West Magazine, June 4 2016

04.06.16

Love, Nina Our brand new literary crush

10

Looks in lilac you’ll adore

How to:

embrace

pencil skirts The timeless style classic

Pixie takes on

TIFFANY’S ‘It was obviously meant to be!’

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W here Memories Are Made

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‘To play Holly Golightly really is the dream role for me to take on for my first play. I feel incredibly lucky’’

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A PLACE TO PAMPER How to make your bathroom beautiful

Pixie Lott is starring in Breakfast at Tiffany’s to the Theatre Royal in Plymouth, p16

12 42

LOVELY NINA We meet Truros’ literary superstar

WEEKENDS AWAY The perfect Westcountry mini-break

[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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LOVELY NINA We meet Truro’s new literary star

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A VISION IN LILAC This summer’s sweetest shade

PIXIE IN PLYMOUTH Pixie Lott as you’ve never seen her before

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BEAUTIFUL BATHROOMS How to make yours look gorgeous

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ABSOLUTE BEGINNERS Expert advice for garden novices

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A VISION IN LILAC Fabulous fashion for summertime

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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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PUB OF THE YEAR Has your local won this time?

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WEEKENDS AWAY Great ideas for the perfect mini-break

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BETTER LATTE THAN NEVER...

Chris McGuire goes out for coffee

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SECRET WESTCOUNTRY Where to go, what to do

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COLOUR ME HAPPY

Our pick of the latest beauty looks

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16

[

[

PIXIE LOTT IN PLYMOUTH

She tells us all about her first acting role

[ welcome [

Interiors

Open to ideas a newly-built home Alex Westgate discovers that is full of simple, in south-east Cornwall style yet striking, open-plan fields in the heart hough it sits amid Elaine of the Cornish countryside, inspired by living Dye’s house was of the world. “In on the other side in Australia,” 2006 I spent two years a fan of then, I’d never been she says. “Until made me but our flat in Sydney open-plan design light.” sense of space and came fall in love with a her husband Barry When Elaine and returning they decided against back to England, made a they London. Instead, on to their old life in to the village of Millbrook,Life permanent move in south-east Cornwall. the Rame Peninsula pad Down missed their roomy was good, but they

T

Elaine Dye has created on an open-plan home the Rame Peninsula

Under. the couple set their To solve the problem, further was for sale a little sights on a plot that once home their house. It was up the hill from had albuildings and plans to some agricultural on the site. up to build a house ready been drawn move. It advantages to the There were several dream to live their open-plan would allow them views down the valley. and the plot had stunning for Barry to have a of space There was plenty and mobeloved vintage cars workshop for his Elaine, for room was there torbikes. And, finally, arts PR for background is in to rewhose professional and Scottish Opera, the likes of the BBC a contempoopen and alise a lifetime’s ambition building. in one wing of the rary craft gallery approach to contempo“I love the Australian relation poor a as see they don’t rary craft, which I came says Elaine. “When to the visual arts,” galleries and I felt that many back to the UK,

If you’re in search of a really good read...

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22

Tweet

e think West magazine offers some great stories this week. First up, our cover star Pixie Lott, best known (until now) as a singer who did rather well on Strictly Come Dancing, is about to star in her first major acting role, in a brand new version of Breakfast at Tiffany’s at Plymouth’s Theatre Royal this month.

As luck would have it, we have a terrific interview with Pixie all about the challenges of taking on the role that Audrey Hepburn made so famous (page 16). Do go along and see the show if you can - we’re very fortunate to have such a major production showing

W

[

of the week

here in the South West, before making its way to London’s West End. Pixie says she’s playing Holly Golightly “very differently” to Audrey - and she’ll actually be singing Moon River herself, too, unlike the miming Ms Hepburn!

Another exciting story this week is the tale of how Truro’s Nina Stibbe rediscovered her hilarious teenage letters and ended up with a bestselling book on her hands. Love, Nina has just been turned into a major BBC TV series and our ace writer Catherine Barnes has tracked Nina down for a funny and revealing interview all about life, love and so much more on page 12 today. Have fun!

[

Pixie says she’s playing Holly Golightly ‘very differently’ to Audrey

@TheByreGallery Thank you @WMNWest for lovely feature on my house, Colin, my dog, loves his photo!

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

MEET THE TEAM Becky Sheaves, Editor

Sarah Pitt

Kathryn Clarke-McLeod

Catherine Barnes

Lynne Potter

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If you buy one thing this week...

Lavish your kitchen with love and treat yourself to the king of kitchen appliances. If you’ve got the cash, we think you’d be hard pushed to top this Chateau La Cornue range cooker. Beautifully crafted and handmade to order, it can even match the finish to a colour of your choice and it comes with an engraved personalised plaque with its owner’s name!

Offering state-of-the-art functionality and with their signature vaulted oven (apparently the secret to juicy, flavourful dishes) these exclusive French range cookers are admired by gourmets worldwide. La Cornue’s Chateau 165 range cookers are priced from £28,658 (including VAT & delivery) from www.hearthandcook.com and the Hearth & Cook showroom in Exeter.

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Contrast pompom scarf £39 www.jigsawonline.com

Erstwilder picnic portrait brooch £23 from South Molton’s www.daisypark. co.uk

wishlist Our top picks of the things you’ll love this week

STREET STYLE STAR Swimmers screenprint

by Rhona Garvin £40 www.urbangraphic.co.uk

Maskura Abass We spotted Maskura, who is studying medicine in Plymouth, out shopping. “H&M is probably my go-to shop – I tend to just throw anything on, though,” she said. With great results, though!

Coat: Zara Top: H&M Bag: H&M Jeans: J.Crew Shoes: Dorothy Perkins Anne-Claire Petit crochet camera bag £94 www.

Send your stylish snaps of you or a friend looking fab to westmag@westernmorningnews.co.uk

amara.com

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Wishlist

Suzie Wow embellished bag £35 Accessorize

fave!

Whale bookends £19 www.pasx.co.uk

Faye dress by Matthew Williamson £108 (down from £120) Debenhams

Store we adore...

Woodforde & Co, Sidmouth

Since 1996, Woodforde & Co has been sourcing original ranges of perfume from small, individual perfumeries that rarely make it to department store shelves. Some fragrances are the creations of up-and-coming perfumers, others are the neglected classics from small, historic perfume houses. With more than 200 fragrances on offer, including ones from Annick Goutal, Caron and Coudray, this charming little shop in a pretty pedestrian street in Sidmouth’s town centre is well worth a visit.

Woodforde & Co, Church Street, Sidmouth 01395 577777 www. woodfordes-perfumery.co.uk

Blue ukulele £14.99 from hospice charity www. sueryder.org

Peony brooch £8 Accessorize

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talking points Gillian Molesworth

Story of my life...

Going back in time ou may recall that I opted, with some reservations, to attend my 25th reunion at Choate Rosemary Hall, a boarding school in America. I just got back. Very jetlagged and fighting off an airplane cold, straight back into the things I neglected in order to go.

But it was WORTH it!

This trip, I tried something stay-at-home parent, fundraiser, different – instead of schlepping nurse, yoga specialist, Las Vegas all the way up to Heathrow, I socialite, founder of a floating flew from Bristol to Boston via clinic on Africa’s Lake TanganyiDublin. Less driving, and Dublin ka. One woman spent decades as Airport has a pre-approval proca psychiatrist before jacking it all ess whereby you go through US in to buy a California vineyard. customs and immigration on this We chatted, we ate, we danced, side of the Atlantic. we went to lectures – it was a After a looong trip and a restortreat just to hang out with a big ative sleep at my dad’s, I drove to group of my peers. campus. Luckily the first thing I loved seeing how people had they provided found their groove. us were huge When we were name tags. Then living and studying ‘You probably it was straight together we were don’t remember into the fray. teenagers – angst“You probably ridden, insecure, me,’ said the first don’t remember searching for our classmate I saw. me,” said the first “thing”. At forty‘Yes I do – in the classmate I saw, a something, we’ve man in a blazer. (mostly) found it. yearbook you “Yes I do – in And that was heartwere voted Most the yearbook you warming to see. were voted Most I also felt a Likely to Make a Likely to Make a profound sense of Citizen’s Arrest’ Citizen’s Arrest,” gratitude: for my I blurted out, time at that amazing before my brain could catch up place, for my clever and dynamic with my mouth. Luckily we both classmates, and also for my life in laughed. I refrained from saying: Cornwall since 2001. “and have you?” Although, I Many of you readers have discovered, he now works for the shared my developing “thing” in Federal Reserve – the US equivamy columns over the years – so lent of the Bank of England – so I’m grateful for you, too. Thanks it’s possible. for indulging me on my journey.

