Absolutely South East August 2022

SOUTH EAST

South East AUGUST 2022 / £3.95

HEALTH & BEAUTY AUGUST 2022

S P ECIAL 40 pages of health, beauty, fitness and wellbeing

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PUNCHDRUNK Behind the scenes with the innovative theatre company ALL YOU KNEAD How pizza ovens became the new must-have ON THE NAIL London's finest manicures

ST YLISH / INTELLIGENT / ELEGANT 29/07/2022 16:53

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ABSOLUTELY

Contents AUGUST 2022

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134 14

C U LT U R E ABSOLUTELY LOVES

H E A LT H & B E A U T Y 65 BEAUTY NOTES

WHAT'S ON

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PUNCHDRUNK

82 PRETTY POLISH

10 things we’re coveting this month

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Your diary for August

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Meeting Felix Barrett and Maxine Doyle

What's hot and what's new

BEAUTY BUYS

All the best SPFs

All the best manicures

FOOD & DRINK 36 KITCHEN CONFIDENTIAL

INTERIORS 104 INTERIOR INSPIRATIONS

39 EATING OUT

108 KITCHEN STYLE

FA S H I O N 52 THE SHOOT

123 PACK A PICNIC

News from the industry

Lina Stores in Marylebone

Lounge style at Whistles

58 JEWELLERY Precious pearls

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News and views

Why you need bold colour in your kitchen

A B S O L U T E LY. L O N D O N The online guide to inspirational London living that helps you stay one step ahead of the crowd and gives you the chance to win exclusive prizes.

Stylish accessories

T R AV E L 134 CANAL TOURS

A weekend in Amsterdam

O N T H E C OV E R paolita.co.uk

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Beautiful timber windows & doors

EDITOR IN CHIEF PENDLE HARTE EDITORIAL ASSISTANT RACHEL HOGG MAMA EDITOR CARLY GLENDINNING ART DIRECTOR PAWEL KUBA SENIOR DESIGNERS MIKE ROBERTS, SUZETTE SCOBLE MIDWEIGHT DESIGNER CARMEN GRAHAM JUNIOR DESIGNER KAI NICHOLLS GROUP SALES MANAGER JOSEPH HAISMAN MEDIA CONSULTANTS STELLA ADAMS ANABELA KOLECI KATIE WOOD FINANCIAL DIRECTOR JERRIE KOLECI CREDIT CONTROL MANAGER ALEXANDRA HVID

Commission a masterpiece

DIRECTORS CRAIG DAVIES, LEAH DAY, JAMES FUSCHILLO NON-EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR ALEXANDRA HUNTER MANAGING DIRECTOR SHERIF SHALTOUT

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Wandsworth | Crouch End | Dulwich

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Editor’s

LETTER ABSOLUTELY’S August issue highlights

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ugust brings a welcome quiet to London. There's a noticeable absence of traffic and queues, a surplus of tables in pub gardens and a few last-minute swim slots available at Parliament Hill Lido (if you're very lucky).

With the weather looking to remain at more manageable temperatures than we've recently experienced, we might be settling in for a long month of lazy days. Still, there's lots going on around town. Open-air cinemas are offering excellent programmes this year (our favourite is the new screen at Battersea Power Station, opening imminently with a fabulous and long-awaited refurb), and various festivals in and around London are keeping those of us who aren't in Greece entertained. Top of our list this month is Punchdrunk's spellbinding show The Burnt City in its new home in Woolwich – a short hop on the Elizabeth Line – and we were priviliged to be able to interview its founders for this issue. Enjoy August.

On site

Behind the scenes with Punchdrunk

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Nailing it London's best manicures

PENDLE HARTE EDITOR

Check in

It's all in the squares

Salad days

Summer's best dishes

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Stitch it

Textile art on display

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Wish LIST

FRESH STRIPE Desmond & Dempsey's Medina striped pyjama set in bright shades of coral, blue and red is a joy to wear. £120 selfridges.com

RA I N B OW M AG I C

EDITOR’S PICK

10 things we Absolutely love

Iris means rainbow in Latin, and this necklace has a rainbow of precious stones featuring Aventurine, Blue Jade, Green Jade, Rose Quartz, Amazonite, Iolite, Carnelian, Dyed Ruby and Peach Moonstone, all strung on a recycled sterling silver necklace. £100 nuehoops.com

ORANGE CRUSH Nail Kind is a new Danish nail polish brand that's not only vegan and cruelty-free – but it's also long-lasting and easy to apply. nailkind.com

N E W W E AV E For a twist on the classic French market shopper we love this Cella bag with neon orange trim by Kuwaiti designer Folklore. £457.39 folklorethelabel.com

COMPILED BY

PENDLE HARTE

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ABSOLUTELY • LOVES

ORANGE BLOSSOM Diptyque's Eau de Sens is the ultimate orange blossom fragrance – fresh, floral and captivating all day and in all seasons. £107 diptyqueparis.com

R I N G MY B E L L This Eivissa Orange Enamel ring in gold vermeil adds a stylish band of colour and looks great stacked with other colours too. £60 carrieelizabeth.co.uk

F LOW E R P OW E R For floral arrangements that exceed expectations, we love Blooming Haus's visionary approach and instincitve flair. bloominghaus.com

U N D E R COV E R HAMPSHIRE FIZZ

Designed by women for women, Nudea's lingerie is comfortable, stylish and practical. nudea.com

Exton Park's English sparkling Rosé is delicate and dry, with notes of white peach and a captivating English rose colour. £39 extonparkvineyard.com

CHINA BRIGHT Coralina is a beautiful tableware collection based on the genius of one of the most highly reputed designers of haute couture in the entire world, Oscar de la Renta. vistaalegre.com

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THE SPOOKY AFTER-DARK TRAIL FOR ALL THE FAMILY

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C U LT U R E

VANESSA JACKSON RA, ROTATE V, OIL ON CANVAS, 50 X 40 CM, COURTESY OF THE ARTIST; ROYAL ACADEMY SUMMER EXHIBITION

What's On 18 • Punchdrunk's Felix Barrett and Marina Doyle 22 • Street Art 28 A B S O L U T E LY m a g a z i n e s

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The Agenda

EV E N TS N OT TO M I S S I N LO N D O N

T H E AT R E

Julius Caesar Until 10 September S H A K E S P E A R ' S G LO B E Considering the current state of the British parliament, this revival of the Shakespearean tragedy seems to come at just the right time. The tale of brutal ambition has taken on a whole new sense of relevance and asks the rather unsettling question of how far a leader may be willing to go. shakespearesglobe.com

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Summer Exhibition U NTI L 21 AU GUST, TH E ROYA L ACADEMY OF ARTS

The world’s largest open submission contemporary art show is back for the 254th year running. The Royal Academy’s Summer Exhibition has been providing a vital platform and support for the artistic community since its inception in 1769. This year the academy received over 15,000 entries from around the globe, and over 1,400 of these works are currently on display for the public to enjoy.

ART

Angela Santana Until 31 August S A AT C H I YAT E S The Saatchi Yates Gallery is proud to present the first solo UK exhibition of Zurich-born artist Angela Santana. Her work seeks to transform the female body from object to subject through a process of deconstruction and reimagining and asks the audience to reconsider the power of the female painter. saatchiyates.com

royalacademy.org.uk

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CULTURE • DIARY

ART FO R

T H E AT R E

The Glass Menagerie Until 27 August D U K E O F YO R K T H E AT R E Fans of Tennesee William’s semiautobiographical masterpiece won’t want to miss its appearance in the West End. Especially considering that the role of the overbearing matriarch, Amanda Wingfield, is played by none other than Academy Awardnominated actress Amy Adams. theglassmenagerie.co.uk

BWG Gallery presents Spirit Within Lovers of all things magical will be delighted by BWG Gallery’s latest group exhibition, Spirit Within.

The show features eight emerging women artists who explore spirituality, occulture, mysticism, and inner-worlds through their practices and coincides with a cultural resurgence of interest in witches, crystals, manifesting and more.

FADING SPIRITS OF ALBION,

BY HAZEL FLOREZ

T H E AT R E

CRUISE THE PLAY

Highlights include expressive paintings by multidisciplinary artist Salome Wu, whose abstract and deeply emotional canvases present complex personal mythology.

A unique voice can be found in Lisbon-born figurative painter Mafalda Figueiredo. Her piece Burn it Down (2022) encapsulates the exhibition title perfectly. It depicts

13 August - 3 September T H E A P O L L O T H E AT R E This one-man powerhouse of a show is back for a strictly limited run. Written and performed solely by Jack Holden, Cruise the Play tells one man’s story during the AIDS crisis. Don’t let the uplifting 80s electronic soundtrack fool you, this is a deeply moving piece of theatre and a powerful tribute to a generation decimated by HIV and AIDS. cruisetheplay.co.uk

This Month’s Must See

THE SOUL

WA LT ER SICK ERT

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WE VOYAGE BETWEEN THOUGHT AND REALITY,

BY OLIVIA MANSFIELD

U NTI L 18 SEPTEMBER, TATE BRITAIN

alter Sickert was one of Britain’s, most influential artists, and over the course of his six-decade career, he completely revolutionised an entire genre. A master of theatricality and self-invention, his radically modern approach to painting transformed the way everyday life was captured on canvas. This exhibition will be the largest retrospective of his work in over 30 years and has brought together over 150 pieces from collections across the UK. tate.org.uk

a naked woman, bolding staring out of the canvas as a ghostly spirit lurks behind her. Finally, esoteric surrealist artist Hazel Florez’s piece Fading Visions of Albion (2022), a talisman featuring varieties of the UK’s endangered flower species, is both intricately enticing and sweetly sentimental.

On Display at Ben Oakley Gallery 9 Greenwich Market, SE10 9JA Until August 28 brusheswithgreatness.co.uk

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C R A Z Y C A B A R E T

“Aboremp orerisque et labor solo volorehenda eiunt, odiam fuga. quam eum volut”

The Black Cat Cabaret launches Halcyon Nights at Brasserie Zedel Wo r d s E V E H E R B E R T

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his month, Crazy Coqs at Brasserie Zédel will transform into The Halcyon, a nightclub in the golden age where riotous jazz rhythms fill the air, and where showbiz goes to get loose.

Halcyon Nights is the first brand new production from The Black Cat Cabaret since Bohemia in 2018. The company has been dazzling audiences from Soho to Monaco with innovative variety entertainment since 2012, with residencies at The Ned, Hotel Café Royal, Underbelly Festival, London Wonderground, Café de Paris and The Hippodrome Casino. This summer, the company returns tp Crazy Coqs to premiere this exciting new show.

Bringing together many art forms in one extraordinary building featuring cabaret, music, theatre, comedy and magic, Crazy Coqs is a unique art deco live entertainment venue within the Brasserie Zédel complex.

Drinks and snacks are served at the venue’s intimate 80 table seats, including a selection of 50s Sunset Strip themed cocktails created by the house mixologist exclusively for Halcyon Nights. Dressing up is not compulsory but is strongly encouraged.

“A nightclub in the golden age where riotous jazz rhythms fill the air”

H A LCYO N N I G H T S 6-21 August Crazy Coqs, Brasserie Zédel, 20 Sherwood Street, W1 Tickets £32.50 from theblackcat.info

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D R EA M

WORLD Absolutely meets Felix Barrett and Maxine Doyle, founders of Punchdrunk theatre company, at their first permanent home in Woolwich Wo r d s P E N D L E H A R T E

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elix Barrett and Maxine Doyle aren’t keen on the word ‘immersive’. “It’s too much of a catch-all and a bit gimmicky,” says Barrett. Work as elaborate, academically ambitious and genre-defying as theirs is hard to define So while he won’t have ‘immersive,’ he will accept ‘sitesympathetic’ – but only as an alternative to ‘site-specific’, which he also doesn’t like.

The brains behind innovative theatre company Punchdrunk have invited me to their huge new home in Woolwich, and I am privileged to be able to see behind the scenes. There’s no one story to be told in their sprawling new show, The Burnt City, but there are countless clues to be found

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in the detail and that’s why it inspires a core audience to keep going back for more. There’s something obsessive about it that attracts diehard superfans.

Punchdrunk has come a long way since it began 20 years ago, though its ethos remains the same. Barret had an idea for an entirely new type of theatre as a teenager, and used it to persuade Exeter University to give him a place despite a failed Maths A-level. “I pitched them the idea of something experiential, a world you can go inside. Installation art was big in the 90s and I thought to put narrative and performance in that, because while there were site-specific events and there was De La Guarda, but fusing design and performance had further to go, and I knew that with no money the only way to do

that was in a found space. Exeter had a module for site-specific work in the third year in drama, so my finals culminated in a piece in an old territorial army barracks.

It was non-linear and episodic, with the audience wearing masks.” And so an experiment that ran for one night ended up being the basis for Punchdrunk.

Fresh out of university in 2002, Barratt won a competition in which the prize was a producer and a choreographer for a prospective piece, and that’s how he met Doyle, whose dance vision provided the crucial element that his concept was missing. He says: “There was only so far I could get with performance language. I knew that it wasn’t working. If a performer just spouts a monologue it’s really anticlimactic and that’s why we needed Max,

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CULTURE • PROFILE

"WE’RE TRYING TO CREATE A SORT OF FEVER DREAM"

A B S O L U T E LY. L O N D O N

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for the fusion of our two brains.” At the time, she says she was “disheartened with sterile theatres, so I had started putting my stage work in clubs with DJs to create an event – when I met Felix I thought we could really take control of the atmosphere, give people an experience and hold onto the content.”

Dance is an integral part of the show; in fact, The Burnt City could justifiably be classified as dance rather than theatre – and for Doyle, this is a fundamental point. “We never sing the dance song because it could put people off – but actually it is a dance show. It’s performed by dancers. They create the show with us collaboratively and it’s not an acting sensibility, it’s a dancing sensibility.”

Dance is often dismissed as niche, she says.” In England we’re quite narrow – contemporary dance only started in the 1980s really, so it’s quite a young artform.”

Creating the show was – and continues to be – an intense process. Before rehearsals began, there had been a year’s worth of planning with a resident classicist and a vast body of research spanning high culture, street culture and radio. Only then did the performers start rehearsing “We’re improvising and discovering in a really interrogative nuanced way before we even come into the building,” says Maxine. “Then we’re constantly chipping away at the scenes,” adds Barrett. “It’s a much longer process than you’d have at the National.

If you were to put this on stage in a linear format it would be about nine hours. There

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are 35 scenes and 30 hours of soundtrack,” he says. This is why audiences return – there’s no hope of seeing the whole thing in one evening. And while we’re talking numbers, they built more than 5.5km of wall inside the space, creating about 120 rooms.

The Burnt City is a big show based loosely on the story of the fall of Troy (because, Barrett says, “the Greeks are the bedrock of western theatre”). It’s a disorientating space on several levels, taking in a sandy wasteland, an industrial ruin and an abandoned tent settlement as the Greek city of Mycenae. Actors lead masked audience members to witness fragments of wordless action in dance and

mime in a space that feels apocalyptic and terror-filled, partly a series of tableaux and sometimes strangely empty. The audience in their beaked masks are very much part of the choreography, closing in on the action like a terrifying faceless mob, heads angled questioningly or menacingly. The city of Troy is a neon-lit urban sprawl, all tacky shops and red light district chic, plus movingly detailed domestic scenes – these are the abandoned homes of the destroyed city, where people have fled mid-card game, or mid-laundry hanging.

Despite the sense of spontaneity, the show is crafted in forensic detail. Each scenario happens, says Doyle, three times a night, on a loop. Dancers keep time with the sound and lights and the audience will have an entirely different experience depending on which characters they choose to follow and when. The space is so vast that at times you might find yourself alone, and a bit frightened, and for Barrett that’s the aim.

“That’s the dream – to be by yourself with a sense of rising panic, thinking, have I left the show? That’s the subliminal space between the real and the show.” So while the space could accommodate more people, the scale would be lost if it were too full. “If Felix had his way there’d be one person in every night, but that doesn’t work economically,” laughs Doyle. “We’re trying to create a sort of fever dream and the sense of being so lost in it that you forget it’s a show. The idea is just to be in the universe we built,” says Barratt.

As a masked audience member wandering around Troy, you’re impressed by the scale and details of your surroundings. But in the light of day, touring

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• XXXXXXXX • XXXXX XXXXXXXX XXXXXXXX CULTURE • PROFILE

EVERYTHING IS CONSIDERED AND AUTHENTIC, BEYOND WHAT YOU’D THINK POSSIBLE (OR NECESSARY)

the same space, the depth and intricacy of everything is breathtaking. And it’s not just an aesthetic thing – everything is considered and authentic, beyond what you’d think possible (or necessary). So for instance the sake bar in Troy, a small space, one of many, contains more than 400 objects, the products of lengthy consultation with classicists and a Japanese translator. “So this script isn’t Japanese Kanji – it’s actually Linear B, the first form of ancient Greek writing. You don’t need to know it but if you do it’s another layer.

There’s one person in Athens who can transcribe Linear B, and we approached them to translate ‘river’ and then we got our Japanese calligrapher to design it.”

So what looks to the unenlightened like a plausible Japanese message is in fact Ancient Greek. “And if you know your sake and your five rivers of the underworld, you’ll know it’s not actually Japanese rice wine it’s actually water from different sources,” says Barrett, delightedly. “Even if one person who understands both Japanese drinking culture and the underworld gets the connection, that’s what drives us. Not just to make it look like something but to have a reason.” Doyle adds: “Otherwise, without the authenticity, it becomes a theme park.” Similarly, a corridor full of graffiti is also all in ancient Greek – “We translated it into Linear B then got a graffiti artist to do it,” says Barrett, gesturing, “and there’s the Minotaur, the centre of the maze, which is another reading of the space: that if you know where to look you will come face-to-face with the Minotaur.

But that only happens to two people a night.” When you consider that the lighting is deliberately kept dim, all of these details

take some finding, and of course there are no instructions, and not even a programme.

As if all of this wasn’t enough, the show is always evolving. Barrett and Doyle go and see it about twice a week to keep track. Doyle says: “Last night I followed a character I hadn’t seen for a while and saw two beautiful new things that the artist had developed within the language in the frame. It was the equivalent of a beautiful monologue, but in movement.”

And then there are the famed personal encounters, where one audience member is treated to a special individual experience.

“So if you were following the right character and they liked the look of you and realised that you were watching their show and not being too needy, they might lead you here,” says Barrett, opening a cupboard door and revealing a secret shrine.

The superfans are the ones entering early and inspecting everything, reading every document and poster, hoping to be picked, desperate to see the Minotaur. Tickets for The Burnt City are selling until December, and the show will doubtless keep changing.

And after that? Now that they’re installed in the space, anything could happen.

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ABSOLUTELY • PROMOTION

Want to live a life without limits? Then this is the festival for you…

Burnout is fast becoming the next epidemic. As a connected nation, subjected to constant stimulation combined with high levels of stress, thanks to a global pandemic, we are all in need of some help on how to live and thrive in this post pandemic world

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he Times+ Life Lessons Festival with The Times & The Sunday Times (9-11 September) is bringing together the most brilliant minds and thought leaders to help us do exactly that. The festival’s stellar line-up features over 100 speakers all sharing their stories, ideas and attitudes on how we can take back control of our health, wealth and happiness. The Life Lessons With main stage will see the likes of Louis Theroux, Anya Hindmarch CBE, Paloma Faith, Caitlin Moran, Steven Bartlett, Rankin, Jay Blades MBE and many more come together to share their well-informed stories, advice and real-

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life experiences to inspire, enlighten and entertain. The In Good Company stage offers a series of discussions and debates from leading health, wellbeing, cultural and business mentors. While leaders in travel, sport, adventure and self-discovery will share their real-life stories overcoming adversity on the Discovery Stage.

Those looking for intimate talks with experts on personal development can take part in the Times+ Masterclass Series.

Explore ways to improve and adapt lifestyle choices with topics such as ‘How to overcome imposter syndrome’, ‘How to get your glow back’ and ‘How to build a healthy brain’. Creativity and wellbeing are intrinsically linked, and the festival is bursting with engaging immersive

features, displays and installations. The sensational world-first Sensory Slowdown will captivate festival goers with a unique multi-sensory immersive journey. Devised by renowned innovator and sensory designer Ari Peralta, in collaboration with Mycoocoon, the experience combines light, scent, sound and touch to enable visitors to unwind and discover ways to live optimally. The Rewriting Extinction ‘Save the World’ digital gallery sponsored

by DUG, brings the planet together by harnessing the power of storytelling to focus on species extinction and biodiversity and share simple ways in which we can act and make a difference. Conceptual artist and poet Robert Montgomery will bring a powerful piece of word art, alongside portraits and tales of endeavour, exploration and resilience by SoulKind and the much loved All On The Board will bring their day brightening London Underground messages to cheer and amuse.

The last few years have seen our homes become our office, gym, restaurant and spa.

Now restrictions have eased, our appetite to reconnect has never been stronger and the festival social spaces are designed to expand our minds and celebrate and rediscover the beauty of the world around us. The Retreat offers a calm sanctuary for visitors to rejuvenate the body and mind, or refuel after busy talks at The Terrace and rehydrate at The Supernacular Bar with delights created by flavour consultant Jack Sotti. The Garden is an al-fresco option at Lewis Cubitt Park perfect for picnics and relaxing between talks and experiences.

Around Town offers a host of free events showcasing the newest innovations, concepts and techniques in the world of wellbeing. The Lifestyle Lab at The Fore offers free workshops tackling everyday stresses of modern life, from insomnia to stress and burnout.

Whether searching for inspiration, wanting to learn from experts or simply fancy rejuvenating your life the Times+ Life Lessons Festival will enlighten, entertain and engage all who visit, in a truly spectacular setting.

Purchase your ticket for £45, and then Curate Your Day by booking additional talks on the Main Stage, In Good Company stage and Masterclass sessions. lifelessonsfestival.com

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ACCESS ALL AREAS: A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A RACEHORSE

10th-18th September

Have you ever wondered what goes into training a thoroughbred to win a race like the Grand National or the Epsom Derby? In truth, it takes a lot of love, care and attention to detail from a large team of people. From 10- 18 September, you can come and see that first hand at a yard in your area, as part of National Racehorse Week.

More than 150 yards, studs and retraining centres nationwide, will be throwing their stable doors open to the public, so you can experience the inner workings of a racing operation first hand - for free. A number of leading trainers and yards across the region are offering this exciting opportunity to people of all ages, to get up close and personal with these fabulous animals. See just how fast a racehorse gallops, how much they eat a day, how they spend their downtime and just how much time and affection goes into caring for a racehorse before, during and after their career. You can ask questions to the wonderful team who work tirelessly behind the scenes to give these horses a happy, healthy life.

This year’s event will be bookended by the open days taking place at major racing centres including Epsom Open Day on 11 September (entrance fee

visit nationalraceorseweek.uk

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applies), just 15 miles outside of London and within walking distance of multiple stations. A number of trainers across Epsom will be participating in the event, when visitors can meet the racehorses past and present, tour their yards, and learn first-hand from the team who care for them. Surrey trainer George Baker also opens his yard to the public for free on Saturday 17 September. while on Wednesday 14 September, Sandown Park Racecourse, situation close to Esher Station, hosts a special Breeders’ Day (entrance charge applies), providing guests with a unique insight into the breeding industry with competitions, interactive displays, a retired racehorse parade and more.

National Racehorse Week promises a unique and insightful day out for all the family, surrounded by animals and beautiful countryside. These open days will showcase a range of activities which varies from yard to yard, but all will offer the chance to meet racehorses in training, as well as the much-loved stable stars who have retired. Some yards even have purposefully designed equine swimming pools, an activity most horses enjoy and just like with humans, it offers a great lowimpact workout. Physiotherapists, chiropractors and farriers (who put the horse’s shoes on) are an intrinsic part of any trainers’ yard, and many open days will offer demonstrations and insight into this all-important aspect of horse management and welfare.

To book your visits during National Racehorse Week visit nationalracehorseweek.uk

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Street

ART

A community of global creatives descends on Greenwich this month with an eclectic programme of performance art

By R AC H E L H O G G SPARK BY DAAN ROOSEGAARDE

T

he Greenwich + Docklands International Festival (GDIF) has returned. The awardwinning festival of free outdoor arts and theatre will take place from 26 August until 11 September. 2022’s program promises to be as eclectic as ever and includes a total of 25 premiers.

London will be home to the work of a number of international artists from countries including Spain, Germany, Flanders, Italy, France, The Netherlands, Ukraine and The United States. The overarching theme of this year’s festival is common ground and sets out to remind us of the importance of shared values, rituals and togetherness. Artistic Director Bradley Hemmings MBE said that he

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hopes this year’s festival “will offer audiences a moment of sanctuary from the anxious times that we’ve been living through” and that it will offer them “a glimpse of collective possibility and purpose.”

This year’s festival opens with the spectacular UK premiere of SPARK, the creation of Dutch artist and innovator Daan Roosegaarde. Taking inspiration from the natural phenomenon of fireflies, he has created a reimagined and environmentally responsible public celebration that updates the ritual of fireworks. The result is a poetic performance which will be presented over two nights in Greenwich on 26 and 27 August.

During which, thousands of biodegradable light sparks will organically float through the air, inspiring visitors to wonder and reflect.

Alongside SPARK are several spectacular and immersive art installations including Pe-

OUT OF THE DEEP BLUE, BY MELISSA HOMMEL

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XXXXXXXX CULTURE • FOCUS XXXXX

“ENVELOPING GREENWICH PENINSULA IN MOUNTAINS OF ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY RAINBOW FOAM”

CHARON. BY PETER HUDSON

MIGRARE, BY JUAN GABRIEL SANZ

ter Hudson’s reconstruction of his 32ft high zoetrope Charon, originally created for the Burning Man Festival. German artist Stephanie Lüning will be enveloping Greenwich Peninsula in mountains of environmentally friendly rainbow foam, for the UK premiere of her ephemeral installation, Island of Foam: Version XVIII. Dutch artist Arjan Kruidhof has created a mindful reinvention of a fairground ride, RELAXERETTE, which invites audiences to escape from the bustle of the city and spend a dreamy afternoon nestled

within a hammock listening to a collection of sounds and stories.

