Bath Life – Issue 391

F O O D +A R T S + E N T E R TA I N M E N T+S H O P P I N G + P R O P E R T Y

C E L E B R AT I N G T H E B E S T O F T H E C I T Y

IN THE HOT SEAT

ISSUE 391 / 10 – 24 MAY 2019 / HOME COMFORTS

MEET MILSOM STREET’S CREATIVES

MIND IF I SMOKE?

IT’S NATIONAL BBQ WEEK

CORINNE BAILEY RAE IS ON HER WAY TO BATH

HOUSE WORK

THE NEW WAVE OF LUXE RETIREMENT VILLAGES

@BathLifeMag

THE RISE OF STAY-AT-HOME ENTREPRENEURS

VILLAGE PEOPLE

ISSUE 391 / 10 – 24 MAY 2019 / £3

PUT YOUR RECORDS ON

© PAUL GILLIS

EDITOR’S LETTER

ABOVE: A spotlight on Milsom Street (page 66)

BELOW: AS National BBQ Week is coming up, we

shop garden accessories (page 64)

T

hink of a shed and you’d be forgiven for imagining shears, lawnmowers and the potent scent of oily rags – typically ‘blokish’ stuff. But for local ceramicist Jane Scott, her cosy, comfortable ‘she shed’ in the corner of her garden is the centre of her eponymous pottery business. The same goes for Jo Wright of Ginger and Tweed – who handcrafts furniture inside her pretty little outdoor workshop – and for Amy Chandler, who you’ll find creating art for kids’ rooms in her purpose-built garden studio.

As the number of people working from home reaches a record high, we meet 12 artists and makers who have created business HQs from the bottom of their gardens, from their dining room tables and from their loft conversions (page 29).

Talking about creative individuals, take a wander with us down Milsom Street and George Street, and get to know the people behind the foodie stops, fashion boutiques and interior shops that have brought a European flavour to the area (page 66).

In this issue, we’ve also been: taking a look inside a different breed of retirement homes, so plush in some cases that we wouldn’t mind moving into them right now (page 81); chatting to multi award-winning singer Corinne Bailey Rae ahead of her performance at The Bath Festival (page 114); and feasting at the hip and groovy new concept restaurant The Botanist (page 52).

Enjoy!

LISA EVANS Follow us on Twitter @BathLifeMag Instagram @bathlifemag

www.mediaclash.co.uk I BATH LIFE I 3

THE DENTIST

TALBOT THE NAME YOU CAN TRUST

Issue 391 / 10 – 24 May 2019 COVER Sue Jones, creative director of OKA, serves as the face of our Milsom Street feature. For more, see page 66

THE ARTS

39 ARTS INTRO Bear Flat’s creative types open their

doors for one of the city’s great art trails

40 WHAT’S ON Bath Festival, Bath Fringe, FaB and © PAUL GILLIS

Bedlam Fair – festival season kicks off, and how

49 BOOKS Nic Bottomley checks out The Bath

Festival’s lit line-up

51 THEATRE Anna O’Callaghan on summer’s most

must-see plays and shows

FOOD&DRINK

52 RESTAURANT Take a little snort of Beconase

before eating at The Botonist, Bath’s indoor garden

55 TAKE 5 Chris Scullion’s top whisky tip 56 FOOD & DRINK NEWS Bradford on Avon gets a

food festival, plus a new café pops up at Neptune

SHOPPING

63 INTRO An Indian tunic is Toast’s jewel in the crown 64 EDITOR’S CHOICE Burning the bangers in style 66 MILSOM STREET Eating, drinking, but mostly

66

shopping on handsome Milson Street, Bath’s main drag with a decidedly European feel

88 64

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52

40

Issue 391 / 10 – 24 May 2019

LIFESTYLE

29 WORKING FROM HOME Because sometimes you

get more done in your jimjams

77 BEAUTY Our new beauty correspondent Ané Auret

goes under the scalpel, but not like you’re thinking

81 RETIREMENT The best of Bath’s care homes 88 TRAVEL We take our (sadly metaphorical) VW

camper van down to Newquay, Britain’s surf city

100 GARDENS The amazing evolution of Bradford on

Avon’s Electric Daisy Flower Farm

114 LIVES It’s only Corinne Bailey Rae!

BUSINESS

91 BUSINESS INSIGHTS Deckchairs on the Crescent,

and our local Youth Hostel grows in size

PROPERTY

105 SHOWCASE Bath’s crescents are always desirable,

but here’s one that’s less bank-breaking than most

DEPARTMENTS 11 14 25 27

100

29

SPOTLIGHT SOCIETY A MAN’S WORLD INSIDE STORY

© PIERS BIZONY

81

Editor Lisa Evans lisa.evans@mediaclash.co.uk Deputy Editor Matt Bielby matt.bielby@mediaclash.co.uk Managing Editor Deri Robins deri.robins@mediaclash.co.uk Senior Art Editor Andrew Richmond Graphic Design Megan Allison Cover Design Trevor Gilham Editor’s Photo Bonnie Rose Contributors Ané Auret, Nic Bottomley, David Flatman, Philippa May, Anna O‘Callaghan, Rachel Ifans and Nick Woodhouse Group Advertising Manager Pat White pat.white@mediaclash.co.uk Deputy Advertising Manager Justine Walker justine.walker@mediaclash.co.uk Deputy Advertising Manager Polly Jackson polly.jackson@mediaclash.co.uk Account Manager Annabel North annabel.north@mediaclash.co.uk Sales Executive Louis Grey louis.grey@mediaclash.co.uk Production/Distribution Manager Sarah Kingston sarah.kingston@mediaclash.co.uk Deputy Production Manager Kirstie Howe kirstie.howe@mediaclash.co.uk Production Designer Matt Gynn matt.gynn@mediaclash.co.uk Chief Executive Jane Ingham jane.ingham@mediaclash.co.uk Chief Executive Greg Ingham greg.ingham@mediaclash.co.uk Bath Life MediaClash, Circus Mews House, Circus Mews, Bath BA1 2PW 01225 475800 www.mediaclash. co.uk @The MediaClash © All rights reserved. May not be reproduced without written permission of MediaClash.

We’re a Bath-based publisher, creative agency and event organiser Magazines Our portfolio of regional magazines celebrates the best of local living: Bath, Bristol, Cardiff, Exeter and Salisbury. We also publish foodie mag Crumbs (www.crumbsmag.com, @CrumbsMag). Agency From the design and build of websites to digital marketing and creating company magazines, we can help. Events We create, market, promote and operate a wide variety of events both for MediaClash and our clients Contact: info@mediaclash.co.uk

8 I BATH LIFE I www.mediaclash.co.uk

SPOTLIGHT Either dance, rock-out or simply sit and chill: the choice is yours

Free party

HOT IN THE CITY Bath Festival is a rich smörgåsbord of events – covering music, comedy, theatre and more – so, inevitably, some of it will appeal to each of us more than the rest. One thing we can all agree on, though, is that the traditional free Party in the City that kicks things off is an absolute must.

From 6pm on 17 May, over 30 venues across the city will be throwing their doors open for free gigs of every kind, from pop to classical, jazz to punk, folk to choral – and three of our best, biggest open spaces are joining in the fun, with bars and stages. Queen Square will be bouncing to a 40-piece orchestra playing top movie themes and a bluegrass party band covering everything from the Sex Pistols to Stormzy; the normally serene Parade Gardens will see modern country pop and Blues Brothers-style soul revival party tunes; and SouthGate will rock up-and-coming local college bands and singer-songwriter types. Also a mustsee: the Pitch Invasion that kicks things off at 6pm on Kingston Parade near Bath Abbey, a speciallycreated performance that brings together local schoolchildren and Bath City FC to celebrate, we’re told, “the songs of the football terraces.”

Around 20,000 attend most years, a real all-ages crowd, for one of Bath’s best nights. We’ll see you there, right?

For more: bathfestivals.org.uk

Ed up a mountain, and it won’t be his last

Charity

PEAK PRACTICE When Ed Jackson, Bath Rugby and England U18 player, hit his head so hard diving into the wrong end of a swimming pool that he fractured vertebrae and shattered a disc, he nearly died. As it was, he found himself paralysed from the neck down and fearing he’d never walk again, but his recovery since has been remarkable: indeed, a year on he managed to climb Snowdon, and has since dedicated himself to a new not-for-profit organisation committed to raising £250,000 for a spinal injury rehabilitation centre in Nepal, a country close to Ed’s heart.

M2M – named for the millimetres of movement Jackson fought for immediately after his accident – is also backed by former Bath and England International Olly Barkley, and has set itself a series of fundraising challenges. Ed and others will attempt Italy’s highest independent peak, Gran Paradiso, in June, then later in the year will head for an 18 day adventure to scale the 6500m Mera Peak in the Himalayas – places on both these once-in-a-lifetime trips are now on sale. Closer to home, you can join in the fun too, with a bizarre but fascinating-sounding Bath restaurant/night club crossbreed pop-up called Lit., which will offer – the boys say – “an interactive candlelit dining experience served to a live deep house soundtrack.”

For more: www.them2mgroup.com

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SPOTLIGHT Festivals

FRINGE BENEFITS

Bath Fringe Festival runs from 24 May to 9 June, but it’s a tangled web: as well as the Fringe itself there’s an artier offshoot-cumsister event, FaB, and an outdoorsy street festival, Bedlam Fair. Tons to see and do, then, but it’s hard to get your head around it all. To try to do just that, we had a quick catch-up with fringe co-director Steve Henwood.

“Bath Fringe has always been a festival of all the arts,” Steve says. “But when the visual arts part of it grew, a number of artists volunteered to handle things themselves, a situation we always wish to encourage. We thought it best – while that group and their enthusiasm lasts – for them to run their own affairs their own way. Hence, FaB. We also have another sibling organisation which helps run Bedlam Fair street festival – yes, another parallel event – and there have been other sub-festivals in the past, too.”

With a couple of the FaB guys regularly attending Bath Fringe committee meetings, and both event programmes being laid-out by the same person, the links remain strong but labyrinthine.

“Really, it’s to do with volunteers making the most of their time to do what they want to do,” he says, “and although Bath Fringe has financed FaB in the past, and helps out with office space, they’re now mostly self-funding.”

FaB’s exhibitions run for the entire duration of the festival, while Bath Fringe concentrates on events that aren’t exhibitions and generally happen just once, or on a handful of nights. (That

If we were to take this image on face value, it would appear to be a literal ’ghost train’

doesn’t mean they never hold exhibitions, mind you, but they aren’t this year.)

“To further complicate matters,” Steve says, “some performances happen in association with exhibitions, organised by either FaB or Bath Fringe. It all depends on whose idea it is, who (if anyone) is paying for it, and past relationships between artists and organisations.

The only sure-fire way of knowing who did what is to check which programme or website it appears in – you really need to look at both.”

That seems clear enough – sort of.

“Things are as they are because of the way they’ve grown up to be,” Steve says. “It will change, though – it always does!”

For more: www.bathfringe.co.uk, and turn to page 42

Theatre Wide-eyed in wonder at the complexity of the Fringe

Mental health

STATE OF MIND

Mental health has rarely – perhaps never – been higher on the public agenda, which makes Komedia’s Night of Music Comedy and Spoken Word in aid of Bath Mind especially pertinent: it’s part of Mental Health Awareness Week, will support this local charity, and is promised to be a right hoot too. Jordan from Rizzle Kicks will be there, as will the campaigning celebrity NHS doctor (yes, there is such a thing) Dr Phil Hammond, stand-up Becky Brunning and others; it’s just £5 to enter, though you’re allowed to donate more on the night if you’d like to, of course. We’re talking 6.30pm on16 May – bring an open mind.

For more: www.komedia.co.uk Dr Phil: trust him, he’s a real doctor

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MIGHT I BE EXCUSED, SIR?

No, you may not – and you won’t want to be, either. What are we on about? Read on!

You see, like many people, we always thought loveable, doddery old Private Godfrey – “Might I be excused, sir?” was one of his catchphrases – was the plum role in Dad’s Army: he only had to carry an empty medical bag rather than a heavy rifle, and if he forgot his lines it was just part of his dozy old persona. But the man who played him, Arnold Ridley, was more than just a convincing actor; he was also an accomplished playwright, as well as a key member of Bath Drama, now 100 years old, for many years. For their centenary year they’re putting on his spookfest of a play The Ghost Train, mildly rejigged to now take place in 1919 rather than the early ’20s when it was written. There’s a special Gala Night at the Rondo Theatre in Larkhall on 11 May, where everyone will raise a glass to the city’s oldest theatre group – then settle in for a spine-chilling tale of ghostly apparitions and stranded railway passengers. Hey, it’s nice to think some things haven’t changed over the past 100 years…

For more: www.ticketsource.co.uk/rondotheatre; The Ghost Train runs until 11 May

Brad Abrahams are proud to announce we now recycle all contact lenses and packaging

SCENE T H E L AT E S T A DV E N T U R E S I N PA R T Y- GO I N G AC ROSS BAT H Josh Watts, general manager at the Abbey Hotel

Liza Woolley and George Friend Sarah Baker and Jack Horner

James Nunn, Jean Farrell, Emma Taylor, Emma Trussler and Rob Highton Daniel Rose, Fleur Hawken, and Gareth Sutton

ARTBAR REBORN

Claire Rendall, Olivia Scull and Mike McNarry

Or, at least, spruced up considerably, with a few walls knocked through, the windows opened up a bit – certainly, there’s much more light in here now – and a new, much longer bar. There are fresh cocktails too, plus an ever-changing array of affordable art on the walls to buy, including – for the launch – three cool giant octopuses and the bright landscapes of local artist Emma Taylor, who curates. It all helps give the Abbey Hotel, ArtBar’s home, a new, more welcoming face.

Photos by Derryn Vranch

Melissa Bramall, Melissa Dolls and Stefano Malachi

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Rhiannon Britten, Sophie Cooper and Lloyd Evans

SOCIETY

Shelley Crisp and Sue Paradise

Choreographer and compere, Amanda Nicot

HOUSE PARTY

Cllr. Karen Walker and Loraine Morgan-Brinkhurst MBE, the event organiser Crockery loaned by Yvonne Blair

Cllr. Karen Walker, chairwoman of the Council, hosted a fashion show at the Banqueting Room at Bath’s Guildhall in aid of Dorothy House Hospice and Motor Neurone Disease Association. Cotswolds-based designer Clare Walsh and Nickie Portman’s local boutique were among those providing the clothes, while students from Bath College handled hair and makeup; guests, meanwhile, enjoyed fizz and afternoon tea, while one lucky fashionista got to leave with a pair of diamond earrings from S.P. Green & Co, the top raffle prize.

Cllr Walker with the Fashion Show sponsors

Photos by Jeni Meade Photography

Diane Forster, Jane Wade, Janet Morris, Gill Messer and Libby Coles

Anita Murray, Eileen Murray and Katherine Tang Laura Bell-Knight modelling Portman Boutique clothes

A beautiful piece by designer Clare Walsh 16 I BATH LIFE I www.mediaclash.co.uk

SOCIETY

Stephen F Evans

Kara Chambers-Grant and Oscar Sawyer

Alexandra Sousaw Laura James and Emily Fox

FOWL PLAY

Kellie Hindmarch and Molly Robertson

Fabio is apparently “the world’s greatest flamingo detective” – more like the only one, we’d have thought, but what do we know about crime-solving wading birds?

– and stars in a new book by Bath writer Laura James, with cute illustrations

by Bristol’s Emily Fox. Called Mystery on the Ostrich Express, it was lapped up by readers old and young during the launch at (where else?) Flamingo in Widcombe; Emily had even painted the window especially for the event. We look forward to the sequels: Hound of the Spoonbills, perhaps, or maybe Egret Under the Sun. Photos by Stephen F Evans

Hannah, Daniel and Naomi Manson

Emily Fox, Amanda Brown and Laura James Isabelle and Rebecca Harvey

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Arthur and Alexandra Naylor-Heap

SOCIETY

Artist Jessica Palmer shows off her new Independent Bath piece

Hannah Dodd and Julia Maltby

INDIE CITY

Visit Bath’s Independent Bath Campaign celebrates the diverse range of independent businesses in the city – a subject close to our own hearts, of course – and launched recently with the unveiling of a new piece of art by local collage and paper sculpture specialist Jessica Palmer, commissioned by Visit Bath. Jessica has worked for the V&A, English Heritage and even Disney Pixar, and here explained her technique and approach – and why Bath means so much to her. And the piece? It certainly gives the impression of a colourful, quirky, active bunch, clad in pinks, yellows and greens – a vision of the city we’ll happily embrace.

Emily McKay and Bob Crampton

Vicki Cheadle raises a glass to the new piece

Photos by Georgie Edwards

Amelia Carroll and Kate Wyatt

Nas Alvi and Heidi Nowak The gang’s all here: how many Bath Indie faces can you name?

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SOCIETY

Nikki and Danny Boyle and Kate and Matt Sheppard

Kate and Adam Tesdale and Indra Sinkeviciute George and Emma Willett

KITCHEN CONFIDENTIAL Local kitchen specialist Saltford Kitchens has a new head office and kitchen showroom on Bath Road in – you guessed it – Saltford, between Bristol and Bath. Naturally, their live demo kitchen was used to cook and serve up some pretty amazing canapés at their launch event, while beer, cider, prosecco and (for the more hardcore types) gin were the tipples of choice.

Photos by Pete Travers

Brad Whittock and Nathan Sheppard

Michelle Sanfilippo and Ismene Cole Louise and Elise Gauntlet

Nickie Portman, Michelle Sanfilippo and Claire Clarke

Nicola Cameron and Ella Sanfilippo

PRETTY IN PINK

Local jeweller and boutique owner Nickie Portman invited guests and customers to an evening of private shopping with nibbles from Goodness Grazers and plenty of bubbles, plus two personal stylists on hand to help them put together a great look: Claire Clarke and Michelle Sanfilippo. Our top style takeaway from the night?

That pink is very much in!

Photos by Nickie Portman

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Kerry MillichapMerrick and Rossella Brugiotti

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A MAN’S WORLD DAVID FLATMAN

Home comforts

© TAKING PICTURES

If presented with the prospect of working from home, Flats would definitely be up for it; but would he get anything done?

Definitely not

“It isn’t all modern and progressive and productive; some people are lazy pigs”

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elieve it or not, even professional rugby players work from home. I know it’s 356 cat years since I was one, but things haven’t changed all that much.

We were told, in no uncertain terms, that the most important work we would do would be away from the bespoke gyms and the GPS-monitored training sessions; it would be within our own homely walls.

“Lads,” the beastly coach would shriek as we waddled off the training field towards the showers, “don’t forget your hour’s stretching tonight. And make sure you’re eating right!” I never knew what the second bit meant.

Still don’t, as it goes. Stretching, though, was something that we were told to perhaps do in front of the television, presumably to distract us from its unavoidable and terminal boredom. Never did it. Not even once. It would literally have helped me in every single way, but nope. And eat ‘right’? My body – and we were always told to listen to our bodies – used to tell me that it was very, very hungry indeed. This meant that, while I certainly didn’t eat much rubbish, I did eat more food than four wild New Forest horses would require in a week, were they emigrating to Tasmania by hoof.

Weighing food and measuring calories and observing and documenting percentages of saturated fat and sugar just wasn’t me. I made a lot of food and ate all of it. Every day. At the club, I was a properly good professional; never missed a beat. Always put the hard yards in. Away from that particular postcode, though, I was useless. This, I tell you, is because I cannot work from home.

I know remote working is the new thing – and the notion is an appealing one, I’ll readily agree – but there are inherent risks, too. It isn’t all modern and progressive and productive; some people are lazy pigs. Pretty much anyone offered time away from

the office – unless they hate their homes or are too tight to pay for their own coffee – will both apply for it and take it. Some of these people, of course, will actually become more useful without the inherent distractions of passing colleagues and pointless meetings and cheekily extended trips to Pret a Manger and after-work drinkipoos that people all pretend to like but actually resent. Others, though – and plenty of them – will take the Mick.

I won’t name names, but a good chum of mine works from home one day a week. Lovely. He can do the school runs, stay in comfy clothes, and, guess what?

He actually gets more done!