It was fascinating seeing what See the kind of enlightenment people are doing. Here are some you get from a reunion? If you’ve of the paths my peers took: got one coming up, I know how restaurateur, musician, banker, you feel – ambivalence, apathy…

FBI agent, congressional aide, is it really worth it? The answer teacher, writer, script developer, is YES. You’ll be amazed.

Y

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.

MELLOW

yellow

Fearne Cotton wore this canary yellow lace gown to the Baftas recently. It has a distinctly Seventies vibe, with its pussy bow neck tie and romantic flowing fabric. It’s by no means prim, however, as that low cut neckline says super sexy. Her frock comes from British designer Kelly Simpkin, whose outfits are only available to buy by private appointment with Kelly herself. Fear not, however – we have tracked down some great versions of this look freely available in shops and online.

Lace dress £49 V by Very

steal her

style

OR MAKE IT YOUR OWN

OPTION B Frills OPTION A Flared

Maxi dress £22.99 New Look

Cutwork dress £65 M&Co

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04.06.16

Just

GOOD ON YOU, KATE TV presenter Lorraine Kelly has praised the Duchess of Cambridge for her high street fashion choices. “Kate often tours wearing all this thousand-pound this, thousand-pound that stuff - and then she wore a wee dress from Topshop for £75 and looked phenomenal,” says Lorraine.

“She looked really good. When some-

one like that wears high street, it’s great.”

She adds: “It’s difficult for her because if she wears high street, all the stuck-up courtiers will say, ‘Look at that, she’s not being dignified enough’ and then if she wears designer clothes, ‘Look at that, spending a fortune on clothes’.”

PS: The lovely Topshop dress Kate’s wearing here sold out within minutes!

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

!

‘I’M ADDICTED

[[ ‘We just muddle through our family life’

POWER COUPLE? NOT US! He’s in huge demand in the States as the star of the Golden Globe-winning Homeland and new hit series Billions, but actor Damian Lewis says that he and his actress wife (the Peaky Blinders star) Helen McCrory still have to juggle work with bringing up their two kids Manon, nine and Gulliver, eight.

“We’re a working couple, and they’re everywhere now,” 45-year-old Damian says. “We have it easier than a lawyer couple, for example, because they don’t usually get to choose when and if they work,” he adds. “Helen and I try to dovetail; we take time off when the other person is working, but it doesn’t always work out. We muddle through, like everyone else.”

TO RUNNING’ Inspiring all of us who ever thought: “I can’t,” the newsreader and TV presenter Sophie Raworth collapsed two miles from the finish line when she attempted her first London Marathon in 2011 (although she pulled through and made it to the finish line). This year, she’s not only completed the course again, but has signed up to run another, in Berlin in September.

“It’s a bit of an addiction my marathon running; the more I do it, the more I love it,” she says. “I worked out I ran 600 miles between January and April this year. If you told me years ago I’d be doing that, I wouldn’t have believed you.

“I live a very high-octane life with my jobs and my kids, and running is a great relief. I run a lot on my own, I don’t listen to music, I run on beautiful trails and paths and it’s something I can fit into my life without using up too much time. If I need to run and I don’t have much time, I just run to work!

“I like having a goal,” she adds. “I like having something to try and aim for, and something to achieve.”

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Wow: A (totally safe) basking shark was spotted at Porthcurno beach in west Cornwall

Yee-hah: The Shetland racing at the Devon County Show was hard fought

in pictures

Hello there: Deborah Custance-Baker met a cute piglet at the Devon County Show

Fabulous: Hairdressing students showed off their skills in a competition at Plymouth’s Holiday Inn 10

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talking points Ardently

Formerly

ONE OF US Famous faces with links to the Westcountry 10 actors to have played Pride and Prejudice’s Mr Darcy:

1. Colin Firth 2. Matthew Macfadyen 3. Peter Cushing 4. Franco Volpi 5. Laurence Olivier 6. David Rintoul 7. Elliot Cowan 8. Matthew Rhys 9. Luke McGibney 10. Martin Henderson

Shuffle

10 hit bands’ original names

1. Composition of Sound (Depeche Mode) 2. Girl’s Tyme (Destiny’s Child) 3. Sweet Children (Green Day) 4. The Obelisk (The Cure) 5. Smile (Queen) 6. Polka Tulk Blues Band (Black Sabbath) 7. On a Friday (Radiohead) 8. Starfish (Coldplay) 9. The Hype (U2) 10. Polar Bear (Snow Patrol)

The happy list

So many nicknames in a deck of cards:

1. Laughing boy (Jack of Diamonds) 2. Flower queen (of Clubs) 3. Man with the axe (King of Diamonds) 4. Curse of Scotland (Nine of Diamonds) 5. Sharp top (Ace of Spades) 6. Grace’s card (Six of Hearts) 7. Judith (Queen of Hearts) 8. Devil’s Bedpost (Four of Clubs) 9. Beer card (Seven of Diamonds) 10. Puppy foot (Ace of Clubs)

10 things to make you smile this week 1. Wild swimming wetsuit optional 2. Pimms it’s time 3. Barbecues with friends 4. Hamlet Northcott Theatre Exeter, June 14-18 5. Ottery St Mary Food Festival this afternoon 6. Flip flops so easy 7. Bill Bailey June 10-11, Hall for Cornwall. Hilarious 8. English Wine Week try Eastcott Vineyard, Devon 9. Shearing happy sheep 10. Garden photography new at Exeter’s museum

This week:

Andrew Ridgeley The former Wham! star Andrew Ridgeley lives in north Cornwall

Early days: Andrew’s mother is people at Wembley Stadium on June British and his father is of Italian28 1986.

Egyptian descent. Andrew went to Bushey Meads School, where his Next: Andrew then tried his hand at mother was a teacher. car racing in Monaco When new boy and acting, before George Michael joined deciding to shun the DID YOU KNOW? the school, the pair limelight and move became friends. to Cornwall, where Andrew he enjoys a laid-back has the Wham! After years lifestyle with lots of Bananarama of playing in various surfing and golf. music groups, Andrew star Keren and George formed Home: He lives near Woodward ‘s Wham! together. A Wadebridge, Cornwall, other half for homemade demo in a restored 15th tape took ten minutes century farm with his 25 years to record in Andrew’s Bananarama singer living room and got girlfriend Keren them a record deal.

Woodward.

Success: Wham! experienced worldwide success between 1982 and 1986, selling more than 25 million records. They were the only British act in the 1980s to have three No. 1 singles in both the UK and USA.

Wealth: Andrew’s song-writing career is said to have made him £10 million pounds, with the royalties of the song Careless Whisper alone earning him many thousands of pounds every year.

Break: With George Michael keen to move away from a pop image, Wham! broke up after a farewell concert entitled “The Final” in front of 72,000

Fame: Keren says: “Our life in Cornwall is really quiet... We go to the pub and no one bothers us. You can be normal if you choose to be.”

Competition winners: Congratulations to the winner of a night’s stay at Jacob’s Hut shepherd’s hut near Okehampton: • Jane Partridge, East Prawle

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portraits: john freddy jones

People

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LOVELY NINA Life very much changed at the age of 50 for Truro’s Nina Stibbe, now a wildly successful author

By Catherine Barnes

“

here are two things I always try and get into interviews,” confides Nina Stibbe. Both get as far as my notebook, but we can only publish one of them in West.

The printable one is a namecheck for Stella, Nina’s best friend from way back and godmother to her two children. The other is one of the fruity words with which she’s seasoned her highly amusing and un-put-downable books, Love Nina, Man at The Helm and (new out this month), Paradise Lodge.

So if you want to know more, you’ll have to buy the books. And if you haven’t done so already, you really ought, because – just like the author herself – they’re utterly, hilariously brilliant.

Fans hooked on the BBC’s Friday night dramatisation of Love, Nina, starring Helena Bonham Carter, will already be familiar with the feel and flavour of Nina’s autobiographical story of her life as a teenager who came to London to work in the early 1980s.

Nina was employed as live-in nanny by London Review of Books editor Mary-Kay Wilmer. The renowned playwright Alan Bennett, (who, Nina informed her sister Vic, was “an actor on Coronation Street”), was a regular guest at MaryKay’s bohemian dinner table.

