The Bath Magazine November 2023 by MC Publishing Limited

Bath Cover November.qxp_Layout 1 26/10/2023 18:11 Page 1

Image: The mural in the Octopus Room at Flute

THEBATHMAGAZINE

INSIDE THIS IS SUE YOUR P ASSPOR T TO FLU TE, BATH’S NEW SEAFOO D CAFÉ

ISSUE 249 | NOVEMBER 2023 thebathmag.co.uk | £4.25 where sold

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S O M U C H M O R E I N T H E C I T Y ’ S B I G G E S T G U I D E T O L I V I N G I N B AT H

Mandarin Stone Bath.qxp_Layout 1 26/10/2023 09:20 Page 1

Ben Argent.qxp_Layout 1 26/10/2023 09:46 Page 1

Editors Letter Nov.qxp_Layout 1 27/10/2023 09:15 Page 1

FROM THE EDITOR

s we reach the eleventh month of the year we find we have become accustomed to the too-dark-for-waking-up mornings, choosing warming porridge with honey for breakfast and remembering to pick up our umbrellas as we leave the house. Despite all this there are plenty of glimmers of light and events not to miss this month. First up we’re excited to welcome Flute, the new Seafood Café and Bar in the city, oﬀering fresh seafood, an extensive wine selection as well as creative cocktails. See our interview with the chefs on page 50. Simon Horsford caught up with naturalist and explorer Steve Backshall who talked about his obsession with the Big Blue, ahead of his Ocean tour talk at the Forum. Backshall’s excitement about underwater discovery is clear, but so too are his concerns about how we are causing the oceans untold damage (see page 24). From water to air, I spoke to naturalist, broadcaster and author Stephen Moss about the naming of swallows, yellowhammers, chiff-chaffs and sedge warblers – and plenty of other avian species. I found out that the names ‘crow’ and ‘raven’ come from the birds’ calls and about the story of Mrs Moreau’s warbler. Stephen is giving a lecture on this at BRLSI (see page 66). We also hear from talented solo pianist Nurry Lee who has just performed at New York’s Carnegie Hall (see page 14). Pete Dyson, Bath’s Bicycle Mayor, brings us some thoughts about how we can promote sustainable travel habits in Bath, and how that requires a significant mindset shift (see page 60). And Richard Wyatt takes up the subject on page 12 with the age-old question, ‘Is a bell necessary on a bicycle?’ . We talk to Tamara Sturtz-Filby about her book Behind the Gloss, which celebrates the heady and groundbreaking era of 1970s’ fashion (see page 46). You can also feast your eyes on some tempting garments from Mint Velvet on page 16. And for some twinkle, there’s even a hint of C*******s in our what’s on pages (page 28). Plenty to bound out of bed for, we think. Emma Clegg, Editor

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Editor Emma Clegg 01225 424592; emma@thebathmagazine.co.uk Financial Director Jane Miklos jane@thebathmagazine.co.uk Assistant Editor/Web Editor Isabelle Blakeney isabelle@thebathmagazine.co.uk Assistant Editor Jasmine Tyagi jasmine@thebathmagazine.co.uk Production Manager Jeff Osborne production@thebathmagazine.co.uk Advertising Sales Liz Grey liz@thebathmagazine.co.uk To advertise tel: 01225 424499 Publisher Steve Miklos steve@thebathmagazine.co.uk

Contact us at thebathmag.co.uk Follow us on Twitter @thebathmagazine and Instagram @thebathmagazine The Bath Magazine and The Bristol Magazine are published by MC Publishing Ltd. We are independent of all other local publications. The Bath Magazine is delivered free, every month, to more than 15,000 residential addresses as well as businesses throughout Bath and the surrounding area. We also have special distribution units in many of Bath’s supermarkets.

Awards for Bath’s hotels It was good news for for of Bath’s outstanding hotels at the Boutique Hotelier Awards, which recognise and celebrate excellence and innovation in the boutique hotel industry. The four Bath properties that scooped awards included The Royal Crescent Hotel & Spa, which won Boutique Hotel of the Year 2023. The Royal Crescent Hotel & Spa has seen a significant investment into its product across the past year, including a revamp of its top suites and the introduction of the new Montagu’s Mews, complete with heated outdoor terrace. The Bar at No.15 by Guesthouse in Bath was announced as the winner of the Best Boutique Hotel Bar. This distinction rewards a hotel that has made its in-house bar a destination for both guests and non-residents, providing creative cocktails or thoughtfully paired bar snacks. Ed Fitzpatrick of Homewood Hotel & Spa in Bath was announced as the winner of the General Manager of the Year category, and Jessica Grant-Sloyan, director of spa and wellness at Lucknam Park, was announced as the winner of the Wellbeing Champion category. boutiquehotelier.com

The Bath Magazine 2 Princes Buildings, George Street, Bath BA1 2ED; 01225 424499 www.thebathmag.co.uk

© MC Publishing Ltd 2023 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.

ON THE COVER This handsome octopus adorns the walls of the Octopus Room at Flute Seafood Café and Bar in George Street. Artist: John Bulley.

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.

Wool is… • Naturally insulating • Hard-wearing • Easy to care for • Sustainable • Hypoallergenic

Laminate • Luxury vinyl tile • Natural • Stain resistant • Tailor made • Vinyl • Wood • Wool Avonvale September FP .indd 1

26/10/2023 09:47

5 things November.qxp_Layout 1 27/10/2023 12:42 Page 1

ZEITGEIST

THINGS TO DO IN NOVEMBER

Listen On 18 November, Cloudbusting will be performing The Kate Bush Songbook at the Chapel Arts Centre. Since embarking on their musical journey back in 2012, Cloudbusting have been touring theatres and music venues across the UK and Europe, exploring the intricacies and nuances of Kate Bush’s stunning albums. The Song Book repertoire features arrangements of some of the lesser-known tracks as well as many of the hits, including Wuthering Heights, Babooshka, Hounds of Love and Cloudbusting. But perhaps it’s the clarity of those piano-based tracks such as This Woman’s Work, Moments of Pleasure and The Man with the Child in His Eyes that dazzle most with their sheer complexity and pure lyrical invention. Don’t miss your chance to join Cloudbusting for a magical evening. Time 8pm; tickets £22–£24 from chapelarts.org

Get to know the Reverend Reverend Richard Coles will be coming to Komedia in Bath on 5 November for an intimate evening as part of his first full national tour. He is the only British vicar to have had a number-one hit single and to have appeared as a contestant on Strictly Come Dancing – a claim which seems unlikely to be matched any time soon. Sex, drugs, pop stardom, religious epiphany; love, a dream job, and the madness of grief. Some or all of this may come out as Richard lifts the lid on a life truly and truthfully lived. Reverand Richard Coles: Borderline National Trinket is showing at Komedia Bath at 8pm; tickets cost £23 from komedia.co.uk/bath

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Feast with friends Iford Manor Kitchen is hosting a series of events this month so you can indulge in all the culinary delights they have to oﬀer. Enjoy fantastic, live jazz alongside a delicious leisurely lunch every Saturday, or join them for their fornightly Friday Supper Club with a five-course tasting menu (£60pp). On 22 November, learn how to bake the perfect loaf with their Make & Bake Sourdough class (£120pp) and on 24 November join them for their monthly Pizza Night Special! Find out more and book your table at ifordmanor.co.uk

Join the chorus Join the chorus of applause and see Bath Cantata Group’s Musical Director Neil Moore in action this month at a Choral Workshop on 4 November in St. Luke’s Church, Wellsway, 10am-4pm, or at a performance of Mozart’s Requiem and Handel’s Dixit Dominus on 25 November at 7.30pm in St. Stephen’s Church, Lansdown. Bath Cantata Group is celebrating Neil Moore’s 10th year as Musical Director. Neil’s ambition and enthusiasm has inspired not only BCG but three other choirs across the region. He sings in several choirs himself, plays clarinet and saxophone and has directed and conducted choral and operatic works as various as Bach’s Christmas Oratorio, Rameau’s Les Indes Galantes, Handel’s Messiah, Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas and Monteverdi’s Orfeo. Tickets cost £20 from Bath Box Oﬃce, ticketsource.co.uk/bcg or on the door; bathcantatagroup.co.uk

Get festive Bath Christmas Market and Bath on Ice are returning this month, so get ready for some festive fun. From 17 November – 3 January, head down to Royal Victoria Park for the 11th year of the iconic Christmas ice rink. Glowing in atmospheric lights, Bath on Ice is the perfect place to practise your skating and show off some moves. With wintery music, a cosy bar, and seasonal drinks, you’ll be transported to a dreamy winter wonderland! And from 23 November – 10 December, soak up the festivities at the Bath Christmas Market. With chalets nestled among monuments and mulled wine on every corner, embrace the start of the Christmas season and make memories that are sure to last a lifetime. bathonice.co.uk; bathchristmasmarket.co.uk

KutchenHaus Nov Bath 23.qxp_Layout 1 26/10/2023 09:50 Page 1

TheGermanKitchen

The kitchen you’ve been searching for. German engineering | Quality | Craftsmanship

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The cityist Insect of the month by Marian Hill

MY BATH

Jack Scrivens Jack Scrivens has been a cricket coach at Bath Cricket Club for five years and recently has been made sales and marketing manager. He also works as a community coach for the cricket club where he visits local primary schools, oﬀering coaching to all year groups.

Name: Ocypus olens British Beetle. Also known as Davil’s Coach-horse Beetle Length 20–30mm This slightly menacing beetle has large jaws to chomp through slugs, caterpillars and spiders. It has developed a fearsome and sinister reputation but is actually a great help in the garden, keeping slug and caterpillar numbers down from April to October. Adult beetles are nocturnal, spending the daytime hiding under logs, stones or in leaflitter or compost. If disturbed it may adopt a threatening pose waving its jaws, raising its abdomen and releasing a foul-smelling secretion. See more of Marian’s insects at buzzandscuttle.com

Save the Hop Pole Inn

After 500 years at the heart of Limpley Stoke, the Hop Pole Inn closed a few years ago. In 2022, thanks to the support of investors, the inn was saved and acquired by the community. However considerable refurbishment work has been required to future-proof this Grade II listed building. To date, £900,000 has been raised from a community share issue supported by almost 600 people and from a variety of grants including £300,000 from the government’s Community Ownership Fund. In addition, £200,000 of donations and volunteer time have been pledged. As a result, Phase 1 of the project has been completed. A second community share issue has now been opened to raise the £300,000 required to complete this exciting project. If these funds are raised then The Hop Pole will reopen in 2024 as a sustainable and vibrant village pub. For more information and to buy shares visit limpleystokecbs.org/get-inn-volved Ammi majus (Queen Anne’s Lace), Cosmos, Gaura, Nigella, sweet peas and Phlox ‘Cherry caramel’

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Have you always lived in Bath? I was born in Bath and live in a little village just 15 minutes outside of the city. It’s nice to be in the countryside – there are some great dog-walking spots. What schools did you go and did you have positive experiences there? I went to Timsbury Primary School before heading off to Writhlington School in Radstock for a couple of years. I was then fortunate enough to gain a sports scholarship to Kings College Taunton where I boarded for five years. Boarding down at Kings was the best time of my life, for sure! When did you first start playing cricket and was there a particular person who encouraged you? My grandad was the driving force for my getting into cricket. He got me holding a cricket bat from the age of three! I wouldn’t have been playing if it wasn’t for my grandad – his passion for cricket was like no other. You started playing cricket for Bath Cricket Club at the age of 12. How serious were you about the sport at this stage? In short, very serious! This was the age I started playing for Somerset age groups and attending Kings Taunton. This is where training really ramped up and the aim of becoming a professional cricketer really developed. Who are your sporting heroes and why? Are you involved in other sports as well as cricket? Marcus Trescothick was always my idol growing up at Somerset. He’s left-handed just like me and was someone I always looked up to. One of Somerset’s greats. I’m involved with other sports outside of cricket as well – I’ve played football from a young age in goal. What are your favourite non-cricket things to do? Playing football, playing some rounds of golf and enjoying a few beers with mates. Socialising in general to be honest!

You are an award-winning opening batter – was batting always your strength? Yes, batting has always been my strength ever since I started playing. And it’s definitely the most hours I’ve put into one skill. I was a part-time bowler at one point in time but recently I’ve taken over the gloves and am now a wicket keeper, something I’m really enjoying. As well as playing for the Bath Cricket team you have been part of its community coaching team, delivering cricket sessions in schools. How rewarding has this been? Extremely! Being able to go into schools to deliver cricket sessions to children in the community that haven’t had the opportunity to play the game is a great way to allow these children to get physically active through cricket. Bath Cricket Club has been excellent at delivering these sessions to children in the community who haven’t had the opportunity to try these sports and to be active. If you are in Bath and want to treat yourself to a hot drink, lunch or supper, where are your favourite places to go? I’m a big fan of Bosco in Milsom Place, one of the best Italians in Bath in my opinion. If you’re a tapas fan, you can’t go wrong with Pintxo in Barton Street – it’s a great spot. For a coffee, my normal spots are Mokoko in Abbey Churchyard or The Columbian Company in Abbeygate Street. These are all relaxed environments, which is perfect. What is your favourite piece of Bath architecture? I think it would be hard not to say the Roman Baths and The Crescent! It’s what makes Bath, Bath! How do you imagine your cricketing future and would you like it to be in the west country? You never know where you might end up and when a county club may come knocking! Club cricket wise, I don’t think there’s a better club in the country than Bath. Best ground, facilities, coaches and a great bunch of lads. bathcricket.com

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Cityist news Nov update.qxp_Layout 1 26/10/2023 17:42 Page 1

City updates 70 years of silver in Union Passage

Join the Big Plastic Pick Up Bath old boy Bill Bailey has joined a host of stars to launch an antiplastics campaign for The Canal and River Trust. On average, 14 million pieces of plastic end up in and around the nation’s canals each year, costing an annual clean-up bill of £1 million. Now the Canal & River Trust is urging the public to take action and to end plastic pollution by joining the Big Plastic Pick Up. A host of celebrity ambassadors are backing the campaign alongside Bill – including chef Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, entrepreneur Deborah Meaden and actor and presenter Tony Robinson. The Canal & River Trust is appealing for people to donate £14, pickup 14 pieces of litter and encourage 14 friends to join the fight against plastic. All the funds raised will go towards the ongoing costs incurred by the charity of cleaning our waterways. The government's recently announced budget cuts to look after the Canal & River Trust’s 250-year-old canal network will make clearing plastic litter even tougher – which is why this year’s campaign is more important than ever before. For more information visit: canalrivertrust.org.uk

Tucked away down one of Bath’s pretty lanes, The Silver Shop is one of the oldest shops in the city, and it is celebrating a very special milestone – 70 years of business! The shop started trading as ‘The Silver Gift Shop’ just before the Queen’s Coronation in 1952, and has remained a family-run, independent business ever since. Union Passage itself, where The Silver Shop is situated, is a street line originating from the Saxon Period. It used to be called Cox Lane, thought to be because cock fighting took place in the passage way. There also used to be a stream running in front of The Silver Shop, all the way down Union Passage. Surprises have been found inside the shop too – a trap door was discovered to a basement, which leads under Union Passage. For now though, Guy Douglas, the owner of The Silver Shop is concentrating his efforts at street level. “We’d like to say an enormous thank you to all our wonderful loyal customers for your support over many decades, we wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for you!” thesilvershopofbath.co.uk

Nature’s calming power at the new Dyson Cancer Centre No more big needles An affordable microneedle skin patch that delivers a controlled dosage of medicine directly into the body, eliminating the need for injections or oral medication, has been developed by a team led by scientists at the University of Bath. It is hoped that the patches, which are described in the journal Biomaterials Advances, will be ready for use within the next five to 10 years. What makes the microneedle patches unique is that they are made from a hydrogel (a gel-like substance in which water forms the liquid component), with the active ingredient encapsulated inside the hydrogel microneedle structure rather than in a separate reservoir. They are also more affordable than other commercially available microneedle patches, as they are produced from 3D printed moulds. Moulds produced this way are easy to customise, which keeps the costs down. Visit bath.ac.uk/campaigns/research-with-impact

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The new Royal United Hospitals Bath Foundation Trust (RUH) Dyson Cancer Centre is working to create a truly holistic healing environment, and the use of greenery within the built environment is driving the design both externally and internally. With this aim the RUH have collaborated with artists to bring nature into the new centre, and this includes artist Amy Shelton who specialises in creating artworks that focus on making vital connections between the natural world, human health, and the environment. Amy was commissioned to make one of her celebrated series of Florilegium artworks for the Radiotherapy department by the RUH’s Art at the Heart (artatruh.org) team who support the RUH with an art and design programme. The result of Amy’s commission is a beautiful, bespoke, large-scale botanical lightbox installation. She created this artwork from a biodiverse palette of local flora gathered from the celebrated garden at Hauser & Wirth Somerset in Bruton. This illuminated artwork will sit in the eyeline of all patients who enter the Radiotherapy department. artatruh.org; honeyscribe.org

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R O O M 7 Quiet Street Bath BA1 2JU T: 01225 330563 E: info@dressingroombath.com www.dressingroombath.com

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CITY | NOTEBOOK

NOTES ON A SMALL CIT Y

Richard Wyatt Columnist Richard Wyatt this month asks ‘Is a bell necessary on a bicycle?’ . His conclusions indicate firmly that he is at odds with The Highway Code. ... And with the increase in four-legged walkers who don’t respond swiftly to bicycle bells.

pride myself on having a large and shiny Dutch-made bicycle bell attached to the handlebars of my bicycle. It has a loud – but not unfriendly – ‘ding dong’ sound which, when the lever is pressed by my thumb, will even penetrate ear pods and headphones. These are devices worn by those who prefer to walk along the same path as I am travelling, but who are completely detached from their surrounding reality. My route into the centre of Bath takes me along a canal towpath and through a park. In both locations I look out for pedestrians ahead and give warning as soon as possible as I am approaching. My pathway is carefully chosen to avoid the busy and often traffic-choked London Road and makes use of Sydney Gardens to avoid a dangerous crossing of Beckford Road and the pitted and trench-covered surface of Sydney Road. This terrain on two wheels is both bumpy and potentially unstabilising and dangerous.

It’s a strange fact but in the UK you are NOT required by law to have a bell on your bike I like to think l am aware of the compromises involved in shared spaces – whether it’s fitting in amongst cars or joggers, pushchair wheelers or dog walkers. It’s a strange fact but in the UK you are NOT required by law to have a bell on your bike. Though new bikes must be fitted with the said device, it’s up to you whether you choose to use them or not. Rule 66 of the Highway Code states that cyclists must let others know where they are when necessary, ‘by ringing your bell IF you have one.’ Alternatives might involve blowing a trumpet (if you have one to hand) or screaming, ‘coming through’ or ‘make way!’. By the time you have shouted ‘Do you mind awfully stepping aside’ you’ll have hopefully achieved a close pass anyway.

On a much larger scale, the world for us human beings is a shared space and for humankind to survive we have got to make room for each other and be aware that we are not the centre of this world or indeed the universe. Having a bell should be a legal requirement – as should wearing a helmet – but let’s spread this argument about fundamental rights versus social responsibility and behaviour a little wider. The towpath I use is also enjoyed by walkers, joggers and dog owners. Is it just me, or do more people seem to have dogs these days? I checked the national figures and the UK population of dogs has increased to 11 million since February 2020 when it was 10.1 million. The pandemic lockdowns certainly encouraged many to acquire a four-legged friend. Most owners are very considerate along my route into town and have their dogs on leads. Others not so much. Ringing a bell makes no difference when two people are in deep conversation and up to six dogs are running around untethered. There are, of course bad cyclists amongst the 7.61 million of us UK residents who spend time in the saddle. They go too fast, have no bells and don’t keep much of an eye on potential obstacles ahead. In Larkhall just recently, when crossing a side road, my husband and I had to lean back suddenly as a lady on a bike came quickly around the corner. “Sorry gentlemen”, she said. While appreciating her courteously framed vocal apology, the sound of a warning bell would have been better. Returning to the subject of the canal towpath, I think in such a shared and confined space ALL users should play their part, and dogs should be on leads. Away from pedestrians and cyclists, let’s talk about motorists too. All the opinions expressed in this column are mine by the way, but I deplore the way the car is now being used as a political weapon to win votes. There are 33.27 million cars in the UK and winning sympathy from their drivers appears to be an early election ploy. But freeing up bus lanes and loosening speed restrictions will make no difference to those stuck in mile-long motorway queues. Those who question local authorities imposing 20 mph limits in towns and cities will no doubt admit that even that speed is often difficult to obtain, especially in our city of Bath when travelling along the London Road is often no more than a crawl. As we move to electric vehicles, the lower the speed limit the better. You cannot hear these cars approaching and can only rely on your vision and not eyes AND ears when stepping off the pavement. Maybe they should ban town cars altogether and bring back the trams?! ” n Richard Wyatt runs the Bath Newseum: bathnewseum.com

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www.josiemitchelljewellery.com Josiemitchell.jewellery

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Nurry Lee V2.qxp_Layout 1 26/10/2023 17:43 Page 1

MUSIC

Going solo

Bath-based concert pianist Nurry Lee recently won first prize in the senior category at the Piano House International Piano Competition. Her prize was an appearance playing at the legendary Carnegie Hall in New York. Nurry spoke to us about her musical life ahead of her debut concert there.

