The Bath Magazine March 2015

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ISSUE 150 • MARCH 2015 www.thebathmag.co.uk

CYCLE CITY

THE LYCRA CLAD WEEKEND WARRIORS

F IS FOR...

PIONEERING WOMEN THINK GLOBAL

HOME STYLE FRESH DESIGNS FROM PARIS

UNDER OURTHE FEET SECRET MUSHROOM FARM

SPRING BATH’S FASHIONISTAS CELEBRATE IN STYLE £3.00 where sold

A N D M U C H M O R E T H E C I T Y ’ S F I N E S T M O N T H LY G U I D E T O L I F E A N D L I V I N G I N B AT H

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THE | CONTENTS

MARCH 2015 42 54 78

15 8

40

FIVE THINGS TO DO

Prepare to go festival crazy in March

10 F IS FOR . . . FEMINISM

Find out about Bath’s pioneering project

13 MRS STOKES

The gentle pace in the west country

40 RUBENS WITH JOKES A major retrospective of Beryl Cook

42 GALLERY NOTES The latest exhibitions

48 BATH AT WORK

51 TREAT YOUR MUM

Take a fresh look at Jollys

Six of the best places for Mother’s Day

23 A GORGEOUS GUIDE A beautiful book celebrates our city

52 SEAFOOD AND EAT IT

The man who built Kelston toll road

A Wiltshire secret worth sharing

Where Bath’s gourmets gather

24 FACE THE MUSIC

54 THE MOONRAKER

26 MEN IN LYCRA

We hear from Bath’s biking community

30 BATH IN FASHION

Don’t miss out on the runway shows

32 WHAT’S ON

76 THE WALK

78 INTERIORS SPECIAL Design, effects and products

84 GARDENING

Book yourself a busman’s holiday

88 PROPERTY LISTINGS Homes to buy and rent

56 UNDERCOVER STORY

2015 ISSUE 150 • MARCH www.thebathmag.co.uk

Bath’s hidden mushroom farm

58 CITY PEOPLE 69 FAMILY FUN

CYCLE CITY

THE LYCRA CLAD WEEKEND WARRIORS

HOME STYLE

News from the movers and shakers

A myriad of things to enjoy in March

Get beautifully blissed out

Explore the countryside at Fonthill

Neill Menneer’s portrait of the month

15 SPRING FASHION

72 SPA REVIEW

Activities to enjoy with the kids

F IS FOR...

PIONEERING WOMEN THINK GLOBAL

FRESH DESIGNS FROM PARIS

UNDER FEET OURTHE SECRET MUSHROOM FARM

SPRING BATH’S FASHIONISTAS CELEBRATE IN STYLE

£3.00 where sold

N B AT H LIFE AND LIVING I M O N T H LY G U I D E T O HE CITY’S FINEST AND MUCH MORE T

Remember: The clocks go forward on Sunday 29 March 4 TheBATHMagazine

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Even more great content online: thebathmag.co.uk

Follow us on Twitter @thebathmagazine

ON THE COVER

Harriet of Mustard Models at Jollys for our spring shoot, styled by Voila! Styling and photographed by Toby Merritt

Like us on Facebook.com/ TheBathMagazine

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B

y the time you read this the runners who took part in the Vitality Bath Half marathon may be nursing their blisters and wearing their souvenir T-shirts with justified pride. The race, on Sunday 1 March, is one of the biggest events in the Bath calendar and we’re delighted to give it our all-year round support. If you know someone who’s run it for charity please add to their sponsor money. It would be great if we could top last year’s £2m raised for national and local charities. If you watched the race and thought “I could do that” then make a note of Monday 2 March when entries open for the 2016 half marathon.

As Bath’s biggest print media we’re always metaphorically running to keep pace with what’s happening on the city’s vibrant cultural scene, so we can offer our readers the chance to join in. This issue is jam-packed with events for all tastes.

Bath is a city of festivals, with at least one for every month of the year. As I write, the great and the good are heading to the south west to take part in the Independent Bath Literature Festival. That runs until Sunday 8 March, and although some of the big name talks, such as Mary Portas and Kazuo Ishiguro, are sold out, there’s still time to book for other events. And no sooner than the last chairs have been stacked away for that festival, than more are on their way.

From Friday 27 March Bath Comedy Festival swings into action, offering more events and more laughs than ever before. Tickets are on sale now and for Bath in Fashion 2015, which runs from 21 to 29 March. If that weren’t enough *pauses for breath* tickets go on sale from Tuesday 24 March for the daddy of all Bath festivals, the International Bath Music Festival which has been attracting the world’s finest musicians to our city for decades and continues to do so.

We’ve got tributes to all these festivals in this rather lovely issue. As you’ll have noticed from the cover and some of our fresh, redesigned features inside, we’ve spruced ourselves up for spring. For our fashion shoot Gaby of Voila Styling (pages 15 – 20) raided Jolly’s and prompted us to take a fresh look at the newly revamped department store ahead of its sponsorship of this year’s Bath in Fashion.

You may have noticed packs of men on bikes pedalling their way through the lanes at weekends, clad top to toe in Lycra, their aerodynamic helmets bent in serious intent. Hannah Sturgeon has been talking to some of the city’s keenest cyclists – see pages 26 and 27.

Mick Ringham has been talking to Mike Watts, the man who built the Kelston toll road, while Silvana Tann has met Hugh Prentice, the resourceful mushroom farmer whose harvest is grown underground in the heart of the city. Holly Tarquini, producer for Bath Film Festival, explains what the growing F-rating campaign is all about (page 10), Melissa Blease has six suggestions for where you might treat your lovely mum on Mother’s Day (page 51) and me, well I had the toughest job of all, testing out a fabulously indulgent stress-busting massage at the Thermae Bath Spa (page 72). Clair Strong, interior designer, reports back from the big Paris design show, Maison et Objet (page 80) and Jane Moore suggests gardens to visit this year when you’re not working on your own plot (page 84). There’s a lot more besides, so sit yourself down and enjoy a nice long read.

Georgette McCready Editor

ating Celebr es 150 issu th Ba of The zine Maga

All paper used to make this magazine is taken from good sustainable sources and we encourage our suppliers to join an accredited green scheme. Magazines are now fully recyclable. By recycling magazines, you can help to reduce waste and contribute to the six million tonnes of paper already recycled by the UK paper industry each year.

Please recycle this magazine, but if you are not able to participate in a recycling scheme, then why not pass your magazine on to a friend or colleague.

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MARCH 2015

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ZEITGEIST

5

things to do in

March

Engage

RETURN JOURNEY: Lorraine Chase is back in Bath as the clippie on the bus for the Red Wine Arts Trail

MEMOIR: British born Iranian comic and actor Omid Djalili in coversation

Cheer

Laugh Terry Jones of Monty Python fame, Helen Lederer, Arthur Smith and Lorraine Chase will be joined by a gaggle of comedians for the 2015 Bath Comedy Festival, which runs from Friday 27 March to Monday 6 April. This is the seventh year of the festival and the biggest yet, with more than 100 events at venues across Bath. And while some of the acts, like Fred Macaulay and Nick Doody, are well established, others are the stars of the future.

You’ll hear fresh material before it goes to the Edinburgh Festival and enjoy the chance to see some free stand-up shows at the Bath Brew House. Bath Comedy Festival has become the first ‘F’ rated United Kingdom comedy festival – the programme includes at least one female act every day throughout the festival and in every multiple line-up, as well as the New Act Competition contestants, comperes and judges.

Visit: bathcomedy.com for a full programme.

Bake

Do something funny for money on Friday 13 March to help Comic Relief. In Bath the business community has been inspired by Mary Berry to organise the Bath Business Bake Off, being held at the Green Park Brasserie on Comic Relief Friday. Entrants are being encouraged to submit cakes which reflect their company’s work – and the judges are defending their right to taste all the entries. Find out how to join the fun from Geometry PR or visit the Bath Business Bake Off Facebook page.

8 THEBATHMAGAZINE

There are dozens of reasons to get involved in the Independent Bath Literature Festival, which runs from Friday 27 February until Sunday 8 March. The city is to play host to some big names including Labyrith author Kate Mosse, Lynne Truss, Andrew Motion, David Nicholls and Fay Weldon. There’ll be talks about man of the moment, Wolf Hall’s Thomas Cromwell, the art of beekeeping, the internet, world politics, Richard and Judy in conversation the a chance to hear comedian Omid Djalili talk about his life, possibly with a serious undercurrent. There’s still time to join in, check for ticket availability at: bathfestivals.org.uk.

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On Sunday 1 March at 11am a river of runners will flow out of Great Pulteney Street for the start of the 2015 Vitality Bath Half marathon.

Joining the 15,000 runners will be around 30,000 spectators who’ll line the route to cheer them on. The Bath Magazine is proud to be a media partner for this event, which supports more than 90 local and national charities each year. Some Bath residents will be inconvenienced by the road closures but please bear in mind that last year’s event raised over £2m for charity, and the same target is set to be hit this year. If you’re running on the day we wish you a happy and successful

Book

run, and if you’re watching please encourage the runners by cheering them on. You can find out more about the 13.1

Jazz trumpeter Hugh Masekela, jazz pianist Jason Rebello and Goldfrapp’s Will Gregory, playing against the backdrop of a 1924 silent film, are among the many highlights of this spring’s International Bath Music Festival (Friday 15 May – Tuesday 26 May). There’ll be exciting gigs from the likes of Molotov Jukebox, pictured, an explosive party band with a gypsy dance vibe and folksinger Emily Portman, and the Hot Sardines with their sassy New York jazz sound. Classical purists won’t miss out either with appearances by John Butt, organist Thomas Trotter, violinist Bartozs Woroch and Willard White. Tickets go on public sale on Tuesday 24 March. Check out: bathfestivals.org.uk.

mile route and race day events by visiting: bathhalf.co.uk.

On 2 March you can even enter next year’s race.

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ist

THE CITY

My BATH

Bath is pioneering an equality campaign. Holly Tarquini producer for the annual Bath Film Festival explains how the F-rating project has taken off

Y

ou’ve probably heard of The Bechdel Test which was based on a 1985 cartoon strip by Alison Bechdel, in which two women are walking down the street, having a conversation: Woman one: ‘Wanna see a movie and get some popcorn?’

Woman two: ‘Well… I dunno I have this rule see. I only go to a movie if it satisfies three basic requirements. One, it has to have at least two women in it… who two, TALK to each other about, three, something besides a man.’

In the 2014 Bath Film Festival Programming Team, one of our programmers, Elspeth Hinde, suggested that the festival follow the example of a Swedish cinema chain and rate all the films in the festival which passed the test.

Back in the office, we took a closer look at The Bechdel Test. To give you some idea of how many films fail to pass even these most basic rules, only one of the Harry Potter films passes (when Mrs Weasley calls Bellatrix Lestrange a ‘bitch’ in the franchise’s final battle) all of the Star Wars and Lord of the Rings fail as well as 10 out of 14 Pixar films.

Once you start watching films through Bechdel goggles, it is shocking how few women have conversations on screen about anything other than the male lead.

However, these three questions miss an awful lot too. It was after all, only a comic strip, not a manifesto. There are films with fantastic female leads, such as Gravity, and films by brilliant female directors such as Reese Witherspoon in Wild

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Kathryn Bigelow’s The Hurt Locker which don’t pass the test, and dreadfully misogynist films such as The Bikini Carwash Company (whose title says it all) which pass.

With wonderful synchronicity, our investigation into inequality on screen coincided with the release of The Hollywood Diversity Report which revealed that out of ALL the films coming out of Hollywood in 2013, fewer than 5% were directed by women.

Feeling that this was extreme inequality, and in an effort to highlight the role of women behind the camera as well as on screen we created our Sandra Bullock in Gravity

own three questions: 1. Does it have a female director?

2. Is it written by a woman?

3. Is/are there complex female characters on screen who exist in their own right (not simply there to support to the male lead)?

Any film in the 2014 Bath Film Festival programme which answered yes to one of these questions was awarded the F-rating stamp of approval. Out of 42 features, 17 were awarded an F-rating, a significantly higher proportion than the Hollywood offer, possibly because of the choices we made (the festival’s sole criteria for selecting a film is: is it a great film?) and because the ratio of women is better in independent films and better still in documentaries (as they are cheaper and therefore lower risk than blockbusters).

Hoping for some coverage of the F-rating and anticipating a call from the Bath Chron, we were suddenly swamped by the world’s media. The Frating was covered by every UK broadsheet (The Independent featured it twice!) as well as BBC Online, Elle, Marie Claire and magazines in

China, Germany, Italy, Sweden and the US – it featured on The Wright Stuff, in Ed Vaizey (Minister for Culture)’s weekly bulletin and of course the Twittersphere went wild.

Expecting personal death and rape threats (the usual social media reaction to the word ‘feminist’) we were completely overwhelmed by the positivity and support the strand received: no one seemed to have a bad word to say.

Erica Pease at Komedia saw the massive support for the rating and contacted the cultural heads of Bath, inviting them to join the movement and give their appropriate events an F-rating.

So far many of the significant festivals of Bath have signed up to the rating, including: Bath Literature Festival, Bath Comedy Festival, Bath Music Festival and Bath Fringe festival To launch the comedy and literature versions of the F-rating and in celebration of International Women’s Day on Sunday 8 March, Komedia is hosting a special Krater Comedy Club show, with an all-female line-up. While, on the same day at Bath’s Guildhall, The Independent Bath Literature Festival is holding: Playing Big: Women, Leadership and Power, from 3pm chaired by Viv Groskop, festival artistic director, with Tara Mohr, author of Playing Big, Julia Hobsbawm, Professor of networking at Cass Business School and Katrine Marcal, author of Who Cooked Adam Smith’s Dinner?

Now it’s your turn, we would like to invite everyone in Bath to join us in F-rating their events, organisations, blogs, products and premises. Wherever there is a glimmer of equality in the city, specifically in places traditionally male dominated, we would like to hear about it and shine a light on it. Let’s make Bath the first ever F-rated city! n Join Holly Tarquini on Facebook.com/BeF.Rated,

Turn your attention from pictures of kittens and Kim Kardashian and follow instead @TEDtalks, which has 4.37 million followers. In a nutshell these are short informative talks by experts in their field. Its ethos is ‘ideas worth spreading’ and it’s free. A world of knowledge at the click of a mouse.

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Follow us on Twitter @thebathmagazine Contact us: Editor Tel: Email:

Georgette McCready 01225 424592 georgette@thebathmagazine.co.uk

Deputy Editor Email:

Jenny Hayes jenny@thebathmagazine.co.uk

Financial Director Email:

Jane Miklos jane@thebathmagazine.co.uk

Production Manager Email:

Jeff Osborne production@thebathmagazine.co.uk

Art & Design Email:

Zoe Tabourajis zoe@thebathmagazine.co.uk

Publisher Email:

Steve Miklos steve@thebathmagazine.co.uk

Contact the Advertising Sales team tel: 01225 424499 Advertising Sales Email:

Liz Grey liz@thebathmagazine.co.uk

Advertising Sales Email:

Kathy Williams kathy@thebathmagazine.co.uk

The Bath Magazine and The Bristol Magazine are published by MC Publishing Ltd. We are an independent of all other local publications

The Bath Magazine is distributed free every month to more than 20,000 homes and businesses throughout Bath and the surrounding area. We also have special distribution units in the following city centre stores and coffee shops

2 Princes Buildings, George Street, Bath BA1 2ED Telephone: 01225 424499. Fax: 01225 426677 www.thebathmag.co.uk Š MC Publishing Ltd 2015 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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takes a sideways look at life in Bath

We’re not so much slow as nicely laidback

©www.robbiddulph.com

Mrs Stokes

H

en party season is here, bringing with it a whole gaggle of girls from London booked in for my vintage afternoon tea parties. They remind me of myself when I first arrived in Bath – imbued with the confidence that comes with being more plugged in than us bumpkins. This last lot were Instagram crazy, telling me “Twitter’s boring” and that I should “hashtag everything” – #cakes #afternoontea #lifessurelytooshortforthis.

But as well as enlightening us poor unfortunates in the provinces about the latest way to communicate, these girls also reminded me of how green I was when I arrived, fresh off the First Great Western from Paddington – and how startled I was to hear the local accent. “When I got off the train and asked the way here,” gushed one well-spoken blonde beauty on a civil service graduate fast track, “I just didn’t understand what was being said, it’s so different from London!” (although to be fair, there are a myriad of accents in the capital, but west country generally isn’t one of them).

❝

I stared blankly while my brain flicked through its Filofax of known accents

❝

That took me back to my first night in Bath, when the Tesco delivery driver dropped off my shopping. I remember (somewhat embarrassedly) feeling as if I had moved to another country as I heard him say “shall I leave it ‘ere my luvver?” but didn’t understand him. I stared blankly while my brain flicked through its Filofax of known accents for a translation.

Plus I was already open-mouthed that he helpfully brought the boxes inside instead of just leaving them in the street and driving off as they did when I lived in Hammersmith. It’s these little experiences that create an impression of a place in your mind – on my first day at The Observer Magazine years ago I bumped into my editor near the office who was rushing off to buy olive oil – but not just any old oil – new season olive oil, of course.

Back to the hens, who as well as being bemused by the Bath accent, were also intrigued by how laidback everyone is (which some of them unfairly interpreted as slow), because as anyone who has lived in the capital knows, you spend your life there expecting fast service, fast reactions, fast rudeness and faster walking, whereas in Somerset the only things that travel at breakneck speed are boy racers on country lanes on a Saturday night.

There’s a laissez-faire aura about this region which is one reason so many people like holidaying here – hurry is not in the vocabulary and as long as you’re polite, you’re generally treated with kindness.

Take the Twerton residents described by their neighbours as “lovely” and by their landlord as “really nice”. Never mind that these tenants kept some odd hours, often “dropped off by people in posh cars, and they never stayed very long,” the fact that at least one of them used to give their neighbour a kiss, cuddle and card at Christmas was enough to ingratiate them with the community. It came as such a surprise to neighbours when they were busted for growing a cannabis farm indoors. On reflection a neighbour confessed: “Now and again, we did detect a funny smell, but we didn’t know what it was.” And they weren’t motivated to investigate because of that genuine live-and-let-live tolerance of Bath, which is something we should celebrate – people only put up with each other in London because they’re too afraid/tired of confrontation.

So, in that spirit of laidback living, I’m taking a few months off writing this column now, to soak up the summer and welcome the hoardes of hens to the city. Enjoy The Bath Magazine while I’m gone and hope to see you all very soon. n

@mrsstokeschina WWW.THEBATHMAG.CO.UK

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SPRING | FASHION

Ahead of Bath in Fashion 2015 , March 21 – 29, we plundered the re-vamped Jollys store to welcome in the spring. Photography by Toby Merritt

TAKE A

fresh

LOOK SPRING GODDESS: Harriet wears Lexy in bordeaux, Phase Eight, £295 with bespoke floral headpiece by Bath florist India at Vervain Flowers

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SPRING | FASHION

FUNK IT UP: Rosie in Jaeger silk dress, £175, silk shirt, also Jaeger, £175

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SPRING | FASHION

GO GLOBAL: Rosie wears Phoenix printed dress, £99, Biba and Hattie shoes by Kurt Geiger, £120 Necklaces from a selection from Mint Velvet

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SPRING | FASHION GIRL FOR ALL SEASONS: Harriet in soft blue shirt dress, £135, by Polo Ralph Lauren and shocking pink hat, also Polo Ralph Lauren, £70. Shoes, £130 by Nine West

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SPRING | FASHION

CLASSIC BUYS: Meg wears Sofia bra, £38, and culottes, £24 by Heidi Klum Intimates, with white military shirt, £125, by Ralph Lauren

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SPRING | FASHION

GOT THE ATTITUDE: Meg gives the weekend uniform of jeans (by Calvin Klein, £115) and sweatshirt (Calvin Klein, £80) an urban upgrade with heels by Nine West, £95, and bag by Michael Kors, £130 Opposite Harriet in Polo hat, £70

THANK YOU

PHOTOGRAPHY: Toby Merritt. Tel: 07956 439595 STYLING: Gaby at Voila Styling, Twitter @Voilastyling HAIR: Matt, Mya, Stevie and Louise at Artizan, George Street, Bath. Tel: 01225 447087 MODELS: Rosie, Meg and Harriet from Mustard Models, Bristol.

Tel: 0117 955 1964 CLOTHES: Jollys of Bath/House of Fraser MAKE-UP: Christina at MAC of Jollys ADDITIONAL STYLING: Karen Goodbrand, south west fashion blogger, Mission;Style FLOWERS: India at Vervain Flowers. Twitter @vervainflowers . . . also to Bath in Fashion 2015 for making us think about what we wear. Visit: bathinfashion.co.uk for more inspiration from catwalk shows, talks, shows and other events at this month’s citywide fashfest 20 THEBATHMAGAZINE

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ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE

SKOVBY

DANISH INNOVATION AT YOUR TABLE Over the last 80 years, Danish Company Skovby has proven itself as a leading international brand, producing some of the most amazing Scandinavian furniture creations from some of the simplest designs.

BATH’S LARGEST FURNISHERS

Richard Hayes of TR Hayes furniture store in Bath explores this unique brand in more detail and how ‘simple’ can mean more for your home.

Designed and manufactured completely in Denmark, this family-run Danish brand started with a vision to create sustainable functional furniture, a philosophy that still underpins the brand today. Skovby’s carefully planned designs combine excellent craftsmanship and natural, sustainably sourced materials that add an individual expression to each piece of furniture.

Timeless in its appeal, Skovby’s contemporary designs combine innovative functionality and clean lines that fit perfectly into the modern way of living. Its dining furniture in particular can’t fail to impress, showcasing innovative mould-breaking concepts that have seen a number of designs patented over a period of more than 25 years with the company.

The #37 table is a contemporary piece and features a stylish base with a stainless steel plinth, and by using the two integral extension leaves is able to extend from a six to a comfortable twelve seater. For those with a slightly larger home or family is the #27 dining table. Beautifully crafted, this everyday eight seater table extends to seat 14 with three extension leaves stored under the table top – with available to buy if needed and then seating 20. Simple, without being minimalistic, the #23 has rounded edges which are pleasant to touch and is also available with a dining table top in laminate – the Skovby High 22 TheBATHMagazine

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Pressure Silk Laminate. For those that require a flexible living space #236 coffee table suits perfectly. A clever feature is the hidden switch under the coffee table which operates a batterypowered system which enables the table to smoothly rise to the required height without needing to be cleared first. Simple and elegant in design with a brushed steel base plate, the #236 comes in a number of wooden finishes.

These dining sets can be perfectly complemented by a collection of chairs, sideboards and cabinets, with some models that can be wall mounted for a clean, contemporary look or adapted to sit on either wooden or brushed steel legs.

The individuality that distinguishes all of Skovby’s products provides consumers with the freedom to create a functional contemporary space that meets their every individual taste and need. Through the careful consideration of the real life application of a piece of furniture beyond its aesthetic appeal, paired with the vision to experiment with new ideas and introduce marketchanging innovations, Skovby has amassed a product offer that both excites and inspires.

For more information on the Skovby range please visit the TR Hayes store on London Street or online at www.trhayes.co.uk. Local delivery is free and there is a large customer car park at the side of the store.

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AMONG OUR SOUVENIRS Historian and tour guide Kirsten Elliott and award-winning photographer Neill Menneer have brought out an updated version of their beautiful guide to Bath

T

here are hundreds of books written about Bath, covering every aspect from its natural hot springs to various doomed traffic projects. Although many of these tomes make fascinating reading, they tend towards a specific view of the city, rather than an overall history.

Just over a decade ago two of the city’s prodigious talents, writer Kirsten Elliott and photographer Neill Menneer, got together to produce a history book of Bath featuring beautiful photographs of contemporary scenes of the city. That book, called simply, Bath, was a roaring success, and so publisher Frances Lincoln has reissued an updated version for 2015. It includes the new arrivals, the Thermae Bath Spa, the glass extension at the Holburne Museum and the new SouthGate shopping centre, but it also traces the history of the city from the hills that surround it to some of the people who have helped shape it.

You can tell from the author’s tone that she is experienced at leading walking tours, drawing in those with an academic bent as well as the casual visitor seeking entertainment.

