The Bath Magazine Jan 2011

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£3.00 where sold

THEBATHMAGAZINE THE MAGAZINE FOR THE CITY OF BATH www.thebathmagazine.co.uk

ISSUE ONE HUNDRED

JANUARY 2011 NOW AVAILABLE ON iPAD

Celebrity Comedy

Food

Gossip

Tragedy Romance Landscape Beauty

Fashion And...

Music

a first class

CENTURY Style

Nature

THE BATH MAGAZINE Celebrates ONE HUNDRED ISSUES

The very best of local writing, what’s on, arts, lifestyle, property and so much more in your guide to life and living in Bath

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100 already! ❝It hardly seems possible.

But since 2002, when it began, The Bath Magazine has become a major part of the city’s life. It’s our version of the 3 Rs; Respected, Readable and Really good.

Happy Birthday

❞

Don Foster, MP

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Pritchards are pleased to have ❝ supported The Bath Magazine since its early days. The magazine is an excellent showcase for our property advertisements.

❞

Michael Hughes, Managing Director, Pritchards estate agent

The Bath Preservation Trust greatly ❝ appreciates all that The Bath Magazine does to promote our World Heritage City by reflecting on the past, recording the present and peering into the future.

Edward Bayntum-Coward, Chairman of the Bath Preservation Trust

❞

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WINTER SALE NOW ON

CELEBRATING

95

15-18 London Street, Walcot, Bath, BA1 5BX Tel: 01225 465 757 www.trhayes.co.uk

YEARS OF TRADING

• FREE DELIVERY TO A LARGE AREA • CUSTOMER CAR PARK •

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contents

JANUARY 2011 14 10 TALK OF THE TOWN News and views from the city

13 BIGWIG Dreaming of sun-kissed beaches

14 STAR INTERVIEW Sir Derek Jacobi talks to The Bath Magazine as he prepares to bring King Lear to the Theatre Royal

16 FACE THE MUSIC The One Show’s wildlife presenter Mike Dilger tells Mick Ringham about his top ten tunes

18 YEAR OF THE MUSEUM Bath’s great institutions team up to put on an impressive show in 2011 for tourists and locals to enjoy

21 CELEBRATING OUR 100 A miscellany of Bath’s curious, quirky and quite interesting people, places and facts

28 WHAT’S ON A round-up of the city’s entertainment

32 ART & EXHIBITIONS Bath galleries’ January shows WWW.THEBATHMAGAZINE.CO.UK

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36 FROM THE ARCHIVE Cathryn Spence tells the story of one of Bath’s most colourful historic characters, Guinea Pig Jack

39 FAMILY FUN What to do to entertain the children in Bath this month

50 OUT AND ABOUT Andrew Swift steps out for a new year’s walk around Hinton Blewett

52 GASTRO GUIDE Bath food and drink news and a poem of praise to comforting, winter-warming soup

55 RESTAURANT REVIEW One of Bath’s newest arrivals offers diners a trip around the world in 80 dishes

76 CITY GARDENING Garden writer Jane Moore recommends retreating to the garden shed for some indoor jobs

80 THE DIRECTORY Your guide to trades and services in and around Bath

83 PROPERTY The best property in Bath and beyond

THEBATHMAGAZINE Need to refer to something you have read previously?Archive copies of TBM can be viewed with the online edition on our website: www.thebathmagazine.co.uk

69 HEALTH & WELLBEING The Bath clinic that takes a holistic approach to mental and physical health

70 INTERIOR STYLE Nicky Owen meets a writer who has transformed a shabby building of bedsits into a stylish and comfortable family home

ON THE COVER Counting down to Christmas.

Front cover designed by TBM. Images courtesy of Victoria Art Gallery, Bath & North East Somerset Council.

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EDITOR’Sletter

T

he new year in Bath begins with plenty to celebrate – not least the 100th issue of The Bath Magazine. We are marking this significant milestone by bringing together a glorious miscellany of strange facts and tales from the city’s past and present that we hope will have you saying, ‘well, I never knew that’.

And 2011 also begins with me as the new editor at the helm of the magazine. I am extremely privileged and excited to be entrusted with this role and I intend to stay true to its spirit of reflecting all that’s best of Bath’s rich and varied cultural life.

They say that you don’t really appreciate home until you’ve left it and that’s certainly true for me. After three years away from Bath I am delighted to be back, rediscovering old haunts and friends. I appreciate the city so much more for being given the opportunity to return.

We couldn’t bring out the magazine without the wisdom and wit of our columnists and, having spoken to each of them since my arrival, I know they’ve got all sorts of exciting ideas up their sleeves for the year ahead.

In this, our 100th issue, we’re looking at the plans for Bath’s Year of the Museum, with a series of major exhibitions planned and a massive refurbishment for several of our most illustrious institutions.

For Face the Music, on Page 16, Mick Ringham meets the BBC One Show’s wildlife presenter, the irrepressibly cheerful Mike Dilger, who shares his enthusiasm for the animal kingdom and picks his top ten sounds.

Andrew Swift is our reliable guide for Out and About, on Page 50, taking a walk out to the countryside around Hinton Blewett, to blow away those post-Christmas cobwebs.

Historian Cathryn Spence explores the life of one of Bath’s more curious characters, Guinea Pig Jack, on Page 36, who used to get his pets to play dead to entertain passers-by on the city streets.

And award-winning garden writer Jane Moore, of The Bath Priory, has sound advice about retreating into the potting shed during these chilly days to have a good clear out, sharpen tools ready for spring and thumb through the seed catalogues in anticipation of the months ahead.

Whether you’re outdoors or snugly wrapped up indoors, let The Bath Magazine ease you gently into the new year.

Georgette McCready Editor 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.

THEBATHMAGAZINE Editor Email: Tel:

Georgette McCready georgette@thebathmagazine 01225 424499

Deputy Editor Email:

Samantha Ewart sam@thebathmagazine.co.uk

Contributors

Jane Moore, Cathryn Spence, Mick Ringham, Andrew Swift, Nicky Owen

Production Manager Jeff Osborne Email: production@thebathmagazine.co.uk Publisher Email:

Steve Miklos stevem@thebathmagazine.co.uk

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

Liz Grey liz@thebathmagazine.co.uk

Advertising Sales Email:

Kathy Williams kathy@thebathmagazine.co.uk

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

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TALKofthe TOWN

My Cultural Life

BOOK OF THE MONTH Review by Topping & Company Booksellers

Phantoms on the Bookshelves by Jacques Bonnet (Quercus, £12) In Phantoms on the Bookshelves, Jacques Bonnet takes us on an entertaining, erudite journey through a lifetime of reading.

He seems to be one of those great readers who not only has read everything, but conveys with real infectious enthusiasm the joys and brilliance of the book. Whether it be the letters of Fernando Pessoa, or the mysteries of Captain Ahab’s whalebone leg. It doesn’t matter if you haven’t read or even heard of the (many books) he seems to have read, it will only whet your appetite and stir your imagination for new discoveries of classics old and new.

How would you organise your books? By size, colour or by author. Bonnet comes with at least eight viable alternative shelving schemes. Phantoms on the Bookshelves also deals with many practicalities of owning books.

Intelligent, without being pretentious; erudite without being abstruse; this is a great book aboout the love of books.

Hot tips for city’s writers

PICTURE: Sam Farr

F

THEBATHMAGAZINE 2 Princes Buildings George Street Bath BA1 2ED Telephone: 01225 424499 Fax: 01225 426677 www.thebathmagazine.co.uk © MC Publishing Ltd 2011 Every month The Bath Magazine is circulated free to over 20,000 selected homes and businesses in Bath and the surrounding areas.

A certificate of print and publisher’s statement are available on request.

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

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Which book are you reading?

NEWS IN BRIEF

Part of the city’s landscape or more than 20 years photographer Ed Collacott has been a familiar face manning his stall in Union Street, which sells his photographs, calendars and greetings cards.

Now the Bath Ed Collacott photographer has collected over 100 of his own works to produce Landscape Britain, a collection of scenes from all over the country. Ed has travelled the mountains, forests and coasts of Britain to evoke the best of the open spaces around us.

The book also includes anecdotes by Ed which puts the images into contexts and explains Ed’s way of working.

Landscape Britain is produced in hardback, price £25, and is available direct from Ed, who can be found on the stall in Union Street most Saturdays.

Ed also has a line in 2011 calendars for those of us not lucky enough to be given one for Christmas.

This month, we ask Zita Alves, founder of Bath Bootcamp . . .

A writers’ group dedicated to non-fiction only is welcoming new members for 2011. The Bath Writers Group, for people who write for magazines, training manuals, history books or self-help books, is due to meet on 12 and 26 January between 10am and noon in a member’s home. For more details contact: info@bath-writers.co.uk or tel: 01225 315718 and speak to Mary.

Domestic disaster zones Channel 4’s Sarah Beeny is on the lookout for homes in the Bath area in need of a property makeover. If your home is a domestic disaster area and you’d like it transformed into a desirable dwelling, contact Lizzie Allen, on tel: 0203 189 3420 or email: property@redhousetv.co.uk

Lend a hand Bath’s army of volunteers are being relocated to the city’s central library in the Podium and it is hoped that this new, high profile location will encourage more people to act as volunteers. The official launch of B&NES Volunteer Centre is on Monday 24 January at 7pm. This will be followed by the group’s AGM. To find out more about how you can help, visit the centre or tel: 01225 338105.

From tiny acorns . . .

Gardeners who find unwanted tree saplings springing up, can now donate them to a community tree planting project. Bath & North East Somerset Council has set up a tree adoption agency, with plans to plant at sites around the area, including Twerton, Newbridge, Lansdown and Batheaston.

If you have trees to donate, visit: www.moretreesbanes.org

I am slowly getting through a book called The China Study. It exposes a lot of unknown facts about the food industry and the world’s health.

What’s on your MP3 player?

Music I can exercise to. I love to listen to music when I am training to make me work harder/longer and I have always loved music, especially funky/R&B/dance music. A track I love to listen to is Beggin’ by Madcon.

Which local restaurant/café will you be visiting?

Sitting in a nice cafe working or watching the world go by is one of life’s little pleasures. I like the food at Jamie’s Italian, Thai on the Weir and The Bear has nice peppermint tea.

Which museum or gallery will you be visiting?

I have yet to see the Diana dresses so must make a point to do that.

Film or play? What will you be going to see this month?

I’d love to see the Little Fockers this month as we all need a laugh in January.

What are your shopping habits?

I am passionate about supporting our small independent businesses. I use health food shops and my free range eggs come from the local farmer. I use Riverford my organic fruits and vegetables.

Your passions? What hobbies or interests will you be pursuing?

I go to streetdance classes when I can and this month I will be celebrating my 40th birthday and I am hoping it will involve a good old boogie with my friends.

Bath Bootcamp has 15 classes a week in and around Bath. For further info visit: www.bathbootcamp.co.uk

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R O O M THE FINEST IN LINGERIE, BEACH & NIGHTWEAR

7 Quiet Street Bath BA1 2JU Telephone: 01225 330563 email: thedressingroom@btconnect.com 12 THEBATHMAGAZINE

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NOTES ON A SMALL CITY

By Bigwig

So to dream of sun, sand & sea

O

ne of the best things about January is not the January sales (we had them in November, remember?) but all those glossy holiday brochures that plop onto one’s doormat. Normally I reject unsolicited mail as a blooming nuisance and straight into my recycling it goes, unopened. But I can’t resist peeking at the little bit of sunshine these catalogues bring to a grey winter’s day.

I’ve got to be a bit of an expert, especially on the luxury end of the market. I can tell you, for example, the difference between a club room and sea view room at a certain five-star retreat in Bermuda, which is currently offering me 25 per cent off, I might add. I can list all the complimentary extras included in the honeymoon in paradise package at my favourite Seychelles hideaway. (When I say ‘favourite’ I mean I like reading about it. I’ve never been there and neither am I contemplating tying the knot!)

I know all about the pillow menu in a posh establishment in St Lucia.

By that they don’t mean breakfast in bed (though I daresay the private butler that comes with the room could rustle up a decent eggs Benedict) but the choice of a dozen variations on feather and foam on which I could lay my pretty head. I also know the difference between a plunge pool, a lap pool, an infinity pool and, god forbid, a shared pool. (Hint: always go for the lap pool. The plunge is merely a token and hardly worth the supplement. I know this, as holiday brochure nerd I have cross-referenced) One thing about these lovely brochures is they rarely show the hotel surroundings. It’s pretty easy to take a picture of a deserted pink sandy beach in the Bahamas without showing the six other down-market time-shares crammed together on the cliffs behind you. And beware places that resort to showing fuzzy closeups of exotic fruit or desserts garnished with hibiscus. That mango will have been flown in from Miami and the restaurant overlooks the car park.

Check it out on Google Earth if you don’t believe me.

I once did find myself flush enough to take a luxury package break in an exotic land and started scouring the brochures. I got fed up with trying to find the reality behind the temptingly turned down hand woven coverlets, the rows of empty sun loungers with frilled parasols and the antique finish bedroom furniture. And if I saw another picture of a comatose young woman being pampered with hot stones/essential oils/deep tissue massage in ‘our Well Being Oasis’ I’d probably have screamed.

In the middle of this I saw a photograph of some laughing kids running out of a little schoolhouse, with a palm tree in the background framed by a clear blue sky. Somewhere real for a change. I had never heard of this place but I booked the package. It was delightful. There was luxury if you wanted it and planeloads of fruit flown in each day, and there was the requisite sun, sea and sand, but mostly it was ordinary people living ordinary lives in beautiful surroundings. They did turn the beds down of an evening but not everyone living there was a waiter or a chamber maid.

I’ve been back several times since under my own non-packaged steam at far more than 25 per cent off. But I’m not going to tell you where it is.

You’ll just have to scour the brochures. ■

It’s pretty easy to take ❝ a picture of a deserted pink sandy beach without showing the six other down-market timeshares crammed together on the cliffs behind you

❞

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JACOBIinterview

A MODEST

king of theatre

Ahead of a major production of King Lear coming to Bath Georgette McCready meets one of the country’s most respected actors, Sir Derek Jacobi

I

t is just two hours before Sir Derek Jacobi is due to give his all in a hugely acclaimed new production of King Lear and he is sitting on the side of the stage, casually dressed in a check shirt and swinging his legs.

Presumably, this most experienced actor at the age of 72 and celebrating 50 years in the profession, is feeling calm and relaxed ahead of the performance. But no, he shakes his head sadly: “I still get very frightened before I go on. But then I think you need a bit of fear to get you going.”

The Bath Magazine was among a handful of publications invited to a press preview of Shakespeare’s classic tragedy which opened at the Donmar Warehouse in London before going on tour. The production comes to the Theatre Royal in Bath from 5 April, but such has been the flurry of excitement and batch of rave reviews that all the available pre-book tickets for Bath were sold out before Christmas.

Having such effusive reviews must make this veteran of stage, screen and TV feel a little more confident?

“I don’t look at reviews,” insists Jacobi, “but if there are any bad ones you can bet a friend will always let something slip.

They’ll call you and say something like, ‘Well, I don’t know which production the Daily Mail can have seen as it wasn’t anything like the show we saw.’ Then you know.”

This production of Lear features a pared down, whitebleached wood box of a set and simple costumes that render the cast into timeless chess pieces heading toward their inevitable doom. There are no heavy velvet drapes to distract or muffle the language, so we are forced to concentrate on the words. The director, Michael Grandage, has worked in tandem with Jacobi to create this version of what can be a difficult play for audiences.

Jacobi explains: “We have played it like this so the words come first. An audience member may not understand every single word but they will know from the tone and the rhythm what the emotions are. Playing Lear can be exhausting. In the first half he is very angry and tormented and in the second he is mad.

I think he has a sort of Alzheimer’s. Lear is much more difficult to play than Hamlet, it’s a much more challenging role both physically and emotionally.”

This production of Lear comes in just short of three hours, with the king taking centre stage for much of the drama. But unlike some other staged versions, Jacobi’s Lear doesn’t rage and bellow his audience into exhausted submission. During the blasted heath scene, the winds crack their cheeks and blow, while he whispers under the roar of the storm.

Jacobi is joined by a stellar cast, including Gina McKee (of Our Friends in The North, The Forsyte Saga and Notting Hill) as the cold and calculating Goneril, and by a young actress, Pippa Bennett-Warner as Cordelia, who may be familiar to Bath audiences as she starred in Victory at the Theatre Royal recently.

The Theatre Royal audiences have always had a soft spot for Jacobi, who in turn has great affection for the city and the theatre.

“Oh yes!” he smiles at the mention of Bath, “I can’t wait to get back to Bath. I have so many wonderful evenings at the Theatre Royal.”

The Donmar’s national tour means putting on eight shows a week – no mean physical feat for a septagenarian. In addition to

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its stint at the Donmar, the tour visits Milton Keynes, Belfast, Glasgow and Llandudno as part of its commitment to reach as wide an audience as possible.

And it’s with this in mind that Michael Grandage has taken the bold step of filming live from the Donmar on 3 February and broadcasting simultaneously to cinemas all over the world, including the Little Theatre cinema in Bath.

The cast all admit that the double challenge of playing to a live audience and the cameras has put them under some considerable pressure.

After an evening as Lear, I ask him, playing a man whose kingdom and family are imploding around him, how does Jacobi shake off this heavy emotional burden and stop the old king’s bitterness, grief and madness weigh him down?

His blue eyes twinkle: “Dry white wine,” he says quickly.

There will be a limited number of standby and standing only tickets available for the Theatre Royal shows. Standby tickets will be available from noon on the day of the performance at the box office, price £6 and limited to two per person. Standing places are £4 each and are only available at the box office counter for cash. ■

Derek Jacobi as King Lear in the Donmar Warehouse production, directed

by Michael Grandage, which is coming to Bath in April

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FACEtheMUSIC

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FACEtheMUSIC Main photo: Mike Dilger Left to right, Life on Mars by David Bowie, Oasis and Wonderwall, and Leona Lewis’ Footprints in the Sand

The One Show is on BBC1 at 7pm, Mondays - Fridays

S

eldom will you meet such an enthusiastic and engaging character as Mike Dilger, made all the more interesting for being the current world record holder for the most snails on a human face. I can assure you this is true, as all 37 snails were filmed by the BBC for public consumption (excuse the pun) in 2009.

Mike is an ecologist and wildlife reporter with an impressive track record in natural history. The 43-year-old is best known as the wildlife presenter on the BBC’s The One Show, where his experience and affinity with the natural world have enthused even the sluggish of couch potatoes into taking a more active interest in the environment.

Originally from Stafford, Mike has lived in the west country for ten years and has worked on projects all over the world, accumulating along the way a specialist knowledge of British and south American wildlife. He has travelled extensively in Vietnam, Tanzania, Ecuador and Arctic Canada, speaks fluent Spanish and can get by in Vietnamese and Swahili.

His career began with a present from his parents. He smiles, “At the age of ten my parents gave me a book on birds – of the feathered variety – and I was hooked. I studied that book from cover to cover, 256 varieties of birds and that acted as a springboard to bird watching and eventually ecology.”

He is pretty resilient, having spent long periods abroad roughing it in remote locations and has survived septicaemia and malaria. His TV career started when he moved to Bristol to work for the BBC’s Natural History Unit on Springwatch and The Nature of Britain.

Unsurprisingly, he credits that national treasure Sir David Attenborough as being one of his influences, alongside his father and Nigel Brown, a tutor at university.

Birdsong and the sounds of the rainforest are as important to Mike as pop music is to Simon Cowell.

“As a teenager I loved dancing. You couldn’t stop me. My influences came from watching Top of the Pops, and the first record I bought was Dexy’s Midnight Runners Come on Eileen.

I still know all the lyrics today.”

Time and filming schedules permitting, Mike gives talks and continues to work at a frantic pace. Just a few hours before meeting me he had flown in from a far-flung corner of the globe.

Mike’s top ten choices: ● David Bowie Life On Mars I started collecting records from the age of ten. I am a great admirer of Bowie, his lyrics are stunning and this recording is a classic example. The imagery it conjures up is amazing. It also brings back memories of growing up with my parents and my two brothers. ● Electric Light Orchestra Mr Blue Sky Again it’s the lyrics which are outstanding; it’s upbeat, full of life and energy and gives me a feeling of the great outdoors.

Whenever I’m in an office environment or working in a TV studio this song helps me visualise that blue sky high above. ● Michael Jackson Don’t Stop Till You Get Enough My friends back in Stafford rated me as a fifth-gear dancer and I have lots of memories of going to clubs and dancing out of my

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skin. This record was a great favourite of mine; you just can’t stop moving when you hear it. On the odd occasion, and at weddings in particular, I still manage a few flip-ups not to impress, but just for the fun and enjoyment of it. ● Oasis Wonderwall They are one of my favourite bands of all time. I’ve seen them perform live and I just love their music. Alas they have the worst repartee with an audience I have ever seen, there is some foul language between the two brothers which is off-putting. Aside from that their music is brilliant. ● Tracey Chapman Talking About A Revolution This song was played every night on a university trip for the British Trust of Conservation Volunteers. It reminds me of the great time we had and how we managed to get people involved in wildlife. The trip was not just a one-off learning process, but something hopefully that will interest them the rest of their lives.

