30.11.14
Making magic Capturing Christmas at the National Trust
PLUS: INSIDE: + CAKE GOES CLASSY + 23 FASHION LOOKS
+ 10 FESTIVE
HEALTH TIPS + INDUSTRIAL
INTERIORS
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Starting Thursday 20th November until Christmas.
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‘Eat until you’re satisfied, not stuffed. Savour holiday treats.’ Wellbeing, page 32
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[contents[
FESTIVE PHOTOS Behind the scenes at this year’s National Trust Christmas shoot
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THE HOTLIST From the Magic of M otown to great days out...
INDUSTRIAL AGE CHIC An engine house is reinvented
Inside this week... 6
THE WISHLIST What to buy, where to go
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WHAT’S ON
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MODERN MANORS
Our pick of the best events in the West Kishanda F on turning the air blue
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THE HAPPY LIST
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Reasons to be cheerful this week
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ART OF GLASS Creating crystal wonderlands
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FESTIVE PHOTOGRAPHY How Killerton’s Christmas shoot came together
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BEAUTY
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TASSELS How to wear them this season
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STAY CLASSY Kate Shirazi gets all grown-up for Christmas
THE WISHLIST
Our top purchasing picks for the week
Indulge yourself treats and gift ideas
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IT’S PARTY TIME But you can stay healthy - here’s how...
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FESTIVE FUZZIES The perfect Christmas jumper, sorted
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MEZZE AND MORE Catherine Barnes tries Greek gastronomy
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TIM MADDAMS
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THERE’S A BEER FOR THAT
Our culinary expert slaughters a pig West’s ale man on the beer renaissance
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TECHNOLOGY Round the clock otter-watching... aah!
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MAN & BOY Phil, James and that new car smell 3
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dry, though. We went into this business to create a lifestyle company that would allow us time with our families, and it has worked. Since we launched, Helen has had another baby, Jasper, now five and I’ve had Sarah and Reya. We now have nine people working with us, all are working part-time from home and fitting us in around their families. Our ethos is based on trust. As long as everyone works five hours a day, we’re happy. It means we can have some really talented people, such as our international sales director Sarah, who speaks four languages but wants to be with her children. Today, we sell around 40,000 Cuddledry baby towels a year, half of them overseas. They are a great present for new parents – helpful, reassuring and affordable. We’ve also diversified into toddler towels and we have a great little turban towel which is perfect for children coming out of the swimming pool with wet hair. All the kids in our swimming club have them – and I honestly didn’t give the parents the hard sell! For more details and to buy online visit www. cuddledry.com
Jodine Boothby Teething troubles inspired inventive former Tamar Foods worker Jodine Boothby’s innovation, Gummee Glove - a baby mitt which soothes sore gums. Jodine, 35, lives in Calstock, south east Cornwall, with husband Stephen, 37, daughter Charlotte, 22 months and niece Abbie, 14. When my son Jimmy - now three and a half started teething, I bought an abundance of teething toys, but became frustrated as he as the stand looked fairly amateurish! couldn’t hold onto any of them. One day, I saw I generated lots of Facebook recommendahe was sucking and chewing his scratch mitts. I things went on from there. Gummee decided to shop for a teething mitten. But there tions and Gloves are now sold by Ocado and Amazon and was no such thing. I couldn’t believe they didn’t are in Lloyds Pharmacies in Ireland, independexist - it was such a simple idea. online outlets. I have distributors I approached various different UK companies ent shops and Spain, South Korea and queries to help me get started designing and developing in Australia, coming in from around the world. one, but was quoted over £50,000 and I couldn’t I now have five employees and ideas for at afford it. So I designed the product and packfour or five products. In April, I aging myself and contacted manufacturers in least another anti-scratch mitts, which secure with China. I sent them sketches and a confidential- launched they stay on and also have a textured ity agreement I’d found on the internet for them Velcro so silicon to chew on. An Australian researcher to sign. It cost around £1,000 to develop the prodhas been trialling them with special needs uct and in February 2012, I was sent 12 protothey’ve been shown to result in sigtypes in the post. It was pretty overwhelming – I babies and nificant improvements in manual skills. The couldn’t believe I had them in my hand. NHS is now looking at them, and they can also Friends and family helped test them and lent hold utensils such as a spoon or to modified be shipfirst my close to £20,000 to manufacture my fork and may be adapted for use by adults with ment. My biggest fear was not being able to pay disabilities. them back – it was risking a heck of a lot. Then learning If I’d taken the professional advice I was given, I took an £80 stand at a mother and baby fair have afforded to get off the ground. to showcase the Gummee Glove, taking orders I couldn’t been someone who’s really imfrom about four shops. The next event was a But I’ve always is no bad thing, it seems. big fair at the Birmingham NEC and I sold 144 patient - which Visit www.gummeeglove.co.uk to buy online Gummee Gloves, which was pretty impressive,
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‘I couldn’t believe they didn’t exist, as it was such a simple idea’
WONDERLANDS
One Devon woman gets creative in minature
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People company. We refused. Much as the money and advice would have been useful, we were confident we could make a go of it ourselves. On TV, I came unstuck with some of the projected financial details – but that’s because you are not allowed to take any paperwork or figures in with you. It was great publicity for Cuddle-
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[ Feeling festive? If you’re anything like us, then Christmas hasn’t really been on the radar quite yet. But with the first doors on the Advent calendars to be opened tomorrow, it’s time. And if you think you’ve got a lot of decorating to do, spare a thought for the (mostly voluntary) National Trust team at Killerton House in Exeter, who not only have to decorate a whole 18th century mansion but also have to dress up as characters from The Nutcracker. The encouraging thing is, they seemed to have had a lot of fun doing so and the pictures are enough to making anyone feel Christmassy. Find out more on page 18 today. We’ve also got a lovely cake to make by our star baker Kate Shirazi today (page 33). It’s
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Tweet
of the week @OI_Kate_Devon @GummeeGlove Lovely to see you smiling out at me from my @WMNonSunday :)
festive but really rather classy, we think you’ll agree. And if interiors are your thing, check out Sarah Pitt’s remarkable story on page 28 today about a couple who have turned a traditional Cornish engine house into a cosy family home. In other news, our columnist Kishanda Fulford despairs of her children’s bad language on page nine if you’ve seen them on BBC’s Life is Toff you’ll have an inkling of what she’s up against - and we have some gorgeous gardem ideas for the winter season from Radio 4’s Anne Swithinbank on pages 24-25. Next week, we’ll be showcasing our bumper Christmas gift guide see you then!
In other news, our columnist Kishanda despairs of her children’s bad language...
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Becky Sheaves, Editor
CONTACT: westmag@westernmorningnews.co.uk Tel: 01392 442250 Twitter @wmnwest
COVER IMAGE: Steve Haywood
MEET THE TEAM Becky Sheaves, Editor
Sarah Pitt
Kathryn Clarke-McLeod
Catherine Barnes
Phil Goodwin
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If you buy one thing this week...
This Alpine Advent Calendar, handmade by the team working for British designer Jan Constantine, has a pocket for putting in a treat for your children to extract on each of the 24 days in the run up to Christmas. At ÂŁ135 it is a little bit more of an investment than the cardboard variety, but you can reuse it year after year! Visit www. janconstantine.com
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WHERE IN THE WORLD? Gold-coloured world map £250 , Bold and Noble www. etsy.com
The wish List West’s top picks for spending your time and money this week
wooooooooo!
Boutique of the Week The Distinguished, Plymouth Owner Wai Goodhew set up this quirky boutique in the historic Barbican offering gifts with a young vibe. There’s plenty here to tempt both online and in person, with prices starting at an affordable £2 for a wooden whale brooch. Look out for bright folk blankets from Lithuanian designer JJ Textile and cheery Fair Isle Ulster Weavers knitted cafetiere cosies. The Distinguished is at 11 Southside St, the Barbican, Plymouth, www. thedistinguished.mysupadupa.com, 01752 253108
Let off steam with Mason & Cash pie blackbird £5, www.burlanesonline.com
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Wishlist
Me-ow
Sass and Bell cat coasters
£6.45 for the set from The Distinguished, Plymouth, see Boutique of the Week, opposite
Finnish design brand Marimekko’s Hauki ovengloves (hauki means pike in Finnish, btw!) £19 www.cloudberryliving.co.uk
FIT FOR A WAG Handmade washbag
£45, from Newlyn-based www.poppytreffry.co.uk
IT’S CAPITAL! Keep your post in order with this striking London skyline letter rack £20 www.redcandy.co.uk
Get in a lather with soaps made from local ingredients, from the Dartmoor Soap Company £3.95 each, www.dartmoorsoapcompany.co.uk
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Shopping
Christmas tree decoration £1
Mother and baby polar bear decorations £10 for the pair
Poundland
www.thewhitecompany.com
Jewel decorations £1 a pair Poundland
Special edition
The wish List West’s top picks for decorating your home this Christmas
Handmade decorations from maker Jan Constantine £28 each www. janconstantine. com
Pomander decoration £15 www. thewhitecompany.com
Reindeer tree decorations that you can eat £39.50 for a tin of 16 www.biscuiteers.com
fave!
