Swansea Life April 2019 by Swansea Life

a w a r d - w i n n i n g M AGA Z IN E

SWA NSE A

LIFE APRIL 2019 Â£2.95

Genius finds for you and your home

easter

318 new

looks for

spring

R E D A E R M DREAIN GS D D WE UWILL YO VE LO

9 771750 843018

in the Bay

bonnie:

My 50 years in showbiz!

House & Home SPECIAL 84-page

WHY YOU FELL IN LOVE Let us take care of every last detail and discover the timeless luxury of Oldwalls

Oldwalls, a collection of exclusive wedding venues oldwallscollection.com

Contents... A P R I L

actiNG Editor Peter Slee | 01792 545559 peter.slee@reachplc.com PUBLISHER Lisa Cameron | lisa.cameron@mediawales.co.uk

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Photography Adrian White, Jonathan Myers, Hoosh Arabi, Robert Melen Contributors Chris Peregrine, Lara Johnson, Dom Capel, Lesley Taylor, Sian Day, Joseph Atkin, Andrew Morgan, Dr Charlotte Jones, Chris Howells, James Richards, Marc White and Daniel Turner

editoral designer Sandra Evans | sandra.evans@reachplc.com advertising For all advertsising inquiries, please call Debbie Roberts | 01792 545626 or email debbie.roberts@reachplc.com Swansea Life, Urban Village, High Street, Swansea, SA1 1NW @swansealife

FASHION

HAIR & BEAUTY

10. BAGS OF COLOUR Bright, affordable arm candy for spring

26. MIRANDA KERR SHARES HER MORNING ROUTINE The model-turned-beauty CEO talks us through her morning regime

12. LITTLE TREASURES The Mumbles jewellery label being snapped up by the stars 14. HIGH STREET STARS Swansea Life’s pick of the crop for the new season

AWA RD -WI N N I N G MA G A ZI N E

SWA NSE A

LIFE

16. FLORAL FANCIES The flower power trend everyone is picking up!

APRIL 2019 £2.95

GENIUS FINDS for you and your home

EASTER

318 new

30. MAKEOVER MARVEL Chris Howells gives a reader a new, on-trend look 38. GET THE LOOK Lara Johnson and her team work their hair magic 40. STRIKE IT RICH The best facial oils to hydrate and rejuvenate

looks for

spring

R READAEM DRE INGS D L WED IL W U O Y LOVE

9 771750 843018

04 9 771750 843018

in the Bay

BONNIE:

My 50 years in showbiz!

House & Home SPECIAL 84-PAGE

ON THE COVER: From a selection at JD Williams www.jdwilliams.co.uk

4 SWANSEA LIFE

If we have published anything that is factually inaccurate, please contact the editor on 01792 545533, at postnews@mediawales.co.uk or at Evening Post, Urban Village, 220 High Street, Swansea, SA1 1NW and once verified we will correct it here as soon as possible. Swansea Life is part of Trinity Mirror North West & North Wales Ltd, a subsidiary company of Reach PLC, which is a member of IPSO, the Independent Press Standards Organisation. We adhere to the Editors’ Code Of Practice as enforced by IPSO, who are contactable for advice at Independent Press Standards

Organisation, Gate House, 1 Farringdon Street, London. EC4M 7LG. Website: www,ipso.co.uk Telephone: 0300 123 2220; email advice@ipso.co.uk If you have a complaint concerning a potential breach of the Code of Practice, we will deal with your complaint directly or IPSO can refer your complaint to us. Please go to www.reachplc.com/how-to-complain where you can view our Complaints Policy and Procedure. A “How To Complain” pack is also available by writing to the Legal and Compliance Department, Reach PLC, One Canada Square, Canary Wharf, London E14 5AP.

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66 BRIDE

FOOD & DRINK

HOUSE & HOME

50. BAG A BARGAIN FOR YOUR BRIDESMAIDS How to shop stylish but affordable dresses for your special girls!

64. HOMESTYLE Gorseinon’s Sian Day cooks up a family favourite for you

76. BEAUTIFUL READER HOME Explore a real house that could be yours

52.

SAY YES TO THE DRESS Our wedding insider with her top tips on how to choose the perfect gown for your big day

66. TIME TO SPICE UP YOUR LIFE Chef and food writer Sairi Hamilton’s Bangladeshi table favourites

53.

WE DID IT OUR WAY Meet district nurse Kirsty Humphreys and teaching assistant Stuart Horsford who clicked over their love of music

69. ON TEST Which hot cross buns are the tastiest?

91. GENIUS FINDS Upgrade your home style with Mumbles’ Lesley Taylor 104. HOTEL CHIC Create a bedroom with that luxury hotel look 119. BUSINESS IS BLOOMING The plants that will be turning heads at this year’s Chelsea Flower Show 140. EVERYBODY’S DOING IT How to nail the coastal look

Average net distribution 7,500 copies sold and distributed in Swansea, Gower and the surrounding South West Wales areas. Opinions expressed in Swansea Life magazine are not necessarily those of the publisher, editor or designer and the magazine is in no way liable for such opinions. While every effort has been made to ensure that the contents are fully accurate, we cannot be held responsible for any inaccuracies and late changes. No article, advertisement or graphic, in whole or in part, may be reproduced without prior permission of the publishers.

SWA NSEA

LIFE SWANSEA LIFE 5

From the editor If you are planning a project in your home this spring, you’ve arrived at a good starting point with this month’s magazine and its bumper House & Home section. For those of you who have been thinking about starting something - from an easy refurbishment to a total new build - this is often the time of year when dreams start to become a reality. I know of lots of times when the sun’s April appearance has kick-started me into action. So if that’s the stage you are at or even if you are just beginning to imagine creating a new scheme, I hope you will find real inspiration on our pages.

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Elsewhere, and talking of that sun ( which is out and shining brightly at the time of writing), we make no apologies for pointing your way to some of the best attractions the area has to offer at this time of the year

For fashion fans, the unveiling of the new collections is always an exciting time. Refresh your seasonal wardrobe with some of our best high street buys. As well as our regular features, Swansea’s very own Bonnie Tyler has been talking about her staggering 50 years in showbusiness as she launches her 17th album. Yes, half a century. Hard to believe, really, isn’t it? But her ongoing affair with the music she so loves really does shine through. So,enjoy it, the sun...and this month’s Swansea Life!

157 what we’re loving in april All things Easter...! From full-blown table arrangements to stylish, subtle touches, we’ve chosen a few of our favourite seasonal decorating ideas for you to try

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120 PETER SLEE Acting editor

Contact me at peter.slee@reachplc.com 01792 455559 Find us on Facebook @SwanseaLife

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12 My lightbulb moment: Mumbles jewellery designer Gill Clement rocks this spring’s top styles

Swansea lives OUR PICK OF THE MONTH’S BEST PARTY GET-TOGETHERS

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FASHION

BAGS OF Inject some colour into your outfit with our pick of bright and beautiful bags peter.slee@reachjplc.com

Woodley bag, £139; Hobbs, Cardiff Amal mini jute crossbody bag, £29.95; White Stuff, Cardiff Knot front satin block clutch bag, £30; Laura Ashley, Pontarddulais Road retail park

Orange woven bag, £30, Oasis, Cardiff

Suedette vintage bag, £10; Matalan, Swansea

Faith at Debenhams, Swansea; £28

Mimosa side pocket tote bag, £35; Laura Ashley, Swansea

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Bamboo orange bucxk bucket bag, £10; Primark, Swansea

COLOUR

Pink bag, Faith at Debenhams, Swansea; £26

Beaded bag, £14; Matalan, Cwmdu

Tortoiseshell chain handle bag, £18; F&F at Tesco, Parc Fforestfach

Button detail bag, £32; Next, Parc Morfa

Rust bucket bag, £22; Dorothy Perkins, Swansea

Circle bag, £30; Next, Swansea GUESS yellow bag, £149

Red woven circle handle bag, £22.99; New Look, Swansea

SWANSEA LIFE 11

FASHION

Meet the Mumbles jewellery designer with a glittering career When it comes to dream jobs, they don't get much better than Gill Clement whose pieces are a firm favourite with some big-name stars... she told Christie Bannon her story

fter completing a foundation art course in Swansea, little did Gill Clement know that just a few years later her designs would be on display in department stores in London and New York.

The Mumbles jeweller’s passion for patterns and decoration has seen her pieces worn by the likes of Jo Brand, Clare Grogan of Altered Images, and even the Archbishop of Canterbury. Now aged 61, she is even being honoured with the Freedom of the City of London in recognition of her career spanning almost 40 years. “I always wanted to go to art college,” says Gill, who has a shop in Newton Road, Mumbles, with a workshop at the back. “I did a foundation course in Swansea and wanted really good training so I went to Sir John Cass School of Art in London where I studied jewellery and silversmithing for four years and left in 1982. “I set up a studio in Portobello Road and I was there for 15 years. That was really fun and there were lots of creative people around and we’d share ideas and work together. “Then I had a studio in Rotherhithe where I made a collection for Jean Muir [British fashion designer] which was a big turning point in my career in the late 80’s.” Gill also began showing her handmade 12 SWANSEA LIFE

jewellery at London Fashion Week in the late 80s which impressed so much that her pieces were soon being stocked in Harrods, Liberty and Harvey Nichols in London, and even across the pond in Saks Fifth Avenue. She adds: “I used to show at London Fashion Week and it just went from there. They would come to see you and then buy your collections. “It was very exciting. You produce two collections a year and when you’re putting a lot of hard work in and then you’re seeing it for sale in top department stores it’s really fulfilling. “I also did a show in the Old Bailey with Sue Bonham which was a big one. I love the designing and going to museums and art galleries and getting inspiration. I spent a lot of time in India which was a big influence in the 90s with all the decoration because everything is painted. “Decoration and pattern is really important to me and I almost treat metal as a fabric. A piece can take anything from a few hours to a couple of days and the brooches are the most time consuming.” It wasn’t long before a number of familiar faces began donning her designs, with the lead singer of Altered Images, Clare Grogan, wearing her earrings in the band’s music video for Happy Birthday. Trudie Styler also took a liking to her earrings and wore them when she was pictured with rock star and future husband Sting in the 80s and most recently Jo Brand

has been spotted wearing her heart-shaped brooches. “It was through the shops in London that they started to wear my jewellery,” she says. “It’s a nice feeling. When you’re involved in a creative business you spend a lot of time working on something and then it’s photographed on someone so it’s rewarding. “I was asked by the Church in Wales to create a pectoral cross for the then Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, as a gift from Swansea.” She even designed a dog collar for cult Swansea film Twin Town, directed by Kevin Allen. “Kevin Allen asked me to do it and it had to say ‘Fergie’ on it. That was quite lighthearted and fun as it was a one-off. “My jewellery has also appeared in lots of fashion magazines over the years.” For the last 10 years Gill, who has a 20-yearold daughter Rosie, and a whippet called Cleo who goes into work with her every day, has also been creating bridal collections, with James Hook’s wife, Kimberley, choosing to wear her earrings on their special day. All of her jewellery was handmade when they were appearing in the department stores, but when demand started to grow Gill decided to have them cast instead. After nearly 40 years of bringing her creations to life, she is now being honoured with the Freedom of the City of London for her work in pewter. She adds: “Through my work in pewter, the Worshipful Company of Pewterers invited me to show my collection and because they liked my stuff they wanted to give me the honour of the Freedom of the City of London. “It was set up in medieval times to protect the trade so it’s a great honour to be recognised. “Now that I’ve been given the honour I decided to revisit the original handmade jewellery so it’s gone in a circle. “I started in London, went to college there and now I’m being recognised there. “Getting the Freedom of the City is just the icing on the cake of my career.”

SWANSEA LIFE 13

FASHION 1

1. Soft dungaree jumpsuit in denim £49.50; Croyde cross strap sandals in mustard £42 2. Worker inspired jacket in rose petal; £69 3. Jodie stripe tie front shirt in Ivory, £42 4. Clean blue denim shorts indenim, £39.50 5. Circle cross body bag in chestnut, £49 6. Croyde cross strap sandals in mustard, £42

HIGH STREET HOTTEST

We’ve been checking out this season’s High Street styles

peter.slee@reachplc.com

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1. Thea jacket £329, Litaja skirt, £139, Paula sweater, £65; Robyn mule, £110 2. Spot astraea dress, £169 3. Marian dress, £199 4. Emery skirt, £199 5. Lula bag, £139 6. Lucina flat, £159 7. Woodley bag, £159

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2 3

3 1. Shorts, £29.50, bra, £35; belt, £25 2. Swimsuit, £35 3. Collection trouser, £39.50 4. Collection shorts, £19.50 5. Kitten slingback, £25

1. Trousers and top from a range at New Look, Swansea 2. Pale pink multiway mini dress, £27.99 3. Bright orange neon clear cat eye sunglasses, £7.99 4. Yellow floral print shorts, £19.99 5. Black heels with mustard scarf tie, £25.99 6. Yellow fabric beaded hoop earrings, £5.99

1. Top, £12, Shorts £13 2. Khaki wrap tie linen jacket, £28 3. Multi colour spot shirt, £18 4. Embroidery shirt, £18 5. Blue and cream striped slouch jumpsuit, £22 6. Orange loafer, £18

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fashion trend:

floral Print Fashionâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ongoing love affair with floral prints continues for Spring 2019 with a myriad of designers offering up their take on the iconic pattern. Be prepared to embrace your inner lady with floral print dresses, swimsuits, shoes, and even sunglasses. This seasonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s florals come in soft pastel colours and vibrant hues, all of which are some variation of the garden theme. peter.slee@reachplc.com

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Sinead print dress, ÂŁ65; Monsoon, Swansea

Spot print floral border shift dress, Â£49; M&Co, Swansea

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Trouser suit, from a range at Evans, Swansea

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MW by Matthew Williamson, Â£89; Debenhams, Swansea and Parc Trostre

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Floral chiffon shutter dress, £69; M&Co, Swansea

Scarf print dress, £35, JD WIlliams

Floral chiffon shutter dress, £69; M&Co, Swansea

Casco floralprint pearl detail dress, £50; Paperdoll.co.uk

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Dress £74.95, denim jacket £79.95, Joules, Mumbles

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30 Castle Street | Swansea | Tel: 01792 470274 |

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Annie Cartwright

Planning for the big day

Annie Cartwright MSc, RGN, IP Advanced aesthetic nurse practitioner

So, your partner has just popped the question and you begin hurtling towards your big day with a mountainous list of ‘must haves’. The search is on for the perfect venue, wedding gown, flowers and cake. However, if you want perfect skin for your big day, now is the time to stop and plan. It is not advisable to leave this to the last minute, especially if you haven’t had any skin care treatments before ■ HOW SHOULD BRIDES PLAN FOR THE BIG DAY?

skin look brighter and more refined with no downtime.

Forward planning is the key to having great looking skin for your big day. I advise younger brides, who would like their make-up to look flawless for those professional photographs, to have a consultation around five months before their wedding day.

Minimal wrinkle-smoothing injections can also smooth away unwanted forehead lines or crow’s feet, creating a perfect base for professional make-up.

If they go ahead with treatment this allows enough time to review how effective it is for them before organising further treatment nearer to the wedding.

Treatment recommendations In my experience many brides ask advice on how to brighten and freshen their skin for the big day. Skin resurfacing treatments such as the Obagi Blue Peel Radiance can make

■ HOW SHOULD BRIDES OR MOTHERS-OF-THE-BRIDE, in their 40s or 50s, PLAN FOR THE BIG DAY? Prepare well in advance and, if time allows, up to a year is ideal because you may need more than one treatment session to get the best natural results for the big day. It’s important to be realistic about what can be achieved, and brides should think about what treatments they would like to have for themselves long term, not just for the wedding day itself. I have turned people away if they approach me too close to the wedding day, in case they have any short-term bruising after the treatment that will show on the wedding photos!

Treatment recommendations One of the skin resurfacing treatments I recommend for dehydrated or ageing skin is the Fire & Ice Facial. This is an A-list celebrity favourite that reduces fine lines and leaves the skin looking smoother with no downtime.

Obagi Medical Blue Peel Radiance prep solution

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Brides in their 40s and 50s might also consider light therapies, such as LED masks that use different light wavelengths from near infrared across the spectrum to blue, to stimulate collagen, brighten the skin and reduce pigmentation.

Plan ahead to have great-looking skin on your big day

Used alongside other collagen-stimulating treatments such as Dermaroller, this can improve skin firmness giving it the characteristics of younger looking skin in time for the wedding. Call 029 2056 7096 to find out more or visit www.skinandfaceclinics.com Skin and Face Clinics The Coach House Llandaff Cardiff CF5 2DY

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Be the best version of yourself... Recognised by Hello magazine, Advanced Nurse Practitioner Annie Cartwright, is raising the profile of medical aesthetics in Wales. As director of Skin and Face Clinics, Annie has been sharing her expertise at a national level to ensure cosmetic treatments in the UK are safe and effective. She is passionate about helping people look and feel great by making them the best version of themselves.

Advanced injectable procedures ● Eight-point face lift ● Chin and jawline contouring ● Jawline reduction ● Tear trough correction ● Full-face rejuvenation ● Wrinkle-smoothing injections PLUS ● Skin peels ● Micro-needling / Dermaroller® ● Lip filler ● Fire and Ice facials ● New Volite® treatment to improve skin quality and acne scarring Accredited by independent and impartial accreditation scheme Save Face as safe and qualified to carry out non-surgical cosmetic procedures.

Annie Cartwright MSc, RGN, IP Advanced Aesthetic Nurse Practitioner

Raising the profile of medical aesthetics in Wales Book a FREE consultation by calling 029 2056 7096 or visit www.skinandfaceclinics.com

HAIR & BEAUTY

FROM CELERY JUICE TO SKINCARE AND TAKING HER BABY TO WORK... MIRANDA KERR SHARES HER MORNING ROUTINE The model-turned-beauty CEO talks Katie Wright through a typical morning, which starts at 5.30am. While celebrity make-up collections are ten a penny these days, there aren't many beauty brands fronted by a famous face who is also the business owner. But then Kora Organics isn't your average skincare company. Founded by model Miranda Kerr in Australia in 2009, when she couldn't find organic skin products despite supermarkets being full of pesticide-free produce, the range includes oils, cleansers, masks and mists, that all contain only certified organic ingredients. Kerr, 35, has been approached by would-be investors throughout the years but decided she wanted to self-fund her passion project - which she saw as having more longevity than modelling - and retain control of the company. "I wanted to make sure I was a responsible parent," she tells me on the phone from her home in Los Angeles, where she lives with husband Evan Spiegel and her two sons, Flynn and Hart. "At the time, I only had Flynn [her noweight-year-old son with former husband Orlando Bloom], and I was like, 'I want make sure I'm not just blowing money away', because obviously with businesses, it takes a long time to grow." And grow it did. Kora Organics sales have tripled, Kerr says, and the brand has just launched in the UK at Space NK.

"People are absolutely loving the skincare, they're getting the results they need because the products are super-powerful," she says, her Aussie accent inflected with a slight American twang. Getting to this point has involved a lot of hard work, the mum-of-two admits, but Kerr is nothing if not organised, which becomes ever more evident when I enquire about her morning routine. When we speak, at 10am LA time, Kerr has already been up for four-and-half hours and ticked off a to-do list that would take most mere mortals several days to complete, encompassing meditation, whipping up fresh juice, getting the kids ready, and even some skincare and make-up me-time. Here's what an average morning looks like for model, mum and beauty mogul Miranda Kerr...

Meditation and stretching "My husband wakes up every morning at 5.30am without fail - 6am on weekends. "At 5.30am, he's up and in the shower, and at this point the kids are still sleeping so that gives me time to myself.

make sure that I don't turn my phone on otherwise I'll be stuck in emails - I always sleep with my phone on aeroplane mode."

Skincare "Then if the kids are still not awake, I have time to quickly get some ice, put it in the sink and use a cloth and put it on my face. "Then I have my Rose Quartz Gua Sha (a traditional Chinese skin 'scraping' tool), which we make at Kora. Sometimes I keep that in the fridge as well, so it's extra cooling on my face in the morning." "The Turmeric Brightening and Exfoliating Mask, I'll put on my face as a mask so it acts like a mini microdermabrasion scrub. You know you're getting the benefit of the natural enzymes and the peppermint to wake you up. I'm obsessed with that." "I do my whole cleanse, mist, moisturise routine, and when I'm moisturising my face, I mix the Noni Glow Face Oil and moisturiser then rub it in with the Gua sha so it stimulates the circulation. "Because I generally wake up with quite a puffy face, I need some cooling and massage techniques to get that down."

"I'll do a 20-minute meditation and some light stretching before the kids wake up, and

Kora Organics Turmeric Brightening and Exfoliating Mask, £43, Space NK Kora Organics Noni Glow Face Oil, from £22, Space NK Kora Organics Balancing Rose Mist, £30, Space NK 26 SWANSEA LIFE

Make-up "Then I'll put a little bit of RMS concealer on. I use shade 22 and what I do is, I mix one drop of the Noni Glow Face Oil into the pot, mix it in with my brush, and put that all over my face as foundation. "RMS also has incredible Lip2Cheek stains - I put on a little bit and then that's pretty much it in the morning, it's pretty simple." RMS Beauty 'Un' Cover-up Concealer, £34, Cult Beauty RMS Beauty Lip2Cheek

in Beloved, £34, Cult Beauty

Breakfast "I'm loving celery juice in the morning on an empty stomach. I have 475ml, Flynn has a little shot glass full and Hart has a little bit - we all love the celery juice. "For me, I'm so used to drinking healthy things, so it's quite palatable. It's really helped me with digestion, clarity, I just feel healthier and energised on it." "At the moment, for breakfast I'm loving gluten-free bread with banana and honey on top. And some freshly cut apple and a lemon balm tea. "And then we also do a shot of turmeric, orange juice, ginger and garlic. Flynn and Evan and I do that, I make it in the cold press juicer."

“

I relax more when my children are around than not around.

The school run "I get the kids ready, get them both fed - we do school drop-off and then I come back home, put the baby to sleep for his nap, and then have meetings. "Everything is scheduled around school drop-offs. I like to always be there when my son's with me and he's not with his dad. My 10-month-old has his regular nap times now, so I can book meetings around that. And sometimes he's in meetings with me as well. "I'm very lucky and grateful that I can have him around when I'm working. We have a very babyfriendly office - I like to promote that because I feel personally, I relax more when my children are around than not around."

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ASK D E A N

Dean Boyce is the clinical lead for plastic surgery at The Welsh Centre for Plastic Surgery & Burns. He is a council member and chairman of education and training for the British Association of Plastic, Reconstructive & Aesthetic Surgeons. He has been a consultant at Swansea’s Sancta Maria Hospital for 14 years.

Worried Your BMI May Bar You From Surgery? A swansea-based clinician shares some advice

Dean Boyce sheds light on the issue of patients being denied surgery due to their Body Mass Index (BMI) – and how people can best prepare for procedures.

might be directly related to the condition that needs surgical treatment. Painful varicose veins, or worn knee joints may make it impossible to exercise effectively. These cases are nuanced

The issue of NHS patients being denied surgery because of their Body Mass Index (BMI) has been the focus of media attention recently and it is making potential patients anxious. Weight restrictions have been put in place for elective surgeries including breast reductions and removal of excess skin after weight loss, as well as on non-cosmetic surgeries like knee and hip replacements and varicose vein surgery. For aesthetic procedures, restrictions have been imposed in Wales on people whose BMI is over 25 - BMI is calculated by dividing someone’s weight by their height squared. However, these restrictions may not be applicable for many patients seeking treatment privately at Sancta Maria Hospital. The BMI index is a useful tool, but it cannot take an individual’s body composition into account. Many ‘superfit’ athletes with high muscle mass and little body fat will have a high BMI. However, it is important to take steps well in advance of a procedure, to aid successful recovery and lower the risk of complications. Similarly, it is wise to become more active and give up smoking. The fitter the patient, the smoother their recovery process is likely to be.

