DNfourteen Magazine Issue No.158 May 2023

Welcome to the May 2023 edition of the DNfourteen magazine - I hope that you are all well and managing to keep the wolf from the door in these financially challenging times. Please use the advertisers in the magazine they are all local and it does make a difference to our local economy.

We have some interesting articles and features in this months edition ranging from a very interesting and article in the House & Home section called ’Ten Decorating Myths Debunked’. We have a super recipe for Chocolate Delight which I made with my two grandsons last weekend and they absolutely enjoyed the making process and the consuming of it too.

The Gardening section focuses on what you should be planting this month - we have some interesting events advertised this month over at Beverley Minster - a Johnny Cash Tribute & an 80’s Tribute Show - both of which I can highly recommend.

As usual we finish with Fiona Dwyer’s column.

If you have not advertised in the magazine before and are considering it - please give me a call to discuss options - we are here to help.

Until next month please stay safe.

Jane Editor

Please note that whilst we take care to be accurate, no liability will be accepted under any circumstances should any of the content of this magazine be incorrect. The views expressed in the articles are not necessarily those of the publisher. All rights reserved.

Published by DNfourteen Magazine. Printed by DaltonSpire Ltd.

Ten Decorating Myths Debunked

Ever heard the design rule that states large furniture can’t be used in small rooms? Or that patterns and prints shouldn’t be mixed? The world of decorating is full of myths and misconceptions, often setting such rigid expectations that there’s little room for creativity. Navigating these no-go zones can be frustrating and disheartening but that doesn’t have to be the way. Allow us to poke holes in some of the more outdated notions so you can be free to create a home that represents your style, and most of all, makes you happy.

1 Blinds trump curtains

Myth busted: When it comes to window treatments, there is no one-size-fits-all approach, however, if interior designer Gabrielle Rice had to choose one option, curtains would win hands down.

“Custom curtains are not only

functional, either defusing or blocking the light, they also add softness to a room,” she says. “Curtains provide warmth and insulation in winter and help block out the sun and heat in summer.”

Gabrielle likes to specify sheer curtains with partial or black-out lining on a separate track: “The sheers are ethereal and soft and the lining is for functionality.”

2 Wallpaper is a big commitment

Myth busted: For our parents and grandparents, this was certainly true, with copious amounts of glue and patience required to apply wallpaper, and expensive steamers needed to remove it. But today’s wallpapers are much easier to apply and remove, with a huge variety of textures, patterns, colours and finishes.

“I love using wallpaper in studies, bedrooms, lounge rooms, dining rooms and even in laundries and

bathrooms,” says Gabrielle. “A study nook, pantry or a powder room can be a great place to ease your way into this look.”

3 You can’t have nice things if you have children or pets

Myth busted: That white linen sofa, leather armchair or shag pile rug that you’ve always wanted but didn’t trust your kids and fur babies around? Buy it now, says Gabrielle. “If you wait until your kids grow up to have nice things, you’ll miss out on creating a beautiful home for you and your family to enjoy together.” If there were studies into these things, they’d probably show that children and pets who are exposed to precious items from a young age grow up to be more mindful of their surroundings. And in the meantime, Gabrielle suggests using washable fabrics, coasters, placemats and some firm

Continued on page 6

DECORATING DOESN’T HAVE TO BE A MINEFIELD OF DOS AND DON’TS. TUNE OUT ALL THE NAYSAYERS BY CREATING AN INTERIOR THAT SPEAKS TO YOU

These days most homeowners suffer from a lack of storage space. So many precious items that need to be kept – but where to store it all? That’s where Yorkshire Loft Ladders come in.

The company, based locally, offers homeowners the opportunity to maximise their storage space with a loft ladder, 50 sq ft of boarding and a light all fully fitted in less than a day from just £277 + VAT. But it’s not just the affordability of the package the company offers that makes Yorkshire Loft Ladders stand out as manager Warren Ingleson explains:

‘Our watchwords are Quality,

Integrity and Value. Quality in the materials that we use for all our installations and the fact that all our loft packages are fitted by time served tradesmen so our customers are assured of the best job. Integrity in that we will turn up at the time we say and make sure the house is spotless when we leave, and Value in that we offer our services at a price people can afford. Our business relies on referrals and we got a huge amount of our calls from people who have been referred to us by our existing customers - that simply wouldn’t happen if we didn’t adhere to our overriding principles.

At the end of the day the old adage that happy customers

small, call Warren on 0800 612 8359 and he’ll be happy to pop round and give you a no obligation quote so you too can make use of your loft!

ground rules to protect your belongings.

