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june 2011 l no. 197

swimwear you’ll want to be seen in...

Here comes summer

Beauty l fasHion l HealtH l interiors l people l property

insidel M Shed museum of Bristol opensl NeW Monthly walk from Avon Wildlife Trustl food for thought – why restaurants charge what they do

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Dive right in...Whoever knew June was such a busy

month? From the opening of Bristol’s newest and much hyped museum, M

Shed, on 17 June, to Father’s Day two days later, via the South West’s first-ever celebration of sustainable city dwelling wrapped up in Good Living Week (10-19 June), there’s oodles to excite, delight and astonish. And we hope you’ll treat

Folio as your friend, guiding you through the best that the twin cities have to offer (as well as slightly further afield in super-suave Cheltenham – see travel review, page 44).

New for this issue, with thanks to Avon Wildlife Trust, we have a treat in store for any readers longing to get out of the city for a heart-pumping hike. Each month we’ll be featuring a local wildlife walk through one of the charity’s 35 nature reserves, kicking the series off with Brown’s Folly near Bathford. Along the way there are all sorts of natural wonders to look out for, from Bath asparagus (no, we hadn’t heard of it either) to greater horseshoe bats. It’s a great way to get in touch with nature and learn more about your local area at the same time.

Have an action-packed month!

Rachel NottFolio editor

Cover image: Here comes summer! For our favourite cossies this season, see page 24

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FoLIoThe best in the West

Subscribe to Folio and get Venue with it! Just send a cheque for £37.50 (payable to Folio) to our Bristol address or phone with credit/debit card details and you’ll get the next 12 issues sent to your home, or 6 issues for £19.50 – the only way to guarantee you’ll get every copy of the West’s fastest-growing lifestyle magazine. Ffi: 0117 934 3741

Folio Bristol 4th Floor, Bristol News & Media, Temple Way, Bristol, BS99 7HD tel 0117 942 8491 fax 0117 934 3566 email r.nott@venue.co.uk Folio Bath Bath News & Media, Floor 2, Westpoint, James West St, Bath BA1 1UN tel 01225 429801 fax 01225 447602

Editor Rachel Nott Group Editor Dave Higgitt Production Manager Cath Evans Design Team Sarah Clark, Sarah Malone Sub-editor Jo Renshaw Publications Co-ordinators Emma Gorton, Ruth Stuart-Torrie Commercial Manager Becky Davis Advertising Bex Baddiley, Adam Burrows, Nejla Unal, Ben Wright Distribution Dave Higgitt

Ring us now for details of how to reach our 75,000 readers – and if you’re a reader, contact our advertisers now! Do please let them know where you read about their services. Thank you. Folio articles preceded by the words ‘Folio Profile’ have been supplied by a third party, and the information contained within them does not necessarily constitute a direct recommendation by the publishers. However, we only accept submissions from bona fide companies whom we know from long experience to provide quality goods or services.

Features6 The X Factor – Mike Gartside on why community choirs are the new yoga10 What to do in June – a few of our favourite things to do this month14 Eugene Byrne takes a look round Bristol’s newest museum, M Shed16 NEW – our first walk from Avon Wildlife Trust

Competitions18 Win a Bristol Wine School course and tickets to Didmarton’s Bluegrass Festival

LifeStyle24 Anna Britten dives into the latest swimwear options (burkini not included)26 Mike Gartside visits Luma in Bath30 Velimir Ilic picks out some unusual gift ideas to shower your dad with this Father’s Day34 Bex Baddiley gets a dazzling hair makeover at Seanhanna36 The latest health news39 our education report42 The second generation Citroen C5 reviewed44 Steve Wright and family discover a new chapter of hotels in Cheltenham

HomeFront50 Homeworx show us their latest grand design54 Trish Gibson takes us through the options for growing climbing roses58 Where’s hot for home buyers

Eating Out West64 Tony Benjamin follows his nose to the best local wine tastings67 Melissa Blease discovers why restaurants charge what they do (and it’s not just to make a juicy profit…)68 olive Tree at the Queensberry reviewed69 The Terrace, Bristol reviewed72 Table Talk and Bistro Rustico Italiano, Bath reviewed74 Top 10 locally produced ice-cream purveyors plus Iroko, Bristol reviewed76 Scrummy pudding recipe from The Chequers in Bath

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BEAUTY FASHION HEALTH INTERIORS PEOPLE PROPERTY

THEWEST’S

BESTLIFESTYLE

MAG

BRISTOL & BATH FREE TAKE ONE!

FOLIO

INSIDEM Shed museum of

Bristol opensNEW Monthly walk from

Avon Wildlife TrustFood for thought – why

restaurants charge what they do

Swimwear you’ll want to be seen in...

WIN

BRISTOL & BATH'S MAGAZINE

Bristol Wine School course

& lunch at Bordeaux

Quay!

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JUNE 2011 No. 197

Here comes summer

F197 cover FINAL.indd 3 24/05/2011 19:46:06

Contents 197.indd 1 24/05/2011 20:20:07

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24 ChiC Bedrooms AwArd winning restAurAnt 2 ChAmpionship golf Courses

fairway to heaven!

‘Fairway to Play’ is back!Enjoy 50% off green fees at Tracy Park Golf & Country Club

Register once for great savings No joining or membership fee!

Tracy Park, Bath Road, Wick, Nr.Bath BS30 5RNt. 0117 9371783 e. golf@tracypark.co.uk w. www.tracypark.co.uk

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One thousand singers are expected to gather in the Lloyds Amphitheatre on Bristol’s Harbourside this July to raise joyful harmonies and buckets of cash for

WaterAid, the charity that develops water projects in the developing world. The Big Sing, aka Sing for Water West, will be a remarkable gathering on several counts. It’s

believed to be the largest collection of singers ever to perform publicly in Bristol. But, more extraordinarily, many choir members will never have sung in public before.

The success of the Big Sing reflects the explosion in community choirs over the past few years, particularly in Bristol, recently named by singing charity Gathering Voices as the UK’s first City of Song. What marks community choirs out from the plethora of church choirs and traditional choral groups is that you can join without auditioning and

you don’t need to read music to learn the songs.

According to Hannah Klewin of Gathering Voices, over 3,000 people sing regularly in community choirs of all genres throughout the region, from well-established groups including Gasworks Choir, People of Note and Bristol Voices to special interest projects such as the women-only Stepford Singers or the rock-oriented Upfront – Singing with Attitude. Likewise community singing has made its mark in Bath, where Bath Male Choir famously came fifth on the X Factor-style television programme Last Choir Standing in 2008. The leader of that choir, Grenville Jones, also runs a host of other groups including Bath Chorus, the all-girl Stockingtops and the Bath Good Afternoon Choir.

Community choirs have provided an outlet for hundreds of people to take part in singing for the first time – often people who didn’t think they had a voice or the confidence to perform in public. Yet anyone who’s attended one of the many concerts organised by these groups will know that the results are by turns inspiring, joyful, moving, fun and as thoroughly professional-sounding as anything created by a conventional choir.

Choir leaders Ali Orbaum and Dee Jarlett set up Gasworks Choir, Bristol’s first community choir, 14 years ago and were delighted by the rapid success of their idea.

Voices of the peopleMike Gartside waxes lyrical on the inspirational power of community choirs

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“We got off to a flying start,” says Ali. “We’d been running workshops as Sweet Soul Sisters when we decided to launch the choir, and had 97 responses in three days. After two years, the choir grew to 160 members,” she recalls. “Even after expanding, we still had a waiting list.” These days women have a four-year wait to join the choir, while men (who are often more restricted in rehearsal time) have a one-year wait. “It’s always been the case that there are more women in choirs than men,” Ali says.

Chris Samuel, fellow choir leader and co-organiser of the Big Sing with Ali, agrees. “It is more difficult to get hold of men, but once you get them singing they tend to get really hooked. The secret is to sing the types of songs that blokes want to sing. In my experience, that’s songs about concrete and being a pirate.” His Magnificent AK47s are known for hilarious costumed performances complete with hard hats and cutlasses.

Singer and event organiser Nick Petts, who founded People of Note, says that Bristol was ready for a boom in community singing. “The choir scene was absolutely buzzing about 10 years ago,” he says. “So many people had been discouraged from singing for a variety of reasons – maybe it was something they were told about their voice in primary school – but something was waiting to happen. Community choirs welcomed anybody willing to give it a go. When people found they could sing after all, it was such an

exciting discovery. The news went out that this is a wonderful thing to do.”

Meanwhile, Grenville Jones is embarking on a new project, a youth group called Choirskool, for 8-to-16-year-olds. “People have been asking me for ages why I don’t start a youth choir,” says Grenville. “Choirskool is just that: a non-auditioned choir that will give young people from eight to 16 the chance to sing all types of music from glee to gospel.”

There’s no doubt that television coverage of

Clockwise from top left: The Big Sing, Bristol, 2009 (pic: Colin Pearson); Hannah Klewin (left) leads a Gathering Voices workshop; Chris Samuel (in hat) and Ali Orbaum conduct the 2009 event (pic: Colin Pearson); Piratical members of Sing For Water West board the Matthew to rehearse for 2011 (pic: Graham Burke)

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singing has had some influence in the popularity of community choirs, from cherub-faced can-doer Gareth Malone, who has drummed up singing ensembles in the most unlikely communities, to Last Choir Standing. But local choir leaders point to a deeper phenomenon.

“The influence of television is overstated,” says Fran Bolton of the Stepford Wives. “The fact that Gasworks had a waiting list almost as soon as it was up and running was to do with word of mouth. More people took part in singing projects as they realised you didn’t have to be brilliant at it before you joined a group. People are getting pleasure having a go at something they’re not necessarily all that good at, and yet the results are amazing.”

As you might expect from an activity with such a community ethos, charity fundraising is a regular focus for performances, and the West’s choirs are able to do it on a grand scale. The Big Sing on Bristol’s Harbourside sees 21 choirs from the region join together to sing a variety of water-influenced compositions. They will be supplemented by a number of ‘scratch’ choirs – groups of sponsored individuals rehearsing throughout June with the sole purpose of performing at the event.

“There’s something so fundamental about singing and water that they seem to go together,” says Ali, who teamed up with Chris Samuel to take groups to the London Sing for Water, which has been running since 2002.

“We felt there was such a strong singing community here that we could do this in Bristol.” After a successful event, with 650 singers raising £37,000 for WaterAid in 2009, the organisers are expecting to smash that record this year, with 1,000 singers hoping to raise £50,000.

For Ali, the event is about two things. “WaterAid is an excellent charity and of course we’ll be passing round buckets on the day. But this event is a task every bit as demanding as a run or a mountain climb. Our singers will be telling people, ‘I’m going to learn seven songs in a month. Please sponsor me for this singing challenge!’

The Big Sing Sat 9 July, 2.30pm, Lloyds Amphitheatre, Bristol Harbourside. There may still be time to join one of the ‘scratch’ choirs taking part in the challenge. If you’d like to sign up, visit www.singforwaterwest.org or email sergeantrw@tiscali.co.uk

from Bach to BeatlesSecret bath-time belter? Experienced choral singer wanting to let your hair down? Here’s your chance to have a go…

Bristol VoicesFormed: 1999Led by: Sean PenlingtonMembers: 80Unique features: funky global harmonies a specialityFfi www.bristolvoices.org.uk

ChoirskoolFormed: June 2011Led by: Grenville JonesMembers: still recruitingUnique features: choir for 8-to-16-year-olds, introducing them to everything from Glee to gospelFfi www.grenvillejones.biz

Gasworks ChoirFormed: 1997Led by: Dee Jarlett & Ali OrbaumMembers: 160Unique features: the first and best-established, with regular performances at St George’s BristolFfi www.gasworkschoir.co.uk

Gurt LushFormed: 2009Led by: Sam BurnsMembers: 200Unique features: recently expanded, young choir with an eclectic repertoire and energetic leaderFfi www.gurtlushchoir.com

People of NoteFormed: 2000Led by: Nickomo & Rasullah Clarke (founded by Nick Petts)Members: 160+Unique features: wonderfully friendly choir covering a very wide base of materialFfi www.nickomoandrasullah.com

the Stepford SingersFormed: 2008Led by: Fran BoltonMembers: 55Unique features: women-only choir known for its ‘gorgeous singing and fetching stagewear’Ffi www.stepfordsingers.co.uk

upfront – Singing with attitudeFormed: 2010Led by: Chris SamuelMembers: about 80Unique features: rock and pop songs rehearsed to backing tracks and performances with live bandFfi www.singingwithattitude.com

Clockwise from above: audiences flocked to support local choirs at the Big Sing in 2009 (pic: Colin Pearson); a Malawi woman fills her bucket from a freshwater pipe; collecting water from the all-purpose river (pics: WaterAid)

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1 Manor from heavenBucket’n’spade season is upon us again, and thoughts turn to happy

times by the sea. On a shoulder of Cornish cliff just around the corner from the tourist tat of Newquay lies Porth. Often overlooked in the shadow of its surfer-beloved neighbour, Porth is quieter and gentler, with a big wedge of sandy, family-friendly beach. Down one side are rockpools, along the other are caves and a paddle-able river. You can cross a footbridge over the surging tide to an island scarred with the remains of an Iron Age settlement. The South West Coast Path, meanwhile, rises and dips around the clifftops.

Overlooking all this is Porth Veor Manor Hotel, a distinguished mid-19th century residence now much enlarged by conservatories and a collection of modern holiday villas and apartments – an ideal base for exploring the area. The villas are huddled around a heated swimming pool, and all are comfortably furnished (hotel-style ensuites, plasma screen & DVD player) and fully equipped for a self-catering break. The landscaped gardens (full of romantic view-admiring nooks) are worth a wander and the homely bar certainly merits a visit, but the crowning glory is Beaucliffe’s, the hotel’s restaurant. Surrounded on all sides by sea views and sky (those conservatories really come into their own at sunset), you can enjoy fantastic ingredients – chargrilled Cornish sirloin, locally caught scallops, pan-roasted haunch of venison – all exquisitely cooked and presented. A lovely location, a great place to stay and a superb place to eat.Porth Veor Manor Hotel Porth Way, Porth, Cornwall, TR7. Ffi: 01637 873274, www.porthveormanor.com

FOLIO READERS OFFER: Porth Veor Manor are offering Folio readers a saving of 20% on accommodation for all stays in the Porth Veor Villas & Apartments throughout June and in the Porth Veor Manor Hotel throughout June & July, meaning that a four-night break in a villa or apartment sleeping up to six will cost from just £360 per unit for stays in June. A four-night break at the Porth Veor Manor Hotel will cost from £153pp in June & July. Hotel price is based on two sharing a double room, and includes a full Cornish breakfast each morning. To take advantage of this special offer call 01637 873274, quoting PRL/Folio.

feature

Tapas, tennis, eco trails and clifftop walks

Mike White comes up with some seasonal inspiration

WHAT To do in... june

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Grab your buckets and spades and head to Porth for a super summer break, made even sweeter by our accommodation special offer (see below)

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Learn how to live a greener life during Bristol’s nine-day Good Living Week

Enjoy some traditional British idylls in lovely surroundings at Clifton WI’s Garden Party

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2 The good lifeBristol is a good place to live, and the city’s nine-day-long Good Living Week

is all about making it better. There’s Get Growing Open Garden Day, a cycling and walking tour of the best in locally produced food and drink, Bristol Green Doors (a trail around the city to visit houses using renewable energy), a ‘community discovery event’ at the Create Centre (comprising ‘grow your own’ workshops, food tastings, walks and craft activities) and Bristol’s Biggest Bike Ride, with a choice of five routes for all ages and abilities, starting from Millennium Square.Good Living Week 10-19 June, various venues, Bristol. Ffi: www.goodlivingweek.com

3 WI-fineryThe tinkle of cups in saucers, the reassuring clunk of croquet mallets,

the lilt of gentle jazz and the scent of roses… Clifton WI’s Garden Party this month brings such traditional British idylls to life with stalls of local crafts, plants, books and food, a prize raffle and the opportunity to admire the lovingly tended gardens of Emmaus House, in the heart of Clifton Village.Clifton WI Garden Party Sat 11 Jun, 2-5pm, Emmaus House & Gardens, Clifton Hill, Bristol. Entrance £3/£2, WI members £1. All proceeds to the Jessie May TrustFfi: www.cliftonwi.blogspot.com

