The Bath Magazine January 2019

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ISSUE 196 | JANUARY 2019 thebathmag.co.uk £3.95 where sold

DRAWING WITH THREAD THE FINE ART OF ANDREA CRYER

LIVING ON THE MARGINS HOW A TEAM FROM BATH UNI ARE HELPING THE TRANSITION FROM CONFLICT TO RECONCILIATION

FOODS FOR THOUGHT ENJOY A JANUARY DIET REFRESH AND TRENDS FOR 2019

KEN LOACH TALKS FOOTBALL Portrait of Ken Loach by artist Richard Twose

ONE MAN’S DEVOTION TO THE BEAUTIFUL GAME

PLUS: BE LESS INACTIVE TAKE UP A SPORT, BE MORE HAPPY AND FIND YOUR FEEL-GOOD FACTOR THE CITY’S BIGGEST MONTHLY GUIDE TO LIFE AND LIVING IN BATH

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Contents January 2019 5 THINGS

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RESOLVE TO BE KIND

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Essential events to look forward to this month

Melissa Blease suggests a gentle approach to dietary changes

COVER FEATURE KEN LOACH AT BATH CITY FC . . . 18

ALL IN A SPIN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58

Simon Horsford joins the film director at a home game

Emma Clegg is entranced by Restaurant Hywel Jones’ tasting menus at Lucknam Park Hotel & Spa

UNDERGROUND MUSIC

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24 CAVA AND CACTUS WATER

Jessica Otterwell delves into some home-grown sounds

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Melissa Blease discovers the food and drink that’s on trend for 2019

WHAT’S ON

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28 ANYONE FOR TENNIS?

Our guide to the top events happening around the city

INTO THE SPOTLIGHT

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Jessica Hope investigates a new exhibition profiling women with a central place in Bath’s history

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Doubles player Anna Smith chats about the Fed Cup, which is on its way to the University of Bath

GET FIT YOUR WAY

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Sam Holmes on why exercise really is for everybody

ARTS IN THE CITY

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Must-see exhibitions in January

WALK THE BRISTOL WAY

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Andrew Swift explores some of Bristol’s hidden corners

ALL SEWN UP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .42 Andrea Cryer has an artistic way with thread, discovers Emma Clegg

BATH AT WORK

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Neill Menneer’s portrait of FilmBath festival organiser Philip Raby

INTERIORS

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Clair Strong gives us an insight into Boho style

HOT PROPERTY

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The finest homes to buy or rent

ON THE MARGINS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .48 Simon Horsford talks to Dr Oliver Walton about his research on post-war reconciliation in borderland regions

TWO IN A PARISH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .50 Catherine Pitt looks back at the history of Widcombe and Lyncombe

Even more great content and updates online: thebathmag.co.uk

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ON THE COVER

Ken Loach by Richard Twose, oil on linen, 2017, on display until 8 January at the Victoria Art Gallery

Follow us on Instagram @thebathmagazine

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RPETS… A C E L A V A LT E R N AT I V E F L O O R I N G CO N O F RO M V MING SO A O TH ON T ION EN ECT LL EW ZO F FA N Y B O U T I Q U E C O

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EDITOR’S PICKS GOOD NEWS!

The National Lottery has confirmed two new grants.

Bath’s Sydney Gardens has a £2.7million grant to rejuvenate and restore the gardens, replanting flower beds and improving wildlife habitats.

In addition, Cleveland Pools (currently on the ‘Heritage At Risk’ register) has a grant of £4.7 million to enable the restoration of the historic site, creating the UK’s first naturally treated (no chemicals) open air public swimming pool.

from the

EDITOR Editor photograph by Matthew Sterling

W

e’re going for a let’s-take-itas-it-comes vibe this January. We’re not forcing anything: no hardline resolutions, no unrealistic goals, no sacrifices. We love showing you all the great things that are going on here in Bath, you see, finding interesting stories and suggesting ways of making the most of it all, and we’re going to carry on doing that. All year. That’s not a resolution; it’s a promise.

Saying that, this issue is still bulging with the themes we like to divert ourselves with at the beginning of a new year: sports and food. Simon Horsford tells us on page 18 about going to a Bath City FC match with film director Ken Loach, who loves the game and the local team. I chatted to doubles player Anna Smith on page 76, who told me about the Fed Cup – the premier international team competition in women’s tennis – that comes to Bath in February. Then I was chuffed to discovered that if you turn a new year objective around, from ‘I will get super fit’ to ‘I will be less inactive’ it takes the fear out of it.

See page 78.

The same applies to food, as Melissa Blease explains on page 54. She reckons that January is the very worst month for subjecting yourself to a drastic diet. Instead she advises taking things slowly and getting friendly with good, healthy food that gives you pleasure – and doesn’t leave you feeling hungry. On page 60, Melissa introduces us to the ingredients that will be totally on trend this year, and those we can wave goodbye to. Bye bye peanut butter and artisan scotch eggs and hi there tahini and Skhug. Bring ’em on.

The food theme continues because I have been super spoiled this month with the tasting menu at Restaurant Hywel Jones at Lucknam Park Hotel & Spa (se page 58). There’s also a special offer at The Bath Priory from 2 January to 30 March if you fancy a three-course lunch with an apéritif (see page 56) to bring a zing to the colder months.

On the creative front, I met Andrea Cryer who draws on fabric with sewing thread and recently took part in Sky Arts’ Landscape Artist of the Year (see page 42). Jessica Otterwell also has four recommendations for upand-coming, as yet unsigned, music artists on page 24: there’s smoky jazz piano, cinematic soundscapes, off-kilter lo-fi stylings, and even an electric eel.

Finally, we’re thrilled that The Bath Society of Botanical Artists has agreed to provide an illustration of a plant or flower for the editor’s page in every month of 2019, starting with the catkins shown to the right.

Remember: don’t over-do it this month.

Emma Clegg Editor

All paper used to make this magazine is taken from good sustainable sources and we encourage our suppliers to join an accredited green scheme. Magazines are now fully recyclable. By recycling magazines, you can help to reduce waste and contribute to the six million tonnes of paper already recycled by the UK paper industry each year. Please recycle this magazine, but if you are not able to participate in a recycling scheme, then why not pass your magazine on to a friend or colleague.

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A NATURAL ACT

The Natural Theatre School’s adult theatre school returns in January with a new term of stress-relieving classes for adults. The school provides an alternative to traditional drama classes by teaching the trademark comedy style of the company, which has been creating performances from its home in Widcombe for 50 years. This is the third term of the ten-week programme, which runs alongside their young people’s company. Adult classes run on Monday evenings from 14–25 March from 7–9pm; naturaltheatre.co.uk

JANUARY CATKINS Hazel catkins or lambs’ tails are flowers with no petals. They form in late autumn and flower from January onwards. They are the male flowers of the hazel and start to release pollen in February. The tiny red female flowers catch the passing pollen, fertilise and change their form until they turn into nuts.

ILLUSTRATION BY JAN HOPKINS The Bath Society of Botanical Artists; bsba.co.uk

Careless upon the wind the catkins swing; ❝They lay a golden spell upon the morning.

MARY WEBB (1881–1927)

❞

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ZEITGEIST

Be brisk It’s easy to feel a bit cooped up over the Christmas period, so what better way to blow away the cobwebs than a swift walk around the Bath Skyline with a National Trust ranger? Beginning at Bushey Norwood on 6 January, 9.30am, you can take in the beautiful views and breathe in that fresh air, before diverting to Prior Park for a warming hot chocolate.

This will be a 6–7 mile walk with some steep sections, uneven ground, kissing gates, steps and stiles. £10 per person, call 0344 249 1895; nationaltrust.org.uk/bath-skyline

Mary Wollestonecraft

by Louisa Albani

We all may recognise Jane Austen’s influence on the city of Bath, but what about the other women who have made history here? The Bath Royal Literary and Scientific Institution is turning the spotlight on to the women who have lived in Bath over the past millennium. Extraordinary Women in Bath explores the remarkable lives of the likes of authors, activists, explorers, artists and scientists who have often been overlooked in history. Turn to page 34 to find out more. On at the BRLSI from 5 January – 2 February.

Free entry; brlsi.org

January 2019

Meet the Brontës See the Brontës in a totally new light in Angus Barr and Sarah Corbett’s riotous interpretation of the Brontë myth, taking the real and imaginary worlds of Yorkshire’s literary siblings as its inspiration. We Are Brontë, on at Ustinov Studio on 30 January, 8pm, is physical theatre combined with anarchic comedy, where Barr and Corbett will deconstruct not only gothic themes of love, madness and revenge, but also themselves. Part play, part enquiry into the act of putting on a play, this promises to be no ordinary Brontë adaptation. £15/£12; theatreroyal.org.uk

Get going

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This month is the final opportunity to see one of the nation’s most loved paintings in Bath, David Hockney’s Mr and Mrs Clark and Percy, right, which is currently on show at the Holburne Museum, and complements the portraits of 18th-century singers, dancers and actors on display in the Gainsborough & the Theatre exhibition, which ends on 20 January.

Also leaving the museum this month is Auguste Rodin’s famous bronze sculpture The Thinker, originally commissioned in 1880 for a doorway surround titled The Gates of Hell, so head to the museum quick before it leaves. Artist Sue Larner is holding a claysculpting workshop inspired by Rodin’s work on 19 January, 10.30am. Working from a life model, discover how to sculpt a bodily fragment or figural form in the round and learn key techniques for working with clay. £50; holburne.org

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Fingers crossed the snow can hold off!

After the Bath Half Marathon was cancelled thanks to sub-zero conditions last year, general public entries for this year’s race – on 17 March – sold out quick. But there’s still lots of places available if you’d like to run for one of the official race charities. The lead race charity is Bristol Heart Foundation, and if you fancy supporting a local cause, there’s plenty to choose from including Dorothy House Hospice Care, the RUH Forever Friends Appeal, Bath City Farm and Bowel Cancer West; bathhalf.co.uk

Image courtesy of Lynne Carpenter/Shutterstock.com

Image courtesy of Andrew Swift

January

Last chance

The view over Bath from Rainbow Woods

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things to do in

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The city

ist

THE BUZZ THE BUZZ IRON MAIDEN The Bath Riverside development has unveiled a new work of art. Maid of the Bridge was designed by local artist Anna Gillespie alongside Bath-based engineering firm Buro Happold. The sculpture was constructed using metal retained during the refurbishment of Victoria Bridge. Ironart of Bath created the sculpture, an abstract figure overlooking the new park from Elizabeth Parade. crestnicholson.com

SAFE BIRDS OF PREY West of England Falconry has won a Bristol, Bath and Somerset Tourism ‘Gold’ 2018 award, The Bob Smart Learning Experience of the Year. This was just 12 months after redevelopment proposals imposed a costly relocation on the independent bird-of-prey rescue and rehabilitation charity. With the support of the Duchy Estate at Newton St Loe, they now have a new venue and are fully operational. westofenglandfalconry.org.uk

TOP STREETS Two Somerset streets – Walcot Street in Bath and Catherine Hill in Frome, have been named by Homes and Antiques Magazine as being two of their top 10 favourite shopping streets in the country. The magazine recognised Walcot Street’s independent, artisan edge, its generous antiques and interiors offering, as well as its Saturday flea market. The cobbled incline of Catherine Hill in Frome is full of stylish independent boutiques.

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My BATH Musician, singer and songwriter Jennifer Crook performed the music for David Attenborough’s The Private Life of Plants and has toured with Snow Patrol on electric harp

I was born in Bath. We moved away when I was nine, which made me very sad and I vowed to come back. Which is exactly what I did…

Just recently I moved to the lovely village of Box with my partner, but I will always feel very connected to Bath.

I don’t remember a time when music was not part of my life. My mother was a music teacher at Bath High School so she encouraged me to take music lessons and we often sang together.

She was also in Bath Operatic and Dramatic Society and my first stage appearance was at the age of three, as her cat in Dick Whittington.

Music helps us to be more in tune with ourselves, our deeper emotions, and with each other. It crosses all kinds of barriers, physically changes our energy fields and lifts us out of our daily concerns. It’s a kind of soul food.

In my solo work I write all my own songs and I am very fortunate to work with some talented musicians who bring their musical ideas into my recordings.

I was compelled to make up songs from an early age, and would improvise on the piano instead of practising my scales! I learned to play the guitar and taught myself songs by artists like Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell and Carole King.

Writing music became a way of expressing my inner world.

My music has folk and americana influences, mainly because of the narrative/storytelling that is central to my songwriting. However I write in other genres and am studying for a Songwriting MA at Bath Spa University.

One day I went to a guitar exhibition and made a beeline towards a harp. I felt right at home playing it and felt immersed in the sound.

I started busking with my boyfriend outside the Pump Rooms in Bath and we were approached by a composer and ended up recording the music for David Attenborough’s The Private Life of Plants. In the early part of my career I was known as a harpist playing mostly instrumental music. When I started my solo career as a songwriter, the harp took a back

The Year She Turns, Jennifer Crook, CD £12; music.jennifercrook.com

seat and it’s only in the past seven years that I have begun to write songs with it.

Vintage clothes shops, old record shops, and the beauty of the Bath buildings are the backdrop to a number of my songs. Only The River was written when I lived next to the River Avon and it mentions Bathampton Mill.

When I perform, at best I feel like I have just slotted back into my natural place. Those are the times when I feel that the songs are really connecting with the audience and the band are on the same wavelength and I know we are sharing a unique moment in time.

While working on the UK Songwriting Festival at Bath Spa University I was asked to join Snow Patrol on electric harp for a tour. I then worked with Boo Hewerdine and Eddi Reader, and was invited to do a live session for Bob Harris on BBC Radio 2. I also had a wonderful experience recording my trio album – in Bath and at Real World Studios in Box – with producer Stephen W. Tayler. I feel very lucky to have been a part of the vibrant Bath music scene over the years.

For many years I was part of the musical community at The Bell, so I like to go there to see friends perform and catch the old vibes. My newest discovery is Barton Street Wine Bar – great wine and the best piano player in town.

I love the Mary Oliver line “Tell me, what it is you want to do with your one wild and precious life?” It invites us to go for our dreams and make the most of the time we have.

I am planning a new band recording later in the year, but my most recent album The Year, She Turns is Perfect for January. It features friends from Bath and beyond such as Andy Davis, Charlie Jones, Eliza Carthy, Beth Porter, Miranda Sykes and Jools Scott. The first track is called January’s Here. Which it is. n Jennifer Crook is running a six-week songwriting course at The Pound Arts Centre in Corsham from 5 February 2019 and will perform there on 30 March; poundarts.org.uk

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NEW YEAR, NEWISH OLD YOU Our roving reporter starts 2019 with good intentions

T

here may have come a point, somewhere after wolfing some leftover Stilton and finishing off the Irish whiskey, that I realise that there’s a tipping point between pleasantly plump, or well covered as my Auntie Mary would say, and the terrifying ‘morbidly obese.’ Even though we know the NHS’s use of the word ‘morbidly’ isn’t the same as our everyday use of the word – which implies an unappealing fascination with death or mutilation – it still strikes enough fear in the heart for one to heave one’s postChristmas carcass off the sofa and sign up for a ‘new year, new you’ project.

I have been looking into joining a gym and asked friends who own active wear and wear it for more than just going to the supermarket and they’ve given me some advice. It looks as though there are broadly three types of gym you can join.

The first is attached to a swish five star hotel. You’re ushered through sumptuous lounges furnished with plump sofas and roaring fires and taken through to the spa fitness suite. You’re impressed by the fluffy robes and piles of folded white towels and charmed by the beautiful young instructors. You can picture yourself in the hot tub, or warming your bones in the steam room after completing 100 speedy lengths of the pool, followed by a coffee and freshly baked pastry with complimentary newspapers back in the lounge. It barely registers that the gym’s state-of-the-art equipment is way beyond your technological know-how, all those bleeping lights and sleek machines look a lot more complicated than your cousin’s running machine that you fell off that

time in his garage. We’ll draw a veil over the little matter of the membership fees, which require that monthly commitment.

The second kind of gym promises results. You’ll be greeted by a determined young person with a fine set of well-defined muscles, who will take you through the sales patter at a verbal sprint, all to the background of an instructor on the other side of the room urging his spinning class on with all the finesse of an army sergeant major trying to get his reluctant troops to go over the top in the face of enemy fire.

As you look round the banks of impressive machinery (oh look, you can run on the treadmill in the window in full view of passers-by) it dawns on you that if you struggle to set the clock on the oven, some of these contraptions’ electronic instructions may be beyond you. You’re too embarrassed to say it’s all been a terrible mistake and proceed to spend your Tuesday evenings with a towel round your neck, wandering round the gym and hoping no-one’s noticed you only used the Swiss ball, and that was because you needed a little sit down.

The third kind of gym is the type that most of us end up joining. We sign up, buy some shiny new trainers and the sort of micro top worn by celebs when they’re caught by the paparazzi ‘unawares’ leaving the house after a session with their personal trainers, their washboard flat stomachs enticingly on show. We’ll soon get our blancmange midriffs as taut as a trampoline, we tell ourselves, as we arrange the direct debit for 12 months and wave a cheery ‘see you next week’ to the enthusiastic fitness instructor. We never set foot in the gym again, but it eases our consciences to tell the GP that yes, we do belong to a fitness centre.

The fourth option is suggested to me by an older and wiser friend, who points out that Bath is a city surrounded by hills. Beautiful hills, and valleys too. Why don’t I simply put on a pair of walking boots, she says, and hit the Bath skyline instead? Puffing up and down all those hills will do me the world of good. The Bathscape landscape project has recently been awarded £1.65m in heritage lottery funding, with the aim of making the countryside around the city more accessible to local people. This fantastic outdoor gym is not only good for the mind, body and soul it’s all absolutely free. Happy walking in 2019! n

IFF

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Ken Loach Bath City Football V2.qxp_Layout 1 21/12/2018 11:26 Page 1

CITY | FOOTBALL

In a different league

Film director Ken Loach loves football and it’s the Bath City FC team where his allegiance lies. Simon Horsford joins him on the terraces of Twerton Park and discovers why he’s such a big fan

I

t’s unquestionably the only winter game”, says Ken Loach as we sit talking about football in a café near Bath Spa station. It’s a wet and windy Friday night and Loach has just stepped off the London train after a week spent editing his latest film, Sorry We Missed You. Perhaps there’s an element of mischief to his observation as he knows that this is a city ostensibly known for its rugby team. But the goings-on at the Rec mean nothing to a man devoted to a team in the less rarified surroundings of Twerton, Bath City FC. Loach has been a fan of the club since he arrived in the city in 1974 having previously followed Nuneaton Borough (he was born in Nuneaton) and Fulham. “I first went to watch Nuneaton with my Dad when I was about five or six and I was hooked. We also used to go to Blackpool on holiday and once we went to see Blackpool play, it must have been the late forties, and I saw Stanley Matthews and Stan Mortensen [the latter later played for Bath City]. I remember the orange shirts.

“When we moved to Bath, I started bringing the kids to watch City at Twerton because Fulham always let you down, although I still look out for them. You get hooked going to watch Bath City, you

couldn’t fail to.” Clearly other sports don’t matter in the same way to Loach, apart from cricket in the summer.

“What’s special about City is that you are very connected to the club. Dads bring their kids, grandads bring their grandkids, and there’s a chance for children to become a mascot and lead the team out. There is the craic on the terraces and a bond with the players, you recognise people around you week in week out and you feel a sensation that’s now lacking at the big clubs.”

Key to Loach’s passion is that the club is rooted in the community [the club was formed as Bath AFC in 1889]. Yes, the big clubs are too, but most have lost the human touch as self-interest and greed take hold.

Here at Bath City in many ways you find the football in the raw, the soul of the game, where you get a mug of tea at half-time, and there isn’t a prawn sandwich in sight. As television and commercialisation have changed the modern game, not always for the better, Loach says: “I feel disconnected to the Premier League. There is such a corporate feel to it, whereas you come to the lower leagues [Bath are in the Vanarama National League South, the sixth tier of the English game] and it feels like a proper game and the football’s quite good too, the players

are semi-pro and some have been professional. The passion is as great as at any club as you experience despair to wild exhilaration. It’s like a gymnasium of the emotions.”

I see what he means a few weeks after our first meeting when I join him at Twerton Park for a league game against Concord Rangers from Canvey Island in Essex. Loach takes his place on the terraces – he prefers to stand – where Bath’s most loyal fans urge the team on and throw in the occasional chant of “we hate rugby” – “the wit and wisdom of the crowd”, says Loach with a smile. His knowledge about the players is clear as is his frustration at the 1–1 draw; at one point he also likens being a film director to being a football manager.

His commitment to the team also saw Loach make a short film about them, Another City, a week in the life of Bath’s football club. “It was the end of the nineties and we filmed in the changing room. They were ferocious with each other and the commitment and energy were total.” It’s a lovely film that captures, as the narrator puts it, “the other side of Bath” and features some illustrious former players such as Tony Book (who later captained Manchester City) and ex-manager Malcolm Allison.

➲

Photographs by Derryn Vranch

BELOW: Ken Loach at the home game against Concord Rangers; OPPOSITE: A moment from the game

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Ken Loach Bath City Football V2.qxp_Layout 1 17/12/2018 10:10 Page 2

CITY | FOOTBALL

“There is the craic on the terraces and a bond with the players – you recognise people around you week in week out and you feel a sensation that’s now lacking at the big clubs”

Ken Loach Bath City Football V2.qxp_Layout 1 18/12/2018 15:32 Page 3

CITY | FOOTBALL

The idea that this is a club with its soul in the heart of Bath is reinforced by the fact that since May 2017 it has been a communityowned club.

The two-year campaign raised in excess of £350,000 with around 600 fans now the majority shareholders. Loach adds: “The club had been facing large debts and I knew one of the instigators of FC United, Andy Walsh, and he came down to Bath and talked about the idea and it just gathered strength and made sense.” [FC United were founded in 2005 by Manchester United supporters opposed to American businessman Malcolm Glazer’s takeover of the club].

Although attendance has gone up by around 40 per cent, the club is still running at an on-going loss and has debts totalling around £1 million. This is why the club has been contemplating other revenue streams.

Twerton Park hosts businesses such as CrossFit Gym Bath and webuyanycar.com and has teamed up with a private investment company Greenacre Capital to explore a redevelopment of the ground with various proposals taking in sports facilities, a new grandstand, community hub and the regeneration of Twerton High Street.

“It will be difficult to pull off though,” says Loach, “as we have to raise the money and construct something that the community is happy with. The problem is that to raise the cash they say student housing is needed.

But that is a separate issue as people need affordable homes, particularly around Twerton. The people who work here can’t afford to live here. A community club has got to connect to the needs of the community and so it’s a difficult balance, a genuine dilemma.”

I wondered whether Loach cast an envious glance towards Bath Rugby, but his answer is pretty clear. “It is a problem for us and in the town the size of Bath we should get the back page of the local newspaper, but most of the time we are squeezed off. Bath Rugby also BELOW: Ken and Simon arriving at the Bath City ground

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Bath City drew 1–1 with Concord Rangers in the home game

has that corporate feel – others will disagree – that I don’t care for in [football’s] Premier League. It isn’t just about local people supporting their club, it’s about having sponsors who are among the wealthiest companies in the land and that takes away the sense of community.”

Loach has also gone on record too as being wholly against the expansion of the Rec with the development of a permanent stadium.

“One thing Bath does not need is that when you stand in the Orange Grove with the abbey on one side and look across to the green hill and see a miniature Wembley Stadium. It would annihilate the view and I can’t think why the trustees of the Rec are even considering this. It’s unforgivable when we are trying to protect this heritage.”

Messing with the aspect of Bath is another topic close to Loach’s heart. The city has seen many changes in recent decades not always for the best – a “destructive urban renewal” was noted in The Sack of Bath by Adam Ferguson in the early seventies. Loach says the city was nicer when he moved here in 1974. “I preferred it. It was just a normal city with shops and local industries that supported the people here.”

He goes on to muse about what the inhabitants want from the city and what it needs to sustain itself. “The gem of Bath is the Georgian cohesion of it and it is this that makes the city so special together with the green spaces around it. The moment you say let’s have some more hotels, let’s have bigger blocks of accommodation and shops, that unity is fragmented by other chunks of architecture. Then you scrub it up to attract more people and it becomes something else, something to display rather than something to inhabit and support. If the reason you are there for is just walking around and looking at things, it becomes fake; the city isn’t living.

There should be a balance between sustainability and having tourists.”

Away from a city about which he is so passionate, Loach is back in the director’s chair again at the age of 82. Sorry We Missed You is likely to be released in late 2019. As with I, Daniel Blake, a Palm d’Or winner at Cannes, it is set in the north-east of England (Loach believes the sense of identity is stronger in the north) and revolves around a family struggling with debt since the 2008

financial crash. “Dad is a delivery driver and Mum a care worker. Both work stupid hours and are on zero hours contracts and are selfemployed and [the film] shows how their lives are reflected within the family. It explores the challenges of balancing the gig economy with family life.”

For more than 50 years, with the likes of Cathy Come Home, My Name is Joe, Raining Stones and It’s A Free World, Loach has documented the flip side of life in modern Britain. Films about social injustice and inequality that try to “get to the heart of the struggle that’s implicit in society,” he says, and also that capture the culture of ordinary, working class people.

I wonder if he thinks Britain is a better place than when he started making films?

“By and large, it’s got worse. With Cathy Come Home we were in the sixties and there were still the remnants of a post-war settlement where housing was seen as something people were entitled to and the health service was properly nationalised.

“Since 1979 when [Margaret] Thatcher came in and the market let rip, I think it has got worse because the demands on labour are that it should be flexible – you can hire and fire quickly and the employer has little responsibility for holiday pay, or sick pay.

The gig economy seems to me an inevitable consequence of that harsh competition and if [job] security is an aim then people are less secure, but it is an inevitable part of the current political process.

“It saddens me that the Labour Party, until the last year or two, hasn’t shown any acknowledgement or understanding of this, or chosen not to, and have instead been a part of that economic change, where the only losers are the working class and the people who benefit are those who gain their income from profit.”

Whether Loach will make another film highlighting such issues is uncertain, but what is clear is that he will continue to be a familiar figure on the terraces of Bath City FC cheering on his team. n Forthcoming fixtures at Bath City FC: 12 January, 3pm, East Thurrock Utd; 19 January, 3pm, Torquay Utd; 2 Feb, 3pm, Hampton and Richmond Borough. bathcityfc.com

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

2 Princes Buildings, George Street, Bath BA1 2ED Telephone: 01225 424499. Fax: 01225 426677 www.thebathmag.co.uk Š MC Publishing Ltd 2019 Disclaimer: Whilst every reasonable care is taken with all material submitted to The Bath Magazine, the publisher cannot accept responsibility for loss or damage to such material. Opinions expressed in articles are strictly those of the authors. This publication is copyright and may not be reproduced in any form either in part or whole without written permission from the publishers.

