Michael Spiers
magazine 2019
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Return of the native ·6·
Musician Stephen Duffy · 50 ·
Michael Spiers jewellery showcase · 14 ·
Hidden gems of the West Country · 60 ·
Fope – Exquisite strands of genius · 40 ·
Michael Caines’ new challenges · 70 ·
Scandi-style with Georg Jensen · 48 ·
SAS riding a new wave · 78 ·
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T
S
Camel Valley Wine · 86 ·
Watches: the magnificent seven · 100 ·
Exeter Chiefs, a family affair · 92 ·
To bee or not to be · 116 ·
A life on the ocean wave · 96 ·
Recipe: a taste of honey · 120 ·
Michael Spiers celebrates 60 years · 98 ·
How to find Michael Spiers · 124 ·
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Return of the native “People who work for us feel part of the family, which is how my Dad would have liked it.”
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Not many people would give up a high-flying job in the sun-soaked paradise of the Cayman Islands for a small flat above a shop in a Cornish harbour town. However, that’s exactly what Adam Spiers did when he became the second generation of the renowned West Country jewellery family, steering the Michael Spiers brand into the 21st century. It was even more of a surprising move because Adam wasn’t planning to join the family firm. This may be hard to believe for anyone who knows Adam. The charismatic businessman whose father Michael opened his first shop in Looe in the 1950s is now ebullient in his love for the stores in Plymouth, Truro, Exeter and Taunton, their team, customers and suppliers. ·7
“I remember Dad asking me whether I had thought about coming back home and joining the business.”
That was 1996 and Adam was entering a company that already had quite a pedigree.
“I graduated from Oxford Poly’ with a degree in business and had no idea what I wanted to do but wasn’t ready to enter the family business,” said Adam during a visit to the Truro shop.
His father Michael opened his first shop in Looe in the late 1950s just as the British holiday trade was booming – “A little antique and jewellery shop; it was all silver trinkets then and very much a seaside jewellers. My parents lived in the small flat above.”
“Every summer, as a family, we’d decamp to Looe and I would work in restaurants but I never worked in the shop… I did clean the windows though, from the age of 10!”
Branches followed at Polperro and Newquay and when Michael was joined by brother-in-law Keith White, brother Stephen Spiers, and family friend Michael Cox the decision was made to move the business into major cities to focus on all-year trade rather than seasonal business.
So what changed for the man who qualified as a Chartered Accountant with financial giant Deloitte & Touche and then worked for Price Waterhouse in the Cayman Islands? Surely he was living the dream?
Plymouth was the first in 1969, with Truro, Taunton and then Exeter following suit, making up a formidable and wellrespected quartet of prestigious shops with a far-reaching reputation.
“It was fantastic, I was going out with Ally, who’s now my wife, and we went to Grand Cayman together. It was paradise… after two years my mother and father came out to visit to tell us that Dad had been diagnosed with cancer. During our numerous conversations, I remember Dad asking me whether I had thought about coming back home and joining the business.”
The progression of the business wasn’t necessarily an easy one for Adam, who grew up in Looe.
Adam found himself in the enviable position of being allowed a year’s sabbatical by Price Waterhouse to try his hand in the world of jewellery. As he said: “it was too good an opportunity not to give it a go”. He added: “I could try it for a year, training under my Uncle Keith and if it didn’t work out I could always go back. I was missing the West Country, I was brought up on the beach in Cornwall and I harked back to those roots. Stats’ and numbers were my thing but that skill set is quite repetitive – I was always a people person and I always wanted to be in business.” Adam almost gets dewy-eyed when he recalls the day when everything changed. “The senior partner of Price Waterhouse came to visit me in Plymouth and I vividly remember sitting on the Hoe, on the grass, in the sun, looking across to Drake’s Island and he said, ‘you’re not coming back are you’ and I said, ‘no’.” ·8
“I found it very emotional when we sold the Looe shop as so much of the Michael Spiers story was tied up there. I’m still very much connected to the place though, it’s my spiritual home, so it was an honour to donate to the recent Looe Saves The Day music festival.” He added: “Ally and I started off living as my parents did but 30 years apart – in the flat over the shop in Looe with a young child. Zach was born in Plymouth’s Derriford Hospital in Devon in 1996, but registered in Looe so he’s Cornish and proud of it!” The family later moved to Plymouth and daughter Tash was born in 1998. Another son Mickey followed in 2004. Adam, who still wears the Rolex watch his father gave him as a 21st birthday present, is proud to carry on the Michael Spiers name: “Dad was still working that first year I joined and I spent a lot of time with him; probably more time than
Adam is visibly excited when he discusses the heartbeat of Michael Spiers – their customers. “Many of our clients have become our friends.”
have a unique relationship with them – there are still people who visit us who bought items in the ’60s. They’re now bringing their grandchildren in for engagement rings, and 18th and 21st birthday presents.
I ever had. He died in 1999, three days before my birthday. It was a very difficult time. “Keith, Michael Cox and I work so well together and we have sought to continue my Dad’s legacy and to remember my Uncle Stephen’s role in shaping the business. It’s crucial for a family business, with that name over the door, to have a family member at the helm. If it gets too corporate the business becomes something else entirely. “It’s a family business which breeds loyalty – people who work for us feel part of the family, which is how my Dad would have liked it.” He added: “A family business is so different than corporate business. I’ve definitely never been of the ‘I am the boss’ mentality, we all work together for the good of the business and if the business is good we’ll all benefit.” Adam is also proud of how the business has evolved through innovation, including becoming an official agent for Patek Philippe, the finest watchmaker in the world. “Unfortunately, there are many independent jewellers who have closed down, as they simply haven’t moved with the times. The high street is unrecognisable from the way it was just a few years ago. Michael Spiers has been able to adapt and modernise due to our unique management team and we’ve grown steadily.” Adam is serious about the business but also serious about it being fun: “As my Uncle Keith keeps reminding everyone, we’re in the happy occasions business; celebrating birthdays, anniversaries, engagements and weddings... in fact any milestone in life, we are helping to create memories for people.”
“It’s more than a transaction. Our events are not business events, they’re family events. We reflect the environment we work in – we look the part, however we’ve got a quirky side that people love.” Adam’s credo about the business being built on ‘loveliness’ is an addictive one. If someone is interviewed for a job, the first thing he will ask one of the managers is whether the applicant was ‘lovely’. “I know it sounds silly but, seriously, it’s my personal number one recruitment policy. I would like to believe that’s why our teams remain relatively unchanged through the years. “I look at people like James (Walker), our group manager, who has worked with us for more than 30 years; Bruce (Baker), our workshop manager, for more than 40 years; and Mike (Cox), my co-director, for almost 50 – they become part of the family. When customers come in there’s always someone they know. Whatever changes we make to our stores, there will always be a familiar face to welcome you. “One of the things I’m proudest of is that someone can start with us and move up through the business. A lot of businesses do not provide that personal development anymore. “When a member of our team leaves us it’s a celebration because they’re going on to follow their dream. We will always be part of their story and that’s a privilege.” The other important part of Adam’s business and personal life is being based in the West Country – a region he loves. He did leave the Cayman Islands for it, after all. “I was brought up in Cornwall, went to school in Somerset and now I live in Devon – the West Country is very much part of me.”
Adam is visibly excited when he discusses the heartbeat of Michael Spiers – their customers. “Many of our clients have become our friends. “At the heart of it all is the relationship with our customers. We ·9
BOROS
www.kriegernet.com
Diamonds
Splinters from falling stars
Platinum brilliant cut diamond three stone trilogy ring £35,000 18ct white gold barleycorn and flower diamond necklet £8,750 with matching earrings £2,695
The Classical Greeks called diamonds tears of the gods; the
This 18ct white gold diamond cross pendant is a contemporary classic which is the perfect investment for timeless style £5,995
Romans believed them to be splinters from falling stars. Charming imagery but not as stunning as the reality: forged deep in the earth billions of years ago and brought to the surface through volcanic activity. The hardest naturally occurring substance known, diamonds are, of course, forever. Like their wearers, each diamond is unique and no two stones can ever be the same. Begin this exploration of uniqueness with this selection of diamond jewellery from Michael Spiers.
An exciting and fun take on the traditional diamond cluster ring, beautifully hand-set with diamonds in 18ct white gold £1,595
Dazzle delicately with our range of sparkling diamond line slider bracelets. Available in an assortment of styles and fully adjustable to fit different size wrists, these bracelets make the perfect gift. Gorgeous 18ct white gold designs deliver a timeless array of precious pieces which are sure to be loved by everyone. Available from £2,450
Fabulous emerald cut diamond 3 stone rings beautifully hand set by our goldsmiths in platinum £16,500 and £75,500
Enjoy the beauty of classic styling and sophisticated design with this stunning collection of iconic solitaire diamonds set into rings, necklaces and stud earrings. Rings from £1,250 Stud earrings from £625 Pendants from £925
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This exquisite diamond three stone ring is crafted in platinum. In the centre you will find a sparkling oval cut diamond with half moon cut diamonds flanked either side to make this ring a showstoper £27,500
An elegant pair of 18ct white gold stud earrings with a daisy cluster of sparkling brilliant cut diamonds. A feminine design and a timeless classic £1,895 Filled with sparkle, this 18ct white gold diamond cluster ring is incredibly glamorous and luxurious, with a brilliant cut diamond taking centre stage. The halo of marquise and brilliant cut diamonds and the diamond embellished shoulders adds even more sparkle, dazzling dramatially from every angle £12,500
Make a dazzling statement with this graduated brilliant cut diamond collar in 18ct white gold £5,295
These drop earrings feature two brilliant cut diamond pavé set discs set in 18ct white gold. A truly modern design which ehances the natural magnificence of the diamonds £3,285
Enjoy the elegance of classic styling and timeless beauty with this stunning pair of diamond hoop earrings. The set features dazzling brilliant cut diamonds and have been crafted in 18ct white gold £1,650
This breath-taking diamond engagement ring features a magnificent emerald cut diamond with brilliant cut diamond channel set shoulders for extra sparkle! £5,950
Inspired by vintage style, this elegant bangle is made from 18ct white gold, presenting a cushion shape cluster with a top clasp. Set with sparkling diamonds, this chic bangle is perfectly versatile to add an extra bit of glamour to both day and night looks £2,295 Katerina is wearing Michael Spiers platinum brilliant cut diamond three stone trilogy ring £35,000 18ct white gold barleycorn and flower diamond necklet £8,750
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Going for Gold The stars love to wear gold which is appropriate because that is where our premier precious metal comes from – outer space. The beautiful element was created in supernova nucleosynthesis or in collisions between neutron stars. Our more down-to-earth love of gold goes back some 40,000 years with flakes of the metal found in the caves of primitive humans. Ever since, we have ascribed the term gold to anything that signifies human excellence in achievement: Olympic gold, the Golden Globes, the Palme d’Or. The ancient Egyptians made maps of gold and Aristotle used the symbolism of gold in developing his theory of the golden mean. Associated with intrinsic worth and the wisdom of age, gold is prized in good times and in bad.
A beautiful 18ct yellow gold ring, with three brilliant cut diamonds. A timeless classic to cherish forever £7,500
Dazzle delicately with our range of sparkling diamond line slider bracelets. Available in an assortment of styles and fully adjustable to fit different size wrists, these bracelets make the perfect gift. Gorgeous 18ct yellow gold designs deliver a timeless array of precious pieces which are sure to be loved by everyone. Available from £2,450
A gorgeous 18ct yellow gold classic diamond solitaire ring. Hand set in a Tiffany style 6 claw setting. Available from £1,600
These striking 18ct yellow gold and diamond scatter rings from Michael Spiers Lifestyle Collection will be a standout addition to any jewellery collection. Available from £2,250 Seven beautiful brilliant cut diamonds form a gorgeous daisy cluster ring crafted in 18ct yellow gold £1,295
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Diamond set bangle in 18ct yellow gold. A beautiful bangle which can be worn alone or stacked with 18ct rose gold and 18ct white gold versions £3,650
The iconic knot design has been reimagined by our designers and now features a subtle, brilliant cut diamond accent. Hand crafted in luxurious 18ct yellow gold. Earrings £1,500, ring £1,500 and necklace £1,995
A gorgeous diamond set bangle in 18ct rose gold, featuring a heart shape cluster with a top clasp. Wear alone or stacked with other bracelets to create a look that is uniquely yours £1,950
An exciting and fun take on the traditional cluster, our designers have created a beautiful ring in 18ct rose gold, hand set with cinnamon coloured diamonds for the more adventurous type £1,195
Dazzle delicately with our range of sparkling diamond line slider bracelets. Available in an assortment of styles and fully adjustable to fit different size wrists, these bracelets make the perfect gift. Gorgeous 18ct rose gold designs deliver a timeless array of precious pieces which are sure to be loved by everyone. Available from £2,450
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Green
the colour of a royal gem
Line bracelet set with over 13 carats of emerald cut diamonds £39,950 Emerald and diamond cluster ring £28,950 Mikimoto Akoya pearl necklet £2,550
This gorgeous fancy cluster ring is made from 18ct white gold. With an oval emerald in the centre and surrounded by brilliant and baguette cut diamonds, this ring gives a spellbounding sparkle £2,795
A stunning oval emerald takes centre stage in this exquisite 18ct white gold ring. Framed with a halo of brilliant cut diamonds, the ring is finished with extravagant diamond set shoulders £4,950
A beautiful emerald centre stone flanked on either side by tapered baguette cut diamonds in channel set shoulders. A timeless design with a slight modern twist, crafted in 18ct white gold £10,500
A delicate and slim bangle in 18ct white gold, adorned in emeralds and diamonds. An elegant piece of jewellery for all occasions £7,950 Emerald and diamond cluster ring in 18ct white gold £28,950
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It gave its name to a whole country and played a part in ancient cultures, from India to Byzantium. The emerald has been prized throughout history. Poet William Drennan called Ireland the “Emerald Isle”. Royalty has a passion for it: the British Crown Jewels are studded with spectacular emeralds. Cleopatra was so smitten by them that she took control of ancient Egypt’s emerald mines. The beautiful green gems (there are many shades) are associated with loyalty, new beginnings and serenity.
