The Bath Magazine September 2019

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ISSUE 204 | SEPTEMBER 2019 | thebathmag.co.uk | £3.95 where sold

ISSUE 203 | AUGUST 2019

£3.95 where sold

thebathmag.co.uk

IN SEARCH OF SANDITON Here comes the first major TV drama of Jane Austen’s final, incomplete novel – we visit the studios where Sanditon was built

FLIGHTS of FANTASY Through the Looking Glass – Maggie Taylor’s curious artwork on show at Lacock CREATIVE VISIONS

Artists Richard Twose and Candace Bahouth hit Bath’s major galleries

AUSTEN FEST

Dr Amy Frost on how Austen’s architecture has its own character

KEEP ON READING

Bath Children’s Literature Festival welcomes new authors

EDUCATION WISE

An essential directory of local schools for parents and pupils

T H E C I T Y ’ S B I G G E S T M O NTHLY GUIDE TO LIFE AND LIVING IN BATH

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Contents September 2019 5 THINGS

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Essential events to look forward to this month

THE FINAL STORY

FLAVOURS AT THE SPA

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We talk to Bath Spa Hotel’s new executive chef Jon Machin

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Georgette McCready visits The Bottle Yard Studios where the TV adaptation of Sanditon, Jane Austen’s incomplete novel, was filmed

A DORSET GETAWAY

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Emma Clegg visits the Eastbury Hotel in Sherborne

WHAT’S ON . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

TOP TEACHERS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70 Melissa Blease on literature and film’s best and worst teachers

Our guide to the top events happening around the city

IN BALANCE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

GOOD SCHOOLS GUIDE

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An overview of local high-achieving schools and colleges

Painter Richard Twose talks to Emma Clegg about his new exhibitions

CITY ARTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

MATHS MATTERS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92 Kit Yates on why maths is a matter of life and death

The latest art exhibitions from around the city

ARTY TEA PARTY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .46 Artist Candace Bahouth presents a mosaic table showcase at the Holburne Museum

OVERLOOKING CHEW

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Andrew Swift climbs high to see views of the Chew Valley Lake

MEWS NEWS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106

AUSTEN’S ARCHITECTURE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

The renovation of a mews house on Margaret’s Buildings

Dr Amy Frost explains the character of the buildings in Jane Austen’s novels

LACECAPS AND MOPHEADS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .110 Jane Moore’s love affair with the hydrangea

CELEBRATING BOOKS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .50 We talk to authors coming to The Bath Children’s Literature Festival

THE PROPERTY PAGES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .113 Bath’s finest homes to buy or rent

BATH AT WORK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .54 Neill Menneer’s portrait of body piercer Salvatore Acquaviva

NOSTALGIC READS

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Reading that inspired us as children

More content and updates online: thebathmag.co.uk

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ON THE COVER

Rose Williams as Charlotte Heywood and Theo James as Sidney Parker in the new TV adaptation of Jane Austen’s Sanditon © Red Planet Pictures/ITV

Follow us on Instagram @thebathmagazine

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Hassan El-Wakeel’s winning 2018 entry in the Bath category of the 2018 photography competition

EDITOR’S PICKS ARCHITECTURE COMPETITION

The Bath Preservation Trust’s 2019 photography competition, following its launch last year, welcomes entries from photographers interpreting architecture. The competition has three categories: Architecture of Entertainment; Bath: After the Georgians; and Junior Architectural Photographer of the Year. The deadline for submissions is 1 November. museumofbatharchitecture.org.uk

from the

EDITOR Editor photograph by Matthew Sterling

T

oday I saw a lady dressed in full Georgian garb – clasping a long stick with a large purple sign saying Jane Austen Centre Tours – leading a group of rapt tourists towards Queen Square.

As a local in such situations it’s your role to stride past, emanating what you hope is the characterful poise and confidence of the region, giving the impression that you know all that already. Come the Jane Austen Festival, however, which runs from 13–22 September, you can abandon this act and hurtle headlong into any activity or event that’s on offer.

Tempting ideas are the Grand Regency Costumed Parade, the pre-ball workshop, the create your own reticule workshop, the tour of Beckford’s Tower, and then – provided you also have intellectual rigour – a debate about what matters in Jane Austen. The festival, you see, is more of a semireligious, Janeite homage. To get you warmed up to the theme, Dr Amy Frost gives us a perspective on the character of Austen’s architecture on page 48.

Also, thrillingly for JA advocates, this month sees the arrival of the TV drama of Austen’s unfinished novel, Sanditon, as Georgette McCready reports on page 18. We can hardly contain our excitement.

September is our eduation issue, so we’ve got a detailed listing of the excellent schools and colleges in our region on page 78. We also have a piece

by Melissa Blease on page 70 with her ideas on who are the very best and the very worst teachers ever known in books and on screen, and whether real-life teachers could ever match up. Alongside this we have a hoard of reading matter celebrating the arrival of the Bath Children’s Literature Festival from 27 September – 6 October on page 50, including interviews with authors visiting the festival, and a list of nostalgic childhood reads from The Bath Magazine team on page 56. I also talk to Kit Yates, senior lecturer in mathematical biology, at the University of Bath, on page 94 about why maths can – quite literally – make all the difference in our day-to-day lives.

On the arts scene, two local artists are bringing their brand of visual flair to the city. Painter Richard Twose has a duet of exhibitions following his explorations into flight and imbalance at Victoria Art Gallery and Beaux Arts (see page 34). And Candace Bahouth is creating her idiosyncratic statements of otherworldly mosaic art at the Holburne Museum (see page 46).

I also return to the county of my birth, Dorset, to take my ease at a local inn (The Eastbury Hotel), investigate the wonders of Sherborne and find out why its castle is covered with ostriches.

Relish the lovely days of September.

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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SANDY IDEAS

We’ve got lots of ideas for children’s books this issue, and we think that this one by local author Matt Stone is another winner. Here are a couple of teasers. 1) Mark out a circle in the sand and pretend to be sumo wrestlers and see if you can push daddy out of the circle. 2) Mark out a rectangle and divide it into rooms, mark out where your bed, TV, shower etc. are in the rooms and then give a guided house tour. £8.99.

To get a copy, telephone 07792 566703 or email matt.j.stone@hotmail.co.uk

SPINDLE

Spindle (Euonymus europaea) is a deciduous tree, commonly found on the edges of forests and in hedges, scrub and hedgerows. Mature trees grow to up to nine feet and can live for more than 100 years. Spindle is hermaphrodite, meaning each flower contains both male and female reproductive parts. Its vivid pink fruits have bright orange seeds.

ILLUSTRATION BY BARBARA PHILLIPS The Bath Society of Botanical Artists; bsba.co.uk

do the things you think ❝ You mustyou cannot do. ❞ ELEANOR ROOSEVELT (1884–1962)

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ZEITGEIST

things to do in

September

Promenade

1980s chart-topping band The Human League will be headlining Bath Racecourse’s open-air stage on 14 September, playing the group’s biggest hits following a thrilling afternoon of horse racing. The band, who have been cited by the likes of Madonna, Pet Shop Boys and Robbie Williams as music inspiration, have sold 20 million records worldwide, including their much-loved number one single Don’t You Want Me. The event will kick off with seven races from 2pm, with the band taking to the stage at 6pm. Admission from £35; bath-racecourse.co.uk

Discover Mary Shelley wrote most of Frankenstein while residing in Bath, yet her life was just as extraordinary as her world-famous gothic novel. Frankenstein In Bath is a walking tour that explores the forgotten stories of secrets and lies, suicides, concealed births, false identities and ruined reputations associated with Shelley and her friends.

Described by @weirdbath as “sensational, fabulously gothic fun filled with revelations and scandals,” you can walk in Shelley’s footsteps and discover where she lived, wrote, and kept dark secrets. Begins outside Sally Lunn’s every Friday until 8 November, 7pm. £10; showofstrength.org.uk

Uncover

Debate How can we make a city that is good for our body, mind and soul? This month will see a week of walks, talks and activities in and around Bath as the Therapeutic City Festival, hosted by Architecture Is, opens the conversation about how we can design and manage a city for wellbeing in the modern age.

From 20–27 September, experts will be exploring the past, present and future of Bath as a therapeutic place to live and visit, and will be asking what should a 21st-century spa city be like? Programme and tickets available online; therapeuticity.org

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The Homecoming

by Peter Lawrence

Celebrating its 25th birthday, Somerset Art Weeks Festival (21 September – 6 October) hosts a diverse programme of inspiring art exhibitions, workshops, talks and films in 135 locations across Somerset. There will be four new commissions by internationally celebrated artists on show, installations by 12 local artists who have been awarded SAW bursaries, as well as showcases of emerging new talent. Plus there’s a familyfriendly finale weekend on 5–6 October where children can get stuck into some creative activities. See the full programme online; somersetartworks.org.uk n

Jane Austen Festival: Owen Benson/Shelley: Zuleika Henry

Party

Have your bonnets at the ready as September can only mean one thing in Bath – it’s time for the annual Jane Austen Festival. Now in its 19th year, the 10-day festival sees all manner of talks, events and Regency drama take over the city in a celebration of one of the nation’s most-loved novelists from 13–22 September. There will be live readings, food tastings, walking tours, dance workshops, and hilarious modern adaptions of Austen’s work on offer.

And if you fancy dressing up, you can take part in the record-breaking Grand Regency Costumed Promenade on 14 September where more than 500 people will stroll through the city to Parade Gardens in full Regency costume. Bath Preservation Trust’s Dr Amy Frost explores why the architecture in Austen’s novels has such character and meaning on page 48; janeaustenfestivalbath.co.uk

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Promoted Content

TRANSFORM YOUR HOME WITH THE FARROW & BALL COLOUR EXPERTS Bancha® No. 298 Estate® Eggshell, Studio Green® No.93 Estate® Eggshell, School House White® No.291 Estate® Eggshell and Estate® Emulsion

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any will already be familiar with Farrow & Ball for its richly pigmented paints, handcrafted wallpapers and characterful colour names. What you might not know, however, is that the colour expertise it is famed for also extends to a bespoke in-home colour consultancy service, purposely designed to offer an extra helping hand in creating a home you can’t wait to come back to.

We caught up with Colour Consultant for the South West, Jill Hazelgrove to learn more.

How do you approach a brief?

Getting a sense of what someone is looking to achieve within their home is the most important first step in any consultation. When I first get in touch with the client, we’ll chat about style preferences, likes, dislikes, and any features or furnishings that are already part of the space. We’re not there to impose our own style or our favourite design trends on someone else’s home – it’s all about taking their vision for the space and suggesting ways to turn that into a reality with colours and finishes that will show their property in its best light, while still showing their own personality. n

What do you enjoy most about being a Colour Consultant?

That’s a difficult choice! I love having the opportunity to use colour every day, finding unexpected and creative combinations that will enhance a room and everything in it, but more generally, finding the perfect solution to something that a client finds challenging about their home is really rewarding.

If you’re interested in enlisting Jill’s help, you can make a booking enquiry online at farrow-ball.com/colourconsultancy, or visit Farrow & Ball in Bath, Bristol and Cheltenham.

For further details; farrow-ball.com

Skimming Stone® No.241 Estate® Emulsion, Jitney® No.293 Estate® Emulsion, Tanner’s Brown® No.255 Estate® Eggshell

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The city

ist

THE BUZZ THE BUZZ

Julia Keyte is course leader for the furniture and product design degree at the Bath Schools of Art and Design. A designer, teacher and researcher, she is passionate about making as a basis for innovation

Run for RUH patients Make every step you take until March count for patients and families cared for by the Royal United Hospital Bath by joining The Forever Friends Appeal’s Bath Half team.

You can run for any ward or department close to your heart and you’ll receive your own team running vest, and fundraising and training support. Charity places are now available at an early bird price of £20 (until 30 September), with a pledge to raise £175 for patients. To register, visit foreverfriendsappeal.co.uk

50th anniversary The Bath & District RSPB Local Group is celebrating its 50th anniversary year.

To mark the occasion, TV presenter, zoologist, author, conservationist and RSPB president, Miranda Krestovnikoff – resident wildlife expert’on BBC1’s The One Show – is giving a talk on Pioneering Conservation: Future Challenges at the Kingswood School Theatre, Lansdown, Bath on Tuesday 1 October at 7.30pm.

Tickets: bathboxoffice.org.uk

Film sponsors needed The FilmBath Festival is inviting local businesses to support its festival programme. Its Be A Film Star! fundraising campaign looks for sponsorship starting at £500.

“Each autumn we screen a superbly created programme of around 45 feature films and 35 shorts at various venues in and around Bath,” said FilmBath’s executive director Holly Tarquini. The film festival this year runs from 7–17 November. Businesses interested in sponsoring the festival can email hello@filmbath.org.uk filmbath.org.uk

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My BATH

I live with my husband and two children in East Twerton, close to the Two Tunnels cycle path. From here we cycle out into the countryside, along the river into the city centre, or to Bristol.

is evolving quickly, and making processes formerly associated with mass production are becoming more accessible. It is an exciting time and we have ambitions to start a creative technology space for Bath.

I grew up in the Blackmore Vale, in rural North Dorset. After school I undertook an art and design foundation course at Shelley Park in Bournemouth. It was there, immersed in hands-on learning and experimentation across media and discipline, I discovered that I am a three-dimensional thinker and maker.

My research, which I publish in academic journals, specialises in the emotional lifespans of objects, which is a growing field of design research. Functional or technical obsolescence is a familiar concept to many, but we are less knowledgeable about emotional obsolescence. I look closely at the emotional and material factors influencing what we decide to keep in our homes.

I am also exploring how designers think and create, and how the role of the industrial designer might change in the future, in a changed, environmentally sustainable landscape for production and consumption.

I have a propensity to work on a small scale, and I went on to study jewellery and silversmithing on an internationally renowned course at Edinburgh College of Art, under Dorothy Hogg and William Kirk. I loved making in precious metals, which are both resistant and malleable. I developed craft discipline and working precisely on a small scale, as well as an experimental approach to handling material.

I wanted opportunities to consider other types of product and production methods, so I moved to Amsterdam and studied product design at the Sandberg Institute. The Netherlands has a vibrant and long-standing creative design culture, and nurtures designers who are unafraid to question and reinvent the status quo.

I love my role at the Schools of Art and Design at Bath Spa University. There is a very strong creative community of staff and students who I feel privileged to work with. The emphasis on making, supported by excellent workshops and technical staff is striking.

The curriculum in the furniture and product design degree is brief driven as this reflects professional design practice. The briefs are framed to enable students to apply their creativity to current problems, issues and materials. We encourage individual creative responses, and aim to develop students as strong flexible creative practitioners.

Our workshops are very well resourced with both new and traditional technologies, including 3D printers, scanners, and CNC equipment. The landscape for production

issue 204

The long-disused locks of the Somerset Coal Canal are amazing. They are a great example of technological obsolescence – the canal was replaced in part by rail transportation at the end of the 19th century. I cycle and walk there with my family and we love discovering traces of past industry in the landscape.

Our new BSU Locksbrook Campus, which opens this autumn, is inspirational. I have watched its transformation over the past two years as it has been repurposed for us as a new state-of-the-art facility for the Schools of Art and Design. It was designed by Nicholas Grimshaw in the 1970s to be flexible and adapt to the changing needs of the Herman Miller manufacture facility it housed. This was something of a revolutionary idea – a building that could be adapted by the people using it, rather than a building that forced people to adapt as it became outdated.

I don’t have time to read, but I go to sleep listening to podcasts. I love ‘real life’ stories, like Outlook or The Moth.

I would like to meet John Dawson who designed the first three-wheeled bath chair, the forerunner to the wheelchair. I’d love an insight into how he considered his users who visited the baths to cure their health problems. ■ bathspa.ac.uk

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The best in show Our roving reporter harks back to victories under the marquee and wanders through the floral art tent

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Hip Flasks for the Hip

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’m thinking of adding two key achievements to my CV, which I am sure will enhance my chances of future employment. I feel my accomplishments as an award-winning flower arranger and as a judge at a local cheese show should not go unrecorded.

OK, that first boast may need deflating slightly. I came second in a floral arrangement for beginners category in our village hall years ago.

I arrived at the white cloth covered table to find the judges had left a blue second prize certificate by my jug of artfully arranged flowers. It’s that kind of moment when you’re tempted to punch the air and yell a ‘yesss!’ of triumph. But realising that might be an over reaction, I allowed myself a quiet, self-satisfied smirk.

Now to my time as a judge at the cheese show... I was invited as an amateur to team up with a professional for a day’s judging in the cheese marquee. I was issued with a white coat, a pork pie hat and an official judge’s badge and had visions of myself pinning winning rosettes on to giant wheels of Cheddar. But being a show judge wasn’t as glamorous as I’d hoped. We had to taste every single cheese in each category and make intelligent, insightful notes about each one. By lunchtime, after 24 mild Cheddars and a dozen unsalted butters I could feel my cholesterol levels rising and I felt a little queasy. They treated us to a lovely meal later in the day, although I didn’t try the cheeseboard.

It’s great that so many towns and villages still have flower and produce shows at this time of year. It’s a throwback to harvest time, when farmers and all those who lived off the land gave thanks for food safely gathered in. A flower show is the place to show off your homemade jam, your scones and your sourdough. It’s the original Great British Bake Off, somewhere it doesn’t matter what qualifications you have or how much you earn, it all comes down to whether your Victoria sponge rises to the occasion.

Do you remember the Bath Flower Show that used to be held in Royal Victoria Park? There were vast white marquees filled with displays of improbably large carrots and leeks, great stands showing off spectacular commercially grown delphiniums and begonias and stalls selling everything from lawn mowers to locally produced honey. But my favourite marquee was the floral art tent. There is something special about a floral art tent and its has its own particular distinct smell, a blend of crushed grass and musty canvas with top notes of the heady perfume of roses, sweet peas and other scented blooms.

Flower arranging at this Constance Spry level is like the olympics of floral art – above anything we mere mortals could achieve. You’ve got to admire the towering floral tableaux, meticulously created from stalks, leaves and petals to create fireworks and waterfalls of colour cascading from crystal vases. My favourites were the displays inspired by a theme, such as the novels of Charles Dickens. Imagine being able to evoke Bleak House by raiding the contents of your flowerbeds.

There was always a children’s section at flower shows, with challenges such as ‘create an animal made from vegetables’ or ‘see how many objects you can get in a matchbox’. My children used to love entering the class entitled A Garden on a Plate. This would send them scurrying off for moss and tiny shells to make their own miniature little worlds on a dinner plate. When it came to the judging their faces would be tense with anticipation. One year my daughter rushed across the village hall, clutching her certificate: “I’ve got highly recommended,” she reported excitedly. We explained that ‘highly commended’ was the equivalent to fourth prize.

The children’s classes are a nightmare for helicopter parents, who hover over their offspring making suggestions, i.e., instructions on where the child should place their leaf or flower. You can tell the entries where mummy hasn’t been able to resist ‘just tidying it up a little.’

If you can get to a country show, a fair or one of the other smaller flower shows being staged this month, I’d urge you to go and enjoy these very special British cultural events. n

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Emma Clegg 01225 424592 emma@thebathmagazine.co.uk

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

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

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Ellis & Killpartrick Styling Opticians

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TELEVISION

UNFINISHED BUSINESS Georgette McCready visits The Bottle Yard Studios in Bristol where Jane Austen’s final – and unfinished – novel, Sanditon, has been brought to life for a new ITV television series

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© Red Planet Pictures/ITV

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akers of period dramas face a tough choice when it comes to recreating the past. Do they descend on an old town or stately home and hope to get the shots that will capture the setting of the original book, or do they start from scratch and build an entire make-believe world?

Building a whole village and set of rooms from scratch is exactly what the production team have chosen to do with the new ITV adaption of Jane Austen’s incomplete novel, Sanditon, set in a fictional south coast seaside town. This latest adaptation, written by Andrew Davies (who brought TV viewers the award-winning and popular 1995 BBC production of Pride and Prejudice starring Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle), follows young and impulsive protagonist Charlotte Heywood as she moves from her countryside home to the seaside resort of Sanditon, where she is exposed to all of its intrigue and the dalliances of the locals.

Award-winning British set designer Grant Montgomery has literally gone to town at The Bottle Yard Studios in Whitchurch, where this corner of Bristol has been transformed into Sanditon High Street. He took me on a guided tour of the outside set which stands in for the seaside town, before showing me inside the vast warehouse where he has ingeniously built interiors ranging from a full-size ballroom to a Gothic folly purporting to be in the grounds of a country house estate.

We begin outside where from behind all you can see of Sanditon village are flat backs and scaffolding, but turning the corner we find ourselves in 1817 walking down a High Street between the facades of houses and shops, where the wealthy and fashionable have newly arrived in town to live alongside the existing fishing community. Looking at the lobster pots stacked up outside one cottage you can almost smell the sea air, but the actual beach scenes are filmed on location at Brean Sands overlooking the Bristol Channel. These scenes include men sea-bathing naked as they plunge into the waves from bathing huts, as was fashionable at the time.

Andrew Davies is well known for embellishing his modern-day TV adaptions of the classics (that Mr Darcy moment: emerging from the water in wet shirt and breeches) so as well as taking a scholarly interest in the treatment of Austen’s text, you can expect to see the occasional low-brow water-cooler moment in this production.

Set designer Grant’s previous successes include the film Tolkien, award-winning Victorian drama The Crimson Petal and the White and the Brummy gangsters’ world of Peaky Blinders. He has created something special here with Sanditon, so much so that the set has become a character worth watching in its own right.

The High Street set features authentic looking posters advertising some of the entertainment to be had in Regency times. Visitors to the seaside town could take boat trips or attend a cricket match between the Gentry and the Workers teams, representing the two fictional factions of Sanditon whose worlds collide in this small community. There are lots of little visual gags to be had, with references to Bennet Promenade and a stationery shop called Austens.

Inside the warehouse where the indoor scenes are filmed, Grant and his team have paid close attention to detail so nothing will jar on even the most sharp-eyed viewer.

Actress Anne Reid, fresh from her powerful performance in Years and Years, plays the twice-widowed Lady Denham. Her wealth and status is displayed in a jawdroppingly sumptuous full-size ballroom, complete with a ceiling painted with gods and cherubs among clouds. You really have to pinch yourself that you’re not inside a genuine period house with its realistic-looking marble columns and a serpent picked out in mosaic on the ballroom floor. There is a pair of what to the untrained eye looks like priceless crystal chandeliers which were lit with real candles for the Venetian masked ball scenes. ➲

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LOST IN AUSTEN: Rose Williams plays the impulsive Charlotte Heywood in Andrew Davis’ adaption of Sanditon

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Anne Reid as the wealthy Lady Denham

Rose Williams with Theo James, who plays love interest Sidney Parker

Across the end wall is a dramatic panorama depicting a bridge collapsing, with people tumbling into the water. And no, Grant won’t tell me how he has created these fake painted masterpieces on a budget.

Of course there’s no garden or parkland outside the ballroom – the exterior of Lady Denham’s grand country house was filmed instead at the National Trust’s Dyrham Park, just outside Bath. The production’s crew descended on other west country locations for filming such as Clevedon’s seafront and, if you watch carefully, you may recognise Charlotte Heywood and her father walking along the banks of the River Frome besides Iford Manor in Bradford on Avon.

Kris Marshall, of Death in Paradise fame, plays Tom Parker – a salesman with grand plans for modernising Sanditon and making it a fashionable resort. Parker’s sense of ambition to be taken seriously as a man of substance is perfectly reflected in his study’s set. Grant was inspired by architect and collector Sir John Sloane’s house in London and has gone to town on classical allusions, with busts of Caesar and other classical heroes, intricate carving and on the ceiling, in the powerful colour scheme of black and gold, are friezes of bees – the insect Napoleon chose as his favoured motif.

A model of Sanditon as Parker would like to re-imagine it stands on a table, laid out in every detail, including a crescent of townhouses inspired by the Circus in Bath and a Chinese pagoda like the Great Pagoda at Kew Gardens.

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ourselves inside the Gothic folly, which feels like a love-nest with its chaise longue piled with cushions. It is here that the characters brother and sister Edward and Esther set up home together, keeping a greedy eye on Lady Denham and her fortune.

Grant is setting up all kinds of treats on set for Janeites (as Austen enthusiasts call themselves) with references that the film people call ‘Easter eggs’, although you might need to pause the television to spot them. In one scene, for instance, there is a first edition of the book Pride and Prejudice left lying around, in another there’s a pamphlet illustrated by Austen’s sister Cassandra, while in a ballroom scene there’s a visual reference to the novel Emma with apple blossom. The folly, with its fairytale-like doors and windows, makes oblique reference to Northanger Abbey in which the character Catherine Morland has a fascination with Gothic literature.

Our final part of the indoor tour took us to a cut-away bedroom, its walls covered in green floral and bird wallpaper. As through the rest of the set Grant has given the Austen audience a fresh take on what to expect in the future. There’s not a Regency stripe in sight. This almost feels as though we’re approaching the early Victorian era in terms of interiors, as pattern and colour replace the understated shades that we’re used to seeing in so many adaptations. This is the bedroom of the mysterious Miss Lambe, who Jane Austen mentioned in the book but never got as far as bringing her directly into the action – sadly the book remained unfinished, almost certainly due to the

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author’s ill health and she died within months of abandoning the manuscript.

We know little about Miss Lambe other than that she is ‘a young West Indian of large fortune in delicate health.’ However, it is hinted that she will be a character to watch.

There are no clues in this room as to her personality, so we will have to wait until she appears on screen.

Behind the high street set we squeezed into a tent where the hair and make-up team were watching the action on small screens to ensure continuity in every scene.

Photographs are taken of actors in costume to ensure they look the same as they did in a previous scene, even though weeks of real time might lie between those two shots.

Between takes, actor Rose Williams, who is playing the lead Charlotte, joined us for a chat, wearing her bonnet and gown. She had a corset on under her dress to give an authentic line, but told us she has grown used to the corset’s constrictions. Behind her was Young Stringer (played by Leo Suter) and they had just finished shooting a scene together. Do we detect a bit of romance on the streets of Sanditon, we ask them? The pair are sworn to secrecy.

Davies is not the first writer to take on the challenge of completing the plot of Austen’s last work, but with his track record I think we’ll be in for a treat this autumn. ■

Sanditon was made by Red Planet Productions for ITV and Masterpiece.

The series is currently being shown on Sundays at 9pm on ITV.

© Red Planet Pictures/ITV

Kris Marshall plays forwardthinking local Tom Parker

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TUESDAY 24th SEPTEMBER at 10:00am FINE ART & ANTQUES AUCTION

Sir David Murray, R.A., H.R.S.A, R.S.W., R.I. (1849-1933), Oil on Canvas.

*Entries Now Invited*

To Include: Silver; Jewellery; Ceramics & Glass; Oil Paintings, Watercolours, & Prints; Clocks; Boxes, Metalware & Works-of-Art; Antique & later Furniture & Furnishings, etc.

On View: SATURDAY 21st SEPTEMBER: 9am until 12noon MONDAY 23rd SEPTEMBER: 9am until 6pm *AND MORNING OF SALE from 9am*

Henry George Cogle (British, 1875-1957) “Begonias”, Oil on Canvas.

*Catalogue Available Tuesday 17th September*

*Live online bidding available via the-saleroom.com* Illustrated catalogues available @ £4.50 by First Class Post, or view catalogue online at: www.aldridgesofbath.com

Bristol ‘blue, red, & green’ Delft large dish, & a collection of French Faience plates, 18th century.

A Chinese Dehua figure of Guanyin, 16.

Ma San Auction

Items coming up in our September 19th sale Catalogue online from September 1st

In Bath

SPECIALISTS IN ORIENTAL WORKS OF ART Large Tang dynasty painted pottery prancing horse.

Est £4000-5000 A Kangxi Famille Verte porcelain teapot and cover.

Est £400-600

Rare Genuine Fossilised Dinosaur Eggs – Hadrosaur. Est £600-800

A blue and white porcelain plaque in hardwood frame. Est £400-600

Accepting ents consignm Art ian for our As er b m e v No sale

A kangxi Famille Verte biscuit porcelain figure of Immortal.

Est £200-400

A Large Multiple Trilobite Fossil Plaque.

