West January 30, 2016

30.01.16

INSIDE: + NICK MORAN + CLEANSE LIKE A PRO

Rock n’ roll

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February style fixes

DON’T MISS: + WINTER NAUTICAL + FITNESS FASHION

The Devon jeweller with star quality WIN:

+ VALENTINE TREATS

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Quality and Style

the furnishers

WINTER SALE www.julianfoye.co.uk atch M e Pric romise P

FREE LOCAL DELIVERY AND SETTING UP ALL THE BIGGEST BRANDS TO ORDER AT SALE PRICES - Ercol, G Plan, Stressless, Duresta, Parker Knoll

Visit our inspirational, designer led showrooms for service you will remember for the home you love SALE! Hypnos 5ft for 4ft 6” price

Truro Tregolls Road, TR1 1SB, 01872 222226 truro@julianfoye.co.uk Untitled-1 4

SALE! Bedroom Furniture

St Austell 8 Manfield Way, Holmbush, PL25 3HQ - 01726 70711 staustell@julianfoye.co.uk

Wadebridge Bridgend, PL27 6DA 01208 814242 wadebridge@julianfoye.co.uk

SALE! FREE DRAWERS

Hayle 4 Fore Street, Copperhouse, TR27 4DY - 01736 755 700 hayle@julianfoye.co.uk 12/01/2016 14:02:30

‘I’ve already made sowings under glass of aubergines and spinach, while garlic cloves are sprouting in pots’

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ART DECO UPDATE A Cornish home gets back to its roots

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ALL THE GOSSIP Sh! You heard it here first!

Anne Swithinbank is ahead of the game - catch up with her on p26

[contents[ Inside this week...

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VALENTINE’S TREATS TO WIN Delicious goodies to be won

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JUST BETWEEN US...

Sh! We have the latest gossip!

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DEVON’S SILVER LADY The rock-chick jeweller causing a stir

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EARN YOUR STRIPES Nautical fashion gets a refresh

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SILVER LADY The Devon silversmith causing a stir

IN LOVING MEMORY One mother’s deeply-moving story

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ART DECO UPDATE A Cornish home gets back to its roots

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ANNE SWITHINBANK

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SAGE ADVICE Wise words on cooking with herbs

Plan now for tasty veg this summer

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EARN YOUR STRIPES Nautical fashion gets a refresh

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WORK OUT IN STYLE Yes you can, says Kathryn Clarke-Mcleod

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CULTURE VULTURE What’s hot in the Westcountry now

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BOOST YOUR WELLBEING Great ways to feel your best this week

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SAGE ADVICE Tim Maddams has wise words on herbs

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ALE AND HEARTY Our beer expert’s favourite brews

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WORK OUT IN STYLE

The fitness kit you need right now

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[

[

SECRET PLACES

Where to go, what to do

[ welcome [ Prepare to be inspired...

If you haven’t yet heard of Naomi Davies, I have a hunch you soon will. She’s been somewhat busy in recent years raising her two children but, now that they are a bit older, she really is coming into her own as a jewellery maker. Her rock-n-roll take on silver-smithing is very cool indeed - I can’t help feeling that when and if Madonna gets married next time, one of Naomi’s rings would be just the thing for her.

It also helps that Naomi herself looks like she should be fronting a rock-chick band herself.

Instead, you’ll find her painstakingly crafting beautiful bangles and necklaces at her home in Newton Abbot - read all about it in Sarah Pitt’s

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Tweet

of the week @GillyMole

Hey @WMNWest check it, I’m bang on trend!

fascinating interview with her on page 12 today.

Another inspiring woman in this week’s magazine is Clare Babbage from Exmouth in east Devon. She is running the London Marathon this year to raise money for the cot death charity that helped her so much when she lost her son Harry. It’s a deeply-moving but ultimately uplifting story of a mother’s love, on page 16 today.Finally, do make sure you enter our competition to win a Valentine’s gift pack of Godminster cheese from Somerset (see opposite) - I’ve just tried some of their smoked cheddar and it’s better than roses or chocolates, it really is!

She’s raising money for the charity that helped her so much

TO ADVERTISE: Contact Lynne Potter: 01752 293027 or 07834 568283, lynne.potter@dc-media.co.uk

[

Becky Sheaves, Editor

COVER IMAGE: Elizabeth Armitage

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

MEET THE TEAM Becky Sheaves, Editor

Sarah Pitt

Kathryn Clarke-McLeod

Catherine Barnes

Lynne Potter

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If you buy one thing this week...

Win someone’s heart with a romantic and tasty Valentine’s gift from Somerset. The Godminster Heart to Heart gift pack has three artisan cheeses from the Bruton-based dairy, including Vintage Organic Cheddar and handmade Organic Brie in pretty heart shapes.

Order yours, at £17.45 including delivery, for Valentine’s Day from www.godminster.com.

Win

We have three Heart to Heart gift packs, each worth £17.45, for three lucky readers to win. To be in with a chance, tell us where Godminster Dairy is based. Email your answer, marked Godminster, with your name, address and phone number, to westmag@westernmorningnews.co.uk by February 13. Normal terms apply, West will not share your details.

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PRETTY Jelly and cake ovengloves £26 www. annabeljames.co.uk

UGG slippers £70

the

Amara

wishlist West’s picks for spending your time and money this week

Cactus print suitcase £55 Oliver Bonas

STREET STYLE STAR

Coat: Jaeger (was £567) reduced to £268 Snood: Topshop £16 Cardigan: Primark £7 Leggings: Primark £4 Boots: Celtic & Co £135 Bag: Marks & Spencer £32.50

WORDS AND PICTURE: ELLIE JONES AND SOPHIE WHITING

Amy-Jo Zinyohwera Amy-Jo, 28, is an artist who lives in Exeter. We spotted her wrapped up warmly in a great sales bargain, this classic camel coat from quality brand Jaeger. She’s on the hunt for a leather jacket, she told us, another timeless piece that she will wear and wear. What a smart lady!

Cute Liberty alphabet stickers £7.99 www. candleandcake.co.uk

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Wishlist

Sail away with me Breton fishing boat model £30 www.thenauticalcompany.com

It’s a snip!

Orla Kiely secateurs £25 quinceliving.co.uk

BLOOM Flower bouquet stud earrings £8 Accessorize

Wall desk £238.80 (down from £398) by Devon-based www. newmakers.com

STORE WE ADORE:

Nkuku This stylish lifestyle store near Totnes in south Devon sells reclaimed and antique Indian furniture and other beautiful, unusual things for your home. Give an individual touch to your own furniture with their selection of glass and ceramic

handles. We also love the antique brass glass stars and hand-etched iron platters.

Do have a look, too, at the glamorous jewellery.

Nkuku, Harbertonford, www.nkuku. com or call 01803 465365 7

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talking points Gillian Molesworth

Story of my life...

When teenage backchat gets beyond a joke ny mother with a teenage daughter (or indeed a younger one – I heard the amusing term ‘threenager’ recently) will know about backchat. With a child’s impulsiveness teamed with an adult perceptiveness in how exactly to lash out, your daughter’s sass can be truly maddening and hurtful.

However it can also, according to to not be nice. You need to learn at least one expert, be healthy. how to stand up for yourself in That certainly came as a surlife, whether it’s to a waiter who prise to me, but an article I read overcharged you on the bill or a championed a child’s ability to husband who’s a bully. stand up against authority, esGirls are terrified of being perpecially for girls. After all, they ceived as “mean”. That’s one of won’t be at home forever. When the reasons why mum is so emyou’re not there to tell them what barrassing – when she goes sailto do, they’ll need to challenge ing into school to object about the authority figures and stand up for maths curriculum, or complains their rights: say, to a broadband at gymnastics that her daughter provider that isn’t getting enough isn’t fulfilling time on the uneven its contract, or bars. a company that Of course, there Got a sassy isn’t looking after are techniques to lassie? Who its workers propthe language of knows, you could erly, or a corrupt problem resolution.

MP. “You’re all a bunch have a budding Got a sassy of lazy cows” will political lobbyist lassie?

Who get less results than on your hands. knows, you could beginning with “I have a budding wonder if we could And the world political lobbyist find a way to encourneeds those on your hands. age a more proactive And the world approach,” for inneeds those. stance. For goodness The challenge is maintaining sake, we learn this stuff at work. parental authority while trying Why aren’t we using it at home? not to squash them or make them I am resolving to start teachfeel powerless. Girls are shushed ing my daughter how to not be a lot – some research suggests, nice. This could take the shape much more than boys. While boys of self defence classes, or workcan be excused for being rowdy or shops where people shout at each loud, girls are taught it isn’t nice other just to get it off their chest, behaviour. And nice is what girls or something else. I’ll have to reshould be, right? search it. Ultimately, I am hoping The problem with nice is that that a good understanding of the it doesn’t give you a very broad language of problem resolution vocabulary. It’s easy to be nice. will also improve the backchat.

What’s hard – yet necessary – is That would be nice.