4 Natural light is best Myth busted: While natural light is an eco-friendly, efficient way to light and warm a home, in some situations artificial light may be preferable for visibility and functionality. “Artificial light can be a useful tool in situations where natural light is limited or unavailable, or when a specific mood is desired,” she says. “It’s ideal for highlighting specific elements in a room, like artworks or architectural features, and can also control and manipulate the ambience and mood, with dimmers adjusting the intensity of light.”

5 Symmetry is key Myth busted: Using symmetry

in decorating stems from a more traditional style, where rooms were split in two and each half designed to mirror the other. But if you’re after a more relaxed mood for your home, “Feel free to forgo the symmetry in favour of less structured arrangements with more variety”, says Gabrielle. She keeps disparate elements cohesive by incorporating a common thread, such as a consistent colour palette or repetition of forms, while also ensuring there are moments for the eye to rest. “Negative space plays an important role in asymmetrical design,” Gabrielle explains.

6 Period homes must be white Myth busted: While white is synonymous with the classic elegance of Victorian style, Kate Waller argues that the success of this aesthetic lies in its balanced blend of hues. “Incorporating different tones and textures will add depth and interest to the overall design, whilst maintaining a sophisticated elegance. Try

timber and wicker furniture set on dark timber floors with highlights of soft blue, sage green and sandy beige.”

7 Books belong on bookshelves Myth busted: Your favourite coffee table tomes and page turners don’t have to be relegated to a shelf to gather dust. Stack them on the floor, on a fireplace mantel, in the kitchen or on your office desk.

“Books are always an arm length away in my home,” says Gabrielle. “They are one of my greatest sources of inspiration and there is no place they don’t belong. It would be sad if they all lived on a bookshelf.”

8 Don’t mix patterns and prints

Myth busted: There is no better way to add character to a room than by layering it with a mix of prints, colours and textures. “If everything is too coordinated or matching, it just looks flat or overly prescribed,” says Gabrielle. Her top tip: “When designing a room, I choose a hero fabric or large-scale print with a number of colours in it and then combine this with other colours and smaller scale prints. If the scheme is looking too ‘samey’, I’ll throw in the colour pink as I find pink just makes everything work.”

Continued on page 8

JWS IS A LOCAL FAMILY BUSINESS ESTABLISHED IN 1969, CELEBRATING WELL OVER 50 YEARS IN BUSINESS MANUFACTURING AND FITTING CUSTOM MADE FITTED WARDROBES, SLIDING DOORS, SLOPING DOOR WARDROBES, HOME OFFICE FURNITURE, HOME MEDIA UNITS AS WELL AS FREE STANDING FURNITURE

JWS HAS A REPUTATION FOR AN UNCOMPROMISING COMMITMENT TO CUSTOMER SATISFACTION.

JWS HAVE ALSO SUPPLIED FITTED FURNITURE TO MANY SCHOOLS AND BUSINESSES. WE ARE ONE OF THE NORTH’S LEADING FITTED FURNITURE SPECIALISTS.

House & Home

9 Art is an expensive investment

Myth busted: Sure, an original Van Gogh may not be in your budget, but beauty is in the eye of the beholder and art comes in all shapes and styles. “My recommendation for selecting art is to spend time sourcing as widely as possible, from local art galleries and artists, to country fairs or markets,” says interior designer Kate. For her, it’s about the feeling that the piece provokes, not its price tag. “My particular favourites are small still life pieces, which often capture a delicious, serendipitous moment in time.”

10 Decorate for resale

Myth busted: It’s often suggested that design and decorating decisions should be made with future buyers in mind – think all-white kitchens, neutral palettes and universal lighting schemes – but there is little value in this,

says Kate.

“I tell my clients – including those who are not in their forever home – to style spaces with their own personal preferences and needs in mind,” she says. “The next owner might be completely different to them in age, preferred aesthetic

and number, so there is no way of knowing what hey will require in terms of style, finishes and colours. However, what is appealing to any buyer is an interior that’s well designed with good flow, functionality and elegance.”

Chocolate Delight

➤ SERVES 8-10

➤ PREPARATION 1 hr plus at least 4 hrs chilling

➤ COOKING None

INGREDIENTS

• 25 amaretti biscuits

• 75-100ml amaretto liqueur (to taste), plus 2 tbsp 300g dark chocolate, broken into pieces

• 5g unsalted butter

• 500ml double cream

• 100g mascarpone, whipped to loosen

• 4 egg yolks, plus 1 egg white (freeze the remaining whites for another recipe)

• 110g golden caster sugar

• 100g ground almonds

• 10g icing sugar

• cocoa or espresso powder, to serve

METHOD

1 Line a 900g loaf tin with two criss-crossed strips of baking parchment. Crush 8 amaretti biscuits and scatter these over the base of the tin. Sprinkle over 2 tbsp amaretto liqueur. Set aside.