She writes: “The developers and architects of the 18th century have their memorial around them, in the terraces, squares and crescents which together blend into something so special that UNESCO has designated it a World Heritage Site. There is also the other history which can so easily be forgotten: the lives of not only the working people, with their crafts and customs, but also of the desperately poor, whose only hope was parish relief and the charity of strangers. They too have a tale to tell.”

And tell it she does. Some of the stories are well known, others are fascinating nuggets we may well have never have heard before. There’s the story of Bladud, of Richard ‘Beau’ Nash and Ralph Allen. Who knew, for instance, that the chandeliers in the Guildhall originally cost £266 for three? Today, they are priceless. Or that Walcot takes its name from the Saxon word for strangers?

And while Kirsten tells us about the familiar and the unfamilar, Neill’s photography perfectly captures the sunlight on the golden stone.

Some of his viewpoints may be similar to those adopted by amateur photographers, but I’ll wager few of them managed to get the light, shade and composition so carefully right.

Neill has also taken photographs from places the public can’t usually access. So we have a close-up of the golden ceiling of the Theatre Royal, a picture taken from the privately owned gardens of Widcombe Manor, and the chimneypots of the city as seen from the sniper’s viewpoint on the roof of the Guildhall. ■ SHOW AND TELL: Bath by Kirsten Elliott with photographs by Neill Menneer is published in hardback by Frances Lincoln, £25 – the book is an updated version of the original which was published in 2004 WWW.THEBATHMAG.CO.UK

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FACE | THE MUSIC

HE’S THE MAN WHO CAN Mick Ringham talks to entrepreneur Mike Watts, the man who built a toll road at Kelston and made the headlines

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he man behind the first private toll road in over 100 years gives a large grin as I ask him the somewhat predictable question – why

did he do it?

After a pause as if to gather his thoughts, he says: “ I’ve figured out that there are three kinds of people in this world; those who watch things happen, those who make things happen and those who turn round afterwards and say ‘what happened?’” Clearly Mike is one of those who likes to make things happen.

Mike and his wife Wendy live in the village of Kelston, where a year ago they and their fellow commuters into Bath were faced with the massive inconvenience of a 14-mile detour after the main road through to Bath collapsed.

He takes up the story: “We and hundreds of other residents were facing a 14 mile detour twice a day and the council were telling us that it could take up to a year to fix the subsidence on the main road.”

Frustrated, the businessman had a chat with a local farmer who offered the use of a 400-metre stretch of his land to by-pass the landslip. Mike spent many a late night researching the pros and cons 24 THEBATHMAGAZINE

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SPIRIT OF ADVENTURE: Mike Watts pictured in Bath’s historic Guildhall Market at his popular Time Out retro style coffee bar

of the idea and made the big decision to use their home as collateral to finance the Kelston Toll Road. He hired some men to build the road and rented a tollbooth to take the money. Mike’s alternative road opened to drivers on 1 August last year. charging them £2 per journey, and from day one it got national attention.

Mike said: “The whole thing went crazy. I was talking to the national press as well as TV and radio stations, literally within hours of the toll road opening, and then it went global. I had to deal with interviews and calls from New York to Melbourne offering support and wishing me the best of luck.”

Mike is one of life’s doers. He was born in Bath in 1951 and first entered the world of tabloids and broadsheets, as a paperboy at the age of 11.

After leaving school he worked in a small chain of newsagents around Bath and Bristol, before ending up at Johnsons wholesale newsagents then owned by local businessman Malcolm Pearce, who was to become a lifelong friend and mentor.

During the early 1970s Mike moved on to designing and selling shop equipment before opening an American style burger bar called Mickey Finns in

central Bath. A few years later he purchased the lease of a nearby secondhand record store complete with stock and his second business venture Replay Records was born.

Over time, many businesses were to follow including an advertising and information centre, a gaming business and a hologram and photographic gallery. During the recession of the early 1990s his company ran into difficulties.

But Mike is not one to give up and took on various projects, including running a piano bar two nights a week and selling dried flowers from market stalls.

He says: “I learnt a great deal about life during that time and when the chips are down you really do find out who your real friends are.”

Ever the optimist he decided to start over again, on this occasion opening a temporary florist in Bath’s Guildhall Market and it was here, over the flowers, that love was to blossom when he met his future wife Wendy. The couple went on to open the Funtastic Party Shop, closely followed by a fancy dress stall and the Time Out coffee bar, all in the Guildhall Market, which they still operate and are very much part of the market community.

Given that Mike famously lost money on his toll road – after Bath & North

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FACE | THE MUSIC

MIKE’S CHOICES: Perry Como – Catch A Falling Star This song reminds me of my grandmother and it’s the first tune I can really remember. Every time I hear it I can recall singing along to the old 78 record as I danced with my Nan when she played it on her old gramophone which was in the corner of her living room above the fish and chip shop in Julian Road. To this day I can still remember the taste of those chips.

beautifully sung. I remember standing at the bar of the old Penguin Club listening to this and being immediately captivated by its haunting sound – I still am. It has recently been voted the best song of the 20th century, with critics saying that it is not just timeless but ultimately outside of modern music. I feel there’s just no other song quite like it.

This takes me back to 1972 when I owned a bright orange Triumph sports car. I was waiting outside the railway station with the top down, waiting for my girlfriend to arrive from London.

When she jumped in she gave me a quick peck on the cheek and gave me a

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Van the Man and I shared early morning egg sandwiches after a late night out

The Beatles – Love Me Do This is first record I ever bought. It cost six shillings and 8d – that’s about 30p today – but as I was a paperboy six days a week, before and after school and earning the equivalent of 80p a week, spending this was a small fortune to me.

I thought it was so cool going into a record shop for the first time and buying it. I really liked the Beatles and had their name written in coloured Biro all over my school haversack.

Frank Sinatra – Strangers in the Night I was on holiday in Jersey with my family and the year was 1968. I pressed the wrong button on the hotel’s jukebox and instead of T Rex being played this record came on. I thought, ‘well I’ve paid for it so I might as well listen’ and I’ve been hooked ever since. No one sounds like him or for that matter phrases the lyrics in such a way. I believe I have every song he has recorded and if I could sing, this is the number I would choose.

Glen Campbell – Wichita Lineman This is a Jimmy Webb number, WWW.THEBATHMAG.CO.UK

POETS OF OUR TIME: left, Leonard Cohen You Got Me Singing – ‘You got me singing Even tho’ it all looks grim You got me singing The Hallelujah hymn’ – and Van Morrison’s Hymns to the Silence

Neil Young – Out On the Weekend

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East Somerset Council repaired the landslip ahead of schedule, would he do it all again? “Of course I would. After all, what I did achieve was to give people an option, it’s true I lost money, but at the very least I tried and I’m happy with that.”

Mike’s next venture has yet to be fully unveiled. All he will say is that it involves one of Bath’s famous decorated lions, Elvis and a trip to Las Vegas.

Watch this space, as they say . . .

cassette of Neil Young’s Harvest album.

I put it on straight away and was hooked immediately. At the time I had never heard anything so unique and to this day I love everything Neil Young does.

Dire Straits – Sultans of Swing Every time I hear this I get taken back to my old burger bar Mickey Finn’s. I remember my former business partner running in with this record and saying: “You just have to listen to this!” He was so right; it was and still amazing. We played it every day over and over again and that image of that old grill full of burgers and this record playing at full volume at 3am, will never leave me.

that’s another story! He is an incredible person, totally dedicated to his art as well as a being multi-talented musician.

This album is simply beautiful – it’s him as a poet at the top of his game.

Tony Bennett and Billy Joel – New York State of Mind My wife Wendy and I often have a glass or two of wine and spontaneously dance around the kitchen table and when we’ve finished we put on Bennett’s late night bluesy album Playing with Friends.

This is my favourite track by these two talented guys and it’s no wonder that Sinatra said that Bennett is the singer’s singer. It doesn’t get better than this.

Leonard Cohen – You Got Me Singing I have always loved Cohen and found it incredibly difficult to choose just one song from such a vast back catalogue of his work. But this track from his latest album Popular Problems is absolutely fantastic. He has always been one of my favourite artists and I never tire of listening to that amazing voice. There aren’t many days when I don’t play one of his records and to think this man is over eighty and still hip is astounding.

Wendy Race – Hallelujah An extraordinary song, written and recorded by Leonard Cohen along with a host of other famous artists. However it’s taken to another level when sung by Wendy Race, who happens to be my wife! She is a truly an amazing singer and has sung professionally for many years in her native Australia. The first time she sang this the hairs on the back of my neck stood up and still do every time she performs it. I’m very proud of her and so happy she’s my wife – hallelujah! ■

Van Morrison – Hymns to the Silence He is, in my opinion the greatest British songwriter/musician we have today. Van is a true master of lyrics and his melodies remain instantly recognisable. I have been lucky enough to meet up with him on many occasions – Van the Man and I shared early morning egg sandwiches after a late night out, but MARCH 2015

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WEEKEND WARRIORS If your man has started shaving his legs, spends a lot of time in cafés and has tried to hide how much he’s spent on his latest piece of equipment, chances are he’s part of the growing army of cyclists on our roads.

Hannah Sturgeon meets some of the stalwarts of the Bath cycling community

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haul of Gold medals won by British cyclists. Then in 2013 Wiggins went on to win the Tour of Britain and sales of bicycles began to soar, with Halfords, among others, reporting an 18% increase in sales – in what quickly became dubbed the Bradley Wiggins effect.

Bradley Wiggins or not, and despite its very hilly terrain, Bath has seen a steady increase in all things pedal powered. In the last few years more bike shops have opened and bike-friendly cafés are to be found in every neighbourhood.

Cyclists on the streets and hills abound and for good reason too, within minutes of leaving the centre, you can enjoy some of the most breath-taking, cycling country around.

Adding to this popularity, 2013 saw the opening of the TwoTunnels, creating a much-needed cycling route around the city, as well as giving the local tourist industry another USP. The Combe Down tunnel is over a mile long making it the longest cycling tunnel in Britain.

The Two Tunnels, which saw more than 250,000 trips made through it in its first 12 months of opening, is now listed on

PEDAL POWER: main picture, Peloton by Simon Spilsbury Right, Mariajo’s postcard for The Café Society in Bath

TripAdvisor as a tourist destination, alongside suggested pit-stops for food and drink nearby.

Just weeks after the Two Tunnels opened, a new road circuit was unveiled in Odd Down, thanks to a large grant from British Cycling and support from Bath and North East Somerset Council.

Last year Bath was host to Stage Six of The Tour of Britain, which continued to swell its cycling status.

Cycle Bath, a group committed to cycling, supports B&NES in its efforts

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The Two Tunnels . . . is now listed on Trip Advisor as a tourist destination

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unday mornings, once left to the devout, while the rest of us fried eggs and read the papers, has been silently handed over to the ever-increasing population of so-called MAMILs – the middle aged men in Lycra. They take advantage of the weekend to don their super stretchy, sweat-proof, head-to-toe kit to seek out the mind-expanding joys of cycling on quiet Sunday roads. Eager to inhale the rich countryside air, while enjoying the sweet sound of wheels whipping along the black top, these men of speed are fuelled by nothing more than coffee and their very own – probably hair-free – legs.

Cycling is huge, and growing, and nowhere more so than right here in Bath – this is one mode of transport that will not be sidelined.

For years it was a marginal sport revered by a handful of enthusiasts and passionate hardcore cyclists. But 2012 was the year cycling went mainstream.

For the first time in the history of the Tour de France, a Brit: Bradley ‘Wiggo’ Wiggins walked away with the Yellow Jersey.

That same year, the Olympics saw a

to improve existing and develop new cycle infrastructure. In the last year, the group cleared the river path embankments to make it safer, and they recently helped the council put a bid together for a grant which could have a huge impact on the west side of Bath, providing cycling routes from Weston

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CITY | LIFE

and Newbridge into the heart of the city.

Adam Reynolds, Cycle Bath Chair, says: “TheTwo Tunnels has put cycling in Bath on the map in Europe making it a big cycling, tourist attraction as well as delivering massive benefits to the local communities, schools and businesses along the route.”

The Odd Down track circuit has also been phenomenally successful. Local club Sulis Scorpions, a cycling club for 7 to 16-year-olds uses it to train the cyclists of the future.

Meanwhile, the council run the Go By Bike scheme enabling people to cycle confidently and other cycling events including Cyclocross and Time Trials are held there.

Richard Best has always had a love of bikes. He cycled from John o’Groats to Lands End when he was 17 with just £50 in his pocket. Not only did he live off his wits but he also raised money for victims of the Falklands War and in his adventures discovered that the humble bicycle the best way to get around.

Richard is founder of Bike Bath, a family friendly sportive which since its launch in 2012 has grown exponentially year on year. In its first year just 700 riders turned up – this year Richard is expecting about 1,500 cyclists to take part.

The success has seen Richard and his events company Breathing Space develop Bike Oxford, The Carter Jonas Pedalthon in Yorkshire, The Cotswold Crank Up and this autumn he will launch Bike Cape Town.

LET’S TALK BIKE . . .

MAMIL: Middle Aged Man In Lycra Sportive: short or long distance mass-participation cycling event Wiggo: Bradley Wiggins Yellow Jersey - Tour De France: fastest rider & overall winner Cyclocross: cross-country racing on bicycles Shops: John’s Bikes, Cadence , Avon Valley , Randy’s Bikes, Green Park, 73 Degrees, Hare Cycle Works, Bath Bike Workshop, Take Charge Bikes

WWW.THEBATHMAG.CO.UK

Clubs: www.bathcc.net www.vc-walcot.com www.bathunicc.tridougie.com www.saltandsham.co.uk @follyflyers www.cyclebath.org.uk www.somervalley.org.uk www.sulisscorpions.co.uk Get Involved: www.cyclebath.org.uk www.spilsbury.bigcartel.com www.bikebath.com www.society-cafe.com

He says: “Living here we have the most fantastic cycling territory – you can cycle out of the city in any direction and be spoilt for choice. I could see there was a need for a sportive in Bath, one that is inclusive of families and firmly rooted in local products.”

Richard created Bike Bath which begins and finishes at The Rec in the centre of the city, to provide a safe sportive for all ages, abilities and one that supports female cyclists as well as the local business community, clubs and charities. “We think that Bath is an independent, high-quality product experience itself – and that is very important.”

Illustrator, Simon Spilsbury lives in Bath and regularly rides: “You ride up and out of the bowl and it hurts, that first climb, but afterwards you feel how good it is and after all hills are places for humour.”

You might have seen Simon’s work.

His prints and cards can be found in Bloomsbury, in cycling shops, online and on any self-respecting cyclist’s wall at home. He drew the coveted, limited edition posters, for the participants of Bike Bath and his work can be seen in Taschen’s 100 Global Illustrators Best of the Best.

The Mamil has come in for a bit of ribbing in the media, but as Simon says: “They are just blokes getting fit. Many of the 50-year-olds who cycle are much fitter than a lot of 20-year-olds.” As hobbies go, spending a bit of hard earned dosh on a custom-built carbon fibre road bike and fantasising that you’re part of the Tour de France is pretty harmless compared to say, the leisure interests of Christian Grey.

Simon’s right – you often see them, these lean, Lycra-clad cyclists in their 50s, 60s and 70s, swooping at breakneck speed down valleys as free as birds, their calves bulging as they power their way up the hills.

They look stronger and a lot fitter than the chaps you see sitting behind the wheels of their cars.

Bath Cycling Club is the UK’s oldest cycling club. Established in 1880, 70 years before spandex was even a twinkle in Joseph Shivers eye and penny-farthings were all the rage, the history and respect of this club is notable through its distinguished past.

Its younger counterpart is VC Walcot, a club which at just ten years old has seen its numbers grow from 15 to more than 100, and last year was nominated as the Bath Community Club of The Year at the Bath Sports Awards.

Both of these clubs welcome new members so if you fancy taking your cycling further, join them on one of their Saturday or Sunday rides.

There are plenty of other cycling clubs including one for the youngsters the Sulis Scorpions, the Folly Flyers - Bath’s biggest unofficial cycling group, Bath University CC, not to forget local clubs, Somer Valley CC, Salt and Sham and Timsbury.

Just as Bath CC moved with the times in 1929 when the previously all-male club opened its doors to women, so do many of the clubs and sportives today actively encourage female cyclists, youths and families.

George Schwiening, Women’s Captain at Bath University CC, says: “My advice for women wanting to get in to cycling is to join a local club, get stuck in and meet some great people. A lot of cycling clubs have women’s rides or are split into groups based on speed so everyone gets to ride at a pace that is comfortable for them.”

She adds: “Cycling really is accessible, it just requires you to get out the door.

Opportunities in women’s cycling are increasing and lots of people are putting in the effort to organise events for women. All these events need is for women to turn up and have a go. Once this happens and demand increases, more fantastic events can develop and grow.”

But just in case you’re concerned, it’s not all Lycra, pain and hills – the social side of cycling is a vital element in which participants can re-live and share their finest moments.

Adrian Campbell-Howard, owner of The Society Café, which supports and encourages the cycling community, hosted the launch party for Bike Bath last year. Adrian says: “We have more regular exhibitions that are cycling related and when the Tour de France is on we show it on our screen downstairs.

Caffeine helps to give you a bit of kick.

If you’ve got a few hills to tackle then a few espressos work very nicely. Being able to pull up at a nice café half way through a ride and ‘re-fuel’ has long been a part of cycling culture.”

This is a community who support each other whatever club, group or sportive they might subscribe to, or not, and for that we should all be grateful and hell, why don’t we join them? The full cycling kit is not compulsory – jeans and a t-shirt, teamed with a safety helmet are fine – and neither is the caffeine, but space for cyclists and encouraging an alternative, safe way to travel around our beautiful countryside and city definitely is. ■

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CITY | TRENDING

Style

NOTES

Get well groomed for spring with a collection of highly covetable stuff for men ROLEX CELLINI From the new Cellini collection, the Rolex Cellini Dual Time in 18ct Everose Gold. EP Mallory & Son Ltd 1-5 Bridge Street, Bath BA2 4AP. Tel: 01225 788800. www.mallory-jewellers.com £12,900

HALL OF FRAME Cutler and Gross' stylish acetate sunglasses have been worn by several icons of eyewear, including Messrs Elton John, Jarvis Cocker and Michael Caine. This black round-frame style is truly classic, and will work with smart dress as well as casual. Try wearing them to finish off a suited look with panache. Cutler & Gross, £310

A2 MADE TO MOVE Beautifully engineered, powerful and portable Bluetooth speaker featuring True360 sound and up to 24 hours battery life. The sweet spot is everywhere.

Just listen and enjoy.

Bang & Olufsen of Bath. 3 Fountain Buildings, Bath BA1 5DU. Tel: 01225 445211. £299

CUFFLINKED IN Pair of cushion cut Ceylon sapphires, total 1.8ct, set in 9ct white and yellow gold mounts with a chain link.

Gold & Platinum Studio Ltd., 19 Northumberland Place, Bath BA1 5AR. Tel: 01225 462300. £895

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SCENT OF A GENT One of Englands finest perfumers, Penhaligons has launched a new fragrance as part of its Trade Routes collection; As Sawira is a sensual and exotic blend, with magical head notes of bergamot and saffron, alongside the bitter herbal hints of absinthe.

Mellowing to base notes of musk and cedarwood. Perfectly traditional and distinguished. Visit www.penhaligons.com to buy online or locate a store. £150 (100ml)

DENTS HERITAGE BELTS 1. Black crocodile print feather edge belt £49.00.

2. Brown classic feather edge belt £45.00 (also shown here in black 3.)

Buy online at: www.dents.co.uk

1 2

3

THE PERFECT SLIM SHIRT From Paul Smith. Available in navy, white and blue.

John Anthony 26-28 High Street, Bath BA1 1RG Tel: 01225 424066. www.john-anthony.com £100

WARRIOR ON WHEELS Super lightweight, super fast, super aerodynamic bike.

Specialized S-Works Venge Dura-ace Di2 .

Total Fitness, 3 Saracen Street, Bath BA1 5BR. Tel: 01225 444164. sales@totalfitnessbath.co.uk £8,000

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DRESSED TO THRILL Bath in Fashion 2015 is staging all kinds of events at venues across Bath from Saturday 21 to Sunday 29 March. We’ve pulled back the dressing room curtains to drag a few of the highlights out of the wardrobe

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here’s something for every sort of follower of fashion in this month’s festival of clothes, from the deeply academic and historic to the deeply dippy and frivolous. Whether your thing is building up your own designer label or simply the pleasure of pulling on a beautiful dress, Bath in Fashion 2015 offers something for every style.

The highly regarded Royal School of Needlework (RSN) is coming to Bath on a rare visit to share its fashion embellishing skills and show gorgeous hand embroidery techniques at two Beautiful Buttons workshops on Wednesday 25 March in the lifestyle shop Anthropologie.

RSN degree students’ work will be displayed, with students demonstrating their hand embroidery skills.

The collaboration between Anthropologie and the RSN is a natural fit, with Anthropologie’s policy of encouraging and supporting new talent and design and the Royal School of Needlework leading the way in bespoke hand embroidery and being much in demand by the global fashion industry.

Tickets for the Beautiful Button workshops are on sale on the Bath in Fashion 2015 website, visit: bathinfashion.co.uk. Each two and a half hour workshop gives fashionistas the opportunity to create their own embellished and embroidered over-sized buttons as fashion accessories.

The RSN’s course, a BA Hons in hand embroidery for fashion, interiors, textile art, is the only course of its kind in Europe and introducing a showcase of students’ work is sure to create a buzz and draw interest from the fashion world and prospective students.

Learn more about the college’s involvement in embellishing items for the fashion industry at an illustrated lecture by the RSN’s chief executive, Dr Susan Kay-Williams also on 25 March at 2pm in the Tea Rooms, Assembly Rooms.

The vintage element of Bath in Fashion is always popular, pulling in a crowd of regular lovers of retro as well as winning new fans, attracted by the quality and style of clothes, accessories and furnishings made by tailors and craftspeople of the past. This year’s big Vintage Fashion Fair takes place at Green 30 THEBATHMAGAZINE

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Park Station on Sunday 29 March, from 9.30am until 4pm.

Entrance to the market is free and there’ll be more than 50 stalls selling everything vintage from men and women’s clothing to homeware, furniture and art.

The Jaeger brand is renowned for its classic pieces – the camel coat, the little black dress, the trench – which it manages to make timeless and relevant in a modern fashion collection. This talk, on Tuesday 24 March at 6pm in the Assembly Rooms, is hosted by Sheila McKain-Waid, creative director at Jaeger. She will be in conversation with Amy de la Haye, fashion historian and professor at the London College of Fashion. Tickets: £12.

Get swept along in the excitement of New York Fashion Week as American fashion designer Anna Sui comes to Bath

GRAND ENTRANCE: top Bath in Fashion will host runway shows as part of its varied programme For tickets visit: Bathinfashion.co.uk or tel: 0844 847 5256 Right, some of the dresses from Great Names of Fashion at the Fashion Museum in Bath

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to talk to fashion writer Hywel Davies on Friday 27 March from 4pm at the Assembly Rooms.

Anna Sui takes her inspiration from a range of cultural sources, from Victorian cowboys and Warhol superstars to Finnish textile prints. Her energy and creative talent make her shows a high point of New York Fashion Week.

Tickets: £15 includes tea and coffee.

Also on Friday 27 March, at 11.30am in the Assembly Rooms is a book signing and talk about interior and fashion designer Thea Porter (1927– 2000), who was a pioneer of boho chic in 1970s London. Her clients numbered Pink Floyd and The Beatles, Faye Dunaway, Elizabeth Taylor and Barbra Streisand.

Thea Porter’s daughter Venetia will be in conversation with Laura McLaws Helms who has edited a new book to accompany an exhibition currently being staged at the Fashion and Textile Museum in London, which runs until 3 May. Laura McLaws Helms is a fashion historian, writer and design consultant.

The guest curator of Thea Porter: Bohemian Chic, with Dennis Nothdruft, at the Fashion and Textile Museum, London. Venetia Porter is curator of Islamic and contemporary Middle East art at the British Museum. Tickets: £12.

We might be in a city famous for its

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gorgeous Georgian architecture, but how often do we get the chance to imagine what it was really like to be an 18th century lady or gentleman. You can always pop into the Fashion Museum and try on a bonnet or cape in its dressing-up corner (adult sizes are avilable), or if you wanted to immerse yourself more thoroughly into the world of the Georgians, get along to No 1 Royal Crescent museum on Saturday 28 March.