A

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

SHEER

genius Cheryl Fernandez-Versini looks great in this sheer maxi dress, doesn’t she? Stepping out on the red carpet recently at the London Fashion Awards, the singer wore the bespoke dress with floral sequin embellishments from Topshop, and teamed the evening gown with a pair of over-the-knee textured boots from Sergio Rossi.

Cheryl’s dress is not for sale, but the peepthrough look is just the thing for an evening out when you want to cover up but still show off some skin. Not only will it give you a streamlined silhouette, but it can look alluring without being overly revealing.

Naomi maxi dress £145 Phase Eight

steal her

style

OR MAKE IT YOUR OWN

OPTION A Dramatic OPTION B Pretty Per Una Speziale dress £129 Marks & Spencer

Red maxi dress £59 Miss Selfridge

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30.01.16

STRICTLY?

Just

THA NO ICTNKS STR The Great British Bake Off’s MARY BERRY turned down the chance to appear in Strictly Come Dancing.

The celebrity chef and TV personality has revealed that she enjoyed watching the show, but would not star in it herself. “My husband and children would kill me. I have two left feet and would make a terrible fool of myself.”

The big question is, will the Beeb ask Andrew Ridgeley to strut his stuff this

between us Gossip, news, trend setters and more – you

year? The former Wham! star, lives with Bananarama singer Keren Woodward near Wadebridge and is a huge Strictly fan, but denied rumours of an appearance last year. He Tweeted at the time: “No truth in #bbcstrictly tho def consider if asked.” We say: Fingers crossed!

heard all the latest juicy stuff here first!

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Sir Michael Caine:

‘I OWE IT ALL TO...’

The love of a good woman can make all the difference, can’t it? Legendary actor SIR MICHAEL CAINE says he would have been dead “long ago” had he not married his wife SHAKIRA BAKSH. The two wed in 1973 and have a daughter, Natasha. Sir Michael credits Shakira – now Lady Caine – with reforming his character.

He tells the Radio Times: “Without her I would have been dead long ago.

I would have probably drunk myself to death. I used to drink a bottle of vodka a day and I was smoking too, several packs a day.

“I wasn’t unhappy but it was stress.

You know, ‘Am I going to get another picture? How am I going to do this part?

How am I going to remember all those lines? I’ve got to get up at 6 in the morning and I hope the alarm works.’

“There was always some stressful thing. Meeting Shakira calmed me down.”

The 82-year-old adds: “She’s my right-hand man, my confidante. I tell her everything. I was famous when I met her, but I couldn’t have got this far without her.”

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‘I wanted to be a Weasley’

‘I NEVER GOT THE CALL’ EDDIE REDMAYNE was desperate to be a member of the red-headed Weasley family in the Harry Potter films but “never got the call”.

But the actor is finally getting the chance to play a part in the wizarding world with his starring role in Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them. It’s based on JK Rowling’s book, a prequel to Harry Potter.

The 33-year-old says: “In the Harry Potter films, there’s a whole ginger family, and I never got an audition.

And I was like, come on, it’s outrageous! So I was desperate. Every actor in England was in the Harry Potter films, but I never got the call.

Now I’m having my moment.”

He plays writer Newt Scamander – also a redhead, apparently.

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Hard work: Beano the heavy horse is clearing Fingle Woods in Devon’s Teign Valley

in pictures Star appearance: Gok Wan met Greig Curno at the Plymouth Theatre Royal panto

Stunning: Frosty morning at Crook Peak, Somerset

Bright girl: Olympic cyclist Victoria Pendleton rode in a point-to-point

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talking points Why, oh why?

My little pony

ONE OF US Famous faces with links to the Westcountry

Most regretted tattoos, according to Premier Laser Removal

1 Fairies 2 Signs of the Zodiac 3 Celtic designs 4 Chinese symbols 5 Butterflies 6 Stars 7 Barbed wire 8 Foreign language quotes 9 Dolphins 10 An ex-partner’s name

In colour

This week:

1 Blaze 2 Chin spot 3 Mealy muzzle 4 Milk-bucket muzzle 5 Snip 6 Star 7 Stripe 8 White face 9 White lips 10 White muzzle

The happy list

Books with colourful titles

1 Fifty Shades of Grey (EL James)

2 The Color Purple (Alice Walker)

3 Green Eggs and Ham (Dr Seuss)

4 Anne of Green Gables (LM Montgomery)

5 The Scarlet Letter (Nathaniel Hawthorne)

6 The Little White Horse (Elizabeth Goudge)

7 Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit (Jeanette Winterson)

8 Mystery of the Blue Train (Agatha Christie) 9 The Golden Compass (Philip Pullman)

10 The Green Mile (Stephen King)

Connor McIntyre

Officially-recognised markings found on horses’ heads

10 things to make you smile this week 1 Nick Moran in Betrayal, Exeter’s Northcott, from Feb 18

2 Half term plans can’t wait 3 Beautiful dawns to be seen at 7.30am

4 Ed Byrne at Hall for Cornwall, Feb 2. Very funny

5 Hearty stews delicious 6 Ilfracombe its first film festival is in March (11-13)

Coronation Street actor and artist Connor McIntyre, 55, lives in Millbay, Plymouth

Corrie: Connor is best known as Coronation Street villain, Pat Phelan, who recently rejoined The Street after 18 months away. “I’ve got news for you – he’s even worse than ever!”

Plymouth: He grew up in Toxteth, Liverpool but has lived in Plymouth since his 30s. “Plymouth has been great to me. I will always be a boy from Liverpool, but Plymouth is my home.”

Acting: Connor’s acting career started when he wandered into the Barbican Theatre in Plymouth.

to be a bit less Connor McIntyre.” But he then decided to become an artist, as well as an actor.

DID YOU KNOW?

Connor’s paintings are up to five metres wide.

His favourite brush is the size of a floor mop

Health: In 2003, Connor suffered a heart attack, and doctors advised him to slow down. “That is like telling me

Art: He studied for an access course in Saltash, then went to Plymouth University where he gained a degree and a Master’s in Fine Art. Career: Connor now calls himself a “painter who does a bit of acting,” despite decades of screen and stage work. He is also a former lifeguard, boxer and car salesman.

Community: Connor has an art studio in Plymouth. He recently donated one of his huge paintings to the Mayflower primary school in the city.

By Sophie Whiting

7 Tom Nichols Exeter City goal-scoring hero

8 Roast garlic mmm...

9 The Friends reunion please let it be happening

10 Amethysts February’s pretty birthstones

Competition winners: Congratulations to the latest winners from our competitions in West magazine • • •

Personalised manicure set from www.vivabop.co.uk: Sue Sleep, St Issey; Amy Rich, Totnes £50 Silly Old Seadog voucher: Karen Clarke, Appledore Lily Loves toy sheep from Lily Warne Wool: Jan Wingfield, Taunton; Maddie Beer, Awliscombe; David Rogers, Tavistock; Jill Treby, Sturminster Newton; Helen Barwick, Templecombe

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People

Meet Devon’s silver lady Naomi Davies, who is based in Newton Abbot, tells Sarah Pitt about the kick she gets out of creating her rock ‘n’ roll jewellery

By Sarah Pitt

aomi Davies is totally absorbed in her work when I walk into her workshop one cold January morning. A glamorous willowy figure, dressed elegantly in black fitted jeans and polo-neck, she is often the model as well as the maker of her rock n’ roll vibe jewellery. Meeting her in person, it is not hard to see why.

She’s also refreshingly down-to-earth, with a genuine passion for what she does. “I do love it,” she admits. “I completely lose myself and forget about everything else when I’m working. I think it is really good therapy, actually, as you can’t really think about anything else when you are concentrating.”

Putting down her tools on her workbench, she laughs out loud if I ask her if she’s ever been a professional fashion model, or the front woman of a rock band. The answer’s actually no, although this mum of two certainly looks the part.

In one set of photographs she’s pictured posing with an electric guitar, wearing a leather jacket and one of her necklaces, a silver guitar-shaped pendant. In others, taken by her great friend the Devon-based photographer Sophie Baxter, she’s

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teaching others her craft, still managing to look Vogue-style elegant in shirt and jeans.

The art of silversmithing takes a long time to perfect, explains Naomi, but she does love sharing her passion for working with silver and gold. Many beginners will start with a ring, a relatively simple project. At the other end of the spectrum there’s her own work, including an intricate necklace featuring tiny 3D silver diamonds, like metal origami, the result of many hours of painstaking cutting and bending, filing and fusing.

Naomi adores working to commissions: “It is lovely when someone is creative and comes to me with an idea,” she says. But she admits it is hard to make a living as a jeweller, crafting each piece by hand.

“It is very hard to charge for the hours that go into each piece,” she says. “When I run courses, people always say after a couple of hours ‘now I understand the work that goes into this’. It really is a labour of love. You do have to believe in your-

[

self, and it is that which keeps you going.”