Except this is a lie. He believes it to be true, but that doesn’t stop it being a lie. You see, getting more done doesn’t include a Monday morning gym session at Fitness First (post-school run, he logs on at home, answers a couple of questions before heading out with the kids, then magically disappears for an hour and half). It also doesn’t include lunch, and he is never, ever unavailable for a matey lunch in Bath on a Monday; it’s an unwritten rule. He’s got to walk the dogs, too, don’t forget, so that leaves him with about an hour left before the kids finish school. This is when he really knuckles down.

Oh, he’ll need a post-gym shower before pickup so that’s 10 minutes gone. And once the kids are home, well, you know what kids are like, God bless ’em!

My point is not that remote working is a myth, it’s that for some people it’s a myth. I hope my pal’s boss never emails him between 8.20am and 2.30pm on a Monday. If he does, said pal might find himself with rather more free time on his smooth, unworked hands.

David Flatman is an ex-Bath and England rugby star turned TV pundit and rent-o-mic. Follow him on Twitter @davidflatman

www.mediaclash.co.uk I BATH LIFE I 25

Mix still objects with something green and living to make your display look like a homely curation

INSIDE STORY PHILIPPA MAY

SHELF CARE Home design is all in the detail – specifically, artfully showcasing your curios on open shelving

“It may seem like a trivial thing, but curating shelves is a bit of an art”

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his week I’ve been busy planning the more exciting steps of my home renovation. It’s getting to the stage where I can begin to see how it’s shaping up and that means the fun of designing the details.

One thing I think is really important is open shelving.

It’s a way of getting in some extra storage, and if you’ve got possessions for showing off you don’t want them tucked away in a cupboard.

Open shelving is the perfect opportunity to showcase the things that tell your story. It may seem like a trivial thing, but curating shelves is a bit of an art; I’ve had a male friend in the past specifically ask me what he should put on his shelves, and when left to his own devices had already purchased an old encyclopedia collection and a skull, to my despair.

It can take a lot of styling and some trial and error to create the perfect layered shelf, but for those who don’t know where to start, here are some tips to help you out...

Books and magazines you already own are perfect for creating that effortless look, but don’t just put up your whole collection – a John Grisham won’t thrill any keen eye admiring the shelves. Stick to magazines or books that you would appreciate on a coffee table – Magalleria

on Broad Street has the best selection; I love grabbing a new issue from there on the weekend to read with a morning coffee.

Make sure you keep it minimal, with three or four stand-out books or tightly compacted collections anchored with chunky marble bookends, to avoid it looking too shabby.

Always try and add some greenery. It’s nice to break up those still objects with something living to make it look less like a gallery of artefacts and more like a homely curation.

If you’re more traditional, a small vase of flowers can keep it delicate; Brissi’s new faux potted roses would be perfect for achieving this, and as they don’t require any upkeep, you won’t have to constantly replace your blooms to keep the display complete. Personally, I love an ivy plant that drapes down the shelving, or an easy-keep succulent. I can always find a beautiful plant or bouquet from Article on Bartlett Street to update my shelving.

Next, lean your artwork or photographs. In a day where the majority of imagery is hung, leaning and layering them across your shelves creates a modern vibe. I think it’s a lovely way of displaying important memories; frame your favourite wedding photo in black and white on a shelf and continue to layer on top of it with monochrome baby

photos, the effect is beautiful and you no longer have to worry about measuring heights and drilling into walls to find all your photos go skewiff in the end anyway.

Alongside this artwork layering, make sure that your pieces vary in height, drawing the eye up and down for a more dramatic effect.

If you have a particularly colourful room or some of the objects you’re choosing to display are quite bright, try to keep the rest of the styling neutral, to create a balance. Too much colour and texture can look mismatched, which defeats the point of creating a beautifully curated shelf.

For an extremely sophisticated display, you could even try styling everything in neutrals, with white, beige and a metallic accent.

Neptune has the perfect selection of neutral decorative ornaments to finish any arrangement; I’ve just added some of their white Ashby artichokes to mine, and I love them rather too much.

After all this is said and done, it may sound obvious but you really can’t go wrong displaying the things you love most; if they speak to you and bring a smile to your face then they’ll create a beautiful and happy home either way.

Philippa May is an interiors enthusiast and the head of marketing for the Bath-based accessory label Abbott Lyon.

Follow her on Instagram @_philippamay_ www.mediaclash.co.uk I BATH LIFE I 27

MEET THE MAKERS

HOME FREE For these local entrepreneurs, commuting to work takes just a few steps – whether it be to their attic, garden shed or bed...

© OLLIE WARREN-FISHER

By Lisa Evans

Something to smile about: after years of long London commutes, artist Juliet Catton now works from her kitchen table in Bear Flat

www.mediaclash.co.uk I BATH LIFE I 29

The Mr Florista sisters, Lucy and Sophie, can often be found impersonating Freddie Mercury and dancing while they work

S

tudies have shown that working from home, even for one day a week, can boost productivity, decrease stress and allow for a greater balance to your work and social life. So, here, we ask local creatives – who handmake everything from pottery and jewellery to furniture and wallpaper from the comfort and solitude of their home studios – what impact their working environment has on their lives.

This is part one of a series; keep an eye out for part two in our next issue...

Juliet Catton’s gold foil artworks aim to boost everyday confidence

GOOD JUJU EXPLORES

Bear Flat Juliet Catton, artist and inspirational quote lover Good JuJu Explores is my lifestyle blog and art shop. My writing covers love, sex, identity, body image and self-compassion, which generates ideas for my artwork: calendars and prints containing inspirational phrases in gold foil.

I work from my kitchen table; I love the spaciousness of the huge oak table, and the view from the window inspires and relaxes me. There’s something very freeing about working in a multipurpose space; this is the table where I have joyful dinner parties, where I drink coffee and do the crossword on a Sunday. It’s not associated with the pressure to ‘sit at your desk and produce’, so it tricks my brain into feeling more relaxed, buoyant and enthusiastic when I sit down to work.

When I finish for the day, I chime my Tibetan singing bowl to change the energy from work to play.

After years of London commutes, it thrills me that I can step out of the shower and be at work three minutes later. I feel like I’m clawing back the hours of my life I lost to travel when I lived in the capital. www.goodjujuexplores.com

MR FLORISTA

Bathampton and Larkhall Lucy Overment, co-owner and floral wizard I wake up at the break of dawn and I slide down the bannister to open the door to my sister and business partner, Sophie. We tap the espresso machine,

30 I BATH LIFE I www.mediaclash.co.uk

“After the business got off the ground, I discovered I had breast cancer; I worked from my hospital bed”

MEET THE MAKERS trip over the cat, scoop up the dog and get ready to hit the flower market.

Once we’ve selected the best stems of the day, we return to my table (or to Sophie’s), crank up the music and start designing our bunches.

Our business is an online one, delivering flowers and plants in Bath and beyond, as well as offering floristry services and subscriptions. We are committed to breaking boundaries and promoting individuality.

Our favourite thing about working from home is that we get to be our crazy selves – we’re often found impersonating Freddie Mercury and dancing while we work – without having to tone it down for a nine-to-five office environment.

Being single mums is a job in itself, so working from our own space gives us both the flexibility to balance our home life while still being able to concentrate on the business. The kids also love being surrounded by flowers – it’s been proven that flowers make people happy. www.mrflorista.com

BLUE LIZARD TEXTILES

Lower Camden Debbie Picken, cushion-making mastermind I creep my way up the tiny attic staircase – taking care at night not to tread on the loud, creaky step which often wakes the kids – to get to my workspace on the top floor of my Victorian townhouse.

I’m very lucky that I live on a hill and have huge windows on both sides, so I can see pretty much everything: the city, distant countryside, and wildlife.

In the summer, once the windows are open, it’s like being in a roof garden and the room is filled with birdsong.

I make cushion covers from vintage and contemporary fabric that I’ve sourced from all sorts of places. The covers get shipped all over the world, as far afield as the USA and Australia.

Working at home, it can be a challenge keeping the kids away; my twoyear-old is obsessed with adjusting the controls on my sewing machine and unwinding reels of thread.

I was an IT consultant for many years, but I started working from home Sew and tell: in the attic of her Victorian townhouse, Debbie Picken crafts soft furnishings from vintage fabrics Former nurse Becky Avery decided to leave her old career behind in order to start her own candle-making business

in 2017 after having my second child. I was struggling to find a job that fitted in with the demands of family life, and the business just grew rapidly from a hobby. A few months after the business got off the ground, I discovered I had breast cancer and decided I had better carry on as it was going to be my only chance to earn any money. I fitted in work around treatment, just doing what I could on the days I felt well enough, and, once or twice, I worked from my hospital bed. Thankfully, treatment is now complete and the business has grown steadily during that time. www.bluelizardtextiles.etsy.com

HAZEL & BLUE CANDLES

Corsham Becky Avery, a maker who burns the candle at both ends I used to work at Dorothy House Hospice in a senior clinical role; I am a registered nurse by background, but I always felt this huge desire to run my own business making my own products. I have always been creative and have had a desire to be my own boss, I just didn’t know what it was going to be until I started making candles in 2016.

Since then, from my garden studio, I’ve been making nature-inspired soy scented candles and DIY candle-making kits, and I’ve been running candlemaking workshops.

It’s great to have so much flexibility when you work for yourself; if you’re feeling under the weather or you’re lacking motivation, you can take the afternoon off and catch up when you’re feeling better. It can be lonely, but I am able to see my friends regularly, which is fantastic, and I have really enjoyed meeting other creatives via social media. www.hazelandbluecandles.co.uk

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MEET THE MAKERS JANE SCOTT CERAMICS

Holt Jane Scott, potter extraordinaire Cup of tea in hand, I amble out of my front door, across the gravel, glancing at the hellebores and magnolia, wondering when the pink cherry will burst its buds, and I make my way to the doors of my potting shed, which I built in a corner of my garden. Phew, what a commute.

I make my living through pottery classes, workshops, private tuition and by selling my ceramic items. The teaching studio can hold up to nine people, each with their own work station; it’s full of all sorts of interesting pottery tools, molds, a large slab roller (the queen of the potting shed), pottery wheels, buckets of glaze, bags of clay and experimental bits of work. As far as pottery studios go, it’s pretty cosy and tidy, because I think it’s important to learn in a comfortable space.

As for my personal making studio – which is in my converted garage – I enjoy having ongoing projects that I can just leave out and not bother to tidy away; it’s a different feel in there, more my own space to play.

From my work station window, I see my beautiful garden, Bertie my border terrier (usually lying in a sunny spot), and I can hear the birds. I don’t know how much better working Jane Scott’s ceramic sculptures from home is compared to officeall have a story to tell working, because I have never been office-based before.

I built my first studio in another garden about 16 years ago, just after I had completed my MA in ceramics – there really wasn’t much point doing anything else after all that studying and anyway, I had well and truly fallen in love with clay. Before that, I spent most of my 20s travelling around and living in a 1963 horse lorry, working the festivals and spending winters in the south of Spain, so I never really had a ‘proper’ job before I fell for clay. www.janescottceramics.com

THIS IMAGE: If the mood takes her, wallpaper designer Victoria

Cramsie will spend the morning working from her bed

BELOW: Victoria’s wallpapers are inspired by her twin boys

PAPERBOY WALLPAPER

Walcot Victoria Cramsie, a business director who likes to work from her bed The joy of a smartphone means that, if I’m being really lazy, I might spend a whole morning working from bed. I don’t have a specific room in which I work; I’ll perch anywhere in the house.

In a nutshell, the business exists because we want to make something beautiful for children; we make wallpaper and furnishings for them that’s well crafted, good quality, thoughtful, and has personality and a sense of humour.

My twin boys – Rory and Archie – were my inspiration as, when they were six years old, I just couldn’t find any wallpaper for their room that I really liked.

The design process always starts with an idea that makes me laugh. Then I think about it for a week or so, usually while out walking my dog, Kodak.

Then I commit it to paper; this usually this takes me a few weeks, as I’m not a natural artist. Then the drawings are made into computer files which I work into a repeating pattern. After that, the files go off to be made into either a roller or screen. Then the really fun bit of choosing colours starts before I send everything off to our UK-based printer. The whole process takes about three months.

We do now have a unit in Hilperton, but I still work from home up to three days a week. Working from home does mean that I can get housework done, walk the dog, and drop the boys at school. When I’ve not been working from home, I feel that I need staff just to get the day-to-day house chores done.

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“We get to be our crazy selves without having to tone it down for an office”

“When I’m drawing naked ladies, I am actually trying to work”

THIS PICTURE AND LEFT: Katy Berwick’s

artworks aim to promote body positivity and raise a few eyebrows and chuckles in the process

I had a sales job before I had children; I found it odd and annoying that I had to be at my desk from 8.30am until 5.30pm regardless of the workload.

I now work when there’s work to be done, and I stop when it’s finished. I think I’d be a terrible employee now. www.paperboywallpaper.co.uk

DROP THE DOG

Working at home has its ups and downs; I will not start on a new project if I know that there’s a pile of dishes in the kitchen to wash, or the beds are unmade, or hoovering needs to be done. If my studio was outside the place I live, then, in the morning, I would say, “Bye, everyone and everything” and I would simply focus on my work. www.etsy.com/uk/shop/Szupa

Odd Down Katy Berwick, eyebrow-raising artist When people call at the house unexpectedly, it’s sometimes hard for them to understand that when I’m drawing naked ladies, I am actually trying to work.

My business, based in my garden room right next to my kitchen, focusses on illustrations, cards and gifts that promote body positivity and raise a few eyebrows and chuckles in the process. The aim is for my work to make an impact with their honesty – whether it’s a card that really says what you mean, or an artwork that represents and celebrates real human bodies.

I feel incredibly lucky to have a space at home to be able to work from.

It just makes every day life a bit easier – whether it’s hanging around for a delivery, looking after a friend’s pet, or being able to invite pals over for a cuppa.

I started working from home when my counselling practice began in 2014, and I started my illustration business in 2017. The best thing about being home-based is that I can get away with getting in my PJs way too early, and the worst thing is trying to justify to myself that Netflix is just ‘background noise’, but I end up getting completely distracted by it. www.etsy.com/uk/shop/dropthedog

SZUPA

Weston Joanna Szuplewska, artist and bead pro My adventure with beads began when my mother-in-law signed me up to a beginner course almost 14 years ago. At first, I started to create jewellery for myself and my loved ones, but, over time, the group interested in my jewellery began to grow, and, in 2015, I decided to open my business.

I created my studio at home; it’s a small workshop in the corner of the bedroom. I hope that in the future I will be able to open my own small, atmospheric shop where people will be able to come, touch and see in person what my jewellery looks like; I always hear from my customers that jewellery looks more beautiful in real life than in pictures.

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Joanna Szuplewska’s out-of-the-ordinary jewellery is all made from the comfort of her bedroom

MEET THE MAKERS

GINGER AND TWEED

For over a decade, Jo Wright worked in a Bath restaurant; now she crafts bespoke homeware from her pretty little garden shed

Box Jo Wright, AKA the ginger from Ginger and Tweed I’ve been working from home since 2017 when I decided to leave my job of almost 14 years at a restaurant in Bath. I’d worked there since leaving university, where I studied fine art, and have always been split between designing and making, my photography jobs, and the long, hard shift pattern of the catering industry.

With the amazing support of Rob, my partner, and the investment into our dinky shed at the end of the garden of our tiny one-bedroom Wiltshire cottage, I took the leap and moved full time to Ginger and Tweed.

Together, we create bespoke, handcrafted homewares. The dusty work happens in the shed, all the painting and finishing is done on the kitchen floor, and I upholster on the living room sofa – the epitome of working from the comfort of your own home (although that’s where the television is, so I can often get distracted).

Occasionally, I miss the bustle of the restaurant, but I much prefer working to my own schedules and targets. The artisan community is a fantastic one to be a part of, with so much support from fellow traders.

We have made some wonderful friends.

I find the most difficult part of working from home is that we are often still going well into the evening, sometimes as late as 11pm. When you’re running your own business, especially when you love what you do so much, you never really switch off. www.gingerandtweed.com

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MEET THE MAKERS THE ZEN ANCHOR SALON

Trowbridge Nicola Penney, hairdressing whizz From my garden studio, I run my hair salon; I’ve been a hairstylist for 20 years, and many of my clients have been with me throughout that time.

In the corner of the studio, I have a desk where I create beautiful baby heartbeat, handprints and footprints; this is my second business, called Heartbeat Baby, which I set up while on maternity leave after giving birth to my first child recently.

The first time I heard my baby’s heartbeat was a truly wonderful experience. I decided then and there that I wanted to find a way to encapsulate that memory and keep it alive forever.

My studio was only built in the summer of 2018; before this, I used to run my hair salon from a canal boat.

I love the fact that I can go out my back door, across the patio and into my workspace; I can sit in the garden and have lunch or chat with a client (often joined by my two cats or my dog) while their colour develops.

I don’t really have open and closed timings as I like to be flexible for my family and my clients, and the heartbeat prints work really nicely alongside my hairdressing as I can do them in the evening once my daughter is settled.

Instagram: @zenanchor and @heartbeat.baby

LITTLE FOX ART

Bear Flat Amy Chandler, illustrator of beautiful things I live in a flat of a Georgian building and I work from my garden studio, which was purpose-made recently. It’s large enough for all my art materials, a drawing board, desk, and a sofa bed. I like to have lots of image-inspiration around me at all times.

Through Little Fox Art, I sell artwork mainly aimed at children – to decorate and brighten bedrooms, nurseries and playrooms. I like to draw characterful animals with little hats and bow ties, and most of my illustrations can be personalised.

Although her Bath home is her base, clothing designer Holly Connolly’s everyday office is wherever she can find space – be it in a bar, on a beach, on a boat, or in a hostel anywhere in the world

I use a combination of pastel, pencil and brush pens to create textured, childlike, yet modern illustrations. Then the final illustrations are gicléeprinted by a Bristol-based print company.

I feel very lucky and extremely grateful to be able to work from home.

We have a four-year-old son, and one on the way, and our black lab, Sadie, is often with me to keep me company. I can work part-time around my commitments to them and can always squeeze in some illustrating if I get a moment to do so without having to go far.

I do sometimes miss having others around, but I sometimes get to work alongside other creative friends, which is perfect as we help and encourage each other. www.etsy.com/shop/LittleFoxArtStore

HIT LIKE A GIRL

Amy Chandler creates her children’s-themed artworks from her purpose-built garden studio

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London Road (and the world) Holly Connolly, roller derby-inspired clothing designer In December, I quit my full time job in Bath to fulfil a lifelong dream of travelling. While being away, it’s been great to have the time to concentrate on growing my business, especially without the pressure of having a normal nine-to-five. Because of this, my everyday office is wherever I can find space – be it in a bar, on a beach, on a boat, or in a hostel that I’m calling home that week. I’m in Vietnam as I type this; I’m surrounded by rice paddies, the space is wide open, and there is beautiful sunlight shining on my face.

I’ve worked surrounded by mountains, in cities, and in the middle of nowhere. Each place has brought something different to the process, but the best thing about travelling is meeting the many different people, especially the creative souls – it’s like the best networking event ever.

Bath is still very much my base; I have a studio at home, so, when I return, this is where I will be. I own a small clothing label called Hit Like a Girl; all my designs are my own and have a roller derby theme.

I have a lot of wonderful memories of my time with the Bath Roller Derby team. It’s a crazy sport – it’s like speed-skating meets rugby. I joined as a complete novice, and the team trained me, giving me a lot of selfconfidence both as a player and a woman. There is an overwhelming sense of camaraderie and support there, they throw everything they have into it, and they hit hard!

When I broke my ankle, the team rallied around me. I wanted to give something back to them, so I turned to the only thing I know: graphic design. This is probably the first project I’ve worked on that was really close to my heart. Once I’d had the idea, the rest came quite easily.

I’m also a freelance graphic designer – my business is called Visualante. design – and I love the variety that affords me. Quietness distracts me the most, it’s why I like to get out and about. If I work from home for too long, my mind wanders to cleaning the house or eating. www.doubleolly.com

THE ARTS S N A P S H O T S O F B AT H ’ S C U LT U R A L L I F E

BEAR AND BIRD Bear Flat artists open their doors for the area’s annual Open Studios event at the end of May, running over the Whitsun Bank Holiday weekend (that’s Saturday 25 until Monday 27, if all these bank holidays are making your head spin). More than 30 artists are taking part in the 2019 Art Trail, all easily walkable from one to another – once you’ve made the short but fairly steep hike up from the town centre, of course. And the range of styles and media used promises to be as rich as ever, ranging from paintings and ceramics to jewellery, printmaking, photography, sculpture and more.

