WMN on Sunday - West Magazine 23 November by DCMedia

23.11.14

Out of the blue ‘The movie deal that changed my life’

WIN + £100 DRAKE CIRCUS VOUCHER + £40 WORTH OF BATH TREATS

PLUS: + WEST INVENTIONS + LEATHER GOES CHIC

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19/11/2014 12:31:39

THE WISHLIST Shopping for your home, your family - and you!

‘I spend the rest of the morning ensuring a huge pot of stew is at boiling point so that I can cart it to a field’ Kishanda Fulford on shooting lunches, page 9

8 18

THE HOTLIST Music nights, Christmas markets and more...

WRITE ON Meet the mum of two who’s now a top film writer

[contents[ Inside this week... 6

THE WISHLIST What to buy, where to go

WHAT’S ON Our pick of the best events in the West

MODERN MANORS Our columnist Kishanda is mass catering

THE HAPPY LIST

Reasons to be cheerful this week

DOING IT FOR THE KIDS Three sets of parents turned inventors

INTERIORS Deck the halls - and stairs...

OUT OF THE BLUE Meet Lisa Glass, novelist and film-writer

BEAUTY What price six months of perfect hair?

WELLBEING Your go-to nutrition advice for winter survival

HIDE AND CHIC Leather goes luxe

RESTAURANT REVIEW Was the service unhurried... or just slow?

STAR PLAYER Tim Maddams picks his favourite spice

RARE BREWS Our beer expert on how to drink (!)

TEST DRIVE Suzuki’s nippy number put to the test

MAN & BOY Four days to sort a Spiderman costume

RESTAURANT REVIEW Dining out beside the sea

FASHION

Add a little hide (and chic) to your wardrobe 3

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REASONS TO LOVE TORQUAY

[ welcome [

16.11.14

+ INTERIORS:

SLEEK STYLE

WIN!

Luxury beau serums wor ty th

£90

Our finger’s on the pulse!

PLUS: + MEET THE

FULFORDS

INSIDE + WIN DINNER FOR TWO: PLUS WINE! + 33 FESTIVE FASHION FIXES

Local treasure

‘I turned my creative passion into a career’

of the week @lucynturner @WMNWest @WMNSunday thank you all so much at Western Morning News. Shabba the dog is very proud

A couple of weeks back, our resident fashionista Kathryn was on the cover of West sporting a rather lovely oversized leopard-print scarf from River Island in Exeter’s Princesshay shopping centre. They’ve just been in touch to say that, thanks to Kathryn (and West) they have completely sold out. So do turn to page 36 today to find out why Kathryn says you should be wearing pink right now - and what to get before it’s gone. Don’t know about you but shopping is on our mind right now and if Exeter’s not within reach, then don’t panic. We make sure that all our picks are available online or locally, and - even better - this week we have a fabulous competition (on page 13) to win £100 to spend at the gorgeous

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Drake Circus shopping centre in Plymouth. It’s well worth a visit this Christmas. But we’re not all about spending money this week: on page 14 we meet some smart Westcountry entrepreneurs who are making money. What is more, they were all inspired by their own children to invent successful innovations for parents to buy. You can even win some of their lovely products, worth £40. What’s more, on page 18 you can read all about the Newquay woman whose teen surfing novel sparked a bidding war among publishers and read why Torquay (above) is on the up. As we’ve said all along, the South West is THE place to be.

Read all about the Newquay woman whose teen surfing novel sparked a bidding war

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Becky Sheaves, Editor

CONTACT: westmag@westernmorningnews.co.uk Tel: 01392 442250 Twitter @wmnwest

COVER IMAGE: John Isaac

MEET THE TEAM Becky Sheaves, Editor

Gillian Molesworth

Kathryn Clarke-McLeod

Catherine Barnes

Phil Goodwin

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19/11/2014 10:22:12

If y o

e n o y u b

w s i ee k h t g n i th

If the recent rainy weather made you dream of summer days, let your spirits soar with one of these fun (but practical) umbrellas. ÂŁ29.99, from www.whereidratherbe.co.uk

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Wishlist

Come in... Wipe the weather off your soles on this Winter Wonderland rug £47.95, www.turtlemat.co.uk

Flutter and flirt...

WRAP UP IN ROSES

Big Lash make-up bag, hand printed in the UK with eco-friendly solvents www.claireloves.co.uk, £16

The wish List

Red roses woolsilk scarf by Pazuki, £135, from Dartmouth’s Starburst boutique www.starburst. co.uk

West’s picks for the loveliest things to buy this week

FOR THE MO Bergamot and cedarwood moustache wax £10, shop.bl.uk

Boutique of the Week Pin up Boutique, Penzance

Huffin’ and... handmade puffin cushion, £30, from www.hunkydoryhome.co.uk

If you like the glamorous look of the 1940s and 1950s, you’ll love Pin up Boutique in Penzance. Owner Emma Hill is a huge enthusiast for the flounces and frills of the period and can give you all the help you need to find a foxy wiggle dress, full circle skirt or capri pants. She also stocks the sky high

heels to really set them off. Brands include 20th Century Foxy, Collectif, What Katie Did and Lindy Bop. There is also a vintage shop in the basement selling reasonably-priced vintage and retro wear. Pin up Boutique is on Chapel Street, Penzance www.pinupboutiquepz.com

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ELEMENTARY Channel your inner Sherlock Holmes with this tweed deerstalker £47, www. museumoflondonshop. co.uk

Snuggle time Latte light £8.65 www.lifeofjay.com

Handmade quilt by Lisa Watson, featuring fabric by renowned textile designer Angie Lewin, Harris tweed and velvet £395 www.quiltsbylisawatson.co.uk

Handmade set of four cloud felt coasters, £26.50, www.etsy.com

Rain, rain... Set of three weather notebooks shop.tate.org.uk, £12.50

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Events

The hotlist: There’s plenty to do right now here in the Westcountry, from experimental dance to festive shopping

2. Cotehele’s Christmas food fair, Saltash

Today, November 23

Ruarri Joseph, Porthtowan November 29 Acclaimed singersongwriter Ruarri Joseph, who hails from Newquay, is back after a break and will perform his distinctive self-penned folk-blues repertoire at Mount Pleasant Eco Park on Saturday, with support from regular collaborators Meg & Lil. Doors open 7.30pm. Tickets: 01326 211222

Buy your local Christmas goodies from small local producers at the Taste of the West food fair. The £2 entry fee includes entry to see Cotehele House and the spectacular Christmas garland, with children free. Visit www.nationaltrust.org. uk for details.

3. A Lyrical Dance Concert November 25 Pop music cabaret at The Phoenix arts centre in Exeter, taking lyrics from chart hits and dancing them out. Seriously good fun, so come along with friends. Tickets £10, 8pm Tuesday November 25. For details visit www.exeterphoenix. org.uk

Glyndebourne operas November 25-29, Plymouth

World class opera comes to the Theatre Royal this week direct from the Glyndebourne Festival. Choose from Verdi’s La Traviata, Mozart’s La Finta Giardiniera and Britten’s The Turn of the Screw. Tickets start from £15, www. theatreroyal.com

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My life

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MODERN MANORS

Shooting lunches

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Kishanda Fulford on the joys of autumnal mass catering

he dust has been blown off the 12 bores and for those of us who don’t shoot, like me, it is the time of year when you find yourself packing the car with hot food so the guns can enjoy lunch ‘alfresco’. What a to-do it all is. The days of a cold pasty and a beer at half-time are long gone. I now spend the morning on a shooting day clearing up the debris of a full English breakfast. Ok, I admit there are no mushrooms or black pudding or any of the other trimmings, but still all that bacon and eggs and toast makes such a mess. I then spend the rest of the morning ensuring that a huge pot of stew is at boiling point so that I can cart it to a field. The first time I did this the stew, not surprisingly, slopped all over the back seat of the car. A lesson learned. The pot is now sealed with black electrician’s tape and placed in a basket full of hay and newspaper. How much easier would it be if everyone was given a cold ‘piece’ that they tucked into the poacher’s pocket of their shooting coat and drank water out of a stream. I can’t though imagine the reaction if I was to proffer such a ‘piece’ for the guns and then go off shopping for the day. Sometimes we have lunch in the house and, whereas in the old days everyone would have been happy with a simple cottage pie and frozen peas, one has now got to prove that one is ‘imaginative’ with a pheasant breast. And cheese is no longer acceptable for afters. One must ensure one’s hair is damp from the steam of a steamed pudding. I suspect that I have made a rod for my

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own back but we are being brainwashed by the ‘foodies’. It is relentless. You cannot open a magazine without being bombarded by endless chefs. Most are recipes on how to ruin a perfectly good lamb chop or the like. Not one recipe says take a lamb chop and grill it and, as the Americans say, ‘enjoy’. One must spread upon the chop twenty-

you have bought them twice over, if not three times. It is not only pressure from the media become a contestant worthy of ‘Masterchef’ but pressure from the family, too. My husband returned from shooting the other day with three pages of pheasant recipes given to him by his host. The recipes do cheer up the sometimes dry breast of the bird but I well remember, not many years ago, when my husband would wrap some bacon on a bird, chuck it in the oven and merrily enjoy the result. There are also demands for home-grown everything. I do wholeheartedly agree with this. However, it causes problems. I have two lambs in the field now that were never dispatched this year. There are no lamb chops in the freezer. No lamb shoulder for Sunday lunch. There are another three more mature sheep who were also reprieved because they are so friendly. These three, Alfred, Sean and Jessica, began life on the bottle and struggled to hang on to life. When the three of them were considered to be strong enough, they were delivered to our field. How could one ever eat them?