I love to listen to Radio 4’s ❝ Just A Minute. At the Rutland Bird Festival they have a version – Just A Linnet

❞

● Indigo Girls Least Complicated This choice is quite bizarre. A chap I met in Vietnam had a tape of The Indigo Girls. We were working in the rainforest and during the evenings listened to this over and over again. It was at this time I given the nickname ‘Britain’s Most Diseased Man’ having picked up a weird and wonderful collection of bugs. ● Joni Mitchell California This brings back different sets of memories. Like working with Bill Oddie and a certain doctor who treated rattlesnake victims.

Sunshine and fast living, driving a yellow open top Ford Mustang through California, are all conjured up in this fabulous number. ● Eva Cassidy Fields of Gold I’m an old softy. When I hear this track my eyes go a little prickly and I have been known to blub. This reminds me of my late father, also my mother who now lives in Bristol. They were both proud of me and gave me such encouragement. ● Chopin Waltz No 6 in D flat Known to everyone as The Minute Waltz. This record reinforces my love for radio and in particular Just a Minute. Whenever I can I try to listen to the show, I have great admiration for those people. At the Rutland Bird Festival, they have a version called Just A Linnet. ● Leona Lewis Footprints in the Sand Some people may be surprised to know that I am a fan of The X Factor. So I was thrilled to sit on the same sofa as Leona when she was a guest on The One Show. To me the title of this song evokes not only the travel, but the experiences and joy I’ve been so lucky to have in my career. ■

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CITYmuseums

MUSEUM magic Bath marks the completion of major restoration projects on three of its top museums with an exciting campaign called 2011 The Year of the Museum. Jackie Chappell reports

Main picture: the lives of some of the characters who visited the Temple are recreated in a film at the Roman Baths

A

lexander Sturgis, director of the Holburne Museum, can barely contain his enthusiasm as he leads a small group of media types in hard hats and big boots around the building site that is currently the museum.

For the Holburne is coming to the end of a major restoration and it is now possible to see the vision behind architect Eric Parry’s bold and beautiful extension. It will reopen in May when it will also become part of a tourist campaign that includes the city’s 17 museums.

“There’s a real sense of the moment, that everything that was promised is being delivered,” says Alexander, who is known as Xa. Not that the museum is ready just yet but, despite the dust and the noise of the drilling, it is already possible to appreciate just how it will look and function when it reopens.

One of the main aims of the extension is to reconnect the building to the gardens behind, as it was in the 18th century when Sydney Gardens were a pleasure park through which Jane Austen took her morning walk most days. At that time it was a hotel, only becoming a museum around 100 years ago.

Extensive use of ceramic and glass as materials in the new extension means that the building reflects its surroundings – the

People who know the museum ❝ will be astonished as 60 per cent of what will be on show has not been seen since the Second World War

❞

interior is light and airy, while outside the glass reflects the mood of the garden. Just now, in the sea of mud and machinery, it takes a leap of imagination to picture this, but the mottled surface of the greeny-grey ceramic ‘fins’ that run the length of the building blend with the shimmering of the trees.

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Left: artist’s impression of the new extension at the Holburne Museum which is due to reopen in May

A new café will open on to the gardens at ground level – with plans for it to remain open beyond museum opening hours – while on the top floor there will be a proper top-lit picture gallery. The original grand staircase has been repositioned so that the new spaces link directly to the original rooms.

From a generous landing space on the first floor you get views to Pulteney Street at the front and the gardens at the back. Turn to face the back of the old building from the new gallery and you get a sight of the beautiful old Venetian window and cornice. Elsewhere, the display space has been doubled in size so that there is room to show more of the collection founded by Sir William Holburne, and the original rooms have been given a major facelift. While the great room will be used to show off some of the collection in glamorous style, more private spaces will create a sense of intimacy and exploration.

Xa says: “There’s an exciting amount of new space. People who know the museum will be astonished as about 60 per cent of what will be on show has not been seen since the Second World War.”

Facing page, top, the Temple pediment is one of the Bath in 100 Objects exhibits; bottom a miniature ivory carving by Stephany and Dresch, about 1795, from the Holburne Museum

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CITYmuseums The American Museum celebrates its 50th anniversary with an exhibition called Marilyn, The Hollywood Icon.

This picture shows Marilyn Monroe on the set of Gentleman Prefer Blondes, 1953 ©Sunset Boulevard/Corbis.

While the Holburne is set to reopen on 14 May, the 2011 Year of the Museum campaign coordinated by Bath Tourism Plus kicks off from this month. The campaign is aimed at both local residents and the four million visitors from around the world who come to Bath each year.

Focused on the city’s 17 museums, special events and exhibitions are planned throughout the year. These include a new World Heritage audio trail, Bath in 100 Objects, as well as a World Heritage Day in April and Museums Night in May. Highlights of the year include two exhibitions at the Holburne – Peter Blake in May, and Gainsborough landscapes in September.

The Roman Baths has just completed a five-year £5.5m project that offers visitors the chance to “meet the Romans”.

Some of these characters have been brought to life, using details gleaned from the large collection of inscriptions, and then filmed on to a backdrop that tells the story of the Temple through the people who were there, from a priest to a Roman lady with her slave girl. You can also meet the stonemason Sulinus at work as you wander around.

Access has also been improved for the disabled, with wheelchair access to 60 per cent of the site, and there is also a new signing system for the deaf.

The American Museum has also come to the end of a major investment project and celebrates its 50th anniversary with Fab@50 and its Marilyn, The Hollywood Icon exhibition that opens in March, showing 20 of the star’s gowns and a trail of objects through the museum.

Following on the success of BBC Radio 4’s History in 100 Objects, Bath in 100 Objects will demonstrate the wonderful collection of quirky and historic objects that are housed in the 17 museums. There is also an MP3 audio tour of the city, put together by Dr Amy Frost, curator of Beckford’s Tower, that visitors can download free of charge and walk around the city at their own pace. ■ For more information on 2011 Year of the Museum visit: www.visitbath.co.uk WWW.THEBATHMAGAZINE.CO.UK

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100 1 Things you may (or may not) know about Bath, or have just forgotten...To celebrate the 100th issue of The Bath Magazine Georgette McCready (with a little help from some friends) looks beyond the everyday and the ordinary to the places, people and events that make Bath unique

T

o celebrate the 100th issue of The Bath Magazine we are looking at places, people and objects that help make the city unique. Some of the discoveries we’ve made are from Bath’s history, others are from its vibrant present. We’ve looked into the stories behind some of the sites that are so familiar to us that we’ve never questioned their existence, while some of the quirky and curious stories that have been told have had us saying: “Well, I never knew that.” We’re hoping that some of them will make you say just that too.

1...

Have you ever wondered where Bath Rugby gets its muddy kit washed? The ladies of Bath may be interested to know that the Speedy Wash laundrette in London Road is the official kit-washer for the club. Form an orderly queue . . .

Olly Barkley, main picture, is one of the stars of the 2011 Bath Rugby calendar, on sale at the club shop

The University of Bath is playing a key role in helping Britain’s Paralympic athletes prepare for the challenges of the London 2012 Paralympic Games. The university hosts training camps for more than 160 athletes to help them prepare to compete at the main event against athletes from all over the world. Britain’s Paralympic team came second in the medals table at the Beijing 2008 Paralympics Games with 102 medals, 42 of them gold. Among the Paralympic athletes who train fulltime in Bath are sprinter Ben Rushgrove, silver medallist in the T36 100m at the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games; Katrina Hart, T37 100m gold medallist at the Delhi 2010 Commonwealth Games, and swimmer Liz Johnson, who won gold in the SB6 100m breaststroke at the Beijing Games.

What does Bath have in common with the Great Barrier Reef, the Loire Valley, the Mountain Railways of India and the Walled City of Baku in Azerbaijan? They have all been designated World Heritage Sites of global significance by UNESCO.

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The classical columns and entablature of Bath’s architectural heritage

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When the suffragettes were fighting for the right to vote before the First World War, many of them were worn down by their battle against the authorities. The Blathwayt family in Batheaston provided a sanctuary for more than 60 suffragettes between 1909 and 1912. The women planted trees as a symbol of their struggle. Only one of those trees survives but historians at Bath Spa University are hoping to raise £4,500 to mark the centenary of the unique part Bath played in female suffrage, including planting trees.

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Escape the tourists and still enjoy the Bath spa experience.

Hire the beautifully restored Cross Bath for you and 11 friends and enjoy a private bathing session in an open air thermal bath.

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While Bath is generally delighted to welcome royal visitors, there was one VIP who used to inspire a sense of dread in the great and the good. Legend has it that Queen Mary, wife of King George V, had a covetous eye for a beautiful object. Consequently staff at the Mayor’s Parlour would hide his ornate clock before a royal visit, while the cabinets of merchandise at Jolly’s would be swept unnaturally bare of gloves and necklaces for fear that Her Royal Highness’s eye would be caught by something and etiquette then force staff to make a gift of the item.

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There’s no need to travel all the way to Liverpool on the Beatles trail. The Fab Four stayed in Bath at The Francis Hotel after playing at the Colston Hall in Bristol.

Enjoy a mop-top moment in the hotel’s revolving doors, still there today.

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The tiny back bar of The Old Green Tree pub in Green Street is a glorious throwback to the days of the oldfashioned snug bar, with its handful of tables and wood panelled walls.

Order a pint of real ale and a doorstep sandwich made with unapologetically rare roast beef and simply add good company for an entirely satisfactory lunch

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Curious vestiges of long gone institutions can be found dotted about all around the city.

One of our favourites is this at Gay’s Hill which reads: ‘Asylum for teaching females household works’

People in the Wind cast bronze sculpture (right) by Kenneth Armitage, 1950, also from the Victoria Art Gallery Created when Armitage was Head of Sculpture at Bath Academy. The long necks and movement of people were inspired by the stalks of a plant growing by his studio door in Corsham.

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We guarantee you’ll see Bath as you’ve never seen it before the first time you take to the hills to complete the Bath Skyline walk. Amazing views and with the added frisson of, ‘you can see our house from here.’

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Stand in Green Street and look up at the tower of St Michael’s Church, where the sharp-eyed will spot an owl perched there, unblinking. He was placed there many years ago to deter unwanted feathered visitors and is used by staff and customers at Ace Cameras and Optics to test the clarity of binoculars and telescopes.

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Bath Abbey provides hours of quiet contemplation of its many memorial plaques and statues. Visitors are often surprised to find that the Charge of the Light Brigade of 1854 which famously saw The Six Hundred riding into the Valley of Death, had survivors. One soldier from that ill-fated battle, Major Thomas Everard-Hutton, lived to tell the tale, eventually dying 42 years later in Bath, where his daughter had his life commemorated.

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Also in Bath Abbey is the be-wigged bust of the 17th century thrice married Sir Philip Frowde. Small children enjoy trying to spot the carved faces dotted around his memorial, while older ones will be fascinated by the fact that in place of pupils in Sir Philip’s stone-blind eyes, he has tiny carved skulls. He is reputed, as Postmaster of London during the Great Fire, not to have let a single letter perish in the blaze.

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The blazes that swept London during the great fires caused by the Blitz of the Second World War are the backdrop for bestselling author (of Fingersmith and Tipping the Velvet) Sarah Waters’ The Night Watch. The BBC came to Bath for its new adapation of the book, with sites in the city standing in for bomb-damaged London’s parks, buildings and canals.

The Night Watch is due on our television screens in April.

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Ladymead House Walcot Street, Bath (above) 1730, oil on canvas, by a British artist.

The gate is still there in Walcot Street but the building and landscape gardens have changed. This old view of Walcot can be found on the wall in the Victoria Art Gallery’s upper gallery.

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The earliest poem written in the English language, The Ruin, was composed in the 8th century AD after wandering through the ruined city of Bath, three centuries after the Romans left.

Bath is the site of the country’s only surviving Georgian lido. The Cleveland Pleasure Pools, enjoyed by generations of swimmers, was closed in the 1970s but an alliance has been formed to raise funds to re-open them for the enjoyment of all.

Bath’s leading local homeless charity, Julian House, works tirelessly to help the desperate men and women who find themselves on the streets and others who are at risk of becoming homeless. Over the last 12 months Julian House has been able to help more than 160 vulnerable individuals in their own homes and another 156 people were found safe, stable accommodation.

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Many local residents may know that astronomer William Herschel, in March 1781 using a home made telescope in his back garden at New King Street discovered the planet Uranus. But what is not so widely known is that he was also convinced that the deep shadows that he could see on the moon were forests and ‘numberless small circuses...the works of Lunarians and maybe called their towns’. Eminent members of the Royal Society were not impressed.

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The Eyptian obelisk in Queen Square isn’t an ancient artefact from the Land of The Pharoahs, but was designed by John Wood and paid for by Beau Nash, as a monument to Frederick, Prince of Wales, who never lived to be king.

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The Dolphin Inn, a popular canalside pub in Locksbrook Road, did not get its name from the intelligent sea-dwelling mammals. In the 18th century, ‘dolphins’ were mooring posts found on canal wharfs.

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23 – 43

Bathonians

The great, the good and the gifted have connections with Bath. While some are commemorated with plaques on buildings where they lived and stayed, others have earned their place in the record books or our record collections.

Roger Bannister, the athlete who broke the four minute mile world record, went to school at the City of Bath Boys’ School, while comedian Bill Bailey, the man who managed to be musical and amusing at the same time, was also educated in the city.

Actor Tony Head, known on our small screens variously as ‘the man in that coffee ad’, the Prime Minister in sketch series Little Britain, and most recently in Merlin, has made his home here, as did the late Leo McKern who played the irascible barrister Rumpole in the long-running TV series by John Mortimer.

And he is not to be confused with Irish musician Van Morrison, who is spotted regularly around the city. Midge Ure, Scots musician, ex-Ultravox and co-creator of the original charity single Do They Know It’s Christmas? has made the Bath area his adopted home, while ex-Genesis founder Peter Gabriel had left his mark on posterity by immortalising Solsbury Hill in a song and being a champion of World music.

Eighties duo Tears for Fears, Curt Smith, who grew up in Snow Hill, and Roland Orzabal, were formed in Bath. Another duo, Goldfrapp, Will Gregory and Alison Goldfrapp both had homes in Bath at one time, although Alison has lately departed for London, she returns regularly.

Another elusive character who seems to enjoy the anonymity of life in Bath is international shoe designer Manolo Blahnik, who is reported to enjoy sketching designs at his home here.

Life on Mars and Ashes to Ashes were massive television hits for the writing partnership of Ashley Pharoah and Matthew Graham, who live near Bath.

Their new series, Eternal Law, about a pair of angels, is set in York and due to be shown on ITV this year.

Jazz singers and Radio2 presenters – each with their own series – Clare Teal and Jamie Cullum, also have strong links with Bath, Clare having adopted it as her home and Jamie starting his career in the area.

Former MP turned Strictly Come Dancing Queen Ann Widdecombe was a pupil at the Bath Convent School, which is now part of the city’s magistrates courts and probation service.

Fans of the classic comedy Dads’ Army will recognise Arnold Ridley, the veteran actor who played Private Godfrey.

Hollywood stars have fallen for Bath’s charms, with Bond girl Jane Seymour and Leaving Las Vegas star Nicolas Cage both owning homes in the area at one time.

Rumours that Pirates of the Caribbean star Johnny Depp lives in the area have never been confirmed, which is why we’re not counting him as one of our resident celebs.

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Harry Patch, who died aged 111, came to symbolise the generation who had fought in the First World War – the war that was meant to end all wars. Harry was born in Combe Down in 1898, fought in the trenches at Passchendale but refused to talk about his war-time experience for many decades. During the Second World War he was among fire fighters who dealt with the aftermath of the Bath Blitz.

Portrait of Harry Patch by photographer Don McCullin.

Despite its rich architectural heritage Bath can boast only around 50 detached listed buildings.

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Bath writer Mark Sparrow, forced to spend months in traction, created a blog, Notes From A Hospital Bed, in which he photographed the daily offerings of NHS food. His campaign to improve the quality and nutritional value of the food offered to sick and injured people attracted the attention of the national media. Traction Man was released from hospital last summer but continues to campaign to improve NHS food.

Bath Central Library became the first UK library to host a wrestling match when it set up a ring in 2008 in a bid to attract more male readers. A fresh take on Lord of the Rings?

46

Every year the city’s poets are invited to compete in the Bard of Bath contest, to hold the Bardic Chair of Caer Badon and the ceremonial robes which come with the chair, for a year and a day.

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The Little Theatre cinema has been showing films for more than 70 years. Independent by nature, despite now being part of the Picture House company, it still shows foreign and arthouse films alongside the blockbusters. The Little has recently restored its two-seater sofas in the balcony, so cinema-goers can cosy up together.

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Bath’s smallest pub is the tiny Coeur de Lion in Northumberland Place. It has a fine Victorian stained glass window.

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Independent bookseller Nic Bottomley

The Daily Telegraph’s feature in praise of independent bookshops singled out two in Bath for special mention.

Nic Bottomley’s Mr B’s Reading Emporium and Topping and Company were in the newspaper’s national favourite top eight bookshops.

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Ralph Oswick, the alter ego of Lady Margaret and artistic director of the Natural Theatre Company worked as a mortuary assistant before his theatrical career took off.

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A landslide in Bath in 1881 destroyed 175 homes and shops.

Hedgemead Park, which is now on the site, was opened as a public park in 1889.

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A generation ago schoolchildren were given Shakespeare’s plays with all the ‘naughty’ bits cut out. The censorship of any unsuitable language was carried by the Bowdler family, principally Thomas and Harriet, who exercised their red pens in Bath in the 19th century.

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54 While the England team was competing unsuccessfully in the Euro 2004 Championships, a ramshackle party of middle-aged men from Bath were heading for Denmark to take part in the inaugural match between FC Roman Bath and Gadstrup Oldstars. What the game lacked in speed, skill and glamour it made up for with passion, good fellowship and a dogged determination to ignore the passage of time.

This June, the Danish players will be making their fourth visit to Bath. In charge of the England games will be ex-Premiership referee Steve Dunn while the official for the Danish matches is Kim Milton Nielsen, who sent off David Beckham in the World Cup in 1998. No red or yellow cards have been required in the series… so far.

The Danes have enjoyed their visits to Bath so much that some of the players will be bringing their wives this year, and they will surely make a bee-line for their favourite spot, the warm waters and views of Thermae Bath Spa. The Bath team is made up of teachers, doctors, businessmen, a plumber, writer, estate agent, tour guide, taxi driver and submariner. And true to its heritage, the English team has only triumphed once (Denmark 2008), but they are confident that 2011 will bring them their first victory on home soil.

55 Walcot has been host to many wild and wacky events over the years. This picture was taken at the Walcot Beano about 25 years ago, at a weekly cabaret held in Walcot Burial Chapel. As well as guest performers, local Walcotians were invited to take part. This is a scene from a reduced version of A Midsummer Night’s Dream with, from left: Ralph Oswick as Fairy Mustardseed and all the other fairies rolled into one, Louise White as Titania, Barbara Vaughan as Puck and a gold-painted Rick Knapp, founder of Walcot Reclamation, in a rare stage appearance as Oberon.

A fine collection of old enamel advertising signs from the 1920s and 30s can be seen on display in the workshops at the Larkhall MoT centre. The signs, which include classic Shell and Fry’s Chocolate designs, also include one from the Ministry of Trade’s Labour Office which once stood in Walcot Street.

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57 There is some grave humour in this epitaph in Bath Abbey to James Bassett who died, aged 40, ‘who in a moment of social pleasure recieved a fall which soon deprived him of life’. One is left wondering at the exact nature of his moment of social pleasure . . .

The 16th century Star Inn on the Vineyards at the end of The Paragon is a no frills pub, with no music, pool table or gastro menu, just good beer. Locals have dubbed the long wooden bench in one of the bars Death Row.

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Terry Prachett, best-selling author of the Discworld series of novels, was once a sub-editor at The Bath Chronicle.

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Bath is unofficial contender for the title City of Festivals, currently hosting more than a dozen festivals throughout the year, from the International Banjo Festival to the annual Janeite gathering of Austen fans.

Royal Victoria Park, which opened in 1830, was one of the earliest public parks outside London.

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Until the end of the 1960s the south of Bath suffered regularly from flooding, with houses and shops in Dolemeads, Corn Street and Milk Street worse affected. The floods from the River Avon were frequently so deep and widespread that local children nicknamed the Pavilion, Noah’s Ark, as it appeared to float on the waters.

The classic Gothic novel, Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley was partly written in lodgings in Abbey Churchyard. Although the idea for the manmonster was born out of a nightmare while in Geneva, Mary returned to England and lived for a while in Bath before the book was eventually finished and published.

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Look out for the spiked star of Bethlehem – better known as Bath Asparagus – in the hedgerows and verges around Bath this spring and summer. This incredibly rare plant, which has white starshaped flowers, was so-named because it used to be prevalent in the area and is believed to date back to Roman times.

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Bath had its own zoo 100 years ago.

