The Gazette and Diary magazine July 2012

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■ Pets ■ Style & Fashion ■ Homes and Gardens ■ Local Events ■ Competitions ■ call the experts ... and much more ...

Cash Brokers 1ST Birthday What a difference a year makes! This was never truer than for Dean & Iolanda Jackson-Johns who own and run the Abergavenny branch of Cashbrokers and celebrate their first year of trading on July 4th.

Pawnbroking has been around for over 3000 years in Britain and is the most ethical form of borrowing as the customer is borrowing money against an item that they already own. For some years the industry was in decline in the UK and in more recent years went ‘out of fashion.’ However, in recent years fuelled by the recession and the need for people to realise cash quickly, the industry has experienced a boom and Pawnbrokers outlets can now be found in most UK towns and cities.

Cashbrokers represents Pawnbroking in the 21st Century.

The store in Abergavenny is bright and welcoming offering discreet and professional service to all its customers. Since opening its doors

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in July 2011, Cashbrokers has already built up a reputation for offering top prices for jewellery and precious metals and the best rates in town for loans and cheque cashing.

The owners, Dean & Iolanda Jackson-Johns believe in offering A1 customer service and an open and understandable pricing structure for all their customers. As they complete their first year of trading, Cashbrokers have already built up a sound customer base with much repeat business.

Iolanda said, ‘We cannot believe how quickly our first year has gone.

Already, many of our customers are doing repeat business with us and we work hard to look after our

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customers and make them feel relaxed and appreciated.’

Dean said, ‘Customer service is so important especially in our industry where some people might feel nervous about coming into the store for the first time. Every customer is treated with respect and we never pressurise customers, nothing is too much trouble.’

The range of products on offer include the buying and selling of gold and jewellery, Pawnbroking and Buy-Back, Cheque Cashing and Payday Advance.

Other items such as electrical items, phones, iPods, laptops, TVs etc are available through Cashbrokers website on E-Bay www.cashbrokers.co.uk or ask in store.

Cash Brokers Abergavenny is situated at 11b Market Street, opposite the rear entrance to the Market Hall.

There is car parking nearby in the Brewery Yard.

The store is open 6 days a week.

For more information call us on: 01873 850006 E-mail: abergavenny@cashbrokers.co.uk. website, www.cashbrokers.co.uk

Welcome...

to the July edition of the Gazette and Diary magazine which as ever is packed with the latest in local news, views and developments. With the hopes of some good weather around the corner this month’s magazine features a guide to what to do over the school holidays and a some great tips about how to look your best in the summer.

So, with the sun certain to start shining soon, pour yourself a glass of something cool. put your feet up and relax with this month’s Gazette and Diary.

DESIGNERS: Dave Simkiss dave.simkiss@nwn.co.uk

ADVERTISING: Jenna Hopkins ext 26 Hazel Walding - Advertising Manager For information on how to advertise in our next issue, contact: advertising@tindlenews.co.uk or telephone 01873 852187 ext 34 or ext 26 GENERAL MANAGER - Mary Purcell

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The Abergavenny Chronicle

John Gaulton john.gaulton@nwn.co.uk

If you have pets you also won’t want to miss our feature on where to go to get everything they will ever need and for anyone looking into home improvement we have some advice about solar power from the experts.

Inside...

In association with

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Page 08 Cooking for a Crowd Page 05 Spotlight on Abergavenny Market

Page 14 Abergavenny Food Festival

When you have finished reading the Gazette & Diary Magazine - please recycle it.

PUBLISHING: Printed and distributed by NWN Media. www.nwnmedia.co.uk Mold Business Park, Wrexham Road, Mold, CH7 1XY.

At NWN Media we are committed to addressing the key environmental impacts of printing and the production process, and preserving the environment for future generations. Our environmental policy is achieved through continuous monitoring, annual targets and action plans.

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Page 18 Looking Good this Summer

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Page 15 Fun Page

Page 20 Beryl’s Diary

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Page 16 Pudseys Got Talent

Page 22 Five Minutes with Rolf Harris

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The sourcing of newsprint is a major environmental concern for publishers and we at NWN Media source our newsprint from UPM Kymmene in Deeside, utilising their 100% recycled paper, which is produced as a natural, renewable and recyclable fibre from sustainable, responsibly managed forests. UPM is committed to forest management and forest harvesting practices based on the internationally accepted principles of sustainable forest management.

UPM Kymmene is just a mile from the press site, which also keeps carbon footprint to a minimum in the obtaining of our paper.

All newsprint waste is taken back to UPMʼs site and fully recycled.

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Your Number One Local pest control Co. ● Fast response ● Reasonable rates ● Wasp nests treated within 24 hours

TELEPHONE 01873 830204 Fernybank, Quarry Road, Clydach, Nr Abergavenny ●

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Want to become a better DIY-er?

How-to tip If you’re fixing a skirting board to the wall, countersink the screws so you can fill over them with wood filler for a neat finish.

You’ll also need to use flexible filler in the gap between the skirting board and the wall - wipe off the excess thoroughly as you apply it, and you may not need to paint over it.

It’s easier to paint the skirting board before it’s fitted, especially if it’s going to be a different colour to the wall, but you will need to paint over the wood filler.

Spotlight on Abergavenny Market Abergavenny has always had a rich musical history - From hosting the Eisteddfod in 1838 through to the present day and it’s internationally recognised brass band.

Marty Wilde even sung about ‘passing the time with paradise people',in 1968, and today, many of them can be found at the town’s market.

Stallholder Dave Keast, from Brecon, runs a music counter at Abergavenny’s Tuesday Market. He sells mainly guitars, but has other instruments available, including banjos, ukuleles, keyboards and accordions.

Since establishing his stall, business has grown. “A lot of people actually come to see us specifically, we get a lot of people returning, and people come from word of mouth” says Dave.

He believes that being in the market helped more people become interested in playing music, saying “A lot of people we sell to wouldn’t go into a music shop because they’re intimidating, and we’re not” He continued: “I’d like to sell everything a normal music shop sells, but I can’t carry it with me!"

He also sells accessories, from picks to strings, from guitar tuners to pitch pipes.

Dave has an in-depth knowledge of what he sells, having played the guitar for over 50 years. He is more than happy to talk to people from across the musical spectrum, from those who don’t know anything about an instrument, to experienced musicians.

A fan of the local music scene, Dave started selling in the market about three years ago, once he retired, admitting he “drifted into it” after his friends started asking after his extensive collection of gear. ●

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Don’t Just Sit There Learn Make 2012 the year you don’t just talk about it, you actually do it.

Learn how to bake, volunteer for the local school reading programme, dye your hair, or join a singing group - the choices are endless New Year’s resolutions may be full of all sorts of good intentions, but by February, those lists of the promises we made to ourselves are usually conveniently relegated to the rubbish bin.

Ditch the list of unachievable tasks and take on one challenge - something you’ve always wanted to do but never had the time, money or inclination - such as learn to dance, give yourself a whole new makeover, or take a solo holiday. Susie Pearl, author of Instructions For Happiness And Success, urges us to pick something that takes us out of our comfort zone.

Here are a few ideas to get the ball rolling:

Learn to dance Zumba, ballroom, tango... What ever dance style you choose, it’s going to be good for you in more ways than you think. It keeps you fit, makes you happier and it’s a great way to meet people. And even though you’re doing a workout, it does help you to relax.

Learn to sing

For more information, visit www.danceweb.co.uk

Join a singing class or a choir and discover your inner voice because singing is actually good for you.

Military Wives and Gareth Malone need I say more.

For more information, visit www.musicteachers.co.uk; www.choirs.org.uk and www.singforfun.co.uk

Learn to bake There are so many good reasons to make your own biccies and cakes. You know exactly what’s gone into them, you’ll save money, and you’ll feel so darn proud of your homemade fare, you’ll never look a packaged sponge in the eye again. If Nigella can do it, so can you.

For more information and recipes, visit www.goodtoknow.co.uk/recipes/cake

Join or start a book club Book clubs have a whiff of middle age about them but it’s an unfair badge. If you like books and like talking about them, then forget the middle-age bad rep and join or start your own club. Apart from being a great way to meet likeminded people, it’s a great forum to exchange ideas, engage in some banter and generally have a good gossip with your new pals.

For more information, visit www.bookgroup.info

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Go on holiday on your own It’s a liberating experience to take a holiday - even a short break - on your own. Going solo, you are much more approachable by other travellers so you’re going to meet loads of people along the way. It’s also a good chance to reflect and relax doing exactly as you wish without having to consider anyone else.

For more information, visit travel sites www.thelmaandlouise.com; and www.justyou.co.uk

Ramble Walking is a great way to get fit without all the predictable injuries and downright exhaustion of running or going to the gym.

Plus you get to see a little part of your world each time you get out there.

Survey the terrain as you discover the countryside, or even the green belt of your city, and breathe in the good air.

Go with some friends and stop at a pub for a well-earned drink and some hearty tucker during your ramble.

Find out more at www.ramblingclubs.com

Something!!

Volunteer Give some of your time each week to a charity.

Time is as important as money and can open up a whole new world to you as well as benefiting others.

Help the aged, offer your services to a school or library reading programme, donate your time to an animal shelter... there’s no end to the causes you could devote a few hours of your time to each week.

Volunteering will broaden your horizons and give you a sense of adding something to your community. It might even put the world Into a better perspective.

For more information, visit www.ageuk.org.uk; and Volunteer Reading Help at www.vrh.org.uk

Grow something - a flower, a tree, vegetables There’s a remarkable satisfaction in growing something you planted yourself. And even more satisfaction in eating home-grown vegetables, fruits and herbs. There’s nothing like eating a tomato that actually smells and tastes like a - well, tomato. Do some reading on what to plant when, arm yourself with some compost (or make your own if you’re really game), invest in the basic essential tools and you’re halfway there.

Whether you have a garden or a just a small spot for some pots, get growing.

For more information and tips, visit www.applegategardens.co.uk

Give yourself a new look Don’t look back on life and regret never getting the radical haircut you always planned to get but never had the courage - just do it.