One complex issue we see in the course of our clinical work is body contouring, removing excess skin from patients who have experienced weight loss. This is a popular procedure at HMT Sancta Maria and it can have a significant positive impact upon quality of life. Extreme weight gain or weight loss bring complex underlying emotions. It makes sense for clinicians to support someone on this emotional journey. And the emotional impact of removing excess loose skin can be significant.

Clearly, there are sound reasons why some people may struggle to reduce their BMI that

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So, when faced with a patient who may have some way to go to bring their weight down to below the 25 BMI mark, it makes little sense to bar them from surgery on what may be a technicality. The weight of the excess skin and subcutaneous tissue itself is often significant, and it sees many such patients turned away by NHS hospitals. All clinicians have a legal and moral responsibility to advise and treat patients in the patient’s best interests. There can be complex circumstances that must be considered on a case by case basis. If you have concerns about how your BMI might affect your ability to undergo surgery, you should speak to your surgeon.

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HAIR & BEAUTY

REAL WOMEN, WINNING LOOKS W ITH

C H R I S

H O W E L LS

Swansea-based international make up artist and winner of the National Federation of Hairdressing’s Welsh Make Up Artist of the Year award, Chris Howells, gives a Swansea woman a new, seasonal look for spring.

after

Lorna is an archivist for Swansea City, and asked if I could help her with a party look and also with hyperpigmentation that she wants to keep under control. I started with a mist of Deciem Hylamide Hydra Density Mist to infuse oil free moisture into the skin, following with Clinique Anti Redness moisturiser and a dab of Clinique Moisture Surge Eye Gel, applied to the orbital bone. I have recommended that Lorna use Murad Rapid Age Spot Correcting Serum, on a twice daily basis. This is clinically proven to reduce appearance of dark spots, age spots and hyperpigmentation in one week. It contains Niacinamide, Hexylresorcinol, plankton extract, Vitamin C and Oligopeptides to break down the melanin in the skin. A good factor SPF must be used daily with this. I started Lorna’s make up with Charlotte Tilbury Hollywood flawless filter; this creates a great base, smooth and glowy. The base I chose was Hourglass Veil Liquid Seamless foundation, it has a buildable medium to full coverage but totally weightless and long wearing. I applied this with a flat top foundation brush. I used two shades, one as an all-over colour and the second gently contouring and warming the outer parts of the face. NYX can’t stop, Won’t Stop Concealer was applied to the under eye area with the bullet tip concealer brush, and on any redness or imperfections still visible. Setting the under eye area I used Laura Mercier Secret Blurring Powder, for an airbrushed finish. A Kevyn Aucoin tawny beige crème blush was applied to the apples of the cheeks and the whole thing set with Hourglass Veil Setting Powder, concentrating on the T-zone. I used Bite Cosmetics Prismatic multisticks in a Copper shade all over the lid into the crease and under the lash line, blending out with the All Over Eye Brush. I then added a satin finish Dark Brown-Plum shadow to the lash line with The Pencil Brush. I lined into the upper lash line with a black crème liner and a flat liner brush, then Hourglass Voyeur Liquid Liner along the upper Lash line for the perfect wing. Sweeping a Black liner into the water line adds a sexy vava voom. Curling the lashes and adding Hourglass Caution Mascara helped create more drama. Hourglass Brow sculpt pencil defined the brows and I added a pale bronzer to the high points of her face to create a little more warmth and using Modern Mercury golden pink highlight from Victoria Beckham I applied with the fan brush to the apples of the cheeks, brow bone cupids bow and tip of the nose. The perfect nude is made simple by using Smashbox Lipstick in Nylon lining all over firstly with a nude/peach pencil and following with a pink gloss just in the centre of the lip to make it pop. A pair of Eylure Luxe Lashes finish the look.

30 SWANSEA LIFE

before

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HAIR & BEAUTY Backstage at the Giorgio Armani SS19 show

Looking back at the spring/summer fashion shows, there were a surprising number of make-up and hair looks that could be taken directly from the catwalk and worn in real life - and that can be rare. “Free-spirited, decluttered from convention, make-up artists are exploring the concepts of realness and relatability in beauty,” said MAC make-up artist Lyne Desnoyers at the time. Lipstick, for example, is now “all about credibility rather than untouchable and unrealistic perfection,” she added. And while ‘femininity’ has no single definition these days, there was a soft prettiness to many of the make-up looks, which felt fresh when combined with more boyish elements, like brushed-up brows and messy hair.

Looking for some catwalk beauty inspiration?

Your guide to the SS19 trends starts here...

1 Pink Pink lipstick may be an eternal beauty classic, but it’s all about rose-tinted eyes for spring, from chalky pastels at Marc Jacobs and Brandon Maxwell, to raspberry hues at Rodarte (where models’ hair was also festooned with pink roses) and flashes of neon at Mark Fast. The most wearable example? At Giorgio Armani a divine dusty rose was washed 34 SWANSEA LIFE

Try this at home This season’s backstage beauty looks are surprisingly wearable, K atie Wright discovers over eyelids and lips to create a beautiful monochromatic look. Anastasia Beverly Hills eye shadow singles baby cakes, £8, Selfridges

2 Glitter and shine Think glitter is only for the festive season? Think again – the spring catwalks make a strong case for year-round sparkles with graphic winged eyeliner looks at Halpern and Valentino, plus the delicate dusting of silver shimmer at Simone Rocha and Missoni. The metallic foil-covered lips at Jeremy Scott and Thom Browne aren’t quite so wearable, but an iridescent lip gloss is a more lowkey way to try the trend. Too Faced glitter pop eyeliner fairy queen, £16, Cult Beauty

Bovan Pastel shades at Matty

3 Pastel hair The pastel hair trend has been huge over the last year, and evidently it’s going nowhere. Tastemaker Marc Jacobs sent his models down the New York Fashion Week runway with bouffant hairdos in a variety of beautifully soft pink and blue hues. Over in London, at the Matty Bovan show, hair was similarly voluminous and colourful, while at Andreas Kronthaler for Vivienne Westwood, the trend was taken a step further with rainbow ombre shades.

4 Bold eyeliner

These new shampoo and conditioner pairings promise great hair at affordable prices, but did they impress us?

You’re going to need a steady hand if you want to recreate spring’s coolest eyeliner looks, including the supersharp double wing at Peter Dundas and the ‘floating flick’ seen at Rochas. Not sure you’re up to the task? Burberry’s brown smoky wing is an easier proposition, as is Dior’s splodgy ‘dancing eyeliner’.

■ OGX Purifying + Charcoal Detox , £6.99 each Beauty writer Zoe says: “These are meant to leave hair grease-free for longer.

Rimmel Wonder Wing eyeliner black, £3.99 (down from £5.99), Superdrug

“Mine did feel clean and without residue, and the smell is nice, but they gave my blonde hair a slight ashy tinge.’

5 Braids Hair stylists wove all manner of beautiful ‘do’s, from delicate plaits at the nape of the neck (at Erdem) to ‘hidden braids’ as part of a wrapped ponytail (at Preen). For a softer take on the trend, at Roland Mouret long-haired models looked angelic with halo braids and tendrils falling around their faces.

■ Soap & Glory Get A Smooth On , £7 each Tester Jules says: “These two are amazing.

6 Big brows

“They left my hair soft with no grease at all. The shampoo is very thick, but still easy to lather, and overall my hair is a lot softer and smoother than normal. Love!”

Consider the pencil brow trend erased: Big, bushy eyebrows ruled on the SS19 catwalks, seen everywhere from Miu Miu and Moschino to Jil Sander and Stella McCartney. This look isn’t about painting on a pair of thick arches, though, it’s about enhancing what nature gave you with a microfibre gel instead of an eyebrow pencil.

Beautiful braids at Pre

en SS19

Maybelline Brow Drama sculpting mascara, £5.99, Boots

7 Vertiginous hair The most hair-raising trend of the season was, quite literally, the sky-high barnets.

■ John Frieda Detox & Repair , £5.99 each Tester Izzy says: “I have a sensitive scalp, so I avoid products that strip my hair. This was calming, and once my hair was dry I thought it looked polished and less fluffy. Smells lovely as well.”

■ Charles Worthington Healthy Balance , £6.99 each

As well as the aforementioned pastel bouffants, the most extreme example was the rigid, spiked up ponytails at Ashley Williams.

Fashion assistant Megan says: “The shampoo smells AMAZING! My dry ends felt softer after just one go, and my roots took longer to get oily too. My new go-to.”

Buns are having a moment as well (is that the Duchess of Sussex Effect again?), from neat ballerina styles at Burberry to big and messy at Olivier Theyskens, while Fendi and Dion Lee’s relaxed styles were somewhere in between.

celebRITY secret Would you like to have glowing skin like Beyonce? The star revealed to Elle US online that she smears her face in Aquaphor Skin Soothing Balm before bed. And it doesn’t come with a superstar price tag. You can pick up a jar at Boots for just £4.

Messy buns at Olivier Theyskens

SWANSEA LIFE 35

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE

HEY got in just before the Millennium and have been helping beauty dreams come true ever since.

Sun Lounge Beauty Centre has come a long way after setting up as a sun bed shop in Morriston in 1999. With over a million appointments ticked off, it quickly became a go to destination for those looking to acquire an instant tan and a lot more besides. Today this thriving Swansea business can fulfill an extensive range of beauty treatment needs for women and men as it continually keeps pace with trends and desires. That takes some doing, but the expert team at Sun Lounge is not only up to the challenge, it absolutely relishes it. Respect in the community has long since been earned, and the company, which is registered with a string of industry organisations, has worked with the council to help formulate safeguarding policies.

Outside recognition has come regularly, including last year’s Best Business winner in the Swansea Life Awards, alongside top three finishes, including wins, in the Best Beauty Salon sections for six years in a row. Certification from other bodies, among them five stars from the Good Salon Guide, have added to its burgeoning roll of honour. OFFERING MORE AND MORE It is all a far cry from the end of last century when Bonnie Fisher opened that sun bed shop in Morriston. These days she is an aesthetic practitioner in the business, as her son Alex Heavens, now managing director after working his way up from virtually the beginning, explained. “Basically it started as a sun bed shop in 1999 in Morriston,” he said. “When she was running the salon she noticed a lot of customers were coming in and asking if she did nails and waxing. She wanted to learn and went on courses and learned beauty

skills and basically did more the cosmetic side of the business.” With full qualifications behind her, Bonnie set about raising the bar to good effect, and the result is a comprehensive list of services: Beauty: Sunbeds and spray, hands and feet, lashes and brows, hair removal and waxing, facials and lifts, massage. Cosmetic: Hair removal, facial contouring, facial line softening, plasma therapy, semi-permanent makeup. “We look at market trends and always look at new devices to make sure our customers are getting the best treatment.possible,” said Alex. “We make sure we are the best we can be. In the beginning we became known as the place to go for a spray tan. Back then no place in Morriston or areas like Llansamlet and Birchgrove did nails or fillers, and we did fill the gap.

“Some treatments that we are doing led Swansea Council to come to us to help write some regulations. Through experience, we have got a good connection with councillors and Swansea Council. And we have always ensured that we are on top of things with safeguarding policies.” DEFINITELY ON TREND Sun Lounge has been able to respond to demands for the popular treatments and trends. “As the years have gone by beauty has grown in every single year,” said Alex. “Whereas more people just had nails and eyebrows, now it is skin and facial, eye lashes and waxing. “When The Only Way Is Essex started vajazzle shot up in the trends. We couldn’t stop the customers coming in because there were so many, and fish pedicure was another trend. “We offer free consultations and like to show examples of our work. We explain how experienced we are in our field within the beauty industry and try and reassure them, that in a salon like ours, experience does count. There are nightmare situations out there, with botox going wrong, etc, and coming to somewhere where you can be reassured about experience is what it is all about.” PEOPLE ALWAYS MATTER But Sun Lounge prides itself on far more than

just offering chosen treatments. There is the important personal touch as well. “Not everyone is the same,” said Alex. whose sister Hayley Fisher also works there. “Some people think a beauty salon is not for them, but over the last 20 years we have had over a million appointments. We know that because they are on the computer. “They have been customers with a variety of ages, male, female and transgender, different sexual orientation, skin types, ethnic groups. Some people think they are too old to have their eyebrows waxed, or not girly enough to have their nails done. It is not always the case. Sometimes it is about maintaining a feel good factor. “Every opportunity is an experience in itself. A new day is a new day. Every day is different, every client is different. You can’t categorise people. It is taking time to listen to people, becoming friends with your clients really.” It is 20 years in the bag and continued expansion is an aim at its Morriston base, elsewhere in South Wales and maybe in England. “We still want to be a pillar of the community, where people feel it is a trusted place to go for treatment,” said Alex. “We are an honest family-run business, one which is trustworthy and reliable. We care about customers, how they feel and what they want.”

Sun Lounge Beauty Centre | 52 Woodfield Street Morriston | Swansea | SA6 8BW Telephone: 01792 775 558 Email: swanseasunlounge@hotmail.co.uk Visit: www.SwanseaSunLounge.co.uk

HAIR & BEAUTY

Makeover! W ITH

L ARA

JOHNSON

Stylist and Mumbles salon owner Lara Johnson shares her tips in her monthly column.

Colour statement Model: Jordan Occupation: Model From: Swansea

jordan says... I have had short hair in a variety of shapes for ages but I wanted a change. I know I was limited by the shape but I still wanted a look with impact. I wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t sure what to do with my colour. I had been blonde but gradually wanted to go darker. We ended up going for a grey tone which I am delighted with. I am really pleased with the finished look. It is adaptable and easy to do.

the Lara Johnson team says... Jordan has a beautifully balanced face and we were drawn straight to her eyes. It is important that the look is perfect for you, that it enhances your look and also works with your hair type so it is not difficult to manage and style. We wanted to go with the current androgynous trend but allow Jordanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s natural beauty to shine through, so tightened the cut into a more head-hugging shape. We added more depth to the colour, which will give more shine.

After... Before...

38 SWANSEA LIFE

Step by step... The Braided Bun Several strands weave together to form one big beautiful braided bun. Subtle from the front, but this intricate style will impress from the back. Perfect for all sorts of occasions or just to keep your hair away.

Difficulty level: Medium What you need • • • •

Brush Three small clear elastic Pins or grips Hairspray

Tip: To thicken the braids use clip in hair extensions. For a soft look the day after shake out the braids which will give you a soft wavy texture through the ends.

After...

Brush your hair into three sections, divided from just behind the ear to the crown. Braid the right section starting from the temple and secure with a small elastic. Continue onto the left side and mirror the braid.

Braid the remaining centre section and secure with elastic

Wrap the central braid over itself into a bun.

Secure with grips or pins (whichever you find easiest)

Criss cross the two side braids underneath the central bun, wrap around and secure with grips

Tuck the ends away with pins and finish with some hairspray.

SWANSEA LIFE 39

MONDAY LLANSAMLET Mercure Hotel Swansea Enterprise Park Llansamlet, SA7 9EG 9.30am & 11.30am Tel: Sam 07949 476411 KILLAY St Hilary’s church 462 Gower Road Killay 9.30am & 11.30am Susan 07813 316739 YSTALYFERA St Davids church hall Gurnos Rd, SA9 2HY 9:30ma, 11:30am, 3:30pm, 5:30pm & 7:30pm Tel: Gemma 07894 327584 COCKETT The Side of St Peter’s Church Cockett, SA2 0FW 3.30pm, 5.30pm & 7.30pm Tel: Kathryn 07815 989756 PONTARDAWE Mount Elim Church, Brecon Rd. Pontardawe, SA8 4PD 5.30pm Tel: Denise 07432 590072 LANDORE Montanna Park Community Centre, Montanna Place Landore, SA1 2QB 9:30am Allison 07890 293931 LLANSAMLET Mercure Hotel Swansea enterprise Park llansamlet, SA7 9EG 3:30pm, 5:30pm, 7:30pm Tel: Tyler 07528 218180 SKETTY Sketty primary School Llwyn Mawr Close Sketty, SA2 9HJ 7:30pm Tel: Sarah 07826 666914

WEST CROSS Linden Church Elms Grove Road West Cross, SA3 5LD 5:30pm Laura 07969 288997

CLYDACH Clydach Community Hall, Vardre Rd Clydach, SA6 5LP 5pm Tel: Julie 07857 853807

GORSEINON new Lodge Alexandra Road, Gorseinon, SA4 4DE 5pm & 7pm Tel: Katy 07956 041315

TUESDAY

CWMRHYDYCEIRW WMRHYDYCEIRW Tabernacle Community Hall, Cwmrhydyceirw Rd, Swansea, SA6 6LH 5:30pm & 7:30pm Tel: Katy 07956 041315

KILLAY Siloam Baptist Church Goetre Fach Rd, Killay, SA2 7SG 3.30pm, 5.30pm & 7.30pm Tel: Joanna 01792 927474 FRIDAY

MUMBLES Tabernacle URC Church newton ewton Rd, Mumbles, SA3 4AR 7:30pm Tel: Laura 07969 288997

UPLANDS Pantygwydwr Baptist Church Ernald Place, Uplands, SA2 0Hn 9:30am Tel: Alison 07890 293931

THURSDAY

GORSEINON new Lodge Alexandra Rd Gorseinon, SA4 4DE 9.30am & 11.30am Tel: Irene 01656 861648

RHOS Rhos Community Centre Plas Rd, MarchHywel, Swansea, SA8 3HD 9.30am Tel: Sharon 07495 747268 TOWNHILL Gors Community Centre Heol Y Gors Townhill, SA1 6RY 4:30pm & 6:30pm Tel: Amanda 07815 989756 TRALLWN Trallwn Community Centre Bethal Rd, Llansamlet, SA7 9QT 5.30pm & 7.30pm Tel: Joanna 01792 927474

BIRCHGROVE Birchgrove Community Centre Lon Gwesyn Birchgrove, SA7 9LD 9.30am Tel: Susan 01792 523695

ABERCRAVE Abercrave Rugby Club, Heol Rheolau, Abercrave Swansea, SA9 1XH 5.30pm Tel: Jacqui 07792 582663

SWANSEA St. David’s Church Hall St. David’s Square (By Iceland) Swansea City Centre, SA1 3nG 3 11am & 1pm Tel: Christine 01792 701804

WAUNARLWYDD Waunarlwydd community centre Victoria Rd, Swansea, SA5 4SY Tuesday 7:30pm Sam 07854 952777

COCKETT The Side of St Peters Church Cockett, SA2 0FW 5pm & 7pm Tel: Alison 07890 293931

WEDNESDAY

YSTRADGYNLAIS Glanrhyd Coronation Club, Glannant Ystradgynlais, SA9 1BG 5.30pm & 7.30pm Tel: nicola icola 07718 053121

UPLANDS Pantygwydr Baptist Church Ernald Place, Uplands, SA2 0Hn 5pm & 7pm Tel: Allison 07890 293931 ALLTWEN St Johns Church Gwyn St, Alltwen, SA8 3AJ 3.30pm & 5.30pm Tel: Sharon 07495 747268 LLANGYFELACH Church Hall, Swansea Rd, Llangyfelach, SA5 7JQ 4.15pm & 6.15pm Tel: Amanda 07815 989756

BIRCHGROVE Birchgrove Community Centre Lon Gwesyn, Birchgrove SA7 9LD 5pm & 7pm Tel: Susan 01792 523695 CWMGORS Cwmgors Community Centre, Cemetary Rd, Cwmgors, Ammanford, SA18 1PS 7pm Tel: Deltrice 07515 550049

TOWNHILL Gors Community Centre Heol y Gors Townhill, SA1 6RY 9.30am & 11.30am Tel: Amanda 07815 989756 SATURDAY YSTRADGYNLAIS Glanrhyd Coronation Club Glannant, Ystradgynlais, SA9 1BG 9.00am & 11.00am Tel: nicola 07718 053121 CWMBWRLA Gordon Moore Centre (FOYD) 300 Carmarthen Rd 8.30am & 10.30am Tel: Kurtis 07939 409 SKETTY Uniting Church 67 Dillwyn St, Sketty, SA2 9AH Saturday 9:30am Michelle 07460 863747

An opportunity to become a Slimming World Consultant in the Swansea area. new groups waiting to be opened. For more info contact Sam on: 07949 476411

Yn dod ym mis Medi 2019 Coming September 2019 Mae’r triniwr gwallt enwog arobryn Lee Stafford yn agor ei Academi gyntaf yng Nghymru yng Ngrŵp Colegau NPTC.

Award-winning celebrity hairdresser Lee Stafford is opening his first Academy in Wales at NPTC Group of Colleges.

Bydd yn gweithio gyda’r Tîm Trin Gwallt a Therapïau Cymhwysol yn y Coleg ac yn helpu i ddarparu hyfforddiant o’r radd flaenaf o safon seren Michelin.

He will work with the Hair and Applied Therapies team at the College and help deliver first class Michelin Star standard training.

Am fwy o wybodaeth, cysylltwch â  For more information contact:

01689 648200

www.nptcgroup.ac.uk

YMGEISIWCH NAWR APPLY NOW

Yn dod ym mis Medi 2019 Coming September 2019 Mae’r triniwr gwallt enwog arobryn Lee Stafford yn agor ei Academi gyntaf yng Nghymru yng Ngrŵp Colegau NPTC.

Award-winning celebrity hairdresser Lee Stafford is opening his first Academy in Wales at NPTC Group of Colleges.

Bydd yn gweithio gyda’r Tîm Trin Gwallt a Therapïau Cymhwysol yn y Coleg ac yn helpu i ddarparu hyfforddiant o’r radd flaenaf o safon seren Michelin.

He will work with the Hair and Applied Therapies team at the College and help deliver first class Michelin Star standard training.

Am fwy o wybodaeth, cysylltwch â  For more information contact:

01689 648200

www.nptcgroup.ac.uk

YMGEISIWCH NAWR APPLY NOW

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HEALTH & WELLBEING

ASK

DR. CHARLOTTE

Menopause Mayhem Why is it that we don’t have any problem openly talking about pregnancy and childbirth, while any mention of menopause is met with embarrassment and silence?

The menopause can leave so many women feeling isolated, bewildered and miserable. The fact is that it remains a taboo subject for many but one I think should be talked about more freely as there are so many options for treatment. So if you are one of the many unlucky ladies experiencing symptoms then you need not suffer alone. WHAT IS THE MENOPAUSE? It is when a woman’s periods naturally stop due to declining oestrogen and progesterone hormone levels and most commonly occurs between 5054 (but can occur earlier and later). **If your periods have stopped for 12 months or more, and you have no unusual symptoms (see below for typical symptoms) then we would say you are menopausal** Hormone fluctuations before the menopause officially known as the peri-menopause can cause very similar symptoms and distress. DO I NEED A TEST TO CONFIRM IT?