This kit has all you need to make pipecleaner Christmas decorations
£2.95 www. dotcomgiftshop.com
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My life
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MODERN MANORS
Like a trooper Kishanda Fulford on the art of bad language
wearing? Most of the young, brought up on texting, now swear in acronyms. A journalist recently reported she told her mother the acronym ‘WTF’ stood for ‘We look forward to Friday’. I suspect this poor woman now goes around saying it all the time in her local village because it is ‘cool’! So, incidentally, might my husband, who is also not up to speed on texting acronyms. The one acronym I don’t object to is ‘OMG’, (‘Oh my God’.) For years I drummed into my children that saying ‘Oh My God’, was not acceptable, and the phrase ‘Blimey’ (blind me) was even less so. But the result of my efforts is that my family swears like troopers and use the ‘F’ word liberally. Well, as it happens my husband Francis was, genuinely, a ‘trooper’, and so is my second son Humphrey – so they are allowed to be ‘troopers’. The others have just followed the trooper tradition! My late father and his friends would have bets on how often my husband would say ‘XXXX pigs’, in a round of golf. And once, when Francis was giving a speech, he was told afterwards that there had been a sweepstake on how soon he would mention the ‘F’ word – when he finally did let one rip, after ten minutes, there was an enormous cheer. I was once interviewed for some silly television programme about a word beginning with ‘C’ (and it was not ‘cat’). Why, the interviewer asked me, would I object to the use of this particular word? I argued that if someone called you a ‘cat’, then you could reasonably expect the person who addressed this word to you, to be using it not as a term of endearment. It is a word though, I am sure, that is as often used by some, as I might
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say ‘laundry’? And, sometimes, the word is used without any offence meant – it is simply part of the Anglo-Saxon language. Swearing is susceptible to changes in fashion. The use of the ‘c’ word was considered part of the rich tapestry of the English language until the end of the eighteenth century when, for no discernable reason, it became taboo. The French, in the 14th century, were horrified by the profanity of the English soldiers whom they called the ‘Goddams’ after their favourite swear word.
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at bath time – trying not to rise to the bait. Recently, a top psychologist, who became interested in swearing when his wife was delivering their second child, commented, ‘The stereotype that those who swear have a low IQ or are inarticulate is wrong. It is rich emotional language.’ He also pointed out that swearing brings on pain relief. I swear if I bang my head or cut my finger. It does help. My husband and family are appearing in a telly programme called ‘Life is Toff’ and some bore bothered to count them swearing approximately 38 times in 30 minutes in the first episode. I asked my neighbour if she had let her children watch ‘Life is Toff’. She said, yes. I looked horrified. How, I asked, did she cope with the fact that my children and husband swore so much on screen? She answered that her children know, if they swear, it is ‘mustard on the tongue’. Just as her mother had done to her. I told my lot to line up! Whereupon my neighbour asked, ‘Do you have enough mustard? I looked at the mustard pot and said, ‘probably not’ and it is too late anyway! PS. I have been told by my son that the acronym, ‘MMM’, stands for ‘My mother is mad’. I think it is time we all thought up an acronym for children that drive us potty.
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Once, when my husband was making a speech, there was a sweepstake as to when he would mention the F word My efforts at trying to restrain my children from using the ‘cat’ word, (learnt elsewhere, I might add), at one point backfired on me. It is, as a child, probably worth the laugh to see what reaction you might get if you do use it. Just a little difference on the vowel can be crucial. This is what I was faced with: ‘I can’t seem to get the toothpaste to squish out’: ‘I can’t find my homework’. All very funny, so they thought. And, it has to be said, I too thought it was funny at the time, as I washed their faces with a warm flannel
Kishanda Fulford lives in Great Fulford, Dunsford, Devon, a property that has been in the Fulford family for 800 years. The Fulfords are currently appearing in the BBC TV series Life is Toff.
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The hotlist: There’s plenty to do right now here in the Westcountry, from West End shows to Santa runs
#1
#2
2. Truro Primestock Show
#3
December 3 Right in the heart of the city on Lemon Quay, this traditional livestock event opens at 9.30 am, with sheep and cattle auctioned at 2.30pm, the Young Handler contest at 6.30pm and a charity produce auction at 8pm. Visit www. truroprimestockshow.co.uk
3. Padstow Santa Run December 7
Magic of Motown Plymouth, December 13 Plymouth Pavilions plays host to this high energy touring show with live performances of 36 chart-topping hits from the world-famous Motown music label. Tickets £23.50, 0845 146 1460
Run for charity with this fundraiser for Cornwall Hospice Care. Adults £10, call 01726 66868
#4
4. Westcountry Equine Fair Exeter December 6-7 Next weekend sees the whole of Westpoint showground transformed into a Christmas horsey wonderland, with hundreds of stalls, showjumping, demos and a stallion parade. Visit www.westcountryequinefair.co.uk for details.
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talking points Busy elves
How to... Users’ guide: 10 Haynes manuals which cover virtually everything.
1 The Baby Manual 2 The Men’s Cooking Manual 3 The Women’s Car DIY Manual Toy chain The Entertainer predicts the most sought-after toys this Christmas
1 L oopy Loom band and braid sets (£15.00) 2 Xeno - animatronic baby monsters (£79.99) 3 The Happy’s Pets interactive furry toys (£20.00)
4 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles figurines (£10.00)
5 Doc McStuffins Doctor Bag Set (£20.00)
4 The Star Wars Death Star Manual 5 The Thomas the Tank Engine Manual 6 The Bike Book 7 The Marvel Vehicles Manual 8 The Supermarine Spitfire Manual 9 The RAF Destroyer Manual 10 The Haynes Owner’s Workshop Manual - one for your own make and model car
6 MiP Interactive Robot (£99.99)
7 My Friend Cayla talking doll (£59.99)
The happy list
8 Zoomer interactive pet (£99.99)
9 Teksta robotic puppy (59.99)
10 Minecraft figurines (£8.00)
Zzzzz Sleep on it: 10 creatures that cosy up and hibernate through winter
1 Polar bears 2 Bats 3 Bumble bees 4 Hedgehogs 5 Snails 6 Dormice 7 Butterflies 8 Garter snakes 9 Box turtles 10 Raccoons
10 things to make you smile this week 1 Sleeping Beauty at Devonport Playhouse now
2 Family visits really soon 3 Ice skating just find a rink 4 Warm coats genuinely needed - at last
5 Jo Pavey our pick for Sports Personality of theYear
6 Advent calendars start tomorrow
7 Christmas markets try Fowey next weekend
8 Mulled wine mmmm... 9 Sheepskin hats, gloves, boots - and rugs.
10 Seed packets for dreams...
Gillian Molesworth
Story of my life... Between a rock and a new place went down to the Plymouth Barbican the other day, which has begun the countdown to a momentous event: the launching of the Mayflower, which brought the Pilgrim Fathers to the New World. November 2020 will mark 400 years. I stood at the small balcony near where they launched and gazed leaked. into the water, trying to imagine According to William Bradwhat it would have been like. ford’s account, a man called John Plymouth was a major port Howlands was “thrown into the in the 1600s, with people from sea; but it pleased God that he all strata of society. There were caught hold of the topsail halgentlemen and prosperous meryards, which hung overboard; chants, and seasoned sailors. It he held his hold (though he was would have been colourful and sundry fathoms under water) till noisy. he was hauled up by the same Plymouth was also a goodtime rope to the brim of the water, and town. Maybe sailors jeered at the then with a boat hook got into the prim black-garbed ship again”. Puritans, who felt At last they arso out of step with rived, weak and I stood at the England’s louche weary, at the small balcony standards that shores of Cape they were taking Cod. They had near where this rather dramatwanted to go the Puritans ic journey. south, but: “they The Mayflower fell amongst danlaunched and was a 100-ish foot gerous shoals and imagined what square rigger, with roaring breakers, Plymouth would high, castle-like [so] they resolved structures fore and to bear up again have been like aft. This would profor the Cape.” tect her crew and So Massachuthe 102 passengers setts it was, and from the worst of the elements, the next day they were able to put but it did make her a pig to sail their feet on terra firma in the against the wind. great sheltered bay of Cape Cod. The trip started out well with Legend has it William Bradford a following wind. Things got ugly fell on his knees and dubbed a midway, with fierce storms folboulder “Plymouth Rock”. lowed by persistent westerlies. I’ve always found that rather One of the main beams amidships funny. If you’d just sailed leagues, cracked, sparking arguments faced death, and had discovered among the officers of whether to an utterly foreign place, would turn back. A few people died and you name the first rock you saw one of the three pregnant women after the port you’d just left? on board gave birth (can you imAh well, it makes for twinning agine?). Everyone got seasick, bonhomie when it comes to annithe food ran short and the boat versaries.
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Gillian Molesworth is a journalist and mum-of-two who grew up in the USA and moved to north Cornwall when she met her husband 11
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Ho ho ho: Santa arrives by lifeboat to switch on St Ives Christmas lights
in pictures Famous face: TV’s Angela Rippon opened Green Tree Court, a state of the art new dementia care home in Exeter
Butter wouldn’t melt: Faith and Riah were angels at the All Aboard Preschool Nativity, Plymouth
Homegrown queen: Plymouth’s Shelby Tribble has been crowned Miss Great Britain
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Promotion GC Techno Class watch Drakes Fine Jewellers £475
Bomber Superdry £224.99
Hi-shine brogues Next £55
Pug socks Primark £2
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EXPLORE
Drake Circus For the men in your life this Christmas
uying presents for the men in your life can be tough going. All too often the response to “What do you want for Christmas?” is a shrug. But never fear, this year, Drake Circus is here to help with top name brands such as M&S, Next, Sunglass Hut, Superdry, Drakes Jewellers and a pop-up Jack Wills store all under one roof. There are some fantastic gifts for men available in the Plymouth shopping centre. So this year, rest easy - the boys are sorted.
