West Magazine March 26 2016

26.03.16

16

Fresh ways to spring clean your life

INSIDE: + DIY EASTER CHOCOLATE + STATELY INTERIORS

WIN: + £100 IN

SHOPPING VOUCHERS

Life’s a beach ‘I moved to Cornwall to live the dream’ - Roo Cross - p12

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C’est magnifique!

Hearth & Cook brings a new experience to home lovers and makers. Expertly gathered together in our showroom in Exeter is a selection of the finest products designed to

transform homes and inspire wonderful culinary creations, including a touch of je ne sais quoi from the renowned French cooker specialists, La Cornue. Visit our showroom now to see many of these appliances in action or browse our website for more information.

Our La Cornue Design Studio one of the most comprehensive in the country - is now ready to explore!

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

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

22/03/2016 12:43:20 13:34:47 15/03/2016

‘People here want to go shopping in February on a Tuesday, just as much as in high summer. We’re not just for tourists’

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SCENTS OF SPRING The new season perfumes you’ll adore

Roo Cross on running a beach boutique in Cornwall, p 12

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GET THE BOOST Great ways to feel your best, now

EAT SMART Could portion control be the answer?

[contents[ Inside this week...

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THE WISHLIST Check out this week’s objects of desire

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JUST BETWEEN US...

Sh! We have the latest gossip!

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WIN £50 SHOPPING VOUCHERS Time to get yourself something gorgeous

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LIFE’S A BEACH Meet Roo Cross, surf retail queen

DIY EASTER TREATS Homemade chocolates? Yes, you can!

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TO THE MANOR BORN Stately home style in west Devon

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ANNE SWITHINBANK Practical advice for Easter gardening

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SCENTS OF SPRING The new season perfumes you’ll adore

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NAUTICAL BUT NICE How to wear the latest look for spring

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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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SWEET ENOUGH? Wise words on sugar from Tim Maddams

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FANCY DRESS? NOT AGAIN...

Chris McGuire in tights and body paint

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SECRET PLACES An insider’s guide to the west

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SPRING-CLEAN YOUR SOUL

Mindful magic to refresh your life

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www. or £10 for two ll.co.uk seasaltcornwa

Heal’s ink

dots jug

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wishlist ’s top picks Here are West

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Hello and Happy Easter to you!

Styles

Alex 23, shopping Alex Styles, We spotted spring day on an early in Plymouth e of the way y. We approv yet gives just recentl and cosy, she keeps warm of spring freshness shot her outfit a coat. And baby-blue with her pastel though I’m boots! “Even we love the g high-heeled love wearin quite tall, I kind so I the chunky shoes – I get ” she tells us. don’t topple, Look New Scarf: Look Coat: New Peacocks Polo neck: Look Gloves: New Asos Jeans: g fab to Look Boots: New friend lookin of you or a news.co.uk stylish snaps Send your sternmorning westmag@we

DIY Easter treats to make

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all Seasalt Cornw salt caramel sea £7.95 Easter egg

CHOCS AWAY!

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[ tion M&S Collec slip £22.50 bright pink r Marks & Spence

14/03/2016

13:24:42

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e know, of course, that Easter means so much, in so many different ways.

It’s a religious festival, of course, and it also means some extra time off, to spend with people we love. It’s the end of Lent - how did yours go? - and also a real sign of the turning seasons and the start of spring. But there is no denying that Easter is, for many of us, also very much about chocolate.

With that in mind, this week we paid a visit to the fabulous chocolatier Gill Coates, who lives and works in Lyme Regis on the Dorset coast. If you turn to page 16 today, you’ll see Gill’s superb

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of the week

recipes for making your own Easter treats. They are a lot of fun and absolutely beautiful too. Special thanks to the class act performed by Lyme Regis-based photographer Matt Austin, who really has made Gill’s creations look irresistably delicious.

Elsewhere, we meet another really rather inspiring Westcountry woman, Roo Cross of north Cornwall. Roo’s the creative powerhouse behind a hugely-admired coastal boutique in Porth, Newquay. Called Roo’s Beach, her business is currently going from strength to strength as a nationally recognised brand. Find out more (and win shopping vouchers!) on page 12 today.

[

There’s no denying that Easter is, for many, very much about chocolate

@_Lexi_Styles_ Catching up with the papers, open @WMNNews magazine @WMNWest & see this... #streetstyle

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

Becky Sheaves, Editor

COVER IMAGE: Adj Brown

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 do one thing this week...

Why not pay a visit to Exeter’s wonderful shopping centre, Princesshay? You could buy some gorgeous spring fashion, such as this lovely dress from Coast, then browse in Karen Millen, Reiss, Hobbs, Debenhams and more. Or how about a meal? We love Carluccio’s, Wagamama and newly-refurbished Café Rouge. www.princesshay.co.uk

Win

We have a £50 Princesshay gift card to win, to spend in the shopping centre’s stores and restaurants. To enter, send your name and contact details to: Princesshay Competition, westmag@westernmorningnews.co.uk, with the answer to this question: In which city is Princesshay? Entries to arrive by April 8. Normal terms apply, West magazine will not share your details.

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BLOOM

Flower press £21.95 www.clareloves.co.uk

Gold whisk £18.95 www. miafleur.com

the

Super cool pink glass and silicone water bottle £24.95 from Cornwall’s www.roosbeach.co.uk

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

STREET STYLE STAR

Two Dandelions wall sticker from £26.69 www.tenstickers.co.uk

Amy Carkett, 17 We spotted Amy, a student, out shopping on a sunny but cold day in Plymouth. Her solution to the spring chills? A cute woolly hat and not one but two bright and cosy scarves.

Hat: Topshop Scarves: Zara and Topshop Jacket: Rihanna at Topshop Bag: River Island

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

Felbrigg lantern £32 www.miafleur.com

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Wishlist

Pale blue and 9ct gold earrings £180 www. piajewellery.com

HANDY The Fishermen’s Mission gets 50p from each sale of this cute fish shoal bag £5 www.seasaltcornwall.co.uk

Store we adore...

Emma Bridgewater wallflowers plate £17.95 from South Molton’s Daisy Park and www.daisypark.co.uk

It’s a wrap!

Twist front jersey wrap dress £35 M&Co

STORE WE ADORE:

Number 30, Ashburton This boutique sells pre-loved contemporary and vintage clothes.

We fell in love with a pair of Celtic & Co boots here in mint condition for under £50. You’ll also find pretty gift ideas

and homeware including initial mugs illustrated with colour plates from the classic Ladybird ABC book.

Number 30, East Street, Ashburton, call 07791 102357 or 01626 681423

YES PLEASE Jar of chocolate eggs £12.95, Carluccio’s Exeter

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talking points Gillian Molesworth

Story of my life...

When good advice is just a phone call away had a new experience last week – I called 111. I must admit I’ve been baffled by the point of it. I get why the NHS did it – too many people calling 999 who had an ingrown toenail or something – but I didn’t see how it could apply to me. Surely you either have a medical emergency or you go to see a GP. It’s not like anyone can do a he lost more than a half a mug proper diagnosis over the phone. of blood? No, but the bleeding The poor family that lost their wasn’t stopping. baby to sepsis is tragic testimony She patched me through to to that. another woman, presumably with But on Friday night my son more medical qualifications. We Freddy had a nosebleed, the third went through similar questions. in 24 hours. I was, I’m afraid to “I think you should get Freddy say, rushing out the door. “Here, seen and the closest place that’s just pinch it with this, and tell open now is Bodmin Minor InDaddy if it gets really bad,” I said, juries Unit, which is three miles thrusting a paper towel at him. from you,” she said.

Forty minutes We drove to later I returned, Bodmin Minor and Freddy still Injuries and gave The first thing had a nosebleed, our name to the poor kid. Not nurse. Within ten I heard was heavy. But still, minutes she admitthe: ‘We are you know, bleedted us and – this is experiencing ing. Why does the impressive part, this stuff always I thought – the 111 higher than happen on a service had alerted normal call Friday night? her that we were on It wasn’t a life our way, and sent volume’ message or death situation her the case notes.

– what a surprise but clearly my Mirabile dictu! home treatment The nurse said wasn’t working. I that we hadn’t dialled 111. The first thing I heard pinched his nose long enough – was the: “We are experiencing you have to do it for 20 minutes higher than normal call volume” without letting up, apparently. message – what a surprise. I put She sent us home with a nosethe phone on speaker and started bleed leaflet. The whole experiemptying the dishwasher. ence lasted about an hour and a I had only just done the glasses half. by the time the line picked up. A So yes, the 111 service did just woman took my details, includrefer us on, but it was efficient. ing our surgery. I told her about And, in the interim, it also kept Freddy’s nosebleeds and she me from freaking out, which was asked some questions. Was he valuable. Maybe that should be its dizzy? Short of breath? Seeing new tagline: “NHS 111. Keeps you lights? Was his chest hot? Had from freaking out.”

I

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

SINGING

the blues Bright blue was certainly a nice change for Somerset’s Maisie Williams, compared to her character Arya Stark’s muted wardrobe in TV’s Game of Thrones. At the Screen Actors Guild Awards recently, Maisie wore this striking Ermanno Scervino design. Paired with minimalist accessories and a relaxed looking up-do, she looks both pretty and polished, with a demure, slightly retro style. Doesn’t blue work well with silver-grey shoes, too?