Est £2000-3000

Free valuations and home visits • Over 30 years experience • Competitive commission rates • Direct contacts in Hong Kong and China • Sales every month 2 Princes Buildings, George Street, Bath BA1 2ED Tel: 01225 318587

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HIMAL FASHION and ACCESSORIES from the HIMALAYAS

7th Annual Autumn Event Following our hugely successful previous events and by demand, we are pleased to announce this year’s event dates are Friday 4th October and Saturday 5th October 2019, 10.30am - 4.30pm 5, Old King Street, Bath (Health & Beauty Centre and Bath Chiropody Clinic; next to Hall and Woodhouse) We will have many beautiful items, including: Pure Cashmere Shawls • Pure Cashmere Scarves • Pure Cashmere Ponchos • Pure Silk Handprinted Scarves Silk & Cotton Mix Dressing Gowns • Silk & Cotton Mix Pyjama Sets (beautifully presented in matching presentation bags) NEW STOCK THIS YEAR inc. Luxurious Hand Embroidered Cashmere Shawls • Pure Wool Rugs Beautiful Embroidered Cushions • Home Accessories • Clothing • Handbags Children’s Slippers • Gifts for children, family & friends too Dare we mention…….. Beautiful Christmas Decorations Come along, bring a friend, enjoy a glass of Prosecco with us, shop!

All profits from the event will be donated to The Charitable Foundation for the Education of Nepalese Children Reg’d No. 1140503 (A local charity, supporting and funding the education of children throughout Nepal.)

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

Every picture tells a story. Come and share yours.

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

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18ct yellow gold tigers eye ring. £236

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WHAT’S ON in September Great British Bake Off finalist Kim-Joy will be at Toppings

Bad girls and bonnets: History Wardrobe is coming to The Mission Theatre

Tyger Drew-Honey stars in Posh at Theatre Royal Bath

AN EVENING WITH ROBERT HARRIS n 4 September, 8pm, Christ Church, Julian Road From the number one bestselling author of Fatherland, Enigma, Pompeii and The Ghost comes a brand new historical fiction novel

by Robert Harris: The Second Sleep. Join Robert as he talks about the inspiration behind his new book. £20 includes book voucher; toppingbooks.co.uk SHARED INTERESTS OF SOUTH KOREA AND THE UK n 5 September, 10am, The Pavilion U3A in Bath hosts this talk by H.E. Enna Park (the South Korean ambassador), who will outline the history and development of South Korea and discuss the background to recent political developments and the current situation in the Republic of Korea. Free for U3A in Bath members, £2 for non-members; u3ainbath.org.uk MICRO-PLANTS AND MIXING: THE TURBULENT LIFE OF PLANKTON n 5 September, 6pm, The Edge, University of Bath 24 TheBATHMagazine

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Plankton are the microscopic plants and animals that are often overlooked for their importance to regulate our climate. In this talk, doctoral student Russell Arnott will introduce you to the wondrous world of plankton by showcasing some of their weird and wonderful abilities. Free; bath.ac.uk/events NOVEL NIGHTS: SUCCESS WITH NOVEL COMPETITIONS WITH CAROLINE AMBROSE n 6 September, 7.30pm, Burdall’s Yard At Novel Nights, authors and publishers discuss writing and local writers showcase their novels. Caroline Ambrose, founder of the Bath Novel Award, will talk through the judging process for the prize. What are her readers looking for in the submissions? What is it that assures your entry of a place on the shortlist? Does genre matter? Are first sentences really that important? £7.50/£6.50; novelnights.co.uk FASTLOVE n 6 September, 8pm, The Forum Direct from London’s West End, this is the world’s favourite George Michael tribute show. Celebrate the global superstar that is George Michael with all his hits including Father Figure, Freedom, Faith and many more. £25; bathforum.co.uk THE ANNUAL FLOWER AND PRODUCE SHOW n 7 September, 2.30–5pm, Claverton Down Community Hall and Marquee The Claverton and District Horticultural Society’s annual show features entry classes of fruit, vegetables, flowers, baking, photography and crafting. Plus there’s children’s races, a pet parade and a produce auction. £1 adults, free for children; clavertonhortsoc.org

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HOSPICE CARE HERO WALK n 7 September, 6pm, Bath Spa University, Newton Park Campus Dress up as your favourite superhero and enjoy the hero-themed fun zones as you walk either the 1km, 5km or 10km route in the beautiful countryside to help raise funds for Dorothy House Hospice Care. There will be food stalls, merchandise stands, a music zone, and a memory area to reflect on loved ones. And don’t miss the after-party silent disco. £20, £10 for two–11 years. Free for spectators; hospicecareheroes.org.uk UPROAR: MOVIE NIGHT n 9 September, 7.30pm, Komedia Komedia Bath and Bath Mencap present the first ever Uproar: Movie Night. The auditorium will be transformed into a cinema for a screening of The Greatest Showman exclusively for adults with learning disabilities and their friends and families. A safe, relaxed event. Ages 18+. £5, carers go free; komedia.co.uk MARGARET ATWOOD’S THE TESTAMENTS LAUNCH EVENING n 9 September, 9.30pm, Waterstones, Bath “And so I step up, into the darkness within; or else the light.” 34 years ago, readers worldwide left Offred to an uncertain fate in The Handmaid’s Tale. It is now time to go back to the Republic of Gilead and into Margaret Atwood’s bestselling, awardwinning world with The Testaments.

This special launch evening will celebrate this much-loved classic. Free; waterstones.com/events INTRODUCTION TO WINE n 11 September, 7.30–9pm, Society Café, Kingsmead Square Broaden your knowledge and enhance your enjoyment of the wine that you drink.

Posh: Photographic Techniques/Kim Joy © Ellis Parrinder

IFORD ARTS: L’ELISIR D’AMORE – DONIZETTI n 3, 6 and 7 September, 7.30pm, Belcombe Court, Bradford on Avon Enjoy Donizetti’s comic masterpiece L’elisir d’amore in the beautiful surroundings of Belcombe Court for the highlight of this year’s Iford Arts programme. Bashful village boy Nemorino is besotted with the wealthy Adina but she rejects him. His desperation deepens when Adina apparently falls for a handsome man in a uniform. In abject misery he turns to the dreadful and dazzling quack Dr Dulcamara for a love potion… Gates open for picnics from 5.30pm. £130, under 18s go free; ifordarts.org.uk

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Designed for those with little previous knowledge, and covers wine-producing countries, grape varieties, production methods and tastings. £15; levignoble.co.uk THIS IS TOMORROW n 12 September, 9.30am–6.30pm, Arts Lecture Theatre, The Edge, University of Bath This year’s Institute for Policy Research symposium aims to address the ongoing debates affecting our future by top academics and researchers, ranging from China’s growing dominance in the world and the future of work, to global security, climate change, artificial intelligence and ethics, and the future of welfare systems.

Free, register interest before 2 September; bath.ac.uk/events DAN JONES n 12 September, 6.30pm, Waterstones, Bath Broadcaster, award-winning journalist and bestselling chronicler of the Middle Ages, Dan Jones will discuss his newest title, Crusaders. From the preaching of the First Crusade in 1095 to the loss of the last crusader outpost in 1303, this book is an extraordinary account of the sequence of religious wars fought between armies of the European Christian states attempting to wrest the Holy Land from Islamic rule. £5; waterstones.com/events HERITAGE OPEN DAYS n 13–22 September, venues around Bath Venues across Bath and North East Somerset will open up their doors as part of this annual nationwide celebration of history, architecture and culture. There will be something for all ages and interests including an 18th-century styled coffee salon pop-up at BRLSI, get exclusive access to rare books at Bath Record Office, go behind the scenes at Bath Abbey’s Footprint Project, visit Cleveland Pools, and tour the Roman Baths’ weird and wonderful spa collection; heritageopendays.org.uk THE HUMAN LEAGUE n 14 September, gates open 12pm, Bath Racecourse The 80s chart-topping band The Human League takes to the stage with a mix of their bestselling singles, including the number one hit Don’t You Want Me Baby from 6pm, after a thrilling day of seven horse races. First race takes place at 2pm. From £35 for adults, 11–18 years £15, under 10s free; bath-racecourse.co.uk BATHAMPTON VILLAGE SHOW n 14 September, 1.30pm, Bathampton Village Hall There will be stalls, live music, fancy dress (this year’s theme is flower power), Morris dancers, children’s entertainment and a tombola. Plus a bar, cream teas and a barbecue. There will be prizes for best flowers, garden produce, baking and preserves, art, crafts and more. Find out more online; bathamptonvillageshow.co.uk

CULTURAL FILM SCREENINGS n Throughout September, The Little Theatre Cinema If you’re quick, you might still have time to bag yourself a ticket to watch the award-winning one-woman show by Phoebe Waller-Bridge that inspired the BBC’s hit TV series Fleabag at an encore screening from London’s West End from 20–27 September. The highly-anticipated Downton Abbey film hits the big screen this month, and on 10 September there will be a broadcast of the launch of Margaret Atwood’s sequel to The Handmaid’s Tale live.

Catch an encore screening of One Man, Two Guvnors, starring James Corden, on 26 September and 7 October, plus The Lehman Trilogy encore will be shown on 8 September. See the full programme online; picturehouses.com/cinema/The_Little

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Have lunch with chef Gennaro Contaldo at Walcot House Café

Sari Schorr Band at Chapel Arts Centre

Soprano Claire Lees will perform at Iford Arts’ L’elisir d’amore at Belcombe Court

BATHSCAPE WALKING FESTIVAL n 14–22 September, locations around Bath This year’s festival features 50 free walks covering a variety of themes and distances.

All the walks are led by knowledgeable leaders and supported by volunteers. The walks start at various locations around Bath and explore every corner of the city and surrounding countryside. The grand finale is the Julian House charity sponsored walk, The Circuit of Bath Walk, on 22 September.

There’s still time to enrol for this 20 mile challenge and begin fundraising; bathscapewalkingfestival.co.uk LIVING HISTORY DISPLAY: HIS MAJESTY’S 33RD REGIMENT OF FOOT n 14–15 September, 10am–5pm, The Holburne Museum Re-enactment group His Majesty’s 33rd Regiment of Foot return to camp out at the Holburne. Experience what life would have been like for a soldier living in Jane Austen’s time through talks, demonstrations, and displays of camp life. Free; holburne.org RUGBY WORLD CUP DINNER n 17 September, 7pm, Lucknam Park Hotel and Spa Lucknam Park has teamed up with Bath Rugby to host a Rugby World Cup themed evening in its Michelin starred restaurant.

Joining the event will be Girvan Dempsey, Luke Charteris, and two Bath Rugby players to offer their thoughts on the 2019 Rugby World Cup. The five-course meal, created by created by executive chef Hywel Jones, will be accompanied by selected wines, and will reflect the participating Rugby World Cup nations. £90pp; lucknampark.co.uk LUDDITE: MEET THE WINEMAKER n 18 September, 7–10pm, Le Vignoble An evening hosted by Neils, the owner and winemaker from Luddite, Bot River, South Africa. Sit back and enjoy a guided tasting of wines from the vineyard, while learning a little more about the history, production methods and beliefs. Booking essential. £20pp, £10 will be returned on a wine card; levignoble.co.uk

BAD GIRLS AND BONNETS: HISTORY WARDROBE n 19 September, 7.30pm, The Mission Theatre A bold, brash and beautiful celebration of Jane Austen’s wicked women, and a truly revelatory look at clothes and crime in the 18th century – an era when stocking-theft or silk smuggling carried serious consequences.

With fabulous original costume items, criminal history and readings from the outrageous Austen herself. £16; bathboxoffice.org.uk LUNCH WITH GENNARO CONTALDO n 20 September, 1pm, Walcot House Café Gennaro Contaldo is widely known as the charismatic Italian legend who taught Jamie Oliver all he knows about Italian cooking.

Join Gennaro on an exciting Italian adventure at this very special literary lunch with a menu from this new cookbook, plus a talk and book signing. £48, includes £10 off the book; toppingbooks.co.uk THE UPBEAT BEATLES n 20 September, doors 7pm, Komedia Did you miss The Beatles first time around?

Don’t fret, as The Upbeat Beatles will be bringing the songs that changed a generation to Bath, recreating the excitement, authentic sound and downright raw energy of the original Fab Four. £21; komedia.co.uk HARRY POTTER AND THE PHILOSOPHER’S STONE IN CONCERT n 20 September, 7.30pm, The Forum The Czech National Symphony Orchestra performs John Williams’ iconic score of the first of the Harry Potter film collection live alongside a screening of the film. From £29.50; bathforum.co.uk THE THERAPEUTIC CITY FESTIVAL n 20–27 September, venues around Bath How can we make a city that is good for our body, mind and soul? Created by Architecture Is, The Therapeutic City Festival presents a week of walks, talks and activities opening up the conversation about how we design and manage a city for

wellbeing. See the full programme and book tickets online; therapeuticity.org LOVE MILSOM STREET n 21–22 September, Milsom Street Milsom Street will be closed to all vehicles over the weekend, and pop-up stalls will appear, creating more shopping opportunities. Two mini parks the size of a single car parking space, known as parklets, will be temporarily installed to provide seating and planting.

POSH n 23–28 September, times vary, Theatre Royal Bath When it opened at the Royal Court Theatre in 2010, Posh caused a sensation. Inspired by the antics of the Bullingdon Club, the allmale club for Oxford undergrads, the bad behaviour of the ruling elite was under scrutiny as never before. The Riot Club are back in business. This time on one condition: they must behave and keep it out of the Daily Mail. After the mishaps at the group’s last dinner, their president has promised its ex-members not to bring the club back into public disrepute. Tyger Drew-Honey (Outnumbered, Cuckoo) makes his stage debut. £23.50–£36.50; theatreroyal.org.uk JOHN SENEX: BOOKSELLER, MAPMAKER AND GLOBEMAKER n 25 September, 7.30pm, BRLSI To celebrate the restoration of two 19thcentury globes donated to BRLSI, Laurence Worms will talk about John Senex, an 18thcentury bookseller, mapmaker and the finest English globemaker of his day. £5/£2; brlsi.org BAKING WITH KIM-JOY n 27 September, 8pm, Topping and Co Booksellers Kim-Joy made it to the 2018 Great British Bake Off final with her unique, intricate baked creations: iced woodland creatures, space turtles and beautifully decorated cakes.

She will lead a masterclass with her new fun and practical book. £18 includes book; toppingbooks.co.uk Continued page 28

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Crimes on the Coast at Theatre Royal Bath

SARI SCHORR BAND n 27 September, 8pm, Chapel Arts Centre New York-based Sari Schorr initially gained prominence throughout the blues world after several years of touring the US and Europe with Blues legend, Joe Louis Walker and renowned guitarist, Popa Chubby. Recently Schorr was inducted into the New York Blues Hall of Fame. £13 advance/£15 on the door; chapelarts.org THE LUNA CINEMA n 27–29 September, 7.30pm, The Royal Crescent With the beautiful Georgian backdrop of the Royal Crescent, enjoy some of last year’s biggest film releases on the big screen under the stars. The Oscar-winning A Star Is Born kicks off on 27 Sept, before Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again is screened on 28 Sept.

Then get ready to be rocked as Bohemian Rhapsody will be shown on 29 Sept. Onsite bar and food stalls available. Tickets from £8.25; thelunacinema.com WILTSHIRE GAME AND COUNTRY FAIR n 28–29 September, 10am–6pm This popular annual country show includes scurry driving, horse boarding and displays from the Drakes and Hazard. There will be falconry demos, gun dog displays and fishing, as well as a World of Dogs Arena.

Get expert airgun and archery tuition, and have a go at paintballing and clay shooting.

Plus local food stalls, trade stands, crafts, and chef demos. £15/£4 children; wiltshiregameandcountryfair.co.uk CRIMES ON THE COAST n 30 September – 1 October, times vary, Theatre Royal Bath Following its sell-out world premiere at the Ustinov Studio in the new year and main house debut in May, Bath’s award-winning theatre company New Old Friends returns.

A secluded island hotel becomes a crime scene as a scandal-inducing femme-fatale is felled. All the guests are suspects, but are they alone? And is all quite what it seems? £20–£32.50; theatreroyal.org.uk 28 TheBATHMagazine

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BATH YOUNG MUSICIAN OF THE YEAR 2019 n 1 October, 7.30pm, The Pump Room This prestigious annual event is a much anticipated part of Bath’s musical scene and features five young, high-achieving local musicians. Tickets £12/£6 from Bath Box Office; midsomersetfestival.org PLANNING AHEAD...

MIRANDA KRESTOVNIKOFF n 1 October, 7.30pm, Kingswood School Theatre, Lansdown Bath and District RSPB Local Group celebrates its 50th anniversary with a talk

by TV presenter, zoologist, author, conservationist and RSPB President, Miranda Krestovnikof. £5–£9; bathboxoffice.org.uk DOMAINE LA LOYANE: MEET THE WINEMAKER n 2 October, 7pm, Le Vignoble An evening hosted by Laura from Domaine La Loyane, Rhone, where you will taste a selection of wines from the vineyard while learning about their history and production, which are traditionally created in the southern Rhône Valley. £20pp, with £10 returned on a wine card; levignoble.co.uk ELLIE TAYLOR: DON’T GOT THIS n 3 October, 8pm, Komedia Fresh from recording her debut Netflix stand up special, the star of The Mash Report, Live at the Apollo and QI is back with a brand-new show. Join Ellie as she bangs on about life, love and what will happen if one more person tells her “you got this”.

From £15; komedia.co.uk CHRISTINE COLLISTER AND MICHAEL FIX n 3 October, 8pm, Chapel Arts Centre Following the launch of a brand new album, Collister and Fix are in the throes of creating another beautiful mix of self-penned and emotionally intelligent interpretations of classic pop/folk/rock songs. The duo are now making their UK debut this autumn with a series of live performances. £12 advance/ £14 on the door; chapelarts.org

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Christine Collister and Michael Fix will be playing at Chapel Arts Centre

WORKING WITH COMMUNITIES TO TACKLE INACTIVITY n 4 October, 6pm, The Edge, University of Bath Lecturer Emma Solomon-Moore discusses the challenge of increasing levels of physical activity among children and adults, and explains how researchers can work closely with organisations and communities to ensure programmes are not only evidencebased, but also pragmatic. Free; bath.ac.uk/events OFF THE RECORD 25TH ANNIVERSARY BALL n 4 October, 7pm, Apex Hotel A fabulous evening’s entertainment in celebration of local charity Off The Record’s 25th anniversary, helping OTR provide its much needed support services for young people in BANES. £65pp includes sparkling reception, three-course dinner, wine and entertainment. Sponsorship opportunities available; axisevents.co.uk/off-the-record PRE-RAPHAELITES WOMEN: MADONNAS, MAGDELENS AND THE FEMME FATALE n 7 October, 1.30pm, The Assembly Rooms The first lecture in The Arts Society’s series will explore the role of women in midVictorian England through Pre-Raphaelite paintings. This talk poses the possibility that the chaste image of domesticated femininity needed the fallen woman to complete her role. Visitors welcome, £10 at the door, no booking necessary; theartssocietybath.com CITY OF BATH BRASS BAND: INAUGURAL CONCERT n 12 October, 7.30pm, St Michael’s Without, Broad Street Bath Spa Band celebrates the launch of its brand new name with a free evening of music from the brass band repertoire, including classical, jazz and pop. Changing the band’s name to City of Bath Brass Band will clarify its links to the city of Bath and its patron, the Mayor of Bath, as the band moves towards its centenary in 2021. Tickets via Bath Box Office; bathspaband.co.uk n

Harry Potter: Jordan August/Crimes on the Coast: Pamela Raith Photography

The Czech National Symphony Orchestra will play the score of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone at The Forum

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CINEMA | HIGHLIGHTS

Take two: films

The Little Theatre Cinema has two films that give us a vision of the 1920s and the 1950s this month: a classic period drama that has enchanted the world and a film noir with Humphrey Bogart as the anti-hero, says Emma Clegg

Downton Abbey Yes, it’s back and the nation awaits. “Why are we so obsessed (in Brexit Britain) with stories about our ‘glorious past’ and its suffocatingly hierarchical social order?”, some might ask.

Irrelevant question, others might answer as they let the news wash over them and flock to cinemas to get a thrilling period update on the Crawley family and their staff in 1927.

A cult hit here and internationally, have the 52 episides and six seasons of Downton Abbey, winning three Golden Globes and 15 Emmys and last airing in 2015, left any meaty storylines for a convincing film? Naturally, in writer Julian Fellowes’ masterful hands. As in all the best nursery rhymes, the king and queen (George V and Queen Mary) are coming for luncheon, you see.

Imagine the frenzy that this news will create in the corridors and grand living rooms of Downton Abbey, from the perspective of housekeeper, Mrs Hughes (“Every surface needs to gleam and sparkle,” says she in the trailer) to the drawing room where our

In a Lonely Place Here’s a classic 1950 American film noir from director Nicholas Ray, starring Humphrey Bogart and Gloria Grahame, an adaptation of Dorothy B. Hughes’ 1947 novel of the same name. Dixon Steele, played

by Bogart, is a troubled screenwriter with an

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dowager countess archly presides. She is now familiar with the concept of a weekend, but what other horrors will the era present?

At the staff end of Downton, David Haig plays a ferocious royal butler who comes to inspect the facilities before antagonising the entire staff, and battling with Mr Carson (Jim Carter) – who thankfully returns after a very brief retirement – in a battle for silver service supremacy. Upstairs, another new face, Imelda Staunton, playing Lady Bagshaw, defends the honour of her maid, of whom the dowager countess disapproves. Look forward to a succession of withering put-downs from Maggie Smith, continuing to (indominatably) represent the old guard.

All the familiar faces are back, apart from Lily James. Lady Mary, whose love life happily is more stable, is taking on a bigger role in running Downton and Lady Edith is adjusting to her new life as the Marchioness of Hexham.

“There’s nothing simpler than avoiding people you don’t like. Avoiding one’s friends, that’s the real test,” once said the dowager countess. That’s perhaps what makes the Downton phenomenon so addictive.

anger problem and Laurel Gray, an aspiring actress played by Grahame, is a neighbour who forms a close attachment to him.

Unfortunately Dixon (Dix) is suspected of the murder of a hat-check girl (yes, that was a thing) who he invites back to his home innocently to outline the plot of a novel she’s read and then gives her the taxi fare home.

His anger issues and easy resorts to violence mean that everyone – including Laurel – become suspicious and then convinced that he is the murderer and, encouraged by his temperamental and aggressive behaviour, distrust and fear set in.

The film end sees Dix almost strangling Laurel, just before the police find the whereabouts of the true murderer. Dix and Laurel’s relationship is destroyed and the ending is unresolved and bleak.

Key themes are the dark depiction of Hollywood, the pitfalls of celebrity and near-celebrity and the shadows of self-doubt.

At the time, critic Ed Gonzalez wrote, “Nicholas Ray’s remarkable In a Lonely Place represents the purest of existentialist primers... Laurel and Dixon may love each other but it’s evident that they’re both entirely too victimised by their own selves to sustain this kind of happiness.” The film’s reputation has increased significantly in the intervening years – Time magazine, which

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gave the film a negative review when released, listed it as one of the 100 best films of all time in their 2005 list.

Certainly Bogart was lauded for the film and for his convincing, hotly emotional portrayal of an anti-hero, always an essential element of film noir. His depiction of a good man with a hot temper and a liking for drink gives the character the ability to transform from honest and worthy to satanic.

Following the existential theme, the anger acts out his self-loathing, which mars his success and makes happiness unattainable.

The tragedy that awaits is forseen in lines that he reads Lauren from his play: “I was born when you kissed me. I died when you left me. I lived a few weeks while you loved me.” n

SHOWING TIMES Downton Abbey From 13 September, see website for times In a Lonely Place 15 September, 1pm Little Theatre Cinema, St Michael’s Place; picturehouses.com/cinema/The_Little

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FILM BIT NIPPY: Ocean-lover Dan Schetter jumps into the freezing waters of Lake Superior in Michigan in the film Surfer Dan

INTO THE DEEP

The Ocean Film Festival presents a range of awe-inspiring films of the world’s deepest and most extraordinary corners – and this month it’s coming to Bath

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n celebration of the surfers, divers and oceanographers who chase the ocean’s crashing waves, marvel at marine life, and bravely step into the darkness of the deep blue, the Ocean Film Festival is touring the UK and Ireland this autumn.

Featuring up to nine short films, the festival hopes to inspire viewers to see the Earth’s oceans in a different light, encouraging them to explore and respect the our vicious yet fragile waters.

Having first originated in Australia by the team behind the Banff Film Festival, taking this festival on tour means that the filmmakers’ key messages can now be shared with wider audiences. Over the course of more than two hours, viewers will watch a wide range of films covering topics such as the environment, marine life, sports, coastal cultures and ocean lovers.

One film by Florian Ledoux takes us to the most remote areas of the Arctic, exploring this vast area which is progressively disappearing due to climate change. To make I am Fragile, Florian sailed 6,000 km from West Greenland to Nunavut in northern Canada to document the Arctic’s extraordinary wildlife including walruses, belugas, narwhal and humpback whales. Quickly after arriving, Florian could see that these animals are under serious threat because of the melting landscape.

“They are among the first refugees of climate change,” he says.

“Most of our time in Nunavut was spent navigating a landscape of ice too thin to hold the weight of a polar bear. Larger pieces of ice where a number of bears could be spotted, nestled together, were rapidly shrinking.”

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TAKING FLIGHT: Florian Ledoux lost a lot of drones during filming in remote parts of the Arctic to create I Am Fragile

To capture this footage, Florian used drones to reach the most difficult and remote areas, yet this still came with its issues. “I crashed a few times and lost machines,” he says. “Working and flying in the Arctic can be complicated because of the lack of satellite signal, interference with magnetism, and the Northern Lights.”

Extreme artist Philip Gray’s film, A Peace Within, looks at the ocean in a different light. Despite being used to working in unbelievable conditions, such as while sky diving, at high altitude and deep under the Earth in lava tubes, he knew that painting Mexico’s astounding cenotes – clear-water subterranean pools – while underwater would be his most difficult hurdle yet.

“I saw a documentary on the cenotes of Mexico and was drawn by the incredible

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light which penetrated from the surface, thus combined the surface world and underwater world together,” says Philip.

Having tried and tested his materials in his bath at home, he found that by mixing oils with liquin gel or alcohol helped stop the paint from freezing before they made it onto the canvas. “The biggest challenge was getting the lighting right in order to see the canvas effectively,” he says.

Also using the ocean as a source of creativity is artist Tony Plant. His film, Forever, depicts how he creates his wonderfully wide-sweeping drawings on beaches, which you can witness for a moment before being washed away by the tide. After three years planning his film, he had to wait a further three years for the conditions and tides to line up before he could start drawing and shooting.

Before drawing on the sand, Tony takes his time to analyse the area. “I walk and draw, sometimes for days along a coastline to gain an understanding of how the shadows move, where the weights and balances of the landscape are, what shape the beach takes, and where the likely view points are,” he says.

What does he make of the audience reaction to his film? “It’s been fascinating – [there’s been] laughing, gasping, sighing, even shouting at the figure or the waves.”

You can expect plenty more of that at this year’s festival where audiences will witness the power and beauty of the ocean both above and below water. ■ Ocean Film Festival takes place on 12 September, 7.30pm at Komedia.

Tickets from £12.50; komedia.co.uk

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EXHIBITIONS

Experiments with flying

Art critic Edward Lucie-Smith once described artist Richard Twose as the master of non finito. This technique carries work only to a point where the spectator has something to fill in for himself, creating a more dynamic relationship between the observer and what is being shown to him.

Two exhibitions of Twose’s work, running concurrently at Victoria Art Gallery and Beaux Arts, illustrate the delicate allure of his incomplete style, discovers Emma Clegg Stepping off a Horse by Richard Twose

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EXHIBITIONS

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f I was a sculptor I was going to be Elizabeth Frink and if I was a painter I was going to be Rembrandt,” says artist Richard Twose. “So I did lots of copies of Rembrandts to work out his techniques, how he used layers and colours and how some paint was thick and some thin – you get this glowing quality with the thin paint and reflective qualities with the thick paint.”

While Rembrandt’s work has been pivotal to Twose’s engagement with painting and the techniques he uses, he has developed a style, of portraits and of more personal compositions, that is utterly distinctive.

Strange, then, that this is just his most recent artistic pathway, as after Twose graduated in 3D Design from the University of Creative Arts, Farnham in the 1980s, he based himself in London and became a jewellery designer. For the next 13 years Twose sold his collections worldwide to stores such as Barneys in New York, Harrods and Harvey Nichols. He also designed bespoke collections for Ally Capellino, Margaret Howell and Paul Smith, as well as designing one-off pieces for clients including Sting, Joan Collins, Theo Fennell and Charlie Watts of The Rolling Stones.

