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folio The best in the West
4 Month of delights
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hen skies are glowering gun-metal grey, and the radio spews forth the disheartening news of yet more government cuts, how cheering it is to hear of small businesses that aren’t just defying the downturn, but positively thriving in it! On page 10 Steve Wright talks to six local recession busters, all carving their own niche in different sectors, to find out how strong communityminded values and creative flair can pay dividends. And of course there’s plenty more to be cheered by this month. Bath Lit Fest rolls into town from 25 Feb-6 March, offering up a merry band of esteemed authors. On page 4 Melissa Blease speaks to Andrea Levy, whose latest novel The Long Song was shortlisted for the 2010 Man Booker Prize. This month being officially the most romantic in the calendar, we’re brimming with gift ideas, dining destinations and gorgeous undies to make sure you have a very special Valentine’s Day. Plus, below, you’ll find five romantic reads to get you in the mood, suggested by Kate Double and Libby Harris from Mr B’s Emporium of Reading Delights (14-15 John St, Bath. Ffi: 01225 331155, www.mrbsemporium.com). Enjoy!
People
LifeStyle
4 Melissa Blease meets Small Island author Andrea Levy 7 Mike White talks to British music author, journalist and editor-at-large of The Wire, Rob Young 8 Mike Gartside chats to Andrew Hilton, artistic director of Shakespeare at the Tobacco Factory
49 Shop of the Month Steve Wright visits gentlemen’s tailor Marc Wallace 50 Fashion Niki Whittle makes over your knicker drawer 52 Beauty Rachel Nott tries the Laserlift at The Orangery 55 Health A roundup of the latest health news 59 Education Academic success for one local school 62 Motoring We review the Citroen C4
Features 10 Steve Wright meets six local recession busters 16 Eugene Byrne takes us on a tour of Glenside Hospital Museum 19 Gift ideas for Valentine’s Day
What’sOn 24 Art, Events, Family, Film, Music & Theatre
Food&Drink 36 Romantic places for dinner à deux 39 Melissa Blease gets a breath of French air at Casanis 40 Mike Gartside enjoys an evening at Bristol newcomer Cote 44 Seasonal recipe from The Cork
Rachel Nott Folio editor
HomeFront 68 CaSA Architects show us their grand design 70 Lesley Taylor colours your world 75 Trish Gibson tells us which bulbs to plant now
Property 77 The latest property news 80 Spotlight on Georgian properties
Competitions 82 £100 to spend at Wallis plus a fabulous makeover worth over £3,500!
Romantic reads Benny and Shrimp by Katarina Mazetti (Short Books, £7.99) This charmingly quirky story revolves around the romance between Shrimp, a shy librarian, and dairy farmer Benny, who meet in a Swedish graveyard, of all places. The short chapters alternate between the two main characters as narrators and describe their impossibly complicated relationship. This offbeat romance is funny and refreshingly down to earth.
Jamaica Inn by Daphne Du Maurier (Virago, £7.99) A swashbuckling story set in the wilderness of Bodmin Moor. Du Maurier is brilliant at creating atmosphere and this is full of haunting descriptions of the Cornwall landscape as well as smugglers, murder and a Cathy and Heathcliffe-esque romance.
The Picador Book of Love Poems edited by John Stammers (Picador, £12.99) A gorgeous collection of love poetry, which presents its selection in pairs, coupling classic love poems with a variety of more contemporary work. The pairings create some fascinating relationships and also offer a fresh perspective on old favourites.
Lover: Portraits by 40 Great Artists by Juliet Heselwood (£12.99) A beautiful and varied collection of portraits that focus on the lovers of all the great artists. Each piece of art is accompanied by a description and includes work from artists such as Rossetti, Hockney and Van Gogh, exploring their portraits from a very intimate and revealing new angle.
Aphrodite’s Hat by Sally Vickers (Fourth Estate, £16.99) In this evocative short story collection Vickers explores various types of love: platonic love, romantic love and even the love between a marmalade cat and its owner. Each describes a relationship in a variety of romantic settings, from seaside art galleries to lofty Venetian churches.
Subscribe to folio Just send a cheque for £20 (payable to Folio) to our Bristol address and you’ll get the next 14 issues sent to your home - the only way to guarantee you’ll get every copy of the West’s fastest-growing lifestyle magazine. folio Bristol 4th Floor, Bristol News & Media, Temple Way, Bristol, BS99 7HD tel 0117 942 8491 fax 0117 934 3566 email editor@foliomagazine.co.uk folio Bath Bath News & Media, Floor 2, Westpoint, James West St, Bath BA1 1UN tel 01225 429801 fax 01225 447602 Editor Rachel Nott Deputy Editor Mike Gartside Group Editor Dave Higgitt Production Manager Cath Evans Creative Director Lee Caple Design Team Joe Braun, David Myring, Sarah Clark, Sarah Malone Picture Editor Joao Barata Sub-editors Jo Renshaw Publications Co-ordinators Emma Gorton, Ruth Stuart-Torrie Commercial Manager Becky Davis Advertising Simon Whitehouse, Nejla Unal, Ben Wright, Mike Swift, Adam Burrows, Danny Ford, Bex Baddiley Distribution Dave Higgitt Ring us now for details of how to reach our 75,000 readers - and if you’re a reader, contact our advertisers now! Do please let them know where you read about their services. Thank you. Folio articles preceded by the words ‘Folio Profile’ have been supplied by a third party, and the information contained within them does not necessarily constitute a direct recommendation by the publishers. However, we only accept submissions from bona fide companies whom we know from long experience to provide quality goods or services.
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motoring motoring MUCH-LOVED AUTHOR AND LATECOMER TO WRITING ANDREA LEVY WILL TALK ABOUT HER LATEST NOVEL AT THIS YEAR’S BATH LITERATURE FESTIVAL
PROFILE
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he Whitbread Book of the Year award, Orange Prize for Fiction, Commonwealth Writers’ Prize and a nomination for the Man Booker Prize constitute the four literary gongs that any aspiring writer’s dreams are made of. Surely winning such acclaim would go straight to anybody’s head? Not in the case of Andrea Levy. “It’s taken me a long time to be able to take myself seriously as a writer,” she tells Folio, prior to her visit to Bath for the annual Literature Festival, where she will be discussing her latest novel The Long Song with Independent on Sunday literary editor Suzi Feay. “The awards have certainly helped me to do that, and I’m absolutely thrilled to have earned such recognition as a result. But this wasn’t a career that I ever dreamed I would have!” Andrea was born in London to Jamaican parents who sailed to England on the Empire Windrush in 1948. She attracted immediate critical acclaim for her first novel (the semi-autobiographical Every Light in the House Burnin’, 1995), while her triple award-winning fourth novel Small Island (2004) was made into a TV drama broadcast by the BBC in December 2009 and The Long Song attracted the attention of the 2010 Man Booker Prize judges - not bad for a writer who seems to have discovered her penchant for prose almost accidentally. “I only scraped an ‘E’ at English A-level!” says Andrea. “I originally trained as a weaver and textile designer and worked in the costume department of the BBC, then for the Royal Opera House before retraining as a graphic designer. I didn’t start writing until my mid-30s, when I undertook a creative writing course merely as a pastime. I could easily have chosen yoga or painting, but I found that I really enjoyed writing and that other people seemed to like what I wrote - and, crucially, that I had things that I really wanted to write about.” And themes, it seems, that Levy lovers across the globe really wanted to read about.
wORDS Melissa blease
Small Island focused on the experiences of (and reaction to) the Jamaican immigrants who moved to England in 1948. The Long Song, meanwhile, is the fictional memoir of a woman named July who was a slave on an early 19th century sugar plantation in Jamaica and lived through to eventual emancipation. “Apart from some well-known American novels, we have hardly any stories - either fictional or documentary - about the ordinary lives of enslaved people and their masters during the 300 years of slavery in the British Caribbean. There’s a big hole in our history,” says Andrea, explaining her fascination with an enduring theme. “I wanted to explore that history and show what amazing people the characters I write about were. But The Long Song is, in a sense, a departure for me as it’s the first book I’ve written that’s set in a time and a place well beyond the experience of anyone alive today, so it required careful research - that was certainly a new challenge.” Does our rapidly changing literary landscape - for example,
the increasing popularity of the portable e-book reader Kindle - represent any further challenges to contemporary writers? “We’re clearly in the midst of a revolution in terms of the delivery of books,” says Andrea, “but I feel that, as with all leaps in new technology, the dust will settle and new formats will find their place alongside the traditional, inevitably adding to our cultural landscape rather than taking anything away. But writing, for me, is always and only about the story I want to tell. The success (or otherwise!) and, ultimately, the delivery of that story will always be out of my hands.” If past performance is anything to go by, those stories will be taken straight to our hearts. Andrea Levy takes all those who read her words on a fascinating voyage around an utterly spellbinding big world indeed. Andrea Levy in conversation with Suzi Feay Sat 26 Feb, 6.15pm, Central United Reformed Church, Grove St, Bath, as part of Bath Literature Festival (25 Feb-6 March). Ffi: 01225 463362, www.bathlitfest. org.uk
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profile Rowan Dartington To share or not to share?
Rowan Dartington & Co Colston Tower, Colston Street, Bristol BS1 4RD Tel: 0117 933 0006 Email: invest@rowan-dartington.co.uk Web: www.rowan-dartington.co.uk
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● The end of the financial year is almost upon us. I say that, but there are still a few short months to get your affairs in order and avoid the traditional frenzy of activity towards the end of March. This gives you ample time and opportunity to make use of your annual ISA subscription for 2010/2011 if you have not already done so. It is important at this stage to draw a clear and hugely important distinction between Cash ISAs and Investment ISAs. Cash ISAs have justifiably received a bad press recently regarding the paltry levels of interest being paid. It is all very well receiving interest tax free but if the rate of inflation is in excess of the rate of interest received, then in real terms you are losing money. For example, if a Cash ISA is paying 0.5% interest (not unusual) and the rate of inflation is currently 3.7% (UK CPI to December 2010), then the buying power of the cash in the ISA reduces by some 3.2% in a year. This is less than ideal. There is an alternative: the Investment ISA. Much like the Cash ISA, there are numerous tax benefits to holding assets within an Investment ISA, but there are also restrictions as to the assets that qualify. Generally speaking, small companies (AIM listed and the like) that are listed on a single exchange are unlikely to be eligible to be held in an Investment ISA. FTSE 100 and 250 stocks can be held in an ISA, as can most collective investment vehicles (such as unit trusts and investment trusts) and bonds. This gives a vast range of assets that a shareholder can hold in an ISA, enabling a flexible, tax efficient approach to investing. For further details, consult your Investment Executive. The key benefit of using your Investment ISA each
year is that assets within an ISA are exempt from CGT (capital gains tax). Let’s be honest, we all invest to make money. If we are successful, then we may have to pay CGT on any gains above an annual limit of £10,100 (for 2010-11), unless they are made within the shelter of an ISA. It can be galling to have invest hard-earned cash (on which, incidentally, you have already paid tax), only to have the profits of your investment taxed. But the Inland Revenue are not given to generosity, and any profits over and above the
annual limit may be taxed at a rate of 18% (28% for higher rate tax payers). In addition, ISA interest is received gross and there is no further tax liability on any dividend income. This may seem like a trifling matter but what it means is that a fixed interest investment paying 5% in an ISA is the equivalent of receiving 6.25% gross outside of an ISA for standard-rate taxpayers. For higher-rate taxpayers the equivalent is a whopping 8.33%, which compares very favourably with current deposit rates, albeit with potentially higher capital
Alistair King
and income risk. The process of transferring existing shareholdings into your Investment ISA is known as a ‘Bed and ISA’. Don’t blame me, I didn’t make it up. In order to ‘Bed and ISA’ a shareholding, the investor sells the investment and then buys it back from within the Investment ISA. Generally speaking the stockbroker will execute both sides of the trade at the same price in an ‘agency cross’ so as not to penalise the client with a ‘bid and offer spread’ and while commission is charged on the sale, a flat fee may be
charged on the purchase. It is therefore possible to construct a tax efficient portfolio of investments over time, all held within an ISA wrapper. To find out more contact us on 0117 933 0006, email: invest@ rowan-dartington.co.uk (Rowan Dartington & Co Ltd is a member of the London Stock Exchange and is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority, www.rowandartington.co.uk Registered in England & Wales No. 2752304 at Colston Tower, Colston Street, Bristol, BS1 4RD).
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motoring motoring MUSIC WRITER ROB YOUNG TALKS ABOUT THE MAGICALLY TANGLED HISTORY OF BRITAIN’S VISIONARY MUSIC
Q&A
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wORDS mike white
ob Young is one of our finest music writers, a former editor of magazine The Wire and author of several books on modern music. The latest of these, Electric Eden (Faber, £17.99), explores the mysterious, interwoven influences that have coursed beneath British musical creativity over the past century - modern and progressive, it’s also full of folklore, magic and myth.
What did you set out to do in writing Electric Eden? Get some kind of a grip on several themes that seemed to run through British music and culture, and the ways in which these themes have informed and influenced each other over the past century or more; to try and grasp these ideas, and the seeming tension in music between nostalgia and a sense of progress. Take folk rock, and its inherent tension between electric and acoustic, progress and the sense of nostalgia. A lot of the most exciting music seems to be pulling both ways, backwards and forwards, at the same time. How did you go about it? I’ve always been very excited by the music of John Martyn, Sandy Denny, Fairport Convention, Nick Drake, The Incredible String Band. I wanted to try to understand why it was called ‘folk’, and what did ‘folk’ really mean? What was the context it was coming out of? That led me to start looking further and further back, ending up in the late Victorian period, when people like Cecil Sharp were starting to collect folk music in a systematic way - and even then you find the same tension, a certain hostility to what he was doing, trying to bring music in from the fields and the villages to published books and a more middle-class audience. But Sharp himself was an incredible idealist, who thought he was doing a great service to the culture of the nation. It was fascinating to see these same ideas being played out, all down the line.
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You grew up in Stoke Bishop. Are there any particularly folk-steeped locations around these parts? The world premiere of Vaughan Williams’ The Lark Ascending was held at Shirehampton Village Hall, believe it or not. I was also amazed to find out about a character called Rutland Boughton, who organised the first Glastonbury Festivals, back in 1914, and wrote a very successful opera called The Immortal Hour. He worked at the Folk House Cafe on Park Street, using it as a dance space to start choreographing his operas. I grew up on the edge of the Downs, and many street names around there are very folky Coombe Dingle, Druid Road. Lots of gnarly old names. A lot of those roads were named in the 1910s and 20s, and a lot of the composers of the time Vaughan Williams, Peter Warlock, John Ireland were all very interested in antiquity and the pagan, pre-Roman world. That part of Bristol is steeped in that kind of aesthetic. So I feel it’s in my blood in a way. I like that.
You make lots of links from folk to popular culture: Bagpuss, Aphex Twin, Napalm Death… Where might folk go next? It’s always tricky to predict where music might go next - when you try, it always goes and does the opposite. That’s what’s fun about it. What would be interesting - I’m surprised it hasn’t done this yet, especially in the light of the current climate - is to look again at folk as a protest movement. There isn’t really much music associated with the protests going on today, in a way that there was 60 years ago. It’s also interesting how the witchy and wyrd idea of folk is coming through again - and how a lot of eastern European instruments are being used, absorbing music from outside. Folk is becoming ever wider and more interesting. Rob Young will discuss Electric Eden with folk music expert Chris Hamlett at Bristol Grammar School on Wed 16 Feb. Ffi: www. bristolgrammarschool.co.uk/events.aspx
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pic: farrows creative
o the theatre director seeking bums on seats or a rush of media interest, Shakespeare’s Richard II is not the most obvious curtain-raiser for the year. But Andrew Hilton is not your average theatre director and Shakespeare at the Tobacco Factory (SATTF) already has a proud record of full houses, with productions such as Jonathan Miller’s Hamlet in 2008 and Hilton’s first ever SATTF production, King Lear in 2000, just two among many to earn rave reviews and sell-outs. Announcing the new season at Bristol’s upmarket Mint Hotel, Hilton is in a thoughtful mood, in spite of the hubbub around him. With a string of four consecutive sold-out seasons from 2007 through to 2010, he has every reason to be upbeat, but SATTF’s one near terminal disaster, Titus Andronicus in 2006, still plays on his mind and he tempers his enthusiasm with caution. “From the outset, SATTF completely exceeded expectations,” he says. “I was confident, perhaps over-confident, that there was a good market for professional Shakespeare in an intimate space. I’d seen it work in the 1980s. We didn’t expect London or national critics to take an interest when we opened but they did. King Lear played to 12 people at first but we got a wonderful review in the Independent and subsequently had queues at the box office.” His choice of plays is determined by several factors ranging from personal passion to the practicalities of casting but, he insists, “There’s no grand scheme.” He’s plumped for Richard II, he says simply, “Because I love it. It’s is not as well known as it used to be but plays go in and out of favour and when I was a student it was staged as often as Richard III.” SATTF inevitably faces a problem choosing one of Shakespeare’s histories as, with only two productions per season, it either squeezes out a box-office-pleasing tragedy or makes for a potentially dour season, with no comedy
wORDS mike gartside
pic: GrahamBurke
PROFILE
Shakespeare at the Tobacco Factory director Andrew Hilton talks to Folio about his bold decision to stage the history, Richard II, this season
(again, usually a winner with audiences) to temper the mood. But this year Hilton has bitten the history bullet: there’s no tragedy and the second play of the season is The Comedy of Errors. “Richard II stands on its own not just as a history but as a real psychological drama,” says Hilton. “In fact, the history in it is very dubious. Shakespeare was not interested in factual accuracy but in the study of a man who was born to be king but then stripped of his powers. What is then left of the man? It’s a classically Shakespearian theme.” The tale revolves around Richard’s power struggle with Henry Bullingbrook (Shakespeare’s spelling), later Henry IV, which was to spark the Wars of the Roses. “There are no real villains,” says Hilton. “Richard is a minor for the first 11 years of his reign, bossed by his uncles. When he becomes an adult he says, ‘I’m the King’ and surrounds himself with ‘Yes’ men who stand to gain from being part of his support act.”
