West Magazine June 14, 2015

14.06.15

Beach living The sun dresses, swimsuits and shades to suit you

INSIDE: + FATHER’S DAY

INSPIRATIONS

+ WIN A VINEYARD

LUNCH FOR FOUR + VINTAGE CRICKET

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tips for the best summer ever

PLUS: + KIRSTIE ALLSOPP + ETHICAL FASHION

10/06/2015 13:23:49

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‘I live in Devon and I’m committed to Devon.

We buy everything in Honiton or Exeter; we have a strict policy… and anyway, I love browsing around the local shops.’

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A florist finds inspiration in Cornish hedgerows

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The Exeter fashionista with a global conscience

BLOOMING LOVELY

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KIRSTIE’S DEVON The TV star’s favourite Location, Location, Location...

Why Kirstie Allsopp buys local, p 11 GIVING BACK

[contents[ Inside this week...

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THE WISHLIST The loveliest things to buy this week

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YES, WE HAD A GOOD TIME...

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WEST IN PICTURES

Our columnist on post-holiday etiquette Cute kids, Miss Devon and Rachel Weisz

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HER FAVOURITE LOCATION Kirstie Allsopp at home in Devon

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CREATIVE IN CORNWALL From florists to glassblowers, it’s all here

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So much more than a place to store the mower...

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Our columnist embraces this summer’s palest trend

SHED HEAVEN

FROM ETHIOPIA TO EXETER The fashionista with a global conscience

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SHED HEAVEN How to achieve the shed of your dreams

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BEAUTY Reviews, treats and more

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READY OR NOT Flattering outfits for beachtime fun

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MINT CONDITION Green, gorgeous ingredient of the week

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HEALTHY CAKE Yes, it can be done! Here’s the recipe...

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THE BEER EXPERT Darren Norbury sups up

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VILLAGE CRICKET Our guide to the most civilised of sports

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MAN & BOY Dad Phil Goodwin on the joy of ignorance

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SAGE ADVICE Anne Swithinbank on how to grow herbs

ALL WHITE BY ME

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[

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BEACH DREAMS

Summertime, and the living is easy...

[ welcome [

Tweet

We’re having a champagne moment...

of the week

Next week marks the first birthday of West magazine and a little celebration would not be out of the question. But even better, it coincides with the announcement of the EDF Energy South West Media Awards shortlist.

And what do you know, not one, not two but THREE of our West team have been nominated. First up, there’s Kathryn Clark-Mcleod; Kathryn not only writes her fabulous Trend column every week for us, bravely trialling the latest fashions and looking wonderful as she does so, but also designs West magazine, making the pages (I’m sure you’ll agree) look totally gorgeous too. She’s up for Designer of the Year - hooray!

@wmnwest Huge congrats to our @KathrynCMcleod @goodwin_phil and @stevenhaywood1 all nominated for #edfawards see their work in @WMNWest every #sunday

[

Eds note: Three of our West magazine stars are through to the shortlist in the South West Media Awards. Yippee!

Then there’s our favourite photographer Steven Haywood, who is our go-to man for a beautiful picture. He’s been nominated as South West Photographer of the Year and he definitely gets our vote. See some of his thoughtful and polished work on page 16 today, with a terrific feature on how a young Ethiopian woman is bringing fashion with a conscience to Exeter today.

Finally, our brilliant back-page columnist Phil Goodwin is in the running as Columnist of the Year. Have a look at page 46 today and you’ll see why - he’s fresh, fearless and very, very funny. Good luck to all our nominees at the awards ceremony in Taunton this July.

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See his thoughtful and polished work on page 16 today

Becky Sheaves, Editor

COVER IMAGE: The White Company

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

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10/06/2015 13:01:37

If you do one thing this week...

Nestled amongst the green fields of the South Hams, overlooking the River Dart, lies the beautiful Sharpham Estate.

Already renowned for its awardwinning wines and cheeses, there’s now another reason to visit. The new Anchorstone café here has just opened its doors, ready for the summer season ahead.

This eatery will be run by the owners of the much-loved Anchorstone in nearby Dittisham.

The menu features mussels grown just across the river, crab from Dartmouth and Sharpham wine and cheese.

Visit www.sharpham.com and www.anchorstoneatsharphamvineyard.co.uk or call 01803 732178.

Win

We have lunch for four, including a bottle of Sharpham Dart Valley Reserve wine, at the Anchorstone at Shapham Vineyard café for one lucky West reader to win. For your chance to win, email us your name, address and phone number, with ‘Anchorstone competition’ in the subject line, to westmag@westernmorningnews.co.uk, by June 28. Normal terms apply.

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Manly soap for blokes from this shaving products maker near Ivybridge, £4.99, www. bluebeards-revenge. co.uk

Mark Fathers’ Day with this handdecorated mug from Emma Bridgewater, £19.95, www.daisypark. co.uk

the

wishlist

Men’s weathercock sweatshirt, £35, screenprinted at Fishboy PZ of Chapel Street, Penzance, www.fishboypz.co.uk

Shopping for Father’s Day next weekend? Look no further...

Store we adore...

Find where you are heading on hols with this vintage world map washbag, £18, www.tch.net

Fishboy PZ, Penzance

Run by Cornish artist Mat McIvor and his partner Izzy Phillips, this stylish shop sells eye-catching T-shirts and sweatshirts for men and women screenprinted on the premises, with the designs also available to hang on the wall. There is also fashion from Libertine-Libertine of Copenhagen, Swedish Dr Denim and British-made knitwear label Peregrine.

Fishboy PZ is at 64 Chapel Street, Penzance, www.fishboypz.co.uk, 01736 331846

Nose ring Bull key holder, £12.99, www.oakroomshop. co.uk

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Wishlist

JUST ADD WHISKY Mouth-blown glass decanter, £65, www. annabeljames.co.uk

Tropical guy O’Neill leaves shirt, £49.99, www. annscottage.co.uk

Model of Smeaton’s Lighthouse, £31, www. littledart.co.uk of Witheridge, Devon

Win

CHEERS DAD! with ice-cold bubbles chilled in this silverplated champagne bath, £254.95, www. annabeljames.co.uk

Dads will love this one: a scale model of Plymouth’s Smeaton’s Tower, worth £31, handcrafted by Little Dart of Witheridge.

For your chance to win, email us your name and address to westmag@ westernmorningnews. co.uk, with Smeaton’s Tower as subject, by June 28. Normal terms apply.

Little Dart is also offering West readers 15% off all its model lighthouses at www. littledart.co.uk, with code WESTMag until July 1, 2015.

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10/06/2015 13:53:16

talking points Gillian Molesworth

Story of my life...

Didn’t we have a lovely time? e had such a good week in the south of Spain.

Telling other people about your holidays is always a bit tricky, isn’t it. On one hand, you want to share that you had a week of swimming and sun and delicious garlicky foreign food. On the other, you are aware that they might have just spent the week working overtime, eries cancelled, doors locked, etc looking after an elderly relation, etc. Then there’s travelling, which or doing some thankless DIY task. is a marathon of trying to keep So you don’t want to brag. your cool under duress. When you Anyway. The destination wedfinally arrive there’s euphoria, esding was gorgeous. There’s a lot pecially if, like us, you are greeted to be said for getting married in by a bottle of wine, bread, fruit your forties. By that time you’ve and a packet of dried Iberian ham. worked out what you want and Then you wake up, swim, sunhave the skills and the means to bathe until you get hot, come organise it. inside and think: OK, so now what Everything was perfect – the am I supposed to do? company, the food, I’m really not the dancing that used to it. Usually went on till 5am.

I am lurching from I’ll have abiding crisis to crisis – or Holidays: you memories of sitat least just trying wake up, swim, ting in the sunto get work done, washed courtyard, stay on top of the sunbathe, get white walls with laundry, cook three hot, come inside red Mediterranemeals a day and an tile roof, watchmake sure everyand think OK, ing my friends one gets to school, now what am I take their vows clubs and sports supposed to do? against the gloriwhen they’re supous flower display posed to. There’s of an enormous not a lot of sitting b o u g a i nv i l l e a . around involved.

And it’s the only wedding recepSo: the next few phases of the tion I’ve ever been to where the holiday are: jitteriness, shapeless kids could swim. anxiety about not being necesWe took a self-catering cottage sary, and finally, relaxation. It for a week. It was a little “casita” takes a while to get there. on the grounds of a larger home, So yes the weather, scenery and surrounded by gardens and a pool. food were all great, but the best I always find that arriving at your part may have been the relaxation holiday destination usually fol– the just sitting around. Which lows the same trajectory. Before is another thing it’s hard to say you leave, there’s an unholy to people. Especially when, like scramble trying to get your work them, you’re back to your real done, your animals sorted out, life of running around in ever deyour electrics unplugged, delivcreasing circles….

W

PRINTS

Charming Sophie Ellis Bextor looked fresh and fabulous in this leaf print frock at Lorraine Kelly’s High Street Fashion awards, not long after announcing she’s expecting her fourth baby - congratulations! Now a seasoned pro at this maternity lark, Sophie always seems to combine effortless style with comfort. If you’re also expecting, try this gorgeous botanical print tunic (below) by Jo Jo Maman Bebe the maternity fashion specialists who have just opened a new store in Truro.

Summer tie dress £65 www. welovefrugi.com

steal her

style

OR MAKE IT YOUR OWN

OPTION A Mum-to-be Tunic £49 www. jojomamanbebe. co.uk Maternity fashion favourite

OPTION A In the pink Somerset by Alice Temperley Silk dress £150 www. johnlewis.com Fresh and flattering

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 8

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10/06/2015 10:48:30

BRAND NEW!