“When I heard it was Nick Hornby adapting my book for TV, I was over the moon,” she says over tea in a Truro cafe.

“When I first saw it at a screening, I started to cry. It’s so beautiful in all its details and is funny and moving. They’ve taken out the edgy swears, but it’s a delight. They have done this extraor-

T

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dinary job of being exactly how I was – moody, prudish and opinionated.

“Helena Bonham-Carter is just like Mary-Kay, even the way she’s holds her cardigan. It’s extraordinary – but Helena’s not really like that in real life. She’s so recognisable that everyone stares at her, but she’s just so ordinary and kind and nice.

And she’s a mischievous little monkey, too.”

Nina, who lives with her family in Truro, is the first to admit that she’s hugely excited at just how her writing has taken off. Now 54, she secured her first book deal aged 50, when she discovered the stash of letters that she wrote from London to her sister Vic. Peggy the dog became a celebratory addition to the family, “I said if I get a publishing contract, we’ll get a dog”. Love, Nina was published a year later.

Nina has been besides-herself-excited by the response from some of her own literary heroines to her books. Jilly Cooper has written to tell her how much she loves them and so has the Irish

novelist Marian Keyes.

“I even had a fan tweet from actress Kathy Burke!” she says. “KATHY BURKE!! I also got a letter from [Scott & Bailey actress and writer] Amelia Bullmore and, at first, I didn’t know if it was the real her. She’d written it in the style of my book Man at the Helm. I wrote back and said if you’re the real Amelia Bullmore, I love you.

And if you’re not, I love you just as much.”

Nina also loves the letters she gets from her just-like-us fans. “One 86-year old woman wrote to me and told me she loved Love, Nina, even though it’s very sweary. I started to write back to her, but now I can’t find the letter with her address on. It’s somewhere in the house and it’s heartbreaking. I do try and write back.”

At home in Cornwall, where the family moved from north London “for a couple of years” 13 years ago, Nina is currently adapting her second book, Man at The Helm, into a script. She describes the story as a fictionalised account (her character is called Lizzie Vogel) of her chaotic and unconventional childhood. She and her siblings were brought up by their formerly well-to-do mother Elspeth, who drove a laundry van to make ends meet.

“She was a single mum when single mums were treated like second-class citizens,” explains Nina. “Mum’s really loved it because my books slightly vindicate her. She was a bit of a pisshead, but a really good and loving mum. She just didn’t tick the boxes people ticked at the time.

People really love her now and think she’s funny, outrageous and loveable.”

Elspeth is now 78 and Nina’s publisher husband is Mark, 52. Nina refers to him by his surname, Nunney and readers will remember their

‘If there had been text or

email back then I wouldn’t

have written those letters’

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People

then on-off relationship as detailed in Love, Nina. The whole family, including children Eve, 16 and Alf, 14, will be there when Nina makes an appearance at the Port Eliot literary festival in south east Cornwall next month.

“I thought I wouldn’t be, but I’m now surprisingly like my mum with my own kids,” she reflects. “I do try to be seen to do the right things, but I definitely overshare with them.”

Love, Nina is based on the letters written to impress her sister Vic, who stayed at home when Nina left Leicestershire for London. Years later, Nina discovered Vic’s hoarde of letters, after a career in publishing which followed her time as a nanny and a university degree.

“If there had been anything like texts or emails back then I wouldn’t have written the letters,” she says. “Everyone was terrified of the phone bill in those days. And Vic didn’t like to travel.”

They are brilliant letters, thanks to Nina’s gift for spinning the chaff of everyday life into gold.

Then and now, Nina’s words seem to have flowed as easily as water from a tap, although she insists she needs to go on a proper writing course, explaining: “I just don’t know the rules. I’m very much untrained.”

Notwithstanding that fact, Nina’s hilarious third book, Paradise Lodge, is out now published

by Penguin and sees her heroine Lizzie Vogel working in an old people’s home aged 15. There is already a fourth novel in the pipeline, continuing Lizzie’s adventures.

Nina’s working day begins after she’s done the school run (Eve, who was an extra in Love, Nina, is currently in the midst of her GCSEs) and taken Peggy for a walk in the woods.

“The sad thing is I’ve found out that creatively I’m a morning person,” she sighs. “It’s really disappointing as I don’t like early mornings, but I’ve come to accept that’s my time.”

Love, Nina, is on BBC1, Fridays 9.30pm. Paradise Lodge, is published by Penguin (£12.99). See Nina Stibbe at the Port Eliot Festival (July 28-31) www. porteliotfestival.com www.ninastibbe.com 15

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Blond ambition

As singer Pixie Lott prepares to play Holly Golightly in a new production of Breakfast at Tiffany’s, coming to Plymouth this month, she tells Jeremy Mark why she is returning to acting after an absence of twelve years - and how her Holly is far-removed from Audrey Hepburn’s portrayal…

“

realised the other day, that I actually have that famous black and white photo of Audrey Hepburn as Holly Golightly in Breakfast at Tiffany’s on a coaster next to my bed for my cup of tea,” laughs Pixie Lott.

“I’ve had it there for ages, long before I found out I would be playing Holly on stage. It was obviously meant to be!”

In a temporary departure from her career as a singer/ songwriter, Pixie is taking on the iconic role of the freespirited, guitar-playing, catloving party girl in the touring production of Richard Greenberg’s new play, directed by Nikolai Foster. Excitingly, the play runs from Monday June 20 to Saturday June 25, giving us a chance to see this eagerly-anticipated new production before it heads to the Theatre Royal Haymarket in London’s West End For her part, Pixie is keen to stress that her

I

interpretation of Holly is truer to Truman Capote’s original 1958 novella, rather than the better-known big-screen version starring Audrey Hepburn. In fact, she hasn’t even watched the film since being cast in the play, “as I didn’t want to get too caught up in it,” she tells me.

“Our play still has all those wonderful characters, the different personalities that make up New York, just as Capote brilliantly wrote them,” Pixie explains. “When you think about it, the story was incredibly ahead of its time, which is what makes it still so relevant today, a genuine modern classic.”

Bromley-born Pixie, 25, plays Holly, the country bumpkin turned New York party girl with a string of wealthy suitors on tap and a mysterious past, in this new production which is set in the early 1940s (as opposed to the swinging 60s of the Hepburn and Peppard film). “This really is the dream role for me to take on for my first play. I feel incredibly

‘To play Holly Golightly really is the dream role for me to take on for my first play. I feel incredibly lucky’

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de 17

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‘It’s always good to push yourself out of your comfort zone. I did that when I took part in Strictly Come Dancing’ lucky,” says Pixie. “Of course people will make comparisons with Audrey Hepburn but I would never try to replicate an icon like her as she was a one-off, truly unique. I hope audiences feel I bring my own interpretation and personality to the role. My Holly is free-spirited and has lots of energy, and we also see glimpses of the secrets of her past. But she is a survivor. She makes it through.”

Capote himself was famously against casting Hepburn as Golightly, instead wanting Marilyn Monroe for the role, but her agent advised her against playing ‘a lady of the evening’. Did Pixie have any reservations about playing such a potentially controversial character? “Not at all” smiles Pixie, “after all, Holly isn’t actually a [prostitute], but an ‘American geisha’ as Truman Capote described her. Once you get to know her in the play, she is both fabulous and very endearing.”

Some may say that playing Holly Golightly is quite a departure for Pixie, who, after all, is best known for a string of chart-topping hits including Mama Do and All About Tonight. As a teenager, she did, in fact, train as an actress at Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts, appearing in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang at the London Palladium, before moving into music. So why has she decided to make a return to the stage?

“I have always believed in being as rounded as a performer as possible, and it’s always good to push yourself out of your comfort zone. I did that when I took part in Strictly Come Dancing [in 2014], I learned ballroom and Latin from scratch, which I really loved. This year it’s been really amazing to focus on acting.

“I will still be working on my own music alongside the play. I’ve been writing new songs 18

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Interview

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Interview

‘Holly has lots of costume changes, and wearing actual, fabulous vintage pieces from the era really helps with her character’ at every opportunity I can, and hope to have new music readythis year.” Pixie has set herself a further challenge for this role: learning how to play the guitar. “I had always wanted to learn, and the play has given me the perfect excuse. It was really hard, though!” In the play, she performs Henry Mancini’s Oscar-winning Moon River. “It’s such a timeless song,” she says, “so beautiful. And it appears at a very intimate moment in the play, it sits really well.”