Jacquard prom dress £69 Chic by Choice

steal her

style

OR MAKE IT YOUR OWN

OPTION A Sweet OPTION B Smart

Linen cut-out dress £129 East

Stripe detail dress £29.99 TK Maxx

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26.03.16

Just

BACK TO

between us

THE FLAT? Actor Neil Morrissey has said he’d love to revive hit 90s comedy series Men Behaving Badly, despite calling his character in it a “misogynist loser”.

Although his co-star Martin Clunes has poured cold water on the idea, Neil says he would love to appear again as Tony Smart in the beer-soaked flatshare comedy. The 53-year-old says: “I would

love to. I’d love to explore the fact that these two people now would be a couple of old dinosaurs probably still living in the same flat.” But we say – what about the girls? It wouldn’t be the same without Leslie Ash and Devon’s own Caroline Quentin. Although we suspect Deborah and long-suffering Dorothy may have moved on to better things!

[ [ ‘Winning Bake-Off helped me to love food – at last’

BAKING HELPED GERI Former Spice Girl Geri Horner says learning to make cakes for The Great Sport Relief Bake Off helped her to overcome her eating disorder.

The former Spice Girl, who is mum to nine-year-old Bluebell, said the show was a “landmark” in her battle against the eating disorder bulimia, which she experienced throughout her 20s. “Even when I’d recovered from it, I had a distant relationship with food. But to bake properly and celebrate cake rather than run from it was such a landmark for me.”

Geri, 43, was crowned Star Baker on the charity edition of the show when it was filmed last September. She says: “The creativity of baking something is like writing a song; it’s a mood-changer.”

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

!

VICKY: ‘FOR ME, THE

PARTY’S OVER!’ Vicky Pattison may have had a stream of red carpet invitations since being crowned queen of the I’m a Celebrity jungle, but the she’s on a mission to curb the party-girl lifestyle that launched her TV career.

“The reason I’ve decided to curb my drinking and nights out is because I want to achieve everything I want to achieve,” says the 28-yearold Newcastle lass, who came to fame on reality series Geordie Shore .

“I’ve finally got to a place where the things I’ve always wanted are actually a possibility rather than a far-off dream, and I don’t want to look back in years to come and think, ‘You ruined it through going out too much and not being able to say no’.” Canny lass.

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Superhero: There was a sci-fi convention in Plymouth

in pictures Jump to it: The netball match between Plymouth Pilgrims and Plymouth University was hard-fought

Cuddles: Duchy College at Stoke Climsland held a family open day to celebrate spring Well done: The Men’s Walk in Exeter raised money for Hospiscare

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talking points Hot dates

Untrendy

ONE OF US Famous faces with links to the Westcountry

10 once-popular baby names falling out of vogue, according to Bounty.com Celebrities with memorable birthdays:

1 Philip Schofield April 1 2 Neil Morrissey July 4 3 Simon Pegg February 14 4 Johnny Marr October 31 5 Annie Lennox December 25

6 Alexa Chung November 5

1 Terry 2 Derek 3 Helen 4 Clare 5 Ian 6 Darren 7 Graham 8 Karen 9 Janet 10 Joanne

7 Jeremy Irvine January 1 8 Ja Rule February 29

The happy list

9 Jorgie Porter December 25

10 Tilda Swinton November 5

Calendar Songs with months in their title

1 January Disclosure 2 End of May Michael Buble 3 November Rain Guns ‘n’ Roses

4 My December Linkin Park 5 July, July! The

10 things to make you smile this week 1 Gin with tonic, very nice 2 Priscilla the musical, Torquay April 11-16

Decemberists

6 December Song George Michael

7 Fourth of July Fall Out Boy

8 September Earth, Wind and Fire

9 January Sales The Singing Postman

10 April Fools Rufus Wainwright

3 4 5 6 7 8

Easter eggs still time Broad beans ready now Monday off yes!

Roast lamb with mint Lent last day, well done Boconnoc spring flower

This week:

John le Carre The writer John Le Carre, 84, lives in west Cornwall

Cornwall: John le Carre is the pen name of David Cornwell, who has lived near St Buryan in the far west of Cornwall for more than 40 years. “I live on a Cornish cliff and hate cities.

I write and walk and swim and drink.”

Name change: During the 1950s and the 1960s, David Cornwell worked for the Security Service and the Secret Intelligence Service, and began writing novels under the name John Le Carre.

50 greatest British writers since 1945”.

Family: His father Ronnie was an associate of the London criminals the Kray twins and was a confidence trickster who spent time in prison. “I don’t know how many times the bailiffs called...

DID YOU KNOW? You have no idea how John le Carre humiliating it was.”

When Ronnie died owns a mile in 1975, he paid for of clifftop a memorial funeral near Land’s service but did not attend.

End

Success: He is one of the country’s most successful writers. An adaptation of his novel The Night Manager is currently on BBC1.

Fame: When his third novel The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (1963) became an international bestseller, he left MI6 to become a full-time author.

Awards: In 2008, The Times ranked John le Carre 22nd on its list of “The

Spy: When he studied at Oxford in the 1950s, David Cornwell worked covertly for MI5, spying on far-left groups in case of Soviet infiltration.

Philby: His cover as an intelligence officer was ended by the betrayal of British agents to the KGB by Kim Philby, a British double agent, in 1964.

Marriage: He married wife Valerie Jane in 1972 and he has four sons. His youngest son writes fantasy novels under the pen name Nick Harkaway.

festival, April 2-3

9 The Jungle Book Northcott, Exeter, April 26-30

10 Clocks going forward at last

Competition winners: Congratulations to the winners of two family day passes to the National Trust property of their choice in Devon or Cornwall: Karen Holland from Millbrook and Steve Buckley, from Braunton

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People

LIFE’S A BEACH For Roo Cross, a move to Cornwall led to a whole new life - not to mention a brand new business, too...

By Becky Sheaves

ife’s a beach for Roo Cross, quite literally. She runs a shop on the north coast of Cornwall that is called Roo’s Beach. And when it comes to showcasing the unique and oh-so-cool Cornish surf style, Roo’s beach-side boutique certainly punches well above its weight.

The reason being, that Roo herself – a busy mum of three – is passionately devoted to having the most covetable, must-have treats in the shop, gathered by her from all over the world. The shop – and new online boutique – perfectly embodies Cornwall’s laid-back, coastal vibe.

With swimwear from Australia, sunglasses from France, handbags from Los Angeles and beach towels Roo designed herself, the shop is already the winner of a prestigious national award from industry bible Drapers, for the best store design makeover in the country in 2015.

“My passion is to offer women a fresh, luxurious alternative to beachwear. Curating and collecting products from around the globe, combining pattern with originality, our collection is perfectly suited to coastal living and stylish pursuits,” Roo explains.

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‘My passion is to offer women a fresh, luxurious alternative to beachwear, perfectly suited to coastal living’

Roo Cross in the beach-side boutique she runs in Cornwall

PHOTOGRAPHY: ADJ BROWN

Roo’s beautiful store won a national award for design last year

Roo’s story starts back in 2002 when she and her husband Ian bought a small bungalow in the coastal village of Mawgan Porth, near Newquay, as a weekend getaway. “At the time, we were living in Winchester. But we soon found ourselves spending every possible moment in Cornwall. My husband Ian is a keen surfer and we just loved the lifestyle down here.”

Back then, Ian was working as an architect and Roo was running her own landscape gardening business. By 2011, the family was desperate to live in Cornwall full time – but could they make it work? “Our eldest son, Archie, was just choosing his GCSE options and we knew that, if we did not make the move then, we would never be able to,” remembers Roo. “So we took the plunge – and it was the best decision we ever made.”

Fast-forward five years and Archie is now 19, Molly is 17 and Betsy is 13. “All three of our children have so enjoyed growing up in Cornwall and get so much out of the rural, coastal lifestyle,” says Roo. “They love surfing and are very much part of the wonderful community here.”

And that same lifestyle has transformed Roo’s career, too, in a quite unexpected way. “Ian now 13

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People

Roo’s boutique in the Cornish coastal village of Porth

mostly works from home, making trips back up to his office in Winchester once or twice a month,” she explains. “For my part, I was expecting to carry on with my landscape gardening in Cornwall – but then Roo’s Beach happened.”

The decision to open a shop was born, Roo explains, out of a sense of frustration: “I loved the style of the women here, which is very different to what I was used to in Winchester. Yes, people still like to wear lovely clothes but their lifestyle is outdoorsy and beachy, so everything has to reflect that too. It’s not about high heels or dry-clean-only fabrics. Clothes have to be beachproof. But they can still be unusual and really cool, too.

“The trouble was, I just couldn’t shop for what I wanted! There really wasn’t the sort of boutique I wanted to browse in, anywhere around here.”

One thing led to another and, in the spring of 2013, Roo took on a tiny gift shop in the village of Mawgan Porth which had come up for rent. “It was fun, and worked really well, but space was very constrained so we could not offer the range of products that I wanted,” Roo remembers.

Within a year, she and Ian had taken on a much larger premises nearby, right on the beach at Porth. This is now home to a much larger Roo’s Beach boutique, as well as a coffee shop, Pilates studio and an ice-cream hut.