This month Sketty GP and Swansea Life doctor Charlotte Jones, focusses on the menopause

Not usually unless your doctor or specialist think that there may be other conditions causing your symptoms. If you think you may be menopausal and are aged under 40 you should see your GP to discuss your symptoms and rule out other causes. WHAT ARE THE SYMPTOMS? Some people have absolutely no symptoms – lucky devils!! Symptoms vary widely and range from mild to severe and have a significant impact on a ladies quality of life and wellbeing. Typical symptoms can include: ■ Hot flushes ■ Lack of libido / lowered sex drive / pain on intercourse ■ Dry skin, dryness per vagina ■ Lack of concentration ■ Mood and sleep disturbance ■ Hair thinning ■ Joint aches and pains ■ Headaches ■ Weight gain ARE TREATMENTS AVAILABLE? Yes there are a number of treatment options available. ■ HRT is as its name suggests replacement of hormone levels and typical consists of oestrogen

38 SWANSEA LIFE

with progesterone (if you still have your womb as oestrogen on its own could cause a build up of the lining of the womb which could undergo cystic / sinister changes) and sometimes addition of testosterone depending on your symptoms. HRT can be given in various preparations e.g. oestrogen comes in creams / gels / tablets / patches, progesterone in tablets / progesterone coil (e.g. Mirena) / combined in a patch with oestrogen etc. Please note, an oestrogen cream used vaginally for vaginal dryness doesn’t require additional progesterone as the effects are only local vs the other forms of oestrogen. Your clinician will discuss the options with you and together you can agree what would suit you best taking account of your symptoms and other important information that could influence prescribing. ■ If you are not suitable for HRT or don’t want HRT (e.g. because of a strong family history of breast cancer or other concerns), there are a number of alternatives that can be considered so again chat to your clinician who will advise on these. ■ Cognitive behavioural therapy can help if your symptoms are mainly mood related. ■ If you decide that you don’t want formal treatment for menopausal symptoms as you are managing them yourself then it is important not to forget about your bone health as the dwindling oestrogen levels will, over time, affect bone mineral density. Therefore consider taking a bone protection supplement or formal calcium; vitamin D supplement to protect them and build regular weight bearing exercise into your daily routine. Also, eating a healthy diet and losing weight can reduce symptoms too. WHERE CAN I GET MORE INFORMATION FROM? It can be so difficult getting non-biased information on the menopause and perimenopause. But whilst I think HRT can be an amazingly effective treatment it is important that women have all the information they need to make the best choice for them. Sites I find useful include: www.nhs.uk/ menopause and https://patient.info then search menopause.

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HEALTH & WELLBEING

On your marks, get set,...go! 2019 sees the return of the multi-award-winning JCP Swansea Half Marathon. Voted the UK’s best half marathon (2017 and 2018) and Wales’ biggest and best summer half marathon. The JCP Swansea Half Marathon offers runners the chance for a perfect PB on the flat, fast, scenic 13.1-mile route. If you are looking for an easy-to-follow training plan, then this 12-week programme might just help! The goal at Front Runner Events is not just to get you to the start line, it wants to do everything it can to help you get your training right and see you cross that finish line and become a front runner!

PICK A PLAN Front runner events designed training plans for all levels of fitness. The beginner plans are designed for your first-time runner looking to complete the distance and enjoy the day without putting too much importance on time. The improver plan is designed for a runner looking to improve on previous race experiences. The advanced plan is for experienced runners looking to build 46 SWANSEA LIFE

on previous performances and achieve the sought after personal best!

can often help keep you on track when training gets tough.

The training plans should be used as a guide and work around your everyday life, we have also included some top tips from our team to go alongside your plan.

There will be times when work or the weather among other things will affect your mood ahead of an important run making it easy to skip it. You may think to yourself – “not today, I’ll run tomorrow instead”. Having someone to run with on those days will help you stick to your plan and help you be better prepared for the big day.

STRENGTH IN NUMBERS Whether you are an experienced runner or taking on your first half marathon having a running buddy or training group

PRACTICE YOUR RACE DAY HYDRATION AND NUTRITION A half marathon puts your body under a lot of stress, we train for race day to get our body ready for the exertion of running 13.1 miles, we also need to prepare our bodies by practicing our hydration and nutrition. It is important to fuel before and after your run as well as during to keep your body working efficiently. Training is where you practice different types of hydration and fuelling to find one your body agrees with. With water stations available on race day to help you stay hydrated, practice your hydration on your training runs. Use your long run day to find the best pre- and post-run meal that best prepares your body and helps you recover afterwards. You will also need to practice using energy gels, bars, chews etc during these runs, these will help keep you going during your long run and also on race day. Don’t try anything new during race week, your body may not agree with it.

RECOVERY

Once you catch the running bug it’s very easy to ignore recovery runs and rest days as you enjoying running so much you want to get out at every opportunity. Your plan should include recovery runs and rest days. It is extremely important that you stick to your plan and give your body time to recover from a hard session, otherwise all that hard work you’ve put in could be undone by picking up an injury. Having some time off and putting your feet up won’t make you any less fit, it will have the opposite effect! Proper recovery will help your body prepare for the sessions to come to allow you to get the most out of a run and more importantly – stay injury free.

With 70% of entries sold, make sure you sign up to #RunSwansea now. The JCP Swansea Half Marathon will take place on Sunday, June 23 starting at the Brangwyn Hall, taking runners through the city on closed roads along Swansea Bay to Mumbles, returning to finish at Swansea Museum. The JCP Swansea Half Marathon is a road race that is flat, fast on a course that is

perfect for beginners, and first-time half marathon runners. The race has been recognised as being the “Best Half Marathon” in the UK at the UK Running Awards in 2017 and 2018, runners can expect a fully marshalled course on closed roads, bespoke medal, technical t-shirt, on route entertainment and a goody bag for all finishers.

www.swanseahalfmarathon.co.uk/12-week-training-plans-begin-april-1st-2019

Go to www.swanseahalfmarathon.co.uk for further race details, ‘like’ the Facebook page www.facebook.com/SwanseaHalf and follow @Swansea_HM #RunSwansea on Twitter and @swanseahalfmarathon on Instagram to keep up to date with all the latest news about the JCP Swansea Half Marathon. SWANSEA LIFE 47

Bryngarw House,, one of South Wales’ most exclusive wedding venues, is now under new management. We speak to Bliss Kelsall, Weddings and Events Manager,, about her new role and why her team would love to show couples around the beautiful venue located in Bryngarw Country Park near Bridgend.

When did you discover you had a passion for organising weddings?

How do you remain up-todate with the latest wedding industry trends?

I’ve always been a highly organised person; I am forever writing lists. A previous job led me to attending a wedding fayre one day, and I immediately realised that working within the wedding industry was what I was destined to do!

When you live and breathe all things weddings, you naturally follow the trends, and I am lucky enough to have some fantastic relationships with suppliers. I like to get to know my couple’s vision of their wedding day when I first meet them. Of course, everyone’s taste is different, so a neutral, elegant venue like Bryngarw House offers the flexibility for couples to add decorations, to suit individual tastes.

What do you love most about your job? Without a doubt, the passion I have for my job is because I can play a part in making someone happy, and that’s such a good feeling. I put my heart and soul into Bryngarw House because I want every one of our couples to have the most perfect wedding day.

What improvements have been made to Bryngarw House since the beginning of 2019? We have certainly been very busy. Bryngarw House has undergone complete refurbishment, from

repainting works throughout the venue, to deep cleaning and brand-new furniture. We have new Chiavari chairs, a new twinkle light dancefloor and a beautiful new handmade floral archway, to name just a few of the improvements. We wanted everything to be clean and fresh for all our couples, ahead of a busy year of weddings. What else do you have planned for the venue? We will be giving our couples the option of a ‘Gin Bar’ during their evening celebrations, with special gin-based cocktails on offer. Throughout the year, we will be holding showcase events where the venue will be dressed as you would expect on a wedding day, and the team will be on hand to answer questions and conduct

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viewings. Keep an eye on our Facebook page ‘Bryngarw House Weddings’ for details. How can couples get in touch to arrange their exclusive viewing? Couples can fill out a simple enquiry form on our website, www.bryngarwhouse.com, call us directly on 01656 729009, or register their interest for one of our showcases. A member of the wedding team will get in touch to arrange an appointment. During this appointment our couples will have a tour of the venue. They will have the opportunity to discuss availability, packages and prices in detail, and receive a personal quote based on a provisional wedding date. They most definitely won’t be disappointed!

www.bryngarwhouse.com | Tel: 01656 729009 | events@bryngarwweddings.com @bryngarwhouse |

@bryngarwweddings

Lucy Gold lucygoldphotographer.com

Mermaid Effect jackets Marc Smith Photography

BRIDE

Dare not to bare: brides in leather jackets

What’s the most popular wedding cover-up now? It’s a leather jacket, one of the hottest current wedding trends that looks set to stick because rocking leather jackets is timeless, as VICTORIA JONES reports When Jemima Rodwell, right, gifted her sister with a painted leather jacket, little did she know it would be the start of a brand new career. The 29-year-old, who comes from Crickhowell, began painting cool designs onto jackets for badass brides around the world. Jemima, who runs The Mermaid Effect, has just given up her full-time fashion graphics job to concentrate on the business full time. “It’s gained a bit of momentum and it’s quite exciting at the moment so I want to see how it goes,” she says. “I’ve had to turn people away lately because I can only do it at the weekends so I’m just going to go for it.” The idea started when she needed a present for her sister’s birthday. “A couple of years ago I was working in London for a supplier, and we used to do lots of leather jackets, and sample sales. “I just painted it for my sister as a present and she put it on Instagram. A few people

saw it and liked it, and then somebody else wanted one, and somebody said I should do an Instagram page for it. “And it just took off from there.” It was on Instagram that a bride got in touch with Jemima to ask for a jacket for her April 2018 wedding. “That was my first wedding jacket and since then, it’s just built up more and more.” Now she gets orders from all around the world including New York, Australia and Germany. Jemima likes to work closely with the bride to create something they’ll love. “I build up such a nice rapport with my clients. I get to know them, and when the wedding comes around I get so excited. You really feel part of it.” Jemima really wanted to paint yellow flowers, so was happy to meet Rachel Mayne from Merthyr, who got married last May. The 32-year-old kept the jacket a secret from almost everyone, apart from her mum,

maid of honour and photographer. “Everyone loved the jacket, it was a good surprise,” Rachel said. “It was quirky and quite me so everyone just loved it and it put a smile on everyone’s face. My husband loved it as well.” Jessica Ann Gething from Gilwern, who got married at Porthmawr Country House in Crickhowell last summer, wanted something different on her wedding day, and something that would surprise her husband. “I knew he would love it and that the jacket would look great in photos and I was over the moon when we got our pictures back. I look at them all the time.” says the 28 year old. Michelle Bowen Phillips wore a Mermaid Effect jacket when she married her husband Rhydian. She chose the words“Mi Gerddaf gyda thi” for her jacket, which mean “I will walk with you”. The words were special to them as they are from the song ‘Sorela’ (Three sisters) that was sung at their wedding ceremony at St Rhidian and Illtud’s church in Llanrhidian. Michelle explained: “We are both Welsh speaking. The words had to be in Welsh, sentences in Welsh appear more romantic than English.” SWANSEA LIFE 49

BRIDE

The BEST bridesmaid dresses on the highstreet for less than £100

Lipsy Purple Elsa Mesh Maxi Dress with Lace Sleeve, £85, available from Next, Parc Morfa

50 SWANSEA LIFE

Katie Wright finds the frocks that rock - and won't break the bank either. Dorothy Perkins Rose Bobby Dress, £75 (left); Rose Natalie Dress, £65, from Dorothy Perkins, Swansea

Monsoon Yasmeen Lace Jersey Maxi Bridesmaid Dress, £99, available from Monsoon, Swansea

Roman Navy Bardot Sequin Midi Dress

Pale Pink Side Split Bardot Maxi Dress, £24.99, available from New Look, Swansea

Monsoon Yasmeen Lace Jersey Maxi Bridesmaid Dress, £99, available from Monsoon, Swansea

Roman Navy Bardot Sequin Midi Dress

Are you a bride-to-be on a budget looking to kit out your bride tribe in style? Or a maid of honour tasked with finding her own frock for your BFF's big day? Finding the perfect bridesmaid dresses can end up being harder than deciding on the wedding dress itself, because you've got to find a style that everyone is happy with, not just the bride. Unless you happen to have a set of quintuplets accompanying you down the aisle, that means a colour that suits everyone's hair and skin tone, and a shape that flatters a variety of figures. Add to that a price cap and it can seem like an impossible task - but bridesmaid dress

shopping needn't be a headache. Why? Because there are so many amazing options now available from our favourite high street brands. As wedding costs continue to soar (the average couple spends £27,000, according to a survey by Hitched), retailers are offering affordable bridal collections, so you can style your 'maids in on-trend designs without going way over budget. So what's hot this year? Pink is by far the most popular colour choice. It's a hue we've seen a lot of on the red carpet recently, and what's great about pink is that everyone can

find their perfect shade, from blush to rose to fuchsia. Bardot and halter necks are big news (the Duchess of Sussex's second wedding dress continues to inspire designers), but if some of your girls want a bit more coverage, you can usually find the same colour dress with different necklines. Similarly, if you can't decide between maxi or midi length for your ladies, brands like Dorothy Perkins and Little Mistress offer some frocks in both. And finally, remember that you don't necessarily have to shop from the bridal section for simple but beautiful bargains.

SWANSEA LIFE 51

BRIDE

SAY YES TO THE DRESS!

Whether you dreamed of your perfect dress since you were five or you’d never given it a moment’s thought before you were engaged, saying ‘yes to the dress’ will be one of the biggest decisions you will make in your wedding planning journey after the venue. Here’s Swansea wedding PR specialist Shakira Obaid’s top tips to help you feel a million dollars on your wedding day.

1. Research Google, Pinterest, bridal magazines and social media will become your best friend. Research designers, styles and latest trends to establish what you like. Be sure to consider what will ‘suit your venue too’. A classic ‘Kate Middleton’ style dress would look beautiful in a traditional venue but might not suit a beach wedding in the Caribbean…

2. Shortlist 2 - 3 boutiques Once you have done your research, try and shortlist your favourite bridal shops to two or three, if you see too many it can be overwhelming. Ask friends for recommendations and select the ones that best suit your style and budget.

3. Keep an eye open You may have an idea of the perfect dress in your head but to keep an open mind, as you won’t know what will flatter you most until you try. Try lots of styles until you find the one that makes you feel confident and amazing.

4. Budget Consider what you want and set a budget that is realistic and affordable for you. There is so much choice in the market ranging from £300 to £10,000! When you are booking your appointments make sure you check out the bridal boutiques website to 52 SWANSEA LIFE

ensure their price points match your expectation. Just so you know, the average price of a wedding dress in the UK is £1,300.

5. Prepare for your appointments This is critical according to Swansea industry expert, Alyson Jayne (owner of Swansea’s longest established bridal boutique). Alyson says: “Wedding dress shopping can be a magical experience if you do it properly, I always recommend bringing two to three people with you, typically mum and bridesmaids as you’ll definitely want a second opinion. Leave children at home if you can so you can relax. Don’t try to cram too much into one day, allow for a maximum of three appointments. Looking and feeling your best will help do justice to the dress. Spend time on your hair/make-up and wear nude strapless underwear.”

6.Timescales If you’re having a long engagement and immediately start shopping for a gown, the one you buy might be out of fashion by the time the big day comes around. Equally if you leave it too late there might not be enough time to make the alterations. Allow 10-18 months lead time to find your perfect dress.

■ Pernovias Dress stockist, Alyson Jane ■ Purecreations photography

BRIDE

Kirsty Humphreys & Stuart Horsford

District nurse Kirsty Humphreys, 34, from Pontarddulais and teaching assistant Stuart Horsford, 44, from Morriston who clicked over their love of music, tied the knot at The Oxwich Bay Hotel surrounded by the friends and family they love. PETER SLEE has been to meet them...

How did you meet; what attracted you to one another? Stuart and I met while working for the same care company seven years ago. We were introduced by a work colleague and had our first date in Swansea. We instantly clicked over our love of music and the rest is history. Who proposed? How, when, where? Was the timing/date significant in any way? Was it a surprise? Stuart proposed to me in the Cwtch restaurant in St David’s in Pembrokeshire on my birthday two years ago. It was a complete surprise and he had planned it all in advance with the

53 53 swansealife.co.uk SWANSEA LIFE

restaurant staff. The chef had written on my dessert plate in chocolate sauce “Will you marry me?”. Stuart got down on one knee and the whole restaurant started clapping and cheering. It was perfect and a day I will never forget. Of course I said yes! What attracted you to the venue/s you chose for the day? We have always loved Gower and feel so lucky to have it on our doorstep. We love walking our cockapoo Martha at Oxwich Bay and love the setting. So it felt right to have our wedding at the Oxwich Bay Hotel. The view from the hotel and marquee is beautiful, it really is the perfect venue.

How did you make your wedding personal to you? And did you have any DIY touches? ■ Favours – The favours were homemade

heart shaped shortbread by my best friend Mandy Leonard. ■ Centrepieces/flowers – The Wedding

Business did the marquee decorations. The bunting was handmade by my mum Alison Walters. Bridal and bridesmaid bouquets were made by Rosebowl Florist, in Hendy. ■ Cake – Marks and Spencer’s and decorated

by my mum again!

BRIDE

What did you wear; why did you choose that particular style? How did you accessorise it?

How did you entertain your guests? Did you have any performers, such as live band?

I had always loved Kate Middleton and Pippa Middleton’s styles so when I went to White Orchid Bridal Fforestfach and told them exactly what I was looking for, Sharon knew the perfect dress for me. It was an Ellis London dress and I fell in love with it instantly. It was the first dress I tried on.

We were looking for something a little bit different from your usual wedding singer. Then we found Matt Cook, an amazing singer/ songwriter from Llansamlet and he really did get the party started.

What outfit did the groom wear? Did he stand out from the rest of the groomsmen? All suits were hired from Dyfed Menswear in Crosshands. We chose tweed suits, with Stuart wearing a dark brown waistcoat which made him stand out from the groomsmen. What did the groomsmen wear? They were in tweed suits from Dyfed Menswear. What did the bridesmaids wear? Romantica of Devon bridesmaid dresses from Perfection Bridal in Cardiff. A green lace top to match the bride’s dress.

54 SWANSEA LIFE

Matt sang our first dance Bryan Adams’ Heaven. It has always been a favourite of ours and brings back memories of when we first met. How did you both feel on the day? We both loved every minute of the day and couldn’t wait to marry each other. We were so happy that all our family and friends could be there and share our special day with us. Walking down the aisle with my dad and seeing Stuart at the end will always be the highlight of our day. Our son Ollie was our ring bearer and he brought the rings to us which was very special.

What parts stood out for you the most?

Who/what made your day extra special?

Having our portrait photos done on the beach with Michelle Huggleston was a highlight for us. Michelle is an old school friend that I hadn’t seen in a few years and I had always said that if I ever got married I would want her to shoot my wedding. She is so passionate about what she does and it shows in her photos. Having that time away from our guests to take in that we actually just got married was very special.

Our best man, James, was an absolute star and a huge support to both of us in the run up to the day. We would like to say a huge thank you to my mum for all her hard work in making all the special touches in the ceremony room and working so hard to make it special. Big thanks also to our wedding planner Emmatoo for all her hard work and ensuring the day ran smoothly. She was amazing from start to finish.

Another stand out moment was seeing my father’s face when he entered the room and first saw me in my wedding dress, it was priceless and an emotional moment for us both. In the run up to the day Swansea had experienced some snow and we were both worried that it would prevent family and friends from getting to the venue with some family coming from as far as Scotland. However when I woke up in the morning in one of Oxwich Bay’s cottages, I was amazed to see the sun shining and we were lucky it stayed with us all day.

And your honeymoon? We are due to fly on honeymoon to Greece in a few weeks time. Your top wedding planning/on the day tip: Most importantly breathe and enjoy the planning process. Remember that your wedding day is about marrying the love of your life. If at the end of the day you are married and surrounded by the people you love that’s all that matters. Really look around at everyone in the room and think about how much they mean to you, that feeling will always stay with you.

Photographer: Michelle Huggleston Photography www.michellehuggleston.com SWANSEA LIFE 55

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Norton House Hotel a unique Wedding venue situated on the doorstep to Mumbles and a stones throw from the beach. A Venue that offers intimacy and elegance that most Bride and Grooms long for. What better way to celebrate with your loved ones than in a romantic Mansion steeped in history with a modern twist. Luxurious accommodation, attentive staff and a dedicated Wedding Co-ordinator. Let your Dreams become reality at Norton House Hotel. Call 01792 404891 to book your Venue Tour Today.

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Telephone: 01792 404891 functions@nortonhousehotel.co.uk www.nortonhousehotel.co.uk Norton House Hotel, Norton Road, Mumbles, Swansea, SA3 5Tq

With love Adele X Bridal

Bridal Collection Gowns Specialist Bespoke In House Design Service for Gowns, Evening Wear and Bridesmaids Curvaceous, Tall and Petite

10 Carmarthen Street, Llandeilo, Carmarthenshire | 01558 821031 / 07476 966 235 with-love-adele-x.business.site | Evening and Weekend appointments by prior arrangement

With love Adele X Bridal

With Love Adele X was established in 2018, in the memory of Adele. Our carefully curated collection of bridal gowns offers brides the chance to find a dress as unique and beautiful as they are for that most momentous of days!

From designers including Pronovias, Jenny Packham and Tara Keely by Lazaro, we have chosen the collection pieces for our boutique to ensure that every different bride, with every different taste and budget is sure to find their dream dress.

Award Winning Cake Artistry Bespoke Centre Pieces

Photography: Capture to Keep and Photography at Derwydd Mansion Bridal hair and make-up artists: Sara Dymond, Vienna Anderson, Emma Williams

With Love Adele X Ltd will be exhibiting at

Leicester Fashion Week in May 2019 The Role Model Awards in August 2019 with one of their designers, Eric Darling

In the coming weeks, With Love Adele X will also be launching an haute couture range of pieces, designed by our very own team for those who want something a little different for their walk down the aisle! Summer will also see us launch a breath-taking collection of hand-made bridal gowns inspired by the serene Welsh countryside.

In conjunction with With Love Adele X, Serenity Weddings Events is a wedding planning business. Serenity Weddings will co-ordinate all your needs - the overall design, timelines, budgets, guest management and will handle all the details, right through to being with you on your big day to transform your wedding into the day of your dreams!

With love Adele X

Bridal Collection Gowns Specialist Bespoke In House Design Service for Gowns, Evening Wear and Bridesmaids Curvaceous, Tall and Petite

10 Carmarthen Street, Llandeilo, Carmarthenshire | 01558 821031 / 07476 966 235 with-love-adele-x.business.site | Evening and Weekend appointments by prior arrangement

FOOD & DRINK

Norton House What a relief to find a reasonably priced, knockout neighbourhood eaterie, ideal for any occasion. PETER SLEE lapped it all up

In a nutshell

Menu must-orders

Contemporary dishes, comfort food and drinks in opulent surroundings hidden away just off the Mumbles Road making it a great neighbourhood spot.

A parade of dishes marching at a measured pace can make choosing tough! Our starters of a traditional, agreeably dishevelled prawn cocktail and my dining companion’s goats cheese panacotta with textures of cauliflower, hazelnut and sherry underpinned the approach this place has to food with the soft sweetness of various ingredients bursting with flavour on the plate.

The room It is huge and grand with sky-high ceilings but still feels pretty intimate for all that: the restaurant is a combination of contemporary class and olde worlde tradition. Enjoy a cocktail or glass of wine on a comfy sofa in the bar area before sitting down in the main arena with its sprawling vistas over lawned gardens. The atmosphere is friendly with amiable staff, making it perfect for groups and couples out to dine.

What are they cooking?

My main of pan-roasted chicken with a leek, bacon and tarragon sauce was a big winner with the individual components complementing each other well. Across the table, a majestically straightforward dish of wild mushroom risotto with Parmesan and truffle was a simply hewn plate of goodness.

Thankfully, not a menu strewn with too much frippery or cool, puzzling things. Neither is it too long – always a good marker, I think – so think sophisticated but unfussy.

The quality of the ingredients is key here matched alongside a kitchen team who clearly know what they are doing. It all came with a concise but interesting wine list to match.

Starters with brilliant flavour pairings include the likes of Gower mussels with tomato, sweet pepper, chorizo and parsley, homemade haddock and spring onion fishcakes with a watercress mayonnaise as well as warm goats cheese with a walnut and roasted beetroot salad. For mains there’s everything from slow roasted beef shin on creamy mash, beer battered catch of the day or sirloin steak with confit tomatoes.