The jewellery business came to an end in the late 1990s when Twose and his wife felt it was time for a change, left London and moved to Wellow. Teaching art and history of art at a sixth form college in Bristol, Twose began to paint portraits. “I painted for seven years before I showed anything and before I thought anything was good enough,” Twose explains. “You have to find your subject and I didn’t know what my subject would be. But then I started painting portraits.” After entering the BP Portrait Award in 2014 with a painting of Jean Woods – the glamorous grandmother who had appeared in the Channel 4 documentary Fabulous Fashionistas – and coming second,

Bull by Richard Twose

things became serious as the portrait commissions kept coming. Twose has been painting full time ever since and his list of portrait commissions include filmmaker Ken Loach; Alice Prochaska, principal of Somerville College, Oxford; and Viscountess Rosie Grimston. He is currently working on a painting of Lord Ken Macdonald, the former director of public prosecutions for Tony Blair.

The recent sustained theme of the artist’s work has been instability, flying and falling.

The idea was born when he was working on a portrait of quantum physicist Jonathan Knight. “He said that the laws of classical physics, in particular gravity and our perception of time and space, apply in very particular ways here and now, but space and time would appear very differently in other parts of the universe. Whereas in the quantum world the laws apply the same way everywhere and at all times,” says Twose.

“I did this big painting of him. I put him in this very classical world where he is standing on this pile of chairs dropping apples and eggs onto the floor, a Newtonian reference. That was the beginning of the instability theme.”

Much of the work in the two forthcoming exhibitions was made while Twose was doing a residency in 2018 at Elisabeth Frink’s studio, Woolland House in Dorset, and references Frink’s themes of falling figures, classical symbolism and animals. Twose’s paintings revel in balance and imbalance, showing animals moving at speed, human figures balanced precariously on animals and a canon of mythological references. “It’s all about the idea of how we invent stories to live by. Even when I was a jeweller I did lots of things on Icarus, contemplating what would happen if a figure like Icarus landed. What people would make of it.”

Twose’s approach to painting is free and experimental, catching a point between representation and abstraction. “I always

Imitation by Richard Twose

want there to be a balance between representation and the abstract qualities of paint,” he says. “There is no reason for this texture other than to disrupt the image, to break it up, to force you to confront the nature of paint,” Twose says, gesturing at a piece where the paint looks as if it has been gouged and dragged with a comb. His approach can be forceful and uncompromising. “I’ve got to be prepared to destroy a picture. Going too far is deliberate to know what the point is to come back from,” he says. “My studio is full of ruined paintings.”

Twose has a deliberately non-precious approach to artist’s materials and working processes, so when drawing he might call on media as broad as oil pastels, inks, pencils, knives, tea bags, sandpaper. “I draw with whatever comes to hand and then I scratch it. I paint on wood as well. I sand it away and then paint it back again.”

Might it be hard to keep focused, through the balancing of such powerful themes and the need to edge towards destruction? In fact all that’s needed is a regular regime: “I get in about 12pm and I paint for five or six hours. After six hours I start going insane. I play very loud music and work on three or four paintings. That’s why I have a palette on wheels (an Ikea cook’s trolley) so I can move it between paintings.”

There will be around 12 of Twose’s works on show at Victoria Art Gallery and 25 at Beaux Arts this autumn. Having always been obsessed with artist and sculptor Elizabeth Frink, Beaux Arts is also showing a selection of Frink’s work alongside the artist’s own n The two exhibitions of Richard Twose’s new paintings are on display at Victoria Art Gallery, Bridge Street and Beaux Arts, York Street from 21 September – 24 November; richardtwose.co.uk; victoriagal.org.uk; beauxartsbath.co.uk

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ART | EXHIBITIONS

STATE OF THE ART September welcomes a flush of new exhibitions ranging from etchings by Matisse at the Holburne Museum to an interactive installation at The Edge COMBE DOWN ART TRAIL IN CELEBRATION OF THE ARTS

Venues around Combe Down, Bath Web: cdarttrail.com

165 Newbridge Hill, Bath Tel: 07793 085267 Web: thehiddengardensofbath.co.uk

7–8 September Now in its third year, follow the trail of red paper lanterns throughout the heart of Combe Down and explore 16 open art venues including artists’ homes and studios, as well as the brand new Hub at Mulberry Park and The Museum of Bath Stone. More than 45 artists’ work will be on show as well as animation workshops, flower crown making, music workshops and a children’s writing competition. There will be plenty of locally made artwork, jewellery, photography, print work, sculpture, craft and ceramics for sale. Free entry.

14–15 September, 11am–5pm Six artists will showcase their work including outdoor sculpture by Cathy Judge and Jacquie Primrose, paintings

by Catherine Beale and John Gammons, and textiles by Gloria Pugh. Musicians will be performing throughout the day and light lunches, homemade cakes and scones will be served on the terrace overlooking the garden. Proceeds to Macmillan Cancer Support. Entrance £6 on the day and £5 in advance, go online for details.

VICTORIA ART GALLERY

By Pulteney Bridge Open: Daily, 10.30am–5pm Tel: 01225 477233, web: victoriagal.org.uk BERNARD OLLIS: A TALE OF TWO CITIES Until 15 September A last chance to see Bath-born Bernard Ollis’ work featuring his collections based on memories and recent visits to the cities of Bath and Paris, where he has a studio and works part of the year.

WAR AND RUMOURS OF WAR Until 15 September There’s not long left to see this exhibition which draws largely from The Hepworth Wakefield’s outstanding collection of 1940s British works on paper. Revisiting the decade of anxiety, austerity and idealism, War and Rumours of War reveals the impact of the Second World War on the home front, with a particular focus on the Baedeker Raids of April 1942 which devastated the city of Bath.

JAMES TOWER: A CENTENARY CELEBRATION 21 September – 24 November One of Britain’s most important 20th-century studio potters, James Tower was also a highly respected art school lecturer, first at Bath Academy of Art, where he set up the pottery studio. This loan exhibition marks the centenary of his birth and features 40 large sculptural ceramics as well as numerous paintings, drawings and documents demonstrating his artistic influence.

RICHARD TWOSE: EXPERIMENTS WITH FLYING 21 September – 24 November Richard Twose, who won second prize at the 2014 BP Portrait Award in the National Portrait Gallery, undertook a three-month residency at Elisabeth Frink’s former studio in 2018. Inspired by Frink’s themes, such as the Bird Man, horses and bulls, he extended them helped by acrobats from CircoMedia, Bristol. By directing the acrobats he was able to test their limits – balancing, falling and flying – incorporating energetic marks into his resulting images so as to convey continuing motion. Free admission.

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Untitled by Carol Symon

Boursa II by James Tower

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ART | EXHIBITIONS

MA DEGREE SHOW Bath Spa University, Sion Hill, Bath 21 September – 25 September, 10am–5pm An inspiring exhibition of work from graduating MA contemporary artists and designers from Bath Schools of Art and Design. Experience a dynamic and vibrant selection of postgraduate work from more than 35 thinkers and creators including international prizewinners in fine art, ceramics, curatorial practice, visual communication and fashion and textiles.

Sorting it Through

by Anna Kot

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

GRAY M.C.A 5 Margaret’s Buildings, Bath Open: Wednesday – Saturday, 10am–4pm, Monday and Tuesday by appointment Tel: 01225 422117, web: graymca.com THE SUMMER SHOW Throughout September Gray M.C.A is exhibiting an exciting combination of original modernist textiles and the best of 20th-century fashion illustration from the masters of the discipline.

These rare original works have great elegance and style, and bring a touch of sophistication to any interior.

Above, Head of Man by Henry Moore, 1947, edition 39 of 65, provenance 1989 Ascher Ltd

VUILLARD: THE POETRY OF THE EVERYDAY Until 15 September The last chance to see the work of Édouard Vuillard, one of the leading figures in late 19th-century French art famed for his small, subtle studies, mostly of figures in interiors.

This exhibition celebrates the unique qualities of his early work (from the 1890s) in which he balanced an obsession with patterned fabrics and wallpaper with subtle, domestic psycho-dramas to create paintings with a striking emotional intensity. This is the most extensive UK exhibition of Vuillard’s works in more than 15 years, including many that are rarely publicly displayed.

Figure Endormie sur Fond Moucharabieh by Henri Matisse © Succession H. Matisse/ DACS 2019

HENRI MATISSE: MASTER OF LINE 18 September – 5 January One of the undisputed masters of 20th-century art, Henri Matisse (1869–1954) is renowned for the exquisite delicacy of his drawn line as much as for the intense brilliance of his colour. His etchings are remarkable for the fact that they preserve the vivacity and clarity of his drawing, giving them an immediacy that is especially striking in dialogue with the etchings of Rembrandt. A selection of these will be on display in the exhibition Rembrandt in Print, running concurrently at the Holburne from 4 October. This exhibition, commemorating the 150th anniversary of Matisse’s birth, focuses on around 20 of his works.

BA8 Walcot Chapel, Walcot Street, Bath

HOPE 2: DUNCAN COLLINS AND RACHEL PHILLIMORE 44AD Artspace, 4 Abbey Street, Bath 17–22 September, 10am-6pm Duncan suffered a stroke five years ago and has since immersed himself in painting. He is exhibiting with Rachel, a textile artist from Northumberland. Their work is both textural and intensely colourful, featuring a rich combination of acrylics and fabrics. Rachel will demonstrate hooky and proggy, a traditional mat-making technique which she interprets anew.

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17–22 September, 11am–6pm An exhibition featuring the works of eight professional artists, drawn from the staff of Minerva Art Supplies in Bath, including an exciting range of fine art, illustrations and prints.

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nick cudworth gallery

2019/2020 Lecture Series ~ Coming up ~ ~ The First lecture of the season ~ on

Monday 7th October 2019

Pre-Raphaelites Women : Madonnas, Magdelens and the Femme Fatale

Long Exposures No.4. A Passing Train Oil on linen-prints available

Lecturer : Daphne Lawson

Exploring the role of women in mid Victorian England through Pre-Raphaelite paintings. at 1.30pm

SEPTEMBER EXHIBITION 3 – 28 September

in The Assembly Rooms, Bennett Street Bath Visitors welcome £10 at the door (No Booking required)

Visit our website www.theartssocietybath.com for Membership details Celebrating 50 years of the National Association of Decorative and Fine Arts Societies

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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ART | EXHIBITIONS

HOLDING SPACE

Stepping into the Picture

by Nick Cudworth

25–28 September, 10am–6pm, Walcot Chapel, Walcot Street, Bath 10 individuals, having experienced the beneficial effects of the ‘holding space’ as a process within the Art Therapy Foundation Course at Bath College, have been inspired to create a holding space for others. This exhibition celebrates the power of a community holding space in which they can safely explore the healing dimensions of art. By sharing their stories, they hope to create a platform for others to experience some of the benefits that art can bring and help raise funds and awareness of the Bath-based charity Creativity Works.

The group’s Mandala

SOMERSET ART WEEKS FESTIVAL Venues around Somerset Web: somersetartworks.org.uk

NICK CUDWORTH GALLERY London Street, top of Walcot Street, Bath Closed on Mondays Tel: 01225 445221 Web: nickcudworth.com Throughout September This exhibition features Nick’s paintings and prints of old Bath combined with their current images. It highlights certain aspects of the city that have changed over the years yet retain the essence of its Georgian origins.

Wintered Sweetcorn

by Helen Simpson

21 September – 6 October Now in its 25th year, this is an annual countywide celebration of the variety and quality of contemporary visual art that can be found around Somerset. Galleries, studios, barns – as well as a library, hospital and an old prison – will open their doors Axle Arts in Bath will be showasing and showcase a range of work during the festival paintings, sculpture, print and jewellery. Works by more than 300 artists will be on show, plus there will be talks, films, installations and workshops across the county. In Bath Axle Arts, Bath Artists’ Studios and Art at the Heart of the RUH will be taking part. See the full venue list online.

BEAUX ARTS 12–13 York Street, Bath Open: Monday – Saturday, 10am–5pm Tel: 01225 464850 Web: beauxartsbath.co.uk

SIDEWAYS GLANCE 44AD Artspace, 4 Abbey Street, Bath 24–29 September, 12–6pm (Sunday 1–4pm) This is a provocative new show from WESCA, a group of professional artists working and exhibiting in Wessex. 20 artists are included, showing some wonderfully bold ceramics and textile pieces, enticing paintings, 3D structures and photography, all of which makes for a visual roller coaster journey for the viewer. Expect explorations of nature, abstract works, photography and more.

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AUTUMN EXHIBITION Throughout September Beaux Arts kicks off the autumn season with the beautifully precise still lifes of Jo Barrett and the familiar blue soda-fired porcelain works by former ceramicist-inchief at the Leach pottery in St Ives, Jack Doherty. The gallery will also be collaborating with Victoria Art Gallery in exhibiting the new work of BP runner-up Richard Twose this month.

Still Life with Yellow, Orange and Red Icelandic Poppies by Jo Barrett

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ART | EXHIBITIONS

THE EDGE Andrew Brownsword Gallery, The Edge, University of Bath Open: Tuesday – Saturday Tel: 01225 386777 Web: edgearts.org THE THEATRE OF ROBERT ANTON Until 14 September, 10am–4pm Step into the world of Robert Anton at this exhibition of miniature mannequins, props and drawings by a little-known artist of 1970s New York. Through his theatre, Anton transformed the debris of New York City that were considered abject – be it object, human, or animal – into an alternative world beyond judgement and limits, with simultaneously devastating and marvellous outcomes. Showing in England for the first time, this incredible collection will provide a fascinating experience for all the family. Free admission.

Playing the Picturesque – an exhibition by You + Pea © Tristan Fewings, Getty Images for RIBA (11)

DAVID RINGSELL Claremont Community Centre, Eastbourne Avenue, Bath Tel: 01225 315705 Web: real-images.com NEW VIEWS ON FAMILIAR PLACES Until 15 October This exhibition focuses on the power of painted images to make the viewer look with fresh eyes. David Ringsell has a contemporary take on classic Bath architecture, creating realistic compositions that retain a painterly quality. Originals and custom prints are available to purchase. Open during café opening times – currently Thursdays, 10am–2pm and at other times by arrangement. Free admission.

PLAYING THE PICTURESQUE 24 September – 14 December, 11am–5pm Experience an interactive installation exploring the boundaries between virtual and physical space.

Using video game technology, this exhibition explores architectural designs showcasing historical landmarks. Today, we spend much of our time living in virtual realms, looking at ideals through the screens. In the 18th century too, architects and artists became interested in picturing the ideal, designing towns and landscapes to be aesthetically pleasing and producing the stylistic movement of the picturesque. All the artworks have been designed

by You+Pea and commissioned by RIBA. Free admission.

Right, Upstairs Downstairs by David Ringsell

THE FRAMING WORKSHOP 80 Walcot Street, Bath Tel: 01225 482748 Web: theframingworkshop.com Throughout September

MUSEUM OF EAST ASIAN ART

Hannah Clare works in mixed media to produce drawings and paintings that explore layers of story, memory and experience. This exhibition focuses on the female form and draws on art historical imagery and themes, and runs alongside the permanent display of creatively framed objects and images collected and presented to inspire visitors.

Bennett Street, Bath Open: Tuesday – Saturday, 10am–5pm; Sunday, 12–5pm Web: meaa.org.uk EAST ASIAN LIFE Until 10 November The exquisite objects in the Museum of East Asian Art’s collection are now seen as wonderful works of art. However, many of them were originally utilitarian items used in daily life. From flower vessels to incense utensils, and from writing tools to accessories, this exhibition remembers the original function of many objects in the museum’s vast collection. n

Right, Curled II by Hannah Clare

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Buying Silver Duncan Campbell HAS BEEN DEALING IN ANTIQUE SILVER SINCE 1986.

The rules of engagement

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ne of the best things about running a shop is that silver tends to come to me rather than me always having to go out and find it. This does mean, however, that I am honour bound to tell the truth and to offer ‘non-trade’ sellers a fair price. When buying from antiques dealers, on the other hand, the gloves are off because they are supposed to know what they are doing.

My favourite places to buy silver have always been fairs and markets rather than auctions. Standing in front of a stall, whether at an upmarket antiques fair or a scruffy junk market, the negotiations start at the ticket price and then go down. Even if an item I am interested in is already priced at less than I would be prepared to pay, the conversation must still begin with, “Is that the best price?” Simply handing over the money without asking the question will almost certainly leave the seller thinking, quite reasonably, that they have made a terrible mistake.

Pricing things wrongly is usually from simple ignorance, but from time to time a little knowledge, if not dangerous, can be very costly.

Earlier this year, at a very big and equally scruffy antiques fair in Surrey, I picked up what appeared to be a 17th-century Dutch brandy bowl and was reliably informed that I wouldn’t want it as it was a 19th-century copy. The seller was very specific about why he had drawn that conclusion and took time to explain how the marks were obviously bogus and why its construction was all wrong for an early period bowl.

I bowed to this scholarly research and agreed to pay a small profit on the bowl’s scrap silver value, wrapped it up, thanked him and left.

No prizes for guessing that the bowl turned out to have been made in Amsterdam in 1672. As I am quite certain that I have unwittingly made similar mistakes myself, I try always to remember the adage “It ain’t what you don’t know that gets you into trouble. It’s what you know for sure that just ain’t so.” – Mark Twain (1835 – 1910) n www.beaunashbath.com, 01225 334234

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EXHIBITIONS

Come to the table

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A new display on the long table in the Fletcher Gallery at the Holburne Museum is the vision of artist Candace Bahouth. Emma Clegg visits her home and studio and gets an insight into her creative mosaics

E

xtravagant china flowers in a Versailles froth.’ Thus runs the description of one of Candace Bahouth’s mosaic shoes, which have become a fantastical trademark of her artistry. It seems Candace infuses even the descriptive titles of her mosaic work with her magical, exaggerated vision of the world. As you digest the shoe visually, you clamber from toe box to top heel, tracing roses, daisies, carnations, peonies, violets, pansies, buttercups and ragged robin, their multicolour floral china shapes clustering around the form of a stiletto.

Candace arrived in the west country as an American arts graduate. Her fine arts training at Syracuse University Art School in New York involved experimentation with many mediums from painting and sculpture to weaving and ceramics, and Candace attributes the roots of her artistic confidence to this, along with the resounding American sense of ‘can do’. After an extensive property search around numerous low-ceilinged cottages, the generous height and light-embracing windows of Ebenezer Chapel in Pilton, which reminded Candace of a New York loft, became her home and provided a base for her creative work.

In the 1980s Candace became known as a tapestry weaver.

Her bestselling needlepoint tapestry designs for Hugh Erhman

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thrum with medieval flamboyance and the joy of colour, from William Morris style flowers to homages to Klimt and the textures of leopard skin to stitched studies of majestic galleons. Her exhibitions at The American Museum and Gardens in Claverton and her work in the V&A’s permanent collection and in the Northampton Museum’s shoe collection helped to broadcast her brand of colour-infused creativity, along with two joint shows with her friend Kaffe Fassett at the Victoria Art Gallery, the latest in 2018.

It is, however, the world of mosaic that now defines Candace’s artistic oeuvre, and indeed her sense of who she is. Her studio is set in an enchanting, vibrant country garden that exudes floral colour and wafting scents, accompanied by the comforting background wash of a stream. A collection of garden sculpture totems grouped within the expanse of lawn – tall poles growing from the ground, decorated either with mosaics, sea shells and built-up textures of shale – are an intriguing mixture of organic natural forms and dense, planned artistry. In this garden world of dreamy make-believe, long strings of glimmering mirror discs spin on branches, and exuberant plastic flowers are suspended within the luscious foliage of bushes and trees.

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Extravagant china flowers in a Versailles froth

The mosaic studio reveals bustling table-tops of china, which form Candace’s palette – figures of sailors and milkmaids clustered among tea cups and bowls, urns with Grecian handles, commemorative mugs (a speciality) and endless broken shards of decorative china. It looks chaotic and shrine-like, but it’s actually finely organised into colours and shapes and potential project combinations.

On other surfaces you encounter crowds of elaborate candlesticks constructed in tall towers from teapots, cups and saucers. There is a clear obsession with spouts and handles, and their inclusion in many aspects of Candace’s mosaic work endows sculptural exclamation, humour and edge, and a sense of Alice in Wonderland. This continues through her iconic curved mosaic mirrors, harnessing plates, teacups, candlesticks, eggcups, figures, flowers, some intact, some broken, just like a curated tea party, a setting, perhaps, for winged sprites feasting around a mirrored pond.

This September sees Candace creating an elaborate mosaic installation on the central long table in the Holburne’s Davidson Ballroom Gallery. The table will be mirrored, tea party references will abound (expect handles and spouts), and colour and flowers will feature large. There is talk that the piece may even inhabit the darker space under the table. As Candace says, describing her plan: “This showcase will be my playful response to the decorative and ceramic world within the Holburne. It will be surreal, bizarre, opulent and fantastical, a moment of pure delight and pleasure in this anxiety filled world. I want to show that ordinary everyday objects around you can become extraordinary moments of celebration.” n

Mirrored boot

by Candace Bahouth

Mosaic Obelisque, Candace Bahouth

Candace Bahouth’s mosaic showcase is in the Davidson Ballroom Gallery at the Holburne Museum from 6 September – 5 January; holburne.org; candacebahouth.com

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The Edwardian manor Lyme Park in Cheshire was used as Pemberley – Mr Darcy’s country estate – in the BBC’s 1995 series of Pride and Prejudice starring Jennifer Ehle and Colin Firth

Austen on architecture

Ahead of the Jane Austen Festival in September, Dr Amy Frost – senior curator at the Bath Preservation Trust – explains how the architecture featured in Austen’s novels has greater significance than you might think

A

rchitecture is everywhere in Jane Austen’s novels and it plays an important role in the stories she tells. Yet Austen can be very limited in what information she imparts about buildings, often giving only the most basic facts. It is initially very frustrating, as frequently the houses within which events occur in the novels are essential to the plot, and not just in the two novels whose titles are taken from the names of houses within their pages.

Close reading, however, coupled with some

understanding of British architecture during the 18th and early 19th century, reveals that while she may give little description about buildings, Austen reveals a lot about her characters through the houses they inhabit.

Her description of Pemberley in Pride and Prejudice as “a large, handsome, stone building, standing well on rising ground” emphasises a solidity and strength that the reader comes to realise stands for Mr Darcy himself. While in describing Mansfield Park, as “modern built”, she implies that this new or recent wealth has led to the building of a

new home, where Austen’s contemporary readers would have made a connection to the plantations in the West Indies, and a modern reader would make a further link to the British slave trade.

Architecture plays a vital role in particular in Persuasion and Northanger Abbey, the Bath novels, and not just individual properties, but a wider sense of the built environment. In Persuasion the book travels in scale between the small village of Uppercross, the coastal settlement at Lyme Regis and to the city of Bath. It is also one of the rare examples of an Austen novel where two of the key locations are not fictional.

The explanation for this is not just that Austen herself was familiar with Bath and Lyme, but that her contemporary readers would have been as well. While she could create fictional locations and houses, even villages in her work (even if they were loosely based on real places), she could not LEFT: Camden Place in Bath was where Persuasian’s Sir Walter Elliot rented a house

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CITY | EVENTS

Main photograph © Francis C Franklin

Kirby Hall, an Elizabethan country house in Northamptonshire, was Mansfield Park in the 1999 film adaptation

take as much creative licence with places that were visited and well known to her reading public.

Outside London, Bath was the one place that Austen had to be accurate in her descriptions of, as it continued to hold a place in society as a key resort, even if by the time she was visiting it no longer held the place it once had as the premier destination for the elite.

In Persuasion characters live in known Bath streets, the location reflecting their status, or the status they wish to project.

So Sir Walter Elliot in Bath rented “a very good house in Camden Place, a lofty, dignified station, such as becomes a man of consequence”, although the reader is aware that this is still a large step down in status from the country house he can no longer afford at Kellynch Hall. Austen’s awareness of the areas of the city and how they sit within Bath’s social hierarchy is apparent.

She did not need to describe Mrs Smith’s Bath lodgings in detail, because her readers would have known that the Westgate

Buildings address was a clear sign of the character’s impoverished status.

In Northanger Abbey the natural environment of Bath, as well the built one, becomes the protagonist, when Henry Tilney delivers his lecture on the picturesque – an aesthetic ideal of perceiving the landscape – to Catherine Morland. The city’s relationship to its natural surroundings was only just being taken advantage of in the late 1790s and early 1800s, as Bath began to grow into the hills of the valley, and villas started to be built up Lansdown Road and Bathwick Hill.

This was something that was moved forward further following the bankruptcy of the city in 1793. This shift in architectural style was evolving in Bath at the same time Austen was experiencing the city, and her awareness of the ideas of the picturesque are an insight into her understanding of the architectural climate of her day.

Just like the original readers of Austen’s novels having knowledge of the real places she depicted, we also suffer today from knowing the factual places when confronted with modern adaptations for television and cinema. A Bath resident with an attentive eye watching the 2007 ITV version of Northanger Abbey may question why they don’t recognise any buildings. The answer is because it was filmed in Dublin, and the scenes set in the city were shot against a backdrop of white stone rather than Bath’s golden facades. This slip in the fictional representation of the factual city can be forgiven, however, because the role the architecture plays is just another fictional prop that adds to the image of the characters that Austen so wonderfully created. n Find out more at this year’s Jane Austen Festival, which runs from 13–22 September: • The Buildings You Don’t Know in Jane Austen Novels, 16 September, 11am, Museum of Bath Architecture • That’s Not Rosings: What’s Wrong With Locations in Austen Adaptations?, 22 September, 10.30am, No.1 Royal Crescent

OTHER FESTIVAL • janeaustenfestivalbath.co.uk HIGHLIGHTS Grand Regency Costumed Promenade 14 September, 11am–12.30pm, Sydney Gardens. Join 500+ people dressed in Regency style, £14 to take part, free to watch.

Your Carriage Awaits: Minibus Tour 16 September, 9.15am–12.30pm, The Jane Austen Centre. Follow in Jane’s footsteps at village churches, parks and viewpoints, £35.

Be More Jane: Meet Sophie Andrews 17 September, 10.30am–11am, The Mission Theatre. Sophie Andrews (of the Laughing with Lizzie blog) talks about her new book, free.

‘To be fond of dancing…’ with Charlotte Cumper 17 September, 2–3pm, The Mission Theatre. All Austen’s characters attend a dance, but what did that entail? £8.

The Five Crescents: Walking Tour 18 September, 10am–12pm, outside No.1 Royal Crescent. Discover more of the crescents of Bath, £10.

Bad Girls and Bonnets with History Wardrobe 19 September, 7.30–9pm, The Mission Theatre. A celebration of Austen’s wicked women, and a look at clothes and crime in the 18th century, £16.

What matters in Jane Austen? With Professor John Mullan 21 September, 11am–12.30pm, The Mission Theatre. The little things in Austen that make her work special, £14.

• janeaustenfestivalbath.co.uk

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ARTS | CHILDREN’S LITERATURE FESTIVAL

SOME OF THE BOOKS COMING TO THE BATH CHILDREN’S LITERATURE FESTIVAL: centre, Yuval Zommer and illustrations from his Big Book of Birds; clockwise from top left, The Iron Man by Ted Hughes; Liz Pichon, author of the Tom Gates books; Madam Badobedah by Sophie Dahl, Skulduggery Pleasant by Derek Landy; Ice

by Gordon Buchanan; The Dog Who Saved the World by Ross Welford; Africa: Amazing Africa Country by Country by Atinuki; The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle; I Am the Seed that Grew the Tree by Frann Preston-Gannon

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ARTS | CHILDREN’S LITERATURE FESTIVAL

A uniquely portable magic

Stephen King once described books as “a uniquely portable magic”. We couldn’t agree more, especially when it comes to our own Bath Children’s Literature Festival, which runs from 27 September to 6 October. We talk to four of the authors visiting the city...

How were the Kid Normal books born?

A few summers ago, Chris’s son Lucas was at a holiday camp where they had to play football. Lucas isn’t the best footballer in the world and felt quite intimidated by group of slightly older, slightly more skilful children there. He reported back to his dad and instead of consoling him, decided to jot it down as a potential theme for our, as yet unplanned, children’s book. The idea of being in a new environment with older, more talented people was the jumping off point for the books. The football pitch was substituted (pun intended) for the school. And Lucas was replaced by Kid Normal – Murph. We raised the stakes by making all the children except Murph have special powers, or ‘capabilities’ as we call them. We got together and thrashed out a few ideas of what the school would be like and we quickly realised that this was a great idea.

How do you get ideas for your stories?

