The Bath Magazine Summer 2020

Bath_Mag_Cover_Summer.qxp_Layout 1 10/07/2020 11:14 Page 1

ISSUE 212 | SUMMER 2020 | thebathmag.co.uk | £3.95 where sold

THE BIG RETHINK STRATEGIES FOR SUPPORT, SURVIVAL AND SUCCESS: WE ASK THE CITY’S BIG PLAYERS FOR THEIR HONEST COMMENTARIES ON THE FUTURE OF BATH

PLUS...

WHY DO THE ARTS MATTER?

Gerie Herbert of BRLSI debates the power of the creative

PROTECT OUR INDIES

Spend local and value our retailers and food providers

REFLECTIONS ON THE SLAVE TRADE Understanding our history and absorbing local truths

PARK AND WOODLAND WONDERS Andrew Swift delights in the green corners of the city

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

Coopers Summer FP.qxp_Layout 2 09/07/2020 09:11 Page 1

• Range Cookers • Ovens • Hobs • Dishwashers • Washing Machines • Tumble Dryers • Vacuum Cleaners • Fridge Freezers • Wine Storage & Coolers

COOPERS Shop local and shop safely ✓

An independent electrical retailer with award-winning customer service. Great products, real advice, fast local delivery, fitting service and removal of replaced appliances. 

13/15 Walcot Street, Bath (Opposite Waitrose) 01225 311811

coopers-stores.com

KutchenHaus July BATH.qxp_Layout 1 10/07/2020 11:39 Page 1

BRAND NEW SHOWROOM OPENING IN BATH IN AUGUST 5 Saracen Street, Bath BA1 5BR • 01225 632 382

• • • • •

SUPPORT A LOCAL BUSINESS AND BENEFIT FROM THE FOLLOWING

Premium, Sleek, German Engineered Luxury Kitchens at competitive prices All kitchens delivered pre-built Supply only or Fully installed Free Design and quotation service

Buy now pay 2021!

TERMS APPLY. CONTACT THE STORE FOR MORE INFORMATION

Find us

Opening times

Contact

Inside Clifton Down Shopping Centre, Whiteladies Road, Clifton BS8 2NN

Monday - Saturday: 9.30am - 5.30pm Sunday: 10.00am - 4.00pm

Email: showroom@bristol.kutchenhaus.co.uk Tel: 0117 213 0896

5 Saracen Street, Bath BA1 5BR

Monday - Saturday: 10.00am - 5.00pm Sunday by appointment

STORES NATIONWIDE

Email: showroom@bath.kutchenhaus.co.uk Tel: 01225 632 382

Boniti DPS.qxp_Layout 1 10/07/2020 11:33 Page 1

Boniti DPS.qxp_Layout 1 10/07/2020 11:33 Page 2

Contents summer.qxp_Layout 1 10/07/2020 19:56 Page 1

26

66

58

Contents 5 THINGS

S mMer Issue

......................................................................

10

Essential events to look forward to this month

BOOK REVIEW

...............................................................

40

Millie Bruce-Watt reviews Maggie O’Farrell’s Hamnet, the story of William Shakespeare’s son who died as a child of the bubonic plague

WHY DO THE ARTS MATTER? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Gerie Herbert of BRLSI debates the power of the creative with a bit of help from poet John Donne

LOCKDOWN RECIPES

VIRTUALLY YOURS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20

CITY NEWS

Millie Bruce-Watt considers how virtual art tours have matched up to physically visiting an art gallery or museum

Bringing you the latest happenings in the city

How will cinema survive in a socially distanced world where streaming is the norm? Millie Bruce-Watt believes it offers something more...

CITY ARTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24

...........................................

26

Chris Stephens and Holly Tarquini 26; Ian Stockley and Midge Ure 27; Betty Suchar and Nick Steel 28; Richard Wendorf and Danny Moar 29; Peter Andrews and Jerry Gill 30; The Rev Guy Bridgewater and Tom Boden 32; Caroline Kay and Kathryn Davis 33; Mike Killpartrick and Allison Herbert 34; Dine Romero 42; Ian Bell and Claire Smith 43; Joe Cussens and Charles Beer 44; Michael Musgrave 45; Cllr Dr Yukteshwar Kumar and James Morgan 53; Janet Dabbs and Jo Dolby 54; Cecil Weir 55; Ian White and Sue Rigby 56

PROTECT OUR INDEPENDENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36 Our local shops are opening up... let’s support them while it matters because Bath would be poorer without them, says Emma Clegg

6 TheBATHMagazine

|

suMMer 2020

|

issue 212

....................................................................

THE SLAVE TRADE: LOCAL TRUTHS

.........................

48

58

Emma Clegg investigates the real stories behind the statues and discovers that the slave trade is ingrained within our urban landscape

THE LURE OF THE LAKES

62

...........................................

Visit the South West Lakes, which offer their own piece of tranquility

Our art exhibitions are starting to spring up again...

More content and updates online: thebathmag.co.uk

46

Four snappy recipes that were lifesavers in home isolation

THE FUTURE OF FILM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

RETHINK COMMENTARIES

...................................................

Follow us on Twitter @thebathmagazine

BATH’S PARKS AND WOODLANDS

66

...............................

Andrew Swift waxes lyrical about the green corners of the city

AMERICAN BEAUTY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .68 Head gardener Andrew Cannell brings us up to date with the new garden at the American Museum & Gardens

THE PROPERTY PAGES

.................................................

Bath’s finest homes to buy or rent

ON THE COVER

A model of Rodin’s The Thinker dons a protective mask as he considers the future post-Covid-19. See our rethink commentaries from page 26

Follow us on Instagram @thebathmagazine

73

TH Hayes FP V4.qxp_Layout 1 09/07/2020 09:14 Page 1

Enjoy a Mammoth deep sleep, confident you’ve made a healthy choice.

All Mammoth’s mattresses contain naturally cooling Medical Grade™ foam and PostureCell® technology.

They are recommended by health professionals as well as being scientifically tested and shown to improve sleep.

So, no matter which mattress you choose, you can be confident Mammoth will be doing you good.

FREE SIZE UPGRADE

With this coupon

1st June - 2nd September 2020 Buy any Mammoth King Size Shine mattress or divan set, and only the price of a Double.*

15–18 London Street • Walcot • Bath • BA1 5BX

trhayes.co.uk

Free local delivery • Customer car park

Buy any Mammoth Superking mattress or divan set, and only pay the price of a Kingsize.* Headboards included when bought with a set. *T’s & C’s apply. Available only on Shine Collection

Editors Letter summer.qxp_Layout 1 11/07/2020 08:29 Page 1

the big rethink

Messages from the city

“Summer is upon us and the skies have become bluer” Cllr Dr Yukteshwar Kumar “There is nothing that makes us appreciate something as much as the prospect of losing it” Danny Moar “May God’s light shine from the abbey, helping equip and ready our city for the many challenges, and the joyous celebrations, yet to come” The Rev Guy Bridgewater

“

“We couldn’t get hold of strawberries from the other side of the world, but when the local ones turned up from Cheddar how much sweeter they tasted” Peter Andrews “Film opens up the whole world to us and is such an elegant tool for exploring the possibilities of what we could be” Holly Tarquini

“I hope we’ll walk more, shop local and independent, and value our friends and family in a deeper way” Jo Dolby

T

hings are starting to move again. It’s been a long-awaited, slow unfurling, but it’s flowing now. Just like an orchestra, starting gently and building up bit by bit. Each stage sees a new instrument joining – exercising for more than an hour, meeting a friend in the park, being able to hug your grandchildren, visiting non-essential shops, having your hair cut.

We’re not at full crescendo yet, and it could take a while before we have the full orchestra, but it’s starting to feel a bit more... normal.

Or is it? If there’s one thing that everyone agrees on, it’s that things are going to be different for a while – we need to behave in a certain way, follow the guidelines, keep alert. The experience of lockdown has already seen changed behaviours – the use of technology to socialise, the sense of home as your world, a greater sense of community and a willingness to help those that are vulnerable.

In this, our summer issue, we have canvassed opinion from some of the big players in our city. What will the new Bath look like? How has lockdown affected your sector? How do we protect what we value and find a future we can believe in? The rethink commentaries from page 26 – among them Danny Moar of Theatre Royal Bath, Cecil Weir of Julian House, Sue Rigby of Bath Spa University, not to mention Midge Ure of much-loved local musician fame – have concerns and anxieties, but they also have moving revelations and unexpected positivity, and all are characterised by a faith that we shall overcome.

We’ve been doing some rethinking of our own. Why do the arts matter?, we asked Gerie Herbert; her reply on page 18 is complex and moving. How will cinema compete with streaming?, asks Millie Bruce-Watt on page 22. And on page 20, has our experience of virtual gallery tours matched up to the real thing?

Our shops are getting back to business and we’ve written on page 36 about why we need to support our local community. Our independent retailers and businesses who give so much to our city’s character have had no income for over three months so let’s support them now while it matters. If we don’t, they may not survive, and Bath would be a much poorer place.

Edward Colston recently hit the headlines by being thrown in the harbour, and so we’ve looked into the history of the slave trade in Bristol and Bath on page 58 and discovered some uncomfortable and eye-opening local truths about how our cities were built and funded.

It’s delightful to see our orchestra gathering pace. We may still be socially distanced, but we’re together in spirit – so let’s keep the music playing.

Emma Clegg Editor

Editor photograph by Matthew Sterling

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.

8 TheBATHMagazine

|

suMMer 2020

|

issue 212

OPEN DOORS AT THE ABBEY

Bath Abbey has reopened for private prayer from 10am–4pm Monday to Saturday and 12–4pm on Sundays. All visitors are welcome to pause and reflect, pray and light a candle or simply look around and enjoy their surroundings – and all visits will fully comply with government requirements so that the building is Covid-safe.

The abbey is still considering how and when to recommence services; you can keep up to date on the website. bathabbey.org WOODS OPEN AND DELI TO COME One of Bath’s best independent restaurants, Woods – offering modern British cooking with a classic French influence – will be open again from 17 July with new opening hours: Tuesday to Thursday 10am–6pm, and Friday and Saturday 10am–2.30pm and 5pm–9pm.

From 1 September the family-run business will also be opening a deli and wine shop in the newly redecorated bar. Take away lunch and dinner will also be available. (The restaurant will be closed in the last week of August to honour staff holidays.) woodsrestaurant.com

What’s true of all the evils in the ❝ world is true of plague as well.

It helps men to rise above themselves.

ALBERT CAMUS (1913–1960)

❞

Mandarin Stone fp.qxp_Layout 1 09/07/2020 09:13 Page 1

5 Things – Summertime.qxp_Layout 1 10/07/2020 19:27 Page 1

5

ZEITGEIST

summer Move

Bath Children’s Novel Award is open now

Imagine The Bath Children’s Novel Award has officially opened. The annual international award is for emerging novelists writing for children or teens.

This year, the judge is Stephanie Thwaites of Curtis Brown literary agency, who was shortlisted and chosen by Junior Judges aged seven to seventeen. The prize is open worldwide to writers of any nationality or residency who want to let their imaginations run free. The closing date is 29 November and the winner will receive a prize of £3,000. bathnovelaward.co.uk

Reconnect with nature at Hidden Woods

Explore

|

suMMer 2020

Bath Rugby Foundation have announced their Summer Break Out camp. Aiming to help children and young people break free from isolation as lockdown eases, the month-long series of free camps will take place at venues across Bath and North East Somerset. The camps will allow children and young people, as well as their families, to enjoy games and activities in a safe environment.

Break free from isolation with a Groups can also enjoy a free, healthy summer break meal during their day of exercise. out camp The camps are planned for three age groups – under 14s and their families, teenagers aged 14 to 17, and older teenagers and young adults aged 18 and over. bathrugbyfoundation.com

Enjoy

Innox Mills market opens on 19 July

A new street market is arriving in Trowbridge this summer, as part of plans to foster a vibrant new quarter at Innox Mills.

From handmade arts and crafts and vintage clothing to street food, fresh produce and west country ale and cider, Innox Market will offer a range of products against the backdrop of live music.

The market will take place on the third Sunday of each month, starting on 19 July and will run from 10am–4pm. innoxmills.co.uk

Support

Hidden Woods is welcoming visitors back to reconnect with nature in a fun and adventurous way. Complete with mighty oaks and babbling brooks, the award-winning woodland activity centre is the perfect place for those looking to escape the four walls of their homes. Hidden Woods is based in 80 acres of ancient woodland and is just a stone’s throw from Bath and Frome.

With sheltered fire pits, rope swings and mud kitchens, the woodland offers a variety of activities for all members of the family. hiddenwoods.co.uk

10 TheBATHMagazine

things to do this

|

issue 212

Help Bath City Farm reach its target

This year, Bath City Farm celebrates its 25th birthday, but with the recent turbulent events, securing the funds for another year is now in doubt. The city’s local farm has launched a public appeal to raise £50,000 by the time it celebrates its birthday on 12 October. The farm is currently home to dozens of animals and throughout lockdown attracted the attention of many local animal-lovers with its live streams of feedings. The farm offically became a charity in 1995 and thrives on the kind donations of its supporters. bathcityfarm.org.uk n

BCF FP July.qxp_Layout 1 09/07/2020 09:09 Page 1

Image shows: Karndean Heritage Collection

My Bath – Joe Choong.qxp_Layout 1 10/07/2020 13:24 Page 1

The city

ist

THE BUZZ THE BUZZ Walking for the homeless

Julian House is calling on the public to join them in standing up against homelessness at its annual Circuit of Bath Walk on 27 September. The sponsored circular walk, which is now in its 19th year, will see participants walk around some of Bath’s most beautiful countryside, taking in spectacular views across the city. While the charity is challenging as many people as possible to take on the full 20-mile route, participants can choose their own distance and start points. Adult, children and family tickets are on sale now. circuitofbathwalk.co.uk

Recipes helping our heroes

Vice-President of the Forever Friends Appeal and former NHS worker Loraine Morgan-Brinkhurst MBE has created a charity recipe book to help raise money for the 'Help Your Hospital Heroes Appeal' set up by The Forever Friends Charity. Loraine’s idea for the Rainbow Recipe Book, which contains sweet and savoury recipes from residents and well-known Bath public figures, was sparked when she saw her friends and family sharing bakes and ‘lockdown’ meals on social media. With the funds raised for the The Forever Friends appeal, the charity has been able to purchase items needed for staff care packages during the pandemic. foreverfriendsappeal.co.uk

12 TheBATHMagazine

|

suMMer 2020

|

issue 212

My BATH

Joe Choong is currently the world’s number one men’s modern pentathlete. He was bidding to become Great Britain’s first ever male Olympic modern pentathlete medallist in Tokyo this summer I came to the University of Bath in 2013 to study a maths degree but also because it’s the national training centre for Pentathlon GB. I graduated in 2018 and I've been a full time athlete ever since.

The facilities available at the Sports Training Village at the University of Bath are incredible.

We have our own pentathlon fencing hall, a high performance gym and an Olympic legacy pool. The facilities are world class and the training program is managed by the performance team to make everything as easy as possible for us athletes.

Modern pentathlon is made up of running, swimming, shooting, fencing, and showjumping. I got into it at school through the school biathlon – just the running and swimming. From there, the GB talent scout spotted me and invited onto the Talent ID program, from which I graduated into the youth team.

Usually at the centre we would be training three or four times a day – running and swimming in the morning and a combination of shooting, fencing or gym work in the afternoon.

In lockdown it’s been impossible to access facilities, so the focus has been on whatever we can manage from home, mainly running and shooting. It was about a year ago I qualified for the games at the World Cup final, and right now I would have been on an altitude camp in France going through my final training period before the Tokyo Olympics next month.

I did struggle mentally at the beginning of lockdown. With such a long period ahead without competitions or any real focus I found I was pretty demotivated and didn’t feel like doing anything. Since then though, I’ve adapted and have been really enjoying just focusing on running without having to worry about how to juggle with training for five sports. We’ve managed to get a bit of shooting done in the back garden and in the last few weeks we’ve also been going for some swims in the River Avon, which has been another fun experience.

In an ideal world the postponement of the Olympics wouldn't have happened, but it was the right decision. I’d rather reset mentally and prepare for another year of training than go into

the competition underprepared against other underprepared athletes. For me, competing at an Olympics is about competing against the best and hopefully coming away with a medal.

Competing this year would have taken away from any result I might have achieved.

For our sport, the pandemic will definitely impact fencing and swimming the most. A lot of athletes won’t have been able to fence or swim for nearly four months, which is always going to impact performance. On the other hand, concentrating more on running will mean everyone will have improved in this discipline, so it will be interesting to see how the competition changes.

My happiest memory in sport is winning my first senior gold medal at the World Cup final in Tokyo last year. Either that or stepping out onto the fencing piste in Rio to begin my Olympic journey!

I don't really know what I’d tell my younger self. I’ve always believed in myself so I’d probably say “just keep doing what you do, and don’t doubt yourself.”

My choice of music depends on what mood you catch me in. During a fencing competition sometimes I use music to get myself excited and alert on piste (especially if it’s been an early start), so find something dancey. Usually though I’m into indie sort of stuff like Fall Out Boy or All Time Low. I’ve found a lot of spare time on my hands since lockdown. I’ve taken up playing piano again, which I used to play as a child at school.

I also enjoy gaming with some of the other pentathletes – we’re all really into Call of Duty: War Zone at the moment.

I haven’t really looked much past Tokyo. I feel like I should have medalled in Rio so, for me, it’s all been about getting onto the podium in Tokyo. As far as plans go afterwards, I’ll probably take a year out of the sport. Hopefully I’ll get to go to Bali to surf for a few weeks and then on to Australia to visit some of my cousins and go travelling. n Instagram: joechoong123 Main image: Neil Shearer Photography

Truespeed fp.qxp_Layout 1 09/07/2020 09:14 Page 1

Richard Wyatt - Notebook.qxp_Layout 1 09/07/2020 16:32 Page 1

CITY | NOTEBOOK

Richard Wyatt:

Notes on a small city

Columnist Richard Wyatt takes stock of the seagulls and imagines what post-pandemic Bath might look like.

Illustration by Brian Duggan

T

aking people off the city streets during the enforced lockdown seems to have eased Bath’s seagull problem. The lack of human debris – the fast food trail many careless consumers leave behind on our pavements – has forced this raucous seabird to look elsewhere for a meal.

I see them most days on my early morning walks into the Woolley Valley, ‘working’ the fields. It’s clever stuff – a bit like a detailed police search where a long line of officers slowly crosses the area under examination looking for clues.

That’s where the comparison ends as the gulls are looking for worms, not evidence, and pound the grass with their webbed feet to mimic the sound of raindrops hitting the earth. The clever bird has set a trap and the vibrations this feeding flock produces brings up the little critters to be greeted by many an open beak.

Will our feathered ‘friends’ return to the inner city roofs once things return to normal? I think that’s up to us.

Seagulls aside, I have been thinking about the sort of Bath I would like to see post-pandemic. I have to say I’d very much like to see one that is cleaner and greener. I hope enough of humanity has had time to slow down and take notice of the real world that surrounds us. Go easy on the littering and – bearing in mind that our local authority is now pretty well broke through lost tourist income and pandemic expenses – maybe we could help keep an eye on the state of our parks and paths, even the space outside our town homes, and show some community spirit in picking up the trash.

Meanwhile, it’s not only the lack of gulls that has made our stree ts quieter. Less traffic has meant much cleaner air. We have had temporary restrictions on some streets and squares which I would like to see made permanent. Pedestrianisation doesn’t kill trade, it often enhances it.

Our traders will need the support of local people and maybe now is the time to continue to visit your local shops. It doesn’t take that much longer to go from baker to butcher and green-grocer. You chat to your neighbours too.

14 TheBATHMagazine

|

SUMMeR 2020

|

iSSUe 212

I would love Bath to put itself forward as an experimental ‘green city’ to see what beneficial changes could be made to clean up the environment. Let’s try letting people hire little golf-type electric buggies or scooters to go around town. Let’s ban through coaches and introduce unloading points for large lorries so smaller delivery vehicles can prevent our narrow stre ets getting blocked.

Do take-aways pay a clean up tax?

If not, why not? Let’s get legislation through to make ‘party houses’ pay their way and ban them from taking over residential streets. Maybe our two universities might encourage their students to get involved in a week or two of community service which could add a couple of points to their degrees?

We have to seriously address the city’s reliance on tourism and provide cleaner and greener careers for our young people, but we must also look at how we could encourage more Brits to spend some holiday time here. Overseas visitors are going to be thin on the ground for some time.

We need to promote other local histories too. Our industrial past of manufacturing everything from cranes to corsets has been a little swept under the Georgian carpet and we need to acknowledge by what means all these historic investors and pleasure seekers acquired their wealth.

Time to sweep away what’s left of the

wreck of a fountain in Laura Place and get one of our wealthier residents to sponsor local sculptor Anna Gillespie (she did the Maid of the Bridge sculpture at Riverside) to create a form that maybe acknowledges that more shameful past, coupled with a plaque which explain s all.

I want the grand architectural relics of Bath’s Georgian heritage to be put to work to benefit us now, and in the future, and not just stand there as a monument to the past.

Through the arches of Pulteney Bridge pass the fast-flowing waters of the River Avon and this is a perfect spot for a couple of turbines to embrace that energy and spin some electric magic for us. Even if it only powers the floodlights that illuminate this 18th-century wonder. Could Beckford’s Tower take a wind turbine to do something similar?

Maybe we could consider a Bath-run lottery to raise some extra cash to help keep our streets clean and the city fabric maintained and repaired.

It’s fingers-crossed that a workable vaccine will enable us to leave this viral nightmare behind us, but never forget that humanity was facing environmental problems before Covid-19, and they will be there to greet and distract us at the other end of this dark tunnel. n Richard Wyatt runs the Bath Newseum: bathnewseum.com

P15.qxp_Layout 23 10/07/2020 18:01 Page 1

ANTIQUE JEWELLERY REPAIRS AND REMODELLING

We’re back, and to celebrate we are offering 10% off remodelling jobs till the end of August 2020

@InnoxMills

@InnoxMills

THEBATHMAG.CO.UK

|

SUMMER 2020

|

ThEBATHMagazinE 15

P16.qxp_Layout 22 09/07/2020 10:15 Page 1

Follow us on Twitter @thebathmagazine

See more online thebathmag.co.uk

Contact us: Publisher Email:

Steve Miklos steve@thebathmagazine.co.uk

Editor Tel: Email:

Emma Clegg 01225 424592 emma@thebathmagazine.co.uk

Assistant Editor/Web Editor Millie Bruce-Watt Email: millie@thebathmagazine.co.uk Financial Director Email:

Jane Miklos jane@thebathmagazine.co.uk

Production Manager Email:

Jeff Osborne production@thebathmagazine.co.uk

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

Liz Grey liz@thebathmagazine.co.uk

MC Publishing Ltd. is an independent publishing company and publishes The Bath Magazine and The Bristol Magazine.

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 thebathmag.co.uk Š MC Publishing Ltd 2020 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.

16 TheBATHMagazine

|

suMMer 2020

|

issue 212

Ma San Auction FP.qxp_Layout 1 09/07/2020 09:13 Page 1

Ma San Auction In Bath

2 Princes Buildings, George Street, Bath, BA1 2ED Tel: 01225 318587 Email: enquiries@masanauction.com

ASIAN ART & ANTIQUES We are open and consigning items for our future sales!

A Qing Dynasty bronze censer with raised character mark of Xuande.

SOLD £5400 Collection of Japanese Andon-Zara dishes.

SOLD £4600

A 19th Century coral-ground ‘bamboo’ bowl. SOLD £3600

A 14ct gold, diamond & jade turtle brooch. SOLD £780

Pair of Chinese Qing Dynasty horseshoe-back armchairs, Quanyi. SOLD £25,000 A Chinese Tang Dynasty painted pottery horse.

SOLD £2200 An 18th Century conjoined ring jade pendant with Chilong.

SOLD £8500

A fine Qing Dynasty aloeswood carving of Guanyin. SOLD £8700

An antique old cut diamond bow brooch.

SOLD £450 Collection of Chinese Straits silver. SOLD £4000

• Free valuations and home visits • Over 30 years experience • Competitive commission rates • • Direct contacts in Hong Kong and China • Sales every month •

WWW.MASANAUCTION.COM

why do the arts mattter.qxp_Layout 1 10/07/2020 19:28 Page 1

BATH | ARTS

Why do the arts matter?

Why indeed? Never is this question more pertinent than now, as our local arts venues and institutions struggle against the seismic impact of a pandemic on their creative operations and their profits. Gerie Herbert of BRLSI debates the power of art with intellectual vigour, and a bit of help from poet John Donne

Rupert Everett in Theatre Royal Bath’s Uncle Vanya

delivers performances from actors as celebrated as Vanessa Redgrave and Rupert Everett, and BRLSI delivers world-class lectures from intellectuals like John Gray and Hermione Lee. Bath’s historical reputation as the cradle of English geology means it houses a natural history collection of world renown, and the city attracted some of the greatest writers known including Wordsworth, Mary Shelley and Jane Austen. Art is central to the way Bath experiences itself and both the city’s vibrancy and economy are bolstered by the museums, arts institutions, and creative industries it has fostered.

❝

To paraphrase Donne badly, if an individual museum be lost then Bath is the less

❝

B

RLSI recently released a digital recording of a poem by John Donne, The Canonization. Born in 1572, what could this long-spent poet and former Dean of St Paul’s possibly have to communicate to a secular and troubled society over 400 years later? Plenty actually; no single poetic voice over the last few years of social and political upheaval has been quoted with greater regularity.

For Whom the Bell Tolls with its infamous line ‘No Man is an Island’ and theme of human interconnectedness was the signature polemic for the pro-European cause, and even featured during a mainstage appearance at Glastonbury. Later, as the bell appeared to toll faintly for us all, it became imbued with greater significance. The wisdom of a poet extolling the virtues of assimilating a sense of one’s own mortality resonated and reminded us why even when ‘bread’ is scarce, we should not neglect our inward ‘roses.’

That’s the power of art, the power of voices transcribing feelings we struggle to articulate ourselves; art is the ghost of someone who has been through it all but managed to commit their emotion to paper, and humans turning to the arts in times of crisis or joy, whether those crises be personal or political enforces just how central to our sense of core well-being creativity is.

Bath is a city endowed with a plethora of cultural riches. Its galleries draw audiences for exhibitions as diverse as Grayson Perry and Brueghel, its Little Theatre has been immortalised in a film by no greater cineaste than Wes Anderson, its Theatre Royal

There are presently manifold discussions to be held about the future of the arts; while all cultural institutions sense their fragility and many communities feel excluded from the wider cultural conversation, it would be easy to get downhearted. Yet this is a moment for collective optimism, and not just because of the newly announced rescue packages, but because while Bath’s creative institutions may reconfigure how they operate, the public desire for creativity deepens. We might be struggling to monetise theatre online or live lectures, but people are watching them, and we might have our head in our hands about how we move traffic through museums, but there is little doubt people want to engage with culture and this is why the arts will not only recover but resurge with greater vigour.

BELOW: Bill Murray on the set of Fantastic Mr Fox, with a model of the Little Theatre

John Donne (1572–1631)

The course of great art never did run smooth and though there is a requisite baseline of availability of public libraries, basic literacy and art materials that each potential artist requires access to in order to thrive, adversity generally begets more culture than it suppresses. This strange interlude in the normal course of things will more likely be a gestation period for some of the greatest art and thought ever committed rather than the death of them – for if art and thought rely on anything they rely on the space to be idle and an uncomfortable conversation to be had.

