The Bath Magazine May 2024

52 F O O D & W I N E

Organic wine choices and a refreshing nectarine salad

56 F LU T E

We visit F lute Seafood Restaurant & Bar and chat to founder Roger Payne and head chef Angelo Errigo

60 A N A R T I S T ’S V I S I O N

W ill Gompertz tells Emma Clegg about his new book and how it could make you see the wor ld with new eyes

62 R E A D, B R O W S E & D I S CO V E R

Ideas for fresh reads and live music in the city

64 I N N O VAT I V E B U I L D

Here’s introducing the new D yson Cancer Centre at RUH

76 T H E WA L K

Andrew Swift walks through the site of a 13th-centur y Carthusian prior y in Hinton Charterhouse

78 S U S TA I N A B L E S PAC E S

John Law considers how nature and sustainability are leading the way in interior design

86 M AY S H A D E S

Jessica Smith shares her favourite garden colours this month

A round-up of the great art on display in our local galleries

Doodle has arrived at the Holburne Museum, and he’s causing mayhem See our inter view on page 20

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F R O M T H E E D I T O R

There are a host of creative, engaging people about to descend on Bath, and we have inter views with no less than five of them in this issue Each of them has a spectacular talent and a way of seeing or creating work that makes people pay attention.

In fact Sam Cook, better known as Mr Dood le, took over Bath a few weeks ago His exhibition of ‘spaghetti graffiti ’ , which opens at the Holburne Museum on 3 May, is not conventionally constrained within a single galler y His monochrome dood les have spread themselves all over the walls and ceilings of the museum, have crept up the stairs and invaded the locations of certain works from the museum ’ s permanent collection, as well as spilling over into the city Mr D has a madcap dream of dood ling the wor ld; see our inter view on page 20 and, if you ’ re intrigued, check out the dood les

Another artistic force comes to The Bath Festival in the form of journalist, author and art critic Will Gompertz His new book See What You’re Missing selects a collection of 31 artists, from Fra Angelico to Tracey Emin, (and from the beginning of time to the present), traces each one ’ s vision of the world and suggests what we can learn from them See page 60

Fashion Director at The Times Anna Murphy is also at the Festival to talk about her book Destination Fabulous. Anna at 52 describes herself as feeling the ver y best version of herself. How does she manage it? Lipstick is involved. (See page 36.) For musical creative manoeuvres Jasmine Tyagi talks to trombonist Dennis Rollins, who explains how his love of jazz was fed by reggae and ska music Dennis is coming to Wiltshire Music Centre on 1 June (see page 24)

Stagecraft is brought to Bath’s Ustinov theatre by actor Tamsin Greig who plays Hester in Terence Rattigan’s 1950s’ play The Deep Blue Sea and Tamsin takes on a character who is forced to decide between two unsettling options (See Georgette McCready ’ s inter view on page 38 )

Another momentous creative design endeavour comes in the form of the newly opened Dyson Cancer Centre at the RUH and on page 64 we give you an over view of the outstanding facilities the centre offers, both in patient experience and in its specialist facilities, and the significant impact of the massive support the centre has had from the community.

From fashion to jazz and dood ling to drama, May is buzzing with opportunities

Emma Clegg, Editor

Fossils at the D yson Cancer Centre

The Bath Magazine 2 Princes Buildings, George Street, Bath BA1 2ED; 01225 424499 www thebathmag co uk

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Landscapes of Deep Time/The Bath Ammonites, elec tron micrographs/c yanotypes by Heidi Morstang

When the grounds for the Dyson Cancer Centre at the RUH were cleared, several ammonite fossils were revealed where the building stands today. These ammonites were collected from the Scipionianum Bed at the top of the Blue Lias Limestone from the early Jurassic period Local experts believe the large ammonite is of the species Coroniceras, and the small one is Arnioceras semicostatum These types of fossils probably lived in a shallow sea or sea shelf environment, and are common around the south west of England Artist Heidi Morstang created a series of electrogram images from the fossils, which were then translated into cyanotype prints – they are displayed in Clinical Imaging on the second floor of the Dyson Cancer Centre See the full Dyson Cancer Centre feature on page 64

Disclaimer: Whilst every reasonable care is taken with all material submitted to The Bath Magazine, the publisher cannot accept responsibility for loss or damage to such material Opinions expressed in articles are strictly those of the authors This publication is copyright and may not be reproduced in any form either in part or whole without written permission from the publishers

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5 things to do

Laugh out loud

England’s smallest city hosts a big weekend of stand-up from 24–26 May. Acts include James Acaster, Harr y Hill, Nish Kumar, Rich Hall, Sophie D uker, Tim Key, John Kearns, Sara Barron and Kemah Bob, as well as Alan Davies and Lou Sanders Tickets from £9 Wells Comedy Festival, Somerset, BA5 wellscomfest com

Follow the Fringe Festival

Bath Fringe Festival is ready to reignite the city with creativity and culture from Friday 24 May to Sunday 9 June With a line -up boasting over 100 events, Bath venues will once again welcome festival-goers with a rich and varied programme spanning music, theatre, comedy, and more Fringe Ar ts Bath (FAB) also returns with a dynamic programme of visual ar t exhibitions and events. This year's Bath Fringe Festival promises to captivate audiences from all walks of life bathfringe.co.uk

Listen to stirring music

On 30 May The Fulltone Orchestra brings a night of huge, glorious classical music to the Forum Presented by Aled Jones and with per formers including Classical Brit Nominee Soprano Carly Paoli and Tenor Gareth Dafydd Morris Music includes Finlandia by Jean Sibelius, Cinema Paradiso by Ennio Morricone, Ave Maria by Charles Gounod, Breakfast at Tiffany ’s: Moon River by Henr y Mancini, Enigma Variations by Edward Elgar and Symphony no.9 ‘From the New World’: Largo by Antonin Dvorak. 7.30pm. Tickets from £16.50. fto.org.uk

Watch the fun and games

O ur favourite Royal Bath & West Show is back from 30 May-1 June. For the traditionalists there will be regular attractions such as the Pony Club Games, Heavy Horses, Showjumping, V intage Vehic les and Lakeside Farm

The main ring entertainment is provided by the Jamie Squibb Freestyle Motorbike Stunt Show

Well-known chefs such as Clodagh McKenna, Rosemar y Shrager and Andy Clarke will also be performing cooker y demonstrations over the three days

The new attraction for 2024 is the ‘Bark & West ’ Dedicated to pets, it will feature trade stands, an agility ring, and

displays from show favourites Pawsability Dog Agility The Royal Bath & West Show is a great value, funfilled family day out To book tickets, visit bathandwest.com.

Lift your spirits at the Festival

The Bath Festival brings its annual celebration of books and music to the cit y from 17–26 M ay. There is a spark ling mix of inspirational speakers, consummate stor y tellers and music to lif t the spirits and soothe the soul. Visitors include author K it de Waal, singer M ichael Ball, novelist Howard Jacobson, comedian Shaparak K horsandi, Guardian columnist G eorge M onbiot and broadcaster Simon M ayo Par t y in the Cit y, Bath’s biggest free night out, opens the festival and sees 130 ac ts, including bands, choirs and solo per formers, playing live music in the cit y. thebathfestival.org.uk

and presenter Clive

Journalist

Myrie at The Bath Festival. Photo by Sophia Spring; comedian S ara Pascoe at The Bath Festival

City updates

THE FORUM ANNIVERSARY

The Forum in Bath – the landmark venue known for its distinctive Art Deco architecture and rich histor y – is set to celebrate its 90th birthday on 18 May with a series of special events in a full day of festivities

In the evening at 7 30pm Bath Philharmonia will be raising the curtains at the birthday party with this year ’ s Concert for the People of Bath: Sounds of Cinema featuring music by the great composers for the big screen in an orchestral tour through the decades of some of the most popular film soundtracks. Epic music demands an epic performance and the orchestra will be joined by musicians from His Majesty ’ s Royal Marines School of Music

From the vast soundscapes of Hans Zimmer ’ s Inception to the unforgettable themes of John W illiams’ Jurassic Park and ET to the dizz ying textures of Bernard Hermann’s Vertigo there’s something for ever yone in a concert that culminates in a symphonic performance of George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue featuring internationally renowned pianist Zeynep Özsuca. bathfor um.co.uk; bathphil.co.uk

HIKE TO HELP THE HOMELESS

Now in its 23rd year, the Circuit of Bath Walk is a 22-mile challenge to raise awareness and vital funds for Julian House

Their work supports rough sleepers and people experiencing homelessness, domestic abuse and refugee resettlement This year ’ s event takes place on Sunday 22 September, sponsored by Achieve Breakthrough, who will also be tackling the walk.

O ver 500 people took part last year when walkers took in truly spectacular views across Bath, including the gorgeous vistas from Little Solsbur y Hill and South Stoke Millennium V iewpoint

The charity is encouraging people to tackle the full 22-mile route, although participants can choose their own distance and start point, thanks to the five checkpoints along the route and a free taxi ser vice between each For a gentler, less strenuous stretch more suitable for younger families, the canal walk from Bathampton to Limpley Stoke is a particular highlight. circuitofbathwalk.co.uk

ART AND BRAINWAVES

New technology which visualises how the human brain reacts to art – live and in 3D – was trialled at the Holburne recently The project highlights the benefits of the National Art Pass, which gives access to inspiring, galleries, museums and historic houses. The project highlights how people’s brains are stimulated when they experience art in museums and galleries, and aims to help answer the question of the fundamental value of art and the impact it has on us Visitors were able to view art or artefacts while wearing a headset that is connected to an electroencephalogram (EEG) monitor The outputs of their brainwaves as they react to the art are then visualised on screen in 3D and real-time If a user is more alert, the waves become wider If they are confused, the waves start to spiral and weave. And if a user recognises something, bright highlights appear. artfund.org/brainwaves

GREEN OP EN HOMES RE T URNS

Bath & West Communit y Energ y (BWCE) are calling for even more local people to showcase the energ y-saving measures they ’ ve taken in their homes Green Open Homes are friend ly, informative events that demonstrate how to heat homes while reducing energ y bills BWCE are collaborating with several partners to run a programme of Green Open Homes B&NES events in Bath and North East S omerset. This year, the Bath event will run over the weekend of 12–13 October in homes across the cit y.

Last year ’ s success saw over 750 people visit 22 homes across Bath and Chew Valley For this year ’ s event, organisers want to appeal to more people They are looking to feature a diverse range of properties; anyone who has modified their home is encouraged to get in touch – from people who have installed energ y efficienc y measures in older listed buildings, to those with inexpensive tips for small, modern rental flats

Those interested in opening their homes over the weekend can register their interest at: g reenopenhomesbanes.org

Taste the delights of South Asia

To help clients explore the delights of South Asia, Hem Patel set up the specialist tour operator, Bespoke Getaways based in Norton St Philip, Bath He tells us how he creates the perfect travel experience for clients to achieve the trip of a lifetime

What inspired you to set up Bespoke Getaways?

I have had a rich and varied career working and living in Asia for twenty years During this time I worked with world class companies in senior leadership roles Whilst I lived in Thailand, Vietnam, and Singapore, I travelled extensively for business and leisure across the entire region The experience has provided me with a huge insight into the people, the histor y, the culture and the cuisine Indeed, you could say that Asia has always been in my blood! I was born and raised in England, my parents are from Gujarat India I want to use my knowledge and exper tise to help others appreciate the beauty, char m and war mth of the region

What is unique about your tours?

I apply all the knowledge and experience I have accumulated to create bespoke tours I take time to listen to what the clients are looking for, and understand what they enjoy most to create their ‘trip of a lifetime’. My itineraries are not whistle-stop tours, they provide an oppor tunity for a deeper and more immersive experience, at their pace, in luxur y and comfor t I only work with small groups, maximum of eight I am not only responsible for creating their itinerar y, I also accompany them throughout their trip I of fer a hassle-free and stress-free experience; allowing the client to focus on enjoying the moment and create unfor gettable memories.

What are some of the hidden gems that you have discovered?

There are so many, but if I had to name one it would be Luang Prabang in Laos It is a UNESCO World Heritage site, boasting beautiful landscapes, rich histor y and char ming people It’s impor tant to realise however, that there are hidden gems ever ywhere You can find them in each destination, a char ming boutique hotel, a little known cultural site, a spectacular view, a wonder ful restaurant that doesn’t cost a for tune, a place to enjoy a fabulous cocktail. It all depends on what the client is looking for Having lived as an expat for many years I managed to discover many hidden gems, and I am still discovering new ones ever y time I visit!

What customers have said about Bespoke Get

“I ’ ve got been on the hol for the last 3 weeks” –“Hem looks after ever y “Hem is your man fo Asia experienc

Bath profile

BILLY KIDD

Billy Kidd is a magician whose sleight of hand skills and stage and street magic have seen her perform in theatres and on television screens worldwide. Billy performs weekly at Krowd Keepers Magic Theatre in Bath

W hat are your connections to Bath?

I came to Bath in 2008. My family is from Poland and the Philippines, but I was born in Canada I wanted to become a magician and the only way I knew how to start was as a street performer Bath is a buskerfriendly city and that was the big draw for me It ’ s a ver y special place to me because it is how I started my career in magic

You first started working as an actor at the age of 11 – what drew you to acting at such a young age?

As a young child I was introduced to the theatre and it had a great impact on me. I would attend shows almost ever y day. I fully immersed myself and trained in all aspects of performance from voice, dance, acting, fight combat, music and singing and anything I could learn to make me a better performer I was lucky that acting was the only job I had until I found magic Also getting paid to play as a child was the best job I ever had

Are the skills of both actor and magician crucial to what you do?

The first time I was introduced to magic I was in my mid-twenties. I had never experienced the art-form before but it opened up a whole new world of performance for me. In fact it took over my life. W hen your hobby is all you think, dream, and breathe it eventually becomes you My skills as an actor have been ver y crucial to the way I perform my magic In fact sometimes I think it is the only reason I have got where I am

You have performed all around the wor ld Tell us about one of your stand-out memories of performing abroad

After performing in Istanbul I was tr ying to make it back to my hotel when a pack of eight big dogs started stalking me for over an hour. It

was a bit frightening as I had no idea why these dogs were following me W hen I eventually got inside my hotel and woke up the next morning I found baklava in my hair I am guessing these two incidents are connected!

W hy are there so few magicians who are not men?

The magic industr y is dominated by men. I have no idea why women do not want to become magicians I do believe that men are naturally drawn to things that women are not interested in It is a myster y

W hat are the best (and worst things) about being a magician?

The best thing is being able to travel the world and perform for all walks of life The freedom in lifestyle is also great The worst part is not knowing when your next gig is, and the insecurity that comes with the lifestyle. Yet it is all a thrill!

W hat are the key skills of an excellent magician would you say? And what other magicians do you most admire?

Magicians have to be able to adapt to any given environment or situation

Good communication skills, confidence, creativity and passion are a must Also a knowledge of magic histor y and to be well rounded as a performer are key for me Magicians I admire most are Juan Tamariz, V incent Gambini, Steve Valentine, and Derren Brown. I could name so many more but for now if you ever get a chance to see these gents perform, go!

How do you keep your magic shows original?

I tr y ver y hard to not do what ever y other magician is doing From the tricks they perform, to what they say, to their style, and terrible puns I tr y not to be like those ‘stereotypes’ of magicians Finding my own voice is important and the only way I can properly express myself Creating magic that comes from my own experiences and ideas is more satisfying then imitating what others are doing.

Billy runs Krowd Keepers Magic Theatre ever y Friday and Saturday upstairs at the Ale House Pub in York Street; krowdkeepers.com; billykiddshow com

Notes on a s m a l l c i t y

This month columnist Richard Wyatt talks to Tessa Armstrong, who brings the joy of music to the lives of young people with her Voices for Life charity.

Many creative ‘seeds’ were planted during the dark and isolated days of the Covid pandemic One of them has enjoyed rapid growth over the last three years, thanks to a ver y determined local lady called Tessa Armstrong

No stranger to working with children, this former solicitor and now career and confidence coach came up with the idea of using singing to enhance and enrich the lives of young people ‘ Voices for Life’ was born here in Bath with ‘the vision to inspire children to be happy and confident through music

Tessa – a mum, with two girls of nine and 12 – has always loved music and studied the subject at Birmingham University Though she enjoyed singing and playing flute and piano, something told her she was not going to form a career around performing or teaching Instead, and with a growing interest in people and family dynamics, she took a law conversion course and trained to be a family solicitor

It seems she still hadn’t found what she was looking for, so she took a year out to go and see the world, including working for a children’s charity in South Africa and Kenya.

“ We had more than 100 children, some of them orphans and from areas of high deprivation, who came to our care centre ever y day Each day they gathered in the open air and would just start

singing and dancing together. They were just oozing with happiness

“I realised then that these children were getting the same positive impact from music as I had as a child Music had helped me to find my voice and given me drive and passion and it was doing something similar for them ”

Tessa said that this moment was a turning point, one that made her realise that she would one day set up a charity of her own. She went on to set up in business as a career coach – coaching solicitors to begin with as, being a solicitor herself, she could specialise in that area She soon expanded her skills to all professions and to young people and children, designing a coaching programme for secondar y and primar y schools

“It was during lockdown that I thought how amazing it would be if that programme was put to music. To have projects that took children on a specific wellbeing journey where they can sing and learn about music and how much it could enhance ever yone ’ s lives ”

Voices for Life was set up as a charity and its first project – involving a composer and lyricist –was called Stardust It involved 200 children

“Off the back of that we were offered funding to run it again in Bath and it just kept expanding and now we have there projects set up, all following different wellbeing journeys.