Cut it, colour it, style it. And while you’re at it, give yourself a whole new makeover. Call in a stylist to sort out your wardrobe. Be brutal and start the new year fresh by throwing out the bits you never wear.

Learn to do a cartwheel No matter your age it’s a scary thing when you discover you can’t manage the simple cartwheel anymore. As kids we tumbled into a cartwheel with abandon but a few years and some extra pounds makes them almost a health hazard. Learn the art of the perfect cartwheel without slipping a disc - if only to prove to yourself that you can do it.

Recipe Corner Beefy Picnic Bites with Parsley Pesto Ingredients: ● 375g/12oz lean beef mince ● 30ml/2tbsp sunflower oil ● 2 medium potatoes, peeled, thinly sliced and dried ● 2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped ● Salt and freshly milled black pepper ● 5-10ml/1-2tsp ground paprika ● 2 large courgettes, topped, tailed and very thinly sliced lengthways ● 1 x 280g jar prepared grilled peppers, drained ● 50g/2oz mild Cheddar cheese, grated ● 4 medium eggs, beaten ● Fresh rocket or watercress leaves, to garnish

6. Bake for 20-25 minutes then set aside to cool slightly for 15-20 minutes then cut into bite-size pieces and serve warm.

7. Meanwhile prepare the pesto; place all the ingredients in a food processor or blender and blend until smooth. Season to taste and serve with the bites.

Serve s4

For the Parsley Pesto: 2 x 20g packs flat-leaf parsley 1 garlic clove, peeled and finely chopped 25g/1oz grated Parmesan cheese 25g/1oz raw cashew nuts, toasted and roughly chopped ● 75ml/5tbsp extra virgin olive oil ● ● ● ●

Preparation time: 20-25 minutes Cooking time: 25-30 minutes Method: 1. Preheat the oven to Gas mark 6, 200°C, 400°F. 2. Heat the oil in a large non-stick frying pan. Cook the potato slices for 10 minutes, turning regularly until golden brown. Remove and drain on absorbent kitchen paper.

3. In the same pan, cook the mince with the garlic, seasoning and paprika for 5-7 minutes. Set aside to cool.

4. Lay half the potatoes over the base of a 20cm/8inch non-stick square cake tin, followed by the courgettes, peppers and mince mixture. Add the remaining potatoes then the cheese.

5. Season the eggs and pour into the tin.

Leave for 1-2 minutes for the egg mixture to settle.

For a step-by-step guide, visit www.wikihow.com/doa-cartwheel

The Perfect Gift

A flight with

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Gift Certificates Available Credit Cards Accepted

Phone 01452 854 141 Give a gift that will never be forgotten, the chance of some real ‘hands on’ flying in a 1930's designed military trainer.

Perhaps even a loop and a roll?

CHEPSTOW SUNDAY MEERKAT?

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Traders from all over Great Britain attend this market ● Large Car Park & Coach Park ● Picnic Area and Kiddie’s Inflatables ● Coach Parties Welcome

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Fine Dining

Cooking for a crowd Quality Standard beef and lamb has created a selection of light and tasty ideas to update your cookery repertoire for the spring party season.

Summer is a popular time of year for family celebrations and parties so there is often a demand for catering on a larger scale, be it a garden party as the warmer weather breaks, a wedding or Sunday lunch.

Planning a big event can be nerve wracking, especially when you want to wow your guests with a tasty feast. So Quality Standard beef and lamb has created some inspired dishes to ease the burden - so all you need to worry about is being a good host!

It can be all too easy to stick with the same old reliable recipes so use the new season as an excuse to add real creative flair to the excellent meat cuts on offer and remember, always look out for the Quality Standard label when purchasing your beef and lamb to ensure succulent and tender eating quality. Visit www.simplybeefandlamb.co.uk to find out more about choosing the right cuts of meat for your dish.

CURED BEEF FILLET WITH HERBS

Welcome to

Preparation time: 10 minutes, plus marinating time Cooking time: Rare: 25 minutes, Medium: 35 minutes

The Bridge End Inn Crickhowell

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1.8kg/4lb lean beef fillet, trimmed 225g/8oz coarse sea salt Freshly milled black pepper 225g/8oz golden caster sugar 200ml/7floz dry white wine 2 large onions, peeled and finely chopped ● 30ml/2tbsp olive oil ● 60ml/4tbsp fresh flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped ● 30ml/2tbsp fresh mixed herbs (such as chives, thyme and tarragon), finely chopped

Lunch and evening meals served Monday to Monday

The Bridge End Inn is quite an exceptional public house of some quality, set on the edge of the Brecon National Park right next to the river Usk - one of the principality’s best fishing rivers.

◆ Bar

◆ Accommodation

◆ Fishing

Bridge Street. Crickhowell. Powys. NP8 1AR Tel: 01873 810338 Fax: 01873 810338 Email: info@thebridgeendinn.com www.thebridgeendinn.com

NEW STOCKS OF MULTIFUEL STOVES Stoves ● Fireplaces ● Surrounds Gas Fires ● Ecofans ● Free quotations ● Restoration

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These delicious recipes and more can be found in the Simply beef and lamb booklet, available for free at butcher shops around the country. Readers can also receive a free copy by calling 0870 606 3030. Alternatively, visit www.simplybeefandlamb.co.uk/recipeclub to download a copy or view the same recipes to serve smaller numbers of people.

Why not consider serving up delicious cuts of Quality Standard beef and lamb cooked with seasonal ingredients to give it a twist. The Quality Standard label promises outstanding quality meat and assures its provenance.

◆ Restaurant

Go for quality and add real creative flair to the excellent meat cuts on offer

July / August

The complete service

Wallbrook Farm Allensmore, Hereford HR2 9BE 01981 570456

1. In a large dish mix together the salt, pepper, sugar, wine and onions.

2. Pour the mixture into a large doublelined plastic food bag. Add the beef and coat all over with the mixture.

Seal, place on a large plate and refrigerate overnight.

3. Preheat the oven to Gas mark 6, 200°C, 400°F. 4. Remove the joint from the marinade mixture and pat dry. Heat the oil in a large non-stick frying pan and sear the joint all over until brown.

5. Transfer to a metal rack in a large nonstick roasting tin and open roast for 25 minutes (rare) or 35 minutes (medium). Remove from the oven and set aside to cool for 30 minutes.

6. Place a large square of aluminium foil over a chopping board and scatter with half the herbs.

7. Position the beef on top of the herbs, pressing down to coat evenly, then scatter the remaining herbs on top.

Wrapup tighly in the foil and refrigerate for two hours.

8. Thinly slice and serve at room temperature with Bay Infused Potatoes (see below).

BAY INFUSED POTATOES Preparation time: 10 minutes Cooking time: 20-25 minutes ● ● ● ● ● ●

2kg/4lb small new potatoes, halved 2 red onions, peeled and halved 4 whole garlic cloves, peeled 10-12 fresh bay leaves, torn 75g/3oz butter 45ml/3tbsp extra virgin rapeseed or olive oil ● 10ml/2tsp ground paprika 1. Place the potatoes, onions, garlic and bay leaves in a large pan of boiling, salted water and cook for 15-20 minutes, or until almost tender. Drain and set aside to cool. Remove and discard the garlic cloves and bay leaves.

Cut the onions into wedges.

2. Heat the butter, oil and paprika in a large non-stick pan over a moderate heat. Add the potatoes and onion wedges, tossing gently. Cook for 3-4 minutes.

3. Transfer and serve with the cured beef fillet.

ROAST BONELESS SHOULDER OF LAMB WITH WATERCRESS, GOAT’S CHEESE AND MINT STUFFING Preparation time: 15-20 minutes Cooking time: Medium: 25 minutes per 450g/1lb plus 25 minutes, Well done: 30 minutes per 450g/1lb plus 30 minutes ● ● ● ●

1.8kg/4lb lean boneless lamb shoulder Salt and freshly milled black pepper 30ml/2tbsp dried mixed herbs 15ml/1tbsp olive oil

For the Stuffing: ● 2 large garlic cloves, peeled and finely

chopped ● 90ml/6tbsp freshly chopped mint ● 2 x 100g bags watercress, roughly

chopped ● 200g/7oz firm goat’s cheese, diced

1. To prepare the stuffing; in a large bowl mix all the ingredients together.

2. Preheat the oven to Gas mark 4-5, 180 - 190°C, 350-375°F.

3. Place the joint on a chopping board, remove any butcher’s string or elasticated meat bands (reserve for later), unroll skin side down and season on both sides with salt, pepper and dried mixed herbs. Spread the stuffing mixture evenly over the joint, but do not overfill. Roll up and secure with new butcher’s string or the reserved elasticated meat bands.

4. Weigh the joint and place on a metal rack in a large non-stick roasting tin, and drizzle with the oil. Roast for the preferred, calculated cooking time.

Cover with foil if browning too quickly.

Remove from the oven, cover and set aside to rest for 15-20 minutes.

5. Serve with the spinach, carrot and cucumber salad.

Antony’s

Twice baked potatoes Ingredients: ● 4 large baking potatoes scrubbed, 1 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp ground white pepper, 175g/6oz unsalted butter softened, 1/4 tsp grated nutmeg, 3 large egg yolks ● 75ml/21/2fl oz double cream, 1 tbsp snipped chives

quick

Method: 1. Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6. Bake the potatoes on a rack over a roasting tray for about 1¼1½ hours until the skins are crisp and the flesh is soft.

Remove from the oven.

2. When the potatoes are cool enough to handle, cut a lid off the top of each potato (about one-third of the potato). Scoop out all the flesh from the body and lid leaving the crisp shells intact. You can discard the lid.

3. Mash the potato until smooth, then fold in the salt, white pepper, butter and nutmeg and combine well.

Fold in the egg yolks, cream and chives.

4. Spoon the potato mixture back into the potato shells, fluff up the tops and return to the oven for 20-25 minutes.

cuisine We put a recipe the test...

