The Bath Magazine May 2018

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thebathmag.co.uk

ISSUE 188 | MAY 2018 £3.95 where sold

CELEBRATING 70 YEARS OF BATH FESTIVALS T H E B AT H M A G A Z I N E – T H E C I T Y ’ S B I G G E S T M O N T H LY G U I D E T O L I F E A N D L I V I N G I N B AT H

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Contents May 2018 5 THINGS

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TAPAS IN TOWN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66

Your essential events to look forward to this month

Melissa Blease reports back on new bar Olé Bar and Restaurant

THE ROCK GOD IN BATH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

A COMMUNITY PUB . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70

Emma Clegg interviews the best vocalist of all time, Robert Plant

The Packhorse in Southstoke has reinvented itself

WHAT’S ON

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EATING BY DESIGN

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Our guide to the top events happening around the city

The Olive Tree Restaurant serves up its tasting menu

BEING BRUNEL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

LIZZY YARNOLD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84

The opening of Bristol’s newest museum

The double Olympic champion talks ice, speed and inspiring others

IRON AND FIRE

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WEDDING BELLS IN BATH

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Some of the best ideas for getting married in style

Heritage ironwork and the BATHiron Festival

BATH OPEN STUDIOS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 More than 180 artists and makers open their doors to the public

WELLBEING FOR ALL

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Revitalise, rejuvenate and get active for the summer

THE WALK NEEDLE-PUNCH MAGIC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

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Andrew Swift follows the Cotswold Way

Jessica Hope meets textile artist Gill Hewitt

GARDENING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110 BATH AT WORK

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Neill Menneer’s portrait of Peter Rollins at Thermae Bath Spa

THE BATH FESTIVAL AT 70

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HOT PROPERTY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113 56

Georgette McCready recollects some past festival highlights

PUB IN THE PARK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62 Emma Clegg talks to chef Tom Kerridge about his food festival

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

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Jane Moore plans a high-impact border

Follow us on Twitter @thebathmagazine

The finest homes to buy or rent

ON THE COVER

A selection of Bath Festival posters from the past 70 years, images © Bath Festivals

Like us: Facebook.com/ thebathmagazine

Follow us on Instagram @thebathmagazine

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EDITOR’S PICKS THAT PERIOD VIBE: If you have a period home, what are the interior design techniques that work best?

If you’d like some answers, turn to page 102 and peruse the expert advice from Sarah Latham, creative director of Etons of Bath. Her suggestions include how to brighten up a darker room and how it’s wise to review and rationalise the things you have in a room before deciding on a design.

from the

EDITOR

K

ing Alfred once famously called the blacksmith, “the king of all the trades.” This was in AD 871, though, and it’s fair to say that blacksmithing no longer has quite the same profile. The forthcoming BATHIron Festival aims to change that, as a team of blacksmiths make a new balustrade for the bandstand in Parade Gardens, and demonstrate the skills that are still needed to restore and maintain our historic ironwork. You’ll recognise some of the period ironwork from around the city in the feature on page 40.

Our May issue is full of things to see and do. The Bath Festival from 11 to 27 May has a rich music and literature offering, including the great Robert Plant and the Sensational Space Shifters who are appearing in concert on the final Sunday. He told me in our interview (feel the thrill down my spine) on page 22 that performing in Bath will be almost like coming home. Read about more events at the festival on page 24, and Georgette McCready remembers some of the stand-out moments from its 70-year history – including the 1961 Roman orgy – on page 56.

You will find more festival vibes by visiting chef Tom Kerridge’s Pub in the Park in Royal Victoria Park from 8–10 June. He’s there with his Michelinstarred pubs and a selection of other top UK pubs and restaurants which will be serving their most popular dishes to a background of live music, including Tom Odell, Razorlight and The Christians.

If you’d like to investigate local artists, there are four open studios taking place in different parts of Bath on each weekend in May – visit them to browse paintings, prints, jewellery, glass, sculpture and photographs. See the feature on page 50 for more details.

Melissa Blease has been researching the food scene with a piece on the new Olé Bar and Restaurant in Saw Close on page 66 – the tapas menu is sublime, she reports back – and investigates the community buy-back and remodelling of The Packhorse in Southstoke on page 70. I was also treated to a magical tasting menu at The Olive Tree Restaurant – with, impressively, a different wine to suit each course.

As if all this was not enough, we have an interview with skeleton athlete and double Olympic champion Lizzy Yarnold on page 84, where she tells us about her training regime, her educational work and her plans for the future.

It’s time to make May a month to remember...

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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PALOMA PERFORMS IN BATH: BRIT award-winner Paloma Faith will headline the Saturday night of The Bath Festival finale weekend of May 26–27 as an extension to her summer tour. This follows Tears for Fears having been forced to postpone their UK tour due to unforeseen health concerns. Paloma Faith said: “I’m saddened to hear that illness has struck a member of Tears for Fears, but I’m so glad that I can jump in and make sure everyone has the best time.

I promise to give it my all and get everyone up dancing.” thebathfestival.org.uk QUEST FOR WELLNESS: Beijing-based Chinese artist Zhang Yanzi brings her artwork to the Museum of East Asian Artin the exhibition A Quest for Wellness from 5 May to 12 November. The show includes contemporary ink paintings and installations.

Excess, shown here, is a silk robe covered in capsules which questions the consumption of medicine by modern society; meaa.org.uk

a spreading chestnut tree ❝ Under The village smithy stands; The smith, a mighty man is he, With large and sinewy hands; And the muscles of his brawny arms Are strong as iron bands.

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HENRY LONGFELLOW (1807–1882)

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OPENING MAY 2018 SAW CLOSE Grand Opening – Friday 25TH May Open from 9.00pm

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ZEITGEIST

5

things to do in

May

Party in the city

This month we’re all about feeling great.

From enjoying express beauty treatments around the city (see page 90) to the Movement Medicine workshop with Bex Bridgford at The Gainsborough Bath Spa Hotel (10 May, 11.30am, £35), May is all about you and your wellbeing. Check out our health and beauty products on page 96 to find those pieces that’ll get you feeling and looking fabulous.

Pink Hotel performing at the Party in the City 2017

Get a new perspective Say cheese Calling all cheese lovers – The British Cheese Awards 2018 is coming to the south west. Celebrating its 25th birthday and honouring the British cheese industry, more than 1,000 cheeses are expected to be entered. If you camembert to miss it, head to the Royal Bath and West Showground, Shepton Mallet on 30 May. It’s going to be legen-dairy! Visit: bathandwest.com

Atomic Trial on Mururoa atoll, Tahiti, 1970

The new exhibition at The Edge at The University of Bath is now open. Collected Shadows: The Archive of Modern Conflict focuses on the history of the photographic medium dating from the mid-1850s to the present day. Open until 16 June, this exhibition of 200 photographs is drawn from the extensive collection of The Archives of Modern Conflict. The AMC was first established 25 years ago as a repository for vernacular photography and ephemera relating to the First and Second World Wars.

The exhibition represents a great variety of techniques, from early albumen and handtinted silver gelatin prints to the distinctive blue of the cyanotype. Free admission.

Visit: edgearts.org

Feel the fringe Bath Fringe, the city’s homegrown arts festival, from 25 May to 10 June, brings theatre, comedy, music, talks, kids’ shows, poetry, film and participation. Here’s a flavour of what’s in store...

On 25 May The Last Poets from Harlem NY visit the city’s own shrine to Afro-consciousness, Haile Selassie’s Fairfield House. Club Cairo, Bath’s celebration of Middle-Eastern culture, present their latest multi-arts experience at Kingswood Theatre on 2 June. Multimedia

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performers Mechanimal transport you to the Somerset Levels with migrating birds on 5–6 June. Bath’s leading interactive theatre exponents Kilter Theatre will take you inside your own skin as they explore body image at The Cubicle from 31 May – 3 June. All this along with characters from ancient Greece to future dystopias; music from Spain, Nigeria, Brazil and darkest Britain; and visual artists from all round the country. Pick up a programme from around the city and see the programme online: bathfringe.co.uk

Courtesy Archive of Modern Conflict

Feel good

The highly anticipated return of The Bath Festival is finally here.

The 17-day multi-arts festival will be in the city from 11 – 27 May. Marking its 70th anniversary, Bath Festivals is celebrating everything to do with music and literature. Don’t miss the Party in the City on 18 May – the biggest night of free music and theatre in Bath is back with an almighty, night-long jam.

Robert Plant and the Sensational Space Shifters and Paloma Faith will be taking to the stage at the big finale weekend at The Rec on 26-27 May. Read our interview with Robert Plant on page 22.

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ist

THE CITY EXPLORE THE PACIFIC Pacific: Ocean of Islands is the summer exhibition at Bath Royal Literary and Scientific Institution. The exhibition covers corals and shells, the ethnography of the many small islands, and natural history specimens that illustrate the significance of the Wallace line, the invisible boundary which separates the ecozones of Asia and Australasia. You can also see prints from international photojournalists, highlighting the impact of environmental change on the wildlife and people of the Pacific; the show runs until 22 September; brlsi.org

My BATH Phoebe Kemp is an actor based in Box and a part-time power wheelchair user. She is currently touring her one woman play ‘May’, based on the life of Rosa May Billinghurst, a disabled suffragette

I grew up in Box, just outside of Bath, so it’s always been the city I most connect to. I have worked with some fantastic Bath-based theatre companies, including the Natural Theatre Company and Butterfly Psyche.

I love the creative community in Bath – it’s very supported and interconnected and I never feel as if I am ‘competing’ with others. Also, I often take Bath for granted, but remember when I have people visiting – the city is beautiful.

Matt Williams, collections manager of BRLSI, preparing some of the coral specimens which were donated to the BRLSI in the 19th century

COLOUR AND BIRDSONG Colour expert and fabric designer Kaffe Fasset will be transforming the Victoria Art Gallery with 400 of his vibrant quilts and needlepoints.

The show, which runs from 19 May to 2 September, will see the gallery painted in seven different colours and birdsong playing in the background. It will also feature colourful mosaics, benches, mirror frames, candlesticks, shoes and a chandelier by Candace Bahouth. Fassett, who has been associated with Bath since the 1960s when he moved to England from San Francisco, will also give a talk on 25 July at The Assembly Rooms. Talk tickets £12/£11; bathboxoffice.org.uk.

Visit: victoriagal.org.uk

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Jane Austen and Mary Shelley have both been a huge inspiration for me creatively. I also recently learnt about Mary Blathwayt, who was one of the ‘ordinary’ suffragettes in Bath, a foot soldier, doing the day-to-day campaigning and administration. We hear so much about the great speakers of the suffrage movement who made the grand gestures, but it’s important to remember those who kept the movement going.

I have always been passionate about equality – if our world and society was more equal, it would be a better place. I don’t believe you should just accept that life is unfair – we should fight to make it fairer.

I don’t remember ever choosing acting as a career – it was something I loved growing up, and I never stopped. At some point in my teens I realised most of my friends were choosing ‘sensible’ jobs and I hadn’t – so I just carried on.

I get endless fits of giggles in the rehearsal room about things that would not seem funny to someone outside it, and usually at the end of a long day of rehearsal...

I think the term ‘organised chaos’ defines me the best – I tend to have lots of things going on at once, but am very attached to my diary and write a lot of lists.

The best theatre production I have seen recently is Harry Potter and the Cursed Child at the Palace Theatre, London. I don’t want to spoil any secrets, but it is truly magical!

When eating out I mostly choose places in the Southgate Centre – which tend to be the most

Photograph by Camilla Adams

THE BUZZ THE BUZZ

accessible. Giraffe has a great selection of veggie options so that tends to be my go-to choice.

When I am not working I volunteer with the Corsham Wind Band. They are a fantastic organisation and they encourage young people to have fun playing music. I learnt to play the trombone with them and now I conduct their Spectrum Band.

The best advice I have ever been given is to know your values. If you know what your priorities are and do what you can to stick to them, it makes it easier to make decisions, and to not do things you may later regret.

If I could be any animal I would choose to be a dragon – not because I am especially dragonlike, but I just think they are awesome.

If I could go back in time for a day in Bath, – I don’t think I could last much longer – I would like to be there at the height of the Roman Empire and visit the Roman Baths.

I am currently working on my one-woman show, May, which is inspired by the life of disabled suffragette May Billinghurst. As a disabled actor I have been looking for a long time to find a woman from history I could play, and when someone shared an article about her with me a couple of years ago, I fell in love. She comes from an amazing family, and was a real force in the suffragette movement, but has been forgotten by history. I am so lucky to be supported by the Arts Council, Wyldwood Arts and Town Hall Arts Trowbridge in creating the production.

My plans in the short term are to continue touring May, and to get her story known to as many people as possible. My ambitions after that are to have a creative career while still being financially sustainable – that sounds simple but is trickier than you might think. n Phoebe Kemp’s production of May can be seen as part of Bath Fringe Festival on Sunday 13 May, 6pm, at Burdell’s Yard, 7a Anglo Terrace, Bath; £3–£6; Tel: 01225 875508; bathspalive.com

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Follow us on Twitter @thebathmagazine

See more online thebathmag.co.uk

Contact us: Publisher Email:

Steve Miklos steve@thebathmagazine.co.uk

Editor Tel: Email:

Emma Clegg 01225 424592 emma@thebathmagazine.co.uk

Financial Director Email:

Jane Miklos jane@thebathmagazine.co.uk

Production Manager Email:

Jeff Osborne production@thebathmagazine.co.uk

Production/Web Content Crystal Rose Email: crystal@thebathmagazine.co.uk Assistant Editor Email:

Jessica Hope jessica@thebathmagazine.co.uk

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

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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 2018 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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FED UP WITH POOR SIGNAL Our roving reporter bemoans Bath’s patchy broadband and mobile coverage

I

CLAVA DINE IN MATT WHITE

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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magine you were a visitor to Bath and you suddenly found yourself standing in a spot in the city centre with no internet connectivity. The handy tourism app you’d downloaded at home to allow you to explore the city’s highlights stubbornly refuses to load. Just a few years ago you might have thought how quaint and charming to find the west country so remote and you’d have simply switched your devices off, to enjoy the experience of being off radar.

But these days we expect to have access to the big wide world of information at our fingertips – and instantly too. We hate to be reminded of the old days of dial-up, when you’d have to patiently wait for everything to clunkingly load up. Perish the thought that we might have to wait more than a nano-second to Google the information we’re seeking. But most of us have experienced the scenario where you’re hanging out of the bathroom window, or standing on a chair waving your phone above your head in a bid to send a text or email.

London may have 4G connectivity almost everywhere, but Bath has what we might call its cold spots – that is places where the message comes up with a glum ‘No service’. Go into any Bath city centre business and ask staff what sort of coverage they get inside the building and all too often you’ll be met with a shaking of heads and ‘it’s shocking’ or ‘you’ll be lucky.’ A recent national survey of 2,000 UK office workers, published in Electronics Weekly, revealed that 23 per cent said their productivity was hindered at least once a week by poor connectivity at work. Many workers said they’d had to resort to leaving the building to try and pick up a better signal on the street.

We’ve all experienced those awkward minutes when you’ve lost a phone signal or internet coverage. There are places in Bath where, just a few paces apart, there can be 4G coverage that suddenly vanishes.

Hills, trees and the thick stone walls of our city’s historic buildings can all block the signal. Commercial premises, such as hotels and restaurants, often give you the chance to sign up to their wi-fi – but at a price. You find yourself having to agree to a e-newsletter or, worse, paying a fee to piggyback on their wi-fi account. I hope that one day access to free wi-fi will be like asking for a glass of tap water in a café, that it will be freely given and no one will think anything of it.

I used the website ofcom.org.uk to find out where there is coverage and to see how fast it is in different parts of Bath. Picking a city centre BA1 postcode I discovered that inside the building 4G coverage is OK at standard level, but that superfast and ultrafast are not available to all the addresses in this postcode. You may find there is no 4G coverage when you’re out on the street. There’s also a broadband map of Bath which shows that some areas of Weston Road have the slowest level of broadband connection, while just a short distance away, at Western Riverside, ultrafast connectivity is available.

Because the internet and mobile phone coverage are a relatively new thing it’s not assumed that it’s national or local government’s responsibility to lay on better connections for its citizens. Poor old Bath & North East Somerset Council has enough on its plate without having to fund new masts. No, it’s up to the providers, who after all, profit from our custom, to invest in a better infrastructure for improved communication.

You can visit 5g.co.uk to find news of the impending roll-out of better, quicker coverage nationwide. The big roll-out, which begins in London, is scheduled to begin in 2020. The government is aware that it is in our economic interest to speed things up. Britain currently stands at 54th in the world for 4G coverage, with Wales suffering the patchiest coverage of all, something that clearly needs improving.

The good news is that Bath gets a mention on the website, as one of the smaller places which will be among early adopters of 5G. But until this comes about you’ll find me on the platform of Bath Spa Station cursing the fact that my network doesn’t cover this particular spot. n

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There’s bound to be something for your home in our enormous collection of handsome, hand-selected, hand-made rugs, kilims, furniture and accessories, reasonably priced from £50 to £5000.

Cleaning • Restoration Valuation

Tel: 01761451764 Email: katya@orientalrugsofbath.com www.orientalrugsofbath.com at Bookbarn International, 1 Hallatrow Business Park, Wells Road, Hallatrow, Bristol BS39 6EX

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RETIREMENT SALE

SHOP  CLOSING To my lovely customers, dedicated staff and long suffering husband, I thank you for the enthusiasm, support and friendship we have shared together for nearly 20 years since I opened.

I am retiring from Shannon but I am excited to be supporting a new business called Treacle George.

This shop is opening in Tetbury and will stock many of the treasures currently sold at Shannon.

Thank you - Sue Shannon

S annon F U R N I T U R E LT D

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Contemporary Nordic furniture from Carl Hansen and Son, Fritz Hansen and Swedese.

Lighting by Louis Poulsen. Our homewares include Marimekko, Iittala, Rorstrand, with lots of Moomin mugs, fabric and throws from Denmark, Sweden and Finland.

68 Walcot Street Bath BA1 5BD 01225 424222 www.shannon-uk.com

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vintage furniture contemporar y styling

15 WALCOT BUILDINGS. LONDON RD. BA1 6AD ver veliving.uk

07785 332536

07712 467347

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FESTIVAL | PROFILE

FROM A WHISPER TO A SCREAM The golden-haired god is coming to Bath, performing with The Sensational Space Shifters during the finale weekend of The Bath Festival. “It’s almost like a homecoming,” Robert Plant tells Emma Clegg

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❝

Performing on-stage has turned into this amazing collage of light show and the whole deal is now like Star Wars versus Jason and the Argonauts

❝

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Photograph by Mads Perch

H

e christened himself a ‘Golden God’ in the ’70s and he has been voted in a poll by Planet Rock, “the greatest voice in rock.” Robert Plant will always be etched in the collective memory as the lead singer of Led Zeppelin. But this was just an epic start to a musical journey that has seen him exploring and reinventing his oeuvre for 50 years. You can see his current musical shift as he performs as Robert Plant and the Sensational Space Shifters at the Bath Festival on 27 May. Performing here is meaningful for Plant: “I’ve always thought that the Bath and Bristol area has thrown out so many amazing musicians – and three of them just happen to be in our band. There’s enough dynamism between Bristol and Bath to make it an exciting environment for us. So it’s a celebration, almost like a homecoming.”

Led Zeppelin performed at the Bath Festival of Blues and Progressive Music in Shepton Mallet in 1970. A young Michael Eavis came to the festival and later that year put on the first of what would become the Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts. “Who would have known that playing at the Bath Festival of Blues in Shepton Mallet would have had so much resonance that one sprightly farmer decided that it would bring him in a bit more revenue than his Fresian herd?” marvels Plant.

“In those spectacular days before there was anything like promotion, there was just a huge surge and the West Country was a great place to land – we [Led Zeppelin] played with Jefferson Airplane and went on until four in the morning back then. There was just a kind of resonance.”

The landscape of on-stage performing has changed somewhat since then, Plant reflects.

“In the late ’60s when Led Zeppelin was formed it was still a game without frontiers, as we didn’t know too much about anything.

I suppose really we were one of the first bands to play in massive places like big baseball stadiums in America – it was pretty gross to be honest. But now it’s turned into this amazing collage of light show and the whole deal is now like Star Wars versus Jason and the Argonauts.”

Where does Plant most like to perform?

“It’s great to be in the middle of a festival because there’s a type of hypnotism that takes place within the crowd,” he explains.

“But at the same time I like the intimacy of the theatre gigs that we do. So I’m happy anywhere really. I don’t feel I have to live up or down to anything. As long as it’s working beautifully and intensely onstage, then I’m fine wherever we go.”

Plant’s current tour features his second studio album with the Sensational Space Shifters, Carry Fire. The musical influences within it are far-reaching – there are blues, there’s folk, there are Eastern rhythms, there’s American Appalachian music and instruments such as E-bow, t’bal, and djembe. Plant explains that he has always

been enriched by different genres of music: “I was drawn to the lure and the seduction of different musical scales, the scales that came from North Africa, the stuff that was not quite so much a cheery English folk song as a beautiful piece of music that was dramatic, whether it came from a beautiful Egyptian orchestra base from Cairo in 1955

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FESTIVAL | PROFILE

or whether it came from the top of the Atlas Mountains where there is a kind of country feel where the rhythm of the music is just so seductive. It’s insane.”

But how does a song harness these musical themes? “I think we’re in a particularly prolific patch as writers and players and we’d had a pretty long tour prior to the beginning of work on Carry Fire,” says Plant.

“And when you are working together four or five times a week, and travelling incessantly, you become more and more tuned in to the little nuances that you have developed during sound checks and conversations.”

“If we hear a musical link that we are pleased with as we play we mention it to the sound engineer and we get a copy of it. We stockpile pieces like that, so it was like piecing ideas together,” says Plant. “And when they suited they were in different keys and we could modulate and continue to change the keys. And in that way we created that trancelike groove that we deal as a band.”

Plant warmly recognises the contribution of the other band members: “I owe so much of what I am now to the guys I’m working with. We’ve played together in one way or another for about 15 or 16 years, so we read each other really well. Justin Adams (guitarist) is a Bath citizen and John Baggott (keyboards) and Billy Fuller (bassist) are Bristol guys and the whole deal is about this groove that we’ve got.

There is no boss, really, just that kind

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I live my life and if I took my foot off the gas maybe I wouldn’t be able to sing the way I am now ... so I keep singing

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ROBERT PLANT AND THE SENSATIONAL SPACE SHIFTERS, clockwise from top left: Dave Smith (drummer), John Baggott (keyboards), Seth Lakeman (multiinstrumentalist), Billy Fuller (bass), Liam Tyson (banjo/guitar), Robert Plant (vocals) and Justin Adams (guitarist)

of work and joy. I think it’s a great place for me to land in my time as a singer and writer. The effort was finding what we all had in common – then we could just develop it without being too intense and without reaching for the stars.”

In recent years Plant has developed successful vocal collaborations with other singers such as bluegrass country singer Alison Krauss in their Grammy-award winning 2007 album Raising Sand. “I admired her work, but I had never imagined that I could sing with her, or she with me,” Plant reflects. “So when I went to Nashville I took a bunch of more rock-and-roll type things with me.

So I flew over and went to her house and sat on the table singing. And none of these things I could ever imagine doing in a rock band. Sitting at the table singing delicate songs.

I think the idea of having a naked vocal with hardly any clamour around it at all was really a challenge and it was an inspiring result.”

He also worked with folk singer Patty Griffin, with whom he formed Band of Joy, and they produced a studio album of the same name in

2010. They were also romantically involved for a period and he credits Griffin as, “One of the most spectacular singers on the planet. She is a gospel singer, a white girl from the Canadian border and she just sings like she is bringing something down from the heavens. It’s spectacular.”

“I like the idea of changing my voice to fit who I am singing with,” Plant continues. “And right now I’m singing with myself and with Billy Fuller singing behind me. And that’s different again, but it can go from a whisper to a scream – Esther Phillips once sang a song called this and that’s basically what our world is like right now.”

“Topically, my gig is – apart from pushing my weight about with the other guys a bit too much – creating theme and melody. And always writing. Sometimes innuendo, sometimes irony, sometimes about the errors of my ways. And I try and use advanced topics that are in empathy with the music that we create. It’s a way away from rock, but at the same time it’s passion with a kind of muted, even more powerful explosion. It’s a night of arduous wrangling with volume. So it’s a pretty intense thing that we do and it’s loaded with power and energy so it gives me a great place to go when I want to make points from experiences in my life.”

Now 69, Plant has no plans to change his musical lifestyle, to cut back on his tours, to be less engaged in what he loves: “What is staying put but waiting for the next thing to do, you know? I live my life and if I took my foot off the gas maybe I wouldn’t be able to sing the way I am now. And if I ever thought I hadn’t got the chops the way I want them and I had to go out and fake it then it would be over. So I keep singing.”

“I’ve had many years in the sun being feted for the stuff in the past.

But I’m in fantastic company to make something special for the present and the future. I’m a mature student. That’s how I feel, I’m learning constantly, having my eyes opened all the time to more nuances in what we do. So it’s good to come back to Bath to bring it round.” n Robert Plant and The Sensational Space Shifters head up the Sunday programme of the finale weekend at The Bath Festival on 27 May, 2–11pm, Bath Recreation Ground. £50 Sunday ticket, £80 weekend ticket. To book tel: 01225 463362; thebathfestival.org.uk

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CITY | CULTURE

FESTIVAL TEASERS

The Bath Festival brings a dazzling range of events to the city this year – here are some ideas to tempt you...

PROFESSOR GREEN Professor Green’s music career began with his album Alive Till I’m Dead in 2010. Having battled anxiety and depression, he has worked tirelessly to raise awareness of mental health issues. In this interview, he explores his youth, career as a musician and his Channel 4 documentary, Working Class White Men. Thursday 17 May, 7.30pm, The Forum. £20 (£19)

NIKESH SHUKLA When Nikesh Shukla began to crowdfund his anthology The Good Immigrant he had no idea of the prizes it would get and the vast number of copies it would sell. Now, with two more books in the offing, Shukla finds himself regularly featured as a top cultural changemaker. Friday 25 May, 3pm, Assembly Rooms. £10 (£9)

MICHAEL SYMMONS ROBERTS Winner of the Forward Prize, the Costa Poetry Prize and the Whitbread Poetry Award, Michael Symmons Roberts has collaborated on a range of musical pieces and broadcast work.

Join him as he reads from his recent collections, including Mancunia, and discusses his work. Saturday 19 May, 7pm, The Holburne Museum. £9 (£8)

DAVID FRANCE Investigative reporter and author David France’s multi award-winning book How to Survive a Plague tells the moving story of the AIDS epidemic and the grass-roots activists who pushed forward the development of lifesaving drugs. Saturday 26 May, 7pm, Assembly Rooms. £9 (£8)

ROBERT WEBB For comedian and writer Robert Webb, the ‘rules’ of being a man (drink beer, love sport, don’t talk about feelings) aren’t straightforward.

Hilarious and heartbreaking, his bestseller How Not To Be a Boy explores the relationships that made Robert the man he is. Thursday 24 May, 7pm, Assembly Rooms. £10 (£9)

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VIV GROSKOP Everything that can happen has already happened in Russian literature, or so Viv Groskop would have you believe. In her book The Anna Karenina Fix, this hilariously honest author finds wisdom in the Russian classics – from unrequited love to unwanted facial hair.

Sunday 27 May, 1pm, Assembly Rooms. £9 (£8)

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PARTY IN THE CITY This year The Bath Festival has programmed Party in the City – a celebration of free entertainment in central Bath – on the second Friday of the festival. The streets, parks and venues in the city will be filled with the sound of music – there will be something for you whether you like acoustic, jazz, classical, choral, folk, world, indie or pop.

The evening starts with the Schools Commission in Bath Abbey where children will become ‘festival spirits’, celebrating Bath Festivals’ 70th anniversary through song, stories and visual arts. After dark, Queen Square, Parade Gardens and Brunel Square will be alive with music, local food and drink. Indoor events will take place in 34 venues, with more than 2,000 performers. These include The Red Bandits in Queen Square, the Bath Spa Big Band Society in Komedia, LIBERTE at Green Park Brasserie and Saint Loe at Bath Brew House. The evening is likely to attract more than 20,000 people to the city.