It’s a drama replete with ambiguous moral and very human choices, while the ascendant Bullingbrook has far from an easy ride. “It’s thought that, at the age of 14, Richard behaved rather commendably in the face of the Peasant’s Revolt, while by the end of the play, Bullingbrook is already experiencing difficulties,” Hilton explains. With John Heffernam playing Richard II (“He has extraordinary intelligence and passion”) and Matthew Thomas as Bullingbrook it looks set to be a riveting season opener. And any doubters should hear one SATTF supporter. “When we nearly went down in 2006 and launched our appeal,” Hilton recalls, “a husband and wife turned up in the office with a cheque book and said we had to go on. The husband told me, ‘This is where I first learnt to understand Shakespeare.’” Richard II The Tobacco Factory, Raleigh Rd, Southville, Bristol, Thurs 10 Feb-Sat 19 March. Ffi: 0117 902 0344, www.sattf.org.uk
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feature
A run for
Steve Wright hears from local businesses bucking the recession in creative ways
their money Barefoot Books
Founded in Bath in 1992, where they still have their UK office, Barefoot Books are now a globe-straddling publisher of children’s books with a very individual ethos. As co-founder Nancy Traversy puts it, the company’s worldview places children right at its centre, encouraging them to connect with people and nature and to travel the world through imagination and storytelling. Barefoot is most definitely thriving: its Ambassadors programme (whereby fans can get involved with sales, marketing and fundraising) is attracting new members across the world. Meanwhile, Barefoot’s newest title The Gift – by poet laureate Carol Ann Duffy with illustrations by feted papercut artist Rob Ryan – sold out its print run before Christmas. “We’re doing well because we haven’t followed the mainstream publishing path,” says Nancy. “Right from the beginning we tried to grow a lifestyle brand around our values – the creativity, imagination, innocence of childhood, but also global awareness; and also to reach out as directly as we could to our readers, maintain a direct
route to our community. We were out there in a real grassroots way, so that people became very aware of us. Now here we are in 2011, and ‘community’ is the buzzword everywhere. We have wonderful books, always stuck to very high production standards and never dumbed down. There have been risky decisions along the way. “In 2005, we pulled out of big US chains like Borders and Barnes and Noble. Everyone said that was commercial suicide, but they didn’t seem to care about Barefoot - to them ours were just another book on a shelf. As soon as we made that decision, sales went up 40 per cent, and we all became much happier people. Since then, our business has got on a much stronger footing: we can pick our partners, communities and organisations big and small that shared our values and had people in their lives that would like our products.” There have been tough times, of course. “The bottom fell out of the market in late 2008, so 2009 was a tough year. We thought, ‘Right, we need a much simpler business model. We need to build a lifestyle community and use social networking. It did
feel like one foot on the dock and one foot on the boat for a while.” But, soon enough, they were on their way again, and the last quarter of 2010 saw 30-40 per cent growth. Nancy feels the Barefoot ethos is increasingly speaking to us in these back-tobasics times. “I think we’re at a time where our values – imagination, creativity, connection, simplicity, sustainability – resonate in a way they perhaps didn’t five years ago. If you have a business model of raising socially conscious children and families, and less about trying to make money, hopefully the rest will follow.” Ffi www.barefootbooks.com
The Makery
These are busy times at The Makery. Bath’s shop-cum-dayschool, which offers craft and sewing workshops for children’s parties, hen parties and the like, opened a second branch in the city centre late last year. “Since the new year, bookings have gone through the roof, both for our children’s and adults’ parties and workshops,” says owner Kate Smith. “People are looking for something different to do for their children’s parties, and we offer so many
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feature Nancy Traversy, co-founder of Barefoot Books
Lounges co-directors (l-r) Jake Bishop, Alex Reilley and Dave Reid
different options – all crafty and creative, but varying from monster making to handbags and bath bombs. You get a fun children’s party for not very much per head, including all materials, party bags and a party tea.” Workshops have taken off brilliantly, too. “There’s been a make-do-and-mend revolution: people want to do things themselves. You pay a one-off fee and you create something you can take away, but you also acquire a new skill, rather than paying someone else to do those things for you. And you meet new people, too - it’s a very feelgood, positive experience.” There’s no danger of complacency setting in, though. “The vast majority of Bathonians still don’t know who we are and we have to work hard to find them. But it’s all starting to pay off – we were featured on BBC Breakfast recently. We’ve done a lot of work with schools, which is a great way of meeting lots of people and attracting a large, relevant audience quite quickly.” Opening a second branch right in the centre of Bath, though, feels “much more scary. But we know, from talking to customers, that there’s a need for a shop like this. There are a few shops in the centre selling craft goods, but they’re all quite functional – curtain lining, cotton, elastic. There was nowhere to go for those beautiful things - lovely woven fabrics, printed linen – that finish off an item, make it really special. The shop generates a lot of interest in the workshops, so we’re hoping that the two will feed off each other.”
Southampton, Bournemouth and Birmingham. Last year was the busiest yet, with four Lounges and one (similar) Cosy Club opening. Six more are planned to open this year. Value – a key recession tagline – has always been central to the Lounge ethos. “Value for money has been a buzz phrase recently, but we’ve always strived for it,” says Alex. “There’s a conception that value for money means cheap – in fact, it means someone spending their hard-earned pennies and feeling it’s been worth it. You can spend £100 on a meal for two, and that can be good value for money if the experience is good enough. Conversely, if a crap lunch is cheap, it’s still a crap lunch. You can’t spend huge amounts of money in a Lounge even if you tried… so people tend to spend little but often with us. “We knew that the commercial property market would suddenly become incredibly
depressed. There was a complete dry-up of people looking for commercial premises, so landlords looking for tenants were more willing to do a deal. So where a lot of people thought, ‘I don’t know what’s going to happen, so I’d better not do anything’, we thought, ‘We’re going to accelerate our growth.’” Notwithstanding, autumn 2008 was a worrying time. “When the financial institutions were falling apart, people thought the food and drink industry would be worst hit, because it always has been, traditionally, in recession. But people’s eating habits are now very different. We have much more casual eating and drinking out now and, whereas eating out used to be quite expensive and reserved for special occasions, it’s come down massively in price.” The choice of Lounge locations is crucial. “Before the recession, Bristolians might have made a habit of going to, say, Severnshed once a week. But if you live in the suburbs, a £10 taxi
The Makery: your one-stop shop for a range of crafting goodies
Ffi www.themakeryonline.co.uk
The Lounges
“We’ve always had recession on our agenda, because clearly they do have a rather irritating habit of coming round.” So says Alex Reilley, co-director of Loungers, the company behind the growing family of hugely successful Lounge bars in Bristol, Bath and beyond. The first Lounge opened in Southville in 2002; others across the city followed in quick succession, and then came Bath’s first, Velo Lounge, in 2007. The Lounge dynasty, now comprising 18 branches, has spread to cities including folio 11
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feature fare one way suddenly makes an evening into an extravagance. We’re in suburbia - a lot of our branches have 10,000-15,000 people within walking distance. The suburbs are great - you can really impact positively on people’s lives, breathe life into high streets, make people feel good about where they live. We believe passionately in providing communities with something they can feel very proud of. We’re as anti-brand as we can possibly be, and we’ve allowed each Lounge to develop its own identity. Ffi www.thelounges.co.uk
Wind of change: Ecotricity CEO Dale Vince
Ecotricity
Sparks are certainly flying at Stroud-based green energy company Ecotricity. Earlier this winter the company launched its EcoBonds, with the aim of securing up to £10m of funding to help advance their new green energy projects – principally wind and solar farms. By last December’s deadline, over 1,800 people had between them applied for almost £15m worth of EcoBonds, making it oversubscribed by nearly 50 per cent - easily the most successful private bond ever issued in the UK. In 2010 Ecotricity started ground works for their first wind turbine in Wales, and were given planning permission for a further nine turbines at a site in Leicestershire, where construction starts later this year. They were also granted planning permission for a 1MW ‘sun-park’ in Lincolnshire, with construction planned to begin in the near future. Perhaps most eye-catching of all, though, was the development of the company’s windpowered supercar, the Nemesis – created by an ‘A-team’ of motorsport engineers who’d previously worked with McLaren, Williams and Lotus, building F1 racing cars. “We’re faring well,” says CEO Dale Vince. “Our rate of growth – our new customer signup – is back to where it was before the credit crunch. The recession did have an adverse affect in terms of customer growth, with fewer people joining us, but also a positive one, in making us focus on where we spent our time and money. We’ve emerged more efficient and focused. We got better at what we do. “Attitudes to green energy continue to change, as they have done ever since we first offered green electricity in the UK in 1996. People are increasingly aware of and concerned about the issues affecting the environment, and are looking for ways to act. That’s where we come in. Conventional electricity is the UK’s biggest single source of carbon dioxide, and switching to a green company is the biggest single step anyone can take. We make that easy and inexpensive.” Ffi www.ecotricity.co.uk
Tobacco Factory Theatre
The landmark Southville theatre, seen as a crucial instigator in the renaissance of North Street a decade ago, is having a robust recession. Audience numbers are high, and the Factory’s sister studio theatre, The Brewery, has fared remarkably well since opening on the site of a former car repair works in late 2009. “Our overall attendance has gone up,” says Explore the original Theatre dynamic artistic director Ali Robertson, “in part Royal at 12 Orchard Street because we’re running more shows. However,
we can compare attendance at the Brewery on a like-for-like basis and, strikingly, attendance there has gone from 55 to 80 per cent over the past year. Each venue is open around 49 weeks per year, and we’re running over 600 performances each year of around 230 different shows. “Demand from audiences is strong and demand from artists is through the roof – everyone wants to play here. Sponsorship is more difficult, but we do have some strong relationships with companies. There’s a virtuous circle operating at the moment – people see how things are going and think, ‘I want a bit of that.’ Our development streams, especially Prototype [regular ‘scratch’ nights, at which local artists and companies perform work in progress] and those at other theatres, like Ferment [ditto, at Bristol Old Vic] have been bringing shows on. The Brewery - its small size, affordability and intimacy - has really made sense to people. And as transport gets steadily worse in the centre, people are realising that we’re very easy to get to.” Culture is often seen as one of the first areas to take a hit when people’s spending budgets
Ali Robertson, Tobacco Factory
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feature go down – has he found this? “No – I think culture tends to do well in recessions, as people need escapism. And we’re a good value night out, so I think we take trade from restaurants. If the recession has taught us any lessons, they’re to stay true to your principles and, while not going mad, not to draw your horns in too much.” Ffi www.tobaccofactorytheatre.com Paul Goodchild and Gill Richardson of Goodchild Interiors
Goodchild Interiors
Autumn 2008 was an anxious time for Goodchild Interiors, an award-winning interior design studio based in Hotwells, Bristol. “In the space of two months, great swathes of building sites and interior design projects were cancelled,” recalls co-founder Paul Goodchild. “We lost 90 per cent of our work. The key thing for us was not to get depressed and lose heart. Easier said than done, believe me…” In fact, what Paul and co-founder Gill Richardson did was a judicious mix of expansion into other project areas, and pushing on further with their existing specialisations. A key innovation has been the company’s two-hour consultancy taster, when Paul and/ or Gill meet with the client, find out what they want to do to their property and then suggest different ways of achieving that. “Architectural and interior design is perceived as very expensive and high-end,” Paul explains. “We’ve been trying to re-educate clients and potential clients about that, and to explain how our services are even more essential in a recession. We advise people on how to get the best value out of any project now more than ever, people can’t afford to make mistakes. “People will often come to us saying, for example, ‘I want an extension.’ In fact, what they actually want is more space. So we might suggest re-organising the loft, converting the garage, installing an office in the garden – lots of different solutions, each of which we’ll cost up. Then we work out an action plan – useful contacts, whether planning permission is needed, any other specialists required. All of that within two hours. It is exhausting, but at the end clients know exactly what’s feasible for them. The service does cost £250, but the savings we can find are far bigger.” The company can also help you to give your kitchen or bathroom makeover a prestige look at very affordable prices. “Kitchen and bathroom companies are in the business of selling their product, as much and as expensively as they can. Being independent, we can recommend the most cost-effective way of achieving a design. We can source a standard, off-the-shelf kitchen carcass at very competitive cost, then design the bespoke elements around them, so clients get a very expensive-looking kitchen for an incredibly low price.” Paul and Gill have also become more specialist in specific areas to differentiate themselves in the marketplace. A Goodchild speciality is grade ll-listed buildings, including many of the Georgian properties on which they work in and around Bristol. “Our skill lies in creating a contemporary lifestyle inside a historic building. It’s a very specialist market, and a lot of people fail at it.” Things are looking a lot better now than two years back. “Interior design was one of the first things to go – but it’s also one of the first to come back. A lot of our clients who cancelled projects two years ago are calling us now to start again. The property market is recovering, projects are being taken out of mothballs, finance is flowing a little bit more in the construction industry.”
More Local RecessionBusters • Bristol restaurant/wine-tasting venue Flinty Red has been in fine fettle since opening in late 2009. Run jointly by chefs Matthew Williamson and Claire Thomson and wine merchants Dominic Harman and Rachel Higgens, the restaurant saw all its Christmas 2009 customers re-booking last Christmas. “Opening a restaurant in difficult economic times is always a risk,” Dominic acknowledges, “but we opened at the right time of year to bring Christmas trade in, so we started on a bit of a flyer.” Trade secrets? “Simplicity, honesty and transparency. Keep things fresh and in season. There’s too much faffing around with lots of places. We just focus on good flavours.” • Clifton’s bijou contemporary art gallery SOMA (pictured) has just moved to bigger premises opposite its original Clifton Arcade site, and has also built a new website, including a comprehensive online shop (www. somagallery.co.uk). The gallery stocks collectable prints by some of the UK’s most treasured current printmakers (Rob Ryan, Graham Carter), as well as affordable prints from early career artists, starting at around £20. • St Werburghs’ organic emporium The Better Food Company recently opened a second store on Whiteladies Road. “I think what’s helped us is that, since the last recession, people’s shopping habits have changed,” says TBFC’s Lucy Gatward. “There’s now a section of society choosing to live in a slightly different way, for whom supermarkets aren’t really an option. Buying organic and locally sourced food is now part of a wider life choice around sustainability, recycling and living a less wasteful lifestyle.” • Renowned Bath restaurant Demuths was awarded Best Vegetarian Restaurant 2010 by Gourmet Britain, while owner/founder Rachel Demuth was awarded Best Bath Businesswoman of the Year 2010. And Bath cookery school The Bertinet Kitchen also took honours, with founder Richard Bertinet named BBC Food Champion of the Year. • Despite opening in November 2008, near the beginning of the worst recession since the 1930s, Bath entertainment venue Komedia is thriving. Last year Komedia won Best Venue in the West of England and Wales from the hugely respected comedy website www. chortle.co.uk while its weekly Krater Comedy Club nights regularly sell out. “In a recession, you have to fight for every customer and provide the highest level of service,” says Sarah Jagusch, Komedia’s marketing officer. “We’re proud of our customer feedback from last year, for which 98.5 per cent of customers told us they were either very or totally satisfied with their experience.”
Ffi www.goodchildinteriors.net
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Voted in the Top 50 antique shops in Great Britain 2010 by The Independent on Sunday
OLD BANK ANTIQUES CENTRE 14-17 Walcot Buildings, Bath
Situated on the London Road (A4), just a short walk from the top of Walcot Street. Old Bank Antiques Centre is the largest retailer of antiques in Bath, without being stuffy and too grand. This is how antiques shops used to look: a hoarder`s paradise. fifteen dealers spread through lots of showrooms in four shops with everything from 17th century to 1970s retro. Experienced and professional advice is always available. Customer parking is at the rear, accessed via Bedford Street. Deliveries can be arranged anywhere in the UK or the rest of world, at cost price. Furniture restorer on premises. Open seven days a week and most bank holidays Visit our website: www.oldbankantiquescentre.com Tel: 01225 469282 & 338813 Email: alexatmontague@aol.com
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feature
Hearts and minds T In the first of a regular series marking Bath’s Year of the Museum, Eugene Byrne reveals the sometimes harrowing story behind little-known gem, Bristol’s Glenside Hospital Museum
he Glenside is one of the most under-appreciated museums in Bristol. It may be quite small, and the opening hours limited (though group tours are always welcome by appointment), but it tells a fascinating story. Fascinating, but also often harrowing and disturbing, for the Glenside Hospital Museum is devoted to the story of what was Bristol’s main psychiatric hospital from 1861 until its closure in 1994. Along the way, it also traces the wider history of care for the mentally ill, and those with learning difficulties. When it opened in 1861, the Glenside was Bristol’s ‘lunatic asylum’, and by the time it closed it was a psychiatric hospital. At other times it was known as a ‘mental hospital’ and at all times there were rather more vulgar names. The buildings are all still there, now occupied by the University of the West of England, while the museum is housed in what was the hospital’s chapel. The displays trace the story of care (or sometimes the lack of it) for the mentally ill in Bristol down the ages, but there are plenty of asides for wider medical care. There’s a cabinet on John Bishop Estlin, for example, the early 19th century ophthalmologist who ran a lucrative consultancy for his rich patients, and a free clinic that treated thousands of poor ones. And there are displays on other Bristol medical pioneers, such as Dr Thomas Dover and Dr James Cowles Prichard, one of the giants of 19th century psychiatric medicine. Most of the museum, however, is devoted to the detail of hospital regimes and treatments, with gruesome displays of surgical equipment, ECT equipment (the first electroconvulsive therapies in the UK were carried out by the Burden Institute in Bristol. They experimented on a sheep to begin with) and even more disturbing artefacts, such as a mock-up of a padded cell, and a display of straitjackets.
Clockwise from this pic: display of bottles and medicines; autopsy artefacts; and chair of the museum Dr Ihsan Mian. Top right clockwise: medical instruments; Glenside Hospital in the 1940s; a straitjacket; and a skeleton
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feature
Chair of the museum is Dr Ihsan Mian, a retired consultant psychiatrist who himself worked at Glenside Hospital for many years. “I have never in the course of my career seen a straitjacket being used, thank goodness,” he says. “I think they were still in use in the 1940s.” Dr Mian continues: “We’re presenting facts, we’re not judging, but of course the emphasis nowadays is much more on psychotherapeutic lines, treatments such as cognitive behaviour therapy. There’s been a lot of progress.” There’s also a nod in the direction of Glenside’s brief stint as a general hospital for men wounded in the first world war. During that period it was known as the Beaufort Hospital, and, famously, artist Stanley Spencer worked here briefly as an orderly. His time at the hospital inspired some of his most famous paintings. The museum also features another very talented artist, Dennis Reed, a patient in the 1950s who produced some very haunting drawings and watercolours of daily life there. The Glenside Museum is one of only three such in the country (the others being Bethlem Royal Hospital in London and the Stephen Beaumont Museum in Wakefield) and is all the more remarkable for being run by volunteers and a league of friends on very limited funds. Some of the dozen or so of the core volunteers have themselves experienced psychiatric care. “I call this place a museum of the mind,” says Dr Mian. “And we’re determined to reduce the stigma, prejudices and stereotypes about mental illness. I’m a die-hard optimist and we’re doing everything possible to make people aware of it. Our civilisation will be judged in the future by how we look after the elderly, the disabled and the mentally ill. A lot has been achieved, but like the poet Browning said, ‘the best is yet to be’." Glenside Hospital Museum UWE Glenside Campus, Stapleton (entrance off Blackberry Hill), Bristol, BS16. Open Wed & Sat only, 10am-12.30pm, admission free but donations very welcome. Group visits by appointment. Ffi: 0117 939 2574
Movers & shakers
Dr Donal Early (1917-2004)
When he died, the obituary in The Royal College of Psychiatrists magazine described Dr Donal Early as ‘one of the giants of 20th century psychiatry.’ Born in Ireland, he came to work at Glenside Hospital in 1944. It was so poorly resourced due to wartime and, later, postwar austerity that he would greet new staff saying, ‘Welcome to Devil’s Island.’ As senior psychiatrist at the hospital, his major contribution came in the 1950s and 60s when he pioneered ‘industrial therapy’. Huge numbers of mental hospital patients were institutionalised, being kept in for the long term, with little hope of returning to the real world. Early’s work challenged all this. His ‘Industrial Therapy Organisation’ put patients to work in a local ballpoint pen factory, then opened a car wash in Westburyon-Trym, then bought properties to provide sheltered housing as a stepping stone for patients to return to the community... Early paved the way for modern community care, and he later travelled extensively as a World Health Organisation advisor on industrial rehabilitation. He continued to take an interest in the Glenside even after retirement. He wrote a history of the hospital (The Lunatic Pauper Palace) and started a collection of artefacts and memorabilia which formed the basis of the museum.
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gift guide
From the heart
1
This Valentine’s Day, treat your loved one to our pick of the most romantic goodies around…
1
Scent with love Instead of a real bottle of scent, which lasts next to no time, why not treat your darling to something she can treasure for ever? We adore this silver and gold plated perfume bottle necklace (£120) by up and coming designer William Cheshire, available at Diana Porter
5
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Breakfast in bed Start the day with a suitably romantic gesture… tea in bed, served in these pretty French ivory cups and saucers (£29.50 for tea) embossed with hearts, courtesy of La Maison.
3
Flight of fancy A statement piece is the perfect way to dress up an outfit, and this striking jewelstudded necklace (£29.99) from Pilgrim will add a flourish of fun, day or night.
4
A girl’s best friend Every girl goes weak at the knees for a bit of sparkle, and this 18ct white gold ring with princess-cut 0.50 diamond (£6,500) from Julie Anne Palmer will have her saying ‘I do’ like a shot…
5
If music be the food of love… For a Valentine celebration this year, how about escaping for a few blissful hours of you-time luxury at Bristol’s urban oasis the Relaxation Centre? Indulge in one of their special Valentine Couples Spa Days on Sun 13 or Mon 14 Feb (from £38 per couple including free gift and prize draw entry), and make a night of it with an evening of live bossa nova music from singer/songwriter Claudia Aurora, with mezze and bubbly on Sun 13 Feb 7-11pm (£90 per couple with four-hour spa session, or £40 without).
