we ensure our students have those basic, expert techniques mastered.”

As befits someone who has enjoyed a long international career Louise has contacts and friends all over the world. She also stays current with what’s going on in the industry and sits on the British Fashion Council Colleges Council as well as being a trustee of Graduate Fashion Week. But she’s also passionate about her adopted home, Bath.

Those who attended Bath in Fashion over the past few years will attest to her wide knowledge of the industry.

She was very much involved with the annual Bath in Fashion festival and was appointed creative director in 2012. Each year she hosted the panel event with other professionals, called Fashion Your Future in which students would find out about the many career opportunities within the fashion industry.

When she’s not working Louise’s other great passion is gardening.

“When I’m not digging borders or having an ongoing battle against weeds I can be found at Bathford Nursery, the garden section at Homebase, or Prior Park Garden Centre. I tend to spend more on my garden than clothes these days but I guess that’s a sign of my age.”

Music is very important to Louise. “A lot of my friends in London are in the music

business, I think it’s partly because none of us work traditional hours.”

“And when our students choose the tracks for their shows that’s an incredibly big decision for them. With some tracks, I only have to hear the music and I am transported right back to the show – generally I am standing at the back of the room – and to the moment the models come out on to the runway and you sense immediately the audience reaction. That combination of music and visuals is very powerful.”

It is this magnetic force that has inspired some of Louise’s all-time musical choices:

The Verve – Bitter Sweet Symphony In 1998 I moved to Melbourne, Australia as general manager / design director working on the rebranding of fashion brand Witchery, which won best new retailer of the year award in its first year. This track was used to open the first Witchery show.

LOUISE’S TOP TEN SONGS

Donna Summer – I Feel Love One of the best disco tracks from 1977 – can you believe we used to put in hours of rehearsal before going to a disco!

The Beatles – She Loves You This is my first memory of a single being played on the record player. I was only four years old but I distinctly remember the black vinyl on the turntable and joining in with the chorus during family get togethers.

David Bowie – Ashes to Ashes The only time I saw David Bowie play live was August 1990 at Milton Keynes Bowl for the Sound and Vision Tour that was billed as the last tour that Bowie would play his previous hits live. Ashes to Ashes was always a favourite and did not disappoint – fond memories.

Immaculate Fools – Immaculate Formed in 1984 the band played a key part in my social life. This single, from the Hearts and Fortune album, was the band’s most successful track in the UK. The girlfriends of the band from this time are still my closest friends all these years later.

Calvin Harris – Feel So Close to You and David Guetta (featuring Sia) – Titanium I know this is cheating, but both these tracks kept me going on many long hours driving back and forth from Bath to the Kent coast, a journey that I made every other Sunday for five years to visit my parents with failing health. As soon as I hear these tracks I see the M20.

La Roux – In for the Kill Memories of a close friend’s son. This was one of Ben’s favourite songs at the time of his death and was played at his funeral; he was 19.

Doves – Words In fact I’d like to pick the entire album The Last Broadcast. This is my album of choice while chilling out at home.

Enigma – Sadness This is the track Chloe Jones used to present her graduate collection. The soundtrack to a collection plays a key part in conveying the concept and mood; this track with its monastic vocal fitted the collection perfectly and won both the Womenswear and Gold Awards at Graduate Fashion Week in 2012.

Black Dog Panting – School is Cool When I hear a track I can immediately envisage the outfit and the student who designed it, so powerful is the choice of music for a show. This is the track Grace Weller selected to accompany her undergraduate collection on the runway. A haunting and atmospheric track that was used as the soundtrack to the collection took people’s breath away at the show that went on to win both the Womenswear and Gold Awards at Graduate Fashion Week in 2014.

Some of Grace Weller’s undergrad collection can be seen at the Fashion Museum’s current Lace in Fashion exhibition. n

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INDEPENDENT | RETAILER | MONTH

IN SEARCH OF THE UNIQUE

To celebrate National Independent Retailer Month we offer a virtual tour of some of Bath’s best one-off shops, beginning with editor Georgette McCready’s pick of some of her favourite haunts

W

e’re so lucky in Bath to have a wide range of independent shops and cafés and many of them provide an invaluable service, providing all manner of useful and beautiful things.

Bath’s business community, represented by Bath BID, has joined forces with local tourism body Visit Bath to promote the city’s wonderful mixture of independent shops. This vibrant city community is one of the core reasons that people come to Bath, in search of the quirky, the characterful and the unique.

Here’s my pick of some of my go-to places around the city centre . . .

When searching for a birthday card that’s going to raise a smile, I head straight to The Yellow Shop in Walcot Street. It’s been selling interesting vintage clothing for years but it’s also great for cards with irreverent message. Pretty much all the shops in Walcot Street are independently owned and even the local pub, The Bell, is owned by its own customers, so this is very much a community in its own right. I also like the fact that local homeless support charity Julian House keeps its charity shop open on Sundays, when many people are browsing in the city.

If you’re in Bath on a Saturday, the Bath Farmers’ Market at Green Park Station is a great place to pick up locally grown fruit and veg, locally baked bread and meat reared on farms close to the city. On Sundays there are a variety of markets, the latest being the brunch market which also takes place at Green Park (the next one is on Sunday 9 July). My current favourite Friday lunchtime treat is a freshly grilled hot chicken and salad wrap, from the very friendly JC’s Kitchen stand at the market, or a samosa from Chai Wallah’s tiny but brilliant takeaway on Kingsmead Square.

When friends visit, depending on their interests, lead them to Magalleria in Broad Street where they can browse among international, independent and beautifully produced

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niche magazines, or lose them for an hour or two among the tightly packed shelves of Topping & Co booksellers on the Paragon. Get them into Independent Spirit to talk craft ales and rare gins with the very knowledgable Chris Scullion, or to taste and talk cheese with the cheesemongers at the Fine Cheese Company in Walcot Street or at Paxton and Whitfield in John Street.

Both will let you sample the cheese before you buy and enjoy talking about its flavour and how it was produced.

You can buy almost anything you should want, or need, within walking distance of Bath Abbey. Pick up a bunch of fresh flowers as a gift at Anemone florist’s picturesque stall on the side of Milsom Street or buy an original blue glass vase from Bath Aqua Glass in Abbey Church Yard.

For art accessories – paper, pens and paints, I’d recommend Minerva Art Supplies in Green Street, while for almost any household item, from clothes pegs to drain unblockers, M&K hardware stall in the Guildhall Market is a cornucopia of essential bits and bobs. They also sell flower seeds, which often tempt me.

The china department of Rossiters in Broad Street is the place to be when you want to treat yourself to new plates or a casserole dish, while serious bakers make a beeline to Kitchens in Wood Street for baking tins and cake accessories.

Bath used to be famous for its antique shops and while there are far fewer, there are still gems to be found at places such as the Bartlett Street Antiques Centre and Beau Nash in Brock Street, where I’m regularly found with my nose against the window admiring the silver inside.

And while you’re in Brock Street, do take the time to explore the little gem round the corner that is Margaret’s Buildings, a car-free street that looks like a scene from a film and lined with interesting shops.

For clothes shopping you can find plenty of covetable pieces not found in the big high street chains. There’s eco-chic at Bibico in Bartlett Street or

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retro inspired elegance at Instant Vintage in George Street, although the real-deal authentically period costume – as seen on Downton Abbey – can be had at Vintage to Vogue (down an alley off Milsom Street).

If you’ve friends visiting the city, either take them to some of your favourite secret places, or simply urge them to wander down the side streets and see what delights and treasures they’ll find for themselves. n

FIND YOUR TRIBE: shopping in Bath, whatever your interest, you can find a specialist independent to suit your tastes.

Independent family owned bookshop Topping & Co in the Paragon not only stocks a wide range of classic and contemporary fiction, but every subject under the sun, from travel and history to architecture, cookery and has a well-stocked children’s section – enjoy a cup of tea or coffee while you browse.

Coopers Electrical store on Walcot Street, is long established as one of the city’s finest independent businesses.

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FOR THE HOME MIXING IT UP: original retro daybed from £145, with large ethnic cushions, £65 each.

British sheepskin, £85.

Lomas & Lomas linen cushions, £48 from Verve Living, London Road, which specialises in unique, original furniture and homeware, from decorative objects to cushions and handmade lampshades.

Ed’s tip: get two hours free parking in nearby Monmouth Street.

ART FOR THE HOME: Freezing Hill by Paul Jackson, £850, from Pencil Tree, Cleveland Terrace, just beyond the end of Walcot Street. The shop cum gallery is run by husband and wife artists Paul and Kirstie and stocks mid-century Danish furniture, vintage lighting and original art.

The Jacksons also run an interior design service.

HOME ENTERTAINING: Robert Welch in Broad Street is a family run home design company, specialising in beautiful objects for every day use. Pictured is the Malvern cutlery set, sold in sets for four, six, eight or 12 place settings, starting from £60.

DEPARTMENT STORE: Rossiters in Broad Street is a veritable rabbit warren of rooms, each filled with all kinds of homeware and covetable gifts. The independently run shop sells a range of contemporary classic furniture – such as this Rosetti sofa – has an unrivalled fabric and wallpaper collection and its well stocked china and glass department is renowned. The shop has a justifiably loyal following among locals and regular visitors to Bath.

FOR THE FOODIE

TASTE IN THE CITY: there’s a feast on the hoof to be had on the streets of Bath. Clockwise: South African bobotie by Cook Sista, available at Green Park Station as part of the Bath Artisan Brunch Market; award-winning British artisan cheese (featuring on the left, the Supreme Champion from this year’s British Cheese awards, Somerset made Pavé Cobble) from Paxton and Whitfield in John Street; sugary Bath buns freshly baked from the Thoughtful Bread Company in Barton Street and handmade fudge made instore at the San Francisco Fudge Factory in Church Street.

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INDEPENDENT | RETAILER | MONTH

ADORN YOURSELF EURO CHIC: fresh summer linens and vintage floral prints by Spanish desgn house Lurdes Bergada at Blue Women’s Clothing, one of the only stockists in the UK. Shop online or find Blue at The Loft in Bartlett Street, Bath.

WALKING ON AIR: Bath-based shoe designer Chantal Pilon understands that women want beautiful shoes they can actually walk in. This pair is Ju Jube, which features a classic cork footbed for comfort, from the summer collection, which can be found at Chanii B designer shoe shop in Milsom Place.

HEAVEN FOR MAGPIES: Alexandra May, on the corner of Brock Street and Margarets Buildings, has remodelled itself as a jewellery specialist shop. Pictured is Claudia, one of the jewellery obsessives who works at Alexandra May, modelling some of the shop’s treasures.

She is wearing earrings and necklace by iconic Madrid based designer Anton Heunis with an Extasia cuff.

MENS DESIGN WEAR: John Anthony in High Street has long been the favourite for the fashionably dressed Bathonian, stocking brands such as Comme des Garcons, Vivienne Westwood, Versace and Barbour.

A LITTLE GEM: Spotty Herberts toy and children’s clothing shop in Queen Street may be small but it’s packed with all sorts of things to appeal to parents and children.

The award-winning shop is brimming with colourful and practical British brands of refreshingly unisex clothes for children up to the age of ten, plus toys from pocket money prices.

Picture courtesy of Chlöe Moore

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HOLIDAY TREATS: Green Street House beauty salon in Green Street can not only make sure your nails and skin are beach ready, but also kit you out stylishly for that sashay from poolside to bar, with its collection of wraps, sandals and accessories.

PRECIOUS GIFTS: what is it about Bath that jewellery designers choose to settle and work here. Leading British designer Nicholas Wylde is one such. And from his workshop in Northumberland Place comes this striking diamond, ruby and blue, yellow and pink sapphire multi-stone dress ring, designed by Peter Moldovan for the National Goldsmith awards.

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GET CREATIVE

THE PRINTED WORD: escape to another world with a beautifully written, illustrated and printed magazine. Magalleria in Broad Street is a shrine of independent magazines covering a range of interests, from design and fashion to architecture, food, travel and lifestyle.

BE INSPIRED: A Yarn Story in Walcot Street has shelves filled with hand-dyed yarns from all over the world, alongside the the shop’s own range, Walcot Yarns.

There are also classes for knitters, crocheters and spinners of all abilities.

IN THE FRAME: when it comes to creating your own home gallery of much loved photographs and art, it’s good to get a professional finish for your pieces. The Bath Framer on London Road is a highly skilled picture framing service which can help you make the best of your chosen pictures.

PICK AND MIX: Wool Bath in Old Orchard Street will have even the non-knitter itching to pick up a pair of knitting needles. It’s an inspiring place for creative types to visit and there are usually like-minded people to chat to while you make your choices. The colours and textures of the yarns in the shop have been described as like being in the best sweet shop ever.

SEW GOOD: The Makery on Union Passage is a treasure trove of crafty delights for creative souls. The shop is full of The Makery’s own range of craft kits and irresistible fat squares, buttons and trimmings. And if you fancy learning a new skill, you can sign up for a creative workshop. Choose from sewing, calligraphy, upholstery, printmaking and many more.

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COMEDY | TIME

EDINBURGH COMES TO BATH

There’s no need to travel north of the border for a laugh as comedians test out their fringe shows in the south west

TESTING GROUND: coming to Bath are Simon Evans, Anna Morris with her character based show, Fred MacAulay, Sarah Keyworth and, below, Dr Phil Hammond

B

rexit, parenting, loneliness, the role of the modern man and the British class system are all topics to be tackled by a summer programme of comedy as standups bring their acts to test out on Bath audiences ahead of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

Bath Comedy has lined up a dozen Edinburgh previews for July, ranging from well-known acts such as Scottish comedian Fred MacAulay (at Widcombe Social Club on Tuesday 4 July) to the emerging and award-winning talent of Welshman Phil Cooper and the Tom and Jerry of the comedy circuit, Christian Talbot and Rosie Holt, whose act is called Can’t Stand the Sight of Each Other. All of these visitors to Bath will be gauging the local audience reaction and honing their routines before heading up to Edinburgh, where the Fringe opens on 4 August.

On Monday 24 July at the Ring o Bells in Widcombe the audience is invited to pay what they feel the show is worth, with a triple bill of comedy featuring Phil Cooper, Chris Chopping and George Rigden, who has recently been named as Bristol’s 30th funniest person.

Eddie Izzard – who isn’t coming to Bath – famously tours abroad so he can try his hand at delivering his act in a foreign language.

With this in mind Nick Steel, director of Bath Comedy, has invited some young Dutch comedians to the south west as part of the celebrations of Bath’s twinning with the town of Alkmaar. Members of the ComedyTrain collective will be at Widcombe Social Club, performing in English, on Tuesday 11 July.

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NHS doctor, journalist and comedian Dr Phil Hammond plans to reprise an already successful routine as he brings his sell-out shows from last year’s Edinburgh Fringe to St Margaret’s Hall in Bradford on Avon on Thursday 13 July.

Also returning to Bath is actress and comedian Anna Morris, who delighted audiences last year with her character Georgina, the archetypal Bridezilla. Her snooty bride planning her perfect day had all sorts of tips for other brides, including ensuring that bridesmaids are all at least two sizes larger than the bride and picking unflattering brown sack-like dresses to prevent them upstaging you. This year Anna is playing four characters who compete for Women of the Year awards. Expect more nuggets of real-life gems in Bitchelors, which is at the Ring o Bells on Tuesday 25 July.

For details of all the Bath Comedy

Edinburgh programme and where to buy tickets visit: bathcomedy.com.

Entertainment venue and home to the weekly Krater Comedy Club, Komedia in Westgate Street, Bath is also holding Edinburgh previews. The comedians will be eyeball to eyeball with their audiences in the intimate setting of Komedia’s cafe and bar, with its tiny stage. If you like your comedy slightly dangerous and with an air of anything-can-happen, check out some of these acts. As with the Bath Comedy programme the line-up includes some familiar faces from television, including Tiff Stevenson and Simon Evans, alongside some less well known comedians.

As comedians such as Sarah Millican, Russell Howard and Mickey Flanagan cut their comedy teeth playing Komedia in Brighton and Bath, this is an exciting opportunity to catch a new act and tell your friends afterwards that you saw them before they were famous.

All those appearing have won rave reviews. Ivo Graham, for instance, has been hailed as being like Hugh Grant’s younger brother while Marlon Davis has been on tour as a support act for Kevin Bridges, Alan Carr and Michael McIntyre. Tackling one of the big issues of her Generation Y is Sarah Keyworth, who recognises that she belongs to the millennial generation whose parents brought her up to believe she could achieve anything she set her heart on. The reality of life, that dawning understanding that you’re no more special than anyone else, forms the basis of her show.

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WHAT’S ON in July EVENTS ARE LISTED IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER Interactive fun at The Brutalist Playground at The Edge

GALLERY AND BARROW LAUNCH Thursday 29 June, 6pm – 8pm n Gallery and Barrow, 118a Walcot Street, Bath An evening of art and wine and a chance to meet the artists and view art including screen prints, metallic leaf painting and woodcuts. A fun art raffle will be held. To attend, email: studio@galleryandbarrow.com. Group exhibition continues until Monday 17 July.

THE BRUTALIST PLAYGROUND Wednesday 28 June – Saturday 9 September, open 11am – 5pm (closed Mondays) n Andrew Brownsword Galleries, The Edge, University of Bath The Brutalist Playground shines a light on the abstract concrete playgrounds designed as part of post-war housing estates in the mid20th century. 2015 Turner Prize winners Assemble and artist Simon Terrill have worked with RIBA curators to recreate these play structures in reconstituted foam, creating a family-friendly interactive playground. Free admission but booking advised, tel: 01225 386777.

EDITOR’S PICK

A tribute to Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons at Chapel Arts

FILM SCREENING: DEMAIN (TOMORROW) Tuesday 4 July, 6.30pm n Komedia, Westgate Street, Bath Komedia, Bath Film Festival, Creative Bath and the Transition Network are to show Demain, an award-winning French film by Cyril Dion and Mélanie Laurent. There will also be a Q&A panel chaired by Rob Hopkins, Creator of the Transition Network, to explore how positives drawn from the film can have an impact on the community of Bath. Viewed by over 1.5m people in France and winner of best documentary at the Cesar Awards, this is its first screening in Bath.

Tickets, £3 tel: 0845 293 8480 or visit: komedia.co.uk.

FOREST OF IMAGINATION Thursday 29 June – Sunday 2 July, 10am – 6pm daily n Bushey Norwood, National Trust land next to the University of Bath, Claverton If you’ve been enchanted and enthralled by the last two years – in Queen Square and then beside Bath Abbey – you’ll want to hop on a bus and head up the hill with, or without, the family, to see what Bath’s creative community has made for our delight – we’ve heard there are some very exciting installations and events. And it’s all free!

Forest of Imaginaton will spring up at Bushey Norwood on the Bath Skyline

Shakespeare Live will perform A Midsummer Night’s Dream at Seend

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BRIAN ROPER MEMORIAL CONCERT Friday 30 June, 7.30pm n The Forum, Southgate, Bath A concert dedicated to the memory of local philanthropist Brian Roper. Pianist Peter Donohoe performs Rachmaninov’s Third Piano Concerto in a programme that includes Stravinsky’s Firebird and Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition. Tickets: from £25, u16s £5, tel: 0844 888 9991.

AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE DAY FAIR Saturday 1 July, 10.30am – 5pm n The American Museum, Claverton, Bath Outdoor fun with classic fairground games, bouncy castle, craft activities, food and live music. Included with gardens admission.

Also at the American Museum this month FANTASTIC BEASTS Thursday 27 July, noon – 3pm Monster-filled activities for families, inspired by the 1920s-set film,

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Fantastic Beasts and Where to Edward Fox plays Find Them. Drop-in, suitable age John Betjeman three and over. Included with at the Theatre Royal Bath gardens admission TEEN SPECIAL: 1920S HAIR AND MAKEUP WORKSHOP Saturday 29 July, 12.30pm – 4.30pm Join Jodie Winter-Smith for a 1920s hair and makeup workshop.

Learn about the look of the era, try it out and have a mini-photoshoot. Places are £12, booking essential, suitable age 13 and over.

Tel: 01225 820866 or visit: americanmuseum.org.

BATH BACH CHOIR’S 70TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION CONCERT Saturday 1 July, 7.30pm n Bath Abbey Bath Bach Choir will perform two of the greatest works of the choral repertoire. Bach’s Magnificat was composed for Vespers on Christmas Day 1723 in St Thomas’s Leipzig. Mozart’s Great Mass in C minor was composed in 1783, although never finished. Full of Bach-influenced grandeur and Italianate excesses, it calls for a double choir and two virtuosic solo sopranos. Tickets £12 – £30 (discounts for students and u18s), tel: 01225 463362 or visit: bathboxoffice.org.uk.

A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM Monday 3 – Saturday 8 July, 8pm (2pm Saturday matinee) n The grounds of Cleeve House, Seend, Wiltshire Shakespeare Live presents its annual al fresco treat, with picnics welcome beforehand and a covered stand for the audience to watch in comfort. This production promises dance, music and, the company’s well established acting skills in a beautiful setting.

Tickets: shakespearelive.com or call: 07780 938107.

THE THIRD POLICEMAN Thursday 6 July, 7.30pm Wellow Playing Field, Wellow, Somerset Taking theatre to rural areas, Miracle Theatre ventures into a world created by Flann O’Brienn, somewhere between Alice in Wonderland and Father Ted. Bring folding chairs and a picnic.

Tickets £14/ £12 concs, tel: 01225 463362 or visit: bathboxoffice.org.

HANCOCK AND CO Thursday 6 July, 7.30pm The Mission Theatre, Corn Street, Bath Following James Hurn’s sell-out visit in 2016, he is back with a one-man, many voices, show, celebrating Hancock’s Half Hour.

Tickets £14 (£12 concs), tel: 01225 463362, visit: bathboxoffice.org.uk.

RACING DEMON Until Saturday 8 July, times vary n Theatre Royal, Saw Close, Bath Playwright David Hare’s drama featuring four clerics facing their own personal crises, stars David Haig. It’s directed by Jonathan Church, the new artistic director for the summer season at the Theatre Royal, formerly of Chichester Festival Theatre. Tickets, tel: 01225 448844 or visit: theatreroyal.org.uk.

Also at the Theatre Royal this month SAND IN THE SANDWICHES Tuesday 11 – Saturday 15 July, times vary Edward Fox stars in this joyously British celebration of John Betjeman, one of the best loved poets of the 20th century.

