FRANK M A G A Z I N E
April May 2021
FRANK's Product of the Month
Melt away anxiety and welcome in calm for deep, restorative sleep If your mind races at night, or if your legs feel restless, a weighted blanket could be the answer. It helps to foster a sense of stillness and calm, helping your body and brain to switch off for the night.
EVERY BLANKET GIVES BACK Every Mela purchase protects 25 trees in the Amazonian rainforest
''We have now converted to the weighted blanket club! So comforting and aids a blissful nights sleep''
VEGAN & CRUELTY FREE Duvets use 100% eucalyptus lyocell fibres compared with competitors that use duck and goose feather down sourced from live plucking practices CHARITABLE PARTNERS Firm believers that any business should try to do some good in the world, Mela donate a portion of each sale to charities that support those in need. Currently this includes Young Minds.
The FRANK Magazine
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“To plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow.” Audrey Hepburn
HAPPY 2nd BIRTHDAY TO FRANK Thank you for all the love and support over the last two years.
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Editor's note This Springtime READ
''Frank is for women who want to be informed, inspired, look good and be healthy.''
Hi Ladies Firstly I want to say Happy Birthday to our beloved Frank Magazine and thank you all for supporting us over the last two years. Editing Frank has been a welcome change of direction in my professional life and has been a joy to nurture and grow. I encourage you all to find happiness, inspiration and fun in the work that you do. You deserve it!
You are a Goddess Sophie Bashford
WEAR
I hope you enjoy our Spring issue, packed with health, beauty, fashion, art, food, books and Interviews. You know the drill by now! I hope it brings a smile to your face and is a source of inspiration. And before I sign off, we are taking the mag to the next level, so look out for Frank news, coming soon. So go forth, read the magazine, be true to yourself and live that life !
Veja Condor 2 Trainers
Love as always
WATCH
Minimalism on Netflix Illistration by JACQUELINE BISSETT Fashion Illustrator @JABissett www.jacquelinebissett.com
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Contents April May 2021
FRANK Cover Story
Our Favourite Scrubs
Goodbye Skinnie Jeans
Shampoo Bars
K-Beauty
p1 Product of the Month p9 FRANK Loves p11 FRANK Giveaway p12 Picnic Time
W
FASHION p14
BEAUTY p42
p16 Post lockdown pep up pieces p20 It’s a New Dawn Fashion Shoot p32 Spring’s War-Drobe Essential p36 Goodbye Skinnie Jeans
p44 Shampoo & Conditioner Bars Fiona Eustace p50 K-Beauty Fiona Eustace p54 Sunshine Glow p56 Body Scrubs www.thefrankmagazine.com
INTERVIEWS p62 p64 Interview with Samantha Cameron p74 Interview with Helen Butters p82 The Loves, likes & vibes of…Fiona Eustace p84 Interview with Michelle Griffith Robinson p88 Interview with Chris Cyprus
Samantha Cameron on her Fashion Brand Cefinn
Sjoukje Gummels
HEALTH & WELLNESS p97 p98 Step into Spring Sjoukje Gummels p100 It’s not all about the journey Kate Tilston p102 Finding your Ikagai Charisse Glenn p106 Pelvic floor awakening Gabriella Espinosa p112 DNA Testing Sandie Fredriksson p116 Women Together Tamsin Calidas
GIVEAWAYS... Keep an eye out for all of our giveaways @thefrank_mag
The Reading List with Simon Savidge
WHAT TO… p128 p130 Herbilicious Francesca Klottrup p140 The READING List Simon Savidge p145 Good Canteen Giveaway p146 What to Watch p148 Horse Power Phillipa Sage p156 The Ultimate High Lara Platman p164 The FRANK Directory
Women Together Tamsin Caladis
Herbilicious Francesca Klottrup
AND MUCH MUCH MORE.........
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T E A M
MELANIE
Photo by Alan Strutt
MELANIE
Photo by Alan Strutt
F R A N K
''Melanie Sykes was a fashion model before moving into hosting TV and Radio shows. Alongside her presenting work, she is now Editor in chief of FRANK magazine. As a woman over forty, she felt there was a gap in the magazine market for women her age and wanted to rectify that. “I believe it is never too late to try something new and creating and editing FRANK is the perfect project at this stage in my life and something I am relishing." ''After 15 years in the tech world, Melanie now has successful businesses in publishing and social media, delivering original content and design. She says she is excited about helping FRANK to be the magazine of choice for women over 40.''
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF - Melanie Sykes DESIGN DIRECTOR - Melanie Burnett BEAUTY EDITOR - Fiona Eustace FASHION EDITOR - Annabel Kerman CONTRIBUTORS Kate Tilson Simon Savidge Sandie Fredriksson Tamsin Caladis Lara Platman Charisse Glenn Sjoukje Gummels Francesca Klottrup CONTACT US hello@thefrankmagazine.com International Distribution | FRANK Magazine FREE Subscriptions Worldwide | www.thefrankmagazine.com
Copyright © 2020 The Frank Magazine. Nothing from this or any other publications of The FRANK Magazine may be reproduced by letterpress, photo-offset, photocopying, microfilm or any other method whatsoever without the express written consent of the publisher or of the holders of the copyright of the author in question. This publication has been compiled with the greatest care. However, the publishers do not in any way hold themselves liable for any errors that may have arisen. www.thefrankmagazine.com
BE KIND TO YOURSELF + THE Cover Photographer Philip Blythman Fashion Editor Annabel Kerman Model Clare Durkin Hair Helen Bannon Make up Fiona Eustace Make up Assistant Lisa Fudio Styling Assistant Saskia Purr Photography Assistant Jamie Shipton Shot at e 5 Location House www.thefrankmagazine.com
@thefrank_mag
FRANK loves
OLIVIEREWILSON They De-Puff!! The Cryo Ice Sticks have been designed to lift, sculpt and tighten the skin. Ergonomically designed to fit the contours of the face, neck and body. Perfect after microneedling, laser, peel or to de-puff the eyes and freshen the entire face am or pm. Tip: they are great pre make-up! ''Turns redness down and radiance up. For a radiant refresh - use premakeup around eyes, cheekbones, brow bones and jawline. Creates the perfect canvas for makeup.''
olivierewilson.com
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F R A N K
L O V E S
bloombloom glasses
Why we love bloombloom.... Every pair of glasses or sunglasses sold they donate a pair to someone in need. You can try 5 frames at home for free. You can choose a price for your 2nd pair They have some wonderful designs
bloobloom.com www.thefrankmagazine.com
G I V E A W A Y
delilah Pure Light Liquid Radiance
Future Resist Foundation PrimerPure Light Liquid Radiance is a beautiful liquid illuminator, with a sheer and weightless feel which instantly brightens and evens out skin tone, giving a lit-from-within glow. Infused with Vitamin E to protect from daily damage of free radicals and packaged in a beautiful rose gold and glass bottle. This skin enhancing veil instantly blurs imperfections and diminishes dullness without a trace of tell-tale glitter. delilahcosmetics.com/
GIVEAWAY!.. Watch out for our Instagram post to enter to win one of these delilah Pure Light Liquid Radiance
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F R A N K
T I M E
O U T
Picnic Time
Wherever you may go when the sun is out, make it a lovely experience, especially with these beautiful picnic pieces... (and don't forget to take any rubbish home).
Each design is hand-painted in a subtly different iridescent hue for a unique finish; simply pour water, juice or your favourite wine into a tumbler to watch the harmonious shades and sculpted details dance in the light.
The compact, on-the-go container is crafted from 18/10 food grade stainless steel with a removable glass inner and boasts S’well’s thermo-regulation technology to keep snacks and liquids like soups hot or cold.
Make dining alfresco a sophisticated affair with Heating & Plumbing’s Rainbow picnic set.
Crafted to resemble a fashion accessory, the petite Food à Porter lunch box from Alessi combines function with aesthetics. Spacious, yet compact, a trio of stacked sections lets you separate the different components of your meal, while the silicone twin handles promise effortless transportation.
LSA INTERNATIONAL Set of 4 Gems Tumblers £42
HEATING & PLUMBING Rainbow Ultimate Picnic Tool Kit £335
S'WELLCalacatta Gold Insulated Food Flask (610ml) £45
ALESSI Food à Porter Lunch Box £48
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NEVER MISS AN ISSUE Frank is for women who want to be informed, inspired, look good and be healthy. thefrankmagazine www.thefrankmagazine.com
Photography Philip Blythmam Fashion Editor Annabel Kerman WOLFORD Bodysuit TORYBURCH Crepe trousers MARTAFERRI Headscarf
FRANK FASHION In this months ‘It’s a New Dawn’ fashion shoot we celebrate Spring shapes and colours that are making us feel good; plus we choose seasonal pieces that ‘spark joy’, curate our choice of the new jeans that are replacing our staple skinnies, and edit the new ‘drobe’ - part dressing gown part robe part spring coat.
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POST LOCKDOWN PEP UP PIECES New season loveliness. By Annabel Kerman
Let’s face it, we haven’t had much to feel perky about for a while. And while fashion is nothing if not flighty, sometimes it can be the answer. Whether shopping, or seeking style inspiration, the following ideas will keep you on point for those baby steps back out into the real world.
2 3 1. REINVENTED WHITE SHIRT SARK Valium sailor shirt £295 For those who struggle with the season’s oversized frilly collars, we give you Sark’s grown up take on the look. sarklondon.com 2. A THROW IT ALL IN HOLDALL RAE FEATHER Monogram striped camouflage tote from £120 We haven’t left the house for a while; best take EVERYTHING, just in case. raefeather.com 3. COLOUR POP TRAINERS NIKE Air Max 90 £125 When the daily walk is losing its appeal: new kicks = energised exercising. nike.com
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4. WIDE LEG JEANS WYSE LONDON Florence flared jean £180 Restrictive skinnies begone. We are all for comfort these days and Wyse’s soft seventies inspired jeans are calling. wyselondon.co.uk 5. WEAR WITH ANYTHING BOOTS STIVALERIA CAVALLIN Q55 stivale tan boot £1100. After months of fluffy slippers, a buttery soft pair of investment boots feel like one of life’s answers. stivaleriacavallin.com 6. JOYFUL DRESS TALLULAH AND HOPE Blue jay bird dress £250 Does it bring you joy? Then wear it. Thank you Marie Kondo for facilitating the love of all that is frivolous this Spring. tallulahandhope.com 7. BLING IT UP GOLD CHAIN LOEL & CO Gold chunky belcher £195 From Zoom calls to real life, a chunky chain is the simplest way to level up that old tee. loel.co.uk
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11 8. OUT OUT BAG MICHAEL KORS Bradshaw convertible small shoulder bag £290 When we haven’t needed a bag for a lipstick and mobile phone for aeons, a party bag feels like Nirvana. michaelkors.co.uk 9. PERSONALISED TSHIRT SEZANE Colette Mariniere personalised breton tee £75 Transported to France without leaving the sofa? And personalised embroidery too? You are spoiling us Sezane. sezane.com 10. CONVERSATION STARTER ACCESSORY CHLOE + CLARITA KENT at Net-a-Porter £395 With no dinner party conversation for months, we need all the help we can get. Chloe’s clutch features quotes from the ‘pop art nun’ Clarita Kent net-aporter.com 11. ZOOM WORTHY GLASSES SUPERNORMAL at Wolf & Badger Ambitious pink computer glasses £123 We’ll be zooming for a while to come, so why not look after your eyes while making a statement. wolfandbadger.com
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12.TROPICAL PRINT DRESS ZARA £49.99 If you can’t get to the holiday, bring the holiday to you. zara.com SPRING TRENCH PALONES colour block trench £145. Break from the norm with a colourful trench to lighten the mood. palonesoffcial.com 13.STATEMENT BLOUSE ZIMMERMAN at Matches Brighton blouse £450 Nothing says 2021 more than a puff sleeve and a touch of broderie anglaise, and Zimmerman rules on both counts. matchesfashion.com 14.HOLIDAY SHOES KITTY CLOGS Cumin mid klassick clog £129. Will have you feeling like an extra from Mama Mia in no time. Now where’s that Greek Island. kittyclogssweden.co.uk
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SOEUR Blazer and JEJIA Trousers both at Onloan WOLFORD Bodysuit BRUNELLO CUCINELLI Organza shirt ALIGHIERI Rings
IT'S A NEW DAWN
Sartorial Simplicity has us feeling good this Spring
Photographer Philip Blythman Fashion Editor Annabel Kerman
Thispage: VIVETTA shirt and jeans ALIGHIERI Rings Opposite page: BRUNOCU CHINELLI Blazer MICHAELKORS Necklace
GANNI Broderie dress
ThisPage: RAUL Blouse DESIGNERSREMIX at Onloan Skirt GRENSON Sandals ALIGHIERI Necklace Oppositepage: VALENTINO at EditSecondhandJacket TORYBURCH Trousers ZARABodysuit LOEL & COEarrings
HOUSEOFDAGMAR at Onloan Dress S T I V A L E R I A C A V A L L I N B o o ts LINDAFARROW S unglasses and chain
Oppositepage: WOLFORD Bodysuit TORYBURCH Crepe trousers MARTAFERRI Headscarf Hair Helen Bannon using Kiehls Makeup Fiona Eustace using Oxygenetix and ByTerry Makeup Assistant LisaFudio StylingAssistant Saskia Purr Photography Assistant Jamie Shipton Shot at e5 Location House Stockists alighieri.co.uk brunellocucinelli.com editsecondhand.com ganni.com grenson.com uk.lindafarrow.com loel.co.uk martaferri.com onloan.co stivaleriacavallin.com theoutnet.com toryburch.co.uk vivetta.com wolfordshop.co.uk zara.com
F A S H I O N
SPRING’S WARDROBE ESSENTIAL
By Saskia Purr
Meet the ‘Drobe’ The fusion of a dressing gown, robe and duster jacket, set to save us this Spring in the transition from 24 hour loungewear to outside world style.