The business is run in a way that really shows Roo’s commitment to the community in and around the Cornish north coast. “We are open all year round. I think that is so important,” she 14

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‘People here want to go shopping in February on a Tuesday, just as much as in high summer. We’re not just for tourists’

says. “People here deserve to be able to go shopping in February on a Tuesday, just as much as in high summer. Roo’s Beach is not just for tourists, we’re part of everyday life.

“We also sell at a wide range of price points.

Yes, we do have some expensive brands, which are unique and special. But I don’t want anyone to feel that they can’t afford to come in here. We also stock gorgeous and affordable things, from cute cards to surfers’ nail varnish designed to stand up to the sea and sunshine. There is something for everyone.”

The next adventure on Roo’s horizon is to take the Roo’s Beach brand further afield. To this end, she is busy growing her online business, selling the products she loves nationwide. “It’s great for people who may have spotted us on holiday or who live far away. Online retail is a really exciting prospect for us.”

Roo is also planning a pop-up store to be found at the ultra-chic Port Eliot Festival in south east Cornwall this summer. “We’ve just heard that we’ve been given a stand there, which is fabulous news as it is very competitive.” She and her team will be putting on quite a show there, she explains: “We’re currently transforming a retro caravan by decorating it with one of the designs for our beach towels. We’ll be there in force, showing off the Roo’s Beach ethos to as many people as possible. It’s going to be so much fun.”

Another iron in the fire is a collaboration with the nationally-renowned Watergate Bay hotel, she explains. “We have designed one of our trademark fringed beach towels especially for Watergate Bay. It’s a great partnership for our brand.”

Indeed, Roo is so busy that one wonders whether she ever has time to enjoy the chilled-out Cornish lifestyle herself ? “Life’s a bit hectic, I must admit,” she laughs. “But when your daily commute is along the Cornish clifftops, watching the surf rolling in, then it’s no hardship. After all, I love what I do.” And, happily for Roo, her customers also really love what she does, too.

For details visit www.roosbeach.co.uk

Win! £50 to spend at Roo’s Beach We have a £50 voucher to spend instore or at www.roosbeach.co.uk.

For your chance to win, send us your name, address and contact details to: Roo’s Beach competition, westmag@ westernmorningnews.co.uk, together with the answer to this question: In which village is the Roo’s Beach boutique?

Entries must arrive by April 8. Normal terms apply, West magazine will not share your details.

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Enjoy

Easter treats This weekend is prime time for chocolate lovers - and what could be nicer than handmade Easter eggs? Top chocolatier Gill Coates from Lyme Regis explains the easy way to make your very own...

By Becky Sheaves

aster, of course, is prime time for chocolate, as Gill Coates of Lyme Regis knows only too well. Chocolate has become both a passion and a career for Gill, who makes bespoke chocolate creations from her home in the Dorset town, as well as running hugely popular chocolate-making courses across the Westcountry.

“I’m so busy at the moment,” says Gill, 58. “I’m running back-to-back chocolate courses and of course making all sorts of Easter-themed creations. Luckily, I absolutely love what I do.”

It’s been a mid-life career change for Gill, who spent many years sailing a 65ft yacht around the world in her younger years. “I ran sailing courses, taking people for legs of the round-the-world journey and teaching them to sail,” she explains. “Then I decided I wanted to live on dry land, and so teaching chocolate making instead became my new career.”

E

These days, Gill and her husband Peter, a successful artist, are a very creative couple. Peter sells his paintings in the town of Lyme Regis and across the country, while Gill runs courses for groups of friends, hen nights and children’s birthday parties. “People have a lovely time, becoming thoroughly absorbed in making chocolate, and of course make plenty of lovely things to take home and enjoy,” she explains.

Gill herself trained at the worldrenowned chocolatiers Valrhona in France. “I went on a course just for fun but it was unexpectedly life-changing,” she remembers.

And this time of year is especially busy, she says. “Easter is real chocolate time, we associate it with treats and fun.”

And it will be a family time for Gill, too.

“Our five grandchildren are all coming to stay with us at Easter with their parents.

I will be making chocolates with them, and also they will be having an Easter Egg hunt in the garden. All handmade, of course.”

See over for Gill’s chocolate recipes and visit www.chocolateamour.co.uk

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photography: matt austin

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Easter Breakfast Eggs Ingredients: 100g good quality dark or milk chocolate 20g dark or milk chocolate, chopped in a food processor until it resembles a fine gravel but not powder 50g dark or milk chocolate 2 teaspoons strawberry powder 70g white chocolate 1 shot glass of double cream Easter egg mould the size of a real egg

Method: 1. Melt the dark or milk chocolate until it reaches 45-50C. Take it away from the heat and add the chopped dark or milk chocolate. Stir slowly until the ‘seeds’ of chocolate have melted.

2. Spoon the melted chocolate into the moulds and swirl or brush to cover the mould cups completely. Tip out the excess onto greaseproof paper and transfer it back into the melted chocolate. Keep this chocolate warm to prevent it from setting.

3. When the first coating has set, repeat the process with a further 2 or 3 layers until you have a half egg with a shell at least 2mm thick.

4. Leave to set for a few hours.

5. Once set, carefully ease the eggs out of the moulds and leave to stand somewhere cool.

6. To make the filling, heat the white chocolate over steam or in the microwave, stirring continuously, until it is just runny.

7. Take it off the heat and add the cream. Stir until the cream has disappeared. Add to this the strawberry powder and stir well.

8. Spoon the mixture into a disposable piping bag, cut the end to produce a hole about 3 mm.

9. Pipe the filling into the egg halves until it is about 1–2 mm from the top.

10. Leave to set in a cool place.

11. Once the filling is fairly solid, heat a palette knife and gently press it to the top edge of the egg – do 2 halves at a time. Immediately press the 2 halves together so that they stick – you may need to hold the egg for a few seconds with cold hands, so that it sticks well.

12. Once all the egg halves are stuck together, melt 50grs of dark or milk chocolate until just melted, leave to cool until it feels cold to the touch but not yet setting. One egg at a time, brush with the melted chocolate where you would like to stick decorations. Place the silver balls, sprinkles or pink sugar crystals onto the melted chocolate and place into an egg cup to set.

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Enjoy

Small Chocolate Eggs and Mini Chocolate Eggs Ingredients: 100g milk or dark chocolate 30g chopped chocolate seeds Small egg mould Decorations for the eggs, e.g. edible gold powder, sprinkles, silver balls, coloured sugar crystals.

Method: 1. Melt 100g of chocolate in a bain marie or microwave, stirring continuously until the temperature reaches 45–50C. 2. Add the chopped chocolate seeds.

3. Stir until the seeds have melted and the chocolate feels cool.

4. Pour into the egg mould using a teaspoon. Be careful not to overfill the moulds, if you do, scrape the excess away with a palette knife so that you have a flat, even surface.

5. Leave to set about 20 minutes in the fridge or a cool room. When set, unmould the egg halves.

Heat a palette knife and hold it against the flat side of an egg half and again repeat with another egg half, immediately hold them together so that they form a whole egg.

6. Wipe any excess chocolate from the ‘join’ with your finger.

7. Decorate by brushing with melted chocolate and rolling in your chosen decoration and leave to set.

Nests and Eggs Ingredients: Several mini eggs, decorated (see recipe, above) 100g milk chocolate 30g double cream Method: 1. Melt the milk chocolate in a bain marie or microwave, stirring continuously. Do not overheat.

2. Add the double cream and stir until it has mixed well.

3. Spoon into a disposable piping bag and cut a small hole in the end about 2mm..

4. Pipe the mixture around the sides and across the base of a petit four paper case, making the sides higher than the middle.

5. Pipe just above the rim of the petit four case. Place one or more eggs into the piped ‘nest’.

6. Allow to set in a cool area.

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Enjoy

EASTER FLORENTINES INGREDIENTS: 2 tablespoons melted cocoa butter 1.5 dessertspoons cocoa powder 1–1.5 dessertspoons agave syrup (according to taste) Cupcake cups Nuts and dried fruit METHOD: 1. Mix well cocoa butter and cocoa powder until smooth.

Add agave syrup, heated until lukewarm. Mix well again and pour into cupcake cups to a height of 1cm.

Decorate while still molten with nuts & dried fruit. Leave to set in the fridge then peel the paper cup away. These chocolates can be stored in the fridge.

2. They can also be decorated with mini chocolate eggs rolled in edible gold powder and dipped in milk chocolate and dark chocolate on either end.

EGGS ON STICKS INGREDIENTS: 100g milk or dark chocolate 30g double cream 70g milk or dark chocolate for dipping Decorations

METHOD: 1. Melt the chocolate in a bain marie or microwave, stirring constantly until the chocolate has just melted.

2. Remove it from the heat.

3. Add the double cream and stir until all the cream is mixed into the chocolate – this will make a ‘ganache’.

4. Pipe onto a sheet of greaseproof paper in flat ‘sausage’ shapes.

5. Leave to set in the fridge for 20 mins.

6. Take out of the fridge and cut a section of the chocolate, and shape into a small egg. Make sure that there are no air pockets inside the eggs.

7. Leave on a piece of greaseproof paper to set for 5 minutes while you roll and shape the rest of the ganache.

8. Once set, you can re-roll the eggs to a better shape.

Push a lolly stick into the base of the egg, about 2/3 of the way up into the egg.

