Sussex Style June 2015

SUSSEXst yle JUNE 2O15

HELEN LEDERER

on not losing it

WHAT YOU DIDN’T KNOW ABOUT THE

197Os CAROLE MORIN TAKES ‘THE CURE’

LISA STANSFIELD

QUEEN OF SOUL

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contents

On the cover

Singer-songwriter Lisa Stansfield

82 Finance

Jo White on gifts for grandchildren

83 Your home 10 Editor’s letter 13 Boxing clever

1 970s most underrated acts

16 Dan Raven

Memories of a punkfuelled youth

18 Brighton Mums

Parenting seemed so

much simpler in the 1970s

20 Schoolgate confidential

A new school term means new rules - for parents

22 What you never knew about the 1970s

It was more than just Campari and spacehoppers

26 Secret history of the Walkman

es, there was life before Y the iPod

28 Crumble mania

Britain’s Got Talent star Lorraine Bowen

32 Thou shalt always wear ruffs

21st century dandy Michael ’Atters’ Attree

36 Inger Moss

Were the 1970s really the decade that fashion forgot?

40 Beauty notebook

Get that 1970s summer glow

54 Art of convenience

Are convenience foods to blame for our lack of cooking skills?

58 Prawn Cocktail with a twist

Sam Bilton reworks the 1970s classic

59 In season

Gooseberries and tomatoes time

62 The height of purity

43 Health

Seventies Schwarzenegger

Novelist Carole Morin jets off to the Viva Mayr Clinic in the Austrian Alps

46 Lisa Stansfield

66 Garden guru

50 What’s cooking

72 Eddie’s Eye

The singer-songwriter talks to Alex Hopkins

The history of tea and Mid Sussex tastes

52 Tea for two

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A fternoon tea at The Goodwood Hotel

T he 21-year old garden design prodigy

A major auction of some of the country’s finest sculpture

Ben Copper on building your dream home

84 Music is love

Simon from Brighton band Act of Love

86 Paul Burston A 1970s house warming party

89 Getting creative A major writing competition for Sussex schools

90 Helen Lederer

The comedy legend on books, diets and laughs

94 Book club

The 1970s most memorable reads

96 S ussex’s poet laureate Prize-winning poet John McCullough

98 Minxy

Our glam columnist goes all queeny and announces she’ll have two birthdays this year

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inside

An AbFab career

Helen Lederer is one of the UK’s best loved and most recognisable comic actresses, celebrated for her work on Absolutely Fabulous. With her debut novel, Losing It, she is now a successful author. She talks to us about diet pills, the comedy circuit and why she loved and hated the 1970s.

She’s got talent

Queen of soul

Lisa Stansfield is best known for 1990s chart-toppers, but it’s soul that has always been her greatest love. She chats to us about her latest album, playing the Love Supreme festival and why she doesn’t care if she’s called lazy.

Brighton’s Lorraine Bowen has become a national sensation with her zany The Crumble Song on hit TV show Britain’s Got Talent. As she stands on the cusp of mainstream success, she talks us through her eclectic career and her creative passions.

In this issue...

Music is love

We meet Simon from Brighton band Act of Love, who release their Looking for the Light in July on the Creative & Dreams label. What are his musical influences and just how difficult is it to remain a gentleman when trying to make it in the music industry?

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Sussex poet laureate

A rake’s progress

Michael “Atters” Attree is Editor at Large of The Chap magazine. Sarah Hutchings, Artistic Director of City Reads, Brighton meets him and asks whether this rakish dandy could be the real deal.

John McCullough is fast becoming one of the country’s most important voices in poetry. He talks to us about how the beautiful Sussex countryside provided some of the most poignant images for his prize-winning debut collection The Frost Fairs.

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Welcome...

The 1970s...Blue Nun, prawn cocktail, flares and The Good Life. Those were my memories. Oh, and suspect orange carpets and yellow curtains, but some things are best forgotten. Was it really the era that style passed by? Our team think otherwise and this issue is all about celebrating and remembering the best of the decade.

Our deputy editor David kicks things off by looking at all of the things that we never knew about the Seventies. Inger Moss re-evaluates Seventies fashion and our Brighton Mum takes a nostalgic look at the joys and travails of parenting in a much simpler time.

Legendary singer and songwriter Lisa Stansfield may have come to prominence in the 1990s, but Seventies soul has always been her major influence. She chats to us ahead of her appearance at next month’s Love Supreme Festival.

We’re all for supporting rising stars at Sussex Style, and Brighton resident Lorraine Bowen’s recent appearance on Britain’s Got Talent sees her on the cusp of a mainstream - but rather madcap - music career. She gives us the low-down on that infamous Crumble Song.

We’re staying with all things quirky by catching up with an extraordinary gentleman: the dandy, Michael ‘Atters’ Attree of The Chap magazine.

Meanwhile, much-loved actress - and now author - Helen Lederer shares her memories of making it on the Seventies comedy circuit.

All this plus delectable recipes, top health and beauty tips, and inimitable advice from your favourite columnists. So sit back, unwind, pour yourself a Babycham and stay chic.

Alex Hopkins EDITOR IN CHIEF ALEX HOPKINS SUB EDITOR DAVID BENNUN CREATIVE DIRECTOR BETH DONSON BEAUTY EDITOR SARAH MANN YEAGER FOOD & DRINK EDITOR SAM BILTON HEALTH & FITNESS EDITOR BEN MARSHALL PUBLISHING DIRECTOR SEÁN KANE HEAD OF FINANCE RICHARD JUDD COMMERCIAL MANAGER JACQUELINE NICHOLSON ADVERTISING MANAGER MICHELLE DE LA MOTTE-RICE ACCOUNT MANAGER JOSIE KELLY CONTRIBUTORS PAUL BURSTON, BEN COPPER, CLAIRE JONES-HUGHES, SARAH HUTCHINGS, PUBLISHED BY GREEN DUCK MEDIA LTD • SUSSEX STYLE™ • COPYRIGHT 2014-09 • ISSN 2049-6036 SECOND FLOOR, AFON BUILDING, WORTHING ROAD, HORSHAM, WEST SUSSEX, RH12 1TL T: 01403 801800

M: 07528 521988

All rights reserved. except for normal review purposes, no part of this magazine may be reproduced without written permission of the publishers. No artwork or editorial content may be used in any other form or publication without the publisher’s consent. Every care is taken in the preparation of this magazine, but the contents are only meant as a guide to the readers. The proprietors of this publication ARE publishers, not agents or sub agents of those who advertise therein. They cannot be held liable for any loss suffered as a result of information gained from the publication. Copyright 2015 Green Duck Media Ltd - Sussex StyleTM

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arts and culture

BOXING CLEVER David Bennun looks at box sets by three of the 1970s most underrated acts

T

he Seventies is now acknowledged to be a golden age for pop, one that has been mined to the very depths of its rich seams. Between the superstars who defined the decade, and the cult figures we revere in hindsight, there is a wealth of music, successful in its time, whose reputation hasn’t endured as it should. Here are three box sets through which to rediscover three very different acts who deserve a fresh hearing.

10cc: Tenology (Mercury Records)

IMAGE CREDIT: MERCURY RECORDS

Who are they?

A Greater Manchester quartet who become one of the best and most popular art-pop acts of the Seventies, and who still tour with a different line-up - they play Worthing Assembly Hall on August 21.

What are they best known for?

Two things, one great, one not so. Their 1978 number one hit, Dreadlock Holiday - a wince-inducing reggae novelty number which marked both their commercial peak and brought crashing to a stop an amazing creative run. But they had also topped the charts three years previously with I’m Not In Love, an astonishing, atmospheric record with a unique, deep, emotive sound since much imitated but never quite recaptured.

What else did they do?

What else didn’t they do? The original quartet of Graham Gouldman and Eric Stewart (both of whom had known chart-topping pop success in the Sixties), plus Kevin Godley and Lol Creme (who were art school alumni) released an album a year from 1973 to 1976, along with a series of hit singles. The variety, wit, daring and invention of their music was

astonishing, and they were that rarest of things - a clever, funny band who could also be soulful and thrilling. They may be the most experimental act ever to be taken for a mainstream, adult-oriented rock group.

When Godley and Creme left in 1976 to form a duo and later become acclaimed music video creators, Stewart and Gouldman recorded Deceptive Bends (1977), a simpler and more direct album than any of its predecessors, and one of the great power pop LPs. What’s on the box set?

Its four discs cover all their peak-period singles, a treasure trove in itself as many of those individual songs contain more ideas and ingenuity than most bands could bring to an entire album; the series of singles that followed Dreadlock Holiday (all handily on one disc you may put aside and leave alone); another disc of masterful album tracks, including the complete A Nuit A Paris suite, which makes Bohemian Rhapsody sound like a Ramones tune; a disc of b-sides and rarities; a DVD of videos; postcards; and a hardback booklet of sleevenotes and lyrics. It was one of the last pieces of work undertaken by the archetypal Seventies album designer, Storm Thorgerson of Hipgnosis, before his death in 2013.

JIM CROCE:

The Studio Album Collection (Edsel Records)

Who was he?

A Philadelphia-born folk-rock singer-songwriter with a genuine common touch - a smart, blue-collar working and family man who was just breaking through to the mainstream with his gentle, thoughtful guitar ballads (which managed to be sentimental and moving without A PRI L 2015 | SUSSEXST YL E . CO M | 13

arts and culture

BILL WITHERS:

The complete Sussex and Columbia albums (Legacy Records)

Who is he?

One of the greatest soul musicians of the Seventies

ever feeling syrupy), and his wonderfully observed character songs, when he was killed in a light aircraft crash while on tour in September 1973.

Croce packed an extraordinary amount into his very brief major-label career: three solo albums and two American number one hits in two years, the last of each being posthumous.

What is he best known for?

Those two hit singles, each of which neatly represents a significant aspect of his work.

Bad, Bad Leroy Brown is the most famous of his many great

What is he best known for?

You, or your parents, very likely have a Bill Withers compilation in the house somewhere. You know Lean On Me. You know Ain’t No Sunshine.

You know Just The Two Of Us. You probably smile, or nod along, or feel a quiet but not unpleasant melancholy, without fully realising it, when one of them plays on the radio or in a coffee shop. His is a gentle, yearning soul sound, one that goes to deep, unspoken feelings rather than sudden passions. He also had a darker side to his music, one you can hear on Use Me and Who Is He (And What Is He To You) - the latter was also covered superbly by disco-funk group Creative Source, who brought out the underlying menace that Withers, with typical subtlety, had only hinted at What else did he do?

Rolling Stone recently wrote a piece describing Bill Withers as, “The soul man who walked away.” He was a late bloomer who had his

“Between the superstars who defined the decade and the cult stars we now revere is a wealth of great music”

What else did he do?

The three albums he released in that all too fleeting span between signing a deal and the end of his life are stuffed with beautifully realised tunes. As a songwriter, Croce had a remarkable talent for capturing the essence of a situation, a person or a story and distilling it into a three- or four-minute pop number - a gift that would remain unrivalled until the heyday of Chris Difford and Glen Tilbrook of Squeeze some years later.

What’s on the box set?

Everything - absolutely everything - there could be to hear by Jim Croce.

As well as those three great Seventies albums, it contains his self-released 1966 folk debut LP, Facets; a pair of folk albums recorded at around the same time with Ingrid; a seventh disc entitled The Lost Recordings, with alternate takes of Croce favourites; and booklet of notes and lyrics.

It’s not a lavishly packaged set - it would fit neatly onto a CD shelf, although not a rack - but it is nicely presented and exhaustive.

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first hit at the age of 32 in 1971. He spent the decade turning out immaculately wrought, lyrically and emotionally astute, understated soul music. As a star he was, if anything, smaller than life - he is a big man, but was never a big public personality; he never had a strong image or developed what would now be called a “brand”. His appeal was all in the music, in his artful writing and his soft, grainy voice. At some point in the Eighties, he simply decided he was done, left the music industry, and never went back - despite the many and no doubt potentially lucrative offers to do so. The “last African-American Everyman”, to quote rapper ?uestlove, had simply said his piece and had nothing to add.

What’s on the box set?

All nine albums Withers recorded between and including 1971’s Just As I am (the perfect Bill Withers album title) and 1985’s Watching You Watching Me - all but the last recorded in the Seventies. The richness of Withers’ catalogue beyond his hits is entirely represented, in a package as tidy, elegant and satisfying as the artist himself.

IMAGE CREDITS: EDSEL RECORDS, MERCURY RECORDS, SONY MUSIC

character songs, about a local hard man who gets his comeuppance (a theme repeated in Croce’s second-most famous such number, You Don’t Mess Around With Jim.) Time In A Bottle is a perfectly judged, bittersweet song about capturing and treasuring life’s most precious moments. Written for his then pregnant wife Ingrid, it took on an especial poignancy after his death.

dan raven

weighed nearly half a ton/ Looked more like a aking my annual stroll the other pregnant mum.”) How different from now, when day, I chanced upon one of DAN RAVEN HAS FOND even tiny children sort-of think they know what those classic old-school punks MEMORIES OF PUNK; punk is. (Green Day, right? And the way Jessie J with spiky green hair and a INDEED, WOULDN’T looked in that video that time?) But that doesn’t black leather jacket – once TODAY’S WORLD BE A mean to say it’s actually alive. It’s only lived on a very familiar figure on our MUCH BETTER PLACE IF IT as a “look” that gets dragged up again every few streets, but it had been so long since I’d seen MADE A COMEBACK? years in the interests of flogging lip gloss and/ one that I actually gasped. As a former wouldor mascara, and as a certain strain of objectless be punker, when I walk behind such a character and take in the band names painted on the back of their jacket, I feel like nark that runs through the odd chart track like Ikona Pop’s I Don’t Care I’m looking at an edgy Seventies version of the playbill for one of those or Florence and the Machine’s Kiss With a Fist. No one in or near the old Sixties touring shows. Some amazing stuff at the top (Sex Pistols, The public eye writes songs about abolishing the monarchy, or prohibits the Clash), a couple of half-decent acts in the middle (The Damned, Crass) use their music in adverts, or causes their fans to spend hours arguing and a load of inexcusable crud at the bottom (The Exploited, UK Subs, amongst themselves about the lyrics because although they’re pretty much Sham 69.) Also present, in fact taking pride of place at the very centre of inaudible they seem SO IMPORTANT. Punk couldn’t look deader if it tried. (Which I suppose it did, in a way – remember the goths?) things, was that venerable auld motto: “PUNK’S NOT DEAD”.

And this is a shame because, as far as I can make out, most men This stopped me short because, you know, isn’t it? Can it really still not be? My own punk phase covered, broadly speaking, 1987-89, and under 20 these days dress like Ed Sheeran. I’m sure that makes their even that felt too far away from 1977 for me to be able to write the auld lives a whole lot easier than mine was at that age, but I still feel sorry for motto on the covers of my school books without embarrassment. The them. Only punks will ever know how strangely invigorating it can feel charts were all Rick Astley and Hue and Cry – it was clearly dead! When when some bunch of kids yells, “Oi, punk!” at you, then runs away as jealous (yes, jealous) classmates taunted me for my weird haircut, they soon as you turn around, or some old dear struggles to the top deck of a never even used the word “punk”, not even sarcastically, because they’d bus rather than sit next to you. If these youths of today spent a bit more time dressing up funny and throwing deck chairs at each other, they literally never heard it– that’s how dead it was.

We few wannabe punks were like those poor sods in Fahrenheit might not get around to bullying each other to death over the Internet 451 who memorise soon-to-be-burned books for the sake of future quite so often.

In summary, then: dead. Deader than deely boppers. But who’s to generations, only with us it wasn’t so much Proust as Peter and the Test Tube Babies (“Elvis had a heart attack/ Cos he got too bleeding fat/ He say we can’t bring it back, eh?

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IMAGE CREDIT: DIMITRIS_K/SHUTTERSTOCK

T

Long live punk!

C o o l e r s , G l a s s R a n g e , P l a s ti c R a n g e

brighton mums

The world of the Seventies mum: “Life was so much simpler and easier; we had fewer choices.”

70s: when mums were truly mums

Z

ero maternity benefits, stay-athome motherhood, terry-towel nappies and buggies without WHAT WAS BEING A MUM cup-holders; from my point of IN THE SEVENTIES REALLY view these things can remain in LIKE? CLAIRE JONES-HUGHES quite a young age,” Hilde remarks. A sector her the Seventies. There are days, OF BRIGHTONMUMS.COM daughter Suzanne has quite a lot of knowledge however, when you’re juggling too many things GOES BACK IN TIME about, as she runs several businesses, including and you dream of a simpler time. The Seventies WITH TWO SUSSEX What’s On 4 (a class and activities listing may have been the last decade when mums could truly be mums.

GRANDMUMS TO FIND OUT website), Mum and Working, and Baby Expo.

Hilde continues “My feeling is that children Hilde Morris, from Steyning had her two children in the early Seventies. Now a proud grandmother, she does not today are so busy being entertained by one class or another that they envy today’s parents in the slightest. “There is absolutely nothing around have no time to themselves, no time to learn how to handle boredom, now that I wish had been around then! Life was so much simpler and how to amuse themselves.”

Sue would have liked more options for baby and toddler activities, but easier, we had fewer choices,” she proclaims. My own mum, Sue Banks, also agrees overall it was a simpler time for mothers. They each had more for the expert advice. She believes there are better support networks their first child at 25 years of age, which in the Seventies was probably for mums compared to the Seventies. “Yes, you have your family and considered on the older side for child-bearing. Hilde’s daughter, friends, but there’s some advice they can’t help you with. My daughter Shoreham mum-of-two, Suzanne Borrell, had her first child in her was able to go to a weekly drop-in for help on breastfeeding, which I mid-thirties, “I am slightly envious of how simple it was. There was less didn’t have.” She recalls the NHS ante-natal education on offer while she was pregnant as being overly practical and old-fashioned. “No one pressure to go back to work, fewer baby gadgets to fuel your anxieties.”

