MANOR Issue 19

The Region’s Premium Publication Early Summer 2017 | Issue 19 | £4.50

Liz Earle

As I see it

Mexican magnificence

Luxury by the Caribbean

CULTURE FOOD SPACE ESCAPE SCHOOL PROPERTY

Natural swimming pools

The difference is clear

Salcombe

1 Quality connotations

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CHARMING COUNTRY ABODE IN AN IDYLLIC SETTING NEAR BODMIN MOOR

ST BREWARD, NEAR WADEBRIDGE, CORNWALL

St. Breward: 0.8; A30: 5.5; Wadebridge: 8.5; Port Isaac: 9; Bodmin Parkway: 12; Polzeath: 12; Rock: 13.6; Cornwall Airport, (Newquay): 22. (Distances are in miles and approximate) Secluded, beautifully finished country home, set in magical and idyllic waterside gardens where a boulder strewn moorland stream is an exquisite central feature. The house has been sympathetically restored and extended over the last fifteen years, it has a total of three reception rooms, five bedrooms (three en suite) and a guest wing as well as an unused stone barn. 3,265 sq ft. Around 20 acres of gardens, woodland and pasture land. EPC = D. Guide £1,350,000 Freehold 6

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Savills Cornwall Jonathan Cunliffe jcunliffe@savills.com

01872 243 200

GORGEOUS COTTAGE AND LODGE WITH PRIVATE FORESHORE AND MOORINGS

DITTISHAM, DEVON

Dittisham: 0.25; Dartmouth: 6; Totnes: 8 (Distances are in miles and approximate) Entrance porch, kitchen, utility room, cloakroom, sitting room, dining room, conservatory, 3 double bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, cloakroom, detached lodge with workshop and store, Grade II listed lime kiln. Grounds of 5 acres comprising gardens, woodland and 1/3 mile of foreshore. EPC – F. Excess £1,500,000

Savills South Hams Sarah Jane Chick sjchick@savills.com

01548 800 462

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Contents 26

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21 Regulars 15 TOWN MOUSE, COUNTRY MOUSE Correspondence from across the divide

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80 32

CONFIDENTIAL Farms for City Children’s 40th anniversary

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AS I SEE IT...

Writer, TV presenter and entrepreneur Liz Earle MBE

Style & Beauty 18 TRENDS

Summer days, summer nights

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SUN-READY SKIN Head-to-toe beauty preparation for the summer

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PARALLEL LINES Photographed by Thomas Hole

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COME ON IN, THE WATER’S LOVELY Exploring the power of nature and science with Clear Water Revival

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BRAND SALCOMBE Why the South Devon town has become synonymous with quality

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SURVIVE THE DIVE We talk to Helen Newcombe, founder of new swimwear brand Davy J

MY FEEL-GOOD REGIME Kat Cole

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Features

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FROM PENZANCE TO PARADISE Rachael Feiler, owner of East African eco-resort Diamond Beach Village

Early Summer 2017

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Culture 62 PAINTING IN PROSE Author Kim Devereux

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THINKING BIG Artistic Director of London’s Southbank Centre, Jude Kelly

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LIVING COLOUR Artist John Hurford

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SOUTH WEST MUST SEES...

What’s on around the region

Photostory 42 THE FAIRS, RAJASTHAN Photographs by Juliette Mills

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WORTH MAKING THE TRIP FOR...

Cultural highlights from the metropolis and beyond

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WORTH STAYING IN FOR...

Quality time on your sofa

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116 Food 96 SWEET & SOUR Summery citrus recipes from Catherine Phipps

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HOME, SWEET HOME Cornwall’s culinary king, Nathan Outlaw

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BITES Food news from across the peninsula

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THE TABLE PROWLER ...dines out at Falmouth Bay Seafood Café, Truro, and The Shore, Penzance

Space 112 SLEEP WELL We visit The Cornish Bed Company

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BEAUTIFUL VISION David Aspinall of Sapphire Spaces

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Q&A Interior designer Lucy Orr

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126 162 MANOR school 138 SCHOOL NEWS IN BRIEF Plymouth College of Art student invited to exhibit at glass festival; Millfield’s new riding arena; King’s girls football success; medical success for Exeter School; Shebbear College’s musicians win gold

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LAYING THE FOUNDATIONS Dr Ruth Merttens with advice for a child’s life-long learning

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GO WEST, YOUNG MAN One head’s experience of relocating

Property 149 THE BULLETIN Gideon Sumption analyses the South West property market in the light of the Election and Brexit

Escape 126 CARIBBEAN SPLENDOUR A stay at the Grand Velas Riviera Maya resort in Mexico

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BUILDING HOLIDAY MEMORIES Classic Cottages celebrates 40 years in business

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JOY RIDE Exploring Dartmoor on Clydesdale horses

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PROPERTY OF NOTE The White House, Harpford, Devon

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SNAPSHOT COMPARATIVE A selection of properties in close proximity to pubs in the South West and London

Back Page 162 PRIZE DRAW Win a stay at a beautiful Cornish cottage, in association with Unique Home Stays

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is brought to you by PUBLISHING EDITOR

Imogen Clements imogen@manormagazine.co.uk

COMMISSIONING EDITOR

Jane Fitzgerald jane@manormagazine.co.uk

FEATURES EDITOR

Fiona McGowan features@manormagazine.co.uk

ARTS EDITOR

Belinda Dillon belinda@manormagazine.co.uk

FOOD EDITOR

Anna Turns anna@manormagazine.co.uk

EDITORIAL ASSISTANT

Phoebe Tancock phoebe@manormagazine.co.uk

CONTRIBUTORS

Professor Ruth Merttens, Natalie Millar-Partridge, Rachel Lovell COMMERCIAL DIRECTOR

Claire Wares claire@manormagazine.co.uk

DESIGN

Eleanor Cashman, Guy Cracknell

Beautiful Sterling Silver Collections from £25 - £340

www.kitheath.com

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THE COVER Skater dress, £69, Marks & Spencer Photographer: Matt Austin; Stylist: Mimi Stott; Model: Tanya R; Hair and make-up: Maddie Austin © MANOR Publishing Ltd, 2017.

MANOR Magazine is published by Manor Publishing Ltd. Registered office: MANOR Publishing Ltd, 12 Mannamead Road, Plymouth, Devon PL4 7AA. Registered in England No. 09264104 info@manormagazine.co.uk. Printed by Wyndeham Roche Ltd

Hello and welcome to The Hot Issue of MANOR. Where there’s heat, there’s sunshine at this time of year, and with sunshine there’s invariably swimming.

A swimming pool in the garden is the ultimate domestic luxury, but there’s something rather off-putting about a bright turquoise box cut into a lush green lawn. Far more aesthetically pleasing, and environmentally conscious, is a natural pool or pond in the garden, one that’s warm enough to bathe in, and devoid of slime. Fiona McGowan visits the ingenious Bristol-based Clear Water Revival and is fascinated by the science that delivers beautiful and inviting all-natural pools devoid of algae, mud, and chemicals.

Bathers within such pools – or, more likely, the challenging Atlantic waves of Cornwall or Devon’s numerous surf breaks – may require a sturdy suit whose straps stay in place each time you get rinsed. Davy J, as Belinda Dillon discovered, is a new brand of swimwear that is as stylish as it is sporty (often an oxymoron) as it is sustainable, in that the fabric is made from recycled nylon.

With this issue, as well as presenting some of the best of the South West, we touch pretty much every continent, with a stunning photostory from Juliette Mills that documents a recent expedition to Rajasthan, India; we travel to Africa to see how a Cornish mother and daughter created an eco-resort on a remote island off Kenya; then on to central America to holiday in style in Cancún, Mexico.

Then it’s back to Salcombe in Devon, to discover why this South Hams town is so packed with purveyors of quality goods, and how just the name ‘Salcombe’ has such positive associations that many operators (some not necessarily from the town) use the name in their brands.

Finally, Liz Earle – writer, broadcaster and entrepreneur, famous for her beauty expertise and skincare range – has now moved out of the beauty sector to focus on health and wellbeing. She takes to the MANOR ‘couch’ to reflect on her career and how it has come full circle: she started out as a journalist and now has her own magazine and web business focused on good diet and wellness, which is, of course, the key to lasting beauty.

One last thing! We have another FANTASTIC PRIZE DRAW on the back page (page 162) – from now on, the home of all our killer competitions. This time we’re offering a four-night stay for two in a beautiful Cornish cottage close to some of the best beaches and surf breaks in the country. The cottage comes courtesy of Unique Home Stays, and it’ll take you just a couple of minutes to enter and have a chance of winning.

We hope you enjoy this issue and are warmed, if not by our unpredictable British summertime, then by the sunshine that emanates from the following pages.

Imogen Clements FOUNDER & PUBLISHING EDITOR @ManorMagazine

@manormagazine

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The views of the writers in MANOR Magazine are not necessarily those shared by the publisher. Unsolicited manuscripts, artwork or transparencies are accepted on the understanding that the publishers incur no liability for their storage or return. The contents of MANOR Magazine are fully protected by copyright and may not be reproduced without permission.

By submitting material to MANOR Magazine, MANOR Magazine Ltd is automatically granted the royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable right and license to use, reproduce, edit, distribute and display such material (in whole or part) and/or to incorporate it in other works in any form, media, or technology now known or later developed for the full term of any rights that may exist in such content. The contributor acknowledges that material submitted may

be published in any publication or website produced or published by MANOR Publishing Ltd. The contributor agrees not to submit material where they do not own the copyright and where they have not obtained all necessary licenses and/or approvals from the rightful owner.

With respect to any photographs submitted, the contributor confirms that all necessary model and property releases have been obtained from any clearly identifiable person appearing in any image, together with any other relevant consents required.

Prices and details of services and products are genuinely believed to be correct at the time of going to press, but may change. Although every effort is made to maintain accuracy we regret we are unable to honour any incorrect prices or other details that may be printed.

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TOWN MOUSE, COUNTRY MOUSE Darling...

Sweetness...

Dare I say it, but I’m feeling optimistic about summer this year. For one, we’ve had enough rain – there surely can’t be much left – and two, the Met Office has made no mention of a ‘BBQ Summer’, which means, of course, we’ll have one. Hurrah! There’s nothing like sunshine to cheer your day.

Except, of course, if you happen to travel by Tube. I pity those poor subterranean commuters, squashed together like sardines in a hot tin. Travel by London Underground during rush hour in high summer and you may as well leave your dignity at the foot of the escalator. You’ll emerge gasping for air, soaked in sweat, dazed and dishevelled.

There is, I’m sure, statistical evidence that the chance of a train breaking down halfway through a tunnel is directly proportionate to the number of people squashed into a carriage. I chose the Tube over the bus the other day and immediately regretted it. I had to barge my way on and contort myself embarrassingly to avoid the closing doors.

No number of polite requests “to move down, please” made the slightest bit of difference. In desperation, it occurred to me that I should start an audible conversation about how my children kept giving me nits, but I didn’t, sweetness, you’ll be relieved to hear. We all suffered in silence until we fell out at the next stop.

Ah, London, with all its glitz and glamour – it still hasn’t updated the Underground system since the 1860s. Thank heavens it’s lovely above ground come the season – everyone’s smiling, dining al fresco, and animated and better looking in the summer, don’t you think, sweetie? That’s the power of sunshine.

Now, before I go I should like you to consider two couples and society’s response to them: Donald and Melania Trump, and Emmanuel and Brigitte Macron. Similar age gap, yet the latter’s coupling has raised far more eyebrows, men’s and women’s. Ponder and discuss.

A tout a l’heure!

I have pondered this, and although I’d like to believe Macron is flying the flag against ageist sexism, they’re together because she looks about 40, if that! The woman simply doesn’t look her age. How? I put it down to sunshine on tap whenever you need it. In France, one can just jump into the voiture and head south. And sunny climes immediately make you want to get active and eat salad. For us, trapped on our little isle, the only recourse against the weather is to hole yourself up with a decent boxset, and comfort eat. Talking of boxsets, I have, as usual, come late to the Game of Thrones phenomenon, and frankly, I don’t understand all the hullabaloo. To me, it’s just extreme violence and pornography, posturing as ‘period’. The number of respected, highbrow friends of mine that think it’s really good – sweetie, they’ve all been hoodwinked by titillation, medieval-styley. Am I sounding all Mary Whitehouse? Possibly, but there should, at the very least, be a warning at the start of each episode: ‘on no account watch this with children or ageing parents.’

I need to get away from the gogglebox. Thank goodness it’s summer.

We don’t have the Tube down here, alas. A little network of train tunnels between villages would do wonders for our social lives. Although I agree with what you say regarding dignity on the Underground. I recall, back in the day, sitting in a busy carriage en route to work when a girl opposite, having applied full make-up in front of the rest of us, proceeded to clip her fingernails. One nail, I kid you not, snapped, flew in the air and landed in the crease of the book that the man adjacent to her was reading.

She simply reached over and plucked it out. He carried on reading without looking up or batting an eyelid, and no one said a word. Tube etiquette: you can get away with anything, including highly intimate huddling – just don’t speak or make eye contact.

WHAT’S HOT IN THE SMOKE?

WHAT’S COOL IN THE COUNTRY?

If you can, steal tickets to catch Jez Butterworth’s (Jerusalem) The Ferryman, directed by Sam Mendes. Set in Ireland in 1980s it’s scored rave reviews all round. Transferring from the Royal Court to the West End from June.

The Ways with Words Literary Festival at Dartington draws an ever-higher number of revered experts and well-known names from across the country and every sector, to speak.

It runs from 7-17 July.

The NED, Soho House’s new hotel, is we’re told, ‘beyond fabulous’. 250 rooms, nine restaurants, a members’ only bar in the old bank vaults and a roof terrace to die for, in Edwin Lutyens former Midland Bank building (hence the name The Ned, Lutyens’ nickname). In a word, ‘breathtaking!’.

Belgrave St Ives Gallery will be showing a unique exhibition of 32 paintings and collages selected from the late Terry Frost’s work/ sketch book. The book covers the 1970s up to 1981 and several of the artist’s favourite subjects are explored, such as ‘Suspended Forms’, and the ‘Lorca’ series. From 19 June – 15 July.

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Celebrating 40 years of Farms for City Children Farms for City Children, founded by Clare and Michael Morpurgo 40 years ago, introduces inner-city children to life on a rural farm. The children get to spend a week working as farmers; they learn where their food comes from, eat well and learn to work together in teams. So far, more than 100,000 children have benefited from the charity. The week commencing 21 April 2017 was a particularly exciting one for the charity. Here we show why. farmsforcitychildren.org Farms for City Children held its biggest fundraising event to date on Friday 21 April at The Great Barn, Higher Ashton. John and Emma Birkin, owners of The Great Barn, had kindly given over its use for free, and 180 guests arrived to take part in a silent auction over a three-course dinner. There were 45 lots, and more than ÂŁ27,000 was raised. Sponsors were Knight Frank, Michelmores and Folk 2 Folk, and flowers were donated by Jo Game.

Pre-dinner drinks

William Morrison (Knight Frank) and Emma Birkin

Jane Dumeresque (Folk 2 Folk), Simon Gregory and Dr Tessa Stone

Charles Huntington-Whiteley, trustee

Anna Chambers, Eleanor Rayner and Di Darwell

In the following week, Savills sponsored a Luxury Shopping Event at Ugbrooke Park, which Laura Clifford kindly organised on behalf of the charity. Over 30 stalls sold everything from cushion covers to bronze partridges and the Hon. Alexander Clifford and Caitlin BlakeLane kindly threw open their home and took guided tours around the house.

Over ÂŁ3,660 was raised.

Photos: Amy from Emily Fleur Photography at USP

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confidential

In the same week, the charity welcomed The Duchess of Cambridge to Wick Farm in Gloucestershire. The Duchess was greeted by Clare and Michael Morpurgo, and CEO Dr Tessa Stone. She had lunch with the children from Year 5, Vauxhall Primary School, and was then shown around the house and farm by Heather Tarplee, the Farm School Manager. Michael Morpurgo read a story to the children with the Duchess listening in the recently finished Round House, and she then spent time with the children planting onions, weighing pigs and feeding Stinky the orphan lamb.

Photos: Simon Smith from Bromhead Photography

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Summer days

Sunglasses, Hobbs, £65

Zara

On the shore, of course, it’s shades, swimsuits and kaftans, accessorized by baskets and wide-brimmed hats. Work-wise, it’s breezy florals, frills and asymmetric hems with wedges to add a bit of height. Complied by Phoebe Tancock.

Necklace, Zara, £15.99

Dress, Zara, £25.99

Swimsuit, Hobbs, £59 Kaftan, Zara, £29.99 Swimsuit, Marks & Spencer, £35 Bag, Zara, £25.99

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Flip flops, Next, £24

Wedges, Zara,£49.99

Altuzarra SS17

trends

Earrings, Zara,£9.99

Kaftan, Marks and Spencer, £45

Floral dress, Hobbs, £149 Bikini, Hobbs, £64

Hat, Top Shop, £45

Skirt, Zara, £29.99

Wedges, Zara,£49.99

Sunglasses, Miu Miu, £200 Bikini, Hobbs, £68

Dress, Top Shop, £39

Wedges, Zara,£29.99

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Summer by night

Jasper Conran SS17

Once the sun sets, all-in-one jumpsuits with a cross-body handbag add lightweight elegance. For a bit more warmth, faithful denim never fails – dress it up with an embroidered kimono or structured blouse.

Kimono, Zara, £49.99

Kimono, Zara, £79.99

White Twiggy trousers, Marks & Spencer, £35

Top, Zara, £49.99

Skinny jeans, Next, £46 Platforms, Hobbs, £169

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Sandals, Zara,£59.99

Jasper Conran SS17

trends

Cuff, Hobbs, £29 Pendant, Hobbs, £39

Dress, Zara, £39.99

Jumpsuit, Top Shop, £32

Bag, Next, £20

Top, Zara, £15.99 Dress, Marks & Spencer, £39.50

Platforms, Zara,£49.99

Platforms, Next, £38

Skirt, Zara,£39.99

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Sun-ready skin There’s more to getting prepared for summer than dragging the suitcase out from under the bed. Make-up artist Elouise Abbott gives her top tips on buffing up.

A

nd so it begins, with the first days of summer giving us that tantalizing, long-awaited dose of warmth and vitamin D. This means it’s time to get prepped, primed and ready to glow by treating your body to a little extra attention. Follow these five easy steps for head-to-toe beautiful skin in preparation for the summer.

STEP 1: CLEANSE

Super-hydrated, smooth skin starts with the cleanser. If your skin is on the drier, more sensitive side, Aveeno Body Wash works wonders due to the soothing properties of its naturally active oat essence. I’m a huge fan of oil cleansers, so am loving Shiseido’s Ultimate Cleansing Oil for face and body. An oil-based cleanser is ideal for removing long-lasting foundations and sunscreens, and is super-hydrating, which is great for dry skin. I love that this product is balanced enough for face and body, making it perfect for compact packing.

However, if the skin on your face is more combination or oily, I’d recommend a second cleanse with your usual cleanser. If you want something a little more refreshing, look no further than Aveda Rosemary Mint Hand & Body Wash for perfectly balanced and soothingly fragranced skin.

STEP 2: EXFOLIATE

A buff body needs a polish. Exfoliation will help to remove the last traces of any dry, flaky winter skin, revealing radiant, fresher, smoother skin. I recommend a daily session with the Mio Body Brush. Use on dry skin and brush working from the toes upwards. This will not only exfoliate but also improve your 22

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circulation and lymphatic system, revealing smoother skin all round.

I also love a good body scrub once or twice a week, which is great for those stubborn areas. Try Cowshed Slender Cow Detoxifying Body Scrub for a luxurious turbo-charged formula of algae and essential oils – mandarin, sweet orange and ylangylang – promising smoother, softer, detoxed skin.

Well-exfoliated skin is not only smoother and more hydrated, but it will also provide the base for a longer-lasting, more even tan, whether you choose to fake it or tan naturally. Another beneficial targeted treatment to make skin appear smoother is Nip+Fab Cellulite Fix Body Sculpting Gel, which firms and sculpts the skin; this also contains caffeine, which is a diuretic and facilitates the reduction of water retention. As water retention exacerbates the appearance of cellulite, this diuretic effect therefore reduces the ‘orange-peel’, leaving you with firmer, visibly smoother skin.

Amazing.

STEP 3: HYDRATE

Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate. Make sure to drink plenty of water, and eat your daily recommended amount of fruit and vegetables, because skin health works from the inside out. A really good body lotion is a must all year round. Kiehl’s Creme de Corps Soy Milk & Honey Whipped Body Butter is a luxurious pot of hydration magic. Nuxe Huile Prodigieuse Dry Oil is a fabulous multi-purpose product that you can use for the body, face and hair, and it

beauty works wonders on stretch marks. The great thing about oils is you can use them on their own, or you can enrich your usual cream by adding a few drops of oil and blending together to add an extra level of nourishment.

And don’t forget to treat your feet: Burt’s Bees Peppermint Foot Lotion is both soothing and deodorizing, and leaves your feet pedicure-ready for your sandals.

STEP 4: FAKE IT

While I love a beautiful tan, I personally prefer to fake it these days. Apart from the fact that I have skin more suited to burning than tanning, faking a tan has never been easier – not to mention safer – than tanning naturally. Applied like a daily lotion, St Tropez Gradual Tan Tinted Lotion builds a smooth, even colour, while also giving you the benefit of an instant bronze.

What could be better? If you need something quicker and longer-lasting, then Xen-Tan

Transformation develops in just one hour and continues to develop even after rinsing (apply once a week).

STEP 5: PROTECT

If you’re going to spend time in the glorious sunshine, then protect your skin. If you choose to tan naturally, then be sure to tan safely with a really good SPF sunscreen like Piz Buin Tan & Protect Intensifying Sun Spray SPF 15; this product will protect your skin while also developing and enhancing your natural tan. If you require something with a higher level of sunscreen, then La RochePosay Anti-Shine Matte Fluid SPF 30 offers great protection with the added benefit of a non-oily formula – amazing if you suffer from oily skin. I’m also a huge fan of Garnier Ambre Solaire Dry Mist Protection SPF 50. Non-sticky, quick and alcohol free, it’s great for using even on the face, although you must be careful to avoid the sensitive eye area.

SUMMER OFFERS E XCLUSIVE OFFERS

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G D C N O. 1 6 8 4 4 7

T O B O O K A F R E E M I N I C O N S U LTAT I O N , P L E A S E C A L L 0 1 3 9 2 2 7 2 3 8 5 O R V I S I T I N S P I R E D D E N TA L C A R E . C O . U K

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My feel-good regime

View towards the lighthouse at Godrevy

Kat Cole was born in North London and grew up in Cornwall. After studying English Literature & Performance at Aberystwyth University, she spent ten years living in Cardiff. She moved back to West Cornwall with her husband and two young children, where she produces and manages the website, photography and the accounts for Lucy Kemp Jewellery.

I am very passionate about the people in my life, and

Being in the sea makes me feel amazing. I can’t surf or

I love having a full house. I try and cram in play dates and family visits all the time, because they remind me of my childhood. My life is rich with memories of people and the love they gave me, and I want my children to build them, too.

body board, but being in the sea makes me feel alive.

It’s like a natural soul recharger!

I like going walking in the evenings. There’s a

peacefulness in the closed shops and empty streets or beaches. There are no distractions… and from a clear mind can come the best solutions.

Other people inspire me. I like talking to people; you

can learn a lot from other people’s stories. We should always find time to listen to others – it’s good for your soul and theirs.

My creative outlet is linocut printing. There’s

something about doing it that brings a lovely calm – and sometimes something pretty emerges.

I love to feed people. It’s the Filipino in me! I like there

to always be a homemade cake in the house because it reminds me of my Grandma, but my friends probably request my spring rolls the most.

I try really hard to create a balance between kids, work and feeling peaceful. Sometimes it works and sometimes it

doesn’t. I try not to dwell on it when it doesn’t. As long as everyone gets heard, I find everyone gets what they need.

We don’t eat out a lot but when we do, we like to go to

places to eat food we wouldn’t cook ourselves.

When we go out, we always try to go to places with good parks and gardens as opposed to good shops. We

especially like Falmouth because it has some good open spaces accessible by train and within walking distance.

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Our biggest indulgence is good food. My husband is an

amazing cook and cooks everything from scratch. I’m a kept woman!

Going out is either local, so we can get back for the kids, or kid-friendly so they can come along. We love summer

for its outdoor live music and food on the go. Golowan Festival week in Penzance is brilliant for this.

I love reading books. I love bookshops. There’s a feeling

and a smell in a bookshop that is a bit like magic for me.

One of our favourite holidays is to Wales. It’s like going

away and coming home all in one. The cities are everchanging with newness, and the countryside still takes my breath away.

Every two weeks I meet up with my best friend and we drink tea at Godrevy. Not in a café, but out of a

flask at dusk. We lose light and time, and fill it with laughter. I always feel relaxed afterwards because my soul leaves happy.

LANGUISHING IN MY MAKE-UP BAG Concealer, cheek blush, eye-liner, eyebrow pencil (I don’t wear much make-up. My sister gave me my first eyebrow pencil a few months ago. I didn’t realise how much of a difference eyebrows make to your face!) For my hair I use Aussie shampoo: it smells delicious and makes my hair feel like butter!

For my skin, I alternate between Boots Botanics moisturiser and natural coconut oil. Instead of perfume, I use a sweet orange and bergamot solid oil blend, made by my friend Lowenna Arnold.

I’m not really into clothes shopping. I like charity

shops, wearing black and being comfy. I don’t take style inspiration from any one place, I just like what I like!

I used to write poetry and scripts. It’s the one thing I’ve

not yet managed to find time to fit in. I wish I could, but I know it’ll happen again when it’s the right time.

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PHOTO: PATRICK DRUMMOND MAKE-UP: KERRY SEPTEMBER HAIR: JON MALONE

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As I see it...

Liz Earle MBE is a writer, TV presenter and entrepreneur. Having started out in journalism, she has now written over 30 books on beauty, nutrition and wellbeing. Her first appearance on TV was on ITV’s This Morning with Richard and Judy. She still has a regular slot on the show.

