05.07.15
DEVON’S VINTAGE FESTIVAL:
Let’s go retro!
23
Head-to-toe tips for high summer style
WIN WIN: + £130 ARTWORK + DINNER FOR TWO
INSIDE: + CAROLINE
QUENTIN + WHAT TO WEAR TO WIMBLEDON PLUS: + PERFECT PLAYSUITS + CORNISH DAWNS
Cober_July5.indd 1
01/07/2015 14:34:29
You could live 10 years longer with healthier gums
Gum disease significantly increases your risk of type 2 diabetes, heart disease and stroke and it's the biggest cause of tooth loss in the over 40’s. Is it time you saw a gum expert?
Dr Ben Pearson
“Many people start to show gum disease in their mid-30s and by the time they get to 45-50 they’re starting to see more of it. It’s probably the most prevalent disease in mankind – it’s utterly huge, and it’s an undertreated aspect of dentistry”
Did you know you could live 10 years longer and keep your teeth for the rest of your life if your gum disease was treated properly? Gum disease exists in 83% of adults and is harming your health by increasing your risk of type 2 diabetes, heart attack and stroke. It is the main cause of tooth loss in the over 40’s and yet it is entirely treatable. That’s why the world of dentistry is changing, and Life Dental & Wellbeing in Exeter is leading that change. Principal Dentist Dr Ben Pearson is passionate about reducing his patients’ risk of diabetes, cardiovascular disease and other common life shortening conditions.
83% of adults have gum disease He has extensive experience in periodontology (the study of gum health) and performs health checks on his patients to show them healthier gums really do mean better general health.
About Dr Ben Pearson Former Royal Naval dentist Dr Ben Pearson is a member of the British Society of Periodontology, the British Society of Dental Sleep Medicine and the British Dental Association. He is passionate about helping his patients achieve optimal oral and general health.
Why choose Life Dental & Wellbeing? > Open evenings and weekends, with hours to suit you > Affordable treatment and payment plans to spread the cost of your care, with 0% finance for some treatments > All Life Dental & Wellbeing work is guaranteed for five years > See our dietician and wellbeing coach > Health checks for all new patients and free Dental Health Checks for life > All routine and complex dental work is carried out in state of the art surgeries using the very latest dental technologies.
Dr Pearson also provides patients with a dietician and a wellbeing coach to treat other sources of ill health such as poor diet and sleep apnoea. All patients who join a Life Care Plan receive free Dental Health Checks for the rest of their life and benefit from affordable care with 0% finance available for some treatments. Patients can spread the cost of their care with payment plans and all work is guaranteed for five years. Life Dental & Wellbeing is open evenings and weekends and invites new patients to enjoy a healthier, longer life.
TO BOOK AN APPOINTMENT > Call: 01392 278843 > Email: info@lifedentalandwellbeing.co.uk > Visit: lifedentalandwellbeing.co.uk for further information 31 Queen Street, Exeter EX4 3SR | info@lifedentalandwellbeing.co.uk | 01392 278843 Untitled-2 3
01/07/2015 14:42:44
‘I thought: I could do this, I’m really good at organising things. I’ll give it a try. I invited anyone and everyone along and it was a huge success’ Exeter’s Shelley Barns on her vintage festival, page 12
24
CANDY LAND Add ice cream shades to your interiors
11
HAPPY BIRTHDAY! To Jo Whiley, Boris Johnson and more...
[contents[ Inside this week... 6
THE WISHLIST The loveliest things to buy this week
8
STEAL HER STYLE Get the look in polka dots and lace
10
WEST IN PICTURES Prom queens, stilt walkers and Kim Kardashian at Glastonbury
11
CAROLINE QUENTIN Why the TV star loves life in Tiverton
12
VINTAGE TREATS
18
A NEW DAWN
Devon’s Crikey It’s Vintage festival
8
STEAL HER STYLE Channel Denise Lewis in polka dots and lace (and a very smart hat)
16
A top writer’s guide to the best of the Westcountry
32
How to wear an all-in-one, for grown-ups
SECRET SPOTS
Cornwall’s clever new gift business
24
CANDY LAND Ice cream colours for summer interiors
30
BEAUTY
32
PERFECT PLAYSUITS
41
A FRESH START The healthiest breakfasts, with a little Mediterranean magic
Reviews, treats and more Grown up ways with all-in-ones
34
HOW TO WEAR IT Looking good at Wimbledon
41
A FRESH START Healthy recipes for summer days
43
DOOM... AND GLOOM? Our beer expert assesses Doom Bar
44
EATING OUT Unexpected pleasures in Plympton
46
MAN & BOY Phil Goodwin on the ideal child’s pet
PERFECT PLAYSUITS
3
Contents_July5.indd 3
01/07/2015 13:16:08
18
[
[
A NEW DAWN
Fabulous photography in west Cornwall
[ welcome [ Hotter than July… Yes, we’re in the middle of high summer now that July is here. And even if the scorching weather can’t last (or can it?!), now is the time for enjoying all that the season has to offer in this wonderful part of the world. With this in mind, we’ve got fabulous fashion up for grabs, whether you’re off to Wimbledon (or a match closer to home) on page 34, heading out to a summer party (p 36) or just looking for something cute to relax in at home (p32). There are also some great offers in today’s magazine. You can win a dinner for two (see opposite) worth at least £46 at a fabulous Pickle Shack pop-up dinner. And if you’d like to win a
[
Tweet
of the week @north55falmouth Thanks @Sarah_Jane_Pitt @WMNWest for our lovely feature in yesterday’s edition..#art #romance #falmouth #loveCornwall
very special photographic print worth £130, turn to page 18 today to find out how. You’ll also be inspired, I’m sure, by the story of west Cornwall photographer Gavan Goulder’s clever idea for a business. Every day, come rain or shine, Gavan is to be found taking pictures of the dawn on a Cornish beach. Thanks to all his hard work (and early mornings wake-ups), you can buy any date’s dawn picture from the past ten years. It’s the perfect gift to celebrate a special day, such as the birth of a new baby, a house move or a landmark birthday. It’s a seriously good idea, and Gavan’s pictures are truly beautiful too.
You’ll be inspired, I’m sure, by this clever idea for a business
[
Becky Sheaves, Editor
COVER IMAGE: Matt Austin
CONTACT: westmag@westernmorningnews.co.uk Tel: 01392 442250 Twitter @wmnwest
MEET THE TEAM Becky Sheaves, Editor
Sarah Pitt
Kathryn Clarke-McLeod
Catherine Barnes
Phil Goodwin
4
EdLetter_Onething.indd 4
01/07/2015 13:27:36
If you do one thing this week...
Win
MAIN PICTURE: MATT AUSTIN
...why not try a pop up restaurant? Pickle Shack is the brainchild of Michelin-trained chef Josh McDonaldJohnson who creates delicious pop up supper parties in rural Devon. Josh and his team use produce from within ten miles of wherever they are cooking (except for things like chocolate and lemons, for which we forgive them!) . See www.pickleshack.co.uk for upcoming dates, which include ‘grub clubs’ in Ashburton on July 11 and Chagford on July 17.
We have a Pickle Shack voucher, redeemable for dinner for two at any upcoming event (worth at least £46) for one lucky West reader to win. Simply email your name, address and phone number to westmag@westernmorningnews.co.uk, with Pickle Shack as the subject, by July 19. Normal terms apply.
5
EdLetter_Onething.indd 5
01/07/2015 13:28:14
Earrings £6 M&Co
the
wishlist
Pink handbag £22 Accessorize
West’s picks for spending your time and money this week
Store we adore Adore, Falmouth
Party food Get the party going with this Lotus smokeless barbecue, £129 including charcoal and lighter fuel, from Dorset company www.cuckooland.com
Yes, we adore Adore! Jeweller Jessica Hewitt runs this little shop, selling the work she and fellow jeweller Kate Lawrence, of brand Romi Thorne, make alongside work by other designers. Look out for leather bags top-stitched with floral motifs made by Kelly Nash and the cutest fabric baby shoes. “We are quite selective in what we stock,” says Jessica. “We don’t choose things you can easily find in the shop down the road, and we always have something new.” She also runs courses for couples to make their own wedding rings. Adore is at 31 Church Street, Falmouth, see www. adorecontemporaryboutique.com, or call 01326 619542
6
Wishlist_July5.indd 6
01/07/2015 10:34:33
Wishlist
Pretty Courtney high heels £75 Dune
Elegant Diamante tassle necklace £10 M&Co
Flowers Cath Kidston peg bag £10 www. daisypark.co.uk
Puffin Billy tea towel £10 from design duo sisters www. marthaandhepsie.com 7
Wishlist_July5.indd 7
01/07/2015 10:35:26
talking points Gillian Molesworth
Story of my life... Does technology have the answers? ast week I got lost in a Devon country lane, and my Sat Nav conked out. Well, actually the remote control ran out of batteries – and there aren’t any other controls. Other models of my car (a Renault Scenic) have a big armrest with controls on it, but I opted for the one that has a large gap saying “navigate to” or “where am between the front seats, designed I?” or even “show map”. There for your handbag. Isn’t that senare just some icons, like a square sible? Why is it that every driving with an arrow pointing out of it, woman has a handbag, but no cars or three parallel lines, or a heart. have a place to put them? You end Everyone hails Apple products as up shoving it down in the footwell “intuitive”, but I think they’re just where your kids step on it, or it a different alphabet for urban hip falls over and spills the contents people, and I’ve never had lessons under your passenger. in urban hip-speak. Anyway, back to the story. I’m But even so I managed, to my lost, I’m in a gateway on a leafy surprise, to programme my deslane with no signtination into the post in sight, and phone. Oops – battime is ticking tery low. What if it before I need to be conks out when I’m at a meeting. on some spaghetti Wait a minute, I I swore for a junction, I thought. while and banged Wait – didn’t my thought. This is the remote control car have a USB an iPhone and it around, and when plug? And didn’t I has one of them that had no effect have the charger I considered my with me? there fancy map next move. I had Yes! I plugged things on it my work phone the phone into the with me: could I USB port, and then phone someone? nearly jumped Wait a minute, I out of my skin. A thought, this was an iPhone and guitar riff started booming from it has one of them there fancy my speakers. “In two hundred map things on it. I had never used yards, turn left,” purred a man’s it before. I opened the app and it voice, sounding like he was in my obligingly zoomed in from outer ear. space into Europe and then the “Really?” I asked. British Isles and then Devon and Then I got into it. I pulled on then me in the leafy lane. Showmy shades, indicated, and gave a offs, I thought. Those Apple thumbs up to my audience of cows people just couldn’t resist – everywho were watching from the field. thing has to be super-cool. Chillin’ with my iPhone, drivin’ The trouble with Apple prodmy Renault Scenic to work. Lisucts is that they never actually tell tenin’ to directions set to the you anything. There are no words funky funky beat. Aallll riiiiiight.