The most curious thing about art, and the rather fragile emotional ecosystem that engenders it, is that it is entirely unpredictable; it can no more guaranteed by a thriving economy than it can destroyed by a lockdown. James Baldwin did not purchase the talent and sensitivity he was born with; and George Orwell felt compassion for the poor despite going to Eton. Talent is naturally democratic and thrives on challenge. As I write there are first-time artists picking up a paintbrush through the tedium of boredom and teenagers plugging in an eight-track. Such is the way of things!

Yet making art and housing it are two distinct matters and that is where Donne’s interconnectedness re-emerges. To paraphrase Donne badly, if an individual museum be lost then Bath is the less. BRLSI is fortunate to have a digital platform in use at this time and we invite museums and arts institutions to please make use of it for their own creative purposes. Museums must work together to negotiate this challenging time not just intact, but emboldened. No man is an island and no museum should be either. n • brlsi.org

18 TheBATHMagazine

|

suMMer 2020

|

issue 212

P19.qxp_Layout 23 09/07/2020 10:04 Page 1

Lawrences AUCTIONEERS Lawrences Bounce Back with Bumper Sales in July...

Lawrences in Crewkerne is pleased to announce a busy series of auctions after enforced closure during the Spring months.

In July alone, the Somerset auctioneers are offering over 3000 lots and, in addition to two General Sales of about 500 lots each, attention from collectors and dealers will focus upon a 2000-lot Fine Art sale to be sold across three days on July 21st, 23rd and 24th.

The auction of over 500 lots of silver and objects of vertu on Tuesday July 21st includes a fine Queen Anne chocolate pot, made by Andrew Raven in 1704. Chocolate pots are distinguished from coffee pots by the spout being at right angles to the handle and this elegant example is expected to make £5000-6000. Less refined in form, but with great charm nonetheless, is a modern silver figure of a hippopotamus weighing over 20oz. This is guided at £800-850.

An excellent selection of 400 lots of jewellery and watches begins Thursday’s sale on July 23rd. Highlights include a yellow sapphire and diamond cluster brooch, set with a Sri Lankan sapphire weighing over 31 carats. This is estimated at £5000-8000.

WORK WONDERS with our

REMODELLING SERVICE To welcome you back we are offering 10% off new commissions and remodelling jobs until the end of August 2020 to all Bath Magazine readers.

Quote BSAFE in store to claim.

before

The day continues with Decorative Arts and Ceramics in the afternoon. A modern Cotswold School display cabinet by Hugh Birkett is estimated at £1500-2000, a large Chinese millefleurs vase, 58cm high, is expected to make £500-1000 and a jade carving of a guardian lion, 7cm long and possibly 18th Century, is valued at £1200-1800.

On Friday, July 24th there will be over 200 lots of pictures and prints including a 1967 colour lithograph by Graham Sutherland, entitled `Chauve Souris – Interior` estimated at £500-700 and, by way of contrast, a 1909 oil on canvas by William Teulon Blandford Fletcher entitled ‘After Labour, Refreshment!’ showing a fisherman enjoying his lunch. A selection of clocks includes a regulator by James Muirhead of Glasgow, estimated at £5000-6000 and the furniture that concludes the sale is led by a George II-style mahogany side table at £1200-1600.

The auction will be open for public viewing from Monday July 13th. Social distancing restrictions apply and you are advised to check the website (www.lawrences.co.uk) for details about arranging to come and browse. All the sales can now be viewed online too. Bidding can be done online, by telephone bid, commission bid or limited access to the saleroom itself on sale days.

FREE VALUATIONS AVAILABLE: If you what to find out about the value of an item in your home, feel free to contact them and a specialist will guide you through their valuation process.

Online | Phone | Email Whatsapp

lawrences.co.uk

after

ENGAGEMENT AND WEDDING RINGS HANDMADE BESPOKE JEWELLERY REPAIRS AND REMODELLING

9 Abbey Churchyard, Bath BA1 1LY 01225 460072

jody@jodycory.co.uk | www.jodycory.co.uk

T: 01460 73041 enquiries: enquiries@lawrences.co.uk The Linen Yard, South Street, Crewkerne, Somerset TA18 8AB

THEBATHMAG.CO.UK

|

SUMMER 2020

|

ThEBATHMagazinE 19

Virtual tours.qxp_Layout 1 10/07/2020 13:26 Page 1

Offerings from The Natural History Museum, London include a virtual self-guided tour of the galleries and an interactive experience about Hope the blue whale

Virtually yours

Just as the world locked down, some of its most highly acclaimed cultural spaces opened up online, allowing us to travel to see the art wonders of the world from our living rooms. Millie Bruce-Watt explores the virtues of virtual art tours

A

lthough lockdown physically confined us to the four walls of our homes, technology broadened our horizons like never before.

Thanks to interactive 360-degree videos and full ‘walk-around’ tours, we were able to visit all corners of the globe withoutactually leaving the sofa. We were given the opportunity to visit first-class exhibitions and wander through some of the world’s most famous cultural spaces while sipping our morning coffee.

The announcement of free virtual museum tours was unquestionably one of the few saving graces of lockdown. From the Natural History Museum in London and the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam to the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in South Korea, the world’s artistic talent was at our fingertips. These virtual art tours offered us an escape during the lowest points of isolation. They could disconnect us from our phones, stop us from endless vacant searching and scrolling on the web and remove us from earshot of the news, if only for a brief while.

With over 6,000 years worth of creative treasures at the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los 20 TheBATHMagazine

|

suMMer 2020

|

issue 212

Angeles, virtual visitors are able to bounce from Neolithic clay figures to Van Gogh’s Irises in one fell swoop. A few Google searches later, you could be walking through the rich sites of the Vatican, revelling in the wonders of the Sistine Chapel, and then, enjoying lunch in Bilbao, exploring the Guggenheim’s collection of post-war American and European paintings and sculptures – Rothko, Holzer, Koons and Kapoor all featuring in the gallery.

The tours also allow us to explore the spaces in minute detail, a luxury that is rarely available even when we’ve paid to be there in person. The Mona Lisa is very often viewed from a distance, over a crowd of bobbing heads. But now, thanks to the powers that be – namely Zoom and its interactive relations – we’re able to visit the Musée d’Orsay and explore its artistic delights with friends that are sitting hundreds of miles away, something that in real life would not be financially plausible or physically possible.

The Museu de Arte de São Paulo in Brazil also has one of the broadest historical collections available in its virtual gallery, with works spanning the 14th century

through to the 20th. Here the museum’s paintings have been suspended in the air around the open-plan space so that you feel as though we are standing in one of the museum’s great halls.

Closer to home, our much-loved and missed museums, galleries and festivals also supplied us with much-needed entertainment during isolation. The Holburne, Victoria Art Gallery and The Roman Baths were just a few of the city’s popular spaces that adapted to their situations, and brought creative workshops, Q&As and online exhibitions to our living rooms. The Bath Festival also powered on ahead, despite the sad news of its cancellation this year. Ensuring we got our culture fix, it compiled virtual weekend guides, which consisted of must-see gigs, concerts, operas and theatre shows to keep us going through the quiet times.

Some have argued that the aesthetics of the virtual tours have taken precedence over the sharing of knowledge, with digital experiences sometimes finding it difficult to share the history of the art and explain why pieces are there – something that museums have worked hard to improve over the years.

And yet the future of the digital experience is

Virtual tours.qxp_Layout 1 10/07/2020 13:28 Page 2

ARTS | AT HOME

You can explore The Great Bath and Temple Courtyard with a virtual walkthrough at The Roman Baths

adapt to public health guidelines, the digitised tours will work best when they become an expansion of the museum, telling more complex stories and attracting audiences for their own purposes.

Over the endless weeks of lockdown, the tours allowed us to bond with galleries in our own back yard and reconnect with those that are further afield. Ultimately, it is thanks to the virtual tours and digital experiences that we we now have a mile-long bucket list of cultural excursions to plan. n

Explore Bath...

• B&NES Virtual Library bathnes.gov.uk • The Roman Baths romanbaths.co.uk • Thermae Bath Spa thermaebathspa.com • Victoria Art Gallery victoriagal.org.uk • The Fashion Museum and Assembly Rooms fashionmuseum.co.uk • Savouring Bath savouringbath.com

Travel the world...

• J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles getty.edu/museum • Vatican Museums, Rome museivaticani.va

Getty Museum Courtyard, photograph by Alex Vertikoff © 2003 J. Paul Getty Trust

intriguing. Although our 13-inch laptop screens may not fully convey the sheer size of Michelangelo’s 17-foot David, which incontestably adds to the grandeur of the piece, the virtual tours have given us a taste of what’s on offer, perhaps enticing us to visit once lockdown passes. Such is their power that they may inspire us to venture out of our normal choice of holiday destinations and explore places that we never thought of visiting.

These are, as we all know, ‘unprecedented times’. We did not trade visiting museums in for virtual tours due to the lack of will or reliance on technology – we were simply looking for beauty in this beast and, for that reason, the virtual tours have provided solace at unparalleled value. In the next few months and years as museums

• Natural History Museum, London nhm.ac.uk • Museum of Art of São Paulo Assis Chateaubriand (MASP), São Paulo masp.org.br/en • Guggenheim, Bilbao guggenheim-bilbao.eus/en • Uffizi Gallery, Florence uffizi.it/en • Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam rijksmuseum.nl/en • Musée d’Orsay, Paris m.musee-orsay.fr/en • Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York guggenheim.org • Picasso Museum, Barcelona courtyard.museupicassobcn.org • National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, South Korea mmca.go.kr/eng

You can see Van Gogh’s Irises and Renoir’s La Promenade in the virtual tour on The Getty Museum website

THEBATHMAG.CO.UK

|

january Summer 2020 2010

|

TheBATHmagazine 21 51

Future of cinema.qxp_Layout 1 09/07/2020 16:20 Page 1

FILM

The future of film

Cinemas now have the go-ahead to reopen their doors. Millie Bruce-Watt looks at their future in a socially distanced world and explores why it is so important that we welcome them back with open arms

E

xistential questions about the future of cinema have been circling our minds ever since their doors shut four months ago. Although streaming services like Netflix have stepped into save the day, offering us television box sets and endless episodes of Ozark and the Money Heist, which did successfully provide us with a momentary escape from the bleak reality of isolation, we never forgot about the sweet smell of popcorn, surround sound and the feeling of sitting in a dark room, totally absorbed in another’s life.

The dark room we’ve been sitting in for 90 consecutive nights just doesn’t compare to the one we pay the privilege to be in. We just don’t experience the power of collective human engagement in our living rooms, which continues to be the big screen’s unique appeal even as technology continues to evolve. So, as the wheel of questions continues to spin – will cinemas recover financially? Will audiences feel safe enough to return? Will they survive?

THE LURE OF STREAMING There are many advantages to the streaming world. Netflix and Amazon Prime have allowed waves of new genres to grace our screens, exposing us to new cultures, inspiring us with new forms of cinematography and teaching us about some of the world’s most important, and often marginalised, life stories. The streaming services have granted us access to world cinema, documentaries and independent films and our horizons have been broadened as a result.

When cinema doors shut, some films only saw a single week on the big screen. Films like Autumn de Wilde’s Emma, released in February, became available to stream much more quickly than usual. The services brought the films to us when we couldn’t go to them, and in that sense, we are grateful.

Even before cinemas closed, however, some of Hollywood’s most highly acclaimed directors chose to release their films straight to Netflix. Streaming services offer filmmakers the budget they need to make the films that they want, allowing both old and new voices to be more adventurous and push the boundaries of cinema further.

Oscar-award winning director, Martin Scorsese, released The Irishman on Netflix last year simply because the streaming service had the financial means to create and compete with Hollywood blockbusters. It is no secret that while the movie business has been suffering, streaming services have been luxuriating in their profits.

On-demand entertainment also offers films an opportunity to be more widely viewed. Some of our best-loved films only became the cult classics that we know and love today thanks to streaming services, previously home video renting. The Shawshank Redemption

famously flopped in the box office in 1994 but earned its reputation after it was released on home video, later becoming the number one ranking film on IMDb. So we owe a lot to streaming services – they supplied us with some of our most favourite films that would have otherwise been forgotten.

THE POWER OF CINEMA Even with the benefits that streaming services provide, the power of the big screen experience remains unparalleled. It allows you to see life through another person’s eyes and it can be emotional, visceral, shocking, uplifting, funny, revelatory. Watching a film in the cinema, surrounded by others all focused on the screen, and with the film production heightening the buzz with the technological advances in sound and picture merging and the hyper-realistic use of CGI and 2D, 3D, 4D or IMAX screens, it becomes mesmeric, significant, a story-telling experience in which you are privileged to share.

The very experience of sitting in a cinema is also completely unique. Watching a blockbuster in an audience of over a hundred is a moment that we retell to our grandchildren. Alien, Jaws and The Omen, to name just a few, stuck in the memories of millions before the days of streaming and the appetite for big screen entertainment shows no sign of fading. The box-office revenues for the Avengers and Star Wars series shows the market is still very much alive. The postponing of No Time to Die, the new James Bond film, in April also showed just how important the big screen buzz is to the film studios. The shared love of the cinema continues to pull back legions of devoted fans. However much we try, dressing up as our favourite character and watching a cult classic in a cinema with like-minded people cannot be recreated in our living rooms.

It is also intriguing to find out what lockdown has sparked in the imaginations of filmmakers. The idea of isolation has inspired many great films over the years. Will we see a surge of characters coping alone in space, trapped in panic rooms or struggling with cabin fever or will comedies dominate the billboards?

After the Great Depression in the United States, it was reported that people chose to watch cartoons and musicals and looked for an escape from their daily lives. Audiences didn’t want kitchen sink dramas; they didn’t want the screen to reflect their own lives back at them; they wanted to be told the tales of others.

Many cinemas around the country have announced that their doors will reopen within the month. Life will be far from normal for the cinemas and their post-pandemic existence may be grim, with plans to fill seats to half the cinemas’ capacity, abiding by the government’s social distancing guidelines. Therefore, it is important we show our support for the entertainment industry when it returns.

Cinemas and theatres have supplied us with laughter and joy from our early years and filled our lives with colour – it would simply be a much greyer world without them.

Pre-lockdown, the cinema offered us an opportunity to escape and stand in the shoes of others. Post-lockdown, the cinema still offers us that same chance – a chance that many more of us may take in a climate such as this. We need to be given the opportunity to remove ourselves from this world, to leave the house and to enjoy a piece of art as part of a collective. Although the powers of the streaming services will continue to grow exponentially – and they will be important for the future of the industry – we need to laugh and love and cry together again, engage with humanity and reconnect. After all this time apart, the shared experience of being in the cinema may ultimately be more important and more powerful than ever before. n

P23.qxp_Layout 23 10/07/2020 18:07 Page 1

HOMEFRONT - INTERIORS -

•Homewares •Interiors •Gifts •Cards & Prints •Handmade / Local Artists •Ethical / Sustainable Products T: 01225 571711 E: info@homefrontinteriors.co.uk 10 Margaret’s Buildings, Bath, BA1 2LP homefrontinteriors.co.uk | trouva.com @InnoxMills

THEBATHMAG.CO.UK

@InnoxMills

|

SUMMER 2020

|

ThEBATHMagazinE 23

Arts page v2.qxp_Layout 1 10/07/2020 19:21 Page 1

ART | EXHIBITIONS

STATE OF THE ART After much anticipation, our beloved art galleries and museums are beginning to reopen their doors.

So rally round and sample the delights of an exhibition both in person and online after a three-month pause

ART GALLERY SW

WALLER&WOOD

Tel: 07941 459384 Web: artgallerysw.co.uk

One Two Five Box Road, Bath BA1 7LR Tel: 07803 033629 / 07840 420784 Web: wallerandwood.co.uk ONLINE EXHIBITION Open now Waller&Wood’s new online exhibition features the work of Christina Romero Cross. Christina Sonoma I by Christina Romero Cross spent her early years living in a houseboat on the San Francisco Bay before settling in Bodmin, where she lives now. Her memory of her time spent on the water, as well as her experience of living on the moors, has influenced her work.

With miles of views, she says, “the horizon is the prominent feature of the landscape and the light is more brooding and bruised but no less significant than the rippling sunshine of my childhood.”

Waller&Wood’s gallery is no longer based in central Bath, but Carole Waller’s hand-painted and handmade clothing and Gary Wood’s statement pots can be viewed at One Two Five Box Road, by appointment.

AMERICAN MUSEUM & GARDENS Claverton Manor, Bath BA2 7BD Open: 10am–5pm, Tuesday–Sunday Tel: 01225 460503 Web: americanmuseum.org NIGHT AND DAY: 1930s FASHION AND PHOTOGRAPHS From July The American Museum & Gardens has launched one of its most glamourous exhibitions yet. The Night and Day exhibition was organised by the Fashion and Textiles Museum in London and takes visitors on a journey through sumptuous city tableaux. Visitors can expect to see a range of glamorous eveningwear and floor-length gowns created in satins, velvets and crepes. As ‘Pure Hollywood’: A floor-length part of the opening, the museum will also gown featured in host music featuring local jazz musicians, the exhibtion provide entertainment from The Natural Theatre Company and hand out American-style treats. As well as the museum’s special exhibition, the New American Garden, the Mount Vernon Garden, and the Garden Café (takeaway only) have also reopened for business. The museum’s main collection inside Claverton Manor will be opening in due course.

24 TheBATHMagazine

|

suMMer 2020

|

issue 212

ONLINE BATH ART EXHIBITION Open now The Art Gallery SW’s online exhibition is raising money to support Children’s Hospice South West. The new art show features over 60 established and emerging local artists who are committed to supporting the charity. The exhibition has a plethora of artwork available to purchase, with an impressive array of subjects on display, including figurative, still life, landscapes, and seascapes. The exhibition will donate 25 per cent of the art sold to the hospice.

THE HOLBURNE MUSEUM Great Pulteney Street, Bath Tel: 01225 388 569 Web: holburne.org GRAYSON PERRY: THE PRE-THERAPY YEARS Until January 2021 One of the Holburne’s most eagerly anticipated shows of the year, this follows a successful public appeal to source Perry’s early ceramic pieces, made between 1982 and the mid-1990s. Here are a broad range of Perry’s early works, including pieces from the artist’s own collection and works not seen publicly before. For his legions of fans, The Pre-Therapy Years will bring a new perspective to the 2003 Turner Prizewinner’s influential and inspiring outlook.

Essex Plate by Grayson Perry

Arts page v2.qxp_Layout 1 10/07/2020 19:21 Page 2

ART | EXHIBITIONS

ABBEY HOTEL BATH North Parade, Bath BA1 1LF Tel: 01225 461603 Web: abbeyhotelbath.co.uk RUH HEROES Until 1 November A new exhibition in The Abbey Hotel’s ArtBar celebrates the incredible work of the NHS staff at the Royal United Hospital. The exhibition is an opportunity to raise money for the RUH as well as a way of marking the remarkable work and sacrifice staff at the hospital have made for us on a daily basis.

The exhibition includes work by many local artists including Royal photographer Joe Short; Bath’s everpopular Peter Brown, also known as ‘Pete the Street’; architectural studies by David Ringsell; artist and printmaker James Nunn; local scenes by Jane Riley; and an image of the Peacemaker statue in Parade Gardens by artist Rob Highton.

All work will be for sale and the Abbey Hotel has agreed to donate 40 per cent of all sales – its total share of the proceeds – directly to the RUH’s Forever Friends Appeal with the remaining 60 per cent going to the artist.

Rhyannon Boyd, head of fundraising for the Forever Friends Appeal comments: “We have all been through such tough times recently, so it is wonderful to see our local community getting back on their feet and working through these new ways of living. This art exhibition is such a thoughtful way of acknowledging the remarkable work of the RUH staff over the past months.”

Bridge of Shadows

by David Ringsell

Hope by RobHighton

RETURNING SOON...

The Fashion Museum Bath and the Victoria Art Gallery remain temporarily closed but are planning their grand reopening in Spring 2021. In the meantime, vistitors can still wander their historic halls and view their current displays and exhibitions virtually. We look forward to welcoming them back soon.

THEBATHMAG.CO.UK

|

summer 2020

|

TheBATHmagazine 25

01 rethink comms 5 Stephens/Tarquini.qxp_Layout 1 10/07/2020 12:32 Page 1

the big rethink

RETHINK | COMMENTARIES

Chris Stephens Director, the Holburne Museum

During a recent conversation with the Holburne’s trustees, we agreed on the catch-phrase of the moment: ‘Nobody knows’.

How long will this last?

Nobody knows. Will visitors come in their droves, or mostly stay away? Nobody knows.

Will we be back to normal before Christmas? Next year?

Ever? Nobody knows. What will the ‘new normal’ look like?... And so on.

The Covid-19 lockdown has been devastating for museums and galleries and I am sure there will be some who go to the wall as a result. But there have been many positives for our sector. I have been struck by the levels of cooperation and support. This is especially true locally, with Bath’s cultural organisations coming together to share ideas, concerns and opportunities, but also nationally and between different sectors of the economy. Many of us have moved activity online and found a ready and engaged audience.

This was achieved in the absence of most staff and the energy and creativity of reduced teams has been exciting to watch.

Holly Tarquini Executive Director FilmBath

The situation for people who manage independent cinemas still looks pretty bleak. There are fears around opening in autumn and then being forced to close again if/when a second wave comes in the winter.

There is concern over wearing masks. If everyone in the cinema wears a mask that adds a powerful layer of protection to audience and staff, but feedback from audiences is that they don’t want to wear them.

If there was a government directive that masks HAVE to be worn, that would be incredibly helpful – though of course masks would impacts on popcorn and snacks which is income cinemas rely on; there is no simple solution at the moment.

We are looking into many different options for our November festival – the most exciting of which is a collaboration of regional film festivals, working together to produce an online festival as well as hosting physical events in our own areas. You’ll have to sign up to our newsletter to find out more about how we get on with this...

If we can only sell tickets to a third, or even half the seats in the Odeon or The Little then we would make a loss on every screening: we are a small arts charity and we cannot run all our events at a loss.

We usually sell out around 60–70 per cent of our films so this kind of reduced capacity would annihilate us.

In lockdown I have been up-skilling like mad – learning how to 26 TheBATHMagazine 2020 212 | suMMer | issue XVIII TheBATHMagazine 2020 212 | suMMer | issue

There has been a recognition of the importance and value of institutions like the Holburne locally and nationally. I sense acceptance of the fact that Bath’s unique ecosystem of small museums is of real value to the visitor economy as well as to residents, and unquestionably the Arts Council and DCMS have recognised that independent museums who have found ways of operating without any public subsidy are the most at risk. For the Holburne, the most moving signal of our value was that our emergency crowdfunding appeal attracted hundreds of donations from people we did not know. When the BBC News posted a rather alarmist report of our situation on their website, we got over 200 donations in 24 hours.

And that provided the most important reminder in these strange, reflective times: that museums are about people, individuals and communities. Without public funding, places like the Holburne rely on ticket sales for survival, but it’s not just about numbers, it is also about the depth of our impact. Art and museums really do matter to people at a visceral level, and they really do change people’s lives.

Museums and galleries are where you encounter extraordinary things in ways that no virtual experience can emulate, and they are social spaces for shared wonderment, discussion and debate. Our enforced closure has helped us recognise our place in the community and the coincidence of this crisis with the renewed energy of the Black Lives Matter movement has emphasised how vital it is that that place is open to everyone. With our friends at the American Museum and the Roman Baths, we are finally welcoming back visitors and celebrating the opportunity to resume what we exist to do. Museums and galleries face a challenging future but I believe we approach it strengthened by a reinforced belief in the value of what we all do and energised by a true commitment to do it better and more inclusively. n • holburne.org

simulcast with streaming platforms using Skype as a multi-camera shoot. On 9 July we live-streamed our annual IMDb Script to Screen Award with three judges, 19 actors and a huge audience: much larger than we could have accommodated in Komedia, where we usually host the awards (watch this on our YouTube Channel). I love learning new skills, so although the process has been painful at times, it has also been exciting.

The overarching aim of FilmBath is to ‘amplify diverse voices’, but our ability to fly directors, actors and writers around the world is limited. Lockdown has shown us that we don’t need to fly them here – we can include those voices in the festival with live digital links: it’s something we have been trialling for a couple of years, but this has galvanised us to do more.

It seems likely that Coronavirus will affect everything we do for at least a year and cinemas are one of the more complicated areas to manage: we are all inside, close to one another, for at least 90 minutes. But Bath’s cinema managers are fantastic problem solvers and I am sure that solutions will be found.

We have all been missing the cinema: the experience of sitting in the dark together and sensing how those around us are reacting to the film on screen is irreplaceable. It’s why, despite every generation doom mongering, neither radio, TV, video or streaming have killed cinema. Watching great films on a big screen with Dolby Surround sound, in a packed cinema is heaven: Netflix doesn’t come close.

My optimistic vision is that the pandemic will ensure that the NHS is protected from privatisation; that education becomes properly funded; that we find new and better ways to support rough sleepers and homeless people; that institutions and individuals will acknowledge systemic racism and do everything possible to achieve equity; that the workers who really matter (nurses, care workers, teachers etc) become the most financially valued members of society and that we start adopting best practice rather than using essential services as a political football. The reason I can even imagine such a utopia is partly thanks to film which opens up the whole world to us and is such an elegant tool for exploring the possibilities of what we could be. n • filmbath.co.uk

02 rethink comms 4 Stockley/Ure.qxp_Layout 1 10/07/2020 12:37 Page 1

the big rethink

RETHINK | COMMENTARIES

Ian Stockley

Midge Ure OBE

Chief Executive Bath Festivals

Musician

As we approach four months since lockdown, Bath Festivals is well underway in planning a ‘new normal’, even with the challenge of the unknown and uncertainty still very much with us.

Lockdown came two weeks into our May 2020 Bath Festival sales period and ticket income, which now represents nearly 50 per cent of our total revenues, came to a grinding halt.

In recent years we have moved to bring the wider community together with the festival, promoting the impact that music, words, books and performance can have on people’s lives. Ticket sales have risen from 30 per cent of revenues prior to the Literature and Music festivals being combined in 2017. The continuing reduction in public funding – which now represents eight per cent of total revenues compared to 30 per cent in 2017 – together with the strategic direction of the board of trustees to programme a festival of the highest quality that appeals to a much wider part of our communities means that growing revenues through increasing ticket sales are essential to our survival.

The pandemic has hit the festivals very hard, at a critical point in our transition to a combined arts community festival with dramatically reduced public funding. However there are very definite positives that can, and we’re sure will, come out of this crisis. We have been hugely encouraged and immensely grateful for the generous financial support received from our audience and community.

The challenges remain great but we believe Bath Festivals can and will return stronger, changing challenge into opportunity, as we once again play our part in contributing to what the arts bring to our communities. Improved communication and the openness to share ideas locally and nationally have been very evident and rewarding. New and strengthening existing partnerships will be key to the new normal.

Nobody yet knows when social distancing guidelines will be sufficiently relaxed to allow the return of full houses in venue hosted events. Audiences’ attitude to risk will vary, with many preferring to continue to experience the events virtually.

It means we are looking to return with a ‘blended’ offer of physical and virtual events where we will dial up and down the virtual strand, as a certainty starts to return, as it surely will. Notifications of cancelling and closing down of events and venues will start to be replaced by the opening up and announcement of new creative thinking and innovation in artistic planning. n • bathfestivals.org.uk

“Bath Festivals can and will return stronger, changing challenge into opportunity, as we once again play our part in what the arts bring to our communities” WWW.THEBATHMAG.CO.UK

At the end of February, I took the 1980 tour to New Zealand and Australia, stopping off at Dubai on the way back. When we got to New Zealand, news about this weird virus flying around China had just hit.