Walter Payne and Jack Wallace stocked The Little Zoo on Lyncombe Hill with kangaroos, wallabies and birds they brought back from Western Australia. A wall enclosed the zoo to keep the kangaroos from leaping out. The venture only lasted a few years, closing in 1911.

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The Theatre Royal in Bath was the first theatre in the country to get a licence for couples to get married on stage.

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The Theatre Royal was also the venue for the launch of a musical penned by Sir Tim Rice which failed to become part of his canon of successes.

Blondel, the musical about a 12th century minstrel played by Paul Nicholas, opened in Bath in 1983 to packed houses, but closed not long after its opening in the West End.

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The American Museum at Claverton is the only museum of Americana outside the United States. It celebrates its 50th anniversary this year with a number of exhibitions and events, including Fab@50.

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Disaster occurred in Widcombe in the summer of 1877 when a crowd of around 200, hurrying to the nearby Bath & West Agricultural Show surged on to the wooden Ha’penny Bridge behind the railway station causing it to collapse. At least 50 people were injured as the bridge fell into the river below and 12 died.

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Theatre Royal witnessed the outrageous debut of the 19th century dandy Robert ‘Romeo’ Coates who had his audience howling with laughter when, during his death scene, he dusted the stage before laying down his hat as a pillow, taking several minutes to writhe about frantically before taking his last breath. One heckler shouted: “Die again, Romeo!” at which point he leapt to his feet to repeat his over-the-top performance.

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The legend of the Beast of Brassknocker Hill began in 1979 and has raised its head regularly since then.

It started when a couple found the bark of a mature tree ripped off by something powerful and reported that all the small birds and squirrels had fled the area. There was speculation that this was a chimpanzee, a gibbon or even a bear on the loose. More recent sightings include reports of a large black cat prowling the woods around the city.

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Suppliers of art materials, SJ Harris in Green Street can trace its history back 190 years and five generations. The original Harris business was in coffin making, before moving on to coach building and later picture frame carving, which is how the family diversified into paints and canvas sales.

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CELEBRATING100ISSUES Drinkers at Ye Old Farmhouse were startled to see American singer Nina Simone sitting quietly in the bar one evening. She had turned up for one of the pub’s legendary jazz sessions, but left as soon as she was told the star turn she’d hoped to see wasn’t on the bill that night.

Emporer Haile Selassie, Conquering Lion of the Tribe of Judah and Emporer of Ethiopia, lived at Fairfield House in Newbridge between 1936 and 1940, while he was in exile from his own country.

Bathonians turned out in their hundreds to give him celebrity status.

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73 Above: The Museum of East Asian Art, which has been in Bath for 17 years, has the largest collection of jade on display in the UK and is the only museum in the country dedicated solely to the arts and cultures of East and Southeast Asia.

Right: one of the two stone lions which used to guard the entrance to the Grand Pump Room Hotel (now demolished) and now sit in splendour in the grounds of Bath University’s Sion Hill Campus.

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There was a time when we ate every bit of the pig apart from the oink, and that is when Bath chaps were a popular dish. Cut from the jaw of the pig, the chaps were cured like bacon and provided a fatty but substantial meal.

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We are all able to point out to visitors which parts of Bath are Georgian, but finding buildings that are earlier than this is more of a challenge. Behind Broad Street, and visible from Milsom Place by the Moon & Sixpence, is a very rare 17th century timber frame wall.

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During the Second World War, when the nation was being urged to ‘Dig for Victory’ the lawns below the Royal Crescent were dug up and turned into allotments to raise fruit and vegetables for the city.

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The doyenne of British baking, Mary Berry, who recently appeared as a judge on the BBC series The Great British Bake Off, grew up in Bath and trained at the Bath College of Home Economics.

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The passage that connects Abbey Green with North Parade Buildings (adjacent to North Parade Passage) has no name and apparently never has had.

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The clock on Bath Abbey doesn’t belong to the church, but is owned by the local council, now Bath & North East Somerset but formerly Bath City Council which took responsibility for the city’s largest timepiece back in the 19th century.

Land-locked Bath might seem an unikely place for a shark attack, but some wit has installed this toothy monster protruding from the wall of a house in Entry Hill.

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Was this ornate gateway in Bathwick Street the entrance to lost pleasure gardens or merely to a builder’s yard?

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76 SPA stands for the Latin phrase Sanitas Per Aqua – health through water.

Where Marks & Spencer now stands was once the site of St James’ Church. Its final resting place is a ditch in Lyncombe Vale. The church’s monuments were thrown in first, then the rest of the broken rubble from the building. Ironically its final resting place is opposite a sign which reads No Tipping.

The Fashion Museum in the city has already anticipated Royal wedding fever ahead of April’s wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton. The museum has a collection of more than 200 wedding dresses from down the years and will be encouraging visitors to speculate: ‘What will she be wearing?’ The wedding dress exhibition opens, appropriately, on Valentine’s Day.

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Jigsaw, the chain of women’s fashion stores, which has a branch in the former Bath Post Office building, was originally founded by Bath couple John and Belle Robinson.

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Bath has a choral singing past that goes back to 1755 when Handel’s Messiah was first performed in the city. Bath Choral Society has loyally sustained the tradition by performing the Messiah every year for at least the last 50 years.

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In December 1974 Bath city centre suffered a terrorist attack when the Irish Republican Army (IRA) detonated a small bomb in The Corridor.

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91 Ralph Allen Cottages, built in 1740, were the first homes in the whole country which were built for industrial workers.

Ralph Allen had them built to house his stone masons, who worked in the nearby quarries.

The cottages were the forerunners to other philanthropic developments, such as Saltaire, Port Sunlight and Bournville. This row was destined for demolition until it was bought and lovingly restored, winning an award for the project in the 1980s

This year sees the 30th anniversary of the muchloved Bath Fringe Festival. The Spiegeltent, a rare example of a 20th century travelling mirrored dance hall will be one of this year’s venues and will be stationed on the Rec for the ten days of the Fringe.

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The ‘Curse Tablets’ found at the Roman Baths have the only surviving words written in British Celtic – but no-one knows exactly what they say.

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In May 1955 there were plans to perform a grand re-enactment of the Battle of Trafalgar as the centrepiece of that year’s Bath International Music Festival.

But it had to be cancelled due to unseasonal snow, driving blizzards and a mud-drenched Recreation ground.

If ever you should feel that Bath has become a victim of the ‘dumbing down’ culture, why not attend one of the 150 public lectures held annually at the Bath Royal Literary & Scientific Institute in Queen Square.

Speakers cover a wide variety of topics in science, philosophy, art and literature. A programme of 2011’s lectures is available from BRSLI to personal callers or by visiting www.brlsi.org

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The Vineyards in Bath take its name from the Roman vineyards which once occupied and flourished on these slopes.

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The contents of Crowe Hall in Widcombe were auctioned recently, with a 1st century Roman urn – part of the previous owner’s extensive private collection of treasures – fetching a staggering £445,250 when it came under the hammer. The Hall was formerly the home of chemist Sir Sydney Barratt who, during the Second World War, was an advisor to Sir Winston Churchill and his War Cabinet and was instrumental in the development of the Bouncing Bomb.

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Since the launch of The Bath Magazine in 2002, 99 issues have been delivered; that’s nearly 2.5 million magazines through the letterboxes of homes and businesses in the city and surrounding villages.

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In the first issue of The Bath Magazine, in October 2002, the magazine considered the issues of the day. Talking points at the time included the impact of tourism and late night revelry on the city centre. Bathonians were also concerned at levels of begging and vagrancy and the aesthetic merits of shop window posters. On a more positive note, there was a profile of the refurbished Tramshed in Walcot and speculation about its future use.

The Holburne Museum is a cornucopia of fascinating and historic art and artefacts.

This tiny carved hei-tiki is a traditional Maori pendant from New Zealand. They were heirlooms passed down from generation to generation. They were usually worn by women to assist with fertility and child birth. Nephrite is as hard as iron and it would have taken the carver several months to complete, using only a bow drill, sandstone saws and files.

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100 Special Thanks With thanks to: Cathryn Spence, Andrew Swift, Dan Brown of Bath In Time (www.bathintime.co.uk), Bath & North East Somerset Council’s Victoria Art Gallery and Fashion Museum, Bath Rugby, the Museum of East Asian Art, the guides at Bath Abbey and everyone else who contributed ideas and photographs

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WHAT’Son

Th ea tr e, o p er a a nd c o me dy Avenue Q, Wednesday 2 – Saturday 12 February, Monday – Thursday, 8pm; Fridays, 5.30pm & 8.30pm; Saturdays, 4pm & 8pm

BAD behaviour

After nearly five years of mischief, bad behaviour and political incorrectness, London’s funniest show is hitting the road.

The Tony Award-winning Avenue Q is the irresistibly charming musical about the lovably hopeless characters on a downtown New York street trying to make sense of life’s burning issues: love, work, relationships and, above all, just how are you supposed to pay the bills with a BA in English? Hilarious and entertaining, with a terrific batch of songs performed by a cast of hugely talented performers and puppets, Avenue Q is a musical like no other.

THE USTINOV THEATRE

© Tristram Kenton

Monmouth Street, Bath. Box office tel: 01225 448844 www.theatreroyal.org.uk

Avenue Q at the Theatre Royal

THEATRE ROYAL

Verdict, Monday 24 – Saturday 29 January, Monday – Wednesday, 7.30pm; Thursday – Saturday, 8pm; matinee: Wednesday, Thursday & Saturday, 2.30pm

Sawclose, Bath. Box office tel: 01225 448844 www.theatreroyal.org.uk

Aladdin, Until Sunday 23 January (please contact theatre for times) The amazing story of a boy, a lamp and a genie, Aladdin is the most popular of all recent pantomimes at the Theatre Royal Bath and returns to spread magic across the region.

Ricky Groves, best known for his role as Garry in EastEnders, stars as the evil Abanazar and may be the most lovable baddie ever. The ultimate panto dame, Chris Harris returns to play the magnificent Widow Twankey; beautiful Gemma Hunt from CBBC is on lamp-rubbing duties as Aladdin and the hilarious Jon Monie is Wishee Washee. This traditional family extravaganza is accompanied by some dazzling special effects, and the dancers from the Dorothy Coleborn School of Dance.

© Freia Turland

Aladdin

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Following the success of And Then There Were None and Spider’s Web, the Agatha Christie Theatre Company returns to Bath with a brand new production by the undisputed Queen of Crime. The Ali Bastian stage play of Verdict promises a riveting evening packed full of suspense and intrigue. An all-star cast is led

by Dawn Steele, Ali Bastian, Peter Byrne (Dixon of Dock Green), Elizabeth Power (EastEnders) and 60’s teen idol Mark Wynter.

Having been forced to flee persecution in his home country, the brilliant and idealistic Professor Karl Hendryk leads a content and morally upstanding life, caring for his invalid wife Anya and hiding his romantic feelings towards her sister Lisa. His life is turned upside-down however when the prospect of a life-saving treatment for Anya persuades him to take on a new pupil against his better judgement; the spoilt, conniving minx Helen who will stop at nothing to get her way. With murderous intentions in the air, it only remains to be seen what verdict will be delivered, and if justice will prevail.

White Men with Weapons, Friday 21 and Saturday 22 January, 8pm What happens to the minds of men who are forced to fight a senseless war in a foreign land? Armed only with razor-sharp satire, Greig Coetzee’s 13 characters will take you on a roller-coaster ride through the old South African Defence Force. Along the way Nelson Mandela walks free, forcing these punchdrunk, blood-shot soldiers to face their battle as the sun rises on a new country. White Men With Weapons has been performed worldwide and has an award tally of over 20 including an Edinburgh Fringe First and a Best Actor Award.

Like You Were Before, Friday 28 – Saturday 29 January, 8pm Using a video from the last day she lived in Canada five years ago, Deborah Pearson attempts to re-insert herself into the frame.

Like You Were Before is a show about moving forwards and backwards. It is a Herald Angel Winner 2010, Total Theatre Award for Innovation Shortlist 2010 and Arches Brick Award Shortlist 2010

Landscape & Monologue, Wednesday 2 – Saturday 19 February, Monday – Saturday, 8pm; matinees: Thursday & Saturday, 2pm Harold Pinter explores his lifelong fascination with the theme of memory in two vintage masterpieces. This is an exceptional opportunity to enjoy these exquisite one-act plays in a haunting and poetic double-bill. In Landscape, Beth remembers an idyllic day on the beach with a former lover, arranging flowers and walking into the water. Duff recalls his life as a cellarman, drinking stories, the day he told his wife he’d been unfaithful.

In Pinter’s elegantly wrought and dramatically powerful Monologue, a solitary man addresses an absent friend in an empty chair, dwelling on memories of old times when the two may have shared a lover. This is a rare chance to see Chris Goode direct another playwright’s work.

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WHAT’Son RONDO THEATRE St Saviours Road, Larkhall, Bath.

Box office tel: 01225 463362 www.rondotheatre.co.uk

Robin Hood and His Merry Men, Wednesday 12 – Sunday 16 January, Wednesday – Saturday, 7.30pm; matinee: Saturday and Sunday, 2.30pm Here are your favourite panto characters in all their traditional style and glory. While good King Richard is away at the Crusades his evil brother Prince John is stealing his kingdom with the help of the wicked Sheriff of Nottingham. The Sheriff, along with Lady and Gaga are taking every penny from the poor. They need a hero to save the day. Bath Drama, Tracy King’s dancers, live music and Daisy the cow all bring you a jolly romp through the middle ages.

BRISTOL HIPPODROME St Augustine’s Parade, Bristol. Book tickets on tel: 0844 847 2325 or visit: www.bristolhippodrome.org.uk

Hanging by a Thread, Saturday 29 January, 8pm

A group of ordinary women do something extraordinary and spark a global phenomenon when they persuade one another to pose for a charity calendar with a difference. Based on an inspiring true story, Calendar Girls is quirky, poignant and hilarious. Starring Lynda Bellingham, Jennifer Ellison, Trudie Goodwin, Ruth Madoc, Bernie Nolan, Lisa Riley, Danielle Lineker, Diana Moran, Bruno Langley and Joe McGann.

ristol’s Slapstick Festival returns for its seventh year – bringing laughter and hilarity to brighten up the dark early days of the new year. This year, the festival welcomes some very special guests, plus, of course, the much-loved regular festival patrons to celebrate some of the very best moments in silent and visual comedy. Highlights include:

B

MISSION THEATRE 32 Corn Street, Bath. For all ticket information contact the theatre on tel: 01225 428600 or visit: www.missiontheatre.co.uk

The Visit, Tuesday 25 – Saturday 29 January, 7.30pm; matinee: Saturday, 2.30pm Next Stage Theatre Company invites you to The Visit, in which Duerrenmatt draws us into Guellen, a small town somewhere in Europe for a sinister turn of events.

MICHAEL TIPPETT CENTRE

Macbeth, Wednesday 2 – Sunday 6 February, 8pm

Bath Spa University, Newton Park, Bath.

Tickets from Bath Festivals Box Office on tel: 01225 463362 or visit: www.universitytheatre.org

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Rob Brydon

Calendar Girls

A yarn knitted from old jumpers worn torn and reborn into characters landscapes and a misshapen story. Cared for by her daughter an old woman has knitted herself into her bed which has a powerful and surprising will of its own. Using puppetry, object animation, performance and music, this is theatre that is both playful and hypnotic.

Witches, ambition, murder and madness.

Shakespeare’s tale of one man’s descent into madness and another’s quest for revenge truly gives meaning to the word ‘tragedy’. As the stories of the houses Macbeth and Macduff unfold, are the witches meddling or merely watching as one man’s freewill shows the darker side of human nature?

27 – 30 January

Calendar Girls, Wednesday 26 January – Saturday 5 February, 7.30pm; matinees: 27 and 29 January and 2 and 5 February, 2.30pm

The Fix, Wednesday 26 – Friday 28 January, 8pm A hard-edged but comic commentary on the American political machine, The Fix opens with the presidential candidate dying unexpectedly while with his mistress. At the funeral, his widow encourages her brother-inlaw to mentor her son so that he might follow in his father’s footsteps and make a run at the presidency. The scheming duo will stop at nothing to see him elected. The Fix will convince you of the power of spin in American politics past, present, and future. The Fix features a wonderful Broadway score with rock and gospel influences, and comic lyrics from the writers of Witches Of Eastwick.

SLAPSTICK FESTIVAL

Bath Spa University, Newton Park Campus, Bath. Tickets from Bath Festivals Box Office on tel: 01225 463362.

Puccini’s Suor Angelica and Gianni Schicchi, Wednesday 26 – Saturday 29 January, 7.30pm Students from Bath Spa University’s Department of Music provide a packed evening of operatic comedy and tragedy featuring two of the one-act operas from Puccini’s Il Trittico.

UNIVERSITY THEATRE

Hippolytus: Re-framed, Thursday 20 – Saturday 22 January, 7.30pm A radical reinvention of Euripides’ classic tragedy of lust versus purity.

Chaplin: Unknown Chaplin with Kevin Brownlow, Thursday 27 January, 5.40pm at the Watershed To open Slapstick 2011, Kevin Brownlow – Academy Award winning film historian, and co-creator with David Gill of the revolutionary 1993 three-part TV documentary, Unknown Chaplin, presents yet more rare unknown footage of Chaplin. This unprecedented event is the first of four shows dedicated to the Little Tramp, arguably the most iconic figure of the movies.

Slapstick Silent Comedy Gala, Friday 28 January, 7.30pm at Colston Hall A star-studded evening of classic comedy and live entertainment with special guests Bill Oddie, Ian Lavender, Barry Cryer, Neil Innes and Paul McGann. Early booking recommended.

Barry Cryer’s Top Comedy Moments, Saturday 29 January, 8pm at Bristol Old Vic Barry Cryer has worked with and written for more comedy talent than almost any other living British comedian. In this event, he recalls, reminisces, and recounts anecdotes and tall tales on a trip down memory lane working with some of the greats of visual comedy. All this, in conversation with the inimitable comedian and actor Rob Brydon.

For booking information and a full programme of events, visit: www.slapstick.org.uk

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WHAT’Son

Mu s i c

Nicola Benedetti

O th e r e ve nt s STRICTLY DANCING

WINE DINNER

Bristol Hippodrome, St Augustine’s Parade, Bristol. Book tickets on tel: 0844 847 2325 or visit: www.bristolhippodrome.org.uk

The Bath Priory, Weston Road, Bath. Cost: £130 per person. To book contact tel: 01225 331922 or visit: www.thebathpriory.co.uk

Brendan Cole: Live and Unjudged, Thursday 20 January, 7.30pm

Wine Dinner with Executive Chef Michael Caines, Thursday 27 January

An up close and personal dance spectacular, this show is full of high energy music, dance and entertainment. This intimate production promises a dazzling night of dance with a difference. The dancers and 14 piece band will have you dancing in your seat, performing to music and songs of some of the greatest legends and contemporary artists in the world of music. Don’t miss your chance to see some of the magic created on Strictly first hand by one of its most charismatic choreographers and performers.

Join Michael Caines for the first of four seasonal wine dinners to be held at The Bath Priory in 2011. Michael is considered one of the UK’s most brilliant chef’s, with a focus on cuisine that is European in influence, but created using some of the best produce in the West Country. This superb evening will involve one of Michael’s unique four-course menus, which will be accompanied by some of the finest wines.

WILTSHIRE MUSIC CENTRE

KOMEDIA EVENTS

Ashley Road, Bradford on Avon, Wiltshire.

Box office tel: 01225 860100 www.wiltshiremusic.org.uk

Komedia, 22-23 Westgate Street, Bath. Box office tel: 0845 293 8480. www.komedia.co.uk

European Union Chamber Orchestra, Sunday 30 January, 7.30pm

Faulty Towers the Dining Experience, Saturday 15 and Sunday 16 January, Saturday, 2pm; Sunday, 2pm and 8pm

The EUCO with the brilliant young violinist Nicola Benedetti present Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, Stavinsky’s Concerto in D for string orchestra and Britten’s Simple Symphony.

RONDO THEATRE St Saviours Road, Larkhall, Bath.

Box office tel: 01225 463362 www.rondotheatre.co.uk

That’s Me on the Left, in the Parka, Saturday 22 January, 8pm Herald Angel Award-winning performer Bob Karper has taken stories from the lives of his friends, his American family and strangers he’s met, and mixed them with film, slides and live original music, played on a self-built piano.

ST MICHAEL’S WITHOUT Broad Street, Bath. Cost: £17.50. To book, contact tel: 07834 266 664.

ADULT LEARNING

Loosely-scripted, pitch-perfect ‘13th episode’ of the TV series which develops the characters made famous by John Cleese, Prunella Scales and Andrew Sachs. A site-specific, total immersion piece of comedy theatre performed in a restaurant: the audience are the diners and the cast their warring waiters. Face-aching fun as well as a fabulous three-course River Cottage meal.

Ministry of Burlesque return with their provocative blend of sophisticated variety, historical chic and contemporary cabaret, all delivered with 21st century sass. Expect frisky burlesque, sultry sirens and comic-cabaret masters. Dig out your frock and finery and get ready for high camp comedy, risqué songs and Victorian villainy.