L
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 Next week: Fran McElhone on life with a new baby
Lovely lace Gold medal-winning Olympic heptathlete and sports pundit Denise Lewis looked stunning at a recent day at the races in this timelessly elegant Jacques Vert polka dot dress with lace sleeves and black satin sash. Take a tip from her style book and be clever about how you accessorise: a contemporary red clutch adds a berry bright touch that makes this look Denise’s own – and it’s a winner.
Jacques Vert polka dot and lace dress £149
steal her
style
OR MAKE IT YOUR OWN
OPTION B Summery OPTION A Smart Cowl-necked lace dress £49 BHS Flattering and versatile
Lace dress £149 www. kaliko.co.uk Perfect party wear for sunny days
8
Moley_Gossip_July5.indd 8
01/07/2015 10:36:57
BRAND NEW!
Just
TRESCO CALLING! The nation’s favourite gardener has revealed he has a fantasy fall-back job – in our part of the world. In the unlikely event that the TV career doesn’t work out, Alan Titchmarsh (who’s back on our screens with makeover show Love Your Garden) confides: “I’d definitely be the head gardener at Tresco on the
Isles of Scilly. “It’s a Mediterranean garden and it’s lovely and warm and sunny. That would suit me just fine.” As for being labelled the perennial housewife’s choice, Alan adds modestly: “It’s nice to be anybody’s favourite. I feel very flattered, but I try not to take it too seriously.”
between us! Gossip, news, trendsetters and more – you heard all the latest juicy stuff here first!
‘Rod’s my macho man’ Penny Lancaster came under fire after suggesting on Loose Women that donning a pinny and cooking robs men of their masculinity. Penny, who’s been married to rocker Rod Stewart since 2007, said she was all for equal rights, but prefers the “hunter gatherer, the macho man, looking after the family”. Then Devon’s Kirstie Allsopp waded in to defend Penny, saying; “If she’s happy and Rod’s happy, then what does it matter?” West says: There’s always Dine In for Two deals from M&S when it’s his turn to cook. Roddy meals, anyone?
MORE HARRY? YES PLEASE Good news for fans of Devon star Harry Treadaway: Cult horror series Penny Dreadful has been commissioned for a third run, before the second has even finished airing. Harry, who grew up near Crediton with twin brother, Unbroken star Luke, plays Dr Victor Frankenstein in the Sky Atlantic series, which follows famous characters from 19th-century
gothic fiction. Billie Piper, Timothy Dalton and Eva Green also feature, with nine new episodes set to begin filming in Dublin this autumn. Harry said he came to his role with no preconceptions, confessing: “I’ve never seen Frankenstein, so I didn’t have anything to compare it to. I just read what was in the script and went with that.” We approve. 9
Moley_Gossip_July5.indd 9
01/07/2015 10:37:47
Yes, it’s her: Kim Kardashian watches Kanye West at the Glastonbury Festival
in pictures Rare sight: The amazing Northern Lights were seen in Bradworthy, north Devon
The high life: Stilt walkers were on show at the Clovelly Seaweed Festival
King and Queen: Prom royalty at the Devonport High School prom in Plymouth
10
WIP_Top10.indd 10
01/07/2015 10:39:57
talking points Born on 4thJuly
Atishoo!
ONE OF US Famous faces with links to the Westcountry
Famous people whose birthday fell yesterday (with apologies to the Tom Cruise film):
This week:
Caroline Quentin
1 Neil Morrissey actor, 1962
Ten plants with pollen that causes hayfever at this time of year:
2 Ronnie Ancona impressionist, 1968
1 Pine
3 Jo Whiley radio DJ, 1965
2 Birch
4 Prince Michael of Kent 1942
3 Plantain
5 Emmeline Pankhurst suffragette, 1858
5 Hazel
6 Mark Steel comedian, 1960 7 Francis Maude politician, 1953 8 Paula Abdul singer, 1962 9 Kathleen Turner actress, 1954
4 Cedar 6 Rye grass 7 Poplar 8 Plane 9 Nettle 10 Sorrel
10 Boris Johnson politician, 1964
The happy list
Right now
10 things to make you smile this week
Fresh produce in season in July:
1 Ice cubes a freezer must 2 Open windows in the car 3 Evenings at the beach
1 Courgettes 2 Rhubarb 3 Runner beans 4 Chard 5 Broad beans 6 Carrots 7 Aubergine 8 Beetroot 9 Broccoli 10 Tomatoes
Actress and TV presenter Caroline Quentin lives near Tiverton in mid Devon
straight from work or school
4 5 6 7 8
Nail varnish on your toes Tents let’s get under canvas Men in shorts looking cool Wimbledon wonderful Spandau Ballet at Eden Project this Thursday
9 Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra in Exeter, August 1
10 Artichokes with melted butter and plenty of salt
Early years: Caroline grew up in Surrey and went to the Arts Educational School in Hertfordshire. She’s best known for her TV roles as Dorothy in Men Behaving Badly and Maddie Magellan in Jonathan Creek. Marriage: Caroline was married to the comic Paul Merton from 1990 until their 1998 divorce. She met her husband Sam Farmer in 1999 on the set of Jonathan Creek, where he was a runner. They have two children, Emily (born 1999) and William (born 2003).
presented a glossy travel series in 2012 called Cornwall with Caroline Quentin.
Tiverton: Caroline is a stout defender of the mid Devon town, saying: “It is really underrated. People see it as second-rate compared to Exeter and Taunton but I think it is a DID YOU KNOW? beautiful town Caroline’s architecturally. husband Sam There isn’t a lot of has just started money here, but a business if you take a stroll making good-foraround it there is so you cosmetics much to look at.”
for teenagers, inspired by their two children
Wedding: Sam and Caroline married in 2006, in Tiverton, Devon. They lived in Morebath Manor near the village of Morebath, close to Tiverton, briefly before moving to a smaller farm nearby. Patron: Caroline has coeliac disease (which means she cannot eat gluten, found in wheat) and she is the current patron of Coeliac UK. Westcountry: Besides living in Devon, Caroline’s also a Westcountry fan in general. She
Train: She relies on the train from Tiverton Parkway to get to theatre work in London and says its service is “bloody marvellous”. Great Western Canal: Caroline loves the canal around Tiverton, saying: “We have got the canal which is flat, unlike the Devon hills! I ride my bike along it and we go for walks along the canal too.” Adoption: Caroline’s a patron for the Exeter-based adoption charity Families for Children, together with the chef Michael Caines. 11
WIP_Top10.indd 11
01/07/2015 10:40:36
People
Crikey it’s vintage
With modern life often so stressful, is it any wonder that more and more people enjoy getting together for a knees up in the past? Sarah Pitt meets some of those taking part in this year’s Crikey It’s Vintage event near Exeter
Shelley Barns his month sees the fifth Crikey It’s Vintage event taking place here in the South West. Founded by Exeter’s Shelley Barns, the huge weekend festival features frocks, dancing, music, classic cars and food from bygone days. Nowadays, Crikey is not the only festival of its kind by a long chalk, but it remains a favourite date on the burgeoning retro-vintage scene. This year’s event takes place in the grounds of the stately home Poltimore House near Exeter. True to the ever-expanding definition of what vintage means – the answer, in truth, appears to be whatever you want it to be – the jollities will take in every era from the 1920s right up to the 1980s, a tad alarming, perhaps, for those who remember that decade well. Here, we catch up with some of the characters – and the outfits – to look out for at the 2015 Crikey It’s Vintage festival on July 25-26.
T
Shelley Barns, 35, is the founder of the Crikey It’s Vintage events. She also manages the Vintage Trading Company, a warehouse selling old furniture and curiosities in Exeter Shelley says: I had noticed that vintage events were really popular in other areas of the country, but at that time, back in 2011, there weren’t any in the South West. I thought: I could do this, I’m really good at organising things. I’ll give it a try. I invited anyone and everyone along and it was a huge success. We held the fair at a hotel in Exeter in July 2011, and it was jam-packed to the point where nobody else could get into the room. It went from there. With the VE commemorations this year, there are quite a few events focusing on the 1940s, but at Crikey this year, we are going for the 1960s and 1970s. We have got a lady on a scooter on our posters, and the band we are having on the Saturday night is The Flower Power Band, a 1960s group. I thought it would be fun to do something a bit different. I like dressing up for the fair. I have got a number of different dresses and outfits. A lot of vintage items were ‘Made in England’ and made to last. It is getting harder to find vintage things now in shops, though, and and a lot of the vintage dresses are tiny and
just too small for me. That is why people like Alison Ballard of Silly Old Sea Dog from Cornwall are great, because she makes vintage-style dresses in sizes to fit women today. I think it is the nostalgia people like at events like Crikey. The dressing up is really fun, everybody is so friendly and they want to have a good time. People look back at earlier times, when life seemed to be a bit simpler than today. As well as buying vintage-style clothes at the fair, people can have their hair and make up done in the pop-up beauty parlour. We will have a photographer setting up a photo booth so people can have their picture taken all dressed up. For the first time, people will be able to camp at the fair, which I hope will draw visitors from further afield. We will have lots of children’s activities and music, including Electric Spank, a local funk, swing and soul band. They have a young following so I hope that will bring in a young crowd. They are really flamboyant, with great big shoulder pads – a bit eccentric and wacky. Then we will have lindy hop and jive dancing during the afternoon in the tearoom we are setting up in the house, and the South West Lindy Hoppers will be giving a live performance. I’m just deciding what I’m going to wear – I think I’m going to go for 1950s on the Saturday and a 1960s outfit on the Sunday.