The distinct lack of employment rights for mothers and maternity considered the emotional side of birth and parenting,” she complains. It’s benefits during the Seventies is one of the major differences these Sussex true that many mothers these days retain the friendships forged at their mums observe. “Employers weren’t obliged to keep our jobs open to ante-natal education groups after birth, feeding on the empathy around go back to after having a baby,” Sue says. “Childcare was expensive and their simultaneous experiences of each stage in their child’s development.

Suzanne believes that compared to her mum’s era, parents are now didn’t cover the full working day and there was no provision for school holidays. So you just got on with being a full-time stay-at-home-mum, overwhelmed with advice. “I think with today’s technology, new mums at least until the kids started school. I’m so glad I was there for those first are bombarded with access to too much information. They can access Facebook and feed their worries on everything they are doing,” she says. five years of my daughters’ lives, though.”

Some aspects of motherhood in the Seventies weren’t so basic. Sue Both Hilde and her daughter Suzanne feel there’s considerable pressure for mums to go back to work, even when they don’t need the remembers using washable nappies. “I visited family in Canada while money. “I don’t know any of my friends who didn’t go back to work after pregnant and stuffed my suitcase full of them to bring home. In the having children,” Suzanne tells me. A survey of 2,000 women in 2014 UK they were not widely available and expensive. It was a novelty from by the London Business School revealed 70 per cent felt anxious about the burden of washing and folding terry towels!” Cloth nappies have made a comeback in recent years, mainly due to the economic and taking a career break.

Another major difference both our Seventies mums notice is the environmental benefits. The unglamourous world of nappies might be numerous activities children can take part in. “There is so much more out considered a metaphor for the differences between then and now; greater there for babies and toddlers to do, all sorts of classes and activities from simplicity, set against technical superiority and much wider choice.

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school gate confidential

Starting school is back to school

20 | S US S E X S T Y L E . C OM | MAY 2 0 1 5

IMAGE CREDIT: VLADGRIN/SHUTTERSTOCK

H

the incident, which led to the implementation undreds of families all over BEGINNING TERM AT A Sussex got their school places NEW SCHOOL HAS ALWAYS of the “Earring Policy”. Did some idiot parent let their child wear expensive bling to class, then confirmed on National Offer BEEN TRAUMATIC, BUT IT’S blame the school when it went missing?

Day mid-April this year.

NOT JUST THE KIDS WHO Controversial legislation enforcing Parents whose eldest child ARE BEING SWAMPED attendance has been in place for some time now, is about to start school will with fines for parents who don’t comply. But the embark on a journey of demanding logistics WITH NEW RULES lack of flexibility is a shock. Many schools have and playground politics. They are back at a zero-tolerance policy which they persistently drum into you via the school too and it doesn’t feel much different from the first time.

Soon school-gate parents-to-be should expect a welcome pack newsletter, plus texts and letters each term. “Parents MUST remember stuffed with information on uniform, class times and a lovely warm that unauthorised absences during term-time may incur a fine.”

Even at primary level, schools have “class attendance awards” each letter welcoming you to the school. Which is all hunky dory until you receive the first patronising note home. Parents had better get used to month. After a 24-hour vomiting episode, a friend’s seven-year-old returned to school, only to recount how his class would have won the being spoken to like a child from that point onwards.

“May we remind all parents that suitable footwear MUST be attendance award but for his recent sickness. He was genuinely upset to provided for P.E.” The text may as well read, “There are some parents let the whole class down. My friend was outraged he had been made to at this school who are terribly disorganised and rubbish.” And does the feel that way. Would the school want him going in, puking everywhere, spreading the bug? That would really ruin their precious attendance stats. capitalisation of “must” mean we get sent to detention if we forget?

After meeting some of the office staff at my children’s school, I The ultimate humiliating messages are guilt trips for the crap parents who can’t bake, “Cake sale, this Friday. Bring cakes to reception before suspect their jaded jobsworth attitude has been cultivated over time by 2.30pm.” You get a week’s notice for a charity cake sale if you’re not cosy idle parents who don’t give a toss about school community. But I am with the PTA. And of course you will drop everything in your life to hardly thrilled at being tarred with the same brush.

Of course I am painting rather a miserable picture, which school is prove to the other mums you are a bona fide superwoman.

Newbie parents will also receive a copy of the school’s “policies”. not. I simply want parents to be prepared for the irksome truth. When Which apart from the standard Department of Education policies may your child starts school, you are also back. So you’d better wear the include gems such as the “Earring Policy”. The school spells out that kids regulation uniform (no dangly earrings), have your homework ready on are responsible for their own jewellery (who else would be?) I wonder at time, and open doors for the teachers.

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flower power

The 1970s, argues David Bennun, was much more than a bright, hyper-coloured decade of novelty hits and spacehoppers and Campari

F

lares. Spangles. Raleigh Choppers. Platform heels. Disco.

Moustaches. Prawn cocktails. Jumpsuits. The Brotherhood Of Man. Big shiny lettering. Suburban sitcoms. Bolshie unions. Lurid cocktails. Cheap Top Of The Pops albums.

Long summers. Jubilee parties. British Leyland cars.

Eric and Ernie. Walls ice lollies. Stop-motion animation children’s television classics.

We all know all about the Seventies.

“The past is a foreign country,” wrote LP Hartley, in the famous opening line of his novel, The Go-Between. “They do things differently there.” That was in 1953. It was certainly the case then. It isn’t now. Today, the past is a familiar country of our own invention.

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Like the future, it is a projection of our own age onto another. We chuckle at how different it seems while all about us is the evidence of its similarities. We relive the past constantly and relentlessly, not just as nostalgia, but as fashion and as revival. Of no era is this more plainly the case than the Seventies.

The Seventies as we now know it dates, in truth, from the late Nineties. That was when we reconstructed it from whichever odds and ends came to hand, rather like a team of paleontologists building the image of a dinosaur from a few fragments of bone. Seventies ephemera, proving not so ephemeral after all, filled the colour pages and the airwaves of the day. A wave of rose-tinted television programmes was broadcast in which the personalities of the moment reminisced with

IMAGE CREDIT: LISA FISCHER, GOLDENARTS/SHUTTERSTOCK

WHAT YOU NEVER

KNEW ABOUT THE

heavy-handed jocularity about matters with which many of them seemed oddly well-acquainted given their relatively youthful ages.

The Seventies we know is the past seen through the eyes of the more recent past. It is a false-memory Seventies: a series of recollections implanted in us as if we were replicants from Blade Runner. (A film that, although released in the third year of the subsequent decade, may be seen as representing the full arrival of the Eighties and the despatch of the Seventies into history.)

The past was not another country in the Seventies, either - but for entirely different reasons. On the first day of 2015, the BBC aired The Clash: New Year’s Day ’77. This was a fascinating documentary constructed by Julien Temple - the director both of The Great Rock’n’Roll Swindle (1980), a myth-making piece about Malcom McClaren and The Sex Pistols, and The Filth And The Fury (2000), a more considered retelling of the same story. With almost perfect timing, Temple reversed the processes described above. As the Seventies ended, he spun one of its last and most notorious episodes into a

highly entertaining fable. As the Nineties concluded amid a welter of selectively remembered Seventies revivalism, he attempted to unpick that fable and restore to it some truth - or at least, another truth, one less partial towards the great fabulist McClaren. As our culture as a whole went one way on the Seventies, Temple went the other.

The Clash: New Year’s Day ’77 took him, and the viewer, even further in that direction. The BBC had trailed it as including the earliest known footage of the band in concert, previously unseen - but this was not what was most notable about it. What made the film so illuminating had relatively little to do with The Clash themselves.

Temple framed his film with footage taken from regional and national television on New Year’s Eve 1976. Presenters from each region raise glasses to the camera against local backdrops almost unremittingly bleak. Studio audiences drawn from the general public, asked about their hopes and fears for the year to come, reveal a profound and grim pessimism that is all the more remarkable when you consider that many of them appear to be in their fifties or sixties.

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Why is that significant? Because the Britain of 1976 was closer to the Second World War than the Britain of today is to the Britain of 1976 - both in time, and in the nature of its everyday life. Those folk in their fifties and sixties had lived through the war and had seen Britain face down a terrifying existential threat.

They were not prone to hyperbole. And yet they were as bitterly gloomy about the future of their country as they ever had been.

Even Hitler hadn’t brought them to such a pass.

And this, seven years into that upbeat, smashing, fun decade? That bouncy, bright, hyper-coloured decade of novelty hits and spacehoppers and Campari? But that’s our error. We have mistaken the decade’s public escapism for its substance, and its soul. Which makes about as much sense as taking the moonlit twinkletoed tuxedo-and-ballgown dance routines of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers as emblematic of the Great Depression.

The received version of the Seventies shows us a decade ending amid strikes, heaped up rubbish bags, a “winter of discontent” that finished off the last Labour government the country would know for another 18 years and ushered in Margaret Thatcher. But that was not only how the Seventies ended. Talk to anyone who saw the Seventies through the eyes of adulthood, and is not in the business of professional nostalgia, and you hear of a tense, uneasy time, swirling with disruptive undercurrents; in a country that the Sixties had not transformed so much as it was and is claimed; in which there remained bomb sites from the Blitz that had not been rebuilt; where life had a dinginess, an insecurity, an air of incipient violence. In Temple’s Clash film, we see London’s Covent Garden, then only lately closed as a fruit and vegetable market, shuttered, boarded and desolate, deserted by all but squatters and prototype punks. This, in the heart of a city whose real estate is today aptly described as a global reserve currency. Imagine what Covent Garden’s market value must be now. Imagine a time when it was, literally, worthless. That is the Seventies.

Does any of this matter? Is it important that we keep a true picture of the past? That depends upon what you think the past is for. Is it merely a giant dressing-up box in the national attic that we may dip into for costumes, for attitudes, for laughs? Are we under an obligation to learn from history, or may we merely steal its clothes to parade about in, chuckling at our own delicious cleverness? We all make our own choices on the question - or don’t think of the question at all, which is a choice by default. If the Seventies may be boiled down to outsized glasses and a disco wig, then so be it. The past is a foreign country. We do things differently there, even if the natives didn’t.

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IMAGE CREDIT: LISA FISCHER, GOLDENARTS/SHUTTERSTOCK

“The Seventies as we now know it dates from the late Nineties, when we reconstructed it like paleontologists building the image of a dinosaur from pieces of bone”

flower power

ABBA Few things better represent our long misreading of the Seventies as a fun but tacky joke than ABBA. There are numerous reasons to which one might attribute this, and there is some truth to almost all of them. But the first and most obvious one is simple: the way they looked.

One thing it’s hard to deny about the Seventies is that plenty of folk spent it in what might as well have been fancy dress. We fetishise the Sixties in its many manifestations as cool, chic, revolutionary or all three. But what we now think of as Sixties style was not universal, nor was it always populist. Sartorially, the Seventies were what happened when those ideas hit the big time - when they became broad, and lurid, and when everybody’s geography teacher looked as if he might have arrived straight from a session on rhythm guitar in a novelty band on Top of the Pops.

And ABBA looked outlandish on purpose. They were a pop group, and when they played in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1974, they played - and dressed - to win.

They were there to get as much attention as possible in any way they could, not to impress the discerning with understated style. It worked.

All of which, throughout the all too brief recording career that followed (from Waterloo onward they released seven studio albums in eight years; five fewer than The Beatles managed in the same span), overshadowed their musical brilliance and saw them pigeonholed as shiny kitsch. Yet to anyone who cared actually to pay attention, they were unmistakably one of the very greatest pop groups ever embraced by the public. Perhaps if the gatekeepers of the popular culture canon had included more women and fewer snooty men, this would have been acknowledged much sooner than it eventually was.

ABBA were the Ingmar Bergmans of disco-rock, a genre in which they remain unsurpassed. If you can listen to Voulez-Vous, with its cold, sardonic account of casual hook-ups, or The Visitors, a break-up album of heartrending delicacy and pathos, and still think of them as a semi-comic day-glo turn with a set of stomping tunes, then you’re not really listening at all. They may have looked funny, but underneath lay a seriousness, a darkness and a depth that speaks directly to the human condition. And in that, they are perfectly representative of the Seventies, too.

“ABBA were the Ingmar Bergmans of disco-rock. They may have looked funny, but underneath lay a seriousness, a darkness and a depth” AJPRI UNE L 2015 | SUSSEXST YL E. E . CO M | 25

technology

Secret history of the

SONY WALKMAN

T

The tiny, elegant Sony Walkman®, launched in 1979, revolutionised how we listened to music and holds fond memories for Ben Marshall

he Walkman® was the iPhone of its day - a product so iconic it helped to define a decade. Developed by the Japanese electronics company Sony in the 1970s and launched worldwide in 1979, it went on to be a symbol of the Eighties’ new-found affluence, consumerism and solipsism. Before the Walkman, portable music had meant lugging around boom boxes the size of large suitcases.

These elephantine pieces of equipment required vast amounts of juice to power their two large, loud speakers, earning them the nickname, “ghetto blasters.” If you were unwise enough to take them anywhere without a power supply then you burnt through piles of expensive batteries in a matter of a couple of hours.

The Walkman, tiny, elegantly modernist and utterly personal, changed all that. Unlike the boom box, it was truly individual and truly portable. Legend has it that the very first device was built in 1978 by Sony engineer Nobutoshi Kihara for Sony co-chairman Akio Morita, who wanted to be able to listen to operas during his frequent trans-Pacific plane trips.

The Walkman was certainly liberating.

Suddenly you could listen to music pretty much anywhere, at home, on your way to the office, on a train or plane, or in the gym. And you were in little danger of running out of batteries before the end of a song. Furthermore, its size allowed people to carry many more cassettes with them.

Playing music through a boom box was arguably a more convivial way of enjoying music, but the Walkman showed us new ways to share music.

In part because of it the mix-tape was born, with friends and lovers giving cassettes containing their favourite music to one another.

Before long the Sony Walkman had become one of those musthave items. A particularly sought after model was the Sony Walkman Professional®, used by DJs for the famous Eighties beach parties held by proto-ravers in Ibiza and Goa. Even today they remain collectable. A model in half-decent nick will set you back £150 on Ebay.

The Walkman was also arguably the first wearable piece of technology.

Boom boxes had to be carried around, and although some were able to do this with real panache, levering them onto their shoulders like the star of a mid-Seventies reggae album, most people couldn’t wait to set them down. The Walkman could be comfortably attached to your belt, or if it was an especially stylish model, dropped casually onto the table of a restaurant or pub, in much the same way as people do with their flagship phones today.

For more than two decades the Walkman reigned supreme. What eventually killed it off was ultimately what has helped to fatally wound the music industry - the digitising of music and the MP3. When Apple came up with the iPod an MP3 player that was easy to use, could hold thousands of songs and never needed a battery replacing – the Walkman suddenly looked very old-fashioned. Now even the iPod is on its way out as ever more people favour a single device to cater for their potable entertainment needs.

My dad and I reminisced in the pub recently about mix-tapes and Walkmans. He said that when he first saw the technology, it struck him as utterly magical. “Now we carry our record collection, satellite tv, several hundred books, telephone and directory, sat-nav, camera, reprohouse, word processor, calculator, newspapers and magazines all in something the size of a packet of cigarettes.

But where’s the magic?”

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IMAGE CREDIT: LESPALENIK/SHUTTERSTOCK

“The Walkman showed us new ways to enjoy music. In part because of it, the mix-tape was born”

Forthcoming Antiques Auction 5th, 6th, 7th August Currently accepting consignments We offer free, no obligation valuations at our Sussex Saleroom: Tuesdays and Thursdays 9.30am - 1pm & 2pm - 4.30pm Home valuations by appointment Image detail: A chest of drawers by John Makepeace, circa 1974, made for the World Crafts Councils Exhibition “Praise of Hands” Toronto 1974.

Sold for £6,800 Consigned locally

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A PRI L 2015 | SUSSEXST YL E . CO M | 27

Brighton’s Lorraine Bowen has toiled away for decades on the festival circuit. Now a song about a crumble could seize the day in Britain’s Got Talent and make her a star.

She talks to Alex Hopkins

orraine Bowen is feeling “overwhelmed.”

Her rendition of her selfpenned The Crumble Song, which has catapulted her through to the semi-final final of Britain’s Got Talent (BGT), has now got over 800,000 views on YouTube. “I really am over the moon,” she tells me, her voice brimming with excitement.

“Who would have thought it?”

She certainly has a point. Who would have imagined that such a madcap ditty - performed with a Casio keyboard on an ironing board and including such zany lyrics as, “Everybody’s good at cooking something, and I’m good at cooking crumble/ In fact I’ve got one in the oven, would you like some?” - would become a worldwide hit? But for the 53-year old Brighton resident this level of success has been a long time coming. She had already auditioned several times - with no success- for the national talent show and decided to give it one last shot, after much encouragement from a friend who had been on The X Factor.

“It’s been an incredible journey,” she explains, almost breathlessly.

“The thing is I’m not a Britain’s Got Talent 16-year old. I’m 53 now and have worked really hard all of my life. My creative output has always

28 | S US S E X S T Y L E . C OM | JUN MAYE 22001155

been my songs and I’ve been trying to get them out there for many years. I’ve always got good responses to my work, but have played to small audiences. The reason for going on BGT was to reach that wider audience - and it’s happened.”