Tip: This recipe works well using boneless breast of lamb too.

s

Serve 10

St. Mary’s Bakery

Sudoku Solution

The Red Lion, Llangynidr 01874 730223 2011 & 2012 Camra Good Beer Guide. Good Food, Real Ales, Open Fire, Games Room, Childrens Play Area.

www.theredlion1.vpweb.co.uk

Outside Catering: Delicious Finger Buffets for Birthdays, Christenings, Weddings, Funerals, Children’s Parties or business lunches.

Whatever the Occasion we can put together a tasty selection of Sandwiches, Savouries, Fruits and confectionary to your specification.

No matter how large or small the order, buffets start at just £3.75 per head.

For more information pop into the bakery or call -

Abergavenny: 01873 268183 St. Mary’s Bakery, 15 Frogmore St, Abergavenny ●

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Roof Contractor

M. PREECE Roofing Contractor

New Roofs, Slate and Tiles, uPVC Fascias and Guttering, Repairs and Maintenance, Leadwork and Chimney Repair

Free Estimates 01874 711554 • 07720 859621

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Funeral Directors

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Plumber

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We also welcome your own designs.

We are needle safe and fully licenced. We offer expert tattoo care advice after your inking to ensure the sharpest and best quality image.

No appointments needed

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Competitive labor rates Cars, commercials, caravans & motorcycles Alloy wheels refurbished Colour coding Classic car restoration

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Car Mechanics

Jon Wilding

Auto Repairs

VW & Audi Specialists Servicing All Makes Engine Re-Builds & Welding MOT Preperation VW Camper Repairs 25 St Michael Road, Abergavenny, Mon, NP7 5AY Tel: 01873 853774 Email: jonwilding52@hotmail.com

Drain Specialists

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Paving

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Taste Top Talent – it’s the 2012 Abergavenny Food Festival some of the cooks and artisan food producers who are helping her (and husband Ludo) transform their Monmouthshire smallholding into a centre for rural skills and animal husbandry. Plus you can savour ‘Wales at its Best’ with Tim McDougall of Celtic Manor’s three AA Rosette flagship restaurant, Terry M.

Box office goes live for the thirteenth Abergavenny Food Festival on 3 July. Sponsored by Brewin Dolphin - one of the UK’s largest independent private client investment managers the weekend of 15 & 16 September is a totally immersive experience, a special time for celebration and feasting.

Here’s your chance to take some risks, try something new, and up your credibility in the kitchen. Buy stroller tickets for the market venues online at www.abergavennyfoodfestival.com, or through the Borough Theatre on 01873 850805. Free entry to children under sixteen (if accompanied by an adult).

The event is of course all about food and will feature over two hundred hand-picked exhibitors from Wales, The Marches, and further afield, including ‘Wales the True Taste’ award-winners. So bring your shopping bags and take the True Taste Trail. But a full-on food festival needs extra elements to deliver piquancy and depth. Abergavenny has forty two. For a quick snapshot read on.

Some of the most highly esteemed stars of the culinary world are heading for the Welsh Borders this September. True crusaders, their mission is to inspire, motivate and encourage experimentation. The carefully crafted individually ticketed events programme has been shaped by Martin Orbach, programming director. Dive in and take your pick from a whole world of fabulous cuisine. Free wine with masterclasses in the Priory Centre, and food sampling included in all tutored tastings. Get the whole story online.

There are two run-up events. On Thursday night it’s

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■ Fuchsia Dunlop

time for the annual Festival Fanfare Feast in the Market Hall; Latin-American flavours on the palate and scorching moves on the dance-floor. Friday night’s offering is cool and classy with The Chocktail Party - a choice combo of spirits and chocolates with luxury chocolatier Marc Demarquette and James Chase of Chase Distillery, plus sleight-of-hand from Harvey Nicols’ bar manager/mixologist Dom Jacobs too. All in the fabulous Homes of Elegance showrooms. Go for it. You’ve got the night to recover.

■ Norman Musa

perfect pastry. Learn how to do it yourself and puff up with pride. Join Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi, the brilliant creative duo behind the fabulous Ottolenghi restaurants. Get a feel for the cultural melting pot that is Jerusalem, their home city, buy their brand new ‘Jerusalem Cookbook’ and recreate the flavours in your own home.

An authentic Indian breakfast might help. Try the festival’s pop-up-restaurant and get the Purple Poppadom experience with chef Anand George, award-winner ‘Welsh Curry House of the Year.’ Then hit the streets. From markets to masterclasses all the action is in the centre of Abergavenny. It’ll be easy to get round with a complimentary Festival Guide, (free with stroller wristband).

Try Chinese home-cooking with Fuchsia Dunlop, share top tips with Monica Galetti, well known to fans of BBC2s Masterchef, and see hot new talent Norman Musa with his take on Malaysian street-food. Rev up to road-test Tom Parker Bowles’ latest cookbook with Matt Tebbutt and Matthew Fort; transform your daily meals with simple techniques from ultimate cookery teacher Alex Mackay; try curries of the world with Atul Kochhar – twice Michelin-starred, and watch fish expert Mitch Tonks conjure up easy fish suppers alongside vegetable supremo Jane Baxter.

The special events programme kicks off with a session from ace baker Richard Bertinet on how to make the

And then there’s the Welsh perspective. Meet broadcaster Kate Humble and enjoy a taster from

July / August

Be sure to take note of two titans of the culinary world who’re appearing as part of the Festival’s ‘Food Talks’ strand: acclaimed food anthropologist Claudia Roden and legendary chef, Pierre Koffmann. Claudia will discuss her five-year immersion in the regional cuisines of Spain with Andalucian-based travel writer Michael Jacobs. Pierre Koffmann, who’s accrued three Michelin stars and a legion of famous protégés, will be talking to influential food writer Matthew Fort about the heights of haute cuisine and his lifetime love of rustic country cooking.

And there’s lots more to come: a Primo Grill Stage featuring street-food chef cook-offs, ‘Rude Health’ rants at Speakers’ Corner, a Children’s Food Academy, chef dems featuring the region’s finest on the Robert Price Kitchen Stage, a rolling programming of musical performance in The Dome, a wild and magical Party at The Castle, wine and beer tastings, forays and walks.

The Abergavenny Food Festival is part-funded by the Welsh Government. It is renowned for bringing together top practitioners through an inspiring and sometimes provocative programme of masterclasses, tutored tastings, talks and debates. All guests will be appearing at book-signing sessions over the weekend.

Anyone interested in finding out more should sign up for e.news bulletins at www.abergavennyfoodfestival.com

. . . o u D Dear

TV to look out for Sinbad Coming to Sky 1 HD in July

if you would like dear duo to help with your problems, please write to Dear Duo, The Gazette and Diary, 13 Nevill Street, Abergavenny, NP7 5AA.

Dear Duo

I am about to graduate university, I am engaged and happy and wanting to move out with my best friends from uni, until my fiancé finishes his degree, and my dad is never happy for me, he doesn't like me being engaged and says negative comments about it, he thinks I am too young, but I have been with my fiancé for over 5 years and it makes me happy and we are not rushing into marriage, I have lived away from home for three years, and I am planning on going home over summer to earn enough to move out with my friends and my dad isn't happy about this either, always saying negative things and never positive, or just sighing at me, I am not a child, I know he is sad that I am not a little girl any more, that must be hard but this negativity is just making me want to not speak to him, and push him away, my brother is more carefree than I am and my dad likes that, but always wants to hold me back it feels, and I don't know what to do about it...

CARRIE

Hi Carrie My dad is 'Mr negative' also. I am 27 and still feel like I need to go out of my way just to gain his approval on certain things. Anything for a quiet life I guess....But in the end you really have to do what you want and what you feel is right. If it helps remind him that you are about to graduate uni, have been in a long term relationship and have your head screwed on and that he can take some credit for how well you've turned out. You are thinking clearly and sensibly and want to spread your wings and make your own decisions. He's being protective but this is impacting on you negatively and he will not realise the degree to which you feel this. Let him know that it is your life but you will always value his wisdom and opinion.

ROAST BONELESS SHOULDER OF LAMB WITH WATERCRESS, GOAT’S CHEESE AND MINT STUFFING

● ● ● ●

1.8kg/4lb lean boneless lamb shoulder Salt and freshly milled black pepper 30ml/2tbsp dried mixed herbs 15ml/1tbsp olive oil

For the Stuffing: ● 2 large garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped ● 90ml/6tbsp freshly chopped mint ● 2 x 100g bags watercress, roughly chopped ● 200g/7oz firm goat’s cheese, diced 1. To prepare the stuffing; in a large bowl mix all the ingredients together.

Wealth M anageme nt Spec ialis ts

A WEALTH OF EXPERTISE ON YOUR DOORSTEP

2. Preheat the oven to Gas mark 4-5, 180 190°C, 350-375°F. 3. Place the joint on a chopping board, remove any butcher’s string or elasticated meat bands (reserve for later), unroll skin side down and season on both sides with salt, pepper and dried mixed herbs. Spread the stuffing mixture evenly over the joint, but do not overfill. Roll up and secure with new butcher’s string or the reserved elasticated meat bands.

4. Weigh the joint and place on a metal rack in a large non-stick roasting tin, and drizzle with the oil. Roast for the preferred, calculated cooking time. Cover with foil if browning too quickly. Remove from the oven, cover and set aside to rest for 15-20 minutes.

5. Serve with the spinach, carrot and cucumber salad.

Tip: This recipe works well using boneless breast of lamb too.

Sudoku Challenge

Q: What did the pig say at the beach on a hot summer’s day?

A: I’m bacon!

Q: What do you call six weeks of rain in Wales?

A: Summer!

Q: What’s black and white and read all over?

Colour me in

A: A sunburned zebra

Q: Which letter is the coolest?

A: Iced t.

Q: How come oysters never donate to charity?

A: Because they are shellfish.