12
Vintage_July5.indd 12
01/07/2015 10:42:44
MAIN PICTURE: MATT AUSTIN
Crikey It’s Vintage organiser Shelley Barns, right, pictured with fellow vintage enthusiast Kim Startup
13
Vintage_July5.indd 13
01/07/2015 10:43:08
Alison Ballard
Crikey It’s Vintage is a really good event, with music, vintage cars and lots of fantastic shopping of course. We dress up on our stand as well – mind you, I dress like this most of the time anyway! My outfits are 1950s in style but brand new, made in England to my designs. I make dresses in sizes from 6 to 24, so quite a range. These styles are very feminine and suit all sizes. That’s what is good about reproduction vintage, because generally if you are bigger than a size 8-10 you can struggle to find vintage clothes in your size. People can try on my dresses for size at the stand then buy them later on the website – my vintage caravan will be the changing room. Visit sillyoldseadog.co.uk
picture: martin witham
Alison Ballard is a fashion designer based in Newquay. She will be selling 1950s-style dresses she creates for her fashion label Silly Old Sea Dog at Crikey It’s Vintage
Alice Bardwell Alice Bardwell, 35, lives near Ottery St Mary in east Devon with her partner Dan Prince and their children Hugo, two, and Tilda, 12 weeks. The couple will be at Crikey It’s Vintage this year promoting their business Gertie’s Adventures, offering holidays in Gertie and Blanche, two vintage Volkswagen camper vans they have restored Alice says: We were at Crikey It’s Vintage last year with our camper van called Gertie. I really enjoy the event. I love to see everyone dressing up and taking part, and I can take my family along. It is a good excuse to have a knees up at the same time as doing business. At last year’s Crikey, I had my hair done in one of the pop up beauty tents in a 1960s style, with a tiny model camper van perched in the top! I wore a dress in a 1950s style made by a woman called Katie Tackaberry. She hand makes them all; the fabric has camper vans on it. I love dressing up, I’m just a big kid really.
Because our two camper vans Gertie and Blanche will be out on hire this time, we are bringing along another one, a 1980s camper van we have just bought, to this year’s fair to camp in. We will also bring along a rare flat-backed camper van we have borrowed to show on our stand. You get a lot of vintage car enthusiasts at these events. Because the whole Crikey event is so fun and relaxed, it is a good one for us to go along to. We got some good business last year. You can’t ask for more really, to have fun while you are working. See www.gertiesadventures.co.uk
14
Vintage_July5.indd 14
01/07/2015 10:43:37
People
Sue Watts Sue Watts, 50, runs Retro Trailers based near St Erth in west Cornwall with her partner Chris Parr. They make and sell ‘teardrop’ trailers, in the style of the originals from the 1940s and 1950s
PICTURE: MARTIN WITHAM
Sue says: I love everything that’s in the style of the 1940s and 1950s. The teardrop caravans which my partner Chris builds from scratch are based on the original caravans from the period. Going to events like Crikey It’s Vintage is a lifestyle thing for us, we just really enjoy the day out. I’m an avid collector of vintage things anyway, and Chris is into classic cars. Chris and I will be bringing along our latest project, a very rare 1939 Thomson pick-up truck which we have just got around to restoring. This will be its first public outing. We camp in our own teardrop trailer at the event. There is everything you need in it, including a king-sized double bed and a kitchen in the back. We build them traditionally, just as they were made in the 1940s and 1950s, using the aluminium and varnished wood. I get asked all the time whether we have restored them, they look so authentic. I am really into rockabilly music and I just love the clothes of the 1950s, so I am like a child in a sweetshop at Crikey It’s Vintage. I meet new people at shows like this one, then see them again every year, which is great for me as I live so far away from the rest of the country. I can’t wait for this year’s fair. Visit retrotrailers.info
Crikey It’s Vintage takes place on Saturday and Sunday, July 25 and 26. A weekend pass for a family of four, including camping, is £35. Call 01392 431682 for tickets, or see www.facebook.com/CrikeyItsVintage for more information 15
Vintage_July5.indd 15
01/07/2015 10:44:11
Rock Oyster Festival
Treverra Cottage
Kynance Cove
My Secret Westcountry Karen Swan Karen Swan’s latest novel is set in north Cornwall, where she is a regular visitor. She lives in East Sussex with her husband, three children and ‘two dogs with ADHD’. She has sold more than 100,000 copies of her novels
Karen Swan
My favourite... Walk: Along the grassy dunes of St Enodoc’s golf course, stopping via the church nestled in the dunes, en route to Daymer Bay.
at Polzeath. Unlike the modern chunky boogie boards, you do actually need some technique to ride a wave on one of these babies. I’m determined to progress onto real stand-up surfing next.
Beach: Church Cove at Gunwalloe on The Lizard. It’s got it all - cliff walks, the most charming café selling buckets, spades, good coffee and hot pasties; an ancient church just a yard from the sand and brilliant rocks for rockpooling when the tide’s out.
Food: It has to be the humble Cornish pasty. I’m very strict about when I will allow myself to have one. I wouldn’t dream of having one just anytime, sitting at a table. I have to be either sitting on the beach or have just come off it, with the sand still in my toes.
Arts venue/festival: The Rock Oyster festival, which takes place on Friday and Saturday this week (July 10 and 11) in north Cornwall. The location is just stunning and it’s got the most wonderful specialist food stalls.
Tipple: A Doom Bar beer. I’m not a beer
Activity: Surfing on my ancient wooden board
drinker but I do steal large sips of this from my husband when he’s not looking.
Pub: The Mariner’s in Rock and The Halzephron Inn, en route to Gunwalloe. They do the best scampi and had a playroom for kids which was a
16
MyWestcountry_July5.indd 16
01/07/2015 10:45:18
People Padstow
lifesaver for us when ours were younger.
Restaurant: The Blue Tomato café in Rock for its Malteser milkshakes and salt and pepper squid. I could sit on the terrace and watch the tide ebb and flow here all day. The service isn’t fast but it is friendly, which I rate.
Way to relax: Cycling the back lanes between Rock and Trebetherick. Weekend away or overnight stay: I would always take any and every opportunity to stay at Treverra Cottage in the Porthilly area of Rock. Its infinity pool is a work of art the cover alone is like something from a Bond film, rising in a wall from the bottom of the pool - and I love the chunky, weathered, rustic feel of the house, the cows grazing in the neighbouring fields and the views over to Padstow. See for yourself at www.perfectstays. co.uk.
in Padstow - I always hanker after kitchen goodies from the Stein’s store, even if it’s just a chic tea towel, and there are some really great art galleries too. And I can’t walk past Quba without going in and buying something striped.
Treat: A Roskilly’s honeycomb ice cream. It’s
[[ Unlike modern boogie boards, you do need some technique to surf on a wooden board
Shop: There are so many gorgeous boutiques
so hard to find anywhere else in the country but we’ve been to the Roskilly dairy on The Lizard several times so as a family we remain faithful to it and I won’t buy any other brand when we’re down here.
‘Secret’ place : The lagoon on
the back beach at Kynance Cove. You can only get to it at low tide and most people who visit don’t even realise it’s there. The waters are clear turquoise and really deep. I love cliff jumping from the rocks into the lagoon - it’s so cold, it takes your breath away. I used this location for a key scene in my new book, Summer at Tiffany’s.