Playing opposite Pixie as her confidant ‘Fred’ is actor Matt Barber, who played Atticus Aldridge in Downton Abbey.“We get on brilliantly, but I haven’t yet dared

to tell him that I didn’t watch Downton!”

Holly Golightly’s 1940s look is something that definitely excites style-fan Pixie. “Holly has lots of costume changes, and wearing actual, fabulous vintage pieces and accessories from the era really helps me with her character. I love experimenting with the way I look, with different hairdos, and with make-up, and this is so far removed from my usual get-ups.”

Like Holly Golightly though, Pixie is a self-confessed scatterbrain, and she is equally as untidy.

“I’m a really messy person, so my dressingroom will be fairly chaotic. Lots of make-up and clothes, maybe a candle and some pictures from the 1940s. If anyone complains about the mess, I will just blame it on Holly,” she laughs.

Breakfast at Tiffany’s is at the Theatre Royal Plymouth from June 20-25, www.theatreroyal.com

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Tropical wallpaper ÂŁ80 a roll, www.gillianarnold.co.uk

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Interiors

Pamper time Today’s bathrooms are both lathering and lounging spaces - or at least they should be.

Sarah Pitt seeks inspiration on creating a bathroom for relaxation s there such a thing as the ideal adise. Wallpapers with tropical prints can make a bathroom? Talk to interior designdramatic backdrop for a white freestanding bath, ers and makers of bathroom fixor you can even have the bath itself painted in a tures and fittings, and many differtropical fresco – try the bespoke Spey bath from ent ideas abound.

Drummonds (£2,975) if money is no object.

What they all seem to be agreed on, though, Kerry Knight, who runs her own interior is that clutter is definitely not a good look. Oh, design company Beatengreen in St Erth, west and that those avocado basin, loo and bath suites Cornwall, says she often makes a feature of from the 1970s are not going to the floor when designing bathbe returning anytime soon. rooms.

“In general, UK bathrooms “There is a lot going on in a are small and getting smallbathroom – a lot of different el‘There’s a trend er, so it’s vital to make use of ements – and unless you have every inch of space,” says Robin got a roll top bath there is often for dramatic Levien, international designer not an obvious focal point,” she dark colours for bathroom company Ideal says. “I think the floor is a really and pattern on Standard. safe option, because you always “One of the most popular conneed a focal point. I have gone walls and floors, temporary looks is modern and for some really colourful floors for a boutique minimal, but not clinical. We’re in my projects, and geometseeing a desire for a clutter-free ric black and white tiles in one hotel feel’ room, where storage solutions which worked really well.” keep everything, from towels to One option for floor colour toothbrushes, out of sight until is to choose modern vinyl tiles, they’re needed. This helps make which are hardwearing as well the area a peaceful sanctuary.” as warm underfoot. Parquet So, less is more, storage is in – but there is still flooring has been given a rework by designer a place for bold colours, says Robin.

Neisha Crosland, whose vinyl flooring for floor“Increasingly, this room is borrowing decoraing experts Harvey Maria comes in bright coltive elements more traditionally found in the rest ours. of the home, and picking up influences from the Tiles are, of course, another option – ceramic, catwalk. There’s a current trend for dramatic stone or even cement. In one of her projects, dark colours and pattern on walls and floors, Kerry used the same tiles on the walls of the which with good lighting, can actually make a shower as on the floor, creating a seamless block space seem bigger, as well as delivering that bouof colour for the eye to follow. tique-hotel feel.”

She stresses the need to think through the The current craze for tropical prints fits with practicalities of the layout before you start. A the idea of the dream bathroom as an exotic parfreestanding bath, for instance, is only really pos-

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Interiors

Nautical and nice... a plain white bathroom shows off accessories from George Home including tattoo towel, £6

Plants add calm in this bathroom featuring Matthew Williamston tropical towels £8-£24 Debenhams

Dark wood cabinets work well here - Bali tallboy, £95, mirror door cabinet £95 and two tone laundry basket £69, all John Lewis

sible if you have lots of room.

“You do need to make sure you have space all around it for it to really work,” she says. “If you have got the room for one, though, then painting it in a bold colour can make a real work well for the room.”

Kerry cautions against too many vintage fittings and fixtures in a bathroom, even in an old house. “I think, even in an older property, people really like to have comfort these days,” she says.

“I tend to go for really clean lines, with white tiles, and glass and chrome, and then choose something really stunning for the floor.”

Character can be added through little details, she says. In a recent renovation of a 19th century cottage in St Ives, Kerry used a salvaged wooden door for the bath panel, in a scheme which otherwise uses a lot of sleek chrome, white tiles and glass. “Everything else was really simple,

so I just wanted to add that bit of character,” she tiles in a cool green colour for a calming effect. says. Kerry treated the door bath panel with a Emily urges avoiding too much clutter in the hard wax oil to ensure it lasted. “It brushes on bathroom. “One of my absolute pet hates are like an oil but then dries to a really really hard those little wire baskets that go in the shower, wax. You could put a key across it and it wouldn’t and then the screws rust out and they don’t stay scratch.” up. It is expensive to do, but, Another versatile option is to if you can, build niches into go for all white in a bathroom – the wall beside your bath and in your choice of units, sanitaryshower. They are much nicer.”

‘If you opt to ware and walls – and then ring If you are on a budget, meanthe changes with accessories. while, one option might be a keep things light “I would always say keep all quick facelift with new taps and and white, then the sanitaryware white and as other brassware. “Finishing you can always plain as possible, says interior touches make a big difference, designer Emily Bizley, based so consider fixtures and fittings buy some bright near Somerton in Somerset. as the perfect way to refresh towels to bring in “I think bathrooms are really an existing sink or bath,” says nice when they are as plain as Chris Taylor of tap and shower some colour’ possible and then you can add specialists, Bristan. an old piece of furniture, which “Metallic finishes - gold, brass can be painted. Keep things and copper, through to brushed light and white and then you steel - are popular this year. For can always buy some bright pink towels to bring a classic look, use a chunky mixer spout to create in some colour. And it is very on-trend to have sleek elegance combined with traditional style. plants in bathrooms, they give that oasis feel.”

Add contrasting blue nautical-style accessories Emily has added interest to a plain bathfor a striking, stylish scheme.” room she designed recently, in a townhouse in www.beatengreen.co.uk and www.

Bloomsbury, London, by using hexagonal cement emilybizley.co.uk

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Tattoo soap dispenser £5 and tumbler £3 George Home at Asda

GET THE

LOOK

Add quirky character to your bathroom with these accessories

Abyss & Habidecor Feuille bath mat £198 amara.co.uk

Chevron bamboo baskets £38 each miafleur.com

Matthew Williamson tropical towels £8-£24 Debenhams

Umbra Hub towel ladder £100 redcandy.co.uk

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Gardens ANNE SWITHINBANK

Absolute beginners Devon’s Anne Swithinbank, panellist on Radio 4’s Gardeners’ Question Time, on starting from scratch ow and again, I meet gardeners who describe themselves as ‘complete beginners’ or ‘rookies’. They are new to gardening and desperate for advice but where to start? You could say we were all beginners once but is this really true? Many of us were born into gardening families and found ourselves in tune with nature right from the start. When you’ve grown up knee high to plants and wildlife, it all somehow roots and creeps into your subconscious. Suddenly acquiring the gardening bug as an adult must be amazing, like finding a religion.

I guess my best The only way to learn is to advice is to think start doing it, make mistakes and discover solutions. This like a plant. never stops and years down the Would you like line, I’m still killing off the odd to stretch your plant, mostly by risk-taking or trying to grow too many. You roots into that can garden all your life on a soil? light, well-draining soil and think you know what you are doing. Move to an area with heavy clay or high altitude and a whole new set of rules apply.

I guess my best advice is to think like a plant. Would you like to stretch your roots into that soil? They are all different and it helps to look up not so much their country of origin but type of habitat. Many originate from Mediterranean-like areas where they are adapted to hot sun and hillsides of poor, well-draining soil. The silvery-leaved Sicilian chamomile Anthemis punctata subsp.cupaniana producing white daisies now is a good example but this does manage quite well on our heavier soil.

Some plants of New Zealand origin, such as pittosporums and phormiums are resilient in different ways and cope well with harsh winds in coastal situations. Plants like this avoid moisture loss by having felted or needle-like leaves and are

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often silvery or leathery.