4 Hen partyIn these days of price rises, food miles and factory farming, there’s a growing

interest in where our food really comes from, and a desire to produce more of it ourselves. Keeping chickens can be a fun and fascinating way of ensuring you know exactly from whence your eggs came, and the Low Impact Living Initiative are offering a comprehensive one-day course this month at Bristol’s Windmill Hill City Farm covering all the basics – which breeds to choose, and how to house them and keep them healthy and happy.Keeping Chickens Sat 11 June, 10am-5pm, Windmill Hill City Farm, Philip St, Bedminster, Bristol. Fee: £60. Ffi: www.lowimpact.org/bristol_chickens.htm

5 Up your street?With Facebook parties, Twitter scandals and bloggers breaking the

latest trends, the online world and ‘real life’ are increasingly interwoven. Capitalising on this comes MyStreetChic.com, ‘a new online community focused on the latest fashion and beauty trends and how real people are interpreting them around the country’. As we went to press, the site was due to go live ‘very soon’, using Bristol as its pilot city. Look out for a big launch event at Cabot Circus this month – the full schedule is yet to be finalised, but we do know it includes a world record attempt for the highest number of topknot hairstyles done in a day! MyStreetChic Launch Sat 11 June, Cabot Circus, Bristol. Ffi: www.mystreetchic.com

6 Heard it on the grapevineWord has reached us that Grape Vine Social, creators of Bristol’s renowned

wine-tasting dating parties, are on the hunt for more unattached fellas to join the single ladies at their events. Women readily sign up in advance, but men are seemingly more coy about coming forward. Don’t be shy, chaps – the evenings are a relaxed mix of speed-dating and wine-tasting, at which 40 men and women in their twenties and thirties blind-taste six different wines as part of a light-hearted quiz. The men move around, so everyone gets to sample each other’s company as well as the wine. Tasty tapas are served at half-time, and the quiz answers are revealed at the end of the evening, with one lucky guest winning a prize – and hopefully more than one lucky guest finding a match for future fun.Wine Tasting Dating Fri 24 Jun, Po Na Na, Queens Rd, Clifton Triangle, Bristol. Ffi: www.grapevinesocial.com

7 Anyone for tennis?Poor old Andy Murray might be a bit up and down of late, but we’ll all

be rooting for him come Wimbledon time, and Bristol folk can cheer him on in style at Quakers Friars, as the upmarket enclave of Cabot Circus lays on a big screen to show all the best action from SW19. The swanky shopping piazza will be re-imagined as a ‘village green’ replete with grassy areas, deckchairs and giant-sized games – all to enjoy free of charge. Catch the edge-of-your seat tennis drama and nosh on a tasty picnic from one of the many delis and cafes nearby. Key dates for your diary are Mon 20 June (start of the tournament) and the men’s and women’s finals on Sat 2 and Sun 3 July.Quakers Friars at Cabot Circus, Bristol. Ffi: www.cabotcircus.com

8 All in good tasteChampion cheeses, prize-winning preserves, respected

restaurateurs… the Flavours of the West festival brings foodie heaven to Bath’s Milsom Place, with artisan farmers’

market flavours, live cooking demos from top chefs, talks, tutorials and tastings. There’s lots of lovely local produce on offer, and some big names from the food world sharing their knowledge and insight. OK, so it’s at the start of next month rather than in June, but your tastebuds will never forgive you for not

pencilling it in your diary now.Flavours of the West 2-3 July, Milsom Place,

Milsom St, Bath. Ffi: www.milsomplace.co.uk

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Learn everything you need to know about keeping urban chickens at Windmill Hill City Farm

Diaries at the ready for next month’s Flavours of the West festival, bringing live cooking demos, talks, tutorials and tastings to Milsom Place

Catch Wimbledon’s hotshots on the big screen in Quakers Friars

Grape Vine Social are on the hunt for single guys to join their super-fun but relaxed wine-tasting and speed-dating parties

Get along to Cabot Circus for a big launch event for MyStreetChic.com which includes a world record attempt for most topknots in a day!

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www.theunfoldinghead.co.uk

theunfoldinghead@hotmail.co.uk

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Situated on the London Road (A4), just a short walk from the top of Walcot Street. Old Bank Antiques Centre is the largest retailer of antiques in Bath, without being stuffy and too grand.

This is how antiques shops used to look: a hoarder`s paradise. fifteen dealers spread through lots of showrooms in four shops with everything from 17th century to 1970s retro. Experienced and professional advice is always available. Customer parking is at the rear, accessed via Bedford Street. Deliveries can be arranged anywhere in the UK or the rest of world, at cost price. Furniture restorer on premises.

Open seven days a week and most bank holidays

Visit our website: www.oldbankantiquescentre.com Tel: 01225 469282 & 338813 Email: alexatmontague@aol.com

OLD BANK ANTIQUES CENTRE

14-17 Walcot Buildings, Bath

Voted in the Top 50 antique shops inGreat Britain 2010 by The Independent on Sunday

Cookery Demonstration With Head Chef Mark VealeWednesday 1st June 2011

Mark will help you to entertain with ease by guiding you through hosting the perfect summer dinner party. A thoroughly enjoyable morning. Join us at 11.00am for tea/coffee and biscuits before Mark’s demonstration, after which, you will be able to a

two-course lunch to include a glass of wine. £35.00 per person

Garden Party • Marie Curie CharitySunday 12th June 2011

Thornbury Castle is launching the national the ‘Blooming Great Tea Party’ for the Marie Curie charity. £25.00 per person, to include a glass of Pimms,

strawberries and cream, afternoon Tea.

Falconry DisplaySaturday 16th July 2011

Michael Davie from Gloucestershire displays are second to none and you will be delighted by his demonstration of birds of prey in action accompanied by an

excellent commentary that is entertaining, educational and informative. Arrive 2.00pm for the Falconry Display - this will be followed by a delicious Cream

Tea served in the Tudor Hall. £25.00 per person £12.00 per child (under 12)

Thornbury Castle, Thornbury, South Gloucs, BS35 1HHTel: 01454 281182 web: www.thornburycastle.co.uk

Please quote JUNE FOLIO when booking

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Telling stories

Bristol’s much-anticipated M Shed throws open its dramatic doors this month. Finally, says Eugene Byrne, we get to see what all the fuss has been about

The waiting will soon be over. Bristol’s brand new £27m museum M Shed opens its doors on Fri 17 June with a weekend of celebrations and fun. M Shed is there to tell Bristol residents and visitors alike all about the city’s past.

It will have some fantastic tales to tell - we have over 1,000 years of history, packed with colourful personalities, dramatic events and stories that are noble and inspiring, as well as a fair few that are shameful.

The road to M Shed’s grand opening has been a bumpy one. It’s housed in a dockside transit shed that was formerly the home of the much-loved Industrial

Museum, and there was an enormous stink over the original proposals for the modernist design, which got toned down. Then there have been the delays, the cost over-runs, the controversies over expensive consultants from out of town...

Julie Finch, Bristol’s head of Museums & Archives agrees that the pressure is on. “The project has not been an easy one and there have been real challenges along the way in restoring a 1950s building and transforming it into a fantastic new museum,” she told Folio. “But we’re now all really looking forward to opening the doors to the public.”

The museum will have over 3,000 exhibits in three main galleries: Bristol People, Bristol Places and Bristol Life.

These will use artefacts and stories gleaned from historical records, as well as the memories of living Bristolians, to explore the city’s history from prehistoric times onwards. There will be a lot of focus on social history - the lives of Bristolians, rich and poor, down the years: their work, their homes and what they did for fun. The bigger historic themes are there as well – Bristol’s long, long history as a trading port, its wartime experiences, the slave trade, the achievements of famous Bristolians, and a surprisingly long history of traffic congestion.

You’ll be able to meet Bristol’s very own dinosaur and see some of the things created here, from the Bristol car and the Concorde engine to Fry’s chocolate and

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The Lido

Wallace and Gromit. You’ll be able to mix music to make your own ‘Bristol Sound’, ride the Lodekka bus and listen in on people’s conversations. You can dine at a table where history comes to life, step inside a second world war Anderson shelter or search for your home, school or workplace on a giant floor map of the city.

“When visitors enter the museum I think they’ll first be struck by the building itself,” says Julie Finch. “The unique character of the heritage transit shed has been retained, but dramatic foyers and gallery spaces have been created that really give a sense of being in a museum for the 21st century. There are some fantastic new large-scale artworks that have been created for the museum that are really stunning, including a mud work by Richard Long, but perhaps some of the most surprising things in the museum are the little-known stories about the history and people of the city that have come to light during the years of research.”

Naturally, we’re promised lots of the high-tech stuff that people, especially children, expect from museums nowadays, but M Shed aims to be ‘interactive’ in a broader sense as well. Visitors will be invited to take part in ‘civic conversations’ and events and debates around important present-day issues. Museum staff want to get us involved in discussions around

everything from, say, transport, shopping and environmental issues all the way to broader questions of how we make Bristol a better place to live.

“We know from research that the people of Bristol wanted a city history museum,” says Julie. “We will of course measure success through visitor numbers, visitor experience and satisfaction, but for me it will be that visitors to the museum come away inspired, challenged, surprised and wanting to experience more of what the city has to offer.”

M Shed opens to the public at 12noon on Fri 17 June. The opening ceremony will feature the museum’s own trains, boats and cranes, and local children will perform a specially commissioned Bristol Song.

There will be free entertainment until 10pm. Sat 18 June will see a Procession of Professions, reviving an ancient local custom, led by the Lord Mayor, leaving Castle Park at 11am. There will also be a programme of walking, talking and performing tours, sharing the city’s histories, secret sites and special places, throughout the afternoon and evening. On the Sunday there will be more performances, themed around Bristol’s international links.

M Shed Princes Wharf, Wapping Rd, Bristol. Opens to the public 12noon on Fri 17 June. Normal opening hours: Tue-Fri 10am-5pm, Sat-Sun & bank hols 10am-6pm, closed Mon. Admission is free. Ffi: www.mshed.org

TelliNg stories

Clockwise from furthest left:Inside M Shed; M Shed’s exterior with the museum’s cranes and boats; a computer-generated image of one of the galleries; the dramatic foyer; another computer-generated impression of one of the galleries; world-famous Bristol artist Richard Long at work at M Shed a few weeks ago. He was commissioned by the Friends of Bristol Art Gallery to produce an original work for the new museum. This is made with mud from the River Avon using his bare hands. The Friends also raised the money to commission a work by leading ceramicist Kate Malone

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Brown’s Folly lies above the village of Bathford on the outskirts of Bath and has been an Avon Wildlife Trust reserve since 1980. The rocks exposed on this hillside were deposited in a warm subtropical sea some 170 million years ago and form the oolitic limestone, locally

known as Bath stone. In the 18th century this area became a busy and noisy industrial site when the golden building blocks for the elegant houses of Bath were dug out by hand. Beneath the reserve, a maze of mined passages stretch for miles into the hill. Many were large enough for a horse and cart, with stable areas provided for the horses that often lived their whole lives underground. A pepperpot tower was built in 1848 by Colonel Wade Brown to keep his estate workers employed during an agricultural depression – the origin of Brown’s Folly. The area has been designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI)

The WalkFollowing the path from the car park, follow the track north (1) along a route known locally as Fluester’s Road. It was built in the 1860s by a local quarrymaster to cart loads of stone from the mines to the river for local distribution. To the right is an area of coppice (2), good for woodland plants in the spring. The rare Bath asparagus can also be found on parts of the reserve.

The ride has been widened (3) to encourage breeding birds and foraging bats. Spotted flycatchers have bred along this ride, exploiting the habitat to see and catch their airborne insect prey. Further on, look to your left (4), behind trees, for large rock exposures – the oolitic limestone known locally as Bath Stone. The now disused quarries in the reserve provide excellent conditions for roosting bats.

At the end of the ride take the left-hand path up onto the grassland (5), which is full of common spotted orchids, salad-burnet and wild thyme in summer. There are spectacular views of the city of Bath from this area (6). In the valley before you, you can see the three main transport routes for the mined stone – the river, the Kennet and Avon Canal, and the Great Western Railway.

Behind you, high on the ridge, is the distinctive pepperpot tower of the folly, now owned by the Folly Fellowship. Follow the path back out of the grassland through another metal kissing gate and into the woodland, passing several grilled-off caves (7) – access for bats only!

Some paths are muddy in winter. Take extreme caution when approaching rock faces. Mines must not be entered.

Avon Wildlife Trust Our walk comes courtesy of this leading local charity working for people and wildlife. Ffi: 0117 917 7270, www.avonwildlifetrust.org.uk

Did you know…?● Twelve of the UK’s 18 bat species have been recorded at Brown’s Folly, including the Bechstein’s, lesser horseshoe and greater horseshoe bat. Boris, the second-oldest greater horseshoe bat ever recorded, was re-found here in 2000, an astonishing 28 years after he was first ringed!

Look carefully and you may see the scarce Bath asparagus in the woodland, also known as spiked-star-of-Bethlehem. It’s said that the plant was introduced by the Romans, and there are old records of it being used as an alternative to asparagus.Listen for the drumming of great spotted woodpeckers in the woodland on the lower slopes.

How to find the reserveNearest postcode to reserve BA15 2QP (0.161km from grid reference)Grid ref ST 798 663Bike View a location map of the reserve on the National Cycle Network website: www.sustrans.org.ukPublic transport Visit www.traveline.org.ukCar From the A363 Bradford Rd, turn onto Bathford Hill (by the Crown pub). Follow road for roughly 1,000m, passing Bathford Cooperative Shop and the Clothes Horse. Turn right onto Prospect Place, which leads up a steep, narrow road to Monkton Farleigh. Car park is near the brow of the hill on your right. Please be aware that there’s a 2.2m height restriction barrier

Discover this special place for yourself on a walk through ancient woodlands and over delightful downland, with unforgettable views across the Avon valley towards Bath…

Brown’s FOLLy

A selection of some of the sights you can expect to see on the Brown’s Folly walk

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Bristol Wine School aim to demystify the wine buying/drinking process. To this end, their one-day Introduction to Wine has been specially designed to

widen your knowledge of the world of wine, boost your confidence when faced with a wine list, and ensure you get maximum enjoyment from every sip. During the course of a relaxed day, you’ll sample at least 10 quality wines from around the world, ‘blind tasting’ as you go to concentrate on the contents of your glass rather than any pre-conceived ideas.

You’ll learn in a practical way, from a qualified wine professional, the basics of: how to taste and assess wine; the differences between some of the main grape varieties and growing regions; the impact of climate and production techniques; new world vs old; how to understand labels and select wine, and much more. You’ll also get a two-course lunch with a glass of wine.

We have one place on an Introduction to Wine course (worth £75) to give away, along

with a bottle of the winner of Decanter’s International Trophy for Best Sparkling Wine (including champagne!), England’s Ridgeview Grosvenor Cuvée Merret 2007 (worth £31.50). Get that palate ready…

Bristol Wine School Ffi: 07969 362511, www.bristolwineschool.co.uk

To enter the competition, just answer the following question: At which Bristol bar/restaurant/brasserie do Saturday’s Introduction to Wine courses take place? Email your answer, with ‘Bristol Wine School’ in the subject line, to: editor@foliomagazine.co.uk by Friday 17 June. Please include your full contact details (name, address, postcode, email, mobile, landline).

Amust for all fans of acoustic music, the Didmarton Bluegrass Festival brings top bluegrass, folk, country and Americana artists from the

USA, Britain and Europe to the Cotswolds at the start of September. The Thursday night concert sees locals The Scoville Units play alongside rising folk stars Matthew and the Atlas, before the Festival starts in earnest on the Friday with US bluegrass stars Chris Stuart and Backcountry headlining, alongside two marquees’ worth of toe-tapping performances from the likes of the Hot Seats, ahab and more. An extensive workshop programme runs alongside the music, offering sessions in fiddle, guitar and mandolin, as well as a singing and harmony workshop, and a banjo extravaganza.

We have a pair of full weekend tickets to give away, which include onsite camping from Friday night until 12noon on Monday. Prepare to be not-so-lonesome under the blue moon of Kemble Airfield!

Didmarton Bluegrass Festival 1-4 Sept, Kemble Airfield, nr Cirencester, Glos. Ffi: www.didmarton-bluegrass.co.uk (Tickets £15-£69, under-14s free)

To enter the competition, just answer the following question: Which US act is headlining this year’s festival? Email your answer, with ‘Didmarton Bluegrass Comp’ in the subject line, to: editor@foliomagazine.co.uk by Friday 17 June. Please include your full contact details (name, address, email, phone).

