West Magazine, May 28 2016

28.05.16

Creative spaces Meet the artists in their studios

WIN: + ROMANTIC CORNISH BEACH READS

PLUS: + SUMMER

SHIRT DRESSES

+ MICHAEL

MORPURGO

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‘Our unruly garden is full of birds. As you can imagine, the dawn chorus is impressive and evensong is not bad either’ Anne Swithinbank on the advantages of an untidy garden, p26

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COUNTRY HOUSE CHIC The mid-Devon star of TV’s 4 in a Bed

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SUMMER DRESSING Channel Twiggy in a smart shirt dress

[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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WIN CORNISH BEACH READS Liz Fenwick’s new novel is out now

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CREATIVE SPACES

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FESTIVAL FASHION How to look good in a field

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PERFECT WEEKENDS Where to go, what to do

Artists throw open their studios

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A WARM WELCOME The family home turned country house hotel

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ANNE SWITHINBANK

CREATIVE SPACES Cornwall’s artists open their doors

Why untidy gardening is good for wildlife

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BEAUTY WITH ABBIE BRAY Top tips on looking good this summer

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FESTIVAL STYLE Kathryn Clarke-Mcleod on field-proof fashion

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CULTURE VULTURE Our don’t-miss tips for the days ahead

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BOOST YOUR WELLBEING Smart ways to feel your best this week

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MINE’S A (THIRD OF A) PINT Darren Norbury on the new ale trends

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ON SECOND THOUGHTS...

James, six, watches an unsuitable movie

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MY SECRET WESTCOUNTRY A top chef spills the beans 3

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CORNISH CREATIVITY

Why Liz Fenwick sets her novels west of the Tamar

[ welcome [ What a creative place this is... his week, we hear from the supersuccessful novelist Liz Fenwick, who has been so inspired by her home on the Helford river that she has written several acclaimed novels set in its beautiful landscape.

She tells us how a girl from Massachusetts ended up writing about life in Cornwall on page 12 today.

This weekend marks the start of the Open Studios Cornwall event, in which some of the very best artists in Cornwall welcome you into their creative spaces to have a nose around. We meet four of those taking part on page 16 today, including Gareth Edwards,

T

Tweet

[

of the week

@sarah_jane_pitt Huge congrats to @KathrynCMcleod designer of the year @RegPressAwards much deserved, she’s the best!

who is lucky enough to paint in the iconic St Ives studio once occupied by Francis Bacon, and Caroline Cleave, whose adorable garden studio is in Port Isaac. Incidentally, her husband Jon sings with the Fisherman’s Friends shanty group.

I can’t help feeling they must be a fun couple.

On the subject of creative people, we are having a champagne moment here at West.

Our team-mate Kathryn Clarke-Mcleod has been off to London, where she won Designer of the Year at the Regional Press Awards, beating fierce competition from all over the country. We think you’ll agree, she does a terrific job designing West every week.

She’s written several novels set in its beautiful landscape

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

[

[

[

Becky Sheaves, Editor

COVER IMAGE: Anthony Greenwood

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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PRETTY Peach glass tealight holders £73 for four www. artisanti.com

Flower ceramic disk earrings £15 www. piajewellery.com

the

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

Raindrop pouch £36 www.kateyjanesmith.com

STREET STYLE STAR

QUIRKY Elephant candle lantern £24 pasx.co.uk

SPOTTED BY: HANNAH MATTOCKS

Carrie Southwell Carrie Southwell from Axminster is a hotelier. She says that Zara, Next, M&S and sometimes Fat Face are her go-to shops and we think she looks great in her weekend-casual outfit. When we spotted her, she was on the search for some new-season outfits: “I’m looking for summer jeans, a nice top, cotton jumpers, and I’m trying to find the right pastel colours for myself.”

Coat: Joules £150 Jeans: M&S £25 Scarf: Accessorize £10 Cardigan: M&S £20 Shirt: M&S £10 Send your stylish snaps of you or a friend looking fab to westmag@westernmorningnews.co.uk

Liquid soap from Marseille £15 www.amara.com

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Wishlist

SWEET Faith sandals £45 Debenhams

fave!

Tangerine sunglasses £20 www.piajewellery.com

NOTED Kate Spade New York notebook £12 www.amara. com

Store we adore...

STORE son, Exeter HilADORE: WillowWE This vintage boutique sells exquisite dresses, separates and knitwear sourced by proprietor Willow Hilson. Willow spent her early childhood in Indonesia and this has influenced her love of textiles ever since. She’s a regular at flea markets, looking for beautiful original pieces to

please her customers. There’s a nostalgic charm to her selection, with 1950s floral dresses and delicate lace blouses as well as beaded evening bags.

Willow Hilson is at 127 Fore St, Exeter, www.willowhilson.com, 01392 425123.

TICK TOCK Cupro copper web metal wall clock £42 www. artisanti.com

Paloma pendant light £59 Marks & Spencer 7

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talking points Gillian Molesworth

Story of my life...

Making a routine of Prosecco o’clock n my youth, I always thought that my parents were seriously boring because of their routines.

They always did the same stuff, in the same order. For instance, they sat down each night at 6pm with a drink (my dad had a beer and my mum had a white wine with soda) and watched the news. How dull can you get?

Prince of Bel Air. There’s nothAs I’ve grown up, though, I’ve ing like a very young Will Smith learned to appreciate the value rapping over a jingly backtrack of these little moments. It’s easy, to cheer you up. Freddy’s never as a working parent, to drive even seen the show and he still yourself to do stuff constantly. enjoys it.

There is, after all, a lot to do. The Friday evenings at around 6pm more you do, though, the more is Prosecco o’clock. I try not to tired you get, and the greater drink during the week, so Friday scope to do things wrong. Like is always festive, even if my chilcutting yourself with the dicing dren are turning into the booze knife, dropping your child into police these days. What’s up with orchestra with that? no violin, or On Saturdays, sending your tax after dropping When you’re return to the dry my daughter into tired, you get cleaner’s. These riding, I go to our are mere examlocal garage and things wrong: ples, of course. buy the papers, as dropping your It’s important well as bacon and child to orchestra to pause and chill rolls for lunch. out. And enjoy When I come home with no violin, yourself – it’s I let the papers fall or sending your later than you onto the table with a think. Routines satisfying thwack. It tax return to the help benchmark means the time has dry cleaner’s your day, and come to stop and also your week. I catch up. can always tell how early or late I do love that feeling of SaturI am on my commute depending day morning – a few unallocated on what programme is on Radio hours stretching ahead, the smell 4, and where I am when I hear of a fresh pot of coffee, and the the pips. prospect of a really nice read in Friday mornings, when I’m The Western Morning News. driving my 11-year-old to school, The trick is to stay engrossed we tune into Heart Cornwall and for as long as possible, and don’t listen to breakfast hosts Matt look up from the paper. Otherand Caroline “assessing the wise the floor says: “hoover me,” freshness” of the Westcountry. or the garden says “weed me,” or If enough people call in and say one of your kids says, “I thought they’re “feeling fresh,” they’ll this would be a really good day to play the theme tune of the Fresh build a treehouse.” Groan…

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

SPARKLING

in pink

Mary Berry was all smiles at the TV Baftas recently, picking up the Best Feature award while wearing this gorgeous dress from Adrianna Papell.

Her pale pink three-quarter sleeved gown was encrusted with sparkling beads, like a perfectly iced fondant fancy. You can buy the same frock right now from John Lewis, or here are another couple of sweet treats to try.

Adrianna Papell antique rose beaded dress £300 John Lewis

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28.05.16

Just

NIGHT MANAGER IN DEVON Tom Hiddlestone’s recent performance as undercover agent Jonathan Pine, in the TV adaptation of John Le Carre’s espionage drama The Night Manager, drew huge acclaim – along with calls for him to play the next Bond.