This is in sharp contrast to woodland plants whose leaves are thin and broad, to help them absorb more light in shady places. Most woods are on sloping, well-drained soil so the plants that grow in them are used to good drainage and might suffer in gardens where soils are waterlogged in winter. Fortunately, some are adapted to grow in the swampy ground near rivers in valley bottoms and it pays to know that summer snowflake (Leucojum aestivum) and native royal fern (Osmunda regalis) will tolerate shade and damp.

Gardens have many microclimates and I find it helps to give all my borders an identity, so when I’m looking for a plant or walking around wondering where to plant my newest impulse buy, everything fits into place. The north-facing woodland borders offer shade and are slightly raised, to give moist yet well-drained soil. The palm border (named after a Torbay palm) is south-facing, well-drained and great for sun-loving bearded iris, oriental poppies and lavenders.

Most of my husband John’s west-facing border and the top end of the exotic border are in a wind tunnel, so plants need to be short or windproof and our dry, shady border is a challenge met by soft shield ferns, mourning widow geraniums and Lamium orvala.

When planting, if you have to hack at the ground to make a hole, then plant roots will find it equally impenetrable. Yet it is a mistake to cultivate just the planting hole and fill it with com-

post from a bag, the walls of the hole could act like the sides of a bucket, filling with water and eventually suffocating and rotting the roots. It is always best to dig and incorporate organic matter into a large area, then plant into it. From then on, layers of compost spread as a mulch on the surface will gradually be taken down to feed the soil.

Otherwise, remember to grow five well instead of ten badly, give plants the space recommended on packets and labels and watch them like a hawk.

They’ll soon tell you if they’re not happy.

West reader queries answered by Anne Swithinbank

Q

I like frogbit (Hydrocharis morsusranae) whose floating leaves look like miniature lily pads. Three-petalled, white flowers 2cm/just under an inch across open during summer. This spreads but everything about it is small and light, compared with a waterlily. The water forget-menot (Myosotis scorpioides) can reach a height and spread of 30cm/12in and has a light, airy effect and I love marsh marigold (Caltha palustris) which though vigorous, can be cut back really hard after flowering (now in fact) and is easy to saw into smaller chunks using an old knife. I plant the surplus into the damp, shady area at the bottom of our garden.

Anne’s advice for your garden

• Keep cleared soil covered to prevent weeds growing.

One solution is to sow largeseeded, quickgrowing Mexican annual Cosmos bipinnatus. Rake soil, make drills 30cm/12in apart, soak the bases and sow along them, thinning to 23cm/9in later.

Question time with Anne Can you recommend a few pond plants that won’t swamp our small pond too quickly?

This week’s gardening tips

Q

I have some horse manure piled up but it looks very ‘dead’ and has no worms in it. I’m anxious it might have weedkiller in it, or some other problem. Should I spread it or dispose of it?

I think you are referring back to incidences mainly in 2009 and 2010 when some manure was contaminated with aminopyralid-based weedkiller. This had been applied to kill weeds where hay was being grown, the subsequent crop was fed to horses or cattle but the chemical binds so strongly to the plant material, it passes through the animals and is still active in their manure.

There were cases of, in particular, tomatoes, beans, peas, delphiniums and potatoes showing symptoms of cupped or divided leaves, long pale shoot tips and distorted leaves with thick veins. The weedkillers were withdrawn but then allowed again with fresh instructions for use. Do a germination test using the manure mixed with some garden soil, using seed of tomatoes or beans.

Grow them on in the manure mix and see how they react. If all goes well, spread it.

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

• Return to areas where persistent weeds like ground elder or convolvulus (bindweed) were removed back in spring and lift out regrowth before it prospers.

• Mow lawns weekly until dry weather slows growth.

Leaving them longer makes harder work, takes its toll on the grass and also allows lawn weeds to grow and start competing with grasses.

• Every time you mow, clip the edges using edging shears, pick up the clippings and then flick soil away from the edge using the back of a hoe, to stop the lawn from growing into the border.

• There’s still time to buy in young plants of runner beans, courgettes and sweet corn to plant out into prepared soil.

Sow coriander across the top of a 17cm/7in pot filled with potting compost. The weed free plants will be easier to harvest. This herb runs to seed quickly, so use often and sow regularly.

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Beauty

Cheeky Mwah!

Hourglass Opaque Rouge lipstick in Riviera £23 Space NK Orange shades are flattering on paler complexions. Use this on a fair-to-medium skin tone, keep eyes minimal and focus on cheeks and lips.

Abbie’s

Two in one RMS Beauty Lip2Cheek £30 Urban Retreat This pigment-rich golden dual lip/blush cream is a great multitasker. A little goes a long way and a top coat of gloss will boost shine.

Beauty box

Cool colour sense from West magazine’s resident beauty guru Abbie Bray of Newton Abbot eceived make-up wisdom decrees that you should only focus on one feature at a time - a smoky eye, a bold lip, etc - but there’s a red carpet trend that eschews that notion. As seen on Rihanna and model of the moment Gigi Hadid (pictured), the monochromatic look involves using one colour on the eyes, lips and cheeks, creating a beautifully ‘pulled together’ look.

It’s foolproof for when you are super-busy and takes the guesswork out of co-ordinating your look. Brown shades are best if you have a medium-to-dark skin tone and either blue or green/hazel eyes. A fair-skinned complexion, blonde with blue eyes, traditionally suits a pink look, but you can think pink for darker skin tones by opting for a darker shade that’s strong and vibrant, with a real kick.

People with olive, bronzed and darker-toned skins can look great in shades of gold. Use a clear lip gloss with gold in it and you can use a hint of gold on your cheeks, on the inner corners of your eyes or brow bones, too. I love this look for summer or on a night out.

Pot Rouge for lips and cheeks in Raspberry £19.50 Bobbi Brown This product comes in many shades and is fabulous as a dual purpose on lips and cheeks. This Raspberry shade is great for blondes with blue eyes

fave!

Coral Chantecaille Brilliant Gloss in Folly £26 Urban Retreat This non-sticky gloss washes your lips in a long-lasting colour.

‘Folly’ is a sheer coralpink hue, perfect for every day.

R

Bronze Hourglass creme-topowder bronze duo £40 Space NK Illuminate your skin with this soft sunkissed bronzer, then tapping the blush/ highlighter onto apples of your cheeks .

Glisten Surratt Beauty Artistique eyeshadow in Cuivre £16 Urban Retreat People with olive, bronzed and darker-toned skins, who are brunette with brown eyes, look great with a glistening gold finish.

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Escape to the Coast 2 night breaks from £345 per couple, per stay.

Call 0844 858 9185 quoting ‘West’ to book your stay.

www.stives-harbour-hotel.co.uk

Terms and Conditions: Rate of £345 valid until 19th July. Rates are based on midweek stays in an inland room and include 2 nights bed and breakfast accommodation and a dinner allowance of £25 per person on arrival night. Rates are pre-paid rates and cancellations are non refundable.

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Dige Designs earrings £39 www. cadenzza.co.uk

Dress £79 Miss Selfridge

Lilac & lovely ant to look relaxed and feminine this summer? The colour lilac is having a real fashion moment right now, and is well worth a try for some pretty outfits.

You can wear it as a one-colour block, as here in this lovely maxi dress from Miss Selfridge with its on-trend cutwork detailing. It also looks great as a key shade in pretty botanical prints. We really like Phase Eight’s cross-front floral frock, which is perfect for a summer wedding or garden party.

Lilac can be dark or light, shading into soft greys or deeper purples and this family of colours work harmoniously together in an outfit. It’s also a very flattering shade to most skin tones - so what are you waiting for?

W

Grey ghillie lace up £15 Matalan

Flower print dress £140 Phase Eight

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Fashion

Shell clutch bag £12.99 New Look

Wrap front skirt £19.99 New Look

Floozie by Frost French Seahorse Bikini £26.50 Debenhams

Helena dress £150 Studio 8 at Debenhams

fave!

Purse £16.99 TK Maxx 31

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

MAIN PHOTO HAIR: MEGAN AT SAKS, EXETER MAKE-UP: ESTEE LAUDER, DEBENHAMS (BOTH PRINCESSHAY) PHOTOGRAPHY: STEVE HAYWOOD

HOW TO WEAR IT:

Pencil skirt Kathryn Clarke-Mcleod on why the pencil is mightier than the sword oy am I glad this hip hugging, waist whittling skirt has stood the test of time. Christian Dior gifted the female population with its design over sixty years ago, and this timeless cut is still a fashion headline this season.