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I spend the rest of the morning ensuring a huge pot of stew is at boiling point so that I can cart it to a field two spices and a fresh chilli – no seeds of course – and, it must be finely chopped, along with your fingers, before the dish is complete. I wonder, as I sit here, if you are like me. Do you have a terrible tray on which sit mouldering spices. Or, are you rather grander? Do you have an entire cupboard that pulls out of the wall with pots and pots of ‘garam masala’, ‘ground cumin’ ‘twice roasted ginger’ etc. I find the pots build up without you knowing it. A good cull of these spices, if you can be bothered, will reveal that

Kishanda Fulford lives in Great Fulford, Dunsford, Devon. The Fulfords have lived in the stately home for more than 800 years and are appearing in the current BBC TV series Life is Toff.

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Nearly ready: Turkey farmers Mike and Tim Leach of Upton Pyne near Exeter prepare for the Christmas rush

in pictures Pilgrimage: Ivybridge dentist Stephen Fletcher, who walked from Paris to London dressed as a First World War soldier, meets a wellwisher close to the finish

R&D: Riley from Bideford has a plum job as a â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;tiny testerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; for Little Tikes toys

Move it: Actor Matthew Hinchcliffe gives a dance masterclass to Stagecoach students at Penair School, Truro

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talking points Sicknotes

Swoon! And then she melted into his passionate embrace, dot, dot, dot: 10 contemporary Mills & Boon book titles.

1 Expecting the Prince’s Baby 2 U nwed and Unrepentant Ten common ailments that sound worse in Latin:

1 Acute coryza (common cold)

2 Tinea pedis (athlete’s foot)

3 Cephalgia (headache) 4 Epistaxis (nosebleed) 5 Gastralgia (tummy ache)

3 O ne Night with the Sheikh 4 Betrayed by His Kiss 5 Rock-A-Bye Rancher 6 T he Billionaire in Disguise 7 T he Greek Tycoon’s Blackmailed Mistress

6 Bromodosis (smelly feet)

8 T he Virgin Secretary’s Impossible Boss

7 Pityriasis capitis (dan-

9 Diagnosis: Attraction

druff)

10 Surrender to the Viking

8 Miliaria (prickly heat) 9 S ynchronous diaphragmatic flutter (hiccups) 10 Eructation (burping)

The happy list

Ding dong Doorstepping: 10 fictional addresses and their residents

1 221b Baker Street (Sherlock Holmes)

2 32 Windsor Gardens (The Browns/Paddington Bear)

3 62 West Wallaby Street Wallace & Grommet)

4 4 Privet Drive (The Dursleys/Harry Potter)

5 17, Cherry Tree Lane

10 things to make you smile this week 1 Comfort food hot pasta on cold evenings

2 Christmas lights are now brightening the dark evenings

3 I’m a Celebrity Ant, Dec: we love you

(The Banks family/Mary Poppins)

4 Family movies at home

6 52, Festive Road (Mr

5 Proper Sunday roasts

Benn)

7 186 Fleet Street (Sweeney Todd)

8 7, Savile Row (Phileas Fogg)

9 5 6B Whitehaven Mansions (Hercule Poirot)

10 110a Piccadilly (Lord Peter Wimsey)

by the fireside with crispy spuds and gravy

6 A lmonds healthy snacking 7 Big scarves wrap up warm 8 Autumn colour red and gold leaves looking so good

9 Beach walks and the dogs are allowed too - hooray

10 Robin Hood December panto at Hall for Cornwall, Truro: thigh-slappingly good

Gillian Molesworth

Story of my life... Life as a working parent has its ups and downs omeone asked me recently about how it was going, with meworking full time and trying to balance this with parenting. I spouted the usual speech about how I am lucky that my husband works from home and that I can be flexible with my hours. I did not mention how gruesome the graveyard shift had been the Wrong. Then, the end result is too night before – after I had spent fragile for them to play with. The the morning at my daughter’s kids want to make the space ship pupil shadowing day, and paid for fly or the truck go vroom. But any it later by taking my computer to kinetic activity results in shatbed with me and processing pictered models - and tempers. tures until midnight. I really like Lego, and support I’m a big believer in putting its conductivity to creativity and your children first, but also not spatial skills. But they’ve got some nailing yourself up on a cross of issues to address with those kits. parenthood – if you’re not fulPoor Freddy was on the final filled, it can have real knock-on stage of his project when the Sopeffects at home. with Camel - now Family choices are nearly the span always a comproof the card table mise on some level. - lost structural Freddy has been But there are integrity and colworking on an certainly awful lapsed into bits as ambitious project moments in a if gunned down by working parent’s the Red Baron. I to recreate a life. Usually it has had to explain that Sopwith Camel to do with timing. we could fix it – but out of Lego Children are very he had to wait until h e r e - a n d - n o w. the weekend when for his class They don’t want his parents had the WWI studies you to help them time. Boy did I feel with something guilty on the comon Saturday. They mute that day. want you now. On the other hand, they are Freddy has been working on learning great skills by necessity. an ambitious project to recreate Over half term I left them a recipe a Sopwith Camel out of Lego. He and all the ingredients for Ameriwants to finish it in time to take can lasagne (I did prep the veg) it into class, currently studying and told them to have a go, thinkWorld War I. ing I would return home to the What is it about Lego kits? First kitchen of Armageddon. (There it takes headachey hours to conwas an adult nearby.) struct something according to a Mirabile dictu, I returned home fiddly design. You have to call on to a very well executed hot meal, all your management and teamand they were so proud of it. As building skills as different parwas I. So you see, it’s all swings ties weigh in with Where It Went and roundabouts.

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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PERFECT GIFTS OPEN UNTIL 9PM EVERY THURSDAY UNTIL 18th DECEMBER

...unwrap the perfect Christmas Untitled-1 2

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Shop Wooden toy train M&S £20

Christmas tree dress (part of set) Next £18

Christmas Jumper Day at Drake Circus

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EXPLORE

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Drake Circus

Get ready for Christmas with Drake Circus

now, Santa and shopping all under one roof. Make Drake Circus your one-stop destination for everything festive this year.

Visit Father Christmas Father Christmas will be arriving at Drake Circus from the North Pole (via sled) every day from now until Christmas Eve to greet children in his magical Christmas Grotto. The Grotto costs £5 per child, with 50p from each visit going to local children’s charity, Jeremiah’s Journey, which supports bereaved children. Go to www.drakecircus.com to pre-book and to see Grotto opening hours.

Christmas Jumper Day Drake Circus will host a city-wide Christmas

Win

Mrs Claus jumper Primark £12

Jumper Day this year on the November 29 to raise money for the Jeremiah’s Journey charity. Due to the success of last year’s Christmas Jumper Day, the City Centre Company and Plymouth’s High Street Champions will also be getting involved this year. Shoppers will be encouraged to join in the fun and raise money for the charity by wearing a Christmas jumper and donating at one of the many collection points around the shopping centre. How about this Primark Mrs Claus jumper? It’s only £12 and lots of fun.

Snow’s guaranteed every day! You don’t need to hit the Alps to find snow this winter. Drake Circus will be bringing snow to their shoppers this year. Real snow (from a clever snow machine!) will fall everyday outside the Drake Circus Old Town Street entrance at

£100 to spend at Drake Circus

We have a £100 gift card to give away! To win, send your name and contact details to: Drake Circus Competition, westmag@westernmorningnews.co.uk to arrive by December 5 Normal terms apply.

Seventeen eye palette Boots £8 4pm from December 4 until Christmas Eve. Shoppers are encouraged to take a #snowselfie tagging @drakecircusplym and to donate to Drake Circus’s official Christmas charity, Jeremiah’s Journey. To donate £5 to Jeremiah’s Journey please text “snow27 5” to 70070.

Gift shopping Drake Circus offers easy parking and a choice of 70 shops all in one location, making Christmas shopping enjoyable and easy. If it is children’s toys you are after, Drake Circus is the place to go. The Entertainer stocks the best of 2014’s musthave toys and games, Build-A-Bear is a fun place to create your own cuddly toys. M&S has a selection of gorgeous plush toys, timeless wooden toys such as this pull-along train, and many more high street favorites. Boots is filled with ideal gifts for teens, and with a 3-for-2 offer across its Christmas ranges right now, you will be sure to find something they will love. If you’re looking for a gift for fans of Princess Elsa, then HMV is the place to pick up a copy of the charming Disney movie Frozen. The store also stocks a wide selection of other DVDs, books, games, CDs and technology. And after a successful Christmas shop why not relax in Drake Circus’ new eatery, called Ed’s Easy Diner. This retro American diner is fast becoming a firm favorite for friends and families alike. For more details visit www.drakecircus. com or Twitter @ drakecircusplym 13

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The Jewson family at home in Cornwall

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People REAL LIVES

Doing it for the kids We meet three people who have been inspired by their children to launch innovative - and successful Westcountry businesses

f you’ve ever thought it might be fun to start your own business, but worried that it might take you away from your family and children, then these stories will surely encourage and reassure you. Here are three Westcountry entrepreneurs who have combined parenthood with a successful business, thanks to inspiration from the small people in their lives.