But it was the intense sex scene, with actress Elizabeth Debicki, that caused a real sensation.

So is it strange to wake up and discover newspaper columns and online forums dedicated to the sight of your bare but-

tocks? “I have no control over anyone else’s opinion of my work, or who I am or what I do, so you just have to keep doing what you do,” he says.

Tom spent 10 days filming the north Devon section of the show, which was set at Blackpool Mill Cottage, Hartland.

The 15th century property is available to hire for holidays and was also used in the 2008 BBC adaptation of Sense and Sensibility with Dan Stevens, Dominic Cooper and Charity Wakefield.

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

!

JESS: I MISS MY

[ [ ‘We’re on the side of sticking up for our true fans’

NO MORE RIP-OFFS! Mumford & Sons have told music fans to “stand up” to rip-off ticket touts.

Marcus Mumford, who shares a 350-acre farm at Ide, near Exeter, with his actresss wife Carey Mulligan and daughter Evelyn, is calling for tougher sanctions on the touts and re-sale websites.

Marcus explains: “We try hard to ensure that true fans have the best opportunity of getting into shows, at the right price, but are often powerless when faced with organised industrial-scale ticket touting.

“At the moment, the law makes it easy for these shady operators to hoover up tickets and profit at your expense .”

GRANDMA Reality star Jessica Wright has quit The Only Way is Essex reality TV show.

She says that two events, her own 30th birthday in September followed by the death of her 80-year-old grandmother Nanny Pat, who also featured in the show, played a part in her decision. “Nanny was a huge loss for our family which we’re still coming to terms with. I was going to leave anyway, but after that, it made even more sense,” she says. “Also, I was really scared of turning 30 and kept thinking, ‘Am I getting old?’ As it’s turned out, I’ve never felt better than I do now.

Everyone says you find yourself at this age and that’s true.”

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In the pink: Well done to everyone who took part in Falmouth’s Race for Life

in pictures Friends: Toby, aged two, enjoyed the Stepping Stones Nursery open day in St Austell

Celebrate: The What’s On Cornwall awards were a lot of fun at the Eden Project

Adorable: Richard Austin spotted the first cygnets of the year to hatch at Abbotsbury Swannery in Dorset

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talking points Pairs

Like father...

ONE OF US Famous faces with links to the Westcountry

10 his and hers animal names:

1 Cob, Pen (swan) 2 Jack, Jill (hare) 3 Bull, Cow (whale) 4 Tom, Queen (cat) 5 Jimmy, Jenny (crab) 6 Buck, Doe (rat) 7 Stag, Hen (turkey) 8 Wolverine, Angeline (wolverine)

9 Seastallion, Seamare

10 books written by Roger Hargreaves’ son, Adam

1 Little Miss Stella 2 Little Miss Princess 3 Mr Cheeky 4 Little Miss Whoops 5 Mr Rude 6 Little Miss Scary 7 Mr Cool 8 Mr Birthday 9 Little Miss Bad 10 Mr Good

(seahorse)

10 Boar, Sow (jellyfish)

The happy list

Jack the lad

10 things to make you smile this week 10 card games where the Jack is all-powerful:

1 Hearts 2 Cribbage 3 Loo 4 Napoleon 5 Spoil Five 6 Twenty Eight 7 Euchre 8 Bezique 9 Trappola 10 All Fours

1 The Royal Cornwall Show June 9-11 2 Food festivals Ottery St Mary, Saturday June 4

3 Strawberries in season 4 Guys & Dolls Plymouth Theatre Royal, May 31-June 4

5 Half term fun try Springfield Fun Park in Newquay

6 Glamping try it 7 Swallows flying in the sky 8 Hidden Valley Garden open days June 4-5, near Par

9 Scarlett Moffatt love her 10 Swimming in the sea

This week:

Michael Morpurgo Children’s author Michael Morpurgo lives in north Devon

Fame: Michael Morpurgo was the Children’s Laureate from 2003-2005.

He is best known for writing War Horse, which has been made into a successful film and stage play.

Career: Michael, 72, started out as a primary school teacher in Kent, where he discovered a talent for storytelling: “I could see there was magic in it for them, and realised there was magic in it for me.” His first book of stories was published in 1974.

received the MBE in 1999 for their charity work.

Childhood: Michael grew up in London but attended the private school Mount House in Tavistock until he was DID YOU KNOW? 13. His unhappy school Michael has experiences informed his book The Butterfly written more Lion. than 300

children’s books

Devon: He has lived in the village of Iddesleigh, north of Dartmoor, since the 1970s. He immortalised the village in his tragic World War One story Private Peaceful.

Charity: Michael and his wife Clare set up the charity Farms for City Children in 1976. The charity has offered 75,000 children the chance to stay on the three farms it runs, one in Devon, one in Wales and one in Gloucestershire.

Honours: Both Michael and Clare

Father: Michael grew up in a step-family, after his actor father left when he was two.

“My brother and I felt the shame strongly and it was troubling.” His stepfather was literature professor Jack Morpurgo.

Reality: Michael’s books often tackle tragic themes: “Both brutality and sadness are part of human experience whether we like it or not. I don’t write stories to make people feel happy. I write to make me think, and I hope to make others think too.”

Scilly: His book When the Whales Came is set on the Isles of Scilly: “We go to Scilly every summer and have done for 30 years or so.”

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People

Liz Fenwick is the acclaimed author of The Cornish House and A Cornish Affair. Her latest novel, Under A Cornish Sky, is out now. Liz, 53, is married to Chris and they have three children. Born and raised in America, Liz now has a much-loved home on the Helford River and explains why she is...

Totally inspired by

Cornwall eople frequently ask me two questions – first, how did you become a writer and then that is quickly followed by: why Cornwall?

I’ll answer the second one first. I’m not Cornish but it took only one short visit in 1989, when my now husband took me to meet his parents and to pass the “Cornwall” test. If I hadn’t fallen in love with Cornwall then I don’t think Chris and I would be coming up to our twenty-fifth wedding anniversary in July.

In our married years we’ve moved internationally nine times, thanks to Chris’s career in the oil business. Very quickly we realised that we needed a home that was constant, a place where our (now grown-up) children could put down roots. So we chose Cornwall, which was not a convenient choice when you’ve just come off a 14-hour flight!

When we were expats, it would be summer and Christmas that would see us enjoying home on the Helford River. But in November we finally left our last posting, in Dubai. My husband currently works in London so I’m between the two places, but I am now in our home at least ten days a month plus the whole summer and Christmas too.

So the Duchy has captured my heart, but often in ways I hadn’t expected. I wish I could give a

P

simple answer to the question “why Cornwall?” but there isn’t one. I can only compare it to my experience of visiting Ireland for the first time and each visit thereafter… Let me step back a little. All four of my grandparents left Ireland to find a new life in America. And they did, carving new places for themselves, finding love and having families. They left their old ways behind and never spoke of the old country. The only things they kept out in the open were their music and their family ties. Despite this when I touched ground in Ireland at the age of 13, I was home. It was as if my genetic roots found their soil and connected. The land spoke to me and fed me. We were a part of each other.

So jumping to 1989 and my first step across the Tamar, my heart and my soul stirred in a similar fashion. The landscape called out to me and created an itch, albeit one that I can’t quite reach.

My roots can’t penetrate the mineral-laden soil.

Yet my soul sings. It tries to connect. I see stories everywhere. It is as if the only way I can join with Cornwall is to write about it.

So I write, wrapping stories around the landscape and the history, trying to hold onto the elusive. Cornwall stole my heart and my writing is the way I keep it close.