Filled with breathtaking sparkle and eyecatching colour, this 18ct yellow and white gold emerald and diamond cluster ring is a vintage-inspired design. This gorgeous ring showcases a stunning emerald in centre stage. The rich green tones are enhanced with a beautiful baguette cut diamonds and diamond shoulders £28,950
Give your fine jewellery collection a touch of glamour with this stunning emerald and diamond ring. Featuring a dazzling oval emerald centre stone surrounded by a glistening halo of round brilliant cut diamonds and diamond set shoulders £6,250
This exquisite 18ct white gold bracelet features five square cut emeralds and three princess cut diamonds in alternation that exudes a modern twist £21,500
Add colour and sparkle to your style with this pretty emerald and diamond cluster ring. Crafted from luxurious 18ct white gold, this ring is set with a vivid square emerald with a shimmering diamond surround and set shoulders for a touch of vintage inspired sparkle £2,995
This staggeringly beautiful emerald and diamond 3 stone ring says it all! Hand made setting in 18ct yellow and white gold £35,000
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Cluster ring with an oval sapphire and brilliant cut diamonds £44,950 Sapphire and diamond bracelet £22,500 Diamond solitaire stud earrings £5,250 Brilliant cut diamond collar with rub over setting £35,950
Sapphires
a royal heritage for everyone
The Queen is our longest reigning monarch and when she celebrated her 2017 jubilee it was designated sapphire – the only British monarch to achieve that landmark. The most famous blue sapphire ring of all is also found in our royal family - the engagement ring given to Kate Middleton by Prince William. The ring was originally owned by his mother, the late Princess Diana. In fact, the ring had passed to Prince Harry but he gave it to his brother for the big occasion that their mother might have a symbolic presence at the royal wedding. A wise first move is to take a look at the selection of Michael Spiers’ sapphire jewellery featured here.
A fresh take on the classic cluster ring. This ring features a richly coloured oval cut sapphire surrounded by a mixture of brilliant and baguette cut diamonds to create a beautifully formed fancy cluster. Crafted in 18ct white gold, this sapphire and diamond ring is sure to wow £17,995
This exquisite 18ct white gold bracelet features eight square cut sapphires and four princess cut diamonds in alternation that exudes a modern twist £7,995
Beautiful heart sapphire pendant surrounded by sparkling diamonds in a heart shape setting £49,500
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A stunning peacock tail effect necklace adorned in round sapphires and brilliant cut diamonds. Set in 18ct white gold this necklace is a beautiful and unique piece for your collection £6,950
This stunning ring is bold and beautiful. The platinum band is the perfect backdrop for the brilliant blue sapphire and ten brilliant cut diamonds to really shine. Similar in style to the engagement ring given to the Duchess of Cambridge, this ring will make any woman feel like royalty £44,950
A unique design for this sapphire and diamond cluster ring - an oval blue sapphire surrounded by ten brilliant cut diamonds in 18ct white gold. Each diamond is beautifully held in a scalloped design which is then edged in millgrain £5,550
An Art Deco inspired stunning sapphire and diamond cluster ring in 18ct white gold £4,250
18ct white gold exquisite oval cut sapphire and brilliant cut diamond bracelet £22,500
A dazzling emerald cut sapphire centre stone flanked on either side by tapered baguette cut diamonds in channel set shoulders. A timeless design with a slight modern twist, crafted In 18ct white gold £13,950
Delicate and brilliant, this sapphire and diamond bangle is crafted in 18ct white gold. Versatile with an elegant sparkle, this bangle is suited to all occasions whether day or evening £6,950
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Rubies
the colour of passion
Brilliant cut diamond three stone trilogy ring £35,000 Ruby and brilliant cut diamond three stone ring £29,500 Fope Flex’It bracelet from the Vendome collection £14,425
This beautiful suite by Michael Spiers features an 18ct white gold cluster pendant £1,750, adorned with marquise cut rubies and princess cut diamonds and the matching earrings £1,750
A classically elegant 18ct white gold bangle set with rich red rubies and glittering diamonds. Perfect for adding colour and sparkle to that special occasion £7,495
Cushion cut ruby and brilliant cut diamond three stone ring in platinum £29,500
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In ancient India, the ruby was regarded as the king of gems. The Bible makes four references to the ruby, associating them with beauty and wisdom. The birthstone for those fortunate enough to be born in July, the ruby is associated with a range of qualities, best summed up in the word passion. The gems are said to embody “divine creativity”, a zest for life and courage: strong feelings for a strong colour. Begin your exploration of the power of their colour with this selection of ruby
An Art Deco inspired stunning ruby and diamond cluster ring in 18ct white gold £3,750
jewellery from Michael Spiers.
An unusual Art Deco inspired ruby and diamond circle pendant, set with graduated rubies and brilliant cut diamonds £4,750
With rubies sourced and chosen by our gemologist, Michael Cox, these ruby and diamond three stone rings represent a small selection of our ruby collection. Handcrafted and set in platinum by our own goldsmiths. Available from £6,950
A splendid 18ct white gold ruby line bracelet. The rubies have been perfectly matched to show a seamless colour throughout the piece. This delicate bracelet fits effortlessly around the wrist £5,295
This dazzling fancy cluster ring is created from 18ct white gold. At the centre, an oval cut ruby delightfully enhanced with a sparkling cluster of brilliant and baguette cut diamonds £2,950
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Mikimoto earrings £9,000 and pendant £12,800
Pearls
a culture of supreme elegance
Mikimoto Splash earrings £16,000 and pendant £15,000
Mikimoto Bubble Collection Akoya pearl and diamond set, 18k white gold earrings £1,200
Mikimoto Classic Elegance Drop earrings with Akoya cultured pearls and diamonds, set in 18ct white gold £3,400
Mikimoto Pearls in Motion pendant in 18ct white gold with Akoya cultured pearls £1,850
The pearl is one of nature’s sublime accidents. A random grain of sand triggers the process
Mikimoto Classic Elegance Akoya pearl and diamond set, 18k white gold pendant £3,100
that results in such beauty, but in nature it’s an accident that happens rarely. So when Kokichi Mikimoto created the cultured pearl – same natural process triggered by human intervention – he laid the basis for a great company and his own vision. That was “to adorn the necks of all women around the world with pearls.” For 125 years Mikimoto has been delivering on that vision, adorning generation Mikimoto Black South Sea pearl and diamond set 18k white gold stud earrings, prices from £1,450 for 8mm, all available in A+ quality as standard
after generation with pearls that are synonymous with elegance and beauty.
Mikimoto Akoya cultured pearl bracelet available in a variety of pearl sizes and quality grades, prices from £940 Mikimoto Akoya cultured pearl studs, shown here set in 18k yellow gold, available in sizes 6mm upwards and a choice of quality grades, prices from £280
Mikimoto Splash earrings with Akoya pearls and diamonds set in 18ct white gold £16,000
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Beauty
meets variety in this collection Sometimes a tradition does not tell the whole story. Thus, we in the West have long divided gems into precious and unusual gem types. Yet these categories do not do justice to the larger group which is characterised by staggering variety and beauty. The unusual gems group, which includes pink or green tourmaline, tanzanite and aquamarine, covers well over 100 types of stone, each with their own allure and associations. There is so much to discover, so begin here with a selection from Michael Spiers.
Strikingly beautful, this sensational 18ct white gold aquamarine and diamond cluster ring is a bold and distinctive alternative to a classic diamond ring. Effortlessly fusing classic, vintage-inspired design with a modern edge, this beautiful ring features an emerald cut aquamarine which is surrounded by a halo of sparkling brilliant cut diamonds, set on a polished 18ct white gold band £8,950
Big, bright and colourful this triple cluster ring is a great stand out piece. With a gradiant cut yellow sapphire taking centre stage, this ring is also surrounded by diamonds. Set in a mixture of 18ct white gold and yellow gold £6,250
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This beautiful triple cluster ring holds an emerald cut pale blue sapphire in the centre surrounded by diamonds for extra sparkle and to emphasise the pale blue colour of the sapphire. Set in 18ct white gold this is a contemporary twist on a classic design £5,950
Enchanting green tourmaline cluster ring surrounded with brilliant cut diamonds crafted in 18ct white gold £6,950
These wonderful colourful pendants include tanzanite, pink tourmaline and aquamarine surrounded by a circle of white diamonds in an 18ct white gold setting and chain £1,695
Plymouth Gin Distillery 60 Southside Street Plymouth PL1 2LQ 01752 60 44 48
Fope Solo Venezia collection including ring £6,845, earrings £8,280, and necklace £12,135 available in 18ct yellow gold, white gold and rose gold
FOPE nears 90th
anniversary still offering timeless beauty
They will be celebrating in style in Vicenza, Italy in 2019 when luxury jewellers Fope marks its 90th anniversary. And world-wide the many fans of the firm’s jewellery will be celebrating with them.
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From a modest workshop opened in Vicenza in 1929 by Umberto Cazzola, Fope has grown to become a major international brand. As part of its global expansion strategy, two years ago the firm chose to partner with Michael Spiers through its West Country stores in Truro, Plymouth, Exeter and Taunton. The exquisite nature of Fope’s collection of jewellery has been winning new fans ever since, turning many into customers. Fope products are based on its Novecento mesh, a unique patented design that offers a soft and supple feel to its items of jewellery. The innovation brought the company success in Italy and later world-wide. The mesh is the basis for the success of the Fope Flex’it collections where bracelets and rings are made flexible through tiny springs in 18-carat gold hidden in the mesh. Patented world-wide, the Flex’it system means that Fope is the only brand in the world that can craft flexible bracelets made entirely of 18-carat gold. The flexible design of bracelets and (some) rings make the jewellery quite distinctive but also simple and comfortable to
wear. Fope uses its exclusive techniques and technologies to produce designs of varying thicknesses. Fope collections, from its flagship bracelets to necklaces, rings and earrings come in three colours of gold (white, yellow or pink) or a combination of all three, with or without diamonds. SilverFope offers bracelets in silver and palladium for clients who prefer silver rather than gold jewellery. Eka – meaning ‘one’ in Sanskrit – is a major Fope collection covering bracelets, necklaces, rings and earrings. Each Eka bracelet is entirely hand-made with no soldering used. The Eka range is a blend of luxury and innovation, with the unique gold mesh design reworked in ultra-contemporary style. The gold mesh is available in three different thicknesses. Eka Tiny employs all the Fope expertise to create a collection for younger jewellery wearers and anyone who loves pendants. It sports natural coloured stones such as garnet, iolite, amethyst, citrine and pink and blue sapphire. The range now features Flex’it bracelets while the mesh chain is the same at the Eka version only smaller. · 43
Fope has now added the LadyFope collection to its range. It is a line of lady’s watches in 18-carat white and pink gold that embodies all the values of the brand: luxury and comfortable fit, innovation and timeless style. The jewel in the Fope crown is the MiaLuce collection, the pinnacle of the firm’s current creations. The bracelet is crafted using the Flex’it technology, while the diamonds, of the finest colour and clarity, are meticulously set under a microscope. The complete set exudes the elegance and opulence of classic Italian design. It is truly exceptional both for sheer style and wearability. This masterpiece from the house of Fope was launched in 2013 at London’s Goldsmiths Hall. It is available in three versions: pink gold with white diamonds, yellow gold with white and brown diamonds and white gold with black and white diamonds. The Solo Venezia collection is based on gold detail whose original design was inspired by the traditional lace art of the Venetian island of Burano. It is a rich yet light tangle of gold threads resembling the weave of a precious fabric. · 44
LadyFope is the first Swiss-made wrist watch with quartz movement mounted on a Flex’it bracelet. Each piece is numbered to further guarantee the exclusivity of the collection. Launching LadyFope had a special resonance for the firm as its origins were in the creation of gold and other metal watch straps for precision Swiss watch makers. The work demanded exceptional levels of craftsmanship and it was this store of experience and skill that enabled it to create its own mesh in the 1970s. It was on the back of this world-beating product that Fope launched its first jewellery collections.
