Market Harborough Living June 2016

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MARKET

HARBOROUGH LIVING COVERING MARKET HARBOROUGH, SURROUNDING VILLAGES & RUTLAND

Street Chic Fashion

JUNE 2016 £1.50 06

9 771741 580014

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LESS FRAME MORE VIEW Aluminium - the future of window design

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1981 - 35 Years

Tel:01780 756666 www.qks-ltd.co.uk Showroom: Unit 4, Cherryholt Lane, Stamford, PE9 2EQ Opening hours: Mon-Fri 9am-5pm Sat 10am-3pm

@QksHome

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Bespoke, Handmade & Factory Built Kitchens

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• Over 30 room settings on display • Contemporary, modern, traditional & handmade bespoke kitchens • Special discounts & unrivalled service

NEW SHOWROOM KITCHENS COMING SOON

Your local appointed Sheraton dealer.

T H E A R E A’ S L A R G E S T I N D E P E N D E N T K I T C H E N S H O W R O O M

The Maltings, Barnack Road, Stamford, PE9 2NA T: 01780 756514 or 755855 E: sales@qksstamford.co.uk www.qksstamford.co.uk 2

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RU T L AN D & M A R K E T H A R BO R O U G H L IV ING

June Contents www.rutlandliving.co.uk www.marketharboroughliving.co.uk

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WO more months to go and I have been trying to revisit some favourite experiences as well as tick off my ‘Local Bucket List’: • Eat Chicken Caesar Salad at The Lord Nelson – check • See a show at Curve, Leicester – check (stunning theatre) • Try out the The Admiral Hornblower, Oakham and The Wheatsheaf, Langham since their take overs – booked – see results next month • Visit my favourite old haunt, The Blue Ball Braunston – booked • Cycle round Rutland Water – to do (knee op number 3 depending) • Get back to Mary’s Kettlesize class at Inspire2tri in Manton – to do (see above) • Shop at Pollys (et al) in Stoneygate – to do • Have Tapas at The Olive Branch – to do • Walk the dog at Wells-next-the-Sea or on any North Norfolk beach - booked, see pages 24 and 25 • Two eateries I am yet to try and would love to stay at are Sat Bains and Hotel Maiyango – wish list!

Please remember that we live in such a special area, which really is the food capital of the Midlands – perhaps this is why most of my yearnings are food related?

Enjoy yourselves.

Abigail

6 Editor’s Selection Father’s Day

8 Fashion

Street Chic in Stoneygate

11 Child’s Play Party Time

12 Design Solutions Home Offices

16 Shops & Services HearClear Expo 2016

20 Art and Culture

Rutland Open Studios

23 Local People Vilma Nyss

24 Out and About North Norfolk

28 Food and Drink

Stamford’s newest brewery

30 Olive Branch

Summer Drinks’ Guide

33 Food and Drink

The Grainstore Brewery

34 Out & About

Burghley Sculpture Exhibition

36 Health and Beauty Sizzle this Summer

38 Health and Beauty

A New Look for Summer in Market Harborough

41 Food and Drink Party Time

@RutlandLiving INCORPORATING

Village Lifestyle

44 Out & About

The National Gardens’ Scheme

48 Shops & Services The Wool Room

52 Out & About

What’s on in our region this month

55 Shops & Services Updates

56 Rutland Festival Official Programme 61 Shops & Services Harborough Happenings

62 Local People

Editor Abigail Richardson 01572 756733 Local Living Ltd, PO Box 208, Stamford PE9 9FY rutlandliving@gmail.com Advertisement Manager, Rutland Tracy Watkinson 01572 813187 rutlandliving@btinternet.com Advertisement Manager, Market Harborough Sosennah Every 07884 124316 sos.every@gmail.com Advertising Copy & Subscriptions Rachel Beecroft 01780 765320 rachel@locallivingdesign.co.uk Head of Design Steven Handley steve@locallivingdesign.co.uk Senior Designer Nik Ellis nik@locallivingdesign.co.uk Publisher Nicholas Rudd-Jones 01780 765571 nicholas@bestlocalliving.co.uk Printed by Warners of Bourne RL Cover: ‘Embers of the Day’ by Gillian Durno MH cover: Thanks to Elli Dean: www. ellideanphotography.co.uk, Tel: 07932 055548

SUBSCRIBE TO RUTLAND & MARKET HARBOROUGH LIVING

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Please write to The Editor, enclosing cheque made payable to Local Living Ltd. Or subscribe online at www.bestlocalliving.co.uk

Thomas Potts

RUTLAND & MARKET HARBOROUGH LIVING JUNE 2016

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Professional InteriorDesign DesignService Service Professional Design Service Professional Interior Interior Re-Upholstery andSoft SoftFurnishings Furnishings Re-Upholstery Soft Furnishings Re-Upholstery and Unique and BeautifulFurniture Furniture Unique Furniture Uniqueand and Beautiful Beautiful Suppliers of Designers Designers Guild, Zoffany, of Guild, Zoffany, SuppliersSuppliers of Designers Guild, Zoffany, Colefax and Fowler, Colefax and Fowler, Romo and Harlequin Nina Campbell, Romo andand Harlequin Colefax and Fowler, Romo Harlequin MARKETPLACE PLACE· ·UPPINGHAM UPPINGHAM· ·RUTLAND RUTLAND· ·LE15 LE159QH 9QH · · 01572 01572823389 823389 66MARKET www.sarahhardinginteriors.co.uk · info@sarahhardinginteriors.co.uk www.sarahhardinginteriors.co.uk · info@sarahhardinginteriors.co.uk www.facebook.com/sarahhardinginteriorsltd www.facebook.com/sarahhardinginteriorsltd

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ED I T OR’S SE LE CTI O N

Father’s Day Abigail Richardson suggests some gift ideas to treat Dad this June 19th Wistow Bistro is hosting a sumptuous ‘Father’s Day Brunch’ or for those that prefer a lie in, a BBQ treat: • Breakfast: Choose from waffles and bacon with maple syrup and cream, cheese/ crispy bacon ciabatta/ breakfast muffin with hash brown, bacon and eggs/ eggs Florentine, Benedict et al.

• The Father’s Day BBQ will include ‘proper’ burgers, with cheddar cheese, streaky bacon and all the extras, or a gourmet hot dog with beer grilled onions or a grilled chicken burger. Yum! • Wistow Café Bistro, Wistow Rural Centre, Tel: 0116 259 3756 Win or Lose - The online menswear brand Win or Lose has a plethora of offerings available online at www.win-or-lose. com.

• The sock gift boxes are proving very popular (limited colour options also available at Cavells South Street), £25.00.

• Or how about these Garment Dye Polo shirts for a reasonable £35.00?

• Go one step further and treat Dad to a personalised polo shirt/sock combo for £40.00.

Tried and Tested

Does he like a clean car? Mobile Valet ‘Let it Shine’ is new to Rutland: www.facebook.com/Mobile-valet-LET-ItSHINE- or Tel:07412 439574. From £20.

For the fashion conscious father logon to Butler Stewart’s site: www.butlerstewart.co.uk and check out these natty ideas: • Silk Elephant Ties, £42 • Watson Jacket in Brown Oak, £345 • Christopher Waistcoat in Brown Oak, £165

Farndon Fields Farm • Currently in stock at Farndon Fields are these Kadai Firebowls, which are not only a fun garden addition but are also great for outside cooking. They come in three sizes starting at £195.

• Also in store is this Langton Brewery Beer gift pack with 2 bottles and a glass, £10.50. (You can also find 5 litre Kegs of beer for £25.99 at the shop.)

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RUTLAND & MARKET HARBOROUGH LIVING JUNE 2016

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BIG SUMMER SALE JUNE 10th - 18th 9:30AM - 5:30PM

HUGE DISCOUNTS FURNITURE FABRIC LIGHTING GLASSWARE CERAMICS CUSHIONS THROWS

FAUX FLOWERS CANDLES

DIFFUSERS

www.elizabethstanhope.co.uk showroom@elizabethstanhope.co.uk 27 Mill Street, Oakham, Rutland, LE15 6EA 01572 722 345

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Street Chic

F ASHI ON

Step out in style with these five fresh, street inspired looks

FASHION: NIKKI BEATTY PHOTOGRAPHY: ELLI DEAN

2NDDAY Jeans £130, Limehouse, Essentiel Antwerp Leline jacket £180, Twisted Muse black vest top,£46, both Abiti, Sam Edelman GIGI Rainbow zigzag sandals,£99, kiki & fleur.

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Essentiel Antwerp long sleeved dress, £159, Essentiel Antwerp fringe bag, £120, both Abiti, Alpe Tortola boots,£95, Kiki & Fleur, LGR Nairobi mirror tint hand finished sunglasses,£210, Respectacle.

RUTLAND & MARKET HARBOROUGH LIVING JUNE 2016

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Munthe black skirt,£129, Abiti, Clara Rossi Cami,£155, Browns Lingerie, ASH Studio trainers,£155, kiki & fleur, Cocoa Mint sunglasses,£95, Respectacle

Above: American Vintage pink vest top,£28,American Vintage skirt, £85, both Abiti, Green Willow Susan waistcoat,£165, Butler Stewart, ASH Morocco sandals ,£165, kiki & fleur, LGR Aswan Italian handmade sunglasses,£210, Respectacle Right: Navy Bloom ladies shirt,£79, Butler Stewart, Custommade white skirt,£109,Twisted Muse black vest top,£46, Pelle leather chain bag,£110, all Abiti, Kanna black mesh lace ups, £85, kiki & fleur, LGR Elizabeth Italian handmade sunglasses,£210, Repsectacle

STOCKISTS Abiti Ladieswear, Stoneygate, Leicester, Tel: 0116 2704379, www.abiti-ladies.co.uk kiki & fleur Ladies Shoes and Accessories, Stonygate ,Leicester, Tel: 01162705260 www.kiki&fleur.co.uk Browns Lingerie & Beachwear Boutique, Stoneygate, Leicester, Tel:01162707188, www.brownslingerie.com Limehouse Ladies Fashionwear, Market Harborough, Tel: 01858 432915 Respectacle Company, Ophthalmic Opticians, Market Harborough, Tel: 01858 433577 Butler Stewart, Men’s and Ladies tailored clothing, Tel:07941513650, www.info@butlerstewart.co.uk

WITH THANKS TO: Our stunning model Ivana Silk Powder for the beautiful makeup, 47 Francis Street, Leicester, LE2 2BE,www.silkpowder.co.uk, Tel:01162 707692 Jodie from George’s Hairdressing for the fantastic hair styling, 23 Allandale Road, Leicester, LE2 2DA, 01162708882, www.georgeshairdressing.com Elli Dean for the amazing photography, www.ellideanphotography.co.uk, Tel: 07932 055548 and Michelle (Abiti), Anna (Butler Stewart) and Hema (kiki&fleur) for all their help on the day.

RUTLAND & MARKET HARBOROUGH LIVING JUNE 2016

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BROWNS Lingerie & Beachwear Eyewear with a difference

Lingerie Swimwear Kaftans Beach Dresses Designer Brands

15 MANOR WALK | MARKET HARBOROUGH LE16 9BP T: 01858 433577 E: HELLO@RESPECTABLECOMPANY.CO.UK

35 Francis St Stoneygate Leicester LE2 2BE T: 0116 2707188 www.BrownsLingerie.com /brownslingerie

@Browns_Lingerie

/brownslingerie

American Vintage Custommade 360 Cashmere Hoss Intropia Postcard From Brighton Yerse Rosemunde Marie & Sixtine Duffy Twisted Muse Religion Pyrus Charli Samson & Samsoe and many more www.abiti-ladieswear.co.uk Abiti Ladies Wear 21 Francis Street, Stoneygate Leicester, LE BE 01162704379 10

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CH I L D’S P L AY

Kid-tastic Party Ideas Sometimes a birthday party calls for something a bit more inspired, a bit more adventurous or a bit more original – so this month Katie Mitchell has been investigating some of the great options available for children’s parties in and around Rutland

Tap, Ballet or Bollywood?

Film festival fun

Out of the world

Grab a picnic, a few blankets, plenty of popcorn and let one of our beautiful local stately homes do the hosting of a stylish outdoor film screening party. Burghley House has a great line-up of open air movies playing from Wednesday 27 July to Saturday 31 July offering both daytime and evening viewings of hit films including a selection of Harry Potter adventures, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Peter Pan, Mamma Mia and Inside Out. The Belton House Summer Nights film festival features Star Wars: The Force Awakens (9 September) and the ever popular classic Greece (showing 10 September). So get those invites out and book for your very own party in the park.

• Visit www.burghley.co.uk and www.nationaltrust.org.uk/belton-house.

For budding space cadets and admirers of Major Tim Peake a visit the National Space Centre in Leicester is sure to inspire. Packages are available for children aged 5-14 years and include entry to the Centre, a reserved and decorated party space and menu selection, 5 adult passes and a whole heap of fun. So get ready for blast off and visit • www.spacecentre.co.uk

Experiment a little

Out on the water Pull on a wetsuit, fasten a life jacket and jump into a great party at Rutland Water. With raft building, kayak and canoeing on offer to those aged 5-16 years this is a party that promises to be full of fun, laughter and a lot of splashes.

“This was my best party EVER,” said Molly who turned nine in April – what better endorsement can you ask for? Parties last for two hours and all kids need to bring are some shoes that can go in the water, a swimsuit and towel. Costing £15.40 per child (with a minimum of a party of six) you can make an enquiry, find out course content, criteria, suitability and availability by calling Tel: 01780 460154 or emailing rutlandwatersports@anglianwater.co.uk

Let your party participate in some really cool science experiments – have fun with physics and see some nifty chemical reactions, make gooey slime, as well as smoke, bubbles and fizzy potions. Kids will not only have a blast (literally if you choose how to make rockets!) but will actually come away having actually learned something.

• Visit www.sublimescience.com or www.madscience.org for some magical science fun.

A trip to the theatre The Curve in Leicester has a wonderful selection of shows coming up for children – The Gruffalo’s Child, Into The West, and Tiddler and Other Amazing Tales are showing in the coming months or consider a ballet – the Northern Ballet is performing the Tortoise and the Hare in June especially for a younger audience.

Theatre is a great option for an alternative party – compliment it with a themed party bag and you have a great day out.

• www.curveonline.co.uk

If you have children who love Strictly then look no further than Oakham Studios who offer children’s dance and pot painting parties.

Kids will learn a fabulous dance routine in their spacious dance studio followed by some creative pot painting downstairs which they can keep as a memento of a great day. Prices depend on the kind of party that’s required, for example a ‘dance and pot painting’ party for 6 children costs £90 for two hours. Visit www. oakhamstudios.co.uk for more information.

A head for heights at Rockblok Rockblok which can be found on the north shore of Rutland Water Park at Whitwell provides a great party venue for adventurers.

With challenges and thrilling experiences including a high ropes adventure course, an eightmeter high outdoor climbing and abseil tower and trampolines this is a great option. Parties run for 1.5 hours, and you can book your party any day of the week through school half term breaks and summer holidays. Choose time slots from 12.30 pm and 2.30 pm (although morning bookings can be made available). Costing from £99.99 for 6 children, £12 per child thereafter, you can visit www.rockblok.com for more information.

