Sandbanks Life Magazine February 2012 by Fish Media Group Ltd

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ive years ago, obtaining a competitive price for private jet hire was a bit of a shot in the dark. You could call up a private jet operator and ask for a quote. You could even phone a jet brokerage and ask them for advice. However in reality, you wouldn’t be sure you were getting the best price – or have a clear view of your options. The flexibility, convenience and VIP service of private jet charter are widely understood by both business and leisure travellers. You set your own schedule; avoid wasted time or delays at the airport; and fly a more direct route - private jets can land at many more airports than airlines. This can save up to five hours on a European trip

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Solutions inc. 78 Old Christchurch Road, Bournemouth, BH1 1LR www.solutions-inc.co.uk Tel: 01202 559776 iPad Smart Cover sold separately. 1iMessage requires Wi-Fi. For iPad with 3G, normal carrier data rates may apply. 2iCloud requires iOS 5 on iPhone 3GS or later, iPod touch (3rd and 4th generation), iPad or iPad 2; a Mac computer with OS X Lion; or a PC with Windows Vista or Windows 7. Some features require a Wi-Fi connection. Some features are not available in all countries. Access to some services is limited to 10 devices.TM and ÂŠ 2011 Apple Inc. All rights reserved.

Ed letter feb__ 03/02/2012 10:36 Page 1

Editor’s lEttEr

Welcome to our February issue. PUBLISHED BY THE FISH MEDIA GROUP LTD. THE RIDINGS, WOODFIELD LANE, ESSENDON, HERTS, AL9 6JJ

0844 800 8439 www.thelifemagazines.com

Editor Faye Manning Editor’s Assistant Katie Miller

To raise awareness of the importance of purchasing local produce, Dorset food producers are set to make a debut appearance at the South’s largest hospitality trade event, the Hotel and Catering Show. Local producers including From Dorset with Love, Badger and Bumble, Lulubelles Cakes, Filbert’s Fine Foods, e Dorset Charcuterie Company and Oxford’s Bakery will descend upon the Bournemouth International Centre on Tuesday March 13 (10am to 6pm) and Wednesday March 14 (10am to 4pm) to ﬁll the show’s Market Place area – we take a look at this “must see” event. Moscow City Ballet perform two of the world’s most famous and much loved traditional ballets - Swan Lake and e Nutcracker - at Lighthouse, Poole’s Centre for the Arts from February 21st – 26th.

Sub Editor Alexandra Lux Fashion Editor Hazel Englander Design & Production Claire Stone Art Editor Kathleen Barbour Account/Admin Kathy Manning Ken Fleet Sales

Classical dance is experiencing a dramatic resurgence thanks to ﬁlm and television inspiring a new generation of fans. New audiences are now discovering the intensity, drama and beauty of classical ballet when it’s performed live on stage by an artistic and gifted company. Swan Lake, featured recently in the phenomenally successful movie e Black Swan, is performed by technically reﬁned dancers and includes lavish sets, beautiful costumes and innovative choreography. e epic story tells of Prince Siegfried and his love for Odette, who tricked by the evil sorcerer Von Rothbart and his daughter Odile would rather die together then live apart. e theatrical dance experience of this classic Russian jewel is completed by Tchaikovsky’s thrilling score. Timeless classic e Nutcracker incorporates stunning costumes, sumptuous sets and Tchaikovsky’s masterpiece score. is enchanting ballet tells the story of Clara’s magical adventure with her Nutcracker Prince, including a visit to the delicious Land of Sweets and the delightful Sugar Plum Fairy, this performance is a real treat.

Patrick Smith James Marshall Business Development Manager Alison Griffin 07944 129 393

Elizabeth McManus 07958 015 182 Directors Patrick Smith Rory Smith

e Parkstone area of Poole is divided into Lower and Upper Parkstone, the ‘Upper’ part is so called because it is largely on higher ground slightly to the north of the lower-lying area of Lower Parkstone, which being closer to Poole Harbour makes it a sought after area in which to live. Lower Parkstone is centred on Ashley Cross ‘e Village’ near to St Peter’s Church, part of e Parish of Parkstone St Peter and St Osmund with Branksea St Mary. Parkstone was originally a tything of the Parish of Canford Magna, but in 1833 the church of St Peter’s was built to serve the growing community – our very own Jane Martin takes us back in time. Wrap up warm, embrace the wintry weather and enjoy your February issue.

Faye Manning, Editor. ©All Rights reserved. All Fish Media Group Ltd magazines are copyright and cannot be reproduced in any form either in part or whole without written permission from the publishers. Whilst Fish Media Group Ltd takes every reasonable precaution, no responsibility can be accepted for any property, services or products offered in any of our publications and any loss arising. Whilst every care is taken with all materials submitted to all of our magazines the publisher cannot accept the loss or damage to such material. The Fish Media Group Ltd reserves the right to reject or accept any advertisement, article or material prior to publication. Opinions expressed are strictly those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views or policies of Fish Media Group Ltd. We accept no liability for any misprints or mistakes and no responsibility can be accepted for the content of these pages.

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c o n t e n t s

HARDWO OD WINDOWS, DOORS & CONSERVATORIES

Editorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Letter

Contents

Whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Onâ&#x20AC;Ś

Local Life, History & Events

The Hotel & Catering Show 2012 Royal Moscow Ballet Enchanting Photography Learning At The Lighthouse Art From A Dorset Sketchbook The Beatles & Poole AFC Bournemouth On The Rise Ashley Cross And Its Illustrious Past Get More Out Of Your Life Magazine! Your Area With Local Resident Paul Griffin Local Team Bucks The Trend Kings Of The Skies

Feature

Up Close & Personal With Brad Pitt

Fashion

London Fashion Week Preview Lose The Winter Blues

Health & Beauty

At Brightwood, every one of our hardwood windows, doors, conservatories and orangeries is unique and designed to complement your home and lifestyle.

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What A Glow 25 Years At The Top The Good Life A Better You The Bikini Body Natural Beauty

House & Garden

BRITA I

More Than A Garden Romantic Interiors Antiques With John Bly Make The Most Of Your Outdoor Space The King Of Space Hearts & Flowers More Bang For Your Buck Improve, Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t Move

Food & Drink The Fairground, Weyhill, Andover, Hampshire SP11 0ST

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A Recipe From FJB The Green Room On Valentineâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Day Say I Love You With Chocolate

Property Life

PAGE 00_ÂŠ Fish Media 07/06/2010 14:42 Page 1

Whats on FEB__ 02/02/2012 14:51 Page 1

WHAT’S ON THE SFBALL Cult TV and Sci Fi Family Friendly Event. Great fun day or weekend out. Full weekend includes a three course Gala Dinner, Celebrity Cabaret and emed Ball. Gold ticket includes all full weekend plus Champagne Cocktail Party, Multiple Chocolate Fountains, Hot Buﬀet & Goody Bag and is attended by our celebrity guests. Day tickets include all main guest talks and all other daily activities. Dealer/Signing Room Tickets only are available for all other guests not on main guest list. Conﬁrmed : On Stage Saturday/Sunday: Michael Hogan - Battlestar Galactica, Smallville, Warehouse 13, Doll House, e L Word Kate Vernon - Battlestar Galactica, Bones, Heroes, e Mentalist, Saving Grace, CSI, Dawsons Creek Torri Higginson- Stargate Atlantis, e English Patient, NCIS, TekWar More to come e Carrington House Hotel, Knyveton Road Bournemouth BH1 3QQ Dorset BH1 3QQ. Friday 10 Feb 2012 to Sunday 12 Feb 2012 www.sfbevents.com TWO DOOR CINEMA CLUB Concert : NME Awards Tour 2012 - Two Door Cinema Club, Metronomy, Tribes & Azealia Banks : Tickets avaiable. Start time:19:00. See website for prices and details. O2 Academy Bournemouth, 570 Christchurch Rd, Bournemouth. Hampshire BH1 4BH Wednesday 22 Feb 2012 TRIBES Concert : NME Awards Tour 2012 - Two Door Cinema Club, Metronomy, Tribes & Azealia Banks : Tickets avaiable. Start time:19:00. See website for prices and details. O2 Academy Bournemouth, 570 Christchurch Rd, Bournemouth. Hampshire BH1 4BH Wednesday 22 Feb 2012 METRONOMY Electro-pop artist Joseph Mount, or Metronomy as he is better known, has remixed tracks for the likes of Roots Manuva, Franz

FEBRUARY2012

Ferdinand, e Young Knives, Klaxons and Gorillaz, as well as releasing two albums of original material, including the latest, 2008s Nights Out. Known for the makeshift light shows and quirky dance routines, live performances are sure to be good fun, so get your hands on Metr onomy tickets as soon as you can. Start time:19:00. See website for prices and details. O2 Academy Bournemouth, 570 Christchurch Rd, Bournemouth. Hampshire BH1 4BH. Wednesday 22 Feb 2012 RALLYE SUNSEEKER Car racing finishing ceremony at Bournemouth Pier Approach. Dorset BH1 2BU Saturday 25 Feb 2012 www.bournemouth.co.uk CHAMPLOO’S WHITE CAPS AT PAVILION DANCE FEBRUARY 2012 Explosive breakdance, an awarding film and an uplifting soundtrack - experience it all for just £5 as Champloo, one of the UK's leading Bboy companys, return to Pavilion Dance, Bournemouth following a sell-out international tour. Seamlessly blending award-winning cinematography with groundbreaking live dance, White Caps presents an epic tale of brotherhood set against a rich, filmed background of forests, valleys and mountains. is unique, multimedia experience features a memorable soundtrack that darts from heavy dubstep to beautiful chill-out, encompassing lyrical soft strings, melodic piano and uplifting folk. For more information and booking, call 01202 203630. Early booking advised. 20.00pm £5.00 01202 203630. Pavilion Dance, Westover Road, Bournemouth Dorset BH1 2BU. Saturday 25 Feb 2012 www.paviliondance.org.uk OLLY MURS Since Olly Murs finished as a runner up on e X Factor in 2009, this Essex boy has established himself as one of the most successful new male recording artists of recent times. With three number one singles

Please Dont Let Me Go, You are Not Alone and Heart Skips a Beat, his new single Dance with Me Tonight is set to be another chart-topper. Not content with three number one singles and a double platinum debut album, Olly Murs also presents e X Factor spin-oﬀ show e Xtra Factor. With Olly Murs ﬁrst tour selling out completely you wont want to miss out on the next Olly Murs tour of UK arenas in 2012. Get your Olly Murs tickets here now! Start time:18:30. See website for prices and details. Bournemouth International Centre (BIC), Exeter Road, Bournemouth. Hampshire BH2 5BH. Wednesday 15 Feb 2012 and ursday 16 Feb 2012 THE FJB WINE CLUB invites you to join us for our New Zealand Wine Club Dinner. We will be sampling an array of wines from Urlar Estate, a small family run winer, Wairarapa. Join us as Angus omson, Estate Owner, talks us through his range of wines, served alongside our Head Chef ’s vision of stunning New Zealand cuisine. Tickets are £54.00 per person and Wine club members receive a 10% discount (£49.00) For more details contact Charles Van Wyk on 01202 707272 or email wineclub@bhotels.co.uk'' RALLYE SUNSEEKER INTERNATIONAL 24/25 February 2012 Round 1 of the British International Rally Championship Watch up to 100 UK and international rally teams as they strive for success over 66 miles of high-speed special stages in the forest of Wareham & Ringwood, in Dorset & Hampshire Activities start during Friday 24th, when crews and cars attend the Bournemouth International Centre for Documentation & Scrutiny; followed by the innovative Ceremonial Start on Poole Quay from 18.30 hours. A great place to watch on Saturday 25th is Somerley Park, near Ringwood- 2 all action special stages + Motorfair, a great venue for displays, simulators & trade stalls.

All these locations have commentary, catering & toilets. Forestry Car Pass ( 3 venues) £25 Somerley Park Motorfair Car Pass £25 Colour Programme £5 Special packages available on www.rallyesunseeker.co.uk Poole, Bournemouth, Wareham & ringwood Dorset BH2 5AA Friday 24 Feb 2012 and Saturday 25 Feb 2012 www.rallyesunseeker.co.uk SYMPHONY CONCERT IN ST MICHAEL’S CHURCH PROGRAMME: Academic Festival Overture - Brahms Violin Concerto - Bruch, Soloist Piotre Kopec INTERVAL William Tell Overture - Rossini Valse Triste - Sibeius Spartacus Ballet Suite - Khachaturian 7.30 pm. Tickets £10, Concessions £8. St Michael’s Church, Poole Hill, Bournemouth Hampshire BH2 5QU. Saturday 25 Feb 2012 www.baps-orch.co.uk CHARITY JAZZ EVENING e spirit of New Orleans jazz comes to Dorset in February – all in aid of a worthy cause. e six piece ‘Golden Eagle Jazz Band’ is putting on a charity gig to help raise funds for Forest Holme hospice. e Poole-based hospice is dedicated to caring for patients with cancer and other life limiting illnesses. Kevin Scott, band leader and tenor banjo player says: “Inspired by the music of the revival, the "Golden Eagle" plays New Orleans jazz the way it was meant to be played, that is, with a powerful and melodic front line and a hard driving rhythm section.” Tickets cost just £8 with all proceeds going to Forest Holme. To book tickets contact the Friends of Forest Holme Fundraising team on 01202 670644 or visit www.friendsoﬀorestholme.org.uk Hamworthy Club in Canford Magna in Poole Dorset BH21 3AP Friday 24 Feb 2012 www.friendsoﬀorestholme.org.uk VALENTINE’S DINNER AT MERLEY HOUSE Treat your Valentine to their most romantic dinner of the year at Merley House on Tuesday 14th February from 7pm. 3 course meal by candle light including a Champagne Cocktail on arrival £29.95 per person. Book now to avoid dissappointment. enquiries@merleyhouseevents.co.uk. Book a table from 7pm. £29.95 per

Whats on FEB__ 02/02/2012 14:51 Page 2

person including a 3 course meal and a Champagne Cocktail on arrival. Contact us for more information on 01202 885024 or enquiries@merleyhouseevents.co.uk. Merley House, Merley House Lane, Wimborne Dorset BH21 3AA Tuesday 14 Feb 2012 www.merleyhouseevents.co.uk BIRDWATCHING HAWFINCHES IN THE NEW FOREST A visit to Blackwater Arboretum for the Hawfinch coming into roost. We should see other finches with chances of Crossbill and Lesser Spotted Woodpecker. No experience needed an easy walk and use of leaders telescopes for good views. 14.00 - 16.00 Cost £7.50 per person. For more details ring Jackie 01425 656841. Blackwater Arboretum Hampshire SO42 7QB Friday 17 Feb 2012 www.twoowlsbirding.co.uk/ww w.twoowlsbirding.co.uk/Program me.html OUTDOOR FIRST AID Outdoor First Aid. Certificate for those that work in the outdoors. Meets NGB requirments. Valid for three years. 16 hour duration 20th and 21st Feb 2012. 0900 1800. Monday and Tuesday. £110. 07850 258603. New Forest Hampshire BH23 8LA Monday 20 Feb 2012 and Tuesday 21 Feb 2012 www.puravidafirstaid.co.uk FOREST FORGE TOTS -CREATIVE workshops for under 5’s! ese sessions will now be bigger and better than ever, with even more story telling, singing, drama, rhymes, movement, crafts and much more! Tailored specifically for children under 5, these lively creative sessions are run by workshop leader Lucy Phillips who has years of experience working with children of all ages, and is looking forward to introducing drama to a new set of young minds! As usual, these vibrant sessions will engage and stimulate your child, using music, movement and drama to encourage a sense of play, develop imagination and build confidence. Sessions will last for 45 mins, but we’re then inviting you to stay on for a cup of tea or coffee (with juice and biccies for the little ones) and a chance to catch-up and chat with fellow parents.

Tuesday mornings, 10.00-11.00am. From 24th January, weekly until the 27th March. e cost is £1.50 per child, with accompanying adults free, and is payable on the door. ere’s no need to book, but for more information please call us at the Forest Forge oﬃce on 01425 470 188. Forest Forge eatre Centre, Endeavour Park, Crow Arch Lane, Ringwood Hampshire BH24 1SF Tomorrow, Tue 7 Feb, Tue 14 Feb, Tue 21 Feb, Tue 28 Feb, Tue 6 Mar, Tue 13 Mar, Tue 20 Mar. www.forestforge.co.uk BIRDWATCHING MOYLES COURT, NR. RINGWOOD A circular walk starting from Moyles Court, Blashford for a winter walk overlooking some of the lakes and looking for water, woodland and heathland birds. 10.00 - 12.30 Cost £7.50 per person. Booking essential. For more information or to book ring Jackie 01425 656841 Moyles Court, nr Ringwood Hampshire BH24 3NF Sunday 26 Feb 2012 www.twoowlsbirding.co.uk/ww w.twoowlsbirding.co.uk/Program me.html NEW FOREST BOOK FAIR, LYNDHURST An opportunity to browse and buy second-hand, out-of-print and rare books, maps, prints and ephemera. Plenty of local material with well-established and experienced book dealers. Everything for the book lover from £1 paperbacks to the scarce and collectable. Fair organiser is New Forest author and speaker, Georgina Babey. Book signing of her titles as available, including the newly published 'NEW FOREST PAINTERS'. **Special for February** - the Railway Correspondence & Travel Society will be selling railway books and ephemera, for fund raising, and the Fordingbridge artists, Richard & Hilary Tratt, will be selling their paintings, prints, cards and illustrated books. Open 10am - 4pm. Free admission. For details contact: Georgina Babey (GeeBee Books), 01725 514480, geebabey@tiscali.co.uk, www.newforestbooksandtalks.co.uk Lyndhurst Community Centre, Lyndhurst High Street (main Car Park) Hampshire SO43 7NY Saturday 25 Feb 2012 www.newforestbooksandtalks.co.uk

CHRISTCHURCH U3A VINTAGE BRASS BANDCONCERT Another performance of rousing music by the ever popular Christchurch U3A Vintage Brass Band, as always in aid of charity. is time to boost the funds of the church in which they will be performing. If you would like to see and hear them in action, we'd love to see you there. Concert starts at 7 pm. Tickets: £6 available by sending cheque and s.a.e. to Jill Pickett, 2a Southville Road, Southbourne, BH5 2JT, from any band member or Paypal via www.christchurchu3a.org.uk/vinta gebrass. St George’s Church, Jumpers Road, Christchurch, BH 23 2JR Dorset BH23 2JR. Saturday 18 Feb 2012 www.christchurchu3a.org.uk/vint agebrass "TOGETHERNESS IN WOOD AND PAINT AN EXHIBITION OF PAINTINGS AND SCULPTURE" Anna and Lall Sims have both had their work accepted by the Royal Academy. ey live and work at 25 Millhams Street in Christchurch where Anna also gives art classes in all mediums. Anna's work is mainly focused on ethereal faces and the mystery of open doors. Lall gives talks on his unusual wood sculptures. He concentrates on simple everyday objects which are transformed by the texture of wood. Some of his pieces have been shown on television and Anna's work has appeared in several publications including e International Artist. Tuesday to Friday 10am - 5pm; Saturday 10am - 4pm 01202 482860. Red House Museum, Quay Road, Christchurch BH23 1BU Dorset BH23 1DT Today to Sat 25 Feb. www.annasims.co.uk LITTLE PICKLES MARKET Great quality, pre-loved baby and children’s equipment! Our next indoor & pushchair friendly nearly new market will be. . . . Sunday 19th Feb 10am – 12 noon West Totton Community and Indoor Sports Centre, Hazel Farm Road, Totton SO40 8WU Bring your Little Pickle along and enjoy a free class from Amanda’s Action Club! 10AM - 12PM CHILDREN FREE, ADULTS £1