9. Heat until JUST melted the dipping chocolate and place into a small, deep bowl.

10. One at a time dip an egg into the dipping chocolate and once coated, lift out and drain it .

11. Place into a potato or similar so that it stands upright on the stick.

12. Repeat with all the eggs.

13. Decorate with silver balls, sprinkles etc.

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22

interiors

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fashion

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living

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Grand design This historic Devon manor house has just had a serious makeover, transforming it into a super-chic boutique hotel and spa.

Catherine Barnes visits Boringdon Hall, Plympton, to find out more

ccording to local legend, Boringdon takes its name from the Saxon phrase, Burth-Y-Don, which means “enchanted place on the hill”.

It’s a sentiment that Gayle Nettleton says the place still evokes, every time that she turns into the drive of Boringdon Hall and glimpses the centuries-old manor house, now a hotel, cresting the hill.

“It’s such a stunning building and set in such peaceful surroundings,” she says. “I never tire of seeing it.”

Boringdon Hall, in Plympton on the outskirts of Plymouth, has become a family love affair for Gayle, 45, her brother James and late father’s wife Diane, since they bought the hotel in 2011.

Before long, they had announced plans to develop a £5 million luxury health retreat in the grounds. Now there’s just weeks to wait until Boringdon’s much anticipated Gaia Spa is unveiled.

In the meantime, it was Gayle’s job to refresh and upgrade the decor and bring new life to its 40 bedrooms and bathrooms, some of which, along with its Great Hall, are located in the original Tudor part of the building.

The work has been an ongoing process, which began with the bathrooms being re-tiled, replumbed and refitted. The bedrooms were redecorated, using wallpaper and fabrics from a company called Harlequin, Gayle tells me. Royal purple accents bring impact to the colour scheme of the house’s oldest bedrooms, which also boast romantic four-poster beds.

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Interiors

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Interiors

Gayle, who has three sons aged 11, eight and four, had already overseen the interiors of other properties owned by her family business, Fistral Beach Hotel and The Esplanade Hotel, both in Newquay, where she lives.

“I’ve always enjoyed interiors and have followed decor trends since my teens, from rearranging the furniture in my bedroom to ragrolling the walls,” she laughs. “I’ve always loved making spaces look and feel beautiful.”

When the family bought Boringdon Hall, they acquired a stately hotel with a Grade I listed heritage. Indeed, during Tudor times, Sir Walter Raleigh and Queen Elizabeth I stayed at the manor as guests. Its magnificent carved oak fourposter beds were already in situ in the bedrooms when the Nettletons acquired the hotel.

“I’ve been told at least one of them is an original and they are pretty spectacular,” says Gayle.

“Just imagine! You might just be spending the

night in the very same bed curtains and sourced the fabric from a West Yorkas Queen Elizabeth I.” shire company, Skopos Fabrics. The curtains are When considering how each cut from one piece. We bought a really huge to add contemporary roll and had wait until all the residents went to touches and bring comfort bed to run it out across the ballroom floor. and warmth to Boring“A very talented local lady, Niki Solomon, don’s dramatic Great Hall, based near Plympton, made them for me. We Gayle was mindful of its worked through the night until six o’clock in pedigree. the morning to get them hung Once the and they were up, just before h a u n t the first guests came down for of royal breakfast.” visitors, she wanted contemGayle went with a traditional ‘I wanted to make porary guests to feel completely hunting lodge theme for Boringthe Great Hall feel at ease and cosy in the imposing don’s Remy bar, with features warm, inviting room, which has a huge stone including an antler chandelier fireplace dominated by a coat (from www.davidhuntlightand relaxed, even of arms frieze, not to mention a ing.co.uk), hide footstools and though it’s very, minstrel’s gallery (now a wonbutton-back leather sofas. Its very grand’ derful dining space) and a lofty two feature walls are papered in double height ceiling.

Deer Damask Claret by Barneby “I wanted to make it feel Gates (£81 per roll). “Being so warm, inviting and relaxed, close to both town and country, even though it’s very, very I wanted to be sympathetic to grand,” she explains. the hotels heritage, yet create an The Great Hall’s latticed windows run virtuaesthetic that’s contemporary,” Gayle explains. ally floor to ceiling, flooding the room with light, Gayle lives in Newquay but loves the chance to so Gayle kept the walls neutral, bringing accents cosy up at Boringdon Hall. Only last week, she of colour – purple, sky blue and green-gold – to and her sons stayed over, after a trip to see Billy play in the furnishings.

Elliot at Plymouth’s Theatre Royal: “I love to stay “All the colours I used are favourites of mine over when there’s space. I’d absolutely describe and we made them work together, so it’s not too it as that enchanted place on the hill.” bold,” she explains. “I love the huge green-gold www.boringdonhall.co.uk

[[

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GET THE

LOOK

A modern twist on hunting lodge style with leather, hide and metal Antler chandelier £798 www. sweetpeaandwillow.com

Metal hammered wall mirror £49.99 Argos Normann Copenhagen Heima cast iron candleholder £49 www. black-by-design.co.uk Portrait of Godfrey £129 www. frenchbedroomcompany. co.uk

Cowhide ottoman £549 www. sweetpeaandwillow. com

Oxford vintage brown leather armchair £1,497 www.artisanti.com

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Gardens

ANNE SWITHINBANK

Your Easter to-do list Devon’s Anne Swithinbank, panellist on Radio 4’s Gardeners’ Question Time, is focusing on practical plans for her garden right now o flights of fancy this week, because the long Easter break means time to focus on practical work in the garden. Some of our borders have not been tidied since last year and working through them to remove leaves, dead stems and weeds brings me up close and personal with the plants. In the woodland borders, leaves on Daphne odora are looking slightly yellowed, so this hard-working evergreen with deliciously fragrant flowers will be given a dose of iron The weather sequestrene plus a mulch of may still be well-rotted garden compost.

Where soil is still wet, place chilly, so delay small wooden boards between direct sowings of plants to spread your weight. If there is any danger of trampling veg and hardy the emerging shoots on young annuals until hardy geraniums or delphinisoil temperature ums, cover them with upturned pots before venturing on. Rehas risen member where perennial weeds like ground elder and bindweed have been a problem and winkle their roots out before they start growing.

The wet winter appears to have rotted a lot of my Stipa tenuissima grasses, so I comb through take as basal cuttings. This has the double benthem with my hands to remove dead tufts, as the efit of thinning them down, so the remainder remainder plus unaffected seedlings will grow are stronger and flower better. Root them in seed on and can be moved about later, in April. Some trays or pots of gritty compost (50:50 soilless and herbaceous perennials including herbs like marsharp sand or grit) covered with polythene and joram and lemon balm have spread and lost their stood out of full sun. Once rooted, move singly vigour. Lift these, divide using two forks back to to 9cm/3.5in pots and then into 15cm/6in pots or back (or cut with an old kitchen knife), tidy into nursery rows to grow on. In our garden, herbaneat portions about 13cm/5in across and replant ceous perennials need to go in at a decent size in into reconditioned soil. order to fend for themselves.

Look at established clumps for new shoots to I’ve taken to pruning my shrub roses in

N

[[

autumn but they still need weeding, feeding and mulching. Tidy up winter-flowering honeysuckle and viburnum now they’ve finished. You might thin out some older stems by cutting deep into the plant or to a healthy side shoot. Up to one third can be removed like this but avoid trimming all the shoots around the outside, or you’ll end up with rounded shrubs of unnatural shape and hardly any flower.

Some late blooming shrubs can be pruned almost to the ground. We do this to our smoke

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bush Cotinus ‘Grace’, Caryopteris x clandonensis.and hardy fuchsias. Be sure not to touch the likes of weigela, philadelphus or deutzia or you’ll have no flowers this year.

The weather may still be chilly, so delay direct sowings of veg and hardy annuals until you can see weed seedlings germinating – they are your indicator that soil temperature has risen sufficiently.

Sometimes I can’t wait, though, so I have just sown hardy annual Poppy ‘Angel’s Choir’ in modules under glass. There’s still plenty of time to germinate bedding plants such as cleome, gazania and tobacco in warm propagating cases or windowsills and those started earlier will need transplanting to trays, pots or modules. Fork border gaps where they will later be planted and add soil conditioner so this has a chance to integrate ready for planting out in late May. As soon as exotic potted plants like Strelitzia (bird of paradise) or agapanthus start growing actively, they’ll need repotting or feeding. Here, piggy back plants (Tolmeia menzeisii ‘Taff’s Gold’) in a container look miserable after a long wet winter outdoors and may well have some vine weevil larvae in their roots. Taking the healthy shoots as cuttings will leave all the old compost and pests behind.

Most important of all, your gardening muscles need time to wake up, so take it easy and stop the

minute you feel a twinge. Alternate bending jobs like weeding with standing ones such as tying in stems of climbing roses. There’s a long season ahead, after all.

This week in the kitchen garden Anne’s advice for your garden

• Feed grape vines returning to growth. Give a wellbalanced fertilizer initially (ours is in a pot and will have some controlled release fertilizer).

Later, a switch to high potash will help a good set of fruit and ripen the wood.

Question time with Anne West reader queries answered by Anne Swithinbank

Q

We have neglected our garden but now want to bring it back under control. There is so much to do I am put off by not knowing where to start. What is most important?