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DESI G N I NT E R I O R S

Home Offices

Home offices are becoming more inspired as technology evolves and interior design applies a softer and more contemporary approach to their composition. Whether you work from home or need a study area to sort bills, write emails etc. out of hours, finding room in the house for an office space is a valuable asset to most homes. It’s also the perfect place for teenagers to study and revise in - away from the distractions of a hideously messy bedroom. Nicola Hardy elaborates...

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ECORATING your home office with personal items, cheerful colours and plants makes for a calm relaxed atmosphere and multiple storage units create the organisation that every office needs. An office flooded by natural light and constructed with carefully chosen details and soothing colours will rebalance your mind when you look away from the computer screen. To help plan your office, take a look at home office ideas on Pinterest; there’s plenty of inspiring images to help formulate decorative plans. The first two essential items you will need are a computer desk and a comfortable office chair.

A home office desk needs to be large enough to accommodate all the tools of your trade.

If you prefer a distraction free workspace, choose a scheme that’s minimalist and monochrome.

A sleek glass desk will give the illusion of more space and a stylish chair, which needs to be both supporting and aesthetically pleasing.

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F your home doesn’t have an entire room to use as an office, try and find an unclosed corner of a room and create a work station.

Transforming a nook, be it in your living room, attic or bedroom, is both challenging and rewarding. This space should combine the comforts of home with the sound benefits of work; one should co-exsist with the other.

Custom-built furniture really helps to keep this area as tidy and organised as possible so it doesn’t spill out into the rest of the room.

Finding the best storage solutions requires a degree of patient research. Do you need shelving or built in cupboards? Use baskets, boxes and colourful organisers for files and documents to create the order you need and tempt you to maintain it.

Again, good lighting is essential to keep everything in sight and to make it an uplifting and pleasant place to work in. You may want to define your office area by painting it a contrasting or tonal colour, but don’t be too fussy with decorative details; you don’t want to get unnecessarily distracted.

A small home office doesn’t need much space but does require a large amount of creativity.

I’m a huge fan of narrow floating picture shelving - an elegant and resourceful way to display art books, photographs and small objects. I decided to turn our small spare room into a proper functioning office. I’d had a desk in there crammed between a huge bookcase

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DIRECTORY For lighting • Lumison Lighting Design, 1 South Street, Oakham, LE15 6BG, Tel: 01572 724600 - www.lumisonlighting.co.uk • Harborough Lights, 13 Manor Walk, Market Harborough, LE16 9BP, Tel: 01858 467716 - www.harboroughlights.co.uk Flooring • Barefoot Flooring Unit 14 Midland Court, Station Approach, Oakham LE15 6RA. Tel: 01572 759752, www.barefoot-flooring.biz Shutters • www.rutlandshutters.co.uk, Tel: 01664 474013 or 07768 695236 For advice and design expertise • Elizabeth Stanhope Interiors, 27 Mill St. Oakham, Rutland, LE15 6QQ, Tel: 01572 722345, www.elizabethstanhope.co.uk • Sarah Harding Interiors, 6 Market Place, Uppingham, Rutland, LE15 9QH, Tel: 01572 823389, www.sarahhardinginteriors.co.uk and a bed and, frankly, it felt messy and claustrophobic! So we cleared everything out and painted three walls white and one medium grey. We fixed pale ash wood modular shelves and cupboards right across the grey wall giving plenty of storage for all my books. And all my sewing and painting paraphernalia is stored neatly away. I have a smart grey and chrome pin-board on which to gather creative thoughts and there’s a cute chaise-longue at the window for the dogs to sit on and watch the world go by. My picture shelves have been fixed into position and painted and display some of my fabulous art books. It’s a great space to work in now and the family’s so relieved I don’t mess up the rest of the house!

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Advertisement Feature

Mulberry Developments showcase luxury rural living in Leicestershire Following on from their success at Great Bowden, Mulberry Developments launches Manor Farm, a collection of beautifully appointed five bedroom detached homes each providing the rare opportunity of pony paddocks, and for one their very own lake.

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et within the idyllic surroundings of Tugby, Manor Farm offers the epitome of luxe rural living. Steve Mitchell, Residential Director at Mulberry Developments said: “Prospective buyers can now take a look around an impressive five bedroom view home demonstrating the exceptional standard of finish and specification across the scheme’s 10 outstanding properties and see for themselves the quality which Mulberry is renowned.”

Fulfilling Mulberry Development’s commitment to delivering design led homes, sympathetic to their surroundings, the view home, in excess of 3,000 square feet, provides exquisite family accommodation. The spacious and expansive kitchen/dining/family sitting room provides the perfect space for entertaining and everyday family dining, with light pouring in from windows and bi-folding doors leading to the rear garden and patio. Past the separate dining room, you move into the formal living room with its grand stone fireplace and woodburner which creates a warm and relaxing atmosphere with a second set of french doors leading to the garden backing onto farmland.

Upstairs, the triple aspect master bedroom has the added extra of a large fully fitted dressing room and spa-like en-suite featuring double washstand and contemporary freestanding bath. The four additional bedrooms are also served by multiple contemporary en-suites and a

generous study provides a haven for taking care of business.

Lys and Mike Flude moved into their new home at Manor Farm in May and benefited from the developer’s Assisted Move Scheme which provides practical and hassle free assistance for buyers who have their hearts set on a Mulberry home. Mike Flude said: “The quality in terms of build, finish and attention to detail at Manor Farm is second to none. Mulberry Developments have put a lot of careful thought into the choice of fittings and everyone working at the development, sales and construction team, has been most supportive and helpful. Furthermore, we are able to enjoy our paddock, hoping to grow fruit and vegetables and have an area of wild flowers and grassland, safe in the knowledge that the additional land is also a sound investment.”

Tugby is a charming village just off the A47 between Uppingham and Leicester, offering a range of facilities including a village school, public house, butchers, village hall and a church. As well as good road links, Tugby is in the catchment area of Uppingham Community College.

The five bedroom view home is available to visit by appointment with prices for a 2 bedroom home starting from £225,000, 4 bedroom home starting from £495,000 and five bedroom homes from £795,000.

• For further information about Manor Farm, call 01582 797562 or visit http://mpdl.co.uk/portfolio/manor-farm-tugby.

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Harborough Lights Lighting Design Consultancy David Letts 13 Manor Walk, Market Harborough, Leicestershire. LE16 9BP Tel: 01858 467716 Mobile: 07445 532774 dal63@hotmail.co.uk

Light up Your Life In Style...

Displaying the very best in British and European decorative lighting and the latest in LED technology.

Thousands of options and bespoke manufacture offering a virtually unlimited choice.

LIGHTING With a huge selection of indoor and outdoor lighting from the best British and European manufacturers, we can cater for every style and taste.

With brands such as Franklite, Elstead, Endon, Metal-Lux and many others, we can also supply a huge range of lighting to suit every taste, décor and mood.

CONSULTANCY If you’re not sure exactly what you’re after, then we would be more than happy to suggest a lighting solution just for you.

From our extensive range of suppliers, we can source everything from a single wall light to fully integrated lighting systems – and if you can’t make it into the shop, we can visit you in the comfort of your own home.

BESPOKE MANUFACTURE Further to our extensive range of offthe-shelf lighting options, we also offer a bespoke manufacture and design service for that extra special lighting solution.

Contact us for further information.

13 Manor Walk, Market Harborough, LE16 9BP

www.harboroughlights.co.uk 01858 467716 15

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SHOP S & SE R V I C E S

Unique Interactive Hearing Exhibition Attracts National Celebrities Hearing experts and high profile celebrities will be joining forces on Tuesday July 19th at The Marriott Hotel, Peterborough for the very first interactive hearing exhibition, HearClear Expo 2016

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BC Radio 2 broadcaster and national treasure Johnnie Walker MBE, Mat Gilbert, the English number eight Worcester Warriors rugby union player, who is the only deaf professional sportsman in England and high profile Heart Radio breakfast presenter, Kev Lawrence will be headlining on the day adding glitz and showbiz to the unique one day exhibition. All three have hearing issues that they will be discussing. In addition, leading industry professional and clinical paediatric audiologist, Josephine Marriage, PhD, will be presenting alongside the national children’s charity Auditory Verbal UK. “HearClear Expo 2016 is truly the first interactive hearing convention ever that’s been held for the general public in Cambridgeshire and its aim is to give people the opportunity to touch and experience firsthand some of the most advanced hearing solutions available to them,” explains Mike Stanley, Managing Director of Healthy Hearing Ltd (the main sponsor of the event).

Young children, teens and adults are all being urged to come along and try out some

Johnnie Walker

of the latest gadgets and equipment supplied by top global manufacturers and suppliers of specialist hearing equipment. Visitors

will get the chance to test new technology ranging from specialist telephones and music speakers designed to help the user hear more clearly, to the latest in hearing aids and other hearing related devices.

In addition to hands on equipment, there will be many local and national charities taking part, offering visitors the chance to talk about their own personal hearing issues.

There will be an opportunity for visitors to have their hearing checked and even have ear wax removed! There will also be a chance to try out sign language skills, talk to the Hearing Dogs Society and find out which organisations locally are deaf friendly (there are many!).

Hear Clear Expo 2016 will run from 105pm. Venue: Sir Henry Royce Suite, The Marriott Hotel, Peterborough Business Park, Lynch Wood, Peterborough, PE2 6GB. • Visitors can book their free ticket or find out more by contacting Sarah Evans: sarah.evans@hearclearexpo.co.uk, Tel: 0800 298 7265 or by visiting: www.hearclearexpo.co.uk

Brown and Jones win Prestigious Award N

INE buildings across the East Midlands, including Brown and Jones’ Garden Buildings in Warmington, have won a regional architecture prize. The Warmington project involved the demolition of a garage, garden store and the remains of an old piggery to make way for a new building that includes a kitchen and bathroom. Located between the main house and garden, the owners plan to use it as a weekend retreat.

The new garden house and store consist of purpose built timber frame buildings which were manufactured in workshops at Manton and then transported and erected on site. They were then clad in random width larch and hand dressed limestone with bespoke on site lead work to the top of the stonework. The roof coverings were of galvanised corrugated steel and wild flowers. Inside the garden room a polished concrete floor with underfloor heating and random width timber cladding secret pocket doors to a wet room and galley kitchen.

Contenders for The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) East Midlands annual awards include a castle, a former glass warehouse and a school sports pavilion. The winning buildings, which were revealed at a ceremony in Nottingham, will now be considered for the national award, which will be announced in June. Lucy Plumridge, regional jury chair, said: “The quality and attention to detail exhibited by the winning schemes was outstanding. Every scheme suited its end users perfectly, creating a sense of place and an aspirational environment.”

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• Contact: Brown & Jones, Manton Road, Edith Weston, Oakham, Rutland, LE15 8HB, Tel: 01780 729027, Email: info@brownandjones.co.uk

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Proud winners of the RIBA 2016 Architecture Award GARDEN BUILDINGS, WARMINGTON

Brown & Jones Ltd Contemporary & Traditional Property

Your complete Home Build Solution from concept to completion T: 01780 729027 www.brownandjones.co.uk

Traditional Restoration Louvred and Solid Window Shutters

Timber Renovation Specialists Old sash & casement windows, exterior doors & joinery

Window Repair

Why replace your timber windows when you can restore? Traditional Restoration offers a cost-saving alternative to window replacement.

• Repairs and renovations • Overhaul and draught proofing • Reglazing and reputtying • Converting single glazing to double glazing

Before

After

Before

After

Exterior joinery repair

Call James on:

01572 720524 or 07841 527855 tradrest@hotmail.co.uk

www.traditional-restoration.co.uk @tradrest

KEN RAWSON

GARDEN DESIGNS HELP!

with design problems, hot, dry or shady places, screening issues or just with that idea

You need somebody?

01780 481624

www.kenrawsongardendesigns.co.uk Easton-on-the-Hill, Stamford. Established 1986

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Oak House Residential Care Home for the Elderly

Award Winning Care Home A GOLD STANDARD CARE AGENCY Small bespoke family run agency.

We specialise in 24 hour live in care.

Long and short term placements.

Are you feeling like you need a break?

All levels of care.

Phone Heather to discuss our friendly personal service

Respite care & long term care (subject to availability)

01572 869138

Call or email now

9 High Street, Oakham, Rutland. LE15 6AH www.alwaystakecare.com

To request a brochure or for more information

please telephone us on 01572 812647 or e-mail us on info@oakhouse-carehome.co.uk

www.oakhouse-carehome.co.uk Pond Lane, Greetham, Oakham, Rutland, LE15 7NW

CREATIVE FLORAL SOLUTIONS

This young and creative floristry provides inspirational ideas for all of your floral needs.

WEDDINGS

EVENTS

GIFTS

We pride ourselves on putting you at the heart of every design, working from a studio means we can be sure to focus on you and your special day only.

We can provide floral decoration of all kinds for your special event, whether at a venue or your private premises.

We create floral bouquets for any occasion and also on a subscription basis for however long you wish, as often as you require.

Enjoy a relaxed, free consultation: we can come to you or meet at your venue if you prefer.

We love helping you create beautiful memories and every floral arrangement we create is as unique as the flowers themselves.

We also offer workshops, which are ideal for get togethers and hen parties.

Gift vouchers are also available.

For a personal consultation please contact Vicki McDavid. m: 07789 153383 | e: vicki@paisleyflower.co.uk | www.paisleyflower.co.uk

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AR T & C UL T U R E

Alan Oliver

Look of Love at Trent Gallery

Rutland Water by Gillian Durno

Artists in Residence In Leicestershire and Rutland we are fortunate to have a flourishing community of artists, craftspeople and designermakers living and working across the region. One of the artistic highlights of the year is the annual Open Studios event in which artists literally invite the public to view their work either at home, in private studios or other exhibition spaces. Work is almost always for sale, priced from as little as just £5 and in a variety of media including paintings, print work, pottery and ceramics, sculpture, textiles, photography and jewellery.

Amander Meade finds out more about the event from some of the artists featured

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Ones to watch…

Working from her beautiful garden studio, Gillian Durno produces stunning contemporary floral, still life and impressionistic landscape paintings. Gillian relishes the chance to meet clients during Open Studios - “It’s wonderful to see my regular customers as well as welcoming new faces. Painting is such a solitary pursuit it’s lovely to get some feedback - it’s one of my favourite times of the year.” Gillian’s work can also be found at Duncan R Miller Fine Arts, www.duncanmiller.com and at The Affordable Art Fair in Hampstead Heath between 16 and 19 of this month.

Nicola Elstone is a designer and print maker using traditional techniques and creating beautiful homeware on her eighteenth century antique letter press. Nicola’s Braunston based studio and showroom is open to visitors every weekend from 10am to 5pm and during July she will also be holding printmaking workshops with full details on the website. “Open Studios provides an inexpensive way for artists and makers to advertise their work to the county and beyond; it provides a great meeting point for artists, to meet their peers and exchange ideas. For the public OS provides a great insight into artists’ spaces and is very different from more formal exhibition environments.”

Esteemed Rutland painter Alan Oliver will be showing a mixture of mediums including some older watercolours of Rutland and a small collection of recent work this year.