Karen’s latest Pan paperback, Summer at Tiffany’s, is set in Cornwall. It comes out on Thursday July 9, £7.99 17
MyWestcountry_July5.indd 17
01/07/2015 10:45:58
Every morning, come rain or shine, a picture is taken of the sun rising over a Cornish beach. Viki Wilson finds out more about a remarkable ten-year photography project that is also a clever (and successful) gift business
A new dawn... t may not be true to say that it is always darkest before the dawn, but as I carefully make my way down the pathway towards Porthkidney beach with photographer Gavan Goulder at 6am, it certainly feels that way. Getting up in the pre-dawn hours has been a way of life for Gavan for nearly ten years now, ever since he had the inspired idea for his photography business, called The Day That, which offers framed photographic prints of the dawn on special dates. Thanks to Gavan, you can buy such images as the day a child was born, or the day a couple was married. It is a wonderful idea for a gift business, and The Day That is now a thriving concern which boasts celebrity endorsements from the likes of Elton John and Spice Girl Emma Bunton. Every morning, 365 days of the year, come rain
I
or indeed howling, lashing gales, Gavan and his team of photographers are out before the dawn, to take photographs of the sun as it rises over beaches of West Cornwall, near Gavan’s home in Carbis Bay and The Day That studio in Hayle. The result is a truly remarkable archive of photographs capturing the mood and peculiar beauty of each and every single morning, dating back to midsummer’s day in June, 2005. It was on this morning, shortly after the birth of Gavan’s daughter, Ella, that he first began to capture the sunrise. “I first had the idea when my best friend and
[
his wife had their first baby back in 2000,” explains Gavan. “After I heard the baby had been born, I went out and took a landscape photograph of a lone tree, and had it printed and framed, and I gave it to them with the frame inscribed with the words: ‘6th April 2000, Teddy’s First Day’. This idea for a business marked a departure from Gavan’s initial career path as a press photographer for The Telegraph and other leading magazines and newspapers. As a news photographer Gavan travelled widely, documenting the rapidly changing life of Bedouin tribes on the Arabian Peninsula and, for one memorable assignment,
[
‘I framed the picture, inscribed with the words: 6th April, Teddy’s first day’
18
Sunrisefeature_July5.indd 18
01/07/2015 12:34:58
People Gavan Goulder and his team take pictures of every Cornish dawn
19
Sunrisefeature_July5.indd 19
01/07/2015 12:35:19
he was one of the first photographers to take pictures of the lavish, brutal dictator Nicolae Ceaucescu’s vast palace after the 1989 revolution in Romania. For more than a decade Gavan’s photography featured in national news pages, until he and his wife Lis made the decision to move to Cornwall where they settled, and in 2005, had their first child, Ella. “Ella was born in May, and I went out the very next morning and photographed her first sunrise,” says Gavan. “Then I waited a couple of weeks, because I wanted to start my series of dawn photographs on a day of some import, and midsummer seemed a good time to start.” Today, nearly ten years on, Gavan and his team of photographers have never missed a day although, as there are now four photographers working on the project, there is time for the occasional week off. “We rate the mornings from 1 to 5,” Gavan explains to me as we set up the camera overlooking the smooth, wide sweep of Porthkidney beach. “A glorious morning, where the sky is streaked with crimson and beautiful colours is a 5, and a terrible day, when rain is lashing, the wind is ferocious and you can barely see a thing, is rated a 1.” Gavan pauses for a moment and gazes sadly at the flat grey tones in the sea and sky on the grim morning that is gradually unveiling itself before us. “Today would be about a 2,” he decides. What the team pride themselves upon, however, is their ability to find the magic in any morn-
[
ing, even in the worst weather. “The staff at the Carbis Bay Hotel once told me they’d spotted a lone figure on the beach on a shockingly bad day when it was heaving down with rain,” says Gavan. “They wondered who on earth would be out taking photographs on such a morning and they realised it was me.” On a day like that, Gavan and his team use slow shutter speeds to transform the movement and motion of the waves into smoke-like wisps. On other days, the team have found viewpoints that can convey the ethereal beauty of dense rocks against curling tendrils of thick fog. It is a critical skill, because the very essence of the photographic gifts that Gavan and the team create, is that they capture dawn on a particular date – the date a new baby arrives, the date a family moves into a new home, or - in one memorable case - the day a woman woke up celebrating the first day of her new life after a divorce. “We do get asked how we can guarantee a photograph was taken on a particular day,” says Gavan. “We can reveal the data embedded in the digital file of the image, and people could check the historical weather data in the location the photograph was taken. We do offer to supply this evidence, but the truth is, no-one has ever asked us for it. Because, of course, if we cheated, even once, it would mean the end of the business, and so we would never do it.” Honesty is a theme that runs through the whole
[
‘We rate the mornings from 1 to 5. A glorious morning where the sky is streaked with crimson is a 5’
20
Sunrisefeature_July5.indd 20
01/07/2015 12:35:43
People
Gavan takes a picture of the Cornish dawn every day
21
Sunrisefeature_July5.indd 21
01/07/2015 12:36:03
People
enterprise, and this is evident in the very careful processing of the images. Any alterations are extremely minimal. The photographs represent, as closely as possible, exactly what the dawn looked like to the visible eye. “We have a saying, ‘it is what it is’,” explains Gavan. And we both sigh quietly as we look at the sky, which shows barely any hint of colour as it slowly lightens against the silhouette of the Gwithian dunes. I have some training in photography but it takes all Gavan’s expertise and help for me to make the most of this morning. After shooting some images of from the cliff edge, we clamber down to the sand and I take some more photographs with slow shutter speeds. This way, I capture the gentle movement of the waves, and the soft differentiation of greys and blues that are shifting with the sunrise. And, incredibly, we do capture some beautiful images. They are not the show-stopping seascapes of golden shimmers over the sea and rosehued streaks on the horizon. But they convey the quietness and softness of this particular morning in a way that is somehow soothing. Back at Gavan’s studio in nearby Hayle, I select and edit my best photograph of the dawn. As we print and carefully frame my image, I am pleased with what I have captured on this grey morning. “There was a time when I struggled with it, the idea of having the get up every day, even on rainy or wintry days,” admits Gavan. “But a very good friend of mine told me: ‘Just put your feet on the floor each morning and tell yourself ‘this is my time’. And that is what I do, that is how I get up every day.” To find out more about Gavan’s Cornish sunrise project and and to order a The Day That print, visit www.thedaythat.co.uk
Win a photographic print worth £130 You can win a beautiful photographic The Day That print of the Cornish dawn on the day of your choice, worth £130, taken on any date in the past ten years. To enter, send your name, address and contact details to The Day That competition, westmag@westernmorningnews.co.uk to arrive by July 17. Normal terms apply
22
Sunrisefeature_July5.indd 22
01/07/2015 12:36:33
TheMarleGallery CONTEMPORARY FINE ART
Summer Exhibition 4 July - 5 September
Tues - Saturday 10am - 5pm
Evening Glory
Sylvia Paul
Victoria Place, Axminster Devon EX13 5NQ
01297 639970
art@themarlegallery.co.uk
www.themarlegallery.co.uk
bournemouth ournemouth symphony orchestra bolero b olero
1812 overture verture
west side story tory
Firebird
classical e travaganza the best classical music in the world
exeter great hall
01392 493493 Untitled-2 1
saturday 1 august 7.30pm bsolive.com
01/07/2015 15:10:53
Fella sofa in jade vintage linen £1,095 and Tuppence rug, £165 www.loaf.com
Sweet stuff Treat rooms to some ice cream inspired updates. Gabrielle Fagan scoops up the sweetest summer buys ummer has just got that bit sweeter, with sugary shades starring on the decor menu. Think mouth-watering tones of vanilla, strawberry pink, pistachio, butterscotch and lemony yellow, and either use them sundae style – by whipping up a delicious mix – or simply add single scoops of colour to lift a room. “The most delicious colours of summer this year are definitely the ice cream shades, which capture the essence of a day at the beach,” says Marianne Shillingford, creative director at Dulux. Dulux has recently introduced its own range of tempting pastel shades, which can be mixed up in a variety of paint formats from its MixLab. “You can create your own decorating sundae, with creamy Vanilla Scoop between layers of chocolatey Rope Swing and the butterscotch hints of Sandy Steps from our range,” says Marianne. “These colours have
S
been designed to evoke the essence of the seaTiles. “They’re renowned for their moodside, and what’s so lovely about them is that enhancing qualities but – as with any colour they look warm but fresh during the day, and – too many shades in a single room can be soft and flattering once the sun’s gone down.” overwhelming. Ideally, you should pair just Many interior designone or two pastel colours with ers suggest using different a neutral. shades of pretty pastels for “White or cream will sharpwalls, woodwork and furnien pastel shades or, if you ‘There’s no easier ture, to create an easy-onprefer, combine a trio of pale, way to add the-eye harmonious atmossubtle shades for a more femiphere for your sitting room, nine, girly scheme. colour to your dining room or kitchen. “Think sugar rose pink, lilac interiors than to There are plenty of options and icy blue, and then define to choose from, with wallthe room by accessorising experiment with papers, tiles and paint in an with natural wood tones and soothing pastel irresistible palette of candy soft metallics, for a calm, rotones’ colours which will help to mantic look.” create a playful, fun look in You could go for shutters in a room. a more intense pastel shade, to “There’s no easier way to complement the same shade add colour to your interiused in a paler incarnation ors than to experiment with soothing pastel for the walls, suggests Mark Carter, directones,” says Jenny Seabrook, buyer at Topps tor of shutter specialists Shutterly Fabulous.
[[
24
Interiors_July5.indd 24
01/07/2015 10:48:43
Interiors
Mint green shutters, from ÂŁ290 a square metre, www.shutterlyfabulous. com
25
Interiors_July5.indd 25
01/07/2015 10:49:03
Interiors
Pastels can work equally well on wallpaper, as with this Hampus wallpaper by Sandberg, £60 per roll, www. wallpaperdirect.co.uk
“A palette of pretty pastels, enlivened by dashes of citrus brights, will set the tone for summer,” says Mark. “Make the most of natural light and have white or a pale pastel on walls, and then add interest with a deeper version of the pastel shade. So for instance, try pale green walls with a block of mint green for shutters or paintwork. “To bring more vibrancy, you could accessorise with a bright citrus yellow.” One of the simplest ways to inject some candy colour into your room, just for the summer, is through a judicious sprinkling of accessories. You could put some pretty ice cream cone styled glasses (available at £14 each from the Royal Academy Shop, see opposite) on the shelves in your kitchen. Or you could paint plain wooden chairs in your favourite pastel hues. Furniture company Neptune has this new Harrogate chair, available in Peppercorn Pink, £270 each (pictured opposite). But if the budget’s tight, simply spray paint some old chairs yourself.