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Ravetank

Karensa

James Thornton

Television Villain

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BATH | MUSIC

Making some noise

Delve into home-grown sounds this January as Jessica Otterwell guides you through some of Bath’s finest unsigned musical talents

Bath-based artist and multi-instrumentalist James Thornton records his sweeping cinematic soundscapes under the moniker Follow The Sun. More than just a stage name, Follow The Sun provides an outlet for Thornton’s ever-increasing creativity. The music swells, rises, then ebbs away slowly like the Jurassic coastlines of Dorset where Thornton was raised. Themes of childhood and the natural environment continue to influence much of his work. These are dream-like pieces, fragmented images of loss and memories of times long past. Starting out in traditional indie bands, it was after attending an Explosions in the Sky gig that Thornton decided to pick up a loop pedal and experiment with the ambient stylings Follow The Sun is known for. Thornton is clear to point out that his music career should be separated from his work as an artist as he views his collaboration with fellow artists as discovering sound. To get a flavour of his pieces, the nostalgic and encompassing Open Skies, with its soothing, repetitive rhythm is a track to delve into. All at once the bright bracing guitar provides a cool, glacial element; it’s filmic and deep with complex twisting melodies, folding and bending over each other in an elaborate pairing. The listener is cocooned in an almost otherworldly embrace. The track heightens, building the effects of stark bass lines – this is painterly music. Thornton may wish to separate his visual art from his music but these sounds etch images in your ears, reminiscent of the finest contemporary art. followthesunmusic.co.uk

Television Villain Imagine the love child of the New York Dolls’ David Johansen and Iggy Pop was one day kidnapped by a group of anarchic space aliens, then regurgitated into the gutters of Bath to make their own way via the means of rock ’n’ roll. Then you’ll have a fraction of an idea of what post-punk, glam-spattered warriors Television Villain are aiming for, but also what they surpass. They are fronted

by Dan Stothard, who flails around the stage like an electric eel, contorting and bending with the rhythm of Tom Sworn’s bass.

Ferocious movements are propelled further

by Tim Burden’s intricate, melodic guitar lines. Rats and Betterman recalls the murkiness of early Joy Division, with

a nod to current bands like Iceage. The lyrics veer at once from being urgent and vitriolic to desperate; with a sense of isolation and loneliness that grabs hold and claws at the listener. Standing out both live and on record is Neon Signs, “your father says, you ain’t no son of mine, you look like a woman half the time,” confesses Stothard in the chorus. The venom is there, the defiance, but the song changes tack with Stothard pleading, begging, “come back, I need you”, in a guttural scream that cuts to the soul, the grasping desperation of hope fading. Their self-titled debut release captures the dramatic essence of their live shows. Jack Daffin’s pounding, frantic drumming provides the perfect opener on Bevvy, charging at you with rhythms to move your body and your mind. televisionvillain.bandcamp.com

Ravetank The DIY lo-fi scene has experienced a resurgence in recent years as Coma Cinema championed, and Ravetank is a local example. Think cassette recorders, think bedroom recordings on home-made instruments, with the hiss of the tape in the background. Think of the Mountain Goats, when John Darnielle’s distinctive vocal broke through the fuzz. If that inspires warm nostalgia in your brain then the off-kilter stylings of Ravetank might be just what you’re looking for this New Year. Formed initially as a side project by musician Nathan Howard, the rich comic introspective stylings turn the mundane features of everyday life into an adventure, and the characters and places that form the basis of Howard’s life take centre stage. This can be evidenced on his album, An Intimate Study of Alcohol, released in winter 2018. It is a concept album of sorts, showcasing a year of questionable drinking. On Magnum Tonic Wine, Howard laments about his love of the aforementioned beverage, with the line, “brewed in the land of Jamaica, its small bottle packs a punch”. It’s a country-tinged love song, with steel strings and twang. In contrast, No Drink Beyond this Point has an early nineties fuzz vibe, reminiscent of The Vaselines. Ravetank never stagnates in one genre, with Howard taking influence from Neutral Milk Hotel when experimenting with everything from Mathpop, to noise and ambient. Ravetank’s songs are alternative postcards of Bath. Snippets of late-night

places and lost conversations are hidden over fuzz and even a waltzing organ on Tinnie Crusher. We’ll drink to that. ravetank.bandcamp.com

Kerensa Discover the multi-talented singer songwriter Kerensa, especially on her album, Pigeons Think They’re People. Her vocal gymnastics at once recall Amanda Palmer and Tori Amos, with an artistic integrity that is uniquely her own. She swoops, soars and pirouettes in an intricate dance on Swoon, with its jaunty cabaret style piano. “There’s a house in a cardboard town, without a shadow or a soul around” – with that first

❝

“He was everything that I ever dreamed of ” sings Kerensa in a plea so melancholy that it twirls with the violin to showcase a truly beautiful malaise

❝

Follow the Sun

line of Something Beautiful, Kerensa has created a storybook world in which to pour her thoughts. Smokey jazz piano unfurls to create a dark enriching tale of love gone sour, “a paperchain of memories”. She begins with a rich burr before suddenly leaping into the chorus, where her vocals soar like the aforementioned pigeons. A stand-out track is Lights, with a violin and cello accompaniment that is delicate and arresting in equal measure. “He was everything that I had ever dreamed of” sings Kerensa, in a plea so melancholy that it twirls with the violin to showcase a truly beautiful malaise.

Like the best at their craft, Kerensa has been playing music since she was a small child, initially learning Mozart before switching genres twice to get where she is today. She says that her songs can be written anywhere and sometimes when doing the most mundane things, a chord progression will form. There is nothing mundane with Kerensa’s music. Each track is layered, a confessional cabaret of stunning delight. n imkerensa.com

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ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE

The feel-good city

To kick start 2019 in a positive frame of mind, the good folk at Visit Bath have got together with the city’s best retailers, spas, fitness and wellbeing experts to bring you a range of ideas, events and deals to beat those post-festive period blues

Discover more at the Holburne Museum

Let the aches and pains wash away at Thermae Bath Spa

The Women’s Tennis Fed Cup is coming to the University of Bath

B

ath celebrates wellbeing and health across the city with a new Feel-Good ten-day programme of events, offers and activities from 1–10 February 2019.

Put together by Visit Bath and embracing the different strands of the wellness activities and offers, Feel-Good Bath will see the LTA Women’s Tennis Fed Cup headlining from 7–9 February at the University of Bath. This is the first time in 26 years a stage of the Fed Cup has been hosted in the UK. Other events and activities include: n A Power of Sleep talk with Dr Neil Stanley at The Gainsborough Bath Spa Hotel on 6 February, lunch included, and a selfcare talk and lunch with mindfulness expert Jonathan Ward on 7 February. n An Aromatherapy Associates wellness expert offering consultations, hand massages and gifts at Thermae Bath Spa on 8 February. n A relaxation session, demonstrations and lunch with L’Occitane at The Bath Priory on 7 February. n A special wellness exhibition entitled Why Museums Matter at the Holburne Museum, opening 7 February. n A rooftop Aquasana session at Thermae Bath Spa on 1 February, and free one-hour bathing sessions at the Cross Baths on 5 February.

n An evening with spa brand Natura Bissé at No. 15 Great Pulteney, as well as 30% off treatments Mon–Thurs during February (excludes 14 Feb). n An introduction to ceramics with local designer Julia Davey. n Mindfulness walks in the beautiful grounds of National Trust property Dyrham Park. n Restorative Yoga sessions at the YMCA to help relax and restore the body and mind. n A Feel-Good wine tasting event at wine bar Le Vignoble, showcasing eight different organic wines on 9 February. n Frontlinestyle Hair & Beauty Salon is offering a complimentary Clarins beauty gift with every Clarins wellness massage taken between 4–9 February, and you can get a ‘touch of colour’ Clarins make-up application with any facial or massage between 1–10 February.

See the full programme of events and information on how to book online.

Bath has been synonymous with wellbeing and relaxtion since the Romans built the famous baths to enjoy the therapeutic benefits of the mineral thermal waters.

A small and compact city with breathtaking walks to enjoy the architecture and views, great sporting activities, a wide variety of independent bars, cafés and

restaurants as well as unique independent shops to enjoy some retail therapy – Bath is the UK’s top Feel-Good city.

Feel-Good February is part of a national campaign by Visit Bath to promote Bath as the UK’s top spa and wellbeing destination.

Visit Bath will also be supporting local mental health charity Bath Mind and Time to Talk Day on 7 February to raise awareness and funds for the vital counselling work they do in and around the city. n To see the full programme and to book places for events and offers, go to: visitbath.co.uk/feel-good

Experience the open-air Cross Baths at an open day

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WHAT’S ON in January Join wine expert and columnist Tristan Darby for a cheese and wine tasting at Great Western Wine

RADC image: Chris Nash

See Olivia Colman as Queen Anne in The Favourite at the Little Theatre Cinema

Watch Richard Alston Dance Company at Theatre Royal Bath

BATH ON ICE n Until 6 January, opening hours vary, Royal Victoria Park, Bath Last chance to get your skates on in the park’s ice rink. Skate aids available. Tickets: £11/£10. You can also head next door to the adventure golf course for a spot of glow in the dark mini golf; bathonice.com U3A IN BATH NEW YEAR PUBLIC LECTURE n 3 January, 10am–12pm, Bath Pavilion, North Parade, Bath U3A in Bath is an organisation for retired people who want to try a range of activities including learning languages or history, playing tennis or going on country walks, and it holds regular monthly lectures. The first lecture of the year is entitled Richelieu: The Cardinal and his City, and charts the rise of Richelieu, clergyman and First Minister under King Louis XIII. Admission is free for members, £2 donation for nonmembers; u3ainbath.org.uk HASSELBLAD AND THE MOON LANDING n 4 January, 7.30pm, BRLSI, Queen Square, Bath On 20 July 1969, as part of the Apollo 11 space program, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first people ever to set foot on the moon. Their iconic small steps were captured forever by the camera the astronauts carried with them: the Hasselblad 500EL. Debbie Ireland looks at the history of the Apollo 11 mission through the lens of the Hasselblad, while narrating the parallel tale of the challenge to create a camera that could work on the moon. £5/£2; brlsi.org SCRIPT BOOT CAMP n 6 January – 2 June, 10am–4pm, Komedia Learn how to capture an audience’s attention, establish a good structure and create believable characters at these six monthly script workshops hosted by Claire Miller, an experienced scriptwriter with a 28 TheBATHMagazine

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background in script editing, and who has written for Casualty, Holby City, The Worst Witch and Emmerdale. £40 per workshop, or £240 for all six; komedia.co.uk THE ARTS SOCIETY BATH LECTURE: EDWARD MANET AND MUSIC n 7 January, 1.30pm, Assembly Rooms, Bennett Street, Bath In the first Arts Society Bath lecture of 2019 Lois Oliver will discuss the life of French painter Edward Manet and how music played an integral part of his life and work.

Visitors welcome, £10 on the door, no booking necessary; theartssocietybath.com RUBY WAX: HOW TO BE HUMAN n 11 January, doors 7.30pm for 8pm, Christ Church, Julian Road, Bath Searingly honest, passionate, and full of verve, the extraordinary and fabulous comedienne, Ruby Wax talks about her funny and compassionate book, How to Be Human. She poses an important question – why have we started treating ourselves more like machines and less like humans? Early bird tickets £8.99; toppingbooks.co.uk NATURAL THEATRE SCHOOL SPRING TERM n 14 January – 25 March, 7–9pm, Natural Theatre Company HQ, Widcombe Hill, Widcombe The Natural Theatre School is changing the face of the evening drama club. No longer an after-school activity just to be enjoyed by the under 18s, the Adult Theatre School returns in the new year with a brand-new term. This is a 10-week programme offering the chance to learn new performance skills in a fun and relaxing environment, build self-confidence and meet new people. £95 per term; naturaltheatre.co.uk THE RAISED PAVEMENTS AND VAULTS IN THE VINEYARDS n 14 January, 7.30pm, St Mary’s Church, Bathwick

CULTURAL FILM SCREENINGS n Throughout January, The Little Theatre Cinema, Bath Ring in the new year with a range of live operas, Shakespeare, ballet, and new film releases that are set to do well in the upcoming awards season. Kicking off the month is a special screening of Andre Rieu 2019 New Year’s Concert From Sydney on 6 January. There are also live screenings of the Met Opera’s Adriana Lecouvreur, Royal Opera House’s The Queen Of Spades and Almeida Theatre’s The Tragedy of King Richard the Second. Also showing this month are 18th century romp The Favourite, starring Olivia Colman, Emma Stone and Rachel Weisz; Parisian drama Colette, featuring Keira Knightley; and historical drama Mary Queen of Scots, with Saoirse Ronan as the Scottish queen and Margot Robbie as her cousin Elizabeth I. See the full programme online; picturehouses.com/cinema/The_Little Rhys Brooks will give a talk on the history of the raised pavements and vaults in front of the Vineyards along London Road. Hosted

by History of Bath Research Group. Visitors welcome, £2 donation suggested.

NO BUSINESS OF YOURS: HOW THE LARGE CORPORATION SWALLOWED THE FUTURE n 15 January, 5.15pm, The Arts Lecture Theatre, The Edge, University of Bath A public lecture from Professor Timothy Mitchell. To format a different politics we must understand how politics first created ‘the economy’ as its object. The answer lies in the rise of the large corporation, and the strange new relationship to the future that the modern business firm engineered. Free; bath.ac.uk/ipr

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WORLD AFFAIRS: THROUGH OUR EYES n 15 January, 7.30pm, BRLSI, Queen Square, Bath An evening with Koji Tsuruoka, Japanese ambassador and veteran trade negotiator, where he will give an insight into Japan’s view of world security, development and investment. £7/£5, all welcome.

Tickets from Bath Box Office; bathboxoffice.org.uk BATH SCOTTISH DANCERS n 15 January, 7.30pm, Ralph Allen School, Claverton Down Road, Bath Join a free taster evening hosted by Bath Scottish Dancers and get a feel for the dances on offer. Classes for beginners and intermediate dancers available. Beginners classes also at Bathampton Village Hall from 3 January, 1.30pm, and classes at New Oriel Hall, Larkhall, starting from 7 January, 2–4pm. For more information, visit: rscdsbath.co.uk RAIN MAN n 15–19 January, times vary, Theatre Royal Bath Inspired by the award-winning film starring Tom Cruise and Dustin Hoffman, Bill Kenwright presents the story of self-centred salesman Charlie Babbitt, who discovers he has a long-lost older brother, Raymond, who has inherited the family multimillion dollar fortune and sets out to get ‘his half’. Starring Paul Nicholls and Chris Fountain. From £20.50; theatreroyal.org.uk CHEF’S REUNION DINNER n 19 January, 7.30pm, Lucknam Park Hotel & Spa, Colerne Lucknam Park and executive chef Hywel Jones are delighted to host a Chef’s Reunion Dinner, where six guest chefs will produce a dish to be served on the night. All chefs have worked with Hywel Jones in the past including Rob Potter of Manor House, Mark Stinchcombe of Eckington Manor, and Hrishikesh Desai from Gilpin Hotel & Lake House. Seven course dinner, £89 per person.

Tel: 01225 742777; lucknampark.co.uk ARTISAN CHEESE AND WINE TASTING n 23 January, 7pm, Great Western Wine, Wells Road, Bath Sit back and relax as the experts at Great Western Wine pour a hand-picked selection of wines from around the world, each carefully chosen to match a different delicious artisan cheese from local cheesemonger PONG. Early booking advised. £25; greatwesternwine.co.uk HOLBURNE UP LATE n 25 January, 5–9pm, Holburne Museum, Great Pulteney Street, Bath Experience the beautiful Holburne Museum after hours at this late night opening. Immerse yourself in a programme of pop-up talks, art demos, installations, performances, DJ-sets and cocktails.

Specially curated by student talent and arts practitioners from Bath Spa University and the University of Bath. Free entry; holburne.org MARMEN QUARTET AND JOHN MYERSCOUGH n 25 January, 7.30pm, Wiltshire Music Centre, Bradford On Avon Wiltshire Music Centre’s new Young Quartet In Residence makes their WMC debut with a concert with guest cellist John Myerscough, with a programme featuring Schubert’s sumptuous String Quintet in C major. Free pre-concert talk at 6.30pm. £16/free for under 25s; wiltshiremusic.org.uk RICHARD ALSTON DANCE COMPANY n 25–26 January, times vary, Theatre Royal Bath Richard Alston has been making dance for 50 years. He will celebrate his half-century with a programme full of his trademark lyrical choreography performed by undoubtedly one of the world’s best dance ensembles. From £18.50; theatreroyal.org.uk MAKE THE PERFECT BURGER BY BAR BOULUD n 26 January, 9.30am–2pm, Lucknam Park Hotel & Spa, Colerne Lucknam Park has teamed up with the iconic London restaurant Continued page 30

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WHAT’S | ON

THE DIGITAL APE n 7 February, 5.15pm, The Arts Lecture Theatre, The Edge, University of Bath A public lecture from Professor Sir Nigel Shadbolt. The original ape in us still selects a mate, searches for food, chatters, steals, wages war, and creates great art but now using the products of digital technology. Is the digital ape on the verge of a new Age of Enlightenment? Or will our magical machines evolve so quickly that they either outwit us? Free; bath.ac.uk/ipr

Bar Boulud at Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park for a half-day cooking course on how to make the perfect burger. You will make four to five dishes including a perfect brioche bun and one of the famed Bar Boulud burgers.

The course includes tea/coffee, pastries, lunch, a recipe folder, all ingredients, a cookery school bag and use of a chef’s jacket and apron. £95 per person; lucknampark.co.uk CALM-ABIDING MEDITATION DAY n 27 January, 10am–4pm, Museum of Bath at Work, Julian Road, Bath This is an opportunity to practise meditation in peace and seclusion. Join Bath Sakya Buddhist Group for a day of meditation in the peaceful environment of the Museum of Work. Everyone welcome, no experience is necessary. Attend one session or go for the full day. Session times: 10am, 11.30am, 1.30pm, and 3pm. £4 per session or £15 for the full day. Refreshments will be available.

Take along a lunch to share. Email: bath@dechen.org or call: 07842 855790 / 07747 633577. Bath Sakya Buddhist Group meets every Tuesday at 8pm at the Museum of Work; sakyabristol.org/bath RAISE THE BAR n 28 January, doors 7pm for 7.30pm, Komedia Raise The Bar is a spoken word event, bringing performance poetry to life on stage with a mixture of feature sets and open mic for all. The perfect opportunity for local artists to try out their new material in a small and safe space. 14+. Tickets £3 on the door; komedia.co.uk THE LADY VANISHES n 28 January – 2 February, times vary, Theatre Royal Bath Husband and wife Juliet Mills and Maxwell Caulfield lead the star cast in this new adaptation of the 1939 Hitchcock classic.

When socialite Iris Henderson’s unexpected travelling companion suddenly disappears, Iris is perplexed to find that all the other passengers deny ever having seen her. But with the help of musician Max, she turns detective, and together they try to solve the mystery of why the lady vanished…

From £22.50; theatreroyal.org.uk ROBBIE BURNS NIGHT: A CELEBRATION IN HONOUR OF THE GREAT BARD n 30 January, 7.30pm, BRLSI, Queen Square, Bath Marking Burns Night, this is a celebration in honour of the great Bard with the traditional whisky, haggis and recitations. £5/£2; brlsi.org PLANNING AHEAD...

BURNS NIGHT SUPPER AND CEILIDH n 2 February, 6.45pm for 7pm, Bathampton Village Hall Celebrate the life and poetry of Robert Burns with a night of haggis (vegetarian haggis 30 TheBATHMagazine

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Rain Man starring Paul Nicholls and Chris Fountain at Theatre Royal Bath

available), tatties and neeps, plus dessert. £12.50 including a wee dram. Easy dances, bar and raffle on offer. All proceeds to support the village show. Tel: 01225 465781/335088.

FAITH: THE GEORGE MICHAEL LEGACY n 2 February, 7.30pm, Bath Pavilion, North Parade Road, Bath A brand-new celebration remembering one of the greatest singer-songwriters of all time. This energetic, vibrant musical journey brings to life 35 years of hits from George Michael’s glittering career. £25; faithgeorgemichael.com ENSEMBLE 360 n 2 February, 7.30pm, Wiltshire Music Centre, Bradford On Avon Ravishing chamber music by the German Romantic masters performed by British chamber music group Ensemble 360. The programme features Brahms’ contemplative Horn Trio and Mendelssohn’s second Piano Trio. £18, free for under 25s; wiltshiremusic.org.uk HIDDEN SECRETS OF A HOTELIER n 7 February, 10.45am–3pm, Lucknam Park Hotel & Spa, Colerne Join Harry Murray MBE, chairman of Lucknam Park Hotel & Spa, for an exclusive talk about his career in hospitality. Enjoy the talk, pre-lunch drink, followed by a threecourse lunch in Restaurant Hywel Jones with coffee, chocolates and a glass of wine or soft drink. There will also be a charity raffle. £70 per person. Tel: 01225 742777; lucknampark.co.uk CONFLICT IN THE PACIFIC: THE AFTERMATH n 7 February, 10am–12pm, Bath Pavilion, North Parade, Bath Hosted by U3A in Bath, this talk illustrates the aftermath of the fiercest conflict ever fought in the Pacific theatre, between the might of the US military and Japan’s seemingly undefeatable imperial forces.

Free for members, £2 donation for nonmembers; u3ainbath.org.uk

THE BIG-HEARTED VALENTINE’S BALL n 9 February, 6.30pm, Apex City of Bath Hotel, James Street West, Bath A charity black-tie dinner and ball to raise funds for a fibre-optic laryngoscope to be used for treating heart patients at the NHS Bristol Heart Institute. Includes close-up magic from Peter Baffles, live music and the host is comedian Tank Sherman. £75, includes drinks reception and three course dinner. Main sponsors Bugler Coaches, tel: 01225 44422.

THE HANDFUL: FAURÉ REQUIEM n 9 February, 7.30pm, St Mary’s Church, Bathwick This is the newly named choir’s second concert with music director Tomos Watkins.

It couples the ever-popular Fauré Requiem with Vaughan Williams’ Five Mystical Songs, both featuring acclaimed baritone soloist Robert Rice. Bath Abbey organist emeritus Peter King joins The Handful for the Fauré and for Jonathan Dove’s Seek Him that Maketh the Seven Stars. Arvo Pärt’s Which Was the Son of completes the programme. £15/£5, tickets from Bath Box Office; bathboxoffice.org.uk BATH OPERA: LA SONNAMBULA (THE SLEEPWALKER) n 21–23 February, 7.30pm, Roper Theatre, Hayesfield School, Bath Vincenzo Bellini’s opera is a feast of beautiful melodies, vocal fireworks and enjoys a hilarious plot. The story revolves around a love triangle in which one of the lovers blots her copybook by being found in the wrong man’s bed. Only when it is discovered that she is a sleepwalker is her innocence eventually proved. £20/£27; bathopera.com LEON MCCAWLEY & BATH PHILHARMONIA n 27 February, 7.30pm, Wiltshire Music Centre, Bradford on Avon Leon McCawley, one of Britain’s foremost pianists, joins Bath Philharmonia in a performance of Mozart’s fresh and playful Piano Concerto No. 22, perfectly complementing a programme of folk-inspired orchestral music. Janacek’s On an Overgrown Path, a collection of heartfelt miniatures and Dvorak’s Ninth Symphony captures the beauty of Moravia and Bohemia in a journey home from the new world. £28/£10; wiltshiremusic.org.uk n

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Some January Talks @ BRLSI 14 Jan: First Vicar of Monkton Combe 15 Jan: H.E Mr Koji Tsuroka Japanese Ambassador Tickets for this event Bath Box Office

2018/19 Lecture Series

Windsor Castle “The Greatest Castle in the World”

How the Castle was made and by whom - a bewildering array of art to behold

Lecturer: Jonathan Foyle at

1.30pm on Monday 4th January 2019 in The Assembly Rooms, Bennett Street Bath

01225 463362

A new BRLSI exhibition celebrating the lives of women whose interesting and inspiring lives link to our historic city

29 Jan: National Composites Centre: technology of the Bristol Bath Science Park Tickets on door from 7pm

For details on further events, exhibitions, membership and more, please visit:

www.brlsi.org

5 January-2 February Monday-Saturday 10am-4pm

BATH’S HIDDEN HISTORY

Join one of BRLSI’S guided tours and see Bath with different eyes

Visitors welcome £10 at the door (No Booking required)

Trail Tickets: Bath Box Office 01225 463362

www.theartssocietybath.com

BRLSI 16-18 Queen Square, Bath, BA1 2HN 01225 312084 www.brlsi.org reception@brlsi.org

Celebrating 50 years of the National Association of Decorative and Fine Arts Societies

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CINEMA | HIGHLIGHTS

Take two: films

The Little Theatre Cinema is showing two films this January dealing with female power and identity, one set in the early 18th century and another in turn-of-the-century Paris. Each have themes with resonance today, says Emma Clegg

The Favourite

Lady Churchill (Rachel Weisz) and Queen Anne (Olivia Colman)

Step aside King Hal, Bloody Mary, the Virgin Queen, and any monarchs who played their regnal adversities out in full public view.

You have been hogging our period dramas. Make way for a monarch who has been sadly neglected. Greek director Yorgos Lanthimos has taken a stance with The Favourite, an animated, raucus, briny, wartsand-all picture of Queen Anne in the later years of her life and the relationships she had with her two close advisors, Lady Sarah Churchill and Baroness Abigail Masham.

Queen Anne had her personal share of tragedy: she lost all 17 of her children and was troubled with severe bouts of gout, rendering her lame in later life. Not surprising, then, that we see a dour, self-pitying, cantankerous queen who keeps a menagerie of house rabbits to represent her lost offspring as she navigates the domestic politics of Great Britain’s war with France. Olivia Colman as Queen Anne uses the queen’s dolorous personal history to infuse her on-screen persona, outstanding as the power point of the three-woman triangle.

Described as a “quasi-Restoration romp full of intrigue and plotting”, the film delivers on all fronts. There’s plenty of comedy, including a duck race and a naked white-faced nobleman being pelted with oranges, but it’s edgy, unnerving. The sets are rich and elaborate, with wood-panelled rooms filled with damasks, paintings in gilded frames, chandaliers and long corridors to stomp down.

Sexual intruige feeds the power play, where the women have the

Colette The life of the French writer Colette – featuring sexism, sexual abuse, aggressive bullying and the misappropriation of copyright – has a potent register in the age of #MeToo, as does the new film starring Keira Knightley. Colette, born in 1873, became a spirited and talented writer, and a trailblazer for the rights of women at a time when

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upper hand as the men parade about in white make up and powdered wigs. Lady Churchill (Rachel Weisz) and Baroness Masham (Emma Stone) vie for Anne’s attention, playing underhand to achieve an advantage, fighting over her like a worn-out ragdoll. The romp is accentuated by the novel camera angles and wide-angle distortions.

The point is this: forget flattering period bonnets and elegant dances and discover something more raw and real. The Favourite won no less than 10 gongs in the British independent film awards including best British independent film, and is tipped for Oscars. Not to be missed.

married women weren’t legally able to control their income in France.

Colette leaves her strict childhood home to marry a literary ‘entrepreneur’ Henry Gauthier-Villars, known as Willy, and live in Paris. Although Colette demands fidelity and honesty, libertine Willy (Dominic West) returns to philandering and financial excess.

So far, so unexceptional. But Willy, troubled by debt, piles on his crimes by crediting himself with the writing of her novel Claudette at School and taking the glory when it is a runaway success. He’s not an outand-out villain, but he does lock Colette in a room and shout “write!”, not the best way of encouraging literary creativity or gaining libertarian respect. Ironically it is its honesty in presenting the perspective of a young woman that made the first book a sensation.

As Colette becomes more independent, she has affairs with women and fights to have her name recognised. She even spends time in vaudeville when Willy’s debts overcome them.

Colette has been criticised for moving too slowly towards its denouement and has to deal with the hurdle of any film about a writer,

finding visual depth in the act of writing.

Knightley, though, excels herself as she takes her complex character from plucky girl to the fearless, unorthodox regent of French literature.

