West Magazine July 9 2016

09.07.16

23

ways to crank up your summer

Win! ÂŁ70 worth of gluten-free treats

INSIDE: + Going wild in

south Cornwall + Waterside

dining in Exeter

A good yarn How Lauren Aston took up knitting on a grand scale - pg 16 Covers_July9.indd 1

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The Art of Living

Rangemoors, the South West's range cooker and stove specialists, are delighted to bring a new experience to home lovers and makers at their new Hearth & Cook showroom in Exeter. Expertly gathered together is a selection of the finest products designed to transform homes and inspire wonderful culinary creations, including an extensive range of beautifully designed outdoor ovens from renowned Danish stove manufacturer, Morsø.

Visit our showrooms - either in Exeter or Winkleigh - where you can experience a huge range of inspiring appliances in action, or browse our websites for more information.

• RANGE COOKERS FROM LA CORNUE AND ESSE • MORSØ STOVES & OUTDOOR LIVING RANGE • ASHGROVE BESPOKE KITCHENS Find us in Oaktree Place, 100 yards behind Carrs Ferrari & Maserati.

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Call 01392 797679 www.hearthandcook.com 14 Oaktree Place, Manaton Close, Matford, Exeter, Devon EX2 8WA

05/07/2016 10:00:24

‘She’s such a joy, I really think I’m going to have another two, at least. I’ve just got to ask the wife!’

Peter Andre on the joys of having a new baby, p9

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DAYS OUT TO ENJOY Where to go, what to do

30 22

BEAUTY AND THE BEACH The best looks for a day at the coast

NAUTICAL BUT NICE From naval fort to luxury home

[contents[ Inside this week...

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THE WISHLIST Our pick of the best treats this week

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JUST BETWEEN US...

Sh! We have the latest gossip!

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BACK TO NATURE The Cornish holiday with a difference

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CREATING A HOME SPA Pampering products to try right now

MEET DEVON’S KNIT WIT Lauren Aston, craft sensation

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NAUTICAL BUT NICE From naval fortress to luxury home

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ANNE SWITHINBANK How garden visiting brings inspiration

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BEAUTY AND THE BEACH The best looks for a day at the coast

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CULTURE VULTURE What’s on and where to go

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BOOST YOUR WELLBEING Great ways to feel your best this week

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FISH WITH A DIFFERENCE Tim Maddams sprinkles some salt

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RESTAURANT REVIEW Bringing joy to a Tuesday evening

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POLITICS? WHO NEEDS IT? Phil Goodwin escapes to the shed

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MEET DEVON’S KNIT WIT Lauren Aston, craft sensation

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JUMPING TO IT

Great ways to feel your best

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MAKING A SPLASH

Cornish holidays just for fun

[ welcome [ Doing things differently is what we do here... hen Lauren Aston decided to set up her own knitting business on the outskirts of Exeter, she knew she wanted to do something a little bit different. A pair of knitting needles a metre long, plus a ball of wool weighing several kilos, provided the answer. Today, Lauren - who is only 26 - makes giant knitted homewares that are selling superbly.

Turn to page 16 today to find out more about Lauren’s quirky take on the craft of knitting, as well as the chance to win a shopping voucher for her online shop.

Further west, on the banks of the River Fal, Thom

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Hunt has also been extremely creative. You may remember him as one of TV’s The Three Hungry Boys, food-loving sidekicks of Hugh FearnleyWhittingstall, but since then he has created a Cornish holiday camp with a difference. His outdoor retreat offers everything from wild swimming to foraging, not to mention propping up an extremely cool woodland bar. It’s all about running wild and it looks like a lot of fun - read all about it on page 12 today.

Finally, if you’re in need of a treat, do enter our Honeybuns competition today (p5), in which you can win a £69 hamper of Dorset cakes. Mmmm!

[

His outdoor retreat offers everything from wild swimming to foraging

of the week @Dawnellis21 Sunshine reading @WMNWest @The_Mexico_Inn

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

Becky Sheaves, Editor

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

COVER IMAGE:Lauren Aston Designs

MEET THE TEAM Becky Sheaves, Editor

Phil Goodwin

Kathryn Clarke-McLeod

Gillian Molesworth

Lynne Potter

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If you do one thing this week...

Why not brighten up someone’s day with this gift hamper? Honeybuns make delicious cakes and sweet treats, all gluten-free, in Holwell, Dorset. This delightful Afternoon Tea Hamper (£69) is filled with pretty gifts and a selection of their cakes - all of which have won Great Taste Gold awards. Look out for the luxurious Heathcliff Brownie, Cranberry and Pecan flapjacks and their trademark Snowy Hills cake slice, a ginger, polenta and almond shortbread with a lemon sponge topping. Scrumptious!

If you’re sending the Afternoon Tea Hamper as gift, you can add a personalised gift message and the sturdy hand-woven wicker hamper is made in Somerset, too. www.honeybuns.co.uk

Win

We have a Honeybuns Afternoon Tea Hamper worth £69 to win. To enter, simply tell us whereabouts in Dorset Honeybuns is based. Send your answer plus your name, address and contact details to: westmag@westernmorningnews.co.uk to arrive by July 22. Normal terms apply, West magazine will not share your details.

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BRIGHT Handbag £295 Folli Follie

Dog biscuit tin £20 Daisy Park

the

wishlist West’s top picks to brighten up any dull day

CHEEP! Caravan bird house £16.95 Dotcomgiftshop

Store we adore...

The cellar door shop at Sharpham Vineyard near Totnes is now open for the summer season seven days a week (10am-6pm), so why not pop in for a bottle after you’ve checked out the beautiful vineyard? There is also a summer al fresco café serving great food daily.

Classic English wines are produced at

Sharpham, many of which have won international awards – we particularly love their Dart Valley Reserve white. Sharpham also make superb hand-made cheese, making this the perfect place to stock up for a cheese and wine party.

Sharpham Vineyard, Totnes TQ9 7UT 01803 732203 www.sharpham.com

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Cool Industrial light fitting £59 Cuckooland

Dinky Tiny chest of drawers £30 Debenhams

Dotty Ezra cushion £40.50 Amara

Cute Starry stacking ring £6 Accessorize

Fun Animal egg cups £4 for a set of two George Home at Asda

Kitchen scales £25 Cath Kidston 7

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talking points Gillian Molesworth

Story of my life...

Down a country lane... 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 the Renault Scenic have a big armrest with controls on it, but I opted for the one that has a big gap between the front seats, designed for your saying “navigate to” or “where handbag. Isn’t that sensible? Why am I?” or “show map”. There are is it that every driving woman just some icons, like a square has a handbag, but no cars have with an arrow pointing out of it, a place to put them? You end up or three parallel lines, or a heart. shoving it down in the footwell Everyone hails Apple products where your kids step on it, or it as “intuitive”, but I think they’re falls over and spills the contents just a different alphabet for under your passenger. urban hip people, and no one gave Anyway, back to the story. I’m me lessons. lost, I’m in a gateway on a leafy I managed, to my surprise, lane with no signpost in sight, to programme my destination and time is tickinto the phone. ing before I need Oops – battery low. to be at a meetWhat if it conks out I swore for a ing. I swore for a when I’m on some while and banged spaghetti junction, while and banged the remote conI thought. Wait – the remote trol around, and didn’t my car have control around, when that had no a USB plug? And effect I considdidn’t I have the and when that ered my next charger with me? had no effect I move. I had my Yes! I plugged work phone with the phone into the considered my me: could I phone USB port, and then next move someone? nearly jumped out Wait a minute, of my skin. A phat I thought, this guitar riff started was an iPhone and it has one of booming from my speakers. “In them there fancy map things on two hundred yards, turn left,” it. I had never used it before. I purred a man’s voice, sounding opened the app and it obligingly like he was in my ear. zoomed in from outer space into “Really?” I asked.

Europe and then the British Then I got into it. I pulled on Isles and then Devon and then my shades, indicated, and gave me in the leafy lane. Show-offs, I a thumbs up to my audience of thought. Those Apple people just cows who were watching from couldn’t resist – everything has to the field. Chillin’ with my iPhone, be super-cool. drivin’ my Renault Scenic to The trouble with Apple prodwork. Listenin’ to some directions ucts is that they never tell you to the funky funky beat. Aallll anything. There are no words riiiiiight.

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Gillian Molesworth is a journalist and mum-of-two who grew up in the USA and moved to north Cornwall when she met her husband.

EARNING

her stripes This bold striped Fiona dress by London-based designer Emilia Wickstead (who originally comes from New Zealand) is currently down from £2,900 to £870. It’s a price tag that still makes it something of an investment in our eyes. Game of Thrones star Rose Leslie looked lovely wearing hers on the red carpet at the Baftas recently, but if you’re not in her earnings league here are our somewhat more modestly-priced high street alternatives.

