2014 ISSUE 2
KYLIE’S BACK SUMMER STARTS HERE! Get that festival feeling BATMAN INTERVIEW Glamorgan’s Jim Allenby ON SET AT STAR WARS Fancy a trip to Tatooine?
FREE
The magazine for men in Wales
CONTENTS FEATURES 8
Go West!
18
Scaredy Kylie…
22
Bowled Over?
26
Feeling Festive?
29
Get out and do something!
Gruff Rhys on his American adventure How she overcame her fears about being a talent show judge Will Glamorgan’s T20 cricket captain Jim Allenby make the England squad? Our top picks of the Welsh festivals Skydive, kitesurf, zorb… our ultimate guide to summer adventures
REGULARS 5
Scene and Heard
10
Right Stuff
14
Write On
16
Niall’s World
33
Travel
37
Fashion
44
Lifestyle
53
Health
54
Grooming
57
Sport
59
Cars
64
Reviews
74
The Back Page
24,134 Total Average Net Distribution per issue between 1st January – 31st December 2012 through an average of 862 quality outlets in South Wales Conroy Media Ltd all enquiries: 029 2019 0224
Nights out for the next few months? Sorted The coolest clobber for summer A new genre of fiction - cli-fi! Niall Griffiths takes inspiration from Dylan Thomas On the set of a Star Wars movie Lighthouse family: a summer shoot by the sea All a man about town could wish for, and more Fancy feeding your inner caveman? Hair today... Top grooming gear reviewed Will Cardiff FC switch back to blue? SUV Heaven - the divine Porsche Macan The top summer reads, tunes, movies and food - selected just for you To Bennett or not to Bennett? This issue Bennett Arron’s gone all Shakespearean
email: redhanded@conroymedia.co.uk www.facebook.com/red.handedmagazine twitter.com/#!/RedHandedMag
REDHANDED 2014 • Issue 2 3
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Scene&
Jason Jones has the full festival lowdown. There’s heaps of them!
In With The Old
Heard
It’s hard to admit, isn’t it, that there may just be some merit in listening to the bands your old fella has been playing on a loop for the past - well - lifetime? But who can argue that The Stones, The Beatles and The Kinks didn’t influence a generation of musicians - and aren’t pulling the same trick today. The Stones and The Beatles may have had bigger hits, but Ray Davies’ band The Kinks were arguably as influential, at least in Britain. Davies’ song writing has a quintessentially English quality and he’s still got it live too, meaning his shows are always worth watching (September 7, Saint David’s Hall, Cardiff, £40, 029 2087 8444). The legendary James Taylor has an evergreen back catalogue of laid-back folk rock from Carolina in My Mind to Fire and Rain. He’s getting to the age where tours will be fewer and further between so now’s the time to see his crowd-pleasing live show (Motorpoint Arena, October 2nd, £59, 029 2022 4488). Kylie may be a good way off bus pass collection, but she is a veteran celebrating her silver anniversary working pop’s coalface. Expect a Vegas-style display of her discotastic back catalogue (Motorpoint Arena, October 3, from £35). Few can rival the back catalogue of The Modfather Paul Weller who is placing enormous faith in The Great British Summer as he puts on an open-air show against the dramatic backdrop of Cardiff Castle (July 24, £47, 029 2023 0130). And, James Blunt? He’s certainly not in the old-timer league, but his stockpile of greatest hits is swelling by the year. He may be love-him-or-loathe-him Marmite, but he certainly shifts those all-important units (St David’s Hall, Cardiff, June 29, from £32.50, 029 2087 8444).
The Fest-ive Season Break out the wellies, wet wipes and warm beers because it’s festival time again. First up and marking its 30th birthday is Brecon Jazz. Big draws this year are the legendary Burt Bacharach, newbie soul star Laura Mvula and Grammy award-winning jazz singer Gregory Porter (various venues around Brecon, August 7-10, from £25, breconjazz.org). At the indier end of the musical spectrum is Green Man whose mission statement is to platform alternative acts. Ones to look out for this time round are buzz-gathering Beirut, Swedish folksters First Aid Kit and altrockers The War On Drugs (Glanusk Park, Crickhowell, August 14-17, from £135, greenman.net). Glasnost at The Full Moon Club is Cardiff’s answer to Glasto, sort of. It may not have the huge headliners, but it’s easier to get a drink and for £15 you get to see over 30 bands, including The Reverend Peynton’s Big Damn Band. Never heard of them? It’s all part of the fun (The Full Moon Cardiff, June 25-29, £15, www.wegottickets.com/f/7267). Equally eclectic is Monmouth Festival that runs the musical gamut from punk to blues to classical. What’s more, it’s free (various venues around Monmouth, July 25-August 2, monmouthfestival.co.uk). Ponty’s Big Weekend always manages to put together a crowd-pleasingly populist programme and this year is no exception with The X Factor alumni Union J, Rough Copy and Sam Bailey performing alongside less mainstream acts The Parades, Tich and Hollywood Ending. The title is a tad misleading as it’s only a day event so, technically, it’s not a weekend, but let’s not be pedantic. (Ynysangharad War Memorial, July 20, from £22.50, pontysbigweekend.co.uk) Another one-dayer is South West Live. Held on Western-super-Mare’s beach, big guns this year are Jesse J, Jason Derulo, Rizzle Kicks, The Vamps, Katy B and up-andcomers Rixton. It’s such a fun event it’s worth the mini-schlep abroad (June 29, from £35, 0844 844 044). A festival of a different kind is Blysh, a mashup of events straddling music, comedy, vaudeville and cabaret. Again, this year housed in a bespoke speigeltent – a fancy wooden hut to you and me – standouts include novelty swing band The Hot Potato Syncopators,
Clockwise from bottom left: Katy B, Kylie, James Blunt, Paul Weller, Burt Bacharach, and First Aid Kit.
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comedy rock’n’rollers Rayguns Look Real Enough and acrobatic troupe Mimbre (July 16-August 3, Cardiff Bay, tickets via Wales Millennium Centre, from free, 029 2063 6464). Dinefwr Literature Festival not only showcases words, but also music and comedy. Highlights are the hauntingly-voiced Cate Le Bon, the genre-hopping Gruff Rhys and anti-Establishment comedian Jeremy Hardy (Dinefwr Park & Castle, June 20-22, from £25, dinefwrliteraturefestival.co.uk). Still on an alternative tip with Festival No 6. Set in the Clough Williams Ellis-designed fantasy Mediterranean village of Portmeirion (and so-named because cult 60s TV series The Prisoner was filmed there and its protagonist was only ever referred to by that number) the big-name headliner this year is Beck, partnered with band-of-the-moment London Grammar and bringing a bit of old-skool to the party with her buffalo stance, Neneh Cherry (Penrhyndeudraeth, September 5-7, from £90, festivalno6.com).
Clockwise from below: Dawn French, Lee Mack, Rhys Darby, War Horse, Joan Rivers, Dave Gorman, Jon Richardson and London Grammar.
Bring On The Belly Laughs Some comedy double acts work so well in tandem, it’s difficult to imagine them flying solo, which is why it’s tough to see Dawn French being as brilliantly funny on her tod. Clearly, sans Saunders, she is going in a different direction with her new show, which she describes as “somewhere between a monologue, a play and an autobiographical slide show”. Bet she can’t resist going in for the odd belly laugh, though (New Theatre, Cardiff, July 16-18, from £15, 029 2087 8889). Best known over here for his supporting stint on the goofily cool Flight Of The Conchords, Rhys Darby is a comedy superstar in his native New Zealand and is on his way to making a name for himself in the US by dint of his high-velocity delivery and aw-shucks affability (St David’s Hall, July 12, from £17.50). Back on the road after a fouryear hiatus is Lee Mack whose schtick is a subtly well-crafted marriage of the snide and the surreal (St David’s Hall, September 29, £27.50). Jugular-slashing is more Joan Rivers’ style as she puts the world to rights in her inimitable near-the-knuckle way (St David’s Hall, October 13, from £30). Less in-yer-face but equally angry in his understated way is Jon Richardson as his routine riffs on the minor irritations that irk his ordered life. Get in quick, though, as tickets are likely to shift sharpish due to his 8 Out Of 10 Cats profile (St David’s Hall, November 29, £19.50). Ditto Dave Gorman whose shows are comedy circuit must-sees as he decodes the misinformation of the information age using his trademark PowerPoint storytelling (St David’s Hall, October 25, £20). Al Murray’s Pub Landlord’s blokey boozer banter is the antithesis of PowerPoint pontificating. Be warned, though: Murray likes audience participation so prepare to be the butt of the joke (Wales Millennium Centre, October 30, £26.50). Not strictly stand-uppers, but Ant and Dec always manage to raise a LOL with their cheeky-chappy daftness. They’re taking their super-successful Saturday Night Takeaway format out for a live spin in their latest bid for world domination (Motorpoint Arena, August 6, from £49.50).
Horsing Around War Horse is the big summer show in the capital’s theatreland with a month-long residency at Wales Millennium Centre (June 18-July 19, from £20). Even after a seven-year global run, this commercial and critical smash is still packing the punters in with its potent splicing together of satire, sentiment and wowser spectacle. Prepare to shed a manful tear. Equally spectacular, the classic musical West Side Story is in Cardiff following a sell-out season at Sadler’s Wells. Expect doomed love (it’s a famous reworking of Romeo and Juliet), some surprisingly menacing jazz dancing and a whole load of memorable songs performed by a top class cast (August 12 - August 23, Wales Millennium Centre, from £18).
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Photo credit Brinkhoff Mögenburg
In search of Welsh Indians in America RedHanded was lucky enough to catch up with Super Furry Animals front man Gruff Rhys before his next tour. Gruff told us about his latest solo project, American Interior, and his adventures across the modern day USA to discover more about John Evans, a famous Welsh explorer who went in pursuit of his own American dream in the 1790’s.
RedHanded: You’re back in Wales after another visit to the States. You’re there quite a lot these days. What’s the appeal of the US? Gruff: I like travelling there; there’s an interesting energy and the people are really friendly. And I really like American music too. The place is so massive! And there are so many breathtaking landscapes there too.
Gwinedd, was a legendary prince of Welsh and British folklore. The story of him discovering the New World in the 12th century was once used by the Elizabethans in an attempt to justify their claim over the Americas.) According to the history, Madog had sailed to America in 1170. So I went on the tour and Dyl came to document my journey.
What’s the story behind your latest project? In 2006 I did a tour with the director Dyl Goch as we filmed a documentary about Rene Griffiths, the Welsh-Patagonian singersongwriter, called Seperado, where we went through Brazil and Argentina. After this I wanted to make another film, but this time about John Evans. We decided to make a film about Evans’s expedition between 1792 and 1799. I organised a tour following the same path that John Evans took. Evans had gone to America in search of Madog's disciples. (Note: Madoc, otherwise known as Madog ab Owen
You’ve gone to a lot of effort researching Evans. What was the attraction with him as a character? That historical period and John Evans are both very interesting. Evans was an extremely determined man and his story and what he managed to achieve during his short life is unbelievable. Because this story took place in America, it was rather strange re-telling it to Americans. In a way, the film follows me trying to explain John Evans’s story to people that don’t know a lot about their own history - or that much about Wales. It was quite an
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adventure to say the least. It was an interesting process because I had the chance to discover more about American and Welsh history – it was a revolutionary period! Were there any interesting characters on your journey? It was great meeting Edwin Benson. Benson was the last existing speaker of the Mandan language. The Mandans were one of the native tribes that John Evans had spent time with - John Evans would have heard the Mandan language being spoken. It was very sad learning that there was only one speaker left. That interview was quite touching and left a real impression. Your working relationship with Dyl Goch seems to go quite well. What kind of guy is Dyl to work with? Dyl’s an amazing guy, he’s very good at speaking to people and he’s a very friendly guy.
know nothing about the future so to the future for sure! John Evans died a young man. It’s a shame – it seems like he could have accomplished much more. Yes, I’m sure he would have had quite a fruitful life – but he had a very hard life. He left a lasting impression and was a huge influence on American history. The American Interior story is being told in book, film and record form. You’ve got a lot going on there. Have you come up with any other ideas in terms of merchandising? Yes, there’s an app. With the app you can follow John Evans’s adventure. The app’s bilingual and there’s lots of new film clips and music on it. There are short films from Dyl Goch too and wicked animations and artwork by Pete Fowler. What next? I’ve just done the music to a new film about Dylan Thomas called Set Fire to the Stars. I’m also going to be appearing in a few festivals before kicking off a nationwide tour so I’ve got a busy few months ahead.
He’s got amazing ‘people skills’; he’s good at extracting information from people without them really noticing what they’ve said. He’s good at editing too, he’s just spent a year in front of his computer editing American Interior – that in itself is impressive! How did you and Dyl meet? Dyl was in college with Cian (Super Furry Animals). The Super Furries have always been keen to put on a spectacular stage show. Cian introduced Dyl to the group because he had experience of producing backdrop videos for raves. So Dyl travelled with the group and helped us with the ‘visual’ side of our performance. Dyl’s been documenting the Furries too. There's loads of footage that hasn’t been seen yet! In American Interior we learn about a possible Welsh tribe living in North America. Do you think this Welsh tribe was anything like the Welsh people we know today?
We’ve got to remember, it’s quite possible that the Welsh tribe that’s mentioned in the film never existed. There are many tribes that are living now in America and facing the same difficulties as Welsh communities here. My brother, Dafydd Rhys, has been studying the Native American educational system in the US. There’s a lot we can learn from each other’s cultures. As an academic, Dafydd has written numerous papers about the subject, so – I wouldn’t know half of it without Dafydd’s studies.
The American Interior app, album and film (showing at Chapter Arts Centre in Cardiff) are out now
You’re quite the historian Gruff? I don’t see myself as a historian, I’m more of a musician. This story is more of an anchor and heartbeat behind the songs. There might be a little bit of a historian there somewhere. If you had a time machine and could travel to any moment in time, to which period would you go to? We know quite a lot about our past but we
REDHANDED 2014 • Issue 2 9
RIGHT
The Stuff of Life
It’s Game On for these gadgets
The Mousetrap This Mouse doesn’t take the Mickey. Designed with serious gamers in mind, the Steel Series Sensei Laser Mouse uses top-end materials to create the symmetrical, ergonomic shape – which is ideal for the left-handed or ambidextrous. With customisable options and programmable features you can have this ferocious big-cat purring at your every command in no time. It comes with a stylish, solid steel charging station and uniquely designed cable. All in all a good price for a mouse with the roar of a tiger. Price: £139.19 Retail: www.steelseries.com
Stuff
Mount Pleasant Considered by many of our US cousins to be the best car-mount available, it’s only fair that the MONTAR from Winnergear be made available for us in the UK. Compatible with a wide-range of sat-navs, and smartphones it holds them tight with secure rubber grips that prevent scratching and allow for easy, one-handed quick install and removal of the device. The strong, spring-loaded arm firmly keeps the phone in place until it’s removed. Its easy installation and removal also means it can be used in multiple vehicles. To cap it all it’s a snip at the price – so let’s just hope your sat-nav can get you to your nearest stockists safe and sound before they run out. Price: £21.99 Retail: www.amazon.co.uk
Power and the Glory So multiple chargers might not be the most cutting-edge tech in 2014 but you can bet your bottom-dollar that most of the ones on the market haven’t had so much thought, creativity and logic programmed into them as the new Innergie LifeHub, which allows 3 devices to charge at once from practically anywhere in the room thanks to the extra long lead. It also has three high powered 2.1 Amp USB ports capable of fast charging any combination of tablets, smartphones or mobile devices at the same time. It looks a beaut’n all. Price: £54.99 Retail: www.myinnergie.com
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Shoot and Score Transform your iPhone 5/5S photography with the Incipio Focal Camera Case and inCAMERA app, which make it easy to get more from your Apple and the shots you take – all while also providing protection for your phone. The Incipio camera case adds point-and-shoot camera features to iPhone 5/5s and works with its free companion the Incipio inCAMERA iOS app which adds a programmable function button, wide camera lens and flash opening, zoom in/out as well as providing a range of cool editing functions. Once you’ve taken that perfect photo – share it instantly on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram…just promise me, no selfies! Price: £49.99 Retail: www.amazon.co.uk
Bullet-Proof Mobile The Impactology Impact Shield is the closest you can get to having a bodyguard for your phone. The smart multi-layered system includes a hard top layer to disperse impacts, a middle layer with macho-sounding BulletShield™ technology (also used in bulletproof glass!) and a final soft layer which absorbs any remaining impact. It also has an easy and fast application, using OneTouch™ adhesive that is simple and uses no glue, resulting in a bubble-free application within seconds. And it has a non-yellowing UV protection, so you won’t even know it’s there (unlike some of those steroid-guzzling celebrity minders…). Price: £24.95 Retail: www.tech21.com
Singin’ The Blues Considered as the ‘missing link’ between top-end analogue and digital recordings, the Spark Digital by Blue Microphones will not only make the lives of countless sun-deprived studio engineers more productive, it will also help all you closet Pro-Tools music producers lay down your most cherished and personal tunes for digital eternity. Whatever your poison: the axe, drums, bass, vocals, saxophone, keyboards, cow-bell…or Korean 12-string Zither it will take all comers. The first of its kind to offer this level of studio-quality recording straight to your iPad, iPhone, Mac or PC it is a sound investment for budding rock-gods… after paying for singing lessons. Price: £199.99 Retail: www.amazon.co.uk
REDHANDED 2014 • Issue 2 11
Write On
Hunger Lloyd Jones’s dystopian Welsh nightmare brings us a new genre of writing - Cli Fi (Climate Fiction)
‘Come on, Wil, here’s a bit of stew for your supper,’ said Elin, and she spooned half the contents of a saucepan onto one of the family’s ancient willow pattern plates, which had stood once upon a time on the dresser. Over the last three years those lovely, traditional rows had developed gaps like black holes in a set of teeth. Wil studied the food dispassionately. He knew that it would calm the pain in his insides, and then reignite it. He went to sit at the far end of the long table and started to chew on his meal. Everyone else sat around the open fire, poking it or fiddling with the burning logs. He’d tried to teach them how to handle a fire efficiently, but no-one had listened. This was their entertainment now – looking for patterns in the flames, or listening to the hiss of the burning wood as dampness rose through the grain and then sizzled like a gob of spit on the surface. A single candle in the centre of the table lit the scene. Wil chomped away without much appetite, and considered the silhouettes dancing on the walls around him. The outlines he saw weren’t those of his sister, her partner or the children; rather, in his mind’s eye, he was looking at the shadows of his parents and himself as a child, sitting in front of the fire at Dolfrwynog half a century previously. He stared at the table with its gathering dust and dirty plates. But what he actually saw was a scene from many years ago: his mother scrubbing the wood to whiteness in readiness for shearing day; an abundance of food stacked high – fresh bread, yellow butter, cheese, cooked meats, frothy cakes… and yet there was a similarity in the shadows. These people had the same shapes; yes indeed, Elin, his sister, seemed to have the same shadow exactly as his mother. He laughed lightly and then a soft sad moan escaped from his tired mouth, since the small amount of meat in the meal had been
14 REDHANDED 2014 • Issue 2
tough and hard on his jaw. ‘Dear God,’ spluttered Wil, and a tiny shower of food fell onto the table. No-one took much notice. ‘What’s up, Uncle Wil?’ said Huw, turning towards his uncle. ‘The shadows,’ said Wil. ‘They’re exactly the same as …’ But a fit of melancholia came over him and he fell silent. ‘Any bread left?’ he asked nobody in particular. ‘No,’ said Elin in a little voice from the corner of the fireplace. She was playing with a stick, wafting it around and trying to create a smoke-alphabet. In fact she was trying to write NO FOOD in smoke-letters. But she wasn’t being very successful, because by the time she reached the second letter the first had already lost its shape. Jack straightened and rose to his feet slowly. He walked over to the table and sat at the end, opposite Wil. ‘We need to talk…’ he said after he’d sat down again. ‘Need to talk…’ said Wil like an echo. He saw no reason to discuss anything. What was the point of it? They had very little choice in what they did, so why bother talking nonsense? ‘Let’s have a chat about today,’ said Jack. Jack went over the day’s activities. He’d moved the sheep to the lower meadows on Wil’s advice because the weather had taken a turn for the worse, and he’d given them some hay. Jess the dog was about to whelp, and they’d have to decide if they wanted to keep one of the pups because Pero was getting old. He jumped from one topic to the next, then finished. ‘You got anything to say, Wil?’ he asked. Wil shook his head. But almost immediately Huw mumbled something through his sleeves. ‘Pardon, Huw?’ said Jack. ‘Can you sit up and speak properly?’