What else? Staff here have a lot to remember but they know their stuff, enabling them to make personal recommendations. Make use of their expertise. Service is friendly and organised in the sense of bringing the right dish to the right person without interrogation. Its two-course 12 noon-2.30pm early bird menu at just £14 is a bargain – well worth

taking advantage. If you can manage it and fancy the idea of homemade brioche bread and butter pudding or profiteroles dipped in dark and white chocolate with praline pieces then add another £3 and it’s yours! I snapped up a walk-in, midweek lunch spot and stayed at least two hours, dining with a pal and nicely demolishing all that came before us.

The verdict? Sometimes, food does not need a 40-storey panoramic view or a champagne butler to help sell it. Sometimes, it is simple excellence and high quality food with a side-serving of a cosy and familiar vibe that works. And it is what Norton House delivers in spades. It has magnificently filled a gap in the market for years and done it so well that it pulls in punters from a wide area eager to discover its delights. I am not in the least bit surprised. This gorgeously original restaurant knows what it is doing and does it lip-smackingly well. No big fuss, no massive formality despite its luxe styling; just an array of flavours, techniques, seasonings and saucing that combine into a winning combo. It’s a venue without gimmicks where you can pick up a really lovely lunch or dinner and you don’t weep when the bill appears. More please!

Norton House Hotel | Norton Road, Mumbles, Swansea, SA3 5TQ | 01792 404891 | www.nortonhousehotel.co.uk 62 SWANSEA LIFE

Photography by Adrian White • www.adrianwhitephotography.co.uk

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SWANSEA LIFE 63

FOOD & DRINK

A TOAST TO SPRING: BRIGHT WHITES FOR FAIR-WEATHER DRINKING

Inspired by the great outdoors and approaching warmer months, it’s time to dust down the wine rack and take stock, says Sam Wylie-Harris.

1. Freeman’s Bay Pinot Gris 2018, New Zealand (£5.99, Aldi, Gorseinon) A deliciously fruity pinot gris (aka pinot grigio), there’s nothing neutral about this lively, juicy off-dry style that offers a lovely mixed bouquet of honeysuckle and mango, followed by ripe flavours of melon and pear, which glide easily along with some pretty spice on the fresh, honeyed finish.

Home cooking with Sian Day

A deliciously simple recipe for April..

Chocolate cheesecake heaven!

2. Yaii Wild Swan Sauvignon Blanc 2018, Central Valley, Chile (£7.50, Co-, Mumbles ) Exploring Chile’s sauvignon blanc has never been so exciting - and this isn’t your standard savvy blanc, with its up-front passion fruit and floralmusky aromas, leading to more exotic tropical fruits with a plush yet vibrant palate with lovely citrusy, limey notes giving the wine real lift on the finish. The winemaker invites us to ‘share in nature’s simple pleasures’ - one to enjoy with a blast of fresh air on a sunny terrace.

3. Flor de San Martin Garnacha Blanca 2018, Spain (£8.99, Laithwaite’s) A wine with many attributes (the flowering label captures the beauty of its floral aromas), this silky garnacha blanca has forward aromas of white flowers, lemons and herbs, complemented by ripe apples and peach with attractive floral undertones, and a wonderfully fresh, saline finish, with tangy lemon for some extra zip.

4. Tesco Finest Alsace Gewurztraminer 2017, France (£9, Tesco, Parc Fforestfach) With soaring aromas of lychee, roses and violets, this gewurtz (meaning spice) displays all the sweet, floral aromatics and ginger spice the grape is famous for. Off dry with a gentle touch of sweetness, it’s reasonably weighty with a silky, satiny texture. And with lychee and passion fruit opening up on the palate, you could say it’s a wine in full bloom.

5. Caixas Albarino 2017, Rias Baixas, Spain (£9.99, or £7.99 Mix Six, Majestic) A seafood loving white that perfectly captures albarino’s fruity, floral freshness and citrusy character, it’s easy and approachable with subtle hints of wet stone fruits and nectar, plus bursts of peaches and apricots and crisp acidity adding to its brightness. As with all these wines, enjoy with your favourite shellfish or seafood tapas.

Chocoholics you will love this recipe! It’s so simple to make, just a few ingredients, a little mixing and layering and hey presto, you have a lovely, gooey, chocolatey desser. There’s no baking required , just an hour or more in the fridge and your all set to serve! Although we consider cheesecake to be something of an American creation it actually originated in Greece, where they would pound cheese into a thick paste and sweeten it with honey then set it into a crust. The Americans took the cheesecake to another level by their invention of cream cheese and the New York cheesecake was born. Adorned with all sorts of toppings from oreos to strawberries, pecans to limes, you can get almost any flavour these days, whilst chocolate remains in the top three flavours along with strawberry and lemon. Mine has an Italian influence by using mascarpone in the mixture which gives an even more luxurious, creamy and slightly tart taste. YOU WILL NEED A 23cm springform cake pan. ingredients (serves 2) For the base: ■ 300g digestive biscuits blitzed in a food processor ■ 130g melted butter FOR THE MIXTURE ■ 300g good quality dark chocolate or half milk half dark ■ 50g icing sugar ■ 250g mascarpone ■ 300g cream cheese ■ 300ml double cream ■ 1tsp vanilla extract method I know what your thinking, there is an awful lot of hefty ingredients in

there but this is a treat and will give you at least 12 generous portions. Combine the crushed biscuits and melted butter and push into the base of your cake pan. Best to use non stick or give it a rub with a little butter first. Chill in the fridge whilst you make the chocolate mixture. Melt the chocolate and allow to cool a little, whip up the double cream and in a separate bowl combine together the mascarpone, cream cheese, icing sugar and vanilla then add in the chocolate and then combine with the cream. Make sure it is thoroughly combined then smooth over the biscuit base. Refrigerate for at least an hour before serving.

e! Bon appetit

FOLLOW SIAN’S DELICIOUS RECIPES on her blog page siandaydream.wordpress.com or Tweet her @SianDay SWANSEA LIFE 64

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FOOD & DRINK

Time to spice up your life! In her new book, My Bangladesh Cookbook, the chef and food writer Saira Hamilton shares recipes from her childhood. Ella Walker finds out more. When Saira Hamilton talks about Bangladesh, it makes no sense that it's not more of a travel destination, because if you're seeking beauty, culture and good food, apparently it's a-buzz with all three. "A lot of people go to [neighbouring] India," says Hamilton, "but Bangladesh looks different, it feels different. Visually, it's much more like Thailand, it's very lush and green and jungly." And while mega-city capital Dhaka is a rush of colour, throbbing with people and the crush of traffic ("I go mad for shopping when I get there, lots of saris and lovely textiles"), if you venture out into the countryside, the city hum subsides, and it's like "nothing's changed, ever since I was a kid", says Hamilton. Although she grew up in Britain, Hamilton and her family spent their summer holidays in her father's home village, Dampara, where the landscape floods every year, leaving behind fertile land for paddy fields. "It's incredibly peaceful. You have these wonderful vistas of water and palm trees and very low-rise buildings, it's very beautiful," she says. "I feel really privileged that I got to spend so much time there." Her memories, and the gratitude threaded through them, mingle with Hamilton's love of cooking. Hence why she has steadily been bringing Bangladeshi food to a wider audience since becoming a MasterChef finalist in 2013, when she impressed judges John Torode and Gregg Wallace with recipes and spicing from her heritage. "I grew up around really good food â&#x20AC;&#x201C; my mum was a great cook, my dad was a great eater," says Hamilton, and her new cookbook, My Bangladesh Kitchen, reflects a desire to write "a comprehensive collection of what Bangladeshi food is". "I wanted to show people what was different about it," she says. "Indian cuisine sometimes gets all lumped together, but the subcontinent is as big as the whole of Europe. It's like trying to talk about Norwegian cuisine as the same as Greek." Although, funnily enough, she notes, particularly in the south and southeast of Britain, the majority of Indian restaurants are run by people from the Bangladeshi community â&#x20AC;&#x201C; spotting shatkora (a cross between a lemon and grapefruit) 66 SWANSEA LIFE

on the menu is a good indication. For those entirely new to Bangladeshi cuisine, seafood is a staple – Bangladesh has a huge coastline – particularly prawns, as well as lentils, rice and lots of vegetables. Hamilton calls it a “light and bright palette of flavours”, where things are cooked speedily to keep their crunchiness and colour. “It’s not really rich and heavy and covered in sauce.” Store cupboard essentials include the likes of panch phoran, or Bengali five spice, a “fragrant and aromatic” blend of whole fennel, cumin, mustard, nigella and fenugreek seeds. Then there’s heat: “You’re probably going to get through a lot of chillies,” says Hamilton with a laugh, recommending you stock up on little green hot ones. In Bangladeshi cooking though, instead of being chopped, they tend to be chucked into curries whole. “It keeps it much fresher, it infuses the flavour as well as the heat,” she explains. “[You get a] gentle flavour, rather than really, really hot chilli – unless you mistakenly eat one.” There’s a way of cooking, but there’s also a way of eating, that is central to Bangladesh’s “culture of hospitality”. Hamilton recalls there being a “lot of parties” while she was growing up. The house would be full of ‘aunties’ and ‘uncles’ and music. “Bangladeshi people are very proud of their culture, arts and literature,” says Hamilton – and there would always be food, swathes of it, with every guest bringing a little something to add to the table. “[You have] lots of different things on your plate at the same time, you don’t have masses of anything,” she says of Bangladeshi buffet etiquette. “You’d have a bit of fried fish, a bit of the curry, always some kind of chutney, salad, and always little slices of lime or shallots on the side, to zhuzh things up.” Aside from writing a food column in her local paper and running food demos and catering (smallaubergine.com), Hamilton is also a senior strategy advisor for Defra, and still, of course, watches MasterChef (“Thank goodness for iPlayer!”). “I love it. I particularly like the amateur one because the opportunities that it gives you are just amazing. I would never have dreamed of doing the things I did. Working in professional kitchens, having input and classes from some of the best chefs in the country, and the world in fact, was just wonderful,” she recalls. “I didn’t realise I could smile that much.” *My Bangladesh Kitchen: Recipes And food memories From A Family Table by Saira Hamilton, photography by Ian Garlick, is published by Lorenz Books, priced £20. Available now.

Tehari:

Hearty, fragrant and filling. Ingredients: (Serves 4-6) • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

750g lean braising or rump steak, cut into 1cm cubes 325g Basmati rice 2tbsp vegetable oil 2tbsp ghee 3 onions, 2 finely sliced and 1 cut into 1cm dice 4 x 5cm pieces of cassia bark, or 1 cinnamon stick 4 green cardamom pods 4 cloves 6 hot fresh green chillies, cut in half lengthwise 2 bay leaves 2tsp chilli powder 2tsp ground cumin 1tsp ground coriander 1tsp garam masala 1tsp paprika 1tsp salt 1tbsp garlic paste 1tbsp ginger paste 250ml + 500ml water

Method: 1. The beef should be prepared by removing most fat and any gristle until you have only lean meat remaining. Then cut this into small 1cm cubes. 2. Place the rice in a large bowl and wash it by swirling the rice around thoroughly in plenty of water, before carefully pouring away the cloudy water. Repeat this process three times. Then cover the rice with more fresh water and let it soak for 20 minutes. 3. Meanwhile, take a large saucepan or casserole dish and place over a mediumhigh heat. Add in one tablespoon of the oil and one tablespoon of the ghee and then add in the sliced onions. Keeping the heat quite high, but stirring frequently, fry the onions until they are a dark golden-brown colour and quite crispy (this is called beresta). This should take around 15 minutes. Once they are done, remove with a slotted spoon and set aside until later. 4. Without washing or wiping the pan, add in the remaining oil and ghee and then add the third, diced onion. Cook the onion for seven to eight

minutes until golden-brown in colour and fully softened. Then add the cassia, cardamoms, cloves, green chillies and bay leaves. Stir the spices around for 30 seconds or so. 5. Add in all the ground spices and salt, the garlic and ginger pastes, and the 250ml of water, and stir everything together well to combine. Keep the heat up high and keep stirring for another three to four minutes until the spice mix comes together and thickens into a paste with a sheen of oil on the top of the pan. 6. The next stage is to add the cubed beef and stir it well in the spice paste. Once the pan is bubbling again, reduce the heat to a low simmer and then cover the pan. Cook the beef for 10 minutes with the lid on. After this time, remove the lid and increase the heat a little to boil off some of the excess liquid from the pan. Cook for another five minutes. 7. Drain the soaked rice in a sieve or strainer and then add the grains into the pan. Stir together well then add in more water, about 500ml. Stir again and keep the heat quite high until the water starts to bubble. Then reduce the heat to a simmer, cover the pan and allow the pan to cook away for another 25 minutes. After this time the rice and beef should be perfectly cooked. Turn off the heat. 8. Finally, stir through the crispy onions you prepared earlier, re-cover the pan and allow to sit and steam for another 10 minutes to ensure the rice is perfectly fluffy. Serve. SWANSEA LIFE 67

NOMINATED IN THE BRITISH KEBAB AWARDS 2019

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FOOD & DRINK

Some like it hot ! They are traditionally eaten on Good Friday, but we think hot cross buns are a treat to savour right now. Slather with butter and enjoy...

Hot Cross Buns (No palm oil) £1 for six, Iceland, Swansea

Continuing its no palm oil policy for its own branded goods, these are traditional hot cross buns which are also suitable for vegans. Moist and sticky and great value too.

Deluxe Apple and Cinnamon Hot Cross Buns 99p for a 4-pack, Lidl, Parc Tawe

Apple and cinnamon is a winning combination and these buns don’t disappoint.

Specially Selected Brioche Hot Cross Buns 99p, Aldi, Gorseinon

Nine Mini Chocolate Hot Cross Buns £1.50, M&S, Swansea

Loaded with delicious chocolate chips in an enriched buns for the ultimate sweet treat this Easter.

Irresistible Sourdough Richly Fruited Hot Cross Buns

An Aldi classic that is back by popular demand. It offers enhanced butter and vanilla flavours to make that brioche taste even better. Also watch out for newcomers like the Specially Selected rhubarb and custard hot cross buns at £1.09 for a pack of four.

Taste The Difference Fruity Hot Cross Buns £1.25 for 4, Sainsbury’s, Swansea

These ultra-fruity buns include Chilean jumbo raisins, fresh citrus and a secret blend of aromatic spice oils. Produced and hand finished by bakers with 170 years’ experience.

£ 1.25 for a 4-pack, Co-op

Co-op has secured Good Housekeeping’s taste test approval for its Irresistible Sourdough Richly Fruited Hot Cross Buns. Loaded with orange soaked sultanas, Chilean flame raisins and plump currants flavoured with orange blossom honey, the buns are bursting with spice and zest, and are a tasty twist on the timeless classic. We loved them.

Finest Raspberry and Belgian White Chocolate Hot Cross Buns £ 1.50 for a 4-pack, any 2 packs for £2 until March 18, Tesco, Llansamlet

Containing chunks of Belgian white chooclate, raspberries and sweetened dried cranberries, these are an absolute treat.

69 SWANSEA LIFE

Heston Simnel Inspired Hot Cross Buns £1.89 for 2, Waitrose

Two classic Easter treats swirled into one Simnel inspired hot cross bun, scented with orange and packed with vine fruits, marzipan pieces and nibbed almonds. Pricey but worth it.

FOOD & DRINK

Chef Marcus Wareing On loving fridge-cold chocolate and hating overcooked veg

Ella Walker discovers MasterChef: The Professionals judge Marcus Wareing’s culinary likes and dislikes Between his four London restaurants and bars, as well as judging on MasterChef: The Professionals, Marcus Wareing is one busy man. His last cookbook, New Classics, took on traditional dishes and gave them a twist, but the chef is still a fan of a traditional roast, even if three meals a day isn’t quite a part of his routine... ■ YOUR DEATH ROW MEAL WOULD BE: A roast dinner - roast lamb, roast potatoes, gravy. ■ THE THING YOU STILL CAN’T MAKE IS: I’ve never cooked tripe - and I don’t want to. ■ YOUR FAVOURITE STORE-CUPBOARD ESSENTIAL HAS TO BE: Maldon salt. ■ THE KITCHEN UTENSIL YOU COULDN’T LIVE WITHOUT: A sharp knife. ■ IF YOU GET HUNGRY LATE AT NIGHT THE SNACK YOU’LL REACH FOR IS: A cold bar of chocolate, probably Galaxy. ■ YOUR SIGNATURE DISH HAS TO BE: I don’t have one, but I have to say, the one that’s lasted longer than anything else is the egg custard tart that I cooked for the Queen. She loved it. It was for her 80th birthday (and it’s back on Wareing’s lunch menu at The Berkeley, London). ■ YOU LIKE YOUR EGGS: Fried and runny. ■ YOUR FAVOURITE CHILDHOOD DINNER WAS: Roast chicken. ■ LAST NIGHT YOU ATE: I didn’t - I have quite weird eating habits. I sometimes have days where I don’t actually have a meal. I go in kitchens, I pick things up, I taste things, I have lots of coffee, I have a protein drink. I think it has a lot to do with the way I worked when I was growing up through the industry, I never had time for breakfast, I never had lunch, I never had dinner - what I did do was I tasted food all the way through my working day, so I’ve never been accustomed to sitting down. I never come to work Monday to Friday thinking, ‘OK, when am I going to have a meal?’ Or, ‘Am I gonna have a lunch break?’ That never really registers in my head. At the weekend, that’s a different story. I’ll eat breakfast and probably dinner - I don’t really have three meals a day, unless I’m on holiday. ■ YOU CAN’T STOMACH: Badly cooked food, especially overcooked vegetables.

*New Classics: Inspiring And Delicious Recipes To Transform Your Home Cooking by Marcus Wareing, photography by Jonathan Gregson, is published by HarperCollins, priced £20. Available now.

70 SWANSEA LIFE

Advertising Feature

Best places to Eat

Restaurant Guide Two great places to eat and drink

SWANSEA

The Smiths Arms 51-52 Neath Road, Hafod, SA1 2HR • Tel: 01792 466776

Family friendly pub serving food daily.

Curry & Pint night every Thursday 5-8pm.

Serving for food MondayWednesday 12-3pm & 5-8pm, Thursday & Friday 12-8pm, Saturday 11.306pm.

Free newly refurbished function room for parties. Car park at rear of building.

Sunday carvery 12-4pm. Choice of 3 meats £6.45.

Book now for Christmas. Prices: 1 course £9.95, 2 courses 12.95, 3 courses £15.95.

SWANSEA

Justin’s Catering The Mill Tea Rooms, Gower Heritage Centre, Parkmill, Swansea SA3 2EH • Tel: 01792 371206 • www.gowerheritagecentre.co.uk

New to the Tea Rooms Sunday Lunch.

Children (5-12 years) 2 course £8.95 or 3 course £9.95.

Adults 2 course £12.95 or 3 course £14.95.

Under 5 eat FREE! Take Away simply bring your own plate along and leave the rest to us.

Waterstone Homes returns to Swansea with stunning new houses

ADVERTISING FEATURE

OLLOWING the success of Waterstone Homes’ first residential development in Swansea, we spoke with Clare Brown, the company’s Field Sales Manager, about the housebuilder’s brand-new luxury development coming to the beautiful suburb of Killay.

WHY HAVE YOU DECIDED TO BUILD YOUR NEXT DEVELOPMENT IN SWANSEA? Our new development comes off the back of our previous Swansea scheme, Howells’ Reach, in 2016. This original development proved to be one of our most popular schemes to date, selling out within just six months, which is testament to the strength of the property market in Swansea. Since then, we have always wanted to make a return to the area. Swansea is a prime sought-after location with everything you could possibly want and need. From fantastic shopping and dining, stunning countryside, great transport links and good schools, universities and employment opportunities, it’s got it all, which is why we chose to build here once again. WHAT CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT THE DEVELOPMENT? ‘Copper Beeches’

is made up of nine 4-bedroom private residential family homes, incorporating a mix of semi-detached and detached properties. There are five house types in total, all of which have spacious, modern open-plan living and private drives and garages. With just nine properties on site, the homes are large with ample outdoor space. They are not piled on top of each other – there’s room to breathe. The development is set in the sought-after suburb, Killay, on the cusp of the Gower and Swansea city itself. Thanks to its location on the city’s outskirts, with its tree-lined streets and surrounding woodland, Copper Beeches has a relaxed, village feel with easily accessible local amenities including numerous bars and restaurants. And with the M4 as well as the train station being only 15 minutes away, it also provides easy access to West Wales and London,

offering buyers the best of both worlds. We’ve also worked to make the development more affordable, with lower starting prices than our first city development. WHAT WAS THE INSPIRATION BEHIND THE HOMES? We have taken care to ensure that the new homes fit in with and complement the local neighbourhood. Part of our strategy is to adopt design elements of other houses in the area into our own properties. With a mix of Victorian, pre-70s and self-build homes, there was a lot to consider and a specific period was difficult to define, so we chose to go for simplified style that would stand the test of time. Our aim is always to build homes with quality and longevity in mind, which is why we opt for timeless designs and high-end materials that will fit in their setting not just today, but in the future. HOW DO THE HOMES COMPARE TO OTHER NEW BUILD PROPERTIES IN THE AREA? There is a high level of quality and prestige associated with the Waterstone brand and

we pride ourselves on providing highspecification homes with superior finishes. The homes at Killay are designed for modern day living, offering open plan and cutting-edge kitchens compared to many new build competitors. They have also been designed with family life and functionality firmly in mind. Our homes also hold their value on the property market very well. House prices at our first Swansea scheme at Howells’ Reach have already risen by 5% so buying one of our new properties at Killay could be a real investment. WHAT’S SPECIAL ABOUT THE WATERSTONE HOMES CLIENT SERVICE? We offer a very personalised service and are committed to helping buyers make their home perfect, with several customisable options available for every home. We also offer partexchange.

WHAT’S HAPPENING ON SITE NOW? Building work has now commenced on site and drainage systems are currently being installed, following the demolition of the original building. The homes are due to be completed and available late autumn and prices will range from £389,995 to £669,995. As the development is so exclusive, we will not have a sales office on site. We have just started offering private appointments and two of the homes have already been reserved off plan. Brochures are available on request and can be downloaded from the website. We are also working on a virtual reality experience for the development, which will enable customers to take a virtual walkthrough of the properties. With two properties reserved, we only have seven homes available.

www.waterstonehomes.com

ANOTHER OUTSTANDING DEVELOPMENT FROM ALEXANDER’S HOMES

WEST CROSS AVENUE, WEST CROSS, MUMBLES £795,000 An Exclusive development of three luxury family homes with generous plots is nestled in Mumbles with sea views to the rear of the properties and only a short walk from the sea front Four double bedrooms (two ensuite) Luxurious and high specification bespoke kitchens and bathrooms Contemporary living in superb location in Mumbles Private gated driveway

ONLY

1 PLOT REMAINING

For more info: 01792 360060 www.johnfrancis.co.uk

HOUSE & HOME

SHINE A LIGHT Geometric wire light, £20; George Home, Swansea

COMFY

Spot cushion in spot grey, £25; Marks and Spencer, Parc Trostre and Swansea

MIRROR MIRROR Metallic gold butterflies mirror, £79; JD Williams Home

Get the look

Simple pieces in beautiful finishes create a relaxed look that won’t date... FOXY

Scion Mr Fox paste the wall wallpaper, £39; John Lewis, Cardiff

P E R F E C T LY POSITIONE

Table tray, £32; Sainsbury’s Home, Swansea

peter.slee@reachplc.com

H OT S E AT

Sweep armchair in saga blue, £175; John Lewis, Cardiff

LO V E LY LO O K E R French Bulldog collage wall art, £89.99; Hanaley Interiors, Mumbles

GARDEN CHARM Small garden lantern, £6; Wilko, Morriston

SWANSEA LIFE 75

HOUSE & HOME

A Little Slice Of Luxury If it’s five-star luxury you’re after, coupled with breathtaking, panoramic views, this four-bedroomed home nestling on the estuary at Machynys could be just for you. PETER SLEE has a look...

hen it comes to a room with a view, it surely doesn’t get a whole lot better than this! Perfectly positioned on the edge of Machynys Golf Course, this New Engand-style home boasts incredible panoramic views out across a lake, golf course and estuary.