Bowen’s career started in the 1980s when she sang backing vocals and played the piano in a band called The Dinner Ladies. She came to the attention of renowned singer-songwriter Billy Bragg, who gave her six months to put some songs on a cassette and send them to him. He responded with a brilliant critique and told her that she simply had to go solo. Over the next 25 years she brought out five albums and played important festivals such as Glastonbury, Bestival and the Brighton Fringe. She’s become a respected performer on a small circuit, but she admits, it has never been easy.

“I think it’s very tough for women to keep putting themselves out there. I’ve always been quite shy and humble, but once I started I just couldn’t stop.”

Bowen has always prided herself on having complete creative control over her music. She’s been on courses that teach pre-production and relishes writing her own arrangements. The results are an eclectic mixture of what she self-deprecatingly deems “silly songs”. Now that she is on

IMAGE CREDITS: ITV

L

A CRUMBLE FRENZY

interview A crumble in the oven, and a hit decades in the making: at long last Lorraine Bowen brings her act to prime-time television

the brink of mainstream success, how would she feel about potentially surrendering that level of control? She answers without hesitation.

“I’ve spent the last 10 years putting on shows on a tiny budget, with the help of friends. They’ve been paid £20, I’ve taken £30, so I would absolutely love some help now!”

Bowen believes that a song takes on a life of its own - and despite the comedic nature of her work, she is quick to stress that there is often a more profound undercurrent.

“All of my songs spring from a passion I have for something at that particular time – even The Crumble Song. People listening to that wouldn’t guess that I place massively stringent rules upon myself: I never mention gender or boy-girl relationships. I’ve played a lot of gay clubs and want my work to be accessible to everyone. I’ve also written a number of very serious songs, but no one has mentioned them yet as they haven’t heard them. But writing such a variety of material hasn’t done me any favours really because people can’t pigeonhole me and these days you have to be pigeonholed to be successful, I think.”

Bowen’s favourite gig has been Duckie, the LGBT club night at south London’s Royal Vauxhall Tavern. Playing there, she believes, really helped her prepare for the daunting BGT audition.

“I’ve always said that the best stage in the world is at the Royal Vauxhall Tavern. When there are 300 people in the audience, and they can all see the shoes of the person on stage, you get a real connection. A great vibe. You only get 15-minute slots there, so you have to be really good and relaxed. It was a similar crowd to the 2,500 people I played to during my audition at the Dominion Theatre: both audiences wanted something and you had to give it to them.”

Bowen, who lived for many years in east London, moved to Brighton at the age of 42. It’s a decision that she has never regretted and one which has fuelled her creativity.

“I was bored to pieces with Hackney,” she explains. “All the quirky little venues that I loved were closing down. It was becoming too corporate and had lost that village feel.”

Not long after moving to the seaside city, Bowen became assistant musical director of the Brighton Gay Men’s Chorus, a role she held for three years. The city even inspired her to write an album called Suburban Exotica, which she calls her “pledge to the suburban world.”

“It’s naughty of me to say this, but I have lived here for 10 years so I can: viewed through my Londony eyes Brighton really is quite suburban and gossipy. It’s a big village really. But I adore it. It’s gorgeous. There’s such a lovely atmosphere and I can ride around, safely, on my bike waving to people!”

In just a few weeks’ time Lorraine Bowen could be known as the winner of the ninth season of Britain’s Got Talent. It would be the crowning achievement in a career which – like her gloriously screwball songs – seems to have embraced so much randomness.

“I’ve never been trying to do any one thing in my work,” she laughs.

“I haven’t got a manager or an agent and don’t really plan. But sometimes things do fall into place and this series of BGT seems absolutely perfect.”

And as for The Crumble Song, does she think there is a spirit of the moment that it has tapped into?

“It could be a post-election thing, I don’t know. There’s so much bad news about at the moment, maybe people need something to cheer themselves up. Perhaps that quirky novelty record is due again.”

AJPRI UNE L 2015 | SUSSEXST YL E. E . CO M | 29

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A PRI L 2015 | SUSSEXST YL E . CO M | 31

culture

THOU SHALT ALWAYS WEAR

RUFFS

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Michael ‘Atters’ Attree, is Editor at Large for The Chap Magazine. Sarah Hutchings, Artistic Director of City Reads, Brighton, meets him and asks whether this rakish dandy could be the real deal?

B

ased in Brighton (the hipster heart of Sussex), Michael “Atters” Attree has built a loyal following and notorious reputation as a celebrated bounder and chap extraordinaire. Sporting an unconventional Savile Row look, perfectly waxed villain’s moustache and immaculately styled side-whiskers, he manages to pull the whole “Chap” thing off with aplomb. However, unlike the many imitations we see on the streets these days (complete with copy-cat moustaches and inferior unpressed vintage attire), Atters genuinely lives the life of a libertine and commits fully to the radical philosophy of a free-thinker. Does this make him one of England’s last true Bohemians?

We met up to talk children’s books (he’s just had one published), the life of a dandy and why he’s consented to be a guest DJ at Brighton City Reads’ Stick It On Fundraiser on June 12.

So Atters, you are Editor at Large (and the Official Resident Bounder) of The Chap Magazine, a film-maker, painter, actor, humourist, paranormal researcher and now you’ve had a children’s book published. Have you ever held down a nine-to-five?

Not sure I’ve held down a noon ‘til two job, let alone a nine-to five one.

Onomatopoeically speaking, I find “work“ such a brutal word.

Why did you decide to write a children’s book? (Atters’ book for children, Bagwan and The Heap, was published recently and will be officially launched later this year. He also did the illustrations.)

When I studied illustration at St Martin’s I used to (clumsily) emulate the crosshatching techniques of Cruickshank, James Gillray, John Tenniel and of course Maurice Sendak. [Attree actually graduated in film]. Such artists had an extraordinary ability to haunt the imagination of children. Since then I have wished to also convey such an atmosphere via children’s picture books or animation (skills I’ve yet to master adequately).

Any favourite books from your childhood?

Edith Nesbit, any M.R. James (terrifying as a child), Sendak’s Where The Wild Things Are, all of Dr Seuss, Alice in Wonderland and anything creepily supernatural involving time shifts and/or British stone circles.

PHOTOGRAPHY BY PETERCLARKIMAGES.CO.UK

So I’ve got to ask…when did you first grow the moustache and why?

Well quite simply, because I could. Also it was deemed a bit of a twofinger salute to the mainstream at the time. Plus a few of my childhood maverick heroes sported one.

Yes, the Seventies had its fair share of hirsute hunks. Peter Wingarde of Department S springs to mind. Any role models you remember wanting to look like from that era?

Bingo! Mr. Wingarde! (Jason King.) In 1971 I frog-marched my mother down to Butterworth’s (a gentlemen’s outfitters) to be beautified by pink bell bottoms, a psychedelic shirt and matching kipper tie. At six he was my god. In fact God (Peter) phoned me up at Christmas and left a hysterically amusing (slightly champagne fuelled) plummy message.

For me Santa had arrived!

‘Atters’ poses with legendary actor Terrence Stamp.

Ever feel miffed that The Chap look you’ve perfected has become more commonplace?

Not at all - I (that is my soul) evolves with life experience. I’m now experimenting with Seventies camp scarfs, Tudor ruffs and a mishA PRI L 2015 | SUSSEXST YL E . CO M | 33

culture mash of early historical splendours. All is imbued from within - not spoon-fed (after “work”) via some “how to be a Chap” catalogue.

What do you feel is the true spirit of the Libertine?

To “Do what thou wilt.” I’m not even sure I am a Libertine – I’m simply void of any willpower. In fact I selflessly refuse to call myself a “gentleman” out of honesty (and to avoid the term’s restrictive and affected shackles).

Brighton’s City Reads Festival is ten this year, making it the longest running “big read” in the UK. Why do you think people in Brighton love City Reads so much?

Yes, many happy returns! Well, you do get some blinding authors involved don’t you, the events are great fun and you don’t patronise. Though Brighton’s an imaginative realm its inhabitants can be a tad louche and clearly appreciate their annual kick up the arse to explore different authors.

I have been asked it myself! How utterly arousing! Well, the concept of “intelligent” extraterrestrial life existing is to me mind bogglingly exciting and likely. Be it in the future, present or past and within any one of the infinite universe dimensions that I believe may exist. However the physical human brain can only see and comprehend so much - I’d wager all the aforementioned has yet to make it into a Coronation Street script.

You never know Atters…you may have just given them some ideas.So lastly: as guest DJ, you will be spinning some discs at the City Reads Stick It On party on 12 June. Any clues about what you’ll be playing?

I was asked to guest DJ somewhere once before... Perhaps I should learn from that mistake and avoid Liverpool Lullaby by Cilla Black, Albinoni’s Adagio (in G minor), The Swingle Singers’ Jazz Sebastian Bach, and Chim Chim Cher-ee. But then again?

This year’s City Reads book is The Humans by Matt Haig. The central character in the book is an alien who takes on human form. Do you find this a fantastical premise? Or do you think there’s anything out there?

Oh my goodness! More name dropping here but I’ve asked Terence Stamp, Patrick Moore, Brian Blessed, Ken Dodd, Jilly Cooper and countless other “noted” minds that very question! Finally,

There’s something refreshingly honest about “Atters”. He genuinely loves the weird, the wonderful and the downright odd, and his witty self-deprecation cuts through any perceived artifice.

His authentic fascination with society’s underworld is refreshing and he’s fun to be around. Want to hear how his DJ slot at the City Reads 10th Birthday Party goes? There’s only one way to find out...

EARLY BIRD TICKETS £10: http://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/city-reads2015-stick-it-on-10th-birthday-partytickets-16457360408

CITY READS & STICK IT ON - ESSENTIAL FACTS

As Brighton’s unique literary festival CITY READS teams up with the crew from STICK IT ON for a fundraising night of dancing, drinking and daring DJs, here are FIVE things you need to know….

2. This year’s book and author is: THE HUMANS by MATT HAIG (Canongate) The movie rights to The Humans have just been sold to prodcuer Tanya Seghatchian

(Harry Potter, My Summer of Love) at Apocalypto. “One wet Friday evening, Professor Andrew Martin of Cambridge University solves the world’s greatest mathematical riddle. Then he disappears.

When he is found walking naked along the motorway, Professor Martin seems different... In fact, he hates everyone on the planet. Everyone, that is, except Newton. And he’s a dog.”

3. City Reads’ 10th Birthday Stick It On Party/Fundraiser is on 12 June at Rialto Theatre, Brighton “[STICK IT ON] is a national phenomenon, as for 15 minutes ordinary folk get to play their favourite tunes to titanic reactions from a party loving crowd.”

TIME OUT MAGAZINE

4. CITY READS 2015 takes place from 10th OCTOBER - 1st NOVEMBER. City Reads is an annual citywide book festival based in Brighton. The concept is simple: one book by one author is selected for the whole community to read, discuss, debate and creatively engage with, over the course of a series of special events, workshops and performances.

5. Sussex Style magazine is the Media Partner for the Stick It On Event in June.

So if you fancy supporting a wonderful Brighton organisation, having a bit of a dance, and the opportunity to DJ, come on down. Tickets are going like hot cakes.

Don’t miss DJ ‘Atters’ on the decks!

CITY READS 2015 - STICK IT ON FUNDRAISER Friday 12th June (8pm - till late) Rialto Brighton, 11 Dyke Road, Brighton, BN1 3FE To buy tickets: http://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/city-reads-2015-stick-it-on-fundraiser-tickets-16457360408 Tickets: £10 (in advance) £15 (OTD) 34 | S US S E X S T Y L E . C OM | MAY 2 0 1 5

PHOTOGRAPHY BY PETERCLARKIMAGES.CO.UK

1. City Reads is the longest running “BIG READ” in the UK City Reads (Brighton) is ten this year. “It all started in 2005, with Alice in Wonderland.

I was working at Brighton Festival as a literature programmer and was approached by Penguin Books who were celebrating their 70th anniversary. They asked if I thought a ‘big read’ would work in Brighton. I said ‘yes’ without hesitation.

I was taken aback at how quickly and enthusiastically the Brighton and Hove community took to the idea.” Sarah Hutchings (Artistic Director)

ATTERS’ QUICKFIRE

70s

QUESTIONS Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased) or Department S? Randall and Hopkirk (better scripts.)

Seventies female actors: Jacqueline Bisset or Julie Christie?

Susan George!

Seventies male actors: Terence Stamp or Michael York?

Terence Stamp!

Classic Seventies films: Performance (1970) or The Wicker Man (1973)?

The Wicker Man (profoundly.)

Children’s TV: Mr Benn or Basil Brush?

Both!

Taking it easy: ‘Atters’ with Rachel Johnson, the journalist sister of London mayor, Boris A PRI L 2015 | SUSSEXST YL E . CO M | 35

inger moss

STYLE OF THE S

7O

P

lease yourself,” was the catchword of the “me” decade. At first, Seventies fashion was a continuation of the Sixties hippie look, and though mini skirts, bell bottoms and long hair survived, by the mid-Seventiess that look was definitively over.

The early Seventies was the beginning of the disco era: shimmery polyester fabrics such as gold lamé, offthe-shoulder jumpsuits, hot pants and platforms. Spandex and Lycra made sexy, tight-fitting but comfortable jumpsuits and dresses.

Trousers began gently flared and reached the wide bell-bottom proportions by the mid-Seventies.

They then narrowed slightly down to straight and wide, and by the end of the Seventies they were narrow again. Trousers would be worn with small knitted short vests and waistcoats in any length.

T-shirts had gone from being underwear to becoming widely sported, hand-dyed or bearing slogans. The mini skirt was joined by midi and maxi.

The jumpsuit, initially from the World War II years - and used in the late Sixties as comfortable hostess wear - would in the Seventies glam up, and was often made from chiffon. It was colourful, with flared legs and was sleeveless or had long bell sleeves.

Vintage-inspired Edwardian style became hugely popular. There was the Granny dress, with its high neck pie-crust frilled, often made from floral print design.

Then there were the angel-sleeved, higher-fitting, empire-waisted, long flowing dresses, with occasional prairie elements like ruffled tiers or corset ties. Vintage clothing could be found in London at Portobello 36 | S US S E X S T Y L E . C OM | MAY 2 0 1 5

and Camden markets. One Seventies designer, Ossie Clark, would use this look for inspiration, and Mick Jagger was said to wear authentic Edwardian clothes for photo shoots and on stage.

In the Seventies every type of ethnic image set a trend: gypsy tops made in cheesecloth or light cotton, Tibetan and Chinese quilted jackets, and Indian imported cotton voile dresses in bright pinks, sea greens and cornflower blues.

Not many accessories were worn. Most women would carry a small leather shoulder bag and wore shoes like Mary Janes, knee-high boots with rounded toes, platform shoes, sandals, Birkenstocks and loafers.

Making your own clothes remained popular: hand-knitted jumpers, macramé bags and crouched clothes (including swimming costumes and bikinis.)

Diane Von Furstenberg invented the jersey knit wrap dress in 1972. It became a symbol of female empowerment - easy to wear, practical and functional for women of all body types and backgrounds.

Punk style was born in London as part of a rebellious, aggressive and anarchic movement. Punks bought clothes from charity and thrift shops, cut them up and wore them with padlocks and chains and razor blades used as pendants.

Vivienne Westwood and Zandra Rhodes are both punk-influenced designers of the Seventies. Punk style was another form of androgynous wear and women combined masculine and feminine elements in their look. A feminine dress would often be worn with vintage lace-up combat boots.

The Seventies have been called a fashion disaster, and the fashion decade best forgotten. True, there are elements best left behind, such as headbands. However I have many fond memories of my teens sporting most of the above trends – and now they’re back.

IMAGE CREDIT: ILLUSTRART/SHUTTERSTOCK

WERE THE 1970s REALLY A FASHION DISASTER? INGER MOSS INVESTIGATES

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WE’RE ALL ABOUT A GLOWING COMPLEXION AND BETTER THAN NATURAL LIPS; SO IF YOU WANT TO CHANNEL YOUR INNER CHARLIE’S ANGEL, LOOK NO FURTHER THAN OUR ON-TREND ROUND UP OF MAKE-UP MUST-HAVES TO GIVE YOU THAT SUNNY BUT POLISHED LOOK

If you want something a little richer, you can’t go wrong with Charlotte Tilbury’s gorgeously suede textured Matte Revolution lipstick in Sexy Sienna (£23), a warm peachy coral nude that is just perfect with a tan. charlottetilbury.com Get Set Go with Caudalie’s Beauty Elixir (£8.75 30ml.)

Inspired by Queen Isabelle of Hungary’s “elixir of youth”, this refreshing spray is a wonderful way to set and refresh make-up and give a radiance boost even in the hottest of climates; its zingy fragrance is loved by men and women alike. uk.caudalie.com Super Sexy Skin with Bare Minerals Complexion Rescue Tinted Hydrating Gel Cream (£26.00.) It’s a BB, a CC and a tinted moisturiser. This oilfree, antioxidant-rich formula promises a more than 200% increase in moisture in just one week, with an SPF of 30. bareminerals.co.uk

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Craving some contours?

Get your hands on Barry M’s fabulously Flawless Chisel Cheeks Contour Kit. With highly pigmented, blendable textures, it promises to deliver cheekbones worthy of a supermodel, at a budget-busting £6.49. barrym.com Feel the beat with Chanel’s new Blue Rhythm collection. A flick of their fabulous Ligne Graphique liquid eyeliner in Dream Blue (£26.00.) This beautiful metallic indigo gives as much intensity as black can, while modernising the look. chanel.com/Makeup

Perfect your pout with Delilah’s Colour Intense Cream Lipstick in Grace (£24), a beautiful rosy nude pink, perfect on cooler complexions. Its parabenfree, silky matte formula contains Vitamin E and has real staying power without drying the lips. delilahcosmetics.com

WE LOVE

MAIN IMAGE: YSBRAND COSIJN/SHUTTERSTOCK

A 19 7

mmer u s s 0

Sparkle for Spring

Spring is all about renewal and there’s no better time to reinvigorate your body. Posh Beauty Salon & Medi Spa has everything you need to give you that beautiful glow for the year ahead.