For Naomi, 48, learning the painstaking craft of silversmithing has not been an overnight thing. Indeed, you could say that this mum-oftwo has been in training all her life. She grew up in an artistic home in Newton Abbot, the daughter of the gifted artist Nathaniel Davies, a contemporary and friend of the celebrated St Ives School artists Sir Terry Frost and Patrick Heron.

That her father, who died in 1996, is not as well-known as the others is, she says, down to the fact that he concentrated on teaching others.

His self-portraits, painted as a young man, show both his prodigious talent and the dark good looks that Naomi has inherited.

“Dad was originally from Dowlais in South Wales, and all the relatives on his side look very Spanish,” says Naomi. “There were a lot of immigrants who settled in South Wales so maybe we have Spanish ancestors! He started off doing figurative work and then, like a lot of artists who

[

‘I took up jewellery-making and found I liked it. I love expressing creative ideas in a practical way’

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main picture: elizabeth armitage

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People

are naturally gifted, he moved into more abstract work, which we think was probably his downfall as he should have stayed with his own style.

“He could have been really successful. He never went to London, though, because he came to Newton Abbot College to teach art and met my mum, who arrived to do a course, and they fell in love! My mum Heather is an artist too, and I am one of four children, so home was like a mini art college.”

Naomi always thought she’d make a living through some kind of artistic endeavour, and after leaving school, she did a year’s foundation art course to try out different disciplines.

“I spent a lot of time in the jewellery workshop and I really enjoyed it,” she says. “I found I liked expressing creative ideas in a practical way.”

A spark had been ignited, and she left the family home in Newton Abbot for the West Surrey College of Art and Design in Farnham, where she studied 3D design.

Later, Naomi returned to Newton Abbot, 14

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As well as her own work, Naomi teaches silversmithing in workshops

“I’ve always loved musical instruments, particularly stringed instruments,” she adds. “I think they are such beautiful things.”

She has also enjoyed working with marble, fashioned into circles in a necklace to make a feature of the grain within the stone.

Particularly stunning are the discs of dark marble mounted with gold in a pair of dangly earrings, which would cost around £190 to buy.

Working with gold, admits Naomi, is particularly nerve-racking. “If something goes wrong with silver I will sometimes put it on the scrapheap, but with gold it has to be perfect first time.”

MAIN PICTURE: SOPHIE BAXTER

LEFT: LESLEY-JO THOMPSON

became a design technology teacher, met her husband and got married. Her creative work, she admits, had to take a back seat when her two children were smaller, although she continued to teach silversmithing. With her daughter Nina now 11 and her son Joey 15, though, she now has more time to concentrate on her own work. She is hoping to set up her own online shop, so that people can buy her work with the single click of a button. “I think that is probably key, because jewellery is such an impulse buy. You fall in love, then you have to buy it!”

Naomi pours her heart and soul into each piece, using heat to make the silver soft enough to work with and to fuse tiny pieces together.

Her finished jewellery, in a display cabinet in the workshop in her garden, has a rock and roll vibe, albeit in a chic way.

“It has absolutely got to be elegant!” says Naomi laughing. “I am going for a biker look but in a sophisticated way. I think the market is pretty much full for more restrained ‘art’ jewellery. So I wanted to do something that is a little bit more funky and fashion-based. Elegant, but a little bit edgy.”

She takes delight in thinking outside the box with her designs. She has used patent leather to cover a silver bangle, set with tiny silver dots, which references a punk vibe.

“I’m going to do a choker next, with spikes on.

It will have the look of a punk collar, but a bit more delicate,” she adds.

Her pieces inspired by the fretwork of the guitar include silver rings for both men and women.

“I just dreamed this idea up when I was lying in bed one night,” she says. “I thought, wouldn’t it be cool to make a ring with the design of a fretwork of a guitar. I’ve since made a few of them, and once made a very special one in white gold, for a guitarist.”

In silversmithing, the many stages a piece of jewellery has to go through have the potential to discourage a beginner. With much heating and shaping involved, a piece often looks worse before it looks better. For Naomi, though, this is part of the magic.

“When you come to the last stage and are cleaning the jewellery up, and the final piece is revealed, it is like finding buried treasure,” she says. “It is so exciting. It makes all those hours of work seem worthwhile.”

‘I’m going to do a choker

next, with spikes on. Like

a punk collar, but delicate’

Find out more at www.naomidavies.co.uk and www.facebook.com/NaomiDaviesJewellery 15

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25/01/2016 14:19:18

CLARE BABBAGE

‘He’s still my son’ Losing her baby son Harry to cot death was a shattering blow for Clare Babbage from Exmouth. But, with the support of her family, she is set to run the London Marathon in his memory, to raise money for the charity which has given her vital support

By Catherine Barnes

“

hey only use the blue lights on an ambulance in an emergency.

And then they turned them off, because now, there was nothing they could do. Harry was in a little mint green babygro and it was still pulled open, to expose his chest.”

Just weeks before, Clare Babbage had looked down at her newborn baby’s tiny face and felt as though she’d witnessed a miracle.

Now there was a shocking stillness and silence.

To d ay, she says, friends consider her to be “the complete earth-mother”.

With one watchful eye on her lively son Tommy, who is two and determined to impress me with his ball-throwing skills in the kitchen, Clare confesses she fell “utterly in love with motherhood” when Harry was born.

Clare is now in a happy long-term relationship with her partner Ian, 40, with whom she has sons Benji, seven, Danny, five and Tommy.

She is also mum to Hannah, 19, and Georgie, 17, from her relationship with Harry’s father Simon.

“Harry was my first baby and, back then,

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I didn’t have any friends who had babies. It wasn’t the world I lived in” says Clare, who was just 22 when Harry was born. “Having Harry was amazing. And losing him completely shaped me and changed what mattered to me.”

Fair-haired Harry was born on July 31 1995 at the Royal Devon & Exeter Hospital, weighing a healthy 7lb 8oz.

“I had quite a long labour with him and then a little person appeared. I was overwhelmed with this little being I’d made,” smiles Clare.

“I had an instant love for him. To me, he was absolutely perfect. I remember him looking up at me with little frown lines from where he was trying to focus.”

Clare formed a profound bond with Harry, who fed well, put on weight and seemed to be thriving.

“That night, I went to bed,” she remembers.

“I remember Harry looking at me. I said to him, ‘I’ll look after you and keep you safe’. He was in his moses basket and I fed him at 1am. I woke up at 5am and I just had a sense... the baby should have been awake.

“It was completely dark and I touched him and he felt slightly cool. Then I felt something on his face. I scooped him up and ran into the living room and turned the light on in a blind panic.”

Clare saw a trickle of blood below Harry’s nose. Terrified, she dialled 999.

‘I woke up at 5am and

I just had a sense... the

baby should be awake’

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Interview

PHOTOGRAPHY: STEVE HAYWOOD

Harry wa s born o nJ the Roya l Devon & uly 31 1995 at Ex a healthy eter Hospital, 7lb 8oz

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Clare’s children with the tree planted in their brother’s memory

“It’s difficult to remember how it happened in order, but some things pierce through the haze,” she says, as she recounts the desperate attempts to save her baby. “They told me to fetch a neighbour and talked me through CPR. Then the local doctor turned up. The ambulance arrived and we got in. There were bright lights inside. And then, the doctor pronounced him dead.”

It was no longer an emergency. There was nothing medics could do to bring Harry back, so the siren fell silent as the ambulance continued to the hospital.

“I was taken into a relative’s room with Harry.

One of the things I remember vividly is that a nurse wrapped him in a blanket and she cried.

“I’m so grateful to her for being so very human, for shedding her professional veneer and sharing a moment like that.”

Then Simon arrived and found Clare cradling Harry. “He found it hard because now this was, well, a dead baby. But I would have held on to him forever.”

‘This year would have been his 21st birthday.

I’m running in his memory’

Arriving home, the bereaved parents found their front room still littered with the medical paraphernalia used to try and save Harry.

“Because it was a sudden death, it can’t be assumed I’m not an awful baby killer. So I had to be interviewed by the police. It’s completely right to do so, but I hope the procedure has changed when they are interviewing people, because it was...”

Clare searches for the word, and one senses she’s being diplomatic in the extreme “...tricky”.

“The awful thing is you do wonder if you’ve done anything inadvertently wrong. But Simon never doubted me. Had it been the other way round, I might have asked, what did you do?

“Even so, I think I’ve spent the past 21 years blaming myself,” she admits. “I’ve had counselling. The greatest peace I can have is to know I did the best I possibly could with the information I had.”

Within two months of Harry’s death, Clare found she was pregnant again, with Hannah.

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Interview

Clare is pictured with partner Ian and her five surviving children

“When Harry died, I knew I couldn’t replace him, but it was like I’d had a door opened into motherhood and all this love I needed to express. If a husband dies, you’re a widow, but if your baby dies, you lose your status. You’re just a mum without a baby.”