The desire to be a writer has been with me for as long as I can remember. I’m an only child and I

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Liz has a home on the Helford River and the landscape inspires her

spent a lot of my early life with my head in books.

I can’t tell you how many times I read The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and afterwards in my mind I would continue the story. It didn’t take long before I began to write my stories down.

I can cringe at some of the teenage angst portrayed on the pages but I also gasp at some of the poetic descriptions of ordinary things.

One thing is clear, looking back on my journey as a novelist. I have always been on the outside, an observer. That isolation I felt as a child has turned into a useable skill as a writer. A sense of separation allows me to see things differently and not to take the small and the mundane for granted.

So, going back to my feelings for Cornwall, being an outsider means I look at the landscape, the history and the people there differently. By

[

having large chunks of time when I can’t be in Cornwall, my heart and soul hungers for it. On every return I drink in each detail, from the smallest flower in the hedge to jackdaws caught motionless, battling the wind and appearing to be hung in the air. In my novels I try and convey my love of the Duchy in stories of people, particularly women, who are at turning points in their lives. Many of us will have dealt with, or supported other through, these experiences: cancer, old age, love, divorce, death and how new beginnings can be born out of these times of trial.

I am endlessly fascinated by how we adapt and grow when we are confronted with events that rock us to our cores. In my book The Cornish House, Maddie, a widow, has to rebuild her life after losing everything. In my books I try to weave together the magic of Cornwall with flawed characters who gain strength, grow through their pain and their interaction with the landscape. My book A Cornish Affair sweeps through a classic adventure story to find a lost treasure. But, more importantly, it’s about being who you truly are.

In my new book, Under A Cornish Sky, there are two very different women who have every reason to hate each other. Through an inheritance, Demi and Victoria have to share an estate and work together. At the moment I’m just finishing The Returning Tide, due out in January 2017.

In it, I follow the lives of two women, one through World War Two and one today, to see how acts of betrayal and forgiveness can shape lives.

[

‘In my novels, I try and convey my love of Cornwall, in stories of people at turning points in their lives’

Win a copy!

We have five copies of Under A Cornish Sky (Orion, £7.99) to win. Simply tell us the name of its two main characters and send your full contact details to: Liz Fenwick competition, westmag@ westernmorningnews.co.uk by June 10.

Normal terms apply, West magazine will not share your details.

My Cornwall Liz Fenwick loves...

Frenchman’s Creek: It’s where my husband Chris proposed to me.

The Helford River: The view from The Shipwrights Arms in Helford is hard to beat.

The beaches: Especially Dollar Cove on The Lizard.

Pubs: Try The New Inn at Manaccan.

Sunday brunch: At Hotel Tresanton Fresh mackerel: Paired with Helford Creek Cyder

When I said I wanted to be a writer all those years ago, I had no idea that I would find myself living in a foreign country, a wild land of myth and legend. Life has provided my imagination with details and Cornwall has become the muse.

I’m looking forward to continuing to explore the Duchy and the human heart in future books. www.lizfenwick.com

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People

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People

open studios

A place to paint In an exciting event, renowned artists are throwing open their doors for the Open Studios Cornwall programme. Sarah Pitt catches up with four artists taking part

Hannah Wheeler Hannah Wheeler, 39, paints her acclaimed portraits in oils at her studio in Bude, north Cornwall. Hannah lives in Bude with her children Jess, 17, and Morgan, 14.

Hannah says: Last year, I was looking through the Open Studios Cornwall catalogue and I realised that Bude hadn’t even made it on to the map. So this year, a few of us have been in cahoots to make sure our town takes part.

The far north of Cornwall often gets overlooked but there are actually quite a few interesting artists working up here.

As an artist, it is nice to meet the customers and find out what they are looking for, in the artwork they buy. I think people are becoming more aware of the person behind the painting; it is an opportunity to mix with people who are creating some strange and beautiful pieces of work.

I have always been interested in seeing how other artists work. It is nice to have that insight but this is the first time I have taken part in Cornwall Open Studios myself.

When I first had my two children, I stopped painting for ten years and took up photography instead. It was a lot cleaner – and easier to pack away. Then, as the children got older, I was able to bring the painting back in. Now painting is my number one

job. I love it.

I also love having a studio of my own. I used to work at home but I found it quite hard to get into painting mode. For me, having a studio definitely focuses me on what I am doing. I do a lot of thinking at home then I bring it to the studio.

I have always been fascinated with faces; I’m interested in what limited light does to a face. It refines everything and it brings out the twinkle in the eye. I take photographs of people, then take elements from those images when I paint. I like to use my studio for testing new ideas. I sometimes work on canvas and sometimes on wood.

My current project is about looking at the interaction between people when they are playing games. I’m doing some pictures with people playing cards, in a low light setting. Playing cards is good one for getting some shifty expressions!

Yesterday, I did a shoot of people playing Scrabble, so I’ve got subjects who are both thinking and playing. They forgot I was taking photographs, which is what I wanted to achieve.

For the Open Studios event, I’ll have several paintings on the go, because visitors might be interested in seeing my work in progress. I’m trying to get all my urgent work done ahead of time, though, so I’ve got time to talk. www.hannahwheelerart.co.uk 17

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Gareth Edwards Gareth Edwards, 55, paints at Porthmeor Studios in St Ives, where famous artists like Patrick Heron, Ben Nicholson and Francis Bacon once worked. He lives in the beautiful setting of Lamorna Cove, west Cornwall with his wife and two daughters.

Gareth says: Open Studios Cornwall is an opportunity to meet not just the public but also potential clients. A gallery owner called Jill George came along to see my studio here a few years ago and liked what she saw. Now my work is shown in her gallery in London.

She was able to see my studio, talk to me and also to see the range of my work. If an artist approaches a art dealer, you are in their space, which can be intimidating – this is the other way around and you are a bit more in charge.

As for the public, they just love looking at my materials, the Japanese in particular. They are just fascinated by all my paint encrusted on the floor. They take pictures of it with their phones – what I do is maximise the opportunity for pub-

licity and ask them to put the pictures on social media like Twitter and Instagram.

I see the idea of an open studio event as the democratisation of making art. People can see art in a less formal setting than a gallery, where they feel more able to make comments and ask questions.

I’m working on a massive commission at the moment for a private collector who has bought a new home in Cornwall by the sea. It is taking up a huge amount of space in the studio. I’ve also got an exhibition coming up at the Jill questions about how I work, so I tell them a few George Gallery in London from June 13, called details about the mixtures I use. I have a vat of fir Terra Lumina. Visitors to my studio will be able turpentine for thinning oil paints in the studio. to see those works - a private view of the private Whenever anyone walks in, view if you like. they sniff deeply and say: In my work, I use ash and "what a wonderful smell". marble dust and iron oxide 'A few years www.garethedwardsartist. mixed with oil paints. Visitors co.uk see all of these tubs and ask me back, a gallery

[[ owner came along and liked what she saw.

Now my work is in her gallery in London'

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People

Caroline Cleave Caroline Cleave, 55, lives in Port Isaac, north Cornwall, with her husband Jon Cleave who is both a writer and a member of the Fisherman’s Friends sea shanty group. She and Jon have three grown-up sons. Her illustrations can be found on merchandise distributed countrywide through the artist Emma Ball’s company.

Caroline says: My studio is tucked away in the heart of Port Isaac. It is very much my personal space but this year I’ve bitten the bullet and decided to let people in. I have never taken part in an open studios event before.

I’m a bit nervous. I’m thinking maybe no one will come, or maybe I’ll be inundated and just want to shut the door.