Highlights include the Fineline Art Group in the Methodist Hall at Poets Corner, and – of course – the various exhibitors at The Bear pub, where you can stop off for much-needed sustenance.

Then there’s stoneware on Shelley Road, abstract art on Shakespeare Avenue, oil paintings on Chaucer, printmakers on Longfellow, comic art at Elm Place, woodwork on Bloomfield Avenue, and seascapes on Castle Gardens. And this gorgeous smoke-fired dove (pictured)? She’s the work of ceramicist Yvonne Elston on Longfellow, and rather fine it is too.

Bear Flat Artists Open Studios is a free, friendly, relaxed event, and open to everyone – there are even craft workshops for children. If there’s a better way to discover cool art and meet cooler people, we’re struggling to think of it.

Bear Flat Artists Open Studios 2019 runs 25-27 May; 11am-5pm daily; www.bearflatartists.co.uk

Smoke-fired dove

by Yvonne Elston

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WHAT’S ON

© MARC BRENNER

11 May – 9 June

Great lighting, conflict, Captain Corelli, his mandolin: this image has it all!

EXHIBITIONS

American Museum & Gardens; www.americanmuseum.org

GENIUS LOCI: SENSE OF A PLACE

Until 3 November

Until 18 July

This latest Art at the RUH exhibition celebrates an individual location’s distinctive character through the work of five contemporary photographers.

8am-8pm; free; Royal United Hospital; www.artatruh.org

Until 3 November

ALL SHOOK UP: THOMAS KELLNER’S AMERICA

German snapper Kellner has an oddball, semi-cubist relationship with American architecture: he takes lots of tiny pictures of details and combines them to create a wibblywobbly version of the whole. Kind of amazing, actually, and worth seeing.

Tuesday-Sunday 11am-5pm;

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KAFFE FASSETT’S QUILTS IN AMERICA The American Museum is always stuffed with pioneer-era quilts, of course, but this is something different: 20 brand-new ones designed by this San Franciscan artist, never seen together in the UK, and actually inspired by the museum’s renowned collection.

10am-5pm; various prices; American Museum & Gardens; www.americanmuseum.org

Until 5 January 2020

IMAGE CONTROL Sub-titled ‘Understanding the Georgian Selfie’, this is a look at how rich Georgians used flattering oil paintings and busts much as we use social media to exaggerate our

popularity, wealth, beauty and status.

10am-5pm; No.1 Royal Crescent; www.no1royalcrescent.org.uk

Until 1 March 2020

GLOVE STORIES Gloves? Really? Yes, indeed: for there’s way more to them than just keeping your pinkies warm. Thrill to 400 years of rare glove history, from embroidered 1600s gauntlets to the Duke of Edinburgh’s carriagedriving gloves – and marvel at how small so many of them are.

10.30am-4pm; included in Fashion Museum ticket; Fashion Museum Bath; www.fashionmuseum.co.uk

11 – 12 May

JASON DORLEY-BROWN The artist will be showing both his bright Pop Art portraits of Elvis, Audrey, Marilyn et al and his Bath

landscape photography, much of it moody and monochrome (though don’t be surprised at the occasional jolt of colour).

11am-6pm; The Weston Methodist Church; www.newbridgeartstrail.com

14 – 31 May

BLOOM Wellow-based painter Emma Rose depicts mountains, sea and flowers in blues, greens and purples, plus a fair smattering of metallic leaf.

Monday-Saturday 10am-5pm; Emma Rose Arts Works; Upstairs@78 Walcot Street; www.emmaroseartworks.com

18 – 27 May

WYLYE VALLEY ART TRAIL The 10-day festival of visual arts and crafts is celebrating its 10-year anniversary, and you can visit all sorts of studios, exhibitions and galleries,

WHAT’S ON and meet the people behind it all.

Various times and locations; www.wvat.co.uk

25 – 27 May

BEAR FLAT ARTISTS OPEN STUDIOS 2019 The Bear Flat Art Trail is bigger and better than ever. For more, just flick back to page 39.

11am-5pm daily; various venues; www.bearflatartists.co.uk

PLAYS/SHOWS Until 11 May

ABOVE: Linda Wevill’s ‘Historic Aquitaine’ at Art at the RUH; LEFT: The problem with Georgian selfies, it seems, is that they took at least two hands; BELOW: Ministry of Burlesque is back in town

THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW Richard O’Brien’s legendary cult rock ’n’ roll musical comes to Bath, with boyband star Ben Adams from a1 and Strictly Come Dancing champ Joanne Clifton as hapless innocents Brad and Janet, seeking help at a lonely mansion and stumbling across the campest, most gleeful alien invasion you’ve ever seen. All together now: “Toucha toucha toucha touch me, I wanna be dirty, Thrill me chill me fulfil me, Creature of the night…”

Various times and prices; The Theatre Royal; www.theatreroyal.org.uk

Until 11 May

THE GHOST TRAIN This classic early ’20s spooky thriller is part of Bath Drama’s centenary season, chosen not just because author Arnold Ridley – later to achieve fame as the lovably bumbling Private Godfrey in Dad’s Army – was a keen member back in the day, but because the play itself is almost 100 years old; turn to page 12 for more.

7.30pm; various prices; The Rondo Theatre; www.rondotheatre.co.uk

14 – 18 May

CAPTAIN CORELLI’S MANDOLIN Corelli, an enigmatic young Italian officer, is posted to an idyllic Greek island during WWII, where he falls for a strong-willed and beautiful local lass, Pelagia. Brit writer Louis de Bernières’ original novel was a book group smash back in the ’90s, and though the film is a little less loved, the play has the time and scope to really bring the story’s famously vivid location and characters to life.

Various prices; The Theatre Royal: www.theatreroyal.org.uk

30 May – 1 June

HAMLET: THE MUSICAL Bristol Shakespeare Festival is bringing one of its in-house shows to

Bath for the very first time. Hamlet: the Musical promises to be a silly, satirical take on fiction’s greatest procrastinator, featuring rewrites of hits by ABBA, Elvis and Queen.

Various times; £5.34; The Mission Theatre; bristolshakespearefestival.org.uk

31 May

MINISTRY OF BURLESQUE This knock-out campfest rocks up every other month at Komedia, this time featuring award-winning compare Dusty Limits, magical Britain’s Got Talent finalist Christian Lee, drag king Mark Anthony, striptease from Lena Mae, and internationally-known Bristol-based acrobat duo Cirque Da Purr.

8pm; various prices; Komedia; www.komedia.co.uk/bath

MUSIC 11 May

KATHERINE JENKINS Who’s been Britain’s best-selling classical artist of the last 25 years?

Only KJ, who’ll be singing from her album, Guiding Light, home to such faves as Morning Has Broken and Never Enough from The Greatest Showman.

7.30pm; various prices; The Forum; www.bathforum.co.uk

31 May

MUSIC FOR THE HARP Harps are now hip, we’re told, and Bianca Watts promises to show us why, with selections from Debussy, Scarlatti and Britten.

7.30pm; £5; BRLSI; www.brlsi.org

FAMILY 11 – 12 May

GROW This colourful, playful show from Scottish pro dance company Indepen-dance celebrates springtime. (Remember when you pretended to be a growing plant?

Well, like that, but much better!)

11.30am and 3pm; £7.50-£8.50; the egg theatre; www.theatreroyal.org.uk

18 May

HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON: THE HIDDEN WORLD 2D The last of the How to Train Your Dragon trilogy is one of those rare sequels-to-a-sequel that the critics almost universally love, and we suspect your little ’uns will too.

10.30am; various prices; The Little Cinema; www.picturehouses.com

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WHAT’S ON

BATH FRINGE 24 MAY – 9 JUNE The Bath Festival has a rowdy little sibling, running parallel(ish) to The Bath Festival itself

Bath Fringe is a classic fringe festival, in that anyone can put on an event and be part of it, as long as they can organise it themselves (and cough up a small fee for publicity). Running not-quite-parallel to The Bath Festival – it both starts and ends later, only overlapping for a couple of days – the Fringe is mostly financed by the artists and venues themselves (plus your entry fees, of course). This also means things can get a little confusing, because as well as the mainline fringe there’s another, loosely linked outfit called Fringe Arts Bath, which runs its own FaB Festival of contemporary visual arts. (Think of Bath Festival itself as the mothership, packed with events starring nationally and internationally known people and acts; Bath Fringe as the established sideshow; and FaB as an offshoot of that. We‘ve more on how it all works on page 12.)

When’s it on?

For about 17 days, from Friday 24 May to Sunday 9 June.

See androids fighting Brad and Janet at The Rocky Horror Picture Show

27 May

ANDY AND THE ODD SOCKS Children’s BBC presenter Andy Day has a highly raucous band with buddies Rio, Moxy, Blu and Cousin Mac (who plays a hoover!); they’ve become festival regulars, and seem to appeal to parents as much as their kids. Indeed, some call them the world’s best children’s band…

12pm; £14.50; Komedia; www.komedia.co.uk/bath

OTHER

10 May – 15 June

SPARKFEST Bath Spa University is hosting its second-ever Sparkfest, featuring 100 performances across eight venues in five weeks. This is a must-see, folks.

Various times, venues and prices; www.bathspalive.com

14 May

SHORTS IN FOCUS Fancy supporting budding Bath filmmakers? Local talent submit their work, and you rock up to give them support – and perhaps discover a great movie director-to-be.

7pm; £3; Komedia; www.komedia.co.uk/bath

17 May

HATS AND HEADDRESSES WORKSHOP Want people looking at you as you parade down Milsom Street (and for good reasons, of course)? Then why not give making your own crowning

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What’s occurring?

glory a try? This session shares top millinery tricks for creating beautiful headpieces, from ribbon cutting to wiring feathers or attaching flowers.

11am-1pm; £85; V V Rouleaux; www.vvrouleaux.com

20 – 22 May

EVENTS AT THE BIRD There’s a trio of special lunches and dinners coming up, with talks by top food and travel writers: Persiana writer Sabrina Ghayour celebrates the launch of her new vegetarian cook book, Bazaar; Jonathan Lorie gives insider tips on turning your own adventures into stories with a two-hour workshop and cream tea; and drink expert Olly Smith chats through his new cocktail tome, Fizz.

Various times and prices; The Bird; www.thebirdbath.co.uk

24 May – 9 June

BATH FRINGE FESTIVAL Two weeks of non-stop music, theatre, comedy and more happening all over the city. See opposite for more – and get in!

Various times, prices and locations; www.bathfringe.co.uk

29 May – 1 June

ROYAL BATH & WEST SHOW England’s only four-day Royal Show celebrates food, drink, music, sport, rural life and – at its heart – farming; it’s a must visit, we reckon. (After all, the 4,500 animals who attend each year can’t all be wrong!)

Various times; The Showground, Shepton Mallet; www.bathandwest.com

Plays, bands, classical music performances, cabaret, comedy, film screenings, exhibitions, installations, workshops and more.

For full details, go to www.bathfringe.co.uk

Where’s it take place?

They Fringe itself runs at over 20 venues across Bath, including pubs and bars (The Bell, Moorfields Inn, Green Park Brasserie, St James’ Wine Vaults); places of worship (St Michael’s Church, Central United Reformed Church); and theatres (Rondo, Mission, and The Old Theatre Royal – not to be confused with the big one). Also think Komedia, Widcombe Social Club, Chapel Arts Centre, Walcot Chapel and more, not to mention a whole bunch of outdoor venues, from Kingsmead Square to Walcot Street, Parade Gardens to Green Park Station.

FaB, meanwhile, tends to take place at three gallery spaces (think: empty shops) called FaB1, FaB 2 and FaB 3, as if Lady Penelope had a trio of pink Rolls Royces. FaB 1 is on Walcot Street; FaB 2’s on Broad Street; and FaB 3’s New Bond Street.

We’re not 100 per cent sure, but we don’t think this beard is entirely real…

WHAT’S ON

…and Sara strikes a happy balance, we’d say

© PAL HANSEN

© DAVID LOF TUS

Prue loves a bit of colour…

Jo generally doesn’t…

THE BATH FESTIVAL 17 – 26 MAY Where to start? The Bath Festival is packed with good stuff, and here are a few of our faves 18 May

JO BRAND Jo’s latest book, Born Lippy, is subtitled ‘How To Do Female’ and is just as you’d expect: direct, honest, non-judgemental, chatty, packed with one-liners and snappy verbal putdowns – but also scattergun, slightly messy, and somewhat in Caitlin Moran’s wake. Still, this is bound to be a fun time, and unafraid to ask the big questions – like why’s there no anti-wrinkle cream for testicles? (We know the answer, by the way: normal antiwrinkle cream works just fine.)

11am-12am; £12.50 (excl fees): entry + book £25; The Forum

18 May

DAME DARCEY BUSSELL La Bussell’s picture book, Evolved, ties in with her 50th birthday and pairs anecdotes from her 30 year ballet-and-beyond career with rare behind-the-scenes images and portraits by all the greats (Leibovitz, Snowdon, Testino). Pretty special, and this chat with her should be too.

12.30-1.30pm; £12 (excl fees); Assembly Rooms

18 May

SIR MICHAEL PARKINSON “I’ve seen the ads with Parky,” says femme fatale June in daytime TV’s most celebrated series of funeral adverts, but you can do one better by seeing Sir Michael himself take the

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interviewee rather than interviewer’s chair for once in this table-turning chat. The best bit?

Maybe that the chap doing the asking is none other than his very own son, Mike.

7.30pm-9.30pm; £19.50 (excl fees); The Forum

18 May

SARA COX Should she have got the Radio Two breakfast job? Zoe’s alright, but on balance we rather prefer Cox. Still, you can get your Sara fix with this doubtless cheery and engaging talk through her coming-of-age memoir, Until the Cows Come Home: A Lancashire Childhood.

2.30pm-3.30pm; £12 (excl fees); Assembly Rooms

21 May

MARIELLA FROSTRUP: WILD WOMEN Her Wild Women book is an anthology of amazing women’s travel writing, some of it dating back to the 1700s and starring such inspirational pioneers as Robyn Davidson (who set off alone through the Oz Outback with just a couple of camels) and the ace Nellie Bly, who in 1889 circumnavigated the globe in just 72 days. (Eat that, Jules Verne.)

5pm-6pm; £12 (excl fees); Assembly Rooms

23 May

PRUE LEITH The Great British Bake Off judge will be

talking food (of course) and fiction (less obviously, but she’s actually written seven novels). Her latest cookery book, Prue, contains 100 of her very best recipes. 2.153.15pm; £10 (excl fees); Assembly Rooms

23 May

RICHARD BERTINET The Bath-based Breton baker (try saying that three times fast) isn’t just a great teacher, topnotch bread-maker and general local foodie hero, but has a new book out, Dough.

8pm-9pm; £10 (excl fees); Assembly Rooms

24 May

MELVYN BRAGG Novelist, South Bank Show creator and presenter of Radio 4’s In Our Time, Bragg’s in Bath to chat about his latest book, Love Without End, an updated telling of doomed couple Aberlard and Heloise’s romance.

6pm-7pm; £10 (excl fees); Assembly Rooms

26 May

KILLING EVE Before Phoebe Waller-Bridge and Killing Eve, Luke Jennings was telling tales of charismatic, loopy killer Villanelle in a series of e-novellas.

Meet him here, and learn the genesis of his ‘manic pixie dream assassin’.

3.15pm-4.15pm; £10 (excl fees); The Masonic Hall. For full details on all events: www. bathfestivals.org.uk

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BOOKS NIC BOTTOMLEY

A turn up for the books

Nic Bottomley delves into the wealth of literary talent at The Bath Festival; here’s his must-see list from the line-up

“With nine days and 100 events to choose from, what do you plump for?”

W

ith spring springing more vehemently than it has sprung for many a year, my bookish gaze is settling firmly on one of British Springtime’s finest annual gatherings of literary talent: The Bath Festival, right here on our doorstep.

This year’s line-up is particularly cleverly curated, and whatever you’re into reading, there’ll be something to explore.

But with nine days and 100 events to choose from, what do you plump for beyond the more celebrated (Jo) Brand names and all the Hustle and (Darcey) Bussell?

One of my favourite literary novelists, Amitav Ghosh, is coming to town (26 May, 5.30pm, Masonic Hall) with a new standalone novel to introduce to us. Gun Island (Hodder, £20) hasn’t been published yet, but we’re promised a novel that breaks away from the solely Asian settings of his Ibis trilogy.

Instead, it will apparently introduce us to a character who starts out in India but takes a long and unexpected journey to Los Angeles, Venice and beyond. And if an epic journey and a huge cast of incidental characters isn’t enticing enough, then there’s the fact that the protagonist is a bookseller! Another small weapon in the limited, but obviously crucial, genre of bookseller-lit.

On the first full day of festival programming, an event called Life, Love and Everything in Between (18 May, 5.30pm, The Forum Ballroom) will see two relatively new novelists take the stage to be interviewed by one of the most generous and effective literary interviewers – memoirist and bookobsessive Cathy Rentzenbrink.

Hannah Beckerman will discuss her second novel If Only I Could Tell You (Orion, £14.99), a tense and heartbreaking tale of family secrets. Meanwhile, Candice CartyWilliams will be quizzed about her debut, Queenie (Orion, £12.99), a novel with an engaging British Jamaican heroine who, despite her regal name, is struggling to keep control of family, work, life and love.

I first read Bethan Roberts a decade ago when she wrote her debut thriller, The Pools.

Now she’s returning to The Bath Festival to talk about her fifth book, Graceland (Vintage, £14.99), in which she boldly and

deftly fictionalises Elvis Presley and his relationship with his mother. She’ll appear with Kelleigh Greenberg-Jephcott who reinvents another real life (anti) hero in her novel Swan Song (Hutchinson, £12.99).

This book recounts the hedonistic life of Truman Capote and his circle, culminating in his explosive and far-reaching decision to reveal their most scandalous secrets in his writing.

Swan Song was one of the bestselling and most loved debut novels of 2018 at Mr B’s, and this duet of fictional twists on the lives of 20th-century legends seems like an event not to miss (25 May, 4pm, Masonic Hall).

Away from fiction, I’ve found two events in the schedule about topics dear to my heart: books and pastries. On the former, Toby Faber will talk, alongside novelist Claire Adam, about the history of his family’s eponymous publishing house (25 May, 6.15pm, Masonic Hall). I’ve heard him speak on this subject at industry events and the true tales from the early editorial meetings of Faber & Faber are fascinating, as the likes of T.S. Eliot, Sylvia Plath and Seamus Heaney all wandered the halls to help create one of our most enduring independent presses.

Lastly, local doyen of dough Richard Bertinet will be setting the oven to low as he dashes across town to discuss Crumb (Octopus, £25), the latest in his sequence of inspiring and mouth-watering baking and breadmaking books (23 May, 8pm, Assembly Rooms). In this book, Richard is trying to drag us to the next level of creativity, showing us how to have a crack at everything from sourdough to seaweed buns. His talks are always a joy, but eat first to avoid being the one disturbing the audience with a loudly rumbling stomach.

The good news is, whichever events you choose, there’ll be a grinning Mr B’s bookseller close at hand as we’re teaming up with The Bath Festival as their official booksellers once again. www.bathfestivals.org.uk Nic Bottomley is the general manager of Mr B’s Emporium of Reading Delights, 14/15 John Street, Bath; 01225 331155; www.mrbsemporium.com

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FROM FAR LEFT: My Mother Said I Never Should has been translated or produced in 31 countries; Let It Be features The Beatles’ greatest hits; the story of an extraordinary ordinary woman comes in the form of Educating Rita

© SHEIL A BURNET T

THEATRE ANNA O’CALLAGHAN

© ROBERT DAY

Making a scene Anna O’Callaghan’s pick of the must-see shows coming up at Theatre Royal Bath this season

A

s an alumnus of Manchester University, I am always delighted to be transported back to the North West where my love of theatre-going was cultivated. A frequent audience member at the extraordinary Royal Exchange Theatre – a space ship docked inside the largest trading hall in England – I was privileged to see such luminaries as Tom Courtenay, Robert Lindsay and Vanessa Redgrave from the front row seats which were sold on the day for barely £1 if you were waiting outside the box office at the crack of dawn.

I enjoyed early productions of what were to become Alan Ayckbourn’s most enduring works at the ultra-modern Contact Theatre, which was part of the University, and watched classic musicals at the Victorian Palace Theatre up the road.

