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april 2011 l No. 195

WIN a Royal Wedding Weekend Spa Break! inside l Top 10 cosy breaks l Tyntesfield restored! l Seasonal superfoods l Bristol’s outdoor living show

Grand designs

From fresh talent on show at Spike Island Open Studios later this month to old masters, we take you on a tour of Bristol & Bath’s art galleries

Beauty fashion food & drink health interiors people property what’s on l

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ou may have heard through the various social networking, TV, radio and web channels that Venue Publishing’s flagship title and Folio’s sister magazine, Venue, was due to be closed down a few weeks ago. We were shocked, angry and tearful. But we fought. Venue’s readers fought. And due to you, the wonderful people of Bristol and Bath, that decision was revoked. What a tremendous triumph for people power! So Venue will, after all, live to see her 30th birthday. Just in a slightly different format… From next issue (May), Venue and Folio will be printed together as two magazines within one physical publication. Venue will therefore be monthly, like Folio, and free, like Folio. The two magazines will retain their distinct identities but will be harmoniously intertwined – Venue on one side, Folio upside down on the other. Altogether, it’ll be a whopping 164 pages featuring the very best bits of both magazines. You’ll still get all the fantastic supplements that you’re used to in Folio, plus some extremely fine supplements from Venue. And they’ll all be free, too. You’ll find this bumper what’s-on/lifestyle mag in all the usual places you currently find Folio, plus quite a few more. Sounds pretty good, doesn’t it? 187 cover

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We hope you’ll join us in wishing this particular coalition a long and happy partnership…

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plus summer fashion for kids l weekend breaks just an easy car ride away l fabulous family days out l win tickets to les Mis at Bristol's hippodrome

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Rachel Nott Folio editor

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The West’s best restaurants, top chefs,

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bes folio serves up a glamorous batch of recipes yleby the for you life st south west’s top-name chefs, with wines created specially carefully selected by matthew Clark m ag

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june 2010 l no. 185

no. 188

plus y l organic beaut l school open days s l seasonal menu l the joys of golf & where to play

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folio The best in the West

Picture this

rom the prints and childish scribbles adorning our walls to the magazines and papers we glance through during lunch via the public and street art we pass on our various ways to work, art is everywhere. It’s a glorious technicolour world out there. And if you want to explore the art world further, from ultra-modern installations, sculptures and illustrations to more traditional watercolours, prints and oil paintings, there’s something to astound and delight you in Steve Wright’s grand tour of the South West’s art galleries. We’re also excited to announce that, after six years of restoration, the wraps are finally off at Tyntesfield, the National Trust’s extraordinary Victorian mansion. It’s been a long process - and unusual in that, for the first time for the National Trust, the restoration project has been carried out under the watchful gaze of visitors. The finished product is quite something – turn to page 18 to see the transformation. Meanwhile, in the kitchen, it’s time to enjoy the fruits of local seasonal produce from delicious Jersey royals to spring lamb. Our resident foodie Melissa Blease takes us through the superstars that we should all be eating right now! Enjoy your month.

People 5 Funnyman Scott Capurro on performing at Bath Comedy Festival 7 Booker Prize winner Howard Jacobson

Features 10 Venue magazine’s art editor Steve Wright gives us the lowdown on the local art scene 18 Tyntesfield mansion revealed after a major six-year restoration project 22 Rachel Nott’s top 10 cosy weekends away 28 Eugene Byrne finds out all about the Building of Bath Museum

What’sOn 30 Art, events, family, film, music, theatre

Food&Drink 42 The seasonal superfoods that we should be stocking up on 45 Josh Arnew gets pukka grub at Jamie’s Italian 46 Melissa Blease dines in splendour at Bath’s Royal Crescent Hotel 48 Pigeon and gyoza recipe from the Olive Tree restaurant at the Queensberry Hotel

LifeStyle Rachel Nott Folio editor

53 Shop of the month - Cargo 54 The softer side of fashion’s neon brights 59 Becky Davis destresses at Icon Beauty 60 Steve Wright gets a new do at RSR 63 Men’s attitudes to healthcare revealed 67 An education to prepare kids for a century of change 71 We test-drive the Range Rover Sport 73 Rachel Nott gets the royal treatment at Thornbury Castle 74 Josh Arnew takes a boat trip to the Isles of Scilly

HomeFront Cover image: Bound, Croft Castle by Philippa Lawrence - a commission for Meadow Arts Gallery ‘Tell it to the Trees’ 2009. Photo credit: Anne de Charmant. With thanks to Spike Island.

WIN! A Royal Weekend at Fowey Hall Hotel, plus an Orla Kiely overnight bag from 7 Dials, p90

80 Crystal Clear talk us through their latest design project 85 Trish Gibson tells us what to plant this month 86 Bristol’s new outdoor living show

Property 88 New townhouse developments in Filton and Portishead

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 r.nott@venue.co.uk folio Bath Bath News & Media, Floor 2, Westpoint, James West St, Bath BA1 1UN tel 01225 429801 fax 01225 447602 Editor Rachel Nott 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 PROVOCATIVE, CAMP, TABOO-BUSTING COMEDIAN SCOTT CAPURRO LOOKS SET TO RAISE A FEW EYEBROWS AT THIS MONTH’S BATH COMEDY FESTIVAL

Q&A

wORDS melissa blease

an Franciscan-born awardwinning stand-up comedian, writer and actor Scott Capurro is a divisive character indeed. Whether they love, loathe or simply don’t know how to react to his razor-sharp, acerbic observations on life, love and politics, critics are rarely able to review Capurro’s act without using the words outrageous, provocative and controversial - but few seem to realise that they’re in the company of a truly unique renaissance man. In 1993, Capurro starred alongside Robin Williams when he brought the character of Aunt Jack Hillard to life in the perennially popular familyfriendly film Mrs Doubtfire, and recent guests on his live chat show, Scott Capurro’s Position (at London’s Vauxhall Tavern) include Michael Barrymore, Lembit Opik, Claudia Winkleman, Boy George and Matt Lucas. For those unfortunate (or not brave!) enough to be familiar with your particular ‘thrust’, explain to Folio readers what they should expect from your live show I’ll be attempting to explore the relationship between grief (inspired by my mother’s recent death) and comedy as a restorative. Boy, I sound like a hyped-up Debbie Downer [fictional Saturday Night Live character], but it’s my belief that comedy doesn’t come from a safe place. Another thing audiences can expect, by the end of my diatribe, is to think differently about gay men: we can be complicated and contrary, and we have thoughts and ideas that actually have nothing to do with trimmed chest hair and Robbie Williams. Who or what inspired your route to comedy? My late mother. She was a very funny, Irish, Capricorn party girl who encouraged me to watch and listen. After my father left us, then suddenly reappeared with a whole new family, I became interested in the lies people tell, which still amuses me, and which I attempt to use as a weapon today. Hypocrisy is a comic’s best friend - well, that and a fan who wants to buy me drinks... You’re a native San Franciscan. Why did you choose to relocate to the UK? Work, baby, work! There are 40 comedy clubs in central London alone, and I enjoy torturing the British middle classes, who claim to be so concerned about ethnic identity and equal opportunities and yet tend to have absolutely no

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minority friends. Race in America is a given. In the UK, it’s a landmine - and that’s gotta be fun. What else are the main differences between American and UK audiences? Americans drink less! And the Brits pretend they wanna see it all kick off, but when it does (cue me, punching someone in the front row in Covent Garden for calling me a ‘sad queer’), they scurry off into the dead woods. Just recently, an audience member sitting in the front row of a show in Sacramento, California lunged at me and the person sitting next to him jumped on him in my defence - adorable! The entire audience got involved and bodies dropped like sacks of potatoes hitting cheap carpeting. It was exhilarating. That would never happen in the UK. What’s been the proudest moment of your career to date? When my father told me he loved me. But that was after Mrs Doubtfire had just opened, so I’m still suspicious of his earnestness.

Share your thoughts on Bath and the Bath Comedy Festival… I’m assuming I’ll be discussing posh subjects, like animal rehabilitation and refuse recycling, so naturally I’ll wear rubber gloves (which might come in handy if there are any curious university students out there with a penchant for father figures with a minimal amount of body fat). In Scott Capurro’s opinion, the world would be a much better place if… The Israelis and my sister-in-law calmed the f*** down! Bath Comedy Festival Various venues, Bath, 1-10 April. Ffi: www.bathcomedy.com Scott Capurro is at the Comedy Cavern, Porter, George St, Bath on Sun 3 April. Ffi & tickets: 01225 424104, www.comedycavern.co.uk

And your biggest regret? Je ne regrette rien.

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motoring motoring WE’RE LIVING IN AN AGE OF COMEDY, SAYS BOOKER PRIZE-WINNING AUTHOR HOWARD JACOBSON. SO WHY DON’T MORE FUNNY NOVELS WIN AWARDS?

Q&A

wORDS joe spurgeon

hen Howard Jacobson – best known for his comic novels, often revolving around the dilemmas of British Jewish characters - was dubbed the ‘English Philip Roth’, he retaliated by branding himself the ‘Jewish Jane Austen’. He’s the reigning winner – for The Finkler Question - of the Man Booker Prize for fiction, the world’s most important literary award – and one that, a decade ago, Jacobson damned as being “an absolute abomination – the same dreary books year after year”. Tell us about the moment you were proclaimed winner of the Booker Prize There was this roar, which surprised me. I’m not someone that the world loves. I’m a terrifying, unpleasant, disruptive, rebellious man. You’ve admitted that you previously felt resentful about never having won this prize… I was bitter. It’s true. Prizes are hell for writers who don’t win them. Winning matters hugely. It matters much more than I thought it was going to matter. A friend wrote to me the other day about a photo of me in The Guardian, with what seemed to be an expression of vindication on my face, and there was that feeling - not because I think that I should have won Booker Prizes before; I was just sick of being called ‘the overlooked, underrated Howard Jacobson’. I could be called ‘overrated’ now, of course, but I can live with that. Jewish identity vs Jewish obsession. The Finkler Question vs Kalooki Nights. Discuss… Kalooki Nights [which Jacobson deems “the most Jewish book ever written” and is lauded by many critics as his best] was about the fact that Jews are very much obsessed - not just about being Jewish, but by the very precise business of the Holocaust. Do you go on and on about the Holocaust? Do you remember it? What’s the

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cost of either? It was an obsessive book about an obsessive question, as lived by obsessive people. The Finkler Question isn’t. I thought I’d never write a better book than Kalooki Nights, but it may have been the obsessiveness of it that excluded people from reading it – God knows, it got fantastic reviews, but it might be that this book has proved more accessible. It’s partly about what it’s like to be Jewish now, but it’s told from the point of view of three people, including one who isn’t Jewish - I think having him find his way into Jewish things makes it oddly accessible. And funny. As a Bookerwinning comic novel, The Finkler Question is a rarity. Is high literature scared of being funny? When my first novels came out in the 80s, they’d put ‘funny’, ‘hilarious’, ‘laugh-outloud’ on the covers, but you don’t get that now. There’s a real fear that comedy is a no-no, which is very odd

because we’re living in an age of comedy. Comedians are our heroes - they command audiences that novelists would kill for. We’re used to laughing - if anything, we’re laughing too much - but it’s as if we’ve decided that literature should be exempt. I think the novel does have a comic obligation. The novel begins with irreverence, it begins in that period of Rabelais and Cervantes, in the knocking-down of things. We don’t believe in God, we don’t believe in heroes, we don’t believe in history. Everything is up for grabs, and to see the novel go in fear of its own capacity to mock and laugh is to be sorry for it. Even when you get to Jane Austen, there’s laughter, derision and sarcasm, but that starts to fade out by the time we get to our age and we’re rather sanctimonious about the novel. That said, with The Finkler Question, people have come to me and said, ‘It’s not funny; it’s heartbreaking.’ As far as I’m concerned, it’s both. I didn’t think I was writing a comedy, but I just can’t write without being funny.

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feature

The big picture From local landscapes and street art to experimental jewellery, sculpture and wildlife photos, Venue magazine art editor Steve Wright takes the art beat at Bristol and Bath’s best galleries BATH Adam Gallery John St. Ffi: 01225 480406, www. adamgallery.com • Compact gallery in one of central Bath’s quietest and prettiest streets. Monthly changing roster of solo exhibitions by established British and international artists. American Museum in Britain Claverton Manor. Ffi: 01225 460503, www. americanmuseum.org • The only museum of Americana outside the US, set in rolling parkland south east of Bath, celebrates its 50th birthday this year with exhibitions including ‘Marilyn: Hollywood Icon’, featuring a selection of the screen goddess’s gowns and personal items, plus original photos and posters. Bath Artists’ Studios Comfortable Place, Upper Bristol Rd. Ffi: 01225 482480, www.bathartistsstudios.co.uk • Bath’s largest artists’ studios, housing studio space for 50+ artists and staging regular exhibitions, events and classes. Bath Fine Art Gay St. Ffi: 01225 461230, www.bathfineart. com • Friendly, dynamic city-centre gallery, specialising in high-quality solo and group exhibitions by established, mid-career artists from Bath and the region.

Nick Cudworth Gallery London St. Ffi: 01225 445221, www. nickcudworth.co.uk • Monthly changing exhibition space for Bath painter Nick Cudworth. Some very decent fine art exhibitions of Bath cityscapes and local landscapes. Red Rag Gallery Brock St. Ffi: 01225 332223, www. redraggallery.co.uk • Focus on British and Irish contemporary art, sculptures and limited-edition prints. Landscape painting from Britain and beyond a speciality. Rostra & Rooksmoor George St. Ffi: 01225 448121, www. rostragallery.co.uk • Welcoming, informal

city-centre gallery. Affordable prints, paintings, ceramics and handmade jewellery, by a mix of established and emerging artists. Royal Photographic Society Wells Rd. Ffi: 01225 325733, www.rps.org • The RPS’s regional HQ holds monthly exhibitions by recognised UK and world photographers. The White Room Gallery Brock St. Ffi: 01225 331500, www. thewhiteroomgallery.com • Contemporary gallery stocking limited-edition prints by well-known names, plus a range of Bath scenes in print, photography and paint.

Holburne Museum of Art Exciting times down on Great Pulteney Street, as Bath’s Holburne Museum prepares to re-open on 14 May. It’s the culmination of a three-year restoration of the elegant, parkland-fringed 18th-century mansion, with a modern glass extension extending into Sydney Gardens. The new spaces will transform the Holburne’s exhibitions and events programme and allow the museum to reveal much more of its rich collection of 6,500 objects, pictures and books. A new garden cafe, meanwhile, will open out into the Gardens. Artist Karen Wallis has been sketching the refurbishment process since 2008: you can see her sketches at www.karenwallis.co.uk/holburne. The museum reopens in suitable style with a display of the personal collection of, and artworks by, renowned pop artist Sir Peter Blake (pictured). Ffi Great Pulteney St, Bath. Ffi: 01225 388588, www.holburne.org

Beaux Arts York St. Ffi: 01225 464850, www. beauxartsbath.co.uk • Long-established Bath gallery showing work by major 20th-century painters, sculptors and ceramicists. Some very fine regular exhibitors. bo.lee gallery Queen St. Ffi: 07970 492858, www.bo-lee. co.uk • One of the city’s more interesting galleries, with a definite leaning towards dark, often surreal and unsettling contemporary art. Edgar Modern Bartlett St. Ffi: 01225 443746, www. edgarmodern.com • Colourful contemporary fare, often with an edgy, xxxx modern or playful theme. 10 folio

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feature BRISTOL Bristol City Museum & Art Gallery Queens Rd, Clifton. Ffi: 0117 922 3571, www.bristol.gov.uk/museums • Permanent collection of art and much more. High-profile visiting exhibitions – including, currently, the annual visit of the Wildlife Photographer of the Year show, featuring the very best wildlife images taken by the world’s top professional and amateur snappers.

Victoria Art Gallery Bath’s excellent, spacious, city-centre gallery, turns to an old friend this month. The VAG’s spring/ early summer exhibition is a solo show for Peter Brown, the hugely popular painter of the city’s streetscapes and hinterland. The new show will feature 93 new paintings, drawings and pastels celebrating the streets and hills of Bath captured in all weathers. Brown’s habit of working outdoors come rain, sleet or shine have earned him the nickname ‘Pete the Street’; and he’s called the new show Bath Between the Snows because most of the work was undertaken between the two heavy snowfalls at the beginning and end of 2010. New works on view include views of George Street, Victoria Park and Milsom Street under sunshine and showers – plus a few night scenes. It’s Peter’s fifth exhibition at the VAG – and it will be comfortably the largest to date, filling the venue’s large ground-floor gallery. Gallery manager Jon Benington comments: “The pictures are anything but static scenes, recording as they do places that are populated, alive, throbbing with movement, constantly changing in response to different light and weather conditions.” Ffi Peter Brown exhibits at Victoria Art Gallery, Bridge St, Bath, 9 Apr-2 June. Ffi: 01225 477233, www.victoriagal.org.uk

The Bristol Gallery Millennium Promenade, Harbourside. Ffi: 0117 930 0005, www. thebristolgallery.com • Adventurous gallery in a large, light-flooded space down on the Harbourside. Bold, contemporary programming. Street and urban art a speciality, as witness current show Street Art International (to 17 Apr), with works by international street art legends Blek le Rat and Swoon, alongside Bristol artists Inkie, Cheba and others. The Glass Room Colston Hall, Colston St. Ffi: 0117 922 3686, www.colstonhall.org • Monthly changing exhibitions at this cool, clean artspace inside the recently revamped music venue.