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ounded on a passionate belief in high quality treatments and impeccable customer service, our hand-picked team of expert therapists and medical practitioners are committed to providing both pampering and the latest in non-surgical aesthetic skin care.

We all have things that we’re not happy with about our bodies. When it comes to revitalising your skin we offer a comprehensive range of treatments from microdermabrasion and chemical peels to indulgent facials.

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Our range of treatments include: Waxing & Threading • HD Brows • Facials • Manicures & Pedicures • Spray Tanning • Microdermabrasion CACI non-surgical facelift • IPL and Laser hair removal • Skin tag and vein removal • Semi Permanent make-up Dermaroller skin needling • Chemical Peels • Anti Wrinkle Injections • Stockists of Dermalogica, Medik8 and Obagi

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health and fitness

PUMPING IRON & ITS LEGACY

IMAGE CREDIT: ANDREAS GRADIN/SHUTTERSTOCK

T

he Seventies, particularly in its later years, was a seismic decade. It marked the coming of age of prog rock, then its sudden (and in the eyes and ears of many of us, highly welcome) death at the hands of punk rock - a movement so potent music is still reeling from its effects. It was the decade Monetarism went from Chicago University theory into practice in the form of Margaret Thatcher’s 1979 Conservative government (and as with Punk Rock, we are still feeling that one too.) It was also the time that the fitness industry and gym culture went mainstream.

Released in 1977, Pumping Iron concentrates on the run up to the 1975 Mr Universe and Mr Olympia competitions. The film, surely one of the most famous documentaries of all time, turned weight lifting and the pursuit of the body beautiful from a cultish, slightly freakish recreation into an industry, and in the process made a cocky, charismatic Austrian with a singularly unpronounceable and unspellable name one of the most recognisable, bankable stars on the planet. Arnold Schwarzenegger,

Ben Marshall traces the origins of modern weightlifting to the Seventies and Arnold Schwarzenegger not only made the film what it was, he actually helped to raise money for it. The documentary ran into serious funding problems, prompting director George Butler to arrange an exhibition at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York: The body builders became “living sculptures,” posing almost nude on rotating platforms while art critics analysed the aesthetics of their physiques and compared and contrasted the men with Greek sculpture. Amongst the attendees were Andy Warhol and David Bowie, both of whom gave substantial amounts of money to finance the film.

Looking at the movie decades later you are struck by just how funny, intelligent and astonishingly bitchy are Arnie and his fellow body builders (including Lou Ferrigno who would later play the incredible Hulk on TV.)

One is also aware of just how odd these men looked at the time, and how unexceptional they seem now. Which is not to say they look “normal”. Arnie, whose physique the critic Clive James famously described as resmbling “a brown condom full of walnuts,” is huge.

At the time, he was the hugest. But he was no huger than the bigger chaps in any gym today. Some things - mobile phones, personal stereos, Shaun Ryder’s teeth - resize, getting bigger or smaller according to fashion.

Body builders just get bigger. The men who now win the title so coveted by Arnie and co. are so horribly huge they make Marvel cartoon characters look like Kate Moss.

So is there anything we can learn from Pumping Iron, other than the simple fact that steroid abuse can lead to coronary heart problems later in life? Actually, yes. Get behind the pumping, eye-scratching surface of the movie and you find that the techniques used by these men are an extremely useful guide as to how to sculpt your own perfect body. The techniques are both physical and psychological, and they work - I really need to stress this - for both men and women.

J UNE 2015 | SUSSEXST YL E. CO M | 43

health and fitness

entirely predictable

Inadvertently presaging the exhibition that would eventually fund the documentary, we see Arnie inform an interviewer that he is essentially the sculptor of his own body. If he wants a flatter stomach or larger shoulders, he knows what to do: he eats certain foods and does certain exercises and after a certain amount of time he has exactly what he wished for. This truism is essential to bear in mind when you are at the gym. If you do the right exercises in the right order and eat the right food, you will get exactly the result you intend. No ifs, no buts. The body responds to certain stimuli; provide it with the right ones and you will get the body you are looking for. Provide it with the wrong ones and it will respond accordingly.

LESSON 2 Stick at it

The body is predictable, and the results are visible. Other than redecorating your own house, you will find very few things this side of exercise that give you results that are both so easy to see and pleasurable to feel.

However, unlike redecorating your home, the results take a bit more time to be visible. This is why it is vital to stick with a program. Arnie says that being in a gym can often be painful and seem like a slog, but he sticks with it because he knows that hard work pays off - and boy, did it pay off for him. You need to do the same, in exercise, more than in anything else.

Putting off what you can do today until tomorrow is always a disastrous idea. But here’s the upside. The more you go to a gym, the easier it becomes, until eventually you find (just as Arnie and the boys found) that the tough thing isn’t working out. It’s not working out. And this becomes even truer as you begin to feel better, sleep better and look better.

LESSON 3 Never be

negative

During an interview in the movie, Arnie talks about how at first people in Austria didn’t take him seriously when he said he wanted to become a famous body builder and move to California. Even his parents told him he was being ridiculous, But Arnie didn’t let negative influences distract him from accomplishing his goals. Instead, he 44 | S US S E X S T Y L E . C OM | JUN E 2 0 1 5

focused on doing what he needed to in order to reach those goals. So, if other people don’t understand or even like what your goals are, or your plan for how to reach them, that’s OK. Believe in yourself, and use any negativity as fuel to help you achieve what you want.

You’ve heard it before; believe in yourself.

Remember this was a man who turned up as an impoverished immigrant in California only to become one of the biggest stars in the world and eventually the Governor of California. Sure, he had certain natural genetic advantages, but no more so than the people he was up against. What set Arnie aside was staggering, overwhelming confidence, and a complete refusal to be side-tracked. It is also what made him such a right-wing bastard, but that’s another story, folks.

LESSON 4 Never be afraid to try something new

In Pumping Iron, Arnie is shown ballet dancing.

It is a scene which initially borders on the comic. However you are soon struck by just how elegantly he performs. Arnie did this in order to learn about posture and perfect his poses when in competitions. The point is that trying new techniques isn’t just about being adventurous; it is absolutely vital. The body gets used things incredibly quickly. We are genetically programmed to adapt, and this is especially the case with exercise. If you don’t change things up every six weeks or so, then your body will eventually get used to things. Sure the work out will feel easier, but your progress will eventually grind to a halt. So, every six weeks, raise your weights, run in a different park, or at a different speed, or completely change your workout.

Keep doing this and you will continue to make progress.

“Schwarzenegger told an interviewer he was essentially the sculptor of his own body. This is essential to bear in mind when you are at the gym”

LESSON 5 Enjoy

yourself

One of the reasons Pumping Iron is so remarkable a film is that everyone in it seems to be genuinely enjoying themselves. Even when they are bitching about an opponent, In fact, especially when they are bitching about an opponent. Enjoy the process. The journey to success however you define it - is usually a long one.

Now, I’ll be the first to say that I think goals are extremely important, and there is great satisfaction in achieving them, but if the only happiness you get is from accomplishing your task, then chances are you aren’t going to be happy that often.

Arnie certainly knew this. Obviously, the man thrived on success and worked his proverbials off to win championships.

But he also enjoyed the journey. He found ways to enjoy the process of transforming his body.

Anything you do that you enjoy is a whole lot easier than doing something out of some onerous sense of duty.

One is fun, the other is a chore.

So go to a gym where you like the people and choose workouts that are both challenging and fun.

Think of sex and remember that the physical can be fun. In Pumping Iron, Arnie famously compares training to having an orgasm. Over and out, you crazy kids.

IMAGE CREDIT: POSZTOS/SHUTTERSTOCK

LESSON 1 Your body is

www.OMF.fitness Avoid the traffic jam at the gym and join the best outdoor fitness class in Crawley and Horsham - OMF (Outdoor Military Fitness).

Train through the rain and have the perfect body ahead of the summer. The first class is free, so come and give us a try...

OMF is a natural all over body circuit training for both men and women of all fitness levels.

You’ll never train so hard in your life and have so much fun at the same time, under the constant and watchful eye of the experienced ex-military instructors.

With our unique bib system, it doesnt matter if you’ve hardly trained or train daily you will always get a good work out regardless of your fitness level.

With over 64 classes a month you can set yourself a fitness routine that works for you.

LIKE A BOOT CAMP BUT BETTER AT HORSHAM PARK & GRATTONS PARK CRAWLEY www.OMF.fitness info@OMF.fitness Call Liam on 07974 801611

J UNE 2015 | SUSSEXST YL E. CO M | 45

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interview

Lisa Stansfield

FROM THE SOUL

Fans waited 10 years for Lisa Stansfield’s latest album, Seven. Next month Sussex can hear it live at the Love Supreme Festival. She talks to Alex Hopkins about art, fame and why she hates compromising very time I bring out a new album I’ve been accused of being a lazy bastard,” laughs Lisa Stansfield.

The English singer and songwriter – who burst onto the scene with the 1989 album Affection - is referring to the often long gaps between the releases of new work.

Her last album, Seven (simply named as it is her seventh album), finally came out in January 2014 (after being pushed back from October 2013); it was her first album in 10 years. But Stansfield has never let time bother her.

“I could have brought out 20 albums by now,” she admits, “but they probably wouldn’t have been as good as they could be.

I think if it’s worth waiting for something then it’s fine. When you’re away people forget about you anyway. They don’t know what you’re doing. You just do what you want when you’re out of the public eye and that’s fine with me.”

It’s a typical Stansfield statement – pragmatic and assured, with little regard for the vagaries of fame, which she is quick to say should never be anything more than, “a by-product of art.”

Critics and fans have certainly thought that Seven was worth the wait. The album is reminiscent of artists such as Adele, Emeli Sandé and Jesse Ware: it’s deeply soulful, almost cinematic and perfectly showcases Stansfield’s lush vocals and still impressive range. She gave up smoking five years ago (“the best thing I ever did”) and it’s with joy that she proclaims that she’s, “singing like I did in my twenties and now I’m 49!” Listening to the album, it’s impossible to disagree. Was it a conscious decision to make an album that sounded so very much of its time?

“I don’t think we really make conscious decisions,” muses Stansfield in the broad Lancashire accent she has proudly held on to. “I’ve never been pregnant, but I imagine it’s a bit like releasing music:: waiting for the baby to pop out and seeing what it’s like. When I get an idea or feel for something I just go with it. The cinematic thing was certainly something that jumped out straight away and was in no way a conscious decision.”

J MA UNE Y 2015 | SUSSEXST YL E. CO M | 47

“If you can make a connection of the soul with someone, that’s like a magical religion. This the closest I ever get to going to church”

Despite the long periods out of the public eye, Stansfield remains one of the UK’s most respected artists. Her numerous awards include Brits and Ivor Novellos. She has sold over 20 million albums – with five million for Affection alone. She’s been a bonafide money-maker for a cut-throat industry. Given this, did she feel under pressure from music producers to create a certain type of record that tapped into the current zeitgeist? She doesn’t hesitate before answering.

“No. I think if you don’t do what you personally feel is your favourite thing then there’s no point in doing it. If you don’t like something that you create then nobody else is really going to like it, are they? People can sense things like that.”

Seven was written with Ian Devaney, her long-term partner. (She was previously married, for just four months, to Italian designer Augusto Grassi, whom she met while on a holiday in Tunisia.) Devaney, a former school mate, has produced many of her albums, but she has never found living and working together to be difficult.

“We’ve been together for 27 years now. You get used to it,” she says, letting out a warm, earthy laugh. “Like any couple we row like mad at times and then at other times we love each other to death, but when we’re working we’re very professional. You keep everything domestic in the home. It’s actually really nice because if we’ve fallen out at home and we go into the studio we expel that completely and get on with doing what we’re doing. It’s a good way of getting over a row: you just forget about it completely.”

Like much of Stansfield’s back catalogue, the lyrics of Seven focus on love and relationships; notions of thwarted desire and the impossibility of stopping ourselves falling in love, even when we know it can be destructive. Yet there’s a real sense of female empowerment about the

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work, beautifully expressed by Stansfield’s voice, which treads a fine balance between strength and vulnerability.

“Yes, love – that old chestnut,” she laughs again. “I’m a woman and I write songs, but I don’t just write for women. I write for everyone. I hope that a man can listen to my music and get as much out of it as a woman.

We all get hurt emotionally and we all feel the same feelings.”

The writing process is, she says, surprisingly simple: “Hopefully the lyrics just pop out and then I modify them to whatever I think they should be. I also hope that people will be able to look at those lyrics and think, ‘Oh, my God, that’s helped me a bit.’ It’s sort of therapy in a way.”

The same singers continue to influence her work (“my mum’s music”): Diana Ross and Marvin Gaye. She happily recalls sitting on the stairs as a kid, eating vol-au-vents, as her parents and their friends tore up the living room to the strains of Barry White. I ask why this music has stayed with her for so long, and realising it’s a rather vacuous question, cringe as I finish the sentence.

“Well, it’s soul music!” Stansfield exclaims. She’s amiable and refreshingly unpretentious throughout our interview, but this is one of the moments that I know I’m in the presence of a no-nonsense northerner: if she thinks something sounds faintly ridiculous she’ll call you out on it.

“I think soul music is one the most beautiful types of music you can identify with,” she continues, her voice noticeably softer. “If you can make a connection of the soul with someone that’s like a magical religion. I’m not religious but this is the closest I ever get to going to church. That type of music takes you out of yourself. I never tire of it.”

Does she get bored of singing her biggest hit, All Around the World?

“What’s that song?” she fires back flatly.

“All Around the World,” I reply tentatively.

She lets out a delightfully raucous laugh.

“I’m only joking. Oh, you were so serious then, weren’t you? You thought, ‘Oh, she’s fucking lost it!’”

We both laugh together. The awkward moment has passed.

“No, I don’t,” she says. “And you know why? Because it’s like a friend.

It’s really weird. If you’ve ever written something you go back to it and sometimes think, ‘Oh God, that’s fucking awful,’ and then you revisit it another time and think it’s bloody amazing. It’s about your relationship with something that’s come out of you: sometimes you fall out with it.

At others you think it’s some of the best material in the world.”

The material has certainly endured – played even now at unexpected moments on the dance floor as a bitter-sweet reminder of a generation’s fading youth. This, I remark, is perhaps more than can be hoped for with the fame hungry one-hit wonders created by today’s reality TV machine.

Stansfield’s voice turns serious.

“The thing with the whole X Factor format is that people who don’t really know very much about the business have become very vulnerable commodities. If they don’t do what anyone else tells them to do they’re out. There’s always someone else who is going to take their place.

“I don’t agree with a lot of it. Some people will always try to make money out of vulnerable people. Talented people will be taken advantage of because they don’t see the pitfalls. But I love it when that vulnerable person makes a massive go of it and shows their inner strength.”

How has Stansfield maintained her own strength to survive the music industry? Have there been moments when she has felt overly exploited? How has she kept her sense of self?

“The worst for me - because I feel very strongly about what my creativity is and what I can do with it - is to compromise. But you have to and it’s fucking awful, absolutely awful. It’s like you’re getting a glass of really nice Ribena and then putting a fucking pint of water in it and then throwing it all over everyone who doesn’t appreciate it. It’s really weird. And yet if you don’t compromise to some extent you’d just sit at home listening to your own music and no one would hear it. But I really go out of my way not to compromise. I’d rather tell someone not to work with me than compromise.”

And this, it seems, is why Lisa Stansfield is still going strong, and with her artistic integrity intact, as she produces her music on her own terms. She continues to push the boundaries, but remains in touch with what her loyal fanbase wants. At next month’s Love Supreme she will play a mixture of old hits and new material because to do otherwise would be, “egotistical and disrespectful to my audience.” And in return, this audience are prepared to wait for as long as necessary for her next offering. They know she will deliver. She is now working on another album, but is reluctant to discuss what we may expect.

“I never want to say because you never know how something is going to turn out. It’s ridiculous to say this is the concept if it doesn’t turn out that way. Songs have a life of their own and you just have to go with it, so I have no idea what the next album is going to be like.”

She lets out that bold, throaty laugh one more time.

“But I think it’s going to be pretty fucking great!”

Lisa Stansfield plays Love Supreme on 5 July. www.lovesupremefestival.com

J MA UNE Y 2015 | SUSSEXST YL E. CO M | 49

food news

KITCHEN ACADEMY AT KINGSCOTE

To brush up on your culinary skills, look at the delicious courses available at the new Kingscote cookery school: Sushi, authentic Greek, and many more designed for budding chefs of all ages and abilities.