6
In the swim Since reopening in 2008 Bristol’s Lido has attracted huge media attention, regularly featuring in top British spa lists in national newspapers and magazines. So if you haven’t visited yet, perhaps 14 Feb is the day to do so, followed by food in their much vaunted (yes, we mean you, Jay Rayner) restaurant. Half Day Spa £80 pp, includes full use of the facilities 10am-4pm, one-hour spa treatment of your choice and hour of relaxation in the spa tea room overlooking the pool.
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Luxury Chocolates & confectionery
• Favours • Wedding stationery • Celebration cakes • Cake Decorations • Partyware • Online and postal service available 12a Hill Road Clevedon Tel: 01275 878978 www.indulgencechocolates.co.uk
NOW OPEN
WWW.LAMAISONINTERIORS.COM • INFO@LAMAISONINTERIORS.COM 30 Hill Road, Clevedon, N.Somerset, BS21 7PH. Tel 01275 876056 Opening Times: Tues - Sat 10.00 - 5.30 Sun 11.00 - 4.00 20 folio
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gift guide 7
What a spa If you really want to push the boat out, why not whisk your heart’s desire away for a romantic spa break at sublime country house hotel Bannatyne’s Charlton House? For £269 enjoy total relaxation with one night’s accommodation midweek, full English breakfast, three-course candlelit dinner, half a bottle of champagne, afternoon tea, use of the spa and a 55-minute treatment per person!
8
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Two’s company Celebrate an old-fashioned Valentine’s Day with a romantic afternoon tea for two. This beautiful retro tea set (£10.99) from iota bristol will set the scene perfectly for your own brief encounter. All you need to add is some irresistible (homemade?) cupcakes! Mmmm…
9
Rock on Add a bit of bling to your beloved’s shirts with these unusual and very realistic silver rock cufflinks (£135) by Torz Cartwright at Clifton Rocks. This contemporary jeweller features work by local and national designers, including pieces by the shop’s owner Clare Chandler, who can also take on commissions if you have something special in mind.
10
Heart melters An elegant box of finest Belgian chocolates (from £12.99 for 12) from Indulgence is a tried and tested way to melt your loved one’s heart. Impress them even more by selecting all their favourite flavours, all beautifully wrapped and ribboned!
7
10
9 contacts Bannatyne’s Charlton House Spa Hotel Shepton Mallet, Somerset. Ffi: 01749 342008, www.bannatyne.co.uk/hotel/charltonhouse Clifton Rocks 100 Queens Rd, Clifton, Bristol. Ffi: 0117 973 1342, www.cliftonrocks.co.uk Diana Porter 33 Park St, Bristol. Ffi: 0117 909 0225, www.dianaporter.co.uk Indulgence 12a Hill Rd, Clevedon. Ffi: 01275 878978, www.indulgencechocolates.co.uk iota bristol 167 Gloucester Rd, Bristol. Ffi: 0117 924 4911, www.iotabristol.com Julie Anne Palmer 129 Stoke Lane, Westbury on Trym, Bristol. Ffi: 0117 962 1111, www.julieannepalmer.com La Maison 30 Hill Rd, Clevedon. Ffi: 01275 876056 (Tue-Sat 10am-5.30pm, Sun 11am-4pm) Lido Oakfield Place, Clifton, Bristol. Ffi: 0117 933 9530, www.lidobristol.com Pilgrim The Mall at Cribbs Causeway, Bristol. Ffi: 0117 950 5398, www.pilgrim.dk Relaxation Centre 9 All Saints Rd, Clifton, Bristol. Ffi: 0117 970 6616, www. relaxationcentre.co.uk
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Mark Simmons
photogr aphy
Natural Weddings - Music - Documentary t: 07778 063 699 w: www.marksimmonsphotography.com
For a brochure and details of forthcoming courses please telephone The Clifton Practice 0117 317 9278 or simple visit our comprehensive website www.cpht.co.uk
Perfectly clear or a real pain in the neck? Here at Juul & Payne, we’re really exited by our new ‘Visioffice’ from Essilor. This clever computer watches how you read and move your head and calculates the perfect lens for you. You can compare up to four pictures of yourself wearing different spectacles in colour still and motion pictures. It uses your biometric data, your prescription and the frame you’ve chosen and electronically sends it all to the laboratory where individual bespoke lenses are created just for you. These are designed to give you the best possible vision whether you have single vision lenses or varifocals. Old, out of date glasses can cause serious back and neck pain and poor posture as well as blurred, uncomfortable, sore eyes. New glasses with really clear lenses can improve comfort at work and play, eliminating not just headaches but costly mistakes and accidents all for just pence a day. We have an interest free payment plan and there has been no VAT increase on our prices. To find out more phone Juul & Payne Advanced Eyecare on 0117 9735929 www.juulandpayne.co.uk 70 Alma Road, Clifton, Bristol BS8 2DJ
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what’son theatre
pic: Brinkhoff, Mögenburg
Join the Q l Follow Princeton, a bright-eyedcollege undergraduate, as he tries to find his purpose in life in this brilliant, seedy comedic alliance of performer and puppet. Dubbed ‘the Sesame Street for adults’, Broadway and West End hit Avenue Q brings with it such virally popular songs as Everyone’s a Little Bit Racist and The Internet is for Porn. “It’s children’s television learning lessons for adults,” says associate director Evan Ensign, “but despite the adult themes, we’ve never had any adverse reactions - we’re pretty careful with the parental warnings on our posters!” Dealing as it does with themes like racism, sexuality and porn, you might expect pompous moralising – but not a bit of it. And though frequently cynical, the story is also resolutely upbeat. “It’s about acceptance, caring,
puppets, or green puppets,” chuckles Evan. There’s a graphic sex scene (full puppet nudity alert!), but also a kind of naivety about the show. “I know it sounds contradictory to say that Avenue Q is innocent,” says Evan, “but it is. It just says that these things are happening, and you can like it or not like it, but you have to acknowledge that they’re happening. So should they be fun, should they be bad, should they be ok?” If you have a ripe sense of humour and aren’t afraid of the odd promiscuous puppet, Avenue Q should be right up your street. how communities can come together. And that shouldn’t be based on what race you are, or your sexual preference - none of
that can define who a person is in this community because people in this community are also sometimes blue puppets, or pink
Avenue Q 2-12 Feb at Theatre Royal Bath, Sawclose (01225 448844) & 24-28 May at Bristol Hippodrome, St Augustine’s Parade (0844 847 2325). Ffi: www. avenueqthemusical.co.uk
sounds
first lady l Capitalising on the retro burlesque boom and an enthusiasm for curvaceous red cocktail dresses, Dubliner Imelda May is already a big hit outside the Irish charts. Johnny Got a Boom Boom was the single that clinched it, a snakehipped slice of Brylcreemed brilliance that moved The Guardian Guide to call her ‘a rockabilly confection who’s yoinked her vital crackle from the lungs of Janis Joplin and ballsy stance from the soul of Patsy Cline’. Keeping it local, the video for said single was filmed by punk rock toff Julien Temple at Bristol’s Louisiana. “My whole life revolves around music,” says Imelda. “There’s no magic story in there - just that I’ve been singing my ass off since I was four!” Imelda May Thur 17 Feb, Colston Hall, Bristol. Ffi: 0117 922 3686, www.colstonhall.org
events
fun of the fair l Fancy winning an overnight stay with your nearest and dearest at Bath’s luxurious Royal Crescent Hotel and a bottle of bubbly to celebrate? Or an expert-guided tour of the 22nd Bath Decorative and Antiques Fair with Mark Hill and Judith Miller? If so, head over to the website below. Five lucky runners-up will also win a guided tour and a bottle of champagne. Winners will be able to tap into the combined knowledge of Mark and Judith and ask questions about the eclectic mix of decorative antiques and objects for sale at the fair. All entrants will receive a free e-ticket to the fair for two
people, valid on any day of the fair. It all takes place at Bath’s illustrious Pavilion, featuring a feast of painted English and Continental furniture, period and country oak furniture, decorative accessories, garden items and textiles from exhibitors from across the UK. Exhibitor and founder of the fair Robin Coleman gets things under way by launching the West of England Antique Dealers’ Association’s new Guide to Buying Antiques 2011/2012 on the opening night. Bath Decorative & Antiques Fair 10-13 March, The Pavilion, Bath. Ffi: 01225 742240, www.bathdecorativeantiquesfair.co.uk
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what’son readers' suggestions
Over to you... l Would you like to choose the very last object to be included in the Museums of Bath’s Bath in 100 Objects collection? Ninety-nine objects selected by a panel of experts are now featured on a digital museum (www.visitbath.co.uk/site/100-objects), revealing the story of the people of Bath, their achievements and the city’s evolution from Roman times to present day. Objects range from a Bath chair, fizzy pop factory, wig scratcher and giant plug to a collection of corsets and the telescope used to discover Uranus. Email your suggestions for that elusive 100th object, along with any images and reasons you think it should be included, to editor@foliomagazine.co.uk, putting ‘100 Objects’ in the subject line. The object – announced by the end of 2011 - should be on display somewhere in or around the city, so that people can easily view it. Bath Year of the Museum Ffi: www.visitbath.co.uk/ museums
events
family
in the hot seats l Not content with being a brilliant children and young people’s theatre, the Egg goes for bust this month with its whopping Family Theatre Festival. Spilling beyond its own cosy auditorium into the larger spaces of the Theatre Royal Main House and the Ustinov Studio, this exciting smorgasbord of stagecraft, now in its third year, includes a restaging of 2008’s acclaimed The Nutcracker, brilliant productions for everyone from babies to 'Farewell, Benjamin' at Family Theatre Festival
teenagers (including Kiev clowns Mimirichi and poet John Hegley), ‘immersive theatrical event’ Book Labyrinth and the mysterious Pink Bus, talent-spotted by festival director Kate Cross at the Edinburgh Festival. Don’t be afraid to rustle your sweet papers. Family Theatre Festival 19 Feb-6 Mar, Theatre Royal Bath, Sawclose. Ffi: 01225 448844, www. theatreroyal.org.uk
fully booked l Bath Lit Fest has always succeeded in combining a sense of towering literary tradition with a keen eye for the contemporary and progressive. This year brings the chance to see 2010 Booker Prize winner Howard Jacobson, and big names like Kazuo Ishiguro, Alexander McCall Smith and Louis de Bernieres. Look out, too, for Voices in the City (a day of free events to celebrate the spoken word), the Young Writers’ Competition and the hugely popular (and frequently provocative) Prospect Debates. Bath Literature Festival 25 Feb-6 March, various venues, Bath. See also feature on page 4. Ffi: 01225 463362, www.bathlitfest.org.uk
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february diary For full details of entertainment and events in Bristol, Bath, Cheltenham and the surrounding areas, Venue magazine, the region’s only comprehensive what’s on guide, complete with features, interviews and local news, is available, weekly, in all good newsagents. FILM 4 FEB Brighton Rock Rowan Joffe updates Graham Greene’s novel to the mods’n’rockers 60s. Cast includes Helen Mirren, John Hurt, Andy Serkis and Sam Riley in the Richard Attenborough role as Pinky. 4 FEB Rabbit Hole Shortbus director John Cameron Mitchell changes tack with a bereavement drama adapted by David LindsayAbaire from his own stage play. Nicole Kidman and Aaron Eckhart star. 4 FEB Sanctum Or ‘James Cameron’s Sanctum’ as it’s known in the US, though Cameron only has a producing role. It’s a 3D cavediving thriller in which something goes horribly wrong in the largest, most beautiful and least accessible cave system on earth. Not for claustrophobics, then. 11 FEB Gnomeo and Juliet Animated garden gnome adventure-romance, loosely adapted from Shakespeare and featuring the voices of James McAvoy and Emily Blunt. 11 FEB Just Go With It Adam Sandler romcom starring the ‘dream team’ of himself and Jennifer Aniston. It’s the story of a bloke who enlists the help of a woman and her kids in order to snare Nicole Kidman. 11 FEB Yogi Bear 3D A 3D animated update of the HannaBarbera cartoon series. Dan Aykroyd does the voice of Yogi, with Justin Timberlake as Boo-Boo. 11 FEB True Grit The Coen brothers remake the John Wayne flick about a gnarly US marshal who helps a stubborn young woman track down her father’s murderer. Cast includes
Clevedon’s lovely pier makes a guest appearance in the new film Never Let Me Go, which also stars Keira Knightley. See Film
25 FEB West is West Yes, it’s sequel to the Brit hit East is East. This time the cultural traffic is in the opposite direction as troubled English teen Sajib Khan is packed off to Pakistan and his father George’s (Om Puri) wife number one to learn a lesson about tradition. 25 FEB Unknown Poor old Liam Neeson awakes from a coma to find that someone else has pilfered his identity, but no one - not even his wife - believes his story.
Jeff Bridges, Matt Damon and Josh Brolin. 11 FEB Never Let Me Go Keira Knightley and Carey Mulligan star in Alex Garland’s adaptation of Kazuo Ishiguro’s parallel universe novel in which clones are bred to supply spare bits and bobs. Mark Romanek directs. Watch out for the starring role played by Clevedon Pier. 18 FEB Paul Simon Pegg and Nick Frost team up again as writers and stars of a science-fiction comedy about a pair of British comicbook geeks travelling across America who encounter an alien outside Area 51. Greg (Superbad, Adventureland) Mottola directs. 18 FEB Inside Job Matt Damon narrates a timely documentary about the global financial meltdown, tracing ‘the rise of a rogue industry which has corrupted politics, regulation, and academia’. 18 FEB I Am Number 4 Not a Prisoner spin-off, but the latest supernatural teen romp aimed at filling the Harry Potter-sized hole in the release schedules. The cast is headed by Alex Pettyfer, whose previous bash at establishing such a franchise, Stormbreaker, turned out to be a bit of a flop.
25 FEB No Strings Attached Natalie Portman/Ashton Kutcher romcom in which they try to keep their relationship strictly physical, only for - you guessed it! - love to intervene. 25 FEB Animal Kingdom Sundance Award-winning Australian crime drama from first-time writer/ director David Michod, which has earned comparisons with Scorsese. Based on real-life incidents, it’s the story of 17-year-old Josh, who’s drawn into the orbit of his hardcore criminal family when his overprotective mother dies. 25 FEB Drive Angry Vengeful dad Nic Cage speeds after the bad guys who killed his daughter - in 3D! 25 FEB Howl James Franco stars in a drama based on the obscenity trial Allen Ginsberg faced after the publication of his eponymous poem. 25 FEB The Rite A disillusioned Catholic priest travels from the US to Rome to learn about the exorcism business under Father Anthony Hopkins, who’s plagued by a few demons of his own. 25 FEB Waste Land ‘An uplifting feature documentary highlighting the transformative power of art and the beauty of the human spirit.’
SOUNDS THROUGHOUT FEB Jazz at Future Inns Another cracking month of live jazz and occasional blues in a sophisticated setting. See website for full line-up • Future Inn, Cabot Circus, Bristol (0845 094 5588, www. futureinns.co.uk/jazz-club-bristol) 2 FEB Jimmy Webb Songwriting legend: By the Time I Get to Phoenix, Wichita Lineman, Galveston, etc • St George’s Bristol, Great George St (0845 402 4001, www. stgeorgesbristol.co.uk) 2 FEB Smoke Fairies Mesmerisingly beautiful folking twosome • Fleece, St Thomas St, Bristol (0117 945 0996, www.thefleece.co.uk) 5 FEB Joan As Police Woman The brilliant Ms Wasser returns with more peerless love songs, as heard on new The Deep Field longplayer • Thekla, The Grove, Bristol (0117 929 3301 or www.theklabristol.co.uk) 12 FEB Millie Jackson Goldstandard soul voice, as exemplified by It Hurts So Good • O2 Academy Bristol, Frogmore St (0117 927 9227, www.o2academybristol.co.uk) 16 FEB The Feeling Shamelessly catchy popsters • Komedia, Westgate St, Bath (0845 293 8480, www.komedia.co.uk/bath)
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what’son 17 FEB Imelda May Amiable rockabilly ace. See picture story on p24 • Colston Hall, Colston St, Bristol (0117 922 3686, www. colstonhall.org) 21 FEB Carl Barat Post-Libertines/ Dirty Pretty Things, the singer tours his debut solo album • Anson Rooms, Queens Rd, Bristol (0117 954 5830, www.ubu.org.uk) 24 FEB Ray LaMontagne Dustvoiced balladeering‘n’roll • Colston Hall, Colston St, Bristol (0117 922 3686, www.colstonhall.org) 26 FEB James Blunt UK tour by big hit at the Help for Heroes Twickenham live show • Colston Hall, Colston St, Bristol (0117 922 3686, www.colstonhall.org)
THEATRE, COMEDY & MUSICALS 1-5 FEB Calendar Girls Inspiring feel-good show based on a true story, starring Lynda Bellingham and Jennifer Ellison • Bristol Hippodrome, St Augustine’s Parade (0844 8472325, www. bristolhippodrome.org.uk) 1-19 FEB Very Hard Times A mischievous, moneyless misinterpretation of Dickens’ classic that bears no resemblance
to the original whatsoever • Brewery Theatre, North St, Southville, Bristol (0117 902 0344, www.tobaccofactory.com) 2-6 FEB Macbeth Core Theatre Productions delve deep into Shakespeare’s tale of murder, madness and ambition • Rondo Theatre, St Saviours Rd, Bath (01225 463362, www.rondotheatre. co.uk) 2-12 FEB Avenue Q Dirty-talking musical, dubbed the ‘Sesame Street for adults’ See picture story • Theatre Royal Bath, Sawclose (01225 448844, www.theatreroyal. org.uk) 4-5 FEB Andrew Bird Nimble yarnspinning comedy from the East End charmer • Comedy Box, Hen & Chicken, North St, Southville, Bristol (0117 902 0344, www. thecomedybox.co.uk) 4, 5, 11, 12, 18, 19, 25 & 26 FEB Jesters Comedy Club Three quality stand-up acts and an aftershow boogie • Jesters Comedy Club, Cheltenham Rd, Bristol (0117 909 6655, www.metropolisbristol. co.uk) 4, 5, 11, 12, 18, 19 & 26 FEB Krater Comedy Club River Cottage grub, three top stand-up acts and dancing till bedtime • Komedia, Westgate St, Bath (0845 293 8480, www.komedia.co.uk) George Street at Dawn, one of Nick Cudworth’s oddly calming new works, on show at Seen in Bath. See Art & Exhibitions
6 FEB Storytelling Sundays: Re:verb Performance talespinning as part of Bristol Storytelling Festival • Brewery Theatre, North St, Southville, Bristol (0117 902 0344, www. tobaccofactory.com)
Friday 04 February Kent DuChaine & Leadbessie £8.50 / £10 Saturday 05 February Mari Wilson’s Threesome £15 / £17.50 / £20 Sunday 06 February Jazz Morley £7 / £6 Thursday 10 February The Phil Beer Band £15 Saturday 12 February ‘Tainted Love’ for St. Valentine’s Day £10 / £8
8 FEB John Shuttleworth: A Man with No More Rolls Despite the confusing title, ‘Sheffield’s finest synthesiser player and twaddle talker’ is actually contemplating morals, not more rolls • Komedia, Westgate St, Bath (0845 293 8480, www.komedia.co.uk)
Saturday 19 February 2011 The ARC Convention DAY ONE (Saturday)£40.00
9 FEB One Night of Elvis: The Legend Continues The King lives on - in Lee ‘Memphis’ King’s uncanny impersonations at least • Bristol Hippodrome, St Augustine’s Parade (0844 847 2325, www.bristolhippodrome.org.uk)
Sunday 27 February Moishe’s Bagel £12 / £15 Friday 04 March 20th Century Foxes Cabaret from the age of glamour £15 / £13
9 FEB Tom Stade Imaginative Canadian stand-up • Rondo Theatre, St Saviours Rd, Bath (01225 463362, www.rondotheatre. co.uk)
Friday 18 March The Bush Technologists £12 / £10
10 FEB-1 MAR Richard II Regal Shakespearian tragedy. See feature p8 • Tobacco Factory Theatre, Southville, Bristol (0117 902 0344, www.tobaccofactory.com) 11 FEB Micky Flanagan Ascendant stand-up Flanagan deconstructs the ‘cockney myth’ • Colston Hall, Colston St, Bristol (0117 922 3686, www.colstonhall.org)
Sunday 20 February The ARC Convention DAY TWO (Sunday)£40.00 Saturday 26 February COCO BOUDOIR £12
Saturday 05 March ‘Enchanted Under The Sea’ 50’s Dance £11 / £9
Saturday 19 March Juliet Kelly Celebrating the Divas of Jazz £8 / £10 / £12 Sunday 20 March 12 - 8p.m South West Got Rhythm (Hip Hop) £5.00 on Door Chapel Arts Centre Lower Borough Walls, Bath BA1 1QR www.chapelarts.org 01225 461700 Arts Cafe - Mon - Sat 9.30 - 5.30
10 FEB Felix Dexter Top comic brings new show Multiple Personalities in Order • Komedia, Westgate St, Bath (0845 293 8480, www.komedia.co.uk) 11-12 FEB Paul Sinha ‘The world’s only gay, Asian, GP-turned-standup-comedian’ returns with more witty observations • Comedy Box, Hen & Chicken, North St, Southville, Bristol (0117 902 0344, www.thecomedybox.co.uk)
EVERY MONDAY Groundswell open mic night
12 FEB Andi Osho: Afroblighty Stand-up show about ‘identity crisis in the cultural crossfire of modern Britain’ • Rondo Theatre, St Saviours Rd, Bath (01225 463362, www.rondotheatre.co.uk)
EVERY SUNDAY Comedy Cavern (see comedy listings for details).