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For the stylish man From jeans to jackets, the fashionable man will love the finger-on-the-pulse fashions at Drake Circus. This lumberjack shirt from Superdry is perfect for country walks after a big Christmas lunch. Or why not give him a snuggly scarf this Christmas to keep him warm and add a touch of style to his outerwear?
Cool leather Leather is effortlessly cool and never goes out of style. Treat someone special to some gorgeous leather driving gloves from M&S or a fashionable leather bomber jacket perfect for that city to country look.
For the adventurer From surfing in the summer to snow boarding in the winter, Drake Circus have the perfect gifts for active men looking for their next thrill. Oakley sunglasses are perfect on a mountain during winter sports or on a beach before surfing.
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Leather gloves M&S £25
For the joker Drake Circus is the perfect place to find a gift for the man who loves a joke. Give him something he really wants this Christmas: fun! Be it a gruesome Christmas jumper or some novelty socks, Drake Circus is your one-stop destination to find the gift that will raise a smile.
Sweater M&S £119
For the man who has everything With top name brands in over 70 stores, Drake Circus is the ideal place to find the perfect gift for the man who has everything. This lavender jumper, from the M&S Collezione range, is perfect for winter and twinned with these Next brogues that sport a stylish navy blue twist, you will be sure to delight. Or how about some lovely aftershave? If you fancy splashing out, why not treat him to a gorgeous timepiece from Drakes Jewellers? We love this GC Techno Class watch and he will too.
Oakley Canteen Sunglass Hut £180
Still can’t decide? Treat him to the gift of choice. The Drake Circus Gift Card is redeemable in up to 70 top brand stores, meaning that he will be sure to find something he will love this Christmas. You can buy a Drake Circus gift card from the customer services desks - one is situated on the food court opposite the cash machines and the other is opposite M&S on the lower mall. Alternatively, you can simply order the Drake Circus Gift Card at www.drakecircus.com/giftcard
Lumberjack shirt Superdry £44.99 13
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Interview
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JENNY AYRTON
Art of glass
Sarah Pitt meets the creative Devon woman whose winter wonderlands shimmer with possibility
By Sarah Pitt
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t was a washing line of clothes drying in the breeze, glimpsed from a railway carriage window, which
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lowed in sand. The effects coming out had something magical about them, the glass textured as though shaped by the forces of nature, a storm or a fast-flowing river. But Jenny knew the glass needed something more, but she didn’t know quite what. “Then I was on the train going to my parents’ house in Tavistock, and I saw all the washing lines blowing out the back of the terraced houses in Plymouth,” she says. “I thought ‘that’s it’. I went back and cut out some clothes from metal mesh and made a wash-
‘Everyone smiled when they saw it. It got such a response that I knew I was onto something’
sparked the idea for Jenny Ayrton’s very first winter wonderland. At the time, just starting out as a student at Plymouth College of Art, Jenny was experimenting with sand casting, pouring molten glass into simple moulds hol-
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ing line from wire.” Back in the glass studio at the art college, Jenny half-filled a mould with molten glass then used tweezers to carefully place the washing line and clothes in a little scene. She had to work quickly, because the second layer of glass has to be poured on before the first had a chance to cool off. Next, she put her work into a special kiln to allow it to cool down very slowly from its molten temperature of 1,110C, a process called annealing which prevents the piece from cracking. The moment of truth came when Jenny took the cast from the machine and revealed her
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IMAGES FROM CLOCKWISE: CLASH & CLASH, STEVE HAYWOOD
shimmering scene caught within glass. “Everyone smiled when they saw it,” she says. “It got such a response that I knew I was on to something.” At the time Jenny was a newbie to the world of glass art, a part-time student in her first year at the college. She’d enrolled after her first career as a yachtswoman hit the buffers when a routine medical revealed she was colour blind. “That was a real blow,” she says. As a mature student – at the great age of 25 – going back college was a leap of faith, based on her memories of enjoying art at school. At the time she had just got engaged to Rob,
now her husband, who is in the Navy, and they were living at Plympton near Plymouth. “One day, we were walking through town and I mentioned how much I wanted to go back to college and do something creative,” she says. “The next thing I knew I was sitting in the cafe over the road from the art college, filling in the application form. Rob said he would support me.” She also supported herself with a part-time job throughout her time at the art college, where it took a little while to find her niche. “The majority of people who have access to hot glass are glass blowers,” she says. “I started out at college thinking that I wanted to blow glass,
but I found that I didn’t fit in. It was quite a feisty environment, and there was a constant audience of people telling you what you were doing right or wrong. It wasn’t for me. “I tried jewellery making and I tried ceramics, but nothing ever seemed to click. Then I discovered sand casting.” Sand casting is a technique that every glass student learns, but is often seen more as a stepping stone. With help of her tutor Amy Whittingham – whose own creations include impressive glass skulls – Jenny started exploring the possibilities. Sand-cast glass appealed to her, partly, because it was less complicated than other forms 15
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Interview
of casting. And, with that first piece with the washing lines, she struck gold. “Almost immediately after making it, on the Friday afternoon that week, I had a phone call to say that the principal of the art college was retiring, and that she wanted to commission 20 pieces of my work to give to people to mark the occasion. So I suddenly had a lot of work to do!” A few years on and Jenny, now the mother of a two-year-old daughter, Erin, has made a thriving business around her ‘winter wonderlands’. Their creation involves two stages. There’s the peaceful bit, where she sits in front of the TV making the wire models, be they swings, washing lines, boats, streetlights or houses. Then there’s the hot glass part at Teign Valley Glass near Bovey Tracey, a 20 minute drive down the road, where Lisa works with founder Richard Glass in an intense day-long session making a batch of her pieces. “It is such a different way to spend a day, a long hard day of heat, anxiety and adrenalin,” she says. “Richard does the hot glass pouring. There’s a big pot of molten glass that is heated up and kept running all day. He then uses a ball iron on the end of a long metal pole to pour the glass in. I 16
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Find out more about Jenny Ayrton’s glass art, and see a full list of Westcountry galleries stocking her work, at www.jennyayrton.co.uk. Prices range from £280-£380.
Flexible working Jenny Ayrton juggles what sounds from the outside like a risky combination, a career in hot glass and being mum to a toddler. Jenny was this year one of 38 artists nationwide selected to take part in a hot house mentoring scheme, run by the Craft Council to help artists with the practical side of making a living from their creativity. “When I went for the interview, I thought that if they knew I was a mum to a one year old, then they’d be put off straight away. But then I managed to mention Erin in the first sentence! “My inspirations have certainly changed since Erin has come along. My piece with the playground, for instance, was inspired by going to the swings with her when she was six months old.”
images from clockwise: jamie house, Steve Haywood, Tas kyprianou
have to work very quickly to put my model in place. Next, we pour the molten glass over the top to seal the scene in its ice-like surroundings. “The quicker you work, the more likely you are to have success,” she says. “Glass is a feisty material and it is susceptible to cracking if you put the second layer on too slowly.” Being a glass maker is about living with uncertainty. Sometimes pieces don’t work, although Jenny has yet to experience the dramatic failure of a loud bang inside the kiln. She never knows quite, though, what a piece of work will look like after it has cooled and the kiln door is opened. “I like doing them because they constantly surprise me with the way they come out,” she says. “Quite often when I’m casting, it is the pieces which I think have failed that come out the best.”
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People
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BEHIND THE SCENES
Making magic
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The enchanting story of Clara and the nutcracker prince is one of the best-loved children’s ballets. Taking this enduring classic as inspiration, Killerton House near Exeter has been transformed for the Christmas season. Here, we hear from three of the main players to see how it was done.
How they did it
pher got the How the photogra ine like sh Christmas tree to of the day. e dl id magic, in the m
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The Sugar Plum Fairy
Meet Lisa Arnold, a teacher from Otte dance ry St Mary.
The Toy S oldi er
stralia for EJ Scott is over from Au stache ou m rly the year. His cu fit. ct rfe pe e made him th
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The house manager Bryony Wilde is visitor services officer at Killerton, responsible for encouraging people to come to the 18th century stately home over the Christmas season Bryony says: We are determined to make Christmas a really exciting time to visit Killerton. In fact, it takes us a full year to put our festive plans into place. This year, we decided to go for the lovely Russian tale of the Nutcracker, inspired by the original Tchaikovsky ballet. The whole house is decorated for Christmas by a huge team of volunteers – around 50 people help us out every year. We even have a group of volunteers who come here from all over the country for a special week’s holiday in November, devoted to making Killerton Christmassy. It’s great fun and the atmosphere is really special. Not only is the whole house decorated, our shop is filled with gifts for shoppers and we sell hundreds of Christmas trees. This year, we also wanted to encourage visitors to wrap up warmly and explore the grounds here, so we have created a family trail of outdoor games right up through the 15 acre gardens, ending at the pretty little family chapel here, where lots of local organisations such as the village school and the Women’s Institute have decorated Christmas trees. To tell everyone what is going on, we commission a major photo shoot for Killerton’s Christmas. What with snow machines, smoke machines, ballerinas and giant Christmas trees – not to mention huge mice – it is a mad day. But the end results are worth it, as you can see! Visit www.nationaltrust.org.uk for details 20
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People
The ballerina Lisa Arnold is a dance teacher at The King’s School, Ottery St Mary. But for the day of the Killerton photo shoot she became The Sugar Plum Fairy from the Nutcracker ballet. Lisa says: There was a shout out on Facebook – did anyone know a real ballerina to be in the Killerton Christmas photo shoot? I’ve studied ballet from the age of six, so I thought – why not give it a try? I’m 33 now and Head of Expressive Arts at the King’s School, so my days of performing in ballets are few and far between. I had to get myself a new pair of pointe shoes for the shoot and I wore them out in just the one day. I can’t tell you how many times I had to leap in the air for the snow photograph – but what with coordinating the lighting, the snow machine and the weather (it was quite a windy day) it took quite some doing. I was definitely aching the next day. I’ve always loved ballet. I was a shy child but as soon as music came on the radio, I’d be dancing around the room. I grew up in Exeter and my family aren’t into dance at all, but my mum saw that it gave me a chance to express myself, so she took me along to my local ballet school. I did all my ballet exams and then went on to do contemporary dance too. Then I studied at the London Contemporary Dance school for a degree and a post-grad, before qualifying as a teacher. I’ve been back here in Devon teaching dance for six years, and I love it. We do so many performances here at the school, and the pupils get so much out of it. I hope my students have a smile when they see what “Miss” can do.