Disabled artist Oliver Macdonald’s exquisite artwork becomes the setting for Tales from The Woven O, a specially commissioned programme of accessible theatre and storytelling from Graeae, the UK’s leading disabled-led theatre company. Discover the transformative power of nature in a unique feast for the senses that will immerse you in reflections of the past, present and future. Through spoken word, movement, and tactile interactions, alongside a beautiful soundscape, you’ll have the opportunity to move in a moon dance, touch butterfly wings and listen to wild secrets from the earth. All performances will be accessible with BSL and audio descriptions.

Performances from leading theatre and dance companies include original new work as well as touring productions from Graeae,

Common Wealth, Speakers Corner and Fuel, Gobbledegook Theatre, Royal Ballet, Protein Dance, Fevered Sleep, Chris Green, Tara Theatre, Middle Child Theatre and Talawa Theatre Company. GDIF’s annual ‘festival within a festival, the Greenwich Fair returns to the Old Royal Naval College and Cutty Sark Gardens in Greenwich, Dancing City, a two-day feast of outdoor dance at Canary Wharf is also back for a 2022 edition. On Your Doorstep, a hyper-local family-friendly street art programme will also be delivered in neighbourhoods across Greenwich and East London festival.org UNFURL, BY EMMA POWELL

SLAND OF FOAM, BY STEPHANIE LUNING

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Epsom Playhouse www.epsomplayhouse.co.uk Box office 01372 742555/742227

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CULTURE • PARTNERSHIP

WOLFGANG TILLMANS, SMOKIN JO, WINDOW, 1995, UNFRAMED INKJET PRINT, 208 X 138 CM © WOLFGANG TILLMANS, COURTESY MAUREEN PALEY, LONDON.

REMBRANDT HARMENSZ VAN RIJN, GIRL AT A WINDOW, 1645, OIL ON CANVAS, 81.8 X 66.2 CM, DPG163. DULWICH PICTURE GALLERY, LONDON.

THE WOMAN IN THE WINDOW An exhibition at the Dulwich Picture Gallery focuses on an enduring and enigmatic motiv

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W o r d s C A S P A R D AV I D

ulwich Picture Gallery’s Reframed: The Woman in the Window is the first exhibition to explore the enigmatic motif of the ‘woman in the window’.

Featuring artworks from ancient civilisations to present day, the exhibition brings together over 40 works by artists including Rembrandt Harmensz van Rijn, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, David Hockney, Louise Bourgeois, Cindy Sherman, Wolfgang Tillmans and Rachel Whiteread to reveal how artists have long used the motif to elicit a particular kind of response ranging from empathy to voyeurism.

Featuring a range of media including sculpture, painting, print, photography, film and installation art, the exhibition identifies the key geographic locations, cultures and time periods for which the ‘woman in the window’

had a particular meaning and what the motif reveals about issues of gender and visibility.

Highlights include Louise Bourgeois’ My Blue Sky (1989-2003), David Hockney’s The Tower Had One Window (1969) and the Gallery’s own Girl at a Window (1645) by Rembrandt, the initial point of inspiration for the exhibition.

Ancient works on loan from The British Museum reveal the early history of the motif and its use in representations of power, seduction, spirituality and the afterlife. The exhibition also explores the motif in Medieval depictions of saints, Renaissance poetry and portraiture, and art of the Dutch Golden Age. Masterpieces from these periods are displayed alongside later works such as Tom Hunter’s Woman Reading a Possession Order (1997) to reveal the lasting influence of the composition and how it has been reimagined to convey different ideas.

The exhibition goes on to consider the

personal and often intimate relationships between artists and their models and muses through works by artists such as Walter Sickert, Pablo Picasso and Wolfgang Tillmans.

It also considers one of the most prevalent uses of the motif, to portray women enclosed within the domestic interior, often occupied in an activity traditionally described as ‘women’s work’ such as sewing or cooking, and looking longingly out of the window as in Isabel Codrington’s The Kitchen (1927).

Another theme explores the abstracted or fragmented representation of a woman framed by a window, a composition that removes a sense of particularity or personality as in Howard Hodgkin’s Girl by a Window (1964).

The show challenges notions of spectatorship, desire and display with works such as Marina Abramovic’s Role Exchange (1975) and Cindy Sherman’s Untitled Film Still #15 (1978) in which artists place themselves in the role of the woman at the window.

A key aim of the exhibition is also to turn the focus towards women artists who have adopted the concept of the window as a site of communication, connection and inspiration.

While confined to her house, Louise Bourgeois salvaged a window frame to create My Blue Sky (1989-2003), representing a lifeline to the outside world. The exhibition will conclude with a poignant epilogue, a selection of works created during national lockdowns to recognise the new meaning the notion of a ‘woman in the window’ has acquired in the context of the global pandemic.

GERRIT DOU, A WOMAN PLAYING A CLAVICHORD, C.1665, OIL ON OAK PANEL, 37.7 X 29.9 CM, DPG56.

DULWICH PICTURE GALLERY, LONDON.

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rhs.org.uk/join/4374

Bloom with 25% an RHS Membership O F F*

JOIN TODAY Enjoy unlimited free days out at our five RHS gardens and 200 RHS partner gardens#, priority access to events and exclusive discounts to our flower shows. Plus so much more.

Visit rhs.org.uk/join/4374 or call 020 3176 5820 Your membership supports our work as a charity

*Introductory offer by annual Direct Debit. For more information, visit rhs.org.uk/join or call 020 3176 5820. # Free at selected periods. Terms and conditions apply. RHS Registered Charity No. 222879/SC038262

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CULTURE • PARTNERSHIP

TANGO PASSIONS

The King of the Argentine Tango Vincent Simone announces his first solo tour Wo r d s E V E H E R B E R T P h o t o g r a p h y TA N I A R I C H A R D S

S

trictly Come Dancing’s original Italian stallion, Vincent Simone, is set to head out on his first solo tour in the autumn of 2022. Tango Passions will showcase the beauty and passion of the art form that is the Argentine Tango.

Although his dance partner of over 25 years, Flavia Cacace, has retired from performing, Vincent wants to continue to bring his passion and

love for the Tango to the stage and will be joined by Argentine Tango specialist Paula Duarte, who will be his leading lady.

Born into a family of professional dancers, Vincent, from the Puglia region of Italy, began teaching dance in Italy from the age of 12, moving to Guildford, Surrey when he was just 17 to continue teaching.

Masters of the Argentine Tango, he and Flavia won numerous Ballroom, Latin and Argentine Tango competitions before joining the hit BBC show Strictly Come Dancing in 2006 as professional dancers.

Appearing in seven series of Strictly, Vincent reached the final in 2008 with pop star Rachel Stevens.

After leaving the show, he went on to co-create, choreograph and star in numerous productions with Flavia, including Midnight Tango, Dance ’til Dawn, The Last Tango, and Tango Moderno, touring around the UK. They also completed two successful West End runs and received two Olivier Award nominations.

Vincent’s passion is dance and he wants to share the raw, intimate and authentic art of the Argentine Tango with his audiences, taking them on a journey through its history. Let the original Italian stallion take you on a journey to Buenos Aires and enjoy his dancing, tales and poetry about the history of the Argentine Tango. Accompanied by world-class Argentine Tango specialists, Featuring music from Astor Piazzolla and Gotan Project, this is a sexy, steamy, passionate night not to be missed! tangopassions.co.uk 21 September, Epsom Playhouse A B S O L U T E LY m a g a z i n e s

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PRESENTS

PERONI ITALIA AUTUMN RACING WEEKEND Friday 30th September – Saturday 1st October Real racing, real drama. With world-class racing and true Italian style, the Peroni Italia racing weekend is the ultimate autumn occasion.

Alongside the racing we host the CAMRA Ascot beer festival.

Choose from over 160 beers, ciders and perries to enjoy on the day.

Tickets from £20 Fine Dining from £259+VAT

Book now at ASCOT.COM

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FOOD & DRINK

PARISIAN PICNIC PETROSSIAN

Fans of French cuisine are going to love this exquisite picnic hamper by fine food purveyor, Petrossian. Inside the limited edition insulated bag, you’ll find everything you need for a luxurious outdoor dining experience, including duck foie gras, fresh smoked salmon, mini blinis and more, £99. petrossian.co.uk

Food News 36 • Absolutely Eats Out 39 • Top 5 Canned Drinks 41 A B S O L U T E LY m a g a z i n e s

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WHAT TO DRINK

GRAPE news

TASTING NOTES

London’s food news and most exciting openings this month B y R AC H E L H O G G

This month we're popping open Prosecco

Corte Molino Prosecco, North-Eastern Italy  £7.50 This delightful sparkler is the perfect summer treat. It is made from an exclusive selection of Glera grapes, is floral on the nose and delicately fruity on the palate. This is a wellstructured, slightly sweet treat that Prosecco lovers will adore. coop.co.uk

Della Vite Rosé Prosecco, North-Eastern Italy  £24.95 Della Vite is launching its first vintage Prosecco Rosé- and just in time for summer! This wine has an aromatic nose of crushed wild berries and rhubarb, that gives way to a bright, fresh palate of delicate fruit flavours and a long-lasting finish. dellavite.com

Freixenet Prosecco, North-Eastern Italy  £10 This stylish Prosecco is perfect for any occasion. As distinctive as it is delicious, it has the lively effervescence of ripe lemon, with hints of green apple and grapefruit. With a light and fresh finish, this wine would pair perfectly with shellfish, light meats or desserts. waitrose.com

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New Launch TAT T U

The independent restaurant group, Tattu, has just launched its fifth location in the West End. The redeveloped menu features a selection of new dishes, but patrons can rest assured that the restaurant's signature classics are still present and accounted for.

Plus, desserts of Bubble Tea & Cotton Cheesecake and Koi Fish Panna Cotta can finish things off on a sweet note. tattu.co.uk

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FOOD & DRINK • NOTES

HAVING A BALL A round-up of the best sweet bites

SIP SIP HOORAY

COCKTAILS IN THE CIT Y

LITTLE MOONS

Welcome Home

Cultures will collide in every bite of this dessert. Underneath a soft layer of traditional Japanese mochi, you’ll find a centre of creamy artisan Italian gelato, £5 for six. littlemoons.com

The cocktail festival of the summer has returned to Bedford Square Gardens.

Over the next few months, Cocktails in the City will hold a series of separate events each with its own unique style.

This year’s line-up includes pop-up versions of over 20 of the capital’s finest bars and more than enough to keep you entertained between drinks. cocktailsinthecity.com

THE LITTLE SCARLET DOOR

The latest offering from The Little Door & Co offers all the fun of a house party, without any of the stress of angering your landlord. Set across two floors, the group’s new Greek Street location is complete with a kitchen, lounge, shower and a collection of drying laundry, so you’ll be sure to feel right at home. thelittlescarletdoor.co.uk

J A PA N C E N T R E Whether you’re in the mood for something tropical or indulgent, you’ll find a treat for every taste in the Japan Centre's range of Mochi ice cream balls, £5.79 for six. japancentre.com

M O D E R N

M A L AY MAMBOW MARKET

Secret Skills YAUATC H A C I T Y

Brush up on your culinary skills at one of Yauatcha’s dim-sum masterclasses. Every month until September, groups of 16 guests will have the opportunity to learn the secret techniques behind creating the restaurant’s best-loved dishes and will leave being able to fold like the best of them. yauatcha.com

O P P O B R OT H E R S With 60% fewer calories and sugar than regular ice cream, these delicious salted caramel ice cream balls deliver all of the indulgence and none of the guilt, £4 for twelve. oppobrothers.com

You’ll be able to discover the tastes of modern Malaysia among the hustle and bustle of the Peckham market stalls. Michelin-trained chef Abby Lee is returning to her roots with her new venture, Mambow Market.

Diners are sure to enjoy her enlightened and playful approach to the rather culturally complex cuisine. mambow.co.uk A B S O L U T E LY m a g a z i n e s

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LIFE LESSONS

9-11 SEP 2022 KING’S CROSS

FESTIVAL

LOUIS THEROUX + STEVEN BARTLETT + CAITLIN MORAN MARIELLA FROSTRUP + RANKIN + DAVID GANDY + ANYA HINDMARCH CBE DAN SNOW & LADY EDWINA GROSVENOR + MICHELLE OGUNDEHIN + DR RANGAN CHATTERJEE JAKE HUMPHREY & PROF. DAMIAN HUGHES + MATTHEW SYED + HELEN & KATE RICHARDSON-WALSH + MANY MORE SPEAKERS

BUY YOUR TICKETS LIFELESSONSFESTIVAL.COM IN PARTNERSHIP WITH

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FOOD & DRINK • REVIEW

ABSOLUTELY eats out…

“Stylish Art Deco lighting, bentwood chairs and a busy, brasserie vibe”

LINA STORES A new opening in Marylebone Lane for Soho’s iconic Italian

FOOD Pasta, mostly – home made and high class

B y PENDLE HARTE

L

ina Stores first opened in Brewer Street in 1944 and became a Soho icon, supplying Italian meats, cheeses and deli products to the folk of W1. 75 years later they opened a restaurant in nearby Greek Street, serving fresh homemade pasta and hearty Italian family favourites to a loyal crowd.

Now they’ve opened a fifth site in Marylebone Lane, an impressive corner site with windows on all sides and the trademark green and

DECOR European Art Deco

white striped awnings. It feels very European, with stylish Art Deco lighting, bentwood chairs and a busy, brasserie vibe. Staff are speedy, friendly and efficient and the menu is appealing with its mix of aperitivo, antipasti, pasta and secondi. It’s still a bit unusual to have a female head chef, but Masha Rener runs a calm team and even finds time to talk to guests about her pasta.

We kick off with lovely cherry bellinis and starters of fried artichokes and burrata with courgette, both excellent. Next up was the famed pasta, and we go for

PRICE Pasta £7-£14; Secondi £25-£30

linguine with crab and black pepper, which, we’re warned, is served at 65 degrees, so not quite hot. It’s very good – heavy on the black pepper and laced with sweet and juicy crab meat. Continuing the seafood theme with Casarecce alla Calabrese, these small pasta discs with prawns, chilli and tomato are excellent, and an accompanying green salad is full of freshness and delicious dressing.

We were too full for Secondi – though the grilled prawns were tempting – and also too full for pudding, but we tried some anyway.

Chocolate mousse with salted caramel was as good as you’d expect, while Zuppa Inglese – a berry-heavy Italian trifle dish – was creamy and decadent. Sensing our defeat, a lovely waiter appeared with shot glasses of iced digestivs, which delivered instant revival, just what we needed. Long live Lina Stores’ continuing expnsion.

LINA

VERDICT Stylish, busy, fun

13-15 Marylebone Lane, W1 020 3148 7503 linastores.co.uk

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The headline act.

Justifiably extravagant.

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FOOD & DRINK • DRINKS

C O O L C A N S PUT SPRITZ IN YOUR STEP WITH THESE SUMMERY PRE-MIXES 1

P O C K E T- S I Z E D KO C K TA I L

The award-winning cocktail brand is making its first foray into readyto-drink cocktails this summer. Two of Kocktail's most popular drinks have made their way into cans, and just in time for picnic season. kocktail.co.uk

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A P E R I T I VO H O U R T H E S E DAY S

This aperitivo brand is on a mission to spritz up your summer. Made from a mixture of organic white wine, natural fruit flavours and soda water, these spritzes are the perfect day-drinking companion. thesedaysdrinks.com

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SHAKE & GO

L I B E R AT I O N C O C K TA I L S

You’ll be able to make mixologistgrade versions of all your favourites from the comfort of your picnic blanket. Simply chill, then shake vigorously and pour for the perfect cocktail anytime, any place. liberationcocktails.com

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H E A LT H Y H E D O N B O D E G A B AY

A combination of three simple ingredients creates this refreshingly light, alcoholic sparkling water.

With only 96 calories per serve, it is perfect for those wanting to indulge, but not over-indulge. drinkbodegabay.com

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TA S T Y TO N I C TA R Q U I N G I N

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One of Britain's favourite summertime sips has become all the more portable. These new cans of G&T by Tarquins combine a light fragrant tonic with the brand’s award-winning Cornish Dry Gin. tarquinsgin.com A B S O L U T E LY m a g a z i n e s

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Spice GIRL Recipes and stories celebrating authentic Sri Lankan cooking Wo r d s C Y N T H I A S H A N M U G A L I N G A M

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FOOD & DRINK • RECIPES

Coconut dal with kale Serves 4

In war or other times of national crisis, dal is rationed out by the Sri Lankan government as one of life’s essentials.

Cooked with lemongrass and, if you can get it, pandan leaf (which adds a warm, vanilla flavour) as well as coconut milk, turmeric, curry leaves, garlic and lime, this dal is distinctively light and restorative, and is worlds away from its Indian counterparts like black dal makhani made with cream, or tarka dal made with butter. There is no other dal quite like it, and I encourage you to try adding roasted squash or pumpkin or roasted sweet potato. This one is one of the ways my mum would cook it when she was too short on time to make a separate kale curry.

She’d simply stir the leaves in very close to the end of cooking so they retained their bright green flavour and nutrients.

INGREDIENTS For the dal • 300g red split lentils or toor lentils • 3 garlic cloves, peeled and halved lengthways • 1 lemongrass stalk, bruised • 1½ tsp salt, or to taste • ½ tsp SL curry powder • Optional: 4cm piece of pandan leaf • 1 tsp ground turmeric • 100ml coconut milk • 3–4 small handfuls of kale (approx. 200g) • ½ lime Optional: 1 tsp chilli flakes For the temper • 1 tbsp coconut or vegetable oil • 1 small red onion, peeled and finely sliced • 10 fresh curry leaves • ½ tsp mustard seeds • ½ tsp cumin seeds

METHOD 1 Pour the lentils into a saucepan and rinse loosely under the tap then drain well. Cover the lentils with water until they’re submerged by about 5cm. Add the garlic, lemongrass, salt, SL curry powder and pandan leaf, if using. Bring to a boil over a medium-high heat.

2 Skim off any scum and turn the heat down, so the lentils are simmering. Add the turmeric and simmer for 12–15 minutes until the

lentils are tender. There’s no need to stir here, you can basically forget about them except to check they’re not bubbling too vigorously.

3 Drain off about eighty per cent of the liquid. You don’t want it to be too wet and soupy because you’re adding coconut milk.

4 Stir in coconut milk and kale and allow to simmer gently for 2–3 minutes until the kale is bright green.

Take out a little kale to try; it shouldn’t taste raw but should be soft with a firm bite. Remove from the heat and transfer to your serving bowl.

5 In a small frying pan, make the temper. Heat the oil over a mediumhigh heat (careful, it will splutter a little). When hot, add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally for 3–5 minutes until it starts to turn golden brown. Add the curry leaves, mustard seeds and cumin seeds and cook for a couple of minutes until the curry leaves are bright green.

Be careful not to burn the spices!

6 Pour the whole temper, oil included, onto the cooked dal. Squeeze lime over it and sprinkle over the chilli flakes, if using, just before serving. and black pepper.

• sliced (or a nice alternative is 2–3 spring onions, chopped into 2cm pieces) • 1–2 green chillies, sliced • 1 garlic clove, peeled and sliced • 7 or 8 fresh curry leaves

METHOD

Sri Lankan turmeric omelette Serves 1-2

This is a favourite breakfast dish; one my mum cooks when she’s taking orders for breakfast at the weekends from her grandson, Thierry, who may be only six but knows what’s up. You can have it on its own with something fresh like a little dill, lime and watercress salad, perhaps with some soft white bread, too. It’s very easy and quick: just softened onions, a little garlic, curry leaves, turmeric and green chillies.

Don’t skimp on seasoning, with plenty of salt, black pepper and cumin – an amazing mix called milagai seeraham in Tamil.

INGREDIENTS • A pinch of cumin seeds • A pinch of black peppercorns • 3 large organic or free-range eggs • 1 tsp salt, or to taste, plus more to serve • ¾ tsp ground turmeric • 2 tbsp coconut or vegetable oil • ½ red onion, peeled and finely

1 For the pepper-cumin salt, toast the cumin seeds and peppercorns in a small dry frying pan over a medium heat for 1–2 minutes until fragrant.

Transfer to a bowl to cool, then blitz in a spice grinder or mini food processor until fine, and keep aside for later.

2 In a bowl, whisk the eggs together with the salt and turmeric until frothy. Set aside.

3 Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a frying pan around 20–25cm wide over a medium heat. Add the onion (or spring onions), green chillies, garlic and curry leaves. Allow to cook, stirring occasionally, for 4–5 minutes, so that the onion softens; don’t allow it to crisp, and don’t cook past the point that the chillies and curry leaves are still bright green.

4 Add the remaining tablespoon of oil to the pan, wait 30 seconds for the oil to get hot, and then pour in the eggs. Keep cooking over a medium heat and use a spatula to pull the edges in as they set, tilting the pan to spread the uncooked egg around.

Continue this motion of pulling the edges in and tilting all around the pan, until the omelette is almost set, which will take around 2–3 minutes.

5 Fold in half and serve, dusting generously with peppercumin and a little extra salt.

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Ravana cake Serves 10-12

I love chocolate devil’s food cake and for a Sri Lankan chocolate cake, I didn’t just want a devil like any other. I wanted the King.

Ruler of Ancient Lanka, the demon-king Ravana wasn’t just a garden variety devil with a red trident and fire, hopping from foot to foot like he needed the toilet. Ravana was the kind of hot demon your husband is stressing out about you meeting for lunch. He did have ten heads which is a little freaky I’ll concede – but he was also a magnificent musician, a warrior, a scholar and – by the rhapsodical account of ancient Tamil poet Kamban – a very good-looking guy with a lot of cool statement jewellery. Ravana wrote: ‘Eating beef causes to infect ninety-eight new diseases to human beings’ and if this bit of 2000 BC veganism wasn’t ahead of its time, I don’t know what was.

King Ravana was a lover and a fighter, most famous for kidnapping the beautiful married Princess Sita (under the pretext of asking her for lunch) and keeping her in Sri Lanka trying to persuade her to cheat on her husband. And

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so this recipe is an imagining of a devil’s food cake with Ravana’s kind of irresistible sexiness, the kind designed to tempt the most loyal of wives. Strawberries for passion, chocolate for hotness, coffee for the late night musician and coconut for an island boy environmentalist with a love of plants.

INGREDIENTS For the cakes • 125g coconut oil, plus extra for greasing • 250g plain flour • 225g caster sugar • 50g cocoa powder • 1 tsp salt • 1 tsp baking powder • 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda • 350ml freshly brewed strong coffee • 2 tsp kithul jaggery syrup (or maple syrup if you can’t find it) • 2 large organic or free-range eggs, lightly beaten For the icing and filling • 250g coconut butter or coconut ‘bliss’ • 500g icing sugar • 250g fresh strawberries, green tops removed, halved • 150g coconut flakes

1 Preheat your oven to 180C/ fan 160C/Gas mark 4. Grease two 20cm sandwich tins with coconut oil and line the bottoms with greaseproof paper.

2 Put the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, salt, baking powder and bicarbonate into a large bowl and whisk to combine and add air to the dry ingredients. Make a well in the middle.

3 Brew the coffee and pour it into a large jug. Allow to cool for a minute or two, then stir in the 125g coconut oil and let it melt. Then mix in the kithul jaggery syrup. Slowly pour the coconut coffee into the well you made in the flour mixture and whisk together until everything is combined.

4 Add the lightly beaten eggs a little at a time, whisking until it’s all used up and you have a thin batter.

5 Divide the batter between the two cake tins. Although this feels weird, drop the tin a couple of times onto your kitchen counter from a height of about 30cm. It forces the air in the mixture to come to the surface.

6 Bake for 25-30 minutes, until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. Remove from the oven and place on a cooling rack still in their tins.

7 While the cakes are cooking, make the icing. Beat the coconut butter until softened and then whisk in half the icing sugar. When smooth, add the rest of the icing sugar and whisk again, until all the sugar is combined and it’s nice and thick and smooth.

Add a little more icing sugar if it’s too loose or a little more coconut butter if it’s too thick for your liking.

8 When the cakes have cooled completely, carefully turn them out of their tins and peel off the paper.

9 To assemble, spread just less than a quarter of the coconut icing on top of one of the cakes. Cover in fresh strawberry halves. Place the other cake on top and spread with a layer of icing then cover the sides as well. Coat with coconut flakes.

Extract taken from Rambutan by Cynthia Shanmugalingam, £26, Bloomsbury

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Life in the French Riviera is warm, effortless, and enduring—a spirit perfectly captured in the new Le Creuset stoneware gifting collection. Featuring ten sets in coastal-inspired hues, the Riviera Collection is unmistakably joyful and the perfect gift for travel and adventure lovers.

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FOOD & DRINK • PICNICS

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P I C N I C S E A S O N

DELI DELIGHTS P R OV I S I O N S

Just as the sun is back, so is Provision’s much-loved hamper.

Packed full of products from independent producers, it will please lovers of wine, cheese and meat alike, from £35. provisionslondon.co.uk

PACK YOUR BLANKET, THIS MONTH WE’RE EATING OUTDOORS

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BAKED GOODS G A I L' S

The Gail’s 'Picnic on the Green' Hamper is the perfect summer’s day companion. The bakery has packed plenty of their cult favourites, including crusty sourdough, salads and sweet treats galore, £56. gailsbread.co.uk

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PAC K I T U P L A BA S K E T RY

You’ll have room for all your favourites in this spacious basket

by La Basketry. Each basket has been hand-woven from ‘ronier’ palm leaves, by a team of expert artisans in Senegal, £59. labasketry.com

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SW E E T T R E AT S

H U M M I N G B I R D BA K E RY

Should you choose to bring something sweet along to your next gathering, Hummingbird Bakery has all the crowd-pleasers, not to mention some truly mouthwatering pies, from £2.50. hummingbirdbakery.com

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PREMIUM PICNIC T O M S AVA N O

Give your picnic a sophisticated edge with this set by Tom Savano. Inside you’ll find four of the luxury cocktail brand’s signature drinks, alongside some very stylish accessories, £125. tomsavano.com A B S O L U T E LY m a g a z i n e s

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The

HEAT IS ON

An outdoor pizza oven is 2022’s must-have accessory. But are good results really guaranteed?