The film shows lavish fin-de-siècle Paris animated with the fresh ideas of the new century and there are references to massmedia celebrity, the blurring of gender identities and the dawning awareness of the rights of women – all issues with a sharp bearing in our own times. n

SHOWING TIMES The Favourite from Monday 31 December Colette from Friday 11 January Film times will be available on the Monday before each film’s release Little Theatre Cinema, St Michael’s Place; picturehouses.com/cinema/The_Little

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EXHIBITION

Shining new light

Jessica Hope uncovers the stories of women who have been forgotten from Bath’s history, but now have the spotlight in a new exhibition at the Bath Royal Literary and Scientific Institution Ann Thicknesse (née Ford) by Thomas Gainsborough

Cincinnati Art Museum/Wikimedia Commons

Mary Wollstonecraft

by Louisa Albani

M

ary Shelley, Jane Austen, Caroline Herschel – all women who you have probably heard of if you’re a resident of Bath or a regular visitor to this historic city. But what about Adela Breton, Catherine Macaulay, or Dame Sarah Grand? Does Hannah More ring a bell? How about Elizabeth Montagu and Ann Thicknesse? All these women have made significant contributions to history – whether it’s as an anti-slavery campaigner, an archaeologist, or an accomplished musician or writer – and yet their work, and connections to Bath, have often been overlooked.

But now, in a new exhibition at the Bath Royal Literary and Scientific Institution, the names and remarkable lives that these women led will be on show for visitors.

Extraordinary Women in Bath spans more than a millennium and brings the work of a range of women who have associations with Bath to the fore, as well as displaying items from the BRLSI’s vast collections.

The idea for this exhibition came about when BRLSI volunteer Jane Sparrow-Niang was researching the life of artist and archaeologist Adela Breton (1849–1923) for a monograph, published in 2017. Jane soon discovered that there are great numbers of women in history that have connections with buildings around Bath, and yet there’s very little information about them and their significance around the city. This is reflected in the fact that only 11 out of the 80 plaques erected around the city are for women – two of which only appeared in 2017, one dedicated to Breton on Camden Crescent, and the other for Mary Shelley, the author 34 TheBATHMagazine

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of Frankenstein, in Abbey Churchyard.

In the hope of making the lives of these historical figures more accessible, the BRLSI will soon publish a walking trail guide so visitors can wander the streets of Bath and see the places where historical women lived and worked, to coincide with the exhibition.

Under the guidance of curator and volunteer Jude Harris, Extraordinary Women in Bath demonstrates how women had an impact on the city and beyond, socially, culturally and politically over the centuries. Many of the women featured are also connected, especially in intellectual circles. The famous Bluestockings Society, founded by Elizabeth Montagu (who lived in the Royal Crescent) in the mid-18th century, became a hub for discussion, debate and education among women, and philanthropist Hannah More and singer Elizabeth Linley moved in these social worlds.

One of Jude’s favourite women on display is Ann Thicknesse, who lived at the Royal Crescent. A gifted linguist, singer and musician, she shocked Bath society when artist Thomas Gainsborough painted her portrait with her legs crossed, which was seen as scandalous. Later in life, while travelling Ann was imprisoned in a convent during the French Revolution.

Catherine Macaulay (1731–91), who lived on Alfred Street, is another character with an extraordinary story to tell. She was a radical political writer and historian who published the eight-volume History of England, and was invited to visit Mount Vernon as a special guest of George Washington in 1785.

The exhibition will feature works by London artist Louisa Albani, who has created beautifully engaging pieces of art

of author and advocate Mary Wollstonecraft, who famously published A Vindication of the Rights of Woman in 1792, and came to Bath in 1778 as a lady’s companion (much to her frustration and distaste).

Drawing on works found in the vast BRLSI library, a variety of educational, scientific and social commentaries written by women, some dating back to the 18th century, will be on display.

The exhibition also explores women’s suffrage, and the establishment of Eagle House in Batheaston as a place for suffragettes to recuperate after imprisonment, and highlights some of the local women at the forefront of the women’s rights campaign in the early 20th century.

Also featured are collections donated by women to the BRLSI including the pages from a herbarium by Lucy Sarah Atkins from 1825, which formed the core of the institution’s botanical collections.

As well as women from centuries gone by, the exhibition brings us up to the modern day with names such as the queen of cakes Mary Berry, Prudence Dufour (who established Dorothy House Hospice Care), author Jacqueline Wilson, and local sport stars Amy Williams, Lizzy Yarnold, Anya Shrubsole and Stephanie Millward.

You may not initially recognise the names of some of the women included, but you’ll leave with an abundance of stories about local female role models, and can play a part in keeping their legacy alive. n

Extraordinary Women in Bath runs from 5 January – 2 February at the BRLSI, 16–18 Queen Square, Bath. Free entry; brlsi.org

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ART | EXHIBITIONS

JANUARY HUES

To mark the start of the new year, there’s the last chance to see some prominent exhibitions around Bath, as well as the opening of new, vibrant collections THE HOLBURNE MUSEUM Great Pulteney Street, Bath. Open: Daily, 10am – 5pm (11am Sundays) Tel: 01225 388569, web: holburne.org GAINSBOROUGH AND THE THEATRE Until 20 January Bringing together some of Gainsborough’s finest portraits of leading actors, musicians, playwrights, dancers and critics of the 1760s–80s, this exhibition will explore themes of celebrity, naturalism, performance and friendship. Gainsborough and the Theatre displays 37 objects, including 15 oil portraits by Gainsborough, works on paper (including satires, views of theatres and playbills) and ephemera from public and private collections across the UK. A significant aspect of the exhibition is devoted to the locations and theatres with which Gainsborough was linked, from Bath’s own Orchard Street Theatre to the London theatre synonymous with Garrick, Drury Lane.

"True, but every goose can…” A caricature of Marie-Auguste Vestris, c 1781, by Nathaniel Dance © The Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge

AXLE ARTS Leighton Road, Weston, Bath Open: Monday – Saturday, 10am–5pm by appointment Tel: 01225 461230, web: axlearts.com

NICK CUDWORTH GALLERY

GERRY BAPTIST RE Until 31 January Gerry Baptist is a printmaker working predominantly with woodcut, etching and aquatint. His work is political and satirical and makes comment on environmental and consumer issues, as well as showing his love for literary works. Burgergate is a series of eight woodcut prints, which comment on the world’s love affair with The Vibernum by Gerry Baptist RE beef. It also questions, tongue in cheek, our over-consumption of it alongside various behaviours including mass marketing, advertising and product and brand awareness. Mysteries of an English Garden is a series of woodcuts reflecting similar issues, where Baptist looks at plants and similar behaviours as they struggle and compete with each other for light, food and position.

London Street, top of Walcot Street, closed on Mondays Tel: 01225 445221 Web: nickcudworth.com Throughout January The painting Supporting Great Britain, above, features the prow of the unique iron steamer – Brunel’s SS Great Britain – built in 1843 to travel vast distances across the seas to and from Bristol. The ship is in dry dock in Bristol Harbour.

Visitors to the gallery at the top of Walcot Street can often see Nick at work and have the opportunity to discuss the images and mediums he uses.

EMMA ROSE Upstairs at 78 Walcot Street, Bath Open: Monday – Saturday, 10am–5pm Tel: 07885 235915 or 01225 424424 Web: emmaroseartworks.com VOYAGE 2019 Throughout January Emma Rose welcomes the new year in by having a sale of all her limited edition giclée prints – both framed and unframed. January’s exhibition is built around the highlight painting Voyage, pictured right. A large proportion of her work echoes the land, sea, sky and the elements. Her unique work is a mix of Indian inks and acrylics, often using gold, copper, and silver leaf. She is happy to talk through any commission ideas, now a mainstay of her work.

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ART | EXHIBITIONS

VICTORIA ART GALLERY

By Pulteney Bridge Open daily, 10.30am–5pm Tel: 01225 477233, web: victoriagal.org.uk

Roman Blues by David Ringsell

ART AT THE HEART OF THE RUH Royal United Hospitals Bath NHS Foundation Trust, Combe Park, Bath Open: Monday – Sunday, 8am–8pm Web: artatruh.org NEW VIEWS ON FAMILIAR PLACES West Gallery (Zone B), 19 January to 31 March David Ringsell’s latest exhibition focuses on the power of painted images to make the viewer look with fresh eyes. The harmonious architecture of his home city Bath has inspired many recent paintings. He provides a contemporary take on classic architecture, with a craftsman-like attention to detail.

The works are created in mixed media by combining acrylic paint, pen and pencil. The underlying pencil marks used to draw the composition remain visible in places. This adds a dynamic quality to the work that reveals its creation process.

Originals and custom prints are available for purchase in a range of sizes. A percentage of each sale will go to the RUH.

Through the Looking Glass

by Nick Cudworth

NICK CUDWORTH: BATH NIGHT PAINTINGS 2003–18 Until 17 February Nick is well-known in Bath for his portraits of celebrities and his paintings of local street scenes and beautiful landscapes. This new exhibition showcases 20 of his beautiful Bath night paintings in the form of giclée prints on stretched canvas. The artist’s brilliant eye for the effect of light on colour ensures visitors will want to explore the city’s beautiful buildings after dark.

Using this new technique of reproduction allows Nick to bring together all his most well-known images (and some new ones) and to offer them to the true size of the original oil paintings as stretched canvases without frames. All works will be for sale, and Nick will have four books of his published projects and cards available during the show.

ON PAPER: FROM THE ARTS COUNCIL COLLECTION Until 17 February All the artworks in this fascinating exhibition are made from paper, used as a material in its own right rather than merely a surface to be painted or drawn on. Among the leading artists featured are Damien Hirst, Roy Lichtenstein, Bridget Riley, Gillian Ayres and Eduardo Paolozzi. Included are large three-dimensional objects constructed from paper, such as Karla Black’s delicate and sensuous hanging structures and Brian Griffiths’ giant cardboard computer. Collage is well-represented with examples by Roland Penrose and Eduardo Paolozzi, among others. £4.50 entry, free for Discovery Card holders.

GRAY M.C.A 5 Margaret’s Buildings, Bath Open: Wednesday – Saturday, 10am–4pm, Monday and Tuesday by appointment Tel: 01225 422117, web: graymca.com

Artwork produced in RiV workshops with artist Edwina Bridgeman

RIVER IS THE VENUE (RIV) Central Gallery, until 31 January Art at the Heart of the RUH, 44AD and research academics at the University of Bath unique partnership project – River is the Venue (RiV) combine water science, art and information technologies, and has contributed a fresh and exciting perspective on the water heritage of the historic city of Bath. RiV has enabled local artists to communicate the flood history of the River Avon through art installations, a sound piece, puppetry performance and participatory art workshops for communities in the city. This range of evidence-based, flood-inspired artworks produced throughout the project will engage RUH Bath patients, visitors and staff stories of the great flood of 1968, but also show the river as an asset for Bath and as a core element of its social history.

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THE WINTER SHOW Until 31 January Gray M.C.A is the UK’s leading authority on original fashion illustration and artist textiles from the 20th century including René Gruau & Kenneth Paul Block, having established a reputation worldwide for uncovering rare and Brittany by John dynamic fashion Piper, 1968 illustration and textiles from private international collections, estates and archives. Its annual Drawing on Style exhibitions during London and New York fashion weeks enable international collectors to source the finest examples of fashion illustration by the most respected and sought-after artists.

The Winter Show will spotlight the best of original fashion illustration and modern artists’ textiles, including works by English painter, printmaker and designer John Piper.

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The Framing Workshop has been trading as an independent family run business on Walcot Street for over 28 years. We treasure you, our client, and spend time helping you to ďŹ nd the best way to display and protect your cherished objects, artworks and memorabilia. Creativity and respect for each artwork are core to what we do.

Every picture tells a story. Come and share yours.

80 Walcot Street, Bath, BA1 5BD Tel: 01225 482748 www.theframingworkshop.com framing@theframingworkshop.com

Last chance to see!

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ART | EXHIBITIONS

MUSEUM OF EAST ASIAN ART

Above and Below by Anna Smith

Bennett Street, Bath Open: Tuesday – Saturday, 10am–5pm; Sunday, 12–5pm Web: meaa.org.uk THE ART OF CHINA: A BRIEF HISTORY 4 December – 12 May China is a vast country – its modern-day territory is almost as big as Europe, and it has faced waves of invasion, trading wars, and the Bronze censer with deer and the Three Friends of Winter art motiff, China, (1550–1644) rise and fall of dynasties over the centuries.

To mark the museum’s 25th anniversary, this exhibition celebrates its rich and wideranging collection that spans 7,000 years of Chinese history – from the Neolithic to modern times – and highlights extraordinary human inventiveness and creativity.

THE BATH OPEN ART PRIZE 2019 Web: bathopenartprize.co.uk

BATH ART FAIR

Noble Beauty by Angela Melkis

Bath Pavilion, North Parade Road, Bath Web: bathartfair.co.uk Friday 1 March, 11am–7pm, and Saturday 2 March 10am–6pm More than 85 professional artists from all over the country (and one from Berlin) will be showing their original art to visitors. This award-winning fair (now in its third year and at a new city centre venue) gives you the chance to chat to the artists and buy original art from hand-finished prints, paintings, sculpture to glassware and ceramics in an informal and relaxed setting.

Now in its ninth year, the Bath Open Art Prize is now open for submissions. Fast becoming one of the South West’s key art events, the prize welcomes works in all genres including painting, print, photography and video, plus small site specific installations can be considered. Selected works will be shown at an exhibition at 44AD from 25 May – 9 June as part of Fringe Arts Bath festival.

The judges – Chris Stephens, director of the Holburne Museum, and Sandra Porter RWA, a local artist and printmaker – will announce the first and second prizes at a reception on 27 May. First prize will be donated by Andrews Estate Agent, with Society Café providing second prize. n

Keeping an eye on the tiger

The tiger population has plummeted in recent years. Save Wild Tigers, supported by YTL Hotels and The Gainsborough Bath Spa Hotel, works to highlight the plight of tigers in the wild, says Helen Oon

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once went on a tiger safari in Kanha National Park in Madhur Pradesh, central India. It is the core of the Kanha Tiger Reserve and the inspiration behind Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book. I was fortunate enough to see five tigers in the wild including a tigress and her cub feasting on a still twitching, freshly killed deer. The sheer power and majesty of these Bengal tigers is breathtaking.

Among the sal and bamboo forest in Kanha National Park, the tigers roam freely in the safety of the protected tiger reserve. But sadly not all wild tigers are protected and it is estimated that there are only 3,800 tigers left in the wild. If tigers who have roamed on this earth for over two million years are driven to extinction, it would be a tragedy of epic proportion.

Tiger numbers in the wild are dwindling at an alarming rate in countries such as Indonesia, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, India, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Nepal, Russia, Thailand and Vietnam. The fragmentation and loss of their natural habitat, as humans decimate their ancestral domain in the jungle for 40 TheBATHMagazine

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agriculture and commercial use, often leads to conflicts between human and animal.

Illegal poaching and unlawful trade in endangered species is the worst threat – with the trade worth around £12 billion every year. Wild tigers are being hunted for their skins for interior products and their bones and body parts are used in traditional Chinese medicine because of the misplaced belief by the Chinese and Vietnamese that they are a health elixir.

Fortunately, there are eco-warriors who devote their time to fight the tigers’ corner.

One such warrior is Simon Clinton, the founder of Save Wild Tigers. A longstanding campaigner, Clinton has launched several initiatives to bring global awareness of the critical plight of tigers in the wild.

The goal of Save Wild Tigers is to bring the numbers of global wild tigers to more than 6,000 by 2022. Simon Clinton says, “With only 3,800 tigers left in the wild, time is running out to save this majestic species from extinction. We want to inspire the public to join us and act to save surely one of the planet’s most beautiful and captivating species for future generations.” n

To help the cause of the wild tiger follow Save Wild Tigers on Facebook and Twitter, report any sales of tiger products to your local wildlife crime unit, write to your local MP and the Chinese Ambassador, or volunteer to help with Save the Wild Tiger events. You can also donate on: savewildtigers.org.

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nick cudworth gallery

SALE

Limited Edition Giclée Prints • Framed and Unframed

Hancock and Sid. Oil on linen-prints available

JANUARY EXHIBITION 2 – 31 January

From the series of paintings of comedians.

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

Upstairs • 78 Walcot Street • Bath • www.emmaroseartworks.com

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ARTS | INTERVIEW

In free motion

Creating an artwork on location while being filmed is no mean feat. Add in a sewing machine, disperse dyes and an iron and the pressure’s on – Andrea Cryer tells Emma Clegg about taking part in Landscape Artist of the Year

Andrea in her studio

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mist and you couldn’t see a thing,” says Andrea, describing the conditions on the day.

A hard context for any artist working outdoors, but doubly so for Andrea as her technique involves machine embroidery, and so a sewing machine and an iron. “It really didn’t suit my way of working,” Andrea laughs. “It was the same for everybody, but with painting you can put on lots of grey and make it really interesting but with stitch I need a shape. So I do my outline and then I apply my colour – so I don’t start off with colour, I do it the opposite way round. Also when I work normally, I stitch it and then I leave it for a while. So it will be left hanging up. And then I go back and I make notes telling me what I need to change.”

There were also the logistical challenges of the filming. “I had my sewing machine and my iron in a big suitcase. I put it all on to my table and then the camera crew came up and said ‘can you put it all back in the suitcase because we haven’t filmed you doing it.’ They also wanted to show me threading the machine, but I could not get that thread through the eye of the needle. And normally I do it straight away at home. But I’ve never worked outside – I am used to working in private.”

Andrea uses an old Bernina sewing machine as a drawing tool, using freemotion embroidery. “Freemotion embroidery allows the needle to go in any direction. It means that the needle can wobble a little bit when you’re doing a straight line. This is how I get lines that are uneven, which I like.” Andrea tends to work bigger because it’s then easier to manipulate the sewing machine.

“The only problem is that you have to use a hoop. So the size of the hoop limits how much you can stitch at any one time. So if you’re doing a tall building you have to keep moving your hoop down to get the line.”

“I sketch out roughly but not perfectly.

Because when you are stitching with the machine you work intuitively. I might put in a little line and decide not to use it, or make a different one. So it’s all about the marks.”

The embroidery is only one aspect of Andrea’s technique, which involves layered stages. She starts with rough pencil marks establishing key lines and positions. Then she applies the ‘drawn lines’ with the machine stitching and applies colour with disperse dyes, which are made up from powder into a liquid.

The dye is painted on paper, creating a dye sheet that is then cut to shape and then ironed on. The fabric base is also washed after the application of each colour to take some of the intensity out. The cutting of the dye sheets can be intricate – the Toppings image has fiddly

architectural details, which Andrea cut out with a scalpel. “I started with the stitching but I took too long so I didn’t leave myself enough time to add depth to the colour – so I had one layer of colour, whereas normally I’d have maybe three or four.”

Andrea’s work starts with a photograph.

“I tend not to do images that would be a straight-on view of a shop or a building. I like to take photos by wandering around Bath with my daughter. Or I drive and she has the camera and she just clicks as we drive. And that’s how we get interesting images. I chose the Toppings image because I thought it was a good composition and a good piece. And also it’s just such a fantastic shop – it’s like a Tardis for books.”

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The sewn thread, with its characteristic trembling lines, is so effective a drawing tool that the lines look as expressive as any marks made with standard artists’ media.

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andscape Artist of the Year and its partner series Portrait Artist of the Year are hit shows on Sky Arts, with more than 600,000 people on average watching each episode. Hosted by Joan Bakewell and Stephen Mangan, it’s a fascinating format for artists and non-artists alike. The landscape version of the programme takes eight weatherproof pods, finds a location with a dramatic landscape, and puts an artist in a pod. Each one has four hours to produce a piece of work representing the landscape around them. A stop-motion camera runs behind each artist capturing their every move. They work in conditions ranging from sizzling sunshine to gusty grey storms, with only their respective pods protecting them from the elements. There are also a valiant band of ‘wild cards’, 50 artists who come along to paint the landscape armed with easels, chairs, umbrellas, packed lunches and family cohorts, with the chance of one of them being put through to the next stage.

I was watching the beginning of the third episode of the latest series – set in Inveraray Castle in Argyle, Scotland – as it introduced the artists and showed their submission pieces.

I saw an artwork of a building that looked resonantly familiar flash onto the screen. It was a view of Topping & Co. bookshop on The Paragon. Suddenly an impartial evaluation of landscape artists from different parts of the UK turned into a thrilling local celebration – of the view from my office, of a much-loved local bookshop and of an artist from Bradford-on-Avon called Andrea Cryer.

“It was raining, completely grey, shrouded in

The work Andrea produces includes people portraits and urban landscapes. The sewn thread, with its characteristic trembling lines, is so effective a drawing tool that the lines look as expressive as any marks made with standard artists’ media. Up close you can see the threads – and the random trailing thread ends that are left give a looseness and movement that animate the whole piece.

Andrea, who trained originally as a lawyer,

Photography by Darren Strange

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ABOVE: Topping & Co., Bath, freehand machine-stitched drawing, hand-coloured using disperse dyes OPPOSITE, top: Milsom Place, Bath, machine-stitched drawing on canvas, hand-tinted using disperse dyes BELOW LEFT: Portrait of Mary (detail), hand and machine-stitched drawing on canvas BELOW RIGHT: Portrait of Chloe, drawn with thread using hand and machine stitching

started to create her sewn artworks at Bath Spa University where she did a degree in Creative Art (Fine Art & Textiles), specialising in printmaking and textiles.

She had a variety of work in her degree show, but it was the two large portraits that she had created of her mother-in-law, as an adjunct to her main project, that stood out.

“Visitors were peering closely at the two canvasses, surprised to discover that they were actually drawn with thread and not pen and ink. The portraits are a treasured reminder of ‘a very lovely lady.’”

A portrait of Mary is mesmeric. Haunting eyes form the basis and the energetic, scribbled thread marks with hooped trails of ends dragging down from the eyebrows and the hair, swirling here and there into small thread clusters, are intense yet fragile. There is a blush of pink on the cheeks and lips and a faded brown dye and hand-stitched thread in the hair, but the overall effect is monochrome.

“With the portraits I tend to stick with monochrome,” says Andrea. “When I introduce colour it is in the background.

The whole point is the stitching and the marks that you can make.” Despite this, Andrea uses many shades of grey. Another portrait of artist Chris Ofili has as many as 20 greys in his hair, with a dense collection of hand and machine stitching.

Andrea’s submission piece of Topping & Co. ended up being bought by a collector.

She wasn’t selected to go through to the next round of the competition, but she says it was fascinating taking part: “I knew it was a competition, but I went into it because I thought it would be a good thing to do and it would challenge me, and take me out of my comfort zone. It’s also good to bring textile art into focus.”

Andrea has some landscapes planned for 2019, including one of the Royal Crescent, and produces portraits and landscapes to commission. Her ambition is simple: “I want to stick with what I do because it’s different.

And I like doing it.” n Originals and prints available through Andrea’s website: andreacryer.co.uk; skyartsartistoftheyear.tv

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ADAPT TO SURVIVE Duncan Campbell HAS BEEN DEALING IN ANTIQUE SILVER SINCE 1986.

If it wasn’t fashionable it would have been melted down.

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John Evelyn’s favourite piece of silver

n the past, virtually every item of silver that left the silversmiths’ shop would have been engraved with a crest or coat of arms if you were grand, or simply initials if you were slightly less so.

Engraving can be a mixed blessing. A beautifully rendered armorial can really add to the charm of an old salver or cup but bold and brutal initials, especially if applied long after the date of the object, can be a nightmare.

The wonder of heraldry on silver is that it identifies, with certainty, the original owner and can tell its own story.

The tea kettle opposite is a good example of the fun that can be had investigating some old engraving.

When I bought the pot the price of silver was at an all time high and, although clearly made up from an old cup, I couldn’t bare the thought of someone melting down this remnant of a really quite impressive Charles II cup and cover and partly, I just wanted it.

It was quite unusual for an older piece of silver to be adapted for a more modern purpose, rather than simply remade in the latest taste.

The arms on the kettle relate to the 1732 marriage of one John Evelyn of London to Anne Boscowen of Cornwall, not the famous diarist, botanist, friend of Pepys etc., but his much loved grandson.

On a hunch, I went off the to British Library to check the Evelyn records and found a very plausible “two eared cup”, of the right weight, in the inventory of his London residence in 1685. There wasn’t much to choose from, hundreds of paintings and books but only 6 or 7 items of silver.

In Evelyn’s will he doesn’t make any mention of his silverware, just that he wishes to leave everything to his wife Mary.

Although he only had one grandchild upon whom he apparently doted, there was no mention of him in the will. Luckily enough, in the same folder as John’s will was Mary’s, which stated that upon her death, some 3 years after John, it had been the wish of her late husband that his favourite “two eared cup” be left to his only grandson, John Evelyn III. By the time young John married Anne, his cornish bride, old fashioned 2 handled cups were horribly out of vogue and the smart young things were having tea parties requiring big silver kettles to hold hot extra water.

I imagine that the young couple quite enjoyed telling friends where their unusual tea kettle had come from. n www.beaunashbath.com, 01225 334234

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LAWRENCES: FIRST CHOICE FOR COLLECTORS Lawrences in Crewkerne will begin 2019 with yet more private collections for sale. Last year saw Lawrences as a popular choice for collectors looking to sell their prized lots.

In January, they have the second tranche of a private collection of silver snuff boxes, consigned from one of the leading collectors based on the continent: “I have been delighted with the prices achieved by Lawrences and had no hesitation in choosing them again.”

In the same sale, Lawrences will also be selling a library of silver reference books, consigned by a vendor in Germany. This is one of the most comprehensive collections ever to come to the market and there is already interest from as far afield as New Zealand!

In April, they will be selling a private collection of 80 vinaigrettes and snuff boxes. This collection is expected to draw several interested buyers, many using the internet facilities available which enables anyone from anywhere in the world to take part in the sale.

“We put a great deal of effort into cataloguing the pieces in depth,” explains Alex Butcher, the silver specialist at Lawrences. “The further help we can offer sellers and buyers ensures that we get the highest prices.”

Alex is very well known in the industry: having started his career at Phillips Auctioneers in London in the Silver Department in 1987, he then went on to run the Silver Department at Christies in South Kensington before joining Lawrences in 2009. Earlier this year, Alex was invited to become one of only 200 Liverymen of the Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths, an accolade considered to be a great honour and testament to his knowledge of and dedication to the silver industry as a whole.

If you would like to know more about buying or selling silver at Lawrences then contact Alex on alex.butcher@lawrences.co.uk Lawrences hold monthly FREE valuation morning at the Holburne Museum.

Contact andy.sagar@lawrences.co.uk for more details and dates

Lawrences AUCTIONEERS The Linen Yard, South Street, Crewkerne, Somerset TA18 8AB. T 01460 73041

lawrences.co.uk

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Bath at Work Jan Philip Raby.qxp_Layout 1 17/12/2018 10:21 Page 1

PORTRAIT: Neill Menneer at Spirit Photographic.

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

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Bath @ work

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

Philip Raby

FilmBath Festival organiser

I

was born in the same town as Keith Richards (Dartford), and grew up in Kent, before being shipped off to boarding school for 10 years; an experience I wouldn’t wish on anyone else. I recovered slowly in my twenties, and worked as – among other things – a roadie, an au pair, a driver and a sewage farm employee.

In 1977, I visited Bath for the day, and never left. More bizarrely, it turns out that my family lived here for the whole of the 19th century and half the 20th, including a great great aunt who died aged 107 in 1926 in Great Pulteney Street. My dad was born and died here; my mum died here aged 100. Bath is my home, and was – in a sense – even before I got here.

The first proper job I had was working in Harvest from 1978 to 1985, during which time I learned how to run a business and helped turn it into a cooperative. Immediately after leaving Harvest, I started On The Video Front, a film rental shop on Bog Island, which closed in 2012. During that time, I also reviewed films for the Evening Chronicle.