Brrrr
ed to use The team weren’t allow the the snow machine inside the ross house. So they blew it ac d. tea ins y wa door
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People The photographer Steven Haywood is a freelance photographer who counts the National Trust in the South West as one of his major clients. Here, he explains how the Killerton photographs were created Steven says: I took these pictures using a Nikon D3 with a 50ml lens. They call this lens the “nifty fifty” and it stood me in good stead during this shoot, with good all-round crispness and clarity. It was a huge amount of fun to do. Fortunately Killerton has a permanent costume exhibition and the two costume managers came up with some fantastic ideas for the characters to wear. A chap who works at the house called EJ Scott – he’s over from Australia for a year – had a curly moustache so was perfect for the toy soldier. I made the Mouse King’s head, starting with a Darth Vader mask. Then my mum Joan helped out stitching the furry fabric and we used black Christmas baubles for the eyes. It was quite complicated to light some of the shots. We weren’t allowed to use the snow machine inside the house, so we had to blow it across the doorway. I put flash heads behind the Christmas tree to make it glisten and inside the presents, too. I set up a large soft box to light the characters’
faces, slightly above and to the left, to make them glow. We also used a smoke machine to give texture to the light inside the rooms. Unfortunately, there is no way of turning off the smoke alarms in the house, so everyone had to put up with the alarms ringing during the shoot. Despite all the careful planning and lighting, one of my favourite shots of the day was a happy accident. It was dull, fairly miserable weather all day, then suddenly the sun started streaming in through the window. We quickly cleared the room and Lisa the ballerina posed for the picture. In the 30 seconds that the sun broke through the clouds, we got this really beautiful shot of her by the window, completely naturally lit. See more of Steven Haywood’s work at: sghaywood.wordpress.com
Teamwork
nds of There were just 30 seco me so ks an th t bu sun all day, ve Ste n, tio ac d an quick thinking shot Haywood captured this
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gardens
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fashion
30
beauty
style
33
cake
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Gardens
ANNE SWITHINBANK
Bark and berry Devon’s Anne Swithinbank, panellist on Radio 4’s Gardeners’ Question Time, on ways to get colour and shape into your winter garden was convinced that, after the recent wood), rose hips, medlar in fruit, pittosporum strong winds filled our porch with and holly. If you can’t find much, I suggest some oak leaves, all our deciduous trees winter plant shopping. Too many people only and shrubs would be stripped bare. browse for plants during spring and summer, Yet the leaves have been slow to fall ending up with a November to March deficiency. again this year, an increasingly common trend Good nurseries and garden centres will arrange that stretches autumn right into December. their most tempting seasonal plants at the enAs the nights draw in, leaves begin to die and trance but do ask to be shown some more. become isolated from the rest of the tree by a Autumn brings many exciting fruits and some corky abscission layer at the base of the stalk. of the best are those which split to reveal colourGreen chlorophyll fades first, ful fruit walls with contrasting often revealing other pigments seeds. The euonymus or spinof yellow, orange, purple or dle tribe are good at this and red. some fruits mature late, decoThe timescale of autumn rating bare branches with red Stem colours colouring and leaf drop varies and orange. E.hamiltonianus shine out in from year to year, with soil subsp.sieboldianus ‘Red Elf’ moisture and temperature (sorry about the name!) is the garden having a role to play. Somevery fruitful and some, like now and there times we experience a creE.oxyphyllus make small are plenty of scendo of breathtaking hues trees around 2.5m/8ft high. almost as good as the ‘fall’ colNot all crab apples last the dogwoods and ours in some American states course, including our ‘Golden willows to plant but more often, our mariHornet’, whose fruits are softime climate ensures a slow tening now and disappearing and steady progression. In fast down the gullets of sevour garden, cherries and the eral enormous wood pigeons claret hues of purple-leaved who visit daily. Malus ‘Red smoke bush Cotinus ‘Grace’ Sentinel’, however, will hang have been the stars this year. Soon, the last of onto its fruits well into the new year. Thorns (crathe autumn leaves will be raked up, secured in taegus) are an undervalued group but really good the leaf mould clamp and we’ll be left with evfor fitting into rural gardens and resisting strong ergreens, stem, bark and berry until spring next winds. Try Crataegus persimilis ‘Prunifolia’ for year. golden leaf tints, then wintry twigs strung with Go into your garden now and see what you can persistent, rounded red fruits. pick to fill a vase. In mine, I have Pinus mugo Stem colours shine out in the winter garden (mountain pine), Phormium ‘Alison Blackman’ and there are plenty of dogwoods (notably Cornus (New Zealand flax), Cornus alba ‘Spaethii’ (dog- alba, C.stolonifera and C.sanguinea) and willows
I
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This week’s gardening tips Anne’s advice for your garden
(the orange wands of Salix alba ‘Britzensis’ are a favourite) to plant for stems. Cut them back almost to the ground every March for top quality regrowth. They fade into the background during summer but are so vivid in winter. You can strike the prunings as hardwood cuttings to raise them for free. The only downside is that deer like them. Fortunately, these are easily repelled (as are rabbits) by spraying with a deterrent called ‘Grazers’. It’s an extra job but worth it. Bark is really exciting at this time of the year. For a good winter visit for inspiration, go to Stone Lane Gardens in Chagford (01647 231311
www.stonelanegardens.com) open noon till dusk during winter. You’ll see birches of all kinds, including the northern Chinese red birch Betula albosinensis var.septentrionalis with amazing silvery pink bark. The North American river birch (B.nigra) is pretty amazing too, for its flaky, curling brownish bark. This would be a good solution where soils can be waterlogged. One of my favourites is the Tibetan cherry Prunus serrula, whose shiny mahogany red bark peels in great strips. Your garden should take on a whole new dimension in the winter months.
• Prune roses now in mild but windy areas or at least reduce them by half so they aren’t caught by the wind. Rake up and dispose of rose foliage if they’ve had diseases such as rust, mildew and black spot.
• Prune blackcurrants by cutting out up to a third of the older, darker wood. Take these stems right to the base. Follow with weeding and a mulch over the roots.
• Plant new raspberry canes as long as the soil is not waterlogged. Ideally, put up parallel wires stretched between posts as supports first.
• Pot up amaryllis bulbs so their shoulders are just above the compost. Water in, place on a sunny windowsill and don’t water until compost feels dry.
Raspberries must have well-drained soil.
Question time with Anne West reader queries answered by Anne Swithinbank
Q
I want to plant a screen that is also useful for birds. What do you think about bamboo?
You are right to think about birds because we can put out as much food and water as we like but they also need corridors of trees and shrubs to move in and out, plus roosting and nesting sites. What they really like is a good old thicket. Bamboo makes a lovely screen but the canes sway about with the wind and don’t produce twiggy nooks like, say, a conifer or beech hedge would. A wild mixed hedge would be best but if you are in a more urban area, how about good old fashioned privet? In the old days of privet hedging, there were a lot more sparrows around. Hedges like this encourage aphids and other insects which are great fodder for baby sparrows.
Q
We have an outdoor yucca that has grown too big but we don’t want to lose it. Can I clip it back somehow, or even move it?
Yuccas are as tough as old boots. Clipping would be an ugly solution. In the past, we have successfully moved large yuccas using a mini digger but this might not work with tall plants in windy gardens. Do it now on light soil or leave until spring if soil is heavy and wet. If there are rosettes at the base, you might be able to prise some off with roots attached. Their roots also root form ‘toes’ or chunks of rhizome towards the ends of the roots. Pot them up and they’ll sprout.
Trim pelargoniums back by a good half and bring them in to a frost free place such as a porch or greenhouse for the winter. They withstand short spells wrapped in fleece in a shed during extremely cold periods.