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Nurry Lee V2.qxp_Layout 1 26/10/2023 17:44 Page 2

MUSIC

You recently won First Prize at the Piano House International Piano Competition and as result are playing at Carnegie Hall in New York. What did you have to do for the competition? I won the senior category, and I had to play a 25-minute programme. I performed Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker Suite arranged by Mikhail Pletnev and Liszt’s Reminiscenes de Norma. It was a big programme, but with two of my favourite pieces. What pieces are you performing at Carnegie Hall? I am playing the Tchaikovky and the Listz pieces that I played for the competition, because they are two of my favourite compositions for piano, and they are suitable for such a large concert hall. They are technically some of the hardest pieces in the piano repertoire and are also demanding musically. Mikhail Pletnev is a top concert pianist, and he showed this Nutcracker arrangement to the great Vladimir Horowitz. Horowitz had a look at the score and then said to Pletnev, ‘You and I are the only two pianists who will ever be able to play this’, because it was so difficult. How do you feel about performing in such a prestigious venue? It is always a pleasure to play anywhere. But to be able to play at Carnegie Hall in New York, one of the greatest classical music halls in the world, is such an honour. It has an incredible history, and all the leading concert pianists and classical musicians have played there. I do get nervous, no matter how many times I perform. For me, it is more of a mental thing. I make sure I warm up/practise well on the day before the performance, and make sure I am hydrated and have had enough food to be able to draw out the energy. I have to be able to recite the music and programme in my mind (since I will be playing from memory) and then, just before going on stage, I put all of my focus on the music, character and story of the pieces. You got Grade 8 Distinction on piano and violin when you were 11. How much of this was natural talent and how much was hard work? I think, honestly, it is a mixture of both. I definitely had a certain knack for music. Before I officially had a teacher, I would hear my sister play in her lessons, and then I would come up to the piano and play what she did. I feel like talent will give you a head start and make it a little easier, but discipline is the fuel that lets the talent grow. When you combine the two you can achieve your best.

Does the life of a piano soloist ever make you feel isolated? Yes, definitely. Piano itself is quite an isolating instrument – you spend hours by yourself practising and then travelling by yourself to perform. I guess with social media and the internet these days it is easier to feel more connected, and luckily I have friends in most of the countries I perform in, but it can definitely feel isolating at times. How did your South Korean heritage inform the person you are? I grew up in the UK, but my parents had a South Korean mindset and did pass on those values to me. I did an exchange to South Korea at the Korea National University of Arts in 2019, and that was where I had the time to understand the culture more. My relatives are in Korea and earlier this year, I played in a few concerts there. What does Bath mean to you? Bath is a special place for me. It is somewhere I can call home, no matter where I go. I am inspired by the beautiful scenery, the history, the architecture and it feels like time is never rushed there. There is also a feeling of community and support. When I performed at The Guildhall in August, the support I had from local businesses and everyone I spoke to was tremendous and really touching. What are your ambitions for the future? To carry on playing and performing. I will be creating another album, and recording some music online. I will be playing in concerts in London and internationally and I will definitely play again in Bath. I guess the larger picture and goal for me is to bring classical music and piano music to as many people and places as I can. The music itself is so fantastic and incredible, and so if I can give that to people, that would be an absolute privilege. n nurrylee.com Nurry Lee is performing at the concert My Son My Brother at Bath Abbey on Friday 3 November at 7.30pm. gac.ticketlight.co.uk

Was being a concert pianist always your dream? Yes absolutely! For as long as I can remember, since learning the piano, I wanted to be a concert pianist. When I was very young, I would picture performing to a big audience. That is partly why, no matter how difficult things are, I am so grateful to be living my dream. Tell us about your experience studying at Wells Cathedral School I absolutely loved studying at Wells. I was there for seven years, from 11–18 years old. It was the perfect and most ideal blend of music, education, friends and adventure. Musically, it was stimulating because there were so much music going on and academically it was amazing. I was able to make connections between music and different subjects. When starting to play a new piece of music, what is your process? I usually start straight from the score. If it’s something completely new, I find a recording and just listen once. But I always start from the score, learn it through my fingers, and analyse it. And then I create my interpretation of it. At that point I will listen to other recordings, to get inspiration or see what they came up with. This usually makes for a very genuine, natural and unique interpretation. What is your most favourite piece of piano music to play? I love Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No.2, which I recently played in Hungary. There is something about the Russian school of composers – including Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninov, Shostakovich, Prokofiev and Stravinsky – that I feel a certain connection with.

Nurry Lee playing at Carnegie Hall

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Mint Velvet Fashion Nov. Bath Version.qxp_Fashion 27/10/2023 12:56 Page 1

FASHION BRAND | MINT VELVET

Relaxed glamour on rotation Mint Velvet fuses relaxed comfort with glamorous, yet wearable trends – relaxed glamour is the fail-safe style formula. The collections are overflowing with versatility to lean on day-in, day-out. Every shape, silhouette, fabric and detail are scrutinised to ensure the brand always delivers flattering, great-quality fashion, whether it’s elevated basics-with-a-twist or standout eveningwear. Shop at: 6– 7 New Bond Street, Bath BA1 1BE or online at mintvelvet.com

Black Tuxedo Blazer, £179.00c Black Tuxedo Trousers £119.00c

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Mint Velvet Fashion Nov. Bath Version.qxp_Fashion 27/10/2023 12:56 Page 2

Black Diamantec Mesh Top, £99c

Black Pearl Detailc Midi Dress, £199

Gold Bow Detail Mini Dress, £149 c

Black Sequin Jacket, £179c

Cream Chain Detailc Clutch Bag, £99

Black Diamante Mesh Skirt, £139c

Black Suedec Toe Cap Flats, £119

Cream Straightc Trousers, £139

Black Satin Shoulder Bag, £79c

THEBATHMAG.CO.UK | NOVEMBER 2023 | ThEBATHMagaziNE 17

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ICARUS

SILVER JEWELLERY Icarus Jewellery is an independent silver jewellery shop located in the heart of Bath, on Pulteney Bridge and offers a great selection of handmade unique designs from their store and online shop. Icarus Jewellery has recently released the Icarus Gift Card which can be purchased on their website. The boutique also offers UK and international shipping. 3 Pulteney Bridge, Bath, BA2 4AX 01225 463693 www.icarusjewellery.com instagram.com/icarusjewellery facebook.com/icarusjewellery

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HONEY WILLOW 8 Pulteney Bridge, Bath, BA2 4AX Open: Wed-Sat, 10am - 4pm and Sun 11am - 4pm

Honey Willow is a Bath family run jewellery business. We make meaningful, personalised jewellery celebrating loved ones and life’s milestones. Jewellery that customers love to give and receive. All handmade to order in our Bath workshop.

ANTIQUE JEWELLERY REPAIRS AND REMODELLING

Visit us on Pulteney Bridge or find the full range online: www.honeywillow.com

Discount code for 10% off : BATHMAG9

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CITY SPECIAL | MALLORY

KATIE VANDER WOERD

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CITY SPECIAL | MALLORY

The Fine jewellery destination Let us introduce you to Mallory, the oldest jewellers in Bath who are celebrating their 125th anniversary. The great-great-grandaughter of the original owner, Katie Vander Woerd gives us some insights into the business... .

allory’s history began in Bath in 1898 when Edward Palmer Mallory, Katie Vander Woerd’s great-greatgrandfather, took over Routley the jewellers. “According to the 1891 Census, Edward Palmer Mallory began his career working as a ‘Jewellers Assistant’ in Cheltenham. He later moved to Bath gaining employment at Routley the jewellers at No. 1 Bridge Street and in the summer of 1898 he bought the business which became E.P. Mallory & Son. In the ensuing years and helped by his wife Mrs M.T. Mallory, the couple grew the business until it became a central part of commerce in the city, with people travelling from miles to buy jewellery.”

Ladies used to come to Bath to take the waters in the early years of the shop and came in to buy silver tea sets. “During the late 19th century the pause for afternoon tea became a fashionable social event. For high society, the afternoon tea table was one of great opulence and refinement. Tea drinking for the upper class came with a whole host of accessories – fine porcelain teacups and saucers, decorative silver teapots, mahogany tea caddies, silver tea urns, exquisite table linens and personalised tea blends. At that time silverware was highly valued for its craftsmanship, intricate designs, and the intrinsic beauty of silver and was desired by the gentry. E.P. Mallory & Son would hand-deliver fine silverware to many of the great and the good of Bath, as well as serving those who visited the Bridge Street showroom.” Over the past 125 years the business has embraced world wars and recessions, changing fashions, seasons and trends – all of which led the business to change and evolve. ”One of the most significant changes in 2005 saw the opening of our now dedicated watch department. My father, Robert Vander Woerd, had the foresight to predict the growth of the watch industry and to expand this area of our business, making us the first jeweller outside London to bring a multi-brand offering to a retail business, representing some of the finest luxury watch houses in the world. Our unique offering of fine jewellery, high end timepieces and luxury accessories made us a true shopping destination.”

UK today – there are not many left like us! We employ around 40 staff and the Mallory premises spans six Georgian buildings – so a lot happens behind the scenes! At the top of the house, we have dedicated state-of-the-art workshops where you will find our our accredited watchmakers and technician who service and maintain timepieces, as well as two talented goldsmiths who produce our beautiful Mallory creations, and repair and restore fine jewellery. We have a team of people who have been in the trade for a long time and have acquired a wealth of knowledge over the years. An important part of the watch and jewellery world is to pass on knowledge and expertise in the different specialisms, whether that’s antique jewellery, watches, gemmology, valuations, jewellery manufacturing or watch-servicing.” Is there a secret to the success of the business? “We are a personal business, and we believe in offering a unique and personal experience. We never compromise on our standards or values. As a family company we are in control of our own destiny. Bath is a special place, and we feel fortunate that Edward Palmer Mallory chose to reside here. Our customers come from all over the world, but our home is here in Bath – we have a deep sense of our heritage in this wonderful city. Clients come to us to buy something special. We are here to impart our knowledge and guide... and hopefully make dreams come true!”  Mallory, 1-5 Bridge Street, Bath BA2 4AP; 01225 788800; Web: mallory-jewellers.com

Katie Vander Woerd came into the business ten years ago. “I was happy and proud to join the company and to be part of this fastpaced and fascinating industry. It’s often about carving a niche for yourself, harnessing the skills and talents you have and deciding how they can bring value. As the fifth generation, I feel immensely privileged to be able to continue to build on the heritage, brand and family values that have been created.” Mallory is one of the most prominent jewellers in the country. “We are one of the largest independent family-owned and run jewellers in the

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EVENTS

The ocean explorer The world of the great blue is largely a mystery. Naturalist and explorer Steve Backshall is taking advantage of the new technology that can follow the ocean’s creatures to build up a bigger picture of their world. He’ll also be spreading the ocean message when he comes to Bath Forum this month. Words by Simon Horsford.

he naturalist, explorer and TV presenter Steve Backshall is one of life’s action men – unfazed by scaling mountains, venturing through forbidding jungles, handling venomous snakes, or free-diving with sharks. And yet maybe his most enduring talent is the inspiring and sometimes daredevil manner in which he delivers his understanding of the natural world. That passionate drive to explore and explain has most recently been directed towards the oceans of the world. In his new book Deep Blue: My Ocean Journeys and on his current UK tour, Ocean: Bringing Marine Dreams To Life, which comes to the Bath Forum in November, Backshall offers a hymn to this fascinating environment and a demonstration of why it’s so important. As he says in the introduction to the book, “So much of our oceans is out of sight, and out of mind. We think of them too little, and understand them even less…” I caught up with Backshall ahead of his tour and he began by expanding on his attraction to the ocean. “The biggest environment that we know nothing about is our deep seas and there are new species being

found all the time. It’s right there in front of us and yet at the same time we are causing it untold damage. I have spent a huge amount of time exploring the seas and it always seems to bring some new understanding of an animal and the way it works, its biology or evolution, every time I dive. It’s been omnipresent through my life and so it seemed natural to want to build a show around it.” It’s speculated that we have only mapped around 10% of the world’s oceans, “but how much we’ve actually seen and sent drones and submersibles down to look at, is a fraction of 1%,” adds Backshall. He believes we are on the cusp of a new perception of our oceans. “Until recently we knew relatively little about creatures such as whales, sharks and seals as they can dive to great depths, so we’ve only been able to study them in those few moments when they are at the surface. Now we have the technology that can follow them and have started to build up a much bigger picture of what goes on in their world.”

The biggest environment that we know nothing about is our deep seas ... it’s right there in front of us and yet we are causing it untold damage...

Steve diving in the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico – under the vast jungle here is the largest unexplored network of caves in the world

Photograph by Gabriel Gasca Rubi

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That technology includes drones and “Crittercams” that can be attached to animals to tell, for instance, how deep they dive, how fast they swim and how their heart rate changes. Acoustic monitors can also give data as to how animals communicate “in a less invasive way than just a few years ago,” says Backshall. There’s even the delightfully named “Snotbot” drone that flies through the blow of a whale as it spouts enabling researchers to figure out what sex it is, its age and if it is breeding. “It’s a very interesting time in biology,” adds Backshall. It’s this kind of detailed information – and so many hours in the water – that allows Backshall to make his Ocean tours so captivating, using scale models, stunts and tricks to offer a sense of the size of the marine creatures. “It’s about the way these animals work and how they catch their prey,” says Backshall. The shows also make the science applicable to everyone, from families and kids to undergraduates and marine biologists, by ensuring it’s entertaining and packed with information. “It’s about engaging as many people as possible,” he says. It’s the same with his book Deep Blue: “I wanted to create something that got across my love for the environment and everything that lives in it, while at the same time analysing the past, present and future through its most iconic inhabitants.” The book is crammed with information about the ocean and what lives in it, woven together with evocatively poetic language – he describes a “hilariously ugly” wolf eel eating a sea urchin as being “like a toddler trying to eat a hedgehog”, a male Stellar sea lion that “buzzed over his head like a Lancaster bomber” and the seabed being “like a Dr Seuss landscape”. Well, he does have degrees in English and science. At its heart, though, is a reminder of the harm that Man has done to the seas. Destructive industrial fishing of the Mediterranean has meant that “its fish populations are teetering on extinction. In my lifetime [Backshall was 50 this year], more than 41% of marine mammals and 34% of fish life in the Med have gone…. Dive in the Med’s clear waters now, and it sometimes feels like a silent blue morgue.” Equally shocking is the reminder that eight million tonnes of plastic

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EVENTS end up in the sea each year. “The plastics issue is huge – quite often now we will rock up in remote places and find beaches that look like landfill sites they are so covered in plastic. We were [filming] on the west coast of Africa, miles from any civilisation and we found great mounds of plastic, some of it from the Far East and China.” Backshall takes heart from the fact that “one of the problems we have switched on to more than any other is how young people have connected with [this] situation. All around the world they are campaigning about the use of plastic.” He cites an inspiring case back in 2017 when two sisters (aged eight and 10) in Bali threatened to go on hunger strike to get the island to ban single-use plastic – something which, after sustained pressure, the governor did two years later. He is similarly engaged with the issue of pollution in Britain’s rivers, which led him to work with the charity River Action. “Last year we had [almost] 900 sewage outages per day around the country with some rivers classed as being in the worst condition of any developed nation in Europe, and more than 80% of our rivers are not considered to be in an ecologically sound state. It is a total disgrace.” Backshall, who lives in Berkshire by the Thames, with his wife Helen Glover, the Olympic gold-medal winning rower, and their three young children, is particularly heartbroken by what’s happening in his area. “When there are no outages, it can be amazingly clean and you can do wild swimming and see otters and kingfishers. Instead, we get huge amounts of raw sewage poured into it and the way the water companies deal with it is completely unethical. We need to seriously consider water companies going back into public hands. The water company regulator [Ofwat] needs to be far stricter with greater fines in place and a drive to improve the infrastructure on a national scale.” His love of nature and adventure goes back to his childhood – both his parents worked for British Airways and Backshall and his sister benefited from free flights but small budget holidays to magical places. He says, “My first tropical coral reef was Malindi in Kenya when I was barely seven or eight; I had no idea such eye-poppingly colourful and dazzlingly exotic fish existed. I was hooked.” His parents also instilled in him and his sister an early ability to swim and be ‘water babies’. After certifying as a scuba diver and travelling solo around Asia in 1990, Backshall became ‘Adventurer in Residence’ with National Geographic – surely the coolest job title – in 1998 and went on to host Nat Geo’s EarthPulse series before moving on to the BBC’s The Really Wild Show. Then came the show Deadly 60 on CBBC in 2009, in which he has close encounters with some of the world’s deadliest creatures from cheetahs and gorillas to the inland taipan snake (the most venomous in the world), tarantulas and bull sharks. In all Backshall has clocked up around 116 countries, involving numerous expeditions and where the ‘goal’ has often been to create a never-before-moment, such as taking the first-ever light into a cave system, or making the first ascent of an Arctic mountain. He has had numerous close scrapes, from bites to falls to nearly drowning when his kayak capsized in a freezing river in Bhutan. Has he ever been scared? “Probably attempting to make a first ascent in Venezuela [of a sheersided mountain in Canaima National Park]. We got caught in furious storms, with rockfall thundering around our ears, while trying to live on a vertical rock face.” Big cities aren’t his thing either: “I can be really frightened in a sprawling city at night. It’s not my chosen environment.” As to the future of our planet, Backshall remains cautiously optimistic. “There have been lots of announcements about the

Deep Blue by Steve Backshall, Witness Books, £22. Steve Backshall Ocean is at Bath Forum on 13 November at 7.30pm. Tickets: under 16s £19.50, adults £26.50. bathforum.co.uk

Great white shark

environment this year that have made us think there are positive changes afoot. Things like 30 by 30 (a worldwide initiative for governments to designate 30 per cent of the Earth’s land and ocean area as protected areas by 2030) is massive, and [Defra’s scheme to protect] marine protected areas [in English waters] is big. So we have to hang on to those – particularly when I’m working with young people, I need to be able to give them evidence that their efforts can have positive effects.” Backshall shows no sign of slowing down – next year he’s off to film marlin in the Pacific and to Zambia and has expeditions planned to South American rainforests. Now he has children, he is also conscious of the risks he takes on his adventures, but only takes them if he believes they are acceptable and reasonable. “All the cliches about having kids are true,” he adds, “and you do start seeing the world in a very different way and it makes you think about legacy and what we can do to ensure our kids have a better planet. It’s about being able to look them in the eye in five or 10 years time and tell them what I tried to do. “I’m also getting to the point in my career after doing children’s wildlife television for 20 years where young graduates are saying: ‘I used to watch your stuff and it made me want to study biology’. That’s the most amazing thing to hear and makes me very proud.” n THEBATHMAG.CO.UK THEBATHMAG.CO.UK xx | november | augusT 2023 | TheBATHmagazine 25

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POSTCARD from

BATH

The Finest Guide to the City

ORDER YOUR COPY Postcard is available for guests to enjoy either in-room or in the lobbies at most of the city’s 3, 4 and 5 star hotels and accomodation across the city. Priced at just £10, If you would like to buy a copy

you can order online via our website: postcardmagazine.co.uk or by calling our offices on +44 (0)1225 424 499

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EVENTS

WHAT’S ON MUSIC AT GREEN PARK BRASSERIE

n Green Park Brasserie, Green Park Enjoy live jazz/funk/soul/swing at Green Park Brasserie on Weds and Thurs from 6.30– 8.45pm and Fri and Sat from 6.30–9.45pm. Music includes dynamic duos, modern trios and a Hot Club style quintet. greenparkbrasserie.com

BRICK AMERICA: AN ADVENTURE IN LEGO® BRICKS Until 31 December n The American Museum & Gardens, Claverton Down This off-the-scale, super-fun, creative exhibition celebrates favourite icons from across the USA and invites visitors to build and play. Discover famous buildings, cityscapes and vehicles, plus models inspired by movies, history, NASA, iconic people and much more, with many models and mosaics built specially for the American Museum & Gardens by LEGO artist Warren Elsmore and his team. americanmuseum.org

U3A LECTURE: WHAT DIPLOMATS DO AND IS IT WORTH DOING? 2 November, 9.45am coffee, 10.30am talk n The Pavilion, North Parade Road, Bath Former British diplomat Francis Cornish, who is giving this lecture previously served as the Foreign Office spokesman for Douglas Hurd. Free for members and a donation of £2 for non-members. u3ainbath.uk

CLASSIC FILM: SOME LIKE IT HOT 3 November, 6pm for 6.30pm n The Bath and County Club, Queen’s Parade, Bath After two male musicians witness a mob hit, they flee the state in an all-female band disguised as women, but further complications set in. Directed by Billy Wilder, starring Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon. Buffet at interval. Entry £18. bathandcountyclub.com

Some Like It Hot, The Bath and County Club

BATH BACH CHOIR: SONGS OF FAREWELL 4 November, 7.30pm n Bath Abbey This autumn’s concert for remembrance season reflects the sorrow of loss and the uplifting hope of peace in eternal rest. The music will be by turns tenderly intimate and delicate, and thrillingly bombastic, matched to the exciting space of Bath Abbey. Pieces include Gabriel Fauré’s Requiem. John Ireland’s Greater Love and Hubert Parry’s Songs of Farewell and a variety of inspirational poetry and religious texts as well as fresh, often innovative, musical styles will be explored. Conducted by Benedict Collins Rice. Tickets £30/£28/ £25/£16/£11. bathboxoﬃce.org.uk