Sadie dress £109 Monsoon

steal her

style

OR MAKE IT YOUR OWN

OPTION B Shirtdress OPTION A Skirt

Shirtwaister £20 Tesco

Kienna skirt £65 Joy

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‘IT’S ALL ABOUT ME!’ DAME BARBARA WINDSOR has given her backing to Babs, a forthcoming BBC TV movie about her life. The biopic will be written by Tony Jordan, a former EastEnders writer and series consultant. Dame Barbara, who has recently left the long-running BBC One soap, says it is “the right time” for her story.

“Although it’s been spoken about in the past to do my life story, it wasn’t until two years ago I was approached by the

brilliant writer Tony Jordan and the BBC... I knew this was the right time and undoubtedly the only person I felt knew me well enough to tell my story.”

The 90-minute special will be broadcast next year in the run-up to Dame Barbara’s 80th birthday. Babs will centre on the Londoner’s lonely childhood, her complicated relationship with her father and her doomed marriage to gangster Ronnie Knight.

Just

between us Gossip, news, trend setters and more – you heard all the latest juicy stuff here first!

!

ANOTHER BABY

[[ ‘Yep, I’m going on First Dates aged 75’

LOOKING FOR LOVE ESTHER RANTZEN is looking for love. She will star in the next series of Celebrity First Dates on Channel 4. The 75-year-old grandmother lost her husband Desmond in 2000, and has previously spoken about experiencing some “excruciating” dates in her quest to meet someone new.

But she knows exactly what she is looking for. She says: “For me the ‘L’ word is laugh. They have got to make me laugh and they would need to share my family morals.” Other celebs who have signed up to star in one of four celebrity specials include Gogglebox’s wonderful Scarlett Moffatt. We can’t wait!

ON THE WAY PETER ANDRE is going to be a father again. The singer, 43, has announced that he and his wife Emily are expecting their second child. He wrote on Twitter: “OMG Dad to be AGAIN :)) Brilliant. So so happy.”

Emily, who is a doctor, grew up near Taunton and the couple married at Mamhead House in Devon. They already have a daughter, Amelia, two, and Peter is a father to two children with his former wife Katie Price: Junior, 10, and Princess Tiaami, eight.

The Mysterious Girl singer has previously spoken about how much he wanted more children, telling Good Morning Britain: “I am so excited because after Junior and Bista - that’s Princess’s nickname - I was like, ‘Okay, I’m done now’, then Amelia came along.

“She’s such a joy, I really think I’m going to have another two, at least. I’ve just got to ask the wife!”

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Yee-hah! Lucy Johnson was captured having a blast on Dartmoor with her horse Chester by Malcolm Snelgrove, photography ambassador for Visit Dartmoor

in pictures Superstar: Pop princess Pixie Lott was in Plymouth appearing in Breakfast at Tiffany’s at the Theatre Royal

Colourful: Witheridge Fayre was lots of fun

Parade: Mazey Day in Penzance was a bright affair

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talking points Durr...

Yes, I live in...

A HISTORY

of the

WEST in Ten ways to say that someone isn’t all that intelligent:

1 Not the sharpest knife in the drawer 2 A few sandwiches short of a picnic 3 Only one oar in the water 4 Lights on, nobody home 5 Been hit with the stupid stick 6 All foam, no beer 7 Dumb as a box of frogs 8 Acting his shoe size, not his age 9 Not playing with a full pack of cards 10 A few clowns short of a circus

Ten of the silliest Westcountry place names:

1 Beer Devon 2 Happy Bottom Dorset 3 Praze-an-Beeble Cornwall

4 Chipshop Devon 5 Piddle River Dorset 6 Shaggs Dorset 7 Splatt Cornwall 8 Brill Cornwall 9 Quince Devon 10 Goongumpus Cornwall

The happy list

Clever!

10 things to make you smile this week Ten genuine palindromes

1 Never odd or even 2 Madam, I’m Adam 3 A man, a plan, a canal – Panama!

4 Was it a bat I saw?

5 Yo banana boy

1 Wimbledon our favourite summer staple

2 Ab Fab on the big screen 3 Watermelon sweet treats 4 Science declares lie-ins are ‘good for women’s health’

5 Wine it’s rose time 6 Coloured mascara it’s back - really

6 Sums are not set as a test on Erasmus

7 Summer sales spend, and

7 Rise to vote, sir

8 Siri an assistant on your

8 Star comedy by democrats

9 Naked cycling in Exeter,

9 Flee to me, remote elf

10 Party rings iced biscuits for

10 A nut for a jar of tuna

save iPhone - use it today, titter! your inner child

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objects 2: TENOR BELL From Halse, Somerset, made about 1425-50 Julien Parsons is the Senior Collections Officer, The Royal Albert Memorial Museum in Exeter. He says: This elegant medieval bell was decommissioned and removed from the tower of St James the Less parish church, Halse, in 1976.

I’ve never heard the bell struck but judging from its size – over 80cm in height and diameter – I imagine it’s an impressive sound. Tenors, such as the Halse example, were the largest and lowest-pitched of medieval bells.

A mark on the bell provides a clue to its maker. The letters “r” and “n” are the initials of Robert Norton, a bell-founder who was made a freeman of Exeter in September 1423. Norton’s bells are known from Devon, Dorset, Somerset and Cornwall. His trade was a precarious and dangerous one.

This bell named Jesus was first struck in the reign of Henry VI

Medieval bells were cast in large, underground pits and controlling the flow of molten bell-metal took enormous skill. Norton and his workers obviously had the knack.

Their bells are much-admired for their clarity and tone.

Robert was so pleased with this one that it bears the inscription: “To me is given Jesus that beloved name”.

This bell named Jesus was first struck in the reign of Henry VI, its doleful note calling the parishioners of Halse to worship.

In an age before clocks and desk diaries, it was the sound of church bells that announced the services, saint’s days and religious festivals that shaped the rhythm of rural life.

#2

On display: Gallery 3, the Royal Albert Memorial Museum, Exeter www.rammuseum.org.uk Competition winners:

Congratulations to the winner of £50 Princesshay gift card, Mrs J Snell, Kentisbeare.

Mrs V Teer, Bodmin; Paul Hampstead, Barnstaple; Ellen Sutton, Plymouth; Mrs M Stacey Canworthywater; Janice Page-Bailey, Gunnislake all win Under A Cornish Sky by Liz Fenwick

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People

Thom Hunt foraging at his secret retreat on the banks of the River Fal

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Going back to nature Thom Hunt has set up a very special sort of holiday camp - in the secret woodland by a Cornish river..

By Charlotte Dear

anting to get back to nature and rediscover your wild side? On the banks of Cornwall’s River Fal you’ll find a new enterprise called 7th Rise.

It is named by founder Thom Hunt after his firm belief that Sunday, the seventh day, should be about rising early and making the most of the great outdoors rather than hunkering down inside. Drawing on his own childhood, which was packed full of exciting Sundays spent fishing and hunting, Thom has created an extraordinary wilderness retreat.

Having grown up on his grandparents’ farm, where he spent most of his time outside, Thom soon discovered that this passion and deep appreciation for nature and wildlife would be the inspiration for his adult career. “I found a beautiful old dilapidated cottage that hadn’t been lived in for 40 years and decided I wanted a project.

“I turned into one of those strange guys who went completely off the grid and lived in the forest for two years building my own little world.

“Today, together with the cottage we have a tree house, hunting lodge, tepee, firepit, bar and outdoor dining table; I’ve basically just built an adult adventure playground!” Thom now

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‘So now I’ve basically just built myself an adult adventure playground’ wants to share his playground with people who want to learn more about nature and how we as humans can take enjoyment from it.

Depending on the occasion and length of your stay, visitors can tailor-make their experience in the wilderness. A three-night stay could include foraging for your own dinner, fishing from a canoe, practising basic butchery and filleting skills or building a roaring fire to cook your catch.

Since starting out in 2012, Thom has acquired an impressive team of experts to help him, each with at least ten years’ experience in their field, including Ray Mears’ very own canoeing instructor. Thom himself used to run River Cottage’s fishing courses for Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and you may remember him as one of the Three Hungry Boys, a River Cottage spin-off TV food and foraging show.

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People ‘Re-wilding’ in the waters of the River Fal

vival exercise. “Although we do source produce from local suppliers, the one guarantee that I give is that there’s something wild in every meal, and we pride ourselves on being able to supply really awesome meals,” says Thom.

“A particular favourite is our venison chilli that we cook over the fire with sorrel rice, wild garlic and ground ivy. You start the fire, you cook the meal and then you enjoy it at a huge wooden dining table on the edge of the river in the forest.”

