Luxe mar apr 2013

£5.00 luxe magazine

ISSUE 21 MAR/APR13

£5

S TACI E ST EWA RT STIRS . Shearer c hef s i t . L AYB OURNE EASTER EGG M A S T E RC L A S S . s p r i ng bl o o ms . R ETRO FAS H ION F IX . Geordie Kitching g e n i u s . S T U N N I N G I NTER IOR S . Part y p eo pl e. WRITERS IN THE K NOW. Art lif e. G L I T Z Y D OW N T I ME. go l f gear. H IP H OTEL S . Bi g names. LU XE.

WHERE SOLD

AUF WIEDERSEHEN PET. BE A REBEL.

The award winning Volvo V40 D2 R-Design in ‘Rebel Blue’ of course

CREDIT EXAMPLE

Sure, you can drive the car that everyone else thinks is the ‘must have’ car. That’s fine if you like to follow the crowd. If you like to blend in. However, why not stand out, be different, be a Rebel.

JOIN THEREBELUTION.

Special Mill Price Deposit or Part Ex Balance to Finance 36 Monthly payments of GMEV* Total Amount Repayable

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£21,400 £5,725 £15,675 £199.70 £10,842.50 £23,756.70

5.9%

VOLVO CARS NORTH EAST Mill Newcastle

Mill Sunderland

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Scotswood Road, Newcastle NE15 6BZ

Wessington Way, Sunderland SR5 3HR

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St James Retail Park, Knaresborough HG5 8PY

millvolvo

@millvolvo

www.millnortheast.co.uk

Tel: 0800 612 4715

The price is based on a V40 D2 R-Design FUEL CONSUMPTION IN MPG (L/100km) Urban 70.6/4.0, Extra Urban 83.1/3.4, Combined 78.5/3.6, CO2 94g/km. Finance subject to status. Terms and conditions apply. Personal Contract Purchase based on customer deposit of £5725.00, followed by 36 monthly payments of £199.70. Annual mileage of 10,000 miles, *excess mileage cost of 14.9p per mile applies. Applicant must be 18 or over. Guarantees/ indemnities may be required. At the end of the Personal Contract Purchase there are three options: (1) Part exchange the vehicle, where equity is available (2) Pay the GFV (Guaranteed Future Value) to own the vehicle or (3) Return the vehicle. Further charges may be made subject to the condition of the vehicle. Santander Consumer (UK) plc T/A Volvo Car Credit RH1 1SR. Car featured for illustration purposes only.

WELCOME

contents 4>> Radio people ISSUE 21 MAR/APR13 Can’t quite believe we’re already having Easter chat here at luxe but If you’re in the mood for a challenge of a chocolatey kind then here’s one to impress.

Terry Laybourne takes his masterclass column seriously and has set you an ambitious task; a make-your-own easter egg kind of challenge.

Masterchef here you come. Speaking of which, hope you enjoy our chat with another luxe columnist, Stacie Stewart who, with her beehive, is all over our screens at the moment, a real-life pop-up is she.

If you like her retro style, or have lived her retro style for that matter, you’ll be interested a couple of stories on page 42 which might spur you into fashion action, or should that be auction.

Staying with food we’ve even been cooking with Alan Shearer - or rather giving him a lesson in cooking curry. Not sure he’s going to quit the day job but you can dish up Chicken Sheerah in his honour.

We’ve also had spring on our minds in terms of interiors so be inspired by some products, places and people - we especially like the peony pair at Darling&Green florists, spring on a page!

Hope you’ve signed up for Luxe Loves The Weekend. It’s our new weekly online dose of the magazine, popping into your inbox with, we hope, some inspiring ideas for cool ways to spend your time off - when you’re not up to your elbows in chocolate that is. Sign up at www.luxe-magazine.co.uk/theweekend/

Luxe things in life

6>> Luxe Loves Beautiful things

10>> Luxe Loves Do This - time to get cultured

18>> Cover story Stacie hits the bigtime

25>> Shearer cooks Masterclass with the legend

28>> Kitching’s lore Geordie genius chef Paul

34>> Easter egg class Christins De Giorgio runs Pasqualinos in Newcastle and is part of an Italian food dynasty in the city. She lives in Jesmond and her luxe things include: A night at Close House with her best friend - PJs on, room service and gossip. Her Ronit Zilkah little black dress and a sneaky winter pedicure at Serenity in the City.

Terry Laybourne’s choc lesson

42>> Retro chic Your time is now style sisters

44>> Monochrome set Sharp fashion in black and white

54>> Beauty update Make-up springs to life

64>> Hall right Inside a County Durham house of history

74>> Blooming lovely Flowers to make you happy

87>> Hip hotels Have a blousy, blooming Easter

Debrah goes to Wales for some time-off

Kathryn

84>> Luxury spa Harry’s Caribbean haunt

88>> Little Luxe

kathryn@room501.co.uk www.luxe-magazine.co.uk Twitter @TheLuxeMagazine

With Nina Robinson, our pint-sized shopping and culture diva

90>> Luxe Lads

THE 501 TEAM The shop you can’t pass by without going in and spending

Steven Bell is a happy man on a bike. The well-known entrepreneur owns Chapters Hotel, Stokesley. His luxe things include: cycle racing in Malta, shopping for business and pleasure, a recent purchase a Vivienne Westwood tartan jacket.

And organising the Touch of Class charity ball.

Getting shirty in the garage

96>> Luxe Looks Our must-read people-spotting social diary.

102>> Parting Shot

Christopher March managing director chris@room501.co.uk As a watch obsessive, Berrys and Richard Sinton, always a pleasure Bryan Hoare sales and marketing director bryan@room501.co.uk Those whisky shops in Scotland EDITORIAL Kathryn Armstrong editor kathryn@room501.co.uk Cos clothing. You can never have too many black, floppy items Fiona McLain fashion assistant Haberdashery shops - consequently, drawers full of fabric DESIGN David Stubbs davids@room501.co.uk Zara Sarah MacNeil sarah@room501.co.uk Boots. Make-up, shampoo, perfume Kev Waddell kevin@room501.co.uk Apple Store. I would buy the whole shop if I could PHOTOGRAPHY Kevin Gibson info@kgphotoraphy.co.uk Schuh at Metrocentre. Staff and shoes are great Nicky Rogerson nicky@nrphotography.co.uk Ikea, love it

Kirsty Johnson is half of Darling&Green florists. Her luxe things include: A vase full of glorious British flowers, brimming with scent. An afternoon free to browse the blogs of some of favourite floral designers. A bite to eat at Roots Farm Shop and the obligatory purchase.

SALES Lisa Anderson senior sales executive lisa@room501.co.uk Ye Olde Friars Chocolate Shop in Keswick High Street Debi Coldwell senior sales executive debi@room501.co.uk Any farm shop filled to the brim with homemade goodies

For advertising call the sales team on 0191 537 5720.

room501 publishing Ltd, Publishing House, 16 Pickersgill House, Quay West Business Park, Sunderland, Tyne & Wear SR5 2AQ www.room501.co.uk room501 was formed from a partnership of directors who, combined, have many years of experience in contract publishing, print, marketing, sales and advertising and distribution. We are a passionate, dedicated company that strives to help you to meet your overall business needs and requirements. All contents copyright ©2013 room501 Ltd. All rights reserved. While every effort is made to ensure accuracy, no responsibility can be accepted for inaccuracies, howsoever caused. No liability can be accepted for illustrations, photographs, artwork or advertising materials while in transmission or with the publisher or their agents. All information is correct at time of going to print, March 2013.

luxe is published bi-monthly by room501 Ltd.

Our partners

MAR/APR13

3

LUXE LIFE

GARY PHILLIPSON

LISA SHAW

Is one half of Sony radio award-winning Real Radio Breakfast with Gary and Lisa. A County Durham lad, he lives with partner Emily and has three children. A keen cyclist he loves rum and dancing.

Is the other, prettier half. Born and brought up in County Durham before heading south to do a journalism degree at Bournemouth University, she returned to the region to work in radio and stayed put.

LUXE PEOPLE >> David Bowie, Vic Reeves, Bob Mortimer, Robson Green, Sir Bradley Wiggins, Sir Chris Hoy, Tony Mowbray.

LUXE PLACES >> For a weekend > Central Scotland! Aberfeldy is such an amazing place.

A long holiday > If I’m honest a week is enough holiday for me as I get home sick easily! Rome, Paris, Barcelona all amazing places.

LUXE RELAX >> Best food > I’m a huge seafood fan. Sea bream on a bed of mash with seasonal veg is delightful.

Best wine > As a fan of fish, I should love white wine! But I’m a huge rioja fan. Red every time for me.

Favourite restaurant > It has to be La Coupole in Paris. I just love it. Great atmosphere and wonderful food.

Perfect weekend > Saturday riding out with the lads doing our 70-80 mile ride then Sunday relaxing with the family.

Downtime means > Catching up on the TV I miss as I have to be in bed for 9pm.

Best telly > Most things on BBC4.

Best theatre > Not really my thing! I have a very short attention span.

Best book > Again I’m not a big reader but I do love factual books and colouring-in books!

Best sounds > Bowie, Two Door Cinema Club, Steely Dan, The Jayhawks, Motown and Stax tunes.

4

LUXE SHOP >> Best shopping city > Newcastle. Love it. So many great places to shop, The Central Arcade, Eldon Square etc.

Favourite shop > Evans Cycles, in fact any bike shop.

Luxe retail treat > Bike stuff and good quality Barbadian rum.

Best buy > I bought a Dolan Carbon fibre bike on Ebay worth £2400 for £450! Cheap as chips! I felt bad….honest LUXE PARTY >> A memorable night out > Sony Radio Academy Awards at the Grosvenor House Hotel. We won Gold for best breakfast show in Britain. I did have one or two glasses of rum that night.

Perfect party > A wine and cheese night at our house with a game of Buckaroo!

Best dress/ favourite item of clothing > I love my 1960 jacket that’s an exact replica of Patrick McGoohan’s in The Prisoner.

Dinner date > My wonderful Emily is always my fave.

YOUR LUXE THING IN LIFE >> My friends and family - but give me a Pinarello Dogma 2 with Di 2 Electric gear shift and I would give you a firm handshake!

I love holidays as waking up at 4am every morning means they are precious. And weekend cycling.

LUXE PEOPLE >> My family and friends. Everyone’s life has changed so much in recent years so any chance we get to catch up and enjoy each other’s company is made the most of. I also have the most gorgeous niece and nephew who I love spending time with.

LUXE PLACES >> For a weekend > York. I love Hotel Du Vin and the fact you can just walk into the city centre and enjoy some great shops and fantastic restaurants, a long holiday > Abroad, hot with a great beach and somewhere cool to enjoy a G&T. LUXE RELAX >> Best food > Lamb, cooked most ways.

Best wine > White. I was lucky enough to go wine tasting in Australia’s Hunter Valley and try to find wines from there as a treat.

Favourite restaurant > 19 on Grape Lane in York.

Perfect weekend > Somewhere quiet, picturesque and relaxed spent sleeping, walking and enjoying a lack of early alarm calls.

Downtime means > Going for a drink and bite to eat at The Angel in Corbridge with my boyfriend and planning our next holiday.

Best telly > Grey’s Anatomy, 30 Rock, New Girl.

Best theatre > It really takes a lot to beat the Sunderland Empire. The shows it attracts are massive.

Best book > One Day, David Nicholls.

Best sounds > My favourite album ever is Thriller, Michael Jackson.

LUXE SHOP >> Best shopping city > It takes a lot to beat Newcastle.

Favourite shop > Zara.

Luxe retail treat > I’m a sucker for housey stuff. I love little bits and bobs like candles and picture frames.

Best buy > I got a bargain of a Ted Baker dress at an outlet shop once. I snapped it up without trying it on so it was a bit of a risk. It fits perfectly and I love it.

LUXE PARTY >> A memorable night out > The night Gary and I won a Gold Sony Radio Academy Award in London. It was unbelievable. I told Emma Bunton she was beautiful...

Perfect party > My birthday is in June so I love having friends round for a BBQ and a few drinks. It’s even better if it doesn’t rain.

Best dress/ favourite item of clothing > I have to admit, I live in jeans so they are definitely a favourite. I’ve only recently found a cut that I really love and suits me perfectly from All Saints. I have the same pair in three different colours.

Dinner date > My boyfriend, Gareth. If he wasn’t available I’d love to share a bite to eat with Bradley Cooper.

YOUR LUXE THING IN LIFE >> Weekends when I don’t have anything to do or anywhere to be and can just switch the alarm off, relax and catch up.

MAR/APR13

Discover THE BEAUTY OF SPRING

PANDORA Hill Street Shopping Centre 32 High Friars Middlesborough Eldon Square, Newcastle 01642 909261 NE1 7XF 0191 232 3266 www.bramwellsjewellers.co.uk Be inspired at pandora.net

LUXE LOVES

LUXE LOVES Lights fantastic Make a marvellous impact with this striking Italian glass ribbon pendant light, ÂŁ1,578. A talking point for any room. In a range of sizes, styles and colours from ÂŁ300. www.sarahbowenlighting.co.uk

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MAR/APR13

DO THIS

ART! WITH GODFREY WORSDALE

Stay in >> go out >> enjoy Your sofa-side view of cultural and seasonal happenings in the region

UNTIL JULY

Architecture is the focus of a series of spring events in the North East

The works of Francis Bacon, Pablo Picasso, Lucian Freud, Andy Warhol and Paul Cézanne come together at Mima, Middlesbrough this March in a rare exhibition.

Tracing the Century is a collection of more than 100 works from Tate’s collection and works loaned by artists. It demonstrates the role of drawing as a catalyst for change in modern and contemporary art. The exhibition presents art exploring the human body and the inner self, which characterised art in the twentieth century. www.visitmima.com

20

MARCH

Fresh from their triumphant return from a season of festivals, Biffy Clyro play the Metro Radio Arena. The band will be performing tracks from their eagerly anticipated sixth studio album, Opposites. The double-album has already topped the UK charts and is the band’s first ever album to reach the UK number one top spot. www.metroradioarena.co.uk

20 MARCH David Jablonowski installation view Photo: Gert Jan van Rooij

For lovers of architecture and cutting edge design David Maljkovic’s exhibition at BALTIC, Sources in the Air (until June) is not to be missed. It includes collage, installation, film, video and works on paper.

For architecture fanatics who want to delve deeper into the field, on Friday 12 April BALTIC, together with Northumbria University present a seminar examining the legacy of modernist utopian architecture and design from the 1950s-70s in the former socialist Yugoslavia. Drawing upon the re-visiting of key avant-garde moments as a theme in David Maljkovic‘s work, the seminar moves outwards to explore how at this time (the 1950s-70s) a unique body of Modernist architecture was produced.

As well as this, young up and coming German artist David Jablonowski is currently exhibiting on Level 2 at BALTIC with his exhibition Tools and Orientations. He will be in conversation with curator, critic and writer Sacha Craddock to unlock and discuss his intriguing sculptures on Wednesday 10 April.

For those looking for an edgier urban space to explore head over to BALTIC 39 on Thursday 25 April, exciting young London-based artist Matt Calderwood will be in conversation with writer and curator Chris Fite-Wassilak.

He will discuss his first solo UK exhibition in a public gallery, Paper Over the Cracks, and how his often perilous performances, sculpture and film works experiment with balance, tension, instability and risk.

Back again this year is the LATE SHOWS The North East’s legendry culture crawl returns on 17 and 18 May 2013.

Cultural venues across Newcastle and Gateshead including BALTIC and BALTIC 39 will open their doors from 7-11pm, offering a range of free events, exhibitions and performances.

All events are free, to book a place visit: balticmill. eventrite.co.uk / baltic39.eventbrite.co.uk

Godfrey Worsdale is Director, BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art

10

The Pitmen Poets celebrate the songs, humour, and culture of North East England’s Coal Mining tradition, bringing together four of the region’s leading champions of its musical heritage.

Ex-Lindisfarne singer and writer Billy Mitchell, songman from London’s West End musical Warhorse, Bob Fox, leading exponent of Tyneside song Benny Graham, and much-covered Durham songwriter Jez Lowe - individually and collectively are the Pitmen Poets. Whitley Bay Playhouse With archive footage and photographs, this is a journey through the centuries of a once-great industry, from the songs that saw it thrive and dominate, to those that saw its demise and the resulting aftermath. www.playhousewhitleybay.co.uk

26 MARCH One of the most celebrated love stories ever told is coming to The Customs House theatre in South Shields.

After a well-received performance of Macbeth, the awardwinning Icarus Theatre Collective turns its hand to another of William Shakespeare’s plays, Romeo & Juliet.

The play deals with the themes of love, passion and family ties which are as relevant today as they were in Shakespeare’s time. www.customshouse.co.uk

27

MARCH

Our favourite cake-baker, cover girl and columnist, Stacie Stewart will be mixing, chatting and stirring at Wynyard Hall’s Blooms & Bubbly event. Stacie hit the big screen on TV’s Food Glorious Food programme and is well-known for her vintage style and self-taught success that led to the finals of Masterchef 6.

She is a regular on This Morning and will talk about her success and demonstrate some of her favourite recipes from her new cookbook.

The event runs from 2.30pm and includes a reception drink on arrival, floral demonstration from Valerie Guest (NAFAS member and a gold winner at the Chelsea Flower Show) and afternoon tea. Tickets, £35.

To book call 01740 665414 www.wynyardhall.co.uk

27 MARCH

26

The heat of the African desert will be making its way to the Sunderland Empire with one of the most highly anticipated touring shows around; Mother Africa! Billed as a ‘circus of the senses’, it takes the audience on a stirring journey to the colourful world of Africa and celebrates all that is magical about this continent with vivid costumes, foot-tapping rhythms, breath-taking acrobatics and energetic dancing. www.sunderlandempire.org.uk

MARCH

Indulge in chocolatey treats during Easter week as everything goes gooey at Wynyard Hall. For one week only guests can immerse themselves in all things chocolate, including spa treatments, cocktails, afternoon tea and a six-course menu. Guests can succumb to their sweet tooth by treating themselves to the chocolate themed afternoon tea or one of the bar’s chocolate cocktails - including the oh-so-naughty ‘Wynyard Kiss,’ that combines Aged Tequila, Creme de Cacao Brown, Creme de Cacao White and Double Cream.

Enjoy pure spa indulgence without the calories by relaxing with one of Wynyard Spa’s Karen Herzog chocolate treatments that make the most of cocoa’s natural health and goodness. www.wynyardhall.co.uk

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MARCH

Simple Minds return to the North East as part of their Greatest Hits Plus Tour. Jim Kerr and Co will unleash their brand of New Wave, Post Punk music on a Newcastle City Hall audience. Hear hits like Don’t You Forget About Me and Belfast Child. Only two members of the original band, Jim Kerr and Charlie Burchill, remain with the line-up. www.ticketmaster.co.uk

5-7 APRIL Explore both the northern and the national Jazz scenes at this year’s International Jazz Festival at the Sage Gateshead.

Across this three day period you can see performances from the likes of Ruby Turner, Soweto Kinch, the National Youth Jazz Orchestra along with many other musicians. You can also choose to get involved with a jazz orchestra workshop or the Big Jazz Family Bash which offers the chance for 2-7 year olds to have a go! To see more events http://thesagegateshead.org/tour-dates/gatesheadinternational-jazz-festival-2013

MAR/APR13

05

APRIL

Newcastle’s Metro Radio Arena will be part of the Farewell Tour by Meat Loaf as he says goodbye to his fans. Featuring a two-act performance with songs from his greatest hits, to the entirety of Bat out of Hell, played in order. www.metroradioarena.co.uk 0844 493 6666

5-6 APRIL

11 APRIL

After playing a football game with his friends, Dele goes home to say his final goodbyes to his family before setting out on a journey to build a better life in an unknown city across the sea in The Arrival.

Northern Stage’s surreal production is based on a pictorial novel by Oscar winner Shaun Tan. His story unfolds through a peculiar mix of theatre, music and circus by a collaboration of Tamasha and Circus Space. www.northernstage.co.uk/whats-on/the-arrival

London-based indie pop songstress Kate Nash is set to play Warehouse 34 in Newcastle. She won Best Female Artist at the BRIT Awards. Nash’s second album, My Best Friends Is You, was released in 2010 and reached number eight in the UK charts. www.seetickets.com

09-10 APRIL The acclaimed comedian Will Adamsdale brings his show The Victorian in the Wall to Northern Stage in Newcastle.

An extraordinary story about a work-shy writer who is re-constructing his flat while his girlfriend is at work.

Once the dust settles, he discovers a Victorian living in the wall of his flat.

Adamsdale is famous for his show Jackson’s Way that won a Perrier award at the Edinburgh Festival. www.northernstage.co.uk/whats-on/ the-victorian-in-the-wall

11 APRIL

10cc’s Graham Gouldman presents Heart Full of Songs, and friends, plus Garron Frith.

Featuring 10cc classics I’m Not In Love and Dreadlock Holiday; early Gouldman hits like Bus Stop and Look Through Any Window and many, many more. 01642 525199 www.arconline.co.uk

From North Yorkshire to London for £13,125 Our Specialists are out and about around the County this month.

For further information or to make an appointment for a free verbal auction valuation please contact: 0113 234 5755 alison.hayes@bonhams.com

A gold, enamel and moonstone cameo pendant, by Carlo Giuliano, circa 1865.

Consigned locally and sold in our recent Fine Jewellery sale in London for £13,125.

International Auctioneers and Valuers - bonhams.com/leeds

Prices shown for sold lots include buyer’s premium. Details can be found at bonhams.com

A new experience from Rockliffe Hall Rockliffe Hall’s 18th Century Old Hall and 3AA Rosette restaurant Kenny Atkinson at The Orangery - has recently undergone hundreds of thousands of pounds of refurbishment and now offers lunch time à la carte options and unique private dining options to add an extra sparkle to any event.

Whether it’s morning coffee, lunch in The Orangery, afternoon tea, drinks in our cocktail bar or fine-dining, the Old Hall will be open throughout the day and into the evening.

The refurbishment will enhance Rockliffe Hall’s already impressive dining experiences and offer guests something new for 2013.

To find out more about dining at Rockliffe Hall, or to make a reservation, please call 01325 729999 or email enquiries@rockliffehall.com

www.rockliffehall.com Hurworth-on-Tees Darlington County Durham DL2 2DU +44 (0)1325 729999 enquiries@rockliffehall.com

MAR/APR13

11

DO THIS

WEALTH MANAGEMENT WITH DAVID DALE

Financial year end – time to pay up (but not too much!)

The end of the financial year is looming and the bad news is that the government wants wealthy and middle-income families to pay even more tax. However, there are still lots of steps you can take to ensure you aren’t giving your family’s wealth away unnecessarily - and without bending or breaking any rules.

Many legitimate tax relief options have been introduced over the years by various Chancellors, and there should be no confusion between families and entrepreneurs using these tax reliefs, and the recent media focus on international businesses ‘gaming’ the rules.

Many working people struggle to find the time to devote to financial planning, but over the next few weeks every reader should take note of these tips for ensuring they are getting the most out of their hard-earned income for themselves and their family.

Here are some specific tips for areas to check before the end of the 2012/2013 financial year in April: 1. ANNUAL CGT AND ISA ALLOWANCES Be sure to make use of your annual Capital Gains Tax (CGT) allowance and the ISA allowance. You are able to realise gains within your investment portfolio of £10,600 for the current tax year before any CGT is due. You are also able to invest £11,280 within a Stocks and Shares ISA, which will then benefit from tax advantages going forward.

2. PENSION CONTRIBUTIONS If you are earning in excess of £150,000 a year you can receive tax relief on pension contributions of 50% - your existing highest marginal rate. From 6 April 2013 onwards, the maximum rate of relief available will fall in line with the highest rate of income tax to 45%. Thought should be given to maximising pension contributions before then. If “carried forward” allowances from previous years are available, a contribution of up to £200,000 gross may be possible in some cases.

3. REDUCTION IN INCOME TAX ALLOWANCE Deferring income in excess of £150,000 to the next tax year could mean that income in that year would suffer tax at a lower rate of 45%, rather than the 50% rate applying at present. For example, if you are a business owner, you could delay income until subsequent tax years in order to reduce the level of tax payable.

4. ANNUAL INHERITANCE TAX (IHT) ALLOWANCE Each year you can give away £3,000 per annum and this will be removed from your estate immediately. The allowance can be carried forward for one year at a time only. If you made no gifts last year you could make a gift of £6,000 in the current tax year.

5. INVESTMENTS WHICH OFFER TAX RELIEF Certain investments offer the opportunity for you to directly reduce your income tax bill.

Venture Capital Trusts (VCTs) and Enterprise Investment Schemes (EISs) offer income tax relief of 30% of the amount invested, within certain limits. These plans are, however, relatively high risk. A Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS) is riskier still, but provides even more generous tax relief (50% income tax relief in addition to full CGT exemption on reinvested gains).

6. USE STAKEHOLDER PENSIONS FOR YOUR CHILDREN/GRANDCHILDREN Make use of stakeholder pension allowances for children and grandchildren. You can invest up to £3,600 gross for each child or grandchild each tax year. This gradually moves wealth onto subsequent generations and does so into a tax efficient wrapper. As the capital is within a pension the next generation cannot access this capital at a young age, which can be a strong advantage! If this process is repeated on an annual basis it is possible that the gifts will be exempt from Inheritance Tax under the ‘regular gifts out of surplus income’ rule.

David Dale, Head of Wealth Management, Dickinson Dees law firm T: 0844 984 1500 W: www.dickinson-dees.com

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8–13 APRIL

17

APRIL

Glitter, glamour and Jason Donovan. Priscilla Queen of the Desert is coming to the North East, bringing with it the glitz, humour and toe-tapping tunes that made it a hit across the globe. The show stars Jason Donovan as Tick, a drag queen performer and his two friends who set off on a quest for love and friendship aboard a lilac bus named Priscilla.

Dazzling and uplifting, Priscilla tells the tale of these three friends on their adventure in a glittery all-singing, all-dancing ensemble. www.atgtickets.com/venues/sunderland-empire

Michael Ball returns to Newcastle as he embarks on a full UK tour in support of his new album Both Sides Now. The album features music written by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice and is Ball’s first since 2011’s Heroes. Ball will perform hits from both his recorded and stage career. www.newcastlecityhall.org

22 13 APRIL

Strictly Come Dancing stars Pasha Kovalev and Katya Virshilas take to the stage at the Customs House in South Shields for an evening of dance routines, sequins and extravagant spectacles.

Featuring stunning routines from the duo and their special guests, plus a question and answer session, fans of the hit BBC show can soak up the atmosphere and glamour of the ballroom as it stops off in South Shields. www.customshouse.co.uk

APRIL

Bringing new songs and old favourites, the British pop band The Feeling perform at The Sage in Gateshead. The band are currently working on their 4th studio album and the tour will play new tracks from this upcoming album. www.thesagegateshead.org 0191 443 4661

24–28 APRIL 16–20 APRIL

It is 17 years since Matthew Bourne created Swan Lake with a troupe of male dancers. Now Bourne brings us the final of Tchaikovsky’s trio of ballet masterworks with Sleeping Beauty, his take a ‘gothic romance re-write, which is beguiling and true for all ages’ says The Guardian. www.theatreroyal.co.uk Tickets: 08448 112121

26

They may be extinct, but the dinosaurs that once roamed the planet are back for a spectacular five-night event. Walking with Dinosaurs is the worldwide tour that has been seen by over 7 million and it will be returning to Newcastle’s Metro Radio Arena in April.

This spectacular show features 20 life-size dinosaurs, including the terrifying Tyrannosaurus rex. Learn about their 200 million year reign on Earth, as they walk, roar and battle in this informative show. www.atgtickets.com/shows/walking-withdinosaurs.

APRIL

A new one for the North East social diary - the first Lobster Charity Ball takes place at Hardwick Hall Hotel. Guests can look forward to some gastronomic delights with a new, mouth-watering Lobster Surf & Turf menu created by Paul Beckwith from Ramside Hall Hotel’s Rib Room Steakhouse and Grill.

The lobster is locally sourced from Hartlepool and the steaks are Hereford beef from Durham farms. The line-up includes Go West, operatic sensations Jonathan & Charlotte who stormed to the final of Britain’s Got Talent in 2012. There will be a fashion show from Van Mildert, featuring collections from some of the world’s most sought after designers including Vivienne Westwood, Ralph Lauren and Hugo Boss.

Funds will be raised for charity Daisy Chain, supporting families affected by autism.

For further information call Hardwick Hall on 01740 620253 or email dawn.coates@hardwickhallhotel.co.uk.

MAR/APR13

Seven days of fashion-fuelled festivities including catwalks, celebrity guests, talks, workshops, exhibitions, and incredible shopping events and discounts in Newcastle city centre.

Don’t miss out on the action – for more information visit:

getintonewcastle.co.uk/NFW Sponsored by

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MAR/APR13

13

DO THIS

26 APRIL Former Simply Red frontman Mick Hucknall will bring his first UK solo tour ‘American Soul’ to Newcastle City Hall this Spring. He has put together a collection of some of his favourite songs to kick start his solo career.

The album features classic American Soul songs such as That’s How Strong My Love Is, I Only Have Eyes For You and I’d Rather Go blind. www.newcastlecityhall.org

UNTIL 2 MAY 12-13 MAY Historic town Hexham plays host to its annual book festival, from 27 March. Guests to the town include acclaimed author Kate Atkinson talking about her latest book ‘Life after Life’. www.hexhambookfestival.co.uk

Love food or looking to try something new?

Bring your appetite and have your shopping bags at the ready to head to the Tynemouth Food Festival.

Packed with everything from local ales to artisan bread you’ll definitely find something to satisfy your tastebuds at the event, which will showcase the region’s finest foods. The weekend food extravaganza will take place across the park next to the Queen Victoria Monument, in the King’s School grounds and at various venues across the village. www.tynemouthfoodfestival.co.uk

20-24 MAY

25-28 APRIL Get a fashion fix at Metrocentre’s Fashion Live catwalk shows running from 25-28 April. The hottest selection of summer trends for men and women will feature in a series of stunning fashion shows taking place in Town Square, outside House of Fraser. With everything from high street favourites to designer brands there’s something for everyone. Retailers include House of Fraser, Coast and Topman on the catwalk. A must to spruce the summer wardrobe.