Arnolfini Bristol’s renowned contemporary arts centre, celebrated its 50th birthday this year. The arts centre opened above a bookshop on the Clifton Triangle back in 1961: half a century on, from its vast, airy, whitewashed home on the Harbourside, it offers an always-intriguing roster of shows by international artists – strongly conceptual in feel. Make time, this month, for Cosima von Bonin’s Bone Idle (to 25 Apr), a first solo UK show for the prolific, playful multidisciplinary German artist. The show features a combination of new and existing works themed around notions of sloth and fatigue: oversized stuffed animals, sewn paintings and minimalist sculptures, balanced somewhere between seriousness and fun, the concrete and the fictitious. Ffi Narrow Quay, Bristol. Ffi: 0117 917 2300, www.arnolfini.org.uk

Bristol Guild Gallery Housed in a light, airy room of the Bristol Guild overlooking Park Street, the Guild Gallery programmes a series of monthly exhibitions featuring artists working in all mediums, including ceramics, oils, textiles, photography, woodcarving, sculpture and mixed media. Current show Emergence (to 16 Apr) features a feisty, springlike mix of painting, stained glass, jewellery and ceramics by seven local artists including jeweller Catherine Amesbury (pictured). Ffi Park St, Bristol. Ffi: 0117 926 5548, www.bristolguild.co.uk

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feature Grant Bradley Gallery St Peter’s Court, Bedminster Parade. Ffi: 0117 963 7673, www.grantbradleygallery.co.uk • Innovative, good-quality modern painting and photography, often with a local theme. A light, airy gallery with prints and books aplenty on sale, plus cafe seating. Here Stokes Croft. Ffi: 0117 942 2222, www. thingsfromhere.co.uk • Kooky gallery-cum-shop with a strong comic/punk/poster-art bent. Funky, off-centre, affordable stuff for sale. Nails Gallery Lower Exchange Hall, Corn St. Ffi: 0117 929 2083, www.nailsaffordableart.com • Welcoming gallery at the entrance to St Nicholas Market, showing work by up-and-coming local artists, many specialising in views of Bristol. Their limitededition screenprints and giclée prints make affordable gifts.

Diana Porter Contemporary Jewellery “I’m driven by my passion for the magic of minutiae, tiny intricacies, small oddities and the search for preciousness within the world. My inspiration comes from the idea of lifecycles and change in nature, in transience from birth to decay.” Words from internationally renowned jeweller Ruth Tomlinson (pictured), who exhibits in the latest talent-crammed group exhibition at Bristol’s Diana Porter Contemporary Jewellery this spring. Diana Porter is home to the very best and most elegant and experimental in contemporary jewellery from Britain and beyond, and the exhibition of which Ruth forms a part, Decadence, is typically varied, beautiful and eye-catching. Pictured here is one of Ruth’s towering creations from her recent collection Wonderings, inspired by the riotous colours and sensory experiences of India.

Centrespace Gallery Centrespace is one of our favourite Bristol galleries – a welcoming, well-lit space down a threading alley off Corn Street, run as a co-operative by artists and showing a consistently intriguing roster of thoughtful, striking contemporary art exhibitions. And the next show there illustrates Centrespace’s eclectic, inspiring programming perfectly. Two Minds One Vision is a joint show by Bristol sculptors Jenny Pamphilon and Pat Ward (work pictured). An Academician at Bristol’s Royal West of England Academy, Jenny works in papier-mache, clay and wax, finishing her pieces by firing or casting to bronze. Some of her works explore the effects of ageing, while others reflect her childhood memories of post-war London. Pat, meanwhile, specialises in portraiture and the human form, sculpting in clay, stone and wax and finishing, like Jenny, by firing or casting to bronze. Both sculptors will be working in the studio during the exhibition so that visitors can interact with them and see works in progress. Ffi Two Minds One Vision is at Centrespace Gallery, Leonard Lane, Bristol, 16-20 Apr. Ffi: www.centrespacegallery.com

Lime Tree Gallery One of Bristol’s most inviting small galleries, with views of the Floating Harbour, Lime Tree specialises in beautiful, atmospheric contemporary landscape painting – especially Scottish, Cornish and East Anglian scenes. Its spring show ‘Scottish Women Artists’ (15 Apr-15 May) features work by a sextet of artists, all graduates of the Glasgow School of Art and united by a strong sense of colour and light and some superb drawing skills. Pictured: Helen Turner, ‘Autumn Splendour’. Ffi Scottish Women Artists at Lime Tree Gallery, Hotwell Rd, Bristol, 15 April-15 May. Ffi: 0117 929 2527, www.limetreegallery.com

Ffi Decadence at Diana Porter Contemporary Jewellery, Park St, Bristol until 27 May. Ffi: 0117 909 0225, www.dianaporter.co.uk

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“Red Lips, Red Dress” by Alexandra Gardner.

Scottish Women Artists

84 Hotwell Road, Bristol BS8 4UB

April 15 - May 14

Tel 0117 929 2527

Free parking outside

www.limetreegallery.com

For entertainment listings, interviews, reviews and far more, buy Bristol & Bath’s only comprehensive what’s on magazine. In the shops every Wednesday

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feature Royal West of England Academy Queens Rd, Clifton. Ffi: 0117 973 5129, www. rwa.org.uk • Huge, prestigious gallery with year-round exhibitions. Current shows include an eye-catching Open Photography exhibition featuring images by snappers both emerging and established. View Hotwell Rd. Ffi: 05603 116753, www. viewartgallery.co.uk • Monthly exhibitions showcasing some of the brightest, most adventurous talent currently working in Bristol and beyond. Like Bath’s bo.lee gallery, View is especially strong on narrative, subtly unsettling modern painting. Coming up: Modern Fabulists, featuring a clutch of America and Europe’s most extraordinary contemporary artists, celebrating folklore, craft and storytelling. Weapon of Choice St Michaels Hill. Ffi: 0117 929 1865, www. weaponofchoicegallery.co.uk • Street art/ graffiti gallery, with regular exhibitions (and live painting sessions) by Bristol’s graff hierarchy past and present. Prints, books, T-shirts, etc, for sale.

Spike Island Housed in a vast former tea-packing warehouse overlooking the New Cut, Spike is one of the jewels of Bristol’s art scene - not just for its regular, intriguing contemporary exhibitions, but also for its dozens of artists’ studios, helping to keep Bristol’s art community prolific and populous. The first May bank holiday weekend (Sat 30 Apr-Mon 2 May) sees the return of Spike’s hugely popular, annual Open Studios. Some 70 resident artists open up their studios across the weekend, while accompanying events include a Sculpture Studios Auction and an exhibition of recent work by members of the ace printmaking collective Spike Print Studio. Also kicking off on 30 Apr is Marjolijn Dijkman’s show Theatrum Orbis Terrarum (to 26 June, pictured), a mixed-media show featuring archival works, video and animation, and centred on an ambitious archive seeking to map the planet through thousands of digital images Ffi Cumberland Rd, Bristol. Ffi: 0117 929 2266, www.spikeisland.org.uk

Works|Projects Sydney Row, Spike Island. Ffi: 07714 480849, www.worksprojects.co.uk • Regular roster of strongly conceptual exhibitions based around themes like architecture, space and materiality.

North Somerset Arts Week

Soma This funky Clifton gallery, now in larger premises opposite its former Clifton Arcade home, is a treasure-trove of limited-edition original prints, often with a naive, quirky or humorous twist. Papercut artist Rob Ryan, printmaker Graham Carter and jeweller Tatty Devine are just some of the big names in contemporary art whose wares can be found here. Next up: a solo show, later this month, by Anthony Burrill (work pictured), creator of persuasive, upbeat illustration and typography. Burrill works across various media including posters, moving image and 3D work, and mixes an instinctive handling of colour and composition with a witty approach to words. Ffi Boyces Ave, Clifton, Bristol. Ffi: 0117 973 9838, www.somagallery.co.uk

Fizz Gallery Spring is in the air this month at this stylish gallery in Clevedon’s thriving Hill Road shopping district – headlined by a stunning show from top UK artist Kerry Darlington (Tree of Life, pictured). “Her paintings have people stopping in their tracks as they pass the windows,” says gallery owner Sandy Prater. “They’re uplifting, vibrant, magical, innocent – and they make you feel good.” Darlington’s pieces are painstakingly created using handmade papers, porcelain, acrylics, oils, gold and silver leaf and finally coated in a high-gloss resin to give a stunning finish. Also new to the gallery for April are artists Sam Toft (quirky scenes of humans and animals) and Kate Leiper (mixed-media silkscreens of creatures great and small). And, as always, Fizz offer interested buyers the chance to take paintings home and see them in their domestic surroundings before they buy, with no pressure to purchase.

Neighbourhood art trails are something we do rather well around here: Bristol and Bath have a thriving family of them, including North Bristol, Front Room (Totterdown), Widcombe and Larkhall. It’s a simple and brilliant formula: spend your day wandering happily around a neighbourhood, snooping into artists’ homes, sizing up the creative fare on view within and chatting to said artists about their work. One of the best is North Somerset Arts Week, a biennial, fortnight-long series of exhibitions at homes, artists’ studios, churches, pubs, community centres and more across a swath of North Somerset from Portishead to Axbridge, Weston-super-Mare to the fringes of Bristol at Ashton Court. This April/May sees the fifth biennial NSAW, and you can expect a broad range of art on view at venues across the region. Over 250 artists, sculptors, designers and craft makers will be showing work ranging from painting (Jonathan Kinkead, Blue Harbour, pictured) and printmaking to sculpture in metal, ceramics, willow, textiles, stone, glass, clay and concrete. Most of what you see will be on sale and the artists will be in situ to discuss their work. Ffi North Somerset Arts Week runs from 29 Apr-8 May. Ffi: 01934 627809, www.northsomersetarts.org

Ffi Hill Rd, Clevedon. Ffi: 01275 341141, www.fizzgallery.co.uk

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• Parties • Festivals • Weddings • Corporate

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Main: Tyntesfield’s east facade and (right) chapel, freshly refurbed and gleaming in early spring sunshine Inset: a riot of greenery in the kitchen garden

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Manor from

heaven

Tyntesfield, the National Trust’s spectacular Victorian mansion set in wooded parkland west of Bristol, is fully unwrapped and refurbed at last. Steve Wright takes a snoop around

t’s had a profound effect on the way we do things as an organisation. Six years ago, when we started the restoration here, the idea of doing all our conservation work in front of visitors, rather than closing for the winter and doing it all behind the scenes, seemed daunting. But the way we’ve done things here is how we will do it for ever now.” Anna Russell is general manager at Tyntesfield, the National Trust’s spectacular Victorian stately home a few miles west of Bristol. And, as she’s explaining, the past few years at the vast Gothic Revival mansion have been incredibly eventful – and game-changing for the Trust as a whole. When the NT acquired it in 2002 after a massive public fundraising campaign, Tyntesfield was in a slightly sorry state – a vast family mansion that had declined since its Victorian/Edwardian heyday. It was built during the 1860s by William Gibbs, scion of a wealthy trading family who built their fortune on South American guano (seabird excrement used for fertiliser). Gibbs and his wife Matilda had seven children and 18 grandchildren, and throughout the late 1800s and early 1900s Tyntesfield was a much-loved country home for a large, wealthy

and intensely busy and creative family. It was one of Britain’s first private homes to have electric lighting; exotic fruits were grown in the house and garden using advanced heating systems; and, as photos and memorabilia show, the family indulged in all manner of sports and theatricals in and around the house and garden. Stuffy Victorians they most certainly weren’t. The property declined, though, in the later 20th century. After William’s great-grandson Richard died unmarried in 2001, the estate was sold to the Trust, who collected £8.2m from the public in just 100 days, boosted by a £17.4m grant from the National Heritage Memorial Fund. What happened next broke new ground for the Trust: Tyntesfield was opened to the public just 10 weeks after its acquisition, with a huge to-do list of repairs, updates and refurbishments. And, ever since, through each stage of the refurbishments, Tyntesfield has remained open to visitors. And that, as Anna explains, has had a revolutionary effect – both on the way visitors have got to know Tyntesfield, and on how the Trust will, in future, handle such big projects. “From the start, we planned to do everything – building work, conservation, drainage – in front of our visitors, and to make them feel a part of

Tyntesfield’s ongoing story. The Trust is now focusing more on trying to bring places to life through looking at families – instead of merely showing a house, we’re inviting our visitors to be part of the story, to experience how the family lived and what life here would have felt like. “Visitors want to see inside places, and they don’t mind if things are a bit rough around the edges – in fact they love talking to curators, restorers and gardeners, and they often love seeing the process more than the finished product. We try to create an emotional attachment with the past - that feeling down the back of your neck where another era feels alive and present.” Restoration might, she admits, take a little longer with visitors trooping in constantly – but then why the rush? “There’s no need to hurry towards the finished product, if the journey is so interesting. We’ve got 700 volunteers here now, all feeling involved with the process. The more we do with visitors and volunteers, the more they feel that it’s their project too.” This spring marks a very important chapter in the ongoing tale of Tyntesfield. For the first time in nearly two years, visitors are able to see the spectacular Victorian mansion unobscured by scaffolding. During restoration, the roof has been

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pic: Zelkova Serrata

pic: GiraffePhotography

Tyntesfield’s shop, housed in the former Home Farm

All this makes for a subtly different experience to that of other Trust properties – less imposing family seat, more happy family home. “It’s unusual in that everything in the house belonged to the family,” Anna explains. “In other houses that we take on, very often everything has been sold on, so we have to go through a process of buying things back. Generally, you can only trace the expensive things, because people don’t keep the maids’ outfits or the mugs. Here, though, the attraction – and why our supporters were so keen for us to acquire it – was the thousands of everyday domestic items. An unopened Chocolate Orange is as significant as a fabulous painting in bringing the place, and the family, to life. Yes, they had all this finery – but they also had their tea in front of the telly.”

The Main Hall

Tyntesfield Wraxall, Bristol, BS48. House & chapel open SatWed 10.30am-5pm. Garden & estate open daily 10am-6pm. Visitor centre, restaurant, shop & cafe open daily 10.30am4.30pm. Ffi: 01275 461900, www.nationaltrust.org.uk

The monthly (first Sunday) Farmer’s Market

pic: NTPL Penny Tweedie

hidden behind an expanse of metal and sheeting the size of 10 tennis courts – its 28 miles of scaffolding poles and 24,000 fittings took 14 weeks to remove. Unwrapped, it shows off once again the fairytale landscape of turrets and pinnacles, chimneys and gables. Inside, all 106 rooms have been replumbed and rewired. Rooms that had been stripped of their contents, covered in dust sheets or used as storage during the renovation works have been unwrapped, deep-cleaned and reinstated. And some of the 40,000-odd objects that were carefully packed away and moved into storage by trained staff and specialists are being rehoused in the newly climate-controlled rooms. Perhaps the most striking new arrival, though, is the new visitor centre and restaurant, housed in the estate’s Home Farm. Every last detail of the grade II*-listed farm buildings – from animals’ drinking bowls to cow byres and feeding stalls – have been preserved, the latter now acting as restaurant booths. The restaurant and cafe are already serving the best local and seasonal food, and will increasingly feature dishes made using fresh fruit, vegetables and herbs from Tyntesfield’s working kitchen garden. “We’re producing good, gutsy, seasonal food – locally sourced and ethically reared,” enthuses head chef Giles Evans. “The kitchen garden is already producing Jerusalem artichokes, kale and fennel, and by summer it’ll be supplying the lion’s share of the menu. We’ll be making our own honey from the estate’s own hive from next year, and cheese and meat comes from tenant farmers. The food is coming from just yards away from the kitchens – it’s very exciting.” Walk around the house now, says Anna, and the picture you get is of a hugely energetic, creative dynasty. “We’ve found trunks full of old dressingup clothes from the 1920s and, in the cellar, painted backdrops for the Gibbs’ family theatre performances. We found a shuttlecock and pingpong balls in the library. There are photos of the children in the gardens with their little toy dogs, which they’ve dressed up and put in the flowerpots. You can trace the various family crazes – cricket, theatre, and then all of a sudden everyone’s got a bicycle. They were a very normal family in some respects – but one with limitless wealth, and able to pursue their various passions.”

pic: NTPL Andreas von Einsiedel

Sunlight over a corner of the 2,400-acre estate

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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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Sweet

dreams Fabulous base for clifftop, beach or garden strolls Babbacombe Bay Hotel 33-35 Babbacombe Downs Rd, Torbay, Devon. Ffi: 01803 323509, www.babbacombebay.com (From £95 pr/pn B&B) Babbacombe Bay Hotel enjoys a peerless location on the English Riviera, on Babbacombe Downs. This long green boasts the highest promenade in the country, with spectacular sea views as far as Portland Bill and two awardwinning beaches below, Oddicombe and Babbacombe Beaches. Having recently undergone a major redesign and refurbishment, this elegant boutique hotel now offers 11 luxury bedrooms and individually styled suites with sea views plus a generously proportioned openplan apartment sleeping four - ideal for families

and pets, too. There’s a choice of styles, from pure seaside to French Rococo, all exuding luxury and style. If a suite is more your thing, they don’t come much more glamorous than the Silver Rococo with its decadent silver-leaf superking bed or the Look-Out with classic nautical red and white stripes and its own terrace with 180° sea views. Heading out for a day on the beach? Ask Babbacombe to prepare a picnic hamper for you, brimming with delicious local specialities. Mmm… For something a little out of the ordinary Bannatyne’s Charlton House Spa Hotel Shepton Mallet, Somerset. Ffi: 01749 342008, www.bannatyne.co.uk/hotel/charltonhouse (From £120 pr/pn B&B)