TOP ROW l-R Temperley London, wildcat kimono, £382 farfetch.com Hilary Macmillen two tone duster £275 wolfandbadger.com Free people, wild nights duster, £158 freepeople.com MIDDLE ROW L-R Henrik Vibskov, stripe twirl coat, £379 henrikvibskovboutique.com Anthropologie, ollari textured duster coat, £148 anthropolgie.com Uma Wang, polka-dot print duster, £2,072 umawang.com BOTTOM ROW L-R Anthropologie, Zadie printed duster, £120 anthropologie.com Jennifer Grace Rose Quartz yoga duster £120 wolfandbadger.com Missoni, belt leaf-knitted coat, £1,270 matchesfashion.com
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Christian Dior SS21 Photographer: Alessandro Lucioni Model: Deirdre Firinne
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J E W E L L E R E Y
Shirin Uma
PROTECTION. FORTUNE. PEACE.
meaningful collections of fine jewellery, perfect for gifting to yourself or a loved one
SAPPHIRE & DIAMOND TWO TONE DIAMOND SET NECKLACE This round brilliant cut diamond set Eye of Protection, featuring a deep blue oval sapphire as the centre stone is set in yellow gold. It is fixed to a white gold chain, with diamonds handset in yellow gold. The use of both yellow and white gold makes this a versatile, everyday piece.
SAPPHIRE & DIAMOND TWO TONE DIAMOND SET BRACELET This round brilliant cut diamond set Eye of Protection frames a deep blue oval sapphire and is set in yellow gold. It is fixed to an adjustable white gold bracelet, with a round brilliant cut diamond set in yellow gold on either side of the eye. The use of both yellow and white gold makes this a versatile, everyday piece.
shirinuma.com www.thefrankmagazine.com
F A S H I O N
GOODBYE SKINNIES 30 JEANS TO WEAR IN 2021 Words Annabel Kerman Still life imagery Saskia Purr
T
Valentino, Balenciaga, Balmain, Chloe, Ulla Johnson, Paco Rabanne vogue.com
here was a time the skinny jean seemed like it would reign supreme forever. From age 16 it was my uniform - foraged from London’s Kensington Market and worn to art college with Dr Marten boots. Age 23 it was a Topshop pair with button up legs, worn with tasselled suede pixie boots, and a waistcoat. I thought i was a rock star. Didn’t we all? Our skinnies were the emblem of the 1990’s generation. And they managed to hang on to their crown for the next twenty years. But in the words of one of the forefathers of skinny jean wearing, Bob Dylan, the times they are a changin’. Our beloved skinnies have become the ageing parent of the denim world; the jeans whose dance moves are embarrassing the gen z kids. So what has caused the shift? Apart from obvious oversaturation, the current zeitgeist, of sustainability, and ethical sourcing and production, is leaving the super stretch skinny feeling rather environmentally toxic. Plus there is no denying a year of lockdown has influenced our clothing preferences: after so much time at home we have no compulsion to squeeze ourselves into anything but a comfortable option. Because let’s not forget that the skinny was hardly an easy clothing choice. Most of us will admit that while perfect on the long limbs of models and rockstars, wrestling spray on hipster jeans over our lumps and bumps was often a one sided love affair. So the current opportunity to embrace new denim cuts that are conscientiously produced, comfy AND are figure flattering is surely a no brainer. These four key styles for 2021 might just revolutionise your denim style. And with waistlines resting comfortably at the midriff,there won’t be a muffin top in sight.
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SUPER SLOUCH Maybe it’s the current obsession with loungewear, but these jeans are ALL about comfort: Wide of leg, fluid of fabric; The metaphorical elasticated waistbands of the denim world. What’s not to love.
FRANK TIP Don’t be scared to glam slouchy jeans up with barely there heeled sandals and a blouse. As we all know, a little juxtaposition never hurt anyone. Go too casual and the look may stray into lumberjack territory. Catwalk Image: CHLOE SS21 vogue.com Credits l-r: GAP, wide leg suspender jeans, £69.96 GANNI X LEVIS Indigo high waisted pants, £225, TOPSHOP @ Asos, oversized mom jeans, £29.99 ISKO x Studio Nicholson £350, BRUNELLO CUCINELLI at Farfetch High rise wide leg skater jeans £920
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BARREL LEG The jean that feels like it shouldn’t flatter: High of waist, wide of leg and tapered of ankle. But surprisingly it creates an hourglass shape that works on all figures, and injects a little swing into the straightest of hips.
FRANK TIP Worn slightly cropped barrel jeans will create the effect of a slim ankle and are easy to team with flats.
Catwalk Image: Celine SS21 vogue.com Credits l-r:TOTEME at Matches Fashion original twisted seam jeans, £200, WHISTLES authenPc barrel leg jean, £95, CITIZENS OF HUMANITY at Net-aPorter distressed high rise tapered jeans £320, SSONE, yarrow jean, £324, ARKET, barrel leg jean, £69
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STRAIGHT AND SIMPLE For the skinny devotees, the straight leg jean is an easy replacement. Relaxed enough to feel 2021, but slim enough of leg to maintain bottom hugging sex appeal. The new skinny for grown ups.
FRANK TIP Wear the straight leg jean extra long with a glimpse of heel if you are feeling fashion forward. Otherwise ankle grazing or with a large turn up is a soft launch in to the look. Catwalk Image: Valentino SS21 vogue. com VICTORIA BECKHAM at Selfridges, slit turned up cuff jeans, £390. COS straight cropped jeans, £59. LEVIS ribcage straight ankle jeans, £50. RAEY at Matches Fashion, push straight-leg jeans, £140. MANGO high waist straight jeans, £35.99
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GIVE IT SOME FLARE From the seventies mom slim kickflare to dad style maxi seventies strides, there is a flare shape for everyone and its figure balancing alchemy has made it the surprise hit of the season.
FRANK TIP There’s no denying the flare raises footwear questions. With wider styles go floor grazing over flats or heels, or try a wide crop. The slimmest boot cut kick flare can feel a little wild west with heels but worn at ankle length is an easier tick.
Catwalk Image: Victoria Beckham SS21 vogue.com Credits l-r BOYISH, The charley wide flare jeans, £137. GUCCI at Matches Fashion, washed denim flare, £690. GRAYSEY, high rise kick flare jeans, £159. OTHER STORIES, flared high waist jean, £65. M&S, high waisted flare jeans, £29.50
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F R A N K “What you do makes a difference and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.” -JANE GOODALL.
FOLLOW FRANK HERE www.issuu.com/thefrankmagazine
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F R A N K
L O V E S
The Nue Co THE PILL THE PILL works on puffy, inflamed, dry, dull + tired skin in three ways to deliver fast results and long term skin benefits. It instantly brightens + exfoliates, hydrates + plumps, and tightens + creates a ‘second skin’ effect. Long term, it also supports the production of collagen and procollagen, can reduce breakouts, increase skin hydration + decrease fine lines. AHAs are alpha hydroxy acids, a class of chemical compounds that can be either naturally occurring or synthetic. THE PILL uses six different AHAs derived from organic sugars to brighten, gently exfoliate + resurface the skin: Glycolic, Lactic, Mandelic, Malic, Tartaric + Citric. AHAs offer chemical exfoliation as an alternative to manual exfoliation, working primarily by dissolving the bonds between skin cells to allow the removal of dead cells and a subsequently smoother skin surface.
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FRANK Beauty
B E A U T Y
E D I T
Shampoo & Conditioner Bars
Not just good for your hair but good for the planet too. By Beauty Editor Fiona Eustace @fionaeustace
I
n the past I’ve stayed away from “soap”. Growing up I was told that soap was bad for me. I instantly filed shampoo bars in with the soap category as a ‘no no’ and decided they would be bad for my hair. That is until I tried one. My hair has never felt so soft and manageable. These bars are a revelation. If you want to help reduce the planets plastics waste whilst keeping your locks on point, then this is definitely the way to go.
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grüum hår Revitalising £5 No fuss, no mess. Simple, solid shampoo does away with wasteful over-packaging and environmental worries in one. Perfect for anyone who loves the planet as much as their hair. These rich, solid shampoo bars effectively cleanse and moisturise to leave your hair looking nourished and healthy. Ideal for everyday use and ideal in the wash-bag for visits to the gym, at the swimming pool or to take on holiday! This product is free from artificial colours, parabens, SLES, alcohol and EDTA. Our products are never tested on animals. Made in the UK.
Lush New Shampoo bar £8 This tingly nettle and peppermint infusion will leave your hair squeaky clean, whilst the Clove and Cinnamon oil will invigorate your scalp. Lush have to be the OG of Shampoo bars, selling their first one way back in 1988, they have been flying off the shelves since, selling 6.6 million bars in 2019 !!
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Friendly Soap £2.75 I want sure whether to include this soap because it can not be used in hard water areas, but as it did come highly recommended so I thought I would. The Lavender and tea tree essential oils help to refresh as well as cleanse your hair. The castor oil in the bar is deeply nourishing and creates a gorgeous creamy lather. Perfect for soft water areas only.
Odacite 552M Argan and Coconut Soap Free Shampoo Bar £27 This is the most expensive of the bars but is also the most luxurious. The Argan oil leaves your hair so smooth and silky soft, it's divine. The scent is glorious and not too strong. Helping the planet has never been easier. Great if you're travelling.
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Earthbits 2 in 1 Solid Shampoo and Conditioner Bars £7.50 2 for the price of one. This bar is perfect for people with coloured hair, it contains coconut which will soften and hydrate as well as Hydrolysed Quinoa protein which helps retain your hair colour and will smooth out your locks. You can also purchase a lovely bamboo soap dish, which would be a lovely addition to any bathroom.
Garnier Ultimate blends coconut hydrating shampoo bar £7.99 Jam packed with Coconut oil & Aloe Vera these power ingredients are perfect for nourishing and hydrating your hair. These bars are 100% vegan and will leave your hair softer and shinier. They are on sale at the moment for £3.96, so the perfect price to give them a go.
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FRANK READER OFFER use code FRANK2SAINT for 20% off our main collection
PSYCHEDELICACY SKINCARE OPEN YOUR MIND - HEAL YOUR BODY - FREE YOUR SOUL
If you're reading this right now, relax your shoulders and unclench your jaw.
B E A U T Y
E D I T
K-Beauty
By Beauty Editor Fiona Eustace @fionaeustace
Skincare has overtaken sales of makeup since we have all been in and out of lockdown these last 12 months and it's easy to see why. Taking time to look after ourselves and treat our skin more kindly has for some never been easier.
K -Beauty
Korean beauty or K Beauty is not a new concept and has been popular in the UK for a few years now. If you’ve not heard of the 10 step beauty regime, the chances are that you have heard of some of their products, such as sheet masks, BB creams, acne pimple patches or under eye masks. Originally because of the kitsch appearance of the packaging it was very popular with beauty bloggers, beauty insiders and teenagers. It has since gained great interest and is now readily available at many high street stores and online in the UK. Koreans take their skin care very seriously and they believe that prevention is so much better than cure and will use SPF and anti ageing skin care products at a much younger age than other countries. Glass skin and luminosity is high on their list instead of covering problems with makeup. They are very knowledgeable about ingredients therefore, cosmetic companies invest heavily in research and development to help meet the high demands made by the consumers. They focus on hypoallergenic and naturally derived formulations that are safe for all skin types and also because of their effectiveness, they are designed to improve skin from the inside out, hydrate, repair and enhance. Don’t let the thought of a time consuming 10 step system put you off. I have adopted some of the steps each day and have seen a difference in my skin's luminosity, and for my nighttime routine I add in a few more steps because I have more time. If my skin needs it, at the weekend, I will do all 10 steps. I love the time to myself and enjoy the benefits, my skin looking the best it can. www.thefrankmagazine.com
THE TEN STEPS Step 1 Eye makeup Remover Using a gentle eye makeup remover, is easier on the eye area, than using a thick cleanser. Laneige (£15) is an oil free remover, designed to remove the most stubborn waterproof lip and eye makeup. Dampen a cosmetic pad, I love the reusable bamboo cotton pads by Chok Beauty (£12). Leave the soaked pads on your eyes to help dissolve the makeup,then slowly and gently wipe down, this reduces tugging and pulling on the delicate eye area.