Treat yourself to a historic makeover in the beautiful surroundings of this Georgian townhouse. Choose a costume, have your make-up done, followed by a professional photoshoot with photographer Andy Maybury.

Georgian mkeovers cost £12.50 (includes admission into No1). You will need to book your Georgian makeover, visit: no1royalcrescent.org.uk or call Kate Rogers on 01225 428126.

Or you could visit the fabulous interiors of No. 1 Royal Crescent that day wearing your own 21st century dress and discover more about why the Georgians were obsessed with appearance. There will be fashion demonstrations and the chance to try on costumes. Free with normal admission. ■

GREAT NAMES OF FASHION

The Fashion Museum in Bath, with its treasure chest of costumes and accessories from centuries past to the present day, is required visiting by anyone who has an interest in the way we dress, or who simply enjoys looking at exquisite and luxurious clothes.

The new show, Great Names of Fashion, opened at the end of January and features some of the biggest designers through the ages. It includes names such as Dior, Balenciaga, Vionnet and Yves Saint Laurent and invites us to think about their influence on subsequent design. This new display at the Fashion Museum showcases beautiful evening dresses by some of the great names of fashion history from the early 20th century to the present day. From the jewelled key motifs on Elsa Schiaparelli’s (1890 – 1973) powder blue evening dress to the strapless gown with a skirt made of metres of knife-pleated white silk organdie by Christian Dior (1905 – 1957), this display is a fascinating static catwalk which struts through fashion history.

There’s plenty of time to enjoy this unique collection as Great Names runs until January 2017.

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WHAT’S ON in March EVENTS ARE LISTED IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER THE CHURCHFITTERS Sunday 1 March, 7.30pm ■ Chapel Arts Centre, Lower Borough Walls, Bath BA1 1QR Mike Harding is a fan of this unique folk band which features three virtuoso musicians from England and France who strut their stuff on a stage that bristles with instruments – adding flute, banjo, dulcimer, tin whistle, guitar, ukulele, electric hub-cap bass-bouzouki and a sackful of percussion to their ensemble. And the unique ‘bing-bong’ machine made out of hack-saw blades. Tickets from £10, tel: 01225 461700 or visit: chapelarts.org.

Also at Chapel Arts this month TRIBUTE NIGHT: EDDIE COCHRAN MEETS ROY ORBISON Friday, March 20, 7.30pm Two of the finest tribute artistes perform the hits of Eddie Cochran and Roy Orbison. Coming all the way from Texas, Lars Young creates an uncanny performance as Roy Orbison and his voice emulates faultlessly that of his hero. Revisit the hits, from Oh, Pretty Woman and Only The Lonely to Crying and Dream Baby. Eddie Cochran died young, in 1960, when he was involved in a car crash outside Chippenham. He died at St Martin’s Hospital in Bath. Liverpudlian Gavin Stanley who will be familiar to fans of Brookside and Coronation Street, recreates hits such as Summertime Blues, C’mon Everybody, Twenty Flight Rock and Three Steps To Heaven. Tickets from £13.

Mi Flamenco

Phil Beer

Tristan Sturrock

Oh! What a Lovely War

PHIL BEER (SOLO) AND THE PHIL BEER BAND Thursday 12 March and Friday 13 March, from 7.30pm ■ Chapel Arts Centre, Lower Borough Walls, Bath BA1 1QR Two very good reasons to leave the house two nights in a row. Phil Beer, one half of Show of Hands, will be performing solo on the first evening, with a collection of songs and tunes from his new album, Plays Guitar and Fiddle. Sings A Bit. Then on the Friday he’ll stay in Bath to be joined by his band for a treasure trove of traditional tunes and American country rock. Not only can be play virtually every stringed instrument known to mankind, but he’s also an engaging and amusing host. Tickets from £13 (Thurs), £15 (Fri) tel: 01225 461700.

LATIN: MI FLAMENCO Friday, March 27, 7.30pm Mi Flamenco is an international flamenco company which brings creative, authentic flamenco to audiences worldwide. With dancers Ester Tal and Carlos Velazquez and the gypsy singing from Luis El Mono from Jerez de la Frontera in Cadiz Tickets: £15.

How animals heal themselves: talk at the Cats and Dogs home

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KNEEHIGH THEATRE PRESENTS: REBECCA Monday 2 – Saturday 7 March, times vary ■ Theatre Royal, Sawclose, Bath Daphne du Maurier’s multi-layered classic Rebecca is brought to the stage by the superlative Cornish Kneehigh Theatre Company and visits Bath as part of a national tour. Featuring Tristan Sturrock as Maxim de Winter this study in jealousy will sell fast. Tickets: tel: 01225 448844, visit: theatreroyal.org.uk.

Also at the Theatre Royal this month OH! WHAT A LOVELY WAR Monday 9 – Saturday 14 March, times vary Joan Littlewood’s musical has been revived to commemmorate the 100th anniversary of the First World War. Direct from the Theatre Royal Stratford East the show features some of the best known songs from the 1914-18 conflict, including Keep the Home Fires Burning and Pack Up Your Troubles in Your Old Kit Bag. KING LEAR Tuesday 17 – 21 March, 7.30pm One of the country’s finest directors and the nation’s true polymaths, Dr Jonathan Miller brings Shakespeare’s tragedy to the stage, featuring the Northern Broadsides Company and Barrie Rutter as the troubled king.

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TALK: HOW ANIMALS HEAL THEMSELVES Tuesday 3 March, 6.30pm ■ Bath Cats and Dogs Home, Claverton Down, Bath Caroline Ingraham will discuss how cats and dogs use herbs and scents for both behaviourial and physical issues. Tickets £10. To book visit: bchd.org.uk or tel: 01225787334.

JAPANESE POETRY: HAIKU AND ITS RHYTHM Thursday 5 March, 7pm ■ The Museum of East Asian Art, Bennett Street, Bath Haiku is Japanese poetry, famous for its brevity. An excellent accompaniment to haiku is sake. This event will explore both in a relaxed and informal atmosphere, as part of the Music in China exhibition programme (until May). Alan Summers, Japan Times awardwinning author, will give an introduction to the important elements of haiku and its history. Award-winning sake provided by the Sake Samurai UK will be available for tasting. Tickets: Friend and student £15, others £20. Tel: 01225 464640.

BATH DECORATIVE ANTIQUES FAIR Friday 6 – Sunday 8 March, 11am – 5pm daily ■ The Pavilion, North Parade Road, Bath This will be the 26th year the fair has been staged in Bath. It’s always a delight to visit, stocking as it does collectables of all kinds, including French painted furniture, early folk art and tactile textiles.

New to the show this year is Bristol based Dig Haushizzle, whose wares are pictured, which specialises in funky, unusual contemporary and industrial inspired furniture and accessories.

Tickets to the exhibition are £3.

EVENT IN AID OF CHILDREN’S HOSPICE SOUTH WEST Saturday 7 March, 7pm ■ Bath Racecourse, Lansdown Bath man Johan Grobler is running the gruelling Marathon des Sables in April. He is organising this black tie event with speakers from the word of sport and adventure and from Children’s Hospice South West.

There’ll be live music, an auction and entertainment. For details, tickets or to get involved/sponsor the event email: runthesaharaevent@gmail.com.

BATH UNIVERSITY STUDENT THEATRE PRESENTS: MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING Thursday 5 – Saturday 7 March 7.30pm ■ The Mission Theatre, Corn Street, Bath The actors from BUST return to The Mission with a contemporary interpretation of one of Shakespeare’s most popular plays. Tickets: £8 (£5 concs) from the ICIA Box Office at University of Bath 01225 386777, visit: bath.ac.uk/icia. Enjoy a meal before the show: The Green Room is open from 6pm. Tel: 01225 428600 to book your table.

Also at The Mission this month THE FOREIGN BLOKE Wednesday 11 and Thursday 12 March at 7.30pm At the Theatre Upstairs Based on Rex Whistler’s enigmatic painting in Bath’s Victoria Art Gallery, Doc Watson, writer, director and performer, and actor Peter Smart, in a series of sketches and scenes. The play is preceded by The Comforts of Bath, a witty view of 18th century Bath based on Thomas Rowlandson’s saucy cartoons and Christopher Anstey’s New Bath Guide. Visit: doc-watson.com. Tickets: £10 (£8 concs) Bath Box Office 01225 463362 online www.bathboxoffice.org.uk.

NEXT STAGE COMPANY PRESENTS THE WEIR Tuesday 24 - Saturday 28 March 7.30pm Conor McPherson’s drama is set in an Irish pub where four local men gather for an evening of drinking. But tonight there is a newcomer, a young Dublin woman. The men seek to impress her with ghost stories.

But she caps all their tales with one of her own, proving that truth is more disturbing than fiction. Tickets: £12 (£10 concs) tel: 01225 428600 email nextstagebath@aol.com.

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WHAT’S | ON STEVEN OSBORNE PIANO & ALBAN GERHARDT CELLO Friday 6 March 7.30pm ■ Wiltshire Music Centre, Ashley Road, Bradford-on-Avon BA15 1DZ Two of the most accomplished musicians cast a magcal spell with a programme that covers Debussy, Schnittke, Messiaen and Beethoven.

Ticket: £22/ £11 under 18s. Visit: wiltshiremusic.org.uk. Tel: 01225 860100.

Also at the Wiltshire Music Centre ENSEMBLE 360 Friday 20 March, 7.30pm British chamber music ensemble comes to Wiltshire with a tribute to Schubert. They’ll be playing his Quartettsatz in C minor and his String Quintet in C (D956) as well as Arensky’s String Quartet No2 in A minor (Op35). Tickets: £18/free for under 25s.

BLUEGRASS AND BEYOND: THE CARRIVICK SISTERS Saturday 28 March, 7.30pm The brilliantly talented musicians, twins Laura and Charlotte Carrivick will be joined by their bandmates in Cardboard Fox and Rachel Eddy, who will bring authentic old-time Appalachian folk music to Wiltshire.

Tickets: £14/£7 under 18s.

The Carrivick Sisters

HATCHED, MATCHED, DISPATCHED AND PATCHED! Saturday 14 March to 1 November ■ The American Museum, Claverton Bath A treasure chest of textiles and objects that commemorate family milestones. There’ll be historic quilts on loan from major collections and some superb costumes. Opening times: noon – 5pm, Tuesday to Sunday, Closed Mondays, except during August and bank holidays.

Admission: adults £10, Over 60s and students £9, Children (5-16 years) £5.50, Family £27.50.

Carly Smallman at the Rondo

BATH MINERVA CHOIR SPRING CONCERT Saturday March 7, 7.30pm ■ St John the Baptist Church, Bathwick An evening of Handel, Hummel and Haydn. The programme includes Zadock the Priest, Let the bright Seraphim, Little Organ Mass,(Missa Brevis) and Mass in B-flat Major. Tickets £15, tel: 01225 463362 or visit: bathminervachoir.co.uk.

THE WEST OF ENGLAND WEDDING SHOW Saturday 7 – Sunday 8 March, 10am – 5pm ■ The Passenger Shed, Brunel’s Old Station, Station Approach, Bristol Find all the products, services and advice needed for your big day, all under one roof, next to Temple Meads station. More than 80 bridal specialists offer wedding and, bridesmaids dresses, venues, honeymoon destinations, florists, tiaras, stationers, car hire and more. Includes show discounts, catwalks shows and advice from the bridal coach Michele Paradise. Tickets: £5 in advance/£8 on the day. Brides go free with a paying adult when booking in advance. Visit perfectweddingshows.co.uk.

Bath Minerva Choir

CONCERT: SASSPARELLA WITH BREJEIRO Friday 6 March 7.15pm ■ St Bartholomew’s Church, Oldfield Park All-female Bath choir Sassparella will be joined in this joyful celebration

by Brazilian acoustic band Brejeiro. Tickets are £8 in advance from: sassparella.net, or on the door, £10.

MINI MUSIC FESTIVAL Sunday 8 March, from 3.30pm ■ The Bell, Walcot Street, Bath A variety of acts and bands, beginning with Bill Smarme and the Bizness, will be entertaining in the back room of the pub as an affectionate tribute to the late Sue Martin, who loved life and The Bell. Tickets: £10, email: sue@thebellinnbath.com. Money in aid of the Dorothy House hospice.

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West of England Wedding Show

DISCOVER THE PAINTINGS YOU OWN: THE PUBLIC CATALOGUE FOUNDATION LECTURE Monday 9 March, 7pm ■ The Holburne Museum, Great Pulteney Street, Bath Bath Evening Decorative and Fine Arts Society hosts this evening with lecturer Mary Rose Rivett-Carnac, who will talk on the work of the foundation, which has catalogued works of art by more than 37,000

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artists. From Flemish Old Masters to little-known late 20th century Cornish artists, the range of artists in public collections is astonishing.

Pre-booked visitors £7, full-time students free, tel:01225 742819.

Visit:bedfas.co.uk.

THE HARVEST: UK PREMIERE Thursday 12 March – Saturday 11 April, times vary n The Ustinov theatre, Bath Michael Boyd, former artistic director of the Royal Shakespeare Company (2002 – 2012) directs this comedy by Belarusian Pavel Pryazhko, translated by Sasha Dugdale. The playwright examines every area of post-Soviety life with a merciless eye. Tickets from £10, see: theatreroyal.org.uk for more details.

THE TIGER LILIES Thursday 12 March, 8pm n Komedia, Westgate Street, Bath The Grammy nominated godfathers of alternative cabaret are back on tour with a show celebrating 25 years of deviant theatrics. Be prepared to be shocked, surprised and entertained. For different ticket tiers visit: komedia.co.uk.

The Tiger Lilies at Komedia

RICH SEAM THEATRE COMPANY: ROYAL FLUSH Thursday 12 March, 8pm n The Rondo Theatre, St Saviour’s Road, Larkhall, Bath Professional theatre company Rich Seam presents a comedy double-bill with a lavatorial theme. Featuring Victorian inventor Thomas Crapper.

Tickets: £12/£10 concs. Tel: 01225 463362 or visit: bathboxoffice.org.uk.

Also at the Rondo this month COMEDY: CARLY SMALLMAN AND TOM ALLEN Friday 13 March, 8pm Carly brings her show direct from the Edinburgh Festival, but she’s also played the Hammersmith Apollo, while Tom Allen tackles the issues of how to take what life throws at you while still trying to look your best.

Tickets: £12/£10 concs.

LIVE WIRE THEATRE AND BUTTERFLY PSYCHE PRESENT: THE BRONTE SEASON Saturday 14 March, from 3pm Audiences can choose to see Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights or The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, or indulge themselves in a triple Bronte-fest by watching all three. These stories may have been written two centuries ago but they touch on issues which are still relevant today. Tickets: per show or watch all three for £24.

BATH BACH CHOIR: THE ST MATTHEW PASSION Saturday 14 March, 7pm n Bath Abbey The choir is to mark Nigel Perrin’s 25th anniversary as musical director of the choir with a baroque performance of Bach’s St Matthew Passion.

At the core of the work is the Gospel text sung in recitative by a tenor representing the Evangelist, with Christ’s words sung by a bass; the crowd is voiced by the double chorus. The choir is bringing to Bath the baroque orchestra Music for Awhile. The Evangelist will be sung by Nathan Vale, a choral scholar at Wells Cathedral School, who studied at the Royal College of Music where he won first prize and audience prize at the 2006 London Handel Singing Competition. Tickets from £8, visit: bathboxoffice.org.uk or tel: 01225 463 362.

BATH ORCHESTRAL GALA CONCERT: BATH PHILHARMONIA AND KING EDWARD’S SCHOOL Monday 16 March, doors open at 6pm, performance starts at 7pm n The Ball Room at The Assembly Rooms, Bath The city’s resident orchestra Bath Philharmonia will join forces with young musicians from King Edward’s School for a space themed programme. This will include movements from The Planets Suite by Gustav Holst, and contemporary film scores, including music from Apollo 13 and Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back. Tickets: Adults £14, concessions £8. Tel: King Edward’s School box office: 01225 464313 or Email: a.budgett@kesbath.com Continued Page 36 >> WWW.THEBATHMAG.CO.UK

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SHEELANAGIG Saturday 14 March, 7.30pm ■ Pound Arts, Pound Pill, Corsham, Wiltshire SN13 9HX Sheelanagig’s live shows have grown to incorporate aspects of street theatre, elements of storytelling and even acrobatics.

In short, expect mayhem, a lot of laughs and some great music.

Tickets: £12 (£11 concessions) Tel: 01249 701628 or visit: poundarts.org.uk Also at Pound Arts this month LUNCHTIME RECITAL: BEN SOCRATES Wednesday 18 March, 1pm His programme will include works by Debussy, Poulenc, Scarlatti, Brahms and Liszt. Tickets: £7 (£6 concessions) FOREVER FRIENDS APPEAL FIRE WALK Sunday 15 March, 6pm ■ Alexandra Park, Bath The Forever Friends Appeal is inviting people to take part in the challenge of a lifetime, a fire walk being organised by Time4Change and its founder Cliff Mann. Entry is £30 and entrants are expected to raise at least £100 towards The Forever Friends Appeal’s RUH Cancer Care Campaign. To sign up visit: foreverfriendsappeal.co.uk or tel: 01225 821535.

MARY BERRY Friday 20 March, 7.30pm ■ St Swithin’s Church, Walcot, Bath The nation’s favourite baker will be back in the

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city where she grew up to talk about her latest book, Absolute Favourites, which includes recipes for every occasion and anecdotes about her life, family and friends. To book to see Mary, which costs £25, to include a copy of the book, tel: 01225 428111 or call in to Topping & Co. BATH MEN’S WALK Sunday 21 March ■ Eight miles from Winsley, Wiltshire to Bath Recreation Ground Enjoy a well-earned pie and a pint while watching a televised match from the Six Nations tournament at Bath Rugby’s home ground at the end of a healthy walk as part of this fun fund-raising event. Friends, colleagues, fathers and sons are encouraged to get together and sign up for this sponsored walk along the Kennet and Avon Canal to raise funds for Dorothy House Hospice Care and the Bath Rugby Foundation, which works with disadvantaged and vulnerable young people through sport and education projects. Sign up at: bathmenswalk.co.uk.

BATH CANTATA GROUP Saturday 21 March, 7.30pm ■ St Stephen’s Church, Lansdown, Bath The programme comprises Duruflé’s Requiem, Duruflé’s Quatre motets sur des thèmes grégoriens and Handel’s The Ways of Zion do Mourn. Tickets: £12.50 (£5 for students; children free) Bath Box Office 01225 463362,

Sharps and Flats of Bath, Orange Grove 01225 469655, Music Dynamics, Broad Street 01225 332014 and on the door. Soloists: Julia O’Connor, soprano; Gill Clark, alto; Chris Pelmore, tenor; Richard Fitzsimmons, bass and musical director: Neil Moore.

CHRIS DOBROWOLSKI: ALL ROADS LEAD TO ROME Tuesday 24 March, 7.30pm ■ Weston Studio, Arts and Management Building, University of Bath, Claverton Down BA2 7AY Chris has lovingly repaired his family Triumph Herald Estate so that he can drive it from his childhood home in Braintree to Rome via Turin where this quintessentially English car was designed. All Roads Lead to Rome brings together car mechanics, a road trip, dictators and the fetishisation of possessions in a hilarious solo performance using old photos, new film and surprising mechanical objects.

Tickets: £10, £8 concs and UoB staff, £6 UoB students.

Tel: 01225 386777, visit: bath.ac.uk/icia.

LUNCH AND LISTEN WITH ANN WIDDECOMBE Thursday 26 March, 12.30pm ■ Lucknam Park Hotel, nr Colerne, Wiltshire Ann Widdecombe, the former Conservative politician and Strictly Come Dancing star, will be helping to raise funds for St John the Baptist Church, Colerne. The one time Home Office minister will be talking at a fundraising lunch, with stories of her life as a politician, as a Strictly contestant and her current writing Continued Page 38 >>

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Royal School of Needlework Hand Embroidery Classes in Bristol • Join us for fun Day Classes: beginners and all levels welcome • Learn traditional embroidery techniques to a high technical standard on the Royal School of Needlework Certificate and Diploma • Study on our two week Summer Intensive Course in July 2015 Venue: 38 Old School House, Kingswood Estate, Britannia Road, Kingswood, Bristol BS15 8DB

Join us at Bath in Fashion 2015 on 25 March and pre-book for: ‘Beautiful Buttons’ Workshops at 10.30am & 2pm Anthropologie, New Bond Street ‘Embellishing Fashion’ Lecture, at 2pm Assembly Rooms For more information visit www.royal-needlework.org.uk Contact Anne Butcher - T: 020 3166 6937 anne.butcher@royal-needlework.org.uk RCN 312774

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career. Tickets are £60, to include a pre-lunch drink and three course lunch. All funds will go towards Project 825, the appeal for St John the Baptist church. To book call Celia Batterham on 01225 744809 or email celia@ washmeres.co.uk.

BATH IN FASHION: SELVEDGE FAIR Saturday 28 March, noon to 5pm n The American Museum, Claverton, Bath The Selvedge magazine fair comprises an exclusive selection of 25 makers offering a host of antique textiles, fashion, homeware and haberdashery. Admission £6/£5 concessions, includes admission to museum gardens and grounds.

ITALIANISSIMO!: THE FRESHFORD SINGERS Saturday 28 March, 7.30pm n Holy Trinity Church, Combe Down, Bath Bernard Wright conducts Italian Baroque choral music with organ and small chamber orchestra accompaniment. Free admission with a retiring collection in tribute to two late members of the choir, Mary Clemes and Barbara Wright in aid of the Peggy Dodd Day Centre for dementia sufferers at Combe Down. For more details tel: 01225 723324.

PARAGON SINGERS: MUSIC FOR HOLY WEEK Saturday March 28, 7.30pm

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aim is to provide Christian homes for life for young people with learning difficulties. Cappella Nova is a chamber choir of around 25 singers founded in 2001 and based in and around Bath. From 2011 to 2014 the choir raised over £7,500 for charity. Visit: cappellanova.org.uk. Tickets: £12 (£10 for under-16s) tel: 01225 463362, or visit: bathboxoffice.org.uk.

PLANNING AHEAD BATH PHILHARMONIA PRESENTS TIM HUGH, CELLO Thursday, 16 April, 7.30pm n Bath Abbey, Bath The internationally acclaimed soloist will be playing Shostakovich’s Cello Concerto No. 1 and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 3 Eroica.

Tickets: £28/22/18 (£5 unreserved), tel: 01225 463362, Visit: bathboxoffice.org.uk.

Robert Plant and the Shapeshifters n Church of St Alphege, Oldfield Lane, Bath BA2 3NR Paragon Singers return to the wonderful acoustic of St Alphege church to perform sublime music for Holy Week. Tomas Luis de Victoria wrote his Lamentations to be sung on Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday. Their restrained passion provides a perfect foil to the dramatic virtuosity of James MacMillan’s Tenebrae Responsories. Tickets: £12/£6 from Bath Box Office, tel: 01225 463362.

SING JOYFULLY: CAPPELLA NOVA Saturday 28 March, 7.30pm n St Michael’s Without Church, Broad St, Bath Featuring music for six festivals in the church year, including Mendelssohn Six Seasonal Motets, Byrd Sing Joyfully and Allegri Miserere.

In aid of The Life Project local charity whose

ROBERT PLANT AND THE SENSATIONAL SPACE SHIFTERS Friday 10 July n Westonbirt Aboretum, near Tetbury After nearly 50 years in music, mighty voiced, tousled locked, former Led Zep frontman Plant, continues to surprise and challenge his audience. The show includes tracks from the 2014 album, new interpretations of Led Zeppelin classics and other solo material from a long and very successful career. Tickets £48.50 (plus £4.85 booking fee) tel: 03000 680400 or visit: forestry.gov.uk/music. n

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BATH PHILHARMONIA TIM HUGH, cello

THURSDAY, 16 APRIL, BATH ABBEY, 7:30PM Shostakovich - Cello Concerto No. 1 Beethoven - Symphony No. 3 “Eroica”

“….every phrase was transmitted with a depth and subtlety, rare even from the greatest players.”