I have some sage advice often imparted by my late father to cover a variety of jobs. ‘Take care of the edges’, he said ‘and the middle will take care of itself’. Mow the lawns (if dry enough), trim and recut turf edges, weed and clear along pathways (great because if the soil is still wet you won’t need to stand on it) and the garden will be transformed. Where lawns have grown long, raise the height of cut on the mower and bring them down gradually to avoid ‘scalping’. Regular weekly mowing will then improve the turf.

Go through borders targeting first the thuggish weeds like brambles, nettles and ivy. Cover thick weedy growth with black polythene, old carpets or even cardboard and soil to exclude light and smother weeds.

Q

While weeding an overgrown border, I accidentally ripped the stems from a clematis planted last year. Will it survive and is there anything I can do to help it?

We’ve all done this and hated ourselves afterwards. Clematis stems look so dead at this time of the year, it is easy to grab them along with debris.

Next time, wrap fleece around the stems so you can see them. This works when you have builders in too, as bulkier-looking objects tend to earn more respect. Newly-planted clematis should be sunk by 5-8cm/2-3in in the ground and pruned after planting, so they start with multiple stems and the ability to come back from below ground.

Having firmed the plant back in and mulched over the roots, keep slugs off and it might sprout.

Late flowering clematis need a hard prune now anyway.

• Continue to plant first early potatoes 10cm/4in deep 30cm/12in apart in rows 60cm/24in apart. I generally plant a few rows every few days into April, switching to second earlies as I go.

• Harvest leaves from hardy overwintered salads such as land

cress, rocket and claytonia as they make a burst of growth now.

• Transplant lettuce seedlings sown earlier, setting two per 9cm pot or larger module.

They won’t mind being separated later as long as you don’t allow them to become pot bound and entangled.

• Protect brassicas such as kales and sprouting broccoli as well as young plants of summer cabbage and calabrese hardening off ready for planting.

They need some netting or mesh to keep hungry pigeons off.

Weed

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

around the bases of apple trees trained as cordons or espaliers and then mulch over their roots with a generous layer of wellrotted compost or manure.

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Beauty

[[ I have tried and tested some of the best fragrances out there from light and floral to sweet and fruity

Feminine So sweet Jo Malone Nectarine Blossom Honey Cologne (£85 100ml) My mum loves this fragrance. It is sweet but subtle, with notes of peach, cassis and honey.

D & G L’imperatrice no.3 (Boots, £43 100ml) This sophisticated and stylish scent features notes of watermelon, kiwi, pink cyclamen and musk. I liked it a lot.

Abbie’s

fave!

Beauty box

Going coco Estee Lauder Sensuous Nude (Debenhams, £37 30ml) If you like the scent of coconuts you will love this, I know I do!

Floral

Chloé - Love Story (Boots, £65 50ml) This is my favourite spring fragrance. It is light and floral, but lasts on the skin all day.

Expert advice from beauty guru Abbie Bray of Newton Abbot Lighter nights and warmer weather can only mean one thing, spring is finally here! It is definitely the season of change (and that is not a bad thing). Now is the time to put your winter coats and boots back in the wardrobe, along with your plum and nude lipsticks.

It is also the time to think about spring beauty must-haves and what better way to start than looking at some of the newest fragrances on the high street?

Fragrance is a very personal choice and one scent that suits one person might not suit another – it depends on how it works on your skin. Don’t panic if a certain scent smells better on your friend than it does on you – you just need to find the right one for you. This week I have tried and tested some of the best fragrances out there from light and floral to sweet and fruity. Which will you choose?

Fresh Elie Saab - L’Eau Couture EDT (John Lewis £31 30ml) A delicately green-coloured perfume combining green almond and orange blossom on a vanilla base – gorgeous!

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Shop

The edit Your straight line to style: this week we choose fresh yellows for spring

Clutch £129 Radley

+

Dress £30 JD William

+

Pumps £48 Office

Pineapple bag £19.99 New Look

+

Dorah bag £75 Dune

Raquel dress £55 JD Williams

Flare dress £55 M&Co

+

+

Pumps £27.50 White Stuff

+

Slipper pumps £150 Chatelles 29

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Merino wool striped jumper £89 www.thenauticalcompany.com

Spotty clutch £55 www.daisypark.co.uk

Cute culottes hoy there, me hearties!

Looking for a fresh new trend for spring? Step forward, then, culottes. They’re a real presence in the shops right now and, handled right, are a great way of getting out of your winter cover-ups and into something a little more summery.

We really like these long denim culottes from the French online retailer La Redoute (www.laredoute.co.uk), far right. And in a nod to this garment’s nautical origins, we think they look good with a Breton stripe top and in fresh shades of seaside blue.

Dancing the hornpipe in them, though, is strictly optional.

A

Diva lapis cuff £10 Miss Selfridge

Seaside mac £35 Sailor culottes £16 Tu at Sainsbury’s

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Fashion

Leather culottes £298 Jigsaw

Breton top £35 Tangles

Den im culo ttes £29 La Red oute

Stripey top £25 www.lookagain.co.uk

Wide leg culottes £50 www.yumi.co.uk

Molony sandal £79 Dune Su Owen Design silk clutch bag £49 www.amara.com

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

HOW TO WEAR IT:

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

It’s time to park the pastels, says Kathryn Clarke-Mcleod ark, moody and dramatic. Sounds like every guy I dated in my teens.

This combination is rarely a good thing, with the exception of this season’s take on florals. Season after season I resist the obligatory flowery trend but this year’s incarnation has a steely edge and broodiness I just can’t keep away from.

I have to credit Joan Smalls with the inspiration for this particular shopping trip. She looked fantastic at the Paper Towns premiere in a jewel-toned inky-hued Balmain skirt with a black turtleneck. In 2013, Smalls was ranked in the top 10 on Forbes magazine’s World’s Highest-Paid Models list. In a nutshell, it’s fair to say her budget is a smidge higher than mine.

However the high street does a pretty sterling job of mirroring the higher end of the spectrum. So it was with a hopeful heart that I set out.

When I sat sipping my latte These take afterwards, bags around my feet I could only think only one on the sort thing. “It is about time I bought of universal shares in River Island.” I sophistication genuinely can’t control myself when I am in there. I try very that can only hard. I even had a list. 1 x floral happen when skirt. 1 x fitted black jumper.

I didn’t plan well enough edge meets though, because when I was elegance at the counter paying I found I had a orange drape front top, two pairs of Molly jeans, a pockets long arms in situations like monochrome peplum vest, as well as the outfit I those. I am sure the staff were around the corner am wearing for these pictures. rubbing their hands in glee.

My biggest mistake? Shopping with our Beauty If you’re on the fence about these moodier Editor, Abbie Bray. She is tiny but what she lacks florals then let me help push you over. Firstly, in stature she makes up for in retail enthusiasm. they’re age-proof. Traditional florals have We took turns showing off our picks in the that annoying habit of looking Lolita-young changerooms and I knew I was in trouble when on someone in their early twenties and a bit I opened the changing room door time and time unimaginative on anyone over 35. Just by dialling again to her big wide eyes and fervent “That is up the dark, these take on the sort of universal incredible!/You look amazing/you HAVE to get sophistication that can only happen when edge that, you just HAVE to.” I get carried away very meets elegance. easily and tend to suffer from a case of short They involve black, and black is our friend. I

D

Skirt, River Island, Princesshay, £30 Kintwear, River Island, Princesshay, £26 Shoes, Next, Princesshay, £30 Bag, Next, Princesshay, £34

have had two hot cross buns today already so I have no immediate plans to wear white.

If you are someone who isn’t sure about including graphics and patterns, these will act as grown-up and stylish introduction to the fun that can be had when you step out of your comfort zone.

Overall, it is a trend that works well with others, your mother will approve and it will celebrate your femininity. Heavens, where was it during my misguided teens?

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

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Dress £89 MISS SELFRIDGE

Red Herring floral dress £30 DEBENHAMS

GET THE

look fave!

Bag £35 MISS SELFRIDGE

Faith printed wedge £45 DEBENHAMS

Black floral maxi skirt £26.99 NEW LOOK Trousers £32 MISS SELFRIDGE Dress £55 MISS SELFRIDGE

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culture vulture Our guide to what’s on in the South West by woman-in-theknow Sarah Pitt Whisky-rich vocals

MAIN PICTURE: PHIL NICHOLLS

Chicago-raised musician Sarah McQuaid has a fantastic voice, likened by one critic to ‘thrice-distilled Irish whiskey’ and a way with words, blending folk and jazz in her music. She spent a number of years in Ireland, absorbing the traditional folk scene and now lives in Penzance. Critically acclaimed as a folk artist, she linked her American heritage and her adopted home when she recording her album Walking In White in the small town of Cornwall, New York last year. She’s currently on tour with her acoustic guitar, and you can see her at The Acorn in Penzance on April 14, Bodmin Folk Club on April 15, Hope Hall in Exeter on April 16 and The Plough Arts Centre in Great Torrington on April 17.

See www.sarahmcquaid.com

Bringing the outdoors in

Word play with Gyles Share a couple of hours in the company of the hilarious Gyles Brandreth, who is heading to The Brewhouse Theatre in Taunton on July 8, with his show Word Power. The former MP and star of Just a Minute, The One Show, QI, Have I Got News For You and Room 101 is a word fanatic, and this, his latest sell-out show, takes his audience on a rollercoaster ride around the amazing world of the English language. He also weaves stories from his life in theatre and politics into the mix. Tickets are now on sale for the July 8 date, the only one in the region.

