The Bristol Magazine June 2016

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THE

Issue 144

THEBRISTOLMAG.CO.UK

£3.95 where sold

I

JuNe 2016

MAGAZINE

NO MORE HEROES? Punk pioneers The Stranglers are back in town, and set to take Grillstock by storm

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

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THE | CONTENTS Photo © Chris Cooper

JUNE 2016

20

Photo © joncraig.co.uk

44 62 54 12 ZEITGEIST

56

52 FOOD AND DRINK NEWS

Five fab things to do this month

14 THE CITYIST

Updates from the industry

Latest stories from our local schools

54 RESTAURANT REVIEW

We take five with Invisible Circus ringmaster Doug Francisco

18 BARTLEBY ...Reflects on a new mayoral era

20 CLIFTON IN BLOOM Charlotte Gallagher heads up to BS8 to rediscover all that Clifton Village has to offer

Dig North African and Mediterraneanstyle dining and panoramic views? Better get down to Bambalan...

56 RECIPES Meat fiends rejoice – Grillstock have brought out a cookery book, and it will change the way you barbecue forever

Off to Glastonbury this month? Better start your field trip prep

Black-clad Stranglers bassist JJ Burnel chats to us ahead of his headline Grillstock gig

36 WHAT’S ON Pencils and diaries at the ready

40 ARTS & EXHIBITIONS What’s at the city’s galleries, then?

44 BRISTOL AT WORK We zoom in on Mr Pole of Pukka Herbs

46 THE PRODUCERS With Big Green Week on the horizon, we talk to some of the area’s fantastic foodie folk

Even more great content online: thebristolmag.co.uk 4 THE BRISTOL MAGAZINE

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JUNE 2016

Faye Dicker investigates the Tots Up Reward Bus – and is completely on board!

84 OUT AND ABOUT Andrew Swift takes us on a wander round the Marlborough Downs

86 INTERIORS 89 SHOPPING: HOME Moodboard your ideal outdoor workspace

61 WHOLE LOTTA BRISTORY Julian Lea-Jones shares stories of yore

90 THROUGH THE KEYHOLE Explore a gorgeous home in Sneyd Park

62 GOLF

30 MUSIC

78 FREELANCE MUM

Bristol’s ‘boys who sew’ are on the move

60 FATHER’S DAY A little gift inspiration

28 SHOPPING: FESTIVAL

74 EDUCATION NEWS

Maybe Dad would prefer a round or two on one of the area’s finest fairways?

92 GARDENING Time to cover up, says Margaux Speirs

94 PROPERTY FOCUS

64 MOTORING Dara Foley checks out Rolls-Royce’s seductive new motor, the Dawn

We take a turn around three lovely homes in Sneyd Park, Clifton Village and Westbury Park

68 BRISTOL UPDATES Business news from across the city

70 TRAVEL Samantha Coleman heads to Totnes for a spot of family relaxation (it’s possible!)

73 FAMILY FUN Plenty for kids to get stuck into this summer

Follow us on Twitter @thebristolmag

Like us: Facebook.com/ TheBristolMagazine

ON THE COVER Veteran punk rockers The Stranglers return to Bristol – flick to p30 for our interview with bassist JJ Burnel

Follow us on Instagram @thebristolmag

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HELPING YOU MOVE IN 2016 If you are considering selling a property this year, now is the time to speak to an expert.

We pride ourselves on exceptional service and unrivalled market knowledge, with a global network of 417 offices across 58 countries that can showcase your property to the widest possible audience.

Call us today on +44 117 295 0425 to arrange your free market appraisal.

Knightfrank.co.uk/bristol bristol@knightfrank.com

Guide price: £1,650,000

KnightFrank KnightFrank.co.uk

Coombe Dingle Substantial detached home (5,184 sq ft) enjoying private and enclosed gardens. 3 reception rooms, 5 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, integral double garage, in and out drive, level gardens, detached studio.

EPC E.

Guide price: £485,000

nTheMarket.com

Guide price: £399,950

Clifton

Clifton

Immaculate and generously proportioned apartment (1,540 st ft).

Drawing room, dining room, inner hall, kitchen, utility, master with dressing room, guest bedroom, guest bathroom. First come parking.

A highly desirable 2 bedroom apartment (869 sq ft) with balcony and parking. Open plan kitchen / drawing room, master suite, guest bed, guest shower room, balcony and parking. EPC D.

Knight Frank June.qxp_full page 27/05/2016 14:57 Page 1

HELPING YOU MOVE IN 2016 If you are considering selling a property this year, now is the time to speak to an expert.

We pride ourselves on exceptional service and unrivalled market knowledge, with a global network of 417 offices across 58 countries that can showcase your property to the widest possible audience.

Call us today on +44 117 295 0425 to arrange your free market appraisal.

Knightfrank.co.uk/bristol bristol@knightfrank.com

Guide price: £775,000

KnightFrank KnightFrank.co.uk

Clifton Beautifully presented modern family home (1,320 sq ft) with garden, parking and garage. Kitchen, 2 receptions, 3 bedrooms, 1 en suite, guest bathroom, ample storage, attractive rear gardens, off street parking, Garage. EPC E.

Guide price £545,000

nTheMarket.com

Guide price £675,000

Clifton

Clifton

Immaculate 3 bedroom maisonette (1,565 sq ft). Contemporary kitchen/ breakfast room, open plan drawing room, 3 bedrooms (2 ensuite), bathroom, utility, private courtyard gardens, communal gardens to front and rear.

An impressive and elegantly proportioned first floor apartment (1,623 sq ft) in Clifton. Drawing room, sitting room, kitchen/breakfast room, 3 bedroom suites, parking and communal terrace. EPC D.

Knight Frank June.qxp_full page 25/05/2016 11:34 Page 3

HELPING YOU MOVE IN 2016 If you are considering selling a property this year, now is the time to speak to an expert.

We pride ourselves on exceptional service and unrivalled market knowledge, with a global network of 417 offices across 58 countries that can showcase your property to the widest possible audience.

Call us today on +44 117 295 0425 to arrange your free market appraisal.

Knightfrank.co.uk/bristol bristol@knightfrank.com

Guide price: £1,700,000

KnightFrank KnightFrank.co.uk

Tidenham Stunning country house (4,499 sq ft) in immaculate condition. 4 receptions, kitchen, larder, utility room, cloak room. 6 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms (2 en-suite). 2 bedroom cottage (1,470 sq ft). Garaging, gardens, paddocks, tennis court. In all about 22 acres. EPC F.

Guide price £2,000,000

nTheMarket.com

Guide price: £825,000

Wells

Abbots Leigh

Spectacular Grade II* Listed home (4,869 sq ft) next to Wells Cathedral.

5 receptions, kitchen/breakfast room, 4 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms (2 ensuite), 1 bed annexe (343 sq ft), double garage, parking, gardens and orchard.

Beautiful detached family home (1,761 sq ft) with stunning views. 2 reception rooms, 4 bedrooms (one en suite), family bathroom, guest shower room, gardens, parking, garage garden store, outstanding views.

Knight Frank June.qxp_full page 25/05/2016 11:34 Page 4

HELPING YOU MOVE IN 2016 If you are considering selling a property this year, now is the time to speak to an expert.

We pride ourselves on exceptional service and unrivalled market knowledge, with a global network of 417 offices across 58 countries that can showcase your property to the widest possible audience.

Call us today on +44 117 295 0425 to arrange your free market appraisal.

Knightfrank.co.uk/bristol bristol@knightfrank.com

Guide price £1,495,000

KnightFrank KnightFrank.co.uk

Chew Valley Stunning listed country house (5,349 sq ft) . 4 reception rooms, kitchen, cellar, master suite, 4 further bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, top floor kitchen. Garaging, workshop and garden room (923 sq ft), beautiful grounds and paddock. In all about 1.65 acres.

OIEO £799,500

nTheMarket.com

Guide price £550,000

Bleadon

Tytherington

Beautiful detached family home (3,211 sq ft) with exceptional views.

4 reception rooms, kitchen/breakfast, utility. 6 bedrooms (2 ensuite), family bathroom. In all 2.57 acres of gardens and paddock. EPC C.

Charming Victorian village house (1,736 sq ft) with pretty rural views, 3/4 reception rooms, kitchen/breakfast room, 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, garaging, outbuilding (357 sq ft), landscaped gardens and grounds.

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THIS MONTH WE’VE BEEN...

Relaxing

Olverum’s aromatic bath oil – £36.95 for 200ml – is ideal for relaxing your muscles post-summer run.

Available at Harvey Nichols, House of Fraser or online; olverum.com

from the

Nibbling

EDITOR “There’s always the sun...”

T

he Stranglers were right, some things never change – whether it’s that fiery, life-giving orb in the sky; the weathermen getting it wrong; or the punk pioneers’ enduring presence on the music scene. One of the longest-surviving bands of the era, the bad boys-turned-statesmen of rock have been a constant for over 40 years now, and are still killing it with their visceral energy and influential sound. We catch up with founding member and monster bassist JJ Burnel on p30, as he and the guys prepare to bring the mayhem to the meaty, musical mix that is Grillstock in a few weeks’ time.

Speaking of which, we’ve also picked out a few favourite recipes from the new Grillstock book on p56, so you can always get your sizzle on in the garden if you can’t make it to the festival. And on p54, as part of a bit of a bumper foodie section this month, we deliver our verdict on the hottest new hang-out in town, Bambalan, while p46 sees us chat to a handful of the region’s many fantastic producers, to coincide with Bristol’s Big Green Week – let’s see if we can’t get those food miles down a bit, eh?

Also getting into the green spirit are the folk in Clifton Village, who’ve launched a campaign encouraging the use of different modes of transport to explore the area, and featuring lots of eco-centric events – Charlotte Gallagher takes a trip up to BS8 on p20 to rediscover what’s on offer.

Elsewhere, we shop for festival season (p28) and Father’s Day (p60) – though if your old man’s not all that hot on his grooming, we’ve also sought out some of the finest fairways round these parts, if you want to treat him to a round of golf (p62). Or perhaps you could take him for a nosey round Rybrook, Rolls-Royce’s new showroom (p64).

Then, on p70, Samantha Coleman heads south for a family vacay, while on p86 we get the 411 from Bristol’s ‘boys who sew’ – keep an eye out for their gorgeous-sounding new design space on Whiteladies Road in the coming weeks!

Until next time...

AMANDA NICHOLLS EDITOR Editor’s image by Paolo Ferla; ferlapaolo.com

@thebristolmag

10 THE BRISTOL MAGAZINE

thebristolmag.co.uk

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JUNE 2016

@thebristolmag

We tried some of the delicious, weeklychanging delights at Tiffin Time – and loved the Mexican-inspired butternut squash, feta and refried bean chilli with zesty red cabbage slaw. tiffintime.co.uk

We’ve also been eating our way through the treats at the new Warrens on High Street. And yep, the diet is going fine, thanks for asking... warrensbakery.co.uk

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ZEITGEIST

Top

5

things to do in JUNE

LAUGH AND A HALF

DEEPER UNDERGROUND If you like the sound of subterranean Shakespeare, join Bristol theatre company Insane Root from 8 June, when it will be bringing its production of Macbeth to one of the city’s deepest, darkest corners, in association with Bristol Shakespeare Festival. Under the claustrophobic red earth of the Redcliffe Caves, witness one of the Bard’s finest villains commit bloody murder in the shadows, and follow the mysterious witches as they weave through knotted caverns and nooks on a journey into the unknown. With a tight-knit ensemble of seven actors, Macbeth involves elements of audience interaction, live music, singing and even stage combat. Tickets £22, performances dates and times vary. For more information, visit: insaneroot.co.uk

Bristol Comedy Garden will be returning to Queen Square on 28 June for six nights of top-notch live comedy from a quality crop of comedians – the likes of the revered Stewart Lee; fierce, pop-culture obsessed Canadian Katherine Ryan; the provocative Reg D Hunter; one-liner maestro Milton Jones and Edinburgh Comedy Award-winner Bridget Christie.

Adam Buxton’s BUG will celebrate David Bowie’s music videos and on-screen appearances, remembering the indelible mark he made on our cultural landscape, while there’ll be a rare UK appearance from the Pajama Men, British Comedy Award-winners Cardinal Burns and the delightfully strange Paul Foot, plus live music, street food and lots more. Visit: bristolcomedygarden.co.uk

MAKE A SPLASH The Lido is holding a family swim and street party day on 18 June from 12pm-6pm (6pm10pm adults only) to help raise £20,000 for Bristol charity Above & Beyond. There’ll be live music, food and drink stalls lining the street outside and creating a party atmosphere, and members of the public, including children, will be able to swim throughout the day for a very small fee with all proceeds helping to fund a new sensory bathroom for the neuroscience ward at the Bristol Royal Hospital for Children. A raffle will also be drawn on 24 June with prizes including a year’s Lido membership, and a massage a month for a year. Visit: lidobristol.com; aboveandbeyond.org.uk

HIGH NOTE New city orchestra Bristol Symphony Orchestra is holding its inaugural concert this month. The adventurous new 60-player orchestra – led by violinist Pamela Bell and comprising amateur, semi-professional and professional musicians – will be performing exciting new pieces while also honouring their classical past. The High Sheriff’s Concert on 18 June will take place at St George’s Bristol, bringing together diverse pieces with interesting stories behind them. The evening will also see the world premiere of an amazing new concerto for kora and orchestra, which The High Sheriff has commissioned Bristol composer and conductor William Goodchild – the orchestra’s artistic director – and Bristol-based Senegalese master kora player Mamadou Cissokho to write.

For more information, visit: bristolsymphonyorchestra.com

THAT’S ALL VOLKS! Visit Bristol Volksfest from 17 – 19 June if you want all the best VDubs (over 150) in your life, along with a dollop of Bristol music and culture. This year's event features a vintage Beetle display, in celebration of its 70th year, and there’s a big trade area too, with everything from VW specialists, car spares, accessories, autojumble, clothing, jewellery, retro goods and a memorabilia market – plus an international food court, Bath Ales bars licensed until 1am, bands, DJs and a late-night silent disco. Other on-site features include a multi-national military display, street art displays from Upfest, BMX ramps and demos, vintage funfair rides, free kids’ entertainment, competitions and an adventure playground. For the first time there will also be a VW auction, hosted by Clifton Auction Co. For more information and tickets, visit: bristolvolksfest.co.uk

Mamdou Cissokho – photo rosafay.co.uk

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THE CITY THE BUZZ

My BRISTOL

We take five with Doug Francisco, creative director, ringmaster and clown at The Invisible Circus

Breakfast in Bed...minster!

There were surreal scenes in Southville last month, when The Pony & Trap’s Josh Eggleton hosted a three-course breakfast event inside furniture shop Kustom, with Wogan Coffee and Corks of North Street. 40 diners were served dishes including Chew Hill Farm scrambled eggs with Chew Valley smoked salmon, and pancakes with blueberry compote and mascarpone, in the shop’s beds. Completing the celebrations, were one couple who even got engaged in their bed!

Meet Mr Graff The team behind Mr Men Little Miss have partnered with Upfest to introduce a new member of the Mr Men family. Mr Graff, designed by Bristol graffiti artist Cheo and sporting a spray can and baseball cap, will be sprayed live, with other Mr Men characters, to create a giant mural during the festival. “We are honoured to be collaborating with MMLM and Cheo to celebrate MMLM’s 45th anniversary,” said Stephen Hayles, Upfest founder. “It really shows how the festival and different art disciplines are evolving.” Cheo added: “It’s a privilege to have been asked to create Mr Graff.

As well as celebrating the 45th anniversary, it’s also a great accomplishment for the street art and graffiti scene to work with MMLM in doing something so momentous.” upfest.co.uk

So Doug, what are you working on right now?

House of Illusions – in the ash pits at The Loco Klub – a collaboration with Impermanence Dance Theatre. The first research and development phase was in May and we will be returning with a second development at the end of summer. It’s amazing to work creatively in the tunnels section of the site after so much hard work to get it up and running. We are also further developing our Creation Space project at Unit 15, which is a huge, fully rigged circus theatre space near Old Market.

What do you rate about this city?

The amazing can-do attitude. People don't wait for permission, they just do it, and that creates a vibrant scene filled with new ideas. Also the wealth of different opportunities and projects occurring at any one time.

Which gallery will you be visiting this month?

Just walking the streets of Bristol feels like a trip to a gallery as there's so much great art.

What are you reading at the moment?

The Trip to Echo Spring by Olivia Laing – it's a biography of several writers, all alcoholics.

What’s pumping through your speakers?

I’ve just discovered Radiooooo.com, an online music source where you choose a decade and a country and listen to the music that was being played at that time. It’s amazing!

Which local restaurant are you loving?

Bravas! Reasonably priced, amazing food.

Favourite watering hole in Bristol?

Have to say The Loco Klub, it’s such a unique, unusual place with all the fading flock wallpapered glory of the old railway social club. A true grubby gem in a slightly too slick and shiny world.

Which other Bristol performers do you admire?

The Wardrobe Ensemble. They made a theatre and run it themselves while still making great shows – that takes a lot of drive. And Impermanence Dance Theatre as they have taken dance into new, uncharted territory.

What other projects are in the pipeline?

An aerial dance spectacle from Glastonbury Circus Theatre, with Impermanence, Yskynna Aerial Dance Co and The Media Workshop.

We are also already preparing for Boomtown Fair in August where we stage a huge battle scene on a full-size three-mast pirate ship and take over main stages in the name of revolution. We have also been teaming up with our old landlords at the Island Urban Splash to work on a crazy historic site in Plymouth called Royal William Yard – we are planning a steadily escalating schedule of events and shows for the next couple of years. invisiblecircus.co.uk

READ ALL ABOUT IT...

This month Charlotte Pope at Foyles bookshop recommends Free Speech

by Timothy Garton Ash In our society, there has never been such a chance for free expression.

Over the past few decades, with the fall of the Berlin Wall and the invention of the World Wide Web, the potential for communication has snowballed. With almost half of humankind having internet access, any one of us can publish any thought we have and have the potential to reach billions.

On the other hand, freedom of speech has not quite reached everyone in our great modern world, with several countries restricting their citizens' access to the web; plus, unlimited free expression can also have a dark side, with everything from death threats to graphic images of violence able to cross frontiers with ease. Timothy Garton Ash argues that in our newly connected, cosmopolitan world, the way to combine freedom and diversity is to have not only more, but better free speech.

He proposes a detailed framework, suggesting how we can implement these ideas, while building strong relationships with our neighbouring countries and protecting our right to be free. Utterly fascinating, incredibly relevant and well-researched, and engaging bedtime reading.

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Massive news!

Bristol music legends Massive Attack’s 3 September open-air gig on The Downs sold out in less than two hours last month. Tickets for the all-day event – which also features Scottish rock band Primal Scream and MC, rapper and grime artist Skepta, plus more acts still to be announced – went on sale online at 9am and sold out within the hour while hundreds lined the streets, queuing from 3.30am to get their hands on tickets from Idle Hands record shop in Stokes Croft and Bristol Ticket Shop. It’ll be the first time The Downs has been used for a major music event for over 15 years, and Massive Attack’s first major gig in the city for over a decade. “We’re curating what we hope will become an annual event; something made in Bristol with an international reach,” said Massive Attack member 3D. “We will also use the project to engage with the important social and political issues of the day."

“We’ve been talking with the band for many years now about trying to put a show of this scale on together – and it finally feels like the moment is right,” added Tom Paine, co-founder of Team Love, which has curated the show in partnership with Crosstown Concerts. “We knew the gig would be huge but seeing fans queuing down the street was incredible. We think this might be the fastest selling gig Bristol’s ever seen.” Visit: massiveattack.co.uk

BRISTAGRAM Some of our favourite recent snaps taken by folk around the city! Tag your best pics of Bristol using #thebristolmag Bluebells in the Mall Gardens: @t ealclifton

Bristol designer @zoehewettinteriors’ Grand Designs Live roomset

Hundreds of music fans queued from as early as 3.30am to get their hands on tickets

Picture this...

The historic former ABC cinema on Whiteladies Road reopened last month as an Everyman Cinema after a 15-year closure. Everyman – an independent network of cinemas with a focus on creating the best environment in which to watch great films – officially unveiled the three-screen cinema and bar now housed in the 96-year-old art deco building with a launch night including screenings of Green Room, Love and Friendship and Sing Street. The Grade-II building closed in 2001, after an 80-year history as a cinema and well-loved part of the local community, and great efforts have been made on several occasions to ensure the cinema remained open. At the stylish picture house, there’s a food and drink service that delivers to your seat, signature sofas and a broad line-up of films and events. everymancinema.com

Pata Negra boys shakin ’ up sherry for @bristo cocktails lfoodconnec tions

Live drumming at the al @extractcoffee tropic coffee rave

Brian Wilson, Al Jardine an d co at Colston Hall (pic by @slan kypuss)

Cockails and snacks delivered to you at your seat as you get stuck into a film? Er, yes please!

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THE CITY

24 HOURS IN BRISTOL WINNERS REVEALED The winners of the city’s recent 24 Hours competition have been announced. Bath photographer Paolo Ferla took home first prize for his image Bristol’s Energy, while second place was awarded to All Together Now by Joshua Perrett, and Thomas Boot took third place with his image entitled Two Priests.

“I loved my photo but never expected to win amongst so many awesome pictures,” said Paolo, who was awarded £1,500 and a Fuji X70. “When I first saw the shot, the sky was too bright so we sat on the

grass and waited a while, then realised that us sitting in shot would add to the picture, so we set up the self-timer and jumped in shot! Getting to see my photo on the wall under ‘first place’ was a total shock.”

An exhibition featuring the winning images and lots more of the entries is now on at the Harbourside Arts Centre near Millennium Square, until mid-June. Winners’ photographs below, alongside the now-credited images we showcased last issue, before the winners were announced. For more information, visit: 24hoursinbristol.co.uk

Bristol’s Energy by Paolo Ferla

All Together Now Joshua Perrett

Two Priests by Thomas Boot

By Michael Fouracre

By Mark Woolacott

By Neil Porter

By Neil James Brain

By Julie Romaines

By Neil James Brain

By Megan Lander

By Daniel Robinson

By Matthew Price

By Jay Ridsdale

16 THE BRISTOL MAGAZINE

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WIN Fly and Sail tickets to the Isles of Scilly The Bristol Magazine has got together with Isles of Scilly Travel to treat yourself to something completely different this year. Fly out of Land’s End Airport and Sail back onboard the Scillonian III. #Travel Local with Isles of Scilly Travel. www.islesofscilly-travel.co.uk @IOSTravel 01736 334220

By entering you will agree to be kept up to date with news, offers and events by joining the Isles of Scilly Travel mailing list

To enter the competition email your name and address to competitions@thebristolmagazine.co.uk

Terms and Conditions The price is for 2 adults’ tickets, flying out of Land’s End Airport and returning onboard the Scillonian III. The winning party must agree to Isles of Scilly Travel standard terms and conditions. By entering the competition all participants will be deemed to have accepted and agreed to be bound by these terms and conditions. Only one entry per household. The winner will be selected at random and the competition will close on 30/6/2016. No cash alternative is available. Winner must hold a valid passport.

If, due to circumstances beyond their control (Isles of Scilly Travel) are unable to provide the stated prize, they reserve the right to award a substitute prize of equal or greater value • This prize is valid for the 2017 holiday season and can be taken between Tuesday - Thursday with the following exclusions: 1.Excludes travel on school holiday dates and bank holiday weekend’s. 2. Excludes travel on Tuesday and Thursday that is adjacent to the two bank holiday weekends in May • Tickets come under the standard terms and conditions as stated on www.islesofscilly-travel.co.uk • By entering the competition the winners agree to take part in any publicity. Entrants must be over 18 • This prize cannot be used in conjunction with any other offer and promotions • This prize cannot be exchanged for cash or other equivalent and is non transferable

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B R I S TOL MAGAZINE

Long live the king!

T

he king is dead! Long live the king! Or to translate for a modern audience: bye then, George. Alright, Marvin? The reign of Bristol’s most independent Independent has come to an end, and we are entering a new era, the Age of the Labour Mayor. Many years ago I asked in this column whether Bristol needed ‘a Ken’ – yes, it was that long ago. But whatever one’s personal feelings, I think Mr Ferguson demonstrated that a mayor could be – generally speaking – a force for good.

Back then, discussion about whether Bristol needed a mayor centred on one issue in particular: transport. For more than a generation, council chamber democracy had failed to Get Bristol Moving, so could one strongminded visionary push through the kind of infrastructure developments needed to unclog our roads? In London, Livingstone forced through the congestion charge, derided at first but soon accepted as rather a good idea.

There was debate for a while about whether Bristol might have something similar – the problem being that it is much easier to circumnavigate central London than do the same here. Whatever happens, you end up on Bristol Bridge. So attention focused instead on public transport. With a mayor, perhaps we could have some trams! Except they’re not called trams anymore, but ‘light rail solutions’ or whatnot. Anyway, that came to nought, as central government decreed that we provincials were not worthy of rail, however light, and should instead travel by bus, in case we got uppity and started to think of ourselves as some kind of rival capital.

❝

The reign of Bristol’s most independent Independent has come to an end; we are entering the age of the Labour mayor

❞

But even buses turned out to be problematic. People didn’t want the BristolBath Railway Path turned into a bus lane, and they said so, loudly. So instead, the powers-that-be are in the process of building a dedicated bus lane to…

Ashton – which is already well-served by many buses...

Of course, there is another way to look at the whole transport thang.

Instead of controlling the way people move around, how about stopping them from stopping? A car, after all, is only a useful way of getting from A to B if it can be left at B for as long as you need to be there. If you’re planning to spend all day at B, and you’re only allowed to leave the car for half an hour, then you will probably reconsider your PTS (Personal Transport Strategy) and perhaps take the bus instead.

I’m sure this was the thinking process behind the parking controls that have transformed large areas of the city. Make parking inconvenient, and people won’t drive. Plus, the city can make a bit more money at the same time. The success of such a strategy, and the political survival of the strategist, depends on it having a measure of popular support, only likely to be forthcoming if people feel the controls are making life better. In this case, I think Mr F’s determination to stop commuters parking for nothing in residential streets, led him to create a system with a quite un-Bristolian lack of flexibility.

The proliferation of signs, ticket machines and white lines makes the city seem just a little like a police state, and I have always felt, ever since the new ticket machines were introduced at Ashton Court, that being obliged to enter your full registration number constitutes an invasion of privacy. More prosaically, the effect on businesses that rely on ‘pop-in’ trade can’t be good.