Liz went on to host the first UK TV programme on beauty, BBC1’s Beautywise. She launched her eponymous skincare brand in 1995, which was sold in 2010 and is now part of the Boots family. In 2013, Liz founded Liz Earle Wellbeing.

My interest in beauty was triggered by a book given to me by my grandmother – the Vogue Body & Beauty Book by Bronwen

Meredith. It was the first time I’d been exposed to that incredibly glamorous world: there were pictures of Jerry Hall stunningly transformed by make-up, followed by tips on how to make your own cucumber face pack. As a 13-year-old, I thought this was the most extraordinary, exotic, and tantalising world.

The penny-drop moment came at 19 when I was working at Molton Brown, a hairdressing salon in South Molton Street.

They offered me a job helping to launch a range of natural haircare. When I picked up the phone in the press office and was asked questions by journalists, I suddenly realised that I wanted to be the one on the other end of the phone asking the questions, so from Molton Brown I managed to get a job as a junior on Woman’s Journal, in the health and beauty department.

My great passion is research and writing, and I couldn’t do it in

700 or even 7,000 words, so I moved from magazines into writing books. The books gave me a name, which led on to television.

“Who on earth is going to be watching television in the middle of the morning?” was my initial thought when asked to do the

first daytime show, This Morning, with Richard and Judy. Up until then, there’d been nothing but the test card or occasionally the racing at Newmarket. How things have changed.

Beauty has always been a two-way approach: what we put on and what we put in. All my time in the beauty industry was

very much spent on the outside, on looking after the surface of the skin, which of course is fundamental, but we make our own skin cells from within. We can only do that by feeding our bodies with the right building blocks. The beauty business was sold in 2010, but with my focus now on diet and wellbeing and publishing a magazine, I’ve come full circle.

Medical science is now proving many of the old wives’ tales. It

makes me smile when I think of how I was pilloried in the early days. I was writing about kale back in the 1980s and brewing kombucha 20 years before everyone was doing it and posting it on Instagram. None of it’s new.

I have a strong sense of injustice. I think I inherited that from

my parents, who’ve always been active in the charitable sector (and partly why I founded my own charity, Live Twice), but a lot of it comes from wanting to debunk the myths, put right the wrongs and correct misinformation.

The study linked the beauty ingredient to breast cancer, which was unfounded, yet there was a media furore and public pressure grew to outlaw it. Parabens are a naturally occurring ingredient found in fruit – the reason apples last longer than strawberries is because they contain more parabens. You could even call them a superfood. They have a very low risk of allergy. Now we’re seeing far more skin sensitivities as a result of the replacement preservatives that are being used.

If you think applying whacking-great molecules of collagen onto your skin is going to make a difference, you’re living in la-la land. Sixty percent of what we put on our skin is not absorbed.

Skin is a highly complex organ that keeps out microscopic bacteria and viruses far smaller than skincare molecules.

We lose nutrient-rich soil at our peril. It’s being desiccated by

fertilisers, herbicides and industrial agrochemicals. Economics has forced a move away from traditional farming towards the mass production of milk, keeping cows in sheds 24/7, yet livestock fertilise the land naturally and cows are ruminants with stomachs designed for fresh grass and forage, not hard concentrate feed. Traditional farming benefits everyone and you may well get a more nutritious milk as a result.

It’s not the years on your life; it’s the life in your years. If you’re

going to live longer, you want to live well. This generation has that opportunity because we know more. I took up gentle running at 50 and it was a revelation to me. I started out grudgingly and now I’ve got a healthy addiction; if you expend energy, you come back feeling more energised.

One of the disadvantages of having your own name as a brand is people assume it’s just you. At the very beginning, the beauty

brand idea came from my good friend Kim Buckland. My knowledge is about plants, ingredients and skincare, but Kim was the marketing genius, the one who created the brand and ran the operational side of things. It used to upset me, and still does, when people assume it was just me.

Sunday should be a pause in the week and a chance to reflect, to

connect with family and take a break. For many it’s just another day, and I’m sure, with hindsight, we’ll wonder why on earth we lost that. I’ve got an Orthodox Jewish friend who will never do anything on a Friday evening because it’s Sabbath and that’s when the family gather around the table and eat together. It’s part of their culture, their way of life, and I’m envious. I wish we had that, and I guess the family gatherings around a roast every Sunday is my attempt at it. Time out is important for everyone’s mental health.

I’ve got a bugbear about parabens, which have become known

as a bad ingredient because of one flawed study, now discredited.

lizearlewellbeing.com

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By harnessing the power of nature and science, Clear Water Revival is creating natural pools that demand more than just a dip.

Words by Fiona McGowan.

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ild swimming is very zeitgeisty at the moment. The weekend supplements always seem to feature someone swimming in an icy river, wading into a mountain lake or splashing about in a murky pond. There are books aplenty charting the swimming journeys of freshwater aficionados, such as Roger Deakin’s bestselling Waterlog, and numerous wild swimming guide books. When I was a kid, you avoided swimming in rivers – dark tales of swimmers’ legs being caught in reeds (although in my local river, you were more likely to get tetanus from a rusty shopping trolley), and unchecked levels of pollution and effluence washing in from fields and drainage systems. Now, with a handy guidebook or a quick search online, you can find the leastpolluted waterways in the UK, and plunge in. Swimming ponds such as the Hampstead Ponds have long been popularised among people who don’t mind a bit of slime underfoot and opaque, mud-hued water. “It makes your skin feel soooo silky,” is a phrase I’ve heard often.

I love swimming. I live by the sea. I’ve spent years in the tropics, snorkelling on reefs and bathing in balmy waters. I go to my local sports centre and do endless, mindless laps – trying to ignore the fact that I’m swimming in a chemical soup that stings your eyes and desiccates your hair. But I’ve never been drawn to inland water, with its murky, chilly depths and muddy bottoms. The purveyors of natural swimming pools are on something of a crusade to change all that.

There are two types of natural swimming pools, explains Andrew Cox of Bristol-based Clear Water Revival: the pond and the pool. A swimming pond is carefully constructed to mimic the wild pond – and carefully maintained to prevent the growth of algae. For this, the pond needs to be deep and cold, and 50% of 28

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The pond is a feature not just for swimming in, but a convivial focal point around which to socialise, whatever the weather. the water area must contain plants that are selected for their ability to live off the nutrients that would otherwise feed algae. People choose swimming ponds for many reasons, one of the biggest being their aesthetic impact: companies like Clear Water Revival work with garden designers and architects to make the pond part of the landscape. The pond is a feature not just for swimming in, but a convivial focal point around which to socialise, whatever the weather. As for the murky, muddy bottom, swimming ponds can be sparkly clear, as long as they’re deep enough that the natural detritus doesn’t heat up sufficiently to give off the nitrogen and nutrients on which the algae thrives. Swimming ponds actually require less management than a regular outdoor chlorine pool, says Andrew. The main work is to backwash the filters twice a year and cut back the plants in the autumn.

Looking at a natural swimming pond, with its reeds and (not so murky) depth, it’s hard to imagine why Andrew describes his business as a biotech company.

“We’re harnessing the power of nature and science to clean water without the need for chemicals,” he explains. But the real technological advances came when Andrew and business partner David Nettleton turned their attention to natural swimming pools. These are a whole different kettle of fish. For a start, a swimming pool in the UK really needs to be heated (a concept I wholeheartedly support), and people building swimming pools don’t necessarily want to share their bathing experience with the local flora and fauna.

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experience for the job – Andrew is an engineer who worked in renewables, and David is a marine biologist.

They met at a music festival (and, no, Credence Clearwater Revival was not on the billing), and within a year had set up a natural swimming pool business.

Andrew was a silent partner for four years, working on “new designs for wind turbines and solar car ports… things that can make a difference to the world”, before he joined full time in 2012. Within five years, the pair had raised funds through Crowdcube, built two laboratories in Bristol, and now employ 10 people, three of whom have PhDs. Another round of crowdfunding is imminent, and Andrew expects to have 15 people on the roster by the end of the year.

While there are several other natural swimming pool companies in the country, it’s still fairly niche. Around 1,000 swimming pools are built every year in the UK, and around 80-100 of those are natural pools. Clear Water Revival, being based in Bristol, has captured the Westcountry market, although its portfolio covers projects around the country and internationally. Two of its landmark pools are the natural swimming pond at Scarlet Hotel in Cornwall, with its breath-taking view across the bay (and perhaps breath-taking chill factor), and Europe’s first heated indoor freshwater pool was built by CWR at Tregulland Holiday Cottages, on the edge of Bodmin Moor. About half of the company’s work comes from garden designers and architects, and a good proportion of its clients are “very famous people. But I’m not allowed to tell you who they are,” says Andrew ruefully.

feature The technology behind ‘harnessing nature’ to create a swimming experience that is essentially swimming in mineral water is highly complex, hence the need for laboratories and scientists with PhDs. Andrew tries to simplify it. “You’ve got a body of water in your garden and you’ve got continual input; even when it’s not raining and there’s not much wind or dust, you’ve still got tiny, tiny bits that you can’t see, all getting into the pool. That’s what algae feeds off.” Essentially, he says, the aim is to continually starve the water of nutrients so the algae doesn’t grow in the first place. In a nutshell, natural filtration treats the causes of algae whereas chlorine treats the effects. It’s a balancing act: a natural swimming pond needs the right ratios of plants and the right types of plants to absorb the algae nutrients. It has to be at least 2.5m deep and shouldn’t get warmer than 23°C. The water that goes into the pond or pool has to be filtered to remove phosphorus from tap water (phosphoric acid is added to UK tap water to prevent the lead from our old Victorian piping leaching out into the water). The pond is “a perfect bit of ecosystem”. The plants have to be cut back in autumn to prevent them breaking down and turning into algae food, and the organic matter at the bottom has to be hoovered out. Like any pool, a swimming pond requires some maintenance year-round to keep the water crystal clear. “The ponds also have a pump that can come on for one or two hours a day,” adds Andrew. “It’s very, very low energy. Provided you’re up for doing a bit of scrubbing of walls, it’s very low maintenance. You’re not having to go and test the water pH and chlorinate it all the time…”

However, the swimming pool technology is yet another realm of biotech intrigue. How do you heat a pool of fresh water without providing a haven for bacteria and the proliferation of algae? This is where the labs come in. In 2012, Andrew and David won an Innovate UK grant to develop their own biological filtration system. “We’ve taken all the removal of nutrients that you used to do in the pond, and we’ve packaged it into filters,” he says. “It’s a three-stage filter.

The first stage is removing the phosphorus from tap water. The second phase is a biological stage.” Which is where it gets complicated. Clear Water Revival has developed a special surface (called a substrate) on which a biofilm consisting of beneficial micro-organisms naturally grows. The micro-organisms sequester phosphorus and nitrogen from the water as it runs through the filter bed. They then add a third ‘fail-safe’ stage, in which physiochemical reactions ensure that all nutrients are prevented from re-entering the pool.

Clear? Crystal clear. Even if the process is as murky as a woodland pond in the middle of winter, you can rest assured that the experts at Clear Water Revival have come up with a solution that is not only environmentally right on, but will deliver mineral water to a pool or pond. Wild swimming never needs to be muddy and

slimy again: these ponds look good enough to drink.

They also help clients to save money on heating and installation bills – Clear Water has developed superinsulated panels to fit into the sides and base of pools, and covers that trap solar energy, not only insulating the water, but warming it up when not in use. The filtration system, while more expensive than a regular chlorinefiltration system, actually saves money in the long run, as it requires less energy. While a natural pool can cost anywhere between £100,000 and £300,000, that’s pretty much what you’d pay for an uninspiring turquoise chlorine box. Natural pool companies are also starting to offer bio-filtration re-fits for existing pools, while Andrew and David are driving towards developing an effective filtration system that they can sell all over the world: for indoor and outdoor, heated or natural. Looks like it might be time for a dip. clear-water-revival.com

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Brand Salcombe

What makes this small harbour town’s name so synonymous with quality?

Anna Turns talks to Salcombe’s fashionistas and foodies to find out.

PHOTO: ANNA TURNS

Will Bees founded his bag company in 2014, and his vintage industrial workshop is based in an old boatbuilding unit on Island Street

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any long-standing fashion labels began as one-off shops in the sailing mecca of Salcombe, on the south Devon coast, including the likes of Jack Wills and Crew Clothing, which both opened on Fore Street in the 1990s. More recently, the Made in Chelsea reality TV star Andy Jordan launched his ‘city surf ’ clothing line Jam Industries on Island Street, and his cast-mate Francesca ‘Cheska’ Hull moved down from the big smoke to help run her mum’s glamorous boutique, Amelia’s Attic, on Fore Street. So, what exactly attracts so many luxury food and fashion companies to Salcombe?

Salcombe is now the second most expensive seaside town to live in the UK (after Sandbanks in Dorset), according to a survey by Halifax last year. The average price of property exchanged in Salcombe in 2017 to date is approximately £702,888, says Harriet Cundy, Director of Marchand Petit estate agents, who firmly believes buyers are attracted to the area because Salcombe is “the jewel of the South Hams”. She continues: “Its plethora of sandy beaches, micro-climate, safe sailing waters, stunning coastal walks together with an abundance of eateries and diverse shops and boutiques means it caters for all generations, which is a contributing factor to its popularity and the reason buyers, most of whom have a long-standing association with the town, are prepared to pay a premium for a property here.”

According to Allister Bishop, Head Chef at South Sands Hotel, ‘Brand Salcombe’ is “alive and kicking”.

Allister is a keen open-water swimmer and loves foraging along the coastline for ingredients such as sea kale, sea spinach and sea aster. He believes Salcombe is Devon’s hidden gem: “Its natural beauty remains unspoilt, with sandy beaches, craggy coastal paths and the gorgeous tidal estuary, and the town has a great local atmosphere with a huge diversity of places to eat and drink, from

fine-dining at the restaurant here to the brilliantly quirky Winking Prawn, plus plenty of activities both on and off the water.”

But while this town still attracts many aspirational brands, life’s not all about blue-and-white-striped polo shirts, lobster barbecues on the beach and sundowners. The town’s population swells from 1,500 to about 25,000 in the peak of summer, so for small, independent businesses, seasonality always poses challenges. The South Hams is bursting at the seams with exciting entrepreneurs and creative business models, but many start-ups come and go.

Having been born and bred in the town, Debbie Hainey has witnessed how it’s changed over the years.

She explains that Salcombe is a mix of traditional locals, people who’ve moved here and locals who rely on tourism, like her: “Without the influx of holidaymakers in the peak summer season, this town would struggle to survive. Nowadays, Salcombe attracts a lot of celebrities, and visitors like the ‘label’, but they’re also looking for something that is more local and unique to the town now,” says Debbie, who runs Cater Cove hair and beauty salon and is Chair of Salcombe Town Regatta.

Salcombe has magnetic powers, attracting brand associations from all over as retailers attempt to tap into the town’s rich pickings. While on one hand there’s success (Salcombe Dairy, for example, has proudly made quality ice cream in town since 1981 without relocating), there will, of course, be copycats and rather more tenuous links. A brewery based a few miles away relaunched this year as Salcombe Brewery – although rumour has it they may open a retail outlet in Salcombe soon to authenticate the rebrand, so watch this space.

The new online coffee company Salcombe Brew kindly donates a few pennies from each sale to Salcombe RNLI, but it doesn’t have a physical outlet in town, its coffee isn’t roasted anywhere near Salcombe and the owners live a few hundred miles away.

PHOTO: ANNA TURNS

Salcombe is a hub for sailors and the harbour is buzzing in the summer months

The average price of property exchanged in Salcombe in 2017 to date is approximately £702,888

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I’m quite proud to live and work in Salcombe. We have a really supportive community here, with a strong identity.

Debbie has watched Salcombe become a magnet for high-end brands over the years and believes they need to be genuine and have a real physical connection and a base in town: “This is currently the happening place, and in the last five years it feels like a lot more businesses have jumped on the Salcombe bandwagon, which is great for the local economy but could potentially be harmful to local businesses if they’re not truly Salcombe-based.

Every brand needs to have real integrity to stand the test of time – without that, people will see through a label before too long.”

Will Bees Bespoke, a high-end leather bag company, was founded in 2014 by Will Bees, one of the co-founders of Quba Sails, which first made jackets from reclaimed canvas sailcloth 21 years ago. Will knows a thing or two about successful brand design in the fashion industry.

“Salcombe has changed a lot in the past 20 years and I think big brands like Jack Wills and Crew Clothing have all helped to put Salcombe on the map.” Will has taken a different tack with his new business and left the high street, setting up shop on Island Street in a unit that traditionally housed boatbuilders, which suits his vintage industrial style down to a tee. “This street and this building have their own heritage and it feels a lot more artisan here – it’s authentic and honest, and it’s quite unusual for people to see a product being made here by our full-time seamstress, Ann. Eighty percent of our product is made on site and everything is embossed by hand here, too, so although it has to be commercially viable, our heritage is so important to our story,” says Will, who agrees that only businesses based here should be putting Salcombe on their labels.

Ultimately, there has to be heritage behind the Salcombe connection and an ethos that fits well with the town’s active outdoor lifestyle. Building trust with consumers is key, something that Rachel Rudd has taken very seriously while developing her stylish but functional riding, sailing and farming welly boots. For Rachel, Salcombe has been a particular inspiration in terms of setting up her own independent business after moving with her family to Devon a few years ago: “I’m quite proud to live and work in Salcombe, we have a really supportive community here, with a strong identity,” says Rachel, who launched her lifestyle-led brand, Rudd’s Wellies, last year, after endless research, product testing and sampling. “The key focus of my brand is all about quality and there is a quality association with Salcombe, but it’s about more than that. This place and the people I’ve met have inspired me to set up my business and go for it.”

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The view from South Sands across to the mouth of the estuary

South Sands Hotel

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Businesses are bound to jump onto the bandwagon, but integrity and provenance are vital.

The co-founders of Salcombe Gin met through sailing on the estuary as teenagers

Salcombe’s nautical heritage also inspired Angus Lugsdin and Howard Davies to launch their artisan gin last year. Having met while holidaying in Salcombe and teaching others to sail here through the Island Cruising Club (ICC), the pair have gone full circle and opened up their distillery and gin school on the old site of the ICC workshop. The botanicals they’re using in Salcombe Gin echo the spices and citrus fruits brought back from tropical climes by the Salcombe fruiter boats built here in the estuary in the 19th century.

Howards explains why he believes Salcombe has so much to offer: “Fundamentally, Salcombe is just an amazingly beautiful area, so for me it’s about the wonderful beaches, the vista across the estuary, the turquoise waters, and the town is lovely as well. It attracts affluent people who come in their yachts, it’s one of the most expensive places to buy property now in the country, and it becomes more fashionable because it’s so sought after – then that helps reinforce Salcombe as a brand in itself.”

Salcombe Gin is just one of many trendy new businesses based on Island Street, an up-and-coming hive of activity set a short walk away from the highstreet shops, and was traditionally the boatbuilding area of Salcombe: “Going back 10 or 20 years, not much was happening here, most visitors would just go to Fore Street. In the last few years – and hopefully Salcombe Gin is contributing to this as well – Island Street has become a cool hub for arts and crafts and independent businesses. Now it’s the funky place to go to in Salcombe, people come here to drink and eat, visit art galleries. I think it’s Salcombe’s best-kept secret,” says Howard, who believes that every ‘Salcombe’ business should have some justifiable connection to the town, and ideally have a base here. “Businesses are bound to jump onto the bandwagon, but integrity and provenance are vital.”

The real ‘Salcombe’ label seems to embody a combination of quality, style and beauty. No doubt more brands will come and go, and theshop fronts will change and the town will continue to evolve. Who knows which Salcombe brands will be household names in another 20 years’ time. If someone works out the formula for success, no doubt they’ll bottle it and sell it online for £50 a jar.

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Survive the dive As new swimwear brand Davy J – made with nylon recycled from marine waste – makes a splash on the activewear market, Belinda Dillon talks to founder Helen Newcombe about entrepreneurialism, sustainability, and diving with confidence. Photos by Matt Austin.

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A

n economist specialising in development, Helen Newcombe enjoyed what she did, travelling widely to work with entrepreneurs and start-ups in emerging markets. After a two-year stint in Zanzibar, Tanzania, she wound up in London, and although still focusing on growth in developing countries, the reality of corporate life began to feel like an uneasy fit, and not just because, at heart, she’s a Westcountry girl with a love of the sea.

“I was meeting all these amazing people who are doing incredible things, and it triggered the entrepreneurial itch inside me,” says Helen. It was early 2016, and at 28 years old, and as yet unconstrained by a mortgage or children, she decided it was the right time to take the leap. But towards what?

Having grown up in Devon, and with a sporty background – she’s a keen runner, cyclist and water baby, and recently competed in a couple of triathlons – Helen had always been frustrated with the swimwear market.

“While it’s nice to have the odd fashionable bikini, what am I supposed to wear if I want to do anything more than lie by the pool? I generally want to jump off the side of the boat, play beach volleyball, dive through the waves… A lot of performance swimwear is pretty ugly, and the more fashion-focused pieces don’t tend to last more than a season before they go baggy and seethrough. There seemed to be no middle ground.”

It was only when Helen came across a new innovation in the way nylon can be regenerated that the penny dropped. “I have always had a keen interest in the concept of a circular economy and looking critically at the way we value our resources,” she says.

“As part of my research I found out about a company called Aquafil, which makes econyl® yarn, a 100% regenerated nylon from waste – old fishing nets, carpet fluff and textile offcuts. I put that together with my frustrations around swimwear and realised there was a spot in the market: to create something that looks and feels good, which actually stays on, and to combine it with my passion for sustainability.”

On receipt of a catalyst grant from the Royal Society of Arts, Helen began looking at sports bras and the

Helen Newcombe

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While it’s nice to have the odd fashionable bikini, what am I supposed to wear if I want to do anything more than lie by the pool? aesthetics of activewear, seeing what worked and what didn’t, and created sketches and prototypes from there.

Working with fabric produced in Italy using econyl yarn – and made at a small production unit in the South West – she went for a double-lined high-elastane content, concealed rubber edging and a cross-back design aimed at ensuring that when you surface from a dive, or leap for that point-winning spike shot, you don’t have to worry about what’s on show. The debut range, called ‘The Waste Collection’ – bikini top, crop top, briefs and a full suit – comes in black, blue and red, and the pieces mix and match perfectly. And so Davy J was born.

“The sustainability aspect is really important to me – I wouldn’t produce a business any other way – but I don’t want it to be the upfront sell,” says Helen. “I want people to buy this swimwear because it’s great swimwear, full stop. Hopefully they’ll grow to love the brand because of all the other elements – the sustainability angle, designing and building products that last, the real faces behind our production.”

Key to getting Davy J ready to launch has been testing the product. One of the groups putting the range through its paces has been the all-female crew of Sea Dragon, an ocean-going scientific research vessel islandhopping around the Caribbean as part of eXXpedition, a series of all-women voyages looking at plastics pollution.

“I’ve been getting some great feedback and Instagram posts from these women,” says Helen. “They’re sailors, scientists and researchers, and I was very keen to support women in science more broadly, as well as the plastics research they’re doing. They also love the idea that they’re wearing recycled waste while looking at waste issues. Next they’re doing a Round Britain eXXpedition, setting sail from Plymouth this summer.”

Helen and I are chatting in the heady few days before

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the brand’s official launch on 3 May. At the moment, Davy J is just her; she’s commandeered an office at her father’s architectural practice in Newton Abbot, and is self-funding, although the buzz around the product is already starting to build, and she’s making the most of supportive networks since relocating to Devon in summer 2016. “I knew I wanted to launch the brand from down here, and lifestyle-wise I’ve always wanted an excuse to move back,” she says. “I was recently brought into the Gain 20, which is a Plymouth University-hosted group of high-growth start-ups in and around the South West. They’re a fantastic bunch of people, doing all sorts of interesting stuff and all at different stages of growth.

We meet every couple of months to thrash through problems, ideas, sharing knowledge and experiences.”

In terms of business inspiration, Helen looks to brands like Rapha, which makes performance cycling gear, and surf specialists Finisterre – companies which both committed early to selling direct to customers. “As soon as you go through mainstream retailers, the whole focus shifts to being about quantity rather than quality – they take such a chunk of the margin that you have to produce more in order to survive,” says Helen. “Davy J is not the right product for that, and I don’t want it to be, so it’ll only sell direct, through pop-ups or trusted independents for the time being. That way, the brand can grow as a strong standalone, rather than just another piece of activewear available on the high street.”

Part of Davy J’s strong brand integrity is that it’s produced in the UK – and particularly in the South West – which is a source of great pride for Helen, not least because of the simplicity: “I can go along to see them, have a chat, see the pieces being made,” she says. “When they send me samples in plastic bags, I can just return them for re-use.”

But while the ideal scenario would be for that situation to continue, she does admit that manufacturing in the UK is tough. “We don’t have the capacity and skills to produce much here anymore, and if Davy J is successful, I’m concerned we might struggle to produce the volumes required in the UK. Swimwear is a specialist fabric requiring specialist machines and experience, and we don’t seem to be investing in the next generation of production. I’m happy

feature with where we are now, but it’s taken a lot to get here.”

It’s disappointing to hear, when small but growing companies that would be willing to take a cut in profit margins in order to keep their production at home are unable to do so simply because there’s neither the capacity nor the skills. “I’ve been surprised by it,” says Helen, “but it’s made me understand why other brands go abroad.

Maybe one day, I’ll be in a position to set up my own production facility…” She laughs: “One step at a time!”

With her strong ethical vision and keen economist’s brain, I don’t doubt Helen can achieve whatever she sets out to do. It’s early days yet, but she has ideas around how to expand the range beyond the core items, perhaps producing a surf jacket one year, sailing gear the next. “A lot of men have asked whether there’ll be a Davy J range for them, but at the moment I’m focused on it being just for women.” There’s also the ambition to be able to close the production loop even further, by reprocessing old suits, but the technology isn’t quite there yet. “The difficulty is in separating out the nylon, but as soon as that’s possible, the nylon yarn can be regenerated over and over again. I’m hoping that in the next year or two that will be possible. I’m also playing around with packaging that’s acceptable to couriers’ strict criteria but which can be folded up, put in the postbox and returned to Davy J to be reused.”