Rachel Nott chooses her top 10 favourite weekend breaks From the outside, it’s a genteel Georgian mansion complete with dramatic sweeping drive, stone balustrades and bay trees to usher you in through the stone porch. On the inside, this is a modern man’s (or woman’s) cosy weekend come true. From the opulence of the Grand Suite with garden view and interconnecting twin (designed with families in mind or a girls’ weekend away) to Duncan’s Den (yes, that Duncan, off Dragons’ Den), designed by the great man himself and simply dripping with the latest entertainment gadgets, Charlton House really have thought of everyone. Need a relaxing pamper? The spa is ready and waiting to rejuvenate and soothe you with its hydrotherapy pool, crystal steam room and - not for the fainthearted – the ice fountain, which is apparently a brilliant stress-reliever. All

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Clockwise from left: View from Babbacombe Bay Hotel; Babbacombe’s pretty terrace with sea views; Bishopstrow House; Fowey Hall Hotel’s sun-trap terrace; Fowey Hall’s grounds; one of Bishopstrow’s cosy bedrooms

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sorts of treatments are also available, as well as a fitness studio for workoutaholics. Laid-back glamour for the whole family Bishopstrow House Warminster, Wilts. Ffi: 01985 212312, www. bishopstrow.co.uk (From £175 pr/pn B&B) Whether you’re sweeping your beloved off for a romantic mini-break or want to treat the family to a knockout weekend away, Bishopstrow House is the key to winning every member of your party over. Recently refurbished in sumptuous designer wallpapers and fabrics, this is an elegant yet comfortable place in which to relax. The heated indoor and outdoor pools will appeal to everyone - just try resisting that dip en plein air on sunny days! The Halcyon Spa, meanwhile, is a must for tired-out parents, with more than 40 different treatments on offer. When it comes to dining, there are no less than three to choose from – fine dining in the two-AA-rosette restaurant, more casual dining in the conservatory, or simple snacks and salads or just a chilled glass of wine and olives on the terrace. For foodies and fans of Hardy’s Wessex Bridge House Hotel Prout Bridge, Beaminster, Dorset. Ffi: 01308 862200, www.bridge-house.co.uk (From £140 pr/pn B&B) Cosy and rustic in a farmhouse-chic kind of way, this unpretentious, eminently comfortable hotel is a real find. The charming stone building with pretty walled garden has been here for over 700 years and in that time must have been witness to a huge number of residents - including a dozen priests in its infancy. It’s nestled deep in Hardy’s

Wessex - you can just imagine some of Hardy’s larger-than-life rural folk living, working and carousing at Bridge House. And it’s so well sited for exploring England’s only natural World Heritage Site, the fossil-rich Jurassic Coast. It’s also just 30 minutes’ drive from Hugh FearnleyWhittingstall’s River Cottage, with which it shares the same stretch of the River Brit. And while the foody options are clearly second-to-none (MasterChef 2009 winner Mat Follas’s restaurant The Wild Garlic is also here in Beaminster), you can’t beat the two-AA-rosette Beaminster Brasserie at Bridge House for its fresh, local ingredients, cooked beautifully simply in order to let the flavours and textures do the talking. The dining room is chic in an understated way, with white table linen, heavy cutlery and a wood fire burning on chillier evenings. The 13 bedrooms are all decorated to a high standard with Wi-Fi and Molton Brown goodies in the bathrooms. The ultimate home from home for green goddesses, dog lovers and big groups Farm and Cottage Holidays Ffi: 01237 459888, www.holidaycottages.co.uk (From £165 for several nights) If you prefer your breaks to be self-contained and more of a home from home, Farm and Cottage Holidays have just the bolthole for you from which to explore Somerset, Dorset, Devon or Cornwall. On the website, cottages are divided into easy-tochoose categories (from green to luxurious via accessible, family and dog-friendly) and come with a good selection of high-quality images so you can see exactly what you’ll get when you rock up. Each cottage has been selected for its pretty location - often close to local attractions such as the Eden Project or Hardy’s Cottage, as well as Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, from Dartmoor to the Jurassic Coast - so whether it’s a sandy beach or a rugged landscape you want to wake up to, you’ve got it. Or perhaps you’d like to immerse the kids in rural farm life and opt for a working farm holiday? With over 300 to choose from, you can live the smallholder idyll without the longterm commitment. We particularly love

the idea of having alpacas on our doorstep at the Grain Barn Little England near Glastonbury! Just what Mr Toad in his sailing phase would have dreamed of Fowey Hall Hotel Hanson Drive, Fowey, Cornwall. Ffi: 01726 833866, www.foweyhallhotel.co.uk (From £170 pr/pn B&B) Fowey Hall is one of the most magnificent luxury hotels in Cornwall and is simply perfect for a luxury family break in the UK. Thought to be the inspiration behind Toad Hall in Kenneth Grahame’s The Wind in the Willows, Fowey Hall sits in a spectacular location overlooking the sailing and fishing port of Fowey on the south Cornish coast, within its original walled gardens and with commanding views of the river estuary and far out to sea. The fishing village of Fowey and the local sandy cove at Readymoney are both a short walk from the hotel, which is also within easy reach of the many superb attractions in Cornwall, including the world-renowned Eden Project. Fowey Hall is all about relaxation - while your little ones are being entertained in the Four Bears Den or the games room, kitted out with Xbox and Game Cube consoles, you can grab a bit of that all-important ‘me time’. Special offer! Escape the mayhem of the Royal Wedding weekend with a special break at Fowey folio 23

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hroughout April, Mark Veale, Thornbury Castle’s talented head chef is delighted to offer you the opportunity to indulge in his carefully created Six-Course Tasting Menu at the same price as the threecourse a la carte menu.

Take advantage of this great opportunity while you enjoy the splendour of a 500-year-old English Castle.

Six-Course Tasting Menu available to non-residents for £50 per person

Thornbury Castle, Thornbury, South Gloucs, BS35 1HH Tel: 01454 281182 info@thornburycastle.co.uk

25% off prices in may

www.thornburycastle.co.uk Please quote APRIL FOLIO when booking

The perfect location for a romantic getaway this April Take advantage of our Spring Break offer: Two night stay with bed & breakfast plus 3 course dinner each night in our award winning Oakwood restaurant. £249.00 total stay based on 2 adults sharing. Available 7 days a week. Weekend availablility limited. Call 0117 937 1800 or email info@tracypark.co.uk today!

Tracy Park Hotel & Country Club, Bath Road, Wick, Nr.Bath BS30 5RN

0117 937 1800 info@tracypark.co.uk

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Luxury accommodation with stunning sea views

Relax Indulge Enjoy A modern, boutique hotel located on the seafront with stylish, spacious rooms, suites and stunning sea views. Ideal for a relaxing break, a romantic escape, strolls along the beaches and walks along the coastal paths. Special offer â&#x20AC;&#x201C; book 7 nights or more and get 10% off! Call 01803 323 509 to enquire about this special promotion. Babbacombe Bay Hotel 33-35 Babbacombe Downs Road Babbacombe, Devon TQ1 3LN

T: 01803 323 509 www.babbacombebay.com

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Watersmeet Hotel Why not escape for a few days to this elegant country house hotel by the sea? - Play on one of Britain’s best links courses - Walk the South West Coastal Path - Learn to surf on one of Britain’s best surf beaches - Relax in our leisure spa and enjoy a massage … or just unwind and enjoy comfy surroundings, good food & sea air

Folio April Reader Offer Enjoy a superior room with a spectacular sea view at the special rate of £87.50 per person, per night, including a full Devonian breakfast and a 3-course dinner. Mortehoe, Woolacombe, Devon EX34 7EB T: 01271 870333 E: info@watersmeethotel.co.uk www.watersmeethotel.co.uk This offer is based on two people sharing a double or twin room. It is valid until 30/04/11, excludes Easter and is subject to availability.

MARK SIMMONS PHOTOGRAPHY Tel: 0117 9140999 Mobile: 07778 063 699 “The photo’s are amazing! Thank you so much for capturing so many great images, they are awesome. You brought out the best in everyone, your B&W’s are especially stylish - we’ll be recommending you!”

Natural Weddings

Joby & Zoe

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Clockwise from below: Thornbury Castle; one of Tracy Park’s sumptuous rooms; Watersmeet Hotel

Hall. On Friday 29 April enjoy a quintessentially British Afternoon Tea from 2.30-4pm and let the kids enjoy the sunshine (we hope!) with some garden games and craft activities. Prices from £115 per person per night for B&B or £142.50 for dinner, B&B. Children sharing their parents’ room stay for free. Turn to page 90 for your chance to win a spa break at Fowey Hall! Cosy bolthole for visiting ‘the prettiest village in England’ The Old House at Home Burton, nr Castle Combe, Wilts. Ffi: 01454 218227, www.ohhcompany.co.uk/the_old_house_at_ home/index.html (From £87.50 pr/pn B&B) For contemporary comfort on a small, homely scale, this pretty-as-a-picture, family-run, ivy-clad pub with rooms has it all. The six freshly decorated bedrooms, all individually styled with tasteful furniture, accent walls and expensive bedlinen, have recently been awarded five stars by the AA, so that just goes to show how attractive and well equipped they are. And since they’re in their own annexe, the only noise you’ll hear will be from your co-sleeper, rather than the pub. The food has long been a draw for Bathonians and Wiltshire folk who can’t resist the robust and well-cooked franglais fare, so you can bet on going to bed with a full and happy tummy. Being just two miles from Castle Combe (dubbed ‘the prettiest village in England’) and not far from Longleat, Stourhead and Lacock, there are ample opportunities for gorging on ye olde England. As if this weren’t reason enough to go, read the review in The Independent (there’s a link on the pub’s website). Walk in the footsteps of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn Thornbury Castle Castle St, Thornbury, South Glos. Ffi: 01454 281182, www.thornburycastle.co.uk (From £190 pr/pn B&B) It’s not often you get to stay in a hotel and wonder if you could be sleeping in the very room that a

king and queen of England have slept in. Particularly not the most notorious king and queen in this country’s history. But here, at the resplendent Thornbury Castle, you can do just that. (Actually, if you want to guarantee sleeping in the same room as Henry VIII, our tip is to make sure you pick the Duke’s Bedchamber.) All 27 of the rooms are individually styled in keeping with the Tudor history of the castle, so you’ll see lots of heavy, dark wood furniture clothed in heavy, finely worked fabrics alongside all the modern necessities we’ve all come to expect from a luxury hotel. Inside the castle, the Library and Drawing Room are both grand yet cosy places to sit and read or enjoy afternoon tea, while the grounds include the oldest Tudor gardens in England. There’s even a vineyard, from which Thornbury Castle wine is produced – it’s included on the comprehensive wine list, so you can try a bottle with your meal. Every late September or early October you can help to pick the grapes – just call the hotel to register your interest. The food here is second to none: with local hero Mark Veale heading up the kitchen, whether it’s Sunday lunch or the incredible evening tasting menu, you can’t fail to be impressed by the foodie theatre you’ll be served.

a standard room, full English breakfast, threecourse evening meal and a complimentary drink on arrival (service charge not included). Just quote ‘Spring Break’. Offer not available online.

For the perfect Famous Five-style holiday Watersmeet Hotel Woolacombe, North Devon. Ffi: 01271 870333, www.watersmeethotel.co.uk For a taste of Jacobean country (From £86 pp/pn B&B) house splendour Whether you go for an all-out active break or Tracy Park Hotel & Country Club just fancy interspersing some light reading Bath Rd, Wick. Ffi: 0117 937 1800, www. with regular intervals for tea, while watching theparkresort.com the waves crashing spectacularly on the rocks (From £149 pr/pn B&B) If your idea of mini-break heaven is an elegant just a few feet below you, Watersmeet couldn’t be a more obliging host. Sitting on its own little country pile surrounded by acre upon acre of patch of low green cliff right above the beach, green fields, Tracy Park is that dream come the hotel takes full advantage of its rather true. Just 10 minutes from Bath and 20 from unique location, which gives all its bedrooms Bristol, this splendid Jacobean country house spectacular sea views (and many come with comes complete with two championship balconies, too). An enormous 40ft west-facing 18-hole golf courses set over 240 acres, so you sitting room with one long panoramic window can enjoy the relaxing delights of nature and is the perfect place to relax and watch the excitements of city living as the mood takes incredible sunsets just behind Lundy Island. If you. In fact the estate itself is much older than Jacobean, even getting a mention in Domesday you have family in tow, there are ample opportunities for paddling, swimming, walking – read all about its colourful history on the along Exmoor’s beautiful coastline, rock website. Each of the 24 rooms in this elegant pooling, shrimping and even surfing. boutique hotel is decorated in fresh, unfussy Combesgate Beach and Woolacombe Bay are contemporary style, which is carried through in the farmhouse-chic elegance of the two-AA- renowned for their surfing – so if you fancy giving it a go, why not book the family in for a rosette restaurant. Special Offer! Take advantage of a long spring lesson at Nick Thorn’s Surfing School (with weekend this April. Tracy Park are offering a 10% off for Watersmeet residents)? In two two-night package based on two people hours you’ll be standing on your board and sharing a twin or double room. Rate of £249 feeling immensely proud and exhilarated in per room per stay includes accommodation in equal measure. folio 27

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feature The Bath City Model, commissioned by the Bath Preservation Trust in 1965, when much of the city was in danger of demolition to make way for ‘modern developments’. It took 10,000 hours to make, and newer buildings were added in the 1990s. The columns in The Circus are made of pencil-leads, while the acorns on top of buildings are made from sanded-down hatpins

Georgians on My Mind

The Building of Bath Museum tells the story of the Heritage City’s transformation from provincial town into world-famous spa. Eugene Byrne gets the bigger picture

he Building of Bath Collection isn’t one of Bath’s more glamorous museums. It looks grand enough on the outside, but it used to be a Methodist chapel, and the atmosphere inside is sober and serious. But while it doesn’t have the obvious populist appeal of, say, the Roman Baths or the Fashion Museum, it’s actually essential viewing for all Bathonians, and for any visitor with a passing interest in how Bath got there. With tools, maps, pictures, paintings, builders’ manuals from the 1700s and much more - not least the amazing 1:500 scale model of the city - the Collection shows how the Georgian city developed. There are displays on the various trades and crafts involved, from stone mining through to the secrets of sash windows and wallpaper printing. Here’s where

you learn not just about the bigger picture (and even the occult overtones of some street layouts), but also what went into the building of each individual house. The collection is owned and run by the Bath Preservation Trust (BPT). “It’s really the only place in the city where you can find out how the 18th century city was built,” says Tom Boden, BPT education officer. “I’d argue that the 18th century buildings are one of the most important reasons people come to Bath - why it’s famous, why it’s a world heritage site.” The Trust has long been at the heart of campaigns to conserve the city’s architectural heritage. It was founded in the 1930s in response to a proposal to knock down several old buildings to make way for a road through the middle of Bath. It again took a leading role in resisting the ‘sack of Bath’ in the 1960s, which

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feature One of the collection’s educational events. During Bath’s Heritage Open Week in 2009 young visitors worked with local sculptor Laurence Tindall to make their own Bath stone houses. Ffi: www. laurencetindall.co.uk

Bath Preservation Trust ● As well as the Building of Bath

Collection, the Trust is involved in running a number of other heritage sites. No.1 Royal Crescent, donated by a supporter in the 1960s, gives visitors some excellent insights into the home life of wealthy Bathonians during the 18th century. Beckford’s Tower is an astonishing folly, built by stinking-rich dilettante and author William Beckford. Climb to the top of the tower for fantastic views, then visit the museum at the bottom to find out about Beckford’s astonishingly self-indulgent life. The Trust is also involved in the running of the Herschel Museum of Astronomy, based in the house where Herschel lived when he discovered Uranus in 1781 - although some folk claim that his sister Caroline did all the hard work… Ffi www.bath-preservation-trust.org.uk

Fashionable interior decoration, 18th century style; some examples of lacquer work

once more threatened to destroy the character of Bath in the name of progress (for which read: concrete). To this day, it takes a lively and active role in debate about new developments. “The Trust’s view is that in Bath we’re extremely fortunate to have such a legacy of architectural heritage,” says Tom. It does, however, take great exception to accusations of resisting all progress and simply wanting to preserve Bath in aspic. “Anything new should contribute to improving the city, through high-quality design that works with its historic setting and respects the location it’s in,” explains Tom. “It’s not that we shouldn’t build anything new. Take the Bath Spa, for instance – that’s something of which I think people generally approve. Its architecture works well, with traditional materials and also contemporary materials – the Bath stone and the glass work very well together. The issue is deciding what’s appropriate for a new building.” The Building of Bath Collection Countess of Huntingdon’s Chapel, The Vineyards, The Paragon, Bath. Open Sat-Mon & BHMs 10.30am-5pm to end of Nov, admission £4 adult/£3.50 senior, student/£2 ages 5-16. Special summer exhibition, Putting Bath on the Map, runs to end of Nov. Ffi: 01225 333895, www.bathpreservation-trust.org.uk

The Methodist Missionary ● The Building of Bath Collection is

housed in a former Methodist chapel built by Selina, Countess of Huntingdon (17071791). Her conversion to Methodism shocked many, as the sect was seen as strictly downmarket - only for the lower classes and not the landed aristocracy. The Countess’ religious sensibility deepened when her husband and some of her children died - and when her surviving children refused to listen to her evangelising. In the 1750s she moved to Clifton, where her eldest daughter found her mother “righteous over-much” and life with her “void of everything agreeable”. The girl married an aristocrat with estates in Ireland simply to get as far away as possible from her mother. After missionary work among the poor of Bristol, Selina resolved to bring religion to the upper classes in Bath. She paid for the chapel, which opened on 24 October 1765. All the leading Methodists of the time preached here: Augustus Toplady (writer of Rock of Ages), the Wesley Brothers, George Whitefield, and William Grimshaw (the ‘mad parson of Haworth'). Her acquaintance with Bath MC Beau Nash scandalised the town’s fun-lovers. Nash had to shun her after rumours went around that she’d converted him. She fell out with pretty much everyone over the finer points of religion and ended up founding a small sect of her own, The Countess of Huntingdon’s Connexion, which still exists to this day.