NORTH BY NORTHWEST Friday 21 July – Saturday 12 August, times vary Alfred Hitchcock’s film, which starred Cary Grant, has been adapted for the stage. It’s an imaginative, fast-paced thriller with some laughs along the way.

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WHAT’S | ON RIGOLETTO Friday 7 and Saturday 8 July, 7.30pm nThe Rondo Theatre, St Saviour’s Road, Larkhall, Bath Bath Opera’s touring company brings a new production of Verdi’s opera. Tickets: £14 / £13 concessions. Tel: 0333 666 3366, or visit: ticketsource.co.uk.

MONTEVERDI AND HIS MILIEU Friday 7 July, 6.30pm n No1 Royal Crescent, Bath An hour of music from early 17th century Venice by Claudio Monteverdi and some of his contemporaries. Tickets: £10 to include a glass of wine, tel: 01225 333895.

Also for Bath Preservation Trust this month OPEN DAYS AT BECKFORD’S TOWER Saturday 8 and Sunday 9 July, 10am – 4pm The Landmark Trust apartment at Beckford’s Tower will be open for visitors to see the interiors designed to capture the spirit of Beckford’s original rooms. Admission free.

WALKING TOUR: CRESCENT VS CRESCENT Wednesday 19 July, 6.30pm Walking tour with historian Dr Amy Frost from the Royal Crescent to Lansdown Crescent, via Camden Crescent and Cavendish Crescent, exploring the influence the Royal Crescent had on the others that followed. Tickets: £5, tel: 01225 428126.

A VIEW FROM THE CRESCENT No1 Royal Crescent, Bath Until Sunday 19 November An exhibition celebrating the Royal Crescent through the eyes of prominent artists and examining its role in the development of the city and in people.

A View from the Crescent at No1 Royal Crescent, picture by Valerie Pirlot

The Mayor’s Guides are running a series of walks aimed at locals

BOX UKULELE FESTIVAL Saturday 8 July, 2pm – 10pm The Queen’s Head, Box High Street, Box, Wiltshire If you thought ukulele was just about George Formby think again.

The festival will have rock, punk, blues, indie, pop, disco and rap, all played on the ukulele. Headlining will be The Mighty Lemons. Other uke acts include Ukulele Funhouse Orchestra, The Pleasant Pluckers and The Strumming Birds. Food is available. Entrance: £5 adults, children free. Proceeds to Dorothy House Hospice Care. Visit: boxukulelefestival.co.uk.

BATH BRUNCH MARKET Sunday 9 July, 9.30am – 3.30pm n Green Park Station, Green Park, Bath Head over to Bath Artisan’s new Brunch Market for an earlymorning street food extravaganza followed by shopping at the artisan, vintage and independent stalls in the afternoon. All tastes are catered for from Indian, German and Caribbean to vegetarian and vegan choices. Plus the best of Bath’s original handmade goods.

Visit: bathartisanmarket.com.

String driven thing: enjoy the Box Ukulele Festival

BATH CAMERATA SUMMER CONCERT Sunday 9 July, 4pm n The Guildhall, High Street, Bath Enjoy fizz, strawberries, cream and songs for summer in the resplendent surroundings of Bath’s Guildhall with Bath Camerata.

Tickets £20 and £16 (under 25s half price) from: bathcamerata.org.uk or Bath Box Office, tel: 01225 463362.

City of markets: on Sunday 9 July there’s the brunch market at Green Park Station and on Sunday 16 July there’s the Independent Bath Market in Abbey Green

THEMED WALKS BY THE MAYOR OF BATH’S CORPS OF HONORARY GUIDES Weeks beginning Monday 10 and Monday 17 July, various times n Royal Victoria Park, Bath The Mayor’s Guides are putting on a programme of walks aimed primarily at Bath residents. Themes include Jane Austen, The Bath Blitz, Walcot and the Paragon, Lansdown’s secret places, Fame, Fun and Foul play in the Orange Grove area, Bathwick, River, canal and park, Victorian Bath, famous weddings and how the Georgians spent their money. For more information visit: bathguides.org.uk.

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Bath Royal Literary & Scientific Institution Forthcoming Events:

Bruegel: Defining a Dynasty 5th July, 7.30pm

Thoughts on Air Power with Air Vice Marshal Michael Harwood 11th July, 7.30pm Bath Box Office

The English Novel in the 1960s 17th July, 7.30pm

Africa United

18th July, 7.30pm

New publication about Bath’s 19th century traveller Adela Breton on sale – £5.00 16 - 18 Queen Square, Bath, BA1 2HN 01225 312 084 www.brlsi.org reception@brlsi.org

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WHAT’S | ON Mayor of Bath will be attending as band patron. People are invited to pull up a seat and bring a picnic to enjoy while they listen to some rousing brass band music.

MATT HAIG Thursday 13 July, 8pm n Topping & Co booksellers, the Paragon, Bath Award-winning author of Reasons to Stay Alive has a new novel, How to Stop Time, centred on the themes of ageing, identity and the transformative nature of love. Tickets: £6 and £7, redeemable with the book. Tel: 01225 428111.

Also hosted by Topping & Co this month HENRY MARSH Monday 17 July, 8pm One of the country’s leading neurosurgeons, Henry Marsh’s memoir Admissions, looks back at his long career, examines the moral maze of medicine and ethics and mental and physical health. Tickets: £7 and £8.

DIDO AND AENEAS: A GALA CONCERT PERFORMANCE Saturday 15 July, gates open for picnics at 5.30pm n Prior Park Chapel and Grounds, Bath This will be Bath choir Lucis’ flagship event for 2017, set in the Grade I listed chapel at Prior Park. Enjoy a stroll round the romantic grounds beforehand. Tickets: £35 / £25 to include prosecco and canapés during the interval, Bath Box Office, tel: 01225 463362.

TRIBUTE TO FRANKIE VALLI AND THE FOUR SEASONS Saturday 15 July, 7.30pm n Chapel Arts Centre, Lower Borough Walls, Bath Bye Bye Baby delivers a full theatre show covering the journey of the Four Seasons.

They perform 31 numbers in close four part harmony, singing many of the band’s hits, including: Rag Doll, Sherry, Big Girls Don’t Cry and Oh, What a Night. Tickets: £20, from: chapelarts.org, tel 01225 461700.

Also at Chapel Arts Centre this month JOHN WORT HANNAM Sunday 16 July, 7.30pm From the prairies in southern Alberta comes Canadian roots songwriter, John Wort Hannam. His music is a reflection of all things that John holds dear: the land, true love, underdogs, and a lust for life – from the songwriting tradition of John Prine, Louden Wainwright III, and Steve Earle. Tickets: £8 (£10 on the door).

THE SALTS Friday 21 July, 7.30pm The Salts are a co-operative of seasoned musicians, creating one of the most exciting and energetic folk concepts of recent times.

Tickets: £10 (£12 on the door).

A NIGHT OF ORBISON Saturday 22 July, 7.30pm Lars Young brings the voice of Roy Orbison to life, singing hits including Only The Lonely, Oh, Pretty Woman, Dream Baby and Crying. Tickets: £15 (£17 on the door).

CHARITY PICNIC AND CONCERT Saturday 15 July, gates open from 2pm n Avon Valley Adventure and Wildlife Park Take to the great outdoors and enjoy a

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BATH ARTISAN MARKET Sunday 30 July, 10am – 4pm n Queen Square, Bath Summertime shoppers are spoilt this season, as the Bath Artisan Market settles into its new residency in the city’s favourite Georgian Square. More than 50 local artisans, vintage dealers and designer-makers pop-up on the last Sunday of the month alongside delicious street food stalls, stirring up delicacies including Indian, Thai, Caribbean and German food with plenty of vegan, gluten-free and vegetarian options too. Oh there’s lots of cake too.

Visit: bathartisanmarket.com.

Chamber Opera Tours presents Persuasion: ‘the one where they go to Lyme Regis’

Music from the Movies alfresco concert by Bath Philharmonic Orchestra. Families are invited to enjoy early admission at the wildlife park before the performance. All profits will be donated to Jessie May children’s hospice and St Richard’s Hospice.

Tickets include park entry from 2pm and the concert starts at 5.30pm. Earlybird tickets from £18 adults and £15 children and students (under six go free). Tel: 0117 986 4929, email: info@avonvalley.co.uk.

BRADFORD ON AVON MINI BOOK FESTIVAL Saturday 15 July, 10am – 3pm n Bradford on Avon library, Bridge Street, Bradford on Avon A free day of book based events, including reading by authors, craft sessions and even a chance to dress up as someone’s dad. It’s all free but you will need to book which session you want to attend. Pick up a brochure from the library, tel: 01225 863280 or email: bradfordlibrary@wiltshire.gov.uk.

PERSUASION BY JANE AUSTEN Friday 21 July, 7.30pm n Bristol Redgrave Theatre, Clifton, Bristol Chamber Opera Tours, a professional notfor-profit opera company, is performing its original musical adaptation of Jane Austen’s final novel Persuasion, commemorating the 200th anniversary of her death and its publication. Persuasion: A Musical Drama, which has toured multiple UK and US cities over the last five years, is the story of a woman who has lost at love and gets a second chance. The production has a 40 strong company. Visit: chamberoperatours.org.

BATH SPA BAND AND TRAINING BAND CONCERT Sunday 23 July, 2pm n Bandstand, Royal Victoria Park, Bath A two-hour free concert to celebrate Bath in Bloom and national Love Parks week by the Bath Spa Band and training band. The

JUBILATE: THE MUSICAL SCENE IN 18TH CENTURY BATH Until 10 December, open daily 1 – 5pm and 11am – 5pm at weekends and bank holidays n The Herschel Museum of Astronomy, New King Street, Bath William Herschel later went on to make major astronomical discoveries, but he was also a composer, musician and teacher, while his sister Caroline, also an astronomer, was a fine singer. The exhibition focuses on the development of music in Bath during the 18th century Age of Enlightenment.

PLANNING AHEAD . . .

MARTHA REEVES AND THE VANDELLAS Thursday 10 August, 7.30pm n Komedia, Westgate Street, Bath They’ll be dancing in Westgate Stret as one of Motown’s most enduring stars, Martha Reeves and her sisters Lois and Delphine aka the Vandellas, belt out a roll call of some their greatest hits, including Nowhere to Run, Jimmy Mack and My Baby Loves Me. Tickets: £30 from: komedia.co.uk.

ROBERT WEBB Monday 4 September, 8pm n Topping & Co booksellers at Komedia, Westgate Street, Bath One half of comedy duo Mitchell and Webb and columnist in The Telegraph and New Statesman, Robert Webb’s book How Not to be a Boy looks back at his childhood, the nature of manhood and the life lessons we learn. Tickets from £8, tel: 01225 428111.

DOROTHY HOUSE BATH MOONLIGHT WALK Saturday 9 September, 10pm n SouthGate Centre, Bath Join hundreds of other women for the annual Moonlight Walk through the streets of Bath for the hospice’s biggest fundraiser, which last year raised £95,000. Fancy dress is encouraged and the theme is Saturday Night Diva. To enrol visit: bathmoonlightwalk.org.uk. n

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JUST FOR THE RECORD To coincide with the Bath Bach Choir’s 70th anniversary this summer a new seven-volume portfolio of its colourful history has been revealed. Kate Patrick took some notes

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hen the renowned choral maestro Nigel Perrin next picks up the baton to conduct the Bath Bach Choir in concert, it will be just over 70 years since the choir made its public debut. It was on 7 June 1947 that an excited choir first filed into Bath Abbey to perform J S Bach’s great Mass in B minor under its founder-conductor, Cuthbert Bates.

Cuthbert Bates’s daughter Elizabeth, also a well-known Bath musician, recalls that when her father first moved to Bath in 1946 there was a dearth of choral music in the city.

Cuthbert, she says, “had always cherished the idea of founding a Bach Choir somewhere.

After the war, he was posted to the most beautiful city of Bath, and knew that this was where his ambition would be fulfilled.

“An advertisement in the paper, initially for a madrigal society, produced a huge response – far too many to sing madrigals. And so the City of Bath Bach Choir was born there and then.”

The choir rehearsed Bach’s masterpiece for a whole year, and staged the concert at 4.15pm, in order to give the orchestra time to return to London that evening on the last train. “I was a very young child at the time,” recalls Elizabeth, “but the thing I remember were the crowds in Abbey Church Yard trying to gain admission. Four hundred people were turned away from the doors and extra chairs had to be placed at the end of each row in the nave. You could hardly imagine it today.”

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(programmes, posters, press cuttings, correspondence) that one of its current members, Tony Thornburn, set out in the choir’s 70th year to compile a properly organised archive. The resulting seven beautifully-presented, hardback portfolios tell the story of a remarkable institution, rooted in Bath but with an international outlook through its choice of directors, music, soloists and touring destinations. The choir has performed Rachmaninov in Russian, sung to Bach’s memorial stone in the Thomaskirche in Leipzig and shared a platform with Yehudi Menuhin. In its illustrious 70-year history it has had just four presidents and three musical directors.

Tony, who has been in the Bath Bach Choir since 2009, explains the thinking behind the project: “What struck me was the significant effort that has been expended by a large number of people over a period of 70 years to produce such an exemplary standard of music – not just in Bath but to entertain audiences abroad too. The choir’s archivist, Bob Hussey, showed me the records of all the past concerts which included singing huge, game-changing works like Britten’s War Requiem, and my reaction was that I didn’t want this to remain hidden away, recorded but unread. So I started by creating a page for Wikipedia to capture the choir’s history electronically.

“Then I realised I needed to find a way to organise and present all the posters, programmes, press cuttings and photos that had been saved by a succession of chairmen and secretaries. Elizabeth [Bates] herself had much of the early material. Files and scrapbooks had been initiated at various

times, but they were all a bit inconsistent and threadbare. So I set about producing something that would endure, that would match the high standards the choir sets itself musically, and that can easily be added to as new material is discovered.”

The first of the portfolios covers the period 1947 – 1990, starting with Cuthbert Bates’s monumental 34 year tenure as musical director followed by Denys Darlow’s ten years. Among many early gems, it records the visits of distinguished guest conductors such as Dr Ralph Vaughan Williams (the choir’s first president), Sir Michael Tippett, Sir David Willcocks (the third president) and Josef Krips, who conducted the choir in the Royal Festival Hall in 1956. Star soloists included Kathleen Ferrier, Felicity Lott, John ShirleyQuirk and Dame Janet Baker, who sang the contralto solos in 1965’s performance of Bach’s St Matthew Passion; more recently the likes of Stephen Varcoe, Patricia Rozario, Roderick Williams, James Gilchrist and Mark Stone appear in the records.

A separate portfolio is devoted to the choir’s longstanding involvement in the Bath Bach Festival, which Cuthbert Bates initiated, organised and ran, with the aid of the choir and guest conductors such as Yehudi Menuhin, from 1950 – 1982. “At the launch festival,” says Tony, “I discovered that over a period of just 14 days, the choir, supported by the London Symphony Orchestra, sang Bach’s St Matthew and St John Passions, the Magnificat and, on the final day, his Mass in B minor. That’s quite a feat.”

One could be forgiven for thinking that the choir’s repertoire begins and ends with Bach,

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MUSICAL | CITY

FROM THE SONGSHEET: main picture, Bath Bach Choir photographed recently on tour, performing in Barcelona Cathedral Right, Cuthbert Bates conducting the choir in 1950

but this is far from the case, as becomes clear from the two portfolios dedicated to Nigel Perrin’s 27 year tenure as musical director.

With far more extant material to play with, the volumes are a vivid record of how the choir developed its repertoire, technique and performance dynamic from 1990 onwards.

To be able to adapt to a variety of genres and perform them successfully, the choir had to improve – not just as a body, but as individual singers. The seed had been sown in the 1970s when, as two hilarious letters in the archive reveal, poor attendance was noted, along with the need for auditions. Unheard of! But under Perrin, these became a reality (ironically, Tony Thornburn failed his first one because his sightreading was “rubbish”). With his background as a chorister, King’s Cambridge choral scholar and original member of the King’s Singers, Perrin was equally at home with early music (Allegri, Monteverdi, Vivaldi), the romantics (Fauré, Dvorak, Rachmaninov) or cool contemporary composers like Whitacre, Todd, Tavener, Rutter, Chilcott and MacMillan.

As one review notes: “It doesn’t

matter whether it’s Mozart or The Beatles – Nigel not only gets the music, but understands the power of performance. It isn’t just singing; it’s theatre – to interpret and put over to an audience what a composer is striving to achieve with a piece of music.”

As well as recording a small slice of Bath’s musical and social history, the portfolios have also inspired today’s 90 or so choir members with a renewed sense of pride. To have a tangible reminder of their choir’s illustrious history – including its links

with King’s College Cambridge through Nigel Perrin’s mentor and inspiration Sir David Willcocks, and with the London Bach Choir through both Willcocks and its current president David Hill – makes you aspire to be the best you can be. The 70th anniversary concert will be the powerful evidence of that.

Bath Bach Choir will perform Bach’s Magnificat in D and Mozart’s Great Mass in C minor in Bath Abbey on Saturday 1 July. Tickets from Bath Box Office, tel: 01225 463 362, visit: bathboxoffice.org.uk. n

COMPETITION Valley Fest have teamed up with The BathMagazine to offer a lucky a winner a pair of weekend tickets with camping.

For your chance to win this prize simply email competitions@thebathmagazine.co.uk with your name, contact number, and address.

Competition closes 14th July 2017 and winner will be notified shortly afterwards.

One entrant per person.

Join the knees up!

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AUSTEN | 200

AWFULLY AUSTEN

Catherine Pitt traces Jane Austen’s associations with Bath to mark the 200th anniversary of the novelist’s death

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have been harbouring some bitterness towards this enforced move.

However, Jane appears to have made the most of her time in the city though, as from her letters and the experiences she writes of in her novels, we can glean that she attended the Pump Room, balls and other events as was the custom for a resident or visitor of Bath.

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The fireworks in Sydney Gardens “were really beautiful and surpassing my expectation; the illuminations too, were very pretty.”

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his month sees the bicentenary of Jane Austen’s death. It’s hard to avoid Austen in Bath, from bookshops to local gin, tea rooms and festivals, she’s referenced frequently. There is some thought that she disliked her time in Bath, yet from early letters to her sister Cassandra it appears that some things in the city did impress her. She wrote in 1799 that the fireworks in Sydney Gardens “were really beautiful and surpassing my expectation; the illuminations too, were very pretty.”

Certainly the fact that what she experienced and witnessed in Bath she used in the setting of two of her books – Northanger Abbey and Persuasion – implies that even if she didn’t enjoy everything Bath had to offer she definitely experienced a lot during her time here.

Jane’s family had strong links to the city. Her mother, Cassandra Leigh, was originally from Bath and Reverend Austen moved here from Oxford after meeting his wife to be.

Bath is also where they married at St Swithun’s Church on Walcot Street in 1764.

Mrs Austen’s sister lived in the city on the Paragon and was visited by the family in 1799 when Jane’s brother Edward headed to Bath to take “the cure” with his mother and Jane in tow. In settling in to their temporary accommodation in Queen Square, it seems that Jane was complimentary of her accommodation, detailing in a letter to Cassandra that they were “exceedingly pleased with the house; the rooms are quite as large as we expected.”

The modern assumption that Jane disliked the city has probably been the result of a number of combining factors. Firstly, moving permanently from the rural idyll of Steventon in Hampshire, Bath must have been a cosmopolitan culture shock to her; she could have well been homesick.

Suddenly thrust into the social whirl of fashion, events and shopping that the rich people’s playground of Bath provided, this must have been some change.

It was her father’s decision to retire here in 1801 and Jane, as an unmarried daughter, had no say in the matter. Therefore she could well

Though by no means poor before her father’s death, the Austen family were certainly not in the high echelons of society when they lived in the city, and the snobbishness may have repelled the author somewhat.

She certainly seems to tire of the frivolities, expressing in a letter dated

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12 May 1801 that she attended “another stupid party last night” – though it could be argued that Jane’s comment says more about her personal preferences than a dislike of Bath itself.

In the 1800s Bath had a number of circulating libraries, which was a popular idea at the time as the public could borrow books, novels and pamphlets. Books were expensive commodities to own at the close of the 18th century and start of the 19th century. For a small fee members of the public could borrow items for a set duration, and this surely would have appealed to avid reader Jane.

Walking around the city she would have been familiar with the libraries such as Marshall’s on Milsom Street and Mr Barrett’s on Bond Street, which were operating in the early 1800s. Perhaps these were some small comfort to her during her stay here.

The death of her beloved father in 1805 would have certainly tainted Jane’s view of the city forever for it would always have that association.

The death of Reverend Austen left his widow, and his daughters, Jane and Cassandra, as unmarried women, in

LOST IN AUSTEN: Colourised version of a 1837 re-engraving of Austen / University of Texas Opposite page, Ball at the Upper Assembly by Thomas Rowlandon, around 1798, Victoria Art Gallery / BANES Council, the main stage at the Old Theatre Royal Bath, the clock tower at St Swithun’s Church, where Austen’s parents married, and a gold gilded bust of Austen by Timothy Richards

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reduced financial circumstances which led to them having to climb down a rung or two on the housing ladder much to Mrs Austen’s, and probably her daughters’, chagrin.

When first arriving in the city, Mrs Austen was determined to “do everything in her power to avoid Trim Street” (mentioned in a letter from Jane to Cassandra, 1801), but alas by 1806 we find her and her daughters residing in said dreaded street, before they left Bath for good in the summer of 1806.

Whatever Jane thought of Bath, the city certainly celebrates her immortalisation of it in her novels.