This romantic bathroom uses pastel La Dolce Vita patchwork tiles, £10.99 for a box of four, from Topps Tiles
Pastel pink lends itself well to the slim and stylish Artelinea Monolite bathroom storage range, from £1,500, www.cphart.co.uk
26
Interiors_July5.indd 26
01/07/2015 10:49:30
Interiors
GET THE
LOOK
Louis Poulsen collage pendant £610 www.royaldesign.co.uk
Make your home look sweet with these candy-coloured best buys
Matt emulsion paints £4.49 from Dulux MixLab
Ice cream tray £15.99 www.english-table.com Lemon ice cream glass £14 Royal Academy shop www.royalacademy.org.uk
Set of three cases £17.95 www. tittlemouse.co.uk
Harrogate chair in peppercorn pink £270 www.neptune.com
27
Interiors_July5.indd 27
01/07/2015 10:49:59
Gardens
ANNE SWITHINBANK
Helpful pests Devon’s Anne Swithinbank, panellist on Radio 4’s Gardeners’ Question Time, considers the role of natural predators he shoot tips of our broad beans were so thick with blackfly, you’d have been hard-pressed to wiggle a pin between them and the infestation was a bad one, spreading to pods developing below. My reaction to pests is pitched somewhere between resignation and fascination, so the first step was to arm myself with a magnifying glass and study the situation properly. For a while, I was lost in a world of clustering, wriggling blackfly but amongst them were quite a few ladybird larvae, each resembling a small lizard-like creature of slate grey, decorated by yellow dots. Each will eat around 400 aphids before pupating and adult ladybirds consume maybe 70 a day. Some were already reaching full size and hunching over to pupate into blobby little yellow and black structures. Others looked small and newly hatched from ladybird eggs. No way was I going to spray the aphids and risk killing these helpful, free biological controls. That would be like taking one step forward, before running backwards fast. In fact, the blackfly colonies were already half dead and on the wane. On closer inspecNo way was I tion, predatory green flower going to spray bugs were scampering around and there were a few flattened, the aphids caterpillar-like chaps – proband risk killing ably the larvae of hoverflies or these helpful, possibly lacewings, which both consume aphids. Small, oval free biological bright orange bodies hardly controls visible to the naked eye had attached themselves to the aphids. These are parasitic red velvet mites which suck nourishment
T
28
Gardening_July05.indd 28
[[
from the aphids, either slowing them down or killing them. Other aphids had pale, inflated-looking bodies, having been attacked by parasitic wasps. This was carnage on an epic if minute scale being played out right here on my bean plants. Had I sprayed, aphid eggs would have continued to hatch afterwards, the predatory force would have been wiped out and I’d have been forced to spray again. I would also be missing a small army of foragers breeding
up to consume more pests during the rest of the summer. Maybe they’ll move on to the mealy cabbage aphid broken out on the perennial kales. The health of a garden depends on insects which in turn feed spiders and which both feed birds. Greenhouses and conservatories can be hotbeds of pests, with the likes of whitefly and spider mite tricky to get rid of. Fortunately, if you spot them quickly enough, you can send off for appropriate biological controls to arrive through the post. For whitefly, a parastic wasp called encarsia is usually the biological weapon of choice. They arrive as parasitized whitefly scales and placed in a warm greenhouse soon hatch and fly off to
01/07/2015 12:26:51
This week’s gardening tips Anne’s advice for your garden lay their eggs in more scales. To deal with the red spider mite that can cause a scorched appearance to aubergines and cucumbers, a predatory mite is the answer. Phytosieulus is larger, a brighter red, runs faster than the spider mites and introduced as an adult, soon sets to work. Back outside, there are biological controls based on nematodes to control slugs, vine weevils, leatherjackets, caterpillars and more. These naturally occurring microscopic worms are bred up and supplied in a form that can be watered in or on. Given the correct temperature and moisture, the nematodes enter, say, a slug and once in, release bacteria which kill and break down
the pest which then becomes food and a breeding ground for the nematodes. There is one for ants which apparently doesn’t kill them but makes them itchy and drives them away from the nest, which then breaks up. Ants, of course, are food for green woodpeckers, so as long as they are not invading the house or undermining a favourite plant, so maybe there’s a big argument for just leaving them alone (though I admit many ant nests in a small garden are a trial). The wildlife of a garden, whether friend or foe, is fascinating and the two are inextricably linked. My advice is to watch, analyse and, in most cases, leave well alone.
• S ow beetroot, sugar loaf chicory, radicchio, Chinese cabbage, red Russian kale, kohl rabi, Swiss chard and turnips in the veg plot to keep crops coming. Chinese cabbage and pak choi are fast growing but water well and be vigilant against slugs. • L ook through bulb catalogues and order spring
Question time with Anne
flowering bulbs to be delivered for planting from September to November. Decide what will look great in borders and pots. • Keep fruit bushes protected from birds using fleece or mesh held in place with clothes pegs. Let the fruit ripen, take what you need and then let the birds finish the fruits off.
West reader queries answered by Anne Swithinbank
Q
My pumpkin plants are showing signs of mildew on their older leaves. This started when they were still in pots and I’m worried it will kill the plants before they can develop fruit.
I expect you can see silvery white patches of spores on the leaves, which then wither. Mildew is often caused by water stress. It is likely the young pumpkins became pot bound and struggled to take up enough water and nutrients. They may also have been squashed up together on greenhouse staging, with not enough air getting around the plants. Try to move them outdoors sooner to harden them off (accustom them to outdoor growing conditions) for a few days before planting out. Pumpkins need a deep, rich soil, so plenty of organic matter should have been added and the plants watered in well. Try adding a mulch now, to damp soil over the plants roots.
Q
Our pond has been taken over by a rampant water iris which seems to have doubled in size since the spring. Have I left it too late to do anything to the plant? There’s hardly any water left around it.
Technically, spring is often recommended as the best time to tackle marginal aquatic plants like this but I would do it now. Haul the whole thing out of the pond and use an old kitchen bread knife to carve through the root mass (be careful and wear tough gloves). Save a tiny portion and trim the leaves to half their length. You might find the original pot inside the mass (usually a special basket). Line this with hessian and replant into ordinary garden soil or aquatic compost. Top with stones and lower back into the pond, then top the water up to the rim. Leave debris close to the pond overnight for creatures to go back in.
Take a critical look at borders, decide which herbaceous perennials look great and thrive well and make a note to divide these in autumn and spring and enlarge their clumps, or repeat them through the border. Use them to replace unsuitable plants which are shrinking and needing regular watering to stay alive.
Ivy
Send your questions to Anne at westmag@ westernmorningnews.co.uk
can be useful and is great for wildlife but it clings to walls with short stem roots and can ruin a painted house wall. Go on patrol to pull away and dig out unwanted ivy - but perhaps let a little prosper in wilder areas. 29
Gardening_July05.indd 29
01/07/2015 12:27:37
Beauty
Tried
& tested
We present the best beauty cheats and treats, all trialled by West magazine’s Catherine Barnes, with help from daughter Tilly, 18
Restore
Stressed, dry skin? Keep the solution simple with this gentle cleanser – ideal for holidays when your face has above-average exposure to the sun. Skyn Iceland Pure Cloud cleanser £22.50 www.marksandspencer.com
FIZZY POP
Kis s
Kis s
These bath sodas from www.madbeauty.com will put some fun into bathtime. £5 each.
Sparkle Glam it up with some glitzloving eyeliners by Urban Decay in a choice of seven rock chick shades. £14 each www.urbandecay.co.uk
Lippy without the sticky- try this candy pink gloss for sheen without feeling gluey. £3.99 from www.newlook.com
SOOTHING Suitable for all skin types including problem skins, this rejuvenating oil can even be used to balance oily skin and is infused with rose buds and vanilla. £14 at www.trevarnoskincare.co.uk
30
Beauty_July05.indd 30
01/07/2015 10:51:32
the review cute colour
What’s in the
Box?
Colour intense for a finish that lasts, Delilah’s compact shadows come in 12 moss, heather, stones and neutrals and in matte or shimmer finishes. We like this soft Thistle and sheeny Flamingo, £20 each from delilahcosmetics.com
Beauty subscription boxes are the smart new way to try all sorts of interesting cosmetics. Sign up online, and then wait for the carefully curated edit of samples and full-size products to land on your doorstep. Lisa Haynes finds out more...
THE PERFUME SOCIETY Try mini fragrances by both mainstream and niche perfume houses, from Coty to L’Artisan Parfumeur and Prada to Penhaligon’s. This summer’s Jet-Set Box features holidayready scents. Boxes are available individually at £15 (inc delivery) and don’t require a subscription www. perfumesociety.org/shop
love lula Expect between five to seven allnatural products in a recyclable, no-frills box packed with natural and organic brands.Subscriptions are £12.50 per month including delivery from www.lovelulabeautybox.com
Red alert Make sure everyone sees red, even when you’ve no time for a visit to the salon. Color Wow’s cover-up palette has pigments that will hide your roots whether your hair’s a Jessica Chastain amber or a Florence Welch flame. £28.50 at Space NK and www.colorwowhair. com
birch box Fill out a beauty profile and you’ll be sent five deluxe-sized samples to suit and you can earn points when you shop for full-size versions. Subscriptions are £12.95 per month including delivery www.birchbox.co.uk
Want a review? Send your request to westmag@westernmorningnews.co.uk 31
Beauty_July05.indd 31
01/07/2015 10:52:03
Jumpsuit £49 www.laredoute.co.uk
Let’s play This summer’s playsuits are all grown up – and fun to wear
ime was, a playsuit was strictly for kids to wear – for the past couple of years they have been a must-have in the rock chick festival-goer’s wardrobe. But finally, this summer, the playsuit is all grown up. Today, they can be smart or casual and often really rather elegant. Pair yours with pretty accessories channelling a nod to the 1970s like these cork wedges and a floppy straw hat and you’ll have your summer wardrobe all sewn up.