Friday 18 May, from 6pm. n To book tickets to the festival, visit: thebathfestival.org.uk or call: 01225 463362

ABOVE, from left to right: comedian Robert Webb, photograph © Matt Crockett; author Nikesh Shukla; author David France, photograph © Ken Schles; and comedian Viv Groskop, photograph © Michael Sissons

BELOW, from left to right: The Funtans, The New Academic Feetwarmers Traditional Jazz Band, Jasper Storey, and The Bug Club are all performing at Party in the City

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WHAT’S ON in May PACIFIC: OCEAN OF ISLANDS EXHIBITION On until Saturday 22 September n Bath Royal Literary and Scientific Institution, Queen Square This summer exhibition focuses on items from the BRLSI collection with a connection to the Pacific Ocean: corals and shells, the ethnography of the many small islands, and natural history specimens. Prints from four renowned international photojournalists, highlighting the impact of environmental change on the wildlife and peoples of the Pacific, will also be on display. Free entry; brlsi.org

An Evening with Amanda Palmer at The Bath Festival

Sherlock Holmes: The Final Curtain starring Robert Powell and Liza Goddard at Theatre Royal Bath

SHERLOCK HOLMES: THE FINAL CURTAIN Wednesday 25 April – Saturday 5 May, times vary n Theatre Royal Bath Could this be the final curtain for the world’s greatest detective?

Sherlock Holmes lives in retirement on the south coast. When Mary Watson (wife of his former associate Dr John Watson) tracks him down to tell him she has seen her long-dead son through the window of 221B Baker Street, alive and well, Holmes is determined to solve the mystery and confront his own demons. This world premiere production reunites the dream team of Robert Powell and Liza Goddard following huge acclaim for their performances in Single Spies and Relatively Speaking; theatreroyal.org.uk BINGO LINGO Every Tuesday in May, 7.30pm (doors 6pm) n Komedia The newest and most exciting breed of Bingo that’s sweeping across the UK. Expect mini-raves, on-stage dancing, twerking, tacky prizes, pocket-money, and utter chaos! The evening consists of around eight games of three bingo boards with terrible prizes to be won, and one mother-of-all-prizes at the end. Ages 18+. £6.50; komedia.co.uk ADVENTURES IN INK: CONTEMPORARY CHINESE PAINTING Thursday 3 May, 7pm n Bath Royal Literary and Scientific Institution, Queen Square Tsui-Leung will present a perspective on the evolution of Chinese ink painting and discover how an ancient art form has come to embody the dynamism and innovative spirit of the region. Followed by a tour of Zhang Yanzi’s new exhibition, The Quest for Wellness, at The Museum of East Asian Art. SALLEY VICKERS Thursday 3 May, doors 7.45pm n Topping & Co Bookshop, The Paragon Meet Salley Vickers, who has written a charmingly subversive novel about a library in 1950s England. From £8; toppingbooks.co.uk SPRING CONCERT – BATH SPA BAND AND PRIORDONNAS CHOIR Friday 4 May, 7.30pm n St Michael’s Without, Broad Street, Bath Join the City of Bath’s own Brass Band, Bath Spa Band and the talented Priordonnas Choir for an evening of popular and classical music to celebrate spring. Sponsored by TR Hayes. For further info visit: bathspaband.co.uk. £8/£4 under 16s, from Bath Box Office, tel: 01225 463362; bathboxoffice.org.uk

Bingo Lingo at Komedia

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ART Monday 7 – Saturday 12 May, times vary n Theatre Royal Bath Art is nothing short of a phenomenon and one of the most successful comedy plays ever created. When Serge spends an extortionate amount of money on an all-white modernist painting, his close friends Marc and Yvan are baffled. But do their violent reactions to

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this provocative canvas mirror more dangerous antagonisms?

Yasmina Reza’s dazzling study of friendship, prejudice and tolerance is a masterpiece. Starring Nigel Havers, Denis Lawson and Stephen Tompkinson; theatreroyal.org.uk CLIMATE CHANGE: CAN WE AVOID DISASTER? Tuesday 8 May, 7.30pm n Bath Royal Literary and Scientific Institution, Queen Square Since the United Framework Convention on Climate Change in 1992, not much progress has been made to address global warming. Greenhouse gas emissions are higher than ever and continue to grow constantly. Do we need to completely rethink in order to avoid disaster? £4/£2; brlsi.org AGATHA CHRISTIE’S MURDER ON THE NILE Wednesday 9 – Saturday 12 May, 7.30pm (doors 7pm) n Tovey Hall Theatre, Central United Reformed Church Simon and Kay Mostyn are on their honeymoon on a Nile paddle steamer. During the voyage, they are both shot. But all is not as straightforward as it seems. Performed by The Argyle Players. £10 from Bath Box Office, tel: 01225 463362; bathboxoffice.org.uk VOICES FROM THE MINE Thursday 10 May, 7pm for 7.30pm n The Edge, University of Bath The premiere of the new film by University of Bath’s Dr Roy Maconachie and Simon Wharf, shining a light on the realities of life for those engaged in the artisanal diamond mining sector in Sierra Leone. Followed by a panel discussion. Free admission, booking required. Tel: 01225 386777; edgearts.org EMMA HEALEY Thursday 10 May, 7.30pm for 8pm n Topping & Co Bookshop, The Paragon Emma Healey’s new book, Whistle in the Dark, is a remarkable and gripping mystery revolving around the disappearance of a 15-year old girl. From £4; toppingbooks.co.uk YOGA MOVEMENT MEDICINE WORKSHOP Thursday 10 May, 11.30am – 2pm n The Gainsborough Bath Spa, Beau Street Bex Bridgford gives a talk on the history and benefits of yoga, followed by a yoga session enhancing mindfulness through pure relaxation. Finally, enjoy a two-course lunch at Dan Moon at The Gainsborough Restaurant. £35; thegainsboroughbathspa.co.uk CURRY GUY EASY BOOKSHOP SUPPER Friday 11 May, 7.45 for 8pm n Topping & Co Bookshop, The Paragon Dan Toombs talks and cooks a selection of fuss-free curry house classics from his new book, Curry Guy Easy. From £10; toppingbooks.co.uk

EDITOR’S PICK PINT OF SCIENCE FESTIVAL 2018 Monday 14 – Wednesday 16 May, 7.30–9.30pm n Various pubs around Bath Are you a sucker for fascinating facts? Love the pub?

Then this festival is for you! Pint of Science is a non-profit organisation that brings some of the most brilliant scientists to your local pub to discuss their latest research and findings. There will be 24 speakers visiting The Boater, The Bell Inn, The Huntsman and Bath Brew House over the three nights with themes such as Innovations of the Human Genome and Super Computers and Us: Who is ruling who? To find out more and for tickets, visit: pintofscience.co.uk/events/bath

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Bath Festival lit picks Investigating history THE SCENE OF THE CRIME Sunday 13 May, 3–4pm n Masonic Hall at Old Theatre Royal What can infamous murders tell us about England’s troubled past? Crime writers Sinclair McKay and Eva Dolan uncover clues in the pages of Arthur Conan Doyle, Agatha Christie and others. £9/£8.

GUTS AND GORE Thursday 17 May, 6–7pm n Masonic Hall at Old Theatre Royal In this panel discussion, writers Jack Harnell, Richard Barnett and James Wood explore our obsession with the bloody history of medicine. £9/£8.

Emily Maguire at Chapel Arts Centre

EMILY MAGUIRE Friday 11 May, 8pm (doors 7.30pm) n Chapel Arts Centre, Lower Borough Walls A classically trained multi-instrumentalist with five albums and two books to her name, Emily Maguire’s thought-provoking lyrics, supremely expressive vocals and spellbinding live performances are winning her fans across the globe. £14/£16 on the door; chapelarts.org A WILTSHIRE TALE Friday 11 May, 8pm n St Margaret's Hall, Bradford on Avon A journey through Wiltshire’s history, landscape and wildlife with writer and performer Nick Harper. Depicted through the voices of three immortal characters, in this one man show we bear witness to this most magical of counties in spoken word, poetry and live music. £10/£9; wiltshiremusic.org.uk ETERNAL LIGHT: A WWI CENTENARY CONCERT Saturday 12 May, 7.30pm n Bath Abbey Musical director Francis Faux will direct Lucis and the Southern Sinfonia in a special concert of remembrance featuring the music of Elgar, Parry, Gjeilo, Will Todd and Sir Karl Jenkins, concluding with Howard Goodall’s Eternal Light: A Requiem. £25 – £10.

Tel: 01225 463362; bathboxoffice.org.uk “SO MUCH THINGS TO SAY” – THE LIFE AND TIMES OF BOB MARLEY AND THE WAILERS Saturday 12 May, 8pm (doors 7.30pm) n Chapel Arts Centre, Lower Borough Walls Global Beats and Irie Heights present a seminal event: Roger Steffens and John Masouri – two of the world’s most acclaimed reggae writers in conversation about the life and times of Bob Marley and the Wailers. The show includes rare and unreleased film and audio recordings of Marley, plus anecdotes and insights drawn from the speakers’ own experiences and knowledge of Jamaica, its music and culture. £13.50/£15 on the door; chapelarts.org PARTNER YOGA AND THAI MASSAGE WORKSHOP Sunday 13 May, 2.30 – 5pm n Combe Grove, Brassknocker Hill, Monkton Combe Discover partner yoga poses with Thai massage techniques. Partner yoga cultivates connection, trust and body awareness. It challenges and builds concentration, balance, playfulness and joy. Open to all – couples, friends, singles, new to yoga and those experienced.

Members £25, non-members £35; combegrove.com Continued page 30 28 TheBATHMagazine

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WRITING HISTORY Saturday 19 May, 3–4pm n St Michael’s Without From bloodthirsty monarchs to gunpowder plots, historical fiction transports us to another time and place. Tracy Borman, Simon Mayo and Robyn Young share their experiences of bringing the past to life. £9/£8.

F-RATED MEET THE SUFFRAGETTES Sunday 20 May, 3.15–4.15pm n Komedia Who were the women who led the charge for female suffrage? Join bestselling authors Diane Atkinson, Tessa Dunlop, Helen Pankhurst and Naomi Paxton to find out more about these trail-blazing campaigners. £10/£9.

Thought-provoking reads SINCLAIR MCKAY Saturday 12 May, 1–2pm n Masonic Hall at Old Theatre Royal Sinclair McKay shares ingenious riddles and astonishing stories from the centre of Second World War intelligence, Bletchley Park. £10/£9.

BEN OKRI Wednesday 16 May, 7–8pm n Masonic Hall at Old Theatre Royal In his new anthology, Rise Like Lions, Ben Okri explores the impact political poems have on ideas, vision, protest, change and truth. £9/£8.

JOURNALISM IN A POST-TRUTH WORLD Tuesday 22 May, 5–6pm n Assembly Rooms When did we stop seeing fact and fiction in black and white? James Ball, Julian Baggini, Heather Brooke and Stephen Bush explore how true the ‘truth’ can be. £9/£8.

CHRISTOPHE GALFARD: HOW TO UNDERSTAND E=MC2 Thursday 24 May, 5–6pm n Assembly Rooms A compelling lecture exploring Einstein’s scientific revolution, proving that anyone can understand the wonders of the universe. £10/£9.

See the full programme for The Bath Festival, which runs from 11–27 May, online: thebathfestival.org.uk

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Bath Festival music picks Voices to remember AN EVENING WITH AMANDA PALMER Friday 11 May, 7.30 – 10pm n Forum Singer-songwriter Amanda Palmer headlines the opening night of the festival, with her unique brand of punk cabaret. £25–£14.

Ladysmith Black Mambazo at The Bath Festival

MAY Sunday 13 May, 6pm n Burdell’s Yard, 7a Anglo Terrace, Bath Celebrating 100 years since (some) women got the vote, Wyldwood Arts presents May. Part of Bath Fringe Festival, this is a one-woman show based on the life of disabled, bisexual, suffragette May Billinghurst. Written and performed by Phoebe Kemp, a bisexual disabled woman herself, it tells the story of a key player in the suffragette movement. £3–£6. Tel: 01225 875508; bathspalive.com THE ARTS SOCIETY BATH LECTURE: DISCOVERING MACDONALD GILL – ARCHITECT, ARTIST AND MAPMAKER Monday 14 May, 1.30pm n The Assembly Rooms MacDonald Gill was highly regarded in his lifetime, but is almost forgotten today. He was particularly known for his pictorial maps of the London Underground and magnificent murals for Cunard Liners.

However, his most enduring legacy is his alphabet for the Imperial War Museum, used on all British military headstones since the First World War. The lecture will be taken by Gill’s great niece and biographer, Caroline Walker. Visitors welcome, £10 on the door.

CREATIVITY AND WELLBEING COFFEE MORNING Tuesday 15 May, 10.30am–12pm n The Holburne Museum, Great Pulteney Street Enjoy a coffee and some beautiful creative activities inspired by some of the treasures in the Holburne’s collection. Organised by the museum’s members of Pathways to Wellbeing groups, marking Mental Health Awareness Week. Free; holburne.org BEN KANE Wednesday 16 May, 6.45pm for 7pm n St Michael’s Church, Broad Street The Clash of Empires tells the story of Rome’s invasion of Greece at the turn of the third century BC following both soldiers on the ground as well as great political figures of the day. From £6; toppingbooks.co.uk VENETIAN BOOKSHOP SUPPER Wednesday 16 May, 7.30pm for 8pm n Topping & Co Bookshop, The Paragon Skye McAlpine will give a talk over supper and demonstrate some of her delicious recipes from A Table in Venice. From £26 including book; toppingbooks.co.uk AN EVENING OF WINE AND STEELY DAN Thursday 17 May, 7.30pm n The Wharf Room, Widcombe Social Club Presented by Great Western Wine’s shop manager Alan Nordberg, enjoy an evening of great wines and vinyl by listening to the music of Steely Dan. Early booking is a must. £10; greatwesternwine.co.uk 30 TheBATHMagazine

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LADYSMITH BLACK MAMBAZO Saturday 12 May, 8–10.30pm n Forum Hailed as ‘South Africa’s cultural ambassadors’ by Nelson Mandela, Ladysmith Black Mambazo sing powerful, uplifting songs that give voice to the struggles and passion of South Africa. £16.50–£38.50.

MARIAN CONSORT – MISERERE Tuesday 15 May, 7.30–9.30pm n Bath Abbey Miserere is one of the most poular pieces of choral music ever written, here combined with contemporary choral music by James MacMillan and Gabriel Jackson. £33–£15.

KATHRYN TICKELL & THE DARKENING Thursday 24 May, 8–10pm n Komedia Kathryn Tickell and The Darkening bring old Northumbrian tunes and songs to life, combining them with resonance and attitude. £25/£24.

String power HOUSE OF WATERS Sunday 13 May, 8–10pm n Komedia This Brooklyn-based trio with a global sound use dulcimer, base guitar and drums to draw inspiration from African, Indian, Irish and South American traditions. £18/£17.

VISION STRING QUARTET Sunday 20 May, 7.30–9.30pm n Assembly Rooms Haydn’s String Quartet in G major Op 77 No 1, Debussy’s String Quarter in G minor and Shostakovich’s String Quartet No 8 in C minor. £20/£19.

SOUMIK DATTA AND AYOZE DE ALEJANDRO LOPEZ Sunday 20 May, 8–10pm n Masonic Hall at Old Theatre Royal Soumik Datta, virtuoso player of the sarod, and Ayoze de Alejandro, master percussionist from Gran Canaria, explore how the sarod can work with Spanish and Latin percussion. £17.50/£16.50.

THE KANNEH-MASON FAMILY Saturday 26 May, 2.30–4pm n St Michael’s Without This musical family, whose talent for performing classical pieces got them to the semi-final of Britain’s Got Talent, perform work by Bach, Beethoven, Brahms, Mendelssohn and Chopin. £16/£15.

See the full programme for The Bath Festival, which runs from 11–27 May, online: thebathfestival.org.uk

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WHAT’S | ON

OAE Young Artists Ensemble Voyage at Wiltshire Music Centre

more or improve their technique, acquire some new tricks, or would like to photograph forms of nature they haven’t attempted before.

Members £95, non-members £110; combegrove.com IDLE PLAYTHINGS Monday 21 May, 8.30pm n Komedia Watch as Bath Spa University’s comedy society perform improv, sketches and stand-up at this flagship comedy night. Idle Playthings debuted at Edinburgh Fringe in 2014 with the show Ctrl-Alt-Sketch.

18+. Tickets available on the door; komedia.co.uk TALK: BATH STONE QUARRIES Wednesday 23 May, 7.30pm n Bath Royal Literary and Scientific Institution, Queen Square A brief history of Bath Stone by Derek Hawkins about its formation, to how the quarries have been put to use recently. £4/£2; brlsi.org

THE MYSTERIES OF VENUS Saturday 19 May, 8pm n Combe Grove, Brassknocker Hill, Monkton Combe Join astronomy outreach charity Dartmoor Skies as they unveil the mysteries of our nearest planetary neighbour. Then, assuming the clouds are behaving themselves, use a selection of telescopes and binoculars to see some of the wonders of the night-sky with your own eyes. Members £10, non-members £12; combegrove.com CREATIVE TECHNIQUES FOR LANDSCAPE AND NATURE PHOTOGRAPHY Sunday 20 May, 9.45am – 4.30pm n Combe Grove, Brassknocker Hill, Monkton Combe Nick Upton will lead this workshop aimed at people who already enjoy photography using a Digital SLR camera and want to learn

HOLBURNE UP LATE Friday 25 May, 5–9pm n The Holburne Museum, Great Pulteney Street Enjoy after-hours access to the museum’s galleries and garden. Relax with friends, have a drink, share some nibbles and enjoy some music.

Explore the new exhibition Prized Possessions: Dutch Masterpieces from the National Trust Houses and sip a cocktail for £10.

LANKUM Friday 25 May, 7.30pm n Wiltshire Music Centre, Bradford on Avon Irish four-piece traditional folk group Lankum will perform humorous music-hall ditties and songs from the streets of Dublin.

They are influenced by Irish legends like Frank Harte, as well as techno and rock’n’roll. £16/£8; wiltshiremusic.org.uk Continued page 32

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Miss Kiddy and the Cads at Iford Arts 2018

IFORD ARTS 2018 Saturday 26 May – Saturday 4 August, dates and times vary n Iford Manor, Bradford on Avon The internationally renowned Iford Arts Festival celebrates its 25th anniversary season with a programme of captivating and intimate opera performances including Candide, Partenope and Madame Butterfly. Get your friends together, grab a picnic and enjoy an eclectic evening of music at the Midsummer Prom, and witness young operatic talent in the making at the Iford Arts Young Artists In Concert. Tickets available from Theatre Royal Bath Box Office, tel: 01225 448844. For the full programme, visit: ifordarts.org.uk OAE YOUNG ARTISTS ENSEMBLE VOYAGE Wednesday 30 May, 1pm n Wiltshire Music Centre, Bradford on Avon This concert, given by some of the most promising young talents in period instrument performance, invokes the brilliant innovation of Baroque music. £10, £5; wiltshiremusic.org.uk JUAN MARTIN FLAMENCO TRIO Wednesday 30 May, 8pm (doors 7.30pm) n Chapel Arts Centre, Lower Borough Walls Guitarist and composer Juan Martin returns to tour the UK with new artists from Spain. Dancer Raquel Gonzalez’s impressive footwork mixes with Antonio Aparecida’s extraordinary voice, making this a performance not to be missed. £18/£20 on the door; chapelarts.org NEXT MONTH...

PLANT SALE Saturday 2 June, 10am n Bathampton Village Hall, Holcombe Lane Get a bit of spring in your life at this local plant sale. Donations of plants are welcome before 9.45am. Featuring refreshments, a raffle, designer jewellery and a card sale.

BATH CANTATA GROUP’S SUMMER CONCERT Saturday 9 June, 7.30pm n St Swithin’s Church, The Paragon Bath Cantata Group will perform Elgar Scenes from the Bavarian Highlands, Pergolesi Magnificat, and Parry Blest Pair of Sirens.

Plus there will be the world premiere by Lois Wyatt, BCG Alto of Laudate Dominum. Musical director Neil Moore. Tickets: £15, students £5, children free. Tickets from Bath Box Office, tel: 01225 463362; bathboxoffice.org.uk TOM KERRIDGE PRESENTS PUB IN THE PARK Friday 8 – Sunday 10 June n Royal Victoria Park Join Michelin starred chef Tom Kerridge for a festival of top tunes and amazing food. Razorlight, Tom Odell and Melanie C top the music line-up, and you can enjoy great food from pop-up pubs including Tom’s The Hand & Flowers and The Coach. See other top UK chefs including The Pony and Trap’s Josh Eggleton live on stage, plus there’s loads of foodie shopping; pubintheparkuk.com Continued page 34 32 TheBATHMagazine

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May Events Climate Change Can we avoid disaster?

8 May • 7.30pm

Russell Boyce Middle East & Africa Editor, Reuters 10 May • 7.30pm

Modern Slavery Free Event 15 May • 7.30pm

Party in the City 18 May • 6.00pm - 7.45pm

Poetry of the Lancashire Cotton Famine 19 May • 2.30pm

Bath Stone Quarries 23 May • 7.30pm

Pagans & Christians In Viking-Age England

31 May • 7.30pm Tickets sold on the door

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WHAT’S | ON FOREST LIVE Thursday 14 – Sunday 17 June n Westonbirt Arboretum, Gloucestershire The popular outdoor concert season is back with a programme featuring Irish three-piece The Script, who have sold more than 29 million records worldwide, on Thursday. Paul Heaton and Jacqui Abbott will take to the stage on Friday as a duo. BRIT-nominated and No 1 album selling soloist Paloma Faith will be performing on Saturday, and George Ezra, who has the fastest-selling record of 2018 so far, is scheduled for Sunday. Tel: 03000 680400; forestry.gov.uk BATH IRON - FESTIVAL OF IRONWORK Thursday 14 – Sunday 17 June, 10am - 6pm n Parade Gardens and The Guildhall Live forging and blacksmithing action all day. Demonstrations and exhibitions of heritage and contemporary forged ironwork. Have-ago forging sessions for all ages. Guided ironwork walks around the city. Live music from the Bath Folk team from 12–5pm every day.

Seminars, talks and film screenings in the Guildhall. Street theatre, craft stalls, food and bar. All welcome. Free festival, entry into Parade Gardens applies (£1.50/80p), free for Discovery Card holders; bathiron.org.uk. Read more about the history of ironwork around Bath on page 40.

FABULOUSLY FERMENTED: BATH CULTURE HOUSE WORKSHOP Saturday 23 June, 2pm – 5pm n Combe Grove, Brassknocker Hill, Monkton Combe We’ve all heard of Kimchi, Kombucha and Kefir but do we really know what they are, how they’re made and why they’re so good for our stomachs? Lucie Cousins of Bath Culture House will explore the science and health benefits behind fermented foods. Try your hand at fermenting and take away practical skills and recipes to continue at home. Members £55, non-members £60; combegrove.com

Learn how to make your own Kimchi with Bath Culture House at Combe Grove

PLANNING AHEAD...

RACE FOR LIFE Sunday 8 July n Royal Victoria Park Challenge yourself to a 5k or 10k Race for Life to raise money for Cancer Research UK and help beat cancer. Entry fees: £10 for children and £14.99 for women. To sign up go to: raceforlife.org BATH PRETTY MUDDY AND PRETTY MUDDY KIDS Sunday 23 September n Bath Racecourse Pretty Muddy is a muddy obstacle course that women of any ability can climb over, crawl under, and charge through for charity. For the first time in Bath there will be Pretty Muddy Kids, a new exciting obstacle course designed just for children – with added mud, thrills and spills. Pretty Muddy Kids is £10 for children, and Pretty Muddy is £19.99 for adults. To sign up go to: raceforlife.org n

THOMAS GOULD LEADS THE BRITTEN SINFONIA IN A PERFORMANCE OF BACH’S GOLDBERG VARIATIONS Friday 1 June, 7.30pm n Wiltshire Music Centre, Bradford on Avon An evaluation by artistic director James Slater Reinvigoration could be the modus operandi of the award-winning Britten Sinfonia, whose collaborations with acclaimed international artists, instead of having their own principal conductor, are making for truly unique and exciting musical experiences for audiences and performers alike.

In this much-anticipated performance at Wiltshire Music Centre, Thomas Gould directs the ensemble, not from the conductor’s podium, but from the first violin desk, leading the illumination of Dmitry Sitkovetsky’s special string arrangement of Bach’s Goldberg Variations.

Originally composed for keyboard in 1741, this much-loved work is one of the most important examples of variation form – where a defined musical idea is reimagined and reinterpreted in multiple different ways, enriching the musical

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tapestry. This concept is echoed in the Sinfonia’s innovative approach to musical direction and their responsive, energised performance.

Sitkovetsky’s arrangement was made in 1985, on the 300th anniversary of Bach’s birth, and is lovingly and painstakingly done. He dedicated it to 20th-century classical pianist Glenn Gould, and it is clear from much of the written-out ornamentation that Gould’s recordings of the Goldbergs were Sitkovetsky’s passport into the music.

In Thomas Gould’s words: “The way Sitkovetsky orchestrates the full strings version is very clever, constantly shifting between solo and tutti textures to create both intimacy and grandeur.”

Proffering communicative options that

keyboard does not, including the possibilities of expressive tuning and vibrato, Sitkovetsky’s real triumph is to preserve the simplicity of texture and clarity of development that characterises Bach’s masterpiece, in a true string celebration of Bach’s vision.

In 2015 Gould and the Britten Sinfonia recorded their spectacular interpretation of this tremendous arrangement to critical acclaim, in the words of The Telegraph in October 2015: “A delightful recording, captivating as much in the polish of the playing as in the discreet but lively musical characterisation.”

As well as performing regularly at major festivals including the BBC Proms, the Britten Sinfonia has residencies across the east of England, is an Associate Ensemble at the Barbican in London, and is Cambridge University’s and Wiltshire Music Centre’s Orchestra-in-Association.

Founded in 1992, the Orchestra has a strong commitment to bringing outstanding music to concert halls and local communities alike, reflecting WMC’s own ethos of bringing world-class music to the rural South West.

Don’t miss this special opportunity to hear them perform live. There will also be an exclusive pre-concert talk.

Tel: 01225 860100; wiltshiremusic.org.uk

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BEING | BRUNEL

THE MAN, THE MYTH, THE LEGEND Jessica Hope discovers the extraordinary mind behind one of history’s greatest engineers following the opening of Bristol’s newest museum, Being Brunel

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he year is 1857. A man lights a cigar and places it in the corner of his mouth. He secures his stovepipe top hat on his head and checks the time on the pocket watch hanging from his waistcoat.

He wipes some of the mud off of his trousers and puts his hands in his pockets. Looking ahead with a confident demeanour, he straightens his back, angles his feet, and poses for the camera.

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The brains behind SS Great Britain have brought together the world’s most significant collection of Brunel’s possessions...

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This is how many of us perceive illustrious engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel – proud, intuitive, and not afraid to get a little dirty.

The photograph, taken in front of the enormous chains of the SS Great Eastern, quickly dominated Brunel’s public image as an innovator and influential Victorian figure.

Since then, this image has become synonymous with Brunel and his reputation in history – children learn about him and his great inventions in school, historians celebrate his ingenuity and impact on the 19th century, and present-day engineers hail him as a great inspiration.

Despite his reputation, no museum dedicated to Brunel has ever been built – until now. After six years in the making, the brains behind the SS Great Britain attraction – based in Bristol’s historic dockyard – have brought together the world’s most significant collection of Brunel’s possessions, designs and diaries to open Being Brunel, a £7.2m visitor destination celebrating his life and the remarkable influence he had around the globe.

The museum features around 150 of Brunel’s personal items that have never been on public display before, as well as artefacts from the University of Bristol, the Clive Richards Brunel Collection and SS Great Britain, allowing the public to see Brunel from a more personal point of view.

Metres away from the Great Britain, one of Brunel’s greatest successes, visitors can explore the different aspects of the engineer’s life that they might not have considered before, such as his family and education, and learn more about his great industrial achievements as well as his failures.

Laid out to mimic the famous 1851 Great Exhibition in Hyde Park, which was a celebration of global innovation and manufacturing, visitors can move through the six galleries dedicated to different areas of Brunel’s life and work, examining the extraordinary items and designs on display, as well as immersing themselves in the sights, smells and sounds of the Victorian age.

As you enter, you can recreate the iconic image of Brunel in front of the SS Great Eastern – pop on a top hat, strike a pose and snap a photograph in front of some replicas of the huge chains.

Next, step into Brunel’s home in Duke Street, London, and explore the reconstruction of his lavish Shakespeare

Room where he would wine and dine his guests with the hope of persuading them to invest in his seemingly madcap ideas. Visitors can admire the gilded silver given to Brunel

by Great Western Railway, his opulent chandeliers, paintings of his favourite Shakespearean scenes and the original, wonderfully preserved clock he insisted everyone set their watch by, before taking part in an interactive touchscreen game where you decide which guests to invite to Brunel’s dinner party and see if you can persuade them to fund the next project.

Open the chests of drawers and see the incredible rocking horse drawing Brunel completed when he was six years old, learn about how his father, Sir Marc, influenced his interest in industry from a young age, and read Brunel’s school report from his time in France where his teachers predicted that he would go on to do great things in the future.