Make sure
Send your questions to Anne at westmag@ westernmorningnews.co.uk
outdoor pots are not standing in saucers, as they’ll fill with rain causing waterlogging and cracking of clay pots in frosty weather. 25
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Mine, all mine... Sarah Pitt discovers how a dilapidated 1850s mine engine house in Cornwall became an unusual, but comfortable, home here are hundreds of engine houses still standing in Cornwall, relics of the days when the county had a thriving tin and copper mining industry. It is, though, rare to find one that has been converted into a house. But doing just that has been a labour of love for one couple, who bought this roofless, windowless engine house at Wheal Rose, Scorrier, near Redruth, some 20 years ago – and transformed it into a comfortable home with panoramic views from its top floors. Steve Eagle and his wife June hail
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from Diss in Norfolk, but they have always had strong links with the county. “We have had umpteen holidays in Cornwall over the past 40 years,” says Steve. “I work in the construction industry, and when I first went to the old mining areas in Cornwall and saw the old engine houses, I thought, ‘you could turn one of these into a home’. “We were down there again a few years later, and saw this one for sale, at Wheal Rose. I thought about buying it, but couldn’t for one reason or another. Then, a couple of years later, it was on the market again.” The Eagles arranged a viewing. “I
was amazed to find, close up, that the buildings weren’t as dilapidated as they appeared from a distance,” says Steve. “The structure was fundamentally sound.” That was back in 1992, and over the past 20 years the Eagles have restored the building into a home for themselves, and converted outbuildings into two holiday cottages. Because the engine house is Grade II listed, the conversion has involved working closely with a conservation officer from the local council. “We were quite lucky in that we found a conservation officer we got on with,” says Steve. “You often hear of
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Interiors The former Cornish mine engine house has now become a unique home.
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Interiors
people who are virtually at war with their conservation officer, but the reverse was true here - we wanted to rebuild it authentically.” Steve is a member of the Trevithick Society, which champions Cornwall’s industrial heritage. Inspiration came from visting restored engine houses around the county. Steve used the same burgundy and yellowy-cream paints used at a National Trust restored engine house at nearby Pool. He also added a lean-to to the ground floor. This satisfied both the demands of authenticity – these spaces would have housed a boiler room – and created a cosy open plan living room, dining room and sitting room. Before Steve and June did anything with the interior, though, they first had to get a roof on.
“We had a caravan on the site in the early days and once we’d got the ground floor of the engine house finished, we lived in that and started work on the floors above,” Steve says. “It took us eight years to get it all done. It sounds rather grand to
call it a hobby, but that is what the restoration has been for us really,” says Steve. “We have enjoyed driving backwards and forwards to Cornwall, doing what we can each time.” When it comes to the interior, the beams have been left exposed and the walls are simply painted rather than plastered, so that the original character of the building is maintained. Engine houses vary in size, and this one is a relatively small one, with just one room on each floor. There are bedrooms on the first, second and third floors, while the top floor is a sitting room with spectacular views. This room has a balcony where the beam which bore the weight of the “bobber” crushing the ore brought out of the mine would once have been. “The top room is breath-taking,” says Steve. “The open plan room downstairs is very functional and comfortable, then we go up to the top of the house and give ourselves a treat.” Steve and June have enjoyed holidaying here for years, but are now selling up as they prepare to retire. “We we will always be proud of what we’ve achieved here,” says Steve. The property is on the market with Humberts, Truro at £400,000 (01872 278888) with two holiday cottages available for a further £299,000.
STYLE TIP: The paint colours of burgundy and
yellowy-cream were used by the National Trust in similar restoration projects nearby
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Shopping
GET THE
LOOK
Simple chic with this Monty armchair, made in Britain £795, www.loaf.com
The pared-back Victorian industrial look works well in restored heritage buildings Mr & Mrs Smith paint in Hanoi Lacquer £33, www.colourandpaint.com
Channel the Victorian vibe with this kitchen station £395, www. alisonathome.com Mr & Mrs Smith paint in Keralan Spice £33, www.colourandpaint.com
Cornishware mugs £10-£15 each according to size, from www.cornishware.co.uk 29
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Beauty
Tried
& tested
SMOOTH... Resurf.a.stic contains medicalgrade diamond-shape crystals and bio-active hydrating moisturiser to eliminate dead skins cells, rehydrate skin and minimise the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. £44 from www.resurfastic.org
We check out the best beauty products of the week, as selected by West magazine’s Catherine Barnes, with help from daughter Tilly, 17.
Red letter days
Happy ever after Here’s a gift idea for girls who love their beauty sleep; a gorgeous box of soothing cosmetic delights, plus eye shades and ear plugs! Sleeping Beauty Collection, £39, www.andreagarland.co.uk
Who can resist these festive reds from natural beauty brand Benecos? Cherry Red polish and Marry Me lipstick, both £6.50 each at www.benecos. co.uk
Makeup artist and beauty consultant Abi Scott has these tips for achieving a hot, red lip. *Outline your lips with a very sharp liner, the same colour as your lipstick - smile a little so the lips are tight and the liner goes on easier. *Fill in the lips using the side of the liner, then take a lip brush and apply the lipstick with precision. *If you make a mistake, take a little concealer on a small lip brush and ‘erase’ or use a cotton bud to wipe off the smudge using a rolling action. www.abiscottmakeup. co.uk
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the review ALL THAT GLISTERS... You’ve begun wrapping the gifts - now wrap your nails with these easy to apply decorative embellishments . Kits cost £30 and you can find them at www.izbeauty.co.uk
This week we try:
Hanakasumi massage The massage that also promises to exfoliate your skin is trialled by Catherine Barnes anakasumi? I hadn’t heard essential oils are the scents of things to of it either, but it sounded come. heavenly; a one-and-a-quarI lay face-down at first and Alice apter-hour-long massage that plied the exfoliator in sweeping strokes, promises not only to leave before I wriggle over onto my back and you feeling relaxed, but to exfoliate your it’s smoothed onto my legs, upper chest, skin from collarbone to toe. arms and (slightly ticklish) tummy. Next Developed by Sothys, the French beauty comes the foot massage – and despite a company which specialises in salon treatpanic about the hideous state of my toements and products, Hanakasumi is a nails (poor Alice!), it’s impossible not to four-step process aimed to leave you with switch off and enjoy. softer skin and a smile on your face. I’d been looking forward to the scrub Alice Burbidge at Visage in Tavistock bit; plagued with ingrowing hairs that offers the treatment to Westcountry inonly seem to get worse in winter tights dulgence-seekers and revealed what was season. Although I shower with a salt and in store, as I (rightly) assugar scrub once a week, sumed I’d be too blissed it’s not quite the same as out to take mental note someone else setting to, once it got underway. although at the last place The treatment It begins with a I had an exfoliating treatslathering of a warm ment, it was disappointroom smells rice-powder-based exingly lacklustre. Alice amazing foliating lotion, which donned exfoliating gloves takes around 20 minutes began working in and cherry blossom to become dry. While it brushing away the rice and lotus oil are does, you’ll enjoy a 20 powder scrub with a satisscents of things minute foot massage, fying briskness, sloughing before the exfoliator is off dead skin cells to leave to come buffed off. The final step my skin tingling. Proper is a toe-to-top massage job! with a warm shea butter The final step was the infused with Asian esshea-butter, massaged sences. The treatment room already into buffed skin to leave it silky-soft to the smells amazing; cherry blossom and lotus touch. Utterly relaxing and yes, you’ve guessed, I was in a state of semi-consciousness by the end. A super indulgeyourself treatment or you-deserve-it for a friend, it goes without saying that Alice is in huge demand at this busy salon. But mindful of those of us who work a nine to five or later, Visage is open until seven on Thursdays and Fridays and can also accommodate you by appointment. Skates on, girls!
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The big freeze How can we let this cute kit go without a mention? Disney Frozen beauty case set £9.99 at lloydspharmacy. com
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Hanakasumi massage £45, Visage Aesthetics, Duke Street, Tavistock 01822 614797, www.aestheticsandbeauty.co.uk Want a review? Send your request to westmag@westernmorningnews.co.uk 31
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Wellbeing
Festive fixes The Christmas party season has begun - time to dress up, drink champagne and dance the night away. But don’t let those late nights, tipples and tasty canapes leave you feeling the worse for wear. Matron Kate Hoffmann, of Spire’s The Glen Hospital in Bristol, has some top tips to help you stay in tip top shape. Exercise
Eat well
Exercise helps relieve holiday stress and prevent It’s easy to get carried away but don’t replace weight gain. A moderate and daily increase in vegetables, fruits and whole grains with junk. exercise can help partially Brussel sprouts contain lots of offset increased holiday eating. vitamins and antioxidants! Try 10 or 15-minute brisk walks twice a day, or make the most of Control your portions Before leaving opportunities to dance off the Eat until you are satisfied, not for a party, extra calories. stuffed. Consider adopting the eat a healthy 80:20 method of eating well – snack like raw Don’t skip meals. choosing healthy foods 80 per Before leaving for a party, cent of the time, and whatever vegetables or eat a healthy snack like raw you fancy the other 20 per cent. a piece of fruit vegetables or a piece of fruit to to curb your curb your appetite. You will be Curb your drinking less tempted to eat/drink more Alcohol can induce overeating appetite at the party. and non-alcoholic drinks can be full of calories and sugar. WhatRelax ever tipple you choose, drink As much as the holidays are a lovely time to catch slowly, set a limit and stick to it. up, remember to take some time out for you. Take a few moments in the day to practice meditation Count calories or stress-relieving breathing techniques. If you overeat at one meal go light on the
DODGER
[[
THE SOFA
next. It takes a week of eating 500 calories per day above your normal consumption to gain one pound. Don’t deny yourself everything, though - one or two mince pies won’t hurt.
Drink water
If you do drink alcohol, remember to alternate every alcoholic drink with a glass of water. Dandelion tea is a great alternative to water to drink throughout the days when you know you’re going to be partying, as it helps to detoxify the liver.