As for now, Helen’s focus is on getting the word out, fulfilling the orders, and being an ambassador for Davy J. The first year is likely to be about listening to feedback, tweaking the patterns and refining the core range to make sure it’s the best it can be, says Helen. “I’d love it if people have one of these in their wardrobe alongside their other bikinis, for it to be a go-to product for being active in and around the water,” she says.

It’s been a busy year, and set to get more hectic, but there have been a few points along the way that have kept her going, little markers that have triggered

delight and told Helen she was on the right track.

“It was fantastic to do the photo shoot,” she says, “to stand back and see real, local surfer girls wearing my swimsuits and looking great. Then to get pictures from the eXXpedition girls in the Caribbean. Hopefully one day I’ll be at the beach and see a woman I don’t know stepping out of the water in one of my suits… that’ll be a really nice moment.”

Davy J swimwear is available to buy via the website: suit £110, tops £65 each, bottoms £45. davyj.org

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Bespoke cocktail bar in American black walnut with low sheen, lacquered finish.

Sprayed ‘Gun Metal’ detailing and integrated glass shelving.

Door activated LED lighting. Integrated Liebherr wine fridge.

It’s the detail that sets you apart “It is a real pleasure to work with such committed and enthusiastic individuals, who really understand the materials with which they work in order to design and create pieces of unique quality, which exceed expectations.”

JENNY CLAYTON, HARRISON SUTTON PARTNERSHIP

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Bespoke joinery | Furniture | Kitchen interiors T: 01392 364269 | touchdesigngroup.com MANOR | Early Summer 2017

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The Fairs, Rajasthan This collection of images was taken by photographer Juliette Mills in 2016 whilst leading her first photography workshop in Rajasthan, India.

“We began in Jaipur,” she explains, “and went on to explore the city of Udaipur and two very special camel and livestock fairs, which take place over the Kartik full moon – Pushkar and Chandrabhaga.

Over 400,000 people descend on the town of Pushkar for one week to trade camels, marwari horses and livestock, and take part in the annual celebrations in the desert.”

This year, the workshop, which has a focus on documentary photography, will take place during 26 October– 5 November.

For further information visit ibexexpeditions.com

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Juliette Mills is a British photographer based on Dartmoor in the South West of England, and has been taking pictures since a very young age. She graduated from King’s College London with a degree in French and Spanish, and has lived abroad and travelled widely with her work. She specialised in wildlife and travel during her years in London, writing and taking photographs for various nature and travel publications. But her true passion is documentary photography, and she now specialises in portraiture and family photography with a documentary feel, whilst working on various personal projects. She also leads photography workshops abroad focusing on documentary and travel.

Juliette lives in Dartmoor National Park with her two boys, dogs, horses, and cats, and loves horse riding, walking, birds, open fires and red wine.

She will be presenting an exhibition of photographs entitled ‘PERSONAL’ from two documentary works, 3-14 July in Chagford, Devon.

For more information go to juliettemills.com

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Transitioning between Cornwall and Kenya is not a problem for Rachael Feiler, whose East African eco-resort, Diamond Beach Village, has the arts firmly at its heart.

Words by Fiona McGowan.

Manda Beach

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anda Island in Kenya is officially safe to visit, according to the British Embassy.

This is a huge relief for Penzance-born and raised Rachael Feiler. Living on a remote island on Kenya’s northern coast, she knows that unrest in the country is unlikely to come anywhere near the eco-lodge that she developed and built with her mother 17 years ago, but tourism is tourism, and it is always affected by Embassy directives.

The Lamu archipelago consists of five islands, the second biggest of which is Manda. It was here that Rachael’s artist mother, Helen Feiler, came for a painting holiday, and was enchanted by the untouched nature of the place. There was no running water and no electricity on the island, just pristine, clear shallow waters and a white sand beach, with a Castaway background of banyan trees and tropical flora. Rachael was at university when her mum gave her the unexpected news. “I remember her ringing me, saying, ‘I’ll be home in three weeks. I just bought a piece of land in Africa.’” Within a year, Rachael had graduated and found herself with Helen on Manda, with a shared dream to create a retreat on the island. “Somewhere deep in her mind,” adds Rachael, “I think my mum was looking for a place to retire for the winters and do her jewellery in the summer and somewhere to paint in the winter.”

What transpired was a business that grew organically, starting with a kitchen and the ‘Tree House’ – a threestorey house perched in the limbs of a giant banyan tree – all made from local materials. Wood was cut from trees, screens and walls made from woven reeds; driftwood was collected to build furniture and fittings. Providing work for local men and women, Rachael and Helen created the beginnings of a very simple resort. “We didn’t have an architect,” explains Rachael, “we just drew it ourselves.

My mum’s an artist. She’s a good designer. You learn on the job the whole time: the materials, what to use, what not to use…”

With her mother returning to Cornwall to continue her jewellery business and gallery in Penzance, Rachael – at the tender age of 21 – suddenly became the boss.

“I made a website, went to a few trade fairs,” she says, somewhat nonchalantly, which was where she caught the attention of environmental tourism company Responsible Travel. She had never intended Diamond Beach Village to be an eco-lodge, but quite by accident, the nascent resort ticked all the boxes: “It’s all made from natural materials. I buy all my food locally: we’re the first stop when the fishermen come in here. So we choose MANOR | Early Summer 2017

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what we want, then they’ll go on to Shela and on to the market. We collect our rainwater. We’re running on solar and rainwater. The shower water is recycled. The donkeys come and collect the fruit and veg rubbish.”

One might imagine that a young Western woman running a business on her own in East Africa (“I felt very far from home and very much alone”) might come across some serious challenges. But she’s sailed through with a mixture of assuredness and a healthy dose of Cornish feistiness. The business now employs 13 staff, and while they are a great support to Rachael – “I couldn’t do any of it without them,” she says, gratefully – she’s also responsible for them and their families, which is a serious burden.

Although the eco-lodge has grown in a relaxed way (“if a room is too hot, we cut a hole in the wall to make a window”), Rachael’s personality won’t allow her to sit back. She grew up immersed in art and culture – with her artist mother, and grandfather Paul Feiler, once a prominent member of St Ives School of Painting – which might be why she is pushing towards making Manda a cultural venue. While her mother brings the love of art to the scene, Rachael wants to make Manda (and specifically Diamond Beach Village) the place to come for music. “Lamu is now the island of festivals,” Rachael says. “At the last Arts Festival, we had 40 artists doing painting and creating here for three weeks. There was dhow racing, donkey races, henna painting… I put on a concert in Lamu town square. There were 1,000 Muslims watching the bands that I’d brought to perform here.” She now wants to put Manda on the map: “It’s such a creative island, such a beautiful place to be and create… I’m planning and plotting to start a Music Festival here, as part of the Arts Festival.”

Planning and plotting is clearly what she does best.

The resort draws a wide range of clientele – whether it’s the rich and famous for whom Lamu is an ideal hideaway, or yachty types, or NGO workers and ex-pats looking for some R&R, or tourists seeking an alternative holiday, not to mention an influx of Kenyans from a growing middle class that is keen to explore their own country. Catering for this wide range of visitors and age-groups is no problem: she runs music parties and pizza and film nights that draw people from across the narrow strip of water that separates Manda from Lamu. She runs a free daily boat service for locals, and to pick up produce and water. And the parties are starting to get a reputation: “If we have a big party,” she enthuses, “everyone will come over and go back by boat. It’s amazing when it’s a full moon, because you can see the sails arriving on the beach. Last year, I put on a sunset sailing concert for the Arts Festival: we had 15 single-sail dhows with 10-15 people in each, and three bands on three different boats, and we all sailed off into the sunset, and came back here for a massive reggae party.”

The ‘can-do’ attitude extends to her five-year-old daughter, Tima. Rachael is a single mother running a demanding business, but she says that Tima has never 58

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If we have a big party, everyone will come over and go back by boat. It’s amazing when it’s a full moon, because you can see the sails arriving on the beach.

Rachael Feiler

The library area at Diamond Beach

View from the bar

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Tima and friends on the school run and the classroom at Lamu (below)

wanted for attention and care. The staff in the resort are like an extended family, and Tima’s life is an enviable combination of freedom and safety. She potters about the resort, chatting to guests, making friends with visiting children and helping out in the kitchens. When Tima reached the age of three, Rachael and her friend Umra Omar (who runs Safari Doctors, delivering free healthcare to remote areas of the coast) decided that they wanted to educate their children in a more liberal way than the rather uptight local schooling system.

So, together they set up a nursery using the teaching methods of Montessori and Steiner. It seems like a dream education: “The main thing is to use what you’ve got here,” says Rachael. “The natural environment, the swimming, the fishing, the sailing, the growing, turtle-hatching… Stuff you can take the kids to see and experience here, learning through living on this amazing island.” Just as with the resort, Rachael and Umra plan to expand organically – a new Steiner teacher has been employed and accommodation provided for volunteers to work in the nursery and school.

Tima’s life is about as diverse as it gets. She takes the boat across to Shela (the nearest town to Lamu) every morning, and then rides a donkey with two other children from the jetty to school. Her dad lives on an island which is a 20-minute flight away. She takes the plane alone – everyone at Lamu airport knows her – and her father’s adoring family is waiting to greet her at the other end. She speaks Swahili with her Kenyan family, and being part of a Muslim culture requires no adjustment. And for three months of every year, she lives in Penzance – where she gets her mum all to herself, and spends the summer term at Newlyn Primary school.

Having spent all of her adult life running Diamond Beach, Rachael has a dichotomous sense of home. When she returns to Penzance from May to August, while the resort closes for the season, she fits right back in with her old friends and the lifestyle of her beloved West Penwith.

Rachael is the first to admit that she is very spoilt. While running a resort on her own is hard work, she never has to cook, clean or make beds. And the food, she says, is amazing: banana pancakes, eggs on toast or toasted muesli, all baked in the pizza oven in the morning, lunch is some type of fresh fish, calamari or crab with a salad and a gazpacho soup, and there’s a three-course set meal for dinner (“or pizza – which I try not to have every day,” she smiles). Life in Penzance is a little more pedestrian, and although Mum is on hand to help out, she has to adjust to cooking and cleaning herself. It’s no surprise that after a few months in Kernow, she’s hankering to get back to her paradise island in Kenya. diamondbeachvillage.com Flights to Nairobi with major carriers, and new budget airline Jambojet is now running flights to Lamu.

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Culture Kim Devereux | Jude Kelly | John Hurford South West must sees | Worth making the trip for | Staying in

The Illusionist by Freya Douglas Morris, showing as part of ‘What Is This Place?’ at Newlyn Art Gallery, until 15 July. See page 73

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Former documentary-filmmaker Kim Devereux finally found her ‘thing’ when she enrolled in a Creative Writing MA at Bath Spa, which lead to the publication of her novel, Rembrandt’s Mirror.

Fiona McGowan talks to her about art, writing, and fractal geometry.

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rt-fiction is not a big-hitting genre. With the notable exceptions of Girl with a Pearl Earring

by Tracey Chevalier, and Donna Tartt’s The Goldfinch, the art history novel has been a somewhat overlooked sub-sector of historical fiction. But artists provide a rich seam for a novelist, with all the complexity of love lives and the drama of creativity. Rembrandt, living in sin in Calvinist Holland, is an ideal subject for a rollicking good story.

Rembrandt’s Mirror, published in 2015, is the first novel written by film director and producer Kim Devereux (above). It’s highly intellectual and researched with academic incisiveness, but it’s mostly a story about love and passion set against a backdrop of social constraints.

To get inside the head of an artist, and, indeed, to be able to write about art and creativity itself, is a particular talent – and one that Kim had no idea she had, until fairly recently.

Kim’s Teignmouth home sits on the edge of a wide, rolling garden that drops sharply away down to the railway line, and immediately below that, the sea. It is the famed stretch of the ‘Cornish Riviera’ train journey that makes you gasp – snaking its way along the water’s edge past rich roseate sandstone cliffs. Trees cling tenuously to the steep incline, and a few narrow paths zig-zag down to the beach. “The thing I love about Devon is the mackerel,” says Kim as she gazes out of her large bay window. “Sometimes, when you’re snorkelling, you find yourself amidst a swarm of them.” Having lived in Chagford for many years, the recent move to Teignmouth was the realisation of a dream: “I’ve always had a yearning for a sea view.”

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Germany. An only child, she lived in the Roman spa town of Trier, and spent her holidays walking in the mountains of Bavaria and Switzerland (“I found it incredibly boring”). By the time she reached secondary school, a passion for art and literature had been ignited.

“I remember liking Edvard Munch – The Scream,” she says. “I read a lot of books about architecture. And I have loved Rembrandt since I was a teenager.” A summer spent at a language school in Dorset lit another flame: the love of the English language, and of British culture.

“I remember being really amazed that people would start talking to me at bus stops,” she explains. “People saying ‘love’ and ‘dear’ in the shops – I found it very odd, but very endearing.” Some years later, Kim went to study Art History and English literature at Edinburgh University. With single-minded determination, she threw herself into attending lectures, writing essays and making friends. “It was half a year before I could decode the Scottish accent,” she admits, “so I made a decision that I had to go out most nights. I got really into Scottish country dancing.”

Kim starts off softly spoken and relaxed, but the more she talks about her creative journey, her voice becomes strident and enthusiastic. She is by nature an academic, with a honed interest in both the artistic side of things and a fascination with the functioning of its process.

Her first documentary project was an examination of cathedral design. “I made a film about Gothic cathedrals and the similarities between fractal geometry and the musical form of the fugue,” she says, grinning at my look of confusion. “With the fugue,” she continues, “you have a phrase of music that has a particular structure.

Within that, you have a small phrase that mirrors the

culture larger form – which is what fractal geometry is. There’s a self-similarity across scale.” The film received positive feedback from her tutor and inspired her to make more “arty films”, as she puts it.

For many years after graduating, Kim worked in the somewhat erratic world of TV documentary-making.

Working as a producer on programmes – including a highly emotional feature about the Dunkirk landings for the BBC – she had a yearning to direct and write her own film. But having spent a couple of years working on a screenplay for a film about Rembrandt and his women, she discovered that Peter Greenaway was concurrently making a film about the very same subject (the film, Nightwatching, had middling success at the box office).

Some years later, Kim had been working with a producer friend on a film about Ruskin, the 19th-century art critic and social thinker who famously never consummated his marriage. But just as Kim was preparing to chase funding, she discovered that Emma Thompson was making a film about the exact same subject. Thompson’s film, Effie Gray, was star-studded and beautiful, but criticised for not addressing the elephant in the room – that Ruskin was possibly a paedophile who fell in love with his wife-to-be when she was a child, and failed to find her attractive as a woman.

It was a crushing time for Kim. Documentarymaking was losing its appeal, and she moved out of London to Chagford, where she considered a shift in creative output. Enrolling on Bath Spa University’s creative writing course literally changed the course of her life. “When I embarked on writing,” she says, “I felt like it was the poor relation, the plan B. I’m very visual, and it felt like a step down. It felt like a lesser medium…”

But – partly because of her background in visualisation – description, pace and scene-setting came easily to her.

“I remember sitting on the train back home one day, thinking: ‘Oh, my god, I’ve found it!’ At the age of 40-whatever, I had found my thing.”

It was almost inevitable that she would choose as her subject the artist who had intrigued her for so long.

While she felt liberated not to be working in film (“I realised that I’d been an idiot: I’d been needing an army to make my art, and now I just needed a keyboard”), it was no easy process. Creating characters was like method-acting, she says – and she sometimes had to rope in her partner to role-play scenes so that she could really feel the emotions. While she’s writing, she says, she is in another world, and is often inaccessible to those around her. It is clearly an intense experience.

In the story, her adherence to historical scene-setting is deeply academic in its research. Rembrandt’s Mirror certainly has its moments of history-book earnestness. The novel starts slowly and carefully, building character and describing the creation of Rembrandt’s art in painstaking detail. Thank goodness for Google – those who are unfamiliar with the entire body of Rembrandt’s art can

search for the works referenced in the story. The book is deeply embedded in the genre of romantic fiction – the intensity of Rembrandt’s relationship with his beloved dying wife, his denial of her in her last days, and his deep grief and guilt are all-consuming in the first chapters of the book. Rembrandt is by no means a heroic or even particularly likeable character, which gives the novel a challenging edge, as he forms a mutually co-dependent sexual relationship with his housekeeper and then falls in love with a younger maid, Hendrickje (the book’s narrative voice). And yet, Kim’s skill is to draw the reader to understand the many-faceted nature of her characters – to show the beastly and the tender, the Machiavellian and the vulnerable, often all in the same person.

With her first novel published by Curtis Brown, Kim has been boosted by positive reviews. She has now embarked on a new novel that has sculpture as its central theme (titled Heaven’s Ashes), and is also doing a PhD in Creative Writing at the University of Exeter.

Her thesis researches the link between neural processing and the appreciation of art. “I can draw an arc between my documentary on Gothic architecture and this PhD course,” she muses. “I was always interested in the individual experience of art. Recently, there has been a lot of research using functional MRI in terms of how people respond to different types of prose – poetry, for example, activates some of the same areas of the brain as does music.”

With a glittering sea full of mackerel and waving kelp to swim in, and an enviable view from her cliff-top home, there can be little doubt that Kim’s career is on an inspired trajectory. kimdevereux.co.uk

Rembrandt’s self-portrait, 1648

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Thinking big Instigating change and creating spaces for the imagination to flourish have driven Jude Kelly’s impressive career. The Artistic Director of London’s Southbank Centre tells Belinda Dillon how the WOW – Women of the World festival has become a global movement.

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n a brisk but bright April morning, around 50 women (and a handful of men, plus a couple of babies) are gathered in a cavernous empty building on Exeter’s quayside. It’s a big old place, draughty and gloomy, but one that The Bike Shed Theatre team is hoping to transform into The Boat Shed, a multipurpose arts venue comprising performance spaces, a gallery, workshops and a bar. At the moment, though, that seems the stuff of dreams.

“It’s a bit dark, it’s dank and cold, but we can see what it’s got the potential to be,” says Jude Kelly, looking around, clearly excited by the possibilities of the space.

“It’s an apt metaphor for our situation: imagining what could happen, even though we’re not there yet… just like being a woman.”

Jude Kelly CBE – Artistic Director of London’s Southbank Centre, award-winning theatre director, all round force of nature – is here to introduce the first ‘think-in’ session for WOW Exeter: the latest outpost of the Women of the World festival, which she founded in 2010, and launched at Southbank Centre in March 2011. Taking place in October, WOW Exeter will join Cardiff, Perth, Hull, Bradford and Norwich in the

PHOTO: SOUTHBANK CENTRE / BELINDA LAWLEY

Children at an Under 10s Feminist Corner workshop at WOW London

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UK, as well as multiple events in more than 20 cities across five continents, including Karachi, Hargeisa, Kathmandu, Finland, Egypt and Melbourne. It’s a global movement, and it’s for everybody: the strapline for the festival states that if you’re a woman, or you know one, then this is for you.

“The language of that description is very deliberate,” says Jude, as we grab a quick cup of tea while everyone splits into groups to dream big about WOW Exeter.

“Together we need to think about the dignity of humans, and we need as many people in the room as possible to have a hope of instigating change. Equality is not a women’s issue: equality is about a different world for everyone.”

Embracing the challenges intrinsic to upsetting the status quo, and creating spaces for the imagination to flourish, are what have driven Jude Kelly’s impressive career. Since graduating in 1975 with a BA in Drama from Birmingham University (where her male lecturers scoffed at her intention to become a director), she has launched theatre companies, been part of the Royal Shakespeare Company, established Battersea Arts Centre, the West Yorkshire Playhouse, and Metal, which has transformed derelict buildings in Liverpool,

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PHOTO: SARA SHAMSAVARI

I’ve got a big job, a job a woman wouldn’t have got 30 years ago, especially someone like me, from a modest background.

Jude Kelly, Southbank Centre Artistic Director

Peterborough and Southend into cultural community hubs; she is a multi-award-winning theatre director, and has both an OBE (for services to theatre) and a CBE (for services to the arts); in 2006 she became Artistic Director of Southbank Centre, the UK’s largest cultural institution – and was the only woman at the helm of such a major organisation until Maria Balshaw took over from Nicholas Serota as Director of the Tate earlier this year.

It was partly her sense of responsibility, as a woman in a senior role in the arts, that led to the creation of WOW. “I’ve got a big job, a job a woman wouldn’t have got 30 years ago, especially someone like me, from a modest background,” says Jude. “I’m from a big family, many of whom left school at 14, but I was part of the first generation to go to university, which shows how educational opportunities make for a different life, for dreams and possibilities.”

But no matter how big women dream – or how much trailblazers like Jude have achieved in terms of breaking down barriers – there remains a staggering disparity between whose voices are considered worth listening to. And the inculcation of that paradigm starts early. “We ingest blame and restrictions,” says Jude.

“Give any child an idea of where they sit, inform them of power structures and hierarchy, and they’ll accept it, and internalise it. The tendency is for us to feel that male stories are universal, but women’s stories are just about women. That’s the bottom line of the problem – this idea that women’s stories have less legitimacy, and until that changes, we will always be in this situation: of women fighting for women’s issues. But you can’t create gender equality just through women’s pressure; it has to be something everyone takes on board.”

At its heart, the festival celebrates women and girls, but takes a frank look at what prevents them from achieving their potential, and raises awareness of the issues they face and possible solutions. It aims to reach people of all ages and genders, from a broad range of social backgrounds. Although each iteration comprises certain elements – including keynote speakers, panel debates, mentoring, participatory events and an under10s feminist corner – every regional event has its own

flavour, determined by what’s come out of the think-ins, and programmed by a local team (in Exeter being driven

by Chloe Whipple and Deborah Bucella), with support from the Southbank Centre team.

“WOW is not about imposing on communities,” says Jude. “We want to encourage local people to recognise that they are heroes. The drive to roll out came from people saying, ‘we’d love to do a WOW festival here.’

So we say, ‘go on then.’ If you think something can be different, let’s work together to make it happen.”

To date, more than two million people have engaged with WOW in one way or another, with the concomitant responsibility to recognise what it’s started; as a result, it is now a major consideration for all the WOW teams to ensure there’s a strategy for growth and legacy-building, to continue giving communities the confidence to engage with their issues and the toolkits to effect change.

To this end, the next phase of development is looking at small towns and rural communities, where women are finding it hard to have those difficult conversations.

“The biggest thing now is to make sure WOW is joined up globally and online, so no matter how remote your area, you can access the resources,” says Jude. “We want to make sure that WOW isn’t just the domain of cities, but can be providing information, education, and leadership development for everybody.

“We always have a talk called Accidental Activists at WOWs, because how people become activists is interesting. When something happens to you personally, it’s often the incentive for you to say, ‘well, I don’t want that to happen to anybody else.’ But people are frightened of the word, as if it’s automatically angry and unruly, but we want to show that being an activist is part of being a citizen, and making a better world for yourself, your family and your future.”

Key to creating these toolkits is bringing in partners with specific experience and expertise, and WOW is collaborating with different groups and organisations who are already working on the big issues, such as sexual violence, as well as highlighting areas that are often overlooked, such as personal finance.

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PHOTO: SOUTHBANK CENTRE / BELINDA LAWLEY

WOW provides a platform to discuss the difficult stuff, because you can’t find a solution until you’ve named a problem.

Audience at a talk on Badass Lesbians from History, at WOW London

important, because women have been discouraged from feeling that maths is for them,” says Jude. “The result is that even articulate, educated women leave men to organise the finances. So, men are drawing the pension, women are going part-time because of children, so their pension pot is smaller, then if they separate or divorce, she’s left with less money. If she has any pension pot at all it’s likely to be around £7,000 for her lifetime. These are terrible statistics. Women need to wake up, because it isn’t just about what the system encourages, it’s also about being complicit. I’m not blaming women, but I want us to feel that we are going to have to take more responsibility for changing things.”

Jude is particularly proud of how WOW empowers participants to become agents of change. In Bradford, for instance, a group of young women who took the course that trains up event volunteers – called ‘WOWsers’ – continued to meet up afterwards, and now call themselves the Speakers’ Corner Collective.

They negotiated a space in the city centre to discuss issues around gender equality, social justice and making Bradford a better place for all parts of the community.

“That’s why WOW is presented in a festival context, to encourage that enthusiasm and energy, and to find new courage and stamina,” says Jude. “WOW provides a platform to discuss the difficult stuff, because you can’t find a solution until you’ve named a problem. We encourage people to enjoy the fact that everybody is here together, learning. I just came back from WOW Melbourne, where I met an amazing woman, Hana Assafiri, who runs the Moroccan Soup Bar. She’s running a programme called Speed-date a Muslim, which she set up because she knows people are frightened, they don’t know what to say, so people have a speed-date and can ask anything. It’s great. When people are anxious, they’re not talking, and you have to find a way of talking about it.”

Ideas and initiatives like this seem to bubble up out of WOW events. The most newsworthy, of course, was the formation of the Women’s Equality Party, which came out of a debate about women in politics at WOW 2015 in London, but there are smaller projects that are having a 66

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big impact. “This year, at the London festival in March, we ran a Dragon’s Den-style event and gave some money to a young woman whose project is called Bloody Good Period, which collects sanitary protection for refugees.

We then joined her up with another entrepreneur doing something similar called The Cup Effect, and they’ve taken it further, because there are plenty of girls in the UK and around the world who aren’t going to school because they can’t afford sanitary protection. WOW provides encouragement, publicity, and even a bit of money, and it’s amazing how many of these things get going.”

As we wrap up our chat, and head back to rejoin the think-in, I’m struck again by how much Jude manages to fit in. She’s just come from WOWs in Melbourne and Kathmandu, and straight after this she’s heading up north to discuss more regional outposts. Not to mention that she’s head of the largest cultural centre in the UK (and she still directs – next up is a production of Leonard Bernstein’s Mass). How does she maintain her energy?