Win Tickets to Didmarton Bluegrass Festival

Win Bristol Wine School course and lunch at Bordeaux Quay – plus wine!

the WInnerSBath racecourse comp: Congratulations to Isobel Michael and Paul Gibbens, who each won a pair of ‘Premier’ admission tickets to Bath Ales Real Ale & Jazz Racenight at Bath Racecourse. Correct answer: Park Lane Big Band.

Catch local folk band the Scoville Units at the Didmarton Bluegrass Festival

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p146.indd 3 25/05/2011 15:17:02

lifestyle

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vintage style

Deadly Charmsl When a recession comes along, we often start looking to the past with rose-tinted glasses, and this is then reflected in current fashions and trends. This is certainly true of the love affair that the fashion world has had with everything vintage over the past couple of years. There’s also been a huge shift away from disposable fashion, with the wear-it-then-bin-it culture leaving a bad taste in many people’s mouths.

True vintage isn’t for everyone, though. For some, the idea itself is unappealing – the possibility of a previous life (and the smell to prove it) is just one step too far for many! Some of us find that our size and shape has changed over the generations, and getting something from yesteryear to fit can be frustrating or impossible. For others, it’s a question of comfort and ‘wearability’.

If you love vintage but have come across one or all of these

problems, the solution lies at the top of Frome’s Catherine Hill at Deadly is the Female, where you’ll find a handpicked selection of high-quality faux-vintage pieces, with a size range from 8–18. Many items are based on original vintage pieces but redesigned with the modern woman in mind. The emphasis is put on the hourglass figure, enhancing busts and derrières while cinching in waists with soft stretch fabric.

‘Mad Men’-inspired glamour is evoked in a seamed stocking or a flash of red lipstick. With lots of different styles, from the femme-fatale wiggle dresses hinted at in the name of the shop to striking Doris-Day full skirts and petticoats, there really is something for everyone.

Deadly is the Female 59 Catherine St, Frome. Ffi: 01373 469914, www.deadlyisthefemale.com (open Tue-Sat, or by appointment)

leisure and events venue

Fairway to heavenl You’ll find Tracy Park Hotel, Golf and Country Club conveniently nestled between Bath and Bristol in the delightful South Gloucestershire village of Wick. With its 24 beautifully appointed bedrooms and a grand Jacobean manor house, you’d be hard-pushed to find a more ideal venue for weddings, parties and conferences. They’re also currently developing 18 new bedrooms and a new clubhouse, which promise to make the resort even more of a draw for leisure guests and golfers alike.

Tracy Park have recently reintroduced the innovative ‘Fairway to Play’ golf membership scheme. Forget any joining or membership fees – just sign up to the resort’s database on your first visit, and you’ll get 50 per cent off green fees on both the Cromwell and award-winning Crown courses. The maths? A rather amazing £17 midweek and £20 at

weekends for 18 holes. The resort also caters for larger golf societies (more than 12 people) – come and play golf as a group from £17pp, or enjoy golf and a meal after the round for only £29pp.

If it’s a wedding rather than golf that’s on your mind, the magnificent facade of the manor house, terrace and external gardens at this dream venue provide a seriously stunning backdrop for your wedding photographs. Inside the manor house, the chic dècor (including wow-factor champagne silk curtains) creates a sumptuous yet natural backcloth to your own colour scheme for the day. All inclusive packages start from £8,995.

Tracy Park Hotel, Golf & Country Club Bath Rd, Wick. Ffi: 0117 937 1800, www.tracypark.co.uk

piC:

Do

uBl

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oT.

Tv

Esther Williams Classic Swimsuit in red, £65

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l Whether you’re new to Bristol or a lifelong local, it’s always great to find out what’s new on the social scene. CitySocialising is a great new way for people to make friends and get the most out of what Bristol has to offer. It’s all about connecting laidback, outgoing people in real-world meet-ups. With nearly 5,000 members, it’s a growing phenomenon and well worth giving a try. If you want to get involved and make the most out of your social life, sign up for a two-week trial via the website.

CitySocialising Ffi: www.bristol.citysocialising.com

bristol socials

join the club

NeW KiDs’ sHoP

Keep smilingl New kids’ shop the Pippa & Ike Show is fresh and colourful with a funky continental vibe. “As a designer, I love products with a strong design that will withstand time, are well made, eye-catching, colourful, quirky and retro, and make you smile over and over again,” says Dutch owner Lianne. “And as a mum, I love products that are designed for children, but still look great in an adult environment, like the beautiful PlayShapes and ShapeMaker blocks from UK-based Miller Goodman. And clothes with beautiful prints that fit and wash well and are destined to become favorites.”

You’ll find quality baby and kid’s clothes (0-8 years) from brands like Molo, Smafolk,

Ola & Olek and Rockefella, and funny animal socks from Ubang Babblechat that double as sock-puppets. Along with quirky toys and gifts, there’s beautiful bedding, wallpaper, posters and room decorations. For her own ‘Pre-Loved Collection’ Lianne is sourcing quirky secondhand/vintage items, and she’ll sell your beautiful used clothes, small furniture and toys on a sale or return basis.

This month, get a 10% discount off wallstickers, bedding and cushions – just take along the advert on page 22 (valid till 30 June, 2011).

The Pippa & Ike Show 59 Gloucester Rd, Bristol (open Tue-Sat). Ffi: 0117 9241579, www.the-pippa-and-ike-show.blogspot.com

saloN NeWs

In the Men's Rooml Contemporary men’s hairdresser RSR Mens Hair recently lent their support to local clothing designer Ricardo Johnson at a Colston Hall fashion show to launch his new collection. The RSR team styled the hair of all the models appearing at the Heart Breaker Club Fashion Show, making sure they looked as good as the clothes they were showing off.

It was a perfect partnership, with RSR’s stylists combining the finest traditions in men’s grooming with the latest in contemporary style, and Heart Breaker Club offering a range of clothes for the modern, metrosexual male.

It’s been a busy time for RSR, who are looking for new stylists as they expand their talented team. Experienced stylists looking for a new role should contact RSR owner and lead stylist Rachael (07599 401402, rachael@rsrmenshair.co.uk) or call into the salon.

RSR Mens Hair 37 Baldwin St, Bristol. Ffi: www.rsrmenshair.co.uk

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you...Tell us about your big day or wedding plans; let us know all about the gorgeous dress you discovered or about that perfect venue. Ask us any questions you have about planning for your nuptials or share some useful tips of your own.

Email the editor ath.mottram@bepp.co.uk and you could be gracing the pages of our next edition.

WE WANT TO HEAR FROM

p143.indd 2 25/05/2011 15:18:47

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Oxfam Boutique.We sell secondhand (Loved For Longer) clothing and accessories; together with a small range of (Fair Trade) new products, including clothing, accessories and jewellery. We are always in need of donations of both clothing and accessories. Eligible donors can complete a simple (Gift Aid) form that will enable Oxfam to claim 28p from the Government, in addition to every £1 we raise when we sell their donated items.

In addition, we also sell a range of (unwrapped) gifts. The money from these gifts is normally targetted at a specific area of our work. The purchaser receives a card that can be given to a third party as a gift; the card illustrates the specific project towards which the money will be directed. As part of our ongoing partnership with fashion students from Bath Spa University we aim to continue selling garments created by the students from fabric and existing garments that we cannot sell in the shop. This (Reinvented) range has proven to be very popular with many of our customers, seeking to acquire a uniquely styled item. We are hoping to develop a (Made with Love) range of ‘hand-made’ jewellery and accessories. Volunteers are currently being recruited for this role, together with other positions including Sales Assistants and those interested in working with our online sales.

Phone the shop or pop in for more information

Oxfam Boutique12A George Street,Bath BA1 2EH Tel: 01225 464 838Registered Charity No. 202918

p142.indd 3 24/05/2011 20:33:08

The summer hols are still a way off, yet swimwear’s already had two huge fashion moments this year. First there was Radio 1 DJ Fearne Cotton, an early champion of the cutaway trend with her

racy zebra print one-piece for Comic Relief. A few weeks’ later, Nigella Lawson created waves at the other end of the spectrum (and planet), with her black burkini.

Most of us, of course, will be seeking a happy medium – something that flaunts the good and disguises the bad, looks neither no-nonsense nor overly Nikki Beach, will adapt to both sunbathing and surfing, and will fit the bill whether we’re buying a mojito from Pepe at the poolside bar or a Calippo at Portishead Lido.

As well as sexy cutaways and sharia-compliant sheaths, this year’s other beach trends include the ubiquitous 70s look – think kaftans, fringing and dangly bits – as well as cutesie retro gear with a 50s bent, all hip-skimming frills and polka dots.

Convention dictates that athletic types look better in geometric designs and square-cut necklines with some hip or bust detail, while florals and rounded necklines suit curvy chicks. You should certainly spend a little extra on proper support if you’re big of bosom, but when all’s said and done, a good kaftan will make most body concerns irrelevant – so why not just go ahead and make some headlines of your own?

1 Fearne Cotton’s actual Comic Relief number – love that shape-giving scallop print, flattering low-

cut leg and spaghetti halter-strap. Cuts away at sides to look like a bikini from behind. Tricksy! Swimsuit, £30, Topshop

2 Turquoise – terrific against tanned skin. This flattering bandeau bikini has removable

padded cups and two side-supports and also comes in cerise. Lilygrove bikini, £48, Crew Clothing Co

IN THE sWIMAnna Britten dives into the summer’s best beachwear

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3 You need never carry your suncream, ice-cream pennies and copy of Infinite Jest around in a Sainsbury’s bag-for-

life again! Love the metallic detail and chunky rope straps on this Warehouse offering. Straw basket, £28, Warehouse

4 Apparently inspired by the seabed off Malta, this vibrant, sophisticated Aubade two-piece has moulded cups

and braided straps. Also available on a freesia base. Officially too fab for Faliraki. Malta Playa bikini, £174, The Dressing Room

5 You big wafty. This is the perfect post-bronzing cover-up for everything from back garden barbecue to

Mediterranean market. Indonesia kaftan, £60, Monsoon

6 Verrucas and pebbles, begone! No-messin’, chunky flip-flops from everyone’s favourite purveyor of blingy

leisurewear. Juicy Couture low-wedge flip-flops, £65, Harvey Nichols

7 “Our swimwear used to be a lot skimpier,” admit surfy types White Stuff. “But we’ve since made it a bit

more (ahem) accommodating.” This dazzling spotty number is the perfect coalition of charm and modesty. Suzi Dot swimsuit, £35, White Stuff

8 Be your very own saucy postcard. None other

than Geri Halliwell came up with this grampy-delighting yellow polka dot bikini. Skirtini £18, bandeau top £22, Next

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Completely virtuous but fabulously indulgent,’ says the pithy, accurate strapline. From the moment you walk into the relaxed, artful display space at Luma in Bath, you just know you could completely restock your home here. From organic Fairtrade cotton bedding to

decorative mango wood letters, everything at Luma is thought through. This is a lifestyle emporium for the 21st century, where produce has been impeccably sourced without sacrificing any quality.

Managing director Alison Satasi has gone to enormous lengths to ensure that suppliers are looked after as carefully as customers. And the policy has received plaudits in the highest quarters. No less an authority than Vogue described Luma’s textile range as ‘a sumptuous collection of high-quality organic bedding’. The company has had an online presence from the outset and opened its London store four years ago, while Luma’s popularity among West Country buyers convinced Alison to launch the Bath store, only the second in the UK, last September.

“Everything we have is not only beautiful but here for a reason,” says Alison. “There’s a wonderful story behind our products. Our vintage bedspreads and throws come from an initiative to provide homes for handicapped children in Calcutta. We have wonderful handmade brushes produced by visually impaired people in Sweden, and we support small businesses in the UK and Europe. And we haven’t overlooked the health of the planet – everything is sustainable and natural.”

Other popular products include a range of recycled glassware including candle holders, storm lanterns, jugs and drinking glasses, and a wonderful line in roughly crafted teak featuring everything from fruit bowls to Christmas trees (it’s a little early, perhaps, but this particular item sold out in its first weekend).

Luma’s bedding is organic, Fairtrade and truly luxurious – Alison believes their selection is unrivalled in the UK. If you’re ready to invest in something more substantial, the impressive line of furniture in Belgian-crafted, ageless French oak is worth serious consideration.

The ethical consumer is an increasingly important presence on today’s high street, Alison says, but Luma appeals to the heart as well as the conscience. “A few people really hunt down products with an ethos and will certainly find us online, but the vast majority who come in just love the shop. I wanted it to feel natural, light and open: a neutral, effortless backdrop against which products can be showcased.”

Rarely has a new outlet paid so much attention to every link in its supply chain, ensuring that, with the bedding, for example, you can relax in luxury at night and sleep with an easy conscience.

Luma 11 Milsom Place, Bath. Ffi: 01225 444218, www.lumadirect.com

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Shop of the monthMike Gartside loves the Fairtrade chic of Luma’s new Bath boutique

French oak table and three-seater bench, £2,450 and £795 respectively. Both are available in two larger sizes and a darker finish

Mango wood letters made from this fairly traded agricultural by-product. £12.95 each

Reclaimed timber collected by homeless people in Cape Town is crafted into these rustic frames. From £25

FOLIO OFFER

Show this page to claim 10%

discount at Luma until 30 June.

(Please note: Offer excludes

furniture and custom orders)

Shop of the month (Luma) 197.indd 2 23/05/2011 20:35:02

Stocking Seasalt

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NEW Website: www.marksimmonsphotography.com

Natural Weddings

“Mark’s gift lies in his ability to tell a story in picture form. He totally captured the atmosphere of our memorable

day and didn’t miss one precious moment. He is incredibly talented, very likeable and does not at all get in the way of

the celebrations. He comes highly recommended!”Marie-Claire Gutfreund

mark simmoNs photography

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08 wedding a4.indd 1 17/11/08 17:18:30

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Bristol’s largest and only dedicated paint-your-own-pottery• Suitable for ALL ages!• Over 100 items to choose from • Items professionally glazed and fired • Collect a few days later, and keep a lifetime!

Ideal for:• Father’s / Mother’s Day presents• Unique gifts• Wedding presents • Capturing baby’s foot or handprint • Children’s parties • Adult’s parties • Girl’s night out / hen nights• Office parties / socials

PAInted Pottery mAkes Perfect Presents!

The Painting Pottery Café

9 Byron Place (off the Clifton Triangle) Tel: (0117) 927 3666www.flyingsaucers.co.uk

p136.indd 3 25/05/2011 15:23:54

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So it’s that time of year again, and you’re in a bit of a tizz. You need to find a suitable Father’s Day (Sun 19 June, in case you’ve lost your diary) gift for your dear old dad, men can be notoriously tricky to buy for,

and time’s running out… But it doesn’t have to be quite so stressful. Our handy guide will point you in the right direction, without the need to resort to the boring standby of socks or hankies, either. Whether you’re after time-honoured trinkets such as cufflinks for dapper dressers, or music-related goodies to appease the audiophile in your life, there’s something here to suit different pockets and tastes. With gastronomes, active types and even arty dudes well catered for, too, we hope it provides you with a little food for thought.