The courses will be run by Jethro Carr, Founder of Kitchen Academy and a team of chefs including Peter Bayless, winner of the BBC MasterChef in 2006. Wine expertise comes from Kingscote Estate’s Executive Wine Maker, Owen Elias, and Andy Cooper, Vineyard Manager. kingscotevineyards.com

WHAT’S COOKING Sam Bilton brings us cooking classes, the history of tea, the tastes of Mid Sussex, and food festivals

EXPERIENCE MID SUSSEX

Hospitality tourism in Mid Sussex has been given a boost with the launch of Experience Mid Sussex website. The portal provides a one-stop shop and social network where visitors can discover more about the region’s top hotels, restaurants, vineyards, gardens and show grounds including Bolney Wine Estate and Gravetye Manor Hotel & Restaurant. experiencemidsussex.co.uk

Smoothie-making will never be the same again with KitchenAid’s new Artisan Magnetic Drive Blender. This slick blender has manual speed control and four pre-set recipe programmes ranging from juice to icy drinks. It judges the speed and length of time for varying ingredients. Available from johnlewis.com RRP £549

T R IE D & S T E T ED 50 | S US S E X S T Y L E . C OM | JUN E 2 0 1 5

TIME FOR TEA

Sussex publisher Summersdale have recently released Tea: A Miscellany Steeped with Trivia, History and Recipes by Emily Kearns (£9.99). A thoroughly entertaining and interesting read for tea aficionados. You can read a full review of the book on my blog comfortablyhungry.com We have four copies of the book to give away.

Simply email your name and address with the subject TEA to comps@sussexstyle.co.uk

KITCHENAID REINVENTS THE BLENDER

1

WIN!

Food Festival Round-Up

Catch up with your favourite local producers and meet a few new ones at the county’s forthcoming food festivals.

24 - 28 June Food & Drink Market, Hickstead Derby

2

3

18-19 July 2015 Scythe & Cider Weekend, Wakehurst Place

If you hanker after a more traditional prawn cocktail but don’t want the hassle of making your own Marie Rose sauce why not try one of these premium seafood sauces? 1. Simply Delicious Organic Seafood Sauce with Mediterranean lemons RRP £1.85 180ml 2. The Bay Tree Seafood Sauce RRP £3.15 250g 3. English Provender Co Seafood Sauce with Sunblush Tomatoes RRP £1.69 195g

COMING SOON NEWLY REFURBISHED GUESTROOMS AT HILTON BRIGHTON METROPOLE 185 en-suite rooms will be refurbished, along with some communal guest areas, and will be transformed into comfortable, stylish spaces which eortlessly capture the Arts and Crafts movement, with historical styling alongside feature artwork paying homage to William Morris. The rooms will be redesigned in calming, harmonious tones complemented by highly functional, beautiful lighting. Guests will be able to revitalise themselves in renovated bathrooms, featuring a large walk-in shower.

For more information or to book please call 01273 775432 or email enquiries.brightonmet@hilton.com Hilton Brighton Metropole, Kings Road, Brighton, BN1 2FU facebook.com/hilton.b.metropole twitter.com/brightonmet

IMAGE CREDIT: STEPHEN HAYWARD AND MIKE CALDWELL

tea for two

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ONE LUMP OR TWO?

The Goodwood Hotel’s approach to food is a reflection of Goodwood’s overarching passion for perfection with its 12,000 acre Estate providing a plentiful larder for its kitchens.

U

nder the guidance of Executive Head Chef, Mark Forman, The Goodwood Hotel’s two restaurants, The Richmond Arms and The Goodwood Bar & Grill, take the very best of local and Estate-reared seasonal ingredients, creating dishes with a true British flavour and very much of the region.

Whilst the plentiful Estate is an inspiration for foraging wild produce, it is Goodwood Home Farm which provides much of the ingredients used in the dishes – this unique production of award-winning organic meats, milk and cheese creates a depth of flavour unrivalled elsewhere, with a genuine link from field to fork. The surrounding small local producers and fishing boats complete this incredible range of raw ingredients.

The brasserie-style Goodwood Bar & Grill is perfect for informal dining whether you are looking for a satisfying breakfast, a healthy salad post-workout at the adjoining Goodwood Health Club or a hearty dinner. Whilst The Richmond Arms offers a truly gastronomic treat, taking the very best of Home Farm ingredients to create dishes with a contemporary twist.

For anyone wishing to dine at one of The Goodwood Hotel’s restaurants, simply book online at goodwood.com or telephone 01243 775537.

Afternoon tea

The Richmond Arms’ new afternoon tea menu offers precision-cut finger sandwiches, scones laden with cream, fanciful cakes and a steaming pot of tea served within the impeccably British surroundings of The Richmond Arms’ Bar. Afternoon teas are all freshly made in-house and are available Tuesday Saturday from 1 - 4pm.

J UNE 2015 | SUSSEXST YL E. CO M | 53

food

THE ART OF CONVENIENCE Are convenience foods really to blame for our lack of cooking skills?

Sam Bilton thinks not.

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was boiled in order to turn the jelly crystals into a scarlet sea which you then poured over the crisp sponge fingers causing them to become miraculously soft. Custard powder was carefully blended with milk then heated slowly on the hob (microwaves weren’t commonplace until the Eighties), stirring constantly to avoid lumps. Crucially, you needed patience to let each of these layers set before you could proceed to the pièce de résistance - making the whipped cream topping. Then you could unleash a shower of multi-coloured sugar strands as a final flourish. My friend was correct, but this wasn’t just cooking. It was alchemy. More importantly it was something I could prepare on my own with minimal supervision. A juvenile signature dish, if you will.

So, whilst I’ll never be an advocate of instant mashed potato or tinned mince, I do believe that certain convenience foods have their place and should be treasured. Today, if we fancy trifle for dessert, most of us buy one ready-made from the local supermarket. Now where’s the fun in that?

Visit my blog at comfortablyhungry.com for recipes using a favourite tipple of the Seventies, Babycham

“I too was dismissive of the dessicated contents of packets.

But to make a Bird’s trifle wasn’t just cooking. It was alchemy”

IMAGE CREDIT: GRALETTA/SHUTTERSTOCK

I

n culinary terms the 1970s takes quite a kicking. Supposedly, it is the decade the taste forgot. From space-age instant mash (“get Smash!”) to lurid instant juice powders, it was an era when women could be emancipated from the kitchen thanks to an array of product innovations.

According to many, this is also when our kitchen know-how began to dwindle and fade. We no longer had to cook from scratch, so we didn’t. Women simply hung up their aprons and trotted off to work content in the knowledge that there was always a packet of something or other to which you could just add water for a quick evening supper.

Except this is not how I remember it. The Seventies is the decade in which I began to cook, learning from my mother and occasionally at school. But what really jumpstarted my obsession with cooking was Bird’s Trifle.

In adulthood I too was dismissive of the collection of packets whose desiccated contents could be transformed into quivering layers of lusciousness. Then a fellow food writer pointed out that to make a Bird’s Trifle you do have to do some cooking, however basic. A kettle

WEDDINGS / RESTAURANT / BEDROOMS / MEETINGS

Dining at Pelham House ~ Delicious and seasonal Pelham House focuses on simple and delicious food, using good quality seasonal and locally sourced produce. We offer a variety of regularly changing menus.

The restaurant is the perfect setting for a special lunch or dinner. We also have several additional dining rooms which seat between 4 and 120 guests private dining.

Pelham House has a carefully selected list of wines and cocktails to complement our menus.

Diners can choose the historic Panelled Room, the charming Garden End Room or to dine alfresco on the stunning south facing Terrace.

Our Gallery menu is available from 10:00 until 22:00 for brunch, bar snacks, light meals and pre-dinner drinks and afternoon tea between 3pm and 5pm.

The Restaurant is open daily from 12:00 for lunch, and 18:00 for dinner.

To Book, or for any enquires please contact Pelham House: J UNE 2015 | SUSSEXST YL E. CO M | 55 p: 01273 488600 e: reception @pelhamhouse.com

Picture the scene: the sun is blazing down on your patio; your table is beautifully set with the finest linen, cutlery and glassware; around it sit elegant and stylish chairs and, in the distance, the very latest in hi-tech lights wait to illuminate your event when the sun sets and the party really gets going.

Whatever your tastes – sophisticated, vintage or classic – and whatever the occasion, Co-ordination Catering Hire specialise in supplying all your catering equipment and furniture for your special day, helping you plan everything from colours and looks to themes. Entice those that matter as you entrust your dreams to us. www.co-ordination.net T: 01293 553040 E: info@co-ordination.net

food

Prawn Cocktail with Mango Salsa A revamped, lighter version of the 1970s classic.

Serves 4 160g cooked, peeled prawns Zest and juice 1 lime 4 tbsp low-fat Greek yogurt 1 mango, peeled and stone removed ½ red chilli, deseeded and diced, plus a few thin slices to garnish 2 spring onions, sliced 3 leaves basil, shredded 1 baby gem lettuce, shredded

Mix the lime zest into the yogurt and season with a little salt and pepper.

Cut a few thin slices of the mango for decoration, then dice the rest. Mix the diced mango with the chilli, lime juice, spring onions and basil to form a salsa.

To serve, layer a little salsa in the bottom of a cocktail glass, then add shredded lettuce, then some prawns, then yogurt. Repeat until the glass is full, finishing with a spoonful of yogurt.

Garnish with chilli and the mango slices.

Prawn Cocktail with a Mango Salsa recipe from fishisthedish.co.uk

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PHOTO CREDIT: SEAFISH

NO SEVENTIES DINNER PARTY WAS COMPLETE WITHOUT THE CLASSIC PRAWN COCKTAIL. SAM BILTON DISCOVERS A MODERN TWIST ON THE OLD FAVOURITE

in season

In Season...

PHOTO CREDITS: STOCKCREATIONS AND MARAZE/SHUTTERSTOCK.

Tomatoes As entrenched as they are in the culinary psyche of Britain, it’s hard to imagine that tomatoes were once viewed with immense suspicion. Until relatively recently they were largely shunned as they were thought to cause gout and cancer.

(Ironic when you consider that tomatoes contain high levels of lycopene, which is believed to protect against cancer and heart disease.) Tomatoes gained a somewhat louche reputation as an aphrodisiac and in Europe they were known as pommes d’amour (love apples). The Italians still romantically call tomatoes pomodori, which is a rather more poetic name for this delicious fruit.

There is a potential bounty of tomato varieties available, although we seldom see them in the supermarkets. Seek unusual varieties, like chocolate cherry or green zebra, at a local farmers’ market; or even better, next year grow your own. You really can’t beat the savoury aroma of the tomato plant grown under glass. Plus homegrown varieties tend to be far sweeter than anything you’ll buy in a shop.

Gooseberries As a child I really wanted to like gooseberries. With their ever so slightly fluffy exterior, I evenfound then endearing, cuddly. But oh, the disappointment, once bitten, when the sour juice flooded my small mouth. As I have matured, so have my tastebuds, and I now feel ready to champion this much overlooked summer berry.

Gooseberries are one of the first berries to come into season in the summer. They are wonderfully versatile and can be used in savoury as well as sweet dishes. They are the perfect foil for oily mackerel in the form of a tart sauce. Mix them with aromatic elderflower cordial for a delicious crumble (there’s a great recipe for this in Nigella’s Kitchen) or in a jelly for something a bit lighter. Given their zesty flavour, I have an inkling their juice would also make a cracking Margarita cocktail with an AquaRiva tequila.

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advertising promotion

A RURAL IDYLL “Peace” is the one word that sums up Gravetye Manor, the beautiful 16th-century country house hotel situated the sprawling countryside near East Grinstead.

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verything about Gravetye Manor summons up tranquillity.

The 17 bedrooms and suites are even named after tree species found on the estate. Rich fabrics, fine antiques and hand crafted beds emphasise the classical beauty of the interiors, whilst floral themes bring the garden into the manor.

And it is this garden which forms the centrepiece of the Gravetye experience; Indeed, the gardens at the Manor are considered amongst the most influential in English gardening history.

They can be traced back to one William Robinson, the creative, innovative and revolutionary gardener who acquired the manor in 1884.

Robinson, one of the greatest gardeners of all time, spent his remarkable life as a professional gardener and botanist, but made his fortune through writing about his experiences and ideas on horticulture.

Today Gravetye is a mature, charming and very beautiful garden.

The tree line and the masses of naturalised bulbs show Robinsons’ genius in a way that only he could have imagined over 100 years ago. The wild garden tumbles down its south facing slopes into the contrasting formal areas of the garden, and wherever you are in the garden there is always a stunning view of the surrounding countryside.

William Robinson’s legacy lives on through the current head

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gardener, Tom Coward, who was appointed in summer 2010. Having worked for 3 years alongside Fergus Garrett at Great Dixter, his experience has proved second to none in tackling this project. The focus will be not only on conserving and re-creating Robinson’s work but also progressing the garden in homage to his experimental style of gardening.

A Gastronomic new era

A gastronomic new era is dawning on Gravetye Manor, as recently appointed head chef George Blogg catches the attention of guests, locals and critics with his accomplished, seasonal cooking.

The former Acorn award winner joined Gravetye early last summer, having previously worked at double Michelin-starred restaurants The Square in Mayfair under Philip Howard and Le Champignon Sauvage in Cheltenham under David Everitt-Matthias.

His impressive experience also includes stages at Notting Hill’s The Ledbury, Raymond Blanc’s Le Manoir Aux Quat’Saisons in Oxfordshire and René Redzepi’s Noma in Copenhagen.

Since his arrival accolades for the hotel and restaurant have quickly followed. In addition to being the AA’s Hotel of the Year 2013-2014, Gravetye was awarded the Best Rural Hotel by Food & Travel and

WILLIAM ROBINSON FESTIVAL SATURDAY 4TH JULY ~ GARDEN OPEN DAY

You’re invited to enjoy the world renowned gardens at Gravetye Manor at this special event celebrating the life of their creator, pioneering Victorian gardener William Robinson.

There will be a busy schedule of events, which includes garden talks, flower demonstrations, Sussex wine tasting, local cheese showcase, morris dancing and much more.

EVENTS START AT 10.00am until 4.30pm. £15 PER PERSON (including a cup of tea/coffee and cake) TICKETS ARE LIMITED AND MUST BE PRE-BOOKED

FESTIVAL SPEAKER LUNCH FERGUS GARRETT the Best Countryside Hotel by Conde Nast Johansens for 2014. This January the restaurant was awarded 3 AA Rosettes and received praise in the Waitrose Good Food Guide, where he won the Editor’s Award for the Chef to Watch for 2014. Impressively, Gravetye Manor is also the second longest-standing restaurant in the Good Food Guide, beaten only by The Connaught in Mayfair.

George’s seasonal cooking retains classical roots whilst using modern techniques where necessary to develop the cuisine to give it a lighter touch and a more natural feel, reflective of the surroundings, with a real emphasis on flavour and texture. Going a step further than sourcing local produce, the menus are inspired by the use of Gravetye Manor’s impressive oval walled Victorian kitchen garden, it’s flock of Bantam hens, refurbished glass houses, mature orchards and the surrounding 1000 acre Gravetye Estate of fields, forests and meadows that form a forager’s paradise.

A large selection of fine wines accompany the food, with Gravetye’s wine cellar described as ‘one of the most aristocratic and majestic in the land’ Source: the Mobile Food Guide.

A three course À la carte meal costs £65 and the seven course tasting menu £85. A £30 three course lunch menu, afternoon teas and Sunday roasts are also available. The kitchen caters for most dietary requirements with vegetarians well provided for with separate menu options.

There really has been no better time to sample the old world elegance of this magnificent estate.

Gravetye are delighted to welcome Fergus Garrett, head gardener and CEO at the famous arts and crafts garden, Great Dixter, as speaker at the festival lunch.

Fergus lectures widely and contributes widely to gardening publications that include: Gardens Illustrated, RHS Garden Magazine, The Gardener, as well as The Sunday Times and The Telegraph.

Fergus will focus on his work at Great Dixter and how he has managed to move the gardens forward, whilst still staying true to the gardens historical origins.

Guests will gather at 11.30am for the talk, with lunch at 1.00pm. £65.00 per person, aperitif, 3 course lunch and drinks inclusive. Guests joining the lunch are also welcome to enjoy the day’s festivities in the garden throughout the day.

Dress code: Smart casual.

Vowels Lane, West Hoathly, Sussex RH19 4LJ gravetyemanor.co.uk

To book please call the Events Team on 01342 810567 or email events@gravetyemanor.co.uk (£15 of the ticket price from both events will be going to Chestnut Tree House Children’s Hospice) J UNE 2015 | SUSSEXST YL E. CO M | 61

THE HEIGHT OF PURITY

The Viva Mayr clinic on the mystical shores of Lake Altaussee in the Austrian Alps promises to make you look ten years younger.

Novelist Carole Morin checks in and takes The Cure 62 | S US S E X S T Y L E . C OM | JUN E 2 0 1 5

travel No binge, all purge: the luxurious surroundings at the Viva Mayr clinic are the only indulgence offered under a strict regime

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hecking into a detox hotel isn’t my idea of a holiday, when I could be in San Sebastian drinking martinis mixed by Alejandro in the Maria Cristina dry bar. Or sitting under a palm tree on an island in the South China Sea, sipping xī guā zhī. Or locked in the Hermitage overnight with frozen vodka and a view of Van Gogh’s Sunflowers that isn’t spoiled by somebody’s big Slav hair.

But my lungs have been passive smoking in Beijing since last century. I’ve already done an Emily Brontë and had consumption.

It’s a great diet, but I get breathless sprinting away from stalkers.

So when I heard about this Viva Mayr health holiday - a holiday where you lose weight and go home looking ten years younger without going anywhere near a knife - I was on the plane before you could say, “cellulite.”

Checking into a hotel room with two toilets ready for an intestinal cleanse, the root of the Mayr cure, may not sound like a great deal of fun. But mountains are God’s tranquilisers and the view from my bath and bed kept me serene; which is just as well as I’d already been frisked for Valium.

“Be aware that you have two toilets,” the hotel Führer, a tall burd who looks like Princess Diana, reminded me as she showed me my lovely room. Maybe instead of dying, Diana actually came here to run a defecation hotel? The princess did know how to purge.