West Totton Community and Indoor Sports Centre Hampshire SO40 8WU. Sunday 19 Feb 2012 www.facebook.com/events/21576 7488502777/ TESTWOOD LAKES NATURE TRAIL Drop into Testwood Lakes this half term and enjoy ﬁnding out more about the wonderful wildlife that lives on the reserve on a nature trail around the lake. Suitable for all ages. Start the trail and pick up a map at Testwood Lakes Centre. No need to book – this is a self-guided activity. All children should be accompanied by adults. All abilities are welcome – the walk around the lake is approximately 1 mile and mostly on level surfaced paths. Please wear warm clothes and sturdy shoes. Any time during each day. Suggested donation £1 per map. For more information please contact the Education Team on 023 8066 7929. Testwood Lakes Centre, Brunel Road, Calmore Industrial Estate, Totton (Map ref.SU 348 158) Hampshire SO40 3XP Monday 13 Feb 2012 to Friday 17 Feb 2012 TESTWOOD TODDLERS – “NO PLACE LIKE HOME” Join us for exciting games, crafts, a story and a walk to learn more about animal homes and see if you can make one that’s just right for your favourite creature. Suitable for children aged 2-5. Meet at Testwood Lakes Centre. All children must be accompanied by adults. All abilities are welcome – activities take place close to the centre on fairly level but soft ground. Please wear wellies and waterproofs. Booking is essential, so for further details and to book your place, please contact the Education Team on 023 8066 7929. 10.30am–12noon or 1-2.30pm. Suggested donation £3 per child. Testwood Lakes Centre, oﬀ Brunel Road, Calmore Industrial Estate, Totton Hampshire SO40 3XP Tuesday 14 Feb 2012 feedback@hwt.org.uk ■

FEBRUARY2012

Food Show__ 02/02/2012 14:52 Page 1

local events

LOCAL FOOD PRODUCERS TO MAKE DEBUT APPEARANCE AT SOUTH’S LARGEST HOSPITALITY EVENT

EXHIBITION HALL

o raise awareness of the importance of purchasing local produce, Dorset food producers are set to make a debut appearance at the south’s largest hospitality trade event, the Hotel and Catering Show. Local producers including From Dorset with Love, Badger and Bumble, Lulubelles Cakes, Filbert’s Fine Foods, e Dorset Charcuterie Company and Oxford’s Bakery will descend upon the Bournemouth International Centre on Tuesday March 13 (10am to 6pm) and Wednesday March 14 (10am to 4pm) to fill the show’s Market Place area. With the aim to inspire people to learn about locally-produced food, the Market Place will have a street market ambience and give visiting caterers, chefs and hoteliers the opportunity to meet small local producers, taste and compare regional food and drink and get to know the true story behind the product, as GILES THOMPSON, CHEF PATRON OF CHICHESTER-BASED well as learn about the benefits of buying local produce. THE EARL OF MARCH, TO DEMONSTRATE AT THE SHOW Lee Moreton of e Dorset Charcuterie Company says: “With quality and provenance high on the consumer agenda, GLASS ROOM the Market Place will enable regional food and drink producers such as ourselves to showcase the superb quality of their products. Producers place a great deal of importance on building strong JAMES GOLDING, EXECUTIVE CHEF OF relationships with local suppliers and farmers and this show will THE PIG HOTEL IN BROCKENHURST, TO DEMONSTRATE AT THE SHOW provide us with a perfect opportunity to make new connections to people committed to foods that are fresh, wholesome and taste superb.” Aside from the Market Place, hearty food from field-to-plate will be on display in the show’s Platinum eatre when White Pepper Cookery School chef and teacher, Luke Stuart, presents a specially conceived dish using meat butchered by Lee Moreton. e demonstration will provide inspiration to up-and-coming chefs on the second day of the show. Visitors will have the opportunity to watch the butchery skills of artisan butcher, Lee Moreton, and the technical cookery abilities of Luke Stuart. e duo BIC AT NIGHT will be championing pig’s trotters from the rarest of British pig dimension to this trade exhibition. By choosing local produce people breeds, the British Lop, and will show the processes of boning, stuffing, not only enjoy the best but they also make an essential contribution to cooking and plating to create an inspirational dish. the sustainability of the countryside, the rural economy, environment and Luke Stuart of Lytchett Minster-based White Pepper Cookery our market towns. In showcasing small local producers of organic and School says: “e Hotel and Catering Show is a yearly source of regional products we’re sure this area will, without doubt, be an inspiration, you'll always learn something new and it's also a great place extremely popular and tasty section of the show, with vibrant food and to network and meet like-minded people. Lee and I have been asked drink on offer to tantalise those taste buds.” on many occasions to demonstrate how to handle and cook some of the more economical cuts of meat, and with the game season behind us For further information on visiting at this free hospitality trade event, please many budding and professional chefs are looking for new and visit www.hotel-expo.co.uk or telephone Anna Wallis on 01425 485040. flavoursome alternatives.” Follow the Show on Twitter http://twitter.com/HotelExpoShow and join the Show organiser, Anna Wallis, adds: “e Market Place and demonstrations such as this one brings a new, interactive and informal Facebook fanpage http://www.facebook.com/HotelandCateringShow ■ 12

FEBRUARY2012

BO C FEB_© Fish Media 02/02/2012 15:38 Page 1

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Ballet 02__ 02/02/2012 16:38 Page 1

LocaL events

MOSCOW CITY

Ballet M

oscow City Ballet perform two of the world’s most famous and much loved traditional ballets - Swan Lake and e Nutcracker - at Lighthouse, Poole’s Centre for the Arts from February 21st – 26th.

FEBRUARY2012

Timeless classic e Nutcracker incorporates stunning costumes, sumptuous sets and Tchaikovsky’s masterpiece score. is enchanting ballet tells the story of Clara’s magical adventure with her Nutcracker Prince, including a visit to the delicious Land of Sweets and the delightful Sugar Plum Fairy, this performance is a real treat. Moscow City Ballet makes a welcome return to the Lighthouse following a sensational 2010-2011 season which included sell-out performances and rave reviews. e company is brimming with some of Russia’s best young dancers, outstanding principals, stunning soloists and a sublime corps de ballet, all underpinned by the dynamic vitality of a live orchestra. e company owes its distinctive style to the method, dedication and artistry of Victor Smirnov-Golovanov, distinguished choreographer and one time Bolshoi soloist, and to his wife Ludmila Nerubashenko, the chief ballet mistress.

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THE COMPANY IS BRIMMING WITH SOME OF RUSSIA’S BEST YOUNG DANCERS, OUTSTANDING PRINCIPALS, STUNNING SOLOISTS AND A SUBLIME CORPS DE BALLET, ALL UNDERPINNED BY THE DYNAMIC VITALITY OF A LIVE ORCHESTRA. Victor Smirnov-Golovanov said, “We are pleased to be touring the UK again following a phenomenal season last year. e UK audiences especially seem to appreciate our gifted dancers and enjoy the spectacle of our traditional ballets. We hope they enjoy this repertoire and embrace this new dance revolution.”

SWAN LAKE: TUESDAY 21ST – THURSDAY 23RD FEBRUARY 7.30PM / WEDNESDAY MATINEE 2.30PM

THE NUTCRACKER: FRIDAY 24TH – SUNDAY 26TH FEBRUARY / FRIDAY 7.30PM / SATURDAY 2.30PM & 7.30PM / SUNDAY 3.00PM TICKETS & INFORMATION 0844 406 8666 WWW.LIGHTHOUSEPOOLE.CO.UK

FEBRUARY2012 15

CP JAN_ÂŠ Fish Media 06/01/2012 20:54 Page 1

A Garden Room For All Seasons...

Whatever your dream scheme for the perfect garden building, the experienced designers at Crown Pavilions can put it all together to create the ultimate outdoor room.

Bring your ideas to life at www.crownpavilions.com or call 01491 612820

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A love of horses and passion for

Photography A

love of horses and passion for photography has sparked a blossoming career for New Forest resident, Emily Hancock. e once shy photographer, who focused her work across Dorset and Hampshire, is now pursuing her dream as the UK’s premier equestrian photographer. At the age of 16 Emily was bought her ﬁrst photography experience, a day’s shoot with a professional photographer. At the time her family thought photography was just another one of Emily’s hobbies, adding to her ever-growing list and one in which she would soon lose interest. But for Emily this wasn’t the case. She bought her own camera and soon became the oﬃcial family photographer, capturing anniversaries, christenings and even earning

her first paid shoot for a birthday celebration. It was also an important day for Emily, as she learnt her first lesson in professional photography - always carry spare batteries: “It was a huge celebration, with an African tribe performing,” she said. “I was grateful they asked me to be the photographer. I remember being so scared but I completely loved it and when they offered to pay me, I was stunned. “I couldn't believe it though when my camera batteries died. Luckily my brother lent me his and I’ve always carried a spare pack ever since!” Emily left home at 18 to study human biology at Oxford Brookes University. “I knew I always wanted to go to university. e reason I FEBRUARY2012 17

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chose to study human biology was purely because it was the second best thing I was good at, after photography.” “In my first term people kept asking me what I wanted to be when I graduated and I never knew. My mum has always said that I can be whatever I want to be. en one evening when I was driving back to university I asked myself, ‘what do I love doing?’ Photography was the only answer.” Emily knew she needed to build up her portfolio in order to pursue her passion. She was given the opportunity to showcase her skills to an equestrian event photographer. He invited Emily along to photograph the royals playing polo at Tidworth and, at the end of the day, asked Emily to send him her images of the three Princes. e photographer was so impressed with Emily’s work he instantly offered her a job. Every ursday, for over two and half years, Emily travelled down to Devon from University and spent her weekends being educated in the tricks of the trade of equestrian event photography. She said: “It was here I learnt how to become an efficient, precise photographer. My boss was strict with me, I never got a second chance. To get the perfect shot I had one attempt and that one shot had to sell.”

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Being based in the New Forest it was no surprise that Emily fell in love with equine photography. “Since I was a little girl I’ve been passionate about horses. ere is nothing like the bond between a horse and its owner. When I get behind my camera, I feel truly privileged to capture that intimacy and beauty, which can be enjoyed for many years.” On graduating, Emily was determined to seize the moment, go for her life's ambition and establish her business, Emily Hancock Photography. “I knew that I needed to be pro-active. Over that first summer I cold called all the local pony clubs offering my professional services. I was amazed how successful this was and the hard-work paid off.” Emily’s horse portraits have been described as works of art contemporary, natural and beautiful. She captures those intimate and magical moments which exemplify the unique relationship between horse and owner. Shot against striking landscapes, the family home or the cosy stable, her artistic eye produces unique equine portraits - which will grace any room in the house. As a modern-day, photographic equivalent of Stubbs or Munnings, Emily’s pieces speak a thousand words, whether the commission encapsulates the fairytale magic between child and

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pony, the bond between teenager and eventer or simply man and beast. Emily has already produced commissions for horse lovers across the UK and has worked with many stars of the equestrian world, including Nikki and Richard Barrett, Charlotte Jourdain, Claire Gallimore and renowned British Olympic equestrian sportswoman, Mary King. Emily’s work has been exhibited at major shows and equestrian events around the UK. She held an acclaimed exhibition at Somerley House in Hampshire, which was a huge success raising thousands of pounds for the Lewis Manning Hospice in Poole. Her portraits have been published in numerous magazines including British Dressage, Horse and Rider and Your Horse. “I was so chuffed so see one of my photographs in a magazine for the first time, I rushed out to buy lots of copies and to this day I still have the copy of that magazine in my studio.” Not one to rest on her laurels, Emily is currently working towards earning a licentiateship from the Master Photographers Association (MPA). e award demonstrates the high competence of a photographer. “I have completed the first stage where I put 20 of my images forward to be judged by eight industry professionals and my

work passed with unanimous decision.” Once Emily has completed this she hopes to gain the most Emily Hanco ck prestigious and respected accolade in photography; a fellowship. 2012 is set to be a busy year for Emily Hancock Photography, with her calendar already ﬁlling up with commissions. “I don’t want to stop there though. Within the next 10 years I am determined to be known as one of the best equine photographers in the world, ﬂying internationally for private commissions to shoot for the Olympic team or even the royals. I want to be the photographic equivalent of world-renowned horse whisperer, Monty Roberts. at’s my dream.” To see more of Emily’s work please visit http://emilyhancock.co.uk ■

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nleash your inner Einstein on March 2nd – 3rd, as the producers of Brainiac Live! return to Lighthouse, Poole’s Centre for the Arts with Science Museum Live On Tour!. With brand new experiments for 2012, this promises to be explosive fun for all the family Back by popular demand, the Science Museum returns with more spectacular science, dangerous demonstrations and extraordinary experiments in this fantastic live show designed to blow your mind and challenge your brain! Fast, furious and frenetically fun, Science Museum Live on Tour will propel you on an exploratory theatrical adventure into the wonderful world of science. Inspired by the Science Museum’s world-renowned interactive galleries and rich experience in informal learning, the show promises to entertain, engage and inspire. Expect spectacular science and astonishing theatre, daring demonstrations and explosive experiments – all performed live on stage in a full theatrical show. ere will be dynamic staging with inventive designs, interactive sets, digital projections and pyrotechnics, as well as a screening of rare video footage inside the Science Museum’s stores at Blythe House and Wroughton, plus footage of key exhibits housed at the Science Museum. Suitable for all ages from 7 years and above ■

CONCERT HALL FRIDAY 2ND MARCH 7.00PM – SATURDAY 3RD MARCH 2.30PM TICKETS £12.50 / £9.00 SCHOOLS / £45.00 FAMILY TICKET / DISCOUNTS AVAILABLE (AGE 7+) TICKETS & INFORMATION 0844 406 8666 WWW.LIGHTHOUSEPOOLE.CO.UK 20

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Poole_ÂŠ Fish Media 01/02/2012 20:52 Page 1

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A Dorset Artist’s New Forest Sketchbook THE NEW FOREST, IT’S ALL THERE: COLOUR, SHAPE AND FORM, TEXTURES AND EXCITEMENT ALL WAITING FOR PEN, PENCIL OR PAINT AND A DISCERNING EYE AND ENTHUSIASM!

ery early I learnt the landscape lesson of simpliﬁcation particularly when dealing with trees - only to get the main shape assessed and next where the light is catching or falling on it and where it is not. For this it can be most helpful to work in monochrome just a simple wash of watercolour with the addition of stronger patches dropped in at the same time for the darker tones. e English elm is more of a hedgerow tree in the Forest. And from a painting point of view the foliage masses are particularly suited to dropping paint into already wet paint to obtain tone values. Incidentally, when painting a landscape or tree-scape I usually cover the board with a pale wash of yellow ochre which can then be left for certain areas. is brings me to a favourite item - fungi - brought about by discovering

A Favourite

lic)

and acry Stump (ink

them growing on some wonderful old tree stumps which I have portrayed in various forms over the years. is in turn led me on to an interesting and new challenge of insect life! Conservation now prohibits removal of fungi but I did manage to get permission to gather a few items for my work once. Armed with a paper bag, sketchbook and stool I made colour notes alongside sketches while still in the Forest for reference later. e most suitable medium I found for these interesting subjects was watercolour but I tried out various other approaches - pastel on toned paper was fun and just black and white ink was eﬀective. When in the studio with the model in front of me I like to paint directly onto canvas but in situ a pencil sketch suﬃces, to be translated another time into a painting. Old stumps of trees are fascinating; sometimes I have set out purely in search of them for a painting, either as a reference to add to a sketch or as a subject in their surroundings. Some of the really old untouched parts of the Forest

yield up some intriguing shapes. I’ve used watercolour, pastel, acrylic and ink and mixtures of all these at times to portray my impressions. I went through a period where I found oil pastel a very useful medium for quick sketches, either large or small. In this case I preferred to use Layout sketch blocks. In the Forest there is a disused stretch of railway line at the bottom of a slope. In the springtime it is a joyous walk with its primroses and dog violets but in the winter after heavy rains there are dark pools and patterns of tree branches at the sides; all very good reference material. Foliage leads us to all sorts of things such as textures and, not often noticed, the beauty of decay. I have a painting I did of a rose leaf suﬀering badly from black spot disease and the eﬀect is quite beautiful in pattern and colour! Autumn tints – breathtaking temptation to ‘let colour rip’ and enjoy oneself with cadmium orange and a touch of scarlet lake here and there. e usual idea of foliage is green but which green? ere are brown greens, grey greens and blue greens which need sorting out. While in my early training I

was taught to always mix my darks and not to use pure black, those days have long gone and I often use a mixture of viridian and black for required drama. As you become aware of the Forest, don’t forget that it would not be there if it were not for the whim and greed of one man – ‘Red Rufus’, King William II, whose passion for hunting apparently led him to actually destroy this wide, inhabited area which contained at that time churches, manor houses and villas. All these were doomed to extend what was already a beautiful area of heath, tree clumps and gorse covered spots, to be replanted into the King’s ‘Grand Chase’. Further into the Forest the diversion of subject matter grows even more challenging and exciting – deer! e Forest is home to four varieties: red, roe, fallow and Sika deer. e fallow are my favourites with their little white patches on the rump and are the source of most of the studies I have made over the years. Much observation and hard work is needed here. e ideal thing, of course, is to be lucky enough to catch a glimpse of them in their natural surroundings ﬂeeting through the trees – try to draw quickly and retrace your memory before it fades. My sketchbooks are full of ‘bits and pieces’ as well as whole animals. ese are all useful

Deer in Arboretum (watercolour)

New Fore

Dorest Artist__ 02/02/2012 16:41 Page 2

The Occasional Rider (watercolour)

New Forest in the Snow (in pastel)

references. Final productions have varied from mainly pure w Forest Moment (watercolour) watercolour or pastel to a mixture of inks and gouache. I love deer in silhouette. I had much pleasure in exaggerating the colour of the background to make an exciting painting. However, one must remember that whereas one can change a colour or move the location of a tree slightly, when it comes to creatures one should be accurate with their anatomy! One learns to be ready for the unexpected – I was wandering in a pinewood one day, I think it was February, when I came to a small open spot and there was a single clump of dog violets and perched on it was a superb Brimstone butterﬂy. Pattern and design is another angle – plenty of scope here; for example, take bracken in its varying colour changes throughout the seasons. Looking one day at an

intriguing effect of willow and water that I caught one day, I found myself thinking that it would look good on a curtain or chair cover and so it goes on – things crop up endlessly once you become ‘forest aware’. New Forest ponies are a big visitor interest and there is endless scope from a painting angle. Hunting in the Forest with hounds has now been banned but occasionally one meets the rider and horse. My fisherman husband was a great help in providing new subjects. e Lymington River, above Boldre Bridge is a very attractive stretch containing small wild trout and other larger specimens. Some years back when electrical equipment was used to clear the river of ‘unwanted’ fish by temporarily stunning them I was given a magnificent dead pike, ugly but a painting challenge. I used pastel plus a few pencil and charcoal sketches initially. e Forest provides wonderful open stretches and my luckiest

‘ﬁndings’ came from these areas: a parasitic wasp carrying oﬀ its prey, the others were pond treasures – ramshorn snails and the skin of a newt after the annual shedding! I used Gouache on toned paper for the shed skin. A large water spider added to the list. e Reptiliary is a good spot to watch our native snakes set amongst the trees. ere are three varieties: smooth snake, grass snake and, of course, the adder, which one needs to be aware of as it is the only poisonous one. My only contribution to this section is minute – a baby adder in watercolour, which appeared to bask in the sunshine on a fallen tree. What it is about the Forest that drives an artist to create a painting; the challenge and the attraction of a well-stretched and blank piece of paper or canvas? A stimulation of emotion caused by visual impact? In my case it is usually initiated by colour – from the subtlety of a rose to the positive violent autumnal Forest