A few years after I left Manchester for Bath, Manchester University drama graduate Charlotte Keatley’s first play received its world premiere at Contact Theatre. Having originally been rejected for the Royal Exchange/Mobil Playwriting Competition, My Mother Said I Never Should was to become the most frequently performed play by a female playwright anywhere in the world, and has been translated or produced in 31 countries – from Japan to Peru.

In 2000, the National Theatre named it one of the most significant plays of the 20th century. The play makes its first ever professional visit to the Theatre Royal in May. Set in Manchester, Oldham and London, My Mother Said I Never Should is a poignant,

bittersweet story about love, jealousy and the price of freedom. Set against the backdrop of the immense social changes taking place in 20th-century Britain, the story focusses on four generations of one family, each one the mother of the next, as they confront the most significant moments of their lives. Writing about the play, Charlotte Keatley says, “I wanted to show how hugely dramatic the ‘ordinary’ lives of women have been.”

At the beginning of June, the story of another extraordinary ordinary woman comes to the Theatre Royal in Willy Russell’s hilarious and heart-warming comedy Educating Rita. Susan (who calls herself ‘Rita’ after a character in her favourite book) is in her 20s and already feels trapped by life until she enrols on an Open University literature course and everything changes.

Stephen Tompkinson (from Drop the Dead Donkey, Ballykissangel, Wild at Heart and DCI Banks), who was superb in Art in Bath a year ago, plays her tutor, Frank, with newcomer Jessica Johnson as Rita.

Like Rita, Liverpool-born Willy Russell became a hairdresser after leaving school before returning to education and becoming a teacher and subsequently one of the UK’s best-loved playwrights, the author of Blood Brothers and Shirley Valentine. Originally produced by the Royal Shakespeare Company, Educating Rita opened in 1980, winning the Olivier Award for Best Comedy, and is now considered to be a masterpiece.

In 1974, Willy Russell was commissioned to

“It was to become the most frequently performed play by a female playwright anywhere in the world”

22 – 25 May – My Mother Said I Never Should 27 May – 1 June – Let It Be 3 – 8 June – Educating Rita 20 October – Ben Elton write a musical about The Beatles. John, Paul George, Ringo… and Bert transferred to the West End where the London cast included Trevor Eve as Paul McCartney, and Antony Sher as Ringo Starr. Another show which celebrates the Beatles’ legacy comes to Bath at the end of May. Let It Be features more than 40 of the Fab Four’s greatest hits, performed by a superb live band.

The show will transport you from Liverpool’s Cavern Club to the rooftop of Apple Records in London and has been described by The Times as, “The Beatles concert you never got to see”.

Student life, as Rita would tell you, can introduce you to many people you would never otherwise meet. Another Manchester graduate, Ben Elton, returns to Bath in October with his new stand-up show. He and I were contemporaries and it is quite possible our paths crossed as I once attended a party in the flat of the drama student who lived downstairs. If only I could remember… sometimes plays stick in the memory longer than things that happen in real life!

Anna O’Callaghan, Marketing Manager, Theatre Royal Bath, Sawclose; 01225 448844; www.theatreroyal.org.uk

www.mediaclash.co.uk I BATH LIFE I 51

THE BOTANIST

The Botanist is no wallflower. Here’s what Lisa Evans thought of the new ‘secret garden’ concept restaurant and bar breathing new life into a grand local landmark

W

hen I received an invitation to the launch of a new city-centre bar, it was presented to me as a blank piece of card along with a vial of ‘potion’. The instructions were to pour on the liquid to reveal the words beneath. ‘Beneath’: that was the magic word – that’s the bar’s name. And, like the curious invite, the subterranean space is properly imaginative and original.

It lies in the dark, atmospheric vaults below Milsom Street and is described as the ‘evil sister’ of The Botanist – the 8,000 square foot ‘secret garden of food and drink’ – which perches above it on street level.

Although there are 18 Botanists in the UK, Beneath is a new concept and is the first of its kind. It’s described as a cocktail apothecary that emulates the experience of a speakeasy – an illicit establishment from the Prohibition era – and the drinks menu is a theatrical one (expect fire,

52 I BATH LIFE I www.mediaclash.co.uk

dry ice, vessels that look as if they were taken from an 18th-century science lab, and medicinal appellations such as ‘penicillin’ and ‘elixir of youth’); you’ll also find a super selection of botanical libations and an ale inventory in the restaurant above, too.

The two venues – previously Burger & Lobster at street level, and The Confessional bar below – opened in March.

The Botanist is immense in size and design; the building, you see, is the landmark Grade II*-listed Octagon, which has a long history in Bath, having been built in around 1766 as a private chapel.

Its grandness and opulence remains; the main dining area is octagonal and stretches skyward to the height of three storeys, peaking in a central domed skylight in the decoratively corniced ceiling. The spectacular space feels open and airy and is stuffed with bountiful greenery, antiquities and trinkets, and glowing lamps. And an enormous tree (faux, sadly) bursts out of the core of the circular bar, reaching up to the mezzanine dining area.

RESTAURANT

The cooking is bright and fresh, and the menu is inspired by the deli, grill and rotisserie. Tempting starters include baked camembert topped with cranberry and pistachio granola; hot sauce-smothered chicken wings; and king prawn and chorizo cazuela.

To nibble, we chose fried gnocchi – which was crunchycrisp rather than doughy, and served with truffle mayo – and hummus with blackened red pepper sauce, crudités and flatbread.

And for main, we had to try the dish The Botanist is famed for: the hanging kebab. Kebabs may be best known to Brits as end-of-the-drunken-night filthy grub, but these ones were rather classy. I went for the sweet chillimarinated crispy halloumi version, and matey had the salt and pepper pork belly – perfectly chunky and muscular bites with apple and coriander sauce.

They came presented hanging above ‘properly seasoned’ chips, and, when at the table, the waiter offered to pour the accompanying garlic oil over them. I said no at first – I’m more of a dipper than a drencher – but I went with his recommendation. Unfortunately, this led to grease spilling all over the table, leaving me with glossy wrists for the rest of the night; I didn’t say anything, though, as our server was just so lovely.

The staff are cool cucumbers – I spotted tattoo sleeves, green hair, full beards, and ear stretchers. They’re very pleasant and helpful, but, despite there being heaps of them, our order was wrong/forgotten about three times – they didn’t bring the kohlrabi, carrot and fennel coleslaw; the drinks didn’t arrive; and the wrong dessert was served.

The pudding error was probably my fault for confusing things; I had cheekily requested a side of peanut butter fudge, which was supposed to garnish a different dessert, along with a popcorn crème brûlée – sounds sickly when I type it, but I craved it at the time. I can’t tell you whether or not the combo worked well because I was actually brought a brownie. Hey-ho, not the end of the world (it was actually delicious). My dining buddy ordered the baked cookie dough, which was so good – with its melting chocolate chips, crunchy mini Oreos, butterscotch sauce, and vanilla ice cream – that I would go back to The Botanist just for that, and that alone.

I would also bring friends along; that’s the type of vibe I think it has – a ‘mates meeting for dinner before a celebratory night out’ sort of feel. It definitely isn’t a wallflower; I wouldn’t take my nan.

It wails with grooviness, it palpitates with hipness, and as for my only criticism – the order being messed up – well it’s only been a month or so since the place opened, so I’m guessing those kinks will be pressed out in no time and it will blossom into something even more special. n

“Kebabs may be best known as end-of-thenight dirty grub, but these ones were rather classy” DINING DETAILS The Botanist, The Octagon, Milsom Place, Bath, BA1 1BZ; 01225 632577; www.thebotanist.uk.com We ate Fried gnocchi with truffle mayo; hummus with crudités and flatbread; hanging kebabs; chocolate brownie; and baked cookie dough Vegetarian options A good selection on the menu – from vegetable ramen and gnocchi, to beetroot burgers and interesting salads Prices Starters and small plates: £3.95 – £7.25; mains £9.95 – £25.50; desserts £4.50 – £6.95 Drinks Botanical cocktails are the staple here, but there are also 60 ales plus a New World wine list Service/ atmosphere A few things went awry with the service, but overall it’s very friendly and helpful, and the vibe is buzzy and hip What else? Cocktail masterclasses, live entertainment, and a bottomless brunch menu

www.mediaclash.co.uk I BATH LIFE I 53

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LOCAL CHEESES & HOME COOKED MEATS LOCALLY GROWN VEGETABLES, FRUIT & SALADS HOMEMADE CAKES & PIES LOCALLY MADE CHOCOLATES & FUDGE FINE WINE, LOCAL ALE & CIDER PRESERVES & CHUTNEYS GIFT HAMPERS www.allingtonfarmshop.co.uk Tel: 01249 658112 Allington Bar Farm, Chippenham, SN14 6LJ

FOOD & DRINK

“We’ve definitely noticed a trend of drink less, but drink better” tonic water from Franklin and Sons in that tastes just like focaccia bread.

We keep hearing that the young ’uns are drinking less than previous generations.

Have you noticed that?

We’ve definitely noticed a trend of drink less, but drink better, and now offer non-alcoholic Prosecco, ciders, beer, alternative spirits and, of course, mixers and syrups.

We’ll try that Cotswolds whisky, please, Chris

TAKE 5 CHRIS SCULLION runs

Independent Spirit of Bath, the ace booze emporium on Terrace Walk (that’s Bog Island, if we’re being crude). But what’s hot in the world of hooch?

How’s the shop, Chris?

In January, both retail and off trade saw a slower start than usual, but now everything’s back on track. The big thing we’re noticing this year is a jump in whisky and rum sales. More people are trying world whiskies – like the new Irish and Asian releases – with one of our favourites being the return, after 50 years, of Red Spot 15 Irish pot still whiskey, which is aged using marsala casks. We’ve been watching the rise of agave spirits the last few years too, and I think this summer could be the year Bath gets on board with mezcal.

What’s this we hear about rum making a comeback?

The ease of producing your own spiced rum has allowed a ton of new brands to appear, and we have to try a lot of them to make sure we get the right ones in – tough job, I know.

Gin is showing no signs of slowing

down either, but we do find a lot of over-marketed brands approaching us at the moment. If they can’t convince us on taste alone, no overly romanticised back story is going to win us over. We love sherry too, and seeing bars such as Pata Negra in Bristol championing it is fantastic.

If that’s what bartenders themselves are drinking, soon enough that’s what you’ll be drinking too.

We’ve spotted some genuinely delicious low and no-alcohol beers lately, too…

We’re massive fans of Big Drop – actually, the brewer and head of global production is an old friend of the shop – and it’s great to see more full-bodied, great-tasting alternatives around. If I could throw in a wild card, however, the explosion of new mixers and tonics offer great alternatives on their own.

We have rosemary and black olive

Sour beers have been big news lately, but do they have enduring appeal?

The first time I had a sour beer it was Cantillon at the brewery in Belgium, a very long time ago. It took me a few to get it, but I think sours are 100 per cent here to stay. Rodenbach has been going since 1836, so the UK is only really catching up, although we do have some phenomenal sour beer producers locally, such as Wild Beer’s Burning Sky and Mills Brewing. They’re one of the best offradar breweries of the last few years.

It seems like the noise about sustainability is only going to get louder, too.

Yes, and I think we’ll see the biggest changes in the bars first, with some brands suppling refillable bottles for their vodka. The technology behind kegs is improving dramatically too, as brewers choose to make less of an environmental impact.

One of the great things about craft beers are the can designs. What are the best or weirdest you’ve seen?

Sometimes the best thing is the name – we love a beer pun! My favourite last Christmas was Rhubarbra Striesand, a rhubarb sour, and some of the labels are so beautiful we’ve even mounted them on our walls. Thankfully, the naughty beer image pump clip era seems to be coming to a close, but every now and again we still see labels we just have to say no to – regardless of the quality of the beer!

Speaking of craft beer, has that peaked yet?

We’re starting to see fewer new breweries opening, as there’s a lot

of competition out there now. The biggest threat, though, would be the medium-sized craft breweries selling out to larger brewers. We certainly saw a massive drop in the sales of Beavertown when they sold to Heineken, and there’s a pattern that when brands go into supermarkets people seem less interested in them.

As for the real ale versus craft beer rivalry, we tend to think that beer is beer, and having people like Justin at Moor in Bristol champion unfined real beer in a can – it’s even accredited by CAMRA now – really helps bring the two worlds together.

We’ve spotted a few prepackaged hybrid things of late. Which oddballs like this would recommend?

The pre-packed world is totally about convenience and quality. Tick both of those boxes and they should do well. Our biggest selling of these is Edinburgh Gin’s rhubarb and ginger gin, mixed with ginger ale. It’s a beautiful can, and – honestly! – the liquid inside tastes like rhubarb and custard sweets, and is just amazing served over crushed ice. Some of the brewing crossovers – like braggots (think mead/beer) or wines fermented with grape must – are really interesting, and we hope we can get people onboard. The issues with them will come – like they have with cider – should HMRC decide to play around with the tax on products that don’t sit comfortably in one bracket or another.

Finally, is there anything made locally that you’d really, really recommend?

Cotwolds Whisky – it’s just fantastic.

We’re now on batch two of their Founder’s Reserve, a special cask strength release of their single malt made in the Cotswolds and aged in STR casks. (These are former American wine casks, preferred because it’s a better quality of wood with thicker staves.) They’re used for the wine, then the inside char is stripped out and retoasted, thus caramelising the sugars of the oak and the previous occupant of the barrel. And that’s before they make it over here for the fruity single malt to be put inside for a few years! www.independentspiritofbath.co.uk

www.mediaclash.co.uk I BATH LIFE I 55

FOOD & DRINK NEWS

GO PRO Walcot Street seems to becoming quite the foodie quarter again, with new businesses filing the spaces vacated by Sam’s Kitchen, Yammo! and now – perhaps most unexpectedly – Ha! Ha! Bar and Canteen. Why unexpectedly?

Because for the past year, posh local interiors brand Neptune – kitchens a speciality – has occupied the old Tramshed space, but it now turns out they’d always earmarked a corner for their very first café. The Provenist will use ingredients from small-sale local growers – like Bath Farm Girls, who are quinoa specialists – for a range of healthy, homemade breakfasts, lunches and very early (5pm) suppers. And, as the name suggests, the provenance of each ingredient will be front-and-centre.

“We wanted the freedom of choice that you have in your own home to be a big part of The Provenist,” says café boss Paul Dugdale, suggesting you’ll be able to order dinner first thing and breakfast in the early evening. “We’re big believers in individualism and creativity.”

The Provenist opens May 6, and might well become your mid-day home-from-home.

For more: www.theprovenist.com

The idea of a BoA food festival sounds so natural, we’re shocked it didn‘t have one before

TASTES LIKE VICTORY Bradford on Avon has plenty going for it – a lovely location, great buildings, ace shops and a manageable size – but there’s one thing it’s lacked until now: a decent food festival. This June, however, that all changes with the inaugural Bradford on Avon Food and Drink Festival, a day of face-stuffing and drink-slurping on Victory Fields in the middle of town. Run by the same folk who do Thame Food Festival in Oxfordshire, it boast everything from a pop-up pub and celebrity chef demos to a fun dog show. Local heroes from Bath (MasterChef champ Ping Coombes) and Bristol (Briony May, star of GBBO 2018) will be there, plus others from both shows and the best local restaurants – including BL favourites Pravin Nayer of Castle Farm Cafe and Jethro Lawrence of Woolley Grange.

For more: www.scrumptiousfoodfestivals.co.uk

KEEPING UP WITH THE JONES

The Provenist: a café on the fancy side

56 I BATH LIFE I www.mediaclash.co.uk

The new series of BBC Two’s Great British Menu boasts an intriguing line-up, including Tom Westerland of The Brasserie at Lucknam Park Hotel in Wiltshire and – even closer to home – Gordon Jones of Menu Gordon Jones of Bear Flat, one of Bath’s most celebrated (and difficult to book) restaurants. (Somewhat confusingly, Gordon is in the Scotland category, Tom counts as Wales, and the South-West category – which you’d think they’d both be in – includes two chefs from Jersey. To make sense of it, think more in terms of which international football teams they’d play for, not their day-to-day clubs.)

For more: menugordonjones.co.uk

The question is, how will Gordon take to a bigger kitchen?

Proud nalist of

ADVERTISING FEATURE

Meet the foodie

Amazing world-class food brands, right here on our patch ROBYN HATLEY

PETER MILTON

GOODNESS GRAZERS www.goodnessgrazers.co.uk Tell us about what you do…

Grazing platters are the next big thing in catering, and our bespoke platters bring people together in a casual, sociable dining way. They’re made up of locally sourced produce – speciality cheeses, cured meats, antipasti, artisan breads, crackers, chutneys and relishes, dried fruits, nuts, crunchy crudite and colourful fruits. Texture, colour and quality all work together to tempting effect.

Where do you source your ingredients from?

We source locally as much as we can, and preferably from other independents. We’re also an eco-friendly business – we use biodegradable containers, and our platters, plates and cutlery are all compostable.

What’s your favourite part of the job?

Making our clients happy and introducing them to healthier catering. We receive wonderful compliments on how visually tempting the food looks, and how fresh and nutritious it is. It fits in well with healthier lifestyles.

What are your plans for the next 12 months?

Lots of exciting things! We’re taking on regular monthly bookings with local businesses; we have some wonderful collaborations planned over Spring and Summer; and our team will be growing. We’ve also just booked our very first wedding!

LARKHALL BUTCHERS 01225 313987; www.larkhallbutchers.co.uk

Robyn Hatley

Peter Milton

KENT BARKER

DAWN HAWKING

STONY STREET HOUSE 01373 470970; www.stonystreethouse.com Describe your offering, Kent…

We are a wine based business with amazing pizzas, all using our famous sourdough recipe for the bases and fresh local ingredients. Our wine bar is centred around our incredible and sustainable on tap system with the most amazing wines from across the globe; added to this, 40 wines and champagnes by the glass and a further 400 wines are all available by the bottle from our shop. Oh, and not forgetting our delicious, healthy brunch on Saturdays and Sundays.

What trends do you think the food and drink scene will see this year?

I think we are going to see an increase in multifaceted businesses giving the customer more than one reason to visit, and offering real value for money at the same time. The high street here in Frome is bursting with independent businesses that have achieved this, and we are very proud to be part of this exciting high street revolution.

What is your favourite part of the job?

The favourite part is the people. I love interacting with both customers and staff – it’s fantastic fun, and I never fail to be amazed at how diverse and engaging they all are.

Where do your source everything from?

We’ve developed partnerships with local farms to give us the best possible traceability for our produce. From big local names like Jamie’s Farm to lesser known gems, like Manor Farm in Woolley, delicious beef is just a couple of minutes away.

What are the latest trends in the industry?

When Easter hits, everyone tends to go potty for the new season lamb – or, if the sun is shining, out comes that old, neglected BBQ. If you could give one bit of advice to those starting out running a food or drink establishment, what would it be?

DIY is key – or, at least, be willing to research and learn things to save frequent call out fees. On a personal level, make sure you’re surrounded by incredibly patient and understanding people – and don’t expect holidays any time soon!

How did you start out?

I started out as a Saturday boy, age 12, in this very shop, sweeping the floors and cleaning the block.

When the previous owner was looking to retire, I paid for the privilege to start paying the bills – and the rest is history.

MARSHFIELD ICE CREAM 01225 891221; www.marshfield-icecream.co.uk

Kent Barker

Dawn Hawking

What trends do you think Bath’s food and drink scene will see this year?

We’re very happy to see an increase in product awareness, as more and more people question food origin and sustainable manufacturing. Because of this, there’s been a noticeable shift in supporting local businesses that set out clear ethics. And – dare we mention it? – the ‘B word’ is making consumers seek out British-owned brands Which other food or drink merchants do you admire?

There are some fab local brands who are big nationally, like Yeo Valley, Hobbs House, 6 O’clock Gin, Tracklements – all impressive. And I was recently introduced to SeaSpoon, a local business to us on the farm, that harvests a seaweed ‘magic mix’ blend. The blends are a versatile and natural way to sprinkle nutritional power into everyday food.

Where do your source your stock?

While our company has grown over the last 30 years, we’re proud that our dairy farming heritage remains strong. We farm our land to organic standards, meaning over 50% of every tub is made with our own organic milk. We milk our cows twice a day, and have been doing so since 1971!