True, you can often have half an hour’s parking for free, but you still need a ticket, and the (minor) inconvenience of fetching one is enough to persuade a shopper just to drive to the supermarket. “But surely you Bristolians relish the extra exercise!” #notwithtwokidsinthecargeorge But George is now safely out of the line of fire. It’s Marvin’s turn now. The king is dead. Long live the king. ■ 18 THE BRISTOL MAGAZINE

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Follow us on Twitter @thebristomag

See more online www.thebristolmag.co.uk

Contact us: Editor Tel: Email:

Amanda Nicholls 0117 974 2800 amanda@thebristolmagazine.co.uk

Publisher Email:

Steve Miklos steve@thebristolmagazine.co.uk

Production Manager Email:

Jeff Osborne production@thebristolmagazine.co.uk

Production Assistant Email:

Jessica Hope jessica@thebristolmagazine.co.uk

Advertising Sales Louise Harrold, Sue Parker, Liz Grey For advertising enquiries please contact us on: 0117 974 2800 Email: sales@thebristolmagazine.co.uk Financial Director Email:

Jane Miklos jane@thebristolmagazine.co.uk

The Bristol Magazine is published by MC Publishing Ltd. An independent publisher.

The Bristol Magazine is distributed free every month to more than 20,000 homes and businesses throughout the city. We also have special distribution units in the following stores and many coffee shops, hotels and convenient pick-up points.

THE

BRISTOL MAGAZINE Bristol and Exeter House, Lower Approach, Temple Meads, Bristol BS1 6QS Telephone: 0117 974 2800 www.thebristolmagazine.co.uk © MC Publishing Ltd 2016 Disclaimer: Whilst every reasonable care is taken with all material submitted to The Bristol 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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We are a Clifton Village boutique selling new and preloved ladies designerwear and hard to source high end High Street, offering items from casual knits & linens, workwear, designer bags & shoes, right through to red carpet gowns and wedding attire.

Designer labels we love include • Vivienne Westwood • Cavalli • Prada • Mulberry • Temperley & McQueen

High street names including • Ted Baker • Karen Millen • LK Bennett • AllSaints • Austin Reed.

Full of one-off treasures with new items coming in daily, so pop in and see what we have for you.

Now also in Wedmore, in the grounds of the George Hotel, Church Street.

Tel: 01934 707576 SUMPTUOUS DESIGNERWEAR

37 Princess Victoria Street, Clifton, Bristol BS8 4BX Tel: 0117 329 2900 @SumptuousDesign Sumptuous Designerwear sumptuous_designerwear www.sumptuousdesignerwear.co.uk

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LEISURE | TIME

CLIFTON IN BLOOM Charlotte Gallagher takes a trip to BS8 to rediscover everything Clifton Village has to offer

W

hile we never tire of a wander through Clifton Village, whatever the season, you can’t beat it on a clear summer’s day – winding your way round leafy residential avenues like Caledonia Place, taking in views of the Suspension Bridge over bellinis on the Avon Gorge Hotel terrace and watching the place really begin to shine is a complete pleasure.

If you’re anything like us though, it’s rather a lengthy process as we tend to stop, like a procrastinating puppy, at every single shop on every single street, sniffing out best buys and trying on stylish togs in the likes of 18, Maze, Gladrags or Sumptuous.

We love the assortment of independent businesses on Princess Victoria Street – there’s everything from The Village Pottery, where we can book in for a lesson on the wheel, and Rachel’s and Michael’s where we like to ogle the antiques, to staples like the Clifton Cobbler and Flowers By Alison, that add to the authentic village feel that’s so rare within a city.

You’ll often catch us perusing the menus on the doors outside the area’s high-calibre eateries – we’re talking Wallfish, sitting pretty on the site of Keith Floyd’s first bistro; Fishers; New Moon; The Clifton Sausage, among plenty of others – or standing in line for our fish supper on a Friday at Clifton Village Fish Bar. If not, we’re probably having a cheeky self-gifting session in SJP Interior Design, Teal, Rhubarb or The Pod Company perhaps; browsing the blooms in Lisa Elliott; or pampering the pooch in the brand new Barkers.

Round on Regent Street, there’s as much to distract, namely The Quadrant on the corner if it’s a relaxing glass of vino we seek; plus sumptuous salons such as Atelier, Tomlinson Hairdressing and David Sinclair, and property portals like Knight Frank – where we’ll gaze for ages through the window at the beautiful homes up for grabs.

Meanwhile, along The Mall, where The Ivy, no less, is opening its first restaurant outside of London next month, precious gems vie for our attention at John Titcombe, Clifton Rocks and Nicholas Wylde, along with sweet treats at Bar Chocolat and artisanal produce at The Mall Deli.

“We love the friendly community vibe here – we all look out for each other,” says Philippa Carey, owner of boutique-style dress agency Village Green, which specialises in ‘pre-cherished’ clothes. “It’s always nice to get a wave or smile in the morning.

We really rate the Mall Deli Cafe with its delicious, healthy, homemade treats – the quiches are a lunchtime favourite – and we’re really excited about the opening of The Ivy too. The bank’s been empty for so long, it will be fab to have such an exclusive restaurant right on our doorstep. While it’ll be great for the locals, it should also attract visitors from further afield – who will hopefully do some shopping here too!”

“We first opened in Clifton in 2010 and quickly became part of the lively retail scene the village offers,” says David Currie at Nicholas Wylde. “Last year, we celebrated our five-year

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anniversary – we’re so proud to be part of Clifton and find the area to have its own unique feel and vibe to it which reflects Nicholas Wylde very well.”

The morning we visit, the sense of community is self-evident along Boyces Avenue, where folk are sitting in the sun in the street outside Saffron, and round the corner outside elegant craft beer boozer Nettle and Rye; as we eye up the produce on Reg the Veg’s alfresco stall; and mosey in and out of Clifton Arcade, picking up designer accessories in Hermione Harbutt and vintage beauts in Jemima Rose (and stopping to say hi to Alfie, the shop’s gorgeous canine mascot).

In addition to the many retail reasons to visit – plus the gorgeous architecture, and proximity to Bristol Zoo, The Downs, Leigh Woods, the Gorge, observatory and more – the village folk are getting involved with Big Green Week this month, with a BID Clifton Village initiative highlighting different ways of travelling to and exploring the Village. As part of ‘Discover Clifton – 20 ways’, which will run until September, local businesses are asking residents and visitors to share videos and photos to highlight the picturesque views and landmarks they encounter on their travels. The campaign, which kicked off in May, is focusing on key modes of transport while a new map will highlight different scenic routes from the city centre to the village, whether by foot, bicycle, bus, train or even skateboard, ferry boat and rickshaw. Events will also run throughout the summer, including Dr Bike workshops, cycling and rock climbing sessions, walking and rickshaw tours and electric vehicle exhibitions. Last month, Bristol Free Walking Tours led a Pick up some fresh tour taking in Banksy’s street art produce at Reg the Veg and Cary Grant’s former hang-outs, while Bristol photographer Jess Siggers took 20 guests on a colour walk along vibrant routes to and from the village, perfect for photo opportunities. “The Village’s Georgian architecture, green open spaces and cultural attractions make it such a beautiful area to visit but we rarely stop to take in the picturesque views on the way,” says Andrew Morgan, chairman of BID Clifton Village.

“We hope we can highlight these from various vantage points, for example, travelling on the water via the ferry boats and then walking along the heritage trails through Clifton Wood or through Brandon Hill, or taking in the beauty of the Downs and heading into the Village through the Promenade.”

BID Clifton Village will also host its Clifton Picnic on 11 June, inviting guests to explore the culinary delights of the local eateries and delis. Kicking off at 1pm, the event, in the Mall Gardens, will include family entertainment such as live music, street entertainment and face-painting as well as special offers and taster stalls from a range of the area’s delis, cafes and restaurants. We’re sold!

– discoverclifton.co.uk n

Opposite page, clockwise from top: The Avon Gorge Hotel terrace is one of our fave spots in the city for alfresco summer drinks; one of Bristol’s hidden historic gems; beauteous blooms outside Lisa Elliott; selfgifting sesh at SJP?

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LEISURE | TIME

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LEISURE | TIME

Local four-legged friends are loving the brand new Barkers store

We’d visit for the architecture alone

The Village has a wealth of top watering holes too

Rifle through the retro rails at Jemima Rose

Mouth-watering macarons at The Mall Deli

Find award-winning cakes at Anna

Gorgeous gear at Grace and Mabel

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Gladrags Designer Outlet Do come and visit us at GLADRAGS in Portland Street, Clifton Village Long and short sparkly dresses & many with matching jackets or shrugs Dresses for cruising, dancing or just enjoying a great night out We offer choices for all ages and sizes Matching evening bags-hats- shoes and jewellery We cater for the Mother-of the-Bride A selection of ‘bodycon’ dresses We offer you a seamstress and a ‘onestop shopping’ experience alongside a kind of old-fashioned service that most High Streets have forgotten!

15 Portland Street, Clifton Village BS8 4JA Tel: 0117 973 6733 / 07977 454 422 www.gladrags.uk.com

Village Green is a boutique where ladies can buy beautiful pre-loved designer labels at affordable prices.

From Prada, Gucci and Joseph to Reiss, Hobbs and Ted Baker.

5 The Mall, Clifton, BS8 4DP 0117 9706776

Open: 10am to 5.30pm, Tues to Sat www.villagegreenboutique.co.uk villagegreen5

villagegreenboutique

villagegreenboutique

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LEISURE | TIME

Check out 18, with its gorgeous interior styling, great gifts and clothing

Buzzing Boyces Avenue – photo by John Seaman

There’s plenty to peruse in Pod Company

Directory • Nicholas Wylde – nicholaswylde.com

• Maze – mazeclothing.co.uk

• Barkers – barkersfordogs.com

• KnIght Frank – knightfrank.co.uk

• The Village Pottery – thevillagepottery.co.uk

• The Quadrant – quadrantbar.co.uk

• Mandarin Stone – mandarinstone.com

• Clifton Cobbler – 0117 974 4226

• Bracey Interiors – braceyinteriors.co.uk

• Flowers by Alison – flowersbyalison.co.uk

• Tomlinson Hairdressing – tomlinsonhairdressing.com

• Village Green – villagegreenboutique.co.uk

• Wallfish – wallfishbistro.co.uk

• David Sinclair – davidsinclair.net

• Movement Boutique – movementboutique.co.uk

• Fishers – fishers-restaurant.com

• The Ivy – theivycliftonbrasserie.com

• New Moon – newmooncafe.co.uk

• John Titcombe – johntitcombe.co.uk

• Atelier – atelierclifton.co.uk

• The Clifton Sausage – cliftonsausage.co.uk

• Clifton Rocks – cliftonrocks.co.uk

• Gladrags – gladrags.uk.com

• Bar Chocolat – @barchocolatcafe

• Sumptuous – sumptuousdesignerwear.co.uk

• Clifton Village Fish Bar – cliftonvillagefishbar.co.uk

• Jemima Rose – jemimarose.co.uk

• SJP Interior Design – sjpinteriordesign.co.uk

• Saffron – 0117 329 4204

• Rachel’s and Michael’s Antiques – rachelsandmichaelsantiques.com

• Teal – tealclifton.co.uk

• Nettle & Rye – nettleandrye.co.uk

• Rhubarb Home – rhubarbhome.co.uk

• Reg the Veg – regtheveg.co.uk

• Avon Gorge Hotel – theavongorge.com

• The Pod Company – thepodcompany.co.uk

• Hermione Harbutt – hermioneharbutt.com

• 18 – 18themall.co.uk

• Lisa Elliot – lisa-elliott.co.uk

• Property Concept – propertyconcept.co.uk

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• The Mall Deli – themalldeli.co.uk

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SPECIALIST VALUATION DAYS FREE EXPERT VALUATIONS of Coins (GB & World, Sovereigns, Krugerrands, Royal Mint, Proof Sets), Stamps, English & Foreign Bank notes, Antiques, Watches, Gold, Silver, Postcards, Cigarette & Trade Cards, Medals & Militaria, Swords, Bayonets, De-Activated Weapons, Clocks, Scientific Instruments, Jewellery, Pre-1900 Documents / Books & Maps, Pre-1960 Sporting Programmes: WE URGENTLY WISH TO BUY, IF YOU WISH TO SELL

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BOOKS

MAN OF MANY WORDS?

Give your dad something to get engrossed in on Father’s Day, with our selection of books to suit all sorts of chaps

SPICE GUYS

Heat: Cooking with Chillies, published by Quercus, hardback £20 Pub quizzers, what do you measure on the Scoville scale?

Answer, the heat of chillies. Just one of the interesting bits of trivia surrounding the power of the mighty chilli. A useful volume in the kitchen too, Kay Plungett Hogge’s clear and concise book gathers together recipes from all over the world. There’s the warmth of the desert in Bedouin lamb, the fiery heat of Jamaican chicken (made using one from the top of the Scoville charts, the Scotch bonnet) and the authentic taste of Bangkok street food in spiced fish grilled in banana leaves. There are also recipes for puddings and drinks using chilli.

WE COULD BE HEROES

No Dream is Too High: Life Lessons from a Man Who Walked on the Moon by Buzz Aldrin, published by National Geographic, hardback £14.99 It’s testimony to Aldrin’s status as a global hero that tickets to his Bath talk sold out within days. But, if you didn’t get tickets, this memoir gives a fascinating insight into a man who’s not only successful in what he’s done, but in managing his life too. There were those who perceived him as second best – he was after all, not the first man to land on the moon. But he managed to overcome any sense of disappointment about the last minute switch with Armstrong. He also overcame the inevitable sense of anti-climax on returning to ordinary life after such an extraordinary adventure. For his 80th birthday Aldrin went diving in the seas of the Galapagos and hitched a ride on a whale shark. Like that other favourite, David Attenborough, Aldrin inspires us with his love of life, his undimmed curiosity and his energy.

CULTURE VULTURES

1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die, updated by Steven Jay Schneider, published by Octopus Books, paperback £20 This is not one of those ‘best of’ books. There are films in here that you’ll remember as being memorable for all the right reasons – and those that you considered a complete waste of your valuable time. Whatever your views, this is a compulsive browser of a mighty tome, with each film given a thoughtful write-up by a team of more than 70 film critics. Each choice will provoke a reaction. Included are gems from An American Werewolf in London to The Wizard of Oz. More recent films that make this final cut are Tarantino’s Django Unchained, along with 12 Years A Slave and The Grand Budapest Hotel.

READING WITH DADDY

Kipper’s Monster by Mick Inkpen, published by Hodder, paperback, £6.99 For 25 years, stories about Kipper have been entertaining pre-school children. In his latest adventure, his friend Tiger has a new torch – it’s very bright – and he wants to try it out in the dark in the great outdoors.

The pair go camping, but in the darkness of the tent, everything’s a bit scary. This is a bedtime story that gives Dad the chance to do all the voices and to provide the reassurance. Any monsters out there in the darkness can be explained, as this charming story, with its characteristically engaging illustrations, demonstrates.

ADVENTUROUS TYPES

Wild Camping: Exploring and Sleeping in the Wilds of the UK and Ireland by Stephen Neale, published by Bloomsbury, paperback, £14.99 What a bonding experience for father and adventurous son or daughter to pack a rucksack and venture into what’s left of Britain’s wild spaces. Stephen Neale celebrates the pleasures of sleeping under the stars, to lose our urban fears by unfurling a sleeping bag or pitching a small tent. He examines the legal aspects of wild camping and trespass. Dartmoor, for example, allows people to wild camp, and we’ve the right too to sleep on the foreshore, between low and high tide marks. He also gives a list of places where you might venture off the beaten track.

NOSTALGIC JOURNEY 1966: My World Cup Story by Sir Bobby Charlton, published by Vintage Publishing, hardback, £20

For a generation of men, well let’s be honest, more than one generation now, England’s finest hour came not on the battlefield but on the football pitch. Football fans still bask in the shared glory of the day the England team beat Germany. The potency of that cry: “they think it’s all over, it is now!” can still bring a tear to the eye and every World Cup dream is still fuelled by memories of that triumph.

Now, 50 years since that long-ago win, Sir Bobby Charlton looks back on the most glorious moment of his life and England's greatest sporting achievement. In this memoir

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he takes us through the build-up to the tournament and to the final itself, describing what he saw, what he heard, and what he felt. He explains what it was like to be part of Sir Alf Ramsey's team, shares his personal memories of his teammates, the matches, the atmosphere; the emotion of being carried on the wave of a nation's euphoria and how it felt to go toe-to-toe with some of the foremost footballers to ever play the game. He reveals – just as astronaut Buzz Aldrin has done – what it means to be forever defined by one moment; how a life fully lived can come back to one single instance. The one day when a man stands side-by-side with his best friends united in a single aim, in front of a watching nation.

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SHOPPING | FESTIVAL

TAMSIN SANDAL, £27.50 Something less heavy-duty for pottering round camp?

White Stuff; whitestuff.com

FAN, £4.99 Stay cool, man... H&M, The Mall; hm.com

PHONE POUCH, £55 Keep your iPhone out of the mud, now! Hunter; hunterboots.com

CAT FOUNDER BOOT, £104.99 If you’re ditching the wellies this year, we reckon this may be CAT’s most comfy boot EVER. Soletrader, The Mall; catfootwear.com

Field

LITTLE JOKER CASE, £370 This Bristol-designed portable speaker case has 10-15 hours’ battery life and Wharfedale speakers. Bassline Baggage; basslinebaggage.com

TRIP

CROCHET DRESS, £14.99 Work this perennial trend for a folksy look. H&M, The Mall; hm.com

Heading to a festival this month?

We’ve been pounding the pavements in search of some cool kit...

SUNGLASSES, £7.99 Embrace the ’70s obsession. New Look; newlook.com

AZTEC NECKLACE, £24 Tribal vibes galore! Online at festivalfashion.co.uk

MOUSTACHE COMB, £18 Boys, keep thy ‘taches tidy... Fox & Feather; foxandfeather.co.uk

SHORTS, £29 Style with cream lace-up blouse and sandals, yes? Glamorous; glamorous.com SEQUIN BUMBAG, £35 Carry the essentials, hands-free!

From Bristol online boutique festivalfashion.co.uk TIE-DYE TOP, £45 Channel hippy chic vibes in this splitback Label Lab blouse. House of Fraser; houseoffraser.co.uk

BACKPACK, £90 Practical and on-trend, in soft chocolate leather. Fat Face; fatface.com LEE DRESS, £105 We dig a good dungaree – this number is too cute with welly boots. House of Fraser; houseoffraser.co.uk

BOOTS, £110 Botanical is big – Hunter have responded with these beauts. Hunter; hunterboots.com MONDARA JACKET, £60 Remain shower-proof with this fisherman jacket from Fox & Feather; foxandfeather.co.uk

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CHAIR, £5 Folding chair with in-built cooler, for easy access to the brewskies... Tiger; tigerstores.co.uk

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MUSIC

ALL ABOUT THAT BASS Bellicose, black-clad (and black belt) Stranglers bassist Jean-Jacques Burnel’s unique, pioneering sound still influences some of the best musicians around today. Ahead of the band’s visit to their much loved old party ground (that’s you, Bristol) next month, we quizzed him on staying creative, an undanceable hit, the American nightmare, and that Eiffel Tower story...

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MUSIC

M

eat, music, mayhem: the Grillstock mantra is one we can definitely see veteran punk rockers The Stranglers getting on board with, so it felt like a great fit when we heard the band would be playing the beef-tastic Bristol festival in July. “Yeah, I reckon so!” agrees JJ when we call him up at his home in the south of France (bang on time, which pleases the old mischief maker more than you’d imagine). Initially, we admit, we’re glad of the thousand-mile buffer between us – remember that time he gaffer taped an over-zealous French journalist to the Eiffel Tower? – but we needn’t have fretted. That was back in the good old days, and while there are still vague traces of snarling punk sarcasm in the voice that greets me over the receiver, it’s also one full of intelligence and good humour.

“Well obviously I can’t ruin the surprise,” he says of the headline Grillstock slot – which JJ and the fellas (Jet Black/Jim Macauley on drums, Dave Greenfield on keys, Baz Warne on vocals and guitar) will be

❝ Our West Country connections have always been many, and they run deep

❞

closing the festival with, supported by The Cuban Brothers, Mouse Outfit and The Montgomerys. “And we’ve got 17 albums to choose from so the show is always very different anyway. We rehearse quite a lot at the start of each year so we’ve got hours of stuff in our heads, which means we can do it all completely on a whim. We’ll just decide what’ll be a good opener, a good ender, and then try to link the two.”

The Bristol connection Indeed, with such a prolific, diverse back catalogue, it’s easy to mix things up and keep them fresh, which is one key to longevity – and The Stranglers are one of the oldest surviving bands from the punk scene, with a loyal fan base that’s ever-evolving thanks to a new generation of followers that have discovered them. “Our last Bristol show was sold out months ahead,” says JJ. “But then our West Country connections have always been many, and they run deep.

“Our previous guitarist/singer/founder member [Hugh Cornwell], who left 25 years ago, went to uni in Bristol and bought a house in the West, as did our drummer. Our manager is from here too, and most of our road crew. We rehearse and record just outside Bath and we often come into Bristol to party…”

Well, of course. Naturally, at this point, we try to extract a few quirky rock ‘n’ roll memories of the place – and equally naturally, it’s to no avail: “I really don’t remember anything past last year...”

But besides the hedonistic reputation, one of the things that has always struck us about The Stranglers has been their courageous approach to making music, and determination to remain unbound by genre. Maybe this, we posit, might have been down to their slightly left-of-mainstream position as punk’s outsiders – allowing them more freedom to follow their noses, musically.

“Yes, we were just talking about this the other day, actually,” answers JJ. “We never had huge success in America but we were playing to about four of five thousand people a night, which is a step down from the arenas. We were talking about contemporaries who had made the jump to the arenas – the price they paid was enormous. Their creativity just dried up; I think global success ruined them. We avoided that. But you know, some of the most boring bands in the world, like U2 and The Police, they did really well in the States…”

And there it is – an unmistakable flash of the punk within, with that unreserved candidness that makes us grin from ear to ear.

“America can be a double-edged sword,” he presses on. “Especially if you’re a European band and you take the US dollar. On one hand you seek mega success; on the other, what it comes with can completely destroy bands. It changes the dynamic between members, for a start. So The Stranglers found themselves still able to be creative – being the envy of a lot of bands – and surviving after 40 years. Keeping your freedom is kind of hard because of all the commercial pressures. So it’s quite cool, I think, for us to be in the position we find ourselves in.”

Risk takers, rule breakers...

In the name of maintaining that freedom, the band have abandoned any ‘winning formula’ the moment they realised they might have one.

“Because you’re setting yourself up for a fall,” explains JJ, matter-offactly. “You get stuck in a rut and you think; ‘Well, this worked before, that was a success, I’ll do it again.’ But it’s not creative, it’s a form of creative sterilisation. It’s more useful, if you have success with a certain thing – which is great, enjoy it – to move on from it rather than embrace it for too long.

“And that was always really exciting for us – dropping the security blanket and finding something else that gelled. It might not always go down well with the fans, but we’re lucky; we have a very broad-minded fan base who’ve evolved with us, more or less. Sometimes we’ve gone off at obtuse angles and everyone’s scratched their heads and said; ‘What the f*** are they doing?’ But generally the experiments have paid off.”

One such experiment was the ‘impossible to dance to’ hit Golden Brown – we confess to thinking it was a ‘60s tune when we first heard it, unable to reconcile it with the rest of the Stranglers’ back catalogue prior

JJ has influenced some of the best musicians working today, such as Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Flea

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pop music, because everything was so much more homogenous in those days. There weren’t so many different platforms for listening to music.

The whole UK listened to Top Of The Pops.”

And music these days? “The tendency seems to be to play it safe and be career-minded,” he sighs. “What has amazed me in recent years is the boybands who are suddenly number one everywhere, then things change, fans get older, their fortunes change, and instead of working at it because they like each other and love what they do, they give up. The story of a lot of modern music is the tail wagging the dog, not the dog wagging the tail. And there’s an obsession with celebrity; everyone wants to be talked about in magazines. It’s celebrity for celebrity’s sake, at the expense of real creativity. That shouldn’t be the driving impulse.

I think that’s one of the reasons we are getting so many youngsters coming to our shows. The demographic has changed. There are the people who have grown old with us and there are all the hip young things coming as a reaction to the fabricated stuff – X Factor, The Voice. For every action there’s a reaction. There’s one band called Django Django who’ve impressed me recently. They’re adventurous; I like it when people don’t mind falling flat on their faces and trying stuff. If you’re taking a risk, you’re taking a risk, by definition, you don’t know how it’s going to go. I respect risk-takers, whether I like their stuff or not. That is almost immaterial. I mean, the whole world loves Adele, but it’s still all based on an old ‘60s thing. Which is fine, she does it really well. But it’s no risk.

The good, the bad and the ugly...

The young JJ was heavily influenced by blues – and loved Peter Green’s Fleetwood Mac and Eric Clapton

to 1981. “Yeah, it was a long, drawn-out process, that one,” says JJ. “It originally came from a song that was much more complicated. We stripped it down into the three constituent parts that is is now, and realised there was quite a weird time signature in there, although it felt right at the time.

“It is sort of impossible to dance to, though it has been used in that dance competition, Strictly. But they took out the odd time signatures and made it regular. That’s the only way it can be done. In musical terms it’s three bars of 3/4, waltz time, which is okay, but then we stuck in a four bar. Which completely throws you. Think of a set of steps, one of which is a suddenly a different height or length to the others! (That’s what the Normans used to do in their keeps actually, so if you escaped from the dungeon, you’d take a tumble...”

The legacy With his distinctive bass tone, melodic lines and deft, expert playing, the classically trained guitarist, turned belligerent yet abundantly creative bassist, JJ – who’s still cited by the likes of the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Flea, and plenty more besides, as one of the best there’s ever been – often took a lead role with writing and singing in the band – drawing on a diverse range of musical influences. “You know what, any external influence, whether it’s jazz, classical – whatever you come from – will always resurface in your output,” he says. “The Stranglers all came from different backgrounds but fortunately for us, it gelled over many years. I loved blues music when I was a kid. Early Peter Green’s Fleetwood Mac, guitarists like Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck. (All from Surrey, you know, that poverty-stricken county…) And all the

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A different demographic must make for quite a different touring experience, we wager, and a new kind of relationship with the audience. “Well, yes, they’re not trying to kill us anymore! Which was the case in times past,” JJ laughs. “So that’s a relief. And the hotels are better now, but other than that, we still get hot and sweaty, and we’re completely live so we still f*** up sometimes!”

And, we venture, the once-tumultous relationship with the press seems to have settled down...?