Huw spoke again, sleepily. ‘The Pole,’ he mumbled. ‘The pole?’ said Jack. ‘What d’ya mean the pole. What are you on about?’ ‘The Pole,’ said Huw again, feebly. ‘Ask Uncle Wil…’ His uncle cursed him under his breath. Hadn’t he told the boy to keep shtum about the man in the hut? Or had he forgotten to warn him? ‘The pole?’ said Jack to Wil, as if to prompt him. He’d intended to keep mum. What was the point of saying anything? The story would merely frighten everyone, especially the women. They all turned towards him, everyone except for Huw. ‘We found someone in the upper meadows,’ he said eventually. ‘Us?’ asked Elin. ‘Me and Huw.’ ‘What, did you take the boy up there with you?’ ‘Yes.’ ‘You bloody fool…’ ‘Well, he’d rather be with…’ started Wil, but then he bit his tongue. ‘You found someone there?’ asked Jack. ‘He wanted to come and live with us.’ ‘Thank God you didn’t bring him here,’ said Elin. ‘There isn’t enough food as it is.’ ‘No there isn’t,’ said Wil. ‘But perhaps we’ll see him again. There’s a possibility. An outside chance, as it were. Hundred to one.’ ‘Why?’ asked a shy little voice which hadn’t been heard so far. Mari was staring at her uncle with disbelief. A young man? Had Uncle Wil driven a young man away from this awful place, her prison? Wil realised what was going through her mind. ‘Don’t worry,’ he said. ‘If he’s man enough he’ll be with us soon enough.’ ‘Why?’ asked Elin. ‘I gave him a choice,’ said Wil as he stood up and walked towards the door. ‘I told him he could come and live with us if…’ He turned and looked at the little group sitting at the table. They were all staring at him, all except Huw, who’d fallen asleep. ‘I told him he could live with us if he brings us horses,’ said Wil. ‘Big horses, good horses.’ And then he went out, shutting the door quietly behind him. This is an exclusive extract from Lloyd Jones’s new novel Water, published by Y Lolfa (£8.95). See www.ylolfa.com
To live at a point of untameability Niall Griffiths takes inspiration from the life of our greatest poet I’m sure you’ve noticed that this year marks the centenary of a certain Welsh poet’s birth. His face is everywhere, as are his words, or at least a selection of them; since January, everyone’s been young and easy, free and green, the night-times have been starless and Bible-black, people are singing in their chains like the sea and exhorting each other to not go gentle into that good night. Every theatre in every town has hosted, or will be hosting, a version of the poet’s only play. He’s all over the telly (and, indeed, in a few hour’s time as I write, he’ll be played on BBC 2 by Tom Hollander). The squalid circumstances of his premature death are being reexamined. It is to be welcomed that much attention, too, is being given to the man’s writing, which, of course, are the leavings that matter. My own first contact with Dylan Thomas was made through a girlfriend, a drunk like I was, in my early 20s. She’d studied Under Milk Wood at A level and it had made a deep impression on her. I’d not, at that time, read anything by him, but I was aware of his legend, which was one amongst many that I latched onto as lifebelts at that age and in that place, wrestling with substance abuse as I was and acting out the role of doomed poet in grotty flats and scummy pubs, watching afternoons slip liquidly away through the wet-brown walls of a bottle or a glass. Each one of us, no doubt, and if we’re honest with ourselves, have moments of personal history to which we privately return and cringe and grow hot with embarrassment, but equally we can see in those moments, on occasion, the genesis of how we would evolve and improve. I mean, you’re not long out of school, your hormones are running riot, you’re from a time and a place where your future has been decided for you; apprenticeship, marriage, mortgage, parenthood, death, none of which you want, all of which suggests to you nothing but stupefaction and waste.
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Easy, really, to see how, in a personality at the early stages of development, the desire for something more than what society tells you is your sole lot can make some ill-judged detours - as a desperate and unchecked way to live a one and only life with something that resembles excitement, thrill, intensity, vividness, meaning. Honour the miraculous quick of existence by spending 50 years in a job you loathe? By washing the car in the drive of a Sunday morning, the dinner smells wafting across the square lawn? Good God, no. Sooner watch the people blur, their outlines run and lose shape in sensory derangement. Not knowing where you’ll be waking up in the morning, that’s part of what being truly, tinglingly alive means. And we grow up. The body begins to refuse its punishment, as does the mind. Brown envelopes and bailiffs cease to be opportunities
for inventive escapes and become simply pains in the arse. Passions mutate. A kind of maturity creeps up. And yet, and yet, the urge for more continues to burn. So I remember, at 39 - the age at which Dylan Thomas died - entering the White Horse Tavern in Greenwich Village, New York, one of the places at which he drank some of his notorious ‘18 straight whiskies’ on his last night of consciousness, and marvelling at the fact that I’d reached that age in the first place and that there were, hopefully, so many years of living still ahead of me. There were pictures of him up on the walls, looking fish-eyed and bloated and, yes, not long for the planet. One of him taken at the very bar on which I was leaning; looking sideways into the camera, he was, horribly sad and afraid. There was a poorly reproduced pamphlet of six or seven of his poems left on a table in a corner, no doubt by some touristic pilgrim, so I took my drinks over there and sat down and started to read. This isn’t the place to offer a detailed exegesis of any of Thomas’s work, even if I wanted to. But, there in that wee corner of a wee pub in New York, I was drunk long before I’d consumed enough alcohol to render me so. It’s the words; always the words. They made my brain bang and blood bubble. They made my toes twinkle and skin zing. A young (ish) man, on his own in a dark corner of the bar, snug with his beer and chaser, and a tumult going on inside him. This is what it means to live at a point of untameability, to experience emotion that most people feel only in the rapture of love or terror of death. ‘The sundering ultimate kingdom of genesis’s thunder’, that was one of the lines I read, and the bar’s windows almost blew out. And that’s it; we get born and we die, and in order to appreciate that, we strive to do something interesting in between. Or that’s the idea, at least. Happy birthday, DT, and thanks very much. © Niall Griffiths 2014
Spinning Around
That big chair on The Voice certainly kept Ms Minogue spinning. And she’s hardly stopped for breath since - with a new record label, new album and now a 15-country tour
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“I loved it, yeah. I say, I loved it, except for the parts that I really did not love” RedHanded: You have been in the business for more than 25 years, do you still get nervous when you’re releasing new music? Kylie: Yes. Yes. [laughs] But it is different to back in the day when it was very clear what the chart was, you know, when your release date was. Now it depends which chart it is, which territory, there are single albums released at different times. Is it available to buy the minute you hear it? Or do you have to wait? So that’s very different. But back in the day it was ‘the week’ that it came out, you were all on tenterhooks. But in general, along with the excitement and anticipation, of course I get nervous, because I want people to love it the way that I love it. Is there a stand out song for you on the new album - one you still love to play? No, I’m sure I’m going to think of it as soon as I walk out of the door, but I’ve actually been just listening to my own songs for months and months, different orders, different selections, different album running order and that’s only just been wrapped up. We finalised the track list for the album, the deluxe album, at the eleventh hour. I was in Australia, e-mails were pinging from every different time zone.
You’re now signed to Jay Z’s label Roc Nation. Certainly an interesting place to be right now? Yeah, very interesting. I had an epiphany in 2012 that I just felt like a change, nothing was wrong, I just thought I’d spent all of 2012 working on K25 which was our celebration of my 25 years in the business and, I think towards the end of that, I just felt like, ‘I don’t want to keep going round in circles’. It’s kind of exhausting looking backwards and reflecting and reminding yourself how long you’ve been doing this [laughs] and how young you once were when you started. So I just felt like I needed a new landscape. That’s how I hooked up with Roc Nation and yeah, it’s been an ‘interesting’ ride so far. Lots of excitement, lots of new energy, which I think has energized me. It hasn’t been a totally smooth transition because you don’t go from doing something one way for 25 years and then change it and it’s just smooth sailing. So a lot of adjustment but a lot of excitement. Does Jay Z have a lot of input? Not a lot to be honest but his spirit is through the company and, you know, they’re really cool. I think they have the experience to do things the way it’s done in the business but they have a bit of a rebel spirit, a little bit renegade. So it’s cool. Mixing it up.
How was working with Pharrell Williams? I’ve had a few ‘dream come true’ moments on this album. Rumour has it you burst into tears when you saw him for the first time in the studio… This is a classic case of Chinese whispers, the story has become: ‘I was so excited to work with Pharrell that I burst into tears.’ Which isn’t... I was very excited but no, I was having a day where, just one of those days, I wouldn’t even bore you with the details, but a day where I really didn’t want to face anyone. And especially going into the studio: you kind of have to be very open and it’s a very singular feeling to be in the studio working with someone, especially someone you don’t know very well. And of course, when you’re feeling emotional, your voice - you kind of lock up and it’s the one thing you need on that day. So it wasn’t out of sheer excitement that I burst into tears, I was just having a pretty lousy day. But Pharrell was super cool and talked me through that and then he wrote a song called, I Was Going to Cancel which is a very positive song and it’s about not letting those things get you down and just, kind of, be positive and get on with your day. It’s a great, great song and yeah, a dream come true. I loved the opportunity of working with him and him writing and producing a song for me. He’s a lovely genuine guy.
SREDHANDED 2014 • Issue 2
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You’re on Twitter now. Do you feel bad when someone tweets something at you and you don’t have time to reply? Guilty? Not really, because you can’t be on your Twitter all day. So when I have time I’ll have a look through the mentions and see if I can respond to anyone. But I think fans know it’s a game of luck on there but I do like the interaction with fans on Twitter, it’s great. And I mean, they make me laugh a lot. Some of them are very humorous. How did you enjoy doing The Voice UK? I loved it, yeah. I say, I loved it, except for the parts that I really did not love [laughs]. Some parts you just think, ‘Is it ever going to end?’ These intense long, long draining days. And you’re trying to give your best for everyone coming through. And it’s not nice when, I mean, in truth more people do not go through than do go through. So that part is not exactly fun. But I really loved the guys and Ricky [Wilson] and I, as the two newbies, we bonded pretty early. It’s like being in a band or something. Do you want one of those revolving red chairs at home? If I had one of those red chairs at home everyone would want to come and sit in it. It’s incredible the amount of people who ask about ‘the chairs’, it’s like this magical chair. I suppose it is because if it turns then you get through. It feels pretty good being in the chair, mostly, except, as I say, when I really don’t want to be in the chair. Like, ‘Get me out of here!’ Was it hard saying no to people? Well, at times like that I really had to remind myself that, ‘No, they get the rules of the show, they’re fans of the show, they watched it like I did in series one and two. So it’s not going to come as the biggest shock that those are the rules’. A few years ago you said you’d never be a judge on a TV talent show… Did I? [laughs] But it looks like you’re a natural? You know what? The offers have been around for a number of years, but I could just never bring myself to fully engage or see myself doing it. I think it was just nerves. I was even nervous going into this new experience but there are a few things that tipped me over the edge to say ‘yes’. One was Will.i.am bombing my meeting in Los Angeles, basically saying, ‘If you’re doing it, I’m doing it’. So no pressure. It was great talking to him about the experience and not the powers that be who make the show, but someone who sits in the chair and could tell me honestly how it was. This time around I thought, ‘I’m scared, I’m quite nervous’ and then I thought, ‘What am I scared of?’ Everything is scary – making a new album, going on tour, putting yourself out there. So then I embraced it and I’m really, really happy that I did because it’s an experience unlike anything else. Did you ever imagine when you first started out in your singing career that you’d still be here 25 years later? It can be very challenging. You kind of have to be able to tread water, sometimes take a great wave, sometimes get a barrel, other times be floundering around. But to still be in the waters is amazing. And actually I feel as inspired as ever and I think that’s amazing. Anything left to achieve? There’s more to come. I think so yeah. I can definitely see with some distance what’s gone well, what hasn’t gone well, the journey that I’ve been on, how I’m literally still learning all the time. I think that’s one of the most fascinating things as a performer, you just have to go out there and, kind of, trial and error and see how you go. Kylie plays Cardiff Motorpoint Arena on October 3. See www.livenation.co.uk for ticket info
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Batman Returns
Riath Al-Samarrai catches up with Glamorgan all-rounder Jim Allenby to talk motorways, T20 and his hopes of finally getting an England call
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“I love being out there on the pitch, having a bat or a bowl and playing cricket with my mates” RedHanded: How’s it all looking at Glamorgan? Jim Allenby: We started quite well in both fourday and Twenty20 cricket but it is a base that we need to build on. The challenge early on was stringing results together. Draws are nice but wins are better and that is what we needed. You’ve been at Glamorgan since 2009 and you’re the T20 captain so you have had ample time to assess this club. It’s in Division Two at the moment and has a ground that will host an Ashes Test next year – what is its potential? Our potential is very high. We have the obvious advantage of a stadium that can hold a big crowd and it is very exciting that the Ashes will be played here. It creates a good, positive atmosphere. We also have a whole country to choose players from so really we can be as big as we want to be. But like every club you have to consider the finances. What is certain is that whatever resources we have we need to make the absolute most of them. Whether that is players, coaches or facilities – everyone needs to perform to at least their potential if not more. We have the players to reach a higher level and we showed that last year in one-day cricket [when they reached the final of the Yorkshire Bank 40]. That was a case of five, six or seven players coming good at the same time. We are a club that needs a lot of guys performing well regularly, not one or two doing it rarely. Like I say, the potential is as great as anyone’s, but realistically, financially our squad is small so we need everyone to muck in. How far off do you think Glamorgan are? There are tweaks that are needed. We saw when Mike Hogan was back home with his family in Australia, that we lack depth in seam bowling when he is not here. Graham Wagg has done well, but we need guys to back those two up because they can’t play all three forms all year without injury and form dipping. So we need to strengthen the back-up bowling. As far as batting goes we just need to be more solid, but that is coming with the signing of Jacques Rudolph. I feel we are moving in the right direction and it
is not far away, but, like I said, we are the type of club that needs all its players to deliver. How about yourself? You’ve been doing very well across the formats – is there a preference? I’ve been lucky enough to do pretty well in all three. But I love T20. It is probably the most fun. I do enjoy the challenges of four-day cricket – it is a great way to spend a few days with your mates, trying to get a win. A win in four-day cricket means more, obviously, than T20, but everyone is just a bit more pumped up for the shorter game. The crowd goes nuts. It’s why we all like the T20 Blast – at those Friday night games everyone is excited and there is a big atmosphere. Any sportsman would like that. T20 is also where you’ve had your best success – winning the T20 Cup with Leicestershire in 2006 and taking four wickets in four balls in 2008. That’s right. I get really excited by it. I don’t like to close any doors so I do like all formats. I guess I don’t want to feel left out! But T20 is great. I’ve managed to produce some of my best moments in T20 and it’s something I want to carry on with. Do you have a concern about the number of games you are playing across the formats? How many would you expect to play this season?
There is a lot of cricket, we all know that. Touch wood, I will play every game – 16 Championship games, 14 T20 games and something like 10 50-over games, so that’s about 40. Hopefully there will be a couple of finals or semi-finals as well. It is a lot, but I like it. The only thing that gets to you is the travel, staring at the motorway. Mile after mile after mile after a four-day game. You feel your mind going numb. But I love being out there on the pitch, having a bat or a bowl and playing cricket with my mates. So there’s no complaint from me about the schedule. As you get older you get used to it and you cope with the workload better. If you don’t like it you can always do something else. I gather you’d like a bit more action in the form of England honours. You were born in Australia, but it’s obvious you’d like to finally get that England cap that has eluded you. That’s right. It would be great. I have been over here a long time and I would love to play for England – I’ve said that for years. I am realistic enough to know it will take a lot for someone like me to get selected having not been involved so far. It would suggest to me that I will have to do even more to get selected, which is fine. I will keep trying. I got mentioned a few times last year but I will only get that this year if we start winning games of cricket. I think given the chance I would do pretty well but it is out of my hands. Are you surprised you have reached 31 and not had the call yet? I am a bit surprised (not to have been picked) in the shorter formats. I thought the way England’s T20 has gone for a few years that they would look at county cricket a bit closer given that we play a lot more T20. The guys who perform in that I think could do it just as well on the international stage. Maybe, having had my best seasons in 2009 and 2010, I have perhaps missed the boat. But the England management has changed and I think that will open the door for a few new guys if they do well for their county. I am certainly not ruling it out. If I get a chance I’ll take it.
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“in brief” Sky Trail is great for group bookings, families and individuals. For those without a head for heights there’s always White Water Rafting and other action-packed white water activities include River Boarding, Hot Dogging, Canoeing and Kayaking as well as in-door surfing. www.ciww.com or 029 2082 9970
and the best fitness facilities you’ll have ever come across. SunFit is not about starving yourself and it’s not about dropping waist size (though lots our participants do!). It is about enjoying activities outdoors with new friends, relaxing in the sun and learning skills and knowledge from their excellent instructors and yep, you’ll get fit too and burn 2000 calories a day. www.sunfit.co.uk for info.
All hail the Vale
Stag do
Euros – In or Out? For once, we’re not talking Euro politics. Nope, we’re talking the beautiful game. October will see Wales kick off in what many see as the best opportunity in years to qualify for a major tournament. With talent all over the park playing in the Premiership and some fella who lines up for Real Madrid tickets should sell like hot cakes. Get in quick for the home games against Bosnia-Herzegovina on 10 October and Cyprus on 13th October, both at Cardiff City Stadium. Tickets aren’t on sale at time of going to press but keep an eye on www.faw.org.uk for news.