“I can’t claim any credit for that, it’s just my disposition,” she says, “but I’m happy, because I enjoy what I do, and I believe that humans are capable of making great changes. WOW is growing all the time, and I’m excited by that, even though it’s also frightening, because I’ve never set up a world movement before! It might sound romantic, but I get a lot back – a morning like this, with all these different, amazing women in a room. And you know that in 100 years the conversation will have shifted hugely, who knows quite how, and that makes me feel good. And when you feel good, you feel more energetic, and that’s the reason why WOW is a festival, because when people come away going, ‘I’ve had a great day discussing women’s rights,’ that’s completely different from coming away from a seminar and feeling furious and hopeless. And I don’t want people to feel hopeless, because we need hope right now.”

WOW Exeter, 13-15 October. To find out about venues, tickets and how to get involved, see @WOWExeter on Facebook and Twitter, or email wowexeter@gmail.com wow.southbankcentre.co.uk

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A fixture of the psychedelic art scene of the 1960s, John Hurford continues to produce eye-popping paintings from his North Devon studio. Words by Natalie Millar-Partridge.

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tanding in front of one of John Hurford’s most vibrant paintings, I feel a giddying sense of immersion. Dung Fly, an acrylic on canvas (above), was started in the winter and completed in the spring, and seems to play with perspective. The colours are an assault on the senses, the attention to detail stupendous, drawing me into a scene

bursting with bright blooms, including white camellias amidst an abundance of yellow freesias and dandelions, green foliage, the eponymous insect, and a sparrowhawk that loitered on a bird feeder outside John’s window.

Painted from John’s charming yet unassuming cottage on the edge of Exmoor, Devon, these mind-blowing canvases – which magnify nature beyond the realms of MANOR | Early Summer 2017

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Earth Star, acrylic on linen, 115 x 122cm. Inspired by an assortment of fungi on John’s farm, including an Earthstar – the first one he’d ever come across at Wixon

reality – demonstrate how he became known as one of the most prolific and influential artists of the psychedelic art movement.

John grew up on Wixon Farm near Chulmleigh, where he lived for 15 years before moving into the small cottage, belonging to the family, just half a mile from the farm itself. He has now been living at Wixon Cottage for 48 years. Inside his new studio, his vast paintings of otherworldly scenes are a riot of colour, crowded with flowers, birds and insects, imbued with a deep love of 68

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nature. “This is how I see the world,” he says simply.

It was in the swinging sixties that John’s work started to get noticed as a key part of the exploding psychedelic art movement, and he was the only artist of his generation to contribute to all three of the most influential underground publications of the 1960s: OZ, International Times and Gandalf’s Garden.

As a young boy, John was immersed in rural Devon life, but he always knew that he wanted to paint.

Although he never had any formal training, he would

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It’s a very solitary life as an artist, but coming from a farming background, I’m used to working on my own surrounded by the countryside.

John Hurford at work in his studio

happily sit and draw for hours. In 1968, he stopped farming for a couple of years and sent some of his work to some contemporary publications, one of which was OZ. His talent was recognized as something completely new by the editor, who decided to publish his work, effectively launching John’s career as an artist.

John’s images for OZ, published between 1967 and 1973, had their own unique aesthetic. All the commissions were paintings of John’s choice, incorporating psychedelic interpretations of nature, including a double-page spread featuring lyrics from a song by The Incredible String Band, a psychedelic folk band formed in Scotland in 1966.

The Victoria & Albert Museum now hold a collection of 40 of John’s early works, some of which appeared in OZ, others that were designed as record centres, such as for Dandelion records in 1969 – featured in the V&A’s recent ‘You Say You Want a Revolution’ exhibition.

Although John’s artistic talent was feted early on, it wasn’t until ten years ago that he made the decision to give up farming completely. Previously a farmer of oats and cereal, he later moved onto organic pigs. After the footand-mouth crisis, he made the decision to move away from the life he had grown accustomed to, realizing fully that he could live the life he’d always dreamed of: getting up every morning to paint. Twelve years on, he jointly owns the farm (now focusing on dairy) with his brother, yet couldn’t be happier with his choice to paint full time. “Every day the light is different and I’ll see something new in the hedgerows and fields,” he says. “It’s a very solitary life as an artist, but coming from a farming background, I’m used to working on my own surrounded by the countryside.”

John cites the open country as his greatest inspiration, and insists that even after 12 years of painting full time, he doesn’t have to walk far along the lanes before something catches his eye. His subject matter is very much influenced by the North Devon landscape, providing an abundance of material right on his doorstep. His love of nature is evident in his paintings, which predominately feature an array of vivid flowers, plants and birds. “I only ever paint birds that I find,” says John. “Flowers are often painted from photographs I’ve taken or from memory alone.

I’ve also planted several flowering trees in the garden to incorporate into my paintings, such as magnolia, pear and cherry blossom.” Some of John’s favourite flowers include salvia and witchhazel, for their intricacy. “The more obscure and complex the structure and appearance of the flower or plant, the better,” he explains.

As a child, John loved living on Wixon Farm and has fond memories of growing up here. “It would be freezing, with no electric – just an open fire – but this added to the magic of the place. I loved exploring the lanes to see what I could find, often coming back with skulls and interesting insects, plants and dead birds. I’ve always loved drawing birds, and as a child I’d find many nests and enjoy painting the fledglings and the parents as they were flying in and out.”

Although I’m already sure of the answer, I ask John if he would ever consider moving away. “I’d never want to live anywhere else,” he says, looking out at the fields beyond the cottage garden. “When you’re in love with your surroundings and you have all this inspiration on your doorstep, why would you want to leave?”

It’s not hard to see why. Wixon Cottage is set in MANOR | Early Summer 2017

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This is how I see the world. vast countryside, surrounded by fields with brimming hedgerows, striking trees and views across to Exmoor.

It is completely isolated, presenting the perfect place to paint. His brand-new timber studio is flooded with light and has views across his garden and beyond, presenting the perfect space to work and showcase his paintings.

John’s style has often been described as abstract, although he insists he paints the world exactly as he sees it, adding vibrancy and scale. He paints using acrylics, straight onto canvas, often painting the background last.

“Seeing a progression of improvement through my work is something that inspires me to create further,” says John, whose latest paintings seem to imbue the beauty of nature with an almost ethereal quality.

Many of his recent works will be displayed this July, in a solo exhibition at the Brownston Gallery in Modbury. Aptly titled ‘John Hurford’s Nature Paintings’, the show will feature 20 of his canvases of the natural world, with much of the subject matter being specific to the farm and surrounding area.

One of John’s biggest exhibitions to date, the collection will include a recent favourite of his, named The Two Spiders – a colour-pop of pink roses, greenery, Corkscrew Hazel, the eponymous arachnids and a splash of blue background. The show-stopping canvas was painted from photographs John took while in the garden of the Lazy Cow café in Modbury.

John chooses to paint on a large scale, with most of his canvases measuring 150cm by 180cm. “My paintings really come to life on a bigger scale,” he says, only producing smaller works for personal requests or commissions. Given the size of the majority of John’s work (which take an average of three months to complete), it’s no surprise that his paintings are popular with buyers looking to adorn large, minimalist living spaces, where white walls allow for the paintings to take centre stage.

The size of John’s canvases amplify the images, honing in on specific details, combining green foliage and shooting leaves with, sometimes, decaying plants and flowers, adding to the complexity of the effect. “I’m hoping that my paintings will influence people to view nature in a different way, finding a quality they wouldn’t have previously seen,” says John.

John is a member of the South West Academy of Fine Arts and although some of his works can be found

Butterfly Dreaming, acrylic on canvas, 165 x 130cm.

Inspired by butterflies on a buddleia in John’s front garden

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exhibited in the Mall, Menier and R.K. Burt galleries in London, most have pride of place in galleries closer to home, such as Broomhill Art Hotel in Barnstaple, The Burton Gallery in Bideford, Castle Galleries in Exeter, and the Thelma Hulbert in Honiton. Works can also be viewed and bought from his studio in Chulmleigh.

I ask John what the future holds. “I’d love to exhibit abroad,” he says, “particularly in Berlin, as it’s a mecca for some of the most celebrated art in Europe. For now, though, I’m enjoying painting in my new studio space, working towards my solo exhibition at the Brownston.”

John’s enthusiasm for painting is infectious, and looking through his vast collection of canvases, while

The Two Spiders, acrylic on canvas

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talking of all he has achieved, from his humble farming beginnings, it’s clear that turning his focus to painting was a decision he’s glad to have made. I agree – we’d be missing out on a great talent if he hadn’t followed his childhood dream.

‘John Hurford’s Nature Paintings’ is at The Brownston Gallery, Modbury PL21 0QR, 7-22 July. thebrownstongallery.co.uk For further information on John Hurford, visit johnhurford.co.uk or facebook.com/johnhurfordpaintings

culture South West must sees...

Talking books Sidmouth Literary Festival once again provides inspiration and motivation for all things booky. Speakers include Bryony Gordon, former 3AM girl at The Mirror, now features writer and columnist at The Telegraph, who conducted the much-lauded interview with Prince Harry for her Mad World podcast, in which he opened up about mental health issues following the death of his mother. Bryony will also be talking about her book, Mad Girl, which gives an honest account of her struggles with OCD. Also on hand will be novelist Sophie Hannah, who’ll be talking about her latest addition to the Agatha Christie canon, Closed Casket. For the aspiring writer, there are workshops in which you can freshen up your writing skills, as well as those providing advice on how to move your magnum opus beyond the bottom drawer and into the bestseller lists.

23-24 June at various locations around Sidmouth. Check sidmouthlitfest.co.uk for full programme and ticket information

Prince Harry with Bryony Gordon

Where now?

In these rapidly changing times, is it worth creating an artwork over weeks or months while the whole landscape may have turned upside down? ‘What Is This Place?’ features paintings by eight artists who share a sense of improvisation; like the act of drawing, the works are a way for them to work through ideas and pose questions. Some have been drawn to a particular location, repeatedly, to better understand it; for others, it’s the social and political landscape of the world today that they’re questioning.

Until 15 July at Newlyn Art Gallery, Penzance TR18 5PZ. newlynartgallery.co.uk Lady Latitude by Ben Sanderson

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PHOTO: COURTESY WARNER BROS. RECORDS

Beats and biomes Cornwall’s Eden Project is once again putting on an impressive roster of music this summer: for fans of gravel-voiced elder statesmen, there’s Van Morrison (1 July) and Brian Adams (6 July); and indie darlings Foals (11 July) play their only gig outside London.

Eden Project, Bodelva, Par PL24 2SG. For tickets, visit edenproject.com Foals

The outsider Beginning all work en plein air with rough and impressionistic sketches, either in pencil, marker or acrylics, James Tatum builds the foundation for his larger works intuitively.

Fascinated by space, he emphasizes the depth and movement of the land through chaotic and passionate application of paint, creating bold expanses of light and shade. ‘Quiet Days in Unquiet Landscapes’ features works that invite the viewer to experience the wild landscape of the West Country in its most dramatic and natural form.

10-24 June at White Space Art, 72 Fore Street, Totnes TQ9 5RU. whitespaceart.com High Onshore Winds, Near Exmouth, oil and acrylic on canvas, 60 x 76cm

Shoot to thrill Billed as ‘poetry for people who don’t like poetry’, Bang Said The Gun (voted best UK poetry night by The Times) brings its raucous, maraca-rattling, spoken word-stand-up mashup to the South West. Started as an antidote to dreary poetry and even drearier poetry nights – and let’s face it, we’ve all yawned through one of those – Bang Said The Gun has had sell-out residencies in London, and part of its offer is to invite aspiring poets to step up to the mic once the billed performers have exited stage left.

On the roster in Exeter will be Brian Patten (Liverpool Poets), local favourite Matt Harvey (Wondermentalist Cabaret, BBC Radio 4), as well as regulars Dan Cockrill, Martin Galton, Rob Auton and Laurie Bolger.

9 July at Exeter Phoenix, Gandy Street EX4 3LS. £15. exeterphoenix.org.uk

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Rob Auton

culture

Sew real Textile artist Henry Hussey uses intricate embroidery and tapestry techniques to create banners and hangings that explore often intensely personal stories. Sometimes incorporating text with images – on occasion, he’s appropriated old flags – his work simultaneously evokes religious iconography and political pamphleteering, all shot through with the lush colours of exquisite threadwork, beads and crystals. According to the artist, ‘You Can’t Outrun This’ explores aspects of self-denial in relation to dealing with difficult challenges, and features works that “are taken from the confrontations I have experienced and conviction to have my grievances heard.

This has expanded to those closest to me with the ordeals they have been through and the challenges they have faced.”

Until 26 June at Anima Mundi, Street-an-Pol, St Ives TR26 2DS. anima-mundi.co.uk Lamentation, 155 x 155cm, 2016. Dyed damask, dyed cotton, digitally printed cotton, embroidered damask, embroidered cotton, Swarovski crystals, beadwork, draped threads and bleach.

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Worth making the trip for...

PHOTO: TIM ETCHELLS

Show and tell

Dirty Work

Forced Entertainment once again remind us of the power of language in the most striking way, with a redux of their 1998 performance piece, Dirty Work. Two performers discuss everything, from theatrical spectacle to historical events, daily life to impossible feats, cabaret to political speeches, and from sublime beauty to vivid terrors, in a competitive act of description. Through this process of linguistic unpacking, they co-opt the imaginative capacities of the audience to the point that you can’t believe that none of this stuff is actually on the stage; it’s an extraordinary piece of ‘virtual’ theatre. Dirty Work (The Late Shift) is a new iteration that digs deeper into the unsettling territory they established just before the turn of the millennium.

27 June – 1 July at Battersea Arts Centre, Lavender Hill SW11 5TN. £17.50, £15 (£12.50). bac.org.uk

Get down After its launch event last year, which saw Massive Attack wow a joyous home crowd, The Downs Festival returns for another all-day feast of topnotch music. Elbow headline the main stage, along with American blues legend Seasick Steve, and legendary 80s R&B group Soul II Soul. Also playing is American hip hop trio De La Soul, who’ll hopefully be reminding us that three is still the magic number. The second stage will host a DJ set from Groove Armada, and there’ll be guest speakers, Q&A sessions, film screenings, and photography on The Information Stage.

2 September, The Downs, Bristol. £45. Children under 4 go free (though must be wearing adequate hearing protection) and a limited number of tickets for children aged 4-12 years will be available at all outlets for £10 per ticket. thedownsbristol.com De La Soul

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culture

© THE ARTIST. COURTESY THE ARTIST, PARAGON PRESS AND VICTORIA MIRO, LONDON . PHOTO: STEPHEN WHITE

Crafting the contemporary Touching on themes including popularity and art, masculinity and the current cultural landscape, Grayson Perry is bringing a new body of work to Serpentine Galleries. ‘The Most Popular Art Exhibition Ever!’ will feature Perry’s trademark blend of traditional media, which includes ceramics, cast iron, bronze, printmaking and tapestry, and the subject matter is drawn from his own childhood and life as a transvestite, as well as wider social issues ranging from class and politics to sex and religion. The show will tackle one of Perry’s central concerns: how contemporary art can best address a diverse cross-section of society.

8 June – 10 September at Serpentine Galleries, Kensington Gardens W2 3XA. serpentinegalleries.org Grayson Perry, Death of a Working Hero, 2016; tapestry 250 x 200 cm

Surf’s up Katsushika Hokusai (1760–1849) is widely regarded as one of Japan’s most famous and influential artists, producing quality works right up until his death at the age of 90. ‘Hokusai: Beyond the Great Wave’ draws from the last 30 years of his life and includes a selection of landscapes – including, of course, the iconic image, itself part of a print series of views of Mount Fuji – as well as intimate domestic scenes capturing fleeting moments in private lives; depictions of flora and fauna displaying an innate skill in representing the natural world; and eerie supernatural creatures such as ghosts and deities. The exhibition will include prints, paintings and illustrated books, many of which are on loan from Japan, Europe and the USA. Until 13 August at the British Museum, Great Russell Street, Bloomsbury WC1B 3DG. Adults £12, under 16s free. For conservation reasons, there will be a rotation of about half the artworks halfway through the exhibition run, so the exhibition will be closed between 3 and 6 July. britishmuseum.org

© THE TRUSTEES OF THE BRITISH MUSEUM

Clear day with a southern breeze (‘Red Fuji’) from Thirty-six Views of Mt Fuji.

Colour woodblock, 1831. On display from 25 May - 13 August.

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The thin man © ALBERTO GIACOMETTI ESTATE, ACS/DACS, 2017

The UK’s first major retrospective of Alberto Giacometti for 20 years, this exhibition celebrates the work of the renowned sculptor, painter and draughtsman, whose distinctive elongated figures are some of the most instantly recognisable works of modern art. Through unparalleled access to the collection and archive of the Fondation Alberto et Annette Giacometti in Paris, Tate Modern’s wide-ranging exhibition brings together more than 250 works, including rarely seen plasters and drawings, and showcases the full evolution of Giacometti’s career across five decades, from early works such as Head of a Woman [Flora Mayo] 1926 to iconic bronze sculptures such as Walking Man I 1960.

Until 10 September at Tate Modern, Bankside SE1 9TG. £18.50 (£17.50/£16.50), under 12s free. tate.org.uk Man Pointing, 1947. Bronze 178 x 95 x 52 cm.

Tate, Purchased 1949

PHOTO: JAMIE WOODLEY

Rashid Johnson, Untitled Collision, 2017.

The gathering Best known for his painting, film, sculpture and photography, Rashid Johnson uses a wide range of materials and appropriated objects to explore themes of art history, literature, philosophy, and personal and cultural identity. His solo exhibition, ‘Stranger’, will occupy all five gallery spaces at Hauser & Wirth, with a combination of works inspired by and created during his residency. A large-scale installation, to be shown in the Threshing Barn, will be a development from recent architectural grid works, most notably Antoine’s Organ, which was shown as part of the artist’s exhibition ‘Fly Away’ at Hauser & Wirth New York. The work comprised an empty lattice of bare black scaffolding filled with a variety of signifying objects, including books, video screens, mounds of shea butter, live plants and an upright piano that was played by pianist and producer Antoine Baldwin at dedicated times during the exhibition.

Until 10 September at Hauser & Wirth, Durslade Farm, Dropping Lane, Bruton, Somerset BA10 0NL. hauserwirthsomerset.com

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culture Worth staying in for...

Back to the future In the early 90s, the only question on everyone’s lips, as we gathered in front of our flickering analogue television sets, was: who killed Laura Palmer? That first series of Twin Peaks broke the rules governing what TV could achieve, and remains a startlingly original piece of small screen drama. The second series, not so much, but David Lynch’s vision brought us some of the most exciting and tension-fuelled programming ever broadcast. And now, after a gap of 26 years, the third series, Twin Peaks – The Return, is here. And every episode is co-written (with Mark Frost) and directed by Lynch himself. In the words of Special Agent Dale Cooper (who is back, too), I bet that cherry pie is still damn fine…

Twin Peaks – The Return is now on Sky Atlantic.

PHOTO: SUZANNE TENNER/SHOWTIME

Madchen Amick as Shelly Johnson and Peggy Lipton as Norma Jennings

Drink and the devil After her bleakly comic psychological thriller Eileen was shortlisted for the Booker last year, Ottessa Moshfegh’s highly original novella-length debut, McGlue, is published in the UK for the first time. Set in the 19th century, the novel follows the exploits of the eponymous sailor whose imagination is fired by one thing only: the pursuit and attainment of extreme intoxication. Thrown down in the hold following an altercation while on leave in Zanzibar, still too drunk to be sure of his own name, McGlue may or may not have killed a man. And that man may have been his best friend. But on the long journey back to Salem, Massachusetts to face the music, he’s got plenty of time to take stock of his life. Taking the form of an internal monologue, McGlue is compelling, insightful and darkly funny.

McGlue is out now, published by Vintage.

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Monochrome, binary, parallel lines and rainbows – stripes are a perennial fashion favourite and this year is no exception. To complement the clean lines, we chose the architectural and angular backdrop of the University of Exeter’s grounds to frame this style shoot.

PHOTOGRAPHS BY THOMAS HOLE STYLED BY MIMI STOTT MANOR | Early Summer 2017

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Ruffle sleeve blouse,£25; striped A-line midi skirt, £29.50, both Marks & Spencer; earrings, stylist’s own

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Striped blouse, £19.99; skinny jeans, £19.99; earrings, £12.99, all Zara

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Striped A-line midi skirt, £49.50, Marks & Spencer; necklace, stylist’s own

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Secret Slimming™ striped swimsuit, £39.50, Marks & Spencer; flowing trousers, £39.99, Zara, necklace, stylist’s own

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Sandwashed striped top, £75; sandwashed striped skirt, £120, both Boutique by Top Shop

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Ruffle blouse, £25, Marks & Spencer

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Earrings, £29.99, Zara

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Skater dress, ÂŁ69, Marks & Spencer

Photographer: Thomas Hole Stylist: Mimi Stott Model: Tanya R from Select Hair and make-up: Maddie Austin Special thanks to the University of Exeter and the Northcott Theatre MANOR | Early Summer 2017

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MANOR | Early Summer 2017

Food

Al fresco picnic recipes with a citrus twist | Cornwall’s culinary king Nathan Outlaw Bites, the latest news and events from across the region | Food pioneer | The Table Prowler

PHOTO: MOWIE KAY

From Catherine Phipps’ book Citrus. See page 96

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Catherine Phipps has created an entire cookery book of zesty recipes using citrus.

She tells MANOR’s food editor Anna Turns why these fruits are a mood-changer and should be everyone’s kitchen essential.

Photos by Mowie Kay.

L

imes, lemons, oranges and the more exoticsounding limequats and yuzu all offer a strong sense of place and a powerful connection to the tropics.

“Citrus fruits bring colour, sharpness, flavour and scent into the kitchen,” explains Catherine. “To me, it’s the smell of citrus more than anything that is so evocative.”

Catherine’s deep-rooted passion for citrus stems from childhood: “My mother was a good cook, so she always used lots of lemons in her cooking all year round.

I remember as a child that I loved all the small orange fruits but I was always obsessive about removing every white strand of pith before eating each segment.” When she reached her early 20s, her parents retired to Greece, where they grew lemon trees, and a few years later she lived in Dominica in the Caribbean for a while. “I was exposed to citrus, fresh from the tree, in a way that I couldn’t appreciate when I was a child. The Rose’s lemon and lime marmalade and lime cordial that I had at my grandmother’s all came from Dominica. As a ten-yearold, I’d never have imagined that I would one day be able to live in a place where limes grew on trees and you could just pick them all day long. It seemed miraculous and it suddenly made the world seem a lot smaller.”

While in the Caribbean, Catherine also got hooked on sour oranges: “I suddenly realised that sour oranges were so versatile, you could use them just as you would a lemon or a lime.”

Citrus fruits fit well with the current zero-waste zeitgeist: “Citrus fruits are all easy to preserve, dry 96

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or freeze, so there’s no need for any waste. They’re so versatile,” says Catherine, who believes that they’re an essential component of any kitchen store cupboard.

“Adding citrus is an easy way to brighten up a dish, and the health benefits are powerful, too. Before I wrote this book, I didn’t realise how much vitamin C aids the absorption of vitamins and minerals when citrus is eaten alongside other foods.” And the benefits are more than just physical – citrus can be a real mood-changer, as Catherine herself discovered when she was writing this book: “I was quite stressed at the time, and working with citrus made me feel so much better – they just smell so nice. Last winter I was working with bergamot, which is so uplifting, and I spent ages just mindlessly zesting them and smelling them. Then I discovered that scientific research shows they have anti-depressive qualities!”

At home, Catherine has four citrus trees of her own.

“My kaffir lime tree is so prolific in terms of flowers and leaves – it’s incredibly cost-effective if you’re good at keeping the trees alive, although I am hit and miss,” she laughs. She also grows a limequat, finger lime and regular lemon tree, and aspires to getting a Key lime tree.

She hints that she’d love to get a conservatory to keep more citrus trees in, and she explains that there is a long tradition of growing citrus fruit in this country. “Back in the day, wealthier people had orangeries and a lot of stately homes still have them, but we’ve been importing them since post-middle ages.”

At the very least, Catherine always has lemons and

food limes in her kitchen: “Citrus are the fruits I love the most and they’re ingredients I use every single day.” Despite being one of the most widely grown crops in the world, many of us perhaps often resort to thinking of a slice of lemon, lime or orange as the ideal garnish, but there’s so much more to citrus. Catherine loves adapting recipes depending on what’s in season and experimenting with unusual varieties, such as yuzu, pomelos and limequats, which she first came across when looking at a citrus nursery while researching this book: “Limequats are amazing, they taste so sweet and sherbety and sour, with an intense lime flavour.”

The recipes in Catherine’s new book, Citrus: Recipes That Celebrate the Sour and the Sweet, herald from all corners of the world. From the Latin American lime and chicken tortilla soup to Middle Eastern-inspired spiced sea bass with citrus butter sauce, Greek-style lamb chops with feta and celeriac mash or the Japanese beef carpaccio salad with lemon-mandarin-kosho dressing – each recipe reflects the cooking culture of its country of origin. This collection is a labour of love and offers a real sense of adventure and exploration: “It’s very hard to think of a cuisine that wouldn’t use citrus fruit in some form – citrus ingredients are so universal,” says Catherine.

CELEBRATE CITRUS Catherine Phipps (left) is coming to Devon later this year to host a course in all things citrus at Mark Diacono’s climate-change farm, Otter Farm, famous for growing all sorts of exotic and unusual food plants from around the world. “I find Mark endlessly inspiring,” says Catherine, “and I’m amazed by some of the things he’s discovered can be grown in this corner of Devon, from lemon verbena to Szechuan pepper. There are so many ingredients that I’d love to be able to grow but haven’t yet managed, and I’m looking forward to cooking up some treats with ingredients grown here at Otter Farm.” Catherine goes beyond marmalade and reveals how to create delicious sweet preserves, cocktails from rum punch to limoncello, and handy store cupboard tricks to help you enhance any meal.

Join her at Otter Farm near Axminster: 4 November, £160. otterfarm.co.uk Catherine will also be chatting to Mark at Dartmouth Food Festival on 21 October as part of the Eat Your Words series of events. Go to dartmouthfoodfestival.com for more info and tickets.