Alan’s inspiration comes mostly from the

beautiful landscapes of Rutland – “I am never happier than when I am walking through the countryside with a sketchbook and pencil eager to spot an idea for a painting. When I do, the image is converted into a rough drawing where the design and colours are imaged. I always think it is a great privilege to be involved with the Rutland Open Studios in the summer each year. It is a wonderful chance for artists to meet up and share our interests. I have made many good friends through this well organised event.”

Nicola Hardy is a multi-talented Oakham based artist and maker producing paintings and also ranges of beautiful jewellery. She tells us that her approach to both disciplines is much the same. “I chose the colours first and then work in texture, balance and movement. I can’t make a necklace symmetrical; I have to play around with the elements until it rests easy on my eyes. Paintings start from real places - Rutland Water and beautiful wooded areas, then working from sketches and photographs I play with proportion, colour and texture until they evolve into abstract interpretations.”

Artist and tutor Sue Bagshaw joined the Rutland Open Studios about five years ago and says It’s a wonderful way to discover great art and artists in their natural habitats and gives individual artists the resources to promote their work through the ROS website and brochure.” Based in Oakham, Sue has begun designing and running art workshops and classes for a range of age groups and in a range of topics. “I love guiding clients to build

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Normanton by Gillian Durno

Soft furnishings by Please Shut the Gate

Josette Carroll’s pop up gallery

Jewellery by Nicola Hardy

Portrait by Sue Bagshaw

their confidence and skills.”

Josette Carroll has earned a reputation locally for her unusual art using recycled and reclaimed materials. Her cardboard sculptures are unique and created by carving shapes from blocks of reinforced corrugated cardboard packaging, salvaged from street markets and supermarkets. She enjoys exploring the endless patterns and textures that emerge. During Open Studios, Josette will be showing work in her lovely garden each weekend during June.

The exhibition will include representational and abstract paintings and prints as well as her distinctive cardboard and wood creations.

• Further details, dates and venues for all the artists involved in Rutland Open Studios is contained in this year’s event brochure which you can find in shops, pubs, hotels and public information places throughout Rutland. It is available for download too at www.rutlandopenstudios.co.uk CONTACTS: Sue Bagshaw Tel: 01572 490158 Josette Caroll Tel: 07890 408452 www.josettecarroll.com Gillian Durno www.gilliandurno.co.uk Itch Gallery Tel: 01572 755333 www.itchgallery.co.uk Made Gallery Tel: 01572 822002 www.madegallery.co.uk Please Shut the Gate www.pleaseshutthegate.co.uk Alan Oliver www.alan-oliver.co.uk Trent Galleries Tel: 01572 722790 www.trentgalleries.co.uk

Gallery News…

Trent Galleries on Mill Street are now celebrating their second year in Oakham and have a show stopping Spring/Summer collection of Artworks available. Representing some of UK’s most collectable and acclaimed living artists - Sherree Valentine Daines, Jack Vettriano, Doug Hyde, Rebecca Lardner, Gary Benfield, John Waterhouse to name just a few.

Suzie from Trent tells us “We have been delighted to showcase new releases by some of UK’s greatest artists such as Iconic Scottish Artist Jack Vettriano. The stunning new collection

by John Waterhouse has been a huge success, along with the outstanding Danielle O’Connor Akiyama, Keith Proctor, Philip Gray and more. We have been privileged to host events with such leading artists as Jennifer Hogwood and Rebecca Lardner who has visited our sister Gallery in Newark twice this year. Still to come, Doug Hyde will visit our Newark gallery on 23 September and Gary Benfield will be in Oakham on 8 October.”

Contact the Gallery if you would like to be invited to any of these events.

Julia Groundsell runs Made Gallery in Uppingham and her studio is open all year round for visitors to see her making her exquisite jewellery. “We have just opened up the workshop section so customers can see more of what’s going on plus a revamp of the gallery itself.”

Jenny Creasey of Itch Gallery

Jenny Creasey runs Itch Gallery and enjoys nothing more than seeing the efforts of beginner crafters blossom in one of the workshops she holds each month. This month complete beginners and those with experience are invited to spend a day improving their still life oil painting with Jane French (£65) or try their hand at glass jewellery making with Stevie Davies (£38). All details of these and other workshops appear on the gallery website.

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Join us at Trent Galleries, and be Inspired by our Show Stopping Spring & Summer Collection of Artworks. We are proud to represent some of the UK’s most Acclaimed Living Artists. Now Showcasing at Trent Galleries…

• Original Paintings • Ceramics • Handmade Jewellery • Glass • Textiles …and more

Now offering a range of creative workshops

17a Mill Street, Oakham, Rutland, LE15 6EA 01572 755333 - www.itchgallery.co.uk

Internationally Acclaimed Artist

TODD WHITE

One of the World’s most Collectable and Successful Artists.. dubbed the ‘Coolest Artist on the Planet’ and ‘John Lennon with a Paintbrush’..

The Official Artist for the Grammy Awards.. Celebrity Collectors to include Sylvester Stallone & Sharon Stone…Selected by Warner Bros to commemorate the 70th Anniversary of the Wizard of Oz…Awarded the UK’s Most Prestigious accolades Diana Princess of Wales Gold Medal.

11 Mill Street, Oakham LE15 6EA - 01572 722790 oakham@trentgalleries.co.uk - www.trentgalleries.co.uk

www.

stamfordfineart

.co.uk

20th Century Art

Please contact us to arrange a viewing. info@stamfordfineart.co.uk - 07949 861 753

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L OC AL P EOPLE

Art and Africa Rutland based artist Vilma Nyss only discovered her considerable talent upon retiring from a career in Human Resources. Amander Meade hears how her travels in South Africa have inspired her life and work

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OCAL art lovers may be familiar with Vilma’s hugely diverse body of work which has been exhibited widely both locally and at exhibitions across Europe. Often collaborating with other artists, Vilma describes her work as, “Very varied. I love to experiment around different techniques which I think bring a different dimension to the subjects I paint.” Vilma will be taking part in the Rutland Open Studios event this year showing her collection from her home in Empingham. “I love the Open Studios as it’s a chance to share ideas and inspiration with other artists and the public who come along to support us. I look forward to the event each year as well as my other exhibitions as it makes such a change from working alone which can sometimes feel a little solitary.”

Seven years ago Vilma and her husband Mike travelled to South Africa for an extended holiday and immediately fell in love with the country. Since that first visit the couple have returned to South Africa for three months each year to travel, volunteer and visit the many friends they have made there including some of the young people they have supported through sponsorship. The first young African man they became involved with was Chuma Maweni, a recent graduate from an arts project they discovered by chance as Vilma explains: “I noticed a wonderful piece of pottery in the reception area of a restaurant we visited and was told it was by one of the students at the Art in the Forest project nearby.” After visiting the project, Vilma and Mike met ceramicist Chuma and helped him clear his student debt, allowing him to progress with his career. “Chuma is now successful and beginning to receive the recognition his work deserves. We were very privileged to attend Chuma’s wedding on our last trip and it was wonderful to see his life taking shape in such a positive way.”

Each year on their trip, the couple volunteer with the Open Reach work done by Art in the Forest with Vilma helping to organise workshops aimed at children experiencing major challenges in life. “I get at least as much out of the workshops as the children,” she insists, “The project allows the children to spend just a short space of time being creative which is especially healing to those who have suffered trauma and who live in the townships under difficult circumstances.” Mike and Vilma also sponsor young people via the Imibala Trust, a social movement charity working closely with schools, supporting some of the most underprivileged children from the townships. Money donated provides the children with school uniforms and other basic necessities which mean they are more likely to stay in

education. “As little as £60 per year can make a real difference to the outcomes of the young people involved and having seen the work of Imibala first hand, we are confident that every single penny is spent in the right way. Sadly there are so many children in desperate need in South Africa and we are not trying to save the world but through effective sponsorship, we can help individuals improve their lives one at a time which is immensely rewarding.”

• To view Vilma’s work this month by appointment, contact her on Tel: 07748 324247 or email: vilmanyss@gmail.com or to find out more about the work of the Imibala Trust visit www.imibala.com

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OU T & AB OUT

North Norfolk: where to stay, eat, shop and visit this summer Big skies and beaches are two of the many reasons to visit North Norfolk this summer.

Whether you’re looking for great food, walking, boating, bird watching or retail therapy, here are just some of the highlights in our guide from North Norfolk Living editor Amanda Loose

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VISIT to North Norfolk is certainly do-able in a day from Rutland, but chances are you’ll catch the bug and want to stay longer. If you fancy a bit of laid-back luxury accommodation, look no further than Barefoot Retreats who specialise in holiday cottages and self-catering holiday homes along the North Norfolk coast. Barefoot Retreats also offer guests a concierge service – whether you’re looking for a babysitter, want to book a private chef, or fancy a fishing trip, they’ve got it covered.

Pebble Cottage is one of their properties in Thornham, a popular village on the coast with a beautiful beach and harbour – and foodies will be spoilt for choice. Pebble Cottage sleeps 10 and combines the charm of a 200-yearold cottage with modern luxury including six bedrooms and three en-suites plus a family bathroom, all set over three floors. Dogs are welcome.

Don’t miss in Thornham: the newly refurbished Chequers Inn and The Lifeboat Inn, The Orange Tree, Norfolk Dining Pub of the Year 2016, breakfast at Thornham Deli before a walk out to the beach; head to Drove Orchards for retail therapy, PYO orchard and soft fruits in season, rustic food at the newly opened Shuck’s restaurant, plus Eric’s Fish & Chips.

Heading east along the coast to Brancaster Staithe, Barefoot Retreats have Cockleshed House on their books, with a garden running down to the harbour and a luxury beach house vibe. Sleeping eight, dogs are welcome.

Enjoy in Brancaster Staithe: crabbing, hire a kayak from Northshore Sport & Leisure and explore the harbour and creeks, hike up to Barrow Common for fabulous views out to Scolt Head Island, pizza and local ale at The Jolly Sailors who also launched their own Smokehouse this spring and shopping at Dalegate Market.

Norfolk Country Cottages is a family-owned and run business based in Holt, Burnham Market and Reepham. Founded in 1992 by Richard and Lesley Ellis, it is the largest independent holiday cottage agency in Norfolk with more than 450 properties in its portfolio. They have

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NWT Cley Marshes

Cockleshed House, Brancaster Staithe, available through Barefoot Retreats

Milliners Cottage in Burnham Market, available through Norfolk Country Cottages

1 Catlin Cottages, Cley-next-the-Sea, available through Norfolk Country Cottages

Creake Abbey by Andy Allard

Fishing boats at Brancaster Staithe

Pebble Cottage in Thornham, available through Barefoot Retreats

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Beachcombings Calling all book lovers!

Flower power Congham Hall Hotel is celebrating the Year of the English Garden 2016 with a bespoke trail and special offer for horticulture fans.

Set in 30 acres of parkland including orchards, the 26 room boutique hotel is renowned for its Herb Garden with over 400 varieties. Guests can now download ‘The Magnificent Seven … Norfolk Gardens’, a free trail featuring prime local examples from stately homes, including the nearby Sandringham Estate, to nature reserves. They can also take advantage of the Summer Garden Offer: a two night break including tickets to Pensthorpe Natural Park and a herb pot to take home from Congham Hall’s plot.

The Summer Garden Offer costs from £499 per room and is available Sunday to Thursday until 20th July 2016, subject to availability. The price includes two nights’ dinner, bed and breakfast for two people.

If you fancy a bit of ‘me time’ then check in to the hotel’s Secret Garden Spa. Their Herb Garden Signature Treatment (£75) was exclusively designed by the hotel’s principal product supplier, Elemental Herbology - a 75-minute face, back and scalp massage featuring rosemary, lavender and mint handpicked from the grounds.

• Congham Hall Hotel, Grimston, King’s Lynn, Norfolk, PE32 1AH Tel: 01485 600250 www.conghamhallhotel.co.uk

Bestselling author Freya North will be at Briarfields Hotel in the coastal village of Titchwell for their next 2016 Bookfest event on Saturday 25th June from 3pm. Freya, whose latest novel ‘The Turning Point’ is partly set in North Norfolk, will talk about her career and answer questions. Freya North Tickets are £15 per person and include a famous Briarfields Posh Afternoon Tea. Please book on Tel: 01485 210742.

Briarfields has stunning views of the Titchwell salt marshes, the natural home for freshwater and saltwater wildlife, and is situated between RSPB Titchwell Marsh and the Royal West Norfolk Golf Club, both overlooking the beach at Brancaster.

• Briarfields, Main Street, Titchwell. PE31 8BB, www.briarfieldshotelnorfolk.co.uk

In the picture

Pinkfoot Gallery in Cley-next-theSea specialises in Modern British nature paintings, sculpture and prints. Their Summer Show will feature a mix of contemporary oil paintings and sculpture, including bronzes from Norfolk sculptor Robin Bouttell and wooden carvings from Stephen ‘Morning Light Creeping into Valley’, Henderson. oil on linen by Rachel Lockwood from From June to July Pinkfoot her ‘Trees’ exhibition at Pinkfoot will also be exhibiting local Gallery this summer. artist Rachel Lockwood’s new collection called ‘Trees’. Meanwhile, Suzanne Lawrence, the latest artist to join the gallery, has promised a stunning collection of expressive mixed media studies, inspired by the landscape around Cley.

• Pinkfoot Gallery, High Street, Cley-next-the-Sea. NR25 7RB, Tel: 01263 740947, www.pinkfootgallery.co.uk

Music to your ears

Milliners Cottage on their books, a 150-year-old traditional terraced flint cottage which sleeps three and is just a short walk from the centre of the bustling village of Burnham Market - a mecca for shoppers and food lovers alike.

Why not: shop till you drop in the wide range of boutiques, shops and galleries in the village, head over to Burnham Overy Staithe and walk out to the beach, visit nearby Creake Abbey for the ruins of the Augustinian Abbey and more shopping and head to Holkham to explore the beautiful beach, Palladian hall, parkland and more – visit www. holkham.co.uk to check opening times and ticket prices.

Heading east from Holkham via Wells-next-the-Sea is another nextthe-Sea, the village of Cley. 1 Catlin Cottages, also available through Norfolk Country Cottages, is within a few minutes’ walk of the centre of Cley. This early 19th century former fisherman’s cottage sleeps three and has a sunny courtyard.

Make sure you: check out Cley Windmill and wander round the village, have coffee at Artemis Coffee Shop with views across Cley’s reed bed to the coast, go bird watching at NWT Cley Marshes nature reserve, have lunch at Wiveton Hall Café and the Anchor Inn in Morston, head to the Georgian market town Holt for shopping and great galleries and get out walking!

• Barefoot Retreats, Tel: 01485 512245 www.barefootretreats.co.uk • Norfolk Country Cottages, Tel: 01263 715779, www.norfolkcottages.co.uk

The 12th North Norfolk Music Festival this summer at St Mary’s Church, South Creake from Monday 15th to Saturday 27th August will open with a choral performance by Floreat Sonus in a programme of English music from the Golden Age. Expect the usual wonderful variety Andrei Bondarenko of chamber music throughout © Juriy Sheftsoff the Festival with performances by the pianists Melvyn Tan, Alexander Melnikov from Russia and Tim Horton. The Doric String Quartet and the Carducci String Quartet will be joined by the Van Kuijk Quartet, first prize winners at the Wigmore Hall String Quartet Competition in 2015.