Sky High How’s this for a legal rush. Cardiff International White Water will be opening a brand new attraction this Summer - the Sky Trail. Not content with splashing about in water CIWW will take to new heights, quite literally. So get ready to grab your harness and cross the high ropes steel and timber terrain, high above the white water course! Challenge yourself on the obstacles including the Burma Bridge, Barrel Crawl, Zip Wire and more! Then ascend the climbing tower to complete your outdoor adventure.
It’s one of Wales gems but it’s often overshadowed by the big hitters such as the Gower, Pembrokeshire or the Beacons. So, given it’s on our doorstep we really should make a bee-line for it. At RH we’re already big fans of the Jurassic coast and the Plough and Harrow but there’s plenty more besides. At www.moretothevale.com you can find shedloads stuff to do including stained glass workshops, outdoor photography courses, carriage rides, bespoke tours, willow weaving, bushcraft and much more.
BMF beach boot camp Or should that be flip-flop camp? Here’s the best of both worlds. Proper British Military Fitness training in the glorious Canary Islands. SunFit is a week-long Bootcamp run in Playitas: Europe’s Number One Fitness Resort. It boasts luxurious bedrooms, fantastic food, a spa, three swimming pools
Competition Time! Here’s your chance to win two entries for you and friend to ‘Burn’ like never before. An extreme obstacle course run which will push you to your limits. Let the flames be your guide as you are led through 10 kilometres of punishing Welsh terrain and some of nature’s toughest obstacles until you reach your final destination and the ultimate ‘Burn’. The Cardiff run on 16 November incorporates some natural obstacles as a part of the course but expect to encounter water slides, swamp pits, tunnels, barbed wire, wall climbs and the promise of more surprises. Not forgetting insane amounts of MUD! If you think you’re man enough just email your answer to the following question to redhanded@conroymedia.co.uk: What charity does ‘Burn’ organiser RevolutionRuns support? (clue: check out the ad on page 17)
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Our friends at Groom For Men have been busy. Not only do they cater for all your gentlemanly grooming needs, they’ve now branched out as purveyors of fine coffee, cracking breakfasts and cakes that are way too good for the waistline. The new venture is Stag Coffee and it’s all proper locally sourced and homemade munchness. Check out their fb to see just how good it is or better still, pay them a visit at 83 Crwys Road, Cardiff Cf24 4NF.
ADVERTORIAL
Maximise your business potential – How speaking Welsh at work can improve your business and your career prospects For many of us, speaking Welsh is an emotional issue. It’s so wrapped up in our identity that we lose sight of the fact that if you work or do business in Wales, it makes sense to speak the language. At the very least it gives you or your company an edge and at most it can be prerequisite to success. We spoke to Huw Potter, Senior Sales Manager at BskyB (who handle S4C), and Meilyr Ceredig, MD at PR company FBA Group, to find out why and how being able to speak Welsh has made a difference. Why is Welsh important to you personally? Huw: “My parents aren’t Welsh speakers but their grandparents were, so they encouraged me to learn the language at school. It’s great that they have seen me using Welsh fluently and comfortably. And now it means I can communicate with people all over Wales in whichever language they feel most comfortable using.” Meilyr: “I was fortunate to be brought up bilingual. Along with providing me with an added sense of rootedness to a past cultural tradition, bilingualism opens up different ways of seeing the world.” What are the advantages for your business? Huw: “There’re a number of business people that prefer to communicate in Welsh when discussing business, it’s their native language, so in a business like advertising, which is all about communication, it is an advantage when clients feel as comfortable as possible.” Meilyr: “Using the language imbues many products and services with a sense of place, and creates an affinity with potential customers in an increasingly global market place. This meets the need of the public sector in Wales and differentiates us from many of our competitors. We have an understanding of working in two languages rather than merely translating concepts into Welsh.” What are the advantages for employees? Huw: “Firstly, being able to speak Welsh has helped them pursue their career. Additionally, some of my colleagues are first language Welsh speakers and are actually more comfortable dealing in Welsh
than English – a role where Welsh is important gives them the chance to do so.” Meilyr: “Since the start of the year, we’ve appointed a Welsh language teacher in residence at FBA. He comes in once a week and offers lessons for staff both first language speakers, to improve grammar, as well as one-to-one lessons for learners. The need for bilingual skills is increasingly acknowledged in the work place and is a valuable transferable skill as there are many jobs in Wales where proficiency in Welsh is useful or even essential, particularly in public services.” Have you always provided your services in Welsh or is it a recent service? Huw: “Yes, we’ve always offered a service in Welsh. Interestingly, we have found a steady increase in the number of advertisers who are producing a Welsh version of their commercial. It helps show they are supportive of Welsh culture. We have found in the past that a marketing message delivered in Welsh tends to cut through and be noticed a lot more effectively particularly when we have so many marketing messages, most of which are in English.” Meilyr: “From day one, 25 years ago, offering bilingual design and communications support has been the mantra of FBA. We’ve worked with some of Wales’s best known food and drink brands for example where using the language creatively in their products secures an added unique selling point and differential in the crowded sector. This has led to their success not only in the UK market but in markets across the globe.” Is it important commercially to show an appreciation for Welsh culture? Huw: “As well as greater recall and increased impact we have noticed that there are a number of companies out there that can see the advantages of communicating with people in their native language because consumers appreciate that and identify with it.” Meilyr: “Businesses in Wales have the flexibility more than any other sector to truly think up creative ways to reinforce a sense of Welsh culture be that through the medium of Welsh or the multi-cultural melting pot which is modern Wales.”
Is there anything else you’d like to add to encourage businesses to correspond in Welsh? Huw: “I think it is straight forward and effective to communicate in either Welsh or English. The systems and support are in place for companies to do it and make the most of the great number of people out there who appreciate the effort companies make to communicate in their national language.” Meilyr: “It makes commercial sense to engage with your customers and clients in the language they live their lives; it makes sense to differentiate yourself through the use of both national languages; and finally it provides new opportunities and experiences. So just go for it.” The Welsh for Adults Centre Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan (School of Welsh, Cardiff University) is the largest provider of Welsh in the Workplace with over 30 years experience of teaching and enhancing the Welsh skills of thousands of people. Welsh for Adults offer a variety of Welsh courses at all levels, from beginners to fluent speakers, which can be taught within your company or organisation. If you wish to find out more about learning and using Welsh at work, contact the Welsh for Adults Centre Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan: www.learnwelsh.co.uk 029 20 874 710 info@learnwelsh.co.uk
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Festiva With a heavenly line-up of Welsh music festivals there’s no need to venture over the border this summer. Festival-goers in God’s country are spoilt for choice with a feast that offers real alternatives to major British festivals such as Glasto or Download. Don’t like mud? Swap it for sand and sea at a beach festival. Want good accommodation? Some of the new crop of ‘boutique’ festivals have such swanky yurts and tepees that you won’t want to leave. Here’s our pick of the many offerings available.
Warren Vaché, soul from Laura Mvula and modern jazz from the Michael Wolny Trio. But the really great thing about this festival is the sense of inclusivity and the passion of the people involved. There’s also the music itself, of course, which has gone from being a uniquely American art form to something much more international and varied in sound and character. www.breconjazz.org
Wakestock
July 11-13, Lyn Peninsula, North Wales Great for: People who like good music and sandy beaches. The Lowdown: Wakestock is a great showcase for the spectacular coast of the Lyn Peninsula as well as the watersports fun to be had there, especially - and as the festival’s name suggests - wakeboarding (the event attracts some of the biggest names in the sport). It’s accompanied by a varied soundtrack over three days, including both relative newcomers and festival favourites like Shy FX - who’s been playing out his selections of classic drum‘n’bass to rapturous audiences for years now - and indie stalwarts Razorlight, whose radio-friendly hits are still as enjoyable as ever. www.wakestock.co.uk
Welsh National Eisteddfod
August 1-9, Llanelli, Carmarthenshire Great for: Anyone who’s into or just curious about Welsh language and culture. The Lowdown: There’re few events more uniquely Welsh than the National Eisteddfod. It’s one of the oldest extant festivals in Europe and it’s this sense of heritage that permeates the event. It’s a celebration of all things Welsh, with awards ceremonies and a program that includes choral and folk music, comedy and performing arts. There’re also quite a few guys walking round looking like wizards - they’re members of the Gorsedd of Bards (a council of Welsh luminaries and other honoured members) which draws influences from the ancient Celtic Druidic tradition. The friendly atmosphere and variety have always made the Eisteddfod a favourite with families. www.eisteddfod.org.uk
Brecon Jazz Festival
August 7-10, Brecon Great for: Jazz fans and a chilled vibe. The Lowdown: Brecon Jazz has established itself as one of the best jazz festivals in the country thanks to a beautiful setting in mid-Wales and a line-up that spans the history and future of this still-vital genre. There’s the broad appeal of the legend that is Burt Bacharach, swing from stalwart
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Green Man
August 14-17, Glanusk Great for: The Welsh alternative to big English festivals. The Lowdown: Green Man is now one of the most successful festivals in Wales due to its winning formula of world-class bands and a chilled atmosphere. It’s also the less overwhelming scale of the event compared to the huge English festivals that contributes to its charm. Add to that a family friendliness, with facilities, attractions and atmosphere to match. The line-up has always been heavy on folk and interestingly all kinds of indie music as opposed to big ‘stadium’ performers; this year is no different, with hipster darlings like Neutral Milk Hotel and Jeffrey Lewis and the J-Rams among those playing. www.greenman.net
Festival number 6
September 5-7, Portmeirion Great for: Anyone looking for the best ‘boutique’ festival in Wales. The Lowdown: Based in Portmeirion, best known as the lovely but extremely weird setting of the classic TV show The Prisoner. Since its inception, Festival Number 6 has had a lot of buzz, rapidly becoming a critical favourite in Wales. Visitors get to enjoy the surreal backdrop almost as much as the performances - from artists as diverse as Julian Cope, Beck, Bonobo and Martha Reeves and the Vandellas. The shows around the village give this festival a unique feel. For those wanting a more luxurious camping experience, accommodation is first class, with tepees and even fully finished yurts (fit for a Mongol Khan himself ) available. www.festivalnumber6.com
alhalla Merthyr Rock
Sunday, August 25, Merthyr Tydfil Great for: More than just ‘rock’. The Lowdown: Merthyr Rock is back again after a year off. This rock festival typically caters to a younger crowd, with the emo band Taking Back Sunday headlining, but you don’t have to actually dive in the mosh pit with the more energetic fans to enjoy the music. US punk legends Anti-flag also lead the bill doing a 20th anniversary set that’s sure to be a crowd favourite. Reel Big Fish and their alwaysentertaining brand of ska-punk will have you pogoing and skanking in equal measure, if that’s your thing. www.merthyrrock.com
Welsh Proms
July 8-16, St David’s Hall, Cardiff Great for: Multi-cultured, er, culture The Lowdown: The Welsh Proms is always one of the cultural high points of the year, with the Cardiff Philharmonic and the Welsh National Opera heading up the classical side of the bill. What a lot of people don’t know, however, is that the Welsh Proms also showcase a wide variety of music forms. This year the program features a Festival of Folk at the Welsh Proms, with a great selection of performances and workshops in Cardiff’s St David’s Hall, including headliner’s Jamie Smith’s MABON, who bring their inimitable energy and vibrancy to the traditional sound of Celtic music. www.stdavidshallcardiff.co.uk
Small is Beautiful
It’s worth the effort to hunt down some of the fantastic smaller festivals that Wales has to offer. They offer a great draw to some beautiful parts of the country that otherwise don’t get the attention they deserve and are a very pleasant way to spend a day or two or more. Festivals like Beyond the Border (St Donat’s Castle, South Wales, July 4-6) for example - celebrating the ancient oral tradition of storytelling, featuring tales from all over the world as well as Wales. Audiences of all ages will find the performances captivating. www.beyondtheborder.com There’re also some music festivals dedicated to slightly more ‘niche’ genres, like The 26th North Wales Bluegrass Music and Dance Festival (Conwy, North Wales, July 3-6). This three day hoedown is great fun, with hillbillies from Kentucky to the Czech Republic getting together to enjoy the music. It’s not a commercial event- it’s organised by and for people who love the music, and that alone makes it well worth a look. www.northwalesbluegrass.co.uk
Another music festival with a great community feel is the Llangollen Fringe Festival (Llangollen, North Wales July17-27). It’s an event with a particularly independent spirit and a fantastic variety of bands and speakers. This year you can see the Specials’ Neville Staple doing a Two Tone and Ska set (presumably with several opportunities to shout ‘Too much fighting on the dancefloor!’ at the wrong moment). There’s also the multi-talented Victoria Coren-Mitchell columnist, writer, TV personality and twice winner of the European Poker Tour - who will be talking and reading selections from her work. www.llangollenfringe.co.uk And finally, don’t overlook what’s on your doorstep. Most major towns and cities in Wales are firmly on the festival bandwagon. Cardiff Festival for example, includes colourful parades, live music and theatre, popular family entertainment and world class sporting events including the Extreme Sailing Series™ in Cardiff Bay, whilst Swansea’s much ado with Dylan Thomas this year.
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Take it outside – a guide to the great Welsh outdoors With the days long, bright and dry at last, you’re probably feeling that urge to escape from the work-then-couch carousel and get outside. And the great news is that, living in Wales, you have the ultimate playground all around you. It’s got something for everyone, whether you want to blow away the mundane day-to-day with adrenaline thrills, you’re looking to get your mates together for a day out to remember, or you’re after backto-nature adventure in the woods and wilds. Look through the amazing range of activities Wales has to offer below, and then get out there!
From hurtling headlong down hills, or even through the sky, to learning how to survive in the wild, outdoors is where the fun is this summer
ADRENALINE NUT
We all get that feeling that meetings and suits aren’t what we were made for. When everyday life is just too tame, these activities will push your nerves to the limit and get your heart pumping.
Cardiff International White Water, Cardiff Bay Riding the rapids will definitely get your plodding heart pumping again. At this Olympicstandard white water facility in Cardiff Bay, the awesome activities include indoor surfing, river boarding along the rapids and white water rafting in a group with some of your braver mates. Parties, stag-dos and team-building outings are all welcome. If you’re after a more serene experience, Cardiff International White Water also offers flat-water options like kayaking and bell boating. Contact: www.ciww.com. 029 2082 9970.
Skydive Swansea, the National Skydiving Club of Wales, Swansea Skydiving is one of those bucket-list ambitions that you never seem to get around to. If you’re willing to finally take the leap, get yourself down to Skydive Swansea for a tandem dive. Exiting the plane at 12,000 feet, you’ll freefall at speeds of 120mph and then parachute to the ground, with dual controls so that you can do some steering. You can also pay for a camera flyer to accompany you, so that your friends can marvel/laugh at your achievement/screams afterwards. Contact: www.skydiveswansea.co.uk. 01792 207035 or 0777 9019655.
Gower Kite Riders, Swansea Kitesurfing, for the uninitiated, is pretty much what it sounds like – an extreme sport that has you standing on a board in the sea, being propelled along the water by a power kite. Gower Kite Riders’ experienced instructors also teach kite buggying and kite landboarding on the beach, both as a step towards kitesurfing and as thrill-filled activities on their own. Contact: www.gowerkiteriders.com. 01792 446511 or 07799 062447.
LAPSED GY M MEMBER
If your exercise regime has deteriorated to lifting pens, pouring drinks and walking to the car, Wales has water, hills and woods aplenty to get you energised again.
Hawk Adventures, Brecon Beacons This is the go-to place for outdoor adventure activities in Wales, with 25 years in the business. The main centre is set in the magnificent Brecon Beacons, but they also run experiences across South Wales. At Hawk Adventures you can take on the challenge of scaling and abseiling down rocks; take it underground for caving and potholing; leap off cascading waterfalls while canyoning and gorge-walking in the remote river areas of the Beacons; or go coasteering in the Gower. They’re exhilarating ways to spend the day for one, and a fun bonding experience for groups. Contact: www.hawkadventures.co.uk. 01558 668878 or 07836 748752.
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Go Ape! Find your inner Tarzan says the blurb for the UK’s number one forest adventure. There’s certainly plenty to get you beating your chest as you fly down zip-wires, clamber up cargo nets and rope ladders, leap off Tarzan Swings and tackle tree top crossings whilst enjoying some wonderful Welsh scenery. Based at Margam Park just off the M4 it’s both easy to get to and an easy way to start living life a little more adventurously, whilst still having fun with friends and family. www.goape.co.uk 0845 0948763 (quote RedHanded to get 15% off )
TYF Adventure, Pembrokeshire TYF were pioneers in coasteering becoming the phenomenon it is today. This is real back-to-nature adventure, treating Pembrokeshire’s spectacular rocky coastline as if it’s your playground. Sticking on a wetsuit, safety helmet, buoyancy aid and old trainers, you’ll scramble, climb, swim and cliff-jump your way around rocks, cliffs, caves and waves. It’s a proper work-out and huge fun, with highlights including a dynamic whitewater ‘toilet’ that flushes you in and out. Contact: www.tyf.com. 01437 721611.
SPEED J UNKIE
When life’s a bit slow-moving, these activities will blow away the cobwebs.
Taff Valley Quad Bike and Activity Center, Pontypridd Don’t fret over how to give your mate a fitting send-off, Taff Valley Quad Bike and Activity Center has thought it all through for you. Their range of stag packages include thrill-packed activities like quad biking on 90cc and 250cc Honda quads, archery, clay shooting and gorge-walking in the Brecon Beacons. They even arrange lunches at local country pub The Rose & Crown, and cooked breakfasts at a great transport café, and can sort out accommodation too. Contact: www.adventurewales.co.uk. 029 2083 1658.
PERFECT FOR STAGS
BRD Sports Mountain Boarding Centre School, Swansea Strap yourself onto a board with wheels, point down a mountain, start yelling, and you’re mountain boarding. There’s a bit more to it, but that’s the essence of this snowboarding-like thrill ride. BRD run lots of different courses so that you can find your footing, and when you get good, you can compete against your friends in things like slalom and boardercross. Contact: www.brdsports.co.uk. 07856 152540.
Zorbing with Downhill Revolution, Pembrokeshire Presumably the brainchild of someone who spent his childhood enviously watching his guinea pig’s lifestyle, zorbing is a blast. If you can prevent yourself from letting out a maniacal laugh as you hurtle down a hill in a giant inflatable ball, then you’ve taken sang-froid too far. It’s one or two per ball, attached with rally harnesses and then pushed down a custom-made 100m run. For when you’re catching your breath and giving your stomach a break, there’s a viewing area with benches and picnic tables so you can watch the madness from the side. Contact: www.zorbingwales.co.uk. 01437 710360 or 01437 711187.
NAT URE LOV ER
There’s nothing like natural beauty to reinvigorate you. Learn to survive in the wild, take in the scenery and enjoy the fresh air.