Marquetry panel from inside the lid of a cabinetmaker’s tool chest, showing a joiner having a refreshment-break in his workshop. It features in this year’s Bath in 100 Objects project

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what’son comedy

Keep Smiling Through l Plenty of light relief this month, courtesy of the Bath Comedy Festival. Highlights from the international circuit include a crop of fresh comics from the Balkans (9 Apr), caustic vitriol from Doug Stanhope, whose humour is as dry and bleak as the Arizona desert where he lives (3 Apr), and a cheerier Sunday lunch with Craig Campbell, a Canadian who’s big on bonhomie and brilliantly observed anecdotage (10 Apr). For those in search of more locally sourced laughter, Bristol scene stalwart Mark Olver will be presenting his unusual new solo show Olver: Portrait of a Serial Killer (5 Apr) ably supported by addled ad-libbers (and fellow Brizzledwellers) Jared Hardy and Fin Taylor, with a full orchestra in tow. Elsewhere we get ‘sharp and bitchy’ BBC Radio 4 star Jo Caulfield and her acerbic Cruel

include ‘a mystery tour on a big red Routemaster bus and an intriguing finale in a hitherto secret venue...’ Look out also for factotum raconteur Sid Kipper (Apr 7), making his first ever trip to Bath to share a night of bucolic storytelling, surrealist song and serrated stand-up. See tomorrow’s stars today at the New Act Competition’s talent-scouring heats (4-6 Apr) and Grand Final (9 Apr). Those brave enough to take a turn at the mic themselves can try the stand-up workshop with Tony Allen (2 Apr). Head over to the festival website for the full lineup and bag yourself a few tickets while you can. To miss out would be foolish indeed. to be Kind routine (6 Apr), and much-loved curmudgeon Arthur Smith leading an alcohol-fuelled White Wine Arts

Trail with added unpredictable capers from the madcap Natural Theatre Company (3 Apr) - this, we’re told, will

Bath Comedy Festival 1-10 April, various venues, Bath. See also Q&A on p5. Ffi: www.bathcomedy.com

sounds

j walking l Welcome to Jessie J, the perfect amalgam of kook-cat Lady Gaga-esque bluster (“I was front of the queue for legs, back for boobs and bum”) and Lily Allen-recalling, Essexhoned lyrical street sass. It also helps that she looks like Deep Space Betty Boo. Or not. “To be honest, I always think of it as being a bit Mystic,” she says of her maxi-shine black bob-cut. Happily for her PR team, she’s even got a heartstringtugging back story. “I had a minor stroke three years ago. I’ve got heart problems. I’ve looked at the big stuff straight in the eye, had people sitting on the end of a hospital bed wondering what’s going to happen next and genuinely not knowing.” Consequently without drink, smokes or

caffeine, all that she has, she says, is her confidence. And then some. Signed to Gut Records a whisker before it went bust, she upped and flew to the US. “I landed off the plane in LA, did a showcase at the Viper Rooms and two days later I’m sat with LA Reid [Island Def Jam CEO] and there are eight offers on the table. LA said to me he couldn’t believe that British labels had passed up on me.” Cue irresistible pop-hop hit Do It Like a Dude, high-profile props from Alicia, Kylie, Perez and Justin, and Jessie J’s world has become distinctly oyster-shaped. Jessie J Fri 1 April, O2 Academy Bristol. Ffi: 0117 927 9227, www.o2academybristol. co.uk

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what’son fashion

Join the Circus l To help the fashion aficionados among you step into the new season in style, Cabot Circus are inviting you to their shimmering Fashion Weekender this month. A series of free catwalk shows will celebrate the hottest trends from the new season, allowing you a sneaky peek at the best of the high-street and designer brands. With spring having sprung, it’s time to forget functional fashion and embrace a revival of colour - pop and vibrant block colours have been all over the catwalks of late, alongside vintage 70s glamour, unstructured gypsy-like silhouettes and shimmering fabrics. The Cabot Circus Fashion Weekender will also

celebrate the return of good old-fashioned glamour and rock’n’roll-inspired chic. As well as the cutting-edge clobber, you can check out the latest hair and beauty trends, with experts from Sanctuary Spa, SeanHanna and other looking-good gurus on hand to give demonstrations and free taster sessions. Many Cabot Circus shops and eateries will be offering discounts during the weekend, and shops will stay open till 8pm. Even just showing up entitles you to enter a competition to win £1,000 worth of fashion. Cabot Circus Fashion Weekender 2-3 April, Cabot Circus, Bristol. Ffi: www.cabotcircus.com

art

family

art beat

mamma mia! l Listen up, children. This Mother’s Day, a mere cup of tea in bed won’t quite cut it. Fortunately, Bristol and Bath’s biggest visitor attractions are laying on plenty of special, family-friendly activities to help. Roll up to Tyntesfield for a Mother’s Day Lunch & Basketry Workshop, where a two-course lunch in the new restaurant will be followed by the chance to make your own traditional stick basket/platter with expert Sarah Ayling from Musgrove Willows. There’s more food-thenmaking-stuff fun at Prior Park’s Mother’s

Day Cream Tea & Craft Workshop, while at Brunel’s ss Great Britain you can dress up in Victorian costume for Mother’s Day Portraits and take home a photographic memento of your day. Or pack her off on a Mother’s Only House Tour around Dyrham Park, where she’ll discover the mark women have made on the mansion throughout the ages and view rooms that are normally closed to visitors. Mother’s Day Sun 3 April. Ffi: www. nationaltrust.org.uk, www.ssgreatbritain.org

l North Somerset’s biennial Arts Week is the collaborative effort of over 250 artists, sculptors, designers and craft makers exhibiting in a variety of venues across the county. The range of their output is impressive, including painting, printmaking and 3D works in metal, ceramics, willow, textiles, stone, glass and concrete. Most exhibits will be for sale, and you’ll be able to see the artists at work in their studios - or just enjoy a good snoop, as many of the exhibiting venues are the artists’ private homes. Best of all, admission is free. North Somerset Arts Week 29 April-8 May, various venues across North Somerset. Ffi: www. northsomersetarts.org.uk

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april 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

SOUNDS

1 APR Source Code Duncan Jones

THROUGHOUT APR Jazz at

Future Inns Another cracking month of live jazz, blues and occasional acoustica in a sophisticated setting. Check website for full line-up • Future Inn, Cabot Circus, Bristol (0845 094 5588, www.futureinns.co.uk/ jazz-club-bristol)

follows the excellent Moon with an action thriller starring Jake Gyllenhaal as a soldier who wakes up in the body of an unknown man and discovers he’s part of a mission to find the bomber of a Chicago commuter train. 1 APR Oranges and Sunshine

Emily Watson stars in the true story of British social worker Margaret Humphreys, who uncovered the scandal of the forced migration of children in care to Australia.

Splash! A dramatic scene from Wim Wenders’ new 3D film Pina about choreographer Pina Bausch. See Film

4 APR Noah & The Whale By a distance the most lyrically sharp, pop-savvy act tagged with the Folk Revival label • Thekla, The Grove, Bristol (0117 929 3301, www. theklabristol.co.uk)

8 APR Mars Needs Mums

15 APR Winnie the Pooh Disney

22 APR Arthur It’s that 30th

Animation about a boy who develops a greater appreciation for his mother after she’s snatched by Martians.

returns to AA Milne for the studio’s first 2D animation since The Princess and the Frog. John Cleese narrates.

4 APR Drive By Truckers Driving

8 APR Rio Jesse Eisenberg and

15 APR Your Highness Fantasy

anniversary remake we’ve all been waiting for, with Russell Brand as the drunken playboy previously played by Dudley Moore, and Helen Mirren in the John Gielgud butler role. 22 APR How I Ended This Summer

6 APR Sandi Thom Return of she

Russian thriller set in a polar station on a desolate island in the Arctic. Its two inhabitants’ tense relationship disintegrates after one withholds an urgent message from the mainland.

who wishes she was a punk rocker • Fleece, St Thomas St, Bristol (0117 945 0996, www. thefleece.co.uk)

country-rockers, with the emphasis very much on the latter • Anson Rooms, Queens Rd, Bristol (0117 954 5830, www.ubu.org.uk/whatson)

college roommate flick, using Single White Female as its template.

comedy from Pineapple Express director David Gordon Green, with James Franco as a prince who drags his useless brother Danny McBride along to help rescue his kidnapped bride Natalie Portman.

8 APR Tomorrow, When the War

15 APR The Way Emilio Estevez

29 APR Thor Ken Branagh adapts

writes, directs and stars in a drama about an American father (his own dad, Martin Sheen) who travels to France to recover the body of his estranged son.

the Stan Lee Marvel comicbook, with Chris Hemsworth as Thor and Anthony Hopkins as Odin.

promising recent graduate from the School of Lily Allen • O2 Academy, Frogmore St, Bristol (0117 927 9227, www.o2academybristol.co.uk)

29 APR Cedar Rapids Sundance

9 APR Orquesta Buena Vista

Anne Hathaway supply the voices for this CGI macaw romance from the director of the Ice Age flicks. 8 APR The Roommate Teen psycho

Began Start of an epic new threeparter adapted from a popular series of novels by Australian author John Marsden about a bunch of teenagers on a camping trip who find themselves defending their country from invasion. It’s the new Lord of the Rings, if you will.

8 APR The Silent House Spooky

Uruguayan haunted house flick shot in one continuous take and allegedly based on a true story. 15 APR Red Riding Hood Amanda

Seyfried stars in Catherine Hardwicke’s reworking of the fairytale.

15 APR Little White Lies French

director Guillaume Canet’s followup to the excellent Tell No One: a comedy about a bunch of middleclass chums who go on holiday together. 22 APR Apollo 18 Horror flick based very loosely indeed on the last Apollo mission, which was cancelled by NASA. Tagline: ‘There’s a reason we’ve never gone back to the moon.’

festival indie hit comedy about insurance salesmen letting their hair down at a convention in Iowa. 29 APR Farewell Very belated UK

release for this excellent French thriller based on an extraordinary true story of Cold War espionage. 29 APR I Saw the Devil Serial-killer vengeance thriller from South Korean director Jee-woon Kim (The Good, the Bad and the Weird, A Tale of Two Sisters, etc).

8 APR Eliza Doolittle Most

Social Club: Omara Portuondo Beauteous Cuban tuneage, and a hugely welcome return of OP. ‘Quite possibly the finest female vocalist alive in the world today,’ wrote Venue magazine, reviewing her show here 10 years ago • Colston Hall, Colston St, Bristol (0117 922 3686, www.colstonhall. org)

10 APR The Undertones From

Teenage Kicks on, producers of one music’s finest ever run of singles

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what’son • Thekla, The Grove, Bristol (0117 929 3301, www.theklabristol.co.uk) 13 APR Cee Lo Green He of the

extraordinary voice behind Gnarls Barkley’s Crazy, now hitting big on his own with Forget You and It’s OK • O2 Academy, Frogmore St, Bristol (0117 927 9227, www. o2academybristol.co.uk) 24 APR Katie Melua Delayed show

promoting last year’s William Orbitproduced long-player, The House • Colston Hall, Colston St, Bristol (0117 922 3686, www.colstonhall. org)

6 APR Miles Jupp: Fibber in the

Heat Fish-out-of-water comedy as Jupp heads to India • Rondo, St Saviours Rd, Bath (01225 463362, www.rondotheatre.co.uk)

7 APR The Scottish Falsetto Sock Puppet Theatre Songs, sketches and potty-mouthed fun from Scotland’s most talented socks • Rondo, St Saviours Rd, Bath (01225 463362, www.rondotheatre. co.uk) 8-9 APR Ian Stone Edgy,

14 APR Robin Ince’s Bad Book Club

Ince examines some of the world’s most inadvertently hilarious literature • Comedy Box, Hen & Chicken, Southville, Bristol (0117 902 0344, www.thecomedybox.co.uk) 14-23 APR Frankenspine - My Big

Break True story about a man who fell headfirst off a 10ft wall • Bristol Old Vic, King St (0117 987 7877, www.bristololdvic.org.uk)

16 APR Arthur Smith: Exposed!

The revived fest offers up the likes of Seth Lakeman, Jim Moray, Show of Hands and Bellowhead • Colston Hall, Colston St, Bristol (0117 922 3686, www.colstonhall.org)

provocative stand-up with a selfdeprecating Jewish twist • Comedy Box, Hen & Chicken, Southville, Bristol (0117 902 0344, www. thecomedybox.co.uk)

Comedian, writer, broadcaster and Grumpy Old Man Smith chuckles through his newly published memoir, My Name Is Daphne Fairfax • Merlin, Bath Rd, Frome (01373 465949, www.merlintheatre.co.uk)

8-10 APR The Intimate Strangers

17 APR Arthur Smith: Exposed!

THEATRE, COMEDY & MUSICALS

Fast-paced sketch comedy, part of Bath Comedy Festival • Mission, Corn St, Bath (01225 428600, www. bathcomedyfestival.co.uk)

See above • Tobacco Factory, Southville, Bristol (0117 902 0344, www.tobaccofactory.com)

9 APR Bath Comedy Festival: New

29 APR-1 MAY Bristol Folk Festival

1-10 APR Bath Comedy Festival

Dozens of laughter-inducing events, from wine trails to bizarre walks, plays to sketch shows. See picture story • Various venues in Bath (www.bathcomedy.com) UNTIL 30 APR The Comedy of

Errors Shakespeare’s mistakenidentity farce delivered with boisterous humour • Tobacco Factory, Southville, Bristol (0117 902 0344, www.tobaccofactory. com)

1, 2, 8, 9, 15, 16, 22, 23, 29, & 30 APR Jesters Comedy Club Three

quality stand-up acts and an aftershow boogie • Metropolis, Cheltenham Rd, Bristol (0117 909 6655, www.metropolisbristol.co.uk) 1, 2, 8, 9, 15, 16, 22, 23 & 30 APR

Krater Comedy Club River Cottage grub, three top stand-up acts and dancing until bedtime • Komedia, Westgate St, Bath (0845 293 8480, www.komedia.co.uk) 4-9 APR Thriller Live Energetic

musical celebration of Michael Jackson and the Jackson 5 • Bristol Hippodrome, St Augustine’s Parade (0844 847 2325, www. bristolhippodrome.org.uk) 5-16 APR After the Accident Award-winning drama about restorative justice • Brewery, Southville, Bristol (0117 902 0344, www.tobaccofactory.com)

Act - Grand Final • Chapel Arts Centre, St James’ Memorial Hall, Lower Borough Walls, Bath (01225 461700, www.chapelarts.org)

10 APR Prototype Short excerpts

17 APR Jake & Elwood Blues

Brothers Show Soul, rhythm and blues review inspired by the superb film • Theatre Royal Bath, Sawclose (01225 448844, www.theatreroyal. org.uk)

of brand new drama for you to consider and offer feedback on • Tobacco Factory, Southville, Bristol (0117 902 0344, www. tobaccofactory.com)

18-23 APR To Kill a Mockingbird Tense drama set in Depression-era Deep South, based on the novel by Harper Lee • Theatre Royal Bath, Sawclose (01225 448844, www. theatreroyal.org.uk)

12-17, 19-24 & 26-30 APR

19-30 APR Bedlam: The Movie

Hairspray Larger-than-life 60s musical with plenty of dancing – and Michael Ball in a frock • Bristol Hippodrome, St Augustine’s Parade (0844 847 2325, www. bristolhippodrome.org.uk) The late, great King of Pop may no longer be with us, but the Michael Jackson legend lives on in hit musical Thriller Live, at Bristol Hippodrome. See Theatre, Comedy & Musicals

Drama in which a trio of filmmakers attempt to work in an old and haunted insane asylum – with some unexpected results • Brewery, Southville, Bristol (0117 902 0344, www.tobaccofactory.com)

Friday 01 April THE BOURBONS PLUS SUPPORT DUDLOW JOE £10 / £12 Saturday 2 April THE HAMSTERS £10 / £12 / £14 Wednesday 6 April LARKIN POE (FORMERLY THE LOVELL SISTERS) PLUS SUPPORT ADAM KLEIN £10 / £12 Saturday 09 April BATH COMEDY FESTIVAL -NEW ACT - GRAND FINAL £8 / £9 Sunday 10 April SAL MONELLOS HIT LIST £10 / £12 Friday 15 April JACQUI MCSHEE’S PENTANGLE £18.50 / £20 Saturday 16 April THE JOHNNY CASH TRIBUTE ROADSHOW £13 / £14 / £15 Wednesday 27 April A NIGHT OF CLASSICAL TAILS £5 / £7 Friday 29 April LINDA ANGELIS JAZZANOVA TRIO £7 / £9 / £11 Saturday 30 April BELLYLICIOUS - BELLY DANCE CABARET £12 / £15 Saturday 07 May BABAJACK (PLUS SUPPORT TYLER MASSEY) £10/ £12 Chapel Arts Centre Lower Borough Walls, Bath BA1 1QR www.chapelarts.org 01225 461700 Arts Cafe - Mon - Sat 9.30 - 5.30

EVERY MONDAY Groundswell open mic night EVERY THURSDAY Pepper your Leopard EVERY FRIDAY AND SATURDAY Top live DJ’s playing the best sounds around. Open until 2am. EVERY SUNDAY Comedy Cavern (see comedy listings for details). 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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what’son

21 APR Bath’s Top Talent The quest

super-Mare (01934 623449, www. thelloydgillgallery.com)

for Bath’s most entertaining performer continues • Komedia, Westgate St, Bath (0845 293 8480, www.komedia.co.uk)