Guests can choose where they sleep, whether that’s in the cottage library surrounded by old books, maps and animal bones, the potting shed with its rusty garden tools and aromas of mint and tomato plants, the Aztec-themed tepee or simply out under the stars.

So what is Thom’s main focus? “We evolved for billions of years outdoors. But everyone thinks that, because we’ve been in cities for the last couple of hundred years, we’re not connected to the outdoors anymore. That’s just not true.

“Yes this is ‘re-wilding’ but it is also much simpler than that; we don’t need to be re-wilded, we simply need to be reminded. People ask whether they need experience to come to 7th Rise and I only have one question: are you a human being?

Yes? Great, you’re qualified; it’s in your DNA and we’re going to tease it out of you again.

“In an age where depression, anxiety and stress are rife I see a simple pattern: when you place an animal, a living human being, in an alien environment – a city, for example – it generally has adverse health and emotional symptoms.

It’s not rocket science but I’m just waiting for the rest of the world to catch up!” www.7thrise.co.uk 15

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People

Confessions Of A Knitting Fanatic Lauren Aston creates amazing statement knits from her studio in Devon, using metre-long needles..

Gracie Stewart finds out how - and why! hen Lauren Aston starts knitting, the needles she uses are each a metre long, allowing her to knit a blanket that is two metres (six feet) wide. “I’m into superchunky knitting,” she says, which is something of an under-statement.

She lives on the outskirts of Exeter and creates homewares such as cushions and throws using her giant needles and huge balls of extra-thick wool. The result is striking homewares in Lauren’s distinctive and very cool style.

“I also sell the needles too, so that people can have a go at this sort of over-sized knitting at home. They are £50 for a set of two - I have them made specially in pine,” she explains.

“It’s tricky at first but once you get the hang of it, you’ll love it, I promise.”

Lauren, 26, was taught to knit by her grandmother when she was just 11 years old. “The very first item I knitted was a moss green scarf. It ended up being 30cm wide and probably only 40cm long. Needless to say it wasn’t wearable! But for some reason I kept making more scarves and they slowly became straighter and more successful,” she explains.

As a child, Lauren knew she wanted to do something creative for a living, she just didn’t know exactly what. Her love for knitting developed over time and now she can’t imagine

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doing anything else.

At university studying Fashion and Textiles, she specialised in knitwear. “But I never really thought about knitting as a career. It was much more of an organic process than a planned one.

I studied it at university simply because my dad told me to go and do something I enjoyed. And at the time it just so happened to be knitting.”

In 2012, Lauren’s fiancé Alex was offered a job at Exeter Airport as an air traffic controller, which they both saw as a “fantastic opportunity” to move to Devon from the Midlands. They now live on the outskirts of Exeter with their cockapoo puppy Harry.

“I love working in the South West. There’s so much beauty here and it’s an incredibly creative part of the country,” says Lauren. “The amazing artists and designers living down here make it such a wonderful creative community and it’s such an inspiration,” she says.

Initially, however, it was a different story.

Lauren didn’t know quite what she wanted to do in Devon and couldn’t find a job that appealed to her. “I didn’t know anybody here and nothing around me was familiar. So I felt really strongly that I had to have a job that I loved, otherwise I knew I’d struggle,” she explains.

All that changed when she visited the renowned Contemporary Craft Festival in Bovey Tracey on Dartmoor back in 2014. Lauren fell in love with the passion and enthusiasm of all the exhibitors there and decided on the spot to start her own knitting business.

“I knew I liked chunky knitting and I knew that in order for it to not take me months to make just one item it needed to be as chunky as possible. So I went on a mission to find the biggest yarn ever.

“I love to create products that make a cosy and colourful home.

It somehow feels very inclusive to me to knit homewares, rather than clothes, so I’m not focusing on a particular type of person with a particular style or body shape,” she explains.

Lauren tried a number of different wools but now she has an allegiance to super-soft, un-spun merino wool. “It’s a hypoallergenic fibre so it’s beautiful on the skin. It’s more expensive than a lot of other wools but such a soft and quality fibre is well worth the price tag,” she says. Lauren sources hers from a British mill, as she likes to support home-grown businesses as much as possible. Even so, her products are suprisingly affordable - cushions cost from £60 and her huge throws from £180.

Because of the sheer size of wool Lauren uses, she had to invest in her heavy-duty giant knit-

‘I liked chunky knitting and I wanted it to be as chunky as possible. I went on a mission to find the biggest yarn ever’

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People

ting needles, that she has specially made by a talented friend who is a wood turner. “They can be a little cumbersome and I have to be careful where I store them otherwise I’m forever tripping over them. But actually to knit with, I love them. It can be hard to get the hang of it at first but once you’re in the swing of things and you figure out your own technique, they are wonderful” she says.

Having her products on the front cover of Notonthehighstreet.com’s Christmas catalogue last year was an “amazing” milestone for Lauren, she says.

“I started my business in February 2015 and the catalogue came out in October. It was quite an achievement and felt like the icing on the cake of an amazing year. It was the physical evidence of what I had accomplished.

“I’m a firm believer in giving yourself a pat on the back when you achieve something, no matter how big or small,” she says. However, her most awe-inspiring project to date was certainly not small - she knitted a giant teapot cosy as a thea-

tre prop for The National Theatre’s production of Wonder.Land (a take on Alice in Wonderland).

“People had to pop out of the top of the teapot, so you can imagine how big it was. It was an amazing experience to be part of something so huge, literally!” Lauren explains.

Looking ahead, Lauren hopes to grow the business. “I have a group of lovely ladies knitting for me on a freelance basis but it would be amazing to have permanent help.” she says. “I have plenty of new lines coming out this year for summer, autumn and, of course, Christmas, which is where my knitting really comes into its element.

I can’t wait to see what the future holds.” www.laurenastondesigns.com

Win! We have a £25 gift voucher to spend at www.laurenastondesigns.com to give away. To win, simply tell us how long Lauren’s giant knitting needles are.

Send your answer and full contact details to Lauren Aston competition, westmag@westernmorningnews. co.uk to arrive by July 22. Normal terms apply, West magazine will not share your details.

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wellbeing

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Interiors

Happy Forts This Victorian fort once guarded Plymouth Sound - now it’s a fabulous apartment words: gracie stewart his glamorous penthouse apartment once had important strategic military significance. Lord Palmerston, Foreign Secretary and then Prime Minister under Queen Victoria, commissioned Fort Picklecombe to be built back in the mid-19th century as part of Plymouth’s harbour defences.

Today, its strategic position ensures fabulous views, says owner Chris Gait, who converted part of the building into a four-bedroomed apartment with his wife Steph. “The views vary from spectacular seascape to country park. The large kitchen, dining and sitting room is a wonderful family room with 270-degree sea views, catching the sun from morning to night. It’s an ideal spot to watch warships, ferries and sailing races pass by,” he explains.

The building’s guns were removed in the 1920s but after the outbreak of World War II the fort was reactivated and manned by the Coastal Artillery. In 1956, after the war, the fort was unwanted once more and fell into dereliction until the early 1970s, when it was converted into more than 100 residential apartments.

Above the main fort stands this building, formerly the officers’ mess, known as The Wardroom in naval circles. In true Victorian style, it was built complete with towers and castellations as a homage to Warwick Castle, in an agreement made with the Earl of Edgcumbe, whose land had

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Interiors

Owners Chris and Steph Gait have converted this Victorian naval fort into a stylish penthouse apartment

been requisitioned for the construction. Today, it The conversion was done in stages, depending on is an exclusive development of nine luxury apartwhen Steph and Chris were able to be there and ments including two penthouses, which were oversee things. converted and extended using When it came to décor, the the original dressed granite and couple mixed traditional with stone. All have stunning coastal contemporary: “As the apart‘Being a views over Plymouth Sound. ment is so light and airy, we felt Orthodontist Chris and his a modern look would enhance combination wife Steph, who retired as a the main living areas more than of an original school Deputy Head some years traditional furniture in most hexagonal tower ago, converted both the two rooms,” says Chris. “But being a penthouses, and this one, called combination of an original hexand a new-build The Wardroom, is currently for agonal tower and a new-build extension, it was sale. The Grade II listed apartextension, it was a challenge to ment has magnificent sea views, furnish. a challenge to oak flooring, an open-plan fully “We decided to have a French furnish’ fitted kitchen and high specifirenaissance theme in the tower cation finishes throughout. master bedroom and dressing Rather than buying someroom with a Willis and Gambier thing that was ready to move Charlotte bedroom suite and a into, Chris and Steph made the decision to conlarge chandelier,” he explains. vert The Wardroom simply because they “fell in The majority of their furniture was sourced love” with its wonderful shape and superb posifrom local shops and some online stores. Furtion. niture in Fashion (www.furnitureinfashion.net) The property is set in Mount Edgcumbe Counwas where Chris and Steph spotted the Zanti try Park and has views of Kingsand and Cawsand dining table, which has a clear glass top with an Bay to the west and pretty Jennycliffe to the east. oak and steel base. The aforementioned Charlotte

[[

range (from www.willisgambier.co.uk) takes its inspiration from 18th century French furniture, with warm honey tones and soft curves creating a tranquil, relaxed atmosphere.