We managed to get around New Zealand and do some of the Australian shows, but venues were starting to reduce numbers. By the time we got to our last show in Perth, the gig was cancelled.

Information was changing on an hourly basis and my big concern was... will we ever get home? But we made it, and the family were all safe and sound – and then everything went on hold: the festivals, the follow-up tour I was planning for the autumn of this year – all gone. And we all had toilet roll concerns to deal with too!

Three months on, and I’ve got two albums on the go: the new one I’ve been working on for a couple of years, and a second orchestrated album that we’ve made inroads into.

To do that kind of thing, you don’t have to be in the same room as the people you’re working with; a lot of the creative process is one person in a box at the bottom of the garden fiddling with knobs and making noise – and I’m fairly used to that! But the novelty of singing into a webcam wears off very quickly so I’ve kitted out my studio for doing live broadcasts, videos, Q&As, that kind of thing, so I can carry on doing what I love doing.

Adaptability is key, at the moment. If you’re a creative soul, you’ll find a vehicle that gives you the platform to exercise all the talents you might have. Lots of creative people have taken the whole social media thing above and beyond videos of bands performing in the bathroom, and that’s been fabulous. But I miss touring! And I miss not being able to go to a restaurant, or the cinema, or the theatre, too.

Thank goodness, though, that the arts are finally getting some funding to support an industry that’s teetering right on the edge.

I think we will come out of all this, but we’re pre-empting it a bit too quickly. I’m not sure what the ‘new normal’ will be and I don’t think anything will ever be exactly as it was before March 2020. But the whole experience has given us an opportunity to reboot our thoughts on climate change, and think about how business is conducted: do you really need to jump on a flight to Tokyo three times a month? We’ve all become very accustomed to doing Zoom meetings, talking to people anywhere on the planet and being able to see them; that’s something that I don't see going away.

I’m not venturing out and about yet – I’m playing the game.

People with infinitely more knowledge than I will ever have are telling me to stay in and be careful. If you could see a virus floating around, you might think twice about going out too. I’m waiting until science tells me that it’s safe to change my mind, not politicians. n This is part of a longer interview that we’ll be publishing online very soon.

THEBATHMAG.CO.UK

|

Summer marCh 2015 2020 | | TheBATHmagazine TheBATHmagazinexx27

03 rethink comms 3 Suchar/Steel.qxp_Layout 1 10/07/2020 12:43 Page 1

the big rethink

RETHINK | COMMENTARIES

Betty Suchar

Nick Steel

Chair of Management, BRLSI

Director of Bath Comedy Festival

How can you have an exciting visitor experience when the doors are shut? Or attract an audience to an event when the speaker isn’t allowed in the building?

These were just a couple of the problems BRLSI confronted on that fateful day in March 2020 when the government’s Covid-19 regulations came into play, forcing our institution to close its doors.

Overnight the building, which sees the comings and goings of up to a hundred people a day, was in lockdown and the revenue from putting on world-class talks and opening the building for use by educational, charitable and commercial entities came to a frightening halt. But we were very lucky.

A proud history of almost 200 years meant we were determined to find a way to keep going, taking advantage of new technologies that, frankly, we had been slow to adopt.

Instead of physical meetings, three intrepid volunteers rallied to record talks and upload them to YouTube. Next we began to offer live interviews with world-class speakers on subjects ranging from Wordsworth and Jane Austen to Determinism, Free Will, and Monetary Policy. Even better, our audiences could participate asking questions and giving their opinions. Buoyed by the results, we reached out further. Our regular Saturday coffee mornings were made possible via Zoom, we added fun quizzes, even our book club went online.

We have been able to bring our community closer together while drawing in people from around the world.

Of course, we are still struggling. But with our handful of staff and our many volunteers, we are doing a pretty good job at keeping going. Through virtual offerings and Zoom meetings our operations have continued. Eventbrite are handling ticket sales for our live online events. Top of the chart so far was a Jane Austen talk with over 140 tickets sold – more people than can fit in our largest lecture room.

We are not sure when life will return to normal, but we are slowly starting to gear back up. A new exhibition inspired by our Instagram feature, Take 5, will go on show in August.

Only a click away on our site is a gem of 3D photography introduced by Professor Ichthyosaurus. Another exciting project in the preparation phase will enable our historic objects to be included on Google Arts and Culture, the latest go-to place for museum treasures.

As for room hire, we have the advantage of architecturally beautiful rooms that overlook Queen Square that are large enough to manage social distancing.

So BRLSI has survived yet another difficult period in its history and we look forward to sharing with the people of Bath not only what we are doing in 2020, but what we hope to do for a bicentennial celebration in 2024. It should be very exciting and we welcome any help that members of our community are willing to give.

BRLSI’s mission to offer knowledge and debate to the community could not have happened were it not for the talent and dedication shown by its community of volunteers. And for that we are grateful. n • brlsi.org

28 TheBATHMagazine

|

suMMer 2020

|

issue 212

Bath Comedy Festival relies entirely on ticket sales and corporate sponsorship, and neither of these have been forthcoming of late. However, our crowdfunding appeal is progressing extraordinarily well, considering the current proliferation of needy causes.

We also received some welcome support from Bath Council’s discretionary grant scheme, having fallen through all the gaps in the government schemes, and the overstretched Arts Council ran out of funds before getting round to us.

So, the show will go on, just about. We are playing it by ear, and depending on the lifting or loosening of social gathering regulations, there may well be some one-off special events before Christmas. Widcombe Social Club, one of our core venues, is being thoroughly spruced up and made Covid-safe even as we speak. Keep an eye on our website for updates.

Next year’s festival should be well into the planning stages by now. Of course artists and managements are highly sympathetic to the situation, as are audiences. In fact most ticket holders for the non-existent sold-out 2020 shows have been willing to treat it as a postponement rather than a cancellation. We aim to honour as many events as possible that were in the pipeline before the pandemic (oh, what a line-up we have in waiting!)

So, Bath Comedy Festival 2021 will rise Phoenix-like with the by-line “Now, where were we when we were so rudely interrupted?”, with the bonus of a whole load of year-round events starting as soon as we can run them.

We’re also looking forward to working with the new Bath Institute of Laughter next year. Set up by former Edinburgh Fringe boss, Hilary Strong, the institute will offer a range of practical workshops and creative labs aimed at people who sometimes miss out on opportunities to be funny. In particular, Hilary plans exciting workshops for children in sketch and stand-up comedy.

Widcombe Social Club (of which our esteemed director is licensee, wearing one of his other hats), is gearing up to open for whatever is allowed by current rules, not least resurrecting the popular Friday Night Social – without live performance at the moment, but with added value supplied via the big screen TV, and new interesting Film Nights are due to be announced.

The club scores well on the safety aspects expected from venues just now – being blessed with large, light and airy function rooms it is a very attractive alternative to the cosy pubs and clubs.

Watch this space everyone – good things are coming – if you are not already on the mailing lists, visit our sites and sign up to be the first to know about the exciting new developments we’re working hard to bring to fruition.

See you all soon – let’s all look forward to plenty of laughs, drinks, and many happy times to come. n • bathcomedy.com; widcombesocialclub.co.uk

04 rethink comms 1 Wendorf/Moar.qxp_Layout 1 10/07/2020 16:23 Page 1

the big rethink

CITY | INTERIORS RETHINK | COMMENTARIES

Danny Moar

Richard Wendorf

Director of Theatre Royal Bath

Director of the American Museum & Gardens

It was a Theatre Royal Bath board meeting like no other… We had just begun the business section of the meeting on the evening of 16 March when the news came through that the Prime Minister had advised that it was unsafe to attend theatres due to the brewing coronavirus crisis.

In swift succession I took calls from the Duke of York’s Theatre in the West End, where our production of Noel Coward’s Blithe Spirit starring Jennifer Saunders had just opened to glowing reviews and a huge box office advance, and also from the producer of the stage version of Band of Gold, which was due to open its week-long residency at the Theatre Royal that evening. In both calls the message was the same – the show cannot go on. Overnight the entire UK theatre industry closed down. At the time of writing, three and a half months later, there is little certainty about when it will reopen. For all the obvious reasons, an activity which involves hundreds of people gathered closely together in an indoor space was never going to be easy to reinstate.

“There is nothing that makes us appreciate something as much as the prospect of losing it” Why then am I feeling so hopeful? It is not because I am looking forward to a new era of home-working and a quieter and more reflective approach to life. Far from it. It is the very noisy unpredictability of theatre, both on and off stage, that I enjoy the most. Rather, I am hopeful because, although the many on-line theatrical offerings from various enterprising arts organisations have been appreciated, including by me, it is clear that they do not come close to replicating the real thing. The real thing in this case is rooted in the very thing that we are supposed to be avoiding – social proximity; in other words a group of people up there on stage telling a story to another (we hope larger!) group of people down there in the audience.

My firm prediction is that when we have found a way of either preventing, curing or living with the virus, audiences will rebound extremely strongly and we will continue as an industry the wonderful streak of form we were all enjoying before that fateful evening in March. After all, there is nothing that makes us appreciate something as much as the prospect of losing it. n • theatreroyal.org.uk WWW.THEBATHMAG.CO.UK

It all happened so quickly, didn't it? We had spent months preparing the American Museum & Gardens for its opening in mid-March. The new exhibition, on fashion and photography in the 1930s, had been handsomely mounted.

We had just won best in show in the 'Leisure and Tourism' category of the Bath Life Awards. We had recently been featured in two magazines, Gardens Illustrated and The English Garden. Our café had been renamed and one of its two rooms redecorated; the revised menu was ready to go. And yet, within a week of our opening, like every other cultural institution, we were completely closed.

Lockdown imposed hardships of various kinds: cancelled trips and events, extended isolation, many colleagues on furlough, a skeleton crew working hard to keep the operation safe and secure. But lockdown also posed possibilities, the opportunity for the senior management team to think about how best to position the museum in what will be an altered financial and cultural landscape. Given that it will take some time – months if not years – for travel and visitation to return to anything like its previously normal state, what will work best?

We have been asking ourselves some fundamental questions: what do we do best, and how can we enhance those elements of our current offer? What is more peripheral to the mission and success of the museum, and can we prudently curtail or eliminate some of those activities? How will the sudden downturn and subsequent volatility in the financial markets affect our fiscal health? How will changes in the financial markets affect our development efforts? Should we alter our priorities for fundraising? How much more can we tighten our budgetary belt? Do we have the optimal organisational structure for reaching our goals?

How can we take better advantage of our views, lawns, and gardens to promote well-being? How can we ensure that we contribute fully to the life of the community, especially through the opening of our new Children’s Garden?

We have made progress in answering these questions, but we have just re-opened the museum and gardens, the pandemic is still with us, and the psychological effects will, I predict, stay with us for some time. The three Bath institutions that are now open – The Holburne, The Roman Baths, and The American Museum – have worked closely together, and we have done everything we can to provide a safe, reassuring welcome to the thousands of people who are hungry for the stimulation and inspiration that museums and heritage sites provide. I doubt that this hunger will ever fade, but we do know that international travel to Bath will suffer.

All cultural institutions are now facing uncertain futures.

It is our hope that those who support heritage and the arts will do the right thing in these straitened times. Make a visit.

Become a member. Offer to volunteer. And yes, please make a financial contribution. In short, enjoy (and promote) one of the strongest cultural enclaves in the entire nation. n • americanmuseum.org THEBATHMAG.CO.UK

|

summer 2020| |TheBATHmagazine TheBATHmagazinexx29 marCh 2015

05 rethink comms 5 Andrews/Gill.qxp_Layout 1 10/07/2020 13:13 Page 1

the big rethink

RETHINK | COMMENTARIES

Peter Andrews Chair, Transition Bath

At Transition Bath we believe the future can be exciting and fulfilling. But in order to march, heads held high, into that glorious future we need to make some serious changes to how we live and we need to make them very, very soon.

Transition Bath is a local charity that sets out to build local resilience in the face of dwindling resources and climate change. We believe that this massive social experiment we are living through with the Covid-19 pandemic has shown that some of the things we need to do to ensure the future really are better than what we did before.

The big examples are the air quality in Bath and food.

When lockdown started the streets became deserted. The air became cleaner and things looked brighter as pollution levels had dropped. To walk or cycle about Bath was a joy. The city began to look like a place deserving of its World Heritage status again instead of a giant, noisome traffic jam.

If we shut off the centre of Bath to all but essential traffic what would happen? If instead of more traffic lights, and view cluttering signage junking up Queen Square we just banned traffic, would the world end? Would the tourists stop coming? Probably not, but the experience of getting around Bath would be better for them and for us, the residents. And that is without mentioning the reduction in CO2 and NOX emissions that are eating away at our beautiful Georgian buildings and our children’s lungs.

When lockdown started an empty supermarket became a place to avoid. The supply chain we had all taken for granted looked more precarious. You couldn’t buy all the exotica you used to and some staples became hard to find. The vegetables existed, but they were in the wrong place or there was no one to pick them.

At this point everyone looked to our local producers like Chris Rich and the Community Farm in Chew Valley. But they were

Jerry Gill Manager, Bath City FC

How good it felt to be back out on the grass at Twerton Park after we were finally given the green light that the playoffs will go ahead.

...It’s certainly been tough for all of us, with little purpose or reason to start the day off positively while on lockdown, but as football people we have found it very odd after the season was abruptly ended with us in such a strong position in the league.

As a group of staff we went about our work to keep the players fit both mentally and physically. Individual fitness programmes were sent out along with fitness testing schedules. We also set up staff and player Zoom meetings to check how everyone was doing.

I was busy doing CPD hours to keep my coaching qualifications validated with online coursework and FA seminars. Hours have also been spent on game reflection, watching back clips of areas for us to develop and what we have been very good at.

Going forward, we have to fall under the

XVIII TheBATHMagazine

|

overwhelmed and couldn’t keep pace. An allotment couldn’t be had for love or money and the evenings reverberated to the sound of spade on sod as people started to grow their own.

Here Bath showed its best side.

Community initiatives sprang up to keep us in fresh produce, from the admirable Bath Veg Box project that has ended up supplying hundreds of people with good quality veg, to people shopping, sharing and helping each other out.

We have proved yet again that access to food is vital and if we want to avoid shortages like this we need a plan to grow more locally. We couldn’t get hold of strawberries from the other side of the world whenever we wanted but when the local ones turned up from Cheddar how much sweeter they tasted.

The key to a lot of the good things that have happened is community. People helped others and they enjoyed it. They talked to their neighbours, worked out who needed help, got things done, made their neighbourhood a better, cleaner place to be.

When giving talks I like to end by asking my audience a couple of questions. Which would you rather have – the right to drive your car where you want, when you want, or clean air for your children to breathe? A society consisting of a resource-rich elite who make (and flout) the laws, or a more resilient society in which everyone has a stake and our great grandchildren can look forward to a bright future?

Many moons ago Bath declared itself a ‘Transition City’ yet change comes with glacial slowness and not always for the better. We have to make the serious changes needed now and we need to hold to strict account those who want business as usual.

But some of those changes can really be rather fine. n • transitionbath.org

National League protocol for training. All players and staff have to be Covid-19 tested weekly along with regular temperature testing so we can monitor every individual closely. It is not the best experience in the world but we know it has to be done and to date we are all clear. Twerton Park is deep-cleansed, including equipment, pre and post sessions. This has already become our new normal and very much part of our routine.

We entered phase one of the return to training programme at the end of June, which means we were all social distancing as much as we could with sessions being based around technical and conditioning non-contact drills.

Our target is to get every player fit and at their peak for the playoff eliminator against Dorking at Twerton on 19 July. There will be a lot of hard work taking place on and off the pitch.

All of the protocol demands – along with us having to extend player and staff contracts – comes at a huge cost to the football club.

The idea to set up a Crowdfundraiser has proved key in making sure we can afford to participate. We set £35,000 as a fundraising target, the estimated cost to the club. As I write this piece I am overwhelmed by generosity of the fans and residents of Bath with our new total sitting at £48,000!

It’s not only our fans but sports and football fans all over the country and overseas that have kindly put their hands in their pockets and taken up one of our well-thought out package options.

Looking to the future we hope to see supporters back in Twerton park when it’s safe to do so. This is imperative for us as a football club to survive, with average attendances well over a thousand, with the gate receipts allowing us to live as a club week to week.

For now the focus is on the pitch as we await 19 July where we will be doing all we can to put some smiles back on our supporters’ faces as we try to bring our wonderful club further success. n • bathcityfc.com

suMMer 2020

|

issue 212

Great Wine co fp.qxp_Layout 1 09/07/2020 09:12 Page 1

06 rethink comms 3 Bridgewater/Boden.qxp_Layout 1 10/07/2020 13:11 Page 1

the big rethink

RETHINK | COMMENTARIES

Rev. Canon Guy Bridgewater Rector of Bath Abbey

‘An Oasis of Peace for All, at the heart of the city’.

As I look forward, that’s my big prayer for Bath Abbey.

To be a place for both joyful thanksgiving and tender commemoration, when as a shared community we finally emerge from the pandemic. ...And looking further beyond, to be a beautiful ‘still centre’ for the reflection, prayer, and pastoral care that we’re going to need as much as ever.

Much has been said about the ‘new normal’ of the post-Covid world.

Even before the dreadful impact of the virus, the focus of city centres has of course been changing. For our visitors, and for many locals too, the centre of Bath is a stunning heritage backdrop … chiefly for the important business of ‘just mooching around’. Long may that continue!

Many of us do our serious shopping online, or else at some out-of-town retail park with parking. But can that seriously compete with a leisurely trawl around Bath’s beautiful streets, grabbing a coffee and rating the buskers with our friends, just soaking up the gorgeous atmosphere?

City centres these days are where we love to shop not just for stuff, but for experience. And Bath has it in spades. I just pray our fantastic businesses and attractions do survive this huge pandemic challenge, for they deserve to bounce back fast.

As for Bath Abbey, it fits perfectly into that wider city scene, just as prominently as its architecture. We exist precisely to offer an experience of God’s love and gracious hospitality; to be ‘an Oasis of Peace for All’.

Also I pray that the abbey will be a beacon of light. Next year will see, God willing, the completion of the major Footprint restoration and exciting fit-out of the abbey building for the 21st century. It means we will be equipped to serve the people of Bath, and its visitors, better than ever.

This comes at a significant and timely moment. Many of us have found lockdown and the threat of the virus to be an almighty prompt, to reflect deeply upon the true values and priorities in life. Rethinking our approach to community, consumerism, life-work balance, Black Lives Matter, climate change … these issues are huge for all of us, whatever our faith or background. The abbey will be a wonderful, revitalised space in which to explore together the deep questions in our hearts.

So I pray that Bath Abbey may work with others across our city to offer a beacon of light – a place to be enlightened by excellent public debates and lectures; illuminated by fabulous concerts and services, displays and exhibitions; inspired by godly wisdom and the shining lived examples of others around us.

One of the time-honoured tags of Bath Abbey is ‘The Lantern of the West’. May God’s light shine from the abbey, helping equip and ready our city for the many challenges, and also the joyous celebrations, yet to come. n • bathabbey.org 32 TheBATHMagazine

|

suMMer 2020

|

issue 212

Tom Boden General Manager, National Trust Bath Portfolio

During lockdown we saw more people visiting the Bath Skyline, seeking solace in this wonderful landscape. We understand the importance of our beautiful local green spaces to the people of Bath and and the boost to wellbeing that they can provide.

Through the Bathscape Project, we will work with partners to manage our landscape so that people and nature can thrive, and together do all we can to address the climate and ecological emergency.

We reopened Dyrham Park and Prior Park Landscape Garden in June, using a booking system to manage safe numbers at our properties. Feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, showing how much our members value getting back to the places they love. Pre-booking could well become the norm and help us manage the flow of visitors in the future.

The closure of organisations during lockdown meant cultural interactions had to move online. I can’t wait for us to open the house at Dyrham so that visitors can see the collection with their own eyes and I’m looking forward to returning to the wonderful museums in Bath. I hope that this forced absence will encourage our community to value and support their local cultural organisations who have been hit particularly hard, especially as visitors from further afield might not return soon.

Lockdown has also given us time to reflect on the way we interpret the history of our properties, particularly in response to the Black Lives Matter campaign. Many National Trust places have direct and indirect links to slavery and colonialism, and we must do more to share these histories.

At Dyrham Park, we have been working with local communities through partners Colonial Countryside since 2017 to explore and share its story, but we still have much more work to do.

Wealth generated through the appalling exploitation of enslaved people also helped finance the building of Georgian Bath and we are working with partners to look at how the city, as a World Heritage Site, can address and not suppress this legacy. This work feels ever more vital and urgent to help our community to be inclusive, diverse, welcoming and resilient.

Looking back to those surreal days of full lockdown, I’m struck that this very difficult experience also gave us space to slow down, notice nature, enjoy a traffic free city with clear skies and find new ways to connect with our neighbours.

Octavia Hill, co-founder of the National Trust, recognised the importance of space when she wrote in 1875: “We all want quiet. We all want beauty… We all need space.

Unless we have it we cannot reach that sense of quiet in which whispers of better things come to us gently…”

I hope we can avoid returning to the frenetic pace of life before lockdown and reap the benefits of taking time, travelling less, connecting with nature and each other. Maybe this can lead us towards a greener, kinder and more sustainable future. n • nationaltrust.org.uk

07 rethink comms 5 Kay/Davis.qxp_Layout 1 11/07/2020 07:16 Page 2

the big rethink

Caroline Kay Chief Executive, Bath Preservation Trust

Like most organisations Bath Preservation Trust has been hit very hard by the coronavirus crisis, which has had an immediate and lasting effect on the organisation. BPT closed its museums on 17 March, which meant an immediate loss of 90 per cent of our income.

An emergency team of trustees and staff prioritised a continuation of the planning and advocacy work of the Trust: the care and safety of our museum buildings and collections; the provision of online educational outreach; the initiating of fundraising and the seeking of grants; together with finance, personnel and governance, all carried out by a small temporary skeleton team.

We have used the furlough scheme heavily, and we have been successful in securing some of the grants we have applied for; at time of writing we are waiting to hear whether we have received National Heritage Lottery Fund Emergency funding. We have reviewed all spending and looked how the Trust can still aim to emerge from the crisis. Whatever happens, our resources have been severely depleted just keeping going.

Throughout the lockdown, the core advocacy and planning related work of the Trust has continued with staff working from home and with Zoom committee meetings, and we are committed to keep this going. Planning and listed building applications have not ceased coming forward and we wish to continue both to support householders with advice and also to contribute to the planning process via our expert volunteer panel. Some of the government’s announcements for planning liberalisations may be welcome, but we will always strive within the planning system to champion the integrity and authenticity of the historic environment in a way that is also responsive to change.

For our museums it has been harder. Our – and others’ – digital

RETHINK| COMMENTARIES RETHINK | COMMENTARIES

offers have been a small window on our work during lockdown but heritage and museums are about real objects in authentic spaces.

Whether this is exemplified by a John Wood building such as the Circus, or John Wood’s actual drawing instruments with which he may have drawn the Circus’s designs, a 2D computer image is not the same as the real thing.

Though lockdown is now easing, museums have only just been given permission to open, and developing a ‘social distancing’ model of opening in our small, essentially domestic museums is challenging in its own right and still more so at staffing levels that are viable. The tourist market is not predicted to recover for two or three years and domestic tourists are focusing mostly on outdoor offers.

We are nevertheless determined to get something moving in the ‘new normal’. Wehope to trial a Covid-secure opening of No 1 Royal Crescent in August: to trial some garden stargazing events at the Herschel Museum of Astronomy, supported by the Herschel Society, later in July; and we continue to deliver the lottery project for conservation and re-interpretation of Beckford’s Tower in its landscape. We would encourage you to join us: we will not open the doors if we felt we could not do this safely and enjoyably for visitors.

We know that whatever happens we will have to continue to be adaptable in how we respond to the changing world around us. Our focus will remain on our dual charitable purpose of protection of heritage and landscape and education through museums. Bath Preservation Trust survived World War II, the Sack of Bath and multiple recessions – we are determined to stay part of Bath’s heritage scene for some time to come. n • bath-preservation-trust.org.uk

Kathryn Davis Chief Executive Officer, Visit Bath

As Bath’s tourism industry starts to re-open and businesses in our hospitality and visitor attraction sector begin to navigate the ‘new normal’, we are looking forward to welcoming visitors back.

What we do know is that the reopening will be gradual for many – slow and steady for our visitor experiences between now and next spring. Some are open and ready to go, others will hold back and wait to learn from the operation in the new environment.

It might be some time before we start to see our long-haul international visitors returning, so domestic tourism, and our regional audience, will be key to supporting the local economy in the immediate short-term.

Encouraging residents back into the city with their friends and family to make the most of special offers and incentives is a priority; for XVIII TheBATHmagazine

|

summer 2020

|

issue 212

example, guests of Discovery Card holders and B&NES residents are able to receive a 25 per cent discount on entry tickets for the Roman Baths.

We have been working closely in a partnership with Bath Business Improvement District and Bath and North East Somerset Council developing specific marketing messages aimed at locals, day visitors and those inspired to stay in the area on a short break or holiday.

We have also been collaborating closely with national partners, working towards participation in domestic campaigns and supporting businesses to participate in the Visit England ‘Good to Go’ programme, giving consumers and staff confidence in business operation.

We know there is a long recovery road ahead, but we have the reassurance of the quality of the tourism and hospitality businesses in Bath and beyond, so many of whom have worked hard to adapt their operation in order to continue trading during lockdown and reopening into a challenging environment. Some businesses will reopen with a fresh face, as a number of major refurbishment programmes are completed. There are also a number of future developments in the pipeline with future new openings next year including Mary Shelley’s House of Frankenstein and The World Heritage Centre, all of which will continue to inspire visitors to visit Bath – the beautiful city, local towns and villages and the stunning countryside landscape that surrounds. n • visitbath.co.uk THEBATHMAG.CO.UK THEBATHMAG.CO.UK 2020 | summer | july 2020

|

TheBATHmagazine TheBATHmagazine 33 33

08 rethink comms 5 Killpartrick/Herbert.qxp_Layout 1 10/07/2020 13:20 Page 1

the big rethink

RETHINK | COMMENTARIES

Mike Killpartrick Senior Partner, Ellis and Killpartrick

It’s now over four months since the world changed for all of us, and as an optician and business owner contracted to NHS England we, like everyone else, have had to massively adjust both the ways we do things and the way we think.

Advice and guidelines from the government and the optical regulatory bodies has been an ongoing and ever-developing process as we discover how little we really understand about the effects of Covid-19 and how it is transmitted.

Should we be surprised that this has happened? Not really, and I certainly became interested in the possibility of pandemics when still at school after learning about the 1918 Spanish flu which caused more deaths than all the deaths from the First World War. The more I read the more it became clear how little we understand about pandemics and also the evidence for other previous pandemics that have occurred throughout recorded history.

So, in reality, it was never a question of whether, but when such an event would occur again, really no different to other catastrophes which have occurred throughout earth’s history such as asteroid strikes, tsunamis and volcanic eruptions. Clearly this time we could also predict more rapid global transmission with the popularity of mass-population air travel.

Allison Herbert Chief Executive Bath Bid

At the BID, we have been learning to adapt and support others to adapt their business model to the new constraints on the high street.

We have provided practical help with social distancing and hygiene measures – providing rainbow floor stickers, hand sanitiser and cleaning services and sharing all the best practice guidance so that the city is able to continue to welcome people.