What’s the biggest mistake you can make in the industry?

Not listening to your customers, and thinking you can do everything yourself!! www.mediaclash.co.uk I BATH LIFE I 59

ARE YOU MAKING TIME TO BE CREATIVE IN 2019?

Pottery Workshop dates with Jane Scott Saturday 25th May – Serving Platter Saturday 15th June – Freedom and Connection with Clay, day workshop Saturday 22nd June – Plant Pots Saturday 27th July – Beauty Beyond Technique – Rewilding Ceramics, day workshop Saturday 3rd August – Beautiful Body Bowls Saturday 24th August – Mindful Making Sunday 25th August – Decorative Clay Surfaces, day workshop

www.bathheritagebuilding.co.uk info@bathheritagebuilding.co.uk

Classes • Private Tuition • Workshops 07813 718853

janescottceramics.com

@janescottceramics

RESTORATIONS | EXTENSIONS REFURBISHMENTS | NEW BUILDS

SHOPPING LIVE WELL, BUY BETTER

SPUN GOLD

The natural colours in this kaftan-style A-line dress bring to mind the summer heat and the spices of India. It’s made from khadi, a traditional, handwoven fabric of India, and it has wonderful hand embroidery on the bodice and skirt. Spun and woven by women and men in Indian villages, the slight irregularities in the weave only add to its charm and recall the hand of the maker.

A history weaves its way into the khadi cloth, namely its resonances of Gandhian virtue – Mahatma Gandhi having encouraged each Indian household to weave their own cloth both as an act of passive resistance to the British Empire’s monopolisation of the cotton trade, and as part of his ideal of self sufficiency.

After all this wonder, would it be too flippant to mention that our hearts skipped a beat when we saw it had pockets?!

Embroidered cotton khadi tunic dress; £395; from Toast, Bartlett Street, Bath; www.toa.st

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FRESH MEAT, VARIOUS PRICES We’re going local for our BBQ meat in May. Larkhall Butchers has homemade, gluten-free bangers made from free-range pork (from Jamie’s Farm). They’ve also got a range of burgers and marinated meats in store From Larkhall Butchers, 1 Lambridge Buildings, Bath; www.larkhallbutchers.co.uk

STICK A FORK IN ME...

...I’m done! National BBQ Week starts on 27 May, so why not celebrate in style this year?

LANTERN, £95 A zinc-plated chimney lantern to plonk on the table and keep the evening alive for a bit longer when dusk falls. It’s super elegant with its octagonal glass panelling and matte finish From White Company, 15 Northgate Street, Bath; www.thewhitecompany.com

GRILL SMOKE BBQ BOOK, £25 Ben Tish says you can cook much more on a BBQ than just a hunk of steak – even with the most simple barby/lid/charcoal combo. He’s thinking anything from slow roasts and ribs, to pizzas and desserts. Bring it on!

From Topping & Company Booksellers of Bath, The Paragon; www.toppingbooks.co.uk

FATBOY OUTDOOR CHAIR, £169 New ‘boy’ on the block is the Rock ’n’ Roll Rocker, which is designed to be used with Fatboy Original Beanbags. The rocker frame retails at £169, as do the beanbags. Both are suitable for outdoor use From TR Hayes, 15-18 London Street Walcot, Bath; www.trhayes.co.uk

EVA SOLO, £240 This tabletop grill is really good looking. It’s made of fireproof porcelain with a practical handle so it’s easy to carry around to friends’ houses when it’s their turn to host. We have a real soft spot for this piece From The Salcombe Trading Company, 9 Broad Street, Bath; www.salcombetrading.co.uk

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ED’S CHOICE SPATULA, £8 Spatulas have never been chic-er!

Made from silicone and great in the dishwasher, it’s just tricky to choose which muted shade to go for From Rossiters, 38-41 Broad Street, Bath; www.rossitersofbath.com

MARIMEKKO PLATE, £20 The Finnish designer never puts a foot wrong in our book, especially with its colourful palettes. Brighten up your BBQ with the Eläköön elämä pattern in white, red, pink and green, made of stoneware that’s dishwasher, oven, microwave and freezer proof From Found, 17 Argyle Street, Bath; www.foundbath.co.uk

SALAD SERVERS, £45 Once your meat is accounted for, it’s time to move on to the sides – salads, pasta, and veggies – which can all be elegantly scooped up with this enamelled blue set From Vinegar Hill, 16 Milsom Street, Bath; www.vinegarhill.co.uk

BBQ/FIREPIT HYBRID, £165 This is a BBQ-cum-log-burner that will take you through all four seasons. With a tall chimney and log storage below, it ticks the functional box. And with its aged, rusty looks, it ticks the style box too From Graham and Green, 92 Walcot Street, Bath; www.grahamandgreen.co.uk

HOT-DIP BENCH, £789 Hot by name and hot by nature, this bench, designed by French brothers Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec, is part of the Palissade hot-dip galvanised range. The hot-dipping business extends the life of products, protecting against corrosion and requiring very little upkeep From Hay, 36-37 Milsom Street, Bath; www.hay.dk

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STREET LIFE

EURO VISION Milsom Street and George Street boast a higherthan-average number of European-flavoured foodie stops, fashion boutiques and interiors shops. Rachel Ifans is your guide for this very local grand tour… 66 I BATH LIFE I www.mediaclash.co.uk

© PAUL GILLIS

Josh Luxton and Wil Ray at Hay, where straightforward, functional and aesthetic design is the name of the game

“We’re hoping there’s a secret underround passage between our headquarters and the pub” www.mediaclash.co.uk I BATH LIFE I 67

© PAUL GILLIS

STREET LIFE

Comptoir+Cuisine combines a French concept store with a bistro and a bar BELOW: The shop is filled with French flea market finds and quirky retro goodies

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t’s 100 per cent Euro vision as you stand on the stage of George Street’s high pavement and gaze over the sea of heads on Milsom Street. Sip a buck’s fizz in one of the area’s cocktail bars, spend some dollar in the quirky mix of high-quality shops, and feel the Brotherhood of Man – and woman – in this Boom Bang-a-Bang community, as we take you on a Euro tour par excellence.

(We promise to stop with the Eurovision puns now before you give us nil points and switch channels.)

Prepare yourselves, then, to give Milsom Street and its surrounds a resounding encore – it’s got nouvelle cuisine, new grape and grain, pret-a-porter fashion and entrepreneurial spirit in abundance, not to mention a wealth of heritage and culture as its backdrop. On y va!

MARK THE MAP

We’ll start our Euro route at the corner of George Street and the Paragon where relative newcomer Bistrot Pierre guards entry with very safe hands indeed. Offering good French cooking is enough, but it’s possibly the nostalgic feel of the erstwhile Pierre Victoire restos of the ’90s that draws us in. The founders are one and the same, so similarities are not accidental.

Our next pick is the aptly named Italian Food Hall just past the entrance to Bartlett Street. Co-owner Laura Doria says, “We sell authentic products to take away or eat in our café, and we run monthly supper clubs. We love overhearing people say that being in our shop is like being on holiday; we’ve seen Italian people sending photos of our deli to their families back home in Italy!”

We stay in Italy with stalwart restaurant Martini on the other side of the road. The plates are large, the food is tasty and the waiters are in fine voice (go for a birthday treat and get the full tenor experience – there’s nothing sotto voce about this lot).

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© PAUL GILLIS

“There’s much brouhaha about his washing line of underpants (all for sale, by the way)”

Back to France again for a tipple with Stefano Frigerio, co-founder and director at Comptoir+Cuisine (yes, I know, he doesn’t sound French by name, but his cuisine and his couture is bien-choisi). It’s a French concept store, café and bistro with an added champagne and cheese bar. There’s much brouhaha among Bathonions about his washing line of underpants (all for sale, by the way), but no bloomers here. “We’ll start doing breakfast from the beginning of May; the core proposal will be around crêpes and patisserie.” Yum. A quick criss-cross down Milsom Street ticks off Santoro, Gabucci, The Kooples and, new addition, Finisterre. A mix of chains and indies there, but most with European roots – even local company Duo Boots has a truly international feel, selling in 152 countries and housing its factories in Portugal. MD Samantha Mickelburgh explains, “Our factories are family run, typically by two generations of same family.

Our artisan workers may even have three generations working together with skills being passed down to each one.”

Still on fashion, don’t forget Portman, owned and run by a fantastically talented mother-and-daughter duo. Nickie Portman says, “We’re an indie boutique specialising in beautiful Italian leather jackets, handbags and competitively priced fashion. Our window is a real feature and we often hear lovely comments about our window dressing

Bath’s finest bespoke tailoring, dressmaking and alterations service We cater for all types of tailoring including made to measure and bespoke hand made suits for both men and women to bridal alterations

AWARD-WINNING INDEPENDENT DELI & CAFE SERVING FRESHLY MADE DISHES CREATED FROM OUR SHOP PRODUCTS BUY WHAT YOU TRY!

• Superb variety of pasta, sauces, antipasti, olive oils, artisan wines and liqueurs • Mouth-watering deli counter full of regional speciality meats and cheese • Delicious freshly made food & drinks to eat in or takeaway • Monthly Cookery & Wine Tasting Supper Clubs celebrating the best Italian food & wine • Weekly Italian conversation sessions over breakfast!

• Bespoke food & wine events created for your special occasions

The Italian Food Hall, 8 Edgar Buildings, George Street Bath BA1 2EE

01225 334127 • info@theitalianfoodhall.com

25 Milsom Street, Bath, BA1 1DG t: 01225 920 263 info@citytailors.co.uk www.citytailors.co.uk

@theItalianfoodhall

@theItalianfoodhall

@ItalianFoodHall

© PAUL GILLIS

STREET LIFE

Family is where it started for Vinegar Hill; the team says it’s fundamental to the business they have 20 years on

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“Our stock rooms still have the remains of the servants’ quarters”

WAVING A MAGIC WAND

We stuck a magic wand in the hands of the business owners of Milsom Street and George Street and told them to make a wish: a wish for something that would improve their little corner of Bath.

Almost unilaterally, they wanted more indie shops (hear hear!), and others wanted better parking or transport options for shoppers, but there were a few very specific asks – let’s hope the powers that be are reading this!

Julia from Circo says, “Crossing the road can be difficult at times, so maybe more crossings on George Street”, while Laura at The Italian Food Hall is after a totally pedestrianised centre. Arianna at Brissi thinks free parking would help entice shoppers, and Sarah from Duo suggests, “Let’s make Milsom Street a visitor destination, not just for shopping but for socialising too!” The introduction of new coffee shops, wider pedestrian zones and artisan retailers could bring a new buzz to the street. Both Marcus from Homelets and Prune from Yves Delorme are wishing for more flowers and plants. “As the flower is part of the DNA of our brand,” says Prune, “we would love to see more blooms and vegetals all around the place.”

Stefano from Comptoir+Cuisine was channelling a powerful wish for “More interesting concept stores and fewer cocktail places”, and Philippa at Abbott Lyon, apart from wanting underground tunnels linking pubs to offices, wanted to wish for more younger brands in Bath, “Like Glossier, we love their style and their experiential store offering. And a Wasabi sushi takeaway for lunch would go down very well.”

Jasmine, store manager at Vinegar Hill, chimed in with a lot of others, in wishing for fewer vacant units, “Have all the empty shop units filled, as it’s a bit depressing seeing so many empty ones, especially in Milsom Place”. And Ben from City Tailors flicked his wand and hoped to conjure up, “A reduction in rent and business rates so small businesses could make difference and have potential to grow”.

Philippa at Abbott Lyon has the final word, “We’d wish for modernisation. Not in a crazy way, but allowing innovation and personality to rage across the city would be amazing. At the moment, Bath is quite stuck in its heritage, which is of course amazing but it means some things don’t thrive like they should.

Young people get put off the city because of this and head to London or Bristol instead, but there’s an incredible creative culture hiding away here that needs to be heard.”

Go, fairy godmother, do your stuff!

Circo’s bar manager Julia Matlby has some serious spirit

which, like our stock, changes weekly.”

Taking a quick detour into Milsom Place, the Euro flavours are strong there – from Le Vignoble wine lounge and Côte Brasserie to Yves Delorme and Biggie Best. “An oasis in the city, Milsom Place is a vibrant courtyard space with a carefully curated selection of boutique restaurants, retailers and leisure spaces, perfect for shopping and socialising,” says Andrew Davies, duty manager. “We are expecting several new businesses to open this summer, bringing new sights and sounds to our space.”

Back out on the main drag, you’ll find OKA, which is full of quintessentially British luxury furniture and accessories. Did you spot its creative director, Sue Jones, on our front cover? She spent 10 years working with fashion designer Jasper Conran before turning her attention to interiors for OKA, where her talents extend from designing individual pieces to pulling together an entire house.

Brissi – Italian – cosies up to Hay – Dutch – at the mid point of the Milsom straight. Josh Luxton, Hay’s store manager, would love to see even more high-quality home stores nearby, “We sell Danish-inspired furniture and accessories for modern living. At the moment, it’s worth popping in to see the new additions to our popular Palissade outdoor furniture range and we’re excited about new collections coming from Copenhagen in May.” Heading back to the top, you see the colourful and eclectic VV Rouleaux haberdashery in front of you. It sounds so French but, mon Dieu, it’s not. However, it is quirky, independent and fabulous, much like many other interesting businesses in this quarter.

THE SPIRIT OF ADVENTURE

We’re so lucky in Bath with our wealth unusual and independent boutiques; it’s one of the things for which the city is famed, despite a local perception of reduced indies in the city these days.

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Abbott Lyon is a great example: a gifting brand which does all its design in-house in its HQ in Bath. The team is talented and hungry!

Marketing head Philippa May enthuses, “Our designer is a Bath girl who is ex-Tiffany. She’s 25 and she designs everything, so you won’t find our pieces anywhere else. In fact, our whole team is super young; the founder/MD is only 27 and we believe in the importance of supporting young graduates.” Abbott Lyon is an interesting business, specialising in personalisation – whether it’s monogramming a new handbag, engraving a watch for a special anniversary, or is showing off its new UV-printing service, it offers something very different.

The Botanist is a new – and large – addition to the Milsom menu.

It’s about dancing, drinking and dining – on repeat! This and The Ivy, another big hitter on the block, are new places with an independent spirit even though they’re actually chains. Maybe the fact they are housed in such fantastic buildings gives them the edge over bogstandard, no-charm chains. Bath, let’s face it, has the pick of the choice when it comes to bricks and mortar.

IN THESE WALLS...

It hits you square on when you talk to business owners in this area: almost everyone has a story to tell about their building. From bumps in the night to bank safes, there’s a tale behind every counter. Beth Austin, director at Vinegar Hill, gives us the basics.

“Milsom Street was built in 1762 by Thomas Lightholder. The buildings were originally grand townhouses, but most are now used as shops, offices and banks. When we bought our Bath branch, it was a rather tired Clarks shoe shop, with fittings that were donkey’s years’ old.

“We gutted the shop and restored some of the old coving and any historical details we found. The property used to be a house; our stock rooms still have the remains of the servants’ quarters with an old oven and original flagstone floors, there is even a tunnel going out under the road, but we’re not sure why it was ever there.

“We also think our store might be haunted. More than once, we’ve locked the shop and popped to the cellar to grab some stock and then heard footsteps above even though there was no one upstairs!”

Evidence of private homes abound. Homelets offices used to be Phipps bakery and a private residence before that, and The Italian

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© PAUL GILLIS

The Italian Food Hall’s Luca and Laura love overhearing people say that being in their shop is like being on holiday INSET: Detour into Milsom Place for a mix of famous names, cool pop-us, and breakthrough brands

Food Hall has remnants of a fantastic Georgian kitchen downstairs that could surely tell some tales.

Of course, the privilege of such property comes with responsibility.

Arianna Brissi and her team at Brissi did a lot of work restoring the former glory of their shop when they took it on. “The shop before us used to be Highgrove, HRH The Prince of Wales’ gift emporium, but sadly they had kept most of the ground floor blocked by false walls, with the high ceilings covered by 1970s lower panels. As we began the restoration process of the rest of the building, we started discovering all these hidden Georgian features, such as the glass roof on the back of the property which was totally covered up and in a terrible state, and an original fireplace which now sits in the centre of our Cafe Burano at the back of the store.”

Jamie Pearce, general manager of The Botanist recalls, “The Octagon – where we’re based – has a long history, having been built in 1766 as a private chapel. It then became one of the most well-known antique shops in Europe: Mallet & Sons. The building also served as a rations dispensary and Air Raid Wardens building during WWII, and then a venue for live music. Only the other day, two guests came in and told us that, 40 years ago, they’d attended a concert here, and we’ve had guests tell us they got married here, too.

“I love hearing these types of stories as it emphasises how much this venue is a part of the city’s history.”

The gang at Abbott Lyon have some plans for Bath’s basement tunnels. Philippa says, “We’ve all heard the stories about the secret passages that hide under Bath, and we’re pretty sure there are some below Milsom Street connecting various shops, but most of them are blocked off. We’re hoping there would be a secret passage between our headquarters and the pub; maybe we’ll still find one if we’re lucky...”

STREET LIFE

“We are expecting several new businesses to open this summer”

A mixed bag: accessories brand Abbott Lyon does all its design in-house in its Bath HQ

DOUZE POINTS!

Let’s hear what nearby businesses our judges – the people who live and work in Milsom Street and George Street every day – give full marks to Stefano at Comptoir+Cuisine. The Italian Food Hall – they have amazing artisan products Josh at Hay. So many to mention... Toast (even more so if they bring back their menswear collection!), Round Hill Roastery, Aesop, Corkage, and Bertinet Bakery.

Jamie at Botanist. I’m a big fan of Jolly’s as it has something for everyone. I also enjoy having a florist nearby so that when I work late I

can buy a peace offering for my partner!

products and give great advice.

Philippa at Abbott Lyon. We love Chandos for the food and coffees that sustain us, Portman is our go-to for styling shoots, and Glow Beauty salon just up the road is amazing.

Marcus at Homelets. Comptoir+Cuisine for being so French, Martini Restaurant for serving superb Italian, and Sub 13 for its cocktails.

Jasmine at Vinegar Hill. Anemone is an independent florist with beautiful flowers; Beckford Bottle Shop is great for after-work drinks and light bites; and Topping & Company Booksellers of Bath is probably our favourite bookshop.

Julia at Circo. We love Chandos cafe as everyone is super friendly and helpful and the food and coffees are great. We also like charity shops for really cool and interesting stuff.

Arianna at Brissi. Bertinet Bakery for quality and authenticity.

Anabel Sexton at Boudavida. I love sitting outside at Côte Brasserie in the summer months. It’s a wonderfully relaxed dining experience with such a great vibe and a delicious menu. n

Laura at The Italian Food Hall. Topping on The Paragon as I love their events; and Seasons Natural Health store as they have fantastic

Harriet at Quadri. Le Vignoble, for its nice wines and food.

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ADVERTISING FEATURE

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ADVERTISING FEATURE

Treat yourself in Bath’s newest boutique Philippa May from ABBOTT LYON lets us know what to expect from their new flagship store on Milsom Street…

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bbott Lyon started off as a women’s watch brand back in 2014, working out of the corner of a shared studio and designing unique timepieces for the modern woman.

With a flourishing online business, the brand has expanded to become synonymous with gifting and treating loved ones – or yourself! With a growing collection of watches and jewellery, the brand expanded into premium vegan handbags last year with great success. Now the brand has its sights set on creating the perfect gifting experience in the heart of Bath (their head office is on Gay Street, hence the reason for opening a flagship store here), and they’ve already wowed Milsom Street with the shop make over.

“We have a really loyal fanbase, we treat our customers like our friends, and we use social platforms as a way of

connecting with them,” says Philippa May, “whether that’s giving them style advice, getting feedback to continually excite them, or asking them what they want us to launch next. We genuinely get a thrill from seeing all the amazing photos they share with us of them enjoying our products.

But it’s not really personal if it’s all online, so now we want to give them a space to come and really talk to us, and feel and experience our designs in real life. The new store is not just about buying something special, but about having a genuine special experience with a brand.”

And there’s plenty to browse, with in store exclusives not available online, gift wrapped bags you’ll want to show off, and a truly photo worthy space to enjoy. You can see why Abbott Lyon have wanted to bring their online brand to life.

“We specialise in creating the ultimate treat,” Philippa says.