A LIFE IN THE THEATRE BY DAVID MAMET 11 November, 8pm n Rondo Theatre, St Saviour’s Road, Bath From the prize winning author of Glengarry Glen Ross and Speed-the-Plow, David Mamet’s “love letter to the theatre” marks Misplaced’s debut on the Bath stage after a successful run last year in Bristol. This bittersweet comedy follows Robert and John as they face the challenges of an actor’s life both under the spotlight and backstage. In a series of short, spare and increasingly raw exchanges between the two men, the estrangement of youth from age and the inevitable cycle of life is played out. £16/£14. rondotheatre.co.uk

CAPPELLA NOVA: AVE MARIA

SANSARA TRACES OF THE WHITE ROSE

4 November, 7.30pm–9.30pm n St Alphege’s Church, Oldfield Lane, Bath Cappella Nova, the Bath-based chamber choir, presents Ave Maria, a concert of music celebrating the Virgin Mary. The programme features the 7 Marienlieder (Songs for Mary) by Johannes Brahms, along with versions of Ave Maria and Ave Maris Stella and sacred music by composers from the 19th century to the present day. Tickets £15 (students £8, under-18s free). Proceeds in aid of Off the Record, the local mental health and wellbeing charity. cappellanova.org.uk

11 November, 7.30pm n Wiltshire Music Centre, Bradford-on-Avon Vocal collective SANSARA present a sequence of words and music telling the story of the White Rose resistance: five students and a professor who stood up to Nazism and paid with their lives. Powerful choral music by British and German composers is interspersed with readings from the letters, diaries and pamphlets of the White Rose in vivid new translations by students from the University of Oxford’s White Rose Project. Pre-concert talk at 6.30pm with Tom Herring (musical director) and Simon Carrington. Tickets £22/£12 U18s and students. wiltshiremusic.org.uk

THE ARTS SOCIETY BATH | LECTURE: A PHOTOGRAPHIC ODYSSEY: SHACKLETON’S EXPEDITION 6 November, 11.30am n Widcombe Social Club, Widcombe Hill, and live-streamed On his third Antarctic Expedition in 1914 Ernest Shackleton’s ship The Endurance became trapped in the ice for five months. He and some of his men then rowed and sailed for help from over 800 miles away. Three months later they returned to rescue the crew. Lecture by Mark Cottle. To attend as a guest (£10, or £7 on Zoom), reserve a place by emailing bath@theartssociety.org by 3 November. theartssocietybath.com

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MARTHA TILSTON 11 November, 8pm n Chapel Arts, St James’s Memorial Hall, Lower Borough Walls With a pure silken voice and lyrics that inspire and captivate, Martha Tilston has developed a successful musical career with a large and loyal following. She has performed on some of the world’s most prestigious stages and festivals, recorded and released several critically acclaimed albums. £17.50/£19. chapelarts.org Continued page 30

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EVENTS The Greatest Magician at Komedia

WIDCOMBE CHRISTMAS MARKET 11 and 12 November, Saturday 10.30am–5pm; Sunday 10.30am–4pm n At Widcombe Social Club, the Natural Theatre Company, and St Matthews Church Hall (Saturday only), all on Widcombe Hill Over 50 local makers will be showing their work, all of which will be for sale. You will find plenty to choose from including ceramics, jewellery, textiles, paintings, prints, cards, candles, mosaics, glass and enamel work. Refreshments available at St Matthews Church and the Social Club. Free entry. widcombechristmasmarket.com Remembrance Day Concert at the Abbey

REMEMBRANCE DAY CONCERT AT THE ABBEY: DURUFLÉ REQUIEM 11 November, 7pm n Bath Abbey On this emotional and poignant weekend listen to the Abbey choirs give a moving performance of Duruflé’s much loved and evocative Requiem. Composed in 1947, it is one of the most beautiful and comforting works ever written. There will also be music by Elizabethan composers William Byrd (Justorum animae) and Thomas Weelkes (When David heard). bathboxoffice.org.uk

BUSINESS WEST NETWORKING BREAKFAST 14 November, 8am n Heywood House, Heywood, Westbury, Wiltshire Business West networking events provide a friendly environment to put yourself and your business out there. The chamber offers you the chance to make smart business connections. Successful networking can help you raise your profile, meet new customers and suppliers, develop your knowledge, explore new ideas, find investment, establish partnerships and build a presence in other markets. If you’re not a Heywood House or Chamber member, not to worry…these networking events are open to all within the business community. heywoodhouse.com

ALDRIDGE’S OF BATH AUCTION 14 November, 10am (viewing on Saturday 11 November) n Online Decorative and household sale, including

Victorian, Edwardian, 20th-century and modern household furniture and furnishings, decorative china and glass, pictures and prints, mirrors and rugs; also garden furniture, tools and general household goods. aldridgesofbath.com I’M SORRY PRIME MINISTER 14–18 November n Theatre Royal Bath, Saw Close, Bath The much-loved Jim Hacker and Sir Humphrey Appleby are brought back to the stage by original writer Jonathan Lynn in this final chapter of the Yes, Minister series, as the pair face up to life after their exit from public service. Tickets from £30. theatreroyal.org.uk

THE GREATEST MAGICIAN 15 November, 7.30pm n Komedia, 22–23 Westgate Street Following a sell-out run in 2022, James Phelan – the magician most infamous for jamming the BBC switchboard after correctly predicting the Lottery – presents a dazzling, five-star-rated magic show, which will leave you aching with laughter. Directed by the late Paul Daniels in his final theatrical project and Rated 5 stars across the board. Tickets £24.50/£36. komedia.co.uk

PHENOMENAL WOMEN: ANITA BHAGWANDAS 16 November, 5.30pm–7.30pm n Gainsborough Bath Spa, Beau Street Anita is a multi-award winning freelance journalist, broadcaster and speaker. She is a beauty columnist with The Guardian’s Saturday magazine, Beauty Director at Condé Nast Traveller and writes for titles including Glamour, Allure, and Stylist. Join Anita for an evening of networking and prosecco, and a talk based on her new book, UGLY, unravelling what we think we know about beauty, both in how we view ourselves and others. £15. eventbrite.co.uk

ECO:FEST DAY: A CREATIVE RESPONSE TO THE CLIMATE CRISIS Widcombe Christmas Market

18 November, 11am n Wiltshire Music Centre, Bradford-on-Avon A mini festival of music and creative

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activity delivered in partnership with Climate Friendly Bradford on Avon. Learn more about what’s going on in the local community through a rich programme of performances, talks, activities and films and an evening concert. Bring a picnic or enjoy sustainable food and drink from local producers. Entry £5, under 18 months free. wiltshiremusic.org.uk

HERTFORD CHAMBER CHOIR: A WILD DAWN 18 November, 5.30pm n St Michael's Church, Bath Join Hertford Chamber Choir for an evening of sublime choral music spanning hundreds of years. The programme features a collection of madrigals and songs ranging from the 16th to the 20th century, by composers including Bennet, Monteverdi, Weelkes, Elgar and Finzi, as well as jazzinspired motets from the modern day. Formed in January 2022 by Manvinder Rattan, Hertford Chamber Choir perform regularly in Hertford, London and beyond, and have recently performed in Vienna and sung evensong at Westminster Abbey. Tickets £10, £5 students and under 25s. bathboxoffice.org.uk

BEAUJOLAIS WINE DINNER 18 November, 6.15pm for 7pm n The Bath and County Club, Queen’s Parade, Bath Enjoy a Beaujolais Wine Dinner at The Bath and County Club. All wines included. £42. bathandcountyclub.com

YOGA IN THE CHAPEL AT THE GAINSBOROUGH 19 November, 10am–12pm n Gainsborough Bath Spa, Beau Street Available for all abilities, this yoga workshop is a light-hearted experience that offers time for every individual. The session starts with QiGong and Breath, followed by a Yang to Yin style yoga practice and closes with the beautiful sounds of the crystal bowls and a guided sleep meditation. The two-hour journey will encourage your body and mind to find a state of relaxation, and an La La Land at the opportunity to absorb the beautiful sounds of American Museum the crystal bowls, renowned for their deep & Gardens healing qualities. £25. eventbrite.co.uk Continued page 32

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Christmas at Westonbirt, photo by Johnny Hathaway

JAZZ AT THE MUSEUM: JON LLOYD QUARTET 19 November, 2.30pm–4.30pm n The American Museum & Gardens, Claverton Down An afternoon performance at the American Museum & Gardens featuring the best in local jazz, indoors in the Stables. Sit back and relax with the Jon Lloyd Quartet and light refreshments from the Deli. Tickets £7–£21. americanmuseum.org

UNIVERSITY OF BATH GARDENING CLUB: PETER KORN: PLANTING FOR THE FUTURE 21 November, 7.30pm–9pm n Room 1 Level 1, East Building, East Car Park, University of Bath, Claverton Down At his nursery, Klinta Tradgard, Sweden, Peter Korn is defying convention. Planting on sand prepares plants for a tough life in our changing climate. Find out about this original technique and how wildlife can thrive in a surprisingly diverse environment. Open to all, membership £25, visitors £8. ubgc.org

FATHER CHRISTMAS' GROTTO 23 November – 24 December n Milsom Place, 41 Milsom Street, Bath Create festive memories and watch as your little ones’ faces light up as they meet Father Christmas and his elves. Much more than your usual Grotto, this is a fun interactive experience with professional actors. A festive destination designed for the family to enjoy and escape from the hustle and bustle of Christmas shopping. Produced by the Garden Theatre Festival. Tickets £11.55. eventbrite.co.uk

CHRISTMAS AT WESTONBIRT 24 November – 23 December, selected evenings n Westonbirt, The National Arboretum Discover a captivating landscape and stunningly lit trees, creating an enchanting world of wonder. Enchanted Christmas at Westonbirt, The National Arboretum, sees the magic of the festive season come to life in spectacular illuminated fashion. On selected evenings from Friday 24 November until Saturday 23 December be dazzled by an enthralling winter wonderland, filled with sparkling lights, festive sounds and installations. forestryengland.uk/westonbirt/enchanted-christmas

ARABELLA STEINBACHER & BATH PHILHARMONIA 28 November, 7.30pm n Bath Forum A feast of lyrical and invigorating orchestral melodies featuring violinist Arabella Steinbacher, celebrated worldwide as one of today’s leading soloists, performing Tchaikovsky’s irresistible violin concerto. Tickets £35/£30/£25/£5. bathboxoﬃce.org.uk

COMBE GROVE WELLNESS RETREATS Courses starting 20 November, 4 December, 11 December n Combe Grove, Brassknocker Hill, Bath Combe Grove is the UK’s first medical wellness retreat and year-long support programme. The Master Menopause retreat starting on 20

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Bath Christmas Market

November, the Optimum Health Metabolic Reset starting on 4 December and the Prevent and Reverse Prediabetes retreat starting on 11 December are all week-long retreats as part of a year-long programme. The retreats have been developed in consultation with leading GPs, dietitians and medical professionals. combegrove.com

BATH CHRISTMAS MARKET 23 November – 10 December n Around the Abbey, Bath Street, Hot Bath Street and

Milsom Street Meander through the streets of Bath adorned with over 170 twinkling chalets and discover some of the best crafters that the south west and beyond has to offer. With stylish homeware, handmade jewellery, personalised presents and more, bathe in the sights and smells of Christmas whilst ticking everything off your shopping list. bathchristmasmarket.co.uk

ACROSS THE VAST, ETERNAL SKY 25 November, 7.30pm n St. Swithin’s Church, The Paragon, Bath Join Bath Minerva Choir for an evening of choral jewels from Scandinavia and the UK, featuring composers Paul Mealor, Ola Gjeilo, Elgar and Balfour-Gardiner. Joined by young baritone Florian Störtz, this programme will beguile and stimulate with beautiful, calming music to warm the heart. Tickets £20/£15. bathboxoﬃce.org.uk

BATH FILM SOCIETY PROGRAMME

A Season in France

Bath Film Society has two films to look forward to this month. On 10 November is A Season in France (France, 2017) directed by Mahamet Saleh Haroun, focusing on the humiliations and traumas of ‘sans papiers’ immigrants in the Parisian banlieues. On 24 November you can see Murina (Croatia, 2021) directed by Antoneta Alamat Kusijanovic. This film’s central (human) character Julija is an adept spear fisher. The question is who is her prey? Tensions build when a guest visits their idyllic island stoking tensions between Julija and her father. Bath Film Society Screenings are held at Bath Royal Literary and Scientific Institution, 16–18 Queen Square, 7.30pm on Fridays. Enjoy a drink from 7pm before the film. Visit The Bath Film Society website for more information: bathfilmsociety.org.uk; membership secretary: mail@bathfilmsociety.org.uk

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EVENTS

LOOKING AHEAD CHRISTMAS GROUP EXHIBITION AND OPEN STUDIOS 1–3 December n Black Chalk Artspace, 19A Monmouth Place, Bath BA1 2AY This festive exhibition will serve mulled wine and mince pies. Opening 6pm–9pm on 1 December. Black Chalk Workshops: 07933 149990

CHRISTMAS LIGHT TRAIL AT STOURHEAD 1–31 December n Mere, Wiltshire BA12 6SH Stourhead, the National Trust’s Palladian house and garden, is preparing to wow visitors with its glittering Christmas light trail. This magical meander through Stourhead’s unique gardens, deep in the heart of Wiltshire, will be filled with largerthan-life illuminations, all choreographed to a soundtrack of seasonal music. Open from 4.30pm, last entry 8pm and closes at 10pm. Closed 5, 6, 24, 25 December. christmasatstourhead.co.uk

KES CHRISTMAS FAIR 2023 2 December, 10am–2pm n King Edward’s School Sports Hall, North Road, Bath The annual KES Christmas Fair has a variety of wonderful stalls selling a range of gifts to help with your Christmas shopping. There will also be a variety of crafts and games for children. The café will sell teas, coffees and soft drinks. There will be delicious homemade cakes, cookies, pizza and soup. There is also a Raffle, with a range of fantastic prizes and a Reindeer Rodeo! Tickets can be purchased at the fair, with the draw taking place at 1pm. Suggested donation for adult entry £3. kesbath.com

BEAR FLAT ARTISTS CHRISTMAS ART FAIR & MARKET 2023 2 December, 10am–5pm n Methodist Church Hall, off Wellsway, Bruton Ave, Bear Flat BA2 4QJ Bear Flat Artists present a Christmas Art Fair and Market to showcase local Voices of Swing at The Forum

Christmas Light Trail at Stourhead

creativity. Features work by talented local artists and makers, a chance to buy original art and hand-made gifts direct. Work includes ceramics, sculpture, painting, jewellery, photography, printmaking, glass, illustration, cards, festive tree decorations and more. Here is an opportunity to meet the makers and find out about the different processes involved. Free entry, all welcome. bearflatartists.co.uk

with musical examples. To attend as a guest (£10 in venue or £7 on Zoom), reserve a place at bath@theartssociety.org theartssocietybath.org

U3A LECTURE: VIEW FROM THE WINGS

7 December, 9.45am coffee, 10.30am talk n The Pavilion, North Parade Road, Bath Playwright, performer and speaker Brian Freeland has worked with companies such as the Royal Shakespeare Company, the DOROTHY HOUSE SANTA & ELF RUN 2024 National Theatre, Scottish Opera, Sadler’s Wells and London Festival Ballet. Free for 3 December, 11am–2pm members and a donation of £2 for nonn Dorothy House Hospice, Winsley, members. u3ainbath.uk Bradford-on-Avon The Santa and Elf Run 2023 is back at Dorothy House Hospice and Winsley VOICES OF SWING: THE GREAT Cricket Club, helping to raise vital funds AMERICAN SONGBOOK for hospice care in Bath and beyond. 7 December, 7.30pm The Christmassy run is open to all ages and n The Forum, Bath takes place along a 2.5km course through Celebrate the festive season with the the beautiful grounds of Dorothy House. vocalists and instrumentalists of the Down Participants can choose to do the 2.5km for the Count Orchestra. They will recreate route once or twice to make it a 5km run. the music of Nat ‘King’ Cole, Billie Every child (Ages 2-11) gets a free elf hat Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra and and everybody 12+ gets a free Santa suit many more in a luscious 30-piece orchestral with their entry. Elf entry is £7.50 and setting evoking the sounds of the great Santa entry is £15. dorothyhouse.org Capitol Studios recordings. Expect to hear faithful recreations of songs such as I’ve Got You Under My Skin, Let’s Face The ADVENT CAROL SERVICES Music and Dance and ’S Wonderful, 3 December, 5pm and 7.15pm alongside original arrangements of jazz and n Bath Abbey An atmospheric service with music sung by festive standards written by principal conductor Mike Paul-Smith and arranger the Bath Abbey Choirs and readings to Simon Joyner. Tickets £25/£28/£30. mark the beginning of Advent, the season of expectant waiting followed by the joyous bathboxoﬃce.org.uk celebration of Jesus’s birth. Book free SLEEPING BEAUTY tickets from Bath Abbey’s website, 7 December – 7 January 2024 bathabbey.org n Theatre Royal Bath, Saw Close, Bath A beautiful Princess pricks her finger on a THE ARTS SOCIETY BATH | THE VERY spindle wheel that has been cursed by the MODEL OF ENGLISH ENTERTAINMENT: evil Carabosse at her 18th birthday party. GILBERT & SULLIVAN Can the Good Fairy’s magical spell 4 December, 11.30am break the curse? EastEnders’ star Neil n Widcombe Social Club, Widcombe Hill, McDermott plays Prince Vincent alongside and live-streamed on Zoom Jon Monie as Lester the Jester, EastEnders’ Lecturer Roger Askew considers W.S.Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan who came Nick Wilton as Dame Nanny Nora, Hollyoaks’ Sarah Jane Buckley as Fairy together under the guiding hand of the Snowfall and Maisie Sellwood as Princess impresario, Richard D’Oyly Carte. The Rose. Tickets £9–£40.50. Savoy operas, with their gentle satire, are theatreroyal.org.uk n as alive today as in the 1880s. Illustrated

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EVENTS

CHRISTMAS INDOOR MAKERS‘ MARKET 23 November – 9 December, Monday to Saturday, 10am–4pm, late night opening until 7.30pm on 23 November, 1 and 5 December n BRLSI, 16-18 Queen Square, Bath BA1 2HN November sees the launch of a new indoor Christmas market focusing on local talent and independent makers. The exhibition space at BRLSI in Queen Square will be transformed into a cosy Christmas market offering local makers the chance to showcase their talents and allowing the people of Bath to support local and independent producers. The market, where stallholders will change from week to week, will run alongside the main Bath Christmas Market and will include work by artists, ceramicists, basket-makers. chocolatiers, sustainable jewellers and accessory makers. Stallholders include Camden Clay who make food-related typographic plates and Sicilian-inspired decorative head pots; Cami-Lou Jewellery, a contemporary, sustainable jewellery brand; basketmaker Amy West; and artist, printmaker and bookbinder Sophie Davis of Print Soda. brlsi.org/xmas ABOVE: Got Enough On My Plate plate by Camden Clay

LEFT: Baskets by Amy West BELOW: Earrings by Zimzala Jewellery

LEFT: Handmade mininotebooks by Print Soda BELOW: Lansdown Salt Soap by BAED

All money raised from the market goes to support BRLSI’s charitable aims and will enable the continuation of free exhibitions, low-cost talks and free children’s activities. 36 TheBATHMagazine | noveMber 2023 | iSSUe 249

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Come See Our Mirror Gallery at #31

Art Prints Special Oﬀer 15% up to 25th December

info@beaunashbath.com | 01225 334234 Visit our online shop at www.beaunashbath.com beaunashbath Get a beautiful and aﬀordable contemporary Giclée art print of an original Bath painting. A2, A3 and A4 sizes Buy online with coupon code XMAS

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ART | EXHIBITIONS Blue and White Stripy Bowl by Philip Lyons

ARTS & EXHIBITIONS Three Artists, from 18 November, Beaux Arts Bath, , 12-13 York Street

beauxartsbath.co.uk ABOVE: Small porcelain jar by Adam Frew

Sofia by Maria Rivans

Modern ArtBuyer Winter Pop-up Gallery, Sylvan Lodge, 1 Cliffe Drive, Limpley Stoke, Bath, 18–19 November Online gallery and art consultancy Modern ArtBuyer, run by Jessica Lloyd-Smith, is hosting its annual Open House Pop-up in Limpley Stoke. The Open House will feature a carefully curated mixed show of original paintings and affordable limited edition prints by artists from the Bath area and further afield, in a relaxed home setting. Throughout the weekend, Jessica will be on hand to offer advice around artwork selection, framing and hanging. Whether you’re on the hunt for the perfect gift or after some art inspiration for your own home, please pop in to browse the collection over a coffee or a glass of prosecco. 10am–4.30pm.