Ffoto Ramble, Glamorgan Heritage Coast Ffoto Ramble takes you on a walk along the stunning Glamorgan Heritage Coast, led by A-Level and higher-education photography teacher Dylan Jones. You’ll take pictures of the scenery, wildlife and landmarks as you go, getting tips and tutorials on how to make the most of your camera. Each walk will be around three miles long, and you can take any picture-capturing device you like, from a smartphone to a top-of-the-range SLR. The current available dates are July 19 and 23, August 9 and 20, and September 13 and 14, and amazingly it’s free, so sign up soon. Contact: ffotoramble@gmail.com
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5 tips for the surfing beginner from Daryl Davies, Southerndown Surf School 1. It’s a good idea to start off with lessons and get all the dos and don’ts – surfing involves techniques that aren’t obvious and help from an instructor may prevent you from getting frustrated and giving up early. 2. On the board, you should go straight to your feet, rather than resting on your knees on the way up. 3. Once you’re up, you need to be nice and relaxed and have your knees bent. This helps soak up the bumps as the water pushes you around. 4. You should always practise on a lifeguarded beach, and have a friend along with you. 5. The Golden Rule of surfing is don’t ‘drop in’ – if someone else is up and riding a wave, you shouldn’t join it. Dropping in is the surfing equivalent of pulling out in front of someone at a junction.
5 tips for surviving in the wild from Sasha Ufnowska, Wild Spirit Bushcraft 1. The first step is to find water – it makes up a large part of your body, and in a worst-case scenario dehydration is likely to kill you faster than no food. Water also aids digestion, helps stave off hypothermia, and can prevent you from ‘losing it’. 2. Build a shelter – it will keep your body warm, and keep up morale. You’ll be happier with your surroundings, and less likely to panic. Wind can be a big problem, so it’s important to keep that away – even if you’re wet, you can survive much longer if you’re warm than if there’s a draft. 3. Make a fire – the benefits are keeping warm and dry, being able to cook food, and increasing the chances of being found if you’re lost. 4. Forage for wild food. You’re after sources of carbohydrates, but comfort is also important. Good wild foods include burdock, non-poisonous roots and nettles; the latter can be used to make a good soup, even with just water. 5. If you’re lost in the wild, you should try to increase the likelihood of being found. Smokey fires and an identifiable location (e.g. not too low) are good. You should also try to get a grasp of your surroundings and work out where you are.
Wild Spirit Bushcraft, Bridgend The mod cons have a lot going for them - pressing the start button on the microwave is certainly easier than hunting boar, but don’t you ever feel something’s missing? With Wild Spirit Bushcraft, you’ll learn and experience the essential skills of bushcraft survival, such as shelter building, water collection and purification, collecting and using wild foods, native cooking methods, blowing tinder into flame, and nature awareness. They also run a special beach foraging experience, where you’ll be shown how to find and prepare wild coastal food for a feast. Contact: www.bushcraftcourses.co.uk. 07905 466884.
Bailey Balloons Ballooning is a really spectacular way to spend a day – you’ll experience a mixture of serenity and exhilaration, and go home with great pictures. The sights on the South Wales flights can include the Usk Valley, the Brecon Beacons, the Wye Valley and landmarks like Tintern Abbey, Castell Coch and Caerphilly Castle. For a romantic flight, you can opt for the champagne hot air balloon ride. They even offer trial lessons if you want to learn to do it yourself. Contact: www.baileyballoons.co.uk. 01275 375300.
ADULT LEARNER
These activities will leave you with a new skill you’ll be using for the rest of your life.
Axis Training (Paragliding), Abergavenny You know those dreams where you can fly? Paragliding is the waking version of it. When you’ve mastered it, you can stay in the air for hours at a time, taking in the sights and feeling a type of freedom you can’t get from anything else. Try it out at Axis with a tandem flight, where you’ll fly attached to the instructor and accompanied by a camera to capture it all if you like, or jump straight in with a range of training courses. They also teach paramotoring, which adds an auxiliary motor to the fun. Contact: www.paraglide.co.uk. 01873 850111 or 07970 421373.
Southerndown Surf School, Glamorgan Heritage Coast Make this summer the year you finally turn those surfing plans into reality. Down on the Glamorgan Heritage Coast, Southerndown Surf School teaches complete beginners how to catch and ride waves in just one session. Wetsuits and boards are provided, and instructor Daryl Davies is fully qualified to ISA Surf Instructor level and as a beach lifeguard. If you’re already a surfer, Southerndown also does ‘progressive’ lessons to help you improve skills and techniques like wave selection, so you can quickly advance to the next level. Contact: www.southerndownsurfschool.co.uk. 07964 985404.
St Brides Major Riding & Trekking Centre, St Brides Major Whether you’re a novice when it comes to horses or already comfortable in the saddle, St Brides Major Riding & Trekking Centre runs a fantastic range of riding activities in the beautiful Vale of Glamorgan countryside. You can book all sorts of things from riding lessons to pony days to cross-country ride-outs. Kids aged four upwards are welcome too. Contact: www.valeriding.co.uk. 01656 880000 or 07980 278661.
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Travel
A galaxy far, far away The Force is strong with Jeremy Head - on the Tunisian set of the first Star Wars movie
A new Star Wars movie is in production. The original cast members are returning. Harrison Ford has broken his ankle on set! But the next film has a release date for late 2015. I needed a Star Wars fix sooner than that. So I headed for a galaxy far, far away. Well, the desert in Tunisia to be exact. The vast Sahara occupies a big chunk of the far south of the country and it was the perfect spot for recreating Tatooine, Luke Skywalker’s home in the very first film way back in 1976. George Lucas took inspiration for the planet’s name from the real town of Tatouine a day’s drive south from Tunisia’s capital, Tunis. When we rolled into town, dusty and tired after the drive I didn’t feel much excitement. There were no droids to greet us, no stormtroopers on the street corners. The town itself wasn’t used for filming and it was a pretty run-ofthe-mill place. But a short drive northwest along a dirt track brought me straight to my first experience of a real Star Wars location. Ksars or fortified granaries can be found all over the place in this part of the country, but Ksar Hadada is particularly unique. It was the location for the slave quarters in Episode One (the Phantom Menace). A bunch of simple mud-hut-like cells are bundled one on top of the other. Somewhat ironically they aren’t used for keeping people prisoner. Instead they are hotel rooms - though pretty basic ones at that. I clambered around the site imagining
Luke Skywalker around every corner. It’s now a popular tourist destination and I had to fight my way around with a busload of French tourists. But that didn’t detract completely from the atmosphere. The fact that it’s a building still very much in use somehow made the experience feel all the more real. Next morning we fired up the trusty Landcruiser and drove another day’s drive out into the desert arriving eventually at Matmata. (If only we could make the jump to hyperspace - it would make the long journeys between places a bit less tedious.) It was seriously hot out here and I wasn’t surprised to find that people in this part of the world choose quite voluntarily to spend much of the day underground. Dotted around this little desert town are huge circular pits which have been dug deep into the crumbly ochre sandstone. Smaller caves have been cut back into the walls. Many of these structures are still in use even though some are over 400 years old. The main central courtyard pits sometimes have small wells and flower gardens at their centres and some of the bigger cave dwellings have connecting corridors to more courtyards and more rooms. The temperature in these troglodyte dwellings remains pretty constant all year round, perfect for escaping the baking days and the cool nights. Several of them are now hotels, so I spent a night in one. I slept in my sleeping bag, deep in the
bowels of the earth as unexpected rain pattered down onto the ground far above, unaware that stormtroopers were wreaking havoc close by.
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Well, they did 30 years or so ago. One of the other underground hotels here was used for shooting several scenes from the very first Star Wars movie. Next day I took a look around Hotel Sidi Driss which was utterly fascinating. It was the home of Luke Skywalker’s uncle and aunt who were murdered by imperial forces early in the film. It all looked surprisingly realistic, given that it was now several decades old. I wandered around the courtyard carved deep into the ground and stuck my head inside the caves that led off it - some were still adorned with random bits of space dwelling stuck on there to shoot the film. Up close they looked surprisingly crude - but then again, they’d been there for decades. Coolest thing of all? You can have a beer in the Skywalker bar here - complete with air-lock doors and strange silver consoles on the walls. But there were even better Star Wars sights yet further into the desert. And some of them much more recent. My final experience of The Force happened later that week. I careered out into the dunes towards the Algerian border in a 4-wheel-drive from the oasis town of Tozeur further inland from Matmata on the hunt for more space-age scenes. We bucked and bounced along sandy tracks, Arabic music jangling from the stereo at top volume until we reached a vast dried up river valley. This
CRUCIAL INFO Getting there: British Airways (www.ba.com) and Tunis Air (www. tunisair.com) fly direct from London Heathrow to Tunis. Tour operators: Explore Worldwide have a 15 day tour ‘Ancient Carthage and Camel Safari’ which takes in all the sites mentioned above along with a camel trek in the Sahara. (www. exploreworldwide.com).
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Location vacations Star Wars not your thing? Try a different movie for your trip Istanbul - Licence to shop The thrilling motorbike chase in the opening sequence of latest Bond film Skyfall takes place across the roofs of Istanbul - in particular the famous Grand Bazaar Petra - Keep up with Dr Jones The third and for now final Indie film, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade featured several sequences shot among the amazing rock temples of Petra in Jordan New Zealand - Rings a-plenty New Zealand’s gorgeously rugged scenery was almost a character in its own right for the Lord of the Rings trilogy.
place formed the backdrop for the pod race in Episode One (the fourth film) and the sense of huge space here made me feel positively tiny. Vast sheer rock faces soared above, the heat and the light were bewilderingly intense. From here we drove on, cannoning down the valley and up and over several more vast sand dunes, grinding and bucking in low gear. As the afternoon sun was beginning to lose some of its heat we finally reached the lonely deserted film set near the salt flat Chott el Gharsa - without doubt the highlight of the trip. This was Mos Espa in the more recent Star Wars movies. The sets are just sat there for anyone who journeys this far out into the desert to see them. It’s like, well, wandering onto the set of a film! I strolled around these oddly surreal streets of dusty arches and small domed houses with no backs. This kind of scenery could almost look normal for the desert if it wasn’t for the angular space-aged, statue-like structures built alongside. With few other people around, it was easy to imagine a Jedi Knight hiding out in one of the shady ruins or R2-D2 and C3PO trundling round
the market place. The future for this amazing piece of film history doesn’t look completely bright. Sand dunes are beginning to encroach. Without action the sand will probably reclaim Mos Espa for good within the next decade or so. As I clambered over the rough fibreglass walls and peaked into the strange pod-shaped houses the sun began to set. I was indeed in another galaxy far far away - with nothing on the horizon but endless dunes. I just needed a light sabre and the day would have been complete.
The Kings Arms village pub is a place where locals and visitors alike can wind down from the stresses of a busy modern lifestyle. The pub serves a bar menu which offers classic and comforting pub dishes that are cooked with care from well sourced produce and served in a relaxed and informal style. It’s a great place to kick back with a pie and a pint without breaking the bank. Our cask ales are well looked after, our wines offer good choice & we have an enviable beer garden to soak up the sun. The adjoining Kings Restaurant is a dining experience like no other, combining consistently reliable, top quality food and service with a ‘chocolate box’ country pub setting. Our experienced team of chefs have a real passion for their role and sourcing fantastic, local where possible, produce that offers the diner a remarkably affordable treat. Service is knowledgeable and attentive but relaxed and still retains a ‘pub’ feel. We are developing a kitchen garden to grow our own, as nothing beats freshly picked veg, and we’ll also be opening the Kings Deli to sell our produce and well sourced Welsh products to customers and the local community. If you love eating out & love going to the pub, the Kings Arms is a perfect blend of the two.
info@kingsarmspentyrch.co.uk Tel: 02920 890202 @KingsArmsWales Church Road, Pentyrch, Cardiff CF15 9QF
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Light up
Burn brightly this Summer
Photography by Mission Photographic www.missionphotographic.com
Andrew Jacket, Paul Smith - £250 T-shirt, Paul Smith - £70 Shorts, Penfield - £55 Shoes, Sperry - £60 Sunglasses, Rayban - £135 all from Pavilion Clothing
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Above: Andrew Jeans, Hiut - £130 Shirt, Barbour - £129 Desert boots, Clarks Original - £69 Sunglasses, Rayban - £135 all from Pavilion Clothing Left: Dafydd Shirt, Animal - £35 T-shirt, Animal - £20 Shorts, Animal - £45 Sunglasses, Animal - £40 all from Animal Store
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Dafydd T-shirt, Animal - £20 Shorts, Animal - £25 Cap, Animal - £22 Sunglasses, Animal - £35 Flip-Flops, Animal - £25 all from Animal Store
REDHANDED 2014 • Issue 2 39
Left: Dafydd Hoodie, Animal - £45 Shorts, Animal, £45 Shirt, Animal - £35 all from Animal Store
Thanks to our models Andrew and Dafydd
Right: Andrew Shirt, Original Penguin - £60 Chinos, Dockers Alpha - £80 Sunglasses, Rayban - £135 all from Pavilion Clothing
Shot on location at Nash Point Lighthouse, Vale of Glamorgan. www.nashpoint.co.uk
Clothes supplied by Pavilion Clothing, Wharton Street, Cardiff and Animal Store, Queens Arcade, Cardiff.
If you think you've got what it takes to model for RedHanded, email a full length pic and contact info to redhanded@conroymedia.co.uk
40 REDHANDED 2014 • Issue 2
At the Brogue Trader we understand that for a true Gentlemen, a well-fitting, long lasting shoe goes without saying. It’s like a mark of refinement and a statement of personal pride in one’s appearance, a handmade, welted shoe goes beyond mere items of apparel, it’s the creation of a master craftsman, expressing the standing and taste of the wearer whilst simultaneously providing your feet with optimum protection from the stress and strain of every-day life. Shoes by Loake, Herring, Joseph Cheaney, Oliver Sweeney and Tricker’s. Sebago now in stock. Socks by Corgi, umbrellas by Ince and Sons and leather goods by Dents
FREE SHOE TREES WORTH £39 ON ANY SHOE PURCHASE WHEN CUSTOMERS MENTION REDHANDED
27A Morgan Arcade, The Morgan Quarter, Cardiff, CF10 1AF. t. 0843 6581970
www.thebroguetrader.com
Lifestyle
Get decked out The Brogue Trader in Cardiff’s Morgan Arcade has got off to a roaring start. Dapper gents have been cutting a path to Chris MacNamara’s door in their droves, but as someone who refuses to rest on his laurels shoe fanatic Chris has been hunting down new brands of fine footwear to add to his already impressive collection of Loakes, Joseph Cheaney, Herring, Tricker and more. And just in time for Summer comes Sebago. Founded in 1946 in New England, USA, Sebago have become synonymous with deck shoes. Once the preserve of chaps messing around on boats, their classic Docksides are the go-to for anyone looking for a Summer shoe that will work with anything from casual shorts to a pair of smart chinos. Their success lies in their status as the original deck shoe and their quality. Since their very first time out of the shoebox and onto a boat, Docksides have been beloved by sailors everywhere. Appreciated for their hand-sewn genuine moc construction that wraps the foot in a single piece of form-fitting leather, delivering seamless comfort and hardwearing durability. As well as for their slip-resistant, non-marking rubber soles that offer sure-footed security, the functional rawhide laces, and their noncorrosive brass eyelets that help them look as good as they wear.
PLAY AND STAY Continuing our theme of the great Welsh outdoors, our friends at the Gower Golf Club have come up with another great chance to enjoy some stunning Welsh scenery with a special offer to readers of RedHanded. One night’s bed and breakfast and a round of golf for £55 per person based on 2 people sharing twin or double room. Late availability – call 01792 872480 to enquire quoting RedHanded, some weekend availability.
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Docksides are available in a large variety of colours, as are Sebago’s range of slip-on Trenton Penny Mocs, also in stock at The Brogue Trader. Also a casual shoe, it’s as at home in the 19th hole as it is on the beach but still smart enough to wear of a summer’s evening sipping a cold beer or cocktail. And like the Dockside it has a wrap around construction for added comfort and durability. The Brogue Trader has a comprehensive selection of both lines so you can be confident you’ll find a colour and fitting that’s perfect. On the off-chance you don’t, they also have Loake’s classic take on the moccasin deck shoe, the 524. Eitherway, such a fine collection of shoes plus service (complimentary tea/coffee/beer) and ambience to match are compelling reasons to visit The Brogue Trader. If all that’s not incentive enough, RedHanded readers get free shoe trees worth £39 on any shoe purchase. Time get decked out we reckon. The Brogue Trader, 27A Morgan Arcade, Cardiff, CF10 1AF. t.0843 658 1970 www.thebroguetrader.com
Gower Golf Course, Cefn Goleu, Three Crosses, Swansea SA4 3HS enquiries@gowergolf.co.uk 01792 872480 • www.gowergolf.co.uk
Lifestyle BT SPORT CARDIFF ARMS PARK MAKES HISTORY
The iconic home of Cardiff Blues – the newly named BT Sport Cardiff Arms Park - made history when the world famous stadium became the first venue to host a European final on an artificial surface. The 2014 Amlin Challenge Cup in May will forever be immortalised in the annals of rugby history after it became the first-ever major cup final to not be played out on a traditional grass pitch. The installation of the revolutionary new turf at the Arms Park in the summer of 2013 has seen the boggy turf that blighted an open expansive style of rugby in recent years replaced with a pitch perfect 3G playing surface. Chief Executive Richard Holland admitted the grass, that had been in place since construction of the venue in 1967, needed to be replaced and added: “We have British Lions, internationals and world class youngsters, but they can’t run in mud. “We are part of the entertainment industry and can’t expect fans to pay £15 or £20 or buy a season ticket. The new surface not only helps the Blues but is also open to the wider community and we’ve been delighted by the numbers that have used the pitch in year one.”