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FOOD & DRINK • COOKING

Classic pizza dough This recipe will yield 5x12” (30cm) pizza bases or 3x16” (40cm) pizza bases

INGREDIENTS • 607g Type 00 flour (or Strong White) • 364g water 1• 8g salt • 20g fresh yeast/9.2g active dried yeast/7g instant dried yeast

METHOD 1 Place two-thirds of the water in a large bowl. In a saucepan or microwave, bring the other third of water to boil, then add it to the cold water in the bowl. This creates the correct temperature for activating yeast. Whisk the salt and the yeast into the warm water.

E

“Pizza is one of the world’s simplest dishes, disliked by virtually nobody”

veryone loves a pizza. Pizza night at home should be a crowd-pleaser, except that most domestic ovens can’t get anywhere near hot enough to get authentic results – and most takeaways can’t deliver pizzas actually hot. Pizza is one of the world’s simplest dishes, made quickly from cheap ingredients and disliked by virtually nobody, yet much of the time the pizzas we eat at home are at best disappointing and at worst dry, overcooked and entirely inauthentic.

All of these issues are easily rectified, as understood by the large numbers of people investing in outdoor pizza ovens, sales of which are rising steadily. In 2012, husbandand-wife team Kristian Tapaninaho and Darina Garland came up with the idea for a portable outdoor pizza oven and launched Ooni on kickstarter; now their successful brand offers five different types of oven.

But can you actually get good results from a home pizza oven in your garden?

In our experience it’s a resounding yes.

The vast gas-powered Koda 16 is a sleeklooking thing, large enough to accommodate two good-sized pizzas or one huge one (they claim you can bake bread in it too, or even, say, a chicken). The point is that what the Koda might lack in wood-fired romance, it makes up for easily in convenience. Because all you have to do is hook it up to a gas bottle and turn it on, and after about 15 minutes it’s hot enough to cook a pizza in about 60 seconds. There are wood-fired versions

too, which are appealing in a wholesome way but they’re clearly not offering the switch-on-and-wait service. Gas is by far the simplest, we feel, though true enthusiasts might prefer the top-of-the-range oven that’s compatible with both gas and wood.

Not that there’s no skill involved. Our first attempts were beset by rookie errors such as the pizza sticking to the board before we could even get it in the oven (solution: use a floured surface) and not having the right tool with which to rotate the pizza inside the oven (solution: purchase the peel) and even burning the pizza (solution: keep your eye on it, and remember to rotate).

First-time users will no doubt find the flames alarmingly hot, but of course that’s the whole point, and why your kitchen oven isn’t up to the job. Mastering the dough is the next task, and for this there are lots of methods. Ooni offers a great recipe as well as some idiotproof dough mixes (just add water and oil) or even frozen dough balls delivered to your door – but we prefer our homemade sourdough version (though this takes some planning). And from there you’re free to think about toppings, for which Ooni also has ideas, though most people will already have their favourites.

We’ve been using the pizza oven for three weeks now and consider ourselves professionals already. Tonight I’ll be experimenting with Fiorentina – will I get the egg to be just right at the same time as the dough? A world of possibilities awaits.

2 Fit your mixer with a dough hook and place the flour in the bowl. Turn the machine on at low speed and gradually add the yeast mixture to the flour. Once combined, leave the dough to keep mixing at the same speed for 5-10 minutes or until the dough is firm and stretchy. Cover with plastic wrap and leave to rise in a warm place for 1-2 hours.

3 When the dough has doubled in size, divide it into 3 or 5 equal pieces. Place each piece of dough in a separate bowl or tray, cover with plastic wrap and leave to rise for another 20 minutes, or until doubled in size

Recipe taken from Ooni: Cooking with Fire

Ooni Koda 16 pizza oven, £499, ooni.com A B S O L U T E LY. L O N D O N

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Located on Richmond Hill for 38 years, Anna Boutique provides a handpicked range of unique womenswear, reflecting Anna’s experience as a stylist and passion for Italian design and use of colour.

Moments away from Richmond Park and the River Thames, the boutique’s light and airy space filled with colour will not fail to inspire. Anna has created a friendly (and always stylish) atmosphere which continues to bring customers from all over the world to shop in Anna Boutique.

44 Hill Rise, Richmond | TW10 6UB | 0208 948 0199 annaboutiquerichmond

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FA S H I O N

ROSE TINT STELLA MCCARTNEY

These Cut-Eye sunglasses in shiny milky pink with solid light rose lenses are made of sustainable bio-acetate with stylish gold rivet details. £260 stellamccarteny.com

Summer lounge looks 52 • Jewellery 58 • How to sleep in style 60 A B S O L U T E LY m a g a z i n e s

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LO U N GE

lovers A casual, lazy vibe for an urban summer from Whistles WHISTLES.COM

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FASHION • JEWELLERY

Pretty Pearls Jewellery from the depths of the ocean B y R AC H E L H O G G

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BIKO

JESSIE THOMAS

MONICA VINADER

Elle Pearl Collar in Gold, £386 wolfandbadger.com

Double Gold Pearl Small Baroque Earrings, £1,000 jessiethomasjewellery.com

Keshi Pearl Bracelet, £170 monicavinader.com

LILY & ROO

MISSOMA

OLIVIA & PEARL

Gold Baroque Pearl Shard Hoop Earrings, £89 lilyandroo.com

Baroque Pearl Beaded T-Bar Necklace, £325 uk.missoma.com

Large Hoop and Baroque Pearl Charm Earrings, £270 oliviaandpearl.com

THE ALKEMISTRY

MARIA BLACK

IRENA CHMURA

Pearl & Bead Anklet, £395 thealkemistry.com

Baroque Twirl Single Earring, £44 maria-black.com

Mermaid Pearl Choker, £385 wolfandbadger.com

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FASHION • SLEEPWEAR

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F LOW E R P OW E R YO L K E

N I G H T WA T C H ALL THE BEST SLEEPWEAR OF THE SEASON

Yolke's beautifully tailored pyjamas are just right for languorous evenings in, and the button-down shirt - with its rounded revere collar and single patch pocket - works equally well in the daytime too. £155 yolke.co.uk

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A N I M A L M AG I C C Y B E R JA M M I E S

Cyberjammies' Carly print pyjama set has a beautiful and unusual giraffe print, and comes in kids' sizes too, for anyone wanting to match across generations. £46.50 cyberjammies.co.uk

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SILK FEEL EBERJEY

Silk is a dream to sleep in because of its hypoallergenic and thermoregulating properties, not to mention how it feels against bare skin. Eberjey's super soft silk pyjamas are machine washable eberjey.com

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IT' S A WRAP

DESMOND & DEMPSEY

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This linen wrap robe with billowing sleeves and an elegant T-shaped silhouette comes in a long, elegant length and loose sleeves in this collaboration with Casa Balandra. £198 desmondanddempsey.com

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N AT U R A L LO O K SECRET LINEN

Made in Portugal from the finest linen and responsibly sourced soft sateen, this new collection is coomfortable, breathable and cool. Plus it comes plastic free in a paper or compostable bag. Mia linen nightie, £45 secretlinenstore.com

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DESIGNER WEDDING DRESSES MADE TO MEASURE IN ITALY

81 Ebury Street London SW1 020 7901 9020 lesposedigio.com

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When it comes to your health, you deserve the very best A world-class preventative health programme carefully tailored to your individual needs - now available right on your doorstep.

Bringing together two world-renowned names in healthcare and medical research, the Health and Wellness Plan from Mayo Clinic Healthcare in partnership with Oxford University Clinic combines access to an unrivalled network of international medical experts with world-class diagnostic and screening facilities.

Developed for discerning individuals who expect and deserve the very best, we help you to take a proactive approach to your health for a healthier, happier future for you and your family.

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ith us no

Email:

appointments@mch-ouc.co.uk

Website:

www.mch-ouc.co.uk

21/02/2022 11:38 29/07/2022 21/02/2020 17:07 14:54

HEALTH & BEAUTY S

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MIND & BODY Never has our physical and mental wellbeing been so important. It's been two years like no other and we are still suffering the consequences of a pandemic that refuses to go away. Work is harder, the days seem shorter, and happiness feels a distant dream for some. Hopefully the following pages will help to put a smile on your face and show how you can relax a little.

In this sect ion S P F G U I D E p67 T H E L O W D O W N O N C B D p78 L O N D O N ' S B E S T N A I L B A R S p82 H A N D A N D F O O T C A R E p85 B U N I O N S U R G E R Y p87

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HEALTH & BEAUTY • NOTES

BEAUTY NOTES

The latest in luxury makeup and skincare B y R AC H E L H O G G

EDITOR’S PICK

Get

SERVICE

GLOWING

SUBSCRIBE TO STYLE

FAC E H A LO

Leave face wipes firmly in your past, there’s a whole new way to cleanse.

The new ‘Face Glow Skin Set’ by Face Halo will rejuvenate your skin in a few simple steps. It includes three tools; a makeup remover, a deep cleanser and an exfoliator, that work together to thoroughly cleanse and exfoliate your skin, £20.

Conservation is at the core of Cloud 9’s new subscription service

facehalo.com

Perfect Pairing NARS

Two of the brand’s most iconic shades, Orgasm and Laguna, have met in a moment of pure passion. This limited edition palette of the much-loved blush and bronzer duo has been launched just in time for summer, but with its irresistibly soft and blendable application, you’ll still be glowing well after the season ends, £37. narscosmetics.co.uk

S UMMER NA ILS CHANEL

Chanel’s newest nail collection includes six exclusive shades of polish, in a range of vibrant pastel shades. They are being launched alongside two new additions to Chanel’s nail-care product range, designed to nourish and fortify your nails, so you can make the most of these summer colours, from £25.

W

ith the rate that technology changes, buying high-quality hair tools can really take its toll on your wallet and on the environment.

Sometimes a product may only be state-of-the-art for a matter of months before something newer and more exciting comes on the market. So for those wanting to keep up with the latest in styling, but also wanting to keep their budget, and environmental impact in mind, Cloud 9’s recently launched subscription service may be the perfect solution. For as little as £4.99 a month, you will have access to the brand’s award-winning styling tools, all you need to do is select the device that works best for you and pay a single annual fee. You can choose from Cloud 9’s core collection, which includes favourites such as the Touch Iron, Original Iron, Wide Iron, Airshot and Curling Wand. The device is shipped straight to your door and should a newer version ever catch your eye, you will be given the option to switch or upgrade after two years. You won’t need to feel guilty about wastage, either, because Cloud 9 will either recycle or refurbish the products that are returned at the end of their life.

CLOUD 9 Subscription fees start at £59.99 per year

cloudninehair.com

chanel.com A B S O L U T E LY m a g a z i n e s

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HEALTH & BEAUTY • TREND jamesreadtan.com

FENTY BEAUTY Body Lava Body Luminizer in Who Needs Clothes?!, £46 fentybeauty.com

OSKIA Adaptive Tan Mist, £57 oskiaskincare.com

CHANEL Les Beiges Illuminating Oil, £70 chanel.com

EDITOR’S PICK

BY TERRY

NARS Laguna Bronzing Creme in Laguna 2, £32.50 narscosmetics.co.uk

SKINNY TAN Wonder Serum Gradual Tanner, £24.99 skinnytan.co.uk

Tea to Tan Face and Body Bronzer, £59 byterry.com

BOTTLE BRONZE These products will have your skin looking summerholiday ready in no time

JAMES READ Click & Glow Gradual Tan Drops, £25 jamesreadtan.com

DR. HAUSCHKA Translucent Bronzing Tint, £20 drhauschka.co.uk

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“Our FACES are LIES and our NECKS ARE the TRUTH” – NORA EPHRON

SKIN I S O L U T I O N S Dr Kim’s popular non-surgical treatments for difficult to treat areas

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f Nora Ephron’s 'I Feel Bad about My Neck' resonates with you, then Dr Kim’s review of some popular non-surgical treatments for more difficult to treat areas might be of interest to you.

The skin on our neck and décolletage is prone to premature ageing, making the desire to lift and tighten these areas more of a priority as we age. It has fewer oil glands and is up to three times thinner than the skin on your face, meaning that it lacks the regenerative capacity to bounce back when damaged.

Skin can look papery or develop a mottled discoloration, leaving your neck and chest area looking much older than your face.

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HEALTH & BEAUTY • PARTNERSHIP

Growth factor serums and products developed specifically for the neck are taking centre stage at the moment. These are creamier than facial products, designed to deliver nutrients, boost collagen and restore hydration for plumper, firmer skin. Recent introductions contain clinically proven ingredients like peptides and retinol to improve the skin on the neck, including SkinCeuticals Tripeptide-R Neck Repair or LIFT Neck Repair by PSMD Skin Science.

2. PROFHILO® BIOSTIMULATION Profhilo® has been the focus of a social media frenzy and is one of the most requested rejuvenation treatments at the moment. Sometimes referred to as an injectable moisturiser, it is much more than that - essentially a hyaluronic acidbased treatment that can be

BEFORE

AFTER PROFHILO

® *courtesy of Dr Hema Sundaram & Dr Antonello Tateo

1. TOPICAL PRODUCTS

used in multiple areas including the face, neck, décolletage, arms, stomach and hands for noticeable biorevitalisation effect. It helps to restore skin firmness and texture and give you back your luminous, youthful glow. Profhilo® needs to be positioned precisely by a trained expert so that the concentrated formula disperses evenly through the deeper layers to restore structure and hydration to the skin.

3. TREATMENTS FOR A DOUBLE CHIN You may have seen reels of injectable fat dissolving treatments on Instagram, and in spite of the swelling and recovery time, these treatments are becoming more popular, along with threadlifts and PDO thread biostimulation.

For those who prefer less invasive treatments, radiofrequency or ultrasound are highly effective in reducing your double-chin. The Lipofirm Face & Jaw Lift combines radiofrequency with muscle activation to lift the SMAS layer in the lower face, with targeted fat reduction and tightening around the jawline and under the chin.

combine RF with galvanic current leading to improved results and less recovery time. The addition of a resurfacing treatment in the Legend M3 skin rejuvenation programmes can also help reduce fine lines and pigmentation on the décolletage.

5. MANAGING PIGMENTATION Mixed modality medical lasers are an excellent choice for managing areas of pigmentation and general skin tightening and resurfacing, but are best conducted as a course of treatments during the less sunny months of the year, and are combined with a specialised skin pigmentation regimen to enhance and maintain your results.

Dr Kim Prescott practices Aesthetic and Lifestyle Medicine at the PSMD and Penrose Clinics, along with clinical research, lecturing and training in Aesthetic Medicine.

4. SKIN TIGHTENING AND COLLAGEN BOOSTING RF microneedling is highly effective in helping to tighten and firm your neck. Neck skin can take longer to recover after treatments, so look for hybrid RF microneedling technologies like VoluDerm HE that

DR KIM If you have any questions, please email her on drkim@psmd.co.uk drkpclinic.co.uk and penroseclinic.co.uk @dr.kimprescott @penroseclinic

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ABSOLUTELY • PARTNERSHIP

are central to the Cavendish ethos, with specialist, qualified practitioners who provide a safe environment for those wanting to explore their treatment options for feeling refreshed and confident - be that through skincare, facials or more advanced treatments, including: • Advanced ‘cosmeceutical’ skincare (SkinCeuticals, HelioCare, Dr Levy) • HydraFacial Skin Treatments for face, body and scalp • CoolSculpting and EMSCULPT • Consultations for dermal filler and anti-wrinkle treatments (over 25s only and administered by doctors)

HYDRAFACIAL TREATMENTS NOW AVAILABLE AT SELECT JOHN LEWIS STORES

ADVANCED BEAUTY The Cavendish Clinic is providing Aesthetic & Beauty Treatments within clinic settings inside John Lewis Stores

T

he Cavendish Clinic has announced a first-ofits kind collaboration with John Lewis & Partners, providing expert skincare, facials and advanced aesthetic treatments with specialist, qualified practitioners using its clinics within John Lewis stores nationwide.

Research from John Lewis shows that a high proportion of customers are interested in advanced beauty treatments, ranging from laser hair removal to hightech, bespoke facials and anti-wrinkle treatments. Following a successful pilot with Cavendish Clinics in five John Lewis stores in 2021, the collaboration has now been extended to launch across further stores nationwide throughout 2022.

“We know there’s increasing awareness and demand among consumers for advanced beauty treatments and after careful consideration, we were keen to collaborate with a trusted, medical clinic brand which would deliver this service,” says Jason Wilary-Attew, Head of Beauty at John Lewis. “In the last two years, we’ve seen an at-home beauty tech boom and launched our first ever beauty tech department with LED light masks and facial toning devices.

Our collaboration with the Cavendish Clinic is an acceleration of these services, where customers can visit a clinic in selected John Lewis stores to experience Cavendish bespoke skincare plans and consultations.”

Founded by leading clinicians in the UK, The Cavendish Clinic has over a decade’s worth of expertise in medical aesthetics.

Patient safety and ethical approaches

Michelle Cochrane, Omni Channel Education Manager “SkinCeuticals is delighted to be a part of this exciting new partnership. We are pleased to be providing our scientifically-proven cosmeceutical ingredients to enhance the treatment offering. At SkinCeuticals, our mission is to improve skin health by offering stateof-the-art clinically and professional treatments – we believe the best results are integrated and this partnership helps us continue to achieve that.”

“We are delighted to be partnering with John Lewis on this exciting journey - we are fully aligned on our beliefs and values about providing the highest quality treatments in an ethical, medically-led environment and we look forward to helping consumers discover more about advanced skin, beauty and wellbeing treatments and decide what is right for them,” says Dr Matt James, co-founder of the Cavendish Clinic.

T H E CAV E N D I S H C L I N I C Currently, the Cavendish Clinic is hosted within the Edinburgh, Milton Keynes, Southampton, Peter Jones and Kingston stores, with Cambridge newly opened in 2022. cavendishclinic.co.uk

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HEALTH & BEAUTY • ADVICE

DR NYLA

SKIN SECRETS How to achieve smooth tight skin B y D R N Y L A T R A N S F O R M AT I O N FAC E L I F T Q What treatment is best to

help rejuvenate the skin and combat texture problems?

A Morpheus 8 is a revolutionary treatment that can be used on both the face and body to help rejuvenate the tone and texture of the skin. Its subnormal adipose remodeling device (SARD) works to increase the production of collagen in the skin to reverse the effects of natural aging and cellular damage, for reduced look to concerns such as lines, wrinkles, sagging skin, acne scars and stretch marks. Deeper levels of dermis are targeted through the delivery of micro needling and radio-frequency technologies, stimulating collagen and rebuilding the skin’s internal structure.

Q How does morpheus 8 work?

A Morpheus 8 is a device that combines

micro needling with radio-frequency technology for the fractional resurfacing that stimulates collagen production. By

targeting the deeper layers of the skin, the building blocks will reorganize themselves in a natural anti-aging process.

Morpheus8 is a non invasive, relatively painless procedure that’s safe for all skin tones, with little to no risk of hyperpigmentation. Treatments can be performed on any body area and used to treat a wide range of skin concerns.

Q How long to see effects on the

Morpheus8 Treatment?

A Results for Morpheus8 may begin

within a few days of your first treatment, however your skin will continue to improve and be close to its best after around three weeks. You will see optimal results around three months post procedure as your skin continues to improve. Your results from the Morpheus8 procedure will last about a year, so annual follow up sessions may be required in order to maintain your youthful appearance.

The skin aging process happens to everyone, and is a completely natural process, however it can be very difficult for some people, and make them lose confidence in their appearance. As we get older, the production of collagen and elastin in our body slows, causing fine lines, wrinkles and loss of volume in the skin. Collagen and elastin are the proteins that exist within many of the body tissues, including the skin, and gives structural support, elasticity and durability to the skin. As a result of the slowing in collagen production, skin loses this support and elasticity over time. To combat this, Dr Nyla created the Dr Nyla the Transformation Facelift a bespoke treatment plan to turn back the clock on ageing and help you look 10 years younger in six weeks. By increasing collagen production to lift and tighten the skin, as well as performing ‘tweakments’ to add lift and structure to the face, you can start feeling incredible in no time. The Transformation Facelift uses multiple different non-surgical methods and technologies to provide an overall lifted, tightened and more youthful appearance, to help you feel like your most confident self again doctornyla.com

Get the Perfect Body COOLSCULPTING ELITE

One of the best things about CoolSculpting Elite is that we can treat two areas at once. You can have both arms treated at the same time, making the treatment much more effi cient for busy lifestyles. With the treatment typically taking 35 minutes, and results noticeable within 3 weeks.

Doctor Nyla Medispa have the latest technologies to help contour and transform the body. The CoolSculpting Elite is even more powerful and with larger sized applicators to freeze even more fat - the results are seen even quicker than traditional CoolSculpting.

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HEALTH & BEAUTY • FOCUS

REPAIR YOUR HAIR. Everyone loves the look of shiny healthy hair, using in salon treatments such as a Olaplex will help to create a glossy shine on your hair. Olaplex helps to repair and protect the bonds by strengthening and protecting the hair from further damage.

AFTERCARE

SUMMER HAIR

To continue to protect your hair after your in-salon visit, Sian recommends that when you wash your hair at home to make sure you double cleanse. Often people remember to double cleanse in their skincare routine however its important to double cleanse when you shampoo to ensure that your hair is as shiny as possible.

For minimum pulling and breakage after washing, we recommend using a gentle microfibre hair towel wrap. Not only is it a gentler option for your hair and scalp, but the hair towel is also great for preventing frizz and dries hair faster than a regular cotton towel.

Finally, you can help to protect your hair by switching to a silk pillowcase.

Tips for healthy hair from Headmasters Wo r d s S I A N Q U I N N

SOOTHE YOUR SCALP The most important step to achieve healthy hair is creating a healthy scalp as this is the foundation for healthy hair. Exfoliating the scalp with a in salon treatment such as the Nioxin microdermabrasion £27 that acts as a facial for the scalp. It will remove product build up whilst also stimulating hair growth. At headmasters all clients receive a gentle head massage in the spa area as this will help to release tension and muscles.

HEALTHY HAIR MICRO TRIM The best way to give hair an instant refresh is to have a healthy hair micro trim from £53 at Headmasters this allows

for split ends to be removed from heat damage whist maintaining long length.

Regular trims will remove hair that is damaged and prevent split ends from rising resulting in healthier looking hair.

HEATLESS STYLES In summer months opt for styles that do not require heat such as a loose braid or updos. A secret tip from Sian is to braid your hair at night with a leave in conditioner to moisturise and hydrate your hair. Leave overnight and gently use your fingers the next morning to undo the braid breaking up with your fingers to create a natural beach wave without using any heated tools.

HEADMASTERS headmasters.com

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Camberwell Lodge Care & Nursing Home Luxury residential and dementia care home Our care is the kind we’d all want our loved ones to receive. Camberwell Lodge Care & Nursing Home provides the highest standards of familyled nursing, residential and dementia care. Our state-of-the-art home is luxurious and beautifully furnished, whilst retaining a warm family atmosphere that makes Camberwell Lodge feel extra special.

• 98 Spacious en-suite bedrooms • Vista Bar & Roofterrace garden • Sociable lounge and dining areas • Wellness Suite • Daily fine dining and hospitality suite • Tailored meaningful activities To find out more about life at Camberwell Lodge Care & Nursing Home contact Senior Customer Relations Manager Nina Rogers on 07549 035 654 or email nina.rogers@countrycourtcare.com

020 4579 2199 Picton Street, Camberwell, London, SE5 7QH

www.countrycourtcare.com

Advanced Skin & Body Aesthetics Clinic Definition Skin Aesthetics have taken the time to extensively research their chosen brands and latest advanced technology and kept this in mind throughout the whole process. They have created a portfolio of first class skincare, advanced medically proven devices and treatments from the industry to produce natural, long lasting results in anti-ageing and problem skin resolution.

7 High St, Cheam, Sutton SM3 8RQ info@definitionskinaesthetics.co.uk www.definitionaesthetics.co.uk 020 3489 8010 DEFINITION_SKIN_AESTHETICS_HP_ABS_AUG22.indd 1

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HEALTH & BEAUTY • PARTNERSHIP

PAMPER PARTY

‘nail bar’ boasts experts in the art of nail design and cocktail-making, delivering everything from mojito manicures and fizzy French acrylic tips to pornstar pedicures.

Paint has a cherry-picked edit of the best brands, techniques, and nail technicians, ensuring clients can expect the highest quality treatments with an affordable price tag. OPI and BIAB have been chosen as the official nail brands due to their vast range of shades, allowing for personal expression in over 150 ways. With its iconic peacock graffiti at the entrance taking over everyone’s Instagram grids, it’s no wonder Beauty Club is the new place to be.

How Beauty Club London became the go-to pampering and party place

S

ince the reopening of salons, Beauty Club London has already established itself as the new go-to pampering and party place set to shake up the UK beauty scene.

KISS 100 Breakfast presenters Jordan Banjo and Perri Kiely ‘officially’ cut the ribbon for the salon back in April 2021 and it has since welcomed many celebrities and influencers alike. With different art sprawling around the salon, Beauty Club London has brought the Miami Design district to London, creating an event space you’ll want to stay and relax in, meet friends for drinks at the fully-stocked bar offering bespoke cocktails, and take pictures for the ‘gram.

Beauty Club London has a dedicated blow dry bar and makeup area and stocks all

L'Oreal products as well as many other brands including the best curling tong, Turbo Tong. Beauty Club London doesn’t believe in a conveyor belt approach, and are redefining the highstreet salon experience, by encouraging clients to dwell in the most Instagrammable of settings.