Fope now exports to more than 50 countries, where the firm has partnered with leading independent jewellers like Michael Spiers in the West Country.
More recently, the challenges of “going global” saw the firm make an important decision: to keep production at Vicenza. Everything remains based in a single building, not far from the original premises. From there, Fope now exports to more than 50 countries, where the firm has partnered with leading independent jewellers like Michael Spiers in the West Country. Among the customers of Michael Spiers more than a few glasses will be raised next year to salute Fope’s 90th.
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Stunningly Scandinavian
INTRODUCING THE HALO COLLECTION Inspired by the beauty of Scandinavian Light. The Halo collection, designed by Sophie Bille Brahe, has a feeling of natural, uncomplicated luxury.
Teaming with a Scandi-legend 100-YEAR-OLD COPENHAGEN LABEL GEORG JENSEN JOINS FORCES WITH THE CITY’S COOLEST JEWELLERY DESIGNER
Bille Brahe worked with Manville and the Georg Jensen team to create the 19-piece Halo collection, which can be found in Michael Spiers stores together with classic Georg Jensen pieces. The jewellery includes gold and diamond hoop earrings, a bangle, a floating diamond ring, and a subtle pendant necklace.
Denmark has a patron saint of design and his name is Georg Jensen. The eponymous founder started his silversmith business in 1904 and remains one of the most renowned names for minimal and modern Danish decor, tableware, and jewellery. So when Sophie Bille Brahe was approached by a Georg Jensen executive, Nicholas Manville, to talk about a collaboration, she felt a great sense of duty and pressure. “My grandmother bought her first piece of Georg Jensen, a brooch, to celebrate when she retired as a nurse,” the jewellery designer said. “I think all Danish families have a story about their own Georg Jensen collections and I felt that I had a responsibility as a Danish designer since this company means so much to so many people here.” · 48
“It’s been a long time since we’ve worked with a local designer,” Manville notes. We asked, ‘How do you find the fine line between something that feels delicate but strong?” Bille Brahe went straight to the archives in search of the answer. “It was very much about trying to figure out what language I could bring to Georg Jensen and how I could carve out a little space for myself in that archive,” she said.
“My way of making jewellery, which is more curves and soft, sculptural lines, hasn’t been done so much in the house’s history.” Bille Brahe added: “For me, it was very much about thinking about what women want to wear at the moment and what they can wear all day in an effortless way, instead of the classic Georg Jensen pieces that are meant for special occasions. Hoops initially came to mind.” As she often does when starting a collection, Bille Brahe also challenged herself to take an element of jewellery that she doesn’t like and reinterpret it. She’s done it in the past with pearls and, in this case, it was the floating diamond. “It’s now my favourite ring in the collection,” she said. “It’s glamorous without being too over the top.” The Halo collection is assembled using delicate castings. The first step is to create rubber moulds for the separate
design components, using the casting master to create an imprint of the design in the rubber. Prior to setting, all of the diamonds are inspected to ensure that they are according to specification for size, colour, clarity, cut and carat. For the entire setting area, the setter makes the bright cut below the diamonds first. “I have tried to instil a touch of lightness in the designs, and you could almost call it an aura of effortlessness,” said Bille Brahe. “It was important to me that the collection was part Georg Jensen and part me. The Georg Jensen design language represents these beautiful curved, very soft lines, whereas my designs are very precise and clean. In order to merge these two, apparent opposites, I chose the circular shape and added a softness with a precise look.” The result is a gold and diamond ring with a distinct Scandinavian feel – and a hint of something bold and expressive. · 49
Stephen Duffy A musician’s highs and lows on the road to Falmouth By Lee Trewhela
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He’s not only one of the great songwriters of the past 30 years, Stephen Duffy is also a fascinating and hilarious raconteur. A couple of hours spent with the man who started Duran Duran and was responsible for Robbie Williams’ most globally successful album will touch on everything from watching Aston Villa with Nigel Kennedy, Nick Cave’s hair, living the Hollywood life, playing snooker with Cliff Thorburn and drunken Top of the Pops appearances.
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A Birmingham boy, Duffy formed Duran Duran with John Taylor and Nick Rhodes but left prefame. He had his own taste of the big time as Stephen “Tin Tin” Duffy in the ’80s when Kiss Me peaked at No 4 with the help of the Art of Noise.
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These days Stephen Duffy talks avidly about life in Falmouth where he can look back on a life fully lived. And he still has ambitions… Duffy moved to the Cornish town in 2007 just after the release of Runout Groove by his acclaimed folk-pop group The Lilac Time. It’s at his Cornish home that The Lilac Time have fashioned their last two albums, 2015’s No Sad Songs and the forthcoming Return To Us, a quietly political collection of gorgeous songs that are elegant, wry and, occasionally, will bring a tear to your eye.
It’s an almost impossible task to sum up his life in music, as it’s been one of twists and turns, lofty highs and depressing lows since 1978. A Birmingham boy, Duffy formed Duran Duran with John Taylor and Nick Rhodes but left pre-fame. He had his own taste of the big time as Stephen “Tin Tin” Duffy in the ’80s when Kiss Me peaked at No 4 with the help of the Art of Noise. He released an early house album as Dr Calculus before forming The Lilac Time in 1986 with brother Nick. The current line-up features the Duffy brothers alongside Stephen’s wife Claire. · 53
He then co-wrote several Barenaked Ladies songs before a rather surprising hook-up with Robbie Williams, coproducing the boy wonder’s Intensive Care album in 2005 and working as musical director on the attendant Close Encounters world tour.
“We were neighbours in Notting Hill – I did Top of the Pops with Me Me Me, who had a No 19 smash with Hanging Around, which still stands up – arch Britpop nonsense. He was at No 1 with Freedom. Suede were in the corner laughing at us all.
It was Robbie’s most successful album outside Britain, selling 8m copies across the world and leading to Duffy living in the pool house at Mary Tyler Moore’s former home in Hollywood.
“After Top of the Pops we all went to a private members’ club. I was never a member – I hated those things and was very much against all that. It didn’t stop me going though… That’s when I first spoke to Rob.”
“I cannot swim and cannot drive – so I’m not sure why I chose to live in Hollywood and now Cornwall.”
In his gentrified Midlands tones, Duffy added: “A while later, he jumped out of a car in Notting Hill and said, ‘We have to work together’. He was part of the most successful songwriting partnership – with Guy Chambers – since
How did this most unlikely of pop alliances take place?
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“A lot of my work before working with Rob had been a bit underdog, so it wasn’t like lots of other people were calling me. I was 45 when I worked on his album and it was nice to use all the things I’d learned up until that point.
Lennon and McCartney. It was very flattering but I thought it would annoy people that he was now working with me or at least might not be as good.” “A lot of my work before working with Rob had been a bit underdog, so it wasn’t like lots of other people were calling me. I was 45 when I worked on his album and it was nice to use all the things I’d learned up until that point. “He had been listening to a lot of Lilac Time
and wanted an acoustic sort of album, but I’d just finished making The Devils record (revisiting the early, unreleased Duran Duran recordings with Nick Rhodes) so had a lot of old ’80s synths’ lying around. The album became a mix of both. There’s tons of stuff that’s still unreleased.” The working process might surprise some, especially Robbie Williams’ detractors. “We’d get together for hours – he’d play the bass and keyboards and I can play a little bit of everything. · 55
We’d jam and make an absolutely incoherent racket, but then he’d start singing and I’d think ‘that’s alright’. Apart from his obvious charisma, he’s very talented – all the words would come out fully formed.” A lot of people wouldn’t necessarily expect that of the former Take That star, I say. “It’s easier for people to think that about him,” Duffy replied. Speaking in the Star & Garter pub near his home in Falmouth, Stephen tells me that Robbie bought him a present for his 46th birthday. “He was very eager for me to unwrap it. It was a very beautiful Gucci handbag … wrong present, it was for his girlfriend. “It was an odd time – Geri Halliwell singing The Lilac Time’s Family Coach to me was a pretty bizarre moment. “When you work with someone as big as Rob it’s not about the music anymore, but I’m very proud of that album – we came up with some absolutely bonkers songs and it went to No 1. “It was a grand finale – not just for me, but marked the end of the big music industry release. He asked me to do the next album too. Nobody says no to famous people, but I did not want to be blamed...,” added Duffy in typically pithy fashion. It won’t be surprising to learn that Duffy’s been writing down anecdotes like this since he started in the music business in the late ’70s. An autobiography, which he hopes will be published in the near future, will feature the same line at the end of each chapter. What The **** Was I Thinking? will also be the book’s title. A musician who was signed to such major labels as Warner, Elektra, WEA and Virgin in the 1980s, Duffy is pretty cynical about the state of the music business in the 21st century.
Difficulties finding a label for The Lilac Time’s splendid new album have been resolved and one of the best records of his career will see the light of day soon. He even felt like leaving music altogether – “I tried to stop but these songs keep happening. I bought a mandolin recently and wrote six songs on it straight away.” He said: “The music industry is a completely different beast these days. If you released a dance record in the ’80s it would probably sell 15,000 copies on the first day of release – and that would just be to amateur DJs… in New York. “I sold 130,000 copies of Icing On The Cake (a 1985 solo single) and that didn’t even make the Top 10. The Robbie Williams album sold a million in one day. “When The Lilac Time signed a publishing deal it enabled me to buy a house – that’s how stupid it was in the ’80s. You could not move for money. “Now there are all the talent shows and courses teaching students about the music industry – but there’s no money in it and no music industry. It’s all music for M&S adverts now with boys singing in wimpy voices. These people deserve online abuse…. “It’s like Nick Cave said, this democracy of everybody being able to make music on their computers is a terrible idea.” Duffy has always ploughed his own furrow. He presented his then record label with the Lilac Time’s first bucolic pop album during the dance music boom and “I was shown the door”. He admits he suffered with depression for years – “The Lilac Time records in the early 2000s are so depressing – I cannot sing those songs now because they’re so sad. I couldn’t
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“I sold 130,000 copies of Icing On The Cake (a 1985 solo single) and that didn’t even make the Top 10. The Robbie Williams album sold a million in one day.”
imagine being happy and was in therapy for years.” After living in Hollywood, North Carolina and even Alaska – Duffy launches into a bit of Lisa Stansfield at this … “I’ve been around the world and I, I, I” – he came to Falmouth, following brother Nick who had moved to the town. “I’d just finished working with Rob and been on this giant world tour, which I didn’t find that agreeable. There’s nothing better than recording in my basement in Falmouth, surrounded by my books, posters and records.
“I know everybody says it, but it is literally a magical place. There’s such a sense of community – the Andy Hocking experience demonstrated that,” said Duffy, referring to the thousands who walked in memory of the much-loved Falmouth police officer who died unexpectedly a couple of years ago.
a happier man largely thanks to family; he is married to fellow Lilac Timer Claire, who played piano in Robbie Williams’ band for ten years. He happily talks about daughter Daisy’s primary school, the best comprehensives in the area and the town’s record shops where he is an avid customer.
“There’s such an interesting mix of people in Falmouth, with all the kids coming down for the university, mixing with the locals. It’s a very social place.”
Just because he’s settled in Cornwall doesn’t mean this most unique of songwriters won’t make another bid for world stardom.
The Stephen Duffy of Falmouth is
Stephen Duffy, wonderfully unpredictable... · 57
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West Country
Gems
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We all have our favourites in the West Country – whether it’s that glorious beach, special restaurant, cool bar or fun place to take the kids.
you about countless locations. But the true local will admit that despite a lifetime exploring the region’s gems, they know there are many they have not yet found.
However, the chances are that a lot of other people will love these places too. So where to go if you want to try something new and inspirational, with the added bonus of being able to brag to your friends about that trendy new discovery?
Every journey to the West Country is a voyage of discovery. We have scoured the region to come up with a range of ideas to help you with yours.
Ask a West Country person about the best places to visit in the region and they will tell
If you’ve decided to pop into Michael Spiers in Plymouth, Truro, Exeter or Taunton why not expand your visit and try one of these hidden gems? · 61
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The Kitchen
The Brig
Pendower Beach
Hidden Cornwall Cornwall appears to have been the go-to place for eager tourists this summer with tourism chiefs even closing overpopulated beaches. Don’t let that put you off though as there are a huge amount of secret spots off the beaten track, loved by locals who like to whisper about them.