We anticipate that these measures will stay around until we have a widely available vaccine. As the lockdown has been easing off, we have seen the footfall counts increasing steadily, but we are still a long way from last year’s figures and the city’s businesses need local support as they take their first steps towards recovery. Saturday 4 July was a good day for Milsom Street, and as the restaurants are opening again we anticipate an uplift in evening footfall. The reopening of the Roman Baths and the Holburne make up the final element for visitors to choose Bath for their day or weekend visit and we are working closely with Visit Bath to ensure that people are aware of all that Bath has to offer in these post-Covid times.

Changes in the road layouts will make it easier for pedestrians and we would hope that the utilitarian style will give way to more appealing street furniture with planters, seating and attractive bollards replacing the 34 TheBATHMagazine

|

suMMer 2020

|

issue 212

At the onset of lockdown and classified as ‘vulnerable’ because of my age I decided I would be more usefully occupied by selfisolating in our practice. This enabled me to deal with potential emergencies by learning ‘remote triaging’ to try to ensure as far as possible that only real emergencies were sent to the hospital. This was just as well as within the first week a patient presented new to the practice who was found to have a retinal detachment who was fortunately dealt with very promptly, being seen with 24 hours by a retinal specialist.

With all our staff furloughed I was taken completely out of my comfort zone, having to learn lots of new front desk and administrative skills, including how to take payments using a credit card machine.

Manning the phone single-handedly was certainly also a challenge and dealing with patients running out of contact lenses and breaking their only pair of glasses was at times interesting!

Gradually, as restrictions have been eased, we have started to unfurlough staff and we are are now allowed to see all patients, both NHS and private. So life returns to a kind of normal, “life, but not as we know it” to paraphrase Spock’s famous Star Trek line! n • ellisandkillpartrick.com

red and white plastic. There is an appetite in the city for a wellmanaged public realm which reflects the city’s role and reputation.

The high streets haves been evolving for a few years, and it would seem that the recent crisis has precipitated some of the changes and brought them to the attention of the public. Of those businesses which were struggling pre-Covid, many, unfortunately, won’t be able to survive, or will have to have a big rethink as to how they trade and we anticipate that the city will look different over the coming months.

Before Covid, online shopping was around 20 per cent of total retail sales, but during April and May that figure went up to over 30 per cent. That leaves a lot of shopping still being done in person, but our challenge is how to make it ‘easy’ for people and blend the offline and online presence of our shops. There is an opportunity to make it easier to buy the size and colour you want and have it delivered to your workplace, without losing the vibrancy of physical premises.

Places are becoming more focused on their social activity and what they offer in the way of a ‘lifestyle’, rather than just ‘things’. Successful retailers will earn a place in people’s hearts and become a part of their lifestyle. Brands which have engaged online with a personality during the Covid crisis are coming out of it successfully since reopening.

Bath can learn from this. We have a lot of advantages as a lifestyle destination offering culture, historical discovery, well-being, green spaces and nature as well as shopping and eating, and a shared communication of these assets will also be crucial to the city’s succes.

Longer term, there is a need for the city to consider its community and its role as a hub for the region. Access to the city remains a challenge for employees of our levy payer businesses and this will intensify as we adapt to a cleaner, greener transport model. Alongside that, we are working with the business community and education bodies to understand how the city can evolve a wider range of employment opportunities for its citizens.

We have also had the chance to take stock and rediscover some of what’s around us – ‘live like a local and explore like a tourist’. Here at the BID we are hoping that this means that people will spend more of their money locally, and that people’s lives are a bit more communityfocused, with the ‘hub’ of the community being the high street. n • bathbid.co.uk

Mallory Products Summer 20.qxp_Layout 1 11/07/2020 14:09 Page 1

INDEPENDENT | SHOPPING

A RAINBOW OF

18ct White Gold Rainbow Sapphire Ring - £1865 18ct Yellow Gold Rainbow Sapphire Line Bracelet - £5595

SUMMER COLOUR FROM MALLORY

18ct Yellow Gold Yellow Topaz and Diamond Halo Cluster Ring - £2875

18ct Yellow and White Gold Pink Tourmaline Pendant - £2120

18ct White Gold Tsavorite and Diamond Cluster Ring - £5250 Lon g

cha

mp

55

Le P l

iage

k-£

Néo B

ag

nc

la ntb Mo

- £1

35

o ebo Not

18ct White Gold Fire Opal and Diamond Earrings - £985

Platinum Paraiba and Diamond Ring £16,500

50

£14

an

ts H

hite tW

H

18c

ard

p Cho

ear yH app

gdba

pph

d Sa

Gol ire a nd D

Breitling Superocean Heritage ’57 Limited Edition - £3990

ond

iam Hal

18ct White Gold Aquamarine and Diamond Halo Cluster Earrings - £1780

gs -

rrin

r Ea

uste o Cl

18ct White Gold Amethyst and Diamond Halo Cluster Ring - £4930

95

£16

Rolex Datejust 36 - £14,400

EP Mallory & Son Ltd, 1 - 5 Bridge Street, Bath, BA2 4AP. Tel: 01225 788800 mallory-jewellers.com

THEBATHMAG.CO.UK

|

summer 2020

|

TheBATHmagazine 35

independents feature.qxp_Layout 1 11/07/2020 08:33 Page 1

BATH | INDEPENDENT BUSINESSES

Protecting our independents

Social distancing has eased; we no longer have to stay at home; shops, cafés and pubs are reopening, but have our shopping habits changed? Can we pick up where we left off? Emma Clegg says if you want a warm community that matters, one that provides local jobs and attracts people to the city, we have to value our independent outlets as a priority

Bath Aqua Glass

36 TheBATHMagazine

drapers, hardware from Combens and shoes from Stone’s Shoe Shop.

This warm vision of community shopping is long gone and the high streets have changed beyond all recognition in the intermediary years – with the rise of convenience shopping at big supermarkets, the dominance of global brands which have chipped away at the character of our towns and cities, and finally the rise of online shopping. Then came Coronavirus and lockdown.

❝

Go back to our valued local shops and our businesses and our food venues, because if we don’t they won’t survive

❝

I

’m old enough to remember Green Shield Stamps. Popular in the 1960s and 1970s, stamps were given away at filling stations, corner shops and supermarkets. One stamp was typically issued for each 6d (2½ new pence) spent on goods, so large numbers of stamps had to be stuck into the books. That was my job in our family, sticking them all, using a wet sponge and a pad of newspaper beneath, into the collectors’ books provided. I took great pride in the neatness of the sticking, and in the completion of a booklet. I have no recollection of the benefits of these efforts, but apparently my mother would have claimed merchandise from a catalogue or a Green Stamps shop.

This is a snapshot of a more leisurely era in high street shopping, a time where it was a social experience, where shops were run and staffed by local people who knew you and your family. I don’t remember visiting a supermarket as a child – we went up the steep hill in Underhill, Portland to The Spar, asked for grocery items over the counter and my mother chatted to the lady who worked there. We got bread from the local bakery including on special occasions Portland Dough Cake (a butter-rich yeast-raised cake with spices and dried fruit, glazed with syrup that probably wouldn’t stand up to any nutritional scrutiny now, but was loved by all then) and visited Kerslakes for newspapers, sweets and if I had enough money a Wade Whimsie animal, my childhood favourite. My mother bought meat from the butchers, fabric from the

Lockdown saw all non-essential shops and businesses offering face-to-face services closed for at least three months. While certain retailers and businesses benefited – the grocery trade, bicycle shops, and those offering or introducing delivery services – the grand majority had to close their doors and wait. Their income disappeared as their costs continued, and while the furlough scheme and the business rate holiday have helped many, there have been notable cracks in

Nicholas Wylde

|

suMMer 2020

|

issue 212

these offerings leaving some with no support at all.

Unlike other sectors, our non-food high street retailers were vulnerable way before the virus struck. Christmas sales have been declining for years and shop owners have been dealing with rising rents, business rates and minimum wage rates, as well as losing much of their regular trade over the years to online retailers, who have much lower property costs and are therefore much more resilient. Spring stock was ready, but didn’t make it into stores, but the costs were still there. Online retailers on the other hand have benefited significantly, and the shifts in shopping habits driven by a population based at home are likely to reshape consumer habits in the long term way more quickly than economists predicted.

We have always championed our city’s independent retailers and food outlets and the variety of products and services that they offer, and Bath has been luckier than other urban centres in having a large proportion of independent traders, which is something that our visitors have always loved, and draws them to our shopping streets. Independent shops are our lifeblood. Local businesses are the backbone of our economy. Spending £10 at a local independent store means that up to an additional £50 goes back into the local economy. That’s amazing! That’s because the money you spend goes to the shop owners and this goes back into the local community as they use their money locally – including in restaurants, pubs, public transport and other shops – thereby keeping the money

The Great Wine Co.

independents feature.qxp_Layout 1 11/07/2020 08:34 Page 2

BATH | INDEPENDENT BUSINESSES

Topping & Co

circulating and investing in our local resources.

Supporting local businesses also means that you can boost local employment – small businesses are the largest employer of jobs nationally, and they are more likely to pay a higher average wage then the commercial chains. So more jobs locally mean more prosperity and a healthier economy.

Many believe that online retailers offer better deals, but prices are invariably very competitive in our local shops and businesses. So shop around, not just online, but on your high street, and if the high street is more expensive, evaluate the local benefits that investing your money here brings.

And you can see what you are buying in a shop! How many of us have purchased items online that look glamorous and full of character only to discover that the parcel arriving at your front door is a laughably pale shadow of the image you saw on the site? Buying local also brings personality and character – many of our high street retailers use local companies rather than sourcing stock in bulk from far afield.

We are fortunate to also have creatives making their own products for their business – think of Waller and Wood (which has now relocated to Box) with Carole Waller’s mesmerising hand-painted and handmade garments and Gary Wood’s statement pots; goldsmith Tina Engell’s glowing precious jewellery, and Nick Cudworth’s colourful paintings of local scenes.

So don’t search ‘gifts for the home’ on Google – visit Rossiters, Homefront Interiors, Bath Aqua Glass, Woodhouse and Law, TR Hayes, Beau Nash, The Bath Framer and The Framing Workshop. Don’t go straight to Boohoo and Amazon as a default – browse the shelves of The Dressing Room, OSKA, Flock, Jolly’s, Kimberly, Chanii B and Clandar. Don’t go to the big chains for your eye requirements, go to our local specialists Ellis and Killpartrick and Kathryn Anthony Optometry where you will be remembered and valued as a customer

The Bath Framer

The Dressing Room

every time you visit. Don’t automatically buy domestic appliances online, visit Coopers Home Appliances in Bath.

Don’t always buy your alcohol at the big name supermarkets – consider Independent Spirit of Bath and The Great Wine Co. (formerly Great Western Wine) who can talk to you knowledgeably about their liquid goods. Don’t buy generic mass-produced jewellery, but visit our local experts such as Nicholas Wylde, Mallory, Jody Cory, Nigel Dando, Tina Engell, Icarus and Alexandra May. Buy your books locally at Topping and Co. and Mr B’s Emporium and, explore the eclectic and inspiring range of magazines at Magelleria and talk to their staff who can help you find what’s right for you.

We’re not forgetting the Bath food retailers who have adapted so adroitly during Lockdown, many offering delivery services to bridge the ‘stay home’ gap. For many of us, local businesses such as Thoughtful Bakery, Larkhall Butchers, Avellino’s Deli, Darling Deli and the Kingsmead Square fruit and veg stall were a lifeline during Lockdown – and now more than ever before, we need to remember that we’re a lifeline to them, too.

And at long last we can let somebody else do the cooking for us again. The Peking – Bath’s longest-established Chinese restaurant – recently reopened to offer a takeaway service, with full restaurant service on the very near horizon. Schwartz Bros are back where they belong, at the top of the burger’n’chips charts. The pubs are open for business again; where The Marlborough Tavern, The Hare and Hounds and The Locksbrook Inn led, others swiftly followed, many thanking Bath Pub Co. MD Joe Cussens for his enlightening and informative short video detailing exactly how his pubs’ reopening plans would work and offering a textbook blueprint of the ‘new normal’ code of conduct for businesses owners and customers alike. Yum Yum Thai, Clayton’s Kitchen, the Dower House at the Royal Crescent Hotel, Chez Dominique, Corkage,

Dan Moon at the Gainsborough Bath Spa, the Green Park Brasserie, food traders within Green Park Station and – by the time we go to press – many more all serve to re-remind us that Bath is a food lovers’ paradise, offering myriad all-tastes, all-budgets, panglobal cuisine opportunities from Michelin flagship restaurants and cutting-edge, contemporary media darlings to the perfect post-pub bag of hot chips. Please, don’t keep your distance from any of them; just follow the new rules, sit back, and relax.

There’s no doubt that Covid-19 will play a big part in reshaping our high streets – and they will look different. Not every one of our local shops will survive – nationally we have already seen the demise of fashion retailers Oasis and Warehouse and Cath Kidston, and Debenhams is restructuring in an insolvency process. And with cafés and bars under pressure with social distancing measures, it’s not yet clear how sturdy they can be. Central government has massive challenges ahead, not only finding ways of dealing with the eye-watering level of their Lockdown subsidy, but in rethinking the unfairness in the retailing system such as the long-overdue reassessment of business rates, finding methods of taxing online retailers fairly, and changing the relationship between property owners and retailers.

What we can all do, in the face of this, is clear. Keep it local. Support our independent retailers and food providers. Take advantage of their quality customer service. Go back to our valued local shops and our businesses and our food venues, because if we don’t they won’t survive.

Don’t automatically buy online; it feels convenient but it’s impersonal and it’s doesn’t invest in the place where you live, or make our community the best place it can be. We need to recognise our local talents and support them. It’s always been a strong message, but it’s never had more power than right now. Corona is not forever, so let’s all help protect the character and charisma of our city. n

THEBATHMAG.CO.UK THEBATHMAG.CO.UK || january summer2010 2020 || TheBATHmagazine TheBATHmagazine 37 51

indie products.qxp_Layout 1 11/07/2020 09:48 Page 1

INDEPENDENT | SHOPPING

SUMMER

SHOPPING GUIDE

Maryan Mehlhorn kaftan, £237 The Dressing Room, 7 Quiet Street, Bath; Tel: 01225 330563; dressingroombath.com

COVETABLE DELIGHTS FROM OUR INDIES

Chloe 'Rosie' bevelled leaf shape spectacles, £292 Ellis and Killpartrick, 18 New Bond Street, Bath; Tel: 01225 466954; ellisandkillpartrick.com

Gold Plated Aqua Lulu Earrings by Lesley Strickland, £158 Gallery Nine, 9B Margaret’s Buildings, Bath; Tel: 01225 319197; galleryninebath.com

Red Stripe Jacket in silk dupion by Carole Waller, £650 Carole Waller Studio, One Two Five, Box Road, Bath; Tel: 07803 033629; carolewaller.co.uk

Thoughtful Gardener gardening gloves, from £10 Rossiters, 38–41 Broad Street, Bath; Tel: 01225 462227; rossitersofbath.com

Cup and Diamond Necklace, £260 Tina Engell, 3 Bartlett Street, Bath; Tel: 07717 410040; tinaengell.com

Mixed block colour baskets, from £16 Homefront Interiors, 10 Margaret's Buildings, Bath; Tel: 01225 571711; homefrontinteriors.co.uk

Flamingo lamps, from £95 Graham & Green, 92 Walcot Street, Bath; Tel: 01225 418300; grahamandgreen.co.uk

38 TheBATHMagazine

| suMMer 2020 |

issue 212

Coopers column.qxp_Layout 1 11/07/2020 13:51 Page 1

The luxury lure of the high street

I

f you are anything like a huge number of the population, you’ll have whiled away some lockdown hours with a bit of online shopping, and with the majority of shops closed it was really the only option. But now that lockdown is lifting and we are getting back to a new type of ‘normal’, it’s time to hit the high street and do some proper shopping.

This is especially true if you are planning what is known as a ‘considered’ purchase – something you’ve had your sights on for some time, but not yet committed too. It could be an American-style fridge freezer, a new TV, or perhaps a range cooker.

Whatever it is, you may have already done a fair bit of internet research and narrowed down your options to a shortlist of potentials. Maybe you are waiting until you can physically get your hands on the item so you can see it in the correct setting, or you think you are ready but just haven’t clicked the ‘checkout’ button.

Well, you’re not procrastinating – you’re being very sensible.

It’s all too easy to get carried away with reviews, recommendations, photoshopped images and sales blurb to make an impulse buy online, only to be disappointed with what is delivered to your front door. So, to avoid this, Coopers the kitchen appliance specialist have compiled their top reasons why buying from a bricks-and-mortar store should be the choice for your next considered purchase.

First, making a large purchase should include getting advice from someone who knows about the item you’re buying inside and out. By speaking to a salesperson directly, not only can you learn more about the products you wish to buy but you can get a better idea of how much you trust the store that you’re in.

When you buy from a physical store you also know who you are really buying from. You know how long they have been in business and can get a feeling about how comfortable you are that they’ll still be there if something goes wrong. With an online seller you have no idea who the seller really is.

When making a large purchase it is vitally important that you see the item in person. You need to be able to test how the doors open on your new range or if your favourite baking trays will fit through the door of your new oven. The quality of an item is much easier to discern when you see it up close. Online images are sometimes misleading and you could easily end up with an item that you weren’t expecting.

Going to a showroom and experiencing the thrill of choosing your new appliances can’t be replicated from your computer. Seeing the colours and styles in person is extremely satisfying and can often inspire the overall design of your room.

Taking all of the above on board, it is clear that if you are making a considered purchase, it’s best to walk through the door of a retailer.

So while your keyboard may have been well used over the last few months, now is the time to get out and visit the stores again.

Coopers has ensured that their store is safe for you to visit. You can browse the store during their opening hours, but you may find that the best experience is to contact them by phone in advance.

They look forward to welcoming you back! n Coopers,13–15 Walcot Street, Bath; Tel: 01225 311811; coopers-stores.com THEBATHMAG.CO.UK

|

summer 2020

|

TheBATHmagazine 39

Hamnet review.qxp_Layout 1 09/07/2020 18:14 Page 1

BOOK | REVIEW

A story of love and loss

Shortlisted for the Women’s Prize of Fiction, Maggie O’Farrell’s Hamnet imagines the short life of William Shakespeare’s only son. Millie Bruce-Watt delves into the novel and explores the parallels between two worlds battling the effects of a global pandemic

I

n 1596, William Shakespeare’s only son, Hamnet, died from the bubonic plague in Stratford-upon-Avon. He was 11 years old and contracted the disease from his twin sister, Judith, who survived the illness. Four or so years later, the famous playwright wrote one of his most powerful and influential works of literature and duly named the tragic hero after his son. Maggie O’Farrell’s Hamnet – a name interchangeable with that of Hamlet – is a profound study of love and grief and imagines the story behind Shakespeare’s great tragedy.

It arrives more than 400 years after a virus travelled from the Mediterranean to Stratford, and then to the thatched-roof home of Shakespeare, his wife and three children. We now read O’Farrell’s extraordinary description of the life of a family battling the effects of a deadly disease, just as a pandemic is shaking the world we know today.

In April, O’Farrell was shortlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction, with the winner being announced in September at a rescheduled ceremony. The Irish-British author said that although her novel was written before the coronavirus outbreak, eerie parallels can be found between the two worlds. O’Farrell has previously won the Costa Novel Award for her novel The Hand That First Held Mine and has appeared in Waterstones’ 25 Authors for the Future. Her memoir I am, I am, I am: Seventeen Brushes with Death also reached number one in The Sunday Times Bestseller list.

The inspiration for O’Farrell’s latest novel, however, was sparked 30 years ago when she learned of the young boy’s fate while studying Hamlet at school. Hamnet’s short life did not feature prominently in his father’s biography despite his death sending long-lasting ripples through the lives of those he left behind. This inspired O’Farrell to delve deeper into an unknown part of the playwright’s life – a part that eventually led him to write one of the greatest works of his career.

Although this is not O’Farrell’s first engagement with historical fiction, with her 2006 novel The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox set partly in the 1930s, Hamnet is written like no other. The dreamlike prose and reference to figures from mythology and folklore transport you away from both this world and the one we previously knew of Shakespeare, allowing us to explore a relatively unknown path in the playwright’s life.

O’Farrell not only intimately explores the famous marriage between Shakespeare, and his wife Anne Hathaway, who is referred to by her Christian name Agnes in the novel, but weaves a theme of family love through the very fabric of the tale. We learn of the strong bonds between a mother and child, a brother and sister and a father and son. Once the illness leaps from Judith to Hamnet in August 1596, however, the novel becomes a breathtakingly moving study of grief. The boy who once bounded through the meadow “like a hare, like a comet” becomes like a “blue-white lily flower” and O’Farrell’s accurate portrayal of maternal and sibling bereavement leaves the readers’ eyes glossy.

From the outset, Agnes is characterised as an unconventional spirit, “a girl that lives on the edge of the forest”. She understands animals and people; she is a beekeeper, a falconer, a gifted herbalist and a mother to “the whole town, the entire county”. O’Farrell places Agnes at the very heart of the novel and, as a result, we experience an almost entirely female take on the story, allowing us to explore the playwright’s life more intimately.

Names are also of great importance in O’Farrell’s story. Throughout the novel, the most famous character is merely referred to as “her husband”, “the father”, and “the Latin tutor”. Shakespeare himself has very little speech, freeing the narrative of the weight that he carries, allowing the reader to empathise with the lives of a normal, domestic family coping with the loss of a loved one. When we first learn Agnes’s name, there is focus on its pronunciation, showing how her identity and uniqueness are at the very core. “Said differently from how it might be 40 TheBATHMagazine

|

suMMer 2020

|

issue 212

A 19th-century engraving imagining Shakespeare’s family life. Hamnet stands behind Shakespeare, left of centre

written on a page, with that near-hidden g. The tongue curls towards it yet barely touches it. Ann-yis. Agn-yez. One must lean into the first syllable, then skip over the next.”

Similarly, Hamnet’s name becomes almost sacred after his death.

Agnes could not understand how her husband could “thieve” their son’s name and, she became enraged every time she heard her Hamnet’s name on stage, resisting the urge to tell them not to “dare pronounce his name”. Here, we also see Shakespeare and Agnes’s worlds collide and it becomes clear that while Shakespeare was busy writing the play in the capital he was missing the real business of life back home.

Throughout the novel, there is also very little reference to Shakespeare’s birthplace, Stratford, and O’Farrell instead uses street names and local terms to navigate through the town. The accuracy of O’Farrell’s research and the description of Shakespeare’s former home, complete with the smells of the workshop and the heat of the cookhouse, is extraordinary and drops the reader directly into the family’s close-knit community. London is also merely on the periphery of the novel and, instead of feeling a rush of urban excitement, Agnes expresses her disgust for the city’s chaotic and unclean streets, describing London Bridge as “noxious” and “oppressive”.

Hamnet is evidence that there are always new and fascinating stories to be told, even about well-documented historical figures. This is a story about grief, and the means by which families find their way through it. Many would argue that Hamnet’s life, although rarely dissected in the history books, unquestionably had an effect on his father’s work thereafter.

However, O’Farrell leaves it up to the reader to decide whether his comedies featuring twins were a playwright’s small gesture to remember the youngest of his three children.

Ultimately, O’Farrell’s ability to take us into the minds of a great playwright, a dying boy and a grieving mother is simply outstanding.

Hamnet is a strong contender for the Women’s Prize for Fiction. n Hamnet is published by Tinder Press; £16.99

P41.qxp_Layout 23 09/07/2020 16:41 Page 1

DIABLO PENDANT

BY BELID, SWEDEN

LIGHTING SPECIALIST 8 BATH STREET, FROME. TEL: 01373473555 WWW.FIATLUX.CO.UK TUESDAY – FRIDAY 9.30AM – 5.30PM, SATURDAY 9.30AM – 5.00PM

10% OFF

for the first 10 Bath Magazine readers to order voucher code:

BATH10

Would you like to deepen your connection with your partner, intensify your feelings and let your two hearts become one?

Then delve into the delightful rituals at Two Hearts Intimacy.

These luxury boxes contain the items and golden envelopes with the step-by-step rituals that will bring you closer together. visit:

twoheartsintimacy.com

THEBATHMAG.CO.UK

|

SUMMER 2020

|

ThEBATHMagazinE 41

09 rethink comms 5 Romero.qxp_Layout 1 11/07/2020 07:32 Page 1

the big rethink

RETHINK | COMMENTARIES

Dine Romero Leader of Bath and North East Somerset Council

We all know Bath is a special place and this has really been brought home to me over the past few months. Covid-19 has had an impact on us all. Tragically, some have lost their lives, others left to grieve and many more will be living with the health consequences of this illness for a long time.

Many businesses have been hit hard due to the lockdown; parents are still juggling working from home with educating their children and others are worried about the future of their jobs.

However, through adversity, the very best of humanity shines through. I’ve been moved by the dedication of our key workers, the countless stories of neighbours helping each other out. Our traders in high streets and local centres across Bath and North East Somerset have done amazing things to help local communities. We have shown that we are a Compassionate Community and I hope that will prove to be the legacy of these testing times.

Our Compassionate Community Hub has supported thousands of vulnerable people since lockdown, delivering emergency food parcels, collecting prescriptions and providing benefits and well-being advice.

The Hub team – which includes the CCG, Virgincare and local 3rd sector organisation 3SG – can call on 2,400 volunteers and will continue to provide vital support throughout the pandemic and beyond. Again, this shows the depth of community spirit across our area.

Recovery and renewal will be no less challenging than lockdown itself. Covid-19 is still very much with us and people must feel safe if they are to be encouraged to return to a more normal way of life.

Social distancing is the ‘new normal’, and we must adapt.

We’ve been working hard on measures to help people socially distance as they go about their everyday life. We’ve widened some pavements and introduced access restrictions on some roads to enable pedestrians to pass each other safely. While these measures are temporary, we will regularly review their impact. The council has changed how it does business too. Our meetings are now conducted on Zoom and streamed on YouTube and we hold webinars to give people a bigger say, continuing conversations and starting new ones about issues that matter right now.

As restrictions ease we want people to shop local and use local businesses. That’s essential if the local economy is to bounce back.

We are incredibly fortunate to have had so many local shops and businesses support us all through lockdown. The council is currently working to help them by promoting and highlighting the incredible offerings we have on our own doorsteps.

42 TheBATHMagazine

|

suMMer 2020

|

issue 212

We know that social distancing rules will have a big impact on business.

Central government has recently relaxed some of the regulations on outside tables and chairs. In a vibrant heritage city such as ours we always need to balance the potential benefits of an alfresco café culture against the impacts this can have on local residents – including disabled people and people with prams and pushchairs.

I think a really clear sign that Bath is once again open for business is the reopening of the Roman Baths Museum. Visitors will notice that the Baths will be operating at just one-third of normal capacity.

Pre-booking will be essential, a one-way system will be in operation and visitors requested to maintain two-metre physical distancing.

However, while it is great news that the Roman Baths are opening its doors once again, we recognise we’ve got to address our over-reliance on mass tourism and we very much want to welcome residents to enjoy our local heritage attractions.

The pandemic has given us the opportunity to reflect on how we do things and reassess our priorities. For example, it’s brought into focus the need to move more quickly to a cleaner, greener future.

With fewer vehicles on the roads during lockdown we enjoyed improved air quality and as a result of being encouraged to take daily exercise more people are now walking and cycling. We need to maintain the momentum and encourage a permanent shift to sustainable transport use. We are also encouraging residents to suggest locations where we can develop Liveable Neighbourhoods, where vehicle use will be reduced and walking and cycling encouraged. We have set up a special website for you to record your views, which so far has received over 10,000 visits.