Winter Exhibition, Gallery Nine, 9B Margaret's Buildings, Bath, 11 November – 6 January This Winter Exhibition brings together the work of British contemporary artists, ceramicists and jewellers. Ceramicist Emily Myers works in porcelain and red stoneware clay; Philip Lyons returns with new work capturing the ever-changing light of the Cornish coastline; and Lisa Wisdom creates unique metal landscapes from a palette of rust and copper. Jeweller Jenifer Wall creates contrast by applying white and yellow gold leaf to oxidised metal and Marlene McKibbin makes brightly coloured, dip-dyed and hand machined acrylic chunky bangles, earrings and rings. galleryninebath.com

Image: Laura Richards

In the lead up to Christmas Beaux Arts showcases the work of two Scottish Artists and one from Northern Ireland. Compositions by Rachel Ross encapsulate thoughts and memories, suggested by the placement and intrinsic beauty of seemingly mundane objects. Ruth Brownlee’s paintings feature the wild seas near her Shetland home. The porcelain ceramics of Adam Frew will feature for the first time in the nooks and crannies of the gallery. Also on display in December will be paintings by Nathan Ford, Helen Simmonds, Andrew Crocker anad Anthony Scullion.

modernartbuyer.com

Bath Contemporary Artists’ Fair, Sunday 12 November, 10am–5pm Green Park Station, Green Park Road, Bath

High Tones, Low Tones: Landscapes and Portraits by Michael Sutherland, Gallery @ No56, Corsham SN13 OHF, 9–26 November Artist Michael Sutherland’s first solo exhibition brings oil and acrylic paintings as well as limited edition prints. Michael has a very successful TikTok Portrait series that has been viewed by millions. Visitors to Michael’s exhibition have the chance to have their portrait painted by Michael with a video of the painting process posted on social media. Just take a selfie in the photo booth in the gallery. Michael’s work was featured on the lockdown version of Sky Arts Portrait Artist of the Year. Follow this series via Michael’s TikTok page @mikesuther. willowuk.com/events

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The award-winning monthly Bath Contemporary Artists’ Fair (BCAF) is back on Sunday 12 November. Committed to bringing the best of contemporary art from the city and beyond to the heart of Bath, the fair has created a regular space where artists can network, share ideas, connect with the public, and where the public can connect with art. Visitors can browse the works of local artists and admire fine art, photography, sculpture, textiles, ceramics and much more, all under the vaulted glass roof of Green Park Station. For updates and exhibiting artists visit the website: bcaf.co.uk

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Image: Breakfast, 1973, by Howard Hodgkin DRIVEN TO ABSTRACTION: Julia Cooper, Jennifer Durrant RA, Vanessa Gardiner, Howard Hodgkin RA, Nicky Knowles RWA, Clare Packer, David Simon Contemporary, 37 High Street, Castle Cary BA7 7AW, 4–25 November An exhibition exploring colour, form, texture, materials and composition, with paintings that range from the hard-abstract to semi-figuration. Paintings in oil by Julia Cooper include abstract works alongside studies looking at form, her palette influenced by her coastal surroundings. Vanessa Gardiner exhibits with works in her established approach focusing on abstracted landscapes. Nicky Knowles brings large collage compositions inspired by music and the circus. The exhibition features more paintings with collage by Clare Packer. Works by Jennifer Durrant RA and Howard Hodgkin RA are also highlighted. Open Monday – Saturday (except Wednesday), 10am–5.30pm. davidsimoncontemporary.com

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Art in the Library, Bath Central Library, 19-23 The Podium, Bath 2 November – 16 December

Elemental: Forces of Nature, The Viewing Room, Lansdown Stores, Bath BA1 5EE, 8–26 November

Bath Central Library Art Space is the place to see a new selection of work from painters Kate Davies and Penny Ives. Exhibiting alongside them will be Jackie Bennett, animal and bird felt sculptor extraordinaire. Opening times Monday, Tuesday and Thursday 9.30am–5pm, Wednesday 9am–4.30pm, Friday and Saturday 9.30am-4.30pm (closed Sunday).

An exhibition of 12 distinguished women artists each responding to one of the elements of nature. Includes work from Belinda Crozier, Catalina Christensen, Day Bowman, Fiona McIntyre, Kaori Homma, Louise Burnett-Hall, Lynn Baxter, Margueritte Horner, Mary Romer, Maxine Foster, Ruth Piper and Susan McDonald. The Viewing Room is a popup fine art fair featuring a diverse collection of paintings, drawings, monoprints, sculptures and ceramics from established and award-winning artists. Curated by international art advisor Sandra Higgins.

pennyives.co.uk facebook.com/katedaviesillustration

sandrahiggins.art; sandra@sandrahiggins.com

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Trust RON PRINGLE Beau Nash, Bath

fter 30 years of corporate life, where ethics and integrity were everyday practices, never in my wildest dreams did I imagine that these principles would seamlessly transfer into my life of retirement as a shopkeeper. The transition from a corporate career, where adherence to ethics was ingrained in every facet of business, to a small shopkeeper handling cherished silver possessions has been a surprising revelation. I find that the values I cultivated in the boardrooms have found a new home among the silver artifacts that grace my shop. Almost weekly, people come in to the shop with their family silver and leave them to be valued without even asking for a receipt. Their modus operandi is as straightforward as it is astonishing— they request a valuation, leave behind the suitcase, provide a phone number, and vanish, confident that I will get back to them promptly. To me, the silver items left in my shop are not just objects; they are tokens of the implicit trust that clients have cultivated over decades of ethical business practices. Retirement hasn’t dimmed the importance of integrity; instead, it has allowed these principles to flourish in a more personal setting. The absence of formalities is a manifestation of the genuine connection established over years of transparent and fair dealings. It’s a refreshing departure from the bureaucratic layers that often shrouded ethical practices in the corporate world. In this unexpected journey from corporate life to small-scale entrepreneurship, I’ve come to realize that the true measure of success lies not just in the valuation of silver but in the enduring relationships built on a foundation of trust and integrity. Retirement, it seems, has opened a door to a different kind of wealth — one measured in the richness of genuine connections forged through years of ethical practice. n beaunashbath.com; info@beaunashbath.com; 01225 334234 @beaunashbath

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B AT H ’ S C O N T E M P O R A RY A RT S A N D C R A F T S G A L L E RY

Winter Exhibition

Tuesday 7th November - 31st December 2023

Lisa Wisdom Metal Landscapes

9b Margarets Buildings, Bath, BA1 2LP 01225 319197

Emily Myers Ceramics

The Exhibition can be viewed on our website: www.gallerynine.co.uk

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Ma San Auction In Bath

SPECIALISTS IN ORIENTAL WORKS OF ART A Chinese Blue and White Porcelain Vase, Qing Dynasty. SOLD £4680 incl. premium

A Chinese Painted Pottery model of a camel with rider, Han Dynasty (206BC - 220AD). SOLD £2600 incl. premium

A Chinese Gold Coin, memento, birth of Republic of China, 1912. SOLD £6825 incl. premium

ng Offeri tions a u l a free v e visits m o h & ting accep Now ments for n consig re sales! futu

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BOOKS

Behind the gloss Glamour, success and excess – Tamara Sturtz-Filby tells the true stories of the 1970s fashion world with the help of the legendary creative figures of the era, from Grace Coddington and Cheryl Tiegs to Clive Arrowsmith and Barbara Hulanicki. Emma Clegg chats to Tamara ahead of her appearance with Willie Christie at Topping & Co. bookshop Grace Coddington, shown here in 1974 photographed by Willie Christie, became the creative director at American Vogue, but she started her career as a model

“

he 1970s became the decade of experimentation in every sense of the word. Fashion became an ‘industry’ but also, more importantly, a community. Anybody could wear it and anyone could be a part of it, regardless of gender, sexual orientation, colour or race. As a result, it became a melting pot of creativity and boundary pushing. Dressing up, partying all night, disco, drugs and sex – anything went.” * For those who associate the 1970s with bell-bottoms, tie-dyed t-shirts, peasant blouses and ponchos, think again. These styles were indeed a memorable part of the street scene, but they were by-products of a fashion industry in revolution. This was when the formal remnants of the 1950s that the 1960s had loosened up were properly shaken off, as the high-end fashion world swiftly evolved into something new. Models, photographers, art directors, stylists and later make-up and hair stylists were working at a time of high creativity and reinvention where indeed, “anything went”. Tamara Sturtz-Filby’s new book, Behind the Gloss looks at this phenomenon with over 25 interviews with ‘fashion royalty’ from Zandra Rhodes to Marie Helvin. “The ’70s has this really outdated reputation for being the decade that style forgot, and that’s just not the case – this was the decade that changed everything in fashion”, says Tamara. 46 TheBATHMagazine | noveMber 2023 | issue 249

Grace Coddington was a powerhouse at the crux of the revolution. She started as a model for Vogue, became Fashion Editor of British Vogue and then in 1988 Creative Director at American Vogue. “Grace Coddington was given completely free rein, and she just pushed boundaries”, says Tamara. “And budgets weren’t an issue because they needed to get everything for free, so she would really push and go to the places that no one had been to before. And she had this real talent for finding talent for British Vogue. She found so many of the really special models like Marie Helvin and Jerry Hall, and really incredible photographers, such as Clive Arrowsmith and Barry Lategan.” In the early ’70s photoshoots were not the polished events of today, crowded with a hierarchy of people from creative and marketing. Quite often they just involved models – who did their own hair and makeup – a photographer and a stylist. “Fashion shoots were almost all very studio-based until Grace came along. People didn’t go abroad on fashion shoots – she started that whole thing”, says Tamara. “For Grace, the beauty of the 1970s’ aesthetic lay in the lack of perfection,” she continues. In Grace’s words, “These days, it’s very much about a team of people banding together to create perfection, it’s all about production, production, production. Personally, I think imperfection is a whole lot more beautiful. I remember working with

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BOOKS Irving Penn and I noticed some hair pins had fallen out of the girl’s hair onto the floor. Willie Christie loved working with model Jerry Hall. “ When I rushed onto the set to pick them up, Her hair was her great strength, but she just he said, ‘No, no leave it.’ There was always knew how to do it, how to toss her head back – imperfection in a picture that was so perfect, and then she had this incredible body.” so beautiful, that made it breathe.” At that time the formula of the industry was firmly embedded in the past. “When model Marie Helvin arrived in London, there were no catwalk shows, so Marie had to head to Paris, where the catwalk was still like the newsreels from the 1950s”, says Tamara. Marie explains in the book, “Designers would do catwalk shows in their ‘salons’, or showrooms. It was a highly stylised way of walking and turning, and most often you would have to hold a card in your right hand, with the number of the outfit you were wearing. It was so old-fashioned.” It was models like Pat Cleveland who helped to change that, creating the idea of a model being a performer on a stage, Tamara explains. As Pat herself says, “I always wanted to be a dancer, but I was too tall. So when I was given the opportunity to go out on to the catwalk, it just turned into a dance for me. ‘My walking dance’, I called it.” The photographers – among them David Bailey, Helmut Newton, Clive Arrowsmith and Willie Christie – each brought their own distinctive visual canvases. Clive Arrowsmith – who was not trained as a photographer – was inspired by the old French, Italian and English painters, aiming to create the same quality of light in his own photographs. He Ross, Keith Richards, Jerry Hall, David Bowie, Bianca Jagger, Andy explains to Tamara how, “My first job with Grace [Coddington] was with white clothes and white doves. I had no protocols and I didn’t know Warhol, Donna Summer and Grace Jones, Sandy entered into the realm of “Studio”, and there was no going back.”* what you’re not supposed to do, so I just did it my way. A lot of people Behind the Gloss also tells stories of fashion retail with the opening of thought my work was very avant-garde, but Vogue loved it.” clothing store Biba by Barbara Hulanicki and Stephen Fitz-Simon. The same was happening in make-up, with styling firsts including “Biba’s dark smudgy colours of olive, mushroom and aubergine became “The smoky eye; pink and purple eye-shadows with a classic red-orange an instant hit,” says Tamara. “Biba’s success was down to the fact that lip; plum and wine shades with lots of highlight.”* In this world was Barbara gave her customers what they wanted. Young, girly shapes in make-up artist Sandy Linter who “worked with the best of the best, but just one size, with tights and accessories to match, and constantly at no point did anybody tell her what to do with the faces. She had carte changing stock. Biba created a new, frenzied kind of shopping for young blanche… Her canvases also happened to be the most beautiful faces in women, a far cry from reluctant shopping trips with their mothers.” the world, including Rosie Vela, Patti Hansen, Christie Brinkley, Gia Biba’s shop girls were briefed to be sullen and moody, and they had to Carangi, Jerry Hall and Iman.” * be stick thin. Biba girl Kim Willott says, “We were all on diets… We The 1970s fashion world had no strict guidelines and many of the would have an apple for lunch, and there was a little dairy around the characters at its heart took advantage of this, leading hedonistic, wild corner where they would weigh out 2oz of cheese for us to have with our lives pivoted around partying, drinking, sex and drugs. Indeed Tamara apple. You didn’t dare to be overweight – it just wasn’t Biba.” reminds us that, “Not all these party-goers survived, with many ending These groundbreaking times also saw Beverly Johnson become the first up either in rehab, going broke or dying.” Black model on the cover of American Vogue in 1974. While Beverly Take Sandy Linter who was at the centre of the New York fashion loved being a Black model – “It was incredible, it was James Brown, it scene. “She went to Studio 54 every weeknight for the 33 months it was was ‘I’m Black and I’m Proud’ – behind the scenes there was very little open. On the opening night in April 1977, wearing a vintage turquoise diversity. “There was always a white hairdresser and white make-up poodle skirt by Fiorucci and with no invitation – but armed with charm artist who knew nothing about Black hair and skin… I generally made and youthful hustle... Sandy had no doubt she would get beyond the up my own make-up by using a mixture of baby oil and iodine to bring velvet rope of the hottest club in town. Along with Debbie Harry, Diana out the redness in my skin, mascara and a little lip gloss.” Beyond the Gloss is full of fascinating interviews with (and about) those at the hub of the 1970s fashion world. When I asked Tamara who Tamara Sturtz-Filby and she would have most liked to have mixed with in that era she says that photographer Willie Christie muse and make-up artist Corey Grant Tippin, illustrator Antonio Lopez are in conversation at Topping and models Jane Forth and Donna Jordan would be her chosen circle. & Co, York Street, Bath on 10 Here’s why: “Summers were spent in Saint-Tropez with Karl [Lagerfield], November at 7.30pm as they where he would rent a beautiful villa for them all to stay in. They ate in explore the hedonistic decade the best restaurants, danced on tables, indulged in sexual encounters and of the 1970s and consider its spent their days on the beach. The girls would swim in sunglasses, high impact on today. £25 including heels and diamonds, and life was lived as though it was a fantasy.”* n Tamara’s Behind the Gloss book. toppingbooks.co.uk

* Quotes from Behind the Gloss by Tamara Sturtz-Filby THEBATHMAG.CO.UK THEBATHMAG.CO.UK xx | november | augusT 2023 | TheBATHmagazine 47

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MAGAZINES

Magalleria: the magazine kiosk

Magalleria imports magazines, journals and zines from all over the world to showcase the most interesting and hard-to-find titles from indie magazine and book publishers. Here are some November suggestions from Daniel McCabe... Blumenhaus is a sumptuous and imposing large-format magazine from France. Appearing roughly once a year, it delivers a clever and thrillingly original mash-up of vintage design and contemporary art on a botanical theme, teamed with a philosophical and romantic approach that takes the reader back in time. It provides a serious examination of the science, history, lifestyle and artistic expression of this subject by tapping expert knowledge from a varied roster of contributors. This eagerly anticipated fourth issue examines everything from the ancient history of flowers and their meanings to ‘horticouture’ (a history of fashion and flowers) and 19th-century botanical quilts to Prairie Girls. £29

[lock-on] Volume 005 is the latest release from the Cirencester-based, world-dominating gaming culture magazine and one that the publishers describe as its most ‘evolved’ issue yet. That’s because [lock-on] is on a journey to achieve something different, something that tackles the past as much as the present and future of gaming, and from all angles. Put out on a quarterly cycle, the magazine seems increasingly squeezed between ever more ambitious projects from the parent ‘Lost Cargo’ platform as it continues to expand and develop its unique portfolio. [lock-on] is a strangely beautiful, elaborate and substantial 260-page magazine, packed with mind-boggling illustration and die-cut pages that charge its examination of gaming and game development. £25

WM Brown is a men’s style magazine of impressive sartorial, literary and gastronomic sophistication but one that likes to simplify its elements and mix them up – if you like old bangers and Bentleys or wear a beanie with your blazer, this one’s for you. The magazine is the work of former Wallpaper photographer Matt Hranek – traveller, epicurean, classic car enthusiast, fine dresser, watch collector and cocktail expert – who just seems to know what the good things are and where to find them. Ralph Lauren is a big fan, and every release seems to draw swathes of new readers. £20

Altered States is a relatively new London-based fashion and beauty magazine about cultural innovation and authenticity, exploring how we define physical beauty in the third decade of the 21st century. An intriguing and arguably difficult-to categorise collage of editorial, photo essays and archive photography, Altered States has really caught fire at the fine art end of the fashion photography spectrum of late and this one, issue 6, is already sold out. The inclusion of K-Pop sensations ATEEZ can’t have hurt sales, but don’t panic, it’s being reprinted, something that’s highly unusual in this business. £25

Oh Reader is a slim but hugely popular US-based quarterly created by a couple of Australians living in New York. It’s about books but more about the people who are reading actual physical books these days. There’s no way to sugarcoat it – the number of people reading the old-fashioned way has diminished, but this downsizing has forged a more robust and arguably more bonded community. This publication is warmer and less sophisticated than generic literary journals, in a good way. Oh Reader is both for and by readers, a publication that examines why we read, how it affects us, who we are when we read and how we’re all connected through words, because, the publishers say, 'the books we read shape who we are as people.’ £6.99 48 TheBATHMagazine | n0VeMBeR 2023 | issue 249

Everyone is talking about issue 392 of Holiday because it’s the big one: Paris, the home city for this deluxe fashion travel and photography magazine. Writer Arthur Dreyfus takes us on a tour through the heart of the French capital and its fashion world which includes a look inside the houses of Chanel and Courrèges. Elsewhere you’ll get a series of oneon-one interviews with Parisian luminaries drawn from a range of industries, among them worldrenowned fashion designers and waiters from the city’s restaurants. Originally published in New York and one of the most renowned magazines of its era, Holiday closed in 1977 and only began publishing again around a decade ago after moving to Paris. Always elegant, we think this issue will be the one that most reconnects with its glorious past. £25 Visit the Magalleria store at 5 Upper Borough Walls, Bath, BA1 1RG or explore more magazines online at store.magalleria.co.uk

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FOOD & DRINK

FOOD SPECIAL

Seafood flair in the city

Lobster Benedict and Kedgeree Arancini combine with Breakfast Martini and Blackberry and Champagne Cheesecake at the recently opened Flute Seafood Café and Bar. Words by Emma Clegg

lute, the seafood café bar on George Street, offers a dining experience that is defined by Champagne and oysters savoured in a laid-back, elegant environment. However there are way more dining and drinking options than this. The extensive opening hours – from 8.30am to 11pm Monday to Thursday, 8.30am to 2am Friday and Saturday, and 9.30am to 11pm on Sundays – are designed to capture (and merge) distinctive food and drink socialising pockets. These include visits for breakfast/brunch, coffee and cheesecake, cocktails and savoury snacks, sharing plates and main meals – or just late night cocktails with friends as you wind down. Breakfast includes a choice of non-meat or fish dishes such as Loaded Porridge with Coconut Milk and Toasted Brioche with Whipped Butter and Berry Jam. But seafood takes a leading role in the café bar’s

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offering, alongside the vegetarian, vegan and gluten- and dairy-free options and some classic dishes with meat components. Executive chef Kasae Fraser says, “Breakfast does have some crowd-pleasers – we do a full cooked breakfast and bacon rolls – but the emphasis is on fish with dishes such as Smoked Salmon Waffles, Lobster Benedict and Arnold Bennett Omelette (with smoked haddock).” Born in New Zealand, Kasae started cooking professionally with fish when she worked at a large-scale upmarket seafood bistro in the Mornington Peninsula in Victoria, Australia. More recently she worked as sous chef in floating restaurant La Peniche in Falmouth where they would collect the fish directly from the fishing boats. While Bath isn’t quite as close to the sea, Flute work with Wing of St Mawes, a Cornish supplier of top-grade fresh fish and shellfish. “Having fresh fish and seafood deliveries makes our menu more fluid. We often change a dish on the menu once we have the delivery based on the repertoire of dishes that we know work. So if we have red mullet or John Dory we know we have a recipe that will work as a special – and it’s a good way to keep evolving the menu.” Flute’s Seafood Trolley – piled high with delights such as mackerel paté, mixed salmon dishes and tiger prawns – creates a diverting spectacle, offering some theatre as clients choose their dishes. Another choice is the classic Pint of Prawns pub dish, served with chard, baby gem lettuce, bread and a Bloody Mary mayonnaise. Kasae says, “It’s literally king prawns in a pint glass, but we do most of the work, running a pair of scissors down the back of the prawns and taking out the elements you don’t want to eat, so it’s easy to peel but you still have the fun of peeling it yourself.” Kasae works with Flute’s head chef Alex Smith who has a particular interest in desserts and is an expert on chocolate. His Flute desserts feature Blackberry and Champagne Cheesecake, Caramel Apple Tart and Caramelised White Chocolate Mousse. “The whole ethos of our menu is taking things that people are comfortable with and putting our twist on it. And not pushing people out of their comfort zone – we just want them to say, ‘Ah, I’ve not had that before!”, Alex explains. “Cheesecake is a regular feature of most people’s diets, but adding Champagne gives it a different quality.” When it comes to Champagne, bar manager Sam Bradford takes the lead. “We are proud of our Champagne and wine sourced from all over the world, including rosé Champagne from Australia. We also have many English sparkling wines. Our cocktails take influences from all over and we use a variety of ingredients to suit different palates – including sake liqueurs such as usushu. We want to make sure our cocktails stand out to match the quality of the food. We’ve also got a great spirit collection and we offer draft beer stout, IPA and lager.” On the breakfast menu is an Ultimate Bloody Mary and I ask Kasae what dish might pair well with this: “I would pair a Bloody Mary with the Arnold Bennett omelette, because the smokiness of the haddock and the hollandaise mixed with a rich béchamel bites through the acidity from the Bloody Mary.” There is plentiful advice on pairing food and wine. Sam says, “We don’t impose anything on the customer, but we talk a lot about flavour pairings because it’s important to know what types of wine appeal to the palate. There are red wines that pair well with fish, for example, and we can recommend the options. Kasae continues, “It’s easy to assume you should drink rosé or white wine with fish, but there are so many different garnishes and sauces and you can play around with the different textures of fish. Red wine is often better for really deep rich lobster bisques, but a meatier, fleshier

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FOOD & DRINK

Executive Chef Kasae Fraser and Head Chef Alex Smith

Use your Seafood Discovery Passport at Flute Seafood Café & Bar As a Bath Magazine reader you can use Flute’s Seafood Discovery Passport (you’ll find it inserted in the magazine) to qualify for complimentary items from the menu. Armed with your passport you can collect a stamp every time you visit Flute to win everyday rewards from six options. These include a hot drink with any ordered hot breakfast item, a complimentary dessert if you order one, or order a cocktail and get another free. Then once you’ve collected all six stamps you can choose your bonus reward – if you order two courses for 2 people receive a complimentary bottle of Prosecco or if you order breakfast for two, enjoy two Bloody Mary Cocktails. To receive your bonus reward, you must make a reservation and on arrival, show your completed passport to the Flute team. All Rewards are subject to availability and passport holders must be 18 or over.

type of fish such as hake combined with a red wine butter sauce can really stand up to a light red wine.” Kasae and Alex have a support team of young chefs at Flute, and they both take time to encourage their professional journeys. “It’s really nice to see young people coming through – Alex and I are really passionate about getting that new generation of chefs excited. It’s important to show them that working in a kitchen is not Kitchen Nightmares – this is a really exciting industry to be in and you can take it anywhere you want it to go.” n

Flute, 9 Edgar Buildings, George Street, Bath BA1 2EE Make a reservation for Flute by calling 01225 433193 or visit flute-bath.com

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FOOD & DRINK

FOOD NEWS New Year’s Eve at Green Park Brasserie Expect nothing less than a buzzing atmosphere and an outstanding menu at Green Park Brasserie this New Year’s Eve. Alongside a six-course meal showcasing local produce, the lively Harlem Rhythm Cats take the stage for what is expected to be another sell-out evening and a brilliant way to see in 2024. The two cosy heated terraces near the Bath Pizza Co. will be busy with revellers through the evening (no bookings needed there) as the two restaurants in historic Green Park Station gear up for another busy service to celebrate with regulars, locals and visitors to the city. Booking essential for Green Park Brasserie’s six-course dinner and live music: greenparkbrasserie.com/newyears and make sure you bring your dancing shoes!