Ukrainian baritone Andrei Bondarenko (pictured) will also make his first appearance in South Creake.

The Festival will end with a Gala Concert to celebrate the centenary of the birth of Yehudi Menuhin with performances by Melvyn Tan, Marcia Crayford, Elisabeth Perry, Simon Rowland Jones and Niall Brown – they were all at the Menuhin School when it first began in the 1960s.

• Please book tickets on Tel: 01328 730357 or at www.northnorfolkmusicfestival.com

Park it!

Parking in Burnham Market has never been easier says Laura Pocock of The Burnham Market Traders’ Association. The new large car park, which opened earlier this year, is just a five minute walk from the shops at both ends of the village. And as well as all day unlimited time places in the Market Place, there are plenty of 45 minute ‘Stop, Pop & Shop’ timed spaces too.

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The Lady Rothschild Dairy COUNTRY HOLIDAY HOUSES

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hree luxury self-catering holiday houses located on the famous Ashton Estate surrounded by wildflower meadows, rolling farmland and magical woodlands – the perfect country retreat. The houses are finished with an emphasis on quality, in a style that is both comfortable and elegantly modern. The solid oak finishes and natural features make each house individual. The Lady Rothschild Dairy is of exceptional architectural interest and has been awarded Grade II* listed status.

The Constable House – Sleeps 9 + 3 The Turner House – Sleeps 8 + 2 The Gainsborough House – Sleeps 8

Ken Ford. The Three Graces. Realised £1,600 (April 2016)

Entries invited for our next Fine Art sale

Contact Mark Gilding 01858 410414 mark.gilding@gildings.co.uk Valuation Days Gildings Auctioneers are holding valuation days at locations accross Leicestershire. See website gildings.co.uk for details.

gildings auctioneers

MARKET HARBOROUGH SALEROOM THE MILL GREAT BOWDEN ROAD LE16 7DE T: 01858 410414 SALES@GILDINGS.CO.UK

Website: www.ashtonestatecountryholidays.co.uk Email: estateoffice@ashton.ohllimited.com Tel: 01832 272264 / 07831 855206

RET REA AT S

Laid-back luxury holiday cottages in Nor th Norfolk

L U X U RY P R O P E RT I E S • A M A Z I N G P L A C E S • U N I Q U E E X P E R I E N C E S

Barefoot Norfolk Ltd, High Street, Thornham, Norfolk, PE36 6LX 01485 512245 • enquiries@barefootretreats.co.uk • www.barefootretreats.co.uk 27

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BR I N G ING L O C A L F O O D T O L IF E

“We want to brew the qualities of Stamford into our beer” The all-new Stoney Ford Brew Co is making ales inspired by Stamford. By Matt Wright

A

S we all know, Stamford is unique. The heritage, the churches, the architecture, the pubs, the Meadows, Burghley House… the list goes on. It’s an inspirational place, even though it often doesn’t feel like it when you’re trying to park on Broad Street. And now that inspiration has motivated two local chaps with a passion for good beer to launch Stoney Ford Brewing Co. Tim Nicol from Easton on the Hill and Simon Watson from Ryhall were previously ‘shed brewers’, the name given to people – usually men – who like to disappear into the garage or shed to concoct strange liquids of which they are usually unjustifiably proud. After meeting in Easton via a mutual friend, this pair decided they had the skills, support and inclination to progress from ‘shed brewers’ to commercial brewers. Tim, a marketer, and Simon, a lawyer, were well placed to go for it, especially seeing as

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Tim had experience of setting up of a five-gallon ‘teaching brewery’ in Tideswell, Derbyshire, just a few years ago as part of the Taste Tideswell project. Over several meetings that sometimes took place in Easton pub The Blue Bell, the idea for their microbrewery gathered pace.

Fast-forward several months to December 2015 and Ryhall residents were surprised when a giant lorry drove into the village. The lorry was carrying a handful of cylindrical metal vessels that had been fabricated in Fort William. It was Stoney Ford Brewing Co’s two-and-a-half ‘brewers’ barrel’ brew kit (720 pints), but a breakdown in communications meant that Tim and Simon had to unload it and carry it into their freshly renovated brewery building (an outbuilding near Simon’s house) without a fork-lift truck.

Since then Tim and Simon have been designing logos (created by

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Stamford design agency Artisan), honing business plans and brewing – and sampling – lots of test batches of beer. Tim has also invested in a vintage Morris Minor van as a delivery vehicle, while head brewer Simon has attended a highly regarded brewing course in Sunderland and been meticulously getting under the skin of the science of the brewing process as only a lawyer could. The duo are committed to producing consistently excellent beer and have been brewing with and learning from other local brewers including Castor Ales, Kings Cliffe Brewery and Baker’s Dozen in Ketton. They’ve also been making regular trips to scientific brew analysis lab Murphy & Son in Nottingham to make sure everything from yeast counts to bitterness ratios to clarity of beer is spot on.

“We’re having lots of fun,” says Tim, “but we’re really passionate about what we’re doing and want to brew outstanding beers. We’re taking it slowly and growing outwards from here in Ryhall and Easton. We’ve already brewed Blue Bell Bitter for the Blue Bell at Easton on the Hill and it received great feedback. Next we’re set to supply the Green Dragon in Ryhall and the Tobie Norris in Stamford, and are having conversations with all the Stamford pubs. We’d love to supply as many as possible and grow from there.”

Tim and Simon chose the name ‘Stoney Ford’ because it is the origin of the name ‘Stamford’ and because the town is their inspiration. “We want to brew the qualities of Stamford into our beer – we want our beers to be unique, characterful, traditional and beautiful, just like the town.”

Tim and Simon’s beers will be made with English hops only and, where possible, malt grown in Norfolk and Lincolnshire. “The trend among many new small UK breweries is to use hops from America, New Zealand and Australia to create hugely hoppy beers. We want to show that you can make memorable, creative, interesting brews using native hops,” says Simon. “Our core pub beers will be quaffable brews that make you want to go back to the bar for more. But our bottled range will be different – more distinctive, stronger and designed for matching with different foods.”

Many years ago, Stamford had lots of small, local breweries in and around the town, which served its many pubs. Today the town has just one working brewery – All Saints – but that is owned by Yorkshire’s Samuel Smiths and makes fruit beers mainly for export.

It’s great to see local microbreweries like Stoney Ford and Baker’s Dozen of Ketton springing up to supply local pubs. Let’s all support them as much as possible so they can grow and make even more great, local beer.

About the writer

Matt Wright founded and runs Greatfoodclub.co.uk, a Leicestershire-based website that celebrates and promotes local food and drink. His Great Food Club Handbook 2016 is out now

Join Great Food Club – free of charge – and discover the very best local food and drink Members can enjoy special offers at over 220 handpicked independent local pubs, restaurants, producers and farm shops www.greatfooodclub.co.uk/join

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SEAN HOP E C O O K S

The Olive Branch’s Summer Drinks’ Guide A

T the time of writing it’s nearly May and in some parts of the country it’s snowing. But we’re taking heart here at The Olive Branch and reckon it won’t be long till we’re serving cooling cocktails on the terrace as the sun shines.

Making the effort to try something new reaps rewards.

So why not go for a different gin to your usual choice? We love Mr Lyan’s Diamond Rickey, which is flavoured with lime, almond and grapefruit. Hendrick’s gin – infused with rose and cucumber – is also good, especially when served with a slice of cucumber, preferably on a relaxed, warm Sunday. We’re also big fans of local gins such as Warner Edwards’ Elderflower Gin, distilled in Northamptonshire, and there’s a whole range of fruity blended gins and spirits made by Two Birds Spirits in Market Harborough.

Here’s another suggestion: take a dash of flavoured or fruit-based gin (Melton Mowbray Sloe Gin from Sloeberry Spirits, for example), top up with chilled Prosecco and enjoy (make sure you haven’t got any work to do later in the day!)

Or take a straight gin, add a good quality cordial such as Belvoir Fruit Farms’ Elderflower, garnish with a wedge of fruit such as cucumber or lime, top up with a splash of Prosecco and serve.

You can also enhance your drinks with freshly cut garden herbs like rosemary and mint, and spices such as black pepper. Using a different mixer can improve your drink dramatically, too: Fevertree makes a fine Mediterranean Tonic that we use at The Olive Branch in our G&T, along with wedge of pink grapefruit and fresh herbs.

What to sip in the garden this summer. By Olive Branch co-owner Ben Jones

BEER AND CIDER Grainstore of Oakham’s Tupping is a lovely, refreshing spring and summer beer. So too are Samuel Smith’s Organic Fruit Beers, which are made at All Saints Brewery in Stamford using original award-winning recipes by Melbourne Brothers. These are best served chilled in our opinion.

Also, seek out Kernel Brewery Table Beer, made in Bermondsey, east London. This is a lower alcohol brew (around 3.5%) – very dry, really fruity and full of citrus and green apple flavours.

When it comes to ciders, try Handmade White Label Cider by champion cider maker Denis France (if you can get hold of it!) or grab a proper perry (pear cider) such as award winning Severn Cider Perry or Poire Granit from Chateau de Hauteville – you’ll have to get it online but the crisp, fresh sweetness make it well worth seeking out.

TRY THESE! Summer gin cooler Infuse a bottle of gin for 24 hours with 100g sugar, the peel of three grapefruits and two sprigs of rosemary. Keep trying it every few hours (not too much now!) and strain it when you are happy with the flavour. Store in the fridge and serve with plenty of ice and ginger ale.

Pét-Nat wine If you want to try something a bit different, track down some ‘PétNat’ or Pétillant-Naturel wines. These are naturally sparkling, more rustic than Champagne and without the second fermentation are generally fruitier, lighter, fizzier and lower in alcohol.

Italian style Aperol Spritz is the most popular Italian aperitif seen on the terrace tables of Italian wines bars and restaurants around the Italian lakes. You can buy Aperol in Waitrose.

Three-quarter fill a decent-size wine glass with ice, add three parts Prosecco, two parts Aperol, a splash of soda and a slice of orange.

Mint julep This is a refreshing bourbon and mint cocktail. Put about 10 mint leaves in the bottom of a heavy-based glass, add a teaspoon-and-a-half of caster sugar, muddle (mix with vigour until the leaves breakdown a little!), add a splash of soda, then some crushed ice (some ice in a clean tea towel and a few cracks with a rolling pin should do the trick). Then add a decent slug (75ml) of your favourite bourbon, stir, add more crushed ice to the top of the glass, a final splash of soda, a sprig of mint and enjoy through a straw. Drink it slowly and enjoy the different characteristics as the ice melts and the drink dilutes and mellows.

Summer Pimm’s Try adding some soft fruits to your jug of Pimm’s and leave in the fridge for a couple of days, then add fresh mint and cucumber (a decent-size baton to each glass) and top up with ginger ale instead of lemonade. You get lots of extra flavours from the fruit and the ginger ale gives a more rounded, less sugary drink.

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PASSIONATE ABOUT GOOD FOOD? If you are passionate about local food and drink then you might like to join Great Food Club.

• Sign up at www.greatfoodclub.co.uk, free of charge.

RUTLAND & MARKET HARBOROUGH LIVING JUNE 2016

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OAKHAM SHOWROOM OPENING

12th May 2016

Northampton 01604 372025

Oliver's Kitchens, 1 High Street, Oakham, RUTLAND, LE15 6AH www.oliverskitchens.co.uk

Oakham 01572 503015

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Bespoke Joinery and Furniture

FOR ALL YOUR BESPOKE JOINERY NEEDS

We bake a selection of delicious breads, savouries, cakes & desserts.

Using traditional techniques and the finest ingredients we develop the real taste of our products, full of flavour with no preservatives or enhancers.

Natural Designs @ Barham Stone Ltd Suppliers & Manufactures Of Natural Stone & Quartz For Kitchen Worktops Unit A Eckland Business Park, Desborough Road, Market Harborough, Leicestershire LE16 8HB Opening Times - Mon-Fri 9am-5pm • Sat 9am-12.30pm 01536 764744 • info@barhamstone.com • www.barhamstone.com

Handcrafted Memorials with a friendly service

Shops: Exton Bakery, Oundle, Market Harborough, Oakham, Stamford & West Bridgford

www.hambletonbakery.co.uk 32

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F OOD & DRI N K

The Grainy Comes of Age One of our county’s most popular pubs is coming of age. The Grainstore was launched 21 years ago and is now firmly established as a destination local for real ale. Nick Rennie dropped in for a pint to find out more about a flourishing Rutland brand

LEFT: Grainstore retail and events manager Chris Poole outside the pub ABOVE: Grainstore head brewer Rick Phoenix takes a handful of hops during the brewing process TOP RIGHT: Grainstore retail and events manager Chris Poole outside the pub RIGHT: Grainstore retail and events manager Chris Poole at the bar with one of the regulars

W

HEN I wandered down Station Approach in Oakham it was a hive of activity. A gaggle of train passengers were coming out of the station, car engines were idling as they waited for the nearby railway barrier to be raised and the sound of children could be heard from the playground at Brooke Priory School. In amongst all this was the wonderful 200-year-old former grain store which now serves as one of the town’s thriving social hubs.

The Grainstore pub and brewery is a huge draw for Rutlanders, with the opportunity for customers to drink a selection of award-winning real ales brewed on the premises, as well as enjoying regular live music and comedy nights. It’s been a remarkable success story for a business affectionately known as The Grainy - which was launched only in 1995.

I asked The Grainstore’s retail and events manager, Chris Poole, why Rutlanders seemed to love the place so much: “All the pubs in town have their own unique characteristics and ours is that we sell our own beer and we brew it on site,” said Chris (25). “The Grainstore fits the character of the town perfectly. It’s the sort of pub Oakham needs – real spit and sawdust with real ales brewed on the premises.”

The pub and brewery was the brainchild of Tony Davis, former head brewer and production director at Ruddles Brewery when it was based at Langham. When Ruddles was sold, Tony joined forces with his friend Mike Davies, who had a background in engineering and steel fabrication, and together they set about converting the then derelict old Victorian grain store.

Everything is built on what is produced in the brewery by head brewer Rick Phoenix and two staff on the upper floors of the building.

Around 300 pints of top-selling Ten Fifty are consumed on the premises every week, on average. At The Grainstore’s annual beer festival, which this year runs from August 25 to 29, there will be more than 5,000

pints downed. Chris is preparing already for this year’s festival – the pub’s 17th – with its mix of beer, barbecue and live music. He said: “It is great fun but it’s carnage!”

The Grainstore has picked up a multitude of awards for its beers. It also boasts one of only three UK ales which has protected geographic status - its Rutland Bitter can only be brewed in the county in the same way Melton Mowbray pork pies have to be made in the Melton area.

There are some great tales behind the naming of Grainstore beers.

Triple B (Bunny Brown’s Bitter) was named after Oakham’s first ever brewer. Bunny sold his beer around the county and used to leave a big basket of bread on his cart for children to eat while they guarded it during deliveries. Rutland Panther pays homage to the big cat which has been sighted roaming around the county while Rutland Osprey was brewed originally only for the Rutland Water bird fair but it has proved so popular it is now available all year round.