2 Tip the chocolate and butter into a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water, ensuring the base of the bowl doesn’t touch the water. Stir for 5 mins until melted. Or, melt in the microwave in 20-second bursts. Dip 8 amaretti biscuits in the chocolate, then arrange on a sheet of baking parchment. Set both the biscuits and chocolate aside to cool.

3 Whip 400ml double cream to soft peaks using an electric whisk, being careful not to overwhip. Use a large metal spoon to fold 80g mascarpone into the cream. Crush 5 amaretti biscuits and fold into the mix with 75ml amaretto liqueur. Set aside.

4 In a separate large bowl, whisk the egg yolks and caster sugar together using an electric whisk until light, fluffy and tripled in volume - the mixture should form a slowly disappearing trail when you lift the beaters. Gently fold the almonds into the egg yolk mixture, then fold in the amaretto cream to combine.

5 Add the cooled melted chocolate and mix gently to combine. Whip the egg white to stiff peaks using an electric whisk, then fold this in, too, being careful not to knock out the air. Taste and fold in the remaining 25ml amaretto liqueur, if you like.

6 Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and chill for at least

4 hrs or overnight until set. If you have any extra mixture that won’t fit into the tin, you can pour this into small dessert glasses and chill alongside the tin until set.

7 Tip the remaining double cream, the rest of the mascarpone and the icing sugar into a bowl and whisk to soft peaks. Spoon this into a small serving bowl and dust with cocoa or espresso powder. Invert the set dessert onto a serving plate or board, lift off the tin and remove the parchment. Dust with cocoa or espresso powder. Crush the rest of the amaretti biscuits, scatter these over the top and decorate with the chocolate-dipped biscuits. Slice with a warmed knife and serve with spoons of the mascarpone cream.

Get your garden in shape

This

Welcome to ‘Mad’ May, a very busy time in the garden, hopefully with plenty of sunshine too. The bedding plants e.g. geraniums, begonias (pictured right), fuchsias, petunias etc. can be planted out in the garden at the end of the month. If we are lucky with the weather, the frosts should have finished now until the autumn. However, beware, as many supermarkets will have been selling bedding plants for a few weeks now, encouraging you to buy and plant out, but it is still too early as they can easily be killed off with a late frost.

Many years ago, I worked for the council in Bridlington, in the nursery at Sewerby Park. We grew 1000’s of plants from cuttings and seeds but they were never planted out until the 2nd week of June at the earliest.

Your lawns should be looking good now. Moss and weeds can be a problem, but treatments are available from your local garden centre. In order to keep your lawn in tip top condition, make sure you cut your lawn when it is dry and bright. If we get a drought, cut it less often. Last year I didn’t cut my lawn in June or July because it was too hot and sunny and many peoples lawn became yellowish because they had cut it in the hot temperatures.

Any trees or scrubs which have been planted recently, do need to be watered regularly to get them established. Water early in the morning or late evening to avoid evaporation, also trees and scrubs drink a fair amount of water, especially if it is sunny or windy.

Some varieties of roses, like Canary Bird (pictured below), will flower in May so keep an eye out for greenfly or aphids and spray with an insecticide and make sure you follow the instructions on the container.

Also, keep an eye out for slugs and snails if it is wet weather as they can do a lot of damage. You can use crushed egg shells or bits of grit to keep them at bay or there are many kinds of pellets available from your local garden centre.

And finally, the later flowering bulbs in your garden like tulips etc. may well have finished now for this year, so snap off the finished flowers and let the old leaves die back. This method helps the bulbs for next year to feed on the old leaves. Then sit back and relax with a good book, and great company but remember to keep on top of the weeds by regular hoeing.

month we have a special May message from Mitch, Nurseryman at Bell Mills Garden Centre, Driffield, sharing his top tips for getting the garden in shape in May.

Fiona Dwyer, broadcast journalist, PR & media consultant, slave to 2 children and a husband.

Too much squash?

Have you noticed that supermarkets are now selling diluted squash in ‘quadruple concentrate’ bottles? It’s no doubt a way to save even more plastic waste which should be commended. However, it’s far too easy to put too much into your glass before you add water, so it kind of defeats the object…. So while, in theory, you are getting four times the amount for a similar price, is it just a sneaky way of pretending to do the right thing but actually selling the same amount as ever. Or am I being too cynical? My children put the same amount of squash in their glass regardless of concentration despite my best efforts to point it out. To be fair, it’s actually pretty hard to just put the tiny amount you need in. So you end up drinking a bit that’s far too strong so you can fill it up again with more water. I understood selling the ‘double concentrate’ but I think ‘quadruple concentrate’ might be a step too far! What do you think?