If you wish to walk in the footsteps of Jane and her family and would like to decide for yourself how Jane may have viewed Bath, then here are a few key sites to explore: n The Assembly Rooms Known as the Upper Rooms in Jane’s time in the city, she attended a number of balls and tea dances here. n Sydney Gardens The only remaining 18th century pleasure gardens in the country, and where Jane enjoyed breakfasts, concerts, fireworks and illuminations. She lived with her sister and mother nearby at number 4 Sydney Terrace. n Old Orchard Street Theatre The original Theatre Royal opened in 1750 and closed in 1805 when the new Saw Close theatre opened. Jane would have come here to see performances and when she refers to the theatre in Bath in her works, this is where she would have been writing about. n Number 1, The Paragon It was here that Jane’s aunt and uncle, the Leigh-Perrotts lived, and where she initially stayed when they first moved to Bath in 1801.

n Crescent Fields – today part of the Royal Crescent and Royal Victoria Park Jane writes about walking along the Crescent fields that lay below the Royal Crescent, which were landscaped into Victoria Park in 1830. n The Pump Room The current Pump Room was completed in 1799 so for Jane this would have been a new building to enjoy. Her brother, Edward, would have visited here to partake of the waters, and possibly Jane would have as well. n St Swithun’s Church Here, in the only surviving 18th century church in Bath, is where Jane’s parents were married in 1764, and where her father was buried in 1805. Reverend Austen’s gravestone lies in the churchyard near the Paragon side of the road. n Queen Square Number 13 on the corner of Queen Square and Prince’s Street is where Jane, her brother Edward, and her mother stayed in 1799. n Gay Street Number 25 is now a dental practice, but in 1805 it was the first move that Mrs Austen and her daughters made after the death of Reverend Austen. It would have been a busy thoroughfare between the upper and lower town. n Trim Street This was the Austen family’s final location before their move from the city in 1806. Trim Street was one of the earliest streets built in what was considered to be the new city of Bath, but by the early 19th century it was considered an insalubrious location.

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CITY | READING

BOOKS ON JANE AUSTEN

To mark the bicentenary of Austen’s death, we pick six of the best books about one of our most-loved novelists

TEA WITH JANE AUSTEN

By Pen Vogler, hardback, published by Ryland, Peters & Small, rrp £9.99

Inspired by Austen’s novels and letters, Pen Vogler has collated a variety of authentic recipes from the Georgian era, including Bath buns, gooseberry tart and cherries en chemise. Learn how to make English muffins, just like the characters munch on after dinner in Pride and Prejudice, or eat buttered apple tart like Mr Woodhouse in Emma.

JANE AUSTEN: THE SECRET RADICAL

By Helena Kelly, paperback, published by Icon Books, rrp £8.99 When we think of Austen, many imagine her wandering the streets of honey-stoned, genteel Bath, or sitting at her writing desk, creating some of the most famous romances in literature. However, as Helena Kelly uncovers in her debut book, Austen wasn’t so detached from the politics and hardship of the late 18th and early 19th centuries as some have assumed. Austen was a woman living in a time of war and slavery, witnessing issues surrounding poverty, the Church and revolution – and her novels comment on these issues, sometimes in such a subtle manner you might miss it.

WHAT MATTERS IN JANE AUSTEN?

By John Mullan, paperback, published by Bloomsbury, rrp £9.99

EAVESDROPPING ON JANE AUSTEN’S ENGLAND

What do the characters call each other? Why is it too risky to go to the seaside? Is there any sex in Jane Austen? Which important characters never speak in the novels? These are just some of the questions surrounding Austen’s work that John Mullan answers in 20 short yet concise chapters. Mullan uses examples from the novels to illustrate his points, drawing evidence from different characters and revealing some illuminating ideas about the books and Georgian society.

By Roy A Adkins and Lesley Adkins, paperback, published by Little, Brown Book Group, rrp £10.99

Away from the comfortable country houses in Austen’s novels, life was difficult and dangerous for much of the English populace.

Adkins and Adkins analyse what it was really like for those living and dying in the early 19th century, revealing more about themes such as forced marriages, dangerous births, war, illness and child welfare.

THE GENIUS OF JANE AUSTEN

By Paula Byrne, hardback, published by HarperCollins, rrp £20 For some there is nothing better than sitting back on a rainy Sunday afternoon and putting on a film adaption of one of Austen’s novels while enjoying a cup of tea. Whether it’s the BBC’s version of Pride and Prejudice or Emma Thompson’s Sense and Sensibility, we all have our favourites. Expert Paula Byrne has analysed how and why Austen has become such a hit with audiences across the world, taking readers through a variety of different adaptions – from Roger Michell’s film Persuasion to the popular 1990s American television show Clueless – and discusses why Austen works so well on screen.

JANE AUSTEN AT HOME

By Lucy Worsley, hardback, published by Hodder & Stoughton, rrp £25

While many assume that Austen’s life was similar to that of her characters – genteel, full of country mansions and elegant balls – for much of the time it was quite the opposite. In this new publication, historian Lucy Worsley analyses the homes, rooms and possessions that influenced Austen’s stories, and examines the domestic

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difficulties Austen, her sister and mother faced in finding an affordable and happy home after the death of Austen’s father. In the past some have overlooked the content of Austen’s surviving letters, the majority of which are addressed to her sister Cassandra. However, Worsley has re-evaluated them and discovered an enlightening new interpretation of Austen’s life during a time of great change and political turmoil, and examines how this impacted on her home life.

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There’s fun for all the family at The American Museum this summer

TIME FOR SOME SUMMER FUN

With the school holidays just around the corner, The Bath Magazine has created a go-to guide for fun for all the family this summer

THE AMERICAN MUSEUM IN BRITAIN

THE BISHOP’S PALACE & GARDENS

Claverton Manor, Bath BA2 7BD Tel: 01225 460503 Web: americanmuseum.org

Wells, BA5 2PD Tel: 01749 988111 Web: bishopspalace.org.uk

Found within a manor house in an area of outstanding natural beauty, the American Museum is home to the finest collection of Americana outside the United States. The museum is famous for its Colonial to Civil War era period rooms, its outstanding quilt collection, inspiring folk art and Native American collections. Family backpacks are available at reception to enhance a family visit and there are many family fun events throughout the year including crafts during local school holidays, and children’s workshops.

Events also include a monster-filled activity inspired by the 1920s-set film, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them on 27 July, or children can learn how to create their own 1920s Japanese-inspired paper hand-fans to take home with them on 3 August. Plus, teenagers can learn how to perfect the 1920s look with a hair and makeup workshop and mini photoshoot on 29 July. Pre-booking for events is advised.

A full list of events is available online or request an events leaflet by calling: 01225 820866.

The Bishop’s Palace in Wells has a huge range of fun-filled activities on offer this summer. Kicking off with a wonderful weekend of historical re-enactment from The Taunton Garrison on 22 – 23 July, visitors will be treated to fully costumed troops parading their muskets around the South Lawn. The first of the weekly Family Fun Fridays begins on Friday 28 July with the theme of glorious gardens, where families can take part in fun craft activities. Other themes over the holidays include wacky weather, brilliant bugs, dastardly dragons and crazy castles. Join the Summer Family Fun Day on Sunday 6 August, where there will be games for all ages, a bouncy castle, dressing up, face painting, crafts and activities. Take a picnic or take advantage of the new menu in The Bishop’s Table. Boxtree Production’s beautiful new rendition of Wind in the Willows takes place at the palace on Friday 11 August, and celebrate the bank holiday weekend when medieval troupe Bowlore Medieval will be delighting visitors with their daring archery and sword-displays from 26 – 28 August.

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SUMMER | FUN

BOWOOD HOUSE & GARDENS Derry Hill, Calne SN11 9PQ Tel: 01249 812102 Web: bowood.org Bowood House and Gardens, near Chippenham, is the perfect place for a family visit, with something for everyone! Whether it’s the 2,000-acre ‘Capability’ Brown parkland, the Adventure Playground or Tractor Ted’s Little Farm, you’re bound to spot something you fancy this summer with a great line-up of diary dates. The first weekend of August, Bowood welcomes a Classic Ibiza concert on Saturday 5 and The Great British Prom on Sunday 6. For Tractor Ted fans, on Saturday 19 and Sunday 20 August Bowood introduces the Diggers & Dumpers Weekend. Then the Great British Food Festival returns on the bank holiday weekend (Saturday 26 – Monday 28 August) with Great British Bake Off finalists, guest demos, kids’ cookery lessons, plus over 80 top local producers, real ale, wine bars and live music among the great range of foodie delights.

Bowood House and Gardens really does have something for all the family this summer.

BATH AREA PLAY PROJECT Various venues Tel: 01225 832479 Web: bapp.org.uk

KIDZ ABOUT Spectrum, Mead Way, Swindon SN5 7UT Tel: 01793 524646 Web: kidzabout.com Kidz About has been established since 2005, providing quality indoor play for all children.

Suitable for four to 12 year olds, the centre has over six metres worth of climbing apparatus, a red spiral slide, a green astra slide and a blue drop slide. The centre also boasts an activity assault course bouncy castle and a football pitch. Kidz About has a separate toddler area for under fours (or up to 3ft, whichever comes first), and a separate area for babies who are not quite mobile yet, safely tucked away from those charging toddlers. There’s also a café area serving drinks and hot and cold food. Admission: Adults £1 (75p off peak), five – 12 years £6.50 (£5.50 off peak), under fives £5.50 (£4.50 off peak), under twos £4.50 (£3.50 off peak), free for babies up to six months.

Bath Area Play Project has a range of playschemes and playdays happening over the summer, providing lots of exciting and fun play opportunities for the whole family.

Playdays are free but BAPP does ask families to donate by visiting: localgiving.org/appeal/savesummerplaydays.

A few pounds per child per playday really does make a difference to what the team can provide as resources and equipment all cost money to replace or restock. Every child has the right to play and BAPP supports children of all ages and abilities including the SOFA programme for teenagers and playschemes for disabled young people. BAPP welcomes volunteers to get involved and also businesses and companies to support its work. Would you like to sign up to the Digital Detox challenge? Could you not use technology for 24 hours? Or do a sponsored event at work?

Call BAPP for more information.

Follow @BathPlayProject on Twitter.

CURTAIN UP The West Wing Theatre, Hayesfield School, Bath BA2 3LA Tel: 07974014490 Web: curtainup.org.uk Following the superb success of previous Summer School performances including Aladdin Jr, Peter Pan and Spamalot, multi award-winning Curtain Up returns with new summer school fun that will delight performers of all ages. Junior Summer School will create Madagascar The Musical Jr in just five days, while the Senior Summer School will create Les Miserables School Edition in less than two weeks.

Previous experience is not needed – just lots of enthusiasm and energy. Rehearsed and performed at Hayesfield School, the cast will be directed and choreographed with professionals to create fully costumed and staged productions which will be performed to delighted audiences. Please note that Curtain Up is restricted by performers’ age, please contact the team for details. The Junior Summer School takes place 24 – 28 July, and the Senior Summer School takes place 24 July – 5 August.

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SUMMER | FUN

WE DO IT IN THE WOODS Pipley Wood, Lansdown, Bath BA1 9BZ Tel: 07773283547 Web: wedoitinthewoods.co.uk Treat yourself to a day out of the ordinary and give yourself or a loved one the gift of a day out in the woods. We do it in the woods offers art, craft and other creative workshops for grown ups in a beautiful ancient woodland setting. Try your hand at jewellery making, mosaics, drawing, creative writing and more, all led by practising local artists. Experience all the enjoyment and enrichment of the creative experience and also the deep nourishment and pleasure that comes from simply ‘being’ and ‘doing’ outdoors. Spending time in nature and particularly in woodlands is proven to enhance wellbeing. Workshops are held on weekends from 10am – 4pm and cost £60, suitable for 16+ only. Booking is essential, email: tara@wedoitinthewoods.co.uk.

THE SIR JOHN KNILL WATERBUS Kennet and Avon Canal Tel: 01225 834250 or 07963834828 Web: ladylena.co.uk The Sir John Knill is a new electric boat with wheelchair access, owned by John Knill and Sons (Lady Lena). It runs as a bus service on the Kennet and Avon Canal between Bathampton and Bath. The service runs alternate hours starting from Bathampton between 10am – 4pm, and returns from Bath from 11am – 5pm, starting from 1 July 2017, and running daily at peak holiday times, apart from Mondays, until the end of October. Price: adults £5 one way, babies up to two free, children up to 10 £2.50. Carers with wheelchairs half price. For more information contact Jenkyn and Helen Knill or email: info@ladylena.co.uk.

CASTLE COMBE CIRCUIT

M SHED

Castle Combe Circuit, Chippenham, SN14 7EY Tel: 01249 782417 Web: castlecombecircuit.co.uk

Princes Wharf, Wapping Road, Bristol BS1 4RN Tel: 0117 352 6600 Web: bristolmuseums.org.uk/m-shed

Summer at the Circuit! Don’t miss the Summer Action Festival on Saturday 22 July – all makes, all ages, all action. Or if racing is more your thing, there’s an amazing line-up starting with the Motorcycle Grand National Race Weekend on Saturday 8 – Sunday 9 July with star riders Guy Martin and John McGuinness.

Plus racing school driving experiences, giant car boot sales, Startline under 17 driving experiences and more.

Until 3 September six skeletons discovered in Bristol will be on display at M Shed alongside six skeletons from the Museum of London’s 20,000-strong collection – bringing to life stories that have long been hidden. The individuals on display include a Bronze Age man with a spearhead lodged in his spine, to a decapitated Roman woman, and children with conditions linked to poor nutrition – each providing a personal insight into the human history of both cities.

Alongside the exhibition, M Shed and the University of Bristol have developed The Bone Lab, a space where children can discover some of the science behind the stories. Children will learn how to distinguish between a male and female skeleton and how to identify what diseases and injuries the people had by searching for hidden clues and hearing from experts of the excavation site, lab and museum.

Entry to the exhibition is pay what you think.

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VICTORIA ART GALLERY Bridge Street, Bath BA2 4AT Tel: 01225 477233 Web: victoriagal.org.uk Dragons will take over Victoria Art Gallery in Bath this summer for a family orientated show, Here Be Dragons (22 July – 8 October 2017). Ever popular in literature, films and art, the dragon is a creature to be loved and loathed, perhaps, but never cuddled, stroked or offended. Visitors to this awe-inspiring exhibition can expect to encounter a veritable dragon’s den – in two and three dimensions – crammed with creatures that have leapt out of their favourite books. Images by some of the world’s best children’s illustrators, including Chris Riddell (Ottaline and Goth Girl), Axel Scheffler (The Gruffalo), Quentin Blake and Cressida Cowell (How to Train Your Dragon) will be on show, along with more than 70 other pieces, with something for visitors of all ages, from touch and feel art for babies to scary, fire-breathing dragons for older fans. Lots of exciting dragon events, workshops and storytelling sessions will take place at the gallery over the coming months.

WILTSHIRE MUSIC CENTRE Ashley Road, Bradford on Avon BA15 1DZ Tel: 01225 860100 Web: wiltshiremusic.org.uk Wiltshire Music Centre will host a month of creative and musical activities for children and young people throughout the school summer holidays. This year’s programme includes a contemporary dance intensive course with award-winning Neon Dance Company (2 – 3 August) and Street Theatre, where budding actors will devise a new play in two days (17 – 18 August). Young rockers can experience playing in a band at Rock It (31 July / 1 August), and for aspiring composers and songwriters there’s a three-day course where participants will write new music based on a folk tale (14 – 16 August). For little ones aged 0 – 12 months and toddlers, there are workshops with singing, storytelling, crafts and plenty of messy fun. There’ll also be screenings of Disney films, including Toy Story and Beauty and the Beast, where audience members are invited to come dressed as their favourite characters. Visit: wiltshiremusic.org.uk to book.

BATH ARTISAN MARKET Queen Square, Bath Sunday 30 July and Sunday 27 August, 10am – 4pm Web: bathartisanmarket.com Spend a day in one of Bath’s finest Georgian squares at this large independent market, that has more than 50 stalls selling everything local, handmade and scrumptious. There’s a large artisan section that showcases the best of the region’s talent – from textiles to art, to jewellery and homewares, designermaker, vintage and children’s toys and clothes.

There’s also a large food section selling everything from Indian lunches to local cheese, bread and chutneys. Not forgetting plenty to drink including craft beer and coffee, and there’s lots of places to sit and soak up the lively atmosphere too. Kids and dogs welcome.

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SUMMER | FUN

ROMAN BATHS Stall Street, Bath BA1 1LZ Tel: 01225 477785 Web: romanbaths.co.uk The Roman Baths is one of the finest spas of the ancient world. From 17 June to 31 August the site stays open until 10pm. Beneath the flickering torches visitors can walk on the 2,000 year old pavements and experience the Romans in a new light. Free to Discovery Card holders, discounted adult ticket after 5pm. There will be lots of fun activities happening this summer, such as workshops where children can learn how to make their own Roman standard or a marvellous mosaic.

THE HOLBURNE MUSEUM Great Pulteney Street, Bath BA2 4DB Tel: 01225 388569 Web: holburne.org The museum’s current exhibition Tapestry: Here & Now is on until 1 October, and is £10 per person, free for under 16s. The Holburne is holding free creative art activities in the Sackler Discovery Centre, where children can learn the art of tapestry, or adults can attend a talk to learn more about the design process involved in contemporary tapestry making. The museum is also holding a variety of workshops throughout the summer including early years activities, summer art camps, the bronze art award, art masterclasses and family workshops. Find out more online and tel: 01225 388568 to book. Adults can enjoy after-hours access to the museum’s galleries and exhibition until 9pm on the last Friday of each month. Relax with friends and a drink, share some nibbles and enjoy music in the Garden Café.

MILL ON THE BRUE VISIT CORSHAM Corsham Town Council, Town Hall, High Street, Corsham SN13 0EZ Tel: 01249 702130 Web: corsham.gov.uk Take to the streets of Corsham for a photographic treasure hunt. Based on Andy Rose’s Corsham in Focus book, this free child-friendly version features 20 sneaky pictures of things to find, from strange engravings to weird windows. Look high, look low – you’ll see Corsham in a completely different way. You’ve got the whole of the summer holidays to find them all, and you might even win a prize. And when you’re done, there are great places to eat and drink and lots of independent shops to visit. Pick up an entry form from the Town Hall, or download a copy from Corsham Town Council’s website.

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Trendle Farm, Tower Hill, Bruton BA10 0BA Tel: 01749 812307 Email: info@millonthebrue.co.uk Web: millonthebrue.co.uk What is the best summer day camp for kids?

Mill on the Brue Outdoor Activity Centre in Bruton, Somerset of course! Having been open for 35 years, the team at Mill on the Brue really know what kids like. Fun and excitement including huge zip wires, climbing tower plus 10 metre Big Jump, canoeing, rafting, archery, muddy assault courses, fire lighting, archery, crafts, rocket firing, high ropes, clay oven cooking, air rifle shooting, giant water slide, challenging tasks and much, much more, all in 25 acres of woods, fields and river valley. Summer day camps for seven – 12 years, Mondays to Fridays, 17 July – 18 August, £58 per day, weekly £262, all activities (at least five a day), snacks, and two course cooked lunch. Mini-Mobsters for five and six year olds – £20 per session, Wednesdays 2 / 9 / 16 August. Booking essential.

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SUMMER | FUN

WELLS CATHEDRAL Cathedral Green, Wells BA5 2UE Tel: 01749 674483 Web: wellscathedral.org.uk Escape for a few hours to Wells Cathedral this summer. Set in the heart of medieval Wells and easily reached by car and public transport from Bristol, Bath and the west country. Self-guided family trails and free family creative workshops will be available throughout the summer or join one of the regular free daily tours with one of the cathedral’s highly trained guides. Available every day (except Sundays), no booking is required, and highlights could include the magnificent West Front, beautiful scissor arches, Chapter House and steps and the medieval Vicars’ Close. The cathedral also runs free window walks and embroideries taster tours on most Saturdays and Wednesdays (available April – October) from 11.10am. Why not make a day of it with refreshments in the cathedral café? Or visit the popular Wells Market which takes place every Wednesday and Saturday. No entrance fee but donations are very welcome. More details of all events and activities are available online.

THE GOLFING HOLE Spectrum, Mead Way, Swindon SN5 7UT Tel: 01793 524646 Web: thegolfinghole.com The Golfing Hole is an 18-hole indoor adventure themed golf course designed to fit in well with Swindon’s industrial background. The course features a range of different holes to test your putting skills, and after your round you can enjoy some drinks and food, maybe play a game of pool, air hockey or table football. It’s a great place to celebrate a birthday, enjoy a night out with friends, or for some family fun. The centre even holds corporate events, marriage ceremonies and stag and hen parties. Open from 10am daily during the summer holidays. Tickets: adults (over 16s) £7, students and concessions £6, five – 16 years £5.50, under 5s £3.50, family of four £22, group of four adults £25.

Minimum age: four years. Please note The Golfing Hole is located on the first floor via a staircase. A lift is not available.

WOOKEY HOLE CAVES The Mill, High Street, Wookey Hole, Wells BA5 1BB Tel: 01749 672243 Web: wookey.co.uk Escape the heat for a day at Wookey Hole this summer, with more events running than ever before. A whole new world underground is waiting to be explored where never before seen caves have been blasted and uncovered. Get to grips with the history of the caves, and learn how they were formed and who lived in them. Special events include the Superhero Circus Show – a daily showcase of young performers who will unicycle and skate their way round the theatre and dazzle you with juggling, hula hooping, trapeze tricks and magical illusions. Also new for this season is the 4D cinema experience showing Happy Family – join the adventure and meet Harold, bat companion to the Witch of Wookey Hole, as they are in the middle of an experiment that has gone horribly wrong. Can you help? This show promises surprises and thrills.

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WOOKEY HOLE READER OFFER Wookey Hole Caves has a special offer for readers. Present this voucher from the magazine and enjoy 20% off entry, valid for up to five people. No photocopies accepted.

Not valid with any other discount, offer or special events. Ref B&BMAGSUMMER.

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SUMMER | FUN

FASHION MUSEUM Assembly Rooms, Bennett Street, Bath BA1 2QH Tel: 01225 477789 Web: fashionmuseum.co.uk The Fashion Museum Bath is one of the world’s great collections of historical and contemporary dress. The headline exhibition, A History of Fashion in 100 Objects, is complemented by Lace in Fashion which shows how lace has been used in fashion from the 1500s to present day. There’s an opportunity to dress up too.

BRISTOL MUSEUM & ART GALLERY Queens Rd, Bristol BS8 1RL Tel: 0117 922 3571 Web: bristolmuseums.org.uk/bristol-museum-and-art-gallery This summer travel back in time 150 million years at Bristol Museum & Art Gallery and meet a fearsome Jurassic beast – the pliosaur. Bristol was a very different place 150 million years ago. Warm seas covered the land where the city stands today and while dinosaurs walked the land and pterosaurs were flying in the skies, marine reptiles dominated the seas. One of the biggest and fiercest of all was the pliosaur. The length of a bus with sharp teeth the size of bananas, four huge flippers and crushingly powerful jaws, the pliosaur was the ultimate underwater predator. There is nothing alive like them today. Visitors can come face to face with an enormous Pliosaurus called Doris. This full-sized interactive model will be a memorable experience for children and adults alike.