A lot of the ideas come from our own experiences of school. For example, in the first book, Murph being dumped at the school’s ‘early drop desk’, was exactly what happened to me. Many of our own teachers’ names have been used, too. We also read as much as possible, watched as many things as possible and observed the world. There’s always a bit of inspiration out there.

Your books are inclusive and full of energy – why do you think kids love them?

We wanted to make the characters feel real and somewhat rooted in reality. We love it when kids come up to us and say things like, “Oh I’m SO Hilda. She is my favourite I want to BE like her”. It was important for us that they felt relatable in what can be quite a mad environment. When we write, we love making each other laugh, so comedy is hugely important to us. We always try and outdo each other and it’s a great way of working. The other thing is that we wanted the stories to have a lot of heart. We can both be incredibly sentimental and soppy,

so we like to show that our characters have ups and downs along the way too.

Do you try and make the stories work for boys and girls?

One of the overarching themes of the series is inclusivity, so we like to celebrate every single one of our characters as equally as possible. Despite the main character being a boy, there are actually more strong and interesting female characters than there are male, so hopefully our readers realise these books are for all.

❝

We love it when kids come up to us and say things like, ‘Oh I’m SO Hilda. She is my favourite.

I want to BE like her

❝

G

reg James and Chris Smith are calling all members of the Heroes’ Alliance because the planet’s most dangerous supervillains have broken out of prison! But actually it’s all OK because Kid Normal is on hand to chase them down. We chatted to Radio 1 DJ Greg James about their forthcoming event at the children’s literature festival on 5 October.

How has your work on the radio inspired your book ideas?

We love being silly and coming up with ideas together, so it was a complete joy to get to write them into a story that will outlive us.

The idea that a radio listener needs to do some work while listening also plays to our strengths when writing because that is also how you get the most out of a book, so we’ve actually found some great similarities between the disciplines.

Who are your favourite characters?

Chris loves Flora as she is based on his granny, who is a brilliantly strong, funny and fascinating part of our adventures.

I adore writing the lines for Mr Flash and Mr Souperman as that’s when Chris and I are at our funniest.

Mary from Kid Normal, who can fly with her trusty brolly

Does thinking up new zany superpowers ever become difficult?

Absolutely not. We love doing it and the sense of achievement when you unearth a new gem is like nothing else. The librarian whose head turns into a foghorn when she’s angry is one of my favourites.

What superpower are you most proud of creating?

The Zeroes’ individual powers are most special to us and also most crucial to the stories. We thought very carefully about why they had the ones they do, and I guess Hilda’s ability to summon tiny horses is the one that our readers love the most. That was a Chris Smith bikespiration moment...

What were your own favourite books when you were children?

For me, anything by Roald Dahl – in particular Danny, Champion of the World, and Matilda. Being read The Faraway Tree series by Enid Blyton is one of my earliest memories. Chris is an enormous fan of Tolkien, and adored The Hobbit, as well as being a lifelong Moomin fan [books by Tove Jansson]. We have many bases covered. n ➲

RIGHT: Greg James and Chris Smith

How do you collaborate when writing?

We tend to write most of it together.

Particularly the big set pieces and main chunks of dialogue as we act it out as we’re doing it. Much like you would do if you were writing a play or screenplay with someone. Chris has a brilliant brain for longterm story arcs and will often come in to the writing room (the local pub) after a long bike ride and go, “I’VE HAD SOME BIKE INSPIRATION!”, and more often than not, the ideas are genius.

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ARTS | CHILDREN’S LITERATURE FESTIVAL

T

om McLaughlin’s new book, The Accidental Rock Star, is the sixth in his Accidental series. Tom chatted to us about the books and his illustrations.

How did the Accidental series start?

My first book, The Accidental Prime Minister, is about a boy who shouts at the prime minister because he’s not very good, and he says “Well if I were prime minister I’d do this.” And everyone is so disaffected with politics that he is thrust into the limelight.

It’s based on my years when I was a political cartoonist, and drawing cartoons about NHS waiting lists year on year. So I wanted to write a book about the boy who was the most famous boy in the world. Basically the series has been a good excuse for me to talk about my dream jobs, because as an author I’m never going to be a rock star, prime minister or billionaire.

How do you think up your ideas?

Some books arrive fully formed and you know what the story is. Sometimes you have an idea that you keep coming back to and then you find the missing piece and suddenly it all makes sense.

How did you start work as an illustrator?

I left art college in the late 1990s and walked straight into a job as a political cartoonist at a regional newspaper representing Devon and Cornwall. They were relaunching and wanted to introduce a political cartoonist. They looked at Falmouth Art College and I was the only person who was doing satirical drawings.

I loved the drawing and it taught me a lot about jokes and what works and doesn’t work. But I got to the point where I wanted to create my own worlds and not have to watch the news quite as much.

Were you an enthusiastic reader as a child?

No, I was a reluctant reader – I’m dyslexic, so reading was always a real struggle, and still is. I felt very disaffected with school as a kid and didn’t have a direction, didn’t want to be there. And then I discovered drawing and suddenly I had a talent and a focus. So I want to write the books that I would want to have read as a kid. And comedy is a really good way of getting kids interested. There are a lot of boys who fall between being academic and sporty and there is a big group in the middle who aren’t either of those things. So drawing comic figures and creating stories is a way of connecting with

C

asey Stoney, former England football player and the head coach at Manchester United Women’s team shares insights into her book, Changing the Game, shining a light on those who have overcome the odds to play the sport they love.

Why did you decide to write a book?

I feel that it’s incredibly important to help inspire the next generation of female footballers and to celebrate the amazing, game-changing trailblazers who have paved the way and helped improve the women’s game over the years. While there is still work to do, I feel that we’re at a tipping point for women’s football and if I can play a part in educating and inspiring young girls and boys, creating opportunities for them to follow their dreams then it will be worth it.

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Why do you think the women’s game has been sidelined for so long?

There are numerous reasons – researching the book I learned more about the barriers in place for the likes of Lily Parr (1905–1978) and Bella Reay (b.1900) where women’s competitive football was not accepted in public circles after the First World War. In more recent years there has not been the financial investment in the women’s game, so clubs and leagues have been forced to fold. For a long time, and still now at some levels, female players are juggling a full-time job with their football careers and so the standard inevitably suffers. With the progression over the last few years and teams becoming professional, the standard of women’s football has risen noticeably and we now get more interest from supporters and investment from sponsors, so my hope is that future generations will benefit and not suffer the barriers and challenges that those before them had to overcome.

Why and when did you first become interested in football?

My first memories of football are playing in the street with my brother and our friends.

I just fell in love with the game and it was all I ever really wanted to do. I am very driven, stubborn even, so whenever

issue 204

them. My aim is to get children to open their eyes and see that drawing, comedy, writing and creating are part of the same thing.

Do you get feedback from children?

I have visited schools and ask children about what they would do if they were prime minister. One person said that children should get to choose their own names when they are 10 and until then everyone should be called Dave. Another suggestion was to replace pavements with trampolines, which would make walking down the road much more fun.

I went to one rather posh school and asked the children what they would do if they were prime minister, and one kid put his hand up and said “Well if I was the prime minister I would reduce the deficit. Then an argument broke out about the difference between debt and deficit! n

someone tells me I cannot do something – which has happened a number of times during my career – it actually makes me even more determined to work harder to prove them wrong.

Who is your own female football hero, past or present?

Kelly Smith, who features in the book, was my hero as a young player. She was so athletic and technically gifted as a footballer.

I had the privilege to train and play alongside Kelly for club and country and I learned a lot from the way she conducted herself on and off the pitch. Now retired, she still works tirelessly to promote the women’s game and she is a great inspiration to me.

What impact do you hope your book will have?

The book highlights numerous stories of triumph over adversity which I hope inspire young footballers (male and female) to pursue their dreams. It’s also about shining a spotlight on amazing women within the game to celebrate their successes and make sure that young players have visible heroes that they can aspire to emulate. n

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MALTESE MASTERPIECE SAILS TO £21,000…

With subject matter as varied as a floodlit New York boxing ring and a Cornish bay bathed in sunlight, Lawrences’s recent picture sale offered something for every collector.

A fine watercolour of Venice by William Wyld, drawn in 1839, made £3000 but the beneficiaries will be St Margaret’s Hospice as the watercolour had been donated to them for sale. A pair of portraits of Paul I of Russia and his Empress, Marie Feodorovna, were period copies after originals by Alexander Roslin and made their top estimate of £12,500. A fine early 19th Century marine oil of Valletta harbour (Malta) in the style of Anton Schranz made three times its low estimate to take £21,250. A large, sweetly sentimental oil of a Collie dog maintaining his composure in the presence of playful kittens, painted by Wright Barker in 1901, was bought for just over £5000. A less playful lot was a lithograph by the celebrated American artist George Bellows.

This 1916 print, by an artist whose work is rarely seen in Britain, was entitled ‘Between Rounds’ and depicted a break in a boxing match at Madison Square Gardens, New York. It proved to be a big hitter as it made £4000.

A sensuous, demure oil of a coy female nude in a Cornish landscape by Harold Knight took £12,500 and a sparkling watercolour sketch of a boat in Lamorna Cove by his wife, Dame Laura, dated from 1919 and bobbed away at £11,250.

Entries are invited for their forthcoming Autumn sales.

IF YOU WOULD LIKE MORE INFORMATION ON BUYING OR SELLING, PLEASE CONTACT: richard.kay@lawrences.co.uk

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

lawrences.co.uk

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PORTRAIT: Neill Menneer at Spirit Photographic.

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

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Bath @ work

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

Salvatore Acquaviva

Body piercer

M

y mum met my dad while on holiday in Sicily where he lived. He was a lorry driver, but when he began to lose his sight he came over to England. I was about six years old at the time and we lived in an old house in Julian Road which my grandfather had bought very cheaply in the 1960s. I went to school in St Mary’s in Weston and didn’t speak a word of English. I soon learnt, however, and it was never really a problem.

My time at St Mark’s School in Larkhall was not very productive, however. I was ‘distracted’, probably a bit naughty and not very academic. Leaving at 16 I got a job in a business run by a friend’s dad called Rare Unit which provided shop fitting services for the likes of Our Price Records and Athena.

I also worked for a little while for Opticolour in Priston. They make beautiful bespoke glass splashbacks and are still operating.

Somehow, I managed to get into orthotics, making up shoes and special clothing for people with bad postures or needing limb realignment. At first, I worked for the RUH, and then went private working for hospitals in Bristol and Southmead.

I’d always loved body art and met Korie Montana at his Holey Skin shop in Gloucester Road, Bristol. He asked me to join his team when he opened up a shop in Bath. I told him I had no training, so he sent me off to Frome to learn body piercing from Rowena at Black Ink. I then joined his company Montanas in Bath (now called Electric Vintage) and I’ve been working there ever since.

My life has recently changed for the better. When I was growing up in Bath I never really liked myself. I was angry inside and didn’t feel quite right. After my partner and I split up I began searching for some answers. I found them in Peru when I went to a retreat in Iquitos. The local Amazonian tribe Shipibo use various ceremonies, chants, plants and rituals to exorcise your inner demons. The 12-day Ayahuasca course consisted of seven ceremonies all designed to heal and calm the mind and body. The experience has changed me and I am now far calmer, more patient and disciplined. You need to go there with a specific objective, though. Once you know what you seek the course will help you find the way. Quite magical really. You just need to step out of your comfort zone.

The world appears to be on a knife edge at the moment and the choices we make now will be critical for the planet’s survival.

We have spent too long abusing nature and now we have to make changes. I’m personally happier than I’ve been for years and am really enjoying what Bath has to offer. I love walking with my Staffordshire bulldog Rocco either up to Bannerdown or along the canal towards Bradford. It’s so safe in Bath and my two children Zico and Amelie love it here. I’m quite happy with my own company right now and occupy myself by going to the gym five times a week, meditating, just living and being me. n

BARF (Biologically Appropriate Raw Food) is all about going back to basics, just as nature intended. Human grade ingredients, protein, vegetables, vitamins and minerals, oils... no cereals or fillers added.

With the BARF diet, along with a healthy lifestyle - we can just go back to nature, back to basics and help to keep our beloved pets healthy and happy!

We deliver in and around Bath and Bristol daily.

Prices start from £1.55 per 500g.

We can organise for samples of our food to be delivered to you so that your dogs can try it, as well as a chat/consultation to run through the benefits of moving to the raw diet.

Our food is chunky, handmade and hand packed.

We know exactly what goes into every single box.

Our packaging is fully recyclable.

N AS SE E IN TATLER

CONTACT SAMANTHA WILKINS - 07794 819 673 info@wilkinssimplyraw.co.uk Norton St. Phillip, Nr. Bath

PORTRAIT: Neill Menneer at Spirit Photographic.

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

DEFRA LICENCED

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BOOKS

Bookworm nostalgia

With the Bath Children’s Literature Festival upon us, we take some time to think about those stories that made a distinctive mark when we were young by asking our team for their favourite books from days gone by

Black Beauty by

How It Works (1970s)

Anna Sewell (1877)

Not strictly in the books category, but fulfilled the reader’s aspiration for endless knowledge, this weekly Marshall Cavendish encyclopedia was a 98-part A to Z of invention, science and technology that kept curious minds engrossed.

A bestselling novel that never loses its charm, Black Beauty continues to be published today and gathers legions of young fans. It tells the story of a horse’s life from the horse’s standpoint, and still makes us want to reach for the tissues just thinking about it.

Milly Molly Mandy by

Joyce Lankaster-Brisley (from 1928)

Milly-Molly Mandy is a little girl in the pink-and-white striped dress who lives in a nice white cottage with a thatched roof. Set in the 1920s, with travel by pony and trap, this is a gentle exploration of country life from the eyes of a child that has us harking back to simpler times.

The Ghost of Thomas Kemp by Penelope Lively

(1963)

One that we’ve read and reread many times, this iconic ghost story is full of humour and humanity, rather than scary stories. James has moved to a new house but there’s a medieval poltergeist in residence who doesn’t like the way modern life works. James has to get rid of him or he’ll have no pocket money or pudding ever again.

Hairy Maclary from Donaldson’s Dairy

by Lynley Dodd (1983)

The stories of the adventures of small dog Hairy Maclary are written in rhythmic verse and involve his animal friends including dachshund Schnitzel von Krumm and dalmatian Bottomley Potts, providing the opportunity to do different voices for each of the characters – fun for the kids, but maybe not so much fun for the adults.

The Iron Man by Ted Hughes (1968)

Harold and the Purple Crayon by Crocket Johnson (1955)

We have fond memories of this timeless tale being read to us from a young age, imagining what it would be like to draw like Harold – the young boy who goes for a walk in the moonlight.

Armed only with an oversized purple crayon, he draws himself a landscape full of wonder and excitement, and has a few near catastrophes. This imaginative tale brings back all the feelings we experienced as a child.

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A science fiction novel by Poet Laureate Ted Hughes that could be read over five nights (and then reread over and over again in this case). A giant metal man rains destruction on the countryside by eating industrial farm equipment (Hughes’ entertaining descriptions will have young and old giggling), before befriending a small boy and defending the world.

Frog and Toad Are Friends

by Arnold Lobel (1970)

Each of the books in this series features five short stories about the humorous, simple exploits of best friends Frog and Toad. They both take things very seriously, but Frog is a little more relaxed and Toad is a bit more uptight.

These tales explore the ups and downs of friendships, and guide young readers about how to be considerate towards others.

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The Mousehole Cat by

Antonia Barber (1990)

A firm family favourite, this tale has us reminiscing over summer holidays to Cornwall as kids and learning how to read on our own. Mowzer the black and white cat goes with her owner on a fishing expedition in rough and stormy seas and manages to save the day with her purring.

Also a cunning parenting technique to discourage fussy eating – who likes the sound of stargazey pie anyway?

At the Sign of the Sugared Plum by Mary Hooper (2003)

One that sparked a life-long love for history, this novel follows Hannah as she excitedly arrives in Restoration London to work in her sister’s sweetmeats shop.

But little does she realise that the plague is taking hold of the capital. Mary Hooper explores the dramatic change in atmosphere around the city as the epidemic spreads fast.

Elsewhere by

Gabrielle Zevin (2006)

Matilda by Roald Dahl

(1988)

An absolute fan-favourite that inspired the award-winning film and musical, this classic tale is now being passed down generations in families around the world. Featuring idiosyncratic illustrations by Quentin Blake, this magical story of young Matilda and her love for books has an important message for young readers, as well as plenty of humour.

A novel that can help older children understand death and the emotions surrounding it. 16 year-old Liz is killed in a hit a run accident and finds herself in Elsewhere – a place where everyone goes after they die, where they age backwards before returning to Earth. An honest and uplifting tale exploring relationships, family and the importance of communication. n

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TALKING HEADS

Enjoy a cocktail or afternoon tea in the Colonnade

Head chef Jon Machin

FLAVOUR TEMPTATIONS

Bath Spa Hotel’s executive chef Jon Machin talks travelling the world, changing menus, and why he always knew he wanted to return to Bath

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hef Jon Machin has a career trajectory which is every aspiring chef’s dream. He started in the world of cooking from humble beginnings in his hometown of Barnsley at the age of 16, fell into a career as a commis chef, then through a series of happy coincidences (and no doubt talent and hard work), secured the opportunity to work on a deluxe cruise ship to travel the world.

He rose through the ranks to eventually work on the superyacht Octopus for the late Microsoft co-founder, Paul Allen.

Here was a different world where he faced a new set of challenges such as finding a way to spit-roast a lamb for a medieval banquet on a yacht in the Caribbean, ordering Belgian black truffles to be flown into St Barts the day before Christmas Eve, and rushing to the market near Cap Ferrat to secure blue lobster and Charolais beef.

“This really changed my perspective.

I made connections all over the world and travelled to Hawaii, Antarctica, Rio de Janeiro and everywhere in between,” says Jon. “On a cruise ship in the Seychelles, we set up a barbecue on the beach. They use coconut shells instead of charcoal and the heat is unbelievable. That caught me out.”

It’s experiences like these that have made Jon the chef he is today. He’s classically British trained but loves to bring an international twist to everything he does.

Above all, Bath Spa Hotel is the place he always wanted to return to after he worked there more than a decade ago.

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“It’s where my heart’s always been. I’m extremely proud that I’m here and I’ve turned [the restaurant] around. I’ve stripped it back, got my team onside and got them to believe in me,” he says.

“Our philosophy is casual dining, easy food using top-quality ingredients. All our fish and meat is wild and sourced from Scotland. You can graze, have a sharing plate and a glass of prosecco with friends, or join us for Sunday lunch with the family in our beautiful, airy brasserie where you can spill out onto the terrace on a sunny day. You can even choose from a traditional roast or try something new.

“I like to add a twist to all our dishes.

A traditional breakfast of ham, fried eggs and beans is transformed into ham hock, baked beans, chorizo and a duck-egg with toasted brioche. Our mussels are served in Bath Gem Ale with Guinness bread and we’re currently serving a lovely light plate of heritage tomatoes with goat’s curd and basil – such a summery dish,” he adds.

“I love barbecuing too. My menu includes Coca-Cola pulled pork and Jacob’s Ladder ribs. I cook it slow for eight hours and finish it with a maple Jack Daniel’s whiskey glaze.

It’s a cut of meat that’s chopped short on the ribs and the meat is very dark and rich – it really melts in the mouth.

“We love vegetarian food too, and there’s always a wide selection on the menu, according to the season,” says Jon. “Our afternoon tea definitely has the wow factor. I love going to The Ritz and The Savoy, so I take inspiration from

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everywhere I go. All our cakes are homemade by our pastry chef and we always add seasonal interpretations – our macaroons are currently apricot and peach.

We know that you eat with your eyes, too, so they look spectacular. I get great pleasure in seeing the afternoon tea tiers going out – every one is a work of art.”

The hotel’s grand setting is also a work of art. Initially built in 1835 as a home for General Augustus Andrews, the building then housed the rector of Bath Abbey before becoming a school in 1878. It was then turned into a hotel in 1912 before it was requisitioned by the Admiralty in 1939 and was used during the Second World War for administration, with Prime Minister Winston Churchill being a frequent visitor.

Following the war, the hotel was sold to the South West Regional Hospital Board as a house for its staff, before being restored to its former hotel glory when it reopened in 1990 following a £22 million refurbishment.

“I just love this property. I cooked here for Michel Roux 12 years ago and I’m so delighted to be back with new ideas and to have the opportunity to shape it into something wonderful. We want our clientele to have a great experience, whether it’s just coffee or a glass of prosecco with nibbles, right through to Sunday lunch with the family. Just seasonal, top-quality food and great service, and that’s just the start – watch this space.” Jon’s got big plans on the horizon, and you won’t want to miss it. ■ • bathspahotel.co.uk

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WINE NOTES

Emma Clegg and Jenna Morice become sommeliers for the evening

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eing an expert when it comes to wine tasting is really just a matter of perspective. Jenna and I were not novices: we’ve both got bottle openers; I never buy a wine where I don’t like the label; and we know that if you’ve been sampling lots of wine, it’s good to drink water before you go to bed. When it comes to the Jilly Goolden (“the aromas are virtually fit to explode from the bottle like a gaudy volcano of precious herbs”) world of wine, however, we weren’t on such confident territory. So it was time to test our taste buds at a Call My Bluff wine event at Le Vignoble in Milsom Place.

It’s described as a light-hearted blind tasting evening, so there’s no sense of excel or be shamed, although I have to say that there was a group behind us who I suspect – given their full marks score – were undercover sommeliers. The way the evening works is that, in groups of six, everyone is served a sample of six different wines, and for each one two expert panelists (Le Vignoble’s Ona and Liam) read a detailed description about the wine: name, country of origin, vintage, price and tasting notes. One description will be the correct one for the wine; the other will be incorrect.

There were several problems. The first was that the descriptions were closely matched enough to make the truth elusive. The second is that we discovered that when you hear a description of a wine you are drinking, you become convinced that this is the description that perfectly matches it.

Here is a description of a white wine: “This is a sweet Viognier from New Zealand. It is fresh, aromatic, with ginger and honeysuckle, orange blossom, peach and apricot. The region’s 80% sun exposure endows it with delicate, fresh flavours.”

Somebody could taste ginger, someone else was getting peach, but the orange blossom was elusive. Also, thinking strategically, I was suspicious that the number of adjectives indicated that this must be the made-up one. Or in fact the real one.

The Loire Valley and St Nicholas Cabernet had, we were told “red fruit flavours – raspberries, red cherries, rich flavours, and a tannic presence that was not overwhelming.” Comparing it with the Rioja from the Busot region (a heavier red with flavours of blackberry and black cherries) we debated how different was the taste of black and red cherries, and if the reason we couldn’t pick up on a tannic presence was because it was not overwhelming.

We got a very healthy four out of six and came joint second (one of three) just behind the undercover sommeliers. So, in actual fact, our group expertise won through. n

WINE MERCHANT

Over 300 wines from all over the world, specialising in unusual varieties & responsible producers

TASTING LOUNGE

32 wines by the glass from our state of the art Enomatic wine dispensers, plus spirits & craft beer

CONTINENTAL TAPAS

Authentic French cheese & charcuterie platters alongside a selection of seasonal tapas dishes

WINE TASTING EVENTS

Weekly wine education classes and a calendar of tasting & talking events featuring guest experts

The next Call My Bluff wine tasting is on 30 October, 7pm at Le Vignoble in Milsom Place, £15pp, booking essential: levignoble.co.uk

12-13 Milsom Place, Milsom Street, Bath, BA1 1BZ bath@levignoble.co.uk | www.levignoble.co.uk 01225 465907 THEBATHMAG.CO.UK

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TRAVEL

Sherborne days

The Saxons named Sherborne scir burne – the place of the clear stream – and made it the capital of Wessex.

Emma Clegg meets up with an old friend from her childhood home of Dorset for the weekend in Hardy country – not that they had the time to be nostalgic about The Woodlanders et al because there was some serious research to do The five recently opened luxury garden potting shed rooms embrace the modernbohemian-in-immaculate-taste look – knotted rugs, quirky cushions, upholstered chairs with modern curves and trifold doors that open across one end of the room to an expanse of upmarket courtyard.

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Sir Walter Raleigh’s wife Elizabeth had his head embalmed and carried it round with her for the rest of her life

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T

he Eastbury Hotel on Long Street is a Georgian period listed townhouse hotel dating from 1740, and an easy walk from the station. Our luxury four-poster garden suite did make a strong first impression – the bed itself, with the gilded frame around the tester, golden finials above, the heavy fabric drapes and a rush of upholstery tassles made you feel distinctly Georgian without any of the discomfort.

That’s what we liked most about the room, and the hotel, too – we were in the midst of authentic Georgian style curated with plush modernity. We had our own courtyard with table, chairs and fountain (sigh), and a gate into the hotel’s walled garden. We read erudite books there for all of five minutes before unstopping our room’s elegant carafe of sloe gin. The gin had a fiery, fruity kick and cranked up the Georgian (liquor) detail. The Smeg kettle did compromise the Georgian flair a tad, but we weren’t worrying as we made Earl Grey and breakfast tea from our drinks selection the next morning.

We were shown around the hotel by general manager Ian Crighton. Peter and Lana de Savary, who bought the hotel last year, have embarked on a dramatic refresh and remodelling of the accommodation and facilities, including the most recent addition, a boutique spa in the grounds.

We were impressed by the formal reception areas, and particularly the mahogany dining table that converted into a snooker table, perfect for wedding parties.

The outdoor space beyond the doors isn’t significant, but it extends the room’s parameters as you lie on the bed, considering the options in your Smeg mini fridge while casting your eye over the large wall-mounted mirror in a wooden frame, which – with the help of one tuned in to technology – you then discover is actually a TV. Whoah. It’s as far from Georgian as you can get in these potting shed rooms, but it has oodles of flair – and what’s more, dogs are welcomed.

If you can persuade yourself out of your luxury room, there’s croquet, giant chess, badminton and table tennis in the picturesque walled garden, but you do need to find some time to explore Sherborne, too. Fortunately

The luxury fourposter garden suite

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we were treated to a two-hour tour of the town from blue badge guide Paul Birbeck from Sherborne Walks. Paul unravelled the rich history of Sherborne in majestic detail.

He told us that Sherborne’s church became a Benedictine monastery in 1075 and some of the Norman structure still remains.

Sherborne School (for boys) – which has existed since the time of King Alfred who was educated there, and has alumni including Alan Turing and Jeremy Irons – incorporates some of the old abbey buildings.

Sherborne has its own distinctive ochrecoloured ham stone and Paul unravelled all the different periods of architecture within Long Street, from Tudor to Victorian (the Georgians and Victorians often added their own façade to a Tudor building). We walked past the medieval almshouse of St John the Baptist and St John the Evangelist on Half Moon Street, one of Dorset’s oldest almshouses, dating from 1437. It’s still in use today, providing housing to 18 elderly residents of the town.

The Digby Memorial outside the abbey – where King Alfred the Great’s elder brothers, King Æthelbald and King Æthelberht, are buried – is a notable architectural feature.

It is adorned with four statues around its circular column: St Aldhelm (639–709), the first bishop of Sherborne; Roger of Salisbury the Norman medieval bishop who built the old castle; Abbot Bradford (1246–59), rector of Sherborne; and Sir Walter Raleigh, gentleman, sea captain and explorer who built Sherborne Castle and whose name and association with Elizabeth I goes before him.

The town itself is full of independent shops for exploring and tempting cafés and restaurants – we sat in the sunshine outside the Cross Keys at the bottom of South Street enjoying a cappuccino with a perfect view of the grade I listed Conduit. This hexagonal 16th-century structure originally stood in the north cloisters of the abbey, where it was used for washing by the monks, and was moved here after the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1539. The Conduit was even once used as a police station and, in 1861, as a penny bank.

The castle is large and full of fascination – we saw part of the original Tudor wall, elegantly appointed state rooms, a grand fireplace sporting the Digby family’s motto, Deo Non Fortuna (from God not chance) and an extensive collection of art and antiques. While there we discovered some surprising things about Sir Walter that we didn’t remember from history lessons, including the fact that his wife Elizabeth had

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Ostriches decorate most levels on the exterior of Sherborne Castle, which was built by Sir Walter Raleigh

TRAVEL

his head embalmed after his execution in 1618 and carried it round with her in a red leather bag for the rest of her life.

After Sir Walter’s demise the castle was bought by Sir John Digby, 1st Earl of Bristol, its 1,200-acre park adding to the Digby’s estate of 15,000 acres. They decorated much of the castle with ostriches – an ostrich tops the family crest – and spotting the ostrich is a good game as you explore. The Digby family still owns the house, which has a view of Capability Brown’s lake and the ruins of the old castle.