I hope we will also emerge from this crisis with a stronger sense of community, a greater willingness to help the most vulnerable, a deeper sense of empathy and tolerance, and a new-found appreciation of our beautiful environment, across our city and surrounding rural area of North East Somerset. n • beta.bathnes.gov.uk

10 rethink comms 1 Bell/Smith.qxp_Layout 1 11/07/2020 07:36 Page 1

the big rethink

CITY | INTERIORS RETHINK | COMMENTARIES

Ian Bell

Claire Smith

Executive Director of Bath Chamber of Commerce

Bath Office Director and Partner at Buro Happold Fellow of the Institution of Structural Engineers

Our members and the wider business community in Bath have responded to the challenges of the pandemic with their customary energy and creativity, devising working practices which have allowed them, where possible, to continue to operate.

Working from home and video conferencing have become the new normal and it seems quite likely some of that will continue in the medium to long term, where going into the office only happens two or three times a week for group discussions or team meetings.

The consequences of such a change could be far-reaching.

If a company with 100 employees only ever has 50 or 60 of them in their premises at the same time, then they could potentially halve their office space. That won’t happen overnight, but there maybe businesses starting to think about saving money by renting smaller buildings which might free up space other businesses could take up.

The same may be true when it comes to retail premises, some of which will also become available. It will be worth asking the question about whether they should be used for something else, such as high quality residential.

It would certainly help the aspiration of making Bath an even more walkable city if a greater number of people had the chance to live and work here. I don’t imagine for a moment that very many retail units would be changed in that way, but it’s something that could be considered in a positive light and might make a significant change to the place.

Meanwhile shopkeepers have also been working creatively to give shoppers the confidence to come out of their retail hibernation by showing an orderly and hygienic way of shopping.

Among the things that people have missed most is social interaction, meeting people and seeing real goods rather than pictures on a screen. The ability to be able to satisfy the craving for that experience will be the unique selling point that should give our retailers a sense of optimism. Of course, price and quality will always be an issue for shoppers, but we have enough range in our chains and independents to deliver a great day out and I think that is key.

I expect the high street to continue to evolve from something which was just about retail to a place for shopping, eating and drinking, entertainment and a chance to enjoy our wonderful culture.

Great work is going on to ensure different sectors can work more closely, to produce an attractive offering which will continue to draw people into Bath who will continue to play a huge part in our future economic success.

So things will never be exactly the same again, but thanks to the energy, creativity and drive of our business community, I think there are plenty of reasons to be cheerful and remain confident that things might even be better in a variety of ways. n • businesswest.co.uk

WWW.THEBATHMAG.CO.UK

We are certainly living in fascinating times. Who would have guessed that in 2020 seemingly slow progress on Brexit would be completely eclipsed by the speed of change resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic?

As the director of Buro Happold’s head office in Bath, home to over 400 of our 1,900 employees, I was amazed at the strength of our IT systems and the flexibility of our staff that enabled a move to 100 per cent home working at 24 hours notice. Three months later we continue to thrive from our home offices, delivering world-class engineering for landmark projects such as the Tottenham Hotspur stadium, the Bristol University Enterprise Campus and the Bath Abbey footprint project to heat the building using the thermal springs.

What is less clear at the moment for any business is the impact of the pandemic in the longer term. Our current workload is from projects secured pre-pandemic and it is in the next six to 12 month period that we will start to understand the longer term impacts. The hope is for a sharp V-shaped decline and recovery focused around a relatively short lockdown period. We need to be prepared for a reality that could be somewhat different and will inevitably vary in our 21 offices across the globe.

During my 30-year career the advances in technology have enabled ever-increasing levels of home and flexible working.

The pros and cons of office versus home working is often debated, based on differing levels of experience and, dare I say, prejudice. One of the advantages of the lockdown is that these two modes of working have been put into stark contrast overnight. This has enabled us, as a business, to survey and talk with all our staff to capture insights about the best (and worst) parts of each so when we return to the ‘new normal’ we can go forward in a way that captures the best of both worlds.

In addition to planning our own return, our specialist analytics and people movement teams are busy helping universities, sporting venues and city councils to find their way to opening again, with public health top of their criteria.

Ironically, we’ve been quickly adapting their software, originally designed to create interaction, which now must facilitate the opposite in the short term.

Longer term, I am excited by the impetus that this crisis will give to our consultancy and advisory work in the development of a green recovery as we push to build back in a more resilient and sustainable way. n • burohappold.com

THEBATHMAG.CO.UK

|

summer 2020| |TheBATHmagazine TheBATHmagazinexx43 marCh 2015

11 rethink comms 4 Cussens/Beer.qxp_Layout 1 11/07/2020 07:39 Page 1

the big rethink

RETHINK | COMMENTARIES

Joe Cussens

Charles Beer

Managing Director Bath Pub Co. (The Locksbrook Inn, The Hare and Hounds and The Marlborough Tavern)

Property and Marketing Manager, The Ethical Property Company

... But the massive decisions that have been taken recently are completely out of our control – locking down the country for weeks – and not knowing what restrictions you will have when you reopen and the support you will get. Getting everything ready for opening was remarkably stressful. It felt like doing a new pub launch, but we were doing three at the same time in a difficult situation and with only half a team.

So it was strange indeed, but it was exciting to be busy and bustling. I had an army of volunteers helping – I put a tweet out and asked if anyone fancied helping us get back on our feet and I had a really great response.

We had our two maintenance guys back in advance of opening because there was a window of opportunity to do various jobs. So we refitted the kitchen at The Hare and Hounds and have built an outdoor bar there. You are between a rock and a hard place because you’ve got the opportunity and the time to do the jobs but your finances are in a perilous situation. In some ways that’s what being an entrepreneur is about – weighing up risk with opportunity – but it was pushed to the extreme.

Sarah Campbell (Ethical Property’s area manager for the south west) and I agreed that it was vital that the Bath Farmers’ Market continued. The market has operated for over 20 years and has been fundamental to the growth of Green Park Station.

Together with Laura Loxton, the Farmers’ Market manager, we agreed social distancing measures, additional staff, sanitising stations, an increased cleaning regime and a reduction in number of essential food traders.

We worked with Sarah from BA1 Radio, BBC Radio and with our great local social media network to let Bathonians know we were staying open.

Paul Robertson, the Sainsbury’s manager, worked with me to provide synergy in our approach to our overall safety. In the early weeks, the footfall dropped off dramatically, but the traders and regular customers kept the faith.

Ethical Property also donated £400 towards food parcels for those most affected, and the traders and regular customers supported the venture, eventually raising over £1,000 and distributing to over 50 families. As each week passed more customers have returned and there was great support for the small local independent traders. The lockdown has enabled new customers to experience the great produce on offer for the first time and then they have continued to shop here.

Now we have a vibrant Saturday morning marketplace once again with a great atmosphere.

Ethical Property has supported our other tenants both retail and office based to reopen as safely as possible. We are assisting our tenants to re-engage with their clients in new ways as they get to grips with the realities of the current restrictions.

The lockdown has inspired a sense of community nationally and this is fully evident at Green Park Station. Our tenants have been enthusiastic in their belief in the future and finding new ways to support each other. The reduction in out-of-town visitors may enable local residents to explore the less wellknown areas of the city and increase our footfall.

In the last week we secured new tenants for both retail and office space which is an indication that the outlook is promising and that we are bucking the normal high street trend. We have also received many enquiries from new prospective market traders and those seeking larger retail opportunities.

Now that all the units within are fully opened, there is a genuine optimism that collectively we can emerge from this Covid-19 experience in a strong place. n • ethicalproperty.co.uk

One of the defining characteristics of this crisis has been just how powerless you have felt at times. Ordinarily when major events happen, like the 2008 crash or Brexit, a business can make plans on how it is going to respond.

“Perhaps coming out of this there will be more awareness about how vulnerable we are and that we operate on fine margins” My big worry is that we haven’t yet got on top of this virus, and that there may be a second spike. I am also surprised at the number of enquiries we’ve had for groups of 15 or 20.

That sends a worrying signal to me; I do think that the messaging from government hasn’t been consistently clear.

My second concern is whether we can trade viably under these restrictions. How well our outside bars trade is dependent on the weather, and if we just trade indoors we have to reduce the number of covers. What happens in the autumn and winter will be crucial because that’s when all trade comes indoors.

Much depends on the support the government will give.

The tax burden that we face is extraordinary compared to other businesses, and because we’re a high turnover industry they think there is plenty of money in the background. But we are taxed within an inch of our lives with VAT and business rates. Perhaps coming out of this there will be more awareness about what a difficult business this is to run, how vulnerable we are and that we operate on fine margins.

Fundamentally our business is about offering food and drink in a friendly and convivial atmosphere. There is always going to be a market for that. n • thebathpubcompany.com

When the lockdown and furlough began I was left as the only Ethical Property employee at Green Park Station. Overnight we went from a vibrant hub to a quiet and eerie place – and often I was the only person there.

11a rethink comms 3 Musgrave Apex.qxp_Layout 1 10/07/2020 14:52 Page 2

CITY | INTERIORS

Michael Musgrave General Manager, Apex Hotels

Since lockdown commenced in March, hospitality has been among the hardest-hit industries in the UK, and its return much-anticipated.

While our doors at Apex City of Bath Hotel have been closed, we have been working tirelessly behind the scenes to reinvent the customer journey and provide the safest possible environment when our doors open again on 20 July. Bookings are open, and I am thrilled to already see demand for hotel rooms this month – a positive and reassuring start after a challenging few months.

As well as our signature warmer welcome, we want to give visitors complete peace of mind, so our ‘Apex Assured’ commitment outlines exactly how we are approaching cleanliness and safety, as well as ensuring flexibility on bookings and the best possible rates for booking direct.

Apex Assured will take every element of the journey into consideration, building upon our already exacting cleaning standards. Like many other hotels, guests will notice more signage, there will be screens in place and, of course, sanitising stations throughout the hotel with social distancing guidance.

Guests will also find welcome packs in their rooms with the likes of hand sanitiser and PPE, and antibacterial wipes have been added to our list of essential in-room amenities.

The pandemic has changed everyone’s priorities, and we have enhanced our services to match these, ensuring our guests enjoy themselves and experience the same top-class service they always have while staying safe.

In terms of the wider hospitality sector, I believe that the way we travel has changed and may not return to the way things used to be – but this could be a force for positivity.

One major change will be the need to plan carefully when thinking of travelling, whether this be a family staycation or an overnight trip. Essentially, everything will need to be booked in advance from hotel rooms to restaurant bookings which may take getting used to.

We are likely to see more people travelling within the UK and being tourists in our own countries. We expect to see families and couples staying with us from Bath, Bristol and further afield like London, instead of hopping on a plane.

Again this is something which we are looking at positively, the city of Bath will benefit greatly and we are thrilled that we are able to play our part.

We certainly can’t wait to welcome guests back to a new and improved Apex City of Bath Hotel. As expected there will be changes – a reduced breakfast offering for example – but we will do our utmost to ensure those staying with us will feel completely comfortable and safe, and we hope they enjoy their well-deserved break. n • apexhotels.co.uk

WWW.THEBATHMAG.CO.UK

THEBATHMAG.CO.UK

|

marCh summer2015 2020| |TheBATHmagazine TheBATHmagazinexx45

Lockdown recipes.qxp_Layout 1 10/07/2020 19:45 Page 1

FOOD | AND | DRINK

Lockdown recipes

With extra time on their hands, here are a few recipes that The Bath Magazine team discovered during lockdown. None of them are complex to make (super easy in fact), and they all have a certain je-ne-sais-quoi

Rock cakes

Vodka penne

Colcannon with bacon

There was a moment in lockdown when flour was hard to get hold of. As soon as we got some, I made these childhood favourites – so good eaten just warm from the oven!

Alcohol was a useful resource in lockdown, but its presence in this recipe is very moderate. Some say it’s the tomato purée that makes the difference; we believe it’s the vodka. It also works well with the addition of bacon.

We had received a large cabbage with our vegetable delivery in lockdown, and the idea of cabbage soup didn’t appeal. I prepared this dish, based on an Irish traditional one, and my other half – not renowned for his compliments – gave me a big hug and told me it was the best dish I’d ever cooked.

Makes 15 225g self-raising flour 115g butter or margarine 85g caster sugar 1 egg 60g currants 2 fl oz water

Serves 4 600g new potatoes, scrubbed and halved 400g cabbage, trimmed and shredded 2 tsp sunflower oil 4 rashers streaky bacon, sliced 6 spring onions, sliced 25g butter 4 eggs

Method Rub the butter into the sugar and flour to the consistency of breadcrumbs. Mix in the washed currants. Beat the egg with the water and add to the mixture to form a stiff, sticky dough. Divide the mixture into 15 cakes and bake on a greased tray at 220°C for 12–15 minutes until golden brown.

Serves 4 3 tbsp butter 1 shallot, crushed 2 cloves garlic, crushed 115g tomato purée 1 ⁄2 tsp crushed chilli flakes 2 tbsp vodka 450g penne or rigatoni pasta 120ml double cream 50g freshly grated Parmesan, plus more for serving Basil, for serving Method 1. Melt the butter in a large pan. Add the shallot and garlic and cook for 4–5 mins.

2. Add the tomato purée and chilli flakes and cook for 5 mins, stirring frequently, until paste has coated shallots and garlic.

3. Add vodka and stir. Turn off heat.

4. Cook the pasta until al dente. Reserve 480ml of pasta water before draining.

5. Return sauce to medium heat and add 60ml of pasta water and double cream, stirring to combine. Add half the Parmesan and stir until melted. Turn off heat and stir in cooked pasta. Fold in remaining Parmesan, adding more pasta water gradually if the sauce is looking dry. Season with salt if needed.

6. Serve with Parmesan and torn basil leaves.

Vodka penne

Method 1. Cook the potatoes in a saucepan for 18–20 mins, until tender.

2. Meanwhile, fill another pan with water, bring to the boil and cook the cabbage for about 3 mins. Drain, cool under cold water and drain again.

3. 10 minutes before the potatoes are ready, heat the oil in a frying pan and fry the bacon for 3–4 mins. Add the spring onions and cabbage to the frying pan and heat through, stirring.

4. Drain the potatoes and return them to the pan. Add the butter and seasoning, and crush roughly with a potato masher. Stir the cabbage, bacon and onions lightly into the potatoes. Keep warm.

5. Poach the eggs for 3 mins. Spoon the colcannon on to 4 warmed plates. Place the poached eggs on top. Season with black pepper and serve.

Mandarin kissel

Rock cakes

Mandarin kissel Keep a stock of tinned mandarin segments and you can rustle it up any time. Based on an old Slavic dish, it’s an excellent choice for a meal where you are pretending you are in a restaurant because it feels super classy.

600g (two tins) mandarin segments 1 tbsp cornflour 3 tbsp golden syrup or honey natural yogurt, to serve Method Put the mandarin segments with the juice and the honey or syrup into a pan. Simmer until soft and then beat or sieve. Stir the fruit mixture onto the cornflower, return to the pan, and cook until smooth and clear. Allow to cool and serve in individual dishes with natural yogurt. n

46 TheBATHMagazine

|

suMMer 2020

|

issue 212

RIGHT HAND.qxp_Layout 23 10/07/2020 14:45 Page 1

THEBATHMAG.CO.UK

|

SUMMER 2020

|

ThEBATHMagazinE 47

City News – SUMMER.qxp_Layout 1 11/07/2020 10:13 Page 1

CITY | NEWS

CITYNEWS TIME TO GET WED Small marriages and civil partnerships can now take place for up to 30 people, where this can be safely accommodated with social distancing in a Covid-19 secure venue. Government guidelines stipulate that post-wedding ceremony celebrations should only take place in groups of up to two households indoors, or up to six people from different households outdoors.

With these restrictions in place and many restaurants remaining closed, couples are struggling to find a way to

celebrate following their ceremony.

Heritage Park Weddings are offering couples a post-wedding picnic in a private area within Parade Gardens, The Botanical Gardens or Royal Victoria Park, so couples can celebrate with a glass of prosecco with a small group following the guidance above and with outdoor space to social distance.

Fiona and Mike recently got married in the Guildhall and then enjoyed a picnic in Parade Gardens on the bandstand with one other household and enjoyed scones, cake and sandwiches. heritageparkweddings.co.uk Photo by Freya Steele Photography

LEISURE AT LUCKNAM

Lucknam Park has announced a programme of imaginative experiences for families to reconnect. The country house hotel is surrounded by 500 glorious acres of beautiful gardens and unspoilt parkland, perfect for creating treasured memories.

With space in abundance, parents can enjoy quality time with their children away from phones and computer screens and join a range of interactive games and sports. Kids can blow off steam with aerobics and musical statues on the lawn, before taking part in a fun run down the tree-lined drive or an outdoor musical obstacle course.

Others can test their navigation skills with orienteering, discover creepy crawlies on a nature trail or run wild with den making or hunting for fairies in the woods.

Guests can also take their pick from countryside cycling, woodland walks, falconry, archery, croquet, five-a-side football and cricket, before relaxing in the grounds with a picnic hamper filled with seasonal gourmet fare. lucknampark.co.uk

THATCHERS Thatchers – the family run cidermaker based in Sandford, Somerset – has been making cider for four generations. Their latest offering, Thatchers Cloudy Lemon Cider, is a naturally cloudy Somerset cider balanced with the zing of lemon. The 4% lightly sparkling cider uses sweet dessert apples including Braeburn, Gala and Red Spur, giving it a crisp, sweet taste that’s finished with a refreshing zing from the juice of real lemons. Jonagold apples help give Thatchers Cloudy Lemon its natural cloudiness.

Cidermaker Martin Thatcher says, “We’re looking to be bold and different with Thatchers Cloudy Lemon and bring some zest into cider. We know cider drinkers are always looking for 48 TheBATHMagazine

| suMMer 2020 |

issue 212

something new and exciting.” It has a recommended retail price of £5.50 for four cans and is available in Sainsbury’s, Asda, Morrisons, Tesco and Coop. thatcherscider.co.uk

FIELD DOCTOR Recently launched exclusively in Bristol and Bath, field doctor.™ brings you the UK’s firstever range of nutritionally supercharged meals that deliver a range of health benefits including supporting your immunity and gut health. With recipes created by registered dietitian Sasha Watkins and chef Matt Williamson, field doctor.™ offers science-led meals that future proof long-term wellness and taste amazing.

Pioneering a new approach to food, field doctor.™ follows the latest nutritional science, with ingredients selected for their nutritional properties and health benefits, and then turned into delicious meals designed to improve health. The field doctor.™ range includes 11 meat, fish, vegetarian and vegan dishes. You can select three health benefits on the website – such as brain, heart or immunity – and will then see the recommended dishes that will support them.

The dishes are quickly heated in a conventional oven or microwave. Meals are delivered direct to customers’ doors, priced from £6.75 for a single portion and £9.95 for a meal for two.

The Bath Magazine readers can take advantage of a special 20% discount.

Use discount code fdlife20 when purchasing from the field doctor.™ site. fielddoctor.co.uk

City News – SUMMER.qxp_Layout 1 11/07/2020 10:13 Page 2

CITY | NEWS

TWO NEW LAW FACES

FABRIC REFITS

South-west based law firm Mogers Drewett have made two new appointments across its Corporate Commercial and Private Client teams in Bath.

Dominic Shard joins the Corporate Commercial team from London based firm, BDB Pitmans, where he specialised in insolvency and distressed M&A. He brings a wealth of experience advising company directors and insolvency practitioners on the sale and purchase of businesses in financial difficulty.

Dominic’s appointment marks a move to provide commercial clients with specialised support during a challenging period of change.

The Private Client team has also welcomed Dominic Shard solicitor Hannah Welbourn who joins from law firm, Royds Withy King. Hannah’s expertise includes trust formation and management, tax planning and estate administration. Her role strengthens the team’s offering as it supports its clients throughout the pandemic and beyond. mogersdrewett.com

Anna Fraenkel of Anna Design specialises in soft furnishings and her expertise in fabrics and understanding of how they work in the interior is unparalleled. Her latest venture has been to experiment with upcycling fabrics, giving them a new lease of life. Products include denim jackets with embroidered toile de jouy, an embroidered waistcoat made from a black daisy print cotton cardigan, a brocade jacket made from curtains, and an upcycled woollen jumper. annadesign.uk

GET AN INTERIOR REFRESH Interior designer Catriona Archer believes that interior design should be accessible to all and needn’t cost the earth.

Working with a broad range of budgets she is able to reimagine and reinvigorate your interior space and furnishings.

Her design services include half-day consultations, one-day makeovers to complete home renovations – creating interiors that reflect your style and the way you want to live.

She is now offering remote interior design consultations as well as face-to-face meetings following social distancing and safeguarding measures. catrionaarcher.com

HOME CLEARING CLUB Has living in lockdown made you want to have a serious spring clean? Somerset mum Tanya Slater works with people to help them declutter their homes so they can thrive elsewhere in their lives. Her business, The Girl Who Simplified, is a result of Tanya clearing all the excess in her life after which she felt able to tune into her body and reclaim her identity. She then applied this process to the life coaching tool, The Wheel of Life with eye-opening results.

Tanya’s work is usually carried out face-to face where she guides her clients through their house decluttering. During lockdown she came up with the idea of an eight-week online course to declutter, clear and gain clarity. Within 24 hours, Tanya’s Home Clearing Club was full, and she had a waiting list. Clients have found that they are able to reclaim their identities, grow in confidence and set boundaries in work, family life and relationships.

The next Home Clearing Club is on 3 August, an eight-week online programme for women who run their own businesses, at a cost of £250. thegirlwhosimplified.com

THE PRIORY’S BACK The Bath Priory is offering a range of alfresco activities for those staying overnight or visiting for the day. The nature trail and treasure hunt and garden games including croquet and boules, will keep all ages entertained and picnic hampers, full of delicious goodies, allow family and friends to come together and dine alfresco.

The Priory’s new executive head chef, Jauca Catalin, is a familiar face because he started his career with The Bath Priory over 10 years ago and he is relishing being back in the kitchen. His most recent position was as executive head chef at sister hotel, ABode Canterbury.

Special offers include Champagne gift sets for overnight summer stays and overnight packages for the family, including guided tours of Bath. thebathpriory.co.uk

HOW DEEP IS YOUR LOVE? part of the rituals and three golden envelopes detailing the step-by-step rituals that will bring you and your partner closer together.

Dr Andy Quinn, the owner of Two Hearts Intimacy – who was married for 35 years until his wife Jacqui was taken by pancreatic cancer in 2018 – explains that there are four main types of intimacy: physical, emotional, intellectual and spiritual.

He says that we need to nourish each of the four intimacy types equally, otherwise our character and relationships will be unbalanced, and the boxes will help couples to do this and guide them on their learning journey. twoheartsintimacy.com

Would you like to deepen your connection with your partner, intensify your feelings and let your two hearts become one? Then try one of the delightful rituals at Two Hearts Intimacy. These luxury boxes – Loving Intimacy and Sensory Intimacy – contain items which form THEBATHMAG.CO.UK

|

summer 2020

|

TheBATHmagazine 49

Truespeed fp Bath.qxp_Layout 23 09/07/2020 17:13 Page 49

ADVERTORIAL FEATURE

Spotting the true value for money in broadband

W

ith providers continually vying for attention with record speeds, latest deals and the prolific misuse of the term ‘fibre’, cities such as Bath are bombarded by broadband. An industry largely dominated by who can shout the loudest, what’s best for the consumer in terms of actual value for money, is often lost in translation.

From packages to providers, making sense of the bits and bytes of broadband can seem like an impossible task. But equipped with the right knowledge, it’s easy to spot what delivers the best service and value for money when it comes to broadband.

Understanding the small print With a plethora of ‘latest broadband deals’ continually up for grabs, it’s easy to take them at face value. Tempted with fast speeds or low-cost options, these services are often over sold but under deliver.

Opting for the fastest speeds or lowest prices might seem the most obvious options, but they’re not always the smartest. Paying for a 500Mbps package isn’t a good move if you only get close to those speeds at 3am when no one else is online. And at the other end of the price spectrum, a £20 a month deal isn’t such great value when the connection continually cuts out and causes constant frustration.

Don’t be fooled into going for the most obvious option. Ask your provider if they can deliver the advertised 500Mbps speeds around the clock, or if they only provide average speeds. Without checking, you could end up paying for a top notch for speeds you don’t actually receive.

Bandwidth or speed?

Everyone talks about broadband speeds. Of course, they’re an important measure for broadband. But at peak times, with everyone on their devices, speed alone won’t get you very far: bandwidth will.

Think of bandwidth as the road or motorway: at rush hour, when there is a lot of traffic congestion, the number of lanes available will impact how fast the cars – in this case your broadband network users – can drive. Having enough bandwidth is like having the fast lane all to yourself – you can speed along happily without all those frustrating stop/starts. By contrast, if you have insufficient bandwidth to cope with all the other users on the digital highway, you will get shunted into the slow lane.

So a broadband provider might claim to offer 500Mbps speeds, but if your network doesn’t have this bandwidth capacity available, then it simply won’t be able to reach those speeds.

Beware fake fibre What many people don’t know, is that there are two types of ‘fibre’ broadband, which although advertised using the same term, deliver very different results.

Full fibre, also known as fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) or fibre-to-theproperty (FTTP), gives every property its own dedicated connection.

Providing the property with the same, guaranteed speeds around the clock.

50 TheBATHMagazine

|

suMMer 2020

|

issue 212

Part fibre, also known as fibre-to-the-cabinet (FTTC) has a fibre cable running to the cabinet, and is then split to service multiple properties. Because the fibre has been split between lots of properties it creates fluctuating speeds particularly at peak times when everyone is trying to use the service. Commonly, it’s advertised using it fastest potential speeds, but is based on ‘average’ or ‘up to’ speeds which fluctuate hugely.

Truespeed’s a full fibre promise At Truespeed we only provide full fibre, no property ever has to share its connection and is why we can guarantee our speeds. With your own dedicated connection right to your door, you get the bandwidth you need 24/7.

Our network is future-proofed and will last for generations, as our service is equipped to offer speeds up to 10Gbps. Once our infrastructure is built, that’s it: we can remotely increase speeds at any time. This means, unlike other providers, we won’t need to dig up roads in years to come and will easily handle all your online needs no matter what the future holds.

Value for money today and tomorrow While you can certainly find cheaper inferior broadband services elsewhere, more and more people are realising just how important guaranteed speeds and ultra-reliability are to their daily lives. And how full fibre offers value for money and stops you wasting valuable time on spinning wheels and dropouts.

Knowing your online needs are taken care of for years to come, is the best piece of mind and value for money you can possibly get. And the great news is, Truespeed is rolling out its network in Bath. So, to secure your place in the digital fast lane, simply visit www.truespeed.com

Written by Kim Abbott, PR & Communications Manager for Truespeed.

P51.qxp_Layout 23 09/07/2020 12:56 Page 1

ocl A C C O U N TA N C Y

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

www.oclaccountancy.com

Selling your business in the most tax efficient way When a limited company’s business is being sold, usually the buyer will prefer to purchase its assets rather than the company’s shares.The main reason is that in buying the company’s shares, the buyer is taking on the history and potential liabilities - the skeletons in the cupboard - as well as its assets.This could include old tax liabilities arising from errors in filing, even if innocent. It’s possible to get guarantees and indemnities from the selling shareholders and directors, but these can be hard & costly to negotiate and to recover against.

The problem is that if only the assets are bought, the selling shareholders are in effect taxed twice on the sale proceeds; the company will be taxed on the profit it makes from selling the assets (and these can include the name, goodwill, contracts and client base) – and then shareholders will be taxed on the funds when taken from the company.