Citrus recipes for a summer garden party Lemons are at their peak season throughout the summer, and citrus-inspired salad dressings, cordials, desserts and ices can all add a refreshing zing to a hot day. Catherine shares some sweet and sour recipes that will make your mouth water.

Lemonade Makes about one litre This recipe works just as well with limes or with a combination of lemons and limes, as limes add a sherbety element to the flavour. This is a quick version as no steeping is necessary. It is lovely garnished with citrus slices, cucumber slices, mint leaves and borage flowers, and is also good with a slug of vodka, gin, or if using limes, rum.

INGREDIENTS

• 4 lemons (or 6 limes, or 3 lemons and 2 limes) • 100-150g caster sugar, to taste • 1l water, or a mixture of water and sparkling water METHOD

Roughly chop half the citrus and put in a food processor.

Finely grate the zest and squeeze the juice of the remaining fruit. Add to the food processor with the sugar (go for the lower quantity if you prefer it sharp, more if you have a sweet tooth) and 240ml of the water and blitz until everything is finely chopped. You should find the sugar has dissolved.

Strain through a sieve into a large jug with plenty of ice, and top with the remaining water or sparkling water.

Add more sugar to taste, if needed.

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Mediterranean-inspired mezze Preserved lemon hummus I tried all kinds of preserved citrus with this, and lemon definitely works best, although I also like using lime, with a sprinkling of allspice and cayenne on top, or orange with a sprinkling of dried mountain herbs.

If you’re using dried chickpeas, which are so much better than using tinned, then you’ll need to start with about a third of the weight/volume of cooked. They’ll need an overnight soak, a rinse, and then simmering for 1–2 hours, depending on how old they are.

INGREDIENTS

• 500g cooked chickpeas, the equivalent

• • • • • • •

of 2 x 400g tins (or start with dried, see introduction), plus 1-2 ladlefuls of the liquid from the tin/cooking liquid Juice of 1 lemon 2 garlic cloves, crushed or grated 4 tbsp tahini Olive oil, for drizzling 1 preserved lemon, skin only A sprinkling of sumac or paprika Sea salt

METHOD

Put the drained chickpeas in a blender with half the lemon juice, the garlic and the tahini and a little of the reserved liquid. Blitz, pushing down regularly, adding a little more liquid if necessary.

Season with salt and taste. Add more garlic and lemon juice if you like, and blitz again. You should end up with a soft consistency, but it should hold its shape at all times.

To serve, transfer to a bowl and drizzle with olive oil. Cut the preserved lemon into a fine dice and sprinkle centrally over the hummus. Sprinkle with a little sumac, or paprika if you prefer.

Barbecued halloumi in lemon leaves It’s quite incredible how well the lemon leaves scent the cheese when cooked this way. If you don’t have citrus leaves, a good option is to add lemon zest to the ouzo and oregano, and wrap the cheese in large, freshly picked bay leaves.

INGREDIENTS

• • • • • •

250g halloumi, cut into 16 pieces 1 tbsp ouzo 1 tsp dried oregano 16 lemon leaves (or bay, see introduction) Olive oil, plus extra to serve Lemon wedges, to serve

METHOD

Heat a griddle pan until too hot to hold your hand near, 98

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or get a barbecue ready. Toss the halloumi in the ouzo and oregano. Brush the lemon (or bay) leaves lightly with olive oil then wrap each piece of halloumi in a leaf, securing with a toothpick.

Put the halloumi on the griddle or barbecue and cook for 2 minutes on each side until the leaves are starting to burn and the halloumi has softened.

Unwrap, leaving the halloumi on the leaves, and drizzle with a little more olive oil. Serve with the lemon wedges.

food Parsley and orange tabbouleh INGREDIENTS

• • • • • • • •

2 oranges 50g fine bulgar wheat ½ red onion, finely chopped 2 medium tomatoes, finely chopped ½ cucumber, finely diced A large bunch of flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped A small bunch of mint, roughly chopped Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

FOR THE DRESSING

• • • • •

Finely grated zest and juice of ½ lemon 2 tbsp olive oil 1 small garlic clove, crushed A pinch of ground cumin A pinch of ground cinnamon

• A pinch of ground allspice • A pinch of ground cloves • 1 tsp honey or pomegranate molasses METHOD

Segment the oranges over a bowl to catch any juice, cut into dice and set aside. Squeeze out the peel and membranes into the juice.

Rinse the bulgar wheat in plenty of cold water. Drain thoroughly and put in a bowl. Add the onion, tomatoes, cucumber, herbs and diced orange, and season with salt.

Add the reserved juice to all the dressing ingredients and season with salt and pepper. Whisk together. Pour this over the salad just before you’re about to eat and toss lightly.

Lemon iced tea ice lolly Makes about 8 I was one of those children who, when offered an ice lolly, would always want a classic lemon ice in favour of something more complicated (or lurid, depending on your point of view). This recipe very much takes inspiration from those, with options for adding alcohol if they’re strictly adult-only. This is a very simple one, based on the cold-brewed teas, and you can easily vary the flavours – just substitute whatever type of tea or citrus you fancy. If you want to make these very pretty, you can add a slice of lemon to each so it appears, ghostlike, through the ice.

INGREDIENTS

• • • • •

15g loose black tea (a good English breakfast is fine) Pared zest and juice of ½ lemon 500ml plus 1 tbsp water, preferably filtered 50g granulated sugar 8 thin slices of lemon (optional)

METHOD

Put the tea in a refrigerator-friendly receptacle with the pared zest and pour over the water. Refrigerate overnight to brew. You’ll find it tastes fairly strong without any of the bitter tannins.

The next day, strain the tea and discard the solids. Add the lemon juice and sugar, stir until it has completely dissolved, then taste. It may need a squeeze more lemon or more sugar – just remember that the sweetness will be weaker once frozen, so don’t make it too sour.

Pour the liquid into your lolly moulds. If you have the sort with the plastic reuseable tops, put these in straight away. Otherwise wait until the ice lolly has set hard enough to hold a wooden ice lolly stick, then put one in each. This is also the point where you would add a lemon slice, if using, but obviously do this first. Freeze until firm – as this is a water-based lolly, it should be frozen within 3–4 hours.

Citrus: Recipes that Celebrate the Sour and the Sweet by Catherine Phipps.

Photography by Mowie Kay. (Quadrille, £20)

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Home, sweet home Cornwall’s culinary king, Nathan Outlaw, chats to Anna Turns about how food can connect a family, how he’s taking his seafood style to Dubai and why he always loves coming home to Cornwall. Photos by David Loftus.

Sherry trifle, “nothing better, but leave it in the fridge until you’re serving.”

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T

he kitchen is often the heart of any home, and none more so than in the Outlaw household. Nathan Outlaw and wife Rachel have two children, who he has always encouraged to join him in the kitchen from an early age: “My daughter, Jessie, who’s 11, is a really good cook and I’ll be surprised if she doesn’t become a chef. My son, Jacob, cooks if there’s something he likes to eat at the end of it. Neither likes washing up much though,” laughs Nathan. “I think because they’ve always been involved and I’ve shown them how to do different things, they’ve naturally become interested.

Jacob opted to become semi-vegetarian last summer; he still eats fish. Jessie eats anything. Both will try new things and always have done.”

For some families, mealtimes can be tricky, but Nathan and Rachel have successfully managed to avoid making food a battleground with their children: “My wife and I decided right from the start that we’d offer whatever the meal was and if they didn’t eat it, that was up to them. We’ve never cooked different things for each one – except for a veggie option for Jacob now if the main ingredient is meat.” And they’ve never made them eat everything, but they aren’t allowed to fill up on rubbish if they don’t eat their meal. “I think once you give a child the choice of leaving something they’re not keen on for something they like, you’re setting up a battle and making life hard for yourself – I know it sounds harsh, but it’s true.”

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Niçoise salad, “classic and a favourite since my very early days as a chef.”

Dubai a fair bit, so long family lunches are a key time for his family to connect. “We treat Sunday as a special occasion, even if it’s a BBQ in the summer. We always sit at the table, too. It’s so important and really nice to take time to catch up while eating. We all like a good old-fashioned Sunday roast, sometimes substituting fish for meat, but always with crisp roasties and loads of veg.

Pudding, if it’s my choice, is always trifle.”

His latest book, Nathan Outlaw’s Home Kitchen, is his first non-seafood cookery book, so it’s the first time he’s been able to publish a trifle recipe in hardback. Does he get frustrated that he’s labelled a seafood chef when he’s clearly so accomplished, versatile and capable of cooking much more? “Not at all. I probably wouldn’t be where I am today if I hadn’t specialised in seafood cookery. Mind you, it does make me laugh when people think I can’t cook anything else.”

Nathan’s five restaurants include Restaurant Nathan Outlaw in Port Isaac, which is the only fish restaurant in the world to have two Michelin stars. He’s racked up a total of four Michelin stars to date and has two other restaurants in Cornwall, and he travels up to Outlaw’s at The Capital Hotel in London every fortnight. He also visits his restaurant Al Mahara (‘the oyster shell’ in Arabic) at the seven-star Burj Al Arab Jumeirah every six weeks, where he aims to bring the very best seafood cookery to the United Arab Emirates in an accessible and affordable way. Much of Dubai is opulent, and fine-dining is often associated with excess. Perhaps Dubai is an extreme contrast to a Cornish active outdoors lifestyle, but his pared-down approach to seafood seems to be taking off there: “My food looks simple but it’s the quality of the ingredients and the complex flavour combinations that make it special. Our front-of-house staff are trained to explain this if necessary. There is no reason to change the essence of what we do out there. Good food will always be appreciated, wherever it’s served.”

Home time is all the more precious when work involves trips away, and Nathan especially enjoys family walks with the dog, Bud. “In the summer, we might hit the beach, usually somewhere quiet that only the locals know,” says Nathan, who adds that a meal will be a main feature of any day off, too. “I enjoy what I’m doing but coming home is always good – Cornwall is where I belong.”

Nathan Outlaw is cooking Sunday lunch as guest chef at The Seahorse in Dartmouth on 9 July. £85pp. seahorserestaurant.co.uk Nathan Outlaw’s Home Kitchen by Nathan Outlaw. Photography by David Loftus.

(Quadrille, £20).

Barbecued ribs with summer veg slaw, “messy to eat but really yummy.”

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Bites

Awards for Bovey Castle Situated in 275 acres within Dartmoor National Park, Bovey Castle’s Great Western Restaurant has been awarded three rosettes by the AA for culinary excellence.

Head Chef Mark Budd honed his skills at some of the finest hotel restaurants in the world before returning to his home county of Devon. He is developing a herb garden on the estate and introduced an outdoor ceramic oven to slow-cook dishes such as Old Spot Pork and Crackling. Looking to the future, he is working in conjunction with the Bovey Castle estates team to bring Dexter cattle to the estate. His aim is to start putting this pedigree beef on the menu.

According to AA Senior Hotel & Restaurant inspector, Garry Baldwin MIH, “Mark uses the finest ingredients the South West and the UK can offer, ensuring dishes are created with flair and imagination, while keeping a sense of fun and, indeed, credibility to the hotel and its surroundings. Congratulations to Mark and the team.”

Bovey Castle was acquired by the Eden Hotel Collection in 2014, and has undergone an extensive £3.5 million refurbishment, encompassing general restoration work throughout, plus considerable work on the spa, brasserie, restaurant, public areas and bedrooms. boveycastle.com

Eat on the Exe Michael Caines has realised his dream and opened a new “unashamedly top-end” country house hotel overlooking the Exe estuary, with a menu to reflect these waterside surroundings. Sense of place is at the heart of the luxury 21-room Lympstone Manor: “Each bedroom is named after a bird species that lives on the estuary, and interiors are designed with the hues of that bird’s colours. Original artworks by Kurt Jackson and Rachel Tolle bring the estuary into the rooms.”

Of course, food is of utmost importance, and Michael has a team of 18 chefs producing exquisite tasting menus.

“Excellent food and a connection with this landscape through our produce underpins our approach,” says Michael, who has introduced the estuary tasting menu (£130pp), showcasing fresh seafood and ingredients sourced directly from the Exe and nearby coastline.

It has taken three years to breathe life back into the 18th-century building, and Michael has plans to plant a 15-acre vineyard at Lympstone Manor later this year: “This south-facing slope down to the estuary is in the top 5% of the country in terms of climate suitable for wine-

making, and in a few years we’ll be producing our own Champagne. We also plan to be the largest single area vineyard in the UK,” says Michael, who hopes Lympstone Manor will be a new benchmark for hotel luxury. lympstonemanor.co.uk

Dark chocolate and confit orange mousse, confit orange sorbet

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Picnics go that extra mile

Situated close to the South West Coast Path at Porthallow, The Talland Bay Hotel’s head chef Nick Hawke has created a new gourmet walkers’ picnic, showcasing some of Cornwall’s most delicious treats. The walkers’ picnic includes made-to-order sandwiches packed with locally sourced produce such as Cornish sirloin or brie, fruit or plain scones with Rodda’s clotted cream and jam, plus Cornish Spring water and a half bottle of Prosecco. Canine

companions are catered for too, with handmade dog treats supplied by Alfie & Molly’s Dog Bakery in Bristol.

“Our tranquil setting is part of the appeal of staying at the Talland Bay Hotel, but it does mean there are no shops nearby to stock up on picnic ingredients,” explains General Manager Stephen Waite. “We like to go the extra mile for our guests. Packing them off with a bespoke picnic is the perfect way to help them make the most of a stroll along the coast path to Polperro perhaps.”

The walkers’ picnic costs £42 per couple. A Talland Bay luxury hamper, complete with crockery and cutlery, costs £68 per couple and includes a full high tea with Cornish crab and smoked salmon sandwiches, fruit or plain scones with Rodda’s clotted cream and jam, macaroons, strawberries and cream, and a bottle of Camel Valley Brut. tallandbayhotel.co.uk

Vineyard Kitchen Chef Chris Sherville has launched The Vineyard Kitchen at Sharpham, south Devon. The al fresco café, overlooking the River Dart on the 500-acre Sharpham Estate near Totnes, will open Tuesdays to Sundays until September.

Chris comes to the Vineyard Kitchen with a wealth of experience behind him. He worked in the arts and fashion for Sotheby’s, Versace and Harvey Nichols before deciding to follow his passion and, at the age of 35, retrained as a chef at Leith’s Cookery School. He ran a restaurant in Bath and the pop-up restaurants at the Port Eliot Festival at St Germans in Cornwall. More recently, he’s been working with Michelin star chef John Burton-Race as Two Grumpy Chefs, providing bespoke private catering.

Chris’s cooking is heavily influenced by his globetrotting. He grew up in Hong Kong and Malaysia, and has travelled widely. The menu at the Vineyard Kitchen combines these experiences with great-quality local ingredients, including Devon’s finest beef, lamb, pork, seafood and Sharpham produce. sharpham.com

Chris Sherville from Vineyard Kitchen with Susy Atkins, wine writer for The Sunday Telegraph

Birthday donation Just as it celebrates its 25-year anniversary, The Jack in the Green at Rockbeare has donated £2,000 to Exeter-based FORCE Cancer. Five pounds from every copy sold of The Jack Cook Book, written by head chef Matthew Mason, continues to be given to this charity.

This recipe book is a celebration of the team’s journey over the last 25 years, as Mathew Mason explains: “Unbelievably, this is the beginning of both mine and my wife Joanne’s 23rd year here at the Jack. Having lost my Dad to cancer when I was still serving my apprenticeship at Gidleigh Park, the fact that our recipes can help to support FORCE and do some good within our community gives me an immense sense of pride as a chef, a husband and a father.”

The book is available to buy for £25 from Darts Farm at Topsham, Christopher Piper Wines in Ottery St Mary and from The Jack in the Green at Rockbeare.

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A thirst for sustainability The Venus Company has replaced plastic water bottles with the new go-to alternative, CanO Water.

Venus is the first official South West stockist of CanO Water – founded by three childhood friends who started the brand after returning from travelling Asia, where they saw the damaging effects plastic is having on the ocean. After spotting a gap in the market, Josh, Ariel and Perry (all under 25), set about creating a product that would help them educate people about the benefits of using aluminium rather than plastic bottles and raise the importance of recycling.

Michael Smith, co-owner of The Venus Company (which also stopped using plastic straws last year), says: “Now going into our 22nd year, we’re as determined now as we’ve ever been to do our bit to keep our oceans clean and protected for generations still to come. CanO Water finally offers water with no plastic in a 100% resealable and recyclable can. So much friendlier to the oceans and our special marine life.”

CanO Water is available in still and sparkling, at £1.90 for 33cl.

B R EA K FA ST

•

L UN CH

•

Gold marmalade Kate Ryder from Café Alf Resco in Dartmouth has won Double Gold in this year’s International Marmalade Awards held at Dalemain in Cumbria. Kate scooped eviivo’s prize for the best marmalade made to go with a traditional cooked breakfast with Alf Fresco’s ‘Dark & Stormy’ marmalade, a fresh-tasting product with hints of lime, ginger and rum in the Hotel, B&B and Restaurant section of the awards.

Kate, who also won a silver for her ‘Devon Heaven’ and ‘Spanish Love’ marmalades, is thrilled: “Although we’ve won in the past, it was the first time that we’d actually attended the awards ceremony, and it was great to meet other artisan marmalade-makers from all over the world.”

DINNER

To book call reservations on: 01637 861000 Option 1, or book online at: www.fifteencornwall.co.uk ON THE BEACH, WATERGATE B AY, TR8 4AA, CORNWALL • 01637 861000 • WWW.FIFTEENCORNWALL.CO.UK

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Save the date PLYMOUTH FLAVOURFEST The city centre Piazza goes foodie mad with demos, stalls, the Tanner brothers and a guest appearance from 2016 Great British Bake Off winner Candice Brown.

OTTERY ST MARY FOOD AND FAMILIES FESTIVAL The community celebrates local produce with foodie events around town.

2-4 June. All day. Free. flavourfestsw.co.uk

3 June. Ottery St Mary town centre. otteryfood.org

KINGSBRIDGE FOOD & MUSIC FESTIVAL

CLOVELLY SEAWEED FESTIVAL

Music and street food all weekend at the quay, plus kids’ zone.

Get to know your seaweeds. Held on Devon Day, in aid of North Devon Hospice.

2-4 June. All day. Free. kingsbridgefoodandmusic.org

4 June. 10am-5pm. Clovelly, EX39 5TA. Family ticket £18.40. clovelly.co.uk

CREDITON FOOD FESTIVAL Street food stalls and local producers tempt you with foodie treats.

PHOTO: ZOOMING FEET PHOTOGRAPHY

17-18 June. creditonfoodfestival.co.uk

OCCOMBE BEER FESTIVAL Beer, cider, wine and a feast of food.

16-17 June. Weekend ticket £29.50. Open 4-11pm (Fri) and 2-11pm (Sat). occombebeerfestival.co.uk Kingsbridge Food & Music Festival

SEAWEED & COASTAL FORAGING Learn how to select tasty treats from the shore with expert Rachel Lambert.

24 June. 10am-1pm. Adults £35, under 16s £15, under 5s free. St Agnes, North Cornwall, TR5 0RU. wildwalks-southwest.co.uk

SUMMER FOOD FESTIVAL Tour the farm and enjoy the college’s foodie celebrations at their open day.

24-25 June. 10am-4pm. Duchy College, Stoke Climsland Campus, PL17 8PB. £5 per car. cornwall.ac.uk

MEVAGISSEY FEAST WEEK This village has celebrated the ‘Feast of St Peter’ since 1754, with food, carnivals and family fun.

25 June–1 July. mevagisseyfeastweek.org.uk

NATIONAL CREAM TEA DAY

“It’s a party atmosphere from start to finish” MITCH TONKS

Indulge and celebrate the part the Earl of Devon played in the origination of the Devonshire cream tea.

30 June. Powderham Castle, near Exeter, EX6 8JQ. powderham.co.uk

ROCK OYSTER FESTIVAL Party the weekend away with music and great food in this festival’s new location.

7-8 July. Roskear Farm, near Wadebridge, PL27 7HU. Adult ticket £38, family ticket £114. rockoysterfestival.co.uk

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Food Pioneer Claire Burnet CHOCOLATIER We were the first in the UK to be making truly fresh chocolates with local ingredients and combining that with origin chocolate. We started 14½ years ago and

there are now other artisan chocolate businesses that care passionately like us about the chocolate they work with and wouldn’t touch palm oil with a barge pole.

It’s hopefully a growing sector – it does feel like we are now at a tipping point and more people are beginning to understand the importance of provenance, and dark chocolate sales are now increasing, too.

Claire in the Sambirano region in north-west Madagascar where all cocoa is grown on the island

Everyone’s palates are different. Once you can

differentiate between the different flavours of real chocolate, you can find one that suits you. The longer I’ve worked in this industry, the less sweet my tooth has got. That’s what eating proper chocolate does to you.

Bitter is a word that is misused with chocolate. Dark

chocolate is intense and strong. It’s about educating your palate and your brain to start to identify the flavours.

70% has become an industry norm for dark chocolate.

But it tastes different depending on where it comes from; that figure is just a guide. Ultimately, it’s all about the bean type and the flavours that come through.

Dark chocolate is inherently dairy-free, naturally vegan and gluten-free. Milk chocolate and white chocolate

have milk powder added. Perhaps people see cocoa butter listed as an ingredient and think it must be dairy but this is just a term for the fat part of the bean. Every bean is a 50:50 split between cocoa butter and cocoa powder.

It is possible to enjoy chocolate without being addicted to sugar. The reason people gorge on industrial chocolate

is that they are getting a sugar fix and that is addictive.

The beauty of it is that you don’t need to eat huge amounts because you feel full; get a chocolate hit not a sugar hit and you don’t gorge. Chocolate has been proven to help you lose weight as part of the GI diet. A little is good for you and it will keep you going.

hot chocolate, too. In those days, Belgian chocolate was still artisan and people on the Continent have a very different relationship with chocolate. I wanted to bring that Continental, freshly handmade chocolate experience to this country, using local ingredients combined with single-origin chocolate.

Never eat chocolate that contains palm oil. Don’t try

and cook with it either as it won’t behave properly. A lot of Continental brands are so appalled by the way Brits adulterate their chocolate that they have a little logo to say ‘made with pure cocoa butter’.

Frustration bought me into the world of chocolate. My

Many people still see chocolate as a very cheap food.

parents lived in Belgium back in the 1980s and we used to buy fresh chocolate made on the premises of local chocolate shops, made with fresh cream and without additives or preservatives. We ate them within a few days and they were so pure. In cafes, we would have proper

There is a poor understanding of proper chocolate in this business. Chocolate is a slow food.

Chococo has chocolate houses in Exeter’s Gandy Street, Swanage and Winchester. chococo.co.uk

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Signature dish Duck is prolific on restaurant and bistro menus in south-west France, as Jim and Lucy Fisher of Exeter Cookery School can attest from their prior experience running a successful residential cookery school in the region. Jim shares his tried and tested recipe for perfectly cooked duck breast accompanied by seasonal veg: “Duck is the meat around the Dordogne, and it’s where I learned to cook it so the fat renders away, leaving the skin crisp and the flesh perfectly pink,” he explains. Vichy carrots is a recipe of the central volcanic area of France called the Massif Centrale: “At its core is a sparkling water called Vichy Water, which bubbles up from subterranean depths to be collected in bottles by the locals. It tastes of volcanoes, i.e. sulphurous and bitter, which is why they add sugar or honey to this otherwise delicious carrot dish.” Exeter Cookery School’s calendar includes a new course this month with the Devon-based author of Deliciously Conscious, Belinda Connelly, who will be teaching people all about how to create a wide range of exciting vegan fare that looks and tastes every bit as yummy as ‘normal’ food. exetercookeryschool.co.uk

Pan-fried duck breast with wild garlic mash, Vichy carrots, and duck and red wine sauce Serves four DUCK AND RED WINE SAUCE

• • • • •

1ltr roasted game or meat stock 1 glass good-quality rich red wine 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar Sea salt 30g cold unsalted butter, cut into dice

GARLIC MASH

• • • • •

4 medium Maris Piper potatoes, peeled and cut into evensized chunks 4 garlic cloves, peeled 125g unsalted butter 25ml double cream Sea salt

VICHY CARROTS

• • • •

4 medium carrots, peeled and cut into 1cm slices 1 tbsp honey 25g unsalted butter Sea salt

DUCK BREASTS

• • • •

4 duck breasts, skin on Sea salt Freshly ground black pepper 1 tbsp vegetable oil

METHOD For the sauce

Place the stock, wine and vinegar in a roomy saucepan and boil to reduce until thickened. Pass through a fine sieve and season with salt only. (The butter is whisked in just before serving.)

For the mash

Meanwhile, put the potatoes and garlic cloves on to simmer in a saucepan and add a teaspoon of salt. Simmer very gently until the potatoes are on the verge of breaking up and the garlic cloves are soft. Drain well and allow to dry for five minutes uncovered in the colander. Mash well (preferably with a potato ricer) and return to the pan. Melt the butter in the cream, then add to the potatoes, whipping with a wooden spoon until creamy. Season with sea salt.

Carrots

Tip the carrots into a saucepan and add sufficient water to

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come two-thirds of the way up the carrots. Pop in the butter, drizzle in the honey, then add half a teaspoon of sea salt.

Simmer gently until most of the liquid has evaporated, leaving behind a syrupy carrot glaze.

For the duck

Lightly score the skin of each duck breast in a lattice pattern.

Sprinkle each side generously with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Bring a frying pan to a medium-high heat and smear with a little oil. Place the breasts flesh-side down in the pan and fry for one minute only, then flip them over and continue to cook for about 5-7 minutes (depending on size), frequently basting with the rendered fat, by which time the skin will be golden brown and crisp.

Remove the breasts to a baking tray, then cover with foil and a couple of tea towels, then leave them alone for five minutes to rest (this resting is essential as it allows the cooking process to finish and the meat to relax).

Cut each breast into five or six slices and serve with the reheated mash and carrots.