I do want to show people where I work and also I’m hoping to inspire my visitors everyone has a creative side. My studio is in our garden, across a stream from the house where my husband Jon writes - he mostly writes children's books. Our working life is great, because he loves doing what he does, and I love doing what I do.

The reason I paint fish dates right back to when our three boys were little - they are in their 20s now - and used to come back with fish from the beach. My favourite picture is of them holding the first mackerel they caught.

I painted a quick watercolour of them, then the babysitter filleted the fish and we all ate them! My son George now works in a fishmonger’s in the village, so there’s a constant supply of fish. He’ll say "Mum, come and look at this red gurnard."

I got into painting crabs and lobster because that is what the fishermen in Port Isaac are landing all the time. I think they are quite fascinating and I draw them from life. I really love the colour indigo so I’m putting blue rope into my paintings all the time at the moment.

I love lobsters and mussels most of all.

It can be hard work but I love the challenge of painting. I paint in acrylics, then use inks over the top to add details and lines.

On the day of my open studio event, I will have some framed prints of my bigger paintings for sale. I love working on a large scale but not everyone has the room for large pieces in their homes, so I’ll also have a range of smaller prints for sale.

I’ve got a lot of commissions on at the moment, some really big ones, so the timing of this event is really good. It means there will be quite a bit for people to see. I just hope some turn up! www.carolinecleave.co.uk 19

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People

Alasdair Lindsay Alasdair Lindsay, 40, works at Krowji Studios in Redruth, where he is part of a community of artists. Originally from Chester, he arrived in Cornwall 20 years ago to study fine art at what was then Falmouth College of Art, and has never left.

He works in acrylics, painting docklands, harbours and bridges in paintings that have an architectural quality.

Alasdair says: I think more people come to Open Studios Cornwall to see the dog than they do me! She’s called Bobbi and is half pug and half griffon terrier. She belongs to Lizzie, with whom I share the studio. Bobbi likes to hang around while I’m painting.

I’m interested in scenes that are architectural and industrial. I paint Falmouth docks, working harbours, the Penzance Lido, bridges, through to funny old fishermen’s huts. Anything graphic is what I love.

There are a lot of artists in Cornwall concentrating on the natural landscape, the beaches and coast paths, so I’m happy to do something a bit different. My works are in bold colours, but which are a bit muted. A lot of people say the col-

ours are reminiscent of 1950s and 1960s colours - oranges and reds but not straight out of tins.

I mix the colours myself, to get a more mellow colour. I guess the process is a little like filtering a colour photo.

I also paint aerial views of London, especially along the Thames. I want my works to be true to life so that you can recognise which bridge I’m painting.

On one occasion, an artist called Neil Pinkett was hiring a helicopter and said to me: "There’s a spare seat, do you want to come along?" I took photographs looking directly down on the Thames bridges, which were like a plan view, with all the shadows giving a 3D quality. From that half hour flight, I have created about 50 paintings.

There’s a nice atmosphere here at Krowji Studios. It is relaxed and friendly and you bump into artists all the time. It is a bit like being back at college. There are so many studios here at Krowji, it makes it really worthwhile for people to visit during Open Studios. Some come from quite a long way away, making a weekend of it.

I did sell a few paintings at last year's event, and it is also good for making connections – people may not buy a painting during Open Studios week but then they might buy one later on.

I’ve also had a few long-term collectors of my

work come along to look around, whom I had never met before. One couple invited me to their house a few times since and I’ve done some paintings of it since.

Most of the time, I’m in the dark about who’s buying my work, because galleries don’t disclose details. So it is great when someone comes up to me and says "I’ve got ten of your paintings" and I’ll say "wow" and get to have a chat with them.

Often, they’ll then buy an eleventh! www.facebook.com/alasdairlindsayart

Open Studios Cornwall runs from today (May 28) until Sunday, June 5. See www.cornwallopenstudios.co.uk for full details on all participating artists and opening times for their studios, which vary.

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Muddifords Court in mid-Devon went from family home to successful boutique hotel

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Interiors

A warm welcome Nicky and Pip Easby have transformed their family home into a fabulous country house boutique hotel and wedding venue. Catherine Barnes finds out more

hen Nicky Lesser Easby decided to throw open her beautiful mid-Devon home, Muddifords Court, to paying guests, she imagined gradually building up a Bed & Breakfast business one step at a time.

But then came a just-for-the-funof-it appearance on the TV show Four in a Bed, followed by a huge surge of bookings. Luckily, Nicky and husband Pip were able to keep up with the pace. And, four years later, they have added even more wonderful touches which have seen Muddifords thrive as both a relaxing country retreat and idyllic wedding venue.

Born and raised in Tiverton, Nicky spent time in London as a property developer and estate agent.

She then bought Muddifords to share with new husband Pip, where they brought up her son, then nine, and Pip’s three children from his former marriage, who would spend weekends with them.

“This place struck a chord with me,” Nicky explains. “I bought it as a family home with the idea of doing up its separate courtyards and barns as holiday lets. But then life took a different turn and we did B&B and six months after that, we appeared on Four in a Bed. We won – and had 1,000 bookings as a result!”

The enduring Channel 4 programme sees a disparate group of B&B owners take turns to host the others and turn hotel inspector to judge whose accommodation is best value for money. Among those competing against Nicky and Pip were the famous Welsh singer Charlotte Church’s parents James and Maria, who run a B&B from their Cardiff townhouse.

“We certainly didn’t enter to win – as newbies we were hoping to learn from more seasoned B&B owners,” laughs Nicky. “But we were bowled over when we did.”

Since then, the Easbys have won a host of acco-

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Interiors

lades for their hospitality, not least five AA stars.

And following on from her TV appearance, Nicky also began to receive queries about her home’s availability as a wedding venue.

“We had no great experience of the hospitality industry or of running a hotel, so we decided to offer it as a venue-only hire,” she says. “Pip and I were married here in 2010 and our own wedding was a bit of a dummy-run. Initially I said I’d do no more than ten a year, or I’d feel like I was living in a goldfish bowl, but we ended up doing 30 in our first year.”

Three years ago, Nicky and Pip made the decision to move into a house in nearby Willand village. The property’s general manager (“and rock”) Julian England lives on-site in a self-contained apartment.

Weddings are held in Muddifords’ two beautiful oak-beamed barns, set around a traditional

place, with a dresser laden with pretty china and stag antlers on the wall but there’s a sense of charm and curiosity and, above all, warmth and invitation within. “I put antiques in all the rooms and it’s a country house feel, not too austere,” explains Nicky. “I wanted to get the balance right, for people to feel free to pick things up and touch them.”

As for Muddiford Court’s Four in a Bed winner’s plaque, it has been relocated from its original home (in the downstairs loo) to greater prominence on the staircase. “So many people asked about it!” Nicky laughs.

“Four in a Bed was very much a gamble and fortunately we were portrayed in a really good light. It’s car crash TV but for us the positive effect has been amazing even to this day. It was first shown almost four years ago now but, God bless Channel 4, they keep repeating it.”

Many of Muddiford Court’s talking-point features come from auctions and local reclamation yards: Tobys of Exmin‘It’s not an ster, Fagin’s Antiques at Hele, imposing home.

Cullompton Antiques and It’s personable Shepton Mallet Antique Fair are among Nicky’s favourite and people haunts. feel relaxed the farm courtyard, while the house “I’m notorious for buying can sleep up to 21 guests. There’s something and then having to minute they also a two-bedroom cottage and create somewhere to put it. I walk over the two fairy-tale shepherd’s huts in bought a mosaic sheep recently threshold’ the grounds. and had no idea what to do with Inside the house itself, Nicky’s it at first, but it’s a real talking always thrilled to encounter point. You’re never quite sure guests with shoes off and feet up. when you impose your own “It’s not an imposing home,” she explains. “It’s taste on a place that it’s the same as other peopersonable and people feel relaxed the minute ple’s,” she reflects, “but I’m really happy that I they walk over the threshold. seem to have got it right.