“Well, you see, at one point, there was a real polarisation – we were outselling the likes of The Sex Pistols and The Clash. However, they were getting the front covers and all the media attention, who’d decided that they were the good guys and we were the bad guys. So that created a slight antagonism. And since we had no way to reply and it was getting personal, we made it more personal! And yes, there was one journalist who was a bit over-keen for copy, and he was also partisan towards the Pistols and The Clash. We became enemies. I nabbed him, took him up to the first floor of the Eiffel Tower – hey, it was only a few hundred feet high – tied him to one of the pillars and left him there. He didn’t think it was that funny and he became one of the most powerful journalists in France, as the editor of one of the most influential magazines, so we were kind of written out of history for 20 years. But I think we’ve reconciled that.”

So when he looks back, at a 42-year rollercoaster ride through rock ‘n’ roll, what’s the overriding thought? “That it was all completely accidental,” he chuckles. “Well not completely, I mean it was all based on decisions that we consciously took. I’m not sure many musicians would care to survive in the same band for so long, but risk taking has been key for us; not being afraid to have a downturn in fortunes. But yes I am still kind of surprised by it all – in fact, there’s no one more surprised that me... ■ The Stranglers (thestranglers.net) headline Grillstock on 3 July at Bristol Harbourside – tickets available at grillstock.co.uk

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Three reasons to attend a Free Valuation Day

Car boot purchase £5

Charity Shop Donation

Car Boot Purchase £8

Sold for £5,000

Sold for £360,000

Sold for £3,500

(sold on behalf of the charity)

Clevedon Salerooms will be holding Free Valuation Days at the Salerooms on the dates below. We have ample free parking and no appointment is necessary.

If you are looking for interesting items to furnish your home, including vintage, retro and antique furniture as well as collector’s items, works of art, silver & jewellery why not come for a day out at Clevedon Salerooms. You won’t go home disappointed and certainly not empty-handed!

Interiors, Antiques, Collectables & Jewellery Auction Thurs 16th June & Thurs 30th June at 10am On view day before, 10am – 7.30pm and sale day from 9am to start

--------------------------------------------------

FREE VALUATION DAYS at the Salerooms

6, 7, 8 & 20, 21, 22 June 9.30 – 1pm and 2pm – 5pm

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Fine Art Auctioneers & Valuers The Auction Centre Kenn Road, Kenn Clevedon, BS21 6TT

Tel: 01934 830111 www.clevedon-salerooms.com

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LOCAL | EVENTS

WHAT’S ON There’s plenty to do in the city this month...

Head to the Winston Theatre for the Ballet Bristol summer gala

Stewart Lee performs at Comedy Garden – photo by Colin Hutton

Burt Bacharach comes to the Colston Hall – photo by Eric Ray Davidson

FROM JUNE 1 3 – 5 JUNE

Let’s Rock! Ashton Court If you’re a fan of the Eighties, you might want to head to the city’s retro weekender, featuring Sonia, Jason Donovan, Midge Ure, Sinitta, Midge Ure, Chesney Hawkes, Soul II Soul, Paul Young and many more! Weekend tickets £93.50; letsrockbristol.com 4 & 5 JUNE

Get Growing Garden Trail Community gardens, city farms, allotment sites and local food growing businesses will be open to showcase their successes and talk to people about how they can become involved in Bristol’s exciting urban food growing scene.

Steve England will lead a walk across Purdown from Eastville Library firstly to Elm Tree Farm and then on to Feed Bristol, while Incredible Edible Bristol’s Sara Venn will lead a walk of the Urban Food Trail, from Millennium Square through to Temple Meads, ending up at Grow Bristol’s aquaponics site on Feeder Road; bristolfoodnetwork.org

companies in the country, who promise to bring Shakespeare alive, inspiring and enthralling audiences in sensational locations throughout the city; bristolshakespearefestival.co.uk 9 JUNE, 7PM

Free Nabucco screening, Millennium Square Free screening. Plácido Domingo reprises the role of Nabucco, King of Babylon, in The Royal Opera’s production of Verdi’s opera of epic proportions. Nabucco is about the consequences of power when the King of Babylon takes Jerusalem in his war with the Israelites. Most famously the opera includes the stirring Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves; roh.org.uk/bpbigscreens

Bristol Shakespeare Festival An array of plays performed by some of the best Shakespeare

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Let It Be, Bristol Hippodrome Calling all Beatles fans – we reckon this show, featuring over two hours of timeless hits, showstopping sets and dazzling, unforgettable costumes, might just be your bag. Tickets from £22.90; atgtickets.com

Free concert, Lord Mayor’s Chapel Head to the Lord Mayor’s Chapel opposite College Green and enjoy a selection of music for organ, performed by John Marsh; lordmayorschapel.org.uk

Join Marcus Brigstocke, Jeremy Hardy, Robin Ince, Lucy Porter and a host of unique top comedy talent for Slapstick Festival’s annual comedy fundraiser. Former

JUNE 2016

17 JUNE, 8PM

The Unthanks, St George’s Bristol Well-known now for their tangential flights of fancy, Mercury-nominees and Radio 2 Folk Award winners The Unthanks take on their ultimate collaboration – an orchestral journey with Charles Hazlewood and Army of Generals. Fans will be delighted with this orchestral exploration of their best-loved material from their acclaimed first 10 years, plus new material specifically created for this project.

Tickets £20-£50; stgeorgesbristol.co.uk 18 JUNE, 7.30PM

11 JUNE, 1.15PM

Stand up for Slapsick fundraiser, Colston Hall

8 JUNE – 30 JULY

13 – 18 JUNE, 7.30PM

FROM JUNE 15

12 JUNE

FROM JUNE 8

University of Bristol student Marcus, who is best known for The Now Show, will host the benefit night. The show is being put on to help with the costs of hosting the Slapstick Festival, which will run from 19-22 January 2017. Tickets £21 to £25; slapstick.org.uk

15 JUNE, 7.15PM

Welsh National Opera talk, The Red Maids’ School Fans of the Welsh National Opera might want to head over to The Red Maids’ School this month, where Ian Cartwright will be looking at the esteemed conductor Sir Reginald Goodall’s conducting career through his recordings (mainly, but not exclusively, of Wagner), including those made with WNO in the 1980s. This talk will be preceded by the Annual General Meeting at 7.15pm; wno.org.uk

Summer Reflections, St Mary’s Church, Yatton Bristol Phoenix Choir, under director Paul Walton, with soloists Elinor Cooper (soprano) and Dan Robson (bass), and accompanied

by Matt Davies, present a summer programme of songs and madrigals, together with Gabriel Fauré’s much-loved Requiem.

Tickets £10, including refreshments; bristolphoenixchoir.org.uk 18 JUNE, 7.30PM

UB40 featuring Ali Campbell, Astro and Mickey Virtue, at

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LOCAL | EVENTS

Westonbirt Arboretum

Reformed Church

With over 70 million album sales and over 50 hit singles in the UK, UB40 are a reggae band to be reckoned with. They will be on stage with an eight-piece band, bringing a hit-laden set of classics from Red Red Wine and Kingston Town to (I Can’t Help) Falling In Love With You. Perfect summer sounds to groove to on what will undoubtedly be a really special night out. Tickets £38.50; forestry.gov.uk

Cellist Sara Lovell joins Bristol Symphony Orchestra for this stunning programme of popular Romantic works. The performance opens with Beethoven's intense and fiery Coriolan Overture, written for Heinrich Joseph von Collin's 1804 tragedy, Coriolan.

Schumann's deeply felt and emotional Cello Concerto follows: a work completed by the composer in just two weeks during the autumn of 1850. For the second half, Dvořák's poetic Silent Woods leads to Schubert's beautiful and enigmatic Unfinished Symphony.

Tickets £12/£14; bristolsymphonyorchestra.com

19 JUNE

La Cenerentola, Colston’s School Bristol touring opera company Tessitoura present a fresh take on one of Rossini’s most beloved operas. Set in modern day England, this sparkling comedy takes you on a whirlwind journey in this retelling of Cinderella.

Bring along a picnic and prepare to be dazzled by the cast, who are accompanied by one of Rossini’s most exquisite and complex scores. Tickets £20; julianhouse.org.uk

FROM JUNE 22 25 JUNE, 7.30PM

Baltic Exchange concert, St Mary Redcliffe Bristol has a long tradition of trade with those countries bordering the Baltic Sea. Bristol Bach Choir continues that spirit of exchange in a programme that showcases choral music by the finest contemporary composers from Estonia, Finland, Sweden, Poland and Latvia alongside pieces by 16th-century English masters William Byrd and Robert Parsons and Germany's Dietrich Buxtehude. Tickets £5-£20; bristolbach.org.uk 25 JUNE, 7.30PM

Penny Brohn concert, Henleaze United

The Taming of the Shrew and (below) Beatles show Let It Be come to Bristol Hippodrome

25 JUNE, 1.15PM

Free concert, Lord Mayor’s Chapel Head to the Lord Mayor’s Chapel opposite College Green and enjoy a concert of music for the organ performed by Bath’s Colin Hunt; lordmayorschapel.org.uk 27 JUNE

Burt Bacharach, Colston Hall Eight-time Grammy Award, threetime Academy Award winner, and all-round legend of American music, Burt Bacharach, will perform songs from his diverse repertoire as one of the most successful songwriters of all time, as he comes to the UK this summer for four very special shows.

Tickets £45-£70; colstonhall.org 29 JUNE – 2 JULY

The Taming of the Shrew, Bristol Hippodrome Choreographer John Cranko has adapted Shakespeare's tale of mismatched marriage to create his own theatrical masterpiece. In this sparkling comedy, independent and tempestuous Kate gives her suitor Petruchio considerably more than he bargained for as Cranko

breathes new life into this witty battle of the sexes, set to a wonderful baroque score by Domenico Scarlatti, and achieving a memorable mixture of comedy, romance and bravura dancing.

Tickets £16.40£47.40; atgtickets.com 30 JUNE, 7.30PM

A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The University of Bristol Botanic Garden

NEXT MONTH...

Chapterhouse Theatre Company presents Shakespeare’s best-loved romantic comedy. Bring along a picnic and allow yourself to be whisked away on a journey to the most magical of forests where you’ll meet star-crossed lovers, playful fairies and travelling players. Beautifully designed Elizabethan costumes, a new musical score and enchanting woodland creatures make this an evening of unmissable summer garden theatre; chapterhouse.org; bristol.ac.uk/botanic-garden

2 JULY, 6.30PM

Ballet Bristol summer gala, Winston Theatre Ballet Bristol perform excerpts from a number of ballets, including seldom-seen Russian classics, in the Bristol University Student Union. The company will be performing sections of Raymonda, Le Carnaval and Coppélia. Tickets £5/£8, from ticketsource.co.uk/balletbristol; balletbristol.co.uk

EDITOR’S PICK...

FRIDAY 24 JUNE

Gaz Coombes supports The Last Shadow Puppets, Bristol Harbourside We were thrilled to hear that the superb former Supergrass frontman would be playing Bristol later this month, supporting Alex Turner and Miles Kane (AKA the fantastic Last Shadow Puppets) on the city’s harbourside as part of the Bristol Summer Series line up. We bet a fair few of those Glastonbury goers will be gutted to miss Gaz too – and with good reason! If you haven’t heard the Mercury Prize nominee’s solo stuff, we recommend a listen to his latest album Matador – an accomplished, mature offering drawing on a wide palette of musical influences. Then, of course, you get to watch the Puppets – what more could you ask for on a Friday night? There are still tickets left for the show, priced at £29.50.

– bristolsummerseries.com

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EXHIBITIONS

STATE OF THE ART Apsáalooke at Rainmaker, 8 June to 6 August A solo exhibition from emerging Native American artist Del Curfman – the second of three shows marking the 25th year of Rainmaker Gallery bringing contemporary Native American art to the UK. Del – who will be travelling from his home in Santa Fe to give a talk at the opening – will be presenting three series of paintings celebrating the cultural heritage and living traditions of the Apsáalooke (people of the Crow Indian Nation of Montana).

‘Vanishing’, portrays culturally significant figures painted in loose impressionistic strokes. Bold blocks of colour offset delicate depictions of Crow Indian runners, riders and dancers, who embody time, space and movement through living tradition. The ‘Solstice’ series includes paintings of animals from the creation stories of the Apsáalooke – Rainbow Crow and Old Man Coyote, who moulded the earth – while ‘Remembrance’ draws on 18th and 19th-century photographs of traditional Crow life and honours the importance of women and children. For more information: rainmakerart.co.uk Pictured: Vanishing Dancer Red by Del Curfman

Shared Spaces at The Grant Bradley Gallery, 3 June – 3 July

Jamaican Pulse: Art and Politics from Jamaica and the Diaspora at RWA, 25 June – 11 September The RWA presents a landmark exhibition of Jamaican visual art – the first major show of its kind ever to be held in the UK, co-curated by Kat Anderson and Graeme Mortimer Evelyn. Jamaican Pulse showcases the extraordinary diversity of this country’s art, presenting contemporary work alongside key historical pieces.

While exploring the roots of modern Jamaican art and suggesting new links between past and present, the exhibition also explores the artwork through a political lens and considers how global attitudes to body, gender, religion, class and sexuality have impacted this small island nation. By creating a conversation between the Jamaican Diaspora population across the UK and internationally, Jamaican Pulse looks back at early artistic and political awakening, while also creating a platform for contemporary artists. Visit: rwa.org.uk

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See work by 12 talented Muslim and Jewish artists, exploring religious and cultural tradition; stories of lives and cultures left behind; contemporary identities; and our connectedness with ourselves, our communities and our wider world. Discover a rich heritage of geometric design and calligraphy, and a collaboration between artist Tom Berry and poet Shagufta Iqbal. Visit: grantbradleygallery.co.uk

Jelly Man by Di-Andre Caprice Davis

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EXHIBITIONS

Requiem for 114 Radios, at Colston Hall, until 5 June

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There’s still time to catch the remarkable art installation of 114 analogue radios, set within the cellars of Colston Hall by artists Iain Forsyth and Jane Pollard. The installation sees 114 radios individually tuned to separate singing voices, static and unidentifiable noise, creating an ethereal choir singing Dies Irae. Eleven guest singers were invited to record the track, which famously featured in Stanley Kubrick’s A Clockwork Orange and The Shining, including Matt Berninger (The National), Jarvis Cocker, Jimi Goodwin (Doves), Blaine Harrison (Mystery Jets) and Elena Tonra (Daughter). The radios have been programmed to channel each performer’s voice through a crackling transistor radio in an audio-visual tribute to analogue technology. It’s an eerie experience that makes you feel you’re lost in an abandoned archive, and a rare opportunity to access a part of Colston Hall normally closed to the public.

For more information, visit: colstonhall.org

Katie Paterson has brought together 10,000 tree species for her new artwork

Hollow, at Royal Fort Gardens, 1 – 30 June To mark the opening of the University of Bristol’s new Life Sciences building, artist Katie Paterson – in collaboration with architects Zeller & Moye – presents ‘Hollow’. A new permanent artwork for Bristol, Hollow brings together an astounding 10,000 trees from every country in the world.

The result of three years’ research and sourcing, the collection of tree species (which is one of the largest amassed in the UK to date) has been built through the generosity of arboretums, xylaria, herbaria and collectors world-wide. The 10,000 unique species have been gathered from everywhere from Yakushima, Japan to the White Mountains of California, with other generous donations coming from the Herbario Nacional de México; the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew; Kyoto University; the Arnold Arboretum at Harvard and many more.

For more information, visit: hollow.org.uk Bee Frida by Laura Robertson

Also not to be missed... ● Queen Bee Theme at Room 212, 1 – 30 June Celebrate the wonderful world of bees at Room 212, where artists will be contributing paintings, prints, jewellery and bee-related products to this annual exhibition. Artist Laura Robertson was inspired by the bee theme and her love of artist Frida Kahlo to paint a gorgeous image of ‘Bee Frida’ (right) while Bev Cavender has created a lovely flower image used by Big Green Week. On 11 June, local bee keepers Hives & Herbals will set up a slice of living bee hive, housing the Queen – who will appear on Gloucester Road to coincide with the Queen’s official 90th birthday! – in front of the gallery. For more information, visit: room212.co.uk

● Entrances and Exits, Gallery Twenty Two, 17 June – 15 July An exhibition showcasing recent work – paintings on silk, drawings and prints – by internationally acclaimed artist Emma Talbot, who invites the viewer to enter a distinctive and idiosyncratic painted world. In this place of autobiographical memory, pictures co-exist with song lyrics, quotes from poems and Emma’s own writing. Throughout her work, life is recounted – experienced and imagined, awake and dreaming. The passing of time, and life’s entrances and exits, are noted, inscribed and decorated. Visit: gallerytwentytwo.co.uk Left: Enter the idiosyncratic world of Emma Talbot – photo by Ben Deakin

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Sebastian set up Pukka with Tim Westwell after much soulsearching and wandering around India and the Himalayas

BRISTOL AT WORK: Pukka Herbs Each month we shine a spotlight on the folk that help make up the fabric of city life...

H

aving spent his early twenties – after finishing his degree in Hindi and religious studies – enjoying a dreamy existence, wandering around India, learning yoga, becoming a vegetarian, sleeping under the stars and walking for weeks on end in the Himalayas, co-founder of Bristol’s Pukka Herbs Sebastian Pole found himself in wild and formative times, searching for purpose. “After a couple of Uturns I realised I wanted to spend my life working with people and plants,” he says. “I decided to become an Ayurvedic (Ayurveda is a medical science of Ancient India) practitioner and herbalist. The idea for Pukka arose from wanting to serve people with the best of herbalism; organic plants grown to medicinal standards and blended using traditional formulation techniques.”

After teaming up with Tim Westwell – “He placed an advert in Venue magazine and received one response, from me!” – who had 10 years’ experience as a business change consultant, plus a passion for the power of herbs, nutrition and therapy, and “a burning desire to make a positive change in the world”, the pair set up in Bristol. “This city is home to an incredible foodie scene, which focuses on provenance and quality; two 44 THE BRISTOL MAGAZINE

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things we care a lot about,” says Sebastian. “We are grateful for our roots here and haven’t forgotten the early support of independent retailers such as Wild Oats and The Better Food Company, who believed in Pukka and what we were doing.

“The journey to create our teas and supplements starts with the highest quality organic herbs, rich in natural oils and carefully sourced from over 50 countries,” he explains, taking us through the process. “The herbs are then analysed in the Pukka lab to ensure they meet stringent quality standards before being blended by me.”

And how exactly do you go about getting that perfect blend? “Well that’s the herbsmith’s holy grail,” he says. “You have to ensure that the herbs have a vibrant presence – colourful smell, taste, look and feel – coupled with appropriate levels of essential oils and other relevant compounds. We make sure that, where appropriate, our herbs meet the high standards of the pharmacopoeia (that’s a flash word for ‘medicinal grade’) that sets the bar for herb quality. It must also bring benefit to everything and everyone it connects with during its journey as well. That’s why we only use sustainably sourced, organically grown and fairly traded herbs in our teas.

“Essentially, making a delicious tea that is good for you too is a bit like

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cooking a delicious meal; you need to combine a range of textures and flavours to create an experience that is tasty and nourishing. It helps to have a clear intention of what benefit you are trying to create and who you want to benefit from drinking the tea, so I always take some time to reflect on this before I start blending.”

So which of these heroic herbal concoctions does Sebastian swear by?

“A cup of Love for its soothing feeling, Three Tulsi for its uplifting feeling and Three Ginger for its get-up-and-go deliciousness,” he says, instantly. “I use our Clean Greens as a morning shot, with some Aloe Vera and I take Ashwagandha every day to keep me calm and strong.

“The plants used in our teas and wellbeing supplements grow all over the world in the climates where they flourish. Ginger from India, lemons from Italy and fennel from Turkey. And lots of them come from the wild which is why we need to protect their sustainability. Over 10,000 species of medicinal herbs are threatened in their natural habitats and so that’s why we pioneered a scheme called ‘FairWild’, based on similar principles to Fairtrade. It guarantees that the herb collectors get paid a fair premium and the plants coming from the wild have been harvested in a sustainable way to make sure the herbs can regenerate ensuring that they are there for the future. It’s the gold standard in herbal wild-harvesting and we are very pleased that so many of our teas are FairWild certified. By the end of this year all of our teas will also be certified Fairtrade with Fair for Life bringing direct benefit to the farmers we work with.”

And what’s next? “We have just launched a new matcha tea range.

Everyone knows to eat their greens, but there’s another lesser known green out there that is higher in antioxidants than superfoods such as spinach and blueberries – and you can have it in a cup of tea! Matcha is made from a special type of powdered green tea and just one cup of it has 100 times the antioxidants of green tea. Our Supreme Matcha Green has the antioxidant equivalent of two portions of blueberries. We’re also launching a range of turmeric wellbeing supplements. Turmeric is making waves at the moment and is fast becoming the remedy of choice for inflammation, pain relief, digestive disorders and much more. As the weather warms, mobility and exercise regimes increase, and our Turmeric Active supplement and Active 35 oil are designed to support and protect the body, allowing for everyday mobility and providing pain relief for chronic joint pain and muscle inflammation.

“We have also joined a visionary community called ‘1% for the Planet’ where we donate 1% of our turnover to environmental and social causes.

It’s just about taking ownership of the things we can change and contributing to them. I think we can all make a difference with the choices we make.”

– pukkaherbs.com n

Worried about dementia?

Dementia has a huge impact on people, their friends and family. The dementia support and research charity, Alzheimer’s Society, wants to reassure people that there is information, advice and support that can help keep people connected. Chris Atkinson, from the charity, tackles some of the most commonly asked questions: Q. I don’t have Alzheimer’s, I have dementia, can you still help me?

Yes, we are here for anyone affected by dementia, not just Alzheimer’s. We do everything we can to keep people with dementia connected to their lives and the people who matter most.

Q. I’m worried about my family member/friend’s memory but I don’t know how to talk to them about it?

Talking about dementia can be frightening, but seeking help early offers the best chance of getting the right support, advice and treatment. This is where our Dementia Support Service can help. Our staff can give you help and advice about how to broach the subject and what to do next.

Q. Can I still do the things I enjoy doing?

At Alzheimer’s Society, we believe passionately that life doesn’t end when dementia begins. We speak to many people who are supported to continue doing the things they enjoy, and some have taken up new hobbies following a diagnosis of dementia. We want to see communities coming together to support people to lead more fulfilling lives and continue to take part in the activities that they have always enjoyed and help them find the confidence to try new ones.

Q. Is there a cure for dementia?

Currently, there is no known cure for dementia. Scientists from around the world are involved in research to try to find one. However, there are drugs that can help to improve some of the symptoms or stop them progressing for a while, depending on the type of dementia. Non-drug treatments and support after diagnosis (such as information and advice) are also valuable.

Alzheimer’s Society run a number of local services including dementia support, home support, day support, Singing for the Brain and befriending.

The Alzheimer’s Society website also has an online peer-to-peer forum Talking Point. Please visit www.alzheimers.org.uk for more details or call our local office on 0117 961 0693 or email bristol@alzheimers.org.uk.

The matcha range

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FOOD & DRINK

THE PRODUCERS As Bristol prepares to celebrate Big Green Week from 11 – 19 June, we chat to some of the stars of our local foodie scene, and the people trying to make accessing good food quicker, easier and fairer for everyone Opposite page, clockwise from top left: Fresh Range’s Rich Osborn; The Severn Project's Steve Glover; Ingrid Bates at Dunleavy (photo by Steph Wetherell), Carol Ann Stephenson at Leigh Court Farm; Dermot O’Regan and Pete Whiting from Grow Bristol; Andy Jeffery of Farrington’s Farm;

I

f you headed to Bristol’s Food Connections festival and spent any time with the folk involved last month, you couldn’t have failed to be impressed with the calibre of the city’s culinary scene. And we’re not just talking our crop of fancy restaurants, cooler-than-cool bars and edgy eateries, making it a major foodie destination in the South West. We’re talking about the crew behind the scenes, growing and rearing on our doorstep, championing the low food miles cause and setting up their own forwardthinking initiatives, to help make our city a greener, healthier and tastier place to be. And why is local, sustainably produced food so important? Well, it’s not just a hip fad – it’s something we need to invest in for the future resilience of our city, and the well-being of our planet...

FRESH-RANGE Previously a commercial director at Proctor & Gamble, Rich Osborn founded fresh-range in 2014. “I’ve always been passionate about food, and became increasingly concerned with how major supermarkets were exploiting producers, clocking up food miles and misleading customers,” he says. “I am determined that there is a better way for us to source our food and feel strongly about the benefits of a truly direct local supply chain providing fresher, more delicious and nutritious foods at a fairer, lower price. By driving demand for local food, fresh-range can develop food security for generations to come and provide a business model that’s sustainable and replicable across the UK.” Of course, with Bristol so receptive to new ideas, it was the ideal place to set up. “Bristol is my home and I feel excited about doing something positive to contribute to the city I love,” says Rich. “I was born here and my wife and I always knew we wanted to come back and settle in the West Country.

While Bristol does have a thriving food culture, there is much

to do to close the inequality gap between districts with regard to access to the freshest local produce. I want to develop food security for all areas of the city by linking up all types of customers with local producers – I’m proud to say that we recently reached the milestone of delivering local produce to every BS postcode across the city.”

Like an online supermarket, fresh-range delivers to homes but fresh food is fulfilled to order, direct from the source; producers receive the majority of the retail price paid; customers have a clear picture of where each product comes from because they are recognisable local places or people; and food miles are kept low, waste is reduced due to minimal storage and haulage, and sustainable packaging and woollined boxes are used to keep food fresh.”

So, what products are most important to source locally, we wonder? “Some foods are so, so much better eaten as fresh as possible,” says Rich, who’s also working with Bath and North East Somerset Council to pilot a new scheme supplying healthy food to schools as of July. “Ripening on the vine or in the ground can give much better flavour, texture or nutritional value, which simply deteriorates with time. Asparagus, in April through to June, is one such example. We source organic asparagus from Farrington Farm in Somerset and Over Farm in Gloucestershire that is so sweet and crisp you can eat it raw.

Over Farm also supply us with strawberries that are simply incomparable when picked ripe. They’re soft, sweet and divinely delicious.”

– fresh-range.com THE STORY ORGANIC At Heron’s Green Farm, overlooking Chew Valley Lake, former BBC Food and Farming Awards’ Outstanding Farmer of the Year finalist and Soil Association Gold Award winner Luke Hasell produces traditionally hung, 100% pasture-fed,

Luke Hasell from The Story Organic having a casual chinwag with his native breed cattle

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GROW BRISTOL Feed Bristolxx

30-day dry-aged organic meats for his customers, who include top restaurants including Josh Eggleton’s Michelin-starred Pony & Trap, and provides a meat box service. "We have always believed in the mantra; ‘better for the animals, better for us," he says. “All our beef, chicken, lamb and pork are Soil Association certified, meaning they are reared ethically and organically. Our organic chicken is supplied by Lowerstock Breeders, the organic lamb by Sidcot Farm, and the organic pork by The Community Farm. Our native breed cattle, meanwhile, are fed only natural grass diets, are free to roam the pastures around Chew Magna and are slaughtered at an ethical abattoir very close to our farm. We aim to be as sustainable as possible, carefully managing our land to enhance the environment for future generations."