The City of Bath Bach Choir’s annual Choral Workshop with internationally renowned choral teacher Nigel Perrin. Perform Mendelssohn’s Elijah from scratch in a day; all voices welcome. Early booking is recommended.

BRISTOL HIPPODROME St Augustine’s Parade, Bristol. Book tickets on tel: 0844 847 2325 or visit: www.bristolhippodrome.org.uk

Three Phantoms, Sunday 6 February, 7.30pm

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Foreign Languages courses The Foreign Language Centre specialises in teaching languages to adult learners, offering day and evening courses in Arabic, French, German, Greek, Italian, Japanese, Mandarin, Chinese, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish.

The tutors are all native speakers and are qualified and experienced.

Ministry of Burlesque’s High Tease, Friday 28 January, 8pm

Choral Workshop, Saturday 29 January, 9.45am – 4.30pm

Two former, and the current Phantom of The Opera perform hits from shows that have made them the toast of the West End and of course, all your Phantom favourites.

The Foreign Languages Centre, University of Bath, Claverton Down, Bath. For further information contact tel: 01225 383991 or visit: www.bath.ac.uk/flc

Ministry of Burlesque’s High Tease

MUSEUM LECTURES BRLSI, Queen Square, Bath. Tel: 01225 312084. For further information visit: www.brlsi.org

Perspectives on America, Select dates from January – May BRLSI and the American Museum in Britain in Bath are collaborating on a series of lectures and exhibitions, starting this month, to mark the 50th anniversary of the museum’s founding. The talks will cover a broad range of subjects from painting, literature and native American heritage to music, architecture and government. The first talk will be given by Professor David Timms, former Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Bath Spa University, on Wednesday 12 January and will question whether Henry James was truly an American author, or is better described as transatlantic or universal. On Monday 31 January, the new director of the American Museum, Dr Richard Wendorf, will give an illustrated talk on the museum’s first 50 years. The Perspectives on America series comprises 18 lectures and runs until 17 May.

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ARTSandEXHIBITIONS NICK CUDWORTH: PAST, PRESENT AND BEYOND Nick Cudworth Gallery 5 London Street, Bath.

Tel: 01225 445221 www.nickcudworth.com

Throughout the year The new year sees Nick showing images from his Comedian Series.

The subjects were chosen because they had been favourites of Nick for many years.

Theo Booth, Another Slice

ANOTHER SLICE OF THEO BOOTH

LESLIE GLENN DAMHUS Nick Cudworth, Les Dawson

Rostra & Rooksmoor Galleries 5 George Street, Bath. Tel: 01225 448121. www.rostragallery.co.uk

8 – 26 January An exhibition of recent paintings from Theo Booth. Using a sultry palette and his trademark Deco style, Theo paints positive, warm, sensual women. More often than not they are enjoying to the fullest such pleasures as live music, afternoons in patisseries or immersed in a good book with a favoured pet. With annual shows of his work both at Rostra & Rooksmoor Galleries and in London, collectors are eager to see what new influences have informed his latest oeuvre.

Black Swan Arts Bridge Street, Frome, Somerset.

Tel: 01373 473980. www.blackswan.org.uk

8 – 30 January In keeping with Renaissance tradition, Leslie Glenn Damhus’ paintings capture the spirit symbolism.

Her childhood home in Pennsylvania was an apartment directly above that of the renowned artist Paul Bransom, who illustrated the 1913 edition of Kenneth Grahame’s Wind in the Willows.

He taught her how to draw animals, and this influence, coupled with her passion for Renaissance religious painting, can be seen in her present work.

The paintings are made in oil on wooden panels.

NIGEL RICHARDS: FROM ABOVE

The Royal Photographic Society Fenton House, 122 Wells Road, Bath.

Tel: 01225 325733 www.rps.org

17 January – 25 February This exhibition from Nigel Richards MA ARPS comprises images taken from a successful MA photography project which researched the concept of taking photographic images exclusively looking down and the effect of this perspective. The images draw inspiration from the photographers of the New Movement in photography of the 1930s where the development of the miniature hand-held camera allowed the flexibility to capture images from previously inaccessible locations and unusual angles.

■ From 8 – 29 January, Edgar Modern will be showing a mixed exhibition with new works from Jeremy Annear, Orlando Broom, Becky Buchanan, Jessica Cooper RWA, Henrietta Dubrey, David M Martin, Mungo Powney and Ronald F Smith.

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Leslie Glenn Damhus

ROYAL INSTITUTE OF PAINTERS IN WATER COLOURS Gallery LeFort Fine Art 1 Margaret’s Buildings, Bath.

Tel: 01225 428347 www.gallerylefortfineart.com

Until 13 January Once a year the RI invites submissions from artists all over the country in their bid to promote and exhibit artistic excellence using a water soluble media on a paper based support. Paintings in acrylic, gouache, watercolour and mixed media all qualify for submission.

With Her Majesty the Queen as their patron and HRH The Prince of Wales as an honorary member, the Society has had a royal appointment since 1885. Members of the RI have all been subjected to a rigorous selection procedure by the RI council before being democratically voted in by the full membership at the Institute’s AGM. For the first time in its history the RI comes to Bath to exhibit at Gallery LeFort. The exhibition will include smaller works from some 29 members of the institute.

Moira Huntly, Rupit Catalonia

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ARTSandEXHIBITIONS MIXED EXHIBITION

HARRIS AND MUSSI: FIFTY FIFTY

MIXED EXHIBITION

Victoria Art Gallery

By Pulteney Bridge, Bath. Tel: 01225 477233 www.victoriagal.org.uk

12 February – 3 April

Andy Warhol, Chairman Mao

Adam Gallery 13 John Street, Bath. Tel: 01225 480406. www.adamgallery.com

4 – 24 January An exhibition of works by selected artists including Andy Warhol’s iconic Chairman Mao. A great opportunity to see this level of work in Bath.

CLASS WARGAMES PRESENT

Matthew Harris and Cleo Mussi have worked in parallel and close proximity for 25 years. Both originally training in textiles at Goldsmith’s College, they share a common language involving the construction of whole images from fragments of cloth, paper and reclaimed ceramic.

This recent body of work, based on a trip to Japan, continues their exploration of materials and processes.

KAREN WALLIS: VIEWS AND OBSERVATIONS

Victoria Art Gallery

By Pulteney Bridge, Bath. Tel: 01225 477233 www.victoriagal.org.uk

12 February – 3 April Karen’s recent paintings and drawings celebrate everyday things which are often overlooked. These landscapes, still lifes and interiors with people are executed in a traditional style influenced by Rembrandt and Edward Hopper. Visitors to the show are invited to create their own views and observations for an online exhibition.

Karen Wallis, Sandgate bathroom

Class Wargames, Sculpture Gallery

ICIA Art Space 2 University of Bath, Claverton Down, Bath.

Tel: 01225 386777.

19 January – 25 February Class Wargames is a collective of artists, academics and activists. Their multimedia exhibition includes a film treatise on revolutionary strategy in the cybernetic age inspired by Debord’s cut and paste movie-making techniques.

CAROLINE HYMAN The Royal Photographic Society Fenton House, 122 Wells Road, Bath.

Tel: 01225 325733 www.rps.org

Until 13 January Limited edition hand coloured botanical images and monochrome prints.

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Simon Garden, In or Out

Beaux Arts 12 – 13 York Street, Bath.

Tel: 01225 464850 www.beauxartsbath.co.uk

Until 24 January New paintings by Simon Garden, carved stone and cast bronze sculptures by Halima Cassell, highlights and islands landscape oil paintings by Chris Bushe and ceramics by Jane Muir.

■ Life in Victorian Bath continues at the Victoria Art Gallery until 2 February, showcasing works that illustrate the architecture, politics and industries of the Victorian period.

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CITYarchive

A TALE

of guinea pigs

Cathryn Spence looks at the extraordinary life of an Italian street seller who became the best known man in Bath

I

was brought up on Michael Bond’s Olga da Polga books, and as a direct result have consistently kept pet guinea pigs since I was seven years old, although I do now ‘say’ they are my daughter’s. It’s no surprise then that at some point I had to write about Guinea Pig Jack.

No ordinary street-seller, Dominico Conio was described as “the best known man in Bath” in 1906. His patch was Manvers and Pierrepont streets where he sold newspapers, mainly The Bladud and the Bath Chronicle. Of course, what set him apart were the 20 or so guinea pigs he kept. Few people knew Conio by his given name, but he was recognised internationally as Guinea Pig Jack.

He was said to hail from Chiavari, a village near Genoa, and yet his mysteriousness was intensified not only by his lack of English, but also by his marked colloquial Italian. When Conio was interviewed for The Bath Herald in 1898, he insisted he had learnt the English language within three years of arriving here, although the journalist still struggled to fully comprehend ‘Jack’s’ life-story.

He talked about travelling around Britain before settling in Bath, and had particularly fond memories of friends he had made in Portsmouth. When asked how long he had been in Bath he replied 20 years, but everyone knew that he had been here far longer. Further investigation revealed that ‘Jack’ could not count beyond 20, and so anything that happened in the past could only ever be 20 years ago. For the same reason, he did not know his age. Some guessed at 90 but, in 1906, Laura Chesshyre wrote to The Bath Herald from New Zealand, that she had met ‘Jack’ when she arrived in Bath in April 1848, she guessed him to have been about 16 years old. ‘Jack’ was therefore only in his mid-70s when he died.

Contemporary descriptions regularly refer to “his cheery though weatherworn face, surmounted by an antiquated peaked cap, also weatherworn, a jacket and trousers evidently not made to measure” and his diminutive figure. He was described as dressing in a bright red soldier’s coat, and contemporary depictions do show him in a red waistcoat. It was thought that his father had been a solider and ‘Jack’ himself reputedly returned to Italy occasionally to fulfil his national service obligations; although his reduced stature meant he was never conscripted.

He lived for at least 40 years, at 84 Avon Street. This property was a lodging house run by Sarah and Antonio Pieroni, where ‘Jack’ recommended the large fire they kept and the glass of beer that they included with his board. Each day he went to work with a wire-fronted wicker basket hanging by his side, contained within were two or three guinea pigs. According to GH Reade in The Gentlewoman of 1907, “he looked at you with twinkling eyes, hand on his basket, heart in your pockets”. To passers-by he offered to “make you perform guinea-pig?”. His trick was to retrieve a guinea pig from the small basket and get it to play dead –“Johnny die queek”; he would then revive them with his cry, “Wake up. Bobby comin’” – all for a ha’penny. He was particularly remembered for always being courteous whether you gave him a halfpenny or not. His phrase - “Much oblige to you” – appears as the caption to one of the portraits in the collection of the Victoria Art Gallery.

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Rumours abounded that ‘Jack’ was actually very wealthy – a king’s ransom stashed under his mattress. He died however in poverty, and so the story goes that when he thought he was going to die in the early 1900s, he gave his fortune to the Catholic Church. When he regained his health, he was unable to recover his money. This, according to the word on the street, was why the priests took such good care of him when he fell ill again in October 1906. Mrs Mary Ann Wall, a fried fish deliverer from St. John’s Place, and Sarah Pieroni’s niece, nursed him throughout the winter, but Conio died of acute bronchitis in January 1907. Wall kept one of his guinea pigs as a memento of her friend, and paid for his funeral. He is buried at the Catholic cemetery at Perrymead.

The patch he worked meant ‘Jack’ was the first sight that greeted visitors to Bath coming from the railway station. And, “to the returning visitor or resident to miss Jack was to lose sight of a well-known and familiar landmark”.

His celebrity status is revealed by the international coverage of this strange and quirky character in magazines, newspapers,

Main picture: Guinea Pig Jack in c1909 photograped by George Love Dafnics, and right, a contemporary watercolour of Guinea Pig Jack, currently on display at the Victoria Art Gallery

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❝

His trick was to retrieve a guinea pig from the small basket and get it to play dead – ‘Johnny, die queek’ he would then revive them with his cry, ‘Wake up. Bobby comin’

❞

and at least one novel; he was even featured in the American Harper’s Magazine. Not to mention the outpouring of column inches given over to his obituaries.

The Victoria Art Gallery holds three portraits of him; he was photographed, featured on a postcard, and remarkably a porcelain figurine was also made of Guinea Pig Jack. A sketch,

by CM Hodges, appeared in the Bath and County Graphic in April 1897, the caption read: “An Italian ‘Fancier’ in Bath”.

When ‘Jack’s’ absence from Bath’s streets was noted at the end of 1906, a fan – known only as H. W. B. – sent a long poem he had written about this much loved Bath personality to The Bath Herald.

The scenario was based on an imaginary conversation between a visitor and a local policeman: Who is that quaint little man down the street, sir?

He with the coat that’s too big for his back?

Not many folk that I happen to meet, sir, Haven’t some knowledge of Guinea Pig Jack.

No one that I know can tell much about him, Yet it’s a fact beyond question or doubt, This wouldn’t be just the same place with him, So many years he’s been hanging about…

This is the road as you see, to the station – He soon found out its peculiar worth…

One thing’s as certain as fog in November, When his time comes there’ll be many regrets Each one who knew him will “kindly remember” Guinea Pig Jack, with his papers and pets.

Not bad for an impoverished keeper of guinea pigs. ■ A portrait of Guinea Pig Jack, together with over 100 19th century views of the city, Victorian posters, remarkable spa equipment and oddities such as truncheons and leg irons, is on display in Life in Victorian Bath at Bath & North East Somerset Council’s Victoria Art Gallery, Bath, until 2 February.

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HOLIDAYhomes

TIME FOR A

staycation January is the ideal time to browse through brochures and websites in search of the perfect holiday home

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enting a holiday cottage no longer means putting up with trails of sand in the bath and only a dog-eared paperback for entertainment when it rains.

As the trend has grown for taking a staycation – avoiding the need to spend hours at airports and keeping one’s carbon footprint low – has created in turn a new class of holiday home.

Companies such as Farm & Cottage Holidays provide a wide choice of luxurious homes in Dorset, Devon, Somerset and Cornwall.

Some have four poster beds, others a swimming pool, while for rainy days some have plasma TV and provide a basket of logs to burn on an open fire.

Choose from cosy cottages for two to houses large enough for a family reunion. Some take pets, while others welcome children. ■ Farm & Cottage Holidays has around 1200 properties on its list and constantly updates the properties on its website.

Visit: www.holidaycottages.co.uk or tel: 01237 459888.

Above: a penthouse apartment with sea views from its private balcony. Top right, the romantic Riverbank Boathouse near Bideford has a four poster bed and fishing from right outside the cottage.

Right: Chapel Hill in Cornwall sleeps 12 and has a hot tub for the adults and a trampoline in the garden

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FAMILYfun New year and a chance to explore Chinese culture

The Tin Soldier

Events and Activities FAMILY THEATRE The egg, Sawclose, Bath. Box office tel: 01225 448844 or visit: www.theatreroyal.org.uk

Alice Through the Looking Glass, Until Sunday 9 January (contact the theatre for times) Join Alice on her quest to become a queen as she encounters the worrisome Red Queen talking flowers, Humpty Dumpty and the original terrible twins. A thrilling version of a classic story for family audiences.

The Snow Queen Thursday 13 – Saturday 15 January (contact the theatre for times) Hotbath Productions, which consists of stduents from the City of Bath College, bring this classic Hans Christian Anderson fairy tale to life. The Snow Queen rules her magic kingdom with a heart of ice. What will happen when a shard of ice pierces Cei’s eye and can his best friend Gerda make the hazardous journey to save him? Suitable for children aged six and over.

Storm in a Teacup Saturday 22 January (11.30am and 3pm) Set in a lighthouse, Storm in a Teacup, tells the story of a tea party, a storm and the growth of friendship. Suitable for children from the age of four.

The Tin Soldier Friday 28 – Saturday 29 January (contact the theatre for times) The Hans Christian Anderson story of the Steadfast Tin Soldier and his friends on a mysterious and dangerous journey in which they are chased by an evil goblin, threatened by a monstrous rat and swallowed by a fish.

Suitable for children aged seven and over.

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FAMILY THEATRE Chapel Arts Centre, Lower Borough Walls, Bath. Box office tel: 01225 461700 or email: info@chapelarts.org

In the weeks running up to the Chinese New Year on 3 February, heralding the start of the Year of the Rabbit, there are a number of family events exploring different aspects of Chinese art and culture.

At the Museum of East Asian Art there is a family calligraphy workshop on Saturday 15 January from 2pm – 4pm for adults and children to learn some basic Chinese calligraphy. The workshop will teach the skills to create a traditional Spring Couplet ready to hang up for the Chinese Lunar New Year. Places on the workshop need to be booked at least five days in advance.

The museum is also inviting familes to root about in their attics and cupboards and bring their curious objects along to see if the museum’s experts can identify them. So if you think that vase on the mantelpiece is a rare piece from the Ming dynasty, take it along to the museum on Wednesday 26 January between 10am and 12.30pm.

Nearly The Goat Saturday 15 January, 2pm and 4pm Riding Lights brings us a Christmas story with a twist. Somewhere between the tinsel and the cabbage leaves, the crackers and the parsnip peelings, comes the story of Nearly The Goat.

An extraordinary range of puppet skills brings this unusual seasonal adventure starring a goat to life.

ICE SKATING SPECTACLE The Bristol Hippodrome, St Augustine’s Parade, Bristol. Box office tel: 0844 847 2325 or visit: www.bristolhippodrome.org.uk

Peter Pan on Ice, Thursday 13 – Sunday 16 January, Thursday, Friday and Saturday, 7.30pm; matinees: Saturday and Sunday, 2.30pm The Russian Ice Stars’ spectacular adaptation of JM Barrie’s story, Peter Pan. One of the best loved children’s tales, this colourful production tells the story of the little boy who never grew up and his adventures on the island of Neverland with Wendy Darling, her brothers, Tinkerbell, the Lost Boys and their enemy, the fearsome Captain Hook. Brilliant skating on real ice complements an original musical score

by Italian composer Silvio Amato for a spectacular show.

DISCOVER WILDLIFE Prior Park Landscape Gardens, Bath. www.nationaltrust.org.uk

Autumn Wildlife, until 6 February 2011, 11am – dusk See how many different types of wildlife you can spot in the garden with the family wildlife spotter trail (£1.50).

Young visitors are invited to make their own rabbit costumes at home and wear them to the Museum of East Asian Art on Sunday 6 February to celebrate the Year of the Rabbit. All day from 11.30am there will be music, dance, face painting and martial arts demonstrations.

Also marking the Year of the Rabbit, the Wiltshire Music Centre in Bradford on Avon is hosting a family concert and workshops on Saturday 29 January.

From 4pm – 5pm there is the chance to learn ribbon and fan dancing (props are provided), or join a Chinese music workshop (bring your own percussion instrument). Adults can learn Chinese songs and melodies at the same time.

From 5.15pm the centre will be selling Chinese food, and the evening culminates in a family concert by The Silk & Bamboo Ensemble from 6.30pm.

For the Museum of East Asian Art’s full listings of events and exhibitions, visit: www.meaa.org.uk. To book tel: 01225 464640 or email: info@meaa.org.uk. To contact the Wiltshire Music Centre, visit: www.wiltshiremusic.org.uk or tel: 01225 860100.

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FAMILYfun DANCE AND MUSIC Sessions held in Bathford Parish Hall, Bathford.

For further information or to book a place, contact Amy on tel: 01225 852889 or email: amy@toddlerworkshop.co.uk

Winter skating

Toddler Workshop, Tuesdays, 9.30am – 10.30am or 10.45am – 11.45am; Thursdays, 9.30am – 10.30am

Never to early to learn

LEARN A LANGUAGE

A lively medley of dance, drama, music and movement for toddlers and pre-school children aged 18 months+. Imaginative sessions designed to encourage and develop children’s creativity, language and expression. Unusual themes, interesting props, fun songs and music bring stories to life.

Languages United, 66 Walcot Street, Bath.

Tel: 01225 580058, visit: www.languagesunited.co.uk

THEATRE SCHOOL

Saturday Morning Kids Club

Tracy King Theatre School Saturday mornings, 9.30am – 1pm

It’s never too early to learn a new language and these Saturday morning sessions develop skills through games, crafts, songs and videos.

TODDLER SESSIONS Bath Central Library, The Podium, Bath

Baby Bounce & Rhyme, Friday 7 January, 11am – 11.30am Bring your little ones along for a Baby Bounce and Rhyme session aimed at the under threes.

Tracy King Theatre School, Grove Street, Bath.

Tel: 07990 527299

Bring out your child’s talent for singing, acting and dancing and give them the skills and confidence they need for the stage, screen and everyday life. The theatre school, established in 2001, takes children from six to 17. Each 12week term concludes with a performance.

Classes are split into age groups and cover the main areas of performance, including jazz and street dance, drama and singing in different styles.

Don’t hibernate through January and February – get out and ice skate at The Mall at Cribbs Causeway. For the first time, The Mall’s spectacular outdoor ice rink will be open until 27 February, so get your skates on for some great winter skating. From 4 January, the rink will be open from 4pm on Thursday and Friday evenings and from 10am at weekends.