Restaurant: The Kitchen, Old Brewery Yard, Falmouth Perhaps the most obvious hidden dining gem in Cornwall is The Hidden Hut on the Roseland Peninsula but as that celebrity hangout has now become the world’s worst kept secret, I suggest you try The Kitchen. This funky diner – more like a particularly cool librarian’s front room – is unlike any other restaurant in the county. You will swoon over newly discovered flavours (Salty Fingers, anyone?) in a greatest-house-party-ever atmosphere that cocks a snook at Cornwall’s glut of traditional dining rooms. Chef Ben Coxhead’s inventive, foraged food served on a series of small plates and Rory Blair’s cheeky front of house delivery combine to deliver something fun, intoxicating and unique; a foodie’s paradise. www.thekitchenfalmouth.co.uk
Bar: The Brig, River Street, Truro There are loads of on-trend drinking dens dotted around Cornwall, from teeny Tom Thumb in Newquay to student hangout pub-meets-bookstore Beerwolf in Falmouth, but the newest kid on the block is piratical rum bar The Brig in Truro. At the end of a dimly lit corridor opposite the Royal Cornwall Museum stands a real hidden gem. Rums from all over the world, cocktails aplenty drunk from skulls and a recently
opened kitchen specialising in barbecue food. Avast ye! www.facebook.com/thebrigtruro
Beach: Pendower, Roseland Peninsula A Cornishman will tell you the county has the best beaches in the world and he’s not wrong. The trouble is a lot of them now attract the world … and his wife. However, sweet talk a local and you’ll find your own unspoiled cove. Whisper it, but one of our favourites is Pendower on the Roseland Peninsula (not too far from the Hidden Hut). Perfect for swimming, rockpooling, camping and barbecues, there is also a shop selling ice creams and other food as well as toilets and a large National Trust car park. Dawn French is a fan if that helps.
Shop: Prime, St Mary’s Street, Truro It’s fair to say Truro has never seen anything like Prime in St Mary’s Street. Is it a barber, coffee shop, salon, record shop, games room, gallery or book shop? It’s all of them, of course. A short stroll from Michael Spiers, Prime is a unisex hair stylist and coffee bar but also sells vinyl by local acts, graphic novels, art by Paris-based Yeaaah! Studio (the only other place in the UK you can purchase their stuff is in Brighton), owner Dan’s own skatewear and other street clothing, their own range of hairdressing products and beard oils from California. They’ve even started hosting gigs. www.primetruro.com · 63
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Once a greasy spoon, owner Colin Ross has turned the venue into one of the best dining spots in Devon over the past five years. www.greenleafcafe.co.uk
Bar: The Old Morgue, Stonehouse, Plymouth It might not look anything special from the outside, but The Old Morgue, just off Plymouth’s famed Union Street, is most definitely one of the city’s best kept secrets. Tucked away above a buy-and-sell shop, the Old Morgue is part of a “contemporary social community space” which also includes The Escape Rooms gaming area. The quirky café and bar hosts live music events and even quiz nights which you can play on your smartphone. www.theoldmorgue.co.uk
Conker Shoes
Family attraction: Charlie Bears, Pennygwillam Industrial Estate, Launceston Even people who have lived in Cornwall all their lives don’t know about this enchanting place. It’s the headquarters of global teddy bear business Charlie Bears, a big hit on the QVC channel across the world. However, The Bearhouse is more than a shop and factory. Owners Will and Charlie Morris have created a magical Victorian-style village museum populated by all their creations. It will blow your mind whether you’re 7 or 70. www.charliebears.com
Spot: St Nectan’s Glen, near Tintagel
Beach: Elberry Cove, Brixham Close to Paignton is Elberry Cove, a small inlet with a pebble beach, which is far from the crowded main beaches in the area. It’s a designated beach for water skiing, so be careful not to swim in the ski lane. Dog owners will be pleased to know their pets are welcome all year round. It’s framed by wooded hillsides and was one of Agatha Christie’s favourite bathing spots.
Shop: Conker Shoes, High Street, Totnes Handmade shoes that fit the exact specs of your feet are hard to come by these days. Enter Conker Shoes in Totnes. The shop has crafted soft leather shoes since 1977 and they use the finest quality materials to make sure your new shoes last a lifetime.
Recently reaching the No 3 spot in a list of Britain’s “happiest views”, St Nectan’s Glen is one of the most beautiful spots in the South West.
Not only are they made to perfection, but they’ll also fix them in-store for you when they start to show wear and tear, so you’ll never have to throw out a favourite pair again.
Park up near Tintagel and then walk for 20 minutes through peaceful farm land and woods at Trethevy and you will eventually come to a stunning spot which is straight out of the pages of a fairy story. You can wade into the pool under the waterfall and make a wish or two … before heading up the walkway to a café under the trees.
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www.st-nectansglen.co.uk
Hidden Devon With the bustling cities of Plymouth and Exeter and thriving tourism spots on both coasts you’d think it would be almost impossible to find places that could boast a “secret” soubriquet. Here are just a few that locals swear by.
Restaurant: The Green Leaf Café, Torquay Devon may well boast such star chefs as Michael Caines but hidden in a side street behind the cinema in Torquay is a café specialising in world cuisine as well as vegetarian and vegan dishes which is continually voted the best place to eat in Devon on a certain reviews website.
Family attraction: Overbeck’s, Sharpitor, Salcombe The seaside home of eccentric Edwardian inventor Otto Overbeck sits in magical sub-tropical gardens overlooking the Kingsbridge estuary. In the house, discover Otto’s diverse collections of weird and wonderful ephemera, including fossils, shells and all things nautical. Find out all about his 1920s invention, the ‘electrical rejuvenator’, which he claimed could defy the ageing process www.nationaltrust.org.uk/overbecks
Spot: Glen Lyn Gorge, Lynmouth Not many places offer you the opportunity to “make electricity”. Where the East and West Lyn rivers rush into the sea at Lynmouth, this unusual renewable energy visitor attraction combines wooded nature trails, a hydro-electric turbine (with water jets) and a holiday cottage with sea views and log fires. Kids will love firing the water cannons. www.theglenlyngorge.co.uk · 65
Sand Bay
Hidden Somerset Somerset may the county of sleepy countryside and rolling hills but it’s also pretty happening – it is the home of the greatest music festival in the world, after all – and there are plenty of wonderful spots to investigate hidden in plain view.
Beach: Sand Bay Sand Bay is a long beach just two miles north of the far more busy Weston-super-Mare. Often referred to as “Weston’s hidden gem”, it’s a huge beach with good views across the Bristol Channel to South Wales, with the added bonus of free car parks and is a hit with dog walkers.
Restaurant: Queen Victoria Inn, Priddy near Wells Sitting almost 1,000ft above sea level, at the very top of the Mendip Hills, the Queen Victoria Inn was established in 1800 and still has the flagstone floors, huge fireplaces and beamed ceilings that have been a feature for over 200 years. Enjoy the history as you tuck into some better-than-normal pub grub and as it’s Somerset, sup up a great range of cider. It’s a great place for family dining thanks to a play fort in the grounds. www.thequeenvicpriddy.co.uk
Bar: The Gallery Bar, Castle Cary Delightfully quirky with an underground setting, The Gallery Bar offers a winning combination of fine art, splendid cocktails, great music and delicious wood-fired pizzas. There’s nowhere better to chill out on a warm evening than in the Mediterranean courtyard with its fairy lights and olive trees. I haven’t even mentioned the Georgian sitting room…. www.thegallerybar.co.uk · 66
Walk through the woods from Weston and more than earn that cup of tea and slice of cake at The Sand Bay Tea Rooms.
Shop: The Discworld Emporium, Wincanton Terry Pratchett fans will be delighted to know there’s a whole quirky shop and museum dedicated to the late author in Somerset. When you visit the Emporium you’ll be at the heart of a fandom, treading where the author himself wandered, brandy glass in hand, a place where cunning plans were hatched, sparks of magic were made, and friendships forged between author and fans. Founded by the man himself along with
Bernard and Isobel Pearson, the emporium is the place to be for fantasy fans.
You can even “enjoy” a closed cell experience to find out what it was like to be banged up in solitary confinement.
www.discworldemporium.com
www.sheptonmalletprison.com
Family attraction: Shepton Mallet Prison
Spot: Swildon’s Hole, Mendip Hills
We all like to have a peek into the unseen, the bad and the haunted. Shepton Mallet Prison boasts all of that with a series of tours to educate, thrill and scare.
Wookey Hole may be the best known of Somerset’s network of caves but Swildon’s Hole is the longest and most impressive; an extensive cave that’s 9,144 metres (30,000 ft) in length.
Walk in the footsteps of prisoners who have been residents of the wings during the last 400 years. Discover what happened behind the high walls and locked doors. Find out more about the hidden world of hangings, execution rooms and firing squads.
If you’re feeling adventurous, you can take part in caving trips in the hole, passing waterfalls, underground chambers and secret passages. www.adventurecaving.co.uk Swildon’s Hole
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Vintage Michael Caines has been having a boozy and busy time of it
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Not content with planting 17,500 vines over 10 acres with the intention of producing his own sparkling wine, Michael Caines is turning his attention to gin! “We’ll have a house style of wine, and there’s a real chance to produce a single vineyard status wine of real quality,” said the chef best known for his time at Gidleigh Park, Devon, and his work with Abode Hotels. “That will really add value to the business, and to the brand. There aren’t any other restaurants in the UK with their own vineyard, so it adds to that differentiation.” Standing out is what Caines is all about. If other chefs are content with selecting one of the many esoteric gins for their establishment’s bar - “and there’s a gin for every town in the UK now it seems,” he noted - earlier this year Caines hooked up with local distillers Salcombe Gin to devise his own. Called Arabella Gin, with a distinct lemon thyme note to it, rounded out with cherry, it’s a gin Caines now plans to both stock and sell independently. ”I wanted my gin from Salcombe to be as layered as my cooking” he said. “But it also needed to be distinctive. Having a house gin that’s uniquely yours is obviously appealing, but the making of it also gives you a story you can tell as part of your broader business. It’s not just another generic gin and that empowers people to want to try it. It’s just another point of differentiation.” · 71
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There’s a Lympstone Gin in the pipeline - named after Lympstone Manor, the country house hotel and restaurant that Caines and his backers opened in March 2017. It already has a five star AA rating and a first Michelin star, proof Caines suggested, “that I haven’t lost my touch. “Obviously I’m pleased that we got it so quickly, but it comes with the awareness of what work there is to be done. You can’t control what Michelin does, but you can control what you do.” Lympstone Manor is an historic Grade II listed Georgian manor overlooking the mouth of the River Exe estuary. It’s the perfect backdrop for the latest stage in the career of one of Britain’s most celebrated and influential chefs. It is something of a dream come true to Caines - “I have to pinch myself every time I drive up to it,” he said - even if, to industry watchers, it perhaps seemed like a bold move. Caines’ name, after all, had become intimately associated with that of Gidleigh Park.
leave Gidleigh,” he said. “It had been a love affair for 21 years, but when I asked it to marry me, it said no. So I had to look elsewhere to build on what I’ve done to date, to take the goodwill forward to do something for myself. And what I’m doing at Lympstone represents not just part of me, but all of me.” The way Caines explained it, there’s also a hint of a mid-life crisis about the decision - an awareness that, if he was ever going to go his own way, now was the time. “I’m 49 and have to decide if the best years are behind me or ahead of me,” said Caines, somewhat ominously for anyone else around that age! “There are a lot of great young chefs coming up. You have to be brave sometimes and I was thinking that I had to take all that food experience forward into a new era. That’s going to take time and creativity and vision, but we’re on our way. I had a reputation well-established and now I’m building that again.”
But the timing was right: “It wasn’t a tough decision to · 73
“But it’s also about being part of the local environment - feeding back into the local economy and community, being part of it.”
Naturally enough, Caines is aiming for what he’s building to be atypical. He pointed out that “doing this kind of thing [a country house hotel and restaurant at this level of fine dining] doesn’t happen very often.” He cited his mentor Raymond Blanc’s Le Manoir Aux Quat Saisons as “the last time anyone did anything like this, and that was 35 years ago. I knew that to do something like that again, with all of the risks, would have to be different. “We’ve been busy from day one and that’s because we’ve gone to get the business, because we knew the business wouldn’t necessarily come to us.” Indeed, that has meant thinking in a way that would have been alien to Blanc those decades ago. “It’s been about having a great website, using social media more, working with partners like Relais & Chateaux, knowing how one medium that works well in one country might not be the one to work with in another, about thinking about different demographics,” said Caines, sounding more 21st century marketing manager than 20th century chef.