Savings and Investments ● Inheritance Tax Planning ● Pensions & Protection ● Mortgages

Em ail: p fs@ sjpp .co.uk Web: w ww.pf swm.co.uk

The Spring Issue April

/ May ■ Style Issue 13 & Fashio / 2012 n ■ Ho £1.50 ■ Compet me & Gar where sold itions ■ den ■ Entertain Local Eve nts ■ Tra ment vel ... and much mo re ...

A: Croak-o-cola.

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You can contact us by post The Gazette Magazine, Tindle House, 13 Nevil Street, Abergavenny NP7 5AA Or email: hazel@tindlenews.co.uk / jennahopkins@yahoo.co.uk

Q: What do frogs like to drink on a hot summer day?

Premier Financial Services offers specialist advice in a wide range of areas including:

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FREE

Wi Abergth the Chronavenny icle

This month we would like to ask our Gazette readers what they would like to see more of within the magazine?

Gazette Giggles!

Sorry to those who have not had their problems answered yet we have limited space but we will eventually get round to you!

Preparation time: 15-20 minutes Cooking time: Medium: 25 minutes per 450g/1lb plus 25 minutes, Well done: 30 minutes per 450g/1lb plus 30 minutes

Gazette Magazine Poll

s

Serve 10

Q: What do you call a man with a seagull on his head?

A: Cliff!

Q: What gets wetter as it dries?

A: A towel ●

The Summer Issue

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July / August

15

Pudsey’s Got Talent

That seems to support other studies which have shown that when dogs are in physical contact with their owners, their brains release the ‘pleasure chemical’ dopamine in the same way as human brains do when we feel happy and relaxed.

“It’s widely recognised that pets, commonly cats and dogs, can not only have an extraordinary empathy with their owners but that they can have positive effects on our wellbeing and health," says Emma Milne, one of the vets from BBC’s Vets In Practice series, and a judge for Drontal’s competition Give Your Dog A Bone.

What could be more British than a supercute dog winning a talent show?

Pudsey, the dancing dog, and his owner, Ashleigh Butler, scooped up 39% of the vote on ITV’s Britain’s Got Talent, soundly beating a host of other more conventional acts.

And in a script worthy of Hollywood, the humble mutt - he’s a mix of breeds including border collie, bichon frise and Chinese crested powder puff - will now ‘paw-form’ before the Queen at the Royal Variety Show, and has his ticket ready to travel by private jet to America to talk film deals.

Canines’ loyal fans include the royals and the famous. The Duchess of Cambridge has a new cocker spaniel puppy, Lupo, and the Queen, who’s had as many as 10 dogs, never fewer than four, loves corgis and dorgis, a cross-breed of a dachshund and a corgi.

It wants to find the most interesting, heroic, loveable or entertaining dogs in the UK. “As a vet I’ve seen people who’ve suffered so many blows in life and their ownership of a dog has come to their rescue and helped them turn their lives around," says Milne.

It’s a heart-warming shaggy dog story and highlights our love affair with pets - it’s estimated that there are 30 million fluffy, furry, scaly or feathered creatures sharing a home with a Brit.

“There are so many anecdotes of pets who sense their owners are in trouble, ill and need help and in some cases can alert people to their owner’s problems.

“Also, caring for another creature boosts our wellbeing and if you help exercise them as well - such as walking dogs or riding horses that can only be beneficial for health."

One survey found that collectively we spend around £4 billion a year looking after and pampering them.

“I think it shows that whatever we give to our pets is amply returned in terms of love, affection and loyalty.

A survey by Drontal, to launch its new boneshaped worming tablet, found that one in five of Britain’s dog owners even prefer their pooch to their partner, and one in three owners are convinced their dogs possess some form of ‘sixth sense’ and that their dog knows what they’re thinking and when they’re feeling down.

www.barkingmad.uk.com Barking Mad offers an alternative to kennelling for your dog.

Our customers have peace of mind knowing their pets are being cared for in a home environment.

Home from Home Pet Care

For more information please contact Kathy or Stuart on 01600 719204

The fact, revealed recently, that dogs were five times more likely to yawn when they heard their owner yawn than a stranger, according to research by the University of Porto, Portugal, was further proof it contended that dogs empathise with owners.

Celebrities seen out and about with their dogs can inspire a wave of popularity for certain breeds Madonna and Britney Spears have chihuahuas, Eva Longoria has a pug, and Coleen Rooney has Daisy, a bichon frise.

But feline fans are not to be outdone. Just look at Facebook’s 13,000 cat owners who create their moggies their own pet profiles complete with photos and information on their day-to-day life and habits.

And a survey by charity Cats Protection and the Mental Health Foundation found that 87% of people who owned a cat felt it had a positive impact on their wellbeing, while 76% said they could cope with everyday life better thanks to the company of a feline friend.

“Not only can animals act as a companion and help stave away loneliness, but many, including cats and dogs, have mood-altering characteristics," says Julian Peters, owner of Arthur Lodge Veterinary Group.

Pets Corner

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The Summer Issue

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July / August

TOP CLASS BOARDING FACILITIES AVAILABLE

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“When stroking a cat or dog, a surge of healing hormones is released, which helps achieve a feeling of peace."

And it’s not just the fluffy pet variety that can help mankind chill out, points out Peters.

“It’s a common fact that watching fish is extremely mesmerising and has a relaxing effect.

The same can be said for birds and reptiles."

Lisa Graham, home manager at Manchester Dogs’ Home, says pets offer companionship, mutual trust and unconditional love, all of which help improve both the physical and mental health of their owners.

“Academics have talked about dogs as ‘agents of social cohesion', just ask any dog walker. It’s a highly social activity which engenders conversation between lots of people in the community who have pet ownership in common," she says.

Dog walking can also be a path to romance.

Many singletons have found that walking a dog can be a brilliant way to snare a date.

TV presenter, writer and adventurer Ben Fogle first met his wife Marina when they both walked their labradors in the same park, and TV presenter Davina McCall and her husband Matthew Robertson also met while dog walking.

But pets don’t just offer good company, they may also help you win the slimming battle.

“You are much more likely to have a ‘wobble’ on your weight-loss plan if you are feeling low or down," says Amy Henson at Slimavite, a weight-loss specialist.

“A loving pet can soon help put a smile back on your face. If you’re feeling stressed, angry or frustrated, they can help to calm you."

Children can benefit from having a pet to care for, says Maeve Moorcroft, head of pets at Pets at Home, as it will help to develop a sense of responsibility and contribute to a child’s selfesteem and confidence.

June 2012

“Positive relationships with pets can aid in the development of trusting relationships with others," she says.

“Children who have relationships with pets from a young age learn to communicate and relate to others to a greater level than those who do not.

“Responsible pet ownership can also help in developing non-verbal communication, compassion and empathy."

Pick up your copy of the Abergavenny Chronicle every Thursday

So even if you don’t dance your way to stardom and a fortune with your pet - Pudsey’s estimated to be now worth £10 million - that companion could certainly enrich your life and improve your health.

Govilon Car Boot. Main Road , every Thursday, mornings, weather permitting.

01873 830834

Top dogs can enter The Give Your Dog A Bone competition, run by Drontal, which is offering prizes worth £200 up to £1,000, via competition website www.giveyourdogabone.co.uk

Pick up your copy of the Abergavenny Chronicle every Thursday

There are four categories: special bond with an owner; most entertaining video; most heroic pet; and most loveable mutt. Owners can upload photos, videos and explain in under 100 words why they think their pet should win a ‘Bonies’ award, and website visitors can vote for their favourite entry.

Closing date for entries is May 31

Govilon Car Boot. Main Road , every Thursday, mornings, weather permitting.

01873 830834

Pick up your copy of the Abergavenny Chronicle every Thursday

Govilon Car Boot. Main Road , every Thursday, mornings, weather permitting.

01873 830834

S,W,H,P,S, Summer Open Day, 11am – 4pm, St Maughans, Meet the rescued horses & ponies, Family Dog Show, Falconry Display, BB-Q, Refreshments and Stalls. Tel: 01873 890532.

Tabernacle Baptist Chapel Forest Coalpit Grwyne Fawr Sankey Evening at 6.30pm.

All Welcome

Flower Festival Llanwenarth Baptist Chapel, Govilon, 12-4

Pen-Y-Fal Car Boot Sale.

See 8,15,22,29

All Creatures Great & Small Open Day 11-5pm Llanfrechfa, Cwmbran, NP44 8AD. www.allcreatures greatandsmall.org .uk

Carboots every Saturday!

Llyncytrych Farm, Glangrwney, Crickhowell NP8 1EE (Opposite the Army Camp Just past Bell Pub).

Gates open 12.00 to the public, sellers 11.00 please. Any enquiries please Rachel on 07988 745752

Llanover Village Fete, 1pm, Licensed Bar, Refreshments, B-B-Q, Fun Dog Show and Traditional Stalls. Tel: 01873 880337 Cwmdu District Show, Wern Farm, Cwmdu, 12.15pm. Details: 01874 730351

Mozerah Church Anniversary.

Come and sing Sankey 6.30pm. All welcome Pen-Y-Fal Car Boot Sale.

Sellers 10am, Buyers 11am.

07761363090, 07842521332

Pen-Y-Fal Car Boot Sale.

Sellers 10am, Buyers 11am.

Tel: 07761363090, 07842521332

Crickhowell Open Gardens 2-5pm. Tickets on the day £3 from the Market Hall.

Organised by Crickhowell Horticultural Society Pen-Y-Fal Car Boot Sale.

See 1,8. 15, 29

Abergavenny Chronicle every Thursday

Abergavenny Farmers Market, Market Hall, Abergavenny.

Fresh local produce

Pen-Y-Fal Car Boot Sale.

Sellers 10am, Buyers 11am.

Tel: 07761363090, 07842521332

Govilon Car Boot.

See 5,12,19

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The Summer Issue

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July / August

17

stressed? y • a l lerg y t og he l x o joint pain?

IBS?

erg y ba • en la

As if the annual pressure to obtain a beach body isn’t enough, this summer we have the Olympic Games with all those honed and toned bodies in skimpy costumes to contend with.