The ice rink will also be open daily throughout the week of February half term. For more details and to pre-book tickets, visit: www.mallcribbs.com or visit the ice rink ticket office on the day. Visit The Mall website for information about activities and events on the ice including Friday evening disco nights and charity Skate & Donate sessions where instead of buying a ticket to skate, you simply donate £5 to the participating charity.

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STUDY LANGUAGES IN BATH Evening classes start again in January

• JAPANESE • ITALIAN • • GERMAN • FRENCH • • SPANISH • CHINESE • St Gregory’s Catholic College, Odd Down, Bath, BA2 8PA Come and try a free taster session.

Call us on 07894 913322 for further information or email: info@languagesinbath.co.uk

dance dance movement

voice

therapy centre

BRISTOL B ASE D MAST E RS PROGRAMME IN DANCE MOVE ME NT PSYCHOT HE RAPY

g Enrollin w o N

Validated by Canterbury Christ Church University INTERVIEWING NOW for October 2011 intake

Ffi: Dance Voice, Quaker Meeting House, Wedmore Vale, Bedminster, Bristol. BS3 5HX tel: 0117 953 2055 e-mail: admin@dancevoice.org.uk www.dancevoice.org.uk

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CITYbusiness

Boutique for people with passion for paper News in brief

I

New chairman applies science to business

A family man from Carlingcott has been elected Chairman of the Bath and Wiltshire branch of the Institute of Directors (IoD).

Dr Phil Richardson is chief executive of Thoughtcrew, which provides business management consultancy through biomimetics, the science of using biology to solve business problems.

He has a PhD in strategy and biomimetics and before setting up his own business was a senior manager for auditing and accountany firm Deloitte in Bath.

Phil, who is an RAF reservist in his spare time, said: “I am delighted to have been chosen as chairman. Now, more than ever as business continues to feel the effects of the global recession, we need to work together to find new and innovative ways to keep our businesses operating and profitable.

I am particularly keen to encourage those that want to shape the types of events, networking and education in the area to get in touch with the IoD and find out what we can offer them.”

Anyone wishing to find out the benefits of joining the IoD can visit: www.iod.com

WWW.THEBATHMAGAZINE.CO.UK

■ The Royal wedding in April has inspired

many a bride-to-be to make hers the most romantic wedding possible. A newly opened wedding dress boutique in Bradford on Avon is fast proving a destination for those in search of a head-turning gown for that special day.

Meticulous Ink at 33 Walcot Street

Chance to become a future farmer for as little as £50

PICTURE: Celia Mannings

t’s almost the time when we can expect to receive that heavy, embossed envelope which summons us to attend That Wedding.

There is something very special about beautiful stationery, but until now it hasn’t always been easy to find. Thanks to two young designers, Athena Cauley-Yu and Charlie Cumming, a new outlet in Walcot Street is supplying Bathonians’ needs for good quality paper goods.

Meticulous Ink offers correspondence card sets with lined envelopes and paper that will have us all reaching for our fountain pens.

Run by business partners Carina Baverstock and Lucy-Hayward-Rodgers, Carina Baverstock Couture offers a diverse selection of dresses from international and awardwinning designers.

The Community Farm in Chew Magna is looking for people in the Bath area to invest as little as £50 each by the end of January to help secure the project’s future.

Money raised through a community share offer, will help to make this organic vegetable growing project a reality. With 30 investors so far and £20,000 raised, the farm is on the way to meeting its investment target. Set up as a community benefit society, the project will run as a social enterprise, owned and managed by its investors.

David Hunter, one of the project founders, said: “It’s your chance to access and own a little bit of the beautiful countryside in the Bath area and play a part in producing vegetables which will feed families.”

The Community Farm overlooks Chew Valley Lake.

So far, 22 acres have been cultivated for vegetable and fruit growing with the chance to extend to 50 acres.

Money will be spent on buying the existing growing operation, vegetable box scheme and wholesale business from the Better Food Company. Future plans include converting farm buildings into an educational facility for the community.

Visit: www.thecommunityfarm.co.uk

■ A new Bath-based communications agency has been launched which specialises in conent and social media for its clients. Jack, the Conversation Agency, has been set up by Simon Tapscott in Bath with support from Covent Garden-based River. Managing director Simon Tapscott, said: “The social web has not only had a huge impact on the way we behave online, but it’s also changed the rules of content. The recent growth of the social web has inevitably resulted in the launch of several new agencies but we aim to go much deeper than just setting up Facebook pages for clients.”

■ John Potter and his team at John’s Bikes in Walcot Street continue to be involved in the community, as their latest venture sees them in the world of literary sponsorship. John’s Bikes is sponsoring William Fotheringham, Guardian journalist and author of Cyclopedia – It’s All About Bike, during his appearance at next month’s Bath Literature Festival. The book features facts, figures and characters from the world of cycling. John’s Bikes is also a stockist of the Garmin, a new GPS system for cyclists.

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LEGALmatters

A DVERTOR IA L FEATURE

The Cosmopolitan Divorce Where it used to be unusual, in Bath at least, for family cases to involve issues of foreign law and international jurisdictions, now it is commonplace. Owning property abroad, being posted to work in foreign locations or having children with dual nationalities are regular scenarios for many families. When relationships break down in these times of increasing globalisation, potentially complex problems and disputes can arise which require specialist help and advice.

F

or most families, the issues are going to concern either money or children but can be immense in their range. Here, it is possible simply to scratch the surface and to identify only those areas which are particularly topical in light of international events and recent high profile cases.

CHILDREN Removal from the jurisdiction Whether in the context of a permanent removal, or just a holiday, the courts are seeing more and more of these applications.

Increasingly, parents are looking to relocate, usually to return to their home country or to find work, whilst others are keen to show their children the country of their origin. A parent needs the permission of the other to take a child permanently abroad, or, where a Residence Order is in force, to take a child out of the UK for a period of over a month. If that permission is not forthcoming, then the parent has to apply for an order from the court.

Traditionally, English courts have been very willing to allow these relocations as long as the applicant parent has made proper and careful plans for the child in the new country. There is currently however something of a backlash and a recent case (in which a mother’s application to move her five year old to France was refused) called for a review of the principles applied in these situations.

If you are keen to take your child to live abroad, not only must you ensure that your plans are clear and well advanced before you present your case to the court, but you must also have thought through the practicalities of maintaining contact with the parent remaining at home. On the other hand, if you are the parent at home, concerned about such a move, the climate is now more favourable to you.

As far as holidays are concerned, the courts can be very creative in ensuring that the child is returned at the end of the holiday where there is doubt that might happen. A bond can be provided, for example, or special “mirror” orders obtained from the court in some foreign jurisdictions.

Abduction There are of course situations in which parents do not ask either the other parent or the court for permission to take their child abroad, but go ahead and remove them anyway. In these cases, it is important to act fast. Pre-emptive action can serve to prevent the child being taken beyond our borders. “Port Alerts”, made by application to the police, can actually be put WWW.THEBATHMAGAZINE.CO.UK

in place by parents without a court order but the police would have to be satisfied that the danger of abduction is “real” and “imminent”.

If it is too late and the child has gone already, the solution depends on where he or she has been taken, but we have reciprocal arrangements with many countries, a lot of them under what is known as the Hague Convention.

FINANCIAL ISSUES Pre-Marital Agreements Going right back to square one, before the marriage has even taken place, a union between two people of different nationalities might well signal the advisability of a PreMarital (or Pre-Nuptial) Agreement. In the wake of the Supreme Court’s widely reported decision in Radmacher –v- Granatino, there is a renewed focus on such agreements which now stand a very good chance of being upheld here in England. Pre-Marital Agreements however have been the norm in many foreign jurisdictions for a long time and where a couple could end up divorcing in any number of countries, an attempt to clarify their expectations and wishes in advance can only be a good thing. When both preparing and implementing Pre-Marital Agreements, wherever they originated, it is usually necessary to obtain advice from a foreign lawyer based in the relevant jurisdiction.

question. If someone decides they are not going to cooperate with an order where either they or the asset in question are abroad, it can be very difficult for the other party to do anything practical about it. Obstacles will include cost and proportionality and the laws of the country where you are seeking to enforce your order.

There are a number of reciprocal arrangements that we have with many foreign jurisdictions, especially with regard to maintenance orders.

As far as pensions are concerned, again, whilst a court in England can technically make an order against a foreign pension company, the reality is that it cannot always be implemented unless the pension company actually agrees.

If you are affected by these or similar issues and you would like to discuss your case in more detail, please contact our family law team by telephone on 01225 485700 or via email at family@mowbraywoodwards.co.uk.

For further information about issues concerning Civil Partnerships, please contact Tracey Smith at Mowbray Woodwards Solicitors on 01225 485700 or via email at tas@mowbraywoodwards.co.uk

Divorce: What Court to Choose?

Again, this decision might well involve seeking the advice of both an English and a foreign lawyer as outcomes can vary greatly between different countries. As long as the court here in England has the jurisdiction to accept a divorce petition (usually based on some form of domicile or habitual residence), it has in recent years become a popular choice with wives particularly, to whom the courts have been generous in applying principles of equality and fairness. There is no hard and fast rule however and all sorts of factors need to be taken into account in deciding whether to start your divorce here in England or abroad.

It is worth being aware that in some cases, even if the divorce itself took place abroad, financial provision can still be sought in England.

Property Abroad Our courts do have the power to make orders in respect of overseas property. Advice on tax and legal issues, which can be complicated according to the jurisdiction, is usually necessary but where real problems occur is in relation to the enforcement of the order in

Meg Moss, Partner at Mowbray Woodwards Solicitors

3 Queen Square, Bath BA1 2HG Tel 01225 485700 www.mowbraywoodwards.co.uk JANUARY 2011

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TAXmatters

ADV ERT OR I AL F EAT U R E

Richardson Swift and Advance Business Consultants merge practices...

W

e at Richardson Swift are delighted to announce the merging of the Practice known as Advance Business Consultants into our own at Laura Place.

Advance owner David Chasemore and ourselves have been working to ensure that the transition is as smooth as possible for the clients and staff of that business.

controlled way for the benefit of all concerned.

We discovered early on that both Practices had a similar view on the standards of client service and the determination to provide value for money products that were sensitive to today’s market place. This will ensure that in

clients so that they can decide for themselves.

With that in mind we very much respect the need to ensure that our clients records are maintained in an accurate and timely way.

We also provide full Audit and Accounting services as one would expect but now have a

Pictured at completion: Ian Davies (Mogers), Derek Swift, David Chasemore, Mike Richardson and Alex Pyatt (Withy King)

As well as to give David Chasemore the opportunity to scale down his work load, the merger gives us a critical business mass that will enable us to have more expertise available within, for the benefit of the combined firms’ clients. It will also enable staff to have clearer defined career paths and a more interesting range of clients to work with.

We now feel ever more that we are an optimum size where we are “big enough to cope but small enough to care” and although we have no further plans for merger or acquisition we intend to grow the practice in a structured

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future we can continue to provide cost effective solutions for our clients in a number of areas.

Taxation is of course very dear to our hearts at the moment and will continue to be so as the government attempts to fund the Country’s deficit. Although there is a moral ground for us all paying our share of the burden we believe it should of course be the minimum in our clients’ cases. Having said that we do offer a number of tax planning options that can reduce tax bills further and feel it is our job to make these available to

wider experience among our staff and directors for the provision of a range of consulting services and personal financial planning.

If you would like further information on any of our services or if you would like to arrange an obligation free meeting please contact Mike Richardson or Derek Swift on 01225 325580.

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

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Do you need a Researcher for the WWII naval history of a relative?

I often hear stories of people wishing to know more about family members who served in the Royal Navy during the war years I can research your relative’s naval history from official records, photographs, service histories of ships and their engagements in naval operations - and professionally present the results as an illustrated historic record, and memorable keepsake for you and your family Please call to discuss your requirements: David Verghese WWII Naval Researcher Tel. 01225 865706

HMS Encounter: 1st March 1942

WWW.THEBATHMAGAZINE.CO.UK

Second battle in the Java Sea

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A DVERTOR IA L FEAT U R E

“New Year Resolutions – To Resolve Conflict with the Ex Spouse”

By Richard Sharp, Sharp Family Law www.sharpfamilylaw.com Richard Sharp of Sharp Family Law helps separating and divorcing clients, who want to avoid prolonged conflict, to reach solutions that work for them and their families

‘T

is the time for New Year’s resolutions. Our perennial attempt to lose weight, pay off debt, quit smoking, become organised and spend less time at work.

For divorcing and divorced couples, one of the best New Year resolutions you can make is to resolve conflict with your ex-spouse or partner. Dealing with a difficult ex can be very discouraging, frustrating and defeating. Your efforts to minimise conflict may not be returned. Attempts to foster a working relationship with the ex, for “the sake of the children”, may prove a thankless task.

2. Do not allow financial issues to control your behavior Live with the agreement reached or the order handed down by a Judge that has addressed financial arrangements. Do not let your attitude towards it, after the fact, taint your relationship with your ex or your children. If you came to an agreement with your ex, live up to that agreement. If you have a court order, follow that order. No amount of anger over financial issues is worth contaminating your relationship with your ex or your children.

Therefore, resolve not to argue in front of children, use them as a sounding board, badmouth to them about the other parent, or make them in any way part of the divorce. Resolve to do what it takes to improve the quality of your parenting relationship by communicating and interacting as best as you can with your ex.

And if there is ongoing conflict, be sure to notice your own role in it. Effort on your part to build a new and productive relationship with your ex spouse will help all involved in the healing process and to move forward with their lives.

3. Work at forgiving

“..the rewards for you ...and your children can be significant” But the rewards for you and in particular your relationship with your children can be significant. What parents do during and after a separation or divorce – how they parent, how they handle their emotions, how they relate to each other and work together – is the key to their children’s resilience in coping with their parent’s separation or divorce. Research has shown that it is not the divorce but the way you divorce that impacts children The following five tips may help you to minimise if not resolve that conflict with your ex.

1. Try and respect your ex-spouse/partner and his/her household Find ways of being respectful rather than resentful. Do not personally criticise them, but don’t make excuses for their behavior either.

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Hurt feelings from the past is the number one reason you and your ex overreact with one another. Do your part by striving to forgive for the offenses of the past and present. This will help you manage your emotions when dealing with your ex in the present. It also helps cut down on the degree of stress you will have during and after the divorce.

4. Find Common Ground This good business principle applies to parenting as well. Even if you disagree with the main point, find some common ground and work from there. Be willing to see the situation from your ex’s perspective and to give a little instead of taking much. You may no longer be married but the concept of give and take is still very important.

5. Put your children first You may find it hard to even be around your ex but making the needs of your children your main priority will help establish the kind of relationship that benefits them. And parents who manage to put their children first will minimise the effect of separation and divorce on their children.

sharp F A M I LY L A W Sharp Family Law: Helping clients to reach solutions 3 Miles’s Buildings, Bath, BA1 2QS email: richard@sharpfamilylaw.com m: 07798 606740 t: 01225 870336 website: www.sharpfamilylaw.com blog: www.familylawcollaborativedivorce.co.uk

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OUTandABOUT

GOING back to our roots Andrew Swift sets out to explore North East Somerset’s own mini Lake District and takes in the views over the wintry landscape where coal miners used to trudge

W

e start the new year with a short but varied walk through one of the most scenic and little-known corners of North East Somerset. The going at this time of year may well be muddy at times – unless the ground is frozen – with the occasional deep puddle, especially after heavy rain. If you’re wearing good walking shoes, though, you will be rewarded by superb views, a couple of green lanes and a stroll along two Victorian reservoirs. Best of all, perhaps, the walk ends at one of the finest country pubs in the area, the Ring of Bells at Hinton Blewett.

We start at the small car park on the Lower Road at Hinton Blewett, opposite the Ring of Bells (ST594568). Head west along Lower Road (passing the phone box on your right). Carry on past Glanville Drive and take the next left along Hook Lane.

After 200 metres cross a stile by a six-bar gate on the right, and follow the waymark sign diagonally across the field. Cross another stile and carry on, making for a stile straight across the field (ST588561).

A splendid view opens up as the ground drops away. Carry on, bearing slightly to the left. Go through a wooden gate and continue bearing left downhill, along a muddy track between trees, towards the far corner of the field.

Cross a stile and turn right down to another stile, where you turn left to walk along a tarmac drive along Lower Litton Reservoir (ST586555). At the far end of the reservoir, beyond the boathouse and fish nets, where brown and rainbow trout are bred, is a spectacular fountain feeding water down from the upper reservoir.

beyond the boathouse and fish ❝ nets, where brown and rainbow trout are bred, is a spectacular fountain feeding water down from the upper reservoir

❞

The Tarmac drive leads to a house, but we continue alongside the upper reservoir on a narrow and muddy path. The upper reservoir – twice the size of the lower one and much deeper – has a totally different character, but together they form one of the gems of North East Somerset. Mallards, coots, swans and tufted ducks are among the birds you are likely to see as you walk along.

The path leads to a kissing gate onto a lane, along which you turn left. As you walk, look over to the slopes on your left, to see Shortwood Common, an ancient patch of common land.

After 400 metres, the road turns sharply left, but we carry straight on along a bridleway called Hollow Marsh Lane (ST599552). As its name suggests, this is potentially the most challenging part of the walk. After heavy rain parts of it turn into a Soft quagmire, largealong puddles stretching across it. Although not to good:with the path the upper reservoir really a problem you’re properly shod, you may want to take can be muddy at if times but the way leads to one of the gems Eastthat Somerset advantage ofofa North footpath runs parallel, slightly higher up the hillside on the left, before rejoining it as the ground begins to rise.

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OUTandABOUT

Above: the fountain pouring into the lower reservoir, the tranquil waters of the upper reservoir, and, beyond this stile the view opens up

Hollow Marsh Lane is part of a very ancient landscape. The lane itself dates back at least to medieval times, and gives a good idea what country roads would have looked like in the winter months before the creation of the turnpike trusts in the 18th century. In the fields on the left, ridges can be seen running downhill – remnants of the earth banks that enclosed strip fields in the middle ages.

Eventually, after about 1500 metres, Hollow Marsh Lane comes to an end, as another old lane – now little more than a track – crosses it at right angles (ST608562). This is Pitway Lane, its name recalling the collieries down to the east at Farrington Gurney, which closed as recently as 1921.

We turn left up Pitway Lane, following in the footsteps of miners from Hinton Blewett as they made their way home after a day’s work underground. The first 300 metres involves a steep climb, but after that the lane levels out and we continue on for another 800 metres before reaching a road.

WWW.THEBATHMAGAZINE.CO.UK

Turn right up the road – look out for the spring on the right running through a cistern where villagers once washed their clothes – and after another 400 metres the Ring of Bells comes into view ahead.

Level of challenge: Several stiles; muddy patches likely, especially after heavy rain. ■

FURTHER INFORMATION ■

Length of walk: 4.5 miles

■

Approximate time: 1½ to 2 hours

■

Map: OS Explorer 141 & 142

■

The Ring of Bells, Hinton Blewett serves food 12 2.30pm and 6-9pm, Mon to Sat, 12-3pm and 6-8.30pm Sunday (Tel: 01761 221284)

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GASTROguide Prawn tom kha soup (Thai prawn and coconut milk soup)

Curry restaurant second to ‘naan’

C

This warming Thai prawn and coconut milk soup would make an impressive meal for two. Preparation and cooking time: less than 30 minutes. Serves two Ingredients: For the soup 400ml/14fl oz coconut milk 250ml/8½fl oz chicken stock 50g/2oz galangal, finely sliced 1 lemongrass stick, bruised & finely sliced 4 kaffir lime leaves, finely sliced 4 Thai red chillies, diagonally sliced 250g/9oz large raw king prawns, peeled and deveined, cut into 1.5cm/½inch juice of 2 limes 1tbsp fish sauce 75g/3oz rice vermicelli 1tbsp vegetable oil 2tbsp finely shredded fresh mint leaves 2tbsp finely shredded fresh basil leaves Method: 1. For the soup, pour the coconut milk and chicken stock into a saucepan and bring to the boil.

2. Add the galangal, lemongrass, lime leaves, red chillies and prawns and simmer over a low/medium heat for 2-3 minutes, or until the prawns are cooked just through.

3. Add about three quarters of the lime juice and the fish sauce, to taste.

4. Meanwhile, place the rice vermiocelli into a large bowl and cover with boiling water. Set aside to soak for 2-3 minutes, or until softened, then drain and refresh in cold water. Drain again and mix with the vegetable oil, the reserved lime juice and the mint and basil.

5. To serve, spoon the rice vermicelli into soup bowls and then ladle on the soup.

James Martin prepared this soup for the BBC’s Saturday Kitchen and served each bowl topped with deep-fried tempura prawns. The prawns were dipped in a batter made from 1oz plain flour, 1oz cornflour, a pinch of salt and c100ml sparkling water before deep frying for 2-3 minutes. Once drained on kitchen paper, serve the prawns on top of each bowl.

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ongratulations go to The Rajpoot of Bath which has picked up its fourth consecutive prize in the British Curry Awards, the Oscars of the curry industry.