“ We are inspiring children to be happy and confident through music We are enabling them

to find their voices and to share the joy that music brings and the community it creates ” Tessa’s choristers are performing in big concerts too, sometimes in front of 500 people and with professional musicians.

“ We go into schools and work with perhaps 30 youngsters from each school and then they all come together to perform a piece of music ”

Tessa said many of the youngsters she is dealing with were ver y young during the pandemic and weren’t able to meet people and socialise

“So we are bringing these opportunities to children of that age. Helping them experience what it is like to work together as a team.

“All the research suggests that happy confident children, who know how to interact with others and be kind and respectful, will do better with their academic abilities ”

The charity is well-established in B&NES and has expanded to South Gloucestershire, Bristol, Somerset and W iltshire. Youngsters have even recorded an album and recently performed in front of Q ueen Camilla in Bath Abbey.

“At the end of the ser vice they walked up the aisle to spontaneous applause and people were cr ying It was incredible, and I remember one child asking, ‘ Were they really clapping for me?’”

I always now tell the children that they have the power to make grown-ups shed tears of happiness, the power to bring the community together.”

On Saturday 27 and Sunday 28 July there are two Voices for Life concerts at Bath Abbey when 250 children will premier a new work called The Elements n

F ind out more via voicesforlife org uk

Richard Wyatt r uns the Bath Newseum blog: bathnewseum.com

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Portrait of Bath

Sheila Gwilliam, owner of Jack and Danny’s vintage clothing shop in London Street, Bath

Sheila Gwilliam moved from Portobello to Bath in the 1960s and set up a vintage clothing emporium in London Street that’s loaded with possibilities for reinventing your wardrobe.

There is a vintage c lothing shop in L ondon Street that harks back to another era For those who miss the tempting piled-up buzz of the jumble sales of old and second-hand shops where there are end less boxes and towering layers of artefacts to rummage through, then head over and embrace the vibes at Jack & Danny ’ s vintage

c lothing store Jostling on rails, suspended high on the walls and piled in tempting combinations you ’ ll find peacock feathers, strings of beads, sequin-covered dresses, full petticoat skirts, lush velvet jackets, glistening textures of leather, faded spectrums of denim, end less sartorial possibilities it ’ s a kind of vintage wonder wor ld

O wner Sheila Gwilliam arrived in Bath in 1967 with her partner Bob Mickleburgh, having been reluctantly persuaded to move here from L ondon W hile in London, Sheila had made a living by running clothes stalls in Bermondsey Market and Portobello Road

A friend who was a rag and bone man had given her the residue of costumes from two theatrical costumiers, which he had been asked to destroy, which provided a fantastic range of stock for Sheila.

S heila and tr umpeter and trombonist Bob had met in L ondon where they became a couple – Bob played with the 1920s jazz band The Temperance Seven He also played the trombone in American trumpeter Louis Armstrong’ s band when he came to the UK – Louis would only play with Bob when he was in the countr y

Af ter moving to Bath, Bob and Sheila opened Jack and Danny ’ s, showcasing Sheila’s theatrical array of c lothing The neighbourhood in this era was community-focused and Sheila remembers spending many happy lunchtimes with other locals in The Bell Inn. The couple soon formed part of the vehement and sustained local opposition to the proposed Buchanan Tunnel S cheme invol ving a modern dual c arr iage way that would have wiped out the L ondon Road The scheme was eventually shelved in 1976

Jac k & Danny ’ s with its vintage c lothing is still a colour ful presence on the street 57 years af ter first opening S heila has just turned 80, shows no signs of slowing down and is currently planning her vintage c lothes stall at Glastonbur y Festival this year.

Jack & Danny ’ s, 2 London Street, Bath BA1 5BU Tel 01225 469972

Por trait by Joe Shor t Joe is an award-winning photog rapher based in Bath. joeshor t.com

Graffiti spaghetti

Mr Doodle’s in town and the monochrome mayhem has begun Emma Clegg visits the Holburne Museum and discovers the extent of the doodle takeover. While she’s there Mr Doodle tells her why doodling is his favourite thing, ever.

To doodle means to scribble absent-mindedly. For most of us it ’ s a diversionar y, dreamy tactic when there is a pen to hand – it ’ s relaxing, hypnotic and fills insignificant moments of down time It ’ s not something you do for a living Internet sensation Mr Dood le, also known as S am Cox, would emphatically disagree You see he’s obsessed with dood ling and he’ s made quite a lucrative business out of it, with his dood le-based ar twork bank-rolling near l y $4 7 million in salerooms across three continents in just over nine months

Take his house in Kent. He spent two years covering it in doodles, or ‘graffiti spaghetti’, as he calls it. He started in the bedroom, declaring that “waking up in the room is sort of paradise for me ” . At which point he moved on to dood le his whole house, inc luding the stair way, bannisters, the bath tub, basin and toilet, bed, computer, light fittings, oven, kettle, the external façade and the front garden He says the exercise took 900 litres of white paint, 401 cans of black spray paint for the exterior, 286 bottles of black drawing paint for the interior, and 2,296 pen nibs It ’ s merciless for those who love white walls and minimalism and have a tendency towards migraines; but strangely comforting for those lulled by a rhythmic pattern or out for a visually wild experience.

It all came naturally to S am. Dood ling was his passion from a ver y young age, and he was encouraged by his parents who allowed him to draw on the walls of his childhood home. Mr Dood le became official in 2014 when he was an illustration student at UWE – having handdood led all over his c lothes, on arrival at college his tutor christened him with the name of the alter ego he then permanently adopted He started his Instagram account in May 2013 and 11 years later he has 2 9 million followers Now he prints his own dood le imager y on his c lothing, making him permanently merge into his work S o what is it with the dood ling, S am?

“When I have a blank canvas or a wall in a room I just want to pick up a pen and cover it as quickly as possible”

“I love doodling more than any other art form just because it feels so instinctive to me It ’ s the best way to create art because you can just do it where you are and on any surface You don’t have to think about it and plan it and it feels to me like the least forced way of creating work There is no heavy message or statement – I am just creating something naturally and unconsciously and that ’ s what really draws me to it ”

S am ’ s inspir ation comes from video games, comic books and cartoons, the things that influenced him as a child – and he still loves those graphic characters with big eyes and smiley faces. The late artist Keith Haring is a big influence, too, along with the characters created by Walt Disney, who he admires for the way he took his creations to a different level in TV shows, films and immersive theme parks

Mr Dood le ’ s st y le is squiggl y and freeflowing, gener

l l y created with a thick paint applicator – the result is a tumbling mass of evenly distr ibuted weird, smiling c har acters and c ar toon dr

wings surrounded snugly by other dood led shapes. Pattern is key and there is a distinctive lack of negative space. Most of Mr Dood le’ s work is black on white, but he does sometimes var y it with white on black, and even suggestions of colour (the latter of ten introduced by Mrs Dood le, also known as Alana), but colour isn’t his favourite device “I mostly use black and white for my work because it creates the strongest contrast I like creating the lines, the patterns, the shapes and the symbols and filling it with colour af ter wards doesn’t feel as instinctive I just like creating the dood le with lines ”

Mr Dood le has now brought his monoc hrome shape-f or ming activities to the Holburne Museum... and beyond. His dood les cover the entrance walls, the stair risers and the walls, floor and ceilings on the second floor Then there are two dood led benches outside, and further afield in the city centre there are doodled statments in Milsom

Mr Doodle doodling the entrance to the Holburne

The Blind Beggar by Thomas Barker, about 1788, sits elegantly with The Inclined Doodler, 2024

Above: Lord Mas of Scribble City (replacing School of Frans Pourbus II, Archduke Alber t of Austria, c 1600); Above centre: Henr y Rober t Morland, A Lady ’s Maid Soaping Linen; Above right: Anti-Doodle Squad Doing Their Laundr y, 2024 (replacing the Henr y Rober t Moorland painting above); Below left: Gurgoogle sculpture

S treet, Green S treet, Union S treet, Kingsmead S quare and the phonebox in SouthGate He has also organised the removal of certain precious paintings in the Holburne’ s permanent collection, replacing them with his own dood le work Thomas Barker of Bath Self-Port rait c 1794 has been replaced with Mr Doodle of Doodle Land Self- Portrait, and John Constable, F latf ord Lock f rom the Br idge, c.1814-17 with Doodle House f rom the Gates. Is it safe, however, to give him free rein in the museum?

“I love the idea of dood ling the wor ld and I of ten think about what the ear th would look like if it were completel y covered by dood les But I think I’ m in the minorit y of people who would accept that as a realit y, so I have to stop my self from painting o ver e ver y thing I wanted to show appreciation to all these mazing artworks and tr y and refrain from dood ling o ver any thing I ’ m not supposed to. The temptation is there however. ”

Talking to Mr Dood le is quite stream of consciousness His words tumble out just like his ood les The application of dood les

n the sur face is not r igorousl y

anned, and is r ather more action sed. “I’d say 95% of my work is just completely spontaneous. So I’ ll just create shapes like squares and then they will turn into birds, fish

or things that are a mixture of

elements, or ne w creatures I

don’t repeat c har acters – I just tr y and think of new things and that is what keeps me excited

out it. And when I have a blank as or a wall in a room I just want up a pen and cover it as quickly as e really, just have fun with it ” ’ s perfectly understandable

“Most dood les for me start in the top lef t corner and they kind of flow down and r ight and down and lef t Most of the time I ’ m conscious that my hand might smudge it if I go from right to lef t, so I go left to right, but it depends – sometimes with walls it makes sense to start in a certain position and go a different way ” S o there is a strateg y… tell me more.

“Doodling is almost like an out-of-body experience. You’re just indulging yourself in this free-flowing state of creation”

“ I use so many thic knesses of pen – c hanging the thic kness c an make it look like some dood les are c loser to you and some are further bac k Mostl y, howe ver, I like to work with the same thic kne

ever ything is equally significant because in Dood le Land [yes, that ’ s a thing] there is no sense of order or hierarchy – ever y character is on the same level.

I detect an egalitarian stance. But actually the groundswell to the dood ling is about the spreading of happiness. “I never switch off in terms of thinking what to dood le next and coming up with new ideas

It ’ s just what I

indulging yourself in this free-flowing state of creation To me making faces with smiles or sur prised characters are what drives me to create It makes me smile to make a character smile It ’ s as simple as that really. I love being Mr Dood le and just running round and dood ling over ever ything.”

Mr Doodle! Museum Mayhem is at the Holbur ne Museum (and in parts of Bath) from 3 May – 1 September. holburne.org; @mrdoodle

Ska, funk and all that jazz

Trombonist Dennis Rollins speaks to Jasmine Tyagi about his rip-roaring journey through the world of funky jazz – including a jam with Prince – ahead of his appearance at Wiltshire Music Centre on 1 June

Istar ted ” Jazz musician Dennis Rollins is telling me what star ted his passion for music The instr ument that he inher ited from his brother wasn’t your c lassic pile of hand-me-down c lothes children are forced to begr udgingl y wear. This old trombone bec ame the c atal y st for his incredible c areer as a jazz musician.

For the last 25 years, Rollins has played with some of the greatest musicians in the funk and jazz wor ld, such as Jamiroquai, Brand Ne w Heavies and Cour tne y P ine, to na

d multiple awards – ranging from the prestigious BBC Jazz Award in the Best Band categor y in 2006, Trombonist of the Year at the British Jazz Awards and Ronnie Scott ’ s Jazz Awards in 2007, to most recently b e i n g a w a rd e d a n H on o r a r y Fe l l ow s h i p f rom t h e R oy a l We l s h College of Music and D rama in 2022. Rollins proves to be a man of great talent.

The first band Rollins formed was c alled Dee Roe, though he then went on to work with and create many more, such as Boneyard (which inc luded nine trombones, a sousaphone and a dr um kit), as well as more recentl y F UNKY-F UNK! (this name was a song from his first album Badbone) and Velocit y Tr io The musician has and continues to appl y different st y les of jazz to e ver y project At W iltshire Music Centre Rollins is bringing his F UNKY-F UNK! band, a name chosen to represent the band ’ s energ y

Where it all began

Growing up watching his brother play the trombone with friends, and then with the Donc aster Jazz Association, sparked something within Rollins; that “sibling r ivalr y made me think, ‘ I c an do that ’ ” It just so happens this fierce but fr iend l y sibling competitiveness bec ame the dr iving force for Rollins’ great success Fast for ward a fe w years and he would even find himself jamming with Prince af ter supporting him in concer t with Maceo Parker ’ s band, an exper ience he “ wouldn’t say is life-changing, but it ’ s prett y much up there ” . The master trombonist ’ s passion stemmed from other elements too – b e i n g o f J a m a i c a n h e r i t a ge R o l l i n s g re w u p l i s t e n i n g t o a l o t o f reggae and ska music He says: “I wasn’t directly listening to pure jazz” How then could these two completel y different genres have inspired his passion f or jazz? It becomes c lear that it was his music al mind which enabled him to pluc k out elements in songs sy nony mous with t h e j a z z ge n re : “ T h e re ’ s a l o t o f i n f l e c t i on s o f j a z z t r u l y f l ow i n g through the roots of the music it was sor t of an experience ‘through the bac k door ’ around how jazz influenced me. ”

From the age of 14, Rollins’ passion for jazz was already engrained. He joined Doncaster Youth Jazz Association, just like his brother, but then lef t the “small mining town” he kne w and gre w up in and moved

to The S moke (that ’ s L ondon) W hen Rollins moved to the cit y in 1987 the music scene was booming with vibranc y and energ y Rollins say s this was the place you wanted to be, other wise “ you were just a young player or musician in the subur bs You had to have that 01’ telephone number, so people knew you were in L ondon and could call you for work there.”

He instantly fell for L ondon, and the incredible musical experiences that c ame with it For him, L ondon in the ear l y ’90s was “ a melting point of many different cultures that brought different music from

“ There were the crossing of cultures, the meeting of minds with musicians, and the melting of styles”

around the wor ld there were the crossing of cultures, the meeting of minds with musicians, and the melting of st y les ” No wonder the ’90s created a platform for the music scene like no other booming, spir ited and pumping out some of the greatest ar tists of all time Rollins’ trajector y in funk began when “playing with Jamiroquai and Brand Ne w Heavies, under the banner of acid jazz.” Acid jazz is the per fect example of the cit y ’ s music al melting pot, with injections of hip hop, disco, soul, funk and jazz in the mix

“ There was a lot of excitement you had to just jump straight in ” S o, it ’ s no sur pr ise then that amid this sea of st y les and cultures the gem of Rollins’ talent washed ashore

Patience and compassion

Rollins admits he wouldn’t be where he is today without the help of his talented teachers. Their skills and motivation led him to success, something he wants to pass on to the students he teaches. He say s the most impor tant thing to do is “project the feeling of joy through music, and show what music c an br ing ”

Through the years in his profession, Rollins reflects what he once absor bed from his teachers, and that is patience, compassion, “and to just generall y enthuse our youngsters, bec ause there ’ s a whole wor ld of music Even if their choice isn’t to be a musician in their later life, music is something you can carr y alongside any career. ” Rollins aspires to pass his passion on to youngsters through an educational trombone website. His approach inc ludes the blurr ing of boundar ies between

attitude towards learning music and de veloping “ a funk communit y ” . “ Educ ation is my passion r ight now, ” Rollins states. “ There is a real groundswell of trombone players wanting to learn about funk music,

a n d a b o u t t h

asking, ‘ How do yo

whole bunc h of c

from his youth may have followed him through to his own c areer, but he is stil l lear ning “ The thing about play ing with other per formers is that you learn when not to play.”

Rollins breaks this idea down for us. “ The key is to imagine you are h a v i n g a c onve r s a t i on , b u t i n s t e ad yo u ’ re p l ay i n g mu s i c w i t h o t h e r musicians”, he explains You need to “stand bac k and learn the lesson to al low others to speak W hen you ’ re at a jam or per f or ming with other musicians, it is a reall y impor tant music al lesson at any le vel –let the music flow the same way when you ’ re chatting to somebody, and most impor tantl y, listen to one another ”

It is this technique that Rollins say s will enhance music al skills, as people pic k up small things other musicians use and play. (I imagine it ’ s like when you hear someone say a fanc y word and you mentall y note it down so you, too, c an sound just as eloquent.)

I asked Rol lins what his most memor able per f or mance has been throughout his c areer “ Wow That is a big question I c an’t think of any one in par ticular ” W hoops, didn’t mean to stump him with this one Af ter some thought, he say s: “S ince I put together the Velocit y Tr io – that ’ s the dr ums, the organ and trombone – there is a sense of freedom in per formance that this par ticular ensemble br ings” Rollins descr ibes per forming with this tr io as if it is like no other. “ I c an take my per formance in any direction, and at the same time the

connection I have with the other two musicians can go in any direction too, music all y, and meet at any given point ” .