PA Photo/Elba

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Banish those costume dramas

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You may be suffering from food sensitivities that GPs will miss. Let Wendy treat them at the Abergavenny Natural Therapy Centre. hea lt h c rea t io g•

call: 01873 858391 today

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ZUMBA is the Latin-American dance-fitness craze that’s been sweeping Europe. It fuses hypnotic Latin rhythms and easy-to-follow moves to create a one-of-a-kind fitness program that will blow you away.

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Zumba is for everyone - all ages, shapes and fitness levels. One exciting hour of bodyenergizing, awe-inspiring movements will burn 300 - 1000 calories in a workout that’s truly exercise in disguise!

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The routines feature interval training sessions where fast and slow rhythms and resistance training are combined to tone and sculpt your body while burning fat. Add some Latin flavour and international zest into the mix and you’ve got a Zumba party!

PA Photo/Sand In My Toes

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Looking good this summer

According to a recent survey for Moontide swimwear, 53% of women start thinking about how they’ll look in their costumes more than two weeks before their holiday, with 15% worrying more than a month beforehand.

With

But don’t fret if finding the right swimsuit is turning into a major event - let your figure lead the way to a winning bikini or onepiece. Whatever your shape, there’s a costume out there that will disguise your hot spots and flaunt your best bits to the max.

MAGGIE

the No 1 Abergavenny Zumba instructor with over 3 years experience

Forget all those apples and pears references and find your ideal swimsuit with our refreshing guide to body shapes:

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Tel: 07815143202 £3 per class Email enquiries to stj101@sky.com 18

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The Summer Issue

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July / August

PA Photo/Tesco

School Lane, Gilwern Every THURSDAY 7.00pm - 7.45pm

▲ Bikini top, £7; briefs, £5; necklace, £6; bangles, from £5; sunglasses, £5; all F&F at Tesco (0800 505555)

If your figure is ‘bottom heavy', your swimsuit choices should balance out your shape.

Your body is all about the hips, thighs and bottom, so try mixing a print or embellished top with solid colour bottoms, which has the effect of slimming down your hips.

Want supermodel pins on the beach? Seek out a high cut around the thighs to emphasise your leg length.

Celebrity examples: Beyonce Knowles, Jennifer Lopez, Coleen Rooney

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Cornetto cone An ‘inverted triangle’ shape. If you have a wide upper body, avoid fussy detailing on your top half.

Your legs may be one of your best features, so try a bikini bottom with adjustable long tie sides that will make them look even more enviable - and won’t squeeze into your body if you carry weight around the middle. If you’re top-heavy due to a bigger bust, look for a simple, well-structured bikini top and steer clear of deep-plunging V-necklines.

Celebrity examples: Catherine Zeta-Jones, Elizabeth Hurley, Jessica Simpson

Get the look

Secret shopper

Look pretty in pink like Ginnifer Goodwin in her Roksanda Ilincic designer dress. Flaunt your fuchsia credentials in The Pretty Dress Company’s Renee couture pencil frock, £85 (www.theprettydressco mpany.com).

Is your man’s wardrobe mysteriously growing? More than half of men ‘hide’ new clothes from their partner for fear of being rumbled for spending too much.

A fifth of men also admit to never cleaning out their wardrobe, a new MyVoucherCodes survey reveals. The guys questioned, aged 18-35, went clothes shopping an average of 15.3 times a year.

When asked to estimate how much they spent a year on clothes shopping, the average worked out at £658.37.

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Lou Lou bikini top, £19.95; bottoms, £15; Sally bikini top, £19.95; bottoms, £15; all White Stuff (020 7735 8133/www.whitestuff.com)

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Spotted on countless celebrities, Miss Selfridge’s sell-out Designed By shirt is back in stores. Grab it while you can and make a print impression, £50 (0844 984 0263).

Fashion flash Work your wardrobe If your workwear outfits need an overhaul, look to McArthurGlen.

The designer outlets are teaming up with women’s charity Dress for Success to launch their first ever Workwear Week. Style consultants and recruitment advisers will be on hand to offer fashion advice and bespoke career guidance. The pop-up event takes place at McArthurGlen’s Ashford, Bridgend, Swindon, East Midlands, York and Cheshire Oaks designer outlets from July 2-8.

For more information visit www.mcarthurglen.com/workwearweek

Coca-Cola bottle If your body fits the bill as a classic hourglass shape, it’s all about emphasising your voluptuous silhouette.

The swimwear world is your oyster but avoid anything too skimpy, you’re looking to emphasise - and contain - your curves.

Look to old school Hollywood glamour with retro cuts to flatter your figure. A one piece with a low V-front will highlight your womanly shape.

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Those petite in frame and stature should avoid busy prints that swamp your diminutive figure like the plague.

A V-neck swimsuit or halterneck will give your a torso a few valuable inches and make your neck appear longer too.

Make your torso look lean and lengthened by choosing low-cut bikini bottoms. Belted styles will help carve out a silhouetted, defined figure to boot.

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Long and lean with a tomboyish shape, your aim may be to create curves through your swimming costume.

Fashion yourself the illusion of a bigger bust with pleats, ruffles and gathering to add volume. Use the same principles if you want to magic yourself a bigger bottom.

Look for briefs with a wide frill around the waistline - the cut should kink out and create an hourglass silhouette in an instant.

• Consultations with fully qualified Doctors

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Lollipop stick

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The Summer Issue

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July / August

19

The Good Life

Beryl’s Diary

Tried & tested

It was a Friday, Mum said, when they set off - she, Dad, my younger brother and two cats in a crate - to foreign parts as she called Wales.

They drove all day and it was early evening when Dad turned off the main road and started climbing up a very steep rough track. It seemed to Mum to go on and on and she found herself slipping into a deep depression by the time Dad pulled into an old farmyard with stone outbuildings all around, some in a very advanced state of disrepair.

room to room, hating it from the word go. It was so dark, dingy and damp. There was a little window sitting on the floor in the bedrooms and steep sloping ceilings. Coming back down the stone stairs she went back into the kitchen, sat down in a chair and burst into tears. Poor Dad did his level best to console her, but quite frankly could not see anything wrong with the place. To him it was a promising future and he could not understand why Mum did not like it.

It looked like it had been abandoned years before. The yard was a pool of stagnant water and the house, for want of a better word, had been built with an outhouse on the side and both were leaning like a drunken man.

He pulled himself up to his full height of five foot seven inches and said, “Look I know it’s not up to your standards Brenda, but it’s a wonderful chance for us both. I’ll tell you what, if after six months you still don’t like it we will return to Swindon.”

My mother’s first thoughts were this cannot be it, but a small beam of light was shining out of the door, that hung just about on its hinges, and framed in the doorway was Beat, my father’s sister, who was eagerly welcoming them both home.

After a cup of tea my mother wandered all over that old house,

My mother continued to cry. All she wanted to do was pile everything back in the car and leave, but my father was to make that promise to her for the next sixteen years.

Every day she begged him to take her back to Swindon, but Dad had put so much into this ramshackled place there was no turning back for him. So, little by little my mother was going to have to adapt to living on the wild side.

Mum always said the first couple of years up there were hell, but she was tough and learned to get by.

She had to learn quickly that water didn’t just flow from a tap. If it didn’t rain, there was no water. It was collected via the roughings over the house down to water butts. The only other supply was an old well.

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Electricity wasn’t anywhere near the farm, so she had to learn how to light oil lamps, and old tilley lamps. It must have been hell for her, not only a new country, but a totally alien way of living, combatting nature and all its other forces.

Mum had been brought up in a good class family home. Now she was alone, on top of a mountain where, if you wanted dinner, you first had to kill it be it a chicken, rabbit or a pig.

I can only begin to guess what she went through, and what tears she must have shed, but love is a powerful force, and she must have loved my father dearly to stay there with the promise, of course, that in six months’ time, if she didn’t like it he’d take her home to Swindon!

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The Summer Issue

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July / August

Yoga’s benefit is in de-stressing as much as toning, but you’ll lose the mental benefit if you’re anxious about affording classes or struggling to fit in the time to get to them. Lisa Williams tests a new yoga DVD in the comfort of her own home.

What is it?

The Aim True Yoga DVD is devised by American yoga instructor Kathryn Budig, who’s trained stars such as Eva Mendes and Alanis Morissette.

It comprises two yoga routines: a 25minute workout for ‘beginners', and a 45-minute ‘intermediate’ one. The technique incorporates Vinyasa flow practice influenced by Ashtanga. There’s an explanatory segment at the end, in which Budig breaks down five of the most popular yoga moves.

What’s it like?

I love yoga. I find it focuses my mind on movement and balance rather than everyday stresses, and improves my sleep. But recently, because of an increasingly busy lifestyle, I haven’t been able to commit to a weekly class.

This DVD gives me the chance to practise whenever I have a spare moment. All I need to do is put it on, move the coffee table aside and unroll my mat. So no excuses!

Throughout the course of the DVD, Kathryn Budig explains her ‘new age’ spiritual concept of ‘aiming true’ making sure everything “comes from a place of love".

Apart from telling you to smile (and thereby relax) during the hardest poses, I’m not sure how this concept affects your workout. But it’s soothing to listen to, and I found it calming to let her words and the peaceful soundtrack wash over me as I attempted the moves.

Her routines are surprisingly fast-paced and demanding, and in my opinion, beginners to yoga would be advised to start with something less demanding, but if they do use the DVD, they should be careful not to over-reach themselves.

From my experience, I’d class the beginners’ 25-minute routine on a level with what you’d expect from an intermediate class in the gym. Some of the moves, in fact, are only explained in the ‘Yoga Poses Demystified’ section at the end, reserved for the five popular but more tricky techniques.

Similarly, the intermediate routine has some very difficult moves in it - such as the crow and the standing splits which relate in my experience to an advanced class. In both sections, Budig encourages you to jump into certain moves, or to lift your legs into the air so your arms take all your weight, which is pretty challenging.