But the joy was suffused with fear. “When I had Hannah, it was terrifying. Heart-warming, but terrifying,” she explains. “Harry’s inquest had concluded that it was a Sudden Infant Death – with no cause. There was some relief it wasn’t anything I’d done, but the hardest thing is that you have no idea how to keep your children safe in the future. It’s all out of your control.”

Support was at hand through The Lullaby Trust (then Foundation for the Study of Infant Deaths) which put Clare in touch another mum who had lost her own baby. “I remember she told me her son would be 19 and thinking, could it still be relevant, when it’s such a long time ago? Well, now I know. It’s a lifetime’s loss.”

Every year the family visits Harry’s Memory Tree on his birthday

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Interview

Through the charity, Clare had the loan of a portable monitoring device, which has been worn by all five of her other children up until the age of two. Happily, Tom’s birthday this month marked the stage when infants are deemed past the danger period.

“I know he’s my last baby, so I don’t have to go through that deadline ever again,” says Clare, who spent several years as a single mother, when, devastatingly, she and Simon broke up.

“Those years were very low. It was really a matter of survival and just trying to keep my babies alive,” she says. “It took me years to grieve for Harry properly. I wished I’d taken footprints and a lock of his hair, but then I ask myself, would that be enough?” She shakes her head. “Nothing would be enough.”

Then, in 2004, she met Ian through friends.

The couple’s first baby together, was son Benji.

“Benji suffered with projectile vomiting as a baby and was diagnosed with pyloric stenosis.

I was absolutely terrified and thought, my boy babies, they’re all going to die.”

Thankfully, the condition was remedied with an operation on Benji’s small intestine, when he was still a few weeks old. Danny followed Benji, but heartbreakingly, Clare endured six miscarriages before Tommy arrived and completed the family in January 2013.

“I couldn’t have started my journey losing Harry and ended it having a miscarriage,” she says simply.

“Tom’s a miracle.”

Over the years, Clare discovered emotional release by taking up running. “It’s brilliant for clearing your head and processing difficulties,” she says. “Running a half marathon at the age of 30 was life-changing and thinking about Harry got me over the line.”

Harry will be number one in her thoughts when she runs her first London Marathon in May, fundraising for The Lullaby Trust.

‘I want to give something

Clare’s sons Benji and Danny are now seven and five years old

back to the charity that “I want to give back to the charity that’s given so much to me,” she says.

“It’s thought that some babies are born with vulnerability but, if we get the environmental factors right, those babies will be okay.”

This summer, when Harry would have turned 21, the family will gather at the Memory Tree they planted for him in nearby Oxton. It’s grown from a reedy sapling into a magnificent silver birch. “We always go on his birthday and it’s a

has given so much to me’

joyous thing to do as well,” says Clare.

“Today, when people ask me how many children I have, I hold back,” adds Clare. “In the early days, it would have been a complete betrayal not to include Harry, but now it depends on whether I want to talk about it. So I might say, ‘I have five children,’ but yes, I’m still a mum of six. And I’ve a lot of mothering left to do.”

Sponsor Clare at www.virginmoneygiving.com/ ClareBabbage or text CLAB95 and the amount you wish to donate to 70070. For information on baby safety, visit www.lullabytrust.org.uk

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REAL HOMES

Keeping it simple Sarah Pitt discovers how a Cornish Art Deco home, originally built for an artist, has been sympathetically brought up to date elen Rush has fond memories of her childhood stays in The Art House. Her grandparents bought the property more than 60 years ago, so that their large family had somewhere special to spend their holidays.

Originally built for an artist called JW (John Willie) Matthewman, who moved from his native Sheffield to paint in Cornwall, the comfortable Art Deco-style house is a short drive away from the sandy cove of Porthcurno. The beach, which is in the far west of Cornwall, is overlooked by the open air Minack Theatre set into the cliffs.

“I have been all over the world, but I have not come across a nicer beach,” says Helen. “We spent all our summers there as children, me, my brother and sister and our parents. That was our holidays.”

And the house is still an important part of Helen’s life, now that is has been completely restored by herself and her husband. It is not in the village of Porthcurno itself, but at Treen, a village back from the sea, tucked away in a valley.

H

“My grandfather was one of eight and he bought “I guess I wanted to make it nice and natural the house specifically for his large family to go and fresh,” she says. “We wanted to keep the Art on holiday in,” says Helen. “He never made any Deco feel to it, and I think we have done that, espemoney out of it. He had three sons – including my cially with the new bathrooms. Although they are dad – and they all used it for holiall different, they all go together, days. So it is full of memories.” without there being a theme as Now Helen, an illustrator, and such. I didn’t want it to look too her husband Carl, a graphic decontrived.”

‘We restored signer, have bought the house The house was built in the late the two chairs from Helen’s father and uncle.

1920s and has well-proportioned in the living They have poured their design rooms as well as plenty of stortalent into updating the properage. The spacious feel has been enroom that my ty, which is rented out for short hanced by Helen and Carl’s makegrandparents breaks as The Art House. over, which has involved making bought shortly It has, admits Helen, been a the house much lighter, through delicate balancing act at times, the use of pale-hued paint and fixafter they got preserving the essence of a retures. They have furnished it with married’ laxed holiday home, while also a mixture of new furniture and remaking it lighter, brighter and vamped family pieces. better equipped. In particular, “There are two chairs in the Helen was keen to install three smart bathrooms living room that my grandparents bought shortly to replace the single tiny one with the rusty bath after they were married,” says Helen. “We have which they inherited. restored those and my mother-in-law made new

[[

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Interiors

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Interiors

cushions. It was all about bringing a freshness to the look of the house, without replacing everything.”

In the kitchen Helen and Carl have extended the room and installed a skylight to bring in more daylight. The room is now a large space with plenty of space for people to gather around the table. Green ‘crackle’ metro tiles are a feature of the main wall behind the units.

“We chose those tiles because when we started redoing the room, we found an old range hidden behind the chimney breast. I matched the colour of the tiles surrounding them,” says Helen.

They took out the chimney breast and installed slick modern appliances – the old range, sadly, just wasn’t useable. Helen then placed Ercol chairs, which were originally popular in the 1950s, around the kitchen table.

“It is quite a transformation,” says Helen.

“There wasn’t a kitchen like this before, just a scullery, which was freezing. The room called the kitchen had a carpet and a cooker in it and that was pretty much that. It was all a bit Heath Robinson-ish. The water system was antiquated and the whole house was damp and patched up.

Nothing was new or terribly shiny.”

That has certainly all changed, with comfort being high on Helen’s agenda throughout the house. And she’s partnered a top-notch power shower, sleek appliances and comfortable new beds, with quirky finds, searching high and low

for the pieces which have just the right feel.

“Last year I spent most of my time on the internet, looking for tiles and other bits and pieces,” she says. “The taps are from Italy and I found them on eBay, while the basins came from Germany, also on eBay.” In places Helen has decided to splash out and in others she has been able to economise. In the main bedroom, an investment piece Ercol wooden bed is partnered with a good value white Hemnes chest of drawers from Ikea. “The main bedroom is really luxurious,” says Helen. “It has got an amazingly comfortable bed and is now such a different place to the way it was.”

Black and white is a prevailing theme in many of the rooms. “Those green tiles in the kitchen are really the only colour in the whole house!”

Helen says. “I’m a big believer in white and I like white, grey and black together.”

This can be seen to great effect in the twin bed-

room under the eaves, where monochrome prints feature on cushions and on a rug on the floor.

“That is a really sweet room. It has sloping ceilings and you can look out of the window across the valley,” says Helen.

A children’s room with bunk beds is another study in black and white. “That is now a completely modern bedroom, a bit quirky and playful.”

Helen says she hopes she’s retained the unique charm of the house which has been in her family for so long. “We haven’t kept it as a museum, but what we have done is make it more comfortable so that everyone can enjoy it,” says Helen. “We do absolutely love it, and maybe other people can tell that by what we have done here. I think it is a really special place.”

The Art House is available to rent for short stays and holidays through Unique Home Stays. Visit www. uniquehomestays.com or call 01637 881183.