I asked Dennis how does he f eel about play ing at The W iltshire Music Centre “ I love it I have played there four or five times with var ious projects, so I ’ ve had great exper iences already in the region” Dennis explains, “ W hen I play there with F UNKY F UNK! I see my responsibility as presenting this music as a joyous celebration, at the same time demonstrating its influence and connectivity to the many music styles.”

“There is a real groundswell of trombone players wanting to learn about funk music”

There is no doubt that those attending the W iltshire Music Festival a re i n f o r a t re a t . R o l l i n s f e e l s ve r y f on d l y t ow a rd s t h e a u d i e n c e i t al way s attracts and say s, “that region is a beautiful par t of the countr y a n d t h e a u d i e n c e a re ve r y i n f o r m e d a n d c u l t u r a l l y a w a re o f t h e diff erent flavours and approac hes to music I ’ m looking f or ward to being there again ” R o l l i n s w i l l b e a p p e a r i n g a t t h e B r ad f o rd o n Avo n L i ve M u s i c Festival at W iltshire Music Centre on 1 June at 7.30pm. T ickets can be booked online via wiltshiremusic.org.uk; dennisrollins.com.

Bath Canine Society Championship Show

Friday 24 - Monday 27th May

Three Shires Field, Bannerdown, Bath BA1 8EG

The venue is signposted from Batheastern

Judging starts at 9am each day with the Group finals around 3pm each day

Car parking charge of £10 per car (payable with cash or contactless)

Dogs are welcome to come into the show on a lead at a cost of £5 per dog

Bath is one of the largest championship shows in the UK with an anticipated 7,000 dogs competing over the four days from all over the UK and some from Europe The judging panel is made up of experienced judges from the UK and overseas

Different breeds are scheduled each day Friday – Working and Pastoral breeds; Saturday – Utility and Hound breeds; Sunday – Toy and Terrier breeds; Monday – Gundog breeds

The show is a qualifying show for Crufts 2025

An array of trade stands selling dog-related items will also be in attendance as well as a food outlets, Lilleys cider bar and Marshfields ice cream

www.bathcaninesociety.org

What’s on

MUSIC AT GREEN PARK BRASSERIE

n Green Park Brasserie, Green Park Road

Enjoy live jazz/funk/soul/swing at Green Park Brasserie on Weds and Thurs from 6.30–8.45pm and Fri and Sat from 6.30–9.45pm. Music includes dynamic duos, modern trios and a Hot Club style quintet greenparkbrasserie.com

PANE E VINO SUPPER CLUBS

n Pane e V ino, 5/6 St James Street, Bath Pane e vino is open ever y Saturday evening for intimate and delicious cand lelit dinners. Chef Darix prepares three-course set menus that change weekly and are priced according on what's on offer – inc luding coffee and limoncello prices can range between £34–£45 per person Book by calling 01225 698063 as the dining room only seats 22 people and places go fast For more information and menus follow Instagram @panevinobath, or pop in for a chat.

G LU C K ’S F LOW ERS

7–9 May, 6.30pm–9pm

n Holburne Museum, Great P ultene y S treet A hugel y talented ar tist, idiosy ncratic Gluc k lived by nobody ’ s r ules but their own, and when celebr it y flor ist Constance S pr y walked into their studio with a deliver y, a sc andalousl y queer, tempestuous relationship began. Br istol’ s award-winning ne w w r iting company Theatre West are present a ne w play set in the 1930s about a real relationship that feels per tinent today T ic kets £15/£10 holbur ne.org/events

I F O RD S U P P ER C LU B S: S I X CO U RS E TA S T I N G M EN U 10 and 24 May, 7 30pm–10 30pm n Iford Manor, Iford, Bradford-on-Avon BA15 2BA

Book your table for a fantastic foodie experience, with expertly craf ted food and

drink largely sourced and made on the Iford Manor Estate There is a different menu for each event, so why not book both! Arrive from 7 30pm for a welcome drink and dinner at 8pm. Seating is at tables according to your booking and it all wraps up shortly af ter 10.30pm. £65pp to inc lude the tasting menu, welcome drink, tea and coffee with homemade petits fours, and live music ifordmanor.dig itickets.co.uk

D I S COV ER T H E J O Y O F G I V I N G

B AC K W I T H M EN TO RI N G P LU S 11 and 18 May, 4pm–10pm n Riverside Youth Hub, York Me ws

Join loc al char it y for engaging mentor skills training. Become a volunteer mentor and make a lasting impact on a young person ’ s life and your own. S eeking a fulfilling, flexible volunteer role?

Email Chr is Har t: volunteer ing@mentor ingplus net mentor ing plus.net

H O LB U RN E P LA N T S A LE 12 May, 10.30am–2.30pm n Holburne Museum, Great P ultene y S treet The annual sale takes place in front of the beautiful Holburne Museum There will be specialist nurser ies, inc luding NW P lants, S pecial P lants, Oakhill & Tr iffids, Malcolm Allison, Bur iton and Gabr iella Knight plant sundr ies P lus a stall r un by the fr iends of the museum Free gardening advice is available, as well as delicious homemade c akes and biscuits. holbur ne.org/events/plant-sale/

S U LI S H O S P I TA L: WO M EN ’S

H E A LT H A N D LE A D I N G EX P ERT S 14 May, 6 15pm–8pm

n S ulis Hospital, Peasedown S t John, BA2 8SQ

Join S ulis Hospital on 14 May at Combe Grove for an informative educ ational e vent focused on women ’ s health from 6 15pm–8pm For too long, women have been told that sy mptoms are just par t of life – whether it ’ s related to growing up, having children, ageing, or hormonal fluctuations L et ’ s empower oursel ves with exper t knowledge and be proactive about our c are. S peakers inc lude Consultant G y naecologist Mrs Ay sha Q ureshi, GP Menopause S pecialist D r P hilippa Gir ling and Registered Dietitian Cr ist y Dean sulishospital com

M I LES M O RG A N T RAV EL

14 May, 2.30pm n 8–9 Ne w Bond S treet P lace, Bath

Join Mar ie and her team as they welcome Michelle from T itan Holiday s, to talk about what they c an offer T itan Holiday s have an award-winning collection of tours that cover all se ven continents, with c arefull y planned itinerar ies ranging from rail journey s, small group adventures and tr ips exc lusivel y for solo travellers, all which inc lude VI P door to door transfers Email bath@milesmorgantravel co uk or c all 01225 486 800 milesmorgantravel.co.uk/events

M A RC ELA F ERRE Y RA: PATAG O N I A N P LA N T S W I T H O RNA M EN TA L P O T EN T I A L 16 May, 7.30pm–9pm n Room 1 Level 1, East Building, East Car Park, University of Bath, Claverton Down Marcela is a biologist, teacher and botanic al tour guide This Gardening Club talk will take you through the glor ies of Patagonia’s diverse habitat, from rainforest and alpine z ones in the west to the ar id steppe in the east. S hr ubs and prennials will be seen flour ishing in their natural habitats. Open to all, annual membership £25, visitors £8 subgc org

Gluck ’s Flowers at the Holburne

Women’s health talk at Combe Grove

the bath festival 17–26 May

n L oc ations around the cit y The Bath Festival br ings its annual celebration of books and music to the cit y Chec k out the full programme here: bathfestivals.org.uk

soul’d ou t at part y in the cit y 17 May, 7 30pm

n Bath P izz a Company, Green Park S tation S oul’d O ut is a loc al nine-piece soul band led by Ly nne on sax and voc als L ast year the band searched for a key board player, issuing the challenge: “ We need a key boardist who c an play the R ay Char les intro to Shake a Tail Feather ” , which enticed Paul Osborne out of retirement The band is play ing at Bath P izz a Company as par t of Par t y in the Cit y, per forming, among others in a high-octane set, Dancing in the St reet, P roud Mar y, Gimme Some Lo ving and Soul Man. S o put on your dancing shoes, come on down and enjoy the par t y! bathfestivals.org.uk

a m eri ca n m u s e u m & g a rd en s: va ri o u s ev en t s 17, 19, 28 and 29 May

n T he Amer ic an Museum & Gardens, C laver ton Down

Events in May at The Amer ic an Museum & Gardens inc lude an e vening of music, food and dr inks while listening to jazz quar tet

The L az y River Band (17 May) and an oppor tunit y to buy beautiful, unusual and

interesting plants at the R are P lant Fair (19 May). Then in the May half-term take your children to a kids’ potter y workshop where children c an tr y out the potter ’ s wheel as well as hand-building with c lay, or to a P lay in a Day Theatre Workshop (29 May). amer icanmuseum.org

s o u n d s o f c i n em a: co n c ert f o r t h e p e o p le o f b at h

18 May, 7 30pm

n T he For um, 1a For um Buildings, S t James Parade, Bath

Celebrate the For um ’ s 90th bir thday at a concer t of bloc kbuster movie c lassics with Bath P hilharmonia and the Musicians of The Royal Mar ines S chool of Music. An orchestral tour through the dec ades of some of the most popular film soundtrac ks Featur ing music by the great composers for cinema inc luding Hans Z immer, John W illiams, Ennio Morr icone, John Barr y and Bernard Hermann and culminating in a sy mphonic per formance of George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue.T ic kets £35/£30/£25. bathboxoffice.org.uk

s h i n d i g f es t i va l 23–26 May

n Dil lington Estate, S omerset

S hindig combines old-skool royalt y with r ising stars to create a soundtrac k like no other Inc ludes Groove Armada (DJ set), Ne w York house DJ John Morales, R un in the Jungle for D r um n Bass lovers, and S moove & Turrell & The Allergies. The festival is also showc asing many ar tists who have played over the dec ade: S hosh (24 hr Garage Gir ls), Greg W ilson, Altern 8, Ody ssey, Gardna, D ub P istols, The Cuban Brothers, S tanton Warr iors and D utt y Moonshine There is also comedy with Reginald D Hunter, Angelos Epithemiou, O livia L ee and viral sensation Red Richardson. shindig festival.co.uk

a n au d i en c e w i t h ag g ers

a n d t u f f ers

24 May, 7 30pm–9pm n Bath Pavilion, Nor th Parade Road, Bathwic k

Get ready for a sensational e vening of laughter and c aptivating stor ies as legendar y cr ic ket greats Aggers, and Tuffers step up to bat for their highl y anticipated 2024 tour. W hether you ’ re a de voted cr ic ket fan eager for insider stor ies or just looking for a fun e vening out, don’t miss your chance to c atch these two stars live in action ‘ betterboxoffice.co.uk

b at h f ri n g e at c h a p el a rt s i n m ay a n d j u n e

f lee t wo o d m a d

24 May, 8pm–10 30pm

The UK ’ s ultimate 5-piece tr ibute br ings the authentic F leetwood Mac exper ience to life in a magic al twohour theatr ic al journey. T ic kets £22 in advance and £24 on the door.

t h e c i d erh o u s e reb elli o n

25 May, 8pm–10 30pm

The ingenious masters of folkimprov Profound and eloquent, epic and haunting, wild, dramatic and occ asionall y unhinged. T ic kets in advance are £14. T ic kets on the door £15.

m i ra n da s ky es OU T O F

T H E WO O D S s o lo to u r

5 June, 8pm–10 30pm

The acc laimed singer with S how of Hands now tour ing as a soloist, accompany ing her voice with bass and guitar. Advanced tic kets £16. T ic kets on the door £18.

k ’ c h ev ere

6 June, 8pm–10 30pm

S alsa Jazz eight-piece combining rhy thms such as S on, Danz ón and Cha-Cha-Cha with a blend of L atin Jazz and S alsa T ic kets £15

Al l e vents at Chapel Ar ts, S t James’s Memor ial Hal l, L ower Borough Wal ls, Bath; chapelar ts.org

Shindig Festival

Soul’d Out at Par ty in the City

Potter y workshop at The American Museum & Gardens

B at h ca n i n e s o c i e t y

c h a m p i o n s h i p s h ow

24–27 May

n T hree S hires F ield, Bannerdown, Bath BA1 8EG

Bath is one of the largest championship shows in the UK with an anticipated 7,000 dogs competing over four day s from all over the UK and from Europe. Different breeds are scheduled each day. An array of trade stands selling dog-related items will also be in attendance as well as food outlets, Lilley s cider bar and Marshfields ice cream Car parking charge of £10 per c ar Dogs are welcome to come into the show on a lead at a cost of £5 per dog bathcaninesociety org

a ld ri d g e’s o f B at h au c t i o n

28 May, 10am (vie wing Sat 25 May)

n Online

F ine ar t and antiques sale, inc luding sil ver, je weller y, ceramics and glass, oil paintings, watercolours and pr ints, European and Asian works-of-ar t, c loc ks, r ugs, antique and later furniture and furnishings. aldr idgesofbath.com

ca i s s o n g a rd en s o p en g a rd en day

31 May, 10am–4pm

n Caisson House, Combe Hay, BA2 7EF

At this time of year, the garden is renowned for its abundance of flowers and vibrant colours filling the air with sweet fragrances

There will be tea and delicious homemade c akes Children to be super vised at all times

Prebooking essential caissongardens.com

an eveni ng wi t h paul Kerensa

31 May, 7 30pm

n Bath Abbe y

British Comedy Award-winning writer Paul Kerensa is coming to Bath Abbey for a wildly entertaining evening, full of rip-roaring laughter Paul’s the in-demand comic who plays comedy clubs & churches. One of the few to appear on Radio 2’s Pause for Thought and at London’s Comedy Store, Paul has toured his solo show to 1000s of events and festivals He’s written for Michael Bublé, Matt LeBlanc, Miranda Hart, and people whose names don’t begin with M too bathboxoffice.org.uk

B at h & co u n t y c lu B ev en t s i n m ay a n d j u n e

s u n day ca rv ery

12 May, 12 30pm

Enjoy a delicious two-course c ar ver y inc luding coffee and mints This will take place in the Club Dining Room. £26 per person

lo n d o n u n d erg ro u n d p o s t ers ta lK a n d s u p p er

14 May, 6pm

Don’t miss a talk by Mike Power, followed by a two-course supper, which inc ludes coffee £28 per person

f i l m ev en i n g w i t h i n t erva l B u f f e t

24 May, 5.30pm

This month the Bath & Count y Club will be showing My Best Friend ’ s Wedding (1997) £20 per person

a s pa rag u s & w i n e d i n n er

31 May, 6 15pm

Enjoy a delicious fine dining exper ience with Bath & Count y Club. Pr ice £45 per person. All wines inc luded in the pr ice of the dinner event venue: Q ueens parade,Bath Ba1 2nj. to book, email secretar y@bathandcountyc lub.com or telephone 01225 423732.

LOOKING AHEAD

la n s d ow n o p en g a rd en s

2 June, 2pm–5.30pm n S t. S tephen’s Mil lennium Green, Richmond Road, Lansdown

There will be eight gardens open across L ansdown and a plant sale on the S t S tephen’s Millennium Green Teas and home-made c akes will be on sale in the S t S tephen’s Centre underneath S t S tephen’s Church accessed from L ansdown Road

T ic kets are £5 each (children go free) millenniumg reen.org.uk/events

m en to ri n g p lu s: p repa ri n g yo u n g p e o p le f o r c h a n g e

3 June, 7pm–8 30pm n Riverside Youth Hub, BA1 6AE L oc al youth char it y Mentor ing P lus invites you to join their exper ienced youth practitioners for an in-person workshop on the theme of change. L earn how to help

your child ac knowledge and understand their feelings, and how you c an be a safe space for them. Open to parents/c arers, famil y members and those working with young people T ic kets £5, inc luding refreshments mentor ing plus.net/getinvolved/become-a-mentor

u3a: r u n n i n g t h e ro ya l u n i t ed h o s p i ta l s

6 June, 10.15am–11.30am

n T he Pavilion, Nor th Parade L ecture by Cara Char les-Barks. Cara will be sharing the reasons why she joined the NHS and how she became a Chief Executive of an acute hospital, along with her views of managing the RUH, their achievements and ambitions for the future Doors open at 9 45am for coffee Admission free for members, and a donation of £2 for nonmembers. u3ainbath.uk

Bath Canine Championship Show

Age: fabulous

“Getting older is not a problem; it’s an opportunity ” If that’s not how you ’ re feeling, perhaps it’s time to read Anna Murphy ’ s book Destination Fabulous. Anna, Fashion Director of The Times, is coming to The Bath Festival on 19 May –Emma Clegg catches up with her on the subject of why at 52 she is feeling like the best version of herself

The prevailing culture around growing older is that it ’ s a downward slope. Young people are constantly championed within the media – along with their smooth, firm unlined skin; their thick, natural hair with no shades of grey ; and their unapologetic energ y – and this youthful idolatr y dominates the conversation for all members of society, whatever their age

Anna Mur phy, Fashion Director of The T imes, has a different perspective In the opening lines of her book Destination Fabulous: Finding your way to the best you can get, she dec lares, “I am 52 and I am happier than I have ever been. Society tells us that the only way is down; that I am supposed to be feeling far less jolly than I used to. Yet instead I feel as if my life has been on the up for years… in terms of who I am, and how I live in and respond to the wor ld ”

Destination Fabulous:, first published last year and just released in paperback, is a wise, inspiring and invigorating guide to making the most of life as a grown-up woman – from the practical issues around how to dress your best to the existential issues around how to feel your best

S o why do we have such an obsession with youth? Anna explains that we are conditioned from an ear ly age. “ We are read fair y tales as children and these tell of beautiful young maidens and pr inces and dodg y old ladies with a problematic taste in fresh fr uit. W hat ’ s happened is that these ancient stor ies that deify youth have been weaponised and commercialised by a huge industr y that makes money

around making us all worried about getting older ”

The figures bear this out – in the UK the non-surgical cosmetics ‘tweakments’ market is currently worth £3 billion and most users start in their thirties. “ Whether trying to erase lines on our faces or dyeing our hair so it isn’t grey, there is so much more money to be made out of that rather than encouraging people to step into who they really are ” , says Anna,

Even though these ideas around youth are so entrenched, there is a burgeoning counterculture: “ There is this real moment of empowerment around highl y visible women with grey hair, women speaking out against this whole view I’m an optimist and I hope that the voice of reason that embraces getting older is the voice that wins out.”