Not only will visitors get to meet the beast, afterwards a Jurassic Explorer guide will take you on a journey through the museum to discover more about Doris’ world – including exploring the dinosaur, geology and fine art galleries.

Entry to the exhibition is pay what you think.

THE EDGE University of Bath, Bath BA2 7AY Tel: 01225 386 777 Web: edgearts.org Come and play the brutalist way! Bring the whole family to contemplate the optimism and new perspectives on play that brutalism brought with it.

Children (and their grownups) can try out the exhibits and you can draw your own conclusions. The exhibition, The Brutalist Playground, is part architectural installation, part playground and raises questions around design for play, from both historic and contemporary perspectives. There’s also a new installation as part of the playground, from Turner Prize-winning artists Assemble and Simon Terrill, who are creating a Jeep – a vehicle beloved by brutalist architects, The Smithsons. Families are welcomed to the café and terrace, where you can buy a range of delicious sandwiches, salads, snacks and cakes.

BATH ARTISAN BRUNCH MARKET Green Park Station, BA1 1JB Sunday 9 July and Sunday 13 August, 9.30am – 3.30pm Web: bathartisanmarket.com Save yourself for Sunday’s best-ever breakfast at the Bath Artisan Brunch Market at Green Park Station. Here you’ll find a wide variety of street food stalls selling delicious dishes from South African and Caribbean curries to vegan sweet or savoury breakfasts to German sausages and, of course, artisan coffee. There’s plenty of seating in this quirky venue (a former railway station with a heritage glass roof) and there’s oodles of other stalls selling craft beer, cheese, bread and locally made homewares and gifts, all of a high standard sold by friendly traders. Plus there’s affordable kids’ craft workshops running all day.

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DRAGONS ROAR INTO CITY

As the founders of the Bath Children’s Literature Festival, John and Gill McLay announce the star-studded lineup for this autumn’s programme they warm us up with a summer holiday treat at the Victoria Art Gallery

W

ho doesn’t love a dragon? Perhaps you imagine them as fearful winged creatures swooping down breathing fire, to be adored as cute waddling characters, or admired as an inspiring myth?

John and Gill McLay, founders of the annual Bath Children’s Literature Festival, know a lot about dragons and about children’s fascination with them. They’re both in book publishing, are parents and John is the author of the popular The Dragon’s Dentist book for younger readers. While putting together the biggest ever line-up of writers, illustrators and events for the 2017 children’s book festival, the Bathbased pair have also made time to curate Here Be Dragons, an exhibition for the publicly owned Victoria Art Gallery.

The exhibition, which opens on Saturday 22 July with an all-day public Lego build-a-dragon workshop to How To Train Your Dragon illustrator Cressida Cowell’s design, will show 2D and 3D depictions of dragons to entertain and entrance visitors of all ages. There’ll be artwork from such luminaries as Quentin Blake, Goth Girl illustrator Chris Ridell and Axel Scheffler, creator of The Gruffalo, with more than 70 pieces of dragonalia brought together in the gallery’s exhibition 48 TheBATHMagazine

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hall. There will be a story corner where adults and children can browse through their favourite dragon tales and the gallery shop will have dragon books. There’ll also be a depiction of the Bath skyline over which children will be able to add their own pictures of dragons, filling the sky with flying monsters of all shapes and sizes.

And the mythical beasts won’t be confined within the walls of the gallery. There’s to be a dragons’ egg trail around the city. Obviously, actual dragons’ eggs are as rare as hens’ teeth these days, so organisers are instead hiding eight virtual eggs around the city streets and setting up a free app from 22 July (from iTunes or Google) so people can hunt for them. Follow the compass in the app to find eight posters around Bath, each featuring the work of a children’s illustrator. Point your device at the poster and a virtual egg will appear and be added to your collection. On each egg is a gold letter. Find them all and complete the anagram. You could be in with a chance of winning a goodie bag of signed books, toys and other treats.

Gill McLay said: “In everything we do, we try to bring together art, story and entertainment and the exhibition will do just that. A true celebration of the illustrator, we hope this familyfocused exhibition will bring families together in their love of dragons and the world of imagination.”

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Events throughout the summer begin with the Lego workshop from 10.30am to 4.30pm on Saturday 22 July, followed by dragon mask making on Wednesday 27 July for under sevens, with more events planned for August. There will also be story telling sessions. n Here be Dragons runs from Saturday 22 July until Sunday 8 October at Victoria Art Gallery, Bridge Street, Bath BA2 4AT. The gallery is open daily, 10.30am to 5pm. Admission to the exhibition is £4,or £3.50 for over 65s, but free to under 21s and anyone owning a Discovery Card (free to residents of Bath and North East Somerset). To find out more visit: victoriagal.org.uk.

DRAGONS’ DEN: main picture, the front cover of The Dragon with a Chocolate Heart, illustrated by Freya Hartas Inset, from The Dragon’s Hoard Stories from the Viking Sagas,

by Cate James

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CITY | OF | FESTIVALS

STARS FLY IN FOR GOOD READ This year’s Bath Children’s Literature Festival offers the biggest programme yet, including some familiar faces

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omedian Miranda Hart and Bath favourite, children’s author Jacqueline Wilson, and two former Children’s Laureates, Michael Rosen and Chris Ridell, are among the star-studded line-up for the biggest ever Bath Children’s Literature Festival, to be held at the end of September.

Once again, festival artistic directors and founders John and Gill McLay have secured a world-class collection of visiting writers and illustrators to thrill young book lovers. Their mission is to bring fun and laughter: it’s a chance for children, young people and adults to meet the creators of their literary heroes.

The 2017 Bath Children’s Literature Festival runs from Friday 29 September to Sunday 8 October, promising events suitable for the tiniest pre-reading tot right through to the often challenging, thoughtprovoking Young Adult teenage readership.

Headliners include the UK’s number one bestselling author Julia Donaldson, who created The Gruffalo, Room on the Broom and Stick Man; Liz Pichon, the author and illustrator behind the Tom Gates series and author and illustrator of the How To Train Your Dragon books, Cressida Cowell.

Also coming are Bath-born writer Jacqueline Wilson, best known for her books and TV series Tracy Beaker and Hetty Feather and actor and comedian Miranda Hart, who has written her first children’s book The Girl With The Lost Smile. As you’d imagine the book is big on humour and happiness, celebrating the power of the imagination and true friendship.

Festival goers will also have the chance to see Francesca Simon, Eoin Colfer, Derek Landy, Harry Hill, Ade Edmonson, David Baddiel, Nadiya Hussain, Maggie Aderin-Pocock, Ben Faulks, Christian O’Connell, Greg James and Chris Smith and Gemma Cairney to name but a few.

NATIONAL TREASURES: Bath-born Jacqueline Wilson and comedian Miranda Hart are bringing their warmth and humanity to the 2017 Bath Children’s Literature Festival For more details visit: bathfestivals.org.uk Keep up with latest developments on Facebook (BathFestivals) and on Twitter (@Bathfestivals), use the hashtage #BathKidsLitFest The artist who created this year’s programme cover is the author and illustrator of the Tom Gates series of books, Liz Pichon

Julia Donaldson is to introduce The Ugly Five, the characters from her new picture book with Axel Scheffler.

Fans of Liz Pichon’s Tom Gates series will be able to attend an interactive event, offering reading, drawing, doodling and a live performance from Tom’s favourite band Dude3.

Cressida Cowell will launch the first of a new series of books called The Wizards Of Once – expect tales of wizards, warriors, giants and sprites. Jacqueline Wilson – always a big draw in the city of her birth – takes her audience on a journey through her life in writing. She’ll talk about some of her best-loved characters and books including Vicky Angel and The Cat Mummy, plus her newest book Wave Me Goodbye, set in the Second World War. Great British Bake Off winner and Junior Bake Off judge, Nadiya Hussain, shares favourite recipes and stories from her new cookbook for families, Nadiya’s Bake Me a Festive Story.

Also a familiar face on our TV screens is actor, comedian and musician, and father of three Ade Edmondson, who will talk about his love of books and what inspired him to become a writer. He will take his audience back in time with his latest book Tilly and the Time Machine.

Another comedian, David Baddiel, talks about his brilliantly funny books The Parent Agency, The Person Controller and his most recent book,

AniMalcolm. And fellow TV funnyman Harry Hill, talks about his book Matt Millz, about a 12-year-old desperate to be a stand-up comedian.

Horrid Henry author Francesca Simon and author of the Arthur trilogy, Kevin Crossley-Holland, take a look at Norse mythology.

The Young Adult (YA) programme includes BBC Radio 1 presenter and former fashion stylist Gemma Cairney, with pop-culture obsessive Young Adult author Amy Alward, and author of Beautiful Broken Things, Sara Barnard, who will talk about all things teen when it comes to the latest book picks.

The festival will be celebrating the 20th anniversary of the publication of the first Harry Potter book, the Philosopher’s Stone, with a quiz with the four Hogwarts houses. Children will have the chance to take part in a sorting ceremony, a game of Quidditch, potions classes and much more. Special guest is award-winning artist and illustrator for the Harry Potter books, Jim Kay, who will talk about his ideas and inspirations behind bringing the characters to life.

The Cat in the Hat is 60 years old so there’ll be a celebration of Dr Seuss’s iconic tale plus there’ll be events featuring characters such as Doctor Who, Winnie the Pooh, Elmer, Mog, Mr. Men and Molly Mischief, and the Moomins.

General ticket sales begin on Monday 10 July. Visit: bathfestivals.org.uk or call: 01225 462231. n

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ART | EXHIBITIONS

TEXTURES AND TEXTILES High summer sees the city’s galleries in full bloom with an eclectic mix of art in various media THE HOLBURNE MUSEUM Great Pulteney Street, Bath Tel: 01225 388569 Open: Daily, 10am – 5pm (11am Sundays) Admission is free, but for the special exhibitions there is a £10 entrance charge TAPESTRY: HERE AND NOW Until 1 October This exhibition celebrates the vibrancy of contemporary tapestry-weaving. It brings together the work of international makers to show innovative approaches to the art.

Alongside British tapestry weavers, the exhibition features artists from Australia, Norway, Latvia, Japan and the USA with more than 20 artists represented, including Erin Riley, Caron Penney, Ai Ito, Jilly Edwards, Yasuko Fujino and Fiona Rutherford. Their work explores themes of enduring relevance including how we respond to nature and the urban environment, how tapestry can tell personal and political stories, and the skill of the hand-made.

The Holburne’s Arts tapestry (1934 – 5)

by Edward McKnight Kauffer is also on

Detail of Let’s Pretend by Saori Sakai

show for the first time. Here and Now was curated by the National Centre for Craft and Design in partnership with Lesley Millar, Professor of textile culture and director of the International Textile Research Centre at the University for the Creative Arts.

On Saturday 15 July there’s a chance to take part in a one day tapestry weaving workshop with master weaver Caron Penney. Students will investigate basic weaving techniques suitable for beginners including hatching and colour blending. By the end of the day they will have completed one sample.

The group will work on pre-warped frames provided by the tutor, wools will be available and all equipment will be available to borrow.

Caron Penney has been making tapestry for over 20 years both as a master weaver for artists like Tracey Emin, Gillian Ayres and Martin Creed, but also independently creating work.

She is a member of the Contemporary Applied Arts and the 62 Group of Textiles Artists. Places on the workshop are £50, to book tel: 01225 388569.

ONE TWO FIVE GALLERY 4 Abbey Green, Bath Open: Wednesday to Saturday, 11am – 5pm, Sunday, 11am – 4pm Tel: 07803 033 629 Visit: onetwofivegallery.co.uk

OPEN GARDEN 165 Newbridge Hill, Bath BA1 3PX SCULPTURE TO ENHANCE A GARDEN Saturday 15 and Sunday 16 July, 11am – 5pm

Three local sculptors come together to showcase their dynamic sculpture within a garden setting. Tea and homemade cake and scones are served from the terrace overlooking the garden. Entrance is £3.

Proceeds from the refreshments to the Peggy Dodd Centre in Combe Down for those suffering from memory loss. Contact helen@thehiddengardensofbath.co.uk or tel: 07793085267. Website: thehiddengardensofbath.co.uk.

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WEARABLE ART Throughout July The summer cut of wearable art from Carole Waller in scarves and clothes continues to explore the theme of Georgian architecture and lace in the year of the anniversary of the building of the Royal Crescent. Also find contemporary jewellery in unusual materials by renowned British artists, and cool ceramics for the table and the wall by Gary Wood at one two five gallery in the corner of Abbey Green.

Design by Carole Waller Photograph: Chris Daw

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ART | EXHIBITIONS

NICK CUDWORTH GALLERY London Street, top of Walcot Street, Bath Closed on Mondays. Tel: 01225 445221 Visit: nickcudworth.com

Etched lino print by Howard Jeffs

WALCOT MORTUARY CHAPEL Walcot Street, Bath Open every day, 11am – 7pm

SUMMER SHOW Until end of August A wide variety of paintings and prints that represent Nick’s interests and inspirations including music, portraits and landscapes. July Stile is part of a series of works that depict the flora and fauna of each month throughout the year while looking through a stile.

Most stiles he painted were to be found on his walks in the Cotswolds.

July Stile by Nick Cudworth

HOWARD JEFFS Wednesday 28 June – Saturday 8 July Howard Jeffs will be showing recent large etched lino prints and monotype prints based on a circular format, created in his studio in France and at Bath Artist Printmakers Workshop in Bath. Howard is an elected member of the Royal Society of Painter-Etchers based at the Bankside Gallery in London and of Bath Artists’ Society and is showing in the society’s summer show at Victoria Art Gallery. He lectured in the Department of Fine Art at Goldsmiths College for more than 30 years and has had prints selected for the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition.

VICTORIA ART GALLERY

By Pulteney Bridge Open daily, 10.30am – 5pm Tel: 01225 477233 Visit: victoriagal.org.uk BATH SOCIETY OF ARTISTS ANNUAL OPEN EXHIBITION Until Saturday 15 July A treat for art lovers, as we enjoy sculptures, drawings and paintings. The annual exhibition attracts around 1,000 entries, some of them well known artists, others emerging talents. All the pieces are for sale and, with around 13,000 visitors, this is a great opportunity to reach a wider audience.

Visitors can pick their favourite piece and vote for it to win the people’s choice award.

ADAM GALLERY 13 John Street, Bath Tel: 01225 480406 Open: Monday to Saturday, 9.30am – 5.30pm Email: info@adamgallery.com Twitter: @Adam Gallery SUMMER SHOW Throughout July A mixed show by some of the gallery’s favourite artists.

Blossom on the Plum by Marie Scott

EMMA ROSE Upstairs at 78 Walcot Street, Bath (above Bath Sofa and Curtain Company) Visitors welcome Open: Monday – Saturday, 10am – 5pm Tel: 07885235915 or 01225 424 424 Visit: emmaroseartworks.com SUBTLE SKIES Throughout July An exhibition of land, sea and sky celebrating the power of colour and its ability to work with subtlety on our spirit and emotions. These semi-abstract paintings

by Emma Rose are inspired by an emotional response to the natural world, in particular to the quality of light, which is a vital part of

Copse II by Emma Rose

the mood of the work. A strong sense of place, intimacy and intensity abounds, with the idea of a glimpse into a remembered reality. Originals, limited edition giclée prints along with canvas prints and cards.

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ART | EXHIBITIONS

GALLERY NINE 9b Margarets Buildings, Bath Tel: 01225 319197 Visit: gallerynine.co.uk Open: Tuesday – Saturday, 10am – 5.30pm

ART AT THE HEART OF THE RUH Main corridor gallery, Royal United Hospital, Bath.

Open: 8am – 8pm daily

SUMMER EXHIBITION 7 July – 31 August Featuring handmade and collectable British artwork. Ian Mckay: gloriously fun colourful painted wood automata. Paul Philp: hand built ceramic vessels with multi- fired evolved surfaces, each piece unique. Nicola Rawlings: handmade statement jewellery for both everyday and special days. Carla Edwards: colourful and technical resin contemporary jewellery with precious metals. Tamsin Abbott: wonderfully illustrated stained glass pieces inspired by the the folklore of the countryside. Kevin Hughes RI: highly respected evocative watercolour paintings of landscape, buildings and interiors made with expert skill and years of experience.

Night Bird by Ian Mckay

Egypt Woods by Paul Mitchell

Cogden Mist by D Smith

CIRCLEBATH CircleBath Hospital, Foxcote Ave, Peasedown St John, Bath BA2 8SQ. Open: 8am – 8pm daily THE TRANSFORMED LAND Until end of October The Transformed Land collects work from various artists who are interested in the theme of place. Some frequently return to the same place, others are visitors, some are residents, and some are creators of imagined places. This exhibition doesn’t limit itself to real places; it also delves into imagined

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places. The participating artists are: David Daniels, Russell Denman, Andrew George, Eleanor Goulding, Andrew Lansley, Jason Miller, Paul Newman, Linn O’Carroll, Howard Phipps, Jennifer Newbury, Sae Murai, David Smith, Clive Walley, and Deborah Westmancoat.

All works are for sale with a third going to the charity Art at the Heart of the Royal United Hospital in Bath, helping to improve the healing environment for patients, staff, visitors and volunteers at the hospital.

LCUK PHOTOGRAPHY Until 12 July One of three exhibitions running at the hospital, this particular exhibition focuses on The Landscape Collective UK (LCUK), which was conceived in 2014 by a group of well-established landscape photographers based in and around the south west of England. The aim of the group was quite simple – to meet once every two months to socialise and discuss their work either in print or book form. Since its conception the group has grown to approximately 18 members and includes some of the most talented professional and amateur landscape photographers currently working in the UK. They even have the recipient of the 2015 Landscape Photographer of the Year. Donations received by the art charity go directly into maintaining and continuing the broad range of award winning arts projects on offer at the hospital.

Visit: artatruh.org.

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nick cudworth gallery

Lansdown Ridge. Oil on canvas

SUMMER SHOW

An exhibition of paintings and prints by Nick 1st July – 31 August A wide variety of paintings and prints that represent Nick’s interests and inspirations including landscapes, music and portraits

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

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ART | EXHIBITIONS

BRADFORD ON AVON SCULPTURE GARDEN Lynchetts, 15 Woolley Street, Bradford in Avon, Wiltshire Open: 11am – 6.30pm, closed Mondays, open late Friday 30 June until 9pm, entrance is £3

Meadow Reflection

by Claire Wiltsher

BATH CONTEMPORARY 35 Gay Street, Bath Email: gallery@bathcontemporary.com Visit: bathcontemporary.com Twitter: @BathContemp Tel: 01225 461230 Open: Monday to Saturday, 10am – 5pm

THE SCULPTURE GARDEN Saturday 24 June – Sunday 2 July The Sculpture Garden, now in its fifth year, is the first event of the Bradford on Avon Arts Festival which follows later in the summer. Exhibits, submitted by local sculptors, are both abstract and figurative, thought provoking and occasionally playful.

The gardens of Lynchetts enjoy views over Bradford on Avon. Tickets on the gate or online: boaartsfestival.com.

THE BEAUFORT 1 London Road, Beaufort (the Balustrade), Bath Open: when the restaurant is open.

Free admission Tel: 01225 469127 Email: david@real-images.com

CORINNA BUTTON RE 10 – 22 July Portraits exploring themes of feminine identity, which meld the language of paint and print.

ALICE LINFORD FORTE 24 July – 5 August Atmospheric abstract paintings exuding tranquility and optimism, and drawing inspiration largely from the landscape.

Plus mixed exhibition in the rear gallery of work from artists including Kristan Baggaley, Kerry Harding, Ben Kelly, Alina Maksimenko, Norma Stephenson PS, Ellen Watson, Claire Wiltsher.

Flower Power David Ringswell

DAVID RINGSWELL Tuesday 1 August – Saturday 30 September A one man exhibition by landscape painter David Ringswell. The artist says: “I aim to present a contemporary perspective on some familiar places. While my work is representational, it retains a painterly quality. I often focus on the darker side of Bath architecture; peeling paint and stained stonework” Originals and custom prints on sale from £200.

DAVID SIMON CONTEMPORARY 3 – 4 Bartlett Street, Bath Tel: 01225 460189 Visit: davidsimoncontemporary.com Open: Monday – Saturday, 10am – 6pm, and Wednesday, 2 – 6pm

Looking Down Bartlett Street

by Kit Glaisyer

KIT GLAISYER Garden Flat Gallery, 48 Great Pulteney Street, Bath Email: kitglaisyer@gmail.com or tel: 07983 465789 to arrange an appointment, visit: kitglaisyer.com A GOLDEN CITY Saturdays and Sundays 11am – 5pm, or by appointment Kit Glaisyer explores a personal and private sense of place in the city.

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FLORIBUNDANCE ABSOLUTE: PARASTOO GANJEI AND CHLOË HOLT RCA FRSA Friday 7 July – Saturday 5 August This exhibition features work by two female artists, Parastoo Ganjei and Chloe Holt.

Their work spans continents and histories, expressing their love of the natural objects of choice to paint, through texture, intensity and a stylishly limited palette of depth and tone, over quantity of colours. From England, to the Royal Palaces of Brunei, collectors are responding to the emotion compelling you when you are standing in front of Holt’s and Ganjei’s paintings. The techniques both artists employ are complicated and thoughtful, resulting in the type of work which draws you back again and again to notice more. Both women seek the rarest types of flowers and objects to paint, usually set against dark background colours – the particular type of oldfashioned, heavily petalled roses of the kind Fantin-LaTour would have had in his studio.

Sol by Chloe Holt

Too complicated by Parastoo Ganjei

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Through the Haze by Sally Lancaster, 24” x 30”, Oil on Canvas, £3500

The Art Gallery home of ArtGallery.co.uk

Spencer House, 34 Long Street, Tetbury, Gloucestershire GL8 8AQ Tues-Sat. 9.15-4.45pm. Tel: 01666 505152 help@artgallery.co.uk

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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

Claire Rendall

Interior Designer

I

was brought up in the west country, so Bath has always been very special to me. I’ve always loved the architectural texture of the city, its creative independent shops, galleries and restaurants. I love the large light-filled Georgian rooms, the glimpses of countryside on the surrounding hills and going to the dentist in the Circus always makes me smile.