T
32
Fashion_July05.indd 32
01/07/2015 12:47:28
Fashion
Wanita floral jumpsuit £99 www.phase-eight.com
Sandals £35 www.oliverbonas.com
Waterfall fine knit cardi £19 www.apricotonline.co.uk
£
at co m . wh s t ra o n d o n e y l Fa u n e .d ww 29 w
Glade knot necklace £26 www.oliverbonas.com
Feather necklace £21.10 www. en.dawanda. com
Cap sleeved floral £59 www.very.co.uk
Halter tie floral £22.99 New Look
Jeanne cork wedge £25 www.linzi.com
90 s£ m s s e s s .c o a l g p re n su ex n lph R a .v i s i o w ww
Cami-top playsuit £16 Tu at Sainsbury’s
33
Fashion_July05.indd 33
01/07/2015 12:48:00
Trend
HOW TO WEAR IT:
MAIN PHOTO HAIR: CHARLOTTE AT SAKS, EXETER MAKEUP: ESTEE LAUDER, DEBENHAMS (BOTH PRINCESSHAY) PHOTOGRAPHY: STEVE HAYWOOD STILL-LIFE PHOTOGRAPHS: PR SHOTS
Courtside Kathryn Clarke-Mcleod on how to look the part for the tennis season im Murray is the unfit like a glove, summery and very, disputed queen of very verstatile. It’s a good idea to courtside fashion. The take some other muses along for the darling of the deuces journey. Kate Middleton is always a has wowed in summery prints, cute good bet, and Victoria Beckham’s wedges, bright solids, chic totes and polished tailored looks are a clear on-trend prints. win in any situation. Her style power even rivals that of I made a beeline for LK Bennett, a Kate Middleton, as her choices are favourite of the Duchess of Cornwall, known to sell out online within minand for good reason. It may not be utes of her taking a seat in the playthe cheapest of the high street stores, ers’ box. Yet despite but man oh man, does having access to the every dress hit the country’s top designmark. Good quality ers (she has rocked fabric and truly transCan you pull off both Victoria Beckseasonal florals make a classic Kim ham with the mint this one in particular a dress she wore for real investment piece. Murray look, Andy’s Wimbledon No shoe style shouts with no designer win and Burberry for summer more loudly the Championships than the peep-toe contacts and Ball 2013) she still wedge. Designed to a 20-minute embraces all the high combine elegance and street has to offer. comfort they are a morning routine? That’s the thing I firm favourite of Mrs like best about Kim, Murray. These beauthat she is still just ties were also a LK the girl next door. Behind that perfect Bennett find, and I really could walk blowdry is someone who has to put in a section of the coast path in them. a bit of effort to look that polished. They are so comfortable. In my cyber-stalking of her style Close behind the dress in imporchoices I even found pap snap where tance for triumphing at this look is she looked just like me on any given the bag. You can choose between an Monday morning. Hair scraped up in oversized bucket style or a dinky a giant topknot, oversize bright scarf, clutch. I like a big bag. I have many jeans and a white shirt. The staple of essentials. My fiancé disagrees on the woman who had no time, but had the ‘essential-ness’ of many of the tried - at least a little bit. bits I like to tote around but I like to Therein lies the key question. Can be prepared. The joy of a large one you pull off a classic Kim Murray is that it can hold your jacket (denim look, with no designer contacts and or leather) and I can even stash suna morning routine that allows for 20 cream in it, essential for any outdoor minutes at a push. The answer. Yes! tennis watching. Even if I’m watchBut you might need to go shopping. ing the action on my iPhone. The key item in your quest to be All fashion in these pictures is from the queen of the courts is a dress. Not Princesshay Shopping Centre, Exeter, just any dress. It needs to be well cut, www.princesshay.co.uk
K
Dress, LK Bennett Princesshay, £250 Shoes, LK Bennett Princesshay, £170 Bag, LK Bennett Princesshay, £165 (on sale) Sunglasses, Next Princesshay, £45
34
TrendColumn_July5_Courtside.indd 34
01/07/2015 12:31:02
DEBENHAMS RJR. John Rocha dress £89 NEW LOOK gold tote £15.99
GET THE
look REISS Delia skirt £120
NEW LOOK grey stripe trousers £22.99
NEXT denim flatforms £35
NEW LOOK white sleeveless striped shirt dress £19.99
DEBENHAMS Betty Jackson. Black dress £49
35
TrendColumn_July5_Courtside.indd 35
01/07/2015 12:31:38
Shop
The edit Your straight line to style: this week we’re off to a garden party
+
£18 Oliver Bonas
+ £59 Very
£20 Very
+
£35 Fabirs Lane sunglasses (www.stylistpick.co.uk)
+
£75 Cath Kidston
£28 M&Co
+
£55 Folli Follie
+
£95 People Tree
£75 Phase Eight
36
Grid_Stars_July5.indd 36
01/07/2015 12:38:10
Stars
Your stars by Cassandra Nye This week’s sign:
Happy birthday to...
Cancer is represented by the crab, a tough protective shell which contains within it something vulnerable and soft. Cancer people can be sensitive to a lot of things, occasionally even ‘crabby’, but, under it all, they are thoughtful and kind.
Jennifer Saunders born July 6, 1958 Comedian Jennifer Saunders celebrates her birthday tomorrow – could it be her ability to see the funny side of life that accounts for her absolutely fabulous looks at 57? Jennifer and husband Ade Edmondson now divide their time between London and the Chagford home in Devon where they brought up their now grown-up daughters. Jennifer’s a Cancerian and those born under this star sign can be highly imaginative, creative and attuned to other people’s feelings, as well as blessed with a gift for mimicry. Seems Jennifer’s comedy career was mapped out by the stars!
CANCER (June 22 - July 22) Matters at work slow down this week and your thoughts may well turn to romance and home-building. A certain amount of flirting comes naturally. This does bring a strong response from others. Even so, be careful what you wish for as it could come sooner than you expect! A change of pace brings more leisure time and the chance to catch up with friends. Stay optimistic.
LEO (July 23 - August 23) A few hiccups with finances are soon overcome by a strong feeling of wellbeing. This has more than a little to do with your romantic inclinations, which are superstrong this week! You see romance everywhere, including where you work. With so much choice, you can afford to be picky.
VIRGO (August 24 - September 23) With such forceful planets on your side, there is a lot that you can get done. Even so, take care not to be seen as over-ambitious and pushy. Well, you can’t hope to please everyone, can you? Socially there is some extra free time to really enjoy what you like most.
LIBRA (September 24 - October 23) Try to be forgiving and flexible when others speak out of turn. Think of something else when this temptation comes. Going and getting on with something different is a good idea. You are not very interested in money at the moment but something needs attention.
SCORPIO (October 24 - November 22) If someone reveals their feelings this week it could put you in an awkward position. What should your reaction be? Play for time as you try to figure it all out. Although you feel at home in your present situation, don’t burn those romantic bridges just yet!
SAGITTARIUS (November 23 - December 21) A teeny bit of frustration that something is not being done fast enough for you could set in. If you are going to make a complaint then get it on and over with. However, choose your words carefully so as not to make a big upset. Several things have irritated you. It will be hard to move on until they are dealt with.
CAPRICORN (December 22 - January 20) It really is time to think more of holidays and your leisure time. However, everyone seems to still want your undivided attention. Deal with them quickly and then move on. Bits and pieces of work seem to be making the most money at the moment. Although you want bigger things, small amounts of cash will keep you rolling.
AQUARIUS (January 21 - February 19) Someone who is out to impress and care for your needs really makes you sit up and notice this week. Not that you are needy, but sometimes of late there may have been feelings of loneliness. Oh, we can all be lonely in a crowd, can’t we? A one-on-one relationship seems right up your street.
PISCES (February 20 - March 20) Negative people and impatient bosses could sour your week. Having been forewarned, try to avoid them! A bit of time spent
on yourself and your own needs is essential. What you may find boring now gives you super results a few months ahead.
ARIES (March 21 - April 20) Expect a mixture of fun and finances this week. Perhaps you will make some cash from a hobby, or it could be that you pick up a money-making idea while taking a break. Whatever it is, keep a keen eye on the possibilities! Someone who made a promise may wish to take it back but find it difficult. Get bright and sparkling by dealing with any health problems. TAURUS (April 21 - May 21) There is a tendency to only believe what is in front of you and that could lead to a missed opportunity this week. Be prepared to use your imagination and accept some ideas, at least initially, on face value. Someone close may be proving a problem when dealing with a move or new approach. First you have to win them over. Don’t give them too much attention, though.
GEMINI (May 22 - June 21) You wish to get the ball rolling on a project this week but don’t know where to start. This is where a bit of advice could come in handy. When in this sort of confusion it is best to speak to someone who has gone before you. A mixture of home life and career changes keeps you pretty busy. 37 35
Grid_Stars_July5.indd 37
01/07/2015 12:38:30
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
FESTIVAL ESSENTIAL Millie Mackintosh stashed Dioralyte Relief in her Coachella festival essentials kit – word is that the Made in Chelsea star (above centre) turned fashion designer, who’s married to rapper Professor Green – recommends it as a hangover cure. Even if you’ve not had an upset tummy, this is a great rehydrator, whether you’ve over-imbibed the night before or are simply feeling the heat at a summer festival. The sachets contain essential mineral salts and come in blackcurrant and raspberry flavours.
SWEET TREAT Toffee people Werther’s have launched a lower calorie version of its famous butter candies, which contain sucralose in place of sugar. Each chewy sweet contains fewer than 20 calories and 80g bags (£1.39) have just gone on sale at Asda stores.
KEEP CALM
and drink tea How does a botanical beauty brand celebrate turning 20? Well, in Liz Earle’s case, commissioning a soothing tea. Dragonfly Tea has blended antioxidant-packed rooibos, with chamomile, peppermint and lemongrass to create this limited edition Inner Calm brew and it looks beautiful too. Perfect for soothing frazzled nerves. Buy 15 sachets for £6 atwww.dragonflytea.com
38
Wellbeing_July5.indd 38
01/07/2015 10:54:22
LOOKING FOR A CHALLENGE? Woah! This looks serious ! Competitors in next Saturday’s inaugural Croyde Ocean Triathlon in north Devon will undertake a 1,500m swim, 40km bike ride and 10km run. Are you up to the challenge? Or why not give the Saunton Beach Breaker (24km of mountain biking along sand dunes) on Sunday a go? More about both at www. croydeocean.co.uk.
OYSTERS are packed with minerals (including zinc, calcium and iron), essential fatty acids, protein and even Vitamin C, with only around 80 calories in a 100g serving. So there’s a good-for-you reason to visit the Rock Oyster Festival next Friday and Saturday, www.rockoysterfestival.co.uk
Easy jabs Did you know you can get your travel jabs done at the chemist? Over 250 LloydsPharmacy stores now offer travel vaccinations, which could make it more convenient than booking via your GP, where you will still have to pay for some inoculations including against yellow fever, rabies and Hepatitis B. Prices vary for the pharmacy service, visit www. lloydspharmacy.com for more details.