21 APR Artist-in-Residence Bath

Uni’s live-in artist Tom Marshman ‘creates a multi-media installation that changes and develops over time’ • ICIA Art Space 2, University of Bath (01225 386777, www.bath. ac.uk/icia)

22 APR Pappy’s All Business Rapidfire sketch comedy from the Edinburgh Festival faves • Rondo, St Saviours Rd, Bath (01225 463362, www.rondotheatre.co.uk)

21 APR University of Bath &

23 APR Coco Boudoir Decadent

cabaret burlesque • Chapel Arts Centre, St James’ Memorial Hall, Lower Borough Walls, Bath (01225 461700, www.chapelarts.org) 26-30 APR Guys and Dolls A betting man makes a mighty big gamble in this stylish musical set in 1940s New York • Theatre Royal Bath, Sawclose (01225 448844, www.theatreroyal. org.uk) 29 APR Ministry of Burlesque’s

High Tease Wry and sassy quasiVictorian cabaret high-jinks • Komedia, Westgate St, Bath (0845 293 8480, www.komedia.co.uk)

29-30 APR Simon Evans Sardonic

stand-up presents new solo show Fringe Magnet • Comedy Box, Hen & Chicken, Southville, Bristol (0117 902 0344, www.thecomedybox.co.uk)

ART & EXHIBITIONS RUNNING ON 1-10 APR City Prospects Paintings

and prints by Nick Cudworth of views of Bath including Walcot Street, Camden Crescent and aspects of the city seen from the surrounding hillsides • Nick Cudworth Gallery, London St, Bath (01225 445221, www.nickcudworth. com) 1-27 APR Clive Haynes FRPS

Experimental photography taking advantage of the camera’s superhuman capabilities • Royal Photographic Society, Fenton House, Wells Rd, Bath (01225 325733, www.rps.org) 1-30 APR Lillian Delevoryas and

Lydia Corbett Corbett’s lively ceramics inspire the colourful paintings of Delevoryas • Rostra & Rooksmoor Galleries, George St, Bath (01225 448121, www. rostragallery.co.uk)

2-6 APR Broken Britain The New

Bedlam Art Asylum present a varied

Milk Float and Snowfall, Queen Square - one of Peter Brown’s winsome, wintry scenes, on show this month at Bath’s Victoria Art Gallery. See Art & Exhibitions

group show focusing on ‘social concerns, worries and hopes for the future’ • Centrespace Gallery, Leonard Lane, Bristol (0117 929 1234, www.centrespacegallery.com) 6 APR-17 JUNE The Changing Room

An Olympics-inspired mixed-media installation from sound artist, musician and composer Janek Schaefer • ICIA Art Space 1, University of Bath (01225 386777, www.bath.ac.uk/icia) 8-10 APR Studio 17 Spring Show:

Motorcade/FlashParade Bold new mixed-media show from five Bristolbased artists who share a studio • Bristol Studios, Philip St, Bedminster, Bristol (www. motorcadeflashparade.com)

9 APR-2 JUNE Peter Brown: Bath

Between Snows Wintry local street scenes rendered in likeably unpretentious oils • Victoria Art Gallery, Bridge St, Bath (01225 477233, www.victoriagal.org.uk)

16-20 APR Two Minds, One Vision

Sculptures and drawings from Jenny Pamphilon and Pat Ward with photographs from Derwood Pamphilon, all exploring human nature • Centrespace Gallery, Leonard Lane, Bristol (0117 929 1234, www.centrespacegallery.com) 17 APR-31 MAY Still Lives Robert

Lenkiewicz’s moving portraiture, wrestling with ‘the isolation of simply being alive’ • Royal West of England Academy, Queens Rd, Bristol (0117 973 5129, www.rwa.org. uk) 22 APR-29 MAY Modern Fabulists

Group show offering an artistic take on fables • View Art Gallery, Hotwell Rd, Bristol (05603 116753, www. viewartgallery.co.uk)

29 APR-8 MAY North Somerset

Arts Week Over 250 artists share their creative output. See picture story • Various venues across North Somerset (www.northsomersetarts. org.uk)

30 APR-26 JUNE Theatrum Orbis

Terrarum Archival works, video, animation, sculpture and installation from Dutch artist Marjolijn Dijkman, exploring how we perceive and experience our surroundings • Spike Island Studios, Cumberland Rd, Bristol (0117 929 2266, www.spikeisland.org.uk)

RUNNING UNTIL 6 APR Art for Sustainable

Transport Second solo show from Abigail McDougall, featuring landscapes reached by sustainable means: walking, cycling or by train • Royal West of England Academy, Queens Rd, Bristol (0117 973 5129, www.rwa.org.uk)

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) 10 APR Project Space: Invocations

of the Blank Page Multi-faceted show exploring ‘the elusiveness of meaning, the inadequacy of language and the struggle for creative expression’ • Spike Island Studios, Cumberland Rd, Bristol (0117 929 2266, www.spikeisland. org.uk)

11 APR The Essence of Drawing Group exhibition of drawings used as a means to develop painting, sculpture or printmaking • Lloyd Gill Gallery, Beaconsfield Rd, Weston-

Photosoc: Photography Exhibition Show of winning entries and runners-up from the University’s recent photography competition • ICIA Art Space 3, University of Bath (01225 386777, www.bath.ac.uk/ icia)

25 APR Cosima von Bonin Mixed-

media works exploring sloth and fatigue • Arnolfini, Narrow Quay, Bristol (0117 917 2300, www. arnolfini.org.uk) 30 APR Changing Perspectives

Exhibition (to include talks, workshops and performances) connecting art and science, in partnership with the University of Bristol • Grant Bradley Gallery, St Peter’s Court, Bedminster Parade, Bristol (0117 963 7673, www. grantbradleygallery.co.uk) 27 MAY Decadence: It’s a Ring

Thing Exhibition of one-off showstopping rings, guaranteed to grab attention • Diana Porter, Park St, Bristol (0117 909 0225, www. dianaporter.co.uk)

5 JUNE Wildlife Photographer of

the Year Another selection of stunning wildlife pictures • Bristol City Museum & Art Gallery, Queens Rd (0117 922 3571, www.bristol.gov. uk/museums)

30 OCT Marilyn – Hollywood Icon

Exhibition of 20 of the screen goddess’s gowns and outfits, original photographs and posters, and personal items • American Museum, Claverton Manor, Bath (01225 460503, www.americanmuseum.org) 8 JAN What Will She Wear?

Exhibition exploring the enduring romance of the wedding dress • Fashion Museum, Assembly Rooms, Bennett St, Bath (01225 477173, www.fashionmuseum.co. uk) ONGOING Maggie C: Pet Portraits Striking animal portraits undertaken by commission • Fizz Gallery, Hill Rd, Clevedon (01275 341141, www. fizzgallery.co.uk)

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april diary ONGOING Helmut Lang Four linked

displays including over 20 ensembles by Lang, who recently donated a collection of his output from 1997 to 2005 • Fashion Museum, Assembly Rooms, Bennett St, Bath (01225 477173, www. fashionmuseum.co.uk)

George’s Bristol, Great George St (0845 402 4001, www. stgeorgesbristol.co.uk) 20 APR Beethoven Piano Concerto

what’son 16-17 APR Made in Bristol: Spring Seasonal showcase of regional crafts including ceramics, glass, textiles, jewellery and furniture • Colston Hall, Colston St, Bristol (0117 922 3686, www.colstonhall.org)

ONGOING The Art of Giving

Cycle The Bristol Ensemble collaborate with celebrated pianist Freddy Kempf • Colston Hall, Colston St, Bristol (0117 922 3686, www.colstonhall.org)

Celebration of the artwork donated by local people, including a painting by Paul Klee, never previously on public display • Victoria Art Gallery, Bridge St, Bath (01225 477233, www. victoriagal.org.uk)

20 APR Bath Camerata A chance to hear JS Bach’s St John Passion in the dramatic setting of Bath Abbey • Bath Abbey, Kingston Buildings (01225 463362, www.bathboxoffice.org.uk)

ONGOING Photographing Fashion: British Style in the 1960s Ernestine Carter’s photographs of a famously fashionable decade • Fashion Museum, Assembly Rooms, Bennett St, Bath (01225 477173, www. fashionmuseum.co.uk)

27 APR Philharmonia Orchestra The Munich Philharmonic’s conductor Lorin Maazel leads a performance of Mozart’s Violin Concerto No 5 and Mahler’s Symphony No 4 • Colston Hall, Colston St, Bristol (0117 922 3686, www.colstonhall.org)

EASTER EGG TRAILS

27 APR Bristol Ensemble: Beethoven

• Tyntesfield, Wraxall, Bristol (01275 461965, www.nationaltrust.org.uk/ tyntesfield)

CLASSICAL, OPERA & DANCE 9 APR Bath Minerva Choir The BMC

sing through Paul Carr’s Requiem for an Angel and Faure’s Requiem • Bath Abbey, Kingston Buildings (01225 463362, www.bathboxoffice.org.uk) 9 APR St Matthew Passion The

Exultate Singers power through Bach’s moving choral work, accompanied by the Exultate Chamber Ensemble • St George’s Bristol, Great George St (0845 402 4001, www.stgeorgesbristol.co.uk) 13 APR Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra & the BSO Chorus Recital including Karl Jenkins’ Palladio and Stabat Mater • Colston Hall, Colston St, Bristol (0117 922 3686, www.colstonhall.org) 16 APR Bath Choral Society A

glorious concert of Durufle’s Requiem and Haydn’s Nelson Mass • Bath Abbey, Kingston Buildings (01225 463362, boxoffice@bathfestivals.org. uk)

17 APR Carmina Burana The

talented youngsters of the National Children’s Orchestra are joined by the Bristol Choral Society for a recital of Carl Orff’s masterwork • Colston Hall, Colston St, Bristol (0117 922 3686, www.colstonhall.org) 17 APR Vexations A complete

performance of Eric Satie’s Vexations, a short piano piece to be repeated exactly 840 times • St

by Candlelight II With Christopher Northam on piano, the Bristol Ensemble play Beethoven’s Piano Trio No 3 in C Minor, Piano Trio No 4 in B Flat and Piano and Violin Sonata No 9 in A, Kreutzer • St George’s Bristol, Great George St (0845 402 4001, www.stgeorgesbristol.co.uk)

OTHER EVENTS 7-9 APR Creative Craft and Stitch

Show Thousands of products, workshops, displays and live demonstrations all under one roof • Royal Bath & West Showground, Shepton Mallet, Somerset (01822 614671, www.sccshows.co.uk)

7, 8, 11, 12 & 13 APR Festival of

Ideas The cerebral event series this month sees experts asking questions including How Fair is Britain? and What Does the Brain Do? • Watershed, Harbourside, Bristol and St George’s Bristol, Great George St (www.ideasfestival.co.uk)

14 APR Firewalk Brave hot coals

barefoot to raise funds for Children’s Hospice South West • Bridgwater & Albion Rugby Football Club, Bath Rd, Bridgwater (01275 866600, www.chsw.org.uk/fire) 15 APR Spoken Word All Stars:

Spring 2011 Poetry Festival A selection of Britain’s best performance poets, accompanied by a globally acclaimed musician • Arnolfini, Narrow Quay, Bristol (0117 917 2300, www.arnolfini. org.uk)

30 APR-2 MAY Traditional Silk Wood

Spring Fair Coppicing demonstrations and handcrafted wooden wares for sale • Westonbirt National Arboretum, Tetbury, Glos (01666 880220, www. forestry.gov.uk/westonbirt)

FAMILY 22-25 APR Easter Eggstravaganza

• Prior Park Landscape Garden, Ralph Allen Drive, Bath (01225 833422, www.nationaltrust.org.uk) 22-25 APR Easter Egg Trails

22-25 APR Golden Easter Egg Hunt • Bristol Zoo Gardens, Guthrie Rd, Clifton, Bristol (0117 974 7300, www. bristolzoo.org.uk) 24-25 APR Easter Trails • Dyrham

Park, Dyrham, nr Bath (0117 937 2501, www.nationaltrust.org.uk) OUT & ABOUT 14 APR Family Woodland

Adventure Day Easter Fun A day in the great outdoors, involving team-building activities and risktaking for ages 7+ • Tyntesfield, Wraxall, Bristol (01275 461965, www.nationaltrust.org.uk/ tyntesfield)

EXHIBITIONS 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, Bristol (0845 345 1235, www.at-bristol. org.uk) UNTIL JULY The Incredible

Journey Celebration of the 40th anniversary of the great ship’s return to Bristol. Listen to memories of those involved in the rescue mission, marvel at a spacehopper invasion, and watch a new animated film • Brunel’s ss Great Britain, Great Western Dockyard, Bristol (0117 926 0680, www.ssgreatbritain.org)

PERFORMANCE 6-10 APR And The Rain Falls

Down A show about drips, drops and downpours for ages 3-4. Bring a change of clothing and a towel • Bristol Old Vic, King St (0117 987 7877, www. bristololdvic.org.uk)

8-10 APR The Little Elephant

Acclaimed early-years theatre specialists La Baracca-Testoni Ragazzi from Italy present the tale of a curious, sock-washing pachyderm. Ages 2-7 • The Egg, St John’s Place, Bath (01225 448844, www. theatreroyal.org.uk) 10 APR Nutty Noah Cheeky songs,

jokes, juggling and magic from the side-splitting Nutty Noah. Ages 4 • Tobacco Factory, Southville, Bristol (0117 902 0344, www.tobaccofactory. com)

16 April How Can We Grow More Food Locally? Free talk and workshop by Pam Warhurst of the award-winning initiative Incredible Edible, Todmorden. Friends Meeting House, York St, nr. Abbey, Bath, 2pm. (01225 750932, www. transitionbath.org/tt)

22-25 APR Tales of Bread and

22-25 APR Easter Eggs-travaganza

12 APR Mad Hatter’s Workshop

Easter-themed fun all weekend • HorseWorld, Staunton Manor Farm, Staunton Lane, Whitchurch, Bristol  (01275 540173, www.horseworld.org. uk)

Create a top hat, bonnet or crown to take home • Arnos Vale Cemetery, Bath Rd, Bristol (0117 971 9117, www.arnosvale.org.uk)

22-25 APR Victorian Surgeon Find

out about leeches and other yucky Victorian medical treatments • Brunel’s ss Great Britain, Great Western Dockyard, Bristol (0117 926 0680, www.ssgreatbritain.org)

Golden Thread Three Brothers Grimm tales squished into one hour. Ages 5+ • Brewery, Southville, Bristol (0117 902 0344, www. tobaccofactorytheatre.com)

WORKSHOPS & COURSES

12-13 APR Pick a Portrait Dress

up like the people in the museum’s paintings, and make your own gold-framed portrait • Bristol City Museum & Art Gallery, Queens Rd (0117 922 2000, www.bristol.gov.uk)

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food&drink LOCAL CORDIALS COUP

Genie in a Bottle l Husband-and-wife team Chris and Becky Verinder-Baker started creating their own cordials from the kitchen table of their terrace house in Ebley, near Stroud in the Cotswolds, some years ago – and now the years of dedication have paid off. A new range of their cordials, which have long been snapped up at local Farmers’ Markets, have just made their debut on the illustrious shelves of upmarket supermarket giant Waitrose. Three tantalising flavour combinations - Apricot & Ginger, Lemon & Mint and Pomegranate & Rose, all exclusive to Waitrose – look set to shake up the cordial category with their taste of the Cotswolds. According to Chris, 44, it’s the beautiful Cotswold countryside, with its bohemian values and artisan industrial roots, that’s the inspiration for the flavours at Five Valleys Cordials, who have

People are bored of apple and blackcurrant and are looking for new and interesting drinks. And I’ve got lots more ideas bubbling in my head of flavours that I want to develop next!” All the cordials are made from natural ingredients, with no preservatives, artificial flavours, colours or sweeteners. They make a wonderfully refreshing drink when you mix them with still or sparkling water, or you can add them to cocktails and marinades. They’ll add a definite je ne sais quoi if you use them as a cooking ingredient in your next fruit crumble, or you could even challenge the kids to turn them into ice-lollies. won a clutch of gongs including Taste of the West and Great Taste Awards. “We’ve created some very different flavours, which we’re sure people will

enjoy,” says Chris. “I love putting unusual flavour combinations together and watching people do a doubletake when they try them!