I started my career as a graphic designer working mainly on food packaging and having that eye for the smallest detail has stood me in good stead. I love working in three dimensions so it was an easy transition from packaging to designing furniture and interiors.

My first interior project was for the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden followed by Rank Screen Advertising in Wardour Street, Soho and I haven’t looked back.

I’ve been extremely fortunate and worked on some fabulous properties. I’ve designed furniture and interiors for Lord Bath at Longleat House. He wanted his penthouse apartment to reflect the 21st century – however, this was in 1993 which was a bit of a challenge! He also wanted furniture and interiors to be unique to him and that’s always a joy to create.

I also designed for and presented on BBCOne’s DIY SOS. For this my brief was to create aspirational interiors using high street goods. There are some really lovely designs out there for not much money, especially in lighting. Recently I’ve worked on two luxury harbour side properties in Sydney. I designed the entire properties from outdoor swimming pool terraces, water features and gardens through to the interiors including bespoke furniture and fittings. Even the underground garage had a makeover using 23,000 limestone stets (square cobbles) and a bronzed tree. This was literally a dried tree that I had bronze coated and added tumbling bronze leaves. It was a fabulous feature – it’s always fun when interiors cross over into sculpture.

As a designer, I don’t sell a particular style. I love historic buildings as much as new builds. My job is to make my clients’ dreams come true whether it’s sumptuous or contemporary chic. The process is about me understanding the way the client uses their space. Good design is as much about ease of use and practicality as it is about looking good.

I’ve also been involved with eco super yachts. This has led to me collaborating with Van de Sant who has asked me to design a range of furniture using plastic recovered from the oceans.

Initially for yachts, we’re also looking at the UK and Australian markets. It’s something I’m really passionate about.

There’s an estimated five trillion pieces of plastic out there. The problem is so acute that plastic has entered our food chain.

The furniture we’re creating is contemporary, chic and fabulous quality. Each piece is numbered and fully recyclable at the end of its current life. I’m also launching my own range of accessories based on images I’ve taken over the years.

Bath was always called The Graveyard of Ambition, but I find it anything but that. It’s always a joy to be able to call on the amazing array of really talented people. It’s no surprise that such a beautiful city attracts creative people and that’s probably what I love about it the most. n

PORTRAIT: Neill Menneer at Spirit Photographic.

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

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FOOD | NEWS

FOLLOW THE BIG CHEESE TRAIL

TITBITS

■ After working in kitchens for 12 years and in catering for the past four, Beth Al Rikabi, pictured, – known as The Free Range Chef – has released her first cookbook.

Inspired by her travels and interest in maintaining a healthy diet, Tales from my Happy Place features a variety of vegetarian recipes suitable for all cooking abilities. Visit: thefreerangechef.com. Books are £5. Follow @bethsbakes on Twitter.

■ White Row Farm is holding a tasting day on Saturday 8 July where visitors can taste the farm’s home grown and reared produce, and items from local suppliers. Try the taramasalata or smoked salmon at the fish counter, or sample cheese from the deli.

Plus there will be a chance to win a hamper full of goodies and vouchers. Free parking.

Visit: whiterowfarm.co.uk.

■ Entrepreneurs Mark and Rachel Allen and

Bath-based film producer Jonathan Willis have launched a bottled water range called Bath Water. The water comes from a pure, natural spring drawn from organic land on the Mendip Hills, from where Bath’s thermal water originates. Despite being renowned for its connections with water, Bath does not have its own range of spring water – until now. Visit: bathwater.co.uk.

A cheese themed treasure hunt is being held this month to mark the 70th anniversary of Bath’s twinning friendship with the Dutch town of Alkmaar.

Bath Comedy has teamed up with Visit Bath and the Bath-Alkmaar Twinning Association, with the help of the Alkmaar cheese merchants to place 75 Dutch cheeses in the shop windows of Bath during the week of Monday 10 to Sunday 16 July. Each cheese in the Big Cheese Trail will have a fascinating fact and a quiz question to answer, with the prize of an enormous cheese to be won for the most correct answers.

Pick up an entry form from participating independent shops or from the Tourist Information Centre, or download it from: bathcomedy.com.

Bath and Alkmaar was the world’s first twinning partnership, which saw the British city raise money to help Dutch families following the devastation and hunger caused DUTCH GIFT: cheeses from Alkmaar cheese market in the Second World War.

HAVE YOU GOT THE FIVE STAR TOUCH?

Entries are now being accepted for the 2017 South West Chef of the Year competition, which is open to professional and home cooks. Lead judge Michael Caines, who has championed the competition since 2004, said: “South West Chef of the Year has always aimed to not only provide a spring board for the region’s emerging chefs but also to inspire home cooks of all ages and to help young people to make cooking a career choice. I’ve always said that the south west is home to some of the best food in the world but the industry always needs new blood and I invite all those with a passion for cooking, for wonderful ingredients and the produce we have in abundance here in the region to enter South West Chef of the Year.”

The judges will be looking for competitors who display the highest standards of cooking as well as flair and creativity. The competition is renowned for its mentorship of contestants with those entering the final rounds receiving invaluable feedback in a supportive environment.

You have until 31 July to enter the different categories, which are; young professional chefs aged 19 to 24, students and apprentices, junior cooks under 16 years and home cooks. Visit: southwestchef.co.uk.

Entrants must devise and submit a twocourse menu that includes the compulsory ingredients set for their category. Those selected will be asked to recreate their menus at semi-finals and finals in the autumn.

CHEFS URGED TO GET STUCK IN TO GREAT BATH FEAST

Restaurant, pub and café owners, chefs and food producers are being invited to get involved in this autumn’s celebration of Bath food and drink known as the Great Bath Feast. The invitation is going out from VisitBath, Bath BID and The Pig Guide online foodie website.

Now in its fifth year, the Great Bath Feast will run from Saturday 23 September to Sunday 8 October. By associating with an award-winning event which drives 30,000 visits to the website: greatbathfeast.co.uk and generates £64,000 an estimated worth of press coverage businesses have the chance to increase awareness, footfall and customer loyalty as well as driving traffic to their own website and increase their social media profile.

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that have been successful in previous years include gourmet dinners, talks and tastings, demonstrations, foraging and foodie tours.

Great Bath Feast coincides with Organic Food Month and British Fortnight so businesses could highlight British and organic food already on their menu or experiment with new dishes. It is suggested they could create a Jane Austen themed event or something to mark the 250th anniversarry of Royal Crescent.

The Bath Good Food Awards dinner will be held as part of the celebrations, on Sunday 24 September at the new Apex City of Bath Hotel. The Tenner Treat promotion gives establishments the chance to offer their own deals, such as a light lunch with a drink to tea for two or a cocktail and canapé combination.

Participation forms are available from: greatbathfeast.co.uk/get-involved.

DIG IN: a previous Great Bath Feast community event

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BEHIND | THE | MENU

THE NEW KID ON THE BLOCK Melissa Blease goes behind the menu to talk to Michael Nizzero, executive chef at The Bath Priory

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aris has the George V; Los Angeles, the Beverly Hills.

London has the Dorchester, New York’s got the Carlyle and, when in Rome, it has to be the Raphael. But what has Bath got that all those cities haven’t? The Bath Priory Hotel and Spa, that’s what. Our very own quintessentially characterful, long-established world class escape-from-it-all sanctuary, complete with a Michelin-starred kitchen headed up by executive chef Michael Nizzero.

Before relocating to The Bath Priory in January, Belgium-born Michael cooked his way across the UK, Europe and Dubai, enjoyed a spell working under Michel and Alain Roux at the three Michelin starred Waterside Inn and, most recently, experienced a stint at The Ritz, London, where the team was awarded its first ever Michelin star. Michael also gained and held a Michelin star as executive chef at Hostellerie La Briqueterie between 2011 – 2015.

When it comes to professional pedigree, he epitomises the very meaning of the words.

Might Michael and The Bath Priory be a match made in heaven? We think so, and he’s settling in very nicely here indeed.

“I’ve had a lovely welcome to Bath, from my colleagues, our diners and from friends across the city,” says Michael, in a très seductive BelgianFrench accent that subtly exudes those classic intonations of chefdom.

“It’s been a great experience getting to know our guests, and everyone has been so friendly when I head out of the kitchen after service to introduce myself and say hello.”

But even those guests who might still expect to encounter former Bath Priory executive chef Sam Moody (who relocated to the Ballyfin, County Laois, Ireland in the autumn, after seven years at the hotel’s hob) wandering around in his whites most definitely don’t have anything to fear when they come to meet Michael.

“My overall vision is to cook good food that pleases the people who eat that food; taste and flavour are my main priorities. I’m not not in any way trying to reinvent cooking!

“My style could probably be described as modern classical French in theme. I aim for clean flavours with a delicate touch, but all our menus are 60 TheBATHMagazine

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prepared with seasonal ingredients, sourced as locally as possible and inspired by the places I have worked, but twisted my own way. You’ll encounter the classic stocks and sauces you’d expect from a French style but with plenty of citrus, for example, to lighten and lift. We’re working on our summer menus at the moment, and I aim to introduce updates of some favourite plates from the Waterside, Ritz and Hostellerie La Briqueterie, as well as some completely new dishes. I really look forward to hearing what guests think of them.”

And even though Michael is still a relative newbie on the Bath good food scene, feedback from those guests is proving that he and The Bath Priory are a perfect partnership. While there may indeed be plenty of shiny new ventures keeping our little city firmly on the urbane urban foodie map, Bath maintains strong foundations built on heritage – and Michael’s refined, genteel prandial playground is today living, lively proof that a longestablished ‘fine dining’ establishment can also feed contemporary great expectations in au courant fine style.

Still, The Bath Priory has a very important personal legacy that surely must be upheld: the not-so-small matter of regular visits from the Michelin men. “Michelin is a big part of my career and my life,” says Michael. “I won my first Michelin

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star when I was 29 years old, in 2012.

At the time, I was the youngest Michelin-starred chef in France.

Accolades such as that, once achieved, are treasured and give you confidence moving forward. No one can ever take the feeling those Michelin stars have given me away from me, but you can never afford to be too sure of yourself. I am under pressure to maintain The Bath Priory’s Michelinstarred status, yes of course I am!

But I always ask myself what I could do better, and constantly improve what I do.

“My very first job – in which I probably learned most of what I know today – was working under three Michelin starred chef Jean Pierre Bruneau in Brussels, many years ago; that experience taught me what excellence and high standards are all about, and I have brought that experience to Bath with me.”

But Michael’s personal foodie heritage goes back even further. “I fell in love with food at a very early age, and grew up within a culture of eating well,” he says. “My earliest food memory is probably my mother’s onion Stoemp (the Brussels variant of the Dutch Stamppot potato dish, but much richer) and my nonna’s tomato sauce. My dad was a very good cook too, so we always ate well at home.

Dad was the first person who inspired me to cook professionally; he was maître d’ at the The Hotel Amigo

MICHELIN MAN: This page, executive chef Michael Nizzero, and opposite, a selection of dishes from the menu at The Bath Priory

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Grand Place in Brussels for 45 years.

I was passionate about listening to the stories he would tell me about his role, which is why I enrolled for catering college myself. He also taught me to work hard too. I owe a great deal to my dad!”

Back to the future and I’m already eagerly anticipating my next booking at The Bath Priory, where Michael is keen to push a new dish of steamed wild sea bass with a seaweed crust and Champagne sauce into the summertime spotlight (“this was the first strong dish I created, and it’s been my signature dish since I got my very first Michelin star,” he says). Personally, I’d be happy to return for just a sniff of the lamb loin dish that’s on the menu at the time of writing (which comes with courgette, fregola,

lemon confit and basil), while I could gladly live on Michael’s salted caramel fondant with butterscotch, banana sorbet and lime.

If you’re looking for stylish creations that look as good as the menu description promises, you’ve definitely come to the right place. But an added bonus of The Bath Priory experience is the surprisingly nonscary price for such sophistication: a three course lunch here costs £30, which easily allows a mini-stretch of the budget to include a gin and tonic on the hotel’s glorious alfresco terrace, offering views across those beautifully-manicured lawns and kitchen garden, and conveniently adjacent to The Pantry – the hotel’s informal upmarket allday dining area, which even offers the option of The Bath Priory Burger on menus that

really do cater to all tastes, all day long.

“Bath is an amazing city, and coming here has been a good move for me, on many levels,” says Michael. Welcome to your new home, chef – your residency here is definitely a very good move for us too. n The Bath Priory, Weston Road, Bath BA1 2XT. Michael’s seven-course tasting menu is from £98 per person, or you can opt for the three course a la carte option for £85. Lunch at The Bath Priory: three courses £30 (£35 on Sunday). Afternoon tea is served every day between 3 – 4.30pm, and costs £30 for a full afternoon tea, or £42 to include a glass of Champagne. The Bath Priory also offers informal dining options in The Pantry. For further information or to book, visit: thebathpriory.co.uk or call 01225 331922.

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FOOD | HEROES

DELIVERING THE VERY BEST Melissa Blease meets local food hero Stephen Paul, founder of Three Bags Full

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he freshest milk you can get your hands on without having to keep your own cow in the back garden; eggs that were laid within the last 24 hours; coffee freshly roasted 48 hours before you put your brew on, bread baked by a local baker on the day you slice into it; cheese made on a farm a mere four miles away from your larder; fresh meat and poultry sourced from ethical farms within 15 miles of Bath . . . all delivered to your door on a no delivery charge basis at your command by a very friendly chap on a zero-emissions electric cargo bike – now that’s what I call going shopping.

But if this all sounds too good to be true, you’ve yet to encounter the Three Bags Full delivery service, launched by savvy entrepreneur-witha-heart Stephen Paul earlier this year.

Yes indeed, TBF is a very cool concept – and the on-trend food fashionistas of Bath have trusted their shopping list needs to Stephen’s panniers faster than you can say fenders. But like many fashionable new enterprises, Three Bags Full has its roots firmly planted in age-old British tradition.

“It’s actually an incredibly simple idea that in many ways harks back to the butchers’ bikes and milk float deliveries of yore,” says Stephen.

“The simplicity of the service is the real appeal: good local food delivered by bike, offering a win-win for the customer, the producers and the environment.”

And right now, with an estimated 90% of the UK’s population living in areas where levels of air pollution dramatically exceed WHO limits, Stephen’s business is a literal breath of fresh air.

Stephen spent 30 years working in publishing before grabbing the opportunity to follow a different career route around two years ago, when he read an article about how cargo bikes were being used in a number of continental cities to handle deliveries and help address the problems of air pollution and traffic congestion.

“As I live on the polluted, congested London Road, it all resonated very strongly with me, and the penny dropped: why not try and introduce an electric cargo bike food delivery service to Bath?” And so, last 62 TheBATHMagazine

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year, he set off for the International Cargo bike Festival in Nijmegen, Holland, held in a disused factory and playing host to global cargo bike manufacturers.

It was in Nijmegen that Stephen first laid eyes on his beloved, superslick Urban Arrow cargo bike, which comes complete with several interchangeable boxes including a cargobox for transporting conventional cargo and a family box for carrying up to three children, fitted with seat belts, a windscreen and a roof to keep the rain out. Was it love at first sight? Pretty much.

“But the most important thing about the Urban Arrow, for me, is that it has an electric motor which makes cycling up to the university or to the top of Lansdown Hill a breeze,” says Stephen. “I’ve left many a conventional cyclist puffing in my wake! The bikes don’t come cheap, however; they’re more expensive to

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buy than even a used van and it’ll take me a few years to pay off my investment. But my goodness, my bike is a beautiful thing!”

Indeed it is – and it’s a sight that’s becoming more and more familiar to Bathonians as both Stephen’s client and producers’ database gathers momentum at full pelt.

How does Stephen choose which producers to work with? “I’m very lucky to live in a region that offers such great local produce. And the very first step, for me, is to sample that produce. I have to love it before I can consider carrying it. I’m pretty fussy, so I hope that if I like it there’s a good chance other people will too – but of course, that’s hardly an exact science.

“The second step is all about the producers’ set-up. Any food business I work with has to be based within a 15 mile radius of Bath, and must be able to work to our short lead-times as I don’t hold any stock – for example,

PRECIOUS CARGO: main image, founder of Three Bags Full, Stephen Paul Opposite, Stephen’s delivery bike which is becoming a regular sight around Bath, and local produce that Stephen picks up for his customers

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FOOD | HEROES

our deadline for Wednesday deliveries is midnight on Monday. Orders received by that deadline are in turn ordered from the various producers straight away, and the produce is then collected very early on Wednesday morning and delivered to customers during our morning delivery round, or our two evening delivery rounds – regular sleep patterns have become a thing of the past for me.”

Ah, but at least there’s a future to look forward to. While Stephen is nowhere near claiming that TBF is an ‘all things to all people’ one-stop shop delivery service (“of course I can’t carry anywhere near as broad a product range as a supermarket can – yet!”), he knows that there are plenty of people out there – doubtless, reading these very words – who appreciate good food, care about their local community, are keen to support local producers and are anxious about the negative effects on our health caused by high levels of air pollution in Bath.

As orders with Stephen’s service grow every week, he’s even already spotting certain trends in the shopping habits of his regular customers, estimating that belly of pork is the most popular cut of meat in Bath right now. Alongside this, his customers can never have too many almond croissants from the Bertinet Bakery, or super-fresh quattro eggs from New Macdonald’s Farm, or too much creamy Jersey milk from Ivy House Farm.

Most recently, the Brown Cow Organics’ yoghurt range has joined the TBF party, while locally-produced cider, charcuterie and chocolate are waiting their turn on the guest list, and pipeline plans for future delivery options include the Three Bags Full dairy box.

So now that Stephen has cycled his way into our local food heroes leaderboard, which of other similarly-minded team mates would he choose to rank in his peloton?

“In truth, my personal food hero is in fact my French cousin Michel – he isn’t a professional chef and he’s possibly the most irritating person you could ever encounter in a kitchen. But he really knows how to cook, French-style, and he can make magic happen

from the simplest ingredients, which is the style of cooking that I really love.

“Back in the public realm, I know I’m not the first person to rave about Chai Walla in Kingsmead Square – everything about this little place is just brilliant, ditto Indian Temptation for their masala dosas. But if I’m looking for something sophisticated, it can only be Menu Gordon Jones.”

And if you’re looking for a simply sophisticated way to get the food you love delivered to your door at a time that suits you without it costing the earth, look no further; honestly, it’s better by bike. n Three Bags Full, threebagsfulldelivery.co.uk.

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TRISTAN DARBY Explores the ancient indigenous sun-kissed vines of southern Italy

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hether you’re heading there on holiday, or just looking for some great alternative summer wines to add, it’s worth exploring southern Italy’s ancient indigenous grape varieties. Fiano has been cultivated in southern Italy for 2,000 years. Volcanic slopes surrounding Naples in Italy’s Campania region are the grapes’ traditional home, producing one of Italy’s great white wines, Fiano di Avellino, but Fiano does well in other regions, too.

Mandra Rossa Fiano 2016 (£9.50 Great Western Wine) from Menfi in south west Sicily is one of my top tips for a reasonably priced summer white wine. At the risk of sounding like a wine toff, this really does taste like Sicilian sunshine in a glass. A refreshing well-balanced medium-bodied white, where ripe exotic tropical fruit flavours are tempered by a refreshing lick of basil-like herbs and an edge of citrus to make your mouth water.

Deliciously drinkable and good with all manner of simple fish, vegetable, pasta or chicken dishes.

Indigenous to eastern Sicily, Carricante has been grown the slopes of Mount Etna, for over 1,000 years.

Etna is Italy’s largest and most active volcano, and the Planeta Eruzione 1614 Carricante 2015 (£19.95 GWW) is named after her longest eruption in 1614 which lasted over ten years. Made from vines planted at 800m up on Etna (Carricante performs best at altitude) by Planeta, one of Sicily’s most respected and pioneering winemaking families, this is a remarkably fine, stylish, fresh and elegant wine. Pretty floral aromas pull you in for a mouthwatering sip where the intense sensation of minerals marries with crisp green apple and lightly honeyed citrus flavours, carrying the wine to a satisfyingly long, fresh and dry finish.

Utterly delicious. I could happily enjoy a chilled glass of this on its own in the heat of summer, but it’d also be great with grilled white fish, seafood risotto, crab linguine or pan fried scallops.

You’ll be hard pushed to find a better value Italian red than Biferno Rosso Riserva DOC Palladino 2012 (£8.50 GWW). The wine comes from southern Italy’s second smallest region, Molise, on the other side of the ‘leg’ from Naples. Nestled between neighbouring Abruzzo and Puglia, flanked by the Apennine mountains and Adriatic sea, Molise is rustic, agricultural, and relatively ‘undiscovered’ in terms of both tourism and wine – meaning there’s great value to be found here. Made from Montepulciano, one of southern Italy’s superstar grapes, blended with the ancient dark Aglianico grape for extra depth and richness, the wine ages for three years in big old Slavonian oak barrels to soften it and add complexity.

It’s full of slightly dusty rustic charm, with mouthwatering sour cherry flavours, a hint of spice and refreshing savoury herbs.

Smooth, quenching and interesting enough to enjoy on its own, but with enough boldness to pair with grilled meats, pizza, or aubergine based pasta. A fantastic staple wine and well worth the money.

Discover more at Tristan’s Southern Italy and Islands tasting on Wednesday 12 July at Great Western Wine.Tickets: £15 from: greatwesternwine.co.uk/events. n

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RECEIVE THE BATH MAGAZINE BY POST NEVER MISS OUT We deliver to over 20,000 addresses every month, and there’s plenty of pick up points around town. 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 £30 SUBSCRIBE ONLINE AT www.thebathmag.co.uk/subscribe or call: 01225 424 499

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THE US DELICIO GUIDE LOOKING FOR RESTAURANT INSPIRATION? The Delicious Guide to Bath featuring all the fave eateries and foodie treateries is available online at our website www.thebathmag.co.uk

Follow us on Twitter @thebathmagazine

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Join us on the Moonlight Walk!