Anna admits that the rise of cosmetic treatments, both surgical and non-surgical, has always been driven by the fashion industr y. She also makes it c lear that she is not judging those that choose these treatments “It is ever y individual women ’ s choice to do whatever she wants around her appearance – I’m not judging anyone for that, but I am judging a society that tells you that a line-free face and hair that isn’t grey is better than the alternative

“The most attractive older women I know have a face that is untouched, a heart that is open, a life that is full, a light that is on”

“

expresses who you are, than if it doesn’t. One of the many miraculous things about humans as creatures is that our faces are end lessly various a

unknown road ”

Anna’s book focuses on the different aspects of the journey to feeling fabulous The sentiments she uses throughout are positive and enabling, and are charged with the discover y of self Don’t be the object, make yourself the subject, is the refrain

Chapter themes include Finding Your Purpose (“the most important changes you can make stem from those you make within), How and W hy to Live in Joy (“Life is a gif t. I feel it these days more than I ever did when I was younger ”). Then there is Embracing Your Face (“O ur face communic ates our tr uth”), Your Body Beautiful (“ Ever y body, whatever its shape or size, is a miraculous thing”), Making Fashion Your Friend (“How I dress has a huge impact on what kind of 52-year old the wor ld takes me to be ”)

Anna explains that she started going grey in her thirties and dyed her hair initially W hat made her stop was partly a concern about reducing the chemical load in her life (and discovering that dark hair dyes are particularly toxic), but there was also a discomfort around the need to hide the person she was: “I was thinking ‘ W hy am I doing this?’, ‘ W hat is wrong with me having grey hair?’ ‘ W hy can’t I just be me?’, so it was a real moment of self realisation ”

The book is full of practical advice around skin care and body care, with tips collected from Anna’s own experience as well as the many experts in natural beauty and those with iconic personal style who she has encountered In the chapter on Caring for Your Face, for example, she recommends her favourite tool to use for massaging the face, the gua sha, a plectrum of jade which you use to gently yet firmly stroke the skin. This improves the blood supply to your face, which supplies oxygen and nutrients to the face, and helps take away the toxins

Yoga has been a major factor in making Anna feel more flexible at 52 than she was at 22, but she is at pains to point out that it doesn’t have to be yoga ”W hat matters is that you develop a relationship with your physical self that is geared towards making you the best shape you can be. But this is not about getting thinner thighs – it ’ s about working towards being able to bend in this way or hold this pose in that way, it ’ s about function rather than form ”

Naturally there is plenty of advice around how to dress “One of the things that drives me mad about this narrative about getting older is the assumption that you become bor ing and dull and have nothing of any interest to offer. And I want what I wear to show that I have something

going on. And fashion that feels true to and expressive of your inner self, not fly-by-night or inauthentic, is a way not only to be seen but to also to be heard ”

It ’ s also about using the many devices that women have at their fingertips: “You can wake up feeling rubbish and put on a bright red lipstick, fantastic mascara, a colourful scarf or some great earrings and immediately transform the way you look and feel.”

“O bviousl y all of this in the book I ’ m regular l y failing at all of the time That ’ s the other thing – it ’ s fine to fail; tr y ing is what matters,” Anna explains reassuringly

So the philosophy is that a woman who is past her ‘prime’, doesn’t have to hide from how her body changes; she should rather embrace this “ The most attractive older women I know have a face that is untouched, a heart that is open, a life that is full, a light that is on. Their faces are the books that tell the stor y of who they are and how they live, just as Coco Chanel obser ved And there’s something compelling about that when it ’ s a life well lived ”

Anna Mur phy talks to Somerset-based stylist Natasha Musson on 19 May, 4pm, at The Guildhall. £13/£8. bathfestivals.org.uk

Destination Fabulous by Anna Mur phy, published by Mitchell Beazley, £10.99

The dramatic dilemma

Tamsin Greig takes on the role of Hester in Terence Rattigan’s The Deep Blue Sea at The Ustinov She talks to Georgette McCready about the intensity of the role, which she likens to that of a female Hamlet.

Sh e h a

A l d r i d g

Dinner, Fran in Black Books, or the voice of Mummy in The T iger W ho Came to Tea. We have also enjoyed her on screen, play ing alongside S tephen Mangan and Matt L e Blanc in Episodes

Tamsin Greig

whether she is playing for laughs or in intense, dramatic roles S he has an emotional honest y about her per f or mances whic h endea

Actress award for Much Ado About Nothing and was nominated for The

Little Dog Laughed and Women on the Verge of a Ner vous Breakdown I was luc ky enough to grab a chat with Tamsin dur ing rehearsals f o r T h e D e e p B l u e S e a by Te re n

Ustinov in Bath. This ne w production of the 1952 play by the w r iter of The W inslow Boy, The Browning Version and Separate Tables, stars

Ta m s i n a s H e s t e r, t h e w i f e o f a j u d ge, w h

tur bulent affair with Freddie, an ex-RAF war time pilot Her lover is played by O liver Chr is, who you may recognise from Motherland and The Cr o wn His theatre credits inc lude King Char les III in L ondon and on Broadway and One Man, Tw o G uvnors, also in the West End and in Ne w York

Oliver Chris (Freddie) and Tamsin Grieg (Hester)

Finbar Lynch (Miller) and Tamsin Grieg (Hester)

The Deep Blue Sea has been staged many times since it opened in those post war years. Hester is torn between the de vil and the deep blue sea as she contemplates her future and feels the pain of her affair and the passion it releases in her I asked Tamsin about the notion of shame, would the emotions felt in the 1950s be the same as we feel today? We live in ver y different times, af ter all “ I think we have a different sense of shame now, ” she say s “ Divorce then was seen to be a shameful situation, whereas now we are more understanding when a marr iage comes to an end But we stil l have that deep sense of shame, e ven in what c an be an over-shar ing age “ Hester f eels her sh

d

aw. And there is so much judgement around her, her husband is a judge and she is her own harsh cr itic.”

“Hester is torn between the devil and the deep blue sea as she contemplates her future and feels the pain of her affair and the passion it releases in her”

exercise gives me a chance to let things out the Pandora ’ s box of what I have just been through. I don’t know what I will do in Bath, may be I will walk Hester out of me. ”

O r yo u m i g h t j u s t h e a r t h e s o

guitar to unwind af ter a show Her next role, she tells me, is in a sixpar t drama ser ies for the BBC, Riot Women It ’ s been w r itten by S all y Wainwright, creator of the brilliant Happy Valley, Last Tango in Halifax and Gentleman Ja ck, and wil l be shot around Wainw

stomping ground of Hebden Br idge

“Riot Woman is about five fr iends, women of a cer tain age, coping with work, grown-up children, dependant parents and husbands, who decide to form a punk band. It ’ s going to be great fun. I am learning to play bass guitar for it,” say s Tamsin.

I ask her about her knowledge of Bath “ I don’t reall y know it, but I have visited on tour {2009 in Gethsemene} I am reall y looking for ward to it It will be nice to spend par t of the summer in Bath, a ne w cit y for me ”

If you want to c atch Tamsin on the small screen, and let ’ s face it, tic kets for her Ustinov r un are like gold dust, you c an currentl y watch her in the comedy drama ser ies The Completely Made-Up Adventures o f D i c k Tu r p i n on Ap p l e T V, s t a r r i n g T h e M i g h t y B o o s h’s No e l F ielding as the 18th-centur y highway man. S he enters the action as L ady Helen, from episode three

The Ustinov is a ver y small theatre, with just over 100 seats, where the audience is so c lose to the actors the emotion in the air is palpable

We c an not onl y see the whites of their eyes, but e ver y blink too.

“ I haven’t acted there before, ” say s Tamsin, “ but I hear it ’ s a br illiant space that holds a play intimatel y. ”

Tamsin is a passionate advoc ate for the power of connection in live theatre Af ter the pandemic, the actor w rote about the impor tance of live per f or mance: “ I think what we have seen this year {dur ing the pandemic} is that creativit y is not a distraction ”

S he say s of The Deep Blue Sea’ s r un in Bath: “ Ever y per formance is different, and that ’ s bec ause e ver y audience is different, their response is essential.”

This production is directed by Lindsay Posner, the theatre director w i t h a f a n t a s t i c t r ac k re c o rd i n t h e We s t E n d , w i t h t h e R oy a l S hakespeare Company and at the National Theatre He is currentl y r iding high in Bath, where he has attracted the attention of the media and theatre goers with his productions of A V iew From the Bridge, with Dominic West (which has transferred to the West End) and Harold P inter ’ s duo The Lo ver/The Collection with two more TV stars, David Morr isey and Matthe w Horne The Deep Blue Sea also stars Nicholas

Fa r re l l ( a s H e s t e r ’ s h u s b a n d S i r W i l l i a m C o l l ye r ) , F i n b a r Ly n c h , Fe l i c i t y M on t a g u , Pre s t on Ny m

Elliott.

Terence R attigan w rote this taut, emotional drama af ter the breakup of a gay lo ve affair and is

lt that h

d a lot of his ow

f e e l i n g s i n t o w r i t i n g t h e re l a t i on s h i p b e t we e n H e s t e r a n d Fre d d i e R attigan lived through that repressive time in English societ y when male homosexualit y was illegal

Ta m s i n s ay s o f H e s t e r : “ I f e e l i n s om e w ay s s h e i s a l m o s t l i k e a female Hamlet, facing up to herself and with those meditations. Yes, I think you could say it ’ s a harrowing play, there is cer tainl y a robust unravelling taking place!”

I ask her how she comes down af ter such an intense per formance

“ W h e n I ’ m i n L on d

“ That was such fun,” Tamsin rec alls, “ I got to play L ady Helen, the head of a cr ime sy ndic ate S he ’ s ver y posh, ver y power ful and polite, until she loses her s *** , then she ’ s basic all y like a todd ler Yes, she ’ s like a ver y r ich child I got the c all to say would I like to play a power ful woman who bullies Hugh Bonne ville Well, I didn’t need to be asked twice!”

T he D eep Blue Sea r uns at T he Ustino v, 2 May – 1 June. theatreroyal.org.uk

Hidden treasures @ BRLSI

Here are some highlights of BRLSI’s forthcoming programme of talks, along with a set of 19th-century resuscitation equipment from its collection

For science aficionados Professor Raymond Tallis is giving a talk this month, Cutting Measurement Down to Size, looking critically at the belief that measurement will lead to a Theor y of Ever ything, and that the truest portrait of the world is mathematical (7 May, 7 30pm) You can also hear RNLI volunteer Dave Nicoll give a talk in the BRLSI 200 series, about the founding of the RNLI in 1824, a year when there were 1800 shipwrecks around Britain’s coasts He will also show how the RNLI has developed over the last 200 years (21 May, 7 30pm)

Looking further ahead to June there is an all-day conference on 8 June (9am–6pm) exploring the life and work of V ictorian polymath, Sir John Herschel (1792-1871) – son of astronomer W illiam Herschel and nephew to Caroline Herschel – who was the most influential natural philosopher of the V ictorian period His long career encompassed astronomy, mathematics, physics, geolog y, chemistr y, as well as art, literature, politics, and the invention of photography. brlsi.org

CO LLE C T I O N CO R N ER

From the BRLSI collection we bring you Bath Humane Society ’ s resuscitation equipment from 1805 The set inc ludes bellows, ivor y tubes to fit the nose, a metal endo-lar yngeal tube, and a bulb and tobacco burner.

The Bath Humane Society began in 1805, using equipment and techniques developed in Amsterdam to save people from drowning

Like today, it was recognised that resuscitation had to start as soon as possible To facilitate this, Humane Societies built receiving houses near rivers, canals and docks in populated areas, which were provided with a set of resuscitation apparatus. This inc luded bellows which could be used to ventilate the lungs, a procedure similar to modern methods of resuscitation

The other gadget, the tobacco smoke enema, has no modern parallel

Arts & exhibitions

Toulouse Lautrec and the Masters of Montmartre, until 29 September, Victoria Art Gallery, Bridge Street, Bath

From troupes of cancan dancers to the legendary 'Chat Noir,' and the unforgettable characters of the Moulin Rouge, ToulouseLautrec & the Masters of Montmartre will feature 100 original posters from 1890s bohemian Paris in a fresh look at this era of artistic fervour and social revolution This is the only chance to see Lautrec’s complete collection of posters exhibited together in the UK before it moves to its permanent home at the Musée d’Ixelles in Belgium, following a five-year international tour victoriagal.org.uk

The Holburne Museum, Great Pulteney Street, Bath

Mr Doodle! Museum Mayhem, 3 May – 1 Sept

The first ever UK museum exhibition of artist and internet sensation, Mr Doodle. Mr Doodle’s graphic style conjures up a mesmerising world of quirky creatures and anthropomorphic forms

Henry Moore in Miniature, 3 May – 8 Sept

Newbridge Arts Trail 2024, 18–19 May, 10 30am–5pm

More than 30 artists and makers will be exhibiting in 11 different venues, with work covering creative mediums from painting and printmaking to pottery and jewellery. The four main public venues are Weston Methodist Church, Newbridge Primary School, Fairfield House and The Locksbrook Inn, but you can also visit artists in their own homes The trail is free of charge and the venues are open between 10 30am and 5pm across both days See the full range of artists and where they are exhibiting on the website: newbridgeartstrail org/artists-makers-2024

Presented in partnership with the Henry Moore Foundation, Henry Moore in Miniature will include over 60 of Moore’s works that can fit in the hand The first exhibition of its kind, it will include works from the 1920s to the 1980s. holburne.org

Bear Flat Artists Open Studios and Art Trail, 25–27 May, open 11am–5pm

Some 30 artists fling open their studio doors during the late Bank Holiday weekend. You can walk around the whole trail easily, discovering all sorts of beautiful, one-off pieces of affordable art along the way Discover painting, ceramics, sculpture, jewellery, printmaking, photography, wood turning, glass, illustration, mixed media, original cards and more. Meet artists in their place of work, find out about processes, watch a demonstration. It’s a chance to browse or buy original artwork direct And Bear Flat is only ten minutes walk from Bath city centre Free event, full details: bearflatartists co uk

Bath Contemporary Artists’ Fair, Sunday 12 May, 10am–5pm Green Park Station, Green Park Road, Bath

The award-winning monthly Bath Contemporary Artists’ Fair (BCAF) is committed to bringing the best of contemporary art to the heart of Bath It has created a regular space where artists can network, share ideas, connect with the public, and where the public can connect with art Visitors can see the works of local artists and admire fine art, photography, sculpture, textiles, ceramics and much more, all under the vaulted glass roof of Green Park Station For updates and exhibiting artists visit the website: bcaf.co.uk

BELOW: Moulin Rouge Paris Can Can by Jules Cheret

ABOVE: The Hole in the Hedge by Jo Thorne

Three Points, 1939–40 reproduced by permission of the Henr y Moore Foundation

Anna Gillespie and Classical Roots, 18 May – 22 June, Beaux Arts Bath, 12-13 York Street

Beaux Arts host Anna Gilespie’s new collection of sculpture, an eclectic mix of works in bronze, natural materials, found objects and plaster. The galler y walls will be adorned by artists who work from obser vation in a show called Classical Roots, which mixes work by Nathan Ford, Helen Simmonds and Andrew Crocker, with a new generation of painters who still celebrate traditional technique, such as W ill Calver, Nneka Uzoigwe-Davies, L otta Teale and Daniel Needham. Ceramics by Katharina Klug Open 10am-5pm, Monday to Saturday

beauxar tsbath.co.uk

DE LEóN

More than a Feeling 27 May – 6 July

An exhibition, in Bath, of painting, photography and film

Kaye Donachie, Rose Finn-Kelcey, Gideon Rubin and Grace Weir

By appointment only, please contact: bridget.deleon@icloud.com 07957 438 402 bridgetdeleon com