The new Viva Mayr clinic, on the mystical shores of Lake Altaussee in the Austrian Alps, where Daniel Craig recently did his Bond thing, was built by a minted dude for his daughters.

Because what is wealth without health? Riches and romance are impossible to enjoy if you don’t have the energy.

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I’m not a big fan of quacks, so when I discovered - after reading my schedule, which doubles up as a small weight the size of a telephone directory - that my first doctor’s appointment was at 8am, I felt like calling my husband’s helicopter to rescue me.

Of course the mountain was blocking my signal, so even though calls are not Verboten, it is not actually possible to make one.

The Führer appeared when I accidentally hit the panic button while playing with the remote control for my toilets, and rather sweetly offered to unpack my bag. This gave her the chance to steal my biscuits. The staff are impossible to bribe, and most of them are evangelical about The Cure.

The Cure is compulsory for all inmates.

“If we had some guests drinking wine in the restaurant it would spoil the atmosphere,” my doctor, Ingrid - Eva Braun with a brain - told me.

The atmosphere is insane-asylum-meets-St-Trinian’s, with me playing bad girl Arabella and telling a red-faced man who misses wine where to find the pub in the forest.

“Everyone takes The Cure together. So much more fun!” the beatific Dr Ingrid tells me as she massages my small intestine with manicured fingers.

And so much more farting, with everyone guzzling bottles of salty water as they shuffle around in bathrobes boasting how much impacted waste they have cleaned out of their colons.

Salt is the rock of this cure, coming from the local mines, where the Nazis hid their art treasures when the war was lost.

“Your soft stools should slide happily out,” Dr Sepp, who runs the joint, announced.

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“Mountains are God’s tranquilisers, and the view kept me serene. Just as well, as I’d been frisked for Valium”

travel

Austerity era: you’re all in it together in the restaurant, where wine is Verboten

I’m sweating off fat running from massage to hydrotherapy, with regular detours to defecate. I’d be happy walking by Lake Altaussee, maybe paying a visit to Mr Red Bull, the man behind the drink, who has a cabin on the water, instead of spending my days locked in numerous toilets. But I don’t have the energy, so I retreat to my room with a large bottle of salty water which I dutifully pour down the drain.

I’m a rule-breaker not a heartbreaker, so I pretend to guzzle the salty stuff along with all the other potions. To be fair I am not anally retentive and don’t have problems eliminating the brown stuff, which is possibly more than you care for me to share unless you are Chinese and fond of discussing bowel movements over dinner.

“Sleep is one of the problems of the modern age,” Dr Sepp announced one evening as we sat round sipping salty water wondering who would run for the toilet first.

It’s just a shame the curtains don’t fit and there’s enough light coming in my window to disturb the blind. At home in Soho, I sleep in a room darker than Dracula’s tomb, but the ever-obliging Führer was determined to find a blackout solution for me with the help of a boy in lederhosen who I kept expecting to burst into a chorus of Tomorrow Belongs to Me. Hans knocked on my door at bedtime - around 7.30pm and led me to the room specially prepared for me to sleep in.

“I have worked hard all day,” Hans confided, opening the door of my new sleep chamber, whose smell practically knocked me out. Hanging off the window was a fabric like a sloppy dominatrix’s rubber dress. There were tears in my eyes - an allergic reaction - as I thanked Hans for all his hard work.

He kissed my hand and wished me sweet dreams; so pleased with his mess I couldn’t crush his delight.

I waited until he had gone then tiptoed back to my bright room overlooking the lake.

Word got around about my Sleep Chamber. Soon I was able to charge admission. A spoonful of avocado or a sliver of chicken for a peek.

When I was at a loose end I went in there and had a sniff and forgot I was hungry. I imagine it’s similar to the pleasure weird people get from sniffing glue. Personally I think Superglue should be saved for sticking plastic jobbies on the cars of your enemies.

The sum of the vices is constant and you may as well be addicted to something that’s good for you.

Glugging bottles of salt is never going to be my poison, but I began to look forward to my stomach massage with Dr Ingrid every morning at the crack of dawn; and going the Victoria Beckham method of eating soup with a teaspoon for dinner.

The Viva Mayr cure is a life-changing experience which works on your body and soul in a subtle way until your soul starts to twinkle.

Everybody smiles instead of obsessing about the brown stuff.

“Breathe,” as Yoko said to John. (Who knows what she said to Hillary Clinton? “Your bum looks really big in that, missus”?)

It’s a trick of perspective, or a blast of oxygen, and when you look in the rearview mirror as you drive away your skin is bright and clear.

Most of the inmates have taken The Cure more than once and when I left, five pounds lighter, I already planned to return.

Carole Morin is the author of the noirish thriller Spying On Strange Men carolemorin.co.uk J UNE 2015 | SUSSEXST YL E. CO M | 65

Jack Dunckley’s retirement garden at The Hampton Court Flower Show

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gardens

Sussex’s GARDEN GURU Jack Dunckley is only 21 years old, but he is on his way to becoming one of the country’s top garden designers. Alex Hopkins meets a prodigy

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here’s an enviable confidence in Jack Dunckley’s voice as he casually reels off the numerous medals he has won for garden design: “I’ve been at Hampton Court many times, won a number of awards; been at Chelsea too – won a medal. I’ve got eight Royal Horticultural Society medals in total, a combination of gilt, silver, bronze.” Then comes the “but”: “I’m still waiting for that magical gold, but it will certainly come in time.”

In garden design – an occupation perhaps more often associated with middle age - the 21-year-old Dunckley has made a name for himself as a prodigy. He’s appeared on popular TV programmes such as The Alan Titchmarsh Show and Gardener’s World, and last month exhibited at the UK’s leading home show, Grand Designs Live. When he was just 17, his father bought him a nursery, in Birchfield, and business is booming. Dunckley is having the kind of success that most twenty-somethings could only dream of. But it takes just a few minutes of talking to him to see that he has set his sights much higher: “My aim is to become the youngest ever gold medal

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winner at Chelsea,” he coolly says. “I have two years still in which to do that. I’m not going this year, but maybe next year. We’ll see…

“It all began when I was just 14,” Dunckley explains. “I’ve always been very passionate about getting out into the open. Back then I rather crazily designed a garden for the RHS Malvern Spring Festival.

The penny dropped: I loved what I was doing and became completely obsessed with it. I haven’t stopped since.

“Initially, it was just about scribbles on paper, but obviously I went on to train properly as a garden designer, and learned about 3D models, graphics, detailed planting plans, construction detailing and all that sort of thing.”

It’s clear from the way that Dunckley talks that he is already an astute businessman. When I ask if there’s a particular design or look that he favours, he responds by referring to the importance of, “the client’s requirements.” In what he acknowledges is a highly competitive industry, he accepts that his job is all about producing a garden to fulfil set criteria.

“There are lots of designers out there,” he adds, “and you have to stand out to succeed. Each designer has their own creative ability and everyone responds to different forms of creativity, so ultimately it all comes down to personal choice.”

But if it was up to Dunckley alone, he would favour a more contemporary design. He gives this description of his personal preference: “Something cleanlined, quite chic.” You can’t go wrong with futuristic materials, he believes. He talks at length about the types of plants that can be used to create a specific look, insisting that a grounding in horticulture is essential if you’re really going to excel in the business.

“I’ve always been into my plants and from an early age had a strong knowledge of what can be used where. That really informs my design. Yes, it’s a definite bonus.

“If you’re after a low-maintenance border then go for those lowmaintenance shrubs, a variety of colours, foliage interest. Others opt for a cottage-garden style, where you’ve got contrasting perennials.

Some clients are after purples and whites, pinks and pastels. You can combine that with low-grain creeping plants, or perhaps you’re after an exotic look. You can’t beat Yuccas for this. Then you can throw in water features – they always provide a point of interest. It doesn’t necessarily have to be a big thing: even a small feature in a pot can provide a focal point. The sound of water alone gives you that all-important peace.”

Over the last few years, Dunckley has incorporated all of these elements into his commissions, which vary from small, suburban terraced gardens to the grandest of mansions.

“The largest garden I’ve designed is for Lord Saatchi,” he says, again almost casually. “I’m still working on it. He is very much a man of ideas and my job is to turn those into reality by planting, designing, incorporating all that he wants. When I started working with him he already had a very formal garden, but I’ve radicalised it by cutting down trees and replanting. It’s been a fascinating project to work on.”

But not all clients are like the advertising mogul – with firm ideas about what they want – and they need Dunckley to guide them. This is one of the most challenging aspects of the job, but one he relishes.

“It comes down to chatting with them and gradually working out what they’re after. Some people really don’t have a clue what they want.

And this can be good as it allows me to pitch more creative ideas and then translate those on to paper. It’s a skill.

“You start by looking at the client’s personality, but also the styling of their house. That gives you clues. They know certain things: if they want a barbecue or seating area or a water fountain, so you can run through a list of things with them.”

The design stage then begins. Dunckley will survey the garden and start playing around with where each element could be placed. Further chats with the client follow to see what they think of the concept. Once they are in agreement everything is detailed on the master plan.

Dunckley’s last big win was at The Hampton Court Palace Flower Show: a medal for designing their retirement garden. It’s a highlight of what promises to be a hugely successful career.

Again, the essence of the design came down to carefully examining the mission statement. His voice is animated as he describes the process.

“It was about translating the journey of life into a walk through a beautiful garden. Every person who came to Hampton Court could walk through it and experience it. The journey theme took youth as the starting point, moving on to maturity and ending at retirement.

Each area of the garden was defined by a style of planting. So, for youth I had perennials and lots of vibrant colours, then with maturity thick, elegant shrubs and, finally, when you reached retirement, there was a lovely pavilion where could sit back and look at your life. Garden designing, at its best, can be a form of poetry.”

The biggest challenge, however, is still to come: that elusive gold medal at Chelsea. How does Dunckley think he’s going to pull it off?

He gives a cheeky, but self-assured laugh.

“Well, the design’s going to have to be really explosive! Realitywise I’d like to be there in 2016 or 2017. That’s only a dream at the moment and I’ve got to make it happen by securing a sponsor. But I’m confident I can deliver the goods when the time comes.”

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PHOTOGRAPHY BY CHARLES MARRIOTT

“It was about translating the journey of life into a walk through a beautiful garden.

Garden designing can be a form of poetry”

gardens

Jack Dunckley’s garden designs are always eclectic and reflect the tastes of his clients: “You start by looking at the client’s personality, but also the styling of their house. that gives you clues.”

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Situated on Sandy Lane, The Pines is in the ancient market town of East Grinstead in Sussex. Standing halfway between London and the South Coast makes the town extremely accessible by both road and rail with the added benefit of access to Gatwick Airport.

The Pines consists of two detached houses set in generous well screened mature plots.

• Double height tiled entrance hall with oak staircase • Spacious kitchen with all appliances • Three further reception rooms with generous ceiling heights • Master bedroom with Juliet balconies, dressing room and ensuite • Four further bedrooms and three bathrooms • Double garaging with automatic doors £1,195,000 For further information please contact Tel: 01932 837690 Email: info@tkei.co.uk

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arts event

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SUMMER PLACE AUCTIONS TO SELL

“Eddie’s Eye 2” A COLLECTOR’S VISION This month sculpture lovers will have the opportunity to purchase some of the most remarkable pieces from the personal collection of Eddie Powell, owner of Surrey’s The Sculpture Park

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ver the last 40 years Eddie Powell, the owner and curator of The Sculpture Park, in Churt, Surrey, has amassed one of the country’s most important collections not only of sculpture, but also of paintings, photographs, furniture and other objets d’art.

Eddie has spent the last 15 years transforming the ten-acre site, adjoining Frensham Common Country Park, into one of the leading sculpture parks in the UK, attracting tens of thousands of visitors a year.

Taking advantage of the natural contours of the undulating Surrey hills, he has created the perfect haven for the display of sculpture, with paths meandering through mixed heathland and woodland in a natural valley enhanced by three lakes, fed by two natural streams.

On Tuesday 23 June, Summers Place Auctions will be offering Powell’s personal collection, an auction that will feature more than 200 lots. The sale will include an important group of over 20 pictures and prints by the

From top: Handcrafted wooden French mirror with gilt finish, estimate £600 - £800; John Homer totally bespoke English sideboard crafted using rare & unique woods, estimate £6,000 - £8,000; Hand painted old saw offering tattoo removal, estimate £100 - £200

renowned artist Robert Lenkiewicz, with estimates from £80-100 for a print up to £20,000-£30,000 for the top lot painting.

Some of Eddie’s own photographs (he graduated from Guildford College of Art with a First Class Honours degree in Photography and Sculpture), dating back to his one-man exhibition, Captivity, at the Photographers Gallery in London’s West End, will also be included; they will carry estimates of £400-£600 (unframed) and £600-£1,000 (framed).

Eddie will also be offering some of his own sculpture in the sale.

He sculpts under the pseudonym of Wilfred Pritchard, the name of his grandfather, who first inspired Eddie into appreciating sculpture as a child. Backflip, his bronze of a skeleton vaulting over a horse (est. £15,000-£20,000), was chosen to be one of a select group of sculptures exhibited in the Athletes’ Village during the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Eddie has sold his pieces under his pseudonym for as much as £40,000 over the last five years; some of them are now

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arts event

in public collections, both in this country and abroad.

Other sculptures included are by fellow “Olympic” sculptor Nicola Godden: a slightly smaller Icarus 2 sculpture, expected to fetch £25,000£30,000; and an enormous sculpture of an eagle made from corks, which was created for and funded by the R.S.P.B. (est. £15,000-£20,000).

It was an attempt to persuade wine producers to continue using cork stoppers, to preserve the cork forests of Spain and Portugal, the threatened habitat of the Spanish Imperial eagle.

It was first exhibited at the Eden Project in Cornwall and part of the proceeds from the sale of the eagle will go towards the charity.

Undoubtedly one of the highlights of the sale will be the chance to bid for a monumental bronze bust of Sir Winston Churchill, taken from the original plaster of the full-length figure of Churchill by Ivor RobertsJones RA, a nationally famous piece that stands in Parliament Square, Westminster. The casting process was supervised by the sculptor Nigel Boonham FRBS, past President of the Society of Portrait Sculptors, on behalf of the trustees of the Ivor Roberts-Jones estate. It is number one of an edition of only six which will ever be made - it is estimated at £50,000-£80,000.

Roberts-Jones portrayed Churchill “as the wartime leader at the time of the Normandy Landings and the return of the Allies to Europe. Consequently the figure exudes total confidence: facing the Houses of Parliament, their greatest servant in modern times is portrayed as a giant at the height of his powers”. After the statue was unveiled in 1973 it “provided a much needed breakthrough in post-War portraiture”; subsequently the statue has justly achieved iconic status.

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Top: Vintage adjustable high hairdryer light, estimate £800-£1,200. Bottom: Juniperis Chinensis ‘Itoigawa’ Chinese Juniper, estimate £1,200 - £1,800

“The Sculpture Park is constantly evolving, and with over 700 pieces on display, we need space to showcase more upcoming talent”

There will also be some lots included for anyone interested in four wheels – The Beast, a Ministry of Alternative Transport creation, will be for sale at an estimate of £8,000-£12,000, as well as Eddie’s battleship grey and ivory Rolls Royce (est. £6,000-£8,000). Only rarely coming up at auction, a few Bonsai Trees will be included in this sale, among them a Pinus Parviflora Japanese White Pine, which is 57cm high and 114cm wide (estimate £4,000-£6,000).

The furniture included in the sale is diverse: from a salvaged mining trolly turned into a sofa in Eddie’s birth country, Wales, a piece expected to sell for £800£1,200, to contemporary furniture such as Ugini cattle horn and hide chairs (£2,000-3,000). Among the objets d’art are The Simpsons, a big glass light, (£800-£1,200) and the stainless steel Double Eye, standing 250cm high (est. £5,000-£8,000).

James Rylands, Director of Summers Place Auctions, notes, “I’ve known Eddie for the last ten years and have long been an admirer of his taste across many disciplines in the arts field, and his unerring ability to identify and nurture upcoming sculptors and artists.”

Eddie adds, “Creating The Sculpture Park and building up my collections in other related areas has been the passion of my life, but moving to a smaller house has necessitated the sale of many of the pictures and objects which I’ve enjoyed collecting over the years.

Likewise The Sculpture Park is constantly evolving, and with over 700 pieces on display, we need to free up the space to showcase more upcoming talent.”

All of the outdoor sculpture in the sale will be on view in The Sculpture Park.

View our full range of designer inspired classics, industrial style and modern furniture at www.onske.co.uk

Heyland & Whittle is a quality soap and home fragrance manufacturer.

We create what we believe are outstanding natural products with tradition, style and authenticity for a discerning market.

Visit our outlet shop at 1 Crompton Way, Crawley RH10 9QR Mon to Fri 10am to 5pm www.heylandandwhittle.co.uk / sales@heylandandwhittle.co.uk

Handmade in England

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B

rewers Home offers top designer paint brands, the finest and widest selection of wallpapers, and a great range of furniture, lighting, blinds, shutters and soft furnishings – everything to help realise your vision for your home.

Plus if you would like that little bit of help, there are experienced advisors on hand to help you achieve your dream interior. They’ll work with you to get the look. By combining knowledge of current trends and products available throughout the range of wallpaper, paint and fabrics, they’ll help you put together your ideal interior scheme whatever your budget. If you are planning something a little more ambitious, an advisor can visit you at home; they’ll discuss the project and take some key measurements of your space. The advisor will work with you through a number of consultations, putting together a scheme with preferred colours and finishes for a range of products.

Most items are stocked in Brewers’ own warehouse for quick distribution, so as soon as an idea is born, creating the vision can begin.