With light oak flooring through the whole apartment, Chris and Steph decided to keep the wall colouring for The Wardroom also relatively light. They opted for a Dulux shade called Snowman, which is a light grey with a suitably soft but military feel to it. The cool neutral of this shade was ideal for adding balance and stability to the rooms. It also beautifully complements the stronger shades in the scheme, such as the statement dark camel velvet chair and footstool set in the sitting room.

Because the property is in the middle of Mount Edgcumbe Country Park, which is 850 acres in size, it’s also not uncommon to have fallow deer grazing at the back of the building. The Gaits developed both penthouses at The Officers’ Mess, with a view to selling one of them. “It was a very difficult decision which one to sell. Both are unique in their own way, with our family almost equally divided on the choice!” says Chris.

The Wardroom is for sale at £499,950 with Marchand Petit. Call their Rame office 01752 829000 or visit www.marchandpetit.co.uk for details.

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GET THE

LOOK

Utility pendant light shade £69.95 Dotcomgiftshop

Statement furniture and strong colours give contemporary style

Salt and pepper mill set £19.99 Very

Alessa glass 120cm diameter dining table £499 Housing Units

Wafer weave throw £35 The National Trust

Orange Edwardian-style chair £995 A Little Furniture Shop

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04/07/2016 14:23:22

Gardens

ANNE SWITHINBANK

Gardening inspiration Devon’s Anne Swithinbank, panellist on Radio 4’s Gardeners’ Question Time, finds the time to visit some open gardens and get some fresh ideas very year, I have grand plans to visit gardens large and small but most are scuppered by the demands of our own large garden. Autumn is a telling time because if I manage to clear, square and mulch our veg beds, the mad scramble that starts in spring and lasts well into summer is avoided and that means I can get out more.

Keen garden visitors should also, probably, avoid horse ownership because, although there are obvious benefits regarding manure, these fabulous animals also need a change of scene So why do and the mare and it?

There is I often take off probably a on organised fun rides during peak small element of garden visiting showing off but season. overwhelmingly I was, thereit is an urge to fore, delighted share to accept an invitation to open and attend the Bridgerule 10th Anniversary Open Gardens day, held in aid of the Devon/Cornwall Air ambulance. Having committed ourselves, the husband and I downed tools and travelled diagonally across the county to north Devon where, despite persistent rain, the visit was a real treat, the ten gardens all beautifully presented and each so different.

As a visitor, it is tempting to coo at the various plots and sniff the roses without noticing how much work has gone into the project. We opened our previous garden as part of a group and the

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planning starts months before. It is one thing to make a lovely garden and quite another to bring its maintenance up to the standard where you can accept paying guests. So why do it? There is probably a small element of showing off and saying “look what we’ve made” but overwhelmingly it is an urge to share - and with group openings, a feeling of community. Every garden was populated not just by its owners but neighbours and friends with live music and sales areas on

the side.

Yet it was the plants that resonated. At Uplands, I could only gasp at the sweet shop colours from so many different plants peppering the beds. If I’d tried to list them, I’d probably still be there as their owner is a real plantaholic, raising many plants from seed (though the candelabra primulas manage this mostly on their own).

Here, the garden was home to the plants but at another garden, called Canna Park, the plants

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were used to create peace and tranquillity.

In Morwenna, I was struck by how a large garden packed with plants and features can be created in four years if you just crack on and do it. Tamar House was pretty and productive, with twists, turns, surprises and also lunch! Watersedge, along the river, might have held fewer plants but they were well-placed and allowed to reach full size to strut their stuff and decorate a garden made for relaxing along the riverbank.

The Bridge Mill was delightfully informal, with a controlled wildness that takes an experienced hand to manage. This continued into a herb garden and lean-to greenhouse of great charm. By contrast, a veg garden using slate to edge slightly raised beds was formal and productive. The Villa had a well-designed cottage style garden abounded with beautiful roses and other choice plants.

I enjoyed homely Meadows Barn for produc-

tive, well managed beds of heathy peas, beans, potatoes, a greenhouse holding a well-trained grapevine and especially the bumble bees in a bird nest box. My mother would have loved wellorganised Baraq, as there were clear spaces of soil around each plant to set it off. I’m more of the Bridge Mill school of gardening and Mum used to find my untamed plantings quite scary.

Finally, Owlies provided us with the answer for what you do when you ‘retire’ from a smallholding yet don’t want to downsize. Space previously occupied by intensive veg beds had been redesigned into a series of tranquil wildlife ponds.

The area isn’t finished yet but the wild life had already moved in.

Despite the rain, John and I had great fun, enjoyed meeting all the gardeners but more than anything, marvelled at how each had created something completely different with their plots.

Well done everyone!

Question time with Anne This week’s Q and A are from the gardeners of Bridgerule I visited recently

Q

Are my onions suffering from mildew? This happened last year as well and I lost the whole crop. How can I grow healthy onions again? Alan at The Bridge Mill

I was tempted to think this was onion downy mildew but now think the greyish mould visible on the leaves indicates onion leaf rot.

Small elliptical or circular white leaf flecks appear, congregated towards leaf tips. In moist conditions, a grey mould producing masses of conidia may grow over the damaged tissues and this is what we saw. Both diseases are common in mild, wet weather especially in the South West. As this has appeared early, the bulbs will probably be infected and it is probably best to dispose of the crop and give onion growing a rest for a year. I would then start up again in a different area of the plot but avoid overwintering onions because they carry diseases from one year to the next. Avoid high nitrogen, apply a high potash fertilizer and increase the gaps between plants for good air circulation.

Q

My Scilla peruviana growing in a pot has stopped flowering. How can I make it bloom again? From a garden visitor

Although a Mediterranean native, this showy, mainly evergreen bulb is known as Cuban lily.

Tall, conical racemes of blue (or white) flowers to 30cm/12in high appear in early summer and it is slightly tender (to about -5C/23 F), so keeping a few bulbs in a pot under glass during winter is a good insurance. As yours are permanently potted, they’ve probably run out of energy. Take them out, clean the pot, choose a few large bulbs to pot back in fresh potting compost (add extra grit for good drainage) and plant the rest out in the garden setting them 5-8cm/2-3in deep and 17cm/7in apart in a sheltered, sunny or partially shaded spot with moist but well-drained soil.

Give potted bulbs slow release fertilizer every spring.

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

• Sow kohl rabi, turnips, Chinese cabbage, spring onions, Swiss chard and perpetual spinach direct to the soil.

• Consider leaving a few evening primrose seedlings where appropriate, as their primrose yellow is pretty and the oily seed great for finches.

• Clip common and lemon thymes as soon as they have finished flowering, cutting just above the new growth so they branch and

make compact, tight mounds.

• Sow herbs such as coriander (I grow mine in a pot and harvest quickly because they go to seed for fun) and basil (also grown under glass as it loves warmth) .

• Uncover everbearing strawberries if you’ve had fruits protected from birds by mesh or net curtains. They are flowering again and the bees need to get in.

Use up gluts of lettuce by wilting them down with peas. Pop a knob of butter in the pan, add some chopped herbs, sliced lettuce, chopped spring onion, peas, seasoning and half a cup of water. Cover and cook for about ten minutes until lettuce has wilted and the rest cooked. Sow more lettuce.

Pick

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

or dead head sweet peas regularly to keep fresh flowers coming. Tie in stems that fall away from supports.

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Spa days Scrub up

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Rituals Organic Rice and Cherry Blossom Scrub (House of Fraser £19.50) Use this gentle floral scrub in the shower. It cleanses and exfoliates, leaving skin soft and smooth.

‘Here’s how to create your own spa at home, with the best products on the market’

Polish Marks and Spencer Thermal Exfoliating Polish £9.50 You can actually feel this polish heat up on your face.

The results are amazing - my skin felt radiant and soft.

Abbie’s

Purify The Body Shop Himalayan Charcoal Body Clay £16 Who ever said you had to go to a spa to have a body mask?

This is great for drawing out the impurities in your skin.