13 FEB Jon Richardson The cheeky BBC 6 Music DJ and funnyman presents new show It’s Not Me, It’s You • Tobacco Factory Theatre, Southville, Bristol (0117 902 0344, www.tobaccofactory. com) ➜
Every Thursday Pepper your Leopard EVERY FRIDAY AND SATURDAY Top live DJ’s playing the best sounds around. Open until 2am.
HAPPY HOUR 6.30-7-30pm HOUSE DOUBLES £3.50 FREE WI-FI . SKY SPORTS ON HD SCREEN POOL TABLES IN THE CELLAR BAR Food served daily from 11am-9pm. Serving Vegetarian/Vegan foods. 20% discounts on food to students with NUS card. 15 George Street, Bath, BA1 2QS 01225 424 104 // www.theporter.co.uk
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february diary 14-19 FEB Life of Riley New drama from Alan Ayckbourn about life and how we live it • Theatre Royal Bath, Sawclose (01225 448844, www. theatreroyal.org.uk) 16 FEB Zoe Lyons Comedienne Lyons tackles the essence of happiness in new show Clownbusting • Rondo Theatre, St Saviours Rd, Bath (01225 463362, www.rondotheatre.co.uk) 17-19 FEB Happy Jack John Godber’s bittersweet tale of the life of a Yorkshire mining family • Mission Theatre, Corn St, Bath (01225 428600, www. missiontheatre.co.uk) 18 FEB When I Was Ten I Could Fly Nostalgic journey through boyhood dreams • Rondo Theatre, St Saviours Rd, Bath (01225 463362, www.rondotheatre.co.uk) 18-19 FEB Michael Smiley Affectionate, story-telling stand-up • Comedy Box, Hen & Chicken, North St, Southville, Bristol (0117 902 0344, www.thecomedybox.co. uk) 19 FEB The Real Deal Comedy Jam Fully loaded bill of stand-up acts • Colston Hall, Colston St, Bristol (0117 922 3686, www.colstonhall.org) 19 FEB Six and a Half Loves Touching one-man comedy show about failed romance • Rondo Theatre, St Saviours Rd, Bath (01225 463362, www.rondotheatre.co.uk) 22-17 FEB The Nutcracker: A Family Musical Inventive reworking of the familiar tale, with gangster mice running riot • Theatre Royal Bath, Sawclose (01225 448844, www.theatreroyal.org.uk) 22-27 FEB Joseph! Touring production of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s technicolour Biblical musical • Bristol Hippodrome, St Augustine’s Parade (0844 847 2325, www.bristolhippodrome.org.uk) 24 FEB Bath’s Top Talent The hunt for Bath’s best entertainers returns • Komedia, Westgate St, Bath (0845 293 8480, www.komedia.co. uk) 24-26 FEB Pygmalion George Bernard Shaw’s comedy of manners, staged by Bath University Student Theatre • Mission Theatre, Corn St, Bath (01225 428600, www. missiontheatre.co.uk)
25-26 FEB Jon Moloney ‘The don of deadpan’ presents new set Butterflies with Stretchmarks • Comedy Box, Hen & Chicken, North St, Southville, Bristol (0117 902 0344, www.thecomedybox.co. uk) 26 FEB Practice Watch extracts of brand new theatre, live art and dance, then to help shape its development in conversation with the artists and performers • ICIA Arts Theatre & Arts Barn, University of Bath (01225 386777, www.bath.ac.uk/icia) 26 FEB Coco Boudoir Cabaret and burlesque • Chapel Arts Centre, St James’s Memorial Hall, Lower Borough Walls, Bath (01225 461700, www.chapelarts.org) 27 FEB Prototype Five excerpts from bold new experimental theatre await your feedback • Brewery Theatre, North St, Southville, Bristol (0117 902 0344, www.tobaccofactory.com) 28 FEB-5 MAR Yes, Prime Minister Much-praised stage adaptation of the evergreen political sitcom • Theatre Royal Bath, Sawclose (01225 448844, www.theatreroyal. org.uk)
ART & EXHIBITIONS RUNNING ON
1-28 FEB Laura Oldfield Ford: Poster Sites Drawings inspired by the urban landscape, dotted across the city centre to discover • Various locations in Bristol: for details, visit Arnolfini, Narrow Quay (0117 917 2300, www.arnolfini.org.uk) 1-28 FEB Contemporary Printmakers Handmade prints, Valentine’s cards, romantic porcelain work and gifts • Rostra & Rooksmoor Galleries, George St, Bath (01225 448121, www. rostragallery.co.uk) 1 FEB-5 JUN Wildlife Photographer of the Year Another selection of stunning wildlife pictures • Bristol City Museum & Art Gallery, Queens Rd, Bristol (0117 922 3571, www.bristol.gov.uk/ museums) 12 FEB-3 APR Harris and Mussi: Fifty Fifty Textile and ceramic work inspired by a trip to Japan • Victoria
Art Gallery, Bridge St, Bath (01225 477233, www.victoriagal.org.uk) 12 FEB-3 APR Karen Wallis: Views and Observations Paintings and drawings celebrating oft-overlooked everyday life • Victoria Art Gallery, Bridge St, Bath (01225 477233, www. victoriagal.org.uk) 19-26 FEB Guy Debord’s The Game of War Multi-media and performance-based exhibition concerned with revolutionary strategy and oppression • ICIA Art Space 2, University of Bath (01225 386777, www.bath.ac.uk/icia) 20 FEB-5 APR Open Photography 2 Huge and varied display of new photographs • Royal West of England Academy, Queens Rd, Bristol (0117 973 5129, www.rwa. org.uk) RUNNING UNTIL
6 FEB Matisse: Drawing with Scissors Thirty-five vibrant lithographic cut-out prints • Royal West of England Academy, Queens Rd, Bristol (0117 973 5129, www. rwa.org.uk) 8 FEB Inside Out Showcase of emerging and established artists from Bristol’s Jamaica Street Studios • Royal West of England Academy, Queens Rd, Bristol (0117 973 5129, www.rwa.org.uk) 12 FEB Arthur Fleischmann Bronze busts from the master sculptor • Grant Bradley Gallery, Bedminster Parade, Bristol (0117 963 7673, www.grantbradleygallery. co.uk) 25 FEB Entwined Contemporary jewellery makers use old-fashioned techniques in a beautifully modern way • Diana Porter, Park St, Bristol (0117 909 0225, www.dianaporter. co.uk) 6 MAR Chinese Ceramics and the Early Modern World Exhibition charting the remarkable travels of Chinese craftsmanship between 1300 and 1800 • Museum of East Asian Art, Bennett St, Bath (01225 464640, www.meaa.org.uk) 27 MAR Top Trends Vintage fashion items reinterpreted to showcase the current season’s styles • Fashion Museum, Assembly Rooms, Bennett St, Bath (01225 477173, www.fashionmuseum.co. uk)
what’son 10 APR Maelfa Mixed-media installation work about disappearing communities and failed utopian aspirations • Spike Island Studios, Cumberland Rd, Bristol (0117 929 2266, www. spikeisland.org.uk) ONGOING Maggie C: Pet Portraits Striking animal portraits undertaken by commission • Fizz Gallery, Hill Rd, Clevedon (01275 341141, www.fizzgallery.co.uk)
CLASSICAL, OPERA & DANCE 5 FEB New Bristol Sinfonia Sixteenyear-old recorder wunderkind Jacob Warn leads the NBS through a Sammartini concerto, between works by Britten and Shostakovich • Victoria Rooms, Queens Rd, Bristol (07796 573869, www. newbristolsinfonia.org.uk) 9 FEB Elektrostatic: Skempton and Poole Two influential British composers introduce and perform their engaging creations for chamber ensemble • Hall 2, Colston Hall, Colston St, Bristol (0117 922 3686, www.colstonhall.org) 9 FEB Vienna Tonkunstler Orchestra Dramatic playlist including Brahms and Wagner • Hall 1, Colston Hall, Colston St, Bristol (0117 922 3686, www. colstonhall.org) 11 FEB Bristol Ensemble: Beethoven by Candlelight I Atmospheric chamber music: the Piano Trio Archduke and the Septet in E flat op.20 • St George’s Bristol, Great George St (0845 402 4001, www.stgeorgesbristol.co.uk) 12 FEB LOL (lots of love) Dance and physical theatre and love and longing • ICIA Arts Theatre, University of Bath (01225 386777, www.bath.ac.uk/icia) 13 FEB Johann Strauss Gala Music, dance and song from nineteenthcentury Vienna • Hall 1, Colston Hall, Colston St, Bristol (0117 922 3686, www.colstonhall.org) 14-15 FEB Romeo and Juliet Shakespeare meets Prokofiev for a night of romance from the Russian State Ballet and the Orchestra of Siberia • Bristol Hippodrome, St Augustine’s Parade (0844 847 2325, www.bristolhippodrome.org.uk) ➜
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To reach thousands of families in your area advertise in the next issue of Early Times. For carers, parents and teachers of pre-school children in Bristol, Bath, South Glos and North Somerset!
Contact Caroline tel 0117 934 3737 email c.stretton@bepp.co.uk or Ruth tel 0117 9343730 email r.morris@venue.co.uk folio 29
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february diary 15 FEB Mr Corelli in London The English Concert with recorder soloist Maurice Steger play works including Purcell, Corelli and Vivaldi • St George’s Bristol, Great George St (0845 402 4001, www. stgeorgesbristol.co.uk) 16 FEB Sleeping Beauty Fairytale escapism from the Russian State Ballet and the Orchestra of Siberia • Bristol Hippodrome, St Augustine’s Parade (0844 847 2325, www.bristolhippodrome. org.uk) 17 FEB Don Quixote The Russian State Ballet and the Orchestra of Siberia tilt at windmills • Bristol Hippodrome, St Augustine’s Parade (0844 847 2325, www. bristolhippodrome.org.uk)
5 FEB The Bristol Old Vic Ball Opulent soiree of fundraising frolics, the Southbank Sinfonia and a host of surprises • Bristol Old Vic, King St (0117 987 7877, www. bristololdvic.org.uk)
between Israelis and Palestinians after his three daughters were killed by Israeli shells • Watershed, Canons Rd, Bristol (0117 927 5100, www. ideasfestival.co.uk)
9 FEB Sanjida O'Connell This local author reads from her new book 'Sugar Island' • Topping & Co. Booksellers, Bath, 7.45pm (01225 428111, www.toppingbooks.co.uk)
25 FEB-6 MAR Bath Literature Festival See profile on p4 and picture story on p24 • Various venues, Bath (01225 463362, www. bathlitfest.org.uk)
12 FEB Tainted Love Night of cabaret, music and dancing to give St Valentine’s Day a bit of a twist • Chapel Arts Centre, St James’s Memorial Hall, Lower Borough Walls, Bath (01225 461700, www. chapelarts.org)
26-27 FEB Dog Days Weekend Arena demonstrations, displays and other fun for dog lovers • Westonbirt National Arboretum, Tetbury, Glos (01666 880220, www. forestry.gov.uk/westonbirt)
13 FEB Murray Lachlan Young’s Alternative Valentine’s Special 18-19 FEB Swan Lake In the last Celebrated performance poet two nights of their exhausting offers a fresh look at romance Bristol run, the Russian State • Komedia, Westgate St, Bath (0845 Ballet and the Orchestra of Siberia 293 8480, www.komedia.co.uk) tackle Tchaikovsky’s haunting 16 FEB Rob Young: Electric Eden heartbreaker • Bristol Writer discusses his book charting Hippodrome, St Augustine’s the fascinating evolution of British Parade (0844 847 2325, www. folk music. See Q&A on p7 bristolhippodrome.org.uk) • Bristol Grammar School, 25 FEB Pathways to Satie Pianist University Rd (www. Mikhail Kazakevich plays Liszt, bristolgrammarschool.co.uk/ Wagner and Schumann • St events.aspx) George’s Bristol, Great George St (0845 402 4001, www. 19-20 FEB The Arc Convention stgeorgesbristol.co.uk) Weekend of alternative science, history, esoterica and spirituality • Chapel Arts Centre, St James’s Memorial Hall, Lower Borough Walls, Bath (01225 461700, www. 1 FEB Vintage Fashion and Textile chapelarts.org) Sale Fabulous pre-loved clothing and accessories • Dreweatts, St 23 FEB I Shall Not Hate: A Gaza Johns Place, Apsley Rd, Clifton, Doctor’s Journey Izzeldin Bristol (0117 973 7201, www.dnfa. Abuelaish talks about his life and com) work, attempting reconciliation
OTHER EVENTS
The New Bristol Sinfonia electrify Bristol’s Victoria Rooms in the company of teenage recorder virtuoso Jacob Warn. See Classical, Opera & Dance
10-13 MAR Bath Decorative & Antiques Fair Delectable collectables and furniture • Pavilion, North Parade Rd, Bath (01225 742240, www. bathdecorativeantiquesfair. co.uk)
FAMILY
what’son Celebrate the launch of the Family Theatre Festival with a day of family fun, from theatre tours with the Natural Theatre Company to ballroom dancing, dressing up, art and more • Theatre Royal Bath, Sawclose (01225 448844, www. theatreroyal.org.uk) 22 FEB Dino Discovery Family day in conjunction with Bristol University – become a paleontologist for an hour, excavating dinosaur bones and learning about Bristol’s very own Thecodontosaurus Antiquus • Arnos Vale Cemetery, Bath Rd, Bristol (0117 971 9117, www.arnosvale. org.uk) 24 FEB Brilliant Birdfeeders Discover the birds living on the Downs, play games and make birdfeeders to take home. Ages 8-12 • Bristol Zoo Garden & the Downs (0117 903 0609)
OUT & ABOUT
EXHIBITIONS
UNTIL 27 FEB Winter Wonderland Huge seasonal attraction incorporating 1,000 square metre outdoor ice rink. Adv booking recommended • The Mall at Cribbs Causeway, Bristol (0117 903 0303, www. mallcribbs.com)
UNTIL MAY The Bang and Boom Show Expect bangs and blasts, flames and fizzes in a new show for ages 5-11 exploring the wonders of chemistry • At-Bristol, Anchor Rd, Harbourside (0845 345 1235, www.at-bristol.org.uk)
6 FEB Lunar New Year Fourth annual celebration of the Chinese new year, including music, martial arts, arts and crafts, fancy dress, face painting, traditional lion dance and more • Museum of East Asian Art, Bennett St, Bath (01225 464640, www.meaa.org. uk)
PERFORMANCE
12 FEB Nintendo Wii Tournament Did you get a Wii for Christmas? Show off your skills at this tournament where you’ll also be able to hire the library’s new range of games • Bristol Central Library, College Green (0117 903 7200)
22-27 FEB The Nutcracker Return of 2008’s acclaimed and magical The Nutcracker as part of the Family Theatre Festival, now staged in the larger Main House • Theatre Royal Bath, Sawclose (01225 448844, www. theatreroyal.org.uk)
23 FEB Gruesome Greens: Stories from the Galley Thrilling stories told on board Brunel’s great ship • SS Great Britain, Great Western Dockyard, Bristol (0117 926 0680, www.ssgreatbritain.org) 20 FEB FTF: The Big Day In
22-26 FEB Three Little Pigs Stuff & Nonsense Theatre Company deliver their brand new retelling of the favourite children’s story. Ages 3-7 • Tobacco Factory, Southville, Bristol (0117 902 0344, www. tobaccofactory.com)
26-27 FEB Rawums Awardwinning exploration of gravity from Berlin-based company Florshutz & Dohnurt, for children aged 2-5. Family Theatre Festival • The Egg, St John’s Place, Bath (01225 448844, www.theatreroyal.org. uk)
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food&drink chinese new year
Year of the Rabbit l Chinese New Year is the most important of the Chinese holidays, a time of feasting with the family, celebration, fireworks and gift-giving. With the Chinese calendar being based on the lunar year, the date of Chinese New Year changes every year. The Chinese calendar follows a 12-year pattern with each year named after an animal - the story goes that Buddha invited all the animals to join him for a new year celebration, but only 12 animals turned up. To reward those that did come, Buddha named a year after each of them in the order in which they arrived - the Rat, followed by the Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat (or Sheep), Monkey, Rooster, Dog and Pig. Depending on the year you’re born, you’re believed to possess the various character traits of that year’s animal. In the run-up to Chinese New Year, homes are spring-cleaned to sweep away the previous year’s bad luck, and, on the first day of
the new year, brooms and dustpans are put away and never used, in case the new year’s good luck is swept away. The most spectacular event is the Lion Dance, which takes place throughout the first few days of the Chinese New Year, bringing good luck to the households or businesses it visits. And ‘lucky’ dishes - bearing names synonymous with Chinese words for things like money, luck and fortune - are enjoyed by families and friends the world over. The dish of braised pigs’ trotters, for example, means ‘lucky hands’ in Chinese. You can enjoy dishes like these, plus many more, during the festive period at Bristol restaurants Dynasty and Zen, along with traditional Lion Dances during evening dinner. Dynasty 16a St Thomas St, Bristol. Ffi: 0117 925 0888, www.dynasty-bristol.co.uk Zen Harbourside 1st Floor, Explore Lane, Bristol. Ffi: 0117 920 9370, www. zenharbourside.co.uk
michelin star
Shock tactics l “There was lots of screaming and apparently I went quite white!” a shocked Josh Eggleton told reporters. “I actually feel sick – I don’t even know if I deserve this,” said the 27-yearold head chef at Chew Magna’s Pony and Trap, shortly after hearing that his small village pub, serving mainly locally sourced food, is now one of only 10 pubs in the country with a coveted Michelin star. A mile from the village centre, the pub is a family affair - owned by Josh and his parents, with his sister front of house and his brother helping behind the bar – that churns its own butter, rears its own pigs and makes its own black pudding. Former City of Bristol College student Josh started cooking in local pubs at age 17, worked at Bristol’s Olive Shed restaurant, then won a Gordon Ramsay college
scholarship in 2003. He took over the Pony and Trap three years later. Josh knew he’d had a few visits from the ‘anonymous’ Michelin inspectors last year – “I could just tell they were from Michelin!” - but assumed it was simply because they were in the area. “This is a simple pub serving simple food. On a typical Saturday night, we do 60 covers and 30 of those are steaks. We use the best beef, triple-cook the chips and slow-roast the tomatoes. We’re not going to change anything now that we’ve won the star, because we won it for what we’ve already been doing.” Pony & Trap Knowle Hill, Newtown, Chew Magna, Bristol. Ffi: 01275 332627, www. theponyandtrap.co.uk
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food&drink tasty treats
whole lot of baking romantic dining
Food of love l One of our favourite Bath eateries, the homely Hole in the Wall, is wooing diners with a couple of saucy offers over the Valentine’s period. Its Valentine’s Day menu, coming it at just £39.95, offers sexy starters including Cornish lobster and crayfish ravioli (with saffron, lemongrass and chervil veloute) or wild boar scotch egg with homemade tomato ketchup. For a main, why not share a rib of 21 day-aged Somerset beef to share with fondant potato and béarnaise sauce, or herb-crusted saddle of lamb with shallot and rosemary puree, with Old Winchester crisp (it’s a parmesan-
like cheese made in England, we’re told). Those preferring a great value but not necessarily romantic meal can enjoy three courses for a remarkable £10 most days and evenings of the week (only Friday and Saturday evening after 7pm is exempt from this offer, while the restaurant is closed all Sunday and Monday daytime). Remember, all ingredients are seasonal and freshly sourced by chef Philip Roseblade. Hole in the Wall 16 George Street, Bath, Ffi: 01225 425242, www.theholeinthewall.co.uk
l Everyone loves cup cakes, it’s a universal law. Even more so in the last few years, it seems, which have seen an explosion in the appreciation of iced baked delicacies. Cup cakes have become every fashionista’s favourite edible accessory and baking them the trendy hobby du jour. Now, those with sweet teeth in the west can get their fix on speed-dial from Bristol’s cupcake bake ‘n’ delivery service Kiss Me Cake. Owner Ally Bradley bakes inventive flavours in small batches with locally sourced produce. No artificial ingredients or preservatives here! Clearly crazy about cupcakes, Ally’s deliciously, diverse menu ranges from classics like Lemon & Poppy and Cheesy Blueberry to the more unusual (but just as delicious) Beetroot or Courgette. Truly scrumptious.