We dined in the Eastbury Hotel’s Seasons restaurant, led by executive chef Matthew Street. While tempted by the seven-course tasting menu with accompanying wine flight, we settled on the à la carte. The amuse bouche was remarkable, a small coffee cup with a creamy mixture of artichoke and truffle oil, and olive and focaccia bread with homemade tomato butter. Whipped goat’s cheese with chilled beetroot soup, orange and hazelnuts and ruby chard; and Vale of Camelot cheese brûlée with pear, celeriac, pickled chicory and caramelised walnuts were our starters, mine an exotic melange of savoury flavours with a classic crisp brûlée top to crack. Our mains were butternut squash rotolo with pickled shallots, pine nut and squash velouté; and roasted lamb with tandoori spice, cauliflower, cucumber yogurt, black dal and curry leaf. The lamb was unbelievably delicious, the tender meat flavours heightened by its spicy undertow.

We passed over the regional cheese plate with Isle of Wight blue cheese and Dorset damson jelly, settling on raspberry, white chocolate and mascarpone with lemon sable pastry and raspberry sorbet; and mango and vanilla cheesecake with lime leaf sorbet. This meal was one that won’t be quickly forgotten.

“Such miserable creatures of circumstance are we all!” says Thomas Hardy in The Woodlanders, a sentiment that underlies all his novels.

While possibly true for Sir Walter, our Sherborne weekend was quite the opposite, a happy circumstance for two creatures from Dorset. n

ABOVE: The Green Drawing Room in Sherborne Abbey – the ceiling shows Sir Walter Raleigh’s arms LEFT: The Digby Memorial just outside Sherborne Abbey BELOW: The entrance to the Eastbury Hotel on Long Street. The hotel is a Georgian period listed townhouse dating from 1740

Stays at the Eastbury Hotel start from £195 for a double, including breakfast: theeastburyhotel.co.uk • Introduction to Sherborne walks are £8 per person: sherbornewalks.co.uk • Entry to Sherborne Castle and gardens is £10.80, free for children: sherbornecastle.com THEBATHMAG.CO.UK

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

The Watersmeet Hotel in Woolacombe is a four star hotel on the waters edge with an indoor and outdoor pool & spa.

Our two restaurants include a bistro and a fine dining option both with stunning views to the sea.

Three night break offer The fabulous 3 night break includes the following:

• Deluxe Seaview room • English breakfast • Complimentary use of pool and spa facilities

• From £660 per couple

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CITY | NEWS

CITYNEWS THREE-STAR AWARD

ETON’S OF BATH MOVE

HOLBURNE HOUSING

Sharpham Park’s organic spelt wholegrain flour has won a prestigious three stars in the 2019 Great Taste Awards.

Only 208 of the 12,772 products sent in from over 100 different countries were awarded the three-star Great Taste Award, which means the product was described by judges as “extraordinarily tasty”. The judges commented on the flour: “A crisp-crusted, even and open-textured loaf was produced using the flour with a delightful wheaty and nutty flavour. A great favourite with judges and a delight to use. A really great flour.” kilvercourt.com

Etons of Bath, the specialist interior design practice, is moving to a new studio in October. The team of designers and project managers are moving from Walcot Street to a Georgian building on Henrietta Street in Bathwick. “As we’re a specialist design practice not a retailer, our new studio will serve our clients and team much better,” said Sarah Latham, creative director. The new studio will house a library of designs, finishes and fabrics, presentation rooms and a design space. The studio will be open by appointment to those requiring interior design inspiration, advice or project management. etonsofbath.com

Phase one of Bath’s newest neighbourhood, Holburne Park, is now fully occupied and construction is well underway for homes in phase two. Combining the very best of modern living and high specification interiors with an elegant classical style, Holburne Park will provide 200 new homes. The first phase has three- and fourbedroom townhouses and 81 affordable homes. The latest phase, currently being built, will offer a range of homes from fourbedroom townhouses to six-bedroom detached villas. holburnepark.co.uk

CHAMP AS PRESIDENT John Hall is taking over as Bath Rugby’s club president.

Hall proudly wore the blue, black and white jersey 277 times over a 14-year senior career, captaining the club from 1993 to 1995, as well as appearing in five winning cup finals before being appointed director of rugby. Hall also worked with the club’s charitable arm, Bath Rugby Foundation, on leadership development and the mentoring of young people from challenging backgrounds. He also played a role in re-shaping the club presidency position. bathrugby.com

A RARE FIND A rare Chinese porcelain celadon-glazed large bowl with a Yongzheng mark (1723–1735) was recently sold by Aldridge’s of Bath. The 13½in (34cm) flowers and fruit bowl is part of a group of Chinese Yongzheng celadon porcelain, moulded and carved with peony, lotus and rose blossom and sprays of peach, pomegranate and persimmon. Discovered by auctioneer Ivan Street during a visit to a property just outside Bath, the bowl had been bequeathed in 1959 to the owner by her godmother, Miss Vera Crossman of Hans Crescent, Knightsbridge.

As a regular client of Harrods, it is thought she might have bought it from their antiques department in the post-war years.

Did You Know?

In the first half of 2019, Bath the outperformed the rest of from UK in attracting visitors Australia, China and the United States.

It eventually sold for £220,000 after a lengthy battle between a top London dealer and a collector from mainland China. This is double the price achieved by the last example that appeared at a major Hong Kong auction. aldridgesofbath.com

BATH BUSINESS BAROMETER UPDATE: JULY 2019

provided by

High Street Footfall (Month on month % change)

n As summer progresses, footfall grows – an 8.2% increase in July over June. This was not quite as strong as the region but better than the national month-on-month performance. Week 28 was the strongest week in July, attracting 26% of the month’s footfall. The southern part of the city, from Southgate to Union Street, typically has the highest levels of footfall.

However, over the last eight weeks Milsom Street has been comparatively strong. n EVENTS: Bath is awash with activity in September. Schools start at the beginning of the month and the universities’ freshers’ weeks take place from 22–29 September. The 19th annual Jane Austen Festival runs from 13–22 September, coinciding with Heritage Open Days. This will be your chance to visit places usually closed to the public or that are difficult to access for free. The Bathscape Walking Festival iuns from 14–22 September and the Festival of the Therapeutic City takes place from 20–27 September.

Milsom Street’s Car Free Weekend runs from 21–22 September. Closing off the month is the wonderful Bath Children’s Literature Festival from 27 September – 6 October.

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Bath

+8.2% South West UK

+13.0%

+5.6% Springboard Research Ltd.

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ocl A C C O U N TA N C Y

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

www.oclaccountancy.com

HMRC plan to accelerate capital gains tax HMRC are planning major changes to the capital gains tax rules for gains made on the sale / gift of residential property with effect from April 2020, affecting how and when you need to report and pay the tax.

Currently your capital gains are reported through self-assessment and so (for example) if you sell a residential property between 6th April 2019 and 5th April 2020 you have to declare it on your tax return and pay the tax no later than 31st January 2021. Under the new rules, applying for 2020/21 onwards, the tax payable on certain gains will be payable up to 21 months earlier.

The new rules apply for tax payable on gains arising from the sale of residential property situated inside or outside the UK on or after 6th April 2020 and require you to submit a provisional calculation of the gain and pay the tax you estimate to be due within 30 days of completion.You will still be required, in due course, to declare the gain on your self-assessment tax return and pay, by the usual self-assessment deadline, any adjustment to the CGT over & above your estimated payment.

It’s important to note that the 30 day declaration / payment applies even if you’re not in the self-assessment system. If not, HMRC have confirmed that you won’t be required to register for self-assessment just because of the capital gain, but after the end of the tax year in which you made a gain you will need to review your estimated calculation and make any changes required.

In estimating your provisional CGT liability it will be necessary for you to also estimate your other taxable income for the year in order to determine how much of the CGT is payable at the 18% rate and how much at 28%. Also note that you will be allowed to reduce any taxable gain by capital losses brought forward from earlier years as well as those made in the same year as the gain up to when you make your estimate. It will be a good idea to review any assets you might be selling that can give rise to a loss, to consider making the transaction before you make any gain reportable under the 30-day rule; you can then deduct the loss when working out your provisional payment.

HMRC have advised that there will be penalties for errors and for failing to meet the 30 day deadline.

For tax saving tips contact us – call Marie Maggs, Tom Hulett or Jacqui Bates on 01225 445507

Inheritance tax: Everything you need to know about potential changes

At the risk of sounding sombre, making a Will and planning for the inevitable is something we all need to do. Of course it’s not just for ourselves, it’s to make sure our loved ones are taken care of too.

Arranging everything doesn’t have to take long and it’s a great feeling knowing arrangements have been put in place. With the recent recommendations from the Office of Tax Simplification (OTS) it is more important than ever to make sure you are prepared.

With the upcoming changes, you may need to update your Will and estate planning to ensure that you benefit from any tax reform. Your Will and planning may have been formulated to reflect the current regime and, if not revised, you may end up with a very different outcome to what was originally intended.

This will certainly be the case if the rules change on where liability for tax falls between those receiving lifetime gifts and those who inherit upon death. Some of the proposals on allocation of liability will also have wider implications that will need to be considered. The team at Mogers Drewett can help clarify if you will be affected and what steps you should take.

The OTS has recommended simplifying the lifetime gift exemptions to a single personal gift allowance. There would be revised threshold for small gifts and reform of the regular gift out of income exemption. There are also changes to potentially exempt transfers. Currently gifts made in the seven years before your death are included in your estate for inheritance tax purposes. It is proposed that this period be reduced to five years.

Another consideration for any future inheritance planning includes the government’s pledge to extend civil partnerships to opposite-sex couples.

Where proposals are currently out for consultation, the Government Equalities Office hopes the option will be available by the end of 2019.

The right to enter into a civil partnership would give opposite-sex couples the same inheritance tax exemptions as those currently enjoyed by married couples and same-sex civil partners.

If you want any advice on inheritance and tax related matters, get in touch with our expert team at Mogers Drewett.

Tom Chiffers, Partner, Wills & Trusts team at Mogers Drewett

Call Marie Maggs, Tom Hulett or Jacqui Bates on 01225 445507 to arrange a no-obligation meeting

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FAMILY | EVENTS

Family diary IDEAS FOR THINGS TO DO WITH THE CHILDREN THIS MONTH TOGAS AND TUNICS n 1 September, 10am–12.30pm and 1.30–4pm, Roman Baths Discover how the Romans dressed and transform yourself by trying on a toga.

Included in admission price; romanbaths.co.uk

The whole family can get their rave on at Komedia

SEPTEMBER HOME EDUCATION SESSION n 5 September, 10am–12pm, Roman Baths Home-educated children can take part in a variety of Roman-themed activities including crafts, a museum trail and the chance to handle original Roman objects. Find out about the Beau Street Hoard and try out some fun maths-based activities using replica coins and money bags. The sessions are suitable for children from four years and their parents and guardians. Included in admission price; romanbaths.co.uk FRIDAY FUN NIGHT n 6 September, 6–8pm, Avon Valley Adventure and Wildlife Park The adventure park is open late on the first Friday of every month. Weather and light depending, the play barn and outdoor adventure area will be open, with last entry at 7pm. Adults can enjoy a free glass of prosecco on the new decking from 6.30–7.30pm, and the Woodland Cafe will be open for entertainment and serving up delicious food. £7, £4 under twos, babies free; avonvalley.co.uk

Aristocrat, Get Me Out Of Here) presents a fairy tale adventure bursting with their trademark clowning, absurd jokes, live music and magical illusion. Brothers Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm are about to publish the final volume of what will become the greatest ever collection of fairy tales. But on the eve of their triumph, a shadowy figure from their past lets it be known he intends to collect an old debt… Tickets from £12; rondotheatre.co.uk

TODDLER TRAILS ON A TUESDAY n 10, 17 and 24 September, 10.45–11.30am, Dyrham Park Enjoy some fresh air and fun on one of the park’s trails designed for toddlers. Learn about shape, colour and numbers while exploring nature. Free, but normal admission to the property applies, no booking needed; nationaltrust.org.uk/dyrham-park

TEDDY BEARS PICNIC n 14–15 September, Avon Valley Railway Take part in the family teddy bear trail around the station, watch Punch and Judy, and be amazed by a balloon modeller at this special family-friendly weekend. Plus there will be crafts onboard the trains and face painting. £8.50 adults, under fives free, and children aged five–14 can get free entry when they bring their teddy bear; avonvalleyrailway.org

MUSIC FOR MINIATURES n 11 and 21 September, 10.30am, St Swithin’s Church Live classical concerts for babies and young children, this is a great way to introduce kids to the sights and sounds of musical instruments. Babies can sleep, babble and crawl while toddlers are able to dance and play air instruments. £8 per adult/child pair, £4 per extra adult, £3 per extra child.

Pre-book online or pay on the door; musicforminiatures.co.uk ONCE UPON A TIME… n 12–14 September, 8pm, Rondo Theatre Gonzo Moose (What The Dickens, I’m An 68 TheBATHMagazine

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DINO FAMILY RACEDAY n 15 September, gates open 12pm, Bath Racecourse Get ready for a colossal family adventure at Bath Racecourse’s brand-new Dino Family Raceday. Journey back in time and meet T-Rex, Raptors and baby dinosaurs as Europe’s largest and most realistic animatronic dinosaurs visit the racecourse.

Kids can try their hand at ranger training in interactive workshops and be guided through Jurassic knowledge and what to do in an emergency dinosaur break-out situation. Plus there will be crafts, face painting and a giant egg to climb. There will also be seven

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exciting horse races, the last taking place at 5.40pm. Under 18s get free entry, adult tickets from £12; bath-racecourse.co.uk A TALE OF TWO PLANETS: DRAGONBIRD THEATRE n 20 September – 1 October, 10am and 11.30am, the egg DragonBird Theatre is an early years theatre company from Bristol, whose homemade sets and props inspire children and adults to create their own theatrical adventure when back at home. The session starts with a short performance of a story and is followed by a session where everyone gets to play and explore adventures based on the show.

Expect giant nets, silky rivers, singing with gusto and finally going to sleep… Suitable for six months–four years. £4/£5 lap seats; theatreroyal.org.uk MEN BEHAVING DADLY n 21 September, 9–10.30am, St Swithin’s Church A monthly toddler group for dads and their pre-school children. Meet other dads, have fun and enjoy some quality time with your little one(s). There are toys, games and toast for the kids and coffee and bacon butties for the dads. £3 per adult. There’s also the occasional ‘dads only’ drink at The Star – the local pub on The Paragon – allowing more time and space for conversation; stswithinswalcot.org.uk PEACE AT LAST n 21–22 September, 11.30am and 3pm, the egg Based on the picture book by Jill Murphy,

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FAMILY | EVENTS

this new opera for children follows Mr Bear who can’t sleep as Mrs Bear is snoring. So he goes to sleep in Baby Bear’s room. But Baby Bear is pretending to be an aeroplane. So he goes to sleep in the living room… Presented

by Olivier award-winning OperaUpClose and Gallions Primary School in Newham.

30-minute run time, followed by playtime.

Suitable for ages three–five. £9/£8; theatreroyal.org.uk BIG FISH LITTLE FISH FAMILY RAVE: THE GREATEST SHOW n 22 September, 1.30pm, Komedia Get your glowsticks at the ready as awardwinning family rave crew Big Fish Little Fish returns for a circus-themed party. Grown up dance music will be playing on the multisensory dancefloor with glitter cannons, bubbles, balloons and giant parachute dance.

There will also be craft tables and giant colouring mural, and a playdoh table, as well as tents and tunnels and baby chill-out space with mats and a ball pool. Dress up in a circus-themed costume if you fancy. £8, infants free; komedia.co.uk AFTERMIRTH: DAYTIME COMEDY CLUB FOR PARENTS n 26 September, 12pm, The Rondo Theatre An adult comedy club that you can bring your baby to. Each show features three top circuit comedians delivering their usual club

of a lifetime – running down the grassy bank, squelching over the oozy mud, stumbling into the dark forest, then peering into a cave… what will they find? Little Angel Theatre brings this thrilling and funny adventure to life with entrancing puppetry. £9/£8; theatreroyal.org.uk

Watch an opera for kids based on Jill Murphy’s book Peace At Last

BATH CHILDREN’S LITERATURE FESTIVAL n 27 September – 6 October, locations around the city centre The city’s celebration of children’s books features a vibrant range of talks and activities for kids of all ages. The programme includes Jacqueline Wilson, Cressida Cowell, Dougie Poynter, Harry Hill, Chris Riddell, Horrible Histories’ Martin Brown, Konnie Huq and many more. Plus there’s Aardman model making workshops, poetry showcases, and classes on writing for young people; bathfestivals.org.uk/childrens-literature routines, so the material is mature and sweary with the odd birth story flash back…

The only difference is it’s during the day.

Adults and babies under 18 months only. £10; rondotheatre.co.uk WE’RE GOING ON A BEAR HUNT n 26–29 September, 10am, 12pm and 3pm, the egg Based on the book by Michael Rosen, this production follows a family on an adventure

FAMILY TAKEOVER n 28 September, 11am–2pm, Art Studio, The Edge, University of Bath Artist educator Victoria Willmott is hosting a series of fun and informal creative activities this autumn that explores The Edge’s current exhibition. Families can drop in at any time, materials are provided, Free, donations welcome. Suitable for ages four–12; edgearts.org n

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MUSIC | INTERVIEW ARTS EDUCATION | CHILDREN’S LITERATURE FESTIVAL

Ed Browning as Paul Daniel in Poldark

Seize the day

It’s a new term and for most children it’s also time for a new teacher.

The most important factor in a child’s school day – whether they are embarking on a reception year or moving up to senior school – is likely to be their teacher. Melissa Blease comes up with some unlikely options and discovers a brand of magic that, if you are lucky, will filter through to the real-life teachers that your child encounters

C

ould you be described as a real-life Miss Honey – the sensitive, sympathetic teacher so pivotal to the plot of Roald Dahl’s hugely popular 1988 children’s book Matilda? If so, your dream job awaits.

A Manchester-based couple recently contacted specialist home tutor agency Tutor House in search of a maths tutor for their eight-year-old daughter, whom they describe as “extremely timid and struggling with teachers at school”. The couple are offering to cover the cost of a Miss Honey outfit (round glasses; long pink dress; shoulder length, flicky-up hair) for the ideal candidate – and they’re willing to pay £60 per hour to the right person. “I think it’s really quite inspiring the lengths these parents will go to, to ensure their daughter is engaging with her educators and learning in the best possible way for her,” Tutor House founder Alex Dyer told The Independent (one of several national newspapers who picked up on the story and reported on it with varying degrees of admiration/derision).

“Every child is different, and if one is struggling then it’s important their education is tailored to their needs. Unfortunately state schooling is under such a huge amount of pressure at the moment, it’s near impossible for teachers to deliver bespoke teaching methods.” Indeed.

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and flat or underfunded pay deals year after year, it’s a wonder that teachers are left with enough time to teach, let alone flick their tresses à la Miss Honey. But without making light of the trials and tribulations that those who navigate the teaching process on a daily basis are dealing with, the start of a brand new term is the perfect time for the heroes who head up our classrooms to look to a handful of fabulous fictional luminary lecturers for inspiration... and a gang of representatives from the class of “this is how not to do it” for good measure. Your child may even recognise some of the uplifting, make-a-difference qualities of these inspiring teachers in their own real-life classroom this autumn.

MISS HONEY, MATILDA Gentle, nurturing and supportive, Miss Honey is a beacon of hope for Roald Dahl’s precociously bright, highly imaginative and, erm, telekinetic five-year-old leading lady Matilda Wormwood, a little girl who is massively misunderstood by her parents, her contemporaries and the tyrannical headmistress at Crunchem Hall, Miss Trunchbull. Miss Honey is the lovechild that Mary Poppins and Albus Dumbledore never had; we all love (and should want to be like) Miss Honey.

Best quote: “But does it not intrigue you that a little five-year-old child is reading long adult novels by Dickens and Hemingway?

Doesn’t that make you jump up and down with excitement?”

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MARY POPPINS Prim, pretty, and perpetually pragmatic, Australian-British author PL Travers’ quintessentially English nanny Mary Poppins is practically perfect in every way. She’s kind at all times but firm when necessary, elegantly graceful but deliciously eccentric and always jolly good fun, even (and especially?) when tasked with asserting her authority over the children in her charge.

Is Mary Poppins the archetypal Superwoman? Pretty much – complete with all the supernatural powers such a status involves. We never really know where she’s from and we never know where she’s off to when she disappears (she both enters and exits the action courtesy of a flying umbrella) but while she has her feet firmly on the ground, she sure knows how to work magic; ultimately, she’s supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.

Best quote: “We’re on the brink of adventure, children; don’t spoil it with questions.”

Michael Gambon as Albus Dumbledore

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EDUCATION

Maggie Smith as Miss Jean Brodie

ALBUS DUMBLEDORE, FROM JK ROWLING’S HARRY POTTER SERIES It takes a very special person to be headmaster of Hogwarts, let alone mentor to a certain Harry Potter – and Albus Dumbledore is that Very Special Person.

Loving, wise, trustworthy, compassionate, serene and insightful, he puts humanity and friendship first and foremost during good times and bad, enjoys browsing knitting patterns in his downtime... and remains fabulously flamboyant at all times. His emotional IQ, meanwhile, is off the scale.

Best Quote: “You fail to recognise that it matters not what someone is born, but what they grow to be!”

JOHN KEATING, DEAD POETS SOCIETY The Welmont Academy, Vermont, 1959: all-male, all-monied, and all-conservative to the max. Until, that is, English teacher John Keating turns life for one group of boys at the posh prep school on its head (in one scene, literally) and rips up the rulebooks (ditto previous parenthesis) in an effort to teach his students that there are multiple ways to look at – and navigate your way through – life, encouraging them to achieve their own version of success on their own terms. Dead Poets Society writer Tom Schulman based the character of Keating on the real-life characters of two of his former teachers, amalgamating them both into one brilliantly bright, raucously rebellious, charmingly challenging academician, bought to big screen life by the uniquely engaging American actor and comedian Robin Williams. If you, like Keating, don’t want to die discovering that you’ve never actually lived, you have to watch this film – today.

Best quote: “Carpe diem. Seize the day, boys. Make your lives extraordinary.”

MISS JEAN BRODIE, THE PRIME OF MISS JEAN BRODIE “Give me a girl at an impressionable age and she is mine for life.” Thus spake Miss Jean Brodie, Muriel Spark’s forthright, uniquely unorthodox, highly complex Scottish schoolma’am whose forthright, uniquely unorthodox, highly complex opinions and teaching methods kept ‘her girls’ – “the crème de la crème”, no less – spellbound at the Marcia Blaine School for Girls in Edinburgh, circa 1933. Spark partly based the character of Miss Brodie on one of her

Julie Andrews as Mary Poppins

Robin Williams as John Keating

own schoolteachers, Christina Kay: “What filled our minds with wonder and made Christina Kay so memorable was the personal drama and poetry within which everything in her classroom happened,” she told the New Yorker in a 1993 interview – and Miss Brodie has personal drama and poetry in spades. She is also a bit too selfconfident, a bit too much of a hypocrite and a bit too fascinated with fascism for contemporary classroom comfort.

Best quote: “One’s prime is elusive. You little girls, when you grow up, must be on the alert to recognise your prime at whatever time of your life it may occur. You must then live it to the full.”

DEWEY FINN, SCHOOL OF ROCK The 2003 film The School of Rock is a musical comedy and a raucus crowd pleaser, with Dewey Finn (Jack Black) as a music teacher at Horace Green Prep School. In fact he’s is not a teacher at all, just an enthusiastic guitarist in desperate need of work. Seemingly unconstrained by the idea of a set curriculum, Dewey builds the music of his adored hard rock gods into every lesson. The pupils appear unencumbered by self-consciousness and while this is clearly never going to happen in a real school, the story of an exuberant teacher with endless passion taking his charges on a musical journey is infectious, uplifting and joyful.

Best quote: “8.15 to 10, rock history.

10 to 11, rock appreciation in theory. And then band practice till the end of the day.”

MARK THACKERAY, TO SIR WITH LOVE In the 1967 British drama, To Sir With Love, Mark Thackeray, played by Sidney Poitier, is an immigrant to Britain from British Guiana who accepts an interim position as a teacher in a tough London secondary school. His pupils, mostly rejected from other schools, are impossible, and taunt and ridicule him in his efforts to control the class. His calm and dignified countenance and sense of moral perspective under increasing pressure mark him out as a teacher that makes a difference.

While the film was criticised for its cloying sentimentality, Poitier’s Thackeray embodies everything about morality, respect and integrity in a world where they seem lacking.

Best quote: “There are two ways to enter a room. One is like an adult, a lady with dignity. The other is like a brat. Miss Dare has just shown us the second way.”

While we are in fantasy territory here, there’s no doubt that an outstanding teacher – one that manages to make a connection with the enthusiastic, the average and the disenchanted – will make a mark on their pupils for life, whether it’s through their ethos, personality or presentation. While your children are unlikely to encounter the songs and magic of Mary Poppins or the desk-climbing energy of John Keating, they will find their very own special teacher figures. As a whole, this group of teachers will become an essential part of every child’s journey through school, and are likely to influence and inspire their perspectives on life in the adult world. n

BAD TEACHERS Severus Snape, Harry Potter Traits: sarcastic, controlling, calculating and bitter.

Worst quote: “You don’t want me as your enemy.”

Miss Letitia Slighcarp, The Wolves of Willoughby Chase Traits: vain, greedy, sadistic.

Worst quote [on being vile to children]: “This is more fun than choking chickens!”

Edna Krabapple, The Simpsons Traits: stern, depressed, frustrated, alcoholic.

Worst quote: “Don’t worry, children – most of you will never fall in love, but will marry out of fear of dying alone.”

Miss Minchin, A Little Princess Traits: cruel, abusive, greedy.

Worst quote: “The streets of the city are not kind to homeless beggars. Now thank me for my kindness in giving you a home.”

Susan Sto Helit, the Discworld series Traits: the granddaughter of Death himself – ’nuff said.

Worst quote: “A hero is just a disaster with a point of view.”

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Private Tutor

Foreign Languages Centre UNIVERSITY OF

Daytime, lunchtime and evening foreign language classes for members of the public. Enrolling now!

English Literature to A Level and GCSE Experienced, Supportive, Motivating, Lives in Bath Builds Ability to Achieve Better Grades Tutors at Home or at Your Home Locally

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We offer a wide range of foreign languages at beginner through to advanced level.

To find out more about the courses available, or to enrol, visit our website www.bath.ac.uk/flc and apply online or call 01225 383991.

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EDUCATION NEWS REES-MOGG VISITS BATH COLLEGE Jacob Rees-Mogg MP took part in a special meeting with Bath College representatives recently to hear directly the vital, positive impact BTECs and Applied General qualifications have on the life chances of young people and adults in Somerset after the government announced it is considering dropping the qualifications.

The meeting was attended by leaders from Bath College, including head of creative arts and enterprise, Jon Domaille, and music performance learning coordinator, Tim Goode. A significant amount of learners at Bath College are studying for BTEC and Applied Generals qualifications, a mixed part-vocational, part-academic qualification that offers an alternative, less academic focused 16–19 education than A Levels. bathcollege.ac.uk

NEW HEAD FOR ST MARGARET’S Mr Luke Bromwich has taken over as head of St Margaret’s Preparatory School in Calne, following the retirement of Karen Cordon after 22 years. St Margaret’s is the sister school of St Mary’s, Calne and offers a co-educational experience for boys and girls aged 3–11.

Mr Bromwich, 35, who was deputy headteacher of Kellett School, the British International School in Hong Kong, was chosen to lead the school after a rigorous selection process carried out by the Mr Bromwich with his wife, governors. Chairman of governors Svante Frankie, and son, Noah Adde said, “Luke was our unanimous choice and stood out as the leading contender in a very strong field of candidates from this country and abroad.” Mr Bromwich grew up in Devon and studied engineering at Exeter University before pursuing his career in education, which eventually led him to Hong Kong where he has lived for the last six years. stmargaretsprep.com

MILLFIELD BSC ACHIEVEMENT

Millfield School’s housekeeping manager, Trish Jansons, has just completed her BSc Hons environment and earth science degree with the Open University after six and a half years of study. Trish, who has worked at Millfield for the last 14 years, had the support of her manager at Millfield and the school’s grounds and gardens team, who helped her to analyse trees on campus for her coursework.

Trish initially intended to study chemisty, but her passion for the environment led her to choose a subject that has allowed her to gain knowledge of the local landscape. “For my final project, I studied climate change’s effect on the soils of the Somerset Levels,” says Trish.