Beauty box Expert advice from beauty guru Abbie Bray of Newton Abbot

Added fizz Oliver Bonas Elderflower Fizz bath crystals £9 These natural, non-drying bath crystals add fizz to bathtime. The floral fragrance lightly scents your skin, too.

Ok so it is no secret that I am a huge fan of spa treatments.

They are a complete luxury and, let’s face it, who doesn’t enjoy getting pampered? I have been to my fair share of spas in my time for everything from seaweed wraps to Vitamin C facials. Every time I leave I always feel relaxed, pampered and like a new woman.

But spa days aren’t for everyone - or every day.

Some people just don’t enjoy them. I think that many of us can relate to the pain of leaving a spa with no make-up on, your hair greasy with massage oil, looking like you have been dragged through a hedge backwards! Even if that doesn’t bother you, we don’t always have the time or the money for spa visits. So here’s how to create your own spa at home, with some of the best products on the market right now.

Relax The Body Shop lavender massage oil £14 Lavender’s relaxing aromatherapy properties help you to relax and destress.

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Spa days

Review

Perfectly pampered Viki Wilson checks out a brand new spa in St Ives pace, light and peace. That is what you’ll find at the new spa at Una St Ives, near Carbis Bay. The resort opened late last year and so this beautiful spa is a relatively new discovery for those seeking holistic, organic therapy and skincare in a stylish and spacious setting.

The first port of call for anyone visiting has to be the huge infinity pool, also home to a Jacuzzi and children’s pool as well as a sauna and steam room and neighbouring gym. There are deliciously scented Spiezia Organics sample oils, all made by hand in Cornwall, in the changing rooms.

The treatment I was given was the luxurious Rose Indulgence Ritual – 85 minutes of top to toe nurturing. The treatment rooms are like warm, comforting cocoons, decorated in the trademark Spiezia purple, with clouds of soft towels and gently heated treatment beds that you simply sink into.

The treatment began with gentle skin brushing to exfoliate the skin. Then the wonderful Spiezia Organics Rose and Vanilla oil, which is 100 per cent organic, is lightly massaged first into your legs and back and then, on your front, into your legs, tummy and décolletage and also to your arms and shoulders, with a lovely hand and effect of helping your skin to balance out sebum palm massage which helps you to let go of the production, so your skin in moisturised and tension that so many of us often therefore not stimulated to prohold onto in our hands. duce excessive oil. The result is With your body beautifully supple, smooth skin and a facial, The result is smooth and moisturised, the which, unlike some, doesn’t tend supple, smooth treatment then moves into a reto cause breakouts in the days laxing facial. There is cleansing which follow. A soothing scalp skin and a facial, and toning with refreshing pads massage follows, with head and which, unlike which are also applied to your hair oil applied to your hair. some, doesn’t eyes as you relax. Spiezia OrganDrifting away in a peaceful ics daily face oil is then gently cocoon, the ritual is completed tend to cause applied with a delicate massage with a wonderfully relaxing foot breakouts in the covering acupressure points massage, with Spiezia oil applied around your mouth, temples and to the tops and soles of your feet. days which follow forehead, relieving tension while Because the treatment room the oil is absorbed into your skin. also has several relaxation areas, It can feel a little counterinwith huge chairs, magazines and tuitive to those with oily or combination skin to herbal teas, this is a lovely space to come with have oil in a facial but the Spiezia face oil has the sisters, mums or friends in a group, to enjoy a full

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spa day or an afternoon tea (from £50 including a treatment and use of the pool and facilities and prosecco) in the neighbouring restaurant, just next to the spa.

If you haven’t paid a visit already, I’d recommend you seek it out soon.

Una St Ives, Little Trevarrack, Laity Ln, Saint Ives TR26 3HQ. Call 01736 792907 or visit www. unastives.co.uk 29

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Eva flip flops £7 Monsoon

Sunglasses £12 Accessorize

Ice cream scarf £18 The National Trust

Floral bikini top £16 M&Co

Beauty & the beach ith high summer here, it’s definitely time to hit the beach. And if you’re not interested in a teeny-tiny string bikini, take heart - there are plenty of options that will leave you feeling well supported, and that won’t float away when you’re in the water. We like the new trend for selling bikini tops and bottoms separately, too, meaning you can pick the right sizes for your body shape.

This floral bikini set from M&Co is a fun retro look that gives you lots of va-va-voom while also having a tummy control panel for secret support. Just add beach bag, shades and a scarf and you’ll be ready for some sand between your toes.

W

Bikini top £8 bikini brief £5 espadrilles £6 Primark

Matching tummy control bikini bottoms £16 M&Co 30

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Fashion

Magisculpt secret control swimsuit (sizes up to 30) £38 www.marisota.co.uk

Pom pom bucket bag £12 Primark

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Trend Have you got a fashion question or a trend you’d like to see tackled? @KathrynCMcleod

Trousers, All Saints, Princesshay, £148

HOW TO WEAR IT:

Tapered trousers

Top, All Saints, Princesshay, £32 Shoes, River Island, Princesshay, £35 Clutch, Next, Princesshay, £36

MAIN PHOTO HAIR: SAKS, EXETER MAKE-UP: CLARINS, DEBENHAMS (BOTH PRINCESSHAY) PHOTOGRAPHY: STEVE HAYWOOD

Kathryn Clarke-Mcleod’s shortcut to sartorial style ome days you just want an easy life. Nothing too tight, nothing too bright. Just something understated, comfortable and chic. Enter the tapered and cropped trouser. The khaki variety is an off-duty favourite of Cameron Diaz, Gwyneth Paltrow and Victoria Beckham, which is more than enough of an endorsement for me.

The occasion? Book club’s annual excursion to a restaurant, where we meet sans tomes (but not sans wine). This time, our eatery of choice is Café Rouge in Princesshay, Exeter. I’m loving its new look. Soft glowing lights, gleaming leather seating and tastefully framed prints make for very ambient dining. Because some of us work and others are stay-at-home mums, we decided that 6pm was a good time to kick off. An earlier start meant more chance of a pre-midnight finish for those whose wake-up call is the pitterpatter of feet at about 5am.

The challenge this presents me however, is that there is no Celebrities like time to nip home after work and them for transit. change.

This is where these beauties You know, the (opposite) from All Saints really kind where you come to the fore. They were office-appropriate for a long day have to find your of meetings, comfortable for the way from first long stretches of design work I out. class to the back do at my desk, and the perfect This style looks great paired with weight for a summer day that a simple cami but it will be a hard of your limo is neither hot nor cold. When worker in other situations too. I the minute hand struck five like the idea of donning them with thirty, all I had to do was pop a grey cropped chunky knit and tan my pointy black flats under my desk and step ankle boots when Autumn arrives. I can also into these statement heels, and I was ready to quite happily picture myself pulling them on sip Chambord with the best of them. The raised over a black one-piece swimsuit with flip flops for hemline means you have a real opportunity to a quick dash to the shops when on a villa holiday give your favourite shoes a good showcase. It also in Crete. has the added benefit of making legs look longer The celebrity contingent like them for transit. and slimmer by allowing the ankle bone to peep You know, the kind where you have to find your

S

way from first class on the plane to the back seat of your limo. Both Cameron and Gwyneth paired them with a white t-shirt and a taupe blazer, and the overall effect was fresh and effortless. But it’s Victoria B’s choice of a grey slub tee, black blazer and aviators that gets two thumbs up from me.You know what else gets my two opposable digits facing skywards? The boeuf bourguignon at Café Rouge, complete with herby mash. Oodles of taste, substance and served in style. Kind of like this ensemble.

All fashion in these pictures is from Princesshay Shopping Centre, Exeter, www.princesshay.co.uk

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Greta leather foldover cross body bag £32 ACCESSORIZE

GET THE

Peg trousers £42 TOPSHOP

look

Nude luxe jogger £30 MISS SELFRIDGE

Hat £28 DEBENHAMS

Khaki satin cropped trousers £32 NEXT

Suedette multi strap heels £22.99 NEW LOOK

Amalfi beaded ropes £29 ACCESSORIZE

Belted turn up trousers £17.99 NEW LOOK

33

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05/07/2016 11:11:29

culture vulture Our guide to the best don’tmiss events on the arts scene in the South West right now

Garden inspiration Now is a busy time in the garden but if you can tear yourself away from the weeding, you’re in for a real treat at the Royal Albert Memorial Museum in Exeter. The museum is showcasing the top entries from the International Garden Photographer of the Year awards 2016. Now in its ninth year, this premier competition for garden and plant photography attracts more than 16,000 entries from all around the world. The stunning images were captured as far afield as New Zealand and China, and as close to home as Dorset.