If alternatively the buyer can be persuaded to buy the shares, the shareholders will only be taxed once on receipt of those funds – and this can be at a special rate of 10%.

The tax position should be factored into the price negotiated for a business but rarely does a buyer fully compensate the seller for the effect of this double taxation. However, depending on their plans, a seller can mitigate this tax hit.

Instead of taking the proceeds from the sale of the business in one hit, the shareholders could take dividends from it over more than one tax year – and possibly pay income tax at a rate lower than the 10% special Capital Gains Tax rate achievable from the ‘one hit’ solution. If the shareholder’s overall income remains below the higher rate threshold they would pay a maximum of 7.5% tax on the dividend income.

Also, if the shareholders are involved in the business, they could use some of the proceeds to pay pension contributions for themselves & these would reduce Corporation Tax otherwise payable.

HOW TO MARKET YOUR SERVICES MORE EFFECTIVELY Marketing your own services takes more an avatar, a website, or a good slogan. Many self-employed professionals struggle to get results, because they only work on odd pieces of the puzzle. There are 3 areas to master in creating a comprehensive marketing approach. They are: YOU, your CLIENTS and your MARKETING. First, let’s help you master your own psychology. YOU are at the centre of your business, and if don’t have an empowering belief system, an engaging purpose, or a clear uniqueness, then it’s hard to optimise results. That is the first area I work on with my clients to help them operate with ease and flow.

The second area is to clearly identify your CLIENTS and build empathy. Who is the smallest viable niche you want to serve? It's hard to come up with a sharp campaign, if you're hitting multiple audiences with multiple services.

Next, empathise with them, understand their emotional needs, and make your intangible service tangible. Clients must grasp what exactly you do and how you help them. So get clear on the process & the actual transformation they will get when working with you.

The third area is YOUR MARKETING. Your strategies must suit your personality. If you are not comfortable executing them, you’ll procrastinate. Remember, the best marketing strategy is the one you will do consistently & effectively! In building a top-ranked firm marketing 6 coaches, I've learned that everyone's got their own genius, their own style, and their own appeal. Find yours and you'll have more fun marketing yourself. Try to copy others and you'll be lost in self-doubt.

These 3 areas will create a holistic marketing approach.

Working on YOU will solidify the way you represent your brand.

Empathising with your CLIENT will help you create an engaging brand story. And selecting MARKETING strategies that suit your personality will make marketing fun for you.

If you want a fresh perspective about your marketing approach, let’s have a talk. I’d love to connect with you.

I help dedicated selfemployed professionals create a comprehensive marketing approach in only 3 sessions, so they can reach their dream life without wasting time and money.

For tax saving tips contact us – call Marie Sheldrake, Tom Hulett or Mike Wilcox on 01225 445507

Find out more about The Brave Zone at www.thebravezone.com or book an Initial Discovery Session to get fresh perspectives for your business.

Email her at cynthia@thebravezone.com

Call Marie Sheldrake, Tom Hulett or Mike Wilcox on 01225 445507 to arrange a no-obligation meeting

THEBATHMAG.CO.UK

|

SUMMER 2020

|

ThEBATHMagazinE 51

Mogers & Drewett fp.qxp_Layout 23 11/07/2020 13:15 Page 1

Are you ready for the new Flexible Furlough Scheme? (FFS) being able to claim CJRS grant for the hours not worked under the new Flexible Furlough Scheme (FFS).

Claim periods must start and end within the same calendar month, employees cannot make claims that cross calendar months and the minimum claim period has been reduced from 3 weeks to 1 week.

Employment Partner, Sean McDonough highlights the key changes and more importantly the key deadlines over the next few months to enable employers to prepare to return employees back to work.

August The Government will continue to pay 80% of wages up to the £2,500 cap for furloughed employees but employers will take over payment of employer NI, pension contributions and, additionally the salaries of part time workers.

July The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) closed to new entrants on 30 June, so only employees that have previously been furloughed for a full three week period prior to 30 June will now be eligible.

From 1 July, employers can bring furloughed employees back to work part time, while still

September In September, the Government contribution will lower to 70% of wages up to a cap of £2,187.50 for furloughed employees.

Employers will continue to pay employer NI and pension contributions, and, additionally, must now pay 10% of wages to make up to 80% of the total wages, up to the cap of

£2,500 plus salaries of part time workers.

October Finally, in October, the Government contribution will lower again to 60% of wages up to a cap of £1,875 for furloughed employees. Employers will continue to pay employer NI and pension contributions, and will have to pay 20% of wages to make up to 80% of the total wages, up to the £2,500 cap plus salaries of part time workers.

For further guidance on flexible furloughing and how employers should calculate claims please contact Sean McDonough on 01225 750 000 or email sean.mcdonough@mogersdrewett.com.

It is better to ensure that you have this correct than risk having to re-pay any of the grant at a later time.

By Sean McDonough, Partner, Employment & HR, Mogers Drewett mogersdrewett.com

Has lockdown left you feeling overwhelmed, exhausted, frazzled, and running on empty?

Are you longing for your home to feel more tranquil, peaceful, and engergised, where you and your family can thrive?

Join the ‘Home Clearing Club’ an online 49-day programme.

Starting from 3rd August 2020.

www.thegirlwhosimplified.com

52 TheBATHMagazine

|

suMMer 2020

|

issue 212

bookings@thegirlwhosimplified.com

13 rethink comms 6 Kumar/Freeman.qxp_Layout 1 11/07/2020 07:46 Page 2

the big rethink

CITY | INTERIORS

RETHINK | COMMENTARIES

Cllr Dr Yukteshwar Kumar Senior Lecturer, Politics, Languages & International Studies, University of Bath and Liberal Democrat Councillor for Bathwick

The scale and impact of Covid-19 on our societies and communities will have far-reaching consequences – more prolonged and profound than the 2008 financial crisis.

Even affluent Bath, generally protected from the severity of past economic downturns, is being hit. Yet Bath remains more resilient than most cities and is ready to rise to the challenge.

B&NES Council has recognised that Covid-19 related costs, combined with a fall in tourist income, left an unpredicted £53 million hole in this year’s budget. Central government has not been able to provide the level of support needed for the council to continue to provide usual services. The council administration are making seriously hard choices, but I am proud that the residents I speak to support this administration in putting the needs of our most vulnerable residents, particularly the elderly, as a top priority.

To-date all redundancies have been voluntary both in the council and the university, and I’m relieved at the offer both organisations have been able to make staff wanting to exit.

Nearly one in four universities in England were in deficit before Covid-19. While this included the University of Bath (an income of £309.8 million in 2018–19, with an expenditure of £354.2 million), the university benefits from substantial growth and has made investments based on robust, sustainable financial plans.

Like many British universities, Bath relies heavily on tuition fees. Unlike others, Bath is not planning to have all lectures online next term, and its admission rate remains high. I’m optimistic that a hybrid of live classes and online sessions can help balance some of the tensions between residents and our student population.

The University of Bath contributes over £350 million to the local economy each year. This money is needed to keep our shops open and our city thriving. Yet the disruption to residents from the increase in students has led to some resentment. So I welcome the innovations made in online learning giving a chance to mitigate against future disruptions.

Summer is upon us, and the skies have become bluer.

Hopefully, we will build on lessons learned during the crisis to permanently reduce traffic and air pollution, with more people working from home instead of driving to an office.

I am so grateful for the responsible and supportive attitude of the vast majority of B&NES residents. This has meant that Covid-19 related casualties have been significantly lower here than other counties. My ward of Bathwick has been incredibly fortunate, having no Covid-19 deaths.

I believe a vaccine will be forthcoming; tourists will return to Bath, and our streets will be clean again, but we need to continue with the inspirational work I’ve witnessed in communities coming together to support each other. I urge us all to stay positive, combat this challenge collectively, and take care of each other. n

WWW.THEBATHMAG.CO.UK

James Freeman Managing Director of First West of England

In the 46 years that I have worked in the bus industry, I never thought I would see the day that we had to tell our customers not to travel by bus! Yet the buses have continued to run, providing essential links for people.

As the lockdown starts to ease, particularly with the reopening of pubs, cafés and restaurants, we have started to see people wanting to travel again. Thanks to the government support scheme for bus operators across England, our buses are ready.

I don’t know anybody for whom the lockdown has not meant enormous adjustments. For bus operators it has been no different. We had to respond at very short notice to the massive drop in passenger numbers, down (in just three weeks) to just eight per cent of our pre-Covid patronage.

Almost overnight we established a core service to ensure bus travel was there for key workers across the region and transformed our fleet of buses to follow social distancing.

The repeated re-writing of schedules and timetables has been a huge undertaking – we have had seven full-scale network changes in just over three months.

Through it all, our bus services have kept delivering, although our customers must now wear face coverings and the normal 75-seat double-decker has been reduced to just 20 spaces. We are seeing signs that capacity on buses will soon be increased back to 50 per cent of normal passenger numbers, a great improvement for routes that use single deck buses.

It is only in challenging times like these that you learn what you can achieve. Thanks to our drivers and support staff we have been able to keep our buses running for those who need them. People have come together and adapted, super-quickly, to new ways of working.

For bus travel, these moments of innovation are quickly becoming a catalyst for change. It’s hard to imagine that public transport will return to how it was pre-Covid for both passengers and operators. In the last few weeks we have introduced state-of-the-art technology so that with the First Bus mobile app, passengers can track the location of the next bus and see the number of seats and wheelchair spaces available.

This supports social distancing and signals a major step forward in how customers plan their journeys.

Here in Bath, with support from the West of England Combined Authority, we are getting ready to pioneer the UK’s first trial of an uber-style booking system. It is one of the ways we are looking to give more autonomy to the customer and make buses one of the smartest ways to move around Bath.

There are challenges ahead. As we come out of this crisis, our task is to reassure people that public transport remains a safe and viable option. One of the most striking (and enjoyable) aspects of lockdown was the absence of traffic on our roads.

As we approach the introduction of Clean Air Zones in Bath and Bristol, our buses need to be front and centre of mobility in the region, if we are to achieve these sustainable transport goals. And here at First West of England, we are ready. n • firstgroup.com

THEBATHMAG.CO.UK

|

summer 2020| |TheBATHmagazine TheBATHmagazine marCh 2015 xx 53

14 rethink comms 6 Dabbs/Dolby.qxp_Layout 1 11/07/2020 07:50 Page 1

the big rethink

RETHINK | COMMENTARIES

Janet Dabbs

Jo Dolby

CEO Age UK, Bath and North East Somerset

Hub Leader at Oasis, Bath

If you’d asked me four months ago if our staff team could have shipped out of our office in Kingsmead Square and our clubs in Bath, Keynsham and Midsomer Norton and decamped to their kitchen tables, bedrooms and still managed to support thousands of older people I would have said it was impossible. ...But it’s been done and I’m immensely proud of them, they have been so flexible and committed to make life a little more bearable for older people.

It’s been a very challenging time for older people – not only in B&NES but all over the UK – and as a staff team it’s been hard listening to stories of people being acutely lonely, bereaved, depressed and scared, but we’ve managed to deliver almost daily support over the telephone, delivered hot meals, continued offering information and advice, including benefit checks, and in a number of cases still go into homes where older people need extra support.

One of the highlights was the VE Day Singing Bus which took out Spangle who sang to as many people as she could, along with delivering positivity packs which included puzzles, scrumptious cupcakes, games and bubbles to improve lung capacity. We started our Garden Chats in June, which have been a lifesaver to so many and we are planning to take these through the summer and into the early autumn.

Our youngest volunteer, six-year-old Scarlett initiated the pen pals project, and we now have a number of young people who’ve joined in writing to older people. We’ve over 100 brand new volunteers on top of our original 200 which means we can support even more older people.

Next week we will start to deliver our on-line dementia club, which wouldn’t have been possible without the help of our Click Café volunteers who have been connecting people to wifi and explaining how to use equipment, which is not always easy over the telephone.

People are desperate to get back to ‘normal’ and we’ll be opening our clubs as soon as we can.

Supporting older people to use technology was always in our plans, but it has never been so vital and our main focus is to give older people the skills and equipment they need to be connected with the things that are important to them. n • ageuk.org.uk

“Supporting older people to use technology has never been so vital and our main focus is to give older people the skills and equipment they need”

54 TheBATHMagazine

|

suMMer 2020

|

issue 212

When lockdown first hit, things got weird pretty quickly. I remember hearing a few people comment that it was like being in the middle of one of those apocalyptic movies, minus the Zombies and Aliens!

When we think of the word ‘apocalypse’ we think of the end of the world, but in the Christian tradition it means something very different to this. Apocalypse comes from two Greek words, apo, which means off, or away from, and kalyptein, which means cover or conceal. So a better meaning of the word apocalypse is to uncover or reveal something, particularly something that was there all along but just hidden.

I think Covid-19 has revealed lots to us all, things that perhaps we had forgotten or been unable to see. To me, Covid-19 has revealed the resilience and strength in our church community, and our ability to adapt. We went almost instantly from meeting every week in our building to not being allowed to meet at all. Since then we have provided practical help to each other through WhatsApp groups and met weekly with the wider Oasis network for a short online church service called the Global Gathering.

“We may all have been in the same storm but we certainly haven’t been in the same boat” Covid-19 has also revealed the inequality in our society.

We may have all been in the same storm but we certainly haven’t been in the same boat. Experiencing lockdown in a high-rise tower block flat is very different compared to experiencing it in a detached house with a big garden.

Along with some other great charities in the city, we’ve been able to support those struggling to afford food and working in partnership with others to start a food parcel project, which has been providing a weekly food parcel to around 50 families.

For us, we’re still thinking through what this ‘new normal’ might look like and we’ll need to maintain a more substantial online presence, even without restrictions. We’ll keep doing all we can to support those in poverty. That’s why we’re opening a food pantry project in September for families on low incomes, which will provide great quality food for a fraction of the normal cost. I hope we’ll walk more, shop local and independent, value our friends and family in a deeper way, know our neighbours and keep working together to help those in need.

It wasn’t the end of the world, but let’s hope it’s the start of a much better one! n • oasisbath.org

15 rethink comms 3 Weir.qxp_Layout 1 11/07/2020 10:33 Page 2

the big rethink

Cecil Weir Fundraising Director, Julian House

The middle of March feels like an awfully long time ago.

Hard to imagine that something which barely made the headlines a few weeks prior to this would have such a dramatic impact on everyone’s lives – including the vulnerable men and women supported by Julian House.

One of the significant positives which the Coronavirus pandemic has brought about has been its impact on rough sleeper numbers.

Given the difficulties of self-isolation on the streets, a nationwide initiative was undertaken to find temporary accommodation.

In Bath over 40 bed spaces were sourced through B&NES Council and housing association, Curo.

Then within a very short time frame almost all of the city’s street homeless were encouraged in.

Lockdown wasn’t easy for them but by having stability in their lives was hugely beneficial to their health and well-being and allowing in-depth engagement with support workers.

Really experienced colleagues have told me about the amazingly positive changes they have made with many of the clients who have

CITY | INTERIORS RETHINK | COMMENTARIES

come in – indeed some have even moved on into sustainable housing.

Results that might have taken 18 months to achieve otherwise have been brought about in less than six or seven weeks.

Right across the charity’s work things have had to be different – staff working from home, extra support for clients who have had to self-isolate, fundraising events cancelled and having to seek extra support from the wider community.

Online meeting software has been on computers for years but Coronavirus has prompted its routine use and a realisation that there other better ways of doing things. Plus there are the environmental benefits – less travel, less cost, less pollution and often better outcomes.

I am hopeful that there will be other benefits to come out of the pandemic. I really believe that our sense of community has improved – talking to strangers in queues, engaging with people on walks and supporting neighbours (sometimes strangers) who have been shielding. And for rough sleepers, everyone involved in the temporary accommodation project is keen to carry on the good work and hopefully see a permanent reduction in their number. n • julianhouse.org.uk

“Lockdown wasn’t easy for them [the city’s homeless], but having stability in their lives was hugely beneficial to their health”

NOW UNTIL 3 JANUARY 2021

WWW.THEBATHMAG.CO.UK

THEBATHMAG.CO.UK

|

marCh summer2015 2020| |TheBATHmagazine TheBATHmagazinexx55

12 rethink comms 2 White/Rigby.qxp_Layout 1 11/07/2020 07:43 Page 1

the big rethink

CITY | INTERIORS RETHINK | COMMENTARIES

CITY | INTERIORS

Professor Ian White

Sue Rigby

Vice Chancellor and President of the University of Bath

Vice Chancellor of Bath Spa University

Universities have been profoundly affected by Covid-19.

It has dispersed our student community so that online learning has become paramount, closed research laboratories, forced us to suspend extracurricular activities and caused many staff to work remotely.

Some students have not been able to return home and a smaller campus community has been created, causing us to think again about the nature of our learning environment.

While the campus has been opening up over the past month, the impact on the university will last for some years.

The move to online teaching may prove to be one of the most memorable aspects of Covid-19, because of the rapid change that took place. Within 48 hours of lockdown, in excess of 5,000 hours of online teaching and learning had been viewed by our students. Just weeks later, almost 30,000 pieces of assessed work had been submitted online, with student engagement at comparable levels to previous years.

Their commitment and fortitude has been so impressive.

This did not mean that there was no individual contact.

Personal teaching continued. The transition did show how online delivery is clearly feasible in a flexible and interactive manner, and how universities need to ensure the right combination of timetabled and flexible teaching to give students the best possible learning environment and choices.

We are preparing to welcome new and continuing students back in the autumn. Our programmes will be available in blended delivery – a mixture of in-person sessions in Bath, live online sessions, and pre-recorded online material. This new form of teaching could mean that incoming students need new digital skills and support and we have been acutely aware of the challenges disadvantaged students face in terms of accessing the relevant technology.

Some of our academics are using their public health expertise in advising government at senior levels. Others have continued to work on important research related to Covid-19.

Physicist Dr Jim Stone from our Centre for Photonics and Photonic Materials is working with a team on a rapidresponse project to find treatments for Covid-19 by building innovative optical devices that can access the deepest chambers of the lungs.

I have been pleased that the university has been able to offer its facilities and expertise in support of local people and organisations. Our staff and students have produced more than 100,000 pieces of Personal Protective Equipment, such as face and eye shields, for the RUH. We have also been providing free accommodation for NHS workers. Finally I have joined the new Economic Renewal Partnership, led by B&NES Council, which aims to build confidence in our area as a safe, sustainable and green place to visit, study and work.

It is vital that we pull together at this time, given the scale of the challenge that is ahead.

I am delighted that we have already begun to play our part in this future. n • bath.ac.uk 56 TheBATHMagazine

|

suMMer 2020

|

issue 212

When everything changes, organisations change too – they do it fast and look back amazed at the transformation and the confidence that this has brought. This is what happened at Bath Spa University when we locked down in March.

Within a week, we took all of our teaching, from conservation biology to stage combat, online. We worked with our students, our academics and our professional staff to make every module possible when we couldn’t meet faceto-face. Our library staff shipped books all over the country while our IT team delivered laptops and other kit to students and staff locked down in the region. In early July we held our exam boards – our profile of graduating success is exactly where it should be.

Now we are looking forward to welcoming our new and existing students back to Bath in the autumn. We are keeping some online teaching that worked better delivered that way than face-to-face, but bringing back things we missed, like seminars and the use of our specialist facilities.

Our library will still be a knowledge hub and we will make sure every student has what they need, but we will also start making things again, doing fieldwork and allowing our students to socialise and learn together. It isn’t easy – many of our students didn’t want to go home (and a few probably didn’t enjoy having to stay on campus). We have lost months of our lives to Zoom meetings and wrangling over how to produce online end-of-year degree shows. We probably ate and drank too much to keep us going, but we know we can deal with whatever is thrown at us, with agility and good humour.

We are passionate about the need to move forward from the pandemic, and not try to return to the old way of doing things. Our staff and students want a greener, more sustainable future and one that is inclusive and supportive to all. We were making progress on these ambitions before lockdown, but now they are at the top of our agendas.

We are working with Bath College to help people in Bath and North East Somerset to reskill if they lose employment, and to support businesses to change their focus and upskill their staff. This Restart programme will be run for free, because it is necessary, and we are supported by a brilliant group of employers and charities who are guiding our delivery. The council have promised us the use of empty retail spaces, and we are using the College Community Hubs too.

The Bath that emerges from lockdown is going to need all of us to pull together, to deliver the future we want and to rebuild our economy. I know that Bath Spa University will be on point to support the region and to enter the autumn as a highly effective community of learners and makers. Though maybe some of us will be going cold-turkey on chocolate. n • bathspa.ac.uk

education news.qxp_Layout 1 11/07/2020 10:49 Page 1

EDUCATION NEWS KINGSWOOD JOINS MASS EFFORT Kingswood School have joined with other local independent schools in a mass effort to make more protective visors and distribute them around Bath to GPs, care centres and the RUH. Volunteer pupils and staff helped assemble visors, which went to both the ICU in Bath and to nursing and elderly care centres.

A group of teachers also made washbags and Emma Brown, Head of English, helped sew washbags for the NHS scrubs for NHS staff and one of the school’s parents enlisted her company to donate 200 surgical face masks to a large NHS practice in Bristol. In memory of the first doctor to die from Covid-19, a Year 13 student edited two videos of an original song Dare We?. The project has already raised nearly £2,500 for the NHS. One of the school’s houses also organised a sponsored 1,000 mile challenge to commemorate the 75th anniversary of VE day during lockdown. The school community raised nearly £2,500 for Help for Heroes and Shine Bright Support. kingswood.bath.sch.uk

KES RUNS FOR NHS HEROES In June 175 students from KES set out to complete the #KESruns4NHSheroes challenge, an event which included running, walking or cycling 10km to raise money for the NHS. The event was organised by pupil members of KES MedSoc (Medical Society). The team, which started with only 10 participants, grew into an un-matched team; from the youngest member, Ettie in Year 1, to the headmaster Mr Boden, along with numerous other pupils, teachers, families and alumni. The school smashed their target of £1,000 and to date have raised £6,047 for the Covid-19 Urgent Appeal. kesbath.com

HAYESFIELD RANKS TOP SCHOOL Hayesfield Girls’ School has been named as the best state-funded secondary school in Bath and North East Somerset by the Real Schools Guide for the second year running.

The guide is published nationally each year and aims to give a more comprehensive picture of a school’s performance than traditional league tables. It takes into account 51 different data points, including GCSE results, attainment 8 scores, Progress 8 (the progress a pupil makes from the end of primary school to the end of secondary school), pupil-teacher

ratios and absence rates.

Headteacher Emma Yates said: “Having an impressive set of examination results opens the door to a future full of exciting possibilities and we are exceptionally proud of our young women’s achievements.” hayesfield.com n

Hayesfield named best statefunded school in B&NES

THEBATHMAG.CO.UK

|

summer 2020

|

TheBATHmagazine 57

slavery piece.qxp_Layout 1 09/07/2020 09:29 Page 1

THE SLAVE TRADE | LOCAL TRUTHS

The slave trade: local truths

The Black Lives Matter campaign has seen people demonstrating against the presence of historic statues in cities across the world where the individuals had connections with slavery. Emma Clegg investigates and discovers that the slave trade is ingrained in our urban landscapes and our cultural heritage, including those of Bath and Bristol

The now infamous statue of Edward Colston, before it was removed from its pedestal and thrown in Bristol harbour

58 TheBATHMagazine

|

suMMer 2020

|

issue 212

owners in the British Empire. Money talks, and for more than 200 years it talked louder than the individual rights of the 3.1 million African men, women and children who were stolen from their homeland and sold into slavery in the British colonies. It had to talk again to buy them their freedom.

THE STATUE DEBATE As the Black Lives Matter movement upsurged in the aftermath of the brutal death of George Floyd in May in Minnesota, angry demonstrations took place internationally, defying the social distancing measures brought on by a pandemic. In a demonstration in Bristol, the controversial statue in Colston Avenue of sugar merchant and Royal African Company member Edward Colston was torn down from its pedestal, dragged through the streets, and thrown into the harbour, making international headlines. Some were outraged by what has been described as the whitewashing of history and the importance of protecting our historic statues. Historian and presenter David Olusoga countered this with, “The toppling of Edward Colston’s statue is not an attack on history. It is history”, and the mayor of Bristol, Marvin Rees, described the act as a “piece of historical poetry”.

The statue wars are one thing, but what about the real slave-owning stories behind the statues that bring out the demonstrators?

BRISTOL AND THE SLAVE TRADE Britain was a major player in the transatlantic slave trade, with the principal ports being London, Glasgow, Liverpool and Bristol. Bristol’s official involvement in the slave trade started in 1698 when the trading monopoly of the London-based Royal African Company – a company established

by King Charles II in 1662 – was ended, although the illegal trade in slaves in Bristol was believed to have started well before this.

Bristol merchants were so successful in the 1730s that the Bristol docks overtook London in being the busiest in Britain and many ports of the west country made huge profits. The trade in slaves formed a triangle from England to West Africa and then to the West Indies and back. Ships travelling to Africa were loaded with cargo that would be traded for slaves with Black African slave traders. The village of Saltford, six miles from Bath, has the last remaining brass mill in the country and its brass products, and those of other companies such as the Warmley Brass Company, owned by the

Goldney and Champion families, were used as a main currency of the slave trade. Once in West Africa, the cargo products were sold, the ships were filled with their human ‘purchases’, with each African man, woman and child secured in chains in unsanitary and cramped conditions, and transported to the West Indies, a voyage that took around 10 weeks. With dysentery, dehydration and scurvy rife, many didn’t survive the journey.

British ships transported in the region of 3.1 million enslaved Africans with just 2.7 million surviving the crossing. Bristol traders were responsible for a fifth of these shipments, so more than 600,000 slaves.

BRITISH SLAVE OWNERSHIP Let’s consider the study of an archive in the 1830s, the Legacies of British Slave Ownership, showing all slave owners in Britain in 1834, after slavery was abolished.

It contains some startling truths. This record – discussed in David Olusoga’s Britain’s Forgotten Slave Owners, a two-part BBC series that aired in 2015 and is now available

❝

What about the real slaveowning stories behind the statues that bring out the demonstrators?

❝

W

illiam Wilberforce has loomed large in our history text books as the British abolitionist parliamentary warrior.

He supported the campaign for the abolition of slavery, which led to the banning of the slave trade throughout the British Empire in 1807 and the introduction of the Slavery Abolition Act in 1833. His statue has a duly prominent place in Westminster Abbey.

For those studying the modern history of slavery however, Wilberforce only tells a fraction of the story. In fact he provided a convenient national hero, allowing the British in the years following the abolition to hide behind their country’s violent, self-seeking and profitable past.

Wilberforce could not have achieved what he did within parliament if there had not been a huge popular anti-slavery movement beyond it creating pressure on the elite political system who had benefitted. It was a host of voices who eventually caused the tide to turn, who forced parliament to rethink a system that had brought unparalleled wealth to the country, and even then a colossal budget was required to compensate the slave

again on iPlayer – shows how the slave trade and its profits were entrenched within British society. It is the only record of British slave owners at a given moment in time, showing all the claims for compensation across the British Empire following abolition. It gives the claimant’s name, address, biographical information where available, how many slaves they had and how much compensation they received. There were 46,000 claimants, 800,000 slaves and £20 million (£70 billion in today’s money) was paid in compensation.