Autumn Glory (watercolour)

panorama. Looking back I think probably my best watercolours have been either of these two things. Whatever your motive for going to the Forest be it walking, riding, camping, painting or just ‘observing’, your expectations will, I’m sure, be satisﬁed. Joy Parsons S.W.L.A. Joy Parsons., now 97, has been painting virtually all her life. Her approach to painting landscapes, wildlife, trees and flowers has remained the same throughout and derived directly from nature. Since she doesn’t use a camera for her work, she was never without her sketchbook.. She has written regularly for Leisure Painter magazine and has had many books published. (See www.natula.co.uk) Extracts taken from A Dorset Artist’s New Forest Sketchbook by Joy Parsons published by Arbentin Books ISBN 9781906631079 ■

FEBRUARY2012 23

Fellows FEB_© Fish Media 01/02/2012 20:59 Page 1

Auction of Pocket Watches & Accessories Monday 13th February at 10am Antique & Modern Jewellery Thursday 16th February

Above left to right A gilt key wind pair case repousse pocket repeater. Estimate £2,500 - £3,500

Coins & Medals

Monday 27th February

A late 19th century 18k gold key wind open face chronograph pocket watch signed F Rotig of Havre. Estimate £1,200 - £1,800

Antiques & Fine Art

Monday 5th March

An early 20th century 18k gold keyless wind full hunter minute repeater pocket chronograph. -& + &$ ) ( ) ) (

Visit www.fellows.co.uk/life for a complimentary catalogue Fellows Auctioneers | 19 Augusta Street | Birmingham B18 6JA | 0121 212 2131

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PHOTO BY HARRY TAYLOR, © DAVE ROBINSON THE BEATLES ON THE BALCONY OF THE PALACE COURT HOTEL OVERLOOKING WESTOVER ROAD IN BOURNEMOUTH, AUGUST 1963

The Beatles AND POOLE

An exhibition of rare and previously unpublished photographs of e Beatles in Bournemouth and Poole will be displayed on the top floor foyer at Lighthouse, Poole’s Centre for the Arts from early February – March 10th. We brought you a preview of what was to be expected at the Bournemouth Central Library exhibition back in December 2011 issue – this quite simply is a totally different experience with a few twists! e exhibition features the pictures and stories from author Nick Churchill’s recent publication Yeah Yeah Yeah: e Beatles & Bournemouth, the definitive account of the connections between the greatest rock ’n’ roll group that ever was and these two small towns on the south coast of England told using first-hand accounts

from the people who were there – the fans, reporters, photographers, venue staff and musicians. Former Bournemouth Echo journalist Nick will be appearing at the Lighthouse and will be available to sign copies of his book on the top floor foyer (date and time to be confirmed). Copies of Nick’s book can be purchased from the box office while the exhibition is on. More than 40 photographs taken of e Beatles when they appeared in Bournemouth in the 1960s are on show including Robert Freeman’s iconic half-shadow photo that adorned the With e Beatles album sleeve which was taken in the restaurant at the Palace Court Hotel in Westover Road (now a Premier Inn) during the Beatles’ week-long summer residency at the Gaumont in August 1963. FEBRUARY2012 25

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id you know that the band played more shows at Bournemouth Gaumont than any other UK theatre outside London? Other exhibition highlights include photos licensed from Beatles Monthly, posters from Beatles shows at the Bournemouth Gaumont and Winter Gardens and never-before-seen images of John Lennon’s Aunt Mimi at home in Sandbanks, plus a remarkable colour photograph of John Lennon by the Sandbanks Ferry in Poole with his Aunt Mimi and four-year-old son Julian. Lighthouse are also hosting a Beatles Film Special on February 28th, with a screening of Richard Lester’s classic A Hard Day’s Night, which perfectly captures e Beatles in all their irreverent glory on the road to mega-stardom, while giving a real sense of Sixties London. Nick Churchill comments, “e links between this area and e Beatles are made even stronger by people’s memories of seeing the Fab Four or meeting them,” he says. For example retired Gaumont projectionist Joe Heathman recalls the fuss caused by e Beatles tickets going on sale at the Gaumont for their August 1963 concerts: Fans were sleeping four deep outside the Gaumont on Westover Road, blocking the entrances to nearby premises including the ABC cinema and the Ice Rink. Eventually staﬀ had to move the queue, which by then stretched more than 250 metres, the length of Westover Road. Of course, when e Beatles actually arrived, fans were doing anything but sleeping on the pavement. “It was brutal,” says Joe Heathman. “e front of house staﬀ got it the worst. ey bore the brunt of it as people were trying to force 26

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their way through. We spent a lot of our time trying to control the fans – they were desperate, hiding in the most extraordinary places. ere wasn’t much mess though – it was actually worse after film shows.” Early one morning a group of fans got into the Gaumont by the stage door and helped themselves to nearly all the buttons off e Beatles’ stage suits. Later, more fans were found in the dressing room kissing their idols’ boots! “In those days the projection staff worked as stage hands when we had live shows at the Gaumont and I was on the lighting board with our house engineer for e Beatles’ run. I met them all of course, but they weren’t really interested in how the show was put on. ey were pleasant enough young men. ey just came in, had a short rehearsal and then did the shows and left. “We had some problems getting them out of the building as we were virtually under siege. e rumour went round that we had a secret tunnel between the Gaumont and the Palace Court, but they always went out the same way, through the back exit on to Hinton Road and then to the Palace Court Hotel next door.” Wendy Bailey can’t have been the only teenager whose desperation to see e Beatles at one of the August 1963 shows at Gaumont brought her into direct conflict with her parents. “I was 15 at the time and my school friend and I saved up all our pocket money to buy seats in the circle. e concert was due to finish at 10.30 pm and the last bus home from Bournemouth Square was at 10.35 so we knew we had to leave promptly to get home. However the concert was running very late and e Beatles only came on stage at about 10.15. “We finally got out at 11.10 and we had to walk from the

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PHOTO BY HARRY TAYLOR, © DAVE ROBINSON THE BEATLES BACKSTAGE AT THE GAUMONT, 2 AUGUST 1964

Gaumont back to my friend’s house in Charminster. We were met by her frantic mother who screamed and shouted at us for being late. Her dad had the car out searching the streets for us and he drove me back to my house on Castle Lane. My parents were a little more forgiving when I explained what had happened but still very annoyed we had stayed out so late. We couldn’t have cared less.” Another reporter who found a degree of calm as the boys relaxed in the eye of the storm at the Winter Gardens in November 1963 was agency staffer Dave Haith. “I was led to their dressing room where e Beatles were all whooping with delight as they were playing Scalextric, which was the big craze of the time. So I thought the easiest way into the interview for me was to say: ‘Hey, this is good, can I have a go?’ One of them gave me the button and told me which car was mine and so, for a couple of circuits, I raced e Beatles at Scalextric. I think mine went off on a corner and crashed. “What I do remember is the repartee was typical Beatles – a crack a minute. I also remember getting autographs on a programme, but that’s gone, which is a shame because it would have provided me with a nice retirement!” Nick continues, “I’m sure there are lots more stories to be told by hotel and venue staff, fans or even passers by who may have encountered John Lennon on a trip to Sandbanks to visit his Aunt Mimi.” Nick would love to hear new stories from anyone who saw e Beatles in the Poole/ Bournemouth area and especially from people who met them. Lighthouse, throughout the duration of the exhibition, will be encouraging people to share their thoughts and experiences of what e Beatles mean to them.

Alan Burridge, Poole resident and Motorhead Fan Club Boss, who was almost a teenager in 1963, shares his by explaining what life was like in those times: “e 1960s was the beginning of a fantastic era, perhaps we didn’t regard it as such at the time as it was evolving around us. Conscription had ended and Skiffle had been followed by the equally outrageous Rock ‘n’ Roll. Our parents and grandparents were accustomed to the somewhat restful music of the post-war year’s ‘Easy Listening’ so this upsurge of what many regarded as ‘e Devil’s Music’ didn’t go down very well. “e stars of this new noisy music and their fans who wanted to be like them decided to uproot and turn on its head the then stolidly laid down codes of dress, attitude and hair cut, coupled with the need to do things their own way; with hindsight, I suppose we had a bit of a cheek. So it is no wonder we were ridiculed for our beliefs by the older generations, taunted, chastised and rebuked for our dress sense, our anti-establishment attitudes, general rebellion and counter-culture stance simply because we wanted to be ‘different’. “Bursting as the music scene was at the time with new talent from e Beatles and e Rolling Stones, the daily newspapers tended to brand them as ‘beatniks’: long-haired, scruffy individuals who didn’t wash and of course parents believed it impressing the assets of cleanliness upon us all the more. It wasn’t ‘the thing’ to be seen or heard glorifying this rebel/rabble uprising of youth, and anyway, it wouldn’t last would it; just a five-minute wonder that would soon go away?

Yeah, right!

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local EVENTS AR CLUB THE CELL OWN AS WAS KN POOLE STREET ET RK AR IN MA BLUE BO GE. THE BURRID BY ALAN PHOTO

PHOTO BY HARRY TAYLOR, © DAVE

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PHOTO BY HARRY TA YLOR, © DA THE BEAT LES WITH VE ROBIN SUPPORT SON AT THE BO ACT BILLY URNEMOUT J KRAMER WHERE TH H IN THEIR DR EY HOSTED GAUMONT BETWEE ESSING RO N SHOWS A 20TH BIR MCCARTNE OM ON 19 AUGU TH DAY PART Y PENNED ST 1963 Y FOR KR SINGLE BA AMER WH D TO ME WA OSE LENN S AT NUMB ONER ONE

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“T

he newspapers favoured e Beatles slightly more than e Rolling Stones, as the Stones were regarded more the beatnik type, which is surprising because they came from a more upper-class (Richmond in London) background than e Beatles, who had grown up in the backstreets of Liverpool. “e TV programmes Six-Five Special and Oh Boy had been the voice of teenage youth then Ready Steady Go came along on ITV in 1963. Broadcast on a Friday evening, its more easy-going nature was designed to rival the BBC’s more staid and starchy Top of the Pops and focused more on the evolving ‘Beat Music’; naturally e Beatles featured. “But very few homes had the luxury, as it was regarded then, of owning a TV as it had yet to be affordably mass-produced, and even so, the picture was in black and white; colour was just something that might happen one day in the future. “Most of our age group asked for the then fairly new and battery operated ‘transistor radios’ for a present. Discretely, under the blankets of our bed, this new teenage rebel generation could tune into and enjoy Radio Luxembourg, which played this new music. “en in 1964 ‘pirate radio stations’ such as Radio London and Radio Caroline came on the air broadcasting from ships anchored just beyond the obligatory 3 miles offshore limit, where they were regarded as being in ‘international waters’. e BBC and the Government, who were totally opposed to the pirates, objected to them as they were not paying any fees to broadcast, were stealing listeners away from the BBC and playing some of the records far too often (thus swaying the record sales). Plus, the pirate disc jockeys spoke to their audience in a much more informal manner. “Records came in singles (45s, as that was the speed they were played at), EPs and LPs. 45s were 6 shillings and 8 pence each (about 33 pence today) and simple mathematics says you could get 3 for £1; but when a you were earning between £4 and £7 per week it was a lot to pay out on 3 records. “But when I could actually afford a 45, which wasn’t very often, it was something quite marvellous, and buying it gave a great feeling of achievement. To combat this expense, we used a second-hand reel-to-reel tape machine to record our favourites from Alan ‘Fluff ’ Freeman’s Sunday afternoon BBC radio show Pick Of e Pops but ‘Fluff ’ consistently ‘talked-over’ the beginnings and endings of the records which would spoil the tape. Of course, this ensured that we would have to go out and buy a copy instead of home-recording it, but as there were so many records we liked it was simply a case of recording them and having to put up with the DJs voice spoiling things. Such was life. Nowadays youngsters just ‘download’ if they want a record; how times and technology have changed! “A myriad of groups and artistes were playing the numerous venues tucked within the seaside towns of Bournemouth, Boscombe and Poole during the 1960s such as the Winter Gardens, Gaumont eatre, Bournemouth Pavilion eatre & Ballroom, e Ritz, le Disque a Go-Go, e Royal Ballrooms in Boscombe, the 45 Club in Westbourne, the Technical College in Poole and various fine public houses which supported live music. “Most people took seeing a band or artiste onstage at face value: they bought a ticket, they went, they watched, and then they went

home. At that time, gigs were advertised on a poster outside the venue or in e Evening Echo so we knew nothing about any other places they were playing or that it was part of a nation-wide tour; they played Bournemouth or Poole and that was all we knew. Some years later, after thinking the bands were sitting at home with their feet up after their single and album had dropped out of the charts I realised they were touring Europe, and for some, America. I didn’t realise how hard the bands were worked by their record company and management but our world was a much smaller place then and anything outside the Bournemouth and Poole area seemed like a foreign land.” Gradually ‘Pop Music’, much to our elders’ disappointment, was catching on and e Beatles especially were starting to sell previously unprecedented amounts of records both in the UK and America. After all, the BBC and ITV were reﬂecting the changing times by giving half-an-hour a week to the music the UK’s youth wanted to hear. And then, more so than ever before, the weekly ‘charts’ became the talking point of the younger generation, as we would be expected to know whose records were in the charts, and more importantly, who was at Number One? e music of this revolutionary era shaped our lives and helped change the outlook of the older generations as well as our own, and indeed, some of the songs which were scorned at the time are now looked back upon with an extreme degree of fondness and aﬀection.” Extracts are taken from Yeah Yeah Yeah: e Beatles & Bournemouth by Nick Churchill www.beatlesandbournemouth.com and Bournemouth Rocks! by Alan Burridge. Both books are published by Natula Publications www.natula.co.uk Lighthouse, 21 Kingland Road, Poole, Dorest, BH15 1UG www.lighthousepoole.co.uk ■

FEBRUARY2012 29

BFC__ 02/02/2012 15:04 Page 1

LocaL Life

AFC BOURNEMOUTH BUILDING IN EVERY SENSE OF THE WORD

FC Bournemouth has been granted permission by the council to begin work on their plans to build a new training facility in Kings Park. e club had submitted plans for two training pitches, two 3G pitches and a skills training area to the council, and had them approved in a meeting last month. Cherries chairman Eddie Mitchell was delighted by the decision, and added that work on the training ground is set to start in the next few weeks. "I'm really pleased to be able to get things moving with this project, and it means by the start of next season we can have it in place. It's something

FEBRUARY2012

I wanted to do when I came to the club, I can see the pitches from my oﬃce and wanted to get my hands on it and do something with it. I've got the opportunity now to give the players the facility they deserve," Mitchell said. "It's paramount to have a good training facility. We have put together a talented squad of young players and we need to give them best facility possible so that they can reach their potential.” e Cherries have just ﬁnished a busy month at the Seward Stadium as they brought in seven players during the January transfer window. e New Year marks a real change in fortunes for the club

who has traditionally relied on selling promising, young players and rough diamonds from non-league, turned into proven Football League performers. Manager Lee Bradbury has developed a policy of buying exciting players with plenty of potential and capable of competing in the second tier of English football. "e signings we have made over the last couple of months say a lot about our intentions, and so do the plans for the training pitches. It will help bring players to the club and keep them here, and it's what is needed for a club of our size. Good facilities go a long way and are essential for the progress we want to make. "e youth team can also

train alongside the ﬁrst team and I'm sure it will help bring more local lads through. We've done well with that in the past, it has been important for the club and it's something we want to continue. "We won't be wasting any time and will start work as soon as possible. If we want the pitches to be ready for pre-season then we need get moving. e pitches are derelict at the moment and there's a lot of work to do, but when it's ﬁnished it will be a fantastic facility." ■

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AC__ 06/02/2012 09:49 Page 1

LO CAL HI STORY

he Parkstone area of Poole is divided into Lower and Upper Parkstone, the ‘Upper’ part is so called because it is largely on higher ground slightly to the north of the lower-lying area of Lower Parkstone, which being closer to Poole Harbour makes it a sought after area in which to live. Lower Parkstone is centred on Ashley Cross ‘e Village’ near to St Peter’s Church, part of e Parish of Parkstone St Peter and St Osmund with Branksea St Mary. Parkstone was originally a tything of the Parish of Canford Magna, but in 1833 the church of St Peter’s was built to serve the growing community. By 1865 Parkstone had become a separate ecclesiastical parish and had about 1,000 parishioners. e parish stretched down to Lilliput and Sandbanks. Less than ﬁve years later a decision was made to build a bigger church. e construction was not ﬁnished until 1883 and is one of the largest churches in the Diocese of Salisbury, complete with a throne for the bishop. By the turn of the century the people of Parkstone had moved their sights up the hill and decided to rebuild the tin hut at St Osmund’s and replace it with a massive Italian Basilica. Built in 1913, it remained the parish church of St Osmund, Parkstone until the late 1990s when structural problems forced its closure.

FEBRUARY2012

Ashley Cross

In 2005 it changed hands and became the Romanian Orthodox Church’s first acquisition in the UK. Parkstone School was founded at Ashley Cross in 1905 and had 14 children (boys and girls) aged 9 years old and above. By 1909 it had grown to accommodate 150 children. e first headmaster of the school was Reverend Stanley Moss, the vicar of St Peter’s church. Shortly after Miss W. M. Allen became headmistress in April 1937 all male pupils and staff were moved to Poole Grammar School and Parkstone School became Parkstone Girls Grammar School, admitting scholarship pupils on a non-fee paying basis. Not many at Parkstone wanted the change as Poole had always been a Grammar school and was more selective than Parkstone. e local saying “Poole for brains, Parkstone for manners” highlighted the reasons many parents sent their children to the respective schools and there had always been great rivalry between the schools in sport. Despite its residential reputation, Parkstone was the site of several industries, the largest being George Jennings South Western Pottery, a manufacturer of salt-glaze drainage and sanitary pipes. It had its own steam locomotive that ran on a private branch line from Parkstone Station.

AC__ 06/02/2012 09:49 Page 2

LOCAL H ISTORY

uch of this area was agricultural until the 1920s and 1930s and Ashley Cross, a bustling shopping village since 1901, retains much of its village character. Commercial Road is the main thoroughfare here from Poole to Bournemouth providing an alternative route to the one through Upper Parkstone along Ashley Road. ‘e village’ offers an eclectic mix of over 100 individual and contemporary shops and businesses: shops selling flowers, lingerie, cards, coffee, photographs and paintings and there are art galleries, trendy wine bars, local pubs, specialist music venues and a cocktail bar. Many eateries can be found serving fine food and are all within walking distance of the centrally located park which is an integral part of the Lower Parkstone community offering social events and an area to relax and soak up the urban village atmosphere.

later King Edward VII – who had just performed a similar ceremony at nearby Poole Park.

Parkstone park, Commercial road railings

1900

e space was acquired for parkland in 1887 by way of a land exchange with Lord Wimborne. It was valued at £1200, and £500 was spent to lay it out. Parish records of 15 September 1888 note the installation of fencing and gates was nearing completion at the ‘three acre field’ as the land was then known. ree years later there was a need to station a fire engine in the area and the council considered using the park. “ere was a hue and cry from the local residents at the thought of losing their public open space, that was much loved in Parkstone,” said Cllr Wilson. e council relented and the fire engine was housed at the municipal buildings instead.