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APRIL – 6 MAY

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Keen walkers are encouraged to visit the village of Haltwhistle during April and May, with a range of walks from the beginner to the hardened hiker. Walks take in the stunning Pennine landscapes and vistas from Hadrian’s Wall and Kielder Forest. The walks range from three to seven hours, and are a great way to meet like-minded people. www.haltwhistlewalkingfestival.org

Comedy fans have a treat in store when American stand-up legend Rich Hall brings his brand new show to Middlesbrough Town Hall Crypt.

Known to millions from Live at the Apollo, QI, Have I Got News For You, Never Mind the Buzzcocks and plenty more besides, his grouchy onstage persona saw The Simpsons creator Matt Groening base the character of short-tempered bartender Moe on Rich himself. www.middlesbroughtownhallonline.co.uk or 01642 729 729.

28 APRIL Quirky Essex stand-up comic Russell Kane brings his Posturing Delivery tour to the Theatre Royal in Newcastle at the end of April. As seen on panel shows such as Mock the Week and I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here, the award-winning comic takes his Edinburgh fringe show on tour across the country. www.theatreroyal.co.uk

17–18 MAY

27 APRIL For one night only Motown is back in the spectacular jazz showcase, The Magic of Motown, packed full of memorable jazz hits, including songs from the Jackson 5, Supremes, Sapphires, Temptations and Lionel Richie, this is a show that will dazzle. www.atgtickets.com/shows/magic-of-motown/ sunderland-empire

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MAY

If you’re not fond of routine comedy with gags you heard on a DVD six months earlier, the Comedy Store at Gala Theatre Durham should be the perfect antidote. The hugely successful chain, with venues in London and Manchester, has exported its comedy nights to reach a wider audience. A regular trio of chortle-inducing acts and strong language. www.galadurham.co.uk

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MAY

Northern Chords brings young musicians from around the globe to the North East, to offer a refreshing take on classical music.

Founded by 24-year-old Gateshead born musician Jonathan Bloxham, above, this year’s line up includes BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artist Ben Johnson and Royal Overseas League winners The Busch Ensemble, as well as BBC Young Musician of the Year winner, clarinetist Mark Simpson.

The festival will bring the international music stage and all concerts will be free to attend for 16s and under.

Performers will also be entertaining visitors to The Sage Gateshead with a series of free lunchtime performances on the main concourse over the course of the week.

Highlights will include Benjamin Britten’s Saint Nicholas, at St. Nicholas’ Cathedral Newcastle. Further highlights include the festival’s Gala Concert at The Sage Gateshead on May 24, featuring a world premiere by up and coming composer Freya Waley-Cohen and chamber works by Dvorak and Beethoven. www.northernchords.com or call The Sage Gateshead Box Office on 0191 443 4661.

05 MAY If you were a child of the 90’s or just loved the decade of the pop bands, then make a date for The Big Reunion, a show which was created following the TV show of the lives of 90’s bands Liberty X, 5ive, 911, B*Witched, Atomic Kitten and Honeyz as they tried to recreate their former popstar glory.

The plan was for all the bands to take part in a special one-off gig in London, but when demand for tickets was so high, it was decided that there should be a bigger tour. Expect double denim catastrophes and cheesy but unforgettable dance moves! www.metroradioarena.co.uk

More than 50 cultural venues in NewcastleGateshead stay open after dark promising to offer a special cultural experience in May. After the success of 2012 with nearly 30,000 visits over the weekend, The Late Shows hopes to add a bit of culture into visitors’ evenings.

Loyal audiences may find a different experience of museums, galleries and visitor attractions whereas newcomers can discover something new. This popular annual event has previously included interactive art, behind the scenes tours, vintage tea parties, treasure music, DJs and artist talks. The Late Shows website allows you to create an itinerary to make most out of the events and exhibitions on the culture crawl. Although many of the venues are a short walking distance apart, there are frequent free buses for those venues that are further afield. www.thelateshows.org.uk

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MAY

Claimed to be the most seductive opera ever written-director, producer, and consultant Ellen Kent brings her new production of Bizet’s Carmen to the Sunderland Empire.

Carmen is a bewitching gypsy whose breathtaking beauty seduces a soldier to desertion, which leads to her own murder by bullfighter Escamillo. Portraying Carmen is international mezzo-soprano Nadia Stoianova.

Expect expressive and adored melodies in opera, the entire Chisinau National Philharmonic orchestra, a chorus from Moldova, and a donkey! www.atgtickets.com/shows/ellen-kentscarmen/sunderland-empire

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lUXe liFe

AMELIA HALL Amelia Hall, 20, runs Reds salon in Sunderland city centre. She has worked backstage at London Fashion Week as part of the L’Oreal Hair Team and was selected to tour with the L’Oreal Colour Trophy Team lUXe PeoPle >> Family, friends, colleagues. lUXe PlaCes >> For a weekend > for a weekend away with the girls I’d choose Leeds. Great nightlife and shops for great retail therapy.

For a romantic weekend > Edinburgh, plenty of good restaurants, shops and hotels then when you get a bit sick of the boyfriend you can always hit the zoo and have better craic there with the pandas. a long holiday > Italy, Lake Garda. In the past when I’ve been away on long holidays I generally like snoozing about not really doing anything, but I have been doing that a lot lately, which makes me miss the adventure holidays I used to go on with my family. We would always be doing something like hiking over the Dolomites or abseiling down 150ft waterfalls, canoeing, sailing on a catamaran and taking cheeky trips to Venice which is a must if you have never been! Plus the food is unreal. lUXe relaX >> Best food > Italian it’s my absolute favourite it wins every time. Anything that has garlic in it means it’s getting eaten!

Favourite restaurant > Mamas Italian Kitchen at Newbottle – tip, try pollo stroganoff or mama’s pasta and always start with a garlic bread with all the trimmings – cheese and caramelised onions plus a garlic dip on the side never goes a miss!

Perfect weekend > Saturday, have a nice busy day at work where I don’t run behind; get my hair done before I leave to go home and get ready (because that’s half the fun). Pop the rosé open before going out on the town. Then Sunday go out for

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lunch then pop to the shops for some retail therapy and finish with a romantic movie. downtime means > Going shopping or if I have no money watch TV and stay in pyjamas all day.

Best telly > Real housewives of Beverly Hills and Dexter.

Best theatre > Just love Cirque De Soleil.

Best book > 50 Shades of Grey - I had to find out what all my clients were talking about!

Best sounds > I’m really not too fussed when it comes to music, just whatever sounds good. In the salon I like to play more deep house like Hot Creations. lUXe shoP >> Best shopping city > Love London for shops it’s just a shame I can

never afford them!

Favourite shop > Probably All Saints – I love the feel of the materials they use, plus it’s always good quality and trendy. I think for men it’s good too; this is definitely a shop that my boyfriend looks like he had been drop kicked through!

Best buy > My Karen Millen leather jacket – I wear it every day and it’s

my favourite jacket in the world! and my Mulberry handbag - it even smells expensive! lUXe ParTy >> a memorable night out > too many nights out with the girls have been so much fun! But one of my most memorable nights out was my first date with my boyfriend, undoubtedly the funniest date of my life. First we went to the Fat Buddha in Durham, it was on a Tuesday night and he had booked the table under Mr Nice – nice touch! When we had our meal we got on like a house on fire, afterwards we popped out for a drink so we had a wander around Durham but to be honest it was dead that night so Jon suggested we go to Newcastle. What was meant to be a romantic meal out turned into a full-on night out and I got back at 4 am.

Unfortunately for Jon he had work the next day so it was a memorable hangover day at work for him too.

Perfect party > Good friends with good craic and good food round at my place in the summer - and get the music on. Much better than parties you spend a fortune on then are over in one night!

Best dress/favourite item of clothing > Nothing overboard but at the moment I have my eye on a lace dress on Celeb Boutique as worn by Kim Kardashian absolutely gorgeous! dinner date > I’d give Ronaldo a chance but to be honest he doesn’t look like he’d be much fun so I’ll stick with my version from Sunderland. yoUr lUXe Thing in liFe >> My fantastic new salon, I’m continually working hard to make it a success.

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Stacie Stewart is getting to grips with the nation’s buns, bakes and battenburgs in her role as a prime-time food show judge.

She’s one ambitious girl with plans for a baking empire that’s ‘bigger than Betty’s’. Watch this space, says Kathryn Armstrong

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Stacie Stewart’s life has just become unexpectedly luxe. Unlikely new best friend is Tom Parker Bowles and for the past week she’s been ensconced (that’s definitely the right word), in the gracious food hall at Fortnum and Mason where she’s been running a pop-up bakery.

Crowds have been flocking as much to taste her scones and Victoria sponge as to touch her impressive beehive hair-do which hovers at an estimable 6ins on a breeze-free day.

Yes, Stacie’s moment is definitely now.

As baking judge in Simon Cowell’s primetime cooking series, Food Glorious Food – which is a version of every cooking show you’ve seen plus a £20,000 prize and M&S putting the winning product on its shelves – Stacie, 31, from Whitburn, has hit the bigtime.

We first featured Stacie after she had reached the final four in MasterChef in 2010. Since then she’s been a regular columnist within the luxe food pages.

Back then, even though she was still in the day job as a PA in Newcastle, and making cakes on the kitchen table at night, it was clear that she was going somewhere.

Within months she was doing the rounds of cookery demos at national food shows and then had a big break cooking on This Morning. Her down-to-earth, ‘learned at nana’s rolling pin’, style of cooking clearly proving a refreshing alternative to the Nigellas and Thomasinas with programme makers.

Her big thing then was the cupcake and her Beehive Bakery has sold thousands.

However, today she is ‘so over’ the cupcake. Even the whoopie pie she championed is a bit last year.

“Cupcakes are over. Everyone makes them. In our first week of the competition I had at least six sets of cupcakes to taste.

There’s no way a cupcake should win a prize like this. 50 million cupcakes are sold every year. You can buy them in a corner shop.

As far as I’m concerned, I’m not going to embarrass myself in front of the other judges by putting them through.”

Instead, as part the nationwide food quest which saw her munch at least 25 pieces of cake on filming days, she was out to find someone who had tweaked a recipe to deliver the perfect dish.

She is a hard woman to impress. “I want to find something unique but what I’m really hoping for is something traditional with a twist.

“I want something original yet amazing. I’ve just tasted a ginger cake, which you can get anywhere, but this one had a crumble

topping and compote to complement it. The man who baked it had thought about the flavours, he knew it was going to be fiery and it needed something moist to balance it. That’s what cooking is about, balancing things. Why would you bring a normal ginger cake, when you could bring one with something extra?”

For Stacie, a family connection will also win points. “I like to see people cooking recipes that have been handed down through generations because that’s how I learnt to cook.”

Stacie’s grandmother is responsible for her passion for baking, and cooking stems from her childhood. “My mum can’t boil an egg so my nana taught me how to cook. My nine cousins and I were in the kitchen with our nana. It’s a great memory and, now, all my cousins cook as well as I do.”

Though she likes a family tradition, Stacie won’t be impressed unless a competitor has put their own spin on a dish.

“I also like to see innovation, taking something you’ve been taught how to do and making it better. Just because something was done one way many years ago, it doesn’t mean that it has to be done that way now. If that were the case, we’d still be walking around like cavemen. There has to be progression. My nana used to make scones with lard and water, because that’s all she could afford. It doesn’t mean they were the best scones in the world” she laughs.”

Following her stint on MasterChef, the former St Anthony’s pupil started her own business, “I hope whoever wins will let this change their life. I’d like to think anyone serious enough about cooking to enter Food Glorious Food is prepared to change career like I did. I was a PA before Masterchef. I loved being a PA and I thought that was my career, then I entered MasterChef and everything changed. It took me 26 years to realise my dream and now I want to help other people.”

Straight talking Stacie doesn’t believe in not being honest with contestants and wants to help them to improve. “I try to give constructive criticism – you have to tell someone if what they’re doing is wrong. No one sugar-coated it for me: I got kicked off a TV show and it didn’t make me run away and cry.”

The camera is definitely her friend. She is a natural in front of the camera, unafraid to voice her opinions, which comes in handy when she’s faced with yet another uninspiring plate of cakes but full of the thrill of her cooling passion.

“I am totally unfazed by the cameras. They don’t bother me a bit and I even have a bit of banter on This Morning with Eamonn Holmes – I was on the programme when his wife said the F-word on air – everyone I know texted me and thought I’d said it!”

Programme makers have gravitated to her because her food passion matches her unique look. That beehive, a product of 36ins of thick black hair, is her trademark – and lashings of eyeliner, which is 60s rather than textbook Mod, she >>

Today she is ‘so over’ the cupcake. Even the whoopie pie she championed is a bit last year.

Cupcakes are over. Everyone makes them

The sweetest feeling

OVEN READY

MAR/APR13

oven ready

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OVEN READY Black and white images of Stacie by Helen Russell

>> NBF Tom Parker Bowles on Food Glorious Food

www.helenrussellphotography.co.uk

I want to be as big as Bettys in Yorkshire, I do everything to the Nth degree and the Beehive will be just the same

painstakingly points out. Her clothes and passion for retro eras definitely tap into today’s love of all things vintage. She channels a love for Dusty Springfield, Diana Ross and Ronnie Spector through a style that is about, “Presenting yourself the cleanest, sharpest and proudest way you can.

That’s just my perspective anyway.

“I had a herringbone knee length pencil skirt and an old polo, I felt a million dollars in the outfit but I bet it originally cost a few pence”, she laughs.

There is more to Stacie than cakes however.

She began devouring cookbooks and learning as much as she could about food. That hunger for knowledge continues and she says she reads cookbooks not novels in bed.

What is brilliant is the way Stacie talks about her ‘lightbulb moment’. She was doing the invention test on MasterChef.

For this the contestants are given a batch of ingredients and an hour to cook something with them for the judges.

“I saw chocolate and I knew everything was going to be OK”, she laughs.

I made a chocolate mousse and then realised I had another 45 minutes so I cleaned the surfaces a bit and wondered what to do next. I made some shortbread. Then I had loads of time left still and did a cherry compote.

“One of the other ingredients to choose was squid and loads of people did that. I think I stood out – but it also showed that I had those basic skills and I think that impressed Greg and John (MasterChef’s presenters).

“In the judging they said I had great skills. It was amazing. I knew in that moment that my life was going to change, whether I won MasterChef or not. I knew that I was going to be cooking.“ She is flying the flag for the working class chefs of the world, saying, “Most people who go on MasterChef are posh, certainly the people who win. I am ordinary and I think people like and relate to that.

“I did my smoked venison on the show and I hadn’t even practised it because I couldn’t afford to buy the meat – I tried it with duck instead and then on the programme used venison – it was such a triumph, it was my moment. The judges were blown away with it.“ In the high pressure environment of Masterchef she remembers one hairy moment in the semis when she had to shell 20 quails eggs – forgetting that they were going to be soft-boiled. Not a job for the fumble-fingered with a camera pointing.

“That was the one time I really struggled. I kept putting my thumb through the eggs – a nightmare, I was in tears of frustration.”

Stacie got to the semi-finals of MasterChef and during that time was resourceful enough to realise that it was the time she should be living her culinary dream. She knew that the programme would give her a huge profile and so before it aired she set up the Beehive Bakery from her sturdy kitchen table at home in Whitburn.

She has become a Fanny Craddock for the 21st century with that trademark hair and handmade clothes designed using original patterns and fabric by a dressmaker in Birmingham.

Attention to detail on every level, be it in the kitchen or wardrobe it seems.

Undoubtedly the future is bright for this girl. She is thinking big, “I want to be as big as Bettys in Yorkshire”, she says.

“I want my sticky toffee pudding to be the benchmark when people buy one. I just love doing this and it all feels so exciting. I love the history of food and the stories behind it.

I take everything to the Nth degree and the Beehive will be just the same.” *Stacie’s column will be back in the next edition of luxe www.thebeehivebakery.co.uk Stacie Bakes, published by Pavilion, £18.99

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www.fq-magazine.co.uk

THE BEST OF NORTH EAST FOOD & DRINK MAR/APR 2013

Alan Shearer scores at the stove with a curry masterclass

SPICE BOY

CREATING MAKE A MOUTH-WATERING EASTER EGG PEOPLE KITCHING IN THE KITCHEN DINING LUNCHTIME SECRETS EATING CHECKING OUT NEW FOOD SPOTS COCKTAIL TIME WITH MIXER GEORGE COOKING BULRUSHES FOR BRUNCH WITH OUR FORAGER GARDEN THE ALLOTMENT COMES TO LIFE IN THE MIX MASTERCHEF MAN JAMES BURTON’S FOOD LIFE MAR/APR13

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Liking the sound of...

New places, flavours and diary dates for gastros and gourmets

If you like a Sunday lunch that takes up a huge chunk of the day then we suggest you dive in to Malmaison’s new Mal Brunch.

Don’t expect to move far afterwards, this is a feast that’s intended to sustain you for the rest of the weekend.

Word is out on this one – when we went to the Newcastle Mal it was pretty busy but still there was a relaxed buzz of unhurried folks having a lovely old time. Multi-generation families, couples and groups of friends diving in to the three-course feast. At £19.95, it is a winner – more so at £7.95 for under 12s.

First up there’s a selection of starters from a buffet that you can return to as often as you like. Carve ham from the bone, dip into smoked salmon and seafood or choose from a selection of freshly prepared eggs, towers of pancakes or stacks of fresh waffles.

Your LTSO team tried the Mal version of Huevos Rancheros – Mexican-style eggs, spicy tomatoes, pancetta and black pudding served in an iron pan – it was fresh and zesty. The kids went for a very impressive Mal Burger and steak frites option while dad went trad with the roast beef dinner – superb pink beef rib and mighty Yorkshires – a big tick for all.

For dessert we took up the challenge of mighty ice-cream sundaes and enjoyed flavoursome Crepes Suzettes, pictured, with their excellent juicy citrus sauce.

There’s a cheeky selection of cocktails to go at too – very decadent – if the Bloody Mary menu isn’t for you my recommendation, is a Chase Marmalade Martini – a nicely addictive way to pep up your Sunday.

If you can drag yourself away, do as we did and hop to the Mal bar’s sofas, grab a coffee and indulge in the rugby on the big screens. The temptation to just stay put and get a room is hard to resist. In fact if you spend £75 in the restaurant the room is just £25.

Have a look on www.malmaison.com

Our new favourite Italian is Pasqualinos in Market Street, Newcastle. The word authentic is oft-overused, but here you get a sense of those places you’ve stopped off at and loved on your Italian hols.

What gives the place the edge is the addition of must-eat Neopolitan sourdough pizzas from the sexy (in an oven kind of way) Woodstone oven which weighs in at four tonnes and reaches a temperature of 900˚f – which they claim and - after trying them we agree makes ‘the best pizzas in Newcastle’.

A bold claim. The high temperature allows the intense blast cooking that locks in aroma and moisture, giving a soft but crisp easily digested pizza crust. This crust is not to be discarded – the best bit in fact.

There’s also a new range of cocktails and continental craft beers.

It’s a nice place to spend time - the leather booths and decor are as cool as the staff. Try for yourself. To celebrate its first anniversary, Pasqualino’s Bar Pizzeria is offering a free glass of prosecco when two courses are purchased

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from the a la carte menu after 7.30pm as well as 20% off cocktails in the bar area from 9.30pm until late. The offer runs until 30 May and can be redeemed by going to www.pasqualinos.co.uk and printing off the offer form.

Market Street, Newcastle, 0191 244 2513.

A new independent restaurant serving up Italian nosh has opened in Yarm after a couple decided to exit their franchise agreement and go it alone.

Gemma and Chris Holloway have launched Lucia’s Italian Kitchen at the former site of Joe Rigatoni’s on Yarm High Street, which the couple ran for five years.

The entrepreneurial pair has now opted for a fresh challenge by launching a new Italian restaurant which promises a creative menu, high quality ingredients and a warm, vibrant atmosphere. www.luciasitaliankitchen.co.uk Blackfriars has been voted the top restaurant in the North East by tourism bosses in the region.

The restaurant was Gold winner in the ‘Taste of England’ category in the North East England Tourism Awards.

Blackfriars has won a host of awards and acknowledgements since Andy Hook took over the restaurant, including being voted Best Restaurant by Metro and Observer and is the Sustainable Restaurant Association Champion for Newcastle. It was voted the best place for a Sunday Roast by the Independent in January 2013, is recommended by Michelin, Harden and Which? Good Food Guides and has an AA Rosette.

The North East England Tourism Awards judges’ statement said: “Blackfriars won this award against some stiff competition. They go beyond delivering fantastic food made with the very best ingredients to offer a total experience where care and attention is paid to the smallest detail; it is this which made them stand out as worthy winners”. www.blackfriarsrestaurant.co.uk Food lovers are in for a gourmet treat this spring with the announcement of six ‘One Night Only’ celebration dinners at Wynyard Hall.

The six Sunday night gastro experiences will feature acclaimed guest chefs from both within the region and beyond. On each of the evenings, the chefs will showcase the very best of their culinary skills.

The line-up includes: 7 April, Tommy Banks and Adam Jackson from award-winning Michelin Star and 3 AA Rosettes restaurant, The Black Swan in Oldstead who will deliver a 7-course tasting menu.

Bob Arora from Sachins in Newcastle will showcase the taste of India on Sunday 21 April. FQ columnist Bob is one of the top Punjabi chefs in Britain, known for his delicate use of herbs and spices.

One of Britain’s most hotly tipped chefs, Ben Spalding, will be taking the lead on Sunday 5 May. Ben has received critical acclaim throughout his career. He has spent time at The Fat Duck, Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons, Capital Hotel, London, Bagatelle in Oslo and L’Enclume in the Lake District.

Marcus Bennett from The Bay Horse in Hurworth takes over on 19 May. Since opening in 2008, the restaurant has won a string of awards, including the Michelin Bib Gourmand in 2011 and the Inspectors Favourite for the Michelin Pub Guide in 2011.

On 2 June, Steve Smith from Freemasons at Wiswell in Lancashire will be treating diners to modern adaptations of traditional British pub classics.

Winner of The Publican’s Best Newcomer award and selected as one of eight ‘visionaries’ in the nationwide

‘Great 8’ series of charity dinners, Freemasons now ranks in the top 15 gastropubs in the UK. To go out with a bang Wynyard Hall’s Alan O’Kane will conclude the series of events on 30 June with a spectacular evening of culinary excellence.

Combining a 7-course menu of imaginative, locally sourced dishes with four matching Veuve Clicquot champagnes.

Call 01740 644811 www.wynyardhall.co.uk A walk-in wine cellar is among the new additions to the lovely Orangery restaurant at Rockliffe Hall which has just undergone a £200,000 renovation project with new artwork, décor, furniture and lighting.

Kenny Atkinson’s kitchens have been restructured and extended to increase production to cope with customer demand. Capacity at The Orangery has increased to around 80 covers and the flagship restaurant now offers a lunch menu, Monday to Friday, for the first time since opening in 2009.

As well as the ever-popular tasting menus featuring Kenny’s famous regional dishes, The Orangery now also offers a la carte options as well as fixed price and extensive private dining options.

More events are planned for The Orangery including celebrity chef dinners featuring some of the UK’s top TV chefs, wine and champagne evenings to showcase the new walk-in wine cellar and Rockliffe Hall’s extensive wine selection and ‘faces behind the food’ events to give guests the chance to meet the team of chefs, sommeliers and Maître d’s and go behind the scenes to tour the new double-level kitchen. The business has won numerous awards and accolades including three AA Rosettes for The Orangery, and the gold award for VisitEngland’s ‘Large Hotel of the Year’. www.rockliffehall.com

Further North and it’s exciting times at Doxford Hall Hotel where head chef Paul Blakey and his team have received a second AA Rosette.

The George Runciman Restaurant is in fact the only restaurant in North Northumberland to be awarded this accolade.

A typical menus goes like this: ham knuckle terrine with pease pudding and toasted brioche followed by a tasting of Northumbrian lamb with a pea and puy lentil jus and pear & almond tart with pistachio ice-cream or Northumbrian cheeses.

The restaurant is open daily for lunch and dinner, with a choice of table d’hôte and à la carte menus, as well as Sunday lunch. www.doxfordhall.com

MAR/APR13

dining

Finger-licking Kathryn Armstrong dives into langoustines at Jesmond Dene House on a lunchtime recce

The dining room at Jesmond Dene House is one of those occasion-y places and lunch therein is one of life’s guilty pleasures.

It’s all quietly calm and efficient with the swish of staff and the murmur of fellow pleasure-seekers; on the day in question made up of celebratory family groups, couples and groups of friends.

It manages to feel busy but privileged at the same time, like you’re in on a secret.

Well the secret’s out of course with the hotel just celebrating the accolade, ‘Small Hotel of the Year 2012’ at the North East England Tourism Awards.

At lunchtime you can opt for a super-value

be that generous with my shellfish.

He, however was happy as Larry diving in to Latimer’s oak smoked haddock with spelt risotto and poached hen’s egg, (£9.50).

Goes without saying that the fish was soft and juicy and the egg and risotto combo one that always works. The bite of spelt grains adding something different.

My main course of Northumberland flat iron steak, with Béarnaise Sauce is a classic, (18.50). This cut of meat presented carved into neat pink slithers. Char-grilled and rich in flavour. It was served with heritage potato chips that had a real memory-lane flavour to them.

I was even prepared to share my plentiful plate of langoustines. Greedy me would never normally be so generous set menu which has a guaranteed haste to it - making it the ideal business lunch venue too. At £19.95 for two courses and glass of wine, it seems a good deal.

We however had less haste and time to savour the house menu, which is when I got very excited about the langoustines. I love them, the sweet, juicy little devils, they are too rare a treat so it was a thrill to see a starter of grilled langoustines with garlic mayo find their way to the menu (£9.95).

Better still, though you expect maybe four or five, when the plate arrives, there I was faced with ten or so long-limbed chaps, all well-prepared so there was no wrestling with the spiky bits. They’d just touched the pan so they were meltingly soft, super-fresh and just coloured as they bathed in a pool of buttery jus into which I dipped some lovely oven-fresh, home-made bread.

I was even prepared to share them with my husband. Greedy me would never normally

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Our other main course was whole grilled plaice with Caroll’s Heritage Aura potatoes, capers and burnt butter. (£19.50). More classic flavour combinations here showing a neatness of touch from a skilful kitchen.

We shared a dessert, salted caramel and chocolate tart (£5), which we had with ice-cream rather than the menu’s bitter chocolate sorbet. It was far lighter in texture than it looked - almost moussey and pleasingly refreshing as a result.

This was a lunch well-done. It is an occasion lunch certainly – with drinks you are talking about a significant spend but that set menu would make it an easy return every week.

Smiley staff, crisply laundered tables and attention to detail make for a memorable time. Worth it for the spiky shellfish alone.

Jesmond Dene House, Jesmond Dene Road, Newcastle upon Tyne www.jesmonddenehouse.co.uk

A different breed.

28 day aged, native breed beef to be exact.

The new Marco Pierre White Steakhouse Bar & Grill in Newcastle offers its customers an ultra modern dining experience in his first ever North East restaurant, serving locally-sourced produce and delicious cocktails in a cosy yet vibrant setting.

The Steakhouse Bar & Grill offers Marco’s own brand of affordable glamour and brings a bright new dining experience for even the most experienced of North East food lovers.

Marco Pierre White Newcastle @MPW_Newcastle t. 0191 300 9222 www.mpwsteakhousenewcastle.co.uk

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The numbers game Paul Kitching is a Gateshead lad who has gone from pot-washer to food superstar with a penchant for ‘kooky deconstruction’ in his kitchen. Kathryn Armstrong met up with him in Edinburgh In conversation with chefs before heading off to interview Paul Kitching, the mention of his name generally elicits a wry smile, eyes skywards and a definite sense of ‘good luck with that’. But always the words ’lovely guy’.

Peruse some reviews, write-ups and trade chat about him and words like ‘zany’ and ‘madcap’ crop up. Paul is a creative kitchen adventurer who was wildly experimenting with food long before Heston had touched his first test-tube.

He was the only chef in the UK to be awarded a coveted fourth AA Rosette this year, one of a select handful in the country to hold one. He has held a Michelin star at this Edinburgh restaurant since 2010 and before that at Juniper in the North West.

That Heston made a recent visit to Paul’s restaurant in Edinburgh is evidence, if it’s needed, that Kitching’s kitchen remains a place of pilgrimage for the food elite.

So you expect a tricky, tight-lipped, artistic sort when you turn up to meet him. Or an ego. Or both.

His place of business is 21212, a restaurant with rooms in Edinburgh that he, partner Katie O’Brien and his investors ploughed £4.5 million into, restoring the stunning four-storey Georgian townhouse to striking style.

We meet in the hotel’s first floor lounge which is opulent and comfortable. It’s very cool too. There’s a private area with a cream leather curved seating booth, flamboyant wall mural and floor to ceiling windows with views to the water – it’s got pleasure palace written all over it.

I’m leafing through a photograph album, with pictures charting the renovation of the property, when Paul comes bounding in.

Perhaps unexpectedly he has the manner and charm of a puppy, eager-to-please, leaning over for a welcome hug then settling down on the sofa, all excited to be indulged in talk of the North East for a while.

He is clearly neither ego nor sociopath. No unpredictable creative here. He has a shock of bedhead hair, a slight build and looks as though he lives on his nerves. He’s wearing his chef’s trousers with a blue v-neck sweater and Scotland-logoed body warmer.

From a safety pin on his apron hangs a bunch of elastic bands which act as his worry beads.

‘A canny bloke’ might be the phrase we’re looking for as he instantly gets stuck into chat about his love for Newcastle; the football team, anything to do with Terry Laybourne and the little chap in the Bigg Market who sells dressed crab he catches from his own boats.

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He returns to the city as often as he can and cites his best meal ever as one eaten a year or so ago in Broad Chare, Laybourne’s Quayside gastropub.

“Peas on toast. Petit pois, a poached egg then shavings of Comte cheese with a bottle of Cantillon Gueuze Lambic beer.

Paul’s first memory of Terry Laybourne’s assault on the food scene in Newcastle goes back to when he was a chef at the Michelin-starred Gidleigh Park in Devon more than 20 years ago.

“I remember the chef saying, with a hint of disbelief, that there was a restaurant in Newcastle that had just got a Michelin star and I remember thinking, ‘wow’. I went to Terry’s 21 Queen Street and had his famous ham hock and pease pudding terrine. It was a revelation – and I remember that the petit fours were like boiled sweets wrapped in paper, it was something so different then.”