The pub sells only its own beers. The brewery delivers to freehouses within a 50-mile distance of Oakham and its ales are also sold in big chains such Wetherspoons and in bottled form in supermarkets. The brewing team also produce three different ciders. Up to 20 people at a time go on regular tours to get a close-up view of the brewing process at The Grainstore and sample the ales.

Chris loves playing a key role in the development of the business. He grew up in Peterborough and moved to the town when his family ran the old Angels restaurant in Burley Road, where Hungry Birds now operates from. He added: “Having the pub attached to the brewery gives us a great opportunity to showcase our beers. The Grainstore name is well known now and it’s a nice tourist attraction for a small county like Rutland.”

• For more details about The Grainstore and its upcoming events go online at www.grainstorebrewery.com RUTLAND & MARKET HARBOROUGH LIVING JUNE 2016

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19/05/2016 12:35

Yvette’s Design Solutions

Bespoke Garden Design by Yvette D. Smith,

BSc(Hons)

Gretton Garden Services Reliable landscape gardener located in the Gretton area and offering a range of gardening services including: • Grass Cutting • Hedge Cutting • Fencing • Decking • Patios

Garden Design Planting Design Planting Implementation Project Management Garden Coaching Talks and Lectures

• Driveways • Turfing • Weed Spraying • Scarification • Pressure Washing

Call Chris Stubbs to see how his practical knowledge can turn your dreams into reality

FREE CONSULTATION Tel: 01949 843186 www.yvettesdesignsolutions.co.uk

Call James on 01780 752119 info@marramgardens.co.uk www.marramgardens.co.uk

Mob. 07976 286664/Home. 01536 772434 email chrisstubbs57@hotmail.com

Garden Design & Construction

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OU T & AB OUT

Burghley Sculpture Exhibition 2016: METALLIC

Michael Shaw, exhibition curator describes this year’s exhibits, which look set once again to be visually compelling

Jim Unsworth, Soprano

Dido Crosby, Iron Stag

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IRST came the Bronze Age, then the Iron Age and now the time of all metals has come to Burghley Sculpture Garden. The 2016 exhibition Metallic explores dynamic sculptures in stainless steel, copper, iron, aluminium and bronze.

The ductile versatility of metal has lent it to myriad objects through much of human civilisation, as evidenced by the production of arms, armour, cooking utensils, jewellery and of course, sculptures. Exquisite bronzes were produced in ancient Egypt, Greece, the Roman Empire and beyond. Shift forwards several millennia and some of these began influencing Modernist artists, with the sinuously stretched Etruscan bronze figures prompting Giacometti’s elongation of the human body.

20th Century technological advancements, such as welding in the late 1920s, expanded possibilities for part by part construction, as typified by the welded sculptures of Gonzalez and Picasso. Their linear and relatively small fabrications took on greater mass with the emergence of artists such as Anthony Caro in

Diane Maclean, Beyond

Marjan Wouda, Scrabble the 1960s, who welded larger sculptures from industrial components.

In Metallic, the techniques of casting, fabricating, welding and weaving are present.

In fact, the process of casting is central to Iron Stag by Dido Crosby. It toys with conventions by revealing an interior that normally remains hidden. Its external surfaces depict the beast’s fur and antlers as one might expect, yet surprisingly, moving around the sculpture reveals it to be a hollow skin. Marjan Wouda’s joyful crab Scrabble highlights the ability of liquid metal to take on the form and appearance of other materials, by translating the transient nature of corrugated cardboard into the permanence of bronze.

A shift from casting to welding is denoted by the sculpture of Jim Unsworth. He uses colour to differentiate parts and thereby underline internal differences. In Soprano, heavy metal dematerialises into painted colour, singing colour, zinging colour. Its tri-colour patination through black, yellow and pink also encompasses the greens of surrounding

foliage thanks to the holes punctured through its surfaces. Diane Maclean exploits the light responsiveness of brushed stainless steel in Beyond, a sculpture that responds to and changes with ambient light. Walking through its three portals brings these reflections of light into motion, as well as making the landscape and viewer an active part of the work.

Whilst some of the sculptures depict mass through volume, others are skeletal. For example, Will Nash’s Fever, if you Live and Learn is pure structure. It arrived in parts, which Nash then assembled around an Ash tree to create a site specific response to landscape and horticulture. The slanting growth of the tree is complemented by a grid that reads variously as diamonds, rectangular lozenges or chevrons according to the observer’s relative position.

Overall, Metallic reveals how sculptors can exploit the flexibility of metal in the pursuit of sculptural delights. We therefore hope you will enjoy the breadth of metallic activity on show.

• Burghley Sculpture Garden is open daily 11-5 - www.burghley.co.uk

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HE AL T H & B E A U TY

Sizzle this

summer!

Catherine Varney discovers how you can look HOT, HOT, HOT this June with the help of her favourite Rutland salons

TAKE THREE:

There’s big news at Olive Tanning and Beauty this month with three amazing new treatments on offer. Every Wednesday, beauty professional Samantha Eaton will be running a clinic for Chelsea Brows and SkinBase Microdermabrasion. SkinBase Microdermabrasion is one of the best noninvasive treatments around for transforming skin and is perfect for rejuvenating a dull, tired complexion. This clever crystal-based treatment gently works to remove dead skin cells layer by layer after which the vacuum action of the machine stimulates circulation and promotes increased blood flow to the area. As a result, collagen and elastin production is stimulated; producing firmer, clearer, more youthful looking skin – with visible results immediately. However, the best results are achieved with a course of treatments, usually performed every 7-10 days.

Samantha also offers the latest high definition brow treatment, Chelsea Brows (a long-awaited addition to the Rutland beauty scene!) Having been likened to a face lift, getting your brows groomed and styled could make the biggest difference to how you look.

The process for achieving the perfect arch involves tinting, measuring, waxing, tweezing and threading. The products (a Harvey Nichols best-seller) include a range of top quality powder colours to suit all brows, grow miracle Brow Surge, Brow Gel, a Duo Highlighter/ Concealer, brushes and tweezers; everything you need to maintain your perfect brows at home.

And finally, with prom time coming up, get your prom princess booked into the Friday night henna clinic run by the supremely talented

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Sami Gray where she can let her imagination run wild with pretty designs for arms, hands and feet. These increasingly popular temporary tattoos are also great for festival season – so book in now and don’t miss out on this season’s hottest trend!

BEST FOOT FORWARD:

Without a doubt, when it’s time for sandal weather you need to treat your feet to a proper pedicure so hot-foot it to the nail professionals at Ellique in Oakham. This month you can get an Express pedicure for the fantastic price of £18 which includes cuticles, file, condition, shape, a nourishing base coat then a polish of your choice. In terms of colour, think pink rather than anything too dark as lighter colours make toes look lovely and fresh; try coral if you’re lucky enough to already have a tan or baby pink for something soft and sweeter.

SMOOTHER SKIN:

If you’ve neglected your hair removal routine through the winter months, then it’s not too late to achieve the baby soft, hair-free skin you’ve always dreamed of. But whilst a quick shave with your razor might be an excellent quick-fix for stubbly legs, a longer term solution will always produce far superior results. IPL Advanced Hair removal is available from RenNu Beauty in Melton Mowbray where owner Jo Haywood treats anything from small patches of unwanted hair to full body and face for both men and women. IPL stands for Intense Pulsed Light and unlike laser treatments which work with one specific wavelength, IPL has multiple wavelengths which target pigment in the skin. The light is absorbed by the pigment

in the hair; and then quickly turns to heat to kill the growing cells that make up the hair, destroying it for good. Jo offers a free 45 minute consultation and patch test to anyone considering this treatment - but it’s important to note that you shouldn’t have IPL on tanned skin or if you plan to expose your skin to the sun for prolonged periods afterwards. Make sure you book in plenty of time for your summer holiday!

LOOK CATWALK READY:

If you long for sleek, shiny hair despite the humidity and all the frizz it can bring, then you need professional standard styling products on hand to keep your hair under control at all times. Some of the best straightening irons in the business are by Cloud Nine, available to buy from Essence Hair and Beauty in Uppingham.

Developed by the original founder of GHD, Cloud Nine styling irons feature intelligent temperature control technology for kinder styling whilst signature mineral infused ceramic plates heat up to 200 degrees for serious straightening power – with a smooth, healthy finish.

DIRECTORY: Ellique, 55 South Street, Oakham Tel: 01572 723950 Essence Hair and Beauty, 7 Market Place, Uppingham, LE15 9QH Tel: 01572 822715 Olive Tanning & Beauty Studio, 5&6 Crown Walk, Oakham, Tel: 01572 755750 ReNu Beauty Salon, St Mary’s Chambers, 16 Church Street, Melton Mowbray, Tel: 01664 564240, www.renubeauty.com

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LOCAL PRIVATE CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGISTS

Country Inn and Restaurant

Specialising in treating: • Low self-esteem and loss of confidence • Low mood, depression, self-harm and suicidal thinking • Anxieties, phobias, obsessions

and ruminations • Significant life events, trauma,

nightmares, flashbacks • Attachment and relationship difficulties • Abuse (physical, emotional and sexual) • Autistic Spectrum Disorders Adult Speciality

A warm welcome is assured at our quintessential old English county pub, bringing you the best of British home cooked meals and a choice of well kept Real Ales.

Why not join us for Sunday Lunch?

Choice of 3 roasts all served with the traditional trimmings £9.95 for one course up to £15.95 for three courses

Johan Truter

Curry Night

Orion House, 14, Barn Hill, Stamford, PE9 2AE

Friday Lunchtime Special

Tel: 01780 758556 www.psychologistuk.co.uk Child and Adult Speciality, EMDR Consultant

Dr Alexandra Dent

Mbl: 07986 585270 www.alexandradent.co.uk

Orion House, 14, Barn Hill, Stamford, PE9 2AE Church Street Practice, Melton Mowbray LE13 0PN

1st Thursday of every month.

Two course menu with selection of starters, followed by three homemade curries £10.95 a head

2 Portions of Cod, Chips and Mushy Peas for £10 Tue, Wed, Thur 12pm – 11pm (Food 12pm – 2.30pm/6.30pm – 9.30pm) Fri, Sat 12pm – 12am (Food 12pm – 2.30pm/6.30pm – 9.30pm) Sun 12pm – 6pm (Food 12.30pm – 3pm).Closed Mondays LAST ORDERS WILL BE TAKEN 30 MINUTES BEFORE FOOD IS STOPPED SERVING

14 Arnhill Road, Gretton | Northants, NN17 3DN

Tel: 01536 770268 www.thehattonarms.com

Celebrating 10

Years of Beauty

Relax...

Take time to Energise, Nourish and Unwind

www.renubeauty.com 16 Church Street Melton Mowbray

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HEA L T H & B EA U T Y

A New Look for Summer

Fancy trying something new? Head into Market Harborough where the fantastic salons there offer some cutting-edge treatments. By Catherine Varney LOVELY LASHES:

Think you can only get gorgeous long lashes with falsies or extensions? Think again! I was invited to Naomi Nails and Beauty to try out their LVL lash treatment (LVL stands for length-volume-lift) which makes the most of your natural lashes. As someone who has probably tried every length and style of false eyelashes before a night out, I was keen to see if my natural lashes could be made to look full and flirty. I have to be honest, I wasn’t all that hopeful – my own lashes are really quite short and sparse and even for everyday wear, I rely on carbon fibre mascaras for added length, definition and volume. But therapist Natasha assured me that even on short lashes, the treatment would make a difference and make my eyes stand out more (although if you have naturally thick lashes like some of the gorgeous girls here, the results are even more outstanding!)

Natasha started by putting collagen pads underneath my eyes and then a gel shield on the top of my eyelids so she could ‘stick’ my

upper lashes to the shield at the top. I have to confess, I wasn’t keen on the sound of this but actually there was no discomfort at all; you have your eyes closed for the duration of the treatment and whilst there was very mild stinging when some of the products were applied, it was no worse than an a regular eyelash tint.

The first product applied was a lifting serum to curl the lashes onto the shield at the top which smelt exactly like perming solution (it took me back a few years for sure!). This stayed on for 10 minutes and was followed by a 5 minute setting balm to ensure they stayed in their new lifted position for up to 6 weeks. The final part of the process is a tint – Natasha used

the blue/black colour which is the deepest of all the pigments although if the patch test reveals you have a reaction to the tint, then the treatment can be done with just the lift and curling element.

The attention to detail here is meticulous, the products they use are top-quality and you’ll feel completely assured there are no unexpected results.

Natasha told me that the best results would be seen the following morning when the lashes had dried out from the application of products and would be feathery again rather than having a wet look. But even immediately I could see a difference and couldn’t quite believe that the lashes I was looking at were all mine. On arriving home, my daughter asked if I was wearing false eyelashes despite being mascarafree – a miracle!

LVL lashes cost £47 and require a patch test around 48 hrs prior to treatment.

• Naomi Nails and Beauty, 14-16 Manor Walk, Market Harborough, LE16 9BP, Tel: 01858 657001, www.naominailsbeauty.co.uk

FABULOUS FACIALS:

If you want to try something new for your face but aren’t sure where to start, then head to the Chaelis Clinic where Lesley Spencer offers a whole range of non-invasive yet highly effective treatments. She told me: “Our facials not only add glow, depth, and luminosity to your skin, but they can also treat a variety of skin problems including the signs of ageing, hyperpigmentation, acne and balancing oily skin and rehydrating dry and mature skins.” If you’re concerned about sagging skin and loss of firmness then the RF (Radio Frequency) and Hifu (High frequency ultrasound) treatments lift and firm skin on face, neck and décolletage. Hifu is a one-off permanent treatment whilst RF requires approximately 8 treatments at weekly intervals for best results. If moisturisation levels are also a problem, the Acoustic Wave Impact treatment drives hydrating serums into the lower levels of the skin giving lasting and deep hydration; ideal for dry, sun-damaged and mature skin.

Lesley also offers a gentle microdermabrasion treatment with a machine that uses precise laser-cut rotational diamond tips. It’s ideal for oily, congested complexions and softens skin to leave it luminous and glowing.

• Chaelis Clinic, Sten Beren, Main Street, Lowick, Kettering, Northants, NN14 3BH, Tel: 01832 733811, www.chaelis.co.uk

MOBILE VALET & DETAILING SERVICE

Services • Interior Deep Clean • Exterior, Mini & Full Valet

Rob Carson Head Valeter / Detailer 01572 768961

07702 352013

waxonwaxoffinfo@btinternet.com waxonwaxoff.uk.com

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• Waxing • Clay Bar Treatment • Snow Foam • Air-con Cleaning • Machine Polishing • Paint Correction • Ultimate Paint Sealant • Full Car Detailing

RUTLAND & MARKET HARBOROUGH LIVING JUNE 2016

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We’re here to look after you Specialist cancer care From initial consultation and diagnosis through to treatment and follow-up, Spire Leicester Hospital’s oncology team is committed to giving every cancer patient a high level of personalised care. Our goal is to help patients back to normal life as quickly as possible and to support them throughout the treatment process.

Experienced cancer surgeons, radiologists, consultant oncologists and oncology nurses work together to treat a wide range of cancers.