The Strad Magazine

WWW.THEBATHMAG.CO.UK

Tickets: £28/22/18 (£5 unreserved) Available at the Bath Box Office 01225 463362, www.bathboxoffice.org.uk

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CITY | ART

RUBENS WITH JOKES

The humour and warmth of 20th century British painter Beryl Cook is celebrated with a major retrospective of her work coming to the Victoria Art Gallery this month – including pieces not seen before in public

H

ers are characters we see as we go about our daily lives in Bath. The good humoured group of women pushing a car through what might be Oldfield Park, the friendly customers chatting as they enter a café in Twerton, or the locals giving their barmaid appraising looks in a pub in Weston. Beryl Cook had the knack of capturing Everywoman and Everyman going about their lives.

Invariably the viewer responds to her paintings with a smile. These big thighed, broad bosomed ladies are confident as they enjoy a dance or a drink with friends. Not for them the misery of the slimming class or the gym.

They seize life with both fat fingered hands. We recognise them as they are people we know in our own lives, our own auntie, neighbours and friends.

It’s interesting to note that the artist was an intensely shy person. Beryl Cook sat quietly in the corner of pubs, in strip joints and gay bars, observing and taking in conversations, the exchange of glances, of couples interacting.

A new restrospective exhibition of Beryl Cook’s work opens at Bath’s Victoria Art Gallery on Saturday 7 March, showing around 60 of her paintings spanning her entire career. It’s been four years since a major show of her work was held in Bristol and more than six years after the popular artist’s 40 THEBATHMAGAZINE

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death. And it’s the first time that many of these pieces have been seen in public as they are in private collections or owned by the artist’s family.

The exhibition has been put together

by Peter Slade, owner of the Alexander Gallery in George Street, Bath, who knew Beryl for 30 years and is a fan of her work.

“I think this exhibition will be very popular,” he said: “There’ll be none of the library hush of some shows. Her work makes people smile, it makes them giggle. Her paintings feature real people in real scenes of 20th century British life.”

Peter first came across Beryl’s work in 1976 not long after she had taken up painting. Hers is an extraordinary story as she grew up in Surrey with no signs of becoming an artist, leaving school at 14 and going on to work in the fashion industry. It was only after she married and had her son John that she first picked up a paintbrush.

John was working for the Alexander Gallery in London in 1976 when his boss saw her painting of a buxom barmaid in a Sunday Times feature. Her work earned her instant affection with readers. One wrote to her: “I saw your paintings in paper this morning and laughed so much I fell out of bed.”

Peter’s boss Jim Fardon was one of those who was charmed by her work and his gallery, the Alexander began selling her limited edition prints and has

FAMILIAR FACES: Top left, Lockyer Tavern, top right, Elvira’s Café, and below right, A good little runner

continued to do so till this day. While the Victoria Art Gallery runs its two month show Peter will be running an exhibition concurrently at Edgar Buildings in George Street.

The British public took Beryl’s work to their hearts and she quickly acquired status as a national treasure, held in affection like those other grande dames, actress June Whitfield, comedian Victoria Wood or writer Beryl Bainbridge. It was Victoria Wood who dubbed her work as being like Rubens with jokes.

She may have enjoyed humour and fun, but Beryl had a horror of being in the limelight herself. There was one South Bank Show documentary made by Melvyn Bragg, but as we can see from

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CITY | ART

OBSERVING: left to right, Ahoy There! sees a pair of women heading for a jolly on the Bristol Packet, Bristol Harbourside, a self portrait TV Interview, and Busking

her self-portrait TV Interview, she didn’t like seeing herself on screen. Peter tells the story of when she was awarded an OBE in the Queen’s Honours.

“She was a great admirer of the Queen and would happily have gone to Buckingham Palace to receive her award,” he says, “but what she couldn’t bear was the idea of spending hours and hours in a room crowded with all those people.” Instead she chose the option of receiving her OBE quietly and without ceremony from the Lord Lieutenant of her county. She was always at pains to make her work accessible to all,

producing limited edition prints which are still available to buy, along with illustrations for books, cards and calendars.

As we explore her paintings today they have the power to charm us. She delighted in the extrovert and the flamboyant – to the extent of buying pairs of high heeled shoes just so she could include them in paintings.

If you go down to the publicly owned gallery on the corner of Pulteney Bridge over the next few months, expect to see smiles breaking out as Cook continues to serve her recipe for sheer joy. ■

BERYL COOK: INTIMATE RELATIONS Saturday 7 March – 6 May Bath & North Somerset Council run Victoria Art Gallery, Bath A retrospective of over 50 oil paintings by one of Britain’s best loved artists encompassing her career from her very first painting, Hangover, to Tommy Dancing, completed just before her death in May 2008. The show includes paintings never seen in public before and signed limited editions for sale.

Entrance: £3.50/concs/under 21s free.

nick cudworth gallery

REAR WINDOWS A view of the rear of Marlborough Buildings - Oil on canvas and prints

LOOK THROUGH ANY WINDOW 3 - 31 March

DOWNLOAD YOUR

F UNDRAISING PACK

An exhibition of paintings and prints that explore the attraction of windows.

Seen from outside usually at dusk when lights go on enhancing the prospect of activity within.

5 London Street (top end of Walcot Street), Bath BA1 5BU tel 01225 445221 / 07968 047639 gallery@nickcudworth.com www.nickcudworth.com

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ART | EXHIBITIONS

LOOKING GOOD

With the first days of spring the city’s art galleries are bursting with colour that you’ll want to dive into or even take home to adorn your own walls DAVID SIMON CONTEMPORARY 3 – 4 Bartlettt Street, Bath BA1 2QZ tel: 01225 460189 visit: davidsimoncontemporary.com Open: Monday – Saturday 10am – 6pm, Sunday afternoons

Erin Petson for Lacroix

ILLUSTRATORS: FOR BATH IN FASHION 2015 14 March – 11 April To celebrate Bath in Fashion 2015, and as the next-door gallery to Bath’s world famous Fashion Museum, David Simon Contemporary and its adjoining shop Article are showcasing a contemporary exhibition by some of the most exciting, current, fashion illustrators in the industry. Jaqueline Bissett, Helen Bullock, Erin Petson and Sarah TanatJones are illustrators who have worked with top names in fashion, from Dior and Prada to Ralph Lauren, John Galliano, Louis Vuitton, Liberty and Stella McCartney. The show is accompanied by paintings of London fashionistas by Julian Bailey. Julian studied at the Ruskin School and the Royal Academy and exhibits regularly at the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition, and solo exhibitions in London, Australia and the States. A selection of ceramics, prints, cards and jewellery is featured in Article.

The Bather

by Sarah Tanat-Jones

Dark Star by Alexandra De Laszlo of Bath Open Studios ROYAL UNITED HOSPITAL Main Corridor, Combe Park, Bath Open daily 8am – 8pm BATH OPEN STUDIOS AND OLD BAKERY ARTISTS Until 17 April Ahead of the city’s four Open Art Trails which take place in May artists have come together to put on an exhibition of around 100 pieces.

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VICTORIA ART GALLERY

By Pulteney Bridge, Bath Open Tuesday – Saturday, 10am – 5pm, Sundays, 1.30pm – 5pm Tel: 01225 477233.

NATIONAL GALLERY MASTERPIECE TOUR: CANELETTO’S REGATTA ON THE GRAND CANAL 7 March – 3 May A rare opportunity to see one of Canaletto’s finest works outside London. Dating from

around 1740, it depicts Venice’s annual carnival regatta. A gondola race observed by thousands of figures, painted with all of Canaletto’s characteristic bravura and brilliance. Find out more with Art Store Tours. Free, but book in advance on 01225 477232. Wednesdays 18 March, 15 April, from noon-12.45

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ART | EXHIBITIONS

HILTON FINE ART 5 Margarets Buildings, Bath BA1 2LP Open Tuesdays to Saturdays 10am – 5.30pm Tel: 01225 311311

Spring in Eden (1952) by Ivon Hitchens HOLBURNE MUSEUM Great Pulteney Street, Bath GWEN JOHN TO LUCIAN FREUD: HOME AND THE WORLD Saturday 28 February – Sunday 7 June Masterpieces of Modern British Art have been brought together for this eclectic collection by contemporary artist Dexter Dalwood in partnership with Swindon Museum and Art Gallery. From striking portraits to reclining nudes and pop art interiors, this exhibition celebrates the response of our greatest artists to the extraordinary changes witnessed in 20th century Britain. There will be 32 paintings and drawings on display, by some well known names including Vanessa Bell, Duncan Grant, Howard Hodgkin, Richard Hamilton, Graham Sutherland and John Nash and others, linked by the themes of home and the world. Domestic stability is pitched against artistic innovation with exciting results. Entrance to this exhibition is £6.95. Entrance to the rest of this public gallery is free.

NEW PASTEL DRAWINGS BY ROSE HILTON 14 March – 11 April Modern British featuring work by Rose Hilton and sculpture and drawing by the celebrated St Ives artist Bryan Ingham.

Resting Models (detail from) by Rose Hilton

NICK CUDWORTH GALLERY London St, top of Walcot Street, Bath.

Tel: 01225 445221, visit: www.nickcudworth.com LOOK THROUGH ANY WINDOW Throughout March Rupert’s Manor which shows the late, great Rupert Blunt looking through his window above lit windows in the shops that he owned below in Walcot Street. He was a great character and his neighbours and friends still miss him greatly. Look Through Any Window is an exhibition of paintings and prints that explore the attraction of windows. Seen from outside usually at dusk when lights go on enhancing the prospect of activity within.

ADAM GALLERY John Street, Bath

Textiles by Beatrice Larkin QUERCUS GALLERY 1 Queen Street, Bath BA1 1HE Tel: 01225 428211 FORMS AND FABRICS 7 March – 18 April Forms and Fabrics presents new collections of ceramics, jewellery and textiles, complemented by contemporary paintings and prints, with particular focus on contemporary craft. This group show introduces many talented new artists and makers to the gallery for spring, including beautiful enamel and silver jewellery by Ann Little, woven geometric textiles by Beatrice Larkin and a new collection of Adrian Mitchell’s wooden vessels.

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SIGNS OF COLOUR 7 February – 7 March In celebration of the first signs of spring, Hilton Fine Art presents a brilliant selection of work by three wonderful colourists; Rose Hilton, Alice Mumford and Angela Charles.

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DAVID PIDDOCK: A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE 14 March – 6 April A selection of new work by this accomplished artist. David Piddock has been painting scenes of London, with his individual twist, all his life.

Classical antiquity is integrated in many of his works in a subtle but effective way. David trained at the Royal Academy in London and recently completed a major commission for P&O in the form of ten large paintings for a dining room on one of their cruise ships.

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ART | EXHIBITIONS

ANTHONY HEPWORTH FINE ART DEALERS 16, Margarets Buildings, Bath tel: 01225 310694

Antares and Love IV by Joe Webb ROSTRA GALLERY George Street, Bath Tel: 01225 448121

PHELAN GIBB (1870 – 1948) THE IRISH FAUVE: PAINTINGS FROM A PRIVATE COLLECTION 28 March - 11 April A special show as these paintings have not been shown for at least 70 years. Phelan Gibb (1870 – 1948) was one of the artists shown by Lucy Wertheim in her London gallery in the 1930s and these paintings are from her private collection. Harry Phelan Gibb was a true modernist, painting at the beginning of the 20th century in Paris, where he remained for 25 years, at one time sharing a studio with Matisse. He was proud of his Irish ancestry on his mother’s side, was associated with The White Stag Group, and referred to as the Irish Fauve. Visit: anthonyhepworth.com

THE SHOCK OF THE NEW 7 March – 6 April An exhibition of some of the most important current British artists, including bold, bright screen prints with ideas on politics and current affairs by Dan Baldwin and screen prints with some dark and sinister themes, by Barry Reigate (as seen in the Saatchi Gallery). There are also collages by Joe Webb, in which he uses vintage magazines and printed ephemera to create these handmade pieces.

Collective by Nathan Ford BEAUX ARTS 12 – 13 York Street, Bath, BA1 1NG Tel: 01225 464850

Painted dress by Carole Waller ONE TWO FIVE GALLERY AT THE SHED Box Road, Bathford, BA1 7LR Open every day KEY COLOUR 21 March – 18 April Textile artist Carole Waller teams up with jeweller Cecile Gilbert of TIKI and artist Sandra Porter under the theme Key Colour. Enjoy Carole’s beautiful fluid clothes and scarves alongside TIKI resin jewellery and Sandra Porter’s collages and mono prints.

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NATHAN FORD Throughout March This new show is one of the most keenly anticipated exhibitions of the year. His small portraits and large urban streetscapes bring in art-lovers from far and wide, writes Aiden Quinn of Beaux Arts. It was 15 years ago when Nathan Ford walked into Beaux Arts to present his portfolio. A recent graduate, although shy he was possessed with a sense of purpose and a determination to paint. Brian Sewell likened his 2012 portrait in the BP award at the National Portrait Gallery to the great Russian painter Ilya Repin, having extolled his previous year’s entry (though little else about either show) in his Evening Standard column. Ford’s 2011 BP prize entry came second in the visitor’s choice poll, confirming what we already knew – here is a painter who fascinates both the high-minded critic and the gallery regular.

Included in the show are around 20 portraits of family and close acquaintances painted from life. These are conversations, pathways of interiority plotted through the experience of being with his sitters, which address WB Yeats’ simple proposition in The Man and the Echo:

‘What do we know but that we face one another in this place.’ Wide open urban vistas also remain part of the artist’s oeuvre. A tiny six-year old (Nathan's son Joachim) appears in Pocket, enveloped by the sweeping architecture of Brighton’s Victorian railway station, and joined by an assortment of cartoonish accomplices which soften the sense of peril.

Joachim also strolls along the pavement in Collective, which extends the idea of employing children’s graffiti to include members of the public – indeed Nathan remarks on the reticence of adults to take up the offer to draw.

A form of expression once perfectly natural becomes anathema with age. One can see why he would want to capture the artistic yen in his children. All parents do.

The sparing balance of figuration and abstraction invites us to take up a subtly woven thread into the work. Low-key architectural backdrops are what Nathan may work hardest on to make this happen. These paintings thrive on their mortality – the mortality of moments; in London streets, in cavernous railway stations, in the phases of childhood that are rendered memories all too quickly. Mortality is distilled into the burning eyes of his sitters, testimony to what a small portrait can achieve even when the drawing medium is reduced to its merest essentials.

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‘Emergence One’

by David G. Smith (bronze and acrylic)

The Art Gallery,Tetbury home of ArtGallery.co.uk art_gallery_uk artgallery.co.uk Member Gallery

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Spencer House, 34 Long Street, Tetbury, Gloucestershire GL8 8AQ Tues-Sat. 9.30-5pm. Tel: 01666 505152 help@artgallery.co.uk

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BATH @ WORK

Our series of photographic portraits by Neill Menneer shows Bath people at work. View a gallery of Bath@Work subjects at: thebathmag.co.uk

Russell Covey

Golf professional at Bath Golf Club

H

aving grown up a Somerset boy, it seemed only right to come back to my home county when the opportunity arose at Bath Golf Club. I had travelled and worked in most areas of the country and needed to be closer to my parents and siblings who live in Taunton.

I’ve now been at Bath Golf Club up at Sham Castle Lane, for seven years and loved every minute of it. As a golf club it’s succeeding in turning itself around in this tough economic climate, and along with some brilliant staff at the complex, the golf course is in fantastic shape.

My first love for golf was back in my amateur days when I represented the Somerset county first team, and now I am lucky to say that I have gone full circle and become the lead performance coach for the Somerset Golf Union, which is a very rewarding role. I had previously held the positions of head coach for the ladies and girls squads as well, but trying to combine them all and still find time for my family and golf club just became too difficult.

Running my business at the golf club is also incredibly rewarding, and even though times have been tough over this last four years (the recession hit just as I started the business), we’ve managed to keep going and now have one of the best fitting and coaching studios in the area. I admit to being a bit of a tech junkie and utilising things such as radars, stereoscopic cameras, force plates and other measuring tools is fascinating for our business.

I also have a wonderful family life, which includes my two beautiful children, Sophia and Renn. My wife Yolanda is from Ealing in London, and is a calming, relaxing influence on my hectic day-today life, and never ceases to amaze me with her level headedness.

We live out in the sticks, but really enjoy a good night out in our wonderful city, especially with some of the fantastic friends we have made down here.

As I mentioned earlier we have moved around a touch, trying to allow me take in and learn as much as I can in the golf business. I’ve done pretty much every job in golf, from mowing greens to office administration and have qualified as a Director of Golf, one of only 50 in the whole country.

My current position at Bath Golf Club allows me to focus on the club’s 700 members and their playing guests. My staff and I pride ourselves on our coaching and custom club fitting, which is the main bulk of our work. I don’t get much chance to play these days but I’m looking at changing that this year. I’m fortunate that I reside at one of the best courses in the entire region and our head greenkeeper is doing an amazing job taking the course to the next level.

When I moved to Bath, I was a huge lover of my football team Liverpool FC (and still am), but since moving here I’ve learnt to really enjoy Bath Rugby and everything they do for the city.

Personally I think we are all very privileged to live and work in such a fantastic place, and long may it continue! n

SINGING AND SPEECH LESSONS For performance, presentations and job interviews or simply for enjoyment

with professional actor/singer Lloyd Notice, from The Guildhall School of Music and Drama, London. (credits include “Mufasa “in West End,” The Lion king.”

The Royal Shakespeare Company, film and radio.

Lloyd has taught voice for over 15 years and has helped clients in performance, win scholarships’ and job interviews through vocal training.

Private 1:1 sessions available in all aspects of voice training.

SONG CLUB singing with others @ Weston Methodist church BA1 3EA Every Wednesday 8-10pm with accomplished pianist Anders Olinder.

For more details contact Lloyd anytime: 07949 173 034 “Lloyd is a fantastic and encouraging teacher. He has helped me become a better singer, with the confidence to produce my own cd.”

Sybil Mansfield

“Lloyds infectious enthusiasm for voice, even my voice has filled me with greater confidence in public speaking.”

PORTRAIT: Neill Menneer at Spirit Photographic.

Visit: capturethespirit.co.uk, tel: 01225 483151.

WWW.THEBATHMAG.CO.UK

Dr Rick James MBA

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The Diner’s Digest SIX OF THE BEST

For Mothering Sunday

Sunday 15 March is Mother’s Day but, says Melissa Blease you can make mum’s day any time by treating her to lunch or dinner on you

THE POPLARS INN

Sometimes, a pub is just what you need to make sure your family occasion suits all comers. In these circumstances, the Poplars Inn at Wingfield near Bradford-on-Avon, ticks so many boxes for all the generations. This family run, 18th century Grade II listed inn features award-winning gardens overlooking the cricket field, a welcoming bar (part of the Wadsworth portfolio) and two dining areas: the cosy, intimate lounge or a light, airy contemporary restaurant. Expect upper-crust pub classics (if there are fishcakes on the menu, dive in; the steaks are recommended too) wrought from locally sourced, seasonal ingredients and some inspirational specials. This isn’t the sort of pub that has to yell to grab our attention; instead, very agreeably it does its own lovely thing.

The Poplars Inn, Shop Lane, Wingfield, Wiltshire BA14 9LN Tel: 01225 752426; web: poplarsinn.co.uk.

BAILBROOK HOUSE

I do so love a grand country house hotel – especially when it deserves “Best Kept Bath Secret” status, as Bailbrook House does.

Whenever I approach this subtly grand, 18th century mansion set in its private gardens and packed with architectural features, I can’t help wondering about the heroes (and villains?) who have swept up that leafy drive and cavorted in the shadows of the honey-coloured Bath stone house.

But while we’ll never get to meet the original residents, we can at least take a contemporary voyage of discovery in the Cloisters Restaurant, which specialises in imaginative dishes created from seasonal, locally sourced produce, delivered to your table looking as beautiful to behold as they are to eat. For Mother’s Day, a three-course menu has been created for £29.95pp, to include pre-lunch canapés in the Royal Lounge and a gift for mum to take home. Children under 12 get their own menu options; so go forth and create modern-day family history of your own.

Bailbrook House, Eveleigh Avenue, London Road West, Bath BA1 7JD Tel: 01225 855100; web: bailbrookhouse.co.uk

THE CIRCUS

Situated on the street that runs between Bath’s most illustrious addresses (the Royal Crescent and the restaurant’s equally acclaimed namesake), one might expect The Circus to be snootily exclusive when in fact, the very opposite is true. This stylishly classy version of an all-day café morphs into a chic but cosy supper room as the sun sets; a choice of upper or lower level dining rooms swing the mood and modern art on the walls cleverly serves to compliment the eye-catching historical details that subtly remind us we’re at the heart of groovy Georgian territory. On the food front, simple but extremely smart menus blend traditional British influences with modern aesthetics to great affect, while always adhering to locally sourced and seasonal sensibilities. It’s

THE PORTER

This multi-layered good-times venue makes a point of flaunting the fact that it’s “different on every level” - and it is, not only in terms of being light years apart from the overall vibe of its previous trad-pub incarnation, but it's unique to the Bath eating and drinking scene. Explore a club-style hangout in the basement, the light and airy dining rooms at street level, an elegant bar on the first floor and all manner of private party rooms, which all add up to a nice mix of bang upto-date contemporary flourishes in this historic building. The restaurant, Clayton's Kitchen, is a

worth bearing in mind too that The Circus is almost an around-the-clock oasis of good taste; it’s lovely to see Elevenses flagged up on a modern menu and the buttermilk scones served at teatime are legendary. No wonder it’s in The Times top 20 secret restaurants for foodies, and your discerning mum’s going to fit in here very happily indeed.

The Circus, 34 Brock Street, Bath BA1 2LN Tel: 01225 466020; web: thecircuscafeandrestaurant.co.uk

playground for über-talented chef Rob Clayton, and his menus offer broad appeal, whether you prefer to take the classic or the fashionably fabulous route. Or perhaps you'd prefer to take tea, Porter style: sweet and savoury delights served with a range of top teas are £20 (Champagne for an extra £7.50pp). The Porter people reckon they serve the best High Tea in Bath; so it’s over to mum to let her make her own mind up . . .

The Porter, 15a George Street, Bath BA1 2EN Tel: 01225 585100; web: theporter.co.uk

HOMEWOOD PARK

The backdrop is gorgeous (several acres of lush, pastoral parkland and views across the Limpley Stoke valley), the mansion house boasts more original antique fixtures and fittings than Downton Abbey and there’s a luxurious spa too. So Mum is swooning already – but wait until she sees the Mother’s Day menu that award-winning head chef Wojciech Nawalka has rustled up. Feast on two courses from £22, to include a gift for your special lady and a selection from such delights as beetroot cured pollack; Shimiji a la Greque; beef sirloin; seared sea bream with squid, and dark chocolate mousse or blackberry parfait. Children are welcome and, for a small fee, you can even take the dog along. But if you can’t make the actual date, bear in mind that afternoon tea at Homewood Park is a spectacular occasion too: the Classic Champagne option (£29.50pp) includes a glass of Taittinger Brut NV. Go on – make mother’s day.

Homewood Park, Freshford, Somerset BA2 7TB Tel: 01225 809435; web: homewoodpark.co.uk

ELDER ROOMS AT THE HUNTSMAN Since unveiling the results of a revamp around a year ago, the Huntsman has garnered a solidly favourable reputation for being one of Bath’s smartest city centre watering holes, offering broad appeal to day trippers and locals alike courtesy of considerately flexible, people-pleasing, well-priced menus and plenty of chill out zones to kick back in. On the first floor, the Elder Rooms – a linked collection of Regency-style, plushly furnished dining spaces featuring graceful fixtures and fittings – takes the opulent contemporary inn environment up

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another notch. It’s also one of the hottest venues for Sunday roasts, which makes it perfect for family occasions – and it’s my bet that a Sunday selection that includes a starter of Scottish langoustine bisque followed by 12hour roasted sirloin of Wiltshire beef is nothing like mum used to make. And why should she even attempt it, on her special day? So let the Elder treat her in the manner she richly deserves.

The Huntsman, 1 Terrace Walk, Bath BA1 1LY Tel: 01225 482900; web: huntsmanbathpub.co.uk.

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FOOD | NEWS

News bites

■ Bath Bakery, which employs over 130 people in and around the city, has recruited Rod Bond as area manager. Rod, who previously owned and ran the Chelsea Road and Kindling cafes in Bath, takes responsibility for Bath Bakery's Moorland Road café and all its Keynsham operations.

■ The Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) has awarded Bath Ales’ porter Festivity a silver medal at the Winter Beer of Britain awards.