Renowned for its laid-back approach, feel-good atmosphere and upbeat vibe – the salon’s ethos is all about pre-drinks and pampering. And if you're looking for a London venue hire, the salon space has been used by many high-profile brands including Boohoo, FitFlop, and Malibu.

Bringing together the kind of experts and experience that clients won’t find anywhere else,London’s go-to Beauty Club houses the best of the best. From London's best hair colourist Moe Harb and Hair Extensions expert Louise Bailey to the best nail bar in the city, Paint Nails London. Their literal

B E AU T Y C LU B LO N D O N beautyclublondon.co.uk

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Slow

DOWN

Absolutely interviews Dawn Fable, co-founder of the female-focused CBD brand Press Pause

By R AC H E L H O G G

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HEALTH • PROFILE

PRESS PAUSE FOUNDER, DAWN FABLE

Q Why do you think so many women struggle to prioritise caring for themselves?

A Well, frankly, because we are too busy looking after everyone else. As women we do it all, and are often so busy ensuring everyone around us is taken care of that we do not prioritize taking care of ourselves. In doing so, we compromise our own health and wellness. The mission of Press Pause is to change this narrative, even if it's helping just one person.

“When a woman takes charge of her well-being, she impacts everything she touches”

Q What advice would you give to women trying to build a self-care ritual?

A It is single-handedly the most important thing we can do for ourselves and others. Self-care rituals serve as a reminder that we as women deserve those moments of "PAUSE" to recharge.

When a woman takes charge of her well-being, she impacts everyone and everything she touches. In our opinion, a well woman can do just about anything.

Q What separates Press Pause from other CBD brands?

A Press Pause is more than a CBD brand.

Not only do we have high-quality lifestyle products that appeal to several important pillars of women's health, but Press Pause represents a movement, a community, and advocacy for women's well-being. A brand, for women, by women with a very important mission of starting important conversations around taboo topics.

Q Who did you have in mind when you created Press Pause?

A I wanted to create a lifestyle brand that addresses a number of issues we as women struggle with. Many CBD products, including ours, are crafted to boost women's well-being and support us through the different pillars of women's health. Whether that's something to soothe when the to-do list seems to run the show or a remedy to actually unwind and rest, it's the opportunity to Press Pause and appreciate ourselves.

Q Can you describe your personal journey with CBD? A As a working mother of three, drowning in my own beautiful disaster I never prioritized myself. I was introduced to CBD and it had life-changing effects on my overall well-being. Like many women, I found myself silently struggling without a safe space to open up about topics that were not being discussed. This inspired me to create a community where I could share my very real and raw struggles as a woman while educating about the healing benefits of CBD.

Q How do you incorporate CBD

into your daily ritual?

A Our products are very ritualistic in

nature to help a woman throughout her day and life cycle. Our SOOTHE comforting body balm is incredible, I just toss it in my bag and use it throughout my day to help ease sore muscles, inflammation and tension headaches. The SOAK lavender bath salts also make for a great end-of-day relaxation ritual.

Q Do you have any advice for

nervous first-time CBD users?

A I always encourage others to do their

research, fortunately, this industry has come a long way and there are some tremendous resources out there. When considering what brand to use, as there are so many options, it's important to check the credentials and quality of the products.

I always recommend topicals as an easy entry point to experience the benefits. presspauseproject.com

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HEALTH & BEAUTY • PARTNERSHIP

FRESH FACE

First class skincare and aesthetics at Definition Skin Aesthetics

A

t Definition Skin Aesthetics our vision is to combine our years of expertise and passion for skin care and create a luxury skin clinic which provides cutting edge treatments clinically proven to deliver outstanding results.

Our main aim is to focus on anti-ageing, problem skin resolution, body contouring, laser and cosmetic enhancement.

We pride ourselves on our industry knowledge and took the time to extensively research our chosen brands and latest advanced technology and kept this in mind throughout the whole process.

We have created a portfolio of first class skincare and aesthetics, advanced

medically proven devices to produce natural, long lasting results in antiageing and problem skin resolution.

We provide a full range of treatments including the Geneo 4 in 1 Super Facial, Radio frequency skin tightening and facial contouring, Skin peels and Skin needling, Dermalux, Lipofirm Body Contouring, Thermavein, IPL hair removal and skin rejuvenation, cosmetic enhancements and brow enhancements using Phi Brow Microblading techniques.

Our clients are offered a skin consultation with one of our skin specialists using the Observ 520 skin scanner before recommending their personalised skincare regime. This enables us to tailor and bespoke treatments and help us to identify individual needs and concerns and guide them .

Our chosen product ranges are highly regarded in the industry and include Obagi Medical, Mesoesthetics, Environ, Heliocare and Emepelle.

We have an excellent team who are passionate about what they do and always committed to achieving the best for their clients individual needs.

Our clients value our commitment to delivering exceptional results, but most importantly, they appreciate the time we take to listen to their concerns and treat them individually.

DEFINITION SKIN AESTHETIC S 7 High St, Cheam, Sutton SM3 8RQ 020 3489 8010 definitionaesthetics.co.uk Instagram @definitionaesthetics Facebook /Definitioncheam

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Whether it's a quick polish or a luxe maniculre and pedicure, here's where to go

N A I L B A R S

MARGARET DABBS

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Best feet MARGARET DABBS Westbourne Grove

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argaret Dabbs is the

Colour wheel TOWNHOUSE

Kensington High Street

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ownhouse is striving to up the nail bar game with its newest opening in Kensington. It's a bright, spacious site with a luxe ethos. Choose your nail shade from a digital colour library on the house ipads (or in advance on their website) – there's a vast selection of colours called things like Old Compton Street, Holloway Road and Broadway Market, with a variety of brands included.

My Signature Manicure (£37)was swift and efficient – I chose a sage green called Green Arbour Court – and it lasted for more than two weeks without a single chip. There's an impressive lookbook of nail art too. mytownhouse.co.uk

queen of feet, known for her game-changing medical pedicure and her wide range of foot treatments. The medical pedicure takes 45 minutes, of which the first few are spent closely inspecting your feet.

Any imperfections, dry bits, sores or problems are quickly identified by a medically-trained podiatrist, because this is about more than just nail polish.

Uniquely, there is no foot soak, because Dabbs' treatments work best on a dry foot. Dry skin is filed away, nails are clipped and shaped, and my feet feel renewed. This treatment is as popular with men as with women, and there's a range of home products that will maintain the results. My feet have never felt – or looked – better.

margaretdabbs.co.uk

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HEALTH & BEAUTY • REVIEWS LINNEAN

w

WECASA

File Away DUCK & FILE Mayfair

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hat stood out to me most about the Duck & Dry salon was just how chic it felt. This was definitely one of the swankier manicure experiences I have had. That is not to say that it wasn't also rejuvenating and the technician took excellent care of my skin and nail health.

Immediately upon arrival, my feet were placed into a marine mineral bath to soak.

They were then thoroughly exfoliated with a lavender foot scrub and soothed with a cooling foot mask. I then chose my polish from their extensive range, and although there were plenty of bright options, I opted for a nice neutral pink. duckanddry.com

Natural Nails LINNEAN

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Battersea

Home comfort WECASA

anicures are my favourite form of pampering and I may have discovered the ultimate luxury beauty destination at Linnaean. I chose my nail colour from their plentiful selection of non-toxic, cruelty-free and vegan polishes. Then I just sat back and enjoyed a delicious oat-milk coffee, when my hands were free. I was particularly impressed with the incredible level of detail that went into reshaping my nails and taking care of my cuticle health. This is relatively unsurprising considering the fact that the salon believes in putting nail care at the heart of all its treatments.

It was clear that this manicure is about more than just looking good and I left the salon with beautiful healthy, naturallooking nails that all my friends have been grabbing to admire. linnaean.co.uk

LINNEAN

Inside the M25

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obile beauty treatments are gaining in popularity along with everything else that involves not leaving the house. Now that most of our needs can be met within our own four walls, we're increasingly reluctant to go anywhere – which is why Wecasa's therapists come to you. It's a simple booking process –enter your needs and your postcode, and they'll match you with an available therapist.

Kerry-Ann arrived on time and fully equipped (tip: consider a guest parking permit) and her mani-pedi was efficient and enjoyable from the point of view of my sofa. She even tinted my eyelashes while she was at it, and leaving nails to dry in the comfort of my living room meant that there was no chipping. Next time I'll try the hair treatments – and there's massage and even house cleaning too. wecasa.co.uk

DUCK & FILE

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Are you suffering with bone or joint pain?

At Spire St Anthony’s Hospital, we understand how frustrating it is when joint pain holds you back. That’s why we provide fast access to expert care, when you need it. We use the latest technology and techniques wherever possible to get the best outcome for you. From replacement surgery to joint injections, you can be sure that you’ll be treated by an expert – every step of the way.

Why wait?

We offer fast access to orthopaedic specialists and can provide treatment and surgery for all areas of the body including: – Back and neck – Foot and ankle – Hand and wrist – Hip and knee – Shoulder and elbow Open to all, you can get the treatment you need through your private medical insurance or choose to pay for your own treatment.

For further information: Search ‘Spire St Anthony’s Hospital’ Call 020 8337 6691

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HEALTH & BEAUTY • TREND

AESOP Reverence Aromatique Hand Balm, £70 aesop.com

THE BODY SHOP Hemp Hand Protector 100ml, £13 thebodyshop.com

MARGARET DABBS

EDITOR’S PICK

Foot Hygiene Cream, £30 margaretdabbs.co.uk

TWEEZERMAN Pushy & Nail Cleaner Tool, £16 tweezerman.co.uk

L'OCCITANE Shea Nail & Cuticle Nourishing Oil, £14.50 uk.loccitane.com

L'OCCITANE Shea Butter Foot Cream, £22 uk.loccitane.com

FINGERS & TOES Care for your extremities with these indulgent products B y R AC H E L H O G G

NAILS.INC Superfood Repair Oil, £15 nailsinc.com

GLOVED COWSHED Revive Foot Scrub & Heal Foot Cream, £41 cowshed.com

Cedarwood Active-Hydrate Hand Wash, £23 gloved.co.uk

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‘ONE STOP DESTINATION PLACE’ for your hair and beauty needs

Start your skin health journey today with MAKING WAVES TREATMENT ROOMS MAKING WAVES salon in the heart of Barnes Village on Church road has recently launched the exciting new beauty treatment rooms offering advanced skin treatments such as Caci Skinbreeze facials, Dermapen and Dermaquest Skincare as well as massage and acupuncture on Sundays.

The salon caters for the whole family and is welcoming, bright and provides the highest quality services.

PACKAGES: (AVAILABLE FOR A LIMITED TIME ONLY) ARE AS FOLLOWS:

MASSAGE TREATMENTS: ●

Sports & Remedial Massage on Sundays)

MASSAGE PACKAGE - £375

Massage can also include the following at no extra cost:

5 massages (6th massage complimentary)

●

Dry needling/Medical Acupuncture

●

Electro Medical Acupuncture

SKINBREEZE BY CACI BESPOKE FACIAL PACKAGE - £425 5 treatments (6th treatment complimentary)

•Dry Cupping WE ALSO DO:

B12 and VITAMIN C INJECTIONS on Sundays NAILS

BEAUTY

SERVICES

HAIR

PLEASE VISIT OUR WEBSITE

BLOWDRY FROM £25

FOR MORE DETAILS, OFFERS

(Packages available)

AND BOOKINGS.

54 Church Road, Barnes, London SW13 0DQ 020 8748 5654 • reception@makingwaveslondon.co.uk • makingwaveslondon.co.uk MAKING WAVES.indd 86

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HEALTH & BEAUTY • BUNIONS

You will be provided with a surgical shoe that can be worn over the top of the bandaging.

This will allow you to walk on your heel for short distances, such as around your home, using crutches for support if necessary.

SANDAL SEASON Consultant orthopaedic surgeon Lee Parker from King Edward VII’s Hospital answers your questions about bunion surgery Q What are bunions?

A Bunions are bony lumps that form

at the base of the big toe on the inside side of the foot. They can be painful and make wearing certain footwear uncomfortable and sometimes impossible.

There are several different causes of bunions. They are partly genetic, often running in families and can be made worse with certain footwear choices.

Also known as a hallux valgus correction, bunion surgery involves correcting both the deformed bone and the lax tissues around the big toe.

Q What happens during bunion surgery?

A Bunions are caused by a combination of

a bone deformity in the foot and laxity, or looseness, in the soft tissues surrounding

the joints that help to maintain the internal structure of the foot. Because of this, most often a bunionectomy, that involves simply shaving the bone, isn’t enough to remedy the problem.

Instead, precise surgical cuts, called osteotomies, on the bones of the big toe are required to straighten out the deformity.

These cuts are then secured with small surgical screws, buried into the bone to allow the bone to heal in the correct position.

At the same time, the lax soft tissues are reinforced with surgical stitches to support the alignment of the big toe.

Bunion correction surgery is usually carried out under a general anaesthetic. When surgery is completed, your surgical team will apply heavy bandaging around your foot.

This should remain in place for two weeks.

Q How will I manage my pain after surgery?

A After surgery, it is normal to have minor low

level pain. After the anaesthetic wears off, you are advised to take painkillers to help manage the pain for two weeks. During recovery, your foot will be supported by heavy bandaging to reduce swelling and pain. Once the dressings have been removed, continue to rest and elevate the foot and gently apply an ice pack to your foot which will reduce pain and swelling.

Q What is the recovery like

following bunion surgery?

A In the majority of cases, you’ll be able to

walk short distances using a surgical shoe on the same day as surgery. After six weeks, you should be able to wear normal shoes.

Q When will I get back to normal life?

A If you have a desk-job, you should be fine to

return to work after 3-4 weeks. You should allow 6-8 weeks off work if you have a manual job or you need to be on your feet all day.

Returning to running, contact sports and racquet sports is possible four to six months post-surgery. Wearing insoles can be helpful in preventing overloading the big toe and any subsequent swelling. It should be possible to wear strappy sandals or short heels again from around three months post-surgery.

K I N G E DWA R D V I I ' S H O S P I TA L King Edward VII's Hospital Orthopaedic Surgery Department is a world leader in orthopaedics.

020 4571 2097 kingedwardvii.co.uk

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TUB THERAPY How installing a hot tub can set you on the way to better health and wellbeing W o r d s C A S P A R D AV I D

S

itting in a hot tub may be a pleasurable way to spend the evening – but there are countless health benefits too. Hydrotherapy is a whole-body therapeutic treatment that can help with all kinds of conditions including arthritis, stress, headaches, diabetes, muscle and joint injuries, bursitis, tendonitis, scoliosis and fibromyalgia. Plus it’s an excellent form of pain relief too.

Warm water helps to stimulate the body and release endorphins. Warmth

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can help your blood vessels to open up and reduce blood pressure, while massage jets stimulate circulation.

Pressure is taken off joints and limbs as you float, and muscles loosen and relax.

For conditions such as arthritis, simply taking the pressure off joints in a hot tub can provide relief. Studies show that hot tub therapy can help with type 2 diabetes by lowering blood sugar, normalising blood pressure, enhancing insulin sensitivity and encouraging weight loss.

Hot water helps create a balance in your nervous system and encourages your body’s

release of natural feel-good hormones such as endorphins and dopamine, resulting in feeling happier and relaxed.

Additionally, the heat can help open up lung capacity for greater oxygen intake and thereby reduce the risk of heart attack.

HOT TUB HAVEN Whether it is for long relaxing evenings beneath the stars, kicking back with a glass of bubbles after a challenging day or enjoying sunny weekends of fun time with the kids, who wouldn’t want a fabulous hot tub in their back garden?

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HEALTH & BEAUTY • WELLBEING

“HOT WATER HELPS ENCOURAGES YOUR BODY’S RELEASE OF NATURAL FEEL-GOOD HORMONES”

ARTESIAN ELITE AT HOT TUB HAVEN

ORLESTONE OAK HOT TUB GAZEBO

Hot tub owners enjoy significant health benefits. Numerous scientific studies and masses of customer feedback prove that regular use of a hot tub can reduce stress, relieve muscle pain, improve sleep, lower blood pressure, help prevent heart disease, reduce headaches, help in weight loss and even benefit mental health by diminishing feelings of anxiety.

Ar hot tubs costly to run? If you buy a cheap Chinese hot tub or an inflatable, you could see your electricity bills soar, but buy a genuine American-made, energy-efficient hot tub like the awardwinning range made by Artesian Spas in Nevada and it should only cost between 80p and £1 a day in electricity.

Artesian Spas are also among the most eco-friendly and easiest to maintain

hot tubs you can buy; they require no chlorine, just a small amount of the more gentle and user-friendly bromine, due to their built in Ozone sanitizers.

Hot Tub Haven in Bookham, near Leatherhead, has many years experience in the hot tub industry, and their showroom displays the most popular models in the Artesian range; their friendly expert staff will help you choose exactly the right hot tub for you. hottubhaven.co.uk

MALVERN HOT TUBS A hot tub and gazebo make a practical combination. Putting a roof over your spa gives you privacy, shade and shelter.

Our premium gazebos are made from sustainable redwood in a choice of sizes, roof styles and side sections. Personalise your building by adding a bar, louvre screens, painted Hi-Lite roof finish and bespoke clear or marine grade canvas panels.

Malvern Hot Tubs & Spas offer hot tubs and swim spas by four brands – Hydropool, Coven, Aspen and Garden Leisure – to cater for individual requirements and budgets. malvernhottubs.co.uk/hot-tub-gazebos

ORLESTONE OAK Orlestone Oak creates gazebos specifically to go over hot tubs. These structures feature a full handmade oak frame bespoke to customer specification and made up of mortice and tenon joints that are traditionally pegged together.

Just 20 minutes immersed in warm water at around 37oC dilates your blood vessels and improves circulation, which helps move inflammatory substances away from the joints, muscles and tendons. Combining this heat with pulsating hot tub jets is the perfect recipe to relax your muscles.

Today’s advanced hot tubs are even fitted with powerful massage jets that can replicate the petrissage (kneading, knuckling and wringing), effleurage (gentle, flowing strokes), and tapotement (rhythmic tapping using the edges of the hands) strokes a professional masseuse would use to relieve your muscle tension. orlestoneoak.co.uk

MALVERN HOT TUBS

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YOUR LOCAL SURREY HOT TUB DEALER OF EXCELLENCE The Vineries Garden Centre, Lower Road, Effingham, Surrey, KT24 5JP Tel: 01372 439238 | hottubhaven.co.uk

Haswell Aesthetics Medical Ltd is a CQC registered medical aesthetics clinic based in Langham, Colchester, Essex.

Our ethos is skin first, injectables second.

Where art meets science and ethical, holistic care meets aesthetic medicine.

HASWELL AESTHETICS

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For a medical aesthetic consultation and assessment please see our website: www.haswell-aesthetics.co.uk We offer a wide range of cosmetic injectables, medical grade skin treatments and medical grade skin care.

29/07/2022 17:11

HEALTH & BEAUTY • PARTNERSHIP

HOME WORK Mick Rolton of Gym Design & Supply shares advice on what to consider if you’re thinking of investing in a gym at home

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often hear clients talking about getting fit,” says Mick, “but as a sports science graduate and former personal trainer, I try to get a deeper understanding. By focusing on what you’d like to achieve – whether toning up, building muscle or strength, improving cardio fitness, or enjoying the benefits of all-round health and fitness later in life, I can design a gym that’s going to meet your particular needs. I often see home gyms full of equipment that isn’t being used because this discussion about fitness goals hasn’t taken place.” Here are some things to consider.

To improve your running time/technique, an indoor treadmill is a great option, allowing you to create and track structured programs that will accelerate your progress – and you can run whatever the weather.

Supplementing this with some lower body strengthening work with free weights will help you take the impact off the joints as well as give a spring to your stride.

To tone up, High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) is a great all-rounder, firming up muscles while burning body fat.

However, be careful with jumping exercises as although they burn calories and fat they can also wreck your joints, especially as you get older. Supplementing with resistance exercise offers continual muscle tension to help turn your muscles into effective shock absorbers. A combination of cardio and functional equipment such as a treadmill or spin bike along with core bags, kettlebells, medicine balls and dumbbells is one good solution.

To build strength/muscle, allowing space for an Olympic barbell and plates and a rack to use them with gives you a lot of musclebuilding and strength options. Free weights, medicine balls and kettlebells are a good start but cable machines offer a greater range of power, as the resistance tends to be similar through the entire range of movement. A quality dual adjustable cable

machine can make a big difference to your sporting performance, as well as minimising injuries.

It’s very important that you understand how much room you need to exercise, and to factor in space for activities such as yoga, Pilates and stretching. Most home gyms do not have the space for every single piece of equipment available, so look for machines that provide versatility. Barbells, dumbbells and cable machines are a good start. Peloton is a great brand but if you buy a Peloton machine, you are limited to the Peloton app.

Is the whole family happy with this? Consider cardio machines that are compatible with not just the Peloton app but also other thirdparty apps including but not limited to Zwift, iFit, Les Mills and Sufferfest.

Finally, make sure your gym is an inviting space. Although it initially costs more than a gym membership, you gain back time and it allows you to exercise more regularly than going to a standard gym.

Gym Design & Supply offers 20 years’ of experience with an exclusive personal service and a wide range of options helping you create your dream gym space.

@GymDesignSupply #GymDesignSupply 01483 904073 gymdesignsupply.com A B S O L U T E LY m a g a z i n e s

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HEALTH & BEAUTY • FITNESS

FITNESS

TOP

PICKS

NOTES

A 'shortlist' of summer activewear

By RACHEL HOGG

POCKETSPORT The Claude Shorts are designed for all types of movement, active or not, and their trademark high waistband will keep you feeling comfortable and confident, £48. pocket-sport.com

LULU LEMON The Hotty Hot Low-Rise Shorts are designed to keep you moving freely, they are sweat-wicking, quick-drying, and also have mesh panels for added ventilation, £48. lululemon.co.uk

BARRY'S IBIZA

SAND & SW E AT Get in a holiday workout at Barry’s new Ibizan pop-up

N CONTUR The Newfound Shorts are designed to shape and enhance your silhouette and are the ideal choice if you want something you can wear outside the gym, £39.99. conturuk.com

othing makes exercising easy quite like the promise of a delicious post-workout cocktail.

This summer the global fitness phenomenon, Barry’s UK, is heading to Ibiza for a first-of-itskind pop-up in partnership with the Pacha Group. Their trademark workouts have arrived at the Destino Pacha Resort for a 6-week residency, ending on the 3rd of September. Barry’s members will be able to work up a sweat in front of a sea view, with a series of daily

classes featuring Barry's signature HIIT workout. For those looking to swap cocktails for protein shakes, HERMOSA, Barry’s protein powder of choice, will also be residing at Destino Pacha with a pop-up Fuel Bar to aid your post-workout recovery. Other exclusive perks will be on offer to Barry’s clients heading to the White Isle, including a special room rate for those wanting to train and stay. Day visitors will also be treated to complimentary access to the hotel’s Day Club, including sunbeds and towels for

those wishing to unwind poolside after class. For Barry’s clients staying closer to home, you will still be able to experience a taste of Ibiza in London. To celebrate the residency, Barry’s and Destino Pacha Resort will be collaborating on a series of events and parties across Barry’s UK studios throughout the summer, including weekly themed classes. So make sure to pack your activewear, and in the words of Barry’s coowner, James Macaskill, “bring on the tan lines and the inclines”. barrys.com A B S O L U T E LY m a g a z i n e s

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s a former elite personal trainer, Mick Rolton from Gym Design & Supply, gives us stepby-step guidance on what we all can make a difference in improving our health and wellbeing.

FOCUS ON BREATHING

TAKE YOUR

HEALTH TO THE

NEXT LEVEL Take advice from this former elite personal trainer B y M I C K R O LT O N

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• Obviously, this is essential to life and wellbeing but how you breathe can also affect fat loss.

• Practising Yoga-breathing (using your stomach to breathe rather than your rib cage) will help you absorb more oxygen in your blood. This raises your metabolic rate, reduces hunger pangs and helps to de-stress you and improve your mental wellbeing.

• As you inhale, the oxygen you breathe in attaches to your fat cells and splits them into carbon and water which you then exhale as carbon dioxide.

• A 2014 study in the British Medical Journal found that this process can burn up to a half-pound of fat per day.

To Do: • Spend 5 minutes a day lying on your back, eyes closed and focusing on your breathing using your stomach to inhale and exhale.

• Aim to inhale for 3 seconds; exhale for 7 seconds DRINK MORE WATER

• Water is the foundation of the majority of the natural chemical reactions in your body.

• The human body is composed of around 75% water (the brain is almost 85% water).

• Water helps flush out toxins including the causes of cellulite.

• You need a balance of electrolytes in the water to help your body retain some of the water, rather than just dramatically

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HEALTH & BEAUTY • WELLBEING

increase your bathroom visits. Unrefined natural sea salt (or sodium chloride) extracted from natural sources provides a wide range of original trace minerals including magnesium, iron, potassium, calcium, zinc and phosphorous.

• Filtered or mineral water is best (do not count anything else as your water intake as alcohol, most commercial drinks, tea and coffee will dehydrate your body).

To Do: • Drink 330 ml of water per 10kg of bodyweight per day(e.g. 60kg person would drink 1980ml = 2 litres of water).

• Add a tiny pinch of unrefined sea salt.

• Spread the water consumption over the day.

BE CONSISTENT WITH YOUR SLEEP

• Our body does most of its repair when you are asleep.

• You should aim for 8 hours sleep per night.

• Generally, your body repairs itself in 2 stages: • 10pm to 2am – physical • 2am to 6am – psychological • You miss this repair if you are awake.

To Do: • Aim to sleep 10pm to 6am • Switch off TV and digital devices at 9pm to allow the mind and body to calm down.

• Read a book or have a bath.