While this DVD is quite intimidating at a first attempt, it does ensure, if you’re reasonably experienced in yoga, that the routines aren’t too easy and boring.

After several plays, I’m finding I’m getting better at the tougher moves and I’m sure that repeat use will yield good results.

Aim True Yoga, produced by Gaiam, is £9.99 from www.amazon.co.uk.

For the latest on Gaiam, visit the Facebook page www.facebook.com/gaiamintheuk

Push for Natural Birth As women are given the right to give birth by caesarean on the NHS, even if there’s no medical need, Hannah Stephenson reveals why having her second child by C-section was a lesson in life A midwife once told me and a group of other expectant mothers during the first (and only) course of antenatal classes I would ever attend: “Having a child is going to be the most painful thing you’ve ever experienced."

I was expecting my first child, William, at the time and yes, there was fear - but I knew the pain wouldn’t last forever. And if it all became too much, I reasoned, I’d take the pain relief offered and just get on with it.

He was born a week prematurely, after a 14-hour labour (I’ve been told I got off lightly), one epidural that didn’t take, and a lot of excruciating pain, swearing and pushing until the ordeal of childbirth was over and the pleasure of motherhood began, almost instantly.

It was the most emotional event of my life.

The overwhelming pain replaced by exquisite joy as the 7lb 15oz baby was placed on my chest, both my husband and I sharing tears of happiness.

The pain I felt from the stitches dissolved as the hormones of motherhood kicked in and I was back in pretty good form, although terribly tired, after a week.

Some 13 months later I was back in hospital, eight months’ pregnant with my second child (a daughter, Grace) but in a very different situation.

The baby, I had been told, was in a

transverse lie - lying sideways. After several unsuccessful attempts to move her to head down, I was told there was still a possibility the baby would move into the right position for the birth, but the longer the situation went on, the more likely it was that I would end up having an emergency caesarean. I had to remain in hospital for nearly a month while we all waited.

Eventually, I opted for a caesarean about a week before the due date, out of fear for the welfare of myself and the baby.

As time progressed, the doctors had enforced their fears this baby was never going to turn.

But opting for a caesarean didn’t come as a relief to me. I felt like I had failed. As I was wheeled into theatre, numb from the epidural, doctors all around, I felt nothing.

The only sensation, once the surgeon started, was an intense tugging at my abdomen. There were no tears, no excitement and not much emotion as I was monitored by an anaesthetist while doctors pushed and pulled to extract the baby.

When Grace finally emerged weighing just under 6lbs, I wasn’t physically strong enough to hold her and was promptly wheeled into a side room to recover. The whole process was cold, clinical and unemotional. Neither myself nor my husband was involved, and it could have been an appendix they removed for all the emotion generated.

Of course, we cooed over our gorgeous baby when she was brought through a little later in a bassinet, although I was still unable to sit up to look at her.

And the recovery period? Much longer than the natural birth. With Grace, I couldn’t pick her up out of the cot for some days (she had to be handed to me), couldn’t drive for more than a month, and the area around the bikini line, which was cut during the surgery, remains numb to this day.

advances in medical science, why shouldn’t women be allowed the right of a relatively painfree birth if it’s offered to them, just as they would surely be relieved of pain in all manner of other medical procedures, even if it does cost the NHS £800 more for a caesarean than for a natural birth?

Of course, it would be easy to appear smug about a reasonably straightforward natural birth, when it’s well known that the trauma of natural childbirth leaves some women so shocked they slip into postnatal depression, or suffer from haemorrhoids, incontinence and pain during sex.

For me, having endured the pain of both natural and caesarean childbirth, I would go for the former any time.

There are those who argue that, with all the

While the pain of a natural childbirth is, as my midwife warned me, unlike any I’ve ever known, so was the joy of seeing a baby for the first time, who I’d played a big part in bringing to this world.

summer hols catch up lessons

Invest in your childʼs future

One to One Tuition (I come to you or you to us) (reduced rates for two children per session)

Free assessment & consultation Friendly, very experienced local Ex-senior Teacher and Tutor offers: help and support to ages 6 to 16 in Maths, English and Science.

Regular, intensive, holiday or intermittent courses available weekdays and weekends Plus Revision, Entrance Exams, Common Entrance, G.C.S.E., SATS etc.

Home schooling support and advice Adult literacy & numeracy

t Visi w e n ite s web

Maurice Markwell Mobile: 07796 344615

Visi new t web site

www.onetoonetuition.net References available/enhanced CRB

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Five minutes with...

Rolf Harris Legendary entertainer Rolf Harris discusses his A Midsummer Night’s Dream project, as well as what it is like to entertain a crowd of 130,000 people Rolf Harris was born in Perth, Australia, in 1930, but moved to the UK in 1952, where he met his sculptress wife Alwen.

He became a household name in the 1960s thanks to TV series in which he sang and painted huge murals, during which his catchphrase ‘can you tell what it is yet?' was coined. He was the subject of an Arena documentary on BBC Two. IT WAS A BIT OF AN HONOUR TO BE PROFILED BY ARENA WASN’T IT? It was terrific. It all came about sort of by accident really. It was amazing. I met the director at a party, a man called Vikram Jayanti, who came across from America to England with his family when he was seven. He said: “I can’t believe it when I came to England, you were the first person I ever saw on television!" We got into such a lovely conversation and he asked if I had any unfulfilled ambitions. I said I’d love to paint A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and he said let’s do it. The whole thing snowballed from there.

TELL US MORE ABOUT THE A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM PROJECT. Vikram invited top model Lily Cole, the actress Dervla Kirwan, another actress called Emer Kenny from EastEnders, and Lizzie Jagger, Mick Jagger’s daughter. He phoned her and she was over the moon, so excited, because she’s watched me on television all her life. I painted those four girls in different poses, with Bottom, the guy with the donkey’s head. Then Vikram said I should really paint my wife because she’s been my inspiration all these years. She definitely has! So we painted Alwen with me. The nice thing was that in the middle, her cat came into the studio, started meowing like mad, jumped up and settled itself into her lap - so he’s in the picture as well!

YOUR ORIGINAL ART STUDIES DIDN’T GO WELL, DID THEY? I came to the UK specifically to go to art school and it was a disaster. I got all my information from Hayward Veal, a painter I had admired in Australia. I came over here, and he was over here too; it was quite amazing. He took me under his wing and taught me about Impressionist painting.

YOU’VE MADE ART ACCESSIBLE RATHER THAN STUFFY. YOU MUST BE VERY PROUD OF THAT? Yes, very much so. My feeling is that anybody can have a go, certainly. And some people can surge ahead and be really brilliant.

ŽŜĚĞŜĆ?Ä‚Ć&#x;ŽŜ Ĺ˝ĆŒ DĹ˝Ĺ?Ć?ĆšĆľĆŒÄž Ĺ?Ĺś Ç‡Ĺ˝ĆľĆŒ tĹ?ĹśÄšĹ˝Ç Ć?Í? ŽŜ͛ƚ ĹŻĹ?ǀĞ Ĺ?Ĺś ƚŚĞ ĨŽĹ? Ç ĹšÄžĹś ƚŚĞ Ć?ƾŜ Ć?ĹšĹ?ŜĞĆ?ÍŠ >Ğƚ ĆľĆ? ĆŒÄžĆ‰ĹŻÄ‚Ä?Äž Ç‡Ĺ˝ĆľĆŒ DĹ?Ć?ƚLJ tĹ?ĹśÄšĹ˝Ç Ć? Ç Ĺ?ƚŚ ƚŚĞ ůĂƚĞĆ?Ćš ÄžĹśÄžĆŒĹ?LJ ĞĸÄ?Ĺ?ĞŜƚ ŽƾÄ?ĹŻÄž Ĺ˝ĆŒ dĆŒĹ?ƉůĞ 'ĹŻÄ‚ÇŒÄžÄš ^ĞĂůĞĚ hĹśĹ?ĆšĆ? tÄž Ä‚ĹŻĆ?Ž͗ ZĞƉĂĹ?ĆŒÍ• ĂĚŊƾĆ?Ćš ĂŜĚ ĆŒÄžĆ‰ĹŻÄ‚Ä?Äž ,Ĺ?ĹśĹ?ÄžĆ?Í• >Ĺ˝Ä?ĹŹĆ?Í• ,ĂŜĚůĞĆ? ĂŜĚ ^ĞĂůĆ? ƚŽ tĹ?ĹśÄšĹ˝Ç Ć?Í• Ĺ˝Ĺ˝ĆŒĆ? ĂŜĚ ŽŜĆ?ÄžĆŒÇ€Ä‚ĆšĹ˝ĆŒĹ?ÄžĆ?͘ dŚĞ ŽžƉůĞƚĞ ŽƾÄ?ĹŻÄž 'ĹŻÄ‚ÇŒĹ?ĹśĹ? ZĞƉĂĹ?ĆŒ ^ÄžĆŒÇ€Ĺ?Ä?Äž &ĆŒĹ˝Ĺľ

KE Θ KE ÍžDŽŜžŽƾƚŚͿ &ĆŒÄžÄž YƾŽƚĂĆ&#x;ŽŜĆ? dĞů͗ ϏϭϲϏϏ ϳϭϴϲϏϴ žĂĹ?ĹŻÍ— Ć?Ä‚ĹŻÄžĆ?ΛÄ?ŽŜĚĂŜĚÄ?Ĺ˝ĹśÄšÍ˜Ä?Ĺ˝Í˜ĆľĹŹ

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The Summer Issue

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July / August

YOU’VE DONE SINGING, PRESENTING AND PAINTING. WHAT DO YOU SEE YOURSELF PRIMARILY AS? I’m a singer who presents and paints, and a painter who sings and presents, and a presenter who paints and sings! People say if you had to give up everything and just stick to one, which would you do? And I just couldn’t imagine that. I wouldn’t know what to do if I had to give up something.

DO YOU GET MOBBED EVERYWHERE YOU GO? Not mobbed really. It’s all a very orderly thing. But I like people and when people want an autograph I’m very happy to do it.