Step 2 Double Cleanse I love to double cleanse, I will do this every evening to remove makeup and SPF. I like to use either a balm or an oil for the first cleanse and I use Innisfree (£13.80) it is gorgeous on the skin and leaves it feeling hydrated. Use on dry skin, massage in and rinse off with warm water. It is bursting with antioxidants and fantastic for all skin types. For the second cleanse I like something a little lighter like this Whip cleanser from Soon Jung (£16.50) . This is a soft moisturising mouse, which is perfect for even the most sensitive skins. This cleanser uses minimal ingredients and effectively cleans with its rich foam and leaves your skin so soft.
Step 3 Exfoliation We are not talking, crushed up pine nut kernels that will cause more damage than good on your skin. Gone are the days of harsh exfoliators. These have been replaced with more gentler ways to exfoliate the skin. Gauze pads from Neogen (£24 each) are sensational and wont leave your skin feeling tight. The mesh gauze removes dead skin cells while the embossed side will gently remove what's left. A splash of warm water afterwards and your skin will be left looking brighter and smoother.
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Step 4 Tone This step is often overlooked but it does add that extra va va voom. Pyunkang Yul ’s brilliant essence toner is great for dry skin (£8.85). It delivers nutrients deep into the skin and provides intense hydration. Using minimal ingredients again and fragrance free, this toner is perfect to use on even the most sensitive skin. Soak a pad and gently swipe across your face from the inside out.
Step 5 Treatment Essence Again this step is sometimes overlooked as it is very similar to a toner but it works very differently, so it is an important step A toner works on the surface of your skin whilst the essence is a booster that works at a deeper level and preps your skin to help you absorb following treatments like serum and moisturiser. This gorgeous essence from Purito (£19.80) is highly concentrated and contains Niacinamide, which is a form of vitamin B3 which helps support the skin barrier and helps to minimise pores and balance oil production.
Step 6 Treatments I love to add this step in the evening and this Missha Time evolution night repair ampoule (£33) is the perfect product. It works wonders on your skin overnight by improving skin elasticity and reduces the signs of ageing. This new generation formula contains over 50% of Bifida Ferment Lysate which has two major benefits: it protects against UV damaged skin and provides an antiageing effect.
K-Beaut Step 7 Sheet Mask I do love a sheet mask. I always use them on my clients before I do any makeup. They have an immediate effect on the skin and although it is temporary it certainly boosts skin for an event. They are great for soothing sensitive or even sunburnt skin. There are so many to choose from but I prefer Shangpree masks (£10.80). Infused with a combination of Hyaluronic acid and S-marine jewel which is Phytosphingosine, a type of fat that is added to products which has anti inflammatory properties and Royal jelly which is full of antioxidants that soothe the skin and fight free radical damage, which contributes to premature ageing. www.thefrankmagazine.com
8 Eye Cream Your delicate eye area always needs some extra love. I recommend the eye cream from Miin cosmetics, available through Lone Design Club (£31.49). This cream provides plenty of moisture and is intensely brightening, exactly what you want. Eye cream should not be applied too close to your eyes, always use your ring finger and tap along the orbital bone.
Step 9: Sleep Mask Take a deep breath we are nearing the end of our K-Beauty skincare regime. This step is something that I do once a week or if I have an event the next day. This ensures my skin looks tip top. This overnight mask by Dear, Klaris (£24.60), is full of gorgeous hydrating ingredients and your skin will be beautiful, bright and glowing in the morning.
Step 10 Sunscreen So you made it, we are on the final step and it is probably the most important. If you decide to skip any of the steps make sure that it's not this one. I'm not going to rattle on about the importance of sunscreen as I think we all know that come rain or shine this steps important. Reach for a lightweight gel texture. Holika Holika aloe soothing essence (£12.59) waterproof sun gel is perfect. It provides a broad spectrum protection and leaves a non-greasy finish, while moisturizing with Aloe Vera.
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B E A U T Y
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B E A U T Y
VEGAN BEAUTY
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B E A U T Y
R E C O M M E N D A T I O N S
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B E A U T Y
S M E L L S
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Never Spring by Bjork and Berries
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C O N S I O U S
S K I N C A R E
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@thefrank_mag Art by Amy Judd
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F R A N K
I N T E R V I E W
Samantha Cameron Talks to FRANK about her fashion label Cefinn
different body shapes as possible. Fabric is the other Founded by Samantha Cameron in essential element as I wanted to create chic, hard2017, Cefinn is a London-based label working fashion that looks as good at the end of the day creating chic, grown-up fashion for the as it did at the start, with little to no creasing or bagging and that can be put in the washing machine! multitasking urban woman. Every What type of woman is your customer, who are piece is designed to be smart, modern you aiming at? and feminine. Easy to wear and elegantly understated, it’s fashion you I would say our typical customer is a busy woman, who is don’t have to overthink – step into it in constantly multitasking, she doesn’t want to over think her outfits yet still wants to look great. The Cefinn the morning and you’re good to go 24/7, woman wants effortless, elegant, chic pieces in her from a day in the office to a dinner date wardrobe that will stand the test of time and are easy to style up and down for a variety of different occasions. with friends.
Who is in your team and/or you hands on with How are you, where are you, what have you been design etc ? up to today? I am good thank you, it is the Easter Holidays, we are heading down to Cornwall next week which is exciting. With the blossom out and lockdown easing, everyone’s feeling like there’s more of a spring in our step.
Tell us about Cefinn and how it all started? As a working mother in the creative industries I was struggling to find a wardrobe for the office that was appropriate but not too formal or corporate. I wanted to create a designer brand that was modern, feminine and beautifully finished without the luxury price tag. I saw a gap in the market for quality, versatile hero pieces that could see you through a busy day and out for dinner after work with friends, without the need to change. I spent a few years while working part-time at Smythson doing lots of planning and research before we launched, I learnt basic pattern cutting and visited lots of fabric fairs and potential factories. The name Cefinn itself is based on my children’s initials; I love having a little part of them embedded in the brand.
What inspires the designs? What is the most important element of what you create? In creating Cefinn the most important element is that is looks beautiful with really well thought through detailing. I am also passionate about the cut and fit, we spend a huge amount of time in our studio working on this as there is nothing more flattering than a garment that that is cut really well to fit and flatter as many
CEFINN is a very small team and over time I have definitely learnt you can’t do everything yourself and you need to rely on others invaluable expertise and skill. Saying that, I am the only designer at CEFINN, so it is challenging to carve out time to work to on the collection, seasonal colours and in-house prints while also overseeing the business and the marketing. I couldn’t do it without the support and talent of my amazing team!
“As a working mother in the creative industries I was struggling to find a wardrobe for the office that was appropriate but not too formal or corporate. I wanted to create a designer brand that was modern, feminine and beautifully finished without the luxury price tag.”
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Slowly slowly as we go back to work and the office etc , do you think people will focus more on what is comfortable for a day at the desk and have you factored that into to your current designs? Yes definitely, people will be so used to working from home that when we all eventually go back into the office, they may well want to look smarter, but won’t want to sacrifice all aspects of ‘comfort’ we have got so used too. I have factored all this into my current designs, with some of our dresses having pretty shirred elastic panels in back and our best-selling trouser silhouettes developed with a discrete ‘sports lux’ elasticated element to the waist whilst still maintaining a very tailored cut. Our more recent knitwear collections have been amazingly successful during lockdown so we are building on that for AU21.
“I would say my style icons are the likes of Katherine Hepburn, Juliane Moore, Charlotte Rampling, Kate Blanchett and Debby Harry – they all switch quite effortlessly between looking feminine and more masculine, they are all chic, intelligent and talented women.”
One of the greatest trends of the last few years is that the heel has been over taken by trainers and boots being totally acceptable with lovely dresses. Is that a look you have embraced or you still partial to a heel? I have always loved a stacked sole white trainer, Converse Chuck or Common Projects are my go-to favourites, they are so simple but also look smart, and they go brilliantly with our dresses, jumpsuits and skirts. Saying that, I can’t wait to finally wear a pair of heels out, I have really missed having the opportunity to wear them for anything more than our kitchen dress up disco nights, heels elevate any look!
What we love about the clothes is their versatility. That day to night quality, which has not been at our disposal during the pandemic. How much has the past year or so effected business? It’s obviously been a real struggle to sell dresses since the beginning of lockdown last year, instead we were selling lots of knitwear, shirting, and skirts. We have had to be really flexible and think about what our customer wants given the current circumstances. It’s really exciting to see in the last month that dresses have been top of our sales figures again. There was a point last year when I wondered if this would ever happen again!
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“ I am the only designer at CEFINN, so it is challenging to carve out time to work to on the collection, seasonal colours and inhouse prints while also overseeing the business and the marketing. I couldn’t do it without the support and talent of my amazing team!”
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“It was a huge honour to be able to wear so many of our incredibly talented young British designers during my time at Downing Street. You’re dressing for the cameras and I often needed to look celebratory but also appropriate and approachable. You try to make it look effortless but in reality it took a lot of time and I had some inevitable outfit disasters - forgetting essential shoes or underwear while away, a dress that split when I sat down during a party conference speech!” www.thefrankmagazine.com
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Who are your style icons?
“The name Cefinn itself is based on my children’s initials; I love having a little part of them embedded in the brand.”
I would say my style icons are the likes of Katherine Hepburn, Juliane Moore, Charlotte Rampling, Kate Blanchett and Debby Harry – they all switch quite effortlessly between looking feminine and more masculine, they are all chic, intelligent and talented women. I am also a big fan of Gillian Anderson and her approach to effortless tailoring, it has been such a pleasure seeing her wearing some Cefinn pieces over the last couple of years.
What aspirations do you have for Cefinn? Most important is growing the business post lockdown to be financially secure with a strong sustainability ethos. Working with new fabrics is always exciting as each has such distinct properties that take a while to develop around - georgette and corduroy and the ones we are introducing in the autumn. In the short term I am particularly excited to reopen the pop-up shop on King’s Road in Chelsea. Spending time talking to our customers is so valuable and inspiring and I really hope people will feel confident about coming to see us again when we hopefully open again on the 12th April!
Your personal style has been discussed at length, firstly how does that feel and how would you describe your style ? It was a huge honour to be able to wear so many of our incredibly talented young British designers during my time at Downing Street. Many became good friends and are the most lovely, hard-working, supportive group of people I have had the pleasure to get to know. I definitely became more confident about wearing colour and print,(having previously been a devotee of black, navy and grey) as you’re dressing for the cameras and often needed to look celebratory but also appropriate and approachable. You try to make it look effortless but in reality it took a lot of time and I had some inevitable outfit disasters - forgetting essential shoes or underwear while away, a dress that split when I sat down during a party conference speech! These days I am always wear testing Cefinn samples, and my style is quite varied, fashion is all about dressing up and some days I want to look tailored and androgynous and others very feminine in bright colours and prints.
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G I V E A W A Y
Cefinn Giveaway SILK FACE MASK 100% Silk Tightly woven material which is also light, comfortable, and breathable Double layered
THE EVA BLOUSON SLEEVE CARDIGAN Woven in a slinky merino rib, it’s gently fitted with a flattering Vneckline that is the perfect depth (there’s no need to wear anything underneath). The on-trend pleats at the shoulder blouson out and back into an elongated fitted cuff to create an eye catching, super chic silhouette that’s washable, will hold its shape and never pill. The Eva cardigan will co-ord perfectly with all your favourite jeans and summer skirts -effortless for home, smart for work and sassy for an evening out.
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Take a break Find a quiet space where you can relax. ... Breathe deeply. Defocus your eyes, gazing softly into the middle distance. Take a few moments to settle into your body. ... Scan your body. Slowly turn your mind inwards. Observe the breath. ... Allow your mind to be free. ... Prepare to finish. Thank yourself.
M A G A Z I N E
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Helen Butters Helen Butters is a mother, Sunday Times bestselling author, keynote speaker, communications expert, qualified performance coach with NLP and a constant work in progress. In 2016 she followed her dream of rowing across both the North Sea and the Atlantic Ocean with a team of 3 amazing women.
I’m a mother, coach, and a constant work in progress ...... www.thefrankmagazine.com
“The achievement is about not giving up, not the destination” Helen Butters
I really wanted the children to be involved in the whole adventure and I wanted them to see that I had a life outside the domestic home and work world. We met so many inspiring people along the three year planning journey and I wanted my children to absorb all that positive “can do” energy. For me it was a priceless gift to give to my children.
How are you ? What are you upto right now?
I love hearing from people who have either read the book or watched the documentary telling us what their oceans I’ve just walked in from walking my pooch Flora. We are. People have left their comfort zones demystified the bought her just before the pandemic hit and I am so glad risk and have followed their dream. Stories range from we did as she has been a great distraction over the last people who have decided to row an ocean themselves to a year. When I was on the boat I used to look up at the lovely woman who has now become a friend who paddle sky and create pictures from the clouds (there was boarded solo from Liverpool to Goole to book clubs nothing else to look other than the ocean, sky, Frances, organising bucket list adventures: that’s a whole other Niki and Janette!) and I used to see poodle shapes. I book right there. Our story and effect has been strong I vowed that I would buy a poodle when I reached land think, because we are relatable. We are working mums, and name it Manfred. Manfred was the skipper of a (not professional athletes) with families and careers: we support yacht that came to visit us a couple of weeks had a lot of juggling to do to get to the start line!!! Our before we reached land. He dived in the ocean and swam secret? We all really wanted to have a go at rowing around. We hadn’t seen a human for so long so Manfred across an ocean. I say have a go, because if we hadn’t was like a magical merman. I did get the poodle but made it to Antigua I would have been equally has proud didn’t call her Manfred! that I had tried. If you genuinely really want something you will find a way to make it happen.