Kurt Jewson Kurt and Lucy Jewson began Frugi from their Cornwall home in 2004. It’s now the UK’s number one ethical childrenswear brand. Kurt says: Lucy and I always knew that we wanted to start our own business, way back since we first met in 1993. However it wasn’t until we had our first son, Tom, in 2003, that the lightbulb moment happened and we decided to go for it The inspiration came one night. Lucy woke me up and proclaimed, “I’ve got it. Let’s start a children’s clothing company.” I, of course, replied, “Yes, that’s fab, great idea” and went back to sleep. I should have known then my life was about to change forever. We’d been struggling to find clothes that would fit our ever-hungry new baby. He was growing fast, and our environmental ecostreak had led us to putting Tom in washable cloth nappies, which are slightly bulkier than throw-away nappies, which compounded the problem somewhat. We searched the internet and found that many other parents were having a similar issue. So, big lad, big nappy, ill-fitting small clothes and a problem that wasn’t unique. Someone needed to solve the problem and the ‘someone’, as it turned out, was us. Having established that there was a market for our clothes we set about finding a manufacturer. If we were to put our name to a clothing brand, then we wanted only the best of the best. The clothes would have to be made from organically-grown cotton, by ethically-minded manufacturers, working in

great conditions. This was no easy task. Luckily, Lucy was on maternity leave from her job as a pharmaceutical rep. As a husband who values his marriage I probably shouldn’t say that she had all the time in the world to look for suitable manufacturing partners, but she did have a little bit of time. And found one she, eventually, did. Emails, phone calls, samples, photos and Christmas cards were exchanged. Neither Lucy or I had any experience in the textile industry and were drowning in the complexities. Luckily Amit, the owner of our first factory, was, and is, a really helpful, evangelical kind of guy who shared our belief in how people and the planet should be treated. We got on, and still get on, fantastically. Saying that, it was still a leap of faith to cash in all of our savings, re-mortgage our house and give up our jobs on what was still a hunch. The clothes arrived and they were beautiful. We ‘went live’ on June 1 2004, working from our spare room in Constantine, sharing one computer and storing our clothes in boxes around the house. Today Frugi employs 50 people from our HQ in Helston, and has a turnover of £6 million. Our ranges have grown and now we make beautiful clothes for children from newborn to ten years, and also have a range of maternity wear for mums. Our belief that you can run a business that has a passion for design, quality and taking care of people is being realised. It’s a very exciting place to be, and I love it. And to think, it all started with my eldest having a fat baby bum. www.welovefrugi.com 15

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Polly Marsh Polly Marsh lives in Nether Stowey, Somerset and is mum to Maddy (nine) Sarah (seven) and Reya (five). With her old university friend Helen Wooldridge, she set up Cuddledry, a baby towel business in 2006, which now exports all over the world.

WIN! We have a Cuddledry newborn baby towel to win worth £29.99 and a Cuddledry child’s turban hair towel worth £9.99 to win Send your contact details to: Cuddledry competition, westmag@ westernmorningnews.co.uk to arrive by December 5, stating whether you would like the hair turban or the baby towel. Normal terms apply.

Polly says: Cuddledry started (thought we didn’t know it at the time!) back in 2006 with a house party, when my old friend Helen and I were both mums to small babies. We had a get-together with other new parents and watched in amusement and alarm as the dads tried to bath the babies in the evening. It was mayhem. Helen and I got to talking – surely there was a safe, practical baby towel that a parent could wear like an apron? Over the next couple of weeks, Helen and I both looked for such a product online but we drew a blank. Then we got together over coffee and ended up cutting up a sheet to try and make one. It was hilarious. At the time Maddy was one, and Helen had Rosie, then three and Jake, one. We’d met at Manchester University and I worked in a luxury branding company while Helen was in PR. We’d both made the move out of London to enjoy a more laid-back lifestyle in the South West for our new families. Next, we got a pattern made up by a local tailor and had six prototypes made. We went to a trade fair and took about a dozen small orders, all the while wondering how and where we would actually be able to fulfil them. We may have given the impression to buyers that we had a warehouse full of stock – but it was definitely not the case! Then along came the Mothercare buyers and told us that our product was the best thing in the whole show. They ordered 400 on the spot and we knew we were in business, as the minimum order for our manufacturers in Turkey was 1,000. We were leaping about, punching the air. Initially, Helen and I just put in a few thousand pounds each to the business. We have never borrowed any money since then. The first order paid for the second batch to be made and Cuddledry has grown organically ever since. In 2007 we were approached to go on the Dragon’s Den TV show. To our delight, we were offered the full investment - £100,000 – that we wanted. But for a massive 40 per cent chunk of our

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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 Cuddledry, 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 couldn’t hold onto any of them. One day, I saw he was sucking and chewing his scratch mitts. I decided to shop for a teething mitten. But there was no such thing. I couldn’t believe they didn’t exist - it was such a simple idea. I approached various different UK companies to help me get started designing and developing one, but was quoted over £50,000 and I couldn’t afford it. So I designed the product and packaging myself and contacted manufacturers in China. I sent them sketches and a confidentiality agreement I’d found on the internet for them to sign. It cost around £1,000 to develop the product and in February 2012, I was sent 12 prototypes in the post. It was pretty overwhelming – I couldn’t believe I had them in my hand. Friends and family helped test them and lent my close to £20,000 to manufacture my first shipment. My biggest fear was not being able to pay them back – it was risking a heck of a lot. Then I took an £80 stand at a mother and baby fair to showcase the Gummee Glove, taking orders from about four shops. The next event was a big fair at the Birmingham NEC and I sold 144 Gummee Gloves, which was pretty impressive,

as the stand looked fairly amateurish! I generated lots of Facebook recommendations and things went on from there. Gummee Gloves are now sold by Ocado and Amazon and are in Lloyds Pharmacies in Ireland, independent shops and online outlets. I have distributors in Australia, Spain, South Korea and queries coming in from around the world. I now have five employees and ideas for at least another four or five products. In April, I launched anti-scratch mitts, which secure with Velcro so they stay on and also have a textured silicon to chew on. An Australian researcher has been trialling them with special needs babies and they’ve been shown to result in significant improvements in manual skills. The NHS is now looking at them, and they can also be modified to hold utensils such as a spoon or fork and may be adapted for use by adults with learning disabilities. If I’d taken the professional advice I was given, I couldn’t have afforded to get off the ground. But I’ve always been someone who’s really impatient - which is no bad thing, it seems. Visit www.gummeeglove.co.uk to buy online

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‘I couldn’t believe they didn’t exist, as it was such a simple idea’

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Interview

[

LISA GLASS

Success comes out of the blue Sarah Pitt talks to writer Lisa Glass about the surf novel set on a Cornish beach which sparked a bidding war for both book and film rights

By Sarah Pitt

t has been an eventful year for Lisa Glass. Just seven months ago she gave birth to her second daughter. Then just a couple of months later she experienced a rollercoaster upheaval of a different kind, when her novel Blue was published. A coming-of-age novel set on Fistral beach in Newquay, the story of 16-year-old Iris and her romance with a Hawaiian surfer called Zeke so dazzled the publishing world in draft form that it sparked a bidding war. This was a new experience for Lisa, whose first novel Prince Rupert’s

Teardrop, a dark work of literary fiction, was published by small independent Two Ravens Press, and whose second, her first foray into teen fiction, was self-published. “I had a very exciting trip to London where I was going around these fancy publishers’ offices,” says Lisa, who lives in Newquay with her husband, two daughters aged four and a half and seven months, and dog. “They then got in their final bids as to how much they could pay me in advance, and I was able to choose.” With four offers on the table, Lisa signed a three-book deal with Quercus, a major publisher, for a five figure sum per book. “I’m currently working on book two,” she says. She writes mainly at night, because she has fewer distractions. Although this is not quite the case

at present, as her baby daughter needs nocturnal tending as much as her manuscript. “I am pretty tired,” she admits. Perhaps, though, it is the adrenalin keeping her going, because the book deal is not even the half of it. The glamour and excitement of the surf world on Fistral beach, where Lisa made sure she got her facts right by chatting with some of the world’s most high-profile surfers, seems the perfect setting for the kind of escapist big bucks movie Hollywood producers are itching to make. And sure enough, the ink was hardly dry on the book contact, when Lisa was called to get her pen out again to sell the film rights to Los Angeles-based film producer Leighton Lloyd. He then signed up well-known Australian director John Duigan (Sirens, Head in the Clouds) to develop

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Interview Lisa and her baby daughter on Fistral Beach.