“My favourite bedrooms are the Willow, which “Even though it’s no longer our home, there I revamped recently with drapes above the bed really isn’t one thing I’d have done differently, and a Victorian claw-footed bath in the ensuite. although I’d love more accommodation to do up.

And I love what used to be our old bedroom, I have been approached about interior design for which is Art Deco style, with its own separate other people, but I’m not sure if I’m confident staircase. It tends to be used as the honeymoon enough. I’d never say never, though. I’m 50 this suite.” year, so I say bring on the challenge!”

The dining room is dominated by a huge firewww.muddifords.co.uk

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Gardens

ANNE SWITHINBANK

Full of life Devon’s Anne Swithinbank, panellist on Radio 4’s Gardeners’ Question Time, on how to share your plot with creatures great and small

ooking out across the kitchen garden, I see charms of goldfinches, chaffinch, greenfinch, wrens and dunnocks. There are also blue, great, long-tailed and coal tits, as well as blackbirds, thrushes and garden warblers on a regular basis.

As you can imagine, the dawn chorus is impressive and evensong is not bad either.

For the past six years I’ve been preoccupied with looking after older members of our family, all living within a mile of us, and I could say our garden has suffered as a result. Yet what does this really mean? In horticultural terms, it is not as well cared for as perhaps it should be, in that clumps of nettles have prospered, apple trees have gone unpruned, hedges untrimmed, tangles of bramble formed and every spring we enjoy a sea of fabulous, self-seeded forget-me-nots.

The kitchen garden has always been slightly unruly, as the beds are mounded but not properly edged, raised or accessed by weed-free pathways, as seems to be the fashion. It does need a lot of weeding and hoeing and, with fruit trees, bushes, perennial crops and herbs, it is like a little forest garden.

By making our garden ‘suffer’, my husband John and I have also provided more of what wildlife needs, which is free movement and cover for nesting, roosting, sheltering and a proliferation of invertebrates. Weeding might give me backache but also the pleasure of watching finches pull tufts of seed from dandelion clocks.

Even during the most difficult of years, we’ve kept the lawns mown, tended borders and grown crops and flowers, so it is a controlled chaos.

Wildlife so loves thick growths of ivy and decaying wood.

Now and again, unusual birds appear and a practised eye will notice a different kind of movement. Without thinking, you focus in on woodpeckers, a nuthatch or tree creeper because of their swooping flight or vertical, erratic movements around the trunks and branches of trees.

L

[[ Our unruly garden is full of birds. As you can imagine, the dawn chorus is impressive and evensong is not bad either

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Pruning away dead wood takes away the beetle larvae and other food they seek. Recently, I noticed a band of twitchers gathering near some local ponds and stopped to ask what they were hoping to see. Apparently a hoopoe had been sighted. I wasn’t lucky enough to see it (I’ve only spotted them in France) but sometimes a catch of different song means an unusual visitor has turned up. The other day an urgent singing and chattering had me stalking and peering into the bamboo to identify what I think was a whitethroat.

Often, gardening jobs that give us pleasure will please wildlife too. Verbena bonariensis has seeded itself thickly into a section of our gravel driveway, so I’ve been thinning the plants out and moving seedlings to poor soil in a bed by the drive. We’ll enjoy seeing the tall, wiry stems of purple flowers and bees, hoverflies and butterflies will love the nectar.

Our small pond is a home and breeding ground for aquatic animals, and a drinking and bathing hole for other creatures. It is always in danger of being overgrown by plants, so we constantly remove clumps of marsh marigold and iris, which, divided up, are replanted into a boggy area down the bottom of the garden where fine colonies are forming.

Once the duckweed is netted off, about two thirds of the surface is shaded by plants which should keep algal growth down. Clear, shallow water at the edges make it easier for animals to use and cover at the edges enables amphibians

such as newts, frogs and toads to come and go safely as these creatures spend much of their time on land.

Biennials sown now mean plenty of flowers to fill the gap between spring bulbs and summer flowering plants next year. I’ve already sown white-flowered foxgloves and must get on and transplant the seedlings one per pot. Honesty is great for hedge bottoms and for bright, sunny spaces sweet rocket and clary sage (Salvia sclarea) are ideal. All make great ground covering rosettes and while we enjoy their form and flower, the creatures who share our plot can exploit the shelter, nectar and seeds they’ll supply.

West reader queries answered by Anne Swithinbank I came across a bag of unplanted second early seed potatoes, all sprouting merrily in their net. Is it too late to put them in?

If you have the space and can plant them quickly, you will get a reduced crop rather than waste them. In one of my old books dating back to 1925, a large trial conducted at Wisley using a second early variety proved that for the weightiest crop, a mid April or early May planting was optimum.

Tubers planted in early April gave a slightly reduced crop but a delay until mid May or into early June cut the harvest by up to a third. Another big reason for planting potatoes early in the south west is to allow tubers to develop before the likelihood of potato blight. If this appears, you can cut down the stems and foliage quickly and still save a harvestable crop. Delayed planting means the tubers might still be swelling when the blight strikes

Q

Anne’s advice for your garden

• Keep notes of plants you’d like to add in early autumn. Here, it will be lilacs. I love scented plants and while we currently have azara, lily of the valley and Azalea mollis flowering; no lilac.

I’m earmarking the area, conditioning and gently mounding our heavy soil (they don’t like waterlogging) and putting annuals in for the summer.

Question time with Anne Q

This week’s gardening tips

Chelsea Flower Show has put in mind of the ‘Chelsea Chop’ What exactly is it, which plants do you do it to and should we all be chopping about now?

The Chelsea Chop is a technique of cutting back herbaceous perennials around the time of the flower show towards the end of May. This has the effect of making them branch out, delivering slightly lower, sturdier plants with less need for staking and more flower buds. Some gardeners cut everything by about half at the same height but others will trim selectively and leave some stems tall, trim others by a third and the rest by two thirds. You target later flowering perennials that have a history of leaning and flopping in the garden, so here I often give the chop to Michaelmas daisies and sometimes Sedum ‘Matrona’. Heleniums would also be good candidates. In my garden, growth is behind so I might not administer the ‘chop’ until the beginning of June. Go forth and experiment.

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

• Spread straw under your strawberries to keep them clean by separating berries from the soil. If you can’t get straw, use

strawberry mats.

• Make sure delphiniums are staked, as a sudden wind can snap the stems.

• Look out for dahlia shoots pushing above the ground and make sure they are protected from slugs. You can pick these off by torchlight, bury margarine or yoghurt tubs with rims projecting (to prevent slug-eating ground beetles from falling in) and pour beer in the base as slug traps. Or put down ferric phosphate slug pellets, using only one every six inches.

Pot on Strelitzia reginae (bird of paradise plants) if they are bursting their pots, using 50:50 John Innes no 2 and a soilless potting compost. They make fabulous summer patio plants in large containers.

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A light chambray fabric works well for a shirt dress paired with a stripy maritime top, in this ensemble from Seasalt, the Cornish fashion label which draws on its maritime location for inspiration. You could also go for a ‘girl next door’ look with the pale blue dress from La Redoute, just right for a stroll through a cornfield.

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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:

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

Festival fashion Kathryn Clarke-Mcleod on festival fashion for Big Weekend and beyond he Radio 1 Big Weekend is upon us. The beauty of the timing is that Coachella has just taken place across the pond, which means there is no shortage of festival fashion inspiration at the moment.