I read your book ‘Four Mum’s in a Boat’ during lockdown. Not only was it great escapism but extremely inspiring. It’s a few years since your achievement but the impact on others rolls on. That must pleasing …..
What kick started the whole idea?
Three years before the Atlantic, I had wanted to learn something new so took the opportunity to learn to row when I had some free time on a Saturday morning. I met Frances, Janette and Niki at the rowing club and we all The best thing about our adventure wasn’t getting to learnt to row together. I found rowing very difficult but Antigua. For me it’s always been hearing the inspiring what kept me going was the friendship I had found. I stories of others as a result of what we did. This was a bi- looked forward to 2 hours of therapy out on the river product I wasn’t expecting when I agreed to take part in rowing chatting and laughing. the challenge. We call it #whatsyourocean - our dream was rowing crossing an ocean but for others it could be The big idea came from Frances who asked us all at a anything from learning a new instrument or paddle dinner if we fancied entering a rowing race across the boarding. I think our story somehow gave women the Atlantic Ocean. She was clever in her pitching as she permission to follow their dreams and to believe in asked us after we had all consumed many glasses of wine. themselves: that’s the superpower. I immediately said yes. There were so many reasons to say no: I worked full time, I had bills to pay, I had a At the time of the expedition my daughter was 15 and family. I had no time or money and would need to find my son was 12. I was a very busy working mum and one both. This was not running a marathon this was an thing I wanted to ensure was that my children were extremely dangerous pursuit: not many people had happy for me to go. Luckily for me they were both very successfully rowed across oceans, at that time only excited about it and my son particularly, became very around 100 women had completed the challenge…..but involved in the planning. He wrote me a list of things to It just felt right. I am a big believer in following your take on the boat which we now called “Henry’s List” He “inner current” that feeling you get in your gut when included things such as ocean friendly shampoo (which I something, even it if sounds crazy, feels right. This had should have listened to him about) after nearly having to been the opportunity I was looking for. I just needed to have my hair shaved off when I got to Antigua). sell my dream to my family! www.thefrankmagazine.com
“Our dream was rowing crossing an ocean but for others it could be anything from learning a new instrument or paddle boarding. I think our story somehow gave women the permission to follow their dreams and to believe in themselves: that’s the superpower.”
What were the highlights of the entire experience from the beginnings of the idea to the end result? The people we met were definitely a primary highlight for me. Before the race, we were asked to take the boat to the Isle of Skye to the Talisker Distillery. The idea was that we would be filmed rowing on the Loch in front of the Distillery. We had so much fun that weekend with drones flying over our heads whilst rowing, it was like something out of Dr Who. We met Simon and Ollie for the first time who were filming and producing the short film as well as Steff and Pet who were the drone pilots. Even though we didn’t know at the time – these people would become firm friends throughout our journey and beyond. It was Simon and Ollie who waved us off in La Gomera and came to meet us on a small boat before we rowed into Antigua Harbour. Another highlight was when we entered a rowing competition down in Burnham on Crouch. We were up against 5 other boats all men, with one of the boats full of ex marines including Jason Fox before his SAS Who Dares Wins fame. When a boat full of mums from Yorkshire beat Jason’s team in a race this was definitely one of my highlights and I am sure something they will want to forget. We were obviously on a high after that and made the decision to row across the North Sea as a practice. No one had successfully rowed across the North Sea before (other than I guess the Vikings) we learnt so much for
having a go at that one: it took 45 hours of rowing, lots of hallucinating due to exhaustion, me horrendously sea sick, Niki nearly falling off the boat trying to wee over the side and getting lost outside the harbour for what seemed forever due to our failure of adding our final waypoint. Luckily we say Jason’s boat and followed them in. I was supposed to call a film crew before we rowed into the harbour with an ETA, but forgot. When we called her to say we had got to the harbour she was not best pleased and made us row out again and row back in. Just what we needed after 45 hours at sea. The experience definitely stretched us but that’s where you learn and grow, and boy did we learn from that trip! We ended up being the first women to row across the North Sea which is one of my best achievements. Let’s hope a group of Viking women didn’t beat us to it! On the Atlantic Ocean we felt we were guests in another world. We were so far away from land space seemed closer. The moon became our friend – it was our bedroom light in the 12 hours of pitch blackness. Night rowing was either beautiful or extremely scary when the Atlantic was trying to kill us as she tried to do regularly. I remember one night when the Ocean was calm the moon was full, the stars were bright and I was belly laughing listening to Alan Carr’s audio book: what a surreal moment that was. Two weeks before we got to Antigua the support Yacht came to visit us. They would come and go over the day as they were not allowed to come too close but it was such a treat to see another human being. Whilst the sun was setting we sang songs from the Sound of Music, in honour of Manfred being Austrian. I am sure this was not one of his highlights! The night before we arrived in Antigua was special as that was when our phones started to work. We were so excited that we were nearly there, but part of us didn’t want to finish as we knew the journey we had been planning for so long was coming to an end. Because my family were not able to come to Antigua to meet me, I wanted to send them a message that I had arrived before they heard it anywhere else. I read my children’s social media posts which made me cry. I hadn’t cried the whole journey as I vowed I wouldn’t! They were so proud of me and the risk of doing this adventure for them had paid off. Inspiring others is definitely a bi-product we didn’t set out to do. We were just four friends who wanted to follow our dream of rowing across an ocean. Because of the book and the documentary our story is being kept alive and in turn more people are using it as a catalyst to have their own adventures.
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How are the rest of the team Janette, Frances & Niki? It’s now 5 years since we rowed an ocean fulfilling a shared dream, raising money for charity and taking ourselves into the record books. Much has happened in those 5 years and we have all settled back into our lives and in some ways gone our separate ways. We will always be a team of four women who followed their dream and we will always have that special bond of connectedness that comes with an adventure like this. What brought us together will keep us together. During the first year after the row, we saw each other frequently as we did a lot of public speaking together and had many events to attend. As the years have gone on we are still in touch with each other, though we don’t have a full team adventure planned (not yet anyway). None of us row anymore unless its on the ergo machine. Tootling up and down the River Ouse just doesn’t have the same appeal anymore. What we’ve all done instead is to use our ocean experience to really expand both our horizons and comfort zones and that has enabled us to connect with many other people, mostly women. We have all gone on to do different things from marathons to mountain climbing from paddle boarding to travelling. Our passions and desires are different and that’s important. We have always been very different women which is what made us a spectacular team.
My final highlight has been connecting with Melanie Sykes. She inspired me to challenge myself after watching her on I’m a celebrity get me out of here, to her then reading my book to her then contacting me. Its’s gone full circle!
“On the Atlantic Ocean we felt we were guests in another world. We were so far away from land space seemed closer. The moon became our friend – it was our bedroom light in the 12 hours of pitch blackness. Night rowing was either beautiful or extremely scary when the Atlantic was trying to kill us as she tried to do regularly.” www.thefrankmagazine.com
“I love hearing from people who have either read the book or watched the documentary telling us what their oceans are. People have left their comfort zones demystified the risk and have followed their dream.”
Are you planning anymore adventures with them when we are free to roam? I have really struggled to find something that I really wanted to do following the row. The idea for our next adventure came at the opening of Maggie’s Yorkshire. I was feeling moved that day and inspired by the people who were there. Especially Harriet and Robin. Harriet is one of the Ambassador’s for Maggie’s and I first met her at a Maggie’s ball where we instantly bonded over our shared love of spanks. Harriet is currently living with cancer and is one of the most inspiring and brave people I have ever met. Sitting on the stool in the Maggie’s kitchen with Janette we were discussing what we could do. At that moment a complete stranger who we now know as Chris and a keen cyclist approached us for a chat: within 5 minutes we had planned our next challenge. Cycling from Maggie’s Leeds to Maggie’s Barcelona. We will be swapping oars for wheels and 40 foot waves for the Pyrenees. Just like before, I listened to my “inner current” and if felt the right thing to do. So for the last year I have been cycling like a loon to get cycle ready. We plan to leave in September 2021 to ensure that we don’t put anyone at risk with the global pandemic.
Recently Frank Rothwell the 70 year old from Oldham just solo rowed the Atlantic. One of the most joyous and inspiring moments for me of recent times. Did you speak to him before he set off. Did you offer him any words of wisdom?We did speak to Frank before he set off. What a character! Our advice to Frank was to celebrate Christmas day with a tin of pineapple rings. On a long expedition with only dried food and no fresh fruit – a pineapple ring
is pure heaven.
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“Inspiring others is definitely a bi-product we didn’t set out to do. We were just four friends who wanted to follow our dream of rowing across an ocean. Because of the book and the documentary our story is being kept alive and in turn more people are using it as a catalyst to have their own adventures.” How do your achievements impact the family especially your children? The way my kids dealt with me being away during the challenge in such a positive mature and supportive way, says it all. I saw their inner resilience and strength grow. They are my heroes. It’s difficult to say whether my achievement has influenced them. Both my children are very different characters but what is similar is their belief that they can do anything they set their mind to. I certainly was not like that at their age. They don’t wait for opportunities they make their own. Henry is sorting out a gap year with the Army before University and Lucy who is currently living in the French Alps, lost her job as a ski chalet host due to the pandemic so proactively contacted a London Media company and is now working for them virtually from France and is living the dream: she made that happen and I am so proud. Both my kids are “can do” positive people and that is exactly the sort of people I wanted them to be around when they were younger.
What as been the greatest lesson you have learned for the experience?
We are programmed to think negative thoughts 60% of the time: the problem is we don’t challenge our brain with the evidence of those thoughts. To have a powerful mindset is to get rid of those old stories that limit what is possible. I have struggled with self doubt and its stopped me from doing lots of things. The game changer for me was realising being a deliberate thinker is a skill. Before the Atlantic Challenge was even thought of I remember visualising doing something that challenged me both mentally and physically. Because I created that story in my head, my brain then looked for opportunities. So when the opportunity arose for me to learn to row in York I said yes: if I hadn’t I would never have rowed across the Atlantic, raised money and joined the Maggie’s cancer centre family, written a bestselling book, received a Guinness World Record and an Honorary Doctorate and travelled the world with the documentary. I credit all of that to having a deliberate mindset for sure.
What are up to at the moment ? What are you plotting and planning? My next adventure is doing what I love: coaching people. I qualified as a performance coach with NLP with an interest in mindset. The personal satisfaction I get from seeing someone enter the first coaching session with a goal they want to achieve and see them leaving 100% motivated, satisfied, content, happy and ready to take on the world: that’s how I get my kicks these days. As a coach negative mindset is something that I am seeing with many clients. Mindset is critical for health and productivity personally and professionally. With a deliberate mindset you become more powerful, positive and confident in the way you think. I have developed a 6 week mindset refresh programme about setting goals about how you think and about your attitude. It includes an array of tools which keeps me on track and it will you too. For more information about coaching, and the workshops I deliver on teamwork, risk and leadership check out my website www.helenbutters.com
Being on a boat in the middle of an ocean for a long period of time, your true self comes to the fore. The layers you accumulate over the years, wife, career woman, mother, peel away and what is left is you again. On the boat I had a If you fancy joining the ride from Maggie’s Leeds to Maggie’s Barcelona in September please contact me for light bulb moment. I realised the power of mindset and I details. All we ask if you raise some money for Maggie’s. wanted to be more empowered and a deliberate thinker. www.thefrankmagazine.com
A FRANK BREAK
E N E R G S E, F O C U S & R E L A X By the Light and the Dark Co.
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F R A N K
I N T E R V I E W
Where is your favourite place in the world to visit? Visiting Europe, the beauty of all the architecture, history and the food. Train travel is my favourite way to travel as you can hop on and off, taking in the countryside as you go.
Saint Mark’s Square, Venice
The Loves, likes & vibes of... Which products are on your beauty counter?
FRANK's beauty editor & talented make up artist FIONA EUSTACE The best advice you have ever been given? My mum always told me to wear lipstick and to dab a bit onto your cheeks to brighten up your face. I still do this today and often use it on my clients too. It really ties a look together.
What are you watching on the telly right now? I’ve just finished the Flight Attendant on Sky, well worth a watch, lighthearted and fun. I'm also going to watch The Duchess again as I adore the fashion and well, the hair and makeup is ok too!! (As done by me). www.thefrankmagazine.com
Augustinus Bader, The Face oil. Sunday Riley face oils, their CEO glow is gorgeous. I'm also using ByTerry Hyaluronuc Global Facecream and also Skinceuticals eye defence, sumptuous eye protection.
Name your go to chic restaurant?
The makeup product you need?
I’m more at home in a pub in the countryside eating a roast after a long dog walk but I do enjoy a cheeky lunch at The Ivy on Kings Road, their Espresso Martinis are gorgeous.
I t has to be a lip and cheek tint. I am ultimately lazy so la multi use product is good for me.My favourite products for this is Trinny by London Lip to Cheek. Her products always look great on mature skin.
Share a beauty secret? Cold Water, It is fantastic for your skin and health. I go cold water swimming and I do that throughout the year. If I cannot get out in the sea then I will always follow a hot shower with a cold shower. Even 30 seconds is better than nothing.