– storyorganic.co.uk LEIGH COURT ORGANIC FARM Based just outside of Bristol, Leigh Court Farm – which surrounds a twoacre walled garden forming part of Leigh Court Mansion – is a co-operatively run organic fruit and vegetable grower, owned and managed by employees. Founded in 1998, the Leigh Court Farm Project was awarded full organic status in 2000 and has been growing and selling its own produce across the county ever since. It now produces around 30 kinds of fruit and vegetables, sold at local farmers markets, via their fruit and veg boxes, and does home delivery.

– leighcourtfarm.org.uk Urban project Street Goat is bringing food producing animals closer to where we live

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A small social enterprise with big plans for farming fish and greens in the city using the methods of vertical farming and aquaponics, Grow Bristol aims to produce great food all year round, in the heart of the community where it is eaten, using innovative agricultural methods. It was started by friends Dermot O’Regan and Pete Whiting back in 2014 after both had become unfulfilled in their day jobs – Dermot as a policy advisor at the Environment Agency and Pete as a skilled gardener. “We have been developing a way to use recycled shipping containers to create a vertical growing system that incorporates both fish and plants,” says Dermot. “‘Aquaponics’ combines aquaculture (raising water-living animals in tanks) with hydroponics (cultivating plants in water). From these systems we produce our ‘fish and greens’ for local consumption; fresh and healthy greens like watercress, pea shoots, kale, radish leaf and micro-herbs, together with a sustainable source of protein in the form of our tilapia fish – a tasty, low-calorie, versatile fish for cooking that’s slowly becoming widely available in the UK as a sustainable choice and an alternative to species like cod.

“The system is based on a symbiotic relationship in which the fish help provide the nutrients for the plants, while the plants provide clean water back to the fish. The system is a way to save water, adapt to climate change and reduce pesticide use, and is being powered by renewable energy. It also provides a platform for education, engagement and work opportunities around horticultural skills and the wider food system, to help to reconnect city people with where their food comes and reduce the food miles of what they eat.

Dermot and Pete have spent the last year transforming a disused industrial site near Temple Meads into a productive urban farm and space for training and public engagement, with funding from the Green Capital Partnership and with great collaborators and partners like community growing movement Incredible Edible Bristol and Bee the Change – a Bristol enterprise tackling the pollination crisis by connecting communities to nature through bee conservation. “We recently opened the site to the public and, following a similar model to the market gardens of the past, we are now supplying fresh produce directly to the public and through restaurants, cafes and retailers.”

– growbristol.co.uk THE SEVERN PROJECT Urban grower Steve Glover founded this community interest company to help create positive roles and outcomes for socially excluded people, taking on apprentices and teaching them to grow and manage a farm. Yet he is perhaps best known among the restaurant and chef community in Bristol for the outstanding quality of his fresh hand-picked salad leaves and herbs. Based in Whitchurch, The Severn Project started out on a hidden plot near Temple Meads in 2010 and now produces over 15 varieties of seasonal salad leaves that are packed and prepared for delivery within hours of being hand-picked, can last for well over axx week in the fridge, and taste fabulous.

– thesevernproject.org WIPER AND TRUE Head brewer Michael Wiper fell in love with brewing at home – learning his craft on a kitchen stove with pots, pans and raw ingredients scattered around him. His penchant for experimentation has seen him roasting his own malts, adding wild ingredients such as blackberries and chillies, and ageing beer in different kinds of wood – and resulted in a great following in Bristol and beyond.

“Rarely the same, our recipes are the product of an imagination obsessed with discovering something beautiful, fired by the perpetual challenge of creating the perfect composition,” he says. “To keep things fresh, we continue to brew nomadically, making our beer in a number of locations, and while our apparatus may have become more sophisticated, our thirst for experimentation and enjoying our craft remains the driving force.”

– wiperandtrue.com

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Feed Bristol sells over 150 species of native wildflowers

Bioaqua’s Amanda Heron

FEED BRISTOL Feed Bristol sells over 150 species of native wildflowers, vegetable starters and edible perennials from its nursery on Frenchay Park Road in Stapleton – and hosts several other businesses who all sell veg when you sign up with them, and form part of a business incubator collective. These include Sims Hill Shared Harvest and their veg box scheme, Up-cycled xxxh...

Mushroom Lab, offering top-end edible mushrooms and medicinal herbs, and Edible Futures, a social enterprise planting edible gardens and taking growing back to its simplest, purest form. Operating from their smallholding within Feed Bristol, they run a market garden and an edible plant nursery using agro-ecological techniques – producing salads, herbs, vegetables and fruit which they deliver to Bristol restaurants, households, and retailers by bicycle on the day of harvest. They currently deliver household salad bags to drop-off points in St Werburghs, Montpelier and Easton. Edible Futures say they see their work as a tiny part of a giant movement for a just and sustainable food system, and are active members of the Food Sovereignty movement.

– avonwildlifetrust.org.uk/feedbristol NEW CROSS FRUIT FARM Husband-and-wife team Will and Liz Hebditch grow 15 acres of asparagus at their farm just west of Yeovil, and supplied 300 fresh spears for the recent crowdfunded Great British Asparagus Feast held at Yurt Lush in Bristol. Alongside the asparagus, which he supplies Bristol Fruit and Veg Market when it’s in season from April until June, William grows raspberries, blackcurrants and plums and was born in the farm’s house, which sits on land farmed for over 100 years.

Feed Bristol – newcrossfruitfarm.co.uk

DUNLEAVY VINEYARDS Located in the heart of Wrington Vale and combining passion, sustainable agricultural practices and latest viticultural techniques, Dunleavy produces fantastic rosé wine from Pinot Noir and Seyval grapes. The vineyards were planted by owner and manager Ingrid Bates, whose background is in biology and who, after a short stint working in the media, began her viticultural career 10 years ago when she took up a job maintaining a local vineyard. Having found her true vocation, she began planning and saving and finally planted her own vineyard in 2008. “I always try to do everything in as eco-friendly a way as possible,” she says. “I recycle as many boxes as possible, and I’m exposed to everything I spray so am very careful in my choices – we use organic sprays wherever possible.”

– dunleavyvineyards.co.uk FOOD ASSEMBLY

A fruity feast from Feed Bristol

Food Assembly, which recently launched in Easton to connect shoppers with local farmers and producers and ensuring they keep 80% of product sales – works with the likes of Westbury-onTrym’s Cherry Orchards Camphill Community, which sells organic sourdough, and Bristol community market garden and plant nursery Purple Patch, which produces herbs, salad and vegetables. It also hosts workshops, talks, events and seminars along the theme of developing our connection with the land and encouraging growing. We’re big fans of another of their producers, Bioaqua, the first commercial aquaponics farm in Europe to be specialised in gourmet produce – and also GingerBeard’s Preserves, run by former chef and craft beer aficionado Harry Calvert, who decided to turn his hobby into a business in 2014. Harry has developed his own jam, chutney, pickle and sauce recipes using favourite craft beers sourced from independent brewers, world spices and seasonal ingredients from local farms.

– thefoodassembly.com

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WILKINS CIDER Of course, we couldn’t do a feature on West Country producers without including one of the many fantastic cider makers in the area. One of the best known is Wilkins Cider Farm, run by Roger Wilkins and his family, who have been producing traditional cider over in Mudgley for years.

The no frills, rustic farm – listed in the Sawday’s blog’s ‘Top 10 Foodie Experiences in Somerset’ – is open to visitors every day from 10am until 8pm (except on Sundays when they close at 1pm, so Roger can get on with the important business of Sunday lunch). As well as sampling and purchasing the CAMRA award-winning cider, you might want to pick up some of the unpasteurised cheddar and stilton too – or the fresh local veg, eggs and pickles, or a stoneware flagon to fill with some of the fresh, appley stuff. You can order cider direct from Roger, though only by telephone, mind – Wilkins’ is rather refreshingly cut off from modern city life.

– wilkinscider.com

Aquaponics at Grow Bristol

BRISTOL FOOD PRODUCERS Recognising the difficulties small farmers and food producers face, Bristol Food Producers was established with a Green Capital grant to help support new and existing local food enterprises overcome obstacles and work together collaboratively to help scale-up local food production in and around the city. There are over 30 members including The Community Farm – a community-owned organic farm and veg box delivery service in Chew Magna and winner the Soil Association’s national award for Best Organic Veg Box – whose ethos is to help people develop a better understanding of where their food comes from, reconnect with the land, and learn about sustainable farming. Another is Street Goat, a pioneering urban project that started with the idea of bringing food producing animals closer to where we live – goats love eating weeds and brambles and keeping goats on overgrown marginal land around the city means they can help clear the land while people also enjoy their products. Street Goat has successfully raised over their £9,000 Crowdfunder target and are all set to welcome the arrival of their first goats to their site in St George from the beginning of June.

– bristolfoodproducers.uk THE BETTER FOOD COMPANY Established by Phil Haughton in 1992 as an organic delivery service, operating from a warehouse in St Werburghs, Better Food has evolved into two thriving stores in St Werburgh’s and Whiteladies Road, supporting the local network of growers and producers.

“We are inspired, simply, by a love of real food, and a desire to be part of the solution to global and local crises in farming and health,” says Phil. “We believe everyone has the right to good quality, chemical-free, healthy food; and that organic food production is the best way forward, for people and planet. We take our position of being a connection between farmers and consumers seriously, we want to share the great successes and challenges of the organic market and help customers make autonomous decisions.” Their producers include Yeo Valley in Blagdon, which supplies them with milk, yoghurt, cheese and crème fraiche; has been supporting local farmers since 1974 and committed to supporting organic farming since 1993; won scores of awards and become a lifeline for many organic dairies in the West Country. Free-range eggs come from the likes of Redhouse Farm in Winford, which passed Phil’s rigorous ethical standards with flying colours and offers some of the cheapest eggs around town. Better Food has also joined the new hub of harbourside indie retailers at Wapping Wharf, so be sure to keep your eyes peeled for the opening of their third store!

– betterfood.co.uk ■

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Roger Wilkins, of popular West Country producer Wilkins’ Cider – photo by Craig Smith

Bristol Food Producers can hook you up with some of the best veg box delivery services around

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Bar - Champagne Lounge - Restaurant

Your Food, Our Passion

The Mint Room, 12 - 16 Clifton Road, Clifton, Bristol BS8 1AF Tel: 0117 329 1300 www.themintroom.co.uk

info@themintroom.co.uk

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TASTY TITBITS FROM THE CITY’S RESTAURANTS, CHEFS AND PRODUCERS

WINE O’CLOCK? An Italian wine cafe has opened its sixth store at One Glass Wharf in Temple Quay. Italian founders Nino Caruso and Andrea Zecchino met in Manchester, and on discovering that they shared a passion for the Italian aperitivo – the ritual of drinking, nibbling and relaxing after work with friends and family – they teamed up to create Veeno, a venue offering a raft of great wines and authentic spuntini. The spuntini – mainly platters of meats and cheeses – are imported strictly from Italian producers, while wines come from the family vineyard back in Sicily where Nino’s great-grandfather Antonio planted the first vines in the 19th century. “We finally have the chance to go south, and it is a tremendous opportunity to showcase our concept and our products to a new audience,” said Nino. “Veeno Bristol is ideally located to service the lunchtime crowds with authentic Italian sandwiches, as well as being a place to relax and unwind with our family produced wine after work!” veenobristol.co.uk

NOT LONG NOW...

Stand by, guys – the team behind Casamia are due to open two new ventures in the next few weeks... With an open-plan kitchen and woodfired oven, Pi Shop pizzeria will offer stripped-back ‘Napoli meets Bristol’ sourdough pizzas, one-of-a-kind ice-cream and a sense of fun.

Meanwhile, Paco, their new Spanish tapas restaurant, promises a vibrant, welcoming atmosphere and a menu taking its influence from Andalucía and featuring colourful, tasty dishes that stay true to authentic Spanish cuisine. You can sign up online to register for the launch and news from the team – visit sanchez-brothers.co.uk

CONGRATULATIONS! Stuart Shaw has been appointed Thornbury Castle’s new head chef.

The 34-year-old has plenty of experience of award-winning restaurants including Le Manoir Aux Quat’ Saisons where he worked with Raymond Blanc; the Manor House at Castle Combe and Northcote Manor, which both have five red stars and a Michelin star. With a modern British style, focussing on the very best ingredients of the area while they are at their very best, Stuart’s signature dishes include chicken and foie gras terrine with rhubarb and celeriac; duo of beef shin and fillet with truffle mash, spinach puree and red wine jus; as well as a classic chocolate fondant with cherry compote and pistachio ice cream and treacle tart with clotted cream ice cream. For more information and prices, visit: thornburycastle.co.uk

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PHO SURE! Vietnamese street food restaurant Pho, founded by husbandand-wife team Stephen and Jules Wall, also landed in Bristol recently, at 28 Clare Street – giving away free pho on opening day to celebrate the launch of the 70-seater eatery. The menu features more than 15 different kinds of pho, from spicy brisket beef to traditional chicken pho – all served with a side of fresh herbs – as well as street food-inspired spring rolls, salads, wok-fried noodles and fragrant curries, Vietnamese beers, cocktails, coffees and fresh juices. Pho has also been working with Tomorrow’s People to train and hire young people who live in and around Bristol and who were previously out of work or are newly out of school without proper job training or qualifications.

For more information, visit phocafe.co.uk

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A quality local independent Italian that's family run and well established.

WWW.PIAZZADIROMA.CO.UK 178 WHITELADIES ROAD, CLIFTON, BRISTOL, BS8 2XU OPEN 6PM TO 11PM TUESDAY TO SUNDAY (AND BANK HOLIDAY MONDAYS)

T: 0117 973 4183

THE MENU

SPECIAL OFFERS PICTURES&

REVIEWS ON OUR FACEBOOK &WEBSITE

FROM A ROMANTIC MEAL TO A PARTY BOOKING, YOU WILL BE WELL LOOKED AFTER

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WHAM, BAM, BAMBALAN The city’s hot new joint – on Colston Street – really is a breath of fresh air, thinks Amanda Nicholls

W

hile there are always plenty of exciting launches happening in the city, it’s not all that often a new restaurant has us religiously, feverishly checking its Twitter account for updates and zealously joining in with all the wagging tongues way before doors are flung open.

But with its unique location on the first floor of Colston Tower, promise of alfresco drinking and dining, and rooftop views across the city centre and harbourside beyond, we just had an inkling Bambalan was going to be Bristol’s hot new joint for the summer. And it is.

The new baby of the boys behind Hyde & Co, The Milk Thistle, The Ox and Pata Negra – that’s Jason Mead and Nathan Lee – Bambalan has a very different feel to its sister establishments. While some of these have been built on a premise of exclusivity, it feels the latest addition to the portfolio is built on the opposite. Central, capacious and reasonably priced (mezze sharers are £5 each, all clay oven dishes are £7.50, and babs are £8.50), it’s ideal for any sort of rendezvous – professional or leisure – for anybody, at any time, thanks to the all-day dining offering.

The spacious terrace – also facing the neighbouring gold façade of the Colston Hall, whose admin team will surely have the most infuriatingly tempting view of the relaxed goingson there this summer – is a major draw indeed, with its cute tiled island perfect for perching at with a Pink Bicycletta (Venetian rose, Campari and punchy paprika) and soaking up the buzzy 54 THE BRISTOL MAGAZINE

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ambience. But it’s what lies inside the eatery that impresses us most – and where we contract a serious case of interiors envy. As well as having the requisite light and airy feel of a real summer hub, the space – designed by Jason and Nathan with the help of local artists, craftspeople and designers like Angela Yon and signwriter Bruce Crowes, and suppliers including Dighaushizzle, Rag & Bone and Rachael’s and Michael’s Antiques – is filled with elegant, stylish furnishings lightly tapping into the topical tropical trend and making us feel like we’re on holiday even before we’ve seen the menu.

Cue mental note to track down everything from the boothstyle sofas in aqua and canary yellow, the wicker chairs with exotic-print cushions from local upholsterers the Staple Sisters, and the carved wood bar cladding, to the giant wall

Above: We contract a serious case of interiors envy on arrival – loving the tropical brights and giant wall decal.

Photography by Chris Cooper (shotaway.com)

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super-fresh and healthy-tasting yellowfin tuna steak from the charcoal robata grill, sitting on a generous mound of quinoa, sweet potato, parsley and mint – and share with L a salad topped with a big ball of burratina and tossed with raddichio, pink grapefruit, pomegranate pieces and molasses (our new absolute favourite salad ingredients).

While the dessert menu isn’t massive, it’s still tricky picking just one each. Given our achingly full bellies, you’d think we might choose a simple sour cherry or pineapple, ginger and chilli ice – but no, those are on the hit list for next time. Instead, L stabs a finger at the menu and, seeing it point at the Bambalan baclava sundae, goes with the decision of the digit, while I’m set on the Eastern Mess. The latter, with its pink peppercorn meringue, ambrosial rhubarb cream punctuated by chunks of the stewed fruit, and scattering of pistachios drizzled with irresistible burnt honey, is an intriguing sweet-savoury creation. L meanwhile, says little as she hurriedly puts away her equally naughty nutty sundae, other than explaining how Bambalan means ‘lazy bum’ in Puerto Rican slang, and leaving me thinking that while it may be the perfect place to laze this summer, this pretty new eatery is certainly no half-hearted effort from Jason and Nathan; rather a real breath of fresh air for Bristol. ■ Bambalan, Podium Level, Colston Tower, Colston Street, Colston Avenue, Bristol, BS1 4XE; 0117 9221880; bambalan.co.uk

decal of Tretchikoff's Lady from the Orient, the gingham linen, adding pops of colour to every table, and the little ceramic pots that could well have been bargained for in a busy Moroccan medina.

The North African and Mediterranean-inspired menu is a bit of an

❝ Our eyes dart from charred octopus and ras el hanout chicken skewers with hazelnut pesto to rotisserie chicken

❞ embarrassment of riches – and we’re indecisive at the best of times, so our lovely waitress Lindsay has to return to us a few times, and dole out some recommendations, before we achieve some semblance of direction. As our eyes dart from charred octopus and ras el hanout chicken skewers with hazelnut pesto to free-range rotisserie chicken – which, on the night we visit, is served with walnut romesco, saffron and cumin yoghurt and roast new potatoes for just a fiver – there’s a good deal of Googling from my companion, L, who claims there’s an ingredient she doesn’t recognise on every dish.

There’s plenty to whet the appetite – from lemon and paprika broad bean nibbles to dips like labneh, baba ghanoush and hummus, or mezze sharers such as our succulent, sweet cured salmon with cubes of feta, charred courgette, dill and tangy sumac.

L goes for the slow-cooked lamb pide – a sort of almond-shaped Turkish flatbread pizza from the wood-fired oven – with asparagus, saffron and cumin yoghurt for an extra touch of warmth, and not a hint of grease. Meanwhile, I continue down the piscine route with the

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Photography © xx

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FRESH MEAT Say, for whatever (unacceptable) reason, you’re not going to Grillstock this year (tut tut!), here’s our advice: sling together a bangin’ playlist featuring all the fab festival acts, set up your grill station in the garden, and take a leaf out of the Bristol-born outfit’s brand new recipe book...

I

f you’ve had the complete and utter pleasure of eating at their Bristol smokehouse, or hanging out at their festival (see also p30), you’ll have found out first-hand that the guys at Grillstock are absolute masters of ‘low ‘n’ slow’ barbecue. Jon Finch and Ben Merrington – the boys behind the meat and music concept – are pioneers of the American barbecue scene over here, with top pit-masters from around the world competing at their events. Not content with festivals and restaurants, they’re determined to get all up in our grill, literally, and bring their own brand of barbecue heaven to as many people as possible – cue Grillstock: The BBQ Book, just four years after the opening of the first smokehouse, featuring 224 magnificent pages of their meaty manifesto and red meat rhetoric...

Pit-braised pulled lamb shoulder (feeds 4-6) “In the smoky world of BBQ, when we talk about smoking a shoulder or two, pork gets all the glory. Probably because we’re all looking at what the Americans are doing and – frankly – they’re not all that into lamb. Yep, we all know pulled pork is great, but pit-smoked and pulled lamb shoulder is off the chart. Another level. Watch and learn, America, you’re missing a treat…”

Ingredients: • • • • •

2kg bone-in lamb shoulder Sea salt, preferably Maldon Freshly ground black pepper Beef rub (optional) 4–6 Tom Herbert's Buns, split and lightly toasted

For the beef rub: • • • • •

6 tbsp sea salt, preferably Maldon 1 tbsp garlic powder 1 tbsp celery salt 1 1/2 tsp oregano 2 tbsp freshly ground black pepper

For the fresh mint sauce: • 75ml jalapeño vinegar • 2 tbsp sugar • 1 large bunch of torn mint leaves

Method ❶ Generously season the lamb all over with salt and pepper. (You can use beef rub, but avoid anything containing sugar or paprika as lamb is sweet enough.) ❷ Set up your BBQ to cook indirectly [see p19 of the book] at a low heat, around 110°C. We’re not fans of cooking lamb with too much smoke, so we advise steering away from smoking woods. The lumpwood will give sufficient smoky flavour, but if you’re a total smoke-head, go ahead and add some wood chunks. ❸ Put the lamb on the BBQ and cook for 4-6 hours until the internal temperature hits 92°C. We’re looking for a lovely chewy, golden bark for that perfect pulling point. ❹ Transfer the lamb to a large tray, cover loosely with foil and leave to rest for 30 minutes while you make the fresh mint sauce. ❺ To make the mint sauce, pour the vinegar into a bowl. Add the sugar,

stir until it dissolves, then add the torn mint leaves. Stir until everything is mixed together and then set aside until ready to serve. ❻ Pull the lamb away from the bone in hunks and then tease the strands apart with your fingers, throwing away any bits of bone and large pieces of fat. Make sure the deliciously seasoned bark is distributed evenly throughout so everyone gets a taste. ❼ Pile the pulled lamb into a freshly toasted bun and douse with the mint sauce. The heat and the tang of the sauce work really well with the sweet, fatty lamb.

Bourbon ‘n’ Coke BBQ beans (feeds 6-8) “Our top way to cook these beans is in an ovenproof dish in a smoker, placed directly under a rack of ribs. That way, the beans catch all those lovely smoky, porky, sweet, fatty juices as they drip down through the grate. However, they still taste great when smoked low ’n’ slow on a regular BBQ. Technically, this is a fixin’ – that is, to be enjoyed on the side – but a big bowlful makes for a pretty solid meal in itself. You could spice it up by adding chipotle flakes or chilli powder, if you like.”

Ingredients: • • • • • • • • • • •

6 thick smoked bacon rashers, cut into lardons 2 onions, roughly chopped 1 red pepper, deseeded and roughly chopped 3 x 400g cans haricot beans, drained 100g raisins 120ml Backyard BBQ Sauce 4 tbsp treacle 75ml bourbon 125ml Coca-Cola 100ml chicken stock or water 2 tsp Grillstock House Rub

For the Grillstock House Rub: • • • • • • • • • •

2 tbsp sea salt 4 tbsp paprika 1 tbsp garlic powder 1 tbsp onion powder 2 tbsp white sugar 2 tbsp light soft brown sugar 2 tbsp chilli powder 1 tbsp cayenne pepper or chipotle powder 1 tsp English mustard powder 2 tbsp freshly ground black pepper

Mix ingredients together and transfer to an airtight container – it will keep for up to a month.

For the Backyard BBQ Sauce (makes a litre): • • • • • • • • • •

Splash of vegetable oil 1 onion, very finely diced 3 garlic cloves, minced 3 tbsp Grillstock House Rub 500ml ketchup 100ml French’s yellow mustard 75ml cider vinegar 75ml Worcestershire sauce 75ml honey 180g light soft brown sugar THEBRISTOLMAG.CO.UK

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FOOD | RECIPES Heat the oil in a saucepan over a medium-low heat. Add the onion and garlic and gently fry for 5 minutes, stirring regularly, until softened. Add the rub and cook for a further 2 minutes, stirring. Add the other ingredients and bring to boil, then turn to simmer for 15 minutes until thickened, adding a splash of water if too thick. Taste and and add more rub if needed. Cool and transfer to sterilised jar or bottle and keep for up to a fortnight in the fridge.

❺ Remove the lemons from the heat, leave to cool then squeeze them through a strainer into a large bowl. Discard the skins and any pips.

Method

❼ Now, add the bourbon and 1.5 litres water. Half fill a pitcher with ice.

Add the mint and top up with the grilled lemonade. Stir and serve over ice with a sprig of mint and a lemon slice.

❶ Set up your BBQ for smoking, around 110°C. ❷ Put the bacon in a large, dry frying pan over a medium heat and cook for 5-10 minutes, turning occasionally, until the fat renders out and the bacon turns golden and crispy. Remove the bacon, leaving the fat in the pan.

❻ Strain the ginger from the stock syrup and add 200ml of the syrup to the lemon juice and mix well. Check for sweetness at this point and add honey, if needed.

Grillstock: The BBQ Book is published by Sphere, Little, Brown available now, in hardback, priced at £20; grillstock.co.uk/bbqbook n

❸ Add the onions and pepper to the pan and cook in the bacon fat for 8 minutes, stirring occasionally until softened. Sling everything else in, give it a good stir, then tip into a heavy-based ovenproof dish. ❹ Put the dish on the BBQ and smoke for 2-3 hours, stirring once or twice, until the sauce has reduced and thickened. Add a splash of water if too thick, or cook for longer if the liquid needs to reduce. Alternatively, place in a smoker at 110°C-120°C underneath a rack of ribs or other meat. Cook for 2-3 hours, stirring once or twice. For extra meatiness, add any leftover BBQ meat at the start of the recipe – pulled pork, brisket and chicken all work well.

Grilled lemonade (makes 2 litres) “We went to Kansas City for the 2014 American Royal and were lucky enough to be invited to the Kingsford Charcoal opening party to hang out with BBQ royalty. Things got blurry quite quickly and we put that solely down to the delicious, tangy, smoky-sweet, bourbon-laced, grilled lemonade they were serving up by the gallon. We loved it and have upped the game a little with the addition of fresh ginger and mint. Bourbon is our spirit of choice here, but this recipe also kicks ass with rum. Or try adding a glug of triple sec.”