STYLE TIP: Enliven your chic monochrome

kitchen colour scheme with a more eyecatching, bold shade on your splashback wall tiles

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GET THE

LOOK

Create a mid-century vibe with monochrome and real wood

Graypants Scraplight Disc medium lampshade £221 www.rume.co.uk

Saffron midnight diamond storage box £229 www. swooneditions.com

Linus bunk bed £499 www.made.com

Aziz hand-woven rug £199 www.swooneditions.com

Vintage Ercol chair £165 www.raspberrymash.co.uk

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Gardens

ANNE SWITHINBANK

Summer dreams Devon’s Anne Swithinbank, panellist on Radio 4’s Gardeners’ Question Time, is getting ready for a bumper crop of vegetables in her kitchen garden

“

ow is your garden?’ sects whose larvae munch through a friend asked and I pests. Other flowers tend to drop found myself reply- their seeds in the small area where ing “sleeping”. This is they grow, thus perpetuating their about right for the end of January colonies. With no extra work or but there is promise, even in the veg input, there are patches of evening plot. Our kitchen garden is literally primrose (their seeds are muchthat, as the walls of the house act as loved by goldfinches), Ipomoea one of its boundaries. I can lounge ‘Grandpa Ott’ (a shimmering against a kitchen worktop, gaze out purple morning glory) and poached and dream of all the crops it will egg plant. produce in the Yet this part months to come. of our garden is I’ve already made mainly about food I’ve already sowings under and, with that in glass, of aubermind, I’m sowing made sowings gines (germinatbroad beans. Crops under glass of ing in a propado best when grown aubergines and gating case) and in a certain order spinach (in modand these coldspinach, while ules), while garlic tolerant beans garlic cloves are cloves are sproutgrow well early ing in pots. Our in the year. They sprouting in pots garden is encourappreciate cool aged to develop a temperatures (as life of its own and do peas) and early in one bed, there sown plants are have been eruptions of honesty less likely to be attacked by black plants where dollops of compost bean aphid. After the beans and were dumped for last year’s runner two to three sowings of peas, come beans.

French beans and then runner Our compost heap is never hot beans to deliver the main legume enough to kill seeds, which means crops through to autumn. A lot more weeds than I’d like but also of folk think they don’t like broad lovely surprises like sunflowers beans because they’ve been fed disand forget-me-nots. I try to work gustingly mealy, elderly ones, kept around them so some can reach too long off the plant and clamped flowering size and this in turn at- inside thick chewy skins. Home tracts pollinators and beneficial ingrown beans picked young and

H

[[

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tender are a revelation and I’ve been responsible for many converts. Friends have got into the habit of dropping in during June in the hope of being asked around for a meal or at least being given a bag of fresh pods.

Our clay soil is far too cold and wet for direct sowings this early. Instead, standard-sized seed trays are filled with soilless multipurpose compost and the beans set out grid-fashion and a good 5cm/2in apart, so with four up and six along, 24 fit snugly in the tray. Bury them about half way down, water them in and leave them on the greenhouse staging or in a cold frame to germinate, protected from mice. Alternatively, sow seeds separately into generous 5cm/2in modules Under glass, I can control watering and the beans eventually germinate during a window of milder weather. When they reach a stocky

8cm/3in high, harden them off by standing them outdoors at least by day and then, when the soil is neither saturated nor frozen, split them carefully apart and plant in a double row 30cm/12in apart with the beans a trowel length apart. Water them in and let them get on with it. They are incredibly tough and frost will sometimes leave them looking sadly wilted. A couple of hours later, they’ll have sprung back up again and will carry on as though nothing has happened. In colder places like Westcountry moors, you could sow a little later or pop a tunnel cloche over them. But they grow better in full light.

For these early sowings, use a hardy variety like ‘Aquadulce Claudia’ or ‘Valenciana’ but I’ve also had good results with ‘Masterpiece Green Longpod’. And if you find art in your vegetables, the green beans of the latter look lovely in a colander with the silvery ones of ‘Aquadulce’.

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

• Top up the water in bird baths, as a water source is vital for wild life. Ponds are fabulous and if you don’t have one, and there are no small children in the family, start planning.

• Continue to thin out tangled branches of overgrown apple and pear trees but don’t go mad. This

Question time with Anne

is a job best carried out gradually over several years.

• Plant hardy Cyclamen coum from pots into difficult areas of dry shade under trees or towards the base of hedges.

Ours are blooming now under a clipped beech.

Clear invading growth from existing plants.

West reader queries answered by Anne Swithinbank

Q

I have a small back yard in a row of terraced houses. How can I plant for winter interest in such a small space?

For New Year, I visited friends in Romsey, Hampshire, who have a narrow, paved yard more like a passageway to get to vehicles out the back. Most of one side was a raised bed with two winter show-stoppers. The scent of a Daphne odora ‘Aureomarginata’ wafted but was contained within the fences and walls and the structural, evergreen sacred bamboo (Nandina domestica) was decorated by bright red berries.

There were hellebores, snowdrops and pots of bulbs waiting for spring. On the other side, was a Phyllostachys bamboo with golden stems adding evergreen height and stem colour. Add key evergreens and winter flowering plants, leaving gaps, pots and the walls and fences for spring and summer flowers.

Q

I’m planning a greenhouse and wondering how best to site it. Should the ridge run eastwest, or north-south?

It is generally held that an east-west orientation for the ridge will give the best winter light and quicker recovery from cold nights (imagine low winter sun shining mainly from the south through a glass side). However if you want the best light for summer crops, a ridge running north-south is good and you can imagine light shining into the sides first from the east, then the west. This can also avoid overheating (worse when the sun shines solidly from the south through one side). For logistical reasons (level, shelter from wind, all-round access) mine runs north west to south east. Plan plenty of soil beds inside, a solid path for access and don’t hide it away – make it a feature.

Sow sweet peas either four or five to a 9cm/3.5in pot, or set one per long Root Trainer module. Place in an unheated greenhouse or frame to germinate but protect from mice. Sweet peas sown last autumn may need their growing tips nipped out to encourage branching.

This weekend

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

This weekend (January 30 and 31) is the RSPB Big Garden Bird Watch (go to www. rspb.org.uk). Apparently, this is the world’s largest wildlife survey with over half a million people poised to count numbers of the various sorts of birds seen in their garden over a given hour.

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Beauty

[[ ‘Cleansing your skin is so important here are some products that will do the job’

Calming

Brush up Mary Kay Skinvigorate cleansing brush £35 Cleansing brushes were a huge hit in 2015. They are designed to give your skin a deeper cleanse – and this is one of the best I’ve tried.

Lush Angels on Bare Skin Cleanser £6.95 This traditional clay-based formula contains lavender and rose to calm the skin. Rather messy to use, but great results!

Abbie’s

Beauty box

Radiant Elemis Pro Radiance Cream Cleanser £29.50 My mum loves this cleanser. It is perfect for her normal to dry skin, and she says it makes her skin look smoother and more radiant.

Fit for a queen

Expert advice from beauty guru Abbie Bray of Newton Abbot

Rich Liz Earle Hot Cloth Cleanse and Polish (John Lewis, £15.50) The hot cloth really helps to remove any stubborn make-up and it gently exfoliates the skin too.

I love the rich, creamy plant-based cleansing cream.

Cleansing your skin is important regardless of whether you wear make-up or not – and if you do wear makeup, not removing it properly can affect your skin more than you may realise.

Face wipes are a popular choice these days, as a cheap and quick way to get the job done. I am definitely guilty of using them after a long day.

But they are full of chemicals that can irritate your skin and dry it out, too.

I like to use liquid cleansers with water – they are perfect for my combination skin as they control excess oil without drying my skin out.

Cream cleansers are better for a drier skin, as a gentler way to remove make-up without causing irritation. Here are a few cleansers that I really do trust to help.

Bee Good Honey and Propolis 2 in 1 Cream Cleanser £11.50 This comes with a pure muslin cloth and is good for problem skins, as propolis has powerful anti-microbial properties.

Gentle Mary Kay Botanical Effects Cleanser for normal/combination skin £13 This was great for closing my pores as well as removing my make-up, plus it was gentle on my skin. It works really well with the Mary Kay cleansing brush (see above).

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Shop

The edit Your straight line to style: terracotta meets denim for weekend chic

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£15 La Redoute

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£30 Simply Be

£28 Dorothy Perkins

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Sailor stripes hey say all the nice girls love a sailor. Be that as it may (and who are we to judge?!) right now, smart women are most definitely taking a leaf out of the nautical style book.

February is a tricky time of year for fashion, with the tail-end of the winter sales looking tired and unexciting but, thus far, nothing like the sort of warm weather needed to tempt us into the spring collections.

Sailor stripes are, perhaps, more commonly thought of as a summery style direction, but this year winter nauticals are a real presence on the high street. Navy and white (with, maybe, a hint of red in the mix) can add a fresh look to your wardrobe during the dark days of late winter. Or should that be early spring? We certainly hope so!

T

Jacket ÂŁ39 T-shirt ÂŁ19 La Redoute

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Fashion

Fluffy cardigan £37 Missy Empire

D re ss £3 9

L a Red o u te Dress £40 River Island

Bikini £9 George at Asda Blazer £49 La Redoute

Bag £65 Fiorelli

Top £20 Simply Be

Tunic £35 BHS

Deck shoes £69.95 Moda in Pelle

Scarf £12 BHS 31

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Trend

HOW TO WEAR IT:

Activewear Kathryn Clarke-Mcleod flexes her fashion muscles t’s the final weekend in some strenuous deliberation I chose January. This means a zesty lime coloured zip-up as my it’s time to assess how first dose of inspiration. we are doing with those All those skipped sessions meant pesky New Year resothat I didn’t have the courage to don lutions. How many times have you a pair of leggings reminiscent of managed to raise your heart rate this Mardi Gras, but I was very partial month? If you’re anything like me, these grey marbled ones. I like to you didn’t quite live up to your own think the subtle yet hypnotic swirls expectations. can distract from the packets of bisIt’s so frustrating. But when it is cuits I have snaffled down since 2016 cold and dark, all I want is a duvet, began.