Finish the sauce by heating to a simmer, then whisking in the cubed butter.

food

The Table Prowler Falmouth Bay Seafood Café, Truro An elegant Georgian mansion with a pretty lawn in front, the Falmouth Bay Seafood Café is a genteel haven away from the bustle of the city centre. Billing itself as ‘Truro’s top seafood restaurant’ and flaunting countless food awards on its website, it has quite a reputation to live up to, and it achieves it with ease.

Admittedly, it was very quiet on a Wednesday lunchtime (my friend and I were surprised that the entire staff of solicitors’ offices opposite didn’t descend on the place as their lunch spot). All the better for us, though – our waitress gave us her undivided attention. My friend tells me that the service is as good on a busy weekend evening as it was during the day.

With our parking ticket coming up for expiry, we chose the ‘Express menu’ – and the waitress kept on the ball to ensure that we didn’t end up with a fine. I ordered tempura tiger prawns as a starter. Three huge, juicy prawns arrived with a small baby leaf salad and a sweet chilli dip. The batter was thin, crispy and crunchy. My friend’s mackerel on toast was three seared fillets on slim slices of toasted baguette with a smear of mustardy sauce – it was rich and unctuous with crisp skins.

The main course came quickly and my generous pan-fried sea bass fillet, which arrived crispy skin-side up, was fresh and tender. The lemony sauce and smidgeon of salsa set off the taste with aplomb. When I told the waitress that I was on a low-

carb diet, the chef replaced the garlic mash with a tasty side of wilted spinach and courgette. My friend’s mushroom linguine was creamy and rich with a layer of shaved Parmesan. While it was perfectly cooked – just softer than al dente – and the mushroomy broth oozed flavour, she pronounced it a little too rich to finish it all.

The wine menu was fantastic, too. My friend ordered a glass of the ‘wine of the week’, an unoaked Chardonnay called One Chain Googly – one of the best white wines I’ve ever tasted (although I only had a sip or two). And it was all incredibly good value: £15 per person (a two-course evening meal is on average about £23).

The décor is light and very sea-foody: lots of great artworks featuring fish and crustaceans. While informal and friendly, it doesn’t stint on details, such as gleaming glass and silverware, and white linen tablecloths. It’s a relaxing place for lunch and apparently has a great vibe in the evenings, especially with special events like jazz nights to enjoy. falmouthbayseafoodcafe.com Food 9 | Service 10 | Ambience 9 | Location 10

The Shore, Penzance A small seafood restaurant just a couple of hundred metres from the top of Market Jew Street (Penzance’s high street), this has been much vaunted by local friends. While it is very much ‘boutique’ – expect to have your conversations overheard by your immediate neighbours – and the décor is somewhat unimaginatively ‘modern beachy’, the seafood was certainly tasty.

My husband and I went on a Saturday evening ‘date night’.

We’d received a call from the chef earlier in the day to confirm allergies, intolerances or any other special dietary needs, which is an important factor if you’re the only chef in the kitchen.

The menu changes according to what is bought fresh from Newlyn fish market on the day. This Saturday, there was a choice of four mains – cod, hake, sole and monkfish. I chose spider crab with crab sauce and asparagus as a starter. For £10.50, I expected it to be somewhat mind-blowing. It was, however, somewhat disappointing. A small wrap of pancakethin daikon (a type of large radish) contained cold, shredded and rather salty crab meat. The sauce was nothing to write home about, and a pair of crossed asparagus spears looked (and tasted) a bit on the tired side. My husband chose the red mullet with chana dal, mint and coriander. It was definitely delicious: two small fillets on a dollop of tasty dal with a minty jus on the side, but at £8.50, was still a little steep for a starter.

There was a very long wait for the mains, as the restaurant filled up and the chef must have been overpressed. My monkfish with sprouting broccoli and capunti nero (gnocchi-like fingers of black pasta made with scorched flour) was a taste sensation – it was tenderly cooked and the whole dish was served in a generous amount of basil-y jus. The hubby had hake. It was lightly fried and came with a patty of crushed potatoes on a base of peas and mini shrimps, topped with samphire. It was swimming in a creamy sauce that made it seem almost like a chowder.

Overall, the dining experience was above average.

The low lighting and low conversation made it feel cosy, and the location is very convenient. The Scottish chef is friendly – coming out to chat to the clients once the mains had all been served. The wine list was adequate, although I wouldn’t say exceptional. However, with each main just brushing £20, the food doesn’t match the prices. theshorerestaurant.uk Food 7 | Service 7 | Ambience 7 | Location 8

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The Cornish Bed Company | David Aspinall of Sapphire Spaces | Q&A with Lucy Orr Shopping for space

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Without compromising, The Cornish Bed Company has proved that traditonal craft can be the driver for commercial success. Words by Phoebe Tancock.

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promotional feature

T

he first thing that strikes you as you visit The Cornish Bed Company and view its product, is quite how young it is: this year the company is 25 years old.

“A quarter of a century!” I can hear you thinking. “That’s pretty established by most business standards…” Well, yes, that’s true, but the product that The Cornish Bed Company is well known for is cast iron bed frames (it also uses brass and nickel) that are smartly traditional in looks and boast hand-crafted manufacturing processes that date back to Victorian times.

The Cornish Bed Company is an example of how economically efficient mass production doesn’t always pay off. More and more we are seeing a discerning consumer looking for quality that will last through generations. And this bespoke approach to bed-making that delivers long-lasting frames of timeless style has paid dividends. Not only is the company now 25 years old, but it boasts showrooms in Devon, Barcelona, Belgium and Vienna, as well as two newly opened in London and back home in Par. Moreover, the company makes a virtue of its manufacturing approach. The opening of the showroom in Par means customers can visit the foundry and watch how the beds are made, from hand pouring through to assembly, prior to then trying out the beds for comfort in the showroom. This latter stage is made all the more comfortable by the acquisition of The Cornish Bed Company by Naturalmat, the premium all-natural mattress brand based in Exeter. As mergers go, this has been a perfect fit – both brands boast a traditional, handcrafted approach to deliver the very best in a premium sleep product. And, of course, one cannot be fully appreciated without the other.

The Cornish Bed Company spokesman, Garry Smith, explains: “The foundry at Par never used to have a showroom and we would get the odd walk-in customer, who’d look at the foundry and the finished product that emerged, but we had nowhere to showcase the beds themselves. Now there are five to six beds on display.

The beauty of the space is that the customer can look at the finished product and do a tour of the foundry should they want to; it’s fascinating for them, and seeing how it’s made helps demonstrate the quality of the product.”

The beauty of the beds is their longevity, in style and durability. “We say it’s a family heirloom, because it can be passed down, still look the part, and last you forever,” MANOR | Early Summer 2017

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The Cornish Bed Company is one of the last foundries in the UK to hand cast traditional iron, brass and nickel beds.

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promotional feature says Garry. “A bed is an important investment.”

The technique to create the beds has also stood the test of time, and The Cornish Bed Company is one of the last foundries in the UK to hand cast traditional iron, brass and nickel beds.

Garry explains the process: “We use molten zinc, which is melted down and hand poured by a ladle into individual moulds. Traditional Victorian tapered knuckle joints are used to connect the side rails to the foot and head end, rather than using nuts and bolts, which over a period of time can come loose. We’ve got our own powder-coat plant, and because the beds are all handmade and we make to order, not to stock, we can create bespoke beds.”

The bespoke offering means that the beds don’t just include adjustments in height and size, but also a choice of colour, design and material to create the perfect bed.

As for the future, the partnering with Naturalmat, which itself has seen major growth in the last ten years, means exciting times lie ahead for both companies. The top-end hotel market, for one, which has been a key client of Naturalmat’s, is an obvious growth contender for The Cornish Bed Company, which itself is no stranger to the trade sector, having for years supplied highly respected retail operations such as Laura Ashley, Marks & Spencer and House of Fraser.

What The Cornish Bed Company and Naturalmat combined will doubtless benefit from is the greater emphasis being placed on high-quality sleep in our fastmoving but increasingly health-aware modern world, and quite how much difference a quality bed can make – frame and mattress. Modern manufacturing processes and materials have tended to overlook this, to the detriment of the end user. Not any more – we’ve woken up to the multiple and far-reaching benefits of quality craftsmanship that lasts. cornishbeds.co.uk

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Beautiful vision

Award-winning bathroom designer David Aspinall is an innovator who’s driven to create rooms his clients never want to leave. Imogen Clements heads to the Sapphire Spaces showroom to talk about the pursuit of perfection.

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S

PHOTO: MATT AUSTIN

ome decades back – and I’m showing my age here – there was a Volkswagen TV commercial that artfully conveyed the obsessive nature VW engineers had towards the new Passat they’d designed. Among the factory’s white-suited designers, there is one who’s spending a seemingly infinite amount of time testing the car’s door lock – pressing it, releasing it, over and over again, listening acutely and clearly pleased (in a composed, German way) with the lock’s degree of spring and the precise sound it’s making.

I was reminded of this obsessive passion for design when I met David Aspinall (right), the multi-awardwinning bathroom designer.

First of all, he’s acutely observant. We’ve barely sat down in the Sapphire showroom when he becomes fixated by the buttons on the cuff of my sweater: “It’s the glaze which gives them such a nice finish,” he says. “Really?”

I reply, having never paid any attention to the decorative feature on my Zara jumper. We proceed with the interview and, 20 minutes in, start discussing toilets in small spaces.

This is personally relevant as I’ve toyed with the idea of putting a toilet under the stairs, but the space is tiny. On hearing this, David’s eyes light up as he registers a new spatial problem to be solved, and sets about showing me the sanitary solution to space-restricted cloakrooms. This is a designer who, rather than frowning and rubbing his chin, as some might, seems to positively want to be presented with a challenge so that he can solve it, beautifully.

Aspinall’s mission is, in his words, to “design spaces that stand the test of time and bring enjoyment to life”, from concept through to the very best aesthetic and ergonomic result. His passion and eye have not gone unnoticed: in the four years that David Aspinall has been with Sapphire Spaces, he has already scooped a number of awards, including the Ultimate Luxury Bathroom Design of the Year in 2015’s national Designer Kitchen and Bathroom Awards.

So, how did this warm, softly spoken, highly enthusiastic designer find his forte?

“I loved design at school, went on to study Product Design at university, and was lucky enough to have a man called Simon Saunders as a tutor. He designed the Ariel Atom car and would regularly present us with a design problem – ‘What do you think of a car without a roof?’ he’d say, which is a pretty standard convertible, you might think, and then he’d ask us to picture a car with no doors.

How would you get in? Or a car with no dashboard… He would constantly be challenging our way of thinking. I left intent on becoming a concept designer for someone like Bang & Olufsen, but an ad came up in the local newspaper that took me into bathroom design, which I thought could be interesting. That was 14 years ago, for a company called Ripples in Exeter, and I’ve remained in the bathroom sector ever since.”

Intrinsic to David’s approach is his eye on the future.

Spaces that stand the test of time demand designing with

David is constantly looking at innovations in the sector and, where he can, trying to come up with them himself. the future in mind, which frankly, where bathrooms are concerned, is a fascinating area. “When I started out,” David tells me, “wall-hung toilets were a novelty. Now they self-flush, clean and dry you. One day,” he predicts, “they’ll double up as scanning devices, able to tell you if you’re vitamin or nutrient deficient, or whether you need to see a doctor.” He’s constantly looking at innovations in the sector and, where he can, trying to come up with them himself, and that innovation applies to all the pieces in the jigsaw.

Apparently, the bathroom is the most complicated room in the house. “There’s water, electricity, and myriad different considerations to be taken into account – each surface, the fittings, lighting and everything that sits behind a fully functioning bathroom. We need to consider the existing plumbing system, the waste, the lighting points, as well as all the ergonomic requirements that will make the space effortless and a pleasure to use. Fundamental also is ensuring easy access to all the workings in case anything goes wrong.

When you operate at the level we do, things rarely go wrong but they can, and we need to ensure electrics and plumbing are accessible such that nothing needs ripping out in the process.”

I’ll be honest: I’d taken bathrooms for granted. To me, they were a functional room. I’d underestimated quite how important this room can be from an emotional standpoint: a bathroom done well becomes a desirable space in which to spend time.

“The best thing I hear from clients is, ‘David, it’s weird, but I like just to go in there and read’.”

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Product Overview:

Important: This drawing is a guide only.

Please obtain customer approval for heights and positions of fixtures and fittings.

Basin: * Two countertop basins on a natural oak veneer two drawer furniture unit. * Two Sento tall basin mixer with click waste * Tall storage cupboard

It is the installers responsibility to ensure that all components are site measured. The contractor is to cross check the drawings and to report any discrepancies prior to proceeding.

Shower: * Level access tiled shower base. * Glass panel - 2000mm with two wall stabilising bars * Shower system - hand shower and overhead WC: * Wall hung WC Heating: * Vola T39 heated towel rail 6 bars. * Electric underfloor heating Lighting * 8 x dim-able LED ceiling lights * 6 x recess lighting * Illuminated basin mirror * 2 x Cube floor lights * Auto light within tall cupboard

Electrics: * Underfloor heating

Tiling in this room:

* 8 x LED dim-able down-lights

* Basin Wall

* 6 x Marker lights in shower recesses

* Shower wall and recesses

* Illuminated mirror not switched

* Skirting tiles on door and window walls

* Auto light within tall cupboard

Note - The tiler MUST have aesthetics in mind when tiling.

The drawing is a guide. If a better solution aesthetically can be achieved please discuss. Please can the tiler check quantities before starting.

* Shaver socket within tall cupboard * In-line vortex extraction Note - Please consider transformer locations for marker lights and cube lights.

The best thing I hear from clients is, ‘David, it’s weird, but I like just to go in there and read’.

Tiling: * Walls - Micron 2.0 mixed format tiles and 1200 x 600 x 10.5mm * Floor - Micron 2.0 1200 x 1200 x 10.5mm * Recesses - Coverlam reinforced porcelain tiles 3.5mm thick Bath: * Oceanus freestanding bathtub with click waste * Sento floor standing bath/shower mixer Misc: * Extraction * 2 x hand towel bars * 2 x Lotion dispensers * Toilet roll holder * Toilet brush set

Marker lights and cube floor lights to be activated with PIR switch Do not scale from these drawings

Client : Mr & Mrs Conisbee Title : Luxury Master Bathroom - Overview

Drawn By : David Aspinall Dimensions (mm)

The plans for the Conisbee bathroom, with the finished room (below)

As David leads me around the Sapphire showroom, I become bitten by the innovation bug, seeing the difference that state-of-the-art materials can have. He shows me the giant sheets of full-bodied porcelain he frequently uses over standard tiles. “It’s laminated porcelain rolled under a pressure of 18 tonnes, flattening it to 3.5mm, about a third of the thickness of standard tiles. Its thinness means it’s light yet incredibly strong.

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enough to cover a whole shower floor in one sheet with no grouting, or an entire wall in just one or two sheets.

Alternatively, you can cut it into tiles shaped according to the look you’re after – small, large or varied. It’s so easy to handle, even at that size, plus it can go outside as it’s frost-proof. It’s brilliant.”

‘Brilliant’ is a word that David uses a lot, amongst other superlatives. “The grouts and adhesives that we use are the best in the world and it makes such a difference.

space The epoxy resin grouts are amazing – once dried, they’re impermeable, so you can wipe them clean as you would the tiles.”

It’s not just product innovation that consumes this designer, but aesthetics also. David is always looking for the means by which he can enhance a bathroom’s ambience. A case in point: adjacent to a Kartel bath is a contemporary fireplace set into the marble wall that runs the length of the bath, such that you can lie back as you bathe while flames gently flutter by your side. It takes candles in the bathroom to a whole new level.

“I got the idea while staying at a hotel in Barcelona, which was impeccably designed. They had an open fire in the spa. It stayed with me, so one night, out with a friend who owns a stove and fire product company called Big Fire, we discussed it. The next day, I saw something in his product range that I thought we could adapt for the bathroom. And so we did. It’s essentially a bioethanol fire, which doesn’t give out any smell or smoke.

You simply open the vent, light it and it delivers a perfect flame the length of the bath. Once in the bath, you can adjust the flame by widening or narrowing the vent.”

It’s ingenious, and the ultimate in luxury bathing – except, of course, it won’t be, because David will be on to the next ‘ultimate’.

Where do the boundaries lie? Given the extent of his knowledge and the choices available, how does he rein it in?

“The client invariably does,” says David. “They inadvertently lay down the boundaries through their requirements, by how they’d use the space. The first stage in any job is to interrogate the client and determine ‘a day in the life of their bathroom’, how it’s used by every user, things they like, things that annoy them, and then for them to tell us of a bathroom they’ve experienced and loved.

“Some issues reveal themselves quite quickly. For example, I worked on a project for a couple who were very different in height – he was about 6’5” and she was around 5’. I looked at their current bathroom, with standard ‘his and her’ basins side by side, and asked the man to show me how he used the basin. He demonstrated how, when shaving, he’d stoop and lean on the basin to check himself in the mirror. So I designed a double basin unit in the centre of the room where the basins were back to back and at different heights, with a double-facing mirror between them. It worked beautifully.”

I ask David about his ‘ideal’ brief. He stops to think for a while, then replies, honestly, that it would be one with no budgetary restrictions. I know by now that he states this not in a till-ringing ‘ker-ching’ kind of way, but from a desire to push the boundaries, and to achieve the very best through access to whatever that requires.

As I’m leaving, he wants me to see “just one more thing” and leads me to a glass cabinet within which there’s a shower valve. To you and me, it is a shower valve with several chambers, but to David, it’s the best

shower valve in the world. It starts life as a solid brass block that is then milled to create perfectly cut chambers, the interior of each is polished. “This is the ingenious bit,” he says. “Because of the polished inner surface, there’s no build-up of limescale – the valve remains clean and efficient, and working at full force. This means you always get the optimum shower performance.”

We’ve been talking for an hour and a half but I’m quite certain David would have carried on into the evening, showing me numerous other state-of-the-art materials, examples of clever bathroom engineering, the variety of advanced lighting solutions as well as the various ambience-enhancing ideas he’s come up with to make the bathroom a client’s favourite room in the house.

I leave Sapphire Spaces a slightly different person.

This is not just down to the showroom, where every possible variation of kitchen and bathroom space is showcased to stunning and highly covetable effect, but by this personable, infectiously enthusiastic and highly talented designer.

Despite his accolades, he is not in the least aloof, but humble about his achievements. “We get excited when clients get excited,” he says. It’s clear that this is where his satisfaction lies: delivering a room that you want to spend time in, which happens to double as a bathroom. sapphirespaces.co.uk

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Q&A Lucy Orr, founder of Lucy Orr Interiors, has nearly 20 years’ experience in interior design and property renovation. Lucy lives in Cornwall, but works with clients across the UK and internationally. Her new design studio and shop, called Lucy Orr Interiors, will open in Rock in September. Photos by James Darling.

How would you describe Lucy Orr Interiors?

A business that provides everything you need for the inside of your home, and which undertakes all aspects of the design process to produce functional, timeless and beautiful interiors. I personally oversee every project I work on and can undertake projects of any size, from a pair of new curtains to a newbuild house.

Who is your end consumer and what is your catchment area?

I’m based in Rock, Cornwall, but undertake work anywhere in the UK or overseas. I worked on my first house renovation in 1998 and since then have completed a number of building projects: period renovations, conversions and new builds of varying scales, both commercial and residential, as well as the interiors of existing houses. For many years, my husband and I owned holiday cottages and I ran a property management company, which can be really helpful for many of my clients who have second homes that they rent out.

What are you currently working on?

A new build in Rock for a wonderful artist, and a renovation of a stunning old villa in Cannes for an existing client, as well as other smaller jobs. I am also about to open a design studio and interiors shop in Rock, which is very exciting.

What are your key pieces and suppliers?

I don’t generally have any go-to suppliers. The world of interiors is always changing and all my clients are different, so I tend to source fabrics and furniture with different manufacturers, depending on the brief.

I go to Maison & Objet in Paris twice a year to the world’s largest interior design fair to source furniture, but I often buy antiques as well. When looking at fabrics, my current favourites are Kit Kemp, Christopher Farr and Tissus d’Helene, which sells artisan fabrics from all over Europe and the USA. Do you have a look or certain style?

When I undertook my training, I developed a classical approach to my work and I do not impose a signature style. I look at spaces and see their potential – transforming them into interiors that sit 120

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harmoniously in their architecture as well as with their clients’ belongings.

What has been your most satisfying project?

Working on a spectacular, 5,000 sq ft beach front house in Rock. I’ve been involved in this project for nearly two years, since the foundations were put in. The project involved working alongside a fantastic team of architects – Harrison Sutton – and builders, Terry Harris & Sons, on all aspects of the design of the house, including creating floor plans, flooring, lighting, joinery and bathroom design. I needed to source specialist marble, bespoke furniture and bespoke upholstery, from dining chairs and sofas to bedroom furniture, and full interior decoration. This is a family home – the clients love colour and have a varied art collection, which, combined with their new and existing furniture, has resulted in a beautiful, harmonious, dream beach house.

able to get on with everyone is extremely important.

I have a saying when I work: “my aim is to be constructive, not always right.” The key for the client is to take the stress away and create an interior that they love. But it’s not just about making everything look wonderful; it’s about the process, attention to detail, budgeting and delivering a first-class service.

Who has been a source of inspiration for you?

My mother was a talented interior designer and seamstress and, along with my father, an avid collector of Scottish and Russian art. I grew up in a beautiful home in Scotland, surrounded by a stunning collection of antiques from around the world as well as beautiful art and fabrics. As a family, we travelled a lot to the States, Europe and the Far East, so my influences stem from far and wide.

What would be a dream job or brief?

Why do people come to you?

My clients usually come to me by recommendation.

Working on any project can be stressful for the clients, whether it’s one room or the building of a whole house. I love what I do and bring a down-toearth, happy and positive attitude to any project. I am hugely respectful of the expertise and knowledge of all the other craftspeople I work with on any job.

I understand that each job is a collaboration – being

To build my own home – it’s been a lifelong dream. At the moment, we live in a 17th-century farmhouse in North Cornwall. I’ve always lived in old houses, and this is a stunning home and we are very fortunate to live here. But to build a home to your own design, spacious and flooded with light, overlooking the ocean – that would be my dream. lucyorr.co.uk

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The great outdoors Outdoor living means adding touches of decoration, entertainment and comfortable furnishings to enhance a naturally beautiful environment.

Dust off that picnic basket, unfurl the hammock and ensure you don’t miss any available sunny opportunity to enjoy life to the full, al fresco.

Droog swing with plants, Amara, £319

Amara

Cushion, Next, £18 Cushion, House of Fraser, £32

Neo Barocco acrylic wine glasses, Amara £11 each Candle cloche, House of Fraser, £80 Amazonas hammock, Amara, £163

Sunny Life ping pong, Amara, £32

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Pure New Wool picnic blanket, Tweedmill, £98

Montego dining table, Next, £225

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Kate Spade salad plate, Amara, £12

Kate Spade bowl, Amara, £14

Brass hanging flower pot, Amara, £38

12 piece dinner set, Next, £28

Marks & Spencer

Garden Trading bucket, Amara, £24

Candle holder, House of Fraser, £18

Bucket planters, Next, set of two, £45 Sherlock chair, Next, £450

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classic cottages | Est. 1977

Finding exceptional homes that make great holidays.

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classic.co.uk

Call us on 01326 555 500

Escape Opulence in Mexico | Classic Cottages’ 40th anniversary | Exploring Dartmoor on gentle giants

Grand Velas Riviera Maya, Mexico grandvelas.com

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The Grand Velas Riviera Maya resort in Cancún offers all-inclusive luxury on an impressive scale. Imogen Clements reports from the pool-side.

I A Terazza Grand Class Suite

never had myself down as a ‘daiquiri on the beach’ kind of girl. But as I sip the rum-infused frozen raspberry crush that’s been handed to me by an attentive waiter while I lie back on a four-poster daybed staring out to a sun-soaked Caribbean sea, I think it rather becomes one.

‘Luxury’ can be an overused term – luxury brands, luxury travel, luxury upholstery, and so forth – but here at the Grand Velas Riviera Maya resort in Cancún, I can now claim to have experienced the real thing. It’s two o’clock in the afternoon, and having handed me my daiquiri, the waiter has just adjusted an adjacent parasol to ensure I’m fully in the shade and can enjoy my book unscorched, while caressed by a gentle breeze. I’m told they’ll happily clean your sunglasses, should you require, but I don’t have the gall to ask.

Grand Velas Riviera Maya is everything you imagine the ultimate luxurious holiday to be, and more. Set within 206 acres of jungle lined by a long, white stretch of Caribbean coastline, there are impeccable, smiling staff to cater to your every whim; large spacious suites with views to die for and beds unsurpassed in comfort, along with enormous marble bathrooms with Jacuzzi tubs and walkin showers, stocked throughout with L’Occitane.

As well as a personal plunge pool on your ocean-front balcony, there are enormous infinity swimming pools that seem to extend into the sea beyond, and which have a bar at one end that you can swim up to and sup your beverage of choice, half submerged. Then, when you get a little peckish, you can either order snacks poolside from another attentive waiter or visit one of the nine sit-down restaurants that this Grand Velas has to choose from – offering fine Mexican, French, Italian and Asian cuisine, depending on your wont that day, but all of the very highest standard.

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Importantly, you need never think about money as you lounge, sup or dine, because Grand Velas is all-inclusive.

Entirely. And that includes room service at any time, the bottle of artisanal tequila and two shot glasses on the side table in your room, the very well-stocked minibar and snack tray replenished each day for you to consume at will, even the tasting menu in the Cocina de Autor restaurant, which boasts the AAA Five Diamonds Award (this is the ultimate for hotels and restaurants on that side of the Atlantic – think in the league of three stars, Michelin).

I’m told that Cocina de Autor is the first all-inclusive restaurant in the world to win such an accolade.

That, for me, is the ultimate in luxury – the epitome of service and an extensive range of delectable offerings to be enjoyed without ever needing to consider cost.

Obviously you pay, but you pay for the holiday in one.