Like most matters of the female persuasion, there is something of an art to wearing these.

So if you’ve been considering adding one to your wardrobe, or if you have a few languishing unworn, read on.

Firstly, make sure you buy one that fits perfectly. This might mean you can’t get away with buying one on the budget rails, but when you see yourself in ‘the one’, you’ll be glad I twisted your arm. Trust me.

The waistline of your perfect skirt should sit about two Too tight is a inches above your belly button. no no. Go up a Any higher and it will dig into size if need be, your lower ribs when you breathe, and lower and you lose you will look its magical ability to nip you in. slimmer as a That point on the upper waist is often our smallest point in result between two larger angles, our this case it really is about personal bust and waist, so it is always choice and context. My only piece a good place to draw the eye of advice is for the petite. The skirt to. But even you’re an apple should end mid knee. This will help shape, using this line will create the illusion of create the illusion of long lean heptathlete legs. a cinched waist.

Think Jessica Ennis at a UN lunch.

Another golden rule is to look for a snug (not Speaking of sheer class, too tight is a no no. too tight) fit over the widest point of your hips, Your skirt should always be smooth. Any lumps, that then falls in a straight line down to the hem. puckers or bumps and you need to go up a size.

If you’ve been in the gym a lot lately then you You will look slimmer as a result. Cut the label can ignore this rule, but if you’re not keen on out if you must, but judge on fit not on digits. over accentuating your hips then keep it in mind.

Once you have your perfect pencil, all that A question I get asked a lot is about hemline. In is left is to decide is where to wear it. The good

B

Skirt, Reiss, Princesshay, £115 Top, Reiss, Princesshay, £60 Shoes, Reiss, Princesshay, £175 Sunglasses, River Island, Princesshay, £10

news is these are at home both at work or at play.

And they are ideal for transitioning from one to the other. Start your day off in a simple black tee, a rose skirt and a pair of pointed black pumps and you’ll ooze enigmatic efficiency. When the clock hits five thirty slip into a pair of stilettos, untwist your hair from its top knot and sashay off to happy hour, where you should raise a glass to Mr Dior when you don’t have to pay for a single drink.

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

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Floral skirt £30 MISS SELFRIDGE

Colour block white and blue wrap midi skirt £19.99 NEW LOOK

GET THE

Edie horizontal Ottoman skirt £45 MONSOON

look Star by Julien MacDonald spider web clutch £28 DEBENHAMS

Black leather strappy court heels £65 RIVERISLAND

White floral wrap front pencil skirt £14.99 NEW LOOK

Stephanie preppy sunglasses £12 ACCESSORIZE 33

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A story of true love

culture vulture

Shadowlands is the true story of the slow-burning romance between the Narnia author C. S. Lewis and feisty American poet Joy Davidman. A major film in the early 1990s, starring Anthony Hopkins, William Nicholson’s moving stage play of the story is on tour in the Westcountry, starring Stephen Boxer

(The Iron Lady, Doctors) as C.S. Lewis and Amanda Ryan (The Forsyte Saga, Shameless) as Joy. Just don’t forget your tissues.

Shadowlands, Theatre Royal Plymouth June 6-11 ( £11-£25, www.theatreroyal.com, 01752 267222); Exeter Northcott June 28-July 2 (tickets £17-£29.50, exeternorthcott.co.uk).

Our guide to what’s on in the South West by woman-in-theknow Sarah Pitt

TV pottery stars coming west Pottery will enjoy the status of a competitive sport at the Contemporary Craft Festival in Bovey Tracey from June 10-12.

The finalists of the BBC TV series The Great Pottery Throw Down will be at the festival and visitors

are invited to compete on potter’s wheels against winner Matthew Wilcock and fellow finalists Matt, Tom, Sally-Jo and Jim. There’s also lots of craft to see and buy. Adult day tickets £9, see craftsatboveytracey.co.uk

Another chance to see...

When artist Lucie Bray died unexpectedly at just 39 in 2014, St Ives’s artistic community was plunged into mourning. Lucie was a familiar sight on Porthmeor beach in the town – she spent many hours there observing, sketching and painting the pale sands, turbulent

seas and sweeping skies. Limited edition screenprints of her expressive, high energy paintings can currently be seen in a celebration of her work at the New Craftsman Gallery in St Ives, running until July 2. www.newcraftsmanstives.com

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Enjoy

Your stars

by Cassandra Nye This week’s sign:

Happy birthday to...

Mercurial Geminis are expressive and quick witted; ready for fun and often restless. Affectionate and friendly by nature, a typical Gemini is great company and, as they are very often up for trying something new, can encourage friends to explore beyond their own comfort zones in the pursuit of adventure and new ideas. As an air sign, Geminis need their wings, - for they love to travel- as well as for the sense of the freedom they crave, to live their life, their way.

Bonnie Tyler Born June 8 1951 Born Gaynor Hopkins, Bonnie’s distinctive husky voice is a result of an operation to remove vocal nodules back in the mid-1970s.

Her hits It’s a Heartache and Total Eclipse of the Heart are among the best-selling singles of all time. Bonnie nobly represented GB in the 2013 Eurovision and she is loved in many parts of Europe – she will be performing a Greatest Hits tour around Germany this year. As a June 8 Gemini, Bonnie is more resilient than most – when she gets knocked down, she most definitely gets up again. Good on you, Bonnie!

GEMINI (May 22 - June 21) Appearing daring and clever makes you look attractive to others this week. I am not talking about someone wanting you to put up shelves here! Romance is in the air and you are about to breathe it in. Last weekend’s New Moon gave you an opportunity and it seems that you have taken it. Feel the love.

CANCER (June 22 - July 22) In seeking the answer to a question, you will come across more than a few possibilities. Still, that could signal the fact that it is not yet time to make a decision either way. It’s a bit like wading through a weedy garden to get to a beautiful rose. You will get there and find more than one. Enjoy.

LEO (July 23 - August 23) There are choices to be made. You know what you like and what you don’t like. Is it that simple? Mostly. This week you may choose something that you do not like now, but could like in the future. In love, as in work, it is important to choose the right time.

VIRGO (August 24 - September 23) Doing something out of your usual zone and being a little anxious means that you ask questions. The person who has the answers could play a big part in your future. What you were looking for will be quite different from your expectations. Interested? You should be!

LIBRA (September 24 - October 23) Something that has seemed far away comes a little closer this week. It is not something to fear, but something to welcome

as part of life. There are so many experiences waiting for you. Is this the time to seek them out? It is said that there is no time like the present!

SCORPIO (October 24 - November 22) Charm and knowledge bring someone close to you, so what starts off as a worry turns into a revelation. By next week you will have so much more confidence. Is it a good time to make that important decision or sort out those tricky finances?

SAGITTARIUS (November 23 - December 21) Someone is really keen to help you this week. Perhaps they feel that it is their purpose in life. They care. You, on the other hand, value your independence and acumen. By being too clever it is possible to drive someone away. Give a little and you will gain a lot. No man or woman is an island. Well, not for long.

CAPRICORN (December 22 - January 20) Relax and let life wash over you this week. Some things cannot be changed and, in the long run, may turn out to be for the best. By being flexible, you are giving yourself the best chance of finding what you want. No, you don’t have to climb mountains right now. Let someone else do it.

AQUARIUS (January 21 - February 19) In looking for something that is wrong, all you see are shadows. Being optimistic this week will see you move forward and be happier. Is there any other way? Want to be a drama queen? Don’t waste your time!

PISCES (February 20 - March 20) Throw yourself into a group who aim to help others. In doing so you will really be helping yourself ! Live in the ‘here and now’. Turn to nature and she will show you some wonderful things. Be aware of the beauty around you. When that is shared, true romance begins.

ARIES (March 21 - April 20) This is a week in which to find the answer to that niggling question. As the week goes on, apprehension turns to excitement. What you discover can be totally unexpected and throws a bright light on your future.

TAURUS (April 21 - May 21) Getting closer to someone important to you is easy this week. First, though, you need to take a friendly approach. Remember that it isn’t what you do, but how you do it. that counts! Avoid being defensive and, instead, give someone a chance to respond honestly.

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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

Mmmm...