Walking into the following room, your attention is dominated by an enormous 3D replica of Brunel’s head – top hat, cigar and all. Built through Pinewood Studios, there is more to this giant head than you first might expect, but more on that later…

In this section visitors can learn about Brunel as a talented designer and engineer – he was appointed to the Great Western Railway at just 27 years old. ➲

Left, the giant replica of Brunel’s head; right, Brunel’s sketchbook dating from 1852–4 featuring designs for his most ambitious and final project, the SS Great Eastern THEBATHMAG.CO.UK

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BEING | BRUNEL

great ship. The technical drawings, the details of how the ship would move in the water, and the scribblings of numbers and notes give us a clear insight into Brunel’s creative yet mathematical mind.

Brunel’s impact on the West Country still resonates with us today, and the influence he had on our local landscape and how we travel is explored in Being Brunel with a focus on the Clifton Suspension Bridge.

When a competition opened to build a bridge over the Avon Gorge in 1827, Brunel entered four designs, one of which is on display, complete with scribblings. Brunel originally envisioned an Egyptian-inspired design, and you can even see the sphinxes he planned to adorn the top of the bridge with, which were in fact never added.

The next part of the museum is an immersive experience within the giant replica of Brunel’s head, accessed via his ear canal.

Yes, you read that right, through the ear canal you go! Once you’ve journeyed inside Brunel’s mind, some of the most significant moments of the engineer’s life are played out on a videoscreen ahead, allowing you to see the world from his point of view. Above, on a planetarium-style screen, Brunel’s thoughts and ideas swim across the ceiling as the sounds and smells of the railway fill the space. This gives you just a snapshot of how his mind might have worked, constantly swirling with ideas.

Moving away from Brunel’s mental world, we go on to explore the physical sphere of

INSIDE THE MIND OF A GENIUS: Top left, Brunel’s black leather cigar case containing his half-smoked final cigar; right, the iconic photo of Brunel taken in front of the chains of SS Great Eastern in 1857; above, the exterior of Being Brunel 38 TheBATHMagazine

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his working environment in the final section of the museum. Brunel’s office on Duke Street in London has been reproduced from scratch, based on a charming watercolour painting by his niece, as a place where visitors can investigate his working space, pick up replicas of his plans, sit at his desk and even chat to the office clerk.

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The extracts from Brunel’s diaries reveal his riling self-doubt and fears

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You can view the designs he made to create a seamless journey from London to Bristol – he originally planned this on horseback, following the route and making notes as he went, even designing the smallest details of the railway stations along the way.

Brunel was well-known for being able to draw a perfect circle freehand and he used this trick when designing the GWR’s broadgauge track – if he was able to travel on the track and still draw a perfect circle, then he knew the line was working efficiently. Think that sounds easy? Well, the museum has installed its very own 1830s replica of a railway carriage, so visitors can use built-in iPads and test their drawing skills while the carriage chugs along.

As well as celebrating Brunel’s achievements, the museum doesn’t shy away from his failures – equally a part of who he was – such as the South Devon Atmospheric Railway. He may have had great talent, but Brunel was known to take risks which didn’t always pay off. And while he was great at constructing a confident public image, the extracts from his diaries reveal his riling selfdoubt and fears surrounding his work.

Despite his insecurities, Brunel quickly became a household name and a celebrity of the Victorian age. His final project, and perhaps his most ambitious one, SS Great Eastern, caught the attention of both the media and the public. One of the most remarkable items in the museum is Brunel’s sketchbook, showing his initial ideas for this

The Grade II listed Great Western Steamship Company’s Bristol office has also been restored back to how it would have been in 1843, where Brunel and his team worked painstakingly to design the SS Great Britain and revolutionise maritime engineering. As visitors explore the rooms, they will be surrounded by chatting and excited whispers of Brunel’s staff on a soundscape as they discuss the innovative notion of using propellers rather than paddles on the iron ship.

Brunel discovered a great advantage of using propellers to stabilise the ship even in rough conditions and drive it forward, yet he needed the backing of his investors to take this chance. Head downstairs to witness the board meeting where Brunel was able to persuade his stakeholders to agree to his new design, and consequently change maritime travel forever.

Behind the cigar smoke and top hat, Being Brunel reveals the many facets of a Victorian figurehead who changed the way the world works, and allows us into the extraordinary mind (quite literally) of one of the greatest engineers in history. How many people can honestly say that they’ve walked through the ear canal of Isambard Kingdom Brunel? n Admission to SS Great Britain includes entry into Being Brunel and the Dockyard Museum, and includes unlimited revisits for 12 months. Tickets £16.50 adults, child and family tickets available; ssgreatbritain.org

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IRON AND FIRE

Once described as the king of trades, blacksmithing is seen by many as an art that belongs to the past. A new festival coming to Bath in June brings the fire of the blacksmith back to the centre of the city. Photography by Shona Cutt

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an you name ten notable pieces of ironwork in Bath? If not, you might be surprised at how many you might recognise – the gates of Royal Victoria Park, the lantern brackets outside the Roman Baths, the Guildhall market entrance and the Bartlett Street gantry are just a few examples.

EARLY HISTORY Ironwork has been used since ancient times, from circa 4,000 BC. In fact iron used to be a precious commodity – Iron Age tribes commonly used iron bars in exchange for goods. In simple terms, there are two main types of iron – wrought iron, heated and hammered (forged) by a blacksmith, and cast iron, a liquid iron produced in a furnace and poured into moulds.

Before the Middle Ages, wrought irons were mainly used to make weapons and tools. During medieval times wrought iron was increasingly used and valued not just for its strength but for its decorative qualities.

The material was extremely expensive so ironwork was only commissioned by those who could afford it, namely the privileged classes and the church, especially for door furniture, gates and screens.

MASS PRODUCTION After the introduction of the blast furnace from Europe, it became possible to produce greater volumes of iron, the use of the

furnace allowing a more effective way of drawing the iron out of the stone. In 1708, Abraham Darby took over a blast furnace in Colbrookdale, Shropshire and proved that coal could be successfully used to smelt iron.

The mass production of cast iron had begun.

Now cheaper to produce, iron was then used more widely. The ‘pig iron’, which was the crude iron produced by the blast furnace, got its name from the way the output of the blast furnace was sand cast into ‘pigs’, with the casting shapes resembling the shape of a litter of piglets being suckled. This iron became the primary product for wrought and cast iron.

WROUGHT IRON PRODUCTION To create wrought iron, the pig iron would go to a finery where the blacksmith would start to convert the iron, which was high in carbon, to a wrought iron. ‘Wrought’, meaning ‘to work’, meant working the iron to get rid of the unwanted impurities and the carbon which made the iron brittle. The iron could be refined a number of times, producing different grades of wrought iron, with the level of refinement reducing the impurities and increasing the iron’s quality.

Types of wrought iron ranged from crown iron and merchant bar to best, double best and triple best. The cheaper wrought iron was used for general purposes such as stock fencing. Decorative ironwork needed a more refined bar, with fewer impurities, which is

The ironwork panel above the main gates to the The Guildhall market in the High Street

less prone to cracking and easier to work when hot. Refined wrought iron is also used where strength is a key factor, such as when making chains for ships.

By the late 1700s wrought iron had become a mass-market product, but from the mid19th century, as the industrial era took hold, changes to the way iron was produced saw a decline in the production of wrought iron.

The Bessemer process developed by Henry Bessemer (1813–1938) introduced a way of making iron to produce our modern-day mild steel in 1856. As a result, between 1870 and 1900, the volume of wrought iron produced had reduced from three million tons to a million tons, whereas steel production went from zero to five million tons. Whereas steel has an advantage over wrought iron, being stronger and cheaper to produce, blacksmiths continued to favour the working properties of wrought iron for architectural work.

BLACKSMITHING IN DECLINE As the machine age took hold – and especially with the introduction of electric and gas welding during the First World War – traditional blacksmithing skills became less relevant. Iron could now not only be worked cold by machine but be fused together without the blacksmith’s skill of fire welding.

The declining demand for blacksmithing products led to the closure of the last wrought-iron works in 1970 – ever since then, wrought iron has only been available as a material rerolled from scrap.

IRONWORK IN BATH The majority of ironwork around historic Bath is wrought and cast iron. Both practical and decorative, features range from railings, overthrows, gantries, lamp posts and window baskets to window grills, staircases, gates, canopies and boot scrapers.

One of the most notable examples of ironwork in Bath are the Skidmore Lights in Bath Abbey, which were designed by Sir Gilbert Scott (1811–1878) and made by Francis Skidmore (1816–1896), a famous architectural metalworker. During Skidmore’s working life, he created many beautiful pieces for churches and cathedrals throughout Britain and beyond. His red Victorian chandeliers were installed in the abbey in the 1870s during the major restoration work undertaken by Sir Gilbert Scott. They originally lit the Abbey using gas and were converted to electricity in 1979.

Most of the ironwork we see around us now is painted black, but up until the 1800s, architectural metalwork was painted different Continued page 42

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SPORTS | PROFILE

One of the Skidmore lights in Bath Abbey

A detail of the truss at St John’s Hospital in Chapel Row

A detail of the ironwork entrance to The Guildhall The Corridor shopping centre in the High Street

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colours, such as grey, stone and blue. After 1800 green, bronzes and reds appeared. Ironwork only started to be painted black after the 1930s with the advent of fast-drying alkyd resin paints – but black still wasn’t commonly used until the 1960s. You can often see the original colours beneath as the upper layers of paint flake off period ironwork.

BRINGING BACK THE BLACKSMITH’S SKILLS It’s clear we are surrounded by ironwork that is part of our city’s history. When period iron features deteriorate, however, as they inevitably do, there’s nothing to replace them – and it’s only the expertise of the blacksmith that can restore and recreate them properly. So a general lack of knowledge and awareness of traditional ironwork and specialist blacksmithing skills threatens to have a detrimental effect on the historic fabric of our city.

That’s where the BathIRON Festival from 14–17 June comes in, an event that aims to bring the blacksmith’s skills to the heart of the city. It will celebrate the craft of the blacksmith and of heritage ironwork skills and help spread an appreciation of the historic ironwork that surrounds us.

The festival is organised by the National Heritage Ironwork Group (NHIG) in association with the British Artist Blacksmiths Association (BABA) and the Institute of Conservation (Icon). The focal point is the live creation of a brand new balustrade for the bandstand in Parade Gardens.

Based on an original composition by a music student from Bath Spa University and with additional panels designed by master blacksmiths, the score of the musical composition will form the balustrade, and will be forged in the fire over the four days to create a striking piece of public artwork.

As well as being the centre of the creation of the bandstand balustrade, Parade Gardens will house forging tents throughout the festival housing master blacksmiths and other blacksmiths producing the balustrade itself.

There will also be demonstrations of casting bronze and iron and have-a-go forging for adults and children, along with a contemporary ironwork exhibition, a conservation exhibition, live music by the Bath Folk Festival, an ironwork trail around Bath and pop-up forging demonstrations around the city.

A series of talks in the Guildhall on Thursday 14 June will explore how we can promote the survival of this threatened aspect of our shared heritage. The day’s programme will also include a walking tour of Bath’s heritage ironwork. On Saturday 16 and Sunday 17 June a programme of talks for craft practitioners will be held in 42 TheBATHMagazine

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the Guildhall, including a private screening of The Devil’s Blacksmith documentary about Walfrid Huber’s recreation of the magnificent Notre Dame hinges.

Your discovery of the art of the blacksmith can start even before the BathIRON Festival with the forge-in at Ironart at the Larkhall Festival on Saturday 5 and Sunday 6 May where you can see blacksmiths developing pieces for the balustrade in a working forge.

“Culturally blacksmiths have been hugely important within our society,” says Andy Thearle, secretary of the NHIG. “BathIRON and the forge-in where the bandstand will be made will give visitors an appreciation of the heritage skills of the blacksmith and about why it’s important to keep them.”

Thearle explains that blacksmithing has an inescapable connection to the earth. “Blacksmithing uses fundamental elements – fire, water, air and iron drawn from the earth.

It’s elemental. So the idea of the Bath Iron event is that people will be drawn in to the activity happening around the fire. That urge is within all of us.” n BathIRON Festival of Ironwork, Thursday 14 – Sunday 17 June, 10am – 6pm, Parade Gardens and around the city.

BathIRON Festival is free. Entrance to Parade Gardens £1.50/80p, free for Discovery Card holders.

Visit: bathiron.org.uk; Bath heritage ironwork walk: bathiron/walk; Larkhall Festival: larkhall-festival.org.uk

ABOVE: left, lights and decorative plaques outside the Roman Baths Right, a detail of the entrance gates to the Royal Victoria Park BELOW: the snuff candle on the railings outside No 1 Royal Crescent

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A TOUCH OF SPRING

Expect bright acrylics, enlightening photography and a celebration of nature at Bath’s galleries and arts events THE BATH ART FAIR Farleigh Road Farm Shop, Farleigh Road, Norton St Philip Saturday 12 May, 10am – 6pm, and Sunday 13 May, 10am – 5pm Web: bathartfair.co.uk Organised by award-winning professional Somerset artist Alce Harfield, the second Bath Art Fair brings together some of the most innovative professional artists from around the country in the relaxed setting of Farleigh Road Farm Shop. Aware of a lack of exhibiting opportunities for artists in her local area for those reluctant to go down the traditional gallery route, Alce first organised the Somerset Art fair in 2015 before moving to its current location in 2017 when it became the Bath Art Fair.

She has gathered more than 65 of the best award-winning independent artists from all over the country, putting their work on show in a marquee for the weekend. Exhibiting artists include Michelle Lucking from North Somerset, an international, award-winning pastel artist who specialises in realism to create beautiful seascapes and figurative swimming scenes. Also on show is work by Martin Turner from Bristol, a hyper-realism pencil artist known for producing images infused with light and texture. You can browse original paintings and handmade prints, hand-crafted jewellery, handmade glass and artisan ceramics. Visitors can also support the ‘preloved’ contemporary art stand with 100% of sales going to Dorothy House Hospice Care. Donations include signed posters from Michael Eavis, who will be the guest of honour at the private view. Café and free parking. Get 50% off the entrance fee (usually £5) with the fair’s advert in this month’s issue on page 43.

Refracted by Michelle Lucking

THE EDGE The Edge, University of Bath, Claverton Down, Bath Open: Tuesday – Saturday, 11am – 5pm Tel: 01225 386777, web: edgearts.org

Ensembles rythmiques et gymnastiques a Pékin, 1965

COLLECTED SHADOWS: THE ARCHIVE OF MODERN CONFLICT Friday 20 April – Saturday 16 June This exhibition of 200 photographs is drawn from the extensive collection of The Archives of Modern Conflict. The AMC was first established 25 years ago as a repository for vernacular photography and ephemera relating to the First and Second World Wars. It has since grown to a total of eight-million images. Spanning the history of the photographic medium from the mid-1850s to the present day, the exhibition represents a great variety of techniques, from early albumen and hand-tinted silver gelatin prints to the distinctive blue of the cyanotype. Free admission.

GALLERY NINE 9b Margaret’s Buildings, Bath, open: Monday to Saturday, 10am – 5pm Tel: 01225 319197, web: gallerynine.co.uk SPRING EXHIBITION

Throughout May Gallery Nine is showcasing six artists this spring. Ceramicist James Campbell is best known for his hand-built decorative sculptural pots. Distinguished potter David Leach OBE was taught by Shoji Hamada, and his pots are collected worldwide.

Jeweller Mizuki Takahashi works with paper-thin porcelain and enamel copper that are set on an oxidised silver wire structure, while jeweller Helen Noakes creates work in resin and silver and combines sets of miniatures and resin, incorporating everything from penguins to circus performers. Paul Catherall has become known for his clean, sharp linocuts of architectural London landmarks including the Elephant and Castle Shopping Centre, The National Theatre and Telecom Tower. Vanessa Lubach creates multilayered, intricately carved linocuts.

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Farewell to a Norfolk Summer

by Vanessa Lubach

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2017/18 Lecture Series

‘Discovering MacDonald (Max) Gill’ Architect, Artist and Mapmaker

Less controversial brother of Eric Gill known particularly for his pictorial maps, eye catching posters and enduringly, for his alphabet for the Imperial War Graves Commission, used on all British Military headstones since W.W.1

Lecturer: Caroline Walker at

1.30pm on Monday 14th May 2018 in The Assembly Rooms, Bennett Street Bath

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

www.theartssocietybath.com

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

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THE ARTS SOCIETY BATH LECTURE SERIES 2017/18 DISCOVERING MACDONALD GILL: ARCHITECT, ARTIST AND MAPMAKER Monday 14 May, 1.30pm at The Assembly Rooms, Bennett Street, Bath MacDonald (Max) Gill, the less controversial brother of Eric Gill, was highly regarded in his lifetime but is almost forgotten today. He was particularly known for his pictorial maps of the London Underground and his magnificent murals for Cunard Liners. His most enduring legacy is his alphabet for the Imperial War Museum, used on all British military headstones since the First World War. Lecturer Caroline Walker is Max Gill’s great niece. She has co-curated exhibitions and written articles on his life, and is currently writing a biography on him.

Visitors welcome, £10 on the door, no booking necessary. Visit: bathdfas.com

VICTORIA ART GALLERY

By Pulteney Bridge Open daily, 10.30am – 5pm Tel: 01225 477233 Web: victoriagal.org.uk A CELEBRATION OF FLOWERS: KAFFE FASSETT WITH CANDACE BAHOUTH Saturday 19 May – Sunday 2 September Internationally renowned colour expert and fabric designer Kaffe Fassett will make a welcome return to Bath in May with a new exhibition at the gallery. When Fassett and Candace Bahouth last exhibited here in 2008, the gallery welcomed a record-breaking 31,000 visitors. Inspired by flowers all his life, Fassett will demonstrate his full creative flair in A Celebration of Flowers.

With a bespoke dazzling colour scheme to match, the installation will transform the gallery using 40 of his vibrant coloured quilts and needlepoints. The show will also feature colourful mosaiced island gardens, benches, totems, mirror frames, shoes, flower encrusted candlesticks and a chandelier by one of Fassett’s long-term collaborators, fellow American Candace Bahouth, who is based in Somerset. Many of these works are on a large scale and extend the floral theme into three dimensions. A graduate in fine art from Syracuse University, Bahouth settled in rural Somerset, where she developed her unique expression in mosaics using found material from nature as well as china and high-tech plastics. Many of her creations are designed on a large scale to fit within garden settings.

Left: Seed packet quilt by Kaffe Fassett

AXLE ARTS Leighton Road, Weston, Bath Open: Monday to Saturday, 10am – 5pm by appointment Tel: 01225 461230, web: axlearts.com OUTDOOR SCULPTURE SHOW Friday 4 – Sunday 13 May at Tasburgh House Axle Arts is holding its first collaborative exhibition on the elegant terraces of Tasburgh House, a luxury five-star boutique hotel on the Warminster Road in Bath, featuring sculpture and ceramics from eight artists. These are suitable for gardens and patios across a range of materials including bronze, steel, concrete and stoneware. Exhibiting artists are Marc Bodie, Dorothy Brook, Ian Edwards, Rhian Jones, Rick Kirby, John Huggins RWA FRBS, Mick Morgan and Tamsyn Trevorrow.

Cream teas will be served on the croquet lawn and all are welcome. Inside the hotel will be an exhibition of paintings, original print and smaller sculpture and ceramics

by Corinna Button RE, Lynne Cartlidge RCA, Neill Curran, Sumi Perera RE, Ian Edwards and Dorothy Brook.

Unfolding by Dorothy Brook

BATH SCHOOL OF ART AND DESIGN UNDERGRADUATE DEGREE SHOW Bath School of Art and Design, Sion Hill, Bath Open: Saturday 9 – Sunday 17 June, 10am – 5pm Web: bathspa.ac.uk/art-and-design Original works of art and design will be on show in June as Bath Spa University’s Sion Hill campus opens its doors to the public for the annually celebrated Bath School of Art and Design Undergraduate Degree Show. Three years’ worth of graduating students’ finest work will be displayed across the nineday exhibition, showcasing the school’s talented students. There are hand-picked items from a selection of courses: contemporary art practice, creative arts, fashion design, fine art, graphic communication, photography, textile design for fashion and interiors, three dimensional design and fashion and textiles design skills. There will be something for everyone to enjoy.

Left: Photograph by Hannah Ball

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nick cudworth gallery

The George – Bathampton

MAY EXHIBITION 1 – 31 May An exhibition of paintings and prints by Nick that reflect his interest in a variety of subjects including portraits, still life and landscapes.

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

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BATH SOCIETY OF ARTISTS’ ANNUAL OPEN EXHIBITION Victoria Art Gallery, by Pulteney Bridge Open: daily, 10.30am – 5pm Web: bsartists.co.uk On until Saturday 12 May This highly popular exhibition showcases the best of the region’s artistic talent.

The society has grown from 26 members in 1904 to a membership of around 120 diverse, talented artists. The annual exhibition, which is open to nonmembers, attracts up to 1,000 entries, with sales doubling in the last few years.

Application forms are also available from the gallery. The prizes on offer total more than £3,000. During the exhibition members of the public can vote for their favourite artwork, the winner receiving the Public Choice Prize.

NICK CUDWORTH GALLERY London Street, top of Walcot Street Closed on Mondays Tel: 01225 445221 Web: nickcudworth.com Throughout May A pastel drawing of John Peel who Nick knew in the 1960s when John had his own record label called Dandilon Records. Nick played piano and recorded on his label in a band called Siren for several years.

Brighton High Life by Oliver Bedeman

MUSEUM OF EAST ASIAN ART Bennett Street, Bath, open: Tuesday – Saturday, 10am – 5pm; Sunday, 12 – 5pm Web: meaa.org.uk THE QUEST FOR WELLNESS Saturday 5 May – Monday 12 November The theme of wellness is the predominant theme of this city since its origins as a Roman spa town. In this exhibition, artist Zhang Yanzi explores common frailties and shared humanity, investigating the nature and meaning of wellness in China: its history, and its modern counterpoints from a Chinese perspective. Works on display include Excess, a silk robe covered in pill capsules which portrays pills as a kind of physical and psychological armour in the modern world; Inhalation, a Chinese painting on analgesic plasters that explores the ability of beautiful objects to provide humans with psychological comfort; and Pure Land, an ink painting of Buddha’s portrait in the ancient Chinese Buddhist mural style that alludes to the concept of well-being from a spiritual angle.

Inhalation by Zhang Yanzi

DAVID SIMON CONTEMPORARY 3 – 4 Bartlett Street, Bath Open: Monday – Saturday, 10am – 6pm, closed Wednesday and Sunday Tel: 01225 460189 Web: davidsimoncontemporary.com SEA FEVER: AN EXHIBITION Friday 4 May – Monday 4 June The title of this group exhibition of paintings is taken from the poem by John Masefield, an expression of one’s essential need for the ocean. In a diverse range of approaches, five painters show their different responses to the subject of the sea. Bringing a vibrancy of colour and brushstrokes, Julian Bailey enjoys the placing of brightly coloured hulls of ships and trawlers against blue seas and harbours. John Croft’s work may appear abstract at first, but forms of sea and sky and headland can be found.

Using a bright palette, he is much influenced by abstract expressionists.

Neil Pinkett returns with powerful and enigmatic paintings of the Cornish coast, capturing both the light and the raw qualities of this environment. With a strong, stylised approach, Myles Oxenford concentrates on his series abstracting the Cornish coast. Mike Service has created a strong series of studies of small sailing boats on the water and by the harbourside, painted in oils with palette knife.

Clouds Over Blakeney

by Mike Service

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ART | EXHIBITIONS

THE HOLBURNE MUSEUM Great Pulteney Street, Bath Tel: 01225 388569 Open: daily, 10am – 5pm (11am Sundays) Web: holburne.org

Stormy Sky & Dove by Joanna Maitland-Hudson

GALLERY AND BARROW 118a Walcot Street, Bath Open: Tuesday to Saturday, 11am – 5.30pm Tel: 01225 311379 Web: galleryandbarrow.com

BUTTERFLIES, BIRDS AND BEES Tuesday 1 May – Saturday 30 June An exhibition curated by Gallery and Barrow artists and competition winners.

John Baldwin Buckstone as Spado by Robert William Buss

LIGHTING UP THE STAGE: STARS OF THE GEORGIAN THEATRE On until Sunday 3 June Somerset Maugham’s collection of theatrical portraits was acquired by the Holburne in 2010 and contains key works by Johan Zoffany, including portraits of David Garrick and the 18th-century small scale portraitist Samuel de Wilde. The theatrical portraits immortalise stars of the 18th and 19th-century stage, often in moments of high drama.

PRIZED POSSESSIONS: DUTCH MASTERPIECES FROM NATIONAL TRUST HOUSES Friday 25 May to Sunday 16 September This exhibition brings together some of the National Trust’s best-loved works of 17th century Dutch art to celebrate the enduring appeal of two great achievements of European culture: Dutch Golden Age painting and the British country house. Spread across the length and breadth of England, Wales and Northern Ireland, National Trust houses contain an extraordinarily diverse collection of almost one-million individual items. Displayed together for the first time at the Holburne are 22 highlight Golden Age pictures from National Trust houses. Admission £10/£9, National Trust members £7.50.

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ART | EXHIBITIONS

OPEN STUDIO INVITATION

Every weekend in May there’s an open studio event in a different part of Bath. More than 180 artists and makers will open their doors to the public this year to showcase original artwork, give demonstrations and offer workshops LARKHALL OPEN STUDIOS Saturday 5, Sunday 6 and Monday 7 May, times vary, see leaflet for details or visit: larkhallopenstudios.co.uk A delightful May bank holiday weekend experience awaits you as more than 28 artists living and working in Larkhall open their studios and showcase their work to the public.

Visit the studios of artists including Teresa Foster (land and seascapes), Simon Hodges (landscapes), Christine Lawes (botanical works), Ione Parkin (works inspired by planetary geology), Liz Carson (landscapes) and Richard Olver (abstract work).

As well as fine art, you can see ceramics, textiles, jewellery and sculpture. Alan Hemming and Jane Sheppard show their ceramics, Vicky Sander her automata and textiles, Alison Redman her jewellery, Andrew Hume his sculpture and textile maker Joanna Wright her skirts, bags and creatures.

Students at St Mark’s School also have their KS3 work on display, so you can go along and encourage the next generation of artists.

Bath Artist Printmakers are offering demonstrations and have prints for sale. And at the Oriel Hall exhibition you can see Dave Barrett’s photography, screenprints by Linda Barrow and ceramics

by Sara Martin. Alongside them Shirley Barrett, Paul Brokensha, Amanda Gell, Christine Lawes and David Ringsell are showing and selling their fine art.

Some of the venues will even have tea and cake. Brochures and maps are available at Victoria Art Gallery and Minerva Art, Bath.

Untitled

by Ruth Davies

The Cockleman’s Hut by Marian Hill, Mother Ivey’s Bay by Anthony Ward and Serenity by Hayley Diamond

NEWBRIDGE ARTS TRAIL Saturday 12 and Sunday 13 May, 11am – 6pm Visit: newbridgeartstrail.com Now in its ninth year, the Newbridge Arts Trail brings together professional and nonprofessional artists and makers with students, schools, business sponsors and the local or wider community. 16 artists have joined the trail this year, so there’s plenty of new work to be seen.

There’s an impressive array of original art, from painting and printmaking to photography and digital art and from jewellery and ceramics to sculpture and stonemasonry. Much of the work is offered for sale at affordable prices.

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The trail comprises 26 venues in the Newbridge area, many within walking distance of each other. While most are private homes and studios, there are also group locations where several artists exhibit together. These include the Weston Methodist Church Hall in Kennington Road and Fairfield House, the former residence of Emperor Haile Selassie, off Kelston Road.

At some venues, visitors can watch demonstrations and join drop-in workshops. Newbridge Primary School has an exhibition of work by the schoolchildren and their art teacher, and children can try their hand at ceramics under the supervision of ceramicists Jan

Card and Liz Stallabrass. At 81 Newbridge Road, Polly Gough and Tim Edwardes will be demonstrating non-toxic printmaking.

Other demonstrations include mount cutting by Steve Nichols and painting on silk by Helen Stanfield (12 – 3pm) at Frontier Picture Frames in Locksbrook Road. There is also stone carving by Hayley Diamond at the Weston Methodist Church Hall and earring making by Janette Massey at 9 Evelyn Road.

Whether you’re walking or driving, the route is manageable and refreshments are provided at pubs, cafés and some artist venues. A printed trail guide, with a map showing locations, is available from local shops and Bath Library.

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ART | EXHIBITIONS

Seascape

by Stella Wain-Heapy

Blue Necklace by Plodge Robertson

WIDCOMBE ART TRAIL Saturday 19 and Sunday 20 May, times vary Visit: widcombearttrail.com The successful formula of a couple of large central venues plus open studios in the artists’ own houses continues, but with the addition of the new Widcombe Social Club, which is wheelchair friendly. Here you’ll find a huge variety of work – there are 41 artists in all, with work ranging from paintings to hats, pottery and jewellery. The Waterside Arts Bar has been revamped: “It’s now a great place to hang out,” says the manager. And, for even more glamour and excitement, the Royal Wedding will be screened live downstairs.