An audience with Mary Berry Join the inimitable Dame Mary Berry on 12 December for an exclusive live event at The Forum as she divulges tales and tips from a rich, six-decade long career in cookery. One of the UK’s best-loved cookery writers and television personalities, Mary will be reflecting on her baking life and taking to the stage to tell her story. This is an evening that promises heart-warming anecdotes, practical baking tips, an abundance of charm and strictly no soggy bottoms. Book tickets today at fane.co.uk/mary-berry

Vegan market at Green Park

Ludo Sports Bar & Kitchen launches ‘Christmas Bottomless Brunch’

The Vegan Platform, Bath’s recently launched monthly vegan market, is next taking place on Sunday 5 November from 10am–4pm. Located at Green Park Station, the market takes place on the first Sunday of every month. There you’ll find a wide variety of vegan or sustainable products, including food, clothing, beauty products, and household items. By choosing to shop with The Vegan Platform, you’ll be supporting a more sustainable way of life. And what’s more, it’s free to attend. theveganplatform.co.uk

Ludo Sports Bar & Kitchen is feeling festive, having announced its Christmas par-tee oﬀering... Every Wednesday in December, Bath’s leading premium sports destination will host the ultimate Christmas party – ‘Christmas Bottomless Brunch’. They’re talking unlimited pizza, beer, wine, and spirit mixers for two whole hours, with guest DJs decking the halls with their funkiest tunes. Book your visit at ludobath.co.uk

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IFORD MANOR CAFÉ & KITCHEN Seasonal | Locally Sourced | Homemade

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BUSINESS

CIT Y NEWS

ocl A C C O U N TA N C Y

‘New Bath Arts Club’ for local artists Brand-new arts organisation the ‘New Bath Arts Club has just been launched by co-founders Charles Minty and Helen Robinson-Gordon. It was created in response to a need for artists in the region, both established and newly emerging, to have a place to meet, somewhere to exhibit their work and a forum through which they can learn and grow. Other than living within a 50-mile radius of Bath, the club welcomes artists of any age (over 18) and ability and subscription fees go back into the club to pay for an annual exhibition in the middle of Bath and a lively calendar of events. newbathartsclub.co.uk

Dorothy House opens a new store in Bath Dorothy House has opened a new lifestyle story on 2 Piccadilly Place, London Road, Bath, adjacent to the existing Dorothy House furniture store. Find Ubiety from Dorothy House is a new lifestyle store designed to mirror the holistic care and beautiful surroundings of the Dorothy House Hospice. Themed around nature, it will stock products and oﬀer treatments designed to support personal wellbeing, and help customers create their own calm, unique and definitive space at home. Dorothy House retail stores deliver valuable income so that Dorothy House can provide free patient and family care for all in our community with a life limiting illness. dorothyhospice.org.uk

Gallery Nine has new owner Gallery Nine’s new owner Bo Collier has an artistic training and many years’ experience of working in galleries, including in Paris where she lived for 14 years before returning to Bath in 2011. Since then, Bo has worked at Gallery Nine as general manager before taking over the gallery in July his year. The gallery continues to sell beautiful handcrafted jewellery, prints, paintings, textiles and ceramics. Look out for exciting exhibitions and events coming soon. gallerynine.co.uk

Quarter of a century at Stone King Stone King’s Chair, Alison Allen, has just achieved the milestone of a quarter of a century at the Bathheadquartered law firm. She joined the firm in 1998 as a solicitor in the Trusts and Estates Team. The firm now operates nationally, with additional oﬃces in Bristol, Birmingham, Cambridge, Leeds and Manchester. The focus then, as it is now, was on the firm’s work for the charity, education and private client sectors. These days, the firm also specialises in business & social enterprise and faith law, with Stone King top-ranked by independent legal guides Chambers and the Legal 500. stoneking.co.uk

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

www.oclaccountancy.com

Director’s entertainment As the sole shareholder and director of a growing trading company, you have had a successful year and wish to celebrate with the employees who helped. Will HMRC allow tax relief if you put this expense through the business? Deductible expenditure must be wholly and exclusively for business purposes. Business entertainment itself is specifically excluded as a trading deduction for obvious reasons as nobody would ever make a profit! The only exception is staff entertainment which is allowed as it has a business purpose. Staff can include spouses, partners, retired employees and directors. For consistency with companies, by concession HMRC allows unincorporated businesses a tax deduction for entertainment costs for the business owners, but only where an event is held which is intended for the firm’s employees in general. As the staff entertainment must still meet the wholly and exclusively rule, unduly lavish events, particularly those aimed at management or directors only, are likely to be deemed excessive and without a business motive.This could mean that HMRC deny the company tax relief for all of the expense. Unless exempt, directors are liable to income tax on entertainment costs incurred by the company from which they benefit.The company must declare the benefit for tax and Class 1A NI purposes, but only the latter if the benefit has been payrolled.Your company can enter into a PAYE settlement agreement to meet the tax and NI on behalf of directors and employees. For director shareholders, paying out a dividend which is then paid back to the company to cover the cost of the business entertainment is more tax efficient. Of course, this option can’t be used for non-shareholding employees. A limited exemption from the income tax and NI charge exists for annual recurring expenditure on staff entertainment.The exemption only applies where the total cost per tax year per attendee is not more than £150 (including VAT). This can include non-employees, e.g. spouses. Any number of events can be covered by the exemption so long as the total falls within the limit. Where directors or business owners are entertained at the business’s expense, VAT can only be reclaimed when other staff are involved. However, no VAT can be reclaimed in respect of entertainment costs relating to non-employees/ directors, i.e. spouses etc. Where an event involves directors only, this isn’t staff entertaining because HMRC doesn’t accept that there is any business need to reward these individuals - so any VAT reclaim is blocked. In summary, staff entertainment is tax deductible for your company but is likely to count as a benefit in kind for you and any other employees involved. However, an exemption from tax and NI on the benefit can apply to prevent the benefit in kind charges. VAT on the cost of staff entertainment can be reclaimed.

For more information contact us – call Tristan Wilcox-Jones, Samantha Taylor or Lucas Knight on 01225 445507

Call Tristan Wilcox-Jones, Samantha Taylor or Lucas Knight on 01225 445507 to arrange a no-obligation meeting

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Playing to Your Strengths The Benefits of Outsourcing HR Support

f you’re a business owner or work in a small/medium-sized enterprise (SME) you’ll be aware of the many challenges presented when managing people. Balancing the needs of a growing business with limited resources can be a daunting task. This is where outsourcing HR support to a professional consultancy can prove to be a game-changer, without breaking the bank. In this article, we will explore the numerous advantages of outsourcing HR support, with a focus on the key areas of expertise they provide. Recruitment: One critical aspect of HR is growing your workforce efficiently and effectively. Professional consultancies can offer support from strategic workforce planning advice to job design and advertising guidance. They can create accurate job descriptions and person specifications that meet the needs of the business and even provide templates for shortlisting candidates and creating interview records to assist in the recruitment process. Additionally, they can help with psychometric testing, drafting offer letters, and the development of tailored induction programs, ensuring that you not only attract but also retain the right talent for your business. Training and Development: Once onboard, keeping your workforce well-trained and motivated is vital for business success. Consultancies offer employment law training, line management training, individual coaching, and mental health first aid training. These services not only enhance the skills and confidence of your employees and managers but also create a positive work environment that fosters growth and well-being. Legal, Dispute and Grievance Management: Navigating the complex world of employee relations requires a deep understanding of employment laws and best practices. Consultancies can assist in drafting employment contracts and policies tailored to your business needs. They can also conduct workplace investigations, attend disciplinary and grievance meetings, guide you through redundancy procedures, and provide support in capability/performance management processes. Such expertise helps in mitigating risks and ensuring fair and compliant HR practices and can be enhanced by the availability of experienced employment lawyers.

Case Study: Fully Outsourced HR Support to a company of approximately 100 employees. We fully integrated ourselves into the organisation, using the company's technology and systems. Part of the service includes weekly interactions thereby enabling full accessibility for managers and employees. The service is further supported by the availability of an experienced employment lawyer, on hand to deal with general or specific enquiries swiftly and confidently. Supporting Existing HR Teams: Many SMEs already have HR teams in place but may need additional expertise for specific projects or challenges from time to time. Consultancies can provide consistent support to these teams, helping with projects, workplace investigations, employee relations advice, employment law updates, and HR process training. This collaborative approach not only gives an extra helping hand when needed but also enhances the capabilities of existing HR teams. In our experience, we can see how business owners are able to play to their entrepreneurial and operational strengths by outsourcing HR support to a professional consultancy. Being concerned about the myriad of compliance and regulatory requirements associated with employing staff can be debilitating for a business. By taking a strategic move to source external support it allows the company to immediately tap into a wealth of expertise and experience, often at a lower cost and risk to the alternative options. This can provide a great relief for the management team, ensuring that HR functions are efficient, compliant, and aligned with the business’s growth objectives. Whether you’re looking to fully outsource HR, support your existing HR team, or invest in training and development, a consultancy can be the key to unlocking the full potential of your workforce and achieving sustained success in today's highly competitive environment. Lucy Cotterell – HR Consultant Mogers Drewett

Reward and Recognition: Effective compensation and benefits strategies are crucial for attracting and retaining top talent. A qualified consultant can help develop bonus and pay-related policies, draft wellness strategies, conduct benefits and pension audits, and perform salary benchmarking. They can also assist with reporting requirements, such as Gender Pay Gap reporting, ensuring that your business remains competitive and compliant.

St James House, The Square, Lower Bristol Road, Bath,BA2 3BH T: 01225 750 000 | E: enquiries@mogersdrewett.com www.mogersdrewett.com

THEBATHMAG.CO.UK | NOVEMBER 2023 | ThEBATHMagaziNE 57

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Successful, well-established year-round language school in the centre of Bath requires

HOMESTAY HOSTS IN BATH to host both short-term and long-term students. We teach adults and teenagers, and need both single and twin-room accommodation. For further details, including rates of payment, please contact our Student Services Manager:

Sarah Wringer Kaplan International Languages Bath, 5 Trim Street, Bath, BA1 1HB Direct Line (01225) 448840 Email: sarah.wringer@kaplan.com

58 TheBATHMagazine | nOVeMBeR 2023 | issue 249

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CITY TRANSPORT

Travel in the city Transport and Bath have an uneasy relationship. Pete Dyson, Bath’s Bicycle Mayor and author of the book ‘Transport For Humans’ is currently at the University of Bath researching policies to promote sustainable travel habits – here he shares his own perspective on what’s required

ath is an exceptional city with an historic list of obstacles; steep hills, river flooding, ancient buildings, post-industrial landscapes, extreme house prices and winding streets with residents, businesses, students and tourists vying for space (and a good view of it all). Present-day Bathonians enjoy the ingenuity of previous generations who frequently found ways to thrive among these natural hot springs, to create architecture fit for steep hills, and to criss-cross railways between rivers, parks and canals. However, I’ve come to fear that features once serving as inspirations to innovate have become reasons for inaction. These excuses should endure no longer. A mindset shift is needed. When faced with 21st-century challenges – a climate crisis, poor air quality, high congestion, inaccessibility, unaffordability, road safety and much more – we cannot rely just one solution. Transport contributes nearly one third of all CO2 emissions in Bath and North East Somerset. The city is already a hub, with 75% of the people driving to work in Bath doing so from outside Bath’s boundaries. Because electric vehicles cannot come soon enough, the council’s Journey To Net Zero plan estimates a need for a 25% reduction in vehicle miles in the coming six years to 2030. I wonder, does this sound intimidating? Or would travelling a bit differently (or a bit less) sound like a welcome relief? In the case of school travel, studies already find the majority of parents and children would rather walk and wheel rather than rely on driving. There’s a mismatch between the system we’ve got and the one we want.

While the history books are full of grand proposals to build our way out of trouble; like Colin Buchanan’s Tunnel (1965), Croydon Marks’ Gradient Tramway (1895) or the cluster of multi-storey car parks (post-WW2), these don’t get to the root of the problem. Equally, present-day proposals are so frequently met with backlash, apathy and (at times) exclusion from the conversation. More than ever, we need an openness to change, better public engagement, an understanding of cooperation and a willingness to take the long view. In my book, Transport For Humans, I show how travel is more than going from A to B. People are not cargo. Here I will extend an uncomfortable cliché – a better transport system in Bath starts with us.

The trouble with transport is that everyone thinks they’re an expert, but we never really know where and why other people are travelling Humility and and openness to change While living in Bath in 1816, Mary Shelley penned much of the world’s first science-fiction novel, Frankenstein. “Nothing is so painful to the human mind as a great and sudden change,” wrote Shelley, who could scarcely have imagined the scale of the challenges ahead 200 years ago, yet understood the nature of them perfectly. We’re inclined to fear change, deny and doubt the need for action in favour of maintaining the status quo. Too many people appear to want other people to travel differently. It’s a stalemate. I suggest citizens and elected officials need to confront the uncomfortable reality that transport (in all towns and cities) has longstanding problems. Let’s face it, for a long time transport has not been working particularly well for a lot of people, a lot of the time. Road safety, affordability, inequality, infrequent public transport services and congestion are themes of the past centuries, not just the decade. Personally, I’m supportive of proposed initiatives to re-balance our infrastructure, technologies and policies. What they need is better communication and understanding of people’s needs. TIER Mobility runs a fleet of 500 shared e-bikes and shared e-scooters in Bath

Aerial view of The Paragon

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CITY GARDENING TRANSPORT

Public engagement and inclusion Academics have long debated how to account for different people’s wants, needs and voices within a democratic society. In a transport context, the big actions come every few years when residents (note, these are not residents from neighbouring places, tourists, employees or children) get to vote for the people and their political parties to make big decisions on their behalf. Residents also have the right to express views through consultation along the way, but not to expect each one to be a definitive referendum on the topic. It’s been acknowledged that the traditional consultation system comes too late in the process and under-represents certain groups. It’s therefore heartening to see how this has been improved with the new ‘Have Your Say West’ arriving much earlier in the design of a scheme to allow people to input on the design of transport corridors in Bath, Bristol and the Sommer Valley. Its Achillies heel remains the lack of adjustments to fully reach out to people with visual, auditory, cognitive and physical disabilities in a print, digital and in-person setting. In my own research at University of Bath, I intend to investigate ways children (0–16yrs) can be represented as legitimate citizens with their own travel needs, rather than just through the preferences of their parents. I can imagine a future with easyto-understand video presentations, community and local school outreach. The good news is that investing in inclusive consultation is a simple, morally responsible, quick and relatively inexpensive way to improve fairness and guard against costly design failures. Getting people more deeply involved in the process is the next hurdle. Cooperation The social psychologist Johnathon Haidt famously characterised people as 90% chimp and 10% bee: a rare blend of individual adaptability and collective cooperation that makes us uniquely 100% human. The greatest fallacy is to assume people are selfish and purely self-interested because this leads to narrow and paternalistic transport policies. It’s insufficient to think of people as individuals acting in response to incentives (carrots) and penalties (sticks). The reality is we regularly cooperate within our households, between friends, within neighbourhoods, organisations and communities to spread out the need to travel. This can be as simple as choosing a mutually convenient time and place to meet, or as complex as sharing a car or applying for a new cycle hangar. Transport in Bath needs to know how people’s travel needs are both personally and socially constructed. Given the chance, people willingly collaborate to get better outcomes for themselves and their community. Understanding My own research has primarily been in travel behaviour at a national scale. Compared to most countries, the UK is actually very good in having a National Travel Survey that gives impressive detail on how people travel (it helps that we’re an island, so it’s easier to measure). However at the regional scale, there are big gaps in knowledge about how people actually travel. Bath isn’t alone in relying on the Census (which only asks about commuting behaviour)

A tram on Stall Street, Bath, c.1930s

and on observational studies (which just measure flows of traffic/pedestrians, with little insight into the people making the journey). Transport in Bath could invest more in travel behaviour research in order to improve the modelling that shapes scheme design. Unlike the incredulous letters I read in The Bath Chronicle, I am confident the local authorities have a stronger understanding of what the city and its people need to thrive. The trouble with transport is everyone thinks they’re an expert, but we never really know where and why other people are travelling, so it pays to invest in quantitative and qualitative research that gives a more impartial perspective. Endurance and long view Finally I’m optimistic that Bath can reclaim its position as a place to thrive within a hilly, rainy and historic landscape. Fundamentally, we should expect our transport systems to adapt to our needs, not the other way around. It’s currently out of date and out of balance, producing too much environmental damage and excluding too many from realising a humane standard of mobility. This can change, but it will take investment from all angles – infrastructure, social research, public engagement, equitable policies – and, above all, a mindset shift towards openness to that change from everyone with a stake in the city. n pete.dyson@transportforhumans.com; Twitter: @pete_dyson THEBATHMAG.CO.UK | november 2023 | TheBATHmagazine 61

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LOCAL | PEOPLE

FIVE MINUTES WITH...

Richard Longhurst

Co-founder of online sex toy retailer Lovehoney, Richard Longhurst now loves to play golf and has invented a new gadget to measure a golfer’s time searching for a ball. He tells us about this, as well as his life in Bath, and why golf is the best game ever. Q. How long have you lived in Bath?

I came to Bath to study business at university in (gulp) 1987. We started a family early and when I graduated in 1991 I got a job as a staff writer on the launch of PC Format magazine at Future Publishing. We were very happy in Bath, Future was a great place to work in the ’90s and so we never thought about leaving. Q. Where do you live?

I am lucky to live in leafy Weston, which is great for instant access to the countryside for walks up Kelston Roundhill and (unusually for Bath) flat walks into town through Royal Victoria Park and along Royal Walk. Every time I make that walk I am reminded how lucky we are to live in such a beautiful city. Q. What is special to you about Bath?

I think it’s small but perfectly formed. Yes, it gets busy with visitors and the Georgian roads are not best suited to 21st-century traffic, but the sheer beauty of the place far outweighs these inconveniences.

Q. How much has Bath changed in the time you’ve been here?

For me it’s a case of the more things change, the more they stay the same. Most recently some of the changes have not been for the better, as anyone who drives down the Upper Bristol Road will have noticed. The mess they’ve made of the Approach Golf Course isn’t great either. I do love the booking system for the rubbish tip though! Q. Tell us about some of your favourite places to visit in the city.