“Now it’s all about doing whatever you can to keep your business interesting - working out what works [to that end] and what doesn’t - what engages people, what they respond to. The fact is that [in terms of fine dining] we’re not alone in the South West anymore. So we have to give customers every reason to come here, and not to go there.” Certainly the region has undergone a transformation during Caines’ time living and working there. The right mix of jobs, services, transports links - even the warmer climate - have all made the region an increasingly attractive place to live. That, said Caines, has allowed businesses the likes of his to thrive in a way that not long ago would have required being located in a sizable city. “Whereas now we can pull in both local and national trade,” he noted. “There’s still more work to be done to get the South West out of that seasonal cycle, but that’s
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happening, much as the area is getting full of wonderful restaurants now, which is no wonder given that we have an amazing larder down here.” The South West is where he is staying, too. Caines is very much entrenched in the local scene - and well beyond the standard chef’s refrain about cooking with local produce. Having built his career somewhat off the culinary beaten track, now the track is catching up with him: local gins, his own wine, co-founder of the Exeter Festival of Food & Drink... “It’s like when you go on holiday,” he says. “You want that sense of place. And that’s true of the South West, too. We need that in our restaurant, in the food.” But it’s bigger than that: “Yes, it’s about working with local producers,” said Caines, “but it’s also about being part of the local environment feeding back into the local economy and community, being part of it. And that, of course, also adds to the special story we can tell as a business.” · 75
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Surfers Against Sewage ride a big new wave By Lee Trewhela
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Who cares
wins
“SAS started in 1990 and I first got involved in ’91. I was a bodyboarder at the time, living in SW France. There was a competition at Polzeath which supported many ocean charities including SAS, which is where I first found out about them.
He’s met heroes from David Attenborough and Paul McCartney to three-times world champion surfer Tom Curren and Foo Fighters’ drummer Taylor Hawkins, but what Hugo Tagholm is most proud of is turning a Cornish charity into one of the world’s leading environmental pressure groups. Hugo, who lives in Truro, joined Surfers Against Sewage a year after it formed in 1990 and became chief executive in 2008. Since then the man who’s as passionate an environmentalist as he is a surfer has seen the charity become a leading global environmental organisation. It was a leading voice in fighting for the introduction of retail plastic bag charges and is now working on making a deposit return scheme for plastic bottles part of UK law. The charity’s acronym SAS doffs an affectionate cap to the elite military unit, the Special Air Service, whose motto is Who Dares Wins. I spoke to North London boy Hugo exactly ten years to the day since he became the SAS’s head honcho.
“Over the years I’ve been an activist, regional rep’ and trustee with the charity. I had the great honour of taking the helm in 2008 to help shape a new strategy on emerging issues, build a sustainable action plan and community, and most importantly of all carry on delivering a high impact to protect oceans and beaches for everyone.” Perhaps surprisingly for a lad brought up in urban Camden, Hugo started his obsession with beach cleaning as a kid when his dad used to take him mudlarking on the foreshores of the Thames. “When I was little I used to scour beaches and the countryside for bones, shells, etc, and bring them home. My heroes were people like David Attenborough and Charles Darwin.” His love of the natural world even influenced his 10-yearold son’s name – Darwin. A chat over a coffee with Hugo reveals why he’s the best man for the job. His passion for the health of the world, its oceans and creatures is infectious. However, SAS wasn’t always the globally admired force it is now.
He said: “I’ve got the perfect job as I love the environment, love surfing and love meeting people and bringing people together.
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has certainly made the most of. The charity is accessible and moderate when it needs to be, as well as punchy. We have a whole suite of tools.” A lot these tools Hugo learned from an unexpected source. “I worked in the charity sector in London for many years, most notably with the former Prime Minister’s wife Sarah Brown, as programme director for her charity creating opportunities for disadvantaged youngsters. Sarah was my mentor, especially the way she dealt with people which was second to none. I learned so much from her. Meeting political leaders and celebrities at the height of Labour’s time in government was fantastic, but I feel much more exhilarated by the work with SAS now – it’s my mission.” That mission has seen the growth of SAS as one of the world’s leading and “truly impactful” marine conservation charities. When Hugo started there were just three people in the office in the coastal village of St Agnes, which has now evolved to 24. There were 500 volunteers a year, which has now grown to 75,000, and three reps’ has built to 175 with the ultimate goal of 250. “We’re one of the biggest volunteer movements and influencers in the world; influential in bringing the plastic bag campaign to the fore and stopping 10 billion plastic bags ending up in the environment. “Alongside Greenpeace, we were the leading campaigners for a deposit system on plastic bottles, which has led to legislation.”
“I thought I’d be there for just three or four years as I turned things around. Physically and metaphorically SAS was a squat when I joined – the charity had lost its way, the office was a complete dump. I believed there was a lot more we could do as a charity. “We’ve created the strongest voice for the ocean in the UK. Although SAS had an amazing history we could learn from, it was important we looked forward. What could we do next? “It was important it wasn’t just about surfers in gas masks on beaches. It was also about engaging with businesses, putting on a suit and having meetings all over the world and being active.” He added: “There was no social media when we started. No petitions which thousands of people could sign just like that. Now we live in a very collaborative time, which SAS · 80
“In the UK, we are using 38.5 million plastic bottles every single day and struggling to recycle half of those. SAS is convinced a Deposit Returns Scheme will become the next ‘plastic bag charge’ and humanity will look back and wonder why we didn’t do it sooner.” Hugo is especially proud that such ground-breaking work is being done from Cornwall, a place he’s called home for more than ten years. “I love living in Cornwall and Truro, in particular. Cornwall’s often maligned; that old cliché of ‘have you got electricity yet?’, but we are doing innovative work here. We’re turning the world’s heads to the South West of England. “I’ve been lucky enough to visit some of the most beautiful
Hugo Tagholm & Prince Charles at the Ocean Plastic Solutions Day
beaches in the world and I can categorically say Cornwall has some of the very best on the planet. Cornwall is the authentic voice of the ocean.” He added: “I love to travel and I’ve been very lucky to go to London, Paris, Brussels, New York and LA to build amazing relationships with other leaders in marine conservation.” His personal highlights include invites to royal weddings after forging a working relationship with Prince Charles. Yes, he was one of the lucky people at Harry and Meghan’s ceremony. “The prince is a great supporter of SAS and is really passionate about issues and has used his position to call for better protection of the ocean,” said Hugo. “One of my speechless moments – and I’m not often speechless – was meeting and actually hanging out with Taylor Hawkins from the Foo Fighters, as well as working with a lot of legendary and iconic surfers like Kelly Slater, Tom Curren and Ramon Navarro.”
time for decades that that many iconic surfers had been in Cornwall. “I went to Stansted airport to get them all, thinking there was no way they’d show up, so it was amazing when all these heroes and icons walked out. After the conference, we had a meeting with the Government and I couldn’t believe I was looking out of a window in Parliament with Tom Curren.” Hugo first met his surfing hero as a young grom (a novice wave-rider, for anyone who doesn’t speak ‘surfer’) in 1986 and asked him to sign a programme, which still takes pride of place in his Truro home. “And there I was in Parliament with him. It had gone full circle and there I was collaborating with him. Amazing!”
He was particularly proud to host the Global Wave Conference in 2015 – “that was a powerful event for us”.
He declared: “A lot of other people are working on plastics now but it can all be traced back to that Global Wave Conference, you can see the fingerprints from that event, which I’m very proud of. SAS has been a catalyst for the new movement. We’ve created a really strong community of plasticfree programmes.”
He said: “It was a marginal, low impact event before that, but we brought major scientists together with world-famous surfers. It was the first
The very reason Surfers Against Sewage started almost three decades ago is still the lifeblood of the charity. · 81
“SAS is not just an environmental body, it’s a movement of people.” an all-party environmental group which “brings people together to drive legislation, policy and investment.” Where does he see SAS heading in the future?
“Water quality is still in our DNA – we are carrying on pushing for more changes in that area. We were majorly instrumental in ensuring 100% of Cornwall’s beaches adhere to European standards. However, big bad Brexit could erode all that.” So is Brexit a real issue for the charity? “I do fear an erosion of all that hard work as we won’t be held to account by the European Community. We are going to be alone and there hasn’t been an environmental body set up to deal with these issues. If we see an economically rocky road, the Government might look at cutting red tape in environmental areas. “SAS has to be vigilant in that case but we have the eyes and ears of people all around the country.” Hugo is quietly optimistic though as the charity has created · 82
“I’d like to get more youth involved. I feel we need to be ballsy in that area. There is a resistance among young people now following the Trump effect. They are resistant to negative stereotyping and xenophobia. “SAS is not just an environmental body, it’s a movement of people. It’s not just about localism but working and connecting with people the world over.” Hugo still has to pinch himself over the progress Surfers Against Sewage has made over the years. “Visiting the UN in New York and sitting in the auditorium hearing business and political leaders discussing environmental issues was really quite something.”
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LAND
PREMIER
AIR
SEA
#SQUADONAMISSION
Bumper year for
Camel Valley
Like Adam Spiers, Sam Lindo wasn’t sure about joining the family business at first, but also like Adam he is the second generation to take an already successful company and steer it into the future and even greater glory. Sam’s parents Bob and Annie first planted 8,000 vines on their farm in Cornwall in 1989. Little did they know that less than three decades later Camel Valley would become one of Britain’s most successful vineyards and a world leader, beating the likes of Bollinger in international competitions. Wanting a change from service life – Bob was an RAF pilot – the couple bought their farm but noticed the grass on their sun-drenched slopes was always brown. Would vines fare better? They certainly did and Camel Valley was born. The first harvest produced 4 to 5,000 bottles. This year – which has proved their best yet thanks to the glorious summer – will see a staggering 300,000 bottles transported to some of the finest restaurants in the country as well as the dinner tables of locals who still regularly pop into the Camel Valley shop, near Bodmin. Sam joined the family firm in 2002 – the year they won the
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Waitrose Drinks Producer of the Year Award – but wasn’t sure at first. The Bath University maths graduate, who was raised locally and attended Bodmin School but was destined for a career in the city, said: “When we first started, it was not really a business which you’d think about joining as it was quite small. Initially I didn’t want to get involved but my interest grew.” It helped that soon after Sam joined their ‘Cornwall’ sparkling wine received an International Wine Challenge gold medal – the only gold award for a wine outside the Champagne area of France; an honour of which the Lindo family were justly proud. “I joined in 2002 when production was probably 20% of what it is now,” said Sam. “I’d always worked there in the holidays – I wasn’t so keen on the vineyard but loved working in the winery; that was great fun.” He certainly mucked in: “When I started I did a little bit of everything – working in the vineyard and shop, labelling the wines, doing the tours ... and now I suppose you’d call me the Winemaker.”
produced. New advances in technology such as labelling machines make life a lot easier.
Sam worked at a top winery in New Zealand in 2006 and brought back a lot of what he learned there, for example the importance of cool temperatures for fermentation – he even installed his own system. In 2007 the hard work started paying off – Sam won UK Winemaker of the Year Award, as well as the Wine of the Year Trophy, and Sparkling Wine Trophy in the UK Vineyards annual competition for English wines judged solely by Masters of Wine. Sam retained the coveted Vintners Trophy for the best UK English sparkling wine and another three trophies in 2008. However, the best was still to come and in 2009 he won the trophy and a gold medal in the International Wine Challenge for Camel Valley ‘Bacchus’ – one of the business’s most popular wines. Simultaneously, he won a gold medal in the Decanter World Wine Awards for Camel Valley Sparkling ‘Cornwall’ Pinot Noir. Later in the same year, Sam won the English Wine Producers Trophy and the Waitrose Trophy.
“People are recruited on their ability to deal with customers, it’s a fun job which brings joy to people so our staff have to be fun too.” Sam is quick to point out the fun element in producing a product which people really love. “We’re fortunate in that we straddle both camps – critics really rave about our wine but at the same time people who don’t usually drink champagne really like our wines too.” They sell 50% direct to customers and 50% to trade – word really started growing when Rick Stein became an early champion stocking Camel Valley in his Padstow restaurant. Other restaurants and shops in Cornwall caught on and the wines soon travelled further afield including Waitrose stores. London stockists include The Ritz, Wolseley, Fortnum and Mason and the Hard Rock Café.
“We employ six people full-time, the same number as ten years ago but probably twice as much wine is being
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He believes the business will see more bumper harvests in the future: “There will be a natural increase in production as the planet warms up.
Bob has said of his son’s talents: “When Sam came second in the World Sparkling Wine Championships to Bollinger in Italy in 2009, I really did take my hat off to him. However, when he won the Trophy for Best International Traditional Method Sparkling Wine in 2010 in Verona, ahead of Bollinger and Roederer, I nearly ate it!” Does Sam – a down-to-earth chap – hold much stock in Camel Valley’s awards success? “Initially, when we started, we weren’t sure how good the wine was so to win best sparkling rosé in the world was incredibly important for us and a huge honour. It’s really important in the industry to be seen to be up there – it’s something to aim for.” The 2018 vintage could also prove a winner as Sam points out it’s the biggest year Camel Valley has ever had. “Average production is 140,000 bottles of wine a year, it’s been like that for the past five or six years and we’re not looking to grow the business anymore. However, this year is our biggest harvest yet with what is likely to be 300,000 bottles as a result. Because of the hot summer we’ve had there has been excellent flowering.” When we spoke to Sam he was slap-bang in the harvest. “It’s the biggest week of the year for us. We all muck in and it gets me out of the office.” · 88
“We get a year like this every four years – there were hot summers in 2014 and every four years back to 2002, though 1998 was rubbish. You always get one terrible year, one good year and a couple of okay years in between – it’s quite odd really.” What does Sam, who readily admits to being a Camel Valley fan himself, see as the secret of their success? “Because of our unique position and how our grapes ripen we maintain an acidity that nowhere else has – it makes for a great balance in sparkling wines. It’s hard for hot countries to do that.” Many of us wouldn’t dream of working with our families, so how does it pan out for the Lindos? “If you appreciate the changes of working in a family business, it’s really nice. One of the good things about working with family is you’re quicker to air things as there aren’t any social barriers. Though, it’s easy for me to fall back into child mode and dad to fall into dad mode, but that rarely happens.” He added: “I’ve got three children aged 4, 6 and 8. I definitely think at least one of them will become the third generation to enter the business – it’s really great fun, so why wouldn’t they?”