Just along Widcombe Parade, the coffee shop Mús will again be taking part, and it’s the perfect spot to fortify yourself with refreshments at the midpoint of the trail.

Here you’ll find work from established artists Caroline Crossland (linocut prints) and Bridget Baker (wire animals and mobiles).

And, if you drop in to the White Hart, you may find you’re browsing watercolours and oils while being serenaded by a ukulele band.

At Action on Hearing Loss, there is an emphasis on showing wonderful work by people who the charity supports.

Through the Olive Grove by Edward Fairburn

New artists include Matthew Cook (illustrator) and Aga Cook (silversmith) who will be showing alongside sculptor Caspar Taylor in Hatfield Buildings, and Mary Liddell (landscapes, still lifes and portraits) at St Matthew’s Church.

Pedestrian access from the city is just over the footbridge behind Bath Spa station. The nearest car parks are at Southgate, Avon Street and the Cricket Ground. Widcombe also has some street parking, unrestricted on Sundays. Many venues are private houses, so there may be uneven surfaces and stairs making them unsuitable for wheelchairs.

BEAR FLAT ARTISTS’ OPEN STUDIOS Saturday 26 and Sunday 27 May, 11am – 5pm Visit: bearflatartists.co.uk This year marks the 15th Bear Flat Artists’ Open Studio trail, with the work of around 40 artists and makers showing over the Whitsun bank holiday weekend. There’s a lively art community on ‘the flat’ and alongside many old friends, they welcome new members.

Poets Corner has several venues. In Shelley Road you’ll find photography and ceramics, with raku and throwing demonstrations at number 6. In Shakespeare Avenue there are paintings by Christopher Isaac, along the road from abstract artists Lindy Dickins and Maggie Simonsen, who are new to the trail.

At venues in Longfellow Avenue are illustrator James Nunn and printmaker Catharine Naylor, as well as ceramics and jewellery. Ben Hughes is in his Chaucer Road garage studio, just along from the drawings of Tim Williams and complex images of Carlos de Riaño in Devonshire Place.

Further afield is painter Sarah Kniveton and mixed media artist, Stephanie Frankum at St Luke’s Vicarage and Tamara Penwell’s icons in Hensley Road. In the opposite direction, head for Lower Oldfield Park to see Elizabeth Chubb’s jewellery and paintings

by Karen Parker and Mary Liddell.

As well as having refreshments, the Devonshire Arms and the Bear have a cluster of artists presenting work: a selection of jewellery, glass, paint and photography at the

Siberian Break by Carlos de Riaño Carril

Devonshire Arms, and a range of paintings

by Natalie Bedford, Pav Kot and John Menage at the Bear. Refreshments are also available at da Vinci’s where Vintage Revamp is situated and at the Good Bear Café in Hayes Place, where you will also find author Rosie Davies.

Fine Line art group are showing work in ever-popular children’s workshop will be in full swing in Devonshire Place, this year’s theme being Crazy Creatures.

The trail is a short walk up Holloway or a three-stop hop on the number 3 or 4 bus from outside the bus station.

Untitled by John Leahy

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ARTIST | IN FOCUS

WOVEN ART: This page, clockwise from top left, Faces; Kingfisher; At Night inspired by the evening light on Bath stone around the city; Quinn the textile dog; the Kilve strata acoustic panels Gill made for the Hereford College of Art Opposite, Gill Hewitt in her workshop with some of her most recent work

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NEEDLES AND THREAD

Jessica Hope meets local textile artist Gill Hewitt who uses an unusual technique with a needle-punch machine to create intricately textured works of art

Y

ou’d be fooled into thinking that Gill Hewitt was an oil painter when admiring her artwork from afar. Her sweeping lines of dark hues and flashes of bright colours make it look as if she has simply swished her paintbrush along a canvas. However, upon closer inspection, you will find that these contrasting colours are in fact made of layers and layers of fibres and fabrics, all threaded together to make eye-catching pieces of work.

Gill, who is originally from Lancashire, achieves these intricate creations, similar to a tapestry but not woven, using a needle-punch machine that was designed especially for her style of work. The bed of 2,000 needles allows her to combine a collage of different coloured textures and layers into one piece of art. And adjusting the needles and the machine speed allows her to develop different effects in the patterns.

Despite working with needle-punch for more than a decade, Gill only began using it to make portraits and landscape-inspired artwork last summer. Her career began as a rug tufter in the 1990s, making rugs for the likes of British Rail headquarters and the Contemplation Centre in Rotterdam Hospital. Gill then trained at the Bath School of Art and Design, gaining a degree in Surface Design in 2005, before doing an MA where she planned to develop her ideas for her rug business further, but instead she became distracted by the school’s needlepunch machine.

During her MA, Gill honed her artistic skills with the needle-punch by making acoustic panels that could be used to absorb sound while also illuminating a space with colour and pattern. Gill’s panels won her an Innovation Award at Bath School of Art and Design in 2008, and she went on to develop this idea further after being commissioned by several businesses and colleges to help reduce the noise within buildings.

After producing these panels for more than a decade, Gill started to develop a new range of work last year by playing with smaller woven patterns to develop different shades of colour and texture, creating facial images and landscapes.

Gill hand dyes natural, transparent and translucent materials such as silk, cotton and wool, and also digitally prints fabrics using her own photographs.

By passing the material through the

needle-punch machine several times, she is able to build up layers of pattern, and as they aren’t woven together like other textile work, she is able to pull back layers, remove them or move them around to begin new patterns.

And she doesn’t waste a single strand of material with her work – she keeps even the smallest of off-cuts so they can be re-used within more detailed pieces such as portraits.

Gill says that many of the ideas for her work come from the natural world around her. She cites St Ives in Cornwall, where she and her partner John enjoy spending time in their holiday cottage with their dog Quinn, as a great source of inspiration for her seascapes.

Having moved to Bath when she was 18, Gill enthuses about the warm glow of the sun on the Bath stone buildings, and the

evening light and shadows of Bath’s Georgian buildings, both of which inspire her work.

These landscapes, abstracts and portraits have an intensity and depth that is akin to those of a rich oil painting. But no paintbrush is required to create these resonant needle-punch pieces. n Gill will be exhibiting her work at the Select Trail 2018 at Victoria Works Studios in Stroud during the weekends of 5–6 and 12–13 May; selecttrail.org Gill’s workshop on Morford Street, Bath is open to visitors upon appointment and she is available for commissioned work.

• gillhewitt.com

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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

Peter Rollins

Director of marketing at Thermae Bath Spa

I

was 12 years old when I caught my first sight of Bath.

Coming over the brow of the hill on the old A46, I’ll never forget the view of the city nestling in the valley and the Bath stone glowing in the summer sunshine. I still love that view.

I was born in Belfast and grew up in the 1970s when the Troubles were at their worst. Like everyone in Northern Ireland, I experienced some terrible things, but no members of my family suffered any significant harm. After studying German and French at Queen’s University, I left Belfast in 1979 in search of work.

My first job was as a tour guide escorting coach tours of Europe and as a representative in an Austrian ski resort. It was hard work but great fun. I was then fortunate in getting a job with Voyages Jules Verne and escorting rail journeys in countries such as China, Mongolia and the former Soviet Union – I travelled 12 times on the Trans-Siberian Railway en route from London to Hong Kong.

After years of living out of a suitcase, I needed a change in lifestyle and went back to university where I completed an MSc in Recreation Management. This enabled me to get a ‘proper job’ as head of tourism in Cheltenham. Those were interesting times, but when a role as tourism and marketing manager in Bath was advertised, I couldn’t resist the lure of working in the premier league of tourism destinations. We moved to Northend in Bath and my children, Bridie and Conor, went to Batheaston Primary School followed by Hayesfield and Beechen Cliff.

We had a great tourism team working on economic development and there was a real sense of energy and purpose.

However, there was something intrinsically missing from Bath – the spa. Under the leadership of Paul Simons, a small team was assembled to make a bid to the Heritage Lottery Fund. After a huge amount of work, a fax arrived confirming that the bid had been successful. I’ll never forget that morning.

Subsequently, I made a big decision to join the company who would operate the spa led by a truly inspiring man called Henk Verschuur. Through various trials and tribulations, Henk and other supporters such as Nicole O’Flaherty never lost faith in reviving the spa. It felt like a moment in history when Thermae Bath Spa opened in August 2006 – residents and visitors could once again bathe in Bath’s natural thermal waters.

When Thermae first opened, it employed 85 people – it now has a team of more than 200 and makes a massive contribution to the local economy. It has also been the catalyst for other developments in Bath including the new Gainsborough Bath Spa Hotel.

Over the years, there have been many highs and lows – the lows have been some serious health scares for myself and my partner, Fiona, and the sad passing away of Henk. The high points include the night of 31 January 1998 when the Three Tenors performed in Bath, when Bath Rugby won the 1998 Heineken Cup against Brive, and every day that I stand on the open-air rooftop pool at Thermae and count myself lucky to live and work in Bath.

The UK’s Premier Personal Introductions Agency 0800 644 4140 www.attractivepartners.co.uk Contemporary Dating with Traditional Values All Members Interviewed and ID Checked Access to Expert Dating Advice & Exclusive Events

PORTRAIT: Neill Menneer at Spirit Photographic.

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

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CITY | HISTORY

THE BATH FESTIVAL AT 70

Imagine Handel’s Water Music played on a barge on the River Avon, a host of candles flickering around the Royal Crescent and an orgy in the Roman Baths – the Bath Festival has 70 years of stories to tell, discovers Georgette McCready

D

ifferent generations of Bathonians will each have their own memories of what The Bath Festival means to them.

For today’s children it might be the excitement of processing through the streets of the city wearing a colourful mask or costume and joining hundreds of others for the joy of filling Bath Abbey with song.

The next generation up may well have memories of the legendary party in the park.

Thousands used to descend on Royal Victoria Park for a free evening of live music to mark the start of the Bath International Music Festival. While orchestras and choirs performed on an outdoor stage in front of the Royal Crescent people sat on the grass and tucked into picnics. Residents of the Circus would place lighted candles in their windows and the evening would conclude with a dramatic firework display in the skies over the Royal Crescent. Those evenings inevitably had their challenges for organisers faced with funding and policing the event.

Boisterous and often drunken behaviour by a few and litter left strewn on the grass were an unwelcome hangover from the parties in the park.

There will also be those who remember the earlier days of The Bath Festival when the world’s top classical musicians performed in the city. Violinist Yehudi Menuhin, who was

a key influencer and director of the festival programme for many years, played many times to rapt audiences and two of the greatest ballet dancers in history, Margot Fonteyn and Rudolf Nureyev, performed at the Theatre Royal Bath.

Those early years of the festival were meticulously documented in a book, Fifty Festivals: The History of the Bath Festival by Tim Bullamore, published in 1999. The first festival was staged in 1948, but during the 1950s there were a couple of fallow years, which made 1999 the year of the 50th festival and 2018 its 70th anniversary.

There has been a centuries-long tradition of music-making and concerts in Bath, but it wasn’t until 1947 that Ian Hunter, who had been involved in the Edinburgh Festival, thought the city would be an ideal environment for a festival of arts aimed at young people. His proposal for The Bath Assembly was welcomed by a city that was suffering the privations and shortages of the post-war period. The first young musicians arrived in Bath in April 1948, where, in the Pavilion, the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain gave its first concert. The programme was designed by illustrator Edward Ardizzone (he of the Tim series of children’s books) with an introduction by author Horace Annesley Vachell who lived in Widcombe: “Edinburgh rose and gripped a

great opportunity. We must do the same.

Pilgrims of yore were admonished to see Naples and die. Let us say to the world: ‘Come see Bath and live.’”

Other highlights of that first festival were a visit by a 17-year-old Princess Margaret and a Georgian themed costume ball for 800 – with a waiting list of 700. In those days circuses with animals were the norm and the Daily Express reported gleefully that a concert in the Pavilion, conducted by Sir Adrian Boult, was interrupted by the trumpet call of Dinah, a circus elephant camped in a field across the road.

By 1949 some of the themes surrounding the festival began to take on a familiar sound. There was the question of funding and the debate about whether the festival should be unashamedly highbrow, or whether it should appeal to every man and every woman.

Another ongoing discussion surrounded whether the concert-goers spent money in the city’s shops and businesses. The festival director at the time, John Boddington made his point: “Just think how much money is spent by the 400 women who attend the ball in the week preceding it. Nearly all of them will visit the hairdresser for a perm, or at least a wave and set. Many of them will buy powder paint and perfume and have their nails manicured.”

Continued page 58 ➲

Photograph © Bath in Time, bathintime.co.uk

FIRST FESTIVAL: Bath Spa Station decorated for the inaugural Bath Festival of the Arts, Bath 1948

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CITY | HISTORY

BATH FESTIVAL: HISTORICAL HIGHLIGHTS 1951

1955

The Boyd Neel Orchestra took to a barge on the River Avon to perform Handel’s Water Music from its floating stage.

There was a celebration on the Rec to mark the 150th anniversary of Nelson’s victory at the Battle of Trafalgar. It included 600 amateur actors and technical staff with canon fire and pantomime ice to add dramatic effect.

The pageant was planned for ten performances but after three it was snowed off, with unseasonable icy blasts blighting this May spectacular.

1952 A masked ball was held at the Pump Room, with a performance of Shakespeare’s Coriolanus beside the Roman Baths.

1961

1959 The great violinist Yehudi Menuhin was made director of the festival. His influence and reputation brought many internationally renowned musicians to Bath.

1960 The Carnival of Jazz saw the crowd dancing till 6am to the strains of jazz musician George Melly, who urged them: “T’ain’t no sin to take off your skin and dance around in your bones.”

1968 Composer Michael Tippett’s A Child of our Time, performed in Wells Cathedral, was a radical, innovative event. He later became festival artistic director.

A Roman orgy took place when people bathed in the baths. Guests wearing togas ate, drank and partied hard. In the early hours they refused to leave. Staff had to literally pull the plug on the baths.

1966 Despite the rain, more than 60,000 people turned out to watch a carnival procession a mile and a half long wend its way through the city streets.

1969 The Rec saw 30,000 fans grooving the night away to the Bath Blues Festival. Stars included Fleetwood Mac and Led Zeppelin and its compère was DJ John Peel.

Complaints about hippies stealing milk from doorsteps and the traffic meant the second blues festival was held out of town, at the Royal Bath and West Showground at Shepton Mallet.

1975

1984

Residents of the Circus were encouraged to place lighted candles in their windows between 10pm and midnight. The council turned off the street lights and, under a full moon, crowds marvelled at the romantic spectacle. This became a tradition.

The theme of mazes and labyrinths was adopted, which is how we got the Beazer maze on the banks of the Avon.

1995 The first Bath Literature Festival, now amalgamated into the music festival.

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CITY | HISTORY

RECOLLECTIONS FROM PAM TWOHIG, BATH BOX OFFICE STAFF MEMBER:

Photograph © Bath in Time, bathintime.co.uk

“In the early ’80s I was on the Bath Festival Fringe Committee which organised social and other events around the main festival. It was the time of the Roman Rendezvous in the Roman Baths and of the End of Festival Picnics where everyone wore fancy dress based around a theme.

We went to Longleat, Sheldon Manor, Wells and on a steam train to Bristol.

“I was personally involved in the Prior Park Picnic at which I insisted we have fireworks, a 20-minute session to Handel’s Water Music for the Royal Fireworks, the first time fireworks appeared at the festival – they later became a feature of opening night at the Royal Crescent.

“In 1989 I joined Bath Festival Box Office which in those days was a four-month employment based in Linley House.

I was responsible for the accounts. The box office manager was a remarkable woman called Pam Fuller. Everything was done on paper and when a seat was sold it was marked with a cross on the venue plan.

❝

It is important to feed the soul as well as the body and music and literature thrive in Bath because of it

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“The artistic director when I started was Sir William Glock. He was followed by Amelia Freedman, now artistic director of both the Bath Mozart and Bach Festivals. After a year when we had three artistic directors, Tim Joss became both artistic director and administrator. In 1990 he established the box office as a permanent year-round business and we began selling for other organisations as well as the music festival and the newly established literature festival. When we were computerised I moved to the front desk where I still work today.

“In its 70th year, Bath Festival is as important to Bath’s cultural scene as it was when it when it started. It is important to feed the soul as well as the body and music and literature thrive in Bath because of it. Long live Bath Festival!”

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LOOKING TO THE FUTURE As you read Tim Bullamore’s account of the first 50 years (the book is out of print and the Bath Library has a copy), you’re reminded that funding has always been a thorn in the side of the organisers. And that the city remains forever divided between whether it wants a highbrow festival or a populist bunfight.

The Bath Festival website sets out its mission for future festivals in the city: “Our future is driven by three factors.

First, the world of festivals is changing fast and, having been there pretty much from the beginning, we want to stay at the leading edge. Second, the reality is that public money is in increasingly short supply. Rather than bemoaning that loss we are using the spur positively to connect better with a growing number of patrons and sponsors. Third and most importantly, we are excited about what can happen in the spaces between music, literature and other art forms.” n

ABOVE: The Roman Rendezvous at The Bath Festival in 1965 – ticket holders were able to swim in the Roman great bath and dance the night away in the Pump Room

BELOW: Bath Festivals posters spanning a period of 20 years: 1978, 1988 and 1998

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Make the Connection to the Isles of Scilly in 2018

To enter the competition, simply email your name and address to competitions@thebathmagazine.co.uk before the closing date of 31/5/2018 By entering you automatically agree to receive occasional emails with news, offers and events from Isles of Scilly Travel.

Fly or sail to the UK’s most exotic escape; lying just 28 miles off the coast of Land’s End, Cornwall, are a collection of truly un-spoilt islands that are a welcome sanctuary from stress.

WIN an escape to the stunning Isles of Scilly with Isles of Scilly Travel, one lucky reader will win a return Fly + Sail trip! Flying from Land’s End Airport, the short flight takes you over Cornwall’s dramatic coastline before views of the magical islands appear in view. Then on your return, you can enjoy a leisurely sail home to Penzance harbour aboard Scillonian III, looking out for dolphins that often join the ship as well as views of some of Cornwall’s most iconic landmarks.

For more information about Isles of Scilly Travel and to discover how you can #ConnectScilly in 2018, visit www.islesofscilly-travel.co.uk or call 01736 334220.

Terms and Conditions Not to be used in conjunctions with any current bookings or discounts • Excludes travel on Bank Holiday weekends and school holidays • Bookings are subject to availability on requested dates • Competition ends on 31st May 2018 • Winners will be selected at random after that date and no cash alternative will be offered.

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FOOD | & | DRINK

TOM’S BRILLIANT PUB IN THE PARK

Imagine great chefs preparing signature food; Tom Odell, Razorlight and The Christians performing live; and Royal Victoria Park as the backdrop. Emma Clegg chats to Tom Kerridge about Pub in the Park, which is coming to Bath

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the Bath event are Josh Eggleton’s Pony & Trap and Café Murano with Angela Hartnett, both with Michelin stars. Also taking part are The Star Inn (Andrew Pern), The Kingham Plough (Emily Watkins), and Spanish tapas restaurant Paco Tapas, under the direction of Michelin-starred chef Peter Sanchez-Iglesias. Candice Brown, the Great British Bake Off winner in 2016, will also be doing a chef’s demo.

Live music in Bath will include Razorlight, Melanie C, Squeeze, Stereo MCs, Toploader, Tom Odell, Sound of the Sirens, Gabrielle Aplin, Scouting for Girls, The Rifles and The Christians. “These are national artists, but it will feel as if they are playing in your back garden,” says Tom.

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You are buying a pot of flavour for a fiver. For each chef, it is your recipe and your personality in the pot

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he Pub in the Park festival in Marlow last year sold all 18,000 tickets within 24 hours. The brainchild of Michelin-starred chef Tom Kerridge and Chris Hughes of Brand Events, it included a stellar line-up of chefs, pubs and charttopping music.

A year later, and this success has bred a new, bigger concept – Pub in the Park on tour. Tom and his fellow chefs will be visiting four English towns across the country, bringing his Michelin-starred pubs and a selection of other top UK pubs and restaurants to serve their most popular dishes. Each event will celebrate the very best food, combining this with live music, chef demonstrations, shopping and other festival fun. As well as the headline chef and music names, each will celebrate the local community in the form of artisans, pubs, food heroes and musicians. The event starts in Marlow and then tours to Royal Victoria Park in Bath (from 8–10 June), before going to Tunbridge Wells and Knutsford.

What was the original idea behind the event? “Chris Hughes and I both just wanted to create a brilliant vibe in Marlow, because we both live there,” Tom explains. “We wanted to set something up that was great.

We thought that the best way to do that was to invite all our mates to come and have a party in the park. So that’s what we did.”

“The event gave people the opportunity to taste the food of lots of different chefs. And there was music as well. So all of a sudden it felt like this could be a great afternoon or evening. Everyone loved it so much. That is why we are going to do it again.”

Tom explains that Bath, Tunbridge Wells and Knutsford were chosen as locations for the tour as they have a similar character to Marlow and a strong sense of family and community. “We wanted to find the sort of vibe in towns and cities where you walk around and bump into friends. So a warm, lovely atmosphere, like a national festival but where everyone knows each other.”

As well as Tom Kerridge’s two Michelinstarred The Hand & Flowers and The Coach, other pubs and eateries confirmed for

There will be a festival atmosphere and a strong family appeal. The pubs and the food will be the main attractions, but visitors can wander around to explore the artisan producers showcasing individual products such as cheese and pickles, biscuits and cakes, and gin and beer, as well as gathering around the music area where the different acts will perform.

What are the logistics of serving up food in volume in a park? Tom explains that the chefs start by conferring about their proposed food offerings to avoid duplication and ensure there is plenty of choice. On the day itself, each chef has their own satellite kitchen with fryers and ovens. So the production is done off-site in the restaurant and then it’s brought to the park where it is prepared for serving.

“It’s very similar to how kitchens work,” notes Tom. “You do all the prep work before and then you finish it at the end. So what you have in the park is a finishing kitchen.

There’s a big walk-through fridge at the back and then you send 5,000 portions of food out – it’s very easy!”

“Meals are served in paper pots,” says Tom. “We are showcasing flavours. So each pub will showcase what they do in a way that people buy into. You a buying a pot of the flavour for a fiver. For each chef, it is your recipe and your personality in the pot.”

It’s clear that having a good time is at the heart of Tom’s commitment to the Pub in the Park tour. “The biggest priority for us is for the chefs to have a lovely time. We are all friends, we all know each other and so while the chefs will be busy doling out thousands of portions of food, there is a really good vibe. If we know they are having a lovely time, then that atmosphere will flow out positively into the space.” n The Bath Magazine readers have the opportunity to win two VIP tickets worth £200 for Pub in the Park in Bath on the evening of Friday 8 June. For your chance to win, go to The Bath Magazine website and look for the Pub in the Park Bath offer.

Pub in the Park, Royal Victoria Park, Bath from 8–10 June; booking: 0844 995 1995; pubintheparkuk.com/bath

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Tom Kerridge doing a chef demo for Pub in the Park

Candice Brown

Visitors enjoying the atmosphere at Marlow’s Pub in the Park in 2017

Live music into the night

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FOOD | NEWS

FOOD&DRINK NEWS JOIN THE MICHELIN CHEF

The cookery school at Lucknam Park is offering a chef’s table experience with their Michelin Star executive chef, Hywel Jones, on Thursday 17 May. Hywel will prepare a five-course menu, talking participants through each dish and the techniques he uses. He will also take questions and involve guests in the process, providing a fun, relaxed evening with exceptional food. The evening, which has a maximum of 10 guests, includes a Champagne and canapé reception, a five-course menu with matching wines and coffee and petits fours. Arrive 6.30pm; sit down at 7pm. £120 per person; Tel: 01225 742777; lucknampark.co.uk

NEW MANAGER FOR OLIVE TREE The Olive Tree Restaurant at the Queensberry Hotel in Russel Street has announced the appointment of their new restaurant manager, Roman Jarana Vidal.

Roman has had many successful roles at some of the West Country’s finest restaurants, including head sommelier and assistant manager of Casamia in Bristol, one of the country’s most highly rated restaurants, which has five AA rosettes and a Michelin star. At Casamia he was pivotal in helping the restaurant to flourish, its national reputation to grow, and its wine list to develop into one boasting over 250 brilliant wines. A career restaurant manager with enormous experience, Roman recently held that role at The Ellenborough, one of Cheltenham’s finest hotels, where he was also head sommelier. At The Olive Tree, in tandem with head chef Chris Cleghorn, he will be leading the team to deliver ever higher standards of service and an even better dining experience. Roman speaks three languages fluently, four if you count the language of wine. Visit: thequeensberry.co.uk; olivetreebath.co.uk

the delicious guide the best places in the city to eat, drink and enjoy

the delicious guide to Bath featuring all the fave eateries and foodie treateries is available online at our website www.thebathmag.co.uk

Follow us on Twitter @thebathmagazine

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THAI TAPAS AT Giggling Squid’s renowned lunch menu offers a brilliant combination of bold Thai flavours and authentic cooking techniques, from lunchtime tapas to delicious curries, rice and noodles.

The established tapas menu offers an array of signature small plates to tantalise the taste buds including Salt and Pepper Squid, Sleeping Honey Duck alongside the Lime and Chilli Beef, Thai Chicken Wings and Pork Ribs.

The super popular ‘tasting sets’, from the ‘Hungry Squid’ and ‘Wealthy Squid’ to the ‘Starving Squid’ are a selection of four carefully curated dish combinations competitively priced between £9.95 and £11.95.

The two-dish meal combi, of a Thai curry and light bite also offers fantastic value, priced between £7.95 and £9.95.

Giggling Squid, Bluecoat House, Saw Close, Bath, BA1 1EY. Tel: 01225 331 486 web: gigglingsquid.com Social: @GigglingSquid

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THERE’S NO TASTE LIKE TAPAS Melissa Blease takes a trip to Saw Close and discovers a new food venue with a familiar feel for those who love tapas.

Mejillones a la Marinera, paella Valenciana or pulpo a la brasa, anyone? Photography by TBM

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he heavy-duty Hydrodrives have chugged off, the cranes have folded up and the hoardings have come down. Saw Close – the historic square that was once home to the characterful Regency Garage, a rather eccentric series of bars and restaurants and a vintage bingo hall is now a thoroughly modern urban regeneration zone, all gleaming concrete vistas, bright lights and cool street furniture. A couple of new restaurants have already opened their doors within the new development, a casino and a brand new 147-bed hotel are gearing up for business, and a new lease of life is being celebrated in the beautiful, historic buildings that line the contemporary vista.

But while a handful of independent businesses battled against the building site environment that was thrust upon them for almost three years, not all of them survived the mayhem that was going on around them.

And so it came to pass that Olé Bar and Restaurant magpied into the abode formerly known as Gascoyne Place, the bar and restaurant that, for many years, flourished on the corner of the old-look Saw Close ‘plaza’ but unfortunately didn’t survive the 66 TheBATHMagazine

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pandemonium. Olé Bar and Restaurant opened in February of this year, bringing a lively, upbeat blast of conviviality and goodtime vibes to the new-look locale.

This brand new independent venture comes to us courtesy of convivial owner Guillermo Argibay Fernandez, co-host (and, in her own words, “supportive wife”) Lina Nastovska, manager Antonio and their small team of friendly staff. As a team they have bought wholly authentic Spanish-inspired chillaxing opportunities together under one thoroughly characterful roof. And if the venture’s name and concept sounds familiar, that’s because it probably is: few tasteful sensualists aren’t familiar with the delights of the tiny Olé Tapas on John Street, right? Well, this new kid on the Saw Close block is, if you like, the original Olé’s grown up big sister.

Little about the layout of the ancient, split-level building that Guillermo and Lina have breathed a lease of new life into has changed (indeed, who would want to alter such an interesting configuration?). Their new brooms have, however, swept new life into historic corners, bringing high stools and barrel tables, smart lighting and bright artwork into the upstairs bar areas, and

transforming the subterranean restaurant into an informal but intimate chill-out zone.

Here is a place for all comers to eat, drink and be merry in, supplemented by live Latin jazz on Sunday evenings.

The overall vibe acts as the perfect backdrop for easygoing refuelling options.

The tapas menu flaunts impeccably sourced produce (including the most sublime organic Salchichón, Lomo and Iberican ham I’ve encountered since I last rambled around Las Ramblas) as a key part of a tantalising tapas array that seamlessly moves from croquetas and mini hamburguesa de chorizo to slowcooked Galician-style octopus and Spanish heritage breed entrecôte.

The tapas can be mixed and matched to create a bespoke feast or enjoyed as a oneoff, ‘drinks too wet without one’ nibble.

(The latter option is a good idea if you’re intent on experimenting with the sherries, Cavas and Sangrias that party on with the Spanish wines, beers and liquors on the drinks menu.) Meanwhile, there’s traditional paella Valenciana – a lesser-spotted indulgence, here in Bath – to satisfy the non-grazers.