In 1990, I was invited to help create Bath Film Festival (now FilmBath), at that time a modest enterprise, but one which has expanded to become one of the leading film festivals in the country. My main (but not only) job is to programme the festival, something which I take great care over, and enjoy enormously; not least working with a team of other programmers with a variety of tastes. We have just held our 28th consecutive festival.

In 2007, I took over the management of Oscar Windebanks, a timber yard in Box, which was owned by Peter Gabriel.

Despite knowing very little about timber, I had a great time helping to bring one of the area’s oldest businesses back to life.

Since 2012, I have been part of Bath Bridge, and am always looking for ways to help Bath achieve its full potential. I initiated the Elected Mayor for B&NES campaign, which fell short of its ultimate goal; and now I am involved in BIG, a campaign for independent councillors. I passionately believe that we deserve and need significantly better political leadership at a local level, and we will never have that as long as we rely on national political parties as a source of councillors.

I have lived in various parts of Bath, and now live in Southstoke. I am married, and have two sons who both went to school in Bath. I recently added a grandchild to the family tree.

My passions are friendship, films, music, books, fun, conversation and finding better ways to do things. I read endlessly, listen to The Grateful Dead too much, and teach people how to watch films. I recently gave a TEDx talk at Bath Abbey which scared me to death, but which turned out much better than I expected. My philosophy (which I expounded in the talk) is to say ‘Yes’, ‘Please’ and ‘Thank You’. I try never to take things personally; but I am concerned about the capacity of the human race to ignore the impending calamity of climate change.

I am aware of how fortunate I have been in my life.

PORTRAIT: Neill Menneer at Spirit Photographic.

Visit: capturethespirit.co.uk, tel: 01225 483151 THEBATHMAG.CO.UK

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CONFLICT | RESEARCH

Living on the margins

The University of Bath’s Centre for Development Studies works with real-life scenarios. Simon Horsford talks to Dr Oliver Walton about a recent project that has involved the assessment of the role of borderland regions in post-war reconciliation. Comic images: Lindsay Pollock and Positive Negatives

H

umanitarian concerns, refugees, migration, conflict resolution and border controls are rarely out of the news. They are the issues of our time. Resolving them often appears to be an insurmountable problem. However the work and research being done at the University of Bath’s Centre for Development Studies (CDS) gives a glimmer of hope that, at least on an academic level, there’s the possibility of a more understanding future.

Dr Oliver Walton, a lecturer in international development specialising in warto-peace transitions, NGO politics, conflict and peace-building, is one of a team of

An excerpt from an illustrated essay about Nepal after the establishment of a People’s Republic

Dr Oliver Walton

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academics at CDS, which also encompasses economists, anthropologists and sociologists, who are collaborating with development organisations, NGOs and UN agencies.

“We are all interested in issues related to conflict, humanitarianism, refugees and migration. Some of my colleagues are also dealing with concerns related to extreme poverty, others are working on child rights in the Middle East, or the lot of diamond miners in Sierra Leone,” says Walton Walton’s most recent work has seen him researching a project assessing the role of borderland regions in post-war reconciliation.

Focussing on Sri Lanka and Nepal, Walton and Professor Jonathan Goodhand, from the

School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), made their case using a comic, illustrated essay format, entitled Living on the Margins. With graphic illustrator Lindsay Pollock and Positive Negatives, who produce literary comics and animations about social and human rights issues, the aim was to see how outlying regions can contribute to the peace process. They also looked at the sometimes conflicting and challenging role of ‘brokers’, who help facilitate negotiations between the government and these border regions in areas such as justice, devolution and post-war development.

“We were interested in these peripheral regions in Sri Lanka and Nepal and what their role is when war ends. It can be quite a volatile time with changes of government and shifts in political coalitions. What people tend to do is to look at what’s happening at the centre, but what’s going on at the margins can have a profound effect on the outcome,” says Walton.

“We chose these two countries because their civil wars had concluded at similar times, and they were going through a volatile post-war transition. But there were differences – Nepal has land borders, for instance, and its war ended with a negotiated settlement, while Sri Lanka is bordered by the sea and the war ended with a government military victory.”

Positive Negatives has had great success in getting across messages using the comic illustrations and the format was used brilliantly by the Maltese/American graphic illustrator Joe Sacco in his 1996 book Palestine. Walton added: “We felt a comicstyle format allowed us to capture the complexity of the situation, but also gave a sense of place, was easy to understand and was accessible.”

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CONFLICT | RESEARCH

Walton studied at the University of Cambridge, completed his PhD on NGOs involved in peace-building in Sri Lanka at the School of Oriental and African Studies before working as a research fellow at the University of Birmingham. He joined the University of Bath in 2013. He believes the key to many of the situations we face is about listening to outlaying, marginalised communities.

“Myanmar is another classic case of where what’s happening on the border with the Rohingya people is influencing what’s going on at the centre. I am also working with a peace-building organisation on a project looking at what’s happening in northern Kenya [which has a long history of ethnic conflict and marginalisation], the Ukraine [the eastern part of the country is proRussian] and Northern Ireland.”

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A comic-style format allowed us to capture the complexity of the situation, but also gave a sense of place

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Mentioning Northern Ireland brings up a discussion about Brexit and fears of a hard border. “Here’s an example of something everyone thought was an open border and the situation was stable and yet it [border controls] can still be activated and tensions arise,” adds Walton.

And whatever one’s views on the rights and wrongs or viability of Brexit, Walton suggests that in Northern Ireland “local communities feel they haven’t been consulted

ABOVE: an introduction to Nepal’s borderland regions; below left, describing government moves after the end of the Sri Lankan war in 2009 and there are concerns that their views have been treated dismissively.” It’s a theory that could also be applied to the north-south divide in England over the merits of Brexit.

Walton says: “You could say that people from certain regions are being depicted as being from ‘Brexitland’, or as caricaturing a certain place. I think the media can be a bit dismissive and there is failure to understand the situation from both sides and to communicate this in the public realm.”

We move to NGOs and how they have been getting a bad press of late with accusations of abuse. Walton agrees that these organisations “need to have higher standards and make more of an effort.”

But this can be an issue “as they don’t want to be too transparent about their failures on the ground as it can undermine their source of funding and credibility,” he says.

Walton also pointed out that “NGOs tend to present a static image of under-development and poverty by suggesting your money can transform their situation. But it doesn’t reflect the complex realities of what is causing the problem, or that in many countries the situation has improved in different ways.”

For Walton, it is also a question of how the NGOs, including the major ones such as Oxfam and Save the Children, sell a message to the public and build support. They have to attract money from the public, but also tackle the root causes of conflict and violence.“One dilemma for NGOs is that that if they want to raise money, it is best not to mention conflict as you tend to raise more through a natural disaster. People wonder if their money is going to make a difference in places such as Yemen or Syria.”

Bath’s Centre for Development Studies is also involved in issues relating to migration and refugees – another hot potato in Britain.

“We are looking at refugees from a European perspective, but also the impact on countries such as Jordan, which has had a huge influx from Syria and Iraq in the last few years.”

He has recently kicked off a new masters course in humanitarianism, conflict and development. Drawing students from around the world with a variety of on-the-ground experiences, it aims to provide them with skills in peace building and crisis response.

Walton’s work gives a fascinating insight into the work of the University of Bath. The achievements of its Hall of Fame sports stars, such as Jason Gardener, Heather Stanning and Amy Williams, may be more high profile, but the work of Walton and his colleagues in the field of humanitarianism and how we view the world deserves just as much credit. n • Find out more onine: bath.ac.uk/cds.

Learn more about research at the University of Bath at an exhibition at 44AD Gallery, Bath from 18–24 February.

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CITY | HISTORY

Wild Widcombe

Bath is surrounded by small parishes that used to lie outside the city’s jurisdiction. Historian Catherine Pitt takes a look back at the history of two areas, Widcombe and Lyncombe, that once formed a single parish

EARLY HISTORY As an important crossing point, the archaeology of the area reveals traces of its Roman, Saxon and Medieval past. Part of the ancient Fosse Way cuts through Holloway and the Wells Road. It has even been suggested that the name for Holloway comes from ‘Holy Way’ as in later years it was part of the pilgrimage route to Glastonbury.

In 970 Prince Edgar (crowned at Bath Abbey in 973) gave land below what we know as Beechen Cliff to the abbey.

Originally called ‘Clifton’ after the

The aftermath of the collapse of the Halfpenny Bridge in 1877

surrounding cliffs, its name changed to Lyncombe after the Lyn brook that flows through its valley (or ‘combe’). The Lyn still exists but is now culverted beneath Widcombe Parade and Holloway, and lends itself to the area’s old nickname of Watery Bottom.

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Although it appears the area was a rural idyll [in the early 19th century], the truth is the land here still required the sweat and toil of the working classes to sustain it

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T

he parishes of Widcombe and Lyncombe were once the ‘wild west’ of Victorian Bath. Until the Municipal Corporation (Reform) Act of 1835 was passed, they lay outside the city’s jurisdiction.

Today it is still the place where city meets countryside south of the city walls. The River Avon creates a natural boundary and up until 1774 when Pulteney Bridge was built, St Lawrence’s Bridge which spanned this stretch (demolished in 1965 and replaced by Churchill Bridge further downstream) was the only access into the city from the south west.

Widcombe and Lyncombe merge into other areas of Bath such as Bear Flat, Beechen Cliff, and Combe Down, but until 1875 they were considered just one parish. The Manor of Lyncombe is in fact the older, with written evidence dating it back to the 7th century.

The land that was granted to Bath Priory consisted of a deer park for hunting, grazing land, orchards, meadows, and even vineyards.

In the medieval period four mills utilised the water sources here, as did the later 19thcentury industries. Today around Widcombe and Prior Park there is still evidence of ancient watercress beds and the monastic fish ponds that supplied the abbey monks.

In the Domesday Book (1086), Lyncombe is named as a substantial settlement of 22 households with two mills. The area we today

know as Widcombe (wide valley) doesn’t exist in name, although archaeologists believe that the 15th-century Thomas à Becket Church in Widcombe existed in Saxon times.

Outside the city walls and on a main thoroughfare the area provided places of worship, burial grounds and places to care for pilgrims and the sick. St Mary Magadalen’s Chapel in Holloway dates to the 11th century and a leper hospital was created, used as an asylum in the 18th century.

COLD WATER SPRINGS Lyncombe and Widcombe benefited, in many ways, from the cold water springs that were discovered in the area over the centuries. The first recorded description of a spring for household use in the area was c.1230, with what is known as the Magdalene Conduit at Beechen Cliff.

Discoveries of other cold water springs in the 17th and 18th centuries led to more entrepreneurial endeavours such as spas (St James’ Palace (1687) and Milsom’s Spa (1737) and pleasure gardens such as Wicksteed’s Bagatelle (1770).

LIVING OFF THE LAND The settlements of Lyncombe and Widcombe gradually grew, though retaining a rural feel.

The grazing land, orchards, allotments and subsequent nurseries that were cultivated here supplied Bath with food for centuries.

After the dissolution of the monasteries in the 1530s, the land that had once belonged to Bath Priory reverted to the Crown. Although the area was maintained by local tenants, it was overseen in the 17th century by Hugh Sexey of Bruton in Somerset, the Royal auditor. In 1628 a site known simply as a farm in Widcombe was developed. By the late 17th century Widcombe Manor was built; however, it wasn’t until 1904 that the term ‘manor’ was used.

As Bath outgrew its medieval walls, and John Wood the Elder’s vision for Bath encroached on land north of the city, the 18th century saw the wealthy turning their attention to the rural areas over the river.

Images © Bath in Time

A CHANGING LANDSCAPE A number of large villas and houses were built including Prior Park (1730s), Crowe Hall in Widcombe (c.1760), Lyncombe House (now the Paragon School, built c.1742), and later even a crescent to match those of the city (Widcombe Crescent, built 1808).

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CITY | HISTORY

Occupants and visitors included the wealthy and well-known; from entrepreneur and philanthropist Ralph Allen, writer Henry Fielding, poet Alexander Pope, and international castrato Venanzio Rauzzini.

Lyncombe and Widcombe became popular for rural walks and rides – these were enjoyed into the early 19th century by visitors such as Jane Austen, and today via the Skyline Walk.

Although it appears the area was a rural idyll, the truth is the land here still required the sweat and toil of the working classes to sustain it. By the mid-18th century industrialisation had already begun.

IMPROVED TRANSPORT By 1810 the Avon Navigation had cut through Widcombe, linking the Kennet and Avon Canal with the River Avon and enabling access by barge from London to Bristol. In 1841 the Great Western Railway opened the Bath station with a huge bridge and viaduct cutting through both Widcombe and Lyncombe.

Improved transport links encouraged industry to the area – firms such as Stothert and Pitt who in 1857 built their engineering works and offices along Lower Bristol Road.

The basin above Widcombe Locks became a site for commercial buildings such as Samuel Roger’s stonemason’s workshop and coal yard (today the Travelodge).

INDUSTRY In 1831 almost 600 men lived and worked here in the weaving industry, having moved from the centre of the city (the only place in Somerset with more textile workers in this period was Frome). Naturally as industry grew, so did the demand on housing.

According to 19th-century censuses artisans, shopkeepers and tradesmen moved to the area of Widcombe and Lyncombe, as well as many more people who were below the poverty line. After the Municipal Reform Act of 1835 the population in this area tripled within 10 years causing a strain on resources and the infrastructure. The number of public

Looking towards Widcombe Hill in 1853 houses grew significantly, along with an increase in places of worship.

What is today Bath’s Baptist Chapel with its famous rooftop plaudits seen from the railway, was built as a Congregational Chapel in 1820, becoming Baptist in 1849. The churches of St Mark’s, St Matthew’s, St Luke’s and St Bartholomew’s were all built after 1830.

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Low-lying riverside areas such as Holloway and the Dolemeads developed into overcrowded and disease ridden mazes

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BATH STONE Ralph Allen (1693–1764), landowner of Prior Park above Widcombe, owned the stone quarries at Combe Down. The stone mined here was used to supply the builders of Bath and beyond, and to enable easy transportation he built a number of wharves along the river.

To transport the stone from the quarries to the wharves he created a two-mile wooden tramline down what is today Widcombe Hill.

Such was the demand for Bath stone in the é 18th century that Allen needed his workforce close at hand, and he became the first philanthropist in the country to provide housing for his workers and their families.

Ralph Allen Cottages on Prior Park Road remain as a testimony to him. He also provided a number of breweries and public houses in the area, a surviving example being The White Hart at Widcombe.

LOCAL DRAMA Though untouched up until the 1820s due to annual flooding, the demand for housing saw low-lying riverside areas such as Holloway and the Dolemeads (nicknamed ‘Mud Island’) developed into overcrowded and diseaseridden mazes, with insalubrious reputations.

Local 19th and 20th-century newspapers wrote of the depravity of Holloway and the Dolemeads, and the deaths caused by the annual flooding; even local police officers refused to set foot in these areas alone or at night as it was ‘full of beggars and thieves’.

One of the most dramatic moments in Widcombe’s history took place in 1877 when a group of visitors arrived by train to attend a local agricultural show. Reports from papers such as The Illustrated London News indicate that, having just arrived on the Great Western Railway, between 100 and 200 people “belonging mostly to the well-to-do farmer class” crossed the toll bridge, which was wooden, narrow, and resting on posts moulded within stonework at each end, but with no central support. The bridge snapped

in the centre and plunged into the stream. At least 12 people died and many were injured.

In 1896 the Chief Medical Officer for Bath recommended a huge improvement programme of better-quality housing and the elevation of low-lying areas, but little was done. The flooding wasn’t resolved until the mid-1960s. It took the Bath Blitz of 1942 and the desecration of Bath by the town planners of the 1960s to finally remove the traces of these squalid tenements.

The upper areas of Widcombe and Lyncombe still hold on to their village feel and even during the 19th-century transformations, middle and upper class Bathonians lived in these areas. Below however, little remains of the pre-20th century domestic and industrial buildings. As with other areas such as Avon and Milk Street, Bath’s working class past has been nearly erased from history, but not quite.

One unusual business is recorded in the local newspapers with much fondness. The Little Zoo at Lyncombe operated between 1907 and 1911 from De Montault Cottage at the top of Lyncombe Hill. It was actually a business set up to sell exotic animals, reptiles and birds exported from Australia by two men – W.H. Payne (a Bathonian) and Jack Wallace. With so many curious visitors at their door they began to charge 6d for viewings. One kangaroo even made a bold escape jumping over the wall and bounding down Carlton Road until it was re-captured by two locals.

In the 1950s Rotork Engineering Company was run from the basement of Widcombe Manor. The Natural Theatre Company was founded in Widcombe in 1969 and still performs today from Widcombe Institute.

There is even a gin distillery up Prior Park Road, established in 2016.

Though Widcombe and Lyncombe remain divided by the river, canal and railway, and with the main road now diverting traffic away from the independent shops of Widcombe Parade, this area still thrives with industry, people and of course history. So why not head over the river, follow the ancient trackways, and explore south of the city? n

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CITY | READING

Reinvent yourself

If hitting the gym or cleansing your diet is not your thing, then find a more gentle new year reinvigoration in a book.

Saber Khan from Topping & Co picks out six that might take your fancy

REWILD YOURSELF

EMBRACE NATURE

BE HAPPY

Oliver Burkeman, paperback, £9.99, Vintage

Simon Barnes, hardback, £14.99, Simon & Schuster We’re not just losing the wild world. We’re forgetting it.

We’re no longer noticing it.

We’ve lost the habit of looking and seeing and listening and hearing. But we can make hidden things visible, and this book features 23 spellbinding ways to bring the magic of nature much closer to home.

With Rewild Yourself, Simon Barnes offers insights and tips on noticing the hidden wildlife all around us.

THE ART OF THINKING CLEARLY

BE CLEAR

Ralf Dobelli, hardback, £9.99, Sceptre The Art of Thinking Clearly is essential reading for anyone who wants to change the way they think – at work, at home, and in everyday situations.

We all make simple errors in our day-to-day thinking. By knowing what they are, and how to spot them, we can avoid them and make better choices. It’s easy to be wise after the event, but Rald Dobelli’s book gives you indispensable tools to make better decisions.

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NOTES ON A NERVOUS PLANET

STAY SANE

Matt Haig, hardback, £12.99, Canongate The world is messing with our minds.

Rates of stress and anxiety are rising.

A fast, nervous planet is creating fast and nervous lives. We are more connected, yet more alone. How can we stay sane on a planet that makes us mad? How do we stay human in a technological world? How do we feel happy when we are encouraged to be anxious? This is a personal and vital look at how to feel happy, human and whole in the 21st century.

HOW TO BE HUMAN

Ruby Wax, paperback, £6.99, Viking

Andrew Swift, paperback, £15, Akeman Press Bath is surrounded by countryside of extraordinary beauty and diversity, much of it little changed since the city’s 18th-century heyday. These 14 walks, all of which start in the city centre, explore this fascinating landscape, following ancient holloways and green lanes to visit civil war battlefields, lost pleasure gardens, country pubs, lost canals, iron age hillforts, Roman roads, abandoned quarries and much more. What better way to start the new year than by exploring the beauty around us?

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What if ‘positive thinking’ and relentless optimism aren’t the solution to the happiness dilemma, but part of the problem? Oliver Burkeman turns decades of self-help advice on its head and forces us to rethink our attitudes towards failure, uncertainty and death. It’s our constant efforts to avoid negative thinking that cause us to feel anxious, insecure and unhappy. Wise, practical and funny, The Antidote is a thought-provoking, counterintuitive and ultimately uplifting read, celebrating the power of negative thinking.

REASSESS

COUNTRY WALKS FROM BATH

WALK AND EXPLORE

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“Can our more empathetic side catch up in time to save us and the world?,” asks Ruby Wax. Her funny and compassionate new book, How to Be Human asks an important question – why have we started treating ourselves more like machines and less like humans? From our relationships to our bodies, our addictions, and our future, we always seem to be chasing what’s ‘better’. Fusing neurology, spirituality, and her trademark wit, Ruby Wax shows us how to transform our lives, with a little help from a monkand a neuroscientist. n

Topping & Co, The Paragon, Bath; toppingbooks.co.uk

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NEW YEAR | DIET

January diet refresh If you’re planning to make positive lifestyle changes to your diet in 2019, don’t be too hard on yourself, says Melissa Blease.

You see, slow and steady, tortoise style, always wins the race

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NEW YEAR | FOOD & DRINK

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If you make it your aim to get friendly with properly good food, you’ll slowly but steadily notice a big difference to your weight, wellbeing and wallet

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I

magine being a guest at a fabulous, month-long party that you’ve prepared for and looked forward to for months. The drinks flow, the nonstop buffet just keeps on comin’ atcha and pretty much every available surface around you is strewn with enticing little nibbles and luxurious chocolates. Imagine if the party climaxed at midnight with fireworks and fizz, and yet more food to sustain you into the wee small hours.

Imagine yourself falling into bed after all that, happy and a bit fuzzy around the edges, totally at peace with the world. And then imagine waking up six hours later to... that’s it! The party’s over: a new year has dawned, and you’re obliged to give yourself A Very Hard Time.

If you’re planning to make positive lifestyle changes starting on 1 January 2019, you’re not going it alone: according to a recent survey conducted by ComRes for Bupa, 47% of us will make New Year’s resolutions this year, with 38% of those polled putting combinations around losing weight, eating more healthily and cutting down on alcohol consumption at the top of their list. It’s a sad but true, however, that – despite our very best intentions – a whopping 29% of dieters will have stepped off the path of righteousness and straight into the cheese/pudding/pub by the start of February.

Are they weak? Are they lazy? No! They’re just human.

January is the very worst month for subjecting yourself to a drastic or possibly even harsh regime: the weather is as cold, dark and gloomy as your post-party season bank account, the back-to-work alarm call has come around all too quickly, and the post-Christmas blues are hardly conducive to an ‘up and at it’ plan of action. But while I’m not suggesting that anybody should put their healthy plans on hold in favour of opening a bottle of red wine, bingeing on pie and mash and taking up permanent residence on the sofa until spring comes around, there is a middle ground twixt the dynamic/do nothing approaches to New Year resolutions.

According to the legendary ancient Greek fable-teller Aesop, there was once a shouty, boastful hare who was very confident about winning a race against against what he perceived to be a very slow tortoise. So confident was he that he even took a nap during the race, thinking that he had all the time in the world to catch up with the ‘competition’. But while Mr Hare snoozed, Mr Tortoise continued with his own gentle but solid, determined pace all the way to the finishing line... which haughty hare, who thought he knew all there was to know about achieving success, didn’t reach until much, much later. And this year, you too can be that winning tortoise.

If, instead of making all manner of strict rules regarding what’s off the menu, you focus on all the fabulous stuff you can eat to your heart’s content (in this context, quite literally) and make it your aim to get friendly with properly good food, you’ll slowly but steadily notice a big difference to your weight, wellbeing and wallet.

At this time of the year, we’ve got a lot of fabulous fresh produce to fill our shopping bags with, not least of all on our doorsteps: beetroot, cauliflower, parsnips, leeks and kale are just a few of the luscious, vegetables that are at their very best in January. Winter berries are sweet, clementines super-juicy.

Cod is coming in, mussels are marvellous, venison (high in protein; low in fat; massively flavoursome) is still vibrant... and that’s only the start of what’s on the healthy eating winter menu. Hunger pangs? Not in this kitchen!

There’s a big place for lightweight substitutions in the slow’n’steady race too: swap the cream in soups, sauces or on top of fruit for yogurt, crème fraiche, or quark, and you won’t notice that you’ve given up anything apart from fat and calories.

Keen to ditch dairy? Nut, oat, rice and soya milks are all fabulous alternatives to traditional dairy milk, while tofu – high in protein, iron, calcium and all manner of minerals and vitamins, now readily available in silken, smoked and pressed varieties – can take over where cream and meat are being left off. Talking of meat...

According to that ComRes survey, it’s estimated that 13% of the population won’t be eating meat or fish at all this year, while thousands more will identify themselves as ‘flexitarian’ (ie, substantially cutting back on the amount of meat they eat) – joining their ranks is a ‘make just one change’ goal that could have a massive, positive impact on your healthy eating aims for 2019.

If, after all this easygoing advice, you’re still feeling a bit overwhelmed by the prospect of making any kind of changes at all this month, call in the troops for a bit of support. Riverford Organic Farmers’ home delivery veg (and more!) boxes include inspirational recipes that offer fresh ideas to liven up your larder, while a range of courses at Demuths Cookery School encourage everybody, whether beginners or veterans, to gain confidence in plant-free cooking.

Meanwhile, a massive, ever-evolving selection of largely organic, fresh, seasonal produce proliferates at Bath Farmers’ Market every Saturday morning – one trip here is all it takes to wake up your senses and boost your attitude to good food.

But above all, remember this: if you’re aiming to kick bad habits to the kerb this year, that doesn’t mean that you’re going to be brutal on yourself. Nothing terrible will happen if you have two glasses of wine instead of the planned ‘just one’ (or none at all) when you’re having a hard-earned Friday night feet-up. The world won’t end if you polish off the last of the chocolate truffles that you’d hidden in the back of the cupboard. The diet police aren’t going to arrest you for giving in to your crumpet cravings, or taking a cheeky takeaway order too far one weekend in four, or saying yes to a Yorkshire pudding... and you’re not going to give yourself a rollicking for snarfling down the odd roastie, either.

If you need to escape the confines of your own kitchen, eating out isn’t off the menu for healthy eaters, nor does it mean giving in to temptation. These days – what with vegetarian/vegan/lighter dishes trending on most restaurant menus and good chefs being savvy to all manner of dietary requirements – it’s relatively easy to choose wisely, choose well... and let somebody else do the dishes afterwards. Fallen off the wagon again? Pick yourself up, dust yourself off and start all over again.

If you put not hanging out with hares at the top of your resolutions list this new year, you’re on track for the happy, healthy, tasty January you deserve – slow and steady wins the race. n Riverford Organic Farmers: riverford.co.uk; Demuths Cookery School: demuths.co.uk; Bath Farmers’ Market: bathfarmersmarket.co.uk

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FOOD & DRINK

TRISTAN DARBY

Time for lunch The first few months of the year can be hard to get through, so how about planning some treats for your diary? Here’s a special offer from The Bath Priory that’s just the ticket

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re you looking for ways to help you get through January? An uplifting lunch treat with a friend could be a wonderful way of escaping the gloom and focusing on the good things in life, especially good food. You’ll find such a treat at The Bath Priory, which from 2 January to 30 March is offering a complimentary apéritif when you have a three-course lunch, at a cost of £35 between Monday and Saturday or £39 on Sundays.

Readers of The Bath Magazine having lunch at The Bath Priory between these dates can choose a complimentary aperitif from the bar menu: a glass of Laurent Perrier Champagne; a cocktail from the house menu; a bottled beer; a glass of sommelier’s choice wine; or a soft drink. The aperitif will be served alongside some delicious canapés in one of the beautiful sitting rooms in front of an open fire.

You’ll then move through to the dining room to enjoy a three-course lunch prepared by executive chef, Michael Nizzero and his team.

The Bath Priory’s seasonal menu includes dishes such as butternut squash terrine with goat’s curd and hazelnut to start. Mains feature braised pork belly, salt-baked swede and Bath ale sauce; or pan-fried stone bass, Asian shellfish bouillon, cauliflower and pak choi.

Desserts include orange soufflé and cardamom ice-cream or a selection of artisan cheeses, chutney and homemade breads.

Set within four acres of mature award-winning gardens, The Bath Priory offers the best of both worlds with a country house hotel feel, set just a short stroll across Victoria Park from the centre of Bath.