Located in the award winning Pentre Nicklaus village, with its palm tree lined streets and authentic timber-clad houses, its vast, open-plan living accommodation on the first floor really does make the most of its positioning with both its location and design very much focusing on those views offered from most aspects of this beautiful family home. Couple that with its modern contemporary feel and its neutral colours, and you have a sense of calm and relaxation pervading the whole house.

76 SWANSEA LIFE

As residents of the village, membership to the golf club is open for the house owners to apply for, or if the 19th hole is more appealing, Monks Bar & Brasserie designed by Jack Nicklaus, houses a superb club house, restaurant and spa with state of the art facilities. “Every day living here truly offers the five-star holiday experience,” says Beth Evans from selling agents Fine & Country. “The location and surrounding area, perfectly caters to everyone and is popular with locals, families and tourists alike. Situated to enjoy everything from the charming coastline, with the Millennium Coastal Path meandering along the water’s edge offering blissful, traffic-free cycle paths and walkways, with Pembrey Country Park and sandy beaches nearby. Not far away is Burry Port harbour with its array of yachts, boating facilities and local shops. “This outstanding property with its amazing location, really is perfect to enjoy the outdoor lifestyle.”

Entrance Hall You enter into a very generous hallway with engineered oak flooring, double height window, overlooking the outstanding views that this property boasts. Up to the first floor, where the living area of this home is situated, making the most of those breath-taking vistas. First Floor Living Accommodation Accessed via a feature open tread oak staircase with double height window, overlooking the incredible views of the lake and golf course. This space really takes your breath away, with its vaulted ceilings and is a serene, vast, open plan living area, with oak flooring and feature fireplace. It really is quite special. This room has access out to the very large balcony which runs the width of the house, perfect for entertaining family and friends or for simply enjoying your morning coffee. Kitchen Situated within the open plan living space, the kitchen is wonderful. Entering, you are instantly hit by the incredible views, framed perfectly by the floor to ceiling bay window and a perfect space for a breakfast table, where you can admire the scenery. From here you also have access out onto the balcony, where you can enjoy alfresco dining. Housing gorgeous granite worktops, quality ‘Smeg’ integrated appliances including a oven/grill, microwave, five-ring gas hob with extractor and dishwasher. There is also an integrated fridge/freezer, a Belfast sink, slate floor and excellent storage solution systems installed in some of the cupboards. Bedroom Four Housed on the first floor, you also have a lovely double bedroom, with engineered oak flooring. Dressing Area and Shower Room Situated next to bedroom four, there is a dressing area with oak flooring, housing built in wardrobes with shelf and rail and shower room with WC, wash basin, shower cubicle and ceramic floor. This space, along with bedroom four, lends itself brilliantly to use as a guest suite. Study A great size study with oak floor or alternatively, this room could be used as a single bedroom or playroom.

and serenity. This room houses an abundance of fitted wardrobes, with a large dressing area and en-suite bathroom. The en-suite is home to his and hers wash basin, WC, bath and separate shower cubicle. Bedroom Two Again, this room is at the rear of the home and is full of light, due to the large, floor to ceiling bay windows, allowing you to enjoy the outstanding panoramic view and blissful sounds from outside. Housing built in wardrobes and an en-suite, with WC, wash basin and shower cubicle. Bedroom Three A lovely double room that sits at the front of the house. Family Bathroom This family bathroom, with beautiful half cladded walls, is home to a bath with shower over, WC, wash basin and spotlights to the ceiling. WC A very handy downstairs space. Again, with lovely half cladded walls, WC and wash basin. Utility Room and Garage A great space, with low level units, a Belfast sink and a tall unit, providing plentiful storage. There is also ample room under the gorgeous granite worksurfaces, with tiled splashback, for a washing machine and tumble dryer. This room allows access into the large double, integral garage with powered remote control door, where the boiler is housed and has access out to the side of the house. Storage Room Sat just off the hallway, you have a good sized storage cupboard, to house everything you need for coastal living. Step Outside A very tranquil garden with incredible position and those amazing panoramic views. It also has a very large patio area, running the full width of this beautiful family home, providing a great space for entertaining, with more than enough room for garden furniture. From the garden, you have steps up onto the balcony, where the views are simply stunning. You also have a lovely sized laid to lawn garden, with access gate to the pathway surrounding the golf course and connecting to the millennium pathway and beach.

Ground Floor Master Suite Those amazing views catch your eye as you walk into this simply stunning bedroom with its beautiful stillness

Details: £575,000 Agents: Fine & Country Tel: 01792 367301

SWANSEA LIFE 77

COASTAL LIVING ON YOUR DOORSTEP AT THE LINKS The Links at Rest Bay, Porthcawl comprises bespoke studios, 1, 2 and 3 bedroom apartments. The first phase of thirty-five homes are situated within the Victorian Grade-II listed building, surrounded by landscaped gardens. Phase two will offer a collection of carefully-designed new build properties in the adjacent grounds. The new homes overlook South Wales’ top surfing beach, offer magnificent panoramic sea views and are positioned next to the award-winning Royal Porthcawl Golf Club.

Prices from £200,000 - £750,000 MARKETING SUITE OPEN DAILY 10AM - 5PM REST BAY, PORTHCAWL CF36 3UP For further information contact: 01656771600 porthcawl@peteralan.co.uk Computer generated image shown for illustrative purposes only. Prices correct at time of print.

www.pablack.co.uk

01600 717 040

black

www.pablack.co.uk

Prestige homes from Peter Alan Ltd

Castle View, Swansea

Danygraig Avenue, Porthcawl

• High Specification converted Coach House • Modern and contemporary open plan living • Kitchen breakfast area opening to courtyard garden • 4 double bedrooms • En Suite to Master • Within Grade 2 listed Clyne Castle gardens • Two parking spaces - EPC - C

• 4 bedroom detached residence • Danygraig area (sought after location) • Convenient access to major commuting links • Close proximity to local schools (both public and private) • Generous plot, well maintained gardens • Driveway parking and tandem double garage EPC - D

Swansea 01792 641481 £650,000 Bethany Lane, West Cross,

Porthcawl 01656 771600 Eaton Crescent,

£550,000

£350,000

For sale with pa black Swansea 01792 641481

West Road, Porthcawl

Higher Lane, Langland, Swansea

Western Lane, Mumbles, Swansea

• 5 Bedroom deatched • En Suite and dressing room • Conservatory St Annes, Mumbles, • Gated drive leading to detached double garage • M4 access at junction 37 • Close proximity to local schools • EPC - D

• 3 bedroom detached • En suite to master • Spacious Dylans View,reception Uplands,rooms • Low maintenance gardens • Sough after location • Coastal walks and beaches • EPC - D

• Contemporary 2 double bedroom penthouse • Spacious open plan living accommodation •Gower Double glazed oak full height windows Road, Sketty, • Private landscaped gardens with panoramic views over Swansea Bay. • Secure gated entrance • EPC - C

Porthcawl 01656

For sale with pa black Swansea 771600 01792 641481

Cardiff Monmouth Penarth Porthcawl Newport

£550,000 £320,000

Swansea 01792

£400,000

For sale with pa black Swansea 641481 01792 641481

£450,000

Swansea 01792

OIRO £475,000

For sale with pa black Swansea 641481 01792 641481

Delivering exceptional service for exceptional homes

£395,000

©LW

For sale with pa black Swansea 01792 641481

OIRO £535,000

Regionally 18 offices throughout the region Nationally 225 offices across Great Britain Internationally Plus 75 offices globally 5000 professional associates all around the world

MUMBLES HILL HOUSE,, MUMBLES, SWANSEA

Offers Over £1,500,000

A truly amazing & rare opportunity with an outstanding position & incredible views. Set in approx 1.43 acres you have the option to renovate the existing substantial, detached house, or redevelop & build your dream home (subject to planning consents). There is currently a pre planning application with a positive status, for a replacement dwelling, with detached garage & granny annexe. Ref no: 2018/2713/PRE, which is available to view at www.swansea.gov.uk/planningsearch.

PLAS NEWYDD, NEWTON ROAD, MUMBLES

3 SOUTHEND VILLAS, MUMBLES ROAD, MUMBLES

An impressive home perfectly located within short walking distance of Mumbles village & promenade. This large detached 6 bed family home is beautifully presented presenting 4 receptions, kitchen/breakfast room, conservatory, large garden & ample parking with double garage. EPC C

Magnificent views, situated on the waters edge of Mumbles Bay. This Georgian building houses 3 large apartments, No 3 is on the top floor, has private access & parking for 2 cars to the rear. You have 2 receptions, fitted kitchen, seperate utility, 3 beds & 3 bathrooms. EPC Exempt.

Contact: 01792 367301

Asking Price £875,000

Fine & Country Swansea 77 Newton Road, Mumbles, Swansea SA3 4BN Tel: +44 (0)1792 367301 | Email: swansea@fineandcountry.com

Asking Price £495,000

Regionally 18 offices throughout the region Nationally 225 offices across Great Britain

BELLENDAINE, MIDDLETON, RHOSSILI, GOWER

Offers Over £699,950

Set in this picture perfect village of Middleton, with a thriving village hall, a beautiful pub, nearby school and a convenient village shop. This Gower gem with stunning panoramic countryside & sea views is full of character & sat in beautiful grounds of approx 1.8 acres. There is also an attached 2 bed annex which could create additional income as a potential holiday let or simply use as extended family accommodation. The main house offers 2 beds, 2 receptions. The grounds offer ample parking, large garden & large paddock. Absolutely perfect for those, who enjoy the outdoor lifestyle. EPC E

SUMMER HOUSE, THREE CROSSES, SWANSEA

197 GOWER ROAD, SKETTY, SWANSEA

A superb family home set in idyllic countryside & beautiful gardens on the outskirts of Gower. Offering lovely living spaces, 4 beds, garage & a generous peaceful garden. Summer House also has stunning views towards the Devonshire coastline, Bristol Channel & rural scenery. EPC E

This special 7 bedroom, detached property sits on a very generous plot, set back off the road and is accessed via an impressive, private, tree lined driveway. This immense size home presents 7 beds, 5 receptions, large private gardens, ample parking, garage and convenient location. EPC E

Contact: 01792 367301

Offers Over £659,500

Fine & Country Swansea 77 Newton Road, Mumbles, Swansea SA3 4BN Tel: +44 (0)1792 367301 | Email: swansea@fineandcountry.com

Asking Price £850,000

Internationally Plus 75 offices globally 5000 professional associates all around the world

HOUSE & HOME

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Love at first sight From the moment they arrived at Sigma 3 Kitchens Mr and Mrs Grey fell in love with a sleek handleless display from its H Line collection

The Lumina display in Stone Grey mixed with wood effect doors was exactly what they were looking for and knew it would look fantastic in their grand Victorian home. Their beautiful home was being renovated into a large kitchen and living area, and Mr and Mrs Grey knew from the beginning that they wanted a Sigma 3 kitchen having worked with the company in the past. When it came to the décor Tracey Grey knew

exactly what she was looking for, and loved the glamorous clean look: “I kept the colour palette neutral, which feels both elegant and relaxed and this way I can add colour, rather than choosing one that dominates the room.” When reflecting on her new home Mrs Grey was elated with the finished results: “I simply love how open it is. The front of our house is very traditional, with original features, and then you have the glass doors into the

The perfect U – A u-shaped kitchen means everything is in reaching distance – great if you’re a keen cook

The perfect flow – Find colours and finishes that can be used throughout to create a space that flows from kitchen to living area

82 SWANSEA LIFE

modern kitchen. This contrast creates a wow factor. One of my favourite things is how I can cook with loved ones surrounding me. I knew it would be perfect from the second I saw it – who says there’s no such thing as love at first sight?” Start your kitchen journey with Sigma 3 today by visiting Sigma 3 Swansea or book a design appointment via the website sigma3.co.uk

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HOUSE & HOME

Great gifts for a new pad The best housewarming pressies blend fashion and function, and these offerings toe that line with aplomb, writes L uke Rix-Standing

It can be tricky finding the perfect housewarming present, but help is at hand

Selecting the perfect housewarming gift can be a challenge of algebraic complexity. First, you must negotiate cost – and this goes beyond the size of your budget. Plastic cups may seem a practical choice but are not good for the gift-giver’s image, while a full Le Creuset kitchen set looks generous to the point of creepy. Second, it has to fit with the domestic tastes of the new householders. That risqué wallhanging could lose some of its hilarity when the in-laws come calling, and the Picassoinspired tablecloth almost certainly won’t match the curtains. Misfiring here can be particularly awkward, as it comes with unspoken peer pressure for them to actually use your dreadfully mismatched gift, or risk causing offence. 84 SWANSEA LIFE

Finally, it helps if your present bears some relation to the new house, if just to allow the occasion to retain some identity. So, before you lose your nerve and cop out with a Homebase gift card, here are a few ideas to help you choose the best newhome gift...

1 Postcode coasters Exactly the kind of important-butnot-essential item that might pass new householders by, these personalised location UK postcode map drinks coasters by Pushka Home (notonthehighstreet.com £14) come printed with a map of an area of your choosing.

Fun, practical and perfectly themed for the occasion, you can save the recipients from the horrors of coffee rings while introducing them to their new area’s geography.

2 Tile Mate This miniature plastic square won’t revolutionise the living room, but it’s a godsend for that vast proportion of people prone to losing their keys. Fasten the Tile Mate (£20, thetileapp.com) to your key ring, sync it up with an app on your smartphone, and it’ll ‘ping’ loudly every time you ring it. By helping you navigate your own front door, the Tile Mate is as intrinsically linked to home-owning as any gift you’ll find – except perhaps paying off the mortgage...

6 An extremely furry blanket If your friends have just bought a house, they’ve probably spent rather a lot of money doing it. If they’ve just spent rather a lot of money, they probably don’t want to spend any more on their heating bills. A proper, high-quality blanket is an investment for life, a must for those long winter evenings, and potentially a major money-saver.

3 Designer fire extinguishers If you ever needed proof that nothing is safe from the designer makeover, these boutique, artisan fire extinguishers are it. That said, fire safety is non-optional, and these vibrant units will leave no one in any doubt about where to turn in an emergency. Extinguisher specialists Safe-T stock a wide selection of designs, from ocean seascapes and LGBT rainbows, to snazzy animal print designs (from £69, safe-t.eu).

5 A QR code for the Wi-Fi Imagine you’re having 10 friends round to stay for the weekend. As they file in one by one, smartphones in hand, what’s the one question that they’re each guaranteed to ask? Rather than running to the kitchen in search of the post-it that should be, but probably isn’t, stuck on the fridge, a QR code for your Wi-Fi can get any device with a scanner online within seconds. All you need do is enter their network details into an online generator, print out the resulting code, and slap it on their modem.

7 Shower speaker

4 Toolkit We know – it’s hardly the latest ergonomically designed, voice-activated piece of domestic tech – and on first unwrapping, a toolkit might not earn the gratitude you’re due. But this one’s about the slow burn. Don’t look for immediate thanks – wait for the pathetically grateful phone call a fortnight down the line, when your friends need to fix a blown fuse, and can only do so because you bought them a multi-bit screwdriver.

No longer must your friends sing obnoxiously in the shower – with a TaoTronics Bluetooth shower speaker (£15.99, Amazon), someone else can do it for them. This waterproof gadget syncs up to your phone and queues songs of your choosing, perfect for music-lovers and long-showerers alike.

8 Some lovely incense or a diffuser It’s a rare commodity in the gift-giving world – a present with universal appeal. Visual tastes differ wildly, and just turning on the radio shows not everyone shares your taste in sound. But you’d be hard pressed to find a single individual that would turn their nose up at the soothing scents of a diffuser.

There is also no chance they’ll feel pressured into using it if they don’t want to. Unless you conduct an unusually communal showering routine, there’s no way you could ever know SWANSEA LIFE 85

HOUSE & HOME

ways to transform your home in time for summer

Is your home stuck in a rut? Does it need to wake up from its winter slumber? Now is the perfect time to transform your home, so that it is looking its best when the summer months arrive. We asked the experts to reveal their top tips for reviving a home 1. Experiment with flowers to give your home a burst of colour If you can’t remember the last time flowers were in your home, it’s time to treat yourself. Flowers make a real difference to a home as they can brighten a room, freshen the air and complement your existing interiors. Pugh’s Garden Centre says: “Awaken and refresh your home with fresh colour and foliage. Silk flowers bring a burst of colour into your home for the spring season and provide a long-lasting display without the need for maintenance. Pugh’s has a range of luxury individual stems, ready-potted arrangements, wreaths and garlands.” www.pughsgardencentre.co.uk/radyr/ find-us

2. Clean and maintain your wood burning stove As we approach the summer months, it is the perfect time to ensure your wood burning stove is clean and maintained. So, take advantage of the better weather and get the chimney swept and clean the stove. Don’t forget those chilly summer evenings, as you might find yourself putting on the stove through the summer months too. Therefore, it is important it is always ready for action. 88 SWANSEA LIFE

Select Heating & Stoves says: “We have everything you need to maintain your stove, fire and fireplace. Plus, if you would like to purchase a new wood burning stove our inhouse team of installers and tradesmen can complete your job from start to finish without the need to call in anyone else.” www.selectheating.co.uk

3. Bring light into your home with a designer extension One of the best things about the summer months is the greater length of daylight. Consequently, you can make sure your home embraces the sunshine. This might not be the quickest or cheapest home improvement, but a conservatory or orangery is a great way to transform your home for years to come. Securahome says: “Orangeries and conservatories are among the most desirable home improvements, and it’s easy to see why. Along with added space, they bring light into your home. Securahome orangeries and conservatories have a variety of uses from sitting rooms to kitchen extensions to study areas. Options include glass, lantern or solid roofs, bi-folding doors and super-insulated loggia columns.” www.securahome.co.uk

4. Rejuvenate old floors with the latest trends If you are worried your home might have lost its spark, it is always a good idea to start from the ground up. Could some of the rooms in your home benefit from a new floor or carpet? If so, research the latest trends and decide what you think will work best with your interiors. KSC Carpets says: “New flooring in your home can give it a new lease of life. As one of the major flooring suppliers in Swansea, we have thousands of carpets to choose from along with laminates, vinyls and luxury vinyl tiles from suppliers such as Karndean, Comaro and Amtico.” www.ksc-carpets.com

5. Research the latest technology One of the ways to transform a home is to take advantage of the latest technology. If you are looking for something that could give a room the wow factor, a new television with Sky Q could be exactly what you need. If you really want to embrace this, you could also create a home cinema which would provide the perfect place to entertain friends and family.

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8. Embrace patterned and coloured tiles Adding new tiles to your home can be a fun way of transforming a room. Patterned tiles are very trendy at the moment and can be used anywhere, from the kitchen to the bathroom. If you want to make a style statement, experiment with a block colour tile. Think soft pink or mint green to grab everyone’s attention.

One-Vision says: “Our founder Paul Williams has more than 20 years experience in the industry, including 15 years as a supplier of SKY satellite systems. We know everything there is to know about digital aerial Installations, TV wall mounting specialists and Sky Q & Sky+HD installations, so we can show you how a home cinema or smart TV installation can transform your home.”

Glamorgan Tiles says: “Think about tiling that can be extended into your garden from your living space and bring the outdoors in with considered accessories and greenery for relatively little expense. Mirrors and lighting are the magic ingredient to take your interiors from finished to fabulous!”

www.onevisionltd.co.uk

6. Upgrade to energy efficient glass Speaking of technology, you can also transform your home by implementing the latest technology into your windows. For example, if you have a conservatory there is the option to upgrade your roof material to the latest MPN solar self-cleaning conservatory glass roofing. There is also the option to upgrade your existing glass to the latest energy efficient glass, making your conservatory more usable all year around. MPN Windows says: “Now is the time to expand the living space of your home with a new conservatory supplied and installed by MPN. A double-glazed conservatory from Fensa-approved MPN will enhance your home, but more importantly will provide additional space and stylish outlook. Built to last and perfectly complement your home, almost maintenance free – you will be amazed at just how much space you can gain.” www.mpnwindows.com

Pugh’s Garden Centre has plenty of spring tips

www.glamorgantiles.co.uk

7. Use blinds to make rooms appear bigger

9. Invest in a quality barbecue

Have your curtains seen better days? A great way to update your home is to invest in some blinds, as they can make your room appear bigger and are able to make your home feel cosier or cooler, depending on the season. This addition would be fantastic before the summer months, as then you can stay cool if Wales experiences a heatwave.

All of the tips mentioned will help to transform your home, but don’t forget your garden this summer. Also, don’t worry about having green fingers, as you can still embrace your outdoor space. Why not invest in a new barbecue? Gas barbecues are increasingly popular due to their instant ignition, less smoke and complete control over the heat level.

Chic Blinds says: “Blinds are incredibly versatile and can provide attractive window furnishing for any room in the house. They are ideal in rooms with a more practical use such as kitchens, bathrooms or home offices; in addition to offering electrical control, you can now filter daylight and increase privacy more easily.”

Brisco says: “As well as BBQs, we have more than 70 fires and 35 fireplaces on display at our showroom in Gorseinon, Swansea, from contemporary to traditional in all fuel types. Our knowledgeable and experienced staff are on hand to advise you on finding the perfect fire for your home.”

www.chicblinds.co.uk

www.brisco.co.uk SWANSEA LIFE 89

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HOUSE & HOME

L E S L E Y

TAY LO R

Give your Home the Eggs-Factor Lesley taylor on the top trends to get stuck into this easter bank holiday weekend EASTER is here! Which means gorging on chocolate, a fabulously long weekend and the start of DIY season.

That’s right, it’s time to up tools and get your pad set for summer 2019. And this year, more than ever, there are some fabulous trends sweeping the interiors world. So much so that even the most DIY-phobic homeowner will want to introduce these looks. The first big trend heading our way is a fun take on the classic Scandi vibe. While the clean lines and comfort-enhancing accessories that made Hygge such a popular movement a few years ago are here to stay, expect to see a more experimental take on the colour palette used within these schemes.

1. A bold feature wall in a striking shade will give your Scandi-inspired interior a shake-up 2. The wealth of tiles on the market, such as these from The Baked Tile Company, means you can get creative with kitchen splashbacks 3. As the home continues to become more of a social space, bar carts and liquor cabinets are becoming increasingly popular 4. Introduce muted shades to give your Scandi vibe a 2019 update 5. Add some mixed metallic elements for a modern take on your Scandi look

Traditionally, off-whites, greys and griege were the go-to shades but this summer muted shades of pinks, greens and blues are set to revitalise this look. Mix up the colours with bold feature walls, vibrant accessories and colourful furnishings. And don’t forget to throw in some metallic elements for contrast. If you want to inject some glamour into the kitchen – often the hardest working room of the home – a fabulous splashback is the way forward. And for DIY newbies, it’s a task that is not too tricky. The range of tiles on the market is massive – and gone are the days when you had to choose between white or beige squares. Today’s tiles come in all shapes, sizes and textures, giving more choice than ever before when it comes to spicing up your kitchen.

For a super bold move, go for a 3D metallic offering in a glorious gold shade, or try combining black and white for an on-trend monochrome look. And finally, as the move towards making the home more of a social space continues to flourish, bar trolleys and liquor cabinets have enjoyed a huge resurgence. But they can be pretty pricey. So why not have a go at creating your own. Easter’s four-day break is a great time to experiment with upcycling, so why not try transforming an old bureau or cupboard into a beautiful cabinet to stow your favourite tipples. It might be daunting if it’s something you haven’t considered before. But there are plenty of online tutorials to show you how. And with sustainability becoming increasingly important in today’s world, your newly-decorated piece of furniture will most definitely be on trend!