Grand Velas, like many other hotels on this stretch of Riviera Maya, operates on a grand scale. The entrance gives you the first indication of what’s in store. You enter through bright, whitewashed walls set across a moat from the road. Once through security, you drive through jungle for five minutes before it opens up to reveal the immense open-air reception of the first of Grand Velas’s three hotels within a hotel, Grand Velas Zen. Zen, with 254 rooms, is set deep within mangrove forestation that’s alive with tropical flora and fauna, including breathtakingly beautiful birds. It can accommodate families (half the suites are interconnecting) and there is a pool complex which bears an aesthetic reminiscent of The Alhambra, Spain. The five pools-in-one allow adults to swim quiet lengths without being bombarded by children, or you need never leave your lounger, as the pool staff will serve you drinks, snacks and meals.

Zen is also home to The Grand Velas Luxury Spa, voted the ‘Best Spa in the World’, no less, by Virtuoso in 2010. You can see why. First, at 90,000 sq ft and with 42 treatment rooms, it’s enormous. As well as a wide range of ‘Seven World’ treatments delivered by highly trained therapists, the Grand Velas Spa boasts a sevenstage ‘hydrotherapy journey’, which takes around 50 to 90 minutes, depending on how long you like to linger at each stage, and starts with a dry sauna, moving to the Ice Room, onto the Eucalyptus Steam Room and then Herbal Clay Room. There then follow biothermic showers, whirlpools with powerful jets, and finally a Polar Pool to dip your entire body for as long as you can stand, in order to “constrict blood vessels and activate your circulation”.

It’s a thoroughly invigorating experience, planned to precision by therapists waiting at each stage with infused face cloths, lotions and pots of clay, ready to lead you on to the next. The Water Journey comes with any 50-minute or longer treatment and prepared me well for the full-body massage I’d chosen. I asked for firm pressure and my therapist delivered; she had a professionalism and dexterity that left me floating out of the spa and back to poolside for some refreshment.

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There were no superstars when we stayed, but at Grand Velas Riviera Maya, everyone is made to feel like one, without exception.

A Zen Suite

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An Ambassador Class Suite

A Grand Class Suite

Teens’ Club

Master Lobby

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I can confirm that this is a holiday that’s worth the flight; in fact, I’d go as far as to say the Spa alone is worth the flight.

The Spa

The other two hotels within the complex are located on the beach: the beach-front Ambassador, with 195 rooms, also accommodating families, and the beach-front adult-only Grand Class, with 90 rooms. As an adult guest of Grand Velas Riviera Maya, you can move between all three at will – with the exception of children in Grand Class – and it’s possible to walk from the ocean-front to the inland-located Zen but it’s not encouraged for fear of guests colliding with the various hotel vehicles: mini buses, taxies and buggies that shuttle between them. If you do insist on walking, a member of staff will ride a quad bike behind you to ensure wide clearance from passing traffic. That’s how much they look after you.

Of course, luxury of this level would not be complete if children weren’t taken off your hands and fully occupied, ensuring that they love the holiday, too. Grand Velas offers childcare with craft, films and activities aplenty, as you’d expect. What it also offers, which is rather novel, is a teen room. This is effectively a ‘club’ with a bar serving a wide range of non-alcoholic drinks.

There’s Wii on an extra-wide screen, Xbox booths, table football, bar snacks and massive flat screens of pop videos. It’s fun, social and has everything to snap a bored 130

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teen out of ‘holiday boredom syndrome’, something that can dampen the entire family’s fun. Indeed, I’m told, so popular is the ‘teen room’ that dads can frequently be found there, whiling away hours on the Xbox while their wives enjoy the spa, something that doubtless doesn’t impress the teens.

With the three hotels – or ‘ambiences’, as Grand Velas refers to them – combining a total of 539 suites, this is luxury on an immense scale, yet is impeccably well-managed. The staff number around 1,500, all busy but always friendly and well turned-out in their respective roles. Grand Velas Riviera Maya was built in 2008, yet the décor, landscaping and foliage remains pristine, and everywhere there are decorative touches, such as giant bowls of petals, intricately arranged.

There’s nothing that has been overlooked. Moreover, in a luxury hotel such as this, you’d expect there’d be waste to excess – energy and environmental – yet among a wide number of eco and environmental initiatives, the lush vegetation and wildlife enjoys respect among all the staff (apparently, conservation comes as part of their training), and Grand Velas boasts two reverse-osmosis desalination plants and an on-site

EXETER AIRPORT manor18.pdf

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29/03/2017

09:26

Award-Winning Holidays to Italy with Newmarket Holidays

Flying direct from Exeter Airport to Naples

8 day breaks starting from just £639 residual water treatment facility, which processes and reuses all the water throughout the entire resort.

The man behind the Grand Velas Group is Eduardo Vela Ruiz, New York-born but raised in Mexico, who started out in law before turning to property development, which in turn led on to luxury hotel development.

There are now five Grand Velas hotels in Mexico.

Guests at the Riviera Maya are, as you’d expect, mainly North American or Canadian, for whom a trip to the sunshine paradise is a mere three or four hours away, with Christmas and New Year being particularly popular.

This white, fine-sanded stretch of Mayan coast boasts a number of ultra-luxury hotels, including the Banyan Tree. All are gated resorts; the majority offering the highest level of luxury you can expect from a vacation, the sort that Hollywood stars and heads of state enjoy.

Indeed, I’m told that the President of Mexico recently stayed at the Grand Velas Riviera Maya, as well as various celebrities whose names are not revealed to me.

For us mere mortal Europeans, I can confirm that this is a holiday that’s worth the flight; in fact, I’d go as far as to say the Spa alone is worth the flight. There were no superstars when we stayed (and I’m good at starspotting), but at Grand Velas Riviera Maya, everyone is made to feel like one, without exception.

Rooms at Grand Velas Riviera Maya are available from $393 (£303) per person per night based on double occupancy and include luxury suite accommodations, à la carte gourmet meals, premium branded beverages, 24-hour in-suite service, fitness centre, taxes, gratuity and more. Return flights to Cancun with BA are available from £586. grandvelas.com/destinations/riviera-maya ba.com

| Pompeii Sorrento | Puglia | Rome

Departing 24 June 2017

exeter-airport.co.uk

This offer only applies to selected air-inclusive holidays. This offer is subject to availability and may be withdrawn at any time.

Luxury boutique hotel, fine dining restaurant, bar and wedding venue in the Heart of Devon.

Our award winning head chef to be announced shortly.

OPENING AUGUST 2017 +44 (0) 1363 84244 | stay@paschoehouse.co.uk

WWW.PASCHOEHOUSE.CO.UK MANOR | Early Summer 2017

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The Chairman and founder’s son of Classic Cottages Simon Tregoning describes the growth of his family business over four decades.

PHOTO:PIA SCHIELE

O

ur family company, Classic Cottages, is celebrating its 40th birthday this year. In some ways, you could say I’ve been on the entire journey, despite only being 14 when the company was formed. Back then, my contribution was more in the form of shifting rubble as my parents converted their first holiday properties from two 132

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The Long Barn, Devon

somewhat dilapidated fishermen’s cottages in Porthleven in west Cornwall. My next sacrifice was to give up my bedroom to provide office space as they sold off the cottages to provide the working capital to build the agency business, which started with 25 cottages in Cornwall.

Between 1977 and 1989, my parents steadily grew the business to the point where they had 250 properties in

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Original bookings board

PHOTO: ANTHONY GREENWOOD PHOTOGRAPHY

Cornwall, Devon and Somerset. At the beginning of 1990, I joined them as a partner and gave up my daily commute into central London for one across the family home from my bedroom to our annexe offices.

My first experience of business in the real world, outside the protective walls of the Bank of England, was a full-blown recession, which caused our turnover to drop by 25% between 1990 and 1992. Expansion plans were sidelined to ensure that we stayed in the black – we did – so it took us 10 years to achieve our plan of doubling our portfolio.

The world was very different back then. A typical holiday booking involved perusing the classified sections of the weekend newspapers, circling a few advertisements that succeeded in grabbing your attention in eight words, telephoning for the brochure, waiting, browsing the brochure, telephoning the company again to find out that the five properties you wanted were booked, going back to the brochure to look at the ones that were free, telephoning once again to place a reservation, filling in a booking form and finally posting it with your cheque, and waiting for confirmation and arrival details to arrive by post. Phew! We did have computers – before most, thanks to my father’s foresight – but they were big, noisy, unreliable and only really did the booking maths.

We still need computers to do the maths on over 20,000 bookings each year, but the internet revolution has made much more fundamental changes to our business. Our guests can visit our website, tell us where and when they want to come, find their preferred property on their own and book and pay for it in the wee small hours of the morning if they want. Or they can still give us a call, but at a more reasonable hour.

Our marketing has also changed out of all recognition.

We used to spend around £200,000 per annum with magazines and broadsheet newspapers. Some of that now goes to Google and Facebook to pay for our online advertising, but the majority is used to employ web experts, digital marketeers and content writers.

The other big change over the four decades has been the quality of the accommodation. Back in 1977, my parents vowed to shake up the self-catering market by setting a new standard and fighting against the prevailing “t’will do for visitors” attitude. Then, self-catering was a form of indoor camping, and you had a great holiday despite the accommodation. Now the property is a crucial part of the holiday and our guests expect it to be better than home.

The world in which we do business has also moved on. A survey last year by the University of Greenwich concluded that the self-catering holiday cottage sector was now worth £1.14 billion per annum to the economy of the South West, and accounted for 7,538 full-time equivalent jobs. Our competitors used to be other local and regional agents, but now they’re international corporations like Wyndham Worldwide, Expedia and

Bofarnel Chapel, Cornwall

Airbnb, and our traditional competitors are starting to fall into the arms of venture capitalists. It’s all a long way away from the days when I was pushed out of my bedroom, but we still hold to the same fundamentals – keep nudging up the quality threshold every year, provide intelligent and attentive service, and give guests as much information as possible before they book. classic.co.uk

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There are few better ways of connecting to the spirit of a landscape than sitting astride a companionable horse. Rachel Lovell visits a Dartmoor stable that has mastered the art with a noble breed.

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t’s no secret that Dartmoor, with its muted tones dotted with heather and gorse, and pocketed with verdant farms, is outstanding riding land, as attested by the many pony trekking centres across the national park. However, one riding establishment is beating a different path to the rest in a surprising way – by championing the Clydesdale horse.

As the name suggests, the breed originated in Scotland, where it was bred for farm work, and it’s a ‘heavy horse’, similar in appearance to the Shire. All a bit incongruous with the unforgiving, challenging terrain of the moor, so how do the two fit?

Tim Ancrum, co-owner of Adventure Clydesdale with his partner Aileen Ware, explains: “What people don’t realise is that these horses are amazingly adaptable.

They are big, yes, but they learn quickly and are so wellsuited to this landscape. The Clydesdale breed lost its purpose as agriculture moved on, but these heavy horses have a role in the modern world as very special riding animals, who can inspire confidence in their riders as they stride out.”

It’s a cool, sunny morning when Tim, Aileen and I are talking in the Adventure Clydesdale stable yard at Brimpts Farm, near Dartmeet. We’re heading off on a two-hour hack, one of the team’s most popular rides, and as we chat, the couple’s passion for the breed is palpable. They talk about the horses with a brightness and animation that you would expect from any doting parent.

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Tim explains with a grin. “We believe that they offer a means of interpreting Dartmoor, to see it and feel it in a way that is just not possible by driving or even walking.

It’s a connection with the landscape at a pace that allows you to soak in what this place truly is, at depth.”

I’ve ridden on Dartmoor many times and understand what Tim is saying, but for all his passion I’m as yet unsure as to how riding a Clydesdale offers more than riding any other horse on the moor, but I’m ready to find out.

escape

PHOTO: RACHEL LOVELL

At that moment, we’re joined by a noble quartet: four of the 11 Adventure Clydesdales. Ranging from 17hh to 18hh, these are towering, muscular animals with Roman noses, roan coats and a powerful presence, yet there’s a slightness to their build and a grounded, steady air to them all. They are the lightweights of the heavy horse world, with strong gentlemen’s names to match: Tom Parker, Big Allan, Solo and Faroe (they are all geldings as, in Tim’s words, having mares complicates things).

“They are a really heart-warming breed to work with,” Aileen explains. “The real Big Friendly Giants!”

Thankfully, there’s no expectation to mount the horses from the ground, and after using a higher-than-normal mounting block, we’re soon ambling away through the copse that skirts the farm and down through a gorse valley to a river ford, where the water is shimmering its way across the pebbles in the morning light.

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It’s a connection with the landscape at a pace that allows you to soak in what this place truly is, at depth.

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ALL PHOTOS: RACHEL LOVELL

front. Our horses will really engage with the rider, given the chance,” Tim explains.

Once across the river, we head up the hill, and I start listening out for cuckoos; Dartmoor is the only place I’ve ever heard them in my adult life. To my surprise, Tim lifts his hands to his mouth and produces a convincing call. “On one ride, I ended up in a bit of an argument with a male cuckoo who replied every time, flying closer and closer and getting crosser and crosser!” he laughs.

Sadly, no bird was forthcoming today.

We ride on, cresting the hill onto the open wilderness of the moor. Skylarks scrap, babble and trill, swooping to the ground around the horses, who step with a sprightly stride. Their soup-plate feet make them surefooted rather than sluggish, and as we move into our first canter (lolloping and delightful), it’s clear their size belies a remarkable speed and stamina. Their strength and endurance is such that Aileen and Tim offer three- to five-day trail rides across huge distances and stunning scenery, with stopovers at B&Bs and pubs along the way.

Indeed, so willing are the geldings that I sense my horse, Tom Parker, would gallop for miles should I let him, and I understand why Adventure Clydesdales are not for beginner riders – though if you can canter, you’re in.

As the minutes and the landscape unfolds, I and my companions soon learn that this is not just a ride, it’s a history lesson. We trot alongside leats while Tim explains how they were built as early as the 16th century to supply Plymouth and Devonport; we walk through the remains of Bronze Age forts; ride past ancient stone crosses, see the evidence of tin mines and discuss how Dartmoor was once the Forest of Dartmoor.

Yet the Adventure Clydesdale story did not start here, but rather much further north on the Isle of Skye, where Tim managed an estate. He first fell for the breed after a few were brought to the island to pull a dray as a tourist attraction, but he soon learned the animals had much greater potential as riding horses. By 2006 he had concluded the riding country was too limited, so along with some colleagues he embarked on a remarkable journey, riding 12 Clydesdales and Shires 450 miles from Skye to Cumbria, where West Highland Heavy Horses became Cumbrian Heavy Horses. Still on a mission to find the best riding country possible, Tim landed in Dartmoor in 2013 and set up Adventure Clydesdale, and it seems he’s finally found the perfect fit for his mission in life: “I’ve always worked with animals in a variety of capacities, managing wildlife and livestock, because I

Tim Ancrum and Aileen Ware

escape believe in the fundamental importance of the relationship to animals of human beings.”

As we approach what Tim calls the ‘posing rock’, we watch open-mouthed as his horse, Solo, happily climbs the granite tor to stand magnificently for a few photos, and all our horses follow suit. Getting back down requires an almost fully flat-out back bend from the rider, yet the horses don’t bat an eyelid, and it’s enormous fun.

This was one of many firsts for me: we cantered sideby-side, waded chest-deep through rivers, galloped the open moor and jogged round the forest-edged reservoir.

It’s abundantly clear why these horses are here, why Tim and Aileen want to shout about them from the Tor-tops.

We’ve ridden the Dartmoor landscape with grins on our faces the whole way round, and the horses have enjoyed it as much as we have. As we turn for home, dropping down into the shelter of the valley with buzzards wheeling overhead, Tim sums it up perfectly.

“You could be astride the best horse in the world, but it all comes down to where you’re riding. If you’re in the wrong place, it’s just no good.” I think Tim, Aileen and their magnificent horses are without question in the right place, and that I’ll be back for more extraordinary Dartmoor adventures. adventureclydesdale.com

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For teachers and parents of children studying in the South West Schools news in brief

International Festival of Glass invites Cornish student to exhibit JOINING THE LIST of designer-makers for this year’s British Glass Biennale is BA(Hons) Ceramics and Glass student Mim Brigham from Plymouth College of Art. The British Glass Biennale is the UK’s top contemporary glass showcase, part of the International Festival of Glass.

Mim, a mature student living in Liskeard, is one of 61 artists who were selected to present the most interesting, diverse and outstanding glass art made by British citizens, including those living abroad. The work exhibited will form a showcase of contemporary glass talent, with £11,000 worth of awards to be won.

Mim said, “This is the first time I’ve applied and I was successful – it’s made such a difference to my confidence.

I’m intimidated but very excited!”

The prize winners will be announced on 24 August and The British Glass Biennale is open to the public from 25 August at the Ruskin Glass Centre, Stourbridge, West Midlands.

An example of Mim’s work

Millfield’s new riding arena

King’s girls retain ISFA U18 title

MILLFIELD SCHOOL, Somerset, is taking its riding offer to new heights. A new indoor arena, opened by Headmaster Craig Considine, adds to the growing high-tech facilities and equipment available to equestrians.

The state-of-the-art structure has a fabric roof, making it possible for Millfield riders to practice in daylight, with diffused natural light and a modern LED system for nighttime riding.

Given its additional size, the space can be divided into two large training areas, allowing a greater number of riders to use the facility at the same time. Approximately 70% of training will take place in the new arena, and a dividing fence can be removed for competitions and displays.

KING’S COLLEGE, Taunton, set a new record when they won the Independent Schools’ Football Association (ISFA) Girls’ Under 18 eleven-a-side cup by beating ACS International School Cobham 9-1 in the final at the home of Thame United.

Chris Heayns, Director of Football at King’s, said: “This is a very special group of players who have worked hard and come together to produce some outstanding football. In doing so, they have set an excellent example to the younger players following them through school. They fully deserve this success.”

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Medical success for Exeter School FOURTEEN EXETER SCHOOL pupils have been offered places at Medical School or to read Veterinary Science or Dentistry for September 2017.

Peter Boddington, who runs Exeter School’s thriving Medical Society, said he believed successful medics needed to be motivated, organised, pro-active and confident. “This is certainly true of the 14 successful applicants who gained offers for places at Medical School this year,” he said. “After a gruelling year of writing applications, sitting BMAT and UKCAT tests, facing a barrage of interviews alongside working hard to secure the top grades required, it is fantastic to be able to watch these pupils succeeding in the first step toward their goal.”

Shebbear College musicians win gold THE RECENT ADDITION of a new building dedicated to teaching music has proved a success for Shebbear College’s talented musicians, who once again have been awarded the Incorporated Society of Musicians’ Gold Certificate.

Headmaster Simon Weale stated: “We are delighted to receive this award for a second year running, in recognition of the success of our music pupils in their exams. Music at Shebbear College is very important and we are committed to providing the best facilities possible for our pupils, as demonstrated by the addition of our new music building on campus.”

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Laying the foundations Getting involved in your child’s Early Years education is key to encouraging a life-long love of learning. In the second part of this exclusive series for MANOR, Professor Ruth Merttens offers advice on helping children aged five to seven find their feet at school.

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o, after all the research about which school, and the discussions about how and when they should start, your child is now at school. Some aspects, which may have kept you awake beforehand, have proved far less problematic than your fears had made them. But perhaps other things have emerged as issues that you never anticipated. Your child may have loved the first few weeks and then suddenly decided that they didn’t want to go to school anymore. Or they may have taken a seemingly interminable time settling but eventually have turned into a regular enthusiast. Or somewhere in between these two extremes. So how can we, as parents and grandparents, help children aged five to seven to get the very best out of school?

WHAT’S SPECIAL ABOUT EARLY YEARS EDUCATION? The term ‘Early Years education’ categorises the period from three or four to eight years of age, thus encompassing nursery, reception, year 1 and year 2 at primary school. This is a period where the involvement of parents and grandparents, not to mention uncles, aunties and godparents, is critical. Nursery and reception are called the ‘foundation stage’, and this term recognises the fact that it is during this period that the foundations of a child’s education are laid 140

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down. It’s possible to summarise this by saying that, between the ages of three and five, children don’t just learn ‘things’ or acquire ‘skills’, they actually learn how to learn. It may be objected that children already know how to learn; indeed, that they’ve been learning since they drew their very first breath, and this is undoubtedly true. However, pre-school children have, to a greater or lesser extent, been learning in the context of a domestic situation – at home with parents, grandparents and siblings, with friends and alongside an adult, often in a one-to-one or at least one-to-few situation. Once a child starts their formal schooling, whether at three or four years old, they need to learn how to cope, how to flourish and grow, in a classroom.

Getting accustomed to the classroom context, to learning alongside 20 or more peers, is part of the necessary experience of a young child. They have to learn when to speak, and when to keep silent, and how to listen – really listen – in this setting. They have to learn to control their temper, to share things with several other children, and how to engage in joint play, so that they’re responding to the suggestions of others and also initiating activities or ideas within a group.

These are absolutely essential skills for life, but it’s surprising how often we as parents focus on the ‘what’ of learning, rather than the ‘how’. It’s more important that a child can get along with their peers, work

school successfully with different children, make themselves understood, and understand others, and generally participate in joint enterprises, than it is that they can read hard words or count to 100. Their ability to learn in different contexts, and not just at home or on their own, is highly likely to influence not only their educational success but their general quality of life as a functioning adult.

It’s for this reason that I usually counsel caution when parents tell me that they’re thinking of moving their child or even taking them out of school. Being at school is not just about acquiring knowledge, it’s about getting on with, and learning to learn with, your peers. One should think long and hard before deciding that these important social educational skills will not matter.

BUT WHAT ABOUT THE THREE RS? Of course, it’s very important that children are setting off on their journey toward being confident readers, creative and competent writers, and assured calculators. Teaching children to read, to express themselves orally and in writing, and to be comfortable and fluent with numbers, are the solid essentials of an Early Years teacher’s toolkit.

Of these, the most crucial – and hardest – are reading and speaking. Many parents will be surprised to hear someone who works with children say that speaking can be tricky, but although almost all children do chatter, nonetheless there are, sadly, many children who, between three and seven, find it so hard to express themselves in words that they kind of give up and stop trying. It’s so helpful to ask your child’s opinion, to encourage them to say exactly how they feel; trying to help them expand their vocabulary and choose the precise word and not to stick to the same bland terms – “I feel cross or upset” – is a start but it’s not very specific. You’re angry about something, with someone or something, and in a particular way (suddenly, for a long time, increasingly, broodingly, mildly); you’re upset because… Encouraging children to express their own feelings precisely and coherently, so that they can be understood in words, is the best way possible to help them avoid other, more destructive, ways of doing so. No child develops their own spoken language unless they are encouraged to do so by being genuinely listened to. So, taking account of what your child says, listening to their anxieties, talking to them and asking their opinion are all ways of supporting their education as well as their social and emotional wellbeing.

It’s a fact that a child who cannot express themselves in speech will not be able to express themselves in writing.

Before a child aged five can write something, they must say it clearly first. If they speak only in simple sentences, with a restricted vocabulary, they are likely to write the same way. So, as has been stated before in these articles, the conversations that you and the rest of the family have with your child are the foundation of a lot of learning.

READING AND ’RITHMETIC It’s at this stage that reading can sometimes become more than a bit of a chore for both parent and child. Up until children reach four or five, it’s taken as a given that the parents or grandparents read the stories and the child listens, asks questions and generally enjoys the experience.

However, once we start seriously teaching children to read, if we’re not careful, the whole bedtime-story experience can become tense, competitive and even downright unpleasant for both parties. Parents can feel anxious, and in turn, children feel pressured. A fear of failure creeps in, and before we know it, stories are no longer a happy or sought-after experience for our six-yearold. This is plainly disastrous, not simply because it has removed one of the very best ways of sharing something with your child, but also because a child who does not want to read will take longer to learn, and is much less likely to read for pleasure when they have learned. The more reading children do, the greater their chance of success across the whole span of their education.

So, a top priority must be to make strenuous efforts to sustain the pleasure of the bedtime story. Continue to cuddle up together and enjoy a book. This is so important.

If possible, separate the child’s reading practice from the last-thing-at-night shared book. If you have to undertake the reading practice at the same time, then do a small amount of practice with heaps of encouragement, and then put away their reading folder, and enjoy your normal story together. This is also the stage where you need to turn children onto the practise of listening to a story read by someone else, using story CDs or downloaded oral books. Children develop many higher-level cognitive skills through following a narrative, especially when they are simply listening (since there are no pictures). They learn to predict, to comprehend, to say to themselves and others what has happened so far. They are able to listen to stories that are more complex than those they can read for themselves, which in turn advances their learning.

Reading practice – helping your child sound out words, and persevere through their ‘reading books’ – is only one part of helping them become a successful reader.

Reading stories to them, listening to stories together in the car, and discussing favourite stories, TV programmes and films, are all part of developing the vital literacy skills that your child needs.

In a similar vein, keeping your child interested in, and stimulated by, numbers and counting is just as important as helping them learn the facts that the teacher sends home. It’s a perhaps surprising fact that researchers have found a correlation between children’s performance in mathematics and the playing of card, dice, domino or board games. Put simply, playing games not only increases your child’s familiarity with numbers, it also supports the development of mathematical and logical thinking.

Strategic reasoning may be very well enhanced by the urge to win the game!

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HOW PARENTS CAN HELP – SOME ‘DOS AND DON’TS’ SPECIFICALLY RELATED TO THE THREE Rs • DO encourage! When listening to your child read, bear in mind that the most crucial thing is to keep them motivated and in a positive frame of mind about the whole endeavour. Learning to read is hard, and there are bound to be sticky patches.

Motivation is key.

• DON’T expect the child to do all the reading. Read the occasional page of their reading book to them. If they’re particularly tired, you may take turns and read every other page each. It’s far better for your child to read half their reading book happily, than for them to struggle with the whole thing, getting more and more tired and demotivated.

• DO remember that learning to read is not a race.

Children learn at their own speed. They advance in fits and starts and rarely at a regular pace. It’s easy as a parent to feel totally discouraged or even a sense of panic when you look at someone else’s child reading Harry Potter, when your six-year-old can barely make their way to the end of their Chip and Biff book.