Advice you would give your younger self? Invest money and get on the property ladder as soon as you can.
What is your favourite fashion item?
How would you cheer up a friend? Making people happy is one of my loves, so if any friend is feeling low I like to message them to check in with them and to arrange a get together, either a walk with the dogs or coffee and cake.
I am a jewellery wearer and even though I don't wear a lot, it can change an outfit. My favorite pieces that I am Your scent of choice? so lucky to own are a Hot Lips by Solange ring, Sean Leane Hook earrings and a gorgeous skull and pearl ring Le Labo Lys 41. It is 100% my favourite scent. by Alexander Mcqueen.
What are you wearing?
What's your idea of the perfect night in? A cozy blanket on the sofa, with the family. Good food, a lovely bottle of wine and something good to watch on Netflix.
The most extravagant item you have ever bought? Definitely my house. creating a safe warm cozy space for me and my family to escape to and relax is a must. My passion for decorating has grown over lockdown.
That's a bit cheeky isn't it? I'm actually in my running gear. I've just started doing couch to 10k. I'm only on day 6 so still eager at this point!
Your favourite tune right now? Alexis Ffrench. I will always have his album Evolution playing whilst i'm working. Also love a bit of Funk to get me up and moving, my favourite tune that’s on repeat at the moment is Money Runner by Qunicy Jones.
What is your mantra? You’re never too old, and it’s never too late.
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“With my zes my compass integrity, I c you achiev personal go drawing o experien
st for life, sion and can help ve your oals by on my nce.”
Michelle Griffith Robinson Michelle Griffith-Robinson is a former Olympic athlete who represented GB for over two decades in the Triple jump. Michelle joins only a handful of women in the UK to have jumped over 14 metres. As a wife and working mother of three, Michelle knows how hard it is to maintain control and balance in her life. Having set up a successful personal training company in 1999, training many celebrities including Mel B, and Gail Porter to name a few, Michelle naturally followed her passion of ‘helping others’ by coaching and mentoring. www.thefrankmagazine.com
“My fitness routine consists of training at least 4 times a week. I will do a 5km run, around the North Devon hills, circuits and weights but unfortunately no jumping, I leave that to my daughters nowadays!!”
What does a typical day look like for you?
Credit: Olivia Bossert
You have certainly inspired us during the lockdown to get up and go, not just with your motivational words, also with your colourful wardrobe! How did you evolve to becoming a life coach? I started PT in 1999 and started mentoring in 2009. I still mentor for the Dame Kelly Holmes Trust.Their mission is to help young people get back into Employment,Education and training utilising the skills of their world class athletes. I started Coaching 6 years ago,I love to see people unlocking their potential and watching them turn their goals into reality.
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A typical day for me starts with me giving thanks for another day then my husband bringing me a cup of tea or coffee. If it’s a school day, I will take my son to school then jump online to give PT sessions or coaching sessions plus juggling paperwork. Preparing dinner is always part of the daily routine and then I go through my non-negotiable list for the day.Depending on the day I will go and do a training session.
Do you have fitness routine and mindset routine? My fitness routine consists of training at least 4 times a week. I will do a 5km run,around the North Devon hills,circuits and weights but unfortunately no jumping, I leave that to my daughters nowadays!!
What words of motivation can you give to our FRANK readers? My words of motivation to the Frank readers are always pursue your purpose and passion and remember it’s your PASSION, OWN IT! Don’t be scared to change your plans,‘feel the fear and do it anyway’is a famous quote. Lastly,DOYOU,a dream is nothing if its left on a pillow.
Where do you see yourself in a few years time? In a few years I see myself as a well established global motivational speaker and life coach living in Usk in South wales in my barn with my family.
What advice would you give to someone who wanted to become a life coach?
What are your greatest achievements so far? My greatest achievements are my 3 children, marrying a great man and becoming an Olympian
My advice to someone who wants to pursue a career in life coaching would be,what’s stopping you and remember your WHY!!! My secret to happiness is a positive outlook on life, don’t dwell and don’t hold grudges and lastly give daily gratitude. michellegriffithrobinsonoly.co.uk
Do you have any other ambitions in life? My ambition in life is to help and serve others and my ambassador roles are very important to me. I want to be a role model to my children like my mum was to me
You are an ambassador for a jewellery brand, Diabetes Uk and The Meno Charity, please can you tell us more about your roles? As an ambassador for Diabetes UK,The Meno Charity and most recently Women’s Aid, my role is to spread awareness about each charity and how beneficial these charities are to society. I often say ‘use your voice and your platform to impact positive change’. Kit Heath is a brand that I am extremely proud to be associated with. Apart from the jewellery being fabulous quality and a local brand to me. Their values align with mine.It’s essential to align yourself with brands that reflect who you are.
“My secret to happiness is a positive outlook on life, don’t dwell and don’t hold grudges and lastly give daily gratitude.”
My words of motivation to the Frank readers are always pursue your purpose and passion and remember it’s your PASSION, OWN IT!
Chris Cyprus Artist
Self Taught, Passionate & Unique Chris was born in Gorton , Manchester, eventually moving to the rolling pennine hills of Mossley, via Stockport. Completely self taught, Chris began painting following a work related back injury, which saw him unable to work for many months. His previous job titles include, touring musician, builder, carpet fitter, and landscape gardener. The one vocation that made Chris truly happy was painting. A combination of gritty determination and passion have helped Chris realise his dream of making a living from producing art. His place of work Woodend Mill, is a former cotton mill on the banks of the River Tame, in his home town of Mossley.
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How are you? Where are you? Its 8.30am, and I’m walking to the studio. As I pass lots of traffic going the opposite way, I quietly grin to myself about the path I travel and the vocation I have chosen. I have recently moved house and my journey used to be 5 mins to my studio, now it’s about 40 but with added scenery and a 100 more ducks, it’s well with the walk. Once I get off the main road its a leafy drift through suburban alleyways that lead me down to the canal for another mile which leads me to Woodend Mill. A 19th century stone cotton mill that now accommodates many artists and other light industries. It’s the beginning of March, the sun is beginning to break through the early morning mist as it rises over the Saddleworth moor. It’s been a beautiful week and spring is definitely in the air. I am acutely aware of bird song and the ducks getting frisky...a new narrative is brewing! As I walk, as always, I carry a small camera to take snapshots of my visual thoughts for later use back at the studio. The Mill is in Mossley, Lancashire but is also known as the town of three counties merging Cheshire and the old West riding of Yorkshire and once had over 50 mills spinning cotton at the height of the industrial revolution. I was born in Gorton, Manchester in1971, then moved to leafy Heaton chapel in Stockport, then we moved to Mossley in 1978 to what seemed to be the worst winter ever, I had never seen snow as deep as that..I thought my parents were crazy. Some of the Mills were still standing and working, I remember the smells, and the noise as they churned on through the night and thinking please don’t ever send me to work in one of those!
When did you start to paint ? We came here to start a business, taking scrap yarn and recycling it into underlay and then later making carpets. There were 8 in the household, I have 3 brothers then shortly after my cousin and uncle also lived with us, plus two cats, two goats and six chickens! It was a mad house....I quite like being alone, so I would often escape to my cardboard den under the stairs to get some peace from the madness, and that’s when I started to draw. I would arise at the end of the day to show off my studies to the amazement of the family, but it wouldn’t be until I was 29 until I started to use paint.
Allotment Series www.thefrankmagazine.com
Was it encouraged by your family? The family was always too busy to really notice what talent I had, my Mum never left the kitchen, Dad lived at work! I was actually more passionate about music back then. My older brother, Darren was a budding cornet player in the school band and also played piano, I played Drums and guitar so we wanted to be pop stars. My Grandad was a keen hobby painter and he used to take us to the Manchester art galleries as children, this had made an impression on me somehow but I was never encouraged to pursue it further by anyone at that time. I came top of the whole school in ‘O’ level art but even then, in the mid late 80’s. The art teachers didn’t have much time for really pushing us to achieve anything. I got the impression they were waiting for retirement. When I went for the ‘careers advice’ meeting (with the P.E. teacher)? I felt awkward by saying I wanted to do something that involved the arts and being creative, he looked at his choice list of plumbers, joiners etc... and rolled his eyes, and suggested that I enrolled on at the local college for an arts foundation course. This was a difficult conversation to have with my parents. My farther had plans for the family business and we were all destined to become minions of his empire. After giving in to the persuasion of my dad, somehow he convinced me that I would be designing carpets as opposed to making and fitting them, and the money sounded good! The latter was the reality, I hated every minute of the 3 years I worked there, so in 1990 I moved in with my uncle and left the factory to pursue a different path.
How did the painting get going? I just turned 21, I was in a rock band, I was cool, or at least I thought so! The 90’s was a great decade for music, I had just met my wife to be Dionne and I was going on tour to Germany for the first time. In between all this fun, I just did odd job stuff working for day pay, then gigging at night. I liked tiling kitchens, painting and decorating and some landscape design, plastering...the usual work for a semi pro guitarist/rock star! It wasn’t until 1998 that I had sustained a bad back injury whilst doing some heavy ground work laying a driveway. I had hurt my back before while lifting heavy carpets back in 1989 and I have suffered ever since. During this recent injury, while I was laid off, I took up painting with a small watercolour field set that was given to me to by the client whose driveway I was laying, ironically only a few weeks previously as we chatted about art and that I would like to start painting one day. So the first attempts with this new medium were surprisingly good, but what did I know? I decided to
frame some and because I needed some kind of income being self employed I asked the local pub if I could display them on their walls. Most of my earnings went back over the bar so they couldn’t really say no. These early masterpieces seemed to go down well and sold quickly which was a surprise to me, but a welcomed one. It wasn’t long before I had claimed all the walls in every pub in Mossley. After my back injury, I never went back to work on the driveway or anymore of that kind of work even though I quite enjoyed it. I didn’t quite yet have the confidence of the portfolio to approach high street galleries although I did have some work in a couple, so I just did what I always did before and hosted my own exhibitions. I didn’t yet have my own studio or gallery space so I made my own exhibition stand where I could have pop up shows...they’re all the rage now! I held one at a local restaurant for a weekend once, sent out loads of invites, made posters etc. . . I made over £6.000 that weekend which was probably more than I made the previous year as a builder. I thought it was time to look for other opportunities to sustain my new vocation. I soon realised that it wasn’t always going to be this good and the better you become doesn’t gaurantee more success every time. I also noticed that my work was quite safe and nice, which I began to struggle with. I realised I needed a stronger identity, something that I could obsess and be passionate about. Something that resonated and could connect with others. 2001 & 2003 were strange times for me. I found a lump on my testicle in 2001 which turned out to be cancer and then again in 2003. Both unrelated tumours. This threw me sideways at first but I dealt with it well once I had surgery and radio therapy . . didn’t feel a thing! In some ways it gave me added strength to focus my vision to what was important in my life. In 2004, I decided to swap the spare bedroom for a proper studio. More space to be creative. Rent to pay that all made it more professional...it had to work! After a long period of getting to grips with new mediums like Acrylics and Oils and the renovation of a gallery space, I started a project in 2005 with a fascination with the humble garden shed. This led me to some local allotments, I was intrigued by the whole time capsule ethos of sheds, a storage vessel and a tardis of collected junk and a sanctuary for old men! I also realised the working in series was important, to gain momentum and research the possibilities...which in this case were endless. These’s something so quintessential and British about allotments, I like the early 20th Century poster art and the WW2 war effort in the ‘dig for victory’ poster campaigns. The community spirit has all but disappeared in modern day life, but here it still remains.
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I had a few small pop up exhibitions with these early paintings but with very little interest...but I kept going and following my heart. I was down in the dumps at this time and went back into kitchen fitting to keep things afloat. Once, I was tiling a kitchen during the day and off to the Harrogate flower show at the weekend to exhibit my works, it was a long hard slog! I took out a tiny advert in one of the gardening magazines for the show and the editor also happened to be the program researcher for BBC Gardeners World. He contacted me asking would I be interested in appearing on the show...Oh Yeah! I replied instantly with hands covered in grout. After my appearance on the TV, I sold all the 3 years of allotment paintings and hundreds of prints in the following weeks. I got my own allotment, I wore the cap . . . I am now an artist!
“I love innovators and rule breakers...My heroes are John Lennon, David Hockney, Grayson Perry & Banksy to name just a few. Not just because they are good at what they do, but they lead a path for others to follow.”
Northern Lights
Wood End www.thefrankmagazine.com
How would you describe your style and what as inspired your work?
really how you see it?