How she did it Lisa’s progress from student to published author Lisa Glass discovered her talent for creative writing as a student at Swansea University. “I did a BA in English, and there was a module on creative writing, and I got a very high mark for this one paper. One of my lecturers said, “Maybe you should think about doing an MA in creative writing.” And, after taking a break to head with her husband-to-be to Cyprus, Lisa duly returned to Swansea to do just that. “Doing the MA was really what gave me the confidence to write,” she says. It was the story she started writing during for the MA, drawing on her mother’s Armenian heritage, which became her first published novel, Prince Rupert’s Teardrop. A dark and unusual tale, it was set in Lisa’s childhood city of Plymouth around the character of Mary, whose elderly mother, of Armenian extraction, has gone missing. Lisa’s change of direction to the sparkling world of surf competitions on a Cornish beach she dates back to giving birth to her first daughter four and a half years ago. “I wanted to try something completely different, to have some escapism,” she said. As well as writing her own books, Lisa reviews other people’s on the award-winning book blog Vulpes Libris, or the Book Foxes. This group of female writers can be found, so the blurb on their website says, “anywhere where the rustling of pages can be heard”.

the screen play and direct the project. Lisa herself will be keeping a close eye on her baby (the fictional one that is) as a co-producer. The film is to be called Bluer Than The Sky. “John Duigan is a big name, so that is fantastic, and now we have got the another producer on board, Steve Cookson [writer and director of My Angel, starring Brenda Blethyn and Timothy Spall] as well,” says Lisa. “There are some notable actors, too, who are showing some interest, and once they are contracted we are going to be revealing the names. It is really exciting.” Investors are being sought at the American Film Market in Santa Monica, California this week, the Berlin Film Festival in February, and at Cannes in May, with the hope of starting work on the film later in the year. “Some of it will be filmed in Australia, but a lot of it will be filmed here in Newquay which will be really good for the local community,” says Lisa. “It would be really nice to give something back to the people here who have supported me.” She’s hoping locals will get involved as extras and some of the wizardry of the best Westcountry surfers will see them employed to do the stunt shots.

[

Lisa’s book, after all, is a showcase for what is special about this part of the north Cornwall coast, which has waves to rival the best in the world and attracts top international surfers for both recreation and to compete. “It is quite different, the surf culture we have here, quite specific, and I think that is what the publishers were intrigued by,” she says. Lisa has lived in Newquay for 12 years, ever since her husband Jon was posted to the RAF St Mawgan base nearby. “He has since left the RAF, but we love it so much here that we stayed,” she says. Lisa has always lived by the sea. She was brought up in Plymouth and spent her student days in Swansea, where she took an MA in creative writing. She only started surfing a few years back, though, when she met a surfer called Laura on Fistral Beach. “She taught me to surf, we had an amazing summer and we’re still friends now,” says Lisa. While she would never call herself a ‘big wave’ surfer, she says that learning to surf has given her an insight into the lure of the sport. She explores this in Blue through the story of young surfer Iris and Zeke, the laidback surfer dude she meets at a yoga session in the hotel beside the beach.

‘A lot will be filmed here in Newquay. It will be nice to give something back to the community here’

[

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main picture: john isaac indoor shot taken at: whiskers coffee shop

Interview Lisa signing her film rights at Newquay’s Headland Hotel with film producer Leighton Lloyd (right) and pro surfer Oli Adams

[

“Surfing is such a competitive world, it is a real mine for drama”

[

“A couple of years older than me, he had longish brown hair, sun-streaked and wet, and a tattoo down his arm which said Surf or Die. I had no idea who he was,” narrates Iris in the first chapter. Who he is, it turns out, is the Hawaiian junior men’s surf champion 2013, which is quite a big deal in the surfing world. Iris, being a down-to-earth Cornish girl, tries not to get swept off her feet too quickly, despite the throng of girls in branded surf gear watching his every move in - and out of - the sea. There’s a magnetism about him, though, which makes him hard to resist. It is easy to see why Lisa chose to write a teen novel set in this world, which has a glamour that is all about youth. “It is such a competitive world, a real mine for drama,” she says. She made friends with pro-surfer Oli Adams, originally from New Zealand, and his wife Emma, who also used to be a pro-surfer herself. She also got advice from top Newquay surfer Tom Butler. “Just talking to people like that is really invaluable,” she says. “I do all my interviews in beach bars. You have to get out there and actually talk to people. I try to get it out of them, what it is like to compete at that level. It is fascinating to hear about what goes on.” Blue by Lisa Glass is published by Quercus, £6.99 22

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interiors

fashion

eat out

style

trends

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Gardens

ANNE SWITHINBANK

Slumbering plants Devon’s Anne Swithinbank, panellist on Radio 4’s Gardeners’ Question Time, says it’s time to enjoy the slow season here’s less than a month to go before the shortest day of the year and many of us will feel like hibernating. I need to be at my desk by daybreak when my brain is active, to whizz through work, then tend to scurry around in the garden during the early part of the afternoon. As light fades, all I want to do is go indoors to make soups and casseroles, read books and go to bed early. Don’t fight it, I say. This is the counterbalance for long days when you don’t stop gardening until the midges start biting, go for long evening horse rides and late swims. A similar effect strikes the plant world as trees lose leaves and others die back to resting bodies safe underground, where plants hope to sit winter out protected from wind and frost. Humankind has transported some of these plants halfway round the globe, so it is little wonder some need help and understanding if they are to

survive. While speaking to a small village group last week, I met a lady who had read that dahlias should be lifted and stored in November. Going by the calendar, she dug hers, washed the soil from them, dried them like little babies and was surprise they looked worse for wear. In fact, one should wait until the stems

are blackened by frost, cut the stems off leaving 15cm/6in behind and then prop them upside down for the soil on them to dry and crumble off a bit. They are then put right way up in boxes, trays or even pots of dryish old compost in a frost free shed. In many areas of the South West they are routinely left in the ground but many of us lost our dahlias after the severe winter of 2010. Stored dahlia tubers are versatile and easy to pop into a tray of moist compost in March, which in a propagating case or warm place will sprout shoots to use as cuttings. Or you can pot them early and start them growing under glass to bloom ahead of outdoor plants held back by a cold spring.

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A whole group of dormant greenhouse and I’m still mulling over the seed catalogues conservatory plants are best left inside their during the dark evenings and making long wish pots of compost but dried right out and never lists. I’m dreaming of filling a newly cleared watered again for the whole border with annuals, maybe winter. This includes the rhia sea of Californian poppies zomes of hybrid calla lilies and Briza maxima (quaking (zantedeschia), hot water grass). I can then have anplants (achimenes) and the other thorough weed in the I’m dreaming of tubers of climbing Gloriosa autumn before planting with filling a newly rothschildiana. I have all of perennials. I like the look of these in our frost-free porch patty pan squash ‘Jaune et cleared border waiting until early spring to Vert’ from the Suttons catawith annuals, be unearthed, repotted and logue and having admired maybe a sea watered carefully back into them at the National Trust growth. Yet I leave hardy lily property Montacute House of Californian bulbs in their pots, open to the last summer, I’d love to grow poppies elements behind the greenDahlia ‘Bishop’s Children’ house. In all but the mildest from seed (Thompson) and areas, canna and ginger lilies Morgan) for their dazzling (hedychium) are moved under colours and bronze foliage. glass and their rhizomes moistened periodically during mild winter spells. By contrast South African lachenalias (Cape cowslip) and haemanthus (blood lily) are in full leaf and watered thoughtfully throughout winter. Cacti and other succulents crowd south-facing windowsills in our cooler rooms because they cannot stay in the unheated greenhouse. The aim is to keep them cool and dry, so they don’t attempt to grow while light levels are low. Most are not watered at all until March or beyond but some succulents need the occasional drink if they begin to shrivel.

[[

This week’s gardening tips Anne’s advice for your garden

• Pile a loose, deep mulch over the growing area of tender plants like dahlias which are staying put for the winter. This deepens the insulation layer protecting them from cold. • Put a length of plastic drainage pipe in the bottom of your fish pond so fish have somewhere to hide should a hungry heron

come hunting. • Bring dwarf potted peaches and nectarines under glass to protect them from peach leaf curl disease. • Watch out for greenfly on indoor plants such as mandevilla and streptocarpus. Spray with soft soap solution or SB Plant Invigorator before the insects breed.

Question time with Anne West reader queries answered by Anne Swithinbank

How much do I need to worry about sell by dates on seed packets. I’m sorting through my collection and don’t know how brutal

to be. This is miserliness and waste aversion versus the worry of tying up pots and space, costly compost and - above all - time trying to germinate dead seeds. I would tread a middle path. Throw away opened packets, because moisture may have got in and seeds rotted. Packets up to three years past their sell-by are probably ok if they are in foil or stored cool and dry. Carrot and parsnip seed is notorious for going off quickly, while peas and beans are well known for lasting well. I sowed all old seed of various perennials this autumn and left them in the greenhouse to see what would come up. I had the pots, used compost from growing bags mixed with a little grit, they don’t need heat and space is not an issue till the spring.

I’ve inherited a lovely old terrarium from a relative. What should I grow in it?