In the food he serves today, Paul likes wit and a lack of pretence. He plays with flavours, judging them, or so it seems with the sense of a scientist; you might call him something of a flavoursmith.

On one plate there will be an explosion of flavours – he gesticulates with a snappy, ‘pow, pow, pow’ to suggest food sparking into life when it reaches your mouth.

Definitely he is a creative food force. When he went to work at the acclaimed Juniper restaurant in Cheshire, the advert famously called for “An artistic person with an open mind, flair and imagination for new concept in cooking.”

The collaboration with Juniper gained a Michelin star and he stayed there until heading for this Scottish food adventure.

His and Katie’s aim is to make eating his

Photograph: Nicky Rogerson from Relish Scotland

www.relishpublications.co.uk

people

“We are all about taking away the silly bloody bonkers paraphernalia, the rigmarole of a really posh restaurant”

in the mix

Pa ul K itchi ng 21212

A childhood food memory: Heinz sponge sultana pudding – the one you cooked in a pan of boiling water. Topped with Tip Top. When I was at school I didn’t eat meat or fish – I liked the thick skin on the custard.

Last thing you cooked/ate: Weetabix with hot water and salt.

Favourite food city: Newcastle. Really I hate travelling. Went to Marrakech last year. Liked the orange juice stalls in the centre.

I loved the tagines and all the dried fruits. I loved the cooking of things like wood pigeon with prunes and apricots.

Best meal: Terry Laybourne’s peas on toast at Broad Chare.

Food heroes: Keith Floyd and I admire Rick Stein’s passion.

Fantasy dinner party: I would cook it and I would invite Marco, Raymond, Sat, Gordon, Terry and Nick, Elvis, Marx brothers, Winston Churchill, Otis Redding, WC Fields.

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Lunch

food a fun, laid-back experience which is pretty much the opposite of what you expect from a food establishment like this, especially in sometime dour Edinburgh.

He is among the food elite in a city which boasts the most Michelin-starred restaurants outside of London. The likes of Tom Kitchin and Martin Wishart attract the foodies northwards and Paul loves being part of this gang.

“Tom’s food is robust, deep and meaningful, Martin is delicate and precise.

I am manic and sensitive”, he concludes.

As a man brought up on tinned sponge puddings, he likes the idea of sending shockwaves through a fussy food establishment.

The concept of the 21212 menu – two dishes on the starter, main course and dessert courses reflect the restaurant’s name and a simplistic approach.

“I was bored stiff with a la carte menus that changed three times a year – and with the whole rigmarole of a really posh restaurant offering 20 starters, 20 main courses.

“It was about taking away the ‘upitselfness’, we didn’t want all that silly bloody bonkers paraphernalia. We want it to be friendly and for the customer to be most important.”

He would love to see a Michelin restaurant in Newcastle once again but concedes that his reason for heading to Scotland was because he wanted to play ‘on a bigger stage’.

“My brief coming here was to be better and this is a bigger stage to play on. It is a major capital city – it was here or London and I am too thin-skinned for London. In Edinburgh you are part of the place and in London there is no chance of that. This is a big little city – or a little big city.

Everywhere is good – we have great restaurants like the Cally, the Balmoral.“ He knows he couldn’t do what he does in Newcastle, much as he loves the place, ”In Edinburgh people want to go out on a Friday and Saturday and have a great meal. In Newcastle people go to bars, go dancing, have a great time – they don’t want to go to a three-star poncey restaurant.

“There are people who could get a star, Terry or Kenny Atkinson – I love Rockliffe.

We took the place over for a weekend for a family wedding. “ Edinburgh suits what he does because visitors from across the world see him in the guidebooks and come and see and

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Paul is a creative kitchen adventurer who was wildly experimenting with food long before Heston had touched his first test-tube

appreciate what he does.

“It is nice to be nice”, he says.

And he is nice. He’s humble and generous and desperately keen to please.

You believe him when he says that a bad review on Trip Advisor (one out of hundreds of glowing ones), “Breaks me into little pieces I am fragile. Every dish is part of me.”

His team is a tight, family-like one. Paul and his team of seven chefs includes his sous chef from Juniper Kate Johnson. He encourages an informal approach in the restaurant as befits the arrival of duck-shaped plates and pre-dessert smoothies served in those weeny paper milk cups you see in budget hotel breakfast bars.

“My need is to make people happy and so it is essential that I get it right. I have spent 30 years thinking about it – food taste and flavour are the same thing to me.”

His approach to menus is fascinating. On a Sunday afternoon, after watching the football on TV or even staying up all night to watch cricket he takes to his corner table in the restaurant with a bottle of Pol Roger champagne, ‘gets moody’ and creates his menus for the week ahead.

The process is a cross between the scientist and the artist. He shows me a sheaf of papers that are covered in bold bright drawings of the dishes he will be

preparing.

He refers to the movie Minority Report, referencing what is essentially a ‘grid’ of foods in his head – he will focus on one then bring in other flavours to see if they will ‘play’ with the main one, if not he will discard it then bring in another taste or ingredient.

His visualisation of flavour through his champagne-fuelled picture menus include scribblings of ingredients and a description of menus, which his sous chef Kate then translates into the dishes that will be served that week – seasonality being vital. And no he says, it doesn’t happen without the champagne.

“It is about balance and counter balance, a degree of alchemy, always a need to find a dish that will please and make people happy”, says the man addicted to apple-flavoured Hubba Bubba.

21212 Dinner menu, £65. Five course gourmet menu consists of a choice of two dishes on the starter, main course and dessert menu. Lunch menu priced from £25 per person offers diners the flexibility to choose from a 2, 3, 4 or 5 course menu. www.21212restaurant.co.uk

You have to put your thinking head on for lunch at 21212. It’s a bit like embarking in a food adventure where you need your wits about you.

Every dish is a great talking point and it’s fun to see what the plate will bring – it will not be like anything you’ve tried before.

Surroundings are gorgeously opulent with soft bluey-grey walls and curvy furniture – the kitchen is visible beyond a glass panel so you can see the meticulous goings-on, all very calm and orderly.

Staff are young, chirpy and unstuffy, knowing their stuff and you can tell, loyal and proud of where they are.

To the food: menu choices reveal an embarrassment of food riches. Within my starter dish of creamy crab, exotic mushrooms and lentil risotto there were also to be found tastes of; cauliflower pasta and pineapple; white fresh crab egg mayonnaise, caviar and chives; brown crab sauce and mushroom puree, truffle and basil.

You can see how it could all go horribly wrong in the wrong hands. The plate arrives piled up with expectation and the need to really think about every forkful you take, getting your brain into gear to really taste what is going on. It is good entertainment value but also, if you are into your food, a real insight into the power play of tastes, ingredients and balance.

Warming Winter Meats brought out Scotland’s Big three. The Haggis, black and white pudding. Cumberland sausage, streaky bacon braised chicken leg. Crispy fried ham, parsnips, yellow courgettes. Pecans, puff pastry, parsley butter sauce and egg pancake. It looks as delicate as can be with gentle tastings of all the ingredients.

A main course of beef fillet, pictured, was joined by Scottish ‘roots’, a moreish corn beef cube and unexpected capers and dried cherries.

Slow-baked smoked haddock and jumbo scallops made friends with winter greens, spinach, mangetout and leek. Then a dash of lemon cous cous with chilli and pinenuts and red pimento. Dill mayonnaise, French beans, little prawns and celery also playing a part.

Paul says that dried fruits are among his favourite ingredients. A plate of North African flavours and desserts showed them to great effect with vanilla and honey rice pudding, date sponge, strawberry and mint juice, sultanas, strawberry and apricot compote.

A fun flourish at the end is the arrival of your coffee – milk in a cow jug makes you smile then the coffee arrives in insulated paper cups. Food with chuckle vision.

3 Royal Terrace, Edinburgh, EH7 5AB, 0845 22 21212

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supper club

Sky high

There are plenty of ‘top of the world’ restaurants dotted across the globe.

Handily, SIX at Baltic is the one on our doorstep with a location that rivals many.

The vista of River Tyne and its glowing, colourfully-lit bridges plays out at night against a moving show of car headlights and ripples on the water.

Find yourself in the restaurant’s top floor private dining area with its floor-to-ceiling windows facing the curvy, shiny Sage next door and you will realise that your starter is not a plate of food but a discussion about the view.

Not to mention a canapé of capturing the view with your camera phone, only to realise that the result is nothing more than a blinding flash reflected on the glass!

Head in the clouds for some private dining at SIX

Normally the room is a bar area where it is mad not to linger with a cocktail, but set up for private dining, it is a foxy spot.

It takes a glass of Laurent Perrier to tear us away from the view and enjoy canapés of rye bread and salmon, onion tartlets and chicken skewers.

Chef Johnny Davis is at the helm in the kitchen and the private dining menu is a pared down version of the restaurant’s a la carte menu.

We are a group of 12 and with five main courses, starters and desserts to choose from, we pretty much get to grips with every dish on the menu.

A starter of fillet of beef carpaccio is disappointing. We know it is meant to be wafer thin but this is scraping off the plate thin and seems a bit miserly. The beef gets a bit lost in the more bountiful mounds of

celeriac and apple remoulade. It is handy to be able to reach for the fresh French bread.

A pick of the table would be the substantial smoked haddock brandade with a soft boiled egg and buttery chive sauce – the ‘wish I’d ordered that’ option.

Bowls of field mushroom soup arrive looking marvellous – richly coloured and grainy with fresh green herbs and a flourish of chive cream. Great flavour but lukewarm says our tasting panel.

Praise however, for potted salmon and its colourful beetroot mousse.

When your view is the Tyne and the shiny Sage next door, you realise the starter is not food but a discussion of that view When main courses come around there is more food envy going on. 10oz Wallington Hall rib-eye steaks look impressive – an inch deep, chargrilled outside and medium rare pink within. They’re topped with roast garlic and rosemary butter for a bit of punch and served with crisp, fluffy-within handcut chips.

A fillet of sea bream is served on a thick and un-soupey ‘broth’ of what the menu says are butter beans but I think are smaller haricots. A really nice combination nevertheless – with chunks of salty chorizo in there and some fresh spinach.

On the plate next to me a juicy, confit duck leg is served on more beans – these are braised white beans and livened up with chunks of Toulouse sausage hiding beneath.

Though we all enjoy our main courses, the ‘I

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want that’ dish might well have been a good-looking chunk of cod with a perky chowder of peppers, mussels, basil and saffron.

Dipping into dessert and a white chocolate cheesecake is light and easy-going with its soft layer of raspberry jelly and a nugget of lemon sorbet. The ‘ooh’ gasp goes to the very pretty Braeburn apple and blackberry crumble with a chunky granola-like topping and good blob of vanilla ice-cream.

There are some struggles going on with the choice of treacle tart – it is never a fork’s

best friend but this one seems to want to fly across the table at every attempt – though judged chewy and sweet once captured in the mouth!

And we find a chocoholic raving about the Valhrona brownie with pistachio ice-cream.

In many ways, a meal just like our surroundings; great heights and some lows.

Private dining menu, £32.50 per head www.sixbaltic.com In association with DWF LLP

www.dwf.co.uk

MAR/APR13

On the menu: Chicken Sheerah Curry leaves and yoghurt are key players in this easy Punjabi curry sauce.

What it’s got going for it: A nice healthy curry, especially if you use chicken or fish as the base.

The trick A puree of garlic and ginger add some punch at the start and it is worth getting hold of fresh curry leaves which add a nice fragranced touch.

Ingredients

Curry classroom with Bob Arora

Saturday afternoons mean a feast of crisps on the couch but that’s Alan Shearer’s only food vice. The football man gets to grips with a pan for a curry masterclass

Serves 2 3 onions, chopped 2 1/2 tsp oil 5 fresh curry leaves 1 tsp coriander seeds 2 1/2 tsp garlic and ginger puree blended with a pinch of salt and a little oil and water 1/2 tsp turmeric 1/2 tsp chilli powder 1/4 tsp garam masala 1 chilli if you want more heat 1 tomato 1/2 pint water 3 tbsp natural yoghurt 1 tsp tomato puree

Method Heat the oil in a frying pan and add the onion, garlic and ginger puree followed by the spices and gently cook down for five minutes. Add splashes of water if the mix looks too dry. You should have a thick sauce.

Chop the tomato and add to the spice mixture and cook until it is soft and blended into the sauce. Add fresh chilli at this point if you like extra heat.

Add cubes of diced chicken to the pan and heat through on a low heat, mixing until the chicken is cooked through and has taken on the colour of the spices and flavour. Remove from the heat.

Mix the natural yogurt and tomato puree together. This needs to be added to the hot pan and stirred in – you should not heat the mixture now or the yoghurt will separate.

Garnish with fresh coriander and serve immediately with rice and naan bread.

Does he hit the motorway services for a Krispy Kreme doughnut or sneaky takeaway?

It’s fair to say that Alan Shearer and a frying pan are not natural companions.

As much as he loves a curry the reality is that in general it is brought to the table by someone else rather than a home-made labour of love from his own kitchen.

But he’s up for the idea of a curry masterclass with his good pal Bob Arora at Sachins in Newcastle.

Alan and his family have been regulars at the restaurant for years, “Lamb makahani and chicken dhal are their favourites”, pipes up Bob. However, this is the first time the footballing

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god has gone anywhere near the ingredients himself, you can tell by the way he gingerly holds the spoon and stirs the sauce – and the way he doesn’t attack the sauce mixture that gathers around the sides of the pan.

Still, he is an enthusiastic amateur. We meet on a Monday after one of Alan’s busy TV weekends. His working life involves much to-ing and fro-ing up and down the nation’s motorway.

Weekend television for Match of the Day happens in Manchester and he usually gets back home to Newcastle in the early hours of Sunday to be able to watch son Will play football.

Tuesday or Wednesday Alan might head back

down to London for more punditry on Al Jezeera TV. Is that when he hits the motorway service stations for a sneaky burger takeaway or Krispy Kreme doughnut?

Funnily enough no. He is no junk food junkie.

“I have never had to worry about how much I eat but I do like curry, quite spicy - Italian and Chinese food. I am lucky that I travel a lot and eat out at good restaurants – places in Doha and Dubai stand out.

“Saturday afternoon it is a case of lots of cups of tea, chocolate and crisps but that’s the only time I eat rubbish”, he laughs.

Alan is a fan of fish – blackened cod a favourite. He is fond of Asian style of cooking and a favourite restaurant is Zuma Japanese

in Knightsbridge.

When he is at home he’s had the luxury of a restaurant come to him – with Terry Laybourne and his right-hand man, Nick Shottel cooking and hosting a dinner after he bid for their services in a charity auction.

“Works both ways – it is something great for charity and we have good food and company.”

That’s when he dips into the wine cellar. He’s a big wine fan, has a decent cellar and loves malbec and sauvignon varieties.

He doesn’t really rate the North East’s restaurants compared with places like Manchester or London – apart from this curry favourite.

“I love it when Bob just brings over a plate of

MAR/APR13

in the mix Clare Armstrong heads up the pastry team at Terry Laybourne’s 21 Hospitality Group where baking and pastry production has stepped up since the opening of Broad Chare pub in Trinity Gardens.

She leads a team producing desserts – from cakes, biscuits, chocolate, sorbets and ice-creams to a range of breads from sourdoughs and baguettes to burger buns, walnut and raisin bread and focaccia – for the group’s restaurants that include Café 21, Café 21 at Fenwick, The Broad Chare pub, Caffe Vivo and Bistro 21 in Durham.

A childhood food memory: Sunday afternoon bake days - real afternoon tea, loads of homemade cakes scones and plate pies.

A favourite family dish: Mam’s Sunday roast dinner.

A meal that inspired you: Le Louis XV Alain Ducasse Monte Carlo - the desserts blew me away.

A wine that inspires you: Sauternes - great to drink and for using in summer fruit desserts.

A restaurant wine list you return to time and again: New Rendezvous in Ponteland.

An inspirational chef: The late, great professor John Huber, King of Pastry.

The last food you ate: Seven year-old Havana rum Bratwurst sausage.

Your last food and wine would be: Melted raclette cheese on toasted sourdough and crispy onions.

Favourite food and wine city: It has to be Melbourne - so much to choose from and so diverse as well as with great local wines.

Favourite ingredient: Good quality dark chocolate.

The wine or dish you would pass on to your children: Traditional Sunday roast: great for quality family time together.

Cl are Arm stron g 21 Ho spitality Group

At the stove Alan is an enthusiastic amateur - a big fan of Indian food and keen to learn starters - it might be monkfish, lamb chops, salmon – it’s always great.”

We get on to the subject of memorable meals. Alan recalls when he was a boy their house was one where dad’s tea was on the table, ‘five minutes after he got home from work’.

He loved his Sunday lunch and even today that remains a favourite. But his most memorable meal was also the most nerve-wracking.

MAR/APR13

“I had lunch with the Queen and I was petrified”, he laughs.

“It was certainly memorable – although I can’t remember the food – it was a charity lunch for the military and I was there with Lesley Garratt and others – I will never forget it and would never be blasé - it was certainly memorable.”

Bob Arora owns Sachins, Forth Bank, Newcastle www.sachins.co.uk

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Masterclass with Terry Laybourne

Making your own Easter eggs doesn’t make any economic sense whatsoever but in terms of job satisfaction it rates ten out of ten! Here’s a step-by-step guide to the basic technique, which is incredibly simple. All you need are; some really good chocolate, a mould or two, which are now readily available from shops like Lakeland, a piece of marble or granite and a spare hour or two. The eggs can be finished as simply or as elaborately as you wish and are even better filled with homemade chocolates.

Homemade Easter Eggs 700g Best quality dark chocolate (minimum 53% coco solids) (for two eggs) Edible gold leaf Plastic Easter egg moulds Miniature chocolate bar mould Cotton wool Marble slab

1 Microwave chocolate using 50% power at 20 second intervals. Mix well stir between each interval

3 Half-fill a small piping bag with the chocolate

8 Half fill the moulds with the melted chocolate

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2 Remove just before fully melted and mix well until smooth

4 Pipe the melted chocolate into fine lines onto a marble slab that has been in the freezer for a couple of hours

9 Swirl the chocolate around the inside of the mould to give an even coating

5 Immediately pull the strands of chocolate together

10 Invert the mould over a bowl and tap the side with a palette knife to remove excess chocolate

6 Form a nest and leave to set completely. This is the nest the egg will sit on

11 Clean any excess chocolate from the base of the mould. Turn moulds upside down onto a tray and leave to set preferably overnight

7 Polish the inside of the egg moulds with cotton wool to obtain maximum shine and place upside down on the work surface

12 Place pieces of gold leaf into chocolate bar moulds using a fine paint brush

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13

14

Spoon in enough melted chocolate to fill the mould

17

Run a palette knife over the top to remove any excess. Leave to set slightly, turn upside down and tap the mould gently to loosen the chocolate bar

18

Sandwich the two halves together

16

15 Hold the mould in one hand and extract the egg with the other

Warm a baking tray very very gently (just warm). Deposit the eggs onto the tray using gloves to avoid fingerprints. Move around the tray until the chocolate begins to soften

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Sit the egg into the chocolate nest

Pipe a small spot of chocolate onto the egg to attach two chocolate bars

Happy Easter!

Whatever you’re celebrating, make sure you do it in style...

Whether you are celebrating a birthday, engagement, anniversary, child’s christening, or any special occasion let us take care of all the little details to make it a memorable day.

Set in modern contemporary surroundings, in a perfect city centre location, our function rooms cater for events of all sizes from intimate gatherings to large parties.

Special occasion packages available from only ÂŁ9.95 per person.

Call us on 0191 372 7200 for more information.

Twitter@radissondurham

Facebook.com/radissondurham

www.radissonblu.co.uk/hotel-durham HOTEL, DURHAM

MAR/APR13

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Veg patch with Karen Phillips This time of year brings mounting excitement for the gardener; warm days and lengthening light hours instigate a whirlwind of activity

Once the ground has warmed up, sowing can begin. I like to try out some new contenders: anything that will taste great or look good

simply sprinkle on any bare ground and leave to their own devices. This poppy differs in not having the ‘pepper-shaker’ seed head which disperses that newly made seed in the wind.

Dwarf Early Pea ‘Junos’: perfect for the smaller garden, or even for growing in large pots, this dwarf pea hails from the Czech Republic so is super hardy and can be sown from mid-Feb to late May. Preparing an Asparagus Bed Asparagus: one of the most expensive vegetables to buy and one of the easiest to grow if you get the conditions right; a small investment now will pay dividends in years to come. Careful preparation and siting of the bed is essential for success. We used to live in South Wales and had access to a plentiful supply of asparagus from the farms sited close to the nearby sand dunes – you’ll get the picture when I mention that ‘Lawrence of Arabia’ was filmed here! A sunny site and free-draining soil are essential so if your garden soil is on the heavy side and often waterlogged consider making a slightly raised bed and filling it with coarse grit and organic matter. Buy 1 year old asparagus crowns, preferably an all-male variety, and soak them for an hour before planting immediately in groups of 3s or 5s with 30cm between each plant. Odd spears can be cut in their second year but from year 3 onwards several spears can be

cut from each plant. Always leave a few spears from each crown to grow on to provide nutrients for the plant for the following year and give the bed an annual feed with blood, fish and bonemeal each spring.

Jobs in the greenhouse....

Lengths of sawn off plastic gutter pipes in the greenhouse allow a wealth of different salad leaves to be grown side by side within a very small space: Crisp Mint, Flashy Butter Oak, Really Red Deer Tongue and Emerald Oak are just a few varieties that you won’t find in the supermarket!

Red Celery: this cold-resistant strain of celery needs to be started off in the greenhouse, or on a sunny windowsill, and planted out in a block in mid-summer when the temperatures won’t drop below 10 degrees.

Tomatoes, chillies, peppers, aubergines and, as an experiment, tomatillos have already been sown since they need a long season in order to provide a decent crop. Hurry or you’ll miss the boat.

Looking Ahead....

Next issue we’ll be starting to reap the benefits of our earlier sowings; planting Florence Fennel and Chinese Stem Broccoli; and raving about a much undervalued English fruit: the humble gooseberry.

Upcoming events @Widehaugh House Grow Your Own Cut Flowers 24 April 2013 Tubs of tulips, goblets of gladioli and buckets full of blooms - this course provides all the info needed to start growing your own cut flowers at home or on an allotment. The course culminates in a demonstration by a local florist of practical ways to showcase your wonderful harvest.

Time: 10am – 3.30pm. Including morning coffee/cakes and a 2-course lunch. £75

Rich Pickings....

Forced rhubarb: the few stems spared from being turned into vodka schnapps have been enjoyed gently poached and then served atop a crunchy pavlova.

Parsnip: this year’s plentiful crop of parsnips was dug up after the first frosts and stored in boxes of sand in the garage.

Over time they’ve been roasted, made into soups or simply grated and made into parsnip bhajis; my mouth is starting to water at the memory of those sweet, crisp delights.

Pea tips: an early sowing of peas in guttering in the greenhouse has provided a welcome crop of delicious pea tips to toss in salads or mix with a crispy bacon and broad bean salad.

Jobs outside....

Once the ground has warmed up sufficiently (look for a rash of weed seedlings to indicate warm enough soil temperatures) sowing in earnest can begin. Along with the

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The Virgin Gardener Friday 26 April 2013 usual vegetable stalwarts I like to try out some new contenders; anything that will taste great or look decorative in the kitchen is a must.

Purple Autumn Cauliflower ‘Sicilia Violetto’ can be sown thinly in a seedbed in April/May and then thinned to 10cm apart or, for less effort, modular sow in the greenhouse. When they are about 15cm tall transplant them to their final positions, leaving 45cm between plants.

Kale ‘Sutherland’: Forward planning is required for this extremely hardy and resilient heirloom variety which has an excellent flavour. Sow as detailed above and you’ll be enjoying the pinnacle of comfort food: colcannon; whilst viewing a pretty veggie patch in winter to boot.

Breadseed Poppy: when I came across this seed I nearly jumped for joy at the thought of the money I would save on buying poppy seeds to sprinkle over homemade bread. I sow lots of ornamental poppies in the garden since they are such great in-fillers;

Daunted by your garden? Don’t know your daffodils from your dahlias? Unravel the mysteries of propagation & pruning, ‘shake hands with your soil’ and most importantly identify plants that will flourish in your garden. You’ll leave with the confidence to start a garden from scratch or adapt an established one to suit your style.

Time: 10am – 4pm. Including morning coffee/cakes and a 2-course lunch. £75

Pots & Containers 16 May 2013 Learn how to ring the changes with suitable plants for all the seasons: bowls of bulbs for spring; colourful containers overflowing with flowers for summer; and showy evergreens to cheer us through the winter. Bring along a favourite container and learn how to plant it up for a stunning summer display. This practical workshop includes a demonstration of how to plant up a hanging basket.

Time: 10am – 3.30pm. Including morning coffee/cakes and a 2-course lunch. £80

The Herb Garden 21 May 2013 If you’re a keen cook you’ll be contributing to the £46 million spent on herbs annually in the UK! If you fancy saving some money on your weekly shop; using handfuls of herbs rather than teaspoons; and discovering varieties that the shops don’t sell then join us on this gardening/cookery workshop.

Time: 10am – 3.30pm. Including morning coffee/cakes and a 2-course lunch. £80 For full details of all our courses visit: www.widehaughhouse.co.uk

MAR/APR13

Tasting the wild Food foraging with Chris Bax It’s a good reed Some wild plants are so good it’s hard to believe that we do not cultivate them. Many of the plants we forage are used to add flavour and interest to our diet but some have the potential to provide significant quantities of nutrition as well as flavour.

One such plant is Reedmace, often known as Bulrush.

You will know the plant I am talking about.

It is the tall grass-like plant that grows in ponds and forms brown, cigar-like seed heads at the top of tall stems. It is easy to find, but before you dive in and start harvesting it, I should just say that the environment in which it grows is often protected and you should seek permission first.

Reedmace is a very versatile culinary plant and offers up different types of food at different times of the year.

In late spring we eat the tender, immature flower heads when they are still sheathed on the stem-like narrow sweetcorn and these are definitely worth seeking out. In summer you can even harvest pollen from the flowers to bake with, but this is probably a task reserved for the truly dedicated.

Best of all is to harvest the new shoots in

MAR/APR13

spring. They are crunchy, moist and delicious and can be served raw or cooked. To harvest the shoots you really need to get your feet (and arms) wet!

The time to get them is when the leaves are standing about 50-80cm out of the water. Follow the leaves to their base and cut them off

as close to the roots as possible. The cut base looks rather like leek but made up of tiny ‘cells’ like the picture below. You really only use the bottom 20cm of the shoot, and you want to make sure the woody flowering stem has not started to grow so that the shoot is not chewy.

Following the old saying ‘what grows together goes together’ I love the combination of the crispy raw shoots with

fish. Combined with lightly smoked trout, wild greens and edible flowers the Reedmace shoots make a great salad.

The recipe here is for a slightly more fancy restaurant version, designed by my friend John Rogers, the executive chef of Rosemary Shrager’s cookery school. Tastes as good as it looks!! www.tastethewild.co.uk

Smoked trout and Reedmace shoot salad with wild leaves.

Serves 4 as a starter or light lunch Ingredients 200g lightly smoked trout, roughly flaked 3x 10cm pieces raw Reedmace shoot, washed well and thinly sliced 3 handfuls of salad leaves.

We used wild ones; Chickweed, Cleavers, Wood sorrel and Bittercress but any small salad leaves will do.

100g/5oz watercress leaves, washed, roughly chopped 3 ice cubes 1 tbsp water

Method Make a watercress puree (you can just add some nice peppery watercress or rocket to your salad). Bring a saucepan of salted water up to a rolling boil then add watercress and cover the pan with a lid. Once the water has returned to the boil, drain the watercress immediately, refresh under cold water and drain once more. Blend the drained watercress in a food processor with the ice cubes and water. Turn the motor off and scrape a spatula down the insides of the food processor at intervals, then blend again, until the mixture forms a smooth purée. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Take four serving bowls or plates and put a pool of puree in the middle of each, arrange three teaspoons of creme fraiche on top of the puree followed by the trout and thinly sliced Reedmace shoots. Finally top with edible flowers and leaves. Dress with a drizzle of lemon juice just before serving.

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Drink

with Robin Winterschladen The forthcoming Easter holidays are an opportunity to spend time with friends and family. Why not relax together with a glass of Australian wine from the Turkey Flat boutique distillery, or to really celebrate perhaps choose a rose champagne? Saint Patrick’s Day on March 17 is the perfect excuse to sample an Irish whiskey.

Ja m es Burto n Va llu m Cooking

in the mix James Burton’s face became a familiar one on the most recent Masterchef; The Professionals series where he reached the final three.

He’s a chef and forager based in Northumberland where he owns Vallum Cooking.

Working as a professional private chef he cooks for private events such as shooting parties.

James trained in Darlington and cooked from an early age. He has he says, wandered the hedgerows from an early age having a veggie garden from being a boy.

He moved to Worcestershire to work in a small hotel then to Yorkshire to work at Rudding Park’s Clocktower restaurant.

He moved out to Australia, working at Level 41, in Sydney and for a large event caterer in Melbourne. Back in the UK he ‘sort of fell into’ private cooking in sporting lodges. Doing this he got to use the freshest of ingredients; “Salmon just out of the river, fish and shellfish straight from day boats, wild mushrooms from the forests”.

When not cooking, he says: ”I’m out wildfowling in winter, gardening, mountain biking, or playing in the wilds of Scotland. With the odd ale session for good measure. I love British cider more than champagne and real ale more than wine.”

Following his Masterchef success he plans to take up the offer of restaurant ‘stages’ elsewhere to broaden his experience.

Childhood food memory: Onions hanging from beams to overwinter in the shed, the smell of chutneys.

A favourite family dish: Wild Pinkfoot goose, roast spuds, bread sauce, crab apple and rowan jelly.

A meal that inspired you: No meal has really inspired. I take my inspiration from the surrounding environment, and ingredients I find.

A wine that inspires you: Not wine but real ale, a Wylam, most things head brewer Ben creates. He is a true craftsman.

A restaurant/ wine list you return to time and again: I don’t eat out much, but the Rat Inn at Anick has great chips, good real ale, and good atmosphere - my local.