I’ve seen a few grown men reduced to tears in my gallery as they stumble upon a painting that reminded them of With very limited knowledge about the arts, and art history, I began to collect art books. Most of them on ‘how spending long summer days on the allotment with their grandparents, or the house or street where they were born. to do’ techniques etc...But I began to find out about art Other Non indigenous folk just have fascination with movements such as the ‘Fauvists’ And how they blew me away with their brave ambitious images in multicolour. All British art, especially from the North. Theres nowhere as diverse in my opinion, just here for example, we have all the rules were broken and I loved that. I went on pilgrimages to the South of France many times to walk in the Industrial heritage, the canals, cotton mills and terraced houses right next to the metropolis of Manchester the footsteps of Van Gogh and Cezanne, amazed at the city and suburbia, then only a 20 drive to rural Yorkshire quality of light and colours of Provence. Later I became and Derbyshire. I also think that people always want to fascinated with mid 20th century British artists like Stanley Spencer, Keith Vaughan and David Hockney, all compare art with something they are aware of, like L.S. Lowry, because he's the most famous artist from the North innovators and leaders in their field. it gives them a point of reference and some still think it’s a A piece of advice I got from another artist friend earlier was to only ‘paint what you know’. As a self taught artist, bit depressing in Northern mill towns . . . It’s not that grim I didn’t know much about art or painting! I began to start up north...you just have to know where to look! this journey of self discovery and started to look deep within. For a time, I used to leave out undesirable objects How do you structure your days? like wheelie bins and cars that littered busy streets in Northern towns in Lancashire. The quirky life on the I like to get here early..7.30 am, fresh ground coffee and allotments appeared to me in a kind of cartoon style, pondering about the day ahead. It usually follows the multicoloured with humour. I also began to make notable previous days walk gathering ideas. It’s amazing what new connections to the Van Goes paintings I had seen in Ales of inspirations I find from places that are right under my farmworkers crooked and tired but he added the magic nose. I like to work with fresh produce, like a chef does. I and found the beauty that we all have come to admire. The am a seasonal painter so winter and early spring is my characters reminded me of Beryl Cook paintings of larger thing right now. I haven’t got a clue what I will be painting set people uncomfortably juxtaposed. this summer and that’s a good thing...keep it all fresh! Some of the paintings are abandoned, but I don’t worry about all that, the failures play a part in the bigger Tell us about the northern lights series? successes in the ones that follow. In short....It all just happened by chance, then I began to look closer and study the subject, the warm orange glow from street lights and colours of that brief moment in winter before it went dark. In retrospect, I’m kind of glad that there are no more sodium street lights left, although I miss that glow they give in winter months. It had to end as a continuing series to give me freedom to move on to other things. It was my Ziggy stardust moment, a tough decision to kill off the thing that I was best known for. I just had a feature on North West tonight and the One Show plus a sell out exhibition and stopped making the Northern Lights paintings at the same time! I’ve always wanted to show integrity and truth in my work, so it really connects and has an honesty and simplicity without cliches.
Northern art evokes so much emotion for me, there is always a sadness in northern paintings but yours are joyous. Is it an intention or is that www.thefrankmagazine.com
“It’s important to be involved with all kinds of people as an artist, there’s so much to learn about yourself from the interaction of others. After all it’s a life learned that makes an artist not just the skills of a good painter.” Tell us about your studio space? Ironically, I’m working in a cotton mill...something that terrified me when I was young. I remember walking to school everyday past Woodend Mill which was close to where I lived in the 1980’s. At this time there was still a lot on mill’s still standing, and still working as spinning mills. The huge daunting structure seemed to be an oppressive place, the smells and loud clattering noises were haunting to a 9 year old with a big imagination! After the first 8 years of painting, only small watercolours in the spare bedroom it was time to get serious and rent a studio space. I was keen to explore other mediums and wanted to make large scale oil paintings which can stink out a house, so not an option at home. I heard their were other artists taking up residence in the old mill, so went along to have a look.
The first thing that hit me was this oily smell that could only be made from 100 plus years of machine oil, blood, sweat and god knows what else? I liked it...so I claimed a corner in the derelict upper floor that was to be sectioned into small units. The rent was cheap, but it was freezing cold and damp. I rekindled my building trade skill’s and started renovations to make my very own studio and gallery space to welcome visitors. Best thing I ever did. 16 years later....I have just taken the adjacent studio to extend my gallery space which is also a studio for my wife (Dionne) to peruse her dream job as a portrait photographer. The mill is now a beautiful space with amazing views and stunning natural light..an inspiring place to be.
“It is never about money. Which is at odds with the perception of the art world which has a morbid obsession with knowing the price of everything and the value of nothing!” www.thefrankmagazine.com
Spring Reflections
What inspires you ?
far for inspiration. I like to travel so in the summer months I head off in my I like to take inspiration from anywhere I find it. I don’t camper van to different locations around the UK. I have always have an agenda, but base a lot of my trips on the spent many weeks driving around the south of France and weather. I particularly favour winter months for low Northern Italy following the footsteps of giants of the sunlight, tall shadows and strong contrasts. Portrait impressionists. I also spend a month in 2017 in North photographers will never light their subjects from above, only from the sides and the front, so it’s the same for getting America as I have always wanted to see the fall in New England. Those colours have to be seen to be believed. I the best results. Finding inspiration can’t just be switched have an exhibition in Anglesey this August with my Son on and sometimes I can come back with nothing, I like the stuff that just happens unawares. I’m currently working on Drew, (12) who is an excellent painter and loves to sketch and paint where ever we go. I also take inspiration from a new series that could form a larger body of paintings of watching him paint and try to remember that innocent woodlands that are situated on the canal side and the old approach to painting with no inhibitions, no rules, no railway (bridle) paths. They both run parallel with each pressure for perfection...you can learn a lot from them. other directly outside the Mill, so I don’t need to look very www.thefrankmagazine.com
I have a friend who has set up a gallery in an old school there that supports people with Autism, It’s also a holiday let, with the idea to run art workshops so families with autistic children can have some down time while their children are left to make works of art in a safe environment. It’s people like this that really inspire me and like to support. It’s important to be involved with all kinds of people as an artist, there’s so much to learn about yourself from the interaction of others. After all it’s a life learned that makes an artist not just the skills of a good painter. I think I have learned more about my work from inviting the local schools into my studio, making sketches and asking questions. It’s so flattering and humbling to know they use my work often in their art lessons.
years I have bought countless works of art from artist friends, or just random ones you find on your travels. I bought one last week from an artist I follow on instagram from a great painter from California...I’t too easy now with all the online platforms to purchase art... bloody dangerous too! I would love a Van Gogh though, who wouldn’t?
At this time, people have had their working lives disrupted. What would you say to people who are entertaining the idea of doing something they are passionate about and almost rebooting their lives?
I’d say Go for it! What other chances are you going to get in this What other artists do you admire and life? I realised early in my career that it wasn’t why? going to come easy to me and it was going to be a rocky road. Luckily for me I had great I love innovators and rule breakers...My heroes support from my wife who had a full-time job are John Lennon, David Hockney, Grayson that could support us through difficult times. I Perry & Banksy to name just a few. Not just think the long way is still the best way. I have because they are good at what they do, but gradually built up a good network of loyal they lead a path for others to follow. clients who believe in the work that I do, and I know a lot of really good painters but I see appreciate the journey I have taken to become them often compromising what they do to suit what I am today. People like to invest in the gallery persuasions. I totally get it...It’s such a story, and become part of it. I know that at the difficult business to be in and to make a living end of my life, I will be able to look back at it you need to have a commercial product through my career and have no regrets, that will sell to a wider market. I sell many knowing that all my failures have been key to limited edition prints to support my living but my success. That will be my legacy, and never take commissions, as I find it near hopefully one that continues to inspire others impossible to work to a brief and not be able to to make the same journey. It is never about give 100% of my ideas, creation and self, to it. money. Which is at odds with the perception of This allows me to concentrate on only the work the art world which has a morbid obsession I want to produce. with knowing the price of everything and the In an ideal world whose paintings would you value of nothing! like hanging on your walls? The problem is, I don’t have enough wall space chriscyprus.shop for the paintings that I own already! Over the www.thefrankmagazine.com
FRANK Health Hacks Make these easy food swaps Swap olive oil for coconut oil when frying. Coconut oil has a higher smoke point, the temperature at which potentially toxic compounds are formed. Swap seasoning for flavour - salt can be replaced by spices like chilli or curry powder to add a bit of oomph to your food without the blood pressure-raising saltiness. Swap higher strength wine and beer for 1% lower ABV (strength). Alcohol is a toxin, poisonous to our bodies, so reducing the percentage we drink can make a big difference to our health. If you feel you can live without – why not swap your cocktail completely in favour of a mocktail? Don’t give up on vegetables if you’re finding boiling a bore, dry roast your veg instead. Preheat your oven to 200 degrees centigrade, prepare your veggies and throw them in a roasting tin with NO oil…place them in the oven, stir a couple of times as they cook and 20 minutes later they’re ready. Swap black tea for green tea. Green tea is bursting with antioxidants, which help prevent cell damage, and is naturally low in caffeine, which can increase blood pressure.
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Step into Spring By Sjoukje(Shalke) Gummels
“I invite you to start this Spring season with a childlike curiosity, open yourself up to what is possible and observe the wonderment of change that happens around us so gracefully.”
Sjoukje(Shalke) Gummels is a Shamanic Practitioner, mother of two and a model. She facilitates guided meditations offers one to one healing and has just launched her online course Connect to the wisdom of the Elements. Sjoukje invites people to actively work with their imagination, and their senses through which they can explore their inner landscape for personal guidance and healing. Join us and deepen your connection to nature, your intuition, and remember the gifts and strengths that run through you.
S
pring is marking the time of new beginnings ,new opportunities and rebirth. It is truly a remarkable time of transformation. In the medicine wheel Spring is situated in the direction of the East and is regarded as the place of the child.The changes that we see happen around us so rapidly in nature are similar to the development of the early stages of an infant. Where change and growth on all levels happens faster than ever in our human lifetime.
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“When we start to align ourself with the seasons we can create a natural flow that is expressed around us and within our lives.”
The East is the place where the sun rises as we welcome a new day. This is the time of year where we experience and welcome the increase of light as the days become brighter and the earth has awakened from winter. We see this in the new growth of plants around us and the animals preparing for new life. This is such a beautiful time and opportunity to plant new seeds for ourself too. To weave new into being, whether this comes to expression through planning new ventures, setting goals or starting a project. Spring is all about connecting and opening up to the creative space within yourself. It’s a great time to do a cleanse,reassess nutrition for yourself or do a spring clean in your home so you can start afresh. For some people Spring can feel overwhelming as life is energetically speeding up. We can start to create a lot of expectations or don’t know where to start. A way to work with this is to add grounding practises to your daily routine and to get the body moving.A suggestion from me would be walking, dancing, gardening, pilates and standing barefoot on the Earth. Feeling the Earth’s support beneath your feet and breath in the vital Spring energy into your body In order to plant new seeds in a garden you must first create space, clear it from weeds and plough the earth. It takes care and dedication to tend to new seeds so that they
can thrive. Use this as a metaphor for how you tend to yourself, your dreams ,your desires. Ask yourself: What am I willing to release and make space for? How can I tend to this?What action am I required to undertake? What makes my heart sing? When we start to align ourself with the seasons we can create a natural flow that is expressed around us and within our lives. Nature surrounds us we experience Spring everywhere whether you are in an inner-city or in the country The trees change ,the flowers appear.The birds are nesting and the temperature is changing. I invite you to start this Spring season with a childlike curiosity, open yourself up to what is possible and observe the wonderment of change that happens around us so gracefully. This time is vibrant ,fertile, sensual and joyous Wishing you an amazing Spring. Sjoukje
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For more information www.threadsofhealing.co.uk
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C O A C H
It’s Not All About The Journey …. By Kate Tilston
Learning to stand still and appreciate the moment. How many times have you heard people talking about “being on a journey?” It seems to be on every television show and even creeps into day-to-day living. It’s become part of our cultural mythology, so we forget it’s just a metaphor and one that is usually offered up to counterbalance our obsession with goals and targets. The idea is that we become so focused on where we are heading that we don’t notice where we are now? That the “journey” is the process we must create to arrive at our intended destination feeling fulfilled. Of course, when we travel through life physically on route to a certain place, there is a journey involve most of the time to actually get there, but why is it that we are being led to believe that in order to achieve success in life, we have to be moving constantly, travelling in a certain direction towards a destination, an end goal? What if we didn’t need to be constantly moving forward, is it so terrible to stand still and enjoy the moment? It’s almost as though moving is natural but standing still, admiring the view and being grateful for what is, right here and right now is a skill we need to learn? Life is not a journey, Life just is. Life is life. In my experience as a coach, when we stop trying to turn it into something that is constantly meaningful and productive, we have more energy to “stop and smell the roses” along the way. Real growth is not always moving forward, growth is also staying still, it’s resting, it’s stopping and actually considering where you’re heading before you actually get there. Some days are just not meaningful, and I don’t mean that in a flippant way I mean you get up, take the kids to school, work, think about what you’re all eating for dinner that night, monitor homework, bath & bedtime
and collapse onto the sofa in front of some mindless TV. Really really normal. Doesn’t make it any less important but it’s not “life changing”. How would it feel to believe that there is nowhere for you to get to, that you’re already here (well certainly for the moment.) Do you feel less stressed? I appreciate that at first this might feel disconcerting and even disturbing especially for those who have always imagined the next big thing is just around the corner but just because there’s nowhere to get to, it doesn’t mean life is grinding to a halt, it just means you’re not constantly focused on finding a destination that is better than where you are now. You can still upgrade your car, you can still find a more rewarding job, you can still improve your financial situation or even your relationship. It just becomes less exhausting and when you do, it will be because you want to, not because you think you have to or should.