I spent a happy hour online, filling the virtual shopping basket in my head full of sheer white sheaths like Sara Sampaios and flirty playsuits a la Taylor Hill. Then I realised that Powderham Castle isn’t exactly the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California, and the sky above it is infinitely less reliable.

Zoe Kravitz (daughter of rock god Lenny) was an easier act to follow, as her uniform of denim on denim, slouchy grey tees and effortless cool has much more application in a Westcountry field.

I’m not quite edgy enough to copy her outright, something to do with not having the blood of Lenny coursing through my veins, a carefully I always have a curated tattoo collection, and scarf in my bag. boyfriend called Twin Shadow.

Still, it was Ms Kravitz I can spread that made me reach for these it on the grass ripped jeans in All Saints.

Buttery soft with just the to picnic and, right amount of stretch, they when it is cold, are the perfect pair to see me use it to cover through a long day on my feet.

The tee had me at hello too. and picnic, when it is cold I can use my shoulders Typography is still big news this it to cover my shoulders. When it is season, and this little beauty has sunny it will guard against sunburn the words Noise repeated down and when it rains – excellent the front, most apt. makeshift umbrella. Everyone should have one.

A bright pink scarf was essentially the death The hat is another essential when packing for blow to my dream of channelling Zoe. But it was a day at the festivals. This year we are spoilt for just so sugary sweet that I couldn’t resist it. It choice. Felt and floppy, straw and stiff brimmed, adds a lovely pop of colour to the ensemble and the choice is yours. I still have a major crush on means that I stand out from the crowd in photos. the fedora. It is small enough to stuff in a bag Also, I’ll let you in on a little secret, I always have when the sun goes down. This pale version with a scarf like this in some pattern or another in my the sweetest cornflower blue band ties in with the bag. When it is warm, I can spread it on the grass jeans just enough to further validate their place in

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a summer festival outfit.

It would be remiss of me not to talk about shoes. I have donned these heels as a temporary measure. My morning working at the Big Weekend will encompass interviewing some of the artists, virgin pina coladas and photo calls.

One likes to have one’s longest legs on for that part of the day. The minute it is over though, the heels will be in my magical slouchy bag and replaced with a lovely pair of strappy flats, more suited to dancing.

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

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culture vulture Our guide to what’s on in the South West by woman-in-theknow Sarah Pitt Soul session Striking and soulful, Laura Mvula will share an open air stage with 1980s pop legends Duran Duran at the Eden Project on Friday, June 3. Soul singer Laura is classically trained, studying at the Birmingham Conservatoire, and wrote her fame-clinching debut album Sing to the Moon while working as a receptionist at the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. Her second album The Dreaming Room is released on June 17.

The open-air gig, being broadcast live on BBC Radio 2 from 6pm, is the finale of BBC Music Day. Tickets are £50 plus a £7.50 booking fee, which includes entry to Eden for the weekend. See www.edenproject.com

Go wild

Ancient and modern The magic that can be created between a moog synthesizer and a harp will be revealed, in a rare performance by harpist Ruth Wall and pianist and composer Graham Fitkin in Cornwall. The distinguished musical couple live near Land’s End but spend much of their time performing and recording all over the world. They will be at the Hall for Cornwall in Truro on Wednesday, June 1, however, to present FitkinWall: Lost, a show inspired by their work with aerial theatre company Ockham’s Razor.

Performing on harps, moog synthesizers and autoharp, accompanied by vivid visuals from Cornish filmmaker Ryan Sharpe, they promise to take you on a journey into the unexpected.

FitkinWall: Lost at 7.30pm, Hall for Cornwall, www.hallforcornwall.co.uk, 01872 262466

Unleash your inner child – or actual child – at a Wild Tribe session on the beach and in the woods at Trevornick in Holywell Bay, north Cornwall on Saturday, June 18. The experts in finding “something to do” outdoors will show you how to build a bug hotel and a woodland shelter and take you on a low tide rock pool adventure. With the day finishing up with toasting marshmallows over a camp fire, it sounds like something out of Enid Blyton’s Famous Five books. The free day, a taster session for the Wild Tribe events is open to over fives – adults also welcome – from 10am-4pm. Meet at the Holywell Bay Fun Park car park at 10am.

Puppet fun Just in case you were wondering, Avenue Q is not a children’s show – even if it does feature puppets. Hailing from across the Atlantic, the Tony Award winning musical is packed with mischief, bad behaviour and political incorrectness. Created by Jeff Marx and Robert Lopez (co-creator of satirical musical Book of Mormon and writer of songs for Disney’s

Frozen), the musical tells the story of the loveable characters of a downtown New York street, trying to make sense of life’s burning issues.

Expect to be riotously entertained by both the puppets and the performers.

Avenue Q is at the Exeter Northcott from Monday, May 30 to Saturday, June 4. Tickets £25-£35 from www.exeternorthcott.co.uk

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Wellbeing

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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

JUMPING INTO FITNESS DEVON’S BATH TIME SECRET Christine Keeley’s lovely Hogwash products are handmade in Torrington, north Devon, and contain ingredients including shea butter, olive oil, coconut oil and essential oils. What’s more, they are palm oil free, great news if you are concerned about natural habitats at risk.

We love these foaming bath and shower washes (£10), available in a range of wonderful botanical combinations and also fragrance free. www.hogwashsoap.co.uk

Bouncing (or rebounding) sessions on a mini-trampoline can strengthen thighs, stomach and arm muscles, as well as improve bone density. Lower impact than many sports, the ‘pump’ effect of bouncing is also thought to improve the flow of lymph, which eliminates toxins from your body. Tavistock’s Red and Black Club holds Gravity Bounces sessions on Mondays and Wednesdays, www. tavistockfitnessclasses.com

TIME TO RETREAT? Do you long to switch off, or yearn for a bit of peace? Sandi Clark and Mike Maye run the Rainbow’s End retreat in Branscombe, east Devon. There is no WiFi, mobile signal or TV but a wealth of opportunity to soothe your soul with woodland and beachside walks and the opportunity just to enjoy the quiet.

With money worries a major stress for many people, the pair run the self-catering retreat on a donation basis, to make a stay there accessible to everyone. The suggested rate is £25 a night per person. A little beyond your budget? Donate what you can afford. Or chip in a little extra to keep this not-forprofit sanctuary going. www.rainbowsendcottage.co.uk

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GOOD-FORYOU GARLIC Nigella Lawson is among the celebrity fans of the Dorset-based South West Garlic Farm’s latest trend: black garlic!

The caramelised cloves are made by heating whole bulbs and the end result tastes a little like balsamic vinegar, but still packed with garlic’s immune-boosting properties. It can even be eaten as a snack, without lingering on your breath. Prices start at £3.95 for a bulb, which can be kept for up to a year, with lots of recipe ideas at: www.southwestgarlicfarm.co.uk

COLOURING IN

GARDENING THE SAFE WAY Recent sunny weekends have seen lots of us out in the garden. Many of us may have found that mowing, digging and weeding can result in aches and pains in body parts we barely knew we had! Made from green-lipped mussel extract, Penaton Gel has been developed to bring instant cooling relief to aching limbs. The brand’s Louise Lamb warns that a pre-gardening warm up with lots of gentle stretching is also a wise precaution. “Gardening is a very physical activity,” she says. “You wouldn’t go on a run without stretching beforehand, so why go out in your garden unprepared?”

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

Inspired by the calming loveliness of our Westcountry shores, local artist Gillian Adams has been inspired to create a colouring book for grown ups. Called Drawn to the Ocean, it’s a collection of 30 beautiful hand-inked designs for you to colour and enjoy. Take a dip in the ocean with a variety of drawings, including patterns and illustrations, and find relaxation in this mindful activity. It’s the perfect book to destress with and to explore your creativity., available through Amazon at £4.99.