An inspirational chef: Fergus Henderson, not just for his food.

The last wine you drank and food you ate: Food; freshly shot wild mallard, greens and gravy. Wine; Chateau Pichon Loungueville Pouillac ‘98.

Your last food and wine would be: Roast sirloin, roasties, Yorkshire puds, cabbage, gravy, honey and mustard roast ‘snips. And it would have to be a pint of Wylam again.

Favourite food and wine city: Don’t really do cities, but Newcastle has some great eats, and real ale.

Favourite ingredient: Sika Deer.

The wine or dish you would pass on to your children: The art of food preservation.

TURKEY FLAT WINERY, BAROSSA VALLEY, AUSTRALIA This boutique winery is situated on the banks of Tanunda Creek in the heart of the Barossa Valley. Owners Peter and Christie Schulz are dedicated to making superb quality wines, many from some of the oldest vines in Australia.

Butcher’s Block White 2010 £11.99 This wine is made from a blend of 56% Marsanne, 32% Viognier and 12% Roussanne grapes. These are premium varieties which originate from the Rhone valley, where some of France’s finest wines are produced. They are fermented and aged in French oak barrels, producing a rich, aromatic, full-flavoured wine.

Butcher’s Block Red 2010 £11.99 This wine is made from a blend of Shiraz, Grenache and Mourvedre grapes, which are sourced from some of the original vines planted by Ernst Schultz. A big, powerful red, with lots of rich, distinctive fruit flavours.

Turkey Flat Rose 2012 £11.99 This rose is a blend of four classic grapes, Grenache, Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon and Dolcetto. It is a deep salmon pink colour with wonderful aromas of strawberry and raspberry. It is light, crisp and fresh, with lovely ripe fruit flavours.

CHAMPAGNE G. H. MUMM The von Mumms are one of Germany’s oldest noble families whose winemaking tradition was started by Peter Mumm in Cologne in 1761. Peter’s three sons recognised the sales potential of the excellent sparkling wines of Champagne and in 1827 Mumm Champagne was born. From the outset until the present day quality has been the key watchword for the estate.

mix it With George Liddle

MUMM ROSE CHAMPAGNE The substance of this wonderful rose is Cordon Rouge while its colour, a mixture of amber and crimson, comes from the addition of red wine selected from villages famed for their Pinot Noir. The blend is made up of 60% Pinot Noir, which provides not only the colour but also body and depth of flavour, 22% Chardonnay, which gives elegance and finesse, and 18% Pinot Meunier, which adds liveliness and fruitiness to the blend. The result is a well balanced champagne with rich, intense aromas of red fruits, a crisp acidity and a long finish characterised by power and elegance. Enjoy it as an aperitif or with food.

Mumm Rose Champagne £39.50 WILD GEESE IRISH WHISKEY Wild Geese Whiskey is made at the award winning Cooley Distillery in County Louth. The whiskey is named after the soldiers and refugees who were forced to flee to France following the defeat of James II at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690. They consequently became known as The Wild Geese.

The Wild Geese Classic Blend 50cl £18.99, (on offer £14.99) This is a superior blend of double distilled single malt and grain whiskies. These are unpeated and aged only in Bourbon casks. It has a light, sweet, fruity taste which is balanced and smooth. The grain comes through gently and it ends with a tingle of honey and citrus fruit with a clean crisp finish.

The Wild Geese Single Malt £49.50 A smooth single malt whiskey, finely balanced with excellent body. It is peppery and spicy with a hint of vanilla and malty oak and has a complex sweetness. The finish is long on the palate and very satisfying. This whiskey has been twice voted “best Irish whiskey” at the World Whisky Awards.

Robin Winterschladen is Wine Buyer for the Wine Shop at Fenwick Newcastle.

The sun is shining, shoots appear from the ground and we get our happy heads on. Try this refreshing fruit drink to wake your taste buds from the winter blues Spring Fever Recipe 25ml Kwai Feh liqueur 10ml Ginger wine Bottle of Fentimans rose lemonade Dash of pomegranate juice

Method Build into a highball glass the liqueur, the pure essence of fresh lychee fruit captured in a light, sweet, natural tasting drink. Add 10mls of ginger wine and a dash of pomegranate juice. Top it off with a cascade of Fentimans rose lemonade and garnish with rose jelly and lemon slice.

George is restaurant manager at Hotel Indigo, Newcastle

www.vallumcooking.co.uk

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MAR/APR13

Cook an Indian breakfast Spicy pleasures with Maunika Gowardhan Adding an extra chilli kick to start the day can never be a bad thing. I always say what a fantastic array of meals Indian food has to offer. We grew up in India with a variety of Indian spiced breakfast dishes. ‘Anda Bhurji’ or Indian spiced scrambled eggs, is the perfect addition to any weekend leisurely breakfast with chilli, turmeric and tomatoes. The recipe below is an absolute keeper and one that’s also served up on the streets of Mumbai for anyone vying for breakfast on the go amidst the chaos of the city!

My kitchen has had the gorgeous aroma of fresh spices for a few weeks now. I received a truck load of them from the Green Saffron Spice company. They stock a range of whole spices, chutneys and aged basmati rice too. A family-run business based in Ireland run by Arun Kapil, they source

authentic, traditional flavours from suppliers in India scouring the length and breadth of the subcontinent. Check out www.greensaffron.com I was recently invited to the opening of the local butcher shop in Gosforth. Headed by the lovely Charlotte Harbottle (www.charlottesbutchery.com) who was in FQ last edition.

Charlotte’s Butchery is all about service, quality meats and also one of the rare places I can get some fantastic offal too. Yes Indians do use offal in curries! And might I add she IS my new favourite meat supplier.

After so many sell out sessions of my Indian cookery class I have some new dates in April and May. So for all you curry lovers who have been making enquiries for more dates make sure to check out the website for details & bookings

www.maunikagowardhan.co.uk The evening includes a master class on curries and spices, recipes to take home, meal and wine and also a gift bag of chutneys and homemade blend of spices. The events page on the website will have all the information. Make sure to subscribe for more information on upcoming food events, demos and recipes too.

For recipes and snippets check out www.cookinacurry. co.uk or on twitter @cookinacurry for up to the minute food chat. If you have any food blog/news you’d like me to share get in touch info@cookinacurry.co.uk Maunika x

Anda Bhurji The ingredients are basic store cupboard stuff but culminate in a dish bursting with flavours. The moist eggs are spiced lightly with turmeric and chilli, fried in onions, coriander and tomatoes. A perfect recipe with a fiery kick.

Method In a bowl beat the eggs lightly and season with salt. Add the tomatoes, coriander and green chillies to the eggs, mix well and set aside. Heat oil in a non stick frying pan; cook the onions for a couple of minutes just so that they soften without much colour. Add the turmeric and chilli powder and fry for a further 30 seconds. Now add the egg mix and cook stirring for 2-3minutes until scrambled.

Season to taste and sprinkle over some lemon juice.

Serve warm piling up the bhurji on toast or even rolled in chapattis.

Ingredients 4 medium eggs 1 tbsp vegetable oil 2 tomatoes finely chopped 2 tbsp fresh coriander roughly chopped 2 green chillies (depending on how spicy you like it you can add more or less) 2 small onions finely chopped 1/2 tsp turmeric powder Pinch of chilli powder Salt to taste 1/2tsp lemon juice

” Year e h s r f T yea s Awards.

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Gourmet night special.

Sparkling wine & petit fours in your room upon arrival.

3 course dinner, bed and breakfast.

£129-£159

Wine Tasting, Dinner, Bed & Breakfast packages available from £165.00 N.B. Gourmet Nights are available Monday to Saturday. Dates of exception apply.

Choice of either Restaurant or Brasserie is dependant on day & availability.

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MONDAY - SATURDAY 11.30am - 2.30pm & 6.30pm - 10.30pm | SUNDAY - 12.00pm - 4.30pm

MAR/APR13

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XXXXXXXX LUXE LIFE

GEORGIE CRUDDAS

Georgie Cruddas was born and brought up in Northumberland and now lives ‘on a hill near Allendale’. She runs a charity offering support to women in Northumberland who have experienced domestic abuse at any time in their lives, SixtyEightyThirty LUXE PEOPLE >> Despite hearing daily of how women have struggled to cope with abusive relationships I love my work. My colleagues are a bunch of terrific women and you hear a lot of laughter in our offices. But best of all are the women who seek our support – they think they are weak but eventually they realise how strong they are to have survived some terrible experiences. It’s great to see them moving on to work, further education and generally enjoying life.

LUXE PLACES >> for a weekend > I’m not a fan of city life but one of my sisters lives in London so I enjoy going to see her and her kids. a long holiday > Another of my sisters lives in Australia and all the sisters got together there a few years ago. It’s about time we repeated the experience especially as one of them has a rare form of leukaemia. a treat > I’m told I’m a good cook but a real treat is always when someone else does it for me. So take me out for a wonderful meal and get someone else to do the driving.

LUXE RELAX >> Best food > I spent my infancy in India and it seems to have left me with a real penchant for Indian food. Not too spicy and I prefer vegetarian.

Best wine > Vintage champagne does the trick for me but it has to be a special occasion.

Favourite restaurant > Bouchon, Hexham.

Mein host, Greg, makes everyone feel welcome and gives them simple, beautifully cooked and delicious food.

Perfect weekend > I live with my husband and two ginger cats, Bill and Ben, who act like they are in charge of our lives. Being at home and in the garden is my idea of peace and tranquillity.

Downtime means > I started keeping bees last year and we now have a local group of people interested in beekeeping and improving the environment for bees. Tending to my bees is a wonderful antidote to stress.

Best telly > I have really enjoyed the Scandinavian dramas that have been shown over the past year. Homeland was good too.

Best book > Daddyji Mamaji by Ved Mehta.

I like the rhythm of this book and maybe it evokes memories for me.

Best sounds > I like the sounds of the countryside. Our garden is full of birds. I like the music of the sixties as well as opera Maria Callas in Puccini’s opera, Tosca has such emotional depth and range of ability.

fortnight at a health spa first to get me into shape for the experience.

Best buy > If I can find something I like in the sales that is greatly reduced I like it even more! So a Jaeger coat I bought recently that was half price + 20% off was a wonderful bargain.

LUXE PARTY >> A memorable night out > Been there, done that, far too often and would rather not do it again! Having said that I loved seeing Fascinating Aida at the end of last year with my husband, my daughter and her partner.

We laughed till we cried and then went for a meal out afterwards.

Perfect party > I love spending quality time with my children, stepchildren and granddaughters. They all lead busy lives so getting together for a meal is a good way to reconnect.

Best dress > Can I have one that makes me look slimmer?

Dinner date > Going out with my husband is always a treat. He comes out of his garage where he is restoring a 1934 MG PA, I leave work behind and we take time to catch up on the important things in life.

YOUR LUXE THING IN LIFE >> I work to live not live to work but SixtyEightyThirty’s work is very important to me. In November we celebrate the 10th anniversary. I want others to learn from the work that my colleagues do so that victims of domestic abuse will get top quality support.

SixtyEightThirty 01434 608030

LUXE SHOP >> Best shopping city > I hate shopping.

Having said that, Corbridge has some really friendly shops with a wide range of goods on offer.

Favourite shop > Sorella, Hexham – great for gifts that are different and always a friendly welcome from two sisters who own the shop, Moira Briddock and Liz Mortimer. (Sorella means sisters in Italian).

Luxe retail treat > My daughter is a good judge of what suits me so I would have her organise a personal shopper and the two of them could get my wardrobe sorted once and for all. Oh and maybe I should have a

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Main Image courtesy of GASP Photography www.gaspphotography.co.uk

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FROCK ON

Fashion’s retro fix

Newcastle’s fabulous annual fashion week strikes style into the city in May. Here’s how to play your part whatever your fashion decade

Fashion people your time is now. If there’s a glam granny or posing papa lurking in a fashionista family then it’s time for them to soar into the spotlight.

A new addition to the full-on seven-day NE1 Newcastle Fashion Week is Generations of Style, a quest to find the people who rocked the city’s style down the decades.

People of Newcastle are being encouraged to upload photos of themselves, their friends or members of their family cutting a dash in the fashions of the time – all before 1990.

The competition is a new addition to NE1’s Newcastle Fashion Week calendar launched in conjunction with Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums and Newcastle City Library and runs until 1 May. NE1 wants people to flick through their photo albums and show how fashionable Newcastle has been through the decades uploading their images on to the site for the opportunity to win NE1’s Newcastle Fashion Week prizes and be part of the hall of fashion fame which will be displayed at Newcastle City Library.

Entries will be judged by a fashionable team made up of Sandra Tang, NE1’s Newcastle Fashion Week Coordinator, Carolyn Ball of Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums and Sharon Reeve, Newcastle City Library. Five winning finalists will be chosen and will have their fashion photos enlarged and displayed in an exhibition

in the Atrium of Newcastle City Library.

The public will be encouraged to vote for their favourite.

Anyone unfamiliar with scanning and uploading images can also learn a new skill by popping into the city library where the staff will be able to help out.

Sandra Tang, organiser of NE1’s Newcastle Fashion Week explained: “We’re really excited about this year’s NE1’s Newcastle Fashion Week event and are hoping to unearth some key looks and fashionistas of yesteryear. Hunt down your old photos of stylish friends, family and show us your fashion looks through the ages.”

Carolyn Ball, of Tyne & Wear Archives, said: "The photographs in our Archive span the centuries of fashion from the 19th century right up to the present day.

I hope they'll inspire people to enter their own vintage fashions into the competition!"

The competition is just one of many exciting fashion events for the week-long

> Above, Dizzee Rascal at the last NFW closing party

bonanza now in its third year.

Celebrating all that’s great about Newcastle’s fashion scene from high street, designers, vintage and independents all brought together during one week in May. A major milestone fashion event will happen on each of the seven days with signature Fashion Week activities including the search for Newcastle’s Most Stylish. The street-style hunt will begin at the beginning of May with voting via NE1’s Newcastle Fashion Week’s Facebook page and regular updates on the www. getintonewcastle.co.uk/nfw website.

This year the event kick offs with Newcastle Fashion Weekend. NE1 will take over Northumbria University’s Student Union for Newcastle’s answer to the Clothes Show Live. The weekend will see catwalks themed as ‘Newcastle Loves…’ vintage; designer; high street all hosted by fashion personalities and celebrities.

Fashionistas will be able to satisfy their cravings for fashion and the hottest trends with shopping, catwalks, talks and stalls all under one roof. A packed two-day programme of fashion events will be staged at the venue.

University of Northumbria Graduate Fashion Show takes place on Tuesday 14 May at BALTIC. Other events include Fashion Front Row, The grand finale of NE1’s Newcastle Fashion Week event will be a closing party on Friday 17 May. www.getintonewcastle.co.uk/nfw

From flapper to maxi Have a Mad Men fashion moment at one of the region’s largest ever vintage clothing auctions The foxy fifties, extravagant eighties or the glamour of a forties cocktail party. There’s fashion joy to be had in all of them from pencil skirt to new romantic flounce.

No wonder then that the collection of fashion aficionado Anne Robson, set to go under the hammer in April, is causing a style stir for lovers of vintage clothing.

Some 500 items, ranging from formal Victorian through to pieces from the colourful and flamboyant 1980s, will be auctioned at Addisons in Barnard Castle on April 13 in what is said to be one of the largest collections of vintage clothing and accessories ever auctioned in the region.

Anne was a renowned dealer and discerning collector who had a successful vintage fashion shop in Barnard Castle. She amassed a huge volume of clothes and accessories reflecting the changing styles and tastes of the past 150 years.

There’s a real buzz about the collection, coming as it does at a time when the clamour for vintage clothing has never been stronger. Even A-lister celebs such as Kirsten Dunst, Reese Witherspoon and Sienna Miller can be found delving into thrift

42

> Above, A 1940’s evening dress, swinging sixties frocks and far left, tailored fifties elegance shop chic when they want a deliciously different glamour hit for the red carpet.

The event is expected to attract collectors and fashion enthusiasts, says organiser, Marella Darvill. “ We are expecting a huge amount of interest in the sale not only from vintage clothing collectors but also from fashion connoisseurs or those looking for an individual garment to wear for a special occasion.

“It really is an excellent opportunity to pick up something that cannot be found on the high street. The quality of workmanship in some of the pieces is astounding with intricate hand-stitching and superior tailoring that is often lacking in today’s world of mass production,” she added.

One of the key items is an evening dress made by Horrocks, During the 1950s, this Preston-based firm produced floral print and evening dresses that are timelessly stylish and among the best quality.

Marella adds, “This really is an amazing collection reflecting the lifelong enthusiasm of a remarkable lady. Here you will find everything from elegant

1920’s cocktail dresses to the miniskirts of the 1970’s. My personal favourite is a fabulous Horrockses Blue Iris evening dress.

Many of the garments have guide prices as low as £30 for a 1940’s cocktail dress. Other pieces in the sale such as vintage mink fur coats are expected to reach around £500. As well as clothing, there are also large numbers of shoes, hats and costume jewellery, enabling people to put together a whole look or ensemble.

Viewing for the sale will be held on Friday 12 April from 9.30am- 7pm and on the day itself from 8am until the start of the sale at 12noon.

As well as making bids in person at the sale or over the phone, Addisons offers an online bidding service via the-saleroom.com. Live auctions allow clients to watch the sale as it happens in real time and listen to the auctioneer via a live audio feed.

To view the catalogue and register for the sale please log on to www.the-saleroom.com/addisons. www.addisons-auctioneers.co.uk

MAR/APR13

52890 GW Metrocentre Fashion LIVE 13 Luxe Mag 342x245 06/03/2013 13:16 Page 1

intu.co.uk/metrocentre

Turn up, turn heads.

Fashion LIVE‘13 TOWN SQUARE 25-28 APRIL 2013

Can you be a FashioniSTAR? Fashion LIVE ‘13 is here and this year, we’re not only showing the latest styles and fashions from over 60 stores and boutiques, we’re on the lookout for you!

We’ve teamed up with Capital Radio and if you have the looks, the style and the swagger, then you could be the winner of our sleek new FashioniSTAR competition.

Fashion LIVE ‘13, in association with Hello! Magazine.

BLACK AND WHITE, YOUR FASHION BEST-FRIENDS. ALWAYS STYLISH, ALWAYS WEARABLE. COOL, CURRENT AND COVETABLE

MONOCHROME SET

SHARP SHOOTING

Shirt, Linea, £55. trousers, £65, Episode, House of Fraser. Top, £25, Miss Selfridge. Wedges, £85, necklaces, £7.50 each, Topshop

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MAR/APR13

SHARP SHOOTING

Helene Berman concealed placket swing coat £160, House of Fraser. felt hat £25, Topshop. gloves, £40 Dents, House of Fraser. bag, £40, Therapy, House of Fraser.

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MAR/APR13

SCANDI-SHOPPING

LIVE TO SHOP WITH WENDY GIBSON

Scandi-chic and made in Brit. Designers dominating the fashion scene once again.

And the holy grail of jeans Saturday nights for a while have been all about The Killing, The Bridge and Borgen. And fashion has been an unlikely beneficiary with the Scandinavians leading fashion cool.

The interest generated by Sarah Lund’s signature jumper, in The Killing, has translated to big bucks for the creators of the winning woolly, Faroe Islands based, Gudrun and Gudrun (www.gudrunandgudrun.com ), now selling the identical jumpers at 300 Euros a pop and counting everyone from Notting Hill Fashionistas, to the Duchess of Cornwall, as fans.

Ironically they look like the kind of homely, handmade jumpers your Granny could whip up in a weekend, but are now commanding waiting lists, and eye-popping prices.

And as for Borgen – Prime Minister Birgitte is now inspiring an army of business women to follow her ‘pony tail, power suits’ lead. Fellow character Hanne, a political reporter, is rocking the dressed-down Danish casual look while the PM takes scarves to the top of the accessories list. Closest match you’ll find are Danish favourite Beck Sondergaard – which I’ve been wearing for years – which are fun, bright, and distinctive.

Other winners of fashion’s love affair with the Scandinavians are of course Malene Berger – going from strength to strength, and celebrating ten years in the business this year, with ever more spin off labels, including the always wearable Day By Malene Berger. Meanwhile Swedish label Acne continues to build on its success with signature biker jackets, and standout pistol ankle boots in an array of colours.

The other big love affair of the moment is with Brit Power! Burberry has had a whole reinvention and renaissance. Its total turnaround down to someone we can arguably claim as one of our own. Northerner, well Yorkshireman, Christopher Bailey has injected wit, direction, and energy, and transformed Burberry’s look, and client list. It’s now hot, fun and talked about.

Use of the signature check is now restrained. And it’s doing what it does best- with a twist. The trench is suddenly uber cool again, in a variety of different lengths, cuts, and colours. A multitude of kaleidoscope leather trenches came down the runway, like the zinging colours of Quality Street wrappers, as far removed from the old Burberry as you could imagine. My current favourite the Ashleigh, Burberry Brit in trench (beige), or black, which I just had to have!

The excitement continues with Scot, Jonathan Saunders, who continues to generate a legion of loyal fans for his signature graphic prints and ladylike dresses, available for the first time this year online at My Wardrobe (www.mywardrobe.com).

McQueen goes from strength to strength, with Sarah Burton at the helm. The new season skull and dragonfly scarves in searing orange and neon yellow will instantly update any outfit. As will the triple-wrap razor bracelets. Newsflash; our own JulesB will be stocking the McQ label, new this season.

If you like your own signature scent, to stand out from the crowd, you definitely need to check out Le Labo. Science-lab-shaped bottles you’d expect to have Professor Brian Cox raving about.

It’s personal, it’s tailored to you and it will soon become your own hallmark scent. You chose from a scent library which is then freshly made up on the spot for you to take away. Top choices include Sandalwood, Bergamot, Rose, Oud, and it’s to die for! Available in Harrods and Liberty.

Finally, insider knowledge on how to find that holy grail – the perfectly fitting pair of jeans.

Regular readers will know I am a huge convert to the Donna Ida website. The trick is to order two or three sizes the first time you order until you get it right. And after that, it’s a piece of cake. And now having spent all her working life selling jeans that make women look good, the eponymous Donna Ida has used all that experience to come up with her own range, to suit all shapes, and flatter real women, launched new this spring.

Designs include names like the Frenchie, flattering, highwaisted and straight leg. Arguably the holy grail of jeans. If that’s not you, how about; Ivy, skinny jeans; Martha, a fabulous flare; Jeanie, a grown up and sophisticated cigarette cut. To go with this, the perfect shirts ‘Mrs Thatcher’. I kid you not, soft tie-neck silk shirts in three perfect colours, more rock chick than PM! The shirts are smart and sassy enough to be worn by Borgen’s Birgitte. Next series you could well find British power-dressing rocking the Danish Parliament.

As well as being a shopping supremo, shoe-a-holic and general lover of all things luxe, Wendy Gibson is a broadcaster, presenter and event host in the North East.

NEW SPRING COLLECTIONS NOW INSTORE AND ONLINE

MICHAEL KORS TORTUGA LEATHER BAG £330

TED BAKER WINGTIP BROGUE £130

HUGO BOSS 3 PIECE SUIT £630

MICHAEL KORS TRENCH COAT £285

OTHER EXCLUSIVE BRANDS - FOR HIM

OTHER EXCLUSIVE BRANDS - FOR HER

ARMANI JEANS - BOSS ACCESSORIES - BOSS BLACK CASUAL - BOSS BLACK LABEL BOSS BODYWEAR - BOSS GREEN LABEL - BOSS ORANGE - ETON SHIRTS PAUL SMITH ACCESSORIES - PAUL SMITH JEANS - PAUL SMITH SHOES POLO RALPH LAUREN - PS PAUL SMITH - REMUS UOMO - VIVIENNE WESTWOOD

BERNSHAW - BETTY BARCLAY - BOSS BLACK LABEL - BOSS ORANGE BOSS GREEN LABEL - FROCK ART - DENIM AND SUPPLY RALPH LAUREN - DKNY FENN WRIGHT MANSON - OUI MOMENTS - PAUL SMITH ACCESSORIES PAUL SMITH BLACK LABEL - PAUL BY PAUL SMITH - PAUL SMITH SHOES VIVIENNE WESTWOOD - UGG BOOTS - MICHAEL KORS - TED BAKER - VERA MONT

www.thehousedesignerwear.co.uk 69 THE HIGH STREET, YARM TEL: 01642 790852

MAR/APR13

MONDAY TO FRIDAY 9.30-5.30 SATURDAY 9.00-5.30 SUNDAY 10:30-4:30

47

SHARP SHOOTING

Tux jacket, £270, Hugo Boss. PJ trousers £120, Hugo Boss, Silk top, £135, Paul Smith, all Fenwick. Bag, £99, Biba, House of Fraser. stilettos, £58, Topshop.

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MAR/APR13

JEANS DAYS

TREND WATCH WITH CATHERINE NEWTON

Although the weather may not yet reflect it, in the fashion world SS13 has well and truly arrived. However, with the British climate being so unpredictable, the right pair of jeans is the ideal wardrobe staple to take you through the transition from winter to spring.

After two summers of rainbow coloured jeans the denim houses have gone back to basics, with vintage washes and cool bleaches taking over. This is a look that works brilliantly with a simple tee and some cool kicks (trainers to the rest of us), or for a more glamorous look follow the style of ‘it’ girl Rosie Huntington-Whiteley and team with some skyscraper heels.

It’s a timeless look that reflects French chic when paired with a simple Breton stripe sweater. Otherwise, for an 80s revival, pair jeans from iconic British denim brand MiH with some dip dye t-shirts.

Washed denim is an art form and something the high street struggles to replicate; it often takes years to create the washes that the premium denim brands have perfected. Top of the charts this season is Citizens of Humanity, the epitome of relaxed Californian cool. They are the only denim brand to own all their washhouses and produce all their denim in the USA. Our Luxe denim of choice this season has to be ‘Dylan’ in a ‘Forever’ wash (£240), a relaxed crop boyfriend jean that you wear super casual. The alternative is ‘Mandy’ in a ‘Crystal’ wash (£259), a retro high-rise slim leg with rolled up hems that’s perfect for day to night dressing. Colour isn’t out completely this season, neon and pastels are very important. To be ahead of the fashion pack go for a khaki green from denim pioneers JBrand or a washed out grey from Vivienne Westwood.

To make the transition from day to night, pair your denim with a shirt, t-shirt or top from DAY by Day Birger et Mikkelsen. The understated elegance of DAY’s SS13 collection in muted pastel colours instantly adds a romantic edge to your look. Alternatively, Paul Smith’s pastel and neon mix prints are a great way of glamming up your jeans. Opt for tees, blazers or knits in either the botanical print of the Paul collection or the Pansies print of the Black Label collection. For a statement piece that will really rev up your denims and see you through the season in style, turn to Vivienne Westwood’s Anglomania collection. The striking ‘trot blazer’ in neon yellow (£399) is sure to turn heads with its playful colour and sleek silhouette; pair with killer heels and wear boldly in the knowledge you are paying homage to a true British style icon.

All of the above collections are available on the first floor in Fenwick. Drop by Premium Denim for expert help in finding the perfect pair of jeans and follow up with a visit to the French Salon for that special piece to complete your SS13 look.

Catherine Newton is Head of Womenswear at Fenwick Newcastle

50

Printed monochrome dress, £39, Miss Selfridge. Diva diamanté necklace, £28, House of Fraser

Rachel Roy black asymmetric dress, £249 Fenwick, cuffs, £14, Topshop, bag, £199, Pied a Terre, House of Fraser

Credits: Photography: Kevin Gibson www.kgphotographyco.uk Styling: Fiona McLain Model: Toni Harrison www.tyneteesmodels.co.uk Styling assistant: Sophie Barrowcliffe Hair: Chris at Hooker & Young Clayton Street Jesmond 0191 281 6714 www.hookerandyoung.co.uk Make-up: Ashleigh at Bobbi Brown, Fenwick, Newcastle, 0191 232 5100 www.fenwick.co.uk/newcastle www.bobbibrowncosmetics.com

Stockists: Fenwick, Northumberland St, Newcastle 0191 232 5100 www.fenwick.co.uk/newcastle House of Fraser, Metrocentre www.houseoffraser.co.uk Miss Selfridge, Metrocentre www.missselfridge.com Topshop, Metrocente www.topshop.com www.metrocentre.uk.com With thanks to The Living Room, Grey Street, Newcastle www.thelivingroom.co.uk/newcastle

MAR/APR13

WWW.JULESB.CO.UK

WWW.JULESB.CO.UK

available at

WWW.JULESB.CO.UK

Osborne Rd, Newcastle.

Stramongate, Kendal.

High St, Yarm.

TWICE THE FUN

&

Movers Shakers Sassy shapes with twice the versatility.

Don’t be scared

This month we’re bringing you two looks created with one cut. Clever? Well we like to think so. It’s all about creating a cut that allows you to move it around, release texture and change the shape with ease.

Hair-cutting has become very bespoke allowing you to be individual and have your own signature style.

Granted, radical hair cuts are not for the everyone, however small changes and different cutting techniques can have a big impact.

Here we have a super cool style with an under-cut which you may think is for the wild and outrageous! However, used in the right way this technique can be adapted to bring softness, shape and structure to all hair types.

It means your hair will do things you never thought possible. Thicker, bulkier textures can benefit from the weight reduction and can achieve a much more streamlined look without using a razor or thinning shears, therefore the layers remain intact and the finish shiny and smooth.

Equally, finer hair can also work incredibly well with similar cutting techniques, creating more movement and additional texture which in turn gives a lot more interest and movement.

Low maintenance cuts seem to be where it’s at and as we move closer to the summer the thought of easy hair is always more appealing.

March is the month that we head off to Australia to embark on a six city tour!

Touching down in Adelaide we’ll be heading for Melbourne, Sydney, Perth and Brisbane where we will show the Aussies how we do hair Hooker & Young style. In each city we will be presenting shows to educate and inspire our friends down under. Exciting stuff.

Passports at the ready and off we go!

Michael Young and Gary Hooker run award-winning Hooker & Young, with six salons regionwide.

See www.hookerandyoung.co.uk for salon details.

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MAR/APR13

LUXE LOVES

LUXE XXXXXXXX LOVES

Being a post-lady This is Asprey’s Post Bag for those who want to play the colour card this spring. Designed by Katie Hillier in the softest magenta nubuck, it is a real softie – and a keeper at £2,200. www.asprey.com

Welcome to Durham City Smiles...