For the ginger stock syrup: • 200g sugar • 2cm piece of ginger, very thinly sliced or blitzed in a blender

For the lemonade: • • • • • •

250g light soft brown sugar 3kg lemons, halved Honey, to taste 250ml bourbon 1 handful of mint sprigs, plus extra to serve Slices of lemon, to serve

Method ❶ First make the ginger stock syrup. Put the sugar and ginger in a saucepan with 400ml water. Bring to the boil, stirring until the sugar has dissolved. Turn the heat down to medium-low and gently simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until syrupy. Remove from the heat and leave the syrup to cool. (It is worth making a large batch of the syrup as it will keep for several weeks stored in an airtight container in the fridge.) ❷ Set up your BBQ to cook directly (see p18 of the book) at a medium heat, around 170°C. ❸ To make the lemonade, pour the brown sugar into a small baking tin.

Press the lemons, cut-side down, into the sugar until evenly coated. ❹ Put the lemons on the BBQ, sugar-side down, for 3-4 minutes until the sugar caramelizes – do not let the sugar burn or it will become bitter. For extra flavour, add a couple of wood chunks to the coals while the lemons are grilling.

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SHOPPING | FATHER’S DAY

Let’s hear it for

THE BOYS TOM FORD OUD WOOD BEARD OIL 30ML, £40 The key to a well-kept beard is daily grooming and conditioning. This oil softens and nourishes with a lightweight blend of almond, jojoba, grapeseed oils and vitamin E

Make sure the old man feels spoilt rotten come Father’s Day this 19 June. From luxe accessories to the latest grooming products and finest spirits, we’ve found plenty of gift ideas to suit even the most hard-to-buyfor bloke...

G-SHOCK GPS HYBRID WAVE CEPTOR, £800 This one-of-a-kind watch’s GPS hybrid radio wave reception system is capable of obtaining time data worldwide and is mounted in a structure that withstands the most severe conditions. Tough watch for a tough guy?

LA PRAIRIE CELLULAR RADIANCE EMULSION SPF30, £338 As the skin ages, hormonal fluctuations can cause dryness, lines and irritation. Why not help Dad improve his natural glow!

All products available from Harvey Nichols Bristol or harveynichols.com via the collect in-store service STARSKIN LEADING MAN HYDRATING MASK, £8.50 An energising bio-cellulose mask formulated for male skin. Made with naturally fermented, vitamin-rich coconut juice, the innovative formula intensely hydrates and conditions, without any nasty irritation

FOREO LUNA 2 FOR MEN, £149 This sonic facial cleansing brush is a breakthrough device that drives away impurities and energises the skin for a more youthful look and a smooth, refreshed, toned complexion D1 DARINGLY DRY LONDON GIN, £39.95 D1 combines traditional craft with contemporary art to deliver a smooth, versatile gin. Infused with nettles and offering quintessential citrus and juniper flavours with blackcurrant aromas

ELEMIS SHAVE OIL, £22

CREED AVENTUS EAU DE PARFUM, £230

A multi-purpose shave oil which softens facial hair and prepares the skin for the ultimate close shave

With notes of pineapple, blackcurrant, bergamot, birch, jasmine and patchouli, this woody, deep scent has oakmoss, ambergris and vanilla at its base

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THE GENTLEMAN RANGE PEPPERMINT BODY WASH, £13 True to its name, this gentle wash produces a luxurious lather to thoroughly cleanse and refresh

RIVSALT BBQ SALT BLOCK, £19.95 Pure Himalayan salt to revolutionise BBQ grilling. Ideal for meat, fish, shellfish and veg, it can also be used chilled as a serving plate and will add gorgeous flavour and flair to his cooking

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TAX CHANGES TO CONSIDER Tom Ogden of HOLLINGDALE POOLEY considers the tax changes for buy-to-let landlords from 6 April 2016 Following the summer budget of 2015, a number of changes were announced which may have considerable tax consequences for many landlords.

For many years, the calculation of profits from a ‘property business’ has been calculated using normal business tax rules.

Consequently, mortgage interest paid on buy-to-let mortgages, often the greatest expense of a property business, has been an allowable expense.

By the end of this parliament, an individual’s taxable property income for tax purposes will not be calculated after a deduction for mortgage interest. As a result, many buy-to-let landlords that have large rental receipts that are offset by high mortgage interest repayments are likely to be pushed into higher or even additional rate tax bands. In place of the current deduction will be a flat rate 20% mortgage interest relief deduction, regardless of the individual’s total income.

Transitional rules will apply over the next four tax years to soften the blow for landlords, with the old rules phased out and new rules phased in.

Another significant change has been made, that will specifically affect landlords with furnished properties. For many years, a fixed deduction equal to 10% of rent (less any costs paid directly by the tenant) was deductible from an individual’s taxable property income on their furnished lettings to compensate for wear & tear on soft furnishings and moveable furniture.

This has now been abolished, with landlords able to claim actual expenditure on replacement items only.

This may be favourable to some landlords, particularly those letting partially furnished properties that may not have claimed the 10% allowance previously. However, it will require landlords to document expenditure rather than rely on the flat rate deduction.

For individuals that rent out rooms in their own home, the annual amount that can be received before tax becomes payable has been increased significantly, from £4,250 to £7,500 per annum. For individuals with rents from their own home under this limit, the amount will be available as an exemption or for those with rents over this limit, only the balance of rents received over the limit will be subject to income tax.

To discuss how the changes to property taxation will affect your property business please contact Tom or one of our partners for a free initial consultation, or email enquiries@hollingdalepooley.co.uk

WHOLE LOTTA A

Wæs hal!

Historian Julian Lea-Jones explores a little piece of the city’s history

T

he pagan practice of wassailing traditionally took place each New Year, when villagers danced and sang in the orchard to frighten away bad spirits and thank the good spirits for the trees’ wellbeing. This ceremony was reintroduced in Bristol by one Frank Buckley, a barrister, at his own orchard, and has since been performed by community orchards and, in recent years, even owners of commercial cider apple orchards – feeling, as our forefathers did, that wassailing improves their harvest. A modern twist includes the firing of shotguns or fireworks into the branches to frighten away bad spirits. But what of the meaning of wassail?

The Anglo-Saxon wassail bowl – a cup of mead, cider or spiced ale drunk on New Year’s Eve or Day – was derived from the everyday greeting ‘wæs hal’. With hal being the ancestor of the modern English word hale, wæs hal literally meant ‘be healthy!” This gradually contracted to wassail, referring to the act of toasting someone’s health. In accordance with papal instructions, missionaries to these shores Christianised the pagan ceremony by renaming the wassail bowl, ‘Poc’ulum Carita’tis’ (The Loving Cup), a name still used by London livery companies and fraternal organisations, while universities and colleges generally call it The Grace Cup. At least one toasting ceremony regularly takes place today in Bristol, and although it is usual for grace, in the form of a short thanksgiving prayer, to be said before a meal, the Grace Cup usually accompanies a parting grace.

The Pledge Cup ceremony meanwhile, used by some organisations, reminds us of the assassination of King Edward (Edward the Martyr) at Corfe Castle on 18 March AD978 – when he took the proffered cup, his arms were held and he was stabbed in the back. In this modern ceremony, the cup is passed around the table with each drinker pledging the safety of the next by turning to guard their back, until all have safely partaken.

Here in Bristol in 1599, a large silver gilt Grace Cup was given to Queen Elizabeth's Hospital by the widow of William Byrde the Younger as a gesture of his affection. The cup, about 37cm tall, surmounted by a female figure bearing the Byrde coat of arms, is still in use at Bristol's civic banquets. In 1854 it was used at the enrolling of his Grace, the eighth Duke of Beaufort as Bristol’s Lord High Steward. His Worship then drank the toast, following which the toastmaster Isaac Niblett, landlord of the White Lion Inn, called out in stentorian tones; “The Grace Cup goes round”.

On 20 June 1986, a similar ceremony took place when John James, Bristol’s principal 20th-century benefactor, used the same cup in a ceremony at QEH to commemorate both his visit and the 400th anniversary of the death of the school’s founder, Bristol merchant John Carr. The ceremony and use of the Grace Cup to mark the affection and esteem in which the school holds John James, was doubly appropriate as it had been given as a gesture of affection 387 years before. n

The Grace Cup, from QEH School

Hollingdale Pooley Bramford House, 23 Westfield Park, Clifton, Bristol BS6 6LT Tel: 0117 973 3377 www.hollingdalepooley.co.uk

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SPORT | GOLF

MATTER OF COURSE Summer’s here (technically) and the time is right – we take a look at a handful of the best fairways to be found around these parts

Celtic Manor Just 30 minutes away on the other side of the bridge is a world-class destination for golf, with three championship courses – The Twenty Ten, Roman Road and The Montgomerie, plus a state-of-the-art golf academy and two luxurious clubhouses. Follow in the footsteps of golf’s legends when roaming the famous Twenty Ten, which played host to the Ryder Cup and five days of nail-biting drama in 2010. Or you can take on the par 70 Roman Road, which was the resort’s very first course, opening in 1995 and ranked ‘the top inland course in Wales’ by Golf Monthly. Lastly, choose the Montgomerie for spectacular views that abound, dramatic tee shots over valleys and breath-taking downhill shots. For more information, visit celtic-manor.com/golf

Bristol and Clifton Golf Club Enjoy a round or two before retiring to the clubhouse for some freshly prepped food

Long Ashton Golf Club This friendly members golf club, set in the north Somerset countryside yet barely 10 minutes from Bristol city centre, offers a superb parkland course with practice facilities including a floodlit driving range and free draining greens. Expect a warm welcome and freshly prepared food in the clubhouse, while the fully stocked pro shop features the GC2 latest technology for club fitting. These guys still have a small number of full memberships available and also offer various beginner and improver memberships which run beside their new Get into Golf courses for adults and juniors (a nice option for company team building exercises too). Students wanting to take golf as part of their sporting GCSE can also do so here – videoing themselves and passing footage back to their teachers – get a good handicap and get maximum results! Forthcoming open competitions include the Ladies Summer Waltz sponsored by Coombe Garage on 9 June or the Mixed, sponsored by jeweller John Titcombe on 31 July. Get involved!

For more information, visit: longashtongolfclub.co.uk

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With its beautifully mature and undulating parkland course, Bristol & Clifton is regularly a host to English Golf Union and English Women's Golf Association events, and in recent years has invested significantly in course improvements, machinery and state-of-the-art irrigation. In the summer, the course plays firm and fast, with lightning-fast greens that often give a stimpmeter reading of over 11. In winter, or very wet conditions, the course is free draining; meaning it rarely, if ever, closes, and winter tees and greens are seldom needed. The club – which also features a charming 19th-century clubhouse – is celebrating its 125th anniversary this year and staging the English Women's Open Stroke Play Championship to celebrate, as well as the Charity Pro-Am on 25 July. The latter costs £270 per team of three amateurs, who play with a PGA Professional, and includes tea/coffee and a two-course dinner. The Captain’s Charity Day meanwhile, is on 3 June, in aid of Bristol Area Stroke Foundation.

Visit: bristolandcliftongolfclub.co.uk

The club, which features a 19th-century clubhouse, is celebrating its 125th anniversary

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SPORT | GOLF

The Kendleshire The Kendleshire’s fab facilities are often used by county and national teams

The Kendleshire experience includes 27 memorable championship holes spread over nearly 260 acres. Choose from the Hollows and Ruffet courses designed by Adrian Stiff and featuring plenty of water, or the Peter McEvoy-designed nine-hole Badminton Course, opened in 2001 and built to complement its sister courses while adding an extra degree of challenge with its undulating greens. The greens are wellknown for their quality and accuracy, built to USGA standards and tended-to by a very professional team of greenstaff. In 2009 the club hosted the Reid Trophy for the EGU, with Ewan Scott becoming the European under-14 boys champion, and it has also been the venue for EuroPro and Jamega Tour events, as well as the Gloucestershire County Championships in 2008. The Kendleshire is a regional centre of excellence for practicing, with extensive facilities often used by county and national teams, and its dedicated team covering a broad range of golf tuition. Membership can be tailored to suit your particular requirements, and with unique facilities and a young, vibrant membership, The Kendleshire sets itself apart. If you are looking to bring a group or host a golf day, there is a variety of packages and plenty of open competitions going on over the summer.

For more information, visit: kendleshire.com Tee off to a backgrop of a gorgeous Georgian manor house, and 240 acres

Tracy Park The 240 acres of mature parkland that play host to Tracy Park’s two championship courses make for a stunning golfing landscape, especially given the views of its Georgian manor house. The Crown course, which opens on 1 June after a refurbishment, has been awarded the HSBC Gold Award and is considered one of the toughest tests of parkland golf in the South West, while the Cromwell course is a perfect combination of old and new – with parts of it set on the battlefields of the Battle of Lansdown – and offers plenty of challenges, ranging from woodland and mature trees to lakes and streams. A recently renovated driving range, with stateof-the-art tee-line matting, allows players to practice a multitude of shots in an on-course environment. Tuition is also available if you want to sharpen your skills – Tracy Park’s Head PGA Advanced Professional James Tuck offers lots of types of lessons. What’s more, there’s a brand new USGA-spec putting green, adjacent to a beautiful Cotswold stone courtyard and overlooking the 18th green of the Crown. Sounds good to us! Visit: tracypark.co.uk/golf

Thornbury Golf Centre This pay-and-play golf course, 10 minutes from junction 16 of the M5, offers two beautiful and challenging courses – the 6,300-yard Marlwood High Course and the 18-hole par three Low Course, both of which are maintained with the utmost care by the dedicated grounds team. There’s also a 25bay floodlit driving range, a well-stocked golf shop, two function rooms and an 11-bedroom lodge, to boot – making it an ideal venue for corporate events, family occasions, weddings, and of course, just a round of golf. Their low-cost beginner courses are taught by qualified PGA golf professionals, and the Junior Golf School offers a variety of golf lessons and fun activities to help develop young golfers of all abilities from their very first swings through to elite youth competitions. For more information, visit: thornburygc.co.uk

Introduce the kids to the sport at the Junior Golf School

Beginner courses are taught by PGA professionals

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MOTORING | TEST DRIVE

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MOTORING | TEST DRIVE

THE SPIRIT OF ECSTASY Dawn arrives; the sexiest super-luxury soft-top from Rolls-Royce. Dara Foley finds The Spirit of Ecstasy can be simply overwhelming...

R

olls-Royce does not add new models very often, and has a peculiar preference for menacing names that might spirit you off to otherworldly places – at the top of the range is the Phantom, the most stately and luxurious limousine on the planet, then follows the Ghost; slightly smaller, but nonetheless elegant and debonair. The Wraith completes the line up, a decadent Gran Turismo with its über cool, sleeker, sportier lines – more of an ‘everyday’ Rolls-Royce if there is such a thing. And now there’s the ‘Dawn’.

In creating and naming the Dawn, R-R is not only breaking with the revenant theme, it is heralding a new spirit, one of hope and opportunity.

The quote by 17th-century Restoration preacher Thomas Fuller – “It’s always darkest just before the dawn” – is an appropriate expression.

The Dawn broadens the luxury car market with more possibilities for R-R – it has a playful, bewitching, fresh appeal and if you were to ever call a Rolls ‘sexy’, then that is exactly what they want to hear. CEO Torsten Mueller-Oetvoes describes the Dawn as; “Quite simply, the sexiest RollsRoyce ever built.

“It promises a striking, seductive encounter like no other Rolls-Royce to date and begins a new age of open-top, super-luxury motoring,” he goes on, by way of introduction. “Dawn is a beautiful new motor car that offers the most uncompromised open-top motoring experience in the world. It will be the most social of super-luxury drophead motor cars for those who wish to bathe in the sunlight of the world’s most exclusive social hotspots.”

And so The Dawn was born, and named in honour of the Silver Dawn (1950 – 1954), it really is a beautiful, modern four-seat, super-luxury drophead.

Made at the home of Rolls-Royce in Goodwood, it closely follows the Wraith – but the bodywork is 80% new to strengthen the shell. The two enormous coach doors open from the centre for easy access to the front and rear. Rolls says it has worked hard to ensure the Dawn is as smooth and quiet as their other models – delivering the famed magic carpet ride, despite the absence of a fixed roof.

One of the aims of the Rolls-Royce design team was to produce a convertible car that looks as beautiful with its roof up as it does down, and one could say that the result has been to make two great cars in one.

Roof up, the Dawn is indisputably a Rolls, a true boulevardier, but is also the most silent convertible ever built. The six-layer fabric roof with French seams for clean aerodynamics, means it is whisper-quiet and completely insulated from the outside world. There is no engine or wind noise and it’s even very difficult to hear or feel any rumble from the enormous tyres. Its serenity is astounding, quieter than any electric car.

With precision performance, the huge fabric top opens silently at speeds of up to 31mph. It takes 22 seconds for the windows to drop, the back to open, the canopy to disappear – and the conversion is complete, in what Rolls-Royce calls a “silent ballet”.

Roof down, the allure of the lines becomes even more apparent; the steep rake of the windscreen gives the Dawn a sleek and attractive profile, and the romance that is open-top motoring begins.

The interior itself is a splendid work of craftsmanship – leather, wood and chrome are everywhere, with plush carpets under foot. The quality and attention to fine detail could only be Rolls. In another flirtatious, modern touch, there are zesty mandarin orange leather seats factory fitted as standard.

The biggest triumph is the open-pore Canadel wood panelling – named after a cove in the south of France where Sir Henry Royce enjoyed holidaying – that’s evocative of the ’60s Riva motor launch. Think Côte d’Azur or Lake Como. The horseshoe-shaped deck surrounds the shoulder line and provides the perfect backdrop for any driver and passenger to look fabulously Hollywood A-list without question.

And now to the drive. The power plant that is the 6.6-litre twin-turbo V-12 engine generates 563 horsepower, and 575 pound-feet of torque is paired to a seamless eight-speed satellite aided ZF automatic transmission.

The twin-turbo delivers all that torque at just 1,500rpm to propel a car that weighs a portly 2.56 tonnes. There’s no RPM counter; instead a power reserve gauge displays 100 percent when coasting, and will dip down to 20 percent or under if you need warp speed which hits or 62 mph in just 4.9 seconds. The Dawn is solid and sure footed – the suspension, air springs, active roll bars and low centre of gravity all contribute to a perfectly controlled but agile drive, and even the bumpiest of roads seem ironed-out before you.

The satellite aided transmission is one of the most advanced systems available – your sat nav reads the road ahead, and subtly adjusts the

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engine and gearing to ensure you are well equipped to handle even the most sudden hairpin with ease. At night, a thermal imaging kit will make you aware of any warm bodies that might be in peril ahead of you. A configurable head-up display of speed and other information is projected onto the inside of the windscreen, which is clean and easily understood without being a distraction.

There’s comfort and convenience at the highest level throughout and since not everyone likes to drive in total silence, the bespoke 16-speaker audio system, specially designed for the Dawn, will attain perfect balance regardless of whether the roof is open or closed. A rotary touch pad with a 10.25-inch high-definition display controls every aspect of the infotainment system. A very intuitive one-touch call button on the steering wheel allows the driver to muster the many car functions using simple voice commands… After all, it’s far easier to say ‘Clifton to Cannes via Route Napoleon’ than programming by hand.

Every thought and finishing touch is there too. For example, there are umbrellas stowed over each of the front wheels – push a button where the front door hinge would be in a normal car and out they pop. Also hidden in the bonnet is the majestic Spirit of Ecstasy, which emerges automatically on start up and retreats back when the car is locked. At night, she is illuminated.

Dawn is certainly a very alluring and beautiful car, and the stellar starting price of £264,000 almost seems an irrelevance because, we suppose, those likely to be buying one mightn’t be too concerned with the value-for-money aspect. Instead, they want heritage, exclusivity and a super-luxurious affair with Rolls’ sexiest car to date. As for the rest of us, inspired by Leicester City at 5000-1, maybe a few quid on Bristol City to come top in 2018 sounds like a plan?

Test car courtesy of Rybrook Specialist Cars Bristol, The Laurels, Cribbs Causeway Centre, Cribbs Causeway, Bristol BS10 7TT; 0117 203 3990

ROLLS-ROYCE DAWN Price: £264,000 Engine: V12, 6592cc, turbo, petrol Power: 563bhp at 5250rpm Torque: 575lb ft at 1500rpm Gearbox: 8-spd automatic Kerb weight: 2560kg Top speed: 155mph 0-62mph: 4.9sec Economy: 19.9mpg (combined) CO2/tax band: 330g/km, 37%

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RYBROOK OPENS ROLLS-ROYCE BRISTOL

A

s every Bristolian will have noticed, Bristol has changed dramatically over the last five years; it’s on the up, it’s exciting, attractive, and generally a great place to be.

Several recent wealth reports highlight Bristol’s ascendancy as the capital of the West Country; super housing, excellent schools, a vibrant and varied entertainment scene, a rich cultural diversity and all those fantastic places to eat out make Bristol the beautiful city it is, and it now runs a close second to the home counties for London relocators. And with the millionaire count for the West continuing to rise, the city’s premium estate agents are already realising serious buyer interest in anticipation of the electrification of the rail line to London in 2017. What’s more, Bristol continues to be an important business location for both large enterprises and start-ups.

So it makes perfect sense that über luxury marque Rolls-Royce Motor Cars is soon to take a place at Cribbs Causeway as part of the Rybrook dealerships. While Bristol has many great dealerships, Rolls-Royce Bristol will no doubt sit at the very top.

“The opening of our new showroom in Bristol represents a significant investment for Rybrook at a time of growing confidence in the British economy,” said Henry Whale, managing director of Rybrook. “There are thousands of successful entrepreneurs and business leaders across the South West, many of whom turn to Rolls-Royce for their personal transport. We are committed to delivering pinnacle standards in customer satisfaction as we look forward to launching.”

James Crichton, regional director of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Europe, added: “Rolls-Royce takes great care in selecting its dealer partners, and we’re delighted to be working alongside Rybrook as we open our seventh showroom in the UK. Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Bristol will help us deliver further sustainable growth in the United Kingdom, and we are confident that our strengthened partnership with Rybrook will help us meet a clear demand in this part of the country for our super-luxury motor vehicles.”

Rybrook has successfully operated Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Birmingham, McLaren Birmingham and Bentley Cardiff for a number of years and has extensive experience with specialist cars. When open, the Bristol showroom will serve all of the West Country, the South West and Wales, and right up to the Cotswolds. ■

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BRISTOL UPDATES BITE-SIZED NEWS FROM ACROSS THE CITY

WHEN I GROW UP...

Tapiwa wants to be like her bank manager aunty

Making a difference Photo © Max McClure

Bristol charity Motivation, which provides specially-designed wheelchairs and services for disabled people in some of the world’s poorest countries, is marking its 25th anniversary with a new campaign to help children in Uganda stay healthy and dream big. ‘When I Grow Up’ aims to raise £100,000 to equip parents with the skills and knowledge to keep their disabled children healthy and break from poverty; with every pound donated by 3 August doubled by the UK government as part of the UK Aid Match scheme. “Most of us will have heard a child say; ‘When I grow up…’” said Redland-based co-founder David Constantine. “But lots of disabled children in the developing world don’t get the chance to grow up. Many die before they reach five years old from what should be easily preventable health complications. We can change this.” You can make a donation at: motivation.org.uk/whenigrowup

GETTING SHIRTY

DESIGN FOR LIFE

ON THE MOVE

Design Council and the Arts and Humanities Research Council have funded an 18-month project called Bristol and Bath

by Design that will map and measure the value and impact of design in the city to find out how and why the cities succeed in this area. Initial findings reveal design firms are 11% more productive than an average firm and 14% more productive if based in Bristol and Bath according to an interim report by a research consortium led by UWE. “We need to encourage and retain design talent in the UK and this is why Design Council and AHRC are interested in finding out more about how designers work in this area,” said UWE’s Carinna Parraman. For more information, visit: bristolbathdesign.org

Strava – the social network which lets athletes track rides and runs via iPhone, Android or GPS devices, helping them analyse their uploaded activities, as well as providing motivation from the global Strava community – is to relocate to Bristol from London. The network chose Bristol for its international headquarters because of its strong talent pool, transport connections and growing reputation as one of the UK’s pre-eminent creative and technology hubs. “It is testament to the strength of this region’s digital tech cluster that a San Francisco company like Strava has decided to relocate its European headquarters to Bristol, as it expands,” said Invest Bristol & Bath’s Matthew Cross. strava.com

A new tourism awards scheme for Bristol, Bath and Somerset has been launched, featuring accommodation awards, and categories for everything from food and drink, attractions and activity providers to events, sustainable tourism, dog friendly businesses, accessibility and more. “We’re delighted to launch this scheme,” said Nell Barrington from Services for Tourism. “It will give businesses the chance to be in the spotlight, and go on to the regional and national Visit England awards.” The deadline for entering is midnight on 12 June; somersettourismawards.org.uk

Local property management company BNS Management Services is sponsoring Gloucestershire Cricket’s NatWest T20 Blast shirt for the next two seasons. “We are thrilled to have signed this deal,” said managing director Andrew Simmonds.

“T20 is the fastest growing spectator sport and we’re really looking forward to introducing clients to this exciting game.

Becoming involved with sports in the region has been a focus of ours for a while, not only for brand awareness and exposure but because we are passionate about supporting young talent, particularly within up-and-coming teams.” For more on BNS Management Services, visit: bns.co.uk

PSSST...

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Players David Payne and Tom Smith with Andrew Simmonds

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ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE

The way you divorce could save your business

By Richard Sharp, Sharp Family Law – Bristol and Bath Divorce Solicitors. Producing Resolution not Prolonging Conflict

I learnt that Sarah knew little about the business and was concerned that she would lose out. Rob felt that the business was ‘his’ rather than an asset to be shared.

A nasty divorce can mean trouble for business The impact of marriage breakdown and divorce does ripple out well beyond the family home. A business caught in the cross-fire of a divorce will suffer. Inattention from a stressed-out, depressed or preoccupied owner can lose customers and business opportunities, divorce costs can escalate as competing lawyers and forensic accountants pick over the assets of the business.

A business interest is an asset to be divided between both spouses. It can often be the most valuable asset in the married and the biggest bone of contention in the divorce. Valuing it is a complex, costly and time-consuming.

How and who values it can be a major flashpoint of conflict. Aside from its financial value, the emotional attachments can inflame the one who created it as he or she faces the prospect of sharing it with the other who has had no involvement in it.

The process you choose for your divorce can determine its outcome What Sarah really wanted was the security of keeping the family home, not an interest in the business.