Brewers Home is open seven days a week so you have plenty of time to browse. Alternatively, go to brewershome.co.uk where you can narrow your choice down and pop in to the branch to make that final decision.

All of the sofas and armchairs are made in the UK, with many using fabrics chosen to make the piece individual and exclusive to Brewers Home. We celebrate the heritage of Sussex with names such as Plumpton and Goodwood.

To take time out and reflect, there is a cafe within Brewers Home where you can relax, chat and plan, all over a coffee and a cake, surrounded by the home furnishings - so if you like the chair you are sitting on, you can buy it.

Brewers Home Finance allows you to spread the cost of your purchase with interest-free finance packages for up to 24 months with no deposit, making it more affordable to buy the things you’ve set your heart on.

So to start creating your space, visit Brewers Home, located in Brewers, Birch Road, Eastbourne, BN23 6PL, off Lottbridge Drove, where you can find us opposite Tesco.

Brewershome.co.uk

www.knightsproperty.co.uk

Selling and letting quality homes throughout Sussex

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finance

Sharing wealth with your grandchildren IN THE SECOND OF A SERIES, JO WHITE OF SPOFFORTHS LLP TALKS ABOUT HOW YOU CAN PASS TO YOUR GRANDCHILDREN GIFTS THAT ARE EXEMPT FROM INHERITANCE TAX

L

ifetime giving forms an integral part of Inheritance Tax planning. The type of gift and its value will determine whether or not there is a charge immediately or on death.

Below follows a summary of gifts which are exempt from Inheritance Tax, irrespective of when they are given during a person’s lifetime: When your grandchildren get married it is possible to give them money or an asset worth £2,500 each without triggering an Inheritance Tax charge.

It is possible to give away £3,000 per year and there be no Inheritance Tax charge. Where this allowance has not been used in full you can roll it forward one year to increase the exemption for future gifts in the next 12 months. It may therefore be possible for you to give £6,000 to a recipient in one tax year where you have not made any lifetime gifts previously.

In addition to the annual exemption, an individual can make taxfree gifts of up to and including £250 (in total) each tax year to any one recipient. Each grandchild could therefore receive this amount whether as a combination of birthday and Christmas presents or as an additional amount for their use in the future. It is worth noting that if you have three grandchildren and you want to give them each £250, giving £750 to their mother would not be exempt under this rule but giving the grandchildren this amount individually would. The full £750 gift in this example may be exempt from Inheritance Tax under the annual exemption above; however if you are looking to maximise all reliefs it is worth considering where each payment is being made to.

Most of the exemptions apply when cash is given direct to the grandchild. However, that does not have to be the case. As a grandparent you may wish to designate the funds for a particular purpose.

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your home

It’s time to build your dream home

IMAGE CREDIT: SKYE BRACKPOOL

M

ore Brits are now seeking reaching from the outset, many of which are out alternative methods in stark contrast to the mainstream property to get a first foot on market. Whatever the style or setting for a selfBEN COPPER, MANAGING the property ladder as build, total costs normally fall 20 to 30% below DIRECTOR OF NUTSHELL house prices continue to market value. The majority of self-builders are CONSTRUCTION, TAKES climb across the UK and also not obligated to pay stamp duty and VAT A LOOK AT HOW NEW mortgage lenders tighten their belts. In the on the value of the property. The profit margin face of adversity, people are starting to turn to BUILD HOMES CAN OFFER and additional perks can then provide new the developing self-build industry to build the opportunities to complete further exciting and A GREAT ALTERNATIVE perfect home for themselves. innovative construction projects.

FOR PROSPECTIVE HOME Following an acute housing shortage that In order to kick start momentum, a £150 OWNERS IN SUSSEX has spanned decades, choosing to build your million fund has been introduced as part of own home in the UK has never made more the ‘Right to Build’ scheme. To tackle land sense. Creating your dream home from scratch no longer means that you issues that held back self builds in the not too distant past, the need construction skills and building industry knowledge as more help scheme allows people to buy plots of council land to develop into a is on hand to budding property owners than ever before. In 2014 alone, property of their choice. In 2014, this funding was put to good use 12,000 self-builds were constructed across the UK, while self-build by 11 authorities across the country to open up thousands of plots volumes are forecasted to rise during the next five years. and custom-built homes.

The emerging industry is distinctly European in its approach.

So, what do you need to build your own home? The simple answer Considering that 50% of homes in Germany and France are self-built, is help. More and more construction companies are including in-house this method of construction has proven a successful and integral way to design and new build projects as an integral part of their business model. house the next generations overseas.

The benefits speak from themselves: make 2015 the year that you create The benefits of building your own home from scratch are far a prized asset for generations to come.

“Creating your dream home from scratch no longer means that you need construction skills and building industry knowledge” J UNE 2015 | SUSSEXST YL E. CO M | 83

profile When did you discover you could sing and how did you develop your talent?

I’ve been in music in some capacity since I was fourteen (I’m over 21 now), with some breaks to keep sane and occasionally respectable - which I’ve since given up on. I was a guitarist in a band at school, was asked to do my first backing vocals and found I was massively louder than the singer! It transpired I could hold a tune too, so it evolved from there. (He outstripped me on guitar, by the way, so all was good.) We developed the “proper” way - we went out and played as often as we could to whoever would have us, until we weren’t rubbish any more.

Who are your personal music influences and why?

The list is far too long but includes Bowie, The Beatles, Tim and Jeff Buckley, Prince and sweaty, banging Electronica. I’ve been listening to Sly and the Family Stone, Air and Patti Smith today.

How do you achieve the perfect marriage between music and lyrics?

Not sure I always do but I try! I’d always hope the music would press the same buttons without the lyrics, they’re almost there to reinforce the point - to put the music into words, rather than the other way around.

That sounds pretentious doesn’t it? But I can live with that.

What inspires your lyrics? What are the stories in your songs?

They’re generally personal, so whatever’s important to me that day. I’m quite simplistic or self-indulgent like that. I generally liked lyrics that touched me rather than impressed me - even with storytellers like Bowie or Dylan, I enjoyed them more when they let their guard down and showed hurt and vulnerability. I tried writing storytelling songs when I was younger and thought I was rubbish at it.

You signed with the label Creative and Dreams. What do you hope this deal will achieve?

World domination, obviously. We spoke to a few labels and took time making a decision. (We’ve had deals before - there are early Act of Love singles selling for over $50 in America, but that may have more to do with collectors’ love of old British indie records than taste.) But over the months we talked, the guys there impressed with their enthusiasm, not just for our music but the other acts on the label. They’re experienced, hardened industry professionals but could talk about music they liked for as long as I can. Also, they didn’t just flatter us (which some did) - they told us what they didn’t like too. I feel we’ll be pushed, which musicians should be; we’re a lazy lot.

How would you describe your personal style: clothes and look?

There are times I’ll spend several days and nights in the studio without a break and I wouldn’t want you to bump into me then. Shaving, sleep and style in general aren’t necessarily high on the agenda. But when I escape into civilization I take a little more care and pride in my appearance.

Brighton people are famously somewhat scruffy (although they’d prefer maybe, “funky”) but after my young punk days, a time under the spell of Hugo Boss and chilling out with the rave generation I’ve settled into what makes me feel good on the day.

I still love a good suit and especially cufflinks but it needs to be one or to be worn in a way that makes being mistaken for an accountant or politician extremely unlikely.

The ultimate style icon has to be David Bowie, who could get away with anything, but regardless of what he wore always looked exactly like David Bowie. I also love Patti Smith, who never seemed bothered about clothes but always looked (and looks) fantastic.

Describe the styles of your music - and how you achieve your sound.

It comes out the way it wants to, frankly. I’ve always enjoyed different stuff, so I just go with the way the song seems to want to. Whichever way I try and go, there seems to be an Act of Love sound - although you might be able to tell that better than me? It’s been called (not by me) Electronica, Ambient Punk(!), EDM, Acoustica... I’ve even been known to dub it ‘Cosmic Soul’ - but not when sober. We have a tune on the record called Swimming in Air, maybe that’s it?

We work out of AoL studios, so there are instruments around and we can capture ideas as we think of them. We like the combination and contrast of real, acoustic instruments with electronics but tend to focus on and build around the vocal - it’s all about emotion again. Although recently we seem to be throwing saxophones centre stage for the same reason.

What emotional response do you aim to elicit?

The obvious ultimate answer is tears - if your songs have made someone cry, for whatever reason, it’s worked. I just want to touch people the way my favourite music touched me. Although dancing’s a very welcome response too - I’ve always said if the audience want to cry, dance or - well, you know... I’m happy.

Act of Love’s album ‘Looking for the Light’ will be released in July, on Creative & Dreams label - USA & worldwide.

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What does being a “gentleman” mean to you?

It certainly has nothing to do with any accident of birth or social standing. A gentleman for me is someone who gives equal respect, care and empathy to everyone and tries to put himself in another’s shoes (although that could be a saint - or a shoe thief ).

What does being a “gentleman” in the music industry mean?

Gentleness can be overlooked when working, as politeness can be a barrier to creativity when quick, honest, efficient communication is essential. “Magic” happens spontaneously and can be lost in an instant, so there’s no time for sensitivity or shrinking violets. I’ve found that all the best musicians I’ve worked with have suspended taking offence while creating - we don’t stop being respectful, we just call a spade a spade. I guess a gentleman in the music industry tells and hears the truth without making it personal, treats everyone the same and gets the beers in when it’s their turn. They shouldn’t be shy of giving a compliment when it’s due either - we’re a sensitive lot.

PHOTOGRAPHY BY JASMINE AT BRIGHTWHITEFILM (BRIGHTWHITEFILM.COM).

“We developed the ‘proper’ way we went out and played as often as we could until we weren’t rubbish any more”

“‘Magic’ happens spontaneously and can be lost in an instant.

There’s no time for sensitivity.”

MAKING MUSIC:

AN ACT OF

LOVE

WE CAUGHT UP WITH SIMON FROM BRIGHTON BAND ACT OF LOVE (AOL), WHO TELLS US ALL ABOUT HIS SONGWRITING INFLUENCES AND WHAT IT TAKES TO BE A GENTLEMAN IN THE MUSIC INDUSTRY

J UNE 2015 | SUSSEXST YL E. CO M | 85

postcards from sussex

Party like it’s 1979

86 | S US S E X S T Y L E . C OM | JUN E 2 0 1 5

IMAGE CREDIT ANDREAS GRADIN/SHUTTERSTOCK

S

“Nobody will come to your party dressed ix months after we collected the PAUL BURSTON WEIGHS UP as David Soul,” Val says. “It’s far too warm for keys to our flat, it’s finally time chunky knitwear.” for us to throw a house-warming THE PROS AND CONS OF At the risk of appearing ungallant, I should party. Over coffee, my friend Val THROWING A SEVENTIESpoint out that Val is a few years older than me. insists that what the party really THEMED HOUSE WARMING I barely remember the ’70s. I purchased my first needs is a theme.

LP in 1978 (the Grease soundtrack, since you ask) “It already has a theme,” I protest. “The and didn’t attend my first gig until 1981 (Hazel O’Connor at Cardiff Top theme is, it’s our house warming.”

Rank). True, I did own a pair of flares and can vaguely recall the death of Val doesn’t look too convinced.

Elvis. I can also quote vast chunks of Abigail’s Party. But I did most of my “You don’t look too convinced,” I add, nervously.

“I’m not,” Val says. “Think of your audience. People expect a bit more.” growing up in the Eighties. If I had to choose a decade to theme a party I could ask, “What people?” But after six months in Sussex, I know. around, I’d opt for the decade that gave us style magazines and Grace Jones.

“What about an ’80s themed party?” I suggest.

The people who paint their faces green each spring for the Jack in the “Forget it. No woman wants to be seen dressed like Madonna.”

Green festival. The people who dress as pirates for Pirate Day. The people “Madonna does. Even now.” who take bonfire night a little too seriously. These are the people she means.

“That’s her lookout,” says Val. “Pointy bras and fishnets aren’t “But most of my friends aren’t really into dressing up,” I say. everyone’s cup of tea.”

“I’m your friend,” Val says. “And I love dressing up.”

“You could always come as Boy George,” I suggest. “He liked a nice This much is true. At various times and at various parties, I’ve seen Val cup of tea.” dressed as a witch, a Twenties flapper, a Sixties siren and an ageless Cher.

Val sighs and rolls her eyes. “You’re not taking this very seriously.”

“People love an excuse to get dressed up,” Val says. “The better the “But it’s a party,” I say. “It’s not meant to be too serious.” theme, the better the party. Think big. Think like Elton!”

“Another reason to go for the Seventies. People had more fun then.”

“If I thought like Elton I’d be sitting here in a ginger toupée,” I reply, I may lack Val’s vast personal knowledge of the Seventies, but I’ve seen and she laughs gamely. For a moment, it looks as if I’m off the hook. Then enough popular films of the period to know that this isn’t strictly true. The her features form an expression suggesting a kind of religious epiphany.

“The Seventies!” she says. “Make it a Seventies-themed party. Everyone Seventies was a dangerous time to be alive. When they weren’t battling Ridley Scott’s Alien, finding horses’ heads in their beds or dealing with loves the Seventies” devil children, people in the Seventies were busy being terrorized by chain“Do they?” I ask. “Why?” “What do you mean?” Val asks, outraged. “It was a brilliant decade. saw wielding psychopaths or eaten alive by great white sharks.

I don’t say this. I smile and say, “Fine. A Seventies themed party it is.”

Abba! Disco! David Bowie!”

The party is next month. I’ll be the one in the alien costume, wielding “Those were just the high points,” I reply. “There were low points too. a chain-saw and greeting my guests with, “Cheesy nibble, Tone?”

Brotherhood of Man. Prog rock. David Soul.”

likE drinking your firsT day of Holiday Tequila evangelist Cleo Rocos created AquaRiva® Premium Tequila and Organic Agave Syrup in 2011 after working with a Master Blender in Mexico for 10 months.

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J UNE 2015 | SUSSEXST YL E. CO M | 87

I in 4 women WILL BE affected by domestic abuse at some point in their life.

(Council of Europe 2002)

You are not alone Call RISE 01273 622 822 www.riseuk.org.uk @riseuk Wraparound services for women, children and LGBT people affected by domestic abuse in Sussex.

Visit Domestic Abuse Surgery, Hove Town Hall, Wednesdays 9.00-12.00

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88 | S US S E X S T Y L E . C OM | JUN E 2 0 1 5 3-year accreditation by

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children’s competition

Sussex Style launches major creative writing competition

T

AT SUSSEX STYLE WE’RE PASSIONATE ABOUT CHILDREN’S LEARNING. WE WANT TO ENCOURAGE CHILDREN TO ACHIEVE THEIR BEST AND REWARD THE GREAT TALENT OUT THERE

his June we’re launching our first ever creative writing competition, in association with Pennthorpe School, the co-education independent school in Rudgwick. The competition is open to children from all independent schools across Sussex. Pupils are invited to submit a piece of creative writing on the theme of, “Alice in Wonderland”.

IMAGE CREDIT: PENNTHORPE SCHOOL

There are three categories for entrants:

7 – 9 year olds: These children should submit a piece of writing of 250 words.

10 – 12 year olds: These children should submit a piece of writing of 400 words.

13 – 16 year olds: These children should submit a piece of writing of 900 words.

All entries should be emailed to comps@sussexstyle.co.uk and must be received by 6 November 2015. The winners will be announced in the February 2016 issue of Sussex Style magazine.

Prizes will include publication of winning entries in Sussex Style magazine. Further details will be announced in our September issue.

Lydia Allen, Head of English at Pennthorpe School, says: “Pennthorpe is a school with creativity at its core and we aim to inspire original and imaginative thinking in all our pupils. We are excited

about getting involved in a competition that encourages independent schools throughout the county to allow pupils to spend some time exercising their imaginations and creating a fabulous story. We wanted to be associated with a competition that rewards young, talented writers for excellence and celebrates their ingenuity and flair.

“The theme for this year is ‘Alice in Wonderland’ and should get many pupils’ creative juices flowing. This exciting theme can be interpreted in any way and has a broad scope for potential story lines. They could range from the wacky and bizarre to the realistic and believable. Ultimately, each story writer is the master of their own creation.

“Developing a passion for creative writing is something that all schools should embrace. Writing is a fundamental component of a child’s literacy development, and finding ways to motivate children to write can sometimes be tricky. This competition is the ideal opportunity to spark an enthusiasm for writing. Children are naturally imaginative; very often in schools creative thinking is stifled by external pressures and demands. Creative writing enables pupils to experience a momentary break from the daily pressures: it allows them to freely express their feelings without judgement, to create and experience alternative worlds and realities, to develop both outlandish and believable characters and, most importantly, to think in fresh and inventive ways.”

J UNE 2015 | SUSSEXST YL E. CO M | 89

“I was a funny child. I had to be. I was fat and asthmatic with a large hair band. It was sink or swim.�

90 | S US S E X S T Y L E . C OM | JUN E 2 0 1 5

interview

Helen Lederer…

LOSING IT? NOT A CHANCE…

IMAGE CREDIT: ANDY HOLLINGWORTH

Helen Lederer’s work in TV series Absolutely Fabulous made her one of the UK’s best loved comic actresses. She has now added author to her achievements, with the her debut novel Losing It. Laura Lockington meets her

Your career has been varied and had many parts to it, but you are probably best known for Catriona in Absolutely Fabulous. Do you mind this? Or do you, like the rest of us ,think of her as a well loved yet dippy friend?