Parkstone park, Fountain 1910

And now, well over 100 years later the park has new wide paths and a play area, an authentic Victorian fountain, performance space and much else for the inhabitants of Ashley Cross to enjoy. Jane Martin, Natula Publications

Although it is not a major open space, Parkstone Park is a valuable local facility. It lies in the heart of Ashley Cross Conservation Area and is bounded by the shops, oﬃces and residential properties of Commercial Road, Station Road and Church Road, some of which date from the Edwardian and Victorian era. Collectively these small to medium size businesses share the same overall goal to keep the business and shopping local with the friendly customer service people have come to expect. In the summer there are events on the green such as Party in the Park run by local business, helping to keep the relaxing feel to the village of Lower Parkstone. Last June the newly named Ashley Cross Green was oﬃcially opened by Poole’s Mayor Cllr Graham Wilson who related its history. It was opened in 1890 as Parkstone Park by the Prince of Wales –

Pictures From Paul Hillman personal archive, Borough of Poole, Leisure Services Info taken from parish registers, Poole website, Parkstone Grammar website, www.lowerparkstone.co.uk Parkstone park, Main Entrance 1895

Parkstone park, Fountain Overall View 1895

FEBRUARY2012 33

lOCAL LIFE FEB__ 02/02/2012 15:05 Page 1

GET MORE OUT OF YOUR LIFE MAGAZINE

hen you read about the fascinating stories concerning local people, local businesses, good local causes and the local towns and villages that you are part of, don't you sometimes think that there are other topics that would look good in print? Our "Life Series" of magazines cover Sandbanks, Poole, Bournemouth, Christchurch, The New Forest and the beautiful surrounding areas. So, if you are a new business in Poole, a fund-raiser in Bournemouth, a charity organiser in Christchurch, a life-style coach in The New Forest, a historian in Canford Cliﬀs or a successful community group in Sandbanks, we would love to hear from you. Or perhaps you are a keen amateur photographer

FO EB 0 11 21 23 84 N VR EU MA BR EY R 22 0

producing shots taken in the immediate area that would complement and enhance the articles in the magazine. Now's your chance to see your name, or that of your organisation in print! All you have to do is write an article (something between 1000-1250 words), with photos, and email it to: patrick@fishmediagroup.co.uk or call 07932 608 797. You'll get the idea of the sort of thing we are looking for by browsing through this edition of the magazine. Don't worry too much about perfect grammar or spelling - we will check it before it goes to print! So how about it? Why not get those creative juices going, sit down and start thinking of ways in which you could

publicise the part of your Local Life that is most important to you? If you want to talk about what you have in mind, or would like some advice as to how to get the best from the topic you want aired, then please include a contact number so that we can help you. Remember, the "Life Series" set of magazines publishes articles about stories of general local interest, so please don't send us the account of great-aunt Maud's wedding or your precious oﬀspring's coming of age! We would also be delighted to receive photographs relating to the area, illustrating aspects of local life, commerce or nature. Again, please send your ﬁles to the above e-mail address sorry but we are unable to accept printed media for

inclusion in the magazine. In all cases, material should be original and the work of the author/sender. Fish Media Group reserves the right to edit and/or amend any material and accepts no responsibility for errors or inaccuracies, however caused. Origination and copyright will be acknowledged where appropriate. Usual terms and conditions apply, and are available upon request. WE LOOK FORWARD TO HEARING FROM YOU!

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Pauls Page__ 02/02/2012 15:06 Page 1

LocaL Life

Discovery

FROM BLANDFORD FORUM TO THE BEARDMORE GLACIER

Scoott

Words By Paul Griffin

xhausted, starving and suffering from extreme cold, Robert Falcon Scott and his four comrades Wilson, Evans, Bowers and Oates, succumbed to the savagery of the relentless Antarctic weather exactly 100 years ago. So what is the connection between the well-renowned Scott of the Antarctic, the Race to the South Pole and the Dorset town of Blandford Forum? Well, the answer lies almost 10,000 miles from the Earth’s southernmost continent on a tablet, mounted on the wall of Blandford Parish Church. It is commemorated to the immortal memory of one Scott’s crew members from his first exploration to the South Pole, George T Vince Able Seaman RN, born in Blandford, September 20th 1880. e British National Antarctic Expedition, later known as the Discovery Expedition, was a joint scientific and explorative enterprise of the Royal Geographical Society

FEBRUARY2012

(RGS) and the Royal Society. Championed by the RGS’ President, Sir Clement Markham, the recently promoted Commander Scott and his 50-strong party, including Sub-Lieutenant Ernest Shackleton, sailed on board Discovery on 31st July 1901. During Scott’s ﬁrst Antarctic foray, Discovery spent 2 years in the ice and the ill-prepared and under trained men had their mettle severely tested. Although the expedition was suitably equipped with Arctic equipment, including dogs and skis, there had been little or no training in their use or in coping with extreme conditions. Vince was one of a party of nine men who were caught out in a blizzard during an excursion from the Discovery. Instead of staying where they were and waiting for the storm to end, the men decided to try to make their way back to the ship. Vince was wearing fur-soled boots with very little grip and wandered onto a snow slope, he slipped down before falling over

the cliﬀs and into the unforgiving waters of the Southern Ocean. e slope was later named "Danger Slopes" and his body was never recovered. Scott wrote: "Tuesday, March 11, was to be one of our blackest days in the Antarctic.... From the moment when he joined us at the Cape of Good Hope, Vince had been popular with all; always obliging and always cheerful…….. His pleasant face and ready wit served to dispel the thought of the hardship and diﬃculty to the end. Life was a bright thing to him, and it is something to think that death must have come quickly in the grip of that icy sea." During the British National Antarctic Expedition of 1901-1904 Able Seaman Vince was the only member of the ship’s company to lose his life. George Vince was born in a long-since-demolished, gardener’s cottage that stood in the grounds of Cedars House at the Badgers Crossroads. Today, his memory is echoed in the cold of the Antarctic, by the

lonely McMurdo Sound, where a wooden cross, erected by the crew and men of the Discovery, stands commemorating the death of this Blandford seaman and explorer. e memorial brass tablet, ﬁxed to the church wall, was erected by his shipmates and friends. is simple tablet on the wall of Blandford Parish Church tells us little about the man. It simply reads: “Erected by his shipmates, schoolfellows and friends, to the memory of George Vince ABRN, of the exploring ship Discovery. A member of the expedition to the Antarctic regions under Captain Robert F Scott RN. Born at Blandford Sep 20 1880. Died by a fall over an icecliﬀ into the sea at Ross Island March 11 1902. e only one of the ship’s company who lost his life.” “We are tied to the ocean. And when we go back to the sea … we are going back from whence we came.” John F Kennedy ■

PAGE 36__ 02/02/2012 17:19 Page 1

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Wildfire__ 02/02/2012 15:07 Page 1

local life

SPREADING CREATIVITY SINCE FEBRUARY 2006, DESIGN AGENCY, WILDFIRE, HAS BEEN QUIETLY AND STEADILY POSITIONING ITSELF AS ONE OF THE LEADING AGENCIES WITHIN BOURNEMOUTH, AS WELL AS DELIVERING RESULTS AND BUILDING BRANDS FOR CLIENTS OVER THE LAST SIX YEARS.

n that, time the likes of Tesco, Disney, Universal Studios and Gary Rhodes have all benefitted from the ideas and thinking that the team have ignited. Clients such as these have learned how wildly commercial their concepts and approach are, which stem from founder, Simon Coulter’s background. Simon started his career back in the 80’s with High Street favourite Marks & Spencer as a commercial manager within stores, during which time he completed numerous secondments at the then Head Office in Baker Street, London. It was here that he developed a passion for design and the important role it takes in business. After spending the next part of his career in product manufacturing and sales, Simon returned to retail and worked for other companies such as Toys R Us internationally, Discovery Stores, and ran the entire Buying team at the Early Learning Centre for close to eight years – designing and sourcing products globally. During this period, working with creative agencies was a major part of his day to day responsibilities, and in 2006, the opportunity presented itself for Wildfire to spark into life!

e entire premise of the business was to offer the insight and service of a ‘big’ agency…..but at affordable prices, so that potential clients could benefit not just from the creative flare, but also the years of commercial experience available to be shared. is and an empathy that comes from Simon having sat the other side of the desk for over 18 years!! at concept seems to have worked as the integrated approach of ‘working together’ with clients has been adopted by more local businesses of late. With Wildfire, businesses grow, as the team tend to do it all for their clients – from strategic plans, to media plans, to hot creative and digital ideas, that enable a budget to be spread further, and happy clients lives’ made easier with results that are worth shouting about. In the studio, centred in the heart of Bournemouth, client work loads are managed by Darren Jackson, who heads up the design division, whilst the ever increasing digital division is governed by Matt Jetten, providing clients with a management team with over 55 years of experience (including Simon!). If your brand needs igniting or your budget spreading further, then contact the Wildfire team who may just be able to provide the missing creative spark!

SIMON COULTER

STUDIO LADS

t: 01202 201707 e: share@wildfire-uk.com www.wildfire-uk.com

FEBRUARY2012 39

Wildfire__ 02/02/2012 15:07 Page 1

local life

SIMON COULTER

STUDIO LADS

t: 01202 201707 e: share@wildfire-uk.com www.wildfire-uk.com

FEBRUARY2012 39

FLY FLY FLY_© Fish Media 03/02/2012 17:24 Page 1

Flying__ 02/02/2012 16:50 Page 1

LOCAL LUXURY

IMAGES SUPPLIED BY PRIVATEFLY.COM, COURTESY OF BOMBARDIER

ONLINE PRIVATE JET BOOKING

TAKES OFF THE PRIVATE JET SECTOR IS UNDERGOING SIGNIFICANT TRANSFORMATION BY NEW TECHNOLOGIES. PRICE COMPARISON AND ONLINE JET HIRE ARE NOW AVAILABLE AT THE TOUCH OF A BUTTON - AND YOU CAN BE AIRBORNE FROM BOURNEMOUTH IN AS LITTLE AS NINETY MINUTES.

ive years ago, obtaining a competitive price for private jet hire was a bit of a shot in the dark. You could call up a private jet operator and ask for a quote. You could even phone a jet brokerage and ask them for advice. However in reality, you wouldn’t be sure you were getting the best price – or have a clear view of your options. e flexibility, convenience and VIP service of private jet charter are widely understood by both business and leisure travellers. You set your own schedule; avoid wasted time or delays at the airport; and fly a more direct route - private jets can land at many more airports than airlines. is can save up to five hours on a European trip

compared to airline flights – and of course you travel in luxury, privacy and style. It can also be surprisingly cost-effective, particularly for groups travelling together such as wedding parties and golf trips, as the price paid is for the whole aircraft - not per person. However until recently this highly-fragmented sector was a largely ‘offline’ and traditional market, seen as complex and inaccessible to most people. e industry is now transforming, with the economic downturn being a catalyst for change. Today’s private jet customer is significantly more cost-conscious and more demanding, expecting greater transparency, response speed and ease of booking - but FEBRUARY2012 41

Flying__ 02/02/2012 16:51 Page 2

LOCAL LUXURY

without losing the VIP service and expertise which are paramount in this market. One company is leading the way in bringing private jet hire online.

YOU SET YOUR OWN SCHEDULE; AVOID WASTED TIME OR DELAYS AT THE AIRPORT; AND FLY A MORE DIRECT ROUTE - PRIVATE JETS CAN LAND AT MANY MORE AIRPORTS THAN AIRLINES. Private jet booking service PrivateFly.com, provider of private jet hire services for Bournemouth Airport’s website, gives its members the ability to compare and book online. Its award-winning global platform pinpoints the most relevant and cost-effective options for every flight from over 7,000 accredited aircraft, including all types of business jet and helicopters. Operators compete for each flight in an open marketplace, and are accredited for safety and strict VIP service standards. e streamlined online booking system offers instant onscreen price estimates for any global trip, backed by 24-hour, VIP customer service from an expert team who also manage every flight post-booking. e system makes private jet charter faster and easier than ever before – you can be airborne in as little as ninety minutes

FEBRUARY2012

from your first enquiry. e company has also embraced the opportunity to harness the immediacy of mobile technology for private jet customers on the move. It offers mobile applications for iPhone, iPad and Android, giving instant pricing, aircraft specifications and airport options for any global itinerary. Carol Cork, co-founder of PrivateFly believes that the future of the industry is online. “A few years ago many people believed that private jet customers would not use the internet to book a flight, but we are delighted to be proving them wrong. With the right level of industry expertise and VIP service to back it up, online and mobile technology is hugely beneficial to the fragmented private jet sector, providing dramatic improvements in transparency, response-speed and choice. Other challenges for the industry such as selling one-way ‘empty sector’ legs can also more easily be addressed and distributed online – there are many exciting technological developments which are set to change and improve the way private charter is bought and sold”. For complimentary VIP membership including monthly offers: Email: VIPmember@privatefly.com Tel : +44 (0)1747 642 777 (24hrs) www.PrivateFly.com

Flying__ 02/02/2012 16:51 Page 3

LOCAL LUXURY

A PRIVATE JET-AWAY FROM BOURNEMOUTH PrivateFly.com provides online private jet hire for Bournemouth Airport, as part of their Travel Extras online services. Website users can see instant, onscreen prices from Bournemouth to any global destination. Popular routes include business destinations such as Paris, Geneva and Moscow and the service is increasingly used by leisure travellers who are also looking to avoid the hassle and wasted time of airline travel. The VIP terminal services at Bournemouth Airport allow private jet passengers to arrive just minutes before a flight departs, even driving up to the aircraft steps if required. Private charter is based on hiring the whole aircraft so is particularly attractive for group travel such as executive teams, golf breaks or wedding parties. BOURNEMOUTH – LE TOUQUET FROM £535 PP (FROM £4,280 FOR THE WHOLE AIRCRAFT) Beechcraft King Air (seats 8) 3 night return Flight time: 0 hrs 50 mins BOURNEMOUTH – PALMA FROM £1,880 PP (FROM £11,260 FOR THE WHOLE AIRCRAFT) Cessna Citation CJ2 (seats 6) 4 night return Flight time: 2 hrs 5 mins BOURNEMOUTH – MOSCOW FROM £2,990 PP (FROM £23,900 FOR THE WHOLE AIRCRAFT) Hawker 900 (seats 8) 4 night return Flight time: 3 hrs 30 mins * All prices are PrivateFly.com estimates, subject to aircraft availability and are based on chartering the whole aircraft Visit the Travel Extras store at www.BournemouthAirport.com

Privateﬂy.com set to soar PrivateFly.com is the brainchild of husband & wife co-founders Adam Twidell and Carol Cork. As a former RAF and NetJets private jet pilot, Twidell saw the opportunity for an online booking platform for private jet charter which, until that point, was a highly-fragmented and largely ‘oﬄine’ sector with opaque pricing. Months of research and development followed and the company launched the booking platform in 2008. PrivateFly has won several leading business and innovation awards, and is now the fastest-growing private charter business in Europe ■ FEBRUARY2012 43

HELIAIR PROOF__ 06/02/2012 09:47 Page 1

locAl luxury

HELI AIR IS PLEASED TO ANNOUNCE THE OPENING OF A NEW BASE AT THRUXTON AERODROME & THE UNVEILING OF THE MOST UNIQUE R66 IN THE WORLD, WITH A PAINT SCHEME NEVER SEEN ANYWHERE BEFORE.

fly high with

heli Air very keen to have an R66 also based at ruxton. T Heli Air brings to ruxton a full FTO and TRTO on various helicopters which means a full PPL(H) courses, CPL (H) courses, and type ratings on the majority of single engine aircraft are oﬀered.

eli Air has been planning to expand over recent months and welcomed the opportunity to secure an already established training school and charter base at ruxton. e aerodrome at ruxton has had a helicopter background for many years and a great reputation as one of the leading locations for professional training for both civilian and military pilots. ruxton is in the enviable position of being a very friendly GA airﬁeld as many will already know and being surrounded by plenty of military zones and ‘Danger’ areas makes for a challenging ﬂying environment. Shaun Byam is known by many clients and has been appointed by Heli Air as the 44

2012

Base Manager bringing with him a wealth of knowledge and instruction, examining and public transport capabilities with various helicopters. Shaun will be joined by other instructors and commercial pilots to assist him in the future development of Heli Air at ruxton.

T Heli Air has already based an R22 at the aerodrome and secured an R44 and a Bell 206 for immediate use. It is the intention to bring several additional aircraft to ruxton in the Spring and plans to position other Robinsons and a Bell LongRanger in the near future are in hand. Heli Air is

New contact details: Oﬃce number 01264 773373 Shaun Byam Mobile number: 07917 447240 Email: Shaun.Byam@HeliAir.com

HELIAIR PROOF__ 06/02/2012 09:47 Page 2

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Brad Pitt__ 02/02/2012 10:01 Page 1

feature

long ball Pitt plays the

HE’S ONE OF THE BIGGEST STARS ON THE PLANET BUT BRAD PITT HAS ANNOUNCED HE’S GOING TO RETIRE IN THREE YEARS TIME AT THE AGE OF 50. BY SUSAN GRIFFIN

hen you say you’re off to see Brad Pitt in person there’s one request that will inevitably be made by men and women alike: ‘Tell me what he looks like in the flesh.’ That’s because Pitt is so famous he’s almost taken on an otherworldly status. The truth is the actor, voted ‘sexiest man alive’ countless times during his career, doesn’t disappoint when he casually strides out onto the terrace of a Mexican hotel for a photocall to promote his new baseball movie Moneyball. He’s tall (a rarity among Hollywood’s elite) and broad, having spent the last few months in training for the film World War Z, a postapocalyptic horror, which has seen Pitt, his partner Angelina Jolie and their brood of six reside in Glasgow, London and Cornwall during filming. His dark blonde hair is grown out and tucked behind his ears, his stubble is salt-andpepper grey and, despite the balmy temperatures, he’s wearing a long-sleeved top. He may be an A-lister, but he’s rarely spotted on the red carpet these days, and while he smiles for the assorted cameras and cracks jokes with 46

co-star Jonah Hill, his eyes remain hidden behind aviator sunglasses and his hands stay tucked into the pockets of cream linen trousers. Given the theme of his new film, baseball is the name of the game later that day when, in a quiet, shady spot, Pitt reveals that while he likes to play ball with his kids, his own relationship with the all-American sport has been traumatic. “I knew very little about baseball besides taking one in the face when I was in junior high,” laughs Pitt, 47. “Eighteen stitches was the result of that incident. This scar here,” he says pointing to the side of his head. It takes iron will not to lean in for a closer inspection. Moneyball is based on the controversial 2003 book Moneyball: The Art Of Winning An Unfair Game in which the author Michael Lewis wrote about the exploits of Billy Beane (Pitt), a former baseball player turned general manager of Oakland A’s baseball team. Beane revolutionised the way the baseball industry assessed its players by employing a statistical analysis that showed the qualities historically used to value players were outdated.