Netflix and hot chocolate. Cardio I’m the chilly sort, so a new fleece and carrots just don’t light my fire. was also on the cards. I really fanBut winter doesn’t last forever, and cied this charcoal grey one, it was I really don’t fancy greeting spring strokeably soft, and almost as cosy looking anything like as the clouds of duvet Jabba the Hut. Which I like to swathe myself got me thinking. What in when the temperawould it take to get ture drops.

The colours me into the gym a bit The beauty of were so more regularly? having a fashion-forI used some estabward workout wardinvigorating I lished behavioural robe is that it allows felt like bursting patterns of mine for flexibility. These to come up with a pieces are so easy on into an aerobics theory. You see, I have the eye I’ll happily sequence just found that if I have a accept a last minute new blouse or pair of post workout coffee inlooking at them heels to strut about vitation from a friend. in, that always seems Usually I would want to make getting out to transition into of bed for work on a Monday mornskinny jeans and a knit but with my ing much easier. Therefore, it stands two new layers I am cosy and casual to reason that if I were to have a chic, perfect for cappuccino time. lovely new piece of gym kit, I would Update: It’s been a week since my be much more motivated to hit the new additions, and I have done one treadmill. cardio session and one yoga class.

So, in the name of wellness I Not exactly an Olympian training skipped my Saturday morning Pischedule but it is a 200% improvelates class (I had nothing to wear!) ment from the week before. Such is and went to Princesshay shopping the power of the new kit that I have centre in Exeter. The key colourway made a deal with myself (and I recthis season seems to be a combinaommend you do the same, bribery is tion of brights with greys. Brights key in such situations) If I can sustain can either be worn in the form of a three sessions a week through Februsingle-coloured vest or cover up, or ary then I can have a pair of the most as a kaleidoscopic pattern covering dazzling gym leggings I can find. the expanse of full length leggings.

Now that’s my kind of carrot.

The colours were so invigorating I All fashion in these pictures is from felt like bursting into an aerobics Princesshay Shopping Centre, Exeter, sequence just looking at them. After www.princesshay.co.uk

MAIN PHOTO HAIR: LILY AT SAKS, EXETER MAKE-UP: CLARINS, DEBENHAMS (BOTH PRINCESSHAY) PHOTOGRAPHY: STEVE HAYWOOD ASSISTED BY ELLIE JONES & SOPHIE WHITING

I

Trainers, Next, Princesshay, £32 Leggings, Next, Princesshay, £16 TShirt, Next, Princesshay, £4.50 Active Top, Next, Princesshay, £30 Fleece, Next, Princesshay, £24

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culture vulture Our guide to the arts scene in the South West by woman-inthe-know Sarah Pitt

Food of love To celebrate Valentine’s Day, treat your loved one to the finest Italian food at a Cupid’s Carnivores Night at Fifteen Cornwall, overlooking the beach at Watergate Bay, on Friday, February 12. Guests will start the evening with a glass of prosecco or a Peroni, Italy’s finest beer, and a board of authentic Italian antipasti to share. For the main course, the best Cornish steak will be seared to perfection, with a selection of sweet treats for pudding. Places are £55, visit www.fifteencornwall.co.uk and call 01637 861000 to book

Film star in Exeter Strumming festival fun Cornwall’s first-ever ukulele festival is being held in Penzance next weekend. It is organised by the Dancing Flea Orchestra, a local group of community singers turned ukulele players.

The free festival kicks off at 2pm at the Mill Bar and Restaurant on Sunday, February 7

with workshops, impromptu performances and an open mic session. Special guest will be international ukulele player Phil Doleman, pictured.

Find out more at www. facebook.com/dancingfleaorchestra, visit www.crbo. co.uk or call 0845 094 0428

Nick Moran – the star of Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels – is soon to be appearing live in Exeter. The city’s Northcott Theatre is staging an exciting new adaptation of Harold Pinter’s Betrayal, the venue’s first full in-house production in six years.

Betrayal begins at the end of an affair and pursues a journey back to its very beginnings.

Nick, who has also starred as the Death Eater, Scabior, in the Harry Potter films, is already in Exeter now, busy rehearsing with fellow cast members Simon Merrells and SarahJane Potts. Well worth seeing! Betrayal is at Exeter Northcott February 18 to March 5. Tickets £13-£17 plus £2 booking fee, see exeternorthcott.co.uk

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Enjoy

Your stars

by Cassandra Nye This week’s sign:

Happy birthday to...

Aquarians typically fall into two camps: the shy and sensitive types and the effervescent exhibitionists, but both are strong-willed in their own way. But that doesn’t mean stubborn: one endearing characteristic is the willingness of Aquarians to listen to others and admit to being wrong. Even when you stick to your own opinion, you’re so considerate of other people’s views that you’re a great friend to share time and conversation with, Aquarius!

Marcus Mumford born January 31, 1987 Mumford & Sons star Marcus was born in California, but returned to the UK with his English parents when he was tiny and grew up in south west London. He penned the band’s first album Sigh No More while living in Edinburgh where he went to university. He married film star Carey Mulligan in Somerset in 2012 and the couple live a low-key life away from the limelight on a farm in Devon. The couple announced the birth of their first child, daughter Evelyn, in September.

AQUARIUS (January 21 - February 19) It is a fast-action week but take time to make decisions. Surprises and secrets are all around and you soon pick up on them. If someone is trying to hide something from you, they are not making a good job of it! Ask yourself why. If their aim is getting a reaction, you have been forewarned. It depends what sort of mood you are in but, generally speaking, people who ‘play games’ irritate you.

PISCES (February 20 - March 20) Feeling confident could lead you into an argument that you cannot win. Keep your finances away from prying eyes and be prepared to say ‘no’ as and when you need to! A younger person needs your advice but may be reluctant to ask for it. Are you going to give it anyway?

ARIES (March 21 - April 20) Changes in a close relationship should be seen as a natural progression. Perhaps you have outgrown someone or they have outgrown you. With lots of energy it is time to look ahead and make some adjustments. Your natural instinct is to be open and honest and to speak your mind. It is important to stick to your guns when it comes to decisions.

TAURUS (April 21 - May 21) Check your relationships with others.

Perhaps a change is long overdue so give it your attention. Money matters seem a bit ‘up in the air’ which can really cramp your style. Be determined to do your best to find a better balance. Once on the right path nobody will be able to shake you off.

GEMINI (May 22 - June 21) Cast an eye over your closest relationships to see where there is room for improvement. Pay attention to any disagreements now rather than later. Relationships can be damaged by lack of action.

Business-wise be sure that an approach is what it seems. Decisions made now could drag on.

The only way to avoid this is to combine ideas with action.

CANCER (June 22 - July 22) It may be time to take the lead, but expect some competition. If someone has something that you really want then your passions could take charge. Something in your more stubborn nature may tell you to resist a suggestion from someone in authority but this is not a week in which to ‘rock the boat’.

LEO (July 23 - August 23) Curb your emotions to avoid appearing over-sensitive. This is especially true if someone is showing an interest in a loved one. Perhaps you see more in this than there is in reality. Changes at work may not be to your liking but, taken on balance, could really turn out to be in your favour.

VIRGO (August 24 - September 23) Someone who is exciting may tempt you into a foolish move. This is an intense and passionate time. Those who have been with their partner for some time may seek to make an exciting proposal. Careful! You may be ready to move ahead but your partner has some thinking to do.

LIBRA (September 24 - October 23) Follow your instincts both in business and romance. Passions involve both love and money this week. There could be a disagreement about a household expense. Ask yourself if it is worth the aggravation. It is?

Make your feelings clear, suggest a solution, then stand back!

SCORPIO (October 24 - November 22) Be with others and inspire them at the weekend. Are you starting to plan a holiday? Get the details clear early on because someone is going to ask you a lot of questions! A new interest seems to be taking up too much of your time. Even though you enjoy it, sometimes you need to say ‘no’.

SAGITTARIUS (November 23 - December 21) You make your own luck, but avoid dwelling in the past. Soon any backward thoughts are quelled by an announcement from the family. Surprised? You will be! A windfall is likely but, again, it is all of your own making.

CAPRICORN (December 22 - January 20) Keep a low profile if you do not relish a heated discussion. Certainly keep things simple if there are any financial discussions. Someone may deliberately misunderstand what you say and be awkward about it.

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25/01/2016 17:26:42

Wellbeing

the boost

Life just got better. We’ve handpicked the latest wellness trends, best-body secrets and expert advice to help you be your best self, everyday

Safety first Many beauty brands advise a patch test to check for any adverse reaction, before you apply their products. Yet a study by the British Association of Beauty Therapists and Cosmetologists reveals that the majority of us disregard the safety instructions. False eyelash glue and tanning products are the most commonly applied without checking the instructions. Jason Phillips of the BABTAC warns: “It’s far better to be a little organised now than end up in A&E.”