Take time to enjoy the gardens before or after your lunch, or sink into one of the sofas in one of the luxurious public rooms adorned with the private art collection of owners Andrew and Christina Brownsword.

Known for its excellent restaurant and extensive wine cellar, this exclusive lunch offer from The Bath Priory is the perfect way to start off 2019 in style. n To book, call The Bath Priory on 01225 331922 and quote ‘The Bath Magazine lunch offer’. The Bath Priory, Weston Road, Bath BA1 2XT; thebathpriory.co.uk

Columnist Tristan Darby picks some of the top drinks trends to kick off the new year

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appy new year! I can’t quite believe how quickly the time has come around again to start thinking about what the year ahead might bring for the drinks industry. Although the crystal ball is somewhat murkier than usual with the pending uncertainty surrounding Brexit, this month we’re looking at a few likely drinks trends for the year ahead, featuring some top tipples from Great Western Wine.

Low alcohol/no alcohol has been a huge area for growth over the last couple of years, with some leading industry lights predicting further growth in 2019 led by healthconscious younger consumers opting for mocktails over cocktails, and a general consumer desire for low/no alcohol wine and beer. At the forefront of the trend is Seedlip, a distilled non-alcoholic spirit listed by many Michelin star restaurants and top bars. Seedlip Garden 108 (£28 at Great Western Wine) has only natural flavourings including peas, spearmint, rosemary, thyme and lemon hops which all provide a refreshing taste. Best served over ice topped up with tonic and garnished with a sugar snap pea.

A splendid option for anyone undergoing a detox or dry January.

Vermouth and the aperitif drink have seen a welcome return to favour, and with delicious bottles like Australia’s Regal Rogue Wild Rose Vermouth (£18.95 at GWW) it’s clear to see why. Coming from one of the big trendsetting brands, where native Australian aromatics are sourced from Aboriginal farmers, this delightful Vermouth is led by tropical fruit and spice notes, marrying a pale and dry Barossa Shiraz Rosé from the Adelaide Hills with native Illawarra plums, rosella and strawberry gum, and rhubarb and kina. This also ticks the box of another current trend for drinks with provenance and authenticity. I love this sipped neat over ice, but you can also serve with a good Sicilian lemonade, a lemon wedge and strawberry over ice.

Organic, biodynamic and sustainable wines developed greatly in 2018, and are set to remain buoyant this year with increasing consumer awareness of environmental issues, and more sustainable farming and business practices. Grown using organic and biodynamic principles, Urlar Organic Pinot Noir (£18.75 at GWW) not only offers a more elegant and fresher style of wine to enjoy after the excess of Christmas, but it’s splendid value to boot. Packed with dark red berry fruits, dried herbs and subtle savoury notes, there are complex layers of spices and earthy cedar.

This would be beautifully matched with lamb, creamy mushroom pasta or game dishes.

English sparkling wine has also seen a surge in popularity recently; the weakening of our currency made Champagne imports more expensive, and there’s also been a drive towards provenance that has filtered from restaurants to bars and the high street. Hattingley Valley Rosé (£34.50 at GWW) is made by a family owned business in the heart of Hampshire which has been winning international awards since their first vintage in just 2013. An elegant rosé, boasting redcurrants, strawberry and hints of toast from its time spent in barrel, it’s refreshing, sophisticated, endlessly quaffable and a must-buy for all fizz fans. n Join Tristan for a range of wine courses throughout the year at Great Western Wine. Visit greatwineschool.co.uk

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RESTAURANT | REVIEW

Restaurant Hywel Jones Lucknam Park Hotel & Spa, Colerne, Chippenham. Tel: 01225 742777, visit: lucknampark.co.uk

R E V I EW

All in a spin

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he dishes on haute cuisine menus have a seductive, musical vibe – some of them, like ‘verjus butter’ or ‘melon gazpacho’ are driven by the foreign words, which add a rarified, sexy quality to your pre-perception of a dish.

Others earn their place through clever word combinations such as ‘wet almonds’ or ‘sea vegetables’. Others thrive off the cool names of the ingredients like ‘violet artichoke’ or ‘grelot onion’. The naming of dishes sets you up for the gastronomic ride. It’s the best sort of spin, frankly.

In the case of Restaurant Hywel Jones there is no spin. A brave assertion at the beginning of a review, you might suggest. But I have to describe the experience of my meal there and I’m banking on the linguistic refinement of the dishes to help me, so you can taste them metaphorically, as it were.

Lucknam Park, the home of Restaurant Hywel Jones, is a Palladian mansion dating from 1720, now run as a country house hotel. Set in 500 acres of listed parkland and gardens, there is a luxurious spa with saunas and hydrothermal pools, an equestrian centre, a cookery school and a brasserie. The restaurant, led by head chef Hywel Jones, has had a Michelin star since 2006, and in February 2017, after Hywel retained his Michelin star for the 12th consecutive year, it was relaunched as Restaurant Hywel Jones.

The restaurant operates independently from the other facilities at Lucknam Park, but if you

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visit, you will be drawn firmly into the brand.

Turn off Doncombe Lane and ride majestically down the mile-long drive, framed by beech trees. (You can also arrive by helicopter, but you’ll need to give 24 hours notice).

We were shown first into the grand drawing room, with high ceilings and elaborate, weighty architraving, a Downton Abbey-esque interior and a crackling open fire. It was apéritif and canapé time. I chose a dry martini and the driver had a raspberry spritzer. This was made with raspberry infusion syrup, cloudy apple juice, lime juice and soda water – the hit of the raspberry fizz matched up to any alcoholic cocktail. The canapés were knock-you-down-amazing: goat’s cheese cones; round fritters with mozzarella and chilli jam; and dill rice crackers with smoked cod.

Escorted to the dining room (once the billiard room where the mansion’s inhabitants used to hide under the billiard table during wartime air raids) we were presented with a series of dilemmas: à la carte or tasting menu?

Three courses or seven? Vegetarian or not? It was the roast violet artichoke (course two) that swung it for me; the vegetarian tasting menu had spun me in. Rob chose the seasonal tasting menu. We were recommended an Argentinian Malbec as a good accompaniment. As a post canapé, preprestarter I was served cauliflower mousse with mushrooms – which was divinely smooth and made me go home and seek out cauliflower recipes – and Rob had Scotch quail’s eggs. These were both served with nutty wholemeal bread and miniature white baguettes, which had shell-like bread horns in a twirly flourish at each end.

Course one for both of us was heritage

beetroot and buffalo ricotta tart, a miniature work of art decorated with slender slices of beetroot and radish. Then came roast violet artichoke with melted leeks, hazelnut and Wiltshire truffle pesto (yowee), followed by miso and ginger glazed hispi cabbage (a sweet green cabbage) with plum chutney and crispy marinated tofu. The baked potato gnocchi with heritage carrots, yogurt and cumin granola was a stand-out highlight with the gnocchi and granola a refreshing alliterative combination. For laps two to four Rob sampled cured duck liver with salted almond caramel and spiced apple with brioche; poached Dover sole with shellfish and verjus butter, celeriac and sea vegetables; and roast Bwlch Farm venison with miso and ginger roast hispi.

The cheese course brought a piled-high trolley, from which we chose five to share, with a strong French emphasis, all served with truffle honey and quince jelly (drooling compulsory). Our pre-dessert was a mini cylinder of sorbet on a stick enclosed in a coat of white chocolate, with a sprinkling of lemon sherbet at the base of the bowl (soooo nice). Dessert brought me a vanilla crème brulée with Agen prunes and bitter orange marmalade doughnut (knock your socks off) and Rob butter-roast pear with buttermilk sorbet and walnut wafers.

This may sound a rich combination of ingredients and a dizzying host of dishes but each one was a few miniature bites of divinity and the meal as a whole didn’t feel at all de trop. And the flavours so lived up to their musical names. n Both the vegetarian and the seasonal tasting menus are £110

EC

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FOOD & DRINK

Looking forward to: cactus water and tahini

Small plates and sriracha are out and cava and cactus water are in, predicts Melissa Blease who has spoken to some of the city’s food experts about the shape of the 2019 food scene

trend bandwagon, what and how we eat changes from decade to decade, year to year and sometimes even week to week... and we’re not making those monumental menu decisions purely of our own free will. If you don’t believe this to be true, I refer you back to the ‘rise’ of Nouvelle Cuisine, the nation’s fascination with molecular gastronomy and the dank, dreary dark ages when people thought focaccia was a swear word – concepts that, in today’s world, are as charmingly retro and nostalgic to our senses as perms, orange hessian wallpaper and Proust’s madeleine. But not all food fashions

are based on pure frippery; in this Brexitdominated, food stability-challenged, eco-centric, economically threatened world, market forces are based as much on awareness, diligence, edification, necessity and a response to threatening external forces as they are on how chic what we eat may make us look to other people... or simply what the supermarkets want us to buy.

As a new year begins, we’ve asked a handful of local experts to gaze into their crystal balls and predict what we can expect to see more of on menus throughout 2019 – and we rustled up a handful of predictions of our own.

Dan Moon, Dan Moon at Gainsborough Bath Spa

David Campbell, executive head chef, Royal Crescent Hotel and Spa

“I’ve always had an interest in new flavours, techniques and trends that can be applied to my own menus. In the last year, an ingredient I’ve seen become more widely used is tapioca – I feature a prawn tapioca cracker in my signature scallop dish. In 2019, I’ll continue to develop my classical flavours with Asian influences, using exciting ingredients such as combu (kelp), mizu (fermented soya), bonito flakes and yuzu.” thegainsboroughbathspa.co.uk

“Perceived value for money will be absolutely paramount in diners’ minds in 2019 – Brexit, economic uncertainty and lowering house prices are factors that will effect us all, and price point will dictate where we choose to eat. Dietary requirements are going to lead to chefs and restaurateurs increasingly factoring allergies and intolerances into existing menu content – 30% of our menu is currently gluten- and dairy-free, and we have a separate vegan and vegetarian menu. Provenance will continue to be key, but not to the point where it’s unaffordable to the average consumer – people aren’t going to pay £6 for a pot of local jam! But local food markets and co-operatives will grow and become an increasingly big player in food businesses, particularly small independents.” royalcrescent.co.uk

Laurent Couvreur, Le Chef Privé “There’ll be a rise in focused menus, specifically vegan/vegetarian restaurants.

Tasting menus will be less prevalent than they’ve been in 2018 but remain strong in fine dining restaurants, and there’ll be a continued interest in sustainability.” lechefprive.co.uk

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Demuths Cookery School “The popularity of vegan/plant-based food will continue to rise this year, and become even more mainstream – all part of a wider increase in awareness of where our food comes from. Food sustainability will increase in importance too. The interest in fermentation and good gut health will continue to grow, with a focus on fermented drinks in particular – personally, we’ll be ordering healthy drinks such as Tepache on Ice (made from fermented pineapple) or Beet Kvass (beetroot). Vegan ‘cheese’ making will become more and more perfected and high-end, especially beautiful packaged cashew ‘cheeses’ such as brie with a rind; the trend to replace sugar with natural alternatives will rise, and a greater variety of seaweed will come to market.” demuths.co.uk

Images: Adobe Stock

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hat have cupcakes, avocado toast, sliders, mac’n’cheese and macarons all got in common? If you’re leaping around at the back declaring that you can’t get enough of them you’d best get your coat for they are all, I’m afraid, distinctly off the menu – unless, that is, you pay little attention to the food fads and fashions promoted by the influencer/ Instagram generation and simply eat what you like.

But whether or not you think you choose to either leap on or totally ignore the latest food

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FOOD & DRINK

❝

Dietary requirements are going to lead to chefs and restaurateurs increasingly factoring allergies and intolerances into existing menu content

❝

The culinary catwalk 2019

Lydia Downey, lead tutor, Demuths Cookery School

Martin Baker, executive head chef, Country Living Hotels

Veganism is going to get bigger, and more vegetables that resemble meat/fish like jackfruit will gain popularity – banana blossom is already on the up.

‘Dirty’ fast food probably won’t be going away any time soon, but I predict there’ll be many more veggie/vegan takeaways opening their doors. I see more and more references to activated charcoal baked goods and several menus; also, black garlic is everywhere at the moment. According to bookings I’m taking for my classes, food allergies and intolerances will continue to increase; I’m making lots of adaptations to cater for gluten-, wheat-, soya-, nut- and allium-free diets.” demuths.co.uk

“People are more health conscious than ever before, but the big hitter for 2019 will be vegetarian/vegan food – I predict a Michelin star for a restaurant offering fully vegan menus.

Affordable dining will trend again too as there won’t be so much excess cash around for luxuries such as‘fine dining and expensive wines. Old school classics such as the reintroduction of Chateaubriand with Sauce Diane and game chips or Sole Veronique will continue to be popular.” countrylivinghotels.com

Trends on the up... and down

OUT: Home-made IN: Scratch-cooked

OUT: Coconut water IN: Cactus water

OUT: Just Eat IN: Virtual restaurants

You’ll see the words ‘scratch-cooked’ on pretty much every independent restaurant menu, but there’s nothing new to see here – scratch-cooked is just another way of saying made from scratch (i.e. home-made).

Lower in sugar and far more refreshing than coconut water, packed with electrolytes, minerals and lesser-spotted antioxidants and endorsed by all manner of celebrities and ‘influencers’, expect to be swimming in this distinctly non-prickly wet stuff by late summer.

Kitchens/chefs who cook for meal delivery services only, often hyper-specialised and specifically developed to cater for niche market demands hitherto unexploited in any given city – there’s already both a West African and an Ethiopian virtual restaurant kitchen under development in Bath.

OUT: Beer IN: Lager

OUT: Artisan scotch eggs IN: Tacos

Our increasing thirst for clean, crisp, ‘modern’ lagers will kick funky/floral/hoppy beer brews to the kerb... for summer, at least.

The dinky little bite-sized tortilla wraps – formerly a staple of Mexican-themed menus – are set to be the new schmoo this year. Served soft or crisp and stuffed with all manner of bold, vibrant filling combos, they’ll soon be setting tasteful tongues wagging across the UK. Psst: there’s a new rum’n’taco bar opening in Bath any moment now...

OUT: Small plates IN: Proper portions “We recommend that you select five small dishes for two to share,” says the menu.

“We’d rather have one big dish each, with side orders included, like in the old days,” says the new season diner.

OUT: Prosecco IN: Cava While Spanish sparklers have a way to go before they nudge prosecco off the top of the accessible bubbly charts, cava sales slowly but surely increased throughout 2018 in line with the increasingly positive perception of this crisp, creamy, elegantly flamboyant tipple. Salud!

OUT: Peanut butter IN: Tahini Expect to see tahini (basically, sesame seed paste, a staple of Middle Eastern cooking) step out of the hummus, move away from the falafel and generally start partying on in all kinds of formats including cakes, cookies and ice cream – yup, pretty much everywhere peanut butter has already been.

OUT: Sriracha IN: Skhug/Zhug An ancient staple of Yemeni cuisine made from a combination of fresh chilli peppers seasoned with various amounts of coriander, garlic, salt, black cumin and, often, caraway, we’ll all be shrugging off the sriracha in favour of Skhug: the earthy, tastebud-tingling sauce that’s going to be hot this year in more ways than one.

OUT: Pop-ups IN: Rotated residencies

It takes two to Taco!

FLASH IN THE PAN...

Pubs bringing an external food trader into their kitchens for a limited time, often introducing global themes such as Malaysian, Thai or Korean cooking to the traditional British pub grub experience.

the food and drink trends that (fortunately) didn't trend at all in 2018: rainbow bagels; freakshakes; bowl food; egg clouds; unicorn frappuccino; one ingredient/one dish restaurants; crossushi; mermaid toast; rolled ice cream; frosé. n

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TREASURE | HUNT

How many did you spot?

In our Christmas issue we launched a treasure hunt with images from around Bath, with a first prize of afternoon tea for four courtesy of The Gainsborough Bath Spa Hotel. Here are the answers ...

1

3

2

4

5

7

6

8

10

9

14

11

13

12

17

16

18

15

20

19

8. A bit of countryside in the city. Name this former public house.

Answer: Ye Olde Farmhouse

15. Look up to spot this sign, it’s at a place not far north. What is Answer: Northumberland Passage

2. Through the looking glass, the colourful back of this treasure house looks upon a mews, but what is the name of the mews?

Answer: Lansdown Mews

9. He wasn’t an idiot when he built these houses and put his arms upon it, although a few slipped away. Give the full name of the man who leant his name to here.

Answer: Charles Pratt, 1st Earl of Camden

3. What a vista from this unusual building. It straddles two streets, but what is its actual address?

Answer: No 1 Belmont

10. It’s not just any old iron. Where can you find this Victorian canopy?

Answer: St James’ Place

4. School’s out forever here, but what was the name of this former educational establishment?

Answer: Walcot (East) School

11. The city’s history isn’t just mapped out on its walls, but you can write home about it at this shop. Name the number and street this building is on.

Answer: 31 Milsom Street

street will you find this statue on?

12. You’ll be happy to find this entrance, but by what affectionate nickname is this shop known?

Answer: The Old Lady of Milsom Street

real leather. Name the address.

13. Totally tropical. Name the house these trees belong to. No palming us off…full name please.

Answer: Thornham Villa 14. Some children can be naughty or nice but to which saint do these little ones confess their sins?

Answer: St Andrew

same. Name the street where you’ll find this.

1. You’ll find this photogenic plaque down a narrow street. Name the shop you can find it on.

Answer: Bertinet Bakery

5. Take a peek at this ‘Peculiar in Ordinary’ and name this place of worship and date it was completed.

Answer: Christchurch, 1798 6. Named after a beautiful view, these villas have this urn overlooking their garden. Name the building and architect.

Answer: Belvedere Villas and Thomas Baldwin 7. It’s all Greek to me! Where can you see this pretty architectural feature?

Answer: The Corridor

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the address of this building?

16. Don’t get the hump when trying to complete this quiz. This familiar dromedary is more common than you might think. What building is it opposite?

Answer: The Assembly Rooms 17. Commerce stands aloft looking upon Bath’s shoppers but which

Answer: Quiet Street 18. Fit for a king to be, this shop now sells real estate rather than Answer: 7 Princes Buildings 19. No longer a place to slake your thirst, but the sign remains the Answer: Margaret’s Buildings 20. A word in your shell-like, this Queen Anne era doorway is the entrance to which continental sounding shop?

Answer: French Connection

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U3A in Bath A positive and creative approach to retirement

START THE NEW YEAR

BY JOINING U3A IN BATH About U3A in Bath

There are 340,000 of us in England and 1,500 in Bath.

We are in “U3A in Bath” and our members are all retired or working part-time. We take part in a range of activities – from History to Languages, from Tennis to Country Walks.

See the complete list of our 100-plus interest groups on our website www.u3ainbath.org.uk

U3A in Bath Membership

You can join the U3A in Bath by filling in an application form and sending it (with s.a.e) to Membership Officer, U3A in Bath, PO Box 4040, Bath, BA1 0EJ Application forms can be obtained from our website or by phoning 01225 318438 Membership fee is only £15 per year.

Our Public Lectures

Public lectures are usually held on the first Thursday in the month (except in August) and start at 10.30 a.m. Doors open at 9.45 a.m. for coffee. Admission is free for members but a donation of £2 for non-members. You can join U3A in Bath at the meeting.Lectures take place at: The Pavilion, North Parade, Bath BA2 4EU

Lecture Program

3rd January 2019 RICHELIEU: THE CARDINAL AND HIS “CITY” 7th February 2019 CONFLICT IN THE PACIFIC?: THE AFTERMATH 14th March 2019 FARMING IN GLOUCESTERSHIRE – THE CHANGES AND CHALLENGES

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BATH | PEOPLE

Five minutes with...

Doc Watson gives guided tours to visitors to the Roman Baths. He has worked in the theatre and has written and directed a number of plays on historical topics. He also writes and performs stories for Short Story Fridays in Burdall’s Yard, London Road, and brings his history expertise and dramatic personae to all his work

When my wife and I moved to Bath in 2001, we chose Larkhall for its village feel and its closeness to the centre of the city. I’d just left working in the professional theatre so it was handy to have the Rondo Theatre just around the corner and my wife was able to teach yoga in a room in our mews house.

I’m hoping that more of my plays will be brought to life in 2019.

Already one is scheduled for a reading in February at an arts centre on the edge of Bodmin Moor. Sitting in the audience I always wait for the reactions to what I have written, whether it be laughter, shock or tears. This still sends a shiver down my spine.

With an interest in history and being brought up in the Black Country, Staffordshire, I was drawn to creating something about its past. So in my first job teaching drama at a grammar school in Smethwick, I decided that the school play should be about that very subject. I wanted to bring to life its colourful characters, its nail and glass making, its cock fighting and habit of telling tall tales.

What period of history would I have liked to have lived in? That’s easily answered. There’s no more exciting and interesting a time as now. In the future shelves of books are going to be written about the here and now. Perhaps I should be preparing to write my own.

I started out as a teacher, but soon got a job in the theatre. I spent nearly 15 years moving from theatres to art centres before finally ending up in Luton. There, as the theatre manager, I began taking my writing seriously. I directed my own adaptations of Charles Dickens’ books and was commissioned to write a play about Oliver Cromwell which toured around Huntingdonshire, where he was born.

History still holds a fascination for me because it is a collection of absorbing stories with lessons attached, if we care to learn them.

History also drew me to Bath.

One of my first jobs here was at the Roman Baths as a visitor services assistant. My first year was spent cramming up on the history of the city from the Romans to the modern day. When the Baths decided to run specialised tours into the two tunnels leading off from the Great Bath, it meant further research into Bath’s Victorian history and the excavation of those Baths. Two years ago while leading one of these tours, a visitor suggested that I write a book about the story. A year later after far more detailed research, my book Exposed, the story of the excavation of the Baths, was published.

The anti-hero of that story is Major Charles Edward Davis.

In charge of the excavation, many brickbats, both personal and professional, were flung at him – but the Major could give as good as he got. He nearly lost his job twice during the excavation because of his pomposity and sheer bloodymindedness. He was a complex character and I had to write about him.

Despite claiming, “I’m not an actor”, I have developed as a performer since living in Bath. I like to bring stories to life, which is why I started to write short stories for Story Fridays, run by A Word In Your Ear. I try to bring an enthusiasm to the stories both there as well as at the Roman Baths, in order to draw in the audience. I hope that the visitors to the Roman Baths take away an inspiring and entertaining experience that will encourage them to enquire further into history themselves.

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My favourite view in Bath is up the river from Parade Gardens to the Pulteney Bridge. Looking just to the left you get a view of that Major Davis building, The Empire Hotel. Love it or hate it, it’s a statement you can’t ignore.

My wife and I love The Ivy Brasserie on Milsom Street for its ambiance and delicious food. On Story Fridays we pop into the King William on the London Road for a meal and a half pint of one of their many beers.

I love travelling on trains and especially steam trains. Last year my wife and I went to Snowdonia and went on four steam trains in a week!

I’m a sucker for charity shops, especially those specialising in secondhand books. There are always treasures to be found with the added interest of those names inscribed in opening pages.

I would love a wood block print by one of the Japanese artists of the 18th/19th century. There’s an excellent exhibition featuring Hokusai and Hiroshige landscapes, two of the masters of the art, at the Bristol Museum and Art Gallery until 6 January, with another one on Life in the City from 12 January. n For more info visit: doc-watson.com; the next Story Friday is on 25 January, 8pm, Burdall’s Yard, Anglo Terrace, Bath, visit: awordinyourear.org.uk/story-fridays The Great Wave off Kanagawa, 1831, Katsushika Hokusai

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

MINIMISING THE IMPACT OF PARENTAL CONFLICT ON CHILDREN

By Richard Sharp, Senior Partner, Sharp Family Law. www.sharpfamilylaw.com Divorce and separation inevitably reshape family arrangements. And when it comes to making key decisions around children, passions between parents often run high. The conflicts that ensue can cause serious longterm effects on their children. Studies show it’s neither the separation nor the divorce that impacts them, but the conflict stemming from it that has the detrimental effect on their well-being.

A survey in recent years carried out by ComRes, on behalf of Resolution, an organisation committed to reducing conflict, interviewed a number of young people aged 14-22 with experience of parental separation or divorce. Its findings revealed that as a result of their parents’ break-up: - 65% of the young people believed their GCSE exam results had been affected while 44% said A-levels had suffered.

- 32% said one parent had tried to turn them against the other.

- 27% said their parents had tried to involve them in their dispute.

- 24% said they had struggled to complete homework, essays or assignments.

- 19% said they had completely lost contact with one or more grandparents.

- 14% admitted they had started drinking alcohol, or drinking more alcohol than previously, while 28% said they started

eating more or less than previously.

- 13% confessed to experimenting, or thinking about experimenting with drugs.

When asked what they would most like to have changed about their parents’ divorce, 31% of young people said they would have liked their parents not to have criticised each other in front of them; 30% said they would have liked their parents to understand what it had felt like to be in the middle of the process.

“Please stop fighting and work hard to get along with each other. Try to agree on matters related to me.”

Parenting after parting from your ex can be discouraging, frustrating and defeating. Your efforts to minimise conflict may not be returned. Attempts to foster a working relationship, for “the sake of the children” may prove a thankless task.

Richard Sharp, Senior Partner

Sharp Family Law is the largest and fastest growing niche firm of family law solicitors in Bath and Bristol.

For more information on children and divorce contact Richard Sharp on 01225 448955 or richard@sharpfamilylaw.com www.sharpfamilylaw.com

But the rewards for you and in particular your children can be significant. With years of experience supporting parents to hold constructive discussions about the future of their family, we at Sharp Family Law will work with you to settle on tailored parenting arrangements and plans that fit your unique family situation. Through tailored practical and legal advice, we aim to help you to work together to put your children's interests first and thereby reduce conflict. This way you can take steps to safeguard your children’s well-being today, as well as into the future.

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CITY | NEWS

CITYNEWS GRANT ASSOCIATES IN MADRID

NEW HOSPICE WING

A masterplan by British duo architect Rogers Stirk Harbour & Partners and Bath-based landscape architect Grant Associates to create a new business and residential district in north Madrid has won outline planning. The proposal for Madrid Castellana Norte aims to transform a vast, 500hectare tract of neglected land close to Chamartín railway station.

The most significant regeneration plan for Madrid in over 20 years, and one of the largest scale masterplans in Europe, the project also involves the renewal of the area’s transport infrastructure. Key to the strategy is

The new Collins Wing at the Dorothy House Hospice Care in Winsley has recently been opened.

The wing is named after benefactor Frank Collins, partner at Mogers Drewett, and his family. Frank is the Frank Collins opening the new wing son of Roy and Joyce Collins who lived in Devizes since 1982. They were loyal supporters of Dorothy House during their lives and both generously left legacies to the hospice in their wills.

The hospice at Dorothy House provides free, palliative and end of life care across 700 sq. miles, serving a population of 550,000 people across Bath and North East Somerset (BaNES), Wiltshire and Somerset. dorothyhouse.org.uk

the creation of a green corridor that will act as a spine for the district.

Andrew Grant, director at Grant Associates, said: “This bold plan to renew the northernmost area of Madrid takes the city to the forefront of sustainable urban planning.” grant-associates.uk.com

KILVER COURT COVET AWARD TOP FOR TOURISM Hotel and Spa (spa and pampering wellbeing experience), The Gainsborough Bath Spa (spa and pampering wellbeing experience) and The Cross Keys Inn (tourism pub).

Mad Max Tours, Bath and the University of Bath were also highly commended in their respective categories.

The awards have a rigid judging process, with over 50 judges poring over entry forms, studying website and review sites, looking at the use of social media and carrying out business visits. southwesttourismawards.org.uk

The South West Tourism Excellence Awards have recognised an impressive number of Bath tourism businesses in their list of finalists.