“Real growth is not always moving forward, growth is also staying still, it’s resting, it’s stopping and actually considering where you’re heading before you actually get there.''
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“Sometimes we need to stand back and look at what we have already done, how far we have already come.” We seem to be programmed for self- improvement which is slightly ironic coming from a Life Coach. I am all for improving your life, for looking at ways to make it less stressful, more manageable, creating more balance and harmony in your life, what I’m NOT keen on is pushing people to constantly work on being “a better version of themselves.” Pushing forward to constantly be achieving. Sometimes we need to stand back and look at what we have already done, how far we have already come. Relaxing into living your life here and now brings all sorts of benefits – less stress, a healthier life both mentally and physically. You will begin to see the freedom that this way of thinking gives you, letting go not just of the “addiction to a destination” but even the need to be on a journey. Look around you and test the waters, how does it feel?
So, what can you change or do right now to give yourself a break from the never-ending journey? 1. Look back over all the things you have achieved over the last few months/years. What are Look back over all the things you have achieved over the last few months/ they? They don’t have to be huge life changing achievements but things you are proud of years. What are they? They don’t have to be huge life changing regardless of size. achievements but things you are proud of regardless of size. 2. Are there certain things that it’s important for you to achieve in the near future (this isn’t an exerciseAre in never goal?) there are,for what best way to tackle there setting certainanother things that it’sIfimportant youistothe achieve in the near them? Can you setfuture achievable and an realistic goals get them without it being all consuming? (this isn’t exercise in to never settingdone another goal?) If there are, what is the best way to tackle them? Can you set achievable and realistic 3. Ask yourself, woulddone happen if I stopped now? What would I be more aware of goals towhat get them without it beingright all consuming? with the time that I took to stand still? Ask yourself, what would happen if I stopped right now? What would I be more aware of with the time that I took to stand still? If you concentrate on the here and now affecting what you can on a day-to-day basis, if you stand still and let yourself see how much good is already in your life before you start reaching for more you might find that the exhausting “journey” you have been pushing yourself to travel along becomes less daunting and more of a pleasure. Ultimately, growth is allowing yourself to be where you are while you’re still actually there and that really is a skill that’s worth working on. Kate Tilston Practical Life Coaching www.katetilston.co.uk kate@katetilston.co.uk www.thefrankmagazine.com
Finding your Ikigai Why I Wake up in the Morning By Charisse Glenn
“It’s not enough to have lived. We should be determined to live for something.” Winston S. Churchill Are you living your most extraordinary life? Are you willing to believe that something else is possible? Do you understand you have a choice in creating the life you have always wanted? These questions inspired me to write The Let Go.
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The Japanese believe in having deep satisfaction and meaning in their lives;they need to live in alignment with their ikigai (ee-key-guy), which translates to the reason for being or why I wake up in the morning. It is about defining one’s purpose, one’s mission, and reaching one’s full potential. Interestingly, it is not associated with striving for happiness. Our ikigai changes as we grow and mature in life, so it is ongoing and lifelong to discover and realign with it.The intention is to uncover what and how we can contribute to our world by determining what we are good at and what gives us pleasure. This sounds like a beautiful concept, yet, how do we find it? Hidden within the answer to these questions, how do you spend your time, and where do you focus your energies; lies the secrets to finding the joy in our lives.To investigate what truly gives us satisfaction will reveal to us what our ikigai is.To see this takes some digging into the who of who we are.
"It appears that those who actively strive for their ikigai have stronger self-esteem and feel a sense of belonging within the world. When we meet those who have found this, their very presence lends a feeling of harmony and balance.”
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Why is it essential to find it? It appears that those who actively strive for their ikigai have stronger self-esteem and feel a sense of belonging within the world. When we meet those who have found this, their very presence lends a feeling of harmony and balance. Longevity has also been associated with those who found their purpose:engaging in something that brings them joy every day. Scientists and researchers have uncovered that knowing our sense of purpose extends our life expectancy. It also boosts our DHEA, a steroid hormone secreted by the adrenal glands, known as the miracle “longevity hormone.”
Finding your ikigai The convergence of the following four elements is a way to identify our ikigai. What is your passion? What do you love? Define it by looking at your natural gifts, your talents, and your skills.What is your mission? How can you give to the world, solve a problem or add to your community? What issues in your society would you like to help resolve?What is your vocation? What are your talents? Where do your efforts feel effortless? What is your profession? Have you been paid for what you do? Are other people being paid for this work?
"The Japanese believe to have deep satisfaction and meaning in their lives; they need to live in alignment with their ikigai, which translates to the reason for being or why I wake up in the morning."
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"It appears that those who actively strive for their ikigai have stronger self-esteem and feel a sense of belonging within the world. When we meet those who have found this, their very presence lends a feeling of harmony and balance.”
Where these four questions intersect is where we can find our ikigai. If we are unable to get to the heart of these questions, we can shake things up. Discovering new ways of doing something, expanding our circle of friends, exploring new interests, or volunteering for an organization that inspires us may lead to personal insight. Most of all, understanding that this is an ongoing process of growth. Nothing is set in stone. Some may find it quickly, and others may take decades. Regardless, it is the journey that is most important.
We are all creations of our minds. We have the power of change. To get there starts with the first step. For a long time, my life with horses was the intersection of the four elements.As time passed, my ikigai has changed. Now writing and speaking have become where my sense of purpose feels most satisfied. Finding our ikigai exemplifies; Do what you love, and you’ll never work another day in your life. I encourage everyone to start digging and exploring where you find your meaning and your raison d’etre. The purpose has nothing to do with the job title or task; as long as one can find a sense of fulfillment and inner gratification, we will move towards our reason for being and why we wake up in the morning.
If you can find pleasure and satisfaction in what you do and you’re good at it, congratulations you have found your ikigai. www.thefrankmagazine.com
PELVIC FLOOR AWAKENING: A GUIDED JOURNEY Women’s Body Wisdom guide, yoga teacher, nutritional therapist and instructor of The Non-Linear Movement Method®. By Gabriella Espinosa
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our Pelvic Floor is the ground of your being, supports how you stand, walk, control elimination and enjoy sex. It is your entry into the world, the seat of your creative power and where you find home in your body. The stress women experience from fluctuating hormones whilst managing work or family life can lead to excessive tightening or clenching of the pelvic floor disconnecting us from this vital part of our bodies. We usually do not pay much attention to the pelvic floor until we experience pain, discomfort or embarrassing symptoms such as incontinence. Like any muscle, a healthy pelvic floor needs to be active, mobile but also RELAXED to allow energy to effectively flow to the area. Yoga teacher, Gabriella Espinosa talks to us about the pelvic floor and how cultivating awareness with yoga, breath and movement can allow you to befriend this part of yourself. Cecilia at Yoga and Photo (@yogaandphoto)
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What is the pelvic floor and where is it? The pelvic floor is a dynamic and complex layer of muscles that supports the pelvic organs and stablises the pelvis. It stretches like a muscular trampoline from the tailbone to the pubic bone and from one sitting bone to the other. Like any muscle in our body a healthy pelvic floor contracts and lengthens, is able to support weight, has full range of movement and a balance of tone and elasticity. The pelvic floor works as a team with our respiratory diaphram, core and back muscles to facilitate breathing, absorb force and support the pelvic bones. They allow for sexual function, elimination, sensation, pleasure and birthing new life into the world.
What causes a weak pelvic floor? Weakening of the pelvic floor muscles is one of the main causes of urinary incontinence. Pregnancy and childbirth are undoubtedly two of the most common reasons women find the strength of their pelvic floor is compromised, as this incredible part of your body is pushed to its limits. Whilst you’re pregnant, your body releases hormones that loosen your pelvic floor muscles, allowing your baby to grow and be delivered safely. This natural phenomenon - whilst incredible! - can leave many mothers experiencing pelvic floor dysfunction, which can lead to incontinence during the postpartum stage and beyond. But, it’s important to remember that your pelvic floor health can be impacted, even if you have not had a baby. A 2016 Swedish study revealed that 1 in 5 women over 45 - who had not given birth - reported symptoms of incontinence. Stress, emotional trauma and physical injury can all have a detrimental effect on the functionality of your pelvic floor, as well as your day to day activities. Spending the majority of your day sitting down - which many of us have experienced during lockdown - can be another root cause of pelvic floor dysfunction. Like any muscle, our pelvic floor needs to be active and mobile to allow our blood and energy to effectively flow to it. Spending 8 hours a day sitting at a computer is common for many of us in today’s working world. However, this lack of activity compresses our pelvic floor reducing its mobility. Whilst we are concentrating on our work, our attention is taken away from the way we are holding our body and we can often put strain on our pelvic floor muscles - by constantly tensing - without realising it.
How does stress affect the pelvic floor? Stress can disconnect us from this area of our bodies keeping us in our thinking minds, leading to clenching and tensing of the jaw, neck and shoulders as a result of emotional or mental strain. This can lead to tightening or pulling up of the pelvic floor. The jaw and pelvic floor are intimately linked by connective tissue so the relaxation of each deeply affects the other. Stress also impacts our breathing patterns which can restrict movement of the pelvic floor. This can lead to hypertonic or overactive pelvic floor muscles reducing sensation. Hypertonic pelvic floor muscles result from too much tension in the area further weakening the pelvic floor. This can contribute to a worsening of symptoms in urge incontinence, genital pain, pain during sex and interstitial cystitis. Conditions such as Irritable Bowel Syndrome with chronic constipation can be exacerbated by stress and cause further tightening and weakening of the pelvic floor from too much straining. Pelvic floor muscles that are too weak or lax are Hypotonic meaning the muscles are not providing enough support for the bowels, bladder, and uterus. This can be a result of postural habits, prolonged labour during childbirth in which ligaments of the bladder or uterus get stretched or as women transition into peri/menopause and lose tone and elasticity in the area due to declining oestrogen. Hypotonic pelvic floor muscles can result in: •Stress Incontinence which is involuntary leakage of urine occurring during activities such as coughing, sneezing, laughing, jumping, running. This can be embarrassing for many women as they do not feel this happening due to lack of tone in the area. •Organ Prolapse of either the bladder, rectum, uterus or vagina is a condition where women experience a fullness or bulge at or near the vaginal opening. The protrusion may be accompanied by perineal pressure (pressure between the vagina and anus). www.thefrankmagazine.com
Are Kegels the right course of action? Kegel exercises, developed by American gynaecologist Arnold Kegel, have been the go to method for strengthening the pelvic floor since the 1940s. They focus on isolating, lifting, contracting and releasing the sphincter muscles and are simple, quick and easy to integrate into your daily routine. However, they may not be the right for everyone. For women who have a weak pelvic floor from too much stress and clenching - repetitive tensing with kegels may actually be detrimental to their recovery. When muscles are weak and dormant, we need to wake them up - which is something kegels do very effectively. However, we also have to help them to relax. If our pelvic floor muscle is always “on” from doing kegels or clenching from stress, it can get tense, fatigued and worn out. Not only can this reduce its range of movement, but it can also cause compensation from other muscles, which will lead to disruptive movement elsewhere in the body. When trying to strengthen and repair any damage in the body the key is not to make muscles that are already habitually tight more tight. Instead you want to relax those muscles, give them a rest and articulate other muscles that are not worn out. This is where a variety of Yoga poses and breathing techniques can be helpful.
“It is never too late to make a positive change and improve your pelvic muscle health. The pelvic floor is intricate and complex, but like any muscle in our body it needs to have full range of motion, tone as well as relaxation to maintain its functionality.”
Cecilia at Yoga and Photo (@yogaandphoto)
“Spending the majority of your day sitting down - which many of us have experienced during lockdown - can be another root cause of pelvic floor dysfunction. Like any muscle, our pelvic floor needs to be active and mobile to allow our blood and energy to effectively flow to it. Spending 8 hours a day sitting at a computer is common for many of us in today’s working world.” How does the pelvic floor change in menopause? Our pelvic floor health is intrinsically linked with the menopause. Our vaginal canal, bladder, urethra and pelvic floor and are all impacted by the hormonal changes that come with the menopause. These areas of the body are lined with oestrogen receptors and as we begin to enter perimenopause in our 40s, oestrogen levels begin to fluctuate and then decline in menopause. The decrease in oestrogen can mean the tissue of this complex area is not as happy or healthy as it once was - and therefore not as robust. This transition can lead to menopause related continence in a few different forms. The thinning of the vaginal walls can lead to Atrophic Vaginitis and manifest itself in various symptoms including vaginal dryness, pain during sex and urinary leakage during sex, which is something thought to effect around 25% of women who experience incontinence. Our pelvic floor muscles - weakened by both the decrease in oestrogen and natural ageing process - may no longer be able to provide as much support as they once did. This can lead to either stress or urge incontinence. Whilst the above illustrates how the hormonal changes our bodies experience during menopause can create a perfect storm for incontinence, it is not something you need to accept as your new normal. There are many things you can do to improve your pelvic floor health and reduce your risk of leaks, no matter what age or life stage you are at.