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he Bath Moonlight Walk is Dorothy House’s biggest annual fundraiser and last year attracted almost 800 entrants who raised over £95,000 towards caring for people with lifelimiting illnesses.

This year, Dorothy House Hospice Care’s Bath Moonlight Walk will be held on Saturday 9th September, with support from top athlete, Paralympic Swimming Champion, Stephanie Millward and Jo Muir, Modern Pentathlete and sports ambassador for Dorothy House. The women-only sponsored 8km Moonlight Walk, now in its eleventh year, is an unmissable fundraising event for so many local women and starts from the SouthGate Shopping Centre in Bath at 10pm.

This year’s theme for the Bath Moonlight Walk is ‘Saturday Night Diva’ and aims to bring women together to celebrate life with their friends, mothers, daughters, aunts, grandmas and sisters and to champion all those women affected by, or instrumental in, end of life care in the community. Walkers are invited to dress in their best

glittery disco gear to celebrate the vital work of Dorothy House and share a great night out.

The Walk is open to women, aged 14 and over and takes in the stunning sights of the vibrant city of Bath. There’s a lot of fun planned before the Walk with a raffle competition to win a Mulberry handbag, free giveaways and fabulous merchandise available from 8.30pm. Butlers in the Buff will be making another appearance this year and there’ll be a fun warm-up session with music based on the ‘Saturday Night Diva’ theme of course.

Yvonne Jamieson from Trowbridge who won the Raffle prize of a Mulberry handbag at the 2016 Bath Moonlight Walk said: “I did my first Moonlight Walk last year with my daughters in remembrance of my sister, Edwina Abrook, who died in Summer 2016. We enjoyed the whole event. The atmosphere was great, the doughnuts were delicious (the Butlers in the Buff handing them out were pretty good too!) and the marshals were encouraging and cheerful. Finally, a huge thank you for the beautiful Mulberry bag, I shall treasure it always.”

Standard registration costs £20 but there is an Early Bird offer of £15 available until 14th July and all entrants receive an exclusive tshirt before the event. Walkers are invited to pledge a minimum of £40 sponsorship or make a donation in lieu of sponsorship.

Why not accessorise your Bath Moonlight Walk “Saturday Night Diva” T-shirt with glittery disco gear or put together your own retro, disco outfit? For excellent upcycling and to help the Hospice fund vital patient care, look for your nearest Dorothy House charity shop at https://www.dorothyhouse.org.uk/shops/ to find a vintage bargain to wear.

If you think you’d like to join in the fun, find out more at www.bathmoonlightwalk.org.uk.

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BUSINESS | PROFILE

BOUNCING BACK

Price of Bath has been manufacturing tennis balls for three generations of the same family. Georgette McCready visited the factory at its busiest period, preparing for Wimbledon

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s you settle down to watch some of the best tennis players in the world, courtesy of Wimbledon (which runs from Monday 3 to Sunday 16 July), spare a thought for the people who make tennis balls. I don’t suppose you’ve ever given much thought to how these furry fabric covered orbs, with their distinctive double stripe, get put together. Since the first India rubber balls were developed in the 1850s, inventors have applied themselves to improving on existing models.

You could fly out to the Far East to see tennis ball manufacturing on a grand automated scale, bouncing out thousands upon thousands of the sporty little blighters.

Or you could travel just down the A4 from Bath to Box to the factory of the family-run business Price of Bath which has been making tennis balls for three generations.

How can a small scale operation, with just 14 members of staff, compete with the Far East market, you may well ask? The Price family have learned the hard way how to adapt and survive.

They produce tennis balls in a rainbow of colours and adorned with logos for all kinds of organisations, from Stella Artois to Ralph Lauren. Customers can choose any colour they like, there’s even a black bespoke set of balls with a smart gold logo. Packages of all sizes are sent out daily all over the world.

Louise, the latest in the Price dynasty, leads me through the rabbit warren of workshops that have served the business for years. There are dark stains of years of rubber on the floors of these old worksheds, the yards of pipes lagged against extremes of heat and cold. She opens a door on to a shed occupied by an enormous steam driven boiler, which almost seems to be breathing and which is referred to darkly as The Beast.

It’s all fascinating and a bit archaic, a hark back to Britain’s industrial past when people actually got their hands dirty and had to concentrate on the skilled task in hand because no computer was doing their measuring, or thinking, for them.

And there, as if on cue, is Derek Price, the 86-year-old head of the business, overalled up, his hands covered in oil as he fixes a pressing machine in one of the workshops.

He admits that there’s a lot of specialist machinery on the site, bought from places such as Avon Rubber when it decommissioned its plant, that he’s kept mothballed for years – but which could be 68 TheBATHMagazine

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brought back into use if the market calls for it.

Derek’s father Joseph Price, brought his family to Box in 1936, when the business at the foot of Quarry Hill specialised in re-treading rubber tyres for vehicles. Derek started helping out in the yard and the workshops while he was still at school and to this day he lives and breathes rubber. A pile of notebooks in his office (‘we’re up to 32 notebooks full of ideas’ observes daughter Louise) is filled with his ideas for new developments and inventions.

Father and daughter are united in their passion for keeping the family business well and truly afloat. The rubber (which is imported in heavy, solid brown bales from Malaysia) is mixed with other ingredients for different types of ball, whether it be tennis, squash, racket or child-friendly. All the mixes are as precise as Mary Berry’s cake recipes and all are rigorously tested in the quality control laboratory to ensure the right

bounce, texture and longevity of service for sportspeople.

Over the decades Derek’s expertise has been useful to such august bodies as the Lawn Tennis Association in the development of balls that play differently, according to the needs of the players.

In the 1960s Derek’s business employed around 100 people in Box. The milling machines and the presses barely rested, their rhythmic thumping of the engines a soothing backdrop to Louise’s childhood. Just as the old days of Stothert and Pitt or the Bath Press, this was the era of highly skilled workers operating heavy-duty pieces of equipment. But one day, in the 1980s, the exports to America – where Price’s customers for the tennis balls included Macys and Walmart – were hijacked by a new rival market.

“We got a Telex,” recalls Derek, “to say we’d need to cut our prices by 20 or 30 per cent to keep our contracts. There was now a

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TOP SERVICE: main picture, Derek Price and his daughter Louise in the factory Above, Price of Bath balls are sold all over the world Opposite from top, the manufacturing process begins with bales of rubber and ends with rigorous quality control, before going out to customers of all ages

market in the Far East churning out balls far cheaper than we could ever make them. It was a shame I’d just invested in expensive new machinery.”

In 1969 Derek had acquired a second site in Box, at Station Yard behind the Northey Arms pub, it wasn’t until 2017 that his plan to bring the whole manufacturing, marketing and administrative process on to one site – away from the centre of Box – is going to be realised. Over the coming 12 months the old machines will be moved to the new site and the administrative staff will give up their desks in what used to be the bedrooms of the Price family home – a pretty challenging environment for the smooth running of a 21st century business – and move to purpose built premises.

Louise, who gave up her career in teaching four years ago to come and work with the family business, explains how Price has managed to adapt and to thrive.“The first thing we did was enter the major online market places, such as Amazon and eBay. That made a huge difference to sales. We’ve also specialised in personalised tennis balls and can meet small orders quickly in a way that the big Far East factories can’t. We also ensure that our balls smell nice – customers don’t want tennis balls that reek of petrol.

When we move to the new site all the processes can be streamlined and we’ll save a lot of time.”

Price can use Pantone colours to get the exact shades that customers want and can meet small orders – such as the Bath tennis coach who wanted balls with her name printed on them – or large orders, such as the big tennis tournaments all round the world. In the run-up to Wimbledon the factory is producing 6,000 balls a week.

The manufacturing process is an involved business, with many stages, from mixing and stretching the rubber, to shaping it into moulds, gluing the halves together and finally sending the milled balls out to a team of home workers who painstakingly smooth the fabric round the balls. But, although it looks laborious, Louise tells me the step-by-step process for making sports balls is the same the world over whatever scale it happens to be on.

Price of Bath has just launched its new bright and userfriendly website (priceofbath.com), so individual and corporate customers can order the product they want directly. There’s a facility for people to submit their own logos to be printed on the balls. Schools and clubs in Bath are already enjoying this option. The latest excitement at Price is, that after years of research, Derek and Louise have perfected a Union Jack flag ball, which is about to go on the market.

Louise, who has children too young to have decided whether they’ll enter the family business, says crucial lessons have been learned over the last eight decades. “We know that the key to surviving is knowing exactly what our customers want, keeping an eye on what our rivals might be up to next and another eye on where our next customers are going to come from.” n THEBATHMAG.CO.UK

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Business July.qxp_Layout 1 23/06/2017 16:49 Page 1

CITY | PEOPLE

CITYNEWS News in brief n Staff at law firm Royds Withy King have raised £23,361 for Dorothy House Hospice Care charity. Fundraising events over the past two years for the firm’s chosen charity have included running the Bath Half Marathon, organising monthly dress down days, putting on an auction of promises, raffles and a sponsored cycle ride from Bath to Paris.

One of Nottingham’s modern trams making its way round the city’s historic streets

n Under a June moon 250 guests gathered for

the Hope Ball to celebrate the 250 year anniversary of the Royal Crescent and to raise funds for the RUH Cancer Care Campaign.

In a marquee on the lawns of the Royal Crescent, guests enjoyed a three course menu devised by former Lucknam Park chef Andreas Wingert and the team of Eat Five Star. An art auction of nearly 40 pieces was held, including works by ‘Pete the Street’ Peter Brown, resident shoe designer Manolo Blahnik, whose contribution is pictured, and British landscape artist Luke Piper. The auction raised more than £50,000 for the RUH. To register interest in next year’s ball visit: hopeball.co.uk. n B&NES Library Service is looking for

volunteers to help choose and deliver books to housebound readers, to assist with the libraries’ children’s Summer Reading Challenge and with under fives sessions. If you could offer a few hours a month, someone from the Library Service will arrange to meet you. Contact Mike Plows at the Volunteer Centre, email: mike.plows@vol-centre.org.uk or tel: 07815564726.

EARLY STAGE TRAM STUDY LAUNCHED Hot on the heels of our June guest column, which advocated the adoption of the latest generation of trams for the streets of Bath, Bath & North East Somerset Council has announced that it is to undertake a preliminary study looking at the feasibility of introducing some form of light rail, or tram, system in the city.

Our columnist, Dave Andrews, is part of the Bath Tram Re-Introduction Group, which is one of the voices that has been calling for a possible use of modern streetcars, or trams, in the city. Everyone

agrees that something needs to be done to improve the local transport network, although the council has not officially adopted a tram system as one solution in its formal transport strategy. But it says it keeps an open mind to suggestions to improve transport for the future.

As a result, this short very early stage study will look at the feasibility of using a light rail system as a sustainable form of transport in the city. The council says the study will be completed in this financial year, that is by April 2018.

BESPOKE TAILORING BROUGHT TO YOUR DOOR Tailors Suit the City, which was founded in 2007, has opened a Bath studio in Monmouth Street, from where men and women can order made-to-measure suits and separates.

The studio is being run by Bath franchisee, Mike Lane who will travel to clients’ homes or workplaces and will run in-company events throughout the west country.

Mike said: “I am delighted to be a member

BATH BUSINESS BAROMETER

of the team at Suit the City. I have always loved tailoring and this combined with the opportunity to be based in the centre of the beautiful city of Bath is my dream come true.

I enjoy networking and socialising and I am very much looking forward to inviting in guests to see my new studio and find out about my service.”

Contact Mike at Suit the City on: 0800 011 2450, visit: suitthecity.com.

UPDATE: MAY 2017

High Street Footfall

provided for

(Month on month % change)

n May was a month of moderation for UK consumers with a drop in high street footfall compared with the rise in May 2015 and mirrored a drop of -3.7% in UK sales* – with fashion in particular dipping in May. Clear signals that consumers have started to display greater caution in spending, particularly as UK consumers could feel additionally cautious in the lead up to the General Election.

The Bath Festival’s Party in the City increased the Friday footfall week on week by +31.7% (19th May); although the busiest day of the month was Saturday 27th May, attributable in the main to the school holiday period and bank holiday. *as measured by Springboard’s sales index which tracks sales in brick and mortar stores Springboard Research Ltd.

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Sharp Family Law July.qxp_Layout 22 22/06/2017 15:38 Page 1

A DV E RTO R I A L F E AT U R E

“Let’s have Family Fun in the Sun this Summer - tips for separated parents”

By Richard Sharp, Sharp Family Law. www.sharpfamilylaw.com Richard Sharp of Sharp Family Law helps separating and divorcing clients, who want to avoid prolonged conflict, to reach solutions that work for them and their families

T

wo weeks in the sun with the family sounds like fun – but it can represent a challenge for many separated and divorced families.

Family Court orders frequently provide for contact with the kids during the annual summer break, leaving dates to be agreed between the parents.

Be positive about your child spending time with their other parent. Let the children know it is okay with you that they are going away, and that you will be okay too while they are away. It’s best for kids when both parents can be supportive of their activities and share in their excitement.

DON’T talk through the children

And finally, conflict is the major cause of unhappiness and poor outcomes for children, Even though your family structure has changed you can have family fun in the sun this summer by focusing on your child’s needs.

If you are worried about holiday arrangements this summer, do get in touch and speak to one of our dedicated family law specialists.

It is tempting to relay messages through your kids when talking to your ex. But messaging between households is a burden children shouldn’t have to bear. Make sure you are the one delivering news about trips you are proposing to take and scheduling needs surrounding them.

DON’T ambush the other parent When parents can’t agree, we can help negotiate or mediate arrangements between the parents – to take unresolved issues back to the Family court for a decision to be made.

But to ensure the summer sun isn’t overshadowed by family fall-outs over holiday contact arrangements, the following tips can help make a difference:

When making holiday plans, don’t set the other parent up. “I would really love for you to come with me to Spain, but it’s really up to your mum to say yes” is neither fair to your child or to ‘Mum’.

Instead, try “a trip abroad would be fun, but I need to chat to your mum first about the details”.

DO plan early and commit to decisions made

DON’T make your kids pay the price

Plan the arrangements for the summer holidays as early as possible. If you commit to doing something make sure it is followed through.

Last minute clashes and changes are not easy to resolve. Children need their parents to make decisions and to stick to them.

If you make the decision to foot the holiday bill, or move your schedule around to make the trip work, don’t make your kids pay the price. While a trip abroad may be a wonderful experience for the child, it probably won’t be so wonderful for very long if the child has to listen to what Dad did or didn’t do to help. Children do not want to take sides – don’t make them.

DO support your child’s contact with the other parent

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Richard Sharp, 5 Gay Street Bath, BA1 2PH 07798 606 740 • 01225 448 955, info@sharpfamilylaw.com www.sharpfamilylaw.com

page 73.qxp_Layout 23 23/06/2017 10:29 Page 1

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School summer holidays and children of separated couples Victoria Strode advises on how to avoid conflict by using a mediator to agree childcare sharing during school holidays.

F

or separated parents, the opportunity to spend quality time with their children over the summer holidays is often an emotional issue. While it is always in the best interests for all if parents can work together to resolve any issues, in some circumstances, it is necessary to ask the Court to make a decision.

From the viewpoint of the Court, the child’s welfare will be the paramount consideration. The Court will consider a list of factors, known as the ‘welfare checklist’, when deciding what is best for a child or children.

Typically, if both parents are loving and caring and have been involved in the child’s upbringing, the Court will recognise that children benefit from quality time with both parents. As such, parents may alternate at important times such as Christmas, birthdays and Easter.

Particular thought needs to be given to international travel as parents wanting to take their children abroad must remember to obtain the consent of each party with parental responsibility before they leave the country. Failure to do so could result in unnecessary court proceedings or even criminal action. It is often sensible for the parent taking the children abroad to provide information to the other parent, such as accommodation and flight details in the event of an emergency.

The Court’s view is that parents are best placed to make decisions about their children’s welfare and wherever possible, the Court will avoid getting involved. When parents cannot resolve issues about holidays and care arrangements, there are number of ways of achieving resolution without applying to the Court.

Solicitors do not need to be involved immediately if this will cause conflict and be perceived as adversarial. A mediator, family therapist or counsellor can assist and help facilitate discussions to reach a solution.

If these methods are unsuccessful then solicitors can assist in negotiations and help both parties to achieve a resolution and focus on what is best for the child.

We are regularly involved with families in situations like this, helping them to achieve the best outcome for both the parents and the children to carry on life as normal as possible.

Victoria Strode, is a specialist child solicitor & mediator at Mogers Drewett. Find out more at mogersdrewett.com

ocl A C C O U N TA N C Y

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

www.oclaccountancy.com

How can you qualify for loan interest relief on borrowings used to finance your company’s acquisition of business premises?

Relief can be available in respect of borrowings used to lend money to certain companies.

Basically, you will need to either own more than 5% of the ordinary share capital of the company (alone or with associates) or own some of the share capital and spend the greater part of your time in the conduct or management of the company. It must be a close company and exist for carrying on a trade or for letting property to unconnected parties or holding shares in or making loans to other companies carrying on those same activities.

Beware however that if you buy the property yourself for use by your company instead of lending money to it to acquire property, then you are carrying on a property business the rules are different; in this situation the new rules regarding interest relief restrictions must also be considered.

For help & advice contact us – call Marie Maggs, Hannah Bratten or Mike Wilcox on 01225 445507 for a no-obligation meeting.

We look forward to meeting you - and see our website for more, including FREE download guides.

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Call Marie Maggs, Mike Wilcox or Hannah Bratten on 01225 445507 to arrange a no-obligation meeting 74 TheBATHMagazine

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An exciting and rewarding opportunity

With 20,000 copies of The Bristol Magazine printed and delivered every month we lead the way as Bristol’s biggest premium lifestyle magazine.

THE BRISTOL MAGAZINE

MEDIA SALES

We believe that quality, engaging content and excellent production means we are the exception (rather than the rule) when it comes to popularity for print. Thankfully, our readers and advertisers seem to agree.

We now have a superb opportunity for a talented individual to join our team at our Bristol offices.

The ideal candidate will possess media sales or relevant marketing experience, preferably gained from a quality print or similar sales environment.

Well educated, well spoken, you will be personable, conscientious, and enjoy a consultative approach to advertising sales, with a real emphasis on great customer service,as well as possessing the drive and ambition to make a valuable contribution to our continued growth Please send covering letter and your CV to Steve Miklos. email: steve@thebristolmagazine.co.uk

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Motoring Bath Golf July.qxp_Layout 1 21/06/2017 13:10 Page 1

MOTORING | TEST DRIVE

THE GOLF SCORES HIGHLY One of the world’s greatest cars gets a mid-generation makeover.

High tech and refined; there’s no better car to recommend than VW’s new Golf.

Words by Chris Lilly

A

s a breed, motoring writers get asked two questions a lot. One is “What’s the best car you’ve driven?”, but that’s not particularly pertinent to this review. The other is, “I’m looking at buying a new car, what should I get?” After asking about budget, practicality and performance needs, fuel economy, and myriad other different requirements, the answer is often: “You should look at a Golf.” In fact, it’s often easier to suggest a Golf and then work out whether you’re right or not through further questioning.

But now there’s a new model. No really, the photos here show a new – or at least heavily refreshed – generation of Golf.

Technically still termed the Golf Mk VII, many are describing it as Mk 7.5.

There are sharper looks front and rear as bumpers and light units have been altered.

Under the bonnet you will find a new engine range, and the interior has been fitted with VW’s latest infotainment set-up. Safety kit has been significantly improved too.

The Golf might look similar to the previous version, but compare them side by side and the latest version definitely looks better. Crisper design details help, and go some way to arguing against critics that find the Golf’s styling a little bland. It’s still Teutonic in design – aesthetically pleasing but far from flamboyant – and the sensible looks make it clear that this is a Golf.

Anyone who has driven a VW Group product over the past few years will feel right at home in the cabin too. Similar in concept to the exterior, the interior is refined, ergonomic, and lacking in anything frivolous. The two biggest changes come in the shape of VW’s new Discover Navigation Pro infotainment system and the Active Instrument Display, both available on certain models.

The first is a large 9.2 inch touchscreen that has high quality graphics and responds to gesture commands too. Specific displays need only for you to wave your hand one way or the other to change screens. It’s a bit gimmicky and the touchscreen controls often 76 THEBATHMAGAZINE

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work better, but with time its usefulness improves. The Golf is the first car in its class – or a number of classes above – to use this gesture technology, so future offerings are likely to be better. Still, the system works intuitively and will be useful to some drivers.

The more useful bit of newness is the Active Instrument Display, which replaces the traditional analogue instrument binnacle within a digital screen. This is customisable, with dials that can be shrunk or enlarged, and the sat-nav’s map and route can be shown between the instruments. It’s a lovely system that works brilliantly and is a great option to have. Other kit to be newly available is smartphone compatibility through MirrorLink, Apple CarPlay, and Android Auto, and semi-autonomous driving capability which will pilot the car by controlling throttle, brakes, and steering inputs. It’s particularly handy in heavy traffic.

The rest of the cabin is largely the same as before, which is to say, excellent. The seats are comfortable and supportive and there is plenty of space in the rear. The Golf will envelop four adults and a holiday’s worth of luggage in the boot, with no complaints to be heard about head, leg, or shoulder room.

Equally, it will deal with all the paraphernalia of family life and up to three children in the rear with the same lack of problems.

The driving experience is just as good as the rest of the car, and in keeping too. For standard Golfs, the handling is not the most exciting around, but the Golf has been designed for use in everyday life, not to set a quick lap around a racetrack. This means that driving around town will see the VW cushion occupants from the jolt of pot-holes and speed bumps, while on motorways the Golf settles down with the ability of a much larger car. It is only when driving down a twisty B-road that you might yearn for the handling prowess of a Ford Focus for example, but this happens a handful of times a year, and the Golf is the best car for the job the remaining 95% of the time.

The main reason for this last statement is

the sheer breadth of options available to buyers, driven – if you’ll excuse the pun – by the engine line-up. The biggest change to the powertrain options is VW’s new 1.5 TSI Evo engine, which offers a good balance of power and economy, aided by technology that can deactivate cylinders when they are not needed.

The range starts with a three-cylinder 1.0 litre 85hp petrol, and climbs through to a 2.0 litre four cylinder 310hp petrol. On the way, buyers can find 1.2 litre and 1.4 litre petrols, and 1.6 and 2.0 litre diesels, all in various states of tune. There isn’t a poor pick among them, but the best are the 1.0 TSI and 1.6 TDI in general.