These mini greenhouses deserve a return to fashion, as they’re a great way to grow and display indoor plants which enjoy a humid microenvironment protected from dry air and draughts. I’ve planted a Pteris cretica ‘Albolineata’ Cretan brake fern in mine. You can buy these for a couple of pounds from the ‘tots’ trays at garden centres and in a year, mine has filled the terrarium beautifully. Keep out of full sun and put shingle under the compost to take surplus water.

Add new roses and while planting, make sure the union, or bulge on the base of the plant marking where the variety was budded onto the rootstock is buried by a good 2.5cm/1in. Some Rootgrow adds supportive mycorrhizal fungi which extend the rose’s root system

Clip back

Send your questions to Anne at westmag@ westernmorningnews.co.uk

late flowering clematis like viticella, orientalis and jackmanii types where they are swamping shrubs. Cut just above the woody stems at the base and they’ll grow again in spring. 25

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Interiors

Bling your branches It’s the focal point of festive decor, so make sure yours is star of the show. Whether you’re going real or faking it, Gabrielle Fagan reveals how to bling up those branches in style nce upon a time, the only being something sentimental that we stress involved in deco- the family - do together,” is the bold rating the Christmas (or brave?) approach taken by designer tree was unearthing the Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen, who has a bauble collection, untan- home in north Cornwall. gling the tinsel - and trying to stop the “It can go horribly wrong,” he says. children ruining the effect with their “The children might feel encouraged cotton wool and toilet roll creations. to start making aesthetic judgements. I That might sound a keep telling them they bit Scrooge-esque but shouldn’t mistake our I admit - I’ve always family for a democrasneakily hid my chilcy. When it comes to Plan now and dren’s offerings on the way things look, your tree will the back branches to it’s the way I want it!” avoid hurt feelings Fortunately, there not simply and decor disasters! is a huge - and growbe randomly Nowadays, however, ing - choice of seahung with you can do so much sonal themes availmore. So why not plan able in the stores and mismatched ahead now and, come online. There are ornaments December, your tree trees galore, whether will not be simply real or artificial, with plonked in a corner the latter often so lifeof the living room and like, you could swear randomly hung with mismatched or you can smell the pine. inherited ornaments. Contemporary versions range from It’s increasingly fun to dress and super-slim, silver or natural wood style this festive focal point to within creations, bare of foliage and a world an inch of its life, and ensure it comaway from anything an old-school plements your room decor, rather than Santa might recognise. garishly jarring with it. So if you want So whichever look you prefer, it’s your tree to look good this year, you time to plan ahead and tackle that tree. need to do some preparations now. Adding cardboard kiddie craft: entire“I don’t see decorating the tree as ly optional!

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House of Fraser

STYLE TIP: The key to getting a Christmas

scene thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a real showstopper is planning. Pick a look (and a colour scheme) and stick with it 27

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House of Fraser

GET THE

LOOK

Pebble bauble £4, M&S

Christmas stag £12, M&S

Modern Country

Wooden acorn £8, House of Fraser

Reindeer £8, BHS

Pine cone bauble £9, M & Co

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Shopping Glitter stripe baubles £6 each, House of Fraser

Decopauge bauble £2.50, Next Red berry wreath £35, John Lewis

GET THE

LOOK Classic cheer

Tartan tree decoration £4.50, Gisela Graham

Santa bauble £3.50 Tesco

Rose gold glass bauble £2, Next

Marks & Spencer 29

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Beauty

Tried

& tested

We present the beauty treats and cheats of the week, all trialled by West magazine’s Catherine Barnes, with help from daughter Tilly, 17.

What a tweeze! Plucker up and tell someone you love them: We think these Swiss tweezers from brow specialists Shavata are adorable. £21 at www.shavata.co.uk

Nourish me! Here’s a gift box that will look fresh beyond Christmas; Nourish Skincare’s radiance body treats collection (£45) includes shower gel, hand lotion and body butter. Find it at www.nourishskinrange.com

fave!

Rescue remedy

Now you can keep your hair party-ready on the go: Batiste’s new Care and Vitality spray in, brush out dry shampoos (£3.99) will add shine to refreshed hair and are sulphate free, too. Choose from a range of floral fragrances at www.batistehair.co.uk

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the review SCENTS OF INDULGENCE A soak in Marble & Milkweed’s organic rose and cardamom scented bath salts (£22) will leave you feeling relaxed and detoxed. www.abeautifulworld.co.uk

This week we try:

Nanokeratin permanent blow dry Battling frizzy hair can be a headache. But what if you could end the daily struggle with the straighteners? Bridget Batchelor finds out if you can do just that o, how far would you go for the holy grail of hassle-free hair? Having always had a somewhat complicated relationship with my hair, I often think I’d do pretty much anything. Neither poker-straight nor voluptuously curly, my thick tresses lie in a strange no man’s land of rather frizzy and slightly kinky: a texture which drove me to despair before the heaven-sent gift of halfdecent straightening irons. alarms,” she breezed. Um, ok... So when I heard about the Nanokeratin The product is left to dry for an hour, permanent blow dry offered at Saks in followed by a quick blow dry, and then out Exeter, I was more than a little intrigued. come the straighteners – and the reason The treatment lasts between three and for the move becomes apparent as huge six months, depending on your hair type, clouds of smoke billowed around my head and works with your natural hair tex- as the heat is applied. ture. If you have curly It’s a little unnerving hair, it will remain curly, – but nothing to worry but smoother and frizzabout: it’s just the moisfree. Straight hair will ture evaporating. Months of be smoother and more And now come the rules. gorgeous hair glossy. For the four days before Months of gorgeous Wash Day, no water must after just a hair after just a couple touch the hair (that means couple of hours of hours in the salon? rain, too). No products. No Could it be true? Ok, this hair bands, clips or simiin the salon? isn’t the cheapest treatlar. Gulp. But my hair did Could it be true? ment - my fairly long, look fab as I left Saks with thick hair would come in these mantras running at around £300. through my mind, and it But perfection always smelled great too. And you comes at a price, and know what? Those four for up to six months of A-list hair, maybe days weren’t too bad. Although I pined for it’s not so expensive after all. I’ll admit to a little dry shampoo come the last day, my a few reservations, as there is a further hair held up pretty well – even the fringe. price to pay: four days without washAnd then it was judgement day. Oh ing one’s hair. Four days! Anyone with a my goodness. Perfectly soft, glossy, ohfringe will understand my dread. so-smooth... and what happened to my It’ll be tough, but worth it, explained bleach-damaged ends? It may have cost stylist Abbie, as she applied the product to £300 and a couple of days of a stringy my hair layer by layer. Before this I’d been fringe. But to sail silkily though party moved to a different styling station. “Oh, season and beyond? Well: that’s a price to A Nano treatment tends to set off the fire I’m prepared to pay.

BACK IN BLACK

[[

Sssh! Keep it quiet, but this vampy fragrance can be found at the British Library shop! Tokyomilk Perfumerie’s eau de parfum includes notes of white tuberose, cardamom, hibiscus leaf, and jasmine. La Vie La Mort eau de parfum, £42.50, www.shop.bl.uk

For more details call 01392 256999 or visit www.saks.co.uk/184/exeter 31

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Wellbeing Erin McCann, a nutritional consultant who specialises in immune-boosting supplements containing bee propolis and plant extracts, has come up with these user-friendly tips for a winter pick-me-up

Eat yourself younger ong winter nights are enough to make anyone feel jaded. And that’s before the office Christmas do, making crowns for the school Nativity and trying to avoid the latest Thing that is Doing The Rounds. So if you’re feeling your age – or worse, your mother’s – take comfort: help is at hand, with advice from Erin McCann, nutritional consultant with Unbeelievable Health.

Increase your antioxidants

Antioxidants play an important role in reducing inflammation, repairing damaged cells and restoring balance throughout the body. These actions aid in prevention of chronic disease such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes and cancer. They also aid in reducing the signs of aging by repairing damage to the skin from sun and pollutants and improving skin elasticity. Eat more berries and citrus fruit, leafy greens and squashes.

Maintain a balance between Omega 3 and Omega 6 fatty acids Nutritional consultant Erin McCann says: The balance between Omega 3 and Omega 6 fatty acids is important for reducing inflammation in the body. Ideally, our Omega 6 intake should be no more than five times the amount of the Omega 3 we consume. A typical British diet, however, can see us eat sixteen times more Omega 6 than Omega 3. A good starting point is reducing processed, refined foods and takeaways in your diet. Wherever possible, eat fresh oily fish like wild salmon, mackerel, haddock and sardines three or more times a week. Another small change with big results is to consider cooking with coconut oil as an alternative to butter, margarine and other oils. It is smells great and, in response to a common question, doesn’t give food a coconut flavour!

Eat balanced meals and snack regularly

DODGER

Erin says: Research has found that excess

THE SOFA

insulin can speed the ageing process and create inflammation in your body. Eat meals with a combination of complex carbohydrates, quality vegetarian or lean animal proteins, and antioxidant rich vegetables. Introduce ‘quality’ snacks such as hummous with vegetables or oatcakes to help maintain energy and balance insulin levels. Reduce stimulants like coffee these can increase insulin production.

Support immune function. Erin says: A well functioning immune system will aid your body’s natural defences against infection and chronic illness. Diet can play a major role. Eat immune supporting nutrient rich foods containing zinc, B vitamins, vitamin C and flavoioids. It’s not always possible at this time of year, but try to get out in the sun for a dose of Vitamin D and exercise regularly.