SKIN TREATS Prep and prime your skin for summer with these citrus and vanilla fragranced treats, handmade by Lola’s Apothecary. Exfoliate and smooth with the Himalayan salt and sugar polish (£25) and maintain skin softness with a nourishing body butter (£28).

Indulgent AND local – Lola’s make their lovely stuff in Chulmleigh, Devon. www.lolasapothecary.com

A blend of Indian, Japanese and Tibetan massage is used to tone, smooth away fine lines and release toxins in 45 minutes of facial bliss (£40) at the Sail Lofts’ Ocean Studio in St Ives. We like the sound of that. www.stivesspa. co.uk

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Freshly delivered On your bike Ticket to Ride Surf Schools have introduced their latest surf adventure – the Cycle Surfari, a fusion of sand cycling and tailored surf coaching. The two and a half hour experience will be available at both its Perranporth and Newquay-based schools, costing £45 per person. www. tickettoridesurfschool.co.uk

Food and veg boxes are a great way to eat locally and healthily. If you live in and around the Tamar Valley area and can’t commit to a regular weekly order, check out www.tamarvalleyfoodhubs.org.uk, where you’ll find local growers and food producers who deliver to the door when you buy online, including mobile fishmonger Sam Bagshawe and fresh greens growers Red Leaf Farm CoOperative.

It’s new

No bouncing!

Aerobics meets Bollywood at Just Jhoom! fitness classes which combine keep fit moves with Indian styles including classical dance and bhangra. Try it on Sunday mornings at Falmouth Sports Club and at Torquay’s Aztec Studio on Friday evenings.

Are there two major reasons preventing you from taking up high-impact sports? This wire-free cotton sports bra (£34) by www.royce-lingerie.co.uk goes up to a cup size K, plus its high neck will keep your cleavage under wraps.

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

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

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Drink Beer of the week If you go into one of the various Hub burger bars in the region, you will be faced with an ever-changing range of beers to go with your burger or hotdog. Let me recommend the house pale ale, made by St Austell Brewery, a lovely drop, golden and sessionable at 4.4% ABV with citrussy American hops notes.

Darren Norbury

talks beer nominations. Press officer, Sonia Bunce, says: t the left-hand end of the bar in our “Do you know a club in Cornwall that allows free local is a seat where, at a particuentry for CAMRA members? Do you feel that the lar time of the day, a woman from club is good enough to become Kernow or even the village sits and enjoys a couple national CAMRA club of the year? If you do and of beers. Everyone knows when it serves top-quality real ale, offers a fantastic she will turn up, but more importantly, all the atmosphere and welcoming surregular dogs do, too, because seroundings, then message us the creted in her handbag is a range details.” Visit www.cornwall. of doggy treats. One four-legged camra.org.uk to make contact. friend has been known to sit by The presentation to the Hole the door intently waiting for the ‘The rural pub of in the Wall will take place on time when the treat lady arrives. the year boasts Saturday, June 25, at 2pm. All Also at that end of the bar are a library and a are welcome, not just CAMRA the framed certificates which tell members. There will also be a the tale of the pub’s success over barber among presentation to the Star on July 9 the years, not least of which are its additional and the Red Lion on July 2 (both two Cornwall CAMRA pub of at 2pm). the year awards. Award season services’ Of course, finding a pub of is back with us again and these the year is a long process. The days the Cornwall CAMRA memsearch for next year’s winners bers reward not one but three is already under way, while the pubs of the year. process of compiling the 2018 Good Beer Guide – Hats off, then, to the Hole in the Wall, Bodmin, yes, 2018 – is also starting. which retained the overall pub of the year title Got a suggestion of a great pub? Let the as well as being named town pub of the year. The CAMRA guys know via their website. There’s a Star Inn, Vogue, which has a library and a barlot of hard, voluntary work that goes into these ber’s among its additional services, has taken the awards and the guides. The more people who get title of rural pub of the year, while the Red Lion, involved, the better.

Newquay, has been named cider pub of the year.

Darren Norbury is editor of beertoday.co.uk The branch also wants to award a club of the @beertoday year award in the future, and is now looking for

A

[[

WOMEN AND BEER A survey into women and beer by the Dea Latis forum has found that while brewers’ attitude to female drinkers has improved, there is still some way to go. Top of the female-friendly wish list is more tasting notes in venues, to allow an informed choice about the beers on offer. More information at www.dealatis.org.uk

Beer Day Britain A big celebration of beer returns later this month, with a national ‘cheers’ at 7pm. Beer Day Britain aims to celebrate all that is great about our national drink. Events are due all over the country. Visit www.beerdaybritain.co.uk to find out more.

38

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Eat

Ingredient of the Week

Anise Hyssop with Tim Maddams

[[

t is not very often until I find some in a new salad these days, now I’m mix over at Trill Farm’s organic getting so long in the garden near Axminster and I I found some tooth, that I stumble am bowled over by a brand new in a salad and upon a new ingrediflavour, a sort of mix of fennel, ent that takes me completely by basil and mint. was bowled over surprise. In this instance, I am Aside from this, I am delighted by a brand new quite put out about it as it appears to have finally caught up, and flavour, a sort this foodie gem has been hiding in I’m sharing it with you now, so plain sight all the while. Worse, it you can be in the know too. of mix of fennel, seems that various foodie and garAnise Hyssop (or Agastache basil and mint dener friends have been happily foeniculum for those of you who growing and cooking with it for do) is occasionally also known quite some time, centuries in fact, as Aromatic Hyssop and even and there has been some dark conLavender Hyssop. It is a native spiracy to keep me from this wonderful plant and of Canada and North America and the native its complex yet honest aromatic flavour.

Americans were keen on it as a medicine, for I do which people wouldn’t do this. I mean, everything from coughs to the trots, in much the you would have thought it within the sphere of same way as we use its cousin mint in our own human endeavour for one of my many cooking or herbals of old. Forget about all that though, the horticultural associates to have taken me to one point is that it tastes like a gift from the kitchen side at some point and quietly let me in on the gods. I can’t wait to get a little better acquainted facts, but no, I am left stumbling blindly along with it in the coming weeks.

I

Hooray for hyssop Anise hyssop works well with tomatoes in a goat’s cheese salad in place of basil, is especially perky added to a G&T and is also marvellous in asparagus pasta, dressed over new potatoes, flung into green sauce. Chopped over some fairly average strawberries with a little honey it is simply manna.

I suspect that it will work like a charm in ice creams and mojitos, iced tea and even pesto. I am so keen on it I will probably try and grow some myself, which is apparently easy but this is the guy who can kill mint, so we will have to wait and see. Get some, Try some, add it to your Pimms and feel free to take the credit.

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

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27/05/2016 14:01:28

Enjoy A WEEKEND IN

TOPSHAM

The Bridge Inn

s Topsham a suburb of Exeter or a town in its own right? The jury’s out, but one thing is certain – it is a lovely place to visit. Exeter’s former port is prized for its architecture, scenery and nearby nature reserves for migrating birds. Topsham’s distinctive Dutch-style houses date from the time when this was an important harbour for cotton and wool exports. The grand gabled houses were built by sea captains to European designs, using bricks brought over as ballast from Holland.

Today, it’s packed with quirky shops and great places to eat, all along the beautiful Exe estuary.

I

The Salutation Inn

Or

Arrive: The beauty of Topsham is that is has its own train station on the Avocet branch line from Exeter to Exmouth, making a weekend here easily achievable even without a car. There is plenty to do within walking (or cycling) distance of the village centre, www.avocetline.org.

Explore:

Enjoy: Topsham Outdoor Swimming Pool is the pride of the town. It is open (and heated!) from late April to mid-September. You could even join the early morning swimming session (from 6-8.30am) known as The Nutters. It’s £4 a session for adults 01392 874477 www.topshampool.com

Eat: This town is serious about its food, so you’ll be spoilt for choice here. The Salutation Inn is a historical coaching inn which offers fine dining (starting at £39.95 for four courses) and a café serving a more casual menu: www.salutationtopsham.co.uk. Denley’s is an award-winning

The Exe Trail offers an almost entirely traffic-free, level route right around the Exe Estuary, from Dawlish to Exmouth, passing through Starcross, Topsham and Lympstone.

You can hire bikes at Darts Farm shop on the edge of Topsham for £12 per day (adults).