You only get mobbed if you get in a panic or you say no you’re not going to autograph something and run away. That’s when people want to mob you and chase you.

YOU SEEM TO GET A REAL KICK FROM MEETING THE PUBLIC. DO YOU LOVE LIVE PERFORMANCES? Are you kidding? It’s magic, just magic!

Glastonbury - I mean it’s amazing to get out there. This year I had 130,000 people there for the first show, and I now hold the record for the first show on the main stage.

Unbelievable. They treat me as if I’m a rock and roller!

ARE YOU SURPRISED AT HOW MUCH THE YOUNGER GENERATION EMBRACE YOU? No, I just expect it! I insist on getting it!

You go out and you know they love you and you love them, and you just look at each individual in the audience and you talk to them as individuals and they respond in the same way.

HAVE YOU GOT ANY MORE PLANS TO MAKE RECORDS? Yes, I’ve just written a song with Guy Chambers, who used to write with Robbie Williams. So that was really nice. I’ve never written with anybody before, I’ve always written them myself. You sort of do it in a vacuum, so you don’t get any kind of response from anybody else who’s in the know. So to have a guy like him who’s got such a great track record of writing wonderful songs, it’s just amazing, thrilling.

WILL IT BE A SINGLE? Who knows? We just did it as an exercise to see if it would work, and it certainly did.

It was lovely. We did a rough recording of it, so we’ll have a listen at the demo, see if it’s got legs and can go anywhere.

WHAT’S YOUR GREATEST ACHIEVEMENT? Painting the Queen, I would think.

YOU MUST HAVE BEEN THRILLED WITH THE FINISHED RESULT. Oh my goodness, to have it work... Going into something like that and thinking I hope to God it works, I want to get her looking like a real person and smiling, and that came across very well at the end.

DO YOU HAVE ANY AMBITIONS LEFT? I would have liked to have done some animation, because I really enjoyed it when I was doing Rolf’s Cartoon Club. I got a great buzz out of it. But then I realise when I look at Nick Park who does Wallace and Gromit, if you want to do a programme of that length and that quality, it’s going to take you two years every day, and I’ve got so many other things I want to do.

PA Photo / JupiterImages Corporation

Energy Calculator, where you can work out how you could benefit from the scheme.

An average 3kWp (kilowatts peak) PV system, which will produce enough electricity for around 75% of a typical household’s needs, costs in the region of ¬£10,000.

Solar thermal panels cost much less, at around ¬£3,000 to ¬£5,000 for a typical system. They’ll provide around 33% of the hot water you need at home (depending on the size of your household), but won’t save you much money between ¬£55 and ¬£80 a year, according to an Energy Saving Trust field trial.

You may be able to get a grant to help with the cost of the installation, or other financial assistance - check the Energy Saving Trust website for the latest schemes.

Save with Solar Here comes the sun

cut your utility bills and CO2 emissions, but the benefits don’t end there.

You may think that solar panels are a big expense and so not for you, but if you’re planning to stay in your home for a long time, installing them can make sense financially, as well as being beneficial to the environment.

Solar PV panels can also earn you money, thanks to the Government’s Feed-In Tariffs scheme, which pays you for the electricity you generate and use and also for any surplus you supply to the National Grid.

There are two types of solar panel - ones that generate electricity (solar photovoltaics or PV), which are most popular, and ones that heat your home’s water (solar thermal). With both, you’ll

This could give you savings and income of around £670 a year, according to the Energy Saving Trust. Its website (www.energysavingtrust.org.uk) features a Solar

If your home’s leasehold, you may need permission from the freeholder to install solar panels. Restrictions may also apply if you live on ‘designated land', such as a conservation area, and if the building’s listed, so ask your local council about what you can and can’t do.

Where planning restrictions apply, solar roof tiles or slates may be acceptable to the planners.

These are more expensive than panels, though.

Standard solar panels are readily available - try the B&Q website (www.diy.com), where panels start at £2,198 for two. Alternatively, go to http://local.which.co.uk or www.microgenerationcertification.org to find solar panel installers.

As ever, get as many quotations as possible to find the best deal.

As well as the thermal panels, you’ll need a boiler or immersion heater to give you additional hot water and sometimes to make the water heated by the panels hotter, especially in winter. You may also have to change your boiler and hot-water cylinder to a compatible one.

If putting the panels on a pitched roof isn’t an option, you may be able to mount them on a frame on the ground, a wall or a flat roof instead.

As with all solar panels, how well they’ll work will depend on how much sun they get - the sunnier the position, the better, although they can still work on cloudy days. Solar panels are heavy, so ground or wall-mounted ones could be a good option if the roof can’t take the weight.

The Feed In Tariff will change on 1 August. With the cost of panels coming down Solar PV still makes a good investment with returns of 10% or more. Install before the end of July and receive the higher rate.

Greenearth Energy offers: Ɣ Free Energy Performance Survey Ɣ Finance options available for community projects Ɣ Qualified technicians, not sales staff, to help you through the process Ɣ 10 years experience of fitting solar panels in Herefordshire and Wales

01981 241 399

www.GreenearthEnergy.co.uk info@GreenearthEnergy.co.uk

Westwood Ind. Estate,, Pontrilas,, Herefordshire

Working to the highest standards, we have installed over 5MW, that’s more than 25,000 panels, enough to power 1,000 houses!

Greenearth Energy also install Solar Hot Water Systems, Biomass, Heat Pumps and Wind Turbines.

We guarantee to provide the most suitable energy solution for your needs and help you secure the available incentives.

DOMESTIC • AGRICULTURAL • COMMERCIAL

ENERGY FOR LIFE ●

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Gazette Motors

C-MAX Hybrid – Ford’s Most Affordable, Fuel-Efficient Hybrid Utility Vehicle

C-MAX is a compact hybrid utility vehicle and the company’s first dedicated line of hybrids.

customers increasingly want to save money at the pump, even as gas prices rise over time.”

The C-MAX Energi plug-in hybrid will follow later this year with better electric-mode fuel economy and overall driving range than the Prius plug-in hybrid.

The C-MAX Hybrid blends fuel economy with performance, with projected best-in-class horsepower and torque along with Ford’s thirdgeneration powersplit technology that allows for higher speed while in electric mode than Toyota Prius v.

“C-MAX Hybrid offers better fuel economy, performance, technology and functionality than Prius v – and C-MAX Hybrid customers will pay less at the dealership and at the pump,” said Ken Czubay, vice president, U.S. Marketing, Sales and Service. “Ford is delivering the power of choice for leading fuel economy across its lineup – from EcoBoost to electrified vehicles – because

C-MAX Hybrid benefits from 20 years of research and innovation behind the software and hardware technology driving it, with many of Ford’s almost 500 hybrid vehicle-related patents contained within.

That means that along with SYNC® with MyFord Touch®, drivers get class-exclusive features like hands-free liftgate (offering hands-free cargo access with a simple kicking motion), SmartGauge® with EcoGuide, regenerative braking and an advanced lithium-ion (li-ion) battery pack that is being used for the first time in a Ford hybrid.

C-MAX Hybrid – being built on Ford’s global Csegment platform – also benefits from a proven design and nameplate with more than 156,000 units of the gasoline version sold in Europe since its 2010 launch.

Room to move - C-MAX Hybrid is a compact hybrid utility vehicle jam-packed with features and room for five people and cargo.

The vehicle has a high roofline (63.9 inches) offering ample interior space and flexibility. C-MAX

Hybrid offers 99.7 cubic feet of passenger space compared with 97 cubic feet in Prius v.

The spacious C-MAX Hybrid also provides greater headroom in both front and rear seats than Prius v (41/39.4 inches vs.

39.6/38.6 inches).

For cargo, C-MAX Hybrid has 60/40 split-fold rear seats that easily fold flat with 54.3 cubic feet of space behind the first row and 24.5 cubic feet behind the second row.

Tech-savvy - C-MAX Hybrid features the company’s innovative hands-free liftgate, allowing for quick and easy access to the cargo area without messing with keys. A gentle kicking motion under the rear bumper opens the liftgate when used in combination with a key fob the user keeps in his or her pocket or purse that tells the car it’s OK to engage. The same motion can close the liftgate.

The vehicle also features the newest version of MyFord Touch to help inform, enlighten, engage and empower drivers. MyFord Touch offers multiple ways for customers to manage and control their phone, navigation, entertainment and climate functions through voice commands, menus

Christ College Brecon Guardianship Scheme hrist College is a renowned boarding and day school for 11 – 18 year olds. Boarders are accommodated in one of six boarding house: one for junior pupils, aged 11 and 12, and five for senior pupils, three for boys, and two for girls. These Houses create a real ʻhome from homeʼ atmosphere for the pupils.

C

For many years pupils from overseas have been a familiar and valued part of Christ College, and overseas pupils make a significant contribution to the international nature of our community.

Christ College is a relatively small school of 340 pupils; the majority of our pupils are boarders, and the overseas pupils - from all over the world - are fully

integrated in the boarding life of the school.

During the schoolʼs half-term etc and weekend breaks some of the overseas pupils are looked after by host families, and we are looking to bring more families into the schoolʼs highly-regarded Guardianship Scheme.

If you are within an hourʼs drive of Brecon, have experience of looking after children, and are interested in becoming one of Christ Collegeʼs host families, then we would be pleased to hear from you.

Expenses of up to £40 per night per pupil can be claimed; if you would like more information, then please contact Mrs Carol Pople-Baker on 01874 615440, or e-mail guardianship@christcollegebrecon.com.

Exeat weekends 2012-2013 Friday 28 September 2012 to Sunday 30 September Friday 23 November to Sunday 25 November Friday 25 January 2013 to Sunday 27 January Saturday 4 May 2013 to Monday 6 May

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HALF TERMS 2012-2013

Exeat Weekends

Friday 26 October to Sunday 4 November Friday 8 February to Sunday 17 Ferbruary Friday 24 May to Sunday 2 June

accessed through controls on the steering wheel, touch screens, buttons or knobs.