HEAR, HEAR!

BEER is known to make hair super-glossy: try Lush’s Cynthia Sylvia Stout (£4.75), which contains a measure of beer, plus a dash of shine-enhancing lemon juice.

Bake Off star Howard Middleton is backing a campaign to raise awareness of tinnitus.

The condition, a ringing or buzzing in the ears, is experienced by around six million people in the UK and at present there is no cure. To help find a cure, why not hold a tea party to support the British Tinnitus Association’s research, during its awareness week, from February 8?

Sign up to take part www.teafortinnitus. co.uk and you’ll be sent a pack which includes a teatime recipes by Howard, who competed in The Great British Bake Off in 2013.

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25/01/2016 14:36:20

KYM’S BRAND NEW

WORKOUT FOR MUMS ON THE RUN Coronation Street actress Kym Marsh says that juggling work and a young family rules out visits to the gym, saying; “I was starting to really feel that I was putting weight on, uncomfortable in my clothes, and there were bits that wobbled.” So she jumped at the chance to create a home workout DVD. Her home workout created with the help of personal trainers Matt Baker and Sam Witter, is called Power Sculpt and takes just 20 minutes – perfect timing for mums on the run.

Best of both Switching to fat-free milk’s a great way to cut calories if you like a regular cuppa, but let’s face it, it’s not quite as satisfying. So hooray for a newly launched fat-free milk, which the dairy behind it says tastes as good as semi-skimmed. Arla Best of Both contains added natural milk proteins to make it taste more like milk with higher fat content. Look out for bottles with yellow tops in the shops.

Sweet treats Cookery writer Susanna Booth used her polymer chemistry degree to create sugar-free treats in her new recipe book, Sensationally Sugar Free (Hamlyn, £20).

She uses apple puree and sweet fruits, plus

natural sweeteners like stevia, to create a host of better-for-you sweet dishes. Recipes include sugar-free banana bread and dark chocolate tea cake, sweetened with dates.

Sounds delicious.

What’s coming up? Tweet us your wellbeing diary dates

@WMNWest or email westmag@westernmorningnews.co.uk 37

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Wellbeing

Is it time for your new hip?

What to consider when your doctor mentions hip replacement Q

My doctor says I need hip surgery. What’s involved?JH, Penryn

Roman Miller, consultant orthopaedic surgeon, Peninsula NHS Treatment Centre says: Hip surgery is the most commonly carried out surgical procedure in the UK. According to the National Joint Register, more than 99,000 hip procedures were undertaken in England and Wales in 2014.

A hip replacement is recommended for patients whose hips have become so painful through damage that the pain interferes with everyday living, such as walking, driving and getting dressed. Some common reasons why a hip might become damaged include osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis and hip fracture.

A new hip joint can relieve pain, increase mobility and contribute to a better quality of life.

The operation can be carried out under general anaesthetic or an epidural. Your surgeon will make an incision on the side of your hip, remove the damaged hip joint and replace it with an artificial joint. The procedure takes 60-90 minutes.

The days when you had to rest for weeks afhip replacement is that it removes less bone, but terwards are long gone. At the Peninsula NHS it is only really effective in younger adults who Treatment Centre in Plymouth, we have our pahave relatively strong bones. It is not as commontients on their feet on day one after surgery and, ly carried out as hip replacements, not least bewith the support of physiotheracause of concerns about the new pists, you will be mobile enough metal on metal bearing surfaces to go home 3-4 days after the opcausing potential damage to soft eration. tissues. Your consultant will be Patients are given exercises to able to advise you.

A new hip joint do at home and instructions on As an NHS patient, you can can relieve how to use mobility aids such as choose where to have your hip pain, increase crutches. For the first 4-6 weeks replaced, including here at you will need crutches to get the Peninsula NHS Treatment mobility and around and you will need to do Centre. Just speak to your GP contribute to a your exercises to make best use for a referral. Our waiting times better quality of your new hip joint. are three to four weeks from All surgery comes with risk, referral to your first outpatient of life but the chances of serious comappointment and 10 to 11 weeks plications for hip replacements from referral to surgery. All are very low – less than 1%. A tests and X-rays are done at the modern artificial hip is designed first appointment. We have no to last for at least 15 years on average. incidences of hospital-acquired infections and Hip resurfacing is an alternative to hip replacewe are in the top 50 centres in the UK for our hip ment and involves removing the damaged surfacwork. es of the bones inside the hip joint and replacing Call 01752 506070 or visit www.peninsulatreatmentthem with metal surfaces. Its advantage over a centre.nhs.uk

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26/01/2016 14:24:58

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26/01/2016 14:26:29

Eat

Ingredient of the Week

Sage

with Tim Maddams o respectable herb or cottage the whole herb tribe. The best thing about sage is garden is complete without at that, along with its bedfellows rosemary, thyme least one decent bush of sage, yet and savoury, it is among the more hardy of the this herb is often undervalued and herbs, its leaves survive all but the harshest and underused in the most lingering of frosts, though kitchen. As any herbalist will even then it will return with gusto tell you, however, it is far from in the spring. useless. Sage has been used as I highly recommend beginning Simply scramble a medicine since the dawn of your sage encounters with some time (as far as I can make out) eggs. Simply scrambling eggs with eggs with plenty and common uses from around plenty of butter which has had a of butter which the world include the treatment minute or two to get to know a few has had a for sore throats where a hot tea sage leaves is a very good starting is gargled. For an upset tummy a point. Use fresh sage or not at all minute or two sage tea is drunk and to control (with the exception of making to get to know a excessive sweating, again a tea sausages where dried sage is just is imbibed. about permissible). The other few sage leaves As ever, though, it is the main bit of advice I would dole out culinary uses that interest me about this wonderful herb is not to the most and there can be little overdo it, a hint of sage is in most doubt that while this is not cases far better than a massive the easiest of herbs to work with – its vigorous whack, a few leaves under the skin of a roasting flavour can be extremely unforgiving in the chicken rather than a whole bundle of leaves wrong place – it is one of the most rewarding of added to the gravy last minute.

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Sage advice Sage works well cooked with butter and dressed over pasta, especially with a pumpkin and ricotta ravioli. Its relationship with onions is well documented.

The Italians are big users of sage throughout their cuisine. The classic Italian combination is probably sage and liver, the liver being lightly floured, pan fried in butter or oil with sage leaves and finished with lemon. Or you could try fish wrapped in air dried ham and sage leaves and then pan fried. @TimGreenSauce

Tim Maddams is a Devon chef and author of Game: River Cottage Handbook no. 15 (Bloomsbury ÂŁ14.99) 41

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Eat

Olive fougasse bread with harissa hummus Recipe by Matt Street, head chef of The Eastbury Hotel, Sherborne, Dorset Matt says: ‘This recipe can be easily made at home, for a quick light meal or a great addition to a charcuterie dinner’

Ingredients For the bread: 1kg 55 flour (white French bread flour) 600ml water at 20C 20g salt 25g fresh yeast 150 pitted olives (Matt uses Moorish cumin and coriander olives from Olives Et Al) For the hummus: 1 x 400g tin chickpeas, drained and rinsed 5 tbsp olive oil 1 garlic clove, crushed 2 tbsp harissa paste (Matt uses Olives Et Al red chilli paste) 1 tbsp tomato puree 1 lemon or lime

Made using olive oil, olives and harissa paste from Olives Et Al, Dorset

Method: 1.

Combine the yeast and water, leave for 10 minutes. Add to the flour and salt to make the dough. Leave covered for 1.5 hours in a warm place.

2.

Pull out the dough and shape 150g pieces into triangles. Roll and cut slits in the bread with a sharp knife (see picture for how it should look). Push in the olives all over the dough.

3.

4.

Allow the bread to prove again on a tray, covered with a carrier bag, for 40 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the hummus.

Put the chickpeas, olive oil, crushed garlic, harissa paste and tomato puree, along with a couple of pinches of salt, into a blender.

Blitz it up with a couple of squeezes of lemon or lime, then put straight into your favourite serving dish. All a generous dollop of harissa paste and drizzle olive oil over the top.

5.

Set the oven to 200C and place a roasting tin on the bottom of the oven containing 100ml of water. The added moisture in the oven will add colour to the bread. Remove the bread from the bag, and place the tray in the oven. Bake for 15-20 minutes.

6.

Grab a sharing plate or board and put on it the freshly-baked fougasse bread, the hummus and a small dipping dish of olive oil for your warm, beautiful bread.

This recipe comes from A Taste of the West Country (£16.99) by the food producers’ cooperative, Taste of the West, with photography by David Griffen. To order your copy, edited and designed by Jeff Cooper of We Make Magazines, see www.tasteofthewest.co.uk or call 01404 822012

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Drink

Beer of the week The Tapstone Opium Wars was the winner this week (see main article), but a close-run second at Exeter was a ‘foreign’ beer, all the way from Liverpool! If their Winter Gold (5.6% ABV) is anything to go by, Peerless Brewing Co beers are worth looking out for. Clearly plenty of citrus hops going on, but a nice spiciness in the background.