Just

between us DON’T CROSS CHERYL! CHERYL FERNANDEZ-VERSINI has accused LOUIS WALSH of back-pedalling. He claimed that they’d made up from their fall-out over his management of Girls Aloud (in which she said he did nothing to help the band, except “take cheques”).

In a post (which has now been deleted!) on Instagram, Cheryl shared a screenshot of an interview in which

heard all the latest juicy stuff here first!

!

Louis said: “I got a text from Cheryl, but we haven’t really fallen out - she was just saying funny things.

“She knows I’m writing a book, so it’s all fun and games, there’s no nastiness.”

Cheryl accompanied the screenshot with the words: “Back pedal 1&2&3&4 until out of sight. Ps) I would not have found the text messages I sent to be “funny” but ok!! Toodles.”

JOHNNY DEPP IN THE DOGHOUSE JOHNNY DEPP’s dogs may have escaped a death sentence, but the Hollywood star could still be in the doghouse with Australian authorities for bringing his pet pooches into the country.

Government officials have confirmed that the Pirates Of The Caribbean actor could face up to 10 years in prison or a

Gossip, news, trend setters and more - you

maximum fine of 340,000 Australian dollars (£171,803) for illegally bringing his two canine companions - Boo and Pistol - into Australia.

Johnny’s private jet pilot could also face up to two years in prison for his role in the undeclared importing of the dogs, bypassing the country’s strict quarantine laws. Oops!

SARAH: I LIKE FUNNY FAMILIES Actress SARAH HADLAND has denounced the idea of a traditional family unit.

The star of Miranda and The Job Lot’s latest role is in Comedy Central’s Brotherhood, a sitcom about three brothers forced to fend for themselves after the unexpected death of their mother.

Sarah, 44, said: “Nowadays more

than ever I think there is no such thing as a normal family unit - we’re used to the notions of a single parent family and same sex parents.

“I think for me the nitty-gritty of the family dynamics is always funny, we can always relate to it.” As for Sarah’s own private life – she likes to keep it private, refusing even to name her boyfriend.

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10/06/2015 10:49:05

Ambition: The Miss Devon contestants braved the cold on Torre Abbey sands

Showbiz: Kids from Razzmatazz stage school rehearsing a show in Devonport, Plymouth

In the pink: Catherine Barnes took part in the Devon Colour Run

in pictures

Superstar: Actress Rachel Weisz was spotted filming in Teignmouth, south Devon

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talking points Go Irish

Little Miss

ONE OF US Famous faces with links to the Westcountry This week:

Kirstie Allsopp

Which Roger Hargreaves character do you relate to?

1 Quick English names translated at namenerds.com

3 Bad

1 Sinéad (Jane)

4 Star

2 Nóinín (Daisy)

5 Dotty

3 Róisín (Rose) 4 Mallaidh (Molly) 5 Aloisia (Louise) 6 Niall (Nigel)

6 Late 7 Brainy 8 Busy

7 Annraoi (Henry)

9 Lucky

8 Seoirse (George)

10 Curious

9 Bláthnaid (Florence ) 10 Donnchadh (Denis)

The happy list

In season

10 things to make you smile this week 1 Milton Jones funny man, Plymouth Pavilions June 21

Fruit and veg harvested in June

1 Strawberries 2 Peas 3 Broad beans 4 Blackcurrants 5 Courgettes 6 Fennel 7 Gooseberries 8 Rhubarb 9 New potatoes 10 Watercress

TV’s Kirstie Allsopp has a weekend home in east Devon, as well as a holiday cottage that she rents out in north Devon

2 Contrary

2 Sunbathing it’s hot enough 3 Sundowners evening bliss 4 Pub gardens most definitely the place to be

5 Watering cans a must for thirsty hanging baskets

6 Theatre Curious Incident is coming to Truro in July - wow!

7 Acronyms the Port Isaac Shuttle Service made us laugh

8 Charles Causley litfest in Launceston this weekend

9 Summer pizza with rocket or fresh basil

10 Gooseberry fool mmm...

Devon: Her long term partner (and father of her two sons, Bay and Oscar) is property developer Ben Andersen.

Ben had already bought a large house in an east Devon village when they met.

Project: In 2009 Kirstie bought and restored a house in north Devon called Meadowgate, which had been empty for 39 years. The project was a subject of TV show “Kirstie’s Homemade Home”. Meadowgate is now available to rent for holidays with Classic Cottages for up to £3,700 per week in peak season.

herself “The Honourable Kirstie Allsopp”.

Home: Kirstie has said that her 30acre mini-stately near Broadhembury is “home”: “It’s where we do things together.

London is a lovely DID YOU KNOW? place, and I try and make it as homey as Kirstie is possible, but it’s where I get up every day the cousin and go to work. This of Cath is home, where we Kidston, of celebrate the things retro-themed that are important to us.” homewares

Fame: Since 2000, Kirstie has copresented TV’s Location, Location, Location with the man she calls her “on-screen husband”, Phil Spencer.

Business: Kirstie and Phil have made sure they have a long-term future in television, by starting their own Glasgow-based TV production company, called Raise The Roof.

Titled: Kirstie is eldest child of Charles Allsopp, the sixth Baron Hindlipp. So she is entitled to call

fame

Tidy As an ambassador for Keep Britain Tidy, Kirstie has been known to chide “don’t be a tosser!” when returning discarded rubbish through car windows.

Local: Kirstie is a firm believer in buying locally: “I live in Devon and I’m committed to Devon. We buy everything in Honiton or Exeter; we have a strict policy… anyway, I love browsing around the local shops.”

Castle: As well as his Broadhembury property (seat of the landed Drewe family for centuries), Ben also redeveloped Exeter Castle.

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Anya’s photographs show Amanda at work on her wild bouquets

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People WESTCOUNTRY CRAFTS

Meet the makers Photographer Anya Rice wanted to help spread the word about the creative people she met in her daily life in Cornwall, so she set about recording them at work. Sarah Pitt finds out more about The Home Makers project

Amanda Taffinder, floral artist nya Rice is a photographer with an artistic eye, so it is not surprising that she is drawn to people who are similarly creative, whether they work with flowers, clay, fabric or wood.

Based in Falmouth, American-born Anya was concerned the craftspeople she met in Cornwall were not getting the exposure they deserved, so she resolved to photograph them going about their daily routine.

Her photographs hone in on the little details of their workspaces with her camera, be they tools on the walls or skeins of brightly-coloured wool on the shelves, alongside documenting the way they work from glass blowing to throwing pots or furniture making.

“It was an excuse to learn more about the makers in Cornwall and also to support them, and help them get them better known,” she says. “There are so many people doing such amazing things down here, and yet they don’t get known about.

“I would just arrange to come around and photograph them working and we’d get to know each other. It was nice to spend half a day together and learn more about the process of making. The details are very important to me, what kind of tools they are using, and the things on the walls.

A lot of the time people who are very creative have quite inspirational pieces they have brought back from their travels, and I think that is very interesting to capture.”

Visit www.anyarice.com for details

A

Amanda Taffinder creates spectacular flower arrangements at Curgurrell Farm, in the village of Portscatho on Cornwall’s Roseland peninsula. Her exuberant, natural floral arrangements include wild plants from local hedgerows, alongside flowers grown on her family’s farm Amanda says: I grow lots of the flowers I use at my family’s farm. My parents-in-law have got an old walled garden with 70 rose bushes and also grapevines, which look fantastic in arrangements. My father-in-law Simon has planted jasmine and dahlias, which I also use. I’m growing more plants, too, in my own garden nearby, so that I always have things to choose from when I’m putting my arrangements together.

I get totally over-excited about what is in the hedgerows here in south Cornwall. I love working with what is in season. My favourite flower at the moment is foxgloves, and last month it was cow parsley. It is always nice to include flowers you can only get at certain times of year. It makes the arrangements more special.

I also buy flowers too, but wild flowers really add something to an arrangement, they give it a sense of wildness.

When I do flowers for a wedding, the most important thing is to gain the trust of the clients when I start. I don’t list exactly what the bouquet is going to contain. It is more a case of knowing the colours and the style they are going for. I think they get a better result that way, because I am free to

pick something in the garden centre or the hedgerows I like the look of. It is a bit like being a chef, getting inspired when you are gathering your ingredients.

Anya just came over for the afternoon to take these photographs. Through her I have met some of the other local makers, too, and it has been really fun to hear about what they are doing. We all have a really supportive attitude towards each other.

My inspiration comes from my love of the outdoors. I grew up with horses, and I explore the countryside with Basil my whippet. He’s in some of the photographs Anya took of me, watching me at work!

Visit www.amandataffinder.com

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10/06/2015 10:39:11

Glassmaker Rosie Sutcliffe at work in her studio

Rosie Sutcliffe, glassmaker Rosie shares a studio with her father, glass artist Malcolm Sutcliffe, in Penryn, where she works with molten glass to create beautiful vases. She lives in Penryn with her partner Tim Lake, a ceramicist.

Rosie says: Dad taught me to blow glass. We don’t work together but we share the studio – one of us does one week working with the furnace while another will do the next. I studied illustration at Falmouth University – I graduated in 2006 – then I moved to Bristol and ended up doing all sorts of things. I wasn’t using my skills, though, and wanted to come back to Cornwall. We thought maybe I could have a go at glass blowing, so I moved back to Penryn, and dad taught me how to do it. I could tell immediately that I would enjoy the whole process. It does take time to get a handle on it though; there is so much to learn.