“What a lot of people don’t know is that peat removes more carbon from the atmosphere than a standing forest: Somerset peat moors are the equivalent to the Amazon Rainforest! We really have to start looking after our British peat moors.” millfieldschool.com 74 TheBATHMagazine

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GSCE SHOWDOWN Students at Saint Gregory’s are celebrating another year of outstanding GCSE results with 83% of students achieving five or more GCSEs at grades 9–4 (A*–C equivalent). The school recorded its highest ever percentage of top grades, with almost 40% all results securing grades 9–7 (A*–A equivalent). These results continue to buck a national trend that suggests a fall in the number of students achieving higher grades.

Within these results were a number of remarkable individual accomplishments. Beth and Oliver received a full house of the highest grades possible, securing grade 9s across all subjects. Jess, Pollyanne, Sarah, Alice, Henry, Joni, Mitzie, John, Naomi, Noah, Oliwia, Jemima, and Edward achieved grades 9–7 (A*–A equivalent) in all of their GCSEs with many continuing their academic journey through the school’s sixth form for A Levels. Twins, Hamish and Olivia, pictured left, were thrilled to discover that between them they have notched up a total of 18 GCSEs – all at the 9–7 grade with almost half at the highest possible grade 9. st-gregorys.org.uk

DOCTORATE FOR DEAKINS Oscar-winning cinematographer, Roger Deakins CBE, has been awarded an honorary doctorate of letters from Bath Spa University in recognition of his significant contribution to film and TV. Deakins, who studied at Bath College of Art (now Bath Spa University), is best known for his work on the films of the Coen brothers, Sam Mendes and Denis Villeneuve. His feature films include The Big Lebowski, Skyfall, True Grit and Jarhead and he also works as a visual consultant on animated films such as Wall-E and How To Train Your Dragon.

Deakins’ first film in America was Mountains of the Moon and he received his first major award from the American Society of Cinematographers for the major motion picture, The Shawshank Redemption. He has also been awarded lifetime achievement awards from the British Society of Cinematographers and the National Board of Review and is the only cinematographer to have been awarded the honour of CBE in 2013. In 2018 Deakins won an Oscar for best cinematographer for his work in Blade Runner 2049. Deakins was presented with his honorary doctorate by Bath Spa’s vice-chancellor, Professor Susan Rigby. bathspa.ac.uk n Roger Deakins CBE at Bath Spa University

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

Calder House have just rated ed fst O S! row.

ES STOP PR third time in a (2019) for the ng di an st ut O as

• 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 THEBATHMAG.CO.UK

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ALL HALLOWS PREP

BATH COLLEGE City Centre Campus, Avon Street, Bath, BA1 1UP Somer Valley Campus, South Hill Park, Wells Road, Radstock, BA3 3RW Autumn term: 4 September – 13 December 2019 Spring term: 6 January – 3 April 2020 Summer term: 20 April – 26 June 2020 Age of pupils: 16+ years Number of pupils: 3000 full-time

Cranmore Hall, Shepton Mallet, Somerset, BA4 4SF. Tel: 01749 881600 www.allhallowsschool.co.uk info@allhallowsschool.co.uk Open morning: Saturday 12 October and Friday 22 November. Visitors welcome at all other times by appointment.

Age of pupils: 3–13 years

Fees: Nursery £51.50 per day; Day: £2,800 to £5,450; Boarding: £7,200 to £8,250 per term The curriculum: Younger children enjoy an exciting, hands-on, thematic-based curriculum including Forest School in the school’s extensive onsite woodland. Further up the school, the children work towards 13+ CE, or academic scholarship. Creativity is embedded within the curriculum throughout the school, equipping the children with the skills to think critically and to work collaboratively, coming up with solutions to complex problems. Opportunities for creative design, art, music, drama and games are outstanding as demonstrated by the children’s success at Year 8. Sport plays an integral role and the school aims to instil a love of taking exercise as part of a healthy lifestyle.

Extra-curricular activities: There are extensive opportunities including tennis (LTA academy with links to team Bath), judo, ballet, creative design, speech and drama, and many more.

Pastoral care: Children learn best when they are happy and so first and foremost, the school aims to ensure that their pupils are happy, healthy and well-supported to meet the numerous and varied challenges that their childhood will throw at them. Full, weekly and (the hugely popular) flexi boarding options are available to help parents manage busy lives.

Name of Principal: Dr Trevor Richards CPsychol Outstanding characteristics: With Dr Richards (who is a child psychologist as well as an educationalist) at the helm, the school has a clear vision on how best to support the children and prepare them to thrive at their next schools and in the rapidly changing world in which they will live and work, where creativity and resilience will be key. It is an approach which is proving outstandingly successful with around 65% of Year 8 pupils each year gaining scholarships to their next schools.

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Religious denomination: Non-denominational The curriculum: Bath College provide vocational and academic courses in a wide range of subjects and they can help you to find a suitable course to make sure you have the knowledge and skills for your chosen career.

As the largest provider of apprenticeships in Bath, the college also offers opportunities for young people to earn and learn on the job.

Number of pupils: 265 approx

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The city centre campus gives students the opportunity to be in the middle of Bath.

Courses available include art, textiles, graphic design, photography, accounting, business, hospitality and catering, hair and beauty, complementary therapy, floristry, health and social care, early years, childcare, IT, media, music, performing arts, travel and tourism, uniformed public services and sport.

At the Somer Valley Campus, based in the Radstock, students study animal care, veterinary nursing, horticulture, painting and decorating, engineering, and motor vehicle maintenance. It is home to the Somer Construction Centre which caters for 500 students and apprentices studying bricklaying, construction, carpentry, stonemasonry, plumbing, electrical installation and refrigeration. Somer Valley also has an excellent range of Foundation Learning Programmes for learners with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND).

Extra-curricular activities: College is so much more than just the course. With a fantastic SU organising events and a large number of societies and opportunities, for example Bath City Football Academy, there is always something extra-curricular to get involved with.

Pastoral care: Student support is at the heart of Bath College. There is a pro-active Welfare team that are approachable and accessible. All students also have a personal tutor to guide them in their studies and advise them on progression.

Name of Principal: Laurel Penrose Outstanding characteristics: Graded Good by Ofsted, inspectors were impressed with the high-quality, industry-standard facilities spread across both campuses. The college offers an adult learning environment, where students are taught by industry experts in their field.

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Kipling Avenue, Bath, BA2 4RE 01225 480466 www.beechencliff.org.uk Twitter: @BeechenCliff Sector: State-funded Type: Boys Years 7–11; Mixed Sixth Boarding: Yes Fees: None Boarding fees: £10,000 per annum Religious denomination: None Total number of students: 1300 Number of Sixth Form students: 400 2018 Exam Results GCSE % 9–4(A*–C): 81% A Level % A*–C: 80% Unique characteristics Curriculum: This heavily over-subscribed, distinctive, traditional and high-achieving school offers an exceptional all-round education. The vibrant and unpretentiously academic curriculum of predominantly GCSEs and A Levels includes the Extended Project Qualification and inspirational super curricular and Future Horizons programmes.

Pastoral: The pastoral system revolves around the house system. Each student is placed into one of five houses. In lower school house tutor groups, boys of all year groups are mixed together which helps to contribute to the Beechen Cliff family atmosphere about which so many visitors comment.

Extra-curricular: While one of the strongest in the region for academic achievement, the school’s commitment to the development and celebration of activities beyond the classroom is legendary. These range from the character developing outdoor challenges (Centurion Challenge, Ten Tors, Three Peaks, Coast-toCoast cycle ride) to the performing arts. In addition to the long-established musical activities, the sell-out bands nights and the spectacular Musical Theatre Production week have become new highlights on the school calendar. Sport at Beechen Cliff needs no introduction!

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CALDER HOUSE

HAYESFIELD GIRLS’ SCHOOL

Thickwood Lane, Colerne, Wiltshire, SN14 8BN Tel: 01225 743566 www.calderhouseschool.co.uk Enquiries@calderhouseschool.co.uk

Upper Oldfield Park, Brougham Hayes, Bath, BA2 3QU Tel: 01225 426151 www.hayesfield.com

Autumn term: 9 September – 20 December 2019 Spring term: 8 January – 3 April 2020 Summer term: 23 April – 22 July 2020 Age of pupils: 6–13 years Number of pupils: 48

Autumn term: 4 September – 20 December 2019 Spring term: 6 January – 3 April 2020 Summer term: 20 April – 10 July 2020 Age of pupils: 11–16 years girls, 16–18 years, co-educational Number of pupils: 1,337 Day fees: N/A

Day fees: £6,150 per term (£18,450 per year), includes all remedial support required to meet each pupil’s individual needs.

Religious denomination: Non-denominational The curriculum: Calder House is a small, co-educational day school for pupils who, for various reasons, are out of step with their potential. We offer a friendly, non-competitive environment in which children with dyslexia, dyspraxia and other specific learning/language difficulties are encouraged to enjoy school while developing the skills they need to successfully return to mainstream education. Our average class size is eight with a staff to pupil ratio of one to four.

Name of Headteacher: Mrs Julie Delahay A specialist approach: A whole-school approach to specialist education is provided – one that delivers a carefully structured programme of one-to-one support within a normal school environment.

A typical pupil: • arrives with an unmeasurable reading age or one that is more than two years behind their chronological age • spends just over two years at Calder House • leaves with a reading age appropriate for their chronological age or (in the case of one in three pupils) an adult reading age • sucessfully returns to mainstream education

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Religious denomination: Non-denominational The curriculum: The innovative approach to curriculum design allows the school to offer a range of stimulating learning opportunities which support the development of good habits of learning, independence of thought, intellectual curiosity, creativity and resilience. Option choices at GCSE include two languages, Latin, dance and economics. There is an outstanding range of 30 A Level and vocational courses in the outstanding sixth form (Ofsted March 2017).

Extra-curricular activities: All students participate in the school’s LEAP after-school enrichment programme. There is something for everyone – debating drama, wind band, choirs, Duke of Edinburgh (bronze, silver and gold) as well as a huge range of both competitive and social sports teams. Hayesfield is also very proud of its thriving Navy CCF contingent, which is active and prominent in school life.

Pastoral care: There is a strong belief in traditional values with standard set in work, conduct and appearance. Emphasis is placed on developing the skills and values that will enable pupils to become thinking, informed and confident adults who will be able to meet the challenges of the 21st century.

Each tutor group belongs to a house, each named after an influential woman which allows students to form friendships across the school community.

Name of Principal: Ms Emma Yates Outstanding characteristics: Hayesfield provides an inspirational learning environment where the school’s ‘inclusive ethos and clear direction sets high expectations for teaching and learning’ (Ofsted, March 2017). Hayesfield girls are ‘confident, self assured learners with exemplary behaviour’ (Ofsted, March 2017) and are encouraged to achieve their ambitions! The mixed sixth form’s 16–19 programme has been rated as Outstanding (Ofsted, March 2017).

‘Students achieve well across the full range of subjects as a result of outstanding teaching and the strong leadership of the sixth form.’

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KING EDWARD’S SCHOOL

King Edward’s Junior School, North Road, Bath, BA2 6HU; King Edward’s Pre-Prep & Nursery School, Weston Lane, Bath, BA1 4AQ Junior School: 01225 463218; Pre-Prep & Nursery: 01225 421681; Admissions: 01225 820399 www.kesbath.com; Twitter: @KESBath; Facebook: KESBath; Instagram: KESBath Autumn term: 4 September – 13 December 2019 Spring term: 6 January – 1 April 2020 Summer term: 20 April – 8 July 2020 Age of pupils: 3–11 Number of pupils: Junior School 205, Pre-Prep 104 Day fees (per term): Junior School £3,900; Pre-Prep £3,520; Nursery £2,905 The curriculum: The pre-prep and nursery follow an enhanced version of the Early Years Foundation Stage and the national curriculum. The pre-prep and nursery boast specialist teaching in DT, art, music, French and dance. Pupils also enjoy weekly forest school sessions.

At the junior school, the children study a broad curriculum, enhanced by a wide and varied enrichment programme.

The school has high aspirations for its pupils in all aspects of school life, with a strong emphasis on each individual’s needs and capabilities, to ensure that each child develops into a well-rounded, happy, caring and active participant in society in later life.

Extra-curricular activities: The junior school and prep-prep co-curricular programme is varied, broad and interesting, creating opportunities for the children to increase their knowledge, to pursue their interests and talents or simply to try something new, helping with each child’s allround development.

Recent enhancements to outdoor facilities include a new dipping pond and purpose-built garden area at the pre-prep, with further new facilities being installed in the autumn, which will include an all-weather sports pitch.

Name of Headteachers: Ms Jayne Gilbert (Pre-Prep and Nursery); Mr Greg Taylor (Junior) Outstanding characteristics: Awarded ‘excellent’ in every category in the most recent whole school ISI report. Good Schools Guide noted that “KES feels like a happy school”.

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KING EDWARD’S SCHOOL

King Edward’s Senior School, North Road, Bath, BA2 6HU Main Reception: 01225 464313; Admissions: 01225 820399 www.kesbath.com; Twitter: @KESBath; Facebook: KESBath; Instagram: KESBath Autumn term: 4 September – 13 December 2019 Spring term: 6 January – 1 April 2020 Summer term: 20 April – 8 July 2020 Age of pupils: 11–18 years Number of pupils: Senior School 822 Day fees (per term): Senior School £4,935; Sixth Form £5,020 The curriculum: Every individual is encouraged to strive for excellence and to acquire a life-long passion for knowledge, discovery, adventure, creativity and culture. There is a wide breadth of offering in the academic curriculum at both GCSE and A Level.

Extra-curricular activities: Pupils’ educational experience is enhanced by an extensive programme of activities such as the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, Ten Tors, Combined Cadet Force, sports, drama and music which has links with Bath Abbey and Bath Philharmonia Orchestra. In addition, there are over 100 lunchtime and after-school recreational clubs, including creative writing, the Environmental Action Group and the Model United Nations.

Pastoral care: The school’s most recent ISI report found the quality of pastoral care, support and guidance to be ‘excellent’. This was echoed by The Good Schools Guide who stated “Everything is directed towards the well-being of pupils. No wonder they enjoy their education and do so well in it.” The school offers a strong, caring and supportive pastoral framework, working closely with parents to ensure that all members of the school community feel respected and valued.

Name of Principal: Mr Martin Boden Outstanding characteristics: Awarded ‘excellent’ in every category in the most recent whole school ISI report. “The school’s extra-curricular provision is outstanding,’ ISI report. The school was recently awarded Independent School of the Year for Performing Arts by Independent School Parent. King Edward’s was ranked as one of the top five independent schools in the South West for its outstanding A Level and GCSE results in The Sunday Times Schools Guide, Parent Power Survey 2018.

Kingswood Prep Lansdown, Bath, BA1 5SD Tel: 01225 734460 Email kps-admissions@kingswood.bath.sch.uk www.kingswood.bath.sch.uk/prep Open days: Nursery and Prep School Open Morning: Thursday 26 September, 10am - 12pm Age of pupils: 9 months – 11 years Number of pupils: 354 Day fees: Nursery fees from £165 per week; Prep day fees from £3,431 per term; and Prep boarding fees from £6,795 per term.

The curriculum: Kingswood Prep School is a coeducational school for pupils aged 9 months – 11 years, with boarding from 7 years old.

Kingswood Prep School and the new nursery, The Garden At Kingswood, offer an inclusive, extended family day and boarding community which balance academic rigour and real objectives for all pupils with the outstanding pastoral care for which Kingswood is known. Learning-friendly classrooms cultivate curious, confident and independent learners.

Co-curricular activities: As well as academic enrichment, there are hundreds of places within the school’s activities programme focusing on music, drama, sport, design technology and art, as well as offer more diverse activities that ignite a spark in a child, increasing their self-confidence and self-esteem.

Pastoral care: Pastoral care is central to everything staff do at Kingswood Prep School and it both supports and defines the School’s holistic approach towards education. Kingswood Prep School is child-centred and this framework drives the school’s motivation to find and celebrate the uniqueness of every individual, ensuring that children feel good about themselves, recognise their strengths and constantly develop any areas that they find challenging.

Name of Headmaster: Mr Mark Brearey Outstanding characteristics: At Kingswood Prep School, pupils benefit from outstanding teachers and early years practitioners, fantastic cocurricular opportunities and a strong sense of community. Ambitious and determined, pupils at Kingswood are genuine with a strong conscience. An intelligent and outward looking school that provides excellent value for money and an outstanding education.

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MILLFIELD PREP SCHOOL

Millfield Prep, Glastonbury, Somerset, BA6 8LD Tel: 01458 832446 Email: admissions@millfieldprep.com Kingswood School, Lansdown, Bath, BA1 5RG Tel: 01225 734210 Email admissions@kingswood.bath.sch.uk www.kingswood.bath.sch.uk Open days: Sixth Form: 23 September, 6.30 – 9pm Senior: 28 September, 9am – 12pm Age of pupils: 11–18 years Number of pupils: 800 Day fees: Senior £5,208 and boarding £9,371 per term The curriculum: Kingswood Senior School is a co-educational school for pupils aged 11–18 years which offers an inclusive, extended family day and boarding community, free of pretension and balancing academic rigour, strength in the arts and sport, traditional values and outstanding pastoral care with a forward thinking, can-do attitude.

Co-curricular activities: There are over 100 extracurricular activities available to all pupils both during the week and at weekends. Outdoor pursuits, Model United Nations, fashion and textiles, climbing, script writing or jazz, there is something for everyone. Creative, sporting and musical activities are positively encouraged and valued as Kingswood believes all round education is vital for young people in preparing them for life beyond school.

Pastoral care: Kingswood was ranked outstanding in every area of its latest inspection and relationships between staff and pupils are highly regarded by parents. Each senior pupil has a personal tutor who mentors them, assists with each tutee’s independent learning plan and helps set personal targets as well as offering support to enable pupils to achieve their aims. Boarding and day pupils combine throughout the house system which ensures a strong sense of community spirit.

Autumn term: 1 September – 6 December 2019 Spring term: 5 January – 27 March 2020 Summer term: 19 April – 26 June 2020 Age of pupils: 2–13 years Number of pupils: 460 Fees per term: Day £2,835–£6,235; Boarding £9,460; Occasional Boarding £59 per night Religious denomination: Inter-denominational The curriculum: From Year 1 to Year 6, pupils are taught the International Primary Curriculum (IPC), a topic based inquiry-led curriculum focusing on global themes and independent learning. From Year 6 onwards pupils have specialist subject teachers. Millfield Prep offers a broad and balanced curriculum including French, Spanish and Latin, design technology and food technology. Class sizes rarely exceed 16.

Extra-curricular activities: Millfield Prep offers 25 sports, art, pottery, music and drama, alongside over 130 clubs which are nearly all free. Popular clubs include bushcraft, chess, clay shooting, climbing, fencing, golf, kit car, Mandarin, sailing and trampolining.

Pastoral care: Pastoral care is at the heart of the school and the approach involves all staff.

Healthy eating is valued, alongside wellbeing and medical care.

The inspection report and parents rate the school’s boarding provision as ‘excellent’. There are 120 full time boarders with over 20 nationalities andoccasional and flexi-boarding options are also offered. Boarders live in five homely and spacious houses – three boys’ houses and two girls’ houses. They enjoy a busy programme of weekday evening and weekend activities, including trips to Bristol, amusement parks, the seaside, theatre and cinema and plenty of space on campus to explore, use the pool, play tennis or go karting.

Name of Headmaster: Mr Simon Morris Name of Principal: Mrs Shirley Shayler Outstanding characteristics: Kingswood offers it all – great academics, a real focus on sport and the arts, lots of co-curricular and a strong sense of community for both day pupils and boarders.

Ambitious and determined, pupils at Kingswood are genuine with a strong conscience. An intelligent and outward-looking school that provides excellent value for money and an outstanding education.

Outstanding characteristics: The school’s strength lies in the belief that every child is an individual. With world-class facilities and resources, every child is given the maximum opportunity to find their strengths and aim for excellence. The outstanding facilities include an equestrian centre, an art and design centre, music school, recital hall, golf course, 25m indoor pool, and tennis courts.

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MILLFIELD

MONKTON PRE-PREP AND PREP SCHOOL

MONKTON SENIOR SCHOOL

Church Road, Combe Down, Bath, BA2 7ET Tel: 01225 831202 www.monktoncombeschool.com Autumn term: 2 September – 11 December 2019 Spring term: 7 January – 27 March 2020 Summer term: 21 April – 4 July 2020

Monkton Combe, Bath, BA2 7HG Tel: 01225 721133 www.monktoncombeschool.com

Millfield, Street, Somerset, BA16 0YD Tel: 01458 444296 Email: admissions@millfieldschool.com Autumn term: 1 September – 6 December 2019 Spring term: 5 January – 27 March 2020 Summer term: 19 April – 26 June 2020 Age of pupils: 13–18 years Number of pupils: 1,240 Fees per term: Senior Boarding: £12,870; Senior Day: £8,535 Religious denomination: Inter-denominational The curriculum: Millfield is an innovative school frequently taking the lead in educational development. Class sizes are small and rarely exceed 16, which allows teachers to focus on each individual. Millfield offers an exceptionally wide selection of courses; at Year 11 24 GCSEs and 3 BTECs are offered, and at Sixth Form, there are 29 subjects at A level as well as 6 BTECs and the Extended Project Qualification.

Millfield delivers an inspiring academic enrichment programme, including lectures, external competitions and debating. Pupils receive excellent guidance to support diverse university applications, including to the USA, alongside degree apprenticeships and work placements.

Extra-curricular activities: While Millfield is renowned for sport, a vibrant creative arts programme is also offered, with an exceptional Music School, and dance, art and drama.

Pastoral care: The pastoral care and needs of children are seen as central to their success and personal development. Housemasters and housemistresses have day-to-day responsibility for the academic and pastoral life of the boys or girls in their care. Boarding is full boarding only in girl or boy houses, with Year 9s having their own Year 9 houses to help them settle in during their first year.

Name of Principal: Mr Gavin Horgan Outstanding characteristics: The school’s strength has always been based around the belief that every child is individual and a resolution to enable them to reach their personal best. The world-class resources and facilities mean that pupils are provided with numerous opportunities to discover their interests, be it in the classroom, the concert hall or on the sports field.

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Autumn term: 2 September – 11 December 2019 Spring term: 7 January – 27 March 2020 Summer term: 21 April – 4 July 2020 Number of pupils: 390 Age of pupils: 2–13 years Number of pupils: 318 Fees (per term): Day Pre-Prep (aged 2–7): £3,340 – £3,435 Day Prep (aged 7–13): £4,035 – £5,875 Boarding Prep (aged 7–13): £7,850 – £8,470 The curriculum: Monkton Pre-Prep help their pupils to make the transition from home to school as gentle as possible. They firmly believe that close relationships between parents, staff and children are vital. The brand-new building provides a stimulating child-centered curriculum in a safe and vibrant learning environment with outdoor learning integrated into the day-to-day activities of the children’s learning.

As pupils move to Monkton Prep, they are encouraged to strive for academic excellence while developing a love of learning. The school allows staff to maintain the flexibility to choose new educational developments while preserving traditional standards. In the Prep School the syllabus in each subject focuses on the requirements of the National Curriculum up to the end of Year 6, and also the Common Entrance and Scholarship examinations at 13+.

Day fees: £6,820 – £7,170 Boarding fees: £10,115 – £11,440 The curriculum: As Monkton’s outstanding exam results over the last few years demonstrate, inspiring academic ambition is one of the school’s key priorities. Students work hard and are well motivated. Pupils are supported and encouraged through the care and enthusiasm of their teachers, who are committed to delivering lessons that are lively and enjoyable, as well as rigorous and demanding.

Extra-curricular activities: The wide range of activities, clubs and societies available enable each pupil to find areas of enjoyment that both motivate and give them confidence. However, the thinking and planning behind the diverse programme goes beyond the activities. While the school hopes to inspire the next Olympic rower, poet laureate or national fencing champion, the activity programme is also used to teach pupils the skills they need for life and the characteristics necessary for today’s working environment

Extra-curricular activities: Monkton aims to inspire confidence and encourage a ‘give it a go’ attitude to its pupils, and values its after-school activities programme to allow each child to experience something different, or to pursue excellence.

Pastoral care: The happiness and wellbeing of each child is central to the school’s ethos. The school starts with a proactive pastoral environment to develop academically strong learners within a living Christian ethos.

Name of Heads: Head of Pre-Prep: Mrs Catherine Winchcombe Head of Prep: Mr Martin Davis

Pastoral care: Monkton thinks differently.

There is a proactive pastoral environment, ensuring that every student knows and fully understands themselves – from this everything else is built. The school’s outstanding exam results over the last few years demonstrate the approach works.

Name of Principal: Mr Chris Wheeler

Outstanding characteristics: Monkton Pre-Prep and Prep School are located on a 30-acre site just a mile from the centre of Bath. This ample space and fantastic facilities on site ensures every child will find their inspiration. Monkton inspires young people to become confident, kind and ambitious adults who live fulfilling lives.

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Outstanding characteristics: Monkton is a deliberately smaller school which enables us to consider each of our pupils as individuals. First and foremost we focus on how much a child knows about or understands themselves; everything else is built from that.

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OLDFIELD SCHOOL

PRIOR PARK COLLEGE

Kelston Road, Bath, BA1 9AB. Tel: 01225 423582 www.oldfieldschool.com enquiries@oldfieldschool.com

ROYAL HIGH SCHOOL BATH Royal High School Bath, GDST Lansdown Road, Bath, BA1 5SZ Tel: 01225 313877 www.royalhighbath.gdst.net Autumn term: 5/6 September – 17 December 2019 Spring term: 7 January – 1 April 2020 Summer term: 20 April – 9 July 2020 Age of pupils: 3–18 years Number of pupils: 615

Autumn term: 3 September – 20 December 2019 Spring term: 7 January – 2 April 2020 Summer term: 20 April – 17 July 2020 Age of pupils: 11–18 years, boys and girls Number of pupils: 1,100 The curriculum: Oldfield has a broad and balanced curriculum delivered through six learning areas. In Years 7 to 9 the curriculum broadly follows the National Curriculum. Over 25 subjects are offered at A Level and students usually study 10 or 11 subjects at GCSE. Extra-curricular activities: The school believes a vibrant and wide-ranging extra-curricular and enrichment programme is an essential part of personal development.

Participation is encouraged from all students. Extra-curricular activities include the debating society, language clubs, drama, and music clubs including glee club, choir and ukele. Sports clubs include netball, football, boys’ and girls’ rugby, athletics, dance, cross-country, badminton, basketball, tennis, and cricket. Residential and day trips are seen as an important part of the students’ educational lives, with trips offered to Barcelona, Ardeche and Mimosa, Moscow, Belgium, Dorset, and a week-long activities week, with all students participating in a wide variety of activities in this country and abroad.

Pastoral care: Seeing students as individual learners and promoting a fully rounded education is at the heart of what the school aims to achieve.

Staff work in partnership with students and parents to raise students’ expectations and standards of achievement in a caring, secure and supportive environment. Each student is supported by a tutor who monitors their group attendance, celebrates their achievements and raises any concerns. There is a Year 7 evening in September for parents to meet the tutors and staff. Tutors remain with their tutor groups throughout a student’s time at Oldfield, enabling them to support them through their school life.

Name of Headteacher: Mr Steven Mackay Outstanding characteristics: An exceptional education in an environment that challenges all students and fosters ambition. Students have respect for themselves, each other and their school and are well-prepared to face the world as compassionate, confident and resilient young people. The behaviour and conduct of students is excellent. Good work and behaviour is recognised and rewarded. The principles underlying this policy are based on respect – for self, for others and for the environment.

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Day fees per term: Nursery – Year 6 (£3,432–£3,616); Year 7 – Year 13 (£4,661–£4,865); Full Boarding Year 6 – Year 13 (£8,906–£10,762) Religious denomination: Multi-faith Ralph Allen Drive, Bath, BA2 5AH Tel: 01225 835353 www.priorparkcollege.com Email: admissions@priorparkschools.com Autumn term: 5 September – 12 December 2019 Spring term: 7 January – 31 March 2020 Summer term: 20 April – 4 July 2020 Age of pupils: 11–18 years Number of pupils: 618 Fees: Day £5,085–£5,750 per term Weekly boarding £7,320–£8,665 per term Full boarding £8,250–£10,500 per term International boarding £10,700 per term Religious denomination: Catholic, but all faiths welcome.