Remind yourself firmly that this is like learning to talk: some children learn to talk in complex sentences at age 18 months and some don’t utter their first word until after three years old. Both are ‘normal’. By five, it’s usually impossible to tell who the early speakers were! Similarly, if I look at my class of nine-yearolds, I cannot say who learned to read competently at five, who learned at six and who learned at seven.

As long as children are reading a fairly simple text confidently on their own by the time they go up into the juniors, then there’s absolutely no cause to worry.

• DON’T stick only to the reading scheme. Choose a variety of books for your child to use when practising their reading. If they read a picture book they like, they’ll feel a huge sense of achievement. You can facilitate this by adding a little more support than you might with the reading scheme book – reading the harder bits for them, perhaps. But the sheer pleasure and the sense of achievement that comes from reading a ‘real’ book is palpable.

• DO model writing, and provide plenty of opportunities to encourage your child to write in a real-life context. Ask them to write a list of the three small toys they really want, or to draw the toy and label it. Make sure they have constant access to paper, Post-its and suitable pens to write with. Biros are not suitable as these are hard for children to hold correctly.

Take any opportunity to encourage writing!

• DON’T criticise a piece of writing your child has done. All children spell phonetically to start with, spelling words as they sound but not necessarily correctly. Many children are inclined to leave out the vowels. They’ll gradually learn to spell correctly, and teachers are best placed to encourage and help them 142

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•

progress. The parents’ job is to be really encouraging, and to provide both the opportunity and the purpose for writing.

DO count with your child and share any excuse to point out or talk about numbers. Don’t worry if they want to know about numbers larger than they’re able to calculate with; many children are fascinated by ‘big’ numbers. Spotting patterns in numbers is absolutely brilliant – noticing that all the numbers on our side of the street end in 2, 4, 6, 8 or 0 can lead to a discussion about odd and even, seeing that if we add 10, the 1s digit does not change, spotting prime numbers (numbers that can only be arranged one way as a rectangle). This is the making of a mathematician!

3one rectangle

4two rectangles

5one rectangle

6two rectangles

2, 3, 5, 7 are prime numbers under 10. 4, 6, 8, 9 and 10 are not! Can you say which are the prime numbers up to 20?

•

DON’T tell your child that you always hated maths at school, too…! Great though it is to sympathise with your child, it’s not good to lower their expectations. Children age five to seven should all enjoy maths. If they’re not happy learning maths, then it’s time to see the teacher and talk it through.

Focus at home on things they can do easily and which make a lot of difference, like learning the number facts to 10.

5+5 6+4 7+3 8+2 9+1 10 + 0

•

DO practise the ‘easy bits’ at home: all children can do this and get a great kick out of their success, especially when they shine in class. They need to know: - Number bonds to 10 – the pairs of numbers that add to 10.

- Pairs of numbers that add to 6, 7, 8 and 9 – e.g. 4 + 5 is 9, 3 + 4 is 7, and so forth.

- Doubles to 10.

- Halves of even numbers to 20.

- Counting in tens forward from any single digit number: 3, 13, 23, 33, 43, etc. And back from 103, 93, 83, etc. Children must be able to add or subtract 10 without counting on in ones.

school GAMES AND FUN ACTIVITIES All the activities below are on the theme of food!

Speaking of food...

Reading about food...

Good game for the car!

Preparation: You need paper, scissors and nice coloured pens, suitable for writing or drawing. Also the facility to print text is helpful.

To play • The game is best with three or four players but can be played with two.

• Take turns to go.

• The first person says: I went to market and I bought…

• They then say a food, but they must add an adjective (describing word) beginning with the same sound (not necessarily the same letter) as the food.

• The second person then says: I went to market and I bought…

• They repeat what the first person said, then add their own food with its describing word.

• Keep playing until one of you cannot remember one of the foods! This is a really good test of memory.

To make your book • Take an A4 sheet of paper.

•

Fold it in half to make it A5.

•

Fold it in half again and in half again. Press hard!

•

Open out the last two folds so it is A5 again. Cut from the centre fold to the middle.

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Open out the sheet to be A4 and fold lengthwise.

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Stand it up so the cut section forms a box.

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Push together points A and B.

•

Fold to make a small 8-page book.

Maths about food…

Preparation: You need 100g sugar, 200g butter and 300g flour.

Make your hands in yummy biscuits • You are going to make shortbread and turn into into lots of pairs of hands.

• The key here is that each pair of hands should demonstrate a different number bond.

• So one pair might have jam on 6 fingers and none on the other 4. One pair might have currants on 8 fingers, none on the other 2, etc.

• Cut up the butter into the flour into tiny pieces and rub in.

• Stir in the sugar and form a pastry.

• Press it out flat.

• Cut round your child’s hand on a piece of card. Use this as a template to cut out pairs of hands.

• Now add different tasy bits to some of the ten fingers!

• Finally, take one shortbread hand. How many currants will cover this hand? Encourage a sensible estimate!

• Cover the hand with currants – how close was the estimate?

Writing of food...

Preparation: You need good pens and nice thin card, preferably in a pale colour.

To play • Tell your child that they are designing a menu!

• This can be for a special meal, or it can be a fantasy meal, e.g. for dinosaurs or for superheros.

• They should think carefully about what each person would like to eat – and maybe give a choice.

• The items do not have to be real – they might include cockroach caramel cake or worm spaghetti!

• Show children some pictures of real menus to give them an idea how to lay it out and make it look special.

• You are not focussed on correct spellings – just on getting them to have fun designing their own menu.

Children LOVE making their own books.

The first time, ask them to tell you what they want to have on each page, and you can then type it and print it for them to stick in a line of text.

Soon they’ll love doing it so much, they’ll write their own books! Then you’re off and running. I once had a child who made over 100 of these little books!

HELPING YOUR CHILD WITH LEARNING In the next part of this exclusive series, Professor Merttens will focus on eight to 11 year olds. If you have missed an issue and would like to access a part of the series, please write to school@manormagazine.co.uk.

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Go west, young man With the government pushing through changes to the Clean Air Act, and many parents fearing for their children’s health from dangerously high air pollution levels in some areas of the South East, headmaster Phillip Stapleton explains how his move to the South West has benefited his family’s wellbeing, while not compromising their schooling.

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f Phillip Stapleton was being honest when asked what the most startling differences were between West Sussex and North Devon, where he is now a headmaster, he’d probably refer to the quality of the air and the speed of life. To most, the former would seem unsurprising. To others, the latter slightly daunting, but to many it might offer the nirvana they’ve been searching for.

For the Stapletons, it might be somewhere in between, but when Phillip accepted the job of Headmaster of West Buckland School, an independent prep and senior school in North Devon, located between Exmoor National Park and the Atlantic coast, the family put all their eggs in one basket and moved lock, stock and barrel. The children were enrolled in the 135-pupil

West Buckland School enjoys a rural location in North Devon

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prep school, the family moved into a spacious house within the stunning 90-acre campus, and they embraced rural life.

Phillip recognises that, for many families, leaving the busy, competitive and high-pressured South East and heading west is becoming a reality, but he has no illusions that they’ll find it very different. “Moving west is everyone’s latent dream,’ he says. “The idea of focussing on quality of life is in vogue, and passing people with surf boards strapped to campervans as we arrived was a visual demonstration of that intent. But things were going to be different and we were unsure how that might look and feel. West Sussex was chic bars, hot-house schools, hockey and chess. The South West is the great outdoors and the freedom to explore,

school

Phillip Stapleton (far right) and with his family

but there’s more: it feels cleaner, fresher, more open to possibilities yet retaining real innocence. We love it. Our children have continued their passions and found new ones. Children stay younger longer.”

For any family making this move, there are consequences on a professional and personal level. So, how have the family reacted to the change? “We were expecting tears and to take a while to settle but the kids haven’t looked back. They love West Buckland Prep School and the headmaster, Andrew Moore.

“The speed of life and raw wealth is clearly different, but these are different sides of the same coin,” continues Phillip. “Sussex has plenty of money but has to run at full tilt to maintain the perception that this is how it should be. It didn’t feel natural. The children here are no less ambitious or talented but they are given space to realise rather than be channelled. Pulled, not pushed.

“From a professional point of view, with the process of applying for headships, the type of school I hoped to join was an important feature, and West Buckland ticked all the boxes: all-round, all-through, all-embracing. The school oozes potential and I was immediately drawn to it.”

So, having been here for approaching a year now, what do you think are the biggest benefits from the move west? “Air,” says Phillip. “You don’t realise that your life lacked a lung until you’re given one. Our family has found a freedom and an ability to stay young, which I quite like.”

What would your advice be to families considering the move to the South West. “Embrace and enjoy the change. There is an awful lot going on and I’ve been surprised by the number and wide range of business opportunities popping up all around us. Innovation, creativity and enterprise are alive and thriving, and the next generation are embracing it.”

Phillip Stapleton is Headmaster of West Buckland School in Barnstaple, North Devon. westbuckland.com

Risk taking and convention breaking — discover the future of creative practice.

DEGREE SHOWS 2017, 10-22 JUNE FREE ENTRY For times, tickets and locations visit plymouthart.ac.uk

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A HOUSE FULL OF SURPRISES NEWTON FERRERS, SOUTH DEVON Panoramic estuary views n magnificent light and contemporary home n superb design features n outstanding open plan living space n additional spacious 2 bedroom annexe n generous landscaped garden with garden room and hot tub n walking distance of village facilities n garage and parking n EPC Rating C

Guide Price ÂŁ1,750,000 Web Ref: NEW160044

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Contact our Prime Waterfront & Country House Department on 01548 855590 Newton Ferrers office 01752 873311

Property The Bulletin | Property of note: The White House, Harpford, Devon Snapshot comparative

Cedarwood, Flushing, Cornwall Guide price: ÂŁ1,000,000. See page 161 savills.com

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ONE OF THE BEST SEA VIEWS IN THE SOUTH WEST THURLESTON, SOUTH DEVON Spectacular sea front location n rare opportunity n views of Thurlestone Rock and the sea n short walk to beach n currently 2 flats n Arts & Craft style n substantial income potential n garage and ample parking n located close to village amenities n Flat 1 EPC Rating E n Flat 2 EPC Rating G

Guide Price £1,750,000 Web Ref: KIN170038

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Contact our Prime Waterfront & Country House Department on 01548 855590 Kingsbridge office 01548 857588

property

The Bulletin General elections, Brexit negotiations – there is much going on that could have a tumultuous effect on an otherwise stable property market. We ask Gideon Sumption for his expert opinion on how things are likely to play out in the coming years and his advice to buyers and sellers of South West property specifically.

With the approach of summer – a key time to be looking at property in the South West – how is the health of the SW market?

The price gap between London and the South West fluctuates on what is usually a 10- to 15-year cycle. The current cycle reached its widest point early last year. Now that property in London’s Zone 1 and a large part of Zone 2 is experiencing a fall in value, the gap has started to close. This narrowing of what was a chasm has been accelerated by the different nature of property vendors in the two different regions. Owners of the sort of property that London escapees want to buy in the South West tend to be discretionary vendors. Unlike their London counterparts, these discretionary vendors don’t have to move to get their child into the right school by the autumn. Their children are grown up and they will sell only when they feel they’ve been offered fair value.

various promises. Now, many years later, we still have a train service to London using rolling stock that is nearly 50 years old. We Westcountry people have overcome these difficulties to establish an enviable quality of life, and I think it’s the ability of Westcountry people to overcome these difficulties that makes us special.

Were I someone looking to invest in the SW, what are the pitfalls?

Always buy the best you can afford. That ruined Old Rectory the other side of Holsworthy may look extraordinarily cheap but there’s usually a very good reason. I can think of two that have had indifferent but expensive refurbishments and cannot be sold at a sufficient figure to cover their costs.

Were I looking to sell within the SW, what would be your advice?

The price contours of the West Country are quite complex and remind me of the Venn diagrams we did at school. Where a property falls within the three spheres of good communications, good schools and an agreeable landscape, values will be strongest. Fashion also plays an important part, too: if you want value, avoid the spots that central Londoners holiday in. These tend to suffer worst during times of financial instability.

The agent coming to pitch for your sale will often not be the one who starts the transaction. It’s more likely that this will be the young man or woman at the office who picks up the telephone.

How this first enquiry is dealt with is crucial, so do some mystery shopping yourself, pick a property similar to your own, call the selling agent and see how your enquiry is dealt with.

So, pick an agent you can engage with who has efficient staff, not the one suggesting the highest selling price. They practically all have good websites now, so there is little differentiation in their offer other than fees.

How will the General Election affect things?

Overall, are you optimistic or cautious about the short-medium term?

The public hate buying property when they cannot see the future clearly. This means that, at the moment, purchasers are sitting on their hands, waiting to see which way the wind is going to blow. Canny buyers will step in now when there are some great opportunities. The meek, who like to follow the herd, will miss out.

If you live long enough, property is always a good bet, but the public prefer their jam today rather than tomorrow. I don’t believe property is ever a suitable short-term investment, as quite apart from the risk of catching a change in market sentiment, the costs of trading eat away at a large proportion of any possible gain. My advice is to buy a property that you love, and that will enhance the wellbeing of you and your family – and your family, after all, is your most important investment. If it happens to grow in value, then think of that as a bonus.

Are there particular regions/segments that stand out as particularly good performers?

Are we yet seeing a ‘Brexit Effect’ on SW property?

From an international perspective, British property has been comparatively expensive. With the pound coming back to a more sensible level, it’s now looking much better value.

Many overseas buyers don’t ‘get’ the West Country in the same way that we do, but they do like London and there are signs that they’re returning to buy there again now that prices have fallen at the same time as the pound has softened. It seems likely that it’s only a matter of time before those purchasers drive more London escapees west.

What insights can you provide into the SW’s economy/ infrastructure that can have a positive or detrimental effect on the property market?

All my life, the West Country has suffered from a lack of investment in infrastructure. When I first started driving, I looked forward to the day when the A303 would be dualled. It never happened, and the M5 never got beyond Exeter, despite

Gideon Sumption is a Chartered Surveyor by training and has a property background spanning 30 years.

Gideon works solely for private clients, locating, advising on and negotiating the purchase of properties in the region.

He commenced his career in London, prior to moving back to Devon where he set up the local office of Stacks in Devon, followed by offices in Cornwall, Somerset and Dorset. Stacks is the country’s oldest and only national independent buying agency regulated by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. stacks-devonandsomerset.co.uk

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Occupying an enviable position in the pretty East Devon hamlet of Harpford, The White House offers a rural idyll just a short distance from the spectacular Jurassic Coast.

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here’s a definite buzz going in East Devon.

The area has seen a lot of attention lately and been witness to some rather smart developments. Firstly, The Pig Hotel, the fifth in this sought-after boutique hotel group’s litter, opened in Gittisham near Honiton in 2016; and just recently, Michael Caines opened his first luxury hotel, Lympstone Manor, in Lympstone on the Exe Estuary. The estuary itself is attracting attention from developers as well as house-hunters due to its prime location – on the sea while in close proximity to Exeter, with its easy links to London.

Sidmouth, a little further long the Jurassic Coast, is an attractive, bustling seaside town with beautiful scenic views. It has, for generations, been popular with young families, and is becoming increasing popular with those looking to make Devon their permanent home.

In the small village of Harpford, just three miles from Sidmouth, sits a stunning example of Georgian architecture, The White House. There are reasons why classic Georgian architecture is a favourite with almost everyone, and The White House presents them all beautifully. A perfectly proportioned, elegant home, the property boasts sizeable windows and numerous French windows that you know, to look at the house, will throw lots of light onto high-ceilinged, spacious rooms.

The White House sits behind a five-bar gate, on a gravelled courtyard with enough room to park and turn several cars. “The house was almost bought straight off the pages of a magazine,” recalls Linda, the owner, who’s lived there for 20 years. “I was living overseas with my husband at the time, and he wanted to buy a property in Europe to come back to. We had looked in the South of France as well as in the UK and just couldn’t find anything that we could settle on. We were at the point of – somewhat reluctantly – opting for a house in France, when I happened to pick up Country Life on our way there and saw this house advertised. I had no idea where it was or anything about it, but I loved it straight away.”

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The house was almost bought straight off the pages of a magazine.

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With its stone entrance porch, assortment of flower beds and elegant character, it’s not hard to see how such a property could snare a buyer before they’ve even viewed it – although the house required a lot of refurbishment.

“It was stuck in a 1970s time warp, with avocado suites and an orange Formica kitchen, plus there were, like a lot of rural houses, two staircases leading to two separate areas on the first floor.”

Linda and her former husband set about refurbishing, which included adding stone pillars to the entrance porch and steps leading to the front door to make the entrance more prominent and inviting. They also did away with one of the two staircases, replacing it with a single staircase connected to all the floors in the property, thereby saving space and allowing access to all areas.

Inside, you can fully appreciate the size of the house.

It’s an ideal family home, with rooms for all members to make their own with no-one being short changed. It’s also perfect for entertaining, with large spaces inside and out for guests to spread out, whatever the occasion.

The current sitting room has a built-in bar and space enough to seat 50 people – five round tables of ten, as Linda explained. “The room currently used as a dining room has a wooden floor and we used to take the table out and use it as a dance floor.”

Outside, the property is just as sociable. A swimming pool makes the most of the south-facing garden, while the surrounding patio offers plenty of space for lounging around. There is no need to fret about wet footprints around the house, as there are two sets of changing rooms with showers and a toilet, and a bar. Yes, another bar – ideal for those pool parties al fresco. The floor above the bar is currently used as a gym and there is a sauna to take the edge off a highintensity workout. The property is surrounded by a beautifully landscaped tiered garden, providing plenty of spaces in which to enjoy the surroundings.

The White House has five double bedrooms on the first floor, including the master room, which comes with an en suite and a dressing room. The additional bedrooms are serviced by two bathrooms, with the space created from removing one of the staircases allowing for an extra bathroom. On the second floor, two rooms have been knocked into one, creating a spacious and airy conversion with exposed wooden beams, and there is another en suite bathroom with a spa bath.

Sitting to the side of the property is a small cottage, a mini version of the main house and equally picturesque.

“We renovated it,” reveals Linda. “It used to be some outbuildings when we bought it but we converted it into a two-bedroom cottage.” It’s currently rented out long term but would also make a perfect holiday let during the summer, and has its own garage attached. The main house also has its own garage.

In terms of location, The White House occupies that perfect middle ground, in that it’s not secluded but is 152

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private. The nearby villages of Newton Poppleford and Tipton St John, which are slightly bigger than Harpford and have more amenities, can be accessed via a short cycle ride or a longer walk.

Tipton St John has a nice village pub with a restaurant and a pub garden, and Newton Poppleford has “quite a famous little Italian restaurant,” says Linda. So, good to walk to for Sunday lunch and fun to cycle back from on a cool summer’s evening.

Younger families would find much to amuse the children in Sidmouth. “You can take the kids down to the beach and go rockpooling with fishing nets, and there’s Crealy Great Adventure Park nearby,” says Linda. As the children grow, doubtless they find much to entertain their friends at home, poolside in the garden or in one of the many rooms. The White House has all the credentials of a dream house to grow up in, but is clearly one whose owners – even where children have flown the nest – are reluctant to leave. The owner prior to Linda had the property for 20 years also.

“We’ll stay in the area,” says Linda, “but now the children have gone, it seems right to take something a little smaller.”

The White House is on the market with Strutt & Parker for £1,250,000. Tel: 01392 249163 struttandparker.com

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STUNNING, ICONIC GRADE II LISTED BUILDING ON THE SHORE OF THE RIVER DART

KINGSWEAR, DARTMOUTH, DEVON

Dartmouth (across the river by passenger and vehicular ferry); A380 (access to Exeter/M5): 7; Totnes: 12 (Distances are in miles and approximate) Comprising a stylish townhouse, a ‘lock up and leave’ cottage and 3 superb apartments, Italian crafted kitchens, Iintegral appliances, bathrooms with under floor heating, bespoke wardrobes with interior oak shelving and discreet lighting. Reserved parking, waterfront balconies. EPC exempt Prices from £395,000 154

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Savills South Hams Sarah Jane Chick sjchick@savills.com

01548 800 462

Nearby Porthmeor Beach

UNIQUE AND CONTEMPORARY RETREAT IN THE HEART OF ST IVES

ST IVES, CORNWALL

Porthmeor Beach: 150 yds; St Ives railway station: 400 yds; West Cornwall Golf Club: 4; Penzance: 9; Mousehole: 12; Cornwall Airport (Newquay): 40. (Distances are in miles and approximate) Situated in the centre of the most historic and artistic area of St Ives, a stone’s throw from Porthmeor beach and The Tate, yet tucked away out of sight, a chic and versatile three bedroom getaway combining modern finishes with natural materials provides a minimal but warm luxurious seaside feel. 1,646 sq ft. EPC = D Guide £800,000 Freehold

Savills Cornwall Ben Davies bdavies@savills.com

01872 243 200

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COUNTRY HOUSE WITH LAND NEAR SANDY BEACHES EAST PORTLEMOUTH, SOUTH DEVON Character country house n large barn with planning permission n close to Mill Bay’s sandy beach n breathtaking views over valley to Dartmoor n 2 staircases and 7 bedrooms n very flexible accommodation n family home with occasional B&B n further income potential n approximately 11 acres of land n lake n EPC Rating F

Guide Price £1,250,000 Web Ref: PWC170007

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Contact our Prime Waterfront & Country House Department on 01548 855590 Kingsbridge Office 01548 857588

STUNNING GRADE II LISTED PERIOD FARMHOUSE DITTISHAM, SOUTH DEVON Traditional farmhouse dating from early 17th century n distant sea views n set in delightful gardens and grounds of approximately 2 acres n sympathetically renovated n retains many period features n 3 large reception rooms n beautiful countryside views n ample parking n no EPC required

Guide Price £1,000,000 Web Ref: DAR170044

Contact our Prime Waterfront & Country House Department on 01548 855590 Dartmouth office 01803 839190

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property

Snapshot comparative A selection of properties in close proximity to pubs in the South West and London.

Cedarwood, Flushing Guide price: £1,000,000

Cornwall

Situated in the waterside village of Flushing, across the river from Falmouth, Cedarwood is an architecturally designed, modern eco-home. Completed in 2015, the property boasts panoramic river views and a triple-aspect open-plan kitchen/ living area with a built-in woodburner and sliding doors leading onto the balcony. It has four bedrooms; two with en suites and three with river views. The Royal Standard and The Seven Stars pubs are a short walk from the property. savills.com

Dipford House, Taunton Guide price: £1,100,000

Somerset

Dipford House is a six-bedroom property, originally built in 1848, and set in 1.5 acres of land in south- and west-facing gardens. It has undergone many renovations over the last 20 years but still maintains many original features, including high ceilings, ornate cornicing and large windows overlooking the surrounding countryside, with views towards the Blackdown Hills and Wellington Monument. The Holman Clavel Inn is in nearby Taunton. struttandparker.com

Chyvogue, Perranwell Station, Truro Guide price: £950,000

Cornwall

Chyvogue is a four-bedroom former farmhouse, dating from around 1906. The property is set in three acres of land and has a heated outdoor pool, a tennis court, a paddock and a double garage. The property includes an entrance hallway with tessellated tiles, a kitchen/breakfast room, a sitting room with feature fireplace, a converted attic, a snug, a study/dining room and a garden room opening to a sun terrace. The Royal Oak pub is in Perranwell Station close by. rohrsandrowe.co.uk

Town Hall Chambers, Borough High Street Guide price: £699,000

London

This top floor, one-bedroom apartment sits within a Grade II listed building, neighbouring London Bridge and Borough Market. Tastefully decorated, the open-plan kitchen and living area offers plenty of natural light and character.

Boasting views of The Shard, the property is close to a number of pubs, restaurants and bars, and is in walking distance to the business centres in the City and London Bridge. The Trinity is just along the road from the property. savills.com

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back page prize draw

a four-night stay for two in this gorgeous Cornish cottage

PHOTOS: COURTESY OF UNIQUE HOME STAYS

Libertine is a luxury self-catering cottage close to Perranporth beach and Goonhavern on the North Cornwall coast.

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wonderfully secluded and stylish retreat for sea-lovers and surfers, the cottage is sublimely positioned amid pretty woodland and within easy reach of some of Cornwall’s most spectacular beaches and finest surf breaks.

Unique Home Stays, in association with MANOR, is offering one lucky reader and their companion a mid-week four-night stay, or a long weekend stay of three nights, in this beautifully designed hideaway.

To discover more about Libertine, go to libertine.uniquehomestays.com

HOW TO ENTER Simply go to manormagazine.co.uk/backpagecompetition

This Back Page MANOR Prize Draw closes at midnight on 28 July 2017 and the winner will be informed on Monday 31 July 2017 via email. The property is taken on a self-catered basis with local catering contacts available on request (at additional cost). One large or two medium-sized dogs are welcome. The stay would need to be booked within one month of the competition end date and take place within one year of this date, avoiding peak seasons. A damages deposit of £250 will be required of the prize winner, to be fully refunded within four working days of the end of the holiday in accordance with Unique Home Stays’ standard terms and conditions. Full terms and conditions of the Prize Draw can be found at manormagazine.co.uk/backpagecompetition For Unique Home Stays booking terms and conditions, go to uniquehomestays.com/terms-conditions.asp

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For all things Porsche.

Breathtaking design, innovative engineering and a virtually limitless number of options to choose from. Contact us about the Porsche range.

To register your interest in the new Panamera Sport Turismo, please email sport.turismo@porscheexeter.co.uk or call us on 01392 822 800.

Porsche Centre Exeter Matford Park Road Exeter EX2 8FD info@porscheexeter.co.uk www.porscheexeter.co.uk

Fuel consumption for Panamera Turbo Sport Turismo: Urban in l/100 km (mpg) 13.1 – 12.9 (21.6 – 21.9); Extra-urban in l/100 km (mpg) 7.4 – 7.3 (38.2 – 38.7); Combined in l/100 km (mpg) 9.5 – 9.4 (29.7 – 30.1); CO2 emissions in g/km 217 – 215.

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87 Queen Street, Exeter, EX4 3RP, Tel 01392 279994, Email websales@mortimersjewellers.co.uk

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