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He then bought players who’d been ignored by larger, more lucrative teams, but who would help his team to victory. “The film didn’t fall into convention and it was a difficult one to get made,” admits Pitt, looking a little shiny-faced despite the shade (so the man is a mere mortal then.) “We’re in tough economic times and people start betting on safer, more tried-and tested brands,” he says, before adding that while he’s never spent a lot of time watching baseball, he became obsessed by the book. “Billy Beane’s team had a

ran a truck company, and his mum Jane, a school guidance counsellor, Pitt was studying for a journalism degree when he decided to give acting a whirl. Like thousands of other goodlooking hopefuls, he travelled to Los Angeles where he subsidised his acting classes with odd jobs, including dressing as a chicken, before earning his big break in Ridley Scott’s 1991 movie Thelma & Louise. His screen time totalled less than 15 minutes but when the film was released everyone was asking who the man who seduces Geena Davis was, and it led to parts

$40 million payroll and they were trying to compete with teams with $240 million payrolls. It forced these guys to back up and say: ‘We can’t fight how the other guys fight. We have to search for new baseball knowledge. We have to re-examine the sport and where we place value’.” Through that process they discovered great inefficiencies on how people were judged, and Pitt says: “The film is ultimately about how we place value on people and how society informs how we value ourselves. “These themes are universal. And the ideas these guys employed have now permeated other sports, like football, various arms of business even the film industry.” Raised with his brother Doug and sister Julie in Missouri by his dad Bill, who

in Robert Redford’s A River Runs Through It and the dark thriller Kalifornia. Pitt says it was only when Legends Of The Fall was released in 1994 “that celebrity hit me”. “You get no warning and you’re kind of overwhelmed. I didn’t understand all the attention,” says Pitt, before returning to the recurring theme of value. “The attention doesn’t come from a place of real value. People want to get near you but it has nothing to do with you as a person. It has more to do with something those people are missing in themselves.” In the 20 years since his scene-stealing performance in Thelma & Louise, Pitt’s managed to keep the audience guessing his next move. He’s depicted death in Meet Joe

Black, an incoherent Irish brawler in Snatch, a Nazi killer in Inglourious Basterds and aged backwards in The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button. “Film-making is about longevity,” says Pitt. “Is it a quality picture? Is it a quality story? Is there something original about it?” These are the questions Pitt asks himself before embarking on a project today but admits he may have lost focus for a while and the result was The Mexican (2001), Spy Game (2001), Troy (2004) and Mr & Mrs Smith (2005). The latter remains a personal favourite though, as it was the film on which he met Jolie, with whom has adopted children Maddox, 10, Pax, seven, and Zahara, six, and biological children Shiloh, five, and twins Knox and Vivienne, three. Today he’s less concerned about a film making money. “There’s such a thing as the quiet victory, the personal victory that only you and you alone experience. And that’s enough,” he explains. “Films that I’ve loved [making], like The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford and The Tree Of Life, they’re ‘fine wine’ pictures - they’ll age well.” Pitt recently announced he’s looking to retire at around 50, and as the producer of 20 titles perhaps he’ll spend the autumn years of life behind the scenes. “It’s just about getting stories across that may have a more difficult time seeing the light of day,” he says. “That’s all I want, to see movies get made that I believe should be made. And if my name, whatever it may or may not be worth, can help that process, then that’s what I’m going to do.” FEBRUARY2012 47

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AUTUMN/WINTER 2012 COLLECTIONS

ondon Fashion Week (LFW) is one of the highest profile fashion events in the world and one of the ‘big four’ international catwalk influencers. The event is organised by the British Fashion Council and funded by a number of sponsors (including principal sponsor Vodafone). It is a world of celebrities and famous people, beautiful and expensive clothes and general fashion glitz. London Fashion Week puts London and British fashion firmly on the global stage; it is estimated that orders of over £100m are placed during LFW each season. Over 5,000 visitors attend: buyers, TV & radio crews, journalists and photographers. There are 60 catwalk shows on the official schedule as well as a further 45 shows off-schedule. There are also more than 30 on-schedule presentations and salon shows. LFW visitors have access to many more designers through presentations, multi-brand and individual showrooms . In February 2010 the British Fashion Council launched the digital schedule as a part of London Fashion Week. The digital schedule is the first official Fashion Week schedule of its kind, bringing together live streamed shows and a selection of fashion films. The vibrant and internationally renowned London Fashion Week is always exciting and inspirational, and this month’s event will in no doubt prove to be just that once again, all housed under one roof in the neoclassical surrounds of Somerset House. The BFC co-ordinate an events schedule to help visitors experience London the city as well as the showcase of British fashion design talents at LFW, presenting another unrivalled opportunity for both established designers and newcomers to present their Autumn/Winter 2012 collections. A constantly buzzing key event for those who haven’t got the patience to wait until the latest fashion designs and stylish fashion trends make it into the fashion magazines. British Fashion Council have announced the provisional schedule of designers who will be showcasing their Autumn/

London Fashion Week WOMENSWEAR: FEBRUARY 17TH - 21ST MENSWEAR: FEBRUARY 22ND SOMERSET HOUSE, STRAND, LONDON WC2R 1LA

Winter 2012 collections at London Fashion Week this month. Returning to the show on schedule this season, are luxury brands including Aquascutum, Temperley London, Jasper Conran, House of Holland, John Rocha, Issa London, Stella McCartney, Nicole Farhi, David Koma, Paul Smith, Mulberry, Matthew Williamson, Louise Gray, Vivienne Westwood Red Label, Burberry Prorsum, McQ Alexander McQueen, Ozwald Boateng, and Pringle of Scotland. Gieves & Hawkes, MAN, Martine Rose, Topman Design, James Long, Lou Dalton and RAKE are amongst those designers that will show their collections on Menswear Day. Two more brands are to show for the first time. Belstaff has announced it will present its first men’s and women’s AW12 collections on Sunday February 19th, 3.30pm-5.30pm. This will be the first collection to be shown since the relaunch of the brand. Moschino Cheap And Chic will also make its London Fashion Week debut; the AW12 collection will be shown on Saturday 18th February between 1.30pm-3.30pm. The magic of London Fashion Week is not merely thanks to the fashion designers’ and fashion stylists’ cutting-edge collections but the media excitement that accompanies them. The allure of the show is exceptional and London Fashion Week continues to be the top fashion event pulling visitors from every corner of the globe. For more information about London Fashion Week at Somerset House, including schedules, location, news, video and much more go to www.londonfashionweek.co.uk

London FASHION week is one of the catwalk

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LOSE THE

WINTER

BLUES GIVE YOUR DENIM DRAWER AN UPDATE WITH THE NEW SEASON JEAN TRENDS. LISA HAYNES SHOWS YOU HOW TO FIND YOUR PERFECT PAIR

YELLOW SKINNY JEANS, £16; SORBET BLOCK VEST, £7 AND HOOP EARRINGS, £6, MATALAN 0845 330 3330 WWW.MATALAN.CO.UK

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SchĹ?ffel Countrywear, Dubarry Really Wild, Millican Musto, Hunter, RMWilliams Thomas Crown 28a West St, Wimborne 01202 888302 www.bertiescountry.com

NEW STORE IN WIMBORNE

Inspired Country Brands for Ladies and Gentlemen

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fashion PRINT PARADE Made for exhibitionists, eye-catching prints have made their mark on denim. "Prints are key to this season's denim, from ﬂoral to tropical and aquatic for the adventurous," says ornton. "Animal print is such a statement, too, which can be worn in faded pastel denim shades of mint, blue or rose, featuring a subtle leopard or snake print for added wow factor." How to wear them: Let these show-stopping jeans do all the work by throwing on a plain white tee and ﬂats for daytime, or black vest and heels in the evening. BRIGHT BRIGADE e block brights that dazzled throughout 2011 are going nowhere fast. Red jeans are practically vying with traditional blues as a denim staple. ornton says: "ere's no escaping the rainbow of shades which will be hitting the denim boutiques in spring. "Hot pinks, cobalt blues and aquamarine look stunning in skinny jeans." How to wear them: Be brave and complete the colour block look with a top in a similar shade, or contrast with a metallic tee.

MIH JEANS PARIS IN STRAWBERRY, £155; DES PETITS HAUTS JOAKIME TEE, £60; DES PETITS HAUTS YVONNE JACKET, £130; PAIGE VERDUGO JEANS IN BULB, £195 AND L'AGENCE PLEATED SILK BLOUSE MINT, £285, ALL AVAILABLE AT DONNA IDA WWW.DONNAIDA.COM

egone January blues, the outlook for spring denim is looking bright, with traditional indigos, navies and stonewash jean hues making way for pastels, prints and eye-popping colour. e big denim makeover comes at a time when it's revealed 75% of British women wear less than a quarter of the jeans in their wardrobe regularly. e ﬁndings, by fashion advice site Miss High Street (www.misshighstreet.com) indicate an average ownership of 10 pairs of jeans, leaving at least seven pairs lying neglected in the denim drawer. Time for a new trend-led spree? Hannah Buckley, founder of Miss High Street, recommends a frugal fashion approach: "Don't splurge on trend jeans because their appeal might be short-lived. "Coloured skinnies are huge this season but

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opt for some of the cheaper versions on the high street." Dive into the denim rainbow revolution with our jean-ius guide. CANDY COLOURED Dolly mixture-inspired shades will be diﬃcult to resist this spring. Whereas last winter was all about leather-look dark and moody jeans, this season is pale and interesting. Denim boutique owner, Donna Ida ornton (www.donnaida.com) says: "As seen on the catwalks, pastels are so fresh for spring. "From acid colours of sharp lemon to pretty mint shades and soft candy tones, it's time to embrace a sugary sweet denim palette." How to wear them: ink chic and team them with blouses and pointed courts.

SUMMER STRIPES Hello instant leg lengtheners! Pyjamas are a big catwalk trend for spring/summer but stripy denim is the more wearable way to work stripes on the streets. "is season anything goes with stripes contrast colours, thick stripes or pinstripes," ornton suggests. "e 'pyjama look' is the fashionista favourite, worn skinny and cropped for a fresh take on nautical." How to wear them: Keep the look fresh and maritime-inspired with washed-out colours like creams, pale blues and faded reds. CROPPED CAPERS If you can't bare to be parted from your blues, step into summer with a pair of cropped jeans. Shoe addicts will adore these for their feet-baring qualities, which make them perfect for teaming with ballet pumps and ankle boots alike. ornton says: "If the new denim hue is colour, colour, colour, then the new shape for spring is the crop. "e look is mid-rise, straight leg and ankle length." How to wear them: Pair with a crisp shirt for a clean and modern look.

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FANATICAL ABOUT THE FIT Whether you're crazy about this season's new shades or a denim traditionalist, it's the ﬁt that will stand the test of time. A ﬂattering cut is even more important if you're planning to work pale, bright or print jeans.

Avoid denim dilemmas with these top tips: Staple jeans aren't something to splurge on without a serious test run. Jean sizes can vary between brands and stores, so hit the changing rooms. Decide if you want to wear your new jeans with heels or ﬂats (or both) and take them with you to get the length just right.

If you're buying online, look to a site like www.sojeans.co.uk, which has a SoSelect application to ﬁnd the best brands to suit your shape. Back pocket placement is all-important for ﬂattering your behind, so check out those mirrors. Pockets set wide apart can add width. Pockets set close can create the illusion of a compact bum and pockets that tilt outward can create curves.

A bootcut hem can balance out big hips and thighs. Pair with towering platforms to create the illusion of supermodel pins. Opt for a Seventies-style crease if you want to draw attention away from your hips and lengthen your legs. If you have a petite or boyish shape, straight-leg jeans will give you a more deﬁned outline.

Mid to high-rise (measurement from waist to crotch) are usually the most ﬂattering cuts for skinny jeans. Steer clear of low-rise where you can end up exposing your underwear. GET THE LOOK Make those January blues a distant memory with a sunny dress like Britain's Got Talent new judge, Alesha Dixon. Steal her yellow style - with a more demure split - in Next's crepe maxi, £48 (www.next.co.uk). BUY IT NOW Diana Vickers proves she's still got the rock 'n' roll X Factor with her latest shoot for Very. "My inspiration came from the 1950s and early 1960s retro style," she says. "I love all those old-fashioned vintage shapes - lots of quirky prints and bright colours." Her latest spring/summer collection is available online at www.very.co.uk, priced from £29.

1 MARISOTA, £27 0871 984 6000 WWW.MARISOTA.CO.UK 2 CURRENT/ELLIOTT, £195 WWW.DONNAIDA.COM 3 DOROTHY PERKINS, £35 0844 984 0261 WWW.DOROTHYPERKINS.COM

4 MARKS & SPENCER, £25 0845 302 1234 WWW.MARKSANDSPENCER.COM 5 TOPSHOP, £40 WWW.TOPSHOP.COM

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HEALTH B EAUTY

GlowGetter WHAT A

BOOST YOUR SKINCARE REGIME WITH BEAUTY'S REJUVENATING WONDER PRODUCT. LISA HAYNES UNVEILS THE SECRET OF SERUM.

ictoria Beckham and Rihanna were rumoured to have been sent advance supplies and eager skincare enthusiasts stripped the shelves bare on its ﬁrst day of sale. Ladies, please welcome YSL's new Forever Youth Liberator serum, hailed as the 'holy grail' of anti-ageing. As previous stampedes for Aldi's Lacura Multi-Intensive Serum and Boots' No7 Protect & Perfect (albeit with lower price tags) prove, serums are hot property. is unassuming product may take pride of place on every beauty editor's shelf but many women are yet to sign up to the serum club. "A lot of women wrongly assume that oil creates more oil," says Chey Birch, aromatherapist and founder of beauty brand Black Chicken Remedies. "But not all oils are equal - many have therapeutic properties for your face that contain high concentrations of nutrients and can enter deep into the skin." Moisturisers, beware. Serums are fast becoming the skincare must-have. SERUM NOVICE Once you've stumbled upon a super serum, there's no going back. 54

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But unless you're already an aficionado, there's confusion about what these hallowed bottles do and how to use them. While creams only affect the top layer of skin, serums are packed with active ingredients that can be rapidly absorbed through the skin's layers. As well as brightening tired, dull complexions, serums are "high in concentrated ingredients to treat skin problems such as redness, wrinkles, discoloration, dehydration, sagging skin and acne", Birch explains. And there are no hard and fast rules on routine - they can be used morning and night after cleansing and toning, and before a moisturiser - or on their own. "Apply a few drops of serum and use mild upward and outward strokes to blend the serum into your face," suggests Birch. "Wait for five minutes to allow full absorption. After that, if required, apply a moisturiser over the serum. Don't forget the neck area too." A good skincare routine might feel like a daily chore but adding that extra serum stage can make all the difference for glowing skin. BOTTLE BROWSING Just as you choose a moisturiser according to your skin type, serums aren't a one-fits-all product. ey all smooth and repair but there are varieties targeted at specific skin concerns. Some claim to erase pigmentation, acne and

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HEALTH BEAUTY

redness, while others tackle ﬁne lines and wrinkles. "As the skin ages, we all notice slackening and sagging, with deeper lines becoming more visible," says Sarah Chapman, facialist and skincare expert. "Once you start noticing these signs, look for peptide-loaded serums, which also contain antioxidants such as vitamins A, C and E, coenzyme Q10 and targeted ingredients such as renovage that work on the cells' DNA to help defend and repair." Chapman recommends thinking of serum as your skincare underwear, which restructures and contours the skin. If the winter overdose of central heating has dried out your skin, look for a serum based on hyaluronic acid (HA). "Slot this option into your routine if your skin looks dull and always feels tight, to lock in moisture and get your skin glowing and dewy again," says Chapman. THE SERUM TAKEOVER Widely hailed as the hero of skincare for complexions, it's little wonder that the beauty world has utilised the wonders of serum in other products. Make-up

Look for the new wave of serum-enriched foundations to make your skin look radiant and healthy in an instant. Max Factor make-up artist Caroline Barnes says: "January days tend to take the glow out of your skin. Max Factor Ageless Elixir 2 in 1 Foundation + Serum (£12.99) boasts light reﬂective pigments plus it smoothes the appearance of ﬁne lines and wrinkles and evens skin tone to boot." Eyes

ey are usually the first place you spot the tell-tale ageing signs, so an eye serum is an ideal place to start. Roger Southin, Functionalab scientific formulator, says: "For younger people, I recommend starting off with an eye serum to provide nutrients for this fragile area." Hair

Unruly locks? Seek out a hair serum as an eﬀective quick ﬁx for bad hair days. Mark Woolley, creative director of Electric Hairdressing, says: "Serums usually contain a high concentration of potent ingredients, meaning you only need to use a small amount. ey instantly smooth down any stray hairs while adding a beautiful, natural shine."

TRIED & TESTED Lisa Haynes tries out the all-new 'rasul mud treatment'. While I gave up on most of my detox resolutions at approximately 10pm on January 1, there was one ritual I left on my list. at was to have a 'rasul' - a traditional Arabian cleansing ritual. Dubbed the ultimate luxurious detoxification experience (no dieting required), these have taken off across the country in past months. Wearing bikinis, my friend and I entered a glistening tiled room and unrobed to slather ourselves from top to toe in Moroccan clay mud. Said to be 100% natural, the solution resembled melted milk chocolate but felt lovely on the skin and the application process was a real giggle. We were also given a runny, gooey honey, rose and ginger oil mask to apply to our faces. Covered in mud, we sat in the steam room and waited for the rose essential oil--infused steam to fill the space. At first it was relaxing but as the heat intensified, we really started to sweat, allowing the mud and steam to combine and remove impurities. We were thankful when a refreshing tropical rain shower completed the treatment, dousing us with cooling water. While a friendly therapist is on hand to supervise the treatment, you do have to get stuck in, so it's a great treatment to carry out with friends. e Sanctuary's sparkling crystallised steam room accommodates four, but spas nationwide cater for varying numbers. As the mud-focused treatment draws toxins from deep within the skin, it can leave you feeling fairly zonked afterwards, so it's important to re-hydrate. Overall, the rasul experience is a good mix of mud slinging, unwinding and sweating out your sins. THAT'S MY KIND OF DETOX! Find your nearest rasul and mud treatment at www.wahanda.com/treatment/rasul-and-mud-treatments e Sanctuary Hammam Rasul Experience, £50 for 45 minutes, Covent Garden Day Spa (0844 875 8443/www.thesanctuary.co.uk). BUY IT NOW MAC have collaborated with haute couture queen Daphne Guinness. She describes the luxurious make-up as "a window into my imagination". e limited edition collection is priced from £9-£33, available now (0870 034 2676/www.maccosmetics.co.uk).

FEBRUARY2012 55

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Superstar GET THE LOOK

CELEBRATING HIS 25TH ANNIVERSARY YEAR IN HAIRDRESSING CHARLES WORTHINGTON REVEALS HIS INSIDER SECRETS AND RED CARPET GLAMOUR TRICKS. BY LISA HAYNES

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airdressing is constantly evolving. From dip-dye colour trends to asymmetric cuts and feather hair extensions, the faddy trends may come and go. But an elite stable of hairdressers has stood the test of time.

Charles Worthington is undoubtedly a member of this exclusive club - and this year marks a quarter of a century since he opened his salon doors. With a client book crammed with A-listers, and blow-drying skills at the ready for his fourth year as oﬃcial hairdresser at the BAFTAs in February, Worthington is celebrating the occasion with a hair gift for us all - a limited edition BAFTA and CW 25th Anniversary Collection of products. His mantra is "bouncy, shiny, touchable hair that looks full of life". With the Oscars and BAFTAs upon us, Worthington reveals how to achieve that red carpet look in the comfort of your home.

RED CARPET HAIR RULES You don't need an invite to a flashy premiere to feel like a superstar. Follow Worthington's hair tricks for a big event in your diary and you'll be fighting off the camera flash bulbs in no time... Eat your hair healthy e glossy hair you see on the red carpets isn't achieved by shine spray alone. Stars spend weeks prepping for their big red carpet moment, according to Worthington, diet included. "You can't expect to have shiny hair without a balanced diet with plenty of vitamins, minerals and nutrients," he says. "If you want to boost your diet with supplements to help your hair health, then take vitamin B complex, zinc and Omega 3 that will provide essential fatty acids." Hold the lather Ditch grand plans for hair treatments on the day. Styling your tresses when it's not freshly washed provides better hold for dressed hair. "Freshly washed hair can be slippery, so day-old hair is always better," Worthington explains. "Spritz a volumising spray into dry hair, then rough dry to achieve more texture to work with for dressing your hair. Beware if you have greasy hair, use a dry shampoo first." Faux gloss Hair looking bouncy but lacklustre? Fake that Hollywood shine. Worthington recommends ditching the hairspray and using volumising spray and shine serum instead. "A little trick of mine is to apply a tiny amount of serum to the palm of the hand then, using a large make-up brush, lightly sweep

FEBRUARY2012

over the hair for subtle glossiness and shine," he recommends. You can also try Worthington's trick of blasting cold air at the end of each blow-dried section to set the style and seal the cuticles with extra shine. Secure the style Nobody wants to spend half the night constructing an elaborate hairstyle only for it to start falling out as soon as you pick up your first canape. Matte hair grips are an essential in Charles Worthington's wardrobe of hair essentials because they have a firmer hold and show up less than shiny ones. "If you're dressing hair, my top tip is bending back one corner of a hair pin to form a fish hook - it means that when you put the pin into the hair, it can't come out. "Bear in mind you need to allow a little time to take the hair out afterwards!"