Five Valleys Cordials Ffi: 07811 461974, www.fivevalleyscordials.co.uk (buy online, at Stroud Farmers’ Market, or see website for local stockists in Stroud, Gloucester & Cheltenham)

PUB AWARDS

Gastro Glory l Basking in the glory but with no intentions of resting on their seasonal and locally supplied laurels, Bath’s Marlborough Tavern are celebrating after a recent visit from one of those AA reviewers. “I’m happy to say that he enjoyed his meal so much, he awarded us a second AA rosette!” says proprietor Joe Cussens, who also owns Bath gastropub The Chequers. “Needless to say, we’re all delighted. Gaining a second rosette is worthy recognition for all the hard work and consistent delivery of top-class food prepared by our head chef Richard Knighting and his dedicated team. This second rosette puts us right up there with some restaurants with very big reputations.” And the good news doesn’t stop there. Just a few days after bagging that second AA rosette, Richard went on to win the Game Chef of the Year award at the Great British Pub Food Awards 2011. Richard’s dish of Neston Park pheasant served with savoy cabbage in a bacon and Crabbie’s cream sauce, roast Jerusalem artichokes and chestnuts clinched the title for Richard against some stiff competition. What can we say? Book yourself a table before someone else grabs it... The Marlborough Tavern 35 Marlborough Buildings, Bath. Ffi: 01225 423731, www.marlborough-tavern.com

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food&drink CHARITY BALL

Gorilla Tactics

CAKES

Makin’ whoopie l There are more sweet treats in the offing over at North Somerset’s Little Lamb Bakery. In addition to their freshly made cupcakes – conjured up in small batches and decorated by hand in their home kitchen – you can now look forward to a new range of whoopie pies and macaroons. The whoopie pies, made of softbaked cake-type biscuits sandwiched together with sweet creamy fillings, are, they say, best described as “a cross between a soft-baked biscuit, a cake and a pie”. The macaroons, meanwhile, in lots of pretty colours

and flavours, will be beautifully packaged to make gorgeous gifts. With their bespoke cupcakes, Little Lamb can sort you out with a huge choice of different flavours and designs, for just about any occasion you can think of. They make great presents for birthdays, weddings, Christmas, anniversaries, birth celebrations or, well, just because. They can also cater for corporate events. Little Lamb Bakery Ffi: 07539 117520, www.littlelambbakery.co.uk

l Clifton Arcade’s new occupant? A lifelike silverback gorilla swinging from the roof, in aid of their moneyraising efforts for the World Wildlife Fund (www.wwf.org.uk) and endangered mountain gorilla. Pop into the gorgeous 19th century-designed Arcade, with its independent traders, to enter the free gorilla-naming competition (win £100 to spend in the Arcade) or buy an Arcade banana for £1 (all proceeds to the WWF). The Arcade’s Gorilla Ball features catering from the Primrose Cafe and pre-dinner drinks and an afterparty in the Hophouse. Clifton Arcade Boyces Ave, Clifton Village, Bristol. Ffi: www.cliftonarcade.co.uk Gorilla Ball Fri 1 April. Tickets £30 incl three-course dinner. Ffi: 0117 973 6963, gorillaball@gmail.com

NEW SLOW FOOD RESTAURANT

The Lovin’ Spoonful l Four young Bristol cooks and a gardener have just launched a new co-operative adventure in eating. In the former Cafe Kino premises on Ninetree Hill, the Runcible Spoon serves affordable, high-quality modern British food. Healthy and wellbalanced, it celebrates seasonal produce, all sourced from local smallscale growers, and uses wild foraged foods, free-range meat from traceable farms, wild game and sustainable fish. The Runcible Spoon co-op members first collaborated a year ago on a pop-up restaurant in Bristol, where teams from across town created a feast over four nights, while diners paid what they could afford. The Guardian newspaper flagged it up as ‘the hottest ticket in town’. Running in conjunction with the restaurant, ‘The Fat of the Land’ is an ongoing permaculture project on an acre of farmland near Bristol. Here co-op members and volunteers aim to

cultivate and supply the restaurant with fresh organic produce, with the long-term aim of being increasingly self-sufficient. The small, evolutionary menu features daily changing dishes, with a set menu at lunchtime (one to three courses, £3-£10) and evenings (£5-£15). Saturday night is Banquet Night (a lavish multi-course set menu, £25), while a proper Sunday roast is carved at the table (one to three courses, £9-£15). Everything is freshly made on the premises, with vegan and vegetarian options. You can enjoy wines from a small southern French family vineyard, Somerset farmhouse ciders by the jug, and homemade ‘foraged’ liqueurs like sloe gin and wild damson eau de vie. The Runcible Spoon 3 Nine Tree Hill, off Stokes Croft, Bristol. Ffi: 0117 329 7645, www. the-runcible-spoon.com

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D N A R B PRINT WEB PUB- G LISHIN PHOTO Y H P A R G

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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feature

Spring Fever When Melissa Blease’s pick of the spring restaurant crop say their food is seasonal and locally sourced, they mean it

n Bristol, the Lido, Glassboat and Spyglass restaurants all source their vegetables, herbs and salad ingredients from their shared kitchen garden (featuring a polytunnel at the heart of the action) situated just across the Clifton Suspension Bridge near the village of Pill. The produce is picked each morning and delivered straight to the restaurants for use that day - you really can’t get more on-trend than that! At award-winning vegetarian haven Cafe Maitreya, their high-quality, fresh produce is often supplemented by staff contributions of herbs, salad leaves and vegetables from their own gardens or allotments, while head chef/proprietors Diego Da Re and Nick Kleiner (Prosecco and Juniper respectively) are both renowned across the region for their wonderful ways with ‘right here, right now’ produce. In Bath, Olive Tree head chef Nick Brodie doesn’t believe that food should be “wastefully freighted in from all over the world when the West Country sits in a veritable garden of plenty”. As a result, his menus thrum with the daily changing flavours of the seasons and the restaurant boasts a myriad of foodie gongs, including three AA rosettes. Working to a similar philosophy, frequently changing menus at Casanis, the Marlborough Tavern, Chequers, the Hole in the Wall and No.5 are designed according to the whims of Mother Nature, while the nationally acclaimed demuths offers an impeccably foodie, meat-free experience that represents a paean to seasonal produce fluctuations.

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food&drink New Season's Eating Out: hearty stews In: flirty tarts Out: mashed potatoes laden with butter In: steamed jersey royals sprinkled with fresh mint Out: roast garlic bulbs In: wild garlic fronds Out: dark chocolate fondant In: milk chocolate mousse Out: rich, complex jus In: light citrus vinaigrette Out: rich pâtés on toasted walnut bread In: potted shrimps on melba toast Out: creamy eggs benedict In: poached duck egg on steamed asparagus Out: vintage stilton In: young, fresh goat’s cheese Out: heavy steamed puddings with custard In: rhubarb fool made with crème fraiche Out: weighty cupcakes In: light-as-a-feather macaroons

Top Ten Spring Shopping Superstars According to pessimistic Wasteland wanderer TS Eliot, April is the cruellest month - not so for the rather more optimistic food fanatic. Vibrant veg is starting to flourish, the oceans are casting up a veritable harvest and two of our favourite British kitchen superstars - spring lamb and new potatoes are poised to reach the height of their gorgeousness. Choose your pick of the new crop wisely, and you’ve got a spring banquet set to lighten the life of even the most angst-ridden poet in yours. Jersey royals: the cream of the new potato crop. Purple sprouting broccoli: offers a fresher, more vibrant complexity than its better-known calabrese cousin. Rhubarb: the first fruit of the new season - a healthy, versatile spring treat. Spring lamb: subtly flavoured, meltingly tender.

Asparagus: the glorious bundles of vibrant green spears that exemplify the classic taste of early British summertime are getting ready to party. Spring onions: choose small, thin-stemmed varieties for a subtle taste, and more mature ones for pungency. Morels: the spring kings of the fungi flock make for a glamorous, highly distinctive treat. Wild garlic: growing freely (literally!) in a hedgerow near you right now. Fish: turbot, John Dory, monkfish, bream, sole, skate, brown crab, lobster and mussels are all at their very best at the moment. But before you take your tastebuds on a fresh, healthy voyage of discovery, ensure that your catch of the day is ethically caught and sourced from sustainable fisheries. Easter eggs!: The April shopping list wouldn’t be complete without these traditional spring treats.

Contacts Cafe Maitreya 89 St Marks Rd, Easton, Bristol. Ffi: 0117 951 0100, www.cafemaitreya.co.uk Casanis 4 Saville Rd, Bath. Ffi: 01225 780055, www.casanis.co.uk Chequers 50 Rivers St, Bath. Ffi: 01225 360017, www.thechequersbath.com demuths 2 North Parade Passage, Bath. Ffi: 01225 446059, www.demuths.co.uk Glassboat Welsh Back, Bristol. Ffi: 0117 929 0704, www.glassboat.co.uk Hole in the Wall 16 George St, Bath. Ffi: 01225 425242, www.theholeinthewall.co.uk Juniper 21 Cotham Rd South, Bristol. Ffi: 0117 942 1744, www.juniperrestaurant.co.uk Lido Oakfield Place, Clifton, Bristol. Ffi: 0117 933 9533, www.lidobristol.com Marlborough Tavern 35 Marlborough Buildings, Bath. Ffi: 01225 423731, www.marlborough-tavern.com No.5 Restaurant 5 Argyle St, Bath. Ffi: 01225 444499, www.no5restaurant.co.uk Olive Tree Queensberry Hotel, 4-7 Russell St, Bath. Ffi: 01225 447928, www.thequeensberry.co.uk Prosecco 25 The Mall, Clifton, Bristol. Ffi: 0117 973 4499, www.proseccoclifton.com Spyglass Welsh Back, Bristol. Ffi: 0117 927 7050, www.spyglassbristol.co.uk

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Juniper Dinner Menu Why not start with a delicious Champagne cocktail with elderﬂower, peach liquer & mint or one of our speciality G&T’s £4.25

menu 2002 £18.95

Starters

Home smoked free range chicken, sweet pear & Roquefort salad, fresh pesto, black olive toffee £6.00 Pan seared fillet of red mullet, crayfish, salmon & crab cocktail, smoked horseradish & tarragon custard £7.00 Baked Somerset Goats Cheese, beetroot & sun dried tomato salad, spring onion creme fraiche £6.00 Trio of Quantock Duck (smoked breast, confit leg, liver sausage), celeriac remoulade, roasted garlic & ginger jelly, orange & duck reduction £7.00 Smoked haddock & salmon fishcake, Thai spiced salad, cucumber hollandaise, dill sauce £7.00 Pan fried black pudding, smoked bacon & shallot pie, apple salsa & mustard sauce £6.00

dill, honey & mustard potato salad, & prawn pate, wholemeal toast.

& red onion tart, celeriac remoulade, Mains d balsamic Seared breast of Gressingham Duck, braised red cabbage,

potatoes dauphinoise, roasted duck jus £17.00 Duet of Somerset Beef, smoked red pepper & stilton pudding, home cut chips £17.00 Rump of lamb, braised shoulder conﬁt, potatoes dauphinoise, smashed carrots & turnips; lamb, aubergine & rosemary jus £17.00 Loin of locally reared pork, bubble & squeak, celariac & apple puree, honey & mustard reduction £16.00 Fillet of fresh salmon, crab cake, spring onion mash, creamy smoked haddock & fresh chive cream sauce £17.00 Red pepper, tomato & herb risotto cake, stuffed mushroom, creamed spinach, sweet shallot dressing £13.00

rispy marinated prawn won ton, fresh chilli jam.

eak soup, crunchy bacon,

f, stilton & red onion salad, tangy ney

All served with a melange of winter vegetables

Desserts Pistachio creme brulee, shortbread £7.00 Tasting plate of chocolate £7.00 Apple & plum crumble, rum & raisin ice cream £7.00 Warm toffee pudding, vanilla bean ice cream £7.00 Cheese £7.00

h lamb, potato gratin, braised split peas mint & rosemary scented balsamic

us Beef, wild mushroom & stilton Selection of delicious chilled dessert wines from £4.95 per glass uliflower cheese with spiced creamed uce.

Special Folio Offer

, sauteed tiger prawns, herb and 3 sauce. Courses £20.00 otatoes, saffron

mon, welsh rarebit on toasted Call to make your booking now: bage with smoked salmon, fresh 0117 942 1744 . www.juniperrestaurant.co.uk

tlet, fricassee of wild mushrooms, ttes, vine tomato & coriander sauce.

(Mon-Fri) to p u 50 n e v 3. rso sa £1er pe p

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food review

food&drink

Jamie’s Italian

Josh Arnew just can’t help liking Essex’s cheeky chap

t takes a certain amount of cool assurance to sink a million quid into a restaurant and then to just open the doors and see who walks in… but nobody has ever accused Jamie Oliver of lacking self-assurance. With a permanent queue at the door (parties of less than eight can’t book a table) and the same menu available from 12noon all the way through until 11pm, there could be a ‘take it or leave it’ hauteur about what’s on offer at Jamie’s Italian. But there isn’t. What saves it is the same thing that redeems the man himself – a disingenuously straightforward penchant for sensation-seeking. The place is aglow inside the busy chandelier-lit bar area and on into the subtle twilight of the dining rooms. Downstairs an impressive display of Italian charcuterie is hanging, while the middle floor (where we find ourselves sitting) boasts a ‘catch of the day’ fish counter. Each floor in itself is pretty as much as big as many independent restaurants, but the seemingly endless battalions of staff mean that everything here is done quickly and efficiently. Our waitress combines friendliness with a mine of information that bespeaks thorough staff training. Jamie’s avowed mission with his chain of Italian restaurants was “to re-create what Italians are most proud of - fantastic, rustic dishes, using recipes that have been tried, tested and loved … Jamie’s Italian was designed to be accessible and affordable, a place where anyone is welcome and everyone will feel comfortable, no matter how much you spend or how long you stay”. ‘Accessible’ is a key word – Jamie’s Italians are child friendly - and all children old enough to draw get crayons and a colouring sheet when they sit down. The kids’ menu is listed on a ‘viewfinder’ – often a big hit with shuffle-bottomed little ones – while everything comes with a kid-sized salad (if you eat your greens, you get a badge) and Bottle Green organic cordial is included. No kids in tow today, though. And as neither She nor I have been to one of these places before, we spend a fair amount of time perusing the menu, while we sip on house chardonnay (which she deems “enjoyable”) and trebbiano (which she deems “refreshing and fruity”) – we’re delighted to find that all the wines are available by the glass, carafe or bottle. Eventually making up our minds, we eschew the admittedly tempting antipasti ‘plank’ selection for the crispy squid (which is exactly that) and smoked buffalo arancini (which doesn’t match up to what

She had in Sicily, apparently – but then again, not much does…). Pasta follows – this is a fine-spun cloud of angel hair, glowering with squid ink and punched up by capers and anchovies, plus tentacles of pappardelle zapped by rabbit ragu, lemon and (somewhat elusive) herby breadcrumbs. Both score big points, as, indeed, do a generous tripod of dark-grilled lamb chops balanced on creamed artichoke and a generous plate of bresaola salad with fennel-enhanced beetroot, though it’s the depth of taste of the braised butterbeans that wins first prize overall. Each dish has been given a sort of Day-Glo energy that’s every bit as brash as its author – it could prove rather wearing, but somehow it just doesn’t. “It makes you want to try the rest of the menu,” She observes, but we manage to restrict ourselves to the cheesecake dessert of Amalfi lemon curd and a glass of dessert wine. It’s all been rather good, really, and with the slightly unfinished decor and constant hubbub, there’s a genuinely Italian feel about the place. The price tag of £45 a head (including twoand-a-half glasses of wine) would be good value by Roman standards, though how that shapes up in the Bristol market remains to be seen..

Contacts Jamie’s Italian 87 Park St, Bristol Tel: 0117 370 0265 Web: www.jamieoliver.com

"Each dish has been given a sort of Day-Glo energy that's every bit as brash as its author."

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food review

food&drink

The Dower House Melissa Blease goes for broke at Bath’s most iconic address

sk anybody to name Bath’s most iconic landmark, and chances are the Royal Crescent will be the charttopping response from the majority, making it the Heritage City’s equivalent of, say, London’s Big Ben or Brighton’s Royal Pavilion or (whisper it) Blackpool’s Tower: a defining architectural monument characteristic of the style, mood and tone that Bath’s social history was built on. Situated slap-bang in the centre of this splendid, genteel backdrop, the Royal Crescent Hotel offers all-comers a taste (and, for the purposes of this review, I mean that literally) of the gracious lifestyle that a residency at one of the UK’s most desirable addresses affords. In order to access the hotel’s Dower House restaurant, one glides directly off the terrace past the verdant shrubbery that clings to the building’s lower floors (rumoured to be maintained for the sole purpose of foiling the paparazzi when there’s a sleb in residence), before being guided across an elegant, spacious lobby by an impeccably polite doorman and directed across a tranquil private garden towards what would have been the coach house in architect John Wood the Younger’s original blueprints but which today lends itself perfectly to contemporary expectations of an upper-crust dining experience. From welcoming bar to graceful dining room and beyond, the Dower House is a paean to refined elan, softly lit and decorated in flattering eau de nil tones throughout. Friendly, confident, supremely competent staff, meanwhile, exude a ‘your wish is my command’ attitude in a thoroughly unforced manner; you’re suddenly in the hands of a brigade of experts, but there’s not a whisper of snoot in sight. Given such a build-up, the head chef at the helm has a lot of responsibility on his shoulders... Royal Crescent new boy David Campbell, however, has risen to the challenge admirably. Highlights of David’s impressive CV include a stint at London’s Ritz, ‘Team Chef’ for the England Rugby Team and head chef at Castle Combe’s acclaimed Manor House Hotel. At the Dower House, his £65/three-course menu thrums with imagination, seasonal vitality and accessible flair throughout. A starter of red mullet pressed with a crisp white-bread crust came accompanied by lively slivers of pickled cucumber, a complex roasted pistachio pesto and dreamy saffron aioli, while the rich overtones of my silky-smooth smoked duck breast were offset beautifully by a characterful smoked paprika mayonnaise and creamy celeriac remoulade. For mains, a meaty slab of sea bass came with skin roasted to almost blackened perfection that politely yielded to moist, sweet flesh within, teamed with a plump

but delicate lobster ravioli, a vivacious tomato salad and quietly dynamic drops of pearl onion puree, while a herb-rolled, invitingly soft loin of Wiltshire Downlands lamb was buoyed along by an imaginative supporting cast of characters including robust caramelised sweetbreads, goat’s curds and a thoughtfully composed vegetable gratin, with a fragrant honey and lavender reduction adding an understated, sweetly melodious edge to the whole chorale. To finish, a fascinating foodie coalition consisting of sage roulade teamed with tart orange purée, intense bitter chocolate, cointreau sorbet and a crisp sugared sage leaf and a contempo-trad partnership of salted dark chocolate tart, dinky, jammy blueberries and a neat little orb of Horlicks ice-cream brought the curtain down on a faultless experience, as beautiful to behold as it was to eat. Now it has to be said that the cost for a similarly full-on feast (around £90pp with aperitifs, wine and coffee) doesn’t constitute an everyday dining experience, but in this instance going for broke guarantees huge dividends. More accessible options, however, flourish on the Market Lunch or All Day Dining menus, both of which are currently being subjected to the kind of subtle makeovers set to reintroduce the option of a gourmet refuel at Bath’s most iconic landmark address to the city’s everyday residents. As for David Campbell, he’s poised to achieve iconic status all of his own.