Naturally Inspired runs until August 28, tickets £4 (concessions £2) at the Royal Albert Memorial Museum, Queen Street, Exeter www.rammuseum.org.uk

Surf’s up in Newquay

Just razzle-dazzle ‘em “Murder, greed, corruption, exploitation, adultery and treachery… all those things we hold near and dear to our hearts.” So begins the award-winning prison musical, Chicago, in Plymouth for one week only starring EastEnders actor John Partridge as Billy Flynn and Coronation Street star Hayley Tamaddon as Roxie Hart. Based in the roaring 1920s, with spectacular dancing inspired by legendary choreographer Bob Fosse, Chicago’s score includes “All That Jazz” and “Razzle Dazzle”. It has won six Tony, two Olivier, one Grammy, two Bafta and six Academy Awards - it would be a crime to miss it! July 18-23, Theatre Royal Plymouth, £17.50-£39.50

The eagerly-awaited third book in Lisa Glass’s young adult surfing trilogy has just been published. Ride joins the hugely successful Blue and Air to complete the rollercoaster story of surfing youngsters Zeke and Iris, all set in Newquay. The first book in Lisa’s series is being made into a film called Bluer Than The Sky, filmed in Cornwall last September.

Get this for the teen in your life – or enjoy the romance and excitement of the surfing life for yourself. It’s a great read.

Ride by Lisa Glass, £7.99 Quercus

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Enjoy

Your stars

by Cassandra Nye This week’s sign:

Happy birthday to...

Deeply intuitive and sentimental, Cancer can be one of the most challenging Zodiac signs to get to know.

Cancerians care deeply about family and home and are very attached to the people who surround them.

Their ruling planet is the moon, which can create fleeting emotional patterns that the sensitive Cancer cannot control, especially when a child. They can be temperamental but one of their greatest strengths is persistent determination.

Caroline Quentin Born July 11 1960 Caroline Quentin, who lives near Tiverton, turns 56 on Monday. Her early days saw her as dead-pan Dorothy in Men Behaving Badly, more recently she’s been in Dickensian and presented documentaries, including two series of Cornwall With Caroline Quentin. Caroline found love with husband Sam Farmer, who runs a skincare business, and together they have two teenage children, Emily and William.

July 11 Cancerians are hard workers who like to exceed expectations – and Caroline certainly does just that.

CANCER (June 22 - July 22) They say you should ‘beware of Greeks bearing gifts’. But there are no Trojan horses in your world this week.

There are, however, some folk who pretend to be what they are not. Stay sharp. Look for opportunities to find out more about your colleagues so you have an advantage.

LEO (July 23 - August 23) What others see this week is a confident and powerful exterior. What you feel may be different. If something has dented your confidence, it is only temporary.

The more you ignore it, the stronger you will be. Being strong when you are feeling sensitive is hard, but well worth it.

VIRGO (August 24 - September 23) With a bit of a rocky start to the week your thoughts may be on your own problems rather than those of others. Even so, it is while helping someone else that you find solutions of your own. Confusion is rife at the moment. Too many choices are hard.

LIBRA (September 24 - October 23) Would you like a quiet and peaceful week? Oh well, maybe some other time!

Sticking to your guns won’t be easy. As a born problem-solver you can see many ways out of a situation. Even so, will your sense of fair play let you allow someone to get away with bad behaviour?

SCORPIO (October 24 - November 22) Being flexible is hard at the moment.

Why are others always changing their minds? Even small adjustments can be disruptive when you are busy. Especially at

home, be prepared to put something on hold if it makes more sense to do it later. This week is about priorities and expectations. Sometimes you expect too much of yourself.

SAGITTARIUS (November 23 - December 21) It is both an exciting and challenging week ahead. Be spontaneous and inventive and you will sail through. Don’t hesitate to use your imagination. High energy and determination see you riding high by the weekend. Where will you take your loved one?

Romance and passion are in the air.

CAPRICORN (December 22 - January 20) Listen carefully to the many and varied suggestions being thrown at you. Disliking someone’s attitude does not mean they have nothing to offer. Again, get all of the facts before commenting. Take care. A comment may have been misheard or a sentence taken out of context.

AQUARIUS (January 21 - February 19) Secretly you may agree with someone spouting different views. Be honest.

Pretending to be something you are not is fruitless. Have the courage to stand up for what you believe in. Your hopes to be on the receiving end of something special may not go according to plan. But you don’t give up.

PISCES (February 20 - March 20) Overworked and overstretched? Don’t feel that you can get away? Use that imagination to find a solution. Your cooperation with others has been noted. You are appreciated even if someone has not put it into words. Getting out of your usual surroundings is good for you.

ARIES (March 21 - April 20) Scatty and scary in parts, this week sees you and others changing their minds and attitudes. Midweek slow down and think about where you are going. Want to be grounded? Look to your home life. Short of time to enjoy romance? Be more organised!

TAURUS (April 21 - May 21) Did last week leave you feeling a little confused? Not at all surprising. Just when you feel more settled, along comes something else to keep you on your toes. This is not all bad, though. Remember that disruption in the short term usually means progress.

GEMINI (May 22 - June 21) Keeping an eye on the cash is something of a priority at the moment. Any windfall should be handled carefully if it is not to just slip away. Work colleagues can be tetchy and uncooperative. It is not your fault if others are not at their best.

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Wellbeing

the boost

Life just got better. Our wellness guru Charlotte Dear has handpicked the latest health secrets and expert advice to help you be your best self, everyday

Sing for joy

Did you know that singing is not only an uplifting pastime but is also an aerobic activity? It exercises major muscle groups in the upper body while increasing oxygenation in the bloodstream.

It also helps reduce stress. So why not join your local choir and reap the physical and psychological benefits of singing? Visit www.heartsearch.org.uk

GET OUT INTO THE OPEN WATER Swimming is fantastic exercise in any environment but swimming in open water takes it to a whole new level. Fortunately for us the South West is home to some of the best wild swimming spots in the UK, so dive into one of our lakes, rivers and pools this

summer. Whether you choose Badgworthy Pool on Exmoor, Lansallos Cove in Fowey or Fluxton Weir in Devon, make sure you have a flask of warming hot chocolate for when you get out! Check out the swim map at www.wildswimming.co.uk

Forage: Discover the true taste of the Westcountry at Fat Hen Wild Cookery School in Cornwall. With many courses and events to choose from, why not try your hand at foraging for supper in the woods, head to the coast to learn all about edible seaweeds, master the art of sourcing and preparing wild game or enjoy a family day out with the children’s cooking club? www.fathen.org 36

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SMELL THE ROSES

OH BEE-HAVE! As this Sunday marks national ‘Don’t step on a bee day’, there’s never been a better time to help support our bee population while indulging in some gorgeous beauty products at the same time. Filberts Bees in Dorset produce a wonderful range of balms and butters as well as candles and polish from their honeybees – find out more at www.filbertsofdorset.co.uk

Eat yourself well According to a recent study, we Brits are spending more on vitamin supplements than painkillers for the first time in over a decade. For the best nutrition, however, it’s a good idea to get your nutrients from real food rather than tablets. Vitamin A is great for vision, skin and the immune system and found in orange or red veg, Vitamin D means healthy bones and heart, and fish, eggs and dairy products are all rich in it. While Vitamin E, needed for healing and fertility, is present in seeds, nuts and oily fish. Tuck in!

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

Take time out from your busy life to stop and smell the roses at beautiful RHS Rosemoor. Follow the Rose Trail through the dramatic Formal Garden and take in the many wonderful fragrances of Britain’s best-loved flower.

You might even be tempted to go greenfingered yourself; there are few better ways to unwind and de-stress than by working in your garden. www.rhs.org.uk

45-60

minutes of exercise per day

will prevent obesity, according to the Department of Health. The good news is, you don’t have to be sweating on a Stairmaster: brisk walking, ballroom dancing, doubles tennis and cycling below 10 miles per hour all qualify as ‘moderate-intensity activity’. Go for it. @WMNWest or email westmag@westernmorningnews.co.uk 37

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04/07/2016 14:37:38

Eat

Lemon Tart with Fresh Fruit Topping Recipe: Carol Bowen Ball, author of Esse’s The Four Seasons Cookbook

Ingredients

Method:

Filling: 3 eggs 160g caster sugar Grated zest and juice of 2 lemons 160g butter, melted 90g ground almonds

1.

Preheat the oven if necessary to 190ºC/Fan 170ºC/Esse Dial Guide HOT. (Aim for the dial reading to be at the low end of HOT).

2.

Make the pastry according to the recipe instructions. Roll out and line a 23cm fluted flan tin and chill for 10 minutes. Cover with foil and weight with baking beans then bake ‘blind’ for 15 minutes. Remove the foil and beans and cook for a further 5 minutes.