1 Rise’s Record Club is a great way of staying in touch with the latest exciting

sounds. Available on CD or LP, and there’s a collectable 7in or 12in vinyl exclusive thrown in for good measure. With a surprise new album to unwrap every month, it’s like Christmas all year round. Album of the month, £15-£210, Rise

2 Cufflinks are always a winner with style obsessives, and these quirky ones

channel the spirit of man’s best friend brilliantly. Dog silhouette silver tone cufflinks by Paul Smith, £65, Harvey Nichols

3 Embossed with a typewriter keyboard

design that’s reassuringly old school, this leather wallet is so tactile that you won’t be able to resist stroking it. Comes with a rather natty gift-box, too. QWERTY leather wallet, £34.95, Bloomsbury

4 Modish gentlemen everywhere will love this tastefully packaged

gift-set from the Cowshed Bullocks range. Bracing Body Wash, Soothing Moisturiser, Smooth Shaving Cream, Refining Facial Scrub and a natural-fibre ramie buffer will keep manly skin smooth

father's day gift guide

Big DaddyWant to show him how much you love him this Father’s Day? Velimir Ilic has some bright ideas

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and soft. Cowshed Bullocks Gift Set, £24, Pod

5 The slick and nifty SportBand makes every run count by tracking

pace, distance, time and calories burnt. Easy to use and available in lots of funky colours – what better way to motivate your old man away from his favourite armchair? Nike+ SportBand, £32.99, Moti

6 Based on baker du jour Richard Bertinet’s award-winning book,

Dough, this breadmaking course will get you whizzing up artisan loaves from two simple doughs. Best get in quick – it’s as popular as the proverbial hot cakes. An Introduction to Bread Making (various dates available), £145, The Bertinet Kitchen

7 Extolling the virtues of slow food, travel and living, with a smattering of

regional recipes, this is a fabulous introduction to the Go Slow lifestyle. There’s nothing for it but to slip down a gear or two and indulge. Alastair Sawday’s Go Slow England & Wales, £19.99 (currently £11.99 online), Foyles

8 Give your dad a smile on Father’s Day with one of

these West Country-flavoured tees. T-shirts, £10.99 for one, £30 for three, Beast

9 Well-known round these parts, acclaimed artist Nick Cudworth’s

work reflects his unadulterated passion for blues and rock’n’roll. This colourful giclée print – full of retro elegance – would brighten up any muso’s wall. Singles, £400, Nick Cudworth Gallery

10 Using brushes, stamps or even your wee nipper’s footprints,

unleash your creative streak and personalise all manner of unglazed pottery and plates with your own designs. Professionally glazed and fired, they make rather splendid pressies. Mugs from £9, plates from £11, other pottery individually priced, Flying Saucers

father's day gift guide

Contacts Beast 224 Cheltenham Rd & St Nicholas Market, Bristol. Ffi: 0117 942 8200, www.beast-clothing.comThe Bertinet Kitchen & Bakery 12 St Andrew’s Terrace, Bath. Ffi: 01225 445531, www.bertinet.comBloomsbury & Co Quakers Friars, Cabot Circus, Bristol & 15 New Bond St, Bath. Ffi: 0845 270 2677, www.bloomsburystore.comFlying Saucers 9 Byron Place, Clifton, Bristol. Ffi: 0117 927 3666, www.flyingsaucers.co.ukFoyles Quakers Friars, Cabot Circus, Bristol. Ffi: 0117 376 3975, www.foyles.co.ukHarvey Nichols Quakers Friars, Cabot Circus, Bristol. Ffi: 0117 916 8888, www.harveynichols.comMoti 49 Whiteladies Rd, Clifton, Bristol. Ffi: 0117 973 7000, www.mymoti.comNick Cudworth Gallery 5 London St, Bath. Ffi: 01225 445221, www.nickcudworth.co.ukPod 24 The Mall, Clifton Village, Bristol. Ffi: 0117 373 2564, www.thepodcompany.co.ukRise 70 Queens Rd, Clifton, Bristol. Ffi: 0117 929 7511, www.rise-music.co.uk

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Win a pair of designer sunglasses in your

prescription* High quality, well fitting designer frames

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such as golf, tennis ski-ing or cycling using LST(light stabilising technology) lenses exclusive to Adidas.

There are Adidas sunglasses made specially toenhance your performance in every sport.

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lifestyle

I’d heard a lot about the Seanhanna salon in Quakers Friars, and had had some really good feedback from several friends who had visited once and now swore that it was the only salon for them, but I was slightly taken aback by the immediate customer service that I received as soon as I walked through the door. Normally,

you’d have to stand around for at least a minute or two, but I was greeted with a smiley face and taken to my consultation chair straight away. When the offer of a complimentary drink was put my way, I was expecting the usual tea or coffee (fruit juice if you’re lucky). When I saw complimentary wine on the list, I couldn’t resist! After all, this was late on a Thursday afternoon…

Kurtis, my colour technician, was introduced to me. We chatted briefly about what I was hoping to achieve and we decided on platinum blonde. I then discussed my style with salon director Adam Vincent. He told me about the latest style they were promoting, the ‘Tier Drop’, and when he explained how it would look, I was hooked straight away. When any of the Seanhanna team talked to me, they treated me very much as an individual, and assured me that because everyone’s hair is different, the colour and cut would be specifically tailored to suit me and my hair. Before the colour was added, Kurtis started the process using Injection De Force by Kerastase, a pre-colour treatment that helps to even out porosity and also begins the process of rebuilding the hair.

Once the colour had been put on, I was given a complimentary hand massage, then had time to chill with a magazine, glass of wine and a ham, cheese & tomato panini, which was ordered and collected for me from nearby Chandos Deli. The Sanctuary Spa is only next door, and if you fancy an extra treat, one of their nail technicians will pop over and give you some extra pampering at very reasonable prices.

Feeling very relaxed, I was moved to the back room to have the dye washed out and toner added to bring out the perfect platinum. Well, I know that we all love this bit, but sitting in a massage chair and having my head gently tilted back into a colour-changing dome really was something. I was then given another massage, again complimentary, but to the head this time. I was in massage heaven.

With the platinum set, it was time for the

super additional treatments that are on offer to really give your hair a boost. Adam applied Kerastase Concentrate Vita-Ciment, which has been shown to strengthen the hair by an amazing 56 per cent – and I can still feel the effects as I write.

Next it was time for the cut. Adam explained that he was adding “disconnected, natural, broken-up layers” to increase the volume and improve the overall finish to the style. Once my hair was dried and styled with some matt wax, it was time for the reveal – and, boy, was I pleased! I hadn’t had volume to my hair like this since I was a teen, and the teardrop look to the front looked really feminine and sexy. It was my boyfriend’s 40th birthday that day, so I had a

really nice surprise for him when he saw me.

I had a lovely few hours at Seanhanna, being made to feel really important at every stage. I can still style my hair in the same way as when I left the salon, which I think is another sign of a really great cut. Needless to say, I’m joining my friends in assuring you all that this is the salon for me.

beauty lifestyle

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ContactsSeanhanna Quakers Friars, Cabot Circus, Bristol. Ffi: 0117 934 9393, www.seanhanna.com

salon spy

SeanhannaBex Baddiley visits a Bristol hairdresser that’s about so much more than just a great haircut

Below right: Bex modelling her sexy new ‘Tier Drop’ style with Seanhanna’s salon director Adam Vincent

Beauty (Salon Spy) 197.indd 2 23/05/2011 20:41:27

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profile

● The Bristol half-marathon takes place on 11 September 2011 and has been selected as one of four UK championship road events for the year. Many Bristolians will be pounding the city’s streets and parks in training for the big day, cementing Bristol’s fast-growing reputation as a city of sports enthusiasts.

In general, this is positive news for the city’s health, but for some it also means dealing with the problem of a sports injury. Training and competing across all sports can cause injury or inflammation to the tendons, ligaments and cartilage, particularly in the knee, or can stir up symptoms from previous injuries or underlying arthritic problems.

There are some simple steps for exercising that can reduce the risk of injury. These include: proper warm-up and stretching programmes, following a training programme that’s realistic for

your ability and fitness level, wearing appropriate trainers for your foot shape and alignment, and staying well hydrated.

If you develop symptoms, it’s essential to get expert assessment, diagnosis and treatment as soon as possible. Many injuries can be treated by physiotherapy, but more complex injuries and problems may require surgery to get you up and running again.

The Nuffield Health St Mary’s Hospital and Fitness & Wellbeing Centre in Bristol have specialist physiotherapists and orthopaedic surgeons available to guide you through this process, and have set up a new Sports Injuries Clinic in collaboration with the Knee Specialists group to provide state of the art assessment and treatment of all knee problems and sports injuries.

Andrew Porteous is a consultant orthopaedic surgeon at Nuffield Health St Mary’s Hospital, Bristol

Nuffield HealthNuffield Health St Mary’s Hospital, Bristol

Tel: 0117 987 2727Web: www.nuffieldhealth.com/Individuals/Centres/B/Bristol

Knee SpecialistsTel: 0117 980 4037 Web: www.kneespecialists.co.uk

Nuffield HealthAndrew porteous on sports injuries and playing it safe

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lifestyle

l The Bristol Homeopathic Hospital (BHH), founded in 1852 and run by the University Hospitals Bristol NHS Foundation Trust at premises in Cotham Hill, faces an uncertain future following the publication of a recent document by the organisation. The hospital is named as one of the projects that isn’t considered “core” to the trust’s portfolio. The document will be the basis of discussion by healthcare professionals and the public, whose conclusions will inform the trust’s strategy for the next five years. The BHH is among the services not provided by other large hospitals, says the document, while the foundation hopes to grow its teaching and research portfolios.

University Hospitals Bristol NHS Foundation Trust Ffi: www.uhbristol.nhs.uk

health

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Eyesight is one area of our health that, ironically, we most frequently overlook. For those with 20:20 vision, the thought of a trip to the opticians is as high on the list of

priorities as reorganising the paperclip drawer. Many of us are only prompted to seek advice by a noticeable change in our eyesight – maybe those road signs aren’t looking as clear as they used to, or you’re having to hold your book a little further away (often, both).

Fact is, 1.8 million people live with sight loss in the UK alone, according to charity Fight for Sight, and for about half of these people a simple sight test and the right glasses will correct the problem. If you’re one of the unlucky half for whom the problem is more serious, the optician is able to identify a range of conditions, including diabetes, glaucoma or inherited eye disease. Regular visits to the optician can lead to early diagnosis and more effective treatment of these illnesses. And unless you subscribe to the idea that ignorance is bliss, then that can only be a good thing.

National Eye Health Week tries to raise awareness of these issues, encouraging people to include eye tests as part of their regular health routine. The NHS recommends that adults have an eye test

every two years. ‘Eyes don’t usually hurt when something is wrong,’ explains the official advice. Furthermore, many sections of the community are entitled to free eye tests, including under-19s in full-time education, over-60s, anyone registered blind or partially sighted or anyone diagnosed with diabetes or glaucoma.

The week has been enthusiastically supported in the South West where opticians have launched the Eye Love My Local Independent Optician campaign. “Eye health is extremely important,” says spokesperson Paul Surridge. “Without regular eye exams, dormant diseases and general health problems can lie undetected and prove fatal further down the line. Local opticians are encouraging more patients into their practices to ensure that they keep on top of their eye health.”

National Eye Health Week 13–19 June. Ffi: www.visionmatters.org.ukEye Love My Local Independent Optician Ffi: www.eyelovelocal.co.uk

l A recent study by charity Beating Bowel Cancer has shown that four out of 10 people wouldn’t recognise the symptoms of bowel cancer if they experienced them. Yet the disease is the second biggest cancer killer in the UK, claiming 16,000 lives per year. Most alarmingly, perhaps, bowel cancer in the under-30s has increased by 120 per cent over the past decade.

Early diagnosis and treatment is a significant factor in surviving this illness, says the charity, so anyone with possible signs of bowel cancer should seek medical advice as quickly as possible. These include a persistent change in bowel movements, possibly including looser stools, a lump in the tummy, abdominal pain or unexplained bleeding from the bottom.

On a brighter note, there are a number of ways to reduce the risk of contracting bowel cancer, including eating a healthy diet with lots of fruit, vegetables, wholegrain foods and fish. Other measures include stopping smoking and moderating alcohol intake.

“Clinical research shows that in the UK we could save 3,000 lives a year through

prevention and early diagnosis,” says Professor Sir Mike Richards, National Cancer director. “We need to raise the profile of bowel cancer as a lot of people still don’t know, or are too embarrassed to talk about it. It’s one of the most common cancers.”

Beating Bowel Cancer Ffi: www.beatingbowelcancer.org

Optical delusionsNational Eye Health Week brings eyesight into focus. Mark Seitidge reports

homeopathy

hospital doubt

bowel cancer

Guts of the matter

National Eye Health Week aims to raise awareness of the importance of having regular eye tests

Early diagnosis and treatment is a significant factor in surviving bowel cancer so make sure you’re able to

recognise the symptoms

health 197.indd 2 23/05/2011 20:13:35

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Arnos Vale Cemetery is a unique location which has been saved for future generations

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lifestyle

l This issue we’re taking a look at St Katherine’s School in Ham Green on the edge of Bristol, described by its students as “the best place for young people to learn and grow up”. High praise indeed for this relatively small, co-educational state secondary school – from the people that matter! – and this has been confirmed over the past year by the outstanding successes the school has achieved. Their academic performance saw improved results for the fifth consecutive year, with 82% of students gaining five or more A*-C grades at GCSE. For the third year, St Katherine’s was ranked first in North Somerset for pupil progress from Key Stage 2 to Key Stage 4.

St Katherine’s has been a Science College since 2003, and as a High-performing Specialist School has a second specialism of Applied Learning,

as well as being a Lead School for Gifted and Talented. The new £2.8m Hospitality and Catering facility opened in January, including a 300-seat student dining room, and the

English faculty is also currently benefiting from an extensive refurbishment.

Students at St Katherine’s are involved in a host of events and extracurricular activities –

they can be dancers, scientists, historians, linguists, artists, gardeners and cooks! Fantastic experiences that the students have enjoyed have included a trip to Uganda, collecting their Food for Life Gold Award from Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, working with architects to design key features of their new dining facility and even interviewing David Cameron as part of the BBC School News Report Programme.

The Performing Arts Department facilities are excellent and this year’s whole-school production of We Will Rock You embodied everything that St Katherine’s stands for: pride, passion, participation, perseverance, pleasure and performance.

St Katherine’s School Ham Green, nr Bristol, North Somerset, BS20. Ffi: 01275 373737, www.st-katherines.n-somerset.sch.uk (open evening Thur 30 June, 6-9pm)

education

local heroeSEveryone’s a winner at Bath’s new arts and sports centrel The new £10m state of the art ‘West Wing’ development at Bath’s Hayesfield Girls’ School has now been officially opened by Winter Olympics hero and former pupil Amy Williams. With a flexible auditorium space for up to 400 people, a sports hall and fitness suite, dance studio, recording studio, restaurant and meeting rooms, Hayesfield Performing Arts and Sports Centre is set to make a huge impact on the life of girls at the school, but head Erica Draisey is determined that the wider community should also benefit from this major local asset.

It’s the perfect venue for theatre productions, music recitals, conferences and even weddings, says the school. As Erica points out, the school is only used for educational purposes 190 days a year, leaving lots of time for Bath residents to make the most of the facilities. “I challenge people from the north of Bath to cross the river and use these facilities,” she told the Bath Chronicle. “I want all of Bath here. I

want the music festival here!”Bob skeleton gold medallist Amy

Williams, who unveiled a plaque marking the occasion and cut a cake in the shape of the school building, was clearly impressed. “When I was here in the gym, we used to have mice, and buckets on the floor catching the drips,” she told the girls. “If I had to put up with those facilities and still managed to get a gold medal, then with these new facilities you girls should be able to bring back two or three…”

The centre has been paid for from the sale of the school’s playing fields at Frome Road in Odd Down for a new Sainsbury’s store. The deal also produced £3m to be spent on promoting sport in other schools across the area, including Beechen Cliff, Wellsway in Keynsham, and Oldfield School.

hayesfield Girls’ School Upper Oldfield Park, Bath, BA2. Ffi: 01225 426151, www.e-hayesfield.com

We will rock you!Josh arnew visits a vibrant local school to discover what the six Ps are all about…

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education 197.indd 3 23/05/2011 20:37:04

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To reach 72,000 families in your area advertise in the next issue of Primary Times.Contact Caroline tel 0117 934 3737 email c.stretton@bepp.co.ukor Ruth tel 0117 9343730 email r.morris@venue.co.uk

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For a list of outlets, visit www.foliomagazine.co.uk or call 0117 942 8491

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motoring

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search engine to be surel Hiring a car? The range of insurance options available to you – often barked out by a rental employee over the hire desk when you pick up the keys as a queue of disgruntled tourists builds up behind you – can be bewildering at best. A new search engine aims to take the stress out of rental insurance by allowing you to compare insurance deals anywhere in the world. You may find it cheaper to take out insurance with the car hire itself… or you may not. But moneymaxim will make the search quick, easy, independent and comprehensible.

Ffi www.moneymaxim.co.uk

lifestyle

DealershiP sUccess

Great figuresl “Not much more than a year ago, the Volvo dealership was a disused building,” says Mike Collett, ‘dealer principal’ at City Motors’ new Volvo outlet. Mike is enjoying the fruits of a year’s hard work in a difficult climate to announce that he expects sales in the second quarter of this

year to be 20 per cent higher than at the same time last year.

With 30 years’ experience in automotive retail at senior management level, including setting up two franchise businesses, Mike was the ideal candidate to bring Volvo to Bristol. “It’s extremely difficult establishing a business in an area from scratch,” he says. “This time round it was particularly tough, due to the current economic climate. There had been no Volvo representation in Bristol for some time and it’s always harder establishing a business in the city than in a rural location as there’s more choice. But I’ve relished the challenge. Our forward-order book alone for April to June means we’ll easily out-perform last year’s results.”