The businesses that have been nominated as finalists include Bath’s Historic Venues (business tourism and venue award), The Roman Baths and Pump Room (international visitor experience and large attraction), No 15 Great Pulteney Hotel (large hotel), West of England Falconry (learning experience), The Olive Tree Restaurant at the Queensberry Hotel (restaurant/bistro); Lucknam Park

FUN FACT e Average footfall in Sawclos has been 17% higher than of the average for the rest lic Bath since the recent pub realm improvements

Kilver Court Designer Village in Shepton Mallet has won the National Shopping Centre of the Year category in the Drapers Awards 2018, the most highly respected awards in the fashion industry. The shopping destination, which was created by Mulberry founder and English designer Roger Saul, beat off many of the big guns in the industry, such as Westfield and Meadowhall, to walk away with the coveted title. The judges said: “This centre has developed a customercentric proposition and it is an inspirational place to shop with a great range of fashion, food, events and Roger and Freddie Saul garden options.” receiving their award kilvercourt.com

BATH BUSINESS BAROMETER UPDATE: NOVEMBER 2018

provided by

High Street Footfall (Month on month % change)

Bath

+0.7%

n Bath fared well in comparison with the rest of the UK during November. November 23 (Black Friday) coincided with the first weekend of the city’s annual Christmas Market. The city bucked the national trend of a 6.5% decline and for that Friday alone, showed a 31% week on week footfall increase. rd

n From October to November 2018 high street footfall across the UK saw a drop of 2.7%. This contrasts with the same period in 2017 when there was a more positive result of +0.7%. n The layout of the stalls at this year’s Bath Christmas Market improved the flow in the city for visitors, businesses and residents and spread the footfall to a wider area. For the first weekend of the Christmas market, Bath saw a 14% increase in footfall in comparison with the previous week. Full results for Christmas will be available once all the survey work is complete.

South West UK

-2.4%

-2.7% Springboard Research Ltd.

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ocl A C C O U N TA N C Y

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

www.oclaccountancy.com

What happens if a company pension payment results in a loss?

When you pay pension contributions they qualify for tax relief, whether paid by you or your company; usually it’s more tax efficient for your company to make employer contributions, the company being able to deduct the cost from its profits for corporation tax purposes. (Note that the deduction is allowed for the accounting period when contributions are paid which is not necessarily when the expense is included for accounts).

If pension contributions in any year for corporation tax purposes increase / create a loss, tax relief isn’t lost; the resultant losses can be carried back against your company’s tax charge from the previous year – and if you don’t carry it back, the loss is automatically carried forward and to reduce your company’s taxable profit in future years. In simple terms, as long as your company has profits in the previous year or will have in future years equal to / greater than the loss, it can remain advantageous for it to make pension contributions rather than you personally. Just remember that the normal pension annual allowance applies and if your company’s contributions plus any you pay yourself exceed that allowance, you’ll get a tax charge.

For tax saving tips contact us – call Marie Maggs, Hannah Pettifer or Mike Wilcox on 01225 445507 for a no-obligation meeting.

We look forward to meeting you - and see our website for more, including FREE download guides.

What our clients say:

“The team at OCL have been both pro-active and excellent in the delivery of their financial and advisory services for our business.We have now implemented the next step in our digital development plans with the support and expertise of our cloud accountancy partners OCL.” “They have advised and successfully transitioned our accounts to a cloud based solution using our preferred software provider.This move enables us to focus more time on our core business….We are now working with OCL on the next phase of our business development with real-time financial insight. (if only all companies could be as efficient!)”

Embracing what 2019 has to offer

Deal or no deal, 2019 promises to be an eventful year. Whatever happens in Brussels, we can all focus on building resilient, modern businesses that are able to weather the ups and downs of the transition period and anything else that comes our way.

From a legal perspective, there are a number of developments on the horizon which could come into play in 2019. In particular, we are watching closely as the Government comes to a decision on its no-fault divorce consultation. If introduced, a no-fault divorce will remove the blame element of the process and take away some of the anxiety and upset it creates. No matter what the outcome, our ‘Family team’ of divorce solicitors is committed to guiding clients through the process with compassion and sensitivity at all times.

At Mogers Drewett, the use of technology is one way we’re embracing the future. We believe robotics and AI can make a difference to businesses but it’s about finding the right way to incorporate them, to the benefit of everyone. There are a huge number of time-consuming administrative tasks such as data cleansing, file opening or client due diligence that can easily be managed by automated technology.

We are currently testing the use of a robot to streamline our processes so that clients benefit from a quicker, more efficient service. By reassigning tasks to our ‘robot’ such as identification checks, conflict checks, file opening and data inputting to prepare the terms of engagement and other initial paperwork, we free up resources so that our lawyers can focus on more ‘value added’ activity for our clients.

These are exciting developments that are already improving our service and making a difference to our team. We feel positive about the future and we are looking forward to getting alongside individuals and businesses this year and offering them the very best legal and financial advice and guidance. www.mogersdrewett.com Steven Treharne, Managing Partner at Mogers Drewett

Call Marie Maggs, Mike Wilcox or Hannah Pettifer on 01225 445507 to arrange a no-obligation meeting THEBATHMAG.CO.UK

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EDUCATION

EDUCATION NEWS TALENTED TRIO Year 10 pupil Jo Maddock of Millfield School has joined sixth form pupils Izzy Barber and Greg Wills in the National Youth Training Choir of Great Britain. Members participate in Jo, Izzy up to two residential courses a and Greg year full of choral music, ensemble skills and vocal development, together with 100–150 of the most talented singers from Great Britain. They perform in concerts in venues such as the Royal Albert Hall, Perth Concert Hall and Nottingham Royal Concert Hall. The Training Choir is one of the best choral training programmes for young singers.

Once members turn 18, they have the chance to take it to the next level with an audition upwards for the flagship National Youth Choir. Millfield’s director of music, Matthew Cook said; “I know they will inspire other members of Millfield’s Music School as they pursue their dreams in music.” millfieldschool.com

PHD FOR JUDO CHAMP Three times British judo champion Jan Gosiewski was recently awarded his PhD in biomedical engineering at the University of Bath. Having arrived as an undergraduate in Medical Engineering in 2006, Jan has combined his studies with an illustrious sporting career, coached by Team Bath’s Juergen Klinger. His long list of sporting achievements includes winning three World Cup medals, two European Cup medals and competing for his country in the 2014 Commonwealth Games. After graduating with MEng in Medical Engineering Jan did a one year internship at Bath-based medical engineering charity, Designability. He continued his studies with an MSc Design before embarking on a PhD in Biomedical Engineering. His research focused on understanding the mechanisms of how hip replacements can fail over time, using new engineering solutions to improve their longevity. bath.ac.uk

STIRRING SPEECH Tallulah Brady, a Year 11 pupil at King Edward’s School, has won a speech-writing competition organised by local MP, Wera Hobhouse, to commemorate the Wera Hobhouse, MP for Bath, and Tallulah Brady centenary of women’s right to vote and the ability of women to stand for parliament.

The competition was open to young women aged 16–18, who were asked to write a short speech using the title ‘Why We Need More Women in Politics’. Tallulah’s speech, shown in full on page 70, urges the women of today to continue the legacy of their foremothers who fought for political equality. As part of winning the competition, Tallulah shadowed Bath’s MP during a normal working day in parliament, which included stepping into a Brexit Select Committee meeting, attending a live stream of Prime Minister’s Questions, and touring the iconic Westminster buildings. kesbath.com 68 TheBATHMagazine

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EDUCATION

Time to awaken

Here is the rousing speech by Tallulah Brady, a year 11 pupil at King Edward’s School, that won the recent short speech writing competition organised by MP Wera Hobhouse action. She discarded her prestige to join the Women’s Tax Resistance League. Mary Richardson took action; she endured torturous forcefeeding. Emily Wilding Davison, who tragically died while protesting, took action. Their efforts were not in vain as on the 21st November 1918 it was finally announced that ‘a woman shall be entitled to be registered for a constituency’. For many this marked the end of the road, when in fact the fight had only just begun.

Although the women and men of the suffragette movement did all they could to allow women’s voices to be heard, many modern women retain the feeling of disenfranchisement. For us, the key to change does not lie with dramatic protests or violent demonstrations. We need a cultural shift: we need to teach girls to believe that their bodies and opinions are worthy of respect. We will watch as young girls can lead forums and chair school councils. We will watch as they fight to disintegrate stereotypes they face as teenagers before marvelling at the army of confident young women ready to storm the political battlefield with an artillery of new ideas.

With more women in leading roles, more voices will be heard: through the media, through politics and through their own communities. Women will have the power to outvote those who thought they could get away with harassment, or misogynist comments. Female MPs and role models will be allowed space to prove themselves with intellect and talent rather than being scrutinised for their choice of clothing, lipstick or husband.

One hundred years ago, a group of women came together to prove that we deserve more. Today, we cannot sit back and admire the work of our foremothers without acknowledging that the baton of responsibility has been passed into our own hands. It is up to us to continue their legacy. From schoolgirl to grandmother we must challenge for positions of power and use politics to make our voices heard on local, national and international issues. We must take action to create not just a fairer society but one that is enriched and emboldened by the involvement of all its citizens. n

Why We Need More Women in Politics

I

f I said, “Women are inferior,’’ how would you feel? Confused, angry or even offended? But why don’t you feel the same confusion, anger or offence when I tell you that teenage girls are twice as likely to have mental health problems, that women are four times more likely than men to experience serious sexual assault and that on average, women earn 8.6% less than their male colleagues? As a society we have become so fixated with the idea of equality that we have become numb to the statistics that contradict our liberal ideologies. The time to awaken has come.

In the early 20th century, women across the country took action.

Queen Victoria’s goddaughter, the Indian Princess Sophia Singh, took

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ABOVE left: main, Emmeline Pankhurst, who founded the Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU) in 1903 and become a prominent figure in the suffragette movement ABOVE: inset, Tallulah Brady, a year 11 pupil at King Edward’s School, has used the power of words to bring the principles of the suffragettes into a modern context

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FAMILY | EVENTS

Family diary IDEAS FOR THINGS TO DO WITH THE CHILDREN THIS MONTH THEATRE AND DANCE HOLIDAY CLUB Wednesday 2 – 4 January, 8.45am–5pm n King Edward’s Pre-Prep Be introduced to various forms of theatre and dance at this three-day holiday club.

From comedy to street dance and contemporary, each day will be split in half between disciplines ensuring that everyone gets a chance to shine. Suitable for ages five – 11. £33 per day; superpirates.co.uk

Theatre and dance holiday club, run by SuperPirates at King Edward’s Pre-prep

SATURDAY SKETCHING Saturday 5 January, 10.30am–12.30pm n Fashion Museum Children and adults can sketch the beautiful objects on display in the museum’s A History of Fashion in 100 Objects and Royal Women exhibitions. Free with normal museum entry; fashionmuseum.co.uk ICE SKATING Until Sunday 6 January n Royal Victoria Park Take to the ice and enjoy an hour of skating.

Pre-booking is not required but it is advised especially in the evening and on weekends.

Skate aids are available for £5 per session.

Adults £11, children under 16 £10, family tickets £36; bathonice.com ARTY BABIES Every Monday from 7 January – 11 February, 1–2.30pm n The Holburne Museum This group provides a relaxed, creative space for parents to meet other parents over a cuppa and make something different each week while their babies enjoy sensory play.

Suitable for ages up to nine months. £60 for six weeks, block bookings only. You can do a trial session (£10) ahead of booking the rest of a block. Tel: 01225 388568; holburne.org BABY BOOK CLUB WITH CORSHAM LIBRARY Tuesday 8 January, 10–11am n The Pound, Pound Pill, Corsham, Wiltshire Enjoy a wonderful informal session reading and exploring books, language and stories with your little one. Sensory elements, signing and song included. Standard price £3.50, including a hot drink for the adults; poundarts.org.uk TODDLER TAKEOVER: CREATURE CAPERS Friday 11 January, 10am–4pm n We The Curious, Bristol

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Flappy wings, dancing at the beautiful bug ball, deely boppers, starry skies and story telling. Enjoy a whole day of activities as you dive headfirst into the world of wonderful wildlife. Plus you’ll also make a brightly coloured bug accessory to wear home. Early Bird tickets with Gift Aid: adult, £8.50, children aged three and over, £6.50. Children must be accompanied by an adult; wethecurious.org SUPERPIRATES Friday 11 January, 10.30am n Komedia Expect crazy games, a huge dance floor, confetti cannons and den building as SuperPirates transform the Komedia’s dance floor. Don’t miss the free face painting. No advance tickets available, on the door only.

Adults and new-borns go free; £4 for children; komedia.co.uk AFTERNOON TODDLEALONGS Every Friday from 11 January – 15 February, 1–2.30pm n The Holburne Museum This weekly workshop helps parents and pre-school children to play and learn together through songs, stories and creative activities inspired by the museum’s collection and exhibitions. £60 for six weeks, block bookings only. Suitable for two – five years; holburne.org TINY ARTISTS Tuesday 15 January, 10–11am

n The Pound, Pound Pill, Corsham,

Wiltshire Make a masterpiece at this easy-going, fun sensory art session. Explore different materials, make keepsakes and most of all, a huge mess! Suitable for children under four.

Standard price £3.50, including a hot drink for the adult; poundarts.org.uk MEN BEHAVING DADLY Saturday 19 January, 9–10.30am n St Swithin's Church, The Paragon Head to the crypt, meet other dads and have some quality time with your little one.

There’s toys, games, toast for the kids and coffee and bacon butties for the dads. £3 per dad. Pre-school children only; musicforminiatures.co.uk.

MUSIC FOR MINIATURES Saturday 19 January, 10.30am n St Swithin’s Church, The Paragon Music for Miniatures brings live classical concerts to babies and young children across Bath. Babies can sleep, babble and crawl while toddlers are able to dance and play air-instruments. Tickets: £8 per adult/child pair, £4 per extra adult, £3 per extra child.

Pre-book online or pay on the door; musicforminiatures.co.uk.

SNOW MOUSE Until Sunday 20 January, times vary n The egg Winter has arrived and the woods are covered in white. As a child hurries to play

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FAMILY | EVENTS

Enjoy a reading of Rapunzel at Tyntesfield

© National Trust Images / Arnhel de Serra

Snow Mouse at The egg

outside they find a sleeping mouse buried under the soft snow flakes. Sliding, tumbling and laughing they explore the winter wonderland together and keep each other safe and warm. Suitable for ages six months – four years. Children under 12 must be accompanied by an adult. Adults £8.50, children £7.50. Lap seats are available at £1.50. Tel: 01225 823409; theatreroyal.org.uk TYNTETOTS: RAPUNZEL Wednesday 23 January, 10–11.45am n Tyntesfield, Bristol Build a tower, make a prince’s crown, braid Rapunzel’s long flowing locks and hear the

story of Rapunzel. Suitable for two to five years. Tiny tots are welcome, and free of charge when accompanying an older sibling or companion. Adults free, children £8; nationaltrust.org.uk/tyntesfield MAKE AND PLAY Thursday 24 January, 10–11.30am n Wiltshire Scrapstore, Lacock Enter an imaginative world and create whatever comes to mind. Different materials will be provided to ensure creativity, exploration and messy play. Enjoy a free goodie bag of scrap to take home. Suitable for ages 18 months – four, younger children are also welcome. All children must be

accompanied by an adult. Tickets £5.50; wiltshirescrapstore.co.uk OUTDOOR ADVENTURE Open Tuesday – Sunday, 10am–5.30pm in term time n Avon Valley Adventure and Wildlife Park, Pixash Lane, Bath Road, Keynsham Children can explore more than 90 acres at Avon Valley. They can climb to the top of the adventure play area and check out the massive towers, all via rope bridges, zip wires, a tunnel slide, tyre bridges and much more. And if the weather is rubbish, there’s an indoor play barn with slides, rope swings, and a toddler village; avonvalley.co.uk

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FAMILY FUN

Mum’s the word

Get set for 2019 with our rundown of inspiring classes and events, all tailor-made for mothers

1

SAY OMMM

2

Bath-born YOGADOO (founded by local mum Lucy Ashton) has built up a huge following. The company does brilliant yogathemed holiday clubs for kids, classes in more than 50 schools, plus all-day retreats at Combe Grove Manor Hotel. But they’ve long wanted a studio space to call home. Cue the opening of The Hive. The setting is spot-on; it’s in the midst of town, off Walcot street but has tranquil riverside views. Expect six adult classes a day and two children’s classes for post-school wind downs.

Visit: jointhehive.co.uk

3

4

GET THE EXPERT VIEW

Want to get a deeper understanding of your little one’s behaviour and help them develop better self-confidence?

Family-focused hotel Woolley Grange is hosting a two-hour workshop with expert family therapist, Caroline Penney (who also happens to be the greatgranddaughter of Sigmund Freud).

Caroline has more than 20 years of experience under her belt and specialises in helping parents manage and improve their relationships with their children.

Friday 25 January, 10am–12pm, £5.

Visit: woolleygrangehotel.co.uk

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MEET NEW FRIENDS

The Mum Club hosted their first Bath event at Framptons last October and it was a smash hit. It saw 20 mums (and almost as many kids) sitting down to a brunch of poached eggs, bacon and tomatoes on sourdough toast. Of course meeting new friends is the big draw (those showing up solo will be welcomed by host and local mother Lulu Fisher who’s a pro at making everyone feel at ease). But you’ll also get a goodie bag bulging with gifts from local brands (a Brissi candle and Spotty Herbert treats were spied in the last one). In the line up this year is a breakfast club at Good Day Café on 17 January, 10.30am–12.30pm; a Sleep Workshop at Sweet Little Things, 13 February, 6.30–8.30pm plus a weekly fitness club and collaborations with Somerset-based start-ups such as Cotton and Canvas.

Visit: themumclub.com

LEARN SOMETHING NEW

Last autum ceramist Julia Davey took the plunge and upgraded from her small studio beside Bath canal into a stunning shop-meets-studio space in Bear Flat. You can browse a thoughtfully curated selection of homewares (think bespoke eggcups and delicate pewter animal brooches). There’s also an everchanging selection of classes, many of which are great to do with older kids. In line for spring are: Shibori Dyeing, Brush Lettering and Valentine’s Wreaths. Our pick would be the three-hour introduction to clay with Julia Davey, 2 February, 10am–1pm, £50.

Visit: juliadavey.com

5

HAVE A NIGHT OUT

Book now for the next Eat, Drink, Think dinner at Walcot House on 7 March.

Their sold-out launch supper last October with Jo Wimble Groves, the award-winning author of Guilty Mother, was inspiring and hilarious according to those who nabbed tickets. The March one is set to be just as good; the theme is Identity and the host is Molly Gunn of Selfish Mother. Ticket includes prosecco on arrival, dinner and serious ace goodie bags (we spied a £15 Sweaty Betty gift card, Boxclever Press Journals and Aveda beauty products in the last one). The event happens in the lofty environs of Café Walcot but you are welcome to hit the bar (and the dance floor) at the club below when the event winds down at 10pm.

Visit: eatdrinkthink.org.uk

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Have you ever fancied yourself as Luke Skywalker or Arya Stark?

Bath Swords is the club that trained Arya Stark to fence!

Fortunately, the days of swordsmen are over so you can have a lot of fun fencing, without risking life and limb. It's an exciting Olympic sport that combines ancient traditions with modern technology.

We are a vibrant club catering for both social and competitive fencers. We all started as beginners and, some of us still prefer to fence for fun, rather than competitively! We enthusiastically encourage everyone and you will be made welcome!

We have beginners courses, for juniors and adults, starting on 17th January - catering for all ages between 8 and 80!

We have some of the country’s top coaches to give excellent tuition and a structured training programme and we provide all the equipment for new starters. We meet on Monday and Thursday evenings throughout the year on the University of Bath campus.

Get

YOURSELF

FIT Christmas

after

Whether you want to fence for fitness and to burn calories, competition or for the historical appeal you will find fencing is a great way to learn both mental and physical skill and discipline.

It’s great exercise and a fun way to meet new people too!

At running bath our specialist staff use the latest technology to analyse your running gait and goals, allowing us to recommend the best footwear and products for you.

www.runningbath.co.uk 18 High St Bath BA1 5AJ

Tel: 01225 462555

Information can be found on our website www.bathswordclub.co.uk or contact us on enquiries@bathswordclub.co.uk THEBATHMAG.CO.UK

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BATH | TENNIS

Take tennis home

The Fed Cup is the world cup of women’s tennis and it’s on its way to Bath. Emma Clegg talks to doubles player Anna Smith about her career, her recent injury and why this tournament will be the best start to 2019

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“Martina Hingis was my favourite player to watch then because we’re both quite petite. I connected with her style, her oncourt creativity and the way she managed to play against the harder hitters and was still so successful. I looked up to her and I really enjoyed watching her play.”

❝

I love being at the net and volleying and that is obviously a huge part of doubles. It just brings out the best in me – it’s instinctively how my game is

❝

T

he Fed Cup is the world’s largest annual international team competition, not just in women’s tennis, but in women’s sport. As a team competition and with as many as 95 countries taking part, it’s not as simple as the knock-out Wimbledon format where you’re out if you lose. So even when teams are relegated from a group, they still have a chance to qualify in the World Group Play-offs. The competition is structured with an eight-nation World Group and eight-nation World Group II, contested over three weekends in the year.

The remaining countries are divided into three regional zones.

The World Group First Round (Europe/ Africa Group 1 tie) takes place on 6–9 February, and for the first time in 26 years it is being co-hosted in Britain, at the University of Bath, with the other host being Poland. “We’re very excited that we’ve finally got some time to play in front of the home crowd,” says specialist doubles player Anna Smith, who trains at Team Bath at the university and hopes to be representing Great Britain in the Fed Cup. “You just get drawn out of the hat whether it’s a home or away side. And we’ve just never been fortunate enough to get a home side until now.”

There are 15 nations in Group 1 and they will be split across the two host locations.

Joining Great Britain to compete in Bath are Serbia, Croatia, Hungary, Turkey, Greece, Georgia and Slovenia.

Anna started playing tennis aged 10 and has trained at Bath since she joined Team Bath in 2013 where she is coached by TeamBath head coach David Sammel. Anna has won five ITF singles titles and 29 doubles titles in her career. After suffering an injury in 2018, her doubles ranking has dropped from a career-high of 46 to 100, but she is in the last stages of recovery and is hoping to take part in the Fed Cup in February as she starts to work her way back up the rankings.

Like many tennis players, it was watching Wimbledon that inspired her: “The first time I knew that I wanted to play tennis was when I watched Wimbledon on TV. Seeing the crowds and the grass courts, it just really made me want to pick up a racket and try it.

The facilities at the University of Bath provide everything that Anna needs for her training regime. “I’ve been professional since I was 16 when I started training in Bath and I have been based here ever since. The facilities are incredible and you have everything you possibly need here – it has been brilliant and they have supported me so much. They support me coaching wise, with fitness, physio, anything I could possibly need to keep me playing and improve as much as possible.”

Anna’s injury was quite a setback and she had double knee surgery in July. “It was an accumulation of a lot of tennis over the years,” Anna explains, “and it was just something that needed to be done.”

Tennis is a demanding game because it requires a combination of physical strength and tennis ability and psychological focus and control. As a doubles player, you need to support your partner, too, and cope with a faster game. “I’m quite calm on court and I try not to show my emotions but obviously sometimes it spills over,” says Anna. “But generally I’m relaxed and calm. Tennis is hard enough as it is without giving your opponent an advantage by showing them you are angry or upset. So its always good to try and keep as much of a level head as possible.

And that’s what I attempt to bring on the court.”

I ask what skills make someone effective at doubles. “What makes me a good doubles player is the upper strength I have on court,” Anna explains. “I love being at the net and volleying and that is a huge part of doubles.

My returns are a big thing in my game as well, important on the doubles court.

Doubles just brings out the best in me – it’s instinctively how my game is. It is just something that I really enjoy, and that always helps.”

A team tournament brings with it a team focus. “In Fed Cup it’s captain’s choice so to be honest I’d just like to be selected and then I will support whichever team the captain thinks is the best. All of us play with whoever we need to because it is the team ethos.”

I wonder how Anna researches the style of play of her opponents? “When scouting opponents you look for slightly different things in doubles than singles, so you’d look at passes and plays on big points. Certain players will do certain things under pressure no matter who they play with and you need to take note of these.

“One of the things to look for is how they serve on big points, and where they like to return, because when it’s a big point some people will always return in a certain place. If they like to intercept at the net, they normally like to have a certain number of shots before they go, or they always go on the first shot.”

When the Fed Cup comes to the University of Bath, it will seat over 2,000 spectators each day. The indoor tennis courts will be transformed into one centre court with the seats built around it housing more than 1,800 people and another show court will seat 250.

“The Fed Cup is the world cup of women’s tennis, a chance to showcase the best of the female game. Especially now we get the chance to have a home tie, and to bring it to Bath. Hopefully people will come and watch even if they haven’t watched or played a lot of tennis,” enthuses Anna. “For me, it’s the ideal way to start the year.” n The University of Bath is hosting the Fed Cup from 6–9 February 2019; lta.org.uk/fedcuptickets

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Anna Smith will be at the Fed Cup in Bath in February

Anna Smith playing with British No. 2 Katie Boulter at the Fed Cup in Estonia in February 2018

Anna training with younger players at Team Bath

And why take a selfie, when there’s a weesie to be done

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NEW YEAR | FITNESS

Be less inactive

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movement. “The idea that exercise has to leave you covered in sweat and gasping for breath to have any effect just isn’t the case.

Exercise really is for everybody and there is an activity out there to suit you and your lifestyle.

It could be one long walk or three 30-minute exercise classes – as long as it gets your joints moving, that is the main thing”, he says.

“Exercise could be walking upstairs without losing your breath, shedding a bit of weight, getting back into shape after injury or simply being the best you can be – as long as it is realistic and attainable, having that target and seeing the gradual improvements towards it will help keep you focused.”

❝

The idea that exercise has to leave you covered in sweat and gasping for breath to have any effect just isn’t the case.

Exercise really is for everybody

❝

I

hold my hands up – I don’t love exercising. The exercise-brings-goodhealth mantra for me always hails visions of aerobic exertion and low blood sugar, tripping over my feet when doing dance routines, swimming and painful calf cramps, yoga and draughty halls and a burning feeling in my stomach when running, getting a stitch and having to stop to recover.

My exercise experience is wide, you see, but it has lacked sustained application.

One of the factors that I find difficult is being pulled into the uncompromising world of a sport. Canoeing, the gym, an exercise class, football, tennis, running, you have to immerse yourself in the experience and aspire to enjoy it. But what if you don’t?

Sam Holmes, health and fitness manager at Team Bath, counters my resistance with a positive thought. “That moment of ‘me time’ that exercise provides is a massive factor in improving your sense of well-being. Troubles weighing on your mind? Jump on the treadmill for 30 minutes or go for a swim – taking that time to step back and think things over makes the world seem a better place.”

Thanks Sam, but in fact I’m making progress because I’ve recently discovered a different way of thinking about it. Quite simply, you are exercising when you are not being inactive. This is genius. I don’t have to be a gym goddess or run marathons or join a rowing club. I just need to move about more!

Walking is great exercise, and I think it’s my specialist sport. Walk to work, to the local shops, up and down the stairs, walk the dog, or someone else’s. And fresh air brings its own benefits. So walking outdoors – a gentle stroll or a full-blown hike – helps reduce anger and depression and improves your mood, thanks to a hefty dose of vitamin D from the sun.

The great thing about not being inactive is that it doesn’t have to be vigorous. A tenminute daily walk will reduce stress and anxiety. Routine cleaning jobs count (you have to do them anyway): putting a wash on, ironing, bringing in the shopping, gardening, hoovering, changing the bed sheets. Hang on, I think I might be quite fit already!