The molten glass is in a crucible in the furnace and you gather it up on the end of a long blowing iron, which has a hole down its centre. It can take quite a bit of puff to blow the first bubble in the glass.

Once you have that first bubble you can work with the heat to blow it up further. You don’t want the molten glass to get too hot, though, or you lose control of the shape. It can be pretty hot in the studio, especially if it is a warm day, and the heat can be more tiring than anything else. In the winter time it is lovely though, it makes it really cosy in here.

Apart from my partner Tim and my dad, Anya is the only other person who has come to watch me work. It did feel quite different because I’m used to being here on my own, listening to music or the radio and getting into the zone.

It was fun though, she took her photographs while I was getting on with work. I was blowing droplet-shaped vases on the day she came around. I talked a lot about what I was doing, to explain things to Anya, and I found that helped me to focus on what I was doing. The pictures have come out really well, and really show what glassmaking involves.

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People Debbie Rudolph weaves intricate designs in bright colours

Debbie Rudolph, weaver Debbie Rudolph works from her shed in her back garden in Falmouth, weaving colourful designs on an old Swedish loom her husband found for her.

Debbie says: Anya saw my work through the Cornwall Craft Association and approached me to ask if she could photograph me at work. I went onto her website and had a look at her images first, be-

cause I do get approached by photographers quite a lot. Her work was so beautiful that of course I said yes.

I did my degree at Central St Martins in London, and then I had a studio in Hoxton in the East End of London which I shared with another artist. I then became a secondary school teacher, teaching art and textiles - and that took over for a while.

We moved down to Cornwall when I turned 40 and I said to my husband: ‘I haven’t done any weaving for a while, can I have a loom for my 40th birthday?’ so he found me one! It is lovely, it is Swedish and is 40 years old.

That was a year ago, and I have been weaving ever since. It was fantastic going back to it, a bit like riding a bike. It was a bit shaky at first, then it all came back to me. I love colour and I’m also inspired by the natural seaside here in Falmouth and the textures of the rocks. I’m experimenting with putting these colours together.

Anya came over for the morning and I showed her my studio where I work. She was very interested in the process of what I do and the tools I use and photographed all the bobbins, hanks of wool and cones. I left her on her own for a little while so she could have a look at everything and see what she wanted to photograph.

I love what she’s done. Her photographs have a certain warmth to them. They are timeless, but

contemporary at the same time. They somehow capture the tradition of the craft.

You have to concentrate closely on what you are doing while you are weaving. These are periods of fast action, then there are the slower, more reflective times. I think her photographs reflect both of those.

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10/06/2015 10:40:09

Interview

HI GH 16

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GHER fashion alkidan says: My story began in Ethiopia. I lived there until I was five years old when my parents moved to the UK, so I grew up as an Ethiopian girl in an English school. In Geography, we would study African history – children in my class would point at pictures of starving black children and call my name. For a long time, I felt disconnected from my roots and would hide them when I could.

In my early teens, I visited Ethiopia for the first time to see the house I’d lived in until we moved. It was made of mud, with no running water or electricity; very basic. For people who do not come from a migrant background I think it can be hard to imagine the overwhelming need for a human to relocate to a new country.

K

My parents brought me and my sister to the UK to seek a better life.

And we found one: I studied Politics, Philosophy & Economics at Exeter University; I grew plants in the community garden there, joined poetry groups and danced many nights away in town. I think for me Exeter is truly my home. That doesn’t come easily to say, as I have worked and lived in many countries.

But these days I make sure I return to Ethiopia once a year. Whenever I return I feel humbled. Life there is simple, people have time for each other, the air is clean and you feel time passing. I often wish I had cameras in my eyes, so I could show everyone what I see, such as old women spinning kilo after kilo of cotton with their thumbs, and haggling at markets

with young boys. I’ve often wondered how I can create a similar atmosphere and share the experience with people at home here.

This is what led me to start my fashion project. I’ve been inspired by the unseen and unknown beauty of African culture. I began sourcing garments from markets but realised if I could actually employ people over there, I could help them build sustainable lives.

Then I had the idea to set up a workshop for people to use their craft and get paid. People in Ethiopia are incredibly talented. They take such pride in their work and make beautiful hand-loomed scarves. I thought if I could provide a workshop where scarves could be handspun using wooden looms, the ancient tradition could be brought back to life. In Ethiopia, the

PHOTOGRAPHY: STEVE HAYWOOD

Kalkidan Legesse, 23, came to the UK from Ethiopia as a child.

Today, the Exeter University graduate is helping families in Africa through a remarkable fair-trade fashion business that she has set up with traditional weavers there. Here, she tells Claire Frances her inspirational and uplifting story

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Interview Xxxxxx Kaldikan (centre) is working directly with weavers in Ethiopia

For the team in Ethiopia, a steady job is a lifechanging opportunity

ETHIOPIA IMAGES: HAROUN AL-SHAATAR WWW.BROTHERBROTHER.CO.UK

‘I had to raise the money

somehow, so I set up a crowd-funding campaign to raise £10,000’

Kaldikan is only 23, yet runs a shop in Exeter selling Ethiopian fashion

average weaver’s wage is 400 birr a month, which is only £13. I wanted to pay the workers 2000 birr a month, but I needed to make sure I had the money and a sustainable way to do it all. I knew the weaving industry in Ethiopia was facing huge amounts of competition from imported clothes made in factories. The hand-looming technique has been around for thousands of years and I wanted to help keep it that way.

I had to raise the money somehow, so I set up a crowd-funding campaign with a company called Kickstarter, which attracts investment to help small businesses. I needed £10,000 to get the workshop up and running but I ended up raising £12,546 in just 26 days! Word soon spread

The Ethiopian craft of hand-weaving produces beautiful fabrics

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Fairer fashion The lowdown on the Sancho’s Dress project

Why Sancho’s Dress? Owner Kaldikan Legesse explains: “My family call me ‘Sancho’, it is a nickname given to chubby girls in Ethiopia. When I started I thought it would be a sweet name for an ethical brand.”

Opportunity: Kaldikan has set up a project to import Ethiopian hand-woven scarves and fashion items to her Exeter shop (pictured above) and the wider UK. Sustainable: The plan is to find profitable outlets for the fashion, allowing the weavers’ wages in Ethiopia to rise from £13 a month to around £65 a month.

Culture: Ethiopia has the oldest Christian civilisation in Africa and a rich cultural heritage, including a thousandyear-old tradition of hand weaving.

For details: Visit www.sanchosdress. com or call 01392 439145

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‘This project has given

joy to me, to our African weavers and to our supporters in Exeter’

and people rallied around to donate. I was overwhelmed when I realised I had reached above and beyond what I needed. It felt wonderful.

My plan is to move production from cities into rural areas and so the weaving team is based in the sleepy town of Debra Markos. Maaza is our head seamstress and a mother of five. Her whole family relies on her income. She has lived in Debra Markos for 22 years. This workshop will enable her to support her children and cover their school fees.

Another person in the team is Dawit, who is my cousin. He loves the good air, the forest and has friends in Debra Markos. He didn’t want to leave - so providing him with work means he can stay in the place he loves. Dawit graduated from Bahir Dar University and has a Bachelor’s degree in Agriculture - he’s a clever guy. There are very few job opportunities where he lives and a job organising our distribution is a good opportunity for him to build his future.

I’m working on the Winter 2015 collection now and hope to design them with some established designers. Our customers can expect some wonderful winter shawls which fall elegantly over the shoulder. The scarves will be in my Exeter store from October. I will also have a loom in the shop, so I can show customers how the scarves are made - they can even have a go themselves!

I would like to stock our scarves in more places in the South West. It is such a brilliant part of the country, full of people who care for the environment. I hope shop owners get in contact so I can start building relationships.

The success of this campaign gave so much joy to many groups of people; to me, to the weavers in Ethiopia and to our supporters. I will have to spend lots of time establishing the necessary systems and working with people directly. It’s a very exciting time.

I believe this project is empowering for everyone; the people who make the scarves as well as the people who wear them. I hope that in the future, young girls in Britain would be nothing but proud of their African origins – as I am today.

I will never hide my roots again.

Visit www.sanchosdress.com or visit the Exeter store at 126 Fore Street, 01392 439145

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Treat your Dad with the gift of flight this year!!

GIFT VOUCHERS FROM ÂŁ130 FOR 1 HOUR

French inspired interiors and home accessories

jazinteriors

Sunday June 21st 01752 894012 www.jazinteriors.co.uk 16 Fore Street Ivybridge PL21 9AB

Untitled-2 1

10/06/2015 15:31:13

Shed of dreams... The Cabin of the Green Man is among the finalists in the Shed of the Year competition

Shed time You really can turn that garden shack into your very own year-round personal retreat, says Gabrielle Fagan as she takes a look at this year’s Shed of the Year finalists ake your dreams off hold if you’re yearning for a quiet retreat or private space to enjoy that all too elusive ‘me time’, because it’s probably already right there under your nose at the end of your garden.

Turning your attention to the modest shed – surely wasted on spiders, a lawnmower and a clutter of discarded possessions – could pay unexpected dividends, providing that longed-for sanctuary for relaxing or hobbies.

If you’re still unconvinced of your shabbyshack’s potential, there’s plenty to inspire you in the finalists in the annual Cuprinol Shed of the Year competition. Entries range from the quirky to the captivating, including a beach hut built from debris washed up in a tidal surge, a cabin on wheels, an Art Deco-style retro diner and a Hobbit-style garden house, half-buried underground.