Bath Golf Club is an obvious choice for me, a great course with fantastic views. I have been a member of Bath Golf Club on Bathampton Down for 20 years. It’s a very friendly club that has a wonderful Harry Colt-designed course. Beyond golf, Restaurant Menu Gordon Jones on Bear Flat is always a treat, as is a meal at Peking Restaurant on Kingsmead Square, a Bath institution.

Q. Why is golf one of your favourite things to do? Golf is the best sport in the world – it can alternate between being absolutely infuriating and hugely rewarding in the space of one hole. It’s great to be able to spend so much time in the company of my friends, visiting some storied golf courses around the world. It’s also the only sport where plucky amateurs can play a game with the professionals and give them a match, thanks to the handicapping system. I was lucky enough to be partnered with pro golfer and Bath native Laurie Canter at The Manor Golf Club this September - seeing him play up close was incredible. Our match was halved when our opponent slam-dunked his approach on 18 for an eagle 2. Anything the pros can do, we can do too! Q. You were the co-founder of Lovehoney with Neal Slateford. How did the idea for the business come about and how quickly did you realise that it was a winning formula?

Neal and I met at Future Publishing in 1995 when I was editor of .net, The Internet Magazine. When we left Future in 2000 after the dotcom boom had turned to bust, we had already decided to set up an ecommerce business because we thought it would be easy (!). We knew how to build a website but we didn’t know what we would sell. We researched several different product areas and after a nervous trip to the Erotica Show at Olympia we decided that we would make a female-friendly store selling sex toys. Neal came up with the name Lovehoney and off we went. Neal was definitely the more creative brain in the business and I was more technical and logistical, but we were both fanatical about customer service and providing great value for money, which were our big strengths in the early days of the business. Q. When did you make the transition from publishing to being a business entrepreneur?

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LOCAL | PEOPLE

launch of the PlayStation, the popularisation of the internet and the use of PCs as gaming and entertainment machines. It was a fantastic time but after 10 years it was time to move on. In 2000/2001 it was possible to start an internet business with very little outlay – Neal and I each put in £4,500 to start Lovehoney – and the rewards were potentially enormous. Q. Lovehoney set out to re-brand sex toys from something associated with the porn industry into a sexual wellbeing brand for the masses. How difficult was that to achieve?

Lovehoney was a leader in explaining that a fun and fulfilling sex life can be an important part of everyone’s general health and wellbeing. We called ourselves ‘the sexual happiness people’ to show that a good sex life is about pleasure and enjoyment – happiness – not pornography. It was a long haul over the years and the mainstream media was at first very slow to accept our advertising or even write about us. We were helped massively by our partnership with the wonderful Tracey Cox (one of the world’s leading sex experts) and a close relationship with Fifty Shade of Grey author E.L. James. Q. What was the key to Lovehoney’s success?

It was our emphasis on sexual happiness and our relentless dedication to providing firstclass customer service. In the days when

customers were suspicious of online retailers in general and sex toy companies in particular, we introduced a no-quibbles 365day money back guarantee, even if you had used the product. No other company even came close. Why did you decide to sell Lovehoney?

We had founded Lovehoney in 2002 and had had a brilliant 15 years growing the business to be the leading online sex toy retailer in the UK and Australia, and growing fast in the US. We recognised that running an international business with a turnover in excess of £100m might need different skills to those we were able to offer, so in 2017 we started a process to sell a share of the business. Of course there was also an element of taking money off the table in order to secure our families’ futures. We were setting Lovehoney up for the next stage of its growth – and so I could spend a lot more time on the golf course. Tell us about your recently released Pocket Timer, an easy-to-use golf gadget?

The idea for Pocket Timer came about partly through necessity – golfers really don’t time the three minutes they have to search for a lost golf ball – and partly as a fun project. It’s made in one of the factories that makes sex toys for Lovehoney, so of course it vibrates. It was interesting setting up the Pocket Timer

website on Shopify, a service that was not available when we started Lovehoney which was built from the ground up. Shopify and other services like it make it easy for people to start a business by providing all the mechanics to create a storefront and take payments, but what is much harder than when we started Lovehoney is getting traffic to the website. Social media remains a mystery to me and I’m only just getting started with Facebook advertising, currently a bottomless timesuck. How have your golﬁng friends reacted to the Pocket Timer? Some of them love it – several of them have even bought it! – and some of them think it’s a stupid idea. More fool them when they lose a ball and they don’t have one to hand. I have orders on the Pocket Timer website from Shetland, Denmark, Sweden and Austria. If I pull my finger out it could really be a success. What plans do you have for the future? Family and golf are the priorities now – I have no hankering to be a serial entrepreneur. I guess some people are motivated to prove that their first success was not a fluke, but I am happy to let Lovehoney’s record and the two Queen’s Awards for Industry that we won speak for me. n Pocket Timer (£14.99); pocket-timer.com

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EDUCATION

EDUCATION NEWS Young Bath Artists’ Exhibition

Inspirational runner To help mark Mental Health Awareness Day, Kingswood School welcomed runner, fundraiser and campaigner, Ben Smith, for an inspirational talk followed by a run, to mark Mental Health Awareness Day. Ben talked openly and honestly about his background and the significant challenges he has faced and overcome in his life, leading to his life-changing decision in 2015 to become the only person in the world to run 401 marathons in 401 days, raising over £330,000 for two anti-bullying charities and led to him winning the coveted BBC Sports Personality Helen Rollason Award. kingswood.bath.sch.uk

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Rugby partnership Wells Cathedral School has partnered with Premiership Rugby Union side Bath Rugby as part of their Schools Partnership Programme. Lasting for the 2023/24 rugby season, the partnership opens up huge potential opportunities for the school, its pupils and wider community. The school’s rugby teams will benefit hugely, receiving top flight coaching from the Bath Rugby coaching team, to complement the work of the school’s expert coaches. Beyond this, Wells Cathedral School pupils will receive additional opportunities such as a Q&A with first team players, a visit to Bath Rugby’s training base at Farleigh House, and much more. wells-cathedral-school.com/sport

Twelve local Bath Secondary Schools are working together to showcase Young Bath Artists in a new exhibition opening on 12 November at Burdall’s Yard. The exhibition will feature GCSE and A Level artwork, celebrate the importance of creativity and highlight the breadth of local artistic talent. A total of 80 artworks will be exhibited, each school displaying around eight pieces in media ranging from drawings and prints to paintings and photography. Following the collaborative ethos, artworks will be curated thematically rather than by school. It is hoped that this exhibition will be the first of many projects that celebrate the creative achievements of young Bath artists. burdallsyard.co.uk/ exhibitions1/young-bath-artists

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BOOKS

Stephen Moss on the naming of birds Swallow and peregrine, yellowhammer and sedge warbler. What do these names mean and where do they come from? Stephen Moss is the man to ask and he’s coming to BRLSI on 6 November to give away some of these bird-naming secrets, also found in the pages of his book, Mrs Moreau’s Warbler. Words by Emma Clegg.

aturalist, broadcaster and author Stephen Moss tells me that he has a particular condition that compels him (for example) to look out of his window at the greenfinches on his birdfeeder instead of concentrating on answering my questions. I assure him that I can cope with this idiosyncrasy, especially because we are talking about birds. Stephen is the author of the evocatively named Mrs Moreau’s Warbler and in November he’s giving a talk at BRLSI about the book. In it he considers the origins of common bird names and how they reveal as much about ourselves and our relationship with the natural world as about the creatures they describe. Stephen defines three clear categories for the naming of birds. The first is where bird names describe some obvious feature of the bird – its sound, colour, pattern, shape, size or behaviour. Think cuckoo, chiffchaff, blackcap and greenfinch. Birds named in this way comprise the bulk of their given names, Stephen explains. But some are clearer than others. “It’s very obvious that a bird called yellow wagtail, woodpecker and treecreeper are named after their colour and habits. But it’s less obvious that nuthatches are [their name comes from their habit of wedging a nut or acorn into a tree’s bark, and by repeatedly striking the nut, ‘hatching’ the seed within it]. It’s also obvious that cuckoo and chiffchaff are onomatopoeic, linking to sound; but less obvious that rook, crow and raven [all derived from the birds’ harsh calls] are also named after sounds.” The second of the three categories was used from the 17th century when names were based on more arcane aspects of birds’ lives such as where they were first identified, such as the Kentish plover and the Sandwich tern. This category also includes habitat-based names such as reed, sedge and willow warbler. The third category (described by

“Ravens are utterly extraordinary both in the influence on our culture historically and today, but more importantly they are just extraordinary, beautiful and charismatic birds”

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Stephen as “in many ways the most beguiling”) is birds that are called after people, such as Montagu’s harrier (after a soldier and ornithologist), Bewick’s swan (after the engraver Thomas Bewick), and indeed Mrs Moreau’s warbler, whose story we take up later.

When I finally saw Mrs Moreau’s warbler I felt overwhelming emotion because this bird may become extinct in my lifetime Mmmm… suddenly it’s all sounding more complex… and rather inconsistent. “Language changes and shifts, and you have to be a detective to find out the origins, and the other paradoxes about bird names”, says Stephen. “The book is about birds of course, but it’s just as much about history, both British and global, and language, and the evolution of language.” One of the complexities is that – as with all matters of language – bird names are not static; they evolve over time. “I looked at a bird book the other day that is over 100 years old. It mentions willow wren instead of willow warbler, and hedge sparrow instead of dunnock, which was a name I would have used when I was a child. So names do get changed, but it’s quite a slow process”, says Stephen. Take the bird that we know as the robin. “People have been calling robins ‘robin’ since the 14th century, but initially they were called ‘ruddock’, an Anglo Saxon word meaning ‘red bird’. Then it was named redbreast, but nicknamed robin redbreast as a nice alliterative term – but somehow, robin took over.” There are also deliberate changes in bird names where the original name has an offensive association, such as an African bird that used to be referred to as the negrofinch, now called nigrita. This changing of names often applies to birds named after people. “The issue with many of the birds named in America is that a lot of the men after whom these birds were named were Confederate soldiers, who kept slaves and voted for slavery”, says Stephen. So the small ground-feeding bird McCown’s longspur has been given the new name of thick-billed longspur because the old name belonged to Captain John P. McCown, an officer in the Confederate army, the naturalist who first collected the species in 1851. The meaning of names can become unfamiliar too. Stephen visited Slimbridge Wetland Centre in Gloucestershire with a group of his students from Bath Spa University where he teaches on the MA in Nature and Travel Writing. “While we were there we saw a snipe. And I explained how the word sniper comes from this bird, because when snipes fly, they zigzag – and so are considered the hardest bird to shoot. So if someone is good enough to shoot a snipe, then they are a sniper.”

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BOOKS Interestingly some bird names have inspired other common words. “Kite and crane (both Old English) are the original names of birds that became ‘kite’ as in the children’s toy and ‘crane’ as in a crane because of the shape or look of them. Bird names using archaic words have a tendency to endure, even though the original meanings are less used. With the birds redshank or redpoll – we know of lamb shank in a menu and the poll tax, but we don’t talk about shank for legs or poll for head anymore.” Ancient names also adapt around the prevailing language culture. “The Anglo-Saxon ‘yellow ammer’ (from the German word for a bunting) became yellowhammer; ‘red steort’ (meaning red tail) turned into redstart; and ‘wheteres’– literally white arse, changed into wheatear. In Anglo Saxon, those words made perfect sense, but when the Norman Conquest happened and language changed very quickly, those words became archaic.” Not every bird name can be explained, however. “Most of the common and familiar birds are the ones where we don’t know how they got their names, because the names are 1000s of years old. Sparrow, starling, swallow, wren and swan are all examples of this.” It feels as if the lack of clear etymology in these bird names makes them more powerful and entrenched, entwined as they are in our distant history. “The word swan links linguistically to the German schwan and the Dutch zwaan, clear evidence that they share a common origin in the language known as West Germanic, which was spoken around the time of Christ’s birth.” * This brings us back to Mrs Moreau’s warbler. Stephen first read about this bird when he was 10 years old in his regularly delivered magazine, Birds of the World. He discovered that the bird name was given by ornithologist Reg Moreau after his wife Winnie, also an ornithologist, after they discovered the warbler in 1938 on an expedition to the Uluguru Mountains in eastern Tanzania. In January 2017, almost half a century after he first read about Mrs Moreau’s warbler, Stephen finally travelled to the Uluguru Mountains on a quest to see this bird for himself. He describes, “… a small, slender

bird, brownish buff, with a long, thin bill, and an orange chest, throat, head and neck, it looks rather like a robin whose red breast has extended upwards to cover its whole face and crown. As if to acknowledge me, it utters one more burst of song, and then melts back into the forest.” * “I do get very emotionally involved with my encounters with birds because these moments have shaped my life. But when I finally saw Mrs Moreau’s warbler I felt overwhelming emotion because this bird may become extinct in my lifetime. It’s a very beautiful bird, and I thought about Reg and Winnie Moreau in the 1930s when they came across it, and how astonished they must have been.” As Stephen says in his book, “From the familiar robin, chaffinch and blackbird to the Uluguru violet-backed sunbird, Udzungwa forest partridge and Mrs Moreau’s warbler, bird names are far more than just words. Every single one of them tells a story – a story that runs parallel with our own human narrative.” n * Stephen Moss, Mrs Moreau’s Warbler

Mrs Moreau’s Warbler: How Birds Got Their Names, talk by author Stephen Moss at BRLSI, 6 November 7.30pm–9pm. In person at BRLSI, 16–18 Queen Square, Bath, or online. Tickets £3–£6. brlsi.org Stephen’s book Mrs Moreau’s Warbler is published by Guardian Faber (2018), £10.99

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beautynotebook Prepare for the Christmas countdown and look fabulous with the best beauty Advent calendars of 2023

MOLTON BROWN. The new 2023 Advent Calendar, £210 Classic scents include Orange & Bergamot, Re-charge Black Pepper and Heavenly Gingerlily with deluxe sizes of Molton Brown’s new Marvellous Mandarin & Spice Collection. This new collection is reminiscent of a Christmas Day dessert- surrounded by family with notes of tart mandarin zest, lively ginger, cinnamon, and earthy nutmeg, the range consists of a Fine Liquid Hand Wash, Hand Lotion, a Festive Bauble and Signature Scented Candle and is also available in full size (prices range from £15-£42). Shop at: Molton Brown in Bath or visit moltonbrown.co.uk

ANTHROPOLOGIE. 24 Days of Beauty Calendar, £78 The holidays wouldn't be nearly as festive without the highly coveted, limited-edition George & Viv Beauty Advent calendar, featuring artwork by Emily Taylor. Curated in the spirit of only-at -Anthro gifting, this year's edition features over £300 worth of premium treats and treasures, including favourites from Verden, Anatome, and Herlum! Buy online at: anthropologie.com

HARVEY NICHOLS Beauty Advent Calendar 2023, £250

L’OCCITANE, £62 The best-selling Advent calendar pops up to reveal an olive tree, representative of the Provence landscape from where this brand hails. This calendar includes iconic L’Occitane products, including a full-size of l’Occitane’s Shea Butter Intensive Hand Balm 30ml. Beautifully designed with bold and joyful illustrations, the calendar is an exciting way to countdown to Christmas. (worth £122.50). Shop at: L’Occitane in Bath or visit uk: loccitane.com

The Harvey Nichols Beauty Advent calendar is back to make the countdown to Christmas even more exciting. Worth over £1300, it's overflowing with 45 products (including 24 full sizes) to indulge beauty obsessives throughout December. Behind each door, you'll discover skincare staples from Dr Barbara Sturm, Sisley, MZ Skin and Dermalogica; fragrances from Maison Francis Kurkdjian and Memo Paris, and makeup favourites from Charlotte Tilbury, Hourglass, and Fenty Beauty. Plus, there's a soothing candle from Maison Francis Kurkdjian, an Eve Lom Rescue Mask, CBD sleep drops from OTO, and Neom's cult Pillow Spray, so when it comes to unwinding from the festivities, you can do so in style. And... to sprinkle a little more joy, HN have randomly hidden a £100 Harvey Nichols gift card in a select number of calendars – one in every fifty in fact!

THE BODY SHOP A Choice of Three, From £59 This year, The Body Shop has three different Advent calendars with beautiful pop-up illustrations (at three different price points). Beauty lovers will find a Changemaking product inside every drawer and box. Bursting with beauty surprises made from hardworking, natural-origin ingredients, the calendars celebrate the positive changes happening in the communities of the brand’s global Community Fair Trade partners, including the artisans who craft some of the iconic ingredients. Three different sizes and three different price points starting from £59. Shop at: The Body Shop in Bath or visit: thebodyshop.com/en-gb

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Orangery Nov 23.qxp_Layout 1 26/10/2023 12:03 Page 1

HEALTH & BEAUTY

REVIEW

Rejuvenate with the M3 Matrix facial

Who would have thought that a single treatment would make your face come to life? That’s what happened to Emma Clegg when she visited The Orangery and encountered the M3 Matrix Non-needle Mesotherapy was next, this process powered by ultrasound and a mild electrical current. A serum and soothing gel solution that included peptides was applied to my face and a wetted pad was put on my upper back, which helps conduct the current. I then felt the smooth metal head of the M3 Matrix, which was kept in constant motion over my skin. More gel was added, then more heat. The electrical current created a very pleasant and restorative warm feeling. Again, the levels of ultrasound and current can be adjusted depending on the heat clients feel comfortable with. This process helps to brighten the skin, improve skin tone, rejuvenate, oxygenate and regenerate skin tissues, as well as achieving skin tightening and lifting of the skin.

My skin feels smoother, responsive to touch, as if it is shaken up and grateful for this awakening

ust sometimes that familiar face in the mirror falls short of expectations. Dark shadows, dull, imperfect skin, a bit too much sag in crucial places. So what can be done? Well you could seek out a facial with the M3 Matrix machine, just as I did recently at The Orangery in Argyle Street. Let’s face it, lying on your back for well over an hour does bring automatic benefits for those living life in a whirl. But if you add to this a treatment that includes Microdermabrasion, Non-needle Mesotherapy and Radio Frequency, you will almost certainly feel the difference. Now I’ve bamboozled you with terms, let me introduce you to the M3 Matrix. It’s a very neat, unassuming machine but it certainly packs some power, which is dispensed in different stages of the facial treatment. But first cleansing is required. So having laid back flat, wrapped snugly in towels, the Genosys Snow O2 cleanser was applied to my face to remove any impurities on the skin. This led us on to the first M3 Matrix stage, Microdermabrasion, a form of exfoliation. The sensation is of a suction across the surface of the skin. This starts softly and is increased gradually, according to client preference. It was a satisfying experience, like a focused mini massage of the face as the top layer of dead, dry skin is removed, exposing the fresh cells underneath. This treatment benefits imperfect skin texture, congested skin with open pores and blackheads, scarring, puffyness and ageing skin. It stimulates the lymph drainage to remove impurities. It also means that applied products are more effectively absorbed. 70 TheBATHMagazine | noveMber 2023 | issue 249

Radio Frequency was next. With the face covered with ultrasound gel, one side of the face was worked on at a time, using specific wavelengths to tighten and lift the skin, while stimulating collagen and elastin. This treatment transmits heat to the skin and brings the blood to the surface. It is effective for fine lines and wrinkles and lymphatic drainage, including the reduction of dark circles under the eyes and the tightening of skin around the jawline and neck. Once this was done, the ultrasound gel was removed and an algae sheet mask was applied to my face. A cavitation spatula was then run over the surface of the mask, creating vibration as it gently pushed the products through. At this point my skin felt very radiant and warm. I was advised that the results of the M3 Matrix facial would be most noticeable the following morning when the skin had had time to settle and that I should drink plenty of water. I did feel very relaxed after my treatment, in fact for the rest of that day. My skin also felt very stimulated and alive, active, responsive and connected, as if it had been woken up from a long dormancy. I felt a lovely tingling sensation for three days after the treatment, and more than a week later I’m still feeling the beneficial glow. I do still have shadows under my eyes, but I only had one treatment instead of the course of treatments that is advised to give results. However my skin does feels smoother, responsive to my touch, as if it is shaken up and grateful for this awakening. I’d not thought of my face so literally as a living thing before, and I am determined now to pay it more attention. The M3 Matrix facial treatments are bespoke to each client, advised according to your skin goals, and won’t necessarily need to include all the stages that I had. Contact The Orangery initially to arrange a free consultation to discuss your M3 Matrix facial journey. n £50 off your first treatment! The Orangery is offering £50 off your first M3 Matrix facial treatment. Just mention you have read this feature in The Bath Magazine when you book. Terms and conditions apply. The Orangery, No.1 Argyle Street, Bath, BA2 4BA Tel: 01225 466851; theorangerylaserandbeautybath.co.uk

The Orangery November FP 2.qxp_Layout 1 26/10/2023 10:29 Page 1

the orangery clinic l a s e r

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b e a u t y

Treatments Available

• M3 Matrix - Radiofrequency facial, to deep clean, lift, firm & tighten

• Cryotherapy for wart, skin tag and pigmentation removal

• Electrolysis

• Vaginal tightening

• Waxing

• Diet and nutrition advice

• Ipl for permanent hair reduction, skin rejuvenation and facial thread vein treatment

• Body treatments for fat loss, toning, skin tightening and cellulite

• Manicures and pedicures

• Facials and skin care

• Eyebrow and eyelash treatments

• Peels

• Massage

• Microdermabrasion

• Semi permanent makeup for brows, eyes and lips

• Food intolerance, hormone testing and menopause advice

• Dr led wrinkle reduction treatments, fillers and non surgical face lift

Gift Vouchers available No.1 Argyle Street, Bath BA2 4BA | Tel: 01225 466851 www.theorangerylaserandbeautybath.co.uk

Pegasus Editorial fp.qxp_Layout 22 26/10/2023 12:17 Page 1

An exclusive look at stylish and independent later living in the heart of Bath

• Pegasus launches contemporary show apartment at its new luxury development, Bath Leat • Exclusively for those over 60, the community features 68 one- and two-bedroom apartments available for private purchase or rent • Designed by Claude Hooper, one of the UK’s leading interior design firms, over 40% of homes are already reserved Later-living specialist Pegasus has unveiled a brand-new show apartment at its luxury development in Bath, giving future homeowners and renters an exclusive look at what’s on offer. With the first residents having moved into the Riverside and Gardenside apartments in June 2023, the development comprises 68 one- and two-bedroom apartments across three buildings with each home reflecting Pegasus’ consistently high-quality finish, with luxury fittings and features seamlessly set into contemporary fully-fitted kitchens and bathrooms. Set on the banks of the River Avon, the community is well positioned to make the most of the beautiful city of Bath, and has already proved in high demand, with 33% of homes moved into and 30% reserved from its first phased release. Designed by Claude Hooper, one of the leading interior design firms in the UK, the space takes inspiration from the riverside location of the development, with tones of navy and eau di nil that make the communal areas calm and welcoming and give a real sense of bringing the outside in. Carrie Edwards, Account Director at Claude Hooper comments: “We were conscious that people are often moving to a Pegasus home from their larger family homes, and that for many this home represents a new chapter in life. As such, we wanted to show the potential of something new in how we designed the apartment. We wanted to keep the interiors light, fresh and contemporary, with furniture featuring clean lines and a nod to classic midcentury style. We were conscious of avoiding a cliched 'retirement' style with chunky furniture and heavily patterned fabrics, as this wouldn't represent the aspirational nature of the purchasers looking to enjoy an active retirement in the vibrant city of Bath.”