Topping: Selection of fresh fruit like sliced green apples (dipped in lemon juice), sliced fresh or canned peaches, apricots and pears, sliced strawberries, sliced kiwi, blackberries, blueberries, raspberries, sliced and halved grapes Mint sprigs, to decorate (optional)

Serves: 8

3.

zest and juice then the melted butter and almonds. Pour into the prepared pastry case.

Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the filling is golden and set. Allow to cool.

4.

To serve, top the tart with a selection of fresh fruit and decorate with mint sprigs if liked. Cut into wedges to serve with cream, crème fraîche, yogurt or ice cream.

Meanwhile, whisk the eggs and sugar until they are very thick. Stir in the lemon

The tart can be made up to 24 hours ahead but to avoid the fruit drying out, glaze with a mixture of 2 tbsp apricot jam warmed until syrupy with 2 tbsp water. Spoon over the fruit when cooled but still liquid.

The Rangemoors Hearth & Cook showroom in Marsh Barton, Exeter supplies the full range of Esse cookers: www.hearthandcook.com 38

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Drink

Beer of the week Sharp’s has launched Sea Fury, a 5% bitter, in bottles, although perhaps ‘launched’ is the wrong word here. The beer is actually Sharp’s Special rebranded for the bottle market but, nomenclature aside, it’s a cracking beer. Bready, caramel malt notes are balanced by nutty, slightly spicy hops, with warming dried fruit coming through.

A well-executed beer, whatever you call it.

Darren Norbury

talks beer ’m on my second pint of Penzance lemon citrus or grapefruit citrus depending American Pale Ale as a local inupon the hop variety. forms us, once again, on his policy And look at the great Westcountry beers this of dealing with intrusive birds in has led to. At the annual Great British Beer Festihis garden. “I don’t shoot to kill, val one of the beers aficionados head for straight I always shoot ’em up the ass.” For a pensioner away is Big Job, found on the St Austell Brewery holding a shaking beer in his stand. You’ll probably be familhand, this seems optimistic and iar with their Proper Job IPA unlikely to cause the RSPB any (7.2% ABV) – Big Job ups the concern, but after the ninth ante, with Citra and Centennial The good news such exclamation in one evening hops creating a very dry, big is that this year’s my attention turned to the beer I citrus bomb of a beer. hop harvest, was enjoying.

Likewise, Dartmoor Gold I recounted recently how (5% ABV), from the Princparticularly Exmoor Gold, from Somerset, etown brewery, has IPA in its in the United led the way in changing our beer DNA, and is looked forward to habits by being the first golden in summer. American Cascade States, looks to session ale, and how beers such and New Zealand Rakau hops be much better as Hop Back Summer Lightmake the difference here. Skinthan last year’s ening had carried the baton ner’s Porthleven (4.8% ABV) forward. It did also, however, gets its zesty kick from a comhelp the development of strong bination of American Citra and golden ales, of which my APA Mount Hood hops, and Northwas a shining example. down, which is one of the more The influx of American hops into the country bitter of the classic English varieties. gave brewers more licence to experiment with Quite literally flying the flag for Devon, Devon the style. ‘Bitterness’ was no longer a vague deDumpling, from Bays Brewery, has picked up an scription of the counterbalance to malt sweetarmy of fans since its launch a few years back, ness, it was becoming citrus bitterness or piney strong and hoppy at 5.2% ABV, but smooth with or resinous bitterness. And citrus could mean it and definitely not in IPA territory. One to start

A JOB WELL DONE Somerset-based beer writer Adrian Tierney-Jones has stood down as secretary of the British Guild of Beer Writers after 11 years in post. At the organisation’s annual meeting he was presented with the three volumes of Barnard’s Notable Breweries of Great Britain and Ireland, published in 1899.

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Hop on the bike

Congratulations to St Austell head brewer Roger Ryman who completed a Land’s End to John O’Groats cycle in aid of the Men United prostate cancer charity.

He was one of five men to take the challenge, including Gary Ringrose, also from Cornwall, and Paul Corbett, MD of hop wholesaler Charles Faram.

with if you’re exploring the style.

The good news is that this year’s hop harvest, particularly in the United States, looks to be much better than last year’s, so I’m told by a hop grower on the eastern side of the country. Look out for new hop bombs coming soon.

Darren Norbury is editor of beertoday.co.uk @beertoday

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05/07/2016 11:47:51

Eat

Ingredient of the Week

Pollack

with Tim Maddams e love a bit of “boring” white fish and lightly salt it. After 20 mins or so rinse off the in this country. I suspect it’s more salt in clean cold water and pat the fish dry with to do with the ease with which the a towel. Now, skin the fillet and slice into pound bones can be removed rather than coin thick slices. Place these in a single layer in a a true appreciation of the subtle, serving dish, add shredded fennel, black pepper sweet flavour of fish such as cod, pollack and and the juice of a lemon, making sure all the fish pouting. But these fish are fairly gets a gentle coating of lemon easy to get hold of and very suitjuice. Leave to stand for an hour able for the stock tricks of the or so and then sprinkle over a Sprinkle over cookery trade: in breadcrumbs, little rapeseed oil and a dusting batter or pan-roasted they offer of smoked paprika, then serve smoked paprika even the most fish-shy a chance to up. Delicious, delicate and arodelicious, get involved in the feast. matic, this is a great dish to whip delicate and Like most large white fish I out as a starter, maybe followed almost always give my pollack up by the other fillet roasted aromatic, this the filleting treatment, using the whole with chips and fresh peas. is a great dish bones for stock later on. Salting Once salted, pollack fillets to whip out as a the fillets also makes them more go very well in the hot smoker, suitable to freezing, as you are taking a few minutes to cook. starter removing a little of the moisture They are excellent if left to cool prior to freezing which in turn and used in salads, sandwiches makes them less susceptible to and soups or used straight from freezer damage. It should mean thay are almost the smoker, flaked up and stirred through some as good to use as fresh fish. Almost. new potatoes and loads of garden herbs. I also A preferred method of cooking white fish fillets like to curry pollack - in a simple lightly-spiced in my house is, in fact, not really to cook them. sauce of coconut milk and tomatoes it’s ready in Take a medium-sized fillet of pollack, pin bone it minutes and the perfect mid-week supper.

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Perfect pollack I like to salt my fresh pollack fillets lightly before cutting them into inch thick slices, dusting with a little flour and cooking them in a pan with a little butter and a few fresh bay leaves.

This light salting, which is really little more than a heavy seasoning, toughens the flesh making the fillets a little more resilient to this sort of brief, high temperature cookery. Serve your fried fish up with a simple summer salad and a squeeze of lemon and there are few finer ways to enjoy your pollack this summer. @TimGreenSauce

Tim Maddams is a Devon chef and author of Game: River Cottage Handbook no. 15 (Bloomsbury £14.99) 41

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04/07/2016 14:51:31

EATING OUT

Samuel Jones Smoke & Ale House

the doors to the restaurant. Samuel Jones has a good handshake. The open-plan

By Kathryn Clarke-McLeod space is a medley of dark wood, exposed brickwork, rich leather seating, gleaming t’s a Tuesday. Truly if there taps and (most importantly) smiling staff, ever was a day that made me one of whom makes a beeline straight for say ‘bleh’ this is it. You are me. no longer refreshed from the I spot my friend Emma at the bar and weekend, and it is an eterni- wave her over, and our request for a table ty until Friday. for two sees us escorted to a slightly raised Luckily, I’ve always found a nice meal seating area. The wooden square table out in good company to be a spectacular has a real candle on it, flickering in the cure, so I’ve arranged a pick-me-up in the late afternoon light. Our waitress Aiste is way of a dinner with a friend at Samuel all attentiveness and her smart uniform Jones on the Quay in Exeter, a St Austell could be from a top London hotel. Our Brewery establishment that opened fairly fellow diners include a party of three recently after a £1.5 milyoung women to my left lion makeover of a historand an older family to my ic waterside warehouse. right. Everyone is smiling.

The choice was a bit of a So far, so good.

The only gamble, as Samuel Jones Then Aiste hands me the negative thing I is billed as a Smoke and drinks menu, and indicates can find to say?

Ale House, which doesn’t the blackboard that shows seem on the face of it to be the beers on tap. Oh no!