THE KEEP FIT COLUMN WHERE ONE WOMAN TRIES EVERYTHING:

this week: FITSTEPS 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 braves the cheese and hits the dancefloor Although it sounded fun, the thought of shaking my booty without as much as a white wine spritzer, was a bit daunting. But nevertheless, I joined Mike Truscott at Iconik dance and Fitness in Bodmin to give it a go. I was relieved to see people of all ages, shapes and sizes there and placed myself at the back, out of the glare of the mirror as the music started. Ironically for me, the

first track was “Dancing Queen”. I shimmied along to it, following the moves as best I could, trying desperately to mimic the lady in front of me. My shambolic efforts made me smile. Smiling went to laughing, as we moved on to a Grease number. I wasn’t the only person out of time but that made everybody giggle all the more. Get fit with a smile on your face is my new mantra!

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

Kate Shirazi bakes:

Basic low-faff square cakes Kate says: These little dollops are really easy. It’s a tray bake but don’t tell anyone. The icing is glace - the simplest and most useful type. It has minimum ingredients and minimum fuss - very easily correctable if you make it too thick or too thin

You will need: For the cake (makes about 12): 110g self-raising flour 110g caster sugar 110g margarine, softened 1 tsp baking powder 2 large free-range eggs 1 tsp pure vanilla extract glace icing food colouring of your choice sprinkles of your choice to decorate

For the glace icing (enough for 12 cupcakes):

NEW!

cake of the week

200g icing sugar, sifted juice of 1 large lemon or 55ml boiling water food colouring of your choice

Method: 1.

Preheat the oven to 160C (Gas mark 3). Grease and line a 20cm square baking tin. Sift the flour and sugar into a large bowl, add the margarine, baking powder, eggs and vanilla and beat like fury until it’s all pale and fluffy.

When the cake is cool, turn it over to ice the flat, even base. You can cover the whole cake in icing and decorate, or cut the cake into squares first, then drizzle the icing so that it dribbles down the sides of the cakes. Then decorate and place in cake cases.

Tip the mixture into the prepared baking tin and level carefully. Bake in the centre of oven for about 20 minutes or until the cake is firm to the touch and golden. Cool on a wire rack.

To make the icing, put the sifted icing sugar in a bowl. Add the liquid slowly, a little at a time, and stir until smooth. Stop adding liquid when you like the look of the consistency. It should be a smidgen thicker than double cream.

Add a tiny amount of colour – use a cocktail stick or toothpick dipped into the colour. You can always add more, but there is no way to undo a lurid amount of colour without making a huge batch of icing.

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 and Baking Magic (both £11.99, Pavilion Books) 33

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Silver and black tote £310 Brix + Bailey Grey collarless jacket £136.50 down from £195, Wallis

Fair leather trends Go hell for leather in cool colours and fresh textures this season, says Katie Wright ot that there’s anything wrong with a black biker jacket, but right now, it’s a great time to shake things up with leather looks that are fresh, fun and fashion-forward. Why not give this year’s trendiest skirt, the midi, a leather makeover, or get some hide-andchic vibes with a vintage-inspired feminine frock? This animalistic fabric doesn’t always have to look fierce. Indeed, designers have employed a paler palette than ever for their leather wares, while metallic accessories offer a shiny shortcut to the trend. Oh, and it doesn’t actually have to be leather. With the ever-improving textile cheat PU (polyurethane) no one will be any the wiser... A leather dress can be the answer to Christmas party dressing, as this chic little French number from online store La Redoute shows. We also love the pretty cut-out details on this House of Fraser dress and the flattering cut of this party dress from Urbancode. A shiny leather bag offers instant cheer on a wet day. Silver is a versatile choice and a great pairing with almost any outfit. And white leather in winter is not as unorthodox as you might think, as this Topshop outfit proves. Think of a white leather shirt as you would its denim counterpart, pairing with black skinny jeans or tucking it into a midi skirt. And instead of that black biker jacket, why not go for a dove grey version like this one from Wallis?

Leather dress £125, La Redoute

White leather shirt £175 and skirt £175, Topshop

Selina gold t-bar heels £65 Office

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bar ice

Fashion

Suede bag £40 Asos

Leather dress £215 Urbancode

Berry PU skirt £38, Next

Dickins & Jones dress £167.50 down from £239 House of Fraser

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Trend

How to wear it:

Pink

Kathryn Clarke-Mcleod investigates AW14’s penchant for the pink palette ink is the new black. blazers and even peg trousers. The Just ask Christopher bottom line is that you are aiming for Kane, or flick through everyday sophistication. If you have any of the glossies on a darker skin tone, you can take the the shelf at the moment. trend to the next level and embrace Thing is, they all seem to be advocating berry shades. Dark mulberry wrap the same thing, a pink coat. But what if dresses and sultry red wine lips take you don’t want a pink coat? this tend from day to night. I see a coat as a staple item, best Part of achieving grown-up sophisbought in fairly safe colours. If you are tication in pink is recognising all the going to get a bit jazzy with this warddifferent incarnations of the shade. robe building block then you shouldn’t Oyster, crepe, ballet slipper and rosestray too much further than red, or wood all count as a part of this trend perhaps stripes, for example. I’m just and can look brilliant paired with not sure about the perennial power just about anything. of pink. My solution? Add a dash of punch A peek of blush from to these shades by pairbelow a sea of multiing them with interesttextured neutrals. ing and edgy textures. Add a dash of The duskier and I found this leather more muted pastel look cream pencil skirt punch to these shades have more in River island and shades by pairing staying power. If you knew it was the perfect find yourself lured, companion to my delithem with moth-like, to a hot cate new Reiss shirt. interesting and pink blouse just re(I also can’t wait to member this quote pair it with a chunky edgy textures by Georgio Armani. grey knit and tassled “Elegance is not ankle boots, but that’s about being noticed, a whole other column) it’s about being reThese sweet shades membered.” If these words from the look delightful with metallics, so have master aren’t enough to steer you fun accessorising. Silver will cool your away, just consider the purchase in look down, and gold will add a warm practical terms. Will it go with jeans/ glow. grey trousers, black skinnies? If the Still not tempting you out of your amount of matches in your wardrobe black-on-black get up? At least conare pitifully few, then just walk away sider a dash of the prettiest pink lipgracefully. I have a neon pink halter stick. When looking at lippie, forget neck that is nearly two years old this everything I said about avoiding the year, still with the tags on, and I want brights. Mac’s Candy Yum Yum’ has you to learn from my mistakes. I achieved cult like status, and Revcould have used the money to buy a lon’s Pink Pout 2 will add a pretty and lovely bottle of champagne, or a nice cheeky pop to any outfit. In fact, go bottle of scotch for my other half online and get some right now. And (most likely the champagne). while you’re online, I heard someone Wearing pink in winter can be is selling a v tasteful pink halterneck quite a serious affair, as it isn’t acon eBay. You can pay in champagne. companied by the amount of skin All fashion in these pictures is from that summer interpretation would Princesshay Shopping Centre, Exeter, be. Think blouses buttoned to the top, www.princesshay.com

Main Photo Hair: Saks, Exeter Makeup: Clarins, Debenhams (both Princesshay) Photography: Steve Haywood Still-life photographs: PR Shots

Lara fluid pleated shirt oyster , Reiss, Princesshay, £120 Cream leatherlook pencil skirt, River Island , Princesshay, £30 Gold tone chunky curb chain necklace, River Island , Princesshay, £15 Masculine double breasted coat, Karen Millen , Princesshay, £250

Trend_Pink.indd 36

19/11/2014 13:21:29

NEXT skinny jeans £24

GET THE

look

NEXT Zip detail shift dress £85

STREET STYLE HERO RIVER ISLAND Pink split front metallic clutch bag £15

RED HERRING Light pink faux fur jacket £49.99

Alice Pittman, 26 NEW LOOK Pale pink collarless coat £49.99

Self-employed, Exeter Top, TK Maxx, £16.99 Trousers, Primark, £12

Trend_Pink.indd 37

19/11/2014 13:22:26

Beau Clarke

Bays Brewery

My Secret Westcountry

Beau Clarke Beau Clarke relocated from Leamington Spa to take on the role of general manager of the Bistrot Pierre restaurant in Torquay, which opened at the resort’s £12 million beachfront development, Abbey Sands, in September this year. My favourite... Pub: The Cary Arms at Babbacombe, Torquay. Walk: Anywhere on Dartmoor. The scenery is stunning.

Beach: I’m still yet to find my ultimate favorite, but Abbey Sands here in Torquay is beautiful and I’m lucky enough to look at it everyday. Event: I loved the Dartmouth Regatta in August - it’s a great event showing the South West at its best.

Shop: Powderham Food Hall, the farm shop The Cary Arms

in the grounds of Powderham Castle in Kenton near Exeter. They offer locally sourced and very high quality food.

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People Torquay harbour

Powderham Food Hall

Treat: Waking up every day and overlooking Torquay Bay. There’s nothing quite like it. Although relocating from the Midlands was a big step, I’ve no regrets. I’ve met some wonderful people and wake up to beautiful views every morning – what could be better? Day out: Dartmouth. My ideal day out would be a trip to Dartmouth. It’s the perfect place to relax with a couple of ciders.