The national awards recognise the best of the winter warmers, from thick, rich, dark porters and stouts, to sweet and strong barley wines.

Bath Ales Festivity is a porter with hints of rum combined with coffee and vanilla flavours.

■ Visit the foodie destination Newton Farm Foods at Newton St Loe – home to free range meat, pies, vegetables and bread – for a floral workshop being run

by Grace of Young Blooms. Learn how to create a floral handtie or a beautiful arrangement in a tin. The workshop is on Tuesday 24 March, from 10am 12pm, followed by lunch in the café. Price includes coffee and biscuits on arrival, tuition, flowers, greenery, equipment and light lunch, £42.50. To book call 01225 873707 or email roz.golding@newtonfarmfoods.co.uk.

BUGLE CALLS IN THE STYLISH SET

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e’ve recently discovered a new reason to visit Margarets Buildings – that little Bath street dedicated to the independent, the beautiful and the quirky.

Fabulous foodie, the tireless Silvana de Soissons has brought her online Food Bugle to three-D reality with the opening of what can only be described as an emporium. Into the space she’s managed to squeeze a café, a cake shop, a delicatessen, and a homeware store.

The shop obeys the William Morris tenet of only selling things which are beautiful or useful – and many things manage to be both.

The Food Bugle manages to serve the local community as a stylish corner shop, with tempting treats from Batheaston honey to fresh eggs from Castle Farm organics at Midford, artisan bread by The Oven and any number of larder staples from caper berries to polenta. It’s the sort of place you’d expect to find a lovelorn Hugh Grant character bumping into his lady love, while the café is proving popular with

singles, ladies who lunch and cakeophiles. The coffee -– which is very good – is by Easy José of Hartley Farm at Winsley, while Katherine Faraway produces that seductive patisserie.

Those thoughtful types who always remember birthdays and those shameless selfgifters will be in heaven downstairs where Silvana has stocked rare seeds for herbs that could be grown on the windowsills of Lansdown, alongside picnic blankets, jelly moulds and restored vintage gardening tools.

The Food Bugle is open daily, 8am to 8pm and Silvana is planning a series of events, including the chance to meet food producers. ■

SHORE THING: Garry Rosser, seen here with his team at the newly opened Monmouth Place takeaway and restaurant The Scallop Shell, has a refreshing approach to fish and chips. Customers can enjoy the traditional haddock and chips, or fishcakes to go with mushy peas, salt’n’vinegar, or they can take a table and tuck into such delicacies as Weymouth Bay scallops in garlic herb butter or Dorset oysters, washed down with a glass of prosecco

■ Inspiring chicken recipes for every day use and special occasions are celebrated in award-winning food writer Diana Henry’s latest book A Bird in the Hand. She will be visiting Topping & Co bookshop on Wednesday 18 March from 7.30pm with her infectious enthusiasm. Tickets are £15, to include tastings and a glass of wine, and are redeemable against the cost of the book.

A Serial Award winning Restaurant with International reputation British Curry Awards 2014 English Curry Awards 2014 Best in Britain Awards (BIBA) 2014 Connoisseurs choice for 35 Years.

Open Daily.

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4 Argyle Steet, Bath BA2 4BA Tel. 01225 466833 / 464758 www. Rajpoot.com

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FOOD & DRINK

A NICE MANOR WITH IT

A family run hotel and restaurant in the Wiltshire countryside serves up the best of British hospitality, from the vegetables grown in its gardens, to the bacon reared and smoked on the premises. Georgette McCready explores the newly rebranded Moonraker near Bradford-on-Avon

W

hen Tudor Hopkins was working at the legendary Connaught in London he learned about hotel and restaurant service at its very finest. He then took that skills set to the Sussex coast where, in The Gallivant beside Camber Sands, he created a relaxed environment where customers could kick off their sandy shoes, find the dog a cosy spot and tuck in to some delicious, fresh food, while enjoying the seemingly artless über-cool surroundings.

Now, happily for us Tudor and his wife Lucy have bought a 500-year-old Wiltshire manor house with its roots in Domesday Bradford-on-Avon, where their delightful hotel and restaurant offers the best of modern British hospitality. Until this month the Old Manor Hotel drew diners and guests rather unassumingly down its long drive at Trowle Common, betwixt Bradford and Trowbridge. But, justly proud of

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what they and head chef Matthew Briddon (ex River Café) are doing, they’ve decided to give the place a stylish rebranding. Coming across the legend of the Wiltshire yokels who told the customs officers they weren’t raking their local pond in search of smuggled goods, but hoping to gather in the reflection of the moon, the Hopkins chose The Moonraker as the new name.

The welcome visitors get is like going to visit thoughtful old friends who want you to feel at home. The hotel reception is a dark wood floored hall, with a log fire flickering away. The old steep stairs are reassuringly creaky and the house is furnished with polished dark chests of drawers, antiques and paintings, with gently scented natural candles made by Heaven’s Scent of Bradford-on-Avon.

On one of the coldest nights of the year we were happy to find every room comfortingly warm and more than adequately heated for even the most lizard-like body. There’s a snug drawing room stocked with board games where guests can enjoy a game to the homely sound of Radio 4.

There are none of those bossy little signs either, or fiddly little packets of soap. Lucy, who chose the furnishings, has supplied her guests with generous sized re-fillable Neal’s Yard Remedies bath and hair products. For those who don’t fancy the stairs, or who have dogs with them, there are comfy suites in the converted farm buildings around a courtyard. The restaurant is a

welcoming room with big squashy sofas where you can sit with a drink while reading the short but pithy menu.

Starters are around the £6.95 mark, while main courses are priced between £12.95 and £21.95.

Matthew and his kitchen crew are proud of the provenance of the ingredients. The hotel is now self sufficient in herbs and throughout the year freshly grown fruit and veg from the gardens make their way to the tables. There are a couple of Gloucester Old Spot pigs in the grounds, destined to make some delicious bacon and other pork dishes and, from April there’ll be some hens scratching about beyond the formal gardens to provide eggs. Tudor tells me they have their eye on a sheltered spot for a polytunnel where

A WILTSHIRE WELCOME: Lucy and Tudor Hopkins with the hotel dog, Camber.

Below,The Smokery and the Rose archway

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FOOD & DRINK

ATTENTION TO DETAIL: a log fire, polished tables and comfortable chairs in the restaurant and the mellow stone manor house now known as The Moonraker, a splendid grade II listed Georgian hotel

produce such as salad leaves can be raised.

We notice a handsome painted little shed in the garden, Matthew’s pride and joy – his smokery. I can vouch for his hay smoked salmon, which is very good served with a creamy apple and celeriac remoulade and bread made in-house.

Matthew is to start giving smoking lessons – not the No 6 behind the bike sheds smoking of our youth, but workshops in doing your own home curing, preserving and smoking meat and fish. The three-hour sessions, which include product sampling over lunch and hands-on experience, are from £49 a head.

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The Moonraker is currently running an excellent five course tasting menu for £55, which, judging by a Sunday evening, is going down well with the locals. We enjoyed our journey through Matthew’s culinary garden of delights – of several stand-out moments was the deeply savoury meaty pork pressé served with a perfectly soft warm boiled egg rolled in breadcrumbs and accompanied by some punchy beer mustard. This was a great combination I’d happily eat any time.

Also moreish was the warm chocolate sponge pudding with an indulgent chocolate pouring sauce and ice cream. ■

READER OFFER

To celebrate the new name The Moonraker is offering our readers the chance to get 20% off their total restaurant bill (including drinks) throughout March and April. Simply quote: The Bath Magazine Wiltshire Moonraker Restaurant Offer when making a booking.

Telephone: 01225 777393. The Moonraker, Trowle Common, near Trowbridge, Wiltshire BA14 9BL.

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FOOD | HEROES

MAGIC MUSHROOMS Silvana Tann goes deep underground in the heart of Bath to meet the mushroom entrepreneur intent on making the city self-sufficient in fungi

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RECYCLING: the mushrooms are grown using a mixture containing coffee grounds

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mushrooms lingering in the air. It is quite mesmerising.

Hugh tells me that he initially got the idea to set up this operation in 2013 when the mushroom trader at Bath Market announced his retirement. Up until this point the majority of Hugh’s career had been in the charity sector working in accounts and IT. He now had an interest in food production, with an ambition greater than just trading produce on a stall. Hugh’s aim was, and still is, to make Bath self sufficient in mushrooms.

This aspiration has undoubtedly sprung out of Hugh’s involvement as treasurer of a project called Transition Bath. The focus of this voluntary environmental organisation is primarily on sustainability and low carbon footprint through local production and recycling where possible. “I discovered that used coffee grounds and cardboard produces the perfect food for oyster mushrooms to grow. I then started to think about the sheer volume of used coffee grounds from retailers in Bath.

This is the basis of my business,” says Hugh. This initial discovery has led Hugh from knowing nothing about mushroom production, to becoming an entrepreneurial mycologist with a successful business model.

A considerable amount of planning and work has gone in to funding this

business and in to making the vault space flow efficiently for the production of mushrooms. In 2014 Hugh successfully gained capital outlay for Fungi Fruits through online crowd funding. He says: “I pay investors 3% return on profit in cash or 4% of profit in mushrooms.” He has also pledged a percentage of profits from the business to local charities.

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NO WASTE: main picture, oyster mushrooms thrive in the vaults beneath Green Park Station in central Bath Top left, Hugh Prentice, founder of Fungi Fruits

used coffee grounds and cardboard produces the perfect food for oyster mushrooms

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here is a real sense of industry both old and new in Green Park Station. Set in the centre of the city, the once busy but now redundant railway station is today a vibrant commercial hub, home to the weekly Bath Farmers’ Market on Saturdays and much more besides.

Visitors will find a broad range of artisan shops and stalls framing the squared car park, which each weekend is peopled by different kinds of markets, selling everything from organic cheese and pies to vintage clothing and upcycled furniture. Yet this industry is even more prolific than you first might think. Right beneath your feet, underneath the layers of tarmac, there is a mushroom farm in full production, quietly growing a considerable volume of fungi deep down in the invisible Victorian vaults. This commercial enterprise, aptly named Fungi Fruits, is the brainchild of Hugh Prentice.

It is a bit of an adventure heading in to the dark labyrinth of vaults and a test to your agility too. You find yourself shimmying under a tangle of pipes and ducking under archways.

Hugh rents this cavernous space from Bath and North East Somerset Council, and it is the perfect environment for mushrooms to thrive in. It is dark, musty and frankly gloomy.

Suddenly however, Hugh navigates us around a corner where fluorescent lights are in full glow, illuminating the whole area like a sports pitch on a winter’s evening. Sprinklers, set on timers, are showering water over static cylindrical punch bag forms that dangle like stalactites from scaffolding under the curve of the ceilings.

The bags are heavy, weighing at least 40 kilos a piece. They are laden with beautiful ornate mushrooms that look like delicate Japanese fans sprouting out of the sides through the plastic. And there is the gentle aroma of earthy

The operation demands a level of attention seven days a week by Hugh, his team of employees and a group of volunteers. The process starts with the daily collection of 75 kilos of used coffee beans from the cafes of Bath. This is collected on foot in a wheelbarrow contraption devised by Hugh. The

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TASTY TREAT: above, the oyster mushrooms are sold at the Saturday Bath Farmers’ Market sauteed in a little olive oil they taste like a good steak

coffee is then mixed in a sterile laboratory with mushroom spawn and sawdust and placed in heavy-duty plastic bags.

The bags are left to incubate in a dark temperature-controlled space, allowing the mycelium to feed off the coffee and develop networks of weaving white threads. At this point the bags are moved into vaults where light, water and temperature are all monitored. The final destination for the bags is the fruiting bays. Each bag can produce a considerable volume of fungi over a number of weeks, if the process is well managed. Nothing is wasted. Once the bags have reached the end of their

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mushroom production, the used food mix is sold as compost. The whole process Hugh tells me is, “a finely honed skill”, and one that he admits to still mastering.

Now the weekly volume of oyster mushrooms produced has doubled from its early days in 2014 and stands at 50 kilos. All of the produce is sold. There is very little waste. The mushrooms are sold to local restaurants including Green Park Brasserie, Beyond the Kale, The Green Rocket Café and The Porter. They are also available from the Fungi Fruits stall at Bath Farmers’ Market.

Over the coming months Hugh aspires to grow this business further. He continues to strive to make Bath self sufficient in mushrooms by increasing the volume of oyster mushrooms produced. He has plans to experiment with different varieties of mushrooms. And keen mushroom growers (or those who would just like to have a go at growing their own) can purchase one of Fungi Fruits’ home bag kits. The bags are full of the magical coffee-mycelium mix for growers.

Ultimately Hugh’s vision is much larger. “My ideal would be

to see recycling of waste and food production completely intertwined on a broader scale, with new housing developments perhaps facilitating a better process and encouraging the public to look closely at their own carbon foot print. This would take more local and national government intervention.” These are ambitions that the Transition project is working towards.

Hugh has achieved a great deal over the past 18 months. From the vaults, this small operation has gradually scaled up the volume of mushrooms produced.

There seems to be quite a demand for them too. Having tasted the mushrooms, I can understand why.

When I sautéed a handful in olive oil they gave off no water, retained a good texture and delivered hearty umami flavours. They taste like a good steak. Supermarket oyster mushrooms are nowhere near the quality of Fungi Fruits’ produce.

These mushrooms growing quietly beneath our feet in Green Park Station are without question in a league of their own in terms of taste and carbon footprint. n

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CITY | BUSINESS

News in brief

THE MOVERS AND SHAKERS

■ Staff at the Bath branch of TK Maxx in the High Street will be doing their bit for Comic Relief in the runup to Red Nose Day on Friday 13 March, and on the day too. There’ll be a sponsored walk between the Bath and Bristol shops by employees on Sunday 1 March and on Red Nose Day team member Gemma will be shaving her head to raise money for charity. Customers can support this good cause by buying a celebrity t-shirt featuring Lily Allen, Dermot O’Leary and Claudia Winkleman among others.

CHARITY LEADER: Bath philanthropic charity and property owner St John’s Hospital has appointed a new chief executive. Sue Porto, formerly chief executive of children’s literacy charity Beanstalk, will take up the post in early May. Sue has a wealth of experience in not-forprofit and public sectors, from her time with Beanstalk, The Prince’s Trust and HM Prison Service. Sue has a strong target driven approach to delivering services that transform communities and tackle social deprivation.

Recently appointed Chair of Trustees, Liz Brooks said: “St John’s is delighted that someone of Sue’s calibre is joining the organisation, at a time when we are seeking to expand our support to disadvantaged people in Bath. Sue will complement several exciting and innovative plans we already have in the pipeline.”

■ Bath and North East Somerset Council is spending £1m on repairing the 1905 steel lattice girder Midland Bridge to keep it safe for motorists and pedestrians. This will mean the bridge – one of the main routes through Bath – will be partially closed for 33 weeks.

Pedestrian access has been maintained, but one lane will be closed for the duration of the works, with traffic diverted from Pinesway along the Lower Bristol Road and across Churchill Bridge back into Green Park Road.

Traffic travelling in the opposite direction is allowed to enter Pinesway during daylight hours. For safety reasons full overnight closures will be required periodically.

Advance notice will be given with diversion signs put in place both before and during the works to help keep traffic moving smoothly with minimum disruption. Bus diversions have been set up. The work is expected to be completed later this summer.

NEW GARDENER: The American Museum has announced the appointment of Andrew Cannell as the new head gardener at Claverton Manor. A native of the Isle of Man, Andrew received his horticultural certification at Myerscough College, Preston, and at Wisley, the Royal Horticultural Garden in Surrey, where he won six awards, including the top trainee prize and the Chittenden Academic award for highest overall academic results. He has served for the past three years as senior gardener for the National Trust at Woolbeding Gardens in West Sussex. Andrew is married to Melissa Cannell, a fellow gardener also trained at Wisley – and a native of the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia.

They have an eight-month-old son, Rowan, and plan to live in the Coach House on site.

Entrepreneur: Kate Smith, the Bath woman who turned her passion for making things into a successful business, is launching her second inspirational make-it book this month.

Makery, Sewing contains more than 30 projects to make at home. Join Kate at The Makery in Union Passage, Bath from 6.30pm on Monday March 2, beginning with a hands-on session to make a fabric pendant, followed at 7.45pm by the book launch. Tickets for the workshop and talk are £10, or £5 for just the launch, redeemable against the price of the book. Book online at www.themakery.co.uk.

MIDDLE EASTERN VISITORS: A trade delegation from Bethlehem is visiting Bath to explore cultural, sporting and import and export links between the two UNESCO World Heritage sites. The delegates will attend the Bath Business Expo on 4 March at the Assembly Rooms, where Bethlehem-Bath Links will have a stand to promote Bethlehem companies’ products. Bethlehem’s Golden Gate Travel is keen to meet UK travel agents interested in providing Holy Land tours and The Holy Land Handicraft Cooperative is looking for a UK agent for its crafts, which are sold at the Bath Christmas Market. There will be a screening of Open Bethlehem with Q&As with the director Leila Sansour and British film director Ken Loach at the Chapel Arts Centre on Wednesday 4 March. Visit: bethlehembath.com. ■

■ Georgian gem No.1 Royal Crescent museum in Bath has won a gold medal in the access and inclusivity category at the South West Tourism awards, and a highly commended certificate for best large visitor attraction in the region.

Access and facilities for disabled visitors were greatly improved when the building was renovated in 2012/13. The improvements also include room sheet translations in 24 languages. Dr Amy Frost, architectural curator of Bath Preservation Trust said: “To be considered one of the most accessible tourist attractions in the south west is incredible when – before the major works started – a wheelchair user could not even get to the front door.”

■ Bath Marketing Consultancy has been working with luxury chauffeur company Chauffeur Travel, which specialises in chauffeur driven car hire for businesses, music tours, VIP events, weddings, special occasions and airport transfers. The consultancy has been updating the company’s identity, colour scheme, website and printed material to give the company a more professional look in line with the brief from managing director James O’Neill. It coincides with the launch of its new website: chauffeurtravel.co.uk.

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BEATING CANCER TOGETHER: the Homelets half marathon team of George Street, Bath, left to right, Marcus Arundell, Louis Mullane, Kara Ollis, Sam Cox and Tom Clarke

RUNNING FOR CAROLINE Good luck to the staff at HomeLets of Bath who are running the Vitality Bath Half marathon in memory of their managing director Caroline Arundell, who died in April last year. The team will be raising funds for Cancer Research UK.

Caroline had a short term battle with a stomach related cancer, and her wish was always for any charitable donations to be directed to Cancer Research UK. Her son, Marcus has taken over the family run letting and property management business, and is

keen to grow and develop the brand. You can donate by logging on to: justgiving.com/teams/homelets bathhalf The team will all be sporting Cancer Research UK running vests on the day, with Cali printed on, so they should all be recognisable and we can give them a cheer as they run by.

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The new SsangYong Korando LE ‘Right on the money, and Right on the road’

S

outh Korean carmaker, SsangYong is launching a limited edition version of its popular family friendly Korando to the British market.

Based on the 2WD entry-level SE model, the new Korando LE (limited edition) is distinguished by its bespoke 18” diamond cut alloy wheels, rear spoiler and privacy glass. This state of the art limited edition car includes luxury touches inside, such as climate control air conditioning, heated front seats, leather covered steering wheel, automatic dipping rear view mirror, cruise control and rear parking sensors. The Korando LE is available in grand white as standard.

Attractive styling and great value for money, the Korando LE offers the same top quality equipment and performance you would expect from the popular Korean brand. A car for all occasions, the Korando LE follows suit of the award-winning SE to offer an impressive 2 tonne towing capability that is perfect for caravanners and trailer towers. Unflustered when it’s towing and quick when it’s not, the Korando has a long towing history, with the LE using its own weight to stabilise its towing mass and can tow almost 100% of its 2180kg gross vehicle weight.

Power comes from a 2.0L diesel unit, which produces 173bhp and 360Nm of torque. On the combined cycle, the Korando LE achieves 5L/100km, while emitting Co2 levels of 157g/km. Power is transferred to the front wheels via a six-speed manual gearbox.

A lot of car for your money, the Korando LE retails at £16,495 and includes a 5 year limitless mileage warranty.

The Korando LE is exclusively available from Minerva Bath up until March 31st. For more information please visit Minerva Bath at its Box Road showroom. Call to book a test drive on 01225 850030 or visit their website on www.minervabath.co.uk

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ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE

ACT NOW TO REDUCE YOUR TAX…..

T

he end of the tax year is nearly here (on 5th April) so now is a good time to get your tax affairs in shape and with some pre yearend tax planning, save some tax. This can be done by a number of simple, low risk techniques that all taxpayers should consider and can potentially benefit from. Here’s a selection of topics which we should all be thinking about as the current tax year draws to a close: INCOME TAX • Investments up to £1 million in Enterprise Investment Scheme shares benefit from a 30% income tax break for the amount invested while investments in higher risk companies (up to £100,000) which raise cash under the Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme benefit from a 50% income tax break. Both schemes also have attractive capital gains tax and potentially Inheritance Tax benefits, with the added attraction of claiming the relief in a tax year preceding the year of investment if you have insufficient income in the current tax year to absorb the tax relief. The ability to claim relief in 2013/14 will therefore close for investments made after 5 April.

• Investments into Venture Capital Trusts (which are quoted wrappers for underlying EIS type investments) qualify for a 30% income tax relief for investments up to £200,000. Unlike EIS however, dividends received by the investor are tax free but there are similarities to EIS in the way the relief operates including the ability to carry back relief to the year preceding the year of investment, which can provide a useful flexibility.

• Don’t lose out on relief for unused pension contributions. As long as you have enough earned income in the current 2014/15 tax year then assuming you have paid no contributions in any of the last 4 tax years (including 2014/15), you could make a contribution before 5 April of up to £190,000. You will only actually pay £152,000 and the Government will contribute a further £38,000.

• If you own property that you let out that needs redecoration or repair, consider bringing forward expenditure to accelerate the tax relief • Married couples should consider equalising incomes where possible by transferring ownership of assets that generate income, between them.

• If you own shares in a private company, can dividends be paid before 5th April so as to use up your basic rate tax band?

• After income exceeds £100,000 your personal allowances are gradually reduced. If you are likely to receive a bonus or large dividend payment then consider deferring it until after the 6th of April. You may also defer paying any higher rate on the deferred income by a year.

CAPITAL GAINS TAX • Do think about using your annual capital gains exemption of £11,100 for the current year. This is a “use it or lose it relief” and while it is no longer possible to Bed & Breakfast shares by selling them and repurchasing them the next day in order to generate a capital gain, it is still possible for a husband to sell the shares through the market, realise a gain that uses his annual capital gains exemption and for his wife or partner to effectively repurchase the shares.

• If you have realised capital gains of more than £11,100, do you own any shares or other assets that have become worthless on which you could claim a capital loss by making a negligible value claim?

INHERITANCE TAX Now is also a good time to review your Inheritance Tax (IHT) arrangements.

• Review your Will and any cash you want to leave to charity, so as to benefit from a lower IHT rate of 36%.

• Consider using the IHT reliefs for gifts individually greater than £250 but totalling less than £3,000 or even larger gifts that will escape tax altogether after 7 years regardless of the amount gifted.

• Ensure any life insurance policies are written in trust so that they are held outside of your estate.

• You may have surplus cash that could be placed into an investment which is IHT free after it has been owned for 2 years.

• It’s never too late to start planning to pass your business down to the next generation, but the sooner action is taken, the better!

For many taxpayers a mixture of some or all of these simple ideas can result in meaningful tax savings, so don’t let the opportunity to save tax pass you by!

Richardson Swift would be delighted to advise further and to Jon Miles Calvin Healy work with you to develop a strategy that minimises your potential exposure to all forms of taxation. Please contact either Calvin Healy or Jon Miles for further information.

• Donations made under Gift Aid to charities benefit from higher rate tax relief. For donations made before 5th April, the tax relief can be claimed in either the current tax year or in 2013/14.

• Consider making use of your annual ISA allowance of £15,000 or junior ISA allowance of £4,000 (for those children who do not eligible for the Child Trust Fund). These are tax free investments and a great way to save, especially for children.

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www.richardsonswift.co.uk 11 Laura Place, Bath BA2 4BL • 01225 325 580

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A DV E RTO R I A L F E AT U R E

Divorce: A Challenge to Face – Not a War to Win

By Richard Sharp, Sharp Family Law - Bath Divorce Solicitors.