The popular Bath restaurant was picked as Best in the South West, beating off stiff competition, at the awards ceremony held at the Grosvenor Hotel in London’s Park Lane. More than 1,000 guests attended the ceremony, including celebrities, chefs and restaurateurs.

Owner Ahmed Chowdhury was delighted with the award, which was presented to him by comedian Justin Lee Collins, who used to dine at one of Ahmed’s restaurants when he was a boy.

Ahmed, who opened The Ganges of Bristol with his brother Mahmud 31 years ago, was hugged by Lee Collins. He paid tribute to the hard work of his staff and thanked his customers for their support.

“It was great to see Justin again,” he said, “I remember when he was a little boy coming into our restaurant. I coudn’t recognise him now though with his long hair!”

Ahmed Chowdhury receives his British Curry Award from Justin Lee Collins

Rugby’s bravehearts salute Burns Tatties, neeps, Scottish beef and Cullen skink will all be featured on the menu as Bath Rugby prepares to celebrate Burns Night, a celebration of the poet Robbie Burns, at the club’s headquarters at The Rec on Tuesday 25 January.

The traditional selection of Scottish dishes, including haggis, will be served to guests by a team of up and coming young chefs from the City of Bath College.

In addition to providing the menu, the students will also work alongside Bath Rugby’s experienced front-of-house staff serving the diners. Students from the college’s Floristry department will also be involved, creating a selection of Scottish themed

NEWS in BRIEF

centrepieces for the function suite on the night.

All the proceeds from the evening, including the post-dinner raffle, will go to the Bath & West Rotary Club’s chosen charity, the Southside Trust.

Kean Maslen, chief lecturer at the college, said: “It is a great experience for our students to be involved in yet another high profile event like this.”

Students from the City of Bath College is also involved in Bath Rugby’s annual St George’s Day dinner.

Tickets to the Burns Night Supper at The Rec are £35 (including VAT) and are available from Dean Quintin at the club by emailing dean.quintin@bathrugby.com

A city of award-winners ■ Bath-based master baker Richard Bertinet was named BBC Food Champion of the Year at the BBC Radio Food & Farming Awards.

Richard, who runs The Bertinet Kitchen and Bakery, has long been a champion of real bread. He started baking in his native Brittany aged just 14 and opened his cookery school in Bath in 2005 to promote the art of baking. Chair of the judges, chef Angela Hartnett, said: “Heaven for me is a slice of Bertinet bread with some butter – it doesn’t need anything else.”

■ The Marlborough Tavern was named British Food Pub of the Year at the Publican Food & Drink Awards.

The tavern, on Marlborough Buildings,

specialises in good, home-cooked British food. The head chef, Richard Knighting was a finalist in a separate category of Chef of the Year in the same national awards.

■ A young trainee chef from the City of Bath College was the runner-up in a national competition to find the British Culinary Federation’s Young Chef of the Year. Chris Emery, aged 19, cooked up a storm for the judges with his main dish of pan-roasted chicken breast served with boudin blanc, parsnip textures and chicken and thyme foam.

Chris, who works at The Wheatsheaf in Bath, won a set of cooking knives, £100 cash prize and an all expenses trip to Italy.

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J i m m y S p i c e’s MULTICU IS IN E

RES TA U RA N T

&

THE BI GGEST RESTA URANT IN BAT H 370 SE ATS

BA R

www.jimmyspices.co.uk www.jimmyspices.co.uk How does it work?

Opening Times & Prices

Jimmy Spice’s welcomes you to its revolutionary concept with live and interactive kitchens, where dishes are custom-cooked in front of you. The dishes served embraces the culinary feasts of major world cuisines. With our constantly changing menu items we ensure that you’ll never eat the same meal twice!

Evening Buffet: (Mon - Sat: 5pm - 11.00pm, Sunday: 5pm - 10.00pm) Sun - Wed: £13.99 per person, Thu - Sat: £15.99 per person Child Under 10 - Half Price

Jimmy Spice’s World Buffet was established in 2003 and is the UK’s first multi cuisine theatre style buffet dining experience of its kind. Come and experience Jimmy Spice’s World Buffet where you get to try a myriad of foods from India, Italy, Thailand and China. The high quality foods are served on easy to use buffet ‘shacks’, allowing the intrepid diner to taste any number of dishes and as it is a buffet, you can always go back for seconds!

Lunch Buffet: (Mon - Fri: 12pm - 3.00pm, Sat - Sun: 12pm - 4.00pm) Monday - friday: £7.99 per person, Saturday - Sunday: £10.99 per person Child Under 10 - Half Price

Jimmy Spice’s Diners Club As part of Jimmy Spice’s continued commitment to enhancing levels or service to our patrons, we in addition to the regular discounts, offer fabulous incentives geared towards rewarding loyalty. Become a Jimmy Spice’s Diners Club member and discover a whole new world of hospitality & entertainment.

For details please ask a member of staff or visit www.jimmyspices.co.uk

JIMMY SPICES WORLD BUFFET (Opp. Bath Bus Station) 6-8 DORCHESTER STREET, SOUTHGATE, BATH BA1 1SS T: 01225 426 802 e: bath@jimmyspices.co.uk BIRMINGHAM - SOLIHULL - SUTTON COLDFIELD - EPSOM - STAINES - STRATFORD UPON AVON - WIMBLEDON - PETERBOROUGH

2-4-1 MEALS

25% DISCOUNT ON FOOD

Terms & Conditions apply One Coupon per table, maximum discount 50 Pounds Cannot use with any other Offer Valid Sun to Thurs, offer Expires 28.2.2011 Not valid on Valentines Day

Terms & Conditions apply One Coupon per table, maximum discount 50 Pounds Cannot use with any other Offer Valid for seating after 9.00 pm, offer Expires 28.2.2011 Not valid on Valentines Day

✁

Terms & Conditions apply One Coupon per table Cannot use with any other Offer Valid Sun to Thurs, offer Expires 28.2.2011 Not valid on Valentines Day

✁

✁

A BOTTLE OF WINE FREE ON TABLE OF 4

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GASTROguide

In praise of.......SOUP! C

ertainly January is the cruellest month for our wallets as the money we spent at Christmas and the heating bills from last year’s unseasonably early cold snap come home to roost.

No wonder we turn to soup at this time of year. It’s comforting, wholesome, nourishing and economical too.

The simplest post-Christmas dish is known in our house as Fridge Soup. Its basic ingredients usually come from the vegetable and salad tray in the bottom of the fridge – a couple of slightly bendy carrots, half a head of forgotten celery (including its leaves which add a peppery note) and the remains of a red pepper.

Fridge Soup, like so many others, begins with frying a finely chopped onion in olive oil, then adding the chopped vegetables, a clove of garlic chopped and a jug of hot stock.

This is generally made with boiling water and a small teaspoon of Marigold Swiss vegetable bouillon powder.

You can either use chopped potato to thicken the soup a little or a ladle of red lentils which have been boiled then simmered for at least 15 minutes. We like to grate a small nob of fresh ginger into the mix to add warmth, and on really cold evenings we also add a quarter of a teaspoon of Lazy Chillies.

Once all the ingredients are softened, take the pan off the heat and use a handheld blender to liquidise the soup.

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Fridge Soup is served piping hot with crusty bread and a clear conscience that you have been virtuously recycling and saving waste.

You could have homemade soup every night for a month and not eat the same recipe once. Vegetables like parsnip, sweet potato and butternut squash are usually foolproof ingredients which also provide a pleasing bright coloured soup that’s easy on the eye as well as the tongue.

Stir cream into dishes such as leek and potato or Jerusalem artichoke, to add a naughty but nice element, or chop and fry a couple of bacon rashers and sprinkle them on top of potato and sweetcorn chowder, while small squares of stale bread fried in olive oil add calories and flavour when tossed hot on to tomato or carrot and coriander soups.

There are those who screw up their noses at the notion that soup might constitute a main meal. Challenge their view with minestrone packed with pasta and tasty vegetable bites or why not try a hearty Tuscan bean soup with a mixture of pulses. ■

Good ❝ manners: the noise you don’t make eating soup

❞

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CITYappetite

Jimmy Spice’s 6-8 Dorchester Street, Southgate, Bath BA1 1SS 01225 426802 www.jimmyspices.co.uk

®

Est. 1980

Highly recommended by food Guides and critics Recipient of

www.rajpoot.com

For four consecutive years as the best in South West and one of the 10 best in Britain OPEN DAILY including Holidays 12-2.30pm and 6pm to 11pm Friday and Saturday till 11.30pm Around the world in 80 dishes: relaxed dining at Jimmy Spice’s

SPECIAL LUNCH £8.25

WWW.THEBATHMAGAZINE.CO.UK

(Monday to Friday)

4 Argyle Street, Bath BA2 4BA Tel: 01225 466833 / 464758

www.rajpoot.com

MOROCCAN RESTAURANT Serving the best Moroccan food in Bath for the last 10 years Café du globe restaurant is Bath’s only Moroccan restaurant offering a seductive slice of Moroccan culture and cuisine to the city. From the moment you step in the door you will be transported into the world of North Africa. Sun baked terracotta walls, beautiful mirrors, traditional Moroccan painting, carved arch, lamps and candlelight combine to create the perfect atmosphere for relaxing on chairs upholstered in Berber script.

The menu specialises in popular Moroccan dishes that are ideal for sharing with family and friends and are served in the style of Moroccan home.

Choose from their famous traditional mezze; popular lamb tagine; special national dish vegetable couscous; not to mention bastilla; fish and lemon chicken comfit tagines and much more.

Moroccan Restaurant

Cafe du Globe 01225 466 437 www.cafeduglobe.co.uk 1a North Parade, Bath, BA1 1LF Open Mon - Sun 10am-10.30pm

✃

T

aking the family out for a meal can be fraught with challenges.

Grandma won’t eat anything spicy, Dad, who is paying, would love a curry, the children vary between the adventurous and the downright fussy, while Mum is grateful that someone else is cooking.

For those occasions, or for a night out for two when you can’t decide between Chinese or Indian, Jimmy Spice’s, the new multi-cuisine buffet near Bath bus station, is the ideal choice. And for the budget conscious, you know in advance exactly how much you are going to spend. For a midweek lunch it is £7.99, rising to £15.99 for Thursday to Saturday nights.

Yes, that is for as much as you would like to eat. And children under ten are charged half price.

General manager Mukesh Driver is operating a very well run ship here.

On the evening we visited the service was impeccable, from the moment we were welcomed at the door, then asked where in the large restaurant we would like to sit. Once settled at our table, and admiring the contemporary Colonial style decor, we were looking for a menu when our friendly waiter arrived and explained the Jimmy Spice’s concept. There is no menu. You simple choose from the huge array of dishes before your eyes.

The chefs in their whites stand at the ready behind their cooking stations while we hungry customers prowl, plates in hand. The smiling chef explains that where we’re standing is the Italian section, with pizzas, salads and pasta cooked freshly while you watch. He points to the other world zones; Indian, Chinese, Thai and Mexican.

For our starters the Chinese zone seduced us with dainty, crispy vegetable spring rolls with sweet chilli sauce, very spicy chicken wings, sticky mini ribs and gently steamed dim sum. Everything we ate was piping hot and fresh. You don’t doubt that for a moment as the chefs are cooking fresh supplies all the time. In the Indian zone, I watched the naan bread puff up in the pan before it was passed to me, as freshly made as it could possibly be.

The best advice for newcomers to this come-again approach is stick to eating as as much as you like, rather than as much as you can. And if you have fussy children, they can be sated with chips, pasta or pizza while you try and tempt them to try some vegetables.

After piling our plates with a delicious mix of curry, rice and spicy vegetables dishes, I decided to roam the pudding bar, while my companion who is in training for a triathlon, went back for another plate, this time opting for the fresh-cooked kebab and samples from the Chinese dishes.

There is a huge range of puddings to choose from, including ice cream, jelly and little cakes. But I’m a sucker for a chocolate fountain, which at Jimmy Spice’s is a magnet for dating couples. I watched as a man gave his partner a skewer with a marshmallow and then smiled as she dipped it under the molten chocolate and popped it in her mouth. Yes, my friend and I agreed, this would be a good destination for a date, or for a group of friends, as there is plenty to talk about and to entertain. ■ GMc

25% off food only* *Reservation is required. This voucher must be presented on arrival.

Not to be used in conjunction with any other offer. Max 6 people.

Not valid on Saturdays or Bank Holidays. Offer ends 10 Feb

JANUARY 2011

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FITandFABULOUS

NEW YEAR

new you

Kick start 2011 looking and feeling great by taking up new a new fitness routine, trying a new beauty product or attend a workshop to help you keep a clear head throughout the year

Take on a new challenge ■ For all you swimmers, there is an opportunity to take on a challenge for a very worthy cause this year: the Swimathon 2011. The world’s biggest fundraising swimming event hits over 575 pools across the UK between 8 – 10 April, when over 20,000 swimmers will raise as much money as they can for Marie Curie Cancer Care and the Swimathon Foundation. The event is now in its 24th year and to date, has raised more than £32 million for charity. You can sign up for this year’s event, which locally is being held at Bath Sports and Leisure Centre, Culverhay Sports Centre and South Wansdyke Sports Centre, by registering online at: www.swimathon.org or tel: 0845 36 700 36. Entry is open until 7 April so why not sign up now and get down to your local pool to get in practice and raise lots of money for charity from your efforts.

■ If you enjoy walking and are looking for a different challenge this year, you might like to consider walking the Cotswold Way and raise money for homeless charity Julian House at the same time. Starting at the picturesque village of Chipping Camden, participants will spend five days from 4 – 8 May, walking on average 20 miles a day, taking in panoramic views and beautiful scenery, finishing at Bath Abbey. For further information and to sign up, visit: www.julianhouse.org.uk or tel: 01225 354656.

Workshops and taster sessions ■ Bath Bootcamp is running a free talk on Secrets about Healthy Eating and Fat Loss on Tuesday 11 January to help educate people and raise money for Dorothy House Hospice Care. The talk will be held at St Luke’s Church, Bear Flat, and starts at 7.30pm. Bath Bootcamp founder, Zita Alves, who has been in the fitness industry for 12 years, is asking for a £5 donation to secure a place and this will enter you into the raffle for which the top prize is a free month at one of her fitness camps worth £99. Spaces are limited. To book a seat, contact Zita on tel: 07970 988128 or email: fitness@bathbootcamps.co.uk ■ If you want to alleviate back pain this year, why not pop along to an Alexander Technique taster session to see if it could work for you? The taster sessions are held on Thursday afternoons at Fairfield Park Health Centre where you will have the opportunity to try the technique for yourself and learn about your posture and how to improve it, all on a one-to-one basis with local teacher Hellie Mulvaney. Taster sessions cost £10. For further information contact Hellie Mulvaney on tel: 01225 353397 or visit: www.helliemulvaney.co.uk ■ Do your 2011 resolutions look suspiciously like last year’s? Have you broken your resolutions already? To help people make a lasting change, the Abundant Life Wellbeing Centre is running a series of seminars this month and next to help people break their limiting patterns. On 12 January and 2 February, discover how can make a lasting change in the Triad of Change workshop (£10). On 19 January and 9 February learn a simple set of exercises to form your daily centring ritual derived from yoga, connected breath and energetic therapy in the Centre Your Body, Calm Your Mind masterclass (£10). On 26 January find out about The Art of Happiness (£10), and on 12 February discover how to transform those things that limit your life’s potential and connect to your heart and catalyse your passion for life in the hands-on therapy day, Love the Skin You’re In (£120). For further information or to book, visit: www.myabundantlife.co.uk or tel: 01225 318060.

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TBM loves... ✽ The anti-ageing hand and nail cream from Ark Age Aware Skincare (£18.55, available from House of Fraser). The bitter blows of wintry weather can leave hands dry, chapped and sore, but this hand moisturiser offers comfort, relief and hydration. The fast-absorbing cream soothes distressed hands while protecting them from the elements and unlike other creams, it reduces the appearance of brown spots. An essential product for the season. ✽ Moroccan Oil (£29.95 from www.hair1direct.co.uk): it’s the best hair treatment for dry, damaged hair. It’s a nongreasy styling, finishing leavein conditioner which locks in moisture to leave really healthy, shiny hair. Not only that, but it protects the hair from the elements and UV exposure, detangles and eliminates frizz while enriching hair damaged by colour and styling. It’s used by all the celebrities and if you buy one hair product this month, let it be this one – you won’t be disappointed. ✽ Sisley’s Express Flower Gel Mask (£71, available from Harvey Nichols and John Lewis) – after use, the skin is hydrated, toned and revitalised and traces of stress and fatigue are smoothed away.

The lovely thing about this mask is that it’s really refreshing when you apply it and you wait three minutes and just dab off any residue – there’s no messy peeling or washing off. Skin will feel instantly softer and firmer. ✽ Natio’s Ageless Organic Rosehip Oil (£16, available from Debenhams). This treatment oil is rich in fatty acids and nutrients so aids the regeneration of skin cells while firming, repairing and moisturising. The quickabsorbing oil also diminishes the appearance of fine lines, pigmentation and sun damage for clear, smooth and healthy looking skin.

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ReaderCompetition The Bath Magazine has teamed up with The Studio to bring you two fantastic prizes of pampering to make you fit and fabulous for the new year...

ze i r P 1st

10 personal training sessions at The Studio worth £500 £100 gift voucher from Kimberly Hair cut and colour at Russell Brooks worth £130 Deluxe manicure and pedicure beauty at The Studio worth £70 3 Ageloc galvanic spa treatments worth £200 Full body massage for 1 hour worth £60

6 week power plate course at The Studio worth £180

ze i r P 2nd

Gift voucher from Scarlet Vintage £50 Express manicure and pedicure worth £40 Galvanic spa facial worth £65 Neck and shoulder massage worth £35

To be in with a chance of winning, just answer the question below: Which year was The Bath Magazine launched?

Please send your entry on a postcard to Beauty Competition, The Bath Magazine, 2 Princes Building, George Street, Bath BA1 2ED. Closing date 31/1/2011.

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FITandFABULOUS

PERFECT smile Do you cover your mouth when you smile, or keep your lips firmly together? There are a range of modern options available to enhance dental appearance, many of are publicised on makeover shows. But is an instant fix really in the patient’s best interests? Valley Orthodontics is an example of a modern practice where they specialise in braces which don’t show for correcting irregular, crowded or ‘gappy’ teeth. Treatment options using braces have vastly improved and more and more adults, of all ages, are opting for a brace that suits their lifestyle. At the practice they fit appliances which are see-through or completely hidden so are significantly more acceptable, particularly by older people.

Dr Nicky Henderson of Valley Orthodontics, says: “Although the months required for brace treatment may seem off-putting, often a ‘quick fix’ is simply not as good in the long term as treatment that takes a little more time but creates a great smile from your own natural teeth and with no permanent or unnecessary destruction of your teeth.”

For further information contact Valley Orthodontics on tel: 01275 333322 or visit: www.valleyortho.co.uk

Get active, stay active Getting fit is one of the most common New Year’s resolutions explains Alexandra Buckley, head physiotherapist at CircleBath Hospital. However, she believes that a common mistake is to believe this is possible overnight.

“Having the right attitude is important and the priority should be, at least initially, becoming more active which will help to promote a real sense of wellbeing,” she says.

“The first thing to do is to make a plan. The second and perhaps most important thing is to stick to the plan,” she adds.

Alexandra recommends making sure that any goals you set are achievable and suggests taking into consideration elements such as your own pace and the space you’ve got to work in as well as the time required to build exercise into your daily routine.

“Everyone is different and therefore the key to exercise and more importantly, feeling healthy and active, is finding something that you enjoy. Think about what you’d like to achieve in addition to just getting fit as well as what motivates you. For example you’ve got the adrenaline rush from sports like mountain biking, the social element to activities such as badminton or exercise classes, and calming and spiritual options including yoga and Pilates,” Alexandra explains.

The health benefits of living more actively are undeniable. For further information visit www.circlebath.com or tel: 01761 422388.

■ BMI Bath Clinic has welcomed back to Bath former England Rugby Union and Bath Rugby player, Jonathan Webb, as an orthopedic surgeon. Mr Webb joins an already strong orthopedic team at the Bath Clinic and specialises in knee surgery and sports medicine and has a particular interest in arthroscopic surgery and reconstruction of knee ligament following injuries.

NEWS in BRIEF

■ People affected by cancer in Bath can now receive specialist hair care advice under a new partnership launched by Toni&Guy and Macmillan Cancer Support. To find out more about the service or to make an appointment, contact the salon in New Bond Street on tel: 01225 484 284 58 THEBATHMAGAZINE

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ASHTANGA YOGA

Samantha Ewart attended a class of an Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga beginner’s course to discover what’s involved and the benefits

I

f you’re determined to make 2011 the year you start to look after your mind as well as your body, then Ashtanga yoga is for you. Not only is it very energetic and a great work-out, but it helps to de-stress and calm too because it is based on using breathing and movement together.

Feeling in need of a new challenge, I went along to one of Ashtanga Yoga Bath’s beginners’ course classes, run by teacher Simon Chandler.