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Like all Pegasus communities, Bath Leat is designed with wellness in mind. The idyllic balance of a relaxing and active lifestyle allows residents to enjoy the peacefulness of a riverside community with all the perks of the city’s unique heritage and thriving cultural scene on their doorstep. The community features a variety of shared spaces designed to foster social connections, including wellness facilities such as a hobby room, stretch studio, sauna, foot spa, treatment room and two communal lounges. A snug provides the perfect spot to unwind and catch up with new neighbours, while the guest suites provide a welcoming and comfortable place for friends and family to stay when visiting. Between the buildings, a series of beautiful, landscaped gardens welcome local wildlife and bring people together to enjoy the open space and greenery. Good relationships are the foundation of wellbeing and Bath Leat will have its own dedicated Lifehost, who is embedded in the community to ensure that everyone is included as much or as little as they like. Bath Leat’s prime location is also within easy reach of the picturesque Royal Victoria Park, a beautiful expanse of green parkland spanning 57 acres, as well as a variety of independent restaurants, bars, cafes, and boutique shops. Mike Gill, Regional Managing Director at Pegasus comments: "At Pegasus, our customers are predominantly downsizers seeking a hassle-free way of life in retirement. In turn, we want our homes to provide not just a place to live, but a lifestyle. The new show apartment gives customers a taste of the highspecification homes and zestful lifestyle on offer in Britain’s most famous spa town. We are passionate about offering our customers choice, with options to buy and rent at Bath Leat, so they can flex their next chapter of life around their individual circumstances and priorities.” Homes at Bath Leat start from £400,000 / rental from £2,050 pcm. Don’t miss out on the opportunity to view the brand new community. For more information or to book an appointment contact Pegasus at 01255 600 461 or email bathleat@lifestory.group

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THEBATHMAG.CO.UK | NOVEMBER 2023 | ThEBATHMagaziNE 73

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ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE

IS KNEE PAIN HOLDING YOU BACK?

We all know that keeping active is one of the key ingredients to living a healthy life, but when knee pain interferes with normal activity and prevents exercise, it is time to act and seek medical help.

f you are suffering with knee pain, a visit to an orthopaedic surgeon can help. The surgeon will determine if the pain is caused through injury or a more long-term issue, such as osteoarthritis. This is the most common form of arthritis, and is characterised by inflammation and 'wear and tear' damage to the knee. It develops over time, and can sneak up on you. When symptoms first appear, much of the damage has already been done. The process of damage and wearing out of the joint cartilage surface eventually results in the bone grinding on bone in the knee, which is a painful and disabling condition. Up to 25% of people with knee arthritis will retire early due to the pain it causes. There are several risk factors for osteoarthritis, including your genes, lifestyle factors, previous injuries, hypermobility and obesity. Symptoms of knee osteoarthritis The predominant symptoms of knee arthritis are pain and stiffness, which lead to a loss of mobility. Symptoms range from mild to severe. There can be a mild background ache in the knee, which might interfere with sporting activities or a long walk. In more severe cases, it can be a constant severe disabling pain, which makes walking very difficult or impossible. Pain may also be so severe that sleep can be disturbed. Roughening and fragmentation of the knee joint surface may also lead to catching, clicking, clunking or similar symptoms. Swelling of the knee joint is often seen, and in severe cases, the shape of the knee may change. In the worst cases, loss of mobility can lead to poor cardio-respiratory fitness.

If there are symptoms of mechanical locking in the knee, or stiffness, then keyhole surgery (arthroscopy) may improve this. However, this cannot reverse the arthritis damage. For those patients who might be suffering with arthritis but are hoping to avoid surgery, there are less invasive, non-surgical options available, such as injection therapy. This can prove beneficial in managing joint pain to the point whereby the need for surgery is delayed. Steroid injections are an example of this. Another technique available is Platelet Rich Plasma treatment (PRP), which uses a patient's own anti-inflammatory cells to promote the healing of injured joints. If the arthritis pain is severe and you have exhausted non-operative treatment, then you may decide to proceed with a knee replacement. Knee replacement surgery has evolved, with innovative, state-of-the-art robotic-arm technology available to assist the surgeon with the procedure. This brings a range of enhanced benefits for the patient, including even greater surgical precision, which in turn leads to a faster recovery and decreased post-operative pain. Nuffield Health Bristol Hospital is currently the only hospital in the city to offer robotic-arm assisted knee replacement surgery, highlighting Nuffield Health’s commitment to providing patients with the best possible treatment. The decision to proceed is made with your surgeon, so that you fully understand the benefits and risks of each procedure.

Treatment of knee osteoarthritis Following a diagnosis of arthritis, you may receive some form of treatment before you see a surgeon. Non-surgical treatments include simple painkillers, anti-inflammatory tablets, weight loss treatments, modification of activities, or physiotherapy. 74 TheBATHMagazine | nOVeMBeR 2023 | issue 249

Some of the treatments offered for arthritis by Nuffield Health Bristol Hospital: • Full and partial knee replacements • Physiotherapy • PRP injections • Steroid injections • Weight loss therapies Joint Pain Programme Nuffield Health also offers a free-to-access Joint Pain Programme at its two Bristol Fitness and Wellbeing Centres in Clifton and Stoke Gifford. The six-month programme is designed to help you self-manage your chronic joint pain and lead a more independent life by incorporating lifestyle advice, health checks, low-impact exercise sessions and support from a trained Rehabilitation Specialist. You don’t have to be a Nuffield Health gym member to join the programme – it’s free and open to anyone living with joint pain. The Joint Pain Programme has helped over 11,000 people across the UK since it launched, and those who’ve completed it have shown improvements in mobility, pain, general fitness levels and overall quality of life. To find out more, including how to apply, search “joint pain programme” on the Nuffield Health website. It doesn’t matter if you want to climb a mountain or simply tidy the garden, any symptom that prevents or limits your ability to do the things you love is cause for concern. With a little help, a bad knee doesn’t have to impact your quality of life. If you would like to book an appointment with a Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon, call the Hospital Enquiries team on 0117 911 5339, or visit the Nuffield Health website.

Nuffield Health Bristol Hospital 3 Clifton Hill, Bristol BS8 1BN nuffieldhealth.com/hospitals/bristol

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Awash with Ales Andrew Swift.qxp_Layout 1 26/10/2023 11:51 Page 1

Awash with ale

Northgate Brewery vats

Brewing beer isn’t one of the major industries usually associated with Bath. Andrew Swift digs into the archives to uncover a city containing multiple large breweries as well as alehouses brewing their own beer.

iving in Bath, we are so accustomed to hearing about the city’s Georgian heritage, we may feel we have a reasonably good idea of what life was like back then. But the picture presented to us tends to be a very selective one. How often are we told, for example, that one of the most important industries in Georgian Bath was brewing beer? It may come as a surprise, then, to discover that the city was home not only to the biggest brewery in the West of England but also to over a dozen other large breweries. As if that wasn’t enough, virtually every alehouse – and there were over a hundred of them – brewed its own beer as well. The city would have been awash with ale, of which the heady smell of brewing would have been a constant reminder. Bath’s first large brewery was built by that great entrepreneur, Ralph Allen, in 1736. Standing four storeys high, with a three-storey malthouse next door, it was near the White Hart in Widcombe, but for some reason was very short-lived, being put up for sale in 1750 and subsequently demolished. Where Allen led the way, others followed, and by the end of the century there were over a dozen large breweries in Bath, with no less than six along Walcot Street and the London Road. The biggest, though, was on Northgate Street, where Waitrose is today. Known as the Northgate Brewery, it was founded in the 1770s by Samuel Sayce and brewed porter, a dark beer made with slightly scorched malt, for which there was an almost insatiable demand. Due to a combination of luck and business acumen, it grew to become the biggest brewery in the West of England. Its enormous vats – 40 feet high and holding 33,000 gallons – were a tourist attraction in their own right. When it outgrew its site, a tramway bridge was built across the river so that it could continue to expand along Grove Street. By the mid-19th century there were over 20 breweries in Bath. The coming of the railway, however, brought increased competition from brewers further afield. In 1868, two of the partners who owned the Northgate Brewery died and the third decided to sell up. The brewery was put on the market but there were no takers, so its equipment was sold off and the buildings were converted to other uses. In the ensuing decades, other breweries either closed, went bankrupt or were merged into larger concerns in Bath or beyond, so that, by the eve of the First 76 TheBATHMagazine | noveMBeR 2023 | issue 249

World War, only one major brewery was left – the Bath Brewery, created from the amalgamation of several other breweries, and housed in a vast new state-of-the-art building at Locksbrook. Despite the optimism with which it was launched, it lasted for only 25 years before being taken over by George’s Bristol Brewery in 1923 and closed. George’s used the site as maltings until the 1960s but after they too were closed the buildings were demolished to make way for an industrial estate. The closure of the Bath Brewery didn’t quite mark the end of brewing in the city, however, for a few pubs were still brewing their own beer. At the beginning of the 20th century, there were over 30 home-brew pubs in Bath, including The Barley Mow in Bathwick Street, The Bell in Walcot Street, The Devonshire Arms on Wells Road, The Old Green Tree in Green Street, The Lamb & Lion on Lower Borough Walls, The Long Acre Tavern on Long Acre, The Old Farm House on Lansdown, The Royal Oak on Pulteney Road, and The Ram, The Ring of Bells, and The White Hart in Widcombe.

Avondale Brewery, Batheaston

Awash with Ales Andrew Swift.qxp_Layout 1 27/10/2023 16:00 Page 2

BATH | HISTORY By the 1950s, the number had dwindled to two – The Ram and The Long Acre Tavern – and when they stopped brewing, the only pub in the area keeping alive a tradition dating back centuries was The George & Dragon at Batheaston. When the last batch was brewed there in 1960, it really was the end, and for the next 37 years all the beer sold in Bath’s pubs was brewed somewhere else. Meanwhile, breweries continued to merge, forming ever bigger conglomerates. In 1961, George’s, which by now supplied the lion’s share of Bath’s pubs, was swallowed up by Courage’s, although the Bristol brewery remained open until 1999. Dismay at what had happened to the brewing industry, however, prompted a kickback. When the George & Dragon pulled its last pint of homebrew, few would have put money on small-scale brewing returning to the city. In 1997, though, that’s precisely what happened when Abbey Ales was set up at the back of the Old Farmhouse on Lansdown. Over a quarter of a century on, it’s still going strong, while over in Locksbrook, where the Bath Brewery once stood, the city’s drinkers can drink brews from Electric Bear – founded in 2015 – at the brewery’s tap room. Two brewpubs have also opened in the city: on James Street West, the former Midland Hotel was reborn as the Bath Brewhouse in 2013, while, at The Royal Oak on the Lower Bristol Road, Ralph’s Ruin Brewery – named after the landlord’s ‘mischievous dog who on the odd occasion likes to ruin stuff’ – opened in 2017. Bath’s brewing heritage, although illustrious, is unjustly forgotten, largely because most of the buildings associated with it, which once ranked among the most prominent in the city, are long gone. Here and there, though, a few reminders survive. On Grove Street, Caxton and Northanger Courts incorporate parts of the old Northgate Brewery; opposite the Esso Garage on the London Road, the old Kensington Brewery, built around 1809 and closed in 1889, survives, albeit much altered, as a boxing gym; a four-storey malthouse on Pera Road, off Thomas Street, formed part of the Walcot Brewery, opened around

Pointing’s Brewery in Trafalgar Road, Weston

1792 and closed in 1887; by the tollbridge at Batheaston, the Avondale Brewery, which later became the County Brewery before closing in 1912, is now offices; while in Weston a faded sign for one of the city’s smaller breweries, Pointing’s, can be seen near the top of Trafalgar Road. The real legacy of Bath’s brewing heritage can be found not in stone and mortar, however, but in the beers produced by the brewers who have revived the spirit of a city once proud to be awash with ale. n Find out more by reading Awash With Ale: 2000 Years of Imbibing in Bath, by Andrew Swift and Kirsten Elliott, Akeman Press The Rise and Fall of Bath’s Breweries, by Mike Bone, Bath History, VIII (historyofbath.org/BathHistorys/BathHistorys)

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GARDENS

Create an annexe living space in your garden Do you need more living space for extended family but don’t welcome the cost of an extension? The answer could be to have a contemporary annexe in your garden...

f you need more room in your home to provide permanent or temporary living space for family and friends, you may already have thought of a home extension, but this can be offputting for many because of the disruption and expense. There is a much easier, cost-effective option, and that is to create an annexe in your garden. Local garden room specialists Garden Affairs has now launched a new range of high-quality outbuildings designed to create practical living solutions without the need for home extension. Adam Seccombe, Garden Affairs’ managing director, explains: “We’ve seen people putting caravans at the bottom of their gardens with people living in them, and that’s OK within the law. It doesn’t involve a change of use [of the property]. Our view is that we can take the build systems that function very well for people who want to create space for working in the garden, and use existing legislative frameworks to solve one of the biggest issues in this country.” “It isn’t just house price costs that are preventing young people getting on the property ladder, it’s rental costs that are stopping young people moving away from home. A solution is to use what is available from the Caravan Act to create ancillary accommodation with shared services without triggering any change of use.” Garden Affairs produces portable buildings which fit the bill as far as the Caravan Act is concerned and can be used for such purposes. Adam says: “The building can be put on a trailer and driven down the road. Just because it doesn’t have wheels on it doesn’t stop it from being mobile.” The Linea Living annexe by Garden Affairs is fully customisable, highperforming, modern and fully insulated. The modern, Scandi-inspired design features vertical stained timber cladding, the option of a modern metal roof and a light, natural timber interior. Your space and your ideas can be brought to life in a custom-designed annexe by a team of experts with over 20 years in the industry. These contemporary units offer beautifully designed features and they are highly efficient, delivering practicality and stylish aesthetics. The installation process is quick, creates minimum disruption and is far cheaper than general construction. So if you would like to save on the cost and hassle of commissioning a building extension, it’s maybe time consider a garden annexe from Garden Affairs. gardenaffairs.co.uk

A wood nuthatch and young blue tit on hanging bird feeder

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INTERIORS

Bring the spa to the room Wanting to refresh your bathroom into something that embodies your idea of glamorous spa? From earth tones and rustic textures to boldly coloured marble tiles and elegant parquet, there are so many different ways to create a spa bathroom at home. The following ideas from Mandarin Stone are guaranteed to inspire... 1. Create a sauna vibe Practical, stylish wood-effect porcelain tiles are nothing new when it comes to surface design, but more recent introductions of panelled or slated wood-effect tiles have taken them to the next level, uncannily mimicking wood panelling. Adding both warmth and texture they create an organic feel in this bathroom. Paired here with Malmo, a striking large format porcelain that mimics the look and texture of angular and varied breccia-like stones, the combination is modern yet inviting.

2. Revel in retro styling Who can resist these cool retro fixtures and fittings and bold red and pink tones to create a fun, statement bathroom? Resist the urge to go to bold with your tiles if other bathroom elements are going to take centre stage. Keep tiles simple in tone such as the soft terracotta flooring and the grey marble-effect porcelain wall tiles with their subtle tan veining that link the two. The tiles certainly add character but are just paired back enough to tie the overall design together perfectly without being overbearing.

3. Go classic with neutral elegance Sticking to neutral shades in a bathroom can allow you to play more with size and texture. Here, both the Riga Chevron and Sawn Sand are large format tiles with subtle yet eye-catching surface details. Sawn has a surface graphic replicating traditionally ‘cut’ stone whilst the Riga has a more contemporary ‘chevron’ surface design and texture. By keeping tones neutral the space feels interesting yet completely cohesive. 80 TheBATHMagazine | noveMber 2023 | iSSUe 249

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INTERIORS

4. Find your colour zoom

An impactful bathroom with a fun use of colour will always put a smile on your face. The extra elongated brick tiles allow the strong pink tones to still feel elegant (feel the Wes Anderson!) and the lustrous glaze cleverly bounces light around the narrow shower, making it feel more spacious. The horizontal black pencil moulding breaks the strong vertical lines and perfectly pairs with the monochrome patterned tiled floor.

5. Go softly with a linear statement Rightly so, green tones have certainly earned their place as one of the top shades when it comes to bathroom tiles. Derived from nature, green tones are both calming and energising when it comes to interior design. These slender bricks have an organic, rustic feel and a beautiful, almost handmade texture and glaze. To create a more modern feel they have been laid in an attractive stripe design in the shower enclosure. This distinct tile layout also zones the shower from other areas of the bathroom, where the classic white version of ‘Alba’ has been used throughout.

6. Channel a luxury hotel spa with stone Subtle toned porcelain tiles that cleverly replicate traditional travertine are certainly having their moment, especially those with linear vein striations that can draw the eye. Combining different materials in the same space such as stone effect porcelain and real marble needs careful consideration. However here, the boldly veined, fabricated Violetta Marble door surround works beautifully against the soft tones of the porcelain tiles, resulting in an elegant shower room design. n

Mandarin Stone, 15-16 Broad Street, Bath BA1 5LJ; 01225 460033; mandarinstone.com

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Bath

Reclamation

Originally of Walcot Reclamation and then former Co-Director of Walcot Architectural Salvage Ltd, Cary Morgan has over 30 years experience in the Reclamation and Salvage business. Based just outside of Bath in Newton St Loe, Bath Reclamation stocks and sources all types of Reclaimed materials, focusing in particular on Traditional Building Materials.

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Traditional Stone Flooring

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www.bathreclamation.co.uk Home Farm Yard, Newton St Loe, Bath, BA2 9DA 07983 556 757 |

info@bathreclamation.co.uk

FOUND UK WEST VINTAGE RECYCLED FURNITURE j e f fo s b o @ h ot m a i l .c o m | 0 7 8 7 5 1 2 9 9 6 4

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Elly's Wellies, Bath Nov.qxp_Layout 1 26/10/2023 10:09 Page 1

November in the garden

November takes on a slower pace in the garden, but simple maintenance and clearing tasks, a little bit of bulb planting, protecting tender plants and feeding the birds as their other sources of food run scarce will prep you for the year ahead, says Elly West

love this month in the garden. Everything has slowed right down, giving us time to breathe, catch up and get on top of any jobs that need doing. In summer mowing the lawn and pulling out weeds can feel like a fruitless task when a week later it all needs doing again, but in autumn there is satisfaction from clearing and cutting back, knowing the garden will stay that way for a while. Now is a good time to don thick socks and wellies and get outside to clear away summer growth that has become old and tatty. This will make way for the current stars of the garden to shine, whether it’s the golds and reds of autumn leaves, interesting and colourful stems, architectural seed heads or jewel-like berries. Leave the more attractive and architectural seed heads in situ, such as hydrangeas, sedums, cardoons, grasses and phlomis as they will provide structure over winter, look beautiful when sparkling with frost and strung with cobwebs, and will also provide food and shelter for wildlife. By the end of the month, leaves will be falling in earnest, so make time to sweep them up to help avoid overwintering pests and diseases. While they will eventually break down in the borders, it’s better to collect them to make leaf mould – a brilliant soil conditioner that can then be spread around your plants. If you have space, a simple leaf bin made from chicken wire and posts will do the job. Otherwise just chuck them in old compost bags with a few ventilation holes spiked with a fork, and leave it out of sight for a year or two to break down. While you’re outside clearing and cutting back, take stock and assess what’s worked and what hasn’t during the previous season. Don’t be afraid to prune or remove shrubs that have outgrown their space (or ones that you just don’t really like) to make way for more cherished and chosen new specimens. This is an easier job now, while the soil is soft and easier to dig, and you can better see the bare bones of the garden. New shrubs, hedges and trees can be planted and there are 84 TheBATHMagazine | noveMber 2023 | iSSUe 249

bargains to be had if you choose bare-rooted options. I prefer to wait until spring to plant new perennials though, as it’s always a little disheartening to plant a pot of what looks like just soil and dying twigs, as opposed to a pot full of fresh green growth emerging from that overwintered rootstock. This is also the perfect time to plant bulbs, and with the borders cut back and cleared, you’ll be able to find patches of bare soil to dig into and squeeze in these little parcels of promise. Then you can sit back and wait for a succession of colour next spring and into summer, starting with snowdrops and followed by crocuses, daffodils, tulips and alliums.