On this record there were 182 people resident in Bath in 1834 who applied for compensation for the loss of their slaves, and these slave owners made a total of 275 claims (a ‘claim’ represents a claim for however many slaves a person owned in a certain plantation; some owned one slave, others hundreds). There were 131 people resident in Bristol that applied for

slavery piece.qxp_Layout 1 09/07/2020 09:29 Page 2

THE SLAVE TRADE | LOCAL TRUTHS

William Wilberforce (1759–1833) was the anti-slavery campaign’s leading parliamentary spokesman

Sir Abraham Elton (1679–1742), by Jonathan Richardson, British merchant and Whig politician

compensation, and these slave owners made a total of 583 claims. Of the Bristol and Bath claimants, seven were Church of England vicars and 125 were women. You can look them up and find their payments and their addresses – Bristol brings up addresses in Catherine Place, York Place, Clare Street, Meridian Place and Lower Park Row; in Bath we find Sion Hill, Great Pulteney Street, George Street, Henrietta Street and Sydney Buildings included.

The sobering thing about this study is that it reveals not only that massive fortunes were amassed by those exploiting slave labour in distant lands, but that a vast number of the slave owners named in the study were not aristocrats but ordinary people – including lawyers, doctors, vicars, shop owners and manufacturers, from all over the country.

And 40 per cent of these slave owners were women, many of them widows who relied on the income they received.

sugar plantations in Nevis. The Goldney family, of Goldney Hall (now owned by the University of Bristol), were part of the triangular slave trade, and they invested in Abraham Darby’s ironworks as well as setting up their own bank.

Thomas Farr, a major investor in the slave trade, built the gothic folly Blaise Castle in 1766 on top of Blaise Hill. Clevedon Court, built in the 1400s, was bought in 1709 by Abraham Elton, a self-made industrialist and manufacturer, with interests in brass and glass, who made much of his fortune in the slave trade. It remains home to some of the Elton family’s unique possessions.

The Theatre Royal in King Street, Bristol, now the Bristol Old Vic, was funded by 50 merchants, of whom at least 12 were slave merchants or slave ship owners, and another six were suppliers to the slave ships, plantation owners or sugar traders. King Street was also home to Henry Webb, captain

WEALTH AND INFRASTRUCTURE The majority of claimants were absentee slave owners who would have had no direct contact with the plantations or the people involved, but their slaves and the money they earned from them were an integral part of the British economic system. And the money that was awarded in 1834 on slavery’s abolition to the slave owners – not to mention the colossal profits taken during the 200 years of slave trading and industry before that based on the production of cotton, tobacco, rum, indigo and sugar – was invested heavily in British industry, education, the arts and commerce. This transformed the country’s landscape and provided the roots for what is Britain today.

Take Bristol. The profits from the slave trade were used to build Bristol’s first banks and supported the development of its finest Georgian architecture. The Georgian House Museum in Great George Street was built for John Pinney who earned his fortune from THEBATHMAG.CO.UK

|

january 2010

of the slave ship Nevis Planter, and Robert Walls, surgeon on the slave ship Guinea. St Mary’s Redcliffe was built by Bristol’s merchants whose donations allowed them to have masses sung for their souls and who were given funerary plaques after their death.

Edward Colston needs little explaining to the residents of Bristol and – after his recent dip in the harbour – now much further afield. He made his fortune as a sugar merchant and member of the Royal African Company and became a partner in a Bristol sugar refinery. He invested heavily in the city, famous for his charitable funding and philanthropy including founding almshouses, donating to churches, founding and supporting local schools and bequeathing around £71,000 (well over £20 million today) to charity at his death in 1721. This has made him a controversial figure and an ever-present reminder of the city’s association with slavery.

Those directly involved in the trade such as Colston, Tyndall and Farr and West Indian plantation owners such as the Brights, Smyths and Pinneys are found in the Bristol’s street names such as Guinea Street, Jamaica Street, Elton Road, Codrington Place, Tyndall’s Park, Worral and Stapleton Roads.

SLAVE MONEY IN BATH While Bath is a stage removed from Bristol’s involvement in the slave trade, the city still reverberates with its echoes. Black people would have been a common sight in Bath in the 18th century because of its closeness to Bristol and London. Many in Bath would have had black servants, seen in family portraits of the time. Many freed slaves would have come to the city with wealthy plantation owners from the Americas and the Caribbean, who visited the spa or retired to the glamorous city.

The architecture of Bath also marks the impact of the slave trade. Art critic, politician and plantation owner William Beckford had enormous personal wealth, but

The Slave Trade, 1840, by Auguste-Francois Biard reveals different types of slave traders and the variety of miseries that were inflicted upon captured Africans

| THEBATHMAG.CO.UK

|

summer 2020

51 TheBATHmagazine 59 | TheBATHmagazine

slavery piece.qxp_Layout 1 09/07/2020 09:29 Page 3

James Brydges, 1st Duke of Chandos (1673–1744), c. 1719 by artist Michael Dahl.

William Pulteney, First Earl of Bath (1684–1764), by Sir Joshua Reynolds.

60 TheBATHMagazine

|

suMMer 2020

|

issue 212

Bath Abbey doesn’t escape; it features more funerary monuments for slave traders, planters and West Indian merchants than any other final resting place in Great Britain, and includes James Holder Alleyne, whose family owned sugar estates in Barbados.

The baroque mansion of Dyrham Park, near Bath, was built between 1692 and 1704 for King William III’s Secretary of State William Blathwayt, who was MP for Bath from 1693–1710. His wife Mary’s family had connections to the Caribbean and Blathwayt held government offices dealing with trade and the colonies where he promoted the slave trade to increase revenues for the British government from plantations in the Americas and the Caribbean. The magnificence of Dyrham Park, with many objects and works of art sourced from across the Americas and Asia, reflected his status and his colonial influence.

❝

During the 17th and 18th centuries few believed that all humans were born equal...

❝

he was less interested in his plantations (never travelling to Jamaica) and more focused on spending the money generated by them. In 1822, he moved to Lansdown Crescent, where he commissioned Beckford’s Tower to house his vast collection of possessions and collections. Beckford received a total of £12,802 (£1,675,000 in today’s money) from his slave compensation claims in 1834.

Great Pulteney Street in central Bath was commissioned from the wealth of plantation owner Sir William Pulteney, the first Earl of Bath, and the major tourist site of Pulteney Bridge, designed by Scottish architect Robert Adam, was built to connect the centre of Bath with the Bathwick Estate where Pulteney lived. The first earl died in 1764, but the slavery connection continues in the compensation claims of 1834 where another (Sir) William Pulteney, who married the daughter of the cousin of the first Earl of Bath, owned 176 slaves in the Westerhall Estate in Grenada and was awarded £4867 18S 1D (over £559,500 in today’s money).

The Holburne Museum is another example, a Palladian style building in the grounds of Sydney Pleasure Gardens.

It contains Sir Thomas William Holburne’s collection of more than 4,000 objects, pictures and books, bequeathed to the people of Bath in 1882 by Holburne’s sister. While not compensated in the 1834 payout, Holburne was a beneficiary under the will of his aunt Catherine Cussans who had shares in the West India Dock Co. and in the Forth and Clyde Navigation. She ordered her personalty to be sold with the proceeds invested in consols to generate £500 per annum for her nephew (£65,400 today), helping him develop his art collection.

Bath’s celebrated Circus and Royal Crescent, designed by John Wood the Elder and completed by John Wood the Younger, which were constructed as an expression of Bath’s rising status in the 18th century, were part-funded by James Brydges, Duke of Chandos, who was a key player in the Royal Africa Company. Other funding came from Richard Marchant and John Jeffreys, who made their fortunes from slavery.

THE ABOLITIONISTS It’s important to recognise that we look at history through the eye glass of our own era.

During the 17th and 18th centuries there were few who believed that all humans were born equal, and had the right to a free life.

While this seems incredible in a time where individual freedom is seen as a universal right, many thought that inequality and slavery were part of a natural order backed up in the Christian Bible. But there were outspoken dissenters. As the tide turned against slavery at the end of the 18th century, there were many contributing factors: slaves taking guerrilla action against their masters, economic and social factors and anti-slavery campaigns that supported

petitions against slavery, and we can see this energy in both Bath and Bristol.

William Wilberforce, the leader of the movement to abolish the slave trade and close associate of abolitionist Thomas Clarkson, was married in Bath and visited the city on a number of occasions. In 1788, following a visit by Clarkson, Bristol became the first city outside of London to set up a committee for the abolition of the slave trade. Clarkson found that many Bristolians were very critical of the trade, but at the same time feared the economic impact of abolition. The Anglican Dean of Bristol, Josiah Tucker, was an active abolitionist, along with Bristol poets Robert Southey, Hannah More and Anne Yearsley and Somerset-based William Wordsworth and Samuel Coleridge who all wrote against the trade. Josiah Wedgwood, a frequent visitor to Bath, supported the movement, and manufactured anti-slavery medallions and black basalt wax seals engraved with the words ‘Am I not a man And a Brother?’.

The Quakers were a driving force in the abolitionist movement, although their stance was not always based on a belief in human equality – many saw it as promoting immorality, cruelty and a move away from religious tenets. Bath and Bristol Quakers took action by inviting escaped American slaves to speak in their meeting houses and many citizens actively supported the cause of abolition through meetings and petitions to their MP and to Parliament, and by setting up anti-slavery societies. There were also active groups of anti-saccharites who refused to use sugar, as a statement against slavery.

UNDERSTANDING HISTORY David Olusoga said in The Guardian in 2015, as the Legacies of British Slave Ownership database was released, that, “Few acts of collective forgetting have been as thorough and as successful as the erasing of slavery from Britain’s ‘island story’.” The incontrovertible facts about the number of slave owners throughout the British Empire – a wake-up call to those of us who were lulled in their history lessons by the achievements of Wilberforce and his campaigns for the abolition of slavery – attest to this. The trade in slaves was not only violent, criminal, cruel, inhumane and enduring but the massive wealth it brought to Britain over two centuries made an indelible mark on the country’s infrastructure, its economy, its architecture and its culture. Bristol and Bath are just two examples.

We can’t make amends for the past, but we do have a responsibility to see it clearly and to explain it thoroughly within the historic surroundings that have been bequeathed to us. n The Legacies of British Slave Ownership database: ucl.ac.uk/lbs; Watch Britain’s Forgotten Slave Owners, presented by David Olusoga on iPlayer; Watch Black and British: A Forgotten History, presented by David Olusoga on iPlayer

CNP fp July.qxp_Layout 23 09/07/2020 09:16 Page 1

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE

CNM Pioneers Online Natural Health Diploma Courses Responding to the current worldwide health challenges, the College of Naturopathic Medicine is now offering online its internationally recognised diploma and short courses to overwhelming positive response from the public.

CNM graduates and students know: - that a healthy and robust body can resist infections better and return to health faster - that a strong immune system is important - how to boost the immune system naturally

At CNM we believe that good health comes from education and practice. The CNM Diploma courses, based on time-proven natural medicine principles and cutting-edge scientific evidence, include, in addition to the informative lectures, many clinical practice sessions. Students apply their knowledge in real-world clinic scenarios throughout their studies. Combined with thorough business marketing training, this offers CNM graduates all of the skills, knowledge and tools required to start a thriving business upon graduation.

More about CNM (College of Naturopathic Medicine): CNM is a pioneer in delivering online courses, as well as having colleges across the UK and internationally. With over 22 years’ excellent track record, CNM trains successful practitioners in natural therapies: surveys show that over 80% of graduates are practising. CNM offers Diploma courses in Nutrition, Herbal Medicine, Acupuncture, Homeopathy, Natural Chef/Vegan Natural Chef and Health Coach. Popular short courses include Vegan Nutrition for Everyday Living and The Gut-Brain Connection.

Find out more: www.naturopathy-uk.com.

Testimonials from students and graduates:

consultations I have honestly learnt far more online than in the classroom. Why? Because I can stop and pause and go back to a certain point to have a better understanding of the subject.

J.S Nutritional Therapy CNM offered me the flexibility to combine studying with my long working hours. What I loved most about CNM’s course was the variety in the lecturers, their experience and practical advice which really helped set expectations for career development and growth. I found the experience eye-opening, promising and challenging.

R.M Nutritional Therapy

CNM Online Open Events Discover how natural therapies promote true health and vitality. Our events are packed with inspiring tips on how to nurture yourself in natural, sustainable ways.

And if you are thinking of turning your passion Geoff Don into a career, an Online Open Event will also cover what you need to know about studying at CNM.

Visit naturopathy-uk.com

or call 01342

410 505

CNM has a 22-year track record training successful practitioners in natural therapies, in class and online.

Colleges across the UK and Ireland.

I am very impressed with the online case

THEBATHMAG.CO.UK

|

SUMMER 2020

|

ThEBATHMagazinE 61

SW lakes.qxp_Layout 7 09/07/2020 16:21 Page 1

GREAT OUTDOORS

The beauty beyond your doorstep

Research shows that ‘blue space’ can have a positive impact on health and wellbeing

F

rom the soothing sounds of water lapping against the lake shore to the relaxing dawn chorus on a summer’s morning, and the rustling of leaves as a gentle breeze passes through the impressive woodland canopy above, nature’s soundtrack truly is incredible.

Peace and tranquility could not be more important during these uncertain times and, even though the world around us is ever changing, it seems that nature really is thriving. Now is the time to immerse yourself in the great outdoors. Inhale the flourishing summer air. Feel the warmth of the sun on your face. Detach yourself from modern life and connect with your natural surroundings. Now is the time to discover the beauty beyond your doorstep.

Those lucky enough to live in the south west don’t have to venture far to find some of the most beautiful lakes in the UK. Think of the moorland gems nestled among rolling hills, and the atmospheric waters set in Cornwall’s mining landscape – greatly loved beauty spots that provide a much-needed escape from everyday life.

Research shows that ‘blue space’ – including sea, rivers, lakes and even urban water features – can have a positive impact on health and wellbeing. The lakes of the south west provide an abundance of opportunities for people of all ages and abilities to engage with the outdoors and get active with scenic walks, cycle trails and family fun on the water.

There are lakes such as the breathtaking Wimbleball on Exmoor – less than a two-hour drive from Bristol and Bath – the idyllic Roadford on the edge of Dartmoor and the Cornish lakes of Tamar near Bude, Siblyback near Liskeard and Stithians near Redruth. These are all places where you can relax and observe the resident wildlife – finding somewhere to stretch your legs and embrace a moment of calm, and scenic sanctuaries where you can stop and enjoy a welldeserved café treat.

Those wanting to dip their toes in can hire a variety of watersports equipment, including kayaks, canoes, paddleboards and sailing boats or for those who have their own kit there is the opportunity to use it on the lakes. These inland waters offer a safe environment for both novices and experts and they are also popular with trout and coarse anglers.

62 TheBATHMagazine

|

suMMer 2020

|

issue 212

Main image: courtesy of Jonathan Warner

The South West Lakes are havens not just for wildlife but for walkers, runners, cyclists, families, sailors, bird watchers and anglers, all searching for their own piece of tranquility. When the stresses take hold, try reconnecting with nature

SW lakes.qxp_Layout 7 10/07/2020 11:03 Page 2

GREAT OUTDOORS Want to extend your stay and experience everything the South West Lakes have to offer? Pitch up a tent, toast marshmallows and look up to the sky. Wimbleball and Siblyback are both dark skies reserves – the perfect spots for stargazing and engaging with nature and the outdoors in its greatest form. Looking up at the night sky can bring comfort to many people during an extremely difficult time and rural areas such as the lakes are the ideal locations to see the stars as they’re away from any light and disturbances.

These five campsites provide the perfect base for your next family getaway. Watch as any little adventurers in tow embrace the freedom of large, open spaces. Capture special moments – the laughter, the learning and the pure joy on their faces as they run, skip and jump through the trees. Den building, pond dipping, bug hunting, wildlife spotting and more – give them a taste for the great outdoors.

Summer days are great for wildlife spotting, with the lakes brimming with a variety of flora and fauna – from butterflies and birds to deer and dormice. You stand a good chance of finding wonderful wildlife during your outdoor adventures, so don’t forget to bring the camera.

The lakes are havens not just for wildlife but for walkers, runners, cyclists, families, sailors, bird watchers and anglers, all searching for their own piece of tranquility. So, when the stresses of lockdown take hold, reconnect with nature and head to the lakes and it might be just the ticket.

South West Lakes are operating their activities and camping in line with government guidelines. Safeguarding visitors and employees is a priority and therefore certain measures have been put in place to limit the spread of coronavirus and maintain the safety of everyone.

Please do check the South West Lakes website prior to visiting to make sure you are up to date with information for your trip and ensure you maintain social distancing when visiting. ■ Wimbleball Lake © Vernon Hutter

• southwestlakes.co.uk

HeidiReiki Eleve Counselling - available in Bath, Bradford-on-Avon and Online.

Utilising the Human Givens approach, Elaine Curtin, helps clients to quickly and effectively overcome emotional and mental health difficulties.

This approach makes it possible for you, those in your life or organisation to feel motivated and to get lives working smoothly again – quickly – without the need to unduly dwell on the past.

Book time to learn to relax, understand and move on from difficulties, such as anxiety, depression, trauma, PTSD, OCD, phobias, sleep issues and addictive behaviour.

Couples counselling is available also.

All of this is through utilising the highly effective Human Givens approach.

Call or text Elaine on 07976 731429 or

Reiki sessions and Feng Shui consultations (remote sessions while necessary) to book Heidi Rearden heidi@heidireiki.com

email her on curtincounsellor@gmail.com.

www.heidireiki.com

www.eleve-counselling.co.uk

07776 255875

THEBATHMAG.CO.UK

|

summer 2020

|

TheBATHmagazine 63

h&b news.qxp_Layout 22 10/07/2020 19:50 Page 1

HEALTH & WELLBEING

HEALTH & WELLBEING As lockdown begins to ease, the health and wellbeing sector is here to support us as we enter into our new normal...

SUPPORT AND GUIDANCE

SHOP SAFELY

from Human Givens therapist Elaine Curtin stored off the floor for 72 hours; introduce increased cleaning and hygiene protocols; only be taking cashless payments; have hand sanitiser available in store and staff will be wearing masks.

Lululemon opened its newest store at SouthGate Bath in March. The healthy lifestyle-inspired athletic apparel is designed for and with athletes to support them through a variety of sweaty pursuits – from yoga to running and everything inbetween. The new store is a hub for local guests to ‘live the Sweatlife’ – experiencing sweat, connection and personal development. In order to keep customers safe as lockdown begins to ease, lululemon will close all fitting rooms until further notice; keep all returned products safely

• lululemon.co.uk

WASH AWAY YOUR WORRIES by hypnotherapist Viv Kenchington job of overcoming the obstacles. I’ve been very fortunate in that I have been able to work online, something I had always done for international clients, but like many, it’s become my new normal. The number of professionals posting videos on YouTube for everyone to enjoy has also been great to see.

Seeing everyone coping so well, especially the frontline workers, has inspired me to give back. I have written a free track for them called Balance on the Frontline as my way of saying a big thank you to the staff.

This track is great in helping you give yourself the self-care you need and deserve.

I have also released tracks for little ones and teenagers, The Wash Away River, and The Wash Away River Version 2, respectively. These tracks are specifically created to help ease the stress and tension that may have arisen during lockdown.

Viv is offering a free track with the code #BathMagVivK

As lockdown begins to ease, many of us find ourselves starting back at work. Some of my clients have mentioned their anxieties rising due to being away for so long. They don’t feel like they can cope with the workload that will arise from work projects, while juggling homeschooling and feeling safe around others. They feel they lack the confidence they once had, and just don’t know how to regain it.

Confidence is you believing in yourself and your abilities. Know that you CAN do this and you CAN build yourself back up. Sometimes you may feel overwhelmed but it’s important to ground yourself. Try to focus on your breathing and take long, deep breaths.

This will slow down your heart rate and will help reduce some of the physical effects of anxiety. Try breathing in for a count of seven and out for 11.

You may also find yourself thinking of all the ways something could go wrong. Try to visualise the positive outcomes, and how great you’ll feel once you succeed. Find solace in friends, family or co-workers and let them know how you’re feeling.

Interacting with your managers and communicating your worries will help them understand what you are going through. Exercising can also help release endorphins – the feel-good hormone – and who doesn’t want to feel good?

This situation has been tough for everyone, and we’ve all done a great 64 TheBATHMagazine

|

suMMer 2020

• hypnotherapyandhealth.co.uk

The lockdown, for some, brought households together, but others may have been confronted with partner and family difficulties, separation and loneliness.

Being connected to others is key to our sense of calm and wellbeing and from the Human Givens perspective, having our fundamental, innate needs met ensures that we thrive in our environment.

The past few months has mostly affected our sense of feeling in control, which may well have brought some deeper fears and worries to the surface. Throw in added work and life stress and we have a cocktail for some emotional and mental health problems. The good news is that Human Givens therapy is quick, kind and works uniquely with

issue 212

• eleve-counselling.co.uk

MINDFUL MEDITATION

by Reiki practitioner Heidi Rearden ‘Many in body, one in mind’ means that we’ve all gone through a really challenging time together. Lockdown has been worse for some people than others, and over the last months, I’ve been offering distance Reiki sessions and remote Feng Shui consultations. Distance Reiki is like a meditation, focusing on the overall wellbeing of the person receiving the session and remote Feng Shui consultations enable the harmonising and balancing of energy in living spaces.

For the planet and for animals and plants alike, lockdown was a restful peace but for us humans it has brought some anxiety and fear, which I’m finding is slowly lifting. Practising Reiki and consulting on Feng Shui during the pandemic, I found some people having similar experiences. The main areas in which I’ve found most people have benefitted is around the area of their hearts, throats and tops of their heads. Many people had felt a heaviness in these areas of their bodies and have found a feeling of lightness and increased joy after Reiki. One particular focus I found has been on ‘grounding’ and creating a path and connection between the body and mind.

The remote Feng Shui has encouraged a flow of energy into people’s homes, freeing the atmosphere that has been left by previous residents. Illuminating the homes has increased the flow of energy and given a sense of freedom and flow. n • heidi@heidireiki.com

|

each person. We work with the story and outlook of the individual, couple or organisation in front of us. We work to help clients relax quickly, and offer guidance that can help effect positive change in their everday lives. We listen, help resolve the matter in hand by explaining the science behind the emotional and mental health issues and then support the client move forwards.

BCRM fp Bath.qxp_Layout 23 09/07/2020 12:57 Page 1

IVF and me As the date nears for the birth of her second IVF baby after treatment at the Bristol Centre for Reproductive Medicine, Karen Marks says despite the anxieties of the lockdown she’s enjoying every step of the journey

S

eptember can’t come around soon enough for Karen and James Marks when they’ll be meeting their new longed-for second baby for the first time.

The couple who married in 2014 feared they might never have a child of their own after Karen failed to get pregnant and was later diagnosed with fertility issues.

Now six years on, Karen is set to bring a younger brother or sister for 22-month-old Cameron into the world and the pair are counting the days until the happy event.

Both pregnancies were achieved through IVF at the Bristol Centre for Reproductive Medicine (BCRM), which treats both private and NHS patients.

Karen and James initially attended one of the clinic’s regular informal introductory evenings hosted by Dr Valentine Akande, BCRM’s medical director and lead clinician, which include a short consultation.

“Valentine, his colleagues and the facilities impressed us so much we decided to proceed,” said Karen, 32.

“They have been such a wonderful and supportive bunch to deal with, in particular director of nursing and clinical services, Carrie Lomax, who we think is one of the most amazing nurses in the world.

“The BCRM team becomes as much a part of your fertility journey as you want them to be. They really care. For us they became like extended family.

“I needed that sort of relationship, but if that’s not what a patient wants, they don’t press – you feel very much in control.”

The Marks’s were given funding for one round of IVF on the NHS in September 2017.

During minimally invasive egg retrieval procedure surgeons collected 15 of Karen’s eggs which were fertilised with James’s sperm in BCRM’s labs in September 2017.

Five viable embryos were created, from which one was transferred back into Karen’s uterus.

“People say IVF can affect your hormones when you’re on the meds, but I remember this as a calm time. I was unconscious for the egg collection, but that was it. And no pain at all.”

Happily, for Karen and James, 35, the procedure worked first time and after a sevenweek viability scan, she was discharged into the care of her local community midwife team in Taunton.

The pregnancy proceeded normally, with the birth of a fullterm baby boy, Cameron McLennan James Marks Nurse Carrie Lomax, ‘’one of the weighing in at 6lb 10oz most amazing nurses in the world’ on September 1, 2018.

Eighteen months on, Karen and James are now expecting their second baby under the care of BCRM fertility consultant Dr Alex Price, due to be born in September 9.

“In many ways it’s been so much easier the second time around,” added Karen. “Alex is just lovely. She made me feel at home as soon as we returned.

“Even after I’ve given birth to our second child, we’ll still have two frozen embryos left if we decide we’d like a bigger family.”

Karen was 16 weeks into the pregnancy when the lockdown began in March and admits although it is not the easiest time to be having a baby, the family are in good spirits.

“The main thing is we are going to have a wonderful new brother or sister for Cameron and hopefully Covid-19 will be something for the history books to tell our grandchildren about!”

The Bristol Centre for Reproductive Medicine has world class facilities and technology that treats both private and NHS patients.

BCRM is involved in innovative research and has one of the best success rates with IVF and other fertility treatments in the UK. To register for a virtual open evening webinar or to book an initial consultation appointment email BCRM at: info@BCRM.org.uk call 0117 3018605 or visit: www.fertilitybristol.com.

THEBATHMAG.CO.UK

|

SUMMER ISSUE

|

ThEBATHMagazInE 65

The Walk.qxp_Layout 1 09/07/2020 16:24 Page 1

Looking across Smallcombe Vale to Bathwick Fields

Bath’s green spaces

One defining memory of lockdown is the peace, the sound of the trees rustling in the breeze and the birds proclaiming their presence in song, as if exuberantly surprised by the sudden lack of competition. For those with the time to walk, we became aware of how our city is full of green corners, and discovered some that we hadn’t encountered before, says Andrew Swift

B

ath’s parks have come into their own in recent months. From places where people escaped outdoors for a few precious moments in the early days of lockdown, they now seem busier than ever, full of strolling couples, children playing and socially distanced groups perched on camping chairs, meeting up after long weeks of isolation. Walking through the parks on these warm, high summer evenings, those halcyon scenes of Parisian park-goers so beloved of the Impressionists spring unbidden to mind.

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, when Bath’s Georgian architecture did not enjoy the vogue it does today, the city’s parks were the main attraction for many visitors. Grandest of all has always been Royal Victoria Park. Opened by the future Queen Victoria in 1830 and one of the earliest municipal parks in the country, it was conceived on a monumental scale, with urns and vases lining its carriage drives, an obelisk guarded by lions and a magnificent collection of rare trees.

Although best known for its rolling parkland, visitors to the park can also explore the winding paths of one of the finest botanical gardens in the west country or the hidden world of the Great Dell, an 66 TheBATHMagazine

|

SUMMeR iSSUe

|

old quarry transformed into an arboretum, with an elevated walkway and a colossal bust of Jupiter.

At the other end of the city is Sydney Gardens. When it opened in 1795, it was a lively entertainment venue, with the price of admission deterring all but the well-to-do.

The labyrinths, follies and supper boxes which enchanted early visitors have long gone, but you can still stroll its matchless lawns and look down on the canal from delicate chinoiserie bridges. A similar bridge also provides a grandstand view of Brunel’s Great Western Railway, which was driven through the gardens somewhat later.

A short distance away is Henrietta Park, with wide lawns, trees every bit as rare as those in Royal Victoria Park and a sensory garden providing a hidden oasis just minutes from the hubbub of the city.