Gyles Brandreth is at the Brewhouse Theatre, Taunton on July 8. Tickets £19, 01823 283244.

In Charlotte Keates’ surprising paintings, stairs climb the space where the walls ought to be, with mountains as a backdrop and trees weaving up like structural elements of the building.

“What is outside and surrounding us, I find exhilarating and inspiring; a beautiful location, or setting, becomes the focus of the painting,” she says. Still only in her mid-20s, Charlotte has a first class honours degree in fine art from Falmouth University.

Now living in Chelsea, London, she uses restrained colour and delicate drawn elements to explore how space works. Her new paintings are now on show at the Porthminster Gallery in St Ives alongside work by three ceramicists, Regina Heinz, Somerset-based Keith Varney and London-based Korean potter Sun Kim. The Geometry of Space is at the Porthminster Gallery in St Ives until April 23, admission free, www. porthminstergallery.co.uk

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Enjoy

Your stars

by Cassandra Nye This week’s sign:

Happy birthday to...

Those born under the sign of Aries are independent spirits and born leaders. They love to follow a dream and have the charisma to inspire others and sweep them along with them. They are more than happy to take a gamble on a wild idea which captures their imagination. although if a scheme does not pay off quickly they are likely to get bored and move on. As friends, they are generous and caring but they do expect to get their own way most of the time.

Keira Knightley born 26th March 1985 It is a significant birthday for actress Keira Knightley, who turns 30 today. London-born Keira has starred in numerous Hollywood movies, including the 2005 film Pride and Prejudice and BAFTA-award-winning Atonement. She also appeared in The Pirates of the Caribbean alongside Johnny Depp. No doubt Keira will be celebrating her birthday with husband, musician James Righton and their baby daughter Edie. As an Aries, Keira is an independent spirit who knows what she wants out of life.

ARIES (March 21 - April 20) Wearing your heart on your sleeve could give the wrong message this week. Think about being less obvious and more mysterious. Romance is in the air but use it at the right time – and in the right place.

Pace yourself during the week and save that burst of energy for the weekend. Remember, people value things more if they are hard won.

Financial incentives are useful.

TAURUS (April 21 - May 21) The freedom you crave is most likely to be found at home and within your social scene. Workloads can be heavy and not very inspiring. Still, the more you put in, the better it will be in the future. Someone who has been attracted to you in the past may seek another chance to impress.

GEMINI (May 22 - June 21) Being flexible this week means the difference between frustration and acceptance. Take on board the fact you cannot please everyone and immediately the pressure is off ! Suggestions from your partner are inspiring and remind you of past enthusiasms. Use your imagination and knowledge of your partner. What would they really find exciting?

CANCER (June 22 - July 22) A combination of Chinese whispers and intuition leads you in a new direction. Midweek could see you overhearing a conversation and getting completely the wrong message. Putting your practical hat on saves cash and tempers when someone becomes too ambitious.

LEO (July 23 - August 23) There are many questions to be asked this week and you shouldn’t hesitate to ask them. Although no one is keen

to show lack of knowledge, asking for help is better than crashing blindly ahead. A loved one has the answer to a question. Please don’t underestimate or take anyone for granted right now.

VIRGO (August 24 - September 23) Be fully prepared to move along with those who have the best chance of success. Understand that although others may have more knowledge, you have a practical approach.

Little do others realise how much thought goes into your decisions! Seemingly smooth-running, your life is not often so.

LIBRA (September 24 - October 23) Showing knowledge and professionalism comes naturally to you. An awkward day ahead? Rely on a combination of charm and practical advice. Letting romance take a back seat is all very well for a while. You, however, need love and a good partner at your side. Plan and plot this week to get just that.

SCORPIO (October 24 - November 22) Romantic and far-reaching decisions come easily to you this week. The key is never to use fear as an excuse for not going after your dreams. Regret is a bitter pill.

Have you ever thought ‘what if’? You could be thinking this again if you deny your own needs now. Faint heart never won fair lady – or anything else for that matter!

SAGITTARIUS (November 23 - December 21) The more people you meet and chat to this week, the better. Someone special is coming your way so you have to be in the right place. That is somewhere entirely new, which may well be out of your comfort zone.

Still, nothing ventured, nothing gained.

CAPRICORN (December 22 - January 20) Being out to impress and bring some fun to others is a great attitude to have.

This week it really pays dividends. You are in a lucky phase. Although not everything can go your way, quite a lot will!

AQUARIUS (January 21 - February 19) Secrets, especially at work, can be annoying. The trick is in not giving too much away while gaining support. You find intrigue exciting but only in small doses.

What you want a practical and quick solution to this week needs more effort. Are you speaking to the right person to get a decision?

PISCES (February 20 - March 20) Investments and a new romance seem to be closely linked this week. Will the person who offers advice also offer something more personal? Those who have a partner may encounter jealousy. This can be frustrating when you are so busy. Why not take the weekend off for something a little lighter?

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Wellbeing

the boost

Worth its salt Initially a foodie fad, Himalayan salts have hit the beauty counters. Aromatherapy Associates’ vetiver and chamomile scented Deep Relax Himalayan Bath Salts (£42) contain 84 different minerals plus essential oils, to leave skin soft, muscles relaxed and mind calm. www.aromatherapyassociates.com

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

Keep it real

HERBS FOR HEALTH Award-winning Somerset herb grower Jekka McVicar has said a key feature in her Chelsea Flower show display this year will be rosemary.

She says the easy-to-grow herb is a kitchen garden essential, explaining: “It’s just been proven that rosemary is as good as ginkgo for the memory. Drinking rosemary tea in the morning really clears your head and settles your stomach.”

Jekka’s Chelsea garden will be transferred to London hospice St John’s, after the Chelsea show this May.

“Diet is such a negative concept.

It causes this cycle of, I’m not good enough, I’m a failure and I can’t do this – and now I weigh more than I did before,” says healthy-eating guru Calgary Avansino, who has launched a new cookbook Keep It Real (Yellow Kite, £25). “Especially with women, there’s this mentality where if I eat something naughty for breakfast then I think, ‘Oh well, this day is shot, I might as well eat rubbish all day’.

But think of every meal as a fresh start. Don’t ever beat yourself up about something you ate before – just move on.”

Calgary has brought her own children up to eat and enjoy all foods, including treats, in moderation.

And that sounds like good advice for us all.

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21/03/2016 15:06:21

Spa bliss in Cornwall Get retro fit!

Remember the days when Olivia Newton John got Physical and legwarmers were de riguer at keep fit classes? We love the sound of Retro Aerobics at Hayle’s V-Fit Centre on Thursday evenings. Work out with Jane Fonda moves to a mix of mix of 80s and 90s unforgettable tunes. Sessions cost £5 and sound like a serious giggle as well as a great way to get in shape.www.vfitcornwall.co.uk

The Bedruthan Hotel in north Cornwall has created a gorgeous new sensory spa garden, which sounds amazing. The outdoor space, overlooking the sea, has been designed to invigorate all your senses in a one-hour experience inspired by fire, earth, water, air and space.

You can try the seven-stage drench, soak, scrub and detox session from April 11-30 for just £35. After that, the garden forms part of the Mawgan Porth hotel’s Day Spa Packages, starting from £55. Find out more at www. bedruthan.com

River retreat Become at one with yourself – and nature – at an outdoor mindfulness retreat in the grounds of Sharpham House beside the River Dart near Totnes. The retreats begin next month and run until August, with a three night full board retreat staying in a furnished bell tent costing from £295. As well as time away from the frantic pace of everyday life, there’ll be medicine walks, foraging and feasting on wild food. www.sharphamtrust.org

Baby lessons From the tragedy of a stillbirth and the heartache of a miscarriage to the joys brought by two healthy children, Marina Fogle has experienced both the highs and lows of motherhood.

Together with her sister, mother-of-two Dr Chiara Hunt, Marina, (who is married to TV presenter Ben Fogle) runs the hugely popular London-based

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

antenatal sessions called the Bump Class. Now they have written a book of the same name (Vermilion, £18.99) so mums-to-be from further afield don’t miss out. Marina says: “The birth is the easy bit – it’s what comes after, looking after this most precious thing in the world and being responsible for it, that’s really tricky!”

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

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21/03/2016 15:06:56

Wellbeing

Balance it out Spring-cleaning season is upon us but it’s not just your home that could benefit from a good dust-down. Kate Whiting rounds up some simple solutions for sprucing up your mental wellbeing ou might have the feather dusters ready, now that spring is just around the corner but have you thought about giving your mind a bit of a clear-out too?

We’re often guilty of wandering down the same old negative paths in our heads – thinking you’re not good enough for that promotion, for example, or staying stuck in a rut that you know is making you unhappy. But it might be easier than you think to turn those thoughts and habits into positive ones.

Here are nine ways to take a feather duster to your mind...

Y

Sort it out A tidy living space equals a tidy mind. First World problem it may be but I feel like a new woman now we’ve got a new dishwasher and there are no longer dishes on every available kitchen surface – they’re not weighing on my mind. The same is true for any living area – and your desk at work.

Live in the present “If you are feeling anxiety, you are living in the future. If you are sad, you are living in the past,” says life coach Carole Ann Rice (www.realcoachingco. com). “Keep your mind in the present, where all possibilities can occur. Recalibrate your thoughts.”