Image courtesy of Kaye Donachie and Maureen Paley, London

Spring Exhibition, until 31 May, Gallery Nine, 9B

Margaret Buildings, Bath

This exhibition presents ceramicists Allan Manham, Kathryn Sherriff, artists Tessa Pearson and Jonathan Gibbs and jewellery by Adele Brereton and Lesley Strickland

You can also meet artist, designer and educator Jonathan Gibbs who is visiting the galler y to talk about wood engraving on 25 May from 12pm–3pm. Jonathan’s pieces encapsulate book illustration, printmaking and editorial and pattern design. He makes some of his own boxwood and holly blocks into which images are engraved and printed on to Japanese paper by handburnishing Visit to find out more about printmaking and hear Gibbs speak about his creative practice galler yninebath.com

Bulrushes by Deidre Dyson, oil on canvas

This oil painting by Deirdre Dyson is hanging in the main Atrium of the Dyson Cancer Centre next to the RUH hospital

The painting, which was donated by Lady Dyson to the centre, features bulrushes and incorporates the building’s themes of ‘land, water, sky ’

The artist interprets her artistic vision in her work through both paint brush and loom The painting was inspired by rushes reflected in a lake at the Dyson’s home near Bath and the subject also gave rise to a carpet of the same name, hand knotted and graded in a silk/wool mix with silk rushes. Lady Dyson explains her inspiration: “From the lush grass and pebbled bank on a still day with calm waters, I was struck by these rigid bulrushes catching the sun with perfectly mirrored reflections and idling leaves floating peacefully ”

Susanna Lisle at sandrahiggins art

Susanna Lisle’s work is a response to the beauty of the world around. It explores the profound interaction that takes place between ourselves and this world From the simplest geometry a complex world can emerge which is woven into her paintings so that they correspond with the underlying mystery of nature

The geometry and pattern are metaphors for these interactions, inspired by the hills around Maiden Bradley

To view works by Susanna, visit the online gallery or email Sandra to arrange a private view

sandrahiggins.art; sandra@sandrahiggins.com

Facing Facts: Swedish Portrait makes Auction record in UK

In the fall of 2023, Swedish art dealer Claes Moser sold his collection of paintings by the artist J A G Acke (1859-1925) at Stockholms Auktionsverk The auction featured several significant works by the artist and the sale, with several remarkable resultss, made headlines. Moser had devoted over half a century to studying Acke’s work and acquiring paintings by him Moser had even acquired Acke’s residence, Villa Akleja, a sunny summer paradise (but used by Acke as a winter residence) that had been built at the turn of the last century

The Swedish art historian Karl Asplund noted rather charmingly that Acke’s artistic oeuvre was characterized by a “fresh changing wind ” A testament to this innovative approach was when the renowned Musée D’Orsay in Paris acquired Acke’s painting “By the Water Mirror” in 2000 Acke’s relevance in the contemporary art market was confirmed when the painting “Östrasalt” was sold for the equivalent of £99,780 at the sale of Moser’s collection

So there was a certain expectation when it became clear that Lawrences Auctioneers in Crewkerne included J A G Acke’s well-painted portrait of Ellen West at their Fine Art Sale in April. The painting was executed in 1909 and portrays a woman who looks straight at the viewer with a nonchalant attitude and an inscrutable smile The smoke from her cigarette slightly obscures the subject and gives the artist the opportunity to excel in the art of invigorating a female sitter captured in oil on canvas This was an insight that had been mastered fully by Acke: in the window, there are a couple of wine glasses that, against a warm summer light, further enhance the lighthearted tone pursued by the artist but perhaps also by the subject The portrait also garnered great interest and, after eagerly competitive bidding, it was bought for £10,000 This is a sum that sets an auction record for the work of this intriguing artist in the United Kingdom

Lawrences are welcoming consignments for their Autumn Fine Art sales to include:

Silver | Vertu | Pictures | 19th/20th Centur y Design | Ceramics

Oriental Works of Art | Jeweller y | Watches | Furniture | Clocks | Rugs

Militaria | Coins | Medals | Collectors | Sporting | Textiles | Wine | Spirits Books | Maps | Manuscripts | Photography

Free valuations are available online at lawrences co uk

Home visits also available throughout Bath and the West Countr y without charge or obligation.

OGoing, Going, Gone!

CYNTHIA WIHARDJA Partner, Beau Nash Bath

ne of the most enchanting aspects of antique hunting is the unpredictability of what you might find. Unlike modern goods, which are readily available in countless copies, antique pieces stand as one-of-a-kind gems If you stumble upon a particularly exquisite item but hesitate to make it yours, there's no guarantee that it will still be there when you return. Once it’s gone, it may be gone forever.

Last year, a leather ottoman arrived at the shop and instantly garnered the attention of two homeowners, even before a price tag was put on it. The following day, one of them committed to the purchase, leaving the other to rue her delay.

Last quarter, we parted with an early 20th-century club fender Though many residents had admired it and added it to their “must-have” lists, they believed they had ample time to decide, thinking, “It isn’t going to go anywhere soon ” A returning American client spotted it on our newly built online shop and made the purchase for their new home in London A day later, a local resident asked if he could purchase the fender he saw in the shop a couple of weeks ago. We sadly had to tell him that it had already sold

Our favourite advice to homeowners is this: “If you love it, someone else will too ” Sometimes, it is wiser to acquire a piece even if your space isn’t quite ready. It’s often easier to secure temporary storage than finding a comparable item

Indeed, buyers of unique pieces are often like London buses; you may not see one for a while, and suddenly three come all at once. Similarly, an overlooked piece of silver or furniture may languish in the shop for months, only to attract the interest of multiple buyers in a single week, as was the case for a 19th-century carved mirror. Ignored for over 8 months, three prospective buyers spotted it in the same week last month, and one of them succeeded in purchasing it for their home.

So, the next time you encounter a unique piece that speaks to you, seize the opportunity to make it yours, for you may never find another one quite like it again. n

beaunashbath.com; info@beaunashbath.com; 01225 334234 @beaunashbath

Organic wines

Recommendations

by

Tom Bleathman

from the Great Wine Company

Organic wines are made from grapes grown using organic farming practices This means no synthetic pesticides or fertilisers are used on the grapes, and instead natural and sustainable farming practices are employed This benefits the soil structure and enables better water and nutrient retention, ducing the need for irrigation, all while couraging biodiversity and promoting life the vineyard The Great Wine Co have any fantastic organic wines, but here are few of my favourites Discover more at g reatwine.co.uk

Chateau Leoube Rose de Leoube 2022 is an elegant rosé made from Grenache and Cinsault grapes, complemented with a touch of Syrah and Mour vèdre. Finely structured and well balanced, this wine’s fresh and fruity nature shows aromas of exotic fruit, leading to a supple, textured palate, notes of red and white fruit and a subtle spice Provençal rosé at its best £27.50

P laneta Terebinto Grillo 2022, using Grillo, an indigenous grape variety, provides a great example of how good Sicilian wine can be This example is an irresistibly aromatic, rounded wine with delightful notes of apricot, lychee and ineapples. It has lovely eshness and satisfying undness of texture. £19.95

and new to the GWC list a wonderful organic Syrah, Aubert and Mathieu

Haute Pistes Syrah 2022 A complex nose of blackcurrant, blueberr y and eucalyptus is matched with freshness and silky tannins on the palate. Operating using organic methods, Aubert and Mathieu are also at the forefront of sustainability offering ecofriendly packaging, being carbon neutral and donating to local beekeepers to help biodiversity £17 50

FOOD & DRINK

NECTARINE, MOZZARELLA & BASIL SALAD

The beauty of this dish lies in its simplicity and it all boils down to the quality of one ingredient – the nectarines. The difference between a ripe nectarine and an unripe one is stark Biting into a ripe nectarine is nothing short of sheer joy: it should burst with juice, balanced by a gentle acidity, and have the most glorious texture It should not crunch Buy a few more than you need for the recipe and try one – if they’re not quite ready, wait a few days.

SERVES 4

Recipe by Julius Rober ts, from his book The Farm Table, published by Ebur y Press, £15, from all good bookshops

• 4 per fec tly ripe nec tarines

• 4 balls of great mozzarella

• a large bunch of fresh basil (think of it as a lettuce)

• a small handful of spic y leaves – rocket, nastur tium flowers or Japanese mustards

• ½ lemon

• a generous glug of olive oil, about 3 tbsp

• 1–2 tbsp really light and fruity vinegar (I like moscatel, or the Belazu fig leaf vinegar, which is niche but incredible, or any quality vinegar

Cut the nectarines in half around the stone, following the groove of the fruit. Twist each half and they should easily come away, as should the stone If this is difficult, it ’ s a sign they ’ re not quite ripe

Cut the nectarine halves into jaunty chunks and place in a bowl, then roughly tear in the mozzarella Add the basil leaves, spicy leaves, a little squeeze of lemon juice, a generous glug of olive oil and a splash of vinegar P lease, with flavours so delicate, don’t go drowning this lovely salad in a throat-stripping vinegar W ith simple food, the quality of your ingredients is ever more important. Go gently and find the perfect balance.

Season well with salt and pepper, then gently toss the salad a few times to distribute the dressing Have a taste, get that perfect mouthful of basil, nectarine and mozzarella, and adjust the seasoning as necessar y Ser ve immediately – this does not want to hang around

Julius Rober ts appears at The Bath Festival on 25 May; bathfestivals org uk

We serve br eakfast, lunch, cof fee, cakes, wine and small plates, all with a genuine Italian flair.

Open Monday to Saturday 8 am to 4 pm Italian aper itif happ y hour ever y Fr iday from 5 15 to 8 pm

Supper club dinner s ever y Saturday Call 01225 698063 to reser ve

5/6 St. James Str eet, Bath BA1 2TW Follow us on Instagram: Panevinobath

Table talk

At the forefront of the vibrant Bartlett Street food scene in Bath, is Flute Seafood Restaurant & Bar - where fresh f lavours of the sea meet laid-back coastal vibes. It’s a place to celebrate top-notch seafood without the fuss. Famous for its catch being from boat to plate in under 5 hours, we recently had the chance to dive into Flute's ethos in a chat with its founder, Roger Payne, and the contemporary new chef behind its dishes and the summer menu, Angelo Errigo

Q: For those who haven't experienced F lute yet, what's the vibe?

Roger: Flute is all about celebrating the freshest fish and seafood dishes, cocktails that pack a punch and of course loads of bubbles and champagne, wrapped up in a great dining experience. O ur chefs have the creative freedom to craf t dishes based on what's fresh that day as we get daily deliveries from our friendly fish suppliers in Devon and Cornwall Of course, we ’ ve got amazing O ysters, bubbles and great mussels ever y day , but we love to mix things up, keeping it exciting for our guests

Q: Angelo, you ' re the new chef at F lute. W hat's your stor y and what drew you to this spot in Bath?

Angelo: My kitchen journey kicked off at Gravetye Manor in East Grinstead a fancy 1 Michelin star place It was like stepping into a whole new world of chef life I did my time there, soaking up all the ins and outs of high-level cooking during my apprenticeship They really drilled into us the importance of ever y single ingredient. It wasn't just about what was on the plate; it was a whole mindset about food.

Back when I was slinging champagne and shucking oysters in Brighton, I knew I had some unfinished business with seafood So, when the opportunity to join F lute came knocking, I couldn't say no

Q: Angelo, what's cooking on the menu? W hat's the plan as we head into summer and beyond?

A: The goal for our menu is to showcase our ingredients in the best possible way We're talking about simple, delicious dishes that let the quality of the seafood shine through As we move into summer, we ' re excited about fresh, seasonal ingredients like lobsters, mussels, and clams from nearby waters. It's all about letting the food speak for itself.

Q: And speaking of ingredients, how do you source your seafood, and does that influence your menu decisions?

A: Sustainability is key for us We work closely with suppliers who share our values, ensuring our seafood is sourced responsibly W hether it's linecaught tuna or fresh mackerel, we want to know where our ingredients

come from – the team at W ings of St Mawes are offloading the catch on the dockside at 6am and it ’ s with us by 11am From ocean to plate in 5 hours – it ’ s that fresh.

R: Let me paint you a picture of what Angelo was just talking about –our legendar y Fish and Chips. Now, we all know you can find fish and chips just about anywhere, right? You can either settle for something slapped together in a frozen food truck, or you can treat yourself to something truly spectacular

Angelo's whipping up some mouth-watering Ling Now, this fish is a real gem, sourced from the depths of the Atlantic, a bit farther out towards America It's tender, it's flavourful, and let me tell you, it's not your average cod Angelo works his magic with a gluten-free batter made from tapioca and rice flour, so not only is it delicious, but it ’ s also sustainable too!

As a side, we ' ve got an amazing pea puree and some chunky chips to round out the meal

Q: Angelo, any standout dishes you ' re particular ly proud of in the summer menu?

A: Definitely! O ur Tuna Steak with chimichurri is a must-tr y. Simple yet bursting with flavour. And our Ceviche, perfect for a summer day. Plus, our Seafood Platters showcasing the best of what we offer.

You've got langoustines, c lams that are super fresh, mussels that practically melt in your mouth, king prawns that are seriously huge, and to top it all off, some fantastic southwest oysters

Roger had this genius idea of making a smaller version of the platter –The Mini-Mer We figured, not ever yone might be up for tackling the full spread, right? So, voila! Now, whether you ' re flying solo, or you ’ ve got your full crew, there's a seafood option for ever yone.

Q: Roger, what are your hero dishes on the menu?

R: Prawns are a hit, especially on warmer days O ur hake with broth is a winter favourite, soon to be revamped for summer And our brunch menu, curated by Angelo, is something special Crab Frumpett, King Prawn Breakfast Taco there's something for ever yone.

Q: Angelo, I hear you ' re working on a sandwich menu?

A: Absolutely! We're excited to roll out our sandwich board, featuring a killer Lobster Roll with confit garlic mayo It's a dish I've been eager to bring to F lute!

R: The sandwich board is a perfect lunchtime option, offering something lighter yet still satisfying And that Lobster Roll it's going to be a game-changer.

Q: Roger, when it comes to your vision for F lute, you ' ve been clear about not aiming for fine dining W hy was accessibility important for you?

R: You know, at F lute, we ' re all about ser ving up top-notch food without all the fancy frills of fine dining. Don't get me wrong, we ' re obsessed with making sure ever y dish looks and tastes amazing, and we love seeing those ' wow ' moments when our guests leave feeling blown away

But what sets us apart is our focus on keeping things accessible Take our Carlingford O ysters, for example - they're the cream of the crop, but we don't break the bank with them Sure, they're a bit pricier to us, but they're worth ever y penny And you won't find any stuffy vibes here; we ' re all about that laid-back coastal feel Think tiled walls, relaxed driftwood tables - it's all about letting the freshness of our ingredients and taste and simplicity of our dishes shine through.

Q: Beyond food, what else does F lute offer?

R: So, here's the deal with F lute – we ' re not just your average eater y W hile delicious food is our bread and butter, we like to keep things interesting, so we ' ve got an awesome selection of cocktails that'll knock your socks off such as our brand-new O yster Martini or the Champagne Old Fashioned! We've even scored a late-night license, so the fun doesn't have to stop when the sun goes down!

O ur bar is of ten buzzing with folks popping in for a glass of wine, a glass of fizz or cocktail– we ' re becoming quite the hot spot for grownup drinks!

We also have a backroom lounge bar called The Octopus It's our little hidden gem, giving us some extra seating for when things get busy Plus, it's perfect for throwing private parties!

We've had a lot of interest in our private dining events, with clients asking for custom menus for their gatherings of 20 or 30 guests. You can relax and take your time – there's no rush to finish your meal and head out We know that after a big celebration, you want to hang out with your pals and soak up the good times – that's why we ' re open until 2 a m!

Q: Finally, Roger, how has Bath received F lute, and what's your aim for engaging with the community?

R: O verall, the response has been positive, though like any business, we ' ve had our challenges We aim to be an integral part of the community, offering not just great food but a welcoming space for ever yone It's about building relationships and ser ving our guests to the best of our ability

As I said my goodbyes to Roger and Angelo, I left feeling inspired by their shared love for culinar y master y and their commitment to crafting a welcoming environment where ever yone can appreciate the pure delight of fresh, flavourful food.

In a time when culinar y trends are ever-evolving and food exploration is at its peak, F lute shines as a symbol of authenticity - a haven where each meal isn't just about indulging the senses but revelling in life's little joys

F lute, Seafood Restaurant & Bar 9 Edgar Buildings, George Street, Bath BA1 2EE flute-bath.com

See what you’re missing

How might we see ourselves more clearly? Consult Rembrandt Who can encourage us to see more intimately? Tracey Emin is the expert. What about helping us see through pain? Look no further than Frida Kahlo. Will Gompertz talks to Emma Clegg about his new book, See What You’re Missing ahead of his appearance at The Bath Festival

Jour nalist, author and ar t cr itic W il l Gomper tz is a wor ldleading expert in and champion of the arts. He has been the BBC ’ s arts editor, the Barbican Centre’s Artistic Director and is currently Director of L ondon’s S ir John S oane ’ s Museum.