Producing Resolution not Prolonging Conflict

F

acing a divorce is hard. Its mentally and physically taxing. You don’t sleep.

You don’t eat. You worry about how life is going to be in the future, yet are stuck in the present needing to sort through it all – and then what about the kids, the house, the mortgage, the friends and family – It can be all too overwhelming, and it’s tough. Or, maybe you are just so done.

Just when you don’t want to deal with your spouse and talk about the future, its exactly what has to happen. And that is not the only negative aspect of the situation. Maybe you have been completely blindsided by the decision of your spouse to end the relationship. Maybe you have been fighting for a long time. Maybe you’ve talked for hours and got nowhere, and the fear is you will never agree on anything.

And then the divorce process can appear only to aggravate everything, creating division and increasing your pain, fears and frustrations. This is a vulnerable time. The end of a personal relationship can be the beginning of traumatic and unfamiliar emotional feelings, financial changes and legal processes. New ways to communicate and interact may need to be learnt, to work though the care of children, to decide on how to pay bills and how to reorganise and allocate things.

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• Successfully adjust to the realities of their new situation, • Reach agreeable financial settlements and child centred family solutions, • Preserve relationships and move on with their lives.

By exploring and using solution orientated processes like Collaborative Practice, Family Mediation or Constructive Negotiation, separating and divorcing couples can find, tailor and produce an outcome that would work for them and their family after a separation or divorce.

To help achieve that outcome, the specialist family law solicitors and mediators at Sharp family law work to ensure that every client feels heard, maintains their respect and dignity in difficult times, are empowered and educated on all process options, and can make informed decisions for themselves and their families.

By working in collaboration with a team of experts that include Financial Planners, Child Specialists, and Divorce Therapists, we are also able to help clients work through the emotional, financial as well as the legal aspects of the challenge they face.

There may not be an alternative to divorce but the way you divorce and react to it may be your choice.

For more information on the choices available to you, contact Richard Sharp on 01225 448955 or email him at richard@sharpfamilylaw.com

Richard Sharp

sharp F A M I LY L A W Sharp Family Law: 5, Gay Street, Bath, BA1 2PH, UK email: info@sharpfamilylaw.com m: 07798606740 t: 01225 448955 website: www.sharpfamilylaw.com

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ocl A C C O U N TA N C Y

141 Englishcombe Lane, Bath BA2 2EL Tel: 01225 445507

www.oclaccountancy.com

Incorporate your business and save tax!

If you are starting a new business – or own a small business - you should consider incorporating the business (setting up a limited company) to take advantage of the favourable tax situation.

Owners of limited companies can pay themselves dividends from the profits of the company and so save paying national insurance at ever increasing levels.

The structure of a limited company also provides the opportunity to include other people (particularly family members) as shareholders, allowing them to benefit from dividend payments in addition to perhaps receiving a small salary (and utilising personal allowances that might otherwise be wasted).

Corporation tax starts at 20% and is very attractive for higher rate tax payers; amongst other benefits the ‘limited’ structure allows them to ring fence the profits from their higher rates and choose when to distribute them - or to have them available for reinvestment in the business without having suffered tax at higher rates and national insurance contributions.

The cost of incorporation is around £120 and takes less than 24 hours; the savings are available to any business making profits where drawings, by whatever form, are subject to national insurance contributions; the benefits can therefore be seen even with low profit and turnover figures.

We’ve been looking after small businesses (start ups to turnovers of £3 million) for more than twenty five years and we can explain these points to you at a first meeting, including what benefits you can see and how you can save money.

Please call or email to make an appointment – NO OBLIGATION OR CHARGE – to discuss your own situation and to see how we might help.

“OCL Accountancy always provide an excellent level of support in an extremely straightforward and user friendly fashion. Advice is sensible and constructive. It is much more of a partnership than a traditional client relationship which is particularly helpful.”

Call Marie Maggs, Mike Wilcox or Hannah Bratten on 01225 445507 to arrange a no-obligation meeting

WWW.THEBATHMAG.CO.UK

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FAMILY | EVENTS

Much ado about March

Bath has all kinds of family events this month, from theatre to a free science fair

YOUNG FILM MAKERS COMPETE FOR TITLE An exciting new film and music competition for young people reaches its climax on Thursday March 26th when the Grand Final of FilmScore comes to Komedia, writes Philip Raby, director of the Bath Film Festival. The prizes for the winners amount to over £2000.

It all started over a year when, in the aftermath of the triumphant screening of The Passion of Joan Of Arc in Bath Abbey, Bath Film Festival came up with an idea to build on the success of that event.

In order to develop the next generation of composers for film, FilmScore decided to encourage and reward young musicians for composing a soundtrack to a short film.

So, we selected a number of brilliant short films, using young people for our panel. We approached the music departments of 150 secondary schools, colleges and youth groups. And we raised money to fund the event.

In September 2014, the competition was launched, and young people aged 13 -19 from all over Bath and North East Somerset, Bristol, Somerset and Wiltshire, could register their interest, by signing up, and thus being able to see the films we had selected (with the music track removed). We had a total of 40 entries at the end of last month, a remarkable figure for a new competition.

In addition, we ran workshops for young people to attend with experienced composers to give advice and guidance on how to write music for film.

And finally, we asked a number of very successful film composers to act as judges for the grand final. We are thrilled to say that Gary Yershon (Mr Turner), Sarah Class (Emmy and Brit-nominated composer), Dickon Hinchliffe (Winter’s Bone) and Kelvin Swaby of legendary Bath band, The Heavy, have agreed to come.

The competition will run again in 2015/16 and beyond, attracting greater attention, and once again putting Bath on the map as a cultural oasis of brilliance and innovation.

The 2015 Bath Film Festival runs from 3 to 13 December. Keep an eye on what’s coming: bathfilmfestival.org.uk.

WWW.THEBATHMAG.CO.UK

LE PETIT ARTISTE CHILDREN’S THEATRE PRESENTS: THE UGLY DUCKLING Saturday 7 March, 2pm n Pound Arts, Pound Pill, Corsham, Wiltshire Exploding eggs, singing frogs, dancing swans and live music. Join the Ugly Duckling, learn about the true value of friendship and the pain of being the odd one out. Tickets: £7 (£6 concs), £24 family, from tel: 01249 701628/712618, visit: poundarts.org.uk.

Also at the Pound this month THE THREE BILLY PIGS Saturday 21 March, 2pm Once upon a time there were three little pigs… and now it is time for them to leave home.

Tickets: £7 (£6 concessions), £24 family WONDERFUL WIRE CHICKS AND HENS Monday 30 March, 10am to noon Local sculptor Celia Smith will lead the workshop to create seasonal chicks or hens The Mid-Somerset Drama Festival

JUDGE: Kevin Swaby of The Heavy

HAMMERPUZZLE THEATRE PRESENTS: KING JOHN Wednesday 4 – Thursday 5 March, times vary n The egg theatre, Bath This a 60-minute high energy adaptation of Shakespeare’s King John originally performed for the Shakespeare Unplugged Festival.

Suitable for eight-year-olds and older. Tickets: £7.50/£6.50 concs. To book, tel: 01225 823409, visit: theatreroyal.org.uk.

Also at the egg this month TWO FOUR SIX EIGHT Friday 6 – Saturday 7 March,times vary Craig has been invited to a birthday party.

Shoofly Theatre has fun with numbers as it wraps up party games, presents and musical chairs. Suitable for aged four and over.

SAMMY AND THE SNOW LEOPARD Saturday 14 March, 11.30am and 3pm A high energy solo show involving stuffed animals, evil neighbours, school projects and limes. An innovative and inspiring show for aged six and over. #THE EGG HUNT Saturday 21 March – 11 April To celebrate the egg theatre’s fifth birthday join in a city wide treasure hunt to find 25 decorated eggs that will be hidden round Bath. Pick up a free treasure map from the theatre.

Joseph at the Theatre Royal

using wire and other bendy material. Suitable for all the family. £10 per child, please bring an adult.

MID-SOMERSET DRAMA FESTIVAL Wednesday 11 – Friday 13March n The Mission Theatre, Corn Street, Bath The theatre plays host to the annual festival which celebrates the best of young talent in drama and the performing arts. Acting doesn’t get any tougher than this . . .

For full details of the competition visit: midsomerfestival.org.uk.

MOTHER’S DAY Sunday 15 March Don’t forget to make a fuss of your mum today!

JOSEPH AND THE AMAZING TECHNICOLOR DREAMCOAT Tuesday 24 – Sunday 29 March, times vary n Theatre Royal, SawcloseBath This is a great introduction to the excitement of live musical theatre. Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s classic re-telling of a Bible story is a real feelgood show that will appeal to children aged eight and over. Tickets from £19.

Tel: 01225 448844.

BATH TAPS INTO SCIENCE Saturday 21 March, all day n Royal Victoria Park, Bath This is a free, fun-filled day for the curious.

There’ll be hands-on science, an inflatable dome, loads of inventors and inventions, and, yes, some explosions.

HATS OFF TO SPRING Tuesday 31 March, 10.30am and 1.30pm n The Fashion Museum, Bath Join in with the craft workshops to make your own hats. Free with entry to the museum.

EASTER FUN DAY Tuesday 31 March, 11am – 2pm n Bath City Farm, Kelston View, Bath Free craft activities, egg themed games, craft and plant stalls and an Easter egg hunt. Café open.

No need to book.

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GREAT OPPORTUNITY: members of King Edward School’s orchestra

A MUSICAL FLOURISH King Edward’s School Bath’s original take on music lessons, offers students the chance to work with a professional orchestra and an award-winning composer

M

ost schools have a choir, some have orchestras, but one Bath school has taken the unusual step of adopting an in-school composer. King Edward’s School appointed award-winning contemporary composer Mark Boden to the two-day residency, where he has been teaching and working with the students for the past four years.

As part of his remit he writes bespoke pieces for the school’s major events, such as the carol concert held at Bath Abbey and for Founder’s Day, also at the abbey. This month Mark, who studied at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, will be giving a world premiere of his latest piece at a gala concert in which the school orchestra will also play alongside the professional musicians of the Bath Philharmonia.

The new piece, to be unveiled on Monday 16 March at the gala concert at the historic Assembly Rooms, is Earthrise, inspired by words written by KES students. Mark said of the new composition: “My aim was to create a piece of music which would take inspiration from creative talents outside of the music department at the school. In partnership with the creative writing society, I set pupils the challenge of writing poems about Earth, the natural world and stewardship of the planet.”

Earthrise comprises three short movements, each of which is named after the poem which formed the initial source of inspiration. The initial movement uses driving ostinati (repetitive rhythmic patterns) and circling harmonic sequences to depict the stark qualities of Lukas Hillman’s Doomsday. The central movement (also called Earthrise) is calmer than the outer movements, with greater focus on lyricism and consonant harmonies in both the instrumental and vocal scoring. The work ends with Fallout, a movement full of energetic, dance-like rhythms, which increase in intensity and vigour as harmonies become increasingly dissonant and the work builds to a dramatic close. “ King Edward’s is also working in what the school believes is a unique collaboration with a professional orchestra. The Side-by-Side project with Bath Philharmonia gives young orchestral players the chance to perform next to and learn from professional musicians in workshops, rehearsals and a performance. There’s also the opportunity for top soloists to stretch their talents to perform concerti movements supported by an orchestra of professional musicians, and for the young musicians to experience playing under professional conductor Jason Thornton.

Audiences will be able to enjoy the combined talents of the two Bath orchestras at the gala concert – tickets are on public sale now.

The space themed programme is as follows: Suite in D No. 2 from Handel’s Water Music, Music from Apollo 13 by James Horner, Starwars: The Empire Strikes Back by John Williams, World Premiere XX by Mark Boden, 1 Mars, V Saturn and VII Neptune from Holst’s The Planets.

Tickets: Adults £14, concessions £8. Tel: King Edward’s School box office: 01225 464313 or Email: a.budgett@kesbath.com. You can listen to Mark Boden’s work online at: markdavidboden.com. Click on Listen and choose from any of his past compositions. ■

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PREPARE TO SUCCEED Students and their parents, mindful of the coming exam season, are taking advantage of specialist coaching that organisations such as Clifton College offer. These revision and tutoring courses target students keen to top up on their subject knowledge in order to maximise their chance of examination success.

Courses focus on: revision, covering common areas, topics of difficulty, and areas to focus on and revise; exam technique, focusing on how to interpret questions and write high grade answers; and exam practice, in which students will be encouraged to apply their knowledge in exam conditions by answering past exam papers, improving essay writing technique and working under timed conditions At Clifton College in Bristol, students can take one or two subjects over the course of the week. With each subject comprising 15 hours of intense revision for the week, students will be revising their chosen subjects comprehensively. For those students who are taking two subjects, an option to board for the week is provided.

Experienced tutors delivering personal and interactive teaching methods, with students enjoying one-on-one attention. Parents can rest assured that students’ specific educational needs and demands will be taken into consideration.

Contact Clifton College course manager, Brad Clark, on 0117 3157 143, or email: bclark@cliftoncollege.com.

WWW.THEBATHMAG.CO.UK

SCHOOL REPORT

HANDS-ON SCIENCE

M

y Science Fair is a unique community event based around a science project competition, which culminates in a free event at the Wiltshire Music Centre in Bradford-on-Avon on Sunday 8 March from 10am to 4pm.

Started by a passionate group of local parent volunteers in 2012, it has gone from strength to strength. It encourages children aged 5 to 11 years and their families to explore the world through science. Schools can get involved too: last year 20 schools took part, with 88 entries.

The fair gives children the chance to undertake scientific investigation, supported by their families and schools. They choose a topic which interests and intrigues them and then have a couple of months to conduct experiments and observations and to prepare a poster display to share their conclusions. The range and scope of projects is as wide as child’s imagination, but this year there is a suggested theme of the relationship between science, music and movement.

Taking part enables young people to ask their own questions about the world and explore using biology, chemistry, maths and computers in an accessible, fun, way while learning research, writing and presentational skills.

The childrens’ project displays are all showcased on the day and prizes are awarded by a panel of judges. The day is open to all and

BRIGHT SPARKS: carrying out experiments at the fair

is filled with workshops, demonstrations and discovery. This year there will be interactive workshops and performances including a robotics workshop, 3D printing and laser display demonstrations, and some interesting ice cream making, too.

There will also be a Bio-Bug on site. The UK’s first people-powered car is a breakthrough in the drive towards sustainable power as it runs on methane gas produced by humans (via the sewage treatment process).

Jon Chase, the science rapper, will be on hand to impart his considerable passion for scientific thinking to young people. Jon was described in a broadsheet newspaper as education’s ‘next best thing’ after he produced a science rap video for NASA about astrobiology.

For more information visit: wiltshiremusic.org.uk.

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R EVI EW

BLISSED OUT

Who needs the Blue Lagoon of Reykjavik when we’ve got the fabulous Thermae Bath Spa here at home?

H

ands up if you’re one of those people who, when someone urges you to relax makes you think ‘yeah right’ putting on a pantomime of calm while remainly as inwardly rigid as the oldfashioned English stiff upper lip, with toes curled and shoulders braced.

I’m usually that person, able to keep up a lively and inquisitive line of journalistic questioning and inane chatter while the therapist does their utmost to massage me into quiet submission. But I have to admit, I have now met my match – rendered speechless, relaxed as a jellyfish and spaced out after an hour and a half of comprehensive physical, emotional and therefore mental, bliss.

The Thermae Bath Spa’s Inner Strength treatment is one of the city spa’s new signature range of therapies. I can honestly say that it can help you face the world and all its worries that little bit easier. It’s a treatment based on the principles of the healing powers of touch and our very primitive and emotional links with smell, using British brand Aromatherapy Associates, and very effective it is too.

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The staff at the spa are good at putting people at their ease, perhaps because they’re dealing with visitors from all different cultural backgrounds and different ages. Amy, my professional and very reassuring therapist, told me that Inner Strength would be appropriate for people who are suffering from anxiety or depression, or who have suffered a bereavement.

We began with some deep inhalation of frankincense essential oils, followed by a stress busting shoulder and back massage, a throrough hand and feet massage, with warm parafin wax applied to moisture starved feet, hands and back. This was followed by a soothing, gentle facial and remoisturising treatment for the neck and upper chest.

By halfway through I was drifting away. I’d like to say I was experiencing mindfulness, that much sought after mental place of existing only in the here and now, but you could also describe it as intellectually unplugged. I didn’t fall asleep, although I could imagine, as you were cosseted in warm towels, face lightly swathed in gentle balms and a warm stone on your breast bone, that you could easily nod off.

At the end of the seemingly timeless session Amy allowed me to come round gently, bringing me water and then suggesting I sit quietly in the peaceful, quiet lounging area. We joked about it being unwise for me to operate heavy machiney for the rest of the day, so when I later tried to summon the lift by pressing a picture of an arrow instead of the lift button, this instruction rang true. I will now be known at the spa as the woman who was so relaxed she was unable to operate a lift . . .

The Inner Strength treatment is £82 for 85 minutes and includes a twohour session in the spa itself, with its choice of pools and steam rooms.

To book tel: 0844 888 0844. For a simply indulgent two hour spa session the new rate of £32 (for weekdays) includes slipper, robe and towel hire.

Free hair dryers are available at the spa.

The spa, which we locals ought to enjoy more often than most of us do, has an excellent shop which stocks the divine Aromatherapy Associates range. Use the bath oil at the end of the day and its inspiring mix of geranium, rosemary and clary sage will help you relax and unwind. Or try a few drops of the Inner Strength body oil for an emotional pick-me-up – just don’t operate any heavy machinery immediately after use. ■

GMc

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BECKFORD’S BACK YARD One of Bath’s most notorious characters William Beckford built another folly, in addition to his tower at Lansdown, Andrew Swift takes a stroll near the former Fonthill Abbey

O

ur spring walk explores part of the Fonthill estate, once owned by William Beckford, and, although you will not get to see anything associated with one of Bath’s most famous residents, you will get to walk through some of Wiltshire’s most gloriously unspoilt countryside.

To get to the starting point, head south from Bath along the A36. After 20 miles,

The archway at the end of the drive dates from Beckford’s father’s time. After acquiring the estate in 1745, he built a mansion called Fonthill Splendens looking out across the lake. When his son inherited the estate, he demolished most of the mansion and set to work building his abbey.

So expensive did it prove that in 1823 he sold it to pay off his debts and moved to Lansdown Crescent in Bath. Two years

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Local legend has it that Beckford was on the scaffolding inspecting building work, when he saw the tower at Fonthill, 25 miles away to the south, collapse

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turn right at a roundabout to follow the A350. After 7½ miles, turn left at traffic lights along the B3089. Continue through Hindon, and after another 1½ miles turn right through a triumphal arch. After another mile, pull into a lay-by on the left (ST933316).

From here, walk back along the road, with Fonthill Lake on your right.

Although this was part of Beckford’s estate, the remains of his Gothic-style Abbey, which originally had a tower taller than Salisbury Cathedral, lies hidden in woodland over a mile away to the south-west.

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later, the tower collapsed, taking most of the abbey with it. By then, work on a more modest tower on Lansdown was already under way. Local legend has it that Beckford was on the scaffolding, inspecting building work, when he saw the tower at Fonthill, 25 miles away to the south, collapse.

After going through the arch, turn right along the road through the village of Fonthill Bishop, with the church, dating from the 13th century, on the left. After 250m, just past a bus shelter, turn right along a lane and, just before a gateway, turn left to follow a bridleway sign

through an old stableyard and on into woodland.

As the bridleway slowly climbs, you can glimpse the valley below you on the right. After 1100m, the wood ends and a superb view opens up below you (ST946326). As you carry on, look back to see the lake in the distance.

When the track forks, bear right to follow the bridleway as it heads downhill – with a view eastward to the spire of Chilmark church – before rising again.

When you come to a T junction, bear left and keep to the main track, before bearing left to follow a bridleway sign at another T junction.

After going through a gate, bear right

UPIFTING: main picture, distant views of the lake, below, Fonthill Lake, opposite page, beautiful beech trees

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THE | WALK

along a lane through the hamlet of Ridge (ST953320). After 350m, turn right to follow a footpath sign through a gate and along the drive of Fonthill House. After 350m, when the drive forks, bear left to follow a footpath sign.

Fonthill House, which you can see to the right, has nothing to do with Beckford, having been built in 1972.

After another 250m, bear right to follow a footpath sign along a muddy track (ST947315). Go through a gate at the end, turn left alongside the fence, turning right at the corner of the field to follow the fence downhill with views across to Fonthill Gifford church. At the end, go through a gate and follow a rough path between trees and past what appears to be some kind of ditch or rampart.

When you come to a holloway, bear

left down it, turning right at the bottom and then left across a dam where a board gives details of a hydro-electric scheme.

Follow the drive alongside the lake, but, when it bears left uphill, go through a gate ahead to continue alongside the lake for 800m to return to the lay-by.

There are several excellent places for lunch in this part of Wiltshire. The closest pub – half a mile on from the lay-by – is the Beckford Arms in Fonthill Gifford.

There is also a restaurant – the Riverbarn – in Fonthill Bishop. A little farther afield, the Talbot at Berwick St John and the Compasses at Chicksgrove are also recommended. Booking is advisable for all of them.

Level of challenge: Many of the paths are likely to be muddy, otherwise largely straightforward. n

FACT FILE ■ Length of walk: 4 miles ■ Time of walk: allow two hours ■ Map: OS Explorer 143 ■ Refreshments: The Beckford Arms, Fonthill Gifford, Riverbarn, Fonthill Bishop, the Talbot at Berwick St John, or the Compasses at Chicksgrove.

Booking is advised.

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RESTORATION | MAN

RESTORATION MAGICIAN Master craftsman Fran Stacey lovingly breathes new life into old buildings using traditional skills

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the Italian Renaissance mastercraftsmen, is the use of real feathers for some of the more delicate markings.

He copies exactly the patterns and colours found in natural marble so the trained eye can spot a vert de mer or Carrara marble. Marble is a metamorphic rock, which is found all over the world. It is formed from limestone that has gone through a process of recrystallisation through heat or pressure. This gives it a dense crystalline structure that makes a polished surface possible. Marble can vary in colour from the whites and creams of classical sculpture to pinks, greens, greys, browns and yellows Fran comes from a family of restorers and builders and studied fine art before branching out into the applied art of historic building restoration. The day I met him he’d just been to visit a classic historic building in Bath, confessing: “I know it’s a bit sad but I do spend my spare time seeking out old buildings to look at.”

He is justly proud of work carried out in the restoration of a magnificent listed Regency millhouse in Seend, Wiltshire, which he worked on with interior designer Nick le Ny-Clarke of NW Clarke Property – one of several projects the pair has teamed up for. One of the rooms was a sadly neglected dining hall which cried out for a Cinderella makeover. Fran studied the portrait

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GRAND ENTRANCE: top the Regency dining hall at Seend in Wiltshire, and inset, before Fran began his Cinderella makeover

Even under close scrutiny it’s hard to tell his handiwork from nature’s own

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A

rchitectural restorer Fran Stacey is only in his 30s, but he was taught the intricacies of his craft by a man who was, in turn, taught by a Victorian. In just three generations these traditional skills have been shared and handed down, and applied to old buildings to keep them beautiful for future generations.

Fran is a Wiltshire based restorer who has worked on a wide variety of projects across the country. These include removing unsympathetic pebble dashing on an old cob-built farmhouse and replacing it with a lime wash, which allows the building to breathe, and repairing and restoring broken and overpainted cornice work on Regency ceilings. One of his more rarified skills is marbling, in which he can perfectly replicate real stone. Even under close scrutiny it’s hard to tell his handiwork from nature’s own, and one of the refinements of this traditional skill that traces its methods back to the days of

which was to hang over the fireplace and its frame inspired him to carry out some faux marbling on the fire surround. The walls were painted with an authentic Regency yellow, whose colour was echoed in rich, thick curtains and the final dramatic touch was achieved with

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DEFT TOUCH: clockwise from top left, a Regency drawing room bathed in light and colour, decorative plasterwork can be repaired or re-created by craftsman Fran Stacey

some impressive marbling done painstakingly by hand on a pair of pillars. As he was starting to repair an old plaster fire surround he discovered an old newspaper wad had been used behind the decorative mould. The paper was from the Bath Journal of March 1780, and together with the first lease for the house, drawn up in February 1781, allows the date the house was built, for clothier James Bannister, to be pinpointed with accuracy.