Chained
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West Country’s “family affair” goes on and on
It’s the West Country’s other leading “family business” and what a family! It is made up of dozens of star rugby players, 600 young hopefuls coming through the Academy system, 50 staff, tens of thousands of passionate supporters and countless admirers around the world. And at the head of Exeter Chiefs Rugby Club is the man who guided them to glory as Aviva Premiership champions two seasons ago and losing finalists last year. But don’t think of Tony Rowe OBE as some kind of family patriarch. “I’m a member of the team like everybody else,” said the chairman and chief executive of Exeter Rugby Club. The Chiefs have brought sporting glory to the West Country. Not bad for a club that was given no chance of · 92
remaining in the top tier of English rugby when it arrived there in 2010. Yet the Chiefs are as interesting a club off the field as they are thrilling on it. It is a club that is rounded in a way unmatched by its rivals (rugby purists must forgive the word rounded, a term associated with another ball game). The same could be said of Rowe himself who guided the club from obscurity to rugby glory and who now has his sights set on repeating it on the European stage. He left school at 15 and after a spell in the Royal Marines as a drummer/bugler became an entrepreneur whose current business is South West Communications Group. Since arriving at the highest level of English rugby, the Chiefs have been teaching their competitors lessons both on and off the field. While some clubs in Europe, notably
The Chiefs’ chief, Tony Rowe, OBE. Background - Sandy Park
in France, have been able to buy their way to success by importing expensive overseas players, the Chiefs have concentrated on developing home-grown talent. Indeed, some so-called “superstars” would never get into the team even if they were available at bargain-basement rates. “The word team is very important to us,” said Rowe. “Some of our players went to school together and came up through the Academy system together. They play for each other. They would literally die for each other. “If a player comes from outside, it’s for them to adapt to us. The changing room is known as the ‘snakepit’ and a newcomer is assigned the pokiest corner because as far as the other players are concerned they are there on probation. The players will come up with a name for the newcomer and when they get that nickname, they know they are accepted.”
But the team ethos is not confined to the players: it extends throughout the staff of 50 at the club. “Everybody here knows what they have to do and they get on with it. They give everything through loyalty to the club. I doubt whether there is any other top club that can regularly fill a coach with members of staff to travel to away games. We do.” It would be a mistake to interpret stories of the ‘snakepit’ as evidence of a Darwinian ‘survival of the fittest’ culture. The club takes care of its players beyond good salaries and the bounty of success. The case of Australian international Rob Horne, who sustained a paralysed arm while playing for Northampton, illustrates how a career can be ended in a split second. The Chiefs insist that all players look to a life beyond rugby and take steps to prepare for it. Every player has a ‘plan B’, just in case.
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“We want all players to have at least a minimum qualification in some skill,” said Rowe. “We have several players at Exeter University. It’s important that they have that in reserve.” The pastoral care dimension includes a club Methodist chaplain attending regularly and conducting services on the pitch on occasions such as Remembrance Day. Player care also comes from a specialist chef ensuring a good sporting diet and a team of four doctors and six physiotherapists. So what is it in Rowe’s make-up and career that has enabled him to create such a sporting success story in the West Country? “I suppose that being in the Royal Marines taught me how
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to work as a team member,” he said. “You learn that you are so much stronger when you work as a team.” Pressed on the subject, Rowe added: “Well, I do enjoy a beer…” Even that self-deprecating remark tells part of the story as to why the Chiefs are just a bit different. In the era of professional rugby, an air of almost puritanical abstemiousness can be found across the rugger landscape, and not just in the elite clubs. Yet the Chiefs players still enjoy a beer after a game. In the words of Rob Baxter, the Chiefs director of rugby and the genius behind the club’s playing success: “We are a bit beyond the lads getting on the smash every Saturday, but we know when to enjoy ourselves and that’s really
“We want all players to have at least a minimum qualification in some skill,” said Rowe. “We have several players at Exeter University. It’s important that they have that in reserve.” important.” There’s a social dimension to the club as warm as anything to be found in the West Country. If the club “walks the talk” in the area of team-working – so often in business a bit of a bromide – it does so in another area – sustainability. It’s a peculiarity of the club that in a sporting world of crippling debt as the price of success, it consistently makes a profit. That makes it almost unique in a league that haemorrhages cash. Rowe tapped into his computer to bring up a spreadsheet showing advance attendance figures for games across the rest of this season. “Essentially I am a businessman,” he said. “The club is a business and that is how I treat it. We have used technology to do things like selling tickets online. It makes such a difference because it enables me to see instantly how bookings are going and whether we have made a penny or lost a pound.” In parallel to the meticulous planning for success on the field, Rowe has carefully developed and is rolling out his business model for the club. That model is a symbiotic relationship between the rugby club and a conference and banqueting business co-located at the Sandy Park ground on the outskirts of Exeter. The bulk of the £20 million turnover
comes from the sporting side, but the conferences and banqueting dimension means that the staffing infrastructure is already in place to support the sporting side. A £60 million expansion programme is underway that will see a 250-bed hotel and a 1,000-seat conference auditorium created at the site. An £8 million bond was issued which was heavily supported by fans. The feelgood factor that has come to the region in the wake of the success of the Chiefs has also translated into tangible benefits to the local economy. While Rowe was reluctant to try to quantify it, he said: “I have only to talk to the Licensed Victuallers Association or the hotels association and they tell me they are rammed to the gunwhales with rugby supporters here for a match.” Somehow, Rowe still finds time to devote to hobbies like philately and building his collection of fire engines, both model and life-size. In 2012 he was awarded an OBE for his services to commerce, sport and charity. When he was made a Freeman of the City of Exeter in 2015 he exercised an ancient right by walking a flock of sheep through the high street. It made an interesting change for a man more accustomed to leading sporting lions. · 95
Marine experts
won’t leave clients all at sea Small may be beautiful but Seawood’s business has turned big numbers. In two years it has bought and sold more than £30 million’ worth of yachts and helped clients book more than £1 million’ worth of charters.
Around West Country ports it is said that the two happiest days in a boat owner’s life are the day they buy it and the day they sell it! As an island people, the British have a passion for boats. But just as a supertanker needs a pilot to make port, buying, selling or chartering a boat is not always plain sailing and is best done with a Sherpa steeped in knowledge of the business. Ahoy there, Seawood Yachts, a small client-focused broker based in Exeter. When it comes to boats, size matters to ensure that the client gets the right craft to meet their needs and budget. Likewise, size is important to Seawood which was founded in 2016 by John Wood who brought many years of experience to the business from Spain and Gibraltar. “When it comes to brokers there are two main types,” said Wood. “The big boys give confidence but have too wide a focus. Firms like Seawood are small and very focused and we concentrate on getting the exact right deal.” · 96
Wood wears a Rolex Oyster Perpetual Datejust he bought from Michael Spiers and he draws a parallel between his business and that of the jewellers. “The Michael Spiers salesperson understands the watch market, knows the style of watch a client likes and if one is launched can inform the client.” Buying a boat is not like buying a house where you can compare a property in a street with others nearby in terms of value and style. More than 70% of the Earth’s surface is covered in water and there are a lot of boats out there. A would-be buyer is not necessarily going to find the right boat by walking down to the local marina. It’s a global market characterised by complexity but Seawood has a world-wide network of marine contacts that enable it to pinpoint the right boat for a client. Before that happens, a hallmark of the firm is that it gets to know the client and their needs intimately.
“He asked me if I would like to ‘go on a journey’ with him,” said Wood. “He had plans to take Exeter Chiefs into the Premiership and become a top five club in Europe.” “We spend a lot of time talking over all aspects of the client’s requirement,” said Wood. “Whether it’s buying, selling or chartering, we try to understand everything the client wants, from boating area, accommodation on board to budgets. We will also look after everything from ownership structures, registration of a boat to berthing requirements.” Wood’s ambition was already evident at the age of 19, although in another business. He persuaded Tony Rowe, founder of South West Telecoms, to give him a job. “Actually I pleaded with him. I was employee number four!” Rowe went on to become a West Country legend, building his company and then taking over Exeter Chiefs Rugby Club and guiding them to glory (see separate article). Wood meanwhile, set up his own telecoms business before selling it and changing tack – into the marine business. In 2003 he bought a Fairline dealership in Spain. “The business was new to me but essentially it is a people business and that is a skill I believe I do have,” said Wood. The business thrived until the financial crash of 2008 when he moved to Gibraltar to work on bank repossessions. During that time he continued to support a number of marine clients. A health scare prompted a return to Exeter… and an encounter with his old boss Tony Rowe who was now running Exeter Chiefs.
He was “a bit skeptical” of the ambition, but then much of the rugby world was too, and Wood hitched his wagon once more to Rowe and the Chiefs. The journey lasted six years with Wood heading up the club’s commercial side, though he continued to manage his portfolio of yacht clients. “I did that in the evening and at weekends, when there wasn’t a home match. But in the end my yacht clients were increasing and I needed more time.” Seawood was launched and Wood has not looked back. The chartering side also has parallels with Michael Spiers – it’s about celebrations and great occasions, be it an anniversary, critical business meeting or the holiday of a lifetime. “The reasons for chartering cover every imaginable occasion,” said Wood. “It’s not necessarily for people who cannot afford to own a boat. Often it’s about not having the time to own. One thing’s for sure, the crew on these vessels ensure that every need is met.” To add more sparkle to life on the ocean wave Seawood has teamed with Michael Spiers to offer even more pleasure from owning or chartering a boat. Anyone buying or chartering a vessel through Seawood will receive a unique gift from Michael Spiers linked to the value of the transaction.
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Gold!
Michael Spiers hosts the party of the year
For those of us lucky enough to attend Michael Spiers’ lavish Rolex Baselworld 2018 collection party, it will remain the event of the year. An evening of superlatives, it had it all, not least of which was the stunning location – Exeter Cathedral. A celebration of the company’s 60th anniversary, it gave us the rare opportunity to view the Rolex watch collection, valued at £1.1m. The 350 guests dined in style in the beautiful surroundings of the cathedral, which is almost 1,000 years old. If performances by the cathedral’s choristers and a string quartet weren’t enough, there was the added bonus of a surprise show by Spandau Ballet singer Tony Hadley. Yes, of course he performed Gold! · 98
Michael Spiers – which has jewellery stores in Plymouth, Exeter, Truro and Taunton – hosted the special evening with guests from across the South West and the rest of the UK, who enjoyed a fun filled evening in the iconic building. Guests were also able to view an additional £1m worth of diamond and coloured gemstone jewellery from Michael Spiers’ stores, including a stunning choker worth £360,000. Before taking to that rare thing in a cathedral, a dance floor, the guests enjoyed a delicious 5-course meal including tian of crab served with a miniature wholemeal loaf, and loin of pork and Bramley apple crispy pancetta, served with spiced butternut and fennel dauphinoise.
the cake – within two songs everyone was dancing at the front of the cathedral.”
Created by Exeter-based Posh Nosh, who worked from a specially-constructed kitchen alongside the cathedral, the food was of the highest fine dining restaurant quality. The lavish event took a year to organise, according to group manager James Walker. “This was a unique opportunity to say ‘thank you’ to our customers. It wasn’t a sales event but a rare chance to see the Rolex Baselworld collection, much of which isn’t even available to buy yet.” James paid tribute to Cressida Peers and the Exeter Cathedral events team for being so accommodating. Their efforts included allowing Tony Hadley to run a sound check following afternoon prayers! He also praised the former Spandau singer for staying on for an hour signing autographs and posing “for about 1,000 selfies”. The singer and his band performed such Spandau Ballet hits as True and Through The Barricades as well as Queen’s Crazy Little Thing Called Love and Roxy Music’s Let’s Stick Together as well as recent solo single Tonight Belongs To Us. James added: “Once we started to think about a special guest I remembered Tony Hadley visiting the Truro shop while he was on a family holiday in Cornwall during the summer of 2017. Our director Michael Cox had a connection with him and we were so delighted when he agreed to do it. His performance really was the icing on
During a speech at the event, Adam Spiers explained: “We celebrate our 60th anniversary this year and as always, it is at times like this that I think of my late father, Michael Spiers, and his brother Stephen and how proud they would be that their legacy continues today. “I have no doubt that my father would still recognise the passion, commitment and drive for excellence in everything we do on which he founded the business back in the 1950s. We thank you for coming here tonight and helping us celebrate this milestone.” Adam added that he was very proud that Rolex had chosen Michael Spiers as their brand partners for the South West and welcomed Rolex’s Martin Robertshaw and David Cutler to the event. He thanked co-directors Keith White, Michael Cox and the entire Michael Spiers team led by James Walker. “As you can imagine, these events don’t just happen - our team are not only amazing in our showrooms, but they can get behind our vision and excel in all aspects of everything we do. “Well done Team Michael Spiers!”