Contacts The Dower House at the Royal Crescent Hotel 16 Royal Crescent, Bath Tel: 01225 823333 Web: www.royalcrescent.co.uk

"David Campbell's £65/threecourse menu thrums with imagination, seasonal vitality and accessible flair throughout."

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recipe Nicholas Brodie Age: 35 Nationality: British Restaurant: The Olive Tree l The army’s loss was the Olive

Tree’s gain - Nick Brodie’s father talked him out of joining up in 1994, and he began a career as a chef in London instead. Nick subsequently worked in Hong Kong, London (again) and then, in 1997, took up a junior sous chef role at the Michelin-starred Chester Grosvenor Hotel where he remained for several years, working alongside Simon Radley. Here, Nick honed his skills during fast and busy services in the Brasserie and the Arkle restaurant before the lure of the South West became irresistible. He took up the post of senior sous chef at Bath’s Royal Crescent Hotel and, drawing on both his professional experience in Hong Kong and his own travels around Asia, oversaw the then fusion restaurant Pimpernels, which became the launching pad and basis for his own unique style. Nick joined the Olive Tree as head chef in 2009.

Nicholas Brodie at

The Olive Tree Address: The Queensberry Hotel, 4-7 Russel St, Bath BA1 2QF Telephone: 01225 447928 Web: www.thequeensberry.co.uk

he Queensberry Hotel isn’t just a beautifully quirky - and quirkily beautiful – Bath townhouse hotel, it’s also home to the Old Q Bar and the Olive Tree restaurant, both with their own independent reputations as great places to eat, drink and relax. This privately owned, luxury contemporary boutique hotel in the centre of Bath, run by husband and wife Laurence and Helen Beere and their dedicated team of experienced professionals, offers guests an elegant, sophisticated and characterful environment in which to take time out from their hectic lives. The hotel and restaurant have recently earned themselves three prestigious AA rosettes, been lauded by Fodor’s, included by unrelenting hotel inspector Alex Polizzi in her Little Black Book of Hotels and praised by the 2011 Good Food Guide for having the country’s top wine list. Under head chef Nicholas Brodie, the Olive Tree restaurant has gone from strength to strength. The city’s location, surrounded as it is by soft green hills and beautiful, rolling countryside, means that the kitchen enjoys the pick of produce from high-quality West Country suppliers, whether of fruit, vegetables, cheeses or meat. Nick and the team are perfectly placed to take advantage of these fresh, seasonal ingredients and combine them expertly to fill

“Three prestigious AA rosettes and the 2011 Good Food Guide’s top wine list in the country”

the restaurant’s frequently changing, attractively priced menu. The Old Q Bar, meanwhile, is relaxed, friendly and beautiful-looking. It’s possessed of a certain (some might say old-fashioned) devotion to excellent drinks expertly served by knowledgeable staff. Unlike some, this is a bar whose charms don’t shout too loudly for attention - it prefers to engage and grow on customers, seeking to win their love and loyalty with its sumptuous style and relaxed atmosphere.

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food&drink

Pigeon with gyoza and green mango salad Green mango salad Serves 4 Ingredients 2 green mangoes, sliced finely on a mandolin 40g bean sprouts 40g radish shoots 20g alfalfa Red chilli, finely sliced 20g spring onions, finely sliced 20g coriander, picked 10g mint, picked 14g sesame oil 50ml yuzu fruit, juiced 10g sesame seeds 10g soy sauce 10g fish sauce 5g wasabi 10g rice wine 30g pink skinned peanuts Thai sweet basil (micro salad) Coriander (micro salad) To make In a large bowl, mix together mango, beansprouts, radish shoots, alfalfa, chilli, spring onion, coriander and mint. In another bowl, mix sesame oil, yuzu, sesame seeds, soy sauce, rice wine and wasabi. Toss dressing and salad together; garnish with the peanuts and micro salad.

Pigeon marinade Ingredients 2 squab pigeon, breasts and legs off 14g sesame oil 50ml yuzu fruit, juiced 10g black onion seeds 10g soy sauce 10g fish sauce 5g wasabi 10g rice wine To make Put pigeon in a bowl and just cover with marinade; best left in fridge for 24hrs. Gyoza Ingredients 1 pigeon, taking off all meat 20g coriander Half a red chilli 10g ginger Salt & pepper 20g cashew nuts 5g sesame seeds 10g sesame oil 10g fish sauce 10g soy sauce 5g yuzu zest Pigeon sauce Ingredients 2 pigeon carcasses, chopped into 1in dice

1 garlic clove, chopped 1 red onion, sliced Fat from 1 bacon rasher 200ml chicken stock 4 sprigs of thyme 1 star anise 1 cinnamon stick Fine-chopped, brunoise of carrot, celery, chilli, lemongrass & shallot To make For the pigeon jus, place the pigeon carcasses and wings into a sauté pan. Add garlic, red onion and bacon fat, fry for 3-4 mins. Add the stock to the pan, plus thyme, star anise and cinnamon, and simmer over medium heat until reduced by half. Strain jus into a clean pan and reduce until thickened, then add the fine brunoise of vegetables. Cooking & plating Have the salad ready and in the fridge, as the dish, once prepared, is a quick one to plate up. In a hot pan, add a little peanut oil and put the pigeon in skin side down. Cook for just 2 mins then turn over. Cook for a further 2 mins until still medium rare. Take out and leave to rest (relax the meat, so not tough). Deep-fry the gyoza until golden, drain off any excess oil. Place salad on the plate, gyoza and pigeon. Drizzle with sauce and finish with micro coriander and Thai basil.

Recommended... Single Block Visión Pinot Noir (Cono Sur) A fresh and savoury pigeon dish with oriental notes everywhere: in the salad, the dressing and the marinade. The key here is to find a wine that can keep up with those strong flavours but not overwhelm the salad with its fresh notes. It has to be a red - but let’s keep it lightish and full-flavoured; pinot noir has a matching savoury personality so I’m going to plump for Cono Sur Single Block Visión Pinot Noir from Chile’s Colchagua Valley. It shows lovely juicy wild strawberry and raspberry fruit, and vanilla and toasted spice notes with an edgy acidity to hold on to the salad dressing. (Simon Haywood, Wine Category manager at Matthew Clark) Ffi www.matthewclark.co.uk

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30/03/2011 11:23:57

lifestyle NEW KIDS’ SHOP

Fresh ‘n’ funky l The Pippa & Ike Show, a brand-new kids’ shop in Bristol, is anything but traditional or mainstream. Dutch owner Lianne, who has been working as a freelance children’s clothes designer for 18 years, has skilfully brought together a gorgeous selection of her favourite brands in her inspiring new shop on the Gloucester Road. Just like the lovely stuff on offer, the store is vibrant and colourful, with a fresh, funny and funky continental vibe. You’ll find quality baby and kids’ clothes, quirky toys and gifts, beautiful bedding, wallpaper, posters and room decoration from brands like Molo, Smafolk, Tapete, Kidz-Art, Freoli, Rockefella, Miller Goodman, Ferm Living, Collegien and Farg & Form. “Swedish brand Rockefella is the coolest denim brand for kids

(make up stories before drifting off to sleep), Collegien’s ultracute sock-slippers and fun, freestanding Alpha Art letters. With access to leading children’s furniture brands, a good database of craftspeople and her talent as a designer, Lianne also offers an interior design service for nurseries, children’s bedrooms and playrooms, from inspiration, colour schemes and advice through to complete styling and decoration. To celebrate the store’s opening, you can get a 10 per cent discount off clothes in the new spring/summer collection – just take along the voucher on page 57 (valid until 30 April 2011). at the moment,” says Lianne. “Their old-style classics have an authentic look and all the right details. They do the perfect soft, skinny five-pocket denim, dark blue raw-denim baggy jeans

with turn-ups and cinch back, and chino-style black shorts (over the knee) with a heavy chain. This lot will survive many trips to the playground!” Other treats include a Story Mobile

The Pippa & Ike Show 59 Gloucester Rd, Bishopston, Bristol. Ffi: 0117 909 9003, www.the-pippa-andike-show.blogspot.com (open Tue-Sat 9.30am–5pm; free parking in front of shop)

BEAUTY

Looks Like Summer l Get your skin summer-ready with Betty Hula’s musthave boutique natural moisturisers. With gorgeous vintage-style packaging and exotic scents as fresh as a Hawaiian breeze, the glamorous jars (£12.99 for 120ml) hold the secret to naturally nourished skin. With a choice of Rum & Blackcurrant and Champagne & Spice fragrances, these hand-finished and intensively hydrating moisturisers contain highest-quality, fairly traded shea butter, aloe vera, coconut oil, cocoa butter and vitamin E. Betty Hula’s ‘The Secret’ skin regenerating wonder oil is also set to make its high street debut (50ml £12.99). Blending grapeseed oil, apricot kernel, avocado oil, hemp oil, vitamin E, rose absolute and jojoba oil, The Secret is designed to reduce the appearance of fine lines, blemishes and stretch marks and also helps to soothe irritable skin conditions such as eczema with its light, highly effective formulation. The Betty Hula brand combines back-to-nature ingredients with the pin-up vintage glamour of the 1950s. Carefully handmade, each recipe contains wholesome, natural ingredients, chosen to counteract the stresses and strains that busy modern living puts on the skin. Betty Hula products are suitable for all skin types, are free from chemicals and only contain ingredients from natural, renewable sources. Ffi www.bettyhula.co.uk (available at Sainsbury’s from Tue 12 Apr)

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lifestyle KIDS’ CLASSES

Stage Struck

LEISURE

Visiting Time l Following the recent appearance of Bowood in Professor Amanda Vickery’s BBC2 TV series At Home with the Georgians, the house and gardens are reopening for their 37th season this month, with new exhibition Bowood through the Artist’s Eye showing local artists’ interpretations of Bowood House, its people, the surrounding landscape and the variety of wildlife on the estate. From spring flowers to autumnal shades, the Hermit’s Cave to the house’s Diocletian wing, swans on the lake to deer strolling past the golf course, the splendour of

Bowood and its surroundings will also inspire the amateur photographer’s eye this coming season, with a year-round photographic competition. Under-sevens can enjoy the ‘Partridge Play Pen’ (a mini version of the Adventure Playground), while garden enthusiasts can combine a visit to the Rhododendron Walks (which bloom for six weeks from late April) with a special ‘Rhododendron Afternoon Tea’ in the hotel’s Library. Bowood House & Gardens Calne, Wilts. Ffi: 01249 812102, www.bowood.org

l Often copied, but never equalled, Stagecoach Theatre Schools have remained the market leader for children’s performing arts. Some students harbour ambitions for a performing arts career and a few go on to achieve that goal, but most come to class for the sheer love of it. Stagecoach make no distinction and welcome everyone, experienced or not, to join a class and be part of the fun. Stagecoach run outside school hours during the normal academic term, with classes grouped by age, and class sizes kept small at 15. All groups are trained by experienced teachers who are professional choreographers, performers and directors or musicians. Ffi www.stagecoach.co.uk

Q&A

JUANITA HUGHES

Owner of Clevedon gift shop, Gems How has the gift industry changed since you opened in 1994? It’s moved a million miles. Gems used to be a traditional gift shop with collectable ‘fancy’ goods, but gift shops tend to be lifestyle shops now, with people buying for their homes and themselves as well as for other people. We have an enormous range, from fashion accessories to skincare products. We do lots of children’s items, and around 30 per cent of our business is dedicated to cards and stationery. Who are your customers? Around 75 per cent are local people. But with Hill Road having become a destination shopping area, we also get visiting customers. Why the buzz about Hill Road? A lot of hard work from the traders, basically. We lost all our banks and utility shops – butchers,

greengrocers - that brought people to the road on a daily basis (though we’re still hanging on to a baker!). So we had to work hard to get customers to visit – the Hill Road Traders Association did a huge amount of work behind the scenes. And we can’t rest on our laurels; we have to continually remind people that we’re here and how fabulous Hill Road is. Tempt us with some Easter gifts… We’re very well known for our Easter and Christmas decorations – this is something I’ve majored on over 17 years! Gisela Graham is a design-led range, and there’s tabletop goods from Emma Bridgewater, or children’s soft toys from Jellycat. Gems 49 Hill Rd, Clevedon. Ffi: 01275 343656

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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.

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NEXT ISSUE OUT 4TH FEB 30/03/2011 12:27:29

shopping

lifestyle

Shop of the month Rachel Nott finds a one-stop shop for home comforts at Cargo

t’s 135 years since West Country entrepreneur James Waller Carpenter left Tiverton to establish his homeware business in London. Now based in Oxfordshire, Cargo have nearly 50 stores throughout the south, including their well-established store in Bath and a newly opened branch in Nailsea. Cargo remain one of the few high street retailers who still offer homeware and furniture under one roof, with the latter comprising a brilliantly edited selection of key pieces for your house. As part of Gloucestershire-based Steinhoff UK, one of the UK’s largest furniture groups, they can offer even better value for money than many larger retailers. The on-trend look continues to be well proportioned and beautifully designed oak - of which Cargo’s ‘Rustic’ range is an exquisite example. If it’s a sofa you’re after, the soft, luxurious chunky cord of the ‘Verona’ corner

This season, Cargo's key trends for homeware are 'Cream Tea', 'Woodland Walk' and 'Retro Living'

group is the stand-out piece of their spring upholstery collection. Where Cargo gains the upper hand over larger furniture retailers is in their extensive range of accessories for every single room. This season, ‘Cream Tea’ is a beautiful country-chic look with muted shades and intricate detailing such as lace and pearl, while ‘Woodland Walk’ centres on simple timeless classics, with influences from botanicals and eco-living. ‘Retro Living’, meanwhile, combines everything from colourful stripes and folklore to monochrome with hints of Asia and zingy retro patterns. And it’s not just the home that’s catered for here. You’ll also find a wide selection of garden furniture and outdoor accessories, including picnic-ware, games, candles and lighting. Cargo 26 Milsom St, Bath (01225 466066) & 26-27 Somerset Square, Nailsea (01275 853438). Ffi: www. cargohomeshop.com

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29/03/2011 12:55:55

fashion

Playing a blinder

Shield your eyes! Anna Britten soaks up this season’s brights

ivid block colour is a major trend this spring and summer, with eye-hurting fluoros, flashy neons and acid citrus tones dominating the rails. Scary? Not if you do it right. And what better way to bid farewell to the freezing winter and its cloudy, muddy hues? General wearability hints: don’t go matchy-matchy unless you want to look like a custom-dyed bridesmaid. And if you want to tone things down, do so with white, camel and other neutrals, not with boring wintry black. Hot pink against brown, for example, was a strong combination at Milan Fashion Week. Or just pick one zingy, wow-factor accessory to add seasonal awareness to your everyday clobber. Finish off your look with make-up that’s barely there - except for bold cerise or tangerine lips. Orange is having a bit of a moment right now, with no end of celebs adding a little marmalade to the world’s red carpets. This flippy, carrot-coloured cutie would add juice to any garden party or wedding. Just don’t accessorise with a matching fake tan… Peacock dress, £195, Reiss If brights really aren’t for you but you want to join in the fun anyway, go for neon accessories that will effortlessly lift an otherwise muted outfit. Stash your sunnies and other essentials in this vitamin D-boosting piece of arm candy. MK by Michael Kors handbag, £270, Harvey Nichols Espadrilles never go out of fashion – they just take a brief siesta. The classic rope-soled shoe anchors floaty frocks and looks superchic with cropped trousers. This bright turquoise pair are comfortable enough for everyday wear yet fancy enough for summer evenings out. Flat bow espadrilles, £75, Jigsaw

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lifestyle

No longer exclusively for girly girls, this season’s pink has balls. Just look at this hot cherry LK Bennett number in slinky silk jersey - you wouldn’t expect the wearer of this to have a bedroom full of stuffed toys, now would you? Amazing with a biker jacket. Wildie dress, £185, LK Bennett Kinder than the playsuit, the jumpsuit is evolving into an all-ages fashion classic and need never look as though you’ve just slid out from under a car. Team this summer version with gold jewellery and fantastic heels or strappy sandals. Green jumpsuit, £167, French Connection Bristol design e-tailer Howkapow are bang on the money with their technicolour contemporary jewellery. This yellow-and-green acrylic-and-brass pendant by Royal College of Art graduate Lucy Peacock hangs on a slinky, goldplated silver chain. Just add attitude. Harlequin two-panel necklace by Lucy Peacock, £62, Howkapow Go Jackie O in this beautiful creamand-fuchsia frock from Elsie Riley. Balance the demure bottom half with cool silver and pearl jewellery and the hot top half with cute kitten heel slingbacks and, of course, fuchsia lippy. Cream and fuchsia split dress, £65, Elsie Riley

Contacts

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Elsie Riley 59 Broad St, Bristol. Ffi: 0117 934 9139, www.elsieriley.com French Connection Cabot Circus, Bristol (0117 926 8108) & Green St, Bath (01225 442874). Ffi: www.frenchconnection.com Harvey Nichols Cabot Circus, Bristol. Ffi: 0117 916 8888, www.harveynichols.com Howkapow Ffi: www.howkapow.com Jigsaw Park St (0117 926 5775) & The Mall at Cribbs Causeway, Bristol (0117 959 0816); New Bond St, Bath (01225 461613). Ffi: www.jigsawonline.com LK Bennett Cabot Circus (0117 929 9125) & Park St, Bristol (0117 316 9771); New Bond St, Bath (01225 317880). Ffi: www.lkbennett.com Reiss Cabot Circus (0117 927 9199) & Park St (0117 927 6605) & at John Lewis, The Mall at Cribbs Causeway, Bristol (0117 959 1100). Ffi: www.reissonline.com

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for giving and living...