Sully coming back to Hull Truck

It’s great to see ‘Sully’ coming back to Hull Truck theatre from June 6th – 10th. This year, the late, great rugby legend Clive Sullivan would have celebrated his 80th birthday - and Sully tells his story. Written by Hull playwright Dave Windass, it’s being brought to life by local Hull theatre company Mosaic Productions under the direction of Scott Solway.

Many newcomers to East Yorkshire and lots of our youngsters only know Clive’s name because of the Clive Sullivan Way, so it’s a great way to remember him as well as to bring his story to a new generation - the proud Welshman who became a son of Hull, uniting a city, representing both Hull FC and Hull Kingston Rovers. He was also the first black captain to represent his country in any sport and went on to win the Rugby League World Cup in 1972. Such an incredible man who sadly died in 1985 when he was just 42 years old. He has just been included in the Rugby League Hall of Fame and “The Sully Ball” was used in the recent Rugby League World Cup in tribute to him. So amazing –and I’m really looking forward to it. Maybe I’ll see you there!

Have a great month everyone! Let’s hope we see a bit more sunshine!

Fiona x

Twitter: @fionadwyer • Facebook: Fiona Dwyer PR

10am - 4pm • Mercure Grange Park Hotel, Willerby

Now in its 16th year the 2023 Expo offers visitors free entry, free business seminars and workshops, free speed networking and free parking. So, come and join us… and let’s ‘TALK BUSINESS’

10am - 4pm • Mercure Grange Park Hotel, Willerby

Now in its 16th year the 2023 Expo offers visitors free entry, free business seminars and workshops, free speed networking and free parking. So, come and join us… and let’s ‘TALK BUSINESS’

2 GREAT EVENTS FOR THE PRICE OF 1

1. The East Yorkshire Business Expo

80+ Exhibitors showcasing their products/services to 100’s of businessmen and women from across the region in what is acknowledged as the ‘Largest and most Cost Effective Business to Business Expo’ in East Yorkshire.

2. Exclusive Exhibitor Networking Lunch

This is your OPPORTUNITY to build business relationships with your fellow exhibitors in a relaxed atmosphere before the Expo! Sponsored by Village Hotels (date to be confirmed).

Exhibitor Stands from £190 + VAT

CLICK HERE TO BOOK YOUR STAND

SCAN QR CODE TO BOOK YOUR STAND

2023 EXPO SPONSORS

2 GREAT EVENTS FOR THE PRICE OF 1

BRINGING EAST YORKSHIRE BUSINESSES TOGETHER FOR OVER 15 YEARS

1. The East Yorkshire Business Expo

2023 EXPO SPONSORS

80+ Exhibitors showcasing their products/services to 100’s of businessmen and women from across the region in what is acknowledged as the ‘ Effective Business to Business Expo’

2. Exclusive Exhibitor Networking Lunch

This is your OPPORTUNITY to build business relationships with your fellow exhibitors in a relaxed atmosphere before the Expo!

80’s Mania

Live in Beverley Minster

Friday 9th June

Europe’s Official 1980’s Multi-Tribute Concert featuring 28 chart topping pop icons authentically recreated with live band and awesome dancers.

Performing over 35 chart topping smash-hits live in concert, with tributes to Duran Duran, The Human League, Kim Wilde, Culture Club, Madonna, Wham!, Nena, Toni Basil, Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Bananarama, Dead or Alive, Madness and many many more!

So it’s time to dig out your 80’s fashions and Party!

Support Act • Licensed Bar Tickets £25 • Doors 6:30pm

Scan the QR Code to book your tickets

www.daltonevents.co.uk

Telephone: 01964 552470

JOHNNY CASH ROADSHOW

Live in Beverley Minster

Saturday 10th June

Only show to be endorsed by the Cash Family! Johnny Cash Roadshow is back and better than ever. This year, award-winning Clive John pays respect to the Man in Black, with a brand new show featuring ‘June Carter’ and the Spirit Band. With favourites such as Walk the Line, Ring of Fire, Jackson, Orange Blossom Special and Hurt it’s an emotional journey through Cash’s entire career.

‘His resemblance is uncanny’

– Rosanne Cash

Support Act • Licensed Bar

Tickets £25 • Doors 6:30pm

www.daltonevents.co.uk

Telephone: 01964 552470