[10
Kiss Me Cake Ffi: 07926 983 189, www.kiss-me-cake.co.uk
magic bar
Abracadabra! l Illusions Magic Bar is truly one of a kind. No other venue in the UK – apart from its Manchester counterpart – conjures this unique blend of magic, music and mix of choices behind the bar. Astounding live magic shows are performed here by some of the best local and international talent on the circuit, while soloists recast your favourite songs on the bar’s centrepiece – a baby grand piano. Inspired by theatrical vaudevillian entertainment, Illusions aims to create an experience like no other. Manager Matthew Fraser explains: “We want to extract an emotional reaction from the customer.” And the comical, outgoing and downright captivating team of entertainers manage to do this effortlessly. You’ll be astounded not just by the mystifying, sleightof-hand trickery, but by the fantastic range of cocktails on offer, too. Muddled, shaken and frozen drinks are available, alongside classics such as Sex on the Beach, the Woo Woo, mojitos and daiquiris. So many high-street bars are one-trick ponies, offering little more than booze and a place to sit. Illusions Magic Bar is so much more than that. Treat yourself to one of the most dazzling entertainment experiences in Bristol tonight. Illusions Magic Bar 2 Byron Place, Clifton, Bristol. Ffi: 0117 909 3405, www.illusionsmagicbar.co.uk
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Lebanese Cuisine 95 Queens Rd, Clifton, Bristol, BS8 1LW 0117 9739734 info@sandsrestaurant.co.uk www.sandsrestaurant.co.uk
Arabian Nights
Enjoy an evening of Eastern Promise Thursday 24th February ÂŁ16.95 per person An opportunity to try lots of different dishes in true Lebanese style. A Mezza which includes several hot and cold dishes, followed by a main course. Lebanese sweets and Arabic coffee. Includes Live Belly Dancing.
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feature
Love at first sight Melissa Blease makes a date at the West’s most amorous destinations Best for: Impressing a new date… or spoiling your long-term love Breathtakingly pretty surroundings, fabulous entertainment and menus that seethe with seductive flavours: Bristol’s Byzantium has the whole V-Day thing sewn up. This year’s lasciviously loved-up Valentine’s Day menu is subtly strewn with aphrodisiacal taste-bud teasers (visit the website for a sneak preview) and costs just £39.95pp, including a glass of bubbly. Alternatively, consider floating on down to Glassboat, where spectacular views of the river, attentive service, perfect presentation and fabulous food combine to offer a memorable romantic experience. The folk at the helm of the restaurant known locally as The Love Boat (countless knottying experiences have begun - and been officiated over - here) hadn’t quite finalised their V-Day menus at the time of going to press, but Folio can confidently guarantee a stylishly soppy experience for all.
This picture and inset: Casanis - "a mini-oasis of Gallic delight"
Best for: Cosy chic All those who have eaten at Casanis - a minioasis of Gallic delight tucked away on one of the prettiest lanes in Bath - claim that chef Laurent Couvreur’s seductive, authentic French menus easily beat music to the number one spot in the Food of Love stakes. Also floating high at the top of the same chart comes No.5 Restaurant: a warm, welcoming, home-from-home experience just a short stroll from the weir at the heart of the Heritage City. This Valentine’s Day, No.5 are offering a sumptuous three-course spread at £34.95pp and a totally treatsome six-course tasting menu at £39.95pp, including champagne. Still in Bath, the recently refurbished Nineteenth House elegantly elevates the classic gastropub experience to genteel, romantic heights, while Bristol residents should divert their loved one’s attentions to Juniper, where chef/proprietor Nick Kleiner’s menus blend a diversity of flavours with technical finesse in contempo-cosy surroundings.
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food&drink
Glamorous gourmet food at The Olive Tree
Best for: Modern lovers It may be new to Bristol, but Cote Brasserie has already swiftly established itself as a cheerful, affordable classic French cuisine hotspot. Menus run the whole Parisian brasserie gamut from moules marinières and steak tartare to duck confit, boeuf bourguignon and creme brulée, all served up in cosy but contemporary surroundings. The Clifton Lido, meanwhile, cleverly combines a spa with a restaurant and poolside bar to create a chic, unique chill-out zone that appeals to all the senses. For a full-on V-Day flourish, treat you and your loved one to a spa package (starting at £40pp) before relaxing over a sexy, sumptuous supper.
Juniper blends flavours and finesse
Best for: Romantic retreats Set in 500 acres of private grounds six miles east of Bath and featuring a Michelin star/triple AA rosette-winning restaurant, a recently refurbished, super-stylish brasserie, sumptuous spa facilities and some seriously luxurious bedrooms, Lucknam Park Hotel and Spa is a romantic dream come true. Or get away from it all at the super-sexy sanctuary that is Bannatyne’s Charlton House Spa Hotel, chief ‘Dragon’ Duncan Bannatyne’s deliciously decadent hideaway den. Best for: Gourmet bling Sweet, chic and home to a sexy, stylish cocktail bar (The Old Q) to kickstart your passionate proceedings, triple AA rosette winner the Olive Tree at the Queensberry Hotel offers glamorous gourmet food courtesy of Nicholas Brodie, one of the West Country’s most highly regarded chefs. Meanwhile, the Dower House at the Royal Crescent Hotel - nestling at the heart of one of the UK’s most iconic architectural vistas - is offering an unforgettable February 14 feast: enjoy five courses and a glass of fizz in graceful, elegant surroundings for £95pp. Dining doesn’t get much finer than this. Best for: Adventurous tastes Super-pretty, super-atmospheric and totally, utterly away-from-it-all exotic, Sands - Clifton’s long-standing tavern of temptation - serves up authentic Lebanese exotica in twinkly, candlelit surroundings. Vegetarians with a heart, meanwhile, will swoon at the delectable delights on offer at the award-winning Cafe Maitreya, where menus thrum with vibrant, imaginative, innovative meat-free delights in chic’n’cheerful surroundings.
Contacts Bannatyne’s Charlton House Spa Hotel Shepton Mallet, Somerset. Ffi: 01749 342008, www. bannatyne.co.uk/hotel/charltonhouse Byzantium 2 Portwall Lane, Bristol. Ffi: 0117 922 1883, www.byzantium.co.uk Cafe Maitreya 89 St Marks Rd, Easton, Bristol. Ffi: 0117 951 0100, www.cafemaitreya.co.uk Casanis 4 Saville Row, Bath. Ffi: 01225 780055, www.casanis.co.uk Cote Brasserie 27 The Mall, Clifton, Bristol. Ffi: 0117 970 6779, www.cote-restaurants.co.uk Dower House at the Royal Crescent Hotel 16 Royal Crescent, Bath. Ffi: 01225 823333, www. royalcrescent.co.uk Glassboat Welsh Back, Bristol. Ffi: 0117 929 0704, www.glassboat.co.uk Juniper 21 Cotham Rd South, Cotham, Bristol. Ffi: 0117 942 1744, www.juniperrestaurant.co.uk Lido Oakfield Place, Clifton, Bristol. Ffi: 0117 933 9530 (general enquiries)/933 9533 (restaurant), www.lidobristol.com Lucknam Park Hotel & Spa Colerne, Wilts. Ffi: 01225 742777, www.lucknampark.co.uk Nineteenth House 19 St James’s Parade, Bath. Ffi: 01225 447728, www.thenineteenthhouse.com No.5 Restaurant 5 Argyle St, Bath, BA2. Ffi: 01225 444499, www.no5restaurant.co.uk Olive Tree at the Queensberry Hotel 4-7 Russell St, Bath. Ffi: 01225 447928, www.thequeensberry. co.uk Sands 95 Queens Rd, Clifton, Bristol. Ffi: 0117 973 9734, www.sandsrestaurant.co.uk
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food review
food&drink
Casanis
Bath’s answer to Michel Roux treats Melissa Blease to some winter sun
G
loomy weather, cashflow crises, rubbish TV: right now, the ‘good times’ thermometer is struggling to raise much above freezing. Strolling through Bath in search of a succour supper does little to raise the spirits, either - the Heritage City’s main drag is becoming increasingly dominated by bland, Big Name franchises offering carefully scripted ‘warm welcomes’ and superficially cheerful, poundstretching deals that actually amount to little more than the opportunity to scoff an overpriced souped-up supermarket ready meal in an overhyped souped-up supermarket setting. But I wouldn’t dream of opening a review with such a miserable rant if I weren’t confident about being able to offer an uplifting antidote to raise the spirits - and all but the grumpiest of grouches could fail to find the Casanis experience uplifting. Occupying one of the prettiest buildings on one of Bath’s most picturesque traffic-free lanes, Casanis offers exemplary, authentic French bistro food in elegant but gently informal surroundings. Styling within this softly lit haven of bonhomie represents that quintessentially Gallic sense of effortless good taste: pristine white tablecloths set with twinkling tableware and strewn with sprigs of lavender prove how stunning simplicity can be, and even Michel Roux couldn’t fail to be impressed by the utterly charming service, from warm welcome to bonsoir. This being February, it’s also worth mentioning that Casanis hereby wins my award for Most Romantic Restaurant in Bath: intimate without being cloying, a table for two here offers a dream-date fantasy made flesh. We started our Mediterranean cruise with a salmon escabeche special for Him and a tarte aux fruits de mer for me, chosen from an a la carte menu that gracefully covers all taste bases. Having been marinated in a lively melange of classic sweet and sour flavours before being pan-fried to crispy-skinned perfection, his salmon came served at room temperature and teamed with a lightly dressed potato salad, resulting in a uniquely refreshing tastebud-tingler. My tart, meanwhile, came as a generous slice from a proper, full-sized mamma rather than the fiddly, dinky doll’s house version usually relied upon for starter format. As a result, the resoundingly fresh flavours (crab and crayfish, drizzled with a luxurious tarragon mayonnaise) dominated the crisp pastry case rather than the other way round - many chefs could learn from this example. Talking of which... Our supper was rustled up by chef Laurent Couvreur, who shares head-honcho duties with his wife Jill. While Jill keeps front-of-house
operations running smoothly, Laurent - a southern French kitchen maestro who undertook stints at the Ritz in London and the spiffy Manor House in Castle Combe before establishing his own showcase hob on Saville Row - flaunts menu magic as evident in our main courses as they were at the perfect start. Pan-fried cod on a creamy, dreamy crayfish risotto drizzled with butter sauce and served with wilted spinach was a well-balanced, sumptuous blend of magnificently fresh flavours, while loin of lamb translated into a neat bundle of soft, melting, velvety slices bathed in a deeply savoury jus and teamed with dauphinoise potatoes - rich, smooth and moreish enough to make any dieter chuck those new year resolutions straight out of the fenêtre. Could there possibly be more to rave about? Oh yes indeed. The classic tarte au pommes and real vanilla ice-cream that He plumped at pudding time, for example, or my own dish of proper chocolate ice-cream seething with chocolate chips. Or the wine: a merlot (the house wine, as it happens) that set a standard by which all merlots will now be judged, or the snifter of Laurent’s homemade orange liqueur, made to his grandmother’s recipe, that came unbidden with our puds. Oh, and the fresh French bread way back at the start, another gratis treat in a feast that came in at around £75 inclusive of total blues-beating therapy. Now that’s what I call très magnifique.
Contacts Casanis 4 Saville Row, Bath Tel: 01225 780055 Web: www.casanis.co.uk
Pan-fried cod on a creamy, dreamy crayfish risotto was a sumptuous blend of fresh flavours
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25/01/2011 15:14:06
food review
food&drink
Côte Brasserie
Mike Gartside rediscovers simple French cuisine in the heart of Clifton
T
he idyll of French dining has been reinvented in so many ways over the years it’s hard to imagine how a new establishment could come up with an undiscovered take. But if anyone can do it, foodie entrepreneur Richard Caring, owner of The Ivy and Le Caprice in London and the Soho House group (to name just a part of his empire) can. Clifton’s new Côte Brasserie is the latest in a burgeoning chain of restaurants which has reached most points south of Birmingham, doing what all successful enterprises do when economic times are a little rough: get back to basics. Gone are the frivolous mousses, the haute cuisine and the fancy culinary experiments of the last decade. In their place are the timeless classics with simple ingredients served in generous portions: the sort of thing you might find on an Offre de €9 at any lunchtime eaterie between Lille and Perpignan. So moules marinières, steak tartare, boeuf bourguignon and plats rapides like steak frites and poulet grillé are par for the course, although the mystique of French cuisine is maintained by several duck and goat’s cheese dishes. After settling at a table for two, She perched on a leather banquette set against archetypal mirrored walls, Myself able to gaze lovingly... over her shoulder, observing all the restaurant activity without having to arch round or look nosey, we are struck by a severe bout of indecision when faced by the mouthwatering choices. In the end we order starters and leave our options open for the mains: I’m going for steak tartare, finely chopped raw beef mixed with shallots, capers, cornichons, egg yolk and cognac and my other half orders the seared scallops with frisée salad, bacon lardons and a warm Puy lentil, tomato and garlic dressing. We also opt for a glass each of delicious and crisp sauvignon blanc from Gascony. It’s clear that Caring’s vision has made its presence known in the kitchen: the beef is tender and melts in the mouth, contrasting with the tartness of the shallots and capers, creating a taste that is somehow both comforting and scintillating. The scallops are sizzled beautifully, offering a slight pop of resistance before yielding the softness inside, while the Puy lentils give the dish extra body. Mopped up with Cote’s crusty, springy bread (or, in the case of the steak tartare, a deliciously crunchy toast) we are starting to remember all that’s great about
French cooking when it’s served in a business-like and unfussy way. The mains continue the theme – I am served a minute steak that manages to overlap my plate without being obtrusive or too daunting, served with a cone of frites. It is cooked to perfection, still slightly pink in the middle, with a knob of garlic butter melting in the centre. It carves up splendidly and I’m able to shovel it up in large chunks, spearing a few hapless crunchy fries along the way. We’ve ordered a couple of side dishes – crisp French runner beans and a meltingly delicious creamed spinach, which both go wonderfully. My partner’s boeuf bourguignon boasts all the qualities you’d expect of this classic dish: tender meat and rich mushrooms in a wholesome stew awash with deep wine flavours. It’s served with a creamy mash with a hint of fennel and garnished with an unusual touch – a heart-shaped piece of fried bread – planned perfectly for Valentine’s, no doubt. Needless to say, the desserts – a crème brulée and a tartes aux pommes (a perfectly judged breath of whispery, apple-y confection) - are impeccable too. We leave with a sense of bien-être that simple French cuisine has been restored to its rightful place in the world.
Contacts Côte Brasserie 27 The Mall, Clifton, Bristol Tel: 0117 970 6779 Web: www.cote-restaurants.co.uk/ Cote_Bristol.html
The boeuf bourguignon boasts all the qualities you’d expect of this classic dish: tender meat and rich mushrooms in a wholesome stew awash with deep wine flavours.
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Spend your Valentine’s somewhere special - Dynasty. Great Food • Great Service • Great Atmosphere • Valentine’s Set Dinner £26 inc Dinner, Champagne & Gift for Her
Come Celebrate our New Year Year of the Rabbit 2011 3rd - 6th February
Traditional Lion Dances + Special Chinese New Year Dishes Booking is essential!!!
Open daily Monday to Saturday 12pm-11.30pm Sunday | 12pm-10.30pm
• Large Party Offers • Choice of menus from £22 to £45 all inclusive • After dinner karaoke entertainment from 11pm • Fully licensed late night bar to 2am • Up to 400 people with private party rooms available • Gourmet European Set Dinners also available Dynasty voted one of the top five Chinese restaurants in the country.
Dynasty Restaurant 16a St. Thomas Street | Bristol | BS1 6JJ
Tel | 0117 925 0888
Dynasty Restaurant | 16a St. Thomas Street | Bristol | BS1 6JJ Tel | 0117 925 0888
EXPERIENCE ZEN
CHI NEW 3rd FE
Come an with us of th
at Bristol Harbourside
Enjoy views over Millenium Square with one of our delicious cocktails in the opulence of ZENBar. Drink offers throughout the week.
50% off a la carte main courses Sunday - Wednesday evenings. Excludes 2nd - 5th and 12th - 14th February. Must book a table and present this advert. Terms & conditions apply. Please phone 0117 9209370 for details
1ST FLOOR, HARBOURSIDE, EXPLORE LANE, BRISTOL BS1 5TY
0845 371 3888 | 0117 920 9372 WWW.ZENHARBOURSIDE.CO.UK INFO@ZENHARBOURSIDE.CO.UK
e’s Special Valentinpa gne dinner with Cham 6pp only & gift for her - £2 limited tables
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25/01/2011 10:15:22
VALENTINES AT
ALFREDS STARTERS
Duck rillette, pan fried duck, apple coulis & crostini Pan fried scallops, crispy maple bacon, pea purée & mint oil Roquefort & caramelised chicory tatin with red onion marmalade
MAINS
Fillet of beef, pomme anna, sundried tomatoes & salsa verdé Pan fried monkfish, crab cigar, broadbeans & peas, beurre blanc Spinach & roasted vegetable rotolo, sautéed wild mushrooms & sage beurre noisette
DESSERTS
Roasted fig tart & creme anglaise Chocolate fondant with sablé biscuits Crépes with glazed strawberrys & mascarpone Traditional French cheeses & homemade accompaniments 2 courses: £18.50 3 courses: £22.50
“A bustling and vibrant traditional pub with a twist”
For bookings/enquirys, please phone alfreds on:
01179 443 060 * Early bird bookings: (5pm til 7.45pm) get 10% off the bill 40 Alfred Place, Kingsdown, Bristol
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26/01/2011 13:12:44
recipe Daniel Edwards Age: 31 Nationality: British Restaurant: The Cork l Daniel started his career at
Bournemouth Catering College and soon found a home as commis chef at the seaside town’s Palace Court Hotel. It wasn’t long before he moved onwards and upwards with a move to Bath, becoming demi chef at The Royal Bath Hotel, followed by experience gained at the Hilton, Loch Fyne and the Queensberry before moving to his current home. With 16 years of hard work behind him, Dan has been The Cork’s head chef for just under a year now, creating a firm new culture in cooking, training, ingredient sourcing and menu design, all based on ‘British cuisine with a modern twist’. Dan and his team have developed yet another new twiceseasonal menu to satisfy The Cork’s welcoming clientele, and there’s also, of course, the extra special date of 14 February on which to savour the experience at what is surely Bath’s venue of the year, and one that will continue to prosper.