What’s coming up? Tweet us your wellbeing diary dates
@WMNWest or email westmag@westernmorningnews.co.uk 39
Wellbeing_July5.indd 39
01/07/2015 10:54:48
Wellbeing
Beach-ready feet It’s time to neaten up your feet for summer People often neglect their feet over winter because they’re out of sight, out of mind. As a foot specialist, I do get to see painful hard, cracked skin, ingrowing toenails and fungal infections. Our feet do a lot of work for us over the years, Chiropodist Louise Brown says: they are our foundation, but when we neglect After a long, hard winter them that’s when problems start to develop. hidden away in socks and It’s really important to look after them all year boots, it’s no wonder our round. There is a lot you can do at home to help feet are looking a little your feet stay in good condition. neglected and unkempt. Hard, cracked skin around Don’t worry, the heels is very common all you are not year round, but particularly in alone! summer, and can be extremely Now that summer is here it’s People often painful if not treated. Use an definitely time for a little Tender neglect their emery board or pumice stone Loving Care, to ensure your regularly to gently file away feet over winter tootsies are in tip-top condition hard, dead skin.Moisturise with and get a spring back in your because they are a good quality foot cream. step. out of sight, out Don’t ignore your feet in the As a chiropodist with more than morning shower – make sure of mind 20 years experience, I’m used to you get between those toes. Dry dealing with all aspects of foot them thoroughly as germs love care from hard, cracked heels, warm, moist conditions. ingrowing toenails, callous We lose a lot of water through our feet every and corns, to fungus and verrucas. Don’t feel day. If you’re wearing socks, make sure they embarrassed to come in for an appointment, are fresh. If you’re in sandals or flipflops, all us chiropodists have seen it all before. We rotate them to enable the sandals to dry out get a lot of satisfaction from sorting feet out, I throughly. Do not ignore tiny itchy blisters promise you. I’m embarrassed about the state of my feet and the thought of showing them off on the beach in flipflops or sandals is out of the question! Any suggestions? KN, Minehead
Q
[[
or abnormalities which may form in the heat, seek advice as they may be the start of a fungal infection or dermatitis Yellow is not a good colour when it comes to feet. Always seek advice from a professional when a toe nail is discoloured as it could be a fungal infection. If you suffer from thickened nails as a result of infection, trauma or age, don’t try and cut them yourself, get an expert to do it for you. Above all, I would say you shouldn’t be embarrassed – don’t leave conditions until it is too late and you are in pain. Seek the advice of an experienced chiropodist and get any unusual conditions checked out. Remember, if your feet are comfortable and happy, then so are you! To book an appointment with Louise contact Soft Soles Health and Beauty in Seagrave Road, Plymouth, on 01752 568053, Vanity Rooms in Torpoint on 01752 812932, or for home visits call 07767 397855
Did you know? UK shoe sizes are measured in barleycorns, based on the length of a grain of barley. Each shoe size is one barleycorn (1/3 of an inch).
40
Wellbeing_Ally_July5.indd 40
01/07/2015 11:02:57
Eat
ally mac’s
Greek yoghurt and fruits Ally (who is half Greek) is currently spending time on the Greek island of Santorini, cooking organic food in the sunshine and imbibing the latest culinary wisdom from her mother country Ally says: Fruits, wholegrains, and other fibre-rich foods are a great way to start your day, keeping you happy and full for hours. A true Mediterranean diet consists of fruits and vegetables, seafood, olive oil and hearty grains – foods that help fight heart disease, cancer and diabetes. Aside from eating a diet of fresh and home-grown foods, the other vital adjuncts to the Mediterranean diet are daily exercise, sharing your meals with others, and a deep appreciation for the pleasures of eating healthy, delicious foods. My recipe this week is a really simple but super healthy traditional Greek breakfast of yoghurt and fresh fruit. Greek yoghurt is a mainstay in many Mediterranean cuisines. It is strained, so that it’s thicker and is loaded with calcium and protein.
You will need (makes one bowlful): 3 dollops of Greek yoghurt (I use TOTAL which is Greece’s most famous strained yoghurt) 1 tsp of wild Greek forest honey (most supermarkets have Greek honey; just make sure it’s a good one – the pricier, the better in this case) 1 nectarine 1 apple 1 fig 1 peach A handful of nuts and seeds
Method: Wash all your fruit really well. There can be a lot of pesticides on our fruit and veg and we don’t want them getting into our bodies. Dollop your yoghurt into a bowl, and chop up all the fruit. Arrange fruit on top of the yoghurt, sprinkle with nuts and drizzle with Greek honey. Now, hoping the sun is shining, eat your delicious and colourful breakfast outside so you dose up on your all-important Vitamin D too.
@allyskitchenstories
@AKitchenStories
Natural food expert Ally Mac lives and cooks in South Devon. Ally specialises in devising good-for-you recipes that are easy to prepare at home. She also sells several of her own delicious healthy products online at www.allyskitchenstories.co.uk 41
Wellbeing_Ally_July5.indd 41
01/07/2015 11:04:10
Ingredient of the Week
Crab
with Tim Maddams ou can lobster at me all you like, for me, crab is the king of the crustaceans. There’s is something satisfyingly British about crab. The idea of a crab sandwich is one that you are unlikely to think of in the context of world-beating dishes but it’s the simplicity, the unwitting celebration of the best crab meat in the world that has made the crab sandwich such an icon of our regional food offering in the South West. Let’s face it: crab rocks. Yes, crab is ace on all levels. The white meat delivers a meaty sweetness that is somehow “shoreline” in accent, being neither distinctly fishy or meaty but a happy somewhere inbetween. The shell of the humble brown crab (aka the edible crab, somewhat of a misnomer as all our native crabs are edible) Cancer Pagarus, when treated correctly provides one of the most intensely savoury and deeply complex stocks available to man. And that still leaves the brown meat. I love the brown meat, disparaged by many as being grainy
Y
or offal-like. I think the truth of the matter is it is simply intensely crabby. The brown meat contains the fat and has an earthy-comeseaweed-come-prawn flavour that is so unique it’s unmistakeable. The brown meat makes me happy. Very, very happy. Whether you want to go through all the palaver of cooking, and picking your very own live brown crab or not is entirely down to whether or not you know how. The instructions in the River Cottage Fish book are second to none, by the way. And whether or not you can be bothered. The downside is that it’s time consuming and will require a little organisation in terms of obtaining the crab. But the upside is the happy by-product of having the leftover shell to hand to make into a tasty stock. Use it either straight away or at a later date, by freezing the shell for later use. Or you can just buy your crab meat ready prepared. Just make sure it has NOT been frozen, is as fresh as a daisy, and has been hand picked. Try local fishmongers - or Portland Shellfish do it well and will often part with a bag of unwanted shells into the bargain.
Cracking crab Truly fresh brown crab needs very little adornment. I love to just smear it on toast, season with a little pepper, add lemon juice and call it a day. Crab’s a no-brainer for a quick pasta supper: cook pasta, add crab, olive oil, chilli garlic and parsley and you are done for the evening. Don’t overlook spider crabs either if the chance comes your way. They are just as tasty albeit a little more fiddly and a little less productive than their brown crab cousins. Shore crabs and velvet swimmer crabs, the smaller of the crab tribe, also make excellent soup. And, in the case of the swimmer crab, they are a fun (if fussy) first course as everyone gets pitches in picking out the meat. Get stuck in with both claws! @TimGreenSauce
Tim Maddams is a Devon chef and writer who often appears on the River Cottage TV series 42
TIMBEER_JULY5.indd 42
01/07/2015 12:45:09
Drink
Beer of the week It’s not what you’ve got, it’s what you do with it. I’ve tasted a lot of St Austell Tribute (4.2% ABV) in many different states (the beer, that is, not me, although…). The one I had at the Royal Standard in Hayle the other day – a pub I’ve been missing out on even though it’s less than a half-mile walk away from my home – was sublime. Perfect balance, the American hops singing, smooth, biscuit malt on the base. It may be a huge seller, but it can also be a modern classic in the right hands.
Hot brews Voting closes on July 24 for Britain’s Hottest 100 beers, which is an online poll of drinkers’ favourite brews. Not particularly scientific, but a bit of fun nonetheless. At the time of writing, St Austell Proper Job was at number 3, and Dartmoor Brewery’s Jail Ale at number 5. Visit http://100hottestbeers.com/vote/ to make your voice heard.