Held in St John’s Church Hall on St John’s Road, the beginners’ course runs for six weeks with a class once a week. The hall, which has recently been redecorated, was light, spacious and warm, making it the perfect yoga venue.

After equipping the class with yoga mats, Simon started by giving us a bit of background information about the origins of the practice, explaining that Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga originates from South India and today it is one of the most popular forms of yoga practised in the West.

Ashtanga Vinyasa is a classical method of Hatha Yoga and is renowned for its dynamic and flowing sequence of asanas (postures). The traditional method of teaching Ashtanga Vinyasa focuses on the individual to ensure that each student practices according to their own ability, helping to promote self awareness and progress through the development of regular practice.

The asanas are practised with emphasis on a controlled and even breath (the ujjayi breath), by using muscular contractions or locks, and by adopting specific gaze points – bringing mind and body together.

Over the six-week course you can learn to practice Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga so that afterwards you will be able to join any of the other classes offered by Ashtanga Yoga Bath.

In the week that I went along, the first week, the class began with with an opening mantra and then Simon introduced us to the basics of the practice including the ujjayi breath and vinyasa (breath-synchronized movement). We started with the sun salutations and the fundamental standing poses, moving onto a sequence in the Primary Series, broken up into steps. The idea of the beginners’ course is to learn the fixed sequence week by week and as you work through, the poses become more and more challenging, increasing your core, peripheral and upper body strength as well as flexibility and physical wellbeing. It’s a great workout, and you leave the class feeling energised yet calm and stress-free.

Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga is a very physical practice and the asana sequences are quite complex and require a lot of practice, but Simon teaches carefully and slowly so that everyone can follow easily. You do have to be prepared to put the time in to practice however. n The course is suitable for complete beginners and practising students wishing to improve their technique and costs £65 per person for six classes. Start dates run throughout the year. For further information and to book, contact Simon on tel: 07770 511724 or visit: www.yogaandayurveda.co.uk

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Spectacular Treatments for

£149.00 The Orangery Laser & Beauty Clinic would like to help you celebrate New Year with a Brand New You by offering the following Spectacular Treatments for only £149.00

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A course of 3 Aromatic Body Treatments normally £199 - Save £50

Laser Teeth Whitening normally £199 - Save £50

A course of six IPL Permanent Hair Reduction treatments on either bikini line, underarm, lip or chin normally £720 - Save £571

All offers valid until January 31 2011 are not in conjunction with any other offers.

also new treatments available at The Orangery Discover the scientific Non Surgical solution to unattractive facial lines and wrinkles giving YOU a Natural Face Lift that visibly works!

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Happy New You!

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WIN! The Orangery Laser & Beauty Clinic are offering 6 lucky readers the chance to win a session of Laserlift Laserlift is a scientific solution to unattractive facial lines and wrinkles, giving a natural face lift that visibly works. It is a prominent anti-ageing hyaluronic acid and cold laser treatment that gives immediate visible results with long term benefits.

It is a non invasive procedure with no drugs, no needles, no scalpels, no recovery period and quick results.

To be in with a chance of winning, just answer the following question: In which square in Bath is the Orangery Laser & Beauty Clinic situated close to?

Please email your answer, along with your full name, address and telephone number to: competitions@thebathmagazine.co.uk Closing date 31/01/2011

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A DVERTOR IA L FEAT U R E

Hip Surgery: The Full Circle

With around 50,000 carried out each year, hip replacements are one of the most common elective surgical procedures in Britain. We speak with the team behind the new dedicated Hip Unit at CircleBath Hospital to find out more.

M

atthew Burwell, the surgeon in charge of CircleBath’s new Hip Unit, has just finished his fifth hip replacement of the week. He explains that he and the other five hip surgeons working at the hospital undertake in the region of 250 procedures each every year.

“Hip problems can have a significant impact on an individual’s quality of life, however many people put off speaking to their GP because the whole process is often an unknown. “Ensuring that all questions a patient has are answered by an expert is the key advantage of our Hip Unit” Burwell explains.

CircleBath Hospital's Head Physiotherapist Alexandra Buckley and Hip Surgeon Matthew Burwell

So what exactly is a Hip Unit? Burwell sums it up. “The Hip Unit is a team of specialist hip surgeons, nurses and physiotherapists whose focus is on treating all hip conditions and providing the highest level of support to patients choosing to have, in most cases, elective surgery.”

For a patient choosing to have a hip replacement it is a very different experience than going to hospital for health related problems so choice of where to have a procedure done, as well as when to have it, is important.

CircleBath has produced an in-depth guide for patients considering surgery. This 65 page booklet contains a step by step description of the operation, answers a range of related questions WWW.THEBATHMAGAZINE.CO.UK

and includes illustrations of exercises that form part of any rehabilitation plan, helping patients to prepare themselves both physically and mentally.

Rapid recovery is a term which comes up frequently when talking to Matthew Burwell and Alexandra Buckley, the hospital’s Head Physiotherapist.

With immediate post-operative recovery taking place, first in the recovery areas and then in one of the hospital’s well appointed, private bedrooms, complete with an en-suite and, in most cases a striking view of the countryside, as well as organic meals cooked by the head chef, it’s a surprise that patients ever want to leave.

“A lot of patients ask what else they can do to support their recovery once they leave hospital,” Buckley says. “Physiotherapy sessions are an integral part of rehabilitation; however, we have also created an optional exercise programme to help patients’ return to a more active lifestyle.”

This 6 week programme, which is overseen by a Physiotherapist, conducted in classes of no more than 6 people, begins with hydrotherapy as soon as the wound is healed and has been extremely well received she adds.

The biggest advantage of the Hip Unit, Burwell concludes saying that “by introducing a comprehensive programme of treatment and care which provides knowledge and flexibility it puts the patient in charge of what can be a lifechanging experience.”

The Hip Unit at CircleBath How it works: 1. Your GP or Physiotherapist will refer you to a hip specialist at CircleBath to discuss options.

2. If you choose to have surgery you can arrange to have the procedure whenever you want – it could be as soon as a few days after meeting with the specialist.

3. Once your procedure is booked you will receive an information guide which will explain the procedure and rehabilitation programme in detail.

4. Before the operation you will need a preassessment (which takes about an hour) to check your general health and wellbeing.

5. The operation itself takes approximately 2 hours. After being monitored in the recovery area for a couple of hours you will then be moved into your private bedroom.

6. Post-operation physiotherapy generally begins the day after the operation and in many cases patients will be ready to return home, armed with a recovery programme, after 3 days.

7. A full recovery plan, which on average takes about 12 weeks, will enable you to build strength and return to normal every day activities.

For more information on treatment methods for Hip-related problems contact Amanda Curtis at CircleBath on 01761 422222 or email enquiries@circlebath.co.uk. To find out more about the Hip Unit visit www.circlebath.com CircleBath’s Hip Unit brings together the leading hip surgeons in the South West, including Matthew Burwell, Harvey Sandhu, David Shardlow, Evert Smith, Mike Rigby and John Timperley.

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The Rakus touch Known as the “London Lip Queen”, Dr Rita Rakus has made her name as a leading cosmetic doctor through her sensitive approach to aesthetics and her patients.

When it comes to non-surgical cosmetic treatments, there’s one name literally on the A-list’s lips. As one of the most in-demand cosmetic doctors in London, Dr Rita Rakus has had many famous faces in her skilled hands and has been fulfilling her motto ‘to make someone happy every day’ for many years.

Over the past 15 years, her sensitive contouring and subtle volumising has made her facial and body rejuvenation treatments legendary. And her philosophy that aesthetic medicine needs to consider the emotions as well as physical needs of her clients has brought a new holistic approach.

Add in her commitment to safety and professional practice – she co-founded the British Association of Cosmetic Doctors – and you can understand why she is often asked to lecture and set standards in her field.

SIGNATURE TREATMENTS INCLUDE THERMAGE, FRAXEL, LIPOSONIX, FILLERS and MUSCLE RELAXANTS.

TREAT YOURSELF Dr Rakus regularly visits the Orangery Laser and Beauty Clinic, 2 Kingsmead Road, Bath BA1 2AA Tel: 01225 466851 to perform Restylane, Juvederm and Muscle Relaxing Treatments. Please visit her website on www.drritarakus.com for information or telephone the Orangery to make an appointment for your free consultation with her.

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Customised Care for Exceptional Hair Discover 4 collections of multi-leveled care treatments, customised for different hair lengths, textures and conditions: Brilliance for coloured hair, Enrich for dry and damaged hair, Balance for scalp and Age for mature hair.

Fill your senses and experience the exceptional shine, softness and wonderful fragrances of Wella Professionals Care.

The Original and The Only MOROCCANOIL® Beautiful hair, as you may never have thought possible.

This year’s industry and celebrity must-have have product MOROCCANOIL® Treatment, literally changes your hair before your eyes.

MOROCCANOIL® Treatment also works well as part of your colouring or technical treatment service.

Leading hairdresser Tom Golawski says, “it is simply amazing to work with, I have never seen anything like it; the look and feel of the hair is so different”.

Unlike many styling products MOROCCANOIL® Treatment is alcohol free.

The product is infused with Argan oil which originates from the Southwest region of Morocco, hence the name. One thing you may really appreciate, this product helps reduce blow drying and styling time.

MOROCCANOIL® Treatment is absorbed into the hair instantly, creating a beautiful natural looking shine and helps add strength and elasticity to your hair.

MOROCCANOIL® Treatment is an ultra light formula and can be applied to both damp and dry hair. The nightmare of frizz and hair tangling for children and adults could just be yesterday’s bad hair day. Hair looks healthier and shinier after just one application.

With literally hundreds of hair products to choose from, it is never easy to be certain which one is right for your hair. MOROCCANOIL® Treatment is suitable for all hair types.

For more information on Moroccanoil contact Tom at Golawski Hair Studio

11 Pierrepont Street, Bath BA1 1LA • Tel : 07980888212 Mon-Sat 9.00 - 17.30

www.golawskihairsalon.com

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Look the best you can with the help of

Lifestyle medical beauty clinic Stop waxing or shaving and go to Lifestyle Medical Beauty Clinic for a course of Laser Hair Removal. Make that your 2011 pledge to yourself. Laser treatments are effective on all areas of the face or body and Lifestyle is the only clinic in Bath to offer Nd:YAG Laser and IPL to give excellent results.

If you are looking for a permanent solution to your unwanted hair, Laser is the treatment for you. And in 2011, Lifestyle will beat any other clinic in the Bath and Bristol area on price for Laser so you know you will always get the best deal – Guaranteed!

So this New Year really is the time to take the plunge and remove that annoying hair for good. Call val r Remo i Lifestyle Clinic on a H r e Las 01225 464005 for y 2011 Januar a FREE consultation to become hair free at last.

PRICE HALF

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Before

Our clinic is staffed by medical practitioners experienced in aesthetic treatments such as those seen on Channel 4’s Ten Years Younger Laser for Hair Removal Laser for removal of facial thread veins, red spots, rosacea, age spots Restylane for removal of lines and wrinkles Accent RF and Endermologie for skin tightening and cellulite reduction Medical Microdermabrasion for facial rejuvenation Sclerotherapy for leg veins Lip Augmentation

• • • • • • •

Lifestyle Medical Beauty Clinic, 10, Chapel Row, Bath.

BA1 1HN 01225 464005 www.thelifestyleclinic.co.uk

After

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A DVERTOR IA L FEAT U R E

Corrective Vision: The Full Circle

An estimated 35 million people worldwide have had laser eye surgery; a ten minute procedure that can fully correct vision in 95% of spectacle wearers. We talk to the leading surgeon in the region.

J

onathan Luck is an eye man. In fact, in the to have both eyes treated at the same time. On the past 15 years, he’s looked into what he can day of the procedure patients will come to the only estimate to be thousands of eyes. Luck, hospital for pre-surgery checks and after the one of the top eye surgeons in the South operation will be given time to recover. They West, is currently pioneering CircleBath generally spend about 3-4 hours at the hospital Hospital’s eyesight correction service, which and once the surgeon has checked their eyes they includes laser eye and lens replacement surgery. are able to go home. CircleBath even provides a “There are many different complimentary chauffeur service to safe and effective surgical help patients get to and from the procedures available to correct hospital. vision. Laser eye surgery is one Mr Luck explains that it can take a of the most commonly few days for the eyes to heal performed eye procedures in the completely and during this time the world,” the surgeon explains. patient is given eye drops to help with But what exactly is laser eye the recovery process. The first 24 surgery? “It involves using a hours can be slightly uncomfortable very precise cold laser to for some people, he says, but pain as reshape the surface of the eye; a result of laser surgery is uncommon. this allows it to focus better,” Follow up visits are then arranged says Mr Luck. “Laser surgery and these will be undertaken by the is best-suited to individuals same surgeon every time; the one who suffering from shortundertook the laser surgery.

Jonathan Luck, laser eye surgery sightedness or myopia, but Surely it must be more expensive to specialist at CircleBath Hospital. can, in certain cases, be used to have this style of treatment at a good effect on those with long-sight or hospital? “No, not at all,” says Mr Luck astigmatism,” he adds. resolutely. “Our prices are extremely competitive “A person’s vision is permanently corrected if you compare them with the top of the range with it,” he explains, “and this is what makes it treatments offered elsewhere.” ideal for individuals between the ages of 20 and Mr Luck also doesn’t believe outlets offering 45 as the lens is generally in a good condition. optional upgrades genuinely have patients’ best Lens replacement surgery is generally a more interests in mind. “Every single patient receives effective long term treatment for patients over the the same high standard of surgery at CircleBath. age of 45.”

As an eye specialist I believe that an individual’s Laser surgery is completely pain-free and can eyesight is far too important for there to be be completed in a matter of minutes. confusing levels of surgical options.”

“Upon booking an initial free consultation at the hospital we will send out a detailed information pack and this includes a questionnaire to begin assessing whether laser eye surgery may be suitable. At the appointment I will carry out an eye examination and a number of different tests. We spend a lot of time making sure that an individual always receives the best treatment for their own situation,” the eye specialist adds.

Around 80% of patients, says Mr Luck, choose WWW.THEBATHMAGAZINE.CO.UK

Laser eye surgery – what is it?

Laser eye surgery is a permanent treatment to correct short-sightedness.

Using a very precise cold laser, the surgeon will re-shape the surface of the eye to help it focus better.

Why choose CircleBath?

Aside from the procedure being undertaken in a fully equipped operating theatre, the main advantage of having it undertaken at the hospital is that you will see the same eye specialist at every visit.

What does it cost?

Treatment at CircleBath is competitively priced at £1,800 per eye. There are no confusing optional upgrades, every patient benefits from the same advanced treatment in a clinical environment.

What other options are there?

Your CircleBath consultant will advise you if laser eye surgery is not right for you and can explain if other procedures, such as lens replacement surgery, may be effective.

To receive more information or book a FREE initial consultation, contact Amanda Curtis on 01761 422222, email enquiries@circlebath.co.uk or visit www.circlebath.com.

Reader Discount CircleBath Hospital is offering The Bath Magazine readers a 30% discount for all laser eye surgery procedures performed in January and February 2011.

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l Origina Bath’s p m Bootca

GET FIT, BURN FAT, HAVE FUN at our GROUP OUTDOOR CLASSES ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔

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NO MORE EXCUSES - Look and feel great • Jane lost 3 stone, has gone down 3 jeans sizes and has loads more energy...

• Steve lost 45lbs and 14 inches from his waist ...

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Each camp runs Monday, Wednesday and Friday for 4 weeks.

BATH 6.30am - 7.15am 9.15am - 10.00am 6.15pm - 7.00pm 9.00am - 9.45am

PEASEDOWN ST JOHN Early Risers Class 6.30am - 7.15am Early Risers Class Ladies Only Class Evening Class MARSHFIELD Saturday morning Class 7.45pm - 8.30pm Marshfield Class

Visit the website or call Zita on 07970 988128 for camp dates and to find out about our FREE taster sessions

www.bathbootcamp.co.uk

“And this time it’s different, this time I really mean it!”

D

o your 2011 resolutions look suspiciously like last year’s? Have you broken your resolutions already? Or is this the year you are going to make lasting change?

I have found that it’s no good just trying to amend your behaviour short term, and thinking that this will provoke lasting change. For example, you may decide to quit smoking, but if you only change the behaviour but not the subconscious perceptions, then you are still a smoker!.. So next time you get stressed or upset, guess what you find yourself buying when paying for your petrol!

The good news is that it has been scientifically proven that by adding our care programme to your New Year regime, the power of your achievements can be multiplied by up to 3 times. Our care programme utilises Network Spinal Analysis which allows your brain to observe and realign your perceptions to better fit with what you need it to be. We are re-programming your system, not trying to alter one part of its output.

Join the thousands of people worldwide who have experienced this phenomenon for themselves. Throughout Jan and Feb, we are running a series of seminars to help you break your limiting patterns. Such as the triad of change workshop...not half as scary as it sounds, and nowhere near as scary as changing nothing!

Book in for a seminar or two, and come along for a personalised evaluation, all you have to lose are your limiting beliefs…. CHANGE IS JUST A CHOICE AWAY. Dr Matthew Potts 66 THEBATHMAGAZINE

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WORKSHOP SCHEDULE: 12th Jan 7pm & 2nd Feb 7pm – Triad of change: Discover HOW you can make lasting change. £10 19th Jan 7pm & 9th Feb 7pm – Centre your body/calm your mind master-class: Learn a simple set of exercises to form your daily centring ritual; derived from yoga, connected breath & energetic therapy. £10 26th Jan 7pm – The ART of Happiness: Come & find out! £10 Sat 12th Feb 10-4pm – Love the Skin you're in, Retreat day - During this hands-on therapy day, you will discover how to transform those things that limit your life's potential, and connect to your heart and inner rhythms to catalyze your passion for life.£120 or £80 for practice members; includes lunch. Very limited spaces Full details & a discounted consultation voucher available on our website: www.myabundantlife.co.uk Dr. Matthew Potts is a well-known wellbeing expert, with two successful NETWORK CARE practices and over ten years experience of treating, training & inspiring thousands of people.

Abundant Life Wellness Centre, 36 New King Street, Bath, BA1 2BN 01225 318060 www.myabundantlife.co.uk

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2-4-1 on Monday, Wednesday or Fridays Book a facial and bring a friend for free or have a free add on treatment yourself! on all dermalogica facial treatments throughout January* *The Lowest priced facial treatments is free or free add on treatment to facial. This offer subject to availability on all pre booked appointments only and not to be used in conjunction with any other offer.

We also offer add on treatments to our facials,

+ nail tidy is just £10.00 + back massage is just £20.00 + eye treatment is just £10.00 We are open 9am till 6pm Monday to Friday, with Saturday and evening appointments by prior appointment.

Hands on Health Visit www.handsonhealthbath.co.uk for a full list of treatments.

Tel: 01225 462 462 The Old Post Office, High St, Bathampton, BA2 6SY

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Lose Weight Effectively With Hypnotherapy

‘Being guided to think about things in a new, different way was unexpected but delightful... thank you for all your wonderful help.’

- Weight Control Client, Weston Bath

For your free consultation call

01225 484938 Phil Mattingly LHA E.Hyp Registered Hypnotherapist www.philmattingly.com

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HEALTH&wellbeing

Doctor-Led Cosmetic Medicine Clinic Treatments Including: Acne treatments

A POSITIVE

Permanent hair reduction

approach

Thread veins

Facial redness & rosacea

Georgette McCready visits a Bath therapist who specialises in helping people cope with the effects of stress

Skin rejuvenation

Peels and microdermabrasions Anti-wrinkle injections

I

Restylane fillers

Stretch mark and scar reduction Dr Ellen Goedbloed & Dr Tony Wright

The Halo Clinic at Hathaway Medical Centre, Middlefield Road, Chippenham SN14 6GT

Telephone: 01249 454545 www.thehaloclinic.co.uk

nto every life a little rain must fall, goes the old saying, but sometimes we just don’t feel we have the emotional umbrella to protect us. Divorce, bereavement, redundancy, family problems can all have a devastating and sometimes debilitating effect on our wellbeing.

Rebecca Haisma, who set up the Centre for Integrated Therapies in Bath last spring, has 15 years experience of working with people of all ages who have found themselves in crisis. She treats clients with a wide range of symptoms, from headaches to depression, eating disorders, phobias and addictions.

She offers a warm smile and a relaxed welcome in the smart but comfortable therapy room which is laid out like a sitting room. The initial session allows the client to tell their story and for Rebecca to find out about their situation, medical history and how their deep-seated response to what life is throwing at them is manifesting itself.

As we talk about negative feelings and the natural human instinct to fight, flee or freeze when threatened, Rebecca pulls back a discreet curtain to reveal a whiteboard, which she uses effectively to explain what happens to our minds and bodies when trying to deal with stress.

She says: “No two clients are the same, so I treat everyone accordingly.

Sometimes I teach them breathing exercises and use hypnotherapy to help.

With others I might give them homework to go and actively seek some positive aspects of their lives.

“While it is important to have an understanding of the history of presenting problems, what is required to get well is a focus on the solution to those problems.