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22/03/2016 12:08:34

Take your time Find a course near you

Flip your script Carole Ann suggests: “Write out all your negative thoughts and anxieties, but write them with a positive spin on it. For example; ‘Why is it me my boss gives all the tough jobs to?’ You could rewrite it as: ‘I am a safe pair of hands, people trust me to deliver and I always excel’.”

Write on One of the best ways to see your problems for what they are – and address or let go of them – is to talk them through with someone else. But if they’re not the kind of things you feel able to discuss, the next best thing is to get them down on paper and help them shrink a little in your mind.

Forget frenemies Remember the ‘jellyfish’ bit in Bridget Jones: The Edge Of Reason – where she gets stung by the negative friend? Yeah. Don’t see those people.

Conquer fear Baz Luhrmann’s Nineties hit song Sunscreen includes the line: ‘Do one thing every day that scares you’. And Susan Jeffers’ seminal Eighties self-help book was called Feel The Fear And Do It Anyway. Who wants to live their entire life being held back by fear?

Get out into the country,

Start something new Not convinced

by the colouringin for grown-ups trend, but you always fancied getting into woodwork and making your own bench? Block out a weekend in your diary, book yourself on a course, or set aside some money to buy the kit, and let your creative juices flow.

head for the hills,

or take a trip to the seaside

Breathe it up Not just outside your front door but that’ll do if it’s your only option.

Get out into the country, head for the hills, take a trip to the seaside – and let the most natural thing on Earth blow away the cobwebs. Researchers at the University of Rochester in the US found that spending time in fresh air, surrounded by nature, increases energy in 90% of people. And it’s better for you than that chocolate bar...

Catch up with old friends Over to Baz Luhrmann again: “Understand that friends come and go. But with a precious few, hold on. Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography and lifestyle. For the older you get, the more you need the people you knew when you were young.”

Gaia House

1 Meditate

Gaia House in Ogwell, Newton Abbot runs regular Buddhism-based meditation courses. The centre is running a two-day residential meditation retreat from Thursday June 4 to Saturday June 6 2016, entitled A Path of Freedom. The standard cost is £120, for more details visit www.gaiahouse.co.uk

2 De-stress

Join an eight-week Stress Reduction course on Tuesday mornings at The Centre, Chywoone Hill, Newlyn from May 10-June 28 from 10am12.15pm. There is a free orientation session on Tuesday, May 3, to see if the course would suit you. The same course runs on Wednesday afternoons in Penryn, from May 11, at The Zed Shed on Jubilee Wharf.

The cost, which includes a full day retreat between weeks six and seven, is £200. For details email contact@ mindfulnesscornwall.co.uk or call 07582 892434.

3 Retreat

Lee Abbey is a Christian community that hosts retreats in a former stately home on the north Devon coast. Most weekends they run a Renew Refresh Resource residential two-day retreat here, costing from £136, as well as many other courses during the week.

For details visit www.leeabbey.org.uk

4 Yoga

Bonhays Farm in Whitchurch Canonicorum, west Dorset, runs regular yoga retreats. From April 15-17 they are running a three-day yoga retreat based on Qi Gong, run

by Sophie Johnson, offering the chance to come away fitter, looser and restored both physically and energetically. The course and stay costs £300, visit www.bonhays.co.uk for details.

39

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22/03/2016 12:08:58

Wellbeing

Food for thought Could portion control be the key to mid-life weight loss? great deal more than our parents or grandparents ever did. And, a new study by Exeter University using computer modelling has found there seems to be no evolutionary mechanism to help us resist the lure of sweet, fatty and unhealthy food or prevent us piling on the weight.

That’s because in the past, Weightloss expert being overweight did not pose a Dr Sally Norton big threat to survival, compared says: It could be to the dangers of being underThe good news is down to your weight. that by reducing portion sizes.

So our subconscious controls your portion size Research shows against becoming overweight that our portion sizes are 50% are weak and easily overcome you can shrink bigger than they were just 20 by the immediate rewards of the size of your years ago. tasty food – particularly in the stomach and That’s a scary statistic in its winter when food in the natural own right and scarier still when world is scarce. Bad news for train yourself to you imagine the size of an averthose New Year diets! want less food age plateful in 2036. So be honest.

The more we overeat, the Do you pile your plate high – or more our bodies expect as our go for modest helpings? Clear stomach stretches to accomyour plate clean afterwards – or modate these mega-portions of leave just a little to show you’ve had your fill? food. So if we don’t watch it, bigger and bigger The fact is that most of us today are eating a portions become the norm.

I don’t really believe in diets. Usually, when I need to shed a few pounds, I’ll limit my treats and stick to three meals a day. It’s worked for me since I was in my early 20s, but this time around (I’m now 47) the few pounds I gained over Christmas don’t seem to be shifting. Help! NB, Crediton

Q

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But the good news is that by reducing your portion size you can shrink the size of your stomach to some degree – and train yourself to expect and want less food.

One way is to trick yourself into taking smaller portions. More than 50 academic studies have tested the effect of eating from smaller plates on food consumption – but though some suggested benefits, there was still surprisingly little consensus. However, researchers recently collated all these studies and concluded that halving plate size does indeed lead to a 30% reduction in the average amount of food consumed.

Of course shrinking your crockery isn’t the whole answer – sadly, there’s no such thing as weight loss on a plate! But if you’re trying to shed the pounds (or to avoid putting them on) it could be reason enough to splash out on a new set of dinner plates.

And if you combine this with other techniques to develop healthier food habits, you’ll be well on your way to managing your weight without resorting to fad diets that don’t work.

Dr Sally is the founder of healthy eating and living website www.vavistalife.com

40

WellbeingQandA_Mar26.indd 40

21/03/2016 16:43:24

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22/03/2016 14:29:31

Eat

Hey sugar sugar

with Tim Maddams iven the recent press about the evils say muscovado sugar and regular granulated but of sugar – as if that’s somehow a the more subtle differences between refined and new story – I thought it would be a unrefined caster sugar, and what impact that will good time to give this everyday inhave on the flavour of your cooking and baking. gredient a little attention.

The reason that this is in my mind is that, The first thing to note about sugar is that, in for some time, I have been eschewing sugar as common with salt, it is all about your personal much as possible, preferring natural sweetness. level as far as what amount of sugar you are Yes, I know sugar is a natural product but it also used to. For example, if you take masks a lot of the natural flatwo sugars in your tea you may vour and more subtle sweetness well think that tea with only one of other ingredients – of say yosugar in it is a bit bitter. Whereghurt and fruit or dried fruit.

Sugar is a natural as someone who takes no sugar The first and most obvious step product but it also at all will think the same cup unis to use honey, however it’s a bearably sweet. It’s all about the tricky blighter to use. Not only masks a lot of the way you tune your palate. is it wonderfully sweet but it natural fl avour From the point of view of tastes, unsurprisingly, of honey and more subtle health, I really think it’s worthtoo. Same is true for maple while for everyone to consider syrup – not to mention that it’s sweetness of other this, and if you do take sugar in somewhat tricky to come by loingredients your tea or coffee, start to reduce cally. Though if you try hard it. It’s an amazing weaning procyou might get some good birch ess and once you significantly sap syrup. And actually maple reduce your sugar ‘standard syrup is fine as it is imported level’, which takes only about a slowly by boat and represents a fortnight you will start to notice natural harvest, so long as you how sweet lots of other things are – such as cheap get the good stuff which is not bulked out with, chocolate, processed cakes etc. you guessed it, sugar.

Then you start to notice something else, the So, that brings us back to sugar and there are different tastes of the different sugars. I’m not lots of different types from UK grown beet sugar talking here about the stark difference between to imported cane sugar, palm sugar and a whole

G

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Sugar rush I have just discovered organic coconut palm sugar and it is the bee’s knees as far as I am concerned. It’s weirdly bitter, a dark brown colour, amazingly caramel-like and totally not too sweet. Yet when you cook with it, it opens up, it’s warm, deep and seriously good. But it’s seriously pricey too so you won’t want to use it everywhere, but if you are making ice cream, sweetening a curry or making a crumble topping you would be well advised to consider it. @TimGreenSauce

host of things in between. Reducing the amount of sugar you use everyday will focus your attention on the different possibilities out there.

In the meantime, and to keep you sweet, try a little experiment. Pop to the store cupboard and take out all the different sugars you have in there. Taste a small amount of each and think about them. Just a bit. Go on, in the long run it will be worth it.

Tim Maddams is a Devon chef and author of Game: River Cottage Handbook no. 15 (Bloomsbury £14.99) 42

Tim_Beer_Mar26.indd 42

22/03/2016 13:41:59

Drink

Darren Norbury

talks beer never had the impression that established brewers feel a need to keep up with the new boys, just that they’ve got to where they are by deliberately deciding not to stand still. Tastes seem to keep changing in beer but the savvy brewers who have been there, seen it, done it, are always evolving, rather than just reacting to trends.

Let’s take two of Cornwall’s well-established players, Sharp’s and Skinner’s, for instance. Set up within three years of each (1994 and 1997 respectively) each business is very different now to how it was back then. Yet each has core values which have remained true and some elements of each business which it would be sacrilege to

I

Beer of the week I’ve had a sneak preview of Harbour Brewing Company’s new offering, Little Rock IPA (5.5% ABV) and it tastes like a winner. Owner Eddie Lofthouse seemed to think I’d hit the nail on the head when I described it as a mid-Atlantic IPA – well hopped, but not in a crazy, bitter way, with a smooth malt balance. Coming soon to a bar near you.

change.