“Since launching the competition nine years

T

ago, I’ve certainly seen a trend towards people Sally Coulthard confirms the growing trend to viewing their shed as an extension of their recognise the value of sheds, or their more exhome,” says Andrew Wilcox, pensive alternatives, summer founder of the contest which houses, garden rooms and home will also feature in Channel offices.

Four’s Amazing Spaces series “In the last few years, sheds ‘Winners in the later this summer. have gone from being a niche “Our brilliant winners in the interest dominated by enthusipast have inpast have included a Roman asts to structures which are now cluded a Roman temple shed, a pirate shed and viewed as a real asset to a proptemple shed, a sheds with a pub or music theme. erty,” she says. “The trend reThere’s literally no limit to what flects the fact we’re more likely pirate shed and people can create, and it’s great to stay and improve our homes, sheds with a pub to see the great British shed getrather than move, and we’re or music theme’ ting the recognition it deserves.” looking to make the best use of Another source of inspiration every inch of space.” is a must-have guide for aspiring “After all, where else can you sheddies, Shed Decor: How To carve out a space that’s comDecorate And Furnish Your Favourite Garden pletely and utterly your own, decorate it as you Room (Jacqui Small, £25). The book’s author please and lock yourself away for hours relaxing

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PHOTO: CARINA OLANDER

Interiors

A rustic shed interior from Sally Coulthard’s book Shed Decor

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Interiors The American-styled Starliner Diner in Chichester, West Sussex is a Shed of the Year Finalist

or enjoying a hobby?”

The 21 million of us who already own one will spend up to a year of their lives in them, according to a survey by Cuprinol, splashing out hundreds of pounds doing them up.

Sally says there is good reason for doing this, because a shed can provide a room of your own in a crowded world.

“There’s something really important about creating a space in your life where you can be yourself,” she says.“Sheds give us the freedom and permission to do something that’s life-affirming, creative or just really good fun.”

A shed offers a space where you can experiment with decor, and make the interior as simple or elaborate as you like.

“One of the delights of working in a shed is a connection to nature and one of my favourite looks for an interior is rustic, because its palette is primarily neutral tones of natural materials,” says Sally.

“It’s a relaxed, unaffected style, and the key to creating it is combining rough-tough elements, such as sun-bleached timber and hard-wearing coir matting, with softer, more forgiving materials like linens and wools, and adding odd splashes of colour to enliven the scheme.”

If you’re working on an existing shed, start by giving it a makeover by painting the walls and the floor, she advises, and then kit it out with storage, maybe old fruit boxes or wooden trunks.

“A comfy chair or old sofa and accessories with a botanical theme, prints and cushions, to mirror the great outdoors, will conjure a peaceful space for a very small outlay.”

Wonky windows feature in the Pixie Cabin in Surrey, another finalist in the national contest

STYLE TIP: Go for a rustic look with natural

materials like sun-bleached timber and coir matting, complemented with splashes of colour

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Shop

GET THE

LOOK

Bring the great outdoors into your shed with these little touches Swirl hanging pots £12.99, www.dobies.com

Life is a Beach deckchair by artist Jacqueline Hammond £99.99, www.in-spaces.com

Pottering in the Shed sign £8, www.tch. net

Vintage Gardening Tools gardeners mug £8.50, Cornwall-based Laura Lee Designs

Harrietta Butterfly cushion £11, B&Q

Shed tidy £18.95, www.annabeljames.co.uk 25

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Gardens

ANNE SWITHINBANK

Herbal remedies Devon’s Anne Swithinbank, panellist on Radio 4’s Gardeners’ Question Time, on the best ways to raise culinary herbs e can all be good cooks but it’s always the extra flourishes and flavours that make for a memorable meal. The sweet tang of lemon thyme in a fish pie, basil in almost anything, a fried sage leaf garnish or mint in a potato salad are a just a few examples of the transformative role herbs have to play. I have fourteen different kinds of herb in our garden and this means I can snip some chives into an omelette, make a fresh parsley sauce or add thyme to the cooking oil for roast potatoes on a whim, without rushing out to the shops.

Culinary herbs divide into two basic categories depending on whether they are ‘green’ or shrubby. Some green kinds are annual or biennial, such as basil, parsley, coriander, dill and chervil. Coriander is famous for running up to seed and needs regular sowing for a steady supply. There are usually plenty of seeds in a packet and I find the best way is to space them 1cm/half an inch apart across the top of compost in a 25cm/10in pot, cover lightly with compost and germinate them in a greenhouse or out on a patio. You should get several cuts out of a variety like ‘Calypso’ until it runs up to seed. Other green herbs are perennial, like chives, fennel, sweet cicely, tarragon and mint. These are very often used fresh in dishes or added into cooking at the last minute.

By contrast, the shrubbier herbs such as rosemary, sage, thyme, bay, oregano (including marjoram) and lavender are tough evergreens from Mediterranean regions. There should be sprigs or leaves to harvest year round and these tend to be added early in the cooking stages, so their flavours permeate gradually into food. Perennial herbs are easy and long-lasting but not surprisingly, they like plenty of sun and rather poor, well-drained soils.

W

If, like me, you have a rich, moisture retentive soil, Mediterranean herbs put on too much soft sappy growth which, combined with high rainfall makes them more vulnerable to winter cold. As soon as your thymes, sages or lavenders have finished flowering, shear them back to just above the older wood. This causes lots of dense regrowth and makes for compact, more weatherresistant plants. I prefer to shear leggy rosemary

back in spring but bear in mind that none of these herbs are good at sprouting back from cuts made into thick old woody stems.

Whether your garden is minute or massive, herbs do well in containers parked by the kitchen door for convenience. Larger pots are less like hard work, so go for a minimum of 30cm/12in across the top for three plants, or 45-60cm/18-24in to take four to six. Buy what you like, put them in

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and you can always dig them out and move them around or plant them out as you go along. I’m a great one for doctoring proprietary potting composts and for herbs, I will combine half and half John Innes no 2 and a soilless mix and then use four parts of this to one of grit or sharp sand.

Mediterranean herbs look great mixed up in a potager, where they grow especially well along pathways where the drainage is a bit sharper, At this time of the year a mass of thymes and sage in full bloom look and smell fabulous. Herb flowers (especially borage) are most attractive to bees and butterflies and in late summer your marjoram will be alive with insects.

We’re spoilt here in the South West to have Bodmin Nursery on our doorsteps (01208 72837 www.bodminnursery.co.uk). This makes for a beautiful visit and they stock an amazing 400 different types of herb. I asked proprietor Mark Lawlor to recommend just one and he went for African Blue Basil. This is raised by cuttings rather than seed, reaches 1m high, yields plenty of deliciously aromatic leaves to flavour your tomatoes and produces flower spikes as showy as a blue salvia. Well worth a try.

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

• F eed established herbs in containers with a well balanced liquid feed monthly, as even though they tend to prefer poorer soils, they need norishment to keep them growing. They usually need to be dug out and replanted every two years.

• P lant mints into a designated bed because they are rampant and will

Question time with Anne West reader queries answered by Anne Swithinbank

Q

I have a small urban garden and need to make a tall screen at the end. As I want everything in my garden to be edible, I was hoping to try a row of fruit trees trained as cordons. Would this work, what do I ask for and where can I get them from?

Apples and pears in particular work well trained as cordons. These are essentially single main stems whose annual growth of leaves, blossom and fruit grow from spurs along their length.

In July or August, long side shoots are pruned hard back leaving behind the short spurs with fruits on them, reducing the cordons once more to narrow columns. You can allow them to grow as tall as you want (usually within arms reach) and you can plant them as close as 60cm/24in.

You can buy maiden (one year old) fruit trees on MM106 semi-dwarfing rootstock and train your own cordons, or buy them already trained as vertical cordons. The trees will need good soil (prepare now ready for planting in late autumn) with no trees or hedge on the other side of the boundary and you can choose varieties to crop gradually from early to late and that will pollinate each other. Try Thornhayes (01884 266746 www. thornhayesnursery.co.uk)

Q

spread. I restrict some to plunged pots with holes for drainage but not my favourite spearmint, as I hate to see it stunted. We use loads and even the flower spikes are bunched with cut flower.

• Sow dwarf French beans, lettuce, early carrot varieties such as ‘Nantes’, kohl rabi, perpetual spinach and Swiss chard.

When is the right time to clip box shapes such as balls and spirals?

For a good tight finish, I always think May and August are the best times. You can catch up by clipping over now, when the weather is dry and follow that up with another one in late August.

Later clips risk frost damage to new young shoots. Use a sharp pair of shears and lay an old sheet under the shapes to catch the trimmings.

Plant a large container with flamboyant ‘Victorian’ subtropical bedding. Use canna, eucalyptus, melianthus, dahlia, tibouchina or anything large, tender and glamorous.

Sow

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

biennials such as foxgloves, sweet rocket, honesty, wallflowers sweet Williams and for hot, dry places the amazing Salvia sclarea var.turkestanica (also known as sweaty Betty). I sow thinly into trays or pots and keep them in a shaded part of the greenhouse. Transplant singly to pots, plant out and they flower next year.

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Beauty

Tried

& tested

CLOSE SHAVE The argan oil in this shave gel (£9.95) by Rehab London can help revitalise skin affected by too much sun, pollution, stress or smoking.

Find at Boots

With next Sunday’s Father’s Day in mind, our beauty experts Catherine and Tilly Barnes pick the best man-treats on the market right now

MMM...