Our private patient services include diagnosis and cancer staging, surgical treatment, reconstructive surgery and chemotherapy.

For fast access to private appointments call

0116 265 3685 www.spireleicester.com

Initial consultations and follow up appointments can be arranged at our outreach clinics in Stamford and Market Harborough. All diagnostic tests and surgery is performed at Spire Leicester Hospital.

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Bespoke Catering...

For advice and further information please contact M 07778 227 734 E info@saramcallister.co.uk www.saramcallister.co.uk

saramcallister

PROFESSIONAL CATERING

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20 Best Local Bike Rides Farndon Fields Farm Farndon Road Market Harborough LE16 9NP

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Please enclose a cheque for £3.50 per booklet, made payable to Local Living, and return to: BLBR, PO Box 208, Stamford, PE9 9FY.

Or order online at: www.bestlocalliving.co.uk

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F OOD & DRI N K

Party Time Whether it’s significant birthday party you are organising or a simple drinks ‘do’, our local experts can help smooth the way…

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njoy fine dining in your chosen setting with professional caterers, Rutland Gourmet. With an excellent reputation, Sarah Rivett and her team pride themselves on delivering superb service and can provide delicious fare for all kinds of occasions. Menu advice and ideas can be suggested from hot and cold buffets to hog roasts or afternoon tea. Sarah can also provide glassware, table linen, crockery and cutlery as well as a bar or marquee.

• Tel: 01572 747909, www.rutlandgourmet.co.uk

S

ara McAllister is one of the region’s leading expert caterers with over twenty years’ in the professional catering industry and a wealth of experience to offer. Styles range from classic, contemporary, grand to casual with internationally and seasonally inspired dishes such as hog and lamb roasts, paella and picnics as well as canapés and buffets.

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• Tel: 07778 227734, www.saramcallister.co.uk

ocal husband and wife team, Simon and Sarah Singlehurst from New Lodge Farm, Bulwick are experienced caterers for outdoor events. Using all home reared or local meat they are well known for their traditional Hog Roasts, with the option of Ox Roasts, Lamb Roasts and BBQs too. Regulars of the Stamford Farmers Market, they also cater at Vintage Car Shows, Point to Points and the Burghley Fine Food Markets. In addition to these events, they often take on Christenings, Birthday Parties and Weddings where they provide all the food or work alongside local caterers.

tter’s Smokehouse and Deli can provide a wonderful spread of naturally smoked fish, meats and cheeses, Order online from the comfort of your own home or call in and chat through your options with Leo who will deliver your selections directly to your door. Fabulous charcuterie with olives and great bread always go down well and are a great choice for summer. A drinks party could be elevated to new heights with the addition of some great cheeses – a little extra catering can often go a long way and make all the difference to your guests’ enjoyment.

• Tel: 01780 450493, www.newlodgefarm.com

• Tel: 01572 756481 www.ottersdeli.co.uk

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➧

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F OOD & DRI N K

S

ince converting her 1971 Citroen HY Van in 2012 Sharon Tait, owner of Kitschen has been busy. A regular at Uppingham Junior Rugby Club and Oakham School sports events, Sharon will be serving delicious Vietnamese Street Food at the Rutland County Show this month. We can also find her at the Oakham Proms in the Park, and The Rutland Water Food and Drink Festival. Always happy to work with the client, Sharon did a tagine/hummus/ fattoush menu last year for a party and has her Van booked to be used as a Champagne bar for a party of 100 guests, in the not too distant future.

• Tel: 07745 491121, www.kitschenvan.co.uk

King’s Cliffe based Rachael Kelley, trades as The Little Soup Kitchen from her converted 1976 Citroen Hvan named Hugo.

As well as working on the Farmers Market at Oundle on a Thursday, The Little Soup Kitchen, can be found at Rockingham Castle Horse Trials and events as far flung as the British Summertime Festival in Hyde Park, which takes place in July, and then the closer to home, Peterborough Green Meadows Festival in August. Serving extremely delicious soups, sandwiches and chilis alongside wonderful teas, coffees and cakes, the unit can also be hired for private parties.

• Rachael Kelley Tel: 07807 119906, Facebook: the Little Soup Kitchen.

The Olive Kitchen, run by Antony Savage, is a firm favourite with locals. He offers the authentic Mediterranean experience to parties with freshly prepared Paella, luscious Waffles and mouthwatering crêpes. These provide a real focus and talking point at your party, taking the pressure off so you can also enjoy your guests. Spanish Paella cooked from fresh ingredients in front of your guests in large pans. Perfect for a main course allowing you to watch someone else do all the cooking!

• Tel: 07518 363960, Facebook: TheOliveKitchen, www.theolivekitchen.co.uk

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Wistow Cafe Bistro and Catering installed a professional kitchen last year and the demand for their outside catering assistance since has been incredible. Says Jane, “Our team have catered for hundreds of different occasions including weddings, hen parties, anniversaries, christenings, wakes, or simple get-togethers with family and friends; our team deliver and serve wherever you want, whenever you want it. We always use locally sourced, high quality products where available and I am very loyal to small scale suppliers”.

Alternatively for an intimate, friendly and exclusive venue, the team can host your party at the bistro where hen parties teas and afternoon teas are proving popular. From £5.50 a head for larger groups this is an affordable

party alternative. For children’s parties Jane can open the ice cream shed or provide a sweet trolley for guests to choose from.

Their new mobile pizza service offers a fun, different and inexpensive addition to outside catering ideas at £7.50 per head. Choose from 4 different toppings and enjoy delicious freshly made pizzas at home with minimum fuss, particularly as this option includes salads. BBQ and paella parties are popular too - all done by the Wistow Bistro team, whatever the weather.

• To chat to Jane more about the above and all of the bespoke menus, please email or call Jane on Tel: 0116 259 3756 or email: wistow@uwclub.net, www.wistowcafebistro.co.uk.

Audrey’s Bespoke Caterers specialise in afternoons teas. The husband and wife team behind Audrey’s have created an inspiring afternoon tea and canapé menus to suit all tastes. “We have created a high end bespoke catering service that uses, where possible, locally sourced ingredients”. The afternoon tea menus are an interactive and quirky alternative to a sit down meal. Choose from menus such as ‘Audrey’s Something Savoury” - a selection of mouth-watering savoury pastries, flavoured cheese scones and sandwiches or ‘Audrey’s Traditional One’. Audrey’s themed menus are also proving popular. “We love a challenge.” says Sian, “If clients have a theme we can create an afternoon tea based around it…such as Asian afternoon, or chocolate lovers delight.”

All menus are tailored to each client and are delivered and served at their own home or venue.

Audrey’s can cater for all types of events, from a small gathering at home for four people, children’s birthday parties and hen parties to larger functions such as weddings and corporate events with 100+ guests.

• From £13.95 a head for traditional afternoon tea, contact Sian on Tel: 07969 108083 or audreyscaterers@gmail.com for more information.

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MEMORABLE CUISINE FOR YOUR PERFECT DAY

DELICIOUS FOOD BEAUTIFULLY SERVED

“In control and totally flexible. Food was utterly delicious, staff charming, no hesitation in recommending you ” Ali Crossley

• Fully tailor-made and refined menu • Advance menu tasting • Fixed price quotation • Site visit included • Pay bar and Bar staff available • Supply your own wine – no corkage charges

Call Sarah on 01572 747909 or 07970 576882 The Firs, 5 Barrowden Road, Morcott, Rutland, LE15 9DQ e-mail sarah@rutlandgourmet.co.uk

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OU T & AB O UT

National Gardens’ Scheme Green is the new black as gardeners all over the nation display their creations to the public while also raising money for charity. Alysia Anderson highlights private gardens on show locally as well as landscapes designed by Capability Brown, whose tercentenary is celebrated this year.

THE FLOWERING OF THE NGS The NGS was founded in 1927, with more than 600 gardens opening in that first year at ‘a shilling a head’ to raise money for district nursing. Today, the NGS donates millions to charities such as Marie Curie Cancer Care, The Carers Trust, Hospice UK, the Cavell Nurses Trust and Macmillan Cancer Support, as well as supporting young gardeners by sponsoring traineeships with the RHS, National Trust and The Garden Museum. In 2016, around 3,800 gardens will open to the public nationwide, many on the Festival Weekend of 4 and 5 June, although visits can often be arranged directly with the owners.

Entry fees are modest and children generally go free.

The annual NGS ‘yellow book’ features all the gardens opening; while separate county leaflets are available free from tourist offices, libraries, Marie Curie shops and garden centres. Alternatively, visit www.ngs.org.uk for maps, opening dates, garden descriptions and owners’ contact details.

CAPABILITY BROWN TERCENTENERY This year marks the 300th anniversary of the birth of Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown, the famous landscape architect whose work can be seen at Burghley House. The NGS is supporting the Capability Brown Festival 2016 (www.capabilitybrown. org) by opening a group of Brown-designed gardens.

Along with Burghley, these include Madingley Hall in Cambridgeshire, opening on 5 June, and The Menagerie in Northamptonshire, open on 25 June and 10 July. The latter’s stunning gardens surround an 18th-century folly while 16th-century Madingley features a landscaped walled garden and hazel walk. Burghley House is holding a special exhibition on Brown’s life and work and has produced a free leaflet detailing a self-guided tour of the park. There is also a study day on 4 May, with tickets at £30 per person, or groups of 20 or more can book a range of Brown-inspired experiences until 30 October.

These include lectures on the years that Brown spent at Burghley, during which he designed the Summerhouse, Lion Bridge and beautiful lake vistas. Visitors can also admire one of only two portraits painted of the great designer, on display in the State Rooms.

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NEW OPENINGS IN RUTLAND, LEICESTERSHIRE AND NORTHANTS On 5 June visitors can explore two south-facing gardens, Hillside and Orchard, in the impressive grounds of Uppingham School. Hillside features a spring-fed pond, newly redesigned terrace and patio, orchard, vegetable garden and woodland walk. A stroll through the school quad to the other side of town brings you to the Orchard, full of interesting trees, shrubs, bulbs and perennials. Opening on 17 July, or by arrangement until October, is an exciting garden at Redhill Lodge in Barrowden. Its bold contemporary design features formal lawns, a grass amphitheatre, turf viewing mound, herbaceous borders and a cutting garden. There’s also a natural swimming pond surrounded by Japanese planting, a bog garden and meadow area.

A pair of contrasting gardens can be seen in Great Dalby, Leicestershire on 19 June. Crossfell House, where teas will be served, has a formal garden with terraced herbaceous border, rockery and shrubs, alongside two acres of flower-filled meadows. At Rambler Cottage, a sustainably-managed country garden features mixed borders, a small orchard, potager, vegetable garden and wildlife pond, home to great crested newts.

Opening on 4 and 5 June is a lovely sloping garden at 83 Main Road, Collyweston.

Rosebriar offers a mix of alpine and grass beds, a water feature with stream and bog garden and lavish borders, all linked by gravel paths, patios and original sculptures. On the other side of Northants, the Old Rectory in Quinton opens its contemporary threeacre garden, designed by award-winning Anoushka Feiler, on 4 September. The main garden is divided into six parts: a kitchen garden, glasshouse and flower garden, woodland menagerie, pleasure garden, park and orchard. Feiler cleverly mixes 18th-century design elements such as parterres and topiary with modern twists, including living walls and abstract installations.

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LINCOLNSHIRE AND CAMBRIDGESHIRE NEWCOMERS Three new gardens near Spalding open this summer, including Yew Tree Farm with its annual flower meadow and pair of magnificent yew trees. Large herbaceous and mixed borders surround well-kept lawns, one with a mulberry tree as its centrepiece. There’s also a large wildlife pond with two bog gardens, a woodland garden, an orchard underplanted with a wildflower meadow and shaded borders containing many unusual plants. Yew Tree opens on 24 July for the NGS, with home-made teas available, or by arrangement for groups of more than ten throughout June and July. The other two new gardens are four-acre Fenleigh in Throckenholt, opening on 3 July, and Inley Drove Farm in Sutton St James. Opening on 17 and 18 September, Inley Drove has a large wood developed over two decades as well as three acres of Fenland garden and meadow.

HARDY PERENNIALS NGS stalwarts include the delightful Jericho in Oundle’s marketplace, a walled garden with more than 50 species of roses and a massive hornbeam hedge.

It is open by arrangement for individuals and groups until September. On 8 May, two large gardens with magnificent views open in Burrough on the Hill. One is the garden of a 19th-century hunting lodge, Burrough Hall, where vintage cars will also be on display. From a lime walk to beehives and a Gothic henhouse, there’s much to see at a pair of Old Vicarages in Whissendine and Burley, opening on 15 and 22 May respectively. The Harts, owners of Hambleton Hall, open their four-level garden at the Old Hall in Market Overton on 12 June, with teas using Hambleton Bakery produce.

In Hambleton itself, Orchard House reveals its garden rooms and newly planted orchard on 3 July, with teas available.

South of Rutland Water, a group of eight cottage gardens open in Wing on 19 June, featuring a variety of plantings and designs.

Up in Braunston, fabulous views await at the contrasting gardens of Hill Top Farm and Quaintree Hall, opening together on 14 August. On 17 July comes a chance to see the gardens of Blatherwycke Hall, located between Stamford and Corby. The hall was demolished in the 1940s and the gardens left derelict until

Unusual shrubs and trees, including a fine stand of Black Poplars, can be enjoyed along with woodland walks, an orchard, a vegetable garden and home-made teas.

In Cambridgeshire, Ferrar House in Little Gidding opens on 17 July, with rolling lawns, walled flowerbeds and a vegetable garden. Set beside the historic Church of St John, it was at this Retreat House that Nicholas Ferrar formed a small religious community in the 17th century. TS Eliot visited in 1936 and it inspired the final poem of his Four Quartets series. Nearby, Old Weston Garden Farm is an interesting smallholding with a two-acre potager kitchen garden mixing flowers for cutting (available as ‘pick your own’) with fruit, vegetables and herbs. Hens range freely in the orchard and the farm also rears turkeys, geese and rare-breed pigs. It opens on 31 July, with teas available.

renovations began five years ago. To date, a large kitchen garden, wall-trained fruit trees, herbaceous borders, parterre, pleaching orchard and wildflower meadows have been created, with an extensive arboretum also under way. Nearby Deene Park, the elegant home of the Brudenell family, opens its house and gardens on Sundays and bank holidays throughout the summer and for private groups on selected dates.

Close to Peterborough, 12 acres of sloping terraced gardens and woodland will delight visitors at Castor House on 16 June, 14 August and other dates by arrangement. Redesigned in 2010, there is much to see here, from Italianate spring-fed ponds and stream gardens to a potager and willow arbour. In contrast, 289 Dogsthorpe Road is a peaceful urban garden designed by artist Julie Reid, divided into textured rooms with intimate seating areas, water features and a Japanese-inspired garden. There’s also an Open Artists Studio, fine art exhibition and ‘pop-up’ tea shop. It opens on 28 and 29 August or by arrangement in July and August. Also near Peterborough is 29 Foster Road, a plantsman’s garden that squeezes almost 250 different cultivars into a small estate plot alongside many interesting design features. It is open by arrangement until September.