“I want them to see what is good in their lives and to see how we can make things better. Your mental or physical health shouldn’t be holding you back from living the life you want. People have their solutions within them.”

Some clients are referred to the other therapists in the clinic, which include an acupuncturist, a nutritionist, osteopath and a personal trainer.

This gives a holistic approach to wellbeing and comes with the reassurance of only having to tell their story once and to visit only one clinic too.

As a psychotherapist with a wide experience of working with adults and children using solution focused therapy and CBT (cognitive behaviour therapy), Rebecca understands how people can feel overwhelmed by life.

Sometimes having someone else listen to your worries and woes is like chasing a nightmare out into the cold light of day, where it shrivels and withers to an unsubstantial shadow.

Contrary to popular culture, Rebecca is not one of those therapists who wants her clients to sign up for the long-term. She is much happier that, having learned to cope with their problems, they feel able to go out into the world, to seek and to find the positive. ■ The Centre for Integrated Therapies, Pierrepont Street, Bath. Tel: 01225 316670, or visit: www.centreforintegratedtherapies.com

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INTERIORstyle

once upon A HOUSE children’s author Tracy Alexander tells the story of how her family settled in to their Bristol home – and how it led to her taking up her career as a writer

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INTERIORstyle Main image: the kitchen with its twin porthole windows is the gathering place for the family.

Right, the luxurious bathroom replaces one of five dated bathrooms in the house when it was bedsits. Tracy Alexander enjoys writing in the kitchen, where she can cook while working © Mark Bolton.

Visit: mark@mark bolton.co.uk If you would like to see your home or work on the pages of a national magazine, please contact Nicky Owen on tel: 0796 659 2203

I

have got a lot to thank this house for. It’s both a wonderful space for the family (partner Rob and children, Oscar, 15, Felix, 13, and 11-year-old Honor) to live in and responsible for giving me a new career. We bought it as a wreck and spent two years doing it up, living in it throughout.

The day after the builders left I went for a bike ride, taking me past the local bookshop. Free of building worries, I noticed a sign inviting people to join a Creative Writing workshop. On a whim I went.

I’d never written before, but I’ve been writing ever since. I write a series for children aged seven to 11 called Tribe. The third book, Tribe: Keener Bunks Off came out in October. When I sit in my office, typing away, I find myself grinning. I cannot quite believe that I am a writer.

We were living about hundred metres away in a similar house that had a small north-facing garden. Rob and I wanted a garden big enough for the kids to get up to full speed in, and we wanted to be able sit out in the evening sun with a glass of wine. When we saw this house, an Edwardian style semi built in 1921, with its big sunny garden we went for it. The fact that it needed total renovation was a blessing as it brought it within our budget.

The house was a bedsitted disaster. There were three grotty kitchens, one on each floor, there were five dated bathrooms (only three had toilets), the wiring was dangerous, it needed replastering and there was no heating on the top floor. But driven by the need to save money, in November 2002, we moved straight in.

We piled all our belongings in to what is now the sitting room, and set up what I can only describe as camp. The children slept in one room, with the only working shower in the corner.

Rob and I settled at the top. And we set to.

All the tradesmen, plumbers, electricians, plasterers, started work at the same time. While Rob, me, and the kids took charge of clearing away rubble and removing thousands of nails from the floorboards. We must have looked funny driving to the tip in our open top 1956 Landrover piled high with rubbish.

But it was a horrible time. There was no escape from the noise and dust. I had constant indigestion from the worry. The children had to wear thick-soled slippers all the time to protect their feet.

And poor Honor who was a toddler had to drop her day time nap early because of the awful din of building work while Felix, five at the time, just wanted to go home. Our old home.

We turned a corner in February 2003 when Honor’s room was ready. It meant that she could have a space to play in that was safe. We would both escape there in the daytime.

We used experts for advice on meeting building regulations and used a great builder. But it was Rob who kept the project going. He was the builder’s labourer and the plumber’s mate as well as learning about electrics and plastering. He worked constantly.

WWW.THEBATHMAGAZINE.CO.UK

But even with Rob working tirelessly, we had our trials. One night we accidently set the lower loft on fire. The plumber was welding up there and a spark had caused the insulation to catch fire. The water was off, for obvious reasons, so our neighbour saved us with her hose. But it was scary.

Once the basics like heat, light, water and safety were sorted the project became more pleasurable. Upstairs, we decorated the children’s rooms so we could sleep easy and the greatest luxury, installed a bath. Then we designed the kitchen and began thinking about the décor. I did not know it at the time but both have become increasingly important to me now that I write from home.

I love working in the kitchen because it is warm and colourful.

Although I write full time I fit it in around the work that has to be done around the home, like cooking and cleaning. So it is handy to be near the action. I can lean over, give the pot a stir, and get straight back to writing.

I love working in the kitchen ❝ because it is warm and colourful. . . it is handy to be near the action. I can lean over, give the pot a stir and get straight back to writing

❞

We wanted the kitchen to open on to the garden. So we knocked the sitting and dining room at the back of the house into one room.

Thankfully the original kitchen was at the front of the house, so we used it while the new one was built. I tore out pages from magazines for ideas on the kitchen and settled on a French farmhouse look. I think it is very homely and I chose pieces of freestanding furniture because I don’t like things to look too matchy matchy. And I added colour, pinks and greens. I love colour. It lifts my spirits.

I also like to work in my study. It was Rob’s but after my first book was published he cleared the room out and gave it to me for Christmas. He designed the secret door and had a carpenter make it.

I always say that when the builders left I started to write, but my home means much more than that. It is where I work, and where I relax and it is always full of children. Listening to all the funny and insightful things that they say inspires me, every day. I wouldn’t change a thing. ■

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T VA ED G NO AR CH

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THEBATHMAGAZINE We deliver to over 25,000 addresses every month. But if you live outside our distribution area or would like us to send a copy to friends or family then we are able to offer a mailing service for only £15.00 (6 issues) or £25.00 Euro zone; £30.00 (12 issues) or £50.00 Euro zone World Zone 1 £95.00 World Zone 2 £120.00 To subscribe just send a cheque payable to MC Publishing Ltd 2 Princes Buildings, George Street Bath BA1 2ED or Telephone 01225 424 499 for card payment

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CITYgardens

January is the ideal month to get into the potting shed and have a good sort out, says Jane Moore

TIME TO shed the clutter I t’s always tough getting back into the swing of things after the Christmas break, isn’t it? But one job I can always launch myself into with some gusto is a good tidy up in the shed. It’s the horticultural equivalent of going through your sock drawer and chucking away all those holey ones.

By the winter months our shed is overflowing with the flotsam and jetsam of a busy summer. There are empty compost bags that we think we might need ‘later on’. There are the defunct signs from the kitchen garden spelling out the myriad varieties of last year’s crops. And there is an abundance of bits and bobs which have been plonked, placed or casually flung into the furthest corners and either need to be thrown away or found permanent homes.

Last year’s sort out revealed Anna’s cagoule, a pair of gloves long since written off as having vanished into the compost heap and a forgotten bag of bulbs. Hardly rich pickings I know (although they were a rather good pair of gloves) but it’s the tidying up that counts.

Tidying the shed really amounts to ruthlessly throwing away rubbish that has accumulated during the year. Once you’ve done that you can then get to your tools so that you can check them over, cleaning and oiling them as you go so everything is in good working order ready for when you need it in the spring.

We also set to and sharpen the blades on secateurs, loppers and hoes as they’re so much easier to use when they’re sharp. A cigar stone will do the job on a hoe or a pair of loppers but use a finer sharpening stone on your secateurs. If you’re really feeling keen you could start as you mean to go on by servicing and sharpening your trusty old secateurs – they’ll be seeing a lot of use later on! Strip them down and give them a good clean with some wire wool and a spot of metal cleaner to bring them up like new. Sharpen the blade with a whetstone, making sure you only sharpen one side of the secateurs blade the other side 76 THEBATHMAGAZINE

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has to lay flat against the opposing blade. Put them back together using a drop of grease to lubricate the moving parts.

When it comes to servicing the mower, this is one job that, although you can do yourself if you’re inclined towards spanners, oil and such-like, I tend to leave it to the experts. My excuse is that we rely on our rather beleaguered old mower for nine months of the year, pretty much week-in, week-out and I simply would not trust myself to spot all the potential problems

Deadhead pansies and violas to ❝ keep the flowers coming in patio pots and window boxes. Remove faded flowers from cyclamen

❞

at service time. Whereas Ian at Bath Garden Machinery tends to spot the worn out bits before they break and replaces them there and then. Petrol mowers need the oil drained and replaced with fresh, the spark plugs should be checked and possibly changed and the air filters need to be replaced. My home mower, which gets used once in a blue moon rather than once a week, is an electric one so all that needs is the blade sharpening and the cable and plug checking over for nicks and other damage.

Cold days are the best ones for a spot of pot scrubbing. I always treat myself to some warm water and plenty of Fairy liquid or it can be a cold and miserable job. It does hugely reduce the risk of your seedlings succumbing to the dreaded ‘damping off’ disease though, and it also gives me the chance to

Main picture: the garden shed – a place to retreat to in January to sharpen tools, read seed catalogues and plan the year ahead Styling: Bristol-based Made at Home by Maggie (www.madeathomeby maggie.co.uk)

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CITYgardens sort out the battered and broken pots that are only fit for the bin while I’m at it. I do try to wash all the small pots and seed trays that I’m likely to need for the seed sowing bonanza that starts in the next month or so. It doesn’t always work out but there is something very satisfying about plucking a sparkling seed tray from a stack to sow into. It does make one feel like a professional.

It’s also worth cleaning plant labels. A quick rub with a scouring cloth and some Cif will remove old writing and saves you the cost of buying new labels. Bit of a boring job but fine with the radio on or a seed catalogue to flick though while you’re doing it.

There are still quite a few outdoor jobs to do on those lovely crisp winter days where you fancy venturing out into the wintery world of the garden. This is the perfect time to take a look at all your variegated evergreens and whip off those shoots with plain green leaves from shrubs such as Elaeagnus, Euonymus or privet.

These branches tend to be stronger and more vigorous than the variegated ones and can take over altogether.

Bedding takes something of a hammering during these freezing depths of the winter so give it a bit of TLC when you can.

Deadhead pansies and violas to keep the flowers coming in patio pots and window boxes. We all know deadheading is a good idea but a Which? Gardening report in September 2007 showed this was the best way to prolong flowering and it’s good to get it confirmed. While you’re at it, remove faded flowers from cyclamen by pinching them off at the base of the stem, otherwise rot and mould will set in.

Last but not least get a bit creative with the camera. We often get some lovely hoar frosts in the depths of the winter and that icing sugar dusting of frost makes for some unforgettable winter pictures. ■ Jane Moore is the award-winning head gardener at The Bath Priory

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New Year Resolutions for Pets!

Jenny Keen MRCVS, Senior Vet, Station Road Veterinary Surgery After the turkey and Christmas pudding we all feel a little postprandial malaise. It is the time of year that many of us make a New Year’s resolution to lose weight and get fit. This resolution could apply to our animals as well. Obese pets are at risk of many diseases such as diabetes mellitus, heart disease, osteoarthritis, skin and reproductive disorders, constipation and certain cancers. They also suffer from lethargy and can be a higher surgical and anaesthetic risk than slimmer patients. Clinical obesity is confirmed when body weight is 15% more than normal optimum weight. In other words, this is when health problems that are associated with obesity, begin. If you suspect your pet is overweight I would recommend that you speak to your vet before putting your pet on a diet. Certain diseases can mimic obesity. An enlarged abdomen for example, may be due to excessive fluid build up from conditions such as heart disease or hormone problems. Large lumps on the body may be tumours and not excessive fat. Weight gain and lethargy may be from a thyroid problem.

Most of these problems can be diagnosed with a veterinary examination and/or blood test.

Unlike people, you can‘t do the “pinch an inch” test on your pet.

Instead, stand over your dog and look at their outline from above. You should be able to see a slight curve inwards from the rib cage to the torso.

Furthermore, if you see a flat top appearance to their back they have too much padding around the abdomen. You should be able to feel the gentle outline of the ribs but not the ridges of the spine on top. Determining a cat’s body shape can be a bit more difficult as they have more excess skin, however, if you see flab underneath their abdomen, the so-called “udder” appearance, this means they are eating a bit more than they need. The torso of an overweight cat will feel quite firm, rounded, and full- figured as well.

Overweight rabbits have a large dewlap and double chin appearance.

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Once it is established that your pet needs to lose a little weight then get some advice from your vet or veterinary nurse on creating a healthy diet and exercise plan tailored to your pet’s needs. If you have an overweight cat or rabbit or if you pet is elderly or has other health problems, don’t start a diet plan before consulting your vet. Special care must be taken with cats as they may become very sick if they are put on a strict diet and some cats may refuse to eat altogether if they don’t like the diet. Cats should never be allowed to fast for more than a couple of days as it may cause a condition known as fatty liver syndrome which is life threatening. Rabbits should also be monitored closely if you are changing their diet as their gastrointestinal system can stop working suddenly and it can be very difficult to get them to start eating again. If your rabbit’s droppings become scant or they stop eating their usual amount you also need to consult your vet.

Having agreed a target weight for your pet, aim to achieve this over several months and never put your pet on a ‘crash diet’. Always try to increase activity levels as well as reducing calorie consumption as this will ensure that adequate muscle mass is maintained. Regular visits to your vet surgery for weigh- ins are a great way to identify a weight related problem early, achieve the necessary weight loss and keep weight under control once the target weight has been achieved. Your pet will feel a lot better for the weight loss and hopefully you will feel a sense of accomplishment keeping their new year’s resolution, if not your own!

All Bath Vet Group surgery contact details and further information are available at www.bathvetgroup.co.uk. If you have any questions, local vet Jenny Keen will be pleased to help and can be contacted on 01225 428921.

Alternatively contact Rosemary Lodge Hospital on 01225 832521.

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RABY PLACE, BATHWICK BATH

Price: ÂŁ1.5 million

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esigned by the architect John Pinch in 1823, number 4 Raby Place is an impressive, grade II listed, Georgian townhouse with wonderful views across Raby Lawn towards Bath Abbey.

Internally the house has many interesting architectural features including detailed plasterwork, sash windows with working shutters, cantilevered stone staircase and double bridal doors between the drawing and withdrawing rooms. The house combines a subtle blend of Georgian elegance, modern day practical living and contemporary chic. Spread over five floors, the accommodation is exceptionally spacious and flexible with light and airy rooms with high ceilings. The main reception rooms are situated on the ground and first floors with the impressive drawing room to the front and thw withdrawing room overlooking the rear garden. The quality fitted kitchen and adjoining dining room are located on the ground floor together with the utility and a cloakroom. There are four bedrooms occupying the second and third floors with the master bedroom having an en suite roll top, freestanding bath. There is also a separate family bathroom.

At lower ground floor level is a self contained one bedroom apartment, currently with its own private entrance, however an internal staircase is in place and could be reopened if required. Away from the main house at the end of the garden, there is a separate coach house and annex with double garage. This provides additional accommodation in the form of a two bedroom maisonette above the garage. Outside, the landscaped gardens have Mediterranean and Californian influences. In addition to the private gardens, the property has part ownership of Raby Lawn, a private garden with joint access by residents of the terrace.

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

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A recently renovated two bedroom maisonette arranged over two floors, finished to a high standard throughout and located on a quiet pedestrianised cul-de-sac a short level walk from Bath city centre. Having a large dual aspect living room, a modern fully fitted kitchen with integrated appliances, a large single bedroom with fitted storage, a dual aspect double bedroom with a fitted wardrobe, a modern shower room plus GCH throughout and plenty of additional storage.

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Bathwick Hill

Bathwick

A stunning, detached two storey Italianate villa constructed in 2005, effortlessly combining sleek and contemporary finishes with classical charm and elegance.

An imposing attached period on two floors only, set in good sized attractive gardens, less than a mile from City Centre.

4 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms and 3 reception rooms. Landscaped plot (approx 1/3 acre).

Driveway. Double garage and views. Excellent access to City Centre and University.

Total floor area approx - 224 sq m/2626 sq ft.

4 bedrooms, bathroom & shower room, reception hall, drawing room, sitting room/library, dining room, kitchen/breakfast room and cloakroom. Veranda. Gardens. Summer house.

Greenhouse. Ample driveway parking. Detached former coach house.

Total approx internal area: 3819sq ft /354 sq m.

Price: £1.25 million

Guide Price: £900,000

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Larkhall

An imposing attached period on two floors only, set in good sized attractive gardens, less than a mile from City Centre.

An extended 1930’s semi detached house in a quiet sought after road, just a few minutes’ walk from shops and amenities.

4 bedrooms, bathroom & shower room, reception hall, drawing room, sitting room/library, dining room, kitchen/breakfast room and cloakroom. Veranda. Gardens. Summer house.

Greenhouse. Ample driveway parking. Detached former coach house.

Total approx internal area: 3819sq ft /354 sq m.

4 bedrooms, bathroom and shower room, sitting room with large opening into dining room, spacious kitchen/breakfast room, utility/cloakroom.Attractive gardens to the front and rear.

Driveway parking.

Total approx. internal area: 1242 sq ft / 115.4 sq m.

Price: £795,000

Price: £425,000 11 Quiet Street, Bath BA1 2LB

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R e s i d e n t i a l

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Midford Road

ÂŁ425,000

An Impressive and Particularly Stylish Individual Detached Home Beautifully Presented Throughout | Impressive Entertaining and Living Space | 2 Separate Reception Rooms | Stunning Kitchen/Dining Room | Cloakroom/Utility | 3 Bedrooms | Family Bathroom | Large Child Friendly Garden | Off Road Parking for 3-4 Cars

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ÂŁ395,000

Amazing Extended Detached Home Situated in a Popular Residential Location within Easy Reach of the City Centre and Local Schools Entrance Hall | Sitting/Dining Room | Kitchen/Breakfast Room | Conservatory 2 Single Bedrooms | Modern Family Bathroom | Garage | Good Size Garden

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Residential Lettings

Midford

£1675 PCM

Delightful 4 Bedroom Cottage in Sought After Village Close to Bath Character Features | Lovely Views | Living Room with Woodburner | Dining Room | Kitchen/Breakfast Room with Range Style Cooker | Utility | Cloakroom | 4 Bedrooms | Modern Bathroom with White Bathroom Suite | Summer House/Home Office

Twinhoe, near Bath

£1500 PCM

Pretty and particularly spacious cottage boasting stunning views over Midford Valley Idylic hamlet of Twinhoe within a short drive of Bath | 3 Double Bedrooms rooms | Large Utility | Bathroom | Shower Room | Rural Location

| Period Features | Garden | Views from all

134 Wells Road, Bear Flat, Bath BA2 3AH

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A contemporary four bedroom Italianate detached villa situated in one of Bath's most prestigious residential locations enjoying enviable views across the city. Bathwick Hill, Bath Bath City Centre 1 mile, London 120 miles, Bristol 18 miles 4 double bedrooms, 3 reception rooms, 3311 sq ft of accommodation, pretty city views, double garage, italianate styling. Guide Price ÂŁ1.25m

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A substantial restored period residence with detached cottage and double garage set within enclosed mainly level gardens with gated access and manicured lawns. Lower Swainswick, Bath Bath City Centre 2 miles, London 112 miles, Bristol 14 miles 6 bedrooms, 4 reception rooms, kitchen/breakfast room, 6 bathrooms, 709 sq ft cottage, double garage and gardens.

Guide Price ÂŁ1.85m

Bath Office

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residential sales

Bannerdown: £625,000

Weston: £460,000

A 5 bedroom, executive detached home on the Valley View development

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dining room, kitchen/breakfast room, study, conservatory, bathroom, en-suite

Outside there is a Double Garage and further off street parking.

shower room, garage, parking and front and rear gardens.

Bradford on Avon: £390,000

Newbridge: £355,000

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SOLD Marlborough Buildings, Bath

Guide Price: £250,000

A spacious second floor apartment in a central location “Living in America, we were looking for a Realtor to sell our much loved, long time property at Marlborough Buildings in Bath. This required special expertise and attention to detail which we could not manage from afar. We found KF to be most helpful in this regard.They handled everything cheerfully and competently to bring the sale to a successful conclusion. Thanks to all for a job well done!”

Mr and Mrs G Webster

SOLD Northend, Bath

Guide Price: £1,250,000

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SOLD Cavendish Place, Bath

Guide Price: £450,000

Well presented top floor maisonette with excellent views “We have been delighted with the service Knight Frank have given us and felt throughout the selling process that they were the right choice. The team were always helpful and their enthusiasm, efficiency and particularly their openness were hugely appreciated - we would certainly recommend Knight Frank to anyone else.”

Oliver Embleton and Hayley Lawrence

SOLD Richmond Hill, Bath

Guide Price: £1,100,000

A fabulous Georgian townhouse with commanding views over Bath “I would like to thank Knight Frank for their excellent work. I am very happy with the quick and efficient sale of my house. Throughout the process the team have worked together very well and provided a marvellous service both professionally and personally. They have looked after me so well and their attention has been very reassuring. I would most certainly recommend Knight Frank.”

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