Heavyweight art appreciation aside, his latest book, See What You’re Missing, involves a personal journey of discover y with its mission to reveal and understand the creative perspectives of 31 different artists These inc lude contemporar y stars to old masters, established and lesser-known names from all around the wor ld, with the idea of showing us how to look and exper ience the wor ld with their ver y particular way of seeing. From Frida Kahlo and Tracey Emin to Paul Cézanne and Peter Paul Rubens, this is a crazy journey to and fro across the centuries from one intimate insightful profile to the next.

“ It all star ted from a conversation I had with David Hoc kney,” explains W ill “He makes these ver y bright coloured pictures of the East Yorkshire landscape in Brid lington I said to him, ‘David, it doesn’t look colourful like that; it looks grey and miserable most of the time’ He said, ‘ You haven’t really looked W ill’

“S o I thought, ‘ Fair enough – if it ’ s David Hoc kney say ing that I better go and look’. So I went with him. To begin with it was miserable and the trees were brown and the leaves were green, as you’d expect. And then he told me you ’ ve got to wait and watch the light change. Then over 25 minutes I noticed how the trees did start to change colour –they weren’t uniformly brown, they were browns and mauves and purples and there were pinks, just as he described them

“I said to myself, ‘Oh my goodness, I’ve been going around with blinkers

on I’ve spent my whole life out in nature not seeing anything I have been seeing, because I never had the time or inclination to stop and look.’ So this book is about stopping, looking and enjoying and seeing in a way that you haven’t done before, because you ’ ve never had permission.”

Surely the choice of 31 artists ranging across the world and across time was a tough whittling down exercise? W ill declares that the selection was a highly selfish one: “ There were a lot of contenders, but these were artists that I was really interested in – I didn’t know enough about them, wanted to learn more, and was fascinated by how they saw the world

“These artists are the product of their time... but there is also something universal in each artist’s view”

“ The artists cover over 2000 years, from pre Aztec Mexico through to the present day. So we have a contemporar y artist like Lynette Y iadomBoakye who imagines these fictional figures, exploring the mechanics of making a painting without the worr y of getting a likeness wrong Or this expressive Aztec Xochipala sculpture of a seated adult and youth in conversation To think it was done so long ago, and yet if a contemporar y artist made it today it would still be impressive So we haven’t changed –we still see the world and feel the world just as our forebears did ”

The ordering of the chapters is curated, explains W ill, but there is no categorisation by genre or centur y. “ The order was just about the pacing. So I didn’t want to put a painter next to a painter, and liked the idea of shifts in time or place. Because we have this myriad of artistic perspectives, ever y time I wanted to give the reader a fresh surprise, so they don’t know what is coming next ”

Each chapter is entitled ‘Seeing ’ with the words following honed on the artist ’ s inner focus: ‘Nature’ for David Hockney, ‘ Yourself ’ for Rembrandt, ‘Spectacularly ’ for Christo and Jeanne-Claude, ‘Fantastically ’ for Paula Rego, ‘Intimately ’ for Tracey Emin, ‘Beauty in Ugliness’ for Jean D ubuffet. The reader is swept from insights around how Frida Kahlo’s work reflected her suffering within symbolism and metaphor; to tuning into Agnes Martin’s Zen-like approach to making art where solitude inspired her abstract geometric grids; to mar velling at John Constable’s potent studies of c louds and light, bringing drama in the interplay of dispersed sunlight at a time when blue skies were more favoured

“I do think these artists are the product of their time in the subjects they choose, and also ultimately they have to think commercially, so they are funded either by people buying their paintings or by Fra Angelico being paid for his work as a monk in a friar y. But there is also something universal in each artist ’ s view, going back to that Aztec sculpture of a man and a boy – dynamism, truth, form, colour.”

Gompertz’s language is down to earth, dynamic, engaging and often humorous Take phrases such as “Clouds are like estate agents, they get a bad rap ” (on John Constable), “Gabriel’s angel wings stick out like a

flamingo at a funeral” (on Fra Angelico) and “She gave us something as rare as sunstroke in a coalmine” (on Artemesia Gentileschi) This language recharges the erudite, of ten baffling explanations of art concepts and makes this an easy, diverting and fascinating read

The messages are also charged by the author’s own revelations “ Writing this book actually changed the way I see art Prior to that I would see the picture and what it was communicating and I’d think of the colours and the form, but I would never think about the artist and what they were looking at. Now when I look at an artist I imagine them sitting there painting (or working) and thinking ‘ W hat are they tr ying to show me?’, ‘ W hat do they see?’, ‘ W hat are they capturing here?’ Art, after all, is just a visual language It has taught me is that there is a person behind that picture and that person wants a connection with me ”

Exc h A n g E O f lOv E

Ghosts, adventure and a love stor y across the centuries combine in local author Brian Rayfield ’ s new publication Exchange of L ove Down-to-earth stone mason John Townsend is hopelessly in love with the ghost of a woman long since dead, Penny Peverell. Penny ’ s life is played out during the English Civil War. John must reconcile this strange infatuation with his present- day life and gir lfriend A gir lfriend who now lives in what was once Penny ’ s manor house L ove may be timeless, but should two people from different centuries really indulge their passion?

This book holds so many artistic and personal visions of the world. But in making those connections clear, the universality of the human condition is also unravelled, as are the experiences that allow these stories to find their pathways Let ’ s return to the Aztec figures: “No matter how crazed the world becomes, these two figures have risen above the noise and the nonsense to share a moment and enjoy each other’s company they don’t only represent us, they are us ”

W ill gomper tz is at T he Bath festival on Saturday 25 May, at 2.30pm at T he guildhall. £13/£8. his book See W hat You're Missing: 31 Ways Artists Notice the World – and How You Can Too is available at the festival, and from good bookshops. bathfestivals.org.uk

W in a free copy of this book by being one of the first two to cor rectly answer the quiz below :

W hat colour is Penny’s dress when she materialised to John?

* Please see the webpage blog section for answers, Chapter One – brianrayfield com

Then use the webpage contact form to reply before 31 May

The book is available at O ldfield Park Bookshop, Mr B’s Empor ium and Waterstones in Bath, as well as through Amazon

Left: John Constable’s The Hay wain with his study of clouds and light: “ The ephemeral nature of clouds and rainbows appealed to his sensibilities”; Above: Jean-Michel Basquiat ’s Notar y, “...at once a snapshot of Basquiat ’s mind and soul, and an account of how we all perceive”

Browse and discover

From the launch of The Bath Festival with Party in the City to a sophisticated dive into French fashion, here are some diverting publications and live music events available and happening in the city...

By Daniel McCabe

ENCENS, £24

Magaller ia, Upper Borough Walls, Bath magaller ia co uk

French fashion

One of our favourite French fashion magazines, the elegant and sophisticated ENCENS packs its 51st issue with, among other things, an essay by Angelo Flaccavento on Aldo Fallai (Giorgio Armani’s photographer of choice), the career recollections of Christian Lacroix, a fresh look at Koji Tatsuno’s tour de force collection from 1993, a profile of pioneering CNN journalist and fashion maven Elsa Klensch, artist per fumier Barnabe Fillion, Lauren Manoogian (‘the alien of New York Fashion Week’) and a portfolio from Constant Anne that capture ‘a long gone idea of Paris in the early 2000s’

From Cairo

From Cairo, by local author Philip Hill, tells the stor y of two cousins, Claude and Ronnie Born in Cairo, they spent their youth in Eg ypt's golden years before and af ter Wor ld War II. Both brothers suffered parallel tragedies and were forced to live in the land of their fathers in the 1950s

The stor y sees the brothers reminiscing and the writer tries to make sense of how they became the men they did and to assess their nfluence on him. Through delving nto their past, the writer ncreasingly questions himself

The three principals tell this stor y in the first person, from Cairo, L ondon and Honiara, in the Solomon Islands

Ever y family has its secrets and mysteries, and From Cairo leaves no stone unturned in its mission to expose the truth and bring new understanding around this ordinar y family of unique, diverse and fascinating characters philiphillbooks.com

Live music highlights

PART Y IN THE CIT Y AT THE BATH FESTIVAL

Par ty in the City, Bath’s biggest FREE night out opens the ten- day festival, and will see 130 acts, including bands, choirs and solo per formers playing live music in 39 city centre venues, from parks to churches, and from museums to pubs. Par ty in the City is on Friday 17 May, with tens of thousands expected to pour into the city to bring business to pubs, restaurants and cafés as they roam between venues Look out for rolling news during the run-up to the festival about who is playing where Par ty in the City, 17 May. bathfestivals.org.uk

B E N J I K I R K PAT R I C K – ( FAU S T U S ) S O LO

Singer, songwriter and musician Benji Kirk patrick is playing at Chapel Ar ts on Friday 10 May. A key member of folk big band, Bellowhead, Benji has been per forming solo for 25 years. His recent album In Phase, released in autumn 2023, features original songs written between 2020 and 2022. Releases such as Boomerang (2008) and Hendrix Songs (2015) – an album of acoustic re -interpretations of the work of Jimi Hendrix –have punctuated his exploits over the years alongside extensive work with others, including his long-term collaborator Seth Lakeman who he tours with regularly. Chapel Ar ts, St James Memorial Hall, 9 Lower Borough Walls, 10 May, 8pm. Tickets £12/£14 chapelar ts.org

Welcome to the Dyson Cancer Centre

The new Dyson Cancer Centre at the Royal United Hospitals (RUH) Bath NHS Foundation Trust is now welcoming patients, their loved ones and the wider community The purpose-built facility will provide a cancer ser vices hub for over 500,000 people in the south west Here is more information about this innovative building and all that it offers

The new D yson Cancer Centre (DCC) at the Royal United Hospitals (RUH) Bath is now open The centre, which has been under constr uction since 2021, has been designed to transform the care provided for patients, their families and c arers, offer ing a nur tur ing and therapeutic environment that reduces stress and anxiet y by promoting health and wellbeing

RUH ’ s c ancer ser vices – inc luding research – under one roof It will provide oncolog y, chemotherapy and radiotherapy ser vices, as well as a 22-bed inpatient ward and a Wellbeing Hub T

centre is bac ked by over £40m in Government funding as par t of the Ne w H o

Pro

suppor ted by a £10m c ampaign from RUHX, the hospital ’ s official charit y, inc luding a £4m donation from the James D yson Foundation a n d £ 1 m by t

by M

Wellbeing Hub In total over 11,000 donors contr ibuted to the fund, invol ving thousands of suppor ters across the loc al communit y who w a n t e d

communit y

The additional £10 million raised by RUHX has made a wor ld of difference to what has been possible to achie ve at the D y son Cancer Centre, inc luding alloc ated space for famil y rooms, outdoor space for patients, almost double the space per inpatient that was pre viousl y available, and space for a dedic ated hairdresser, benefits advice, and a pharmac y There is also space alloc ated for over 60 c linic al tr ials to take place onsite, creating future cutting-edge c are for patients and c l i n i c i a n s a n d re s

research success

Al l non-surgic al c ancer ser vices are f or the first time under one roof, which will provide a seamless exper ience for patients and will reduce patient and famil y stress and anxiet y throughout the patient journey

A key feature of the ne w centre is the Macmillan Wellbeing Hub, funded by Macmillan Cancer S uppor t, which provides a welcoming, non-c linic al space designed around the needs of patients and their

comfor table accommodation where relatives and loved ones c an

overnight.

The Macmillan Wellbeing Hub, featuring a mural by Natasha Clutterbuck

The facade of the new Dyson Cancer Centre

Film still from Chr ystel Lebas’s Woodland Study in the Ambient Room

Photo by Chrystel Lebas

Art, sculpture and installations in the Dyson Cancer Centre, following the theme of ‘Land, Water and Sky’

Ar ts and Design manager at the RUH, Hetty Dupays, and two volunteers Luc y Newark and Diana Lanham have worked to ensure that ar t, sculpture, and installations play an impor tant role in the Dyson Cancer Centre These works provide a rich representation of nature throughout with subtle, elegant imager y and graphics. Here are some of the ar tists who have contributed their work:

• Mark Sands created the large -scale Chinoiserie mural located in the air y space of the Atrium entrance Inspired by the landscape surrounding his home in Portugal, the work is painted on three six-metre long canvases, called Bee Eaters in Olive Trees (shown in Atrium above).

• The Woodland Study immersive installation in the Ambient Room off the

main Atrium by artist Chrystel Lebas, a looped one -hour film recorded in an ancient bluebells forest in Wiltshire

• Murals and vinyls by Natasha Clutterbuck inspired by precious pollinators and the seasonal shifts in the forest garden, with highlights in gold leaf, funded by Macmillan Cancer Support

• A series of beaded artworks created by print and pattern designer Lisa Todd, made by Zulu and Xhosa women in South Africa who interpreted Lisa’s paintings using traditional beadwork techniques

• Artist Kate Bond’s series of murals in the Chemotherapy Suite, inspired by the Green Heart Garden and other beautiful gardens in the region – one of her designs covers 24 linear metres of the Chemotherapy Suite.

• A selection of donated framed prints by light artist Bruce Munro and (at greatly reduced cost) the light installation Time and Again, sited in an outdoor courtyard, where 19 stainless steel lilies form a convex dome

• Sculptor Hamish Mackie’s Swifts sculpture, an 80-kilo bronze sculpture created as a symbol of hope and optimism, which forms the focal point of the first floor courtyard

• Amy Shelton made a large -scale botanical lightbox installation, one of her series of Florilegium artworks, for the Radiotherapy department, using a biodiverse palette of local flora

The Atrium in the Dyson Cancer Centre, showing the Chinoiserie mural by Mark S ands

Natural inspiration around ‘Land, Sea and Sky’

Being connected to nature has been shown to suppor t mental and phy s i c a l h e a l t h a n d m a ny o f t h e t re a t m e n t ro om s h a ve v i e w s o f outside green spaces and the surrounding countr y side The inpatient ward surrounds a light filled central cour t yard which will allow for bed access so patients c an enjoy outside peace and tranquilit y

The building has been designed by Arc adis to br ing the outside in, using natural textures, tones, and colours in a variet y of materials that w i l l c re a t e a re l a xe d a n d we l c om i n g e nv i ron m e n t w i t h o u t compromising on the complex medic al equipment that is required

All the ar t in the centre is funded by RUHX, the hospital’s official c h a r i t y T h i s i n c l u d e s t h e n e w Am b i e n t R o om s p ac e w i t h t h e Woodland Study film installation by ar tist Chr y stel L ebas, providing a place of refuge and contemplation for patients, families and staff In total there are 80 ar t loc ations with over 100 ar t pieces in the ne w centre, inc luding the Bulr ushes painting in the Atr ium donated by ar tist Deidre D y son, James D y son ’ s wif e. The theme ‘ L and, Water a n d S k y ’ r u n s t h ro u g h o u t t h e a r t w i t h i n t h e b u i l d i n g t o p ro v i d e a calming and uplif ting environment for patients and staff, themes that naturall y r ise towards the ‘S ky ’ on the second floor

The design of the building considers different accessibility needs and provides a dementia and disabilit y fr iend l y environment with comprehensive signage throughout to help people find their way. The centre has been created as a nurturing and therapeutic environment, making use of ar t and design, natural light, open spaces, and noise reduction technolog y to reduce stress and anxiety as well as more rooms to safely hold private conversations

This innovative new cancer centre has been created in collaboration with around 1,000 skilled workers, construction partner Kier Group and tradespeople, including many local businesses and craft supporters Bristol-based Arcadis were the architects and interior designers. Spike Island Production Studios were technical advisors and installers of the audio visuals for the Ambient Room and Dan Weeks of Honest Studio designed all the wooden RUHX suppor ter recognition signage Mathe w Hawker donated the loc all y sourced stone (which is 150 million years old) for the plinth for Hamish Mackie’s Swifts sculpture and Ryan Wells of Cathedral Stone Masons donated time to prepare the stone plinth Ian Heseltine provided the wooden outdoor furniture in the inpatient courtyard and the Melton Galler y in Bath framed the artworks. Light artist Bruce Munro donated a range of framed prints and greatly subsidised the cost of his Time and Again light installation.

Sustainability

The new building has achieved a BREEAM Excellent rating – this is the assessment process for sustainability for new developments, which covers the design, construction and future management of the building The building fabric was tested throughout the construction process and meets high standards for thermal insulation, air tightness and high le vels of efficienc y for heating, cooling, power ing, and lighting. The sustainability credentials feature the inc lusion of 290 sqm solar panels on the roof to generate electr icit y ; the use of marmleoum floor ing, which is linoleum, a natural product; and the use of rec yc led air in special equipment, managing air pressure in in-patient rooms to repel potentially devasting infection

This grand project started with RUHX launching its fundraising in 2012 Building work then commenced in the summer of 2021 and now, less than three years later, this extraordinar y ne w facilit y opens to patients to help fight one of the most challenging diseases that can ever be faced.