Cosmetic and general dental services in Durham City for you and your family CROWNS l VENEERS l IMPLANTS l SMILE CREATION l TOOTH WHITENING

MISSION STATEMENT

We treat all our patients with COMPASSION. We are AWARE that this is not everyone’s favourite place, so at all times we try to RESPECT our patient’s wishes and fully involve them in all treatments decisions. And in everything we do we strive for EXCELLENCE in our practice, and our patient’s experience of it.

The Crossgate Centre, Crossgate, Durham DH1 4HF Tel 0191 384 4447

MAR/APR13

www.durhamcitysmiles.co.uk

by Graeme Dentith 53

SPRING THINGS

MOUTHING OFF! WITH GRAEME DENTITH

Beauty:update

Time to spritz down memory lane and get happy with some spring treats >> Dew remember > Remember Youth Dew? Estee Lauder’s iconic fragrance, the one that will remind you of your mum heading off to a dinner dance in a long dress?

Well this heady and memorable number celebrates a milestone birthday – its 60th and Estee Lauder celebrates with a limited edition anniversary edition, on counter now, £45.

DENTAL IMPLANTS This edition I’d like to discuss Implants – no not the ones that some so called celebs have to enhance their dubious pneumatic charms – Dental Implants.

Dental Implants are used for the replacement of missing teeth using a titanium implant screwed into the jaw, with a tooth or denture attached to it. They can be used to replace a single tooth with a crown, or bridgework to replace multiple teeth on a fixed basis, or to help hold in a removable denture with press studs.

Not every dentist is qualified to carry this procedure out, so patients have to do their research both into the operator and the system they use. There are four companies supplying implants in the UK with the majority share of the market. These are; Straumann, Dentsply, Nobel and Biomet 3i. Although there are dozens of systems out there, these are the “big four” used by most implantologists in the UK. When carried out by an experienced operator, dental implant surgery is usually remarkably painless for the patient, and the results can be dramatic. The ability to eat comfortably again, and look good, and who wouldn’t want that?

There are certain circumstances where we can’t place implants, for example if the patient doesn’t have enough bone to use. Certain medications will not allow placement, and in my opinion, smoking is a big no no.

Implants are not cheap, consequently some patients travel abroad, so called “dental tourism”. This can be risky, especially if there is a problem. And then the savings can be lost in emergency flights abroad, or expensive remedial treatment in the UK. Dentists undergo further training to place implants, and this can range from a 2-3 day course either here or abroad, to a full Diploma or MSc from a Royal College or University. It stands to reason that it should take more than 2-3 days to learn a surgical procedure, so if you’re contemplating undergoing this procedure, ask some questions of your dentist.

Ask about their training and the system they use. How many have they placed? What is their personal success rate? (currently internationally acceptable success rates are approx 97%). Implants can fail, what happens if one does? Who covers the cost of the replacement?

Any responsible dentist won’t mind you asking questions, and in my own practice we actively encourage it, as do many of my colleagues who’ve moved into this field. If they can’t answer your questions, find someone else who can, after all, it’s your mouth, and your money. So if in doubt, mouth off yourself, and ask. After all, as my Granny used to say “Shy bairns get nowt!”

I would strongly encourage all patients to do their research before embarking upon this treatment. It’s very easy to “Google” the subject, but be sure to put in the word ‘dental’ because if you just type in ‘implants’ some images brought up could leave you with some explaining to do!

Graeme’s practice is Durham City Smiles, The Crossgate Centre, Crossgate, Durham. www.durhamcitysmiles.co.uk

54

>> Sparky > We love the decadent look of this purse-perfect Guerlain Meteorites Perles Du Paradis, £43, www.feelunique.com >> Fresh > Pick of the pretty ones, a party spritz of Marc Jacobs Oh, Lola! £47, www.feelunique.com

>> Sweetie > The only one you need pink sisters....

Dior Vernis Cherie Bow Nail Lacquer, £18 www.feelunique.com

>> Blush > For a light and perky hint of blush, try Benefit Fine One Brightening Cheek and Lip Trio, £18.80 www.feelunique.com

>> Crystal tips > At Clarins you might find yourself slightly taken aback by the look of their new Crystal lips balms – very space age they appear – a transparent outer layer makes them look deep green, blue and scary orange – this is a smoothing outer balm which gives way to to a softer colour wash – they look like your kids’ crayons actually – but taste better! A nice selection of shades from rose to plum to berryish, £18 on counter from April. The big Clarins skincare launch is the wrinkle-minimising Double Serum age control concentrate. It blends water and oil-based ingredients that are packed with powerful plant extracts.

Studies show lots more collagen produced – which equals less sag! It has a nice silky texture too. £55 on counter now.

>> Nail it! > Celebrity devotees of Gelish nails number among them Cheryl Cole and Dannii Minogue. At a recent photoshoot for our sister magazine Loved Up, nail specialist Nicola Bell of Contemporary Salon, Stokesley showed us some on-trend nail looks for brides. Among them blue – yes blue, nails.

We’re talking a very soft, pearly blue-grey – with a little flower on one of the nails. Very pretty and so-different contrast to a white gown. All the rage for brides – and the beauty of the Gelish nail art is that it stays put with no fear of chipping, even through the honeymoon, that has to be good. Means too that you can also get your nails done two or three days before a big date and know it’ll stay put. Application is easy, a file and shape followed by a base coat then two layers of colour and a shiny top coat for a perfect finish.

We tried it ourselves – these typing hands are workhorses not pampered digits and two weeks on they are still looking chip free and chirpy!

Nicola is offering a great deal for luxe readers who would like to try a Gelish manicure – half price during April, just £10.

To book in call Nicola at Contemporary Salon, High Street, Stokesley 01642 724554 and quote the luxe magazine Gelish offer.

MAR/APR13

>> All Greek > A new make-up collection from Korres takes its inspiration from the elements.

Pick of the products are monoi oil bronzer, £14, a velvety, tinted powder with the Sunglow Light shade ideal for lighter skin. Monoi oil moisturises and nourishes the skin. New eyeshadows, £12, feature lovely soft, colourwash shades created with sunflower oil and deep pigment for longer wear shadow that gently regulates sebum and can add dramatic sweeps of colour if you build up with a brush. www.JohnBellCroyden.co.uk

>> Oh Tom > There’s always excitement with a new Tom Ford collection. We adore a TF lippy. They smell sensational and the creamy matte finish on the lips is unrivalled. Loving the names of the new soft spring collections - brides take note - among them Chastity, Smitten and Lust, something for everyone then?

Or how about Love Lust blush? Then spritz on some summer with Santal Blush fragrance and feel really lovely. If you’ve got a significant outdoorsy occasion this summer then one of the key players in looking fab is the Tom Ford Shade and Illuminate cream duo. Apply this clever cream product with a brush to create subtle shading and definition – head to Fenwick in Newcastle and book in for a free trial and they will show why it will become a make-up bag staple.

One of those ‘hero’ products, £55.

Call 0191 232 5100 to book in. Lip colour, £36, fragrance, £135, shade and illuminate £55, cheek colour, £45.

BEAUTY WATCH Pregnancy should be a magical time but it can also be tiring and stressful.

So let’s debunk some beauty myths and ensure you enjoy a beautiful pregnancy MASSAGE Massage during pregnancy helps soothe stress, improve circulation and ease aches and pains. But it’s important that your therapist is fully-trained in prenatal treatments so that they are aware of pregnancy body changes, know which oils to avoid, health issues to be aware of and safe, comfortable positions for you as well as the most effective movements to use.

Make sure you seek out salons or spas that have specific pregnancy treatments on offer - treatments such as ‘Mellow Mama’ by pregnancy experts Mama Mio incorporate a superb full body massage with effective, great smelling products that help to keep your skin supple during the nine-month stretch.

FACIAL Everybody’s different when it comes to skin changes during pregnancy - it varies hugely from person to person. Some ladies experience breakouts, increased sensitivity, oiliness or extreme dryness. Others are lucky enough to enjoy the fabled ‘glow’. Facials with an experienced therapist are fine in any trimester so long as they avoid harsh peels or

WITH VICTORIA LEES

micro-dermabrasion.

Always make sure your therapist props you up in the later stages of pregnancy as lying flat can make you feel dizzy. If you are feeling nauseous, avoid heavily fragranced skin care lines. Mama Mio has just launched their ‘Gorgeous Glow’ pregnancy facial, designed specifically to address skincare concerns at this precious time - perfect!

MANI-PEDI Experts agree that nail treatments such as manicures and pedicures are completely safe during pregnancy. You may notice that your nails start to get stronger during your pregnancy so now is the perfect time to treat yourself to a manicure or start a nail care regime at home.

WAXING If you have been a regular waxer for a while, there really is no reason to stop now you are pregnant. You may feel a little more sensitive to the pain than usual and more prone to irritation though, so if you are having a waxing session before an event or holiday ensure you allow time for any irritation to subside.

Don’t Compromise on Style St Thomas St., Sunniside, Sunderland, SR1 1NW 0191 5108126

Durham Rd., East Herrington, Sunderland, SR1 1NW 0191 5110288

www.redssalons.com

Victoria is based at The Spa, Rockliffe Hall.

MAR/APR13

55

Lux

SPRING GLOW

FITNESS! WITH LEILA BRAMWELL

Price tag to perfection

Running is a great way to get fit but it’s also great for stress relief and a bit of valuable ‘me time’. You can get lost in your run, giving you time to think when often life is too busy. It can be a time to clear your head and so is great for mind and body If you are new to running, try to choose a route that is fairly flat and avoid harsh surfaces. Try to stick to tracks or grass to cushion the impact on your joints.

Whatever level of runner you are it is vital that you wear the correct trainers to provide the right cushioning on the right part of your feet for your gait. So it is worth having your gait analysed by a good sports shop or physio. If you wear the wrong trainers it’s inevitable that will injure yourself and risk being out of action.

Stretching after any exercise is a must and running can shorten your muscles so you need to stretch out your quadriceps, hamstrings, hip flexors and gastrocnemius, the calf muscles.

To help build up your stamina try shuttle runs. Shuttle runs are when you train in short bursts of speed over short distances. Try sprinting on a hill and walking down, then try the other way around. Uphill bursts will build leg strength and downhill sprints will get your legs used to moving at a much faster pace.

Of course fuelling your body for a run is also very important. One hour before your run go for a medium to high GI food that is easy to digest and quickly absorbed such as half a banana, melon or dried fruit. Around 30 - 40 minutes after your run eat protein with around 25g of high GI carbohydrate such as blueberries and a small handful of almonds.

Doing this will restore your glycogen levels and will promote recovery.

Try to do at least two other activities on top of your running a week. You must be aware that running is great for Cardiovascular fitness but no good for core strength. You need to do exercises such as pilates as it is a good all over body strengthener and gives flexibility and core strength and helps focus the mind. Core strength will help prevent injuries and help dramatically with endurance. Swimming is another great non impact exercise to build up stamina. By doing such exercises you can increase your stamina and speed.

Finally, always try and challenge yourself. If you are not a competitive runner then still arrange a date where you stick to running a particular distance and tell a supportive friend your plans so they can help you appreciate your achievements. If you are a competitive runner take a look at the races out there and plan your running programme around the competition dates. Drag a friend along with you to encourage but try not to rely on them too much as at the end of the day you are doing this for yourself.

THE TEASER -

CORE STRENGTH

• Lie down face up, arms by your sides. Engage your Imprint (rib cage connection, pelvic floor up, shoulder blades down your back.)

• As you exhale equally draw head and legs off the floor, keeping your shoulders down and legs in table top.

• Hold for 10-20 secs and then slowly lower your legs and head back down.

• Barely touch the floor and come straight back up and repeat 6-12 times.

In health and happiness in 2013 Leila Bramwell (Shaping Futures) Pilates and Fitness Studio in Durham City www.shapingfutures.co.uk

56

BEFORE

The big reveal is here – after a two-year, Phyllis goes glam!

Phyllis Samuels won the life-changing prize of a lifetime in the region’ s first ever Dream Image makeover competition.

Not quite a million-dollar makeover but certainly a thousand-dollar one.

Mum and grandma Phyllis, 53, from Stockton, won the prize after being nominated by her daughter Becky and was selected as a winner in a regionwide online vote.

As a child she had neglected her teeth which had left them decayed and in poor condition. As an adult, surgery for facial cancer caused scarring on her face which made Phyllis self-conscious about her appearance.

Nearly two years on, she has ticked off hours spent hours in the dentist’s chair,

at the surgeon’s hand and at the gym and the result has been astonishing.

Life-changing too. Phyllis’s glamorous ‘reveal’ was staged at Rockliffe Hall in front of the people who had helped her on the journey and her family and friends.

She told them; “It has been a magical journey both internally and externally and has made a huge difference to my outlook on life, truly. My confidence has increased and I am so thrilled at the outcome.

“When I was chosen as the winner I didn’t feel worthy of the prize. I was nervous and excited. I had not liked myself because of facial scars and neglected teeth but it has all been unbelievable.”

Linda Heads who organised Dream Image added, “From the outset it was about showing what professionals from the North East had to offer – to show that you don’t have to go to London to be able to get these amazing treatments or make miracles happen. Phyllis is proof of that.”

THIS IS HOW PHYLLIS WAS TRANSFORMED >> >> Hair: £136 > The team at Hooker and Young coloured cut and styled Phyllis’s shoulder-length bob. >> Smile: £10,000 > Mike Heads from CDIC, Stockton took charge of a huge programme of dental treatment for Phyllis including implants and whitening for a transformation. >> Face: £1500 > Cosmetic surgeon Paul Baguley did scar revision procedures on Phyllis’s face. >> Make-up: £125 > Make-up, Impressions salon, Yarm provided

Phyllis with a pedicure, manicure, spray tan and make-up. >> Gym/personal training: £680 > Phyllis lost two stone with the help of a gym and personal trainer at Tees Active’s Thornaby Pavillion. >> Clothes: £395 > Phyllis’s striking ballgown for her ‘reveal’ was from The House in Yarm. >> Jewellery: £500 > Market Cross Jewellers provided glamorous jewellery for Phyllis’s prize, including the sparkling Nirvana collar necklace, £255.

>> See more > Full details of the team that made Phyllis’s transformation happen can be seen at www.dreamimagenortheast.co.uk

MAR/APR13

Luxe March Advertorial

27/2/13

17:11

Page 1

AWARD WINNING HAIRDRESSING

we love...

we style... ...australia As you read this Gary Hooker and

Michael Young are on the start of their month long tour in Australia. Constantly in demand, the guys are travelling across the country to six key cities showcasing the legendary Hooker & Young signature styles.

...spring

colour

This season blondes are bright, fresh and iridescent with light pastels to create an ultra feminine feel. Pale pink, delicate lavender or soft peach dipped ends can add impact without too much drama.

we see...

we offer...

keratin smoothing treatment from £75

...retro updo’s

Victory rolls and retro updo's combined with a bit of rock chick bring a less polished feel to a super cool trend this season. The emphasis is on being not too done, a more dishevelled finish with an exaggerated shape gives an edgier feel to updo’s.

Get your hair spring-ready with our Keratin Smoothing Treatment, which for the month of March starts from £75, usually from £100. This express in-salon treatment banishes frizz and leaves hair smooth for six to eight weeks. And if that wasn't enough, we will include a complimentary home haircare kit with the appointment.

Darlington 01325 468 994 Gosforth 0191 217 0217 Jesmond 0191 281 6714 Wynyard 01740 644 690 www.hookerandyoung.co.uk facebook/hooker&young Twitter @hookerandyoung

ADVERTISING FEATURE

SSSSSSS…MILES AHEAD... at Cleveland Cosmetic and Dental Implant Clinic

If, like many of us , you have spent those Winter months making “to do lists” and “wish lists” and you are determined to follow things through... let us help you put a tick against “improving your Smile”. The first step is a consultation with one of our dentists who will discuss with you how you would like your teeth to look and the individual treatment options available to you. It’s all about choice at Cleveland Cosmetic and Dental Implant Clinic and we are happy to give you the information which allows you to make an informed decision regarding your dental care.

Safe hands All members of our dental team are experienced, professional and friendly – going the extra mile to meet your expectations. From routine dental care to smile makeovers and an in – house dental implant team, we are certainly well equipped to look after your smile.

State of the art technology “We do not stand still as we feel to stand still is to go backwards,” says Practice Director, Linda Heads. “We have just invested over £52,000.00 in a new CT Cone Beam Scanner which will benefit all of our patients in their future care.”

Sumptuous surroundings Our practice surroundings are an eclectic mix of classic and contemporary, giving our patients a perfect, relaxing environment.

58

MAR/APR13

ADVERTISING FEATURE image garywalsh.co.uk

Special attention to detail From rigorous cross infection control to taking care of small details like tempur cushions, chair heights, audio and refreshments, we provide an individual service tailored to your requirements.

BEFORE

AFTER

So proud of our North East roots The friendly nature and community spirit of the North East is well known. We are proud to have been part of Dream Image North East, an inspiring project which gave a deserving person a life changing makeover with the pro bono help of 19 North East businesses and professions working together. We are prouder still that the project was the brainchild of our Practice Director.

So many awards When we decided to see how our practice measured up on a National level, we entered the practice in a number of top Awards and in a 12 month period, we won 8 National Awards – judging panels were made up of dentists and dental professionals who recognised that our practice deserved recognition for its surroundings, high standards of treatment, service and care.

Striving for Excellence We have passed the rigorous inspections required to satisfy >> British Dental Association Good Practice Scheme >> Denplan Excel >> Care Quality Commission and we are continually monitoring the quality of our service.

Cleveland Cosmetic & Dental Impl ant Clinic Greenfields House, Wellburn Road, Fairfield, Stockton-on-Tees TS19 7PP Telephone. 01642 570147 • Facsimile. 01642 570870 • Email. info@cdic.co.uk MAR/APR13

creating beautiful smiles

www.clevelandcosmetic.co.uk 59

INTERIORS PROFILE

CRAFTY IDEAS >> Designer Malcolm Lewis’s bespoke furniture is made from beautiful pieces of wood. Art that’s functional too. This oak and elm Arachnacab, £3,000 www.lewisdesigns.eu

SIT DOWN, KICK BACK >> House of Fraser’s Cedar 3 seater sofa The sofa in a stylish herringbone fabric has accent cushions and a beautifully turned leg. Grab a good book and you’re there for the day. Introductory price £699, after-promotion, £1399. Available at House of Fraser stores – Gateshead Metrocentre, Darlington and Middlesbrough www.houseoffraser.co.uk

ROOM TIME

SOME IDEAS FOR A SPRINGTIME SPRUCE-UP IN YOUR HOME THE ONLY WAY IS UP >> Create a dream staircase and the folks at A Wood Idea will make it happen. Oak, glass, steel or iron, get creative.

Prices from £750. www.awoodidea.co.uk

STARCK CHOICES >> H2o, Axor Starck Organic from renowned designer Philippe Starck.

Thanks to their new mixer shower jet, Axor Starck Organic wash basin mixers offer a highly sensual water experience.

The design, which runs through the entire collection, has a powerful, sculptural presence, while the handles are ergonomic and blend in harmoniously in any position. Not only does the Axor look good, its innovative design allows water volume and temperature to be controlled separately offering economy and looks at the same time.

Exclusive h2o offer for limited period, normally priced at £480 h2o price £295. www.h2obdc.co.uk

BEST SEAT IN THE HOUSE >> IN A SPIN >> The Ciaro Radiator, is one of a stunning collection available at The Radiator Works in Team Valley. Call in and see a vast selection to complement any room in your home. From £250 www.theradiatorworks.co.uk

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SensoWash® Starck C Shower-Toilet Seat from Duravit.

A lovely loo that is about as good as it gets when it comes to such things. The designer name says it all, Philippe Starck at the helm means stylish as well as functional. The toilet has a wash and dry function - and even a remote control.

You won’t want to leave the smallest room. ww.thebathroomstudio.co.uk

MAR/APR13

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SPACE RACE in association with

www.greatlook.co.uk

Walls come tumbling

It might be something to do with all those Scandanavian dramas we’ve become addicted to.

But it seems that where once we craved the nooks, crannies and character of period properties, now we just want to knock down walls and spread out in our homes.

Interior designer Lesley McDine, pictured right, says our love of the boutique hotel life has much to do with it too – all those lounge-about, wraparound sofas and lovely fabric textures have made us yearn for a luxurious movie-star home.

Lesley is a consultant with Greatlook Interiors in Team Valley. She is the go-to expert when it comes to decorating the contemporary interiors that the company specialises in.

Greatlook owner Ian Mason has expanded the business from what was initially kitchen design to creating open-plan living areas that take in lounge, work areas, dining rooms and bedrooms.

He explains: “Now when people come to us they want walls knocking down and spacious open-plan living areas creating. Around 80% of clients want to create a bigger space in their home.

“It is based on the design principles of the Germans and Europeans – an ultracontemporary look that has furniture ‘floating’ in a room with hidden plinths and streamlined surfaces and walls.

“There is a sense of the space-age with intelligent lighting and touch-screen controls for lighting and audio which can be controlled from an iPad. “The whole change in living spaces has definitely come from the continent, we see it with the Scandanavian influence – it is a more sociable way of living.“ Ian’s approach is to make fitted furniture, particularly kitchens look like standalone furniture so the boring, functional stuff – the clutter - stays hidden and so a room can work as a dining area that is pleasant and sociable to be in as well as a place to boil an egg.

He designs a chef’s pantry that is a mini-kitchen revealed only by sliding doors, yet large enough to house everything you need in a kitchen.

“It is about softening the edges”, he says, meaning that rooms have a dual character.

It is also about our craving for a bit of luxury too says Lesley, about having a cocoon of comfort at home.

“Ten years ago someone like me would be called in to dress a window and that would be it.

“Now people want a ‘look’ recreating and it might be because they have stayed somewhere and loved the style of it.

“Now I can go into a room and tell them that

We’re getting spaced out when it comes to our homes with walls taking a hammering as we crave communal living they can have a made-to-measure leather sofa that will fit their awkwardly-shaped room.

“They want a family room that suits everyone’s needs – they can have a TV wall in units that look fine alongside the kitchen at the other end.

“You can have one big room but divide it with things like low chandeliers over a table to define a separate space.”

The influences Lesley sees are the Eastern style - sliding doors, dark wood and minimal.

Then there is the more Germanic high-gloss units which can work for feature walls and complement kitchen designs.

In terms of materials for decorating, in the super-modern contemporary home,

down

there’s a desire for textures and opulent fabrics – wallcoverings with a crystal placed in formation on a dark background subtle glamour.

“I think it s a reflection of the boutique hotel look”, she says.

“It can be quite masculine with greys, taupe and deep purple then dark wood and smoked mirrors. Textures on walls are increasingly popular and add a richness to a scheme. A feature wall is still popular but it is textured rather than a bold print.

“There is an opulence with rich velvets and contrasting fabrics that is increasingly popular – it is a modern and stylish look.” www.greatlook.co.uk

Textures and tones > Kitchens take on a fitted, clutter-free look and texture on walls adds an element of contemporary sophistication

Interior designers are these days being asked to create a ‘look’ that reminds people of a place they have stayed 62

MAR/APR13

LUXE LOVES

LUXE LOVES

Walls with words Scribbling on the wallpaper – not the crime it used to be! This vintage-style wallpaper has index slots where friends, family, guests, visiting celebs, can leave their signature and mark the date of a memorable event. Wallpaper that tells your life story. £60 a roll. www.spaceinnovation.co.uk

ELEGANT NEWLY REFURBISHED SHOWROOM AT SUPPLIERS OF UNIQUE AND STYLISH FITTINGS

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A showroom you can’ t

Unique designer furniture 0191 4913836

www.greatlook.co.uk

10th Avenue West | Team valley Trading Estate | Gateshead | Opposite Retail World

afford not to visit!

on display • Kitchens • Bedrooms • Interior design service

HAVING A BALL in association with

www.greatlook.co.uk

The boys have set themselves a charity challenge - a ball with the theme ‘filthy rich and fabulous!’

At home > Andrew, left, and Calvin in their luxurious kitchen at their Broom Hall home

It’s showtime!

The fabulously flamboyant Durham home of Andrew Bennett and Calvin Moore mixes their business with party pleasure On the outskirts of Durham, after a good hill climb, you wind your way through an estate of semis to arrive at the grand gates of Broom Hall.

It is a building and landed estate packed with history – even mention of secret tunnels to the city – which has been restored and renovated by partners Calvin Moore and Andrew Bennett as both workplace and luxurious home.

At its heart is a livery yard which is the nerve centre for their passion, breeding horses.

Both boys take part in shows throughout the country and Andrew is understated about the fact that he is one of the foremost breeders and riders in the uk.

They are about to embark on their calendar of show events for the year – the culmination of which is The Horse of The Year Show in Birmingham. They have high hopes for their Irish draught stallion Luther and will be taking him to shows such as The Great Yorkshire Show and Northumberland Show.

Their busy livery life combines with a contrasting business of working with adults with learning disabilities. Calvin is MD of the Wearside residential care company SELF which provides homes for adults with learning disabilities.

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Both he and Andrew work with the residents, using the livery as an educational and learning base where the adults can achieve accredited equine studies qualifications.

Says Calvin; “We do equine studies and therapy two days a week here. It can be amazing to see the change in people when they work with the horses – people whose lives are normally in the control of others being given the chance to take control of an animal.”

Calvin and Andrew have taken on another challenge for the second year running to organise the Moorbennhall Spring Charity Ball at Ramside Hall, near Durham, which this year takes place on 13 April with a thoroughly flamboyant theme of ‘filthy rich and fabulous’.

They were spurred on to organize the event

by Denise Welch who is patron of the Gem appeal which raises money for genetic research. The boys decided to support that appeal but also raise much-needed cash for Grace House children’s hospice in Sunderland.

Last year they raised a mighty £14,000 and this year they are aiming higher with a raft of great auction prizes such as a tour of Michael Owen’s stables and lunch at his house as well as tickets for the women’s

Retreat > Newly upholstered sofas in the formal sitting room with its original fireplace final at Wimbledon.

The entertainment for the night will be pretty spot-on glamorous with a Kylie tribute act among the exciting performances.

That’s not much of a surprise coming from a couple who have what amounts to a karaoke room in their converted property.

The building itself is steeped in history and over a period of 17 or so years, the boys have renovated it using materials from the original buildings to retain character but still allow the 21st century to shine through and reflect their unique style.

They showed us round the place, which has just undergone a pretty dramatic renovation

to the ground floor, with the addition of a show-stopping American black walnut Loxley kitchen which they bought from Greatlook interiors on Team Valley.

It was a show kitchen and came with striking state-of-the-art fittings such as a Sub-Zero pro 48 fridge and Wolf appliances.

It did however require the removal of a ceiling to install!

“Before we had what you would call a country kitchen with a range”, says Calvin.

“We saw this one and realised that we could make a room that was really good for socialising in and would cope with the rigours of our work outside. We spend >>

MAR/APR13

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HAVING A BALL in association with

www.greatlook.co.uk

loads of time in here – it is meant to be full of people!”

The rich coloured units are curved and user-friendly with enviable extras like power-close drawers, drawer fridges and a chunky lazy Susan table for shared suppers.

The kitchen runs the entire width of the house and to install it about £15,000 was spent on building work to accommodate the height of the kitchen units.

Naturally that led to the boys changing the upstairs living space too – but there is a definite wow factor.

Staying downstairs, the kitchen leads to a loungey area with leather sofas – aka the karaoke suite! A more formal sitting room has just been redecorated with the showpieces two sofas reupholstered in a soft shimmer pewter-coloured fabric by Middleton Design.

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The stone wall and fireplace in this room was created using stone from buildings from the estate and an old railway sleeper – the fireplace is the original.

Upstairs there is a covetable dressing room – for the dozens, perhaps hundreds - of designer shoes and their boxes. The boys like their clothes and everything is super-neat and well-kept.

Their bedroom, which is far more ‘boudoir’ they admit, is simply breath-taking.

Middleton Design created upholstered gold wardrobe doors for this super-bling room.

There’s no missing the striking gold wallpaper with its textured effect and peacock centerpiece which is from a German design company.

The curtain fabrics and drapes are a dramatic purple velvet and the entire room is reflected from one mirror wall. Outrageous they admit – but they love it.

They have a glamorous attitude to shopping: “My mum has a place in Marbella and we stay there and go shopping in Puerto Banus, that’s our style – and a bit of Manchester and Leeds”, says Calvin.

Their outlook is a mix of striking glamour and much hard work – and kind hearts, which is why they hope their spring ball will be a huge hit.

“It is about making everyone have a really fabulous time, which we know they will, and raising money for causes close to our hearts.”

The Moorbennhall Spring Charity Ball is at Ramside Hall on 13 April.

Black Tie, four-course dinner. Performances from Mint Management, Grace Carter, Anita Ryan, Tribute to Kylie and Hosted by Miss Kitty followed by Starlite Disco. VIP tickets £60, standard, £40 Dress Code: Filthy Rich and Fabulous Ticket information 0191 3865282 or email: Claire.stephen@ramsidehallhotel.co.uk

Pure luxe > Top, their ‘boudoir’ with its gold upholstered wardrobe drawers and uniqie peacock wallcovering. Above, the guest bedroom is filled with striking pieces of furniture

MAR/APR13

STEPPING UP IN STYLE

Based in Blaydon, A WOOD IDEA are specialist suppliers of quality joinery products to retail and trade clients. We have an extensive range of hardwood flooring, doors, staircases & garden decking. A full installation service is available on all products.

A WOOD IDEA can also supply made to measure doors and frames.

So if you have A WOOD IDEA, call into the showroom and see our range.

“Now that’s a Wood Idea”

A Wood Idea Unit 4, Blaydon Trade Park, Toll Bridge Road, Blaydon, Tyne & Wear. NE21 5TR

T 0191 414 1300

F 0191 414 1306

www.awoodidea.com

ALL THINGS BRIGHT in association with

www.greatlook.co.uk

> Toronto yellow chair £59 for two. www.marksandencer.com

> Tin tray, £10 www.debenhams.com > Pineapple table lamp £40, www.houseoffraser.co.uk

Break out the daffs Feeling mellow for yellow this spring ? It’s the colour of happy homes so be inspired Splashes of colour with loads of zesty personality add definite fizz to the home.

Louise Tucker-Kasonali, interior designer for Yuill Homes has been busy giving the trend some life in new showhomes in the region.