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The Master Heritage Swiss master watch maker Patek Philippe has been helping the world keep time in superb style for more than 160 years. It was founded by Antoni Patek and Adrien Philippe in 1851 after the former had started a watchmaking business, its forerunnner, in 1839. Since then, the company has become a byword for the highest levels of quality and innovation allied to beauty and style. The company popularised such innovations as the perpetual calandar, split seconds hand and chronograph. Patek Philippe manufactures its own watch components and was the first brand to use Chronifer M-15X steel, a new material especially designed for the watch making industry. The white gold 5327G, pictured above, features an ultra-thin mechanical self winding movement. With perpetual calendar, moon phases, day, date, month and leap year. Case diameter 39mm. Price £66,850.
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TWENTY-4 4910/10A Steel Diamonds .45ct 25.1 x 30mm case Quartz movement Calibre E15 £9,290
ANNUAL CALENDAR 5146R Rose gold 39mm case Mechanical self-winding Calibre 324 S IRM QA LU Moon Phases £31,690
CALATRAVA 5119J Yellow gold 36mm case Mechanical manually wound Calibre 215 PS Sapphire-crystal case back £15,110 ANNUAL CALENDAR 5960/01G White gold 40.5mm case Mechanical self-winding Calibre 28-520 IRM QA 24H Fly back Chronograph £50,350
TWENTY-4 AUTOMATIC 7300/1200R Rose gold Diamonds .77ct 36mm case Mechanical self-winding Calibre 324 S C £34,730
CALATRAVA 7200/200R Rose gold Diamonds 1.08ct 34.6mm case Mechanical self-winding Calibre 240 £30,390
LADIES WORLD TIME 7130R Rose gold Diamonds 1.03ct 36mm case Mechanical self-winding Calibre 240 HU £39,070
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DAY-DATE 40 228238 Yellow gold 40mm case Perpetual, mechanical, self-winding Calibre 3255, Manufacture Rolex Waterproof to 100m £26,750
OYSTER PERPETUAL 36 116000 Oystersteel 36mm case Perpetual, mechanical, self-winding Calibre 3130, Manufacture Rolex Waterproof to 100m £4,100
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DATEJUST 31 178271 Oystersteel & Everose gold 31mm case Perpetual, mechanical, self-winding Calibre 2235, Manufacture Rolex Waterproof to 100m £8,850
DATEJUST 41 126334 Oystersteel and white gold 41mm case Perpetual, mechanical, self-winding Calibre 3235, Manufacture Rolex Waterproof to 100m £7,300
DATEJUST 28 279171 Oystersteel & Everose gold 28mm case Perpetual, mechanical, self-winding Calibre 2236, Manufacture Rolex Waterproof to 100m £8,850 SKY-DWELLER 326135 Everose gold 42mm case Perpetual, mechanical, self-winding Dual time zones Annual Calendar Calibre 9001, Manufacture Rolex Waterproof to 100m £30,450
There is no place on earth where you cannot find a Rolex watch - or, come to that, high above the earth or deep beneath it. Little wonder that the brand has long been synonimous with achievers. “Walking the talk” is the Rolex way. In 1926, the firm created the first waterproof and dustproof watch - the legendary Oyster. A year later, a model was worn by cross-Channel swimmer Mercedes Gleitze. Her time: ten hours. Rolex timekeeping after ten hours in the water: perfect. In 1933, the first expedition to fly over Everest had a Rolex on the pilot’s wrist. In the same decade, world land speed record-breaker Sir Malcolm Campbell wore a Rolex while aboard Bluebird. A new century brought new challenges. When in 2012, explorer James Cameron made the first solo dive into the Marianas Trench - the deepest natural point on earth - he wore a Rolex. It has taken more than 100 years of experience and more than 400 patents to enable Rolex to become the chosen partner for many in aviation, deep-sea diving, exploration and a host of sports. But you don’t have to go to extremes to wear a beauty like this LADY DATEJUST 28. Reference 279173 in Oystersteel and yellow gold has a 28mm case and a perpetual, mechanical, self-winding movement. Waterproof to 100m. Price £8,600.
The Ongoing Adventure · 103
The Seal of Reliability
When a watch is used by the US Navy’s elite Seals special forces, you know you can depend on it. When it comes from the same stable as Rolex, then its pedigree is assured. Tudor was registered by the founder of Rolex Hans Wilsdorf in 1926 as an affordable alternative to the brand that was to have such an impact on the 20th century and into the present century. In 1952, 26 Tudor Oyster Princes were included in a British scientific expedition to Greenland organised by The Royal Navy and sponsored by The Queen and Winston Churchill. The success of Tudor in developing timepieces suitable for the exacting demands of the military and naval sectors resulted in significant take-up of its products by not just the US Navy Seals, but by the French Navy. That heritage can be seen today in this Black Bay Chronograph. Model 79350 comes in steel with a 41mm case. The automatic watch is waterproof to 200m and costs £3,610. · 104
GLAMOUR 51000 Steel 26mm case Automatic Waterproof 100m £1,740
BLACK BAY 32 79500 Steel 32mm case Automatic Waterproof 150m £1,960
BLACK BAY 79230R Steel 41mm case Automatic Waterproof 200m £2,630
PELAGOS 25600 Titanium 42mm case Automatic Waterproof 500m £3,160
1926 91651 Steel & rose gold 41mm case Automatic Waterproof 100m £2,450
1926 91350 Steel 28mm case Automatic Waterproof 100m £1,220
NORTH FLAG 91210N Steel 40mm case Automatic Waterproof 100m £2,640
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TAG teams with luxury partners LINK WBC1312. BA0600 Steel 32mm case Quartz movement Water resistant 100m £1,900
MONACO CAW211P.FC6356 Steel 39mm case Automatic movement Water resistant 100m £4,750
The Aston Martin DB11 has been called the most beautiful car ever designed. So when TAG Heuer partnered with motoring legend Aston Martin it was setting the bar high. It was ever thus with TAG Heuer, founded back in 1860. In 1889 at the Paris Exhibition it won a silver medal for a collection of chronometers.
CARRERA 01 CAR201P.BA0766 Steel 43mm case Automatic movement Water resistant 100m £7,750
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Into the 20th century and it continued to set standards with impeccable timing. In 1916, the firm patented its Micrograph, the first clock with an accuracy of 1/100th second. In 1969, its Microtimer measured time to an accuracy of 1/1000th second. Little wonder that a TAG Heuer timepiece accompanied US astronaut John Glenn on his historic 1962 spaceflight when he became the first man to orbit the Earth.
LINK WBC2112.BA0603 Steel 41mm case Automatic movement Water resistant 100m £2,400
CARRERA 01 CAR201U.BA0766 Steel 43mm case Automatic movement Water resistant 100m £4,400
But the firm is perhaps best known as a partner in the sporting world where super-accurate timekeeping can be the difference between winning or coming second. Its latest venture is a partnership with Aston Martin that began with the 2018 FIA World Endurance Race Championship. To mark the collaboration, TAG Heuer launched its 01 Aston Martin Series of watches. Still in the fast lane, TAG Heuer has watch models dedicated to Formula 1 racing legend Ayrton Senna. You don’t have to break speed records to own this TAG Heuer Carrera Calibre 5 Day Date. Model WAR201A BA0723 comes in steel and has a 41mm case. Automatic and water resistant to 100m, it costs £2,200.
AQUARACER CAY111B.BA0927 Steel 43mm case Quartz movement Water resistant 300m £1,850
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Something in the air genius
Like their aircraft, aviators come in all shapes and sizes but they have one thing in common: they know about Breitling Watches and many use them. Go to any air show and between the chalets of the major aerospace players like Rolls-Royce, Airbus and Boeing you will find Breitling. It seems like a long way from 1884 when Leon Breitling founded the company but even then he was carving a reputation for making precision timepieces. Throughout the 20th century, Breitling watches became synonymous with aviation. In 1952, the Navitimer (from navigation and timer) made its debut. It has been the standard for pilots, airlines and aircraft manufacturers since. Breitling works closely with the aviation industry on product development. Its Chronomat redesign was based on work with the Italian aerobatics team the Frecce Tricolori. You do not have to be a jet pilot to own this Navitimer 1 B01 Chronograph 46. Model AB0127211C1X1 comes in steel with a 46mm case and automatic movement. It is water-resistant to 30m and costs £6,280. · 108
CHRONOMAT B01 CHRONOGRAPH 44 AB0115101F1A1 Steel 44mm case Automatic Water resistant 500m £6,500
SUPEROCEAN HÉRITAGE II B20 AUTOMATIC 44 AB2030121B1A1 Steel 44mm case Automatic movement Water resistant 200m/660ft £3,840
NAVITIMER 8 B01 CHRONOGRAPH 43 AB0117131B1A1 Steel 43mm case Automatic movement Water resistant 100m £6,200
NAVITIMER B01 CHRONOGRAPH 46 AB0127211C1X1 Steel 46mm case Automatic movement Water resistant 30m £6,280
AVENGER II A1338111/BC33/170A Steel 43mm case Automatic movement Water resistant 300m £4,450 NAVITIMER 1 AUTOMATIC 38 A17325211C1P1 Steel 38mm case Automatic Water resistant 30m £3,350
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SPEEDMASTER 38 324.32.38.50.06.001 Steel 38mm case Automatic Water resistant 100m £3,520
AQUA TERRA 150M 220.10.28.60.55.001 Steel 28mm case Quartz Water resistant 150m £2,720
SEAMASTER DIVER 300M 210.30.42.20.03.001 Steel 42mm case Automatic movement Water resistant 300m £3,600
CONSTELLATION 127.20.27.20.55.002 Steel & gold 27mm case Automatic Water resistant 100m £6,200
DE VILLE PRESTIGE 424.20.24.60.55.001 Steel & yellow gold 24.4mm case Quartz movement Water resistant 30m £3,400
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PLANET OCEAN 215.30.46.51.03.001 Steel Automatic 45.5mm case Water resistant 600m £6,000
They put a watch on the moon...
One small step for a man, a giant leap for watchmaker Omega. One of the big films of 2018 is First Man starring Ryan Gosling and Claire Foy that tells the epic story of Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon. But it was the second man, crewmate Buzz Aldrin, who stepped onto our nearest celestial neighbour wearing an Omega Speedmaster. It would have been Armstrong but the commander of the historic Apollo 11 mission left his watch behind in the Lunar Module as a back-up to the on-board timepiece. It was the highest of high points for the watchmaker with a rich heritage spanning the 20th century. Though its origins were in the mid-19th century, the company was only named Omega in 1903. In 1917, the British Royal Flying Corps (forerunner of the Royal Air Force) chose Omega watches as official timekeepers for its combat units. A whole range of famous names of the 20th century and beyond have chosen Omega, not to mention the Olympic Games which has chosen the company as official timekeeper since 1932. Omega wearers join a roll-call of the famous that includes John F. Kennedy, Elvis Presley, George Clooney and Nicole Kidman. It was, of course, President Kennedy who committed the United States to the goal of landing a man on the moon, in his own words not because it is easy but “because it is hard.” When the Apollo 11 mission came in 1969, the spaceship averaged nearly 25,000 mph on its journey to the moon. Seems appropriate to have Speedmasters on board. But you do not have to leave Earth to own an Omega like this Speedmaster Racing. Model 329.30.44.51.04.001 comes in steel with a 44.25mm case. It features an automatic movement, is water-resistant to 50m and costs £6,320. · 111
G-TIMELESS YA1264075 Steel & gold PVD 38mm case Quartz Water resistant 50m £850
G-TIMELESS YA1264007 Steel 38mm case Quartz Water resistant 50m £680
G-TIMELESS YA1264077 Steel 38mm case Quartz Water resistant 50m £820
G-FRAME YA147407 Gold PVD 21mm x 40mm case Quartz Water resistant 30m £920 G-TIMELESS YA1264067 Steel 38mm case Quartz Water resistant 50m £710
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G-FRAME YA147410 Gold PVD 21mm x 40mm case Quartz Water resistant 30m £1,030
The Gucci look over the years has been glamourous, outspoken and continually restless. Dull has never been a word associated with the Italian fashion house. So when Alessandro Michele took over as creative director in 2015, interest in his approach was pretty much world-wide. He did not disappoint with his catwalk offerings, but he did surprise with the fashion show notes where he gave full rein to his fondness for quotations from philosophy. Gucci never stops challenging conventions, from its iconic bamboo-handle handbag to its range of startlingly attractive watches. It’s a long way from the small luggage company founded in Florence in 1921 by Guccio Gucci. Under his family successors, the company went through an epic expansion until the Italian label had impacted the world like no other. By the late 60s, everyone from The Queen to the queen of the big screen Elizabeth Taylor was a patron. Later there were some tough times, but you cannot keep a good name down and it was not long before Gucci was a global player once more. As in its products, Gucci corporate life does not do understatement. To showcase its range of watches, the firm hired master photographer Martin Parr to undertake a world-wide photoshoot. From Italy and the stately homes of England to Asia, he brought watches to life in startlingly fresh ways. Try a taste of Gucci style with this G-FRAME YA 147404 watch in steel. The Quartz model has a 21mm x 40mm case, is water-resistant up to 50m and costs £850. Also shown is the iconic Gucci interlocking G, this one as a silver pendant on a silver chain. It costs £620.