As Fran points out, marbling is not

FAKING IT: faux marbling in a Regency dining hall

just confined to stately or grand homes.

Many Victorian and Georgian houses in Bath have fire surrounds that would be enhanced with some marbling. He can also help with decorative plasterwork, where ceiling roses and cornicing which have been buffeted and chipped over generations, or painted over so all definition of leaves, flowers or the classic egg and dart design has been blurred or all but obliterated. Fran can strip paint, make new pieces and seamlessly fit them in to make all look as good as it did a century or two ago.

“I’m happy to take on all sizes of project,” he says,pleased to be in demand.

Once you’ve studied Fran’s handiwork you find yourself examining fire surrounds, pillars and other surfaces in some of Bath’s historic buildings to check out whether it’s genuine marble or a clever trompe l’oeil.

FE Stacey and Co is currently working on a couple of projects alongside interior designers, which Fran visits in between other jobs. One is a huge restoration project by an internationally known artist and his wife who have taken on what was a rundown country house hotel in Herefordshire and are busy lovingly restoring it room by room, as a family home. Fran shows me photos where decorative woodwork has been heavily coated in thick black paint and rooms institutionalised by insensitive use of colours.

Fran says: “I like to use paints by

Rose of Jericho, which is an amazing family run business based in Dorset.

They are brilliant at analysing original historic paint – they’ve worked on places such as Hampton Court and colours used in Henry VIII’s time – and can colour match those authentic shades. I love it when we get the right colour for a room and it comes to life again.”

While some of Fran’s work involves intricate and detailed attention, like the woodwork effects he restored in an old Tudor merchant’s house in Marlborough, he happily rolls his sleeves up to work on shoring up and replastering old ceilings or scrambling up scaffolding to re-render external walls.

Does he have a favourite job when it comes to his restoration work, I wonder?

“There’s this technique called harling which I quite enjoy doing,” he confesses, as he describes an old craft, in which the wet lime mix mortar is applied to the outside of buildings to protect them from the weather, using a harling trowel, which allows the craftsman to use a bit of welly and throw the rough cast mix at the surface. It looks incredibly hard work but kind of fun at the same time.

“What we do goes beyond fashion and fad,” he says. “I’m proud that these skills have been handed down and that there are still those of us who enjoy using them. It’s a very satisfying, rewarding way to work.”

You can contact FE Stacey and Co, tel: 07811 430 767 or email: festacey@festacey.co.uk. n MARCH 2015

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INTERIOR | TRENDS

THE LATEST FROM PARIS Bath interior designer Clair Strong picks some highlights from Maison et Objet, including Timorous Beasties’ latest designs and Tom Dixon’s copper-plated stationery

T

he whole interiors world decamps in the new year to Paris for Maison et Objet – Europe’s largest design fair.

Like the catwalk shows of the fashion world, Maison sets the trends for 2015 and beyond and is the key date in every interior designer, blogger’s and buyer’s diary. Bath interior designer Clair Strong joined the throngs to scout out the latest looks, products and brands.

This year Maison was celebrating its 20th anniversary with 3,000 exhibitors from all over the world showcasing everything from luxurious fabrics and bedlinens to furniture, accessories, tableware, crafts, cushions, rugs and carpets.

With nine huge pavilions and 80,000 visitors this Parois show is so huge it’s impossible to see everything, but here are a few of the stands that grabbed Clair’s attention . . .

Clair says: “A new discovery for me was Notre Monde who I first saw at Home.

They’ve been causing a bit of a stir in the design press ever since. They make gorgeous one-of-a-kind trays, mirrors and furniture inspired by a whole range of global influences. Pretty and affordable” explains Clair.

Notre Monde © www.notremonde.com Maison’s designer of the year this year was Oki Sato, head of design at Nendo.

He created a luxurious Chocolatexture lounge feature and a specially commissioned set of chocolates designed after Japanese words for textures or sounds. Far too beautiful to eat. www.nendo.jp French interior designers were out in force on their home territory of course. Ligne Roset’s new collection included a range of nine Pierre Paulin pieces re-issued over 50 years since he first designed them in 1953. The clean lines and modular cushions of the day-bed made it the star piece of the range.

Daybed designed by Pierre Paulin in 1953. Reissued by Ligne Roset. © www.ligne-roset.com

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DelightFULL’s stands are always pure theatre and this year I loved this brass and walnut Monocles sideboard (with a secret space for your gin bottle) and their enormous spaceage Galliano ceiling light – plus they had a fantastic cocktail bar!

Monocles sideboard from DelightFULL © www.delightfull.eu Galliano light from DelightFULL © www.delightfull.eu

A new collection from Missoni Home always causes a buzz and this year was no exception.

The Lilium collection featuring abstract florals on everything from bedcovers to carpets, footrests and pillows was bang on trend for the modern 1970s look that was everywhere at Maison.

Missoni Home Lilium Multicolour range © www.missoni.com

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Pinch, the award-winning London husband and wife design team, is 10 years old this year. To help them celebrate they launched a collaboration with their friends at Timorous Beasties, creating Graffito Velvet a head-turning fabric made especially for their iconic Noelle Sofa. It’s a gorgeous fusion of glamour and rock and roll attitude.

Noelle Sofa in customised Timorous Beasties’ Graffito Velvet © Pinchdesign.com

Maison marked its 20th anniversary by celebrating the handmade and there were three so-called inspiration rooms at the fair – nature made, human made and techno made. Stylist Elizabeth Lerich curated the human-made exhibition, which celebrated artisans and craftspeople from all over Europe. I loved seeing the potters from Copenhagen’s Tortus Studio showing the incredible skill needed to make Unika, the current collection of pots and vases.

Unika Danish handmade ceramics from Tortus Copenhagen .© www.tortuscopenhagen.com

More glamour came courtesy of Tom Dixon, Maison’s designer of the year 2014. British-designer, Tom never disappoints and this year he launched Cube – his new minimalist stationary collection – at the Fair. This stylish range is finished in copper and includes pens, a desk tidy, staplers and tape dispensers perfect for the sophisticated home office. I wanted it all.

Cube – Courtesy of Tom Dixon, photos by Peer Lindgreen WWW.THEBATHMAG.CO.UK

LIGHTING SPECIALIST

8 BATH STREET, FROME. TEL: 01373473555 WWW.FIATLUX.CO.UK

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CITY | INTERIORS

THOROUGHLY MODERN

Ruth Keily talks to Bath interior designer Lynette Labuschagne about the challenges of working with listed buildings to create living spaces for busy contemporary family life

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and luxury Karndean vinyl floor tiles with metallic hints.

For a countryside home with plenty of comings and goings, a hard-wearing and easily washable floor was a must, and details like the chromed plinths bring all these practical materials together in a harmonious, retro-inspired whole.

In many homes, open-plan is attractive but design expertise is needed to ‘zone’ the different areas, ensuring adequate workspace and storage for multiple activities, and creating a flow from one to the next.

“We all know how much there is to do just keeping family and home ticking along, and we needed a space where the household admin could be done and papers filed. I love this admin hub with its strong, practical filing drawers, and it also sub-divides the kitchen from the dining room while preserving continuity between them,” explains Lynette.

On the other side of this unit, Lynette’s one-off design for an altar table provides useful serving space, while neatly accommodating the radiator behind. “Bespoke, craftsmanbuilt pieces are a great investment if you

want to fit a space exactly and create something unique that sets off your room perfectly,” she suggests.

Across town, a young professional couple combine running a creative agency with bringing up two lively sons.

They wanted to make the very most of their space with multi-functional rooms, one a home office-cum-family study, and the other an occasional guest room.

The bright home office accommodates the couple when home working, plus occasionally colleagues from their city centre office. It’s also an attractive place

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IN HARMONY: working with the original details of the house, the kitchen fuses brick, laminate, brushed aluminium, Formica panelling and work surfaces, and Karndean vinyl floor tiles with metallic hints

We all know how much there is to do just keeping family and home ticking along

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B

ath is a place many people come to re-design their lives.

Visitors marvel at its rich history, but residents know it’s a thoroughly 21st century city full of people balancing the changing demands of work, family, lifestyle and interests, and they need homes that help them do it all.

Interior designer Lynette Labuschagne, owner of Bear Interiors in Bear Flat, helps families create spaces where all this can be achieved. As she says: “What matters is respecting the heritage of every home while making the best use of new materials to deliver something truly workable.”

A recent commission took Lynette to a listed 1960s home set in 14 acres south of the city.

She says: “I love the fact that a house around here doesn’t have to be Georgian to be listed. We wanted to be fully sympathetic to the period and design a linked kitchen and dining room for functional modern living.”

Working with the original details of the house, the kitchen fuses brick, laminate, brushed aluminium, genuine Formica panelling and work surfaces,

to encourage the boys to do homework and music practice. The key to achieving all this is custom-built shelving and storage, making use of every inch of available space around and under desks, while remaining homelike and lowmaintenance.

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CITY | INTERIORS

FLEXIBLE SPACES: left, Lynette’s one-off altar table provides serving space, while neatly accommodating the radiator behind, and right, a wide landing has multi-functions as a TV or play area, the doors folding to create a snug guest room

Blond oak parquet flooring is actually hardwearing Karndean, and the desking and shelves also make use of robust laminate in walnut wood effect and neutrals. A bespoke plan chest was built below the standing-height peninsula desk to hold design prints as well as children’s art. With even the welcoming window seat accommodating plenty of storage space, it’s a room with something for everyone.

Upstairs, this home has a generous landing area, and the family wanted to make flexible use of this too. Lynette created a multi-functional space with

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flooring delimiting different zones. The fun open-plan TV and play area transforms when visitors arrive: the elegant bifold doors close and the sofabed opens to make a snug guest room.

There was a time when man-made materials couldn’t compete with natural, but that’s no longer the case. High quality laminates and vinyls help make furnishings longer-lasting, more costeffective and a whole lot easier to look after than natural alternatives, and they’re attractive enough to work side by side with them too.

Would these clever contemporary designs work equally well in a period home?

Lynette is clear about the essential principles which would work for all types of home.“Rooms need to be sympathetic to their surroundings, and carry out all the functions modern lifestyles demand of them within a realistic budget.”

No matter the setting, with some creative input, knowledge of modern materials and good quality custombuilding, you can have beautiful rooms which fit in every sense. ■

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SPRING | GARDENING

A BUSMAN’S HOLIDAY Working hard in your own garden means you deserve to plan a few treats, says Jane Moore as she suggests some gardens to visit this year

M

arch is a month I love to hate. It may be the gateway to spring but by now it really can’t come quick enough – I’m fed up of thermal vests and warming soups, of finding one day it’s spring and the next it’s back to winter. I’m trying to be more like the birds, savouring the subtle lengthening of each day, getting my nest in order and planning ahead.

I’m also eagerly observing the succession of spring flowers. Oh yes, I have a mental checklist of spring bloomers which are ticked off as they appear and we move inexorably towards summer. Crocus, eranthus and snowdrops are distant memories: I’m now working my way through many and varied daffodils, as well as dicentra, camellia and magnolia. But it’s hard not to wish the month away, anticipating the promise of an enchanted April of tulips, wisteria, flowering cherries and snakeshead fritillaries. Sigh…

But for now it’s daffodils, nesting and planning ahead. Nesting first, and that means a big tidy up. Clear out the shed, greenhouse, compost heap, everything, and get ready for the season ahead – you just won’t have time in April. As to daffodils and spring flowers in general; there’s not a lot you can do right now if you haven’t got enough spring interest except to make sure you plant more.

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can usually rely on a certain amount of rainfall, can’t we? You’ll need to plan ahead for bulbs but make lists now, while you’re thinking about it.

Planning ahead is one of my favourite March tasks as I have both the time and the enthusiasm to look forward. I’m an inveterate list-maker so planning obviously entails checklists galore. I make lists of bulbs I want to buy in September, lists of gaps in the garden I need to fill and lists of jobs to do such as sowing annuals and grasses, moving and splitting perennials and taking dahlia cuttings.

As well as planning ahead in the garden, it’s also a great time to book up a few outings and garden visits. There’s nothing like a garden visit or a show to fire the enthusiasm and fill your brain with ideas for your garden, not to mention your car with plants. But where to start? The garden clubs of the area are adept at arranging some good trips through the summer – and talks in the winter – so if you’re not a member, it’s high time to join.

Beyond that the Yellow Book or National Garden Scheme is always worth looking at, as is the good old National Trust, for great gardens and very good tea and cake. And last but not least why not treat yourself to a Royal Horticultural Society show? I don’t make it to one every year but when I do I always find things to challenge and inspire me, as well as a wealth of great little nurseries.

MAKE A DAY OF IT: main picture, take inspiration from the RHS Chelsea Flower Show (this is the Brewin Dolphin Garden from 2012) Inset, the Kilver Court gardens with their spectacular view of the old railway viaduct

Great Gardens The National Trust’s Stourhead needs little introduction and it’s filled with blooms throughout the spring months.

Join in a spring blooms garden tours from 3 to 7 May, from 11.30am to 12.30pm or 1.30pm to 2.30pm. Normal admission charges apply. Tel: 01747 841152. Web: nationaltrust.org.uk/stourhead Malmesbury’s Abbey House Gardens has 1,300 years of history – the first King of all England is buried somewhere in the garden, here two saints were thrown down the well, plus it is a really great, well stocked garden. It’s open for the National Garden Scheme on Sunday 15 March from 11am to 5.30pm. Tel: 01666 822212. Web: abbeyhousegardens.co.uk

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SPRING | GARDENING

WORTH THE JOURNEY: Dewstow Gardens in Monmouthshire has been spectacularly restored

It may be a trek into Monmouthshire to visit Dewstow Gardens fve acre Grade 1 listed garden, but I believe it’s worth it.

This garden was buried and forgotten after the Second World War and rediscovered in 2000 and features underground grottoes, tunnels and ferneries and above ground impressive water features. It’s open for the NGS on Sunday 12 April and Sunday 13 September from 10am to 4pm. Tel: 01291 431020. Web: dewstowgardens.co.uk Kilver Court Secret Gardens at Shepton Mallett were created in the 1800s and restored in the earlyv1960s by the Showering family, who commissioned George Whiteleg to recreate his gold

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medal winning Chelsea garden. The garden, recently featured on BBC Gardeners’ World, showcases a millpond, herbaceous borders and formal parterre with the most dramatic backdrop, the viaduct built for the Somerset and Dorset railway. The gardens are open for the NGS on Wedneday 15 April, Thursday 28 May and Monday 14 September from 10am to 4pm. Tel: 01749 340410. Web: kilvercourt.com

Go to a Show The earliest big RHS Flower Show takes place just over the bridge in Cardiff from 17 to 19 April and is well worth a visit. Tickets cost a very reasonable £7.50 in advance, or £10 on the day for

RHS members; non-members £8.50 in advance, £12 on the day. Call 0844 338 7539 for tickets or take a look at the RHS website: rhs.org.uk/shows I love the Malvern Shows partly because of the charming location of the Three Counties Showground. The Spring show takes place from 7 to 10 May and ticket prices range from £15 to £39. Call 01684 584924 for tickets.

The best known flower show in the world is something you must visit at least once in your life. This year’s RHS Chelsea Flower Show takes place from 19 to 23 May and tickets cost from £24 to £69. It starts at 8am and gates close at 8pm, so take my advice, arrive as the gates open and make a bee-line for the big show gardens as you’ll get your best view of them when it’s quiet.

Alternatively stay until the end and hope to get a good view as the crowds thin out towards 6ish. I’ve done both and it’s well worth it, but don’t forget to pace yourself – the Royal Hospital grounds might be small but the RHS pack in the delights so several circumnavigations are necessary. Ticket details as for Cardiff but book early to get tickets for RHS member days of Tuesday and Wednesday. ■ Jane Moore is the award-winning head gardener at the Bath Priory. She writes regularly for the Telegraph and can be followed on Twitter @janethegardener.

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the directory

to advertise in this section call 01225 424 499

Electricians

Health, Beauty & Wellbeing

Viv Kenchington Solution Focused Hypnotherapist & Reflexologist HPD, DHP, MNCH (Reg), AfSFH, DipReflex, MIFR

Depression, Anxiety, Stress, Phobias, Anger, Weight or Performance issues?

Help change happen fast with effective professional treatments in Bath and Wiltshire Free initial consultation & parking available Contact: 07974 153487 email: info@hypnotherapyandhealth.co.uk website: www.hypnotherapyandhealth.co.uk

Gardening

Holiday Rental

RHS Silver Medal winner 2012 • Award winning Garden Design • • Expert planting • • All aspects of Garden Construction • • Attention to detail • Reliability of service • • Highly experienced •

Mob: 07967 078 058 Tel: 01225 789990 www.bretthardylandscape.co.uk

ONEMAGAZINEONECITYONEMONTH Health, Beauty & Wellbeing Alison Heather Sutton

The Life Crafting Programme Create a life you love

Breathe | Reflect | Rejuvenate | Smile www.alisonheathersutton.co.uk 07713 626673

The Practice Rooms, Bath BA1 1RH

WWW.THEBATHMAG.CO.UK

Acupuncture for Fertility, support alongside IVF, Pregnancy and Womens Health.

Holly Woodward (MBAcC, Reg Nurse) is an experienced fertility acupuncturist, having worked for leading fertility expert Zita West.

Call Holly on 07759 684552 Address: The Practice Rooms, 26 Upper Borough Walls.

Situated above ‘Lush’.

E: holly.woodward@yahoo.co.uk W: www.hollywoodward.co.uk

KEIKO KISHIMOTO Holistic Treatments for Wellbeing

Aromatherapy Deep Tissue Massage Japanese Cosmo Facelift Reflexology/Facial reflexology For more information, please visit:

www.keikokishimoto.co.uk 07739 827186 contact@keikokishimoto.co.uk

Trowbridge & Neal’s Yard Bath

House & Home

FREE TRIAL Rising damp protection with NO BUILDING WORK involved:

- an alternative to traditional methods - electronically - active reverse osmosis - suitable for any size or type of building, especially period properties

www.damp-protection.co.uk Tel 02070609554

TEL: 01225 424499 Advertising that keeps working

MARCH 2015

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PROPERTY | HOMEPAGE

D

ryleaze is a detached period house which stands in grounds of just over eight acres which provide a magical rural setting bursting with unusual shrubs, bushes and trees as well as a beautiful well stocked lake. Well placed for transport into both Bath and Bristol the grounds face mostly south and adjoin Duchy of Cornwall farmland. The well presented accommodation comprises four bedrooms, bath room and an en suite shower room, sitting room with wood burner, dining room, kitchen, breakfast room, utility room and cloakroom, inner hall/study and a spacious conservatory. There is also a cellar which is currently arranged as a study/playroom. The grounds offer stabling comprising four loose boxes and there is a variety of additional timber outbuildings. Parking comes in the form of a large detached double garage and ample driveway space. This traditional style small country estate provides everything needed to enjoy the outdoor life with a comfortable and spacious family home to come back to. For full details contact agents Pritchards.

Pritchards, 11 Quiet Street, Bath. Tel: 01225 466225

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DRYLEAZE, BATH ROAD CORSTON • Small country estate with pony paddocks and well stocked lake • Private position backing onto beautiful Duchy of Cornwall land • Four bedrooms • Two bathrooms • Traditional style, well presented accommodation

Price: £1,100,000

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pritchardsbath.co.uk

Bradford On Avon A most impressive Grade II Listed 5 bedroom detached barn set in over an acre and enjoying widespread views, with the rare benefit of an additional detached cottage.

• 5 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms within the Great Barn • Additional 2 / 3 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms within the cottage • Level plot spanning over an acre • Carport & ample driveway parking • Total approximate floor area - Great Barn 2564 sq.ft (238.2 sq.m) & Cottage/Annexe 859 sq.ft (79 sq m)

Guide Price: £1,175,000

Bradford On Avon A most attractive stone built detached house built to high specification offering modern spacious accommodation and with many eco friendly systems, behind a cottage-like façade.

• 3/4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms • Fabulous part open plan kitchen and dining room with far reaching views • Good sized, level rear garden • Driveway parking for numerous vehicles • Total approximate floor area of 1682 sq.ft (156 sq.m)

Guide Price: £850,000 11 Quiet Street, Bath BA1 2LB

Tel: 01225 466 225

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pritchardsbath.co.uk

Bradford On Avon A beautiful detached stone built house full of period features with self contained annexe. Peaceful country setting with breathtaking views.

• Master bedroom suite with bathroom & shower & 2 further double bedrooms • Spacious Summer House providing self contained accommodation or home office • Attractive south east facing garden & walled courtyard • Parking for 4/5 vehicles • Close to Bradford on Avon amenities • Approx floor area 1674 sq.ft/155.51 sq m.

Price: £775,000

Lacock An exceptionally rare opportunity to purchase a most attractive Grade II Listed property located in this sought after, picturesque National Trust village.

• 4 bedrooms, 4 reception rooms, 2 shower rooms • Pretty level lawned gardens • Detached double garage with studio • No onward chain • 15 miles from Bath & easy access to Chippenham • Floor area approx. 2,823 sq.ft. (262 sq.m.)

Offers In Excess Of: £600,000 11 Quiet Street, Bath BA1 2LB

Tel: 01225 466 225

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pritchardsapartments.co.uk

S AG ALE RE ED

Queen Square An exceptional lateral conversion courtyard apartment forming part of a Grade I Listed building in the heart of the city. Only 17m approx from Bristol Airport.

• 3 bedrooms, bathroom, shower room • Kitchen with adjoining open plan dining and living room • Pretty courtyard garden • Prestigious central location • Total approximate floor area 1,675 sq.ft. (156 sq.m.)

Price: £670,000

Bathwick Street An exceptionally spacious ground and first floor garden maisonette refurbished in 2011 with meticulous detail and luxuriously appointed throughout. No onward chain.

• 2 double bedrooms • Sitting room & large kitchen • Orangery • Utility, cloakroom & bathroom • Enclosed level landscaped rear garden • Permit parking • Situated within walking distance of Centre • No onward chain • Approx. Internal floor area 131 sq.m/1,407 sq.ft.

Offers In Excess of: £595,000 11 Quiet Street, Bath BA1 2LB

Tel: 01225 466 225

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March Jeremy Jenkins_vZ.qxp_Layout 1 20/02/2015 15:57 Page 1

BUSINESS | PROFILE

BRADFORD’S BESPOKE BUSINESS When Jeremy Jenkins set up his own independent estate agency some people said he was bonkers.

Now celebrating his first five years of success he’s still enjoying the business of matching up homes with buyers

I

n a world where companies have automated answering service, or we’re required to submit a password before proceeding with our transaction, it’s a refreshing change to have the phone picked up by a real human being. Even more refreshing then to find that we can even find ourselves talking directly to the person who founded and runs the company.

But then Jeremy Jenkins is not like most estate agents. He doesn’t do lettings, he doesn’t offer mortgage services or offer to off-load your conveyancing for you – he just sells lots of houses. He listen to what home sellers are planning to do and take immense pleasure in making properties look their very best when it comes to selling their homes. He also knows his patch inside out.

Jeremy and his team of three, Amanda, Natasha and Jenny, operate out of a character shop-turned-office bang in the middle of the picturesque Bradford-on-Avon. It’s a property that feels like home to Jeremy, as it should do since his father used to run Avon Antiques from here and baby Jeremy was raised upstairs over the shop 47 years ago. Jeremy’s father insists that the brass door furnishings are kept polished and shiny and the smart paint work kept clean by doing it himself!

After learning his profession with various chains of estate agents over fifteen years Jeremy launched his own business five years ago this month – a bold move at a time when the property market wasn’t sinking but certainly listing in the water.

Looking back now he says: “A lot of people thought I was completely bonkers at the time, but it’s turned out to be a great five years.

We’ve sold over £90m worth of property in that time and more than 250 homes. We’ve even sold some properties twice in that time, with buyers coming back to us as vendors when their situation has changed.”

He clearly takes pleasure in his business, enjoying writing most of the property descriptions himself, and working with his team, whose praises he is quick to sing.

“Amanda has been with us from nearly the very start; she’s got a wonderful enthusiasm and is lots of fun to work with. Then we were joined last year by new girl Tash, who I poached from a competitor. She’s doing really well too and once again fun to work with. We get some welcome help in the summer from Robyn and Lucy too.”