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Cheat! Worthington cites a style he created for Emilia Fox at the BAFTAs as a red carpet favourite - a side-on, tousled low bun. "e one big advantage of this style is that it's at the side of your head so you can see what you're doing, which means you're cheating to start with," he says. "Not many people realise that you can use a big bun ring - my favourite secret weapon to create the illusion of plentiful hair." Put your hair in a ponytail and pull through the ring, gripping sections of the hair to the ring.

CELEBRITY SECRETS Worthington has coiffured the locks of countless A-listers during his 25 years of blow-drying, snipping and styling. Here, he reveals some of his favourite famous encounters in the hairdresser's chair: I loved working with Sharon Stone for the BAFTAs in 2009 that lady has star quality! She was breathtakingly beautiful even without any make-up. For the BAFTAs, her hair was quite short, so we decided to put it up to give the impression of an up-do. e aim was for an effortlessly chic look that wasn't too structured or ageing but had a more spontaneous feel. When Sex And e City were filming the very last episode, they did the final scenes in our salon in New York. at was thanks to Kim Cattrall who was a client and suggested our salon for the shoot. At the time, Kim had blonde shoulder-length, high-maintenance hair, which needed to look mega-groomed for the part. She loved having polished, bouncy hair - our blow-dry times together were always fun. Jerry Hall has thick, luscious hair, which sometimes needs controlling. at said, she is so lucky to have good strong hair. She loves the Salon Results Moisture Seal range, which has the nourishing Argan oil as a key ingredient. Jerry also used to love using the Moisture Seal Mineral Rescue Rejuvenating Masque (£5.69); we would put this on her hair whenever she was in the salon for a bit of extra conditioning and a moisture boost. When we started working with model Jodie Kidd for one of our hair collections, we wanted to create a Twiggy-esque look so we got her to wear a short wig as her hair was long at the time. She loved having an elfin look so much that it was shortly after the shoot we decided to cut her hair short. Wigs are a great way to give people insight into how they might look with short, long or curly hair and can help to give you the confidence to make a big change.

TRIED & TESTED Valentine's Day is upon us. Give your lips a kissable makeover with an alluring red lipstick. Our testers rouge their pouts: Vivo Lipstick in Red Red, £1.99 (Tesco) 3/5 One coat of this looked sheer, but the second really packed a bright punch. An aﬀordable way to pull oﬀ a seductive pout without going into the red with your bank balance. New CID Cosmetics i-pout lipstick in Scarlet, £15 (www.newcidcosmetics.com) 4/5 Containing a miniature version of your dressing table, this lippy boasts a light and mirror - perfect for Valentine night top-ups. Loved the deep blood red tone of the lipstick too. Estee Lauder Pure Color Long Lasting Lipstick in Red Tango, £18.50 (www.esteelauder.co.uk) 5/5 Knock 'em dead with a power pout in this pillar box red lipstick. Moisture rich, with warm tones and long-lasting coverage, this is every siren's staple.

BUY IT NOW One pot, double the fun. Givenchy's latest limited edition is both a make-up and skincare treatment. e Hydra Sparkling Magic Lip & Cheek Balm is available in two Peachy or Pearly shades, £20.50 each, nationwide (01932 233 824).

BEAUTY BULLETIN Snip scared Women are officially caught in a time warp when it comes to hair. e average woman has been sporting the same hairstyle for six years and 153 days, according to new research by Remington. One in three women is suffering a 'hair rut' while 75% admit to wearing the exact same style for work and play. Princess Anne topped the celebrity hair rut chart, voted as most in need of a revamp. Recessionista alert Looking for a fragrant Valentine's Day find? Whether you're treating yourself or your beau, Boots has some savvy offers. For the ladies, CK IN2U Her eau de toilette 50ml is £21, reduced from £28, and for him Davidoff Cool Water Man 75ml is £25.33, reduced from £38. e fine fragrance offers run until February 14 (www.boots.com) ■

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'REAR OF THE YEAR' PIPPA MIDDLETON SWEARS BY IT, SO JUST HOW GOOD IS PILATES AT HELPING YOU ACHIEVE THAT PERFECT BUM? PIPPA'S PILATES GURU AND AUTHOR OF PILATES ON THE GO, MARGOT CAMPBELL, PUTS KATE WHITING THROUGH HER PACES AND EXPLAINS WHY IT'S THE PERFECT EXERCISE FOR EVERYONE. PLUS, CLAIRE SPREADBURY TRIES OUT A PILATES WORKOUT FOR PREGNANT MUMS. BY KATE WHITING

s recommendations go, none could come more highly for a pilates teacher than from the Duchess of Cambridge's little sister. Cast your mind back to April 29 last year when, besides the lacy number worn by Kate, all eyes were on her sister, Pippa Middleton, and more specifically, on her rear. Now, the woman Pippa credits with helping her create that internationally renowned hour-glass figure, has revealed her secrets... Pilates guru Margot Campbell has just released a workout DVD, entitled e Perfect Pilates Bum, with a ringing endorsement on the front from Miss Middleton, as well as a book, Pilates On e Go. Despite having a studio in the leafier part of west London, there is nothing haughty about Campbell - she's a grounded, bubbly Scot, who's partial to a bit of Abba. With ank You For e Music blaring from a stereo, Campbell steers me to one of her pilates 'beds' - which, if it weren't for the Cath Kidston-adorned cushions, look like something out of a hospital ward or horror film - all moving parts and draped with springs and spiky rubber balls. Within minutes, I'm jumping, but not in the normal, vertical fashion. Instead, I'm lying down with my neck in a brace and springing off a board at my feet. It sort of feels like being an astronaut and after a few tentative jumps, I'm flying. First-timers should not fear - the beds are simply an aid to doing the exercise which was pioneered by German Joseph Pilates in the 20th century. As pilates has developed, Joseph's mat exercises have become more popular and you'll often find these are the basis for local classes. Campbell's book is a series of such exercises, with exotic names such as 'Bananas' and 'Clams'. "ey're all designed to develop and strengthen the core muscles in your body," says the instructor, whose glossy dark bob and smooth complexion render it virtually impossible to guess her age. A former health and safety officer from Glasgow, Campbell FEBRUARY2012 61

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turned to pilates as a "calmer" form of exercise to supplement running, swimming and aerobics. She now does hot yoga too, but prefers the way that pilates works to strengthen the body over traditional yoga. "It wasn't just all about stretching and holding positions. In pilates, we modify positions. So you might be in the plank position, but we'll do a press-up out of that. With yoga, you'll just hold the plank," she says."We keep it quite warming and we keep it going." After just five minutes of lying on my back, sucking my tummy in and raising my head ever so slightly and lifting up my legs into 'tabletop', I can see the appeal - pilates seems pretty easy. How exactly did this shape Pippa's bum? While Campbell says you can tailor her exercises to focus on certain body parts, it's better to work on the whole body - and you'll be better off combining pilates with other forms of exercise to get that Middleton shape. "e bottom line is pilates can be enough for certain people," she says. "If someone came in here and hadn't done any kind of workout for a number of years, they will start to see results, because they're going from a baseline of zero. "But if triathletes (like Pippa) come in here, they're incredibly fit already, and pilates helps them to stretch out and tone in a different way." So it helps if you add it into the mix with other regular exercise and you'll see the difference in the way you perform those sports, says Campbell. "If you're a runner, you'll be running a little bit taller and be drawn in, supporting your back a little when you're doing it. "If you're doing aerobics, you'll breathe better and draw your tummy in - it's all about connecting the abdominals and stomach muscles." Pilates is often recommended to those with back problems, because as you strengthen stomach muscles, you give your back muscles a rest, meaning they'll hopefully ache less. "For people with non-specific back ache, a lot of it is to do with how we carry ourselves and if you can use pilates to strengthen the stomach, learn to stand up and walk tall, you'll be using your abdominals more and your back muscles less. "And it will improve your wellbeing - you'll look and feel better." My first attempt at a pilates class left me feeling like I'd played an hour-long version of the game where you have to pat your head and rub your tummy. I was so busy trying to hold my tummy in, my back in an arch, my pelvic floor tight and focus on breathing out while I moved my legs up into the air. It was horrible. But Campbell reassures me that you only need to focus on one thing at a time and get it right. "For me, the most important thing is pulling the tummy in by about 60%. By doing that, you're starting to use your abdominals and then you're protecting your back, as it's doing less work. "Eventually you should pull up the pelvic floor, but don't be caught up by 'imprinted' or 'neutral' placement, all that means is pushing your back into the mat or not. Don't try to do too much at once. "One thing that puts people off when you first start pilates is it's quite slow, because you're learning the basics, but you'll be rewarded tenfold, because you'll be so much better and more controlled and you'll get so much more out of the exercises because you're doing it correctly and you'll see the change in your shape. You've got to stick with it and persevere." e following day my stomach muscles were feeling nicely tight and slightly sore, it might not be that easy after all...

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INFORMATION e Perfect Pilates Bum with Margot Campbell is available on DVD, priced £16.33 Pilates On e Go: Sculpt Your Body In 14 Days by Margot Campbell is published by Hodder & Stoughton, priced £16.99

TRIED & TESTED As an expectant mum, getting out and about to exercise classes can be tricky. Claire Spreadbury leafs through new book Pilates For Pregnancy by Lynne Robinson and tries out some moves from the comfort of her front room.

WHAT IS IT? Pilates For Pregnancy is a new book by Lynne Robinson, who if you don't know, is one of the most recognised faces in pilates and wellbeing. It's beautifully illustrated, taking mums-to-be through a series of exercises suitable throughout pregnancy and beyond, in order to help you regain your ﬁgure after birth. WHAT'S IT LIKE? If you don't mind working from a book, Pilates For Pregnancy is the perfect exercise companion for all expectant mums looking to keep ﬁt and stay strong for labour. It's packed with information about your changing body and includes a multitude of exercises to perform at every step of your

pregnancy. In a time when the advice on what we should and shouldn't be doing while pregnant continually seems to contradict itself, it can be reassuring to have a book full of pilates moves you know are totally safe to do. e book itself is really easy to follow, broken down into sections, depending on which stage or trimester you're in, and the large images of pregnant women aid in ensuring you perform the exercise correctly. I found this book a pleasure to read through and follow. It contains lots of information about my constantly growing body I wasn't aware of and I would happily recommend it to any mums-to-be. Working from a book can be a bit tricky but I found allowing myself plenty of time to perform a few moves deﬁnitely helped. And if you can get the daddy-to-be to read out the instructions, even better! Information: Pilates For Pregnancy by Lynne Robinson is published by Kyle Books, priced £12.79, available now from www.kylecathie.com ■

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H O NU DS OE N LO GE AV R D TE SN EN

T ROMANTIC INTERIORS WITH VALENTINE’S DAY JUST AROUND THE CORNER, THOUGHTS TURN TO ROMANCE.

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o set the right mood throughout the year, here are some simple interior tips and a handful of extra special touches to dress your home. So whether you are planning a Valentine’s Day party or some intimate time for two, check out these romantic ideas. Consider printed pillows, woven throws, porcelain figurines, classic framed prints and the like, creatively displayed throughout your home. Treat yourself to flowers. There are not only florists, but great sources on-line and in catalogues for a wealth of pretty posies. While roses are the original symbol of romance, tulips in white, red, and pink or even a bouquet of carnations can brighten any room. Paperwhites and other bulbs will bring a welcome touch of Spring, as well. Consider using paper or silk flowers if live aren’t your bag. For those with a sweet tooth there is always a treat for Valentines! Consider well placed candy dishes, heart-shaped of course, in crystal, silver, or ceramic. Whether filled with chocolate kisses, or pastel melts, it adds that sense of sweetness. Get the kids involved with baking special Valentine’s sugar cookies, heart shapes with pink and red sugar sprinkle topping to share with family and friends. Honour those close to your heart. Choose favourite pictures of your children, spouse, significant other, or friends and group them in heart shaped frames. If red, pink, and white aren’t your favourite colours, go with gold or silver, but do promote the sense of romance with sparkle and elegance. Romantic bedroom decoration is created by using curved lines flowers, curved lines, light shade colours, floral patterns, soft fabrics, floral patterns and dim lighting. The colour of the room has a great effect on the mood. Add some romance with rich red, make an elegant look with regal purple or go for fantasy by using a deep blue colour hue painted on the ceiling. Romantic bedroom decoration can also be done by creating a cozy canopy bed. It gives a feeling of privacy with draping fabrics along the corners of the wall. For bedding soft, warm and comfortable fabrics should be used. You can also create a sense of luxury by having some assorted cosy pillows and throw pillows of different shapes and sizes. Hang some candles on the wall or arrange them artistically on the tables. You can also use floating candles. If you feel candles are risky if left unattended then you can also use battery or electricity operated dim lights can be used for romantic bedroom decoration. Fill the air with some exotic perfumes to set up the mood. Try to sprit the linens with scented oils before making the bed. Use subtle scents like patchouli, lavender or sandalwood to make it irresistibly romantic. One more important thing that can be considered for romantic bedroom decoration is headboards. Some fascinating headboard ideas contain full length mirrors, tapestry or quilt, room divider screens, garden lattice, or you can make a nice headboard (padded) of your’ own. What makes you feel romantic?? These days the opportunities are endless, take advantage of the day and make it special.

Consider using PAPER or silk FLOWERS if

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have often said that we should emulate the prudent wealthy people of Tudor times who invested their money in tangible things like land, property, decorative arts and items of intrinsic value such as gold and silver. e production of artefacts made of the latter was, by the middle of the 16th century, strictly controlled and as proof of this the Goldsmiths’ Company had instituted a system of marking all items so made which revealed with individual stamps on the surface the quality of the material, the identity of the maker, the place where it was tested and the officer in charge of the testing. As it was an annual office this mark changed each year and, taking its form as a letter of the alphabet, became known as the Letter of the Year Mark or more recently simply the ‘Date Letter’. Originally it was called the Assay Mark - from the French word assai meaning examination - introduced under a statute of 1478 wherein the Goldsmiths’ Company was made liable to a fine if it marked any substandard silver. (A point here is that in this context the term goldsmith applies to silversmiths as well.) In 1545 the fourth mark was added, depicting a lion walking to the left with its right paw raised and known as the Lion Passant. It became known as the Sterling Mark as it took the place of the earlier King’s Mark to denote quality while the latter became recognised as the mark of the London Goldsmiths’ Company and Assay Office. e reason for the change was two-fold. Firstly by the mid 1500’s the coinage had become debased by approximately 50% which meant that a silver crown (5 shillings) had only half a crown’s worth of silver content. To prove the maintained sterling value and quality of wrought plate, that is items made of silver, the Lion Passant mark was introduced. Secondly, by this time and starting as early as 1378, Assay Offices had been established in various parts of the country, particularly at York, Newcastle, Lincoln, Norwich, Bristol, Salisbury and Coventry. While it was imperative that all

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John Bly

silver should be guaranteed to be of the sterling standard and marked as such it was impractical to expect silversmiths from these disparate places to travel to London to have their wares marked and so each adopted a different emblem to equate with the Leopard’s Head of London. All these towns and cities used a letter of the alphabet to identify the Assay Master but they did not all use the same sequence of letters. London used the first twenty letters in the alphabet excluding ‘J’ and when the run was exhausted the typeface or the shape of the background ‘shield’ was changed. In 1560 Queen Elizabeth I restored the value of the coin, a move which set Britain on a steady course to recovery for the best part of 100 years only to be decimated by our civil war (1642 – 1649.) Among the results of this were vast amounts of earlier wrought plate being melted down to pay for it, which in turn caused a shortage of silver for manufacture. Over time this affected the monetary supply to such an extent that by the 1690’s further legislation was necessary. Until the reign of Charles II all our coinage was made by hand, stamped by hammer and die and the edges trimmed with shears. Although trade was often conducted through barter or credit, cash transactions were

common enough and so, before parting with your coins it was only human nature to snip a little bit of the edge of each one. ese little snippets all mounted up - the original ‘every little counts’ – but it had already become a capital offence to clip coins and, with a fake die, forge your own money. However with an increased demand from working silversmiths these scraps could command as high a price as the coins they had been cut from, and with less risk of detection of the crime. So a new type of coinage was called for and a mill was set up in the Tower of London and powered by horses to produce perfectly circular coins. As a belt -and-braces measure an inscription or legend was engraved around the outer edge thereby making illegal clipping virtually impossible. But the authorities failed to see the problem with having both old and new currency in circulation at the same time. Obviously people hung on to the new with its full face value money’s worth, while spending and clipping - the old. Clearly the old coinage had to be withdrawn and the 2nd, 3rd and 4th of May 1697 were the final days for collection at the ten furnaces specially built behind the Treasury, which was then at Whitehall between the Banqueting House and the river. For weeks great piles of coins, mostly half face value and barely recognisable had been collected, melted down and cast into ingots. In one instance some £52,000 of face value coins were melted to produce just over half that amount of silver worth. But distribution of the new coins was slow and while all this was going on another factor became evident; the value of coin clippings to silversmiths had to betaken out of the equation. is was done by raising the silver content of wrought plate to a level above that of coin. Not by so much as to make the material too soft for use and durability but sufficient to be detected by the assay. e figures were a raise from 92.5% pure to 95.84% pure. It was known at first as the New Sterling Standard but – as it

was denoted by a stamp showing the figure of Britannia – it soon became known as the Britannia Standard. is mark replaced the Lion Passant mark and in London the Leopard’s Head was replaced by a mark showing a Lion’s Head in profile, facing to the left with a jagged neckline as if torn from its body. Heraldically this is called ‘erased’ and so the Britannia Standard in London is denoted by the Britannia mark and the Lion’s Head Erased. In all other towns and cities the Lion’s Head Erased is used in addition to their town mark. From 1697 until 1720 the Britannia Standard was obligatory but in the latter year the economy in England had recovered sufficiently for the government to restore the old Sterling Standard while retaining the Britannia Standard as an option which it remains to the present day. In the early days of the maker’s mark, people were less literate and initials meant little or nothing to most, so symbols were commonly used. ese might be a miniature image of the shop or tavern sign where the silversmith had his workshop, such as leathern bottle or a swan, a star or crescent moon. By the 17th century we see the first two letters of the surname being used and by the beginning of the 18th century the silversmith’s initials gradually became the norm. From the 1720’s it can be said without question that the manufacture and sale of English silver was the most proficiently run and tightly controlled of all industries, with the welfare and benefit of manufacturer, supplier and purchaser held in equal esteem. e four marks as described filled every requirement and would surely have survived unaided save for a change in taxation in the 1780’s and the Convention Hallmarks introduced in the 1970’s, nearly two hundred years later. When we’ve dealt with them we really will get onto the silver from the Channel Isles, Scotland, Ireland and other desirable categories where the present day equivalent of the prudent Tudor person should still be putting their money ■

Kingspace_© Fish Media 01/02/2012 21:09 Page 1

Exclusive reader offer

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Treat the one you love this Valentine’s Day with the ultimate romantic gesture. A hot tub from Kingspace is the perfect gift that keeps on giving whatever the time of year: great in the summer and even better on a cold night or day. Immerse yourself in the warm water of a spa with the one you love, steaming in the crisp evening air and all the day’s stresses and strains simply melt away. A glass of bubbly in hand, it’s a heavenly experience, with the backdrop of dark winter evenings, gazing into the stars. Why not try our successful hot tub hire service? Our hot tub hire is a great gift for a party or anniversary with a difference.