Daniel Edwards at
The Cork
Address: 11-12 Westgate Buildings, Bath BA1 1EB Telephone: 01225 333582 Web: www.thecork.co.uk
I
f you’re looking for a pub with great food – somewhere to take your parents for Sunday lunch or simply drop in for a coffee and a chat - then The Cork is just the place for you. Or perhaps you’re after a chill-out with friends or want to party the night away? The Cork is the perfect venue for everyone. And if you want to enjoy a few alfresco beers while tucking into a plate of nibbles, then we’d suggest that The Cork would be a perfect choice yet again! With its trendy vault bar, smart outside terrace on one floor and neat gastro-pub and dining area on the other, The Cork has everything you could want from a city-centre establishment, whether you want a table for two or a whole floor hire for a special party or corporate function. Over the Christmas period, hundreds of people enjoyed a very special occasion at The Cork – one that would have made most city-centre restaurants green with envy. Food, courtesy of head chef Daniel Edwards and his excellent team, is based, where possible, on locally sourced produce, with menus changing twice a season. This is good-quality, robust British cooking, with crowd-
“Everything you could want from a city-centre establishment… this is goodquality, robust British cooking” pleasing favourites like steaks, burgers and pie of the day, and new additions like beef and ale stew, braised shoulder of lamb, roast pork loin and fish of the day, not forgetting quick lunchtime sandwiches, soup of the day, light bites and sharer plates. With Valentine’s Day fast approaching, now’s the time to experience the delights of Dan’s food and The Cork’s ambience, but don’t forget that you can have your own private time throughout the year. Enjoy!
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Food profile DPS (Cork) 193.indd 2
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25/01/2011 15:21:52
food&drink
Pan-fried sea bass with crab & spring onion potato cake, sautĂŠed green beans and asparagus, served with tomato fondue Ingredients Serves 4 Main ingredients: 8 fresh fillets of sea bass 8 asparagus spears 8oz green beans, topped & tailed salt, black pepper, butter, olive oil For the potato cakes: 1lb potatoes 4oz crab meat 4 spring onions, chopped 1 shallot, diced 2 tbsp coriander, chopped zest of 1 lemon juice of half a lemon 1 tbsp olive oil butter plain flour salt, black pepper For the tomato fondue: 2 tbsp olive oil 1 white onion, sliced 1 garlic clove, crushed 6 tomatoes, peeled 1 tsp fresh mint, chopped 1 tsp fresh basil, chopped salt, black pepper, sugar, balsamic vinegar To make Crab & spring onion potato cakes: Peel and roughly chop potatoes. Boil in saucepan, drain, mash. Add butter, season to taste. Set aside in a mixing bowl, allow to
cool. Once potato is cool enough to handle, add spring onions, shallot, coriander, crab meat, lemon zest and juice. Mix by hand, shape into 4 potato cakes (approx 1.5in thick) and lightly flour. Heat oil in frying pan, cook for approx 3 mins on each side until golden brown. Finish by cooking in a preheated oven [220ÂşC] for a further 5-8 mins. Tomato fondue: Heat oil in saucepan. Add onions and garlic, cover and sweat on low heat until soft. Slice the peeled tomatoes, add to pan. Season with, salt, pepper and sugar to taste. Add basil and mint, cover and cook for 10 mins. Remove lid and cook for a further 5-10 mins until tomatoes soften. Add a few drops of balsamic vinegar at the end of cooking to enhance the flavour. Sea bass, green beans & asparagus: Prepare saucepan of boiling water. Add green beans and asparagus, blanch for 2-3 mins. Remove from heat, refresh in cold water. Drain and place veg in hot frying pan with some butter, cook for a further 3-5 mins. For the fish, lightly season and place skin side down in hot frying pan with some olive oil. Cook for approx 5-6 mins until skin is golden brown. Turn fillet over, add a little butter and some lemon juice, cook for a further 2 mins until fish is cooked through. Arrange veg, potato cake, fish and tomato fondue on a plate in an attractive manner and finish with a wedge of lemon.
Recommended... A complex and full-flavoured dish that demands a wine that can keep up, a role admirably assumed by this aromatic Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand's famed Marlborough region. By adding a zesty focus to the fleshy sea bass; complementing the tomato fondue and green vegetables; and offering contrasting citrus notes to partner the satisfying crab & spring onion potato cake; this wine beautifully ties the elements together and provides a refreshing backdrop to the dish. Ffi: www.matthewclark.co.uk
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Food profile DPS (Cork) 193.indd 3
25/01/2011 15:22:08
lifestyle spa packages
Time for two l If you’re after one of the hottest spa treats in town this month, Thermae Bath Spa’s ‘Time for Two’ is a perfect gift for Valentine’s Day. The popular Time for Two package (£180 per couple) allows two people to spend time relaxing together at the UK’s only natural thermal spa, complete with rooftop pool. Along with a luxurious four-hour spa session, the package includes a warming Kraxen Stove treatment and a choice of one of three soothing treatments for couples: Watsu for Two, a Couples Traditional FullBody Massage (pictured), or a Couples Thermae Facial. Guests having the Time for Two package can also enjoy a twocourse meal in the recently refurbished Springs Restaurant. With a constantly evolving menu designed for both the health conscious and those who just want a little indulgence, the choice of food is wide and varied. The majority of produce is sourced
locally and dishes are freshly prepared and cooked on the premises. The winter menu includes mouthwatering hot dishes like rump of English lamb roasted with Moroccan spices, and salads such as warm salad of hot smoked Scottish salmon with winter leaves, caper pesto and a drizzled lemon, apple and chervil dressing. All the spa packages, including the Time for Two, can be purchased as a gift voucher from the new Thermae Bath Spa shop or online via the website. Thermae Bath Spa & Shop Hot Bath St, Bath. Reservations: 0844 888 0844, web: www.thermaebathspa.com
venue
Park life l Tracy Park certainly has a lot to offer… the perfect spot in which to get married, a championship course golf resort, boutique hotel, unique dining experience and picturesque conference venue. And judging by the awards that keep coming their way, they appear to be excelling on all fronts. Not only has the golf resort received an HSBC Gold Award for one of their two 18-hole courses, and the hotel a Breakfast Award from enjoyengland.com, but the Oakwood restaurant has also been awarded two highly prestigious AA rosettes, courtesy of charismatic head chef Phil Clench and his sourcing of local, seasonal ingredients, conjured up in a woodstone oven in the open-plan kitchen. “It’s not just golfers and diners who can enjoy the delights of Tracy Park,” says the resort’s Richard Goodwin. “With a Jacobean mansion and gardens sitting in 240 acres of Cotswold countryside, it’s a picture-perfect wedding setting for any would-be brides and grooms.” With its excellent transport links – just 10 minutes from Bath and 20 from Bristol - this is an ideal country location. Tracy Park Hotel, Golf & Country Club Bath Rd, Wick, nr Bath, BS30. Ffi: 0117 937 1800, www.theparkresort.com
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25/01/2011 17:15:39
lifestyle hair
Smooth operators l As we all know, getting hair looking well groomed and glossy can often involve aching arms and copious amounts of smoothing potions. Step in SeanHanna’s Brazilian Blowdry, the ultimate hair-taming service. The Brazilian Blowdry (often called a permanent blowdry) uses a heatsealed, keratin-based formula to convert curly or thick, unruly hair types into a state of low-maintenance smoothness for 12 long weeks, taking the chore out of daily styling. And unlike chemical straighteners, the Brazilian Blowdry doesn’t make your hair poker-straight - you can still opt for a full-bodied look or add curls or waves for a glam night out, while your hair stays smooth and frizz-free. And if you have your hair coloured first, the Brazilian Blowdry will lock in the colour, too. Just book yourself a consultation to find out if the service is right for you and your tresses. SeanHanna Quakers Friars Square, Cabot Circus, Bristol. Ffi: 0117 934 9393, www. seanhanna.com
bootcamp
healthy hideaway l Has the jogging become joyless and the gym just a grind? You need to take a few days off and throw yourself into a regime that will leave you eager to really sustain that fitness drive. Folio has discovered one such establishment just over the Severn Bridge, on the gorgeous Gower peninsular, which will reconnect you with the remoter parts of your body. Refocus Fitness runs a number of “boot camp” style breaks at The Gower’s luxury Oldwalls Leisure facility, designed to suit every fitness ability from the serial sportsperson to the couch potato. There’s sure to be a residential break to suit you, from the Weight Loss Boot Camp (from one to five days) to the Extreme Fitness Boot Camp or even a Bridal Boot Camp. Refocus Fitness Ffi: 01792 449858, www. refocusfitness.co.uk
Q&A
STEVE PARKER
Manager of Bristol men's hair mecca Barbering @ Franco's Twenty-six years and still going strong… So what’s new? Two years ago we had a massive refit, changing the ambience from oldschool barber-shop vibe to a more sleek, contemporary look. Franco [owner Franco Lombardi] and I also underwent further training with international hairdressers at London’s Toni&Guy Academy. We learned a lot of new tricks!
What styles are popular these days? The short-back-and-sides is still there, but our job is to lead people in the right direction. Some trendy places tell you what style to have, but we try to interpret what’s best for you. We’re postmetrosexual! It’s quite uncool to be over-manicured nowadays - blokes went through a period of being superstyled, but tend to be more edgy and individual now.
What does today’s man want from his haircut? Men are more particular about how they want their hair now. They’re more influenced by fashion, music, TV. It’s not just David Beckham who drives men’s hair any more – with Twitter and Facebook, information levels are much higher, and men are more influenced by so many different things. Even Franco’s is entering the internet age with a website coming soon (Google us!).
And what’s the damage? We want to give men what they could get at a high-end salon, but for a reasonable price - gent’s wash and cut from £12, express hot-towel shave from £12 or a luxury one from £18. Barbering @ Franco’s 63a Overton Rd, off Gloucester Rd, St Andrews, Bristol. Ffi: 0117 944 6265, Open Tue–Thur 9am-7pm, Fri 7.30am-7pm (Fri Breakfast Club: haircut, coffee & croissant from £12 till 9am), Sat 8am–4.30pm
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25/01/2011 17:16:15
Pale Blue womens clothing & other lovely things
E L A S E L A S E L A S SALE SALE SALE SALE spring collection coming soon! 14 Hill Rd Clevedon BS21 7NZ Tel 01275 874420
you... WE WANT TO HEAR FROM
Tell us about your big day or wedding plans; let us know all about the gorgeous dress you discovered or about that perfect venue. Ask us any questions you have about planning for your nuptials or share some useful tips of your own. Email the editor at h.mottram@bepp.co.uk and you could be gracing the pages of our next edition.
NEXT ISSUE OUT 4TH FEB 48 folio
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26/01/2011 13:20:58
shopping
lifestyle
Shop of the month Steve Wright gets a taste of London tailoring at Marc Wallace
C
haps! Cast your mind back to the last time you put on a suit and felt instantly comfortable and elegant, as if you were wearing a second skin. If the memory eludes you, the next time a wedding or formal occasion invitation pops through your door, why not indulge in a suit made by luxury gentlemen’s outfitters Marc Wallace in Bath? Cutting a dash in London for over a decade with his sharp tailoring and luxury accessories, Marc Wallace has recently opened up his second shop, right here in the centre of Bath. The shop follows the Marc Wallace signature style, emulating the vibe of the London shop, with stripped floors, soft lighting, vintage furniture and their signature red suede curtains. Marc Wallace Bath offers the same service as the London shop, with a full tailoring service, off-the-peg collection and accessories. New collections are unveiled each season using the latest luxury fabrics in an elegant palette of greys, blacks, browns, neutrals and blues: whatever the season, though, a Marc Wallace off-the-peg number will always look up to date and effortlessly classy.
However, if you prefer something completely unique, the made-tomeasure service will enable you to choose the fabric (think tweed, mohair, cashmere, linen and velvet for starters), lining, detailing and fit to suit your personal taste and build. Made-tomeasure suits start from £595. As well as suits, Marc Wallace stocks a range of his
own-design shirts, ties, waistcoats, shoes, underwear, shoes, socks, gifts and accessories, so for those of you who loathe shopping, this is your one-stop shop. And if you fall for a shirt or pair of shoes, perhaps, but your size isn’t in stock, Marc Wallace will arrange for said item to be delivered to the shop the next day, or alternatively posted directly to you with no postal charge. Need we say more? Marc Wallace 8 Edgar Buildings, George St, Bath. Ffi: 01225 466155, www.marcwallace.com (opening times Mon-Fri 10am-5.30pm, Sat 10-6pm, Sun by appointment only)
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Shop of the month (Lifestyle) 193.indd 3
26/01/2011 14:22:54
fashion
The look of love
1
Niki Whittle slips into something a little more luxurious
1 2 3
This lacy lovely is part of the stunning Tease collection, available from Bristol design house Fleur of England. Boudoir bra £81, brief £77. The Tease collection also gives us this beautiful kimono, £203, again from Bristol's Fleur of England.
We love this cheeky Bedrock Babydoll Wrap, available online at enamore.co.uk, £75. This Bathbased designer creates luxurious lingerie and accessories from the finest ecofriendly fabrics including organic cotton, bamboo, soya, hemp and natural silk.
4
This luxurious combo from Bath-based enamore.co.uk is made from stretch silk satin, trimmed with scalloped English lace and deep plum satin ribbons. This set screams sexy! Bra £70, knickers £34.
2
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Hannah Dulcie is a new luxury lingerie boutique in Bath. This beautifully made dress, £603, is part of their very sexy Bordelle collection. For those of you after something a little more saucy, you may like these cuffs, £99, again from the Bordelle collection at Hannah Dulcie. Lingerie boutique Pomegranate recently opened on Park Street in Bristol. The Tease Me collection is perfect for Valentines, currently stocked in green. Bra £28, shorts £15, thong £13.
8 9
Striptease set from Bristol’s Pomegranate Boutique. Bra £20, briefs £18, garter £10.
This beautiful corset is handmade by Bristol-based designer Emma Houghton. Perfect for the bedroom or a night out, it’s £170 from British Designers@Fashion Capital in Bath.
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Fashion 193.indd 2
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3 25/01/2011 15:15:46
lifestyle
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9 Contacts
8 Fashion 193.indd 3
British Designers@Fashion Capital 14-15 Milsom Place, Milsom St, Bath. Ffi: 01225 489009, www.fashioncapital.co.uk Enamore Ffi: www.enamore.co.uk Fleur of England 7 Zetland Rd, Redland, Bristol. Ffi: 0117 970 6701, www. fleurofengland.com Hannah Dulcie 13 Milsom Place, Milsom St, Bath. Ffi: 01225 489000, www. hannahdulcie.co.uk Pomegranate Boutique 30 Park St, Bristol. Ffi: 07908 405638, www. pomegranateboutique.co.uk
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beauty
lifestyle
Salon spy
The Orangery Rachel Nott experiences the new Laserlift at this bijou Bath salon
W
hat’s it like? Tucked away at the end of quiet, pedestrianised Kingsmead Street, this small and intimate salon is bright and welcoming inside, with a nail bar and two treatment rooms upstairs. Downstairs, through the pretty covered courtyard, you’ll find a spray tanning booth and two more treatment rooms. This outdoor area has recently, and very successfully, been refurbished and manages to achieve a clever indoors/ outdoors feel with tinkling water feature, crunchy stones and flourishing plants. What’s on offer? A range of laser treatments using IPL (Intense Pulsed Light), which is effective for permanent hair reduction, facial thread vein removal, skin rejuvenation, wrinkle reduction and acne. This well-established beauty salon also offers an extensive range of Guinot facials, mani- and pedicures, waxing, body treatments, microdermabrasion, semi-permanent make-up, teeth whitening and even food allergy and vitamin and mineral testing. And this is the place in Bath to roll back the years with a wide range of injectable fillers from Restylane to Juvederm. These nonsurgical facial rejuvenators are provided by ‘London Lip Queen’ Dr Rita Rakus, who regularly leaves her busy Knightsbridge practice to tend to the faces of the Orangery’s discerning clientele. What did we try? The Orangery’s brand new Laserlift treatment, aimed at anyone who isn’t keen on the idea of needles, yet wishes to regain a youthful plumpness to their face while softening lines and wrinkles. If the thought of lasers on your face seems terrifying (Folio was a little anxious, too, and needed her fears allaying by the patiently soothing Lynnsay), we can happily report that it’s completely painless and actually rather relaxing. In one of the cosy treatment rooms downstairs, Lynnsay began by cleansing my face of make-up and applying a mildly exfoliating glycolic cleanser to prepare the skin for treatment. One side of my face was gently steamed to open up the pores, then a hyaluronic serum was applied to this side and massaged in. Hyaluronic Acid (HA) is a naturally occurring substance in the deeper layers of our skin that helps to keep it smooth and plump. As we age, HA reduces – by 40 the proportion of HA in the skin has already halved, so this process helps to recreate the effect of a more youthful, plumped-up dermis. Eyewear in place for both me and Lynnsay, she began the cold laser treatment, holding the device gently against small areas of my skin for a few seconds before moving onto another area at the
sound of a beep. Meanwhile the machine chirruped merrily beside us like a chaffinch performing a solo dawn chorus. I felt relaxed throughout the five-minute procedure, only finding the red light a little uncomfortably bright at times. Whenever this happened, Lynnsay would swiftly move the laser away from my eye area. The same procedure was then carried out on the other side of my face. To finish, Lynnsay applied skin-nourishing Ultrox cream, followed by green tea moisturiser with SPF30 to protect from the sun’s UV rays. I was delighted to see results in the mirror already – although subtle, my cheeks looked clearly plumper and lines had a much softer appearance. Just imagine what eight sessions could do! After one Laserlift treatment (£85), the results can be expected to last for around a week. An eight-session course is recommended, with benefits lasting around eight to 12 weeks. After this a top-up treatment is recommended every six weeks.
Why come here? From body polishing to Botox, there’s a treatment with your name on it at the Orangery. Salon owner Suzannah is continually on the lookout for innovative yet well-researched treatments that she can add to the salon’s already impressive repertoire. And having Dr Rakus’ expertise on hand is a major coup… Any special offers? Throughout February a course of eight sessions of Laserlift is being offered for £390 instead of the usual £560.
Contacts
The Orangery Laser & Beauty Clinic 2 Kingsmead St, Bath. Ffi: 01225 466851, www. theorangerylaserclinicbath.co.uk
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Hypnotherapy Stephanie Burton Claire Brigg
Professional Clinical Hypnotherapy with established Clifton Practice Hypnotherapists
Stephanie Burton DHP MNCH (ACC) www.cliftonhypnotherapy.co.uk • 07915158089
The Anti-Ageing face lift Discover the scientific non surgical solution to unattractive facial lines and wrinkles giving you a Natural Face Lift that visibily works!