Tipple: I like Otter Brewery’s Otter Bright, Bays Brewery’s Topsail and Sharp’s Doom Bar.

Restaurant: Other than Bistrot Pierre?! I’d have to say On the Rocks, which is a restaurant near us here in Torquay. Great food and drink. in a beautiful location on the seafront.

Beau Clarke with chef Scott Harrison-Jones 39

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19/11/2014 11:50:27

[ The Dock [ EATING OUT

By Catherine Barnes

hat do you fancy doing for your birthday? my sister texted. Go for something to eat, I replied. Somewhere we’ve not tried before and with parking so that three generations of our little family could have a celebratory (weeknight) get-together. I plumped for The Dock in Plymouth’s Millbay, which has had some great online customer reviews and, according to its own website, aims to ensure that ‘everyone feels welcome.’ It’s a contemporary venue in the new docks building in the city’s £4 million King Point Marina and certainly looks the business. A quick phone-call ahead established that the restaurant is roughly 300 metres away from where I park my car every day, but I had never noticed it. “Where is it?” Tilly called, as her uncle chauffeured one half of the family in. “Where is it?” my friend Jill called moments later. “I’m in your car park.”

Keep driving, I said, but stop before your board and my sister, the chilli con carne (£9), brother the Brittany Ferry because: in law went for the seafood linguine (£13) and I a: you’ll have overshot the restaurant chose Thai chicken curry (£12). Tilly only wanted and a side; a quinoa and halloumi salad (£5). b: there’s no ferry there at the We all shared olives, taramamoment and you’ll get wet. salata and hummous to start, My sister and I arrived ahead served with warm pitta (which of the others at The Dock’s own was wolfed down the quickest) For a venue that little car park, where we had to along with chunky slices of fresh was half full and push an intercom button for adbrown and granary bread. The mission through the barrier. We taramasalata was really special; seemed well did so and waited.. and waited... lemony and garlicky - I could staffed, we felt and eventually gained entry. have eaten twice as much. the service was The maitre d’ seemed a little When our mains arrived, mum surprised to see us - our bookand Jill admired the crockery slow rather than ing was found in the diary on they both make a habit of rating unhurried the same day the following week. tableware. Mum approved of the However a table was available authentic use of beef chunks, and he went off to oversee it rather than mince, in her chilli, being set, while we wondered if while Jill, who hoped it wasn’t we could have perhaps ordered a drink. going to be too spicy, declared it just right and Eventually we were all assembled and seated. added that she and wasn’t disappointed in their Mum had been looking forward to the fish of the choice of serving dishes. Sister also enjoyed her day (sold out, at lunchtime) although battered chilli - served with rice and nachos. cod was available. She picked, along with Jill My brother-in-law was satisfied with his portion

[[

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4 of the best Waterfront cafes

Blue Bar

1 The Clipper Cafe and Bar, Shaldon

This traditional cafe cooks seasonal veg grown less than a mile away. Booking advised for evening sittings in the lead-up to Christmas. Dish of the day: Seafood stew (evening menu) with prawns, calamari and mussels, served with sliced baguette. Price: £3.95 for a buttered jacket spud and from £7.95 for an evening main Contact: 01626 873747

2 The Blue and Green, Westward Ho!

Steak and real woodfire-cooked pizzas are the specialities at this family-friendly restaurant, open on Thursday and Friday winter evenings and at weekends. Dish of the day: The Children’s Holiday Foundation Special pizza, £1 from each supports a wonderful local charity. Price: Pizzas start at £8.95 and £4.95 for children’s. Contact: 01237 476527

3 Blue Bar, Porthtowan of linguine with mussels, clams and tiger prawns, describing it as very nice indeed. I’m afraid my Thai curry was a bit of a disappointment; in a blind taste test, I’d have taken it for a chicken stew. My five-year old niece fell asleep midway through her home-made fish-fingers but her dad was impressed with the freshly-cooked fish. Tilly’s salad came with a generous topping of creamy grilled halloumi slices and lovely dressing - a real winner. We didn’t stay for dessert or coffee as, for small people with an early start, it was getting late. We might have had little more time but - for a venue that was only half full and seemed well-staffed - we felt the service was slow rather than unhurried. Birthday or not, I’d expected a little bit more of this venue, which didn’t really live up to the rave reviews for the warmth of its welcome. But the company I shared my evening with made it a very special occasion. The Dock, King Point Marina, Plymouth, 01752 253555

This cafe-bar on the beach, pictured, serves food until 5pm Monday to Thursday in the winter and till late, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. Dish of the day: ‘Dirty chips’ as a shared starter- rustic fries topped with pulled pork, BBQ sauce, cheddar & jalapenos. Price: From £8 for a sweet potato burger with rustic chips. Kids’ choices start at £4.50 Contact: 01209 890329

How they scored... Food



Atmosphere



Service



Price

Dinner for seven was £96

4 The Boardwalk, Woolacombe

Fresh cooked food by the beautiful beach. Open daytime hours and evenings. Dish of the day: Pan-fried fillet of mackerel with lemon and garlic, served with new potatoes. Price: Between £10.95 and £16.95 for a evening main Contact: 01271 871115

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19/11/2014 14:26:47

Ingredient of the Week

Star anise

with Tim Maddams pice cupboards can tell you a lot about what type of cook you are. Mine is bulging with bags and kilner jars, jam jars and plastic tubs piled higgledy piggledy until my long-suffering wife canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t take it anymore and has a tidy up. Often resulting in me not being able to find what I want. I can usually tell what time of year it is by the order of the spices next to the cooker, the spot reserved for the most called-upon seeds, leaves and powders. At the moment star anise has taken centre stage as my go-to spice of the season, as it tends to every year around this time. The main reason for this is that I am cooking a lot of game and I love to marinate game meat in a mixture of star anise, black pepper, rosemary and olive oil. But I am also finding use for this pungent spice in the pudding department too. I like to put it whole into dried fruits that are getting the re-

vival in hot tea treatment and I have just started dusting quick apple doughnuts in a mix made of sugar and finely ground star anise seeds. There seems to be something a little addictive about the Asian edge to this seed and its pod that makes me want to see where I can use it next. This has led to a few disasters. Understanding your spices and how to make them work in your kitchen is all part of the fun but bold flavours like star anise wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t thank you for careless experimentation. In short, star anise ice cream: good, star anise flapjacks: bad. When buying spices I head to the local health food shop. The spices are available by weight and you can take your own jars and tubs to save on packaging. More importantly, the spices are simply better - more vibrant, fresher and fair trade to boot. It might seem odd to describe a dried seed or powdered spice as being fresh but try buying your spices from a specialist shop and see the difference in quality for yourself.

Meat marinade

This is ideal for wild duck breasts and venison, but works well on beef too. Take a whole star anise, 10 black peppercorns, a teaspoon of rock salt and a stem of finely chopped rosemary. Crush all together in a pestle and mortar and add a little olive or rape seed oil to make into a rub.

Star anise ice cream

Make a custard in the usual way but infuse the milk with four whole stars before you add the eggs and sugar.

@TimGreenSauce

Tim Maddams is a Devon chef and writer who often appears on the River Cottage TV series 42

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19/11/2014 10:14:58

Drink The new Samuel Jones beer venue on Exeter’s quayside will serve 18 craft beers

Beer of the week I went into the Old Ale House in Truro hoping for some Skinner’s Seven Hop (see last week’s column), but it went off as I walked through the door. Still, silver linings ‘n’ all that. If not for that disappointment I may not have been acquainted with, and instantly fallen for, Padstow Brewing Co’s Windjammer (4.3% ABV), a glorious copper coloured best bitter with a lovely cinnamon-type spiciness. An autumn warmer.

bumper harvest This year’s Maris Otter barley crop has been described as a ‘once-in-alifetime’ harvest. The variety has several acres dedicated to it here in Cornwall. “Low nitrogen — a requirement for ale brewers — big, bold grains (giving more starch to convert to fermentable sugars), high specific weights and huge yields make the 2014 harvest a real bumper affair,” says Jonathan Arnold, of grain merchant Robin Appel.

Darren Norbury

talks beer f you’ve ever judged a beer competition, or, for that matter, sat next to me in a pub gradually wishing that you’d stayed in and watched that two-hour TV debate on the Barnet funding formula, you’ll know that there’s more to appreciating beer than simply tasting it. It’s important to get the beer’s aroma. You can do this by just sniffing the liquid in the glass, but a much better way is to swirl the beer around with your hand over the top of the glass, then take your hand away and get your nose in there. You should get hop or malt notes in your nostrils. Indeed, you can define the style and character of the beer before a drop has touched your tongue. When you’re drinking the beer, make sure the liquid goes all over your tongue, especially to the back and edges where the bitterness receptors are located. You may find the taste in your mouth develops once you’ve swallowed the beer – this is known as the aftertaste, or finish. When judging beer, unlike those chaps who do wine, we don’t spit it out. That aftertaste is a huge part of the beer drinking experience, and you often find flavours, particularly bitterness, can develop fantastically after swallowing. A good level of bitterness is the beer’s own promotional tool, tempting you into another pint.