The curriculum: Prior Park College offers a broad but balanced curriculum, allowing every child to find their talent. The college offers 26 A Level subjects while students study 10 or 11 GCSE subjects. The college prides itself on the very strong teacher/student partnerships based on mutual respect and commitment to learning.

Extra-curricular activities: The college has outstanding facilities including a sports centre, art and design faculty and sixth form centre. An impressive number of music and drama productions are held in the Julian Slade Theatre and John Wood Chapel. Our daily activities programme features over 60 activities ranging from CCF to Sci-Fi club. Saturday Active runs throughout term time and offers over 25 courses to choose from, including computer programming, sailing, street dance and golf.

Pastoral care: The pastoral care programme is classed as outstanding and aims to provide pastoral care of an encouraging, supportive and disciplined nature. All pupils are members of a house where housemasters and housemistresses, supported by a dedicated group of tutors, address the needs of their students.

Name of Headmaster: Mr Ben Horan Outstanding characteristics: A happy, purposeful, high-achieving community which aims to develop as fully as possible the many talents of each boy and girl, to ensure an education of the whole person.

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The curriculum: The stimulating curriculum promotes intellectual rigour, creative enquiry and critical thinking to ensure that girls will lead and shape the world confidently and positively. With excellent academic results, RHS girls become welleducated, well-rounded and well-balanced, able to navigate a global, multicultural, and technologydriven world. It is the only school in Bath to offer the International Baccalaureate Diploma.

Extra-curricular activities: RHS girls get involved in just about everything offered on the extensive list of clubs and activities, during lunchtime and after school. Whether it’s fencing or french, swimming or science club, debating or digital photography, the school encourages girls to try something new.

They meet challenges, develop passions, have fun and make new groups of friends.

Pastoral care: Pastoral care and academic development go hand in hand. Girls perform best when they are happy and secure, so the caring and supportive community gives girls a real sense of belonging. The school understands the pressures, uncertainties and challenges moving from childhood to adulthood. If girls have any worries at all, there is always someone qualified to talk to, or sometimes just a friendly chat, a cuddle with the school’s wellbeing dogs or a cup of tea is just the ticket.

Name of Head: Mrs Kate Reynolds Outstanding characteristics: The school is a mix of day and boarding girls, a happy, thriving community, free from stereotypes. The girls build confidence and high self-esteem, while fostering the 6 Cs; courage, commitment, critical thinking, compassion, communication and creativity. Royal High School Bath is part of The Girls’ Day School Trust (GDST) which has 25 UK schools and academies nationwide. RHS is an innovative, high-achieving school, providing a wonderful environment for girls to excel academically, thrive emotionally and develop socially.

The Royal High Prep School is in the beautiful grounds of Cranwell House in Weston, with a dynamic curriculum and opportunities for outdoor learning, fostering an interest in ecology and conservation. Girls develop a deeper understanding of their studies, to help them see the connections within and between disciplines, to develop a flexible and creative mindset, and to enjoy learning. A great education lays the foundation for life-long learning, through RHS and beyond.

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SHELDON SCHOOL SIXTH FORM ST GREGORY’S SCHOOL Hardenhuish Lane, Chippenham, Wiltshire, SN14 6HJ Telephone: 01249 766036 (Sixth Form Office) www.sheldonschool.co.uk sixthform@sheldonschool.co.uk

Saint Gregory’s Catholic College Combe Hay Lane, Odd Down, Bath, BA2 8PA Tel: 01225 832873 www.st-gregorys.org.uk

Curzon Street, Calne, Wiltshire, SN11 0DF Tel: 01249 857220 Email: office@stmargaretsprep.org.uk www.stmargaretsprep.org.uk Pupils: 180 Age: 3–11 years Fees: Kindergarten – session/funding dependent Pre-Prep: £3,335–£3,735; Prep: £4,085–£4,545 Religious denomination: None

Autumn term: 3 September – 20 December 2019 Spring term: 7 January – 3 April 2020 Summer term: 20 April – 17 July 2020 Pupils: 380 Age: 16–18 years

Day fees: N/A

The curriculum: Sheldon School Sixth Form is the largest in Wiltshire, offering 40 A Level subjects and vocational courses. Most students take 4 subjects in Year 12 and 3 in Year 13.

Many subjects have more than one teaching group, making timetabling more flexible than in most Sixth Forms. The school enjoys an excellent learning environment including a purpose-built Sixth Form Centre.

Extra-curricular activities: There are lots of opportunities for Sixth Form students to involve themselves in sport, charity work, performing arts, clubs, social activities Ten Tors and Duke of Edinburgh and a very wide range of trips and visits. Many Sixth Form students mentor younger pupils, while others take part in the annual Leavers’ Expedition.

Pastoral care: The pastoral care programme is classed as outstanding, with the head of sixth form supported by two year heads and a team of 20 tutors and other staff. Tutor groups are paired to encourage Year 13 students to support those new to A level study.

Head of Sixth Form: Mr Eugene Spiers Outstanding characteristics: Sheldon Sixth Form is justly proud of their consistently strong A level results and wide-ranging sixth form package, aimed at developing confident and happy young adults. This includes one-to-one pastoral and subject support.

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Religious denomination: Catholic The curriculum: Saint Gregory’s curriculum encourages students to develop their talents, deepen their knowledge and become motivated, independent learners within a caring Christian pastoral setting. High expectations and excellent teaching and learning opportunities create an atmosphere that allows students to attain outstanding results. Specialisms in the performing arts and science inspire a particularly creative and engaging focus while a thriving international programme promotes learning in a global community.

Extra-curricular activities: Students are encouraged to explore their talents in a wide range of sports and activities outside of the classroom so that they develop a sense of self-awareness, an appreciation for healthy lifestyles and build lasting friendships through teamwork and camaraderie. With over 30 clubs or activities each term, the school aims to provide a broad and balanced range of opportunities so that each and every one of their students has an opportunity to shine.

Pastoral care: At Saint Gregory’s the personal development and well-being of students is paramount, with Christian values central to their educational purpose, creating an aspirational, enriching and supportive environment for all. In the day-to-day life of the school, these values are evident in a strong family atmosphere.

The curriculum: Children at St Margaret’s engage in a wide range of carefully planned, meaningful learning experiences designed to promote not only learning but personal growth and development. They are active participants in their learning journey, developing effective learning skills whilst deepening their knowledge of specific subjects and topics. The curriculum is delivered, in the main, by class teachers, all of whom are experts in the relevant ages. This is enhanced by specialist provision in Sport, Music, Computing, Art, Modern Foreign Languages and Latin. Teaching throughout the school is tailored to meet the needs of the individual child and children are encouraged to reflect and evaluate their own learning and with support identify their next steps.

Extra-curricular activities: The school offers an extensive range of clubs. In addition to the core school clubs, such as sport, music, gardening, cookery, dance and art, children have the opportunity to participate in a varied and rich program of extra-curricular activities which is designed to ignite pupils’ curiosity and provide ample time for them to develop positive relationships with their peers. Each child will learn to grow into positive, responsible adults who can work and co-operate with others, whilst at the same time developing their knowledge and skills in order to achieve their true potential.

Pastoral care: Every effort is made to ensure that children flourish both in terms of their learning and personal growth. There is a commitment to providing a nurturing, safe and supportive environment with a firm sense of belonging and community. Communication between staff, children and parents is both flexible and open, leading to the best possible outcomes for growth and development.

Principal: Ms Ann Cusack

Head: Mr Luke Bromwich

Outstanding characteristics: Saint Gregory’s is the only secondary school in B&NES rated ‘Outstanding’ by Ofsted in three consecutive inspections, making it one of Ofsted’s highest achieving secondary schools locally and nationally. This year, they were recognised once again, as an ‘Outstanding’ secondary school in their Section 48 Diocesan Inspection, highlighting Saint Gregory’s as a flourishing educational community where every child is valued and encouraged to grow as an individual.

Outstanding characteristics: A school with real spirit and energy, which lives each day to the full and brings about a love of learning.

Excitement and learning experiences are purposefully packed into every moment. The children are thoroughly prepared for entrance examinations to senior schools, and St Margaret’s has an impressive record of success in academic and specialist subject scholarships, as well as consistently gaining entry to firstchoice schools.

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Bay Tree Road, Larkhall, Bath, BA1 6ND Tel: 01225 312661 info@st-marks.org.uk www.st-marks.org.uk Twitter: @StMarksBATH Autumn term: 2 September – 20 December 2019 Spring term: 6 January – 3 April 2020 Summer term: 20 April – 20 July 2020 Age of pupils: 11–16 years Number of pupils: 300 approx Day fees: N/A Religious denomination: Church of England

The curriculum: St Mark’s is a school where children thrive and reach their full academic and personal potential through a combination of quality teaching, enriching opportunities and high expectations. The dynamic curriculum presents opportunities for all types of learners.

St Mark’s also provides a place at The New Sixth, offering a high-quality sixth form education as a platform for future success in higher education and the workplace.

Extra-curricular activities: An inspiring careers programme, extra-curricular activities and enrichment opportunities allow students to build on and expand their personal achievements and experiences.

Pastoral care: A nurturing and supportive pastoral system which enables the development of strong working relationships with students, allowing them to reach the best of their abilities.

Name of Principal: Mr Barnaby Ash, BSc (Hons) NPQH Outstanding characteristics: St Mark’s is a coeducational secondary school in the heart of Bath. Their vision is to inspire students for future success. This is achieved by developing confident, ambitious learners through an unstinting focus on academic excellence while prioritising well-being and self-esteem.

STONAR

THE PARAGON SCHOOL

Cottles Park, Atworth, Wiltshire, SN12 8NT Tel: 01225 701740 www.stonarschool.com

Lyncombe House, Lyncombe Vale, BA2 4LT Tel: 01225 310837, email: reception.paragon@priorparkschools.com, www: paragonschool.co.uk

Autumn term: 4 September – 13 December 2019 Spring term: 7 January – 26 March 2020 Summer term: 20 April – 3 July 2020 Age of pupils: 3–18 years Number of pupils: Junior school 130, Senior school 220 Day fees: Boarders: £7,916–£ 10,966 per term; Prep: £2,950–£3,983 per term; Senior school £5,316–£5,733 per term.

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Age of pupils: 3–11 years

Religious denomination: Non-denominational

Number of pupils: 258

The curriculum: The school offers a broad and imaginative curriculum. Small class sizes and excellent teaching ensures that each pupil is developed in line with their individual strengths and weaknesses. Stonar is regularly in the top 10% of schools at GCSE for value-added, meaning pupils achieve on average up to a grade higher than predicted in all subjects. The school motivates pupils to think for themselves, explore new ideas and develop independence, imagination, resilience, high aspirations and a sense of responsibility for their own progress.

Pupils gain confidence in their strengths, acquire life-long learning skills and the ability to adapt to change.

Termly fees: Juniors: Years 3–6 £3,650 per term including lunches; Reception, Years 1 and 2 £3,280 per term including lunches. Squirrels PreSchool: Full-time, including lunches £2,989 per term; Part-time (per day) including lunch: £600 per term. Per morning, without lunch (until 12pm): £330 per term. Per morning, including lunch (until 1pm): £440 per term. Per afternoon, without lunch (from 1pm) £270 per term. Per afternoon, including lunch (from 12pm): £380 per term.

Extra-curricular activities: Through the huge range of extra curricular activities on offer in the 80-acre campus pupils discover their own interests and talents and learn to respect and celebrate those of others. An array of clubs at lunchtime and after lessons enrich the experience at Stonar and academic work is enhanced by subject specific trips. 40% of Stonar pupils ride at our British Horse Society approved equestrian centre, which offers outstanding facilities including stabling, indoor and outdoor schools and a cross country schooling field.

Pastoral care: Pupils, parents and teachers alike often describe Stonar as a family. As a small school each pupil is known individually. A nurturing ethos is integral to the school, backed up by an outstanding and robust pastoral structure that ensures the very best care for every child. Stretched and inspired by everything they experience at Stonar, pupils develop into confident and outgoing young adults.

Name of Principal: Mr Matthew Way, BSc.Econ.

(Hons), PGCE, MEd Outstanding characteristics: Stonar is proud to be part of the NACE Education Group, which consists of over 50 schools around the world. As a result pupils attending Stonar benefit from developing a global outlook that will be essential for the world in which they will live and work.

Through its partnerships with the schools in the group, pupils engage in a wide range of academic and cultural events that allow them to work alongside peers of other nationalities and forge long-term connections and friendships.

Stonar is fully co-educational and applications are welcomed from both boys and girls for all years.

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Autumn term: 5 September – 13 December 2019 Half term: 23 October – 3 November 2019 Spring term: 7 January – 31 March 2020 Half term: 14 February – 23 February 2020 Summer term: 20 April – 7 July 2020 Half term: 23 May – 31 May 2020

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Religious denomination: Christian The curriculum: Broad, balanced curriculum with cross-curricular links and some topic-based work. Emphasis on core subjects and attaining high academic standards, with an engaging humanities curriculum and cross-curricular ICT. Sport, art, music and outdoor learning are also extremely strong.

Extra-curricular activities: A fantastic range of extra-curricular activities from chess and pottery to conservation and African drumming.

Staff and external specialist teachers and coaches run over 65 lunchtime and after-school clubs. The majority of the clubs focus on enjoyment and exploring new interests. Some of the clubs are by invitation only to provide the children with the opportunity to develop their skill level. There is also a rich mix of school trips and activity days, including a week in France for Year 6 children, a trip to Osmington Bay for Year 5 and a residential to Mill on the Brue for Year 4. Visits are to local historical and educational sites, and many themed days make full use of the school’s grounds.

Pastoral care: Every child at The Paragon should feel secure and affirmed, valued for who they are regardless of their ability. Children feel comfortable about approaching a teacher to talk about something that’s bothering them. Strong relationships with parents help identify problems at an early stage. A school council, with democratically elected representatives from Year 2 up, meets monthly with the Headmaster.

Name of Principal: Mr Andrew Harvey Outstanding characteristics: The Paragon feels so special: its friendly family atmosphere and belief that happy children learn best is at the heart of what they do.

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AUTHOR | INTERVIEW

REAL LIFE MATHS PROBLEM: A lake in a village is used as a source of fresh water. One day a small algal colony forms on the surface of the lake.

Over the next few days the colony doubles its coverage of the lake’s surface each day. It will continue to grow like this until it covers the lake, unless something is done. It is decided to leave the algae to grow until it covers half the surface of the lake when it will be more easily removed.

The question is asked, ‘On which day will the algae cover half of the lake?’

A common answer to this question is 30 days. But since the colony doubles in size each day, if the lake is halfcovered one day it will be completely covered the next.

So the algae will cover half the surface of the lake on the 59th day, leaving only one day to save the lake. This is an example of exponential growth, and of how we have been conditioned to think in a more linear way.

A matter of mathematics

It’s one of the three Rs (’rithmetic), but many of us fail to see the relevance of mathematics in our modern world. We associate it with geniuses such as Einstein and don’t see not being good at maths as a slur. Think again, says Kit Yates in conversation with Emma Clegg.

His book The Maths of Life and Death is published this month

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AUTHOR | INTERVIEW

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ow do zebra fish get their stripes? How do you stop locusts swarming? How do ants make decisions? These are all questions of biological mathematics. And there was I thinking that – apart from addition, multiplication and percentages – maths was an abstract concept: equations on a chalk board, layered calculations, endless numbers.

But mathematics is all around us, says Kit Yates, senior lecturer in mathematical biology at the University of Bath, whose job consists of taking real-world phenomena and uncovering the mathematical truths behind them. “Maths is the language of science, so you can use maths to describe any area of science,” says Kit. “The seeming dichotomy is that biology seems to be messy and real world and people traditionally think of maths as pure and abstract and irrelevant, but actually they come together in the middle.”

Kit relates a scenario where his four-yearold son asked him how many snails there were in the garden. Kit didn’t know, but calculated this by a method called capture/ recapture. Kit and his son searched the garden and found as many snails as they could in 10 minutes – the result was 23.

They marked them all with a cross using an indelible pen. A week later, they did the same thing, found as many snails as they could in the garden over a 10-minute period. This time they found 18 snails and just three of them had the cross on their shells. The capture/recapture method says that the proportion of marked individuals in the second sample – 3/18 or 1/6 – should be representative of the proportion of marked individuals in the garden as a whole. So the number of marked individuals caught on the first day, 23, are scaled up by a factor of six to find an estimate for the total number of snails in the garden – 138.

“So it’s a really simple multiplication,” says Kit. This method can be used to calculate in all sorts of scenarios, including estimating the number of war dead in conflict zones where not all the bodies can be rescued, the number of drug addicts in the United States, the number of fish in an ocean to research how intensively to fish the seas, the number of raffle tickets bought at a fair, the crowd number at a football ground or the number of visitors to a website.

One of Kit’s current areas of research is looking at the mathematics of how embryo patterns and pigmentation patterns form.

“The reason why some cats have a white belly but a black coat can be explained through mathematical modelling,” he says.

He describes how he works with experimental biologists – one recent study compared the movement of cells in an embryo to a mathematical model in which cells jump between the sites of a grid. “It’s not hugely complicated; it’s more like a computer game, like a game of Tetris, where you are trying to fill up a domain with cells.”

This is one thing – apart from mathematics obviously – at which Kit excels, making maths problems and mathematical calculations sound really interesting to those who are not mathematicians. “I realised that this was the way into mathematics for people who haven’t been interested in mathematics or didn’t enjoy it at school – to tell the story of real people’s lives and how it affects real people.” In his book The Maths of Life and Death, published this month, Kit explains how maths underpins everything we do, and how, quite literally, it is often a matter of life or death.

Take the famous case of Sally Clark, one of the real-life examples that Kit uses in his book. Sally and her husband Steve lost their son at 11 weeks. Then a year later, they lost their second son at eight weeks. After the second death Sally was charged with the murder of both her sons. This was a complex trial, Kit says, with conflicting evidence and it was characterised by a number of mathematical mistakes, which would contribute to what has been described as Britain’s worst miscarriage of justice.

One of the miscalculations involved a statistic given by an expert witness, Professor Sir Roy Meadows, who testified that the chance of two children from an affluent family suffering sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), also known as cot death, was one in 73 million. Meadows had multiplied the probability of an individual event (the death of Sally Clark’s first baby) by the probability of another similar event (the death of another baby). The calculation assumed that SIDS cases were independent events. But there are many known risk factors associated with SIDS, including smoking and premature birth, and genetic factors, which makes the assumption, and the calculation, wildly off the mark.

Combined with other mathematical mistakes, and the fact that the evidence was conflicting and the case not clear cut, the jury were heavily influenced by Meadow’s statistic and assumed that it was extremely likely that Sally had murdered her two children. Sally’s defence didn’t question the figure. The jury found Sally guilty and she was sentenced to life imprisonment in 1998.

“Meadows took the probability of one death in a family and multiplied that by itself, which made it look far more likely that Sally Clark had murdered her kids. That is the worrying thing – we see someone who we perceive to be an expert and in a position of authority and they produce a figure and we are blinded by the figure. We need to learn to question these figures.”

“There are plenty of other instances in the book where slight mathematical understandings have caused deaths in some instances or serious inconveniences, or sent people to prison,” says Kit. A fatal example was a nurse who calculated the insulin she needed to administer to a diabetic patient as 10 times the dose that was required. Another example was in 1936 when pollsters

Kit Yates

estimated that the Republican presidential candidate in the US election would beat Theodore Roosevelt, but they got their sampling method wrong and Roosevelt won by a massive majority. A more lighthearted example is of a builder who was mistakenly paid £400,000 instead of £400, and ended up going to prison because he spent the money.

Is the maths in the book challenging to understand? “I don’t think people will find any of the mathematical concepts difficult, it’s more the detail,” explains Kit. “I’ve tried to steer away from much of the detail and focus on the broad concepts. I want the book to be mainstream. It is written for people who are intelligent, smart and interested, but that applies to a huge number of people.

There are no equations in the book – the bits of maths that we do are explained with analogies, with metaphors and through stories, and the really important part of the book is not the details of the maths, it’s the concepts.”

“There are so many stories around life and death which have a mathematical implication, and it’s a good place to get people’s attention where you think that something is in the balance because of mathematics. Also life and death – although they are important – are everyday experiences, and that is what the book is about, trying to get to grips with people’s everyday experience where maths can make a huge difference.”

It seems that my memories of chalk marks on a board are not abstract concepts – such calculations give meaning and relevance to everything around us. n

Kit Yates will be at Topping & Co. to talk about his book The Maths of Life and Death on 23 September, 7.45pm, £20 including book; toppingbooks.co.uk

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CITY | EVENTS

Echoes of the city

Ten inspiring speakers with ideas from the fields of digital technology, business, eco-systems, inventions, education, creative arts and well-being are speaking at TEDxBath on 21 September – and each of their conversations matter

T

ED stands for technology, entertainment and design. TED, a non-profit organisation, has a mission to spread worthy ideas to local communities around the globe, usually in the form of short, powerful talks. On the afternoon of 21 September, TEDxBath will be bringing the spirit of TED to the city. The event, coordinated by a diverse team of local volunteers, aims to share ideas and issues that relate to the Bath community, inspiring new connections, activism, and a clear remit to look to the future.

TEDxBath debuted last year with a sellout event at Bath Abbey that was streamed to a wider audience at The Guildhall. On the theme of ‘Light Up the Future’, 12 leading speakers – including TV presenter and architect Piers Taylor, landscape architect Andrew Grant and Penny Hay, originator of Bath’s Forest of Imagination – spoke on a broad range of topics concerning the future of Bath including social welfare, mobility, mental health, and the role and character of the city.

TEDx’s 10th birthday will be celebrated in Bath at the Holburne Museum with an event themed Echoes of the City, with ten speakers exploring the theme from unusual, exciting and provocative perspectives.

Each of the speakers will talk for just 10 minutes on their subject. The youngest of these is 18-year old Frances Fox, a member of the Bath Youth Climate Alliance (BYCA)

Cat Jarman

James Shone

Jo Dolby

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who has helped organise the Friday Youth Climate Strikes. Another voice inspired by the protection of our changing world comes from Lynn Wilson, based in Glasgow and internationally renowned as a designer, researcher and circular economy specialist who will be talking about the importance of sustainable fashion.

Jayne Rochford-Smith, the acting head of St Andrew’s School in Bath, will present a moving account of how the school’s muchloved headmistress, Sue East, died in 2018 and how her illness and death was shared openly with the children in her school. A Rastafarian and filmmaker from Bath, Shawn Sobers, has another angle on the city, as he tells the story of Heile Salassi, king of the Rastafarian community, who was exiled in Bath from 1936–1941.

TEDx will also be hearing from Jo Dolby, vicar and hub leader at Oasis Hub Bath, a community hub and church based in the centre of Bath, who has been pioneering and delivering innovative community projects.

Another voice in defence of the disadvantaged is data analyst Harpinder Collacott who works to ensure that those in poverty are not lost in the analysis of data, ensuring that data and evidence are prioritised and used to inform decisions on the allocation of resources.

A perspective on history comes from Cat Jarman, a Norwegian archaeologist known for her work investigating the human remains of Vikings, who will talk about

Frances Fox

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Larkhall

genetics in human remains. Doug Laughlin, focuses on the history of Bath in his talk with an analysis of the city’s surprising histories, particularly in relation to engineering and invention.

A speaker with an innovative new technology specialism is Larkhall, a Bristolbased musician and new media artist who will talk about his work on a digital code that enables performance makers and musicians to create magical musical moments.

The final speaker is James Shone, a father of four from Bath who discovered during a standard medical that he had a brain tumour.

While the tumour was operable, he ended up losing his sight. James set up his charity I Can & I Am, and visits schools and businesses delivering his powerful pastoral messages.

He talks about how it’s important to focus on what you can do rather on what you can’t.

The event has been organised by an impressive team of volunteers – all working full time in other jobs – headed by lead organiser Rhodora Baguilat, who has sought support from the local business community to fund the event. Curation lead, Geoff Rich, said, “Our commitment is to bring together a community of diverse ideas and speakers for a new conversation in Bath.” That conversation takes place on 21 September. n Tickets are limited, but the livestream venues will be announced on social media: @Tedxbath2019 (Twitter); @tedx_bath (Instagram); tedxbath.co.uk

Harpinder Collacott

Jayne Rochford-Smith

Lynn Wilson

Doug Laughlin

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HEALTH & BEAUTY

HEALTH & BEAUTY NEWS Yoga sessions, action for cancer, spa treatments, actors exercising and research to minimise the use of plastic microbeads – Emma Clegg on the latest updates in the sector

MINIMISING PLASTIC MICROBEADS EXERCISING ACTOR Actor David Suchet (CBE) says physical fitness and movement have been key to his 50 years on stage and in television. The 73-year old, famous for his portrayal of Agatha Christie’s Poirot, was recently interviewed with his son, Rob Suchet, co-founder of Bath’s riverside boutique fitness studio, CLASS. “Exercise has easily added 10 years on to my career, and my life,” claims David, who trains regularly with a personal trainer in London and at CLASS in Bath. Rob, a personal trainer and nutritional therapist says, “We’ve created specific ‘Upper Class’ sessions to cater to the requirements of the over 60s and focus on mobility, flexibility, strength and balance.”

• Membership options start at £37 amonth; class-bath.co.uk

TONIC YOGA SouthGate has teamed up with local fitness specialists TONIQ to host free weekly yoga sessions at the centre. The classes run every Wednesday morning, between 7.30am and 8.15am, on the lawn in front of the Secret Garden Bar. The free sessions offer an ideal early morning workout and are suitable for all ages and abilities. Bring a yoga mat. Spaces are limited, so booking in advance is recommended.

• bath.ac.uk

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• Sign up via the contact form on the website: toniqlife.com

SPA TREATMENTS FOR PATIENTS Bath Spa Hotel is offering Jennifer Young spa treatments for people who are living with and beyond cancer. The hotel has teamed up with specialist skincare company, Jennifer Young: Beauty Despite Cancer, to offer spa treatments and specialist products for people living with and beyond cancer, as well as to provide training for their in-house beauty therapists and front of house staff. The Jennifer Young range will be available by the end of 2019.

• macdonaldhotels.co.uk

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Plastic microbeads were banned from shower gels and toothpaste in the UK last year, but can still be found in many other personal care products such as suncream and cosmetics.

Start-up company Naturbeads, based at the University of Bath, is working with companies to replace microplastics in these products with biodegradable microbeads made from cellulose.

An estimated 30,000 tonnes of microplastics from consumer products end up in our world’s oceans every year. Some of these are eaten by marine life, passing up the food chain and ending up on our plates. Naturbeads’ biodegradable alternative could reduce microplastic pollution in our oceans.

The technology to create the cellulose microbeads was developed at the University of Bath by professors Janet Scott and Davide Mattia from the Centre for Sustainable Chemical Technologies in 2017. Naturbeads has now been awarded funding by a partnership between UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and Sky Ocean Ventures (SOV), through the Plastic Research and Innovation Fund.

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This October, Breast Cancer Now is encouraging everyone in Bath to wear it pink and help make lifesaving breast cancer research and life-changing support happen.

Breast Cancer Now’s wear it pink day takes place across Bath on Friday 18 October, during Breast Cancer Awareness Month. One of the UK’s biggest fundraising events, the event has had an enormous impact on the lives of those affected by breast cancer since launching in 2002 and has raised over £33 million for breast cancer research to date.

Anyone can take part – hold a cake sale, organise a raffle or arrange a pink fancy dress day at your school or workplace. All the money raised will help to fund vital breast cancer research.

• breastcancernow.org

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THE | WALK

The view from Prospect Stile

Chew Valley views walk

Chew Valley Lake is a mecca for birdwatchers and a haven for wildlife. Renowned for its scenic beauty, it is most effective when viewed from above to appreciate its scale and setting, as Andrew Swift’s walk demonstrates

C

onstructed more than 60 years ago to supply Bristol with water, Chew Valley Lake is the sixth largest reservoir in the UK, and the largest in the west of England. Its scenic beauty attracts thousands of visitors to walk its nature trails.

This month’s walk takes advantage of the magnificent views of the lake when viewed from above. Starting at the parking area next to the lake, it leads, via green lanes, stony tracks and field paths to a series of panoramic views in the hills to the south.

This is a quiet, little-known and largely unspoilt part of Somerset, where ash trees predominate – along with grim evidence of ash dieback. While parts of the walk follow quiet lanes, other parts present a variety of challenges. Despite being well waymarked, some of the field paths are indistinct, and the terrain can be rough and occasionally steep and slippery. Some fields may also contain cows. Finally, there is a short section along a lane which can be busy, although it is wide with clear visibility.