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[[ Today, Exeter’s former port is packed with quirky shops and great places to eat, all along the beautiful Exe estuary

Orange Tree interiors shop

Nello’s long table street party in Topsham

Indian restaurant that specialises in Kashmiri dishes and is sited in a converted dairy in the town www.denleysessenceofindia.co.uk

Don’t miss: The Topsham Food Festival, July 2-3, 2016. Activities include a farmers’ market, live music, chef demos and much more. On the Sunday morning, Topsham’s lively community will turn out in force to create Nello’s Longest Table (named after a much-loved local foodie) of 350 tables set edge-to-edge all along the main street. Bring your own feast and join in a fun celebration www.topshamfoodfestival.org.uk

Shop: Darts Farm shop is set in country fields on the edge of the town. It specialises in superb Westcountry produce and a day out in its own right thanks to additional stores including Orange Interiors, Fired Earth and the Garton King Aga shop. There’s also a café and a fresh fish and chip shop. In the town centre of Topsham, don’t miss the renowned Country Cheeses shop, which specialises in local artisan cheese.

Drink: The Queen famously had a beer in the 16th century Bridge Inn when she visited this charming and unchanged little pub in 1998.

Dar ts Farm cafe

The Globe, Topsham

Today, it is still a proper drinking pub and known for its real ales – although (in a concession to the changing times) it is now possible to order a pie and homemade coleslaw to eat with them: www. cheffers.co.uk

Stay: The Globe is a beautiful 16th century inn with 19 boutique-style bedrooms, all recently renovated. Their Spring Into Summer offer starts from £80 per night for two, call 01392 873471 or visit www.theclobetopsham.co.uk. It also serves superb food and, as a St Austell Brewery pub, some pretty good beers, too.

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27/05/2016 14:21:21

Porthgwidden Beach

My Secret Westcountry Lee Wilson Lee Wilson moved to St Ives 12 years ago. He began his career in London and then became a personal chef to the Qatari royal family. Today, he is head chef of the Porthminster Kitchen. Lee has a daughter, 11 year-old Milly, who lives in Plymouth.

44

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People The Rum and Crab Shack

Good Folks Barber, St Ives

The Gurnard’s Head The Barbara Hepworth sculpture museum

tures just walking around St Ives.

Activity: As a chef I work long hours, and I’m

My favourite…

Walk: I love the walk from St Ives to Zennor, mostly because The Tinners Arms is waiting for me at the end! It’s a great little pub with a cosy bar in the winter and a beautiful garden in the summer. If you time it right, you can mooch on up to The Gurnard’s Head for an early dinner.

This walk always calls for a cab home.

Beach: Porthgwidden Beach in St Ives has always been my favourite since I moved to the town 12 years ago. I love the view framed by the two small headlands. It’s sheltered and small (and usually calm), which makes it perfect for my daughter Milly. Plus Porthgwidden Beach Café is where I started my career, so I have fond memories of working there.

Arts venue: This has to be the Barbara Hepworth Museum and Sculpture Garden, again in St Ives. It’s a peaceful enclave even when the town is busy, which makes it a calm and tranquil space in which to appreciate her work. I’m a big fan of her beautiful organic forms and I love the fact that you can see several of her sculp-

Deck at The Sloop in the centre of town is the place to be.

usually in a busy, hot kitchen when other people are relaxing. As a result, on my day off, I like to turn the tables and enjoy a long, boozy lunch which often runs into dinner. I’m very hedonistic when it comes to food and drink I’m afraid.

Restaurant: The Coldstreamer Inn in Gulval

Westcountry food: My ideal meal is get-

Weekend away: My mum, my sister, her

ting some fresh mackerel straight off the boat, building a fire and foraging for some shoreline ingredients – for example I love rock samphire.

Enjoying a simple and fresh meal like this, whilst having a few G&Ts and watching the sun go down would be perfect. Alternatively, I’d be happy with a Philps pasty if the Cornish mizzle is in town…

partner and my daughter Milly all live in Plymouth so that’s where I’m most relaxed. Myself and my girlfriend go up there and get away from everything, have some home-cooking and chill out. I also love The Helford River and that whole area of south Cornwall. I could happily spend a whole weekend walking and visiting the lovely waterside pubs there like The Shipwrights Arms at Helford and The Ferry Boat Inn at Helford Passage

Tipple: I’m still waiting for a Westcountry armagnac with bated breath, I’m sure someone will make one soon! In the meantime, I love the rum created specially for the Rum and Crab Shack in St Ives. Dead Man’s Fingers is a Caribbean Rum blended with a unique combination of spices, said to smell like saffron cake among other things. It’s great by itself over ice, or served with ginger.

Pub: I would recommend The Halsetown Inn, which is a nice walk through fields from St Ives and the food is great. If it’s sunny The Upper

near Penzance is top of my list at the moment.

It’s a pub rather than a restaurant but they recently served me one of the best meals I’ve had for a long time.

Shop: Academy & Co on Lifeboat Hill sells great clothes in St Ives and is my main shopping fix in Cornwall.

Treat: I go to Good Folks Barber on Tregenna Hill in St Ives at least once a month to get my hair cut and get a shave. Kev Milo there always sorts me out with some quirky facial hair.

www.porthminster.kitchen 45

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27/05/2016 14:29:36

My life

[

CHRIS MCGUIRE

Better latte than never ‘Tris’ McGuire’s ordered a coffee...

t all started with my name. ‘Chris’ isn’t that tricky to remember – you’d think. I always thought it was quite common really. Some would say a little too common. It’s true there were loads of Christophers in my school.

It seemed every Tom, Dick or Harry was a Christopher. I’m not sure who I’m named after, maybe the venerable patron saint of travellers? I doubt it. I’ve got a sneaking suspicion my name echoes Christopher Timothy (in his James Herriot days). My mum did watch All Creatures Great and Small rather avidly.

Anyway, this week I learned there are some fights it’s impossible to win. I regularly visit branches of a certain high street coffee emporium. Yet I’ve never had an even close to accurate representation of my name written onto my cup.

Recent variants have included ‘Crass’, ‘Fliss’ and most perplexingly ‘Miss’. Now look I’m 18 stone, bearded and have size 15 feet, I flatter myself that I don’t look like a lady. I know it seems like a minor point, but this mislabelling has frequently led to my morning coffee going cold. “‘Miss’! ‘Miss’! ‘Miss’ your latte!”

Not a call I’m likely to answer. After (finally) establishing there were no females waiting on a milky drink I reluctantly stepped forward.

“Is that latte mine?”

“Yes ‘Miss’, your latte. Where have you been?”

I counted to ten and took my (now lukewarm) coffee away.

Yet I was determined to beat this system. How? I decided on plumping for a different name: something so distinctive nobody could ever get it wrong. It seemed a good plan. But which name to choose?

“Large latte please!”

“Name?”

“It’s for ‘Maximilian’.”

I gave the name and waited. I nipped to the loo came back and waited some more. Finally, after ten minutes, I spoke to the barista.

I

“Is there a latte for Maximilian?”

“Yeah. He’s got it. Nice of you to buy him a drink.”

A rather dapper fellow by the window lifted his latte in a ‘Cheers’ motion to me and smiled.

I smiled back, through gritted teeth. The coffee gods were certainly not smiling on me.

Determined not to be beaten, I came up with what I thought was a foolproof plan. When ordering I was not going to let the empty cup leave my sight unless I was certain it had my name (with the correct spelling) written on it.

“Can I take your order?”

“C… H… R… I… S…” Understandably, the barista seemed confused.

“Sorry?”

“That’s my name ‘Chris’.”

“Great.

And your order?”

“Latte. Large. For C. H. R. I. S. CHRIS.” Goodness knows what the other people in the queue were thinking. I leant over the poor fellow as he correctly spelt my name. If I’d had a red pen I would’ve put a tick next to it. Feeling quite smug, thinking I’d finally won the battle, I waited for my coffee to arrive.

“Chris!” cried the barista.

I stepped forward, as if accepting an award. I was about to thank all those who have supported me over the years when I noticed

[

it was a cappuccino, not a latte. The poor barista was so flustered getting my name correct he’d written down the wrong order.

So, what I learned this week is sometimes you just can’t win. You really can’t. Now I just wait and take any drink labelled with a name I like the look of. This morning I took a flat white marked Pom. I hope Tom didn’t mind.

Chris McGuire is a writer who recently moved to the Westcountry. He’s convinced being given cold coffee is a major problem.

We think he needs to get out more. @ McGuireski

NEXT WEEK: Phil Goodwin on love, life and parenthood in the South West 46

ChrisM_Jun4.indd 46

31/05/2016 11:43:52

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