Blues turned to FieldTurf to install the surface and the decision was more than vindicated when European rugby chiefs chose the Arms Park - that recently struck a naming rights deal with broadcast giant BT Sport to host the Amlin Challenge Cup final between Northampton Saints and Bath Rugby. A full-house of more than 12,000 fans packed into the stadium and while the Saints were victorious on the night there was little doubt that it was rugby and the Arms Park pitch that was the real winner. “It was a big occasion for the city, with the Heineken Cup the day after too, and we were delighted to make history and host a European final on our new surface,” added Holland. “We’re now looking to next season and with a new Director of Rugby in Mark Hammett and a number of summer signings coming in we hope even more people from the region will come and watch rugby on our revolutionary artificial pitch.” Join Blues for the 2014/15 season at the BT Sport Cardiff Arms Park. Call the Ticket Office on 029 2030 2030 or click on www.cardiffblues.com
Extreme Sailing Series™ set to bring world-class sailing competition to Cardiff Bay for a third consecutive year High-performance Extreme 40 catamarans are set to return as the centerpiece to the Cardiff Harbour Festival, bringing some of the world’s best sailors to the heart of the capital over the August bank holiday weekend, August 22-25. In 2013, in excess of 120,000 people flocked to the Bay to enjoy views from the waterfront public Race Village - for free. This year is expected to be bigger than ever, with America’s Cup winners, heroes of multiple Olympic Games, World Champions and round-theworld sailors preparing to compete in the only UK leg of the 2014 global tour. Signed up for 2014 is the world’s greatest Olympic sailor, Britain’s Sir Ben Ainslie. Sir Ben, with four Olympic gold medals and a silver, plus countless world titles in the Laser and Finn classes, described the intensity of racing in the adrenaline-fuelled Extreme Sailing Series™. “It is crazy racing. Anyone who has seen the Series - or taken part in it – will tell you that the style of the courses, the speed of the boats and the number of boats on any side of the course at one time, means there is a lot of action and a lot of potential for crashes and incidents. So it makes for exciting racing and you really have to be on your toes.” Sir Ben Ainslie will field an all-British team, including two-time winner of the Series and America’s Cup sailor, Nick Hutton. “Cardiff Bay ticks all the Extreme Sailing Series boxes, it offers great racing on a really compact piece of water - it’s stadium racing at its best. The British and the Welsh love their sport so it would be great to see as many people on the shore watching the racing as possible.. It’s always nice to race in front of a home crowd and we are really looking forward to being there.” Double-Olympic gold medalist Sarah Ayton, joins reigning champion and fellow Olympian Leigh McMillan’s team this year. Ayton commented:
“This is the first time I've sailed in Cardiff. The crew have told me that the venue is small which is going to make for some really close, ‘anything could happen’ style racing which I'm really looking forward to. Hopefully the sailing will attract lots of interest (in Cardiff ), it's easy for non sailors to follow and the Extreme Sailing Series offers a brilliant spectacle for everyone to enjoy.” Watch the Extreme Sailing Series as part of the Cardiff Harbour Festival on August 22-25
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Greens Are Good For You Golf Club Food is no Longer Below Par
Think of catering at most local golf clubs and your expectations may not be very high, and rarely extend beyond standard pub fayre in the members’ bar. But a new partnership with Spiros Fine Dining Caterers and Cottrell Park Golf Resort just outside Cardiff, has succeed in transforming life on the 19th hole into a destination dining experience to rival any top notch restaurant. “We already knew that Cottrell Park was trying to do things differently, and we wanted to be part of it,” Says Spiro Borg the man behind Spiros for the past 30 years. “Their purpose-built marquee which caters for weddings and celebrations of up to 400 guests has been a massive hit. When the chance came to become the in-house caterers at Cottrell Park we jumped at it.” “The team are excited to be working with Cottrell Park which has many natural advantages and potential for growth; its beautifully landscaped parkland makes it the perfect setting for both golf and a superb rural setting for weddings, conveniently close to Cardiff. Together the caterer and the Golf Club have turned the 400 acre Cottrell Park into a dining destination for devotees of good food from miles around. Some of the culinary highlights include a full Welsh breakfast or a pork and leek sausage baguette to kick start your morning of golf. After playing on the championship golf course sit back and relax in our traditional stone
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clubhouse with a late lunch or early dinner and feast on our range of delicious chicken, beef or vegetable burgers, a hearty selection of curries, steaks, pies, fish and chips and much more. Traditional Sunday lunches with all the trimmings are also hugely popular with members and visitors alike. As a venue Cottrell Park Resort just offers golfing, business, wedding and leisure facilities include two championship-maintained golf courses, event, conferencing and meeting rooms, team building and training activities, a restaurant and bar, a nature trail, and golf simulators.
Christmas further where children will also have the exciting opportunity to meet Santa in our Magical Winter Wonderland Marquee.” We will be continuing with our festive Winter extravaganza as we hold our New Years Eve Ball party which includes a 5 course dinner, disco and our own photo-booth to capture those magic moments.
A MAGICAL CHRISTMAS AT COTTRELL PARK
Cottrell Park Golf Resort St. Nicholas, Cardiff Vale of Glamorgan CF5 6SJ
“This year we are very excited to be hosting our Magical Winter Wonderland at Cottrell Park” said Spiro. “The marquee will be transformed into a magical experience and is available for all winter celebrations from corporate functions to private parties including exclusive hire for winter weddings.” “We know it’s important for families to celebrate the festive season together and every Sunday through December we will be presenting a traditional 3 course Christmas lunch serving a selection of hors d’oeuvres or soup as a starter, followed by a choice of three meats with all the festive trimmings and to finish our delicious dessert table. We add to the excitement of
ADVERTORIAL
For further information or to check availability please contact the Events Team Tel: 01446 781781 who will be happy to discuss your requirement
Lifestyle Food
Meatballs ‘like Mama used to make’ But only if she’s Italian and a great cook. This is one of my favourites for when I have guests or a family gathering. What’s more, it’s fun for the whole family to make. I suggest you always make extra as you can use the left over for pasta or a cold snack the next day. SERVES 6-8 (3 or 4 Meatballs per person) 1 kilo 100% lean beef (minced) 100g bread crumbs 100g parmesan cheese (freshly grated) 6 yolks from free range eggs 2 cloves of garlic (crushed) A bunch of parsley or your favourite herb - coriander would go well finely chopped Fresh chilli, if you like it hot, finely chopped Now the fun starts! Put all the ingredients into a large bowl and use your hands to mix everything together as you would if you were making a dough. Put this into the fridge for 30mins. Next take the bowl out of the fridge and make into balls (the size of a golf ball). Once you have these ready you can deep fry them in a deep pan with olive oil (not extra virgin as it will burn very quickly). Turn them now and again and cook for about 7-8mins. Or alternatively you can pre-heat your oven to 180C and put the meatballs in for 15mins. Whatever you have left over you can always eat cold the next day or with some pasta or spaghetti and tomato sauce. Buon Appetito! Toni Venditto Toni’s Tapas Bar and Restaurant 24 Churchill Way, Cardiff CF10 2DY 02920 343424
More than sushi It’s easy to make sweeping generalisations when it comes to national dishes and cuisine. It’s probably Japanese food where we’re most guilty. For many it’s simply sushi made with raw fish and little else. How wrong we are as Meng Yapp from Yakatori #1 explains: Japanese curry dishes Curry is one of the most popular dishes in Japan and was introduced to Japan during the Meiji era (1868–1912) by the British. There are a wide variety of curry mixes all commonly served in three main forms: curry rice, curry udon (curry over noodles), and curry bread (a curry-filled pastry). Curry rice is most commonly referred to simply as “curry”. A wide variety of vegetables and meats are used to make Japanese curry. The basic vegetables are onions, carrots and potatoes. For the meat; beef, pork and chicken are the most popular. Katsu-karē is a breaded deep-fried pork cutlet with curry sauce. Noodles There are several different types of noodle dishes – the most popular being Ramen, Soba or Udon noodles. Ramen is a Japanese noodle (made with wheat) and meat, but occasionally fish, based soup usually flavoured with soy and with many regional variations. Soba are thin buckwheat noodles and usually served either chilled with a dipping sauce, or in hot broth as a noodle soup. Udon are thicker wheat noodles that can be used for stir fry with vegetables and meats. Tempura A Japanese dish of seafood or vegetables that have been very lightly battered and briefly deep fried to produce a delicate, crisp batter. Often served with dips. Grilled meats Grilled meats, fish and shell fish are very popular in Japanese cuisine – Yakatori being grilled chicken, for example. The emphasis is on top quality meat that may have been glazed or marinated, such as teriyaki. Teppanyaki A style of Japanese cuisine that uses an iron griddle to cook food; often steak, shrimp, okonomiyaki (pancake), yakisoba (noodles), and monjayaki (a batter-like dough). The word teppanyaki is derived from teppan, which means iron plate, and yaki, which means grilled, broiled, or pan-fried. Sushi And for the record, Sushi does not have to contain raw fish. It always contains vinegared rice which can be combined with other meats, such as beef, duck and pork, or vegetables. Japanese cuisine is as varied, perhaps more so, as any other cuisine in the world and it’s generally much healthier. Yakatori #1 has all of the dishes mentioned above and more on its latest menu so if you’d like to get a true taste of real Japanese food head to Cardiff Bay. Yakatori #1, Mermaid Quay, Cardiff Bay. Tel. 029 2049 5050 www.yakatori1.co.uk
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Lifestyle
Men mean business Gentlemen’s Business Evening at Morgan Arcade is a big hit And about time too. RedHanded has been around for over a decade and after much head-scratching we’re pretty convinced that the Gents’ Evening held at Morgan Arcade is the first time a glitzy, shopping and networking event has been held that’s aimed at us chaps - most are aimed at women despite our considerable spending power. This event, the brainchild of Chris MacNamara, owner of recently opened upmarket men’s shoe emporium Brogue Trader, was a great success and good fun. It proves that if the products and organisation are right and you combine it with the opportunity to do a little networking, male-oriented events will be a draw and something we’ll enjoy. Chris was ably assisted by Introbiz and recruited fellow Morgan Arcade retailers Bang & Olufsen Cardiff, Hawkes Essentials plus Porsche Cardiff.
In addition to the Brogue Traders’ fine range of Loakes, Cheaney and Herring hand-made shoes which were a big draw on the night, other attention grabbers included Bang & Olufsen’s brand new Avant 4k TV and Porsche’s new Macan SUV crossover. So guests had plenty to feast their eyes on. Talking of feasts the nibbles were rather impressive too, courtesy of fine dining caterers Spiro’s. Chris and his fellow Morgan Quarter retailers will be having more events so pop in to register your interest and you may be lucky enough to get an invitation next time. Brogue Trader, Morgan Arcade, Cardiff. Tel: 0843 6581970 www.thebroguetrader.com
MAN MAINTENANCE Male grooming guru Jason Humphrey tells us why we should and where to start.
Male grooming is not a new thing. I'm turning 40 this year and I’ve been looking after my face since my early teens. I have exfoliated, moisturized and used eye cream for years. I'm not unusual. Take a look at Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise, both 50ish and looking great. But that’s the result of taking very good care of themselves over many years. Prevention is better than cure so clearly the earlier you start the better the results - it’s all about man maintenance. Hence Groom For Men. We have two aims. Firstly, to make barbers cool again. Groom For Men is a relaxed masculine environment with a classic barbershop look and more than a touch of luxury. We have traditional Emperor Barber Chairs, huge gilded mirrors, leather chesterfield sofas and wingback chairs. Our second and main aim is to keep men looking great. High street salons only pay lip-service to what men really need so at Groom For Men
we have highly trained barbers/stylists giving great advice, listening to their clients needs and all able to create fantastic cutting edge cuts. But we want to go further than just haircuts and hot towel shaves. We have a whole man maintenance clinic on site. That includes a private consultation room where we offer non-surgical hair replacement systems; two treatment rooms for facials, hand and feet treatments, body wraps and massage; and a room dedicated to male waxing, from eye brows, chest and back to full body - if there’s hair on it we can remove it! There are many sound reasons why men should look after themselves. Confidence, the feel-good factor, health and virility, attractiveness to others to name a few. All of which help to get ahead in life, secure that job, that promotion, that someone special. The sooner you start looking after yourself, the sooner you'll reap these rewards. Groom For Men, 123 Crwys Rd, Cardiff. Tel: 02921 320204 www.groomformen.co.uk
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Lifestyle
Rock Royalty Yep, there are some legends hitting Wales this summer
acts around. July 2, Liberty Stadium, Swansea.
Paul Weller
Kings of Leon Kings of Leon have been one of the biggest bands in the world since the release of 2008’s Only by the Night, scoring global hit singles with Sex on Fire and Use Somebody. Since then the Nashville band of brothers have released two more albums and are currently touring on the back of 2013’s hugely successful Mechanical Bull. Their international shows so far have received rave reviews, proving that they’re one of the hardest working and hardest playing
Paul Weller achieved massive success with the 70’s and 80’s new wave outfits The Jam and The Style Council and since then, ‘The Modfather’ has had an extremely successful solo career in his own right, penning memorable songs including You Do Something To Me and producing hit albums like 1995’s Stanley Road. This July he’s playing an outdoor set at Cardiff Castle including his solo material from the past several decades. July 24, Cardiff Castle, Cardiff.
a fixed set list, guaranteeing that his shows are always full of surprises. July 11, Brangwyn Hall, Swansea. For information about these and more live music events across Wales visit: www. orchardentertainment.co.uk
Elvis Costello Elvis Costello has influenced everyone from The Arctic Monkeys to Bret Easton Ellis - who named the book Less Than Zero after one of his songs. With his band The Attractions Costello recorded a string of massive singles like Watching The Detectives, Pump It Up and Oliver’s Army. He’s been touring for years with a number of different musicians including The Roots and The Imposters and refusing to play
Number Ten Opens Its Doors To The Public
The newest arrival to Cardiff’s bar and nightclub scene, Ten Mill Lane promises to provide a stylish and comfortable homefrom-home for the capital’s smart set, with a world class pairing of designer Tim Rice’s creative vision and the business nous of owner-manager John Saunders Situated slightly away from the main drag of St Mary’s Street, Ten Mill Lane is more likely to attract those looking for quality food and drink and more tasteful and less raucous surroundings than those typically found on a Cardiff night out. There’s a well-stocked bar featuring an international selection of drinks to choose from and the 6am opening licence makes it an ideal hangout for night owls. The club is the brainchild of John Saunders,
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one of the main men responsible for Cardiff’s Tiger Tiger. He’s looking to replicate the same level of success, but after working on big mainstream clubs, he now wants to offer his clientele a completely different kind of experience. “Having worked for huge hospitality corporations for years I felt the time was right to go independent but I will be applying this invaluable experience to Ten Mill Lane to ensure success,” he said. The aesthetic and ambience of the club is truly unique thanks to co-founder and interior designer Tim Rice’s eclectic taste. He explains the personal effort that went in to defining the atmosphere: “I have always had a passion for my work, but working on my own project has been an incredible experience. “No expense has been spared, we’ve ripped down ceilings and walls, changed fittings and fixtures, sourced furniture from far flung countries and antique warehouses and we couldn’t be prouder of the result,” he added. The feel of the club successfully replicates the sophisticated but chilled atmosphere of clubs in other capital cities where fashionable professionals can go after a hard day’s work to relax and socialise, play and unwind, making it one of the go-to bars in Cardiff for RedHanded readers.
Ten Mill Lane will be open from 5pm from Thursday – Sunday and will be one of the few establishments with a 6am licence. For guest list and table enquiries contact 029 2115 1015
Lifestyle
Summer treats from Bridgend Designer Outlet Superdry Hightop McArthurGlen Price £24
Bench 'summer in the city' t-shirt McArthurGlen Price - £10
Watch Station, Armani rose gold watch - McArthurGlen Price - £180
Billabong Aqua tortoise shell glasses McArthurGlen Price £20
BUYER BEWARE
Cheap in-car technology bought online is rarely a bargain
With deals only a few key-strokes away it’s more tempting than ever to grab a bargain online. But when it comes to automotive audio/visual buying a bargain is risky. If you’re lucky it’ll probably be a false economy that will cost much more than was saved. If you’re unlucky it could be downright dangerous as Waz Khaliq from B&B Audio explains. "If you’re buying cheap on the internet you have to be really careful. What you’re buying may be fake or a cheap, unknown brand made
in China. Not only will it probably not work properly (about 70% don’t) but it could be dangerous – there have been cases of units catching fire or causing other electrical issues while driving. "It’s just not worth the risk," he warns. Even if it doesn’t fail catastrophically, are there are other problems? "Any guarantee will probably not be honoured and you have no real comeback. Even if the seller does co-operate, you’ll still have had the hassle of installing it, removing it when it fails and then returning it, probably to somewhere half way round the world. All of which costs time and money. "Any reputable installer will be reluctant to fit it and certainly won’t offer any guarantees. So, if it goes wrong you pay triple!" And if you do manage to find a genuine branded product? "There are still things you need to be aware of. Is it UK sourced? If not, the guarantee may not be valid in the UK. Is it damaged stock or a faulty return? If you have it fitted professionally, the installer is only obliged to guarantee their
installation work – not the unit. So if it does develop a fault you’ll have to pay to get it removed and a replacement refitted. The seller or manufacturer won’t cover these extra costs." What’s the answer? "Buy from a reputable source that will also fit it for you. You may pay a little more up-front but you can be sure you’re getting the genuine product, fitted properly, that will work. And if it doesn’t it’s the supplier’s responsibility to fix or replace it. At B&B we offer a no quibble guarantee if we supply and fit a product, which could ultimately save money and hassle. "The other factor is honest advice. Is the product right for you? At B&B we offer impartial advice to make sure customers get a product that delivers – we’ll design a system for free to suit your needs perfectly and that’s something you won’t get on the internet." For more info: B&B Audio Concepts, West Point Industrial Est. Penarth Road, Cardiff CF11 8JQ. Tel: 029 2070 7275 www.audioconcepts.co.uk
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Lifestyle
There Must Be Something in the Water The site has some of the top sporting agents and clubs across the world, such as The Football Association of Wales and New Zealand Rugby Team. Thus allowing individuals of all ages and backgrounds the opportunity to upload dynamic videos of their unique sporting talent and putting them in “The Sporting Spotlight” Mark Selby the CEO of SSN said: “The site gives EVERYONE an opportunity. SSN puts you in the right place, at the right time. Optimising the amount of opportunities to develop your potential sporting career”. As a true supporter of sport in Wales, Mark Selby is wavering the fee for any Welsh individuals and clubs. This has brought swarms of people in a very short space of time to the site and @Sportscoutnet which reaches over 32K a day in Wales With sportsmen and women such as Gareth Bale, Sam Warburton, Jamie Roberts and Philippa Tuttiett, there must be something in the water that makes the Welsh so talented and determined. However, many of Wales’ sporting greats have been privileged enough to have strong parental and network support to drive them forward. Not all children in Wales have the same network available to them for various reasons. This is about to change. Sport Scouting Network (SSN) was set up as a Welsh Company in 2013. SSN is a user friendly website that in a simple sense acts as a sporting version of YouTube. This includes multiple filters for sports disciplines that cover all categories across the globe.
If you or someone you know has a sporting talent that deserves to be recognised contact Mark by emailing mark@ sportscoutingnetwork.com On the SSN Facebook page: www.facebook.com/ SportScoutingNetwork On the SSN Twitter account: @Sportscoutnet Or visit the website www.sportscoutingnetwork.com For quotes and further specialist information regarding Sport Scouting Network contact Mark Selby on 07971 213234
Time for tea Laguna at Park Plaza’s new, man friendly, take on an old favourite - afternoon tea Now this is a good idea. On two levels. Firstly, it makes a contribution to a good cause. Laguna’s Gentlemans’ Afternoon Tea will be supporting Velindre Cancer Centre, with a percentage of each afternoon tea sold throughout June being donated to Wales’ leading cancer centre. Fronting the campaign is Blues captain and British Lion Matthew Rees, who last year was diagnosed with testicular cancer. “I hope the Gentleman’s Afternoon Tea is a great success and raises lots of money for Velindre” said Matthew. Secondly, whilst I enjoy a traditional afternoon tea occasionally, they’re not exactly masculine, or filling. Finger sandwiches and cakes aren’t your average chap’s, er, cup of tea. Drawing inspiration from gentlemen’s clubs, Laguna at the Park Plaza Hotel has set out to
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remedy this. And it’s a fine effort. First thing to say is it could be more accurately called a Gents’ Afternoon Feast. You will not need to eat for some time once you’ve polished it off. There’s not a dainty sarnie to be seen. Instead we have a robust selection, presented on a slate, of sirloin stuffed Yorkshire pud, venison burger, Welsh sirloin steak with caramelised red onions and garlic mushrooms on toasted ciabatta, smoked salmon and caviar blini and miniature prawn cocktail shots. Whilst these were all expertly prepared and very tasty my personal favourite was the chorizo Scotch egg. As any Spaniard will tell you, chorizo and egg go well, but this is greater than the sum of its parts – absolutely gorgeous. It’s an afternoon tea so there has to be cake of some kind. Enter chocolate fondant with clotted cream and a Rum Baba filled with Chantilly cream and raspberries. All very indulgent and rather lovely. All in all a novel
take on an old idea done very well with ample portion size, a donation to a good cause and cracking value at £18.95. Laguna Kitchen and Bar, Park Plaza Hotel, Greyfriars Road, Cardiff. Tel: 029 2011 1103 www.lagunakitchenandbar.com
Courtesy of Park Plaza win a Gents’ Afternoon Tea for two! Simply email your answer to the following question to redhanded@conroymedia.co.uk: What rugby player is fronting the Velindre Hospital fund-raising campaign that the Gents’ Afternoon Tea is supporting?