The D yson Cancer Centre: r uh.nhs.uk

Dan Weeks from Honest Studio designed all the wooden RUHX suppor ter recognition signage

Deidre Dyson’s painting in the Atrium

Amy Shelton’s botanical lightbox installation in the Radiotherapy depar tment, using flowers collec ted from the renowned gardens designed by Piet Oudolf at the Hauser & Wir th galler y in Bruton, Somerset

Profiles of three RUHX supporters

Sue Wedlock

Cancer sur vivor and fundraiser

Sue Wedlock (who sadly lost her husband, folk singer Fred, to cancer aged 67) has fundraised and worked with RUHX for many years to help fund the new Dyson Cancer Centre by arranging RUH Bath hospital bake sales and jazz picnics and concer ts along with the Keynsham and Saltford RUHX fundraising group Sue has also been treated at the RUH Bath in the

Nic Noble

£1 million Cancer Care fundraiser

Nic Noble has raised £1 million to help fund cancer care at the RUH Bath, including for the new Dyson Cancer Centre, in memor y of her sister Vanessa Kyte The Walk of Life was started in 2005 by Vanessa, who sadly passed away on 15 November 2007, seven years after being diagnosed with breast cancer,

Gar y Cook

Major Cancer Care fundraiser

The Rodney Cook Memorial (RCM) Rally was initially set up in 2018 by Gar y Cook, in memor y of his dad Rodney Cook who sadly passed away at the RUH after having cancer in 2017 Gar y ’s dedication in suppor ting cancer ser vices with this event means that the proceeds go towards providing better cancer care.

past year for Bowel and Liver cancer, from which she has just been given an all clear Sue said about the new Dyson Cancer Centre “I t ’s such a lovely, light and sympathetic place for cancer patients to be cared for by the wonder ful RUH Bath cancer ser vices team that I really cannot speak highly enough of. I t ’s even more impor tant to me having just been cared for by the staff that work here ”

which developed into secondar y lung cancer and brain tumours. Her passion for fundraising sparked her and her sister to begin the Walk of Life with RUHX Nicola says: “Ness was inspirational all the way through, right from the star t Ever y single one of those pounds donated or fundraised has got a stor y and I have met the most incredible people with Ness and without her.”

Across the five years the RCM rallies have raised an extraordinar y £180,000 for RUHX Gar y Cook says, “ The staff who cared for my father at the RUH were quite simply incredible, caring, and wonder ful people I felt compelled to tr y and do something to raise some money for RUHX to repay that k indness. So, from something awful, the RCM Rally was born.”

State-of-the-art medical equipment at Dyson Cancer Centre

RUHX, which has always been there suppor ting the hospital to treat and care for cancer patients, has played an impor tant par t in the provision of the equipment in the new cancer centre. Some of the medical equipment used to treat cancer at the RUH today, provided by RUHX includes:

• The hospital’s first Surgical Robot –costing £2 3 million, and funded 100% by RUHX – is used daily in theatres (treating patients who will have been diagnosed in the centre) and treating Gynaecological, Colo-Rectal and Prostate cancer patients.

• New Artificial Intelligence Radiotherapy planning software –part-funded by RUHX – provides oncologists with a precise contour of organs and more targeted radiation treatment, meaning more time can be spent with patients and accurate treatment plans produced more easily and quickly.

• New Gamma C T camera – critical in the diagnosis of and treatment planning of cancer, this will scan around 4,000 patients a year

• Chemotherapy air gloves – to help cannulation of patients whose veins can be fragile or hidden after chemotherapy treatment.

• New Breast Cancer ultrasound room –allowing an extra 30,000 scans per year to help the early diagnosis of breast cancer

Bruce Munro’s Time and Again light installation

The hospital’s first Surgical Robot

Bath business

LOCAL BUSINESS AND COMMUNITY ORGANISATION UPDATES

STONE KI NG GRAN TS TO CHARI T I ES

The Stone King Foundation’s latest round of grant applications shows that a total of £3,500 was granted to the successful range of charities local to Stone King ’ s offices The Foundation is funded by an annual donation from the firm and makes small grants to charities which are important to Stone King people, or which are impactful in the communities local to its offices. This round ’ s successful applicants inc lude charities working with children and health, as well as a project offering counselling to those affected by addiction and abuse The list inc ludes

NEW CONFERENCE SPACE

Heywood House is a countr y estate that has been transformed into a premier destination for business ventures. With classic charm and tranquil surroundings, Heywood House offers an exclusive space for offices and conference facilities, the ideal venue for corporate gatherings away from the public eye

This rural business hub offers amenities tailored to meet the needs of its clientele From membership to co-work ing facilities, meeting rooms, and a Members' Café, the venue provides a conducive environment for productivity and collaboration. Conveniently located a shor t distance from Westbur y Station with ser vices to Bath and London and situated amidst 35 acres of private grounds, Heywood House offers a serene backdrop for businesses

As a special introductor y offer, Heywood House extends a generous 20% discount on your first meeting room book ing. hey woodhouse.com

Bathampton Scout HQ; Larkhall Athletic Football Club; LawCare, a charity offering free mental health support to the legal sector; MACS (Microphthalmia, Anophthalmia and Coloboma Support); Southmead Project, offering free counselling and support to those impacted by abuse and addiction in Bristol; and Spencer Dayman Meningitis Research, a Bristol-based charity raising money to support medical research into meningitis, sepsis and related diseases; T ime is Precious – a charity in Radstock which helps create a more comfortable environment for children receiving medical treatment at hospital and at home The Foundation typically makes donations of between £250 and £500.

NEW CARI NG ROLE I N GHANA

K atie Eccles retired from her role as Senior Ward Sister at Dorothy House Hospice last year and is now the Lead Clinical Nurse for a charity called COMPASS-Ghana who have an office in Bradford on Avon The charity ’s mission is to help unlock access to quality palliative care in Ghana, West Africa. K atie’s 38 years of experience caring for people with life -limiting illnesses means that she has much to contribute and she is delighted to be par t of the charity ’s pioneering work K atie says, “I have learnt to enjoy Jollof rice, dance to the beat of Africans drums, hold on tightly on all car journeys and most impor tantly to embrace another new chapter in my life!” compass-gh org

NEW CREAT IVE MARKET I NG AGENCY

BA1 S tudios creative marketing agenc y specialises in giving a personal and friend l y ser vice, suppor ting small to medium businesses, bringing their unique brand stor y, products or ser vice to life Offering a range of marketing ser vices such as branding, website design, social media management, photoshoots and more, they work together with specialist creatives, so you'll al ways receive the best possible ser vice. W ith an established por tfolio of award-winning c lients from a range of different industries, discover more at ba1studios.co.uk

Above: Some of the charities the Stone King Foundation has supported

TAchieving Measurable Gains Through Marginal Change

By Ben Morris, Head of People and Performance, Mogers Drewett

here is a well-worn statistic that suggests that 70 per cent of organisational change initiatives fail

In the world of DevOps (IT operations and development), medium performers can expect a failure rate of between 15 and 45 per cent –between one and three in every seven deployments

And yet change is all around us and within us all the time Much of it, without any active or conscious involvement from us So, despite what some might say, we can do change

Uncertainty is a threat

Humans are efficiency engines Our wiring, both factory standard and modified, is about preserving energy, which is why we tend to stick to the familiar, even if that is worse for us than the new way Most change requires us to maintain conscious awareness of what we want and what to do to keep us moving that way And that gets tiring

Corporate Leadership Council research suggests that 50 per cent of corporate leaders did not know whether recent organisational changes had succeeded Uncertainty is a threat – not just about what the future might hold but what any of the possible futures might mean to us, how much agency we might have over those future, and what they might mean for us in the eyes of others (especially management and peers)

Evoke

the motivation to persist

If those who initiate or sign-off on a change programme cannot tell if something has been successful, doesn t it say volumes about the definition of success? Perhaps it was not clear what success would look like or the goalposts have moved That might be because the market has shifted, rendering the change irrelevant (frustrating but not a failing in the change project) or as is very common having achieved what was set out we ’ re left feeling that it could or should have been more (again, not unusual but not a change fail) It all contributes to uncertainty

So, we need to work hard on evoking the motivation to persist – clarity of success at the beginning; calling out the behaviours you wanted to see; celebrating the successes and

achievement of doing the work (even if the original impetus changes) are crucial for feeding our sense of being seen and appreciated

In that spirit, go to where the work is done and pay attention to what is being done, not what you thought should be being done Without judgement ask why it is being done that way The Gemba (a Japanese term meaning "the actual place") is not just where problems arise, it is where your team seek to resolve challenges to getting things done, in line with what they believe to be important based on their values and the organisation s expectations

Make changes feel small

Start small but make even that change seem smaller Then celebrate doing it and repeat Use that new level as your platform to build from but keep the next change simple and as close as possible to what you can now already do

It may feel like this is advocacy to stay still in a comfort zone, and you d be half-right This is about growing our comfort zone so that we absorb into it what used to be out of reach “Go big or go home” makes headlines but chunking gives a better chance of creating a physical, mental and social environment that helps change happen and stick

Neuroscientist George Leonard was on to something when he wrote: "Resistance is proportionate to the size and speed of the change, not to whether the change is favourable or not

Ben Morris, Head of People and Performance, Human Resources, Tel: 01225 750050, ben.morris@mogersdrewett.com

Mogers Drewett, St James House, The Square, Lower Bristol Road, Bath BA2 3BH www.mogersdrewett.com

Employer pension contributions v dividends?

Dividends are usually the most tax-efficient way to extract profit from your company However, can pension contr ibutions ever be a better option?

Tax and profit extraction

Since Apr il 2016 the gover nment has introduced a number of measures that have eroded the per sonal tax advantages for director shareholder s of companies, in par ticular increased income tax on dividends Never theless, with few exceptions dividends produce the g reatest net income for shareholder s compared with taking income in other for ms, e g salary or benefits in kind However, if you don’t have an immediate need for income you should consider reducing dividends in favour of pension contr ibutions for longer ter m tax efficiency

Company or personal contr ibutions

Registered pension schemes can accept contributions from you personally or direct from your company on your behalf The latter, known as employer contr ibutions, are slightly more tax efficient

If your pension plan doesn’t accept employer contr ibutions, it’s usually easy to make a c hange to allow them Speak to your financial advisor or the pension company

Pension contributions have the advantage that your company can pay them even where it hasn’t made profits This isn’t allowed with dividends

How much can you pay?

While your company can pay substantial amounts into a registered pension scheme, for you there is a point at which they become less tax efficient than taking equivalent dividends The optimum amount is that whic h br ings your total pension contr ibutions (per sonal and company) up to £60,000 (£40,000 for 2022/23 and earlier year s) in a year This is called the annual allowance

If annual allowances haven’t been fully used in the last three tax year s, your company can use them to make a larger pension contr ibution in 2024/25 For example, if your total pension contr ibutions were £15,000 for eac h of 2021/22, 2022/23 and 2023/24 the shor tfall of £25,000 for the first two years and £35,000 for the latter (£85,000 in total), is added to your annual allowance for 2024/25

Tax savings - pension v dividends

When looking at the net income you would receive per £1,000 taken as a dividend vs paid by your company to your pension fund and later taken as pension income, the pension income is a winner whether you ’ re a basic or higher rate taxpayer You’ll have to wait until you ’ re 55 to get the pension money and so there’s a tradeoff between immediate need for income and long-ter m tax efficiency

Education matters

NEWS FROM THE CITY’S LEARNERS AND LEADERS

NURSERY EXPANSION AT STONAR

Stonar School is expanding its nurser y provision from September 2024, giving families more choice during their child's crucial early years Stonar's nurser y, located on the same campus as its Prep and Senior Schools, welcomes children aged 2 to 4. Currently, 2-year- olds can only attend during school term times But come September, Stonar will offer a brand new year-round (51 weeks) option for them, on top of the existing term-time programme

The school is also extending the early morning and after-school care options for these younger pupils Another offering is a new ‘ Term-time Plus’ option, allowing families who choose the term-time option to add on extra nurser y weeks during school holidays (depending on availability) for ultimate flexibility. stonarschool.com

Successful, well-established year-round language school in the centre of Bath requires

HOMESTAY HOSTS IN BATH

to host both short-term and long-term students

We teach adults and teenagers, and need both single and twin-room accommodation.

For further details, including rates of payment, please contact our Student Services Manager:

Sarah Wringer

Kaplan Inter national Languages Bath, 5 Trim Street, Bath, BA1 1HB

Direct Line (01225) 448840

Email: sarah.wringer@kaplan.com

NEW GYM FOR KES

A new Senior School gym has opened at KES and is proving highly popular with pupils since opening earlier this term

Tom Fisher, who leads Strength and Conditioning at KES, explains how it was devised with pupils in mind “When designing the gym space we thought it was crucial to consider exactly how it would be used by different groups at different times of the day So the process included designing not just the gym, but also the timetable and the exercise programmes that pupils would be following during their sessions.

“ The new gym works as one open space, but it can also be split up into three separate areas, one with aerobic equipment, one with resistance training equipment and an astroturfed area with a large, versatile rig The use of sound-proofing also allows greater use of the gym in the summer term during public examination periods kesbath com

Uncommon Sense with Audrey Stephenson of Therapy Geek

Did you know that one of the key factors in children’s success, in terms of socialisation and confidence, is the happiness of their mother? Isn’t that wild? Or that language development and behavioural challenges are both impacted positively by the accessibility of the father?

I am regular ly approached by people who want me to work with a child with emotional and behavioural challenges Unless the child is suffering from trauma – in which case I will refer them to a specialist – I find that the key is to empower parents to learn new ways to support their children, and themselves. W ith the numbers of those with ADHD skyrocketing and appointments for testing having long waiting lists, parents need support to recognise that they themselves are of ten the answer to helping their children

This is not an atmosphere of blame – this is about learning to communicate with your child in a way that invites them to share what is really going on. So many of us were raised to ‘ buckle down and get on with it ’ , and this means we don’t always have the right communication skills for our children in the modern wor ld It ’ s also true that most parents won’t have an appreciation of the developmental changes taking place in their child ’ s brain and what that means for behaviour and processing

If you are comparing your child ’ s behaviour with how you were brought up, it ’ s likely that you will use your experience to interpret this as ‘ behaving bad ly ’ . You may even feel that your child is being ungrateful or disrespectful in the way they behave and communicate You’re not alone in this

Remember that parents don't have to be perfect W hat we do need to do, however, is to be bigger than our children We don’t have to pretend it ’ s easy, but we need to hold responsibility to face our fears, with support and compassion, and to address our own unmet needs. Doing this will mean that our children's needs won’t infuriate and over whelm us, and make us either resentful or over ly accommodating. So stop holding your breath, drinking too much coffee and red wine, and speak to someone We rarely get hurt, or heal, alone

Contact Audrey Stephenson for a free consultation.

audreystephenson co uk

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Walking in the footsteps of the Carthusians

Andrew Swift follows a walk that goes through Hinton Charterhouse and the site of a Carthusian priory in the 13th century, and traces the vestiges of the priory, including the location of the Great Cloister and a cottage that was part of the original settlement.

In 1232, Carthusian monks founded a prior y on a site they called Locus Dei, or ‘God’s Place’, four miles south of Bath. The Carthusians’ head monaster y was the Grande Chartreuse near Grenoble in France, while houses established by the order in England were called charterhouses – which is why the nearby village is called Hinton Charterhouse Hinton Prior y dominated life in the surrounding area for over 300 years, until Henr y VIII dissolved it in 1539.

This four and a half mile walk looks at the legacy of the Carthusians today. It starts in Freshford, and you can either drive to the starting point (although parking is limited) or take a train

By train, there is an hourly ser vice from Bath Spa At Freshford station, cross the footbridge, head up the lane and turn right at the end Turn left at the top and carr y on along a lane in the same direction for 800 metres.

By car, head south along the A36 for five miles, and af ter c limbing out of the Limpley S toke Valley take a lef t turn (signposted to Freshf ord) at the top of the hil l Carr y on downhil l f or 1000 metres and tur n r ight along Freshford Lane, where there is a lay-by 175 metres along on the left If full, there may be parking by the village hall further on Go through a five-bar gate by the lay-by, head up

the field and turn right along a lane for 450 metres.

At the end of the lane, turn right uphill for a few metres, before turning lef t by Walnut Cottage along a narrow footpath After going through two kissing gates (KGs), you emerge into a strip of wood land known as the Shrubber y, at the end of which another KG leads into a glade known as the V ilet As you walk up the V ilet, you will see a busy road ahead, which was built in the 1830s.

Go through a KG – where dogs need to be on a lead – and head up steps to the road. Turn right along the pavement and af ter 200 metres, as you cross the end of Abbey Lane, you will see the gates of Hinton Pr ior y opposite A few metres further on, cross the main road, go through a handgate beside a six-bar gate and follow a faint track straight ahead As you approach the far side of the field, look for another track crossing at right angles and turn lef t along it. As you follow it past a KG, you will see the sur viving prior y buildings hidden behind trees on the lef t, along with later ones built from the stones of those that were demolished As you carr y on through a KG, the fenced-off compound of trees in a swampy depression on the right is the site of the prior y ’ s fishponds To your lef t, beyond the trees, is the site of the Great

Cloister, which covered an area roughl y the same as that of Bath’s Q ueen Square.