Aromatic woods, spice and pepper are the key notes of Solo Loewe Cedro, £59.50 at www. thefragranceshop.co.uk

GOOD GIFTS

SCRUB UP Prep skin for a smoother shave with a daily face scrub that gently exfoliates, £4.99 from The Real Shaving Company at Sainsbury’s and part of a three-step shave kit formulated for sensitive skin.

Best beards These products by spa specialist Elemis have been specifically formulated for male skin. This Jet Set Collection’s been put together especially for Father’s Day and in offer at John Lewis and Elemis salons throughout June at the special price of £38. Treat!

Big bushy beards are bang on trend, but they’re nicer soft than grizzly. Hydrate facial fuzz and your skin with Brisk’s beard shampoo (£4.99) and finish with a few drops of beard oil (£6.99) for a nourishing, grease-free finish. Find them at Boots.

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the review

Hair today...

Steven Vincent takes up West’s beach body challenge and books in for his first back wax if you enjoyed the feeling, but it certainly shouldn’t put you off waxing if you’ve been considering it.

It’s a relatively quick process, too – in where else.

30 minutes my back, shoulders and upper The usual places – nose, ears and eye- arms had been waxed silky smooth. It brows – are easy enough to deal with got the thumbs up from my partner, who myself but the straggly, errant hairs on couldn’t keep her hands off it... and even my back are a different challenge. While my daughter grudgingly conceded that it not excessive, they do looked “OK”. not look very nice, and My verdict? My back are a constant source of feels fantastic – it is disgust for my daughter, smooth and soft and yes, especially when she is on looks good, too. No way On the hairier sun cream duty on the was waxing as bad as I beach (“but your back is was led to believe and a parts of my all hairy, urgh!”). relatively short period of back, the pain So when a back wax minor discomfort is well did crank up a was offered up for grabs, worth it for the results. I I thought I’d see if it was will be going again. notch or two... the answer.

So come on chaps, Most men are familman up. We too can get iar with the tales of how beach body ready for the painful waxing is, but summer. it turned out, it’s very Beauty & Spa at Vaughan’s, much a pleasure and pain treatment. 39 Mayflower Street, Plymouth. The treatFirst of all, teatree cream was applied to ment costs £20 and takes about 30 minutes. my back – a rather soothing way to begin.

Even the application of the hot wax was nice in its own way.

I genuinely didn’t realise the first waxing strip was about to be ripped off.

All I felt was some slight pressure – then yank, it was off. Of course you feel it, but it was nowhere near as bad as I’d feared.

On the hairier parts of my back the pain did crank up a notch or two, but it was still nothing that could be considered unbearable; you would be slightly strange

S

Hair today Tame your hair the manly way with Devon’s own man-brand The Bluebeard’s Revenge. Slick and style with its pomade, paste or clay (£9.99 each) and then pretend your barnet just naturally grows that way. www.bluebeards-revenge.co.uk

NEATEN THOSE FEET Men, there’s no excuse for gnarly toes, and who’s to know that gave yourself a pedicure at home?

Slough of dry skin, buff and clip with this Micro Pedi Man kit (£29.99 from Boots) and there’ll be no need for Dad socks with sandals this summer.

ince hair gave up even attempting to grow on my head it hasn’t seemed to have had any trouble growing every-

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Want a review? Send your request to westmag@westernmorningnews.co.uk 29

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Beehive hat, £50, beach T-shirt dress, £38.50 reduced from £55, www.whitecompany.co.uk

Beach cool Relax with our guide to the best beachwear for grown-ups hen the sun comes out, thoughts naturally turn to seaside sojourns, even for those of us who are that bit too old for making sandcastles.

Instead of heading to tropical climes, we are crossing our fingers and hoping for some balmy weather here in the Westcountry.

After all, we do have some of the best beaches in the world, even if the water can be a bit chilly.

So what to wear? Beach fashion is an easy thing to get right with little ones, as bright colours and bold patterns always look cute in miniature. For the grown-ups, it can be a bit more tricky.

A sundress is a good choice for showing of a colourful pattern elegantly, partnered simply with a pair of flats and sunglasses. This zany leaf patterned number from M&Co is both flattering and comfortable. Or give easy East Coast chic an airing this side of the Atlantic with this Hampton stripe dress from Oliver Bonas.

Another way to wear pattern is on your swimsuit. White Stuff has used subtle colours to give tropical prints a new lease of life this season.

Their men’s trunks see the often garish Hawaiian prints reworked in subtle duck egg blues, lime green and pink. Comfort is as important as looks when it comes to dressing for the beach, and these two dresses by the White Company will slip on, slip off and take up no room at all in your beach bag. All you need to complete the look are sunglasses and a floppy hat.

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Fashion

Flamingo playsuit, £49.50, www.oliverbonas.com

Sundress,£25, M & Co stores and www.mandco.com

Tie-back jersey dress, £75, White Company store in Exeter and www.whitecompany.co.uk

Reversible stripe tote, £35, www.oliverbonas.com

Broderie anglaise Paradise dress, £54.95, White Stuff stores and www.whitestuff.com

Hampton stripe dress, £49.50, www.oliverbonas.com

Sunglasses, £18, www.oliverbonas.com

He wears Hawaiian swim shorts, £29.95, she wears a tropical butterfly swimsuit, £35, White Stuff, www.whitestuff.com 31

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Trend Top, River Island Princesshay, £22 Trousers, River Island Princesshay, £35

MAIN PHOTO HAIR: SAKS PLYMOUTH, EXETER MAKEUP: CLARINS, DEBENHAMS (BOTH PRINCESSHAY) PHOTOGRAPHY: STEVE HAYWOOD STILL-LIFE PHOTOGRAPHS: PR SHOTS

HOW TO WEAR IT:

Shoes, River Island Princesshay, £50

White on white Kathryn Clarke-Mcleod finds it’s all white on the night (and in the day) y favourite thing about this outfit?

I think I look rich. We’re talking space for three cars, restaurants for lunch, never been to Tesco kind of rich. I wish. My life is more the onstreet parking, Pot Noodle, clubcard points variety but hey, fake it ‘til you make it they say.

White on white is big news right now, and for good reason. It is flattering for a wide range of skin tones and hair colours, it’s simple to assemble, and needn’t cost the earth.

It’s useful too. Even in the throes of the most hyped up heat waves, England seems to have a remarkably stubborn cool breeze.

White cropped trousers and a strappy vest is a good solution to this situation. You still look Note the lovely summery, but your pins remain looseness of this snugly tucked away. Stuff a textured wrap in your bag to drape outfit. Key words elegantly over your shoulders if for your white the mercury scoots even lower. ensemble are It’s also a good bet to go from day to night. There are few out‘skim’, ‘graze’ and fits that are prim and chic in the drape’ day, yet allow you to glow like an peek out playfully while the high angel in a dimly-lit cocktail bar. neck vest exposes just the right Here are a few tips. White amount of skin. is not usually touted as a slimNote too, the lovely looseness ming colour, that honour belongs to its cousin, of this outfit. Key words for this ensemble are black. But work it just right and you can look ‘skim’, ‘graze’, and ‘drape’. This top is the perfect like you have just come back from a week-long example, it cascades down my front in a soft line, five star Ayrevedic spa detox (or in my case some not stopping to embrace a single stubborn lump.

YouTube yoga and a kale juice) Bliss. The trousers are tailored and even have If you want to look smaller when wearing nifty vertical seams to draw eyes up and down, white, think about your bones. Ankle bones instead of across. and collar bones are feminine and alluring, and Celebs who have made this look their own inthe smallest peek of these can make you seem clude Jessica Alba and Kristin Cavallari. Both delicate and slimmer. This outfit is the perfect employed ankle-grazing white skinnies and built double threat, cropped trousers allow ankles to on them, which is what I suggest you do too. It’s

M

also important to remember ‘white’ is a bit of a grey area, and anything nude or pale thrown into the mix will get you the same style points. Kristin wore hers with a pale fawn tank and cream heels while out shopping, while Alba was evening-appropriate in a diamond white collared blouse.

The final thing to remember? Keep texture in mind. Mix denims with silk, and soft cottons with luxurious leather. Layer them together for a look that speaks of a daily blowdry appointment at the gorgeous Saks in Exeter (or Plymouth). Or in my case a weekly appointment. Hey, a woman has needs.

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

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NEXT Sheer V-panel dress £65

NEXT crochet top £34

GET THE

look NEXT crochet trim top £28

HOBBS Bella sandals £129 EAST Silk blend pom pom scarf £35

RIVER ISLAND Bag £47 Shoes £50 Glasses £10

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09/06/2015 17:21:00

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

TAKE TO

THE WATER SURF SCHOOL Young people with learning disabilities can have free taster surf lessons at Saunton Sands, Polzeath and Bigbury, thanks to the charity Life Works UK. This year’s diary dates are June 27, July 5 and July 19. Discovery Surf at Bigbury who are offering the surf lessons also specialise in one-toone surf lessons for people with disabilities throughout the year - looks fun, doesn’t it? For more information, see the website of Dartington-based charity www.lifeworks-uk.org and www.discoverysurf.com.

Head out on a three-hour evening canoe safari in Devon with qualified instructors from the Axe Vale Canoe Club and East Devon District Council wildlife rangers. A riverside picnic’s included in the price (£30 adults/£20 under 16s) and booking is essential for the June 29, July 30 August 27 dates. Call 01395 517557.