So maybe a trip down to Volvo’s new showroom in Avonmeads is advisable sharpish, before the waiting list gets too long.

City Motors Volvo Castle Court, St Phillips Causeway, Arnos Vale, Bristol. Ffi: 0845 658 8455, www.dealer.volvocars.co.uk/citymotors/bristol

Motoring 197.indd 2 25/05/2011 12:09:36

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lifestyle

Citroen has been showing signs of getting back to its slightly quirky best of late, and the second-generation C5 has proved to be another step on that upward curve.

The Mondeo-sized medium-range family sector it competes in offers tough challenges, but this car is equipped to meet them far more effectively than the one it replaced. This improved version features sharper looks, and German standards of build quality at last complement high technology and a silky ride.

Citroen has always made heavy weather of selling family-sized medium range models. The first-generation C5, launched in 2001, was hampered by bland looks and soggy handling. A strong range of diesel engines and the Hydractive 3 self-levelling suspension system were plus points, though. The 2007 model was a huge step forward but medium-range Mondeo buyers continued to largely ignore it. So the French brand is redoubling its efforts, up-rating the engines available to Euro5 status, improving equipment levels and sharpening

styling. Thus equipped, if this C5 doesn’t propel Citroen into contention in this sector, then they might as well give up.

Although this still isn’t the sharpest steer in its sector, it’s far better suited to the kind of driving that these kinds of cars actually do, thanks to a selection of suspension set-ups – an important choice for buyers to make. I’d advise you to go for the Hydractive 3 Plus self-levelling suspension, which adapts to the road surface to deliver a smooth magic-carpet ride.

A lot of work has gone into improving the engine. At the top of the range, there’s a silky-smooth 240bhp 3.0-litre V6 HDi diesel, but the model we drove is powered by the entry-level 110bhp 1.6-litre HDi 16v diesel, now offered in more efficient Euro5 guise. Performance is more than adequate, with 0-60mph occupying 11.6s on the way to a 118mph maximum.

This C5 is arguably the best-looking car of its kind, and an informed choice in the medium-range market. It’s a car that effectively handles all the basics while remaining just different enough to stand out.

Suspension of disbeliefThe second generation Citroen C5 offers strong competition to the Mondeo, says Jonathan Crouch

motoring

'The Stig' with Lewis Hamilton at last year's Bristol Motor Show

Car Citroen C5 (1.6 e-HDi Airdream EGS VTR+ 4dr)Price £22,195 Max speed 118Insurance group (1-50) 20Length 4.779m Width 1.832mHeight 1.458m Weight 2,062kg

Motoring 197.indd 3 25/05/2011 12:09:54

It was at the end of an unusually nerve-jangling week that our little party of three (my girlfriend Rach, our 18-month-old boy Theo and your correspondent) pitched up at the Montpellier Chapter, an elegant hotel on the edge of Cheltenham’s buzzy and beguiling Montpellier district. Illnesses, work overload and some see-sawing changes to career

prospects had all taken their toll, and now the three of us were in desperate need of some good old-fashioned R&R. Was the much-vaunted Montpellier Chapter up to the job?

All the augurs were good. The Chapter is housed in one of those vast, foursquare Regency mansions that Cheltenham does so well – big rooms, high ceilings and tall windows, all accentuating the feeling of calm, unobtrusive comfort. As we hauled our weary bodies over the threshold, one of the hotel’s squadron of efficient, deftly charming staffers sidled towards us and quickly made us at home. Bags were dispatched: sign-in was completed in seconds and we were being whirred upwards towards our room.

Ah, the room. How shall I describe thee? A huge, enfolding den of comfort and ease, with vast pillows and cushions, plush velvet and thick carpets everywhere. Theo was as delighted as any of us – this place was roughly twice the size of any of the rooms he gets to trot around at home. A vast, egg-shaped bath sat in one corner, easily big enough for the three of us to ablute together. Opposite it was an entertainment system controlled by iPhone, offering you hundreds of albums to scroll through as you lolled about at your ease. Soon enough, Theo’s curious nose sniffed out the bathroom, a big wetroom affair with chunky, modern fixtures, an array of first-rate unguents and emollients, and a speaker from the entertainment system next door piping sounds

44 folio

A blissful 24 hours in Cheltenham’s most relaxing hotel leaves Steve Wright feeling lyrical

Chapter&verse

One of the spacious feature rooms kitted out with all the latest tech toys

The beautiful bar area – a favourite haunt of Cheltenham’s high society

Travel (montpellier chapter) 196.indd 2 23/05/2011 20:30:04

folio 45

into the bather’s ears. In short, a room in which to feel utterly relaxed and taken care of: nothing too opulent or forbidding, everything geared towards rest, recuperation and renewal. The week’s hard edges were starting to drop off us already.

Having arrived mid-afternoon (I’d been desperate to close that week’s particular, er, chapter at the earliest possible opportunity), we had a couple of hours to kick our heels before dinner. And so the three of us strolled down the tree-lined avenues into the centre of town, and the relaxation process began to gather speed. Britain’s edgiest city it most certainly ain’t: Cheltenham’s USP is something very different, a relaxed, ordered, mellow charm that seems to mix the best of Britain with something more Continental. Wide avenues, broad pavements and solidly elegant Georgian and Regency townhouses… Rows of elegant, confident indie shops, cafes and bars spilling their terraces, Mediterranean-style, out onto those broad pavements… Huge, elegantly planted stretches of parkland… It’s a unique mix of classic English and bon vivant European, and it quickly seduces you into its easygoing rhythms. By the time Rach, Theo and I had found ourselves a pavement cafe at which to sit and watch Cheltenham’s well-heeled natives do their evening constitutional, bien-être had well and truly set in.

One moderately successful Theo-feeding session later, it was back to the hotel, bedtime for the little man and our turn to get feet under the table. First, though, a seven o’clock sharpener in one of the Chapter’s beautiful ground-floor bar areas. A significant proportion of Cheltenham society appeared to have had the same idea that evening, and who can blame them? From the light-flooded conservatory through to the study – all vast enfolding sofas and weighty coffee-table literature – you’re spoiled for choice for your early evening hidey-hole.

Dinner, meanwhile, was in a big, bustling room towards the back of the hotel, with

grandstand views of the busy kitchen. All nice enough, but it didn’t have the easy restfulness of the bar areas. That said, the staff were – as they’d been throughout the day – unfailingly helpful, informative and efficient, helping us wine novices choose the right tipple (from an iPad menu – they sure do like their tech toys at the Chapter). The food was satisfying, if not spectacular – Rach’s sirloin steak, for example, was succulent and

yielding enough, but a shade or two beyond the medium rare she’d asked for, while my asparagus & broad bean risotto starter was agreeable but not the explosion of verdant zinginess it could have been.

After a predictably excellent night’s sleep between thick sheets and among the vast expanses of our king-size bed, breakfast was a rather more memorable affair, including a fresh-as-a-daisy fruit salad and some of the best bacon, sausages and black pudding to be found this side of the Pennines. Suitably fortified, the three of us slowly and reluctantly bid goodbye to this elegant, relaxed and effortlessly regenerating hotel. Gliding down the broad avenues of Regency Cheltenham, we knew that we’d gained some peace and wellbeing that would take some shaking off.

ContaCtsMontpellier Chapter Bayshill Rd, Montpellier, Cheltenham. Ffi: 01242 527788, www.themontpellierchapterhotel.com

lifestyletravel

the Montpellier Chapter Hotel’s grand exterior

Relax with a drink – or a book – in the elegantly comfortable library

the big bustling, canteen-style restaurant, guided by cook and best-selling foodie

author simon Hopkinson

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l Walking into Felix Lighting Specialists is a bit like going into a museum or taking a step back in time – to a time of glamour, drama and illuminated opulence. The store is the brainchild of lighting designer Gary May who, after identifying a gap in the market for luxury architectural, vintage and industrial lighting, set up shop in Bath’s Bartlett Street. With a background in international design and sourcing, he established the shop in October 2010.

There are some fine examples of iconic and statement pieces, from 1930s Paris streetlights and Paramount Pictures stock from the 1960s to illuminated New York ‘Walk Dont Walk’ street signs (which are fast becoming an urban deco must-have, missing apostrophe notwithstanding). You’ll find lamps from the Savoy Hotel circa 1950 and toughened

glass storm-lights from the QE2. It’s pretty awe-inspiring just to stand there and gaze upon pieces of such iconic beauty. It evokes a sense of

pure nostalgia and romance in those who don’t usually dabble in such sentiment.

Sourced worldwide, all Felix’s lights undergo

restoration or conversion in their workshop before they enter the shop and are sold, ready to plug in. Any one of the pieces currently residing in the shop could add style and drama to a setting and create an environment of distinction, be it commercial or domestic.

Since opening, Felix have supplied unique lighting solutions to private clients, the film industry, interior designers, boutique hotels, restaurants and fashion retailers and many pieces have featured as props in photo shoots. Visiting the shop really is quite an experience, whether you’re lusting after the finishing touch to an interior project or you just want to stand among statuesque lights of a bygone era and dream for a while.

Felix Lighting Specialists 6 Bartlett St, Bath (closed Mon). Ffi: 01225 315110, www.felixlightingspecialists.co.uk, www.walkdontwalksigns.co.uk

LIGhtInG

Another bright spark

ShoW & ComPetItIon

Precious thingl Handmade in Britain are returning to Bath’s Assembly Rooms this month for their annual showcase of some of the brightest, most innovative talent in contemporary design, once again setting the highest of standards for craft events in the area. Expect to be inspired by the quality, originality and eco-conscious ethos behind the works for sale. All exhibitors work locally in the UK, striving to keep carbon footprints low by locally sourcing materials to create guilt-free contemporary craft.

Around 60 selected designer-makers will show their new collections, from fashion design and accessories, interiors, glass, furniture, stationery and paper to metalwork, ceramics, furniture, sculpture, woodwork, prints and etchings, with a special focus on contemporary

handmade jewellery designer-makers.Handmade in Britain also supports

new designer-makers by offering part sponsorships and supporting them through training workshops preparing them for the show. They’re dedicated to supporting homegrown talent and are all about keeping important craft skills within Britain, while creating beautiful items for you to love and cherish.

Handmade in Britain 17-19 June, Assembly Rooms, Bath. Ffi: www.handmadeinbritain.co.uk

TICKET OFFER & COMPETITION: Handmade in Britain are offering 2-4-1 tickets, with all 2-4-1 tickets entered into a prize draw to win a designer item. Winner to be announced at the show on Sun 19 June.

neW Garden

petAl powerl Europe’s first dedicated Chinese Herb Gard

Chinese Herb Garden University of Bristol Botanic

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ConSerVAtorIeS

The living is easy

l A well-designed radiator will enhance and complete your interior decor, whether it’s traditional or contemporary. So get yourself along to the Bisque Showroom in Bath’s Kingsmead Square – home to the world’s best radiator design, from old-school classics in bright colours or the latest textured finishes, to eye-catching designs in brass, copper or wood, which make a wonderful focal point. Slim Bisque panel radiators save valuable wall space, while towel radiators are a must-have for bathrooms and kitchens.

Bisque’s award-winning range offers over 40 styles for every room in the house, with a huge choice of finishes and sizes – including made-to-measure. Many models are available in over 2,000 colours and there’s also a special colour-matching service, while the high-quality manufacture means that Bisque radiators are made to last. There’s a relaxed, helpful atmosphere in the showroom, where Stuart and Katharine can provide expert advice on choosing the right radiator for your needs.

Bisque Showroom 15 Kingsmead Square, Bath (open Mon–Fri 9am-5pm, Sat 10am–4pm). Ffi: 01225 466367, www.bisque.co.uk

l A Crystal Clear conservatory is just the job to stylishly and easily make the most of your living space. Bring the outside in and take full advantage of your garden space, making alfresco dining a breeze even when the British weather has other ideas.

A bespoke, individually designed Crystal Clear conservatory gives you an extra living space that can be as flexible as you need it to be: a playroom, close to the kitchen so that you can keep an eye on the children while you cook or

entertain; an extra dining room where you can feel closer to nature; or somewhere to simply relax and enjoy some peace and quiet.

Offering both traditional and contemporary designs, the Crystal Clear team will work with you and the style of your home. Visit the website or showroom to browse their wide range of conservatory styles and accessories.

Crystal Clear 22a Emery Rd, Brislington, Bristol. Ffi: 0117 971 7880, www.crystalclearbristol.co.uk

AntIqueS

Time Travell Want to restyle your rooms in a more traditional style, but without sentencing more trees to death? Then reuse! And if you want to reuse with panache, do it with the help of Bath’s Old Bank Antiques Centre. With 12 specialist dealers and a host of showrooms, Old Bank offers a wonderful range of everything from 17th century English furniture to 1970s retro, as well as ceramics, glass, kitchenalia and textiles. The highly experienced dealers including co-owners Alex Schlesinger (pictured) and David Moore will advise on anything from attribution and date to care, restoration and transport.

Old Bank Antiques Centre 14-17 Walcot Buildings, London Rd, Bath. Ffi: 01225 469282/338818, www.oldbankantiquescentre.com (Parking at rear, accessed via Bedford St)

rADIAtorS

Hot must-haves

Homefront spread 197.indd 3 23/05/2011 20:09:04

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the wooden blind companybespoke shutters & blinds

Expertly measured & installed by us, We are a local, family business,

With over a decade of experience.Contact us now to be inspired!

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BRISTOL DECORATIVE SURFACESWorktop Specialist

- Extensive selection of 4100mm & 3600mm Worktops by Axiom & Duropal- 3000mm Stellar Laminate Worktops

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We offer a van service for daily local deliveries

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Open Monday – Friday 8.30am-4.30pm

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Ceri and Jenny live in a lovely basement apartment in Clifton. The property, in a fantastic location, has lovely large rooms with great proportions. The large hallway in the centre of the space was a bit of a wasted area as it was being used as a hall, but was the size of a really large room. The kitchen was one of the rooms off this main hall, and the couple wanted to open it up to the hall.

THE briEfCeri and Jenny wanted to make the kitchen more of a social area, with armchairs and desk space – somewhere to sit and chat to whoever was working in the kitchen. They didn’t need a formal dining space – this was already incorporated elsewhere in the flat – and wanted to be able to let their baby play and toddle about, while being able to keep an eye on her from the kitchen. Within the kitchen, they wanted to build in a ‘drying cabinet’, washing machine and storage for brooms, mops, etc. The flat’s electrics also needed bringing up to current building regulations.

Classic Meets Contemporary

my grand design

KiTCHEN COLOUrA smart ‘classic meets contemporary’ kitchen in beautiful fired Earth Chalk Violet, Marble and burnt Juniper for this Clifton basement apartment

Gemma Casey, kitchen designer on the project and Dominic Taylor, project manager

My Grand Design 197.indd 2 24/05/2011 20:08:07

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the solutionl Time to call in the Homeworx Design & Build team, who specialise in a complete service from architects’ drawings, planning permission and kitchen, bathroom and interior design to extensions, conversions, renovations and new build, incorporating building regulations and structural engineering.

There was a niche and a single door opening between the existing kitchen and hall, and Homeworx had the idea of opening up these as much as possible and making them attractive archways instead of square openings, to lend the flat some grandeur and get as much light as possible through from the hall into the darker kitchen. The load-bearing wall needed new steel supports and reconstruction of the supporting piers, but the result is worth the effort, with both rooms benefiting from extra light and a much more open feel between the two. Homeworx left Ceri and Jenny with the option of putting glazed doors and windows in between the two spaces at a later stage if they wanted to be able to close and open up the space without losing the light.

Homeworx designed a new kitchen as this would now be on view as soon as you entered the apartment, and worked with some exciting colours that Ceri and Jenny had seen examples of on the high street. They used solid oak doors with a paint finish to lend a traditional element to the kitchen, but the couple wanted a mix with a contemporary feel, so they used bold period colours, modern handles and appliances to bring the look up to date. If Ceri and Jenny decide to sell the apartment at a later stage, a simple change of handle and wall colour will take the kitchen back to a more traditional look.

homeworx Design & BuildTel: 01275 845011 / 07809 152636Email: info@homeworxbristol.co.ukWeb: www.homeworxbristol.co.uk

hIDDen StorAGeA bank of tall units to house the existing fridge/freezer and give hidden storage for mops, brooms, vacuum and freezer, plus washing-machine space and a unique drying cabinet. There was also space for a tambour unit to conceal Ceri and Jenny’s breadmaker and breakfast things.