So, for those unconvinced by full-on workouts, there are less formal options. Zumba translates into playing an upbeat song and dancing in the living room. A weights exercise can be putting the soup tins away on the top shelf. Aerobic exercise is doing a fast circuit of the supermarket with your trolley. Javelin is throwing a ball to the dog with a wanger. I might be pushing the comparisons here, but you get the gist.

Sam Holmes backs up my approach, explaining how sport is really about

Some people may want to push their exercise resolutions further. “Making physical activity part of your everyday life is a simple way of exercising, but if you want to create more impact or have more support and structure then consider joining a gym,” says Sam. “Gyms may seem like intimidating places but the image of bodybuilders pumping iron and everyone dressed in lycra is outdated.

Gyms are much more accessible and the demographic of users has changed, with more older people enjoying the benefits.”

The University of Bath can help you discover how the gym can work for you, says Sam. “Sessions can be tailored to everyone’s needs, regardless of age and ability, and a lot of exercise classes are designed to mimic everyday movements. Pilates, zumba and yoga, classes that don’t require any technology and are accessible to all, are right back in fashion and are great fun to do.”

But how do you make your new exercise regime become a habit? It’s about consistency, says Sam. “The key is to exercise regularly, but maintaining that motivation is a challenge, with around 80 per cent of people beginning a new exercise regime in January letting their resolution slip before the month is out.

“One way to avoid that is to have a clear idea of what you hope to achieve. Team Bath are famous for being producers of a host of

Olympic, Paralympic, World and Commonwealth champions, but they are a fraction of the thousands of people who exercise here and we encourage everyone to set their own gold-medal standard.”

Now for some motivational facts from Sam. “The physical benefits of exercise are often measurable. It can help with weight loss, build and maintain stronger muscles and bones, and it can even improve your skin complexion by increasing your body’s production of natural antioxidants. Studies have also shown that exercise can reduce your risk of major illness such as heart disease, cancer and type 2 diabetes by up to 50 per cent.

“It is also the positive effect on mental wellbeing that is becoming a motivational force.

When you exercise, your body releases endorphins – chemicals that trigger a positive feeling and make you feel good, improving your mood and boosting your feeling of selfesteem. This in turn is proven to help combat stress, reduce your risk of depression and even improve your quality of sleep.”

So how much exercise should you do? The NHS weekly guidelines for adults between 19 and 64 is at least 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity (just under 22 minutes a day), 75 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity (just under 11 minutes a day) or a combination of the two. Moderate physical activity is sweeping the floor, walking briskly, slow dancing, hoovering, mowing the lawn, washing windows or a gentle bike ride.

Vigorous physical activites include running, tennis, swimming and football. You can also use the Talk Test. A moderate intensity activity allows you to talk but not sing. A vigorous activity means you won’t be able to say more than a few words without taking a breath.

The new Team Bath Gym & Fitness Centre has been designed around inclusivity. It will be a welcoming space where anyone new to the gym environment can feel at home. “The team of highly qualified personal trainers reflect the changes in the industry,” says Sam. “It would have all been muscle-bound men 20 years ago, but now there are as many female instructors as male and they span a wide range of ages.”

Whether your ambitions are to develop a six pack or spend more time walking in the fresh air, why not start being less inactive today? n

The facilities at the University of Bath Sports Training Village are open to the public all year round. Find out more by visiting teambath.com/fitness or youtube.com/TeamBathTV

Images: Clare Green for Matchtight, apart from image opposite, far right, second from bottom, Adobe Stock

New year, new you – it’s almost compulsory. But if you have a shaky affiliation with exercise, how is it possible?

Sam Holmes from Team Bath reassures a sceptical Emma Clegg that exercise really is for everybody

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HEALTH & WELLBEING

THE 2019 WELLNESS LIST With the New Year comes new goals, aspirations and wishes. Here’s a list of the local talent ready to help you with your new challenges...

RAGTANG! Tuesdays 7pm, Weston All Saints Centre danceclassesinbath.co.uk; 07702 474064 Ragtang is Bath’s very own crazy dance fitness workout.

Developed by local dance, pilates and ETM (Exercise to Music) instructor Lizzie Smith, it is based around Charleston, Swing and Tango themes. If you love to dance, want to improve your fitness but most of all want to have a great time, this is definitely a class to try. Most people don’t stop smiling throughout the class! Lizzie also teaches adult ballet, both beginner and intermediate classes, plus an intermediate Jazz dance class.

HEIDI REIKI heidi@heidireiki.com; heidireiki.com; 07776 255875

Creating calm, joy and balance for you and where you live. Do you have a sense of joy in your home?

Or is there a sense of unease? Maybe life challenges have disturbed the harmony. Stress, relationship breakdowns and illness are some life experiences that can cause imbalance in you and your living space. Around the world, in many cultures, our homes and living spaces are often thought to have a deep connection with our bodies, and reflect what is going on for us both emotionally and physically. Reiki is the process of guiding energy into your life, giving joy to you and your home and brings an increasing knowledge of the integrity of mind, spirit and environment.

PILATES EQUIPMENT STUDIO Bloomfield Road, Bath BA2; 07702 474064; lizzie@danceclassesinbath.co.uk; danceclassesinbath.co.uk Just a stone’s throw from Bear Flat, Odd Down and Combe Down, this Pilates Equipment Studio has the latest Allegro 2 Balanced Body Reformer/Tower and is available for private one-to-one pilates tuition at very competitive rates. Lizzie Smith started her career as a professional dancer.

She studied pilates at the renowned Suzanne Scott studio (under the Pilates Foundation) and has been qualified in both mat and equipment pilates for 10 years. Her fascination with the human body and the complexities of human movement has led her on to further study in anatomy, and she has a special interest in scoliosis.

PLUS: New pilates mat work classes starting Wednesday 6 February, 10am at Odd Down playing fields

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SPORTS THERAPY & SPORTS MASSAGE WITH MERYN CHURCHOUSE 07598 937216; meryn_churchouse@outlook.com bathsportstherapy.co.uk Qualified sports therapist based at Barnes Sports Clinic, Bathford, Meryn provides a wide range of treatments available at the clinic or for home visits. A few of the treatments available include sports massage, acupuncture for sports injuries, rehabilitation, electrotherapy and 1:1 Pilates. Whether you have suffered an injury at work, playing sport or you suffer from chronic pain, it’s important to remember that you do not need to be an athelete to benefit from these treatments. Meryn is also qualified in sports trauma management. She works closely with local rugby and football teams, treating players pitch side and in the clinic.

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HEALTH & WELLBEING

RELATIONSHIP COACHING

SPORTS MASSAGES

WITH ALISON HEATHER SUTTON

AT FRONTLINESTYLE

alisonheathersutton.co.uk alison@alisonheathersutton.co.uk; 07713 626673

Looking for a different approach to relationship help? Imagine if you could work out your issues without focusing on your problems, bring back the freshness, peace and enjoyment and know that whatever happened you can bounce back from.

What you believe may be the problem could be something completely different. It only takes one of you to see something new to make a difference.

Common sense tells us that the “problems” are actually symptoms, and not the cause of the difficulty. This approach, which has benefitted thousands of people, is different and works directly on the cause – our psychological immune system.

As a result, our mind and emotions settle down, we have new insights and can see the way forward.

£45 for 45 minutes.

4 – 5 Monmouth Street, Bath BA1 2AJ frontlinestyle.co.uk; 01225 478478 Always on the move? Is your body craving some muscle TLC? Frontlinestyle offers sports massage clinics with a focus on bringing wellbeing to the mind and body. There are many psychological benefits and effects of a sports massage that can be vital in your body’s recovery. Using a combination of relaxation and problem solving, Louise, Frontlinestyle’s fully trained sports massage expert, has many years of knowledge in Eastern and Western healing traditions while still bringing manipulation of soft tissue to reduce pain, restore range of movement and promote good condition.

ADULT SWIMMING LESSONS WITH JUNE HEATH Thursdays 7.30–8.30pm at Kingswood School pool, BA1 5RG; 07908 671966; juneheathswimming.com Passionate about swimming and taking tremendous pleasure watching an adult achieve what they had previously thought of as impossible, June Heath works at an individual’s own pace and gives everyone bespoke instruction for their abilities and aims. June specialises in coaching/training swimmers of all ages and skills levels; from beginners to competitive with enjoyable, constructive sessions.

ANDREA KELLY andrea@andreakellyhypnotherapy.co.uk andreakellyhypnotherapy.co.uk; 07949 240190 Healthy mind, healthy body. Unfortunately a healthy body doesn’t automatically lead to a healthy mind as many professional sports people will confirm. Andrea Kelly works in a quiet, tranquil environment and her satisfaction comes from seeing people change to the best they can be, become the person they want to be and to enjoy every aspect of their lives. There is a multitude of symptoms that hypnotherapy can help with, from dealing with sleep problems, IBS and weight management to getting to grips with exam nerves, confidence and anxiety disorders. In a series of sessions Andrea works closely together with clients to gently access the subconscious mind, banish negative thoughts and inspire a positive and healthy mind and body. She offers a free initial consultation so that you can discuss your situation and discover how solution-focused hypnotherapy might be able to help you. You can then decide if it is the right therapy for you. Her clinic is based in Bath and Andrea also offers remote sessions via Skype or FaceTime.

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Complimentary use of the spa in January and February 2019...

Hidden beneath the pavements of the grandest street in Bath, Spa 15 is a place to truly escape, indulge in luxurious treatments and rediscover your balance.

Quote BAM19 when booking a treatment for January or February to receive complimentary 60-minute use of the hot tub, sauna and steam pod ahead of your treatment.

Valid Sunday-Thursday (excluding 14 February) when booking a 60-minute treatment

15 Great Pulteney Street, Bath BA2 4BR spa@no15greatpulteney.co.uk 01225 807015

Newly appointed Executive Director to take Bath Hospital to new heights, with facilities and services to match

B

MI Bath Clinic, the 75-bed private hospital that cares for over 30,000 local patients a year has appointed a new Executive Director, Tim Atter, who will lead a team of 250 staff and oversee development in the quality of clinical services offered at the site. Tim will also help drive a refurbishment and service expansion programme, following the confirmation that Bath Clinic is one of the sites to benefit from BMI Healthcare’s estate combined 250 million pound capital investment programme.

Improvements in facilities and equipment will be driven across areas such as operating theatres and imaging, as well as refurbishment in core patient areas in the hospital. Under the direction of Executive Director, Tim Atter, new services are being developed including a Joint Replacement Centre. New patient pathways will be designed to provide the highest levels of clinical care, safety and speed of recovery.

Tim Atter, a service industry leader with wide experience across private healthcare, graduated as a Physiotherapist at the University Hospital of Wales, Cardiff. Prior to his recent appointment, Tim was in operational and hospital director roles with Nuffield Health. He has a proven track record in delivering growth in the service sector and is all set to take up the challenge of leading BMI Bath Clinic. Tim also remains a chartered physiotherapist by trade, making time to support the Barbarians Rugby Football Club as Head Physiotherapist.

Tim Atter, Executive Director of BMI Bath Clinic states, “With upcoming projects to improve our facilities and services, it’s an exciting time to join Bath Clinic and build on our position as the leading private hospital in the area. In the short time I have been here, I’ve been impressed by the dedication of all our teams, from consultant surgeons through to physiotherapists and reception staff. My focus now is on ensuring safe and effective clinical / customer care is at the heart of everything we do.”

BMI Bath Clinic has appointed a new Executive Director, Tim Atter, who will lead a team of 250 staff and oversee development in the quality of clinical services offered.

Steve Pope, Orthopaedic Consultant at BMI Bath Clinic states, “Private patients come to Bath Clinic to benefit from specialist care in comfortable surroundings that make them feel at ease. It’s pleasing to see that BMI has appointed an Executive Director that is as experienced as he is passionate in improving the patient experience.

With a strong team at Bath Clinic, and investment in facilities and equipment to match, I have spoken to many of the consultant surgeons and staff here who are very excited for the times ahead.”

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HEALTH & BEAUTY

HEALTH & BEAUTY NEWS The latest class to join, a genetically apt weight loss plan and a hair project in Mumbai.

Crystal Rose shares the latest updates in the sector

MUMBA1

CLASS OF 2019 The city’s exclusive personal training specialist, HEALTH, has brought a new fitness studio to Bath. Set to open this month, brand new boutique fitness studio, CLASS has arrived at Bath Riverside. Bringing together three of the city’s leading independent business owners, CLASS has a mix of high-intensity exercise, restorative training and healthy treats, all under one roof. Rob Suchet, director of HEALTH, says “We are really excited to be opening CLASS, which is designed to embody a culture of health and movement for all ages.”

With familiar faces joining the team, CLASS has bought in Simona Hernandez from Yoga Bodhi to create a full timetable of yoga for members. Alongside the high-intensity body workout Turn & Burn, CLASS will also offer a Flow programme – the latest trend in mobility and bodyweight training. Join in the evening fun with events including talks and workshops by experts in the health and wellbeing fields, which are hosted for members in the café every month.

If you need some post-workout heathy snacks then you can enjoy all the goodness at the in-house health food café run by founders of The Grocer and Rooted. Expect freshly prepared healthy meals and snacks, barista coffee and recovery smoothies – all available to pre-order or to pick up after class.

Phil Thompson and Zac Fennell, partners at BA1 Hair, have teamed up with the Indian operation of UK charity Oasis, and recently travelled to Mumbai to visit the Mumbai Hair project which provides life skills to women who have been trafficked for sex.

“We have designed a hair styling and cutting course, which is practical and hopefully inspiring and provides a way out for the girls from the redlight district,” says Phil.

After two days of hair cutting and styling training, Phil and Zac attended a graduation ceremony and presented the women who had recently completed the course with certificates, scissors provided by Akito Scissors and Aveda hair products.

Typically trafficked as young girls, these women are from poor, rural areas of India and are forced into prostitution in the city. By their late teens some are free to move on, but they lack the education and skills to secure a job.

“Our aim is to give these girls a life skill, which provides a future for them. The fact that all 26 of the girls who have graduated in the last 12 months are now in employment clearly demonstrates that they have been given that future,” says Zac.

• Memberships are £97 per month and include unlimited access to all classes, seven days a week. Founding members will receive a 20% life-time discount and residents of Bath Riverside will be eligible for discounted membership; class-bath.co.uk

THE DNA PLAN The DNA Diet looks at the most genetically appropriate diet and fitness plan to achieve sustainable weight loss. Author of the plan, Kate Llewellyn-Waters, is holding a clinic throughout January and February for clients wishing to have a consultation and those looking to do a diet and fitness DNA test or anti-ageing skin DNA sample. Kate will be available between 10am–3pm every other Wednesday through January and February starting on Wednesday 9 January.

• If you would like to book a 45-minute consultation with Kate call Enhance Medispa on 01225 422851; enhancemedispa.co.uk

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Established for over 25 years we are the experts in skin health, aesthetics and advanced beauty treatments in Bath.

WE SPECIALISE IN THE FOLLOWING AESTHETIC & BEAUTY TREATMENTS Hydra Peel Infusion

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The ultimate WOW factor treatment - 6 stages of the most advanced skincare technology leaving the skin glowing, luminous & regenerated.

Hydra Peel Infusion is a treatment that combines exfoliation, hydration, chemical peeling and non-needle mesotherapy to infuse different vitamins into the skin.

Treatments have no down time and are suitable for all skin types. It can be used to target fine lines, wrinkles, dry skin, scarring, rosacea, sun damage and pigmentation as well as problematic skins.

Dermapen To refine pores, reduce scarring and collagen induction.

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Guinot Hydradermie Lift

This effective treatment stimulates the muscles by using microcurrent leaving skin smoother, firmer and more youthful.

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Cosmetic dentist Rachael Hampton has worked as a private dentist in London and Switzerland.

She is a certified Invisalign Provider, ZOOM and Enlighten Whitening provider.

There can be confusion related to teeth whitening. There are many systems available that either do not work or even contain the active whitening ingredient used in professional dental clinics (hydrogen peroxide).

Invisalign is a comfortable, removeable and nearly invisible tooth straightening system.

Creating your brand new smile is easier and more convenient than ever before.

Come along for a friendly chat in a relaxed environment and find out how easy it is to have white, straight and sparkling teeth.

www.drrachaelhampton.com

Treatments performed by one of the medical team from the Dr Rita Rakus cosmetic award winning Clinic as featured in Tatler www.drritarakus.com

36 Gay Street, Bath • Tel: 01225 466851 • www.theorangerylaserandbeautybath.co.uk

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HEALTH & BEAUTY

Refresh at The Orangery

If you are after beauty treatments with measurable results, here’s introducing The Orangery. Emma Clegg and Crystal Rose visited the clinic’s new location on Gay Street to find out more about what is on offer

L

aser and beauty clinic The Orangery, formerly in Kingsmead Street, has now settled in a new home in Gay Street. Owner Suzannah Chamberlain explains that the move is a dramatic business refresh – new location, new equipment and new interior styling, but the same team, expertise and the same immaculate service. The interior at the new location of The Orangery (which has been based in Bath for 26 years) is conceived as a Harley Street comes to Bath package, with both modern comforts and sparkling chandaliers.

Staff at The Orangery are experienced beauty therapists and IPL laser technicians.

The independent clinic’s extensive offering includes traditional beauty treatments, such as

facials, manicures, pedicures and boosting massages, along with hair removal by waxing and threading. The clinic has an outstanding reputation for their selection of technical treatments, which go way beyond pampering and are designed to deliver measurable results.

Cavislim, for example, is a non-surgical liposuction, which reduces body fat and cellulite. Other treatments include electrolysis and IPL (intense pulsed light treatments), the latter to treat unwanted hair, facial thread veins, pigmentation and acne (see below for more). There’s also a dermapen microneedling treatment, which aims to tighten, lift and rejuvenate the skin – this can treat fine lines and wrinkles, surgical scars and stretch marks, as well as hard-to-reach places, such as around the eyes, nose and lips.

You can also have a specialist facial, such as the hydra peel infusion which uses lymphatic drainage, and exfoliates and rehydrates to rejuvenate the skin.

As well as a team of beauty professionals there is a visiting specialist doctor who carries out non-surgical facial rejuvenation treatments in the way of injectables and frown-line reduction procedures. The Orangery is launching a new body clinic, offering skin tightening, fat reduction and muscle toning. Advice is also available from fitness expert Victoria on exercises and diet and nutrition. n The Orangery, 36 Gay Street, Bath BA1 2NT Tel: 01225 466851; theorangerylaserandbeautybath.co.uk

An insight into: IPL

Hair. We all have it. Our bodies need it in order to regulate our body temperature. But, we often have it in unwanted places – underarms, face, legs, stomach or bikini line.

It’s never been easier to reduce hair in these areas, especially with the IPL Permanent Hair Reduction treatment available at The Orangery.

Beginning with a consultation, the IPL (intense pulsed light) technician starts by answering any questions and discussing the treatment process. It’s essential to have avoided any form of sun exposure on the treatment area up to 30 days before and after, the winter months are the best time to

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consider this. You also need to have avoided gradual, instant and spray tans, bleaching, sunbeds and depilatory creams and electrolysis.

The Orangery provides this service for skin types 1–4 (there are six in total) and the treatment is tailored to you. A compulsory patch test is conducted during the consultation. The treatment may then begin 24 hours after the test – the patch test is compulsory to ensure your safety and wellbeing during the treatment. It’s vital to shave the area a day before (or on the day when the face is concerned) so that the IPL targets a concentrated area and will therefore be more accurate.

During the whole process it is important not to tweeze, wax or thread any hair from the targeted area. This is to avoid detaching the root from the hair follicle. There are three stages of the hair cycle and only one stage is susceptible to the reduction treatment. This stage of hair growth is Anagen; the growing stage. Here the hair is attached to the follicle and the IPL can therefore travel down the strand and effectively seek to destroy the hair follicle. In the two other growth stages the hair is not attached to the base and therefore the light will not be able to reach the follicle. For 24– 48 hours after the treatment it’s important to avoid heat, tight clothing, perfumed soaps,

lotions and creams.

A total of 6–8 sessions is recommended but this varies. Sessions are between 4–8 weeks apart. After each treatment 100% aloe vera gel is applied to the treated area.

This is a natural, cooling product so won’t cause any adverse reaction.

Post-treatment guidelines include no form of sun exposure for 30 days after the hair reduction; that’s why it’s ideal to have this treatment during the winter months when the sun is weaker. Sun exposure could result in hyperpigmentation (darkening of the skin) caused by increased melanin.

This is a great pain-free way of removing those unwanted tufts. It’s just the brief sensation of an elastic band flick – if you’re good with that then you’re good to go!

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CJ Beauty Offering a wide range of treatments massage manicure pedicure waxing tinting facials spray tanning hopi ear candles microdermabrasion

Owner Michelle previously Senior Therapist at Green Street House

15% off for new clients on their first treatment 19a Westgate Street, Bath BA1 1EQ 07840 864829

cjbeauty.uk

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Castle Street before the Second World War

The Merchant Taylors’ Hall

The veiled lady

Everard’s Print Works

The Llandoger Trow

Footloose and Bristol bound

Andrew Swift explores some of Bristol’s hidden corners, including the site of one of England’s largest castles, ruined churches, the remnants of the medieval city walls and two buildings with unexpected links to Bath

A

s the quickest and easiest way to get to Bristol is by train, the walk starts at Temple Meads.

After going through the barriers, instead of turning left through the main exit, carry on to emerge in the original station, where cars now park between the platforms. Following signs for the city centre, cross a car park and continue past a row of shops. Bear left along Temple Back East and cross the dual carriageway to continue along Temple Back. Take the first left along Temple Rose Street and after 75m turn right through gates to follow a treelined path towards the shell of Temple Church, founded by the Knights Templar, and destroyed by bombing, like so much of Bristol, in 1940. If you look at its leaning tower, you will see that the top section is at a different angle to the lower stages, the result of an attempt to compensate for subsidence during construction. Go through the gates at the end and carry on to emerge amid a cluster of old buildings. Turn right along the main road, continue across Counterslip and take the next right along Bath Street. After 100m, just before the Premier Inn, turn left along an alleyway to Castle Bridge.

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closing in 2000 – is on your right. On the far bank, turn right, then left uphill, crossing a cycle path before turning left up steps to a garden with a water feature aligned on St Peter’s Church.

At the top of the steps, look back to survey the site of Bristol Castle, once one of the largest in England. After its demolition in the 17th century, the area was redeveloped to become the hub of Bristol’s commercial district, before being reduced to a bombsite in 1940. What remained was cleared after the war to create Castle Park, uncovering fragments of the castle hidden for three centuries.

Head towards St Peter’s and bear left to walk through a physic garden along its south side. The area to the west of the church lay within the old city walls and for over a thousand years was one of the busiest and most historic parts of Bristol.

Carry on, following a tree-lined path down to the river, with the tower of another ruined church, St Mary le Port, to your right. Carry on to the traffic lights, cross to St Nicholas Church, bombed but restored and reopened for worship in December 2018. Head past it and turn right up St Nicholas Steps.

Continue up All Saints Lane, turn left through the covered arcade and, partway

along, turn right into the Exchange Hall.

This building, whose central court was originally open to the sky, was designed by John Wood the elder (of Bath) as a place for Bristol’s merchants to transact business.

Head for a doorway on the far side which leads through an ornate lobby to Corn Street.

As you leave the Exchange, look up to admire Wood’s façade and a clock showing local time as well as GMT. The Harbour Hotel opposite was built in 1857 as a bank on the site of a coaching inn called The Bush, featured in Dickens’ The Pickwick Papers.

Turn right past All Saints Church to the crossroads at the heart of the old city. The High Cross that stood here was cleared away in 1733 and later re-erected at Stourhead in Wiltshire.

Turn left down Broad Street, past the old Council House and Guildhall, and, just past Horts, turn right through an archway into Taylors Court, a hidden but neglected gem.

A lavishly decorated shell hood over the entrance to the Merchant Tailors’ Hall, 18thcentury lead drainpipes, St John’s churchyard and the 17th-century Court House are among the treasures of this forgotten corner.

Back in Broad Street, carry on past the Art Nouveau facade of Everard’s Print Works to

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THE | WALK

The Granary

St John’s church, the tower of which runs through the only surviving gate into the old city. Turn left before the gate to follow the line of the city walls, and at the end carry straight on through a low-beamed archway with a sign for the Centrespace Gallery.

After passing under a bridge, look to the right for stones marking the boundaries of St Leonard’s and St Stephen’s parishes.

Emerging in Corn Street, carry on, still following the line of the walls, along St Nicholas Street. Old India restaurant, on your left, was built in 1903 as a Stock Exchange, while Revolution, further along on the right, opened in 1873 as a fish market. After passing a carved elephant and a veiled lady on the left, turn right, looking out for the metal fish above Revolution’s side entrance.

At the bottom of the steps, cross and turn left, and at the end turn right along Welsh Back. Take the third right along Little King Street past the most striking example of the architectural style known as Bristol Byzantine. Built in 1869 as a granary, the building later became a legendary music venue and is now a branch of Loch Fyne.

Turn right again to find, on the next corner, one of Bristol’s most celebrated buildings, the Llandoger Trow.

Turn left along King Street, past almshouses, pubs, converted warehouses and the newly revamped Old Vic. After passing the Cathay Restaurant (Bristol’s first library) on the right, look for the curious plaque on the Merchant Venturers’ Almshouses, before turning left and heading to the left of Graze to continue along the west side of Queen Square.

At the end, turn right and then left to The Shakespeare pub, built by John Strahan in 1725 as a townhouse for John Hobbs, a wealthy merchant responsible for developing much of this area. The birds carved in its pediment are hobbies, a type of falcon, and a pun on Hobbs’s name. Hobbs also employed Strahan to develop the Kingsmead Square area in Bath, and was instrumental in making the river between the two cities navigable, facilitating the shipment of Bath stone to Bristol.

Turn left along the Grove, passing the

Hole in the Wall pub – claimed to have inspired the Spyglass in Treasure Island – and, after crossing a bridge, turn left along a harbourside walkway and follow it as it bears right between former warehouses.

At the end, look across at a wall containing fragments of medieval arches, before turning left. When the road curves right, head past a barrier and an Archimedes screw to continue along a covered walkway beside the harbour.

Turn right up steps past an armillary sphere and head to the right of St Thomas’s church where a plaque commemorates the Seven Stars’ links to the abolitionist Thomas Clarkson. Turn left at the end, cross the main road and head along Counterslip. Cross at the pedestrian lights and take the second right along Temple Back, crossing the lights at the end to return to Temple Meads. n More walks in Bristol, including the harbourside, city centre, and Clifton, can be found in Andrew Swift’s Walks from Bristol’s Severn Beach Line, published by Akeman Press.

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FACT FILE Distance: 3.5 miles Difficulty: Mostly level, but with some steps

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INTERIORS

Boho style

Blending influences and elements from different cultures and eras, boho style traditionally described people who lived unconventional, artistic, nomadic lives. Interior designer Clair Strong gives us the up-to-date lowdown

Keeping busy The joy of a boho home is in its celebration of, well, things. While a neutral wall colour such as white or grey makes a great foundation, you can offset this with a room full of quirky accessories, patterned rugs, floor cushions and terrariums. The lush green of succulents and cacti brings a room to life, while plenty of soft furnishings – zany cushions and vintage throws – inject a slice of Eastern influence.

If you’re a minimalist, fear not. The brilliance of boho is that you can go all in and amp up the maximalism or keep it stripped back to fulfil your minimalist needs.

Plants are a staple In any bohemian interior plants are a must.