“The latest interior trend for spring/summer 2013 is all about adding a contemporary twist to your home’s living spaces, simply by combining bright, fresh colour tones with a neutral base shade of elegant grey” she says.

“Applying this trend scheme to your home is easy. Create a simple mood board choosing your neutral colour base to start decorating your walls with. There are lots of sophisticated options currently available on the market from soft pale silvers through to chalky charcoal and Wall Street grey, that when combined with a more vibrant colour tone can create a real sense of drama.

“Zesty lemon and plush primrose tones are all colours that work beautifully with the many impressions of grey available which can really lift your living spaces and add personality.

“You can incorporate a contrasting colour tone within a daring feature wall. Typography and graphic wallpaper prints remain a strong trend this season, as well as checked designs and retro botanicals.

“And to add an extra element to your new interior, choose complementary cushions and a bright lampshade that will add splashes of colour within the room’s furnishings. Interiors are about having fun, so experimenting with statement accessories and individual finds such as a striking mirror or bold sculpture will really give a room some extra character and stylish edge.”

For more inspiration visit one of the showhomes dressed by Louise, including the four bedroom Ripley (pictured) at Leafield Glade in Birtley. www.yuillhomes.co.uk

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Living Room > A feature wallpaper with bold graphic prints can give your living spaces a real lift and complete contemporary furnishings

> Scion Mr Fox Cushion, Grey/Yellow £40 www.johnlewis.com

Living Room > Designed in 1949 by Danesh Hans Wegner, the Wishbone Chair is one of the great Danish iconic furniture designs of the 20th century. This Wishbone-style chair is a reproduction true to the original design. £89. www.cultfurniture.com

MAR/APR13

LUXE LIFE

CRISTINA DE GIORGI Cristina De Giorgi runs Pasqualinos Bar Pizzeria in Newcastle along with her siblings Aldo and Joseph.

The restaurant celebrates its first anniversary this month with a new open kitchen.

The De Giorgi siblings are well-known in the Newcastle dining scene after creating some of the city’s most popular bars and restaurants including Paradiso, Popolo, Intermezzo, Alvinos, Secco, Don Vito’s and 9Bar Coffee.

Cristina lives in Jesmond and has two children LUXE PEOPLE >> My beautiful children Luca and Rosanna.

LUXE PLACES >> For a weekend > Has to be New York. After my first visit at 22 I fell in love with the vibrancy of the city and try to get there every couple of years for my fix! a long holiday > Lecce in Puglia, Southern Italy to stay with my parents. Not only do I get to see my amazing mum and dad but their home is on one of the most beautiful bits of Ionia coastline in Italy. a treat > Close House for an overnighter – gorgeous rooms and fantastic high tea. I am lucky that my best friend Mhairi whisked me off there a couple of months ago. We checked in, put our pjs on and experienced some of the best room service ever.

LUXE RELAX >> Best food > All seafood, with white crab my current favourite with a little fresh chilli and spaghetti for a perfect supper.

Best wine > I love all the big reds but a

MAR/APR13

Puglian Primitivo is very hard to beat.

Favourite restaurant > Babbo in New York – not only for Mario Battagli’s amazing Italian dishes but for the fact you get a handbag stool so you don’t have to put your bag on the floor!

Perfect weekend > Drop in to 9Bar Coffee for a quick burst of caffeine before Friday night comedy club with friends – always trying new places to check on what is happening in North East – great excuse to make socialising R & D! Saturdays were made for walking on one of our lovely beaches, fish and chips from Coastline in Blyth followed by one of their amazing ice creams – home for movie night with children and freshly-made popcorn. Very noisy and hectic Sunday lunch with all my family (my immediate family is 15) then a Sunday movie with my partner and Cadbury Clusters – perfect.

Downtime means > As the restaurant and bar are open from 12 noon until late daily I really appreciate my downtime.

Best telly > I really enjoy Stella, maybe as

a fellow 40-something I can empathise with her and feel incredibly lucky with my lot.

Best book > I mainly read crime fiction and love Patricia Cornwell’s Scarpetta character and Kathy Reich’s Temperance Brennan. Last non crime book which really touched me was On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan.

Best sounds > I am revisiting music I listened to in the 80s and am loving Joan Armatrading but have to confess that the Les Miserables soundtrack is on continuous play at the moment.

LUXE SHOP >> Best shopping city > New York then London.

Favourite shop: Barney’s NY closely followed

by Barnes and Nobel NY. Luxe retail treat > Serenity in the City on Osborne Road. I love having a pedicure and even in the winter love looking down at my shiny toes.

Best buy > A navy suede trench mac which always looks fab and is now in its third decade!

LUXE PARTY >> A memorable night out > Meeting up with my sister, Ria and Ellena a friend from London in Pasqualinos for cocktails then dinner and then more cocktails! There is something deliciously decadent about sipping cocktails especially mid-week.

Perfect party > A very low key La Sagesse girls’ reunion night last December turned into a mad party until 3 in the morning – good nibbles, fab cocktails and great conversation- perfect. La Sagesse girls still know how to party!

Best dress > A knee-length Ronit Zilkah LBD. Asymmetrical neck line and hem, black but a little bit different.

Dinner date > Meryl Streep – I love all her work – so versatile

Pasqualinos Bar Pizzeria, 1 Market Street, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 6BR tel 0191 244 2513 Twitter: pasqualinos_bar Facebook: Pasqualinos.

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SUMMING UP STYLE

TREND WATCH with Bryan Middleton The right angles. Time for a lesson in interior geometry >> Diesel with foscarini rock ceiling light, £400, www.johnlewis.com

>> Ella Doran Geo cushion, £60, www.heals.co.uk

It’s time to brighten your interiors and inject splashes of colour after the long, cold, dark nights of winter. But though it’s spring, pattern doesn’t have to tick the floral box.

This season it’s all about geometry with fabrics, wallpaper and accessories all reflecting prints featured in the spring/ summer catwalks of Marc Jacobs at Louis Vuitton et al. Design trends reflect this seasons offerings from the fashion world and throw in a mix of 1960’s vintage. The eye-popping look incorporates chevron, triangles and other dazzling geometric prints, juxtaposed against quiet neutrals of woods and a white backdrop.

Brands such as Ercol provide an excellent starting point, with a catalogue dating back to the 1920s. Their authentic patterns and simplistic furnishings provide a brilliant addition to any interior.

Pretty pastels, sumptuous emeralds and cobalt blue are the colours du jour. Glassware and accessories are elegant additions to any interiors particularly if you need a quick update to freshen up a space.

>> Graham and brown wallpaper, £26 a roll, www.grahambrown.com

Middleton Design DURHAM

C ommissioned fur ni ture • C u r t a i n s Fabr ics • Wal lp ap e rs Station House Durham City 0191 384 3884

www.middletondesign.co.uk

>> Spear vase, £34.90, bowl, £45.70, by Ferm living at www.madeindesign.com

>> Titania chair with Designer’s Guild fabric panels, £979, www.darlingsofchelsea.co.uk

>> Ercol chair, £1195, www.ercol.com

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MAR/APR13

BLOOMING LOVELY

Florists Katie Hudson and Kirsty Johnson are fans of flowers. So much so they’re planning to grow their own wildflower meadow

Flower girls Given that home-grown and local are the watchwords of the food we eat today, it was only matter of time before we started applying it to other aspects of our shopping.

So why not seasonal flowers plucked from a meadow near you? It makes sense to florists Katie Hudson and Kirsty Johnson who between them make up Darling&Green, a fledgling floristry business based for now on the outskirts of Stokesley in North Yorkshire.

HQ at the moment is the appropriatelynamed Garden House which forms part of the outbuildings of Rudby Hall where we catch up with the girls. Well, they’re not really girls, they are both mums running their business, but they have a nice girly sense of lovely things.

The property is Kirsty’s home and its shabby-chic interior in many way exemplifies what Darling&Green is all about.

On vintage tables stand mismatched jugs of spring flowers – bursts of colour from vibrant tulips, daffs and anemones.

They have just spent the weekend at a wedding fair so there’s an abundance of flowers in all shapes and sizes housed in vessels of all shapes and sizes – from vintage tins to rustic pots to aged glass. That’s their style, unstructured natural.

There’s a (hand-painted, slightly distressed) mood board with lots of inspiring ideas – old labels, photos, packets and pieces suggesting their love of detail and vintage finds. Even the tape keeping a ‘to do’ list’ on the wall is lace-printed.

Katie and Kirsty exude a creative calm that you sense would be ideal if they were creating a wedding or special event for you – no hissy fits here. It’s all very centred. Of course this might have more to do with the fact that they often have to be up with the lark to hit the flower markets at dawn.

They like blousy, unstructured flowers that are natural and ‘do their own thing’ – which of course is art in itself, as anyone who has ever tried to recreate that ‘just plonked in a vase’ look for themselves can recognise.

And now that Katie has moved to Castleton

on the North Yorkshire Moors, they are about to get planting to realise their dream of actually growing their own seasonal floral produce.

“That vintage ‘just grabbed from the garden’ look is very fashionable at the moment and the trend echoes what people are going for in terms of fashion”, says Katie.

“Flowers like peonies and sweet peas can be delicate and hard to buy in because of that.

We like the idea of growing flowers and having a garden and workshop where we can be based and where people can come and see what we do. A garden where we can respond to the seasons, flowers are at their best and strongest when in season.

“It would be great to think we could just go out and pick something that you couldn’t get anywhere else. I have experience in growing vegetables but flowers will be a learning curve. Of course we will have to buy in flowers, but long-term we hope to be able to supply our own flowers”, adds Katie.

She has worked with flowers for more than ten years and met Kirsty, who has a design and marketing background, when they both worked together at a flower shop.

Katie has a daughter Islay who is seven and Kirsty is mum to Ralph, three and Mia, 14.

They launched Darling&Green in time for Mother’s Day last year and since then have been in demand for flowers at weddings

and other events – village halls a speciality, says Kirsty.

“There is a trend for people to want a more personalised wedding and they come and ask us to help style it for them – natural, unstructured and where they are involved.

“We spend hours in charity shops looking for items that will work – we plated up 100 teacups with anemones in them for

Katie and Kirsty exude a creative calm that you sense would be ideal if they were creating a special event for you - no hissy fits here Flower girls> Katie, left and Kirsty love the trend for all things vintage and natural

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MAR/APR13

BLOOMING LOVELY

one event – these are like wedding favours really – but something different and a bit more personal”, says Kirsty.

They are supported by an organisation called Flowers From The Farm, an umbrella group of flower growers that was set up in 2011 by Yorkshire farmer Gill Hodgson who realised that there was no national body or association to promote British flowers.

The network is a way of sharing information and advice with other growers, and putting them in touch with florists looking to buy their products. One of its primary aims is to help newcomers to get started as well as practical workshops on horticulture and floristry, garden visits and marketing advice.

As Gill says, “The ‘buy British’ message has really got across in the food industry, but it’s not yet happened with flowers, although I think consumers are now starting to realise that it’s not right for flowers to be flown thousands of miles around the world.”

Gill began selling bunches of her surplus flowers from a roadside stall outside her home. She was approached by Covent Garden Market to see where they could source more British-grown flowers.

So plenty of reason for Darling&Green to think big – and blousy. www.darlingandgreen.co.uk www.flowersfromthefarm.co.uk

MAR/APR13

Horticultural hub > Kirsty’s home is the creative hub for Darling&Green, filled with mood boards and inspiring vintage finds Natural > Flowers do their own thing in an array of vintage jars, glasses and containers

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LUXE LIFE

STEVEN BELL Steven Bell is a well-known North East entrepreneur. Owner of Chapters Hotel in Stokesley, he is a director of Newman Scott, a partner in The House, Yarm and board director with the North East Entreprenur’s Forum. As patron of the Holistic Cancer Care Appeal at James Cook Hospital in Middlesbrough, he has helped raise more than £130,000 for the charity with the annual Touch of Class Ball LUXE PEOPLE >> I have a lot of respect for local entrepreneur Sir Peter Vardy in terms of what he has achieved in business and what he has done for charity, schools and communities.

Three people who have influenced my life are my father, Les with whom I enjoyed a great working life; he was a tough taskmaster. My first boss at Bells Stores was Fred Cuthbert who was a fantastic retailer with good people skills and, lastly, my coach from my early cycling days, Colin Armstrong who was like a second dad - which you need when your dad is your boss!

My wife Dawn, children and close family are people I enjoy working and spending time with.

LUXE PLACES >> For a weekend > Dawn and I have had some great long weekends with friends at La Residencia in Majorca.

A long holiday > My annual holiday with the family to Malta, we go every year and thoroughly enjoy our time there A treat > A break in Venice – I was given this as a present for my 40th birthday and loved the whole experience LUXE RELAX >> Best food > Starters: I like prawns, salmon or fried calamari. Mains: Chicken dinners with lots of vegetables or a fillet steak. I eat lots pasta and love chilli con carne.

Best wine > We had a great time on a wine tasting visit to Rhone Valley in France to a place called www.aubergeduvin.com which is run by a lovely English couple. It was organised through the wine academy at Chapters. My favourite wines are from the vineyard of Vincent Roche Audran or another Vineyard called Des Anges both close to Mont Ventoux.

Favourite restaurant > I have to say Chapters in Stokesley, Victor and Victoria make an excellent team the food and service are always great. Dawn and I also enjoy Joplings in Great Ayton. In Malta we enjoy Ambrosia in Valleta, The Lord Nelson in Mosta, San Guiliano in St Julians, Acqua Pazza in Marsaxlokk.

PERFECT WEEKEND >> At our house in Malta. I have joined a Maltese cycling team and race throughout the year. On a Sundays races start at 7.30am.

Then we go to Marsaxlokk were there is a local market followed by a long Sunday lunch at Acqua Pazza.

Downtime means quality time with the family and friends. I enjoy riding my bike with my brother Peter and a group of us on a Sunday.

Good excuse for more miles is taking Dawn out on the tandem, which we enjoy. We like to spend time with our kids and grandkids for evening meals and Sunday lunch.

Best telly > I usually catch up on my emails whilst I watch TV. I like Come Dine With Me, Coronation Street, Emmerdale, movies and sport.

BEST BOOK >> Put Me Back On My Bike: In Search of Tom

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Simpson By William Fotheringham. I am currently reading The Secret Race about Tyler Hamilton, the hidden world of Tour de France.

Business books - Richer Ways by Julian Richer of Richer Sounds and Richest Man in America

by Sam Walton are great stories of retailers.

Gung Ho is a brilliant book about a woman in America who turns a chemical plant from being the worst to the best with good people management.

BEST SOUNDS >> Music from the 70s and 80s.

LUXE SHOP >> Best shopping city > Got to be London. I like the experience of Harrods and Bond Street.

Favourite shop > The House Designerwear in Yarm or Harrogate, I can get the brands I like and the styles I enjoy wearing.

Retail treat > Being a retailer in fashion with my brother Peter and also director of Newman Scott which does a lot of work for fashion retailers means shopping for me has many sides to it; I enjoy seeing what others are doing.

Harrods and Selfridges are always great retail experiences or Bond Street for Louis Vuitton, Ralph Lauren and Hugo Boss.

Best buy > A Signed painting of Margaret Thatcher which I bid for in an auction. It was a painting which was hung in the Conservative offices in London. When it closed, they auctioned a number of items.

LUXE PARTY >> A memorable night out > I am not a big party animal however a once in a lifetime experience was when Louis Vuitton flew us to Paris. After a day at the factory we stayed at the Ritz and went to a party at the Buddha Bar followed by drinks in the Hemingway Bar. Perfect party > I am Patron for the Holistic Cancer Care Centre at James Cook Hospital in Middlesbrough. Chapters Hotel and The House hold an annual Touch of Class Ball to raise funds for the centre, it never ceases to amaze me how generous people can be and I really enjoy these evenings.

Best dress > I like to buy good brands that don’t date with the odd piece that stands out. Recently a Vivienne Westwood green tartan two-piece jacket with a gold chain, it looks great with jeans or trousers!

Dinner date > This sounds like a beauty contestant’s answer - President Obama.

I would have liked a private dinner with Mohammed Ali. Recently, don’t know how, Michelle Keegan has appeared on my Facebook. But in the real world, my wife and friends.

YOUR LUXE THING IN LIFE >> It has to be health. Cycling has been good for me. I was crazy about cycling as a kid and quite good as a teenager; I raced in Belgium but retired at 21 as my son Paul was born and family became my focus. Now I can find the time to race and train again .

The 10th Touch of Class Ball is at Gisborough Hall on 4 October. Tickets £70 per person.

Call Rachel on 01642 711888 or email rachel@chaptershotel.co.uk

MAR/APR13 MAR/APR13

DIG THIS

PLOT with Will Quarmby, Hampton Court Flower Show gold winner You love your kids, they love a trampoline - the proud gardener’s dilemma

Usually it’s a case of "the cobbler's children have no shoes" in our household.

The garden gets neglected and the interior likewise (my wife is an interior designer).

As we are both designers we tend to spend our time in protracted discussions, far too busy seeing to our clients’ needs, than to see to our own.

Last year we bought our children the ultimate toy, a trampoline. As our finger hesitated over the cursor on a 12ft size, we thought bigger would be better, we ended up with a 16ft circular trampoline complete with a safety net. Now this stands in our garden like a carbuncle. We have a glorious view all around, yet this monstrosity sits there, a distraction that takes the eye from any angle. I know we are not alone; the trampoline has become an almost a mandatory garden feature.

It is inevitable, with the weather as it has been, that the price of our staples such as bread, vegetables and fruit will increase significantly this year. With this in mind I decided to grasp the metaphorical bull by the horns and redesign our garden, enabling the trampoline issue to be addressed at the same time. We are fortunate to have a large garden albeit in a complete mess; we inherited borders so overwhelmed by nettles that the daffodils can barely make it through, we have a mole who is intent on undermining the entire lawn and lest we forget, the freeroaming chickens! Incorporated into the overall design is a kitchen garden. Each area is delineated with paths, yet work synonymously as a whole; an entertaining area, a grassed area, the chicken run, kitchen garden, children’s play area and a lawn.

As Rudyard Kipling said, ‘Gardens are not

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made by sitting in the shade’ and it is with this in mind that I will keep up the momentum. The garden has been marked out into its areas already; my next job is to strip the turf and rotivate the ground, then sheet it over to get warmth into the soil. If you are lucky enough, like me, to have the space there are a few points to consider when planning your plot: A good idea is to divide the plot into four areas – this enables you to rotate the crops, minimizing disease problems.

Ensure the paths between the beds are wide enough to take a wheelbarrow, and have a hard surface – a narrow brick path will stop your feet getting too muddy. Beds about 1.2m (4ft) wide with paths all around are perfect, because you can water and weed without getting on to the bed.

Make sure there is a source of water nearby.

If you don’t presently have an outdoor tap it is worth the investment having one fitted or better still, set up water butts to store as much rainwater as you can. Carrying watering cans across the garden is no fun so think about how you can use the saved water to make your life as easy as possible. We have set up a rain water recovery system off the greenhouse roof – it sounds sophisticated, it’s not, we have simply rearranged the guttering to feed into a huge trough. This allows us to fill buckets from it and also allows the ducks to frolic in there.

Depending on the size of your plot think about how it will look at different times of the year, empty patches of soil are far from attractive, perhaps interplanting with flowers or herbs would break the barren look. There is also the advantage that in a smaller garden you could have the best of both worlds by mixing vegetables, herbs and flowers. There are no rules that say

Some top pest repellers to try: Anise Hyssop repels Cabbage Moths Borage repels Tomato Hornworm Catmint repels Aphids Geraniums Pot Marigolds repel Asparagus Beetles Sage repels Cabbage Moths vegetables and flowers can't mix. In fact, the vegetable garden will benefit greatly from the addition of some flowers and herbs. It's not just aesthetics that make flowers and herbs welcome in the vegetable plot.

Interplanting flowers and herbs offers several beneficial features: Attract Pollinators > Vegetables don't always have the showiest flowers. To make sure the bees can find your vegetable plants, interplant flowers with high nectar concentrations and/or in shades of blue, yellow or white. Cosmos, larkspur, mint, sunflowers, sweet peas and zinnias.

Attract Beneficial Insects > There are insects that are good to have in your garden, like ladybirds, parasitic wasps and ground beetles. Parsley, dill, coriander and flowers from the aster family are especially good for attracting beneficial insects.

Trap Crops > If you can't repel a pest, put in a sacrificial plant. This is often accomplished with another vegetable crop. The pest insect will congregate on the trap crop, which is eventually pulled up and disposed of. The most famous flower trap crop is probably the use of nasturtiums to attract aphids.

Nicotiana is also good for this.

Biodiversity > In short, what all this interplanting is leading to is a very old gardening concept of biodiversity or

planting a wide variety of things rather than a single, monocrop. Confuse insect pests by interplanting things they love with things they won't touch.

Interplanting vegetables, herbs and flowers is how the original cottage garden style evolved. Sectioning off gardens for specific types of plants was a luxury of the rich and leisured.

Even if you don’t have a garden there are options. Most local councils have allotments available, but the rise in interest in a stride towards self-sufficiency does mean that there are often long waiting lists. If commitment isn’t your strong point then you could produce in containers or try growing tomatoes in hanging pots?

There is no set date for a job in gardening, for a start temperatures vary according to where you are in the country. Winter comes earlier to Scotland than Devon. Each year is different. February is often the coldest winter month although spring is just around the corner. More than any other month, what to do in February will depend on your local conditions.

As for the trampoline, I have decided that the only way to keep it and not have to look at it is to dig a big hole and bury it in the corner of the garden…

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LUXE LOCAL

Hurworth PROPERTIES >> Lovely townhouses line Hurworth’s main street and they’re all pristinely maintained. Judging by the estate agents’ signs – or lack of them – this is a place that people come to and stay put, who can blame them? Factors like good schools and easy commute, as well as the definite village atmosphere and green fields mean that it is a settle-in kind of place. There are some stunningly grand homes as well as spacious terraces – and a whole swathe of newish properties on the outskirts.

There are some exclusive residential properties on the site of Rockliffe Hall, where you’re likely to have a footballer as a neighbour.

Hurworth village extends along the northern edge of the River Tees so is great for long, rambling walks. At the east end of the village steps and along a narrow lane leading down to the river’s edge, are all that remains of the ferry landing site which operated until 1906.

Quite the gourmet ‘go-to’ destination these days, Hurworth, on the outskirts of Darlington, is an affluent little place with gorgeous properties and grand aspirations

essential Spar corner shop. However, the savvy shopper hops into their Evoke and heads for Grange Road in Darlington which is about a ten-minute drive away and where in one small but perfectly-formed street you can fill your bags with the best fashion names – check out Elan, Chestnut, Joulani for clothes, Hooker&Young for a hairdo and Carl Banks for funky flowers.

CONNECTED >> The A1 is five minutes’ drive away, Darlington Station and Durham Tees Valley Airport about ten-15 minutes away. You are also exceedingly handy for the race circuit at Croft, if pounding the track in a very fast car is your thing.

STROLL >> Very easy to just get your boots on and head towards the river which you can follow for miles and miles if you’ve the energy. It’s a good walk along the river to the neighbouring village of Neasham or carry on to the dramatic countryside at Middleton One Row where the River Tees’ waterscape is dramatic.

Rockliffe Hall is, of course, a big part of Hurworth’s life these days and if you’re a golfer then it is the stroll of your life on one of Europe’s longest and most challenging golf courses. The course is measured at an astounding 7,879 yards from the back tees.

The hotel is also the first official centre of excellence for Nordic Walking in the country, with sessions led by fitness specialists.

SHOP >> Not great for shopping it must be said, apart from the very

EAT & DRINK >> This is where Hurworth comes into its own. You wonder how

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the people of Hurworth managed before Rockliffe opened its culinary doors. Rockliffe Hall’s Orangery is the place celeb chef Kenny Atkinson calls his own. The triple AA Rosette restaurant pulls in foodies from across the nation with showcase tasting and a la carte menus. A new walk-in wine cellar has just been created and Kenny now offers lunchtime dining in the Orangery. Celebrity chef dinners featuring some of the UK’s top TV chefs are in the offing too.

Rockliffe’s golf clubhouse and brasserie also feature dishes created by Kenny – always making the most of seasonal produce from farms nearby where possible.

Great gastropub dining is guaranteed at Marcus Bennett’s Bay Horse in the centre of Hurworth, a gorgeous place with bags of character, acclaimed beer and smashing food. Accolades include a Michelin Bib Gourmand and ‘Inspectors’ Favourite, in the Michelin Pub Guide 2011.

Starters include the likes of Smoked Haddock and Wensleydale Cheese Risotto with a Smoked Haddock Scotch Egg, with mains including Stuffed Saddle of Rabbit Wrapped In Parma Ham with A Toulouse Sausage Roll, Mustard Jus & Buttered Greens. Textbook kitchen adventures here.

Elsewhere in the village you’ll find some hearty boozers and the easy-going Otter&Fish which is a stylish little spot all its own. This is where you can tuck into a 6oz Grand Reserve ribeye steak farmed only a few yards away, for a midweekfriendly £13.95.

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LUXE LOCAL

my local

Chef Kenny Atkinson has lived in Hurworth since 2010 and runs all things food at Rockliffe Hall. He is married and has two boys, Aaron, seven and Aidan, three.

Three good things about living in Hurworth >> • You become part of a great local community and can take part in village life.

• It’s ideally located for both the primary and secondary school and not forgetting my place of work, which are all in walking distance from each other - perfect.

• You’ve got the open fields around the area which are great for walks, picking blackberries and wild garlic which is fun to get my kids involved with - there’s also lots of great local produce for cooking!

Dining is where Hurworth comes into its own. Great gastropub dining is guaranteed at The Bay Horse or foodie heaven at Rockliffe Hall

Great places to visit >> • Obviously Rockliffe Hall with one of the largest golf courses in Europe, an award winning spa and not forgetting The Orangery.

• Durham Cathedral - it’s only 30 minutes away and even better at night when it’s all lit up.

• Raby Castle is another attraction worth a visit, great to take the kids to a medieval castle right on our doorstep, steeped in history.

property: three to choose Fruity surroundings Appletrees, as the name suggests is a house as much about the outside as the inside. Fountains, Italianate garden features and lashings of lawn.

Swanky new kitchen inside too. All approached through electric gates and an impressive driveway.

£1.2 million www.smithsgore.co.uk

Period pleaser Four-bedroomed period semi on the outskirts of Hurworth in Hurworth Place.

Contemporary and characterful interior and just a short stroll from riverside walks.

£250,000 www.bridgefords.co.uk

Homework haven Two-bedroomed Grade II listed cottage which was formerly part of the Old Church School, dating back to the early 1800s.

Features include a beamed ceiling, original stone fireplace and galleried landing.

£199,950 www.anncordey.co.uk

PROPERTY WATCH WITH DUNCAN YOUNG

WHICH ESTATE AGENT TO CHOOSE As we see clear signs of the housing market recovering in 2013, it seems that, finally, after seven years of turmoil, homeowners may be able to sell their homes within a reasonable period of time. Whilst the recovery will be slow, there are indications throughout the region that demand outstrips supply for certain styles of houses. This has been caused by the under supply of new homes to the housing market over the last seven years and the lack of new construction, creating a real hole in the economy when matched by an ever increasing demand.

If houses are likely to sell more quickly, how do you choose the best estate agent? The following are my best tips, dependent upon the area that you live in: 1. Ask someone you know who is going to buy in your area, who provides the best service and follows them consistently and enthusiastically.

2. Search the main property portal websites, including rightmove.co.uk and zoopla.co.uk. at the price level you are thinking of selling at. It is important that you only search within your style of house to see which agents usually handle that house within your area. Once you see which agents are the most popular, look on their own sites to see who has the best looking site, the best looking photographs and images and who are likely to entice your buyer more than the other agents.

3. Try calling or emailing them after hours and if you cannot reach them see how long it takes for them to call you back or to return your email.

4. Visit their offices and see how professional their displays are, how efficient their office looks and if they are as busy as they seem to be.

5. Ask them if they will reduce their fees! Those agents that cave in and immediately reduce are very poor negotiators with little confidence and are probably desperate for your house sale. Good agents know their worth and protect their own fees (if they cannot protect their fees how can they protect your price?)

6. Ask them to produce real evidence of five sales in your area for properties like your own and quiz them on the details of those properties – the interior styling, design and quality. It is essential that the valuer has knowledge of your style of property.

7. Ask them what their negotiation strategy is to maximise the sale price of your home; isn’t that what you are paying them for?

8. Ask them what improvements you can undertake to increase your price or speed up your sale. Can they add value to your property?

9. Ask them about their website; whether they have a mobile website that can be used by iphones, Blackberries and Android telephones. Many agents don’t have mobile sites and rely on their main website, which is too large and too busy when reduced to a smaller device. Do they have a mobile app which can be downloaded and how many registered buyers do they have for your area?

10. How strong is their marketing and the visibility and the quality of presentation of their homes for sale? Do they use social media and are they actively progressing with new media (rather than the old press) to ensure the maximum visibility of your home?

The above points are just some of the issues which you may want to consider when appointing an estate agent. Many people have historically thought; who will value my home at the most and who will give me the cheapest fee? These two factors alone are possibly the worst factors to make a decision on whom to appoint to sell your home.

The housing market has seen a clear lift in the first two months of 2013 and in Sanderson Young a 74 per cent lift year on year in January and a 32 per cent lift year on year in February. These are very encouraging signs. There is no doubt that banks are now under tremendous pressure to ensure their net lending increases dramatically this year. Quantative easing has created a huge amount of money for these banks and it is essential that this money is passed on to people looking to buy homes.

2013 is the year the housing market will change and it is essential that you are matched with a good agent who offers professional expertise for sales, lettings and mortgages.

We look forward to being of service to you.

Duncan G Young Dip.Est.Man.FNAEA, Managing Director, Sanderson Young duncan.young@sandersonyoung.co.uk 0191 223 3500

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SELLING THE REGION’S

FINEST HOMES

SPRINGFIELD HOUSE Corbridge Springfield House is believed to have been constructed circa 1874 and is a highly impressive detached Victorian residence. Set in circa 2.9 acres of beautiful secluded gardens and grounds, the property has lovely south facing terraces and open views over the Tyne Valley. Springfield House itself is delightful and provides some of the most impressive family accommodation in the north of England, with period styling and its modern luxury fittings. is is a very special and luxurious house.