Dive in Now you can’t blame poor eyesight for not getting in the swim. Sportviz makes prescription inserts of a uniform size to fit its range of specialist masks and goggles (from swimming and paintballing to skydiving). Prices start at £25 for single vision lenses. Once you’ve bought the specs, they’ll clip into whichever goggles suit your chosen activity.

These cost from £24.95 each - a great option for sports addicts, see www.sportviz.co.uk

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OPERATION HAIR

Repair Lindsay Lohan, Gemma Collins and Katie Price are among the celeb fans of Hairburst, a daily food supplement formulated to give your locks strength and shine and improve skin. Containing selenium, zinc and calcium and vitamins A,B, C and D, they’ve just gone on sale at Holland and Barrett and a cost £24.99 for a month’s supply.

Ramble Stretch your legs and explore the sites of ancient settlements on a guided walk with National Trust rangers and archaeologist Peter Herring over Rough Tor, Bodmin Moor on June 21.

The three-hour ramble is free to join, but places must be booked in advance by calling 01208 863048

GET A LIFT A bra in a jar? Well, maybe.

Temple Spa’s Bosom Pal’s been formulated to firm, tone and maintain the elasticity of the skin around your breasts. £39 at www.templespa.com

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

@WMNWest or email westmag@westernmorningnews.co.uk 35

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Wellbeing

‘He doesn’t understand’ Expert advice for your relationship: My sister died from cancer a year ago. She was far too young, a lovely person and we were really close. I’m finding it so hard to come to terms with losing her. My problem is my partner, who I’ve been with for five years. I thought he would understand that I need support at a time like this, but the other day he said I should just put it behind me! This made me feel really angry and let down. Is there anything I can do to resolve the way I feel?” SA, Truro

Q

Counsellor Tricia Moore says: The loss of someone very close to you is particularly hard to deal with, leaving you with so many confused feelings and unanswered questions. It affects all other areas of your life, and most relationships are challenged at these times.

Working through the grieving process for someone who has been a constant presence all your life and shared your family history can take a long time.

You have probably already experienced the shock and sense of disbelief and denial; you may have felt angry at what happened; wrestled with the ‘whys,’ ‘what ifs’ and ‘if only’ questions.

You may have felt depressed, or perhaps still do. Each person goes through these stages

in their own way and reaches the final stage and excluded from your life at the moment. of acceptance of the loss in their own time.

It might help if you could find the right time Sometimes it can take years. really to talk to him about how you’re feeling Your partner, who has only known you for five so that he feels included. It may be hard for years, was probably kind and supportive a year you to hear that he misses the good times you ago, but now doesn’t understand where you are used to have, but he is also affected by your in your feelings, so doesn’t know how to help grief and has his own feelings. Sharing each you. He didn’t share the same other’s feelings will help you closeness with your sister, so to communicate at a deeper can’t share the same sense of level than you may have done He may, in loss. He may, in fact, be feeling up to now. He might even be fact, be feeling his own sense of loss of the able to help you create a way of happy person he used to have in remembering your sister in the his own sense you. good times: a photo-montage, of loss, of the At the moment you feel angry or special place in the garden with him for suggesting you perhaps. happy person should be able to put it all The grief process will take its he used to have behind you. It must have seemed own time, but if your partner in you as though he wasn’t willing to can be on your side rather than support you in your grief, as apart from you, you will feel though he was not there for you. happier, more supported and Bereavement challenges a relationship may have a stronger relationship in the end. because it tests the foundations you have built I would certainly recommend that you see a together, some of which may be based on your bereavement counsellor, who can help you work expectations of what a partner should be. through your feelings. It may help you both Perhaps you assumed he would understand to look up The Kublar Ross model of the Five your feelings and would be patient enough to Stages of Grief, to understand more about what help you through them. In reality, unless he you are going through.

Tricia Moore is a counsellor for national charity has experienced something similar, he doesn’t Marriage Care in Plymouth understand, and probably feels a bit helpless

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Stars

Your stars

by Cassandra Nye This week’s sign:

Happy birthday to...

Geminis with birthdays this week are born under Gemini’s sun sign. Playful individuals with a youthful outlook, they like to do the opposite of what’s expected of them

Aidan Turner born June 19, 1983 This year’s been a turning point in the career of Irish-born Aidan Turner. Having appeared in TV’s Being Human and the film of The Hobbit, he’s now the swooned-over heartthrob Ross Poldark in the Cornish costume drama that hit our screens this March. Word is, there are five more series in the pipeline.

GEMINI (May 22 - June 21) There seem to be more questions than answers this week. Who is asking these questions? You are! Who is best to answer them? You are! So, give yourself time to think and be honest about what you really want. We all feel insecure sometimes, but why worry about what you cannot change? There, another question! The New Moon shines a light in dark corners. Look by all means, but then step out into the sunshine.

CANCER (June 22 - July 22) The day that you try to please everyone is the day that confusion gets the better of you. Don’t let it. A natural charm cannot help but attract others to you. They come from out of your usual circle.

LEO (July 23 - August 23) Good things that happen this week will take you by surprise (well, not so much now that I have told you!) Let these balance out any thoughts of an immediate change.

Your working life in particular could take a different tack after the New Moon midweek.

VIRGO (August 24 - September 23) Do you feel as though you are being pulled in all directions? Although you love lots going on around you, it can be confusing. After the New Moon midweek the mist clears a bit. Give a better chance of things going your way by accepting and issuing invitations.

LIBRA (September 24 - October 23) Making the most of your health and diet choices is essential. Even small changes can make a big difference. If you need to look out for someone else who is not well, then think about yourself also.

SCORPIO (October 24 - November 22) Your thoughts are very much on the future. Some changes are needed but that is a natural thing and not to be fussed about. It is normally the case that when you make a decision you feel much better afterwards. Try reading between the lines when it comes to love.

SAGITTARIUS (November 23 - December 21) Communications are so important this week. An opportunity at the weekend sees you hesitate, which is sensible.

Speak to others on a basic and clear level. If you see where others are ‘coming from’, a problem is very soon resolved.

CAPRICORN (December 22 - January 20) It is not surprising that you feel like partying. Time may be short but it is best not to curb your instinct on this.

There are times when it is essential to just have some fun! However, don’t be too rash with your finances!

AQUARIUS (January 21 - February 19) There is quite a steep learning curve emotionally this week. That is good as it clears up any misunderstandings. Stay away from frustrated feelings by realising that you are, indeed, moving forward.

Meanwhile Aidan has just completed filming a movie, The Secret Scripture. Geminis are often led by their whims, but welcome change and relish new challenges. They are typically charming and have a way with words: Aiden says he is besotted with longterm girlfriend, actress Sarah Greene, who’s set to make her Hollywood debut in film Adam Jones with Jamie Dornan and Bradley Cooper. Here’s wishing Aidan a happy 32nd birthday this Friday.

PISCES (February 20 - March 20) If you are slimming this week, don’t overdo it. Generally, so many possibilities are open to you that it is hard to choose one over another. Nibble as many cherries as possible before you choose which to accept. Need advice?

Look for someone who has been there before and succeeded.

ARIES (March 21 - April 20) It’s a bright week with a stunning New Moon for starters. Finances are highlighted, giving the chance of a few extra pennies in your pocket! A few sharp words with a friend or colleague leave a bad taste in your mouth. However, in the longer term this will make your relationship much better.

TAURUS (April 21 - May 21) It would be a dull Taurean who did not ‘go for it’ this week. If changes are needed, look at them as fine-tuning rather than something going wrong. It always pays to be a little flexible in business matters, especially with a New Moon in progress.

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Blacks Delicatessen, Chagford

My Secret Westcountry Michael Jecks Author (and part-time Morris dancer) Michael Jecks writes his bestselling medieval murder mysteries from his home in Dartmoor. He has just published Blood On The Sand, the second in his action-packed trilogy set during the Hundred Years War

My favourite...

Walk: One of the main inspirations for my books is Dartmoor.

I’ve always loved walking over the moors, and have done for as long as I can remember. It’s the special peace you get up there. You can park the car, walk for a few minutes in any direction and immediately get a wonderful sense of calmness (unless it’s a Tuesday and the RAF are road-testing a new jet overhead). I like to stand still, close my eyes and just listen to the larks and the wind soughing through the grasses. It’s magical.

Beach: My family often go to Black Rock at Widemouth Bay. The kids have fun with their body boards or rock pooling, while I get in some serious ball-throwing for the Dalmatian we adopted this year. It makes a nice change from my Ridgeback, who looks on with contempt at dogs playing ‘fetching’ games!

Activity: I try to take the dogs out for at least five miles every day. It’s an hour and a half in the morning that clears my mind, lets me deal with emails and essentials, and then I can focus on my work for the rest of the day. As a founder member of the Tinners’ Morris side, I’m also an enthusiastic (if not great) dancer. We dance regularly at pubs and festivals and it’s always 38

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People

Devon Blue cheese

The view of Thatcher’s Rock, Torquay

Tavistock’s Bookstop

Michael loves countryside walks

hugely enjoyable.

Food: I like using local plants in my sourdough bread - I make two loaves a week and it’s always good to try experimenting with different flavours. Wild garlic with Quickes cheddar is highly recommended! I have been told that I should cut back, but with Yarg, Cornish Brie, Devon Blue, Sharpham Rustic… well, if I am allowed just one failing, it’ll be cheese. I try to get to Blacks Deli in Chagford for my foodie fixes whenever possible.