Rob wanted to keep control of his business in

Bath and the future benefits it might bring. They both wanted to avoid the acrimony and trauma of a traditional adversarial divorce court process.

from the options available that met their interests and needs without either feeling disadvantaged.

The collaborative divorce process proved to:

They feared that might destroy the business and the wealth they were trying to divide. They didn’t want a judge sitting in the Bath county court determining financial arrangements in their place.

Rob and Sarah selected me and another collaborative lawyer to work with them and together we committed to resolve matters between us without involving the court.

❝

• Preserve the wealth held by Rob and Sarah and not destroy it • Ensure the right professional dealt with the right problem for Rob and Sarah • Encourage Rob and Sarah to think creatively and craft solutions that worked for them and their family

We found a solution from the options available that met their interests and needs without either feeling disadvantaged

• Enable them to decide and keep control of what happened and how fast it happened.

We committed to resolve matters between us without involving the court.

To find out more, contact Richard Sharp at Sharp Family law on 01225 448955.

Clare Webb

❝

R

ob was successful entrepreneur who had built up a business during the marriage. He came to see me as his marriage of ten years to Sarah had come to an end.

Every divorcing couple is different, and a collaborative divorce is not for everyone.

But Rob and Sarah found that a collaborative divorce can enable solutions to be found and destruction to be limited, to maintain those things that were important to them and their family.

We introduced a collaboratively trained financial advisor. He looked from a neutral perspective at the assets of the marriage including the business and the family home, and helped Rob and Sarah to understand the division options open to them.

A family consultant worked with them to address their emotions towards each other, develop communication and a level of trust between them.

Through a series of meetings attended by Rob and me, Sarah and lawyer, we found a solution

sharp F A M I LY L A W Sharp Family Law: Helping clients to reach solutions Broad Quay House, Prince St, Bristol, BS1 4DJ email: info@sharpfamilylaw.com m: 07798 606 740 t: 01225 448955 website: www.sharpfamilylaw.com

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TRAVEL | FAMILY

MANNA FROM DEVON Considering a staycation this summer? Samantha Coleman enjoys sun, sand and serenity while on a family break in the South Hams...

T

he key to going on a break with kids is to make absolutely sure you have a sauna and steam room to escape to. Because let’s be honest, a family getaway is never going to be all that relaxing unless you can take some time out at some point. Our recent stay at Gitcombe House Country Cottages, set in the beautiful South Hams, offered plenty of opportunity, plus quality family time and lots for children to enjoy.

Perfectly situated between Dartmouth and Totnes, just a 20-minute drive from the sandy beaches at Salcombe and with a wealth of attractions on the doorstep, Gitcombe makes for an ideal staycation for families with children of all ages. Comprising a collection of eight comfortable, contemporary holiday cottages, with a heated indoor and outdoor swimming pool on site, it’s perfect for anyone seeking a special, away-from-it-all, boutique bolthole. Fitted with sleek kitchens, elegant soft furnishings, large dining tables, modern bathrooms, log fires and private patios, the cottages are cosy and homely enough for a stay at any time of the year. There’s also the Grade-II, Georgian Gitcombe House itself, which sleeps 12 – great for a large gathering.

What particularly attracted us to Gitcombe was how all the cottages are so baby and toddler friendly – with a stair gate, travel cot, high chair and children’s cutlery and bowls all provided. It was so handy for my husband and I and our 18-month-old son, and certainly made a refreshing change, not having to pack the car full of toddler essentials. More room for beach toys!

On top of the toddler considerations inside the cottages, there’s an adventure playground; tennis courts with basketball and football nets; a warm indoor pool and a soft play area with ball pool and rocking horses – so you’re never stuck for things to do on site, even on a rainy day.

Having facilities like these just made the stay so much easier.

Charlie was happy kicking a football around on the courts with dad while mum took some much-needed me-time in the sauna and outdoor hot tub. Bliss…

What’s lovely is that because it’s an intimate site, it’s likely that you’ll get the pool and other luxuries to yourself at some points – it certainly made our getaway feel that bit more sumptuous and relaxing. It also meant we didn’t feel bad for other pool users when Charlie started splashing and squealing with excitement!

It’s such a peaceful place too; you go to sleep swaddled in a blanket of complete darkness and silence and wake up to birdsong, and the mist disappearing over the hills. Even if your little darling wakes at the crack of dawn, full of beans, you can’t help but start the day with a feeling of serenity.

We stayed for a long weekend in the Burrator cottage and had two glorious days of sunshine before the weather turned, so we made the most of it and got out early to the local beaches. Salcombe North Sands was a lovely stretch where we whiled away the day building sand castles and scooping up shells. The nearest beach, though, and the one we enjoyed most, is Blackpool Sands, voted one of the UK’s best family beaches by The Sunday Times and Conde Nast's Traveller magazine. A large, exceptionally clean shingle beach, out of bounds for dogs and with good changing facilities, it’s a beach for all weathers, all year around – given that you can always take refuge in the cosy beachside Venus Cafe.

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As one of the most beautiful stretches of coastline in the country, there are plenty of other beaches to explore nearby too, including Kingsbridge, Thurlestone, South Milton Sands, Hope Cove, Bantham Beach and Bigbury – all unspoilt, as nature intended, and unique in their own way.

Aside from these, there are also lots of fun family days out to be had at attractions including Paignton Zoo, Woodlands Family Theme Park, Babbacombe Model Village, Pennywell Farm, and steam train rides at Dartmouth – not to mention the simple pleasures of a picnic on the River Dart, a boat trip or crabbing at Dittisham.

Lots of time outdoors meant a good night’s sleep in store for Charlie and some time to ourselves in the evening by the warmth of the log burner – feet up, enjoying a glass of local plonk. The self-catered cottage’s kitchen had everything we needed to cook up some hearty meals using local ingredients we gathered in the seaside towns. South Devon is a source of great local, seasonal food and drink – from artisan wine and cheese makers, butchers, bakers and fishmongers, to delis, farm shops and farmers' markets, there are loads of opportunities to taste and buy local food. Don’t miss the Sharpham vineyard, just around the corner from Gitcombe, where you can do tours and tastings, buy from the shop or pay a visit to the café.

Conversely, if you fancy a night off cooking, you won’t be stuck when it comes to places to eat out – the local restaurants, cafes and waterside inns offer something for all, from Michelin-star dining to simple beach-shack fare.

During our day at Salcombe we stopped for lunch at The Winking Prawn, which had come highly recommended to us

by Gitcombe owners, Joanne and Peter O’Brien – who took it upon themselves to try all the eateries in the area when they bought Gitcombe two years ago. It was good counsel – we loved the restaurant’s fun, relaxed atmosphere and the food was delicious, especially the seafood we ordered from the simple, well-executed menu. Sitting in the sun on a warm day, and looking out to the bright blue sea, you’d be forgiven for thinking you were in the Med. While our other day, at Dartmouth, was a bit of a washout, we did manage to get in a stroll along the harbour to see the boats, and caught a glimpse of the steam train (which was met with much excitement from Charlie) – though soon enough our thoughts turned, once again, to finding somewhere warm for a bite to eat. So we headed to the Rockfish restaurant of Mitch Tonks fame – for what I can honestly say was the best fish and chips we’ve ever tasted. The waiting staff were great with Charlie too – handing him a ‘squid pack’ of fish-themed games, activities and colouring pencils. The children’s menu was fantastic too; wholesome, healthy food at a good price. Had it been a nicer day, we probably would’ve opted for fish and chips from the Rockfish takeaway around the corner and sat outside overlooking Dartmouth castle.

We did later soak up the views of the rolling hills from our private outdoor terrace however, and celebrated the end of a wonderful weekend with a great British barbecue, huddled together watching the sun set – a memory that will last a lifetime.

To book a stay at Gitcombe or for further information and prices, tel: 01803 712678 or visit: gitcombe.co.uk n

Opposite page, clockwise from top: We were a 20-minute drive from sandy stretches; the Grade-II Georgian Gitcombe House itself; luxurious facilities include pools and a tennis court; comfortable and contemporary interiors featuring charming rustic furnishings

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EVENTS | FOR KIDS

FAMILY FUN What’s on in Bristol for little ones to enjoy this month

13 – 18 June, Dinosaur Park: The Jurassic Parody, The Wardrobe Theatre, 8pm Superbolt Theatre – an international ensemble founded at the Jacques Lecoq International Theatre School in Paris – bring their award-winning spin on Spielberg’s classical film to Bristol. They open a window to a lost world of prehistoric proportions, in the unlikely setting of Lyme Regis Community Centre – where the Park family embarks on a journey to a misty past. Dinosaur Park sees past and present entwine like a strand of DNA as megalithic mayhem brings together a modern family on the brink of crisis. This production comes to The Wardrobe Theatre following sell-out runs at Edinburgh Festival Fringe and has most recently travelled to Australia to play at Adelaide Fringe Festival and Melbourne International Comedy Festival. It now tours the UK for the first time. Recommended for children aged eight and over. There is also a 2pm matinee on 18 June.

For more info, visit: thewardrobetheatre.com

Top pick...

Head to the Festival of Nature – photo © joncraig.co.uk

DON’T MISS...

Until 15 June, Spring Kitchen, At-Bristol Head to At-Bristol’s seasonal science kitchen and whip up some scrumptious surprises! Discover the secret of melt-in-the-mouth chocolate, take part in egg dissections, get stuck in with cookalongs, create seasonal specials and taste the end results. Drop-in sessions throughout the day, check times on arrival. Free with standard admission; at-bristol.org.uk

Until 29 June, Nature Lab, At-Bristol Explore the science of living things – thinking like a bee and finding out how they feed; dissecting daffodils and becoming a nature detective by learning to survey the wildlife in How about Music with Mummy on 24 June?

your garden. Drop-in sessions throughout the day. Free with standard admission; at-bristol.org.uk

2 June, Bugs, Bees and Butterflies, Bristol Zoo/The Downs, 10am-3.30pm Learn about little creatures on the Downs during a bug hunt and other fun activities. In the afternoon you’ll be printing t-shirts so you can look ‘the bees’ knees’ all summer long! £15 per child (includes t-shirt). Book with the Avon Gorge & Downs Wildlife Project, at Bristol Zoo, on 0117 9030609 or e-mail mleivers@bristolzoo.org.uk.

Suitable for eight to 12 years. Visit: avongorge.org.uk

11 June, Peter Pan, Wild Place, 6pm Chapterhouse Theatre Company present the unforgettable story of the boy who wouldn’t grow up. Encounter enchanting mermaids, fairies and the cruellest pirate of them all, Captain Hook. J.M.Barrie’s classic is brought to life in a brand new adaptation by awardwinning writer Laura Turner, with original music and songs, and beautifully designed costumes. £5-£12; wildplace.org.uk

11 & 12 June, Festival of Nature, Bristol Harbourside, 10am-5pm Bristol’s Festival of Nature is taking to the water, offering wildlife-lovers the chance to go on a wild adventure along the River Avon. The event features interactive exhibits and activities from giants of the natural history world including the BBC, National Trust, Bristol Zoo and RSPB. A recreation of a river will wind its way through the Harbourside, allowing people to learn more about a river’s journey from source to sea. festivalofnature.org.uk

24 June, Music With Mummy, The Downs, 10am-11am Join Fiona Reilly and create a summer wildlife crown while singing, dancing, playing the big group drum (eight can play at a time) and chasing bubbles across the meadow. £4 per child. Book with the Avon Gorge & Downs Wildlife Project, at Bristol Zoo, on 0117 9030609 or e-mail mleivers@bristolzoo.org.uk.

Suitable for those aged 15 months to four years old; avongorge.org.uk

29 June – 1 July, Hidden Valley, St George’s Bristol, 7.30pm Dewi stumbles into a hidden valley and falls in love with a river princess whose father is not to be messed with! A magical world of talking beetles, scheming crows and a search for love against the odds. Music by Richard Barnard, words by Alan Harris, directed by Rhian Hutchings and designed by Rebecca Wood.

Presented by Operasonic and Richard Barnard Productions. £8/£12; stgeorgesbristol.co.uk ■

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EDUCATIONNEWS UPDATES FROM THE CITY’S SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES

IB SUCCESS

TIMES ARE A-CHANGING

FESTIVAL FUN

Clifton College Prep will be making changes to its Saturday School from September.

Having traditionally held Saturday School for Years 4 to 8 in the morning and sports on Saturday afternoon, it will replace Saturday School with Saturday Activities, finishing at lunch, to enable pupils to take part in more tournaments and festivals and ensure they are not losing teaching time.

“We have listened to our parents and made positive changes to complement families’ busy lifestyles,” said John Milne, head of prep. “Our families will have more family time on Saturdays and pupils can take part in more sports matches and activities.” cliftoncollege.com

169 infants gathered at Fairfield School in Backwell for the first South West MultiSkills Festival recently. Organised by head of PE Vicky Townsend, and attended by schools from the (South West) Independent Schools Association, it saw kids getting stuck into tri-golf, rugby, football, curling and target practice – and awarded medals for fair play, teamwork and honesty. “It was a wonderful day for pupils, teachers and parents,” said headmistress Lesley Barton. “The children had a great time taking part and competing with other schools. Instilling a love for physical exercise and competitive sport is really important.” fairfield.school

Redmaids’ School is celebrating the success of its International Baccalaureate programme. The school, which recently merged with Redland High and which is the only school in Bristol to offer the diploma, has seen its students rise to the IB challenge.

Last year, Red Maids’ average points score of 37.6 (students are marked out of a maximum of 45 points) placed them well above the world average of 30.1. “A Levels are great for those who are ready to specialise, but the IB enables others to continue with a broader range of subjects while they are still thinking about the future,” explained headmistress Isabel Tobias. Jon Cooper, the school’s IB co-ordinator, added: “As an IB World School, our students become part of a global academic community.

The IB stimulates cultural awareness and engagement with people of all backgrounds – which is more important than ever in today’s fast changing world.

The diploma is recognised around the world as excellent preparation for higher education, leading students onto some of the top UK universities and beyond.”

Diploma students take six subjects, three at Higher Level, three at Standard Level; and complete an extended essay research project, a taught course called Theory of Knowledge, and a social enrichment programme called Creativity Activity Service. IB Higher Level subject scores of 7, 6 and 5 are equivalent to A*, A and B at A Level.

The combined IB and A Level attainment of last year’s Red Maids’ Sixth Form saw the girls earn a top 50 place among independent girls’ schools nationally. For the IB alone, the students’ achievements ranked the school fifth in the Top Small Cohort IB Schools in the UK. Find out more at the school’s My IB Evening on 27 June. redmaids.co.uk

Having fun at Clifton High Nursery School

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By Caroline Pascoe, Headmistress of Haberdashers’ Monmouth School for Girls

“MIGHTY OAKS FROM LITTLE ACORNS GROW” As a Headmistress watching girls develop into strong, innovative and independent women, I’m often reminded of that saying.

But this time it’s on my mind thanks to the imminent arrival of the third annual Monmouth Literary Festival, organised from its conception by pupils from all three of the town’s senior schools.

The event, which has gone from strength to strength, now rivals adult-run festivals and unites the entire community through their love of books – a tremendous achievement for these passionate teens.

War Horse author Michael Morpurgo is headlining June’s week-long extravaganza this year with a memorable evening of storytelling, open to the public.

The celebrated children’s novelist is due to speak about many of his best-loved works, including Private Peaceful and its importance as the centenary of the Somme approaches.

Poet Laureate, Carol Ann Duffy, was so impressed with the sixth formers’ organisational skills and the warm welcome she received last year that she is returning once again this summer.

She will be performing at a ticketed event alongside musical accompaniment by composer John Sampson.

Maya Henson, 17, is a festival committee member from HMSG with high hopes for the event’s future.

She told me: “This year we have really upped our game and secured some unbelievably talented writers, artists and musicians.

“I believe that all members of the public should support the festival as it is vital for it to be passed on to younger generations. The festival isn't just about education, it's about coming together and supporting the town in order for it to fulfil its potential.”

As well as public events, the committee – made up of a handful of pupils from HMSG, Monmouth School and Monmouth Comprehensive – has organised countless talks, readings and signings just for local schoolchildren.

This year, more than 10 schools will be invited to benefit from this joyous occasion.

The festival runs between June 21 and June 29.

We look forward to seeing you there. *The Schools have an established bus route covering the Thornbury area.

For more information, visit habs-monmouth.org, call 01600 710433 for Monmouth School or 01600 711104 for HMSG. THEBRISTOLMAG.CO.UK

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Mum, voiceover artist and BBC Radio Bristol presenter, Faye Dicker, meets the Bristol businesses that make family life easier...

A

s with many parents, sleep is a big topic of conversation in our household – namely, the lack of it. It would seem we have not one, but two children who are both programmed to wake at 5.30am every morning. It’s not funny. No matter how many times we explain; “You have to stay in bed until your clock goes yellow,” up they leap, announcing it’s broken and they want to get up.

That is, until we tried the Tots Up Reward Bus. Knowing I’m the mum of two pre-schoolers, a good friend put me onto the bus (so to speak) and it’s spot on. A simple reward chart, that celebrates good behavior in a fab, fun way, it’s a tried and tested concept with a pretty special design.

As the name suggests, the Tots Up Reward Bus is a 3D magnetic bus – complete with its own bus stop and 10 passengers. Every time the child does something that deserves a reward, they’re allowed to put a passenger on the bus. I don’t know who was more excited to put the first passenger on the bus, to be honest – me or my Jemima!

It’s the brainchild of Sally Marks – a Bristol graphic designer and lecturer at Weston College – who had the idea 15 years ago when she was working with children on the autistic spectrum. Any good behavior was celebrated,

while trying to ignore negative behaviour. Not surprisingly, reward charts played a large part in things and she quickly designed a basic paper bus, which allowed them to chart their success.

The bus didn’t make an emergence again until several years later, when she was potty training her own son. She went back into her files and dug out the paper bus, stuck it to the fridge, and Blu-Tacked the passengers on to the bus every time a reward was needed. A friend noticed it and asked if she could have one to use in her house, and she realised she was onto something.

So last year, Sally began a business start-up course and, working closely with an educational psychologist, the Tots Up Reward Bus was born. The bus is successful because it’s so simple – it’s easy for the child to understand what they are working for and what they have to do to get it. It’s very engaging for kids. Our bus gets several comments as visitors see it sitting on the kitchen worktop, and for me, the proof is in the pudding. Not only is it a hit at home, but when Jemima and Suki had a sleepover at Nana and Bap Baps, the bus went with them. I received a very excited phone call from Jemima the next day, to tell me she’d got a passenger on board. And the day there were all 10, well, it was a big day indeed!

But it doesn’t stop there. Sally has recently received crowd funding and developed an app – so passengers can be put on the bus even when you’re out. As I write, we’re heading off on holiday in the morning and, yes, the bus is coming with us. I won’t pretend we’re not sleep deprived, but with the help of the reward bus, we’re on the journey to more 6am success. Tots Up Reward Bus is priced at £22.95 and is available from totsup.co.uk. freelancemum.co.uk n

GOOD HEALTH Nutritional Therapy has been gaining popularity in recent years, especially with all the information that is easily accessible online and on social media.

What is it about? Who is it for?

Clients may come to clinic for problems such as allergies, food sensitivities, weight management, tiredness, PMS, digestive issues, skin support, etc.

They may have seen their medical practitioner, taken tests, and find that these tests show there’s nothing wrong with them, despite still feeling unwell. They come to my clinic, and we go through a functional assessment of their symptoms from head to toe. We discuss their medical history from birth, life events, and lifestyle patterns that are relevant. We talk about what they like to eat or drink and where they prefer to shop for food. Depending on their symptoms, I may refer them for further tests with their GP or with reputable diagnostic laboratories to find out exactly what is going on in their health. For example, someone who has low energy levels and an increase in eczema over spring time, may have a test indicating vitamin D deficiency. In that instance, we would work together to devise a manageable nutrition plan with any necessary supplements to address immediate symptoms while looking at other areas of their health eliminating possible food and environmental triggers to their symptoms or adding certain nutrient-rich food for support.

One might say Nutritional Therapists support “grey areas” of health. Saying that, the advice we give is scientific and evidence-based on current research. We try to find out as much as we can about our clients and build professional relationships with them that involve care, interest, and trust. After all, when a client leaves the clinic, what they do with the advice - their compliance to stick with it - shapes the Sheila Kristeen Brito, RNT success of their therapy over time. www.thepumpkinbumpkin.com

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LET’S FOCUS ON FEET A surprising number of people suffer from foot and ankle problems, but rather than seeking help many of us try to hide and ignore the problem altogether. But there is no need to suffer in silence. Mr Gerard Lattouf, Consultant Foot and Ankle Surgeon at Nuffield Health Bristol Hospital, The Chesterfield explains some of the more common foot problems and how they can be treated.

Y

our foot is an evolutionary marvel. It is made up of 26 bones, 33 joints and 42 muscles all working together with more than 50 ligaments and tendons to carry you around every day.

Through the foot’s many moving parts it handles hundreds of tons of force every day moving us about. The stress of all this movement puts the foot at high risk of injury.

Various conditions affect feet whether through irritation from an ill-fitting shoe, injury or indeed from a condition affecting the rest of the body such as arthritis or diabetes. Many people suffer in silence and frequently in embarrassment with their feet. They often resign themselves to wearing lace up shoes and never displaying their feet in public. The following common conditions can be treated but if left unchecked, can cause misery to many people.

Bunions A bunion is a mal-alignment of the big toe, which goes off at an angle towards the second toe. The foot gets wider and the fitting of shoes becomes very difficult. It usually runs in families but can also be secondary to a number of general conditions, for instance, rheumatoid arthritis. If left unchecked it will usually cause over-crowding of the other toes and excessive pressure problems in the ball of the foot.

The options for treating a bunion include changes in footwear, using night splints or special insoles in the shoe. Unfortunately, none of these treatment options have any evidence to support their effectiveness. The only effective treatment for a bunion is to surgically correct the mal-alignment of the bones.

It is best to seek an expert opinion if you feel you have bunions to discuss what is best for you and your feet.

Painful Lesser Toes There are a number of conditions that can affect the smaller toes. Toes can be bent out of shape either through inherited factors, poor footwear or quite regularly secondary to bunions. Toes

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that do not function correctly will usually rub on a shoe and develop a painful corn or callus.

A hammer toe for example will often both rub on a shoe and create excessive pressure on the ball of the foot.

Mr Lattouf is originally from Lebanon but completed his medical studies and orthopaedic training in Lithuania. During his training Mr Lattouf had clinical attachments in France and Lebanon.

From August 2003 Mr Lattouf worked in Lithuania as a Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon before moving to the UK in June 2007 to work as a Locum Orthopaedic Specialist Registrar. In January 2009 he started a one-year foot and ankle fellowship at Stepping Hill Hospital, Stockport. During his fellowship he attended foot and ankle courses and training in Switzerland. Mr Lattouf has also been a member of BOFAS (British Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society) since September 2010.

Mr Lattouf recently joined the Nuffield Health Bristol Hospital, The Chesterfield as a Consultant Foot and Ankle Surgeon, and he also works in the NHS at the Shepton Mallet NHS Treatment Centre and at the Cirencester Hospital Outreach Clinic.

Treatment options for problematic toes involve either regular trips to a podiatrist to keep your toes comfortable or surgery to correct the alignment, which in turn allows normal footwear to be worn.

In his spare time Mr Lattouf likes to be outdoors as much as possible, enjoying sports such as fishing, clay pigeon shooting and hiking.

Neuroma Mr Gerard Lattouf A neuroma is a painful thickening of the nerve between the second and third, or more commonly third and fourth toes. It can cause a hot burning and tingling sensation, which sometimes leads to cramp in the toes. It can be particularly painful and can occur at regular intervals, especially with tighter fitting shoes.

It can be a particular problem in active sports people or those who wear a tight shoe for a considerable period of time.

The treatment options for a neuroma involve changing shoes, injections in the area or if necessary surgery to excise the painful and thickened nerve.

Arthritis Arthritis can affect any joint in the body and with 33 joints the foot is commonly involved, both in the generalised forms of arthritis and with individual joint arthritis, secondary to wear and tear. The big toe is most often affected; however, any foot joint can be involved.

Treatment options usually involve the use of orthoses (insoles), shoe changes, injections and if necessary surgery. Surgery can, in many instances, help restore function and keep the joint moving or if necessary remove a painful joint to allow pain free walking.

Heel Pain Another regular foot condition that affects many people is heel pain. There are multiple reasons why a heel may become painful. The vast majority of heel pain conditions are due to a mechanical dysfunction, often due to tightness in the Achilles tendon. These conditions can be treated with stretching and insoles and rarely need surgery. Due to the multiple possible causes of heel pain a specialist opinion should be sought as early as possible.

If you are worried about a foot or ankle problem and would like to seek some expert advice, Mr Lattouf is holding a FREE event at Nuffield Health Bristol Hospital, The Chesterfield on Tuesday 14th June at 6:30pm. Light refreshments will be provided, and there will also be the opportunity for you to ask any questions you might have. Spaces are limited, so please call 0117 405 8978 to book your place. You can also visit www.nuffieldhealth.com/bristol/events for more information.

Mr Lattouf is also currently offering complimentary 15 minute mini advice sessions at Nuffield Health Bristol Hospital, The Chesterfield. These are available during part of his regular clinics.

Whilst this does not replace a full consultation, it is a great way of getting some expert advice and answering any questions you might have. Please call 0117 405 8978 to book your place.

Nuffield Health Bristol Hospital The Chesterfield, 3 Clifton Hill, Clifton, Bristol BS8 1BN

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SUPERFOODS - WHAT ARE THEY?

What are ‘Superfoods’ and how can they help us? Naturopath Gemma Hurditch answers for CNM (College of Naturopathic Medicine)

W

ith the increasing interest in health and wellness, the term ‘superfood’ came into common use in the 1990s. Whilst there is no official definition of a superfood, it is understood to mean foods that are particularly nutrient-dense and desirable in the diet.

In many parts of the world, producers can claim any food to be ‘super’. This doesn’t mean that every nutrient-dense food will have a claim on the package, as many of the most super foods don’t come in packages! It also doesn’t mean every food that is labelled as ‘super’ will be so!

The media headline of ‘black pudding - now a superfood’ is a great example of marketing hype and misuse of the term. So how do we decide for ourselves if a food is super or not?

Chosen correctly, superfoods, foods with a uniquely high content of bioavailable nutrition (which also do not have undesirably high levels of other non-healthful properties) will enhance the functioning of the body, much as using high quality building materials will improve the durability and quality of a house. For example, in the UK children get more of their vitamin C, B1, B6, folate, iron, magnesium and potassium from potatoes simply because they consume potatoes frequently!