“Our in-store stylists are there to help you with whatever you need, and women love to come in and treat themselves. Or, with our personalisation services, we can find them something perfect to gift someone else – our watches and jewellery are all available to engrave, for instance, and our handbags look amazing when you make them bespoke with our foil monogramming. And we’re not just here to help the women feel wonderful, as the brand has a big male following too – they know they can trust us to provide them with the perfect jewellery, whatever the occasion, without breaking the bank!

There’s nothing better than helping a confused man find a beautiful watch and having it engraved with an anniversary date – and on top of that we gift wrap it for him too, so there’s no chance of getting it wrong!” ■

SPECIAL OFFER To celebrate the launch of the new Bath boutique, Abbott Lyon are offering Bath Life readers a special 20% off in store and online. All you have to do is quote BATHLIFE when purchasing or as your code online – there’s no better excuse to treat yourself today!

Abbott Lyon, 25 Milsom Street, Bath, BA1 1DG www.abbottlyon.com @abbottlyon www.mediaclash.co.uk I BATH LIFE I 75

BEAUTY ANÉ AURET

A close shave

It’s the hottest topic among the beauty crowd, and it essentially involves shaving your face. Here’s Ané Auret’s dermaplaning review...

W

hen I first heard of dermaplaning – exfoliating facial skin with a very fine scalpel – I had flashbacks to the first time I started to shave. Okay, this was senior school and it was my legs not my face, but I was worried that the effect might be the same – what starts out as one little shave can lead to hairs coming back faster and thicker.

But as someone who is obsessed with finding natural solutions to healthy glowing skin, I was intrigued by dermaplaning. Pain-free, safe and non-invasive, it promises to decongest and brighten your skin, with no downtime. After lots of research on the pros and cons, I found the lovely Alison from Brow Works right here in Bath.

Just spending an hour in Alison’s company feels uplifting and like a treatment in itself, and her dermaplaning skills are also top notch.

What is it, in a nutshell?

Dermaplaning is a relatively simple form of (chemical-free) exfoliation that uses a surgical scalpel blade to gently shave the skin’s surface. This removes the top layer of dead skin cells, dirt, impurities and fine vellus hair (also known as peach fuzz) most commonly around the cheeks and hairline.

It’s for you if…

You want to have baby-soft, glowy skin. A whole range of high-profile

beauty influencers have raved about its youthifying effects; Alison explained that it tackles fine lines, wrinkles, sun damage, enlarged pores and dullness. I’m 43 and, while I have fairly strong skin, I have pigmentation from growing up in the South African sun. Alison assured me I would see a marked difference in my complexion overall.

It’s not for you if…

You have active acne or other inflammatory skin conditions like psoriasis, eczema or rosacea. But if you’re in any doubt, Alison will help you decide whether this is the right procedure for you.

Blow me away with its benefits...

The most immediate benefit is how incredibly smooth your skin feels, but it also: • promotes deeper product penetration, boosting the effects of skincare products • boosts cell turnover • minimises scarring, pigmentation and fine lines • prepares your skin beautifully for makeup Most frequently asked (pretreatment) question...

Will the hair grow back extra dark with a vengeance and double in surface area? Alison assured me that vellus hair is very different from the ‘terminal’ hair that grows on other areas of our bodies, and that it wouldn’t grow back darker or stubbly.

“High-profile beauty influencers have raved about its youthifying effects”

The treatment...

I felt a little queasy when I first saw the scalpel, but I knew I was in good hands. After reclining in Alison’s chair, she thoroughly cleansed my face and then applied a very thin layer of balm to give the blade some slippage on the skin. With gentle, feather-light upward strokes, and only the slightest amount of pressure, Alison held the blade at a 45-degree angle all the way through the treatment, so there is no risk of piercing the skin.

The results...

I had to stop myself from touching my face constantly afterwards since my skin felt so incredibly smooth, especially for the first week. My appointment was at 10am and although I didn’t book any meetings for the rest of the day, it would’ve been totally fine if I did. There was no significant redness at all. I used a gentle cleanser and felt that my other skincare products absorbed so much better. Applying makeup showed the biggest difference, since my skin was so even and smooth.

Aftercare...

It’s really important to not use any exfoliating treatments or be exposed to the sun (without sunscreen) for up to 10 days after the treatment. I

THE TREATMENT DETAILS

Who performed it?

Alison Bartlett of The Brow Works, Valley View, Westwoods, Bath, BA1 7QE (Monday to Wednesday); 07891 739478; info@browworks.co.uk; www.browworks.co.uk What was the cost?

A one-hour appointment was £50

left with a good layer of sunscreen applied and I only put on makeup the next day.

Would I do it again?

Absolutely. Hair will most likely start to grow back after about seven days, but it’s recommended that you repeat the treatment every three or four weeks. For many of us, this may not suit our schedules or budget, but I know for sure that if my skin feels a little dull, or before a big event, I’ll definitely pay Alison a visit.

Ané Auret is a self-confessed beauty obsessive and founder of Bath-based skincare brand Ané. Learn more at www.beautybyane.com and follow her on Instagram @beauty_by_ane

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T h e C u r ta i n E x c h a n g e For the best dressed windows

IN BATH

11 Widcombe Parade, Bath, BA2 4JT | Tel: 01225 422078 | Email: curtainexchange@live.co.uk www.curtainexchangebath.co.uk

ADVERTISING FEATURE

Caring for your dog’s or cat’s teeth You’ll find useful advice, tips and support at BATH VETS surgeries

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ver time, any teeth – yours and your pets – will get bacteria on the enamel surface coating the teeth.

These bacteria feed off little particles of food on the teeth, and grow and spread to cover the surface in an invisible layer called plaque. With no care, this will become visible as the bacteria coat themselves in minerals to become tartar and calculus. As the bacteria grow, they start to invade under the gum line, causing gingivitis – a red, sore gum infection. Eventually this will become periodontitis and will cause the tooth to become loose and fall out, as it destroys the links that hold the tooth to the jaw.

By far and away, the best way to stop this happening to pet’s teeth is by brushing them.

It is generally best to start this young so it can be more easily accepted, but some pets will be happy to start brushing even at a later age.

The process of brushing is simple, and there are many YouTube instructional videos*, if needed.

Do not attempt this if your pet becomes difficult, and you risk being bitten!

You will need: a tooth brush small enough to fit nicely against your pet’s teeth, and some pet friendly toothpaste (not human toothpaste – fluoride isn’t good for their stomachs). This comes in a variety of types and flavours, and we often recommend enzymatic toothpastes.

Soft tooth brushes are best to begin with (finger brushes and child tooth brushes), then work up to normal bristle stiffness as the pet learns to accept the process. Keep it brief to start with but build up, aiming to spend 30-60 seconds on the outsides of all teeth, once a day.

If you cannot brush, then there are few other methods that can help to keep teeth cleaner.

Firstly, dry biscuit food, preferably large biscuits

“YOU WILL NEED: A TOOTH BRUSH SMALL ENOUGH TO FIT NICELY AGAINST YOUR PET’S TEETH, AND SOME PET-FRIENDLY TOOTHPASTE”

that your pet has to bite into. Unlike wet food, this will leave less residue on the teeth to encourage bacteria, encourages saliva which is mildly antibacterial, and will have a small ‘wiping’ effect on some of the teeth as the pet bites into the biscuit.

Secondly, chews, dental sticks and dental toys.

These have similar effects to dry food, in that biting into them will wipe some plaque off the teeth. We generally don’t recommend very hard items, like bones and antlers for this, as there is no wiping effect and occasionally dogs will break bits of bone off and swallow them – or, worse, break their own teeth.

Lastly, food or water additives that reduce plaque formation. These are the least effective, as there is no physical removal of bacteria from the teeth. However, in addition to regular brushing or chewing, they can be helpful. ■ * For dogs we recommend Royal Canin’s ‘How to brush your dog’s teeth’, and for cats try Healthcare For Pets’ ‘Vet tutorial: How to brush a cat’s teeth’.

Rosemary Lodge, Wellsway, Bath, BA2 5RL; 01225 832521; www.bathvetgroup.co.uk f Bath.Vet.Group

OUR CLINICS • Rosemary Lodge Hospital, Wellsway, Bath, BA2 5RL; 01225 832521 • Bath Cat Clinic, 4 Beaufort East, London Road, BA1 6QD; 01225 312061 • Chapel Veterinary Surgery, Forest Road, Melksham, SN12 7AA; 01225 702427 • Marshfield Veterinary Surgery, 57 High Street, Marshfield, SN14 8LR; 01225 891171 • Oldfield Park Veterinary Surgery, 4 Third Avenue, Oldfield Park, BA2 3NY; 01225 423652 • Peasedown Veterinary Surgery, 46 Bath Road, Peasedown St John, BA2 8DL; 01761 435673 • Saltford Veterinary Surgery, 478B Bath Road, Saltford, BS31 3DJ; 01225 872002 • Station Road Veterinary Surgery, Lower Weston, BA1 3DY; 01225 428921 • Park Road Vets, 11 Park Road, Keynsham, Bristol, BS31 1BX; 0117 9339 933

www.mediaclash.co.uk I BATH LIFE I 79

RETIREMENT XXXXX

THE CARE FLAIR BUNCH Every care home and retirement village has a different ambience, driven by staff and residents both. If you’re in the market for making life a little easier – whether for you or someone else, now or in the future – here are a few local places we believe should be on your shortlist

By Paul Marland

Wadswick Green: simply a very pleasant place to live, just with extra help on hand if and when you need it

84 MEDIACLASH.CO.UK

www.mediaclash.co.uk www.mediaclash.co.ukI XXX I BATH LIFELIFE I XX I 81

Enjoying life – and a bottle of wine, it seems – at Oakfield

W

hat do you think of when you imagine retirement homes? Don Ameche and Wilford Brimley sneaking out to snatch life-boosting dips in their neighbour’s alien-powered swimming pool in Cocoon?

Maggie Smith causing a stir among the retired musicians of Quartet? Or perhaps Bath’s own Stephanie Cole running irritated, irritating rings around vain, greedy, penny-pinching care home management in Waiting For God? Well, forget all that. Today’s retirement homes – while obviously a mixed bag, serving different age groups, care requirements, budgets, all that – are another breed, so plush in some cases that we wouldn’t mind moving into them right now. And Bath is an ideal location for many of the very best, being neither stuck out in the middle of nowhere nor crushed between big city tower blocks, and with natural beauty all around.

This year’s Bath Life selection of the very best in the area tend to boast great views and better gardens, flat walks or short bus rides into the middle of town, and plenty to do. They allow flexible ways to buy into the lifestyle too, so you can visit (or even stay a night or two) to see if you like it, and can tailor the amount of care you need depending. (After all, you may feel relatively spry and bouncy today, but we’ll all need a tad more help in the end.)

This isn’t just a place to live, but somewhere to feel supported, happy, valued and respected.”

Charles Otter has owned Cranhill since the early ’90s, and many of the staff have been here for years, giving a real feeling of continuity and community; to ensure relatives and friends can visit as much as possible, it’s pretty much an open house, with guests staying for lunch and a friendly, intimate family atmosphere.

“We believe residents should be treated as individuals,” Virginia says, “so encourage independence and individual choice. There’s always something going on too, from Flexercise and gentle chair yoga classes to regular visits from entertainers like Now & Then, Reminiscing with Margaret Brown, and Mike Renton & Friends.”

They often hold tea parties here to mark each resident’s birthday too, while newbies are actively encouraged to join in with everything that’s going on. “These parties are supereffective at getting people talking, building relationships and combatting the natural tendency to isolate,” Virginia says. “They also triggers happy memories of times when residents were stronger, more important, and generally felt better about themselves – a real self-esteem boost.”

“Today’s retirement homes are another breed”

CRANHILL NURSING HOME

Bath’s oldest, and right next to the Botanical Gardens, too The situation is pretty great, you’d have to say: wedged next to the Approach Golf Course, and with Vicky Park’s Botanical Gardens just across the road, it’s a nice flat walk into town – 20 minutes should do it – or an even quicker bus ride. Well hidden amongst trees – the south-facing grounds are pretty extensive, and when you eventually get to the house itself it’s a rather fancy Grade-II listed affair – it’s all rather Downton, and with you cast as the Crawleys rather than the downstairs types too.

“Cranhill retains the traditional feel of a stately home, with a large, elegant lounge and open fire in the reception area,” says manager Virginia Hughes. “We’ve only got 25 rooms, 15 of them with en suites.

82 I BATH LIFE I www.mediaclash.co.uk

Tell us a bit more about the services offered, Virginia…

We provide the whole range, including respite, convalescence, residential and nursing care. We also support and care for residents living with dementia, and those requiring treatment for disease, disorder or injury.

We take great pride in our end of life care, too.

You’ve got it all covered, then?

Oh yes. Many choose Cranhill as their permanent home, and it’s ideal if you’re after a safe environment where quality care is always at hand.

Others come for only a couple of weeks, perhaps to give their regular carers a break, while a few come to convalesce after a period in hospital, regaining their full health before returning home.

What do you say to people unsure about entering a home?

I understand their fears: the loss of independence and dignity, and the simple fact that they don’t want to leave their own home and neighbours.

RETIREMENT That’s why we adapt our care to suit each person. Each resident can have their room just how they want it, perhaps even bringing their own furniture. It’s all about maintaining rights, identity and independence as individuals. It doesn’t matter how long they’re staying, we want them to consider – from the moment they arrive – that Cranhill is their home.

Cranhill Nursing Home, Weston Road, Bath; 01225 422321; www.cranhillnursinghome.co.uk

IVYBANK HOUSE

Up by the gold course, and with glorious views over the city On the southern slopes above Bath, near Entry Hill Golf Course, sits residential retirement home Ivybank House. “We’re home to men, women and couples over the age of 65 with low to moderate care needs and a zest for life,” says manager Olivia Butler. “We’re a very sociable home, and there’s always something going on, from arts and crafts to yoga, adventures out and about to beauty therapies.”

Indeed, they even have their own on-site hairdresser, and in summer offer two or three days out a week, with, says Olivia, “our residents deciding where we go – and nowhere is off-limits!” (The mind boggles.)

Of course, with some finding large groups difficult to deal with, oneto-one programmes and quieter activities are offered too; it’s all about allowing each resident to find their niche while keeping as active and involved as possible.

So, what sort of stuff’s going on? Well, the monthly men’s club might involve a fishing trip or a woodwork class – or just a wander down the pub – while regular physiotherapist visits help those who might have lost a little mobility.

“We like to keep the home active,” Olivia says, “so residents are encouraged to walk around the grounds, go into town, and participate in weekly in-house movement and activity classes. Family and friends are encouraged to join us for meals or just to visit, and can often join in the activities for a small fee.” Indeed, the large lounge can be booked for a family party – or just to curl up and watch TV together – making this as much like a private home as possible.

It can be daunting coming to live in a care home, can’t it, Olivia?

It can, so we offer a really flexible programme for people just starting to think about care. There’s a day rate, an overnight rate, a weekend rate and a weekly rate, so potential residents can ‘try before they buy’, getting a feeling for the home – and all the activities!

What’s the best thing a resident can tell you?

Just how much at home they feel! We hold monthly residents and families meetings, so we can get feedback and keep making improvements, and I love to hear when people have made new friends and feel part of a wider family – one that still includes their own families, of course, but also the other residents and the team here.

Ivybank House Care Home, Ivybank Park, Bath; 01225 560856; www.brighterkind.com/care-homes/ivybank-house

LAMBROOK COURT

Luxurious age-exclusive apartments in Larkhall Lambrook Court is one of the bigger options in the area, offering 51 modern, stylish and generously proportioned apartments, each one perfect for a relaxed and independent retirement. They all have double glazing, underfloor heating and top-notch kitchens and bathrooms, and some come with private balconies or patios – or even two bedrooms – while there’s a bistro-style restaurant on site, as well as a shared lounge, functions room and rather lovely landscaped gardens. Got family coming to stay? Then they can book the guest suite.

“Our apartments are aimed at residents over 70 years old who want to maintain their independence for longer and live retirement to the full,” says group communications manager Matt Plain. “There is an on-site, 24-hour estates management team, and an emergency call system for added peace of mind. As a Retirement Living Plus development, we’re able to provide personal care services tailored to an individual’s needs – and, of course, all external property maintenance, from gardening

The bright skies of Lambridge shine over Lambrook Court

www.mediaclash.co.uk I BATH LIFE I 83

RETIREMENT Great views and plenty of light in this Wadswick Green kitchen

to window cleaning, is taken care of. There are trips out, keep fit sessions organised, and a wide range of residents’ clubs.

Sounds like a good compromise between independent living and entering a retirement home, Matt...

Losing your independence is a concern for many.

However, we don’t just build homes, we also create communities – and support our customers every step of the way. Residents’ homes are much better than they used to be: they’re more energy efficient, with improved fixtures and fittings and larger communal areas. We try to provide the perfect foundations to enrich the lives of older people.

The older generations often talk about loneliness, so we can see how this might help with that…

Earlier this year, we launched our Takes One Campaign, which encourages people to engage in a small gesture of friendship with the older people living around them. We also have another campaign, Pen Pals, which focusses on bringing those over 60 together through the written word. Helping create new friendships is the best way to combat loneliness. Time and time again we hear from our homeowners that buying one of our apartments has been, “the best move I’ve ever made.”

They say they wish they’d done it years ago.

Lambert Court, Gloucester Road, Bath; www.mccarthyandstone.co.uk/lambrookcourt

OAKFIELD CARE HOME

Relaxing and deer-visited, on the edge of Weston Village On Weston Park – that very desirable road between Royal Victoria Park and Weston Village – you’ll find the Grade-II listed Oakfield Care Home, which enjoys weekly visits from an on-site hairdresser, monthly sessions with a chiropodist, and – we’re told – visits from local deer on a more regular (if rather less predictable) schedule.

Eye tests are also available, as is a daily activities programme, both one-to-one or communal, depending on everyone there’s wants and needs. The local churches and schools visit regularly, but the residents get out and about too – most recently to the local owl and bird of prey centre.

“We have a nursing team on duty 24 hours a day,” says manager Shaun Lock, “and our allocated GP makes a weekly house call. But one of the best ways for residents to stay fit and healthy, we’ve found, is through our new Caring Partners programme, designed to take the effort out of finding the help you need by bringing it into Oakfield itself.”

To allow prospective residents to see if Oakfield might be right for them, they’re encouraged to come for a visit and chat to other residents, perhaps taking part in an activity or sharing a meal. “We encourage people to keep their personal items here, and have visitors any time during the day,” Shaun says. “They can use tablets and computers, and we’ve recently launched an app service to share stories and photos with loved ones.”

WADSWICK GREEN

Lifestyle village for over-60s in Corsham Now this one’s rather fancy: pet-friendly, and with its own fully equipped gym, beauty spa, and on-site hair salon – not to mention a swimming pool – it sounds more like a weekend retreat than your run-of-the-mill retirement home. There’s even a restaurant, open to the public and residents alike, called The Greenhouse – plus beautiful landscape grounds, a croquet lawn and allotments.

And fun doesn’t stop there, for there are classes in Zumba and Quigong – a pleasantly slow-paced exercise, not entirely unlike tai chi – to keep you busy, plus further activities ranging from aerobics to painting, while everyday life is made as stress-free as possible, thanks to help with everything from transport to food shopping.

“Some retirees fear changing their lifestyle and losing their independence,” says sales and marketing director Angela McKimmie, “which is why all our properties are sold on a ‘lock up and leave’ basis, with their own address and front door. Our Almond Close apartments boast brand new Neff appliances in their kitchens, plus high-quality hardwood flooring and modern furniture. They allows residents to live just as they did before – only with extra support available, should they need it.”

“It sounds more like a weekend retreat than your run-of-the-mill retirement home”

Shaun, what’s the best feedback you get from your residents?

That they appreciate our team and the care they give. We constantly hold residents and families meetings to get feedback, and keep making improvements guided by what they say.

Oakfield Care Home, Weston Park, Weston Village, Bath; 01225 560579; www.brighterkind.com/care-homes/oakfield

84 I BATH LIFE I www.mediaclash.co.uk

This sounds like a fun place, Angela...

We believe it’s very important that residents don’t feel isolated, but are instead part of the local community. They really like that The Greenhouse is popular with residents and locals alike, for instance, and that they can host friends and family anytime they wish, using the guest suite. It helps them stay in touch with their loved ones.