Drink: Look, I’m a Morris dancer. My tipples have to be good, old-fashioned stuff. I love most beers, anything from the small brewers like the Dartmoor Brewery, but mostly darker ale-style beer. Years ago, when I used to come to Devon on holidays, I’d visit Gray’s Farm for cider and I still love real cider, whether from Winkleigh or Sandford. Our village has a cider press, so we make our own at home. It’s potent, though – drink with caution!

Pub: The King’s Arms and The Oxenham Arms in South Zeal and The Taw River Inn at Sticklepath are hard to beat. I’m very fond of The Tom Cobley Tavern at Spreyton and the The Duke of York Inn at Iddesleigh. It seems hard, nowadays, to find a bad pub in Devon, really. They all have their own charm and for

me, the older the better. I am a historian, after all.

The Tom Cobley Tavern, Spreyton, is just one of Michael’s favourite pubs

On the agenda: As an avid reader of

classical crime stories, one of the places I’ve always wanted to visit is Burgh Island Hotel. I love the look of the place, and you can imagine Poirot or Lord Peter Wimsey walking the corridors and meeting you.

Shop: It’s so sad that we have lost so many independent bookshops in recent years. It’s wonderful to see a few surviving, by being different. I like Bookstop in Tavistock in particular, because they work so hard to try to get readers in, and promote reading so well. Plus, it’s such a Dickensian shop, with little staircases and

rooms all higgledy-piggledy. You never know what you’ll find round the next corner.

Special place: When I started writing, I was lucky to get two good agents. One, Dot Lumley, was a good friend as well as a brilliant agent, but she sadly died last year. She was buried in an open field overlooking Torquay, a town she adored.

I’m looking forward to sitting looking at that view soon and remembering her.

Michael Jecks will be signing copies of Blood On The Sand (Simon & Schuster £14.99) at Waterstones branches in Exeter and Plymouth on Thursday June 18. There’s also a chance to meet him at the Sidmouth Book Festival next Saturday (June 20).

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Ingredient of the Week

Mint

with Tim Maddams ardeners are respectable folk. I admire their patience, their long view, their unshakable belief that it’s worth it, regardless of the effort involved. They seem to me to spend every minute of their spare time digging, tilling, tending, potting on, planting out, weeding, training, watering, sowing and harvesting.

Somehow they always seem to be able to pull all this off without become rushed, stressed or disheartened. I suspect this has a lot to do with working closely with nature – I very occasionally come close to this state of mind when I am out foraging for mushrooms or whatever.

But, like all of us, even talented gardeners have their blind spots, one being their wisdom on so-called ‘invasive’ plants which are liable to take over your patch at the slightest provocation. Mint is supposedly one such. You read many dire warnings about how it will pop up where you don’t want it. Yet I find that this supposedly rampant herb simply won’t grow anywhere in my garden. At first I was careful, introducing a few stems with roots from my

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mother-in-law’s annoyingly productive patch, in a pot so it wouldn’t ‘take over the world’ as I was warned. It died. I have since made various attempts at getting this supposedly triffid-like evil overlord of the herb garden to take root in our garden and it never pans out.

The big problem with this is I love mint. I use it in all sorts of culinary ways, from green sauce to gin and tonic, breads, salads, desserts and teas. Mint is my all-time favourite herb and as such I want it in the garden. No joy on that front though but happily most people have too much (the swines!) and so I get to pinch plenty from friends and neighbours, whether they notice or not.

Mint has various health benefits too. It contains rosemarinic acid and menthol for a start, the one a powerful anti-inflammatory and the other a bonus if you have a cold. It’s well known for calming the stomach and many people regularly use mint as an aid to their digestion. So gardeners, if you find it’s getting a little too friendly, well, you may know someone who will happily take it off your hands...

Mint imperial At this time of year mint is at its best, fresh, pungent, vibrant and all the other words that don’t quite seem to cover it.

It is finding its way into my broad bean hummous, pasta with asparagus, new potatoes, apple and strawberry smoothies, jellies, ice creams, sandwiches and more.

I love to dress the leaves in handful loads with salad dressing and garnish sandwiches and grilled meats with it. I also love to make a chilled mint tea for evening quaffing or lunchtime thirst-quenching. Try mint with gooseberries or rhubarb.

Chuck it in salads, toss it into stir fries and sprinkle it on pizzas as a finishing touch. @TimGreenSauce

Tim Maddams is a Devon chef and writer who often appears on the River Cottage TV series 40

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Drink These days, you can find some interesting ales in the supermarket aisles

Beer of the week Love an IPA, I do, and this week I’ve been enjoying Arbor Ales’ Half-Day IPA, from Bristol. It describes itself as an American IPA, and although there are delicious tropical fruit hop notes, there is balancing biscuit malt base which is more in the British style. But who’s quibbling: it’s tasty and very drinkable.

Quality control Skinner’s Brewery, in Truro, has been carrying out a series of marketing events which have taken the form of blind tasting sessions, to gauge honest feedback about the quality of the beers. What a great idea. The latest of these involved CAMRA Kernow members, who took the challenge very diligently, as well as enjoying some of Steve Skinner’s famous hospitality! Be interesting to find out what the feedback was.

Darren Norbury

talks beer oat’s milk. That my most common reason for visiting a supermarket, I kid you not (sorry!). Writing in the paper that champions local food and drink and its producers, I’d love to be able to go to one of my local farm shops and buy Cornish goat’s milk. But can I find any? Can I ’eck.

Still, the trip provides me with the opportunity to loiter for a little while in a beer aisle, and I’m pleased to report that things are looking better.

Generally, down here, Cornish beer is on the up, whereas Cornish goat’s milk is a no-show.

I’m particularly impressed at the moment with Marks & Spencer, or M&S as we must call the place these days, the ampersand having built up its part in so many modern corporate identities.

They have a new craft beer range, of which Fourpure Session IPA is the star for me so far.

It’s in a can which means it’s fresh as the day it went in there, with no danger of light damage, and it is bitter, hoppy and clean. Get these in for the barbie. A close second and totally different in style is the Battersea Rye, made by Sambrook’s, another London brewer. The malt’s the star here, as the name suggests, but there’s spiciness from the hop and such a lovey full body. This will work well with charcuterie meats.

Over at the Co-Op they’ve not gone so much

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crafty, rather than place the emphasis on local quality. Their new beer shelves have more regional beers, which vary depending upon where one is shopping in the country.

Down here, my recommendations would be St Austell Proper Job, Butcombe Brunel IPA, and International Beer Challenge gold medallist Gem, from Bath Ales.

I’ll be honest. Most of the time I’d rather drink my beer in a pub, where the product is fresh and looked after, but most pubs have narrow choices of beer and, of course, many brewers can’t get into pubs, either because of competition or restrictive beer lists. So their best route to the consumer is via shop shelves, whether that be a supermarket listing (which is not easy to achieve – the buyers are very choosy) or one of the increasing number of independent beer shops or online retailers. Products in bottles and cans are very much part of the current beer revolution.

Explore your local store shelves and you may be surprised at what you find.

In the meantime, if anybody knows of somewhere in west Cornwall where I can lay my hands on local goat’s milk, drop me a Tweet.

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

CORNISH FESTIVALS No sooner is the St Ives beer festival out of the way than we’re looking ahead to more gatherings. This month, there’s the Watermill festival, at Lelant Downs, from June 19-21, and a three-day event from June 26-28 at the Cornwall CAMRA pub of the year, the Hole in the Wall, Bodmin.

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Food ally mac’s

Blueberry and poppy seed buckwheat cake

Ally says: Many things can be resolved with kindness and even more with laughter but there are some things that just require cake. And this is what I am introducing to you this week.

This little beauty takes just five minutes to make and 35 minutes to bake, tastes amazing and, best of all, is really good for you. Not only that, but the ‘trickiness level’ of the recipe is super low, and you can eat this cake warm straight from the oven. One of the ingredients is fruit, and I have included two options here. I originally made the cake with blueberries, but I have also had success making it with a combination of apples and dates.

I have experimented with coconut flour and almond flour for gluten-free cakes before and they really struggle to provide any of the ‘fluffiness’ of a cake made from wheat flour. I have had better results, though, with buckwheat flour, which I have used to bake this cake.

Despite the name, buckwheat is no relation of wheat and is instead related to sorrel and rhubarb! This means buckwheat can be eaten by those with coeliac disease or gluten intolerance. Not only that, but it is high in protein, rich in iron, zinc and selenium, and contains a large amount of antioxidants. So it is a perfect ingredient for your gluten-free baking.

gluten free!

You will need: 1½ cups buckwheat flour ½ cup organic olive oil (I use Greek) ¾ cup homemade almond milk ½ cup coconut sugar (or 1/2 cup of pure maple syrup) 2 organic eggs 1 tsp baking powder 2 tbsp poppy seeds ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda ½ tsp cider vinegar ¾ cup blueberries (or 1 grated apple, 6 chopped medjool dates and 1 tsp cinnamon powder)

Method: Mix all the wet ingredients together except your choice of fruit.

Bake in the oven at 170C oven for 35 minutes or until firm.

Sift the buckwheat flour into the wet ingredients and stir them together so they are well combined.

Allow your cake to cool for five minutes before taking a bite of this absolutely guilt-free goodness.

Add the fruit and mix again thoroughly.

Pour your mixture into a greased and lined tin (I used a 10 inch circular one).

@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 42

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Days out

[

VILLAGE CRICKET

Leather on willow

[

With the annual Helpful Holidays charity match in the offing, Catherine Barnes celebrates the joy of Westcountry cricket with this look at how to stage the perfect village cricket match

e’ll confess when it comes to the rules of the game, cricket renders us completely stumped. But what joy upon joy is the Pimms tent and the post-match tea. Throw in some live jazz, stripy deckchairs, a gaggle of girlfriends and the excuse to wear a pretty frock and you have the perfect summer’s day.