You can meet Gillian and a host of healers, readers and makers tomorrow at the Mind, Body, Spirit Festival at Lostwithiel Community Centre, between 11am and 4pm.

There will be workshops and demonstrations throughout the day and entry is by donation.

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

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24/05/2016 11:38:30

Drink

Darren Norbury

talks beer have, on occasion, wandered into Scientific research has, incidentally, shown that pubs, on my own which I would women are actually, on average, better at detectprobably give a wide berth to, were ing individual flavours in beer than men are and it not for my interest in beer. And so probably make better beer judges. Mass media once inside, I’ve stood at the bar, may not have told you this. keeping myself to myself, until I added a comment on FaceI (often) get talking to a local. book this morning which, again, On some occasions, these locals flies in the face of common have been tattooed, bearded thought. This was to do with the fellas, built like brick outhousinexorable rise of the third of a Women are es, often with so many parts of pint measure. We’re supposed actually better their anatomy pierced you’d to be a nation of pint drinkers, at detecting expect them to leak like a sieve in contrast to the laid-back and if they were removed. cultured Belgians, yet the third individual And I must admit, I usually strikes me as having done huge flavours in beer get a bit nervous for a moment, amounts to boost popularity of before discovering they want to beer in recent years. than men are share their love of beer, and are In a bar where I work partusually the best company you time, we’ve sold any amount could hope to find in a pub. You of very flavoursome, but quite see, never assume. strong Belgian beers in thirds And so it goes with women and because it’s a civilized and rebeer. Never assume. There are sponsible way to drink. certain individuals who would have you believe The quality cask and keg beer market is no that a woman might want a beer that is light, lowlonger dominated by men of a certain age who ABV, golden and hoppy. And you know, it ain’t so. drink pints – lots of pints – and risk their health.

Many go for darker, stronger brews. And this is The beer world is always changing and developborne out by south Devon beer sommelier Sophie ing, and that’s why I love it.

Atherton, who tells me that, in her experience, Darren Norbury is editor of beertoday.co.uk women enjoyed beers with bigger, fuller flavours. @beertoday

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Beer of the week “You must try this!” says Lucy from behind the bar at The Front, Falmouth, as soon as I walk in the door. The Tintagel Brewery Black Porter is a fine enough brew at the best of times, but this one has aged six months in The Front’s cellar and is smooth, rich and deep, with mocha coffee and liquorice notes. Heavenly.

TOP OF THE BLOGS My friends Boak & Bailey – Jess and Ray – have been named top online drink writer at the Fortnum and Mason Food and Drink Awards. The Penzance couple bring pub and beer history to life on their blog boakandbailey.com – well worth a visit.

Beers in a good cause

Hall & Woodhouse is to stage another charity beer festival at its Blandford St Mary base on June 18. Last year’s event raised more than £7,000 for four charities.

Tickets can be purchased at hallwoodhousebeerfest.com

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24/05/2016 11:42:22

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23/05/2016 16:48:42

Eat

Ingredient of the Week

Fennel

with Tim Maddams have written before about my duout and used to flavour stews, so long as you rebious skills as a gardener but I’m member to remove them again before serving. All enjoying my new approach, which but the toughest of fennel stems can be braised is this: grow stuff that invades and slowly to make a wonderful puree or soup. takes over. This year, I have decided And all this can be achieved with little or no to add fennel to the list even though everyone expense. I have simply scattered a load of fennel keeps telling me I am mad. “Don’t seeds from the spice rack and we plant fennel,” they say. It will will see what the summer brings. self-seed and end up all over the But it is autumn that I am really garden. Well, good. Frankly, any looking forward to. The reason is I love fennel tasty plant that provides me with fresh fennel seeds. Fresh fennel seeds. I use them flavour for much of the year for seeds, a lot like fresh coriander zero work except popping out to seeds, are so much more punin loads of stuff, lop off a few inches is fine by me. gent than the dried ones. I love to from breads The thing is, you see, I am not make an ice cream with them. I to stews and really after bulbs of fennel such like fennel flowers too, the bright as we see in the shops. I am told yellow pollen adds a fresh dimencurries and even they are very hard to grow (so sion to a poached plum dish and in ice cream they are definitely out for me, also finds its way into salads and then). But I love fennel seeds. I the like. use them in loads of stuff, from Before now, I have always breads to stews and curries. picked my fresh fennel flowers Fresh fennel leaf too, whether the green or the from the wild, as you can find fennel all over the bronze variety, is always welcome in my kitchen. place, especially near the sea. But this year hopeFennel stems are excellent flavour-enhancers, fully I will be saved a journey, and if my gardendoing a somewhat better job than celery at being ing friends know what they are talking about, I useful in this way. They work just as well dried will never have to plant fennel again. Result.

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Fabulous fennel The fresh, frondy tips of fennel are excellent added to salads to provide an extra something in both taste and texture. They can also be used as a herb to finish dishes, particularly fish. And they make a welcome addition to pestos, green sauces and herby mayonnaise too. Or, for something you may never have thought of, try adding finely-chopped fennel tops to some strawberries sometime this season. Add a squeeze of lemon, and then tell me I am wrong in saying this is something you need in your repertoire. @TimGreenSauce

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

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23/05/2016 14:13:41

MAIN PICTURE: ROY CURTIS

Enjoy

A WEEKEND IN

PADSTOW

adstow is well known for its food and drink, championed by the town’s longstanding celebrity chef, Rick Stein. But did you know that it also has seven fantastic beaches on its doorstep, some of which are among the top surfing spots in Europe?

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Explore: The beautiful Camel estuary is popular for sailing, fishing and bird watching and designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. See it from the water by taking a trip on The Jubilee Queen (07836 798457) which runs one-hour cruises from Padstow Harbour throughout the main season (weather dependent). Sailing times change according to tides and weather and are published daily on boards around the harbourside. Adults £11 children £6.

Discover:

If you prefer to explore on land rather than on water, the well-maintained and (mostly!) flat Camel Trail offers you the choice of walking, cycling or horse riding. Follow the former track of the Padstow branch line for 17 miles of stunning scenery – you can hire bikes from Padstow Cycle Hire on South Quay (01841 533533, www.padstowcyclehire.com). Alternatively, you can enjoy fabulous walks along the South West Coast Path from Padstow to Stepper

Point or take the ferry over to Rock and head out to beautiful Pentire Point.

Stay:

[[ Rick Stein himself will be signing books here this Bank Holiday Monday, from 11am to 12 noon at Stein’s Deli

Overlooking Padstow harbour and offering wonderful views of the Camel estuary is the grand Victorian four star, 58-bedroom Metropole Hotel. The hotel’s Summer Sizzler stays in June start at £149 for a double room with bed and breakfast and a free jug of Pimms on arrival. The hotel has an AA rosette restaurant plus casual brasserie, a spa and the only outdoor pool in Padstow. Call 01841 532486 or visit www.themetropole.co.uk for details.

Eat: Food is a big part of

what makes Padstow special. Find casual fish and chips from Rick Stein’s shop on the quayside or fine dining at Paul Ainsworth’s No.6 in the town centre (www. paul-ainsworth.co.uk). Rick Stein’s flagship is the renowned Seafood Restaurant and the AA rosette Harbour Restaurant at The Metropole Hotel is well worth a visit. From fish and chips to a lobster thermidor, this town has it all.

Visit:

The National Lobster Hatchery on the quayside.

This attraction is charity run and focuses on conservation, research and education helping to safeguard lobster stocks. New for 2016, you can even adopt a lobster (www.nationallobsterhatchery.co.uk).

Don’t miss:

Rick Stein himself will be signing his cookbooks this Bank Holiday Monday (May 30) in Padstow.