Get enough sleep
Get plenty of rest and aim for 7-8 hours of sleep every night. It’s not going to make or break your life if you don’t go to every party.
Deal with stress
Know the things that trigger stress – such as shopping for a party outfit last minute, and plan to avoid them. Get outdoors and enjoy some fresh air as much as possible.
THE KEEP FIT COLUMN WHERE ONE WOMAN TRIES EVERYTHING:
this week: BarreConcept Wanna-be fitness fanatic Sam Taylor, 35, lives in Cardinham near Bodmin and runs the Sofa Dodger website (www.sofadodger.co.uk). This week she tries BarreConcept When I heard about a class called BarreConcept and found out that it was a mixture of pilates, yoga and ballet, I rushed to find my tutu. Our lovely instructor Jess glided in and class got underway , straight into some pliés. I started to feel a bit ouchy in my legs already and there was I thinking that there would just be a lot of frolicking! We moved to the ballet barre at the side of the
room. This isn’t my usual type of bar and I disliked it intensely already, as it was placed right next to my nemesis, the mirror. We were working in time to some fantastic 90s tunes which I really enjoyed. I found the class to be very challenging, but the other girls said that the first one or two sessions can be hard and advised taking a hot bath afterwards. Definitely!
GET INVOLVED: Try something new or tell the world about your own keep fit class for free at www.sofadodger.co.uk 32
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Bake
NEW!
cake of the week
Kate Shirazi bakes:
Rather Classy Christmas Cake Kate says: I say “rather classy” because, unusually for me, there’s no glitter, no lurid green icing... in fact, a plethora of loveliness. A boiled fruit cake base may not seem special enough for a Christmas cake but believe me, it is really lovely – especially with a good glug of alcohol.
You will need: 110g raisins 110g ready-to-eat dried apricots 50g dried cherries 110g dried peaches or pears 150ml water 110g unsalted butter 110g dark muscovado sugar 2 large free-range eggs, beaten
1 tsp mixed spice 225g self-raising flour, sifted brandy, rum or spirit of your choice 4 tbsp apricot jam, sieved 400g glace fruit whole nuts such as blanched almonds, walnuts and pecans (optional)
Method: 1.
2.
3.
Grease and line a 20cm (8 inch) cake tin. Put the dried fruit, water, butter and sugar into a saucepan and heat gently until the mixture comes up to simmering point. Simmer for about 20 minutes, giving it a stir now and then to prevent sticking. Preheat the oven to 150C (300F, gas mark 2). Let the mixture cool for a while, then add the eggs, and spice and sift the flour over the top of it all. Mix it up well with a wooden spoon. Tip the mixture into the tin and smooth out the top. I like to make a little indent in the top
of the cake to prevent doming. Bake for about 1½ hours, checking after an hour to see if it’s done by sticking in a knife or skewer to see if it comes out clean. If it needs longer in the oven and the top is getting brown, cover with greaseproof paper. When it’s cooked, let the cake cool in the tin for about 20 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool.
4.
Poke about a dozen holes in the cake with a skewer, then wrap it in greaseproof paper and pop it in a tin. Once a week, peel back the paper and drizzle in a few teaspoonfuls
of brandy or other spirit, then wrap it up again.
5.
To decorate, brush with a thin layer of apricot jam, then arrange glace fruit and nuts artistically on top, completely covering the cake. Then heat the rest of the jam until really runny and brush carefully over the fruit, which not only helps it to set but gives it a lovely sheen to boot.
Kate Shirazi runs Cakeadoodledo shop and cafe on Exeter’s Cathedral Green (www.cakedoodledo.co.uk) and bakes cakes of all kinds to order and send by post. Look out for Kate’s beautiful books Cake Magic, Christmas Magic and Baking Magic (Pavilion Books) 33
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M&Co Little girls robin jumper £15 baby Rudolph jumper (inset) £15
Apricot Snowflake jumper £24.99
Jump to it Well, it wouldn’t be Christmas without a kooky festive knit... hether you wear yours with an inon-the-joke nod to Bridget Jones’s Diary, or look forward to a new novelty woolly with all the enthusiasm of Elf on Christmas Eve; the donning of festive knitwear has become not so much as Christmas tradition as a competitive sport. With not a little tongue-in-cheek, our favourite high street stores have raised the bar this year when it comes to seasonal cheer. Rendeers and robins are the motifs du Christmas jour on the cutest knits for kiddies, with M&Co adding to the fun with a touch of sequin sparkles. Asda’s got in on the act too, with its Rudolf jumper for grown-up girls emebellished with a touch of glitz and a snip at just £14. Dorothy Perkins has gone all out for fun with its holly and Christmas tree woollies; perfect for a skating session, accesorised with a pair of fluffy ear-muffs and fingerless mitts. Or bar the humbugs with more sober monochrome knits that still look the part and will keep you cosy.
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Fashion
Bonprix Monochrome jumper £14.99
M&CO Light up jumper £39
Dorothy Perkins Christmas tree jumper £26
Dorothy Perkins Jumper £26
M&Co Baby Jumper £15
George at Asda Cute reindeer jumper £14
Primark Forest jumper £16 35
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Trend
How to wear it:
Fringing Kathryn Clarke-Mcleod tackles tassels his trend frightens me. 10 points for style. You only have to say On a budget in the pre-Christmas the word ‘tassels’ and run up? I feel your pain. Never fear. I will recoil, my head Embrace accessories. There are some filled with images of gorgeous long-length gold chain tassel women in bars before noon on a earrings around, that will add instant weekday, wearing oversized leather glamour to any outfit. And long statejackets with fringed sleeves. Even ment necklaces that end in a burst of when Valentino sent his models leather make for an interesting addidown the runway in perfectly sliced tion to a sleeved vest. and ribboned leather skirts, I had my However, the texture that this look reservations. I mean, those women brings to any ensemble makes it worth look good in anything. Put the same buying a separate layer if you have a ensemble on me and I will look like I bit spare for a wee pressie for yourhad a run-in with the office shredder, self (And who doesn’t, right?) I have and evoke sympathy rather than awe. a major crush on this eyelash faux fur Lucky for us, fashion is art, and art cape from Next. The fine threadlike is open to interpretation. By all means, layers added so much movement, and if you have the boho you know what else - it Cherokee spirit that was so warm. can pull off the aforeI started with my mentioned oversized standard ‘full day Elemental yet jacket, go for it. There of shopping’ get up. is, after all, a reason Black skinnies (with glamorous all at that item keeps aplift and shape technolonce, I felt like pearing. It’s a modern ogy, thank you Next) classic, but it’s just not a black pullover and the lovechild of for everyone. sleek ankle boots. Kate Moss and I like to think of Timeless? Yes. Classic? this aesthetic in terms Yes. Certain to blend Pocahontas of LBDs with a bit of into the sea of women movement, suede bags wearing the exact same with cheeky fringes, thing? Double yes! This and even simple white outfit is great, but it is tees lent interest by an artfully placed the equivalent of Harry Potter’s cloak set of swinging strings. Party season of invisibility. Hey, we all have days is approaching fast, and if you’re not where we want to blend. But when going to push out the boat and go for you want to be in the foreground, this gold sequins I think there is nothing cape is a style superhero, elemental flirtier than a hemline that swishes. yet glamorous. I felt like the lovechild As for the bags, the beauty of most of Kate Moss and Pocahontas. tassled bags I saw when on my most Best part, it is easier than easy to recent jaunt to Princesshay was the throw on and head out the door to size of them. They’re lovely and big. meet my friend in town at the pub just Plenty of room for iPads, packs of before noon. And no, the irony of this almonds, makeup and anything else hasn’t escaped me. To be fair I think that takes your fancy. Well worth the jacket/bar combo probably only the minutes of your life you will lose signals a problem when paired with trying to find your car keys. A real cut-off denim shorts. And, unless win is finding one of these bags with Next are doing those in lift and shape a detachable cluster of fringing. No now too, you’re all safe. luck? There are a multitude of tassel All fashion in these pictures is from keyrings online. Clip one of these to Princesshay Shopping Centre, Exeter, your favourite clutch and hey presto, www.princesshay.com
Main Photo Hair: Saks, Exeter Makeup: Clarins, Debenhams (both Princesshay) Photography: Steve Haywood Still-life photographs: PR Shots
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Ripple embellished sweater, Next, £36 Eyelash faux fur cape, Next, £55 Lift Slim and Shape Jeans, Next, £45
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25/11/2014 13:31:05
NEW LOOK Black flapper dress £39.99
MISS SELFRIDGE orange kimono £65
DEBENHAMS Principles by Ben De Lisi cami £34
NEXT black fringe shopper £52
GET THE
look
STREET STYLE HERO
Jessica Platt, 63 Retired, Exeter Scarf, Fat Face, £15 Top, Joules, £18 Trousers, M&S, £22 Shoes, M&S, £39
MISS SELFRIDGE fringed shorts £30
NEXT kimono £32
REISS Blanche scallop-edge ankle boots black £179 37
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25/11/2014 13:32:13
Jackie Gillspie
My Secret Westcountry Venford Resevoir
Jackie Gillespie Jackie Gillespie is a director of Dartington-based Gillespie Yunnie Architects. She has worked on the transformation of Plymouth’s Royal William Yard since 2000. She lives near Stoke Gabriel in south Devon with husband Barry and children Jamie and Jess. My favourite... Winter walk: From Dartmoor’s Venford Reservoir, following the brook to where it meets the River Dart, with wonderful rock formations, waterfalls and - in very cold weather - incredible stalactites of ice.