I’m more than aware that I have been given some lovely jobs – this was one. Although we didn’t know it at the time, Ab Fab went on to make so many people happy and connected with an iconic time by lampooning affectations with colour and wit and more than a little edge. I’d done a fair bit of stand-up comedy and bits and bobs before, but if this is the one that people really get then so be it! I loved being that kind of vacant but benign posh person who was just… who liked, “lovely chairs”.

Was Catriona fun to play?

Huge fun. Jennifer was very generous with people’s suggestions. It was still the era of Sloane Rangers, although these are called something else. We had a lot of laughs in rehearsals... and frankly, why wouldn’t we? Everyone was in

a fun hit series - no room for sad faces. A lot of the people involved had also worked together before, so it was always jolly from that point of view. That mean it could be scary for the newbies, though!

Did you all have a real laugh filming Ab Fab? Jennifer genuinely has an affection for the subject; she likes reading magazines and finds the content of Hello magazine hilarious and interesting. Her enthusiasm rubbed off on us.

Joanna Lumley is a delight to work with. Everyone was. We all got on with the job and enjoyed it at the same time - bliss when you look back on it.

You started out in the 1980s with a well known group of comedians including Dawn French, Jennifer Saunders, Ben Elton and the late Rik Mayall in London’s Comedy Store. What are your abiding memories of those times?

I remember being at the Edinburgh festival the same year that Rik Mayall was doing a sell-out comedy show. He came

J UNE 2015 | SUSSEXST YL E. CO M | 91

interview

to my little venue (the Masonic Lodge) and gave great advice.

He was such fun and very supportive. And he was like this with everyone. I was very appreciative of any help - and I was also very appreciative of any jobs - that he was kind enough to offer. I was writing and performing my own material, so was totally fixed on getting on stage and doing my bit without throwing up. It took a lot of focus.

What was it like in the Seventies for you? Happy times?

Or are you glad you never have to go back there again?

I would not want to revisit those times as there was a lot of hostility and competitiveness to contend with. But that wasn’t the whole story, at all. On the other hand it was intense and brilliant and part of a changing time; I just got my head down and got on with it, but looking back I can’t believe what insults were hurled at me.

“Diet pills...?

I’ve done them all: herbal amphetamines, powders, injections and you know what?

I’m still fat!”

Were your school days ones of which you have happy memories? Or not?

They were happy up until I reached the age of 10. Then it went downhill. I had to toe the line and I found it tricky. I also found it difficult to concentrate – which set me back.

I’m sure I’d be on some kind of scale of a behaviour thing nowadays, but with the way that things were then, I got told

off a lot and squeezed through the system - with a lot of fun in between times as well as anxiety.

You have always written. Was it a big jump from writing scripts to writing a book?

I was writing poems at 10 and forcing my poor parents to listen to them. Then I wrote my standup and learned the hard way how many words worked and how many didn’t. I abandoned two novels before I wrote Losing It, and I’m so glad I did because it all led up to this one.

What was the inspiration for the book? (Which is utterly brilliant by the way and had me chortling with laughter.)

I wanted to tell the story of Millie - her plight and how she got out of it. But more than that I wanted to express my own dysfunctional mind and my own relationship to the word “food” - and to make people laugh. I personally have done everything that Millie has done, so there is an authenticity to the voice, I hope.

Although the book is very funny, there is a more serious side to it. Do you think women over a certain age have a tough time in our society?

I think it’s a time where women of a certain age are very much alive and kicking and wish to get stuck in; therefore, any literature or art or blogs which reflect this can really make a difference. I veer between being a mouse and a louder mouse. I think most of us understand that - we have genuine conflicts - but it is an exciting time to have fun with them and err on empowerment. The 35-year-old out there will not suffer these thoughts, but hey.

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FEATUREFLASH/SHUTTERSTOCK. SUE ROBINSON/SHUTTERSTOCK

Were you a “funny” child? The class clown? Or was it a case of making them laugh to get you out of trouble?

I was funny. I had to be funny I really had no choice. I was fat and asthmatic with a large hair band - it was sink or swim. I also had enthusiasm and a naivety, which I still have. That gets you through. I was often in trouble, but always by accident, although no one ever believed me

You write about diet pills in Losing It. Have you had personal experience of these?

Yes! I’ve done them all: herbal amphetamines, powders, injections - and you know what? I’m still fat! I lost weight when I was chucked once – but it went back on.

This is your first book. Was it a joy to write or were you pulling your hair out? How long did it take you?

I loved it. Looking back, it was easier than promoting it and hoping folk will buy it in the book shop. I loved the discipline.

Pity the house next door was installing their kitchen at the same time. I have never needed headphones so much.

Are you planning another one?

Yes, I want to get stuck in before I get doubtful. I know what it is about and I’m looking forward to putting those headphones back on.

Do you have any connections with Sussex?

I love Brighton. It’s the perfect place to get near the sea, buy jewellery and have a cocktail. I used to take my daughter there when she was little. It was easy to get to (I get lost easily.) And they have good fortune tellers.

Are you looking forward to your Bookish Brighton event?

We know we are.

I can’t wait! It’s such a great idea to have food and drink with literary endeavours, and to meet other people is always a brilliant thing; it gets the endorphins going.

What’s next for you that you can tell us about?

I’m in Hollyoaks at the moment (Channel 4), which I loved filming - as an alcoholic midwife. And, of course, I’m promoting Losing It - which is weird - and then I begin the next one.

To hear an audio extract of Losing It, go to: http://www. panmacmillan.com/ book/helenlederer/ losingit

J MA UNE Y 2015 | SUSSEXST YL E. CO M | 93

book club

bo

ub l c k o

WATERSHIP DOWN

by Richard Adams (One World) This is a magical book about a rebellion in a rabbit warren. It holds the record for selling a million copies in knockout time. Adams depicts the world from a rabbit’seye view: the close-cropped grass, the tiny aromatic plants whose names read like a spell, and the border betwixt wood and meadow.

He lets you smell the hay, the wild garlic, the dandelions. As with every great adventure book, there is derring-do and danger at every turn. It resonates as strongly now as it did then. The tearing up of idyllic land still goes on. The rabbits know the wisdom of wild places and wild things. The dastardly developers who want to concrete over the warren will make you furious. How I loved the rabbits when I first read this - so much so that I have never eaten rabbit pie since.

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LAURA LOCKINGTON SWITCHES ON THE LAVA LAMP AND ENJOYS SOME OF THE MOST MEMORABLE - AND MEMORABLY FILMED - BOOKS OF THE SEVENTIES

TALES OF THE CITY

by Armistead Maupin (Black Swan) Into the San Francisco of 1976 arrives Mary Ann, a young, innocent secretary from the unhip city of Cleveland. She enters the world of pot-growing landlady, Mrs Madrigal, and the city’s seemingly eternally gay party scene; and is soon befriended by Mouse, who also lives in the boarding house at the top of the endless stairs.

The decade that fashion forgot is rendered with a deft and light hand by an author you know was right there. The book was first serialised in a San Francisco newspaper, and still has that feel of journalism about it, with every chapter ending in a cliff hanger. A Nineties television series starring Olympia Dukakis ensured the book became a hit all over again. It’s tender, romantic, funny and a real pageturner. Be warned, Maupin is very addictive and soon you’ll be buying all the books in the series.

CARRIE

by Stephen King (Hodder) The film, starring Sissy Spacek, was an instant cult classic, but the book is much, much scarier. King gets under the skin of small-town America so well, exposing the prejudices and the resentment seething there. Carrie White, bullied at school and by her bonkers religious mother at home, slowly discovers that she has telekinetic powers - powers she will eventually use on the people who have treated her so badly.

King has created a world of tension and anxiety with his clever use of newspaper reports, as well as extracts from journals and scientific papers, to make us believe that this is what truly happened. So when the shocks come, it can feel very real indeed. Horror films and books are as popular as ever, and the master is most definitely King.

Enjoy him at his best right here.

SUSSEXstyle

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interview

SUSSEX’S POET LAUREATE

ohn McCullough’s love affair with Sussex was a slow burner. “You have to spend time with the landscape,” he tells me. “I think it then works on your mind in a very particular kind of way: the rhythms of light, the seasons, the wind. The more time you spend with it the more you become accustomed to all of these tiny things, and that affects the way that you perceive other things.”

McCullough – who now lives in Brighton - was born in the less than inspirational greyness of Watford and moved to Sussex to read a Masters degree. Over a decade later he is one of the UK’s leading young voices in poetry and in 2012 won the Polari First Book Prize for his collection, The Frost Fairs. The book garnered widespread praise for not only its tender exploration of love and gay and cross-gendered voices from the past, but also its meditation on the beauty of the Sussex countryside.

McCullough’s soft voice is almost trancelike as he speaks of one of his favourite stretches of outdoor Sussex: the stretch of cliffs that run between Brighton Marina and Rottingdean - the Ovingdean area. “It’s full of so much unusual wildlife,” he says. “As well as the beauty of the cliffs.

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There’s a flower called Hoary Stock and it only grows on that cliff and on another cliff in in Isle of Wight, in the whole world. It’s a real marker of local Sussex identity.”

His poem The Floating World was inspired by walks through this area. He was entranced by the way the light ricochets sharply off the cliffs – particularly at noon. McCullough is an expert and seemingly limitless source of information on the local landscape.

“Did you know they found hippos in the cliffs there?” he suddenly remarks. This detail found its way into the poem in a haunting image of figures being stuck inside the cliffs, as the speaker imagines his far-away lover, “suspended in rock, silent, reaching out/from a crowd of frozen men.” It’s a powerful and ingenious reflexion on the pain of absence.

A number of poems are set in The Seven Sisters Country Park in Seaford. McCullough loves the sound of skylarks and the acres of wild flowers and, again, it’s the serene and unexpected transformations in the wildlife that so intrigued him. In Seascape the speaker is staring at a white cliff, and what he thinks is flint in the cliff eventually turns out to be a

PHOTOGRAPHY BY ANDREW KING

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John McCullough is fast becoming one of the country’s most celebrated poets. But as Alex Hopkins discovers, this might never have happened without inspiration from Sussex’s magnificent landscapes

The Floating World

At noon, the sunlight ricochets off white cliffs.

The oystercatcher blasts its kleep-a-kleep but no one’s listening.

In ruptured chalk, fossils of iguanodon and mammoth strive for attention, claw over hoof. Flattened limbs stretch wide, a tableau of thirst.

Their numbers grow. Two months ago a cyclist racing by the undercliff wall was slammed down, dragged out to sea.

It took three days for his remains to find the shore.

Oceanographers spoke of a hundred-mile journey dictated by currents, particulars of shape:

some beaches collect right gloves, others left. Either way, what is lost returns, emptied but clutching the air.

I dreamed of his body that night, his slim hands flat on the water, bleached face swathed in channel wrack, eyes larvikite blue.

I had to phone you, an ocean away in New York.

But, though we’d talked the day before, while it was ringing, ringing you became dead too. I pictured you suspended in rock, silent, reaching out from a crowd of frozen men.

You picked up and I made you describe all you could feel and hear and smell: your jagged fingernail, a busker’s horn, the box of fetid plums left outside your flat all week. As well as any voices could, we proved your body’s life then planned your journey back.

I spend my days till then skulking in the cliffs’ shadows, unearthing whelks’ eggs, skeins of dulse. And though you’re safe, I know those other floating men must find me.

Lying on chalk, I wait for them, arms outstretched, where the rock pools meet the sea.

great black moth that flaps its wings and rises resplendently to “spiral away into sky.” As McCullough explains, “That actually happened to me, and it seemed to be quite a useful metaphor for someone who is looking for the bad in things and has perhaps a very dour, severe mindset. It shows that when you look at something more closely it can actually be quite joyful.”

Looking so closely at Sussex’s nature was something that McCullough first learnt to do while running through the fields in an effort to get fit.

He admits that he knew nothing then about the county’s famous chalk landscapes or the unusual flowers that he can now so easily identify.

“Most of my poems are love poems, with the speaker looking out on the countryside and thinking about the love object. The metaphors of the landscape explore their state of mind.

“The thing about the Sussex landscape is that it is so tall and huge and you’re really exposed. There is nowhere to hide. The landscapes are not jagged and violent, but are gently rolling, like the backs of whales – so it’s quite open. When you’re in a space like that it deepens your sense of solitude. It means I spend quite a lot of time inside myself, I think. This county really is a gift to a poet.”

“McCullough loves the sound of skylarks, the acres of wild flowers, the transformations in the wildlife” HOW WOULD YOU DEFINE POETRY? For me poetry is rhythm and language that has been impressed to make it more intense. I think it was Emily Dickinson who said that a truly good poem makes you feel like your head has been taken clean off. Your body has a strong, almost violent reaction which is almost beyond logic.

TIPS FOR FINELY PERFECTING POETRY My biggest piece of advice is to see poetry as a craft – something that will take you a number of years to slowly get better at. When people start out they often have notions of, “I’m either a genius and brilliant straight away or I will be terrible forever.” But if you spend the time and swap your work with other people and really try hard to read as much poetry as you can, then you will improve. I judge a lot of poetry competitions now and the biggest thing that I think helps people to move forward is to read, read, read. What is it about your favourite poems that inspire an emotional response in you? Spend time going back to poetry you like but also broaden your reading – and be open to changing and developing as a writer.

Many people think it’s all about self-expression - pouring your agony out onto the page; then it can’t be changed because it’s come from the heart. But as you get older you realise you can craft it more, make it enjoyable for an outside reader who has not had your experience.

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minxy mann yeager

A bit of a do, pt. 2

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IMAGE CREDIT DREAM79/SHUTTERSTOCK

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and then an “official” one in June when the ell, I’ve finally packed weather is good, people’s wallets have recovered away my Chilprufe JANUARY BIRTHDAY GIRL and everyone feels a bit more like getting vests and wincyette dressed up and going out. I’m not sure if it is pajamas and turned MINXY MANN YEAGER HAS the increased levels of light and vitamin D that off the electric DECIDED TO DO LIKE THE make us all more cheerful, or the fact that we are blanket. The smell of QUEEN AND CELEBRATE IT not shivering in umpteen layers topped off with wisteria is on the breeze, swallows are swooping TWICE - THE SECOND TIME waterproofs and gumboots, our complexions as and it hasn’t rained for at least 15 minutes.

WITH A SEVENTIES THEME pale as porridge. All I know is I feel better for a It is now officially June, or so I am reliably tan and not having to turn the lights on at four informed by the family calendar, and summer is upon us. The shops are full of gorgeous flirty floaty 70s numbers and p.m., as it is too dark to see a hand in front of your face without them.

I’m delighted the Seventies are having a resurgence. I am particularly I’ve seen more flares flapping about than at a Status Quo concert. The thing is, I remember them the first and second times around and am not fond of rocking a kaftan and platforms. It’s a forgiving look. Any amount entirely sure I can bear them a third. Double denim is still doing the of birthday cake can be consumed without adjusting a waistband. I own rounds, and try as I might to get behind the concept, it always reminds delightful numbers in beautiful swirling Pucci prints with divine toning me of days out with family and friends, especially Uncle Gordon who wedges or bejeweled sandals. In my mind I waft along like a fabulous composite of Liz Taylor in her Burton years and Princess Margaret on liked to pair his flares with polo necks and denim waistcoats.

They were Halcyon days and such happy times. I remember endless, holiday on Mustique, topped off with a bit of Stevie Nicks. In reality I hot summers filled with barbecues, day trips and brilliant back-garden am more Beverley from Abigail’s Party, with a side order of Bet Lynch. birthday parties for those lucky enough to be born in the warmer months. Still, the music will be a cinch: bung a bit of Herb Alpert or Carlos Jobim Alas, dear readers, I was not. My birthday is at the most miserable on the stereogram and the bossa nova rhythm sets the scene.

The catering for a Seventies party is easy too. I am convinced time of the year, the third week in January; the same week that enormous credit card bills for excruciatingly expensive Christmas presents (largely that canapés had not yet been invented and I cannot for the life of me unappreciated and probably re-gifted) land with an almighty thud on the remember my mother ever serving anything more elaborate at her soirées mat. It is dark and cold and joyless and everyone is depressed, including than a cheesy pineapple nibble on a stick, a stuffed olive or two and the birthday girl. The thought of arranging a party is about as appealing peanuts. We all fondly remember her fondue party, not so much for the as the leftover pâté, cheese rinds and chutney that haunt the back of the food or the candles in the Mateus Rosé bottles. but for the two crews of firemen that stayed on for a drink after they had doused the flames. fridge after December’s festivities.

I plan a black forest gâteau birthday cake; one can’t possibly get more What’s a girl to do? This year, I have decided to make like Queenie and have two birthdays; yes, you heard me correctly: two birthdays. Her retro than that. But I do draw the line at the correct amount of candles.

Royal Maj has it down pat. She has her real birthday with her family We don’t really want a repeat of the fondue fiasco, do we... or do we?

Cooking up a storm at KingscoteVineyards

What more perfect setting than a vineyard in the heart of Sussex could you possibly imagine to find a new cookery school, a place where you come to learn from a team of professional chefs how to hone your own cooking skills? Kingscote Vineyards are proud to announce the arrival of Kitchen Academy offering: Day Courses in a variety of cuisines, Corporate Events, Chef’s Table Evenings and Family Cookery Classes. Kitchen Academy, situated in the stunning 15th century tithe

barn at the heart of the Kingscote Estate, is run by Jethro Carr who for over 13 years has been taking his cookery school around the country gaining an enviable reputation from prestigious locations like Blenheim Palace, Kew Gardens, Abergavenny Food Festival and BBC Good Food Shows. For ‘hands-on’ cookery classes for all ages and at all levels from beginners to experienced cooks looking to broaden their repertoires. Kitchem Academy at Kingscote has it all.

www.KingscoteEstate. com

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