Despite these considerations, this is a splendid country walk, with fantastic views and a country pub two-thirds of the way round, when all the climbing is behind you, and where dogs are welcome.

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DIRECTIONS The starting point lies 14 miles west of Bath, between West Harptree and Bishop Sutton, where the A368 crosses Chew Valley Lake on a causeway, and there is parking on both sides of the road (ST571581).

Having parked, head east along the pavement on the north side of the road and carry on along a gravel track. After 250m – by the entrance to New Manor Farm – cross the main road and carry straight on along a byway with a sign advising of its unsuitability for vehicles.

After Hart’s Farm Cottage, the byway dwindles to a stony track, which soon starts climbing steeply. Despite being overhung by trees, its surface is more akin to a cobbled street than a muddy track, and old maps accord it the same status as surrounding lanes which are now tarmacked. After 450m, the track levels out and you emerge into the open to cross Burledge hillfort, which dates from the Iron Age. Unfortunately, as the hedges lining the track are above head height, you can see very little.

After another 200m, as you approach the east end of the fort, the hedges drop away, the views open up over Chew Valley Lake and Denny Island, and, to the right you will see some of the surviving ramparts.

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A few metres further on, when the track swings right, follow a footpath sign straight on along a rough track between hedges (ST584585). When the track forks, a few metres further on, take the right-hand fork to stay close to the hedgerow. After a while, a kissing gate (KG) leads into a field with panoramic views northward. Carry on in the same direction, following the contours, but, when you come to a waymark post partway across the field, follow the arrow, heading well to the left of the five-bar gate ahead, to find a KG hidden in the hedgerow.

As you carry on, you will see the former mining village of Bishop Sutton down to your left, with the lake in the distance. The track soon starts heading steeply down steps and then down a slippery bank. When you come to a large post, bear right to follow a gentler – if barely perceptible – track downhill, which leads to a KG. Once through it, steps lead down to another KG, after which a track leads down to a KG by a cottage (ST591591).

Just beyond it, turn left along a lane, and after 100m turn right to follow a footpath sign through a handgate. Follow the track as it swings right alongside a hedge, go through a KG and follow a waymark across a field where there may be cows.

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THE | WALK

On the far side, cross a ditch and go through a KG. Head for the gap between the two woods – Castle Wood and Broad Wood – which you can see ahead. Go through a KG and follow a waymark through another field.

On the hilltop to your left, beside the wood, are the barely discernible ramparts of a castle about which little is known.

Continue through another KG and, after going through a handgate, turn right along a lane which may be busy (ST601592). It is relatively wide, with clear visibility, but if you are in a group you will need to walk in single file and stay close to the hedge.

After 300m, carry straight on at a crossroads along a stony byway known as Nanny Hurn’s Lane. After 700m, as it curves right, you’ll see the tower of Cameley Church through a gap in the trees ahead.

The lane now drops downhill between high banks – a sure indicator of age.

Stone eventually gives way to tarmac and, at a T junction by Lower Farm, turn right along a lane. After 500m, look in the lefthand hedgerow for a stone with Hinton inscribed on it, go through the KG beside it and head away from the lane, keeping the hedge on your left (ST598574).

At the end of the field, go through a KG. Carry on alongside the hedge, go through two more KGs, bear right to head for a KG in the far corner and carry on beside a fence.

After going through another KG, bear right

The view from Burledge Hillfort

to go through a six-bar gate by Abbot’s Barn Farm and turn left along a lane into the village of Hinton Blewett.

A right turn leads you past the Ring O Bells Inn and the simple church of St Margaret’s – both worth a detour. When you come to a T junction, 350m past the church, turn right. After another 150m, follow the lane as it bears left by a farm, and, when you come to another T junction, turn right. 150m further on at Prospect Stile a bench commands a distant view of the lake (ST587567). The stile has been replaced by a KG, leading to a rough track downhill, with some very steep and slippery sections. If you want to avoid probably the most challenging part of the walk, you can carry on along what is a somewhat narrow, little frequented lane and turn right at the next T junction.

If you decide to follow the steep track downhill, go through a KG at the bottom,

follow a waymark towards the left of the copse ahead, and go through another KG. Head straight down to a gate at the bottom of the next field, and, go through it, and turn right along a lane whose wide verges are the remnants of Widcombe Common.

After 1800m, when you come to the main road, cross and turn left to return to the parking area. n Andrew Swift is leading several walks during the Bathscape Walking Festival from 14–22 September; bathscapewalkingfestival.co.uk

FACT FILE n Distance: 6.5 miles n Time: 3–4 hours n Terrain: Some steep and muddy sections; rough tracks and indistinct field paths; cows likely; one short section along a potentially busy but wide lane with clear visibility; no stiles n Lunch: Ring O Bells, Hinton Blewett Lunch served Mon to Sat, 12–2.30pm; Sun, 12–5pm ringobellshinton.co.uk

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INTERIORS

The mirrored door (found on the site) influenced a great deal of the joinery detailing for doors and windows

A MEWS REVIVAL

The buildings in Bath have multiple stories to tell. Patrick Williams, whose company Berdoulat specialises in period buildings and restoration, tells the story of a mews house on Margaret’s Buildings that he has renovated

T

wo years ago, we were fortunate enough to acquire the premises on Margaret’s Buildings that will eventually (once an extensive restoration is completed) become a shop showcasing our 18th-century type freestanding kitchens.

Famous for housing high-end provisions store and home of the Bath Oliver biscuit Cater Stoffell & Fortt Ltd (1890–1980), and later Craik’s Antiques (1980–2016), the shop in its current format had had just two careful owners. Prior to the 1890 refurb, which saw a complete reformatting of the Georgian shop with internal walls and ceilings removed to create the double-height open plan interior, it had been home to a coach builder, cabinet maker, cheese and bacon factory, and wine and spirits merchant. The lineage of ownership and related trades is most appropriate for us given our plans to open a shop that will showcase period joinery and delicious provisions.

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LEFT: The photograph showing the house after the Blitz ABOVE: The before and after shots of the frontage

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INTERIORS

rear, encompassing three buildings that were all conjoined as part of the 1890 refurb. The rearmost of these buildings was built in 1800 as a pub, The Rising Sun. When the pub closed, the high-end provisions store at the front swallowed up the building and it was used as a licensed outlet for wine and spirit sales.

When we bought the property, this portion of the building was looking rather sorry for itself, having been used since the 1980s as a garage. Behind a galvanized roller shutter was just a concrete slab, and an asbestos-lined ceiling. Matchboarded walls gave a clue as to a former use, and on further investigation we found an amazing archive photograph taken the morning after the Blitz, showing the building with six over six sashes and a shop front.

We made a high-resolution scan of the image and blew it up to try and glean as much information as possible. We could just about make out the lettering ‘Cater Stoffell & Fortt’ above a spandrel-topped window. We decided to seek planning permission and listed building consent to reinstate the Victorian façade.

No archive material existed beyond the 1890 plans with information as to the design of the shop front. We used the nearby St James’ Wine Vaults façade as inspiration, as it dates from a similar period. This informed a lot of the joinery detail. As there was no room to hang the giant sash window in the usual manner with weights either side of it, we cast a 120kg weight in lead, which rises and falls inside a pocket to the left of the front door, connected via a chain and pulley system.

We installed an insulated timber floor on top of the concrete slab, using reclaimed floorboards. We introduced a stairwell to give access to two ensuite bedrooms at first floor level, which we clad in matchboard recycled from a wall that was removed elsewhere in the building.

We found stored in a back room what we imagined was the original counter, and decided to use this to house the kitchen, reinstating it in the same position following the 1890 plans. n • Berdoulat is an interior design practice with a focus on period buildings and restoration; berdoulat.co.uk

A Regency dining table was trimmed down to size to suit a small alcove area

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DAVINCI PENDANT

BY BELID, SWEDEN

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

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Hydrangea ‘Macrophylla’

Hydrangea jinks

A prolific garden flower and shrub with dazzling show appeal, Jane Moore confesses a serious affection for the hydrangea in all its forms, from lacecaps to mopheads – what’s more these fast, bold growers are easy to please

I

like to think that I’m all about pushing boundaries, embracing new ideas and absorbing new trends in gardening. I happily plunged headlong into the ‘great grasses revolution’ of the noughties, the allium explosion of more recent years and I even found a corner for the tree fern fad of the nineties, even though the garden at The Bath Priory is south-facing and rather hot and dry. Oh yes, I am a dedicated follower of fashion as The Kinks so eloquently put it.

However I must confess to a soft spot for the humble hydrangea. Oh, that’s okay, you may think, there are one or two ‘good’ hydrangeas. But my soft spot is actually more of an enormous pink teddy bear of affection because I really like them all.

Yes, even the mopheads in all their flouncy confection. There, I’ve said it – I’ve announced my inner granny to the world.

But let’s start at the beginning…

A QUICK INTRODUCTION These are quite simple sturdy looking shrubs, small to medium sized, occasionally a bit bigger than that. You’ll be familiar with the 110 TheBATHMagazine

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mopheads (Hydrangea macrophylla), the old-fashioned type with globular heads of tightly packed flowers, the branches sometimes weighed down by their voluptuous flower heads.

Then there are the pointy conical-flowered hydrangea such as the beautiful oak-leafed Hydrangea querciflora and the lovely Hydrangea paniculata. Finally, there are the lacecaps, probably my favourites, with their flat flower heads and a ring of blooms surrounding the insignificant tiny central flowers.

HYDRANGEA LOVES My first hydrangea love was called Hydrangea ‘Madame Emile Moullière’.

This mophead beauty remains one of my favourites. It’s the first one that I ever planted and I still admire its pretty white, mauve-centred mops of flowers, especially as they become tinged with pink as they age.

This group also includes the infinitely more modern Hydrangea arborescens ‘Annabelle’, which is a great addition to any garden with its fulsome flower heads measuring up to 25cm across. The RHS have awarded it an

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Award of Garden Merit (AGM) and that’s something that isn’t given lightly.

My next connection was with the oakleaved hydrangea (Hydrangea quercifolia), a thing of great substance and drama for the garden even when not in flower. The leaves are like a giant, wrinkly oak leaf and look wonderful in a woodland border all summer.

Once the creamy panicles of flowers appear in late summer, they’re simply the finale to a good show. There are lots of lovely ones but ‘Snow Queen’ is a good performer, also with an AGM, and with lovely autumnal tints.

Finally, there are the lacecaps, and these are my desert island hydrangeas, the ones I would never want to live without. Top of the list is the large but undeniably beautiful Hydrangea aspera with its furry leaves and fabulous mauve flowers. They seem to go on for ever, too, the finale highlight of the autumn garden.

Go for H. macrophylla if you have room.

Failing that, there are other varieties that are perfect for the smaller garden such as H. macrophylla ‘Lanarth White’, an utterly reliable toughie but a good contender with flat, snowy plates of flowers on sturdy stems.

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GARDENING

I’m also rather captivated by the dainty H. serrata ‘Mont Aso’ with its propeller-like, pointy flowers which are pink in lime soil but put it in a pot of ericaceous compost, and hydrangeas often do rather well in pots for a few years, and those flowers will be that lovely blue.

HYDRANGEAS FOR CONTAINERS Hydrangeas do grow rather well in pots, especially the Mopheads and smaller varieties, providing you stick to a few simple rules. First of all, choose a nice big pot at least 60cm in diameter. These shrubs are fast, bold growers and have root systems to match so allow them plenty of room to expand.

Secondly, place the container carefully. For most hydrangeas the ideal position is in dappled shade or somewhere that has sun for part of the day but not in the scorching rays of midday. Finally, always, always keep them well watered. Most potted hydrangeas die due to lack of water so regular, thorough watering is crucial.

DOS AND DON’TS Another winning attribute of hydrangeas is that they’re blessedly easy to please. Give them a nice moist soil, one that doesn’t get waterlogged. Add in a regular mulch of garden compost or leaf mould and a lightly shaded location sheltered from the chilly winds and they will perform beautifully.

A combination of dry soil and full sun is an outright recipe for disaster, and steer clear of frosty spots and wind exposure.

LATE COLOUR There are few plants quite as good at giving you long-lasting late colour without any trouble at all. Give them a light prune in spring and that’s pretty much it. The flowers start to get going in high summer, in late July and early August, but – and this I think is the true magic of hydrangeas – they keep on delivering, becoming

Hydrangea paniculata

beautifully two- or three- or four-toned as they age. By the time the autumn has set in, the flowers are drying to parchment-paper beige and will linger all winter creating pale evocative statements in the winter garden.

FORGIVING Hydrangeas are great in the shade, shining out like a rich glow under trees. They love our Bath clay and will even cope with some sun, providing the soil is rich, full of hummus and doesn’t dry out. We’re too alkaline here to get the cobalt blues typical of Cornish gardens, but I’m content with the softer pinks, the glowing whites, the creams and the beautiful mauves of my beloved lacecap. n Jane Moore is an award-winning gardening columnist and head gardener at The Bath Priory Hotel. Twitter: @janethegardener

Create space with a garden room GARDEN OFFICES • LOG CABINS • STUDIOS • SUMMERHOUSES POSH SHEDS • TIMBER GARAGES • OUTDOOR LIVING SPACES

01225 774566 • www.gardenaffairs.co.uk Visit our Display Centre at Trowbridge Garden Centre 288 Frome Road, BA14 0DT THEBATHMAG.CO.UK

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the directory

to advertise in this section call 01225 424 499

Electricians

Holiday Rental

60+ luxury properties for lets 2 nights to 5 months Holidays – For business – Friends & family – Temporary accommodation during renovation/relocation Contact: 01225 482 225 alexa@bathholidayrentals.com www.bathholidayrentals.com Providing 4 & 5 star self-catering properties since 2006

Health, Beauty & Wellbeing

House & Home

KEIKO KISHIMOTO

Email: annadesign@btinternet.com

Holistic Treatments for Wellbeing

Aromatherapy • Reflexology/Facial reflexology Japanese Cosmo Facelift • Deep Tissue Massage For more information, please visit:

www.keikokishimoto.co.uk 07739 827186 contact@keikokishimoto.co.uk

Trowbridge & Neal’s Yard Bath

• Interior and exterior

• Wallpaper specialist • Ceiling repairs and lining

• Working with designer paints • Free quotations

• Over 20 years experience

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“We used Mardan following a recommendation from a friend. They moved us in and out of storage and then into our renovated house. I would highly recommend them. The service was super efficient and the guys were quick, polite and courteous. Nothing was too much trouble and all of our possessions arrived safe and sound” Emma Webster, Moon Client

DOMESTIC & COMMERCIAL MOVERS • PACKERS • STORERS • SHIPPERS

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PROPERTY | HOMEPAGE

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elgrave Road is a handsome semi-detached double fronted Victorian villa located in a sought after residential area within close proximity of Bath city centre and ideally placed for the excellent local amenities in nearby Larkhall Village.

This beautiful family home offers immaculately presented, fully refurbished and generously proportioned accommodation arranged conveniently over 2 floors. On the ground floor there is a large welcoming entrance hall with Mandarin Stone flooring. To the left there is a charming bay fronted formal sitting room with a handsome period fireplace and bespoke built in cupboards and shelves, to the right is a large open plan contemporary kitchen and dining room with double doors leading through to the family room at the front. In addition there is smart guest WC. An attractive central staircase leads to a pretty mezzanine level with part glazed double doors and a Juliette balcony enjoying wonderful views of the city. There is a spacious first floor landing with doors to all first floor rooms and access to a large boarded loft space. To the front and enjoying the beautiful panoramic views are 2 spacious double bedrooms. The master bedroom has a large window to the front and bespoke built in wardrobes. The pretty guest suite has a lovely en-suite shower room. To the rear there are 2 further double bedrooms and an impressive family bath and shower room.

Externally, there are well stocked and beautifully landscaped ornamental ‘Oriental’ style terraced gardens. In addition and significantly, there is a particularly spacious garage with much potential to convert (subject to the necessary planning consents) and off street parking.

Belgrave Road, Bath • 4 double bedrooms • 2 beautiful bathrooms and guest WC • Well fitted contemporary open plan kitchen • Dining room & family room • Formal sitting room • Attractive ‘Oriental’ style terraced gardens • Double garage and off street parking

Guide price: £1,200,000

Cobb Farr, 35 Brock Street, The Circus, Bath. Tel: 01225 333332

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Wellow Farmhouse, Wellow A charming and beautifully modernised Grade II Listed farmhouse, originally dating back to the early 17th Century, located in an idyllic village to the south of Bath. The property has been finished to a high specification throughout, tastefully combining period charm with contemporary comforts.

Rent: ÂŁ3,500 pcm* beautiful living room with exposed beams | 2 further reception rooms | light and spacious open plan kitchen / living area | dining room with glass roof | utility room | 4 sizeable double bedrooms (1 en-suite) | family shower room | picturesque walled garden | gated driveway | cloakroom | idyllic village location

Reside Bath | 24 Barton Street Bath BA1 1HG | T 01225 445 777 | E info@residebath.co.uk | W www.residebath.co.uk

*A Holding Deposit equivalent to one week’s rent will be payable.

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www.kavanaghs.co.uk

O P SE EN PT D 7t AY h

ST GEORGES WORKS, TROWBRIDGE

ÂŁ220,000 to ÂŁ237,500 Kavanaghs are excited to announce the launch of an exceptional new development of two bedroom apartments in the centre of Trowbridge overlooking the town park.

Come and view the fully furnished show flat at our opening event between 11am-1pm on Saturday the 7th September.

Parking available on site.

These luxuriously appointed apartments have lift service, balconies overlooking the park or gardens to the ground floor.

Typical accommodation has two bedrooms, bathroom, ensuite, fully fitted kitchen and allocated secure parking.

01225 341504 63 Fore Street, Trowbridge, Wiltshire BA14 8ET

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Peter Greatorex, managing director of The apartment Company

Would Jane Austen have been a property addict??

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his month the city celebrates the beloved novelist, Jane Austen. As we know, Bath held a particluar place in her heart, which is why our city still honours her today. Her novels are filled with fascinating characters, beautifully described with all their quirks. She seemed to notice every small detail, those that could be seen and, more importantly, felt. Yet amidst her weaving plots and twisting tales are some other very important stars, as alongside her characters are the properties in which they live, those that they strive to obtain or admire from afar.

It is safe to say that if Jane were alive today she would be a property addict like many of us are. Scouring the property websites, such as Rightmove, for those dream homes that only a lottery win would enable us to own, and having a nosy at the apartment down the street that has just come onto the market. We like to think she would have continued to place glorious properties at the centre of all her stories.

As estate agents, we can learn a lot from her descriptions of fictional properties let’s take Pemberley, for example, the home of Mr Darcy in

[SOUTH WESTERN] LIMITED

Crafting beautiful homes

Bath | Somerset | Wiltshire | Cotswolds | Dorset

01225 791155 ashford-homes.co.uk

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Pride and Prejudice. Pemberley, she leads us to believe, is incredibly grand, set within a stunning landscape, and makes a lasting impression. She writes: “It was a large, handsome, stone building, standing well on rising ground, and backed by a ridge of high woody hills; and in front, a stream of some natural importance was swelled into greater, but without any artificial appearance. Its banks were neither formal, nor falsely adorned. Elizabeth was delighted. She had never seen a place for which nature had done more, or where natural beauty had been so little counteracted by an awkward taste. They were all of them warm in their admiration; and at that moment she felt that to be mistress of Pemberley might be something!”

We hope you’ve had that feeling when you’ve seen a building or a future home that has taken your breath away. It may have been the home you’re in now, or a visit to an historic building, and from the minute you step inside your imagination runs wild. Just like it did for Jane Austen, property plays a central part in all of our lives; each new home is kind of like a new chapter in our lives, and we’re proud that we can play our part in helping you along the way.

As the years roll by and generations of our families move, it’s often September that brings the sense of a new start, and we are inspired to explore new opportunities. The new school year often heralds a change of pace or routine prompting us to think ahead as well as back at the times we spent as children, those fun family traditions that are unique and sometimes strange, the loved ones that are sadly no longer with us. Our homes are central characters in our lives today as much as they are in each Jane Austen novel.

Whenever you’re ready to start the next chapter in your story, The Apartment Company is filled with property addicts looking forward to helping you move. We’re not here just for today, but for all the years to come.

The Apartment Company Pg@theapartmentcompany.co.uk or call 01225 471144.

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Central

Andrewsonline.co.uk

Highgate, Bath BA2 £850,000

01225 809 571

A stunning, duplex penthouse apartment in the award winning Bath Riverside development. Located in a superb location on the edge of the River Avon. Being offered on a turn key basis with all furniture, fixtures and fittings.

Energy Efficiency Rating: B

central@andrewsonline.co.uk

To view more properties and other services available visit Andrewsonline.co.uk

Camden

Andrewsonline.co.uk

Eden Villas BA1 OIEO £475,000

A beautifully presented 1930’s terrace home in the heart of Larkahll, just 1.4 miles from Bath city centre.

Three bedrooms, kitchen/dining room opening onto a pretty south west facing garden. This appealing family home also offers plenty of parking and a great home studio.

Energy Efficiency Rating: D

01225 809 868 camden@andrewsonline.co.uk

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Bear Flat

Andrewsonline.co.uk

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Rosemount Lane, BA2 ÂŁ575,000

An elegant, end of terrace, period home in a scenic, semi rural Widcombe location. Three bedrooms, bayed reception, kitchen/breakfast room and a garden office in a lovely south facing rear garden.

Energy Efficiency Rating: E

01225 805 680 bearflat@andrewsonline.co.uk

To view more properties and other services available visit Andrewsonline.co.uk

Newbridge Andrewsonline.co.uk

Rosslyn Road, BA1 ÂŁ550,000

A truly beautiful example of Bath architecture presented as a three bedroom end of terrace house offering adaptable family accommodation. This stunning home with its wealth of character is ready for a family to start their new chapter.

Energy Efficiency Rating: D

01225 809 685 newbridge@andrewsonline.co.uk

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CITY | BUSINESS

IS THERE A CASE FOR STAMP DUTY REFORM? LUKE BRADY

Head of Savills Bath office and southern residential division

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tamp duty is back in the spotlight again following increased speculation that the new Prime Minister is looking to overhaul the system. If you were to believe everything you read, you could be convinced this is a done deal. However, while Boris Johnson’s arrival at Number 10 certainly makes change more likely, the reality is more complex than recent headlines might suggest.

In considering the case for stamp duty reform recently, our researchers looked at a range of scenarios and estimated the financial implications of each – all set within the context of the current political environment. The analysis shows that, while the mooted reforms would give the housing market a welcome boost, they would jeopardise substantial tax revenues. Furthermore, the political environment could make them difficult to deliver.

This means buyers and sellers need to weigh up the relatively modest possible future tax savings against the context of general market uncertainty.

What is behind the speculation?

Prior to his move into Number 10 it was reported that, under a nodeal Brexit, Mr Johnson would consider increasing the stamp duty threshold for residential properties to £500,000 and reducing the highest marginal rate of tax at the top end of the market from 12% to 7%. While the prospect is not part of official party policy, speculation has increased.

While stamp duty cuts were not on the table under the previous administration, the change in leadership brings a change in political philosophy. It has also coincided with a 13% fall in transactions over £1m in the first half of 2019, which could be construed as a case for reducing duty at this end of the market.

Does this mean change is imminent?

Unless there is a substantial increase in transaction levels in the top 10% of the market above £500,000, or among investor and second home buyers paying the 3% surcharge, all the above options come at a significant cost to the Exchequer. This means that cuts are far from guaranteed. Any proposals are likely to be heavily scrutinised by the Treasury in the run up to a budget, particularly given some of the new Prime Minister’s spending commitments.

The ability to make sweeping changes to stamp duty will also be dependent on the ability of the current government to pass a Finance Bill in a challenging parliament. And of course, we cannot rule out a general election before the end of the year, which would undoubtedly complicate the position.

A compelling case?

Those holding out for a stamp duty cut need to carefully weigh up the likely benefit of doing so against several factors; the potential for delay given the political backdrop, the risk that any cuts are not as generous as they might be hoping for, particularly at the top end, and the potential for other market factors to come into play, outweighing the benefit of any cuts brought.

Put simply, it is too early for homeowners to make decisions regarding the sale of their home based on what we know about the future of stamp duty. n

What are the options?

There are several potential scenarios under which stamp duty could be cut. Firstly, it could be that all transactions under £500,000 are made exempt from the basic rate, while keeping the effective rate of tax the same for all other property. Alternatively, the nil rate band

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threshold could be lifted to £500,000, so that even those buying above the threshold would not pay duty on the first £500,000.

Another option is to lift the nil rate band threshold as above, while fixing a 7% duty on any property purchase in excess of £500,000.

Finally, consideration may be given to retaining the current structure of progressive increases above certain thresholds but reviewing how they operate, which would involve a political, social and financial balancing act.

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Luke Brady, Savills Bath. Edgar House, 17 George St, Bath BA1 2EN Web: savills.co.uk

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Great Pulteney Street

£3,000 pcm

Garden Maisonnette · Fully furnished · Three beautiful bedrooms · Close to all local amenities · Fabulous garden area · Full of Georgian grandeur · Study room and snug · Garage and permit parking · Available now

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Great Pulteney Street

£1,850 pcm

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The Regina

£1,150 pcm

SALES

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£1,400 pcm

Courtyard apartment · Furnished · Two double bedrooms · Beautiful bathrooms · Fabulous living area · Private front door · Quiet and peaceful · Council tax band D · Available now

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Henrietta Street

£1,400 pcm

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Springfield Place

Grosvenor Place

£1,000 pcm

£1,200 pcm

Unfurnished · Georgian · Two double bedrooms · Beautiful bathrooms · Fabulous living area · Private front door · Quiet and peaceful · Council tax band C · Available now

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Cavendish Place

£1,100 pcm

Unfurnished · One Double Bedroom · Delightful location · No Pets · No Students · Council tax band D · Resident’s parking permit

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Furnished · Ground floor apartment · ALLOCATED PARKING SPACE · No Pets · Council Tax Band C · Available 11th October 2019 · Beautiful views

01225 303 870

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Unfurnished · Residence parking permits · Fabulous first floor apartment · Two double bedrooms · Close to Henrietta Park · Central location · Council tax band D

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Unfurnished · Two bedroom · Ground floor apartment · Central location · Council tax band D · Resident’s parking permit · Available 12th September 2019 · Light and airy

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Portland Place

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Unfurnished · Three double bedroom · Central location · Immaculately presented · Residence parking permit · Council tax band E · Private garden

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Weymouth Court

£875 pcm

Fully furnished · Beautiful river views · Quiet and picturesque · Ground floor apartment · Allocated parking space · Available now · Council tax band A

sales@theapartmentcompany.co.uk

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Lansdown Crescent

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O.I.E.O

£850,000

Georgian · Grade I listed · Second floor · Two double bedrooms · Kitchen & Breakfast area · Stunning views · Period features · End of terrace · Approx. 1335 sq. ft.

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Cavendish Place

O.I.E.O £525,000

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London Street

Connaught Mansions

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£330,000

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£590,000

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Horstmann Close

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Old Walcot School

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£300,000

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O.I.E.O

£335,000

Georgian · Grade II listed · Two bedrooms · Two bathrooms · Open plan kitchen/sitting room · Private terrace · Close to city centre · Approx. 797 Sq. ft.

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Ground floor apartment · Two double bedrooms · Two bathrooms · Private parking · Communal gardens · Level walk into city centre · Bus links · Approx. 673 Sq.ft

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Georgian apartment · Grade II listed · Two bedrooms · Easy level walk to city centre · Far reaching views · Central location · Roof terrace · Approx. 1397 Sq ft

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Georgian · Grade I Listed · Individual drawing room · Two double bedrooms · Domed ceiling · Georgian features · Level walk to city centre · Lift access · Prestigious address · Parking space

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Grade I listed · Georgian apartment · Lower ground floor · Courtyard · Large sitting room · Two bedrooms · Prestigious address · Approx. 1066 Sq. ft

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Morford Street

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£250,000

Georgian maisonette · Grade II listed · Three double bedrooms · Central location · Investment opportunity · Approx 968 Sq. Ft

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New Marchants Passage O.I.E.O £300,000

Lamont House

Modern apartment · Two double bedrooms · Central location · Communal roof terrace · Close to transport links · Modern kitchen and bathrooms · Lift access · Bike storage · Highly recommended · Approx. 840 Sq. ft

Two double bedrooms · Ground floor apartment · Light and spacious · Short walk into Larkhall · Close to transport links · Easy access to the M4 · Communal gardens · Private garage

O.I.E.O

£220,000

www.theapartmentcompany.co.uk

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