It’s difficult to generalise though because there are so many variants available. You can get a Golf as a three or five-door hatchback, as an estate, an electric car, a plug-in hybrid, or in one of three different performance options.

The ‘normal’ Golf is excellent, but if your needs are more specific, the line-up still delivers. The all-electric e-Golf has had the biggest changes made to it because VW has extracted about 50% more performance from the car’s battery. This means drivers can go an official 186 miles on a single charge, putting it up there with some of the best in its class. In fact, I think the e-Golf is the best EV around considering range, quality, and price. Even in the real-world, drivers will be able to drive more than 150 miles on a charge, which is more than enough for many.

At the opposite end of the spectrum are VW’s performance models, though these categories are bridged nicely by the Golf GTE. Linked in name and styling to the GTD and GTI, the GTE is VW’s plug-in hybrid Golf. Able to travel around 25 miles on electric power, a 1.4 litre petrol engine is there as back up or for longer trips. It’s a great jack-of-all-trades; part hot-hatch, part green machine.

For full hot-hatch thrills though, you need to go for the GTI, which grips and goes like, well, like a Golf GTI. It’s a worthy wearer of the famous badge, and provides practicality alongside performance. Erring on the side of

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MOTORING | TEST DRIVE

greater economy but with the desire for plenty of oomph is the GTD, which makes the most of a powerful diesel unit for improved MPG. Finally, the Golf R is the range’s flagship and has so much performance, you can’t really describe it as a hot-hatch in the traditional sense. It’s part of a new breed of performance hatchbacks, with 300+ horsepower, a brilliant exhaust note, and four-wheel drive.

The Golf R is one of the fastest cars in the UK from point to point. Yes, a Ferrari or similar might be quicker around a track, but bearing in mind the bumpy roads, often wet weather, and appalling traffic, the easy-todrive yet blisteringly quick Golf R will keep up with just anything you care to mention.

Essentially then, VW has taken a classleading model and made it better. Flexibility to meet almost any demands, extra equipment, improved safety kit, and the longestablished reliability record and strong residual values make the Golf a superb product. It’s a great car, perhaps made better still because of its versatility. The changes are welcome then, even if it simply means that we motoring hacks don’t need to change our recommendation just yet. ■ volkeswagen.co.uk

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Travel Hamburg.qxp_Layout 1 21/06/2017 15:21 Page 1

HIP TO BE. . . IN HAMBURG Emma Payne jets off to check out Germany’s buzzing harbourside scene

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sk any seasoned travellers where the trendiest spot in Germany is and you’re guaranteed a lengthy discussion about the indie coffee shops, bountiful street art and Instagram-worthy sights in the go-to cities – think Berlin, Munich and so forth. And sure, you can follow the latte-toting crowds and tick off the most famous sights, but we reckon we’ve found the perfect harbourtown-meets-party-city blend in a chic, vibrant metropolis way up north . . .

On first impression, central Hamburg comes across as a utilitarian, industrial place – rather fittingly, it being an economic hub for import, export, and production. Its maritime identity pervades in every corner of the city, from the shipping container apartments of the rapidly developing HafenCity (harbour city) and the buzzing Sunday morning fish market to the impressive, hull-like architecture of the Chilehaus building.

Affectionately known as Fischköpfe, or ‘fish heads’, Hamburg’s locals have a lot to be proud of, boasting a major European port (Germany’s largest) which sprawls across the Elbe river with the harbourside industrial cranes and disused tram lines forming the backdrop of a waterside stroll.

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the international trade scene, however, is a refined, cosmopolitan and bohemian side to the city. Home to national publications Der Spiegel and Die Zeit as well as an ever-expanding games design and digital hub, Hamburg has its finger on the pulse.

And as night draws in, the St Pauli district takes on a trendy Parisian air as locals, beers in hand, sit outside bars and pubs.

Wanting to check some of the beerguzzling culture-soaking action, we boarded a BMI Regional flight from Bristol Airport and found ourselves in the midst of the city in under two hours. We hopped onto Hamburg’s underground – a no-fuss way to get from A to B. Our jam-packed itinerary allowed little time for recovery at the four-star Hyperion Hotel – a pity given the plush, air-conditioned rooms and tempting spa – so after hastily ditching our bags we pushed on to Hamburg’s newly opened Elbphilharmonie. Built on an old harbour warehouse on the Elbe, the resplendent Elbphilharmonie is very much a jewel in the city’s cultural crown – it glittered in the sun as our guides enthusiastically discussed its three concert halls, hotel and restaurant. Not without controversy, its creation cost almost ten times the original budget, but as we gaze out at the 360° bird’s eye vistas, we’re

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convinced it’s worth the price tag.

After roaming through the disused redbrick Speicherstadt (warehouse disctrict), we were glad to settle our weary selves at Nil – a bustling St Pauli eaterie offering seasonal gourmet cooking, and where seating options include a cool Art Deco gallery. We were more than satisfied with a simple yet expertly executed dish of braised ox cheeks, however the highlight was a take on English home-comfort rhubarb crumble – delicate pink rhubarb, biscuit crumb and vanilla ice cream.

We turned our attention to the evening’s entertainment – a Beatles tour from Fab Four authority and singer-songwriter Stefanie Hempel.

Initial misgivings at the sight of a ukulele were quashed as Stefanie – clad in a velvet blazer, eyes twinkling – flew through St Pauli, serenading us with all the classics. The charming mix of history, pop culture and music made for a memorable and unique insight into the city – and an ideal start to a night on the town.

Being a harbour town, and historically a place of respite for welltravelled sailors, Hamburg has a thriving nightlife, from cocktail bars and live music venues to theatres and racy clubs. Top of our list was the Clouds bar on the dizzying top floor of the Dancing Towers high rises – possessing panoramic views and an

HARBOUR LIGHTS: main picture, view over the Landungsbrücken jetties, where beach clubs spring up in summer Picture by Jorg Modrow Opposite page, the redbrick warehouse district of Hamburg, Speichersadt and the newly opened Elbphilharmonie concert hall Picture by Maxim Schulz

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CITY | BREAK

expansive drinks menu spanning highball classics, beer cocktails and more than 40 types of gin (seriously, they’ve got them in alphabetical order).

After a night of revelry on the neon Reeperbahn strip, the sensible morning-after options include a harbourside stroll, a boat tour and leisurely browse of the Schanzenviertel district’s flea market. Brave early risers (or, more often, late partygoers) might even make the bustling fish market, open between 5am and 9.30am. We opted for a bountiful hotel breakfast, followed by the Ratsherrn brewery tour – a hair of the dog alternative, complete with tastings and tales of the city’s brewing history.

No visit to Germany is complete without wurst making an appearance, and if traditional Teutonic snack food is what you’re after, you can’t go wrong with nofrills eatery Schmitt Foxy Food in the Karolinenviertel quarter of St Pauli.

Surrounded by cool independents, boutique shops and graffiti-laden backstreets, Foxy Food’s currywurst and Fritz-Kola was a welcome restorative. Just don’t expect anything close to resembling curry because, despite the name, it’s more tomato sauce with sausage pieces (delicious nonetheless).

After stuffing ourselves with samples at the Chocoversum chocolate museum and marvelling at the Miniaturwunderland (so

much more than a miniature railway, just take my word for it), we rounded off our sunny city break with one last trundle around the districts.

From the industrial harbour and the charming old town, to carefree St Pauli and the flashy Reeperbahn, I reckon Hamburg is up there with Europe’s trendiest big cities.

Bis bald, Fischköpfe! n Getting there: Direct flight from Bristol to Hamburg – from £95 one way, including 23kg hold luggage, on-board refreshments and speedy check-in: flybmi.com We stayed at Hyperion Hotel Hamburg and used comparison platform HotelsCombined to find the best option for our trip.

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health and beauty July.qxp_Layout 1 23/06/2017 11:05 Page 1

HEALTH | BEAUTY

FACE UP to SUMMER

Make-up artist Lewis Clarke from M.A.C cosmetics offers some top tips for using the brand’s bestselling products in Bath

M

.A·C celebrates diversity and

individuality, for all ages, all races, all sexes. We find most customers in Bath are looking for simplicity and classic beauty, no matter what their age.

These are our current local bestsellers: Fix plus, £18.50 A lightweight mist which gives an instant boost of hydration while delivering a soft sheen to refresh and finish makeup. Tip: If your make-up is looking powdery or cakey, lightly spritz for a softer more natural look.

Spray prior to your skin care regime for extra hydration.

Studio fix fluid, £21.50 Our best-selling ultra creamy foundation, with a natural matte finish. Comfortable and long-wearing – it’s good for eight hours – it helps minimise the appearance of pores and imperfections, giving skin a smoother, more flawless look. Tip: Use a stippling brush like the M.A.C 159 brush to gradually build coverage where you need it. Start with a small amount for the day, but build it up for fuller, airbrushed look for the evening.

Velvet Teddy lipstick, £16.50 This is the lipstick that took the world by storm. This classic brown/pink nude shade has become a staple for celebrities and make-up lovers – with many describing it as the perfect nude for almost every skin tone. Tip: Dab lipstick on lips and rub in for a softer more natural look, or apply straight from the bullet and define with whirl lip liner for the perfect nude pout.

In extreme dimension 3D mascara, £19.50 A whipped carbon black formula adds dense volume, extends length and creates curl.The gigantic moulded brush stores the optimal amount of mascara in three reservoirs that allow for the maximum amount of mascara

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with each stroke, while keeping the lashes from clumping together.

Whirl lip liner, £13 A lip liner to work with a multitude of colours. Using this creamy pencil on a light to medium skin tone, will create a natural lip line one shade darker than the lip. On a darker skin tone, it applies as a neutral nude.

Burgundy x9 pallette, £25 A well executed eye shadow selection of buttery matte and shimmer shades. Tip: Use a soft M.A.C 217 brush to apply from the lash line up into the socket. Then, using a M.A.C 239 brush, apply a shimmer colour to the lid to add an extra pop.

Lingering eyebrow pencil, £14.50 Self-propelling, self-sharpening, browdefining. Like a pen, creates its own just-right point for striking arches. Tip: Firstly, brush brows up. Following the direction of the hair, draw hair-like strokes in gaps in the brow and around edges, for a naturally fuller brow.

Mineralize Skin finish Soft and Gentle, £24.50 A luxurious, slow-baked, velvety soft face powder with a radiant finish. Strategically buff on the face to add highlights to the high points of the face, or blend all over for a sheer luminous polish to the skin. This features our 77-Mineral Complex and vitamin E. Tip: Turn your head in the light to see where the light hits your cheek bones, use a small fluffy brush to apply, staying about an inch from eye.

GET THE LOOK: our June issue featured model Sophie Johnson wearing M.A.C. Cosmetics

Fluidline Blacktrack gel liner, £16 Ultra-smooth, Fluidline’s gel formula provides the precision of a liquid liner with a silkier, softer finish.

Foolproof application with a brush in an easy dip-and-stroke action.

Long-wearing and smudge-proof. Tip: Using a M.A.C 266 angled brush, use a stamp and pressing motion pulling the product into the lashes, for a clean solid liner.

Ruby Woo lipstick, £16.50 A favourite with celebrities such as Rihanna and Dita Von Teese. Full, dense velvet colour for a vibrant vintage red. Tip: Apply prep and prime lip to the lips first, to condition, but keep the lipstick looking matte. Or apply Ruby Woo straight from the bullet, and sharpen up with Ruby Woo lip liner for a perfect, classic red lip.

M.A.C offers make-up on demand services.

Call in to the M.A.C counter in Jolly’s or the stand alone store in Southgate and let an artist help you find what you’re looking for, or alternatively book a longer hands-on session. Call Jolly’s: 0370 192 5105 or Southgate: 0370 192 5254. Make-up in 30 minutes: perfect for focusing on a key area such as skin or eyes, £20 booking fee which is fully redeemable on products on the day.

Make-up in 60 minutes: from lips to lashes; a full make-up look in 60 minutes, £40, redeemable on products on the day. Make-up lesson, 90 minutes: be guided by a certified M.A.C artist through every element of your make-up during this session, £50 booking fee, fully redeemable on products on the day.

Visit: maccosmetics.co.uk. n

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‘B’ is a completely cruelty free salon from our hair colourants and products down to the cleaning materials we use. We are a Paul Mitchell Signature Salon and, like us, they are passionate about the environment and have been cruelty-free since the start.

B Hairdressing 11 Claverton Buildings, Bath, BA2 4LD Tel: 01225 311332 Web: bhairdressing.co.uk

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P83.qxp_Layout 23 23/06/2017 10:54 Page 1

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Treatments have no down time and are suitable for all skin types.

It can be used to target fine lines, wrinkles, dry skin, scarring, rosacea, sun damage and pigmentation as well as problematic skins.

No.2 Kingsmead St. Bath • Tel: 01225 466851 • www.theorangerylaserandbeautybath.co.uk

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Walk July.qxp_Layout 1 21/06/2017 15:14 Page 1

IN THE FOOTHILLS OF MENDIP Andrew Swift discovers the picturesque countryside of west Frome

T

his is a 12 mile, six hour ramble exploring the fascinating countryside west of Frome. Starting by weaving through the back streets of Frome, with some of the oldest industrial housing in the country, it heads north through Orchardleigh to Buckland Dinham.

After heading along a green lane, it drops down to the honey-stone village of Mells. From there it follows the fast-flowing Mells River, past some of the most impressive industrial ruins in Somerset and along old railway lines to visit a celebrated geological formation, before heading back to the starting point.

For refreshment, there is the choice of two country inns and a café, and, while the directions below start at Frome railway station, with a regular service to and from Bath, you can, if you wish, park in Frome’s cattle market car park and pick up the walk in the Market Place.

DIRECTIONS Leaving Frome station, head along the approach road, cross the main road and turn right. After 300m, turn left beside the River Frome and follow a path under two railway bridges, before turning left through Rodden Meadow.

At the end, follow a path under the railway and along Willow Vale, before turning left across Town Bridge. Cross at the pedestrian lights and carry on along the Market Place. At the end, 84 TheBATHMagazine

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carry straight on up Stony Street, turn right up Catherine Hill, continue along Catherine Street and bear right along the main road. After crossing the end of Castle Street, keep to the right-hand pavement, and take the second right along Selwood Road.

After 200m, turn left along Trinity Street, left by Holy Trinity church and right along a lane.

Carry on as the lane dwindles to a path heading downhill, turn right along a road and left at a T junction.

At the next T junction, cross and go through a kissing gate (KG), head over to a tarmac path and turn left. When the path ends, carry on along a track, go through a KG and a squeeze stile, and continue through a KG. After crossing a railway line, head across to a KG and cross a stile on the other side of the road (ST772496).

Carry on through a meadow, cross another stile and turn right along a lane. At the end, cross a stile and head up a track into woodland. Continue uphill, crossing another stile into a meadow, and, after crossing three more stiles, follow a rough track up to Orchardleigh Down.

The track across the down is confined between fences, except when it crosses a grass runway, where the prospect of light aircraft coming in to land introduces an unusual hazard.

After crossing the runway, Orchardleigh House appears ahead.

After the path descends, you have the option of diverting to visit St Mary’s church, romantically

issue 178

marooned on a little island, before carrying on to the left of the buildings ahead and following a drive uphill.

After it leads into a golf course, carry on for 250m before bearing left and left again to follow a drive heading west. After 350m, when it crosses a cattle grid, bear right, following a waymark across grass and into Orchardleigh Wood (ST768514).

After 400m, as the track starts to descend, cross a stile to leave the wood and continue down through a meadow. Go through a gate at the bottom, bear left across a ditch and turn right to follow a track along the edge of a field. At the end, bear left alongside a brook before crossing a gated footbridge and heading up through a meadow. Go through a KG and handgate at the top, and head towards Buckland Dinham church.

Turn left past the old lock-up and right at the main road. After passing the Bell Inn, turn left along Sandscross Lane for 50m, before turning right along a green lane, which passes the ruins of a colliery built in the 1870s, but was abandoned before any coal was produced.

After 1,200m, when you come to a lane, turn right, and at a T junction turn left (ST738509). At the next T junction, turn left and head downhill to cross a bridge over an old railway line. After another 600m, when the lane turns left, follow a footpath straight on. In the corner of the field, bear left, and at the end bear right through a gap in the hedge towards

AT ONE WITH NATURE: main image, walking along the Mells river Opposite, Buckland Dinham Colliery

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THE | WALK

Mells church. After going through the churchyard and along 15th century New Street, turn left, and, after passing the Lutyens-designed war memorial, bear right.

After passing Mells Café, carry on and take the second turning left, signposted to Great Elm. After 250m, turn right to follow a bridleway alongside the Mells River (ST733490). After 200m, you come to the ruins of Fussells Upper Works, built around 1800. Further on are the Lower Works, dating from 1744, which at its peak employed over 250 men. After 500m, bear right to follow a waymark for the Wyvern Way along a muddy track. After 250m, cross a footbridge to walk along the opposite bank.

After crossing another footbridge, you will

see the railway line to Whatley Quarry ahead. Continue along the path, which crosses a lane before carrying on alongside the river. After about 100m you come to Great Elm Works, established by the Fussells around 1792 – now a private house. Further on are the ruins of Bedlam woollen mill.

When the path forks, take the path curving away from the river, following a waymark for the East Mendip Way (EMW). As you approach a short cutting hacked out of the rock in 1943 for a railway line, look to the left to see the cutting used by the narrowgauge line it replaced.

Carry on across a metal footbridge, and, when the path forks, bear right, passing the ruins of two limekilns and a bridge which carried a tramway across the river. A little further on, the path leads across another bridge. Before crossing it, take a short diversion up to the left into an old quarry, whose rock face contains a geological formation known as the De La Beche Unconformity, after the man who discovered it, where the horizontal strata of sedimentary rocks sit on tilted layers of carboniferous rock (ST755491).

Retrace your steps, cross the bridge, and after 250m look for a waymark for the EMW, bear left along a narrow track and follow waymarks uphill through woodland.

Cross a stile at the top, head across a paddock, cross another stile and continue

along the track opposite. When it bears left, head up a grassy track and go through a KG. Carry on, and, after passing a gate (ST767485), cross the main road (to your left) and turn right. After 100m, turn left down Whatcombe Road and first right up Upper Whatcombe. Carry on, and, when the road swings left, carry on up a path.

Continue along a lane, and, when it bears left, continue along York Street. Turn right along Selwood Road and left along Vallis Way, before taking the third left down Catherine Street and retracing your steps through the town centre to the station. n Andrew Swift is the author of On Foot in Bath: Fifteen Walks Around a World Heritage City and co-author, with Kirsten Elliot, of Ghost Signs of Bath.

FACT FILE ■ Length of walk: 12 miles ■ Approximate time: 6 hours ■ Map: OS Explorer 142 ■ Refreshment stops: Bell Inn, Buckland Dinham, visit: bellatbuckland.com. Talbot, Mells, visit: talbotinn.com. Mells Café, visit: mellsvillage.co.uk/mells-cafe

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CITY | INTERIORS

ILLUSIONS OF GRANDEUR

Bath based interior designer Clair Strong says if you haven’t got the real deal it’s OK to fake it

F

akery in interior design is nothing new. It has been used for centuries to imitate a specific style or to create a particular effect. People fake it for a number of reasons; to save money, space and time, because the ‘real’ materials aren’t available to them, or to simply have a bit of fun.

I’m a strong advocate for faking it where necessary. We’re not all blessed with an endless supply of income, after all. The trick is to embrace the illusion, to accept the charms, and flaws, of the imitation.

Here are some examples where faking it can be very effective: TROMPE-L’OEIL WALLPAPER Thanks to some very realistic wallpaper designs, it is now entirely possible to cheat your way to an exposed brick, tin-tiled or wood-panelled wall. You can even fake an entire library of books or a woodland scene.

The trick to a convincing finish is extremely high quality wallpaper – it’s not cheap, but it’s more cost-effective and much quicker than having wood panelling installed.

Some of my favourite designers of faux surface effect wallpaper include Debbie McKeegan, Mineheart, Piet Hein Eek and Murals Wallpaper.

TILE STICKERS If the tiles in your kitchen are a bit outdated but you can’t afford (or particularly be bothered) with a full refresh, I’ve got an excellent alternative for you. Vinyl tile stickers or decals are a cheap and cheerful way to update tired tiles.

Available in all sorts of shapes, sizes and styles, there’s bound to be a sticker to suit every taste. Most are waterproof and so can be used in both the kitchen and bathroom.

They’re also very easy to apply and remove, making them great in rented properties too.

Check out Not on the High Street for a large selection of tile stickers by a number of different designers.

WOOD-EFFECT FLOORING Wood flooring is probably one of the most enduring trends in interior design. Has there ever been a time where beautiful timber 86 TheBATHMagazine

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planks weren’t desirable?

However, real wood flooring isn’t always suitable. There are times in the kitchen and bathroom, where a shallow depth or moisture resistance is required, and a better option may be wood-effect flooring made from vinyl, or even ceramic or porcelain tiles.

Vinyl is an especially popular choice because it’s durable, hardwearing and lowmaintenance. It may also be more easily installed. Like real wood flooring, the price and quality of vinyl varies enormously so it is definitely worth doing a little research before committing to a particular brand.

My recommendations include Karndean, Amtico, Mandarin Stone and Fired Earth, all of whom offer a range of vinyl and ceramic flooring effects including timber, metal and stone.

there are a number of reasons why someone might not want to fill their home with real plants. In this scenario, faux plants are the best solution.

Designer Abigail Ahern has really raised the bar for faux plants. They’re not those shiny, plasticky things of the 90s that give themselves away as fake at first glance. Her plants are the (un)real deal; so authentic-looking they might even have you secondguessing.

Available on her website or via Debenhams, they’re quite affordable too.

FAUX PLANTS House plants – particularly sculptural plants like cacti and succulents – are very fashionable at the moment. And it’s probably because they look great in every space. But

FAUX TAXIDERMY For my final foray into faking it, I want to have a bit of fun with faux taxidermy.