• When in bed, close your eyes and focus on your breathing to help clear your mind.

FOOD

• Our body replaces 330 billion cells on a daily basis, equivalent to 1 percent of all our cells, so within 100 days, we will have created almost a brand new you. But what you eat defines the health of your cells.

• Gluten can inflame your digestive system and affect your sleep.

• Being consistent with your timings of eating makes a massive difference with keeping your blood sugar level

“Two cardio workouts first thing in the morning will teach your body to burn fat for energy” To Do: • Avoid anything that was not available 10,000 years ago as much as possible • Aim for one meal per day as vegan/vegetarian • Avoid gluten as much as possible – this can inflame your digestive system and affect your sleep.

• Plate portions should compromise 25% protein, 50% vegetables and/ or salad and 25% starchy carbs (plus a tiny portion of healthy fat such as olive oil, nuts and/or seeds) • Eat in a 12-hour window meaning you fast in other 12 hours. Eat as soon as you can when you wake up or after training. Eat smaller meals every four hours (e.g. wake up at 6:30am; then eat at 7am, 11am, 3pm and 7pm). Last meal of the day should be just protein and veg/ salad only with lower or no carbs.

• 80:20 rule - for your sanity, try and do this 80% of the time rather than all of the time.

EXERCISE

• Exercise strengthens your heart, body and mind and is essential to a high quality of life.

• Total body resistance exercises will strengthen your muscles, protect your joints and bones while raising your metabolism long time after you have finished. Focus on exercises that keep a continual tension in the movement with no locking of joints.

• HIIT workouts will make you faster and fitter burning more calories and fat than traditional cardio.

• Both of the above burn more calories and work the heart better if you superset

with lower and upper body exercise.

• Two cardio workouts first thing in the morning on an empty stomach will teach your body to burn fat for energy.

To Do: • 1 x Total Body Resistance session per week for 30 minutes. Involves supersets with a pair of dumbbells including: squats/press-ups; deadlift/bent-over dumbbell row; static lunges/shoulder press; bench dips/bicep curl; plank/prone cobra. Move 1 minute per super set and rest for 1 minute. Repeat 2 to 3 times.

• 1 x HIIT workout per week for 30 minutes. Involves dynamic supersets with a pair of dumbbells including: jumping squats/plyometric press-ups; clean and press/dynamic lunges; Swiss ball prone hip extensions/toe touches.

Move 1 minute per super set and rest for 30 seconds. Repeat 2 to 3 times.

• 2 – 4 Cardio per week for 30 minutes.

Try and keep heart rate at least over 60% of your max rate (220-age) e.g. 220 -40 = 180 x 60% = 108 beats per minute. This can be a mixture of walking, cycling, running, swimming or playing your favourite sport.

• Don’t forget to warm-up and stretch before and after any of the above.

GY M D E S I G N & S U P P LY 20 years’ of experience with an exclusive personal service and a wide range of options helping you create your dream gym space.

01483 904073; hello@GymDesignSupply.com GymDesignSupply.com F: @GymDeisgnSupply I: # GymDesignSupply

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HEALTH & BEAUTY • PARTNERSHIP

garden contains plants selected not only for their aesthetic appeal but for scent, touch, taste and even sound, helping those with dementia to connect with the outside space.

TECHNOLOGICALLY ADVANCED Loveday Abbey Road is one of the most innovative care homes in the UK. From sleep and medicine to care planning and pain management, every aspect of care has been analysed and evaluated. Loveday invests in cutting-edge research and the best technology has been discreetly implemented. Electronic planning records enable staff to devote more time to care, while a Paincheck App uses facial analysis and AI to assess pain levels.

Medicine management software enables medication to be taken when needed, and the latest PCR machines provide rapid test results. Circadian lighting systems automatically adjust to mimic the natural environment, and motion sensors trigger soft lighting to guide members at night.

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CARE

Loveday & Co, London’s only private member’s club for seniors, is opening its latest home in Abbey Road, and it’s the most luxurious yet

BEAUTIFUL LOCATIONS There are further Loveday properties in Kensington and Chelsea and Loveday Notting Hill is scheduled to open later this year.

FLEXIBLE RANGE OF HEALTH & LIFESTYLE SERVICES For those not quite ready to make the move into a care home, there is The Loveday Day Club, Loveday at Home and Recover at Loveday - all thoughtfully designed to meet the needs of those living with dementia, their families and carers.

W o r d s C A S P A R D AV I D

BESPOKE CARE Loveday offers tailored, compassionate care and world-class hospitality for those with a wide range of needs, from dementia and Parkinson’s to more complex nursing needs or respite care.

Staff provide holistic, discrete care, and are passionately devoted to enhancing the lives of members and their families.

LUXURY LIVING Loveday Abbey Road is superbly positioned in the heart of St John’s Wood. The brandnew, contemporary 26-suite home has a sense of modern elegance, replete with the ultimate in safety features and care technology, all the while staying true to the history and cosy appeal of this elegant

property and its beautiful locale. Awardwinning chefs serve delicious, nutritious meals in the spacious restaurant and private dining room, using fresh, seasonal produce. There is a screening and library room, a luxurious spa and beauty salon, and a dedicated studio and activities room as well as bespoke concierge services and an innovative activities curriculum, from trips to the opera and galleries to musical performances, art workshops and fitness classes.

WORLD-CLASS SENSORY GARDEN One of Loveday Abbey Road’s most special features is its world-class sensory garden.

Carefully researched and designed, the

LOV E DAY & C O To book a tour or to secure one of the suites at Loveday Abbey Road call 020 4579 8471 or email info@lovedayandco.com Loveday Abbey Road, 41 Abbey Road, NW8 0AA lovedayandco.com

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HEALTH & BEAUTY • FOCUS

HOW CAN VEINCENTRE HELP?

SIMPLY

VEIN

Exploring the specialists who can make unsightly varicose veins disappear

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f you are suffering with varicose veins, look no further as the UK’s largest varicose veins treatment specialists Veincentre provide modern treatments that are accessible to everyone.

WHAT ARE VARICOSE VEINS? Varicose veins affect one in three people, so are much more common than you might think. They do not discriminate, and although they can be hereditary, they can affect anybody at any age.

Veins carry blood back to the heart, using the muscles to act against gravity.

Inside the veins are tiny valves that prevent blood flowing back to the feet.

When those valves fail, blood refluxes inside of the vein, causing excess pressure in the veins that are close to the surface, which leads to them bulging outwards.

Veincentre are the UK’s largest varicose veins treatment provider, with 22 clinics nationwide. All their treatments are minimally invasive, walk-in, walk-out procedures, meaning no surgery is needed, and no time off work is required.

Endovenous Laser Ablation (EVLA) is recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence as the gold standard treatment for varicose veins, and this is the most commonly performed treatment at Veincentre. This is laser treatment and uses heat to destroy the faulty valves. This treatment restores healthy blood flow to the legs, and in turn gets rid of any symptoms associated with varicose veins in the first couple of weeks.

As well as using EVLA to treat the underlying medical problem, Veincentre use another technique called foam sclerotherapy to treat the visible veins.

Veincentre’s number one goal is to provide safe and proven treatments which are accessible to everyone, and they pride themselves on giving the highest quality of care to all patients who walk through their doors.

Veincentre are on hand to help you start your journey to healthy veins and happy legs. If you suffer from varicose veins, you don’t need to suffer in silence.

WHAT ARE THE SIGNS OF VARICOSE VEINS? Varicose veins develop over time, and the signs can vary from person to person.

Some people may notice prominent veins developing, other people may notice symptoms like aching, burning, throbbing, heaviness and itching. Over time, unsightly, bulging veins can appear as the pressure within the vein increases.

CAN YOU PREVENT THEM? Unfortunately, there is nothing you can do to prevent the onset of varicose veins. There are ways that you can help relieve the symptoms of varicose veins, including wearing compressions stockings and elevating your legs, but it will not fix the problem long term.

Undergoing treatment is the only way of fixing the underlying medical problem and improving the appearance of the legs.

VEINCENTRE If you’d like to find out more about the specialist treatments Veincentre provide, please contact the team on 0333 363 76 59

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Available at: KINGSTON FITZROVIA KENSINGTON PARSONS GREEN SLOANE SQUARE EDINBURGH GLASGOW MILTON KEYNES SOUTHAMPTON CAMBRIDGE

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Scan to book an appointment. Free glass of Champagne and goodie bag for all customers who book online.

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Bang and Olufsen of Ealing 17 Bond Street, London, W5 5AP Tel & WhatsApp: 020 8840 1010

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INTERIORS

OF F T HE WALL C U R I O U SA & C U R I O U SA

Curiousa & Curiousa have added new designs to their Siren wall light range, layering colourful hand-blown glass with luxury UK vintage chinaware.

Based on a selection of vintage pieces that work beautifully with their hand-blown glass, each combination is truly unique. curiousa.co.uk

Interior inspirations 104 • Kitchen tour 108 • Chequerboard style 126 A B S O L U T E LY m a g a z i n e s

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INTERIORS N OT E S Ideas, designs and styles for your home

By PENDLE HARTE

TA B L E TA L K JOHN LEWIS HOME

This stylish Trestle Table (£599)has a central, pedestal base made with spindle rods, giving the table a tactile edge and adding a sense of light.

The Motion dining chairs are sleek, with a streamlined metal frame and a curved back rest that's shapely and supportive; the back rest and seat are upholstered in corduroy velvet for a tactile finish. Set of 2, £199. johnlewis.com

SHEET MUSIC UDALL

Rebecca Udall has collaborated with textile designer and illustrator Isla Simpson to create a limited-edition collection of bed linen. Italian woven cotton sheets feature ruffle borders and ribbon-tie closures to add a touch of the whimsical. rebeccaudall.com

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INTERIORS • NOTES

TA K E FIVE Carafes MIMMO STUDIOS Recycled Glass Carafe, £22 mimmostudios.com

FR E S H FA N CY

S TO RY T I M E

DIPT YQUE

MINI MODERNS

Mini Moderns have created their first ever range of towels, each design created with a strong narrative based on personal memories, their passion for mid-century design, and popular culture. minimoderns.com

TRUFFLE TABLESCAPES Emerald Dappled Carafe, £90 truffletablescapes.co.uk

Designed to cleanse, degrease and descale, this versatile solution delivers a thorough clean while enveloping your space with the French Maison’s delicate perfume.

Combining effectiveness with a respect for nature, it’s housed in a refillable glass bottle. £32 libertylondon.com

JOHN LEWIS ANYDAY Colour Pop Glass Carafe £12 johnlewis.co.uk

ROSE & GREY

OFF THE WALL

Tortoiseshell Glass Carafe, £32 roseandgrey.co.uk

CURIOUSA

Curiousa & Curiousa have added new designs to their Siren wall light range, layering colourful hand-blown glass with luxury UK vintage chinaware.

Each combination is truly unique. curiousa.co.uk SOFT STORE CO Green Tortoise Jug, £32.99 soft store.co

A B S O L U T E LY m a g a z i n e s

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WH Y HA R T L EY

BESPOKE OCTAGONAL GLASSHOUSE

Aerial drone view of the Global Growth Vegetable Garden at RHS Garden Hyde Hall. June 2020. ©RHS, Credit: RHS / Chris Gorman

UNRIVALLED KNOWLEDGE & EXPERTISE There is a wealth of knowledge and expertise built into every Hartley Botanic Glasshouse. Generations of customers have put their trust in the hands of expert, time served, highly skilled craftsmen. Glasshouses of distinction are created from decades of knowledge and care.

Glasshouse under construction. Global Growth Vegetable Garden development.

June 2017. RHS Garden Hyde Hall. © RHS. Credit: RHS/ Mark Winwood

Discover the secret of Hartley Botanic by calling 0800 783 8083 or visit www.hartley-botanic.co.uk

NOTHING ELSE IS A HARTLEY

The only aluminium Glasshouses and Greenhouses endorsed by the RHS

® The Royal Horticultural Society. The Royal Horticultural Society, and its logo, are trade marks of The Royal Horticultural Society (Registered Charity No 222879/SC038262) and used under licence from RHS Enterprises Limited.

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INTERIORS • TREND

THE WISTERIA TREE

FY

Glass Candle Holder, £14 thewisteriatree.co.uk

Woven round placemats £57 iamfy.co

CUCKOOLAND New York Metal Kids Bed, £245 cuckooland.com

EDITOR’S PICK

MINDTHEGAP Woodstock Anatolia Red Wool Kilim, £1870 mindtheg.com

NATALIA WILMOTT

IN THE RED

Zulu Bowl, £20 nataliawilmott.co.uk

Homewares in crimson, scarlet and cherry

By P E N D L E H A R T E

NEDGIS BEAUMONDE POOKY Dangly wall fitting with red silk shade, £96 pooky.com

Recycled Cotton Throw, £26.99 beaumonde.co.uk

Terracotta ball light, £78 nedgis.com

MINDTHEGAP Tribal Ikat wallpaper, £135 mindtheg.com

FY Rialto Tumblers, £70 iamfy.co

A B S O L U T E LY m a g a z i n e s

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RED AL This south London kitchen is full of clever design details that make a big impact Wo r d s P E A R L B OY D

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INTERIORS • KITCHENS

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his stylish kitchen in Camberwell makes striking use of colour.

Two matching pantries in bright red flank an original fireplace, creating an unusual and striking look.

Inspired by the Georgian architecture of this splendid London townhouse, the pair of grandiose pantries took their stylistic influence from the floor to ceiling sash windows which feature the same curved detail. Painted in Mylands Huguenot 49, they add a real sense of drama and stature to the space. To the left is an oversized fridge freezer while to the right, it’s a more traditional oak-lined breakfast pantry with marble countertop and solid oak drawers.

In open plan spaces, where kitchens and living spaces combine as they do in this room, flooring can be a tricky element to get right. Engineered timber can become worn in high traffic areas around a sink or hob and can stain easily. Tiles can be very practical when dealing with food and liquid spills but don’t offer the cosy effect that people look for in a living space. This solution here, of combining a bold patterned tile in the kitchen area with a timber herringbone in the living space, not only offers a funky modern twist to the room, but also enables a practical solution to this age-old conundrum.

In this kitchen, bold choices were made in the name of impeccable style. A Bora A B S O L U T E LY. L O N D O N

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“Combining a bold patterned tile with a timber herringbone creates a funky modern twist”

hob with inbuilt NASA grade downdraft extraction technology and an integrated teppanyaki plate is an extravagance, but a very high spec one. Open top shelves behind reeded crittal doors is an added expense, but not only does it look good, but it also allows a busy young family to be a little less tidy. Creating a fake butler sink front to break up the sink run isn’t practically necessary, but it adds so much character. The kitchen island is raised on feet for added glamour and sense of circulation within the room.

This final raw oak tea and coffee station with marble worktop adds just the right amount of country feel to this incredible space. It ages the space somewhat, offering a warmth to soften the bold red, and dramatic black units painted in Paint and Paper Library. blakeslondon.com

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Since 1989

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MALVERN GARDEN BUILDINGS

Discover our premium range of garden buildings, designed for relaxation & outdoor living.

Gold Medal Winners RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2022

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INTERIORS • GARDEN

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HOUSE PROUD H A R T L E Y B O TA N I C

O U T D O O R L I V I N G EVERYTHING YOU NEED FOR YOUR GARDEN

A Hartley Glasshouse allows gardeners to spend time savouring their plants. But in its role as a garden room, gardeners can curate the space – to indulge in a hobby, enjoy al fresco dining, practice yoga, or simply relax. hartley-botanic.co.uk

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COOK OUT CHESSINGTON

GARDEN CENTRE

The innovative, unique barbecue and smoker range at Chessington Garden Centre offers solutions for outdoor dining, whether you prefer cooking on gas or something more traditional. chessingtongardencentre.co.uk

2

3

LAID OUT JOHN LEWIS

3

Create a beautiful summery tablescape with John Lewis's outdoor dining collection in colourful melamine. johnlewis.com

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SIMPLE ST YLE CA R L H A NSEN

5

Børge Mogensen conceived the Deck Chair Series of functional outdoor furniture in the late 1960s. Simple, slatted lines and solid teak construction provide durable functionality. carlhansen.com

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M E TA L WO R K SCP

4

From Maarten Baas' Aligned collection, these dining armchairs put a childlike twist on the conventional metal frame with slats design by mimicking roughly drawn lines. scp.co.uk

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INTERIORS • TREND SNUG The Cloud Sundae in Midnight Blue, £1599 snugsofa.com

EDITOR’S PICK

LOAF Truffle sofa in Jam Sandwich clever velvet, £1745 loaf.com

MINDTHEGAP Truman Sofa in Monterey Plaid, £2,500 mindtheg.com

SWYFT Model 05 Linen 3 Seater Sofa, £1195 swyft home.com

BRIDGMAN

ON THE COUCH

Sunbury Chaise Corner Sofa, £4459 bridgman.co.uk

All the best sofas for sinking in to

By P E N D L E H A R T E

SWEETPEA & WILLOW Casper Sofa, £1070 sweetpeaandwillow.com

ROSE & GREY Jessica Pebble Linen Two Seater Sofa, £875 roseandgrey.co.uk

PENNY MORRISON Sofa, footstool and cushions in Penny Morrison fabrics pennymorrison.com

MINDTHEGAP Abigail Sofa in Newport Stripes, £2,500 mindtheg.com

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S T I T C H i n

t i m e

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INTERIORS • SPOTLIGHT

STUART FRANCIS EASTON

A

nyone passing SCP’s Curtain Road showroom in recent months will have noticed a striking programme of changing window displays. The store is expressing a new energy for the unique and the decorative in a programme of window exhibitions featuring a beautiful breadth of work from a different designer-maker each month.

The window space plays host to a series of specially commissioned design collections.

Including a blend of hand-crafted and machine-made ceramics, hand-formed glassworks, sculptural outdoor furniture,

“ EASTON’S CREATIONS BREAK THE TRADITIONAL BOUNDARY OF TEXTILES AND HANDCRAFTS” woodworking, and abstract textiles. From small to large scale pieces, the focus is on collectible design that uplifts the spirit.

During August, the focus is on Stewart Francis Easton, a graphic storyteller based in London who works in yarn, ink, dye and digital media. Using folk songs and stories as a starting point, Easton weaves story-based narratives, utilising the space of a single panel to explore time, movement and transition within his tapestry-like works, often on linen. Easton’s creations break the traditional boundary of textiles and handcrafts, through embroidery, sonic art, and design-based illustration. Each piece is usually reworked from drawings done by pen, which ultimately influences the final, illustrative look of a tapestry.

Easton’s profile is understated. His bio states simply: “I draw. I sew. I ride a push bike and I like Clarks shoes.” He established his creative career after achieving a master’s diploma in Art and Illustration at Coventry University, England. His work has been showcased both individually and collectively in the UK and the US. His creations are now part of private collections in the UK and Internationally.

For the window Exhibition at SCP, a series of limited one-off collages made of felt and paper are to be shown, in addition to four small embroidery pieces (up to 16” x16”). scp.co.uk.

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INTERIORS • FOCUS

“Keep in mind the way you want your guests to feel when they step outside”

Great OUTDOORS Looking to get your home summer ready?

Here are a few essential outdoor styling tips B y S A R A H B A R C L AY

W

hen approaching your outdoor area, it’s important to keep in mind what atmosphere you want to share with your guests. An afternoon BBQ setup will look different to that of evening drinks on the patio.

Welcome your guests into the space by centring their attention on a focal point. This can be done by arranging your seating around a table to create a more intimate and inviting feel. A central table encourages your guests to take a seat and start getting into the party mood. Include warm colours like orange or yellow to bring in summer elements.

With the heat we’ve been having, add plants to your patio or outdoor area to create your very own summer oasis. Plants add a fresh touch to the space and adapt to the different seasons making them a sustainable choice that will last you many years. By arranging plants around your

outdoor area, they can also add a sense of privacy as they encircle your seating area.

Take it a step further by incorporating a water feature to add a cooling breeze to the space as well as soft pink noise to help quiet neighbouring sounds.

Add dimension to your outdoor space by mixing and matching different textures and tones to create light summery layers.

Layering texture can help to soften hard outdoor textiles like tile or stone. If your outdoor furniture is wooden, the natural wooden textures can be complemented with different coloured throw cushions.

Try pairing simple bench cushions with a few brightly coloured throw cushions to add a pop of colour. Keep in mind that darker tones absorb more heat from the sun – rather go for cool neutral tones.

Creating contrasts adds visual appeal to a space and can be as simple as utilising different textures or colours. If you have gravel, add stone pavers to lead your guests into the space. This contrast in texture is interesting to the eye, but also practical.

On the other hand, throw cushions are an excellent way to add colour contrast to a space. Throw cushions can be changed out for the different seasons. In summer you can go for vibrant tropical patterns, while in autumn you could switch them out for warm autumnal colours.

Don’t forget to keep in mind the way you want your guests to feel when they step outside. This impacts your final choice on colour, texture, and layout.

Do seek out the input of an expert to create the perfect outdoor space.

B A R C L AY I N T E R I O R S Sarah Barclay is the founder of Barclay Interiors based in Ascot – for more information, visit barclay-interiors.com

A B S O L U T E LY m a g a z i n e s

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29/07/2022 17:14

INTERIORS • TEXTILES

“A collection that brings together fruit, flower, leaf and more abstract forms”

P R I N T

RUN How Anna Jeffreys’ fabrics and wallpaper pair traditional and contemporary designs B y EVE HERBERT

T

hroughout her career, initially as an interior designer, and now as a designer of fabrics and wallpapers, Anna has been inspired by her love of old buildings, and their repurpose for contemporary use. She was heavily influenced by her grandfather, an architect in her native South Africa; while her grandmother, a great gardener, inspired in her a love of plants and all their forms.

Anna's designs, driven by both nature and

nurture, bring the verdure of the botanical world and the influence of both classical and modern design into her work.

Anna Jeffreys’ collection of original fabrics and wallpapers has evolved to produce a varied statement of her love for both classical, and more contemporary, design and colour. A love of colour reflects

strongly in all her designs capturing not only a boldness and willingness to evolve, but also a deep respect for the more traditional heritage in which she grew up.

This affinity for the pairing of traditional and contemporary styles has evolved into a collection that brings together fruit, flower, leaf and more abstract forms using both gentle and more vibrant colour.

Anna’s collection is unique, personally designed and drawn in the studio at her home in Leicestershire. The designs are all printed in the UK on the highest quality linens and papers, allowing complete control of the detail and quality in the manufacturing process, and enabling a resilience to withstand the rigours of modern living. The result is an exclusive and exciting collection, which continues to evolve, and where Anna’s passion and personal touch shines through at every turn.

Anna's some 40 years of industry experience formed the foundation for her collection. A decision to expand her passion for drawing, painting, lino-cut and screen printing, led to her first range of wallpapers. Shortly afterwards, whilst fulfilling a wallpaper design commission in New York, she was asked to provide the matching design on linen, and so the linen collection, mirroring the wallpaper designs, was launched. annajeffreys.co.uk

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INTERIORS • TREND

PROCOOK Melamine Dinner Set, £49 procook.co.uk

ANYDAY Melamine Dinner Plate, Set of 4, £12 johnlewis.com

BARCRAFT Picnic Acrylic Wine Glass, £4.99 kitchencraft .co.uk

DURALEX Assorted picnicware duralex.com

SARA MILLER Flamingo Melamine Dinner Plate Set Of 4 ,£24.38 saramiller.london

PACK A PICNIC

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COLOURWORKS Set of Four Melamine Tumblers, £8.99 ocado.com

Unbreakable essentials for al fresco meals

By P E N D L E H A R T E

EDITOR’S PICK

ASD LOIRE Wine Glasses Set of 6, £46.15 notjustjugs.com

SOPHIE ALLPORT Hearts Melamine Dinner Plate, £9.50 sophieallport.com

MYRTLE & MARY Mary Large Tray, £65, myrtleandmary.com

COLOURWORKS Set of Four Melamine Tumblers, £8.99 ocado.com

KITCHENCRAFT BarCraft 13 Piece Cocktail Shaker Set, £9.99 thebottleclub.com

PROCOOK Melamine Tableware Oval Salad Servers, £4 procook.co.uk

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We give people high value, low prices and a warm welcome!

We are proud to be MTC (Minimum Technical Competence) certified here at The Door & Window Shop, which means you can feel assured in the knowledge that we provide a professional and highly regarded service that is not only recognized by FENSA but also by our industry peers.

Putting our team through regular rigorous tests, ensures that we can give you the best quality service when fitting any of our products. Having such a prestigious certification is our pledge to keep the standards high within the industry and encourage better practice across the board.

A member of Checkatrade for 12 years

01932 500 270 justshutters.co.uk

T3000 JS AUG 2022 Absolutely Surrey 93x270.indd 1 OUTER ROOM - DWS - JUST SHUTTERS.indd 124

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INTERIORS • TREND

TORI MURPHY Woodhouse Check Frilly Cushion, £75 torimurphy.com

QUINCE COOK Gingham Mug, £13, quinceandcook.co.uk

GABRIELLA JAMES Ella Chair upholstered in Chubby Check by Kit Kemp, £845 gabriellajames.co.uk

WEAVER GREEN

EDITOR’S PICK

Madras Check Pink Throw , £55 weavergreen.com

TRUFFLE TABLESCAPES Gingham Ruffle Placemat, £20 truffletablescapes.co.uk

TORI MURPHY Woodhouse Check Bow, £48 torimurphy.com

CROSS CHECK Gingham, tartan and other squares

SECRET LINEN STORE Magnus 100 Linen, from £22 secretlinenstore.com

By P E N D L E H A R T E

TARTAN BLANKET CO Lambswool Blanket in Seagrass Cottage Check , £135 tartanblanketco.com

DIBOR ERCOL Marino Armchair in Forest Green Check, £1,650 ercol.com

Gingham Table Cloth, £42 dibor.co.uk

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INTERIORS • FEATURE

A new collaboration between Vanderhurd and 8 Holland Street results in this chequered collection Wo r d s E V E H E R B E R T

A

n innovative creative collaboration, Checkerboard is the first collection from Vanderhurd and 8 Holland Street. Born from Christine Van Der Hurd and Tobias Vernon’s shared passion for European and Continental 20th century design and a close working relationship and friendship, Checkerboard is a collection of five dhurrie area rugs and a runner that play with this classic design tradition and reinvent it using unexpected colour combinations, structured scaling, and textures.