But there’s still help around if they need it…

Which many residents say gives real peace of mind. We often hear that they feel less isolated at Wadswick Green, and find themselves feeling much better and fitter in this new environment – which is always a pleasure to hear. n The Pavilion, Roundwood Way, Corsham; 01225 584500; www.wadswickgreen.co.uk

Crafting beautiful homes Southwinds Farm, nr Rode

from ÂŁ795,000

01225 791155 ashford-homes.co.uk

ADVERTISING FEATURE

Plan! Plan! Plan!

Local legal expert HELEN STARKIE offers up useful advice for living a happy, healthy life right through your retirement years

T

his issue of Bath Life focuses, in part, upon retirement – which is not to say that it should only be of interest to those of retirement age. As Joan Bakewell says, we must all, “Plan! Plan! Plan!”

A long period of retirement is a new phenomenon. For the first time in recorded history there will, within the next year, be more people in the world aged over 65 than under five. And – for some reason – governments throughout the world did not see this coming and did not, “Plan! Plan! Plan!” Our own health service is really struggling. According to recent records, over 25% of hospital beds are now occupied by dementia patients.

Office for National Statistics figures show that one in three babies born today will reach their 100th birthday, so the problem will grow.

This makes it all the more important that we make our own plans for our coming years.

Research detailed in Camilla Cavendish’s new book, Extra Time, 10 Lessons for the Ageing World, confirms that, unsurprisingly, it is the active and engaged amongst us who fare best in our later years. There is less illness – and, in particular, dementia – amongst those who keep moving (aerobic exercise is especially important), eat well and, crucially, socialise – particularly with different age groups.

Camilla points out that if we get cancer the NHS pays for our treatment, but if we suffer from dementia then – unless it is in its terminal stages and we have to be hospitalised – we have to pay for it ourselves, in care homes.

Almost all my clients tell me that they will ‘never go into a home’. But sometimes, later down the line, they are left with no option, as full-time care for them in their own home proves impossible. For these people, it is important to find the right care home, bearing in mind what Camilla notes about activity, diet and socialisation. We help them do that where necessary, but it would be worthwhile for all of us to research what differentiates one care home from another in our area, and what is important for us in our own day-to-day lives – so that, if the need ever arises, the new lifestyle will not be totally unfamiliar and will meet our needs.

Care homes have a reputation for providing a sedentary and unstimulating lifestyle, but there are homes locally which encourage independence, contact with youngsters

“PRIVATE PENSIONS ARE EVER MORE IMPORTANT IF WE ARE TO ENJOY OUR RETIREMENT YEARS” (helping children with their reading, for example) and getting out and about to the theatre, historic houses and gardens, etc.

Financially, of course, we should plan.

Private pensions are ever more important if we are to enjoy our retirement years. Take advice on these from an Independent Financial Adviser. If you are a couple, own your own home and are worried by the spectre of future care fees, your solicitor can advise you on how to ring-fence half the value of your property in certain circumstances. (And without setting up unnecessary, expensive lifetime trusts, as offered by non-regulated, uninsured bodies!)

Be careful of funeral plans. They are often not at all what they seem. Take advice from a professional, not the provider, before signing.

If you have your affairs in good order then you can really enjoy retirement knowing that, if a crisis should arise, you are prepared. In addition to dealing with the issues mentioned above, you need to have in place an up-todate Will and Lasting Powers of Attorney in respect of both your finances and your welfare.

You should never try to make a homemade Will. It will be a false economy, and a

well-drawn Will should be prepared with tax implications and savings in mind.

Yes, you can make Lasting Powers of Attorney yourself online. However, there are certain refinements (particularly in finance Lasting Powers) which a solicitor drafting such a document for you might advise you to incorporate, and which you would probably not think to include yourself. Again, I would advise having the job done professionally by a fully qualified, regulated and insured solicitor. (“You would, wouldn’t you?”, I hear you cry.

“Since it is how you earn your crust!”) But that is not, I promise, the reason for the advice.

And then you can relax! ■

Helen Starkie Solicitor 23 Gay Street, Bath, BA1 2PD; 01225 442353; www.helenstarkie.co.uk www.mediaclash.co.uk I BATH LIFE I 87

CLOCKWISE: Sweeping enough for you? Cantock

Sands; just add smugglers; foam party down Fistral; Lusty Glaze – like an Ibiza beach club in summer, gloriously cosy in winter

ROCK AND ROLLERS We visit the UK’s capital of surfing, now offering entertainment, elevated cuisine and a long, wave-battered coastline

By Deri Robins

88 I BATH LIFE I www.mediaclash.co.uk

GREAT ESCAPES

T OH, AND SINCE YOU’RE IN THE AREA . . .

If you’re down for a couple of days, and want to mosey around a classic Cornish fishing village (and, hell, who doesn’t?) then hightail it to the nearby Padstow.

Here, Rick Stein’s fishy empire holds sway. There’s his Seafood Restaurant; his Fish & Chips; his Gift Shop, and his Deli – and just as you have all those sorted in your head, you discover Rick Stein’s Café tucked away in Middle Street.

Thought that was confusing? Then know this: the name is disingenuous.

It may call itself a café; it may have more than a soupçon of old-school seaside charm with its scrubbed wooden tables; but the cooking is as ambitious (Asian fusion), the service as smooth, the dining as fine as you’d find at a restaurant with a far posher name.

A pair of lethally good spiced apple daiquiris preceded a bowlful of plump mussels with chilli, garlic and ginger (me) and fat, fish-heavy, potato-lite cod fishcakes (him).

Ignore perceived wisdom about sea bass being too delicate and easily overwhelmed to take strong flavours; served here, in a hot sweet chilli sauce with crunchy cashews, ours was up there as one of our best dishes of the year.

Dining à la carte here isn’t cheap, but the three-course menu at £24.95 is an absolute steal for food of this quality and refinement. It’s not exactly a secret, though; booking ahead is recommended.

o reach the Lusty Glaze restaurant, deep in a Cornish cove surrounded by 200ft-high cliffs, you have three choices: go by boat, stumble down a set of 133 steps clinging to the side of the cliff, or whizz in by zip-wire.

In the realms of surreal access to restaurants, clearly we are dealing with giants here. But it appears to put nobody off. Demi Moore apparently once opted for the zip-wire route, while visiting with Ashton and the kids (what, and he still left her for Mila?).

We, however, clambered gingerly down the 133 fairylit steps on a dark November night. Even though a force five south-westerly whipped in off the Atlantic, I think we managed our descent with an acceptable degree of aplomb.

Whatever your means of arrival, you’ll be glad you made the effort. The restaurant sits in – well, dominates – the cove, looking out west across the Atlantic. On a hot summer’s day, you could be at an Ibizan beach club; the stretch of sand it fronts was named the best beach in Britain by The Times last year. In winter, the surf is pounding outside, but in the restaurant the log burners are roaring away, the day’s catch is in, and dishes are being prepared – try the mussels in cream sauce. If I told you how many we had, you wouldn’t believe me.

By the way, the words ‘Lusty Glaze’ aren’t anything to do with what you might think; the only saucy thing here is the stuff you get with the aforementioned mussels. In fact, ‘Lusty Glaze’ comes from the old Cornish meaning ‘a place to view blue boats’. Which sounds fair enough, if somewhat niche.

After clambering back up the steps, you’ll be wondering where to stay. Nowhere better than nearby Lewinnick Lodge, a hotel perched with admirable bravado right on the cliff edge. Modest enough from the outside, it’s rife with luxurious

boutiquery within; picture windows frame views along the snarling coastline, the roar of the sea is a constant, and you’ll wish you’d packed your complete Penguin set of Daphne du Mauriers.

But we have to get underway. Put those binoculars down (supplied in every room) and get ready for Newquay. This is the capital of surfing UK. Fistral Beach, just west of the town, is its number one centre – dudes relax in dunes before braving the rollers, which have had 3,000 miles to pick up speed before crashing into Cornwall.

There’s a surf school, surf shop and beach bar.

The natural grandeur of Newquay’s beaches has remained unchanged since the tectonic plates first began to inch about. But the town itself is transformed. Yes, you can still get your candyfloss and your slot machines, but next door to the amusement arcade you’re just as likely to find silent disco yoga or a vegan café. Top chef Nathan Outlaw recently named Newquay’s Kahuna as his “under-theradar” choice of where to eat in Cornwall.

(Not under the radar now!) The hipsters have arrived, and co-exist alongside the surfers, the families, the dogwalkers, the ramblers, and you.

Newquay’s beaches include Cantock, whose beautiful white dunes are bound together by marram grass as tough as fisherman’s twine. The esoteric sounding Polly Joke beach is no laughing matter; the name comes from the ‘Porth Lojowek’ meaning ‘cove abounding in vegetation’. This is no idle boast — it’s bounded by National Trust land, and is a top destination for those studying marine botany.

This area of Cornwall is renowned for is surfing, but today is attracting new visitors to its destination hotels and its clifftop walks. Of course, heavy weather isn’t uncommon; but you already knew that. It just means that the changing drama of the seascapes, the cuisine and the craft beer is a huge attraction, no matter what time of the year you decide to visit.

“‘Lusty Glaze’ comes from the old Cornish meaning ‘a place to view blue boats’. Which sounds fair enough, if somewhat niche”

TRAVEL DETAILS Lewinnick Lodge, Pentire Headland, Newquay, Cornwall, TR7 1QD (01637) 878 117; www.lewinnicklodge.co.uk

For more: www.rickstein.com www.mediaclash.co.uk I BATH LIFE I 89

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 Accommodation Manager: Sarah Wringer, KIE Bath, 5 Trim Street, Bath, BA1 1HB Direct Line (01225) 473502, Email: sarah.wringer@kaplan.com

BUSINESSINSIGHTS B AT H G E T S S E R I O U S

TESTAMENT TO YOUTH

SPONSORED BY:

No Chris Eubank, sadly, but the great and the good were out for the unveiling of the impressive new extension at Bath Youth Hostel Wera Hobhouse and the crew at the Youth Hostel opening Barry Newbury (centre) with the Epoch partners

Bath Youth Hostel now boasts a new £2.5m environmentallyfriendly bedroom annex, not only ensuring its future for the foreseeable – this is the single biggest investment youth charity YHA has ever made in a Youth Hostel in the South West, after all – but making what was already a pretty damn pleasant place to stay even nicer. The main building – a handsome, recently refurbished Grade-II listed Italian-style mansion on Bathwick Hill – has been operating as a Youth Hostel since 1953, while the new annex is built into the sloping ground behind and features 11 new en suite bedrooms, all aimed more at the family and couples market.

“Bath is one of the jewels in the YHA crown,” says YHA chief executive James Blake, “and has been one of our most treasured sites since it opened nearly 70 years ago. Its prominent position means

A challenging site?

It would appear so

it acts as a gateway to both the city and the South West, helping us attract thousands of visitors and schools to stay with us each year.”

And with new facilities like this, those numbers will only go up, we’d imagine.

Local MP Wera Hobhouse, who was there are at the opening, is certainly impressed. “YHA is so much more than a low-cost accommodation provider,” she says. “From a parent’s point of view, I can confidently say that the opportunity for affordable travel it provides can help shape young lives.”

For more: www.yha.org.uk

EPOCH EVOLUTION In a not unimportant move, London-based Brewin Dolphin – an investment, wealth management and financial advice outfit with 30 offices nationwide – has bought Bath IFA firm Epoch Wealth Management of Queen Square Place. Epoch managing partner Barry Newbury and his 37-strong team will now become Brewin Dolphin employees, while their office will become the company’s 31st site. “We plan to go from strength to strength,” he says, “with ambitious growth plans and the same team that has served our clients so well for many years, just now under the Brewin Dolphin name.”

For more: www.brewin.co.uk

www.mediaclash.co.uk MEDIACLASH.CO.UK I BATH LIFE I 115 91

SPONSORED BY:

BUSINESS INSIGHTS

HOLLAND’S OPUS 8 Holland Street will launch at Margaret’s Buildings in Bath this June, a second site for the Kensington, London-based gallery and design store – no prizes for guessing its address in the capital! – which specialises in textiles, ceramics and contemporary homeware. There’ll be slightly less furniture and slightly more smaller items at the Bath offshoot than the original, but the double-height space certainly promises to be impressive, packed with Victorian display cases, and replete with mahogany shop counters, stripped pine floors and gilded glass lettering. This place was once the old wine and grocer merchant Cater, Stoffell and Fortt – they don’t name shops like that any more! – but instead of Bath Olivier biscuits and the likes, it will now host the works of British designers like ceramicist Ali Hewson, artist duo Forest + Found, marble-paper maker Florence Saumarez and the studio potters of Leach Pottery in St. Ives.

For more: 8hollandstreet.com Gerald Creed (on the right at the front) passes over charity-earned medical kit with too long a name to say here

HEART LIKE A WHEEL Eclectic, unusual interiors choices from a range of UK and European makers

What do you think when you hear the term ‘Big Hearted Bike’? No, not the village equivalent of Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman – you should be ashamed of yourself ! – but, rather, an ace charity day to raise money for the Intensive Care Unit of the Bristol Heart Institute at the BRI, which offers open heart surgery to patients from Bath, Bristol and around. Sponsored by local law firm Stone King and dreamed up by businessman Gerald Creed, the cycling event follows the successful Big Hearted Valentine’s Ball (£7k raised!) earlier in the year, and takes place at the Odd Down Circuit in Bath on 6 October. Yep, that’s a way off yet – but it gives you the whole summer to get your practice in.

For more: www.bigheartedvalentinesball.co.uk

ABOVE DECKS

The appeal here is simple: do you chose comfort, or ruined white jeans?

92 I BATH LIFE I www.mediaclash.co.uk

Here’s a simple business proposition: what will people like more than sitting in the sun in front of the Royal Crescent? Sitting in the sun in front of the Royal Crescent without getting your bum sodden and dirty on the grass, of course! Cheeks on Seats is backed

by Bath Rugby’s Jamie Roberts and has 100 snazzy navy blue deckchairs, which you can book in advance or on the day. The cost? Currently £2 an hour, and they take contactless and Apple Pay; more locations will be announced soon.

For more: www.cheeksonseats.co.uk

SPONSORED BY:

Okay, so real-life robots don‘t look quite like the movies promised us, but they’re exceedingly clever all the same With a whooping, engaged crowd, the Creative Bath Awards are always lively

CREATIVE BATH AWARDS

GUESS WHO MADE THE SHORTLIST?

Excitement is building for this year’s Creative Bath Awards on June 13; in just about every way we can think of, it’s gonna be the biggest one yet

RISE OF THE ROBOTS Unfortunately, these students from University of Bath’s Centre for Orthopaedic Biomechanics didn’t actually build the Stryker Mako roboticarm you see with them here – Tony Stark they are not – but that doesn’t render it any less impressive.

This super-clever tool has been designed for assisting with knee and hip joint replacements, is credited with allowing improved precision during operations and quicker recovery times, and lives at the award-winning Circle Bath Hospital at Peasedown St John. Of course, now they’ve had such great hands-on experience, these two might just be instrumental in helping create whatever yetsmarter gizmo eventually replaces it…

For more: circle health.co.uk/bath

The all-important finalists for the Creative Bath Awards have been revealed, with the full list unveiled on page 98 of this issue. But, before you scoot over there for a gander, please remain here with us for a moment, as we’ve a few more things to say.

One is that this will be Bath’s biggestever creative awards; another is that this year saw a record number of applications; and a third is that the excitement is building more rapidly than ever. (Certainly, Twitter lit up like a Christmas tree when the announcement was first made back in April.) The awards themselves will be held in Queen Square on 13 June, and this year feature a brand-new ‘Inspiration’ category, created in memory of headmistress Sue East of St Andrew’s Primary School, taken from us far too soon.

Tickets to both the awards and Queen Square Summer Party surrounding it – where you can enjoy music, street food

and entertainment until late – are now on sale, and cost £30. Alternatively, for just £10 you can come along to the Party only – you won’t be allowed to enter the awards marquee itself, naturally, but you will be close enough to hear the cheers.

“In previous years, announcing our finalists has had a huge impact on tickets selling quickly,” says Lucy Plummer, community manager at Creative Bath. “So I’d urge finalists, businesses, friends and supporters to secure yours asap. Ticket numbers will be updated via Twitter and email, so keep your eyes peeled.”

And that’s not all, for finalists also got to enjoy a special Sponsors and Finalists Reception event at The Bird on 9 May, where they mingled with other hopefuls, alongside headline sponsors Bath Spa University, and all the category sponsors.

For more: www.creativebathawards.org; @CreativeBath

SPONSORED BY:

BUSINESS INSIGHTS

BATH SPORTS NEWS All the latest goings-on from pitch, track and pool

BUSINESS MATTERS DIARY

MOVERS AND SHAKERS ETC

From networking breakfasts to invaluable evening courses, make a note of the courses and classes that will help your business flourish 16 MAY GO GET NETWORKING Another spot-on networking opportunity for small businesses, offering a relaxed environment and – this time – a free 30-minute course on sustainability from Andy Weeks of Planet Mark right after. 9.30-11.15am; £6.50; Apex City of Bath Hotel; www.gogetorganised.co.uk 17 MAY MANAGE YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH TIME The two-hour workshop helps you run your diary, and stops your diary from running you. The workshop heaves with practical tools by business coaches Peter Rolliston and Nigel Scott. 9.3011.30am; £54; Cumberwell Park Golf Club, Bradford on Avon; www.cumberwellpark.com Siobhan-Marie O’Connor, Korea on her mind

FAST, NOT FURIOUS It’s hardly news that University of Bath produces good swimmers on occasion – it is home to one of British Swimming’s two National Centres, after all – but recent results have been astonishing.

At the 2019 British Swimming Championship the team took four gold medals, among a total haul of a dynamic dozen gongs.

This all took place over six action-packed days at Tollcross International Swimming Centre in Glasgow, with James Guy leading the medal haul, scoring victories in both the 100m butterfly (51.97) and 200m butterfly (1:56.51), before adding silver in the final event of the week – the 200m freestyle (1:46.34).

(Since we know just how much swimming merely a width of butterfly destroys us, colour us more than impressed.)

Then, in the same race that James won silver, his teammate Tom Dean finished strongly to take bronze in a lifetime best of 1:46.86. Tom also won a superb 200m individual medley silver medal in a new age-group record of 1:58.89, while Rio 2016 Olympic medallist Siobhan-Marie O’Connor finished clear victor in the 200m individual medley, completing it in 2:10.34. “Being British Champion is great,” she says, “but I’m thinking about what’s to come [at the World Championships in South Korea] in the summer, so this is a stepping stone towards that.”

Other winners included a silver for Jessica Fullalove in the 100m backstroke, a gold for her in the 200m final, and a silver for Kieran Bird in the 400m freestyle.

For more: teambath.com/swimming

22 MAY PROJECT MANAGEMENT: DELIVERING HIGH QUALITY OUTCOMES Whatever you’re trying to achieve, good project management is a key skill for delivering successful, quality results on any project. Learn the principles and processes here with Dr Teri Okoro of TOCA and RIBA Southwest. 2.30-7pm; £18£110.40; BRSLI; www.brlsi.org 23 MAY BATH PROPERTY SEMINAR This free insight into the Bath property market features turns by experts from Bishop Fleming, Savills and Handelsbanken.

4-6.30pm; Apex City of Bath Hotel; www.bishopfleming.co.uk 23 MAY STRATEGY AND BUSINESS PLANNING WORKSHOP Free session for local businesses looking to grow – in terms of turnover, staff, locations, profit, or by whatever criteria you choose.

9am-5pm; Bath and County Club; www.bathandcountyclub.com

James McNeile: understandably happy

YOUR VERY GOOD WEALTH

Bath-based Royds Withy King isn’t just a Bath Life Awards winner; it’s also been named one of 2019’s leading private wealth law firms by top online industry mag, eprivateclient. Each year these guys survey over 140 private client law firms, rating them not just by size, but rep, quality of service, recent performance and more. “This latest accolade is an endorsement of the high standards and hard work we’re committed to delivering,” says James McNeile, the company’s head of private client.

For more: roydswithyking.com

FAST COMPANY

Similarly, Bath-based eyewear designer INSPECS, of Upper Bristol Road, has just made the Sunday Times Fast Track Profit 100 ‘Ones to Watch’ list; they make eight million frames annually for international brands, have offices in Portugal, the US, China and Vietnam, and forecast a £9.5m profit this year.