Sharp’s has obviously been on the biggest journey. The brewery started out in founder Bill Sharp’s garage before moving to a single industrial unit at Pityme, near Rock. A client list in Cornwall started small, with a record of sales charted on a four foot or so square board, filled in by pencil. In 2016, Sharp’s, now part of the global Molson Coors empire, will brew more than 60 million pints, most of which will be Doom Bar, now the most popular cask ale brand in the UK. The company took a battering last year when it was revealed that bottled Doom Bar was not only being packaged at Molson Coors in Burtonon-Trent but also brewed there, too. Logistical necessity has forced Sharp’s to be very clear about its next move this year, which will see all of its bottled brands brewed out of county, at another MC-owned brewery at Burtonwood, Cheshire. All cask beer will continue to be brewed in Cornwall, though, and new head brewer Andrew Madden has some new brews in the offing, some trialled on a new five-barrel pilot plant.

Skinner’s, in Truro, is expanding too, albeit not at quite the same rate. It does, though, now have its own bottling plant, close to the brewery, which will be in operation any day now.

But its big news is a refresh, not a rebrand, as Steve Skinner puts it, of the brewery’s pumpclips and bottle labels. Six local artists have been drafted in to create attractive, eye-catching new designs which really do have strong bar presence. Steve says: “It’s been a big investment but

COMMUNITY PUBS BOOST The Government has announced a £3.6m Community Pub Business Support Programme, which aims to help communities that want to run their own pubs. A number of pubs have been successfully revived by local people when business operators have declared them unviable. the main thing is, the beer is the same,” although there is one small change – Heligan Honey has been renamed Hops ‘n’ Honey. Still tasting great, though.With both of these breweries, quality remains at the heart of their ethos and, as Steve Skinner says: “We never forget where we come from.” It will be interesting to see where some of today’s ‘new guys’ are in 20 years’ time.

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

Hear, hear for the beer

The British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA) has held an inaugural South West and Wessex Parliamentary reception, hosted

by Simon Hoare, MP for North Dorset. The event gave some 20 MPs the opportunity to hear about the rich tradition of brewing in the region, and sample many of its famous beers. Lucky them!

43

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21/03/2016 15:51:24

Food at Wildebeest Cafe

Je Tam products

My Secret Westcountry My favourite:

Tam Schallhorn Garrood Tam Schallhorn Garrood is a pioneer of ‘clean’ food in Cornwall.

Her company ‘Je Tam’ creates a range of raw desserts, truffles and protein bars all of which are free from gluten, sugar and dairy as well as vegetarian and vegan. She lives in St Ives with her husband Jon and their six-month-old daughter Silver, and runs Je Tam in Hayle with her mum, Monika.

Walk: My favourite at this time of year is along the coast from St Ives to Lelant and back. I try and do this walk every week at least with my daughter Silver and the dogs. It’s a beautiful walk that keeps revealing new views and sights around every corner. Seeing all the flowers start to come out and the leaves on the trees makes me think of new beginnings and possibilities.

Beach: Porthminster Beach in St Ives. Prebaby, I used to go down here for sunrise swims and runs. It’s magical watching the sun come up over Hayle Towans and being the only one on the beach. Silver is only six months old, so I can’t quite get out for those morning runs and swims yet, so until then I love nothing more than wandering down there for a stroll, before having a coffee at Porthminster Beach Café.

Festival: The September Music Festival in St Ives is always fantastic with a large array of artists from all over the world. Not to be missed.

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21/03/2016 15:52:35

People

Forest Holidays

stomp over the fields to get your appetite up for one of their amazing Sunday roasts or just to hide away in a dark corner and nurse a glass of red from their wine list.

Restaurant: Wildebeest Café in Falmouth.

The menu here is amazing. I’ve taken many a sceptic and everyone has fallen in love with their tasty and creative all-vegan menu. The dishes are so well thought out.

The St Ives coastline

Way to relax: For me, relaxing is being out in nature, breathing in the fresh air and running around with my family. Whether that means stand-up paddleboarding down at Carbis Bay Beach, a walk along the cliffs or just having a picnic on Clodgy Point in St Ives – as long as we’re all together outside then I’m happy and relaxed.

Weekend away: We often go and stay in the woods at Herodsfoot near Liskeard with Forest Holidays. There’s no phone or internet reception so it’s time to get back to basics – reading, playing games and really connecting together away from the stresses of the outside world. Plenty of good walks and food also make this a great weekend away.

Activity: I’ve lived in St Ives a long time but I only started to surf the summer before last.

I only went out about five times, but got pretty keen on it. Pregnancy put paid to surfing last year, so that is the activity I’m looking forward to taking up again this year.

Shop:

The Allotment Deli on Fore Street in St Ives is a must. Fresh vegetables, Vicky’s Bread, fresh green juices, olives, our own Je Tam goodies, fab gift ideas and curries bubbling away, this is my idea of heaven. Plus the girls there are always friendly and love a good chat too.

Food: There’s nothing better than going out in a boat and catching your own mackerel for dinner. Serve simply, grilled with a big old beetroot, cucumber and rocket salad, some Himalayan salt and freshly-ground black pepper – and a big wedge of lemon. Perfect.

Treat: I make chocolate but, as with all food,

Tipple: This has to be something from Polgoon Vineyard and Cider Orchard on the edge of Penzance. From their juices to the ciders to sparkling wines, I’ve tried them all and am totally in love with the freshness of their flavours.

Pub: The Halsetown Inn a mile or two out of St Ives. It’s the perfect destination for a big country

Tam, right, with her mother, Monika

it always tastes better if you don’t have to make it for yourself. Food of the Gods (based in St Just) raw chocolate is delicious and it’s such a treat for me to have raw treats made by someone else’s hand. My favourite, without doubt, is their Mulberry chocolate. www.jetam.co.uk 45

MSW_Mar26.indd 45

21/03/2016 15:53:07

My life

What a week

Fancy that...

Chris McGuire on the joys of dressing up as the Jolly Green Giant ’ve thought about boarding up our “Look it’s Kermit the Frog,” shouted someone. letterbox. Nothing good ever comes I decided to ignore this modern Oscar Wilde, through it. Recently we saw the comforting myself that I’d soon be amongst a least welcome arrival yet. throng of equally stupidly dressed people.

An invite to a Fancy Dress Party!

So, wrestling with my unwilling hosiery, I wadMy girlfriend and I had an impromptu council dled to my friend’s door and knocked. My heart of war. sank when the door opened to reveal a partygoer “Will it be Fancy Dress or dressed in civvies. Frantically, FANCY DRESS?” I muttered.

I looked beyond them and The former is a party where saw a whole room filled ‘I found myself you turn up in normal clothes with conventionally but take a token prop – hold dressed people. positioned in a wand and proclaim you’re “Didn’t you the corner of the Harry Potter. I can (just about) get the email?” room where my cope with these occasions. The laughed my host, latter is FANCY DRESS where seemingly unagreen bodyyou’ve let the side down if you ware I was, at that paint was least don’t need a team of dressers to moment, planning squeeze you into your customhis long and painlikely to damage made outfit. ful demise. “We the furniture’ “I think it’ll be FANCY scrapped the DRESS,” my girlfriend murFancy Dress. mured.

Jenny didn’t I agreed. Our host wasn’t the fancy type of person to do things by it, she halves. I died a little inside. doesn’t like looking “Can’t we just say no?” I reasoned. stupid.”

The look I received told me this was out of I had no idea who the question. My fate was sealed. I would be atJenny was but I wasn’t tending the party dressed as The Jolly Green warming to her.

Giant’while my girlfriend would go as Bagpuss.

I found myself poDon’t ask. sitioned in the corner When the big night arrived, my girlfriend utof the room where my tered the words every reluctant Fancy Dresser green body-paint was dreads: least likely to damage “I’m feeling ill. I think I should stay at home. the furniture. It seemed I You should go, though. It’ll be rude if we both had become the entertainmiss it.” ment, rather than a guest.

Cursing Bagpuss under my breath, I walked After half an hour sulking to the venue. It was a cold Westcountry evening and reluctantly posing for selfand I was scantily clad. My skin was smeared in a ies with a succession of gufgreen body-paint that was becoming really quite fawing strangers, I came upon itchy. To top it all off, my green tights were too a plan. I was going to eat my host small – meaning I was struggling not to have the out of house and home. That would gusset drop down to around my knees. show him! I was halfway through my

I

[[

third visit to the buffet when I spotted a comrade in arms. A woman arrived, dressed head to toe in yellow, with lots of feathers. I bounded over to her. “At last,” I gasped, “someone else who didn’t get the email! Great costume. I love Big Bird.”

She scowled at me.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about. This is vintage.”

I left soon after that, once I’d finished the crisps.

So, this week I learned two things: 1: I really don’t do Fancy Dress. 2: With hosiery, always go a size bigger than you think you’ll need.

Chris McGuire is a writer. He’s currently negotiating to appear on Dragons’ Den with his range of man-sized party tights @ McGuireski

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

ChrisM_March26.indd 46

21/03/2016 16:45:29

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