Deceptive in their simplicity, these softly linear designs are produced using technically complex handweaving processes by highly skilled craftspeople in India and are made in 100% natural hand-spun hemp.

Each of the collection’s dhurries is named after a chess piece: King, Queen, Rook, Knight and Bishop.

Christine and Tobias have collaborated on textile and rug commissions for interior design projects since

the beginning of Tobias’ career in 2010 and have since worked together on a number of interior schemes, including a villa in the South of France and a major project in Brooklyn that has been years in the making.

Christine was instrumental in encouraging Tobias to launch 8 Holland Street, which opened in Kensington in 2018 and has since expanded to include a gallery in Bath and a general store in Somerset.

Together the pair have travelled the world on research trips, visiting Northern Scandinavia, Morocco and the US. It was during a visit to MoMA’s seminal Donald Judd exhibition that the idea for a collaborative rug collection started to take shape and, inspired by Judd’s simple structures set off by the brilliance of materiality and colour, Christine and Tobias began to imagine what was to become their first joint collection: Checkerboard.

Christine Van Der Hurd, founder of Vanderhurd, said: “It was a natural partnership for both of us taking the simplest of patterns which has been used over the centuries, playing with the scale, colour and construction creating a rug which can easily work in a sophisticated as well as a more pared down interior.”

Tobias Vernon, founder of 8 Holland Street, said: “Collaborating with Vanderhurd has been an immersive journey into the world of textile design. Christine is a continual source of inspiration for 8 Holland Street. Our shared love of collecting and varied design references across different genres, periods and styles - from textiles, furniture, ceramics to paintings - informed the aesthetic embodied in the Checkerboard collection which we have created together”.

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Eltham

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HEALTH & BEAUTY • PARTNERSHIP

JOE WICKS IS HELPING TO KEEP US ALL IN SHAPE

QUICK YOGA CLASSES AT THE TOUCH OF A BUTTON

app specifically designed to help those who find it difficult to nod off. It works by listening to your night-time sounds and tracking your sleep cycle, giving you real-time data on how you’re sleeping and what you can do to improve it.

THE BODY COACH APP

AN ‘APPY LIFE

How technology can be a brilliant guide on your path to personal wellbeing

T

he internet and smart phones have made personal wellness more accessible than ever.

Apps, blogs, YouTube videos and social media have all helped people take better care of their physical and emotional health in the postpandemic world, without forcing them to splurge on personal trainers or nutritionists.

To help you join this trend, Swish Fibre have found six of the best wellbeing apps available, so you can keep healthy and happy this summer without breaking the bank.

each one consisting of a few simple yoga poses to help beginners work on their form and find a few minutes of focus each day.

5 MINUTE YOGA

SLEEP CYCLE

Yoga shouldn’t be all about expensive retreats and time-consuming classes, and thanks to apps like 5 Minute Yoga, it no longer is. You’ll find quick daily workouts,

It’s one of the most important parts of staying healthy, yet an estimated one in three adults in the UK struggle with getting enough sleep. Sleep Cycle is an

HEADSPACE Meditation can be challenging to get into. The ancient practice can still be intimidating for beginners, particularly if they’re lacking guidance. That’s where Headspace can help. The hugely popular app is a cheap and simple way to start your journey into meditation – known for its easy-to-use interface and welcoming tone. Plus, it was founded by a former Buddhist Monk, so you know it’s legit!

He kept us fit during the pandemic, and now national treasure Joe Wicks has taken another step (or lunge) forward in making wellbeing affordable for everyone. His Body Coach app includes everything Joe Wicks has become so well known for – healthy recipes, a fitness tracker, home workouts and even weekly live workouts with the man himself.

APPDETOX While your phone is a great source for wellness (as this list can attest), we’re all aware that staring at our little rectangular screens too much isn’t good for us.

Thankfully, and somewhat paradoxically, there’s an app to help with this. AppDetox lets you set ‘rules’ for certain apps, allowing you to lock them and set reminders that tell you to put your phone down.

Reducing your phone usage by just one hour a day can make you ‘happier and less anxious’, according to a recent study from the Ruhr University Bochum, so unless you’re using personal wellness or health apps it’s worth trying to step away from your phone from time to time.

You don’t want to suddenly switch to 4G mid-meditation session or deal with video lag during a Joe Wicks live workout. With Swish Fibre, you can rely on lightning-fast broadband speeds and a reliable network connection.

Visit swishfibre.com today to see how faster broadband can help you on your health and wellness journey

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TRAVEL

CANAL DREAMS AMSTERDAM

Everybody loves an Amsterdam citybreak, especially when they're staying at the beautiful canalside Pulitzer Hotel. Absolutely visits. pulitzeramsterdam.com

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TRAVEL • ESSENTIALS

1

P A C K L I G H T HAND LUGGAGE ONLY? HERE'S WHAT YOU NEED

1

SPEAK OUT SONOS

The lighweight and super-portable outdoor Roam speaker comes in three new bright shades and it's waterproof, drop-resistant and has a long battery life that makes it excellent for travelling. £179 sonos.com

2

JUST IN CASE CA R L FR IEDR IK

2

This lightweight polycarbonate case with a metal frame has a spacious, luxury feel. It comes with an optional removable battery and clever compressors – plus it's super easy to manoeuvre. £345 carlfriedrik.com

3

I N T H E B AG

ELIZA BETH SCA R LET T

3

Pack sensibly with everything in its own pouch. Elizabeth Scarlett's new collecgtoin is raising £30,000 for Blue Marine Foundation with a donation from every item sold. elizabethscarlett.com

4

5

B E AC H R E A D S KINDLE

The new Paperwhite Signature has an even clearer dispay than before and enough space for thousands of books. Plus it's waterproof, for reading on a lilo in the pool. £179 amazon.co.uk

5

WEIGHT LIMIT OSKIA

4

Oskia Skincare have travel-sized versions of everything you need to keep skin hydrated and glowing on holiday – and they won't get confiscated at Security. oskiaskincare.com

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TWO DAYS IN

THE DAM What's everyone's favourite weekend destination? Surely it's Amsterdam. Absolutely visits

By PENDLE HARTE

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TRAVEL • EUROPE

“THERE'S A MUSEUM FOR EVERYTHING IN AMSTERDAM, HOWEVER NICHE”

E

verybody loves Amsterdam.

Whether it's your first visit or your hundredth, there's always something new to discover and revisiting old haunts never gets boring. There's no better use of a weekend than renting bikes and cycling along the canals, visiting museums and stopping at everything that catches your eye.

And now that we've discovered The Pulitzer there's even more reason to return.

The Pulitzer is a large hotel with a cosy feel, thanks to its unique makeup of 25 17th century canalhouses around a block spread over Prinzengracht and Keizersgracht, knocked together to create a maze-like single building with lots of character. It's the oldest five star hotel in Amsterdam, dating back to 1960 when Peter Pulitzer (grandson of Pulitzer Prize founder, Joseph) bought 12 run-down canalhouses with a view to restoring them and creating a worldclass hotel. Over the years he acquired neighbouring houses and the hotel grew, becoming known for its annual floating

concerts and its sprawling site. Then in 2017, the traditional hotel reopened with an entirely new look, a contemporary redesign that combines serious luxury with a contemporary, design-led feel. Now the interior feels very modern Dutch, in that it's unafraid to combine quirky detail with traditional comfort. There's lots of art and books, for instance, and a loose grey and yellow colour theme that recurs in everything from bedding to notepaper, but without making everything into a slavish scheme. In all, it's a colourful place with lots of small visual details to take pleasure in, from the Delft tiles at the reception desk to the single outsize armchair in the lobby, the former apothecary that's celebrated in the restaurant and the beautiful green courtyard garden with swing chairs.

In the bedrooms, everything has been considered. There's an umbrella in our room, for instance – invaluable for the inevitable Amsterdam shower – and a welcome bottle of Prosecco, and comfortable slippers for everyone. Shower gel is the insanely addictive Debaser by DS & Durga, and there's lots of velvet upholstery in bright pinks and blues, gilt-framed old masters and old master pastiches. An Art Deco bar unit houses the television, and the queen sized beds are impossibly comfortable. Our bathroom is vast by any standards and particularly by Amsterdam's (visitors to the Pulitzer might not be aware that Amsterdam's tightly packed housing doesn't on the whole allow for spacious bathrooms and that many people live without bathtubs in this city).

So from a well-located base at the Pulitzer, exploring the city is easy. Set out on foot and discover De Nejen Straatjes – the nine streets that criss-cross the four main canal arteries – with their mix of stylish boutiques, cafes and bars, or leave the hotel and turn right for the five-minute walk that takes you to Westermarkt and the everpopular Anne Frank museum (don't expect to turn up without a booking. The museum used to be known for its long queues; now it's known to be sold out months in advance.

But it's worth the wait for its sensitive and atmospheric tribute to 20th century history.

Other museums range from the worldfamous (Rijksmuseum, Van Gogh, Stedelijk) to the little-known and obscure: there's a museum for everything in Amsterdam, however niche. There's a Houseboat Museum (on a houseboat), a Torture Museum, a Sex Museum, a Cheese Museum, a Hash Museum and, of course, the Heineken Brewery tour. We enjoyed a popup exhibition space dedicated to sustainable fashion, bought some curious vintage ceramics in an antiques arcade and visited the headquarters of Tony's Chocoloney in the Westerpark before heading to the Noordermarkt for the cafe with the famed apple pie and a browse of the market.

Food at the Pulitzer is excellent, naturally – particularly the breakfast buffet, which attracts non-residents for its mix of cheese, fish, meat and eggs, plus fruit, waffles, pancakes and excellent coffee.

Dinner at the Jansz is informal yet high class, and cocktails at the Pulitzer's Bar are as good as any the city can offer. Prepare to be charmed.

P U L I T Z E R A M S T E R DA M Prinsengracht 323, 1016GZ Amsterdam Rooms from £256 per night pulitzeramsterdam.com

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BRACKEN

COUNTRY A look at some of the UK’s finest staycation spots

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TRAVEL • STAYCATION KITTISFORD BARTON

Am Bathach S C OT L A N D, S L E E P S 2

A

ruralretreats.co.uk

m Bathach is part of a traditional working croft where Hebridean Sheep can be seen grazing and running on the surrounding hills of heather.

The cottage is part of an extensive refurbishment carried out on the original cow barn using traditional stonework and cedar logs from Pioneer Log Homes of Canada.

Tastefully decorated using local tweeds and traditional furnishings complemented by modern appliances used in a contemporary way.

The area is world renowned for its stunning scenery, wildlife, food and drink and friendly local communities.

Not so well known is the low rainfall and mild climate due to the Atlantic Gulf Stream, with glorious summers and beautiful long sunsets throughout the year. The dark sky is a stunning sight with the stars clearly visible, particularly here in Altass. The cottage is situated in the small hamlet of Rosehall which is surrounded by magnificent salmon fishing rivers and trout lochs, woodland walks and a welcoming local hotel serving delicious food. A perfect base for touring, being based midway between west, north and east coasts, where the varied coastline is a magnet for wildlife and birdwatching.

Kittisford Barton

Wo r k i n g Fa r m s

S O M E R S E T, S L E E P S 6

S

glampinghideaways.co.uk

Bracken

DORCHESTER • SLEEPS 6

S

dorsethideaways.co.uk

ituated in a beautiful and rural area of North Dorset on a working farm, with extensive views of Bulbarrow and The Blackmore Vale, Bracken is one of three unique, detached eco retreats, constructed to an exceptionally high standard in 2020. The light and spacious, open-plan accommodation is all on the ground floor with cosy under-floor heating throughout, courtesy of the ground source heat pump. Sleeping up to six guests in three bedrooms, Bracken is an ideal choice. Outside, the terrace and garden enjoy breath-taking, far-reaching rural views, not to mention the decadent hot tub. With the Wessex Ridgeway on your doorstep, walking opportunities are endless. In the nearby village of Ansty you will find a charming farm shop, post office and good local pub.

AM BATHACH

urrounded by beautiful countryside and yet close to many fun days out and transport links, Kittisford Barton glamping site is the best of both worlds. Set on a working organic farm with over 260 acres of ponds, woodland, fields and trails, it has a real sense of peace and tranquillity. Spacious safari tents comfortably sleep up to six people, with three separate bedrooms. There’s a gas-powered shower and WC, so no need to stumble across the site during the night. Sit and eat at your own inside wooden table and chairs, or relax on the comfortable sofas.

There’s also a fully equipped kitchen area, complete with double gas hob and working sink plus a wood-burning stove, which also has space to cook on. Light up the outdoor firepit and toast marshmallows, or cook yourself an evening meal over the flames.

The tents even have the option of a wood-fired hot tub. It’s the perfect combination of modern comfort and the great outdoors, and you’re bound to leave feeling relaxed and rejuvenated.

There is no electricity at the site, making this an ideal opportunity to switch off and spend quality time with the people you love.

BRACKEN

“LIGHT UP THE OUTDOOR FIREPIT AND TOAST MARSHMALLOWS, OR COOK OVER THE FLAMES ” A B S O L U T E LY m a g a z i n e s

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TRAVEL • STAYCATION

Properties for 2…

Victoria the Railway Carriage NORFOLK, SLEEPS 2

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glampinghideaways.co.uk estled peacefully in beautiful Waveney Valley, Victoria is a fabulous converted railway goods wagon that has been lovingly and eco-sensitively restored to provide a fantastic off-grid glamping experience, without compromising on luxury or heritage. Originally built during the age of steam, Victoria is part of the train that once delivered milk from the dairy to London and has been re-imagined as the perfect romantic retreat for two. Original timbers have been lovingly preserved while the industrial ironwork has been restored and buffed to a soft sheen. The generous west-facing deck is a gorgeous spot for a sun-downer.

Relax and watch the barn owls or try your hand at cooking alfresco – the firepit is the perfect place to experiment with some fabulous local produce. Dogs are welcome and for two couples, Victoria’s companion, Edward is also available to book.

GOOSE RUN COTTAGE

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SUFFOLK. SLEEPS 2

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suffolkhideaways.co.uk ituated in a peaceful and picturesque wood, Woodland Retreat Shepherd’s Hut is a perfectly formed bespoke shepherd’s hut ideal for couples wanting to escape everyday life. This compact and cosy shepherd’s hut may be small but has everything for a luxurious short break for two – and horses are welcome too. If it’s seclusion and peace you are looking for and a desire to return to nature, escape to this wonderful sanctuary and truly relax. Fridge, freezer and electric cooker all available.

BRACKEN

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scenic Carmarthenshire countryside, Y Gorlan is a pretty little hideaway perfect for two. Fitted with all things luxurious even underfloor heating, this shepherds hut is a very comfortable escape.

Y Gorlan was crafted in Wales to a high standard with wonderful oak doors and insulated with sheep wool.

In the summer evenings enjoy a glass of wine al fresco, or even a barbecue in the outdoor seating area with views over the rolling hills. In chillier evenings cosy up inside the hut with the wood burning stove, a good book or a card game, or wrap up and have a hot choccy under the vast starry sky. The little hut is stocked with everything you could possibly need. There is electric lighting and power throughout as well as underfloor heating and a beautiful wood burning stove. You will also find a fully equipped kitchen with hot and cold water as well as an en-suite.

Enjoy walking or cycling in the local area with panoramic rural views and wonderful scenery, or just a short drive away are plenty of beaches and coastal walks to choose from.

“THE FORMER RAILWAY GOOD WAGON HAS BEEN RE-IMAGINED AS THE PERFECT ROMANTIC RETREAT FOR TWO ” 138

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E D U C AT I O N

HAPPY TALK

Repton was recently crowned UK's Happiest Boarding School in the Muddy Stilettos School Awards and it's a school that prides itself on its pastoral care. With a therapy dog and special Wellbeing room introduced in 2019, they're clearly getting it right. repton.org.uk

GCSE Results 143 • Fantastic games 146 • Outdoor learning 151 A B S O L U T E LY m a g a z i n e s

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NUMBERS

GAME

GCSE results are imminent... but what to do if your child doesn't get the grades?

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B y C A S P A R D AV I D

s we approach GCSE results day on 25 August, here is some advice on what you can do if your child doesn’t quite get the results they/you had expected.

DON’T STRESS! This is the first cohort of children to sit actual GCSE exams since 2019. In the wake of last year's record-breaking high grades, everyone is expecting this year's results to be less impressive and there's a lot of stress in the air, with children and parents worrying that they might be disappointed. It's worth remembering that a Grade 7 is still an A equivalent, and a Grade 6 a B – and that these are very good grades. The pressure to achieve 9s is a new one, and an

unrealistic aim for many children.

If your child does not open an envelope to straight grade 9s, it's important to consider that this is not the end of the world. This year is like no other, students have been under added pressure from missing lessons, a lack of peer interaction and loss of extra teaching support.

Most important is their mental wellbeing and that they’ve got what they need to move to the next stage of their academic lives.

RESITS ARE AN OPTION Students have the option to retake exams if they don’t meet their grade requirements and many schools and colleges allow you to retake GCSEs alongside A-Levels.

Maths and English retakes are compulsory if your child hasn’t achieved a pass (grade 4). Students can ask their destination college if

“If your child does not open an envelope to straight grade 9s, it's not the end of the world”

EDUCATION • GCSE

they can continue studying these subjects with their A-Levels to avoid delaying sixth form life.

It’s a good idea to only retake the most important exams – this should not be a vanity exercise.

Private resits are also an option but you’ll need to arrange these on behalf of your child and then encourage out-of-school GCSE revision. We estimate 5-10 hours of tutoring would be enough to help a student get over the pass mark if they were on the cusp of achieving a grade 4, so you may need to sacrifice other commitments to fit this in.

LOOKING AT THE EVIDENCE If you feel that your child has received unfair grading, there is the option to appeal. It may be worth providing the college/sixth form with examples of work where your child has achieved higher grades, to demonstrate their ability to achieve on their desired course. In the past, there have been successful appeals on behalf of students who were on the borderline of a grade 4, enabling them to resit their exams in November while at college.

ADDITIONAL SUPPORT There are programmes and extra teaching support available to children who haven’t passed core subjects or who have missed out on lessons this year. If you ask the school, your child could receive extra support via one of the government’s pandemic programmes, which could help support them with retakes in autumn. Ultimately, it’s about getting over the line and moving onwards and upwards.

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EDUCATION • PARTNERSHIP

piece of homework, they will be all the more motivated to complete it if you have crafted a special homework station over the summer.

Whether it’s in the corner of the home office or in the conservatory, get the tools out of the garage and, together with your child, build a grown-up homework space, equipped with a desk and shelves, a picture of their pet and a stash of new stationery. Fairy lights and a colourful chair could make it all the more a place they want to be. Having a dedicated space for your child to work will improve their focus come that first assignment.

DON’T BUY SECONDARY SCHOOL UNIFORM TOO BIG

Get set for SEPTEMBER

How can you use six-week summer holiday to best prepare your child for the ‘back to school’ milestone? Successful north London school group North Bridge House shares their top tips

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he school summer holidays: six weeks of planning childcare and entertainment, juggling work and an overflowing laundry basket, and somehow getting set for the new academic year in September. Whether your child is taking those emotional first steps to nursery, making the move from nursery to ‘big school’, or starting out at secondary school, you will be concerned with buying uniform, establishing a routine, trialling the school run and preparing them emotionally and developmentally.

SUMMER CAMPS Not only do they provide working parents with childcare solutions but summer camps are a great way to develop social skills and extra-curricular interests ahead of your child starting school. At North Bridge

House, families starting the Nursery & Pre-Prep in September are able to join the much-loved NBH Holiday Club, while those higher up the school have priority places at external camps run on site. The New to North Bridge programme – a series of settling-in events which take place in the academic year prior to entry – also initiates friendships between children and parents, presenting the opportunity to connect and have playdates over the summer holidays.

“Adolescence is a challenging time for children and with it can come concerns over image and experimenting with identity,” says North Bridge House Senior Canonbury Headteacher, Charlotte Tassell-Dent. Kids do not want a blazer two sizes too big because you said they would grow into it. (An oversized school hoodie however is much more on trend). Starting a new school comes with the anxieties of making new friends and wanting to fit in, and kids are generally a lot more invested in how they look. Liberal schools like North Bridge House will also have a gender-neutral uniform, so take the time to go through the options with your child and ensure they have picked out the items they will feel most comfortable in.

OPEN UP THE CONVERSATION “Starting a new school or moving up a year can feel like a big leap for children and there is no better way to normalise their feelings and settle any apprehension than by talking,” says Tom Le Tissier, North Bridge House Prep School Head. By opening up dialogue about our children’s transition, we nudge them towards retrospection, which encourages both resilience and enthusiasm for the next step. Schools that are part of educational wellbeing communities and platforms like North Bridge House will have access to a wealth of parent resources, to prompt and support these conversations; make the most of the tools on offer to promote your child’s mental health and don’t be afraid to seek further advice from the school. northbridgehouse.com

WHY HOMEWORK MATTERS “The summer holidays are important downtime for your child, and they should not feel bogged down by the curriculum they are yet to start, nor do they need to know their times tables off by heart before any member of their future class,” Brendan Pavey, Executive Headteacher of North Bridge House reminds us. However, come September and their first A B S O L U T E LY m a g a z i n e s

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Fantastic

G A ME S Independent schools go way beyond the classic team sports, to bring on the champions, and also help every pupil find their sporting spirit

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n the foreword to the 2014 Ofsted report ‘Going the extra mile: Excellence in competitive school sport’, the then Chief Inspector of Schools Sir Michael Wilshaw namechecked Alan Wilkinson, PE teacher to a keen would-be footballer called Mo Farah. Wilshaw noted that it was Wilkinson who steered the Olympic legend away from the beautiful game based on a hunch that the lad would go much further on the running track.

No one can have any doubt of the positive influence that a steer in the right direction has on potential elite sportsmen and sportswomen, but the Ofsted report was highlighting the broad opportunities independent schools offer, how this impacts whole-school culture as well as sporting success – and also considering how all schools might

improve sporting achievement.

The tendency still when we talk about school sport is to think of the classic team games – rugby, hockey, netball, cricket, and so on. While these remain core, the menu of sports opportunities in independent schools is far richer and broader, and ultimately feeds into success at national and international events. Sports directors recognise that not everyone is a natural for mainstream team games, and it could be the individual tests and endurance challenges – or the less usual team sports – that ignite a student's enthusiasm.

A drive for excellence is really important here, but so too the fun factor. For instance, Brighton College makes full use of its beach access by hosting the annual Independent School Beach Volleyball Competition.

Off season, the school hones team skills

in its double-height sports hall, but once the summer comes, students head down to Sussex’s most famous seafront for proper play. Brighton is deadly serious in its endeavours – the school is current Independent School champion. The College also has highly active sports clubs in fencing (one female pupil was recently selected for the U17 GB squad in Cade Sabre) and in water polo, where it regularly competes in tournaments.

Dulwich College may not be on the waterfront, but its students also love water polo. Boys are introduced to it as a lunchtime club in Years 5 and 6 – provided they can swim well in deep water – and it’s become a really popular sport, with six friendlies against local opponents each year. When they get to senior school, there’s the opportunity to compete in all age groups within the A B S O L U T E LY m a g a z i n e s

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WATER POLO IS A DULWICH COLLEGE STRENGTH

FENCING AT BRIGHTON COLLEGE

“Off season, Brighton College hones team skills in its double-height sports hall, but once the sun comes out, students head down to Sussex’s most famous seafront” Schools League and the English Schools Swimming Association national event.

Teams are coached by former international competitors and have been on overseas tours. As it happens, Team GB remains one of the most successful competitors in Olympic Water Polo historically, but the last time we carried home gold was 1920, so there’s plenty for young people to play for.

Like Brighton College, Dulwich also has form in fencing. Recently, it celebrated

the achievements of Old Alleynian Oliver Lam-Watson, who was part of the silver and bronze-medal winning GB wheelchair fencing teams at the Tokyo Paralympics.

Merchiston Castle School in Edinburgh honoured a win in the Olympic arena even more recently. Merchistonians Hammy McMillan and Grant Hardie won silver for curling at the Beijing Winter Olympics.

Notably, the women’s curling team led by Eve Muirhead (alumna of the independent MERCHISTON OFFERS A RICH CHOICE OF SPORTS, INCLUDING SHOOTING

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Morrison’s Academy in Crieff) brought home gold. These were the only two medals for the nation from Beijing, and so all the more likely to generate interest and enthusiasm for the sport of curling among young people over the next few years.

Merchiston has a great tradition in another Scottish sporting invention, with a highly regarded Golf Academy that enables talented players to pursue their sport without compromising on their education. The school approach is broad – it has a winning reputation in many individual and team sports – and with a clear focus on bringing on all the talents. It is fortunate in its facilities and location, so sailing (at a club on the Firth of Forth) and shooting on its own range and within the grounds are both popular. These are two sports in which Team GB has an excellent track record at international events.

Sports staff at Merchiston and every school work hard to bring on the most able and rightly celebrate each win by a student or former student, but it’s a lesser, albeit vital, part of their remit.

All research points to the same thing – if students leave school with an enjoyment of physical activity, they are more likely to stay active into middle and later life.

Medals apart, this is why the rich diet of sports and the quest for excellence in many competitive arenas is a positive thing. After all, most young people hang up their rugby boots and hockey stick when they leave school. But a spot of sailing or beach volleyball on holiday or a round of golf or clay pigeon shooting at the weekend is there to be enjoyed for many years to come.