Potatoes, whilst delicious, are only considered a ‘good’, not an ‘excellent’ source of any of these nutrients.

Imagine the improved nutrition and wellness of our children if we were able to substitute some of

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our fries, mash and crisps with some super alternatives like dark leafy greens, sweet potato or berries!

It must be understood that the inclusion of one superfood, such as chlorella, in the diet, is not likely to undo the damage of having an otherwise poor diet and lifestyle. We should look to having a super diet to give ourselves the best opportunity for vibrant health.

The nutrient factors you want to increase will determine which superfoods to focus on. If you are looking to boost your memory and concentration for example, it could be best to consider super oily fish options. If you are concerned about your immune system you may want to source some foods which are ‘super’ for their vitamin C and bioflavonoid content, Acai springs to mind. If heart health is your top concern, there’s the vitamin E rich goodness of almonds. Whatever your goal, there will be different superfoods and combinations of foods to give you a lift.

There are also many all-round superfoods such as spirulina, broccoli or kale which are useful as part of your daily wellness regime.

As well as knowledge of which foods are supernutritious, we must also know how to use them.

Chia seeds, for example, are wonderfully nutritious, but they should be soaked or crushed before eating. Otherwise they generally end up in your teeth!

Turmeric is an immensely useful herb, and it is even better absorbed when taken with black pepper. Green tea may retain more of its antioxidant properties when taken with a squeeze of lemon. A Nutritional Therapist will recommend which foods are bursting with the nutrients you most need for your individual wellness plan, and can also advise you on how

best to prepare and enjoy them. Dietary changes are much easier to adopt if we know how and why they will help us, and even more so when they taste great!

Here’s to a super diet and super health!

Gemma Hurditch

CNM is the UK’s leading training provider in a range of natural therapies.

Attend a FREE Open Evening to find out about part time training with CNM Bristol for a career in Naturopathic Nutrition or Naturopathic Acupuncture.

15th June, 7pm-9pm

Don’t miss the following natural health event Is Food Medicine? The Scientific Evidence Geoff Don A seminar by international speaker Brian Clement, hosted by CNM Bristol

Friday 10th June, 6.30pm Please book your place for either event on line, or find out about studying with CNM at

www.naturopathy-uk.com 01342 410 505

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OUT | AND ABOUT

HIGH TIME Andrew Swift heads to one of the high points of the Marlborough Downs, and finds spectacular views in all directions his month’s walk, much of which is along old roads, passes an Iron Age hillfort and takes in an 18thcentury White Horse, a 19th-century monument and the ruins of a 20th-century airfield.

It starts with a gentle climb along the Old Bath Road, on which stagecoaches travelled in the 1700s. Back then, the journey from London to Bath took three days – with two overnight stops at wayside inns – due to the state of the road as well as the method of transport. Travellers in the 18th-century also went in constant fear of highwaymen, especially in such bleak and lonely spots as this. One of the most notorious gangs of footpads was based at the nearby village of Cherhill. They were famous not because they were particularly ruthless, but because they went about their business in a state of total undress. Their rationale seems to have been that, if their victims were not looking at their faces when they held them up, they would not be able to identify them in court..

This area is rich in prehistoric earthworks. Running parallel to the Old Bath Road, less than 100m to the south, is a bank and ditch dating back over 3,000 years and believed to have marked a boundary. Many tumuli or burial mounds also survive, although few are as unusual as one

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alongside the road, which was hollowed out and converted to an observation post in the Second World War. Nearby, the road dips into a crater made by a bomb possibly intended for the occupants of the observation post.

After a mile and half, the walk leaves the Old Bath Road to head up to the ramparts of Oliver’s Castle – the Iron Age hillfort – which seems never to have been completed. Not only were its eastern ramparts left unfinished; part of its western ditch was never dug. Much of the western side of the fort was also destroyed in the 19th-century by digging for flints.

Nevertheless, what remains is still impressive – as is the view, with the village of Cherhill far below.

On the edge of the escarpment stands the Lansdowne Monument, built in 1845 by the Marquess of Lansdowne to commemorate one of his ancestors. It was designed by Sir Charles Barry, who also designed the Houses of Parliament. Today, however, it is slowly crumbling and, pending restoration, is surrounded by scaffolding and protective hoarding.

On the slopes below the monument is the Cherhill White Horse, laid out in 1780 by a local doctor who supervised work from the fields below, shouting instructions through a large megaphone – so the story goes. Its eye was formed by pushing upended wine bottles into the hillside, so that it could be seen twinkling from miles away. The walk takes you within a few metres of the horse’s head, so you can check out what it looks like today.

From here, a steep path leads downhill, and the return journey lies along pastoral byways and bridleways, where another surprise awaits in the form of RAF Yatesbury – whose presence explains the observation post and bomb crater you will have seen earlier. Opened by the Royal Flying Corps in 1916, the airfield closed in 1920. Then, in 1935, it was bought by the Bristol Aeroplane Company and opened as an RAF Reserve School, before being taken over by the Air Ministry in 1939, when pilot training was transferred elsewhere so that it could be used for training wireless operators. It eventually closed in 1969, and, although much of the site has since been

❝

...This area is rich in prehistoric earthworks...

❞

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Image above: The path down from the White Horse Below: RAF Yatesbury

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OUT | AND ABOUT

This page: Bomb crater on Old Bath Road with monument in the distance; check out what the eye of the White Horse looks like today

cleared, several of the buildings, including some dating from the First World War, survive. ● Start in the car park on the south side of the A4, 2.5 miles east of the village of Cherhill and half a mile west of the Beckhampton roundabout (SU077692). ● Walk through a gate at the west end of the car park, following the course of the Old Bath Road through a small wood.

Continue in the same direction, and, after passing a tumulus converted to a pillbox on the right, go through a handgate with a bridleway sign (SU067696). ● Carry on between fences. After 450m, the path leads through a bomb crater, and soon afterwards starts to curve right. When you come to a T junction, it is time to leave the Old Bath Road and turn left up a byway (SU055699). After 200m, cross a stile beside a gate on the right. Follow the track through a gate leading onto National Trust land. At the top, head through the ramparts of Oldbury Castle towards the Lansdowne Monument (SU048693). ● Go to the left of the monument and turn right to follow the ramparts. Continue along a path above the White Horse and carry on as it curves left downhill towards a line of trees. At the bottom, go through a gate and carry on along a track to the A4 (SU046701). Cross and turn left along the pavement for 350m.

Just before 40mph signs, turn right along a bridleway and go through a gate along a green lane. Carry on along a farm track and at a T junction turn right along a byway. After 800m, carry on as a bridleway joins from the left (SU047611), and continue past the remains of Yatesbury Airfield. ● After walking along an avenue of trees, carry on along a road called The Avenue past Yatesbury church. After passing Back Lane on the left, turn right along a byway (SU065714). After 1600m, turn right at a crossroads along a byway. ● At the A4, cross and go up the track opposite (SU072697).

Follow it as it curves up to the right, and when you reach the Old Bath Road, turn left along it to return the car park. n

At a glance...

■

Distance & time: 7.5 miles; 3.5-4 hours

■

Level: Mostly on well-walked paths and bridleways.

There is a steep climb up to the monument and the path downhill may be slippery in wet weather.

Take care crossing the A4.

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Map: OS Explorer 157

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We saw a strong ❝ UNDERCURRENT of PATTERN and COLOUR that was largely being

EXPORTED ABROAD

❞

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INTERIORS

CHANGING ROOMS ...Showrooms that is. As they prepare to move across the city from St Werburghs to Whiteladies Road, Ryan Whittaker and Pete Eastwood of Whittaker Wells talk Bristol’s love of colour, bucking trends and introducing an exciting new brand to the city Opposite, clockwise from top left: Kaleido Splatt wall covering from Timorous Beasties; Pete and Ryan have introduced House of Hackney to Bristol; the street art-inspired Graffiti Stripe Velvet Fabric from Timorous feels pretty Bristol; we’d want to drape this House of Hackney number all over the place too

Y

ep, the boys who sew, as they refer to themselves on their slick website, are on the move – and, excitingly, just about to open a gorgeous-sounding new showroom in the interiors hub that is Whiteladies Road. We took a moment to catch up with the talented twosome and see how it’s all going as well as looking back at how the business has evolved...

Since opening here, you guys have become known for bucking the interiors bandwagon somewhat – how did that come about?

For rather a long time, the British interiors scene has been very much dominated by a neutral, sophisticated look, with an understated tone. Today, when we talk to fellow designers and makers around the country, grey is the big thing and their cutting tables and mood boards are overflowing with it. When we were preparing to open our retail showroom back in 2014, we had been looking hard into what else was out there and saw a strong undercurrent of colour and pattern that was largely being exported abroad rather than finding its way into the mainstream interiors of UK homes. Many people told us that companies like Designers Guild and Timorous Beasties were too brave for the Brits and especially for Bristol – which was odd as we thought of Bristol as a leading design hub, with edgy and contemporary art being so important to its culture.

So you went with your gut instinct?

While we’d seen our opportunity, we were still being told quite clearly by our suppliers that Britain and Bristol’s interiors are grey and not to stray too far from this if we wanted success. We tried to follow this advice and totally failed, as we were always buying the fabric and wallpaper books we fell in love with – slapping our wrists each time we did it. It turns out it was a good idea as we have, in fact, discovered that Bristol loves colour and pattern, but not just whatever comes along. It has to be good; in fact it has to

be amazing. Bristol is full of discerning people and you can’t expect to sell any old thing. You have to edit the collections, sourcing the ideas that are most inventive, daring and of course beautiful. However, grey is definitely here too, and we do plenty of it, but noticeably, in the last 12 months, more and more customers want the neutral look but with a relaxed style, so linens are popular and less formal curtain headings are absolutely the rage here. With so many people now having bi-fold doors added onto the backs of their homes, they are keen to let as much light in as possible so here we are finding hotel design influences are growing, with large transluscent blinds and requests for curtains with minimal ‘stacks’. Just recently we’ve also seen a surge in orders for shutters for front windows. It’s all about controlling light, much more so than worrying about warmth.

So business is booming?

We’ve been lucky to have opened after the recession and at a time when people are starting to feel brave and more confident. So many customers are people who have recently relocated to the city, particularly from London and I think this has helped us establish ourselves as a daring interiors company. The London migration seems to be increasing in pace and we think it will continue to affect the way our regional design scene develops.

This is further evidenced by some of the companies we have secured in the last 12 months like House of Hackney, who are completely new to Bristol. Our first couple of years have been amazing, we’ve grown faster than we planned and have totally outgrown our shop in St Werburghs.

How do you pick your products?

It is often said that people buy from people, and we find that the suppliers we meet who go that extra mile are the ones we end up working closest with and promoting the most. These tend to be the ones who genuinely love what they do and that’s a vibe we

The boys will be turning the ballroom in their new site into a space where visitors can watch them make

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INTERIORS

WE ❝ really do produce

pick up on. What’s little known is just how vibrant British fabric and wallpaper manufacturers are. We really do produce some of the world’s finest cloth right here in the UK, and meeting these manufacturers is always inspiring. The sheer work and immense skill that goes into producing such fine fabric is awesome. We (the British interiors industry) are very bad at shouting about this. In an era of declining manufacturing, this is a shining light that proves that brand GB is right up there.

some of the

WORLD’S

What’s new?

Last year we started selling designer paints and have just started supplying Earthborn paints, who we think will be really popular in our green city. They tick all the eco boxes and their clay paints are particularly beautiful and soft, as well as healthy for where we live. Starting off in a place like St Werburghs has definitely helped us understand the green credentials of our suppliers and we try our best to source from Britain – our Yorkshire and Scottish wools are a great example of this and with Earthborn paints we aim take this up a level.

finest cloth

right here in the

UK ❞

What can we look forward to in the new showroom?

In January this year we decided to relocate to Whiteladies Road – it’s a much larger space that is going to finally allow us to show off the design ideas we love and the products we have. Making in the heart of the shop has proved to be a great success; people seem to like seeing us make and discovering that what they see is all handmade on site by us and our growing team. The new space will let us showcase the making side of things even more. There is a ballroom that we are planning to turn into our workroom – a hive of activity with everything on show. We like helping customers style their own homes, so we figured we should really work in a space that is a pleasure to be in for us too. We will have room to develop the events calendar, regularly bringing in some of the designers and manufacturers we work with to show how they create and overcome the challenges we all face when designing our own homes. We’re still planning the final details but we cannot wait to open – albeit with a tear while waving goodbye to our lovely St Werburghs community!

For more information on Whittaker Wells, visit whittakerwells.com or call 0117 9391053 ■

Nostalgic Nancy, from the Earthborn paint collection

Bristol is full of

DISCERNING PEOPLE and you can’t expect to SELL any OLD thing

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SHOPPING | HOME

Take it

OUTSIDE

PERU PARASOL, £129 Find a shady spot and knuckle down...

M&S, The Mall; marksandspencer.com

LE COCKTAIL SOFA, £585 We’re so in love with this two-seater in varese velvet.

Oliver Bonas; oliverbonas.com

We love the idea of fashioning ourselves an inspiring alfresco workspace this summer – a bit of fresh air does wonders for productivity levels, y’know. So whether you’ve already got yourself a fully-fledged outdoor office, or fancy transforming a balcony area, sunny patio, garden corner or conservatory, here’s a little inspiration...

CHEVRON CUSHION, £17.50 Scatter, then study in style and comfort. M&S, The Mall; marksandspencer.com

READING SUNGLASSES, £28 Glare, be gone! The Pod Company; thepodcompany.co.uk

IPAD BED, £16.95 Working from home never looked so good...

The Pod Company; thepodcompany.co.uk LUXE BAMBOO DRINKS TROLLEY, £395 Stack with brain-fuelling superfood juices or something a little stronger once you’ve killed that deadline. Oliver Bonas; oliverbonas.com

PARKANO FILE, £10 Paperwork looks better in pink perspex. Paperchase; paperchase.co.uk

DIFFUSER, £25 We defy you not to be de-stressed by sea salt, bay and samphire scent.

The White Company; thewhitecompany.com

SEA FAN, £150 From Bristol maker Hannah Brown Interiors; hannahbrowninteriors.co.uk POWERBANKS, £11.50 Don’t run out of juice on all those client calls... The Pod Company; thepodcompany.co.uk

MARBLE PHONE, £65 Hook a brother up... Oliver Bonas; oliverbonas.com

JO MALONE CANDLE, £44 Think glasshouse tomatoes, galbanum, artemesia, cassis... Harvey Nichols; harveynichols.com

HAMPER, £45 Pack a picnic for your lunch break – why not?! M&S, The Mall; marksandspencer.com

ADIRONDACK SET, £325 Fire up the laptop, and bask while you beaver away... The White Company; thewhitecompany.com

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PROPERTY | PICK

Through the keyhole...

We explore Garth Lodge, a unique and sympathetically refurbished, detached dwelling on the edge of The Downs

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njoying a prominent position within ever-popular Sneyd Park, Ivywell Road – which is where you’ll find Garth Lodge – has plenty to recommend it, not least the gorgeous green expanse that is The Downs right on its doorstep.

House-hunting families should also note that with Badminton School, Clifton College, Clifton High, Redmaids and Bristol Grammar School also within easy reach, plus sporting facilities at David Lloyd and Redwood Lodge and miles of wooded walking and bike trails in Ashton Court and Leigh Woods, this property really offers a bit of a lifestyle package, to boot.

Garth Lodge itself is pretty desirable too, mind; refurbished, sensitively extended and tastefully finished by the current owners. Behind the gates of this double-fronted townhouse, through the landscaped front garden and past the porch, lies an entrance hall complete with parquet floor, and access to the drawing room, sitting room, kitchen, family room and a fitted cloakroom with WC (in the former butler’s pantry). The drawing room and sitting room feature period cornice work, open fireplaces and lovely views across the the front garden and towards The Downs beyond, through sash windows. The bespoke kitchen, which comes complete with Aga and sizeable central island, opens out into a great Vale Garden House conservatory; a wood-floored extension to the original house which floods the place with light from the pitched glass roof, and has twin French doors to the garden. On the whole, it’s a wonderful space, tastefully executed; and with underfloor heating and electrically operated roof windows Upstairs, over the first floor and half landing, are four generous double bedrooms – the master of which has an en90 THE BRISTOL MAGAZINE

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suite shower room. The remaining three bedrooms are served by a large family bath and shower room with a twin-ended tub and separate walk-in shower cubicle.

Over the top floor, the house has been sympathetically extended to the rear; and now includes two fabulous guest suites – alternatively, perfect children’s bedrooms, with their own den and en-suite bath and shower rooms. Like the remainder of the house, these have been very nicely thoughtout, with the front bedroom in particular enjoying superb vistas across The Downs.

Downstairs, are generous cellars ideal for storage; as well as a lovely large utility space, away from the main accommodation.

Then, of course, there are the gardens – another particular strength of the property, having been professionally landscaped and complementing the house both architecturally and aesthetically. Predominantly laid to lawn, the back garden also has a paved area perfect for alfresco drinks, as well as semimature trees providing a little extra privacy. n

PROPERTY PROFILE Where: 8 Ivywell Road, Sneyd Park Guide price: £2,345,000 Agent: Fine & Country, 147 Whiteladies Road, BS8 2QT Contact: 0117 973 3081; fineandcountry.com

Main image: Garth Lodge has plenty of greenery on the doorstep, perfect for outdoor family fun Opposite page, clockwise from top: A Vale Garden House Conservatory; the kitchen, with Aga and island; attractive reception spaces; we wouldn’t mind waking here; imagine elegant parties spilling onto the lawn

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PROPERTY | PICK

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GARDENING

IT’S A COVER UP There are plenty of pretty little ways to carpet your garden this month – and stop the summer weeds in their tracks too – says Margaux Speirs

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ne can imagine a garden as three horizontal layers of planting – trees at the top, shrubs and tall perennials at the next level down, then ground-hugging plants at the lowest level. The tendency is to view the top two layers like the furnishings in a room – the important part – and the bottom layer as the carpet, whose purpose is more to cover up unsightly brown soil than to be beautiful in its own right. However, if well-planned, ground cover need not be dull; there are lots of gorgeous plants to fill this layer and a little thought will really pay off. As well as being the link between taller plants and the soil, ground cover has the added benefit of suppressing weed growth by depriving any self-seeded and unwanted plants of the light they need to flourish. It’s far nicer to plant a selection of creeping or mat-forming plants whose foliage and flowers will give real pleasure.

Ground cover plants work best in mass plantings rather than putting in just one of two of each variety. What you choose will be governed by four main elements: the type and moisture content of the soil, the amount of sun available at ground level, the size of the space you wish to cover (linked to the speed with which you need the plants to grow to cover that space) and, of course, the aesthetic you wish to achieve – whether it’s flower or leaf colour, leaf shape, evergreen or deciduous. As ever, it’s important to know something about your soil. If, for example, it’s clay, the plant roots will grow more slowly and plants will take longer to establish. If you wish to cover a steep bank, it’s likely to be free draining and you should choose something which tolerates dry conditions.

Most ground cover will be evergreen, otherwise it’s only doing its job for part of the year, but there are some deciduous ground cover plants, chosen because they have some special attribute such as a long season of flowers (i.e. ground cover roses) or two seasons of interest (i.e. autumn leaf colour or berries as well as flowers).

Before choosing for its look, consider how much time and effort any particular variety will take to keep it under control.

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For example, box hedging looks neat and as it has small leaves and dense growth, makes for very effective ground cover but it does need clipping two or three times a year. Also be wary of plants that spread by underground suckers such as some bamboos – they may be hard to contain within your chosen area.

The Latin botanical words horizontalis, procumbens and prostratus are all indicators on the nursery labels that the direction of growth is suited to ground cover. The excellent RHS website also has a useful list of ground cover plants and how to get them established, but here are my own design tips and recommendations for a few scenarios...

To cover a large area, you will probably be looking for larger species so you don’t have to buy and dig in too many plants – ideally something fast growing. This is a balancing act between the plants filling the space quickly and growing so rapidly that they soon become a nuisance. For instance, you will often see ivy in public open spaces such as along road sides and on roundabouts but it romps away so vigorously that I would tend to avoid it. If the soil is poor, shady or dry, hypericum calycinum (commonly called Rose of Sharon) is a good choice, spreading rapidly by above ground stems to form a cover about 30cm high.

It has handsome blue-green foliage which is evergreen for us in mild Bristol and bears bright yellow flowers for a long time in summer. It is deer and rabbit resistant, unfussy about soil type and can be cut back hard if it needs rejuvenating. Plant at least five per square metre to ensure good ground cover. Alternatively, if the area is in full sun or only partial shade, cotoneaster dammeri spreads to nearly two metres per plant at a height of about 45cm. It has small white flowers in early summer followed by masses of red berries in autumn. Plant one or two per square metre depending on whether you want instant cover or are willing to wait a season or two for the gaps to fill.

At the foot of shrubs and trees, it’s normally densely shaded and quite dry. Choose something whose leaves shine out in the gloom such as a variegated lamuim maculatum (White Nancy) and plant 60cm apart, or epimedium x versicolor (Sulphureum)

Image above: Alchemilla mollis, flowering in June and acting as both ground cover and path edging

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or the paler flowered epimedium × perralchicum (‘Fröhnleiten’) 45cm apart.

In a small garden, choose plants which spread by clumping up rather than sending out runners such as liriope muscari (which has blades of foliage and spires of purple autumn flowers). Other neat mat formers for small gardens include armeria maritima (there are lovely examples of this growing up the middle of Whiteladies Road) and aubrieta (flowering now on a sunny wall near you). Plant any of these up to 40cm apart (closer if you want instant cover). For more shaded spots, geranium macrorrhizums are evergreen and scented as well as making neat, drought-tolerant ground cover. Good varieties include ‘White-Ness’ (white), and ‘Bevans Variety’ (pink).

For very low growth, for example, in and around paving, thymus serpyllum forms extremely dense mats of fine evergreen foliage only a few centimetres tall, covered with reddish purple flowers on wiry stems in summer. The evergreen leaves turn bronze in autumn. It needs sunshine so for partial shade try ajuga reptans such as the purple leaved ‘Braunhertz’ or ‘Multicolor’ which has amazing rainbow foliage and bright blue spikes of flower in mid to latespring. It grows to about 15cm.

For sandy or rocky soils there are some beautiful grey/green foliage junipers which spread horizontally, such as the fast growing juniperus horizontalis (Blue Chip) or the smaller Japanese Garden Juniper (juniperus procumbens; ‘Nana’). They both prefer full or partial sun (planting distances not less than half the size of the respective spread). For smaller spaces, stachys byzantina (Silver Carpet) makes very striking ground cover.

For lush planting, big, fleshy leaves, such as bergenia cordifolia (or its smaller cousin bergenia stracheyi), shiny-leafed pachysandra or the robust and beautiful alchemilla mollis, all look rich and verdant – enjoy! n Margaux Speirs is a pre-registered member of the Society of Garden Designers and runs her business, Margaux Speirs Garden Design, from her home in Bristol. For further information, tel: 07903 779910 visit: margauxspeirsgardendesign.co.uk

PLANT OF THE MONTH: There are some plants that have nostalgia value for me, as my grandfather was a keen gardener and I associate them with summer in his garden. He lived in south-east London so saxifraga x urbium seems, to me, aptly named as ‘London Pride’. I cannot see why they should be somewhat out of fashion at the moment as their evergreen rosettes of leaves look good all year round and (especially when grown in large groups) their airy stems of tiny pale pink flowers look beautiful in June. They are easy to grow in any type of soil or situation, including shade. Use them under plant shrubs or as path edging.

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BRISTOL | PROPERTY

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hose looking for a modern family home in Clifton should make an appointment to view number 1 Royal Park Mews. Situated less than a mile from Clifton Village the house is deceptively spacious and has undergone a thorough refurbishment. The accommodation is arranged over three floors and the ground floor offers a flexible living space with a south facing aspect.

The sunny dining room has French doors leading to a pretty mews garden and the separate, well planned kitchen boasts a full range of high quality integrated appliances.

One the first floor there is an elegant drawing room, once again facing south over the rear garden. To the front is a guest bedroom with w.c and access to a terrace. The upper floor of this versatile home has a generous master bedroom with beautiful en suite bathroom and an additional guest bedroom with luxurious bathroom. The rear garden of Royal Park Mews blends a low maintenance patio with mature flower beds to create an attractive sun trap. The property has an integral garage and off street parking.

ROYAL PARK MEWS CLIFTON • 3 bedroom modern home • Under a mile to Clifton Village • Versatile accommodation • Pretty mews garden • Integral garage and off street parking

For further information on this beautifully maintained home, and to arrange a viewing contact the selling agents Knight Frank in Clifton.

Knight Frank, Regent House, 27A Regent Street, Clifton, Bristol. Tel: 0117 317 1999

94 THE BRISTOL MAGAZINE

| JUNE 2016

Guide price £775,000

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NEW INSTRUCTION

Portishead | Bristol

Guide Price ÂŁ760,000

A stunning detached family house, sympathetically extended and beautifully renovated and refurbished throughout to create a superb home with extensive views over The Lake Grounds, and across the Severn Estuary beyond. Three / four bedrooms. Three bath / shower rooms (two en-suite).

Fabulous open plan family room leading out onto the full width balcony with distant views. High quality kitchen / breakfast room. Charming landscaped rear garden. Paved driveway and integrated single garage. EPC Rating: C

Fine & Country June.qxp_Layout 1 23/05/2016 12:18 Page 2

NEW INSTRUCTION

Dundry | Bristol

Guide Price ÂŁ695,000

A rare opportunity to acquire a distinctive family home For sale for the first time in over thirty years. A quiet and peaceful off-road location central to the village and close to the church, pub and Primary school. Two generous reception rooms and a lovely family kitchen. Rear utility room & separate cloakroom.

Master bedroom with en-suite bathroom. Three further bedrooms and family bathroom. Separate cloakroom. Integrated single garage with a further detached garage and workshop. Private driveway and superb enclosed gardens to front & rear. EPC Rating F

OF

ER R

FE

www.maggsandallen.co.uk

0117 973 4940

LE

£3 MIU E PR

T

OF DER FE R

0 £4 MIU E PR

Commercial Agency

22 Richmond Hill, Clifton, Bristol, BS8 1BA

W ON NE CTI U TR S IN

T LE ED RE AG

HENLEAZE

£22,000 p.a

0

A very well presented former bank occupying a corner position on Henleaze Road of approximately 1,300sqft arranged as large retail area, male and female w/c’s, kitchen, conservatory, basement storage/vault and rear yard.