You can meet Rick between 11am and 12 noon at Stein’s Deli. There will be samples from the deli to keep you entertained while you wait, and a full range of Rick’s recipe books will be available to buy.

Shop: While you are in Padstow, be sure to try an award-winning Cornish pasty from the family-run Chough Bakery – and they also send pasties by post if you want a taste of Padstow and can’t make it (www.cornishpasty.com). You may also like to have a look around Quay Art on the North Quay, selling a good range of original art work, ceramics and unique gifts.

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Rick Stein’s Seafood Restaurant Fo od at Th e Me tro po

le Ho tel

The view from The Metropole Hotel

The Met rop ole Hot el

The Camel Trail

The swimming pool at The Metropole Hotel

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23/05/2016 14:29:42

My Secret Westcountry Donna Berry Donna Berry runs The Swan Inn in Bampton, Exmoor, with her husband Paul. The Trencherman’s Guide named it the Best Pub, 2016.

My favourite…

View: I’m a Westcountry girl, born and brought up in Torquay, so I love everything all around the English Riviera. I’m particularly fond of Babbacombe – the views there are to die for.

I now live right in the very eart of Devon in Bampton, which couldn’t be more different, but it’s just as lovely. I do miss the sea and the seaside though. Thank goodness they are not too far away if I need my fix.

Beach: Although I do love Torbay, I think at the moment my favourite beach is Croyde, near Barnstaple. It has the best sand in the area and it’s just lovely there. In the summer months it can get a bit crowded but on the edges of the holiday season, it’s a great place for a walk.

Activity: Cooking!

I can’t get enough of it really. We close The Swan Inn on Mondays, so we can recharge our batteries, as running a pub with a restaurant and rooms is fairly full on. On the days when no one is here, I still spend time in the kitchen inventing new dishes. A favourite

Croyde beach

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People

Tarr Steps on Exmoor

The Masons Arms

Babbacombe Downs

The Swan

thing for me to do is play around with creating new vegetarian dishes. It’s great fun being inventive in the kitchen. I’m also interested in gluten-free dishes. I can get very experimental.

Food: I get very, very excited when we get something different from our fish suppliers at Newlyn and Brixham. I’m a bit like a child in a candy shop when the delivery van doors open.

There are so many wonderful fish dishes to cook with and eat. I also love crab and lobsters.

Tipple: Wicked Wolf Exmoor Gin – it’s THE tipple of choice all over the Westcountry at the moment. It’s made from 11 botanicals, distilled and blended in north Devon by husband and wife team, Pat Patel and Julie Heap. Hibiscus and kaffir lime leaves are blended with the traditional aromatics too. Everyone’s buzzing about it.

Pub: Of course I have to say The Swan! We’ve run it since 2001 and I do think we’ve managed to strike a good balance between a traditional pub that suits the regulars and a more contemporary eatery.

Babbacombe beach

Restaurant: There are so many lovely places to choose from and my husband and I love to eat out. We love going to Ben’s Cornish Kitchen in Marazion, overlooking St Michael’s Mount, which is run by brothers Ben and Toby Prior. I’ve also recently discovered Rock Salt, Plymouth, which is also a family affair. They both use lots of fabulous ingredients to make some stunning dishes. We’re also fans of a few local places as well, The Bridge at Bampton, The Masons Arms in Knowstone and Woods in Dulverton.

Way to relax: Eating out – I’m such a deRock Salt

voted foodie that I just love to go and see what everyone else is doing. It’s relaxing to be the one who is waited on for once, too. Paul and I are not

people who are precious about our own brand; there’s room for everyone and we genuinely applaud the good work others do. Rising stars do so much for the sector and boost its profile, so it’s good for everyone.

Weekend away: If we’re pushing the boat out a bit, Paul and I like to make our way to Cornwall and to spend time at Nathan Outlaw’s at Port Isaac. It’s a special place and we find it really relaxing there, plus there’s the added bonus of being near the sea too.

Shop:

Bampton is an idyllic market town, which perhaps gets overlooked for trendier destinations but it’s still pretty bustling and lively.

Unlike many similar sized places, we still have a vibrant high street with a traditional butcher, baker and greengrocer. But my favourite shop has to be Lucy Lou’s, it sells beautiful bits and bobs for the home, trinkets, jewellery, pictures and handbags. Paul gets lots of his presents for me there and I definitely approve!

Secret place: Tarr Steps on Exmoor, not far from Dulverton. This ancient stone slab bridge over the river Barle used to be very famous and tourists flocked there. Now it’s a bit quieter even on nice sunny days in the summer and it’s a magical place. We love going there with our Labrador Tansy for a paddle in the river and a walk, and we always recommend it to guests who stay with us.

Treat: Bristol is

a hidden gem as a city weekend break destination. For us it’s not so far away that we have to travel for ages to get there, yet it’s still got all the attractions a big city should have, including the shops, restaurants, theatre and decent hotels. www.theswan.co 45

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23/05/2016 15:45:03

My life

man and boy

On second thoughts...

Phil Goodwin lets James, six, watch an unsuitable movie et’s grab the wetsuits and hit Chainsaw Massacre, although it strikes me that the beach,” I suggest, as the sun the film serves as a pretty good warning against cracks the flags outside. “Uh-uh,” picking up hitch-hikers and visiting seemingly the lad tells me, wagging a finger. deserted farms.

“Sha-arks.”

Anyway, cutting short the movie revealed This is entirely my fault. two problems: first he was a bit traumatised Emboldened by my son’s fearless indifby the man-eating activities of the shark and ference to scary films, I let him watch Jaws. secondly he was angry at not being able to What the heck, I thought. He watch the rest. In the end I has seen countless people defast-forwarded to the finale, voured by dinosaurs, not to hoping that victory over the mention dozens of grisly wildshark might at least help ‘There are no life documentaries showing him come to terms with the great whites nature red in tooth and claw. whole situation.

What harm could a rubber But bedtime was hard off the coast of shark terrorising three men work afterwards. He was Devon,’ I protest. in a boat possibly do? wriggling and complaining, “Yeah, that’s What I had failed to factor and took ages to get off to in was that Steven Spielberg’s sleep. Then I got a tellingwhat the Mayor 1970s blockbuster is, even off from his mum and promof Amity said,’ now, a pretty good thriller, deised to be more thoughtful spite the less-than-convincing and protective of the little he countered antagonist. As Quint slipped lad. down the deck of the sinkBut I couldn’t help wondering Orca and into the jaws of ing what, exactly, had got to the great white shark, blood spurting from his him. Perhaps it was too realistic. I realised how middle, my wife threw in the towel and called much I still love the film, in particular Quint (It time on the screening. is a little-known fact that the actor Robert Shaw You might think me irresponsible allowing a went to school in Truro) and the drinking scene. six-year-old to witness such carnage. In my deAs the brilliant story recounts, the old shark fence, I had always considered the threat from hunter has a death wish and, in the end, the carnivorous animals, though deadly, to be a shark takes him down to the bottom of the sea. kind of a natural danger we had faced for milWell, I may be crediting James with understandlennia and worthy of warning against. ing beyond his years, but perhaps the lad was I imagine that cave-dwelling parents might struck by the tragedy of old Quint. have once pointed to a mural depicting a sabreNone of this helps with the sea problem. tooth in much the same way. I know this is “There are no great whites off the coast of shaky ground but you see where I am coming Devon,” I protest. “Yeah, that’s what the Mayor from. of Amity said,” he countered, smugly. He has a I would not consider allowing him to see point. But how are we ever going to go swimming something twisted, like for example The Texas again?

L

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

main picture: Steve Haywood

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23/05/2016 14:27:01

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