Price Guide: £3.995 Million

RUNNYMEDE ROAD Darras Hall, Ponteland Rocklyn Lodge was originally built in 1988 and occupies one of the most impressive garden sites within Runnymede Road. e property has been extensively remodelled and refurbished to an extremely high standard and the grounds that surround the house are magnificent with beautiful tall trees giving tremendous screening and privacy. e house has the benefit of extensive high quality appliances and fittings which will only be truly appreciated from an internal inspection. A stunning home in a fabulous location.

Price Guide: £1.995 Million

From Sanderson Young

ALL CONFIDENTIAL ENQUIRIES TO 0191 223 3500 or email: duncan.young@sandersonyoung.co.uk

SELLING THE REGION’S

FINEST HOMES

TALL TREES Gubeon Wood, Tranwell Woods, Nr Morpeth Situated in 3.732 acres of magnificent gardens, is this stunning detached modern mansion house. e property has been extensively remodelled and refurbished and is offered for sale with superb accommodation including a triple car garage with a separate annexe and flat above. ere are five bedroom suites and four further double bedrooms to the first floor, one with its own lounge area and two with external terraces. ere is also a self contained apartment. Tall Trees is a very special property.

Price Guide: £1.95 Million

MOOR CRESCENT Gosforth No. 19 Moor Crescent represents one of only two substantial semi detached, three storey villas, set back from Moor Crescent on the south side of the road. e property has been extensively refurbished and modernised by the current owners in the last 12 months. e house is now available for sale with beautiful accommodation, immaculately presented and a lovely garden site which is south facing at the rear backing onto the Town Moor. Viewing is strongly recommended of this beautiful home.

Price Guide: £1.1 Million

From Sanderson Young

ALL CONFIDENTIAL ENQUIRIES TO 0191 223 3500 or email: duncan.young@sandersonyoung.co.uk

Fine & Country iPhone App Download the Fine & Country iPhone App today to browse some of the finest properties worldwide. Featuring our unique lifestyle video technology, stunning imagery and a ‘near you’ search facility.

Download it now at www.fineandcountry.com

local, regional, national and international specialists in property marketing APPLE TREE HOUSE LEAZES LANE WOLSINGHAM Apple Tree House is a substantial, detached family property, recently constructed in the style and scale of a Victorian villa in the former grounds of a country hall. It stands on a large private plot and offers extensive accommodation across three floors as well as an attractive, mature garden. There are four fabulous reception rooms, five large charming double bedrooms and four luxurious bathrooms combining in a spacious residence. The ground floor comprises a considerable formal sitting room with a large bay window, a stone fireplace and French doors set in a bay leading into the walled, rear garden. The breakfasting kitchen is large enough to accommodate daily dining and has a tiled floor, granite worktops and a good range of appliances. The kitchen leads into the dining room and garden beyond to make this an ideal space for entertaining. The lovely master suite offers superb owners’ accommodation with French doors to a balcony, fitted wardrobes, a dressing room and contemporary en suite shower room. The dual aspect second bedroom also benefits from en suite facilities and different ceiling heights for added character. Standing in its own grounds with gardens surrounding the property means the sunshine can be captured all day. This is a rare opportunity to purchase an exceptional property in an exclusive development in the popular market town of Wolsingham, in the heart of beautiful Weardale.

Contact: 0191 384 2277

PRIMROSE SIDE COTTAGE ALUM WATERS COUNTY DURHAM

£499,950

THE OLD MILL COWPEN BEWLEY COUNTY DURHAM

• With panoramic rural vistas or pretty garden views from every window.

• Extremely well presented ensuring the space draws in plenty of light as well as views.

• Reception hall/study, stunning lounge, family breakfasting kitchen, contemporary styled bathroom.

• Bedroom one is a generous size & enjoys dual aspect over neighbouring countryside, bedroom two is also of double size.

• One acre paddock, greenhouse, chicken run, useful outbuilding.

• Transformed from a characterful old farm building into a beautiful and desirable home.

• Full of character and beautifully presented throughout with a wealth of traditional features.

• Perfect for a family seeking a unique home with the added bonus of large gardens and paddock.

• Set within a private plot with gated entrance, driveway and large parking area, the property has a lovely, established garden.

• Deceptively spacious, must be seen to be appreciated.

Contact: 0191 384 2277

£319,950 Contact: 0191 384 2277

Newcastle 0845 459 6000

Durham 0191 384 2277

Wynyard 01740 645 444

residing@fineandcountry.com

info@durhamfineandcountry.co.uk info@wynyardfineandcountry.co.uk residing@fineandcountry.com cumbria@fineandcountry.com

Tyne Valley 0845 459 6000

£435,000 Cumbria 0845 872 5453

Sales & Lettings North East creative and intelligent marketing of individual and country property

...300 offices worldwide THE GRANARY WYNYARD VILLAGE

Open plan living is offered at its best, a detached property with instant kerb appeal from the outside and plenty to delight inside. Once in the hallway it’s clear it has been a well-loved home where décor and high quality fittings have been chosen carefully. Beautifully presented in neutral tones, its new owners can take up residence and begin enjoying their new home from day one. The main formal reception room is to the right, stretching the full depth of the house and providing a formal, calming space in which to relax. Across the hall there is a separate dining room or study depending on requirements. Beyond is the heart of the property, a large open plan kitchen, dining area and sun lounge with French doors to the rear garden. It is the hub of family life, be it children doing homework, watching television, cooking and eating together or entertaining guests.

Fitted with light coloured units with a breakfast bar, the kitchen is a wellequipped space for cooks and leads to an informal dining space. Upstairs there are four bedrooms and a contemporary family bathroom. Again, all are immaculately presented in neutral tones. Accessed via a private gated entrance and double garage with electric doors. The front garden is well maintained and laid to lawn.

Contact: 01740 645 444

THE STABLES WYNYARD VILLAGE

£389,000

SPRINGBANK WOOD WYNYARD

• Characterful, farmhouse–style family home with tasteful modern interior throughout.

• Open plan living space is increasingly sought after and this property does not disappoint.

• It boasts a very stylish and well appointed kitchen with a fabulous sun lounge leading onto the outside patio.

• The property has four delightful bedrooms with the master having en-suite facilities.

• Built by Bellway, this is an excellent and practical family home, at the heart of Wynyard Village.

• Enjoying open countryside views to the rear.

Contact: 01740 645 444 Lakes 01539 733 500

Northumberland 0845 459 6000

sales@fineandcountry-lakes.co.ul

info@durhamfineandcountry.co.uk

• Springbank Wood is a unique and attractive detached property with instant kerb appeal.

• The detached, four bedroom house makes a superb family home offering plenty of enclosed outdoor space.

• The well appointed breakfasting kitchen leads into a separate dining area providing numerous opportunities for entertaining.

• The elegant, dual aspect lounge and triple aspect sun lounge both lead onto the terrace and large gardens.

• Well cared for both inside and out, the property offers a real home with excellent outdoor space.

£335,000 Contact: 01740 645 444

£360,000

www.fineandcountry.com Head office: 121 Park Lane, Mayfair, London WIK 7AG.

A RUM DO

Harry the party prince is fond of this Caribbean getaway when he needs to chill out.

Linda Jackson follows the royal footsteps

Happy as Choosing something from the menu at Half Moon, A RockResort, has never been so difficult. It’s the biggest dilemma on my mega chill-out in the Caribbean but, after all, I am in Jamaica so a sexy and exotic melting pot is only to be expected. So… which item from the menu should I choose? One that is rich in coffee and coconut, or one made with a blend of sugar and allspice perhaps. The concoction of Jamaican herbs and ground Cerasee, or the melange of freshly picked herbs, roots, leaves and fruit both look appetising too, while the coconut and oat milk blend with calendula and comfrey is, I admit, beyond my comprehension.

It makes a change to have a spa menu in my hand rather than a restaurant menu, but eventually the thought of my body being spritzed with a Jamaican Rum Splash does it for me. I succumb to one of the hotel’s Signature treatments at the Fern Tree, A RockResorts Spa® at Half Moon – a gorgeous exclusive resort which sits on a crescent-

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shaped beach on the north coast of Jamaica, and a hotel honoured by Royalty no less (Prince Harry was here not so long ago).

Arriving early evening at the Half Moon, Rose Hall, is enchanting – the sun is setting painting the sea and sky with hues of orange, hundreds of twinkling fairly lights are twisted through the spreading branches of fragrant almond trees, candlelit tables are set ready for dinner on the terrace beside the beach, and I can hear the barman at the Cedar Bar preparing exotic cocktails. I can’t resist: first a ‘Coco Amore’, followed by the ‘Half Moon’s Magic’ - two scrummy rum cocktails. I’m already liking Half Moon a lot - the chic hotel has old world charm but with all mod cons, a variety of elegant rooms, suites, cottages and private villas, numerous restaurants, a luxury spa, an 18-hole signature golf course, equestrian centre, fitness centre, tennis and squash courts, dolphin lagoon… and lots more.

Thoughts of doing anything active drift readily from my mind when I arrive at the Fern Tree Spa and experience the welcome Signature treatment ritual of a warm footbath

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A RUM DO

Arriving early evening at the Half Moon is enchanting - the sun is setting, painting the sea and sky with hues of orange

Harry of calming Jamaican Cerassee (a Jamaican bush tea). I’m sitting on a veranda that overlooks the spa’s secluded gardens as my therapist gently washes my feet. All I need now, I’m thinking Colonial-style, is someone standing in the corner swishing a banana tree frond to provide a cooling breeze for my Caribbean-tanned brow.

Hot water is infused with Cerassee leaves apparently it has a calming relaxing effect and helps with detoxification – and throughout the massage an essential oil blend of ginger, orange and allspice is used together with various massage techniques such as Thai stretches and Hawaiian Lomi-Lomi (for their healing benefits). Finally, to uplift and energise, my body is spritzed with a Jamaican rum splash and, to finish my 80 minutes of bliss, my feet are wiped with a nutmeg oil-infused hot towel.

Ancient remedies using indigenous herbs, fruits and plants are blended with modern spa techniques administered in treatment rooms set amid the tranquil gardens and, to add a touch of romance, couples can also enjoy treatments together in a seaside

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cabana with opening sides on a pier overlooking the Caribbean Sea. There’s a yoga pavilion, steam rooms, sauna and a meditation labyrinth at the spa, as well as a Spa Elder incidentally, who’ll sort out your body, mind and spirit – no problem.

Other temptations include a Caribbean Sea cocoon, heated seashell or lava stone massages, a Jamaican bush bath, coffee coconut or Jamaican allspice sugar scrubs, and coconut milk and honey or soothing aloe and lavender wraps. To say the Fern Tree Spa at Half Moon gives you a taste of the Caribbean is putting it mildly… it’s positively a banquet.

After a few days and several visits to the Fern Tree Spa, a veritable magnet, it is now a change to have a restaurant menu in my hand but, regrettably for my waistline, the cuisine at Half Moon is as irresistible as the pamperings. At this point I am just hoping that the exotic local spa treatments I’ve succumbed to will make my body every bit as seductive as the Chef’s lobster creations.

Miracles happen… hopefully at Half Moon. www.halfmoon.rockresorts.com

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CHILL OUT

Pace it in Portugal From surf school to a determinedly decadent body massage, the Portuguese prescription for a relaxation remedy is the perfect chill-pill. I find myself in the impressively stylish surroundings of Martinhal Beach Resort and Hotel, ready to press the relax button. For me there aren’t kids in tow but the surroundings are more than geared up to family holidaying – with thoughtful details creating a real holiday heaven for all ages. Pack dad off to golf somewhere, send stressed-out mum to the spa, occupy the teenies with arty, creative activities and send the big kids on the bus to surf school.

Holiday job done!

Occupying a twenty-five hectare site that overlooks the tranquil bay of Martinhal Beach and surrounded by the unspoilt Costa Vicentina Natural Park, the resort boasts gorgeous views of turquoise seas and traditional Portuguese terrain. At the heart of this complex, which features thirty-eight beach fronted rooms along with a host of independently owned luxury villas that can be rented under the brand, find plenty of opportunities to relax in style; including five swimming pool areas, three restaurants, an on-site store and a gym. Martinhal was created with families in mind. An ethos that is clear in every aspect of the hotel, although one that is perhaps most evident in the cultural village square, a two-minute walk from the main building. Little Fox day care has activities for children from six months to

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Getting the relax right for all the family can be a tricky ask. Martinhal Beach Resort on Portugal’s Western Algarve ticks the boxes for all – from tired out mums to hard-to-please tweens. Rachael Connelly checks in ten years. Above this is a dedicated high-tech games room keeps older children entertained with table football, the latest video games and a selection of films screened daily.

For your more outdoorsy offspring, the resort’s leisure hub, Club 98, plays host to an assortment of energetic and engaging activities including dolphin watching, junior lifeguard courses and bike trips which are certain to create memories for years to come.

Never one to shy away from the new experiences that Martinhal is keen to triumph, I was amongst the first to don a wetsuit and sign up for a beginner’s surf and body board experience. Consisting of a core workout that builds up to basic training on how to control the board, each lesson is taught on one of the areas 25 blue flagged beaches, which vary depending on the best conditions on the day – making the most of the two differing coastlines on the doorstep.

I was taught at surfers’ favourite, Amado beach, around 45 minutes drive from the main resort allowing me the chance to discover the rockier western coast, which is surrounded by the impressive cliffs of Ponta de Sagres - and also proves an ideal sunbathing spot. Back at the hotel, the

atmosphere is cool and contemporary with stark white walls, warmed by features built from the natural rock surrounding the hotel and statement pieces of furniture. Within these natural gardens stand the resort’s beach houses with beach-chic furnishings and unforgettable views.

Finisterra Spa has six treatment rooms along with a wet area that includes a sauna, jacuzzi and steam bath. A wide variety of aromatic oils, ointments, spices and exotic herbs are used to bring together ancient and contemporary techniques to send you home full of health and vitality. I opted for a traditional relaxing deep back and shoulder massage, which aims to ease tension and relieve stress (from all that surfing!). It certainly did the trick and I can testify that Eduardo truly has magic hands!

Traditional cuisine is a boast of the resort, with meals becoming an event in their own right. Breakfast which is a served in the hotel’s restaurant, O Terraço overlooking stunning views of the beach, is a plentiful buffet that ranges from fresh breads and patisseries to full cooked breakfasts. In the evening it becomes a very different setting, with low lighting and mood music helping

FAC TS>> The hotel offers ten terrace rooms in the main building, which open onto the gardens where a further 26 beach rooms and two beach suites are located. Prices start from £215 or £265 per night. www.martinhal.com Flights from Leeds Bradford airport to Faro www.ryanair.com

create a sophisticated, grown-up atmosphere.

Meals are made from fresh local and seasonal ingredients. Favourites included a starter of grilled pineapple with shrimps and mixed salad abacaxi, followed by a main course of guinea fowl, sautéed cabbage and polenta with dried herbs. Although the prize for the best dish of my visit went, without doubt, to the chef’s dessert suggestion; a zingy orange sorbet served alongside a delicate morsel of caribou cake with melt-in-the-middle fondant.

All of which were accompanied by a wine list graced by an array of Portuguese labels, an industry that Martinhal is keen to champion.

Dominating the selection is award-winning creative winemaker, Quinta dos Vales, which owns more than 200,000sqm of vineyards and produce high quality wines from mostly indigenous grape varietals by combining traditional techniques with the most advanced technology.

MAR/APR13

WONDER XXXXXXXX WALES

GLITZY DAYS Hip hotels with Debrah Dhugga Deb scurries off to Wales and finds a stylish spot to cosy up

As director of one of the leading boutique hotels in the world, sometimes I’m looking for something different to press the switch-off button.

It’s always nice to escape to a place where there are no demands on your time at all, where you can really kick back and enjoy some time off. But, being the demanding person I am, I still need my luxury fix!

Would Wales fit the bill I wondered? The country is not one that’s an instant destination for people from the North East – our natural pull tends to be upwards to Scotland.

But wow. I really suggest you make the effort and the journey. whether as a couple or for a family break. It is a special place and of course I have found the perfect place to stay.

It is part of the Natural Retreats company which I have told you about before. The combination of a genuine retreat and a concierge service takes some beating if you want a really effortless break.

On arrival you’re met by a complimentary Natural Retreat hamper filled to the brim with yummy local produce. Ours included fresh bread, cheese, jam, ginger biscuits shortbread and free range eggs. Essentials such as tea, coffee and milk are also ready for your journey’s end cuppa.

WHO GOES THERE >> The Llŷn Peninsula with its beautiful landscape and clear blue seas offers scope for a whole range of holidays. With tourist attractions to visit, historic places of interest, charming little fishing villages, white-washed farms and beautiful beaches you’ll have an experience to treasure whether it’s a magical family break or a romantic couple’s retreat.

FAMILY >> From zoos to castles, dry ski slopes to steam trains, there is plenty to do on the Llyn Peninsula and further afield, to keep the whole family entertained during your holiday in Wales. The properties are on the doorstep of Nefyn Bay with charming rock pools and the remote Whistling Sands Beach is just a 30 minute drive along the coast. A family day out could be a short drive to Abersoch to visit the Maiza Maze, or The Rabbit Farm and Park at Criccieth.

COUPLES AND HONEYMOONERS >> The one-bedroom residences at Natural Retreats Llŷn Peninsula are idyllic and cosy; definite love nests and the perfect romantic break destination for honeymooners or couples needing a well-earned break!

Explore the local area with a long walk

along the coastal path, finishing up at the quaint Ty Coch Inn for lunch and a glass of chilled white.

LOCATION >> Located on the coast of Nefyn Bay, Natural Retreats Llŷn Peninsula is the base for eight charming, traditional Welsh-stone cottages, each built to harmonise with their surroundings.

You can relax and do nothing surrounded by home comforts but know that the Natural Retreats concierge team is available should you need it.

What we loved about the properties were the awe-inspiring coastal views. With balcony windows, exposed beams and granite stone walls, each cottage had something unique.

Definite ‘away from it all’ vibe.

WHAT TO DO ROUND AND ABOUT >> There are plenty of restaurants, pubs and bars to tempt your taste buds. If you’re eating with the kids try the family friendly Italian restaurants in Abersoch and Pwllheli or if you’re after a romantic candlelit dinner, you’ll discover fabulous seafood and a la carte menus.

For the keen golfer, Nefyn golf course is a 26 hole championship golf course, offering a sea view from every tee.

Enjoy a day exploring the beautiful scenery of the Snowdonia National Park. Mountains, lakes, forests, waterfalls, sandy beaches and dramatic sea cliffs.

There are nearby horse riding stables within easy reach of Natural Retreats Llyn Peninsula.

Cycling is a good way to explore more than 47 miles of the beautiful Welsh coast.

The Peninsula roads are quieter, with less ‘through traffic’, so it is good cycling territory.

There is also a pub on the beach directly below Nefyn golf course, which is a great cycle destination.

NEWSFLASH >> There’s a newly opened Retreat on my list of places to visit. John O’Groats no less!

Pack the car and point north. The Retreats are certainly away from it all, located on the most northern tip of the UK in a tiny hamlet set amongst some of the most sensational and extreme landscapes, combining coastal stacks, dramatic cliffs, forests and white sandy beaches.

On my things to do list here will definitely be an afternoon out on the Natural Retreats boat for a spot of dolphin, porpoise, seal and killer whale watching!

Natural Retreats John O’Groats is situated in a tiny hamlet set amongst some of the most sensational and extreme landscapes combining awe-inspiring coastal stacks, dramatic cliffs, forests and white sandy beaches.

A complimentary Natural Retreat Hamper is filled to the brim with yummy local produce. Ours included fresh bread, jams, cheese and free range eggs

THE FACTS >> A week’s stay at Natural Retreats from approx £510 for a three-night stay. ( 0844 384 3166) www.naturalretreats.com

MAR/APR13

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CULTURE MISSY

HELLO! with Nina Robinson

The big people at luxe have decided to give us little people a space of our own.

I am getting very excited about the forthcoming weeks - lambs, chicks and, hurray, chocolate Easter eggs. But I’ve also had my brainy scientist head on and am encouraging mummy to find me a mini white labcoat for further experimentation! Happy Easter everyone.

Love, little luxe x

Nina:loves

Nina’s: diary 9 > 24 MARCH >> LAMBING WEEKENDS, GIBSIDE Meet newborn lambs from Gibside’s Cut Thorn Farm and take a peek at some tiny newly-hatched chicks. www.nationaltrust.org.uk

29 MARCH >> EASTER EGG-STRAVAGANZA, GIBSIDE Have an egg-tastic Easter weekend with Gibside’s Easter Egg Trail, face painting, garden games and an egg-head decorating competition. Don’t miss the annual Mouse House Challenge too! www.nationaltrust.org.uk

29 MARCH > 1 APRIL >>

All things science!

EASTER FAMILY FUN TRAIL, BELSAY HALL CASTLE AND GARDENS Crack the clues, complete the trail and win a yummy Easter prize. www.english-heritage.org.uk

Mummy says there aren’t many things that will hold my attention for longer than a couple of hours.

I’m quite keen on a good Disney film, a decent pick & mix and a bit of handiwork with scissors and glue but it’s not long before I’m on the wriggle and looking for the next thing.

Not so at our most recent visit to the brilliant Centre for Life in Newcastle last week ... Five hours. That’s how long mummy and me spent having fun in the new ‘Do try this at home’ show and other exhibitions last week. And that was on top of a very leisurely lunch hour and a break for a slice of cake!

The show, which runs until May 19, involves the centre’s team of Science Explainers breathing new life into old toys and usually boring domestic objects and giving them a life of their own. This is the place to come if you want to see a leaf blower become the power source for a hovercraft strong enough to hold a grown-up and sweep them across the floor.

Or see an old vacuum become a giant bazooka. There’s science behind it all of course and through adapting ordinary objects in extraordinary ways we little ones learn all about forces and friction while we’re having fun.

The visit to the Centre for Life has whetted my appetite for the return of the world-famous Maker Faire to the centre on April 27 and 28 when robots, garden shed inventions and the occasional fireball will roll into town. It’s a firm family diary date in my house and I’m looking forward to finding out what new weird and wonderful projects, performances, installations and workshops are in store this year. Another science diary date in Newcastle is September 7-12. Loads of activities to entertain, enthuse, educate and enlighten audiences of all ages when The British Science Festival brings famous faces and amazing discoveries to the stage in Newcastle. Save the date! www.life.org.uk and www.britishsciencefestival.org

29 MARCH > 1 APRIL >> EASTER TRAIL, WALLINGTON Help Baa-leigh and Beans, the spring lambs, find their friends as you follow Wallington’s fantastic children’s trail. www.nationaltrust.org.uk

31 MARCH >> SOUTER’S EASTER SHINDIG, SOUTER LIGHTHOUSE AND THE LEAS Follow the Easter trail for fun, games and a chocolate reward. www.nationaltrust.org.uk

31 MARCH >> BUNNIES, DUCKS, CHICKS, NUNNINGTON HALL The Easter Bunny is making a special visit to Nunnington Hall. Feed a lamb, see new born chicks and real-life bunnies over the Easter Sunday and Monday. www.nationaltrust.org.uk

1 APRIL >>

>> Strawberry Suitcase, £25, www.cathkidston.co.uk

UNDERGROUND ADVENTURE, HADRIAN’S WALL AND HOUSESTEADS FORT Experience a fantastic day exploring the tunnels of Smallcleugh Mine, Nenthead, including the spectacular underground ballroom. www.nationaltrust.org.uk

5 > 6 APRIL >> HONEY BEES, SEATON DELAVAL HALL Learn all about honey bees with Seaton Delaval Hall’s resident beekeepers, taste different flavours of Northumberland honey and find out how you can support bees for the future. www.nationaltrust.org.uk

>> Strawberry cardigan, £28, www.cathkidston.co.uk

Spring things

>> Zara embroidered denim shirt dress, £25.99, www.zara.com

21 >22 APRIL >> SHOOTING STARS AT KIELDER OBSERVATORY, KIELDER See if you can spot the Lyrid meteor shower, tour the observatory and use Kielder’s telescopes to count shooting stars. Age 10+. Time 8pm-11pm. Price Adults: £10, Concessions £8, Family £27. www.kielderobservatory.org

6 MAY >>

>> Mini Boden board shorts, £22- £24, www.boden.co.uk

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>> Cropped jacket, from £19, www.vertbaudet.co.uk

>> Zara crochet dress, £19.99, www.zara.com

MAY DAY FAMILY FUN, CHERRYBURN Join in the fun, dance around the Maypole and crown Cherryburn’s very own May Queen. Enjoy live music, face painting, garden games and much more! www.nationaltrust.org.uk

MAR/APR13

SPRING GREENS

golf:kit

Skip on to the greens with snazzy new gear and a very good reason to get that hole-in-one

SHOPPERS Next time you’re off on a golf jaunt from Newcastle Airport take an extra bag and get kitted out en route.

Hackett, Hilfiger, Lyle&Scott, Gant and exclusive brands Lacrosse and Long Island feature in the Airport Fashion store so pop in for a bit of browsing pleasure in those boring pre-flight moments.

Our pick: Lyle&Scott cotton sweater, £75, Hackett chinos, £135, and the all important snug but jazzy boxers from Bjorn Borg, £24.99.

PLAYERS If your 2013 golf challenge includes a hole-in-one, here’s a bit of added impetus. £1,000,000-worth of exclusive Hugo Boss watches are up for grabs this year as the brand launches a new hole-in-one prize for golfers.

Hugo Boss Watches has manufactured a specially commissioned, limited-edition timepiece for each golfer lucky - or skilful - enough to record a verified hole-in-one between 15 April and 31 October.

Winners will also receive membership of the exclusive Hugo Boss Watches H1 Club.

Around 1,800 UK golf clubs currently use HowDidiDo - a web-based social network for golfers - and anybody playing in official club competitions at one of these clubs will be eligible. And, with nearly 4,000 official holes-in-one recorded in 2012, golfers have plenty of opportunities to cash-in.

No registration is required to participate in the giveaway as all official club competitions are recorded on the HowDidiDo system, so holes-in-one will be noted and automatically ratified by the golfer’s club. www.h1club.co.uk www.bosswatches.co.uk

PLAY & STAY >> BOUTIQUE HOTEL, TRIO OF GOLF COURSES, BIT OF LUXURY?

SNEAKERS Kikkor’s new lines include the unique Men’s Slyder Premium, £79, a deck-shoe style with a leather upper and embedded spikes.

Kikkor shoes were the brainchild of Canadian golf professional James Lepp who wanted to produce golf shoes that combined unique styling, outstanding comfort and superior performance. The Kikkor range takes its influence from the classic North American athletic and skate shoes and the popular ‘sneaker’ and are built with comfort and style in mind first and foremost, without ignoring important technical attributes such as grip, stability, waterproofing and durability.

The range includes shoes with the exclusive VEKTRboard™ sole, which produces outstanding traction through the strategic curving of each individual cleat. The company describes the effect as like “having bear claws on your feet”.

The 2013 Kikkor range is in pro shops in the UK now. www.kikkor.co.uk

MAR/APR13

A luxury six-night golf deal from one of Mallorca’s leading boutique hotels includes tee-times at three of the holiday island’s top courses: Son Gual, Alcanada and Son Muntaner.

Close to Palma, Hotel Son Julia is a stunning country hotel situated in a 15th century Mallorcan manor house. The charming, 25-room ‘finca’ hotel opened in 2006 and overlooks splendid, lush countryside. It offers fine Mediterranean cuisine, spa and wellness therapies, and beautiful, 300-year-old gardens, with an inviting terrace and patio.

Son Julia’s golfers’ package includes six nights’ B&B accommodation in room or suite; three dinners at the hotel’s renowned restaurant; one green fee per person at each of Son Gual, Club de Golf Alcanada and Son Muntaner; two 30-minute golfer’s shoulder and neck massages, per person; one hour-long full body massage per person. Prices, based on two people sharing, start at €1,435 for a superior room. www.son-gual.com www.sonjulia.com www.golf-alcanada.com

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OFF THE CUFF

MAN SIZE WITH MARSHALL HALL

We all know the importance of looking and feeling our best. As competition in every aspect of our challenging times, the significance of looking smart and wellgroomed has never been more relevant.

Yet, there is one advantage that is often underutilised by men. Sharp shaving.

With the plethora of multi-blade razors and hi-tech shaving foams on the market, the benefits of treating yourself to a professional cut-throat shave may not appear immediately obvious.

However, having been schooled in the world of traditional shaving by Italian barber Joseph Lazante, I’ve seen how the level of the attention to detail required to produce that perfect shave really distinguishes it from bleary eyes and a bic!

It’s not all just about the razor. With hot towel treatments to open the pores and cleanse the skin, the correct technique of producing the perfect shave is an art that takes months of dedicated training. With just a single blade, there is no more effective and efficient way to cut the hair follicle when used properly. Whilst the idea of a four or five blade razor is a seemingly attractive one, it is producing a much greater amount of friction with the skin, causing more redness, irritation, and the tightness often felt after shaving at home.

Whilst the end-result is remarkably superior, a professional shave is also an ideal opportunity to take an all-important break from a busy lifestyle. The treatment itself is incredibly relaxing: whilst the hot towel massage eases away stress and tension, the heat relaxes the facial muscles, allowing those tensions to ebb away. In a world where everybody seems to be in a rush, the benefits of taking a few minutes out of a busy schedule are countless. My clients leave feeling relaxed, refreshed and renewed.

Having spent decades experimenting with facials and massage to relax the men of the North East, it’s interesting that it’s the shaving that has proved to be the most popular choice for an opportunity to unwind.

The experience, whilst pampering, is fully masculine, with Sky Sports and complimentary refreshments in a relaxed environment.

It is an experience that for hundreds of years was an essential part of the barbering routine. In this world of time limits, targets and tension, it’s never been more appropriate for a man to give himself a competitive edge. A neat, professional appearance is an investment into your future. As Tom Hopkins states: ‘you are your greatest asset. Put your time, effort and money into training, grooming and encouraging your greatest asset.’

To talk about the grooming options or to book an appointment, feel free to give me a ring on 0191 511 0288.

Marshall is based at Reds, East Herrington, Sunderland www.redshairandbeauty.com

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Shirt alert You won’t find a can of WD40 in Greg Robson’s garage - nor a car for that matter.