While we’re talking sensuality, how does your beer look? Not so long ago the optimum appearance for a beer was crystal clear, and for many drinkers and landlords this still holds true. However, a growing number of brewers – Moor is a good Westcountry example – now define their style by leaving their beer naturally hazy, rather than by fining in the cask for clarity. (Finings covers a wide range of substances added to beer in cask to make compounds and yeast floating in the liquid drop down and the beer appear clear.) Some authentic styles, like wheat beer, have a natural haze, particularly noticeable in German beers such as Schneider Weisse. But many modern craft brewers are now placing much more emphasis on flavour than looks. Myself, I don’t have a problem with clarity if the taste is good, but it’s going to take some time before the majority of drinkers accept cloudiness, with real ale brewers having placed so much importance on the appeal of a polished pint. So you see, your lovingly crafted beer has more about it than just taste. Seek out the aroma, enjoy the colour and you’ll appreciate the brewer’s art so much more. Darren Norbury is editor of beertoday.co.uk @beertoday

CRAFTY IN EXETER Exeter’s development as a major craft beer venue continues with the opening of St Austell brewery’s Samuel Jones venue on the quayside. The bar and restaurant, named after a former Exeter mayor and wine merchant, will serve 18 craft beers from around the world. 43

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19/11/2014 10:15:46

Living

motors

Fancy a swift one? Small but perfectly formed, the Suzuki Swift Sport is stylish yet affordable, says Steve Grant lobal sales of the Suzuki Swift have passed the four million mark since its launch in 2004. Launched in the UK in May 2005, more than 90,000 have been sold, accounting for around 30 per cent of the company’s sales here. That’s no surprise. With a starting price of £10,799 on-the-road it’s seen as a car that is stylish, sharp, affordable and cheap to run. Top of the range - and definitely the most fun - is the Swift Sport, which this year was named ‘Best Buy hot hatch for less than £15,000’ by What Car? magazine for the third consecutive year. Accolades don’t come much higher than that. Editor-in-chief Chas Hallett said: “The Suzuki Swift Sport might be based on an average small

car, but this version’s rev-happy engine and sharp handling mean it’s far from an average hot hatch. “What will delight most is the body control and grip on offer.The Swift outshines more expensive rivals, giving you plenty of confidence to wring out the engine through a series of bends.” I certainly can’t disagree. Out on the twisties of Dartmoor the Swift Sport was a grin-inducing joy. And, just last month it was also chosen as the 2014 Car of the Year by the Northern Group of Motoring Writers. So what did I make of it? The latest incarnation of the Swift Sport has more power - 136PS - than its predecessor but remains a lightweight at just 1,045kg. The Fiat 500 Abarth and Seat Ibiza SC FR

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gadget notebook TECH TIPS: Party kit

23 November 2014

Some talking-point touches for your Christmas drinks

On the rocks weigh roughly the same but this is many, many kilos lighter than the Fiesta ST or Mini Cooper S. Mated to the high-revving 1.6-litre engine with a Sport-specific six-speed gearbox, this lightness is what makes the Sport such a thriller. It drives brilliantly, with bags of composure, and confidence in its road-holding ability. It’s as nimble and sure-footed as a mountain goat.The 1.6-litre engine is derived from its predecessor but now has variable intake valve timing. This brings the extra power and a revvier nature peak power of 136bhp howling in at 7,000rpm. Torque is up too and the engine speed it comes in at is lowered. Of course it’s not as powerful as the aforementioned ST but what adds to the fun is keeping the revs above 4,000rpm by working the snappy sixspeed gearbox while threading your way through the bends (the sports seats help support). All this combined makes the driving experience a real pleasure. The ride is naturally firm though not bonejarring - the dampers are provided by specialists Monroe - and the interior is comfortable if not spectacular. There’s oodles of kit though - seven airbags, auto air conditioning, cruise control, rear privacy glass and 17-inch alloy wheels. As well as satnav and DAB radio, the Sport also has voice recognition, USB and SD connection and Bluetooth music streaming which is also compatible with iPod/ iPhone. It comes in a choice of four standard metallic paint finishes. And it costs just £13,99 (or £14,499 for the 5dr I was testing). For a car that’s this much fun, with this much equipment, that’s a bargain. Even more so when you consider it averages 44.1mpg (I managed 37.4mpg) while a 10 per cent lower CO2 rating of 147g/km brings tax bonuses too. Residual values are also good at 47 per cent. And, if you think it’s a mite too small, think again. I managed to carry home - inside - a 6ft 4in tree from the garden centre!

Suzuki Swift Sport 1.6 5dr Price: £ 14,499 0-62 mph: 8.7 secs Max speed: 121mph CO2 (g/km): 147 g/km Combined mpg: 44.1

Chill these soapstone cubes in the freezer then pop them into your drink. No melting: neat!. £11.95 for eight, www.red5.co.uk

Gold rush Ted Baker’s outdoor hip flask is a great gift £42.50 from www. cotswoldtrading.com

Soda-lightful This stunning soda siphon was made in France in 1938 Vintage soda siphon £75 from www.raspberrymash.co.uk TheGreatGiftCompany.co.uk

Rock steady! These tumblers from Sagaform can be rocked back and forth to aerate your drink and slowly release the flavour. Set of six £16.50 from www.design55online.co.uk

Living_Gadgets_Nov23.indd 45

19/11/2014 10:06:43

My life

[

man and boy

Dressing the part

was recently forced to revisit my personal history of fancy dress, going back over many years. During this odd process, I found myself wondering if any psychological significance can be attached to my choice of characters. Maybe it could make an interesting parlour game, like morphing your mother’s maiden surname with your first pet to create the socalled blue movie star name (Mine is Smokey Waters, which is probably more Delta bluesman than boudoir). Anyway, back to the family album. As an infant at a summer holiday camp in Scarborough, I began with Noddy – red shirt, blue Smurf hat with bell, yellow neckerchief. Then later I progressed to Batman. Into early adolescence (and I hesitate to make this admission

Phil Goodwin stresses over fancy dress in print) I went to a teen party dressed as Adam Ant - the braided waistcoat era of Antmusic, not the Dandy Highwayman, I might add. Then as a smartass adult I once turned up in the Arabic hooded robe, or djellaba, and fez to be Brion Gysin, the 1950s artist sidekick of William Burroughs, complete with working Dream Machine no less. This is not an exhaustive list but these outfits all have one thing in common. They were hand made by my mother, Nancy. She trained as a dressmaker in Liverpool in the 1960s, making collarless Beatle outfits for my eldest brother and his mates. Believe me, having a mum who is a dab hand as a seamstress is a godsend for a young man with places to go and trousers that need shortening or narrowing. Unfortunately, as I was born years after the other three, I could never persuade her to make me the longed-for suit but the consolation was I did get bespoke made-to-measure fancy dress gear. She converted an old school blazer for the Adam Ant outfit, running up tassled leather strides, over-boots – the whole kit and caboodle. I was King of the Wild Frontier.

[

I mention this because the latest diktat from young James’ school has requested that we send him to school dressed as a superhero. I can go with that. As a lad, I was obsessed with the Marvel Comics roster of men in tights and pants: X-men, Avengers, Fantastic Four, Captain America and the rest. But logistically, it presents a problem. Now as a matter of course, I refrain from criticising the school, which is outstanding (literally, according to Ofsted) or the teachers, whom James loves. But I think those in the education bubble sometimes overestimate the amount of free time available to parents. We have already been recruited into Maths and English lessons, following on from occasional trips to country parks. Now I am expected to knock up a superhero costume with four days’ notice. Helpfully, the hand-out says we can create our own character – Captain Homework or some such nonsense – but frankly that is not going to cut the mustard with a four-year-old boy with access to a gazillion TV channels and the Internet. He wants to be Spiderman. But who is going to run up an all-in-one blue jumpsuit, decorated with red webbing and full-face mask in that time? Having learned the basics from my mother, I do own a sewing machine which I use for very simple stuff. But tailoring is well out of my league. My mother-in-law could help, but is away in Russia. My wife is in the middle of a phD and would not take kindly to losing the time. I could ask Mum, but she is 89, failing in sight and long past threading a needle. Seems I have two choices. Either I take a trip down to the local shops and spend £20 on a ready-made outfit or I bravely hit the fabric shop and continue the family tradition in the rag trade. I know which way I am veering.

[

Now I am expected to knock up a superhero costume with only four days’ notice

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19/11/2014 10:26:47

Get your perfect smile for Christmas

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19/11/2014 13:13:55

Escape to the Coast Winter dinner, bed and breakfast breaks from £109 per couple, per night. Call 0844 858 9185 quoting ‘West’ to book your stay.

www.stives-harbour-hotel.co.uk

Terms and Conditions: Valid until 31st March, excluding 13-20th February. Rates are based midweek stays in an inland room. Supplements apply for upgrading room types and weekend stays. Saturdays may require a 2 night stay. Dinner is an allowance of £25 per person in the restaurant. Rates are pre-paid rates and cancellations are non-refundable.

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19/11/2014 13:05:54