GREEN FINGERS OR A HELPING HAND You can support the NGS by volunteering, making a donation, visiting gardens or by opening your own to the public. Ideally, get in touch with your nearest Assistant County Organiser just before your garden is at its best so that they can come and have a look. Your contribution, even if it’s just buying a cuppa and a cake at an open garden, will make a real difference to the life of someone who needs care and support, with 80p in every pound going to the NGS. RUTLAND & MARKET HARBOROUGH LIVING JUNE 2016

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Advertisement Feature

Helping You Cope With Care Aleisha White is Rutland’s only Independent Social Worker. With almost twenty years’ experience in social care and frustrated by the restrictions of Local Authority time and resources, she launched the Care Advice Centre to offer families and individuals access to personalised care and funding information. Aleisha tells Amander Meade about her work.

WHY DID YOU DECIDE TO BECOME INDEPENDENT? I recognised a real need for a much more personal and less rushed approach to advice on care planning. Issues around care and funding are complex and require a real understanding of the people involved and as an Independent Social Worker, I can devote the time necessary for my clients to access all the information and specific advice they need.

WHAT ARE THE TYPICAL CARE ISSUES PEOPLE CONTACT YOU ABOUT? For most people, the first time they come into contact with the social care system is when they are already in crisis either themselves or in respect to a loved one. Circumstances often mean there are difficulties understanding what funding or benefits individuals are entitled to and that’s where I can help.

WHY ARE WE HEARING SO MUCH ABOUT CARE FUNDING AT THE MOMENT? It’s a very hot topic as we are living for so much longer now meaning more and more of us need care in later life. The subject is both complicated and dependent on individual financial circumstances but central to the issue is NHS Continuing Health Care, which is the funding of care fees by the NHS. Funding is only available to patients with highly complex needs but most of the time families are not aware that funding may be available to them or have misconceptions around their entitlement. My role is to find out if their loved one qualifies by helping them navigate the criteria and the process of application which is certainly not made easy. Clients constantly tell me that they would never have understood and managed the process by themselves. I also deal with appeals on behalf of families that have been turned down for funding and have a high success rate in reversing the original decision. Families can also apply retrospectively; I have experience in recovering funds spent on care on behalf of patients that have since passed away.

HOW IMPORTANT IS PROFESSIONAL ADVICE? It’s always well worth seeking a professional opinion as clients often report that they were told it would be pointless to apply for NHS

Continuing Healthcare funding - this is very often not the case. Similarly many families are unaware they may qualify for Attendance Allowance which is paid to individuals who need a little extra help.

The benefit of an independent advocate is that I have access to all the facts and will bring together all the relevant agencies on your behalf. I have no imposed budgetary restraints which means I can offer advice entirely tailored to each individual set of circumstances.

WHAT ABOUT LONG TERM CARE ADVICE? Most of my clients are referred to me by Solicitors, Financial Advisors and other professionals dealing with the affairs of the elderly. I have a substantial knowledge of care and nursing homes in the region and can offer advice on the most appropriate care as well as helping to negotiate fees.

CAN YOU HELP FAMILIES AVOID A CARE CRISIS? Most definitely. Forward planning is vital to make sure your wishes are carried out and your assets are protected as much as possible. We all know the importance of a will after death but Lasting Power of Attorney makes sure you have the right people in place to act for you should you lose capacity to make your own decisions. Problems can be avoided by proper planning to make life easier for you and for those who may be responsible for carrying out your wishes – we all like to think we are invincible but it makes sense to plan for the future as well as having someone fighting your corner when you need them most.

Aleisha’s fees are dependent on individual circumstances but she offers Rutland & Market Harborough Living readers the benefit of an initial telephone consultation free of charge.

• Aleisha White at the Care Advice Centre Tel: 01572 720705 or 07766490473 www.care-advice-centre.co.uk

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HO M E & GAR D E N

Is this new intelligent bedding the secret to a good night’s sleep?

Ever wondered why you wake up too hot in bed?

A

STUDY conducted at the University of Leeds and commissioned by local sleep experts, The Wool Room, has revealed that local Stamford and Rutland wool could be the secret to staying cool and getting a good night’s sleep.

Over a third of Brits attribute poor sleep to being too hot at night and it is this build-up of heat and subsequent sweating that is the most common reason for waking during the night, particularly during crucial stage 4 regenerative sleep between 2am – 5am.

The Wool Room, based in Empingham, Rutland and with its leading store in Stamford, wanted to try and understand why they received so many testimonials and reviews that outlined how sleeping with wool bedding changed their lives by managing their sleeping comfort so much better than traditional bedding types. The belief is that by managing heat and humidity (each of us loses half to a litre of moisture per night) that we will obtain significantly enhanced stage 4 REM sleep.

The study used a modified Sweating Guarded Hot Plate Technology, which replicates somebody sleeping and sweating at night.

The study pitted commercially available (from popular high street brands) feather/ down duvets and polyester against wool to examine their thermal insulation properties and moisture management, factors essential to keeping us cool and preventing a disturbed night’s sleep.

The Wool Room believes that humidity levels within the bedroom are really important for getting a good night’s sleep and such wadding samples of each duvet were pre-conditioned under two environments, in the cooling down phase from a temperature of 70° C and in the warming up phase of an environment of 17° C and 45% relative humidity – the ideal settings for the average bedroom.

In both environments, it was found that the

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wool duvet performed significantly better at managing moisture over an 8 hour period than both polyester and feather/down duvets, traditionally the bestselling duvet types in the UK. Feather/down wadding allowed the least amount of water to escape, with wool allowing 43% more moisture transmission than polyester and 67% more than feather and down duvets.

When testing thermal insulation, wool was found to reach 35.1° C, the optimum temperature for sleep, faster than feather/ down and polyester bedding. It was also found to maintain this temperature constantly while feather/down and polyester took far longer to reach 35.1° C and were unable to maintain this, regularly reaching 36.1° C and above. This also explains why customers also report falling to sleep faster under wool than other types but also highlighted how wool will maintain body temperature more consistently.

Overall, wool was found to let the most moisture escape and remain at a consistent optimum temperature when compared to feather/down and polyester duvets. Testing at two different temperatures also allowed the conclusion that these benefits are down to the fibre properties and structures of wool rather than the thickness of the duvets.

and they continue in their quest to develop the most intelligent and healthy products for the bedroom.

The Wool Room believe it is vital to manage heat and humidity under the body as well as above as most mattresses contain synthetic layers (particularly memory foam) next to the surface. This without doubt causes significant humidity build up and a cause of waking. By investing in a wool mattress topper or wool mattress protector and a wool pillow in addition to a wool duvet one can create a micro climate that will adapt intelligently to the sleeper even if there are two different temperature sleepers in the same bed!

It is this clever moisture management that also led the Wool Room to be awarded the Allergy UK Seal of Approval in 2015 for its entire British wool and alpaca bedding ranges, resulting in being the only natural solution for allergy, asthma and eczema sufferers.

This Rutland business is so passionate about changing their customer’s lives by delivering the very best, natural, healthy sleep that they have developed the unique retail proposition of allowing customers in their Stamford store to select and design the most suitable sleep system for them and their partner. The customer experience involves trying and selecting in store the right option of duvet, pillow and underlayer and what’s more by buying the complete wool sleep system you have a 30 day sleep guarantee to ensure that you are obtaining a better night’s sleep. If not you can return it!

So the next time you wake up too hot during the night think of those local sheep and their intelligent wool that can deliver the very best natural, healthy night’s sleep.

Whilst this research is ground-breaking it is not that surprising to the Wool Room as they receive rave reviews for their products daily

• The Wool Room, 8 Star Lane, Stamford, PE9 1PH Tel: 01780 767927www.thewoolroom.com

RUTLAND & MARKET HARBOROUGH LIVING JUNE 2016

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Bedding with Natural Intelligence

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OUT & ABOUT Amander Meade selects the best entertainment in the region this month person to include supper and a programme.

Tickets and further information available on line at www.operaminima. org

Friday 3 to Sunday 12 June, 10am to 4pm daily EXHIBITION: Reflections on a Decade Rutland artist Barbara Taylor-Harris uses mixed media including acrylics, oils, watercolour and pastel to create her contemporary, abstract and figurative work. This exhibition will showcase the best of her recent work.

Victoria Hall, Oakham Admission is free Friday 3 June, 6.45pm for 7.30pm showing

EVENT: Lyddington Film Night This month James Bond goes on the hunt for the leaders of the sinister organisation Spectre.

On Friday 1 July the Walmington-on-Sea Home Guard platoon deals with a female journalist and a German spy in the film version of the popular 1970s sitcom Dad’s Army.

Lyddington Village Hall Tickets are £5 on the door. All profits to the Village Hall Trust Saturday 4 and Sunday 5 June, 12 noon to 7pm EVENT: Leicester Riverside Festival A lively weekend of activities for the whole family at Castle Gardens, Bede Park, Mile Straight & Western Boulevard.

The event incorporates many diverse attractions and activities, including market stalls, live music, decorated boats and arts activities.

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Saturday 18 and Sunday 19 June, 1pm to 5pm daily EVENT: Open Gardens in Lyddington Twelve gardens will be open to the public as well as a guided woodland walk on Saturday.

Additionally there will be an art display as well as plant sales, afternoon teas and ice creams. Proceeds to church funds.

Admission £5 per person

Monday 6 June, 7.30pm EVENT: Valuation Evening Collyweston Historical and Preservation Society will welcome Colin Young, antiques expert from TV programmes such as ‘Flog It’ and ‘Bargain Hunt’ who hails from Collyweston and who has agreed to spend the evening evaluating items brought in by local people.

Prompt attendance is recommended.

Collyweston Village Hall Admission is free to Society members and £5 to guests which includes light refreshments.

Friday 10 June at 7.30pm and Saturday 11 June at 6.30pm CLASSICAL MUSIC: Mozart Opera Gala Opera Minima bring together a miscellany of arias and ensembles performing work

by Mozart. Friday’s performance is in the village hall in Great Easton priced at £20 per person and Saturday’s performance is in the Old Corset Factory in Great Easton priced at £35 per

Sunday 21 June, 12 noon to 5pm EVENT: Jousting & Medieval Living History Village The Knights of Nottingham & the Oxford Household make a thrilling return to fight it out on horseback and on foot. A fire-eating display, jester in the grounds and story-telling for children and adults.

Rockingham Castle Tickets from £6 with full details at www. rockinghamcastle.com

Tuesday 28 and Wednesday 29 June, 7pm OPERA: Dido and Aeneas The opera is remembered as one of Purcell’s foremost theatrical works and recounts the love of Dido, Queen of Carthage for the Trojan hero Aeneas and her despair when he abandons her.

Uppingham Theatre Tickets £15/£12.50 Tel: 01572 820820 or at Uppingham Sports and Books

Sunday 5 June, from 8am EVENT: Rutland Agricultural Society’s 184th Annual County Show A wonderful traditional county show featuring all the best elements of rural living spiced up with some breath taking arena displays. Held at the new showground at Barleythorpe, near Oakham the show is an essential family day out offering first class value for money. The packed agenda includes hands-on wildlife interactions, arts and crafts, fabulous food and farming produce, trade and agricultural stands, a licensed bar and refreshment tents, livestock showing classes, show jumping and a display of vintage and classic cars and farm machinery. Booking and all information at www. rutlandcountyshow.co.uk

Saturday 11 June, from 5.30pm, concert starts at 7.30pm CHARITY CONCERT: Music in the Park Bring your own picnic and enjoy a wonderful evening listening to local covers band ‘Double Yellers’ and the award winning ‘Hathern Brass Band’. Fireworks display to finish at 10pm.

Wistow Hall.

Tickets in advance are £15 Adult and £5 (10-16 years), under 10 years free Tel: 0116 231 8431 www.wistow.com or collect in person from any Loros Shop, Glebe Garden Centre or Baileys at Wistow Rural Centre.

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Dido & Aeneas Uppingham School presents Henry Purcell’s

Artistic Director Catherine Griffiths Musical Director Stephen Williams Stage Director John Rowe

There will be an extended interval.

You are welcome to bring along a picnic to enjoy with a complimentary glass of Prosecco in the beautifully landscaped Western Quad

28 & 29 June 2016 Uppingham Theatre 7pm Tickets: £15/£12.50 01572 820 820 www.wegottickets.co.uk or Uppingham Sports and Books 53

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SHOP S & SE R V I C E S

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whether that be cattle, sheep and goat show classes, equestrian competitions, the always competitive dog show or the fabulous display of vintage cars and tractors.

It goes without saying that there will be a good selection of tradestands to keep the shopaholics in the family happy, a craft tent, children’s entertainment, and food outlets to keep the wolf from the door.

With this year’s headline charity chosen as Warning Zone, an inspirational charity working with children across Leicestershire and Rutland, a visit to the show will also benefit young people in the region; the Agricultural Society has given away over £20,000 to local charities over the last five years.

• To book tickets, which cost just £15 for a car plus occupants, and keep up to date with what is happening at the show, visit www.blastonshow.co.uk.

The 7th NB Music Course

Tried and Tested

N

B Music Courses holds its seventh annual young people’s summer school in Oakham this August. Each year the course has grown in popularity as youngsters from the ages of seven to eighteen come together for five days to develop their skills in Musical Theatre, instrumental performance, song and dance.

A team of eight professional coaches are there to provide leadership and guidance as the team work towards a two hour performance extravaganza for parents on the final day. The musical theatre group is led by Catherine Woolley who currently works in musical direction for the West End shows ‘Matilda’ and ‘Jersey Boys’. Instrumental coaches include professional trumpeter Rob Wallace and international concert violinist Vicky Mavromoustaki.

Organiser Rachel Branston says, “This week is all about building confidence whilst having fun, whatever a child’s musical ability. Whether they are a grade eight instrumentalist or have never done any stage performance before we have coaching and opportunities that will help them reach the next level. Each year parents tell us how stunned they are by what their children achieve in the final performance of the week.”

Participants can choose to specialise in instrumental performance and will have opportunities throughout the week to perform in different groups or as soloists. Alternatively the Musical Theatre group works towards performing scenes from well-known West End musicals. Performers can take lead roles or blend in to the chorus depending on their confidence. At the end of the week the two groups come together for the final stage show.

• This year’s course is from the 15th to the 19th of August and more information can be found at www.NBMusicCourses.org

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WH AT ’S O N

Oakham Festival 2016 Oakham Festival has been celebrating and promoting the arts including music, theatre, art, dance, and comedy since 1989. Please do show your support and come along to as many of the live events as you can from Wednesday 29th June to Sunday 3rd July OAKHAM SCHOOL CHAMBER CHOIR Wednesday 29th June All Saints’ Church, Oakham 1.30pm Admission: Free The BBC Songs of Praise choral finalists give their last performance of a hugely successful academic year. Be sure to come and hear these acclaimed singers performing folksong arrangements, jazz classics and French songs

by Holst, Cole Porter and Ravel.

RUTLAND MUSIC HUB Thursday 30th June All Saints’ Church, Oakham 1.30pm Admission: Free Rutland Music Hub was formed to deliver the National Plan for Music Education and supports all schools to develop musical opportunities for the County.