So, are we are on bar territory here... or is this a Spanish restaurant? Lina is keen to

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OPPOSITE: the interior of Olé Bar and Restaurant is full of lively and colourful artwork

point out that actually, Olé Bar and Restaurant is about something else altogether – in a way, she and Guillermo are on a mission to alter our perceptions of how we socialise.

“The whole point of tapa isn’t actually about the tapa,” Lina explains. “Tapas is a lifestyle thing, incorporating people and friends and music and wine, or beer. In the UK, people are familiar with the concept of a pub crawl. In Spain, we go cruising tapas bars: ‘ir de tapas’ – that’s our way. We expect to be presented with a sliver of ham or a cube of cheese to accompany our drinks as we go; it’s part of our social life, our culture. In Spain, we demand tapas.

I still don't think British people are familiar with that concept; I hope that we can introduce it here.”

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We can do real, authentic paella here which nobody else in the city is doing

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BELOW: from chorizo burger to mussles, a selection of the tapas on offer at the new venue in Saw Close

(which will, by the way, remain open for business) only has a tiny kitchen, just two square metres in total; you don’t have to look that closely to see right into it from the bar. In our Saw Close bar and restaurant, we can offer a different, more extensive menu, because we’ve installed a bigger kitchen with better equipment such as a woodburning grill. And we can do real, authentic paella here too, which nobody else in the city is doing. But the challenges that the new location has presented are somehow made easy to deal with, because all our staff and chefs are so closely involved – they take the challenges on, day to day. Seeing everybody grow together has been the best thing about what we’ve done. We wouldn't be even close to where we are now if it wasn’t for our staff team.”

And the new dawn that’s recently broken over Saw Close wouldn’t feel any near as bright as it does if it wasn’t for the brand new lugar feliz that's already looking and feeling like a long-established cornerstone of Bath’s coolest quarter. Aclamaciones, Olé. n Olé Bar and Restaurant, 1 Saw Close, Bath BA1 1EY; 01225 789322; oletapas.co.uk

And as part of that introduction process, consider this: while every drop on the drinks menu has been very carefully selected to fly the flag for the Spanish way of socialising, every morsel and crumb on those little plates comes with a very personal endorsement of quality from the Olé kitchen chefs, who are dedicated to bringing an authentic replication of the Spanish style of merrymaking to this lively little corner of Bath.

“Our chefs absolutely love their ingredients,” says Lina.

“You have no idea of the amount of time and effort we take to even find, say, the right tomato for a particular tapa – our chefs won’t work with the wrong tomato. Our kitchen team – all of whom are Spanish, except one, who is Italian – have impeccable training and remarkable backgrounds, including experience working with Michelinstarred chefs. They work with equally dedicated suppliers, and can spend a whole day with a producer discovering the best meat or the best ingredient. They have big ambitions regarding what they want to do with our little dishes, and we allow them to develop their inspirations.”

But surely the challenge of developing the original Olé Tapas to fit a new, much bigger environment wasn’t easy?

“I suppose our development could be called ambitious, but the minute you start panicking or worrying about it you lose the plot completely, so we just went with the flow,” says Lina. “In some ways, it has of course been challenging – but it’s been an exciting ride too. The original Olé Tapas

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FOOD | AND | DRINK

A NEW LEASE OF LIFE

There was once an ancient tavern in Southstoke that had seen better days. Put up for sale as a development project to the highest bidder, the community rallied round – Melissa Blease investigates the buy-back of The Packhorse

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reams have recently turned into reality in the picturesque village of Southstoke, just south of Bath. After several years of campaigning and many months of hard work undertaken by an affiliation of indefatigable individuals, alongside support from over 400 visionary community shareholders, the historic Packhorse Inn reopened its doors to the public in March this year. The pub’s reopening (on the 400th anniversary, as it happens, of its inauguration as an ale house) represents an exemplary lesson in how inspiration, dedication to a cause and dogged determination can win over despondency, despair and the prospect of defeat – if, that is, you have the right team on board.

The project team and the whole community around us are delighted and proud about what we’ve collectively achieved,” says Dom Moorhouse, managing director of the Packhorse Community Pub. “Not only have we saved a beautiful, 400-year old heritage building, but we’ve put a place where social connections can be made back at the heart of a village.

The Packhorse today is the product of a thousand hands, and a fine example of what can happen when a community comes together. We hope it’s a story that inspires others.”

At a time when community ownership dominates debates about the future of the Great British Pub, the Packhorse story is

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indeed inspirational. But don’t let anybody tell you that such a project is easy to undertake.

To delve into the full detail and learn more about the roll call of heroes who have each played their part in the pub’s history, the Packhorse website takes us on a journey through time. The date above one of the original doors, for example, marks the start of that journey as 1674, but samples taken from the oldest beams reveal that the building could be even older, as the original timbers date back to 1618 and 1635. In 1847, the pub was officially registered as a ‘beer house’, and for around 165 years it maintained that status. But in May 2012, the pub’s then-owners, Punch Taverns, put the Packhorse Inn up for sale to the highest bidder with a plan to turn it into a domestic residence with a ground floor office space.

Southstoke residents Penny Townsend, Simon Pearson, Steve Gourley and Bob Honey actively protested the sale, and the ambitious, arduous campaign to Save the Packhorse began. Over the years that followed, the campaign eventually raised £1,025,000 from shareholders and investors – a figure that represents the highest sum ever raised for a community pub buy-back in the UK. But then there was the none-toosmall matter of an ancient, tumbledown but uniquely beautiful building in desperate need of tender loving care to deal with...

“On my first visit at the start of the refurbishment project, I saw walls being chipped clean of damaged plaster, upperlevel floors missing and Artexed ceilings

hanging down,” says the pub’s interior designer Claire Rendall, whose previous projects include commissions for Longleat House, designing and presenting on BBC1’s DIY SOS, and a collaborative partnership with designer Van de Sant to create contemporary furniture made from recovered ocean plastic.

“Centuries of paint layers still clung to the front and back doors and ghastly 1960s ventilation fans sat in the windows,” Claire explains. “But I could remember huddling by the fire in the Tap Bar a decade before and feasting on chip butties and local beer – you could say that’s when I first fell in love with the place.

“So, when I met the Packhorse team at a fundraising event, I asked if they had an interior designer on board; they hadn’t, so I agreed to contribute my time to resurrect this important building. I felt that, above and beyond the demands of the conservation officer, we should respect the integral personality, character and history of the Packhorse throughout the whole refurbishment – and, very importantly, I wanted the makeover to be all to be about the building, not the interior designer. Over several conversations, Nick Alexander – who led the build works – and I agreed that the pub should eventually look as though it hadn’t been restored at all.”

Given the sorry state of disrepair the building was in, that sounds like a tricky brief. But Claire is renowned for making interior design magic happen. Aiming to recreate the interior atmosphere she remembered from her visit 10 years before, Claire eschewed contemporary trends for peacock blue and burnished gold in favour

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ABOVE LEFT: Visitors enjoying the new interior, which is designed to celebrate its traditional design ABOVE RIGHT: The upstairs dining room uses rich red walls to complement the elm floor OPPOSITE TOP: Two pictures showing the Packhorse today and over a century ago

of off-black and subtle putty paintwork in the ground floor bars. On the first floor (in rooms previously closed to the public), she opted for rich red walls to complement the elm floor and a Bath stone fireplace in the main dining room. She also chose refined sage walls and a large carved panel – donated from the villagers – to hide the flat screen television in the meeting room.

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The Packhorse today is the product of a thousand hands, and a fine example of what can happen when a community comes together

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RIGHT: James Dixon, general manager of The Packhorse Community Pub OPPOSITE: The ground floor bars were painted in off-black and subtle putty colours

“I had my usual mental tussle about new oak doors and door frames being fitted, as this is a bit of a bugbear of mine,” says Claire. “I rant at programmes like Wolf Hall, which show interiors with oak as it appears today: dark, with centuries of tannin leeching into the timber. But back then, the oak would have been pale, as new oak is today.

The dilemma was whether we artificially darken the new oak to make it look original to the building or leave it as it is. We decided that darkening would be a ‘Disneyfication’ too far; it’s better to be true to the materials and let them age naturally.” The lighting maintains a 17th-century feel with simple wrought-iron wall pieces and simple zinc coach lights at the front and back doors. The wrought-iron wall lights are either used bare with filament light bulbs, softened by cream linen shades downstairs, or prettied up with sweet Toile de Jouy in the upstairs Red Room. Meanwhile, soft furnishings in low-key, earthy linen shades combined with pre-distressed fabrics complete the calmly convivial ambience.

Claire’s efforts have attracted a flurry of positive attention, but there’s one comment that she is most keen to share. On the Thursday before the pub’s reopening, an older gentleman from the village wandered in with his camera. “The other rooms are lovely but you haven’t done anything in here,” he said, of the Tap Bar. “I was thrilled,” says Claire. “It was exactly what I wanted to achieve – his comment proves that we’ve done good by the building. The whole refurbishment has been carried out with a massive amount of skill and careful consideration, and now it’s good to go on for another 400 years.”

But for our purposes, the future is right here, right now – and you couldn’t possibly wish for a more characterful, inclusive, welcoming ‘down the pub’ experience than you’ll find when you enter the Packhorse today.

After making time to take in the delights of the environment (including a spacious, abundant work-inprogress garden that’s already starting to blossom) you’ve probably worked up an appetite – but if you haven’t, work one up now, because we’re in safe hands here too.

Head chef Rob Clayton had stints in illustrious kitchens including London’s Ménage a Trois and Chez Nico and our very own Hunstrete House and Bath Priory hotels on his CV. He now heads up Clayton’s Kitchen at the Porter.

He was initially approached to help design the new-build kitchen for the Packhorse before being asked to take on the role of operations director.

Rob recruited former King William head chef Daniel Vosper – who has a earned himself a glowing reputation for his super-smart use of locally sourced, seasonal produce – to maintain the Packhorse’s all-important classic pub selection alongside dishes that scale the heights of upper-crust, imaginative gastropub greatness. “It’s been a privilege to be involved with the Packhorse project,” says Rob. “We’ve put together a very talented team which has the Packhorse ethics at the core, and we’re all looking forward to a busy future.”

“Getting to this point has been a mammoth undertaking,” says Nick Alexander. “We’re all delighted with the results of our efforts and the response from the local community – it makes all the hard work worthwhile.” n The Packhorse Inn, Old School Hill, Southstoke, Bath BA2 7DU. Tel: 01225 830300; packhorsebath.co.uk

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RESTAURANT | REVIEW

THE OLIVE TREE RESTAURANT Russel Street, Bath BA1 2QF. Tel: 01225 447928, visit: olivetreebath.co.uk; thequeensberry.co.uk

R E V I EW

EATING BY DESIGN

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felt as if we consumed a series of paintings that night. The dishes on Chris Cleghorn’s tasting menus at the 3 AA Rosette Olive Tree Restaurant, you see, are beautifully crafted, visually outstanding food creations. Each one has a striking design artistry – and they certainly deliver on taste.

One of the dishes on my seasonal tasting menu saw a glistening fillet of cured trout to the left, a circular daub of horseradish sauce to the right garnished with a detail of pink grapefruit and a delicate frill of dill, these connected by clusters of horseradish and a trailing pale green dill jus. The food composition sat within the pale grey centre plate, surrounded by the wide rim of a charcoal grey glaze scratched chalkily with light grey. The flavours were deep, alluring, harmonious, stirring the palate into tuneful appreciation.

The Olive Tree Restaurant, located in the basement of the Queensberry Hotel, is lowlit and sober and carries a polished finesse.

There is a sense of history within the walls that goes beyond the Georgian fabric – there’s an old-fashioned formality in the service, an appreciation of the customer, an awareness of fine wines luxuriating in the cellar waiting for their outing, and, ultimately, a traditional, exclusive eating experience undiluted by technology.

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explanation of their content. Then, for each dish, he introduced a bottle of wine, pouring out a glass, summarising its qualities and telling us why it worked with the course. We didn’t share the wine. Oh no. Each tasting menu – mine the seasonal one with five courses and Rob’s the signature one with seven courses – was served with individually selected glasses of wine to suit the dishes.

(The wines accompany each tasting menu for an additional price, but certainly heighten the gastronomic experience, so don’t skimp on this.)

Another of my dishes was lamb rump with aubergine, wild garlic, curd and mint. Once again a statement with visual impact, two medium-rare portions of succulent lamb in the centre, nestling in between a curd sauce and a lozenge of ingredients defined by aubergine, and extended dark green shoots of wild garlic steeping in the meat juices.

Each dish – each part of each dish, in fact – was an intense, one-of-a-kind flavour experience.

If I had to choose a favourite dish, it would be the middle course, monkfish with purple sprouting broccoli, onion and mussels cream.

The fleshy leaves of the onion were left intact, the sweet crunch balancing the clean taste of the monkfish and the mini-heads of broccoli, all absorbed by the salty depths of the mussels cream.

My dessert (there was a choice of two on my menu) – egg custard tart with rhubarb, blood orange and vanilla – was creamy,

sweet and divine, the underlying citrus and rhubarb tang accenting the experience. Rob’s dark chocolate parfait with yoghurt sorbet and (we marvelled) green olive was unexpected, inspirational, uplifting.

Each dish is the result of many expert investigative hours by the head chef Chris Cleghorn who has worked with Michelinstarred chefs Heston Blumenthal, Michael Caines and Adam Simmonds. His experimention with fresh, local ingredients from the very best suppliers results in a composition of textures and tastes that – in our humble estimation – touched perfection, again and again.

I had plenty of room for my five-course menu as well as an appetizer, portions of homemade rye and treacle bread with clotted cream butter, and some tiny but packedwith-potency petit fours to finish), as they were all delicate servings, but there was a richness there that needed time to savour.

The waitress invited us to walk around, stretch even, between dishes, to give everything room to settle. While we did not feel the need to do this, it still took us over three hours to complete our meal. And there was no fidgeting or toe-tapping involved – that was just how the gastronomic experience flowed.

So, at a few minutes past eleven we made our way to our deluxe fourth floor suite within the Queensberry Hotel. There is a lift, but we wanted to climb the Esher-like meanders of period staircase, twisting up and

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along and down and around in a plush, eccentric style.

There was no visual illusion in the way the stairways took their path, but there were either/or ascent options and some concentration was required to reach our destination.

This impression of meandering stairs is created by the hotel having been created from four town houses on a hill, so each staircase has its own level.

We had settled into our top-floor Georgian eyrie earlier, but arriving once again made us freshly delighted with the interior. There was a spacious sofa, a magazine-filled coffee table, a flatscreen TV, a walk-in luggage room and wardrobe (so luggage can be completely hidden from view), an ensuite with twin basins (Rob allocated the lefthand one as mine) and fresh white towelling dressing gowns hanging on the door. Oh, and a selection of complementary chocolates. The bed itself I had already established was deliciously soft, and so the scene was set for the sweetest of dreams.

Breakfast the next morning offered a generous buffet of continental-style choices – homemade granola and cereals, freshly baked breads, pastries, sweet apricots in syrup with poached Argen prunes, charcuterie, cheese and a choice of four fresh juices or a morning smoothie. Cooked breakfast options included grilled kipper served with butter and lemon and Westcombe Cheddar cheese omelette. I wished I had more room to enjoy it all.

Staying at the Queensberry Hotel, and its magnificent Olive Tree Restaurant, which has just been awarded four AA stars, is a boutique hotel experience that shouldn’t be underestimated. Here you’ll find contemporary comfort, plush interiors, period character, an attentive service, and a restaurant with an exclusive, no-holds-barred modern menu all of its own. And, whenever you choose to start your day, the city of Bath is right on your doorstep. n EC A midweek overnight stay, on Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday with a five-course seasonal tasting menu and breakfast starts from £149.50 per person, based on two people sharing.

If you are eating at the restaurant only, the five-course seasonal tasting menu is £68, with five individualy selected glasses of wine at £47.50; the seven-course signature tasting menu is £82, with six individually selected glasses of wine at £57.50.

OPPOSITE PAGE, left to right: The Olive Tree Restaurant; salmon with orange and beetroot THIS PAGE, clockwise from top left, head chef Chris Cleghorn at work, veal and asparagus, the drawing room, and the deluxe bedroom suite

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TRISTAN DARBY Our trusted wine columnist provides some seasonal ginspiration

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ike many others, I’m a perennial gin drinker. But it’s always nice to choose one to fit the mood, weather or occasion. This month I’ve chosen a few that are perfect spring-into-summer sipping from Great Western Wine’s enviable in-store range of more than 150 gins.

My first choice is Malfy Gin (£27 at Great Western Wine), a modern, fruit-forward Piedmontese gin as bright, vivid and attentiongrabbing as its bottle’s snappy design. Produced by the Vergnano family in Turin it’s supercharged with the citrussy vim of sun-kissed Sicilian and Amalfi lemons. Their peels are soaked in the base spirit prior to a vacuum distillation with juniper, coriander, cassia bark, liquorice, grapefruit and orange peel.

Tasted neat it’s reminiscent of sherbet lemons and limoncello, with a touch of spice underneath. Add in ice and splash of tonic, and more piney-juniper notes open up. Garnishing with a sprig of fresh coriander, basil or thyme offsets the citrus and pulls everything into balance for a lusciously lemony, refreshing and distinctive G&T bellissimo.

Next up is a super-stylish gin where tradition meets technology. Made in the wild and remote Northumbrian Moors, Hepple Gin (£37 at GWW) is a collaboration between Hepple estate

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owner Walter Riddell, chef Valentine Warner, Sipsmith’s former head distiller Chris Garden and top barman Nick Strangeway. Hepple takes inspiration from its windswept nature-rich surroundings, with most of the key botanicals foraged from the estate, including green juniper, douglas fir, bog myrtle, lovage, blackcurrant and blackcurrant leaf. The botanicals are divided to be used in one of three different distillation approaches involving a traditional copper pot still, a glass vacuum still and a high-pressure CO2 extractor.

Hepple won a double gold at the 2017 San Francisco World Spirits Competition, and it’s clear why. It’s elegant, classic, beautifully aromatic and invigorating – with juniper singing loud and clear at the front of the choir, with citrus, melon, woody-spice and herbal notes harmonising behind it. Hepple is lovely to sniff and sip neat, and it makes a killer martini. In a G&T it’s dry, classic and juniper-forward. My preference is to serve it with light tonic and a lemon peel twist.

Complex, unusual and aromatic, Nordés Gin (£40 at GWW) hails from Galicia in northwest Spain and gets its name from the local northerly Atlantic wind.

Nordés is made with an Albariño-grape-based spirit loaded with Galician botanicals including mint, sage, laurel, glasswort, lemon verbena and eucalyptus alongside tea, hibiscus, liquorice, cardamom, ginger, and juniper. Utterly delicious sipped neat, where floral and lemon citrus aromas greet the nose, followed by an intriguing floral, violet and wild mint palate reined in from sweetness by black tea and juniper notes. Nordés also works fantastically in a G&T garnished with sliced grapes and a sage leaf or plenty of ice and a slice of orange. Stylishly packaged, unique and dangerously moreish, this is a must-buy gin. n Join Tristan to sample some seasonal gins at Great Western Wine on Wednesday 6 June. Visit greatwesternwine.com/events for tickets.

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CITY | PEOPLE & NEWS

CITYNEWS LAURENCE BEERE JOINS THE POWER LIST Laurence Beere, co-owner, with his wife Helen, of The Queensberry Hotel and Olive Tree restaurant in Bath, has been named in Boutique Hotelier’s Power List. The list pays tribute to the figureheads piloting some of the most prominent boutiques in the UK hotel market. The Queensberry Hotel and Olive Tree have faced and seen off the challenges of difficult conditions in the last few years. Laurence’s boldness, leadership, creativity, persistence and willingness to invest have been key, and the hotel

has just been awarded four stars and a glowing report after its most recent AA inspection.

Following 2015’s radical reshaping of the restaurant, the last year has seen equally dramatic work undertaken throughout the hotel, resulting in huge improvements to the guest rooms and public areas. Since taking over the hotel in 2003, the Beeres have pioneered an approach based on personal service, high quality, attention to detail and creative flexibility. thequeensberry.co.uk; olivetreebath.co.uk

FEET IN BALANCE

SILVER ANNIVERSARY Kathryn Anthony Optometry is celebrating 25 years of delivering the highest standards of eyecare and eyewear in Bath. It all started as a small business with Kathryn and her husband doing everything – eye examinations, spectacle dispensing and making up the glasses by hand on the premises.

“On the first day we opened we took £5 and I remember thinking ‘What have we done?’”, says Kathryn. “I now employ nine staff and we run dry eye, contact lens and low vison clinics alongside our general clinics.” Kathryn loves ensuring that clients leave feeling confident that their glasses reflect their personality and practical needs.

16 Pierrepont Street, Bath; 01225 464433; kathrynanthony.co.uk

FootBalance, the innovative foot experts, have opened a new concept store in Bath.

Over 70% of the population suffer from a foot misalignment, which can cause discomfort, pain or issues further up the body. FootBalance custom insoles support your feet properly in a natural position and are the perfect foundation for correct body posture and a healthy, active lifestyle. You can get FootBalance custom insoles moulded to your feet in store in less than ten minutes. The expert team at the Bath store also provide a free foot analysis service and advice.

FootBalance, 20 Green Street, Bath; 07498 967587; bath@footbalance.com

MOGERS DREWETT CHAMP BRINGS HOME GOLD The England netball team scooped gold at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in an incredible performance which saw them beat host nation Australia – and Mogers Drewett trainee solicitor Eboni Beckford-Chambers helped them do it. The Roses etched their place in the history books with a 52-51 victory over the defending champions, marking their first Commonwealth Games gold

Did you Know?

The Bath Festival 11–27 May Celebrating 70 years over 17 days

medal. Eboni joined Mogers Drewett in November 2016 as a trainee in the dispute and resolution practice. She has a huge amount of experience on the international netball stage with over 80 test caps for England. This was her third Commonwealth Games, having helped the squad win bronze at Delhi 2010 before narrowly missing out on a medal at Glasgow 2014. mogersdrewett.com

BATH BUSINESS BAROMETER provided by

n Footfall in Bath and across the UK was impacted as the Beast from the East and Storm Emma swept across the country and people stayed indoors or went sledging. The difference between 2018 is particularly marked because of the mild spring in 2017.

An earlier Easter this year created a positive impact at the end of March and gave a week on week change of 7.9%.

The Bath Business Improvement District is delighted to support this year’s Bath Festival coming in May. We hope many will enjoy the special Finale Weekend at the Bath Recreation Ground and make the most of all the fantastic special offers available to ticket holders from our city businesses.

UPDATE: MARCH 2018

High Street Footfall

Bath

(Month on month % change)

-5.2%

South West

-3.5%

UK

-3.6% Springboard Research Ltd.

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BATH | IN BUSINESS

ocl A C C O U N TA N C Y

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

www.oclaccountancy.com

Allison Herbert BID General Manager, Bath Business Improvement District.

FESTIVAL SEASON

I

t looks as though winter is finally over and we are now looking forward to Bath’s festival and events season. Bath provides a stunning backdrop for a wide range of exciting events.

Bath Business Improvement District (Bath BID) is delighted to be supporting organisers and making sure that businesses in the city can have the opportunity to be part of the fun and of course achieve the great sales and footfall that the events provide.

For me last month’s comedy festival was a joy, from Jon Richardson at The Forum to Arthur Smith at Widcombe Social Club; we are so fortunate to have the tireless and dedicated festival team bringing big comedy names to cheer us all. And to follow this year’s Bath Festival is a real showcase reflecting its 70 year history of excellence.

As a key sponsor of the Festival, Bath BID have been working closely on the citywide business collaboration. As I write this, our rangers and the festival team are out in the city putting up window stickers in shops who want to get involved. Look out for the Festival Windows competition, as shops and businesses get creative and compete for the Best Festival Window award. As one of the judges for the windows competition, I would be very pleased to have recommendations from local people – get posting on Instagram or Twitter so I know what you think.

The festival itself has a hugely diverse programme, with 17 days of celebration in the city, bringing the city to life with its multi-arts programme with music and literature at its heart. And this year there is a new event to look forward to with the festival finale on the Rec. All the festival-goers will have branded wristbands to make sure that it is easy for them to come in to the city and enjoy everything Bath can offer.

As the festival opens, the city will be treated to another new event with the Spring Fayre in Parade Gardens which will take place on 12 – 13 May from 11am – 5pm. The fayre is free to enter and will have music, family fun, and more than 50 stalls with local designer makers and food. The real showstoppers will be the hundreds of speciality plants which have been nurtured in the nursery at Royal Victoria Park. We are looking forward to seeing Parade Gardens full of colour and hope the sun will shine.

Do take the time to enjoy our home city while you are in town for these great events. Rediscover Bartlett Street, explore Northumberland Place, have a look at the new faces in Walcot Street and discover a new place to eat that you have never tried before. There is plenty to surprise and delight in Bath, even when you have been here for a long time. See you all there. n

Tax efficient profit extraction from your company 2018/19!

The new tax year means that directors of family companies will be considering the most tax efficient method of paying themselves.

For many years the standard approach has been that director/shareholders should extract profit by taking a low salary and drawing the remainder of their income as dividends.

If you are a single director/owner of a company the most tax efficient salary would be £8,424 a year (£162 a week). This is the highest level of salary that you can pay without suffering any tax or national insurance deductions (employees and employers) but is sufficient to give a qualifying year for State Pension purposes. The remaining profits would be extracted via dividends.

Although dividends are not deductible in arriving at the company’s taxable profits, they aren’t subject to national insurance contributions.

If you have multiple directors or have other employees paid above the £8,424 a year then the company is entitled to a £3,000 employment allowance that can be set against employer’s NIs. If this isn’t being utilised against NI on other staff wages then you should increase the directors’ salaries up to £11,850.

The additional salary of £3,426 would save corporation tax at 19% which equals £651, whereas the employees NI would be £411.

Dividends are taxed at 7.5% for basic rate tax payers with total income less than £46,350, any dividends declared taking income above this level would be taxed at 32.5% so ideally the dividends should not exceed £34,500 if a salary of £11,850 is paid. The first £2,000 would be taxed at 0% under the dividend allowance with £32,500 being taxed at 7.5%.

Family members should be considered to add to the payroll or as a shareholder of the company to maximise the profit extraction from the company whilst minimising the tax payable.

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: “We are a small, but very busy, independent restaurant in Bath…We couldn’t have reached this stage without the help of OCL. I would thoroughly recommend OCL accountants to any small to medium sized business.”

“We couldn't have reached this stage without the help of OCL. I would thoroughly recommend OCL accountants to any small to medium sized business.”

To keep up to date with all of our news, sign up for our weekly newsletter: bathbid.co.uk/subscribe

Image courtesy of Paul Gillis

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Don’t settle for second best when it comes to elderly relative care

Sarah Wringer KIE Bath, 5 Trim Street, Bath, BA1 1HB Direct Line (01225) 473502 Email: sarah.wringer@kaplan.com

W

hen it comes to caring for elderly relatives, there are a whole host of things to consider – from ensuring their living space is right for them, to meeting their needs for mobility assistance and financial support. But one fact is true for all these things – you want to ensure the very best for your relatives, which means choosing providers that are willing to go the extra mile.

Choosing the right home is perhaps the most important decision of all.

Certain things are a must – convenience, access, safety and, if required, on-hand care assistance. But there are also factors that are highly personal to the individual: do they prefer a smaller, family home feel, or a larger home? Are they happiest in vibrant, busy places, or is peace and tranquillity a must?

People shouldn’t be left to make these big decisions about care alone.

A good solicitor will have extensive knowledge of elderly care options and can provide support with moving from one home to another. For us, this goes beyond legal services, and whether dealing direct with elderly clients or their relatives, we’re here for anything you may need.

Financial matters are also a concern, especially when it comes to funding care. You may be entitled to certain government benefits, or NHS care, but navigating your way through this system can be complex and confusing, especially when there are a number of other things on your mind. We have a comprehensive knowledge of the funding system, and keep up to date with the latest changes, to ensure you get the very best advice.

Seeing older and vulnerable family members or friends struggle with financial and legal decisions is concerning enough, but it can even more difficult if you can’t visit as often as you would like, especially if you don’t live in their local area.