The edgy one to watch · 113
To bee or not to be That is the question that should concern us all By Mike Martin*
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“If the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe then man would only have four years of life left. No more bees, no more pollination, no more plants, no more animals, no more man.”
many nuts, and plants such as sunflowers that are turned into oil, as well as cocoa beans, coffee and tea. Crops grown as fodder for livestock need bees. And it’s not just food crops that rely on bee pollination: cotton does as well. Imagine a fruit salad of apricot, kiwifruit, tangerine, mango, peach, and strawberry, with a few chopped almonds and walnuts on top.
Put a monetary price on it, and annual global crop pollination by bees is estimated at approaching $200 billion.
Now imagine an empty plate.
In truth, the bee’s role as the “flywheel” in the food chain, and wider environment, is priceless.
And imagine it empty for all time. Because if the current decline in bee populations world-wide continues that becomes a grim possibility. Were the great pollinators to become extinct then the bountiful bee would take with it more than just honey: it would end the ability to grow the contents of our fruit salad, and much more besides. “If the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe then man would only have four years of life left. No more bees, no more pollination, no more plants, no more animals, no more man.” This apocalyptic quote is attributed to Albert Einstein. It has all the potency and succinctness of the great scientist’s mind. However, there is no evidence of when, where or even if he said it. So while Armageddon on an (empty) plate may not be in store, bee extinction would have catastrophic consequences for us. The fate of the bee is as existential as that asked by Shakespeare’s Hamlet in his “to be or not to be” soliloquy. An estimated one third of global food production is dependent on pollination. While not the only pollinators – birds, bats and other insects help – bees are the busiest, and honey bees the busiest of all.
The bee’s more holistic role is as a bellweather of the wider health of the environment; that bell is tolling alarmingly both for bees and perhaps for us too. If bees are in trouble, much else is as well. Bees illustrate the “joined-upness” of the natural world, having co-evolved with flowering plants over millions of years. The bees need the flowers for food, while the flower needs the bee to reproduce. Nectar and pollen from flowering plants are bees’ only food source. Honey bees are disappearing globally at an alarming and unsustainable rate due to pesticides, parasites, habitat loss and global warming. In the United States, colony collapse disorder wiped out a third of all honey bee colonies when it first struck in 2007, and the dismal trend continues. In the UK, honey bee winter losses have been as high as 30 percent in recent years. Nearly one in 10 of Europe’s wild bee species face extinction. Globally, a quarter of the world’s 250 bumble bee species are at risk. Habitat loss is a major issue due to farming practice and urbanisation. In the UK, 97 percent of wild flower meadows have vanished since 1947.
More than 400 types of plant need bees and other insects to pollinate them, including most fruits and vegetables, · 117
If bees face a potential doomsday scenario, does it mean that humankind will follow? Probably not, but quality of life will take a battering and some areas of an already overpopulated world will surely struggle. Many abundant food sources – wheat, corn – are pollinated by the wind and would remain secure. However, with nearly 100 crops moderately to highly dependent on bees and other pollinators, it would be diversity that would suffer. From almonds to apples and on through the alphabet of foods, variety would suffer. Prices would skyrocket before some foods simply vanished. Whole industries – apple, coffee, chocolate – would collapse. Tomorrow’s celebrity chef would be somebody capable of concocting something interesting out of modest ingredients. For most, diet would become bland and boring. Without cotton, clothing would become more expensive. Morphine, extracted from poppies, could disappear. For humans, it would not be an extinction-level event, except perhaps in their quality of life. Governments around the world are grappling with the problem. Former President Obama introduced a Pollinator · 118
Protection Plan. The UK’s Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) runs a similar scheme. But government is a long way away while bees are close by, or at least we want them to be. So what can we do as individuals and what is being done at a regional level? First, the bad news. A new threat to honey bees in the West Country appeared in 2017 – the Asian hornet. The honey bee killer was found in Gloucestershire but DEFRA has a contingency plan to stop it becoming established. The South West is of national importance for bees, with a warm climate and extensive habitats, including the North Cornwall Coast, Lizard Peninsular, South Devon coast, Dartmoor and the Somerset Levels. The South West Bees Project focuses on bee conservation at a regional scale. The Project has assessed the status of 23 most threatened wild bees from Cornwall to Wiltshire. Against a background of several bee species going extinct in the region in the last 50 years, the project and its partners aim to help pollinating insects by connecting flower-rich habitats.
BEE FACTUAL Honey is the only foodstuff that does not decay. Honey is health positive, working to soothe coughs, overcome sleeplessness, boosts energy, reduces allergy symptoms and can be used to treat skin infections. It takes 60,000 bees, collectively flying 55,000 miles and visiting 2 million flowers, to gather enough nectar to make one pound of honey.
Another organisation, West Country Buzz works with a variety of stakeholders to support farmers and landowners in Devon to adopt pollinator-friendly farming practices. The private sector is working hard as well to defend and encourage our bees. The apple, first fruit mentioned in the Old Testament, no longer in existence? No wonder West Country cider makers are playing their part in encouraging bees in their orchards. Thatchers Cider has been working with the Bumblebee Conservation Trust to develop ways of attracting more bees into its orchards. The Somerset-based cider producer is aiming to attract some of the less common bumblebee species into its 400 acres of apple orchards. And Tesco’s Cornwall and Devon stores pioneered a new initiative to recycle all of their spilt sugar. Instead of going in the bin, sugar, and leftovers from in-store bakeries, were given to hungry bees. And what about us? It is easy to feel helpless in the face of
such potential enormity, but there are things we can do. If you have a garden, give over part of it to wild flowers. Lobby the local council to transform some of that neat lawnland into wild flower zones. Perhaps it is no coincidence that Ukraine has a reputation for top-drawer bee-keeping, for it is a country still bedecked with countless fields of wild flowers. The honey bee has rightly occupied a special place in the development of human life. The Egyptian pharaohs took jars of honey with them to the afterlife and the bee was the royal insignia of the Merovingian kings (some 300 small golden bees were founded stitched to the cloak of Childeric I when his grave was unearthed). It’s no different now. Few fail to thrill at the sound of the first bee of summer. In answer to Hamlet’s immortal words: we need bee in order to be.
* Mike Martin was the first environmental correspondent in mainstream British newspapers.
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A taste of honey Venison with honey, cocoa nibs and almonds, by Chris and James Tanner*
Venison and chocolate are a classic flavour combination. In this recipe, the chocolate is in the form of cocoa nibs, which together with the almonds create a crunchy coating for the meat. Perfect served with red cabbage and parsnips. Serves 4.
Ingredients
Method
100g nibbed almonds
1. Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/gas mark 6
100g cocoa nibs
2. Spread the almonds on a baking tray and roast in the oven for 3-4 minutes. Place in a bowl, add the cocoa nibs and set aside.
4 x 200g venison fillets, trimmed 2 tablespoons groundnut oil 10g unsalted butter 20g clear blossom honey Crushed sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
3. Rub the venison with 1 tablespoon oil and season all over. Heat the remaining oil and the butter in a large ovenproof frying pan and carefully sear the venison fillets on each side. 4. Transfer the pan to the oven for 5-7 minutes for medium-rare, or for well-done cook for 15 minutes, turning twice during the cooking process. Remove the venison from the pan and allow to rest on a wire rack. 5. Place the pan back on the hob over a low heat and add a splash of water and the honey. Once the honey is melted, remove from the heat and add the venison fillets. Ensure that the meat is well-coated. Move and roll each fillet in the cocoa nib and almond mixture. 6. Slice each fillet into 4-6 pieces and serve on warmed plates.
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* The recipe is taken from the cookbook Old Favourites, New Twists, published by Kyle Books.
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HANDCRAFTED CUFFLINKS AND ACCESSORIES.
CUFFLINKS, JEWELLERY & FINE ACCESSORIES
Main mage: C1567S000 Sterling Silver Bumble Bee Cufflinks - C1614S2022 Vintage Steering Wheel Cufflinks - C1588S0722 Brilliant, bright red racing car cufflinks
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Curtis Whiteford Crocker here for the good times as easy as possible in language that is easy to understand and with staff who are friendly and approachable.
When you think of a jeweller, celebrations instantly spring to mind. Step into Michael Spiers and you will see happy, smiling faces, and at Curtis Whiteford Crocker Solicitors we also know what a celebration feels like. We are husbands, wives, mums and dads too and part of the satisfaction we get from our work is being there for the big changes in your life. You may be preparing for a new life together, expecting a baby or buying a home. At CWC solicitors we have spent 200 years looking after people and protecting their interests. The quality service we offer may be traditional but the way in which we offer it meets the needs of the modern world. We go out of our way to make the process · 122
Family life is becoming more complex and we often help people who are entering into civil partnerships, same-sex marriages or co-habiting with all their legal needs. We also have a team of residential conveyancers who will help take the sting out of the stress of buying a house, whether it’s freehold, leasehold, dealing with housing associations, shared ownership or buy to let. We do remortgaging too, which can sometimes be as complicated as buying a property in the first place. We realise that to us it’s the formal process of purchasing
At CWC Solicitors we’re just like you. You can meet the team on our website. We’re a mixed bunch judging by our hobbies which include horse riding, performing in musical theatre, motorbike riding, choral singing and jam making.
grieving. Having everything in place before someone dies will help make this process easier. In our matrimonial department we encourage dialogue. One of our partners is a member of Resolution, an organisation of 6,500 family lawyers and other professionals campaigning for improvements to the family justice system.
a property but to you it’s buying a home. That’s why we use our expertise and experience to help make it go as smoothly as possible. Even for the serious side of life, one thing we have learned is that being prepared brings its own reassurance. Nobody planning the best day of their lives wants to think of what might be the worst day of their lives. We buy life insurance, but don’t like to talk about dying. We have car insurance and house insurance but don’t want to contemplate the horror of something going wrong. We understand that. That’s why CWC Solicitors go out of their way to make the process as easy as possible, whether it is conveyancing, drawing up a will, dealing with probate, or facing relationship issues. We like to look at things positively. That’s why, for example, CWC Solicitors are involved in Dying Matters – an NHS organisation funded by the government to encourage people to talk more openly about death and dying.
CWC Solicitors are also mindful of the people living with a diagnosis of dementia – there are 3,000 in Plymouth alone – and we are members of the Plymouth Dementia Action Alliance. We have made our offices in Plymouth, Tavistock and Torpoint dementia friendly. Sometimes that’s things like better signage in the building, training staff or simply changing the colour of our doormats – some dementia sufferers can see a black mat as a hole in the floor. These are some of the private services we offer but we also deal with a lot of commercial issues – agriculture, litigation, debt recovery, insolvency, industrial disputes, company law, mergers and acquisitions, litigation, commercial property and so on. At CWC Solicitors we’re just like you. You can meet the team on our website. We’re a mixed bunch judging by our hobbies which include horse riding, performing in musical theatre, motorbike riding, choral singing and jam making. We’re here when you need us. We like to be there for the good times. Even if you don’t need us now you might need us in the future. Just remember the name. Curtis Whiteford Crocker. Meet us online at www.cwcsolicitors.co.uk or call our offices on Plymouth’s Mutley Plain (01752 204444), in Russell Street, Tavistock (01822 617666) or in Marine Drive, Torpoint (01752 931004).
Our friendly Wills and Probate team know how difficult it is to discuss financial and other matters when drawing up a will and they will guide you through the process with compassion, expertise and experience. They know how important it is to have the proper provision in place to avoid any problems afterwards. As well as the legal aspects we encourage families to consider decisions like whether to be buried or cremated. Our team can also assist in dealing with probate, a complex issue to come to grips with at a time when you’re · 123
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www.michaelspiers.co.uk · 124