Go through a KG and head straight across a field, on the far side of which a KG leads onto a busy road Cross it and go through another KG to follow a waymarked track heading to the lef t of Hinton Charterhouse church To your right is Hinton House, built on the site of the Prior y Grange Its current owner is Jake D yson, Sir James’s son

On the far side of the field, go through a KG into the churchyard and turn right past the church of St John the Baptist, dating from the 12th centur y On leaving the churchyard, turn lef t along a lane and carr y straight on for 900 metres

At the end, recross the main road, and carr y on down a lane, which after 150 metres enters Friar y Wood, carpeted with bluebells and wild garlic in late spring As you near the end of the wood, a group of buildings known as the Friar y comes into view ahead. Af ter passing a barn advertising Rural Skills look to your right to see a building known as Woodman’s Cottage

This settlement is called the Friar y because it is on the site of a medieval friar y where lay brothers attached to Hinton Prior y lived and worked Woodman’s Cottage formed part of the original settlement, with some of its masonr y dating from the 14th centur y. A

Woodman’s Cottage, 1909

geophysical sur vey in 2017 showed that it was originally part of a larger building More recently, the discover y of a photograph taken in 1909 revealed that part of this larger building – a ruinous wall – sur vived until the early 20th centur y The blocked-up window in the wall suggests it was a building of some importance, possibly a chapel

A little further on, turn left along a footpath, c limb two flights of steps and go through a five-bar gate to follow a path between hedgerows At the end of the path is D unkirk Mill, built around 1795 and originally with five storeys, although the top two were removed in the 1970s when it was converted to housing

Turn right and follow the lane as it swings lef t past a red-brick pillbox – the first of four along this stretch of river – built as part of a defensive line in 1940 At a T junction, turn r ight alongside the River Frome On the opposite bank lies Freshford Mill, granted to the pr ior y in 1246, and now conver ted to housing.

Cross the bridge, follow the lane as it swings left and right, and after 50m go through a KG on the left to head across a field Go through a KG on the far side and turn lef t to cross a bridge to the Inn at Freshford, open all day Wednesday to Sunday

To return to the station, carry on past the inn and turn right down Station Road

To return to the lay-by, go through a KG before the inn, follow a path up steps, go through a KG at the top, cross a road and head diagonally down the field to go through the five-bar gate. n

Andrew Swift has written many books including On Foot in Bath: Fifteen Walks around a World Heritage City – available from bookshops or akemanpress com

Terrain: Quiet lanes, field tracks and woodland paths Two flights of steps and three busy road crossings with good visibility

Star ting point: Lay-by on Freshford Lane (ST786600; BA2 7T Y ); or Freshford Railway Station

Map: OS Explorer 142 and 155

Facilities: Inn at Freshford (theinnatfreshford com; 01225 722250)

The priory buildings seen through the trees

Length of Walk: 4½ miles

All out sustainable

John L aw of Woodhouse and L aw takes stock of how our interiors have become wholeheartedly connected to nature and to the use of sustainable materials and products, including recognising the value of giving new life to existing pieces

At a time of quite some uncertainty and change, it ’ s no surprise that we have all become drawn to the comforting, familiar feel that nature has to us all. By bringing it into our ver y own homes, we can create our ver y own sanctuar y; one in which we feel at ease, grounded and connected to the natural world We’ve seen how the introduction of house plants can instantly help to make that change, but we are also seeing c lients increasingly drawn to natural colour tones within those ver y spaces

Going green is more than the choice of paint colour, however This move towards those more natural elements has gone hand in hand with a growing appreciation for the need to take a more sustainable, ecofriendly approach to design As designers, we are keen to leave behind the disposable, casual approach of constantly changing trends and regular renovation. It ’ s critical that we include in their place timeless, well-built pieces within any scheme; ones that endure and evolve with us in whatever form our own, personal sanctuaries take

W ith this in mind, we are always keen to combine traditional pieces with their contemporar y counterparts in our designs, giving a scheme a long-lasting, timeless feel In kitchens, we of ten look to Shaker-style cabinetr y that can be re-painted in the future Not only is the life of the kitchen extended, but this also enables clients to update colours as trends, or their mood, changes.

As we become increasingly aware of the environmental impact of

pieces of furniture in favour of the new, the fresh, the c lean. We always advoc ate retaining such items where we c an or introducing antique pieces to give a greater sense of authenticit y. S ometimes this requires re

by

restore an item, focusing on a single task, and using our own hands is not only gratifying; it contributes greatly to a sense of mindfulness; a humbling reminder of the value of what we already have I

individual pieces to those finishes around them Paints for instance; here we advise looking for products with low or no VO C ( Volatile Organic Compounds). One of the most exciting launches this year is that from a recent collaboration between international authorit y on interiors, Michelle Ogundehin, and Graphenstone, one of the most highl y

foundational palette of 16 shades has been lovingly craf ted to ensure that all tones work per fectl y together, in any combination S tar ting with greens and blues, the elemental colours of earth, sky and sea, the palette has a distinctly healing feel; one that is instinctively considered and cohesive.

Michelle Ogundehin collaboration with Graphenstone: Easy Lemon, Palest Lemon and Dirty Lavender (trim)

Michelle Ogundehin collaboration with Graphenstone: Dark Fir and Dark Turquoise

Dusk Wallpaper, Where the Wildflowers Grow by Divine Savages

Closer to home, the team at Divine Savages have also taken inspiration from Mother Nature, following their recent move to Somerset Celebrating our delicate eco systems, their Rewilding Collection is their most sustainable collection to date Its wallpaper is made from 79% renewable fibres from fermented plant starch, using a manufacturing process that uses far less greenhouse gases than other traditional nonwoven wallpapers.

There is often some confusion when sustainable materials are discussed in design terms. Such materials aren’t necessarily renewable or recyclable; they are however long-lasting and can be applied in large quantities Take stone for example; a natural, resource that doesn’t require factor y manufacture It ’ s also a durable material that will stand the test of time and outlast fleeting design trends Other natural materials to consider might also include bamboo, clay ceramics and cork Integrating these natural elements – with their rich diversity of life, shapes and colours – is fast gaining a dedicated following for their ability to greatly improve our well-being and creativity. We’re expecting therefore to see a growing number of pieces made from natural stone and wood coming to the fore, perhaps with cur ved lines and soft shapes to instil a more natural, organic feel to a scheme

This move to a more holistic, sustainable approach to design has been more noticeable than ever on our recent visits to a number of interior trade shows Here, traditional ingredients stood alongside the more unusual, with waste materials from other industries often being incorporated to reduce the environmental impact of these new products. Surplus sheep’s wool was used in place of plastic upholster y foam, waste hemp fibres were used to fortify bioplastic in compostable chairs and acoustic panels featured a byproduct of rice production W hilst some manufacturers returned to traditional craftsmanship, others looked to new technological developments such as 3D printing for their latest collections A reflection perhaps of an industr y that is looking to honour trusted, traditional methods, while still keeping a definite eye to the future woodhouseand law co uk n

Freeform, organic shaped furniture in rusty colours

Wild Wild Woods linen fabric by Divine Savages

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Buttermere Black

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Showroom viewing Mon-Fri 8am-5pm Saturday via appointment only

Jess Stokes: floral desig ner and garden wr iter www.flowerand land.com flowerand land@g mail.com 07850 518858

Colour in May

The month of May hails the advance of a myriad of colours in your garden as the buds emerge, says Jessica Stokes – she shares some of the favourites from her own garden, and advocates for No Mow May, to bring additional wild splashes of colour

May really is the beginning of summer in the borders As I walk through the garden I can feel the seasons change – the soil has warmed, and it shows Roses are starting to bud, vivid green leaves and shoots fizz through the borders.

I look for ear ly May colour Some gardeners find that ear ly May and later in the season, into August, are the most challenging times to give vibrancy to your garden But I believe that May has her charms – the garden at this time of year can be a cacophony of colour, if you plant the right things

Forget me nots weave their way along and froth between the herbaceous plants, giving swathes of royal blue Years ago I threw down some seeds, but they have a wonder ful habit of self-seeding and returning year on year. If you prefer them out of your borders, plant them around tulips in pots – they look lovely with the native yellow primrose for contrast

I couldn’t be without geums in May Last year I bought a ver y delicate pale yellow one, Geum ‘ Moonlight serenade ’ I have also used the common variet y G “ Totally tangerine’, which is a brilliant orange I also love the peachy tones of G ‘Mai Thai ’ , and the subtle raspberr y of G ‘Pink Petticoats’ Geums are a c lump-forming perennial, and they repeat flower if you dead-head them regular l y, and they make a wonderful cut flower. As a florist I would not be without them in my garden. Some can grow to 90cm, and like most herbaceous perennials, they can be divided in autumn to increase your stock

There is also Aquilegia to be found This delicate looking, perennial plant is sometimes known as columbine or granny ’ s bonnet due to its hat-shaped flowers They grow in most soils, self-seed freely, and are r ich in nectar, so will attract pollinators They come in all sor ts of colours, and grow up to 60cm tall I love them dotted about the garden, planted like wild flowers. They are found in meadows, wood lands at higher altitudes and in the wild. There are as many as 70 species of Aquilegia.

Foxgloves, forget me nots and Geranium pratense ‘Mrs Kendall Clark ’

Papaver orientale, 'Coral Reef '

Sweet rocket (Hesperis matronalis)

One that you might not be so familiar with, which is an essential in my garden in May, is Hesperis matronalis, also known as sweet rocket It reminds me a little of Lunaria flowers Hesperis is a biennial, but in my garden they come up year af ter year and they slowly spread It grows loose c lusters of edible flowers in purple or white, but the white is the one I love most Their highly perfumed flowers at this time of year is a real treat This is particular ly true at dusk when their flowers are heady with scent, which means pollinators go craz y for them.

To contrast with the white of the Hesperis matronalis, I am fond of Geranium pratense ‘Mrs Kendall Clark’. These are tough plants, and they have travelled with me from three pre vious gardens They establish quickly, and they produce delicate pale blue flowers on stems as high as one metre tall They remind me of meadows, and give an element of prairie-style planting to the garden

For instant colour, plant Digitalis, commonl y known as foxgloves These biennials come in a range of colours, from the vibrant purple of the native Digitalis pur purea to peach, or spec kled white. You c an purchase them from nurseries relatively cheaply as plug plants. I like to plant them in odd numbers and all around the garden, as if they had self-seeded there They will inevitably self seed and fill your garden with their spires of thimble-like flowers Bees find them irresistible

Talking of pollinators, I hope you might want to follow the No Mow May phenomenon of recent years where gardeners are advised not to mow their lawns, in order to create a haven for wild flowers and insects and encourage biodiversit y in their gardens This is something I have done over the last few years. I also mow a small pathway through the lawn, which gives the impression that I have purposefully lef t the rest to grow wild, rather than indicating an unkempt and uncared for garden!

It is amazing what grows up through your lawn when you allow it to de velop I found c lover, lupins, yarrow, and var ious beautiful grasses growing According to a report in the journal Biological Conser vation, 97% of British wildflower meadows have disappeared since the 1930s By leaving areas of unmown grass, and changing the engrained habits of gardeners, there is hope of changing this n

Jessic a S tokes, g ardener and sustainable floral desig ns. Instag ram: # flowerand land; flowerand land.com

Geums

Switch to solar for big savings

Good Energy supports local green heroes who want to play their part in the transition to a more sustainable future

This includes the many homes and business who are switching to solar energy to cut carbon and cut costs

Solar power is experiencing a boom in the UK – it adds value to your home and reduces your contribution to climate change as well as your energy bills Its role in decarbonising our energy system is absolutely crucial

A recent Opinium sur vey for Good Energy revealed that more than half of South East residents (53%) would consider installing solar panels on their roof, and more than two thirds (68%) believe they should be included in all new homes, so we can expect them to become an increasingly common sight

To satisfy this growing demand, Good Energy owns and operates a network of established installers across southern England

This includes Wessex ECOEnergy, which have already car ved a position as a leading installer – including for larger homes and properties with more complex requirements

Solar panels - or photovoltaic (PV ) panels, to give them their technical nameuse the energy from the sun to generate electricity with no waste and no emissions

The electricity can be used directly in the home, stored in a batter y or exported to the electricity grid.

Good Energy supports over 180,000 homes and businesses that generate their own power in this way, helping customers to slash their energy costs and their impact on the environment

Choosing a solar panel system is literally a once-in-a-lifetime decision You have to consider the durability of the components to withstand the rigours of at least 20 years of British weather, so it ’ s important to choose quality.

By choosing Good Energy you can have total peace of mind in your solar panel system, because we only install components that are widely considered to be the best on the market

O ur expert team will make sure the whole process is as simple and seamless as possible.

Installers are fully MCS-certified, plus all installations are backed by the Home Insulation and Energy Systems guarantee, for total reassurance

You’ ll be able to see the solar energy you are generating, as well as how much energy you are using in real time, using an app on your smartphone or tablet – meaning you can make sure you get the best value from your home-grown energy

We can support your journey towards a cleaner and greener future

A5 bedroom detached period property set in a wonderful rural elevated location with approximately

3 acres of garden and paddock and within close proximity to Bath.

The property is located on land formerly a hop yard and since the early 1800’s the then two miner’s cottages were closely associated with the Somerset Coal Canal until the advent of rail

It was converted many years ago with the present owners having lived in the property for approximately 25 years, modernising it and extending up into the roof to form an additional floor of accommodation

The property features at ground level a wonderful living room with Inglenook fireplace, exposed stone walls, oak beams together with a further sitting room and kitchen/breakfast room

On the upper 2 floors are 5 bedrooms with 3 bathrooms/shower rooms and a separate study

The whole property is set in a wonderful, elevated location with fine views, gardens and paddocks totalling approximately 3 acres It should also be noted that planning permission and permitted development rights exist for further extensions to the kitchen and the erection of a triple garage, together with the re-building of the conservatory

This is a wonderful family property set in a quiet rural location close to Bath and with the potential to enhance still further A viewing is strongly recommended by the sole agents Cobb Farr Cobb Farr, 35 Brock Street, The Circus, Bath; Tel: 01225 333332

Camerton, Nr Bath

• 3 acres of garden and paddocks

• 5 bedrooms and study

• 2 reception and conservatory

• Planning permission for extensions

• Stunning Views

• Planning permission for triple garage

OIEO £1,150,000

St

James’s Square, Bath

OIEO £2,650,000

A magnificent Grade I listed Georgian townhouse which has previously been fully refurbished throughout, to include the addition of an attractive conservatory and with the benefit of a walled rear garden

• Fully refurbished and comprehensively renovated

• Attractive walled garden to the rear with conservatory

• Short level walk to Bath city centre

• Potential for self-contained apartment on lower floor

Leigh Road, Bradford on Avon

Richmond Heights, Bath

£750,000

Beautifully presented, this 4 bedroom property occupies an elevated position with superb views, ensuite facilities, garden to three sides, garage and parking

• Four bedrooms

• Modern kitchen with central island and AGA

• Main bedroom with ensuite shower room

• Garage en bloc with private parking to the front

• Spectacular views toward Solsbury Hill and local countryside

Ringswell Gardens, Bath

£375,000

A 3 bedroom mid terrace family home located within easy level walking distance of Bath city centre, on top of excellent local amenities in Larkhall village, the river Avon and lovely walks along the canal and with much opportunity to add value

• Three bedroom family home

• Off-street parking to the front and a private single garage

• Easy level walking distance of Bath city centre

• The property offers much opportunity to update and add value

Colerne, Chippenham

£575,000

An attractive and wonderfully presented 3 bedroom period cottage set in the heart of the village close to the shop and surgery It offers no onward chain with two reception rooms, generous kitchen and a near south facing, pretty garden

• Pretty, stone-fronted cottage set in the heart of the village

• Three bedrooms and two reception rooms

• Garden is nearly south facing enjoying a good degree of sunshine

• Dinning room with polished flag stone flooring

Leigh Road, Bradford on Avon

Quality care in Bath you can trust

When a family is thinking about care for a loved one, they want the best - they want to know that the care home they choose will put their loved one ’ s safety, happiness and wellbeing first

Rush Hill Mews is managed by award-winning provider Care UKone of the UK’s most highly successful care home operators* with over 40 years ' experience of delivering high quality care to older people

Living at Rush Hill Mews is all about quality of life Ever y colleague in the home is passionate about enabling residents to enjoy a fulfilling lifestyle, tailored around their unique needs and preferences. The lifestyle team organises a huge variety of group and one-to-one activities, with plenty going on each day.

W ith the extra support that our care home offers, new residents are often surprised at what they can do, whether that ’ s being able to continue with an activity they ’ ve enjoyed in the past, or even discovering new hobbies with our daily activities

The purpose-built home is designed for enjoying a luxur y lifestyle, with en-suite rooms and facilities including a cinema, café, hair and beauty salon, and comfortable lounges and dining rooms. The home also boasts stunning gardens with wheelchair friendly pathways – the perfect place to spend some time when the weather allows.

W hether your loved one enjoys a quiet cup of tea in bed before starting the day, loves going for strolls in the landscaped grounds, or enjoys a chat over a glass of wine, the team at Rush Hill Mews will spend time to enable them to continue living life the way they want to

Hill Mews

Clarks Way, Bath, Somerset, BA2 2TR 01225 591 334 careuk com/rush-hill-mews

Rush

*As rated by the Care Quality Commission in England and the Care Inspectorate in Scotland