EDIT Home & Design’s Lesley Taylor of Mumbles is the author of 10 interior design books and has appeared on a range of network TV shows, including This Morning, giving inspirational advice on home styling. For more information on her work, head to lesleytaylor.co.uk

SWANSEA LIFE 91

THIS GIRL IS ON ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE

Victoria Hartson took over the reins as Managing Director of Hartson Fire three years ago.

The company was originally established in 2001 by her father, Cyril, an experienced fire industry professional. Over the years, he developed a high-profile client base customers across a range of sectors from letting agents, hotels, stadia, colleges, gyms, pubs, clubs, offices to hospitals run by the Cardiff and Vale NHS, Parc Y Scarlets and the Millennium Centre.

with an on-line shop to meet the growing demands of people who prefer to purchase equipment online.

giving a full breakdown of the types of fire equipment they have on site and where it is located. GROWTH & EXPANSION The growth and expansion that Victoria has achieved in such a short space of time was recognised last year when she was a finalist in the South West Wales Women in Business Awards and more recently won the ‘new on the scene’ award in Business Growth Wales.

BRINGING IN CHANGES Since coming on board, Victoria has been on fire! She changed the status to a limited company, increased the number of employees from one to six and more than doubled the client base to over 850.

Victoria has also actively achieved key accreditations including CHAS, Construction Line and Safe Contractor, enabling the company to tender for larger contracts.

As the company has grown geographically, with contracts extending from Pembrokeshire to Bristol, planning the work schedule for her employees has been a demanding task. Importantly, despite this exponential growth, Hartson Fire continues to deliver a personal service to all customers, knowing most of them by first name terms. It’s this level of service that sets the company apart from its competitors.

TIMELY DEVELOPMENTS

WHAT THE FUTURE HOLDS

As a result of these measures, turnover has shown a 40% increase year on year.

Importantly, Victoria has brought the business into the 21st Century by developing a pro-active marketing strategy which includes the use of all online tools. Earlier this year, she launched a new website

She has introduced software that controls all customer data including alerts when your annual service is due. Larger clients are now also provided with an asset record,

Going forward, Victoria is planning to grow the company organically including creating more jobs and relocating to larger premises. She will also be actively developing the online shop to target a global market.

T: 01792 218214 | M: 07971 747424 E: enquiries@hartsonfire.co.uk W: www.hartsonfire.co.uk Follow us on social media:

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HOUSE & HOME

Finding the perfect worktop for you When you imagine your dream kitchen, what do you think of? A stylish run of sleek units? A beautiful yet practical range perfect for producing some culinary magic? Gleaming chrome accessories? However you imagine your kitchen, the right worktop makes the perfect finishing touch. A worktop is, in many ways, one of the most important elements of your kitchen. It is likely to be the part of your kitchen you come into contact with most. It is a practical, useful surface to work on and it can bring the room together visually, introducing light, texture and colour. Wren Kitchens has a range of worktops with the perfect solution for every household - from versatile and affordable laminate, to durable high-tech Corian, silky smooth timber, stunning stain-resistant quartz or beautifully veined granite. ■ Flexible and affordable If your kitchen is an awkward shape, then laminate is a great choice because it’s affordable and easy to cut to shape. Wren’s Luxury Laminate worktops - in 32 colours and finishes - are practical and can make a statement with a strong look. Concrete worktops, for example, are on trend, but can be impractical – however Wren’s Italian Concrete Luxury Laminate creates an industrial look in a way that works in every kitchen. Corian is another practical option. Manmade in a high-tech process, it has a perfectly uniform appearance and can be pre-formed to required shapes and joined together to make virtually seamless runs. It’s a great fit with a designer-style modern kitchen like Wren’s Milano Ultra or Contour range. Quartz is one of the hardest wearing minerals on the planet and Wren’s Gemini

Quartz worktops, a combination of 90% quartz and resin, bring this durability and practicality into your home while being stunning to look at. A bright and airy quartz worktop is a great way to reflect light around your kitchen which can make a small space appear larger. The other natural stone option is granite – an incredibly durable material (it comes from lava that is millions of years old, after all). However, what granite really brings to your kitchen is drama – and luxury. The deep veins, rich colours and textures look gorgeous, particularly when paired with a simple unit from Wren’s Handleless or Autograph ranges. Last but not least, there’s timber. Keeping a timber worktop in good condition by looking after them and occasional oiling will protect it from damage and bring out the natural beauty and grain of the wood itself. Timber worktops are a joy to work with and bring real warmth into the heart of your home. ■ Mix it up and make a statement There are lots of options to choose from and you don’t have to stick to just one worktop

material for your kitchen. Instead shake things up a bit and mix and match different materials and thicknesses. Your kitchen, above all, needs to work for you and one of the best ways to achieve this is to create different areas within it for different uses – and highlight this with your choice of worktop. Team a cool functional Corian worktop with a warm and practical breakfast bar, for example. Slot a timber butcher block in oak or walnut into a Quartz worktop to create a prep area or incorporate a Carrara marble pastry slab for perfect baking. Combining worktops is a great way to break things up visually and create a more individual and practical space. Don’t stop at mixing materials either. Wren supplies worktops in a range of thicknesses, from 22mm super slimline up to a chunky 80mm. Using different depths of worktop in different areas is another great way to zone your kitchen and add an interest. As a finishing touch, it’s also worth thinking about the edges of your worktops. Granite and quartz can be bevelled and edged in various designs from classic to modern. Metallics remain popular and a gleam of silver around the edge of Laminate worktops really draws the eye to the minimal lines of a modern handleless kitchen. A worktop should never be an afterthought. With a bit of planning, and the help of Wren Kitchens, your worktop can really be the star of the show.

Wren has a wide range of worktops in an array of colours and materials. See them at your local Wren Kitchens showroom, or online at wrenkitchens.com SWANSEA LIFE 93

HOUSE & HOME

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SWANSEA LIFE 96

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HOUSE & HOME Black ad gold metal pendantl light, £24.99; HomeSense

Milan mirror, £129, Marks&Spencer

SIMPLE HOTEL CHIC

Boutique hotel style used to mean grand design statements, flamboyant pattern, bold colour and rich fabrics.. Now it’s rather quieter but every bit as luxurious.

Beige woolen cushion with pom poms, £19.99; HomeSense

Neom organic room diffuser, from £16; Edit Home & Design, Mumbles

Elements stripe towels, £8; Dunelm

peter.slee@reachplc.com

Duresta Carnaby armchair, Harrow navy, £1,249; John Lewis, Cardiff

All from a range at Edit Home & Design, Mumbles

KEY ELEMENTS

Smooth neutrals: Layer a calm palette of white, cream and grey, taupe and nude tones Statement furniture It’s central to this look. Pick iconic designs and marble, metal, glass and leather pieces. Lux textures: Invest in good quality, plain cottens and linens and touches of plush velvet. Wow lighting: Think big - Oversize table lamps, grand chandeliers and sconces. SWANSEA LIFE 103

HOUSE & HOME

Hydrangea aspera

April in Colour

With Joseph Atkin, Head Gardener at Aberglasney Gardens in Carmarthenshire It may come as a surprise but April at Aberglasney and in many other gardens can be the most colourful time of the year. A myriad of spring flowering bulbs combined with a wonderful choice of spring flowering shrubs makes for a wonderful display. Woodland or shade gardens, spring bedding plants and early flowering perennials also help make April one of the easiest months for a gardener to create a colourful display. Here are some of my favourite plants for this time of the year.

Erythronium ‘Pagoda’

Malus sargentii Ornamental fruit trees are often thought not do well in this part of Wales but Malus sargentii is the exception to the rule. It has the best blossom you could hope for followed by tiny red apples that look like red currants and orange, yellow autumn colour. You can grow it as an ornamental tree or train it against a wall or other structure. Ours is trained tight to a metal frame work of arches where it absolutely flowers its socks off. It is also perfectly suitable for a home garden as it can easily be pruned after flowering and trained to a suitable shape. Again the blossom combines wonderfully with spring displays.

This is the easiest to grow of all the dogs tooth violets, it is also one of the most spectacular. Elegant nodding heads of yellow lily like flowers appear in late March and continue through to the end of April. They are held above a rosette of neat glossy green foliage and nod gracefully in the wind. For us they work well in natural woodland areas mixed with bluebells and wood anemones. They will also work well in any shaded spring display. By mid-summer the foliage will have completely died back allowing room for later flowering plants to flourish. This coupled with them being long lasting and slow growing makes them ideal for a small garden. ■ Height = 50cm maximum ■ Spread = 40cm ■ Position/Aspect = Any shaded ■ Soil = Slightly dry but cool and free draining ■ Pest and diseases = Slugs are often mentioned but they are not a problem for us ■ Style = Woodland, naturalistic, shade garden, naturalised in grass under trees, shaded rock garden

Magnolia ‘Black Parrot’ As a group of plants magnolia are one of the real spring stars but many have a short-lived flowering season or can be tricky to grow. ‘Black Parrot’ is a more amenable option being easy to grow and flowering for a good two weeks. The flowers are about twenty centimetres across and a rich dark purple. This unusual colour for a magnolia works well with almost any other colour that you want to combine it with. It has a good strong growth rate, it also flowers at a young age making it a good option for the less patient gardener! Over the last eight years the blooms on our plant have never been damaged by frost or wind which can be a big problem for some magnolia. So, for a medium sized garden this is a really good option. ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■

104 SWANSEA LIFE

Height = 4-5m Spread = 3-4m Position/Aspect = Some shelter from the wind Soil = Any fertile free draining Pest and diseases = No real problems Style = Woodland, specimen tree, mixed border, exotic garden, underplanted with tulips and other spring bulbs

■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■

Height = As a tree 3m max or trained to the height you want Spread = 1.5m as a tree or trained as you want Position/Aspect = Any sunny although heavy winds may damage blossom Soil = Any fertile free draining Pest and diseases = No real problems although it will be affected by the usual apple diseases like canker but less so Style = Cottage garden, formal, wall shrub, free standing tree, kitchen garden, rose garden or on an arch

HOUSE & HOME

Bamboo large easy-to-fit ceiling shade, £45, Habitat.co.uk

Orizuru bed linen, double duvet cover set, £65, Christy.co.uk

...OVEN GLOVES

Jade Himitsu wallpaper, £60 per roll, houseoffraser.co.uk Hand-painted sun parasol, £40, iansnow.com

Big in Japan Teapot £8; mugs £3 each, all Flying Tiger (flyingtiger.com)

A glove supreme

Ralph The Dog, £18 John Lewis

HOT CHICK Chicken, £15 Cath Kidston

A touch of the Far East is easy to add to your home, says Dan Beavan

Vase £1, Flying Tiger (flyingtiger.com)

FOLLOW THE HERD

Japanese crate, £60, Scaramanga (scaramangashop.co.uk

Naoko armchair, £595, Habitat.co.uk

Sheep, £16 Sophie Allport

Japanese festival cushion, £55, Postcards Home (postcardshome.co.uk)

Toast of the town

Avocado & Toast, £8 Next Home

SWANSEA LIFE 105

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Payment plans are offered by Close Brothers Retail Finance. Close Brothers Retail Finance is a trading name of Close Brothers Limited. Close Brothers Limited is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority. Finance is only available to permanent UK residents aged between 18-75, subject to status, terms and conditions apply.

CHILD SAFETY NEW 2017 FREE HOME FABRIC CONTROLS TO SELECTION FREE design advice and an RANGE ALL BLINDS obligation FREE quotation.

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For more information visit out website www.chicblinds.co.uk Email: sales@chicblinds.co.uk or visit our 3 showrooms

HOUSE & HOME Ladybird object, £25, Debenhams

Fa n ta s t i c

beast Don’t be shy! Bring a touch of animal magic to your home with our selection of stylish birds, bugs and beasts... Amber Graafland reveals where to find them

Octopus cushion, £45; pom-pom cushion, £40; Eland head, £80; large sandcastle gold candlestick, £25; silver metal vase, £40; faux floral stems, from £8; ladybird trinket tray, £25; Bobbin side table, £220; Chisa velvet chair, £420, all Abigail Ahern at Debenhams

102 SWANSEA LIFE

Tropical birds on a perch, from £37.95, Graham & Green

Praying mantis decorative figure, £29.99, Zara Home

Elephant door knob, two for £11.99, Zara Home Butterfly cloche, £24, Next Home Ducks and rabbits acid yellow tea towel, £9.50, Cambridge Imprint

Real beetle paperweight, £5, National History Museum Shop Dapper animal salad plates, £9-£10 each, West Elm Peacock sculpture, £35, Next Home

Flamingo and parrot tea for one, £45, Amara

Kinship animals scented candles (set of three), were £30 reduced to £18, Oliver Bonas

Fly decorative figure, £29.99, Zara Home

three of the best...

egg cups

Hand-painted wild animal egg cups, £11.95, Rigby & Mac (rigbyandmac.com)

Tiger egg cup, £4, Urban Outfitters (urban outfitters. com)

Zebra egg cup, £12.95, Graham & Green (graham andgreen.co.uk) * Prices correct at time of going to print. Offers available while stocks last

SWANSEA LIFE 111

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www.bakedtiles.co.uk Call us on 01792 439239 512B Mumbles Road, Mumbles, Swansea SA3 4BU Did you know we offer special discounts for our neighbours living in the Swansea area? Just bring your copy of the April issue of Swansea Life with you to our Mumbles showroom to receive your 20% discount off all Baked Tiles products! Offer cannot be used in conjunction with any other reductions or promotions.

Dreams can come true at EDIT Home + Design in the heart of Mumbles

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE

T is difficult to tire of the seafront at Mumbles with all it offers as a place of relaxation amongst stunning views.

But just across the road from Oyster Square there is another gem, of the retail variety. The entrance to EDIT Home + Design leads upstairs to a veritable treasure trove of furnishings to help create that dream abode. You will find the best in living space, dining rooms, kitchens, bedrooms and all the accessories you need, and now the company is extending its existing bathroom offerings too. Top brands permeate the store, including Andrew Martin, Christian Lacroix, Cole & Son, ELITIS, Sanderson and Zoffany, complemented by the exclusive tiles of The Baked Tile Company. It is quality all the way from a business,

which took up residence in its prime Mumbles location last September. Already a loyal band of customers has built up to illustrate its growing popularity as a destination store, alongside its online presence. CONVENIENT LOCATION “We are right in the heart of Mumbles,” said showroom manager Pam Davies. “We want to be part of the Mumbles and Swansea community and get to know clients. They may come in for a cushion first time around and then they may come back and buy a sofa. And by the time they are thinking about doing their bathroom we are the first people they think of because we have got a really good working relationship. “We are just off Oyster Square, so there is parking. The location is a plus because it means, if you are just going for a spot of lunch or you want to go for a walk or an ice cream, we are really close by. You can

just come upstairs and say hello, and have a browse without having to go miles out of your way to an industrial zone. “I think people often come upstairs and are surprised by the space and the variety of what we can offer as well. We have tried to be true to that design aesthetic we have with the displays the colours, the tones.” BATHROOMS TO IMPRESS Recently unveiled, EDIT's brand new bathroom display is a source of excitement for all the team. As well as the new display, there are a further four bathroom areas in the showroom, all featuring an impressive range of products, and tiles from The Baked Tile Company. They all give a pointer as to just what is possible if you work with the EDIT bathroom design team. “We love showing people our bathroom displays as they really help illustrate what we can offer and how we like to create bathroom spaces," said Pam. "We have a

team of interior bathroom designers who have been designing bathrooms for a very long time.

us. We also use lots of 3D visuals and moodboards to ensure that we are getting things right along the way.”

“They have a lot of experience in making sure that a place doesn't just tick the boxes of toilet, shower, bath, but really works for people that are going to be using that room. It is not an off the shelf bathroom. There is a lot of thought that goes into that.”

BRANDS YOU WILL WANT

That will be apparent when the experts guide you through all you need to know to create the right space for your home.

There are also items you can buy straight off the shelf from the range of gifts, beautiful candles, cushions and photo frames, but then again you may want to sit down and talk through ideas over a coffee. That can be done after just walking in, or you can arrange an appointment.

“That initial chat is very easy and relaxed,” said Pam. “It is just a sense of what you might want.” WOW FACTOR “That is what we are aiming for,” she said. “We aim to display things in a way which might just spark an idea, give a bit of inspiration for you to think ‘oh, I would love that in my house, and this is where we can get it’. We have set things up very much in that sort of inviting, appealing way, I hope. "We're really passionate interior designers who love that process of getting to know a client and really understanding what they want. We are very keen on making sure we get enough information from our clients - in fact, that's one of the skills we have, teasing that out of people. “It's getting an idea, listening to what they are saying, but going beyond that and working out what they're really telling

The company brings high end brands to the Swansea area that you would not necessarily find elsewhere, or see in person, such as Designers Guild and Mulberry Home.

The team is keen to keep refreshing the ranges on show in store, so regulars will never tire of the displays. And though the look may seem high end, there are a range of options to suit all budgets. “I think generally the reaction has been ‘wow, this is unexpected, even for Mumbles’,” said Pam. “At the same time we are also very lucky that those customers we have worked with mean a lot of repeat business as well, so it is really nice for us that people we are getting to know or working with are coming back. “We often have a sit down with people and say if you fancy a cup of coffee. We are obviously on the ball and want to get the job done, but do it in a nice relaxed fashion as well.”

512B Mumbles Road, Mumbles, Swansea SA3 4BU Tel: 01792 439119 | www.edithomeanddesign.co.uk

EDIT your perfect bathroom… From family wetrooms to guest en suites, EDIT specialises in helping you create the bathrooms of your dreams. Interior designer Megan Griffiths explains how…

1) Come say hello! �irst things first � come and visit us in our �wansea showroom, no appointment necessary! We’ll show you our latest bathroom arrivals and start chatting through your design pro�ect. We make a great cuppa and it’s the perfect chance to get to know our team and start seeing the solutions we can offer.

2) Tell us everything we need to know… We always make sure you get the perfect bathroom for ��. It’s not �ust about fitting in a toilet, bath and sink, but about really planning the space, making sure it looks and feels right, and taking into account everything from tile colours, to blinds, to the perfect locations for all the finishing touches! �ome consultations allow us to walk through your space together and find out how you use it on a daily basis. We’ll take detailed measurements and photos, and ask questions to find out exactly what you want, your style preferences and budget. There is an initial charge for this, but it’s refunded when you place your bathroom order.

512B Mumbles Rd, Mumbles, Swansea SA3 4BU

3) Let us work our magic! After our home consultation, we’ll take everything you’ve told us and all our design knowledge to create your bathroom, providing high quality 3D visuals and moodboards to show you exactly what we think your bathroom could become…a bathroom with wow factor! We know all the tips and tricks for making bathrooms look fantastic (without blowing the budget) and we’re also not restricted to one brochure of products, so we really can find the perfect products for you. We’ll work with you to finalise the design and once you’re happy, the countdown can begin! 3D visual

4) Let us help with the hard work Showroom display

EDIT client elevation

EDIT can help make sure your bathroom fit out is as stress free as possible too. Depending on what you’d like, we can work with your installation team from start to finish, making sure they have all the plans they need, that you’re kept fully in the loop and ensuring that everything arrives on time and in pristine condition. We can also make regular site visits to make sure everything is going to plan, counting down to the final grand reveal! We love helping our clients create their dream bathrooms, so come and have a chat to see what we can do for you!

Megan x 01792 439119 | www.edithomeanddesign.co.uk

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HOUSE & HOME

1 2

MEET 2019’S NEW SHOW PLANTS A host of exciting new plants are making their debut at RHS Chelsea Flower Show this year. Hannah Stephenson reveals her pick of the bunch.

There’s a host of exciting new plants being launched this year and making their debut at RHS Chelsea Flower Show, which should inspire gardeners to get planting. New roses, clematis, an array of new perennials and houseplants will all be showcased at the show.

Here are 8 to look out for...

1Clematis ‘Sugar Sweet Blue’ (ThorncroftClematis.co.uk)

This is an exciting new addition as this large open-flowered clematis is scented, with a rich almond fragrance which is particularly strong in the evening and early morning. It flowers on new growth of around 3m during April and early May, before most openflowered clematis come into bloom.

full sunlight, as too much sun can burn the leaves and fade the flowers.

3 Dianthus ‘Cherry Burst’ (HardysPlants.co.uk)

Of a new generation of single flowered, full hardy Pinks, these are shorter in stem, growing to just 15cm high, making them perfect for the border or a pot. Flowering continuously from May to September, ‘Cherry Burst’ has interesting chocolate coloured buds which open to a deep maroon eye, bleeding out to a lighter pink border over compact grey/green foliage. This hard-working little pink also has a delicious sweet perfume.

You can always rely on David Austin to come up with the goods for scent, colour and reliability and this stunning deep-pink English shrub rose is no exception. Named after the beloved character of Thomas Hardy's novel Far From The Madding Crowd, it grows to around 4ft and produces large, many petalled rosette blooms, in the style of the Old Roses, with a strong, fruity fragrance. Ideal for the mixed border, pots and containers and the rose border. For rose lovers who prefer a softer hue, the company is also launching Rosa 'Eustacia Vye', a shrub rose which produces soft apricot-pink blooms and will also tolerate semi-shaded areas. (Dibleys.com)

The foliage on this new houseplant features contrasting, black and glistening red leaves. This tall growing begonia has a bushy habit, is quick-growing and will create a good sized plant within one season. Early autumn brings a flourish of pink flowers. To obtain the best foliage colour, red leaf varieties should be grown in bright light. While the plants are actively growing, the compost should be kept moist.

‘Lemon 2 Streptocarpus Sorbet’ (Dibleys.com)

The brightest, zingiest streptocarpus so far – the open face of these flowers sparkles in the sunshine. This variety is extremely floriferous, with months of continuous blooms and grows between 17-22cm.

119 SWANSEA LIFE

(DavidAustinRoses.co.uk)

5 Begonia ‘Joyful Blaze’

It’s best grown in part sun or dappled shade rather than full sun - grow it close to the patio, where the scent can be enjoyed.

Pot them in a good quality potting compost and shade them for a few days, then within a few weeks they should begin flowering. Water regularly from either above or below when the plant needs it. Make sure you don’t overwater, though – they only need watering when the compost feels dry to the touch. They are happiest in bright light but not

4 Rosa 'Gabriel Oak'

Feed with a balanced houseplant fertiliser once a week and take care not to overwater.

6 Rudbeckia ‘Savannah Mixed’ (Thompson-Morgan.com)

Thompson & Morgan are hoping these new summer stunners will be on show at Chelsea this year. The colour-changing coneflowers

4 5 open in shades of lime and yellow-green in early summer and, as the flowers age, they darken to deep autumnal shades of wine-red, burnt orange and green. These annuals, which grow to 50cm tall, are ideal for creating an accent in beds and borders, as well as attracting insects to the garden. Plant them en masse for the best effect.

‘Butterfly Towers 7 Buddleja Magenta’

(Thompson-Morgan.com)

Ever thought of growing buddleja as a hedge? Now you might be able to, with the introduction of this new upright buddleja with a columnar habit, which bears beautiful mauve-purple flowers which are a magnet for butterflies. It’s hardy, easy to grow and requires little maintenance. There’s already a buzz around this one, which is hoping to make an appearance at Chelsea.