R DE UN FER OF

W ON NE CTI RU T S IN

CLEVEDON

£375,000

Well-presented freehold investment property comprising approximately 2,500sqft (NIA) of offices with 7 allocated parking spaces. The property is fully let, to be sold producing £30,000p.a

REDLAND

£25,000 p.a

Workshop with offices of approximately 1,150 sqft arranged over two storeys around a central courtyard (approx. 1900sqft) with additional forecourt to the front.

T ED RE

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M

IU

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AG

KINGSDOWN

Commercial

£6,000 p.a

Lock-up shop unit of just under 200sqft benefiting from a recent refit and WC facilities. There is an ingoing premium of £4,000. Early enquiries recommended.

Urgent requirement for retail units To Let in Clifton

UN OF DER FE R

W ON NE CTI RU T S IN

0

GLOUCESTER ROAD

£10,000 p.a

A prominent corner unit of approx. 590sqft with WC facilities situated close to the junction with Ashley Down Road.

Sales & Lettings

UM

T ED RE

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AG

Freehold & Leasehold Properties

Office/Retail required

Rent Reviews

Licensed Premises & Cafes

Contact us today to arrange a free, no obligation valuation

UM

UM

£16,000 p.a

REDLAND

A very well presented and fully fitted restaurant situated in a prime position on Cotham Hill just off Whiteladies Road. An ingoing premium is sought of £39,950 for the fixtures and fittings*.

BEDMINSTER

£499,950/£35,000p.a

A former church currently arranged to provide showroom, office and warehouse accommodation of approximately 3,350sqft with a further first floor of 1,774sqft and further mezzanine storage.

BRISTOL’S FASTEST GROWING COMMERCIAL AGENT Commercial Team: 0117 973 4940

ASHTON

£450,000

Substantial 3 storey property situated in a prime location within close proximity to Ashton Gate Stadium. Arranged as a fully-fitted ground floor café with a 3 bedroom maisonette above.

Estate Agents

REDLAND

Lettings & Management

Maggs & Allen Commercial June.indd 1

£15,000 p.a / £185,000

Attractive retail unit with an office of just under 600sqft with additional basement, rear garden and further outbuildings providing additional storage space. Situated in a popular location on Zetland Road. Available For Sale or To Let.

Auctioneers

GLOUCESTER ROAD

£315,000

Extremely well presented fully let freehold investment property arranged as a large ground floor shop with self-contained 2 bedroom first floor flat fully let producing £19,900 per annum.

Commercial Agency

£22,000 p.a

R DE UN FER F O

R DE UN FER OF

W ON NE CTI U TR S IN

HENLEAZE

Large retail unit of approx. 1,068sqft predominantly arranged as retail with additional rear stores/office space. Ideally positioned between Costa Coffee and Boots Pharmacy.

BEDMINSTER

£325,000

A spacious ground floor commercial investment in situated in a prime position on North Street trading as a restaurant and bar. The property is let producing £25,000pa.

Chartered Surveyors

Land & New Homes

23/05/2016 11:48

Bristol & Clifton’s premier Commercial Property Agents Keep up-to-date with our latest news and market comments at our website: www.burstoncook.co.uk

(0117) 934 9977 KENT HOUSE, PRINCE ST (OFF QUEEN SQUARE)

MARINER HOUSE, PRINCE STREET, BRISTOL CITY CENTRE • Refurbished loft style offices – • Open plan – c 1,200 sq ft – 2,400 sq ft • Close to Queen Square and The Waterfront • New lease – Only £14.95 per sqft

• Fantastic studio office unit • Brand new conversion • New lease • Rent on application

CABOT CIRCUS

SHOP TO LET 70 PARK STREET

• Suit multiple uses • 1,000 – 4,000 sq ft

• Large retail unit of 1,924 sq ft

• Adjacent to Brasserie Blanc

• *EXCELLENT TRADING POSITION*

• New leases – low rent

• New lease

QUEEN SQUARE – BS1

CLIFTON OFFICES

• Modern open plan office suite in prime city location…

• Flexible sizes from 460 to 1,550 sq ft • Close to the BBC

• 2,506 sq ft

• On site parking

• New lease – competitive rent

• Flexible leases

SHOPS COMING SOON…

EASTON ROAD – FOR SALE • Training centre with crèche and offices

1) Broadmead – large shop to let

• 10,763 sq ft plus secure parking

2) Clifton Village – shop to let

3) Christmas Steps – shop with flat to buy

4) Park Row – shop to let

5) Cheltenham Road – shop to let

• Suit other uses (subject to planning) • Freehold - Offers invited

CLIFTON OFFICES TO LET

OFFICES TO LET – PORTLAND SQUARE AREA

Attractive light and airy period offices from 600 sq ft to 3,800 sq ft (various sizes)

Two interconnecting period office buildings fitted to a contemporary standard, 3 car spaces + courtyard garden

New flexible leases

From C 2,400 sq ft to c 5,200 sq ft

Rent on application

NEW FLEXIBLE LEASE Rent O/A

Julian Cook FRICS

Burston Cook June.indd 1

Jayne Rixon MRICS

Charlie Kershaw MRICS

Finola Ingham MRICS

Tom Coyte BA Hons

• Sales / Lettings • Acquisitions • Valuations • Landlord & tenant • Auction Sales

• Rent reviews • Property Management • Investment Sales / Purchase • Development & Planning • Dilapidations Advice

23/05/2016 12:43

Bristol Property column JUNE.qxp_Layout 1 27/05/2016 15:41 Page 1

CITY | BUSINESS

THINKING PROPERTY ROBIN ENGLEY, ASSOCIATE AT KNIGHT FRANK ESTATE AGENTS BRISTOL

THE EU - IS IT TIME TO STAY OR LEAVE? As we approach summer, this busy market season is creating a further rush of new instructions across the board from apartments and family homes. The warm weather has brought the gardens into flower with all sectors of the market experiencing a flurry of viewings from applicants living in the south west and further afield. The level of market appraisals also continues to increase which is an encouraging sign.

One hot topic that is being discussed on a regular basis is the EU referendum which is unavoidable in the press. A subsequent result of the vote will be held on the 23rd June 2016. Experience from the 2014 Scottish Referendum shows that we probably should expect a slowdown in the housing market as we get closer to the poll date. The extent of this slowdown is, in reality, guesswork at the current time.

There is no doubt that a clear ‘remain’ vote would remove immediate economic uncertainty and market activity might be expected to recover any lost ground relatively rapidly, this was certainly the experience in Scotland following their referendum.

The prevailing assumption is that a ‘leave’ vote would necessarily require a period of negotiation to settle the UK’s new relationship with the EU. During this period it would be fair to assume that uncertainty would continue to influence investment decisions for businesses and individuals, particularly if the question of Scottish independence is raised again.

There is a fundamental reason to assume the impact on the UK housing market should be relatively benign whatever the outcome. The mainstream UK housing market is primarily driven by domestic dynamics. An exit from the EU would not affect the demand/supply imbalance which is a key feature underpinning current housing market trends.

As we have discussed in the past, the balance of supply and demand has never been more scrutinised in the South West as it is now. Our numbers of buyers registered for their property search is increasing daily without the stock available. Our latest instruction on Henleaze Gardens gives a perfect example of this with more than 100 viewings taking place in three weeks.

Whilst this example remains an extreme, it highlights the number of families looking for their next move many of which living in the same area looking to keep their children in the schools that they are already settled in.

If you have concerns on where the market is going or indeed would like advice on a potential move and the best way to create the best launch for your property please feel free to call myself, James Toogood or Freddie Wright and we would be happy to help. Further research is also available on our website Knightfrank.com which offers research on multiple topics and multiple locations and countries that we cover. n If you are contemplating a move this year and would like some advice on the value of your home please contact Robin Engley or James Toogood for a free no obligation market appraisal.

Robin Engley, Knight Frank, Regent House, 27a Regent Street, Clifton Bristol. BS8 4HR Tel: 0117 317 1999

100 THE BRISTOL MAGAZINE

|

JUNE 2016

HOME IS WHERE THE ART IS: CREST NICHOLSON’S PAINTWORKS Situated in Arnos Vale, already an enclave for the local artistic community, Paintworks provides an eclectic mix of one and two bedroom apartments, two, three and four bedroom houses and a number of live/work/hobby units.

The new homes, available as part of Crest Nicholson’s spring launch and just minutes from a number of the city’s art galleries, will be designed in the popular modern warehouse style, providing a contemporary urban feel to match the local bohemian vibe.

The development will launch with a show apartment, meticulously designed in a loft apartment style and giving potential residents the opportunity to experience the lifestyle on offer at this unique housing project. It will even host to a one-of-a-kind artwork, created exclusively for Paintworks by local artists Stephen Quick and Astrid Foreman.

“Paintworks is such a unique development and we know there are lots of people who want to live in this very trendy, design-focused part of Bristol,” said Laura Osborne at Paintworks. “Not only is it perfect for those looking for a home in an eclectic, bohemian neighbourhood but it’s also ideally located for access to Temple Meads and the centre. The area offers so many creative ways to spend your time, whether you enjoy browsing art galleries, taking a stroll down by the river or through beautiful Arnos Vale cemetery or popping in to one of the independent delicatessens nearby.”

We couldn’t agree more. And despite their coveted location, homes here may cost a little less than you think, with the government’s Help to Buy scheme.

One and two bedroom apartments from £220,000, three and four bedroom houses from £340,000. Live/work/hobby units from £450,000.

– crestnicholson.com/paintworks n

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Andrews - Bristol - June.qxp_Layout 3 23/05/2016 14:08 Page 1

Clifton Royal York Crescent, BS8 4JY ÂŁ395,000

This two bedroom ground floor flat has courtyard gardens to the front and rear. The large lounge benefits from two sash windows overlooking the front courtyard, the master bedroom and second bedroom both open onto the rear courtyard. This property would benefit from some updating and offers a great opportunity for someone to make the most of the space. Energy Efficiency Rating: D

Keynsham Anson Close, Saltford, BS31 3DY ÂŁ465,000

Set on a corner plot in a cul-de-sac in the village of Saltford, is this four bedroom detached family home. The property begins with an entrance hall leading to a downstairs cloakroom, lounge and through dining room, kitchen with separate utility room and versatile office space that could also serve as a fifth bedroom. Energy Efficiency Rating: D

Andrews - Bristol - June.qxp_Layout 3 23/05/2016 14:08 Page 2

Westbury-on-Trym With summer looming, what better to enjoy those warm nights within the grounds of this beautifully presented, three bedroom semi-detached, and recently refurbished home. Traditional open porch, fitted Avon Way, engineered wood flooring, landscaped and decked South facing rear lawn garden. Energy Efficiency Rating: D BS9 1SL ÂŁ550,000

Yate Hudson Close, BS37 4NP ÂŁ400,000

A detached family home with four bedrooms and set within a small cul-de-sac off Hudson Close. Energy Efficiency Rating: Awaiting

Westbury-on-Trym Yate

Henleaze

Henleaze

Henleaze

A substantial three storey 1920’s family home with five bedrooms and four receptions, welcoming central reception hallway, stairwell and landings, master bedroom measuring 8m in length with five-piece suite bathroom, conservatory, kitchen leading to a 16m, south facing and ample parking. In close proximity to Henleaze and Westbury-on-Trym high street shops and amenities. EPC D.

Detached four bedroom home with level access to Henleaze high street shops and amenities. Living room with archway to dining room with dual aspect and access to conservatory, breakfast room leading to kitchen which in turn leads to rear lobby providing access to garden. Off street parking and tandem garage. No onward chain.

EPC F.

A substantial three storey period family home with five bedrooms, two bathrooms (one en-suite), two receptions with period fireplaces, kitchen/diner with granite worktops and atrium style skylight to roofline. The property further benefits from many period features throughout and downstairs cloakroom/WC. In good decorative order throughout. EPC E.

Price Guide £875,000

Price Guide £750,000

Price Guide £675,000

Westbury-on-Trym

Westbury-on-Trym

Westbury-on-Trym

Detached, five bedroom family home with three receptions, spacious kitchen, a welcoming central hall and stairwell to split landing with family bathroom. Practical rear, westerly facing garden with decking, children’s play area and substantial driveway suitable for several vehicles.

Positioned adjacent to Elmlea Infant and Junior School. Marketed with a complete chain.

EPC E.

A significantly extended semi-detached family home with four bedrooms, three receptions; living room with bay and contemporary fireplace, dining room with patio doors to garden and a further playroom also with French doors to garden, modern kitchen and spacious family bathroom. Secure garage and off street parking for two vehicles.

EPC C.

A 1930’s three bedroom family home with two individual reception rooms, separate kitchen, a 17m southerly facing rear garden, driveway, single garage and lean-to garden room. Situated in close proximity to Westbury-on-Trym C of E and the shops and amenities of Westbury-on-Trym village and Henleaze high street. Marketed with no onward chain. EPC E.

Price Guide £750,000

£580,000

CJ Hole JUNE.indd 1

£450,000

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PROPERTY | FOCUS

The Avenue, Sneyd Park, £340,000 A roomy, beautifully presented apartment in arguably one of Sneyd Park’s most desirable addresses. The apartment occupies the rear ground floor of a gorgeous Victorian building located at the end of a sweeping driveway with a communal back garden, plus off-street parking. Inside, it comprises an internal lobby with plenty of natural light; a central hallway; a generous lounge/diner area with French doors leading to the garden; a separate kitchen with double-aspect windows; two bedrooms (the main bedroom with built-in double wardrobe); and a bathroom. Indisputably, another real feature of the property – which has no onward chain – is the gate from the car park which leads directly on to Durdham Downs. Now, just imagine that...

For more information, contact CJ Hole, 203 Whiteladies Road, BS8 2XT 0117 9238238; cjhole.co.uk

This month we explore three lovely properties in Sneyd Park, Clifton Village and Westbury Park

94 Princess Victoria Street, £800,000 Number 94 is a delightful three-storey terraced mews house in the heart of Clifton Village. On the ground floor, features include a country-style kitchen/dining room with bi-fold doors out to the garage – which is currently used as built-in utility and storage area – and a good-sized shower room off the stairway, leading to the first floor. Here, there’s a light and airy sitting room with sash windows, shutters, wooden flooring and a fireplace. A bedroom/study is also situated at this level along with French doors to a charming elevated walled garden which gets plenty of late afternoon/evening sun and is currently laid to lawn. The third floor has access to a stylish bathroom with skylight, another bedroom with garden views, and a master bedroom with three sash windows, ample storage and skylight.

For more information, contact Property Concept, 21 Princess Victoria Street, Clifton, BS8 4BX 0117 9706119; propertyconcept.co.uk

16 Linden Road, Westbury Park, £750,000 This classic, spacious six-bedroom semi-detached Victorian family home has tons of potential for those looking to alter and update a property to their own specification. The house, situated on the Redland/Westbury Park borders, close to Westbury Park junior school and Redland Green senior school, still retains a great deal of its original character, including some lovely period fireplaces dotted throughout, and plaster frieze mouldings in the hallway and principal reception rooms. We think the back garden – measuring around 50ft in length – is pretty sizeable for the area and, additionally, it enjoys a relatively open outlook.

For more information, contact Leese & Nagle, 61 Apsley Road, Clifton, BS8 2SW 0117 974 1741; leeseandnagle.co.uk

106 THE BRISTOL MAGAZINE

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JUNE 2016

Clifton t: 0117 923 8238 (sales) t: 0117 946 6588 (lettings) clifton@cjhole.co.uk

www.cjhole.com It’s a time of interesting political change in Bristol and further afield right now. We have a new face at City Hall in Mayor Marvin Rees and a European referendum just days away. The New Statesman writes that Rees has inherited ‘a nice place to live and work, with house prices up, businesses moving in and bright young things staying on after finishing university’. Not everyone may see it like that. But there is a real sense when we are talking to clients who are relocating or buying and renting property here that the idea that Bristol is a ‘city on the up’ is all part of

its growing attraction. Local and European politics continue to keep us on the map - Jeremy Corbyn, Boris Johnson and (by print?) who knows even David Cameron have all popped in the last few weeks to appeal to voters. Perhaps they have realised what the people who live here already know- that the people of Bristol not only care, they matter.

Howard Davis M.N.A.E.A Managing Director - CJ Hole Clifton

CENTRAL LOCATION Price £430,000 A three bedroom apartment on the fourth floor of the newly converted Southey House, with two en suite shower rooms, main bathroom and spacious open plan living/ dining/kitchen. The modern interior has a fresh, contemporary feel and an extremely high quality finish, every design detail has been carefully considered. There is a lift, communal bike store and parking available by separate negotiation.

EPC B

COTHAM POA ‘The Garden House’ is a brand new detached home with an exquisite, light and spacious interior. The property comprises: 3 bedrooms and bathroom on the ground floor. A generous open plan living space, separate home office/bedroom 4 to the first floor. Doors lead out from the living room to a decked terrace with an enclosed, lower decked garden area on the ground floor. In addition there is a downstairs utility cupboard and an integral bike store.

EPC B

Download our dedicated iPhone App today

CJ Hole Clifton June.indd 1

Other offices also located at: Bishopston, Clifton, Hanham, Henleaze & Southville

25/05/2016 10:59

Clifton £360,000

Alma Vale Road – Two bedroom flat

Clifton Office 0117 946 6007

Newly refurbished and hugely attractive first floor flat just a few minutes’ walk from Clifton Village and Whiteladies Road. Generous living space which is bright and airy with high ceilings, and a stylish open plan kitchen. No onward chain. EPC - E

Westbury-on-Trym £470,000

Westbury-on-Trym Office 0117 962 1973

Trym Road – Three bedroom house A characterful semi-detached home in a very sought after location in the village of Westbury on Trym, the property retains features from the period including stripped wooden floors and fireplace.

EPC - TBC

oceanhome.co.uk

Ocean June.indd 1

25/05/2016 09:54

Clifton £415,000

Alma Road – Two bedroom flat Beautifully presented garden flat offering a level approach to the nearby amenities of Whiteladies Road. Access to the attractive private rear garden is via its own private entrance, and has an allocated off street parking space. The low maintenance garden enjoys afternoon sunshine and is the perfect space for dining and entertaining. EPC - D

Hallen £350,000

Pew Corner – Three bedroom house Quite simply this property exudes character, charm and history which the current owners have cleverly and expertly complimented and contrasted with contemporary finishes and touches, restoring this property has been a labour of love. EPC - E

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Beyond your expectations www.hamptons.co.uk

Wooton under Edge, Gloucestershire

Upley, North Somerset

A spacious detached 4 bed family house occupying an elevated position off of a private driveway with views across the Severn vale towards the Cotswold Escarpment. The property sits within grounds of just over an acre including entertaining space and woodland. EPC: E

Set within a no through lane and benefitting from fantastic views all around this versatile home offers 5 bedrooms, 4 reception rooms 2 bathrooms, gardens, double garage/workshop, and ample parking. EPC: D

Clifton

Clifton

The exclusive Grade II listed 10 St. Vincents Rocks is situated within its own private, gated development on the corner of West Mall and Caledonia Place in a prime Clifton Village location with secure allocated parking.

An impressive detached family house located in a popular residential area between Whiteladies Road and Clifton Village. Just moments away are the open spaces of Clifton and Durdham Downs where a range of outdoor pursuits can be enjoyed. EPC: C

Guide Price £850,000

Guide Price £435,000

Guide Price OIRO £695,000

Guide Price £1,650,000

Hamptons Bristol

Sales. 0117 322 6362 | bristol@hamptons-int.com

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Richard Harding Chartered Surveyors • Estate Agents • Auctioneers • Valuers

REDLAND guide range £995,000 - £1,045,000

A flexible and large 5 bedroom, 3 bathroom, 4 reception room Victorian semi-detached family house situated in a popular road off Clyde Park. Offering generous room proportions throughout, a sunny south easterly facing rear garden and much original character. Versatile & useful lower ground floor rooms & generous unconverted loft space give this home plenty of further potential. Coveted location off the beaten track and yet so convenient: within 0.25 miles of Whiteladies Road, easy for the Downs/city centre/University/main Hospital. EPC: E

An attractive 5 bedroom, 3 reception early Victorian period (circa 1860) semi-detached family house. Favoured & convenient location. Renovated to provide bright, well-proportioned accommodation with an abundance of character and period features. Very well thought out and sympathetically renovated and offers spacious family accommodation and a westerly facing rear lawned rear garden. Offered with no onward chain. EPC: C

KINGSDOWN guide £880,000

An elegant & characterful 4 double bedroom (1 with en-suite), 2/3 reception room grade II listed Georgian family town house with a beautiful 76ft south-easterly facing garden & an abundance of period features plus a large kitchen/dining room (32ft x 14ft) & an impressive open drawing room/family room which provide this wonderful property with bright, airy & sociable living spaces. A fabulous period home with a sunny garden and a welcoming atmosphere.

A spacious, bright & tastefully updated 6 bedroom Victorian family house situated on a tree lined road just off Redland Green Park and within just 400 metres of Redland Green School. Further enjoying a south westerly facing town garden, a magnificent sociable 21ft x 17ft kitchen/breakfast room, plenty of period features and flexible basement rooms with further added potential. A large & versatile family home in a great location with a pleasing blend of period character & tasteful decor. EPC: F

STOKE BISHOP guide £775,000

CLIFTON guide £825,000

A stylish and individual 5 bedroom detached family house, located in a leafy Stoke Bishop location within just 500m of Elmlea School & near the local shops & amenities of Stoke Lane. Further benefiting from off street parking for 3 cars and a large enviable kitchen/dining space with bi-folding doors leading out onto a 55ft x 38ft rear garden. Tastefully improved and extended by the current owners, this bright and inviting family home has much to offer. EPC: D

Professional, Reliable, Successful

REDLAND guide £995,000

REDLAND guide £850,000

An elegant & beautifully presented 4/5 bedroom late Georgian style grade II listed townhouse enjoying a sunny south west facing courtyard garden in a much favoured location. Dating from the 1850's, the property retains many period features including original fireplaces, sash windows, working shutters and ceiling cornicing.

A spacious and well-kept family home, beautifully presented in a bright and contemporary style.

0117 946 6690 www.richardharding.co.uk 124 Whiteladies Road, Clifton, Bristol BS8 2RP

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Richard Harding Chartered Surveyors • Estate Agents • Auctioneers • Valuers

CLIFTON guide £1,250,000

Situated along this prestigious tree-lined road, a most impressive and comfortable, 6 double bedroom, 3 reception room, late Victorian semi-detached family house with an abundance of period features plus front and rear gardens. Within walking distance of so much this charming and spacious home has so much to offer and savour having also been painstakingly improved during our clients’ stewardship with new central heating system and roof. EPC: E

Professional, Reliable, Successful

0117 946 6690 www.richardharding.co.uk 124 Whiteladies Road, Clifton, Bristol BS8 2RP

Westbury Park - Guide Price range £775,000 - £795,000

Westbury Park - Guide Price £750,000

A stunning 3 bed, 3 reception, 2 bathroom ground floor maisonette with private rear garden and parking for 3 cars, arranged over three floors (circa 2000 sqft) is set on a desirable tree lined road within the Redland/Westbury Park borders. The property benefits from a secure underground garage, parking space and private rear garden.Viewing is highly recommended. EPC - F

A classic and spacious six bedroom semi detached Victorian family home offering potential to alter and update to the incoming owners own specification. The house is situated on the Redland/Westbury Park borders within 400m of Westbury Park junior school and within 590m of Redland Green senior school. EPC - F

Redland - £775,000

Sneyd Park - £385,000

A spacious and attractive period 1920’s 4 bedroom, 2 bathroom, family home with garden, garage and parking that is located in a prime location with great access to local junior schools and just 0.4miles (approx) from the popular Redland Green School. EPC - TBC

A wonderfully stylish 3 bedroom purpose built top floor apartment with garage with amazing views which forms part of this quality development in the highly regarded Sneyd Park area, arguably the best suburb in the city. EPC - F

Clifton Village - £349,950

Clifton - £405,000

A highly sought after location on the corner of Victoria Square in Clifton Village for this rather lovely hall floor flat which forms part of this beautiful Grade II* listed building built in 1835. The property offers purchasers the opportunity to reconfigure the flat to suit their own needs, if required. Residents can also enjoy the benefit of the recently introduced Residents Parking Scheme.

A particularly bright and airy 2 double bed first floor flat, located in this sought after road in Clifton. Miles Road offers purchasers the convenience of being a few minutes from Whiteladies Road, Durdham Downs, the triangle and Clifton Village whilst also being easily accessible to Leigh Woods. The road although being so close to the local amenities is remarkably quiet. EPC - D

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Stoke Bishop - Guide Price £1,100,000

Sneyd Park - Guide Price £1,500,000

A beautiful family home constructed in the 1930’s from brick and rendered elevations under a clay tiled roof. Situated in a prestigious position towards the end of a cul-de-sac in one of Stoke Bishop’s premier roads. EPC - D

A distinguished 5 double bedroom 1930’s ‘Stride’ detached family house situated in one of North-West Bristol’s most desirable suburbs. Set in a large secluded plot with delightful gardens. EPC - E

Stoke Bishop - Guide Price £825,000

Westbury-on-Trym - Guide Price £750,000

This is a most engaging detached 1930’s family home positioned in a lovely quiet select cul-de-sac within Elmlea & Stoke Bishop schools 2016 catchment areas. The property has been extended in recent years but is generally full of original character and distinction. EPC - E

This is an impressive large 1930’s, 5 bedroom detached family house of character and distinction with a lovely westerly facing garden and is very close to the highly sought after Elmlea primary school. It is also very comfortably within the catchment area for the fast emerging Free School for secondary education. EPC - E

Stoke Bishop - Guide Price £585,000

Westbury-on-Trym - Guide Price £475,000

We are delighted to offer this very attractive and particularly spacious 1930’s 3 bedroom semi-detached family home positioned in an extremely popular leafy Stoke Bishop side road.

EPC - E

A modern extended four bedroom semi-detached house situated in a quiet cul-de-sac on the outskirts of Westbury village and within 230m of popular Westbury Church of England infant and junior school. EPC - C

Leese & Nagle June.indd 2

25/05/2016 10:55

Sofa Library fp April.qxp_Layout 1 23/05/2016 12:38 Page 1

CLEARANCE SALE

We are refurbishing our entire showroom with all new models All showroom models reduced by 50-75%

Sofa and curtain delivery time 2/3 weeks

Curtains and Blinds Sofas and Fabrics Bespoke Cabinet Furniture and Wardrobes

Bespoke Cabinet Furniture 3/5 weeks

All types of reupholstery Traditional to comtemporary styles Antique and Vintage pieces

FABRICS

terms and conditions apply

We are just past Clifton Down Shopping Centre 56/60, Whiteladies Rd, BS8 2PY Mon-Sat 9.30 - 5.30/Sun 12 - 5

TEL: 01173 292746