£170 OFF
Claire Brigg BSc (hons) MEd DHP www.clairebrigg.com • 07984305239
NEW! Hypnotherapy Weight Management Course This weekly small group course provides you with the tools you need for long term weight management Information & support from personal trainer
Laser lift
Starts Tuesday 1st March 6.30 pm at The Clifton Practice for six weeks
Please email or telephone to reserve a space*
Email: info@cliftonhypnotherapy.co.uk • Tel: 07984305239
with this advert
until end of Feb 2011
• Painless • No Needles • Zero side effects • No Recovery Period • Quick Results • Affordable
*Special Offer -
Normally £180 but book The Clifton Practice 15th February for 8-10 Whiteladies Road by price of £150. Clifton BS8 1PD www.thecliftonpractice.co.uk
No.2 Kingsmead Street, Bath BA1 2AA Tel: (01225) 466851 www.theorangerylaserclinicbath.co.uk
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health
lifestyle
Back on track You’re in safe hands at Bristol’s Sport and Orthopaedic Clinic
T
he Sport and Orthopaedic Clinic Bristol comprises eight experienced consultant orthopaedic and trauma surgeons who offer a wide range of specialist interests, in particular hip, foot and ankle, knee, and shoulder and elbow for orthopaedic and sports injury problems. The clinic is based at the Spire Hospital, The Glen in Bristol, where all the surgeons hold new and follow-up consultations as well as operating lists for day cases and inpatients. Some hold clinics at other venues in Bristol and in London. SOC prides itself on being able to provide easy access to specialist assessment, investigations and treatment for patients of all ages. They treat sports injuries in professionals and amateurs, middle-aged aches and pains and degenerative conditions such as arthritis. As well as careful expert advice about conservative non-operative management of symptoms, the clinic has excellent relationships with local musculoskeletal radiologists for accurate investigations in the form of X-rays, ultrasound, CT and MRI scans.
aesthetic treatments
Mirror, mirror l Following our November interview with Beautology’s Dr Natalya Quandt, the Russian cosmetologist and dermatologist has been inundated by requests to perform minor miracles! Thirty-seven-year-old Natalya – the beauty industry’s Jamie Oliver – has done a survey of 100 clients to determine the most popular requests. The results were surprising... 1. Lines, wrinkles. 2. Laser permanent hair removal. 3. Cellulite and inch loss. 4. Acne removal. 5. Skin imperfections (eg texture, milia, blood spots, warts, skin tags). 6. Facial toning. 7. Vein removal. 8. Scar/stretch-mark reduction. 9. Pigmentation, age spots, sun damage. 10. Tattoo removal. A vast array of technologies at Natalya’s disposal at Beautology includes muscle relaxants, dermal fillers, laser, microdermabrasion, mesotherapy and chemical peels, and now a new Nd:YAG laser for even better results in vein and permanent hair removal. Natalya’s real skill, however, lies in her years of experience from around the world, bringing invaluable knowledge and expertise. Beautology 107 Coldharbour Rd, Westbury Park, Bristol. Ffi: 0117 944 6655, www.beautology.co.uk
They work closely with their xxxxxxxxx physiotherapy colleagues and can perform therapeutic injections and provide innovative treatments such as shockwave treatment for conditions like tennis elbow or plantar fasciitis of feet. If it comes to surgery, their consultants can offer a full range of interventions, from up-to-date, minimally invasive keyhole arthroscopy surgery to major open surgical procedures such as joint replacements, including resurfacing operations. SOC say they are reassured to meet experts in their fields and feel confident to return themselves, as well as recommending the clinic to family and friends. SOC are currently offering a 20 per cent discount on initial consultations for Folio readers. For further details please, give them a call and ask to speak to SOC practice manager Jo Millard. Sport and Orthopaedic Clinic Bristol (SOC) Spire Hospital Bristol, Redland Hill, Bristol, BS6. Ffi: 0117 317 1796, www.soc-bristol.co.uk
weight loss
think big l Weight-loss and weightmanagement programme LighterLife is designed for men and women with a BMI of 25 or over (ie one or more stone to lose). Using nutritionally balanced soups, shakes and bars, you can lose weight quickly and safely, and maintain your weight loss. Weekly single-sex group meetings, run by local LighterLife Weight-Management Counsellor Mark Andrew Ryder, use cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) and transactional analysis (TA) counselling techniques to help you lose the weight and make lasting changes to keep it off. With both men’s and women’s groups proving extremely popular – the average client loses more than a stone in their first four weeks - more groups are starting, with places now available. “LighterLife is the only national weightloss and weight-management plan that looks beyond food,” says Mark, “examining lifestyle and emotions to help you break the weight-loss/weight-gain cycle and make lasting changes.” LighterLife Ffi: 0117 934 9888, www.lighterlife.com/ markryder (free appointments available)
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Various
gift sets available in Salon
The new Midnight Collection gift sets & other products now stocked! 6 Rockleaze Rd, Sneyd Park, Bristol BS9 1NF Tel: 0117 9682663 www.carlohairandbeauty.co.uk
• Tigi concept salon • student discounts • 5 year in business • brand new refurb • 5 star (in the Good Salon Guide) • 12 stylists • loyalty cards - great benefits - free tigi products • monthly news letter subscription, offers %’s off services and products (exclusive to clients who sign up on the website) • late nights Thurs & Fri til 8pm Recognised salon with Fellowship of British Hairdressing Franco - Tues & Thurs till 8pm. Stockists of
FOR MORE INFO CALL 0117
942 1006
250a Gloucester Rd, Bishopston, Bristol BS7 8NN
www.modahairdressing.co.uk folio 57
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For
20% onsff ultation
your initial co please quote ref: folio
Un-resolving injury? Persistent joint pain? Need a diagnosis and management plan? Want to be seen by the top experts in their fields? All patients seen by experienced Consultant Orthopaedic & Trauma Surgeons • At the Sports & Orthopaedic Clinic eight Consultant Orthopaedic & Trauma Surgeons specialise in shoulder, elbow, hand, hip, knee, foot and ankle disorders. • The clinic offers a full range of in-house diagnostic facilities, treatment options and rehabilitation. • We recognise all major health insurers and happily accept self-funding patients. • We treat a range of patients from full time professional sports men and women to the elderly with painful joint complaints. • You are guaranteed to see an expert in their field.
For all enquiries please contact Miss J Millard, Practice Manager Telephone: 0117 3171796 Email: jo.millard@soc-bristol.co.uk
I’ve had enough! ...Of ingrowing hairs, razor burns, smelly creams and painful waxing
I want...
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Your wish has come true...
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BEAUTOLOGY Est 1990
The science of Beauty
Visit www.beautology.co.uk or call 0117 944 6655 or drop in to 107 Coldharbour Road, Westbury Park, Bristol, BS6 7SD * Guaranteed for the first 50 customers. Cannot be used in conjunction with any other offer
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education
lifestyle
The golden years Josh Arnew raises a glass to one local school’s academic prowess l Within easy driving distance of Bristol and Bath, and located in 210 acres of parkland near Tetbury, Gloucestershire, Westonbirt School is a leading independent boarding and day school for girls aged 11 to 18. Sport, music, drama and art flourish here and academic performances are very strong, with Westonbirt ranking in the top four per cent in the UK for GCSE ‘value-added’ tests. Last November, 14 Westonbirt girls took part in the UK’s Senior Maths Challenge, which involves answering 25 multiple-choice questions in 90 minutes. Collectively they achieved two golds, seven silvers and five bronzes - a fantastic result. Among the girls was head girl Ashley White, who received Best in School and gold. With over 65,000 pupils from across the UK sitting the Challenge and, approximately six per cent receiving a gold certificate, this was quite an achievement. Against current trends, when
securing a place at a leading university is becoming increasingly more difficult, girls at Westonbirt have been made excellent provisional offers for 2011. Head girl Ashley has been provisionally offered a place to
Any comments? l Bristol City Council are currently consulting on admission arrangements for state schools. The proposed arrangements (including oversubscription criteria and co-ordinated schemes) relate to children due to start school or transfer to secondary school in Sept 2012, together with pupils moving schools during the 2012/13 academic year. You can view the relevant documents on the website below, or paper copies are available from the School Admissions Team. Arrangements for Academies, Foundation (Trust) or Voluntary Aided Schools are available direct from the school. Bristol City Council Children’s & Young People’s Services Ffi: www.bristol-cyps.org.uk School Admissions Bristol City Council, PO Box 57, Bristol BS99 7EB
read Philosophy, Politics and Economics at St John’s College, Oxford, while offers from other leading universities include Imperial College London, Durham, Edinburgh, Leeds, York, Manchester and Exeter.
Westonbirt School Tetbury, Glos. Ffi: 01666 880333, www.westonbirt.gloucs. sch.uk To arrange a visit, contact the registrar, Belinda Holley, on 01666 881301 Open morning Sat 14 May, 9.30am-12.30pm: no appointment necessary, but do allow up to two hours for your visit
The big switch l Energy-conscious schools were honoured recently at a special ceremony organised by B&NES Council. The council’s energy monitoring and awareness project, in partnership with Resource Futures, helps schools to save electricity and reduce their electricity bills. Pupils from Swainswick Primary, Paulton Junior, Newbridge Primary, Fosse Way and Saltford Primary showed how they ran their energy-saving campaigns, from appointing energy wardens to check classrooms for lights at breaktimes to getting whole classes competing for points for the best energysaving habits. To spread the message the children had also designed posters, created videos and animations, written songs and developed a website to track progress. “Schools account for 43 per cent of the council’s overall carbon emissions - the single largest portion of our footprint,” says councilor Charles Gerrish, cabinet member for service delivery. “What’s great about this project is that it’s the children who are the driving force behind the energy-saving activities.”
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26/01/2011 11:16:55
Preparatory Day School and Nursery for Boys & Girls (3-11) Rose Hill Westonbirt School • Tetbury • Gloucestershire • GL8 8QG
Inspiring young minds...
The school is located in 210 acres of stunning gardens and parkland near Tetbury, Gloucestershire and provides a happy, secure and stimulating environment, where all pupils thrive.
Open Morning:
Wednesday 16th February 2011 09:30am – 12:30pm
T: 01666 881400 E: rosehill@rhwestonbirt.co.uk
www.rhwestonbirt.co.uk
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motoring
Rite of passage
Andy Enright test-drives the quietly spoken, grown-up Citroen C4
T
he new Citroen C4 might appear more conventional than before but, particularly in 1.6L petrol form with Citroen’s ESG automated manual transmission, it’s far from your average family hatch. Keenly priced and strong on comfort, safety and equipment, it rewards those who see beyond the obvious choices. Featuring less striking styling than its coupeaping predecessor, the all-new C4 instead uses smart technology to remind us what Citroens used to be about - comfort, quality and refinement. A great range of highly efficient petrol engines, co-developed with BMW, start with a 95bhp 1.4L. My choice would be manual transmission – across the range,
the five- and six-speeders are a joy to use. Yes, the diesel engines are very good, but it’s hard to ignore the 1.6 THP petrol units that manage 44.8mpg and 148g/km of CO2. It’s a shame they’ve done away with the old C4’s fixed steering wheel boss, but a more conventional wheel does save 3.5kg. This new C4 feels much more sensible and
grown-up. It’s bigger – inside and out – and lots of thought has gone into the quality of materials and reworking the interior aesthetics. And while not all the frills have been ironed out, the comfortbiased chassis set-up works well on real roads rather than racing circuits. The C4 also does well when it comes to safety and equipment. An array of driving aids fitted as standard includes anti-lock brakes with EBD and EBA, ESP stability control, six airbags and cruise control with a speed limiter. The C4 has always been competitively priced, and this latest model is no exception, starting at around £15,500 for the 1.4L VTi, topping out at around £21,500 for the 150bhp 2.0L diesel, and significantly undercutting a Ford Focus or Vauxhall Astra. In doing the sensible things extremely well, the C4 might have underplayed its hand, but it seems to get better the longer you spend with it.
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lifestyle state of the art
The Bristol boom
february launches
ristol Audi are well established at their dealership on Pioneer Park in Brislington, with a team of expertly trained and customerfocused staff offering new and approved used Audis, plus a full range of repair and maintenance options. However, over the past few years the Audi product range and customer base have evolved to the point where they now need more space. The business’s commitment to Bristol, their customers and staff has resulted in parent company the Mon Motors Group investing £11m in a brand new, cuttingedge Audi dealership at Cribbs Causeway on Lysander Road. The new dealership will have a 19 new car showroom, 70 used car display area and 200 parking spaces. The state of the art workshop will have 24 bays, with an interactive video link bay meaning that customers can interact with their specialist technician while their vehicle is inspected.
l A plethora of models is due to be unleashed on the market this month aimed at every strata of the car-buying public. The budgetconscious city dweller will be interested in the VW Cross Fox, priced at £10,000 - £12,000 or the Hyundai i10 at a very affordable £7,000. If you’re in a recession-busting mood, keep an eye out for the Porsche Cayman R, weighing in at £51,731 £53,000 (pictured) or the VW Phaeton at £45,000 - £80,000. Mid range offers include the Chevrolet Orlando at £14,000 £18,000, the Mitsubishi Shogun Sport, £25,000 - £30,000 or the VW Caddy Life, £16,000 - £22,000.
B
The Mon Motors Group were recently named in the Sunday Times HSBC Top Track 250, the league tables ranking Britain’s 250 leading mid-market private companies. With the new centre at Cribbs Causeway bringing more space, more choice and more value, visit them today and get the real Audi experience. Bristol Audi Lysander Rd, Cribbs Causeway, Bristol, BS10. Ffi: 0117 950 9009/0117 316 0600, www. bristolaudi.co.uk
super models!
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homefront floors
Step this way l Experts in the supply and fit of carpets, vinyl, Marmoleum and Flotex flooring, Bath Carpets and Flooring (originally established as Bath Contract Flooring back in 2004) are celebrating their first year of sharing premises with Silcox Son and Wicks, following their expansion into the domestic flooring market. “It’s been a great year,” says owner Steve White, “now that we have a domestic showroom, with lots of carpets and rugs at discounted prices.” A long list of leading brands on offer includes Westex, Polyflor, Ryalux, Cormar and Brockway, with one particular runaway success over the past 12 months being the durable, low-maintenance and affordable Karndean flooring (www. karndean.co.uk). Whether you’re after a handcrafted wood, natural stone tile, textured oak or terracotta effect, Karndean perfectly replicates the look and feel of nature with the versatility of vinyl – all the benefits of natural-looking, stylish flooring, with none of the practical disadvantages. “You don’t have to
worry about moisture,” explains Steve. “Karndean is simply stuck down on top of a sub-floor surface and does a great job. It’s not noisy like floorboards or chilly like stone floors, you can mop it if you spill anything, and it won’t swell, splinter, chip or crack. And we’ve invested in getting our qualified fitters fully trained by Karndean themselves.” Steve says that he’s also definitely noticing an increase in customers looking for long-lasting, highquality carpets. “People are spending their money more wisely these days, and doing up their homes as a long-term investment.” Pop into the showroom in central Bath to browse a wide selection of samples, with sample books to take home, along with a free measuring service and written estimates. Bath Carpets and Flooring Showrooms at Silcox Son & Wicks, 4 Kingsmead St, Bath. Head office: Bath Contract Flooring. Ffi: 01225 471888, www. carpetsandflooringbath.co.uk, www. bathcontractflooring.co.uk
new showroom
Rooms with a view l Bristol-based Crystal Clear treated valued customers to a preview party, hosted by owners James Mizen and Tony Fox, to celebrate the launch of their new showroom in Brislington. During the evening, customers welcomed the opportunity to browse the latest range of doors, windows and conservatories, all of which are well designed and manufactured to the highest quality. Founded in 1999, Crystal Clear specialise in complete supply and fit for all windows, doors and conservatories in PVCu, aluminum and hardwood. With over 50 years’ combined experience in the home improvement industry, James and Tony are well placed to offer expert advice on a wide range of windows, doors and conservatories. As the founding member of DGCOS (Double Glazing and
Conservatory Ombudsman Scheme), which provides comprehensive protection for homeowners and installers, and a DGCOS Accredited Installer, Crystal Clear offer customers deposit protection, a 10-year guarantee, work in progress guarantee, free advice line and ombudsman protection, in addition to the assurance that they use ethical practices and offer excellent value for money. They’re also a Fensaregistered company - the leading body providing homeowner protection in the double-glazing industry. Crystal Clear 22a Emery Rd, Brislington, Bristol, BS4. Ffi: 0117 971 7880, www. crystalclearbristol.co.uk Showroom open Mon-Fri 7.30am-4.30pm, Sat 8.30am-12.30pm
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homefront kitchens
plum job
interiors
home sweet home l With everything from beautiful pale turquoise dressers to decadent boudoir pieces, and Victorian day beds to contemporary bookcases handpainted in zebra stripes or florals, brand new store La Maison has just thrown open its doors on Clevedon’s Hill Road. Adding another jewel to the crown that is the town’s bijou shopping and dining destination are familiar Hill Road faces Jane Brake (Estuary, Pale Blue) and Mary Hadlow (The Cellar), who have joined forces to launch
what promises to become one of the West Country’s most prestigious independent interiors suppliers. Furniture and accessories have been sourced from the UK, France and Spain - some old, some new, but all totally individual and innovative, and affordable too. “We’re about the wow factor, individuality, thinking outside the box, statement pieces, creativity and fun!” say the duo. La Maison 30 Hill Rd, Clevedon. Ffi: 01275 876056
l If you’re considering a new kitchen, Nathan Stewart at Plum Kitchens urges you to have a proper design carried out by a designer rather than a salesperson. “Plum Kitchens are successful because we’re flexible and can solve layout problems to maximise a kitchen’s ergonomic flow. Don’t assume you have to have the same layout as your old kitchen,” he says. “And appliances aside, cost comes down to the materials used to finish the design. Don’t assume we’re too high-end - we have a range of materials to suit all budgets, with kitchens from just £10,000, with the whole project taken care of.” Plum Kitchens Ffi: 0117 900 0858/07764 679206, www.plumkitchens.co.uk
Q&A
kate jerrold
MD of Robert Mills, Bristol purveyors of architectural antiques l You’ve been trading for about 30 years now... We started off reclaiming raw materials, like wood, that would have gone to landfill. We don’t do antiques that need doilies, but things you can put a cup on. A lot of our furniture comes from the 1930s, when we still had good-quality craftsmen – we lost many of them during WW2, and apprenticeships weren’t reinstated. We’re now seeing the return of the make-do-andmend-era that went in the 1950s.
spending: during recessions people go back to better quality goods. More young people are coming in – they’d rather spend 50% more on something they can keep for ever. And customers are increasingly concerned about ethical and local sourcing.
Who started the company? My stepfather. He loves the gothic revival carving that was being burnt in the 1970s, Richard loves arts & crafts, and the younger workforce love 1950s items – stuff my stepfather would have thrown away!
And how’s the future looking? We’ve grown over the past two years but don’t want to get too big and lose the passion and ability to engineer things from the grassroots. The joy for us is the lorry turning up and seeing what’s on the back, going into old factories and seeing what can be reclaimed. We’re at the forefront of changing how people look at their interiors, asking: Is it functional? Is it beautiful? I love watching customers stroke furniture as they walk past.
How’s business these days? People are more conscious about how they spend, but they’re still
Robert Mills Architectural Antiques Narroways Rd, Eastville, Bristol. Ffi: 0117 955 6542, www.rmills.co.uk
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february DISCOUNT EQUIVALENT TO NEW VAT RATE
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Eco Modern Damian and Gill had long held the dream of building an exciting contemporary family home in the garden of Damian’s mother’s house. With a very tight budget and a previous attempt that had been refused planning permission, they turned to Bath-based experts CaSA Architects to help them turn the dream into reality. THE PROJECT A new-build contemporary home that would be highly efficient, sustainable and affordable. THE BRIEF A light-filled modern home with a mix of dynamic open-plan spaces flowing out into the garden and quiet private areas, including four bedrooms, storage and service areas. Low
maintenance and minimal running costs were also a priority. THE SOLUTION CaSA Architects worked closely with the client and the planning department to find a sensitive yet exciting solution to this wonderful garden site between two listed houses on the outskirts of Bath Quality natural materials are combined with a truly original design, carefully tailored to the constraints and opportunities of the site, the particular needs and desires of the family and the tight budget. It just goes to show that bespoke contemporary designs can be affordable and are worth considering, even in the most conservative and sensitive of locations.
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homefront cedar cladding The house was built using a highly insulated and economical timber frame. This was then covered with cedar cladding, which provides a beautiful, sustainable and economical finish. Cedar is naturally durable, requiring no treatments or ongoing maintenance, and in time weathers to a soft silvery grey that will allow it to sit happily among the surrounding trees.
1 2 3
retained stone CaSA Architects conceived the new house to sit within the existing stone garden walls, which were adapted and extended to work with the new design. The timberclad first floor appears to float over these walls. Zinc completes the palette, separating the cedar from the stone and providing a contemporary sustainable finish to the roofs.
WINDOW & DOOR JOINERY l High-specification glazing - carefully oriented and combined with building mass, super-insulated walls and underfloor heating - creates a wonderfully comfortable and efficient space all year round, with a real sense of connection to the garden.
shading louvres Large areas of south-facing glass overlooking the garden have the potential to cause the interior to overheat in summer. CaSA have incorporated projecting cedar louvres that provide shade from the summer sun but allow the house to benefit from all the winter sun, reducing heating bills at the same time.