C-MAX Hybrid also offers the next generation of SmartGauge with EcoGuide. Designed to help drivers get the most from the C-MAX Hybrid, information such as instantaneous fuel economy can be displayed on the left cluster to help drivers more closely monitor how their driving behavior affects the vehicle’s efficiency.

The left cluster also shows Brake Coach, a feature that helps drivers optimize their use of the braking system so that driving range can be enhanced through proper braking techniques. In the right cluster, redesigned imagery of green leaves shows overall driving efficiency – as drivers improve their efficient driving, they are rewarded with more leaves.

Can you provide a caring home for a child from overseas for 3 weekends and 3 half terms per year?

Less Pain and more Gain With the festive season behind us, it’s time to get fitter. Our selection of gadgets aim to add some fun to your workout regime.

The thought of attending a gym with the masses may fill you with dread, while going for a jog around your local park may be just a tad too tedious. So allow us to whet your appetite for exercise with this selection of gadgets that could make fighting the flab and getting fitter a little more fun.

Keep Track - Fitbit Ultra £79.99 from www.play.com This stylish device is a new breed of tracker which monitors your day-to-day activity, not just when you exercise but as you go about your daily grind. It sends all the data to your personal online profile and could be just the motivator you need. It tracks steps, distance, sleep patterns and even has a stair counter so no longer will you be able to justify taking the lift!

Quick Spin - The Burn Machine - £119.99 from www.firebox.com This portable piece of kit lets you replicate the punches of a boxer on a speed bag, one of the most effective tools to build muscle strength and improve cardiovascular endurance. To use, hold it away from your body and start a handbike-like circular motion as you turn it via its rotating grips. After you’ve mastered that technique, you can begin to move around with it, changing the angle at which it is held. It’s like an all-in-one gym.

Healthy Eating - Eat Fit Cutlery - from £69.99 at www.firebox.com Just when you think they might have thought of everything, something quite unbelievable such as this shows up. But there are benefits, so bear with us. Possibly the most expensive set of cutlery you’re ever likely to own, the knife and fork weigh in at 1kg each and, if you’re a slave to the dessert, the spoon tips the scales at 2kg.

Get a workout at breakfast, lunch and dinner!

Sing And Swim - H20 Surge Sportwrap Headphones - £38.24 from www.firebox.com Proven to be a highly effective way to lose a few pounds and improve overall fitness, swimming can become a little lonesome after a few lengths. So,

Tight Fit - Zaggora HotPants - £44.99 from www.firebox.com These cycle-style shorts with clever bio-ceramic technology claim to help make a difference to your weight-loss programme. The pants reflect body heat to increase perspiration by up to 80% - delivering a 60-minute workout in just 20 minutes. The harder you work, the better they perform. Rumour has it they can assist you in dropping up to two dress sizes in two weeks!

Team Up - Fitness Training Set - £80 from www.ubergames.co.uk Find yourself a partner, select an outdoor space, agree a routine and have some fun with this fitness set. The nifty carry bag includes 10 training hurdles, a four-metre speed ladder, resistor belt and 25 marker cones. It’s great for a lark in the park as well as for more serious workouts.

PARADE HOUSE Ideally situated for the elderly, being within level walking distance of the town centre Parade House is situated in the heart of the beautiful Wye Valley in the centre of the bustling market town of Monmouth. It is ideally situated for the elderly, being within easy level distance of the town with its shops, churches, coffee houses and inns.

The building dates from 1970 and has been carefully restored to recreate a country house atmosphere, planned as a comfortable environment in which residents can continue to enjoy their individual way of life. Fully carpeted and centrally heated, the house offers a warm welcome. The Single Room pleasant drawing room and sun lounge both offer views of the secluded garden and are agreeable surroundings for reading and Available conversation.

Newly completed Large en-suite rooms

AVENUE ROAD NURSING HOME Becoming part of your family Our core values of care: • Privacy • Dignity • Rights • Independence • Choice • Fulfilment• Security • Respect • Equality 28 Avenue Road, Abergavenny, Monmouthshire NP7 7DB Tel: 01873 857607 Fax: 01873 857607

Mob: 07830 385435 (Dr. A. Bansal)

with your MP3 player protected in one of the many available waterproof cases, use these earbuds, which give pitch-perfect sound, to enjoy your carefully crafted in-water playlist.

• For long term or respite care • Friendly,caring atmosphere • Lift to first floor • High standard of cuisine

01600 712821 Fax: 01600 772228

For a brochure telephone the proprietor, Maureen Rayner

Email: enquiries@paradehouse.co.uk

The Parade, Monmouth, Monmouthshire NP25 3PA ●

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Work on your smile Your smile is one of the first things people notice, so it’s vital to keep it looking bright and healthy. Yet new research reveals that Britons are nonchalant about the state of their teeth. Six out of 10 people have no concerns about their dental health, despite the fact that more than half of adults suffer from teeth and gum problems.

This lack of concern about dental health is why the British Dental Health Foundation (BDHF) - who carried out the research with Listerine - are urging people to look after their teeth and keep them for life as part of this year’s National Smile Month Teeth4Life campaign, which runs from 20 May to 20 June.

Dr Nigel Carter, chief executive of the BDHF, says: “When the first ever Smile campaign was launched more than 35 years ago, one in three people over the age of 16 had no teeth at all.

“Fortunately, these days the situation is a much happier one. Most of us expect to keep our teeth for life and indeed do so.

“National Smile Month is all about educating people on how to make the best of their smile."

However, while the oral health situation is indeed happier and gives us all more to smile about, just 12 years ago as many as 13% of UK adults had lost all their natural teeth.

With 28% of today’s UK population wearing dentures, the BDHF believes people should pay more attention to their oral hygiene than they currently do.

The campaign is encouraging Brits to: ◆ Brush teeth twice daily with fluoride toothpaste. ◆ Visit the dentist regularly, as often as they recommend. ◆ Cut down on how often you have sugary snacks or drinks.

The BDHF has found that those people who believe they’re brushing their teeth for the recommended two minutes are actually brushing for only 56

seconds, and as many as 13% of people brush once a day or less.

In addition, a third have never flossed their teeth, and more than seven in 10 eat sugary foods at least once day.

Such people may need to change their habits, and see a dentist regularly.

According to the NHS, people that have never had gum disease and have good oral health may only need a dental check-up once a year, or possibly every two years. But those with a history of oral disease need more frequent visits, perhaps as often as every three months.

However, as many as four in 10 people (43%) admit to putting off visiting their dentist due to the expense. Charges vary widely across the country, and are obviously much cheaper for those lucky enough to find an NHS dentist.

But any cost should be weighed against the fact that dental health problems have been linked to more serious general health problems.

Carter says: “New scientific evidence of systemic links between oral health and overall body health continues to mount. Gum disease has been linked to diabetes, strokes and pregnancy problems as well as heart disease, so it’s vital to look after oral hygiene.

“Almost all of us suffer from gum disease at some point in our lives, but it’s easy to control it and prevent serious risks."

Dentist Eddie Coyle, clinical director of Oasis Dental Care, which has 182 dental practices in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, says people need a

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good partnership both with their dentist and their toothbrush to maintain good oral health.

“Having a good relationship with your toothbrush tends to be a reasonable starting point. There also needs to be a good partnership between the patient and the dental team - it lets the patient understand what’s wrong, where their mouth’s at and what the treatment options are."

He says that six-monthly dental check-ups are “a myth from times gone by", when in fact check-ups should be based on individual need.

Parents are advised to take children to the dentist as early as possible, not necessarily to have a dental examination but so they can see what the surgery’s like and parents can get advice about diet and toothbrushing for them.

Dentist Eddie Coyle, clinical director of Oasis Dental Care

Dr Nigel Carter, chief executive of the BDHF

which have sugars or hidden sugars in them, such as fizzy drinks or tomato sauce, and be careful with naturally occurring sugars found in things like raisins or fruit juices.

As for toothbrushing, he advises people to aim for at least two minutes, and to choose the brush that’s right for them with the help of their dental team.

“This is where dentistry versus medical advice will sometimes come into conflict, because what’s necessarily good for your teeth isn’t always necessarily good for that individual patient.

“Many people regard electric toothbrushes as some sort of magic wand. But you still have to put it on the right surface at the right angle and with the right pressure to do the right job.

“So if you’re having healthier snacks, just be careful - watch out for anything to excess, it could be a problem."

“So there are many individuals who find a good manual technique just as effective."

Coyle also points out that people should always remember that cleaning between the teeth is as important as cleaning the teeth themselves.

Another important way of looking after your teeth is looking after what goes in your mouth.

“It’s not how much sweet stuff you have, it’s how often you have it," says Coyle.

“Plaque will gather in those areas and have an impact on tooth and gum health. You need to use a physical action to move the plaque away," he warns.

If you have a “sweet episode", the mouth takes around an hour to recover from the resulting higher acidity levels, which can cause dental decay. So it’s best to eat sweet things around mealtimes, if possible, because they’ll probably already include a “sweet episode".

Use dental floss, tape or many other similar products to clean between the teeth every day. Coyle admits that one of the things dentists have to live with is that some people don’t like to see them, and others are positively terrified.

Coyle, 41, says it’s also best to try to limit foods

“It may be because they’ve been told a certain procedure’s horrible, and for some it can be something as simple as they don’t like the smell of the surgery or injections, or it may be that an experience they’ve had - very commonly as a young child - has caused them to have an irrational fear of dentistry."

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But they need to get over their fear - of either seeing the dentist or spending the money both to avoid potential pain and prevent future problems with both oral and general health.

“Most dental disease tends to be silent, so if you need a filling you probably won’t get any symptoms from that until it’s progressed quite far.

“It’s important to have a professional team to make sure things aren’t progressing, and establish a long-term plan to make sure there’s a prevention aspect."

He adds: “It’s really just about being aware of diet, making sure you have a good brushing technique, attending to regular dental care and making sure the area between the teeth’s nice and clean."

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