GrAnD ArChWAYSGrand new archways designed to give a feeling of space and incorporate the large hall into the existing kitchen area. New load-bearing piers had to be built on new foundations to take the weight of the multiple storeys above.

InSPIreD SPLAShBACKSAs part of the service, Homeworx install glass splashbacks to any specification, be it a paint colour you love or a digitally printed image of your choice. The inspiration for the aubergines came from the furniture colours and Ceri and Jenny’s love of cooking!

mY GrAnD DeSIGn

1

2

3

Le-mAnS Corner‘Le-Mans’ corner system to bring the contents of a hard-to-access corner completely free of the cabinet where they are accessible. They can be loaded up and will take 20kg per tray – a brilliant solution.

4

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t. 0117 9000 858 | www.plum-kitchens.co.uk

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p112.indd 3 25/05/2011 15:41:33

homefront

climbing roses

Think ‘June’ and it’s difficult not to think of roses… and there’s a climbing rose to suit almost

any garden – small or large, sunny or shady. These climbers will cover an arch or pergola or can be trained against a trellis. ‘Goldfinch’ is less vigorous than some, so useful where a smaller rambler or climber is needed. Its soft yellow flowers have a strong scent, its stems are almost thornless and its foliage bright and glossy.

growing tips Bare-root roses should be planted in autumn, but container-grown ones can be planted at any time. Dig a large hole and plant so that the graft union – the point from which the branches come – is at ground level.

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In the garden

The golden-yellow scented flowers of rose

‘goldfinch’

Ideas and inspiration from Trish gibson to help you make the most of your garden this month

Jobs for JunePlant out leeks and brassicas such as cabbage, sprouting broccoli and sprouts.clip box hedging and topiary.start the routine of deadheading to keep things looking fresh and to encourage further flowering.

grow something special

We’ll be buying…June’s the month for planting out tomatoes, and this wicker growbag hider (£20 from Cox & Cox) is a great way to mask all that brightly coloured plastic.

Ffi 0844 858 0744, www.coxandcox.co.uk

This month we’ll be visiting…

Bristol’s Riverside Garden Centre, who’ll be stocking roses as well as lavender, day lilies, salvias and fuchsias. With its stunning views of the city, it’s a great place to go and browse.

Ffi Riverside Garden Centre, Clift House Rd, Southville, Bristol. Ffi: 0800 037 5796, www.riversidegardencentre.com (open Mon-Fri 9.30am-5pm, Sat 10am-5pm, Sun 11am-5pm)

‘Phyllis bide’With its sprays of scented yellow flowers flushed with salmon pink, this rambler is truly repeat-flowering and can still be flowering at Christmas. It’s not too vigorous so will fit a small space, too.

rosa banksiae alba plenaA bit of a rarity, the double-white Banks rose is enchanting, with its small rosette-like flowers coming earlier than most. It has virtually no thorns and attractive reddish new foliage.

‘buff beauty’One of the best musk roses, with large trusses of medium-sized flowers a shade of warm apricot-yellow and handsome dark green foliage. Strictly it’s a shrub, but will make a small climber.

get planting out brassicas

and leeks (pictured)

oThers To Try

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CLEEVE NURSERYTHE FOOD HUTOpen 10.30am - 4.00pm

Try our Border Design Service to kick start your Summer garden!

p110.indd 3 25/05/2011 15:42:55

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profile

● The Framing Workshop, Walcot Street, Bath has reached the finals of the Art and Framing Industry Awards 2011. “We are immensely proud of our achievement in reaching this stage of our national awards”, says proprietor Martin Tracy. We are one of just three finalists in the Business Sales Promotion category where we

are competing against two of our industries biggest companies. Our year round campaign is bolstered by our success in competitions such as BANES Council Chairman’s Business Awards, Bath in Bloom and Bath FSB Small Business – Employer of the Year, as well as creating the Christmas Tree Installation at the Victoria Art Gallery.”

Ian Pittman, a master framer who has been with The Framing Workshop for over 16 years has created a magnificent piece of work under the competition theme of Collections – see below. His hand veneered deep box frame holds the personal collections of a couple from childhood through to their marriage; depicting:- courting, wartime service,

aristocratic upbringing and wedding memories. Ian has successfully illustrated his skill in the framing of memorabilia and objects, as well as show casing over twenty mount decorative effects and techniques.

Martin and Ian will have to wait until June 11th when the winners will be announced at an Oscar style dinner in Cambridge.

Framing Workshop80 Walcot Street

BathBA1 5DB

Tel: 01225 482748Web: www.theframingworkshop.com

Email: framing@theframingworkshop.com

framing Workshopframing and business skills in line for top national awards

lifestyle

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l From the winding splendour of Cheddar Gorge to breathtaking views over the Bristol Channel in Clevedon and Portishead, there’s an abundance of beauty spots within a short distance of Bristol and Bath. Buying a property with scenery to match is always going to be a tough challenge, but it can be done if the budget and dedication is there.

As most estate agents will tell you, many properties with highly sought-after views often don’t make it onto the market, with sellers reluctant to give up their little corner of countryside or selling privately to friends or family. The first rule for buyers is to nurture those family contacts, keep your ear to the ground and make it abundantly clear to anyone in your social network exactly what you’re looking for.

However, beautiful properties do come up from time to time. At the top end of the range, Hydes of Bristol have a wonderful detached house in Failand, overlooking rolling fields with the peaks of the Welsh Hills peeping over the horizon. Complete with reception/dining hall with solid oak staircase and conservatory, it’s yours for a tidy £1.25m. “These sorts of properties are a rarity,” says Hydes’ Tom Hood. “You’re minutes from the city yet living in a beautiful setting. It’s an absolute must for someone who loves their gardening.”

There are also more affordable options. Andy Musker, sales manager at Blue Sky in Longwell Green, recently sold a property that hadn’t been lived in for 25 years and hadn’t seen the business end of a paintbrush since the 1950s. “It was a 1930s-style property with a fantastic space but it was a case of having that vision. The garden hadn’t been touched for 20 years. We quickly found a buyer, a couple who were prepared to work on it, and it’ll be a terrific family home once it’s done up.”

Similarly, Rob Williams, senior branch manager at Andrews, Bath, sold a rural property requiring total renovation for £275,000. He estimates that, in all its restored glory, it could be worth £350,000-£400,000. “They won’t make much money on it,” he warns. “It’ll cost that much

to do up. In the past people may have paid for a wonderful view but they’re being more realistic about what they pay now and are more concerned about the resale value.”

He advises customers to consider issues such as utilities and bad weather. “The property we sold had a public water source protected by covenant in the garden. The buyer has to put up with unique things like that.” However, if you’re ready to work hard for your dream, a rural idyll could be yours.

Andrews 1 Camden Rd, Bath. Ffi: 01225 483313, www.andrewsonline.co.ukBlue Sky 28 Ellacombe Rd, Longwell Green, Bristol. Ffi: 0117 932 8165, www.freshbluesky.co.ukHydes of Bristol 1 West Mall, Clifton, Bristol. Ffi: 0117 973 1516, www.hydes.co.uk

A home with a view?Mike Gartside finds ways of making the rural dream happen

Fancy living the rural dream within minutes of the city? This gorgeous property in Failand is on the market with Hydes for a cool £1.25m

Property news 197.indd 2 23/05/2011 20:11:27

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think about...

interior surfacesl When buying a house, think about how new bathroom or kitchen surfaces can enhance the look of your new home. If worktops are looking tatty, budget for a relatively inexpensive upgrade for these important spaces. “A new worktop can really improve the look of a kitchen or bathroom,” says Ross Macpherson of Bristol Decorative Surfaces (BDS). “We stock 4.1m and 3.6m worktop lengths of products like Axiom or Duropal for the kitchen, Nuance in the bathroom or solid-surface Maia in both rooms – an elegant new look for even the largest area.”

BDS Units 2 & 3 New Gatton Rd, St Werburghs, Bristol. Ffi: 0808 200 4444, sales@bdsbristol.co.uk

property of the issue

bucklands batch, nailsea, £565,000l This detached Edwardian family house is set in Nailsea’s conservation area. It has a range of original features and masses of space and light, not to mention a big garden overlooking open fields. With views over the Wraxall Hills and the National Trust’s Tyntesfield Estate, this three-storey property is in the catchment area of both Nailsea and Backwell comprehensive schools, rated excellent/outstanding by Ofsted. And, as further enticement, there’s only 3% stamp duty to pay (the sellers will pay the other 1%).

Ffi Parker’s Estate Agents, 1-3 Station Rd, Backwell, North Somerset. Ffi: 01275 463096, www.parkers-estate-agents.com

hotspots

knowlel This quiet, residential area is known for its three-bed Victorian terraced houses. “Prices here didn’t go up so much during the housing boom and they haven’t come down,” says Matthew Sheedy of Matthews Estates. “Victorian property around £250,000 is shifting well.” The area is on the main road (A37) into Bristol, 1.4 miles from the city centre and under a mile from Bristol Temple Meads. “It’s a good, solid, established area with lots of doctors and dentists and good junior schools.”

Matthews Estates 298 Wells Rd, Knowle, Bristol. Ffi: 0117 971 1417, www.matthewsestates.co.uk

property of the issue

Colston hill, stapleton, bristol, £520,000l Tucked away in an idyllic setting, this detached property, full of character and charm, is on the market for the first time since being built by its current owners in 1984. At the end of a lane close to independent school Colston’s and local amenities, it comprises entrance porch, entrance hall, lounge, fitted kitchen/diner, utility room, cloakroom and conservatory, with a master bedroom with ensuite shower room, two further double bedrooms and family bathroom on the first floor, and a double bedroom, single bedroom and shower room on the second. Outside, there’s a garage, driveway (with parking for three vehicles, front garden (mainly gravel with trees and bushes) and very mature, attractive rear garden, mainly laid to lawn, with pergola, trees, shrubs, pond and attractive planted areas. The

property is in a residential area of Stapleton just outside the city centre, with easy access to the M4/M5 via the nearby M32. There is no onward chain.

Ffi House-Hut estate agents. Ffi: 0117 975 8636, www.house-hut.com

we've just moved in!

Janine & Arthur, Greenbank, BristolVictorian terrace, c.£150k from Besley Hill

l “We were looking for a family home with a garden that we could put our own mark on. We chose Greenbank as we both like the community feeling of this family-friendly area. Although the house had no Victorian features left, we liked the 1950s elements, including the cream and grey tile fireplace. We spent a long time stripping off wallpaper and pulling up old orange and brown swirl 1970s carpet. The day we got the keys, we bought a takeaway, popped a bottle of bubbly and ate in the house while peeling wallpaper off the walls.”

Besley Hill 66 Gloucester Rd, Bishopston, Bristol. Ffi: 0117 924 4008, www.besleyhill.co.uk

Property news 197.indd 3 23/05/2011 20:12:06

60 JUNE 2011 Eating Out West

Eating Out West

■ Discovering that the chef/proprietor of the Apple Tree Inn at West Pennard, Somerset is one Lee Evans, anyone expecting rubber-faced physical comedy routines will be in for a disappointment. On the other hand, anyone who’s ever eaten at the Wheatsheaf in Combe Hay, Bath will be priming their sat nav when they realise that it’s actually that Lee Evans who, with partner Ally, has made the Wheatsheaf pub/restaurant one of our local favourites, with a place in Harper’s Bazaar magazine’s top 20 dining destinations outside London.

Like the Wheatsheaf, the new business is an attractive old rural building that’s been tastefully revamped and now offers the opportunity to ‘drink, eat and sleep’ thanks to the combination of a well-stocked bar, extensive

dining room and a small number of boutique bedrooms.

Naturally the Evanses have brought their well-established principles of fresh, local, seasonal, sustainable and environmental cooking with them, though

whether they’ve got their own chickens, ducks and bees out the back yet, we’re not aware. What we do know is that they’ve got locally produced faves Butcombe ales and Thatchers ciders in the bar alongside an eclectic and

tempting wine list, and a splendid selection of menus.

This being a B&B, things start with stylish breakfast choices: whisky in your caramelised porridge, and kedgeree available as well as the full English (with veggie option). The main lunch and dinner menu is a classic combination of seasonal goodies, with fresh fish and Hereford beef steaks looming large and a selection of desserts that’ll leave you stumped for choice.

Children are very welcome, with a special menu or half-portions available, and any dogs staying with overnight guests can get a walk with resident hounds Tyler and Tor. That’s worth more than a slapstick stand-up set, surely?Apple Tree Inn West Pennard, Glastonbury. Ffi: 01749 890060, www.appletreeglastonbury.co.uk

NEW EatEry

apple of our eye

■ Fans of notoriously mercurial celebrity chef Marco Pierre White will be delighted to learn that he’s opening a new business just 10 miles outside Bath. Last year the tempestuous former-protégé of Gordon Ramsay launched his Steakhouse Bar & Grill at the Cadbury House Hotel near Congresbury, and now he’s taken over the highly picturesque 16th century Pear Tree Inn in the Wiltshire village of Whitley. Just off the A365 between Box and Melksham, it was one of six rural pubs owned by the Maypole Group when it went into administration, and Mr White has acquired them all with a view to developing them as restaurants aligned to his successful Wheeler’s of St James’s place in London.

The menu offers a wide range of classic English dishes including shepherd’s pie and salmon fishcake, with table d’hote menus from £15.90 for two courses, including a Sunday-evening special at just £12.95. You can always push the boat out with a 10oz Scottish rib-eye steak with grilled oysters ‘a la Boston’ for £22.50 from the ALC menu. As with all his places, however, vegetarians get short shrift – there’s not a single meat- or fish-less main-course option.Pear Tree Inn Top Lane, Whitley, Wilts. Ffi: 01225 709131, www.wheelerspeartree.com

marcO piErrE WhitE

Branching out

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JUNE 2011 61Eating Out West

■ After 10 years on Islay and another five on Alderney, island-hopping chef Scott Chance has finally come ashore. Scott and fellow chef Dany Lancaster were apparently drawn to Bristol by the wealth of quality ingredients available locally – including wild foods for foraging – so decided to launch their new fine dining restaurant on Clifton’s Princess Victoria Street.

Due to open this month and called simply ‘Fifty’ (it’s a clue to their address), the new venture will offer a choice of

set menus or ALC at lunchtime, while evenings will see seven-course tasting menus (including vegetarian option) alongside the ALC, with a Gourmet Dining Club offering members discounts and special events. As well as using slow-cooking techniques, Scott and Dany will make good use of an in-house smoker to create new takes on seasonal English classics.Fifty 50 Princess Victoria St, Clifton Village, Bristol. Ffi: 0117 973 7673

NEW rEstaUraNt

the wild bunch

cocktails

kiCk thE BuCkEt■ it’s been a month of ‘good news, bad news’ for Bristol music promoter and cocktail deviser ian Storror. the good news was hearing that his spicy rum-based cocktail ‘Long Shot kick De Bucket’ had been selected by New York cocktail guru Gaz Regan for inclusion in the 2011 Annual Manual for Bartenders. it’s a great recognition of his skill and experience. the bad news was the decision by Future inns to close down their excellent music club, where ian had worked hard to promote Americana, folk and jazz gigs since the Cabot Circus hotel opened. it’s a sad blow to Bristol’s music lovers as well as ian himself.

■ As one of the biggest and longest-established organic food box suppliers in the country Buckfastleigh-based Riverford Organic have always had two missions: getting splendid fresh stuff into the nation’s kitchens and giving customers bright ideas about what to do with it. the first task is very much down to founder Guy Watson, but the second falls to Jane Baxter, head chef at the award-winning Riverford Field kitchen since it first opened, having trained at the legendary Carved Angel in Dartmouth and worked at the River Cafe in London.

Riverford food box customers get half-a-dozen of Jane’s imaginative and straightforward seasonal recipes with each delivery, thus having no excuse for not making something delicious out of Swiss chard, kohlrabi or whatever other mysteries the box might hold. You can always find some of Jane’s serving suggestions on the Riverford website, but now there’s a new book, Every Day and Sunday, combining a year-round selection of her best ideas with Guy’s thoughts about food and farming.

their aim is to broaden everyone’s cooking repertoire and help encourage the use of fresh produce. As Guy points out, “the consumption of fresh, unprocessed vegetables has declined by 45 per cent over the past 30 years. We have to make cooking with seasonal, fresh ingredients easier for the people who find it a struggle. that’s what the book is all about.”Everyday and sunday (hardback £24.99, paperback £18.99) is available from good bookshops and via www.riverford.co.uk

OrgaNics

On a mission

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62 June 2011 Eating Out West

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June 2011 63Eating Out West

Italian Grill & Sardinian SpecialitiesThe freshest seafood,chargrilled steaks,homemade pastas

and the unique Sardinian Fregola

Free room hire for private functions & business meetings

Lovely secluded garden for private barbecues

7 Edgar Buildings, George Street, Bath, BA1 2EE

01225 443900

w w w . a i o r e s t a u r a n t . c o . u k

The Wheatsheaf Combe Hay CelebraTe Summer - Sun DrenCHeD DayS anD STarliT nigHTS...