Food this good the natural habitat for two There is so much choice, is not conducive thirty-something blondes, and I’m going to have to to conversation one of whom (me) dislikes confess that I don’t like beer. However, I have ale. Luckily for me, Aiste - we were heard such good things is unflappable. “Why don’t mesmerised from colleagues that I’m I bring you some tasters?” not planning to wait for a she suggests. I point out a knight in shining armour few I like the sound of and to offer male company. This is 2016 after Emma does the same. The tasters come in all. cute little glasses that have their name on The location has to be one of the best them in chalk. One that caught my eye on in the city - I’d go so far as to say it has the menu was Salty Kiss (4.1%). Described the prime spot on the quay, as it sits a as having citrus, sweet berry, gooseberry significant stretch closer to the water and biscuit aromas and flavours, I was than its competitors. A spacious wooden intrigued, wasn’t beer supposed to be deck area also means customers can sit bitter? outside sipping their beverage of choice, I’m so glad I was encouraged to close enough to imagine they are captain stray beyond my comfort zone. This of their own ship. aptly-named beer is like nothing I have I walk across the deck littered with ever experienced, if you could bottle a would-be Jack Sparrows and push open rockpool, and everything that is good

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Dark wood, rich leathers and ambient lighting make for an inviting space. about summer, this is what it would taste like, zesty and ever so slightly sour, pure refreshment.

I’m so enamoured I order a whole pint. Emma finds herself swooning over a dark brooding beer called Mena Dhu (4.5%). A velvety texture with touches of liquorice and chocolate, this Cornish stout is just the ticket.

The menu is the second pleasant surprise of the day. I was expecting a meat-heavy selection, with oodles of BBQ sauce. Not so. It is varied, imaginative and has a slant towards locallysourced produce. Emma opts for the smoked crevettes (that’s giant prawn to you and me) with a samphire and seaweed salad (£8) while I go for the marinated halloumi (£6). Emma’s comes served in the sweetest little jar (which is also handy for the shells) with a bright chunk of yellow lemon. Mine is also an artistic triumph, a colourful tower of cheese, roasted veg, splashes of mango and chilli dressing and some pea shoots. If it’s true that we eat first with our eyes, then I’m satisfied before I have even had a mouthful. It tastes just as good as it looks and goes a treat with my salty cold beer.

I’ve seen on the menu that Samuel Jones smoke all produce in-house in a hickory smoker, so for mains I decide to go full carnivore and order the

12-hour slow cooked beef short rib (£17). Emma keeps us balanced and goes for the candied beetroot, smoked goat’s cheese and pomegranate salad (£12)

Waterside dining on Exeter Quay.

Man alive. That beef short rib made me feel like it was Friday. It was so soft it parted at the gentlest poke from my fork. The sweet bourbon sauce on top added a new dimension and proved that my new favourite ale really was the gift that kept on giving. I had toyed with the idea of switching to red wine to go with my beef, but one sip of my Atlantic-seabreeze-in-a-glass post a sweet sticky mouthful and I abandoned the notion. Heaven.

The only bad thing I can say? Food this good is not conducive to conversation. Emma and I both sat mesmerised by our dishes as we ate.

We were on a roll, so decided to order a dessert each instead of sharing. I picked the white chocolate and rubarb brioche pudding while Emma pointed out the chocolate parfait. Mine was everything a dessert should be: colourful, sweet without being cloying and a fantastic combination of temperature, texture and a dash of tartness. Emma’s parfait was given a fervent thumbs up when I asked how it was, while her mouth was full, always a good sign.

We walk home along the river in contented silence. I am well and truly cured of my Tuesday blues and have broadened my tipple horizons. A Salty Kiss led to a happy evening, that’s for sure.

Samuel Jones, 37 Commercial Rd, Exeter 01392 345345

How they scored...

Food

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Atmosphere



Service



Price

A 3-course dinner for two cost £61

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My Secret Westcountry Stew Eddy Chef Stew Eddy runs the café/ restaurant The Square in Porthleven, west Cornwall.

Born and raised in nearby Marazion, Stew trained with Raymond Blanc at Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons. He lives in St Hilary with his wife and business partner Anna, and their two sons Dylan (12) and Jack (ten).

Rinsey Cove

My favourite…

Walk: My wife Anna and I go to The Towans at Hayle a lot with the children and our labrador puppy Buddy. The endless sand dunes are a great place for them all to burn off their energy, followed by a hot chocolate at Sunset Surf cafe.

Beach: It’s hard to pick a favourite as we are blessed here in West Cornwall. But Rinsey, near Porthleven, is beautiful and great for jumping and snorkelling with Dylan and Jack.

Festival: I really enjoy the Eden Sessions and try to go up a couple of times a year. So far Elbow and Paolo Nutini have been my favourites.

Activity:

Surfing. I love being in the water at any time of the year. It has the added bonus of

The Ship Inn, Porthleven

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05/07/2016 11:52:34

People

The King’s Arms, Marazion

no mobiles, so I can’t be contacted for a couple of hours!

Hayle Towans

Food: We are so spoilt in Cornwall. I have lived away for a long time, all over the UK in fact, but Cornwall has it all. Mackerel caught from my dad’s boat and simply grilled when it’s just a few hours out of the water takes a lot of beating.

Tipple: Good real ale. Heligan Honey from Skinner’s Brewery on a summer evening is a treat.

Pub: For a pint either The Ship Inn in Porthleven - a proper pub - or The King’s Arms in Marazion (my home town) as it’s a good place to catch up with old friends. Martin Britten, the landlord at The King’s, also gave me my first kitchen job a long time ago. For food, I highly recommend The Tolcarne Inn in Newlyn, The Gurnard’s Head at Zennor or The Mexico Inn in Long Rock.

Restaurant: Kota, the restaurant next to The Square is great. Owners Jude and Jane Kereama are lovely neighbours and I love the twist Jude puts on Westcountry ingredients.

Way to relax:

Sunday night by the log burner, watching a movie with Anna and the boys.

Weekend away: Bath, where I used to live, as there are lots of good memories and friends to catch up with. We also go up to Watergate Bay fairly often, as it ticks the boxes for all the family.

Shop:

Tombstone Surf in St. Erth, where I can spend ages looking at boards I don’t need and don’t have time to use!

Treat: A good sunny day on the beach with family and friends, good summer waves, a barbecue and beers in the evening. Perfect! www.thesquareatporthleven.co.uk 45

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04/07/2016 13:19:30

My life

man and boy

That’s it, I’m in the shed Phil Goodwin, dad of James, six, has had enough... s political chaos engulfed the Then somebody forgot to do the weeding... you nation in the aftermath of the EU get the picture. referendum, I sought refuge outOne day James asks me out of the blue why we doors. Like a sane man in search can’t have a garden like someone or other he of calm in which to reflect upon a knows. “I mean, ours is a bit, well… shabby,” mad world, I retired to the garden. he explains. “Shabby?” I repeated, for clarNot, I might add, to lounge around, sipping ity. “Yeah: the shed is really shabby.” This, beer but to undertake an important job of work by the way, is coming from the kid who which had been nagging away for some time. had painted Jurassic World in lilac letFor inspiration, I looked to ex-footballer Alan ters on the shed door.

Shearer who, when asked how he celebrated So, Saturday morning, I put up my big Blackburn Rovers’ title win awning tent and began in 1995, said he had “creosottransferring the contents of ed the fence”. Brexit, I consaid shabby shed to a dry place cluded, required a similarly for the duration of the works. level-headed approach or Strangely, I too seemed to have Ripping out this to paraphrase our national accumulated a vast amount water feature, motto - Keep Calm and Paint of quite important materials, the Shed. tools and essential items in the including its When my wife and I shed in just three years. wasp’s nest, was bought our house in Exeter I patched up the roof, laid perhaps the most we inherited two monstrosifresh felt and painted the ties. First was a brick-built, whole thing dark mahogany. horrible job I fifteen square metre fish I swept up and put lino down. have ever done pond, used to keep carp (I It looked great, it really did. found a dead one in the bin) I felt so proud that I almost but long abandoned and full forgot Britain had voted to of murky water. You can’t leave the single market, ended have two foot deep pond and a three-year-old freedom of movement, etc etc. child. Ripping out this water feature, including James was made up. So much so that he moved its wasp’s nest, was perhaps the most horrible his dinosaur compound into the shed plus his job I have ever done.

T-Rex and a load of Lego people. When I started The second gift left by the previous owner to take down the tent, he kicked up a fuss so I was a garden shed containing decades of junk. agreed to leave it. Now we have this strange My predecessor threw nothing away. Thanks open plan home where the kitchen opens to to a Herculean effort in clearing it, followed by a veranda then into a big tent and then leads the careful planting of a few shrubs and a set into a shed, where James now plays. of garden furniture, I thought I had managed It has a festival vibe and is starting to grow to turn the moonscape into a half decent place on me. I am thinking of scattering a few cushto sit out. Sadly, the weather intervened and a ions maybe a wood burner, some candles. At storm with no name bent the umbrella in half. least it takes your mind off politics.

A

NEXT WEEK: Chris McGuire on starting his new life in the South West

main picture: Steve Haywood

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04/07/2016 16:45:22

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