CHAPTER AND VERSE
Lifestyle
21st July. On the subject of comedy, on 20 July Chapter are screening Monty Python Live as the comedic legends perform at London’s O2 arena. Elsewhere at Chapter, the Stanley Baker retrospective has caught our eye. The original and, some would argue, best British (Welsh to be precise) screen hardman who inspired Connery and Caine is often overlooked so snap up the chance to see a documentary on the man and catch him in action in movies like Hell Raisers and Zulu throughout July. Two little known Baker facts: he turned down the role of James Bond and he produced The Italian Job. What a guy. There’s an awful lot going on at Chapter Arts Centre over the next couple of months. An obvious stand-out is stand-up, as it plays host to a number of acts during the Cardiff Comedy Festival. East End Cabaret’s bawdy humour gets a pre-Edinburgh showing on 23 July. Cardiff based comedian Leroy Brito, who has quickly developed a reputation as one of the rising stars of Welsh Comedy, performs on
And finally, there’s a Frozen sing-along 12-13 July. Don’t mock – if it’s good enough for battle-hardened US Marines (check out the YouTube vid) it’s good enough for us. www.chapter.org for more info
Revolution Runs presents ‘the Burn’ An extreme obstacle course run that will push you to your limits Let the flames be your guide as you are led through 10 kilometres of punishing Welsh terrain and some of nature’s toughest obstacles until you reach your final destination and the ultimate ‘Burn’... The run incorporates some natural obstacles as part of the course but expect to encounter water slides, swamp pits, tunnels, barbed wire, wall climbs and the promise of more surprises. Not forgetting insane amounts of MUD! This isn’t a timed race but places a focus on team work and camaraderie to overcome the various challenges - with a big party thrown in at the finish line. If you think it all sounds a bit hardcore, don’t worry, the course is designed so that all fitness abilities and ages can take part. So whether you are an obstacle course newbie or one serious mud runner, one thing’s for sure, it’s going to get dirty!
Revolution Runs is the first obstacle course events organisers based in Wales and the brainchild of Newport Dragons (and ex-Blues, Scarlets and Wales) rugby star Adam Jones with his wife, former solicitor Natasha and her brother Spencer and wife Sharon. As fitness fanatics their dream is to encourage people to be more active and healthy. As a family business, Revolution Runs focuses on family values and offers junior obstacle course events to a range of age groups. Adam says: “I’m very fortunate having been involved in a team sport and experiencing the camaraderie and competition which goes hand-in-hand with professional sport. “I was immediately taken with obstacle course racing because not only is it something I enjoy and feeds my passion for exercise and getting muddy, it’s also a solo or team sport which people from all walks of life can take part in and enjoy, no matter their level of fitness or skill.
“We want people to enjoy our events not only from running the course but reliving the experience during the post-race party. We want people to go away not only with the sense of achievement but having had a great experience from beginning to end.” For Adam it’s been a change of pace and has felt like a breath of fresh air. It hasn’t been easy, but the success of a trial event in spring, the recognition that comes of getting a major sponsor in Motorpoint and the thought that ‘the Burn’ will bring joy to many has made it all worthwhile. For more info: www.revolutionruns.co.uk
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TONI’S TAPAS BAR AND RESTAURANT
The Italian sharing experience
COMING SOON! TIME TO CELEBRATE! Book your graduation meal now Bookings being taken for Autumn internationals
24 CHURCHILL WAY – CARDIFF – CF10 2DY
02920 343424
Spend a little time with Jason Jones - in his cave, eating watercress
Health
cholesterol, blood pressure and regulating blood sugar, consequently swelling energy reserves - which is why it’s been adopted by top-flight athletes and not just vain celebs who want to look red-carpet ready. Can anyone come over all caveman? As with any drastic dietary change, it’s always advisable to run it past your GP first. However, if you suffer from so-called ‘diseases of affluence’ (health problems more prevalent in the developed world, in other words) such as obesity, certain types of diabetes and heart disease then scientists have discovered that this diet is extremely effective at combatting their core causes.
FINE-TUNE YOUR BODY
TRY THE CAVEMAN DIET
What is it? The premise of this latest celebrityendorsed nutritional craze – stars as diverse as Matthew McConaughey, Miley Cyrus and our very own Tom Jones are rumoured to be devotees – is a rewind to our ancestral way of eating, namely fruit, veg, meat, fish and nuts, that rejects not only those well-known dietary baddies of high-fat, high-sodium, high-sugar processed foods but also any produce that post-dates modern farming methods, meaning dairy, grains and potatoes are all off the menu. Where does it come from? Alternatively called the Palaeolithic, Primal or Stone Age Diet, this plan does what it says on the tin and originates from the cave-dwelling, huntergatherer era a couple of million years ago before we swapped living directly off the land for survival by supermarket. So what can we eat? Meats allowed
3 OF THE BEST FITNESS APPS British Military Fitness (iPhone, Android, £2.99) BMF is the fitness regime that’s had people up and down the land leaping around parks while being shouted at by angry-sounding ex-Army sorts. This companion app uses the same nononsense approach, supplying a wide range of training sessions with vocal commands to push you through your paces. Routines are split into ability levels so are very adaptable and there are visual demos of each exercise for clarity.
include beef, lamb, chicken/turkey (note: remove all skin, although cavefolk most likely didn’t), duck and game (venison, rabbit, pheasant); almost all fish is OK, just make sure it’s line-caught and not farmed and obviously not canned; fruits, especially berries, are good as are eggs and nuts (except the over-salted packet-down-the-pub variety, natch). And foods to avoid? Bread, pasta and noodles; all beans; starchy veg like sweet potato and butternut squash; salty and fatty foods like bacon, salamis and smoked fish. Also, all alcohol is out on account of its sky-high refined sugar content. Are there any health benefits? This diet is brilliant at burning fat with studies showing that it torches twice as much as other popular low-carb diets as well as fat-heavy ones like the Atkins. Research has also found that it significantly improves heart health by lowering
Buy a skipping rope Not just any old skipping rope, though: the Aeroskip ProGold Speedrope is the one champion boxers use and it’s now available to all. Besides being great cardio graft, skipping improves co-ordination and stamina, as well as testing both upper and lower body strength. Plus, 10 minutes skipping burns the same amount of calories as an hour jogging. aeroskip.com Eat watercress after exercise Scientists at the University Of Ulster have found that watercress prevents DNA damage caused by exercise. The study compared 10 male gymgoers who ate 85g of watercress a day – a small bag – for eight weeks with men who didn’t. Intense exercise creates a build-up of free radicals that can damage DNA, but the watercress-eaters appeared to suffer much less. One theory is that it raises levels of antioxidant vitamins, which help protect the body.
Fitness Buddy (iPhone, Android, free) Free versions of paid apps can be stingy when it comes to content, but the 300+ exercises here amount to a very generous gratis trial. If your aim is to target a particular muscle group the inbuilt body map will automatically suggest an appropriate routine. The paid version, which covers 1,700 exercises, costs £1.49. Via (iPhone £1.99) This running app includes spoken directions to make it easier to stay on the right track while you’re on the move without fumbling for your phone. At the end of your run, there are plenty of stats to tell you how you’ve done, including distance covered, calories burnt and the time it took. You can also listen to your choons throughout the app.
Take a magnesium supplement Tossing and turning at night? You could be low on magnesium, which relaxes nerves and muscles and us Celts are commonly deficient in it. You can get it from a varied diet, but not necessarily in the amounts needed for optimum impact, so it’s also worth either massaging magnesium oil into your skin or taking in tablet form. Pure magnesium oil spray by Life Flo or UrgoVital Magnesium Vitamine B6 are best.
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Grooming 6 of the best… Grooming Gadgets Where would we be without gadgets? Most likely, roaming the streets, ashen-faced and glassy-eyed like extras from The Walking Dead. Even if you believe you’re not gadget-dependent I’d bet my last Bitcoin your life would be banjaxed without them. These techie little helpers are now so omnipresent and omnipotent they’ve also become big in the grooming business. The following sorts the wheat from the chaff so you don’t end up with a load of machines gathering dust at the back of the cupboard - like that once-used breadmaker.
Jason Jones doesn’t want to smell like Justin Beiber - would you? 1. Bliss Pore-Fector Gadget Kit (£140) After applying the toner, run this tool’s metal “blade” over your face so it can emit sonic waves to help break down and remove dirt and excess oil. Use once a week. 2. Braun Sensocare Hair Straighteners (£89.99) Originally developed for women, straighteners have become equally indispensible to men with a recent survey revealing that one in eight guys questioned claimed they couldn’t travel without packing a pair. Billed as the world’s first “intelligent” ironers, these have built-in sensors that monitor hair moisture and adapt accordingly to ensure your barnet never burns. It’ll even flag up when hair is too wet to style. 3. Philips Series 3000 Beard & Stubble Trimmer (£35) Not only does this have 18 length settings and contouring bands as well as different blades for style variation, it’s also the only trimmer with a vacuum function, meaning no more unsightly stubble strewn all over the sink.
4. Braun CoolTec Shaver (£199) If you’d rather go down the completely smooth route, then this is the definitive shaver. Sharing the same specialist thermal technology used in spacecraft construction, it cools the skin as it shaves reducing the likelihood of that pesky post-shave rash. 5. Philips Series 5000 Body Groomer (£55) Once upon a time, Man was as hairy as a bear and no-one batted an eyelid. Now, body hair is The Enemy. This comprehensive clipper de-fuzzes overgrown hirsuteness and even has a handy adjustable handle to banish the ultimate grooming shame: a stubbly back. 6. Remington Duo Detail Nose & Ear Trimmer (£10.49) Continuing on the depilatory theme, one of Mother Nature’s cruellest jokes is that as we get older we lose hair from where we want it and gain it in places we don’t. Enter this face-saving gizmo that quickly and painlessly scythes off ear and nose sprouters before we end up looking like Ewoks.
Spa Gazing Ken Picton Salon, Cardiff Bay Signature treatment: The DeStress package which includes a facial, a neck, shoulder and back massage as well as a pedicure and a foot and leg massage. Prices: 60mins, for £95. Unbelievable bang for your buck. Service: Well-oiled, but never impersonal. Each staff member is a high-flyer in their own field. They’ve all worked there for years, too, which speaks volumes about this family-run business. The X Factor: The fact that it’s such a multitasking all-rounder because as well as trading in top-drawer spa treatments, it’s also a much-soughtafter unisex hair salon that has won every prestigious industry award going. Teeth whitening, Botox and chemical facial peels are also available. Best of all, though, is while you’re getting primped’n’preened you can order in some scran from the brilliant adjoining restaurant Mimosa (mimosacardiff. com) as you enjoy a beer from the salon’s very own fully-licensed bar, which also marks it out as pretty special. Score: A strong 9 out of 10. This one-stop grooming shop manages to marry the glossily high-end with the cosily homely. A prolific plaudit-winner for a reason. kenpicton.co.uk
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Jack Of All Trades Hmm, celebrities bringing out their own fragrances. I’m not sure, are you? I mean, do we really want to pong like P Diddy or – Lord help us – Justin Beiber? I’m doubtful, but it seems I’m in the minority because the famous-folk-fragrance market is ever-expanding, burgeoning from a mere two launches in 1992 to a hefty half century 20 years later. Unlikely as it may seem but the man most famous for playing a hopeless alcoholic in cult film Withnail And I, Richard E Grant, has now thrown his nose into the ring and has just unveiled his first olfactory offering to the world in the shape of Jack (100ml, £95). However, whereas most stars view the scent game simply as a double-whammy vehicle to up the bank balance and profile while having little interest in the end-product, Grant is genuinely smell-centric and has played a part in every stage of his fragrance’s development. That attention to detail has clearly paid off. Unisex and packaged in a quintessentially British post-box red with an old-school calico bag decorated with the Union flag inside, Jack has top notes of lime, nutmeg, clove, mandarin and, er, marijuana. So one for Justin Bieber, then. Exclusively at Liberty, liberty.co.uk
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Summertime Blues - Riath al Samarrai calls on Cardiff City to change their colours
Cardiff Blues The shame falls on Cardiff City, but the real shame is that good people have to suffer for the actions of a few. There are people at that club who have created one of the best away-day environments for visiting supporters. There are players, coaches, scouts and administration staff who are a joy to deal with. They have all been tarnished by association with one of the most embarrassing Premier League campaigns in memory. Now the club needs to rebuild. That means re-engaging with the supporters – they owe it to them after the farce of this campaign. Perhaps naively, I previously felt that changing the colour of the kit generated a disproportionate amount of anger. Now, with the club relegated, I think it is imperative that Vincent Tan gets the supporters back on side. The Championship will be a tough prospect, in light of the fact that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has no obvious experience of the division and the added likelihood that he will lose a good chunk of his squad (no great loss in some respects). What they certainly need is the support and trust of the fans. Tan can go some way to doing that by switching back to blue. Whether he will is another matter altogether, with some sources close to him saying there is no chance whatsoever. Those same sources say he will stick with Solskjaer, which seems sensible, regardless of the poor job he did on recruitment, tactics and selections after taking over. The last thing Cardiff need right now is more upheaval and chaos.
intended as a dig at the Dane, but more a defence of Monk, whose profile was perceived by fans as lacking the same appeal as Laudrup’s. That defence was understandable, but suggestions that Laudrup’s profile was overplayed is wide of the mark. In interviews I did last season with Jonjo Shelvey and Wilfried Bony, both said unprompted that working with Laudrup was a big draw. A year earlier, Michu and Chico Flores said the same thing. Pablo Hernandez had previous links with Laudrup as well. None of which is a slant on Monk, but it is fair to question whether he will lack the market advantage that Laudrup enjoyed by virtue of his status. In the transfer market, such factors don’t carry the weight of hard currency, but for a club like Swansea, who are not financial heavyweights, a manager’s reputation can make up the difference. Monk is acutely aware of the scepticism, saying late in the season that he wanted to prove people wrong in that regard. He will have to because the squad needs work after such a poor season. But he passed his first test, which was keeping Swansea in the Premier League. And he has demonstrated to the players in his training sessions, tactics and dedication – “he’ll text you at 6am”, according to Ashley Williams – that he is the right man for the job. Indeed, his signing of Lukasz Fabianski from Arsenal looks shrewd. But now he has to prove that he is capable of overhauling a squad that needs significant surgery.
No Messin’ People are saying Lionel Messi needs a good World Cup to be considered the greatest player of all time. That’s nonsense. It certainly would help his argument, as it has for Diego Maradona and Pele. But all Messi needs is a camera crew and all the public need is a television. Watch the guy. It’s obvious.
Sport
Crowd Trouble A lot has been said about the need to protect regional rugby and the importance of keeping Welsh players in Wales. But does the public really care? At the time of writing, Ospreys, Scarlets, Blues and Dragons had played 60 home games between them this season across the competitions, and only 24 of those games were attended by more than 7,000 people. In France, the average attendance for a Top 14 game this season is 12,763. If as many people went to rugby as claim to hold its interests at heart, then maybe the situation would be a little brighter.
What’s in a number? 24 – the number of teams who will play at the 2016 European Championships, an increase of eight. If Wales fail to qualify, with Gareth Bale, Aaron Ramsey, Joe Allen, Ashley Williams etc in the squad, then they might as well give up trying.
The Big Draw One big test has been passed and another has begun. There was no shortage of scepticism when Garry Monk was given the manager’s job at Swansea City on a permanent basis and much of it surrounds what happens in this current transfer window Michael Laudrup had his flaws, but luring talent was not among them. It has been suggested to me by some members of the club’s staff that the importance of Laudrup’s reputation in the recruitment of players was over-hyped by the press, a claim that was not
Boxing Clever Gavin Rees says he is retiring at the end of a fine career. His shock win over Souleymane M’Baye to claim the WBA world lightweight title was one of the most unexpected joys I have experienced while covering boxing. He was also the subject of one of my favourite sporting quotes, from the inimitable Enzo Calzaghe: “Most fighters go on the internet to learn about who they are fighting. Gavin doesn’t know what the internet is.”
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Good Sport!