The business is supported by a well-designed, highly literate, website which runs alongside the recently launched On the Market property website and Rightmove.

Like all good independents, Jeremy Jenkins business takes pride in offering a bespoke, customer centred service. The geographical area covered takes in Bradford-on-Avon and the villages, including Freshford, Limpley Stoke, Holt, Turleigh, Westwood, Wingfield, South Wraxall and further afield from Kingsdown to Lacock and Beckington to Broughton Gifford.

He has sold property in all these places and 92 TheBATHMagazine

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PERSONAL SERVICE: Jeremy Jenkins and right, his team, Amanda, Jenny and Natasha more. Basically if the house looks right and he thinks he can sell it and get there he’ll have a go – if he can’t, he says, he won’t!

Bradford-on-Avon is very popular with buyers. Not only does it have good schools, a railway station and amenities such as a library, the Wiltshire Music Centre arts venue and a swimming pool, but it also has numerous clubs and societies. There’s the rugby club, rowing club, football teams, bowls, film society, book groups, pub quiz teams, Preservation Trust and the Bradfordians to mention just a few. There is so much going on here.

“I think Bradford’s popular because it has so much going for it in terms of community and amenity plus the rail links, but also because it looks the part.”

“It’s a lively community,” says Jeremy, who has three daughters and gets involved in local sport, sponsoring kit for the town youth football and cricket teams. His chosen charity for 2015 is Help for Heroes, reflecting the fact that a lot of serving and retiring servicemen and women settle in the area.

We asked about some of his standout moments 21 years in estate agency, and he tells an unusual tale for an estate agent.

“I was picking up my children from school once when a couple came up having recognised me. I had valued their house years before when they had considered moving. I remembered this because my advice to stay put and not move at all. They thanked me saying it was the best advice they have ever had and are still happily ensconced years later. That makes my day every time I think about it!” n

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Bradford-on-Avon. Guide Price £1,100,000 Centrally situated former vicarage with fine views, good gardens & garaging.

Thoroughly renovated and smartly presented detached period home with attractive accommodation set around an impressive hallway.

We find five double bedrooms, four bathrooms, three receptions, kitchen breakfast room, two basement rooms, two utilities, cloakroom and store.

Externally are large lawned gardens and wilder “meadow” area. Outbuilding, workshop, double garage and gated driveway parking.

Over 4300 square feet. A rare find in the town centre.

☎ 01225 866747 27 Market Street, Bradford-on-Avon, Wiltshire, BA15 1LL nTheMarket.com TM

email: info@jeremyjenkins.co.uk • website: www.jeremyjenkins.co.uk

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A HANDSOME MANOR

T

he west country may boast many listed buildings, but for a homeowner to be able to say that theirs was mentioned in Pesvner’s Buildings of England gives it added kudos. Newly arrived to the market, and retaining those fine twin gables to the front, is the handsome Broughton House at Broughton Gifford in Wiltshire.

The house dates back mainly to the 17th century, with additions in later centuries. It’s approached via a pair of old stone gateposts with a drive that sweeps up to the ancient wooden front door and inside it has bags of character and English country charm, from its mullioned windows to big stone fireplaces.

On the ground floor there are four reception rooms, a farmhouse style kitchen and a study. An intricate arts and crafts staircase leads to the first floor where you find the master bedroom suite, a large attic space, guest bedroom en suite, two more bedrooms, a bathroom and cloakroom. On the second floor are two more bedrooms, a bathroom and a large sitting room. There’s also an indoor heated swimming pool with its own shower.

The gardens run to just under an acre and include a superb wisteria across the back of the house, swathes of lawn, an orchard and a vegetable garden.

The house overlooks Broughton Gifford common and is handily placed for the village school and two good pubs.

The guide price is £1.2m and Knight Frank is the agent in Bath. To view tel: 01225 686078. ■

Bath’s Premier Removals Company Thomas Firbank Removals and Storage is a family run business that offers a personal and business service of the highest quality. For seventeen years we have ensured that all of our clients enjoy a stress free move and a great deal of our business is generated by referrals from satisfied customers. We tailor your packing and removal to suit your needs, and give you a prompt quotation without any hidden costs.

Tel: 01225 31 44 33 www.firbankremovals.co.uk

BAR Number T050

We deliver to over 20,000 addresses every month. But if you live outside our distribution area or would like us to send a copy to friends or family then we are able to offer a mailing service for only £15.00 (6 issues) or £25.00 Euro zone; £30.00 (12 issues) or £50.00 Euro zone World Zone 1 £95.00 World Zone 2 £120.00 To subscribe just send a cheque payable to MC Publishing Ltd 2 Princes Buildings, George Street, Bath BA1 2ED or Telephone 01225 424 499 for card payment

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Crafting beautiful homes In and around Bath

01225 79115 5

ashford-homes.co.uk WWW.THEBATHMAG.CO.UK

MARCH 2015

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Zest March FP.qxp_Layout 1 19/02/2015 13:09 Page 1

Queen Square, City Centre A stylish and contemporary two bedroom maisonette arranged over the top two floors of a handsome Grade I Listed former Georgian townhouse, located at the very heart of Bath, overlooking the beautiful Queen Square and the city beyond.

Rent: ÂŁ1,650 pcm* bright & spacious living room | modern open plan kitchen | stainless steel appliances | cloakroom | plenty of fitted storage | two good sized double bedrooms | fitted wardrobes | southerly views over Queen Square and the city beyond | contemporary bathroom | tastefully furnished throughout Reside Bath | 24 Barton Street Bath BA1 1HG | T 01225 445 777 | E info@residebath.co.uk | W www.residebath.co.uk

*An administration fee of ÂŁ420.00 inc. VAT applies.

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PROPERTY | THINKING

It's all in the negotiation

By Peter Greatorex, Managing Director of The apartment Company.

A large percentage of agents will proudly talk of their excellent marketing strategy. What they should be informing, and reassuring, you of is their ability to negotiate the best asking price for your property!

If your agent is offering a low fee you have to question their experience and capabilities to sell your home for the best price. A sale price is not an exact figure but without a good negotiator and pricing strategy you will go in ‘blind’ and potentially lose thousands of pounds. It is imperative from the outset that you are able to build a rapport with your chosen agent and understand how their influence will deliver you the best possible price. We have devised 6 top questions you should be asking yourself when choosing an agent: 6 Top Tips to establish who is most likely to get you the best price; 1. Is the agent offering a low fee? If they can't negotiate their terms well it is unlikely they will negotiate the best price for your property.

2. Do they have a pricing strategy?

3. What is their average sale price to asking ratio?

4. How many buyers do they have for your specific property type?

5. What is their online presence? Are they tapping into the widest audience?

6. Beware of over valuing, make sure suggested values are backed up with proper research with comparable evidence. Overvaluing will hinder the sale of your home.

In 2014 our average sale price was c.1% higher than asking price.

Being a specialist agent is a key advantage, as we know everyone on our extensive database are seeking apartments. But when you list your property with us, we are able to quickly narrow down this database to clearly identify an immediate selection of potential buyers seeking a home like yours.

In 2014 our average sale price was c.1% higher than asking price.

As the marketing leader in apartments in Bath we have a direct impact on the market.

Being a specialist agent means we attract the highest proportion of buyers specifically seeking an apartment. Our proven track record speaks for itself and it also gives buyers and sellers alike confidence and assurance in our service.

Our influence in the market is highly regarded; surveyors use our data as a reference because of our knowledge within the apartment market. This industry recognition strengthens the valuation price for our clients who are sometimes concerned that the value of their property will decrease after a survey. This is why on average we can achieve c. 1% higher sales price than the asking price.

You deserve an agent who is a proactive negotiator, has the capability to seal the deal and also conscientious enough to see the deal through to completion. Not all estate agents are good negotiators, don’t miss out on a much needed higher offer because of your agents failure to negotiate to the level required.

At The Apartment Company we understand the importance of good negotiation, and always strive to achieve the very best result for our clients. The Apartment Company, tel: 01225 471144. Twitter @ApartmentCo

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Beyond your expectations www.hamptons.co.uk

7 Belvedere BA1 5ED ÂŁ2,400 pcm Delightful Georgian Townhouse based over 3 floors, offering landscaped private rear garden with side access and storage. The property has been tastefully refurbished throughout and is within approximately 600 meters from the entrance of The Royal High School. A truly unique opportunity to let a town house in its entirety so close to the city centre. Swift viewing is highly recommended.

EPC E.

Bath Office

Lettings 01225 458546 | Sales. 01225 459817

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01225 448443 Property sales & lettings

SOLD STC. Price achieved ÂŁ1,030,000 (guide price ÂŁ900,000)

Combe House, Bath: 4 bedroom detached house with stunning views.

We have buyer s waiting for similar proper ties!

New Address Ltd. | 12 Pierrepont Street | Bath | BA1 1LA | www.yournewaddress.co.uk

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fidelisinbath.co.uk GUILDPROPERTY.CO.UK

OIEO £435,000 Englishcombe Lane Stylish and Particularly Spacious 4 Bedroom Detached Home with Parking for 3 Cars Entrance Hall | Living Room | Dining Room/Reception 2 | Kitchen/Dining Room | 4 Bedrooms | 2 Bathrooms (1 en-suite) | Garage | Off Road Parking for 2 Cars | EPC Rating: D

£285,000 Shoscombe A Gorgeous 2 Bedroom Cottage Bursting with Character and Charm Boasting Countryside Views Entrance Porch | Living Room | Dining Room | Kitchen | Cloakroom | 2 Bedrooms | Bathroom | Large Balcony | Log Cabin | Workshop | Off Road Parking | EPC Rating: E

Proud sponsors of Beechen Cliff School Fidelis March.indd 1

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01225 421000

Fidelis

ÂŁ325,000

The Empire An Elegant 1 Bedroom Apartment forming part of a Landmark Building in the World Heritage City of Bath set amongst Classic Georgian Architecture featuring Particularly Fine City and River Views Central Bath Location | Grand Foyer with Magnificent Staircase | Living Room | Well Appointed Kitchen | Double Bedroom | Large Bathroom | Passenger Lift | Communal Garden | Exceptional on site Facilities | EPC Rating C

Thinking of Selling in 2015?

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MORRIS LANE, BATHEASTON - ÂŁ600,000 This modern detached family home, built in 1960, enjoys generously sized accommodation, wonderful rural views and large, corner plot gardens. The owners are suited and viewing is strongly recommended.

Hall, sitting room, dining room, kitchen/breakfast room, cloakroom, garden room, 3 double bedrooms and bathroom. Long double length garage, off-street parking and large corner plot gardens. EPC = E. Approximate gross internal floor area: 1,300 square feet/121 square metres.

k Mar r o l y a N

01225 422 224 www.mark-naylor.com

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SHAKESPEARE AVENUE - ÂŁ550,000 This immaculately presented mid-terraced period property on the highly sought-after Poets' Corner in Bear Flat has been lovingly extended and modernised by the current owners. Early viewing strongly advised.

Entrance vestibule, hallway, sitting/dining room, breakfast room/kitchen, lean-to, 4 bedrooms and bathroom. Front and rear gardens.

Approximate gross internal floor area: 1,575 square feet / 146 square metres..

k Mar r o l y a N

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Beyond your expectations www.hamptons.co.uk

NEW INSTRUCTION

Monkton Combe

Guide Price £1,000,000

This wonderful five bedroom home dates back to the 1930’s and provides a unique opportunity to purchase an individual family home situated in a valley setting yet under five miles from Bath. The house has been lived and loved by the same owners for over 50 years and has well proportioned accommodation with a half acre garden and views.

EPC: F

• • • • • •

5 Bedrooms 3 Receptions Detached 1930’s home Half An Acre Garden Super Position Requires Updating

Bath Office

Sales. 01225 459817 | Lettings 01225 458546

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NEW INSTRUCTION

Russel Street

Guide Price £350,000

A contemporary apartment self contained within an impressive Georgian townhouse in one of Bath’s prime residential locations.

Located on the courtyard level of a Grade II Listed building, the spacious accommodation flows beautifully and offers style and flair combined with city living. EPC: Listed

Grosvenor Place

Guide Price £297,500

Set within an imposing Grade I Listed Georgian townhouse, this first floor apartment is a superb example of Georgian splendour.

Offering a range of period features including grand ceiling heights and beautifully decorated cornicing. This property will appeal to anybody looking for a stunning home. EPC: Listed

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Lansdown As soon as we viewed this property we could see its great potential,” says Tracey.

“Originally two bungalows set on a large plot; the home is now a stunning seven bedroom family house. We had always been interested in building our own home and, although it took a long three years to complete, we couldn’t have been happier with the end result,” she continues. “We have lived in the property for 17 years and seen our children spend their childhood here. It has served the family very well. I am confident it will provide the new owner with all they could need.”

“The home is set over three levels, with lovely flow between all the rooms. It is a spacious house with a great versatility and range of ‘moods’. Four rooms boast en-suites and on the second floor there is an office space, kitchenette and two further bedrooms. Above the four-bay garage there

is a ‘granny annexe’ providing private living quarters. We have also acquired planning permission for an indoor leisure centre if a new family wishes to invest in this feature.”

“In our eyes, we have created a dream home. We are very proud of what has been achieved. It has been a lovely and safe home for the family. The gardens stretch to just less than three acres and have been landscaped and maintained to a high standard. A lake within the grounds has provided a very tranquil setting for the children over the years; the garden is just a giant playground really.

There is plenty of space here for an active and lively family with a unique helipad and pony paddock within the grounds. Everything is private, no one over-looks us. I adore its rural setting, yet it provides easy access into the centre of Bath when I need everyday essentials,” explains Tracey.

“We will miss the friendly neighbourhood and convenience.”

BATH STUNNING SUPERB DETACHED HOUSE • SEVEN BEDROOMS • FIVE RECEPTION ROOMS • TWO BEDROOM COACH HOUSE WITH GARAGING • BEAUTIFULLY LANDSCAPED GARDENS WITH LAKE • PADDOCK • HELIPAD • BREATH-TAKING VIEWS • EPC RATING: C

Contact: 01225 320032

£2,999,000

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Lansdown Wonderful three bedroom Victorian apartment located in one of Bath’s most sought after locations Lansdown. Beautifully presented, this first floor apartment benefits from its own private entrance, allocated parking, a garage and manicured communal gardens.

"We were first attracted to Allenby House because of the tranquil location close to the centre of Bath, as well as the unique Victorian house that the apartment forms part of and which has such beautiful period features,” says German. “We also liked the fact there was a large communal garden, consisting of mature trees and plants, a garage and parking.”

“We have lived at the apartment for nearly two years and during that time we have carefully raised everything up to an immaculate standard,” explains Jonathan.

“This included redecoration in all of the rooms, new acoustic oak floors, new bathroom, and a new kitchen,” continues Jonathan. “The apartment provides spacious accommodation, all arranged conveniently on one level and we have retained its period features from the Victorian era, especially the high, ornately corniced ceilings which are stunning.”

The apartment is wonderful for entertaining purposes. “The kitchen and dining area is fantastic for having people over for dinner parties as it is very light and spacious because of the high ceilings,” says German. “We have had many friends and family over and everyone always comments on this aspect. It is the heart of the house!

There are lovely views over the gardens from here, as well as from the huge bay window in the living room and from the bedrooms.”

BATH THREE BEDROOMS • FIRST FLOOR WITH PRIVATE ENTRANCE • BEAUTIFULLY PRESENTED • PARKING AND A GARAGE • DRAWING ROOM • KITCHEN/DINING ROOM • EPC RATING: D

Contact: 01225 320032

£625,000

G IN M CO ON SO

Great Pulteney Street

OIEO £775,000 Green Park

Grade I listed | Georgian | Garden maisonette | Prestigious address | Stunning refurbishment | Three bedrooms | South facing garden

OIEO £525,000 St James Square

Grade II listed | Georgian | Garden maisonette | Spacious drawing room | Two double bedrooms | Original period features | Central location

OIEO £370,000

Trade I listed | Georgian | Second floor | Two bedrooms | Beautifully decorated | Stunning views | Period features | Sought after location | Resident Parking

A newly refurbished maisonette with a stunning South facing garden, sitting A fabulous Georgian maisonette, offering a wealth of original period A stunning second floor Georgian apartment and has been renovated in room, kitchen, three bedrooms two with an ensuite and a cloakroom WC. features including: cornicing, working shutters, and a feature fireplace. recent years to an exceptionally high standard and offers stunning views.

Portland Place

OIEO £345,000 Duke Street

Grade II listed | Georgian | Top floor apartment | Two bedrooms one with an en-suite | Newly refurbished | Stunning views | Parking | Communal garden

OIEO £300,000 Old Walcot School

Grade I listed | Georgian | Ground floor | One bedroom | Period features | City Centre | Short walk to train station | Highly recommended

An impressive apartment situated in a townhouse, offering large and private A superb apartment offering an elegant sitting room with high ceilings, ornate accommodation with stunning views over Bath and the surrounding areas. fireplace and two large windows, a double bedroom, kitchen and shower room.

Gay Street

OIEO £295,000 Sydney Place

OIEO 285,000

Grade I listed | Georgian property | Courtyard apartment | Separate access | Immaculately Grade I listed | Georgian | Ground floor apartment | Two bedrooms |

OIEO £295,000

Contemporary apartment | Over two floors | Stylish wooden floors | Small outside space | Modern kitchen | Luxury bathrooms | Early viewing recommended A spacious two bedroom contemporary maisonette in period building arranged over to floors and just a short level walk to the City Centre.

Queens Parade

OIEO £275,000

Grade I listed | Georgian | Ground floor apartment | Two bedrooms |

presented | One bedroom | Luxury shower room | Cellar | City Centre location Period features | City Centre location | Highly recommended

Period features | City Centre location | Highly recommended

A beautifully refurbished apartment with an open plan living area and A fantastic period property located in a sought after location, boasting a wealth

An impressive second floor Georgian apartment is located on a quiet no-

separate access from street level via steps leading to the front door.

through road moments away from the City Centre and historical landmarks.

The Apartment Company March.indd 1

of period features including: high ceilings, cornicing and feature fireplace.

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Royal Crescent

£1,900 pcm The Circus

Three double bedrooms | No pets | Suit professional couple/sharers | Kitchen breakfast room | Views | Agency Fees £350.00 + VAT | Furnished | Available 5th March

£1,800 pcm Camden Crescent

Two double bedrooms | Spectacular views | Parking - Permit | No pets or students

| Suit Professional/couple | Furnished | Agency fees £350+vat | Available Now

£1,600 pcm

Two double bedrooms | Two en suite shower rooms | Gas fired central heating | No pets | Unfurnished | Agency fees £350+vat | Available Now

A spacious and stunning Upper Maisonette with accommodation over two Spacious and superbly presented charming two double bedroom apartment A luxury ground floor apartment which has been tastefully renovated with a stunning floors. This luxury apartment runs from front to back affording fine views. overlooking the green in The Circus and offering far reaching City views. drawing room and the benefit of a small paved patio accessed via French doors.

Royal Crescent

£1,300 pcm Great Pulteney Street

Two double bedrooms | Views | Council Tax Band E | Parking - On street resident | Unfurnished | Agency fees £350+vat | Available Now

£1,050 pcm The Vineyards

Unfurnished | Large apartment | First floor | Council Tax Band D | No pets or students | Unfurnished | Agency fees £350+vat | Available Now

A stylish and stunning top floor apartment in The Royal Crescent comprising: A truly stunning Georgian apartment with a large drawing room to the rear of the sitting room, fitted kitchen, two double bedrooms and large bathroom. apartment with south facing views, fitted kitchen, double bedroom and modern bathroom.

Camden Crescent

£925 pcm Rivers Street

Two bedrooms | Georgian apartment | Fitted kitchen | Fabulous views | Unfurnished | Agency fees £350+vat | Available March 2nd 2015

£775 pcm

Grade II listed | Georgian | One bedroom | Well presented | Council Tax Band B | Agency fees £350+vat | Available 23rd February 2015

Well-proportioned two bedroom first floor apartment offering fabulous Fabulous and spacious second floor apartment in a highly sought after location. The views comprising: sitting room, fitted kitchen, two bedrooms and bathroom. apartment has been refurbished and decorated recently offering one bedroom.

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£995 pcm

Two bedrooms | Council Tax Band B | No Pets | Parking - Central Zone parking permit | Unfurnished | Agency fees £350+vat | Available Now A bright and beautifully presented top floor apartment comprising: open plan modern living area, two double bedrooms, bathroom and a pantry.

Spencers Belle Vue

£775 pcm

Period property | One double bedroom | Council Tax Band C | Residents Parking | Part furnished | Agency fees £350+vat | Available March 1st 2015 Ground floor one bedroom apartment comprising: spacious sitting room with kitchen area, double bedroom, bathroom with stunning views to the rear of the property.

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Gay Street

OIEO ÂŁ1.1 Million

Grade I listed | Georgian maisonette | Immaculately presented | Four bedrooms | Ground floor cloakroom | Period features | City Centre location | Stunning views A beautifully refurbished maisonette, arranged over four levels with access from ground floor. On entering you are greeted by an elegant hallway and staircase leading to upper floors. The anteroom leads through to an impressive kitchen/dining room with ornate, high ceilings and a beautiful bay windows. The first floor boasts the first bedroom alongside a grand drawing room. On the second floor is the master bedroom with a luxury en suite bathroom. Finally at the top of the building there are two further bedrooms, one with en suite and a separate shower room. There are stunning views of Royal Victoria Park from the upper floors.

The Elms

OIEO ÂŁ600,000

Grade II listed | Georgian | Ground floor | Kitchen/diner | Extensive storage | Two double bedrooms | Private terrace | Communal gardens | Conservatory | Private allocated parking Situated in the highly sought after location of Weston Park West, The Apartment Company are delighted to market this superb two bedroom period apartment set within the beautiful grounds of The Elms. The apartment itself offers several aspects comprising: impressive vestibule, large drawing room opening on to the stunning communal gardens, two double bedrooms, master with en suite, family bathroom, large kitchen with dining area and conservatory opening onto private terrace. A perfect apartment for tranquil, quiet and private living, whilst still having the benefit of being close to the City Centre. Properties of this calibre are rare, therefore early viewing is highly recommended!

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Bathwick Hill A highly impressive Grade II listed Regency town house, built circa 1820-1825 and attributed to John Pinch. Fine retained architectural details throughout. Marvellous views over the City

| entrance hall | drawing room | dining room | kitchen | playroom | office | utility room | cloakroom bedroom | 3 further bedrooms | bathroom | shower room | unconverted vaults | garden | garage |

| separate wc | master

Guide Price: ÂŁ1,400,000

Crisp Cowley Ralph Allen’s Town House York Street Bath BA1 1NQ 01225 789333

www.crispcowley.co.uk

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Marlborough Lane An attractive semi-detached Victorian family home in this sought-after location, close to Royal Victoria Park and the City Centre

| entrance hall | inner hall | sitting room | dining room | study | kitchen/breakfast room | cloakroom | master bedroom with en suite shower room | 4 further bedrooms (2 en suite) | family bathroom | laundry room | eaves storage | off-street parking | car port | garden | Guide Price: £1,400,000 Crisp Cowley Ralph Allen’s Town House York Street Bath BA1 1NQ 01225 789333

www.crispcowley.co.uk

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Ashley A spacious detached family home with separate annexe in this attractive village, 4 miles east of Bath

| entrance hall | drawing room | sitting room | dining room | study | kitchen | utility room | cloakroom | master bedroom with en suite bathroom | 4 further bedrooms | family bathroom | detached 1 bedroom annexe | stone outbuilding | garden | parking | in all, approximately 0.83 acres (0.31 hectares) | Guide Price: ÂŁ895,000

Crisp Cowley Ralph Allen’s Town House York Street Bath BA1 1NQ 01225 789333

www.crispcowley.co.uk

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Upton Cheyney An outstanding Grade II listed village house, situated in an elevated position with outstanding views

| entrance hall | drawing room | dining room | playroom | kitchen | garden room | shower/cloakroom | utility room | master bedroom with en suite bathroom | 3 further bedrooms (2 with en suite bathrooms) | garaging for 2 cars | greenhouse | stone built stable/garden store | wood store | all-weather tennis court | gardens extending to approx. 1.5 acres | Offers in excess of ÂŁ1,250,000

Crisp Cowley Ralph Allen’s Town House York Street Bath BA1 1NQ 01225 789333

www.crispcowley.co.uk

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