Scenic spot: St Anthony’s Head and the Pig’s Nose. It’s an extraordinary place: like the South of France, tucked away at the back of Torquay. Venue: Dartington Hall near Totnes. It’s where our business is based, but some of the events that are held here are amazing. The woodland, gardens and river - often overlooked - are beautiful.
Food: Sharpham’s cheeses made near Totnes. I really love fish, so something from the Dartmouth Smokehouse. 38
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People Tipple: We have an orchard and make our own
Jackie’s 1907 Cornish Lugger
cider, but it never tastes as good as the version by Yarde Real Drink which is made by friends of ours. I love their elderflower cordial, too.
Pub: The Turf - the only way to get there is by foot, boat or cycle. It’s really special and on the Exeter Ship Canal, just off the River Exe. Restaurant: Bistrot Pierre in Torquay. It was the first restaurant interior we worked on, with lovely food and people.
Shop: Diva in Totnes. It’s an independent clothes shop always full of lovely things.
Building: Definitely the Royal William Yard in Plymouth. It’s been a privilege to work on the Georgian naval architecture with developer Urban Splash. Treat: Leaving work on a Wednesday evening to go sailing in Torbay. I race an SB20 with my husband and son, while my daughter’s in the national sailing squad.
Day out: I love sailing: We have a 1907 Cornish Lugger and have even crossed the Atlantic in her. The children are so busy now, but on the perfect day, we’d all sail in her together to Blackpool Sands in south Devon.
For more information vsist www.gyarchitects.co.uk
The Turf Hotel
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25/11/2014 13:35:24
[
Leandra
By Catherine Barnes
love Greek food and at this time of year there’s nothing better for the soul. It’s uncomplicated and hearty. Before I moved to the Westcountry, I lived in a part of North London peppered with the most amazing GreekCypriot eateries, where you could feast like royalty for the price of a mediocre pub meal in this part of the world. I’ve only tried Greek food once in Plymouth and nearly cried; it looked and tasted like school dinner. So I booked a table at Leandra ‘Authentic Greek’ Restaurant with high hopes, if not expectations. You’ll find it in Frankfort Gate, a part of the city that’s pretty gloomy-looking by day at best. It appears devoid of life by night, apart from a party of people all heading my way - into the cosy orange-carpeted warmth of Leandra, which is already three-quarters full early on a Thursday evening. There’s Greek music playing and a
I
EATING OUT
[
lovely noise of convivial chat and laughter. I’m by the time he’d concluded. shown to a booth to await my friend, Jill to turn We didn’t have to wait long for our order; Along up and peruse the menu while I do. came olives, fat juicy whitebait in crispy batter My heart sinks when I see the dish at the top and whole mushrooms. These had just enough of the list - roast turkey! But garlic for taste without cloying evethis turns out to be one of about rything else, in warm, lemon-zesty fifty options on Leandra’s threeolive oil. The prawn cocktail in pink course set-menus (costing dressing was a bit retro for me, but We didn’t have £10.95 and £12.50 (and around Jill described the seafood as wonlong to wait for half price, for kids). Amazing derfully fresh and a real winner. value, especially when you see Home made dips included tzatzour order. Along the size of the portions. iki made with creamy yoghurt, decame olives and Opening up the menu, there’s licious taramasalata and the most fat juicy whiteanother huge choice of a la carte amazing thick, lemony hummus. options, including Tasmanian The only thing missing was the bait in crispy duck. But we’d come for Greek, bread to mop it all up with. Yet debatter which has its own special secspite the restaurant being so busy, tion and after deliberating over it was easy to catch our waiter’s eye the starters and mains, decided and our warm pitta was with us in to go for the mezze (a first time a moment. We managed about half for Jill), where you get to try a bit of everything of what we were served before we both admitted at just £16 per person. Our lovely waiter, who had defeat - I can never pace myself when it comes to the look of a reality TV star, rattled off what was mezze. included, but we’d already forgotten half the list “There’s ANOTHER course?” Jill choked mo-
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4 of the best
Places serving eastern Mediterranean food Al Farid
1 Trade Winds, Teignmouth
Greek and more traditional English options are available at this popular and very friendly eaterie, where Nick Nicolaou’s family have been delighting diners since 1967. Open every day March to December 24.. Dish of the day: Beef stifado, slow cooked chunks in red wine, onions, mixed herbs cumin and cinnamon. Price: From £6.50 for a lunchtime main and £8.50 evenings. Contact: 01626 773181
2 The New Horizon, Exeter
of moussaka was also sensational. We couldn’t resist the grilled halloumi, nor the calamari – generously cut rings of squid cooked to perfection in a light and crumby batter, although waistband wise, it was a bit of an endurance challenge by this stage. Indeed, we left Leandra in danger of popping. Super service, great food and incredible value. Elasticated clothing is recommended if you have mezze. Leandra Restaurant, 19-21 Frankfort Gate, Plymouth, 01752 266 176
ments later. Round two was mostly about meat, which the maitre’d charmingly talked us through and including chops and delicious charcoal seared and pink-inside chunks of skewer-cooked lamb. Space was un-permitting for the rice and only tried a mouthful of the Greek salad (marks off for this, I’m afraid, as it was dressed with Thousand Island). The Keftedakia (fried meatballs with oregano and mint) were a little scorched, but the dolmades, (minced lamb and seasoned rice wrapped in vine leaves) were, in all honesty, the best I’ve ever tasted. The (man-sized) portion
It may look like an ordinary cafe, but this Exeter gem was voted among the best eateries in the city by fans on Trip Advisor and offers mouthwatering Mediterranean and Arabic dishes from 9am to 9pm (or later, for parties making a night of it) with tastes of Spain, Algeria, Lebanon and more. Dish of the day: Chicken or fish tajine - and the Lebanese chicken’s also highly rated. Price: From £6.50 for a main Contact: 01392 277523
3 Al Farid, Exeter
Wonderful Moroccan food and mezze at this informal gem of a restaurant, with a fabulous be-cushioned interior. Dish of the day: Fesenjan - duck served in a walnut and pomegranate molasses sauce with saffron rice. Price: Evening mains start at £11.95 Contact: 01392 494444
4 Demetris Taverna, Weston-
How they scored... Food
Atmosphere
Service
Price
Dinner for two was £41.10.
Super-Mare
Delicious food, and great service at this family-friendly restaurant, with a wealth of Greek specialities as well as an impressive fresh seafood menu. Dish of the day: Horiatikon - lamb slowly cooked with spinach, halloumi cheese and cream Price: From £12.95 for a main course Contact: 01934 620187
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Ingredient of the Week
Pork fat
with Tim Maddams ast week we slaughtered one of our future we won’t be using any butter in our house, pigs, I say we, actually the chap at the and probably not much oil either - why would you excellent Snell’s slaughterhouse in with a constant supply of home-reared pork fat for Chard did. I have to say, even though your toast and potatoes? But it got me thinking, we had named our pigs, I didn’t feel in what does everyone else do with the fat from their the least bit remorseful taking her there. The most roast meat? stressful part for either of us was reversing the We all know too much fat is bad for us. Yet we trailer up to the gate at the back. all need a certain amount of caloThere is nothing quite like a bit ries to burn off and there is no real of trailer reversing to separate reason why some of those shouldn’t the men from the boys and an be supplied by fat so long as it’s part Fat tastes good, audience of robust locals waitof a balanced diet. It tastes good, we we like it on our ing their turn just added to the like it on our toast, our pasta and in delight. After the fifth attempt our cakes, pastries and biscuits. But toast, our I managed to get vaguely near why does butter rule the roost? pasta, and in enough to the gate to let Rosie And so I have been making cakes, out, and out she came to explore pastry and all sorts with the pork our cakes. But her new world, albeit briefly. She fat and with great success. Instead why does butter was under no stress at all and of making things taste weird it rule the roost? was more than happy to wander seems to make them different, but off into the building from which often better. Of course none of this she would return only as pork. is new. I was brought up on dripping The staff at the abattoir were on toast and soups made from the also extremely helpful and not at all grumpy about Sunday joint. While not everyone can keep their having to deal with a newbie and all his questions, own pigs, if you’ve fat left from a roast you can use not to mention his dubious reversing-the-trailer it in lots of ways and it will teach you more about skills. They were even happy to supply me with the flavour than perhaps you thought it could. blood so I could make that most important of piggy For me, to waste the fat from an animal that has treats, the black pudding. been raised as food for you is indicative of modern Rosie had led a good life and this was evident in attitudes towards the real value of food. The bottom the amount of fat on the meat. This has prompted line here is it tastes good, it makes sense and it’s bame to bring the subject up. For the foreseeable sically free, so what’s not to like?
L
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Dripping
Make dripping by spreading meat fat on to the surface of a baking tray and whacking it in an oven pre-heated to 120 Celsius. About 20 minutes later, there will be a shallow puddle of clear liquid. Pass it through a sieve and store it in a sealed container in the fridge for up to a month. It can also be re-used two or three times, after which it will become darker. Once it goes a rusty opaque colour, it’s time to throw it away.