There’s an annual charity match in Chagford about which they might have invented the word ‘quintessentially’ especially for the English dictionary. The bunting-fringed village cricket pavilion and its baize-smooth green are set in some of the most beautiful countryside in Britain.

“On a sunny day,” says match organiser Helen Hayes, “You couldn’t get a better setting.”

Helen is coordinating this year’s charity friendly, which pits Helpful Holidays, the Westcountry lettings company that The buntinghas its HQ in the village, against fringed cricket a team fielded by celebrity chef

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[[ pavilion and its baize-smooth green are set in beautiful countryside

Michael Caines from neighbouring luxury hotel Gidleigh Park.

Well, they call it a friendly, but the chaps (girls are welcome to play too, but only one yet has, in the event’s history) can get pretty intense about the game. Staff, friends and family are called upon to take part: “It’s very competitive,” laughs Helen. “They take it VERY seriously.”

And Michael Caines – who has been called into

bat on a number of occasions – agrees. “Despite the fundraising, it’s always a competitive day and brings out the competitive spirit of the two teams whose pride is very much at stake,” he says. “It’s a great event to do and to raise money for great charities.”

Next Sunday (Father’s Day, howzat for timing?) will see the fourth annual match between the teams - and it’s become a much looked-forward to fixture. Each year, the event raises money for 43

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Days out

Cricket

An idiot’s guide

Farms For City Children is the charity to benefit from the cricket match

one of Helpful Holidays’ three favourite causes, including The Devon Air Ambulance and Marine Conservation Society.

This summer’s match will raise funds for Farms for City Children. This is Devon author Michael Morpurgo’s project, which has given thousands of vulnerable youngsters a life-changing experience of life in the countryside. “Helpful Holidays have been enthusiastic and devoted supporters of Farms for City Children for many years,” Michael Morpurgo says. “No charity can survive without this kind of generosity.”

Michael and the bestselling author Jilly Cooper have donated signed copies of their books, as part of an amazing trove of raffle prizes, which also include lunch for two at Michelin-starred Gidleigh Park and cookery courses at River Cottage.

The cricket match begins at 1pm and it’s hoped that hundreds of people will be inspired to come and watch – and be forgiven a post-Pimms forty winks in the sunshine.

There’s no charge to get in, so it’s up to spectators to rise to the occasion, dig deep and buy lots of raffle tickets, as well as indulge in a Gidleighmade cream tea. You’ll be supporting a wonderful charity – which runs three farms, including Nethercott House near Iddesleigh.

“Three thousand children a year come to our farms,” explains Michael. “So to have a charity cricket match run for the benefit of all those children, is simply wonderful – and in such a beautiful place. It’s a joy and a real treat for us. Thanks to Helpful Holidays for being, well.... so helpful.”

Visit www.helpfulholidays.com and www. farmsforcitychildren.org

All in a good cause The cricket match will raise money from a charity raffle. You can buy tickets (£2 each) on the day or in advance by calling call the Helpful Holidays office on 01647 433593. For more details visit www. helpfulholidays.com.

Feeling lucky? Here are just some of the fabulous raffle prizes you could win: •

A £250 voucher towards a Helpful Holidays Cottage stay of your choice

•

Lunch for two at Michael Caines’ 2 Michelin-starred hotel, Gidleigh Park

•

A signed copy of Pinocchio by Michael Morpurgo

•

A wood-fired oven cookery class for a family of four at Manna From Devon

•

A day’s cookery course of your choice at River Cottage, near Axminster.

•

A signed copy of Made In Britain by Adrian Sykes

•

A signed copy of Animals In War by Jilly Cooper

•

Champagne afternoon tea for four at Bovey Castle

•

A large Hillside cheeseboard and cutlery.

•

A return river trip for two adults and three children from Truro Quay to Falmouth on the King Harry Ferry.

Entry to the Helpful Holidays V Gidleigh Park cricket match at Chagford Cricket Club, (TQ13 8AS) is free and everyone is welcome. The gates open at 12.30pm on Sunday June 21.

Cricket is the most complicated sport to explain to the uninitiated, especially when they ask how can a match last five days and still end in a draw? And why do both teams wear the same colour (white)?

Firstly there are two teams of 11 people.

One team bats, with two batsmen at a time trying to hit a rock-hard red ball with a willow bat to score runs until they are out. The other team fields, which sees all 11 players try to stop the batsmen scoring runs by getting them out.

Once the batting team has lost ten wickets they go into the pavilion and stuff their face for a period of time (known as tea) before the other team goes out to bat to try and surpass the opposition’s total.

You score runs by: Boundaries In a Four the ball goes over the boundary rope, in a Six it goes over the rope without a bounce Running The batsman runs 22 yards between the stumps Extras The bowler’s error, sending the ball wide or in front of the line.

There are 10 possible ways of getting wickets: (Relax – these three are the most common) Bowled Bowler hits the batsman’s stumps (those three wooden things on the pitch) Caught Someone catches the ball.

LBW Leg Before Wicket – a batsman puts his leg in front of the stumps.

(with thanks to Western Morning News sports reporter David Sillifant)

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Shop Striped paper bunting £3 Sainsburys

Pimms bowl and ladle £70 www.occa-home.co.uk

House of Foxy tie neck blouse £48 www.20thcenturyfoxy.com

Vintage

wicket

House of Foxy swing dress and bolero £15 www.20thcenturyfoxy. com

If you’re thinking of coming along to the Chagford match next weekend, or staging your own in your village, here’s what you need

Cardboard picnic box £5 The Contemporary Home www.tch.net

Jolly Stripe picnic blankets £70 each www.berryred. co.uk

Fun cricket bat and ball £4 www.tigerstores.co.uk

Quirky Terms

Yes, you too can seem to know what you’re talking about:

Golden duck Batsman out first ball Maiden An over with no runs scored Beamer A ball that doesn’t hit the pitch Chinese cut Lucky shot which misses the stumps

Cow corner An inconvenient area of the field where the ball often goes

Pie-chucker A bowler who is regarded to be poor

Dolly A simple catch

Perfume-smeller Ball which whizzes past the batsman’s nose

Howzat? What the bowler says when appealing to the umpire for a wicket

Stonewaller Batsman who tries to stay in without scoring runs

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My life

[

[

man and boy

Ignorance is bliss

Phil Goodwin , father of James, on the joy of not having a clue o you ever wish that you were better informed? Not me. Uh-uh.

I am on the road to blissful ignorance. A strange wish for a man of the media, you might think. After all, we are supposed to be a fount of knowledge not a deep well of dumbness.

But while reading a feature on Irish writer Colm Tóibín recently I experienced something of an epiphany. The author, a man whose books I rate highly, was talking to The Telegraph about how he spends his days in rural County Wexford: his walks, his fondness for fry-ups over health food and the battle to overcome laziness, sit down and write stories. This was all fascinating but what really grabbed my attention was the fact that he gets by without television or internet and only reads the literary pages of the newspapers.

The degree of his detachment from modern life left me awestruck. Get this: up until the aftermath of the general election, this erudite and worldly wordsmith was totally and completely unaware of the existence of the former Labour Shadow Chancellor, Ed Balls.

As a news reporter, you are required to keep abreast of current affairs. To be up to date on what’s happening in the world of politics, sport, entertainment and so on. It is impossible to do my job unless you are ‘across’ the issues. How else would you know what was new? This is one of the few jobs where you can get away with reading the papers when you arrive at work without fear of the sack. Naturally, the profession tends to attract those like myself, who are more or less news junk-

D

ies. But with the proliferation of 24-hour TV news, Twitter and Facebook, not to mention the fiendishly clever lures of online ‘clickbait’, you often feel like you are over-faced with news. Like you just know too much stuff. Even worse, you can rarely experience the joy of telling someone something they didn’t know – breaking news, you might say – because we are all at it. And that is precisely why Colm’s wonderful ambivalence is so refreshing.

[

Nevertheless, he thought that Balls was an insulting nickname for the younger Miliband brother. Brilliant.

[

Now don’t get me wrong, I have got nothing against Ed Balls. I met him for a chat at Exeter airport in the run-up to the election and found him to be a warm and friendly guy. You get a straight answer, if not always to the question you asked. That’s just politics. Of course, I picked out his unmistakable figure and quiff as he strolled across the airport concourse in overcoat and red tie. And this is where Colm and I differ. This is what the scribe said of the revelation that Balls was, in fact, flesh and blood: “I honestly thought up until the election that Ed Balls was a name people used for Ed Miliband when they wished to insult him.”

Isn’t that fantastic? Perhaps the presence of two Eds on the Opposition front bench was confusing. Nevertheless, he thought Balls was an insulting nickname for the unloved younger Miliband brother. Brilliant.

If we are honest, we must all know plenty of people we would rather we had never heard of. We are not so tolerant in private. I am reminded of the internet meme that is always telling us we can’t ‘unsee’ something truly terrible on which we have just clicked. Perhaps, like the film Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, where Jim Carey erases the memory of a failed relationship, we could one day delete the cerebral ‘cookies’ we no longer require. Tired of Katie Hopkins? Give her the kai-bosh! Bored with Brand or Bieber? Give them the big heaveho. Imagine how much money you could make with a such a powerful gizmo.

The Westminster wipe-out programme alone could buy you a Premier League club.

Who did you say? Ed Balls?

Never heard of him, mate.

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