8 8 Digitalis ‘Firebird’ (HardysPlants.co.uk)

This majestic hybrid has adopted the best traits from each of its parents – Digitalis purpurea and canariensis – and has shown to be a robust and vigorous perennial, growing to 120 x 60 cm in dappled shade or sun in any good soil. It produces 90cm spires of delicious warm reddish-pink coloured flowers, which have deep apricot tones in the throat and classic digitalis freckles on the inside of the flower. SWANSEA LIFE 120

TIMELESS

: 01685 874599

: 01269 591131

: 01639 646511

: 01646 687500

: 01239 613413

: 01639 884433

HOUSE & HOME

Are pampered pets driving up your energy bills? Do you leave the TV and heating on for the pooch? Chris Packham tells Luke Rix-Standing how we can keep pets cosy and be mindful of energy use. Everyone knows there are overheads to owning pets, but does that have to include driving up your energy bills? Nearly three-quarters of British pet owners say they sometimes leave the heating on for their animals when they go out – and many keep their homes as warm for their pets as they would for themselves. A survey by energy company E.ON found that a third of pet owners also leave a light on for their beloved pooch or cat, and 122 SWANSEA LIFE

around a quarter treat their pampered pets to some TV and radio while home alone (Their favourite channels are apparently BBC1 and Radio 2).

beloved animals safe and comfortable – without wasting energy.

Nearly half of the animal-lovers surveyed admit spoiling their pets causes conflict in their home – and these habits can certainly use up a lot of extra energy too. So what's the solution?

“As a nation of animal lovers, keeping our pets happy is a top priority for many Brits,” says Packham, “and making sure your home is snug is one quick way to do so. With some small simple changes, you can save money, lessen your impact on the planet, and keep your all-important pet happy.”

E.ON has teamed up with naturalist, TV presenter, and all-round pet lover Chris Packham, to offer his top tips on keeping

Here, Packham shares six top tips for keeping pets cosy while being mindful of those energy bills...

1. A well-positioned bed “Think about where you put your pet's bed: You don't need so much heating if your pet has a cosy place of their own. Heat rises ,so unless you’ve got underfloor heating, the floor is a cooler environment and a lot more susceptible to draughts. Get down to your pet’s level - on your knees - and it might feel like a whole different place in the house. How does it feel? Is it draughty or cosy? “Choose an appropriate bed and make sure it's in an appropriate place - not in a draught, not in the sun when its beating through the window and might fry them. Just think about the reasonable, simple things."

2. A designated pet room

“

“Personally, I would never justify heating my entire house to keep one small dog happy – that’s insane. Even if I’m in the house, we usually have just one room heated. Put a pet bed in there – I can sit there and work – and it cuts cost to the wallet and to the planet.”

3. Tech up, power down

“Take advantage of modern technology. Smart meters let you see where the power is going and what you are paying for it. I’ve got one and they're remarkably accurate. They do retrain you – they virtually shout at you if you put the washing machine and the spin dryer on at the same time! “A smart thermostat allows you to control the temperature all over your house, and monitor your heating wherever you are using your smartphone. So if you've got a pet in one room, you can heat only that

Always imagine how you would feel in their paws!

“We use modern technology in so many ways, but for energy management in the home, I don't think the uptake is rapid enough. Over the course of the year, you can easily save about £200 on your bill."

4. Is the TV for you or them?

“

“You don't need to heat the whole house to keep your pet warm. If you're out all day, pick a snug room that's easy to clean if you've got a pet that moults. Make sure it's not too hot or too cold – keep a radiator on in their cosy corner – perhaps with access to the outside of the house if you've got cats and cat flaps. And make sure there's food and water within reach, of course!

room, at exactly the right temperature. You can programme it too, and it uses GPS to sense where you are so when you're nearly home it can warm up the rest of the house as you arrive.

“Does a pet really need the TV? I think you have to look at it on a case-by-case basis. I get sent lots of videos of cats watching Springwatch and dogs watching other dogs on television. None of my poodles have ever watched TV, and it's easy to see whether your pet is responding or not. If they aren't, turn it off and let them get some peace and quiet."

5. A good hot dinner “During winter, on cold days, food straight out of the fridge won't be very appetising. Warm your pet’s meals up to ensure the food is at room temperature before feeding. This uses a bit of energy – but nothing like as much as heating the whole house.”

6. Proper care vs pampering “Work out the line between a well caredfor pet and a spoilt pet. You may have a roughty-toughty outdoorsy dog that leaps in freezing rivers and mud, but when you take them home a cold, wet dog is not going to be happy. I got my dog a raincoat – they're inexpensive items. Always imagine how you would feel in their paws!”

Chris is working with E.ON Energy to help people keep their pets warm and cosy, while being energyefficient (eonenergy.com).

SWANSEA LIFE 123

relax, refresh, revitalise sit back and let us create your dream bathroom

01792 586160

Unit 12, Cwmdu ind Est, Carmarthen Road, Swansea www.tilerackbathroomcentre.co.uk

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5 HOUSE & HOME

WAYS GARDENERS CAN HELP WITH THE WAR ON PLASTIC

From reusing pots to getting creative, there’s lots green-fingered types can do to help cut plastic waste. By Hannah Stephenson.

As the war on plastic Get creative continues, there’s much you 1. In the UK, we use more than 35 million can do in your garden to plastic bottles every day – but with a bit of imagination, they could find a home in your help make a difference. garden landscaping and help cut down on And many of these planet-protecting ideas are demonstrated in this year’s RHS Britain in Bloom competition, where community gardeners put their horticultural skills, community spirit and green credentials to the test.

These green-fingered gangs go some way to spread the word locally about how to cut down on waste, running beach clean-ups or coming up with creative ways to re-use plastic. Darren Share, chairman of the Britain in Bloom judging panel, says: “Britain in Bloom isn’t just about spectacular floral displays and making our villages, towns and cities beautiful to live in and visit. Many of this year’s finalists are on the frontline of tackling some of the UK’s biggest challenges, such as climate change, plastic waste on beaches, and declining pollinator populations.” So, how can gardeners help to wage war on plastic with a recycling revolution?

waste sent to landfill.

Britain in Bloom competitor Barnoldswick in Lancashire re-purposed two-litre fizzy drinks bottles to create a spectacular wall of pollinator-friendly planting for bees, by turning the bottles on their side, cutting out an opening and filling with compost and plants such as nasturtiums, aubretia and lobelia. When using plastic bottles or other containers for growing, don’t forget to add a few drainage holes to let air get to the plants’ roots and avoid waterlogging.

2. Turn bottles into cloches Discarded plastic drink bottles also make great cloches, which act as mini-greenhouses to protect tender plants from the cold and deter pests such as rabbits, and even urban deer, from nibbling at young seedlings. Simply cut the top off the bottle and place over the plant.

3. Reuse pots Plants bought from garden centres are often supplied in plastic pots, although alternative materials such as coir, paper or bamboo are increasingly available. Consider re-using these for seed sowing and re-potting, rather than buying new. Just rinse out with warm water and detergent before using again, to kill off any diseases.

4. Pass things on Think about setting up a plant pot recycling point on an allotment of other community hub, where gardeners and schools can drop off any unwanted pots for others to pick up and recycle.

5. Make it fun Follow the lead of Britain in Bloomers St Helier in Jersey, which gets local green-fingered school children involved in transforming rubbish into inventive floral displays, using materials such as broken wheelie bins, to complement their plantings. This year, schools will be creating their displays from washed-up plastic collected from the community’s beach clean-ups.

For more information about the RHS’ work in communities, including Britain in Bloom and the RHS Campaign for School Gardening, visit the RHS at rhs.org.uk/get-involved. 112 SWANSEA LIFE

HOUSE & HOME Addison occasional chair in Edwin chenille blush £1,125; Provencale Ivory side table, £350; pencil pleat curtains in lilium duck egg £36 per metre; Patricia large floor mirror, £500; Ellis off-white three-arm chandelier £100; Shamley white two-light wall light, £80, Becky cushion £50, Lewes duck egg rug £200, Kubu rectangular log basket £52; all Laura Ashey, Swansea

DON'T MISS

the details Paxton dining table £399, Paxton dining bench £399; sideboard £849; Mila II chandelier £299; grid table cloth, £25; Linear bulb vase £15; Amberley cereal bowl £6; medium wood hurricane £19.50: all, M&S, Swansea

Ezra four-seater sofa in natural, £1,399; DfS, Llansamlet

Step inside these stylish high street showcases for beautiful basics at affordable prices

Albrecht throw, £415; Albrecht cushion, £115; print, £600; sofas, 2 seaters from £1,100; rugs from £75; all from Edit Home & Design, Mumbles

SWANSEA LIFE 131

Living Spaces... Relax & entertain in luxury

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FREEPHONE 0800 808 3224 www.securahome.co.uk Unit C1 Kestrel Way, Garngoch Ind Est, Gorseinon, Swansea SA4 9WN

HOUSE & HOME

Beautiful front doors youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll want to step inside Gardeners are going the extra mile to make the entrance to their homes a welcoming landmark, according to a new report. Nearly half of gardeners use plants or trees to dress their front door, says the Garden Trends Report from Wyevale Garden Centres. Mark Sage, its head of horticulture, says: "Our front doors are an expression of who we are. It's our kingdom, our palace - and maybe we can inspire with some ideas." Here are his top to help you pimp your front door and make the entrance to your home as inviting as you can.

1. Think about colour schemes There's a massive range of cheerful colours available throughout spring, from zingy primroses and rich pansies, to heathers, acid green miniature lemon scented conifers, and bulbs, which if you forgot to plant in autumn are widely available to plant in pots now.

2. Check out smaller plants If you haven't much space, you can now find smaller varieties of plants that won't grow too big around your front door area. Smaller types of shrubs, climbers and roses are widely available. If you want a climber in a pot - one that won't grow too tall but will provide a pretty framework for a front door - Raymond Evi-

son has some beauties, including 'Josephine' and 'Doctor Ruppel' - both clematis. Climbing versions of the famous David Austin old English roses have seen a surge in sales too, thanks to their ability to flourish in a pot or container, according to the report.

3. Make it personal Flowers create more than just a 'welcome mat' to your home, and what you create should match your personality says Sage. "Consider the type of container you're choosing - that says an awful lot about you. The container needs to complement the brickwork and the design of the front door. If it's contemporary, it could be minimalist, such as spiralled or lollipop topiary." You may want to go for an alternative to box if you live in an area where there has been box blight, he suggests. Other plants

you can use which will give you the same feel include Ligustrum jonandrum, the very small-leaved privet, or bay, or lavender if you want flower on there too, to juxtapose the formal with the informal.

4. Look at pairs Some householders with little time for deadheading flowering plants are going grand and opting for pairs of evergreen standards in pots, where the foliage at the top is the focal point and is often shaped into a ball. Twin bay trees remain a favourite for adding structural impact, while new containerfriendly bamboo varieties such as the red-stemmed Fargesia 'Red Dragon'. Garden centres have also noticed an increasing demand for evergreen box and topiary in all shapes and sizes, which create a focal point either side of a front door. SWANSEA LIFE 137

HOUSE & HOME Sara Miller London Portmerion Chelsea Collection cake plates, set of four, £37.75

Brights & Bolds

Hot off the interiors runway, here’s how to shuffle those shades for a colourful style shake-up, says Sam Wylie-Harris

you don’t want to play it safe, aren’t afraid to tread boldly, and have taken a shine to making a spring statement, then you’re bang up to date with the current trend for blending deep, decadent shades with bolds and brights.

Designers love to keep us on our toes – and, as Donna Taylor, PPG colour expert and principal technical colour consultant at Johnstone’s Paint, says: “This year is all about embracing colour and inspiring people to use it in unique ways, whether that’s through pairing bolds with sophisticated neutrals, or being clever with palettes and design features to make the most of different spaces.”

with confidence, the colour stylists at Johnstone’s paint have launched three new palettes to inspire consumers to introduce bright and daring schemes – but for maximum impact, they cite the ‘feature wall’ as the biggest trend for 2019, with statement colours getting ever more popular. Their Interior Walls & Ceilings Feature Wall range includes an array of tropical hues, such as Caribbean Tide, Vivid Violet and Empire Jewel, from £14.99 for 2.5l (visit johnstonespaint.com for stockists). Elsewhere, just as we’re finally heading towards the brighter seasons, shops are welcoming in joyful shades too – all you need to do is find the right brights for you.

To give you a head start on using colour

t bold an li il br e es th t ou k ec ch , n io For inspirat

buys...

Johnstone’s 304028 2.5l matt emulsion paint – Passion Pink, £14.99, Amazon “The main intention of a feature wall in a room is to create a focal point and add interest to the space. To achieve this, the colour needs to be striking enough to draw the eye to it. Using bold colours will help to create impact or drama, using vibrant colours can give a sense of freshness to the space,” says Taylor. “Bold feature walls should not be used in small spaces, as this will shrink the area further. It’s advised that pastel colours would work better on all walls and bold colours introduced as artwork, accessories and soft furnishings instead.”

130 SWANSEA LIFE

A by Amara Grid crochet cushion – pink, £40, Amara Who would have thought crochet could be cool again? The arts and craft movement is in full swing, and this bubble-gum pink cushion should inspire some creativity.

Clarissa Hulse Angeliki fabric – Sunset, £103 per metre, cushions from £40, clarissahulse.com Brooding blues and moody mauves work to spectacular effect when they collide with swathes of lustrous cotton/silk curtains with botanical designs, to mirror more exotic climes. To be even more inventive, mix brights with brights and don’t be afraid to clash colours.

Broste Copenhagen Alrik vase/tealight holder – blue/smoke pine, £15, Amara Having set the tone with your pot of paint, vibrant decos and flea-market finds, tealights in colourful candle-holders are an essential buy to show off those brush strokes and make inky walls look even more dramatic.

Lava lamps, £77 each, grahamandgreen.co.uk A Sixties icon, and great investment piece, lava lamps are trending once more (did they ever really go out of fashion?). For maximum effect, more is more, especially when you can play swirls of bright bubbles in perpetual motion against existing stony neutrals. These from Graham & Green are available in four ‘groovy’ colours.

Miami Collection navy blue classic velvet sofa, from £1,695, Neon Box Sign, from £95 (other decos from a selection), grahamandgreen.co.uk Coloured shot glasses - set of six, £22, Oliver Bonas To keep it fresh and bring something new to the table – or drinks trolley – these colourful shot glasses can be used to serve cocktails alongside sweet desserts for a sense of fun. For a sense of drama, a plush velvet sofa will bring richness to any room, especially when styled against that allimportant dark wall. And if you can’t bear to part with a restful palette, simple dark accessories in natural materials will complement that pop of colour.

Inspired by ‘stylish Palm Beach hideouts’, this three-seater sofa with left chaise and middle element makes a great building block if you want to fast-track to a funky resort lifestyle, coupled with some kitsch accessories. Come summer, go for a glam, boho chic vibe, with pom-pom cushions, textured light fittings and vintage seashell accessories.

it’s

Brighton sofa – plush velvet peony, from £875, Darlings of Chelsea

SWANSEA LIFE 139

French Connection Coast armchair, £648, DFS

HOUSE & HOME

French Connection Coast armchair, £648, DFS

give us a

wave

Coastal reed shade, £12, Argos

Standing bird object, £10, Argos Home

Cumi lounge side table, £169, redcandy.co.uk

Dan Beavan picks out buys that will help you nail the coastal look

Evermade Brighton seagull cushion, £45, redcandy.co.uk Japanese blossom bowl Navy Waves, £4.95, Rex London

£7.95, graphy wall art print, Busy Beach photo com se. ou cth tra abs ) (without frame

Seychelles Coffee Table £359.00, Oak Furnitureland

Olivia Octopus pink cushion, £35, burchandbrown.co.uk

140 SWANSEA LIFE

Coastal melamine plate, £5.50, talkingtables.co.uk

Whale trivet, £17.50, thenautical company.com

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Leekes Cross Hands, Business Parc, Carms. SA14 6RB Leekes Llantrisant, Cowbridge Road, RCT. CF72 8XU

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Terms and conditions apply. ‡As checked on 26/01/2019. Discount applies to doored cabinets only. Excludes decorative items such as plinths, pelmets and panels, ex-display and clearance lines. Varies according to range. Minimum spend applies.†Terms and conditions apply, ask in store for details.

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HOUSE & HOME

Home for Easter

A few select pieces of decoration this Easter will give your home a lovely spring look and a quick refresh. Whether you have guests over for a big Sunday Easter lunch or are embracing your inner white rabbit, here are some beautiful additions for your Easter peter.slee@reachplc.com

Eddingtons hen egg storage basket, £12.99, Rise & Shine tumbler, 300ml, £5, John Lewis & Partners Wake Up Shake Up tumbler, 300ml, £5, Sherbet yellow runner, £12, Sherbet placemats, set of six, £18, patterned napkins, set of four, £10, stained egg cups, set of three, £18, Royal Doulton pastel plates, Assorted, set of four, from £4; all, John Lewis, Cardiff

146 SWANSEA LIFE

Cycling rabbit kitchen tea towels, HomeSense, Parc Fforestfach, £5.99

Bunny tea pot, George Home, £9

John Lewis & Partners bunny plates, £4

Easter stickers, £1; Tiger Stores, Swansea

Easter bunnies egg box decorations, White Stuff, £17.50

5 Ballerina bunny cushion, £8; Sainsbury’s Home, Swansea

Bunny shaped napkins, £5; National Trust shop, Rhossili

Caught On The Hop Easter chocolate slab; £8 Hotel Chocolat, Cardiff

Bunny chair, £179; Smitherofstamford.com

Harold standing Easter rabbit, £12.50; White Stuff, Cardiff

Gold egg, £3.99; HomeSense, Parc Fforestfach

reath, £20; The Contempora ry H wig w nd t om a g e r eg e t Eas

Easter ears napkin holders, £10; John Lewis, Cardiff

Large Easter card hunt signs, 4pk; £5; Sainsbury’s, Swansea

SWANSEA LIFE 147

HOUSE & HOME

FLORAL PRINT

Everybody’s doing

Joe Browns pillowback floral two seater sofa, £499; JD WilliamsHome

Spring Meadow Our high street shops are in full bloom with buys inspired by the flora and fauna of spring peter.slee@reachplc.co m

Potted print

Plant pot, £12.99; TK Maxx, Parc Morfa

Hanging Pretty

x foliage Fa u

angea, £14; Deben ydr ha h m rn he

Bluebellgrey botanical stretched canvas, £50 - £225; John Lewis, Cardiff

ea ans Sw s,

Red and white chest of drawers, £249.99; HomeSense, Swansea

Ab iga il A

Sunny delight

Pretty foliage

Sofa appeal

Llanerchaeron buttercup jacquard throw, £35; National Trust shop, Rhossili

Rose patterned fibreglass tray, £2.99; HomeSense, Parc Fforestfach

Kitchen appeal Climbing blossom weighing scales, £25; Kath Kidston, Cardiff

Ditsy delight

Botanist garden kneeler, £12.50; Sainsbury’s, Swansea SWANSEA LIFE 148

RoCk T HE CaStLe

2019

F r I d A y 21 June St

BONNIE TYLER sO

s At U r D a Y 22 June nD

Tickets from: Pembroke Castle Shop | www.pembrokecastle.co.uk | 01646 681510

Our exclusive Red Dragon coaches provide the ultimate travel experience to make your journey extra special. They are designed for additional comfort, possess plenty of on-board facilities and youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll receive a complimentary goody bag.

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All tours include return executive coach travel and short sea ferry crossings. T&Cs apply. Subject to availability. Prices correct at time of printing and are per person based on two people sharing.

OUT & ABOUT

A N D R E W

M O R G A N ’ S

SWANSEA BAY WALK Join andrew morgan as he leads us on a Swansea Bay walk.

Start/Finish location ......... Blackpill (Top of Mill Lane) Distance ..................................... 4 (+4) miles (2 hours + 2 hours) Level ............................................. Easy Moderate Parking ........................................ Car Park at top of Mill Lane

Upcoming Walks APRIL 2019

Clyne in the morning (or afternoon!) Swansea Ramblers will be offering yet another opportunity for people to begin walking. On Sunday, April 28 we will have two connected walks, each lasting about two hours: A four mile morning walk followed by a four mile afternoon walk. These both start from the Clyne Country Park car park at the top of Mill Lane. We’ve timed them so we get back to the cars for lunch and if you fancy it, you can walk in the afternoon as well (or just join us for the 2nd walk). Details are in the programme and here is the likely route we’ll take in the morning. Starting from the car park, we’ll go onto Mill Lane then ascend the old country lane that leads to Clyne Farm. Remember to turn around for wide panoramic views over Mumbles and Swansea Bay. Passing the farm, go through a gate onto Clyne Common. Continue along, looking for a low-level concrete marker taking you left. The first one is a shorter route past the golf club house but further on, a second marker prompts you to hairpin back across the common, following way marking towards the Mayals Road where the shorter route re-joins.

Thu 04 Cribarth & Henrhyd Falls (9 miles) Strenuous meet 9.30am Go Outdoors CP (Llansamlet) Sat 06

Llancarfan: Vale of Glamorgan (6 miles)Easy/ Moderate meet 9.45am Guildhall (Francis St)

Sun 07 Llandeilo Talybont (11 miles) Moderate meet 9.30am Gowerton: Golf Driving Range Mon 08 Godregraig – Pontardawe (4 miles) Easy meet 10am A4067 CP by Exhaust & Tyre Centre Tue 09

Tenby & Saundersfoot (8 miles) Moderate meet 9.30am Cross Hands: B&M Car Park

Sat 13

Clydach (6 miles) Easy meet 11.00am Clydach: Parc Coedgwilym

Sun 14 Cwm Clydach Walk (10 miles) Strenuous meet 9am Guildhall (Francis St)

Turn left, carefully cross the main road and descend the lane by the side of garages. Follow the path on the common to Mulberry Road and a hidden path directly across the road descends into woodland. A bit of navigating is needed now on a few roads as you turn right on Cyprus Avenue, right onto Oliver then right onto Cedar. Right again to follow Elmgrove Road for a little way (around the bend in the road) to a nature reserve sign for Washinghouse Brook. Descend woodland to first exit left onto Linden Avenue at the back of a community hall. Walk along Acacia Avenue then take 1st left onto a back lane that was a monks Drover’s Road. Emerge onto and cross Fairwood Road into parkland. Bear left and follow fence around school to a lane onto Mayals Road. Enter Clyne Gardens, ascend the Japanese Bridge and bear left for the dog cemetery, exiting onto St Cadwg Walk. At the end of this road, you emerge back at the start.

Transport: Traveline: www.traveline-cymru.info • 0871 200 22 33 or BayTrans: www.baytrans.org.uk/

Mon 15 Arthur’s Stone (3 miles) Moderate meet 10am Reynoldston Thu 18 Cwm Lliedi & St. Illtud Circular (7 miles) Moderate meet 9.30am Gowerton car park off B4295 Sat 20

Clyne in Bloom (11 miles) Easy/Moderate meet 11am Clyne Gardens Car Park

Sun 21 Rhossili and Llanmadoc (11 miles) Strenuous meet 9.30am Guildhall (Francis St) Wed 24 Afan Argoed (7 miles) Moderate meet 10am Pontrhydyfen: Rhyslyn Car Park Thu 25 EVENING: Mynydd Gelliwastad (2.5 miles) Moderate meet 7.00pm Clydach: RSPB Reserve CP Sat 27

Bishopston Valley (6 miles) Moderate meet 10.15am Guildhall (Francis St)

Sun 28 Talybont Reservoir & Carn Pica (12 miles) Strenuous meet 8.30am Guildhall (Francis St) Sun 28 SHORT AM: Clyne Common (4 miles) Moderate meet 10am Blackpill: CP at top of Mill Lane Sun 28 SHORT PM: Clyne Valley (4 miles) Easy/Moderate meet 12.30am Blackpill: CP at top of Mill Lane Mon 29 Killay Circular (4 miles) Easy/Moderate meet 10am Upper Killay: Community Centre CP

Visit our website: www.swansearamblers.org.uk SWANSEA LIFE 151

OUT & ABOUT

Bottoms up!