Porsche Macan S Diesel
Pronounced Macarn not Mac-ann, this is Porsche’s first foray into the compact SUV market. Except Porsche would probably prefer us to think of it as a sports car and you can understand why – they’ve spent the best part of a billion pounds on developing the Macan to ensure that, whilst it may look like an SUV, it sure as hell doesn’t drive like one. That’s a lot of money, even for Porsche. If they’ve pulled it off then the rewards will make it worthwhile, afterall the compact SUV market is huge, if largely uninspiring. So, imagine how many bucket-loads they’ll sell if it is indeed more like a sports car. But is it? First impressions are that this is still a fairly big car even though it’s less imposing than its big brother, the Cayenne. Its footprint isn’t that much smaller than the Cayenne’s (it’s about a foot shorter) but it sits a lot lower and is far more svelte. The classic 911 lines we all know and love are clearly evident and very well resolved. The result is an SUV that’s instantly recognisable as a Porsche and the best looker in the sector by a country mile. A good start. The Porsche family’s design themes continue inside - a rising centre console that’s derived from the Carrera GT, a rectangular vent design like the latest Cayenne, a central rev counter pride of place in the gauge cluster. It’s all an excellent and balanced blend of form and function and oozes quality. But the real plus is
how it feels in the driving seat – it does rather feel like a sports car. Form hugging seats at the right rake and much lower than any other SUV, sports steering wheel (modelled on the 918’s no less) and though objectively spacious, with a big boot and plenty of leg room, it somehow manages to feels snug with all the important bits a flick of the wrist away. The S Diesel is likely to be the Macan’s most popular model but with it being a Porsche the expectation will be far higher than for your average oil-burner. Able to hit 62mph in 6.3 seconds, and with a whopping 427lb ft of torque on offer, this 3.0 V6 is by far the most sporting of the various diesel-engined compact SUVs we’ve driven being responsive, lively and very quick, especially mid range. It’s also frugal with an mpg of 46.3mpg and emits just 159g/km of CO2. So, another box ticked. To be honest, you’d expect a Porsche, any Porsche, even if it were an artic lorry, to be quick. With their engine expertise anything’s possible. But defying the laws of physics, in this case making an SUV handle as well as a sportscar with a very low centre of gravity, is a tough ask (though Porsche have some form taming nature with the illogically rear-engined 911). The big question is how does it actually drive? The short answer is brilliantly, for an SUV. In fact, it’s better to think of it as driving like a taller Cayman or 911 rather than a
Cars
lowered Cayenne. Steering is pin-sharp, very direct and with feedback almost akin to a sportscar’s, something you rarely get on SUV’s as the steering assistance needed is so great to compensate for their weight and height. The Macan is an amazingly fluid and engaging car to drive, delivering a level of dynamic ability and engagement that does indeed defy its size. If you’re being harsh it doesn’t corner as flat as a Cayman or 911, but come on, it was never going to. What it does is grip through corners and excite in a way that an SUV has no right to whilst still being comfortable and refined, especially when specced with air suspension Is it a sports car though? Erm. That really depends on where you’re setting the bar. If it’s the 911 or Cayman then no, that would be stretching it. But if you’re talking about high performance sporting saloons and their ilk then yes, in performance and handling terms it gives them a real run for their money. Add in the kudos of Porsche and the everyday practicality and style of an SUV and you’ve got a game changer that sets the standard for others to follow for years to come. Top speed: 142mph 0-62: 6.3secs Mpg: 46.3 CO2: 159g Price: £43,300
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Property
Winner on Pointes Wales’ most glamorous development? Very probably. It’s been a long journey. One that started in 1987 when plans were first put together to redevelop Cardiff’s derelict bay. Fast-forward nearly 30 years and work is well under way to complete the last, most glamorous and possibly most ambitious, phase – Cardiff Pointe and the International Sports Village. When finished it’ll be a mix of prime residential and retail (shops, bars, restaurants and a hotel) surrounding a sports complex that already includes the International Pool and Leisure Complex and Cardiff International White Water, both of which are Olympic standard centres for all manner of watersports. Also underway is the construction of Wales’ only two-pad ice rink which will be followed by the most impressive feature of the lot, a full sized snow dome. Throw in its waterside location complete with dedicated yacht moorings and you’ve got what will surely be the most stylish place to live in Wales. This is the crux of the village’s residential development, Cardiff Pointe – it’s about living the dream. Offering a glitzy, active way of life that’s the stuff of Hollywood, residents will have a plethora of great things to do on the doorstep. As things are right now a visit to Cardiff Pointe may require a little imagination to picture how the site will be transformed into a lifestyle play-ground. What’s easy to see though is the quality of Cardiff Pointe’s recently opened Albercore show home. Its modernist, almost Spanish, exterior certainly has kerb appeal. First impressions count inside too and as soon as you enter the ground floor hall from the entrance lobby (in itself a nice touch) you’re immediately wowed by the sense of light and airiness. Unlike many modern
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townhouses, this one has wide hallways and plenty of light cascading down from the topfloor terrace doors. Wide doorways add to the impression. On the ground-floor there’s access off the hallway to a garage (there’s also a drive), cloakroom and to the rear, a utility room and a spare bed-room come office/study or exercise room. The well-appointed utility room and spare room also provide access to a reasonably sized courtyard garden. The first floor further illustrates the thought that has gone into the layout. Again, there’s a wide landing to give a sense of space, which opens into the lounge. The lounge forms part of an open-plan L-shaped living area, where one function flows seamlessly into another – lounge to kitchen, kitchen to dining area – but with just enough differentiation to compartmentalise the role of each area. Floor to ceiling windows and relatively high ceilings add to the experience. The living area also shows off the top drawer finish and fittings. You’d expect a development pitched at this level to be firstclass but it’s gratifying to see that Cardiff Pointe more than delivers. The interior design strikes a good balance between cool modernity and not being too edgy or characterless. The German engineered kitchen is supplied by Space Fitting Furniture, a Wales based company with a well deserved reputation for quality, using Siemens appliances. Silestone work surfaces and glass splash-backs provide a classy finishing touch. Passing another bedroom/study via the expansive landing, the stairs head up to the second floor. It comprises a master bedroom with en-suite, two further bedrooms and a family bathroom. The bedrooms comfortably accommodate a double bed and the master has full height windows for a light and airy feel. Bathrooms have a contemporary panache being luxuriously appointed with Porcelanosa suites and tiles. Another climb to the top deck and you’re out on the roof terrace. Now this is special. There’s nothing quite like a roof terrace for a sense of the high life, excuse the pun. Despite being four floors up it’s surprisingly sheltered from the wind and a great sun-trap. The perfect place to while away the evening or a lazy
afternoon, or to enjoy a drinks party. You also get a good vista and can see how spacious the development is. Houses are laid out around a square and the adjacent apartment buildings aren’t too close.
All told it’s a cracking place to live, offering a way of life that’ll be second to none for anyone looking for the best of city living and waterside location. With apartments due to be released shortly (comfortably under the Help to Buy threshold), Cardiff Pointe’s appeal will be even wider as those who prefer an apartment rather than one of these stunning houses will look to enjoy the ‘highlife’ too. 1,2 & 3 bed apartments from £150,000 4 & 5 bed houses from £450,000 Cardiff Pointe Marketing Suite, Empire Way, Cardiff CF11 0JL. Tel. 0845 340 3927 www.cardiffpointe.co.uk
Exquisite Mediterranean cuisine
An authentic selection of Turkish, Kurdish, Greek and Mediterranean dishes in a warm and friendly, relaxed, environment. ~ the best ingredients, hand-prepared daily~ ~ traditional Ocakbashi charcoal grill for a genuine taste of the med ~ ~ hot and cold meze, kebabs, fresh fish, vegetarian and special dishes ~ ~ fully licensed bar with a range of beers from Italy, Greece and Turkey, wines from Turkey, Spain, Italy and Portugal and a large selection of spirits ~ Arguably the best eastern Mediterranean restaurant in Cardiff and voted one of the Top Five kebab restaurants in the UK by The Times
192 City Road, Cardiff, CF24 3JF. t.029 2049 9339. www.troymezebar.com
Visit www.redhandedmagazine.co.uk or follow us on Facebook page ‘Red HandedMagazine’ or on Twitter on ‘redhandedmag’ Tel: 029 2019 0224, email: sales@conroymedia.co.uk
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Restaurants/bars
Got Beef The Discovery Not so long ago, The Discovery was a rather tired, bland pub. But as one of only two pubs in prosperous Cyncoed, near Roath Park Lake it had great unrealised potential. Step in Knife and Fork, owners of The Conway in Pontcanna amongst others. With their reputation for great food and beer I was really looking forward to visiting again. I wasn’t disappointed. It’s been transformed into a contemporary but homely foodie pub. Straightaway, I clocked the range of real ales which boded well. Starters lived up to the rep too – creamed goat’s cheese, beetroot and toasted pine nuts was a great mix of flavours and the crispy aromatic duck egg was a perfectly cooked Chinese-y take on a Scotch egg that simply worked. On the recommendation of the waiting staff we opted for the ‘Discover the Burger’ and ‘Plank of Pig’ for mains. Yes, I know, typical blokes. But in fairness, the burger is the result of months of experimentation with different cuts of beef and a little pork, seasoning, cooking techniques etc to get optimum moistness and taste. And it showed – a lovely, slightly charred exterior with a juicy middle and packed with flavour (no extra lean ground steak here). Double cooked chips topped it off. The plank of pig was exceptional if a bit of a beast size (and calorie) wise. No surprise given it comprised of pork belly, a pork croquette, pork tenderloin, black pudding, crackling, a baked apple, apple puree, roasted new potatoes, purple sprouting broccoli and carrots. All perfectly cooked, rammed with simple flavours and well worth the effort it took to eat. Having pigged out, ahem, only one of us could fit in a pud and very good it was too, apparently. Another calorific overdose in the form of a Snickers tart – described to me as a chocolate and caramel frenzy. Think I’ll try it next time. As should you, all of it. The Discovery Celyn Avenue Lakeside Cardiff, CF23 6FH Tel: 029 2075 5015 www.knifeandforkfood.co.uk
The sign outside read, “If you’re having grill problems I feel bad for you son’’. I knew then that this was going to be my kinda place. Based on Whitchurch Road in Cardiff’s studenty Roath area, Got Beef is an independent gourmet burger joint with character and personality. Minimalist (interiors mainly consisting of exposed brickwork/ bench style wooden seating and open central kitchen) and laidback the vibe is both busy and relaxed at the same time. Obviously word has already started to spread about the good things going on here, especially when considering the entire menu consists mainly of only a handful of burgers and dogs. Quality over quantity…and all that. I plumped for the Uni (ooni) burger which included the award-winning patty (the initial building block for each burger on the menu) with spicy calamari rings, spicy mayo and Asian style ‘slaw. Not too spicy but with a quick kick to the tastebuds, the Shirasha Mayo worked well with the thin hoops of calamari that sat atop the Welsh Black beef burger patty. The coleslaw had edamame/soy-beans in it, wasn’t too heavy on mayo and tasted fresh, sharp and exotic. Hell - the burger even looked good, served in lightly toasted brioche-style bun it was the closest a burger is ever going to get to being called cute. My dining partner Siôn opted for the Soprano burger with chorizo, bacon, monetary jack and jalapenos. If you’re not already tasting that off the page then you’re a liar or a vegetarian – whom are of course also catered for here. As sides we went for ‘old faithful’ the Cajun onion rings, which are huge spheres of battered onion with globules of mayo drizzled on top. The Dirty Fries are served skin-on with jalapenos, cheese and bacon bits and were so tasty they almost distracted us from the burgers. They would work equally well as a bar-snack, especially alongside their exclusive Bavarian brewed Sunday IPA that they serve bottled from the fridge which worked so well with the salty and spicy fare laid out before us. If it’s burgers you want why go anywhere else – these are the best in Cardiff. Got Beef 83 Whitchurch Road Cardiff CF14 3JP 029 2061 7534 www.facebook.com/gotbeefcatering
The Kings Arms The Kings Arms, situated in the pretty village of Pentyrch, near Cardiff, is a picture postcard 16th century pub and restaurant that has been the focal point of the village for most of its existence. Owner and chef Andy Aston intends to keep it that way whilst also attracting foodies with an adventurous, locally sourced menu in the more contemporary dining area (as opposed to the olde world lounge/bar which has a simpler menu). I chose pan fried mackerel, black olive tapenade, slow roast tomato, focaccia & pesto as my starter, a dish so good I was still thinking about it even after finishing the main. The roasted rack of pork served on the bone with bubble & squeak, caramelised apples & cider jus chosen from the specials board was my choice as main and it tasted as good as it read. The pork was melt-in-the-mouth tender with an accompanying crisp, salty hit from the crackling. The cider jus and bubble and squeak complimented the meat well while the caramelised apples provided the perfect sweet-kick contrast. All washed down with an excellent Elwoods Summer Pale Ale. My partner J’s soup of the day starter (carrot and ginger) was welcomingly different, giving a fresh, sharp jolt to the palate whilst also giving warmth and comfort to the belly. Her main of Welsh lamb neck fillet with red pepper puree, goats cheese bon bons & rocket salad was a pure delight – pink in the middle and caramelbrown on the outside. Our delicious desserts, a plank of chocolate consisting of white choc milkshake, rocky road and chocolate cream, and the baked ricotta, stone fruits & berries showed great invention and slick presentation. With plans to refurbish an outbuilding into a deli for local produce and a simple but high quality bar menu running alongside the more ambitious restaurant menu not only is community still at the very heart of the Kings Arms but so is food that’s well worth travelling for. Kings Arms Village Pub and Kitchen Church Rd, Pentyrch, Cardiff, CF15 9QF 029 2089 0202 www.kingsarmspentyrch.co.uk
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Restaurants/bars
The lazy duck
Arbennig Restaurant
In the last edition of RedHanded, we were raving about duck egg bleu – the fine-dining restaurant run by the well-travelled chef Gareth Dobbs. It’s only right we indulge in the full experience so we returned to try out the lazy duck – the restaurant’s adjoining café bar. It’s situated in what was known as The Victoria Social Club, famous for hosting weekly ballroom dancing to ladies and gentlemen of the local community. The dancing stopped long ago but it’s still a venue for the people of Canton and beyond to congregate – only this time over some good food and drink. The interior is similar to that of its neighbour – warm and inviting with an overriding feeling of relaxation. A charming barman greeted us with a smile and then led us to our table. To start, we shared a meat mezze board. It was loaded with an array of goodies; the cured meats were generously thick, the olives plump and sharp and the perl wen deliciously creamy, spread invitingly over crisp slices of toasted ciabatta. For the mains, I had the celtic pride beef burger with spicy chilli jam whilst my dining partner opted for the cranberry, brie and mushroom Wellington. The burger was a huge hunk of meat, nestled between a doughy bun and given a surging kick by the spicy chilli jam. The accompanying triple cooked chips were as every good chip should be – crispy on the outside, fluffy on the inside. The Wellington was tasty and light, given a blast of freshness by roasted cherry tomatoes and a balsamic reduction. As the plates were cleared, my dining partner claimed she was sated. However, when I ordered the caramel chocolate torte she requested an additional spoon. We made short work of the torte; the wonderfully rich chocolate was married perfectly with a refreshing vanilla ice cream. To drink, we sampled a couple of cocktails from a lengthy list of options. I supped on an Apple and Cardamom Sidecar which brought together a lovely blend of aromatic flavours infused with a sweet punch. My dining partner’s tipple of choice was Welsh Garden – a mix of gin, elderflower and gomme. It was a winning combination of light, sweet and floral. Neighbours don’t come much more inviting than this.
Arbennig Restaurant, without a shadow of a doubt, is one of Cardiff’s finest new restaurants. My midweek supper was truly sublime, and a joy from start to finish. Located on the cusp of Canton and Pontcanna, where gastro gem Le Gallois once stood, this fine-dining hot-spot has a warm, familial air that will draw you back time and again. I’d been planning a visit for quite some time, as the name itself inspires confidence. Arbennig, quite simply, means ‘special’ in Welsh, and my experience surpassed all expectations. The well-considered menu emphasises local , seasonal fare to best reflect the fresh Welsh produce on offer. The venue is the brainchild of Manchester-born, Bridgend-raised and Coed y Mwstwr-trained chef John Cook and wife Ceri - Arbennig’s charming maître d’. She leads an excellent front of house team who put everyone at ease; the engaging staff are bilingual and well-informed. Before I even crossed the threshold, I was truly blown away to see a rare Welsh treat on the menu outside. Without a moment’s hesitation, I plumped for the hand picked Porthgain crab as a starter: paired with avocado and salsa verde, it represented the best of Pembrokeshire, but with a twist. My partner’s roast tomato salad was enhanced by the burst of basil pesto, and the creamy tang of Pant-ysgawn goatsmilk cheese from Abergavenny. As for the mains, the succulent salt roast duck breast was combined with creamed parsnips and spice roasted oranges, whilst my companion’s hand-rolled potato gnocchi with peas, baby spinach, Wye Valley asparagus, feta and basil pesto, was a taste sensation. The cream and butter baked brioche, cinnamon apple and organic vanilla ice cream that followed was gone in sixty seconds; a hearty dish that must surely rank as Cardiff’s best new dessert. At the opposite end of the dessert spectrum, the light and refreshing strawberry and coconut sorbets were sent directly to the taste stratosphere, paired with the mindblowing piquancy of the chewy cardomom meringue; a heavenly combination that brought the evening to a memorable close. Each dish expressed a boldness, a natural flair and a passion for regional Welsh cuisine that is sorely lacking elsewhere in Cardiff at present. ‘Arbennig’ also translates as distinct or unique; this cook’s vision will make you proud to be Welsh.
the lazy duck 435 Cowbridge Road East Victoria Park Cardiff CF5 1JH 029 2022 0993 www.duckeggbleu.co.uk/the-lazy-duck-2
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Arbennig Restaurant 6-10 Romilly Crescent Pontcanna Cardiff CF11 9NR 029 2034 1264 www.arbennig.co.uk
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Live Gruff Rhys Hay Festival Ever hear the tale about Prince Madog of Wales who discovered America in the 12th century? Welsh labourer John Evans did - albeit 600 years after the claim - but it was enough to convince him to cross the pond and search for Madog’s descendants, the lost tribe of ‘Madogwys’. Step forward to the present day and Evans’ journey is retold by one of his distant relatives, Super Furry Animals’ frontman Gruff Rhys. Armed with a guitar, a table full of gadgets and a tripod projector screen, Rhys regaled the audience with his own voyage to America in 2012 in which he retraced his great ancestor’s footsteps. What followed was an epic journey unfurled via songs, jokes and a felt muppet embodying the spirit of John Evans. This was cut-and-paste music-theatre that cast Rhys as a faux-bumbling raconteur, complete with a fox hat akin to that of Davy Crockett. Rhys revelled in his storytelling role, bouncing between cartoon slides of Evans’ trip along the Missouri River - part comic, part tragic. He caught malaria, scarpered from several Indian tribes, changed his name in New Spain (to Don Juan Evans) and accidently annexed a third of North America. Not bad for a North Walian in his 20s. Shoehorned alongside the madcap adventure were some fine songs - the majority pulled from American Interior (the concept album inspired by John Evans) with a smattering of Rhys’ other solo material. The rockabilly of 100 Unread Messages sounded like a direct love letter from Rhys to Evans - pining for correspondence with a key change every 20-odd seconds. The wonderful Lonesome Words showcased Rhys’ expansive range. Usually sung alongside 9Bach’s Lisa Jen, Rhys delivered the piercing high notes like a joyous songbird. Playing as a one-man-band did throw up the odd musical hiccup and a few extra players would’ve given some of the tunes an extra punch. This was an adventure in which Rhys wanted to strike out on his own; it must run in the family.
Not the Worst Place
Equus Chapter Arts Centre, Cardiff Peter Shaffer’s play about a boy’s unnerving fascination with horses has been a staple of live theatre for 40 years, but Everyman Theatre Cardiff’s production of Equus was a no frills, emotive rollercoaster that gave new life to this well-worn classic. Psychologist Martin Dysart is handed the chilling case of Alan Strang, a 17-year-old stable boy responsible for blinding six horses with a metal spike. What follows between the doctor and his patient is a truly moving, slow-burning narrative that pulls the audience in from the first exchange. When Dysart chips away at the awkward Strang, he’s broadsided by the inadequacies that fill his own life. Whilst unwinding the coil on Strang’s tug-of-war upbringing (split between his mother’s religious outpourings and his no-nonsense, atheist father), Dysart looks inwardly with crushing reality to his own passionless marriage and his brow-beating career that’s led him to a cold isolation. The two central roles in Equus require rock-solid performances and these were both
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delivered with aplomb. Steven Smith was excellent as the floored genius Dysart whilst Henry Nott’s thousand-yard stare beautifully depicted Strang as a character of menace and vulnerability. For the most part, Equus made for intense viewing but there were some brief comic moments. A scene in which Strang bumped into his father at an adult film screening lightened the mood, albeit briefly, until the stable scene in which Strang carries out his attack killed the laughs and brought the play to its most explosive point. The only slight on this production was that it could’ve galloped at a slightly quicker pace, but it was, for the most part, a very fine ride.