Just rows of splendid shirts

Gregory Robson’s small garage is the unlikely nerve centre for a bespoke shirt-making business.

In the neat room you’d be hard-pressed to find a ladder and set of tools, let alone a car.

Instead there sits a conventional sewing machine, neat piles of brown paper packaging, rolls of fabric and a rail of designer shirts.

In a multitude of colours and designs, they are all limited editions of a label called Gregory Clothing that continues to build a quiet but loyal following.

Greg, 46, spends his evenings in his garage studio at his home in Yarm working with his carefully chosen fabrics, creating just six of each from his handpicked range and just 66 from his Classic collection.

His customers number among them footballers and fashionable blokes who want a shirt that they won’t see someone else wearing across a crowded bar. Greg can guarantee that exclusivity too, knowing exactly who will be wearing and buying his shirts and ensuring that there are never two in the same postcode.

Gregory’s Classic collection sell for £125 –

these have a limited edition of 66 and Handpicked range - with just six in each design are £225. Polo shirts; ”which are flying at the moment”, he says, come in at £85 and £125.

The ‘66’ edition is a nod to Greg’s passion for football. He enjoyed a career as a semiprofessional footballer for Billingham Town, Crook and finally Stokesley as well as a spell in America.

His unexpected talent for design and manufacture of shirts came about as a bit of a challenge.

“I was a young bloke and I’d won a bet on a horse and my dad told me not to blow it all on a stupid shirt – in those days, like a lot of lads, I’d think nothing of spending £50 on a shirt to look good and impress the girls. So I told him I’d make my own and when he laughed and told me I couldn’t I decided I’d show him.”

So Greg bought some fabric and borrowed his mum’s sewing machine. His friends all loved the shirt and wanted him to make them one too.

He kept the talent on the backburner – he never sketches a design, unlike most designers. His is a completely natural talent with, as in all designs, pattern-cutting the

MAR/APR13

OFF THE CUFF

GET IT BRIGHT >> SUNSET STRIP >> Lacoste Live polo £75 www.houseoffraser.co.uk

BEST BAG >> Ted Baker satchel, £199 www.tedbaker.com key to the end product.

He sources fine English fabrics from British manufacturers and sometimes incorporates vintage fabrics into pocket, cuff and collar details.

Designs have a bit of a twist with quirky turns of colour and fabric – and intricate details like the signature hanging tab on the back of every shirt or the subtle ‘66’ motif.

There are plans for expansion with new business backers but at its heart is the exclusivity of the brand.

“I have maybe 50 or so customers who buy four or five shirts a year because they know they are getting something that is unique and they come back time and again”, he says.

Perhaps they look forward to the arrival of their new garment in its bespoke brown paper packaging as well.

“I just have a knack for design. I don’t know

MAR/APR13

>> Greg makes all the shirts for his collection from his meticulous garage workshop where attention to detail is everything

where that comes from. My inspiration comes from fabrics, from seeing and touching. Every shirt will have something different about it, even the most plain shirt will have something, the smallest detail that sets it apart from any other shirt. I like to think each one is a work of art.

“The men who wear my shirts want something unique and distinctive, they want to stand out from the crowd. The shirts are different - and I hope, a joy to wear.”

Find Greg’s creations at www.gregoryclothing.co.uk www.facebook.com/gregoryclothing

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PRESENT AND CORRECT

A great Brit birthday

Congratulations.

Aston Martin will this year celebrate its centenary and, to mark this achievement, they’ve brought out a new model. The Aston Martin Rapide S

I’m sure most of you will know about the Peter Kay sketch where he comes out with….”cheese-cake; garlic-bread.”

Well, here’s another one he could mention.

“Aston Martin: four doors.”

I’m sure that there will have been stunned disbelief three years ago when Aston Martin decided to launch a four door saloon.

Their previous effort, the pug-ugly, wedgeshaped Lagonda, was scrapped in the late 1980s.

That particular 4-door Aston cost £50,000 which is roughly £100,000 less than this new model will cost. It was no slouch though, hitting 150mph top speed and taking 6 seconds to dash from 0-60mph.

The new Rapide S however, is a beast of a machine. The 6.0 litre V12 engine has been given a power hike compared to the outgoing version. This improves to 0-60 sprint to under 5 seconds and takes the top speed up to 190mph. It won’t bother you if you are in the market for one of these cars but, despite the increase in power and performance, economy has improved slightly to just under 20mpg.

Needless to say, this Aston Martin looks great. Whereas something like the Porsche Panamera looks fat and slab-sided, the Aston looks neatly trimmed to the bone and has an athletic stance.

Compared to the original Rapide, this new model has a deeper front grille and there’s a new spoiler at the back. Apart from that and

a few additions of carbon fibre, there’s no drastic styling change.

It’s a similar story inside….leave things alone if they don’t need changing. In terms of kit, there’s nothing to add really. The options list is largely a selection of odds and ends that personalise the car including, naturally, sketching your name, or any other comment you’d like, onto the sill plates. How common.

No, the serious changes are all about what goes on under the bonnet. Aston Martin were keen to morph the 2010 Rapide from a relaxed Grand Tourer into a true sports car.

They’ve succeeded, but they’ve also retained the wonderful long-legged, smooth ride that you’d expect from a car that is designed to cover long distances at pace.

A brilliant car. And it’s British.

History repeating itself When the Aston Martin Lagonda was being phased out at the end of the 1980s, a little, seemingly insignificant car appeared. It was an attempt by a Japanese manufacturer to recreate a traditional British roadster.

To do that, it needed to be cheap, light, good to drive, mechanically simple with good handling and rear wheel drive, and possess an uncluttered interior. It needed to mirror cars like the Triumph Spitfire and MG Midget.

That car was the Mazda MX-5.

Almost 25 years later and approaching one million produced, the Mazda MX-5 is still going strong and, as you can see here, it is still being refreshed, updated and improved.

You still get the choice of having a rag top Roadster MX-5 or the more recently introduced metal folding roof Roadster Coupé MX-5. There are two engine options, both petrol, 1.8 or 2.0 litre. Both promise mid to high 30s mpg. The 1.8 model hits 60 mph in a shade under 10 seconds. The 2.0 MX-5 manages the dash in under 8 seconds.

There’s a new front grille and the brakes have been uprated to bring the MX-5 to a halt more quickly. There have been a couple of mechanical tweaks aimed at improving throttle response.

Thankfully, most things remain unchanged.

The Mazda MX-5 has always been hugely entertaining to drive in a basic sort of way.

The suspension allows you to have serious

92

fun but the engines (both of them) need to be worked quite hard to make this little car come to life. There’s also a fair amount of noise, especially when the roof is up.

But, you know, that’s half of the point in buying a Mazda MX-5 in the first place. If you wanted the ultimate in comfort, quiet, smooth transportation, you would not go for a car like this. You buy an MX-5 because you either want a ‘real’ sports car or it’s because you hanker for something that’s fun but not

too radical as something like a Lotus Elise (the ultimate performance roadster).

One thing that’s changed since the late 1980s, is the price. It used to cost £9,250.

Today, you will need to find between £18,495 and £23,595, although you do get sat nav thrown in as standard along with air con and side airbags.

Summer’s coming. Fancy some wind in the hair, flies in the teeth motoring? You will not go wrong with a Mazda MX-5.

Mazda MX-5 is still going strong and, as you can see here, it is still being refreshed, updated and improved MAR/APR13

I AM GIULIETTA.

TEST ME,

OR TRY TO RESIST ME.

Stunning 5 door coupé looks, 5 star Euro NCAP rating and performance to make your heart race. With advanced technology that cuts emissions and provides combined fuel consumption of up to 64.2 mpg. The Alfa Giulietta 1.6 JTD M-2 105 bhp Lusso is now available at £20,440 OTR †.

…NOW ONLY £219 PER MONTH*, WITH £2,000 ALFA ROMEO DEPOSIT CONTRIBUTION ‡ ACROSS THE RANGE, PLUS 5 YEARS WARRANTY ** ALFA GIULIETTA 1.6 JTDM-2 105 bhp LUSSO

REPRESENTATIVE EXAMPLE

On the Road Price†

£20,440

Customer Deposit

£2,999

Total Amount Payable by Customer

£19,924

Alfa Deposit Contribution‡ Amount of Credit Duration of Contract

£2,000 Monthly Payment*

£219

£15,441 Optional Final Payment (incl. £295 fee) 48 months Rate of Interest (Fixed)

£6,632 2.75%

Representative 3.4% APR W I T H O U T H E A R T W E W O U L D B E M E R E M A C H I N E S.

BENFIELD WARWICK STREET, NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE NE2 1BB 0843 658 9110 www.benfieldalfaromeo.co.uk dax.pearce@benfieldmotorgroup.com Model shown is Alfa Giulietta 1.6 JTDM-2 105 bhp Lusso at £20,440 OTR† including Ghiaccio White special paint at £490. Range of official fuel consumption figures for the Alfa Giulietta range: Urban 26.2 – 53.3 mpg (10.8 – 5.3 I/100km); Extra Urban 48.7 – 76.3 mpg (5.8 – 3.7 I/100km); Combined 37.2 – 64.2 mpg (7.6 – 4.4 I/100km). CO2 emissions 177 – 114 g/km. *With Alfa Romeo Preferenza you have the option to return the vehicle and not pay the final payment, subject to the vehicle not having exceeded an agreed annual mileage (a charge of 6p per mile for exceeding 6,000 miles per annum in these examples) and being in good condition. Offers may be withdrawn or amended without prior notification. Offer subject to status, a guarantee and/or indemnity may be required. Terms and Conditions apply. We work with a number of creditors to provide finance to our customers, including Alfa Romeo Financial Services. Alfa Romeo Financial Services, PO Box 4465, Slough SL1 0RW. Offer applies to vehicles registered between 1 January and 31 March 2013 on Alfa Giulietta models.

Terms and conditions apply. ‡The Alfa Romeo £2000 Deposit Contribution is valid between 1 January and 31 March 2013 and is available across the entire Alfa Giulietta range. The deposit contribution can be used in conjunction with PCP only. Vehicles must be registered by 31st March 2013. Participating dealers only. Terms and Conditions apply. Retail sales only. †On the road price is based on an Alfa Giulietta 1.6 JTDM-2 105 bhp Lusso and includes 12 months road fund licence, vehicle first registration fee, delivery, number plates and VAT. Figures correct at time of printing. **The 5 year warranty consists of 36 months unlimited mileage warranty (incl.24 months Pan European warranty) plus an additional warranty of 24 months or 100,000 miles, whichever comes first, excluding wear and tear items. For full details please see www.alfaromeo.co.uk.

GO FASTER

Young at heart Well, shock horror, it looks as though Mercedes is doing just that. Take a look at the new Mercedes-Benz CLA. It is based on the A Class we reviewed in the last edition of luxe and, as you’d expect, it has the same sort of driving manners. I also think it looks really good, just like the A Class does.

The order book is now open at your local Mercedes-Benz dealership, but the first models won’t roll off the ferry until June.

At launch, there are three models available.

Two use petrol engines (the CLA 180 powered by a 1.6 litre and the CLA 250 which has a 2.0 litre engine) and one uses a diesel engine (the CLA 220CDi using a 2.2 litre oil burner).

All of these put their power onto the road via the front wheels but there will eventually be a four-wheel drive version and a hot AMG using a turbocharged 2.0 litre engine.

And here’s the good news. Although Mercedes-Benz haven’t given the official figures just yet, we’ve been tipped the wink that the CLA will start at a shade under £25,000. This is to encourage folk to join the Mercedes range before they have to shell out extra cash to achieve a C-Class. If you need a rough guide to the likely prices across the range, go to the A-Class and add on a grand or so and you won’t be far away from the target.

Fuel economy should be decent because Mercedes reckon that the CLA is the most aerodynamic production car ever made. The diesel model should easily achieve 60mpg.

While the 1.6 litre petrol offers a mix of

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Mercedes has a problem; the average age of a Mercedes driver is too high.

Is the answer a price reduction to encourage younger buyers ponders Graham Courtney

economy, refinement and performance with around 52mpg, a top speed of 130mph and a 0-60 time of just over 9 seconds.

As ever, the options list will be massive, although the entry level models are by no means stripped out shells. The options are, however, the way that Mercedes boosts the price of the car. It’s incredibly easy to add on a few trinkets yet end up paying an absolute fortune for something that, in the long run, you actually could have done without.

Remember, options rarely increase the value of the car when the time comes to sell.

Overall though, I like the CLA. It is a welcome addition to the range and, yes, I reckon it will do what Mercedes-Benz wants and attract younger buyers.

The CLA will start at a shade under £25,000 to encourage folk to join the Mercedes range before they have to shell out for a C-Class. Get ‘em while they’re young MAR/APR13

LUXE LAPS FIRST LOVE >> My Red Fiat Cinquecento, great fun to zip about in CHILDHOOD CAR CRUSH >> Audi TT CAPT SLOW OR JEREMY >> Jeremy is my preferred option IN THE GARAGE NOW >> Audi TT Quatro Sport 2L TDI IF YOU COULD OWN ANYTHING >> An Audi R8. It’s on the shopping list ROAD TRIP >> Trip to Devon for my wedding in 2011 with the car packed to the brim and my wedding dress on my knee.

Shared with? My fiancé of five years – who was husband Rob on the return journey of course.

TRACKS OF YOUR TYRES >> No Doubt Push and Shove!

JULIE ASTON

HOW CLEAN IS YOUR CAR >> Shining bright like a diamond

SCARY MOMENTS >> Pulling up to refuel and seeing the astronomical price of diesel COULD YOU BE THE STIG >> Hubby says not but I would be prepared to give it a go!

BLOCKBUSTER. WANT TO BE THE FIRST TO SEE THE NEXT BIG THING? A sporty new exterior design, lowered suspension for a dynamic ride and an exciting reinterpretation of the familiar interior – feast your eyes on the all-new MINI Paceman. Setting a new pace for MINI, the Paceman is set for UK launch on 16 March 2013.

For more information, pop into our showroom or call 0191 269 0000 to speak to a member of the team.

LLOYD NEWCASTLE

Barrack Road, Fenham Barracks Newcastle Upon Tyne NE2 4LE 0191 269 0000 www.lloydnewcastlemini.co.uk

27576_bs212535_LLoyd_Newcastle_Paceman_Ad_221x157.indd 1

MAR/APR13

Official Fuel Economy Figures for the MINI Paceman Range: Urban 26.4–60.1 (10.7–4.7 l/100km).

Extra Urban 44.8–67.3 (6.3–4.2 l/100km). Combined 35.8–64.2 (7.9–4.4 l/100km). CO2 emissions 184–115 g/km.

Julie Aston, 30, from Tynemouth is a parttime model and full-time studio design manager. She is a bit of a creative and so both jobs allow her to express her personality. She loves travelling and experiencing new cultures and food. She loves the gym and spending time with friends and family

GLOVE BOX REVELATIONS>> Make-up and sunglasses for when I’m having a less than glamorous day

04/03/2013 16:52

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SOCIAL LIFE

In association with:

North East

luxe:looks

Break out the fizz. Time to get down to some people-spotting as we bring you our social snapshot of happenings across the North East. Eyes and teeth time!

St Oswald’s Bollywood Ball, The Hilton, Gateshead Left > Natalia Blogburn, Helyn Douglas

Art in the Arch, Sleeperz Hotel, Newcastle Right > Javeed Anwar Above > Natalia Blogburn, Helyn Douglas Below > Jillian Bell, David Myers, Simon Bell

Above > Chris Duffy, Sue Fortune Duffy

Below > Sue Fortune Duffy, Chris Duffy

Above > Cassie Stephenson, Mick Stephenson, Vicky James, Duncan Fairbrother

Above > Ozzie Riley, Elaine Beard Above > Wayne Halton, Judith Halton, Matab Miah

Above > David Bootle, Gill Pilkington, Bonnie Byers, Katie Warren

Right > Karen Wilson, Francesca Craggs, Sam Wonfor

Right > Kevin Gilhooley, Javeed Anwar, Mitch Gaglardin

Above > Lewis Millican, Rhaynor Gavin, Stephen Wilson, Peter Millican

Above > Ayesha, Harsah, Sadiya & Tatimah

Above > Denise Carmichael, Janey Nicholas, Andy Taylor, Joanne King, Julie Wilson, Emma Taylor Locke

Daisy Chain Ball, Crathorne Hall, Yarm Left > Maria Smith, Vanessa Rudlin, Catherine Barber, Margaret Hahn, Charles Campion, Colin Backhouse, Amanda Backhouse

Above > Justine Johnson, Eileen Lewin

Right > Cath Purdy, Alan Purdy

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Right > Julie Bateman, Judy Campbell

Right > Judith Simpson, Sian Pomfret, Sue Priest

Above > Eileen Lewis, Chris Lewis Right > Marilyn Robinson, Peter Robinson

Left > Darren Cooney, Sarah Cooney, Paula Marshall, Gary Marshall

MAR/APR13

Dream Image Makeover ‘Reveal’ Rockliffe Hall, Hurworth

SOCIAL LIFE

North East Tourism Awards, Sage, Gateshead

Above > Rob Gray, Steven Bell, Nick Holmes Above > Paul Davison, Amy Tomlinson, Amanda McNanus Above > Brendan Hudson, Stephanie Hudson

Above > Rachel Cox, Julie Heseltine, Paul Baguley, Cynthia Bentley, Sharon Lomas, Tracey Campbell

Above > Fiona Marshall, Gillian Douglas, Vicky Philipson

Above > Jim Beirne, Melaine Laws, Sarah Stewart

Right > Tony Renwick, Chris Eagle, Matt Boyle, Steve Dunn, Steve Gilbey

Below > Jane Peverley, Laura Britton

Left > Rob Dixon, Natalie Cousins, Nikki Nichol, Lindsey Ray Above > Francesa Ellis, Lauren Smith, Gillian Smith, Joanne Mellor

Above > Katie Scott, Debbie Rocket Above > Mike Heads, Linda Townsend, John Deeks

Above > Colby Crabb, Lesley Charles, Linda Heads, Hannah Kent

Below > Linda Tuttiett, Deb Humble, Ann Green

Left > Judie McCourt, Lee Sharpe, Lynn Gray, Dawn Bell

Above > Emily Durham, Natalie Sullivan

Jesmond Dene House Valentine’s Ball, Jesmond Left > Steven Shrubb, Chris Shrubb

Right > Arthur Campbell, Audrey Campbell, Jan Duncan, Tom Duncan Above > Michael Prichard, Karen Richardson, Julie Connor, Martin Connor Left > Diane McDonald, Terry McDonald

Above > Mark Parker, Nicola Parker

Below > Gareth Campbell, Emma Button

Above > Margaret Sharp, Sydney Campbell

Above > Stephanie Smith, Philip Smith In association with:

North East MAR/APR13

97

SOCIAL LIFE

Sun FM Style Awards, Tavistock Roker Hotel, Sunderland Left > Kim Minshall, Martyn Mcfadden

Marco’s Black Cats Kitchen, Stadium of Light, Sunderland Below > Pat Smith, Geoff Ellis

Below > Keith Franklin, Linda Franklin

Above > Richard Marsden, Jackie Marsden Above > Rebecca Wilson, Alex Nield

Above > Peter Weymes, Phil Clarkson, Neil Mackay Left > Liam Boyle, Ken Scott

Left > Dug Pearson, Adele Plummer Emma Petrucci, Sergio Petrucci

Right > Tom Davidson, Gary Lathan, Colin Rodger, Mark Laidlaw

Above > Mark Black, Helen Edmondson, Kayley Hodgson, Daniel Henshaw

Right > Chris Swain, Rachel Swain, Angela Donkin, Keith Donkin

Right > Chris Earl, Mandy Barras, Alison Bilton, Paul Bilton, Sharon Hutchinson

Right > Aimee Jenkinson, Alan Jenkinson, Laura Jenkinson

left > Mark Evans, Pam Evans, Lisa Robson, Neil Evans

Above > Gary Warren, Laura Warren, Steven Scott

left > Janette Richardson, Gillian Bassett, Jane Shepstone

Right > Kelly Wilce, Joyce Wilce

Left > Bob Paton, Ann Paton

Above > Michael Scott, Ashleigh Scott, Kaman Youen, Colin Pybus Right > Lisa Wake, Mary Graham, Michelle Conlin, Leanne Graham, Ann McCabe

Left > David Lee, Ann-Marie Lee, Anne Jennison, Paul Jennison Above > Patrick Lesca, Marco Pierre White

Left > Harry Collinson, Nicola Collinson

Above > Colin Fletcher, Maria Fletcher

Left > Fiona Snowball, Jane Forbes, Helen Snowball

Glass Slipper Awards, Hilton Hotel, Gateshead Right > Angela Couthrie, Claire Heathcote

Above > Analisa Ariss, Diane Jobson, Jill Woods Right > Janise Petrucci, Dorin Harris, Margaret McBeth

Left > Kelly Braydon, Alison Braydon, Wendy Halldene, Hilary Newton Above > Pauline Balbach, Sandra Gibson, Lorna Emmerson Joanne Warneby Left > Leslie MiddlesmissLister, Angela Cudmore, Denise Dobson

Left > Jill Burnett, Joan Bell, Lauren Eves

In association with:

North East 98

If you would like your event featured on our Luxe:Looks pages please supply images on disk with full captions and your contact details to: luxe Magazine, room501 Publishing, Publishing House, 16 Pickersgill Court, Quay West Business Park, Sunderland SR5 2AQ

MAR/APR13

SOCIAL LIFE

Street Spice VIP Opening Event, Newcastle

Above > Mark Laggum, Cath Jenkins, Parry Jenkins

Left > Francise Towson, Geeta Ral, Priya Ral

Above > Matt Boyle, Su Kay, James Burton, Ben Wilkinson

Right > Neeta Arora, Bob Arora Above > Bob Bathak, Charlie Bathak Right > Mark Renolds, Garry Cave

Above > Gordon Barr, Katherine Cappocci

Above > Johnathan Wardale, Elaine Mchugh, Rebecca Saltkeld

Ladies Cocktail Day, Close House Hotel Below > Kate Rushworth, Andrea Blackburn, Gillian Bassett

Joe McElderry Variety Club Silver Heart Award Night, Hilton Hotel, Gateshead Left > Kathy Clarke, Beverley Turner, Jeanette Cummings

Above > Diane Clark, Marjarie Crass, Hazel Townsley Above > Jackie Smith, Lorraine Villager, Paula Williams, Elaine Simpson, Liz Wright

Below > Rozz Gibbs, Karen Cribbs, Julie Howe

Above > Simona Horik, Leah Castillo, Dawn Smith, Susan Chan Left > Laura Johnson, Rachael Johnson, Aidan Thompson, Becky Catchpole, Steph Milburn

Right > Joan Sharp, Ruth Hall Above > Debra Young, Elaine Davidson, Erica King Left > Victoria Cudlip, Alexandra Bartrope, Lousie Haggie

Above > Rebecca Murphy, Molly Simm

Below > Pete Slate

Above > Kimberly Beetham, Laura Keegan

Above > Moira Sorensen, Flo McVeigh, Alice Anderson, Joan Brakey, Vera Kerrick

Above > Maureen Greenhall, Ann McCaughlen, Margaret Fleck

Below > Colin Scott, Linda Scott

Above > Jonathan Miles, Joe McKeldry, Debi Coldwell, Above > Mike Booth, Judith Booth

Above > John Lyne, Lynn Lyne

North East

The all new Audi A3. From only £17,905. www.northeastaudi.co.uk

Official fuel figures for the new Audi A3 range in mpg (1/100km): Urban 40.4 (7.0) – 61.4 (4.6), Extra Urban 58.9 (4.8) – 85.6 (3.3), Combined 50.4 (5.6) – 74.3 (3.8). CO2 emissions: 130 – 99g/km.

MAR/APR13

99

DOING GOOD

Sweet charity Charity events go sporty for summer. Lycra at the ready!

LEGS READY>> If you love to cycle and you love your food then get in shape for a challenge in the Mallorcan sunshine.

It’s the perfect way to limber up for the cycling season or a charity challenge of your own.

Harry Hill who owns Reds salon in Sunderland is at the helm of The Red Sky Training Camp, designed specifically to help cyclists prepare for their cycling season. It is focused on putting in those early base miles, putting you off to a great riding year. A mix of guided and self-guided rides are developed with the independent rider in mind, the camp covers the basics and allows you to just enjoy the ride.

The training camp runs from 16-30 April and you can dip into it for as little as three nights, or stay for the whole event.

The island is where pros go off-season to build stamina. Get your cycling groove on with thigh-burning climbs and lightning descents in a perfect climate. This famous training ground lets you test your own legs on challenging climbs and the classic rides of the region like the rugged Tramutana Mountains, the Col de Soller and the dizzying descent in the Torrent de Pareis Gorge. There are plenty of non-riding options for riders who want to take the afternoon off, or travel companions who want to spend little or no time in the saddle. It all operates from a lovely gourmet boutique hotel. Details on www.redskytours.co.uk

DRIVE IT>>

CUMBRIAN CHALLENGE>> The Helly Hansen Cumbrian Challenge is set to be a ’must do’ event for the 2013 calendar on 18 May. Set amongst the stunning backdrop of the Lake District’s Ullswater Valley, the challenge is an annual mountain trail event designed to raise funds for the Walking With The Wounded charity, whilst promoting fitness and enjoyment of the great outdoors.

Perfect for experienced athletes or general outdoor enthusiasts, teams of four will compete against each other to be the first to complete the challenge. Participants will also be able to meet and race against Walking With The Wounded team members from the renowned North Pole, Everest and upcoming South Pole expeditions.

The Tough is a 20km hike, covering five peaks with an altitude gain of 1144 metres, and for the more adventurous, The Tougher is a 33km hike covering ten peaks with an altitude gain of 2327 metres.

Further information, registration and donation details can be found at www.walkingwiththewounded.org.uk/fundraising/cumbrianchallenge

SADDLE UP!>>

Kielder Forest is the setting for 4x4 adventures on 7 April and 25 May. This family-oriented event involves a day of guided trail blazing in the heart of Kielder and Wark Forests. In the comfort of your own vehicle, you will get to drive a variety of tracks and trails through the heart of the forest, not normally accessible to the public.

Drivers get to test their skills over a variety of terrains and for the more adventurous of us, there may also be the opportunity to pitch your driving skills and your vehicle’s against a disused quarry.

The event is suitable for all makes of 4×4 and is intended to be as non-damaging as possible, so suitable for new and older cars alike. The cost is £55 per vehicle and this includes a full English cooked breakfast for the driver. The Kielder 4×4 Safari proceeds go to Northumberland National Park Mountain Rescue Team. Registered Charity number 511313. www.gton.co.uk

OR WALK IT>> Marie Curie’s charity walks this summer will take in Gibside on 31 August 2013, a 10k walk set in beautiful grounds followed by music and entertainment with a fireworks display as the finale. Participants may be walking in memory of a loved one and have the opportunity to write a message on a memory lantern which will be lit at the end of the walk. www.mariecurie.org.uk/en-GB/ events/walking/walk-ten-gibside-2013-9142

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PEDAL FOR A CAUSE >>

Marie Curie’s Etape Pennines Cycle Challenge is on October 6. A 78mile closed road cycle on a very challenging and scenic course. The £63 registration fee is waived for anyone pledging to raise £250 for Marie Curie Cancer Care. www.mariecurie.org.uk/en-GB/ events/cycling/Etape-PenninesCycle-2013

So once you’re toned up, go Strictly Come Cycling and join Louis Smith and Phil Tufnell on the Michael Vaughan Charity Bike Ride. Strictly champion Louis and former England Test bowler Phil will be joining Michael Vaughan on his UK-wide charity bike ride this September.

He plans to cycle 462 miles in 12 days (September 6-17) to raise funds for the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation and the Cricket Foundation’s Chance to Shine initiative.

The peloton will follow the England v Australia - NatWest One Day International series, starting at Headingley, Leeds, on 6 September and travelling to each of the venues before ending in London on September 17. Each of the four stages will include a healthy mix of cycling and a day (or days) at the cricket.

Cyclists on the first two stages - Leeds to Manchester and Manchester to Birmingham - will also enjoy the National Cycling Centre Experience. They will have the opportunity to have a go at the Manchester Velodrome, try out the brand new BMX track and Mountain Bike trails and test speed and endurance on the Watt Bikes within the Velodrome circuit.

Michael is looking for 50 fundraisers per stage to join him and his band of cricketers, commentators, sports stars and other celebrities on this unique challenge.

The Michael Vaughan Bike Ride is open to cyclists of all abilities and the organisers will provide training and fundraising advice to participants. If you are interested in registering for any of the individual stages or taking part in the whole 12 day challenge and raising funds for Laureus and Chance to Shine then visit www.laureus.com/michaelvaughanbikeride or chancetoshine.org

MAR/APR13

SIGN UP NOW

Join us for the weekend… and win lunch for two at Kenny Atkinson’s Orangery restaurant, Rockliffe Hall Luxe Loves the Weekend is our new weekly online magazine delivered straight to your inbox.

Filled with inspiring idea for your time-off, we offer up a bite-sized digest of your favourite magazine.

Places to eat, places to walk, to stay and spend time with the kids. Cultural goings-on, food adventures and friends-round recipes.

Sing up to receive your free weekly Luxe Loves the Weekend email and win a dining treat We’ve teamed up with Rockliffe Hall in Hurworth to offer our winner lunch for two with house wine at The Orangery Restaurant, Kenny Atkinson’s showcase restaurant.

A winner will be chosen on April 1st - sign up now for your chance to win. *prize is for weekday lunch for two with a bottle of house wine at The Orangery.

Luxe Loves the Weekend is the template for a cool couple of days.

AWAY FROM IT ALL BOOK IT NOW WEEKENDING TIME-OUT STROLL BIT OF CHAT FEAST - STAY IN FEAST - EAT OUT

Register to receive our weekly free email update at www.luxe-magazine.co.uk/theweekend JAN/FEB11

22

PARTING SHOT

Hello springtime>> A gorgeous sunrise captured near Durham by photographer Kevin Gibson is a nice sign of bright days ahead www.kgphotography.co.uk

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MAR/APR13

Newcastle’s open late so shop ’til 8pm.

Shop late ’til 8pm Mon – Fri and 7pm Sat Park free after 5pm Mon – Sat in the Council multi-storey car parks For further information on participating shops and car parks visit:

getintonewcastle.co.uk

Delivered by

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