Hedgemead Park, on a steeply sloping site at the far end of Walcot Street is a very different proposition. This is a park that came about by accident – or rather a series of accidents. The rows of Georgian terraces that once stood here were hurriedly abandoned in the late 19th century when the land gave way beneath them. After they had been cleared away, the only option, once the ground had been stabilised, was to create the splendidly

iSSUe 212

atmospheric – and occasionally vertiginous – park you see today.

Nearby, at Walcot Gate, is one of those green spaces which the city abounds in, but which few discover. This large field, sweeping down to the river, hidden behind a bank of trees, was part of a cemetery which closed in 1855 and was later converted to a playground for a nearby school. The school has been converted to flats, but this hidden place still survives.

Another old cemetery can be found across the river, on Bathwick Street, although this one is the real deal. Dominated by the ruined shell of a mortuary chapel, with blocked-up Gothic archways, a Roman coffin built into a wall and signs identifying the occupants of some of the more elaborate tombs, this is one of the city’s most atmospheric and wildliferich hidden corners.

A little further out of town, screened from the London Road by grand terraces, are Kensington Meadows, which partly cover the site of another Georgian pleasure garden. Last year, as part of an improvement project, hundreds of trees were planted here and pockets of wild meadowland created. For many, though, the highlight is the riverside path, winding alongside the Avon, where it is possible to

The Walk.qxp_Layout 1 09/07/2020 16:28 Page 2

GREEN | SPACES

explains its name – tumps is an old word for hillocks or uneven ground. For distant views of the city from an unusual angle, though, and some seriously contorted terrain, it is well worth a visit.

This is just a small selection of the places waiting to be discovered. Bath has an extraordinarily rich variety of parks and green spaces which, in the past few months, have come to be cherished more than ever.

They will undoubtedly continue to be a priceless resource in the uncertain times ahead. n

Riverside path in Kensington Meadows

A caveat – while parks are generally safe, woods need to be treated with respect. Many of those around Bath have steep, muddy and slippery sections, with numerous trip hazards. They are also best avoided in high winds. Trees are now in full leaf, and, with ash dieback having taken hold, falling trees are an increased hazard. On one stormy day in June, two large ashes fell near the Skyline path, one blocking a flight of steps used by large numbers of walkers.

OTHER LINKS n Exploring the countryside around Bath: bathscape.co.uk Smallcombe Wood

imagine yourself in the heart of the country.

West of the city, another riverside path, which has seen a regreening in recent months as part of the North Quays project, leads to a chain of open spaces – Green Park, the wide lawns in front of Norfolk Crescent, and, on the other side of Victoria footbridge, Bath’s newest park, Elizabeth Park, which opened last July.

If you’re prepared to venture a little further, less than half an hour’s walk in almost any direction will take you from the heart of the city to wooded hills and secluded combes that have changed little since the eighteenth century.

Most of the open spaces south of the city are owned by the National Trust – wildflower-rich meadows, springs gushing from marshy hollows, wild woods, abandoned quarries dug by the Romans – and a succession of spectacular views.

Although the paths and tracks leading through this glorious landscape are usually busy with walkers, in the early days of lockdown they were eerily quiet, looking out over a silent city, with the loudest sound that of birdsong.

As restrictions have eased, though, the walkers have returned. One of the easiest ways to access the National Trust-owned land is to head out of town past Sydney Gardens, turn right up North Road, and, just past King Edward’s School, go through a gate on the left to follow a path uphill. The large field to your right – if you head to the top of it – commands probably the most extensive

Hedgemead Park

panorama of the hills girdling the city. If you carry on up the path, though, and, just after passing a bench, go through a kissing gate on the right, you will find yourself in Bathwick Wood on the Skyline path. Here, a right turn leads to Sham Castle, while a left turn leads past old quarries up onto Bathampton Down, littered with traces of iron age settlements.

Alternatively, head up Bathwick Hill, turn right into Bathwick Fields and follow a track through the fields before dropping down to Smallcombe Vale. If you walk up through Smallcombe Cemetery, you will come to Smallcombe Wood, the only surviving tract of ancient woodland in Bath. After making a circuit of the wood, a gate leads back through more fields to Smallcombe Vale, from where a lane leads down to Widcombe.

Smallcombe may be Bath’s oldest wood; the newest can be found high on its northern slopes. Primrose Hill Community Woodland was established in 2000 on 24 acres of meadowland. Over 24,000 native trees have been planted, creating an important wildlife habitat, and it is astonishing how much has been achieved in just 20 years. It can be found at the end of Fonthill Road, off Lansdown Road (BA1 5RH).

Another wood that deserves to be better known is the curiously named Tumps, which is accessible from the Odd Down Sports Ground car park on Chelwood Drive, off Bloomfield Road (BA2 2PR). It lies on the site of an iron age hillfort which was largely destroyed by quarrying in the 18th century.

This makes for a challenging walk, and

n National Trust and Skyline Walk: nationaltrust.org.uk/bath-skyline

n Parks and open spaces: bathnes.gov.uk/services/sport-leisureand-parks/ n Friends of Henrietta Park: henriettapark.org

n Friends of Hedgemead Park: hedgemead.org n Friends of Sydney Gardens: friendsofsydneygardens.org

n Primrose Hill Community Woodland: primrosehillwoodland.com n Woods around Bath: woodlandtrust.org.uk

A new and fully revised edition of Andrew Swift’s On Foot in Bath, with over 200 new photographs, has just been published. He has also written Country Walks from Bath, which explores more of the countryside around the city. Both are available from bookshops or direct from www.akemanpress.com.

THEBATHMAG.CO.UK

|

summer 2020

|

TheBATHmagazine 67

The American Museum V2.qxp_Layout 1 09/07/2020 16:19 Page 1

Claverton Manor commands spectacular views across the Limpley Stoke valley

The American beauty

A year on from its installation, head gardener at The American Museum & Gardens Andrew Cannell tells us about the bold new garden designed by trail-blazing landscape architects Oehme, Van Sweden that’s not afraid to break the mould

P

erched on an east-facing limestone bluff a few minutes’ drive from the centre of Bath, Claverton Manor is an imposing neoclassical building set within a quintessential English landscape. Where you might expect a broad manicured lawn, however, today you will find large borders filled with exciting combinations of grasses and perennials. That’s because it is home to the American Museum & Gardens, and surrounding it weaves a bold, unashamedly American garden designed by the landscape architects Oehme, Van Sweden (OvS).

Based in Washington DC, OvS had its beginnings in the 1970s when Wolfgang Oehme and James van Sweden trail-blazed a new movement in garden design in the United States. They sought to rebuke the tyranny of the lawn and ‘foundational planting’ often seen as the hallmark of American gardens.

Through their designs they sought to evoke the grandeur of the American prairies – and in doing so they introduced a completely new palette of plants to clients willing to try something different. Their approach became known as the New American Garden style and it revolutionised garden design in the United States.

Now this style has been brought to England. The 2.5-acre New American Garden at the American Museum was opened in September 2018. The museum’s board of trustees had a number of aims in mind, but the most important was to make more of the enviable location that Claverton Manor enjoys. The garden was designed to enhance the setting aesthetically, but also to open up and improve the overall accessibility of the site, especially to wheelchair users, and to create a much more welcoming entrance to visitors.

The design hinges on a sinuous, circuitous pathway that took inspiration from Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello. This path, called the LEFT: Architectural plants such as Acanthus ‘pin down’ the corners of the planting beds RIGHT: The Winding Way has excellent views of the valley and colourful plantings

68 TheBATHMagazine

|

suMMer 2020

|

issue 212

Winding Way, allows visitors to stroll through the plantings and to take in the glorious panoramic views of the Limpley Stoke Valley. A turf amphitheatre, designed

by Tom Chapman, the local landscape architect who managed the project, nestles gracefully into its natural topography. Here the museum is able to hold outdoor music and theatre events.

The planting is cared for by a dedicated team of four gardeners and four volunteers.

It is now into its second growing season and has gone from strength to strength. Large swathes of Lysimachia clethroides, the gooseneck loosestrife, has rapidly colonised the borders around the amphitheatre, creating pillow lava mounds of green with curling sparks of white flowers. It is punctuated by burgeoning clumps of tall Miscanthus x giganteus ‘Aksel Olsen’. Other grasses, including Miscanthus sinensis ‘Yakushima Dwarf’ and Deschampsia cespitosa ‘Goldtau’, capture more sunlight in

The American Museum V2.qxp_Layout 1 09/07/2020 16:19 Page 2

THE AMERICAN MUSEUM | GARDENS

their feathery plumes each autumn.

Perhaps the most dramatic facet of the planting, and the one which draws most attention from visitors, are the alliums. Over the past two autumns we have planted around 15,000, a third of which are the lofty ‘Summer Drummer’. The large scale of the garden and the panoramic stage of the valley allow us to go big, and in true OvS style, they provide pure theatre in such numbers.

The drama builds quickly through spring as they strike vertically upwards before the pale purple flowers cast aside their papery sheaths in July. At the end of this month, the sheaths will be gone and the flowers will be six inches across and tower on sturdy stems at seven feet.

Another unusual allium is ‘Red Mohican’.

It is superbly and aptly named; each one looks like a funky punk of a flower uninterested in conforming to normal allium appearance. With each one having a spiky tuft of jammy red flowers, they look like plummeting plum puddings blazing a fiery trail as they hurtle on a collision course into the planting below.

There are also hundreds of daylilies creating great splashes of orange and yellow in the borders like a fruit salad. Hemerocallis lilioasphodelus is a pale yellow variety with simple, open, scented petals held in clusters on long, thin stems. Its beauty is understated; it whispers rather than shouts for your attention. Compare this to nearby ‘Happy Returns’ and ‘Summer Wine’, both of which have cheery names, bold colours, and heavy-

Light-catching perennials and grasses in the early morning light

set blooms that rumble in the border.

Not everything has gone according to plan, of course. A very wet winter proved fatal to a number of warm-season grasses that were moved last autumn. Schizachyrium scoparium, a prairie grass also called little bluestem, was particularly hard-hit. An unusually dry spring this year has stressed a number of large American viburnums that are key OvS plants. Gardens, however, are not static; failures become opportunities to try something different – and this is a bold

new garden on the doorstep of Bath that’s not afraid to break the mould.

What comes next? Our new Children’s Garden is set to open in August in time for families to make the most of the schools holidays. We have free parking, a café, and booking is not required. n

The American Museum & Gardens Claverton Manor, Claverton Down, Bath americanmuseum.org

Allium ‘Summer Drummer’ and Rudbeckia ‘Goldsturm’ provide late season drama

➲

THEBATHMAG.CO.UK

|

summer 2020

|

TheBATHmagazine 69

Mulberry Live in care fp.qxp_Layout 1 09/07/2020 16:22 Page 1

P71.qxp_Layout 23 09/07/2020 16:44 Page 1

THEBATHMAG.CO.UK

|

SUMMER 2020

|

ThEBATHMagazinE 71

THE BATH DIRECTORY - July 2020.qxp_Layout 31 11/07/2020 09:54 Page 1

the directory

to advertise in this section call 01225 424 499

Electricians

House & Home

Health, Beauty & Wellbeing

ONEMAGAZINEONECITYONEMONTH

Independent family run business with family values • • • • • •

Holistic Treatments for Wellbeing

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

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

Trowbridge & Neal’s Yard Bath

Holiday Rental

60+ luxury properties for lets 2 nights to 5 months Holidays – For business – Friends & family – Temporary accommodation during renovation/relocation Contact: 01225 482 225 alexa@bathholidayrentals.com www.bathholidayrentals.com Providing 4 & 5 star self-catering properties since 2006

72 THEBATHMAGAZINE

|

SUMMER ISSUE

|

ISSUE 212

New and Reconditioned Warranty Contracts Straight and Curved Stairlifts Services and Repairs Rental Stairlifts Removals

Call 01666 822 060

Email: info@simplystairlifts.co.uk

Web: simplystairlifts.co.uk

Textile AnnaDesign Bespoke Commissions

Corporate - Events, Weddings & Parties Home - Childrens rooms Curtains & Blinds

KEIKO KISHIMOTO

Create your home for life

Bath based 07779951691 01761471663 www.Anna-design.uk

ONEMAGAZINEONECITYONEMONTH

IS AVAILABLE TO PICK UP FOR FREE AT

Cobb Farr PIF.qxp_PIF Full Page 09/07/2020 09:21 Page 1

PROPERTY | HOMEPAGE

I

nglescombe Cottage is a delightful period property, believed to have been built approximately 500 years ago and has been substantially modernised and extended at times over the last 20 years. It is set in an elevated location with superb views over the adjacent Milllstream and rural countryside beyond.

In addition to many modernised quality features including an oak staircase and oak flooring, there are many original features particularly within the sitting room to include an Inglenook fireplace, exposed oak beams and stone walls with many niches and recesses.

The property is cleverly designed on three different levels. It has a very light and airy feel to it with a most attractive reception hall, featuring an oak staircase. The kitchen/breakfast room and garden room open out onto a glorious elevated terrace and kitchen garden with wonderful views.

The galleried oak staircase leads up to the first floor 5 bedrooms plus loft room.

In turn it also leads down to the receptions and large dining kitchen.

The property features a beautiful gardens, terraces and a kitchen garden to the rear, together with a double garage/workshop, for which there is currently a planning application for partial conversion to an annexe/home office.

This is a quite splendid property and a viewing is strongly recommended by the sole agents Cobb Farr.

Inglescombe Cottage, Englishcombe • 500 year old cottage • Substantially extended and modernised • 5 bedrooms • Stunning views and gardens • Double garage and workshop (pp for conversion pending) OIEO £1,100,000

Cobb Farr, 35 Brock Street, The Circus, Bath. Tel: 01225 333332

THEBATHMAG.CO.UK

|

SUMMER ISSUE

|

ThEBATHMagazInE 73

Cobb Farr July.qxp_Layout 1 09/07/2020 09:20 Page 1

Woolverton

Prices from - £525,000

Two stunning newly built period style cottages with 3 double bedrooms set within this select development of just six properties in Woolverton. The property has been built to an exceptional specification by Ashford Homes who have been building luxury homes for over 25 years.

• • • • •

3 double bedrooms Stunning kitchens Double carport and additional parking space Fabulous views Superb specification throughout

01225 333332 | 01225 866111

Cobb Farr July.qxp_Layout 1 09/07/2020 09:20 Page 2

Walcot Parade, Bath OIEO £1,000,000 • • • • • • •

3 lovely bathrooms Elegant drawing room Spacious open plan dining room Well-appointed open plan kitchen Ideal holiday let opportunity Generous family accommodation Wealth of period features

01225 333332 | 01225 866111

The Apartment Co - Summer 20.qxp_Layout 1 10/07/2020 19:33 Page 1

Peter Greatorex managing director of The apartment Company

The positive effects of Covid-19 on lettings

“Founded in 2011 by Marcus Spanswick, who already had 20 years’ experience in the industry, Mardan Removals and Storage Ltd is a, family run, professional full service removals and storage company based in Bath. Marcus wanted to build a company that he and his team would be proud of. The key to the company’s success is providing a personalised service, treating each customer as an individual to ensure they get an excellent removal service. Mardan have a fleet of vehicles allowing them to offer; commercial moving, local to international moves and storage”.

T

he pandemic is like nothing any of us has ever experienced. The country has been in lockdown, with millions furloughed and many industries on pause. Yet amidst all the challenges and heart-breaking stories there have also been successes, especially in property. We have seen it all – from markets moving at breakneck speeds, to crashes, and no matter what life has thrown at us we’ve had to find a way to survive. This has certainly been the case during Covid-19; instead of sticking our heads in the sand we’ve had to find ways to adapt and thrive, and we feel the industry has changed for the better. So what have been the positive effects in lettings?

Valuations: At The Apartment Company we knew very quickly that we would have to change how we managed our service, and that we needed to make it more flexible to keep operational. Although for a time people couldn’t actually move, that didn’t stop landlords wishing to place properties on the market or tenants sometimes desperate to find a new place to live. Virtual valuations have provided such ease for landlords, and have made the process more efficient in many ways – most importantly, though, it’s meant it can all be done while social distancing.

Even now, as things start to relax, the importance of keeping everyone safe to prevent further spread is essential. Virtual valuations will continue at The Apartment Company, as landlords have found them to be extremely beneficial and they can also be more efficient.

Viewings: Viewings have changed too, and the importance of video cannot be emphasised more than in this area. Yes, physical viewings can now take place, but only after a prospective tenant has first viewed the property via video. There have been many benefits of video viewings, through which tenants can, from the comfort of their sofa, gain a detailed insight into a property, its layout and the feel of each room in the apartment. From this, many have decided a property actually wasn’t for them and a smaller number have proceeded to view the apartment in person.

This has meant that only those who have a serious interest in your apartment have been viewing, which again has made the process more efficient. But there has been another benefit, too. Many tenants found themselves stuck in other locations when lockdown hit, such as with their parents, and so wouldn’t have been able to view in person at all.

With video viewings, they have had the benefit of seeing the property in a way photographs can’t offer and, as a result, some have even committed to letting an apartment ready for their return to Bath.

The future: Covid-19 has been one of the strangest times for us all, yet it has brought some powerful and forward-thinking tools to our agency that we believe will continue to benefit all our clients in the future. If you’re looking to let or rent an apartment in Bath, the future awaits you at The Apartment Company.

The Apartment Company pg@theapartmentcompany.co.uk or call 01225 471144

76 TheBATHMagazine

|

suMMer 2020

|

issue 212

DOMESTIC & COMMERCIAL MOVERS • PACKERS • STORERS • SHIPPERS

RECEIVE THE BATH MAGAZINE BY POST AND NEVER MISS OUT We deliver to over 20,000 addresses every month, and there’s plenty of pick up points around town. But if you live outside our distribution area or would like us to send a copy to friends or family, we offer a magazine mailing service.

Make sure you never miss an issue... all 12 issues from just £30*

ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTIONS FROM JUST £30* SUBSCRIBE ONLINE AT www.thebathmag.co.uk/subscribe or call: 01225 424 499

Belveders House fp.qxp_Layout 1 09/07/2020 09:11 Page 1

Central

Andrewsonline.co.uk

Prior Park Road BA2 £950,000

01225 809 571

This beautiful four bedroom Victorian home is situated in the popular Widcombe area of the city. Spread over four floors the home offers a wealth of flexible space. Comprising reception room with bay window, study and bathroom. Head downstairs for a fabulous and modern kitchen dining room with French doors to the rear garden. The first and second floors comprise three double bedrooms with the master being an impressive 17’4 x 12’7 and a shower room. To the rear is a lovely matured and terraced rear garden. Energy Efficiency Rating: D

bath@andrewsonline.co.uk

To view more properties and other services available visit Andrewsonline.co.uk

Camden

Andrewsonline.co.uk

Chilton Road BA1 £500,000

This stylish terraced house has period features, pretty cottage gardens to the front and rear and extensive view across the city. Arranged over three floors, the property consists of three double bedrooms, two bathrooms, a kitchen/diner that leads to the rear garden. There is a garage at the front of the property and two good quality studios in the front gardens. Energy Efficiency Rating: D

01225 809 868 bath.camden@andrewsonline.co.uk

Andrews July.indd 1

To view more properties and other services available visit Andrewsonline.co.uk

09/07/2020 09:24

Newbridge Andrewsonline.co.uk

Newbridge Road, BA1 ÂŁ775,000

A fine example of Bath architecture presents itself in the form of a family home located on Newbridge Road.

Having been sympathetically restored, this home blends the beautiful period features with a modern interior.

The house is a bay fronted residence and is full of character and boasts features from corniced ceilings to cast iron fireplaces. This property will surely please those seeking a spacious family home with plenty character with little to do. Energy Efficiency Rating: TBC

01225 809 685 bath.newbridge@andrewsonline.co.uk

To view more properties and other services available visit Andrewsonline.co.uk

Bear Flat

Andrewsonline.co.uk

Bloomfield Road, BA2 OIEO ÂŁ600,000

A detached family home with breath taking city views, wonderful gardens and driveway parking. Coming to the market for the first time, this individual detached property offers a great family home along with plenty of potential for further improvement.

Energy Efficiency Rating: TBC

01225 805 680 bath.bearflat@andrewsonline.co.uk

Andrews July.indd 2

To view more properties and other services available visit Andrewsonline.co.uk

09/07/2020 09:25

®

N

EW

Marlborough Buildings

O.I.E.O

£650,000

Stunning Georgian Apartment · Grade II Listed · Two double bedrooms and two bathrooms · Light and spacious · Well manicured communal garden · Approx. 1130 Sq. Ft

N

EW

Alexandra House

O.I.E.O

£590,000

Modern apartment · Beautifully decorated · Two double bedrooms · Large veranda · Far reaching riverside views · Close to city centre · Approx 1011 Sq Ft · Secure parking

SALES

01225 471 14 4 The Apartment Company July.indd 1

LETTINGS

01225 303 870

sales@theapartmentcompany.co.uk

09/07/2020 15:23

®

Cavendish Crescent

O.I.E.O

£550,000

Park Street

O.I.E.O

£495,000

Park Lane

O.I.E.O

£495,000

Georgian · Grade II Listed · Two double bedrooms · Private front and rear courtyard · Private vault storage · Prestigious location · Access to Cavendish Crescent Gardens · Approx. 822 Sq. Ft. · VIDEO VIEWING AVAILABLE

Grade II Listed · Sought after location · Two double bedrooms · Second floor apartment · Close to city centre · Original features · Approx. 899 Sq. Ft · VIDEO VIEWING AVAILABLE

Stunning first floor property · Two double bedrooms · Sitting room overlooking the park · Beautifully presented · Communal gardens · Garage and parking · Short walk to the centre · Approx. 765 Sq. Ft · VIDEO VIEWING AVAILABLE

Connaught mansions

Bilbury Lane

Edward Street

O.I.E.O

£400,000

O.I.E.O

£400,000

O.I.E.O

£400,000

Fabulous Georgian property · Grade I Listed · Ground floor apartment · One double bedroom · Stunning kitchen and bathroom · One luxury bathroom · Car parking space · Approx. 638 Sq. Ft · VIDEO VIEWING AVAILABLE

Exclusive development · Immaculate elegant communal areas · Lift · High Georgian ceilings · Gorgeous views · Five minutes level walk to Bath Spa Railway station · Underfloor heating throughout · VIDEO VIEWING AVAILABLE

Georgian · Grade II Listed · First floor apartment · One bedroom · Level walk into city centre · Close to Great Pulteney Street, Sydney Gardens and Henrietta Park · Approx. 592 Sq Ft · VIDEO VIEWING AVAILABLE

Broad Street

Queens Parade

Grove Street

O.I.E.O

£350,000

Georgian · Grade II listed · Second floor apartment · Two bedrooms · High end refurbishment · Central location · Rare opportunity · Close to local amenities · Approx. 510 Sq Ft · VIDEO VIEWING AVAILABLE

O.I.E.O

£285,000

Georgian apartment · Central location · Views of Victoria Park · One bedroom · Spacious rooms · Well presented · Ideal investment (currently let · Approx. 743 Sq. Ft · VIDEO VIEWING AVAILABLE

O.I.E.O

£230,000

Georgian · Grade II Listed · One bedroom · Beautifully presented · Ideal home or investment · Communal garden · Residents Parking Permit · New kitchen and bathroom · Approx. 443 Sq. Ft · VIDEO VIEWING AVAILABLE

www.theapartmentcompany.co.uk

The Apartment Company July.indd 2

09/07/2020 15:23

®

TO

LE

T TO

Heather Rise

£1,500 pcm

Unfurnished · Two double bedrooms · Ground floor apartment · Gas fired under floor heating · Council tax band C · Allocated parking · Private terrace · VIDEO VIEWING AVAILABLE

TO

LE

Three bedrooms · Open-plan living space · Gas central heating · Contemporary modern design · Furnished option available · VIDEO VIEWING AVAILABLE

TO

LE

Part furnished · Private decked roof terrace · Modern shower room · Would suit a professional person/couple · No pets · Council tax Band B · Very highly recommended · VIDEO VIEWING AVAILABLE

SALES

01225 471 14 4 The Apartment Company July.indd 3

£1,400 pcm

LE

Furnished · Fabulous views · Newly refurbished · Abundance of storage · Central zone parking permit · Council tax band B · No agency fees · VIDEO VIEWING AVAILABLE

£1,350 pcm

T

£1,200 pcm

Unfurnished · Two double bedrooms · Versatile accommodation · No pets · Central zone parking permit · Period Features · Council tax band C · VIDEO VIEWING AVAILABLE

TO

£850 pcm

LE

North Parade

T

Royal Crescent

T

Part furnished · Popular Southgate area · Central close to shops · No pets · Suit professional couple or sharers · Bike store · Council Tax Band: C · No Agency Fees · VIDEO VIEWING AVAILABLE

TO

£1,300 pcm

LE

Philip Street

T

Courtyard apartment · Two bedrooms · Allocated parking for one car · Brand new kitchen and bathroom · Council Tax Band: C · Close to City Centre · Redecorated throughout to a high standard · VIDEO VIEWING AVAILABLE

TO

£1,150 pcm

LE

Sydney Place

T

Milsom Apartments

TO

Furnished · Two double bedrooms · Riverside views · Close to the city centre · Council tax band D · One allocated parking space · VIDEO VIEWING AVAILABLE

TO

£1,300 pcm

T

Waterfront front

T

Oliver court

LE

LE

T

Rivers Street

£795 pcm

Georgian · Grade II Listed studio apartment · Ground floor · Light and airy · Sought after location · 444 Sq. Ft · Fully furnished · VIDEO VIEWING AVAILABLE

LETTINGS

01225 303 870

sales@theapartmentcompany.co.uk

09/07/2020 15:24

m

m

m

®

& ED T LE AG N A M

Green Park

& ED T LE AG N A M

£1,800 pcm

Furnished · Two double bedrooms · Private rear garden · Council tax band D · Central zone parking permit · No agency fees · Video viewing available

& ED T LE AG N A M

Highgate

£1,750 pcm

Unfurnished · First floor apartment · Two bedrooms · Fabulous kitchen · Council tax band E · Permit parking

& ED T LE AG N A M

£1,450 pcm

Furnished · Two double bedrooms · Fabulous private balcony · Riverside living · Council tax band C · No agency fees · Parking

& ED T LE AG N A M

Bladud Buildings

Marlborough Buildings

& ED T LE AG N A M

Catharine Place

£1,300 pcm

Unfurnished · Two double bedrooms · Open plan sitting room/kitchen · No pets · Council Tax Band C · Three storage vaults · Resident parking permit

Furnished · Two double bedrooms · Stunning views · Central location · Available 17th May 2020 · Central zone permit parking · Council tax band A

Brunswick Place

£1,500 pcm

Furnished · Two double bedrooms · Vault room · Private courtyard and garden · Residents parking permit · Council Tax Band B · Highly recommended

& ED T LE AG N A M

& ED T LE AG N A M

£1,100 pcm

Park Street

St George’s Place

£1,250 pcm

Unfurnished · Two double bedrooms · Central location · Easy access to Bristol · NO AGENCY FEES · Modern and stylish · Council tax band C

& ED T LE AG N A M

£1,025 pcm

Furnished · First floor apartment · Central location · Suit professional person or couple · Resident permit parking · Council tax band A · No Agency fees

Philip House

£975 pcm

Furnished · One double bedroomVirgin Media Installed and not to be changed by tenant · Suit Professional Person or Couple · Close to local shop and amenities · Close to Bath Spa train station · Council Tax Band B · No Agency Fees

www.theapartmentcompany.co.uk

The Apartment Company July.indd 4

09/07/2020 15:24

Mallory fp.qxp_Layout 1 09/07/2020 09:05 Page 1