Sherman Theatre, Cardiff Sam Burns’ first full-length play is a blametinged love letter to Swansea. As a student, she was seduced by the city but felt trapped within it. When the usual routine kicks in, we’re reluctant to push past our familiar surroundings. This is what drives Not the Worst Place - a story about trying to find your wings without ever actually taking off. Emma is a teenager on the cusp of adulthood. As the daughter of a classics lecturer, she daydreams about Greek Mythology and Leda, the wife of Tyndareus who’s impregnated by a swan. Instead, she’s been impregnated by Rhys - an idle layabout far removed from the King of Sparta. Emma’s home life isn’t much fun either. She shares it with Jordan - her hypochondriac younger brother - and Dr Matthews, her singleparent mother, who came to Swansea for an interview and never managed to leave. The performances throughout were excellent. Kirsten Clark was compelling as the frustrated Emma, Scott Arthur turned Rhys into a likeable dosser, Rhys Isaac-Jones gave a convincing portrayal of the neurotic 13-yearold Jordan (a part 10 years his junior) and Rachel Redford as Dr Matthews tried to keep them all in order but was the most vulnerable of the lot. At over two hours, the narrative did run a bit thin towards the end and the local in-jokes were sometimes lost on the Cardiff audience. Nonetheless, Not the Worst Place was an entertaining piece of theatre and a fine debut from Sam Burns.
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Music Michael Took packs a punch - even if Lily doesn’t
GRUFF RHYS American Interior Turnstile After riding around Patagonia to find his musician uncle René Griffiths in the 2010 film Separado, Gruff Rhys is giving the family tree another firm shake in American Interior. This is a multi-platform project (album, film, tour, book and app) centred on Rhys’ search for his ancestor John Evans - an orphaned farm labourer from West Wales who ventured to America in search of the lost tribe of ‘Madogwys’ in the 1790s. Evans’ search was unsuccessful, but Rhys creates a soundtrack that pays homage to his many achievements (his maps of the Missouri River would rival any Sat Nav). The brooding keys from the title track set the tone for an album that takes us on an expansive journey. Rhys is heartfelt throughout, most notably on the hyper strum of 100 Unread Messages - yearning to make contact with the madcap explorer. On this form, let’s hope the next SFA album isn’t too far away.
LILY ALLEN Sheezus Regal/Parlophone She hasn’t released an album since 2009 but Lily Allen’s back and this time she’s directing her ire at how the music industry depicts women. This is, undoubtedly, a worthy fight one flick through the music channels will tell you exactly how the music industry feels about women. Allen says she’s ‘lacing up her gloves’ on the album’s title track, the only problem is they don’t pack any bombs. Sheezus is a clunky pop affair that shines all too briefly. Recent single Hard Out Here narrates the female struggles within the industry, complete with daft flurries of auto-tune. The MIA-influenced Air Balloon plods along pleasantly enough but you know Allen can do better than this. By the end of the album, you wonder if this is the same artist that produced gems like The Fear and Smile. Plus, the ‘bonus’ track of Keane’s Somewhere Only We Know is anything but.
retains some of the psychedelia of 2011’s Skyling but also plants a firm foot in dancerock territory. The driving synths of I See You are akin to Donna Summer’s I Feel Love as the track builds into an eye-widening, orchestral swirl. The album’s trump card So Now You Know is built for the festival circuit with a blistering chorus that deserves to get many to pogo in a field this summer. Will this album signal a move into the mainstream? It’s unlikely, but that doesn’t stop it from being another corker from one of the UK’s best bands.
Also out this summer...
COLDPLAY
THE HORRORS Luminous XL They’ve released some fine tunes over the past decade but The Horrors have never dined at the top table of indie-rock. Their big sound (and even bigger hair) has always gone down well with the critics but the masses remain fairly oblivious. Musically, their fourth album
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through a vocoder. Coldplay’s hardcore will be pleased with Ghost Stories but for lapsed fans and general onlookers, an open goal into the band’s soul has been blazed over the bar.
Ghost Stories Parlophone Break-ups are never easy but good things can come of them. Some excellent albums have been released in the wake of a separation (Bob Dylan’s Blood on the Tracks), or several separations (Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours), but sadly Ghost Stories isn’t one of them. This was an opportunity for Chris Martin and his charges to let the emotions go (after Martin’s ‘conscious uncoupling’ from Gwyneth Paltrow) but all you’re left with is a sense of the status quo playing it safe so the global units remain intact. Lead single Magic glides along inoffensively enough, it’s the sort of thing you’d soundtrack your ironing to. Midnight is another slice of mid-tempo humdrum with Martin’s voice (often Coldplay’s sharpest weapon) pumped
Last year, they gave us ‘Manics around the campfire’ with the acoustic strum of Rewind The Film. This year, the acoustic has been tossed onto the fire with a more furious, propulsive sounding Manic Street Preachers returning in July with Futurology (Columbia) - their twelfth studio album. Glastonbury headliners Kasabian will be giving it some with their new record, 48.13 (Columbia / Sony Music). The title takes its name from the duration of the record (let’s hope the tunes are a bit more inspiring). Jennifer Lopez’s forthcoming album, A.K.A. (2101 / Capitol) has a horrid cast list that can only make you wince with Iggy Azalea, Chris Brown and the omnipresent Pitbull adding to the euro-pop nightmare. Whisper it quietly, but the lead single from Michael Jackson’s posthumous Xscape album is actually pretty good (if a tad schmaltzy). Love Never Felt So Good is a funky jam between MJ from beyond the grave and his heir apparent, Justin Timberlake. Let’s hope the rest of album is this much fun. Shamone indeed.
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Books
Jason Jones takes a peek behind the Richard Branson mask
BEHIND THE MASK Tom Bower £20, Faber & Faber Broadly-speaking, biographies fall into two categories: one lauds the life of its subject, the other trashes it. Tom Bower’s take on Richard Branson resolutely falls into the latter, so much so you wonder while reading it if Branson has done something to Bower personally so comprehensive is the takedown of his rep. Bower obviously thinks it’s deserved as this isn’t the first time he’s taken a biographical pop at the über-entrepreneur. Back in 2000 he wrote another book about him that was equally unflattering with Branson himself calling it “a foul, foul piece of work”. It’s a safe bet that Bower won’t be getting an upgrade on Virgin Atlantic any time soon. So, what’s the dirt on Branson? For starters, Bower tries to dismantle his man-of-the-people persona telling us that despite Branson being a champion of cleaning up the environment he flies to climate change summits by private plane. He also claims that Branson’s high-profile displays of patriotism are a sham. The evidence? Branson’s tax bill. Although his companies have been wildly successful, he has paid minimal amounts to the Inland Revenue, preferring to hold any taxable income in offshore accounts. All of this is completely above-board legal so, technically, it’s the system that needs fixing to remove the loopholes, but it didn’t do too much for the standing of Starbucks and Amazon and that, I’m guessing, will be the real rub for Branson. From all the flashy stunts to his floppy hair, the one certainty is that he wants to portray himself as a harmless, hippie-ish buffoon who just happens to have become a super-wealthy tycoon. What this book really exposes is what it takes to breathe the thin air at the peak of the business pyramid, namely no embarrassment gene, demented drive and canny killer instinct. No wonder the panel on Dragons’ Den are so joyless.
THE SON
INSUFFICIENTLY WELSH
Jo Nesbo
Griff Rhys Jones
£18.99, Harvill Secker What is it with Scandinavians? They have some of the best standards of living on Earth, some of the most stunning scenery you’ll ever clap your eyes on and the people don’t look too shabby, either. Yet, culturally there’s a collective lurch towards the oppressively gloomy side of life. Hence the term Nordic noir and megaselling Jo Nesbo’s latest novel is a classic example of the genre. The story focuses on Sonny, a 30-year-old heroin addict who confessed to two murders when he was 18 and has been in an Oslo prison ever since. The thing is he’s doing time for crimes he didn’t commit. He cut a deal with the corrupt powers-that-be to take the rap so they can skew the conviction stats and Sonny can have an endless supply of drugs. This strange arrangement works perfectly until an inmate casts doubt on Sonny’s father’s suicide, setting into motion a chain of events that uncovers a maelstrom of secrets and lies. If death, as novelist Saul Bellow wrote, is the dark backing that a mirror needs if we are to see anything, then this novel has a lot of dark backing. As soon as certain plot lines unfurl, foreboding seeps like blood into every page, riveting you to the spot. Brutal and beguiling, this is crimewriting at its intelligent, challenging best.
£14.99, Parthian Why are we so obsessed with where we were born? Is it that intrinsic to how we turn out in later life? Is it really the bedrock of identity? Take ex-pats who spend years, a lifetime essentially, sunning themselves in some far-flung corner of the globe and then proceed to prattle on ad nauseam about how much they miss the motherland. (Suggestion: move back, then.) At least comedian/actor/broadcaster Griff Rhys Jones doesn’t succumb to that sort of sentiment-soused nostalgia here. The book is a bizarre beast. Part-memoir, part-travelogue, part-pictorial, by rights it should come over clunky, but instead is more original as an amalgam of styles and forms than if it had followed one single prescriptive route. At its heart, though, is the recurring central question: how Welsh can you be if you’re born here but raised elsewhere? It’s a question Jones attempts to furnish with a definitive answer for particularly personal reasons because he was born here but grew up in England. So he embarks on a road-trip around the country to see if Welshness runs through his veins and concludes that, in fact, he’s not sufficiently imbued with the spirit of the homeland, saying, “I have missed something essential. I have not spent enough of my life in the Land of My Fathers. I must always remain the outside Welshman, the backdoor Cambrian, the wouldbe boyo.” Lushly produced, tightly written with acres of entertaining anecdotage and little-known fascinating facts about us and our country, this book is much more interesting than it first appears. A bit like Wales itself.
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Films Adam Kennedy discovers the American Interior - courtesy of Gruff Rhys
doofus and hunky jock police officer roles, this time swapping an undercover mission in a high school for one in a college. There’s definitely a sense of deja vu – if you saw the first film, you’ll know to expect a buttload of puerile gags, reliving-the-past scenarios and action movie flash with just a hint of wiseass knowingness. But for the main part, the splendidly silly humour just about drags you out of any “Argh, not again” doubts that have plagued the follow-ups to comparable out-ofleftfield comedy hits like The Hangover. For fans of: 21 Jump Street, Superbad Verdict: 22 not out 3/5
CALVARY
FRANK Even the most ardent fans of the semi-obscure rock cult figure Frank Sidebottom probably didn’t expect this: a bona fide Hollywood movie inspired by the comic-musician otherwise known as Chris Sievey. Co-written by Cardiffborn author Jon Ronson (The Men Who Stare At Goats), who formerly played in Sidebottom’s band, Frank isn’t a straight-up biopic. Instead it gives the ever-excellent Michael Fassbender the kicking-off point of a mild-mannered Manchester man who takes on a charismatic alter ego once he dons a large papier-mâché head and transplants the whole tale to the USA, with a massive dollop of artistic licence. Fassbender’s wannabe rockstar takes on a rather deeper timbre than Sidebottom’s nasal wheeze, too, but the results are still by turns weird and wonderful, and often oddly touching. For fans of: Shame, The Men Who Stare At Goats Verdict: An oddball success, to be frank 5/5
crosses the Atlantic. Rhys is enthralled by the story of John Evans, a Snowdonia farmhand who travelled the Atlantic in the late 18th century in search of a mythical Welsh-speaking Native American tribe. So much so, he’s devoted an entire multimedia project to retracing his distant relative’s American explorations (and a companion album of new music). Rhys’s genuine enthusiasm for the subject – and his ear for a splendid tune – carries a lilting adventure with just the right amount of quirk and zest. For fans of: Buena Vista Social Club, Super Furry Animals Verdict: An American beauty 4/5
WATCH OUT FOR…
AMERICAN INTERIOR Wales has a hand in not one but two independent movies worth straying from the beaten cinematic path for this season. There are still parallels to be drawn with Frank in American Interior, too, thanks to the latter’s chief protagonist Gruff Rhys (him of Super Furry Animals frontman fame). With a similarly revered reputation for creating head-in-the-stars indie-rock music, he also traces a narrative that
22 JUMP STREET Two years ago, with little pre-release hype, 21 Jump Street (based on a largely-forgotten Johnny Depp-starring US TV series) became the dumb, fun comedy of the year. This logically-titled sequel sees Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum reprise respective sensitive
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Brendan Gleeson has serious form when it comes to playing pleasingly dark and complex comic characters. He did it in In Bruges, one of the finest dark comedies of the last decade and then again - going even blacker - as a depraved Eire policeman in The Guard. Now he’s back in what’s being billed as a sequel to The Guard. Well, Gleeson is the lead and the man in the director’s chair is the same as The Guard – John Michael McDonagh (who also happens to be the brother of In Bruges director Martin McDonagh). Still with us? Good, because this might be the Irish actor’s most messed-up role yet, positively statesmanlike as a smalltown priest who’s threatened with crucifixion during a confession by an abused parishioner, to atone for the sins of the church. The Emerald Isle’s finest and funniest – Chris O’Dowd, Dylan Moran and Aidan Gillen – join a whogonnadoit that makes Cluedo look like a tea party with the Queen. Good? Is the Pope Catholic? For fans of: In Bruges, Superbad Verdict: You’ll be hooked (nailed?) until the end 4/5
Assjuice. Before you suggest applying soap to my mucky mouth, it’s simply the latest character in the deservedly ascending career of Bargoed boy Craig Roberts. He pops up in frat-based Seth Rogen/Zac Efron comedy Neighbors (damn you, Americanised spelling dopes) – here’s hoping next time around he’ll be as well known as those two aforementioned box office cash-rakers. It’s been a good long while since I’ve been truly psyched for a blockbuster franchise reboot, but I’m making an exception for the new Godzilla, largely thanks to the reins being handed to British director Gareth Edwards – he made one of the best sci-fi thrillers in recent memory (Monsters) on a budget that wouldn’t cover the catering bill on most Hollywood sets. The big-budget Greek mythology of Hercules, meanwhile, deserves a mention solely for the fact that it features The Rock and Lovejoy, finally together. Well, okay, Dwayne Johnson and Ian McShane, but still...what a time to be alive. And finally, anybody who goes to see Mrs Brown’s Boys D’Movie gets nothing but my undying contempt. No gags, just straight-shooting truth right there. Sorry. Now off with you to the cinema.
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Bennett Arron’s come over all philosophical - he’s even quoting Shakespeare!
This year would be Shakespeare’s 450th birthday. If he were still alive, his cake would be massive and doing the bumps would take two and a half hours. Like most writers, I am a huge fan of the majority of Shakespeare’s work. I say the majority because some of the historical ones can be hard work. Speaking of his historical plays, when Kenneth Branagh made his film version of Henry V, many American cinemagoers didn’t bother seeing it as they hadn’t seen the first four. Bless. Of course, the reason Shakespeare’s work has stood the test of time is due to the incredible stories, memorable characters and brilliant dialogue. He gave us many of the words and phrases we use today, such as: “puking”, “silliness”, “new-fangled”, “dead as a doornail”, “laughing stock”, “not slept one wink” and “set my teeth on edge”. However, there is no truth to the rumour he also gave us: “Getting jiggy with it”, “LOL” or “Cowabunga”. Although he wrote more than 30 plays (by the way, I’ve written 30 sitcom scripts but nobody goes to visit MY birthplace!) I’m sure that if Shakespeare pitched some of his ideas today, many television commissioners would either turn them down or want to change them completely. I can imagine the conversation at the meeting: TV Commissioner: Right then Bill, thanks for coming in. I’ve read through what you sent and I’ve got some notes. Firstly, Othello. I like it, but it seems that only the main character is black. I think they should all be black as it would show diversity which will help with our remit. Now, The Tempest… well to be honest we are trying to stay away from things that are weather-based. Macbeth… it’s okay, bit ‘Game Of Thrones’ but not enough to appeal to our 18-30 target audience. Now, this Juliet and Romeo thing – we’ll change it that way around for equality reasons. I like it. I’m thinking Jordan or Sharon Osbourne as Juliet and… “Err, where are you going? Don’t leave. We haven’t discussed my idea for Celebrity Hamlet on Ice!” I have many favourite Shakespeare quotations but one which always sticks in my mind is Prospero’s line:
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“Let us not burden our remembrances with A heaviness that’s gone.” The theme of regret or, as here, not wanting to regret anything, runs through many of Shakespeare’s plays. It’s something which has become prevalent of late in my own life and those of my friends. Edith Piaf once famously sang: “Je ne regrette rien” (which doesn’t mean ‘I wish I’d never met Rhian’). But how many people can honestly say they regret nothing. And if they do regret things, is there still time to do anything about it? I’m not sure if it’s an age thing but many of my friends are suddenly making big life changes. They want to do things now so they don’t regret not doing them. For example, one of my friends, who is married with four children, has decided to leave his job, sell his house and move with his family to Canada to pursue his dream… of being a travel agent. I think this is fantastic! How many people would love to do that? I don’t mean the whole Canada/Travel Agent thing, I mean just give up everything to pursue their dream? What stops us? Is it a fear of failing? Is it the uncertainty of the unknown? Or do we just not want to leave the security of what we have – despite the fact we might not be happy with it?
I teach courses in both sitcom writing and stand-up comedy. Of late, most of the students on these courses have been people in their 30s and 40s who have decided that they want to fulfill an ambition. Some of them are actually very good and one or two have literally given up their day jobs to take it up full time. Many comedians I know actually gave up their ‘normal’ jobs (doctor, teacher, windowcleaner, accountant etc) to pursue a career in comedy. Most of them don’t regret it. Most. I hear the phrase “you only live once” being used much more frequently nowadays. Although some people do use it as an excuse for various immoral activities, the majority see it as a reason to make the most of their lives. I like to see people live to their full potential via whatever means. As Shakespeare said: “Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them.” Which could also be the slogan for Britain’s Got Talent. Speaking of that unbearable programme, Simon “I can’t believe I’ve got away with this so far” Cowell actually said, “I don’t like Shakespeare”. What a sweeping, ignorant comment and sadly one with which the watchers of his drivel will probably now agree - whether they’ve ever seen a Shakespeare play or not. I think the majority of people love what they do and don’t want to change anything. I can’t imagine a clown saying, “I just want to run away and join a mortgage broker’s”. But if you do have a dream, even a small one, and you think it’s achievable then why not go for it? And what about me? Do I regret anything? Well, I’ve given it some thought and, in all honesty, no I don’t. Unfortunately. So, as Shakespeare used to finish with a rhyming couplet, I thought I would do the same… Now my work is done, this piece is writ, I pray thou enjoyed it, and not think it ….rubbish. See what Bennett’s up to at www.bennettarron.com Follow Bennett on Twitter @bennettarron © Bennett Arron 2014
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