For more: fastback.co.uk

TALES OF OUR CITY

According to Good Move (think webuyanycar.com, but for houses), Bath and North East Somerset is now the second biggest housing hotspot for young people – here defined as 18-34 year olds – in the UK, hot on the heels of… no, not London, but Coventry. (The capital is actually losing its young adults at the fastest rate.)

Meanwhile, we’re also told Bath is now the third best city in the UK for recycling, behind the similarly small-butposh St Albans and Chester, and neckand-neck with (but just beating) Perth.

This is according to leading eco-brand The Solar Centre, which also names those not pulling their weight: hang your heads in shame Glasgow, Portsmouth and – worst of all – Brum.

For more: goodmove.co.uk; thesolarcentre.co.uk

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BUSINESS INSIGHTS

BATH LIFE AWARDS 2019

AARON EVANS ARCHITECTS won the Property category at the recent Bath Life Awards. Here’s managing director Kevin Murphy to tell us how that felt…

PROPERTY WINNER SPONSORED BY

Tell us, Kevin: how did it feel to win a Bath Life Award?

We were absolutely delighted, of course – and honestly surprised. This was such a wide-ranging category I didn’t envy the judges having to make a decision.

How did you celebrate?

It sits proudly in our reception, alongside the inaugural Bath Property Award for ‘Architect’ that we won in November 2018. Actually, they’re the first things anyone sees as they enter the office.

Why do you think you won?

Having just celebrated our 40th anniversary as a practice in Bath, we’ve designed and delivered a number of the city’s most recognisable buildings. As a result, we’ve earned a strong local and regional reputation.

I think it was this contribution to the city that the judges rewarded, though our client testimonials may also have swung it.

What sets you apart?

We treat each project [including Seven Dials, Sawclose and the Odeon Cinema]

with the same care and attention, regardless of size or value. We often find answers to difficult design and planning problems where others have struggled or failed, and we’ve an excellent track record in securing planning and listed building consents first time in Bath and the wider area.

Our clients tell us how much they enjoy working with us, too.

Do you love your job?

Yes, our projects are incredibly varied and present unique challenges, so I’m never bored. Most of all, I get to work alongside a great team and with clients who appreciate and respect the added value we bring to their projects.

And how about being in Bath?

To work, live and play in city that is a World Heritage Site is a privilege.

Not only do we enjoy a great built

© SOUL MEDIA

There was much backslapping and congratulations on the night, naturally, then we cracked open the champagne the following week with everyone in the office.

And where is your award now?

environment, we are also blessed with outstanding countryside around us.

Couple this with a strong, creative and vibrant business community, and I can’t think of a better place to work.

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve been given?

Trust in your own judgment, and do what you say. We are paid to provide professional advice, so we shouldn’t be afraid to give it.

“WE FIND ANSWERS TO DIFFICULT DESIGN AND PLANNING PROBLEMS WHERE OTHERS HAVE STRUGGLED OR FAILED” Business heroes?

Not business, perhaps, but many years ago I was inspired by a biography of Ernest Shackleton and the story of the Endurance Expedition. He famously said, ‘Difficulties are just things to overcome, after all’, and this approach has become embedded in my way of thinking as an architect, businessman, and my approach to life in general.

Any good projects coming up?

We’ve two significant master-planning projects in the pipeline, one in Bristol and one in Devon, and have just secured consent for a new Dance and Fitness Studio at Royal High School.

Finally, tell us something that might surprise us…

Kevin basking in the glory at this year’s Bath Life Awards

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I came to Bath in 1982 to study architecture at the University of Bath, and now work alongside two senior colleagues, Phil and Mark, who I graduated with. And my fellow director, Richard – also a Bath graduate – was founder Aaron’s first employee, 39 years ago!

For more: www.aaronevans.com

SERVICES GUIDE HOME CARE

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GARDENS

SHE’S ELECTRIC Starting life within a walled garden in Bradford on Avon, Electric Daisy Flower Farm has grown into something spectacular...

Words by Nick Woodhouse Photos by Piers Bizony

A

s I arrived at Electric Daisy Flower Farm recently, there was a real buzz in the air. And it wasn’t just because of the name; the team had a lot to do.

A few months ago, owner Fiona Haser Bizony received an unexpected call asking if she’d like to open a store in London. And so, this summer will see the first batch of freshly cut flowers making their way from Bath to Hampstead’s Swain’s Lane development. Here, Electric Daisy will sit aside a bookshop, a bakery, a fishmonger and a butcher, all contacted by a committee of Hampstead locals wanting to attract independent businesses that were passionate about what they did.

These were formative years for Fiona, instilling a greater interest in organic produce. What she couldn’t grow at home, she bought from the local organic cooperative. The country has always been far more advanced in its understanding of the environment and our impact on it, and this resolve has stayed with her ever since.

When Fiona returned home, it was to Bradford on Avon. There, she bought a property on Silver Street, turning it into a gallery space and studios. Fiona wanted the space to bring the community closer together, sometimes in an unexpected way. Enter the infamous life-size chocolate Jesus at Easter, and ‘Coat in a Day’, where a sheep was sheered, wool spun, and a coat produced within 24 hours. It’s in Fiona’s nature to put her all into everything, so, over time, this took its toll; she was exhausted and turned her attention to the gentler art of growing plants. Plants, she explains, don’t talk back.

It was this decision that led her to immerse herself in learning about all aspects of plant growing. As well as studying the RHS Level 2 Certificate at Lackham, she took further courses on cut flowers and specific plants, such as sweet peas, roses and dahlias. She consolidated this learning with hands-on experience, ensuring now that everything at the farm has a function.

Plants are carefully curated for their colour palette, reliability and practicality for floristry.

Spreadsheets rule here, meticulously compiled and updated to ensure a wealth of colour, foliage and interest throughout the seasons.

The RHS has recognised this accumulated knowledge, inviting Fiona to join their advisory panel on cut flowers. This acknowledgment has also extended to the publishing world, with the farm being featured in Phaidon Press’s recent publication on contemporary floral design, Bloom.

The field comes with its limitations. It’s gently sloping, has a tendency to clay in parts

“The farm’s evolution is very much a collaborative one” The farm is now in its fifth year. Starting life within a walled garden in Bradford on Avon, demand for their flowers and bouquets was such that they quickly outgrew the space. So, last year, the farm moved to a new, secret spot just outside Bath. At the time, the field was home to just a barn and chicken shed; this was soon to change. As I arrived there to meet Fiona, the finishing touches were being added to a pond; not only will this help the drainage for the planting beds, it will also offer the team the opportunity for a cooling dip in the hotter months.

This is somewhat of a career change for Fiona. Originally from Bath, Fiona moved to Brighton to study 3D design and then to Germany’s Black Forest where she lived for 12 years, squatting in a former match factory.

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and has, despite the farm’s name, no electricity.

Three hundred leylandii are soon to be planted to protect the plants from the prevailing winds, and plant choices have been carefully chosen to suit the changing composition of the soil throughout the field. The team has also adopted a no-dig policy using green manure that will ultimately provide a rich, healthy and weed-free soil. This process is core to their ethos of an ethical harvest, using sustainable practices that are fully organic.

As Fiona takes me on a tour around the farm, I’m astounded by what’s been done in just a year. Polytunnels, verdant with annuals and perennials, sit alongside cutting beds and a rose garden, that Fiona wishes to extend to 500 plants covering around 50 varieties. The tea garden is also a recent introduction; the Hampstead store will offer a wide variety of herbal teas, all picked from the farm itself.

What is very evident throughout the tour is that the farm’s evolution is very much a collaborative one. Fiona is quick to credit head-grower Bee, groundsman and gardener Rob, and the extended team of Sam, Ria, Libby, Livy, Jane and James for many of the exciting developments at the farm. Our tour was interrupted by an alarm on Fiona’s phone; it was time to cook lunch for that very team.

On our swift return to the barn, Fiona started furiously chopping up vegetables while she spoke with excitement about their latest plans for the farm. Truly electrifying stuff. www.electricdaisyflowerfarm.co.uk

Nick Woodhouse is the co-director of interior and garden design company Woodhouse & Law on 4 George’s Place, Bathwick Hill, Bath; 01225 428072; www.woodhouseandlaw.co.uk

Fiona (third from left) and the Electric Daisy Flower Farm team produce buckets of bouquets

AJ Removals Removals - Storage - Shipping - Packing

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Tel: 01225 404060 | enquiries@ajremovalsbath.co.uk | www.ajremovalsbath.co.uk

Interiors & Homewares Work from local artists and makers Prints, Cards & Gifts 10 Margaret's Buildings, Bath BA1 2LP homefrontinteriors.co.uk T: 01225 571711 E: info@homefrontinteriors.co.uk Handmade, Reclaimed, Sustainable & Vintage

ADVERTISING FEATURE

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KNEES HOME AND ELECTRICAL

Loved locally since 1879, Knees offer expert advice on top kitchen appliance brands, beautiful furniture and home accessories. And for their age, you will be surprised at how stylish they are. Discover more in their Trowbridge store or online.

Spitfire Retail Park, Trowbridge BA14 0AZ Tel: 01225 754161 www.knees.co.uk

CHEVERELL

ETONS OF BATH

TR Hayes has been selling furniture in Bath for over 100 years now, and has a reputation for good quality and good service. The large store features many big name brands, with an amazing array of furniture of all types on display. There are also well-respected carpet and made-to-measure curtain departments.

15-18 London Street, Walcot, Bath BA1 5BX Tel: 01225 465757; www.trhayes.co.uk

BATH KITCHEN COMPANY

LUCY COLLINS

Cheverell is set in the heart of Wiltshire with a stunning showroom and workshop, offering a full bespoke design, manufacturing and installation service in kitchens, bedrooms, and interiors. Established in 1989 it has over 30 years of experience to guide you through the whole process. Cheverell, Waller Road, Hopton Park, Devizes, Wiltshire SN10 2GH. Call: 01380 722722

Based in the heart of Bath and specialising in bespoke, handmade kitchens, Bath Kitchen Company become personally invested in every kitchen they design and build. It’s about attention to detail at every stage – creating a beautiful space that enhances the way you live. 7-9 North Parade Buildings, Bath BA1 1NS; Tel: 01225 312003

WESTSIDE DESIGN

CLAIR STRONG INTERIOR DESIGN

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Westside Design is a family-run Bath based company offering a tailored design, manufacturing and installation service for all aspects of cabinet making and joinery. Specialising in contemporary bespoke kitchens and interiors.

Contact Michael on 01225 330843 or 07976 268458 or email info@westsidedesign.co.uk www.westsidedesign.co.uk

TR HAYES

Founded in 2006, Etons of Bath is the UK’s only specialist interior design practice focussed on refurbishing, renovating and reinvigorating Georgian and Regency homes and hotels. Their team of 12 interior designers, planners and project managers can help you design and deliver classically inspired interiors that add value, turn heads and improve the use of space.

Tel: 01225 639002; www.etonsofbath.com

www.bathkitchencompany.co.uk

Clair Strong Interior Design is a small, creative company based in Bath, providing a wide range of services for both residential and commercial clients. Her portfolio of projects includes the design, project coordination and sourcing for some of Bath’s most beautiful residences, as well as sports clubs, offices and other commercial venues.

Contact Clair on 01225 426906 or 07855 79731 www.clairstrong.co.uk

Inspired design and styling can excite & enhance our lives and enable us to feel nurtured and uplifted.

Whether it be redesigning the interior and exterior of a property, altering the colour palette, introducing a new style, changing soft furnishings, refreshing, replacing or decluttering – leave it to Lucy… The Coach House, Linden Gardens, Weston Road, Bath BA1 8DB Tel: 07710 223285; www.lucycollins.me

BONITI

Boniti is based on the outskirts of Bath and offers a wide range of quality interior and exterior products: natural stone and timber flooring, Everhot range cookers, garden furniture and Kadai firebowls. As well as the vast selection of products on offer, a friendly and personal service is at the heart of all that they do.

Dunsdon Barn, West Littleton,Wiltshire SN14 8JA Tel: 01225 892 200; www.boniti.com www.mediaclash.co.uk I BATH LIFE I 103

A PLACETO CALL HOME

PROPERTY A PL ACE TO C ALL HOME

BACK TO FRONT A house in a Bath crescent that has views but is away from the madding crowd? It’s very tempting, says history buff and wannabe teacher Rachel Ifans

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PROPERTY

B

uilt over a couple of years at the real tail end of the 18th century, numbers 1-7 Bloomfield Crescent, originally known as Cottage Crescent, is a curved row of seven houses, built by Charles Harcourt Masters. The crescent on Bath’s southern slopes is the architect and surveyor’s first known work – although he was a very busy man in the 1790s, going on to design some of the most illustrious places around the city, notably The Holburne Museum, Widcombe Crescent and Sydney Gardens.

When it was built, Bloomfield Crescent sat in open countryside; the stunning views it afforded then are

happily unaffected today by the subsequent centuries of urban development. It’s still a tableau of loveliness from the terrace of No. 1. It’s interesting that, going to school on the design example of the Royal Crescent, Harcourt Masters designed Bloomfield so that it turned its ‘back’ to the street, had a very plain entrance façade and sidelined its staircases so that they didn’t interrupt the amazingly picturesque views of the city from the ‘front’.

At the time, the residents benefited from a coach house, stables, communal gardens and walled kitchen gardens as well as – get this! – their own water supply from a spring and well.

There endeth the history lesson, children (cue massive sighs of relief from the restless back row). Let’s get back to the present day now with a tour of No. 1 – a gorgeous and well-priced Grade-II listed townhouse which spreads over four floors and has been renovated beautifully. It’s light, fresh and airy throughout the stylish house, but it’s impossible not to constantly feel the pull to the back, to that magnificent view.

The four floors are just the right size, and the rooms are well proportioned. On the ground floor, you have a hall tiled with chequered terracotta and black tiles and skylight windows, a dining room and very high-quality kitchen/breakfast room plus a utility room. With white walls and stripped wooden floors, it manages to feel modern and open plan while retaining oodles of period charm.

The rooms are interesting shapes due to the end-

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PROPERTY

of-terrace layout, all adding a characterful and unique feel. The first floor boasts a drawing room and guest bedroom/bathroom, and climbing a floor further up reveals a large master bedroom and further bedroom with luxury bathroom.

The lower ground floor has a family room and bedroom, wet room and undercroft, and it doesn’t take a leap to imagine the potential for a selfcontained apartment down here as a result.

No. 1 has a large, well-stocked private garden, and the elevated gravel terrace is the perfect platform for the view. The garden has various levels and areas and, like the house, gives the impression that there is much more to discover, if you take the trouble to look. There’s also a small summer house for when the evenings get cold, a garage and a former haycroft (aka indispensable storage space).

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HOUSE NUMBERS Square footage Bedrooms Bathrooms Price

3,390 4-5 3-4 £1.25m

Distance 1.9 miles to Bath Spa station

Where 1 Bloomfield Crescent What else? Parking, garage, outbuilding, views to die for Knight Frank, 4 Wood Street, Queen Square, Bath, BA1 2JQ; 01225 325 999; bath@knightfrank.com

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Ready for a spring move? HEATHER RISE in Batheaston combines historic architecture with high quality internal specification, all set in a beautiful location ust two miles east of Bath lies the charming village of Batheaston.

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Batheaston is home to Heather Rise, a classical building with the iconic honey-coloured hues of Bath stone. Heather Rise combines historic architecture with a bespoke high quality internal specification. Here, eight luxurious two and three-bedroom houses and two twobedroom apartments are set within enclosed private landscaped gardens with secure resident access and on site parking.

These are just a few reasons why Bathonian Charlotte Klironomos and her husband have bought at Heather Rise. “I’m from Bath, but we spend time travelling for business and on holiday, so we wanted somewhere that would provide us all with a lovely home and that we felt happy and confident leaving when we do travel. The small community at Heather Rise fulfils both of these requirements, and the minute we walked into our new apartment we got a lovely warm feeling, and just knew we would all feel at home here.

“There’s security and convenience to living on a small development, so I don’t see this as downsizing, but more ‘rightsizing’ for how we want to live our lives. It’s a big change,

“SET WITHIN ENCLOSED PRIVATE LANDSCAPED GARDENS WITH SECURE RESIDENT ACCESS” but we’ve been delighted by how easy it has been and, as we add furniture, we’re finding the apartment is surprisingly roomy. We can’t get over how peaceful and quiet Batheaston is, and everything we want is in easy walking distance.

Our next step will be to explore the local area with my family and sister, who did some of her training at Heather House, in its original guise as a Nursing Home. In fact, that’s a treat in store for the Summer.” Help to Buy available and prices start from £350,000. n

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TEN GREAT REASONS TO RIGHTSIZE AT HEATHER RISE 1. Secure development with private entrance and parking 2. Apartments and houses, with outside space to almost all homes 3. Stunning specifications throughout 4. Just 2 miles east of Bath 5. M4 is just 10.5 miles away 6. Batheaston Bridge and a cycle/footpath connecting to Bath 7. AONB with Bannerdown and Little Solsbury Hill on the doorstep 8. Bath Spa Station is 4.3 miles away 9. Travel to London Paddington in 1½ hours (30 minutes frequency in peak times) 10. Got a house to sell? Juniper Homes WiseMove can help

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BATH LIVES

“I enjoy a good scathing dissection of certain people, but of course I would never do it in public” I’m in Bath, and I’d also like to go to the Victoria Art Gallery and maybe the Jane Austen Centre, because I was really into Jane Austen when I was younger.

CORINNE BAILEY RAE We can’t wait to welcome the multi award-winning singer to this year’s Bath Festival Finale Weekend In what seems like a celebration of life’s whimsical contrasts, Corinne talks musical influences – Nirvana and Billie Holiday in one breath – and about how she loves a Roman bath.

Music to our ears!

I love playing festivals...

I love being outdoors and seeing people in their festival clothes; to me, festivals are very British, full of eccentric characters, poetry readings, acrobats and all ages of people. As for The Bath Festival, I can’t wait! I love Clean Bandit and I’m such a huge Van Morrison fan; it will be a pleasure to see him.

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I like to have fun on stage – dancing, improvising and going with the moment – so every performance is different... I reckon we might play a new song at The Bath Festival but we’re also going to bring old favourites. We like to play things in different styles and we really respond to the audience – if people are singing along, we’ll let songs run. And we’ll be taking requests.

I love visiting Roman baths...

There’s a really good one in Harrogate near to where I live, and I like to go there and read old copies of Vogue and relax. I’ll fit The Pump Room in, too, when

Talking of history and culture… Japan is a country I love to explore. I love the mixture of ancient culture and contemporary culture – temples and cherry blossom, tea ceremonies, as well as new music, new technology and new ideas.

I love Japanese food – sushi, noodles and fresh vegetables – and I’m always made to feel at home when I visit.

encouraged me a lot by getting on my case and helping me to make small changes that made a big difference.

I have so many musical heroes… including Patti Smith for her poetry, Stevie Wonder for his joyful music and performances, and Herbie Hancock for his constant pushing into the future and the way he paints colours. I admire Erykah Badu for the genre of music that she’s made, and I adore Björk for her experimentalism and her confidence in her voice.

There’s no place like home...

After all the travelling, it’s great to come home to somewhere familiar; I love being in the garden and spending time cooking. Generally, I don’t really get attached to possessions. I lose things really easily; I’m always berating myself for losing my phone or beloved items of clothing and jewellery.

I’m working on new music right now... It’s a conceptual album which is really exciting to me; it’s an art record. I am also answering commissions from film and television shows.

I love writing for film, it’s a new thing for me. I love to write to picture and I like seeing when the music and the scene is finally put together. It can add so much power to the scene.

My hobbies include clothes... I like to go to a Prada show or a Miu Miu or Duro Olowu viewing when I get the chance, and I like contemporary art too. I’m also into reading, and I’m currently halfway through The Wife’s Tale, about a young Ethiopian bride.

I like a good gossip... Once someone came up to me in a shop and said, “I bet you’ve never had a mean thought in your life”. People who know me well would know that’s not true! I enjoy a good scathing dissection of certain people, but of course I would never do it in public...n

My earliest musical influences were Nirvana and Billie Holiday... and, I guess, before that, my violin teacher.

She was very strict but she

Corinne Bailey Rae will be playing at The Bath Festival Finale Weekend on Bath Rec on 2 June. For more, visit www.thebathfestival.org.uk