Very moreish!

Duty campaign The campaign for a fourth successive cut in beer duty in the March Budget has begun. Personally, I think four years in a row might be optimistic, but you never know.

CAMRA, SIBA and the British Beer and Pub Association have joined forces to lobby MPs via an Early Day Motion, citing benefits in terms of jobs and keeping pubs open.

Darren Norbury

talks beer he recent cold snap jolted me into expecting. There were, however, lovely smokey a purchase: a £6 scarf from a wellnotes from the malt. Terrific. Beer of the day. Not known superstore. I have taken to that there weren’t plenty of other gems. wearing it, I think, Thank you, Quercus Brewery, slightly rakishly, of Churchstow, in Devon, for like an old boy from one of the Harry’s, a 4.6% ABV bitter. It was Oxbridge colleges displaying not made with odd ingredients, I tried Tapstone his Alma mater colours. I’m nor did it have an outstanding Brewery’s getting on a bit now. Feeling the aroma or hop bite. It was just Opium Wars, cold. I wore it to Exeter Beer well balanced and really, really Festival, but once I tried Tapwell-made. Look out for it. First from Chard, and stone Brewery’s Opium Wars, beer of the day was South Hams I’d found the from Chard, in Somerset, I realBrewery’s Pandemonium (5% perfect winter ised said scarf was superfluous ABV) and that certainly didn’t as a winter warmer. disappoint. Biscuit from the malt warmer This was my beer of the fesand nice fruit notes. Like all the tival. First impressions didn’t other beers, well kept and served bode well. Although dark by the Exeter CAMRA team. brown, it was clearly, or rather I haven’t even mentioned the unclearly, not so much hazy as downright great Isca, Otter, Exmoor, Gyle 59, Tavy Ales or cloudy, like a dusk January sky off a stormy Teignworthy brews. The day was over too quickCornish coast. My drinking pals thought I may ly, although there were one or two hostelry stops have purchased a duffer and were looking round en route back to Cornwall. Chilly out, though. In for pot plants on my behalf. But no. What a revthe end, I was glad I had that scarf. elation. A brown beer with a marked American Darren Norbury is editor of beertoday.co.uk hops aroma, rather than the malty hit I’d been @beertoday

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RHINO AID After raising £2,300 for Paignton Zoo’s giraffe conservation work with a beer, Tall Order, last year, Bays Brewery is to create a rhino-themed charity beer in 2016 to raise funds for the zoo’s Great Big Rhino Project.

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26/01/2016 13:04:15

My Secret Westcountry

East Prawle

Emylia Hall Emylia Hall is an author, whose most recent novel The Sea Between Us is a love story set in a cove in the far west of Cornwall. She grew up in the Teign valley in south Devon where her father, an artist, and her mother, a half-Hungarian quiltmaker, still live. Emylia lives in Bristol with her husband Robin and toddler son Calvin Jack, but spends a lot of time in Devon and Cornwall.

My favourite...

Place to write: Just as a writer always hopes their next book will be their best, I always hope my next writing retreat will be my most productive. I love being by the sea in low season, so I’m headed to St Ives in deepest January, staying in a tiny cottage just steps back from the beach. It is the perfect bolthole in which to work on my new novel. In the summer months I love writing under the apple tree in my mum and dad’s garden, in the Teign Valley, where I grew up.

Beach: Ness Cove in Shaldon was my favourite beach as a child. I loved it for its dark and dank

St arga zy pi e at

Th e Ol d Co as

tg ua rd Ho te l

smugglers’ tunnel and bright red cliffs. I was on this same beach in 2011 with my husband when my agent called me with the amazing news that I had a book deal for my first novel, The Book of Summers. Ness Cove is, in every sense, my Happy Place.

Walk: I love the wild and wonderful walk from East Prawle down to Horseley Cove in South Devon, a footpath that winds through the fields, past black-eyed cattle and stacks of lobster pots. Then it’s onto the South West Coast Path, for rockscrambling and cove-hopping and sparkling views that stop you in your tracks.

Restaurant: It has to be The Old Coastguard in Mousehole, for dining by the fireside, surrounded by original paintings, and the view across the palm-tree filled garden to the sea beyond. It’s an altogether gorgeous setting, the staff are lovely,

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People Emylia’s favourite writing spot in her parents’ garden

Appledore Book Festival

St Ives

The Old Coastguard Hotel

and the food manages to be simultaneously refined and comforting. Perfect.

Arts venue/festival: Appledore Book Festival and Fowey Festival are both really special.

As an author I attend quite a lot of literary events and these are two of my favourites. Idyllic locations, a lively programme of talks, and organisers who take great care to ensure the experience is a pleasure for audience and speakers alike. Cream teas, and a spot of paddling, are essential post-event pastimes.

Tipple: When I was small my mum used to make elderflower champagne. It was nonalcoholic, but it gave me a thrill as a child to be drinking this deliciously floral fizz. I remember one year the bottles popped their corks of their own accord, and my dad’s studio, where they were stored, got quite a dousing.

Westcountry food: A slice of

pumpkin and chocolate cake from the West Beach Bakery on Porthmeor Beach, St Ives, please! Best enjoyed while still in your wetsuit, after hitting the surf in the early morning. Perhaps it was a case of conditions colliding – the empty seas, the bright light of morning, the adrenaline of physical exercise - but that slice of cake was one of the best I’ve ever had. And I’ve had a lot!

The Sea Between Us by Emylia Hall is published by Headline, £7.99 45

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My life

What a week

And relax...

Chris McGuire attempts the latest stress-busting technique hey’re all at it. on the beach. Or long brisk walks on the moors.

Up and down the Westcountry, in Or shorter, but equally brisk, walks to the off pubs and cafes, libraries and living licence. But here, in colouring in, had I found rooms, you can hear their scratchanother route to relaxation that didn’t involve ing and squeaking. Surely, you must have seen brisk walks (long or short)? I decided to give it a them? Who are they? I now realise that what go: in private.

I’m describing sounds like some kind of infesI waited for my girlfriend to go out, found tation of rodents. Don’t worry. The scratching my stash of pencils and the colouring book I’d and squeaking comes from colour pencils and bought at a rather trendy art shop – they’d felt-tipped pens. What I learned this week is the put it in a plain brown paper bag.

Westcountry has been overrun with Adult ColWithin minutes I’d started on my first ourer In’ers. picture, a drawing of Brontosaurus I’m not sure where it all started. Perhaps that I decided to colour purple. I a parent, in possession of a few felt tips and coloured diligently – keeping inside their child’s colouring book, the lines, with what thought: “If I just do a little I felt was an admibit of colouring in nobody will rable use of shading.

For me, stress ever know. I bet I’ll do it much I’d almost used up relief is a long neater than young Johnny my entire purple brisk walk on did.” From there it would pencil, when a have spread virally – which, noise made the beach. Or of course, means antibiotics me start (and a shorter, but cannot stop the Adult Colourer create a totally In’er epidemic. unwanted equally brisk, Eager to find out more, I zigzagging walk to the offchatted with a lady in a coffee purple licence shop. The conversation started line because, caught up in the across colouring in moment, she’d an othflicked her discarded pencil erwise sharpening into my unsuspectvery ing latte. As I fished out the shaving, I asked her neat blue sky). It was why she did it. my girlfriend arriving “It’s relaxing, we’re all at it,” she replied. “It home, several hours had helps with stress.” passed and I hadn’t even It was true; this lady seemed very stress free – noticed. I panicked, but far too relaxed to offer to buy me a replacement managed to hide the book coffee. All around me there were people, old with only seconds to spare. enough to know better, furiously colouring in.

Being found doing colouring Could the simple action of not going outside the in is one of those things that’s lines really be that calming? not easy to explain away. It was It’s true, even here in the Westcountry, stress all very stressful. takes it toll. It’s an inevitable part of our, ocOn reflection, this week I’ve casionally, hectic 21st century lives. For me, learned that colouring in isn’t the stress relief usually consists of long brisk walks relaxation aide I hoped it would be.

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The worry of being discovered colouring in far outweighed any stress-relieving benefit. I’d prefer to buy a book that’s already coloured in for me. It did, however, get me thinking. There is a new trend I’d like to start: a ‘Rubbing Out’ book for adults. You start with a book that’s completely full of text and pictures – all there to be rubbed out – and finish with page after page of blank paper. It’s my Dragons’ Den idea, so don’t try to nick it! When it comes to relaxation, it’s got to be at least as good as a brisk walk.

Chris McGuire is a writer who recently moved to the Westcountry.

His hobbies include brisk walks and reading books that are already coloured in.

NEXT WEEK: Phil Goodwin on love, life and being a dad to a dinosaur-mad five year old 46

ChrisM_Jan30.indd 46

26/01/2016 12:46:11

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