Open Bank Holiday Mondays LunchNew for summer 2011 - Somerset Cream Teas Tuesday - Friday 2.30pm - 5.00pm

The Wheatsheaf, Combe Hay, Bath. BA2 7EGTel: 01225 833504 www.wheatsheafcombehay.com

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64 JUNE 2011 Eating Out West

Eating Out West

T o judge by the latest statistics from the IWSR (Inter-national Wine &

Spirits Research), the British people are getting increasingly fond of wine. By 2010 we’d cemented our position as the world’s biggest wine-importing nation, with a staggering (in every sense of the word) 1.765 BILLION bottles consumed that year. That’s a whole lotta drinking going on, but do we really know much about what we’re chucking down our necks?

Tristan Darby of the Bristol Wine School thinks it’s getting increasingly difficult. “There are so many kinds of wine out there now that it’s hard for people to get a grasp. I want to help people get an idea of the basics, to understand what lies behind a bottle of wine so they can read a wine review or talk to a wine merchant and get what they want.”

After a 15-year career in catering, Darby began giving wine tastings and wine courses for the appropriately named Tasting Rooms wine merchants in Bath. His mission was to demystify the whole subject for enthusiasts of all levels of

experience. “I’m passionate about wine but I’m really not up for wine pretension. I want to explain but not make a mystery out of it. Our courses cover 36 wines in six weeks and people should learn about where they come from and why they taste the way they do. I try to keep the wines affordable for most budgets – about £6-£8 a bottle from a good wine merchant – but I’ll throw in something more expensive so that people know the difference.”

Having established the courses in Bath, Darby found partners in Bristol and established the Bristol Wine School last autumn, running courses and tastings in

Bristol Wine School: demystifying the pleasures of wine with courses and tastings for all levels of enthusiast

A question of tasteWine tasting isn’t just for pretentious toffs, you know. Tony Benjamin puts on his nose-coloured glasses

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JUNE 2011 65Eating Out West

the historic cellars of Averys wine merchants and Bordeaux Quay restaurant, with plans to include Southville’s Hen & Chicken pub as a south Bristol venue. He’s been impressed by the range of people who’ve come along to date. “There are people who know wine – at least what they like – and others who are enthusiastic beginners. One woman didn’t like wine at all but worked in catering and felt she needed to learn. Another’s boyfriend was a wine buff and she wanted to find out for herself.”

So what do people get out of the experience? Do they

all come out spouting about ‘bonfires and damsons with a hint of granite’? “Well we hope they do understand the terminology and why descriptions are useful. Generally the feedback is that pretty much everyone finds their buying habits change because they have the confidence to try something new and have an appreciation of what makes quality. How much people learn depends on how much they’re listening – and whether they use the spittoons or not!”

Corks of Cotham have been running wine tastings for

over a decade and joint owner Dominic Harman sees it as a natural extension of their customer service. “If people come in to choose a wine, we always ask what they’re planning to eat with it. It’s important because, while some wines are amazing on their own, others really come on with the right food match.”

The association with food is easy to see just down the road at their sister restaurant business Flinty Red, often the venue for their wine- and food-tasting evenings. “The chef, Matthew, is fantastic – he can make food to match almost anything. We did a champagne evening with really decadent food, a Portuguese suckling pig night. There are always historical links to explore between a region, its wine and the local food.” Like Tristan Darby, Harman also sees Corks’ role as that of changing the elitist perception of knowledge about wine. “We really try to cover all budgets and undermine all that preciousness. It’s what we try to do in the shop, too – help people realise that you don’t always have to spend more to get a great wine experience.”

If you fancy broadening your palate or just understanding what they’re on about on Saturday Kitchen, there are wine tastings and courses going on all year across Bristol and Bath. See our panel to find out what’s going on near you.

bathBath Wine Tasting Company www.bathwinetastingcompany.com • Wine consultant Jonathan Kemp offers some open themed tasting sessions.Great Western Wine Company www.greatwesternwine.co.uk • Visiting wine-makers and experts give evening presentations and tastings.Tasting Room www.tastingroom.co.uk • Regular wine courses and tastings at their new shop in Green St.

bristOlBristol Wine School www.bristolwineschool.co.uk • Regular tutored tastings and courses, from introductory to specialist.Corks of Cotham www.corksof.com • A variety of tastings and wine-matched meals roughly every month.Glassboat Wine Club www.glassboat.co.uk • Well-established monthly early-evening gatherings (Thur, 6.30-8.30pm) on the restaurant boat, with events varying from straightforward tastings (£10) to elaborate themed evenings complete with entertainment and special three-course meals.Goldbrick House www.goldbrickhouse.co.uk • Monthly all-day (10.30am-5.30pm) sessions on Saturdays, courtesy of Wine Unearthed, with three-course wine- and food-matching meal inc for £85.Grapevine Social Wine Tasting & Dating www.grapevinesocial.com • Monthly evening at Po Na Na for professional singletons to combine grape awareness with social opportunities and speed-dating (Fri, 7.30pm, £25).Papadeli http://news.papadeli.co.uk • Popular deli/cafe running monthly themed tasting evenings (Fri, 7.30pm, £30-£45) with wine and food reflecting regional traditions.Pop-up Wine Tastings www.number1wino.co.uk • Self-proclaimed ‘No 1 Wino’ Ben Austin has begun occasional ‘pop-up’ tasting evenings aiming to ‘bring wine to the masses’. Check his website or Twitter thread for details of further events.Q Wines www.qwines.co.uk • Fortnightly early-evening tutored tastings (Sat, 5pm, £20) at their shop in The Mall, Clifton.

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66 June 2011 Eating Out West

• Regular wine tasting events

• Over 30 wines by the glass

• Delicious bar food

• Private parties with superb buffet

0117974 1025

2 Princess Victoria Street, Clifton Village Bristol BS8 4BPinfo@quadrantbar.co.uk www.quadrantbar.co.uk

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JUNE 2011 67Eating Out West

Eating Out West

Icould make this at home for a fraction of the price!’ If I had a quid for every time I’ve heard that tired old idiom tossed around

a restaurant table, I’d have enough cash to foot the whole bill myself... but most certainly not enough to open a restaurant of my own. If you take a peek at the costs behind an end result that we, the munching public, are quick to judge in terms of value, dreams of opening your own restaurant aren’t so sweet after all.

The bottom lineFor a restaurant to be profitable, the total revenue (the total sales figure minus VAT at 20%) should be broken down into roughly equal 30% slices dedicated to product costs, staff costs and operating expenses, leaving the business owner(s) with 10% of

the total revenue as profit. So, for a restaurant with an annual turnover of £600k, the figures would look something like this… Total revenue (excluding VAT): £500k. Product/staff costs and operating expenses: £450k. Profit: £50k. If the restaurant in question is owned by a minimum of two people (a typical scenario), there’s not a lot of cash left to marinate in.

£450k dedicated to staff and expenses – that’s a lot of tasty lolly!Indeed it is – and this is how it’s eaten up: for starters, a further 10% of all staff wages must be paid by every employer in Employer National Insurance Contributions. Operating expenses include business rates, utilities (gas, water, electricity, telephone, broadband), card processing and bank charges, cleaning and laundry (table linen, chef’s whites, etc), rubbish/recycling removal, fresh

flowers, insurance, accounting, advertising, marketing and PR, office equipment and stationery, general upkeep and maintenance costs – that’s quite some shopping list.

So how does a restaurateur turn the food on our plates into profit?Gross profit is calculated as a percentage of the selling price of every dish, resulting in the figure widely considered to be the most important measure of profitability in any restaurant. The ‘industry standard’ GP is 65-70%, and taking a classic gastropub dish of rump of lamb with dauphinoise potatoes selling at £15 as an example, the GP on that dish is worked out like this… Sale price ex-VAT: £12.50. Cost of ingredients (generally roughly a third of the sale price ex-VAT): £4.10. Cash margin (sale price minus the cost of the dish): £8.40. Gross profit (cash margin divided by ex-VAT sales price

multiplied by 100): 67%. And that, dear scoffer, is a summary of the, erm, sums that must go on behind every single dish on every independent restaurant menu. If the target doesn’t tally, the business goes bust.

And how can the chain/franchise operations cook up all those deals and ‘bargains’?Although chain/franchise deals look tasty on the surface, spending your hard-earned cash on what’s ostensibly a gussied-up ready meal is a far-from-tasteful experience. Pre-prepared convenience food (think, everything from apple sauce to zabaglione and back again) is far cheaper than fresh, seasonal, locally sourced produce, and massive bulk orders translate to heavily discounted bills for the grand-scale customer – if most of the food served in a restaurant arrives in pre-prepared, ready-to-reheat portions, it doesn’t take an accountant to see the staff-cost savings that can be made.

On from this, most high street chains can afford to gamble on offering loss-leading ‘deals’ – for example, a pizza at cost or even below cost price – to get customers seated at a table serviced by staff fully trained in the persuasive art of up- and cross-selling (encouraging the customer to ‘treat themselves’ on a pricier bottle of wine, recommending a side-salad with that pizza, etc). So, say hello to that ‘cheap’ pizza a few too many times, and it’s bye bye to characterful eating-out opportunities, local producers, bona fide catering trade training opportunities and properly paid jobs – not to mention properly good food – for ever. Think of it like that, and that £15 lamb dish is an absolute bargain.

Think you've got what it takes to run a successful restaurant? Balancing those books is harder than it looks

Cooking the booksFeeling the pinch? So are our local restaurants. Frequent diner Melissa Blease looks at the maths behind the mille-feuilles

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68 JUNE 2011 Eating Out West

Eating Out West

It is a truth universally acknowledged (well, in the universe of anybody who pays any attention to me, that is) that the

Olive Tree is one of my favourite restaurants in Bath. I first made such a declaration a decade ago, even before today’s owners Laurence and Helen Beere swept away the stuffy fust and turned the Queensberry Hotel into the chic, glamorous but easygoing boutique haven that it is today, complete with the kind of bar (that’ll be the Old Q, then, itself complete with attached elegant alfresco urban oasis) that’s welcoming, quirky and well-stocked enough to make me want to reserve an overnight spot on the sofa, let alone in one of the hotel’s boudoirs. But despite such pleasant distractions (and trust me, they are indeed very pleasant), my adulation largely focuses on and around the food created in a kitchen overseen by Nicholas Brodie, a head chef who – since taking over the hob here almost three years ago – has earned the OT three AA rosettes alongside a host of Good Food Guide/Fodor’s/national and local magazine commendations... and, of course, my own sincere acclaim. So what does Nick do to deserve all the praise? Read on...

Once seated at a table in the OT’s subtly stylish, quietly buzzing dining room by cheerful, competent staff for whom no request seems to be too much trouble (in fact, they tend to anticipate your every possible requirement), my opening gambit of choice came in the form of a creamy but satisfyingly al dente, hugely flavoursome risotto of Brixham cock crab with a whole, crisp, soft-shelled playmate adding a welcome texture-tease that turned positively flirty when introduced to the glamorous crab velouté that completed the crustacean chorale.

Across the table, His starter of cannelloni of Portland scallop came with another velouté (in this instance, crayfish and pickled ginger), resulting in a cleverly intriguing medley: although none of the dish’s superstar ingredients were, at first glance, instantly recognisable (Brodie’s team are masters of the art of presentation), each pushed their own distinctive flavours to the fore of every delicious forkful, no matter what the combination on the tines.

For mains, for me, a neat pavé of wild Cornish brill teamed with plump Israeli couscous and fat tiger prawns individually swaddled in delicate fronds of crisp potato, a dish as beautiful to behold as it was to demolish and digest. For Him, a tender fillet of Stokes Marsh beef accompanied by offaly good chargrilled tongue and soft potato infused with just the right amount of horseradish to add fervour without overwhelming the uniquely characterful, sweet but slightly salty meat.

When the going is this good, the bad really get going: a slight altercation over dessert choices

led to the suggestion that one each plus a small portion of the one we wrangled each other over might pour oil on troubled waters. And so it came to pass that our table for two scored a hat-trick of pudding perfection: heavenly glazed caramel mousse with peanut butter ice-cream and a dreamy caramel sauce;

a baked cheesecake that put luscious Brillat-Savarin in a starring role, offset by sharp blueberries and yogurt ice-cream; and the option that makes that difficult choice between sweet and savoury at journey’s end entirely redundant… A warm, flaky millefeuille of Shropshire blue cheese should be made available on prescription to all warring couples.

Now then, the final tally for such lavish indulgence might, at first glance, frighten the workhorses: with wine from an award-winning, impeccable list, expect to pay around £130 for a non-frugal feast such as ours. But in terms of getting what you pay for, dinner at one of my favourite restaurants in Bath is a veritable bargain.

CONtaCtsOlive Tree at the Queensberry Hotel 4-7 Russel St, Bath. Ffi: 01225 447928, www.thequeensberry.co.uk

The Verdict HHHHHHHHHH

An outstanding, chart-topping experience

Review Olive treeOK, so it’s one of Melissa Blease’s all-time favourite Bath restaurants. But does that justify having three puddings between two of them?

“A WARM, FLAky MILLeFeuILLe OF SHROPSHIRe BLue CHeeSe SHOuLd Be MAde AvAILABLe ON PReSCRIPTION TO ALL WARRINg COuPLeS”

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Eating Out West

What used to hap-pen to lamb

shanks before they became an es-sential addition to the gastropub menu? Were they packed off to Greece by the shipload? Or melted down for doner kebabs? Neither I nor The Boss knows the answer and, anyway, we’re not going to order the dish because the menu at the Terrace offers too many other attention-seeking temptations, but the significance is apparent: the place is under new management and the food is centre stage.

We’re in our own ‘hood, The Boss and I, and we remember when this was a greengrocer that sold trees at Christmas. Since then a series of bar/cafe businesses have done reasonable trade while never quite gelling with the ‘new Southville’ around them. Walking into this latest manifestation, however, it’s immediately apparent that there’s been a big shift in the right direction. The place feels brightly welcoming, with freshly scrubbed, unpretentious decor combining reclaimed woodwork

and plain furniture. There’s a choice of real ales at the bar and those lamb shanks on the menu… it’s all very Southville, basically, and we have a pint at the bar before heading down to the dining area. We pick a table by a window with an inside view

of the open kitchen area and pick over the menu, which covers all the angles with salads, sharing platters, pasta dishes and classics like fish & chips. Unless you opt for one of the steaks, you’d be pushed to spend over £20 on a three-course dinner here, and there’s a satisfying choice of wines by the glass around the £5 mark (250ml).

New owner Giles Pushman learned his trade in the family pub – the Bear and Swan in Chew Magna – and has brought their neighbourly philosophy with him. Thus the menu has bread from Mark’s Bakery and sausages from Rare Butchers, both a moment’s walk away, while the resident beer is Butcombe from down Chew Valley, and Mendip Moments ice-cream is made just outside Wells. There are fresh fish deliveries from the South West coast, and that means today’s specials include calamari and moules marinières, both of which claim The Boss’s attention. I’m hungry and drawn to something substantial, so pick grilled sardines on toast with lime, ginger & chilli dressing, and those sausages with bubble & squeak and onion gravy.

While we watch the chefs bustling with our order we contemplate the potted descriptions on the wine list, trying to claim them for ourselves. Sadly, the ‘flavoursome, spicy, lovely’ verdejo is only available as a bottle and thus The Boss ends up with ‘fruity, fresh, crisp’ Chilean sauvignon while I’m ‘savoury, earthy, robust’ like my Montepulciano d’Abruzzo. We’re fooling nobody, though, but both are very enjoyable drinks at least and work well with the food.

Starters arrive promptly, the battered calamari rings still sizzling from the pan and the crisped sardine smoking from the grill, and get an equally warm reception for being perfectly done. I especially like the dressing, in which all three flavours are present but not overpowering. It’s a clarity born of careful cooking, making straightforward, unfussy food richly satisfying to eat, and the same quality is there in the main courses, too. The little cake of bubble & squeak houses deliciously sweet chunks of parsnip as well as cabbage, and my side dish of sautéed vegetables has a similar contrast, with slivers of red pepper lightening the near bitterness of the greens. As The Boss disappears behind a growing heap of mussel shells, I sneak a taste of the wine-based liquor in his pot and quickly go back for more. We don’t, sadly, have time for a Mendip Moment, but we’re nicely full and very pleased to have discovered that the new regime at the Terrace has put it firmly on the Southville map.