Today we will see performances from Rutland primary school children who have benefitted from opportunities made possible by the Hub. COMEDY SPECIAL @ GRAINSTORE Thursday 30th June Grainstore Brewery, Oakham 8.00pm Tickets: £12.00 Funhouse Comedy Club is back at the Grainstore Brewery. Headlining the night will be the amazing Mr. Paul ‘Sinhaman’ Sinha from the ITV quiz show, The Chase.

Paul has also been something of a fixture on Radio 4 in recent years with the series Paul Sinha’s Citizenship Test and Paul Sinha’s History Revision as well as one off shows on cricket, the 2012 Olympics and Magna Carta.

Supporting Paul is Nathan Caton, another TV show regular with numerous appearances on Mock the Week and Live at the Apollo.

Completing the lineup is Andy Watson, known for his unique blend of sharp one-liners and physical comedy skills and your compere for the evening is the amazing Scott Bennett.

6:15pm doors.

Last orders for food 7.15pm 8:15pm show.

CLARINET CHARISMA Friday 1st July All Saints’ Church, Oakham 1.30pm Admission: Free Clarinet Charisma was formed in September 2015 and was awarded distinction at the Oundle Festival of Music and Drama in April 2016.

The ensemble comprises amateur musicians who are keen to develop their technical and performance skills. Expect a varied programme from Bach to Gershwin.

O OAK AMF S T I AL 1

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and supported by vocal interludes from local soprano artiste, Katie Marshall.

The London based ballet company comprises classically trained ballerinas with specialist technique in classical ballet and pointe work and will perform excerpts from timeless classical ballet productions.

15 year old Katie Marshall has been recognised as one of the country’s most promising young vocalists and we are delighted to welcome her back to Oakham Festival.

Pimms and soft refreshments will be available to purchase.

GHOST WALK Friday 1st July Meet at All Saints’ Church 9.30pm Travel back in time through the dark and winding alleyways of Rutland’s county town.

A night of history and mystery to capture the imagination and inspire the mind. Join us if you dare!

DAY OF DANCE Dance workshops Saturday 2nd July Oakham Studios 10.00am to 15.45pm Tickets: £3.00 ( 2 for £5.00) 30 minute taster sessions, accessible to all.

10:00 Charleston, 10:45 Tap (soft tap) 11:30 Hip Hop, 12:15 African Dance 13:00 Contemporary, 13:45 Ballet 14:30 Jazz, 15:15 Bollywood £3.00 per class or £5.00 for two classes Sign up in advance via Oakham Studio. Contact Sarah - 01572 724047 If traditional footwear not available, wear soft shoes and clothes that you can move in.

THE LONDON BALLERINAS An evening of midsummer ballet with interludes from Katie Marshall soprano Friday 1st July Oakham Castle 7.30pm Tickets: £12.00/£10 students Join us for a magical evening of ballet in the beautiful surroundings of Oakham Castle with the amazingly talented London Ballerinas

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DEEPING DIXIELANDERS Sunday 3rd July Cutt’s Close, Oakham 2.00pm Free event Come toe tap in the park with this 5 piece band from Market Deeping who will entertain with melodies from the 1920’s and 30’s along with Gershwin and more modern times.

RYDA SHOWCASE Saturday 2nd July Cutts Close, Oakham 4.30pm Free event – donations to WaterAid Rutland Youth Dance Academy will showcase energetic routines by performers of all ages. This is a free event in Cutts Close with donations to WaterAid. Come along and support Rutland’s young dancers.

PROMS IN THE PARK Saturday 2nd July Cutts Close, Oakham From 6.00pm Free event – donations to WaterAid Following on from the success of the previous two year’s FREE event, the Rutland Concert Band return with guest singer, Caroline Trutz to present a sparkling programme of TV, film and show themes followed by traditional proms favourites.

Programme to include Moments for Morricone, Star Trek, 1812 Overture accompanied by pyrotechnic canon fire and All Saints church bellringers, Fantasia on British Sea Songs and Pomp & Circumstance March No. 1.

Rutland Concert Band have chosen to support a different charity each year and this year the collecting buckets will be out for WaterAid. Enjoy an evening out with friends and family and we would ask that you show your appreciation by giving generously to the collecting buckets in aid of this worthy cause.

Bring picnics, chairs, gazebos, candelabra and Union Jacks.

BBQ by Lions Club of Rutland and Festival Pimms available to purchase.

Please note: This is a FREE, low cost event.

As such, there will not be a sound system on the band so we encourage you to sit as close to the bandstand as possible. Thank you.

Free parking from 6pm Live music from 7pm to 9pm

DIVINITY Saturday 2nd July Grainstore Brewery, Oakham 8.30pm Free entry Appearing at the Grainstore again are this suberb band, Divinity. With a charismatic, instinctive and expressive lead singer together with energetic, professional musicians, they aim to get the dance floor moving from the first song.

Divinity have an ever-growing repertoire of material suitable for every generation and specialise in Motown, Soul, Funk, Reggae and Pop. Expect to hear the likes of James Brown, Tina Turner, The Tramps, Wild Cherry, Bob Marley & The Wailers, Stevie Wonder, Police, Jamiroquai, Duffy, Jessie J, Steelers Wheel, and Amy Winehouse to name just a few!

THOMAS-TURNER DUO ALAN THOMAS (GUITAR) AND ELEANOR TURNER (HARP) Sunday 3rd July School Chapel, Oakham 4.00pm Tickets £10.00 The closing performance of the festival will be a recital from Alan Thomas (guitar) and Eleanor Turner (Harp) who describe themselves as being about dazzling virtuosity, Spanish fire and spontaneity.

From Bizet to the Beatles The programme will include Georges Bizet Aragonaise from ‘Carmen’, Manuel de Falla Suite from ‘The Three-Cornered Hat’, Yann Tiersen Suite from the film ‘Amelie’, Francisco Tárrega Recuerdos de la Alhambra, ‘Alice in Wonderland’ - two pieces by Eleanor Turner and Benjamin Rimmer, ‘Hommage to Radiohead’ by Alan Turner and we can also expect some Beatles amongst this dazzling programme. The duo will use both acoustic and electric instruments in what is promised to be a dynamic finale to Oakham Festival 2016 and will be followed by Pimms on the lawn.

T’AI CHI Sunday 3rd July Cutts Close, Oakham 10.30am Free event Suitable for all ages (from 8 to 80) and all levels of fitness, enjoy a 30 minute demonstration of the T’ai Chi form followed by a 30 minute introductory class.

BOX OFFICES: Rutland Toys & Dance Boutique 34 High Street LE15 6AL Everlasting Now 14 Church Street, Oakham 01572 723827 Tickets available online at www.wegottickets.com Stay up to date online: www.oakhamfestival.co.uk RUTLAND & MARKET HARBOROUGH LIVING JUNE 2016

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Area Manager Guardianship Area Manager wanted in Rutland and East Midlands, to join the team at Pippa’s Guardians. We are a family run company caring for International Students aged between 7 and 18 years of age at some of Britain’s best Boarding Schools.

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Student Visits and Pastoral Care Parent/Teacher Meetings Management of Host Families Emergency Support Transport Finances

For further information and a job description, please contact Ben Hughes: ben@pippasguardians.co.uk • 01684 252757

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SH OP S & SE R V I CE S MA R K E T H A R B O R O U G H

HARBOROUGH HAPPENINGS What’s new in Market Harborough?

Kibworth Book Festival T

he team from the bookshop in Kibworth will be hosting a series of events again this year, collectively known as the Kibworth Book Festival. The festival begins on 13th May and runs until the end of June. The first author on the line-up is the award-winning Belgian Peter Verhelst, who is visiting the UK for the European Literature Festival (ELF). ELF is staging just four events outside of London, including this appearance by Verhelst in Kibworth.

‘Independent Publisher of Honour’ this year will be Granta books. The London-based publishing house’s chief editor, Max Porter will give a talk in-store on 16th June and he will also discuss his acclaimed novel Grief is the Thing with Feathers.

Other festival authors include Laura Barnett, Sarah Moss, Nina Stibbe, Rob Tanner and children’s book illustrator Chris Embleton-Hall,

who will be giving drawing demonstrations at local primary schools. Barnett will talk about her bestseller The Versions of Us at Kibworth Library, heralding the start of a new life for the local library - the closure of which has been avoided by a team of local volunteers taking it on. Moss and Stibbe will each be celebrating the launch of their latest novels, The Tidal Zone and Paradise Lodge respectively and Leicester Mercury journalist Rob Tanner will present his timely book 5000-1: The Leicester City Story at Kibworth Cricket Club. The sporting venue will also play host to ‘The Big Bookshop Bash’, a social evening for all book lovers including book previews, wine, buffet, music, quiz, raffle and goody bags.

Debbie James is the owner of The Bookshop Kibworth and manager of the Kibworth Book Festival. “We love putting together this programme of events for our customers and

Great Bowden Music Fest Year 3 N

ow in its third year, the Great Bowden Music Fest 2016 presents a varied concert series continuing its tradition of top quality music featuring local musicians, international guests, community groups and young talent. The festival which takes place from the 7th-10th July in St. Peter and St. Paul Parish Church, Great Bowden offers something for all music lovers with classical works, choral music, music theatre and the Jazz and Big Band Extravaganza.

The Fest’s commitment to showcasing young talent continues with the Vivaldi Four Seasons performed by four up and coming violinists from the Midlands, a young piano trio from the Royal Northern College of Music playing another version of the “Seasons” by Piazzolla and the Leicester Grammar School Big Band. Classical concerts will feature music by Dvorak and Vivaldi, with the Harborough Singers joining forces with the Festival Orchestra in the Gala Finale which also includes Mozart’s Sinfonia concertante with soloists, Christopher White and Swiss violist Johannes Gurth. “Music of the Night” will present favourites from many of the greatest musicals, welcoming the Harborough Choral Society and other local soloists.

A free “Coffee and Chamber Music” concert on Saturday 9th July at 11:30 is an addition to the line-up of concerts and there is an exhibition from the Great Bowden Visual Arts Group displaying their “People’s Choice” winners, on sale at concerts.

Tickets are £10/£8 Concessions, Fest Ticket (4 concerts in 1) £30/£25 Under 10s Free at Welton’s in Great Bowden, Moins Chemists, Coventry Road, Market Harborough, by email greatbowdenmusicfest@gmail.com or Tel: 01858 469109 (James Shakespeare) • More information can be found on the Facebook page and www.greatbowdenmusicfest.co.uk

for the residents of Kibworth and Leicester.

We want to show how much we appreciate the support our shop gets so there’s always wine and goodies to be given out at the events too.”

In the last six months, The Bookshop Kibworth has won the Vintage Independent Bookshop of the Year award, been shortlisted for the regional UK Independent Bookshop of the Year award for the fifth year running and has been awarded two James Patterson grants for their work in bringing books and a love of reading to children in Leicestershire.

• For all festival event dates, times, tickets and booking details, call Debbie James on Tel: 0116 2791121, email info@thebookshopkibworth.com or go to www.thebookshopkibworth.com

Amelia Nour Opens in Stoneygate

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Visit this little slice of refined retail heaven and choose from hard to find natural products ranging from skincare, bodycare and haircare to aromatherapy and wellbeing.

• Contact: Amelia Nour, 59 Francis Street, Leicester, Tel: 0116 431 5395 RUTLAND & MARKET HARBOROUGH LIVING JUNE 2016

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L OC AL P EOPLE

A Cut Above Catherine Varney spoke to Thomas Potts, the man behind the rapidly-expanding Thomas Hairdressing group

F

OUR years ago when I walked into Thomas Potts’ newly-opened Oakham salon, one of the first things I noticed was how smart it was – the decor, obviously because it was all shiny and brandspanking new but the man himself was dressed in a three-piece suit. I wondered whether this was simply the case of making a good first impression?

Apparently not; as now with three salons across the region and his sartorial standards as high as ever, I went back to find out the key to Thomas’ success.

In the beginning:

I assumed for a man with such obvious passion for his profession, that hairdressing had been a lifelong dream? “Not at all”, Thomas laughed. “I left school with A-levels in Psychology, Art, English Literature and Graphics and although I’d always had an interest in hairstyles, I had never considered it as a career.” But having decided he needed a job, he applied to be a stylist’s apprentice, and in what would become typical Thomasstyle, he decided to learn from the best, in London’s West End. Thomas secured a spot in Michael Van Clarke’s salon (the brother of famous hairdresser Nicky Clarke) and commuted there from Market Harborough every day: “My apprentice’s wages were so low and my train fare was so high that I was making a loss every month. In fact, I had to make £108 a week in tips just to break even; thank goodness the salon was frequented by lots of wealthy and very generous clients!”

Wise words:

Following the completion of his Apprenticeship, Thomas got his own assistant in the salon and took his inspiration from his revered boss: “He was excellent with the customers and nothing was too much trouble. He wasn’t a great talker but he would really listen – and remember the tiniest detail about a client so he could ask them about it when they came in next time. He once said to me ‘from the moment you qualify, that’s the best you’ll ever be.

How you maintain your standards after that is up to you’. And I’ve definitely lived by that mantra. When I made the decision to open my own salon in Oakham, I only wanted to attract the very best staff to the business to continue our good work and good name.”

A few hair-raising moments along the way....

Even though Thomas’ transition from Apprentice to salon owner appears seamless, it hasn’t been without problems: “We didn’t have chairs for two days when we first opened the Oakham salon so had to make do with cutting stools, computer chairs and anything else we could find for the customers to sit on. Plus my plans of serving fresh coffee out of a topof-the-range machine went out of the window when the supplier went bankrupt the day before we opened. We ended up using an Argos kettle to make the customers’ drinks so it wasn’t quite the auspicious start I was hoping for.” And have there been any hair-related disasters? “Well, I have to reluctantly admit that one time I was cutting a young lad’s hair when he moved his head and I accidentally cut his ear. I was mortified as I’d never done anything like that before – but to my horror, I then managed to do exactly the same thing on the other side! Fortunately, his mum was very good about it and the lad is 16 now and still one of my most loyal customers.”

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Future plans:

So hard work aside, does Thomas have much time to relax with wife Claire and daughter Ava who will be 2 in August? “Fortunately Claire owns her own business too so is very supportive of the long hours I work. And actually I am spending even less time at home at the moment because I’ve started training for an amateur sponsored boxing match called Ultra White Collar to raise money for Cancer Research UK. There are 20 of us, trained up by professionals over 8 weeks ready to take part in the big finale on the 11th June.” Yikes! And when Thomas walks away (hopefully) unscathed from his bout in the ring, are there further plans afoot for more salons? “I’m in no rush to open any more right now, as I would just end up paying bills and organising stock rather than cutting hair. Instead, I’d like to develop the Thomas range of hair care products which we’re already putting into independent hotels across the country, and I’m looking at the possibility of selling to a wider audience through QVC, the home shopping channel.” And with drive and determination like this, certainly anything is possible.

• Thomas Hairdressing, The Maltings, 15 Mill Street, Oakham, Tel: 01572 756561; 2 High Street, Melton Mowbray, Tel: 01664 566812; 13-14 Churchgate, Loughborough, Tel: 01509 211010, www.thomashairdressing.co.uk To sponsor Thomas in aide of Cancer Research UK, text TUWC99 and the amount to 70070.

RUTLAND & MARKET HARBOROUGH LIVING JUNE 2016

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