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GL__ 02/02/2012 12:51 Page 1

HOUSE GARDEN

HAVING YOUR GARDEN DESIGNED AND BUILT?* *here’s some inside information

combinations and vary from plain, chic or angular through to pastel coloured soft and rustic. Client input at this stage is very useful and should be a lot of fun, get the whole family involved!

When I was young and living in the wilds of Lancashire, our garden was dominated by blackcurrant bushes. In spring the garden looked absolutely fantastic, but this was small consolation for while the blackcurrant sandwiches were scrummy, the rest of the year was spent staring out over complete blandness. Perhaps it was a deep seated desire to escape from a garden dominated by soft fruit that led me to a career in gardens! I am in the enviable position of spending much of my week looking at gardens that people want to change. While the reasons for change are varied, the processes we guide them through are similar, so here’s my insider’s guide to stage one of achieving your dream garden. Now that winter is really beginning to set in it is the ideal time to sit back and do some real planning ready for the spring. The initial meeting with your landscape gardener is so important. Clients vary from knowing exactly their own requirements to not having a clue, which is fine, but it is always good to have a ‘wish list’ in mind. Structure plays a big part in a garden, so don’t be fooled by abundance of colour in late spring. I try to imagine the view once the leaves are off the trees and the frost COTTAGE LAWN has had a go. Would I need Prozac to get 68

me through January or would I be out there enjoying the maze and winter walk? The element of surprise is paramount in a garden and being unable to see all the boundaries from the outset is often an advantage, making the site seem bigger. A good designer needs a brief and by asking many questions on lifestyle, plans, ages of family members and the amount of time available for maintenance an outline begins to appear.

Next it’s time for a survey. Ranging from a back of the envelope, paced out sketch to a full survey complete with satellite positioning, logging the exact position of every gnome, or often a cost effective middle ground is to mark the position of everything using a laser level. Don’t forget planning regulations too! Mood boards are great and just as applicable for the garden designer as for the interior designer. They help give a visual of material and plant

Armed with all the information, and in my case a jar of pickles (every designer has their own quirks!), a concept plan or two will be created. With plans, mood boards, 3D models and samples, the designer then paints the perfect picture to the client, together with a budget. This can take 2 - 4 weeks depending upon the size and complexity of your project. The plan is then mulled over, in conjunction with hand drawn sketches and Photoshop impressions and any changes and modifications highlighted. Back to the darkened room with the pickles to finalise the design and a detailed planting plan. All the hard work at this stage will pay dividends!

For more information contact Tony Richards at Graduate Landscapes, Lake House, Haslemere Road, Liphook, Hampshire, GU30 7LG Tel: 01428 724080 info@graduatelandscapes.co.uk www.graduatelandscapes.co.uk Graduate Landscapes provide a complete garden design, construction and maintenance service.

FEBRUARY2012

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DESIGNED FOR OUTDOOR LIVING Life Magazine meets John King, from outdoor living specialist Kingspace

B GLASS ROOM

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ritons spend over £5 billion a year on their gardens, yet very few maximise on the benefits of outdoor living during the winter months, according to John King, owner of Kingspace in Bournemouth. “As a nation we have long aspired to the outdoor ‘cafe culture’ life of our European cousins blessed with warmer climates and while we don’t have year-round sunshine in this country, there’s certainly no need for us to stay inside,” he says. Not when you could be sat by an open fire, in the open air. Nor when you could be warm and cosy inside a glass room; the great outdoors outside brought inside. Or indeed when you could be submerged in warm, bubbling water with just the sight of your breath telling you it’s chillier than you think. “e garden has become very much an extension of our homes and should work as another room – just outside,” says John. “People spend a great deal of time making it look good which makes it even more important to be able to enjoy it all year round. Gardens can arguably look at their most beautiful as we head into autumn.” John worked in the building trade for many years before taking a late career break to study. It was while he was an architecture student at London’s Metropolitan University that he became fascinated by year-round outdoor living, which at the time was largely enjoyed overseas. Part of John’s philosophy is to try to introduce people to new and exciting products you don’t find at your typical garden centres “Our Kingspace Barbecue Lodge is a prime example” he says “ese superb structures originating from Lapland offer you a cosy space for shelter and cooking; they’ve been extremely popular since we introduced them at the end of last year and are perfect for both the British love of the barbecue and the inconsistencies of the Great British Summer!”. He set up Kingspace a little under 2 years ago and even in that relatively short space of time the company has grown hugely. Part of its success is due to John’s passion for being the first to offer innovative, luxury outdoor products from abroad. e Canadian cedar hot tub is one such product. Encased in its own beautifully-crafted wooden summerhouse surround, the hot tub can be sunken into the ground. Glass of bubbly in hand you step up into the tub and sink into, yes, more bubbles. It’s a heavenly experience, with the backdrop of dark, winter evenings making star-gazing all the more alluring. You don’t need the protection of a summerhouse though, even in the winter, says John. “Immerse yourself in the warm water of a spa,

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HOUSE GARDEN steaming in the crisp evening air and all the day’s stresses and strains will melt away,” he says. “Our swim spas allow outdoor swimming against a current, with the water heated to a bath-like temperature warmer than most indoor pools.” An outdoor space or garden can be completely transformed using artificial lawns. “People are getting ever busier in this day and age and don’t have the time to maintain a beautiful lawn all year round,” says John. “Artificial lawn technology has come on in leaps and bounds over the past few years and a lot of visitors to our Longham showroom don’t even realise they’re walking on an artificial product. It really does have the Grand Designs effect when we lay one of our lawns, bringing out the beautiful features around the garden.” And for those who enjoy cooking in the great outdoors, Kingspace’s wide range of outdoor kitchens includes electric rotisseries, fridges, hobs and sinks, with units available in a wide choice of colours and finishes. Your ‘extra room’ could be a room too of course – a glass room. Conservatories are one thing, but Kingspace ‘rooms’ can be created entirely from glass, with sides that fold back on sunny, autumnal days. “Outdoor living is enjoying a popularity explosion,” says John. “Families are still embracing the whole ‘don’t move, improve’ phenomenon of recent years and the garden is often at the top of the list. Touches of luxury are highly sought-after and it’s easy to understand why. People work hard – and when they finally get home, they want to unwind, feel pampered and enjoy their living space to the full.” Kingspace, 1198 Ringwood Road, Bournemouth BH119LQ. Tel. 0800 0323036. www.kingspace.co.uk ■

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Hearts flowers &

Tips on gardening gifts to the loved ones this Valentine's Day - plus, find out what else needs doing in the garden this week. By Hannah Stephenson

ot flowers and chocolates again! Surely the way to a green-fingered person's heart on Valentine's Day is to make the most of the great outdoors, do some spectacular planting and wallow in luxury at the end of a hard day's digging. ere's an abundance of romantic gifts for the gardener, from a simple heart-shaped garden ornament to wonderful hampers of luxurious, sweetly scented organic products to wash away the toil of the day. ink beyond the box of chocolates to items which will bring pleasure for years to come. Award-winning rose grower David Austin has a stunning container gift rose collection, for instance, which can be ordered to arrive on a specific date. Each rose arrives in a gift box, decorated with a rose print. Among the gems in the collection is the St Swithun, a beautiful English climbing rose which produces large, saucer-shaped blooms in a romantic shade of pure pink blush, with a strong myrrh fragrance. e containerised roses come in 6ltr pots (£24.95 including standard delivery, www.davidaustinroses.com, phone 01902 376 300). If your loved one is inspired by other people's gardens, or simply enjoys a romantic day out in the open air, an annual membership to the National Trust is a must. It provides free unlimited visits to all of

the 200 Trust gardens across England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Buy gift membership on 0844 800 1895 or at www.nationaltrust.org.uk. Membership starts at £37.88. If she's the apple of your eye, buy her a rosy-red Redlove bare root apple tree, excellent for both eating and cooking, which bears red fleshed fruit that has a beautiful pattern running through it and retains its colour when cooking. Exclusive to Suttons, the tree has unusual, long-lasting, deep pink spring blossom. (£24.99, www.suttons.co.uk, phone 0844 922 0606) Add a touch of sparkle to your relationship - and your garden with a twinkly red mosaic heart hanger, made with red-coloured glass shards and frost and weather resistant. Available in different sizes from gardens2you (from £8.99, www.gardens2you.co.uk, phone 01933 624 084). If you want a more personalised gift, you can name a pack of rose seeds after your loved one that can grow into a rose bush to cherish forever. Simply name your rose and www.gettingpersonal.co.uk will register the name to the unique pack of rose seeds and personalise the certificate, which you will receive with both your chosen name and the unique seed reference number allocated. It comes presented in a stylish gift tin. (£19.99, www.gettingpersonal.co.uk) If you're looking for a timely gift, check out Gardman's Hamilton Roman numeral clock, with its romantic heart-shaped

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www.magnaloux.co.uk, phone 0800 978 8314) If you'd rather display a token of your love artistically, create some heart-shaped topiary of your own using privet or box. is might involve treating yourself to a suitable topiary trimmer such as the Bosch's Isio Cordless Shape and Edge, a lightweight tool which your loved one can use afterwards. (£59.99 from good stockists, www.bosch-garden.co.uk) If you want to make your loved one smile, buy her a novelty red kneeler saying Keep Calm And Carry On Weeding. More suitable for him might be the green version, A Nice Cup Of Tea Please. (£3.95 each, www.dotcomgiftshop.com, phone 020 8746 2473)

Best of the bunch Crocus ese pint-sized corms provide a splash of colour in late winter and early spring, producing slender, goblet-shaped flowers. While the large-flowered Dutch crocus, C. vernus subsp albiflorus, are easy to grow and bear blooms in white, mauve, purple, yellow or striped and look wonderful in a pot or bowl on the patio, the smaller-flowered specie crocus are useful for early colour in pots planted with other bulbs. C. tommasinianus is one of the prettiest, with its slender pale lilac-blue flowers with orange stigmas, opening in the late winter sunshine. It looks amazing naturalised under trees in

RED MOSAIC HEART HANGER, FROM £8.99, WWW.GARDENS2YOU.CO.UK

metal designs. (£24.99. (Gardman, stockists 01406 372 227). With more hearts in mind, this delightful heart-shaped plant holder in brown rustic finish will add a touch of romance to any garden. It makes an eye-catching feature planted with cascading geraniums or ivies and can be used as a conservatory planter or outside hanging from a tree. (£22.50, www.simplyaddstyle.com) For someone you think is hot stuff, you might opt for a gift of a chilli plant to grow in a windowsill container, with delicious Belgian chocolates with a kick of hot chilli. (£9.95, www.giftinspiration.com, phone 01458 270 911) Alternatively, the same company offers more of a pampering gift for gardeners with its organic weekender gift box filled with

FEBRUARY2012

organic toiletries including bath oil, soap and a votive candle scented with jasmine and geranium with manuka honey. (£27.95, www.giftinspiration.com, phone 01458 270 911) Create a romantic mood either inside or outside with a set of coloured glass happy tealights from e Balcony Gardener. Each set contains a silver, blue, pink, purple and yellow glass tealight. (£30, www.thebalconygardener.com, phone 0207 431 5553) If the present is for an avid birdwatcher, what about a new pair of Magnaloux LC2 8x25 binoculars to admire the feathered friends which come into the garden? Featuring high-quality lenses for improved performance, they are also waterproof and nitrogen ﬁlled, meaning they can be used even in wet conditions. (£79.99, from

SWITHUN CLIMBING ROSE, £24.95 INCLUDING STANDARD DELIVERY, WWW.DAVIDAUSTINROSES.COM

H&F__ 03/02/2012 12:18 Page 3

HOUSE GARDEN

poor, free-draining soil. Good cultivars of this type include 'Barr's Purple', 'Ruby Giant', which produces red-purple ﬂowers, and 'Whitewell Purple', with purple-blue wide opening ﬂowers. Crocus look great planted in drifts of one or more colours and are superb for naturalising.

Good enough to eat Globe artichokes ese unusual veg are not only delicious but they provide an eye-catching architectural highlight with their spiky leaves topped with huge blue thistle flowers. It's the hearts inside the globe-shaped flowers which are edible, although you can also boil the outer scales around the flower and serve them with melted butter or vinaigrette. Globe artichokes need a good fertile soil that is well drained but doesn't dry out in summer, so dig in plenty of organic matter before planting. ey can be sown in trays in a greenhouse in February, pricked out in March and April, hardened off and then planted out when they are 10cm high, preferably in a sunny but sheltered site, allowing at least 75cm diameter per plant. Do not allow the plants to flower in their first year, as you want the roots to build up reserves for the following year. You can stop them flowering by pinching out all the flower buds. When the plants mature in year two, restrict the number of main buds to five or six. Keep newly planted artichokes well watered. Flower buds on established plants should appear from June onwards and will grow to around 1.5m (5ft) in height. Harvest the artichoke flower heads when they have reached a good size and before they open. ey should be green and tight with fleshy outer scales. Once the flower heads start to turn purple and scales start to open they become inedible.

ree ways to... enhance roses 1. Increase their flowering by training stems horizontally, or in sweeping arches, so that they will produce flowering stems along the branches. 2. If covering a pillar, don't place the stems vertically against the support. Wind them around, spiral fashion and they should flower lower and better.

3. Tie in new stems of climbers and ramblers with lengths of garden twine, making a ﬁgure of eight between stem and support, so the tie does not rub on the stem and damage it.

What to do this week Prepare the ground if you are planning to sow or turf a new lawn, to give the ground time to settle. ● Test your soil to see whether the pH needs adjusting, so you can take action before the main growing season. ● Continue to refirm any young plants lifted by frost. ● Order young bedding plants and summer-flowering bulbs, corms or tubers. ● Continue to put cloches in position to warm the soil for early sowings of vegetables in March. ey need to be in place for at least three weeks for the soil to benefit. ● Sow quick-growing perennials such as campanulas and poppies to flower this year. ● Keep beds clear of weeds. Groundsel and chickweed in particular should be removed from around growing chrysanthemums as they are host plants for the chrysanthemum eelworm. ● Take cuttings from dahlia tubers. ● Weather permitting, take hardwood cuttings of hardy climbers now to save time later in the spring. ● Prune old canes of autumn raspberries down to the ground as soon as new growth appears. ● Transfer fuchsia cuttings taken in the autumn into 5cm (2in) pots. ● Sow parsley in pots indoors or outdoors under glass, sieving a light covering of compost over the seeds. ●

1 Heart-shaped plant holder, £22.50, www.simplyaddstyle.com.

2 Name A Rose, £19.99, www.gettingpersonal.co.uk.

3 Chilli plant with Belgian chocolates, £9.95, www.giftinspiration.com.

FEBRUARY2012 75

B&O__ 03/02/2012 12:17 Page 1

HOUSE GARDEN

ang & Olufsen, the global provider of luxury, integrated audio-video solutions and services, launches a new brand, B&O PLAY focused on audio-video products that combine convenience with high-quality, contemporary design for the digital generation. B&O PLAY combines stand-alone products with clear and simple operations, rather than integrated home installations. B&O PLAY will feature portable products that are intuitive to use, easy to integrate into your daily life, and deliver excellent high-quality experiences. Price points will be at more accessible levels than typically seen from Bang & Olufsen. Best-in-class audio and sound imaging combined with cutting-edge design using the best materials will continue the Bang & Olufsen tradition of excellence – but with a twist: e products will be designed to represent a different usage pattern of the digital generation and with a contemporary and playful design. “We are very excited about the range of products that we will launch under this new brand. rough B&O PLAY, we will bring core Bang & Olufsen values of design, performance, and quality to a new audience” says Tue Mantoni, CEO of Bang & Olufsen. “I think we will see many new customers be intrigued by the products under the B&O PLAY brand – customers who want an ultra-convenient experience. We now offer them this experience in a beautifully designed solution combined with superior sound and acoustics performance so the quality of the listening experience is significantly improved. In addition, many loyal Bang & Olufsen customers have already told us that they would use these products in second homes, teenage rooms or to enjoy media content on the move.”

FEBRUARY2012

BANG & OLUFSEN UNVEILS A NEW BRAND

B&O PLAY

OFFERING SIMPLICITY, INNOVATION, PERFORMANCE AND PLAYFULNESS TO A NEW CUSTOMER DEMOGRAPHIC e mission of B&O PLAY is to evoke senses, to elevate the experience of listening and watching. “We have spoken to musicians and studio recorders who all love the fact that more people listen to music in more places, but hate the fact that the quality of the listening experience has been eroded. We want to provide the opportunity to experience media in a convenient and easy way but still in outstanding, high quality” says Henrik Taudorf Lorensen, Vice President, B&O PLAY. “We are integrating a lightness of touch to our designs. Our design approach ﬂows through

all aspects of the products. We strive hard to humanize advanced technology and make it work on people terms - rather than the other way around” is collection of high-performing audio-video products will be available at Bang & Olufsen showrooms around the world, select Apple stores in US and Europe, and from a new branded online store – store.beoplay.com e ﬁrst product to launch under B&O PLAY is the highly anticipated Beolit 12 portable music system, which will be followed by more products during 2012. “Once people listen

to their portable music through the Beolit 12, they will wonder why they ever did it any other way” says Tue Mantoni. Please visit www.beoplay.com for more information. B&O PLAY oﬀers premium audio and visual equipment for the digital generation. B&O PLAY celebrates outstanding craftsmanship, cutting edge design, excellent performance and a playful approach to modern life, in a perfect balance of performance and style. Bang & Olufsen was founded in Struer, Denmark, in 1925 by Peter Bang and Svend Olufsen, two innovative, young engineers devoted to high quality audio reproduction. Since then, the brand has become an icon of performance and design excellence through its long-standing craftsmanship tradition and the strongest possible commitment to high-tech research and development. Still at the forefront of domestic technology, Bang & Olufsen has extended its comprehensive experience with integrated audio and video solutions for the home to other areas such as the hospitality and automotive industries in recent years. Consequently, its current product range epitomizes seamless media experiences in the home as well as in the car and on the move. For more information on Bang & Olufsen, please visit www.bang-olufsen.com. LOCAL CONTACT: Michael Gray ~ Principal Bang & Olufsen of Wimborne Minster 8 East Street, Wimborne Minster, Dorset, BH21 1DS 01202 840840 wimborne@bang-olufsen.co.uk ■

PAGE 77__ 03/02/2012 17:05 Page 1

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Eagel__ 02/02/2012 17:08 Page 1

HOUSE GARDEN

Glass THE CONCEPT OF

FEBRUARY2012

Eagel__ 02/02/2012 17:09 Page 2

HOUSE GARDEN

he concept of glass being introduced to domestic properties with contemporary designs has altered greatly since the early examples during the late 1960’s, today with the technology available and design criteria to produce shapes and structures in accordance with the clients diverse requirements of today, be that flat or curved glass we have the expertise and knowledge to produce a whole range of frameless structural glazing. is can be anything from a full glass structure to walk on glass floors, balustrades or perhaps a rooflight or glass staircase, the choice of bespoke glazing can be fully achieved with ‘Glasspace’. e classic use for ‘Glasspace’ is to create a family room or to add an extension to the kitchen to create an integrated living space. When initial design criteria’s are formed we discuss our clients requirements and now with the extensive use of glass and larger designs has now enabled us to produce single and double storey enclosures thus providing large open areas to enhance properties with a modern and contemporary alternative to standard PVC conservatories. Our projects range in price and we have no minimum order value, each project is priced individually in respect of size and design. We have completed our contracts in Scotland, Wales, throughout England and are presently undertaking projects in both Northern Ireland and Ireland. We also cover the Channel Islands and parts of Europe. Glass is by far the easiest way to enhance your existing or new home, made from sheets of glass; they are designed to connect your living space directly to your garden or terrace. Like traditional counterparts such as PVC or timber conservatories they are available in many alternative shapes and sizes. In many inner city areas where rear courtyard or basements are being re-designed to integrate to the existing house ‘Glasspace’ will connect the area and levels of the home. e use of structural silicones allows bonding of glass to glass and therefore the requirement to provide a solid metal or timber structure for the glass to be glazed into has been removed, we can provide a structure which from the inside viewing out provides a full glass aspect without the inclusion of any vertical bars obscuring the vision, externally the frameless structure provides a strong and visible individual design. All projects are different and the design of the structure is achieved by discussion with the client and architect and also within our knowledge of what engineering requirements are required and available. Glass panels of up to 5.0 metres in length by 3.0 metres in width are the maximum that can be utilised in the design, however this maximum size panel may not always be comfortable with the design and smaller panels should then be used. Eagle S. G & W Ltd undertake the complete project of design and installation of the Glasspace from initial digital survey, production of drawings to site negotiations with your architect or builder to view how the structure will integrate to the existing build and finally to site installation and final cleaning. Should panels require installation by crane then road closure is organised and controlled by us, all our teams of site personnel and office based CAD and management are fully conversant with the system and are available to discuss your requirements at any time. For more information or to discuss your proposed project in more detail call us on 0845 230 9569 or visit or web sites www.glasspace.com or www.eaglesgw.com ■

FEBRUARY2012 79

FBJ RP FEB__ 01/02/2012 21:16 Page 1

FOOD DRINK

Claudio Notarbartolo’s, reCipe page IMPRESS YOUR VALENTINE

Whether you are celebrating Valentine's Day, an anniversary or just in the mood for seductive food, say I love you with this mouth-watering indulgent dessert recipe created by the head chef, Claudio Notarbartolo, of the one AA red rosette restaurant, The Gallery Brasserie, based at The Chine Hotel in Bournemouth.