CONtaCtThe Terrace 220 North St, Bedminster, Bristol. Ffi: 0117 963 9044

The Verdict HHHHHHHHHH

Comfortable and welcoming place serving quality ingredients cooked with care

Review the terraceTony Benjamin comes over all neighbourly with the fresh fish and real ales dished up by new management at this Southville cafe-bar

“The menU haS BReAd fROM MARk'S BAkeRy ANd SaUSageS From rare BUTcherS, BOTh A MOMeNT'S WAlk AWAy, WhIle The ReSIdeNT Beer iS BUTcomBe fROM dOWN CheW VAlley”

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Opening shortly on the previous site of 'Blue Rubarb' Princess Victoria Street fine dining experience 'fifty' will be born.

Showcasing the best of seasonal locally produced foods and English classics in a modern style.

The menus will offer a set 2 or 3 course lunch menu or light a la carte choices.The evening a fine dining 7 course tasting menu and a la carte.

A vegetarian tasting menu will be available so non carnivoregourmets can enjoy the experience too.

After 10 years on Islay, off the west coast of Scotland, followed by 5 yearson Alderney, Channel Islands, Scott Chance has brought his 32 years of fine dining experience to Clifton. With his wife Wendy and talented young Chef Dany Lancaster they bring a great new dining experience to Clifton Village.

Scott and Dany, both with pedigree backgrounds in catering were amazed at the wealth of quality ingredients available and with the countryside full of

good wild foods for foraging it is an ideal location for a restaurant.

Using slow cooking techniques and in-house smoker theClifton dining scene is in for a treat.

10% food discount during June and July

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June 2011 71Eating Out West

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72 JUNE 2011 Eating Out West

Table TalkRemembering the long weekend

■ It wasn’t about Tesco. The ‘Tesco protest’ was a small, amiable group giving away cakes while politely trying to persuade shoppers to go elsewhere for their milk or fags and they were cleared away when the riot police began sweeping people off the streets. At 10pm on the evening before that long weekend, Stokes Croft was revelling as usual, with diners finishing meals in the Runcible Spoon and Rice & Things, drinkers hub-bubbing around Canteen, the Social, the Pipe & Slippers and the Bank of Stokes Croft, while cafe culture sipped lattes in the Art House and Cafe Kino. Gigs were rocking at the Croft and No.51 and clubland was warming up Lakota and Blue Mountain.

That’s an impressive roll-call of nightlife in less than half a mile of road, with every one an independent business. A decade earlier, no sensible person would have predicted such a future for an area neglected by public and private development alike. Before the shields came out that Thursday night, Stokes Croft had redefined itself as the community that regenerated itself into a place like no other, a destination by day and night, but by morning the media was spreading a different identity – somewhere they smash up supermarkets.

Regrettably, the following week’s shenanigans even saw local businesses attacked, with windows smashed at Zazu’s Kitchen. But whoever did what (and for whatever reason), let’s not forget that years of hard work made Stokes Croft a creative and positive ‘cultural quarter’ where you can eat, drink and be merry while putting the world to rights. And neither riots nor Tesco can spoil that. (Tony BenjaminFood & Drink editor)

T here’s a lovely little place I know tucked away at the top of town that serves really authentic Italian food just like we ate on holiday last year…’ They’re the words I dread being

on the receiving end of. Nowhere serves food like anybody ate on holiday anywhere last year, because that was an ‘in the moment’ experience, unlikely to be replicated again. And anyway, despite the fact that Bath boasts around 20 supposedly Italian restaurants, it’s my bet that few of them would float Massimiliano Alajmo’s imbarcazione. But despite all this cynical, disparaging bluster, let’s return to that opening sentence – because that’s me, that is, urging you to join me on a trip to the Rustico Bistro Italiano, a restaurant that, despite the rather naff name, honestly does offer a delightfully cheerful, authentic dolce vita experience.

Situated on a super-pretty traffic-free lane at the heart of Bath’s most prestigious housing estate (that’ll be the Royal Crescent and the Circus, then), this sweet little diner packs an awfully big character punch. The neat, well-considered menu infuses freshly prepared, classic Italian dishes (soups, pastas, fish and seafood, meat and poultry, risotto, etc) with an up-to-the-minute zeitgeist based around intelligent sourcing and non-scary prices, and Bergamo-born brothers Darix and Franco Cinesi oversee the operation with effortless,

elegant efficiency, keeping everybody happy either inside the intimate bistro itself (which features a lively open kitchen) or on the pavement tables, undoubtedly the best seats in (or rather, outside) the house when the weather complies.

It was at such a table that I ate very fresh, chargrilled mackerel served with a fennel- and sultana-infused tangle of terrific tagliatelle, while my ragazzo ciao-ed down on an intensely meaty wild game ragu (both dishes circa £9 from a selection that never goes much above £14). On another occasion, a full-on feast that included crisp calamari fritti, proper bresaola carpaccio, a salaciously sexy pumpkin, parmesan & sage tortellini and a huge pile of griddled lamb chops from the specials board graced a table in old-school trattoria surroundings below stairs, while Medad declares the good old bolognese (another £9-ish bargain) to be good and old-fashioned enough to make him feel naughty and young again.

So yes, there is indeed a lovely little place I know… and in this instance, it’s a gioia to eat my words there. (Melissa Blease)

CONTaCTsBistro Rustico Italiano 2 Margarets Buildings, Bath. Ffi: 01225 310064, www.rusticobistroitaliano.co.uk

The Verdict HHHHHHHHHH

A year-round staycation experience

Review Bistro Rustico ItalianoA good-value slice of authentic dolce vita to beat the post-holiday blues

Stokes Croft: a creative and positive 'cultural quarter'

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74 JUNE 2011 Eating Out West

I loved Kalabash, the now-closed Nigerian restaurant on Cheltenham Road, not least because most of the menu was randomly unavailable – even specials. The food was great, though, so when a Nigerian

business appeared in the John’s Cafe site on Midland Road, I’d been hugely looking forward to the pepper-burn pleasures of eating there.

Iroko has kept John’s clean minimalism, leaving an Afrobeat soundtrack and the exotic (to us) menu to establish the African mood. We three chums agree to share starters while puzzling over the sketchily descriptive menu. I’m all for nkwobi, described as ‘spiced cowfoot’ but reckoned to be goat’s head by a helpful Nigerian diner beside us. I still want it, whatever. Other choices were moin-moin (steamed bean cake) and a fry-up of peppers and chicken gizzards. There’s a big selection of main-course ‘soups’, all with meat or fish and various yam or semolina accompaniments, plus yam dishes and rice dishes including the legendary jollof rice.

The guy next door shows us his edikang ikong soup – a mass of dark vegetable on a ground rice base with chunks of fried fish on top and nothing liquid about it. It’s when we order that I get deja vu – nkwobi is off, chef’s specials will take 40 minutes, there are no yam dishes… our careful selections crumble away and we’re left

picking between soups. We order drinks – palm wine is off but African Guinness is splendidly ‘on’ – and await the food.

From this point on, everything is great, however. Our starters arrive promptly and sizzling, with the gizzards spicy and tender, the moin-moin a satisfying sponge of ground beans flavoured with dried crayfish. The hastily chosen asun’s goat meat chunks are embellished with raw red chilli and snatch at our tongues, as the menu had warned. Our soups – egusi, edikang ikong and efo riro – are subtly different, delicious and best eaten with fingers, tearing lumps from the doughy pounded yam to pinch up with dark spinachy vegetables, picking apart fried telapia, chicken and (my choice) golden honeycomb tripe. Our extra portion of jollof rice is a mounded plate of lightly flavoured heaven adorned with dodo (fried plantain) and more fish and meat.

Great service, well-prepared and distinctive food, and £25 a head (including beers)… we’re full and happy now. Which is just as well as it seems fruit salad is… you’ve guessed it. (Tony Benjamin)

CONtaCtsIroko Restaurant & Bar 27-29 Midland Rd, Old Market, Bristol. Ffi: 0117 329 4462

The Verdict HHHHHHHHHH

Go with the flow and you’ll enjoy great African cuisine at a reasonable price

Review IrokoOrdering soup takes on a whole different meaning at Bristol’s new Nigerian restaurant

10 of the BestOur favourite purveyors of frozen summer heaven

Real Italian Ice-Cream Co 17 York St, Bath • Join the queue stretching out of the door – it’s worth the wait for Italian ice-cream homemade in the proper Italian way.

Don Peppe’s Gelateria Old Police Station, Bedminster Parade, Bristol • Supplying freshly made ice-cream to Bottelino’s restaurants, this bright parlour serves up great choices of gelati made to traditional recipes.

Cafe La Strada Cheap St, Frome • Make a beeline for this cafe to sample owner Jude Kelly’s fabulous and exotic Senso ice-cream. Grapefruit & peppercorn? G&T? Vanilla?

La Cremeria Broad Quay, Bristol • On a hot day in the city centre, this little blue cabin is a truly welcome sight. Overheated urbanites can choose from a wide range of flavours and cones, then dabble in the fountains while cooling off.

Piccolino’s Broad Weir, Cabot Circus, Bristol • Keep your eyes peeled for the little bicycle trailer outside this Italian restaurant in Quakers Friars - on special occasions they sell scoops of ice-cream freshly made in their own kitchens.

Winstones Ice Cream Rodborough Common, nr Stroud, Glos • A great combination of beautiful location and classic English ice-cream. The Winstone family have made and sold award-winning frozen delights by the orchid-strewn Rodborough Common for three generations.

Lovington’s A festival near you… • Remember this name when slogging round a sun-drenched festival site this summer. Somerset-based Lovington’s sorbets are a burst of fresh fruit that’ll revive even the most sunstruck of pleasure seekers, from Glastonbury to Sunrise and beyond.

Fortes The Cliffs, Cheddar, Somerset & The Beach, Clevedon • The old-school ice-cream parlour is not dead! Check out these tourist-friendly cafes for an unreconstructed sense of the Great British Day Out.

Ice-Cream Van by the Deer Park Ashton Court, Bristol • An institution that has sustained picnicking families, Lycra-lashed mountain bikers, traipsing kids and leisurely ramblers for as long as we can remember.

Marshfield Ice-Cream www.marshfield-icecream.co.uk • Made just outside Bath from their own organic milk and fresh locally sourced ingredients, and now a national favourite from Keighley to St Austell. Check website for local shops that stock their award-winning goodies.

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Eating Out West

T here’s been a pub on the site of the Chequers since 1776, and over the years the pub has seen many changes. But it wasn’t until last year, when new owners Joe Cussens and Justin Sleath took over,

that a new restaurant was introduced upstairs and the food and drink offerings hit new heights.

Cussens and Sleath have form, having transformed their other pub, the nearby Marlborough Tavern, from rundown boozer to multi-award-winning, two-AA-rosette standard gastropub in just a few years. They now aim to do the same at the Chequers and create a new ‘must-visit’ food destination for Bath.

Downstairs, food is similar in style to the Marlborough Tavern – high-quality gastropub fare. But it’s upstairs in the intimate restaurant that they hope to create a stir. Working with head chef Leigh Evans, they’ve created a menu of fine-dining modern British cooking and created a beautifully appointed, polished yet relaxed dining restaurant. Leigh’s menu uses the finest local and regional produce, is inventive yet pays homage to our culinary heritage, and has a keen eye for presentation. Attention to detail in every dish is apparent: creativity balanced with composition and flavour to deliver food that

impresses and delights. Sample dishes include the intriguing-sounding ‘assiette of rabbit foraging for vegetables’, pan-fried wild sea bass, crab spring roll, sweetcorn and hibiscus, and poached rhubarb, vanilla bavarois and shortbread.

Service is efficient and attentive, with a friendly style, and the wine list features an inviting mix of new and old world wines. The restaurant is also available for exclusive hire for private events and functions.

Leigh EvansAge: 23Nationality: BritishRestaurant: The Chequers

■ Leigh Evans can legitimately claim that cooking and good food are in his blood. After growing up in a family-run pub near Cheddar, Leigh started cooking at age 10, and was running his own service in the kitchen of his parents’ pub by the time he was 13. At just 23 he has deservedly earned his position as head chef at The Chequers.

While studying at catering college, Leigh won the City of Bath College Chef vs Chef competition, an annual event promoting modern cuisine that uses local seasonal produce. After graduating from college, he joined the Dower House Restaurant at Bath’s Royal Crescent Hotel where he worked for four years, eventually rising to sous chef, before joining The Chequers.

Leigh describes his food as fresh, local and inventive and says that being a chef is one of the most rewarding jobs out there: “I could never get tired of food or cooking. It’s just part of me – it’s in my blood.”

Leigh Evans at

The Chequers Address: 50 Rivers St, Bath BA1 2QATel: 01225 360017Web: www.thechequersbath.com

“ATTEnTIon To DETAIL In EvERy DISH IS AppAREnT: CREATIvITy BALAnCED WITH CoMpoSITIon AnD fLAvouR To DELIvER fooD THAT IMpRESSES AnD DELIgHTS”

EOW Recipe DPS.indd 76 23/05/2011 21:01:42

JUNE 2011 77Eating Out West

IngredIents(Serves 6)6 sticks of rhubarb200g sugar500ml ginger beer2 star anise1 cinnamon stick1 vanilla pod1 tsp powdered gingershortbread:165g plain flour50g caster sugar1 vanilla pod100g unsalted butterVanilla bavarois:200ml milk200ml cream100g caster sugar6 free-range egg yolks3.5 leaves of gelatine1 vanilla podChantilly cream:300g double cream100g icing sugarrhubarb crisp:100g sugarNon-standard equipment required: 8cm round moulds and mandolin for the rhubarb crisp (optional)

to makeshortbread: Add all ingredients into a mixing bowl. Slice vanilla pod in half and scrape out the seeds, then add them to the mix. Keep leftover shells for the poaching liquor. Put mixer on a slow setting

and leave until all the mixture is bound. Remove from bowl and shape into cylinder about 9cm in diameter and wrap in clingfilm. Allow to rest in fridge for 1hr, then remove and slice into thick discs (approx 1cm wide). Lay out on a baking tray and cook in oven for 10-12 mins at 180˚C. Once cool, dust with sugar.Bavarois: Place gelatine leaves into a bowl with some water, put to one side to dissolve. Add all other ingredients into a thick-bottomed pan and put under a moderate heat. Stir with a wooden spoon until mixture coats the back of a spoon (about 72˚C). Remove pan from heat, whisk in the gelatine, then mix through a sieve into a jug before pouring mix into your moulds. Put in fridge to set.Cooking liquor for rhubarb & batons: Cut rhubarb into 1in-long batons, wash and put to one side. Add all liquor ingredients into a pan, slowly bring to the boil. Remove from heat, add batons, cover with clingfilm and leave in a cool place for the batons to soften as the liquor cools down.Chantilly cream: Put cream and icing sugar in a mixing bowl and whisk until cream starts to thicken.rhubarb crisp: Put sugar and water in a pan and bring to the boil. Put to one side and leave to cool. Cut rhubarb into 8cm batons and slice very thinly using the mandolin. Dip each slice into the sugar syrup and place flat onto greaseproof paper. Leave to dry and harden in a warm place.to assemble the dish: Build the dish into a tower, with the vanilla bavarois as the base. Carefully place a layer of batons on top before adding the shortbread on top of them. Top off with a dash of chantilly cream and finish with the rhubarb crisp.

Poached rhubarb, vanilla bavarois & shortbread

Recommended...Château du Seuil Cérons

■ The first thing to remember when matching a dessert with a wine is to make sure the wine is at least as sweet as the dessert. With fruit-based desserts, it’s also worth making sure that the freshness (acidity) of the dish is matched by that of the wine. So to stand up to this lively, fresh spring dish with the rich creamy bavarois and contrasting shortbread I recommend Château du Seuil’s delicious sweet white from Cérons, a region bordering Sauternes. The wine is rich and luscious with a pronounced honeyed bouquet and fresh, citrus flavours with complementary notes of vanilla. (Simon Haywood, Wine Category controller, Matthew Clark)

Ffi: www.matthewclark.co.uk

EOW Recipe DPS.indd 77 23/05/2011 21:02:31