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OUTDOOR LEARNING

The Headmistress of Habs Girls on the value and benefits of providing older pupils with outdoor education

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ith an increase in forest schools and the benefits of outdoor learning widely reported, getting pupils outside and into the fresh air has become a top priority over the last few years. For early years and primaryage children, schools have risen to the challenge of creating inspiring outdoor education. But unfortunately, from age 11 upwards, the emphasis around outdoor learning seems to tail off or is largely confined to the court or pitch during scheduled PE lessons.

This is a great pity, since we already know that young people spend far too much time indoors in front of screens.

As schools, we need to be doing as

much as possible to stimulate a desire for being outside. When children reach senior school, everything switches to academic progress, exams and assessments. This simply nurtures the classic stereotype of young people who don’t really want to be outside. It becomes a vicious circle too, because the more we restrict outdoor learning within older age groups at school, the more reluctant they will be to engage with the idea.

Outdoor learning is not just about wellbeing or getting out into the fresh air. There is an academic value to learning outside of the classroom.

Biology and other STEM subjects should be taught outside more often with timetabled activities as part of the curriculum, not simply a ‘nice to have’ add-on on a sunny day. From developing horticultural

“From age 11 upwards, the emphasis around outdoor learning seems to tail off”

EDUCATION • TALKING HEAD

expertise to studying and observing geographical surroundings, being outside strengthens academic development and provides a multisensory learning environment for older pupils as well as for younger ones.

We are constantly teaching our young people about the impact of climate change and how to take better care of our world. That also means understanding and recording seasonal changes, recognising local wildlife and identifying the plants and trees that grow on our doorstep.

Often, when climate change is discussed, children think of the polar ice caps or the extinction of far-off species. While these are important considerations, children should be encouraged to think about the hyperlocal – the changes around them.

Getting older children and teenagers outside as part of their daily routine should be happening in the same way that it does for primary school children – and across multiple core subjects.

For example, getting pupils involved and enthused about gardening will equip them with the skills to grow and nurture, fostering the values of patience and care in order to achieve good results. Taking co-curricular activities a step further, schools can embrace the idea of a school allotment, set up a bird watching club or build partnerships with linked charities to give back to their local communities through outdoor work. It’s time to redress the balance and give muchneeded focus to outdoor learning – and show the wider benefits of being outside to our young people.

R O S E H A R DY Headmistress at Habs Girls. habsgirls.org.uk

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YES, IT’S A CRYING SHAME…

…that she left it too late to apply for Hurtwood House, because it’s simply the best for acting, dancing, singing, film-making – “A utopia for creative minds” – as the Good Schools Guide says.

And crucially, this exciting school is equally successful academically. In fact, it’s statistically one of the top co-ed boarding schools in the UK. So, if you’re looking for a really exciting and rewarding change of school at 16 – don’t leave it too late.

Contact Cosmo Jackson or visit our website for more information.

T: 01483 279000

E: info@hurtwood.net

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EDUCATION • PARTNERSHIP

XXX IMAG

“The College’s forwardthinking approach is matched by modern, bright, and inspirational facilities ” ST DUNSTAN'S HEAD NICHOLAS HEWLETT AND PUPILS

A GOLDEN ERA FOR

ST DUNSTAN’S COLLEGE St Dunstan’s College was named Independent Senior School of the Year at the Tes Awards 2022 at Grosvenor House Hotel

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hese awards, known as the Oscars of Education celebrate the work of teachers and schools across the United Kingdom.

The event was held in person for the first time since the start of the pandemic, and for the first time in Tes’s history the awards brought together both state and independent schools for the ceremony.

Speaking about the award, St Dunstan’s Head Mr Nicholas Hewlett said: ‘We are absolutely delighted to have been recognised in this way. It is testament to the extraordinary drive and ambition of so many that we have been able to create the unique school culture we enjoy today.

‘To transform a school so that it challenges and trailblazes in the sector takes a colossal community effort. My gratitude goes to everyone who has contributed to our incredible journey as a school.’

Winners were chosen by a panel of experts including school leaders, inspectors, and education researchers.

Judge David James has worked in independent schools for over 20 years and is an experienced inspector for the Independent Schools Inspectorate. He said: ‘There’s a very clear and coherent vision of what they want to do, both with the curriculum and the local community.

‘The head is asking interesting questions of the sector, including areas like privilege and responsibility, which go beyond the usual platitudes. It’s a really

interesting school in a tough market, trying to not just survive but actually make something different for the children and families they’re working with.’

The award comes at an exciting time for St Dunstan’s. Last year, the College’s new £25million Junior School, STEM and Sixth Form buildings officially opened, which were the most significant developments since the school opened in 1888. The College’s forward-thinking approach is now matched by modern, bright, and inspirational facilities. St Dunstan’s has also been shortlisted for eight awards at the upcoming Independent Schools of the Year Awards in October

ST D U N STA N ' S C O L L E G E Find out more about life at St Dunstan’s College at stdunstans.org.uk

A B S O L U T E LY m a g a z i n e s

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SPECI A L ISSUE

absolutely-mama.co.uk

COLOUR PLAY Toning with your mini is made easy with fresh new colour block pieces at Zara.

We love this checked girls dress from the brand’s Join Life collection, with its oversized collar, crossover front and gathered detailing. www.zara.com @zara

In this section:

MYLEENE KLASS

On her latest album release

•

OUTDOOR PLAY

Get outside this summer

•

TROPICAL ESCAPE

The Seychelles with a toddler

•

TOT GEAR

The latest parenting launches

A B S O L U T E LY m a g a z i n e s

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mam a WELCOME

TODDLEKIND P.169

Editor’s

LETTER

THE BONNIE MOB P.166

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ost of us love a heatwave, but with a toddler in tow, my summer has been all about hitting up the best places with air-con (the supermarket is pretty good), rather than seeking out sunbathing spots.

For pregnant mamas trying to survive, and new mamas in a hot sweaty mess, I totally sympathise.

For everyone else making the most of the sunshine, check out our outdoor play edit – which has everything from giant dinosaur sprinklers, to water blasters, and paddling pools.

Elsewhere in this issue, we speak to Myleene Klass about her new album – My Lullabies: Motown. We also have the best new parenting product launches in our Tot Gear and Tried & Tested sections. Enjoy and stay cool!

LIEWOOD P.167

C a rly Gl e n di n n i n g SUNNYLIFE P.161

E DITOR

@carlyjglendinning carly@zest-media.com

ON TH E COVER: @zara zara.com

LITTLE DUTCH P.161 OEUF P.166

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M U S I C K L A S S Absolutely Mama chats with Myleene Klass about her new album My Lullabies: Motown I n t e r v i e w C A R LY G L E N D I N N I N G

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ma m a PROFILE

MYLEENE WITH HER DAUGHTERS

Q Congratulations on the launch of

your new album, My Lullabies: Motown.

Could you tell us a little bit about it?

A In lockdown, myself and my children did something called Myleene’s Music Klass and we put together lessons that we taught online for free. They were so successful we added to the curriculum, which was just staggering, and we had schools adding them to links, so we decided to take it a bit further.

NCT groups got cancelled and mum and baby groups got cancelled and one of my friends said she was really lonely. So every Wednesday after that, in addition to the classes we were doing, I then started doing lullaby sessions. So I’d pick the genre or the theme of the music and we just did them live and my daughters would man the iPad and shout out whatever the requests were. So I’d say: “Let’s do David Bowie lullabies – I want Life on Mars!” Or “I want Sir Elton John!” To the '80s – “I want Duran Duran”… And then when we got to Motown it just absolutely blew up.

Q You’re now campaigning to help women going through miscarriage…

A There is light at the end of the tunnel because I’m now trying to get a bill passed in parliament that’s going to look after women. I spend a lot of time in parliament at the moment and I’m working alongside Olivia Blake MP and Tommy’s and we’re trying to get a new bill passed, which means that women who’ve experienced miscarriage will have it added to their medical record (at the momet it’s a postcode lottery). So women won’t have to wait for three miscarriages, but will have treatment after the the first miscarriage and also get 24/7 support via a charity they can call and they’ll actually be able to speak to doctors.

relive it all again. I’m just going to make restaurant bookings now under Dr Klass!

Q And your daughter, Ava, is following

Q Are there any other tracks on the album

in your musical footsteps. You must be very proud of her joining The Royal Academy of Music?

A It’s just gone from third gear to fifth gear, she’s just suddenly really found her stride. She’ll be joining The Royal Academy of Music from September and she’s just passed her diploma with distinction. Most people, if they even do a diploma, will do it at eighteen or nineteen years old. She’s fourteen and she’s also been doing her school exams, so I’m just blown away. She’s about to do her second diploma in piano in the next few months, so she’s just on another level. She’s so dedicated and so determined, and I’m her biggest cheerleader.

A It was just a real labour of love. I love Baby

Q What was it like recording with

that are particularly special to you?

Love – at the very beginning of the track it’s Hero playing piano, it’s not me. So that’s her recording debut. It’s my baby playing Baby Love and I absolutely love that. And The Tracks of My Tears – that’s Hero and Ava on trumpet – so these all mean something because they are done by my girls. And My Cherie Amour was also another favourite because I don’t think I really appreciated just how technically difficult the chords are in Motown, they’re quite elaborate.

It’s not until you start recording that you really get into the intricacies of Motown.

Q We can’t not talk about your honorary

doctorate. Huge congratulations!

A I can’t even begin to put it into words.

I feel like I should’ve been more present in the day because I was so blown away and it felt so special that I’d like to go and

your daughters for the first time?

A It was so much fun but it was quite funny

as well because you’re not just there in a recording capacity but you’re still mum. So even though you’re like ‘right let’s do this amazing recording’ and Ava brought her cello and Hero brought her trumpet and Hero played piano and we’re doing all the normal work stuff that you’d expect, and then halfway through you’re back into mum mode again because someone is hungry or someone has a mum question. It’s quite a funny dynamic in the studio. It was so lovely, what a privilege to be able to record with your daughters, who are at the standard that can record it.

Myleene Klass’s new album My Lullabies: Motown is available at Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music as well as other leading streaming services. slinky.to/MyLullabiesMotown

Q So did you choose the tracks for

the album based on the most popular songs that had been requested?

A Yes that’s exactly what we did, except there’s one on there that’s very close to my heart. It’s the second track, What Becomes of the Broken Hearted, which is the one for the angel baby mums. When I recorded it I was so glad that I sat with my back to the studio because there were just tears rolling down my face. It was not from a mourning point of view, it was from a quite cathartic point of view, like there’s still something for us to mark them.

Because I think what’s so hurtful is that it all gets lost in the sands of time and it’s really important to still mark that they were here.

I didn’t want it to be really uncomfortable, I just wanted to give people a bit of light and peace and my daughters know the story behind it and they love it. We can talk about it, it sounds beautiful, it’s just a lovely memory and what a beautiful way to remember people through music.

MYLEENE'S DAUGHTER HERO

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Your ride. Your way. i-Level™ Recline infant seat

calmi™ R129 car cot*

i-Harbour™ toddler seat

1 base. 3 car seat options. 4 years of ease.

Spin any way from birth to four years with Joie's revolutionary spinning system. Start with i-Base Encore, pick your perfect seat, and spin on, and on, and on!

Available at Boots, John Lewis, Mamas & Papas and Very and all good independent nursery retailers. *Note calmi™ R129 car cot doesn’t spin on the i-Base™ Encore

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mama PLAY TIME

Outdoor PLAY

Everything they need for a summer of fun…

editor’s pick

NOBODINOZ Play Tent, £159.95 scandiborn.co.uk

SUNNYLIFE Dinosaur Sprinkler, £60 jojomamanbebe.co.uk

LITTLE DUTCH Balance Bike, £98 kidly.co.uk

LIEWOOD Paddling Pool, £37 liewood.com

we love

LIEWOOD Water Blaster, £22 liewood.com

PLUM PLAY Wooden Baby Swing, £184.99 scandiborn.co.uk

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PARADISE ON SILHOUETTE

tropical ESCAPE

Carly Glendinning visits Hilton Seychelles Labriz Resort & Spa for a family holiday in paradise…

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STYLISH VILLA DECOR

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ith its sugar sand beaches and crystalline waters, the Seychelles may strike you as more of a honeymooner’s destination, than a place to travel to with little ones. Our daughter was born last spring and feeling a little nervous about flying with a newborn during a pandemic, we resolved to spend last summer in London. This year, as we’d not been on holiday for a while, we found ourselves dreaming of a big adventure. And travelling to the Seychelles with a toddler in tow certainly fulfilled that criteria.

The Seychelles is an archipelago of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean, off East Africa.

We were headed to the Hilton Seychelles Labriz Resort & Spa – the only resort on Silhouette Island, which is a 30-40 minute boat ride from Mahé (the largest island in the Seychelles archipelago). Flying with Qatar Airways, from Gatwick we travelled to Doha and then onto Mahé. The journey is no mean feat with a toddler, but we booked an overnight flight and we were lucky that our little one did manage to get some sleep (even if we didn’t!).

Aside from the long journey, if you’re going to travel somewhere far-flung with a toddler the Seychelles is a good choice for several reasons.

Firstly it’s only three hours ahead of the UK, so jet-lag isn’t a problem. Secondly, thanks to its equatorial location, the Seychelles doesn’t really experience much variation in weather.

The temperature averages between 26 and 32 degrees year-round, meaning that it never

ACTIVITIES AT THE KIDS CLUB

gets really scorching hot. The humidity does make it a perfect climate for mosquitoes, but considering beach holidays are rarely bug-free, we didn’t let this deter us. We landed on Mahé in the midst of a tropical rain storm, a rainbow shooting through the sky. The Seychelles does experience rain from time-to-time, but despite this initial downpour, we were lucky to have amazing weather for the rest of our trip (we visited in June). The rain, however, is all forgiven when you see the flourishing flora and fauna on Silhouette Island. A private collection of villas, the Hilton Labriz is set in lush jungle, afoot the most magnificent mountainous landscape, and overlooking a postcard-perfect stretch of white sandy coastline. It’s paradise, even if you do spend most of your time chasing after a toddler!

THE ROOM We stayed in a King Sanctuary Pool Villa, which was very secluded and had a private pool with an outdoor rain shower area overlooking the tropical forest. With a large double bed and sofa area, there was ample space.

The highlight was definitely the bathroom, which had a large round bathtub surrounded by pebbles to make it feel like a spa. On our last night, the resort arranged a romantic bath for us with bubbles and tropical flowers so we could make the most of it.

Our villa was within easy walking distance of all of the restaurants, the main pool, and the beach. We had brought our buggy with us, but our one-year-old was able to walk everywhere we needed to go, so we didn’t use it much. As you’d expect with a fivestar resort, the service was impeccable.

and had set a travel cot up in our villa.

Our toddler was a bit scared of the beach!

But luckily there were plenty of other things for families to do, including two play areas.

We had a private pool, but we also swam in the main pool, which had a shallower section – perfect for little kids to splash about in.

We visited the kids club as a family most days, as little ones under age 4 must be accompanied by an adult. We didn’t get to join in with any activities as unfortunately at the times we visited there wasn’t a big enough group of children. However, the new summer CampCation programme – including dance classes, arts and crafts, baking, and rides on the children’s train to feed the fish – looked fun. Even when the activities aren’t on, kids can play in the club.

For kids aged 4-12 there's the opportunity to take part in tailored adventures with the yearround Island Academy. If we’d not been travelling with a baby, we would have loved to explore the island’s wildlife with a snorkelling expedition, boat trip, diving lesson, or a hike in the jungle.

For the sporty, there’s tennis courts, table tennis, a giant trampoline, garden chess, golf, fishing and a fitness centre. You can also learn more about the island’s rich cultural heritage with Creole cooking classes and nature walks.

Hilton Labriz also offers a babysitting service.

Our daughter isn’t used to having a babysitter yet, so instead the resort was more than happy to arrange private dining in our villa.

One thing to take note of is that although there is a boutique stocking essentials including sunscreen, there is nowhere to buy baby items such as nappies and wipes on the island so my advice would definitely be to overpack, just in case!

KIDS FACILITIES

THE FOOD

Hilton Labriz was excellent at providing everything we needed for our little one. They arranged a car seat for our airport transfers

The resort has no less than eight restaurants offering a diverse range of cuisines from Japanese teppanyaki, to traditional Creole A B S O L U T E LY. L O N D O N

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DISCOVER THE AZORES AND MADEIRA EUROPE, BUT NOT AS YOU KNOW IT

Discover the island of eternal spring; a world bursting with vibrant flora and fauna, geologically dramatic landscapes and traditional Portuguese culture. Explore Madeira and visit the famed botanical gardens, meander along the levadas, go in search of wild marine life and journey over stunning volcanic backdrops.

Swathed in volcanic peaks, bubbling geothermal pools, staggering crater lakes and lush green forests, the Azores archipelago is a hidden gem of the Mid-Atlantic Ocean waiting to be explored. Gaze at the natural wonders, swim alongside wild dolphins, tour lava caves and relax in hot springs.

Explore the Azores and Madeira with Artisan Travel; your shortcut to travels most exceptional experiences. Call 01670 337 186 or visit us online at artisantravel.co.uk. © Greg Snell

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ATOL: 6865 – ABTA: Y6261 – AITO: 5180

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ES CAPES

EFOREA SPA OVERLOOKING THE BEACH

THE KING SANCTUARY POOL VILLA BATHROOM

“Overlooking a quiet stretch of coastline, the tranquil Eforea

dishes, and family-friendly pizza.

A buffet-style breakfast is served every morning between 7am - 11am at Café Dauban, which has a beautiful view out onto the sea. There’s something to please everyone from waffles and pancakes to sausages and eggs and an abundance of fresh fruit.

Lunch is a laidback menu of wood-fired pizzas or burgers at Lo Brizan Bar or Aria, next to the main pool. The kids menu offers the usual favourites including nuggets, chips and pasta.

We did find it a little bit limited for our one-yearold, but I don’t think she minded too much!

The evening restaurants are very impressive and we had some truly delicious meals prepared by the resort’s talented chefs during our stay.

I am currently on a vegan and gluten free diet, and it was not a problem for the head chef to create a special menu for me. Although we dined in our villa most evenings, the resort also arranged a private beach BBQ for us. Even with a toddler (!), it was still very romantic eating in a cabana overlooking the beach.

SUSTAINABILITY Set within a protected national park, the hotel has ambitious yearly goals to reduce their environmental impact and we were impressed with the resort’s eco-minded initiatives. Filtered water in recycled glass bottles is delivered to your room several times a day thanks to the resort’s Vivreau filtration system. This system

has eliminated the need for 16,000 plastic water bottles a month and the water is so pure, you could drink directly from the shower in your villa. The hotel also uses a salt water chlorinator in the pool to reduce the need for chemicals.

The island is 100% self-sustaining and although they import supplies, they also have an organic vegetable garden and use food waste to make compost. The resort is also rolling out a solar energy plan this year and already has a windmill which supplies hydro energy to the staff quarters.

THE SPA Nestled in the natural granite boulders of Silhouette Island and overlooking a quiet stretch of coastline, the tranquil Eforea Spa is a must-visit for frazzled mamas.

Whilst my husband and daughter went for a swim, I snuck off for a bit of me-time. The Elemis spa boasts six private treatment rooms and also has a whirlpool, steam room and sauna, and plunge pool. My massage was so dreamy I nearly fell asleep. It certainly helped me relax into the holiday – which, let’s face it, can be hard when you’re still on-duty as a parent!

Five-star Hilton Seychelles Resort and Spa; prices for 2 adults in a King Garden Villa on Bed & Breakfast arrival 24th December 2022 for a 6 night stay start at £750 per night. hilton.com A B S O L U T E LY. L O N D O N

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kid s

FA S H I O N NOTES Carly Glendinning rounds up the month’s best styles, looks and launches

TO T H E B E AC H M U DDY PU DDLES

Made from recycled polyester and providing UPF+50 sun protection, this surf suit from Muddy Puddles is a double win. Little ones will love the fun rainbow print too. muddypuddles.com

we love HELLO SUNSHINE THE BONNIE MOB

This joyful knitted cardigan from The bonnie mob won’t fail to make little ones smile. Made from 100% GOTS certified organic cotton, it makes the perfect super-soft summer layer. thebonniemob.com

CHECK MATE OEUF

Perfect for playing in, this checked romper from Oeuf is about as sweet as they come. We love that it’s unisex too. oeufnyc.com

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mama KIDS

FASHION

nd Bra us Foc

Eco Power LE PETIT PLANET

The brainchild of two fashion insiders, Le Petit Planet is a genius online destination that enables families to buy new from sustainable premium brands such as Caramel London, Banwood and Little Dutch and then resell outgrown items, all on the same platform. lepetitplanet.com

MARIE CHANTAL The luxury childrenswear brand opens a new store on Sloane Avenue…

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SUMMER FUN BUHO

The summer collection from Barcelona brand Buho is full sweet and simple pieces in the softest colour palette.

Look out for stripy bubble rompers, polka dot sundresses and checked bloomers. buhobcn.com

5 of th e b e st SANDAL S BOBUX Drift wood Sandals, £47 bobux.co.uk

YOUNG SOLES Pearl Sandals, £55; youngsoles.com

SALT-WATER Sailor Sandals, £48; naturalbabyshower.co.uk

KIDLY LABEL Jelly Sandals, £12; kidly.co.uk

LIEWOOD Monty Sandals, £40 liewood.com

estled between Knightsbridge, Chelsea, and South Kensington, luxury childrenswear brand Marie-Chantal has opened its second London store on Sloane Avenue.

Joining the brand’s flagship store on Motcomb Street, the beautifully designed space couldn’t be a more delightful shopping destination for mamas and mamas-to-be.

For those of you not familiar with it, Marie-Chantal, Crown Princess of Greece and mother of five, launched her eponymous children’s brand in 2000 when she was pregnant with her third baby. She had considered a cosmetics line, but a friend convinced her to stick to what she knew. As the daughter of a retailer, she had spent many summers working in visual merchandising and was known for her impeccable taste. So a luxury childrenswear collection couldn’t have been a more natural fit.

One of her very first designs – a sweet angel wing detail – remains a signature today. The brand has always been about those pictureperfect newborn moments, and their baby collection is full of giftable pieces. There’s also sleepwear, matching mama and mini loungewear, and a beautifully curated collection of toys, books and accessories. The new Sloane Street store will carry the full offering – from impossibly soft baby rompers to delicate knits.

Marie-Chantal’s new store is located at 86 Sloane Avenue. mariechantal.com

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FROM A TO Z KABODE

The perfect way to add a splash of colour to your little one’s nursery (and a fun way to help them learn their ABCs), Kabode’s Alphabet Quilt is handcrafted from 100% organic cotton. £69.95; kabode.co.uk

TOT GEAR

Inspired kit to make parenting easier

PLAY TIME

TOT GEAR

LOVED

by MAMA

by Carly Glendinning

What we’re using for our own babies this month

AN G ELCAR E AC 320 BABY VI D EO M O N ITO R

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TODDLEKIND Toddlekind has launched two new designs in its popular puzzle playmat.

‘Sandy Lines’ (pictured) is a new hand drawn design and ‘Berber’ takes inspiration from Morocco. toddlekind.co.uk

PLANT GOODNESS SMA NUTRITION®

SMA Nutrition® has launched a plant-based drink, LITTLE STEPS® PLANTYGROW Plant-Based Growing Up Drink. Nutritionally designed for toddlers from 1-3 years of age as part of a varied and balanced diet, it contains Vitamins A, C, B2, B12 & Iron and has been enriched with iodine and Omega 3 & 6. smababy.co.uk

ngelcare is a well known and trusted parenting brand and not without reason.

Its AC320 Baby Video Monitor couldn’t be easier to set up and we’ve found it very simple to use. The camera has the option of table or wall mounting and it comes with a parent unit display. One of the things that has impressed me most about it is the crystalclear picture. The infrared night vision is so good that I could see my daughter’s movements really clearly. The AC320 doesn’t come with some of the added extras that other monitors have like sleep analytics or white noise, but this is made up for by the fact that you’re able to monitor more than one child at once. A super useful function for growing families, you can purchase multiple nursery units so that little ones sleeping in different rooms can be viewed simultaneously via a split screen on the parent unit display.

Overall, this is a great monitor for parents who want something simple and straightforward and for Angelcare AC320 Baby Video Monitor , £159.99 angelcare.com

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North Bridge House

Join our Saturday Open Day Fairs

North Bridge House is on a constant journey of getting to know and understand every child as an individual, realising their true academic and personal potential through specialist provision at every school stage.

NURSERY & PRE-PREP WEST HAMPSTEAD 2 - 7 YEARS SATURDAY 17 SEPT

NURSERY & PRE-PREP HAMPSTEAD 2 - 7 YEARS SATURDAY 1 OCT

PREP SCHOOL REGENT’S PARK 4 - 13 YEARS SATURDAY 24 SEPT

SENIOR HAMPSTEAD 11 - 16 YEARS SATURDAY 17 SEPT

SENIOR CANONBURY 11 - 18 YEARS SATURDAY 24 SEPT

Book an open day or private tour at northbridgehouse.com/open

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TRIED & TESTED

IN-DEPTH REVIEWS OF THE LATEST PARENTING KIT

ma m a REVIEWS

Lovevery The Block Set R e v i e w e d b y C A R LY G L E N D I N N I N G

one on top of her toniebox. For little ones, the songs are brilliant for bedtime and bathtime. The recording feature is also very clever and we’ve used it to record Nana singing lullabies. We packed our toniebox on our recent holiday and it was great for moments when we’d usually reach for the tablet. We also used it to play white noise at bedtime. What I love most about it though as it’s one of those toys that my daughter won’t get bored of and it’s something she can hopefully enjoy for years to come. £79.99; tonies.com

£80; lovevery.co.uk

tonies Toniebox Starter Set R e v i e w e d b y C A R LY G L E N D I N N I N G

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regular fixture on popular toys lists, the toniebox is a genius alternative to screen time. The audio player allows little ones to listen to stories and songs and can also be used to record your own audio.