The home of Inspirational Gifts... ...for giving and living this Easter 49 Hi l l R oa d C le v e d on B S 2 1 7 P D Te l: 0 1 2 7 5 3 4 3 6 5 6

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Pale Blue

womens clothing & other lovely things

14 Hill Rd Clevedon BS21 7NZ â&#x20AC;˘ Tel 01275 874420

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ay rM fo

r rt fe cou e iv of ok a us o cl ce b 0! Ex .5 £7

ly on ne Ju st u rj fo

Lawn Tennis

Longing to play tennis on real grass? You can at Bath’s Monkton Combe School. Situated just 5 minute from the centre of Bath, in the Limpley Stoke Valley Monkton Lawn Tennis’ real grass courts are now available for hire. To book a court call: Monkton Leisure.

t: 01225 721 116 e: lynno@monkton.org.uk Courts must be booked in advance. Courts are available from April 25th.

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29/03/2011 11:23:35

beauty

lifestyle

Salon spy

Icon Beauty Becky Davis heads to Gloucester Road for a springtime pick-me-up

ll those dark mornings, gloomy days and dark nights had started to take their toll, and I decided I needed a little treat to pick me up and prepare for spring. I was also feeling under the weather with a cold, so I wanted a complete pamper experience from head to toe. Time to call in the services of Icon Beauty. The fact that they offer evening appointments meant that I could go straight from work. What’s on offer? A full range of massages and indulgent treats, including Dermalogica treatments and everything from waxing and eyelash tinting to OPI manicures and pedicures. They’re also the only salon in Bristol who offer CACI non-surgical treatments as featured on Channel 4’s 10 Years Younger programme.

From the reception area to the treatment rooms (below left), Icon Beauty feels luxurious and welcoming. Below right: New therapists Rheanna Knight and Kelly Evans

What’s it like? When I arrived at the salon, I parked right outside in the designated parking bays, which made things a lot easier, as Gloucester Road is normally quite busy around rushhour. The whole salon is decorated in really rich, indulgent colours and feels very luxurious from the reception right through to the treatment rooms. Lucy, the owner, welcomed me and we got chatting while I was waiting for my treatment. She told me that she’d been in business there for nearly 18 months and was excited about taking on new staff (Rheanna Knight and Kelly Evans, pictured) and about the new treatments coming soon. She then introduced me to Becky, who would be carrying out my treatment. What did we try? I wasn’t sure what treatment I was going to have until I got there. I explained to Becky that I wasn’t really feeling my best, and said that I’d like a relaxing massage – perhaps one that would help with my cold symptoms, too. We decided on the Full Body Aromatherapy Massage (£50). The oils that Becky chose for my massage were lavender, eucalyptus and marjoram - the eucalyptus to relieve my cold a little, and the other two for their relaxing properties.

pressure that Becky applied was perfect - and if I wanted her to apply more or less pressure, I only needed to ask. Once she’d massaged the whole of my back I was asked to turn over and she repeated the process, working on my front - feet and legs again, then arms and hands, then shoulders and neck. It really did feel like pure indulgence - I hadn’t felt this relaxed in ages. Just What did the treatment entail? I stripped when I thought it was time to finish, Becky said down to my underwear and climbed under the she’d do the facial massage and the scalp blanket on the bed. Everything felt so massage, which pushed me even further into a comfortable, from the thick fluffy towels and soft state of blissful relaxation. fleece blankets right down to the warmth coming The whole treatment took about an hour and from the electric blanket underneath. I already a quarter, and I enjoyed every minute. I was felt as though I was about to doze off - and the intrigued to see how I’d feel once I got back treatment hadn’t even started yet. home. Becky advised me to drink lots of water The massage began with my feet and legs, then for the remainder of the evening to make that moved up to my back, shoulders and neck. The sure my body was cleansed completely. To be

honest, I don’t really remember much of the evening, as I fell asleep quite early. I woke up the following morning feeling a little hazy, but once I’d got going, I felt much better than I had the day before, and my cold definitely didn’t feel so bad. This thoroughly enjoyable treatment was just what I needed to help me escape from my winter blues. If only I had the time to have a massage like this every week!

Contacts Icon Beauty 269 Gloucester Rd, Bishopston, Bristol. Ffi: 0117 924 5566, www.iconbeauty.net

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29/03/2011 12:58:57

beauty

lifestyle

Salon spy

RSR Men's Hair Steve Wright gets a haircut to remember – at a price to savour

his may be typical of the feckless, semi-metrosexual twenty-first century male, but I’ve always had a problematic relationship with my hair. For the past two decades or more, I’ve observed the same familiar and faintly unsatisfactory routine: drastic haircut (shearing might be a better description); leave to grow for six months into shapeless, bouffant mess; back to the hairdresser for some eleventh-hour follicle fire-fighting. This is only in part down to natural laziness. No, the real reason is that I’ve never found a hairdresser I felt like returning to again and again. My past experience has veered towards one of two extremes. First comes the solid, functional scissors cut at the local Bedminster barber: minimum fuss, smattering of blokeish banter and out I saunter, just £10 the lighter but also feeling slightly nonplussed: so that was it, was it? No fuss, no pampering, not even a sniff of shampoo: just snip, snip, chat, chat and I’m thrown back out onto the street? At the other end of the spectrum are the unisex hairdressers: sleek, airy high-street temples to tonsorial titivation, all clean lines and smoked glass, where I get the full-blown wash, head massage and frothy mochaccino and am generally made to feel like a visiting dignitary; but after which I must skip lunch for a week, such is the hole it has burned in my finances. There never seemed to be a third way. Until now. RSR Men’s Hair, slap bang in the middle of Baldwin Street, have hit upon the perfect combination for the modern, well-groomed male: a salon experience at barber’s prices. It’s the brainchild of hair stylist Rachael Lavis, who set up the place with a full, um, grooming in salon styling behind her, having trained in a conventional salon and started out working with women’s hair before hopping across the gender divide to barbering. She enjoyed the change so much that, after eight years in the job, she opened up her own salon in Bristol – RSR’s predecessor – dedicated to ‘contemporary barbering’. What that means, as I found on my recent visit, is all the finishing touches of your typical salon visit. The coffee’s bubbling away while you wait in RSR’s clean, light, spacious surroundings – chandelier, floor-to-ceiling mirrors, elegant (and blissfully comfortable) chrome and leather barber’s seats. All that was impressive enough – but the big plus was a haircut that I was actually happy to

take home with me (more on that in a minute), at barber-style prices. Even to my untrained eye, I was clearly in the hands of a seasoned pro. Not to put too fine a point on it, I’m beginning to thin a little up on top there, and successive hairdressers have failed to find the magic cure. Rachael’s cut, though, was something of a masterpiece: scissor-cut and neatly sculpted around the sides, and with a nicely-crafted, subtle and easy-care forward sweep over the barer expanses. The cut, in short, had every inch of the quality of dozens of previous efforts for which I’ve paid triple the price. It was also one of the happier and more relaxing half hours I’ve had this year. RSR is flourishing, with a swath of Rachael’s customers following her up the road from her

previous establishment, and now being joined by a new crowd of devotees. And it’s easy to see why: expert hairdressing and a warm welcome, in stylish, modern-retro surroundings bang in the centre of things. And with prices ranging from £7 (clipper cut) via £9 (dry cut) to £12 for the shampoo and cut, this represents salon-style hairdressing at astonishingly good value. A haircut, in short, that head and heart (and wallet) will thank you for.

Contacts RSR Men’s Hair 37 Baldwin St, Bristol. Ffi: 07599 401402, www.rsrmenshair.co.uk

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Clifton Medi Spa Non-surgical Cosmetic and Health Treatments from highly qualified and experienced Doctors and Practitioners. Available treatments include: • Podiatry/Chiropody • Chinese Medicine, Acupuncture • Chinese therapeutic Massage • Colon Hydrotherapy • Naturopathic and Functional Nutrition • Reflexology • Non surgical Cosmetic treatments including Sculptra, intense pulsed light and Wrinkle relaxing treatments • Beauty Therapy (including massage) For a professional consultation contact us at:

0117 9734 594

Email: info@cliftonmedispa.co.uk www.cliftonmedispa.co.uk Clifton Medi Spa, 56 Royal York Crescent, Clifton, Bristol BS8 4JP folio 61

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PROFILE Bristol Knee Clinic ● Knee injuries are the most common sports injury in the UK. At the start of the golf, tennis and jogging season, they’re usually caused by

a combination of poor conditioning and low levels of fitness, together with twisting on hard ground. Thankfully, there have been significant recent advances in the treatment of knee problems, including new surgical techniques to treat knee injuries or problems. These include new hyaluronic acid injections, keyhole arthroscopic surgical techniques and new types of knee ligament reconstructions. If, for the older athlete or patient, a joint replacement is necessary, new minimally invasive keyhole joint replacement surgery using low-friction ceramic implants allows most people to continue with some sport activities after the procedure. A year ago, as part of these ongoing developments, Mr David Johnson MD FRCS, consultant orthopaedic

Bristol Knee Clinic The “Glen” Spire Hospital, Redland Hill, Durdham Down, Bristol BS6 6UT. Tel/Fax: 0117 970 6655, email: boc@orthopaedics.co.uk, web: www.bristol-knee-clinic.co.uk surgeon at the Bristol Knee Clinic, undertook the first knee transplantation procedure in the South West, operating on a sporty 39-year-old who was suffering from the consequences of many years of sports, following a previous cartilage operation. Rather than undertaking a joint replacement procedure, Mr Johnson transplanted a cartilage (or meniscus) into the knee to restore the joint back to normal. The technique proved to be successful, with the patient returning to teaching and sports without the ongoing symptoms of pain, swelling and stiffness. Mr Johnson, who specialises in the treatment of sports injuries and knee surgery, said, “This latest development in knee surgery presents many new opportunities for patients.” Appointments may be

booked directly via the telephone number or email above, and a wide range of further information is available on the website.

Rapid Access Joint Injury Service The Bristol Knee Clinic is offering an exciting new service to provide rapid access to the combined diagnostic skills of chartered physiotherapists and a Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon. Patients will be provided with a diagnosis and advice as to what route of treatment would be appropriate. Clinics will be held on Friday mornings at Spire Bristol Hospital The “Glen”, and cost £50.

Appointments Tel 0117 980 4022

Spire Bristol Hospital, The Glen, Redland Hill, Bristol, BS6 6UT. Tel: 0117 980 4022

For more information call Simon Wellby your certified Rolfer: 07799 693 546

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30/03/2011 11:56:26

health

lifestyle

In the Men’s Room Too many men avoid check-ups with their GP, as Josh Arnew reports

new survey about men’s attitude to healthcare reveals that many men are reluctant to consult with healthcare professionals. Despite twothirds of those surveyed having significant medical family histories, more than one in five men have not visited a GP or healthcare professional in the past 12 months – and two per cent admit that they’ve never seen one. The survey asked 1,000 men aged over 18 (73% were aged over 45) about their views on health and their attitude to seeing healthcare professionals and undergoing basic health checks - measuring weight, blood pressure, diabetes and cholesterol. Overall, only 14% admitted to being happy to see a doctor if needed, while a third revealed that they will only go to the doctor if their partners encourage them, or if they really have to. Nearly half (44%) hadn’t had their blood pressure checked in the past year. Of those who had had it checked, more than a third (35%) had discovered some issue, with

NURSING HOME CARE

26% needing additional monitoring and nine per cent needing further investigations. And more than half of the men surveyed hadn’t had their cholesterol checked in the past year (58%), while 30% had never had it checked. Forty-one per cent, meanwhile, had never been tested for diabetes, yet only 36% would definitely see a doctor if they suffered from increased urination – one of the symptoms of diabetes. The survey was undertaken by insureblue.co.uk, which has just launched its fundraising support for the new Blue Ribbon Foundation charity. Insureblue will donate £10 for every bike, home and car insurance policy sold on its website (and £1 for every travel insurance policy) to the Blue Ribbon Foundation, which has been created to raise awareness about male cancers and male health issues. Do yourself (or the man in your life) a favour, and get yourself checked out. Ffi www.blueribbonfoundation.org.uk, www.insureblue.co.ukspirehealthcare.com

Golden Years? l With an ageing UK population and rising concerns about how we will afford to look after our elderly, Dr Ros Altmann, director general of the Saga Group, has strongly criticised the impact of nursing home costs on older people and their families. The tax system, says Dr Altmann, is unfair to people needing care, as they pay Capital Gains Tax on their estate if they have to sell the family home, investment holdings or a second home to pay for care. Those not needing care can pass on assets free of this tax – and if their estate is less than £325,000, they’re not liable for Inheritance Tax either. Funding long-term care can, she says, in effect be a “100% tax” on people’s estates over the current “derisory” limit of £23,250. Average nursing home costs in the UK are currently running at more than £36,000 a year, so an estate could soon be depleted to the £23,250 limit. We’re calling for a fairer system,” says Dr Altmann, “with better incentives for people to save to cover future care needs, and for better advice and guidance to help people understand the system and help them through the maze of legislation.” Ffi Saga’s free, no-obligation Care Funding Advice Service: www.saga.co.uk/money-and-finance/ retirement-solutions/care-funding/

BABY OIL

Gently Does It l Organic and Fairtrade skincare pioneers Green People have recently launched a new baby oil, made without damaging olive oil or mineral oils, just an unadulterated blend of the purest plant oils available to soothe, nourish, heal and protect little ones’ delicate skin. The company point to new research that’s shown that the use of olive oil on babies’ skin can be counterproductive, and by damaging the top layer of the skin can actually encourage eczema and allergic skin conditions. Organic Babies No Scent Baby Oil (£9.95, 100ml), available from www.greenpeople.co. uk, www.organicbabies. com or call 01403 740350. Also available in Waitrose, John Lewis and health stores

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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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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

To reach 72,000 families in your area advertise in the next issue of Primary Times. Contact Caroline tel 0117 934 3737 email c.stretton@bepp.co.uk or Beth tel 0117 934 3730 email b.harris@venue.co.uk folio 65

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education

lifestyle

Brave new world Taunton School head Dr John Newton asks how we can prepare our children for a century of change l The independent sector, which has grown by 100,000 pupils against demographic trends in the past 25 years, grows stronger and stronger. Parents and schools alike have understood that an education at a place like Taunton School brings value not just in the short term, but in the very long term as well. Our children, it now seems certain, will have to work longer than we will. They’ll need qualities and experiences at an early age that will set them on track to cope, potentially, with a 50-year career. Our exams system on its own has no hope of nurturing the all-round skills that an all-round education provided by schools like Taunton can give. Furthermore, how will our children cope with the growth of very different cultures than our own? By 2030, according to Goldman Sachs, Britain will be

should be an investment for the long term and we believe strongly that, through our IB programme and the China Initiative, we’re helping our pupils prepare to work enjoyably and successfully in the 21st century. This message has resonated with parents in our locality. As a result, our forward-looking school based on firm traditional values is able to invest in an extra swimming pool and a new girls’ boarding house this year alone in order to cope with high numbers and provide them with the experiences they need for a happy and purposeful education. Our children can’t be put on hold while the recession lasts. Schools must continue to innovate and invest, because a long century of change beckons and we want our pupils to make the most of it. doing business with bigger economies such as America, China and India (no surprises there…), but also Mexico, Brazil

Inspired l As well as being a school where students can study either A-Levels or the International Baccalaureate Diploma, Sidcot is among the top 10 schools in Bristol and Somerset for GCSE and A-level results. They’ve also been presented (for the third time!) with the Good Schools Guide award for best Further Mathematics A-level results for boys in the country. This inspirational environment, with fantastic facilities spread over 160 acres of rolling Mendip Hills, has a stunning Arts Centre and Equestrian and Leisure Centres to stretch students’ creative, sporty or adventurous sides. Sidcot’s Quaker values, meanwhile, encourage everyone to be adventurous and make a difference. Sidcot School Winscombe, North Somerset. To arrange a visit, contact Valerie Kennedy in Admissions. Tel: 01934 843102, web: www. sidcot.org.uk

and Indonesia. Seven of the 10 fastest-growing economies of the next five years won’t be in Europe or Asia, but in Africa. An education

Taunton School Staplegrove Rd, Taunton, Somerset. Ffi: 01823 703700, www.tauntonschool.co.uk

everyone's unique l The Royal High School Bath is a leading independent day and boarding school for girls aged three to 18, where a caring, creative, academic community empowers, enriches and enables every girl to achieve her best. An International Baccalaureate school, recognised for its dynamic leadership, passionate and committed teaching team, outstanding educational achievements, excellent facilities and inspirational enrichment programmes, it focuses on individual care, encouraging and supporting girls to make the most of their unique talents. On the RHS journey, every girl makes a valuable contribution. From the Nursery to the Junior School, Senior School to Sixth Form College (offering A-Levels as well as the IB), this all-through, allencompassing, all-girls education develops the confidence and capabilities needed to underpin success at university, throughout careers and in achieving aspirations in every aspect of life. The RHS offers a high-quality, affordable education, made possible by being one of 26 schools within the Girls’ Day School Trust. It also provides

bursaries, a range of scholarships at Years 7 and 12 and discounts for HM Forces families. Royal High School Lansdown Rd, Bath. To arrange a personal tour, contact Admissions registrar Lynda Bevan. Ffi: 01225 313877, www.royalhighbath.co.uk

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SUPPERS & PRIVATE

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Inside: Can war

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30/07/2010

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03/11/2010

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news for property Inside» Positive

Issue 17 July 2010

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