Darren Norbury
talks beer y the time you read this, the controversy over bottled Doom Bar should have died down. It was revealed recently that the bottled version of the beer is brewed at owner Molson Coor’s Burton-on-Trent site, rather than at Rock, in Cornwall, which is intimated on the bottle. Quite rightly, a few locals down here have been voicing the opinion that they have been “conned”. What’s apparent from visiting Sharp’s now is that the brewery has grown exponentially since that day back in the 1990s when I visited founder Bill Sharp for a magazine interview. His office and the brewing kit were then in one industrial unit, with a map on the wall showing outlets and the condition in which individual landlords liked their beer delivered. For instance, some wanted their Doom Bar, or Sharp’s own, bright. That is conditioned in the brewery and ready to go on sale soon after it reached the pub. Others liked the beer sent young so they could mature it in their own cellars. That industrial unit still exists at the site, near Rock, but it is now just a stairwell area at the centre of a huge brewing complex which clearly has little space left to expand. And it was for this
B
reason that Sharp’s said it took the decision to move the bottling of Doom Bar to Burton, where it also makes economic sense to brew the beer, too. Just the bottled version, not the cask ale, which is still made 365 days a year at the Cornwall site. It’s unfortunate that Doom Bar does have an – unjustified in my opinion – reputation among some as a dull beer. It’s not dull, but it depends, as it does with all beer, upon how well it has been kept. When I worked in Truro one of my favourite places to enjoy the beer was the Crab and Ale House (also known as The White Hart). Here it was always in tiptop condition and a wonderful nutty, fruity, wellbalanced session bitter. The biggest crime of bottled Doom Bar? It’s still being sold in clear glass bottles. Light is bad for the hops in beer and can turn then ‘skunky’ in the bottle, on the aroma and palate. Which is why nearly all beers are packed in either brown or green glass. Sharp’s now assure me, though, that a change to brown bottles is imminent. It’s not all gloom for Doom. Darren Norbury is editor of beertoday.co.uk @beertoday
UNFAIR RATING SYSTEM The British Beer and Pub Association says business rates are in need of urgent reform. It says England’s pubs are paying almost six times more in business rates than can be justified by their turnover, leaving hard-pressed pubs with an annual tax bill that is £500 million bigger than their fair share. What do you think? 43
TIMBEER_JULY5.indd 43
01/07/2015 12:45:38
[
BORINGDON HALL
The Gallery
By Kathryn Clarke-McLeod
mpressed would be an understatement. Not many meals out start with a medieval castle greeting you at the top of a sweeping drive, a suit of armour at the front door and a pre-dinner drink on a velvet chaise lounge. I am spending the evening at Boringdon Hall in Plympton, an exclusive country hotel that seems to thrive on surpassing expectations. “This,” I think as my eyes take in the impossibly high ceilings of The Great Hall, complete with chandelier, elegant dark wood bar and a balcony which houses The Gallery Restaurant, “I could get used to”. Impatient to get upstairs, I bully Simon off his comfy seat and we climb the wide staircase to the elegant space above. It is undeniably a special occasion restaurant. We’re talking real candles, cutlery lined up on either side of the bread plates, and soft classical music dancing through the air. Romantic. Indeed, when we are shown to our table overlooking the Great Hall, I find we are
I
[
flanked by contented looking couples, many of turous than I am in culinary matters, and he is whom are holding hands. over the moon to find that bruschetta makes an My chair is pulled out for me and a real linen appearance in the starter menu (£9.95) So far napkin is draped across my lap. By the time I so good. While we wait for our starters we are pick up my menu I am positively served warm sundried tomato fogiddy with the delightfulness of caccia bread with salted butter. No it all. So naturally, when Simon ordinary rolls here! The wine arasks “Glass or bottle?” while perives and with a glass in one hand rusing the winelist, my reply is and a chunk of warm bread in the By the time a resounding “Bottle”. Am I not other my delight reaches a whole I pick up my royalty? A countess perhaps? new level. menu I am Such fine ladies do not order by My parfait comes with toasted the glass. onion bloomer, pea shoot salad positively He settles on a bottle of the and a dollop of what I decide giddy with the Ladera Verde Merlot (£16.50) and must be a sweet onion chutney. It delightfulness of we set about choosing our coursis smooth, deep and velvety. The es. The menu is lively, varied and kind of dish you wish could last it all clearly the work of a chef who forever. Simon declares his brusprides themselves on making seachetta “very good” and polishes sonal and local produce the star it off before I am even halfway of the show. Deciding is difficult. through mine. This is a moment I’m briefly tempted by the Devon crab salad in which I celebrate his culinary closed-mind(£7.50) but once I spot the homemade chicken edness, as it means I am spared his pirate fork liver parfait (£6.95) I am completely sold. There sailing into the waters of my plate to plunder my is, in my opinion, nothing that can rival this dish parfait. Mine, all mine. when done properly. Simon is a little less advenFor mains I choose the seared John Dory with
[[
44
RestaurantReview_July5.indd 44
01/07/2015 11:09:59
4 of the best Historic restaurants
1 The Oak House, Axbridge
seafood linguine (£18.95) and Simon opts for the Cornish lamb (£22.95). My fish is light, sharply crisp on the outside and flakes apart at the gentlest persuasion from my fork. Perfection. The bed of linguine is rich and creamy, smattered with prawns and scallops. For a moment I am on a luxury seaside holiday on the Amalfi Coast. I know Simon’s is beyond excellent as he is bent deeply over his plate of lamb, his manners completely forgotten, and all conversation a distant memory. What is it about a good piece of meat that brings out the primal man? Although, perhaps, this is a case of pot calling kettle. As, when our (very charming and just the right amount of present) server Jamie comes to check if our meals are to our satisfaction. It is all I can do to muster a glassy-eyed “Soooo good”. Fine dining serotonin will do that to a girl’s vocabulary. When the time came to order dessert, I settled on a warm maple syrup and pecan pudding. Simon, completely unable to decide, ordered two puddings. I was agog. A few minutes later he was the proud owner of both the Eton mess and a va-
nilla cheesecake with passion fruit and mango jelly. Mine was a sticky sponge that was pure heaven with the cold vanilla ice cream, and Simon declared it “impossible to choose” which of his two desserts he liked best. At least he was talking again, even if there were shades of an excited four-year-old. I was allowed a small sample, and the cheesecake definitely deserves a special mention, light and yet uncompromisingly creamy. A fine line walked very well. Just as we were preparing to head down to the Remy Bar, a lovely nook with leather sofas, an antler chandelier and boxes of Scrabble at your disposal, manager Karl presented us with a plate of petit fours. This included two squares of squishy, devilishly sweet homemade fudge, fresh strawberries and a chocolate and nut crunch. What an unexpected treat. Completely above and beyond. But all in day’s work for the fine folk at Boringdon Hall. Boringdon Hall, Plympton, Devon, 01752 344455 www.boringdonhall.co.uk
How they scored... Food
Atmosphere
Service
Price
Dinner for two, including wine and three desserts came to: £86.50
Parts of this Somerset building date back to the 11th century, so expect open beams and huge fireplaces. Food is often local and organic. Dish of the day: Slow roast belly of pork with red cabbage Price: Three course dinner from £30 Contact: 01934 732444
2 Trevalsa Court Hotel, Mevagissey
This Arts and Crafts house overlooks Mevagissey Bay, with granite windows and oak panelling. Cooking is excellent and unpretentious. Dish of the day: Bream with shellfish ragout Price: Three course dinner from £30 Contact: 01726 842468
3 The Masons Arms, Knowstone
At this Michelin-starred pub on Exmoor, as well as superb British food from chef Mark Dodson, you’ll also find thatched 13th century charm, pictured above. Dish of the day: Starter of ham hock croquette with pea purée and mintbutter sauce Price: Three course dinner from £40 Contact: 01398 341231
4 The Magdalen Chapter, Exeter
Once a 19th century eye hospital, this impressive building is now a chic hotel and restaurant, with fabulous food in a modern, relaxed style. Dish of the day: Salt cod and mussel Catalan stew Price: Three course dinner from £16.95 Contact: 01392 281000
45
RestaurantReview_July5.indd 45
01/07/2015 11:10:22
My life
[
[
man and boy
A new pet
Phil Goodwin’s son James, five, makes an unusual choice he boy has finally got a pet. I know. Call me a softy. But after months of chipping away I finally gave in. During his lengthy campaign we have been through the entire natural world in search of the perfect pal for a five-year-old boy. First he wanted a puppy, then it was a kitten. After that said he would like a rabbit, followed, if memory serves, by a gerbil. It was some kind of rodent, anyway. Then, after a trip to the local pet shop emporium on the High Street in Exeter, came the parrot. Naturally, given his love of the life aquatic, there was some protracted pleading around the subject of an aquarium. On and on went the lobbying, the promises that he would exercise the creature and tend to its dietary and hygiene needs. I lectured him on the huge responsibility he would be taking on in caring for another living being. A dog is for life, not for Christmas, I told him. Bonds would be forged that could not be broken. And so on. It took a while to identify a suitable housemate but I think we have landed upon perfection: clean, tidy, quiet, easy-to-feed and requiring almost minimal intervention. So, after such a painstaking appraisal of the animal kingdom, on which of God’s creatures did we settle? None other than the sought-after bi-valve Mytilidae. Or to you and I… the mussel. And to be precise (as well as ethically correct) ours is actually a rescue mussel. James’ fascination for the humble mollusc began after my mate Tony I and came home with a bag full of fish and shellfish to make a paella. Unfortunately, the kilo of the beasts
T
was already steamed and on the table by the time the lad had latched onto a discussion about how many had needed to be thrown away because they would not close. Perhaps the idea that the shellfish were technically still alive at the time of cooking had captured his lurid imagination.
[
First he wanted a puppy, then it was a kitten. After that he said he would like a rabbit
[
To illustrate the point, I retrieved one of the few discarded mussels from the pedal bin and showed him. Running it under the tap, it slowly clamped shut, thereby displaying signs of life. He immediately demanded that I place the thing in a bowl of water. Since then it has lived in our fridge. Each night he takes it out, waits for it to open, then rinses it and marvels as it closes. He is currently considering how it can be fed. As anyone with a passing knowledge of French literary history will tell you, my boy is not the first to consider a shellfish a pet. The romantic poet Gérard de Nerval used to take his pet lobster for a walk at the end of a blue silk ribbon among the Palais Royal gardens in Paris. To those who scoffed, he said the following: “Why should a lobster be any more ridiculous than a dog ...or a cat, or a gazelle, or a lion, or any other animal that one chooses to take for a walk? I have a liking for lobsters. They are peaceful, serious creatures. They know the secrets of the sea, they don’t bark, and they don’t gnaw upon one’s monadic privacy like dogs do.” So delighted was James with Malcolm the mussel – my suggestion – that he could hardly contain himself in school. It is funny to watch the reaction when he declares: “I have a pet mussel!” The only concern I have – one shared by all pet owners – is what to do when the dreaded day comes. After all, they can’t live for long. Do I break the bad news? Or perhaps I could just pop down to the fishmonger and get a replacement. They all look the same to me.
46
ManandBoy_July5.indd 46
01/07/2015 11:12:15
Untitled-2 4
01/07/2015 14:54:48
Untitled-2 2
01/07/2015 14:42:07