OPEN-PLAN LIVING TESTIMONIAL
Exceeding expectations “Not only were CaSA able to deal with an extremely challenging planning process, but they’ve delivered a very comfortable, modern family home that’s exceeded all our expectations. They understood very quickly what we wanted and answered our brief in a way that we never imagined possible. The attention to detail throughout is astonishing, which makes the house an absolute delight to live in. It feels like a real privilege to have a home that is so tailored to us, which we’ve still been able to do on a very modest budget. CaSA were very good at knowing where to invest in quality and where to cut back, bringing skill, care and creativity to the entire process. I could be tempted to do it all over again!” Damian & Gill, Bathford, Bath
l CaSA Architects worked with Damian’s preference to create a flexible openplan living space. The kitchen, dining and living areas form one continuous space, cleverly defined into different zones to provide a practical and modern solution to family living. Plenty of hidden storage makes it easy to keep the living areas tidy. CaSA Architects Tel: 01225 851871 Email: studio@casa-architects.com Web: www/casa-architects.com
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feature
homefront
Wonder walls
Design consultant Lesley Taylor shares her painting tricks with us
A
fresh coat of paint is one of the most effective ways to revamp a tired room without having to start from scratch, but it can also be incredibly difficult to get right. Paint is extremely versatile, easier to apply than wallpaper and a great way of keeping up with design and colour trends, but with so many brands, finishes and shades up for grabs, it can often be hard to know where to start. Before you begin, it’s important to think realistically about the room that you’re going to paint. If it’s small with little natural light, deep, rich shades will make it feel crowded. For a sense of space, choose cool blues, aquas or greens to channel a fresh, airy feel. ‘Cool’ colours like these are particularly reflective and are known to ‘recede’, making your room look larger. To really maximise a small space, try paint with a shinier finish to bounce light around, but beware of glossy finishes if your walls aren’t smooth, as this will draw attention to any imperfections. Conversely, if you have a large room and you’re after a cosy feel, make the most of ‘warm’ colours - deep reds, oranges, yellows - that will ‘advance’, creating a sense of the walls being closer than they are, and giving you a snug and inviting environment. A matt finish will add to this effect and is particularly useful for hiding any lumps and bumps on uneven walls. However, if your favourite colour falls into the wrong category, don’t despair. Shades like purples, which have seen something of a renaissance in recent years, can be warm or cool depending on their use. Violets, lavenders and mauves, when teamed with other cool shades, enhance the feeling of space, while deep, rich and jewel-like purples and plums will look effortlessly warm. Designer paint brand Zoffany has some particularly beautiful hues – ‘Violet Dusk’ ‘Renoir’, ‘Garnet’ – to bring warmth and depth to your space. Neutrals are always a good option if you’re frightened of colour, but while a contemporary neutral palette may offer more longevity than the current trendy colour, don’t assume that you won’t want to change that stony grey or light cappuccino in 18 months’ time. And don’t forget that other
'Lavender' from the Designers Guild
Light colours create a fresh, airy feel
elements in the room will have an impact, so be prepared to experiment with different shades. A deep pink carpet, for example, may reflect onto the paint to create a slightly different look than the one you were expecting. With long-lasting paint options for heavy-use rooms, your desired look can be achieved throughout the house. The water-based Eggshell range from Designers Guild, in a vibrant array of colours, is environmentally friendly, boasts excellent water resistance and is specifically designed for areas of high contact like kitchens and bathrooms. If you don’t have the time or energy to repaint an entire room, you can still achieve a chic new look by creating a feature wall. This works particularly well on chimney breasts or other awkwardly shaped areas – and don’t be afraid to draw attention to these quirks; depending on the lighting that you have in place, they can make your room far more interesting. Try a bold or vibrant colour that complements your furniture and accessories - this will instantly create a focal point to draw the eye and add a bit of dynamism. Sometimes in life, the smallest of changes can make the biggest difference. If you’re feeling adventurous, why not paint your furniture or
floorboards? Sanded and painted white floorboards ooze shabby chic, while a lick of paint on a Victorianstyled roll-top bath can instantly transform the look and feel of the entire room.
Contacts Designers Guild Web: www.designersguild. com Zoffany Web: www.zoffany.com Local Zoffany stockists: Bracey Interiors 14-15 Waterloo St, Clifton, Bristol. Tel: 0117 973 4664 No Twelve Queen Street Limited 12 Queen St, Bath. Tel: 01225 462363 Rossiters of Bath 38-41 Broad St, Bath. Tel: 01225 462227, web: www. rossitersofbath.com
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think:KITCHENS
Affordable Luxury
to celebrate 6 years of customer satisfaction we’re giving away
BRAND PRINT WEB PUBLISHING PHOTO-Y GRAPH
H A L F P R IC E installation from our award winning design & installation team.
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think:KITCHENS 254 North Street • Southville Bristol • BS3 1JA 0117 9662112 www.thinkkitchens.co.uk
contact us venue publishing, 4th floor, bristol news & media, bristol bs99 7hd tel 0117 942 8491 email d.higgitt@venue.co.uk / d.myring@venue.co.uk web www.bangstudio.co.uk
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Need to create extra space? Cotham Hut’s beautifully handcrafted Shepherd’s Huts offer a unique and comfortable outdoor solution. Built to order, these huts can be used in a variety of different ways, from a garden office to a guest bedroom or simply as a cosy hideaway den. Every aspect of these fully insulated huts can be customized to include wood burning stoves, full electrical supply, under floor heating, additional windows, side doors, beds and tables. Cotham Huts designs are based on the traditional huts used by shepherds in the 19th century. The huts were used to provide shelter and warmth for shepherds as they tended their flock, therefore the huts are mobile - so you can take yours with you if you ever move! Available in two sizes, Shepherd’s Huts are ideal for urban gardens as well as other larger open spaces.
For further information please visit our website www.cothamhuts.co.uk or contact Paul Jady on; t 0117 974 1998 m 07929 989 701 e pauljady@yahoo.com
Agua Bathrooms & Wetrooms From initial design through to completion, we tailor our services to suit your individual requirements. With a network of skilled tradesmen and access to the latest materials, we are dedicated to providing our customers with a top quality finish. Let Agua turn your bathroom dreams into reality. Call us today on 07738207125 - Daniel or 07710298523 - Peter e: info@aguabathroomsandwetrooms.co.uk AGUA Bathrooms & Wetrooms Ltd 4 Carmarthen Close Bristol - BS37
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Seed potatoes, onion sets and new seasons seeds in now!
Cleeve Nursery... for great plants.
Tel: 01934 832134 CLEEVE NURSERY & COFFEE SHOP Main A370, Cleeve, Bristol BS49 4PW www.cleevenursery.co.uk
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gardening
homefront
In the garden Ideas and inspiration from Trish Gibson to help you make the most of your garden this month
Grow Something Special The common snowdrop, Galanthus nivalis
spring bulbs
B
ulbs are some of the easiest garden plants to grow, needing only welldrained soil and a bit of sunshine – and they really brighten things up at what’s often a rather dismal time of year. Make a note of gaps in your garden now and buy or order bulbs to plant in the autumn. The exception is snowdrops – these are best planted ‘in the green’ so get hold of some and plant them just after they’ve finished flowering. Some people get positively fanatical about the many different varieties of snowdrop, but the simple common one Galanthus nivalis – is a most adaptable plant, happy in shade as well as sun, and increases quite rapidly.
Growing tips Snowdrops like a cool, moist growing period in spring, followed by a drier summer dormancy, but should not be allowed to dry out completely – so they’ll thrive in a deeper, richer soil.
Other bulbs to Try Crocus tommasinianus An early spring delight, like most crocuses this one only really opens up its flowers fully when the sun is shining. Where it’s happy, it will seed itself in grass that isn’t too lush, flowering before the grass needs to be cut. Iris ‘Harmony’ With their delicate colouring, the early-flowering ‘reticulata’ irises generally grow best in sunny, sandy soils. Plant at least 10cm deep. This blue one can also be planted in a shallow bowl to bring indoors. Muscari ‘Valerie Finnis’ Grape hyacinths are so pretty, they make you forgive their rather straggly foliage. Disguise it by planting as carpets under trees and shrubs or naturalise in grass. ‘Valerie Finnis’ is an attractive pale china blue one.
Jobs for February Time to enjoy Hellebore hellebores Cut back old leaves on hellebores to enjoy their flowers and prevent the spread of black spot. Prune those clematis that flower from mid- to late summer – these include the lemon-peel clematis and the viticellas. Cut them down to about 45cm from the ground, cutting to a pair of strong buds. Cut down autumn-fruiting raspberries to the ground. Chit or sprout seed potatoes in egg boxes in a light, frost-free position.
We’ll be buying… This year’s Yellow Book - detailed listings of thousands of gardens open for charity under the National Gardens Scheme. Ffi £9.90 from bookshops or direct from www.ngs.org.uk (p&p free)
This month we’ll be visiting… Painswick Rococo Garden to enjoy one of the largest naturalistic plantings of snowdrops in the country. For snowdrop season 2011, there’s a free four-page leaflet with information on the varieties of snowdrop in the garden, a map, some of the garden’s history, and coming events for the year. Ffi Painswick Rococo Garden, Painswick, Glos. Open daily 11am-5pm. Tel: 01452 813204, web: www.rococogarden.org.uk Trish Gibson’s book Brenda Colvin: A Career in Landscape has just been published by Frances Lincoln
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news
property
Buy to let Josh Arnew looks at an investment opportunity in north Bristol
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ousebuilder Redrow are confident in the appeal that the Tallsticks development in Filton holds for would-be investors looking for a higher yield on their savings. With convivial layouts and high-spec interiors, the ‘Ellery’ houses promise considerable rental potential in a sought-after location just a few miles from the city centre, they’re close to UWE, the MoD’s Abbey Wood site and Parkway train station, and within easy reach of the M4 and M5. Many buy-to-let investors have already successfully let out properties at the venture, just north of Bristol. “Based on estimated rental value of our two-bedroom houses, the potential is certainly there for one-off cash investors to currently get a higher return on their savings than if they leave their money in the
bank,” says Redrow’s Hayley Zaple. Bristol estate agents Ocean recently calculated that the Ellery houses, priced at £184,995, could be let out for £695-£750 a month, and the fourbed contemporary ‘Routledge’
harbourside
townhouses, priced from £259,995, for £1,150-£1,250. “We believe there’s strong rental demand for smaller two-bedroom homes in the area from professionals, couples and students
at nearby UWE,” continues Hayley, “looking for a spacious home with a traditional layout and a garden. The Ellery houses have a sociable openplan living and dining room, separate kitchen, downstairs cloakroom and convenient laundry area, with noisy appliances located away from the kitchen. Upstairs are two good-sized bedrooms and a bathroom.” All homes at Tallsticks - one of the individual ‘hamlets’ that make up the new urban village of Cheswick - are being built to Level 3 of the Code for Sustainable Homes, so special features designed to keep water and energy usage to a minimum should translate into lower bills for residents. Ffi Sales Office & View Home, Long Down Ave, Bristol, South Glos, BS16, open daily 10am-5.30pm. Ffi: 0117 969 6976, www. redrow.co.uk/developments/tallsticks
finance
Money talks
Where there's a will
W
ith its location, variety of styles and oversized nature of the properties, Crest Nicholson’s Harbourside ticks all the right boxes as Bristol’s premier waterside development. And with the centre of Bristol dominated by primarily older properties, many prospective buyers will also be attracted by the benefits of buying new. Built to the exacting standards now required of new home developers, with modern heating systems and higher levels of insulation, all the Harbourside properties will help to save money, say the developers. The cavity wall insulation and draft proofing, for example, will save homeowners a combined annual cost of £190, while the standard aerated taps, spray taps and dual-flush toilets will save £141. Some properties at Harbourside, where prices currently start at £275,000, can save £275 every year through condensing boilers and a full set of heating controls, and the double glazing used on all apartments will save £140 each year. “Our latest figures show that buying a new property will save the average owner a total of £989 each year,” says marketing director Susan Young. “That’s a phenomenal figure, especially in these trying times.”
l Property specialists Move with Us have revealed that over a trillion pounds worth of property is not currently included in a will. The average UK property is now worth £165,000, with over 14 million households currently owner-occupied - and with 52 per cent of homeowners currently without a will in place, that leaves an awful lot of bricks and mortar at the whim of the intestacy laws. So do it now rather than later. Making (or updating) a will means that there’s one simple legal document to protect what’s likely to be your single biggest asset.
Harbourside Marketing Suite, Cathedral Walk, Bristol, open daily 10am-5pm. Tel: 0117 908 8888, web: www. harbourside.co.uk
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feature
Lofty ambitions W
Are there any nasty surprises lurking behind those elegant Georgian facades? Simon Fry climbs the stairs hile a film on King George VI’s diction has announced its arrival during awards season, properties built during his predecessors’ eras have long made bold statements. George I reigned from 1714-1727 with Georges II, III and IV staying on the throne until 1830. During this time Bristol and Bath grew geographically and economically, with architects like John Wood the elder designing buildings that draw global acclaim to this day. Constructed in an era when the wealthiest households had numerous domestic staff, some Georgian properties retain their history fascinatingly. Bath’s Whitfield Nash have just sold one, constructed circa 1829, which was originally thought to have been built for the Fortt family, of Cater, Stoffell & Fortt, grocers to the nobility. Their features tell a tale, according to director Duncan Nash: “They were usually over three to five storeys, and stylish and elegant with architrave around doors, windows and fireplaces. They’re neatly proportioned, light and spacious. Today, some still have original elements like dumb waiters and waiters’ trays - a wooden tray attached to a wall, often in a hallway. This had a handle beneath, which was released to stand the tray upright, with food and drink placed upon it.” While mobile phones are the norm today, communication back then was more basic. “You can still find bell systems or evidence of them, such as bell boxes, in some Georgian houses. Servants typically lived at the top while the kitchens and scullery were located in the basement. They were at both extremes of the house so a series of bells was used to call them, with a system in place that showed who was ringing the bell.” The presence of one characteristic of these properties shines a light onto day-to-day life in Georgian times. Shutters were much more than an alternative to curtains, according to Vince Whitfield, assistant branch manager of
Royal Crescent, Bath
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property the Whiteladies Road branch of Andrews. “They were there for safety. As there were fewer police and very little street lighting, crime was rife. The basement, hall and first floor would have had shutters although there would be no need for any floors above to have them as they would have been too high for a break-in.” The allure of Georgian properties endures, with estate agent Hollis Morgan choosing such a building to house their Clifton Village premises. Director Andrew Morgan says, “All our customers like this office - our first-floor meeting room, with its dramatic high ceilings, provides a quiet and private place to do business. Clifton has a greater percentage of Georgian properties than anywhere else in Bristol. Around 60 per cent of those on our books have some Georgian content. Over in Bath, meanwhile, you have classic terraces like the Royal Crescent and the Circus, and I think Pulteney Street’s layout is wonderful. Many Bath properties have been divided into flats, sparking attention across an international market, which also happens in Clifton to a certain extent.” Andrew identifies the pros and cons when it comes to buying: “Two words come to mind when I think of Georgian architecture – ‘classic’ and ‘proportion’. The Georgians put great emphasis on these as opposed to the Victorians, who went for solidity and uniformity of look. Interior features include striking windows and the height of rooms – Georgian houses are much loftier. The cornicing is also much finer; the Victorians liked heavy grates whereas the Georgians went for classical Romanesque leaves. One drawback is that much emphasis was put on the façade, meaning that the backs tended to be utilitarian and ugly. Similarly, in their efforts to keep ‘nasties’ hidden away, drainage systems were located in central, hidden gullies that can be prone to flooding in snow and heavy weather. You sometimes find people who curse their inheritance!” Dan Lewis, joint director of family-run builders Building Matters, highlights some more positives and negatives. “Their sash windows are very distinctive and incorporate smaller panelled glass, but they’re prone to heat loss and can be draughty. These can be taken out and refitted, with brushes put in, but this can be an expensive process. When the houses were built, glass was thin and lightweight, but over the years they have broken and been replaced. Windows get heavier and consequently don’t always go up and down correctly. There was also a stage in the 1960s of taking roofs off and butchering them with flat asphalt roofs! It’s important to consider that, given their height, if there’s maintenance to be done there are often five flights of stairs to be tackled in order to get to the problem.”
Georgians put great emphasis on classic proportions, as here at Clifton's Royal York Crescent
Contacts Andrews 158 Whiteladies Rd, Clifton, Bristol. Ffi: 0117 973 2551, www.andrewsonline. co.uk Building Matters 80 Cotswold Rd, Windmill Hill, Bristol. Ffi: 0117 985 0829, www. buildingmattersbristol.co.uk Hollis Morgan 9 Waterloo St, Clifton, Bristol. Ffi: 0117 973 6565, www.hollismorgan.co.uk Whitfield Nash 2 Princes Buildings, George St, Bath. Ffi: 01225 480444, www. whitfieldnash.co.uk
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competitions Win a Fresh new you!
W
ith a wave of Folio’s magic wand and a big helping hand from Fresh Clinics and friends, the winner of this remarkable prize, will receive everything from a glowing new complexion (and more!), a pearly white smile, sexy hair, a tautly toned body and a stylish new wardrobe. Fresh Clinics specialise in non-surgical treatments, offering clinically-led procedures including Botox, Sculptra (volumising injection), dermal fillers, Macrolane (non-surgical breast enhancement and body shaping), microdermabrasion, and facial and leg vein treatment. These are carried out by expert cosmetic doctors and nurses, so you can be absolutely sure that your treatment will be performed safely, with minimal discomfort. The Prize… • £1,000 worth of non-surgical skin rejuvenation and anti-ageing treatments (subject to suitability) from Fresh Clinics (33 Alma Vale Rd, Clifton, Bristol. Ffi: 0117 973 2600, www.freshclinics.com) • 20 personal training sessions worth £650 courtesy of PT Troop Personal Training (Ffi: 07876 334624, www.pttroop.com) • Personal shopping including body shape analysis, restyle and new spring outfit courtesy of
PRIZE VALUE £3,500+ designer fashion retailer Garment Quarter (25 Penn St, Bristol. Ffi: 0117 329 4405, www. garmentquarter.com) • Hair restyle from Maximum FX (3 St Augustine’s Place, Bristol. Ffi: 0117 923 0231) • Teeth whitening worth £595 courtesy of Zetland Road Dental Practice (30 Zetland Rd, Redland, Bristol. Ffi: 0117 942 4126, www. zetlanddental.co.uk) • Permanent make up by Wendy Stallard, permanent make up consultant, www. cosmeticenhancements.co.uk • Manicure and pedicure courtesy of Nails 1 (1719 Portland St, Clifton, Bristol. Ffi: 0117 973 0454) To Enter… Just email us a short sentence explaining why you think you’re the perfect candidate for a makeover. Send this along with your name, age and daytime contact details to: editor@foliomagazine.co.uk (write in the subject line: Fresh New You Competition). Competition entries will be judged by Folio magazine and Fresh Clinics. Entries must be received no later than Wednesday 16 February. Entry to the competition implies agreement with the terms and conditions, available on www.foliomagazine.co.uk
Win £100 to spend at Wallis, Cabot Circus
T
his month we’re offering one lucky reader the chance to win a £100 gift card to spend at Wallis at Cabot Circus. The winter-tospring transition often brings with it the dilemma of what to wear, but for our lucky winner, this should be a breeze. You’ll get to brighten up your wardrobe in an instant thanks to Wallis’s gorgeous spring/summer collection of fabulous floral dresses, colourful designs, striking minimal whites and feminine, floaty must-haves. Plus there’s the unique showcase of the Wallis 1923 Heritage dress collection – a sensational selection of floral print dresses, inspired by the 50s and 60s. Fashionistas will particularly love the Bianca Jagger and Jerry Hall 70s disco-influenced pieces - think bold brights and slinky satins that will make the ultimate style statement! These new collections arrive in store from March 2011, so make sure you head over to Wallis in Cabot Circus to check out these sensational new styles from the new season collection. To enter the competition, simply answer the following question: When does the spring/summer collection arrive in store? Email your answer, with ‘Wallis at Cabot Circus Comp’ in the subject line, to: editor@foliomagazine.co. uk by Wednesday 16 February. Please include your full contact details (name, address, postcode, email, mobile, landline).
Wallis Cabot Circus, Bristol. Ffi: 0117 929 3307, www.wallis. co.uk, www.cabotcircus.com
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