From bottled brews to craft creations on tap, Sarah Marshall reveals the top drinking establishments to sup in this spring

We have our fair share of award-winning brews on tap, but venture beyond the borders, and there’s a whole array of lagers, ales, stouts and porters to try Staff at Generator (staygenerator.com), Europe’s design-led hotel brand, are well-versed in recommending goodvalue local drinking holes to their guests. So, we asked their in-house bartenders to suggest some of the best places to raise a pint glass, in honour of our favourite fermented tipple. The Lotts, Dublin Recommended by Klaus Kristensen, Bar Supervisor at Generator Dublin Located in the heart of Dublin City, just a stone’s throw from Ha’penny bridge, The Lotts, on Liffey Street, has the reputation for being the smallest bar in Dublin. Decorated with caricatures of famous artists and musicians on the windows, 152 SWANSEA LIFE

the snug bar is a small space with minimal seating, but an open fireplace gives it a cosy atmosphere. Renowned for producing award-winning beers, Galway Hooker Brewery has created a Galway Hooker Honey Beer, an Irish favourite, which is served at the bar. • Cost of a pint: E5.70 (£4.87) • Visit: thelottscafebar.com Schwarzwaldstuben, Berlin Recommended by Michael Schuldes, bartender at Generator Berlin Mitte With an extensive beer menu, which is sure to satisfy even the most experienced connoisseurs, this local favourite also offers a fantastic selection of German food for a truly authentic experience of Berlin. Inside, it looks more like a brunch bar than a late night boozer (although it is open until midnight), with wooden tables

and pretty artworks characterising the interior. • Cost of a pint: E4.40 (£3.75) • Visit: schwarzwaldstuben-berlin.com Svejk, Copenhagen Recommended by Thierry Mackie, bartender supervisor at Generator Copenhagen Danish bodegas are authentic – sometimes centuries old – pubs, making them the ideal place to experience the Danes’ drinking culture. Set next to a beautiful garden, Svejk is a quintessential local tavern in the outskirts of a buzzing city, where everyone receives a warm welcome, and shares their stories of the past. The barman will even bring visitors’ orders to the table - service at its finest. • Cost of a pint: E5.50 (£4.70) • Visit: cafesvejk.dk

Bar Hilma, Stockholm Recommended by Rasmus Persson, supervisor of Bar Hilma at Generator Stockholm Stockholm has an amazing beer scene, ranging from international breweries and local favourites, to authentic beer bars unique to the destination. One of those recent additions is Bar Hilma, which sits inside the Generator Stockholm building. Along with offering a range of beers on tap for guests to enjoy, it has a programme of live music and even operates a tattoo studio – perhaps not always the best combination after you’ve had a few. Cost of a pint: 72 SEK (£5.82) Visit: hilmastockholm.com La Cervesera Artesana, Barcelona Recommended by Victor Martinez, bartender at Generator Barcelona Barcelona’s pioneering mirobrewery pub crafts more than 10 different types of beer, served alongside more than 100 international bottled tipples. Impressively, this includes a gluten-free selection (both on tap and bottle). Tours of the brewery take place every Sunday and cost E20 per person (about £17), including a sample of six beers. Soak up the alcohol with a selection of tapas. Food and beer pairing activities can also be arranged. Cost of a pint: E2 (£1.70) SWANSEA LIFE 153

http://dc3-otxapp-07:8280/MMWSI/MMWSI?action=GetAssetData&user=SandraEvans&service=Drag_To_Application&db= WHAT’S ON 2Vzc2lvbmlkIjoicUFXUkx6MzZzQks0Vkh6alhyRTZnc3AxLmRjMS1vdHhzcmNoLXUwMV9VQVRfOTM4MCIsImFwcG sInByb3BlcnRpZXMiOnsiaGl0bGlzdE5hbWUiOiJTRUFSQ0hfUkVTVUxUU181MCIsInNlbGVjdGlvbiI6WyJUUk1STU1H HJhUGFyYW1zIjp7fSwic291cmNlS2V5IjoiVFJNUk1NR0xQSUNUMDAwMTYyNDM5NjYwIn0%3D

Got something to tell us about, for inclusion in the What’s On section?

THIS APRIL MONDAY

FAME THE MUSICAL

A Very Special Evening with Russell Watson

Starring Hollyoaks’ Jorgie Porter, soul legend Mica Paris and theatre star Keith Jack SWANSEA GRAND THEATRE April 1 - 6 7.30pm • Wed & Sat mats 2.30pm

Gwyn Hall, neath 7.30PM

WEDNESDAY

THURSDAY

Beach clean at the Bay

Alzheimers Research UK. Rowberrys charity fashion show

Crymlyn Burrows 1-4pm

MONDAY

Wow One World Film Festival Taliesin Arts Centre Swansea April 8-11

peter.slee@reachplc.com

TUESDAY

Please contact Peter Slee...

Marriott Hotel, Swansea From 12 noon

FRIDAY

SATURDAY

Henning Wehn ‘get on with it’

Forget me Not concert

Oriel Yr Ardd Gallery

Princess Royal Theatre, Port Talbot 7.30pm

Siloam Baptist Church, Killay 7pm

National Botanic Garden of Wales

WEDNESDAY

THURSDAY

QUEEN OF THE OCEAN

ALL ABOUT EVE (National Theatre Live)

Cinema & Co. Swansea 7.15pm

The Hyst in Swansea April 10-14

Taliesin Arts Centre SWANSEA 7PM

FRIDAY

SATURDAY

SUNDAY

RHS Flower Show

Swansea Philharmonic Orchestra Joseph Haydn Creation

Marina Market

TUESDAY

SUNDAY

9 10 11

Aquaman (+ Pizza!)

12 13 14 (April 12-14) bute park cardiff

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Brangwyn Hall 7.30pm

National Waterfront Museum, SWANSEA 10 am - 3pm

=jSuite&r=1537278295526&id=TRMRMMGLPICT000162439660&j=eyJzcmNwYW5lbGlkIjo1MCwic G5hbWUiOiJDSFAiLCJzb3VyY2UiOiJoaXRsaXN0IiwidHlwZSI6ImFzc2V0IiwiYWN0aW9uIjoibGluayIHTFBJQ1QwMDAxNjI0Mzk2NjAiXSwibWV0YUtleSI6ZmFsc2UsInNoaWZ0S2V5IjpmYWxzZX0sImV4dSATURDAY

27 Principality Stadium, Cardiff 3pm & 5.15pm

MONDAY

TUESDAY

WEDNESDAY

THURSDAY

the big heart’s amazing easter

The Greatest Showman Masterclass (+ Pizza!)

16 17 18

15 Pongo’s Party

Adam Kay This Is Going To Hurt (Secret Diaries of a Junior Doctor)

Gwyn Hall, Neath

SWANSEA GRAND THEATRE 7.30PM

(April 15-28)

outside mcdonald’s on oxford street, swansea 10am-4pm

Cinema & Co. Swansea 2.45pm

FRIDAY

SATURDAY

SUNDAY

MONDAY

TUESDAY

Easter egg hunt

The Big Museum Easter Trail

Easter bunny fun

Octopus Soup!

(Apr 19–22)

(Apr 13–27)

Magical Unicorns In The Park

Mumbles Pier 12 noon

National Waterfront Museum, Swansea 10am-4pm

Gwili Railway 11AM

Gnoll Country Park 11AM

Grand Theatre, Swansea April 23-27

19 20 21 22 23 WEDNESDAY

THURSDAY

Mad Hatters Easter Eggstravaganza Tea Party

Free animal petting farm

MARGAM PARK 11AM & 3PM

Gnoll Country Park. 1am

24 25 SUNDAY

28 Llys Nini Mutt Strutt

GNOLL COUNTRY PARK 11AM

FRIDAY

SATURDAY

Easter Fun

Ty Hafan Character Chase

26 27 (April 13-28) Gower Heritage Centre

MONDAY

Singleton Park, Swansea 100m Run: 2pm, 5k Run: 12.30pm

TUESDAY

29 30 Bing Goes to the Theatre

princess royal theatre port talbot 10am

Bee garden cosmetics course

National Botanic Garden of Wales 11am - 2pm

SWANSEA LIFE 155

WHAT’S ON

interview

‘Things just started happening, like it was fate’ SWANSEA pop legend Bonnie Tyler is back with her 17th studio album, Between the Earth and the Stars, and she’s thrilled about it. The singer talks about how surprised she was to create the initially unplanned record, how she ended up working with three knights and why she feels she has never been held back as a woman in the music industry.

onnie Tyler doesn’t even feel 50 so the fact she’s marking her 50th year in the music industry is somewhat baffling to her.

Her speaking voice as distinctively husky as when she’s belting out one of her hits, she adds: “I was only going to do three songs that a friend of mine wrote that I really loved.”

She wasn’t even aware of the massive milestone until after creating her 17th album.

Tyler, whose home is in the city’s West Cross area, originally planned to record three new songs with David Mackay, who produced her first two albums in the late 1970s, and put them on a re-release of Rocks And Honey.

“When I saw the sticker on the front of my album saying ‘celebrating 50 years in the business’ I was like ‘wat the...? That’s incredible’,” she cries in excitement. It might seem unlikely for a person’s own career timeline to slip their mind but it pretty much sums up everything I come to know about the humble Welsh pop icon during our chat. Now 67, she is rather astounded by her longevity as an artist and she still can’t believe she managed to succeed back in the 1970s. She’s also pinching herself over the fact the likes of Sir Cliff Richard and Sir Rod Stewart wanted to work with her on her new album. Having started her career as a singer in 1969, Tyler who was born Gaynor Hopkins in Skewen, Wales - was discovered by a talent scout and scored a record deal in the mid-1970s. She went on to release a number of albums, although it was her fifth release, 1983’s Faster Than the Speed of Night - a trans-Atlantic number one hit and Grammynominated effort - that made the raspy-voiced singer a household name with breakout hit single Total Eclipse Of The Heart. Other hit songs followed, such as Holding Out For a Hero and A Rockin’ Good Way (To Mess Around and Fall In Love) with Shakin’ Stevens, both memorable and much-loved. The rest, as they say, is pop history. As much as she did not acknowledge her own landmark anniversary, Tyler also didn’t ever dream she’d be releasing album number 17, Between the Earth and the Stars. It wasn’t even planned, she says. She thought that perhaps her 16th album, 2013’s Rocks And Honey, was her last. Asked if she ever thought this moment possible, she declares: “Never in a million years. This kind of just blossomed together.”

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“But things just started happening - like it was fate, you know?” she adds. One of those “things”, as she calls them, was the interest of Status Quo’s Francis Rossi, who was played the three new tracks by Mackay and was so entranced by them he suggested he and Tyler duet. Duet they did, on a song called Someone’s Rockin’ Your Heart. “It was good fun doing that with him he’s a laugh a minute, he is,” Tyler says. “There’s still some laughing kept on the track, because we were having such a good time in the studio.” Tyler then shares how three musical giants - Sir Rod Stewart, Sir Barry Gibb and Sir Cliff Richard - got involved. “David knew he would be meeting up with Sir Barry Gibb at Wimbledon and he asked him if he had a song for me,” Tyler says. “A couple of months later, a beautiful song came in from Sir Barry, Seven Waves Away, which made it on to the album.” “And then,” she continues, settling into her story, “I had an opportunity to do a duet with Sir Rod Stewart. “It’s always been a dream of mine.” Tyler, who has previously been dubbed the “female Rod Stewart” due to her deliciously throaty vocals, says she emailed Sir Rod after being encouraged by a friend of his she met on holiday in Barbados. She recounts: “I was waiting for the right song and then a track called Battle of the Sexes came around. “I emailed Rod, asking if he’d listen to the song, and he came back personally to me a few days later telling me he loved it.” Then there’s the song with Sir Cliff, a dear friend. “We both have houses in Portugal and he was at my house before we were going out for dinner with friends. I played him this collection of songs and he was like, ‘Wow Bonnie, this is fantastic - let’s do a duet’.

“We got the right song, Taking Control, and he loved it on the very first listen.” For all her years of fame and success from her humble beginnings, she’s astonished at how things have turned out. “I can’t believe they all wanted to work with me, it’s incredible. I feel blessed. To work with those guys ... I’ve died and gone to Heaven.” Reflecting on her 50 years in music, discussion turns to what it’s like to be a woman in the industry. With the #MeToo movement in mind and the ongoing conversation around female representation, it’s difficult not to ask someone who has been in music for as long as she has for her take. Has she ever had to fight her way through to be heard? Was it difficult for her to break through in a man’s world? “Not really, no,” comes her simple reply. “I think it’s because I’ve got this rock voice, you know? And I’ve had my fair share of headlining ... it’s been incredible. I’m not complaining.” She has, however, noticed other changes. “Years ago, you’d sell 50,000 copies a day,” she sighs. “That doesn’t happen anymore. Everything has completely changed in the record business, even with the limos picking you up. Everything is more low-key now. Everybody used to love getting the call that said, ‘You’re on Top Of The Pops’ - that was something awesome to look forward to. “I’ll never forget the first time I was asked to do Top Of The Pops with my single Lost In France in 1976. I suddenly felt like I’d arrived. “But one thing that never changes is the love of music. When you walk out on that stage, the adrenaline that comes - it’s fabulous. You cannot beat it. “That will never change if you love music, if you love singing as much as I do.” She says it’s that deep-rooted love of music and performing live to fans that finally wooed her into creating this new record. “I am so happy that I’ve done it,” she adds. “It’s the best album I have ever made.”

*Bonnie Tyler’s Between the Earth and the Stars is out now

SWANSEA LIFE 157

PART OF SWANSEA PRIDE

2019

Thursday 2nd May 2019

Brangwyn Hall

Tickets from:

£18

all tickets include arrival welcome drink

Doors open from 6.45pm Start at 7.30pm

Tickets available: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/swansea-pride-hits-the-dance-floor-tickets-53741993750 www.brangwyn.co.uk/events/swanseapridehitsthedancefloor and the Grand Theatre Swansea • 01792 475715 www.swansea.gov.uk/BrangwynHall/ SwanseaPrideHitsTheDancefloor

For more info: 01792 47 44 11

SWANSEA PRIDE 2019

PART OF SWANSEA PRIDE

2019

FRIDAY 3RD MAY 2019

SWANSEA

DOORS OPEN FROM 8PM

TICKET FROM S WITH M Â£25 EET AN G REET A D PACKA ND VIP AVAILAGES BLE

a e s n a w S ride P SWANSEA PRIDE 2019

BOOKING DETAILS: WWW.EVENTBRITE.CO.UK/E/FARRAH-MOAN-ATSWANSEA-PRIDE-2019-TICKETS-53089388791?AFF=EBDSSBDESTSEARCH

SOCIAL DIARY â&#x20AC;˘ CELEBRATION

ITWales International Womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Day dinner WHere: Marriot Hotel, Swansea Tell Me More: A celebratory dinner providing an insight into the diverse range of business and career opportunities for women in the 21st Century offering a platform for sharing experiences, knowledge and best practice for women, particularly those working within science and technology. Pictures: Adrian White Photography

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SOCIAL DIARY • GALA NIGHT

3 knights and 2 welshmen GALA NIGHT WHere: Dylan Thomas Theatre, maritime quarter Tell Me More: A gala event to launch the latest stage play produced by Karen Struel-White and Peter Lynne. ‘ entitled ‘3 Knights and 2 Welshmen’ telling the story of the friendship between Richard Burton and Dylan Thomas.

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SOCIAL DIARY â&#x20AC;˘ Retirement party

Retirement party for Sybil Crouch WHere: Mansion House, Swansea Tell Me More: A get-together to mark the long service of Sybil Crouch, head of cultural services at the Taliesin Arts Centre / Swansea University. Pictures: Hoosh Arabi

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SOCIAL DIARY • community awards

Evening Post 2019 Community Awards WHere: Brangwyn Hall, Swansea Tell Me More: A celebratory night to honour the region’s unsung heroes. Photos by Adrian White (www.adrianwhitephotography.co.uk)

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SOCIAL DIARY • Mike Ruddock

‘An evening with Mike Ruddock’ WHere: Marriott Hotel, Swansea Tell Me More: An evening hosted by the former Wales Grand Slam-winning coach organised by Adore Events. Pictures: Hoosh Arabi

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SOCIAL DIARY • SUN LOUNGE

The Sun Lounge 20th anniversary PARTY WHERE: Spatz, Morriston Tell Me More: Sun Lounge staff and customers joined together for an evening to mark the company’s 20th anniversary

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Start your engines... We’re the UK’s largest specialist motor insurer and are on the look-out for new team members to fill an array of interesting roles based in our Swansea office. You don’t have to be a car enthusiast to work for us, as all our new starters get comprehensive training and support, so we’ll get you up to speed quickly. You just to have to want to learn fast and go the extra mile. To find out more, visit us at ers.com/careers or talk to us at Swansea’s Vintage Car Show in Singleton Park on Monday 6th May

Beetle or Bentley, Fiesta or Ferrari... you wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t find better than THE WHEEL SPECIALIST - SWANSEA Ashmount Business Park (Unit 9B), Upper Fforest Way, Swansea Enterprise Zone, Swansea, SA6 QR

01792 700 110

@maggiesswansea

Walk for Maggie’s

Sunday 14th July

Join us for a family fun-filled day at our brand new location:

Millennium Coastal Path, Llanelli

Our 5km walk starts at Burry Port Harbour and follows the Millennium Coastal Path to Festival Fields.

Registration: £10 (under 16’s go FREE!) Register online and help support local people with cancer, their families and friends across South West Wales. maggiescentres.org/how-you-can-help/take-part/ all-events/walk-maggies-swansea-2019 Maggie Keswick Jencks Cancer Caring Centres Trust (Maggie’s) is a registered charity, No. SC024414

WE HAVE BEEN SUPPLYING AND FITTING ACROSS SOUTH WALES FOR 34 YEARS We are experts in fitting:

■ TOW BARS

■ VAN RACKS

■ NUMBER PLATES

■ TRAILERS

■ CYCLE CARRIERS

■ DUAL CONTROLS

■ PARKING SENSORS

Llanelli Trailer Centre Let the specialists fit it for you

Unit 3A, Llanelli Workshop, Trostre Industrial Park, Llanelli, SA14 9UU Tel: 01554 773608 | E: info@ltcmobility.co.uk Open Monday to Friday 9am to 5.30pm | Saturday 9am to 12.30pm

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ASK

P ETE R LYN N & PARTN E RS

TIME FOR YOU

WHAT ARE THE RISKS OF A DIY WILL? It’s just not worth trying to cut corners when it comes to making a will. It may seem tempting to try to save money, but the consequences could be disastrous for the people you leave behind. One mistake could leave your will invalid, and your estate could be divided up by a judge, or it could go to the Treasury if you have no close relatives. Research has shown that DIY wills which are poorly drafted or ineffective leave 38,000 UK families with a prolonged probate process every year. This can also eat up an average of 10% of a person’s estate in additional fees.

Effectively, none. If you use a will template, the company that supplies it won’t take any responsibility for your will being correctly made. If you make any mistakes which cause problems when your will is read, there won’t be any legal comeback at all.

It’s the last thing your family needs at an already difficult time.

You might save money up front compared with using a professional service, but if you get anything wrong, you could be stirring up trouble for your family and friends when it comes to sorting out your finances after you have died.

What do wills cost?

Why use a solicitor?

A solicitor will draw up a basic will for a few hundred pounds, and wills with specialised and complex planning could push the cost up, so it is understandable that some people turn to off-the-shelf DIY will kits for around £20. These kits can be a risky choice, though.

Getting a solicitor to draw up your will is a safe and reliable way to ensure your will is drafted in a legal manner.

What are the potential pitfalls?

Ian Walker - wills, probate and trusts specialist talks this month about DIY wills

What recourse will your family have?

While on the face of it, filling in an off-theshelf document appears relatively straight forward, you are leaving yourself open to future legal disputes and hefty tax bills if you make a simple mistake such as: 1. Incorrectly naming beneficiaries and executors 2. Making amendments after the will has been signed 3. Not adhering to the strict rules for witnesses 4. Signing the correct pages 5. Making necessary updates in the required manner 6. Registering and storing your will correctly

It can save a lot of time and stress for those you leave behind as probate is less complex when a will is in place. It also gives you peace of mind that your wishes are being followed, but don’t be scared, many of our clients put off making wills and then finish the process by saying ‘Well that was painless!’ In addition, experienced wills solicitors will know what questions to ask to ensure you cover as many eventualities as possible when deciding how to distribute your assets upon death. For professional advice on wills, please contact Peter Lynn & Partners on 01792 450010 or email Advice@plandp.co.uk to arrange a free initial consultation or visit here for more information www.peterlynnandpartners.co.uk/willsprobate-trusts/

To arrange a free initial meeting, call 01792 450010 or email Advice@plandp.co.uk 176 SWANSEA LIFE

Preventing Legal Problems

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OCEAN LIVING CARE HOME HAS BEEN AWARDED WINNER OF THE “MUMBLES IN BLOOM” COMMERCIAL PREMISES CATEGORY 2018

HE spectacular location of Ocean Living makes this residential home for the elderly unparalleled.

Ocean living is located directly on the sea front promenade, directly opposite Knab rock and Verdi’s and boasts incredible sea views of Mumbles. The terrace is full of beautiful hanging baskets in summer,

recently winning commercial premises for “Mumbles in Bloom”. There is no better place than this to sit and watch the world go by! Residents at Ocean living have prime seats to sit and enjoy events such as The Wales air show, Mumbles raft race and the daily activities with children sailing with Mumbles yacht club. One resident, Mr Phillip E, ventures out every morning on his mobility scooter. He rides his scooter up to the village every morning to buy the papers, stops off at the pilot, a few doors down from Ocean living, for a pint and carries on along the promenade to the pier before heading back to Ocean living. Access to Ocean living couldn’t be easier also, with it all being on the flat, he simply rides up the ramp to the terrace area and parks his scooter safety.

For further details please log on to Care inspectorate Wales for Ocean Living’s most recent inspection report.

Ocean Living are proud of achieving 5 stars for their food standards

Promoting independence and community ties are key to the well-being of the residents at Ocean living, whilst at the same time the residents are looked after by qualified dedicated care staff offering person centred care to suit their individual needs. With only 15 residents, Ocean living can ensure high standards of quality care.

RESIDENTIAL HOME FOR THE ELDERLY

“Ocean living is an excellent place. There is a lovely atmosphere, great food and lovely staff. We are very pleased that mum has settled so well. Overall score 5/5 for care/support, management, rooms, value for money and overall standard”. March 2019 Russell H (son of resident)

Located on the sea front in Mumbles, overlooking Swansea Bay (opposite Verdi’s), Ocean Living has all the hallmarks of sophistication and style but with a unique homely feel that is enjoyed by residents, their family and friends.

Freshly cooked to order meals are made by our resident chef, including breakfast, three course lunch, supper and of course home-baked cakes and desserts and all are serviced in our restaurant quality dining room. In-room dining facilities are also available if preferred - our aim is to make our residents feel at home.

Ocean Living has been developed and designed specifically for luxury senior care living, with generous room sizes, opulent interior design, magnificent en suites and comfort all round. Ocean Living is registered for 15 residents.

“Everyone is so kind and considerate and keeps a very close eye on me so that my every need is catered for. They all work very hard to make me content here, all is well”. Joan W would highly recommend Ocean Living and her overall score is 5/5 for activities, food & drink, facilities and being treated with dignity. 2018 Joan W (resident)

734-736 Mumbles Road, Mumbles, Swansea SA3 4EL | Tel: 01792 361818 | info@ocean-living.co.uk | www.ocean-living.co.uk

COMING NEXT MONTH IN SWANSEA LIFE Back to basics to give your home a fresh makeover you will love Experts reveal: How to spot a fashion trend ( before anyone else!) On the menu: The very best in home-grown food Swansea high street fashion we can all enjoy ON SALE MAY 13

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