It’s suitable for little ones to use on their own from age 36 months, but can be enjoyed by younger children with adult supervision. My daughter is 15 months, so we’ve been listening to our toniebox together. The Starter Set includes one ‘creative tonie’ preloaded with one hour of songs and stories and you can purchase additional tonie characters to add to your collection.

We found it pretty easy to set up, once we’d downloaded the app and powered it up on the charging station. My daughter loves the tonie characters and gets excited when we put a new

O

n first inspection, the The Block Set from Lovevery looks like a simple shape sorter. But open up the box and and you’ll find a 70 piece + set of joyfully coloured bricks, beads, wheels, and connectors that can be played with in endless ways. Crafted with sustainably sourced, FSC-certified wood and using non-toxic finishes, our first impression was how beautifully made the set is. Not just designed to look good though, it was created by child development experts and is designed to grow with your child from toddler stage to school age and beyond. My daughter is 15 months and we’ve already found lots of different ways to use it that test her problem solving, fine motor skills and spatial awareness. It comes with a simpleto-follow activity guide and so far we’ve built towers, used it as a shape sorter and post box, made it into a car, threaded beads, and built a house. The best bit though, is that we’ve only just scratched the surface of what you can do with it, so we’re looking forward to many more hours of discovering what this clever box can do.

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172 Untitled-1 11 NWF.indd

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PROPERTY

CHURCH HILL ORPINGTON, BR6

£425,000 AVAILABLE WITH JUST A 5% DEPOSIT ON HELP TO BUY

his brand new, luxury two bedroom apartment forms part of a beautifully restored Grade II listed building in Orpington. The apartment optimises space and light with a large open-plan living space and traditional sash windows. A luxury German kitchen comes with quartz worktops and integrated Bosch appliances, while bathrooms come with underfloor heating and luxury tiling.

T

ACORN NEW HOMES

020 8315 6996 acorngroup.co.uk/newhomes

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www. ohnmartinestates.com 1995-2020

EALING W5

£

, 50

EEHOLD

An attractive bay fronted period villa on the ever popular rentham arden Estate. The property is well presented and offers spacious intercommunicating reception rooms and traditional fitted kitchen to the ground floor, two bedrooms and large family bathroom with separate shower cubicle to the first floor and further bedroom to the second floor. There is an array of period features including fireplaces and coved ceilings, good storage throughout, gas fired central heating and a lovely south facing rear garden. Energy Performance Certificate E.

Pitshanger Lane, Ealing 5 mesales ohnmartinestates.com JOHN MARTIN.indd 174

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“PITSHANGER’S COMMUNITY ESTATE AGENT”

TO T W KE NE AR M

EALING W5

£ 00,000

EEHOLD

A charming, traditional end of terrace rentham Cottage in the heart of the rentham arden Estate. The accommodation comprises lounge, kitchen diner and bathroom and, to the first floor, three good sized bedrooms and en suite shower room to main bedroom. The property has some original features, gas fired central heating, front and particularly large south facing rear garden. The property is offered chain free. Energy Performance Certificate E

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www. ohnmartinestates.com 1995-2020

TO T W KE NE AR M

EALING W5

£

5,000

EEEHOLD

A charming end of terrace rentham cottage on this deligh ul road in the heart of the conservation estate.

The accommodation comprises traditional lounge and well arranged fitted kitchen with space for dining on the ground floor. To the first floor there are two good sized bedrooms and shower room. The property has some period features, gas fired central heating, as well as front, side and rear gardens. The property is offered chain free. Energy Performance Certificate D.

Pitshanger Lane, Ealing 5 mesales ohnmartinestates.com JOHN MARTIN.indd 176

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“PITSHANGER’S COMMUNITY ESTATE AGENT”

TO T W KE NE AR M

EALING W5

£550,000 LEASEHOLD

A beautifully presented first floor conversion apartment, rich in character, which offers spacious living accommodation throughout. The property comprises large lounge, well arranged fitted kitchen, two excellent sized bedrooms and family bathroom. The property also benefits from an array of period style features (including double hung sash windows, coved ceilings, picture rails) and gas fired central heating. Energy Performance Certificate C.

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Rusthall Ave nue, W4

£1,661 per week Addi son G ardens, W14

£1,800 per week

Arranged over three floors, this charming home offers ve bedrooms ocated on a highly sought after road in the heart of Brook reen, and four bathrooms, two of which are en suite. n addition, there is a a refurbished family house which has been beautifully modernised. large kitchen, a study and off street parking, energy rating e.

There are four bedrooms and a roof terrace, energy rating d.

020 8742 4100 chiswicklettings@fletcherestates.com

Alw yn Ave nue, W4

020 7603 0603 brookgreenlettings@fletcherestates.com

£1,442 per week Woodstoc k Road, W4

A ve bedroom semi detached dwardian house with two spacious receptions rooms retaining original period features. There is a large kitchen looking out onto a pretty garden, energy rating d.

020 8742 4100 chiswicklettings@fletcherestates.com

S a r

£1,615 per week

ithin the Bedford Park onservation Area, this ve bedroom house has a double reception room, a high speci cation kitchen, two bathrooms and a west facing garden, energy rating d.

020 8742 4100 chiswicklettings@fletcherestates.com

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T o m

k

3 m

Antrobus Road, W4 Set in an enclave of charming Victorian terraced houses, an extended three bedroom property arranged over three floors. Offering excellent entertaining space, there is a generous reception room and a large kitchen opening directly to the secluded rear garden, energy rating d.

£1,275,000 020 8987 3000 chiswicksales@fletcherestates.com

k

0 m

Inglethorpe Street, SW6 This tastefully refurbished, four bedroom home has a double reception leading onto an expanded open plan kitchen, ideal for modern family living. Set in Fulham’s popular Alphabet Streets moments from the River Thames and the green spaces of Bishops Park, energy rating d.

£1,985,000 020 7603 1415 brookgreensales@fletcherestates.com

fletcherestates.com

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Thank heavens for an agent that’s behind the times!

RUPERT PROVEST PRIME ASSOCIATE

Yes, you read that right. We’re ahead in many ways, but behind in the ways that really matter.

Of course, any estate agent can list your home on a portal and post it on social media — and you shouldn’t expect anything less — but only a prime agent can deliver the care and personal attention your premium property deserves.

Burns & Webber has been at the forefront of selling and letting property for many years, with our award-winning website, social media campaigns, video tours and drone footage.

But despite all this wonderful modern technology, at Burns & Webber, we’ve held onto the traditional service values of truly taking care of our clients. After all, we opened our first offices in 1986 — what one might class as the golden age. A time when service was prime and the small things mattered.

Burns & Webber Prime is our premium service for high-value properties. Spearheaded

by Mr Warren Fraser and his associate Mr Rupert Provest, and supported by a dedicated team of Prime agents, collectively they bring hundreds of years of premium property experience to your table. And, with a network of 24 offices in prime locations across the county – connecting Surrey to the Capital, they bring an enviable reach which places your Prime property in front of more buyers and tenants.

At Burns & Webber Prime taking care of our clients is still our top priority. Premium property experts who know what they are doing, and who are passionate about attention to detail, are what make the difference when it comes to outstanding customer service and achieving a prime price for our clients’ properties.

In a world where personal service is fast going out of fashion, at Burns & Webber Prime we are reinforcing our efforts to ensure that when we act for you, you get the very best service, support and price. Is it time you chose a Prime service?

www.bwprime.com

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PROPERTY • PARTNERSHIP

ACORN BOOK CLUB A Rainforest Reading Room in Longlands School

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n a sunny summer’s morning in Sidcup, crowds of excited children gathered in the playground of Longlands primary school in anticipation of their new reading space. It had been six months since the school council had discussed their Rainforest Reading Room ideas with Headteacher Tammy Allen and they were itching to take a peek.

Alice Thurston – a parent and local resident – first made contact with Acorn Book Club in December 2021, initially to discuss a donation of books. She told the ABC team that the Friends of Longlands School (FOLS) parents' group had successfully raised the money to purchase two cabins for their playground.

One was earmarked for an art studio and the other a reading room, a quiet space where children could escape the noise of breaktime and sit down with a good book. Having heard about the effort to fundraise and the collaboration between the school and its parent community, ABC were only too happy to go a step further.

As requested by the school council, the Rainforest Reading Room is quite

an immersive experience. With grass underfoot and tropical leaves cascading from the ceiling, it’s no surprise that Thea, aged six, exclaimed: "It looks like we're actually in the rainforest! I love it in here!”.

Tammy Allen said: “ABC have collaborated with us amazingly. We will be eternally grateful to the team and it has been lovely to watch the children engaging with books and exploring their new Rainforest Reading Room.” Acorn Book Club works with the public to redistribute pre-loved children’s books suitable for ages 3-11. They team up with primary schools across South London and North Kent to ensure all children have access to quality literacy material and engaging reading spaces.

For more information, please visit acornbookclub.co.uk

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PROPERTY • PARTNERSHIP

THE FOUNTAIN

MILLSIDE PLACE

NEW BUILDS

exciting town has to offer. The lively town centre is a few minutes’ walk away and has excellent shops, as well as plenty of places to eat and drink. Epsom train station is within easy walking distance and from here you can be at London Waterloo in under 35 minutes. Epsom offers a high quality of life benefiting from the fantastic local amenities including award-winning parks, open spaces and fantastic leisure facilities, yet is still within easy reach of the capital. Set in a desirable location, these stunning homes boast contemporary layouts, high specification with integrated appliances, energy-efficient heating and private allocated parking to all homes. With its ideal position, access to London and impressive open spaces, Millside Place is somewhere you will want to call home.

Barnard Marcus is marketing two exclusive developments

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ew Malden’s latest landmark development, The Fountain by Devine Homes, has proved a gushing success with over 60% of the development either sold or reserved in the last few weeks, following a low key launch. Situated just metres from the high street, home to high street brands, boutique independents and a great selection of eateries of all influences, The Fountain offers a wide choice of quality apartments with 1, 2 and 3 bedroom brand new homes from just £400,000.

Sarah Jones, Board of Management Partner for Barnard Marcus, quotes “The

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Fountain combines quality new build with the ultimate convenient location, being close to all that New Malden offers and an ideal base for the commuter.

The station is only 0.5 miles away” A stunning show home is now open with viewing by appointment Thursday through to Monday inclusive by calling 07432 539483 or call Devine Homes’ appointed agent Barnard Marcus on 020 8942 9211.

MILLSIDE PLACE

Shanly Homes is delighted to present Millside Place, an exclusive new collection of one, two and three bedroom apartments alongside three bedroom houses in the vibrant town of Epsom. These homes are perfectly positioned to enjoy all this

THE FOUNTAIN

BARNARD MARCUS Millside: Epsom Barnard Marcus 01372 740 911 The Fountain: Barnard Marcus 020 8942 9211 barnardmarcus.co.uk

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Coombe Lane West

£3,000,000

A stunning, 5 bedroom home with some striking contemporary features. Impressive double height entrance atrium which leads directly onto a large open plan reception room with a beautiful modern fireplace. There is also a spacious family room with glass bi fold doors onto the garden. The kitchen runs the full length of the house and is sleek and modern with a substantial central island, a full range of fitted cupboards, granite worktops and a stainless steel cooker. The garden is south facing and there is ample, gated, secure parking on the front forecourt as well as a integral double garage.

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Kinsella Gardens, Wimbledon Common

£5,650,000

Murray Road, Wimbledon Village

£4,600,000

Offering the perfect combination of town and country being accessible to London but in a rural setting. 3 reception rooms, study, kitchen/ breakfast/dining room, cellar, 6 bedrooms, 5 bath/shower rooms, south facing garden, garage & driveway parking ER/D

Modernised and extended to a high standard and located in the Village. 3 reception rooms, study, gym, media room, kitchen/breakfast room, 6 bedrooms, 5 bath/shower rooms, garden with BBQ area, double garage & OSP ER/D

Arthur Road, Wimbledon

Murray Road, Wimbledon Village

£5,950,000

Set in almost half an acre with extensive views. 2 reception rooms, study, 37’ kitchen, breakfast room, cellar rooms, 9 bedrooms, 3 bath/ shower rooms, garage & carriage drive ER/F

£5,450,000

In a sought after road with a wonderful 101’ garden. 3 reception rooms, kitchen, breakfast room, 5 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, cellar, garage & OSP ER/E

Wimbledon Village Office Sales: 020 8947 9833 Lettings: 020 8879 9669 ROBERT HOLMES.indd 184

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www.robertholmes.co.uk

Crown Road, Coombeside, KT3

£1,600,000

Coombe Lane West, KT2

£2,000,000

A bright and spacious family house that has been skilfully extended to create a fabulous kitchen/dining/family space with doors opening onto the sunny rear garden. There are two further reception rooms, conservatory and five bedrooms with two bathrooms. Ideally located within the much favoured Coombeside and within a few minutes’ walk to Coombe Hill School, Rokeby and Holy Cross.

NO ONWARD CHAIN: Outstanding ready to move into contemporary family home. 5 bedrooms, spacious and well-planned accommodation provides 3 reception rooms, 5 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms providing almost 3,000 sq. ft (267 sq. m), of useable living space, arranged over three floors.

Coombe Lane, West Wimbledon, SW20

The Moat, Traps Lane, KT3

£1,650,000

NO ONWARD CHAIN: A 5 bedroom, Edwardian, semi-detached family home with a larger than average 114 ft garden, ideally located close to Raynes Park Station and amenities.

£1,995,000

Rarely available, a link-detached family house in a quiet, gated cul-de-sac with a delightful outlook over a duck pond with a magnificent kitchen/breakfast/family room and a double garage. 4 Bedrooms, 2 bathrooms (one en-suite) with a large garden and a newly built sun deck over the pond. Possible to extend subject to planning consent.

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PROPERTY • PARTNERSHIP

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VILLAGE LIFE The 1840 offers a taste of village living in South West London

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ward-winning heritage developer City & Country has launched the highly anticipated second collection of new homes at The 1840, St George’s Gardens, in the leafy borough of Wandsworth.

City & Country is breathing new life into the majestic Grade II-listed building, formerly Springfield Hospital, and sensitively restoring and redesigning the surrounding St George’s Gardens with imaginative landscaping, cascading lawns and private courtyards to provide a welcome retreat from busy city life.

Named The Kitchen Yard in homage to this former area of the hospital, these oneand two-bedroom apartments, duplexes and houses have been crafted from extensions

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to the original Grade II-listed building, combining period features with sumptuous interior specifications.

The distinctive collection of homes is surrounded by an intimate courtyard garden with private terraces and curated planting. The carefully crafted apartments offer tailored spaces which feature vaulted ceilings, picture windows, case iron columns and gothic arches, located within tranquil parkland in the heart of South West London.

This latest release follows the rapid success of the first range of new homes at The 1840, which came to market last year and are now over 85% sold.

Combining period grandeur with modern city living, each apartment has been sensitively restored in celebration of the architectural heritage of the building, and offers stylish living spaces, many with original period features.

Selected apartments at The 1840 also feature balconies and roof terraces overlooking the internal courtyard and mews. Residents will soon be able to enjoy their own Walled Garden which is set to open next month. Also nearing completion are sections of the parkland currently undergoing restoration, offering residents and guests alternative outdoor space to relax and unwind.

The 1840 is conveniently located at the intersection of several neighbourhoods.

From the cosmopolitan charm of Tooting to the quiet village feel of Wandsworth and Earlsfield, or the lively and laid-back vibe of Balham, there is a diverse choice of bars, cafés, restaurants and shops within walking distance.

Tooting Bec tube is a short walk away; nearby Earlsfield station offers direct links to London Waterloo, while trains from Wandsworth Common call at Clapham Junction and on to London Victoria.

Alternatively, residents can use the Cycle Superhighway 7, directly linked to Cannon Street, in 30 minutes.

Prices start from £475,000 for a one-bedroom apartment. The sales suite and show home are open daily. To find out more and to book an appointment, visit cityandcountry.co.uk or call 020 3811 6170

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F O R C U S TO M E R S AT I S FA C T I O N

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UR E O M T RT SI PA VI A

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OVER 60%

ALREADY RESERVED The Fountain is a stunning collection of 30 modern and stylish apartments set alongside the re-modernised famous ‘Fountain’ Public House in the heart of New Malden. Choose from a selection of 1, 2 or 3 bedroom options – many with sizeable outdoor terraces.

Please call for appointment to view: 07432 539483

The Fountain, 120 Malden Road, KT3 6DD

Contact Selling Agents: Barnard Marcus, 46-48 High Street, New Malden KT3 4EZ Call: 0208 942 9211 Email: newmalden@barnardmarcus.co.uk

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country house town house period house modern house dream house moving house?

Estate agency has moved on. house. is different We know people are starting to consider online only estate agents, but still want the reassurance of face-to-face help from local experts.

You get both with us, because we provide that personal service without expensive high street locations that customers have to pay for.

We also go further to ensure your property and the lifestyle it enables is shown in the best possible light.

Sumptuous photography and video, and a contemporary web experience not only shows buyers how your home looks, but how it feels to live there. It’s the new, innovative way to add value when selling your house.

The premium online estate agency.

London, Surrey and Sussex 0800 917 0447 info@housepartnership.co.uk

housepartnership.co.uk

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SALES

5- 7 Tur n h a m G ree n Te rra ce, C h isw ic k , Lon don , W 4 1R G Te l 0 2 0 8 7 4 7 8 800 · Fa x 020 8995 7275 E - ma i l i n fo @ wh itma n a n dco.com · We bsite w w w. w h i t m a n a n dco. co m

CLEVELAND AVENUE, W4

LETTINGS

FAIRLAWN AVENUE, W4

£895,000

£465,000

A spectacular and exceptionally light ground-floor apartment with a private garden and entrance located moments from Chiswick High Road’s shops, An amazingly light, well presented aspectremodelled flat with the benefit a balcony and private garden.

Three bedrooms, luxury bathroom, cafes and restaurants.

The flat has beentriple completely andadded refurbished to aofvery high standard with the spacious accommodation of 1053 sqft 14' reception room, fullykitchen/dining/reception integrated kitchen, gasroom fired with central heating, share in theconcrete freehold, balcony andaspect, private garden with side access. Ideally comprising an impressive bespoke kitchen, poured floor and dual two large double bedrooms, luxury bathroom with walk-in shower and Japanese stylestation bath, private landscaped study, cloakroom, entrance hall, extensive built-in storage situated within close proximity of Chiswick Park tube and the extensivegarden, shopping andguest restaurant facilities on Chiswick High Road. throughout and side garden/store. Please note planning is in place to extend the ground floor further to create a third bedroom. Cleveland Avenue runs north off Chiswick High Road in the heart of Chiswick. Transport links include Turnham Green and Stamford Brook stations, local bus routes and the A4/M4 for routes in and out of London. No onward chain.

LINDEN GARDENS, W4

LAMB COTTAGE, W4 LONSDALE ROAD, W4

£330 PER WEEK

GUIDE PRICE £1.600,000 £2,000,000

A newly decorated lower ground floor garden flat with private west facing garden. Large double bedroom with wardrobes, reception room with An unmodernised double-fronted period property currently arranged as two flats but with the benefit of planning to convert back to a single dwelling. wood floors, bathroom with shower over, fitted kitchen, garden. The flat is on one of Chiswick's best located roads, moments from the shops, This imposing house has huge potential with options to extend into the loft, which spans the full width of the house, and on the ground floor subject to restaurants cafés on the High Road and 5 minutes from Turnham Green station. The property is available early September, furnished. the necessary consents. The accommodation currently offers four spacious rooms on the first floor and four spacious rooms on the ground floor with two bathrooms and cellar. The loft could accommodate two double bedrooms and a bathroom. To the rear is a mature private lawned garden with side access.

Lonsdale Road is located in the Bedford Park conservation area within a short walk of Chiswick High Road’s shops, cafes and restaurants. Transort links include Turnham Green and Stamford Brook stations, local bus routes and the A4/M4 for routes in and out of London. No chain.

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LETTINGS THE POWER HOUSE, W4

POINT WHARF LANE, TW8

GUIDE PRICE £1,900,000

£350 PER WEEK

Set in this iconic Grade II listed building ‘The Power House’, an extremely versatile 3/4 bedroom penthouse with two west-facing roof terraces and secure Beautifully presented two double bedroom second flat with in this highly with sought after riverside development.

Boasting stunning open plan gated parking.

The apartment is situated at the top of thefloor building lift access the accommodation comprising master suite, atwo further double bedrooms, luxury bathroom, spectacular 18’ vaulted reception onto 16’ westopen facing roofreception terrace, fully integrated kitchen, mezzanine study, work kitchen reception room, a river side balcony and aceiling master ensuiteroom bedroom.

Large plan room, fully fitted kitchen with granite office/bedroom 4, secureand gated parking,views. automatic lift. Ideallyparking located space for Chiswick High Road’s shops, cafes and restaurants. Transport facilities include both tops, fitted wardrobes riverside Underground included.

Stamford Brook and Turnham Green tube stations, numerous bus routes and the A4/M4 for routes in and out of London.

QUEEN ANNES GROVE, W4

LAMB COTTAGE, STAVELEY ROAD W4 LONDON, W4

£430 PER WEEK

GUIDE PRICE £1,950,000

A large, light and beautifully presented two double bedroom flat on this highly desirable road in the heart of Bedford Park, just minutes from

An immaculate five bedroom detached house offering an excellent balance of living and entertaining space in this sought after tree-lined residential road close to numerous Turnham Green underground station. Top floor position ensures beautiful views from the reception and bedrooms. amenities. This impressive property comprises a master bedroom with dressing room and ensuite, four further bedrooms, luxury family bathroom, additional shower room, £1.600,000 large entrance hall, three reception rooms, fully integrated kitchen/breakfast room, utility room, dining room, study, cloak room, extensive storage throughout, private 40’ landscaped garden and the added benefit of off-street parking. Ideally situated in the heart of Grove Park offering close proximity to parks, local shopping facilities and transport.

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Here for your property journey, wherever it takes you. acorngroup.co.uk/journey

Lugard Road, SE15

Guide Price £1,050,000 - £1,100,000 F/H A simply stunning, tastefully renovated, three bedroom mid-terrace family home, measuring over 1,200 sqft of living space.

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Telegraph Hill, ME3

Kennington Park Road, SE11

A stunning four bedroom detached family home comprising large garden, panoramic views and games room, complete with a bar and a home cinema. Located in the Village of Higham.

A charming one bedroom apartment set within an imposing Grade II listed Georgian terrace in the heart of Kennington, offering versatile accommodation in immaculate condition.

£950,000 F/H

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Guide Price £400,000 - £410,000 S/O F/H

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Visit us online at acorngroup.co.uk

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NOW COMPLETE AND READY TO MOVE IN A striking collection of brand new three-storey, three/four bedroom townhouses for sale in SE6. All homes come with beautiful open-plan living spaces, spacious bedrooms and private courtyard gardens.

Arrange a viewing today: 020 8315 6996 acorngroup.co.uk/newhomes

Prices from £625,000

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Here for your property journey, wherever it takes you. acorngroup.co.uk/journey

Woodlands Road, BR1 £3,850,000 F/H

This eight bedroom house with additional two bedroom annex is located within the ever-popular private Bickley Park Estate.

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Beechwood Lodge, BR6

Sundridge Avenue, BR1

A spacious and well-presented five six bedroom family home, offering flexible living accommodation, a heated swimming pool and scope for further extension.

ewly built five bedroom, five bathroom, detached family home overlooking Sundridge ark olf ourse, and providing approximately ,000 sqft of beautifully designed living space.

£1,575,000 F/H

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£2,600,000 F/H

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Visit us online at acorngroup.co.uk/lr

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Over 50% now sold Now complete and ready to move in, Vixen Heights is a brand new development of 1, 2 & 3 bedroom apartments for sale in Grove Park.

Featuring modern, high-tech specifications, open-plan living spaces and private balconies or terraces to all apartments.

Available with a 5% deposit on Help to Buy.*

*Subject to terms and conditions

To arrange a viewing, call 020 8315 6996 or visit acorngroup.co.uk/vixen

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Here for your property journey, wherever it takes you. acorngroup.co.uk/journey

Kidbrooke Park Road, SE3 Guide Price £1,175,000 F/H

A well-presented and substantially extended 1930's semi-detached house in a cul-de-sac setting. Ideally placed for Kidbrooke Station.

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Langhorne Street, SE18

Combedale Road, SE10

A truly magnificent three bedroom, two bathroom property measuring 1,633 sqft, arranged over three floors and in wonderful condition throughout.

This superb Victorian terraced house is beautifully presented throughout and finished to a high standard. Located in the Halstow School catchment area and close to excellent transport links.

OIRO £799,000 L/H

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Guide Price £925,000 F/H

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Visit us online at acorngroup.co.uk/jp

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70% now sold – new plots released Hillcross Place is a stunning new collection of 2 bedroom apartments for sale.

Prices starting from £425,000, available with a 5% deposit on Help to Buy.*

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Perfectly positioned on Sidcup Hill, each apartment has been designed with attention to detail and features an enviable specification to bring you the best of spacious, modern living.

Hillcross Place is located a short walk from Sidcup High Street, where you can enjoy a kaleidoscope of shops and a delicious selection of restaurants.

Commuting from Hillcross Place is easy with quick access to the A20, leading into central London. You are also within a 20-minute walk of Sidcup Railway Station, with trains to London Bridge in under 30 minutes.

Show home open Thursday-Monday, 10am-5pm.

Call 020 8315 6902 or visit acorngroup.co.uk/hillcross

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Developed by:

Subject to terms & conditions

*

Selling agent:

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APPEAL FOR UNWANTED CHILDREN'S BOOKS! Acorn Book Club works within the community collecting and redistributing pre-loved books (suitable for children aged 3-11) to schools and community projects in need.

Do you have books that you'd like to donate?

All Acorn, Langford Russell and John Payne offices act as drop-off points.

To find your nearest, please visit acornbookclub.co.uk/donate-books

Supported by:

@acornbookclub

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