At Mogers Drewett, we have an experienced team of legal professionals who make it their mission to go above and beyond for elderly clients and their families. For a friendly discussion about your care needs, please call 01225 750000. www.mogersdrewett.com

THEBESTOFBATH PERFECTLYCOVERED

David Hill, Private Client Partner at Mogers Drewett

BATHSBIGGESTMAGAZINE PERFECTLYDELIVERED TOADVERTISETEL: 01225 424499 THEBATHMAG.CO.UK

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FAMILY | EVENTS

FAMILY DIARY IDEAS FOR THINGS TO DO WITH THE CHILDREN THIS MONTH ARTY BABIES Tuesday 1 May – Monday 11 June, 1 – 2.30pm n The Holburne Museum, Great Pulteney Street This weekly group provides a cosy, relaxed, creative space for parents to meet other parents over a cup of tea and make something different while their babies enjoy safe and sensory play. Must be booked in advance, block bookings only. £50 per person for five weeks. Tel: 01225 388568; holburne.org ROOTS AND SHOOTS Every Tuesday, 10 – 11.30am n Bath City Farm Under fives can play, discover and investigate nature at this weekly toddler group. With a focus on exploring the farm and feeding the animals, Roots and Shoots is full of toddler friendly activities. From bug hunts, digging in the mud and story-telling, your little ones can see nature in the best way possible.

Term time only. No booking required. £1 for a child, £4.50 for two and £6 for three children. Under twos go free if coming as an extra sibling. Parents/guardians free. Includes a drink and snack. Tel: 01225 481 269; bathcityfarm.org.uk BABY BOOK CLUB Every Tuesday from 1 May – 17 July, 10 – 11am n The Pound Arts Centre, Corsham Read and explore books with your little one at the baby book club at Corsham Library.

With sensory elements, sign and song included. £3.50 including a hot drink for the adults. Term-time only; poundarts.org.uk OUTDOOR ADVENTURE Open Tuesday – Sunday, 10am – 5.30pm n Avon Valley Adventure and Wildlife Park, Pixash Lane, Bath Road, Keynsham Children can discover 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. Term time only.

Tel: 0117 986492; avonvalley.co.uk SUPERPIRATES TAKEOVER Friday 11, Friday 18, and Friday 25 May, 10.30am n Komedia SuperPirates will be transforming Komedia’s huge dance floor into a fun-packed pop-up

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The Three Little Pigs at Wiltshire Music Centre

play area for under fours. There will be dens, giant inflatable bouncy snakes, crazy games, dancing, and the opportunity to generally have a wild time – plus there’s free face painting. There will also be entertainment for babies with playmats and toys, and plenty of space for buggies and feeding. £3 for children; adults and newborns go free.

No advance tickets needed, pay on the door; komedia.co.uk WHOOSH! Sunday 13 May, 12pm and 2.30pm n The Edge, University of Bath Using the language of music, experience a heartwarming, wordless performance and be transported to a warm world of breath and wind. As part of The Bath Festival and in collaboration with The egg, Whoosh! stimulates skin, hair, eyes and ears with this introduction to performance and music for kids. Suitable for one to four year olds.

Takes place in the Weston Studio. Tickets: £9; edgearts.org THE THREE LITTLE PIGS WITH THE MAGNARD ENSEMBLE Sunday 13 May, 3pm n Wiltshire Music Centre, Bradford on Avon Enter the wonderful world of Roald Dahl as the Magnard Ensemble and narrator Rebecca Kenny bring this story to life. Venture into the dark forest to take on the Big Bad Wolf, but keep your wits about you as there may be a few surprises along the way. Suitable for three years plus. Tickets: £4. Tel: 01225 860100; wiltshiremusic.org.uk ROCKTOPUS Saturday 19 May, 2pm n Komedia Rock out at this ultimate band for kids and

families. Learn the moves and release your inner rock star with this interactive event.

Expect lots of jammin’, epic party games, face painting and much more. Become a member of the Rocktopus and rock the party. All ages welcome. £5 per person, £18 for a family of four; komedia.co.uk HANDA’S SURPRISE Saturday 26 and Sunday 27 May, 10.30am, 11.45am and 2.30pm n The egg Travel to Kenya and follow in Handa’s footsteps as she journeys to see her best friend, Akeyo in the next village. This blend of physical performance, puppetry and live music creates a truly magical show.

Recommended for two to six years. Tickets: £8.50, lap seats 0 – 18 months: £1. Children under 12 must be accompanied by an adult; theatreroyal.org.uk CREATE: ART Saturday 26 May, 10.30am – 12.30pm n Art Studio, The Edge, University of Bath Children aged five to 11 can take part in a range of art activities inspired by the exhibitions displayed in the Edge Arts galleries. Young artists can explore ways of making art by sticking, collaging, drawing, printmaking and using textiles. All materials provided. Booking advisable, £5 per child, £3 for adults; edgearts.org SPRING HALF TERM ART CAMP Tuesday 29 May – Friday 1 June, 9am – 4pm n The Holburne Museum Join in with the half term fun at The Holburne Museum Art Camp. Suitable for five to 11 year olds. £38 per day with a £15 discount for booking four consequtive days.

Tel: 01225 388568; holburne.org

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FAMILY | EVENTS

Handa’s Surprise showing at The egg

Get creative at Victoria Art Gallery

MESSY KNITTING Tuesday 29 May, 10.30am – 12.30pm and 1.30pm – 3.30pm n Fashion Museum Get creative at this family activity and learn all about ‘messy knitting’. You’ll learn how to make a neck piece or something from your imagination with finger knitting. No need to book. Included in the admission to the museum. Free for Discovery Card holders. Children must be accompanied by an adult; fashionmuseum.co.uk

SPRING BLOSSOMS Wednesday 30 May, 10.30am – 12.30pm and 1.30pm – 3.30pm n Victoria Art Gallery Take your little ones to Victoria Art Gallery this half term and create a blossom picture using mixed media. Inspired by the new Celebration of Flowers exhibition by Kaffe Fassett. Suitable for ages three to seven. Free drop-ins and no need to book. Children must be accompanied by an adult; victoriagal.org.uk

MAKE Wednesday 30 May and Thursday 31 May, 9am – 4pm n Art Studio, The Edge, University of Bath Kids can go on an artistic adventure at these action-packed workshops, playing games, getting messy with arts and crafts activities and creating colourful stories and characters.

Both days will be a mix of imaginative fun exploring themes from The Edge’s exhibition programme. Suitable for seven to 11 years. £35 per day; edgearts.org

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CITY | EDUCATION

EDUCATION NEWS TASTER DAY FOR TEACHERS A teacher training taster day at Bath Spa University on Saturday 12 May will show prospective teachers how to join the profession.

Becoming a teacher not only changes young people’s lives for the better, but changes your own life as well.

The daily rewards of teaching offer a genuine buzz and gives you the chance to make a real difference to society.

Choosing one of Bath Spa University’s Ofsted ‘Outstanding’ programmes provides flexible options that suit your lifestyle, taught strategies that will help you rise to the challenge, and financial options to support you in taking that next step.

The day includes demonstrations, family-friendly workshops and activities, and the chance to speak to expert academic tutors and students. You can also have a guided tour of the university’s beautiful lakeside setting and state-of-the-art teaching facilities.

Registration is free, and friends, family members and children are welcome. 10am – 2pm; bathspa.ac.uk/teacher-taster

COMPUTER EXPERTISE AT THE ROYAL HIGH The Royal High School is celebrating success in this year’s BEBRAS competition, which tests students’ ability to solve problems using computational thinking. The school entered 160 girls from the junior and senior schools, 26 of whom were placed in the top 10% nationally. Four girls, year 7’s Eloisa Lunn and Amber Drew and year 6’s Evie Campbell and Olwen Knight, went on to compete in the second round – all achieved distinctions, placing them in the top 2.5% in the country. Olwen was awarded the further accolade of qualifying for the national finals, one of only 20 pupils nationally to do so. Computer science is one of the fastest growing GCSE subjects at the school; royalhighbath.gdst.net

SCHOOL OPEN DAYS May dates Hayesfield School 01225 426151 hayesfield.com Campus tour date: Friday 4 May, 11am Contact the office to confirm attendance.

Monkton Combe Senior School 01225 721133 monktoncombeschool.com Senior School open door morning: Saturday 19 May, 10am

The Paragon School King Edward’s School 01225 464313 kesbath.com Pre-prep and nursery open morning: Wednesday 2 May, 9am – 12pm

Kingswood Prep School 01225 734460 kingswood.bath.sch.uk Nursery information morning: Friday 11 May, 10am – 12pm

Monkton Combe School (prep and pre-prep) 01225 831238 monktoncombeschool.com Pre-prep and prep school open door morning: Saturday 12 May, 9.30am

01225 310837 paragonschool.co.uk Open morning: Friday 4 May, 9.30am – 11.30am

Prior Park College 01225 835353 priorparkcollege.com Open morning: Friday 4 May, 9.30am – 11.30am

Stonar School 01225 701740 stonarschool.com Whole school open morning: Monday 7 May, 10am – 12pm

CREATIVE BURSARIES

Olwen Knight and Evie Campbell Bath Spa students with trustees for the Marion Doris Southcott scholarships

A recent donation of £348,000 has been awarded to Bath Spa University by two charitable funds – the Doris Southcott Bursary and the Taunton Maids Bursary. Mrs Southcott, who lived in Taunton and passed away in 2005, requested that her estate be split between two educational bursaries for young people in the region who study subjects that were close to her heart – music, textiles and fashion design. Students aged 18 to 25 who are enrolled on a music, textiles or fashion design related degree at Bath Spa University will be able to apply for a bursary, helping them to hone their craft, purchase essential course materials and display their work at end of year degree shows; bathspa.ac.uk

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• Co-educational day school for pupils aged 5-13 with

dyslexia and other specific learning/language difficulties.

• Located in Wiltshire between Bath and Chippenham.

CReSTeD approved.

• Fully qualified specialist teachers with maximum class size of eight - reducing to one-to-one as required.

Call 01225 743 566 or visit www.CalderHouseSchool.co.uk

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SPORTS | PROFILE

LIZZY YARNOLD

Double Winter Olympic gold medallist Lizzy Yarnold talks to us about life after Pyeongchang, the art of sliding on ice and inspiring the next generation

How long have you been coming to Bath?

I first visited the University of Bath when I was going through the Talent ID process in 2008, but didn’t move to Bath to train full time until early 2012. I love the city, and being able to train alongside other Great Britain athletes, whether they’re rugby players or swimmers, is a huge motivation.

Can you explain your training regime?

Summer and winter life and training plans are quite opposite. In the summer I’m based in Bath, usually training three times a day, six days a week. I lift frequently in the gym to get strong, then use the sprint track and push track to convert the power to useful speed for the push-start element of skeleton. I also do loads of yoga and core conditioning, and I attempt basic gymnastics too. During the winter it’s all about optimising time on the track, and using the two runs a day the best I can. I’ll usually go to the gym or do some training every day too. Sliding on the skeleton track is physically and mentally exhausting, and afternoon naps are essential.

The University of Bath has the only push-start track in the UK. How significant is this to your training?

Using the push track is a great tool for checking whether what I’m doing in the gym is working for me in the right way. We have small group sessions and big group sessions – it’s great to have the clocks on and be a bit competitive sometimes.

The nearest refrigerated ice track is in Konigssee, Germany. How often are you able to train on an ice track?

We spend around a week at each ice track around the world. The routine is: arrive, unpack, official training for three days (six runs), compete, pack up and fly to the next place. Each week is full on! I love skeleton but I think I would struggle doing it every day, I appreciate the summer in the UK and having time to focus on my physical capability in the gym.

How much time do you spend in Bath?

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of Milsom Street. I tend to go to Society Café in Kingsmead Square – they have some great magazines.

You are a former heptathlete – why did you start with this, and how did you make the transition to skeleton?

I loved each and every sport, and started athletics after competing in the Prep Schools Nationals for high jump and shot put. I enjoy learning the whys of sport, so the physics of how to throw a javelin kept me motivated for years. I loved pole vault as well as the heptathlon, but javelin and shot putt were my best events. I did the Girls for Gold talent search in 2008 after my first year at uni – I knew I wanted to be an athlete so I was up for the challenge of a new sport.

When was your first experience of skeleton, and did you know straight away that it was for you?

I first went on a track in 2008 in Lillehammer. It was the most petrifying thing I’d ever done. I didn’t want to go down the track again but everyone else in the group did, so I forced myself to go again – I didn’t want to be the only one who chickened out!

❝

I hope that by meeting me children can see that if they work hard ... they can achieve their dreams, too

❝

How does it feel to have retained your Winter Olympics title?

It’s been so fantastic – I honestly am so overwhelmed that the race in Pyeongchang went so much better than I expected, even through my chest infection and other issues.

Life has been busy since getting back, seeing everyone and showing them the bling.

What attributes make you good at skeleton?

You have to be physically strong all over, and a decent sprint at the start is required too.

Mental strength is probably as important as being strong physically.

The speed you reach on a skeleton track is up to 85mph – do you ever feel overwhelmed by the speed now?

I love the big events and big competitions so feel great before I compete. I was diagnosed with vestibular issues last year and this causes dizziness sometimes when I’m sliding. That has been something I’ve had to overcome as it was making sliding quite stressful, not knowing if it could happen while I was mid-way down a track.

You must spend so much of your life travelling – what pressures does this create and how do you cope?

It is hard sometimes living out of your suitcase. But that is just the nature of the job,

and I love what I do and feel very privileged that I receive lottery funding. It is lovely when the season is over and I can go home and just spend some normal nights in with my husband – the mundane is wonderful.

Team GB’s use of game-changing skinsuits at the Winter Olympics to reduce drag and improve aerodynamic performance received some criticism. What is your perspective?

I think it made a good media story. Every country saves some of their new developments for the big events – we are no different and our suits for the Olympics were approved by the authorities and followed all the rules.

How close are you to the international competitors who you meet on the circuit?

We see each other all the time and it’s a lovely vibe among all the competitors. We appreciate the nomadic lives we all lead, so have an affinity with each other. Once we’re on the track, of course, we are fierce rivals.

Britain has had less success in the men’s skeleton than in the women’s skeleton. Is there the potential for improvement here?

Dom Parsons winning the first male skeleton medal for us at the Olympics was huge – we were all so chuffed for him, he has worked so hard. There are so many talented young male sliders coming up behind Dom that I’m sure his medal is the first of many to come.

When you are not training you spend much of your time visiting schools – why is this important to you?

I tried every sport growing up and didn’t excel at any one thing – so I think it’s important to get the message across to young people that you don’t have to be the best at everything, and trying sport or other activities out and enjoying them is the most important thing. I describe my Olympic medals like Frodo’s ring – the reaction from children when they see them is just priceless.

And I hope by meeting me they can see that if they work hard over many years they can achieve their dreams, too.

What are your thoughts about taking part in the Winter Olympics in Beijing in 2022?

It feels like a long way off! I’m looking forward to a holiday before getting back in the gym and seeing how my body is faring.

How do you see your future beyond skeleton?

There are so many things I’d love to do – I did a bookkeeping course recently and loved it – maybe I could be an accountant… n

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Photographs by Mark Varey

SPORTS | PROFILE

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WEDDING | GUIDE

TYING THE KNOT If you are starting to plan your big day and have an idea of how many guests you will be inviting, then finding venues for the wedding ceremony and for the reception are the first big decisions to make.

This guide features eight of the best wedding and reception venues in our beautiful city. Do you fancy getting married by flickering candlelight, at the edge of the Roman Baths or surrounded by 18th-century portraits? You’ll also find some invaluable additional ideas for bringing stand-out character to your special day...

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BATH FUNCTION ROOMS

An elegant, beautiful venue in the city centre, Bath Function Rooms are located directly above Green Park Brasserie. The double aspect, Grade II listed room is finely proportioned with a stunning interior and brass clad candelabra. Enjoy food and drink from the Brasserie’s award winning menus with receptions for up to 130 guests and a range of flexible pricing options. With fantastic customer service, you’ll work with their experienced events manager who will be on hand throughout the process. Prices from £1,950 (50 people).

Green Park Station, Bath BA1 1JB Web: bathfunctionrooms.com; Tel: 01225 332981

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THE ROYAL CRESCENT HOTEL & SPA

Set in the centre of the iconic Royal Crescent, and with an acre of beautiful serene gardens, The Royal Crescent Hotel and Spa offers a unique setting for a wedding day that will create lasting memories to treasure forever. Choose from a selection of elegant rooms for your ceremony and wedding breakfast or enjoy the truly magnificent Wedding Garden if you are looking to host a beautiful, intimate outdoor occasion. For a spectacular, show-stopping wedding, you can book out the entire hotel and treat your guests to a celebration on a truly magnificent scale. Set the scene for romance and get married in the exceptional setting of The Royal Crescent Hotel and Spa. 16 Royal Crescent, Bath BA1 2LS Web: royalcrescent.co.uk Email: events@royalcrescent.co.uk Tel: 01225 823333

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WEDDING | GUIDE

B

ath’s historic venues are integral to the city’s history and include some of the country’s most iconic buildings including the award-winning Roman Baths and Pump Room, the Assembly Rooms, Victoria Art Gallery and Guildhall.

THE ASSEMBLY ROOMS

Marianne Taylor

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5

Bennett Street, Bath BA1 2QH Web: bathvenues.co.uk/weddings Tel: 01225 477786

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THE ROMAN BATHS & PUMP ROOM

The Roman Baths are steeped in over 2,000 years of history and sunrise and sunset ceremonies at the venue give couples a fantastic opportunity to be married in the open air, at the water’s edge, whilst also remaining undercover, safe from the unpredictable British weather. The Great Bath is surrounded by ancient paving where couples can exchange their vows amid flickering torchlight and rising steam and guests can mingle with a drink in hand. Sunrise ceremonies are usually followed by a wedding breakfast for up to 40 guests in the elegant adjoining Georgian Pump Room, famously frequented by Jane Austen. The entire complex can be hired for evening wedding receptions and parties.

The Holburne Museum is a beautiful venue for a wedding in Bath.

The Grade I listed building with its elegant façade and contemporary extension is set within its own grounds and is only a ten minute walk from the centre of town. The museum can offer a selection of wedding packages to meet your individual needs and budget, from simple ceremonies to lavish receptions. The options include exchanging your vows in the beautiful Picture Gallery surrounded by famous 18th century British portraits, a drinks reception in the Ballroom Gallery with its splendid views over Great Pulteney Street, a wedding breakfast in the Picture Gallery and an evening party in the stylish contemporary Garden Café. The Holburne works with a select group of exclusive event caterers who can provide a variety of options using only the finest ingredients.

The Holburne Museum, Great Pulteney Street, Bath BA2 4DB Tel: 01225 388560; Email: privatehire@holburne.org Web: holburne.org

Amy Sanders Photography

The Grade I listed Assembly Rooms is one of Bath’s most prestigious venues and has been at the heart of the city’s social life since the 18th century. With stunning original chandeliers, high ceilings and impressive architecture, it has everything necessary for a stylish city wedding. The Assembly Rooms has four interconnecting rooms of varying size providing versatile space for weddings with 50–300 guests. There is a small formal garden, well suited to drinks receptions and wedding photos and the world renowned Fashion Museum is also located in the building. If you’re looking for a summer wedding, why not ask the venue about ‘All Inclusive August’. This all inclusive package for 80 guests is just £8,500 for a Saturday wedding and £7,800 for weddings from Sunday – Friday. Price includes venue hire of all four interconnecting rooms, dressed tables, Prosecco and canapes, three course meal with wine, tea and coffee, bar tab and DJ.

THE HOLBURNE MUSEUM

Stall Street, Bath BA1 1LZ Web: bathvenues.co.uk/weddings Tel: 01225 477786

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WEDDING | GUIDE

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KOMEDIA

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Located in the heart of the city centre, Komedia Bath offers a splendidly characterful wedding reception venue for couples looking for something a little out of the ordinary. Combining the baroque grandeur of its Grade II listed auditorium with ten years’ experience of planning wild events, Komedia is able to strike the perfect balance between creating traditional opulence and a riotous party atmosphere. Benefiting from the venue’s connections to the entertainment industry, the team are even able to source incredible live acts – from comedians and cabaret acts to bands and DJs – to keep guests laughing and dancing until the early hours for a truly unforgettable event. Komedia also has full in-house catering and offers freshly prepared food ranging from canapés and buffets to lunches and three course dinners, all freshly prepared on site by its dedicated team.

22-23 Westgate Street, Bath BA1 1EP Tel: 01225 489 070 Web: komedia.co.uk/bath

LUCKNAM PARK The day that you have always dreamed of begins from the moment you enter through the mile-long avenue of beech and lime trees, and take a glimpse at the magnificent Palladian mansion ahead.

Set within a 500 acre private estate, Lucknam Park is the perfect setting for your special day. Secluded and tranquil, find yourself immersed among the landscaped walled gardens and soaking in the scenic countryside views.

From intimate fairy-tale weddings to exclusive opulent celebrations, the highly experienced team will support you through the entire process. Its Michelinstar executive chef and knowledgeable sommelier will help you create the ideal marriage of outstanding menus, wines and Champagnes. This will be a memorable start to your life together.

Colerne, Chippenham SN14 8AZ Web: lucknampark.co.uk Tel: 01225 742 777

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PRISTON MILL

Priston Mill is an idyllic countryside setting for wedding ceremonies and receptions, only a few miles from Bath and Bristol. There are two wonderful venues to choose from, each with its own secluded picturesque gardens: the Tythe Barn and the Watermill. The 17th century venues have retained their ancient character and yet have a contemporary and comfy style, which will delight your guests. Priston Mill is renowned for its quality of service and food. The team of chefs and event managers are friendly, professional and unfailingly go the extra mile, and most of all they are a joy to work with.

Main Farmhouse, Priston, Bath BA2 9EQ Tel: 01225 423894; Email: admin@pristonmill.co.uk Web: pristonmill.co.uk

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WEDDING | ESSENTIALS

WEDDING EXTRAS Looking for some extra wedding inspiration?

These come highly recommended

THE STATIONERY:

PAPERLOVE INC.

Hand finished stationery with a touch of love... Felicity always had strong interest in art & design growing up which developed into a career aspiration throughout her final years at school in Bath. Graduating with a First-Class Honours degree from the University of Arts London in 2011, Felicity went on to work for prestigious luxury brands Dunhill and Mulberry. After designing and creating her own wedding invitations last year Felicity decided to embark on a new venture and set up a wedding stationery company with the captivating name PaperLove inc. The focus is on elegant, unique products taking inspiration from her own style, contemporary design and typography. Felicity also believes strongly in British heritage, sourcing materials locally and producing within the UK. Each collection is thoughtfully named and offered in four colour palettes to create very different, striking looks. Every order is delivered in a keepsake box for the happy couple to enjoy for years to come. Paperlove inc. will be at the Bristol Zoo Clifton Pavilion wedding fayre on Sunday 10 June.

Email: felicity@paperloveinc.co.uk Web: paperloveinc.co.uk

THE CAKE:

THE CAKE ARCHITECT

The Cake Architect team combines technical design expertise and fresh creativity to create stunning bespoke cakes. Open from Tuesday to Saturday and happy for you to get in touch to arrange a free consultation; you can meet, taste-test, and design your unique wedding cake. Head over with a fully developed idea or a completely blank canvas – at the Bradford on Avon shop and the team will chat with you about your ideas, helping you to bring everything together to make the perfect cake for your big day. From beautiful sugar flowers to handmade models, from vintage cakes to modern masterpieces, award-winning cake designer David Waldren is passionate about pushing the boundaries of all things cake – no cake is too big or too small.

Web: thecakearchitect.co.uk Email: info@thecakearchitect.co.uk Facebook: cakearchitect

THE WEDDING FAIR:

BATH COLLEGE

Bath College are hosting a Wedding Fair perfect for crafty bride and grooms who are looking for a DIY wedding. With a whole host of local suppliers including Lovebug VW Beetle Wedding Cars and Fizzbox Mobile Bar, there is everything you would expect from a wedding fair, but with the added focus on couples putting their own personal stamp on their special day. There will be wedding workshops and live demos for you to take part in as well as information on Saturday/evening courses on subjects such as bridal floristry to create your own bouquets, graphic design for your wedding invitations, cake decoration for your wedding cake and many more. Free entry, Saturday 12th May 11am – 3pm, goody bag for each bride-to-be.

Bath College, Avon Street, Bath BA1 1UP Web: bathcollege.ac.uk Email: Andrew.Baker@Bathcollege.ac.uk

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HEALTH | & | BEAUTY

EXPRESS

yourself

Pedi peels, facial fixes and perfectly on point brows, Crystal Rose rounds up a few places around the city to be pampered in your lunchbreak this is ideal to fit around last-minute plans.

Taking no time at all, you can head back to work with those brows perfectly on point.

Prices start at £10.

W

e can all struggle to get those beauty treatments done over the weekend. After a week of working, sometimes all you want to do is just flop on the sofa. So, we’ve scoured a few places around the city that offer express treatments that you can have on your lunchbreak, still giving you time to eat your sandwich. We’re talking express manis, 30-minute massages and taming those brows. Bath’s beauty scene is full of treatments and we’ve picked out a few of the best. Relax, eat and feel amazing as you head back to the office. It’s all in a day’s work, after all...

15-MINUTE CALLUS PEEL AT THE ORANGERY 2 Kingsmead Street, Bath BA1 2AA Web: theorangerylaserandbeautybath.co.uk Tel: 01225 466851 Summer is just around the corner and with this in mind, book in to have that all important callus peel at The Orangery. Get the softest feet in town with this 15-minute treatment, which includes a skin-softening patch that is applied around the bottom of the foot to soften the dead skin. The dead cells are then removed, followed by an application of moisturising cream. Prices start at £40.

EXPRESS FILE AND PAINT AT MELANIE GILES 59 Walcot Street, Bath BA1 5BN Web: melanie-giles.co.uk Tel: 01225 444448 Thorough, professional and current, Melanie Giles provides a speedy nail treatment for those on the move. Using up-to-date products and techniques, you’ll be pampered in style and still have a enough time to eat your lunch. Remember to wait for those nails to dry first, though. Price is £15.

30-MINUTE REVIVER FACIAL AT THERMAE BATH SPA The Hetling Pump Room, Hot Bath Street, Bath BA1 1SJ Web: thermaebathspa.com Tel: 01225 33 1234 Leave Thermae Bath Spa feeling fresh and revived with this quick facial. During this treatment the skin is cleansed and exfoliated and, once a mask has been applied to your face, you will receive a head massage. This facial is £49 for 30 minutes.

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THE BLOW BAR AT ZARA PERRY HAIRDRESSING Lombard House, 30 St James’ Parade, Bath BA1 1UJ Web: zphairdressing.co.uk Tel: 01225 444178

Get Insta-worthy braids from Number Three BRAIDING AND DRY STYLING AT NUMBER THREE BATH 3 Saville Row, Bath BA1 2QP Web: numberthreebath.com Tel: 01225 443222 No appointment needed, pop into Number Three and choose one of your favourite braid looks. One of the team will recreate the plait you have in mind from £25.

30-MINUTE EXPRESS MAKEUP AT MAC COSMETICS Southgate, Bath BA1 1AQ Web: maccosmetics.co.uk Book your slot online and be ready for a bespoke makeup application. Applied by a MAC artist in just half an hour, this is great for those who want a professional experience in minutes. £20.

30-MINUTE SPRAY TAN AT FRONTLINESTYLE 4 – 5 Monmouth Street, Bath BA1 2AJ Web: frontlinestyle.co.uk Tel: 01225 478478 If you’re in need of a little bronze boost before heading back to work, why not try the 30-minute express spray tan at Frontlinestyle? ‘Glow’ back to work feeling as if you’ve just jumped off the plane after that sunny holiday.

15-MINUTE EYEBROW THREADING AT THE BROW PLACE 1 Abbey Street, Bath BA1 1NN Web: thebrowplace.co.uk This drop-in brow bar run by browlogist Amy Adams, offers a quick 15-minute threading. With no appointment necessary,

Visit The Blow Bar at Zara Perry Hairdressing and choose from the blowdry menu. Designed by its own stylists, the blowdrys range from a classic straight to a beautiful up do. Prices from £15 – £38.

15-MINUTE EXPRESS CUT AT ESSENSUALS 1 Upper Borough Walls, Bath BA1 1RG Web: essensualsbath.com Tel: 01225 465300 In need of a quick hair cut and fresh shape?

The express cut at Essensuals will have you smoothed, snipped and into shape in just in 15 minutes. Head back to work refreshed and restyled in no time at all – now there’s a thought. £20 for 15 minutes.

30-MINUTE MASSAGE AT GREEN STREET HOUSE 14 Green Street, Bath BA1 2JZ Web: greenstreethouse.co.uk Tel: 01225 426000 Whether it’s an aroma, Swedish, deep-tissue or maternity massage that you’re after, Green Street House has a selection of 30-minute treatments available. Go in, relax and head back to the office in post-massage bliss. Get those knots out in no time. £35 for 30 minutes. n

The Brow Place Image by Derryn Ranch for Pixie App

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style

Boutique Salons & Spa

Winner of Best Hair Salon & Best Day Spa in Somerset 2016

CACI is the UK's best selling anti-ageing facial treatment system. It uses an innovative, non invasive, micro-current therapy delivering minute electrical waves to the skin’s surface, with the very latest *S.P.E.D technology to…

ACI *NEW* C able Y avail SYNERG now in-salon

4/5 Monmouth Street Bath BA1 2AJ 01225 478478

• deeply cleanse with ultrasonic skin peeling • exfoliate with orbital microdermabrasion • heal and trigger tissue repair with LED light therapy • smooth and refine fine lines • reduce puffiness and dark shadows • tighten and tone face and neck muscles • help the production of collagen • intensively nourish and hydrate the skin

11 Broad Street Wells BA5 2DJ 01749 672225

Book online www.frontlinestyle.co.uk

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HEALTH | AND | WELLBEING

HEALTH & WELLBEING

As the weather begins to get warmer, we’re thinking about shaping up for summer.