A wood nuthatch and young blue tit on hanging bird feeder

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GARDENING GARDENS One of the great pleasures of the garden for me is watching birds flitting to the various feeders I have dotted around. Provide a good range of treats in the colder months and beyond, including sunflower and niger seeds, fat balls and nuts, and keep bird baths topped up with clean water. Other sources of food are running scarce at this time of year so doing your bit can make a big difference to their survival. They’ll reciprocate by helping to create that all-important eco-system, eating up garden pests such as greenfly, slugs and snails. With the unpredictability of the weather, it’s best not to take the risk with slightly tender treasures in the garden such as tree ferns, bananas and vulnerable plants in pots. I’ve never bothered to wrap the tree fern in my garden, as it is in a sheltered spot, but nearly regretted it after last year’s harsh winter. Luckily it did survive, but took a much longer time to get going and unroll its soft, furry leaves from the crown, to the point that I thought it must have died. I’ll choose a dry day and give it some protection this year by folding up the leaves together and tying fleece around the entire plant. Move pots and pack them in closely together against a sheltered house wall or in a greenhouse to avoid them cracking with hard frosts, as even those labelled frostproof can be susceptible over time. Your plants will thank you for it as well and will be stronger and healthier next year, especially if they are slightly tender. Once the garden is put to bed, then you can hunker down and plan ahead for next year, whether it’s browsing the internet, reading those gardening magazines or flicking through the catalogues and choosing bulbs and seeds to try. n

Plant of the month: Ivy (Hedera) It may not have the best reputation, but there’s no denying that ivy has its uses, growing well in complete shade and effectively screening would-be eye-sores. It requires no effort, and will grow in just about any soil, sending out selfclinging stems that are great for covering a fence or wall. The yellow-green strong-smelling flowers appear in autumn, and are great for wildlife, attracting an abundance of bees, flies and late-flying butterflies. These are followed by berries that provide an important food source for birds, including blackbirds, and its evergreen leaves also give shelter to birds and small mammals. Admittedly it can be a thug, and needs keeping in check to stop it choking other plants and spreading too far, but some of the smaller-leaved variegated varieties such as ‘Chester’ or ‘Silver King’ are excellent for brightening a shady corner with their more delicate silverymarked leaves. ‘Goldheart’ is another popular variety, with larger leaves and attractive pink-red stems. Ivy can also be used for topiary, trained over a wire frame, and is ideal for cutting and bringing indoors to add foliage to cut flower displays and Christmas wreaths.

ellyswellies.co.uk

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the directory

to advertise in this section call 01225 424 499 House & Home

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Nigel Dando 11 Pulteney Bridge, Bath BA2 4AY Tel/Fax: 01225 464013 www.nigeldando.co.uk

86 TheBATHMagazine | NOVEMBER 2023 | issue 249

Cobb Farr PIF NOVEMBER.qxp_PIF Full Page 26/10/2023 10:28 Page 1

PROPERTY | HOMEPAGE

his is an attractive 4 bedroom family home positioned beautifully in a quiet, leafy cul de sac of 19 exclusive properties within easy access of the village amenities. The property has recently been refurbished and provides beautifully presented family accommodation arranged practically over 2 floors. The ground floor gives a light, front to back sitting room with double doors through to the open plan kitchen / dining room, both of which have access to the level rear gardens via patio doors. The kitchen proves a full range of units with spaces for range cooker and oversize fridge freezer. The cloakroom, study, complete the original part of the house and the semi roof-glazed extension includes a marvellous family room, utility room and store (plumbing in place for a shower room). Upstairs there are 4 well proportioned bedrooms with family bathroom and ensuite shower room to the largest bedroom. Externally the rear garden is fully enclosed with side access, seating areas and a summerhouse which has a hot-tub within. There is also a side garden alongside the double garage which has a pitched.

Colerne, Nr Bath • 4 well proportioned bedrooms • Located in a quiet, leafy cul de sac • Recently refurbished • family bathroom and ensuite shower room • Fully enclosed rear garden with side access • Double garage • Within easy access of the village amenities

£875,000 Cobb Farr, 35 Brock Street, The Circus, Bath; Tel: 01225 333332

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Cobb Farr November.qxp_Layout 1 26/10/2023 10:03 Page 1

Lower South Wraxall Bradford-on-Avon

£550,000

A charming 3 bedroom village cottage offered with character throughout and boasting spacious accommodation, bursting with light. •

3 bedroom cottage

•

Open fire

• • •

Period property

Spacious rooms

No onwards chain

01225 333332 | 01225 866111

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Bathampton, Bath OIEO £650,000

An attractive newly refurbished 4 bedroom link detached family home with a lovely garden and self contained annexe, located in a quiet residential cul de sac, in a highly sought after area on Baths southern fringes within easy reach of the city centre.

• • • •

4 bedroom link detached family home Sympathetically extended

Large well fitted contemporary open plan kitchen and dining room

Self-contained annexe with a shower room and kitchenette

Upper Hedgemead Road, Bath £795,000

An attractive Contemporary ‘Scandi Style’ 4 bedroom townhouse, with a lovely south facing decked sun terrace and gardens, private garaging and off street parking. Located in an excellent central position, adjacent to beautiful park land.

•

4 bedroom townhouse

•

Large open plan dining and living room

• • •

Airy accommodation arranged over 3 floors Well-equipped Shaker style kitchen

Garage with power and an off-street parking space

01225 333332 | 01225 866111

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PROPERTY

Transform your Apartment into a Stylish Oasis: 7 Renovations for a stunning living experience 5. Enhance Your Flooring Your apartment’s flooring can have a massive impact on its overall appearance. Update your flooring with options like hardwood, laminate, or engineered wood for a timeless, sophisticated look. Alternatively, stylish and durable tiles can give your apartment a modern touch. High-quality flooring can completely transform the look and feel of your living space, making it more comfortable and aesthetically pleasing.

6. Create an Outdoor Oasis

Nicola Wilkes , Lettings & Property Investment Manager

our apartment is your canvas - a space where your personality and style shine. If you’re itching to transform your apartment into a stylish and functional haven, consider these ten exciting renovations to elevate your living experience.

1. Revamp Your Kitchen The kitchen is often considered the heart of any home, and your apartment is no exception. A kitchen renovation can significantly enhance your living experience. Consider investing in modern appliances, sleek cabinetry, and stylish worktops to add both functionality and aesthetic appeal. A well-designed kitchen will not only make cooking a joy but also impress your guests when you entertain.

2. Maximise Your Storage Clutter can quickly make even the most beautiful apartment feel cramped. To keep your apartment organised and clutter-free, explore creative storage solutions. Built-in wardrobes, under-bed storage, and wall-mounted shelving are all excellent options. Ample storage not only makes your space more functional but also keeps it looking clean and spacious.

3. Elevate Your Lighting and Colour Scheme Lighting and colour play a significant role in setting the mood and tone of your apartment. Upgrading your lighting fixtures can completely transform the ambiance in different rooms. A fresh coat of paint in complementary colours can revitalise your apartment’s aesthetic, making it feel more inviting and cosy. Choose lighting that complements your decor style for a harmonious atmosphere.

If your apartment has a balcony or terrace, consider transforming it into a tranquil outdoor retreat. This space can become a perfect spot to unwind and enjoy fresh air. Add comfortable seating, lush greenery, and ambient lighting to create a serene escape right at home. Your outdoor oasis will not only enhance your living experience but also offer a peaceful haven amidst the hustle and bustle of city life.

7. Personalise with Art To make your apartment truly unique, inject personality into your space with art and decor. Experiment with artwork, textiles, and statement furniture pieces that reflect your style and preferences. Art has the power to add character and make your apartment one-of-akind. Whether you’re a fan of contemporary art or classic pieces, your choice of decor can express your individuality and create a more inviting atmosphere. In summary, your apartment is a blank canvas waiting for your creative touch. By revamping your kitchen, maximising storage, elevating your lighting and colour scheme, adding a home office nook, enhancing your flooring, creating an outdoor oasis, and personalising with art, you can transform your apartment into a stylish oasis that reflects your personality and offers a truly exceptional living experience. These renovations are not just about aesthetics; they’re about improving the functionality and comfort of your apartment. With careful planning and attention to detail, you can create a space that you’ll love coming home to every day. So, embark on your renovation journey today and watch your apartment come to life in a way that’s uniquely you. These transformations will not only enhance your living experience but also increase the value of your apartment, making it a wise investment in your lifestyle and future. Your apartment has the potential to be a stunning, stylish oasis – all it takes is your vision and a touch of creativity.

4. Add a Home Office Nook With remote work becoming increasingly common, consider carving out a dedicated home office nook. A well-designed home office not only enhances your productivity but also adds a touch of professionalism to your space. Ensure that this workspace seamlessly blends with your apartment’s decor, creating a productive environment that you enjoy spending time in.

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01225 471144 | www.theapartmentcompany.co.uk

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Church Farm, Hilperton, Wiltshire 12 beautiful homes in an eclectic mix of designs ranging from three to five bedrooms.

Show home now open

01225 791155 | ashford-homes.co.uk |

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Georgian-style elegance and grandeur

grand new terrace of Georgian-style townhouses has been unveiled in Bath. Bridgetower Drive is Bath’s most prestigious new address and the latest release of new homes here – a collection of 30 four and five bedroom townhouses – represents the best of the best. Occupying the most elevated position within Holburne Park, one of Bath’s finest new developments of recent years, the homes oﬀer sensational views across the Charlecombe Valley. From the outside, they emulate the much-revered classical architectural style that Bath is famous for, while inside, the accommodation, which is arranged over three or four floors, is expansive, starting at 2,167 sq. ft and extending to 2,718 sq. ft. The layouts blend modern comfort with tradition to great eﬀect. Each house provides spacious open-plan living, including a kitchen/dining space with room for a generous dining table perfect for entertaining and separate seating area, alongside more traditional spaces, such as a dedicated ground floor study, and first floor drawing room, with a full width balcony and farreaching views to the northside houses. To coincide with the launch of the new homes, Savills has opened the doors to a new five bedroom show home, located at number 17

92 THE BRISTOL MAGAZINE | NOVEMBER 2023 | NO¯ 228

Bridgetower Drive. Commenting on the launch, Vicky Dudbridge, a director in Savills new homes team, comments: ‘Location is one of the biggest draws to Holburne Park and Bridgetower Drive occupies the most commanding position within the scheme. The views, which take in Bath’s historic skyline and the open countryside beyond, are simply stunning. These new townhouses oﬀer a compelling alternative to buying a converted Georgian townhouse in the city. They take the best of Georgian architecture – understated elegance and wonderful proportions – and bring this together with the best quality contemporary design and build. ‘They are exceptional homes in an exceptional location.’ The new townhouses on Bridgewater Drive are nearing completion and will be ready to move into almost immediately. They are being oﬀered to the market at a guide price of £1,325,000 for a four bedroom townhouse and £1,725,000 for a five bedroom townhouse. For further information, or to make an appointment to view the show home, please contact Rosemary McAndrew at Savills on RMcAndrew@savills.com or 01225 302888.

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PROPERTY

New times, new values: how Bath’s property market is evolving As the UK job market shows signs of slowing down, Bank of England policymakers are anticipated to keep interest rates steady at the current level of 5.25% for a second time next week. The most recent figures, released on 24 October, reveal an increase in the unemployment rate to 4.2% between June and August, up from 4% in the March-to-May quarter. The stabilising interest rates are a key driver in the evolving Bath property market and a positive factor for both buyers and sellers.

More realistic pricing by vendors

Peter Greatorex. Managing Director of Peter Greatorex Unique Homes

ecent data reveals that UK house prices are increasing at the slowest rate for this time of year since the financial crisis in 2008. This is due to the higher interest rates that are affecting the housing market. According to Rightmove, there was a 0.8% drop in house prices in the 12 months up to early October, which led to lower activity. The number of agreed house sales has also decreased by 17% compared with last year. These figures coincide with data from Halifax bank, which reported the quickest fall in annual house prices in 14 years in September. The high-end property market has always been a law unto itself, but that doesn't mean the last year hasn't met with some significant challenges. But as the year draws to a close, we are now seeing a new norm emerge in Bath that indicates brighter times are ahead.

Movement slowly on the rise The luxury property market in Bath is starting to show signs of movement. Whilst the market is not yet back to pre-pandemic levels, there is a noticeable increase in activity and interest from buyers. Confidence is a major factor: we are seeing both buyers and sellers having an increased optimism in the property market as well as changing priorities. Whereas people were waiting to see what the future holds, decisions are now being made based on personal needs and desires. The resilience of the prime market should never be underestimated. And whilst the property market in Bath is still recovering, the signs of movement are encouraging.

As the property market in Bath adjusts to the new normal, vendors are beginning to adopt a more realistic approach when it comes to pricing their properties. Gone are the days of exorbitant asking prices and inflated valuations. Instead, sellers are now more in tune with the changing market dynamics and are pricing their properties more accurately to attract potential buyers. This shift in pricing strategy is a result of a combination of factors. Firstly, sellers have come to realise that buyers are becoming increasingly discerning and value-conscious in the current economic climate. With financial uncertainty and cautious spending, buyers are more likely to be drawn to properties that are priced realistically and offer good value for money. Additionally, the increase in competition among sellers has also contributed to the trend of more realistic pricing. With a higher number of properties on the market, vendors understand the need to price competitively in order to stand out and attract potential buyers. At Peter Greatorex Unique Homes, we work closely with our vendors to ensure that their homes are realistically priced from the start to prevent any negative buyer perceptions, placing them in the strongest position to sell.

Buyers tentatively returning to the market With the property market in Bath slowly starting to recover, buyers are tentatively returning to all property markets but in particular the high end market. Driving the return of buyers is the desire for stability and security with the Bank of England freezing interest rates, which in turn makes buying a property in Bath more attractive. However, buyers are still proceeding with caution. They are conducting thorough research, and seeking expert advice before making any commitments. They want to ensure that their investment is secure and aligned with their long-term goals.

Unique Homes We understand the complexities of selling unique and beautiful Bath homes. If you are looking for an estate agent who is devoted to the high-end property market, please give us a call.

Interest rates stabilised With the uncertain times we live in, one stabilising factor in the property market in Bath has been the interest rates. The Bank of England had previously raised the bank rate numerous times in an attempt to control inflation and decided in October to maintain it at 5.25%, following a surprise dip in inflation. The upcoming decision on 2 November will determine if borrowing costs will increase in an effort to push down inflation, which has remained stubbornly high at 6.7%.

94 TheBATHMagazine | nOVeMBeR 2023 | issue 249

T: 01225 904999 | www.petergreatorex.co.uk

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camella.co.uk Beautiful 1930’s properties. Find your perfect place for making memories. North Road, Combe Down Guide Price £700,000

Semi-Detached

• Exceptionally large family house with level garden • Open plan kitchen/Dining room with bi-fold doors • Cinema room • Triple glazing • Parking • Outbuilding

London Road East, Batheaston OIEO £475,000

Semi-Detached

• 1930’s period features • Open plan kitchen/dining room • Large garage • Modern newly fitted windows and front door • Countryside and woodland views • Recently decorated throughout.

www.camella.co.uk We offer viewings 7 days a week 8am – 8pm

Bath Brewery, Toll Bridge Road, Bath BA1 7DE 01225 255321 hello@camella.co.uk

O.I.E.O £410,000

Detached Victorian mansion apartment · Ground floor with private entrance · No onward chain · Sitting room · Kitchen · 2 double bedrooms · Bathroom · Village location · Canal walks close at hand · Lovely views

Great Pulteney Street

£300,000

No onward chain · Georgian, Listed · One bedroom · Period features · Prestigious Central location in Bath · Neutral décor throughout · Approx. 535 Sq. Ft.

SALES

01225 471 14 4 The Apartment Company November.indd 1

Southbourne Mansions

£525,000

Three bedroom penthouse · Grade II Listed · Panoramic south facing views over the city · Central location · Approx 1200 Sq Ft · Permit parking · Close to transport links · Leasehold with share of freehold

£350,000

Georgian · No onward chain · Stunning views · Second Floor · Two double bedrooms · Fabulous central location · Good decorative order · Approx. 723 Sq. Ft.

Bladud Buildings

Camden Crescent

Bladud Buildings

£325,000

Newly renovated to a high standard · Holiday lets allowed · Georgian · First floor · Bright and spacious · Share of freehold · No chain · Central location · Close to local amenities · Approx. 517 Sq. Ft.

F SA OR LE

Bathampton Lane

Grade ll listed · Three spacious bedrooms · Close to city centre · Converted vaults · Private font door · Private courtyard · Approx. 1494 Sq. Ft.

F SA OR LE

£550,000

F SA OR LE

Exclusive development · Outstanding scenery · Spacious open plan living space · Ensuite to the master bedroom · Two double bedrooms · Views across the city of Bath · Direct lift access to you door · Exclusive underground parking

Edward Street

F SA OR LE

O.I.E.O £990,00

F SA OR LE

Hope Place

F SA OR LE

£300,000

Holiday lets allowed · No onward chain · Georgian · First floor · Two bedrooms · Central location · Spacious rooms · Approx. 629 Sq. Ft.

The Academy

£280,000

No onward chain · Two bedrooms · Underfloor heating · Quiet and picturesque · Close to local amenities · Allocated parking · Gated residence · Private courtyard · Communal gardens · Council tax band C

LETTINGS

01225 303 870

lettings@theapartmentcompany.co.uk

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T TO

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Green Park

£1,925 pcm

Stunning apartment · Two double bedrooms · Part Furnished · Sharers considered · GCH · Communal gardens · Allocated off road parking space · Council Tax Band D · EPC Rating D

Marlborough Buildings

Unfurnished · 2 double bedrooms · Immaculate throughout · Highly desirable location · New kitchen · New bathroom · Permit parking · Initial 6 month tenancy · Council Tax Band D · EPC Rating D

Henrietta Street

£1,550 pcm

Two double bedrooms · Two bathrooms · Central location · Unfurnished · Residents permit parking · Popular location · Council Tax Band D · EPC Rating D

T D LE EE R G A

St James’s Square

£1,650 pcm

Newbridge Road

£1,550 pcm

Two bedrooms (1 double 1 single) · Spacious living room · Stunning views & beautiful décor · Bespoke built kitchen · Professional couple or sharers considered · Council Tax Band B · EPC Rating D

Unfurnished · One double bedroom · Use of St James Gardens · Close to shops & Amenities · Council Tax Band C · EPC Rating E

Lansdown Place West

£1,600 pcm

Unfurnished · Two bedrooms · Period features · Cellar for storage · Courtyard Garden · Residents permit parking · Council Tax Band C · EPC Rating D

T D LE EE R G A

£1,275 pcm

Portland Place

Alexander Buildings

£1,500 pcm

Garden maisonette · Unfurnished · Two double bedrooms · Third bedroom/study · South facing garden · Private parking space · Own private entrance · Vault Storage · Over 1200 sq.ft · Council Tax Band A · EPC Rating E

T D LE EE R G A

£1,325 pcm

Large sitting room · Two bedrooms · Modern bathroom · Stunning views · Residence parking permit · Council Tax Band C · EPC Rating C

Great Stanhope Street

£950 pcm

Studio apartment with separate bedroom area · New carpets throughout · Electric storage heaters · Suitable single occupation · Council Tax Band B · EPC Rating D

www.theapartmentcompany.co.uk

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Hangar House, Southwick Offers in excess of £1,400,000 This superb home has been creatively designed with emphasis on clean lines and bright spaces. Hangar House has been built to a high specification with open plan living spaces including a bespoke handmade luxury kitchen, high ceilings and full-length windows. There are 3/4 bedrooms, 3 stylish ensuites, under floor heating and a highly efficient air source heat pump, as well as a spacious driveway, generous lawned gardens and rural views. EPC Rating C

4 Queen Street, Bath, BA1 1HE | 01225 904999

| info@petergreatorex.co.uk | www.petergreatorex.co.uk

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Notton Fields, Lacock Oﬀers in excess of £2,500,000 A beautiful 18th Century Grade II listed Cotswold Stone country house with separate coach house accommodation, outbuildings, heated swimming pool, tennis court and garage, surrounded by gardens with orchard, woodland and paddock in approx. 5 acres. This exquisite Wisteria clad property and outbuildings have been the subject of restoration and improvement by the current owners and occupy a quiet position in the hamlet of Notton, on the edge of the historic Wiltshire village of Lacock. EPC Rating F

4 Queen Street, Bath, BA1 1HE | 01225 904999

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