Taxidermy is very much back in fashion. You can’t walk into an antiques shop without

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CITY | INTERIORS

THE UNREAL DEAL: main picture, faux plants by Abigail Ahern and inset, faje skulls by Mia Fleur Above, Parlor wood effect porcelain tiles

by Walls and Floors Right, Louis Philippe wallpaper in Dove Grey by Debbie McKeegan

being stared at by a stuffed bird; but whether for ethical reasons or otherwise, real taxidermy isn’t to everyone’s taste. If you like the look of taxidermy but would rather not use real animals, there are some very creative alternatives. From ceramic skulls to paper entomology displays and timber antlers; you can indulge in this trend in a myriad different ways.

I particularly like the breathtakingly realistic art of Shauna Richardson who crochets life size animal sculptures. While the more obviously fake but enticingly colourful artificial birds available at Rockett St George are equally as charming. n Clair Strong Interior Design is a small, friendly, creative business based in Bath and London, providing services for residential and commercial clients. Visit: clairstrong.co.uk or contact: clair@clairstrong.co.uk.

SUNNINGHILL INTERIORS BEAUTIFUL & EXCEPTIONAL INTERIOR & EXTERIOR DESIGN Call or email for a free initial consultation Tel: 01784 435175 Mobile: 07534 447676 info@sunninghillinteriors.co.uk www.sunninghillinteriors.co.uk

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Everhot 2.qxp_Layout 1 22/06/2017 16:36 Page 1

THE HOT BRITISH BRAND Georgette McCready discovers the energy efficient Everhot range of stoves that’s quietly winning converts

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he British have a special affection for the enamelled stove, its steady all-day heat providing the beating, warm heart of the kitchen. It’s a cooker where the kettle’s always poised to make a brew, where cakes are evenly baked and where the family can warm their socks and their hands.

But here’s a surprise. The name of that handsome cooker may not be the traditional brand you’re used to seeing, but Everhot, a thoroughly British product invented and made in Gloucestershire. The Everhot stove was created in the 1970s by engineer Ossie Goring, who had bought Coaley Mill near Dursley and harnessed its ancient mill waters to create electricity and was, in turn, inspired to build a range that could be run on electricity.

And so the Everhot range was born and has evolved into a stylish piece of kitchen kit.

It now comes in a dozen colours including black, burgundy and British racing green, although the current customer favourite is graphite grey. The Everhot runs off ordinary 13 amp plugs and doesn’t need a flue or a concrete base. The slim versions are a standard cooker size and therefore suitable for city flats or small homes, while those hankering for the farmhouse four-oven range can opt for a larger edition. In addition to the eternally hot plates (so good for tea and toast) the Everhot has an induction hot plate,

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ideal for gentler tasks such as making cheese sauce. There’s a full width grill in the top oven too.

It seems that Everhot fans are a devoted lot. One such is Simon Lunt, who runs Boniti interiors with his brother Giles near Dyrham.

Simon bought an Everhot for his family and is happy to be an ambassador for the brand.

Boniti is the sole dealer for Everhot for the Bath and Bristol area. He tells the story of a customer who was a keen baker and had asked if he could try the cooker for himself to test. Simon said: “We invited him to come up to the showroom and he happily baked away. Having been used to another brand he was amazed by the size of the ovens and the controllability of every aspect of the Everhot and the saving in running costs.” In short, another convert.

Other devotees to what is seen as an ecofriendly cool brand, include a chart topping British singer-songwriter, a celebrity chef and the host of a TV show watched by millions.

The stoves are hand built to order, with almost all the raw materials, apart from the sheet steel, made in artisan style in Gloucestershire. Being made in Britain may impress those who were disappointed when Aga was taken over two years ago by an American company. Everhot is also happy to report that it’s the most energy efficient range on the market, costing typically around £12 to £14 a week to run, with the

cooker ready at any time.

You can have the ambient heat on 24/7 every day of the year – perfect for airing clothes, rearing premature lambs or simply for lolling against to warm the bottom – but there is also a touch panel behind one of the doors which allows you to put the stove in sleep mode. Ideal in a summer heatwave or if you want to shut it down while you go on holiday. And if you decide to move house, but don’t want to part with your faithful Everhot, the company will undertake to move the cooker for you.

Unlike other brands the Everhot does not need specialist servicing.

Boniti has also commissioned its own range of lid pads, designed to fit the hot lid of the stove and is the only approved supplier of Everhot lid covers in the UK. The pads are made from heat resistant cotton and towelling, with magnets inside to keep them in place. These black lid covers are free on orders made at Boniti, as is delivery and installation.

The Everhot centre is at Coaley Mill, Coaley, Gloucestershire GL11 5DS. Boniti is at Dunsdon Barn, West Littleton, SN14 8JA, just off the A46 at Dyrham, open Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm.

To make an appointment to talk in detail about Everhot, or attend a stove and cookery demonstration, tel: 01225 892200, visit: boniti.com. n

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INTERIORS | KITCHENS EVER READY: the Everhot range comes in various models and sizes, suitable for all scales of kitchen and available in 12 colours – the next shade is promised to be pink Far right, the current favourite shade with customers is graphite grey. Below, the Everhot badge – an emblem of Great British manufatcuring

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Pietra wood and stone fp July.qxp_Layout 22 21/06/2017 14:59 Page 1

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Gardening JULY.qxp_Layout 1 21/06/2017 15:35 Page 1

CHELSEA DREAMING Jane Moore seeks inspiration at Chelsea Flower Show

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here’s no business like show business and no flower show that’s quite like Chelsea Flower Show.

It is, as Miss Jean Brodie would have said, ‘the crème de la crème’.

Yes, I know there are other shows but none that truly compare. Don’t get me wrong, I love many of the other shows: the unmatchable setting of Hampton Court, the lovely location of Malvern and the local charms of smaller shows such as Harrogate and Shrewsbury. But only Chelsea is the true barometer of horticultural fashion, the trendsetter, the Paris Fashion Week, the It Girl of flower shows.

At Chelsea the garden designs are always that bit out there, especially in the case of Diarmuid Gavin, pushing boundaries, breaking new ground and costing an absolute fortune. Even in the marquee where the nurseries show their wares there’s a sense of boats being pushed out as far as they can go, plant trends being formed and fashions started.

However, seasoned old salt that I am, I had become somewhat jaded.

Going every year had left me a little overexposed and feeling that I had seen it all. So this year marked my return to Chelsea after a three year break and all the planets seemed to collide rather marvellously. First off, I got a pass for Press day which is nigh on priceless and secondly the weather was utterly fantastic.

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back, that sense of anticipation as I arrived at the gates of the Royal Hospital and set out eagerly to see what Chelsea had to offer in 2017.

THE BIG SHOW GARDENS This year there were only eight full size show gardens – eight! I was shocked – I can’t remember such a lean year. For those that have been to Chelsea before, the main show garden avenue had gaps in it – one filled by an exhibition of photography. Many blamed Brexit but the costs of building a show garden have become outrageous in the past decade or so too. Anyway back to the gardens . . .

The best by far in my opinion were the Royal Bank of Canada garden by Charlotte Harris and Chris Beardshaw’s for Morgan Stanley – both had lovely planting and that serene ahh factor which is so difficult to achieve in a plot 10m x 20m which is viewed on at least two sides. The Canada garden achieved a lovely textural look which contrasted

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beautifully with the bold lines of the hard landscaping. Chris adopted a more traditional planting and I especially loved the woodland planting of candelabra primroses, ferns and hostas highlighted with the odd peony under a tree canopy of multi-stemmed native field maple. It seems I’m not alone as Chris’ garden won the People’s Choice this year.

The M&G garden aka the Maltese quarry by James Basson won a gold medal although I was decidedly underwhelmed by it and actually preferred the planting by the information booth opposite. The secret nature of the Linklaters garden for Maggie’s must have seemed like a great idea on paper but it effectively meant you had a lot less to plant because there were so many hedges.

Also my able assistant Anna who went on a public day told me that in practice you had to shuffle along the raised path in a slow moving queue getting glimpses of the garden as you went. Not very visitor friendly. And the Yorkshire garden would have made a good – but not great – artisan garden.

THE CITY GARDENS So onto the smaller gardens which are so often brimming with ideas. These fresh gardens are more modern urban style and one or two were rather good. The Mexican one with its colourful walls you’ll remember from the TV – really dramatic and truly fresh. Kate Gould’s City Living apartment garden was also great but

ARTISAN GARDEN: main picture, Jane Moore’s favourite of the show this year, by Kazuyuki Ishihara Inset, individual highlights include this iris, Profond Mystere Opposite page, the scented garden for Jo Whiley, designed by Tamara Bridge and Kate Savill, and the listening garden for Zoe Ball, designed by James AlexanderSinclair

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CITY | GARDENING

must have cost a lot – all that laser-cut steel and a balcony too doesn’t come cheap. The planting while great, was an addition to the structure, rather than the main event. The Bermuda Triangle I was frankly bemused by.

THE ARTISAN GARDENS Often my very favourite part of Chelsea, for here you see the budding designers cutting their teeth alongside little horticultural societies and what-have-you having a go. Or a least you used to. No, you still do but what shocked me was that you also now have show garden designers designing these smaller gardens with all the weight, contacts and budget they can command.

David Domoney and Sarah Eberle both created artisan gardens this year – although neither was as good as the beautiful Japanese one created by Kazuyuki Ishihara. This entire garden looked as if tectonic plates had pushed up the rock from the ground of the Hospital a millennium or so ago, allowing it to become beautifully mossy and ferny and for Mr Ishihara to create a little pavilion upon it. Probably the best garden I saw at Chelsea.

THE RADIO 2 GARDENS The cynic could suggest that these noncompeting Feel Good gardens were created as fillers to make up for the lack of show

gardens. Whatever the reasoning these were a lovely addition with very different approaches to exploring each of the five senses. Sarah Raven did her usual incredibly beautiful thing with colours and I suffered rusty steel trough envy from James Alexander-Sinclair’s sound garden. There were a lot of ideas to be gleaned from these five little gardens and that’s what Chelsea is all about for me. You can keep your Maltese quarry, I’d rather have Sarah Raven’s cutting shed in my garden any day. n Jane Moore is the award-winning gardening columnist and head gardener at The Bath Priory Hotel. Follow her on Twitter: @janethegardener.

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HOMES | INTERIORS

CHANGING THE LAYOUT OF YOUR HOME Sophie Bridge, from leading home design experts Architect Your Home, offers some practical advice on how to make a success of changing the layout of your living space.

W

hen it comes to updating your house, there are many things that can be done to help you fall in love with your home all over again. Changing the layout is one of them. It may sound like a big task, but it can make a real difference to the feel of your home. Plus, it may add value to your property.

there to replace them. It’s a straightforward job, but your design may be different to what you imagined. An open hallway also means your front door opens into your living area, meaning you lose a little privacy and can be open to the elements. Think about whether you want the door to open directly into your main living area or not.

Either way, a good architect will help you get the design just right.

Switch rooms Make your living room your new dining room or your dining room your new living room. Changing the purpose of your rooms can make a big difference to your home and can be done quickly.

If you like to entertain, moving your dining room into a larger room can give you more space to enjoy dinner with friends.

Whilst your former dining room could make a lovely, cosy retreat to relax in at the end of a long day. If you’re not keen on the change, you can swap back!

New bedroom

Open plan

Adding a basement

Open plan homes can give you a great sense of space as well as flexibility. For example, an open plan kitchen/living area offers more room to play with when it comes to kitchen space. However, if you’re considering opening up the downstairs of your home, there are a few things to bear in mind.

For instance, the walls between your hallway and reception rooms often provide structural support and will need something

A basement in any home can offer lots of extra space, but it does come at a cost. On average, extending your home below ground level tends to be between 75%-100% more expensive per square meter than above ground modifications. In areas where space is at a premium, basement extensions can offer a great return on investment, despite the upfront cost.

Planning permission applies in most cases,

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Adding an extra bedroom to your home is a great way to increase space and add value.

Attic conversions or garage makeovers are a popular choice. Garages are usually easier and cheaper to convert as they don’t need any structural alterations, however, the advantage of converting your loft is that it’s closer to other bedrooms and bathrooms, making it much more convenient. Garages, however, make excellent guest rooms or even games rooms (pictured right).

which means you’ll need to consider things like natural light, but when you’ve got the green light, your basement space has endless possibilities, think: gym, office, home cinema…

Whatever you decide to do with the layout of your home, remember that there are building regulations and requirements to consider. However, an architect can not only help you when it comes to the design, but they can help with said regulations and make sure your project runs smoothly. ■ • architect-yourhome.com

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the directory

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Trowbridge & Neal’s Yard Bath THEBATHMAG.CO.UK

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PROPERTY | HOMEPAGE

T

he origins of Warleigh Manor House date back to 1815 when Henry Skrine had the manor built for his family. Built of mellow Bath Stone with an imposing castellated façade the property has evolved over the years and has been the subject of an imaginative and flawless restoration project, using the best quality materials available with fine craftsmanship and engineering skill. Offered for sale is the major wing of this magnificent Grade II listed building. Many impressive architectural features remain, such as a spectacular cantilevered staircase and ribbed vaulted ceilings. The inclusion of a bespoke, handcrafted designer kitchen and luxurious bathroom suites has created a sophisticated and stylish blend of modern day living, contemporary chic and the character of a traditional country residence. The accommodation is spread over two floors and comprises: Magnificent entrance hall with library and drawing room off. Master bedroom and guest bedroom suites, two further double bedrooms and family bathroom. Impressive kitchen dining room, larder and utility. Two garages, ample driveway parking and cellar storage. There are beautiful private landscaped grounds of approximately 2.4 acres extending down to the River Avon and with riparian rights.

This is an exceptional property and prospective Lords and Ladies of the manor are invited to contact Bath estate agents Pritchards.

Pritchards, 11 Quiet Street, Bath. Tel: 01225 466225

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WARLEIGH MANOR HOUSE WARLEIGH, BATHFORD • Major wing (4,487 sq.ft) of imposing manor house • 4 bedrooms • 3 bath/shower rooms • 2 garages, ample driveway parking • Private landscaped grounds with riparian rights

Guide price: £3,000,000

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Farleigh Hungerford An impressive detached 5 bed GII Listed country house standing in magnificent riverside gardens & grounds, in total approaching 4 acres in a wonderfully private setting. The subject of almost complete renovation by the current vendors to tasteful, exacting standards & enjoys versatile, light & airy accommodation. Detached double garage with potential office above. Ample driveway parking. House: 2645 sq ft/245 sq m. Outblds 1237 sq ft/114 sq m.

Price: ÂŁ1,650,000

Lacock, Near Bath & Chippenham The Old Mill is a detached country property quietly set in breathtaking grounds of approx 2 acres. Stunning riverside views from extensive 3 bed accommodation with scope to create further 2 low head water turbines yielding income. Garaging, pump room & storage. EPC F. Gross internal area house/outbuildings 6066 sq ft/562 sq m.

Guide Price: ÂŁ1,250,000 11 Quiet Street, Bath BA1 2LB

Tel: 01225 466 225

Follow us on

Summerfield Road, Lansdown A spacious and contemporary four bedroom family home with a stunning open plan living space, off-street parking and a private enclosed rear garden. Tucked away on the upper slopes of Lansdown, a secluded and scenic area on the northern outskirts of Bath, the house enjoys convenient access to a host of excellent schools, Bath city centre and the M4 motorway.

Rent: ÂŁ3,500 pcm* striking open plan living area / kitchen | wood burning stove | integrated Siemens appliances | family room | large study | 4 double bedrooms (1 en-suite) | family bathroom | utility room | off-street parking | secluded courtyard and raised lawn Reside Bath | 24 Barton Street Bath BA1 1HG | T 01225 445 777 | E info@residebath.co.uk | W www.residebath.co.uk

*An administration fee of ÂŁ420.00 inc. VAT applies.

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THE FUTURE OF PROPERTY VIEWINGS Peter Greatorex, managing director of The apartment Company

Effective Cutting Edge Technology

A

s part of our drive to being the best at selling apartments in Bath, The Apartment Company has embraced more cutting edge technology, which allows members of the public to experience a property viewing in virtual reality.

With around 95% of property searches starting online and people living hectic lives, it’s vital we can provide detailed information of our apartments on our website listings. State-of-the-art technology has now allowed us to present a full 360° virtual tour of the internal space of our apartments online, so that buyers or tenants can view them from anywhere in the world, 24/7.

You can do things like walk through all the rooms, climb stairs and pan up to the ceilings and back down to the floors, before deciding if you wish to book a real-life viewing or not. Although not essential, for the best possible experience we do recommend using virtual reality goggles and these are now very affordable, starting from ￡3. We can also send a screen share and talk you through each room one by one.

This service has been an instant hit with buyers from London and overseas, but it’s also benefitting our sellers and landlords too.

Crafting beautiful homes in stunning locations Bath | Somerset | Wiltshire | Cotswold | Dorset

The joy of our virtual tours is that busy people won’t have the hassle of trying to arrange multiple real-life viewings with everybody involved, or having to look at various floor plans to get an idea of the layout. There won’t be the disappointment either that apartments weren’t quite what they were looking for. No matter how professional they are, two-dimension photographs can’t provide as good a picture as a 360° tour so we give a real feel for what an apartment is like inside and out. In turn, this increases buyer/tenant confidence that that is the property for them.

By offering viewings of an apartment virtually first, we can then eliminate less interested people and instead attract serious interest on real-life viewings. The conversion rate from a viewing to a sale or let increases substantially as a result.

For example, we have recently agreed a sale to a buyer based in Chicago. The first viewing was virtual, and then they arranged a local friend to view the apartment in real-life. This was shortly followed by us all agreeing a deal.

01225 791155 ashford-homes.co.uk

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This concept has really allowed us to present a wide variety of properties in what is a very competitive market place. Since implementing the technology, we have seen more people looking at our apartments online – which is great news for our sellers and landlords!

The Apartment Company Pg@theapartmentcompany.co.uk or call 01225 471144.

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SELLING YOUR PROPERTY? Choose an estate agency that will promote your best interests If you are currently thinking of selling your property, then consider using one of The Bath Magazine’s featured estate agencies to give you the best possible promotional coverage.

Our estate agents advertise with us as part of a bigger selection of print and online marketing which means your property is presented to the highest standard and will reach the greatest audience.

Bath’s Biggest Magazine

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Bear Flat Shoscombe, Bath, BA2 OIEO ÂŁ400,000

Newbridge Charmouth Road, Bath, BA1 ÂŁ520,000

An extended period semi-detached home in the heart of Shoscombe with landscaped 136ft rear garden & ample driveway parking. Four first floor bedrooms. Bathroom. Scenic rural views. Workshop. Open plan sitting room. Extended open plan kitchen/dining room.

Energy Efficiency Rating: D

Charmouth Road is a fine example of residential Edwardian architecture. The property consists of 3 double bedrooms and well designed family bathroom with clever storage solutions. The front sitting room with its bay windows has access to the dining room. The kitchen adjoins the useful utility room providing storage and access to the mature rear garden giving a lovely space for alfresco dining.

Energy Efficiency Rating: E

Bear Flat sales 01225 805680 Newbridge sales 01225 809685

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Camden Highbury Terrace, Bath, BA1 ÂŁ650,000

Central The Batch, Batheaston, BA1 ÂŁ550,000

A beautifully presented, end-terrace Georgian house with three double bedrooms, off-street parking and a stunning home office/studio. The current vendors have made numerous improvements to the property to create a stylish home, which combines period features and a contemporary finish.

Energy Efficiency Rating: N/A (grade II listed)

A period home situated in the heart of Batheaston Village. The grade II listed, double fronted home is elevated giving views across the valley. Well presented accommodation comprises entrance hall, lounge, dining room, kitchen, and further reception or fifth bedroom. On the first floor are three double bedrooms, fourth bedroom and bathroom. There is an elevated garden to the rear.

Energy Efficiency Rating: N/A (grade II listed)

Camden Road sales 01225 809868 Bath Central sales 01225 809571

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Junction Road Oldfield Park • 1930s terrace • Three double bedrooms • Modern kitchen/diner • Separate dining and sitting rooms • Walking distance to Oldfield Park and Bath Spa stations • Large garage with power • Popular family community • Price guide: £500,000

ath may be know for Georgian townhouses but it also has a good selection of wonderful 1930s properties, confidently built between the wars for the city’s working families.

And this example of a 1930s terrace home, in Junction Road at the upper end of Oldfield Park, would make a great home for a 21st century family.

It’s been well cared for over the years and recent improvements bring it in line with what modern life requires. There are, for instance, fashionable bi-folding doors from the large open plan kitchen/dining/sitting room straight out on steps down to the terrace, a nice link for those barbecue days.

And that open plan communal space inside contains a fabulous big kitchen with an atrium letting light flood in, while off this space there’s a snug cum playroom cum study. At the back of the house there’s a laundry or utility room which opens straight on to the garden.

The traditional sitting room is at the front of the house with a wide bay window overlooking the garden and is fitted with a contemporary woodburning stove.

A handy cloakroom has been tucked in under the stairs, while upstairs there are three double bedrooms and a family bathroom. There’s also a large loft, which has potential to create further living space.

The gardens have been designed for low maintenance, but there’s still a lawn to kick a ball around, while at the end of the garden there is a big single garage, with windows and electricity.

The whole property feels light and modern and has been tastefully decorated too. Junction Road is well placed between Bear Flat and Moorland Road – both well stocked with shops, cafés etc, while Bath city centre and the mainline station are just a downhill stroll away.

B

Mark Naylor, 1 Hayes Place, Bear Flat, Bath. Tel: 01225 422224

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k Mar r o l y a N

local • trusted • independent

Warminster Road, Bathampton, Bath • 3 bedroomed detached property • Sought-after location close to Bath

☎ 01225 422 224

• Additional bedroom 4/garden room • Large garage and parking for 3 vehicles

Price £535,000 • Generous mature gardens and views • Early viewing essential

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LANSDOWN CRESCENT, Bath

ÂŁ699,950

Stunningly located with astounding views all round and all the convenience of city life just a short walk away, this Georgian three bed, third floor maisonette on one of Bath's finest crescents is an opportunity not to be missed.

EPC Rating: Exempt Grade II listed

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FARLEIGH HUNGERFORD, Somerset

ÂŁ649,950

Located in Farleigh Hungerford a detached period home in an idyllic location on the banks of the River Frome. Comprises four bedrooms, two reception rooms, kitchen, utility room, integral garage, parking and gardens.

EPC Rating: F

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