Here The Bath Magazine brings you a selection of ideas for increasing flexibility and getting fit, improving your diet and wellbeing, and keeping the bounce in your step

MOVEGB Membership starts from £8.49 per week Web: MoveGB.com Tel: 0345 5196626 MoveGB is on a mission to enable lifelong health and happiness for all. Research has revealed that the two most common catalysts for exercise drop-out rates are lack of motivation and accessibility. Well, MoveGB has the solution. The platform - the first of its kind, offers on-demand and unlimited access to thousands of fitness providers nationwide, providing users with freedom, accessibility and variation through an affordable and flexible monthly membership. With unrestricted access to Bath’s favourite gyms, boutique studios and independent fitness providers, MoveGB is your passport to inspired and long-term wellbeing. With more than 18,000 members in Bath, there’s no better time to join the revolution that is changing the way the nation moves.

LISA BARNES

HEALTH & WELLNESS COACH Web: lisabarneshealth.co.uk / lbhsuperfoods.co.uk Tel: 01225 830855 Lisa Barnes is a well-established practitioner with more than 20 years’ experience in the health and wellness field. Her discovery of complementary medicine has been through her own health journey. She is the founder of Living Better Health Superfoods, a range of organic superfood powers designed to boost a person nutritional intake. Lisa specialises in working with clients who often feel overwhelmed, coaching them through different modalities depending on their needs. Lisa states: “I work with clients who are committed to regain their health, take responsibility and have the courage to work through the challenges that life sometimes demands on us.” Being overwhelmed can have such an effect on both our emotional and physical health, producing a range of different symptoms such as IBS, hormonal issues, weight imbalances, skin conditions, fatigue along with stress and anxiety. Lisa will give you the clarity and knowledge you need so you can overcome your blocks, get your system working more effectively, view your world differently and get you on your journey towards better health.

THE BATH MASSAGE COMPANY & BATH BABY MASSAGE At Seasons Health Store, 10 George Street, Bath BA1 2EH Tel: 07790 007263; Email: info@thebathmassagecompany.com Web: thebathmassagecompany.com / bathbabymassage.co.uk Polly Chadwick opened The Bath Massage company in 2011 to provide the very best in massage treatments in the city. Since then she has expanded her business and now has a dedicated team of therapists with Kasia Gigon and Jo Greenwood. Between them they offer specialist treatments including sports, deep tissue, hot stone, Swedish and pregnancy massage. Offering mums-to-be and new mums support and help during their pregnancy, Polly launched the Bump, Birth and Baby service, which includes specialist pregnancy massage treatments from trimester one through to due date and beyond, bespoke hypnobirthing courses, baby massage courses for mums and dads, and a buddy up service for new mums who can come along with their baby and enjoy a post-birth massage. This June also sees Polly opening a new venue in Bristol at Windmill City Farm.

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NUTRITION PATH The Practice Rooms, 26 Upper Borough Walls, Bath BA1 1RH Tel: 07447 942713 Web: nutritionpath.co.uk

TRI3E YOGA Tel: 07887 548336 Web: tri3eyoga.com Jessica Laura Till has been a holistic therapist since 2004 and believes in the power of working the mind, body and spirit as one. She achieved her personal training qualification in 2014 and has 200 hours of Ashtanga yoga teacher training. She now combines her three passions; yoga, massage therapy and fitness, to offer classes that are a little different each time to keep both mind and body interested. She takes a gentle yet encouraging approach and her classes have a traditional feel with a friendly and enjoyable atmosphere. TRI3E yoga classes are designed to strengthen the body, lengthen the muscles, and relax the mind. Created for all abilities, whether this is your first introduction to yoga, or you're a more experienced yogi, you will find a friendly group where every body is welcome.

Are you fed up with emotional eating and dieting?

Wish you had a ‘normal’ relationship with food?

Are you ready to stop the daily battle with your body? Nutrition Path was created by Milda to empower women to escape emotional eating and a ‘bad’ relationship with food and create happier, healthier and calmer lives. Milda is pleased to share her personal, professional and clinical experience as a nutritional therapist to support you in your journey to health and freedom. She offers step-by-step guidance, accountability and proven tools and techniques to help you change those unhelpful habits for good. Like many of her clients, you too can have peace of mind around food and with body image. Milda is a full member of the British Association for Applied Nutritional Therapy (BANT) and is registered with the Complementary and Natural Healthcare Council (CNHC). She practises in Bath, Frome and online.

Email: milda@nutritionpath.co.uk for a free discovery session.

RAGTANG! Tuesday 7pm, Weston All Saints Centre Web: danceclassesinbath.co.uk Tel: 07702 474064 Ragtang is Bath’s very own crazy dance fitness workout. Developed by local dance and fitness 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.

KEIKO Neal’s Yard Remedies 11 Northumberland Place, Bath BA1 5AR Web: keikokishimoto.co.uk Tel: 07739 827186 Born in Japan, Keiko Kishimoto has always been interested in the link between mind and body and the concept of holistic care. She found that this fascination was intensified by her experience of travelling to England and discovering a new culture. Since her training as a holistic therapist she has continued to develop her skills and add to her knowledge of a wide range of treatments and therapies. Combining both Eastern and Western techniques she aims to bring tranquility and relaxation as well as physical and mental wellbeing to her clients. Her belief is that we all have the power to be happy both physically and mentally. Keiko’s list of treatments includes massage, reflexology, pregnancy care, facial treatments (including natural facelift massage and Japanese Cosmo Facelift) and Reiki. She also offers treatment vouchers which make a wonderful gift for special occasions, friends and loved ones.

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HEALTH | AND | WELLBEING

FOOTBALANCE 20 Green Street, Bath, BA1 2JZ Tel: 07498 967587 Email: bath@footbalance.com Bath has been a wellbeing destination since Roman times and it is no coincidence that pioneering Nordic foot experts, FootBalance, have chosen to open their first concept store in the heart of the city.

The FootBalance ethos is to enhance your life by encouraging a healthier, more active lifestyle – from your feet up. Founded in 2003 by highly creative Finnish medic Erkki Hakkala the goal was

was simple – to empower people to move more.

FootBalance use their unique technology to analyse your feet (no two feet are the same) and mould a pair of customised insoles in store, in less than ten minutes.

Because the FootBalance 100% custom insoles support your feet properly in a natural position, they help give you a balanced stance and correct body posture. They enhance your comfort, wellbeing and performance, delivering the perfect fit to you. All FootBalance Custom Insoles are dynamic and flex to return energy, helping keep your feet and arches active, healthy and toned. With increased energy underfoot, activities such as standing for long periods, running or walking are instantly more enjoyable.

HEIDI REIKI

AIMS PILATES

Email: heidi@heidireiki.com Web: heidireiki.com

REHABILITATION AND RUNNING

Energetic space clearing and Reiki treatments in Bath increase happiness, create calm, joy and balance for you and your home. What exactly is Reiki? The Japanese word Reiki means ‘universal energy’, the energy that flows through everything. Reiki is the process of guiding this energy into your life, giving joy to you and your home. Reiki brings an increasing knowledge of the integrity of mind, spirit and environment.

Major life changes, a new job or partner, illness, relationship breakdown or bereavement are all times when you and your living spaces could benefit from Reiki and space clearing. With more than 15 years experience and continually learning new ways to work with Reiki, Heidi looks forward to the opportunity to work with you.

Tel: 07967 134586 Email: aimspilates@icloud.com Good movement, breathing, strength and flexibility are at the heart of Andy Watson’s pilates practice. He has a successful record of rehabilitation and injury prevention, with specialisms in managing back pain, bone health and lower limb tendinopathy. He combines a scientific approach to exercise and therapeutic stretching with a precise classical pilates method. He offers classes and individual tuition and is comprehensively trained to teach on the mat or with amazing pilates studio equipment. One of his passions is road running and he offers video gait analysis sessions to improve performance and help with injury management and care.

LULU LONDON Zara Perry Hairdressing, Lombard House, 30 St James’ Parade, Bath BA2 3BR Tel: 07867 510160 / 01225 444178 Instagram: @lululondonbeauty Brand new to Bath is Lulu London, bringing specialist services and luxury beauty brands to clients old and new at Zara Perry Hairdressing. Situated within a gorgeous boutique salon in the centre of the city, you can now find a nail bar and treatment room where appointments and walk-ins are welcome.

Whether you need a last minute mani, a lunchtime lash appointment, crystal clear skin, or to banish the bushy brows, Lulu’s expert advice and experience will have you looking and feeling your best every time.

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HEALTH | AND | WELLBEING

COMBE GROVE Brassknocker Hill, Bath BA2 7HU Tel: 01225 834644 Web: combegrove.com Set in 76 acres of woodland, Combe Grove is a peaceful place to retreat from the city and enjoy breathtaking views of the Limpley Stoke Valley. With a range of wellness facilities including two swimming pools, a dedicated team of fitness instructors and personal trainers in the gym, a studio with more than 50 classes a week, as well as tennis courts and holistic treatments, everyone can explore and develop their wellbeing at Combe Grove. You’ll find a nutritious balance of dairy free, gluten free, vegetarian and vegan dishes in the cosy dining room or on the lunch table. An enriching programme of events and workshops launched in 2018, with inspiring talks from local craftspeople, photography workshops, astronomy evenings and much more.

PILATES EQUIPMENT STUDIO

ACUPUNCTURE SHIATSU

Bloomfield Road, Bath BA2 Tel: 07702 474064; Email: lizzie@danceclassesinbath.co.uk Web: danceclassesinbath.co.uk

At Green Park Natural Health Clinic Tel: 07940 022851 Web: acupunctureshiatsu.co.uk

Situated 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 have led her on to further study in anatomy, and she has a special interest in scoliosis.

Sarah Kibble has been helping people in Bath get well and stay well since 2004. She says that seeing people benefiting from treatment is very rewarding. She combines her training in acupuncture, chinese medicine and shiatsu to aid a wide range of conditions. Shiatsu works on the same system as acupuncture, incorporating techniques similar to those used in massage and physiotherapy. People with shoulder, back or knee problems, for example, often appreciate the combination of Acupuncture and the hands-on approach to treatment which Sarah offers. Whether you are suffering from a muscle injury, are a busy working mum in need of an energy boost, or hoping to make the most out of your retirement, treatment can help you overcome specific conditions as well as enhance your general wellbeing. People receiving treatment for unrelated issues often report improved sleep, digestion, mood and energy.

Sarah’s practice is a two-minute walk from Sainsbury’s car park. Evening and weekend appointments are available.

She also offers a free 20-minute consultation.

ANDREA KELLY Tel: 07949 240190 Email: andrea@andreakellyhypnotherapy.co.uk Web: andreakellyhypnotherapy.co.uk 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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HEALTH | & | BEAUTY

Hydrate your skin and give it that subtle glow with the new Glow Formula Skin Hydrator by Kiehls which is enriched with pomegranate extract and illuminating minerals. First tested on Emma Stone at the 2018 Oscars, get the natural glow and feel great while doing so. £30, Kiehls, 1 Milsom Street, Bath BA1 1DA kiehls.co.uk

Get those brows on fleek and maintain them with the new MASQD range available from Boots. The Brow Set is perfect for getting the right arch, shape and definition. Featuring an angled brush, spoolie (because every girl needs a spoolie), tweezers, scissors and a much-needed sharpener, there’s no letting your brows get you down.

MASQD is a new generation of beauty tools to help you seriously raise your game. With unique features and intelligently designed handles, this range is set to create a storm in the beauty world. £18, Boots, Southgate, 1 Newark Street, Bath BA1 1AT boots.co.uk

feelin’ The new anti-aging skincare range from Boots not only has us feeling good but looking great too. This hydrating night oil is perfect for that overnight glow. Wake up with healthy looking, vibrant skin.. and that’s before you’ve even applied your makeup. Give your skin the L;ft it deserves and be happy knowing that you’re prepared for summer. £12.99, Boots, Southgate, 1 Newark Street, Bath BA1 1AT boots.co.uk

No holiday plans yet? Fear not, this new unisex fragrance by Acqua di Parma transports you to a warmer, sunnier destination. Sharing the spirit of the Mediterranean, the Chinotto di Liguria takes you to the magical Italian region and will make you feel like you’re on vacation, even if you’re not. Infused with citrus fruits, the chinotto is the rarest fruit in Italy. A holiday in a bottle sounds great to us.

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It’s a new day, it’s a new month and this May we’re all about feeling good.

Crystal Rose searches for a few health and beauty products to help you get on top form

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£18, Frontlinestyle, 4-5 Monmouth Street, Bath BA1 2AJ frontlinestyle.co.uk

For those days when you’re not feeling quite so on top of things, this luxury scented candle by Neom could do you the world of good. Aptly named Scent to De-stress, this hand poured and expertly blended candle can help you feel calm and banish stress. £30 for one wick neomorganics.com

£98 for 150ml, Jolly’s, 13 Milsom Street, Bath BA1 1DD acquadiparma.com

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Start your day right with this radiance boosting gel from Clarins. It aims to brighten and refresh your face, leaving you with healthy, soft skin.

This revives your complexion’s radiance and will have you feeling great in no time. If you’re in need of a boost, morning or night, this should do the trick.

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Andrea Kelly DSFH HPD MAfSFH MNCH (Reg.) Clinical Hypnotherapist and Psychotherapist

TRI3E YOGA Yoga • Massage • Meditation • Mind • Body • Spirit

Yoga for Every Body Classes designed to strengthen the body, lengthen the muscles, and relax the mind. Created for ALL abilities, whether this is your first introduction into yoga, or you’re a more experienced yogi. Come and join a friendly group.

Every Body is welcome.

Monday 6:15pm

Oldfield School

Wednesday 8pm

Apthorp Centre

Thursday 6:45am

Apthorp Centre

Thursday 6:15pm

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Friday 6:30pm

Oldfield School

Saturday 10:45am

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07887548336 • tri3eyoga@yahoo.com • tri3eyoga.com

Solution Focused Hypnotherapy in Central Bath

I can help and support you with Stress and Anxiety • Depression • Fears and Phobias Confidence • Childbirth • Stop Smoking • OCD Weight Management • Sleep Problems IBS • Performance Enhancement

Free Initial Consultation 07949 240190 www.andreakellyhypnotherapy.co.uk andrea@andreakellyhypnotherapy.co.uk

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LULU LONDON hair & beauty @lululondonbeauty

Zara Perry Hairdressing, Lombard House, 30 St James’ Parade, Bath, BA1 1UJ 07867 510160 / 01225 444178

“people will stare, make it worth their while”

With 12 years experience in the industry Lulu London brings the very best in beauty to Bath at the boutique salon Zara Perry.

Enabling clients to have all their hair & beauty needs met under one roof and even in one appointment!

Specialising in Nail Enhancements, Shellac Manicures, LVL Lashes*, HD Brows* & Crystal Clear Microdermabrasion. *Test Patch required 48 hours before

Grand opening event

Thursday 31st May Friday 1st June 9am – 5pm

It’s never too early to take control of your hearing health. Join us at this special event to find out how.

• FREE demonstration of latest hearing technology • FREE consultation and hearing test • FREE year’s supply of batteries • FREE TV Adaptor or ConnectClip accessory

Book your place now!

Call 07421 368 051

Spaces Northgate House 336 2nd & 3rd Floor, Barton Court, Upper Borough Walls, BATH BA1 1RG info@hearingexcellence.co.uk www.hearingexcellence.co.uk

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the orangery l a s e r

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Hydra Peel Infusion

Specialists in Ellipse IPL Permanent Hair Reduction Treatments

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.

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THE COTSWOLD WAY

Andrew Swift follows the Cotswold Way and finds woodland, high commons, spectacular views and an ancient railway line

T

his month’s walk follows one of England’s most popular longdistance footpaths, the Cotswold Way. As well as being something of a switchback, with frequent ascents and descents, it alternates between long stretches through dense woodland and shorter interludes across high commons with spectacular views. Variety also comes in the form of prehistoric burial chambers, disused quarries, an Arts and Crafts church with windows by William Morris and a final section along a long-forgotten railway line.

It is a far from forgotten railway line that we use to reach the starting point at Cam & Dursley station, however, before heading north along the Cotswold edge to Stroud to catch another train back to Bath.

Leaving the train at Cam & Dursley, head out of the station, cross the road and turn left. When the road swings left, carry on along Halmore Lane (SO753021). Pass Halmore Mill and where the tarmac ends continue along a green lane for 1250m.

After passing a group of buildings, follow the lane as it swings right, go through a scissor stile on the left and cross a playing field.

After going through a kissing gate (KG), cross a road and turn left along the pavement (SO759005). Carry on, crossing and re-crossing the road as the pavement switches sides.

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After 1,000m, when you come to a T- junction at Ashmead Green, turn right.

After another 500m, just past a tall double garage, go through a gate on the left (ST767995). Bear right across rough ground to a car park, from where a clearly discernible track leads straight up the bluebell-covered slopes of Peaked Down.

The climb up this conical hill is the most strenuous on the walk, and it steepens as you approach the summit. But the views – in all directions – make it worthwhile.

From the summit, head eastward where a track cuts a broad swathe gently downhill.

As the track enters woodland, you come to a signpost, with a choice of six paths (ST769992). Follow the sign to Coaley Peak along the Cotswold Way (CW), which you will be following for the next seven miles.

After a few metres, when the path forks, bear left uphill to cross Cam Long Down.

After 700m, the track starts heading downhill, before zigzagging steeply through woods. After crossing a stile, head down two sets of steps, past a marker post, across two more stiles and straight on along a lane (ST780993). When the lane swings right, bear left along the drive of Hodgecombe Farm. After passing the farm, head up a stepped path and continue up a holloway.

After 500m, you will emerge by a bench (ST786993) with a view westward to another

conical hill – this is the Sugar Loaf near Abergavenny, 27 miles away.

Bear left and follow a CW waymark along the upper path. After 1000m, at a crosspath, bear right through a KG. After going through a gate at the bottom, faced with two paths ahead, take the one climbing steeply uphill.

At the top, cross a side road and bear left along a verge beside the main road. After 80m, cross another side road, and a little further on, follow a CW sign down steps and past a sign for Coaley Peak to follow a path through a labyrinth of old quarries. Go through a KG at the end and carry on past a toposcope to emerge on Coaley Peak (SO793010).

Carry on past Nympsfield Long Barrow and into the woods. After going through a KG, the track leads past a deep quarry. Bear left alongside the fence, down steps, over a crosspath and straight on through a KG. After 50m, turn left at another crosspath.

Go through a KG and carry on with a fence on your right, following the track as it drops down through woodland.

After 500m, follow a CW waymark straight on at a crosspath, and when the track forks bear left. After crossing another crosspath, there is a magnificent stretch through sloping beechwoods.

At the bottom, follow the CW through a KG and along the top of a field (SO805020).

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THE | WALK

ABOVE: Looking westward over the Severn Plain OPPOSITE: View from Coaley Peak Carry on across a step stile, and, at the end, cross another stile to re-enter the woods.

When you come to a gate, bear right up a track which soon levels out. When it forks, bear left and carry on as it climbs again.

Carry on over a step stile to head down a stepped path through the woods. At a crossing with a step stile, bear right at a T-junction, following a sign for Selsley

Common. Cross a lane, carry on through the woods, and after 800m look for a CW waymark on the right and follow it up a path.

A KG at the top leads onto Selsley Common and more magnificent views (SO825026).

Head across the common, following waymarks past an Iron Age long barrow, and down towards a church with a saddleback tower.

Go through a gate at the bottom (SO829036), cross the main road and turn right past the lych gate of All Saints Church, incorporating glass by William Morris. Next door is Stanley Park, former home of Samuel Marling, a local MP and mill owner who commissioned the church.

Reach a junction and carry on along the pavement to follow the road down. At the main road, cross to continue along the pavement. Cross a side road, cross the main road at a traffic island and head along a path to the site of Dudbridge statio n (SO834044), where a branch from Stroud once joined the Midland Railway line from Stonehouse to Nailsworth. Turn left along the trackbed, and, after going through a tunnel, bear left to follow a sign for Stroud. Take a path through a housing estate and across a brook, before carrying on between fences and along a road.

When the road bears left, continue straight up a path between two bollards. Cross a ro ad and head up steps to follow the trackbed of the branch to Stroud (SO837044). After 1000m, at the end of the line, bear left down

to a road and turn right. After crossing the River Frome, bear right as the pavement swings away from the road to go through a subway. After crossing a canal, take the first right up Cheapside to the railway station.

Return to Bath by changing at Swindon. n Andrew Swift is the author of On Foot in Bath: Fifteen Walks Around a World Heritage City and is co-author, with Kirsten Elliot, of Ghost Signs of Bath.

FACT FILE ■ Length of walk: 11 miles pm:

■ Approximate time: 5–6 hours ■ Level of challenge: Paths are waymarked and well walked, but there are numerous ascents and descents, along with muddy sections and several stiles.

■ Map: OS Explorer 167 and 168 ■ Refreshment stops: None en route, so carrying a supply of water is essential.

■ Further info: Although you only travel as far as Cam & Dursley on the outward journey, the cheapest option is to buy a day return ticket to Stroud; nationalrail.co.uk

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INTERIORS | MASTERCLASS

PERIOD STYLE

How should you approach the design of a period interior? Sarah Latham, creative director of Etons of Bath, specialises in the design and renovation of Georgian period properties, so we asked her for some expert advice...

How does the character of a period interior structure the design? If you live in a period property then it’s most likely that you chose it for its character and period features. So you will naturally want to enhance those features by making the most of the light, windows and high ceilings (if it’s a Georgian property), or keeping the fireplaces, architraves and flooring.

What is the most important thing to get right when designing a period interior?

Whether it’s a contemporary scheme or a classic one, you need to consider the features and proportions of a period interior. Getting this right from the outset means you can take the client’s individual style choice and make it work beautifully with the space and with their style of living.

How might a design approach to a grand Georgian interior differ from that of a small living room in a Victorian terraced house?

The main difference is the variation of scale. Victorian rooms are likely to be smaller with lower ceilings (although not as low as modern standards), so more concern will be given to space-saving design, storage solutions, using light and creating an illusion of space. A grand Georgian interior, in contrast, is about working with the larger spaces to create a well-balanced interior.

If period features have been removed, is it wise to replace them? Period features may not always be to your taste. However, in

most instances re-instating appropriate period features will add authenticity and character to a property. Many companies sell fabulous reproductions or you can scour reclamation yards for authentic pieces. It’s also generally true that period features can add value to a property. I would advise researching the history of the property and if it’s listed, then check on what’s permitted and seek consent if required.

Do you always recommend using heritage colours for a period interior?

Absolutely not. A period property can be brought to life with a contemporary scheme if that is the preferred style. However, paint companies that do heritage paint ranges are very helpful in guiding you if you want a more authentic period interior. Even mainstream paint companies, like Dulux and Crown, now offer heritage paint collections. These are inspired by authentic paint colours from the past but with modern elements, and can be just as effective. The choice is really up to the client, and with so many fantastic colours to choose from these days, the world is really your oyster.

How do you advise customers whose interiors are packed with possessions?

We realise that people have possessions, which have sentimental meaning and often work an interior around a particular heirloom or picture. This can be a great place to start and can provide inspiration and direction to a scheme. However, unless

the brief is specifically to create a room to house collections, we try to get clients who have gathered excess and random possessions over the years to review and rationalise them before we start. We’ve done this with art collections, furniture, rugs and all sorts of ornaments so are well-versed in making things happen around prize pieces.

How do you work around rooms that don’t have much light? There are several ways you can brighten up a room. Firstly using paint in lighter colours will reflect the light and help to create the illusion of space. Painted floors will work in the same way. Neatly made blinds instead of curtains will also make a difference, or consider made-tomeasure shutters that can be painted in any colour. Once you’ve decorated, choose furniture and accessories in mid to light tones so the overall style is airy and not heavy on the eye.

Can you introduce bold and contemporary elements within a period interior?

We always see a space as a blank canvas.

The advantage of period properties – especially Georgian ones – is that a good ceiling height and natural light suit all styles. Examples might be an eye-catching, sleek modern pendant; streamlined furniture; and colourful retro-style chairs.

The minimalist look can be fantastic in a period property and there’s no reason why you can’t have high-tech elements too. n Etons of Bath, 108 Walcot Street, Bath; etonsofbath.com

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VIKING THINKING KITCHEN CASE STUDY. Project: St. Michael’s Barn.

It is common belief that having many things is better than not having anything at all.

For instance Christmas, when the kids present their hugelyhopeful lists which stretch out the front door and up the street, wanting things which will more than likely be trashed by New Year. But parents quite happily go out and make purchases to keep our little darlings happy, and that’s just fine.

But when having too much of something looks upon, say a kitchen, it’s a different story. Of course kitchens house many items designed to make you prepare and cook just like Jamie Oliver [minus the naked chef bit] but invariably some kitchens get filled with more than what’s needed, so extra storage, shelves and cubby holes get machine-gunned into every available space, leaving a very cluttered and cramped feel.

Some would argue that having enough storage or more than you need is better because empty spaces can always be filled.

However, here at Stephen Graver Ltd we believe the kitchen is the hub of the home, where life and laughter come together.

As you wouldn’t want to be clambering over clutter and shuffling around storage, we take a minimalist approach, keeping only the important parts.

And this is the vision we had when we were approached by a client who wanted to turn their dated, dark and cluttered kitchen into a Scandinavian masterpiece.

The end result is one of sheer beauty, it’s not fussy or glitzy.

Think of it as a simple yet stylish dress with a discreet pair of diamond earrings at a cocktail party. Not the shouty “look at me” one, but the one that has real presence by being clean cut and inoffensive.

White walls and ceiling give an exceptionally airy feel without being too clinical, thanks to the exposed timber lintels and roof trusses. The un-rendered Cotswold stone wall throws a natural colour into the mix without spoiling the white.

The one main colour which features on the kitchen island and tall unit doors is a striking light cobalt, giving a waterside feel that this room belongs amongst the Norwegian Fjords. The row of tall units house a discreet wine rack for quick cork popping, a double-oven system and plenty of storage without intruding into the useable space.

The same goes for the sink unit and island, sculpted 30mm worktops that aren’t rectangular but angular, making for a more interesting finish. The island is where the work happens so a beautiful ceramic hob unit and pop-up extractor keep it minimal

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leaving more space to prepare food and enjoy a glass of red.

Not only was the kitchen renovated but so was the dining area and living room. The dining area benefits from natural stone tiles, white walls and shelves along with a long and narrow white wall mounted unit. Colourful decorations in the form of various vases and urns are all it needs to make this space feel warm and inviting.

The living room also features light timber flooring, exposed beams and a ‘new’ chimney breast that houses a modern log burner to bring a cosy feel on those long winter evenings.

Alongside, an integrated TV unit with a lift can be found, a neat feature that allows the TV to be hidden from sight at the press of a button, returning the room to it’s true minimal glory.

A small book shelf and timber shelving add fine detail without being garish. It’s a place of relaxation after a great dinner party or just to cosy up on the sofa and watch the fire burn.

From start to finish this stunning project has been a privilege to create. Turning old into new, country clutter into Scandinavian simplicity.

Real beauty isn’t an inch of makeup, tacky jewellery fit for a magpie and fake tan, nor is it a car covered in chrome detail.

Beauty is simple, something that doesn’t scream attention and we think we have achieved pure beauty with this hand crafted kitchen.

To experience the full range, call 01380 871746, email sales@stephengraver.com or visit www.stephengraver.com Showroom at Elmsgate, Edington Road, Steeple Ashton, Wiltshire, BA14 6HP

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HOMES | THE GARDEN OFFICE

ROOM TO BE CREATIVE A growing number of artists and artisans are opting for ‘shedworking’, setting up light, warm and airy studios conveniently sited in their gardens. Georgette McCready visits local garden buildings specialists Garden Affairs to find out how some are achieving a better work/life balance.

W

ould you like an elegant summerhouse where you can sit with a cup of tea to enjoy the sight of your garden in full bloom? Or perhaps you hanker after a log cabin with plenty of space and natural light where you can fully develop your career, away from the clutter and bustle of family life? Imagine if the only commute to work were a few strides across the lawn, or where you could easily pop back to your desk in the evening to complete a project.

West country-based family-run business Garden Affairs helps people achieve their homeworking dreams by consulting with them to design bespoke studios. Each cabin is as unique as its owner and people are free to create their own world inside, adding shelves, desks and blinds, as they choose. A home office is a more economic option than moving house or adding an extension and there’s the guarantee of somewhere peaceful to work.