LOVER’S DELIGHT

• 2 tablespoons water

SERVES: 2 PREPARATION TIME: 1 HOUR CHILLING TIME: 3 HOURS

GINGER BAVAROIS INGREDIENTS

METHOD

• • • • • •

PÂTÉ À BOMBE

(French term for a mixture used as a base for making chocolate mousse and other mousse-like desserts) INGREDIENTS

• 100ml water • 150g caster sugar • 5 large egg yolks METHOD

1. Dissolve the sugar in a saucepan with the water. When clear, bring to the boil and place a sugar thermometer in the pan 2. Meanwhile, whisk the egg yolks with an electric mixer until creamy. When the sugar mixture reaches 118 degrees, remove from the heat and pour the syrup mixture onto the yolks and continue to whisk until they have cooled to room temperature and set aside.

1. Place the water, caster sugar and liquid glucose in a saucepan and when the mixture reaches 118 degrees remove from the heat 2. Meanwhile, whisk the egg whites in a separate bowl and pour the sugar, water and liquid glucose mixture onto the stiﬄy whisked egg whites. Mix together until cold and set aside. CHOCOLATE INGREDIENTS

• 150ml double cream • 200g dark chocolate (70% cocoa) METHOD

1. Melt the dark chocolate, stirring until smooth and leave to cool 2. Fold the melted chocolate into the Pâté à bombe mixture and then add and fold in the Italian meringue mixture

ITALIAN MERINGUE INGREDIENTS

3.Softly whip the double cream and fold into the chocolate mixture

• 2 large egg whites • 120g caster sugar • 1 teaspoon of liquid glucose

4.Pour the mixture into ramekins or chocolate cups. Chill until set.

FEBRUARY2012

200ml milk 200ml double cream 100g caster sugar 6 large egg yolks 4 sheets gelatine 50g crystallised steamed ginger, diced

METHOD

1. Place the milk and 100ml of double cream in a pan and simmer 2. Whisk the yolks and sugar together until creamy in appearance. Pour in the hot milk and cream into the egg mixture and slowly whisk together 3. Soak the gelatine in cold water until soft (approximately 5 minutes) 4. Gently cook the milk and yolk mixture until it just coats the back of a spoon. Remove from heat 5.Squeeze excess water from gelatine and whisk into the milk mixture. Allow to cool 6.When the mixture is almost set, fold in the fully diced crystallised ginger and remaining 100ml of whipped double cream 7. Pour into metal dariol

moulds and refrigerate for three hours 8. To serve, immerse the mould almost to the top in hot water, ease the top edge of the bavarois away from the mould with thumb to break the vacuum and turn out onto your serving dish or plate. Serve the chocolate mousse and ginger bavarois with a spoonful of raspberry sorbet. Wine to match: Charles Van Wyk, FJB Collection sommelier, recommends Seifried Estate ‘Sweet Agnes Riesling’ 2008 – Nelson, New Zealand. He says: “is wine is packed with lime and passion fruit aromas followed by intense chocolate, tropical fruit flavours and a hint of spice on the finish. e intensity of the wine will stand up well against the dessert whilst the spicy finish works well with the ginger bavarois.” Wine available from: Waitrose, priced at £13.29 e Gallery Brasserie at e Chine Hotel 01202 396234 www.chinehotel.co.uk ■ A proud member of the FJB Collection

25TH ANNIVERSARY

t t t t

18:43

The Green Room__ 03/02/2012 13:25 Page 1

FOOD DRINK

THE GREEN ROOM FINE DINING FOR BOURNEMOUTH’S FINEST Last month the Green Room restaurant in Bournemouth hosted an exclusive evening of ﬁne dining to introduce head chef Andy Hilton.

VALENTINE’S DAY CUPID OFFER e Green Room is playing cupid by oﬀering guests who pop the question over Valentine’s dinner a gift towards their wedding package booked at the Green House Hotel.

Based in the award-winning Green House Hotel, the Green Room treated 50 invited guests to a complimentary three course meal, paired with a selection of ﬁne, organic wines.

e betrothed couples will receive a case of champagne to toast their happy nuptials.

Olivia O’Sullivan, general manager, said: “e event was a great opportunity to showcase Andy’s culinary expertise and to introduce the sumptuous setting of the restaurant to a selection of the south’s business leaders.” Secret singing waiters serenaded guests as they dined on crab tortellini, followed by New Forest venison, and one lucky person won a bottle of Furleigh Estate Cuvee Classic in the prize draw. Guests also learnt about the green ethos at the heart of the Green Room. Olivia O’Sullivan explained: “As a business it is very important for us to minimise our impact on the environment. All the dishes and drinks guests enjoyed were fresh, seasonal, sourced locally and where available, organic. “We are delighted that the restaurant has been so well received, and the fact that some of our guests have already made bookings to come back again speaks volumes.”

FEBRUARY2012

General manager, Olivia O’Sullivan, explains: “February is the most romantic month of the year, so we wanted to give our guests a wedding present to help make their special day a little more special.”

JAMES DEAN, MELANIE COCKS, BRIAN HUTCHINSON AND LIZ WILLINGHAM

Head chef Andy Hilton has crafted a six-course, Valentine tasting menu of seafood and poached chicken oysters to woo guests. For a touch of Dutch courage, diners can order a ﬂight of wines to accompany the meal which is perfectly paired to the menu. JON BROOKS AND ROSIE KENNAR

Olivia O’Sullivan said: “e luxurious surroundings of the Green Room restaurant will make the perfect backdrop to set the scene for romance. As it’s a leap year, we are hoping to see some ladies proposing to their partners as well! We will be delighted to help, so please give us a call on 01202 498900 to let us help with your arrangements.” For further information call 01202 498900 or go to www.thegreenhousehotel.co.uk ■

PAUL DE FEUILLADE, JEREMY THORNE, NICK DAVIES AND STUART JONES.JPG

“I have a simple taste, only the best.” Oscar Wilde

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chocolate__ 02/02/2012 12:44 Page 1

food drink

Chocolate E

hat do you do if you really want something special and just canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t ďŹ nd it? W hen all you yearn ffor or is just the best of its kind in the world - and no-one seems to have produced it; at least not to the standard you desire? If you are Roy and Tracey Jones you initially scour the earth ffor or a key ingr g edient and,, when yyou have ďŹ nally tracked or in it down,, you create what you were looking ffor i the ďŹ rst place - the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ďŹ nest luxur y chocolate experience. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I wanted to buy a ver y special present for for a ver y special person on a ver y special ecial daayy - her 40th birthdaay,â&#x20AC;? explains expla Tracey. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Like me she is a chocoholic! I went to the top-end departments stores and even some of the little luxur y chocolate boutiques but just could not ďŹ nd what I wanted. There is a lot of nice chocolate about, of course, but, butt,, I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know, there was alwaays something missing. It was ver y f rustrating and in the end I bought her something else entirely.â&#x20AC;?That was the beginning but by no means the end of a ttw wo year year jour jo ney which has reached a triumphant conclusion with the launch of â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;the Chocolateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Roy and Tracey â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s new business dedicated to producing â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;the best luxur y chocolate experience in the world.â&#x20AC;&#x2122;

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In its simplest st ffor orm we are talking about an amazing â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;experienceâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;. Handmade truďŹ&#x201E;es using an award winning, sec secret recipe Italian chocolate, ďŹ lled with champagne, ďŹ&#x201A;aked with edible 24-carat gold all enclosed within a bespoke handcraffted boutique box encrusted with more than 450 Swarovski Cr ystals two of these boxes will inside and out. Also made by hand no tw ever be the same. The chocolate itself is 63% Tosc o ano Black sourced fr f rom a tiny artisan chocolate maker based just outside historic Pisa. The cocoa beans are reďŹ ned using a traditional granite stone mill and the result has been judged by the Academy of Chocolate as oďŹ&#x192;cially the best in the world. W hat experts call the ganache - basically the mixture of cocoa,, cream and a variety of other ingredients nts to ffor orm

IN SEARCH OF THE ULTIMATE LTIMA 7< A3/@16 =4 B63 UL TIMAATTE VALENTINEâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S V ALENTIN ALENTINEâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S GIFT... GIFT C:B7;/B3 574B ...

what consumers umers think of as,, well,, the chocolate - that forms â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;the Chocolateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; is a closely guarded secret but Roy and Tracey are happy to conďŹ rm that there are several glasses of champagne added to the normal recipe. â&#x20AC;&#x153;As we make ever ything ourselves we can,, of course, p produce â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;the Chocolateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; without alcohol if requir q ed,â&#x20AC;? commented Tracey. G G=C 3/B B63 5=:2=C 3/B B63 5=:2-

It â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s most expensive ffoodstuďŹ&#x20AC; oodstuďŹ&#x20AC; and has h been eaten ffor or millennia. Although the Ancient Eg yptians ptia believed it gave for â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;the them immortality no such claims are made for Chocolate.â&#x20AC;&#x2122; (yet). However other authorities do claim that gold has many attributes when eaten, including generating a higher her IQ Q, Q managing rheumatoid arthritis,, developing mystic power and contributing to a long and healthy liffee. More seriously it is authorised for for use in food products in both Europe and the USA. High qualittyy chocolate also has its enthusiasts. They claim that chocolate with over 60% cocoa content (â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;the Chocolateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; has 63%) reduces blood pressure, decreases the chance of both diabetes and heart attack, improves the memor y and even eases a persistent cough amongst a plethora of other attributes. Be that as it maayy the fact remains that â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;the Chocolateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; has a fantastic taste that will exceed the expectations of the wildest choccie enthusiast. And the memor y of the experience will last and last. B B63 >@=2C1BA( 63 >@=2C1BA(

Available online at the-chocolate.com and exclusively at Harrods,, the th Boutique Box contains 15 chocolates minimum and a weight of 200 grammes. It retails at ÂŁ190 including postage and packing. Deliver y of this unique hand-made d for for speciďŹ c product is within ďŹ ve daayys or can be expressed deliver y date. The Bambina is a one chocolate box experience, which retails at ÂŁ50 including postage and packing. Available online and exclusively at Har Harrods For more infffor ormation on the Chocolatte visit:: ww www.the-chocolatte.com FEBRUARY2012 85

PROPERTYLIFE DEC_Life Mags 25/11/2011 17:15 Page 1

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Tailor Made FEB__ 02/02/2012 12:04 Page 1

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BRanKSoMe paRK ÂŁ4,950,000 This imposing residence sits amidst a beautiful one acre plot with private front and rear gardens, all landscaped to an extremely high standard. The driveway, which is enclosed by remote control gates, meanders through the grounds and leads to an oversize double garage as well as the entrance to the house. Fixtures and fittings are of the highest order and include bespoke kitchens and bathrooms, under floor gas fired central heating, intelligent lighting and home audio/visual system. Outside the front and the rear gardens are landscaped to a stunning design which takes full advantage of the superb sylvan setting.

CanFoRd CLIFFS ÂŁ2,295,000

open day - march 10Th 11am-1pm

Concerto is a newly built traditional detached home set in an acre of landscaped grounds in the Branksome Park Conservation Area, finished to an extremely high standard throughout with high quality fixtures and fittings. With a large kitchen/family room opening on to sun terraces and garden, a delightful lounge, a separate dining room, study, cinema room, conservatory/gymnasium, sauna, five bedrooms (all with en-suites) and triple garaging, Concerto is a fine example of a luxury home within this desirable location. WE LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING YOU ON THE 10TH MARCH.

Tailor Made FEB__ 02/02/2012 12:04 Page 2

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SandBanKS ÂŁ995,000 A brand new four bedroom luxury home situated on Sandbanks Peninsula within easy walking distance of the award winning golden sandy beaches, Poole Harbour and local restaurants. The property has been finished to a high specification throughout with spacious accommodation to include a superb open plan living space with contemporary fitted kitchen and sun room, utility room, downstairs cloakroom, four bedrooms, two en-suites and family bathroom, landscaped garden, integral garage and off road parking with electric gate to front.

CanFoRd CLIFFS ÂŁ715,000 A beautifully presented four bedroom detached family house set in a desirable residential road within close proximity to Canford Cliffs village, Poole Harbour and local golden sandy beaches. The property has been completely refurbished throughout to an extremely high standard by the current owners with quality fixtures and fittings. The spacious living accommodation includes two reception rooms, contemporary kitchen/breakfast room with integrated appliances, downstairs cloakroom, four bedrooms, en-suite to the master bedroom, contemporary family bathroom and an integrated single garage all set within landscaped gardens with ample off road parking to the front.

OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK 16 Banks Road, Sandbanks, Poole, Dorest BH13 7QB

McCoy Spence_ÂŠ Fish Media 02/02/2012 13:27 Page 1

PROPERTY MANAGEMENT

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PM FEB__ 01/02/2012 19:13 Page 1

PROPERT Y lifE

A SPECIALIST SERVICE FOR LAND OWNERS IN PRIME LOCATIONS

ometimes you need an expert to make the most of an opportunity. Selling land to a developer is no exception and Lance Trendall, owner of e Land Office is in no doubt about his ability to offer specialist advice to land owners. e Land Office deals with prime locations and is turning its attention to Sandbanks, Branksome Park, Canford Cliffs, Poole, Bournemouth, Christchurch and the New Forest where the demand for development land is outstripping supply. With a long track record in property, including a period as a developer himself, Lance works with land owners to help them maximise the potential of their property when selling to a developer. “However successful someone has been in their career, when

LANCE TRENDALL

they come to sell their home to a developer they are at a disadvantage unless they have someone like me on their side” comments Lance Trendall “Developers buy land all day long and know how to buy well and negotiate a very favourable deal, so it is worthwhile levelling the playing ﬁeld by having an experienced land agent on your side.”

Mulberry House, Beaconsﬁeld - Front View

FEBRUARY2012

Lance maintains that a third party is really helpful as negotiating direct can result in accepting a low offer or failing to explore the terms of an offer thoroughly or getting the right deal. With such issues as overage, where you can get a share of the price achieved by the new homes built on your site above an agreed base price or an additional premium for deferring payment for land until new homes are sold, it is easy to see how complex land deals can become. Timing is another area where land sellers can fail to negotiate effectively. e Land Office were called in to help a land owner who had agreed a three year option with a buyer who never even made a planning application on the land. “It is fundamental to us to make sure there are performance-clauses requiring the land buyer to submit a

planning application within a certain time and a three year option is far too long and restrictive for the land owner.” With some amazing properties sold recently e Land Office has proven success, a recent sale of a single plot for £1.8 million resulted in a house being demolished to be replaced with a 10,000sqft new mansion, which e Land Office sold off plan with a guide price of £4.6M. e Land Office often sells the new homes following the land sale which can help the land owner claim any overage agreed with the builder. e ‘before and after’ photos show the improvement to the street-scene and the sort of house that is viable to develop in the right location. Mulberry House is another stunning home ‘coming soon’ through e Land Office, which enjoys an elevated 1.5

Mulberry House, Beaconsﬁeld Rear - View

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PROPERTY lifE

Camp Road After

Camp Road Before

acre plot, making it really private and perfect for a celebrity, with 18,000sqft of beautifully designed accommodation. With the opportunity to buy this mansion off-plan, comes the chance to save tax as the buyer would only pay tax on the land, not the build contract, and have the house fully finished to their specification to create the dream palace! We wonder if a F1 driver might buy it as it includes a 10 car underground garage/showroom perfect for a collection of luxury cars. is property is in Beaconsfield, Bucks, another of the UK’s most sought after locations and is an example of the portfolio of clients looking for land through e Land Office. Your land may have development potential for an additional house on the plot or to be replaced with a mansion,

but even if it is a smaller plot where you can combine with a neighbour to create a building plot then e Land Oﬃce wants to hear from you.

for an impossibly large property that will never get planning approval so the deal may look good but will never happen.

“We work on all sorts of projects and have builders and developers calling us every day looking for land in prime locations. In addition to house and apartment builders, we have people looking for sites for care homes and retirement homes and even an American company wanting to build retirement villages in prime areas”

With the ethos of ‘experience, integrity and enthusiasm’ e Land Office tries to agree win-win deals that will proceed. “Having been a developer in the 1980’s, I understand the margins a developer needs, so I know how hard we can push on price and when to shake hands on a deal.” e Land Office offer a free initial appraisal for land owners so they can explore the development potential and discuss the various ways to harvest their land value which will compare the advantages of obtaining planning permission prior to selling or selling ‘subject to planning’ where the buyer pays all the architect and

Whilst e Land Oﬃce helps maximise the price for the seller, they are keen to explain that the deal must allow enough proﬁt for a developer or it will never happen. Apparently some developers might be pushed too far on price and will need to apply

planning costs and purchases the land once planning is approved. is sounds a good place to start when you think you may be sitting on a goldmine of valuable development land. Whilst e Land Office is a Hertfordshire based company it has a site for sale with planning for 22 holiday lodges close to Loch Ness, was approached about a site for houses on the Isle of Man and is currently investigating a development opportunity in the Cayman Islands so Sandbanks is what they might call ‘within easy reach’. More information is available on e Land Office website www.thelandoffice.co.uk or you can ring them at their Hertfordshire HQ on 01582 461581.

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LandWanted for luxury homes & apartments Land is in great demand in prime locations like Sandbanks, Canford Cliffs, Branksome Park, Poole, Bournemouth, Christchurch and the New Forest. The Land Office helps land owners negotiate good deals with developers and we can help find the right buyer and work with land owners from the very start. Free Initial Appraisal and Consultation • Land sold to Developers There are many different approaches to selling your valuable development site each with different merits and pitfalls. Our initial meeting can focus on the most advantageous strategy for your circumstances. All matters are respected as confidential and your concerns and time scale are respected throughout.

Call us today and arrange your free land appraisal In many cases, land owners prefer our developer contacts to seek planning at their own expense so you can remain free from costs and planning expenses Lance Trendall

lance@thelandoffice.co.uk

01582 461581 EXPERIENCE • INTEGRITY • ENTHUSIASM

www.thelandoffice.co.uk

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