Pasta
Make a bowl of pasta dressed with pork fat, chilli, garlic and parsley. It is no different really from doing so with olive oil. The flavour is different but the effect is the same and though pork fat isn’t as healthy, you can offset this by using less. It seems more effective at lubricating the carbs than its olive-based rival. Beef fat or even mutton fat on toast are hard to beat treats. Try spreading pork, beef or mutton fat on toast. You can use pork fat for pastry and cakes in place of butter. And, of course, you can roast your potatoes in it. @TimGreenSauce
Tim Maddams is a Devon chef and writer who often appears on the River Cottage TV series 42
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Drink Beer of the week Exeter Brewery: Avocet Ale A golden session bitter named after the long-beaked wading bird. Three organic hop varieties go into this refreshing brew, with a light, floral aroma and citrus bite on the palate. Seeing it poured is my idea of birdwatching!
Darren Norbury
talks beer elaxing in front of the telly watching live football while your wife goes on a pre-Christmas shopping trip to Plymouth with her mates. There’s a beer for that. You may have seen the new beer ads on TV featuring that tagline. It’s the latest phase in a campaign to get the great British public – not you and me; no, the rest of them – to treat beer, our national drink, as the go-to beverage of choice in any number of life’s situations. It’s funded by some of the big hitters in British brewing, coming together as the British Beer Alliance, including global giants SAB Miller and Molson Coors, big UK brewers Fuller’s and Wells & Young’s as well as groups such as the Society of Independent Brewers and Cask Marque. But the intriguing part of the ads is that no brands are mentioned. At face value it is a move to get more people drinking beer, either at home or on licensed premises. It’s an industry reaction to falling beer sales in recent years and fewer people visiting pubs, which is leading to their closure at a rate of more than 25 a week nationally. And it’s not without precedent. A similar campaign ran in the 1930s, with simple slogans such as ‘Beer is Best’ as people found more way to use their leisure time than propping up the bar of the Dog and Duck.
R
There’s a Beer for That replaces a Let There be Beer campaign for last year which attracted plenty of criticism that it was preaching to the converted rather than, well, converting. It even fell foul of the Advertising Standards Authority, who saw the ad as suggesting alcohol contributed to an individual’s “popularity and confidence”. The new ad has got a much better reception, but we’ll have to wait to see if it changes the nation’s drinking habits. More coverage of beer in other media, such as cookery shows and the national press, would help as well, although this has been improving in the last year or two. But I think that one of the main sources of successful beer promotion may have been overlooked. The brewers themselves. It seems to me that the smaller the breweries, the better they are at promoting themselves, either in local press, using social media of organising beer festivals or meet the brewer events. All over the country, activity like this is taking place every day. They say the best form of advertising is word
FESTIVE MIX
of mouth, and in beer’s case I think this is especially true. Time to raise a glass to the brewers, I think, most of whom are very happy to support the cause of beer in general, as well as marketing their own products. It’s in everyone’s interest to have a vibrant, thriving beer market, and the brewers are leading the way. Cheers, chaps! Darren Norbury is editor of beertoday.co.uk @beertoday
In cider information Craft cider and gourmet pizza restaurant The Stable is coming to Plymouth in spring next year. The group’s newest opening will be at Sutton Harbour, in what was formerly the Vauxhall Quay Bar.
Hunter’s Brewery, of Ipplepen, in Devon, is offering mixed boxes of its bottled beers this Christmas, including festive special Dasher’s Dinkle, bittersweet and rich with Goldings, Bobec and Citra hops. 43
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Living
modern life
Online safari London Zoo has enlisted the help of Google for a high-tech trial, giving us a round-the-clock view of some otter-ly adorable animals. Katie Wright goes on a digital safari trio of otters are lying in a row on from remote areas, even through dense a bed of straw, wriggling and snugforests or foliage, so conservationists gling so adorably you’d think it had can monitor species and habitats from been staged. But no, this is a live feed afar. from the infra-red lit enclosure at “Melting sea ice, population numLondon Zoo, broadcast for all to see on YouTube bers, migratory patterns, sophisticated (www.youtube.com/zslvideo) poaching techniques... as part of a project testing a we could gain an insight new technology, which could like never before, collatin future be used as a vital tool ing data that can help us Remember: to protect endangered species learn and develop new in the wild. strategies for vital conyou’re not How? Here’s where it gets a servation,” says Alasdair procrastinating, bit technical: Zoological SociDavies from the ZSL Conyou’re helping ety of London has teamed up servation Technology with Google to use the gaps beUnit. endangered tween digital TV frequencies, As well as otters, the spotlight animals called television whitespaces has been turned on the zoo’s mob or TVWS, to wirelessly trans(that’s the official term) of meermit live video on the web, with kats and the somewhat camera-shy Google’s Spectrum Database family of five Galapagos tortoises. making sure there’s no interThe ultimate aim is to integrate the ference with existing channels. It’s hoped that TVWS into the ‘Instant Wild’ system, which lets one day TVWS can be used to transmit footage members of the public help to identify creatures
A
[[
captured on camera in the wild. Is that looking likely? “The trial has been a great success,” Alasdair tells me. “The cameras and live feed have performed well, even in the high winds and stormy weather recently. We’re really excited to use the technology in our field work now that is has been proven in Central London.” It’s proven popular with the public too: “We have had a few thousand people watch the feeds
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gadget notebook 30 November 2014
hi tech: Christmas lights Tasteful? Possibly not: but they are fun…
Yes, deer Mains-powered and sturdy, this garden reindeer even moves: it nods its head! Nodding reindeer £44.99 www.homebase.co.uk
Bearing gifts Multiple light settings mean you can choose how brightly this trio of glowing presents shine, suitable for indoors or outside. Red soft glow present trio £32 www.diy.com
Lights and music so far and have a small, yet dedicated group of regular viewers that are enjoying watching the otters curl up for the night or keeping watch to see if they can spot the tortoises out and about.” The trial will run until the end of December, which means there is just a month left to catch the strangely addictive sight of snoozing otters spooning each other. My advice: tune in immediately. Remember, you’re not procrastinating, you’re helping endangered animals.
This charming, old-fashioned calendar with wooden drawers also has lights and music - the party advent calendar, if you will. Light-up wooden advent calendar £29.95 www.festive-sparkle.co.uk
Thank you, Bridget Give your Mr Darcy a festive sweater that is powered by smartphone. Download the app to make the fire flicker and Santa wave hello. Santa’s cabin sweater £35.99 www.morphsuits.co.uk 45
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25/11/2014 14:28:28
My life
[
man and boy
[
Behind the wheel
Phil Goodwin, father of James, has a new car, sorry bus...
uch to my son’s delight, I recently exchanged our much-loved but ageing BMW estate for a shiny, new(ish) Mercedes bus. It is a monster, the biggest motor I have ever owned and by far the most cash I have ever splashed on a vehicle. James is excited at the plan we have hatched to turn this vehicle into a proper camper van. My wife, who preferred the old Beamer, and favours holiday extravagances such as hotel rooms, hair dryers and warmth, is less enthused. But James is busy making plans for the overhaul. He is also taking a keen interest in the technical side of how engines work, though more of that later. There is, I might add, a practical side to this purchase – the van has a fold-down ramp, a winch for wheelchairs and all the gubbins required to secure a disabled person safely. My dear old Mum, who is 90 next birthday, can now be taken on shopping trips without having to rely on taxis. This radical new family transport system is to make its debut with a trip up north to see my mum, as well as Jack and The Beanstalk at the Theatre Royal, St Helens, this Christmas. A fitting outing, methinks, for the pantomime season! Oh yes it is… Now some owners form sentimental relationships with cars. Others go as far as to give them names. I have never been one for attaching human traits to machines. But I do think a personal connection or relationship can help in buying and selling the right transport. For example: I acquired our new Vito from a family in North Devon who have spent the past 17 years caring for their severely disabled daughter. The fact that I wanted to use their van for a similar purpose seemed to help put me in pole position to buy the sought-after vehicle and edge out a rival buyer in London who was ready to jump on a train and gazump me, apparently to get hold of what he thought would make the perfect minicab.
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[
What made the bus so attractive to me (and him) was that although the clock says it has done 50,000 miles, it actually had a brand new engine fitted just 11,000 miles ago. For a Mercedes diesel, which is capable of 300,000 miles, it has barely been run in. The reason behind the replacement? A hazard of country life. The previous owner accidentally drove through a foot-deep flood along a country lane, sucking in enough water to knacker completely the entire engine. Luckily, the insurance firm coughed up about six grand to fix it, leaving yours truly with a nearly new van. Like most people, I thought you could navigate a flood that deep without too much trouble. Now, though, I will be extremely careful in such matters. When I related this story as part of my attempts to persuade my wife we had in fact secured a bargain, James became intrigued in how this could happen. And soon he was able to put this freshly acquired knowledge into use. A freak rain storm flooded the streets around Exeter, creating a small river right in the city centre. It wasn’t there for long, but long enough for a couple of motorists to get stranded. Wellies on, we went to take a look. One poor guy couldn’t start his works van. He was on the mobile, pacing around the sodden street. A policeman on duty asked James: “What do you think, young man?” The boy adopted the serious face he reserves for
such encounters, looked at the car then eyed the tall officer. “The engine is completely destroyed,” he deadpanned. The officer cracked up and declared the verdict “a classic!” The poor guy looked over at us. It was probably exactly what he was thinking - but not what he wanted to hear.
[
main picture: Steve Haywood
It has a ramp and a wheelchair winch. Mum can now be taken on shopping trips
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www.devonfurniture.co.uk sales@devonpine.co.uk
Christian Mill Business Park Crownhill | Plymouth | PL6 5DS
sales@devonpine.co.uk
Christian Mill Business Park Crownhill | Plymouth | PL6 5DS
26/11/2014 16:02:12
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