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Thomas and sculptor Barbara Hepworth. Roald Dahl famously retreated to his writing shed to dream up the amazingly vivid characters of his much-loved children’s books. Contemporary high-profile garden room enthusiasts include artist Damien Hirst and property guru Kirstie Allsopp, who has said that her wooden garden room reminded her fondly of the tree houses her father built for her as a child. But canny Kirstie also points out that having an extra room at your property will also enhance its value.

The Garden Affairs team, based just outside Bath in Trowbridge, has been able to help all kinds of creative people set up their own space in their gardens. The design team can advise on everything from the position and size of the garden room to supplying electricity and lighting, as well as whether your home project will need planning permission. The latest generation of wooden cabins is eco-friendly, well insulated and designed to retain warmth in winter and stay cool on hot summer days. There is an option to plant a sedum roof to encourage wildlife and to add a water butt to collect rainwater from the guttering.

CREATIVE WORKING: Above: a contemporary flat roof cabin is one of Garden Affairs’ larger Shedworking options and its inside offers a versatile space Opposite, from top to bottom: a log cabin makes a perfect place to inspire writers or painters – a florist’s workspace, a photographers studio is filled with light, and a garden roof option will encourage wildlfe and harmonise your environment

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❝

Roald Dahl famously retreated to his writing shed to dream up the amazingly vivid characters of his much-loved children’s books.

❝

You can also choose as many power sockets as you like for your cabin, as Garden Affairs managing director Richard Squire says: “Nobody ever thinks they have too many sockets, you can always find a use for them.”

CASE STUDIES An artist’s studio Max Ryan wanted a studio where she could run art classes and operate her picture framing and photography business. She didn’t want the expense and hassle of having to rent a studio, which she would have to commute to, so talked to Garden Affairs about installing a large log cabin in her garden in Frome. Max chose a substantial cabin, nine metres wide and four metres deep, with windows and three additional skylights. Inside, along with the main studio space, two smaller rooms were created for a cloakroom and a private office.

Max’s business Studio 61 is now well established and she says she relishes the short commute and the fact that she can take Howard her dog to work with her. The studio is so warm and comfortable that she has even been able to run life-drawing classes for her students.

A world for woolly creatures Craftswoman Karin Celestine had dreamed about working in a little red Swedish house, where she could make the charming needle-felted woollen creatures who feature in her children’s books. Now her Shed of Glory, as she has dubbed it, has pride of place in her Monmouthshire garden and, true to her vision, she has painted the exterior Swedish red. Inside her Shed of Glory the creatures of the fictional world she has created, Celestine and the Hare, get up to all sorts of adventures in the warm and dry.

The ceramicist Lizzie wanted a space she could devote to her passion for pottery.

Garden Affairs helped her design a 3.5 metre by 2.5 metre workshop, into which Lizzie has introduced her home kiln, which is run by electricity. She also arranged for a plumber to supply water to the workshop, for a handy sink, and opted for a bee-friendly living sedum roof.

The writer Freelance journalist Maggie wanted a room of her own away from the washing machine, the front doorbell and all the other intrusions of domestic life. She says: “I got fed up sitting in the spare bedroom trying to work and having to clear everything away when family came to stay.” Maggie chose a Linea garden room, three and a half metres by three metres, for her town garden. The design is ultra modern and has very little roof overhang so it can be placed very near to a boundary. She’s very happy with her home office and has installed a sofa alongside her desk where she can indulge in what she claims are power naps to boost her creativity. n

Contact Garden Affairs on tel: 01225 774566; gardenaffairs.co.uk Or visit the display centre at Trowbridge Garden Centre, 288 Frome Road, Trowbridge, Wiltshire, BA14 0DT THEBATHMAG.CO.UK

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Gardiners fp.qxp_Layout 1 18/04/2018 10:16 Page 1

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Gary Boulton Sculpture Enquire today 07884 412801 Contemporary Figurative Kinetic Sculptures created from steel

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HOMES | GARDENING

This attractive border includes Cotinus coggygria ‘Royal Purple’ (against the back wall) and Sedum ‘Brilliant’ (to right of image)

BRAVE NEW BORDER A planting scheme that’s low maintenance but high impact is Jane Moore’s latest challenge, but how do you make a selection from such a variety of planting options?

I

t’s not very often that I get to design and plant a complete border from scratch, but this spring I’m doing just that. What a lovely thing to do, you might think, but it is surprisingly difficult as you have such a free choice, aspect and location permitting. It’s made me realise just how much even one single plant can inform or suggest a particular thought process or colour scheme and without that it’s literally a blank canvas. Here are some ideas to set the scene.

The blank canvas This border, borders really, are not at The Bath Priory Hotel but at a Cotswold property in the chocolate box village of Lower Slaughter. Nestled against the eastfacing mellow Cotswold stone of the Slaughters Country Inn, these two beds had been lined with membrane and backfilled with gravel to reduce maintenance. There were two plants, a Cotoneaster horizontalis and a badly pruned Pyracantha, both past their prime and not worthy of such a pretty 110 TheBATHMagazine

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location. Out came the gravel, along with the two shrubs, and the dilemma began.

The practical considerations The two beds are backed by the inn wall and are about 1.5m wide by 8m long, divided by a doorway and with three windows overlooking the beds at a height of around 1.2m. While the beds face east, they are sheltered by an L-shape in the building and are sunny for much of the day in summer.

An east-facing aspect is pretty good – the beds will be bright, particularly in the morning, but shouldn’t dry out too badly.

So I have a pretty free rein with the planting as long as I don’t go for anything too tender and exotic. I won’t because my other practical consideration is the location – these beds are right next to a busy bar, terrace and lunch venue for walkers, weddings and what-have-you. On any day in summer there are multitudes of kids, dogs, ramblers and miscellaneous others running around so the planting needs to be robust, low-maintenance (as the gardeners won’t be

able to get near it, apart from first thing in the morning), and with a long season of interest.

The perfect planting scheme There are a few essentials for any border.

Height is a must and in an ideal world I would have roses or wisteria framing the doorway but I don’t want to give the gardeners there the grief of annual pruning and tying in, let alone setting up wires and vine eyes in the beautiful but crumbling stonework. So I’ve opted for a pair of dainty flowered, multi-stemmed Amelanchier.

Admittedly they have a short season for flowering but they have a fetching ‘wafty’ shape with pretty round green leaves on dark stems and a fabulous autumn colour.

There are a few things that would work just as nicely and top of my list would be Cercis ‘Forest Pansy’ with large, heartshaped, purple leaves. The down side is that both the Amelanchier and the Cercis will set you back £50 to £100 for one of a decent size. Having said that, smaller plants do

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HOMES | GARDENING grow swiftly or you could opt for a cheaper ‘height’ plant such as Cotinus.

Structure and form I’ll need a few key shrubs to ‘anchor’ the scheme, giving it a structure and form even through the winter months. Obvious choices for this are clipped evergreen balls of some sort, not box, sadly, as the area is prone to box blight, but perhaps Pittosporum, yew or Ilex crenata. I think it’s a little formal for the inn, however, so I’ve chosen the sturdy Euonymus alatus ‘Compactus’ for its architectural shape and attractive leaves which turn beautiful shades in the autumn.

Yes, it’s deciduous, but I’m not worried as I don’t think many people will be sitting outside on the terrace during the winter months. Besides which it has a great ‘naked’ shape in winter and, coupled with a few handfuls of grasses I’m planting there, should provide enough winter interest.

The middle storey It’s the mid-sized shrubs and perennials that invariably do the most work in a planting scheme – they’re the ones that catch your eye and fill in the bulk of the border. I’m going for a classic country garden scheme of pinks, blues and silvers, which will suit the property and give me a broad range of plants to choose from. Top of this list are roses and I rarely plant

anything other than repeat flowering varieties these days. Admittedly deadheading and keeping them clear of black spot and so on can be a bit of a pain, but I’ve gone for sturdy, disease resistant varieties such as ‘The Mayflower’ and ‘Hyde Hall’, both good rose pinks.

You can’t beat Penstemon for long flowering and a bit of evergreen interest, plus there are so many to choose from in all shades but yellow that it’s a job to know where to start. I love the dainty flowered varieties such as ‘Garnet’ and ‘Blackbird,’ but for the border I need something a bit more flouncy and full-on.

The Pensham series all fit the bill nicely with their larger, more open flowers. I’ve grown ‘Laura’ with pink flowers and ‘Czar’ with mauve-purple blooms before and can testify to their floweriness – these will fit my colour scheme well.

The ground floor The lower plants of the scheme need to be equally reliable, plus they need a certain bushiness, a mounding habit that will clothe the base of the other plants and spill charmingly onto the paving.

Must-haves include Geranium ‘Rozanne,’ simply the best hardy geranium known to mankind. I just wish plant breeders would come up with it in white and pink. ‘Rozanne’ is a beautiful clear blue and it flowers all

Geranium ‘Rozanne’

summer long. Second on my list is Sedum ‘Brilliant’ – while it only flowers in late summer, it looks wonderful as its succulent grey-green leaves grow out from tight little ‘cabbages’ in the spring.

I’ll finish off with a little splash of sunshine in the form of golden marjoram, a lime green herb with dainty pink flowers which looks adorable at the front of a border and is no trouble at all.

In my mind’s eye these borders are already a vision of loveliness, perfect for summer sun and Cotswold country days. But only time will tell if the reality lives up to the dream. n Jane Moore is an award-winning gardening columnist and head gardener at The Bath Priory Hotel. Twitter: @janethegardener

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the directory

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Chauffeur/Private Hire

Holiday Rental

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.

60+ luxury properties for lets 2 nights to 5 months Holidays – For business – Friends & family – Temporary accommodation during renovation/relocation

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 £37 Call or email us for a quote now!

@Romanbathprivatehire

Web: romanbathprivatehire.co.uk Email: Info@romanbathprivatehire.co.uk Tel: 01225 484346

Health, Beauty & Wellbeing

KEIKO KISHIMOTO Holistic Treatments for Wellbeing

Contact: 01225 482 225 alexa@bathholidayrentals.com www.bathholidayrentals.com Providing 4 & 5 star self-catering properties since 2006

House & Home

Advertise your Business in this space for as little as £80 per month and get 2 FREE.

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

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

TEL: 01225 424499 Trowbridge & Neal’s Yard Bath 112 TheBATHMagazine

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Advertising that keeps working

Pritchard PIF May 18.qxp_PIF Full Page 19/04/2018 07:47 Page 85

PROPERTY | HOMEPAGE

W

estfield cottage is a charming detached Grade II listed Georgian family home situation just above Bear Flat. This gives good access to local amenities, transport links and the city centre. The Two Tunnels cycle and walking route is a stone’s throw away, meaning that within10 minutes walk you can be in open countryside.

The well presented accommodation is deceptively spacious and flexible, making it suitable for most families, however large or extended they may be. There are some lovely period features including fireplaces, decorative coving and original windows, some with shutters. In brief: Ground floor: Contemporary glazed reception porch, sitting room, dining room, kitchen, bedroom with en suite bathroom. First floor: Three bedrooms, family bathroom, study/bedroom six. Lower ground floor: Family room, utility room, cloakroom. Cellar: Games room, store rooms.

The walled gardens are a delight, with lawns, a vegetable area, summer house and a large greenhouse all of which offer plenty of space for children to play and older generations to relax, entertain, potter or party. There is unrestricted on street parking.This is a beautiful house in which to put down family roots. For viewing and full details contact agents Pritchards.

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

BLOOMFIELD ROAD BATH • Grade II listed Georgian residence • 5/6 bedrooms • Extensive lower floors with family room, games room and storage • Well presented and plenty of period features • Charming gardens

Guide price: £1,450,000

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pritchards-bath.co.uk

Farleigh Hungerford An impressive detached 5 bedroom GII Listed country house standing in magnificent grounds (approx 4 acres) in a wonderfully private setting.

Almost complete renovation to tasteful & exacting standards with light, airy accommodation. Living room with working fireplace and pitched beam ceiling, sitting room & impressive kitchen/dining room with AGA leading onto sun terrace. Detached double garage with potential office above & ample driveway parking. House 2645 sq ft/245 sq m. Outbuildings 1237 sq ft/114 sq m.

Price: ÂŁ1,650,000

Cavendish Crescent An exceptional 4 bed Upper Maisonette forming part of a magnificent G I Listed Georgian town house in this commanding & delightful Crescent enjoying the most spectacular views over the Approach Golf Course and the City beyond. Enjoying particularly elegant and well proportioned accommodation over 2 floors. Residents parking. Int area approx: 176.5 sq ft/1900 sq m.

Guide Price: ÂŁ955,000 11 Quiet Street, Bath BA1 2LB Pritchards May.indd 1

Tel: 01225 466 225

Follow us on 18/04/2018 10:49

pritchards-bath.co.uk

T

LE

Lansdown A superb refurbished 3 bedroom ground floor apartment in Lansdown, Bath. Large kitchen/dining room and sitting room spanning both main rooms.

Master bedroom with en suite shower room and 2 additional double bedrooms. Family bathroom. Allocated parking space and private patio onto communal gardens.

£2,950 pcm

T

LE

Great Pulteney Street An elegant, bright and newly decorated apartment on the top floor of a large Grade I Georgian Townhouse in Bath’s prestigious Great Pulteney Street. The flat has two double bedrooms, a large reception room and good sized kitchen/breakfast room. The flat has extremely good storage space in a roof space accessed by a staircase from the hall.

£1,395 pcm lettings@pritchards-bath.co.uk Pritchards May.indd 2

11 Quiet Street, Bath BA1 2LB

Tel: 01225 618 860 Follow us on 18/04/2018 10:50

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Lascelles Avenue, Holburne Park A contemporary and high quality three bedroom terraced house with allocated off-street parking forming part of the prestigious new Holburne Park development. Situated in Bathwick, a popular residential area close to Bath city centre, the house is within walking distance of a wide range of amenities and Bath Spa railway station.

Rent: ÂŁ2,000 pcm* contemporary open plan kitchen / dining room | elegant timber flooring | stainless steel Neff appliances | spacious living room | 3 good sized double bedrooms (1 en-suite) | balcony | family bathroom & WC | enclosed garden | two allocated parking spaces

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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How to prepare your home for sale this spring [SOUTH WESTERN] LIMITED

spring is finally here… Blue skies, longer days, colourful flowers, singing birds to name a few. it’s also a time when the property market traditionally ‘springs’ back into life!

Peter Greatorex, managing director of The apartment Company

A

lready we’ve seen an uptake in buyer enquiries, however to grab their attention, you need to make sure you prepare your home for sale. We’re in a market where buyers are still price conscious, so it’s vital you make sure your home is presented at its very best if buyers are to pay a premium…

Good photographs are crucial inside and out. First impressions really do count and these are the first thing buyers will see – whether that’s on a portal, in the press, in a brochure or on an agent’s window display and website. Poor photographs will only reflect low quality accommodation, which could impact the number of viewings you get and what a buyer is prepared to pay.

Crafting beautiful homes

Bath | Somerset | Wiltshire | Cotswolds | Dorset

Norwood Dene, Bathwick Hill

Seven luxury apartments with unrivalled specification and exceptional quality From £895,000

Kerb Appeal is also important. It’s the first thing a buyer sees before they step inside, adding a lot to their first impression. If you’re on the ground floor, could your window frames do with a lick of paint? What about your front door? A pretty potted plant can add further appeal too. Hopefully the communal entrance of your building is well kept, but about half an hour before your viewing, remove any leaves, twigs or dirt that may have blown in, and neatly stack any post to the side. Furthermore, check with your freeholder as to who is responsible for clearing the guttering, drainpipes and drains from loose foliage. The outside of the building needs to look well maintained and clean as well as inside.

Clean, de-clutter, tidy up and fix minor issues. You need to have a really good clean and tidy up before you put your house on the market. Pay particular attention to the kitchen and bathrooms, as well as floors and carpets. Dust everywhere, remove cobwebs and polish mirrors. Replace broken bulbs, fix dripping taps and peeling wallpaper and so on. Sell or give to charity items you don’t need any more, or tidy them away out of sight. Have a general tidy up. You need to do this in preparation for photographs as well as viewings.

Don’t forget your garden. Some apartments have outdoor space, so make sure they’re looking smart too. A well-maintained garden or terrace for example can add substantial value to a home. Clear away tools and toys, mow the lawn, put your garden furniture out, de-weed, remove dead plants and trim back trees and bushes.

01225 791155 ashford-homes.co.uk

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Selling a home requires good presentation because it is the key to successful marketing, to selling quickly and to getting the best possible price. Follow a few of these tips and buyers should be flocking.

The Apartment Company Pg@theapartmentcompany.co.uk or call 01225 471144.

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MEET | THE AGENT

PEOPLE DO BUSINESS WITH PEOPLE THEY LIKE The Bath Magazine talks to Ben Bower, Managing Director of Reside Bath Limited who reflects on a decade at the forefront of Bath’s rental market into the office one morning to be told that the owners had sold the company with immediate effect, to a large national firm who were based a hundred miles away.

I knew immediately that this wasn’t for me and began thinking about starting my own agency, one which focused on customer service, local knowledge and high quality properties. Reside opened in November 2008, and I’ve never looked back!

What significant changes – for better or worse – have you seen in that time?

Ben Bower

A

t the offices of Reside in Barton Street the outlook is optimistic, not only because the it’s the first really warm and sunny day of spring, but because there is a celebratory mood around the office.

Reside have been letting and managing high quality homes in Bath for exactly ten years and to mark the occasion they have just completed a branding refresh that gives a new look and updated logo design. Also under wraps is the new Reside website which, although top secret, one can easily sense the enthusiasm of the team as they count down the days to going live.

We sit down with the Reside MD, Ben Bower, over some good, strong mid-morning coffees and discuss the origins, highlights and happenings of the last ten years, and what plans are in place for the future.

How and when did you get into the property business?

After I finished university, I joined a wellknown independent letting agent and quickly found that I enjoyed the industry, particularly the part where I got to see some truly breathtaking properties.

After three years I had been promoted to a managerial role and I’ll never forget walking

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When I first started working in the industry, the likes of Rightmove and Prime Location were in their infancy and not the household names we all now know. If you were looking to rent a property, you would pick up a copy of the local newspaper, browse an agent’s website or visit their offices.

Now, you go straight to one of the property portals where you expect to find the vast majority of properties on the market.

This has led to a portal ‘duopoly’ in which Rightmove and Zoopla are all-powerful and really control the market place, increasing their fees as they see fit.

A new agent-owned property portal entered the marketplace in 2015, called OnTheMarket.com. Its aim was to disrupt the duopoly of the two largest portals and create a fairer playing field. We joined up right away and the portal has largely been successful in achieving its goals.

Another significant change was the introduction of Deposit Protection Laws in 2007. Before this, tenants had little to no security and often would not receive much of their deposit back at the end of their tenancy, sometimes for dubious reasons. Deposit protection laws have made the industry a lot fairer and more balanced, however there will always be those who try to manipulate the system, so it’s important to use an experienced agent, who is intimately familiar with the rules.

The credit crunch was a challenging time for everyone, and we actually opened Reside during this period. Everyone said we were mad, but it was actually a very good time for us in a rapidly changing market. As many vendors couldn’t sell their properties, they

decided to let them instead, becoming ‘Accidental Landlords’. The majority were inexperienced about the rental industry, so it was a challenge for us but ultimately very rewarding.

Tell us a bit about what makes your team special?

How long do you have?! My team is everything – without them, I don’t have a business; they are its heart and soul. I firmly believe that people do business with people they like. Our staff are friendly, dedicated and always brimming with ideas. They frequently go above and beyond for the company and our clients alike – just look at our 52 Google reviews (and counting!) to see some of the wonderful comments they have earned us.

We don’t rest on our laurels though; we’re always trying to improve! A number of our staff are currently studying for qualifications in Residential Letting & Property Management to further their knowledge about the industry.

Our days are usually very busy, so we make an effort to regularly meet up away from the office for food or activities like go karting (which I won!).

QUICK FIRE Questions...

Favourite restaurant: Hudson Steakhouse.

Period drama or gritty crime?

Gritty Crime.

What’s on the playlist?

Three Days Grace.

Currently reading?

Adrian Newey’s Autobiography – How to build an F1 car.

Business Inspiration?

Elon Musk.

Perfect Holiday?

Anywhere there’s an F1 race.

People in property May V2.qxp_Layout 1 20/04/2018 16:28 Page 2

MEET | THE AGENT

The Reside Bath team: from left to right, Sophie Ruddock, Peter Aisher, Ben Bower, Alexa Roper, James Earwicker, Toby Martin, Lisa Franklin, Mark Button & Stacey Robinson.

We try to be good corporate citizens and put as much back into the local community as possible. We do a great deal of work with the Bath Percent Club and in the past few months alone we have staged fundraising events in aid of Julian House, Jamie’s Farm and the Bath Foodbank, to name a few. We are also sponsors (and reigning champions!) of the fantastic Bath Boules tournament, which last year raised more than £50k for local charities. These initiatives are often organised and driven by my staff, and it is something we will always strive to do.

What is going to happen in the property market in the next 12 months?

impact on the lettings industry across the whole country and means that agents will be adjusting their fee structures accordingly, the majority of which will be at a cost to the landlord.

We have always kept our tenant fees very low, so this will have a very small impact on us, and even less so on our landlords, however I am concerned about what other agents are planning to do to make up for the loss in revenue; some have even asked contractors to mark-up invoices!

We pride ourselves on our transparency and the quality of our service, and I really can’t imagine how an agent could be so deceitful.

Do you have a favourite street?

The rental market ebbs and flows as demand for properties increases and declines, often reacting to the sales market and the political climate at the time. With the uncertainty of Brexit looming, the sales market is relatively unpredictable at the moment, and I see this continuing for some time.

People still need to move for new jobs and Bath’s outstanding state and private schools bring a lot of families to the region, so I expect the demand for rental properties to increase significantly as more and more people choose to rent rather than buy.

We will more than likely see a ban on all tenant fees in the next twelve months, with the government expected to introduce this in April 2019. This will have a significant

I grew up on Lansdown and my favourite street for a long time was Lansdown Crescent – it is very striking and due to its elevation, the views are breathtaking. Sheep graze in front of The Crescent for parts of the year, which I think is wonderful, being in the middle of a city.

As I have got to know the city and seen more properties through my work, my favourite street now, without a doubt, is Sydney Buildings. It follows the canal along the bottom of Bathwick Hill and the majority of the houses have stunning panoramic views of the city at the back, and Bathwick Meadows to the front, an area of outstanding natural beauty that forms part of the Bath Skyline Walk.

Is there anything you look back at that makes you laugh?

You need a thick skin to work in this industry, and good sense of humour is imperative. Over the years we have disposed of some questionable items left behind by tenants, dealt with gardeners who have mown the lawns at the wrong house, and even rescued tenants who were locked out – how can I put this? – wearing only a smile!

Where next for Reside?

We never stop looking for ways to further improve ourselves. We plan to introduce several innovative new services this year, which we hope will keep us at the cutting edge and will deliver more benefits for our landlords.

We will also be launching our new website shortly, which I can’t wait to share with everyone – it looks fantastic. n For further information: 24 Barton Street, Bath BA1 1HG Tel: 01225 445777 web: residebath.co.uk

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Bear Flat

Andrewsonline.co.uk

Bloomfield Road, Bath, BA2 ÂŁ1,500,000

A stunning Georgian style townhouse with double glazed sash windows, underfloor heating throughout and a hard wired TV and audio system with Sonos amplifiers. Three reception rooms, six bedrooms, two shower rooms, bathroom, en-suite, magnificent kitchen/family room, far reaching westerly views and a beautiful garden.

Energy Efficiency Rating: C

01225 805 680 bearflat@andrewsonline.co.uk

To view more properties and other services available visit Andrewsonline.co.uk

Central

Andrewsonline.co.uk

Prior Park Road, BA2 ÂŁ875,000

01225 809 571

Andrews May.indd 1

A wonderful, 4/5 bedroom period home in a prime Bath location, ideal for the city centre and 500 metres from Bath Spa railway station. Three reception rooms and a charming 65 ft. garden.

Energy Efficiency Rating: TBC

central@andrewsonline.co.uk

To view more properties and other services available visit Andrewsonline.co.uk

19/04/2018 09:41

Camden

Andrewsonline.co.uk

Belgrave Crescent, BA1 £375,000

A beautiful, self-contained period maisonette with panoramic views. This well-presented apartment forms the ground and first floors of this fine Victorian town house. Belgrave Crescent is a prestigious address on the north east side of the UNESCO World Heritage City of Bath. Energy Efficiency Rating: D

01225 809 868 camden@andrewsonline.co.uk

To view more properties and other services available visit Andrewsonline.co.uk

Newbridge Andrewsonline.co.uk

Newbridge Road, BA1 £550,000

This beautiful period home has a wealth of character coupled with modern lines and style making it a truly magnificent property. Set back from the Newbridge road within the popular western outskirts of the city. This property benefits from four bedrooms, bathroom, sitting room, dining room, kitchen/breakfast room, cloakroom.

Attractive 60ft x 16’7ft garden and carport. Energy Efficiency Rating: E

01225 809 685 newbridge@andrewsonline.co.uk

Andrews May.indd 2

To view more properties and other services available visit Andrewsonline.co.uk

19/04/2018 09:41

THE EMPIRE, Bath

Guide Price ÂŁ1,050,000

Stunning three bedroom apartment in one of Bath’s landmark buildings situated in the very heart of the World heritage city of Bath, with spectacular dual aspect views. Adjacent to Bath Abbey, the River Avon, Pulteney Bridge and Weir, with a flat walk to Waitrose and Bath Spa railway station, the location is ideal. The apartment is one of the largest and best positioned in the Empire and it also benefits from a parking space underneath.

EPC: Exempt

Fine & Country May.indd 1

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COMBE DOWN, Bath

Guide Price ÂŁ575,000

Charming three bedroom detached Georgian cottage with garden and parking set down a private track in the desirable Combe Down area of Bath. This distinctive home with its five chimneys offers cosy yet flexible accommodation including living/dining room with open fire, kitchen/diner, a ground floor bedroom and bathroom, two first floor bedrooms with bathroom and fabulous outside space.

EPC: F

Fine & Country May.indd 2

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®

St James Square

£950 pcm

Catharine Place

£1,000 pcm

This superb apartment is located on the top floor of a Grade I listed Georgian building in the highly sought-after location of St James’s Square. The property comprises: two bedrooms, sitting room, modern kitchen, bathroom and utility room. St James Square offers a fabulous community feeling with local amenities.

We are delighted to market this two bedroom apartment. The apartment offers well planned and versatile accommodation to include sitting room, kitchen, two double bedrooms and bathroom. Catharine Place is one of the most popular locations in Bath and is close to a wide selection of restaurants and shops.

Northfields House

Alexander Buildings

£1,250 pcm

A beautifully proportioned two bedroom period apartment located in the highly sought after area of Bath. Comprising; sitting room, kitchen, master bedroom, second bedroom and bathroom, all of which are presented in excellent decorative order. Externally, there is attractive communal gardens and an allocated parking space.

SALES

01225 471 14 4 The Apartment Company May.indd 1

LETTINGS

01225 303 870

£1,250 pcm

This wonderfully spacious, three bedroom maisonette is perfect for city living. Situated east of the city with an abundance of local amenities. This property comprises; sitting room with doors out to the private garden, kitchen, master bedroom, second double bedroom, third bedroom/ study, bathroom, tanked vault and garden.

sales@theapartmentcompany.co.uk

18/04/2018 10:47

®

Lansdown Place West

O.I.E.O

£675,000

Lyncombe Hall

O.I.E.O

£395,000

This exquisitely presented apartment is situated in the sought after Lansdown Crescent and occupies the top two floors of a stylish Georgian Townhouse. Comprising; south facing drawing room with stunning views, modern kitchen, dining room, master bedroom with en suite, two further double bedrooms, a family bathroom and utility with separate cloakroom.

Beautifully presented and boasting far reaching views, this delightful property benefits from a super bright galley kitchen, modern family bathroom, with additional shower room and two large double bedrooms.

The well-tended communal gardens and grounds are accessed off the communal entrance hall and the property boasts a single garage.

Forester Court

Isabella House

O.I.E.O

£375,000

Situated on the banks of the River Avon this recently renovated ground floor, three bedroom apartment has a beautiful outlook and a level walk to the City Centre. Property comprises: sitting room overlooking the river with sliding doors leading to covered terrace, modern fitted kitchen, three bedrooms and brand new bathroom suite.

O.I.E.O

£295,000

This fabulous two double bedroom apartment is located in centre of the delightful village of Combe Down. The apartment itself has been completely renovated and consists of two double bedrooms one with en suite, a family bathroom and luxurious open plan living room/kitchen.

Properties of this nature are rare and viewing comes highly recommended!

www.theapartmentcompany.co.uk

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