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Istanbul fused with the brunch houses of East London and the charm of a second-hand bookshop and you’ve pretty much nailed this look.

So let’s look at the ways in which you can implement the bohemian aesthetic in your home, adapting it to fit your needs and, of course, your individual tastes. Throw the rule book out of the window; it’s time to embrace your wild side...

help purify the air and cultivate a sense of calm and peace. Boho creates a relaxed and welcoming atmosphere and plant life adds to that. Raid vintage shops and markets for vibrantly patterned pots or some aged terracotta to house your plant collection.

• Plain walls can be brought to life with

• Choose rattan, wicker or bamboo furniture.

framed prints and tapestries as well as deliberately shabby bookcases.

• Bohemian lifestyle is a celebration of the unconventional, so walls hung with macramé weavings and floors with suzani rugs all act as a bold boho statement.

• If you’re adding patterned accessories into your home look to Morocco, Istanbul or the Far East for inspiration.

• As for accessories, seek out the quirky and unexpected; like Bohemia Design Ltd’s woven animal heads, beautiful patterned pottery or eye-shaped mirrors. The fun of the bohemian trend is in experimenting.

These all-natural materials will blend effortlessly with any colours and patterns you’ve chosen. They are the perfect companion for bold fabrics, allowing the print and pattern to do all the talking.

• To tap into the true boho, be sure to buy sustainably sourced timbers and fabrics.

Clair Strong Interior Design is a small, friendly, creative business based in Bath and London, providing services for residential and commercial clients. Visit: clairstrong.co.uk or contact: clair@clairstrong.co.uk

Play with pattern With neutral walls and lots of greenery, you have the space to inject a mix of pattern in your boho home. There are no rules when it comes to the soft furnishings or furniture you choose, and it’s a time to celebrate materials.

THIS PAGE: far left, Nedgis, Appliqué Murale, Sorcier, Noir; left, Atkin and Thyme Chakra coffee table; OPPOSITE: Bohemia Design Ltd, woven animals heads

B

ringing the beatnik – or bohemian – into your home is easier, and more affordable, than you might think. This style of interior design is celebrated for the way it fuses the contrasting styles of minimalism and maximalism to achieve a bespoke way of living, creating an energy and aura that is popular amongst homeowners. Think the markets of

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Boho design has no rules. Its timeless appeal is largely down to the eclectic, laid-back nature of the look. Decorate only with items you love, and embrace the influence of different locations, time periods and design eras

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SINE FELT PENDANT WHITE / GREY

BY VITA COPENHAGEN

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

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GARDENING

Margaret Grant from Sheppards Gardens

Bleak but beautiful

There are a number of small but vital garden jobs to be done in January, says Jane Moore, ranging from feeding the birds to pruning your wisteria back or building that compost heap you’ve always wanted

N

ow don’t worry as this won’t be a long list – just enough to get you out of the armchair and looking a bit more lively after the Christmas binge.

Don’t overdo it, especially when January needs to be filled with essential shopping in the sales, afternoon snoozing and garage sorting. So this is a gentle warm up in preparation for the season ahead, with no danger of your burning out before spring.

After all, despite a few must-do jobs, the great beauty about deepest winter is that there really is no rush.

TIDYING UP This is more of a ‘mustn’t-do’ really, so put your feet back up and carry on reading. Don’t be tempted to clear up in every part of the garden. You don’t see bare soil in nature, so leave some of the fallen leaves, grassy stems and herbaceous heads for the little critters to rummage about and hide in. That isn’t a licence to leave all in utter abandon, more a question of acting judiciously, deciding what to leave and what to chop and tidy so the garden looks ordered but not sterile.

FEED THE BIRDS This is one of my favourite winter pursuits.

I think all gardeners have an affinity with robins as they follow us about picking off little prizes as we tidy up and turn over leaves, but so many birds are bolstered to be brave through hunger and they are a winter joy.

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Things that will naturally attract birds include berried shrubs and trees such as rowans, but even turning over the compost heap will attract a fan club of feathered friends. This is where leaving seed heads really comes into play as many smaller birds such as tits, wrens and finches will scratch about after tiny seeds on the ground. The ideal thing is to supplement nature with your own offerings of seed mixes, unsalted peanuts and dried mealworms. A few table scraps like cheese and fruit such as apples and pears also go down a treat.

BREAK THE ICE If you have a pond and it freezes over, it will help to make a hole in it to allow more active animals like fish, frogs or newts (who will be hibernating at the bottom of the pond) to move to the surface to breathe. Don’t break the ice forcibly and don’t go and pour a kettle of boiling water straight into the pond either, instead use a pan of hot water to melt the surface of the ice.

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GARDENING TAKE ON A BATH PROJECT Here at The Priory we often save the big chunky jobs until January – it gives us something to chip away at during these long, dull winter days. This is the time to do something major in your garden – now while you have time on your hands and not much else to get stuck into. Build that compost heap you’ve always wanted, or that raised vegetable bed. You won’t regret it – after all there are plenty of wintery weekends to fill between now and spring and only so much filing of photographs, sorting of wardrobes and decorating that can occupy you indoors.

PRUNE WISTERIA This is a nice, chunky job to get on with on a sunny winter’s day. Wisteria needs a good hard prune – and I mean hard – in January or February at the latest. You can also train in any new shoots you need along the wires or trelliswork frame that your wisteria grows on and cut all the other long, sprawling laterals back to a few buds. The buds are spread out few and far between on the new growth, while closer to the main stems they’re more tightly packed – that’s where you need to make your cut. The tougher you are, the better the flowering will be, so be brave.

TAKE SOME PICTURES Pick a nice, crisp sunshiny day in January and take some pictures of your garden. Winter light makes gardens look quite magical, but when you add a touch of frost and a few red dogwood stems or something else to contrast with the neutrals and greys in the garden, it takes on quite another character.

GET OUT TO OTHER GARDENS I know there aren’t that many gardens open in January but the ones that are usually have something to shout about. Plus there’s always the compulsory cup of afternoon tea or pub visit to enjoy. The National Trust has three strong options, firstly a trip to Newark Park in Ozleworth, Gloucestershire, which has splendid views of the Cotswold countryside.

There’s also our very own Great Chalfield

Manor near Melksham where the gardens offer terraces, topiary houses, a gazebo and views across the pond for the snowdrops.

Finally, there’s the ever-beautiful Stourhead near Mere in Wiltshire for a wintery stroll around the dramatic lake surrounded by classical temples, mystical grottoes and rare and exotic trees. Don’t forget to take your camera. n Visit: nationaltrust.org.uk/newark-park; nationaltrust.org.uk/great-chalfield-manorand-garden; nationaltrust.org.uk/stourhead Jane Moore is an award-winning gardening columnist and head gardener at The Bath Priory Hotel. Twitter: @janethegardener

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the directory

to advertise in this section call 01225 424 499

Electricians

Health, Beauty & Wellbeing

Chauffeur/Private Hire

ONEMAGAZINEONECITYONEMONTH

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Aromatherapy • Reflexology/Facial reflexology Japanese Cosmo Facelift • Deep Tissue Massage We provide Bath Airport transfers to and from all major airports in the uk. We use only Hi spec vehicles and give a near on chauffeur experience at less than regular taxi prices.

Airport transfers • City to city travel • Hi spec vehicles 1-8 seat vehicles available • Account work considered • Free Wifi in selected vehicles Card payments taken with Izettle • Prices start from as little as £39

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Web: romanbathprivatehire.co.uk Email: Info@romanbathprivatehire.co.uk Tel: 01225 484346

Health, Beauty & Wellbeing

Trowbridge & Neal’s Yard Bath

Holiday Rental

60+ luxury properties for lets 2 nights to 5 months Holidays – For business – Friends & family – Temporary accommodation during renovation/relocation Contact: 01225 482 225 alexa@bathholidayrentals.com www.bathholidayrentals.com Providing 4 & 5 star self-catering properties since 2006

ONEMAGAZINEONECITYONEMONTH

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House & Home

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AND RECEIVE THE BATH MAGAZINE BY POST NEVER MISS OUT We deliver to over 20,000 addresses every month. But if you live outside our distribution area or would like us to send a copy to friends or family, we offer a magazine mailing service.

12 MONTHS FROM JUST £30 SUBSCRIBE ONLINE AT thebathmag.co.uk/subscribe or Tel: 01225 424 499

SPECIAL OFFER Subscribe now and receive a FREE Autumn/Winter edition of our brilliant 196 page city guide Postcard from Bath

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PROPERTY | HOMEPAGE

T

his is a rare opportunity to purchase an individual detached modern house along with a further detached adjacent annexe. Shrubdown has been a fantastic family home for the last 40 years and is ideally suited to multi generational living. The property is situated in a tucked away, elevated position with glorious farreaching country views. It stands in large mature gardens and grounds of approximately 2 acres.

The main house has a internal area of 2,189 sq ft/203 sq m and comprises a living room, kitchen/breakfast room with Rayburn, conservatory/dining room, four bedrooms with bath/shower rooms a loft room and dressing room. Adjacent to this is a detached single storey annexe comprising three bedrooms, a bathroom and en suite shower room, large bespoke kitchen and living room.

A large undercroft provides extensive storage or scope for a studio and there is also an impressive snooker/garden room as well as a detached stable block. The driveway is set behind secure electronic gates and offers plenty of space for parking.

Shrubdown is an idyllic countryside base for a large, extended family and has the advantage of being close to all local amenities and within easy reach of the centre of Bath. For full particulars contact agents Pritchards.

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

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SHRUBDOWN, Staples Hill, Freshford • 4 bedroom family home with additional 3 bedroom detached annexe • Glorious setting • Grounds of approx 2 acres • Garden room and detached stable block • Scope for studio

Guide price: £1,200,000

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“IN WINTER I PLOT AND PLAN. IN SPRING I MOVE.” *

R Own a property in Bath? airready are ready to take on your property Why just host when you can get airready to Superhost?

Bath’s premium holiday letting management service airready is based in Bath and run by established holiday home experts. Rebecca and Deborah at airready take care of everything: from listing your home to offering a 24/7 point of contact for your guests. We ensure nothing is overlooked with hotel standard cleans, luxurious white cotton linen, fluffy towels and a generous welcome basket all ready for your guests.

Our scrupulous attention to detail has earned us our Superhost status for the second year running, which means airready homes have 22% more reservations. Why just host, when you can Superhost with airready?

For more information call Rebecca 07906 507228 or Deborah 07722 422 039. www.airready.co.uk

emember all those years ago, when TV commercials after Christmas Day sold little else but summer holidays, when magazines were chock full of alluring photos of impossibly blue skies and lazy days by the seaside? “We know it’s dark and cold outside now,” they were saying, “but warm bright sunny days really are round the corner”.

Well, moving house my not be at the top of everyone’s list of ‘must-dos’ in the depths of winer, but the days are getting longer, the trees are in bud, and there are already the faintest stirrings of the harbinger of Spring!

So this is the best time to start preparing for a Spring or Summer move – because a successful move is all about the planning and preparation.

Here are a few tips: you can find more on our website – and we’ll happily pop over to see you, to go through some of these in more detail.

1. If, like many of our clients, you’ve lived in the same home for ten, twenty or even more years, then you will surely have plenty of bits and pieces – small pieces of furniture, kitchen gear, clothes, knick-knacks – that you’ve been thinking of passing on or throwing out but never quite got round to doing. And be honest to yourself: the rule of thumb is only to keep things that are useful and/or the you really love. Regardless of when you move, this is a great way of Sarah Milward-Oliver of clearing headspace as well as Tailormade Relocation roomspace!

2. Consider carefully where you’re moving to. Close to shops and friends? Away from traffic fumes and noise? Well supported by public transport? A strong existing community of like-minded people? East to access as you get older?

3. Think about some of the details that are a must-have in your new home, particularly if it’s a new-build or within a retirement complex: modern built homes are notoriously lackng in useful cupboard and storage space. If you’re downsizing to a smaller propety more suited to today and tomorrow’s needs rather than when you needed a family home, then the size of rooms and the adequacy of storage space is particularly important to check through.

4. Do you have family and/or friends who you can rely on when it comes to changing telephone numbers or coping with the move of furniture and boxes, and boxes, and boxes!

Our task is to help in any way we can. Not only do we provide practical guidance and help so you can cope with the nitty-gritty work of moving. We also provide emotionla support, particularly in those many instances when family and/or friends are unable to help. We’re proud of the many words of thanks from past clients on our website.

As we’ve said before, moving home can be a life-affirming and rejuvenating process, no matter what your age. It justs needs a little forward planning, the right kind of professional help, and a determination to enjoy the new adventure!

*US musician Henry Rollins

If you’re thinking about moving, call Sara Milward-Oliver today for a free consulation 01225 868692 / 07968 213510 . sara@tailormaderelocation.co.uk www.tailormaderelocation.co.uk/testimonials

Airbnb property management

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“We used Mardan following a recommendation from a friend. They moved us in and out of storage and then into our renovated house. I would highly recommend them. The service was super efficient and the guys were quick, polite and courteous. Nothing was too much trouble and all of our possessions arrived safe and sound” Emma Webster, Moon Client

DOMESTIC & COMMERCIAL MOVERS • PACKERS • STORERS • SHIPPERS

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SO

LD

pritchards-bath.co.uk

Warleigh Bathford

Shaft Road, Combe Down

A truly exceptional country residence occupying the major wing of this magnificent G II* Listed building with exquisite accommodation. Master bedroom and guest bedroom suites and 2 double bedrooms & bathroom.

Magnificent entrance hall. Impressive kitchen/dining room. 2 garages and driveway parking. Private, landscaped grounds approx. 2.4 acres to River Avon with riparian rights. Int area approx. 4487 sq ft/416 sq m.

A fine detached 4 bedroom modern house standing in good sized attractive mature gardens in a peaceful, first class road. Extremely convenient for range of local schools. Double garage and driveway parking. Further scope to convert loft space (subj to nec consents).

Internal area approx. 1928 sq ft/179 sq m (excluding garage).

Guide Price: £2,500,000

Guide Price: £1,150,000

Camden Crescent

Weston Lane

An impressive ground/lower ground floor garden maisonette, part of a fine GI Listed Georgian Crescent house in a desirable and prime residential area close to the centre. 2 good sized en suite double bedrooms. Dressing room/bed 3. Attractive courtyard garden. Double garage & residents permit. No onward chain. Int area approx. 2301 sq ft/213 sq m (excluding garage).

A charming 3 double bed period cottage presented to a particularly high standard, in a popular and most convenient position close to Newbridge, St Mary’s and Weston All Saints Primary Schools. Tucked away position forming part of a small select terrace. Private offstreet parking for 2 cars Within 30 minutes level walk of the city centre. EPC D. Internal area approx.1352 sq ft/125.6 sq m.

Guide Price: £850,000

Guide Price: £525,000

11 Quiet Street, Bath BA1 2LB Pritchards January.indd 1

Tel: 01225 466 225

Follow us on 17/12/2018 12:21

Cherry Grove, Farmborough A light and spacious three bedroom detached house with a private garden and garage, forming part of an exclusive new development that has been finished to a high specification throughout. Situated in the picturesque village of Farmborough, the property enjoys convenient access to Bath and Bristol.

Rent: ÂŁ1,500 pcm* open plan contemporary kitchen / living room with bi-folding doors | granite work surfaces and a central island | private garden | study and separate WC with shower | three double bedrooms | en-suite shower room | modern family bathroom | spectacular views | single garage and driveway | picturesque village location offering convenient access to Bristol and Bath

Reside Bath | 24 Barton Street Bath BA1 1HG | T 01225 445 777 | E info@residebath.co.uk | W www.residebath.co.uk

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

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Georgian comes out on top as the most popular of period homes Peter Greatorex, managing director of The apartment Company

[SOUTH WESTERN] LIMITED

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hat type of home do you favour? You may like the sleek lines of a contemporary apartment, or swoon when you see unique features in a period property. But when it comes to the most popular style of period home in Britain, estate agents have said it’s Georgian, according to a recent article in the Express.

What is it about Georgian architecture that we love?

“Perfect proportions, symmetry and space – no wonder we’re so keen to preserve Georgian architecture,” said Christopher Middleton in The Telegraph.

During the Georgian period, architecture was highly influenced by classical times. The aristocratic youth of the time would travel through Europe on ‘tours’ aimed at enhancing their education.

These Grand Tours provided them with the opportunity to explore classical architecture in places such as Greece and Rome.

One of the most important architectural legacies of the period is the terrace. A row of townhouses built to meet the demands of the urban growth that followed commercial success. It was their solution for providing a larger number of houses in a small space.

To prevent the spread of fire, walls were thick and buildings were mainly four storeys in height.

Properties built in the Georgian period are spacious, as architects focused on proportions and symmetry. This is why, now, many of these townhouses have been converted into apartments that still retain generous room proportions. Homes of this period also hold their value, making them a good investment.

Bath, the complete Georgian city

Crafting beautiful homes

Bath | Somerset | Wiltshire | Cotswolds | Dorset

As you gaze at these beautifully designed buildings it’s hard to imagine how they managed to manoeuvre such heavy Bath stone through our city’s streets and up scaffolding. Yet their attention to fine details is fascinating, always ensuring they achieved the exacting proportions of classical facades.

Bath was the first planned city outside of London, and it remains Britain’s most complete Georgian city, a lesson in architectural innovation. Iconic in stature, with its elegant stone sweeping crescent, the Royal Crescent is one of the greatest examples of architecture of this period. Due to it being Grade I listed, it remains almost untouched from the day it was built.

Timeless elegant living There is no doubt that there is a true elegance that comes with living in a Georgian apartment; not only is this your home, you also have the privilege of being the custodian of an important piece of British and local history.

01225 791155 ashford-homes.co.uk

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We are blessed to be able to offer those looking to buy or let a property a glorious home from this much-loved period. If you would like to see what Georgian apartments we have available at the moment, come and talk to a member of our knowledgeable team.

The Apartment Company Pg@theapartmentcompany.co.uk or call 01225 471144.

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VINEYARDS, Bath

Price ÂŁ995,000

A beautifully refurbished three storey Grade II listed Georgian townhouse with four bedrooms and three bathrooms and a stunning kitchen/diner on the ground floor with bi-fold doors opening out onto a substantial terraced garden, right in the heart of Georgian Bath.

Grade II listed Georgian townhouse in the heart of Bath | Beautifully refurbished | Four bedrooms | Three bathrooms | Stunning kitchen/diner with bi-fold doors to the garden | Two reception rooms | Utility room | Substantial terraced garden with glass balustrades | EPC Exempt

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CHARLOTTE STREET, Bath

Price ÂŁ985,000

Stunningly refurbished Grade II listed Georgian townhouse located in the heart of the city with Bath’s shops, restaurants and galleries on the doorstep. This family home offers 2,297 square foot of living space and includes a drawing room, kitchen, dining room, utility room, W.C., master bedroom suite, four further bedrooms, shower room, storage vaults and a courtyard garden.

Refurbished Grade II listed Georgian townhouse | Period features | 2,297 square feet | Drawing room and dining room | Master suite | Four further bedrooms | Shower room | Courtyard garden | EPC exempt

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CITY | NEWS

We value tenants as much as landlords Peter Greatorex, managing director of The apartment Company introduces their new lettings manager; nicola Wilkes

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ettings is often a tricky business, the success of which can be completely transformed through listening and a good old fashioned conversation. In the words of our new Lettings Manager, Nicola Wilkes, “It’s a landlord’s property, but it’s a tenant’s home,” which is why at The Apartment Company we value tenants as much as landlords.

Nicola has only been with us for two weeks, but already her experience, passion, and approach has been praised by landlords and tenants alike. I asked Nicola to tell us more about her property past, and why The Apartment Company was the right fit.

“I set up my own agency in early 2006 because, having been a tenant myself, I felt that I could provide a service that both landlords and tenants were happy with. It was really a case of treating both sides of the equation equally, so feeling that, as a tenant, you were valued, too.

“For just under 12 years I grew the business from zero to a portfolio in excess of 150 properties. Based in Trowbridge, my agency covered what was historically north and west Wiltshire. We managed properties right across the spectrum, from studios right the way up to, for example, a gorgeous eight-bedroom, four-bathroom mansion type property in Trowbridge, and everything in between. Our landlords and tenants came from across the UK as well as overseas.

How does your experience as a tenant influence how you manage a property?

“Ultimately, I thought back to how I was treated, wanting to feel like I actually mattered. If you’ve never been a tenant, it’s hard to describe.

You’re renting your property, you don’t own it, but it’s still your home and you rely on others to make it feel like it’s your home. There are so many things that you can do, and can’t do, when you rent a property.

You are entrusted to look after it, but it’s important you also feel like the trust that’s placed in you.

“I’ve only been here for a little under two weeks, and met with a number of our landlord’s tenants. I have talked to them, but more importantly I have listened to them. A quick phone call, a text message, or email can make all the difference.

“It is a landlord’s property, but it’s somebody else’s home. I’ve always said to landlords that they should value their tenants and don’t just think, “Oh well, there’s always somebody else out there who will take it.” That’s not the right approach. Value your tenants just as much as your landlords.”

Communication is one of the most important factors in property management

“I was responsible for developing the business and putting in place all the processes. When you have your own business it’s a learning process and a bit of trial and error as well, so you develop it and grow.”

“A successful tenancy all comes down to communication; communication on both sides, with landlords and with tenants.

Listening to them, helping them understand the process and what we do, and what we can do. I listen to people, and I make sure that people know that they actually count, that they matter.

Something had to change

What do tenants want?

“It was the desire to change my work-life balance that led me to selling my business. I’d run it at full speed and I needed a break.

“Tenants want their tenancies and their time living in their properties to be smooth-running; they want the place that they live in to be of the best standard. And I would like to think that landlords understand and value their tenants just as much as they do their properties.

“I’m a single mum with six children. Three are all grown up, but I still have three at home, who are all now in secondary school. When I sold the business I still had one in his final year at primary school, and I wanted to spend that time supporting him in his final year, and just being there for all my children. I needed to redress my work-life balance, and, to me, it was a really productive year out. It was time for me, time to just rediscover who I was.

“When I decided to come back into the job market I had so much enthusiasm and so much energy. I’d spent that year spending time with the children, going to the gym, having a PT, going on holiday, just having some me-time, which, when you run your own business, is in short supply.

“At the end of the summer the time felt right to go back to work; I wanted to utilise all my skills and experience I’d learned from running my own business. I knew that I needed to find a company that had the same outlook, somewhere where I could be very involved and could really make a difference.

“I’d researched The Apartment Company thoroughly before I met Peter. I liked what I saw; the niche market that they specialise in, and the quality of what they do. Peter and I got on well instantly, I asked for the Lettings Manager job – they hadn’t specifically advertised that one, but I knew it was in the wings, and I got it.”

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“Lettings and property management is always about people. The bricks and mortar is important to the landlord – it’s a valuable asset – but at the end of the day, we’re dealing with people, and I think it’s about ensuring that we never, ever lose sight of that.

Joining the team “It’s great to join such an enthusiastic lettings team who want to do the best that we possibly can. We have a shared passion for providing a positive and rewarding experience that benefits and supports all our clients. I’m enjoying working in the niche apartment market and understanding the full process of that, including the block management companies that we obviously have to have relationships with. Together we want to ensure that every tenancy runs as smoothly as it possibly can.”

It’s been a joy to welcome Nicola to our team, please do not hesitate to contact her should you be looking to let or rent a property in Bath.

The Apartment Company Lettings@theapartmentcompany.co.uk or call 01225 303870

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Newbridge Hill

£750 pcm

Unfurnished · PRICE RANGE £750 to £850 pcm · Master bedroom · Superb bathroom · Easy access to Bristol · Available now · On street parking · Council tax band B

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Cleveland Place East

£825 pcm

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Gay Street

£1100 pcm

SALES

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LETTINGS

£900 pcm

Unfurnished · PRICE RANGE £900 to £1,100 pcm · Two double bedrooms · First floor apartment · Council tax band C · Off road parking · Available now

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Great Pulteney Street

£1100 pcm

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Catharine Place

Park Street

£1150 pcm

£1000 pcm

Unfurnished · PRICE RANGE £1,000 to £1,100 pcm · Two double bedrooms · Allocated parking · Close to local amenties · Available now · No students · Council tax band D

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Cavendish Place

£1350 pcm

Part-furnished · PRICE RANGE £1,350 to £1,450 pcm · Two bedrooms · Private courtyard · Residents parking permit · Suit professional couple · Available now · Council tax band D

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Furnished · PRICE RANGE £1,150 to £1,250 pcm · Central location · Residents parking permit · No pets · Suitable for professional person · Council tax band C · Available 19 January 2019

01225 303 870

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Part-furnished · PRICE RANGE £1,100 to £1,300 pcm · Central sought after location · Level walk to shops and amenities · Residents parking permit · Council tax band C · Agency fees £420 inc VAT · Available now

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Unfurnished · PRICE RANGE 1,200 to 1,250 pcm · Two double bedrooms · Well-manicured communal gardens · Central location · Available now · Residents parking permit · Council tax band C

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Combe Park

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Part-furnished · PRICE RANGE £825 to £875 pcm · Close to city centre · One bedroom · Ideally situated · On street parking · Available now · Council tax band A

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Portland Place

£1400 pcm

Unfurnished · PRICE RANGE £1400 to £1700 pcm · Two double bedrooms · Newly decorated · Ground floor apartment · Council tax band E · Off street parking · Available now

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Russel Street

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O.I.E.O

£475,000

Grade II listed · Central location · Two double bedrooms · Well proportioned · Beautifully presented · Private entrance · Approx 964 Sq ft

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Springfield Place

O.I.E.O

£385,000

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Corinthian, Riverside

Old Walcot School

O.I.E.O

£350,000

O.I.E.O

£425,000

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Brock Street

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£300,000

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Bellhanger Court

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Henrietta Street

O.I.E.O

£285,000

£400,000

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St Peters Chapel

O.I.E.O

£325,000

Chapel conversion · Open-plan living · Two double bedrooms · Unique design · Roof terrace · Short walk to the city · Approx 749 Sq ft

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Ideal location · Panoramic views · Private roof terrace · Two bedrooms · Light and airy · Close to city centre · Approx 587 Sq ft

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Georgian apartment · Two double bedrooms · Close to city centre · Original features · Beautifully decorated · Approx 756 Sq ft

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Grade II listed · Georgian · Prestigious address · Open-plan living area · One bedroom · Pretty courtyard garden · Approx 370 Sq ft

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Top floor apartment · Two bedrooms · Stunning views · Beautifully decorated · Modern bathroom · Lift access · Approx 601 Sq ft

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Georgian apartment · Beautifully decorated · High ceilings · Two double bedrooms · Modern kitchen and bathroom · Stunning views · Approx 648 Sq ft

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Georgian villa · Grade II listed · Ground floor · Two double bedrooms · Open plan kitchen · West facing balcony · Private front garden · Approx 920 Sq ft

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Sydney Place

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£250,000

Georgian apartment · Grade II listed · One double bedroom· Central location · Private courtyard · Close to Sydney Gardens · Approx 610 Sq ft

www.theapartmentcompany.co.uk

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Great Pulteney Street

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£495,000

Georgian · Grade I · Beautifully decorated · Contemporary kitchen · One bedroom · Clost to city centre · Beautiful high ceilings · Private garage · Approx. 966 Sq. ft We are delighted to bring to the market this beautifully decorated georgian apartment. Situated in one of the most prestigious locations in Bath and being just a short walk from the city centre, this property is not one to miss. This apartment comprises; stunning bedroom, grand drawing room, modern bathroom, contemporary fully integrated kitchen and a private garage. This apartment is bound to generate high levels of interest, so early viewing is highly recommended.

SALES

01225 471 14 4

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