What makes a healthy pelvic floor? When it comes to the resilience of our pelvic floors, prevention is better than cure. It is much easier to maintain healthy pelvic floor muscles than repair ones that have been damaged. It is never too late to make a positive change and improve your pelvic muscle health. The pelvic floor is intricate and complex, but like any muscle in our body it needs to have full range of motion, tone as well as relaxation to maintain its functionality. When we leave our muscles dormant for too long they lose their range of movement and elasticity. A healthy pelvic floor has capacity to lengthen and contract, to relax and to turn off when not needed and turn on when needed. When all this happens the connective tissue of pelvic floor muscles have more sliding and muscles can work independently and effectively. How do you know whether you have a Hypotonic or Hypertonic pelvic floor? Bringing awareness to the area with breath, enquiry, touch, gentle movement and yoga can help. Yoga poses help mobilise, strengthen and relax key muscle groups that support the integrity of your pelvic floor. Access my Pelvic Floor Awareness tutorial on Movement for Modern Life for free over a period of two weeks. Use the code GABRIELLA20 for a 20% discount off a full year subscription to Movement for Modern Life.
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F R A N K
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Honest and open account of her spiritual life and Buddhist practice. It is full of love and compassion and encouragement for everyone. As Tina writes in her closing: “Please never give up! Keep on making the impossible possible, turning poison into medicine so you may become truly happy, because happiness becomes you forever.”
Happiness Becomes You: A guide to changing your life for good
By Tina Turner Narrated by Adrienne Warren
‘Each of us is born, I believe, with a unique mission, a purpose in life that only we can fulfill. We are linked by a shared responsibility: to help our human family grow kinder and happier.’ Tina Turner, one of the world’s most beloved artists and entertainers, reveals the deep wisdom that underpins her longstanding faith in Buddhism and provides a guide to these timeless principles so you can find happiness in your own life. In Happiness Becomes You: A Guide to Changing Your Life for Good, Tina shows how all of us can overcome life’s obstacles—even transform the ‘impossible’ to possible—and fulfill our dreams. She shows how we, too, can improve our lives, empowering us with spiritual tools and sage advice to enrich our unique paths. Buddhism has been a central part of Tina Turner’s life for decades and, in music, film, and live performances, she has shined brightly as an example of generating hope from nothing, breaking through all limitations, and achieving success that endures. Drawing from the lessons of her own experiences–from rising out of adversity to stratospheric heights–Tina shows how the spiritual lessons of Buddhism helped her transform from sorrow, adversity, and poverty into joy, stability, and prosperity. Now, Tina offers the wisdom gained throughout her extraordinary life, making Happiness Becomes You the perfect gift of inspiration for you or anyone you love.
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N I G H T
F R A N K
Good Bedtime Moods "...it's a total game-changer for restless nights and early morning anxiety."
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H E A L T H
C O A C H
DNA testing: a proactive and preventative approach to getting older By Sandie Fredriksson
Sandie Fredriksson helps women 40+ feel great, lose weight and take charge of how they will age. She uses a combination of bespoke nutrition and lifestyle coaching, supplements and genetic testing.
A simple cheek swab is all it takes to uncover your genetic health blueprint, but does that mean you should do it? Sandie Fredriksson helps you decide.
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ne day, out of the blue, your washing machine packs up. It seemed fine before, aside from the odd whirring noise that a quick bump of your hip could reliably fix. But now it’s stopped working altogether, and the five-year warranty has just expired. Typical! Off you go to dig out the operating manual, hoping it will provide clues on how to fix it. Unlike our washing machines, our bodies didn’t come with a warranty, though thankfully, most of us manage to make it through our early years reasonably unscathed. But what you may not realise is that you were born with your very own operating manual - your DNA - and thanks to researchers cracking the human genome, you are now able to access it. www.thefrankmagazine.com
As we move through our forties, our bodies can start to behave in new and unpredictable ways. Perhaps you’re struggling to stay up past 10pm, and even when you do manage to nail eight hours sleep, you still wake up feeling utterly exhausted. Or have you ever forgotten why you walked into the kitchen, even though you know it was for something important? New food-sensitivities, amped-up emotions, a thickening waistline; there are so many ways it can feel like your body is no longer your own. You realise that the basic maintenance job you’ve been doing for the last four decades just isn’t going to cut it. It’s time for some proactive planning and perhaps a deeper understanding of the genetic hand you’ve been dealt with.
Confused and Frustrated Which supplements should I take? Should I stop eating red meat? What about coffee, dairy and gluten - could these be a problem? While it’s easy enough to source generic health advice from books or a bio-hacking account on Instagram, it can be hard to know the real impact any of these changes will have on your unique body. Just because your friend is feeling great on her keto diet and bullet-proof coffee doesn’t mean it’s right for your biological makeup. Not to mention how incredibly expensive and time-consuming it is to treat your body like some kind of laboratory experiment. What if knowing that both your mum’s parents had heart disease is forming the entire basis for your assumed destiny? Or you have gaps in your family’s health history, as your parents lost touch with their ancestors in a faraway country long ago? Trying to come up with a healthy-ageing action plan without answers to these questions can leave us feeling helpless, confused and frustrated.
“You realise that the basic maintenance job you've been doing for the first four decades just isn't going to cut it. it's time for some proactive planning and perhaps a deeper understanding of the genetic hand you've been dealt with.” Getting personal The older we get, the more valuable it is to understand the link between our genes and our likelihood of developing health problems. Identifying specific diet, lifestyle and supplement protocols that match your genetic blueprint can go a long way to removing some of the guesswork and optimising your outcomes. My own genetic health report provided several “Aha!” moments. One of the standout results involved the process of DNA repair, with particular emphasis on the COMT gene, where I display the ‘slow’ AA variation. It prompted a mixed reaction presenting some challenges and one silver lining; let me explain. This ‘slow’ COMT variation limits the body’s ability to remove adrenaline and impairs HPA axis function (how we destress). Put simply, stress for me feels stronger, lasts longer, and does more damage. Knowing this has encouraged me to make my daily meditation habit non-negotiable and place some of the more triggering relationships in my life on the back burner. I’ve also added two stress-busting ‘magnesium + 5HTP’ capsules into my bedtime routine. www.thefrankmagazine.com
Oh, and I’ve finally ended my relationship with adrenaline-elevating coffee. It turns out I am genetically as bad as one can be at metabolising caffeine anyway, having inherited not one but two variants on my CYP1A2 gene - one from each of my parents. As a ‘slow’ COMT, my body is also not great at getting rid of harmful oestrogen metabolites associated with an increased risk of breast cancer. I already include cancer-protective cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli and cabbage in my diet since my breast cancer diagnosis in 2014. But now, armed with this genetic piece of my health puzzle, I’ve added an extra buffer of powerful broccoli sprout powder to my daily supplements. Many of the changes I made have yielded immediate and noticeable results. Whereas some, such as a daily DNA-protective supplement, will provide a more invisible, slowburn advantage. So what about that silver lining? This ‘slow’ COMT variation also comes with ‘superior executive functioning’ such as logical thinking, efficient problem-solving, complex thought coordination and an ability to map out consequences. I’ll take that!
To know or not to know? DNA testing is an exciting new tool but does not appeal to everyone. I tend to get one of two responses when I discuss it with clients. For the most part, it’s “Oh how fascinating - I would love to do that!” but there are some that understandably say, “I’d rather not know.” It’s a very personal choice. Finding out you are genetically at increased risk of type 2 diabetes is a considerable leap from discovering you are lactose intolerant. It’s also worth mentioning that these tests are notoriously difficult to interpret, which is why I discourage the DIY varieties. Having a qualified practitioner talk you through your results isn’t just about deciphering them accurately but also to provide meaningful guidance on what to do next.
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“The older we get, the more valuable it is to understand the link between our genes and our likelihood of developing health problems.” Your genes are not your destiny Genetic testing will only tell you about the health risks associated with the genes you were born with. Like a straightfrom-the-factory instruction manual, it doesn’t mean what can go wrong will go wrong. Just as it’s not a guarantee that you’re safe from a particular condition because your genetic code didn’t flag it. I love the axiom ‘genetics loads the gun, but lifestyle pulls the trigger.’ This is the fascinating field of epigenetics - how we can turn the helpful genes on and switch the unhelpful genes off. Knowing you can take back control and responsibility for your health and wellbeing should feel incredibly empowering. What we eat, how we move our bodies, the hours we sleep, the toxins we are exposed to - even our thought patterns and emotional experiences; they all play a part. This is good news! It means how you age isn’t down to just genes or luck; it’s up to you. Every new day is a fresh opportunity to prevent and reduce your risk of illness or disease. We now understand that our genes are not our destiny, but they do hold valuable clues that can help us. If you’re already doing all the right things, but it still feels like you are battling your own body, then lifting the lid on your genetic blueprint might be exactly what you need to improve your outcomes.
How does it work? We will send a DNA test kit to your home (a simple one-minute cheek swab), which you then post off in the packaging provided. Once your report is ready in 3-4 weeks, we will book you in for a one-hour consultation to discuss your results and provide a personalised action plan. Your DNA never changes, so you will only ever need to do this once.
Cost: £349, including a one-hour video call. To find out more, contact me on Instagram @thehealthyhabitscoach or at sandiefredriksson.com A 10% discount offered to FRANK readers until 30th July 2021
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ME & CLEODIE SOLSTICE CALL
Women Together. Holding the Light of a Flame By Tamsin Calidas
Stories are our life blood. They give shape and meaning to our existence. They inhabit the living soil of our most intimate histories. In older times our lives were witnessed by our collective narrative, earthed by movement, gestures, dance and song. A gathering of voice, eyes seeking warmth, hearts drawn by the flickering light of an ancient fire. That history lives on within us, an impulse that endures. Words
seek to lay bare our innermost experiences, hopes, dreams, and fears. Through narrative, we summon deeper collective, conscious and unconscious truths. Yet storytelling, its warp and weave, is largely a lost, archaic art. I was struck, therefore, by its sudden reemergence, on a specific date in March. The 11th March to be exact. Communities gathered in vigils. Beacons, lighting darkness in time of need. It felt like a promise. With it, a resurgence of narrative stirring across a wider landscape. It was striking to witness. At sunset, small lights sparked, one by one - flames glimmering. Other concerns quietly put aside. It felt symbolic, timely. Hands sparked tallow and wick, palms sheltering each quivering flame; summoning others, mothers, daughters, friends, strangers to gather. Women simply giving voice to their stories. Breaking a silence. Passing the light on. One voice. One message. One flame. That call felt like a pulse beating. Universal yet intimate. A living heart beat. Nature’s drum. As in nature, the heart’s flow surges through two distinct, interconnected chambers. Systole. Diastole. Its voice reverberates.
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We have all been profoundly affected, and disaffected by the shocking news of Sarah Everard’s death - a woman who was walking home. To most of us, it felt like losing someone known to us, a friend or family member. It felt uniquely personal. Many of us will always remember her name.
Holding a flame is a powerful symbol. Fire demands a force of oxygen to burn brightly. Its invisible process of combustion, like love and fear, is incandescent. As its fuel grows hotter, it vibrates and splits its bonds. Generating emotions of awe, wonder, reverence, grace and stillness, the heart connects us, profoundly, through silence.
Perhaps it is simply because it might have been any one of us. Yet our shared grief struck a still deeper chord. Its story was timeless, urgent. It felt like a deep hurt or betrayal. A violation of trust felt by all.
Fire animates a stronger consciousness. It binds our psychic, physical and emotional wellbeing. We feel intimately held by our vulnerability, humanity, belonging. We sense our Being. It draws us closer.
In the fall out, Sarah Langford a well known writer, friend and until recently, a barrister in the courts, wrote on her social media feed, advising caution and calm - it is important to wait, to not to jeopardise justice, until clarity is found in the courts. How unfathomable it might be if a surfeit of extraneous information, might implicitly deny a fair trial and verdict.
Regardless of spirituality, religion, creed or its absence, the presence of flame is elemental and eternal. Our lives, anchored by the earth’s rhythms, are witnessed by expansive cycles of stars, sun, moon. Sometimes, our eyes irradiate, as we glimpse the timeless, universal. It connects us to nature.
It made me deeply reflect on the role, power and responsibility of language. Alongside the heart-breaking tragedy, its sickening implicit violence, the sheer waste of a life, and a family’s devastation, we were mobilised by something wholly unanticipated. Grass roots stirring, women finding solidarity, strength in unity. Our individual and collective human response felt profoundly necessary, healing. Every one of us felt this vibration. A silent spring, heralding the risks to our environment, when society, in part or whole, collectively euthanises, or wilfully ignores over generations, toxic waste. It echoed each of our voices, and our stories. A desire for change. Fresh water, clean air. Reclaiming the earth of our bodies, and lives. Cleansing it of an insidious fear, anxiety and shame, Not just reclaiming the streets, but to voice this other unnamed, great extinction. Of women’s right to walk freely on this earth. For all women to be safe. And to feel safe. I was struck by the simplicity and profound symbolism of our gesture. It was deeply moving.
In ancient times, fires were lit to keep the wolves and darkness at bay. Yet in modern life, we are disconnected from our older traditions. Yet still, occasionally, an unconscious impulse stirs. The symbolism of flame is potent. Candlelight is intimate, hallowed. It is a sign of a pledge, prayer, a tryst or trust; an offering or ancient blessing. Flame, an invocation to a sacred or unknown guiding influence, is a call of protection or sanctuary, that stems from our earliest memory. Often when we feel most alone, it symbolises the divine heartbeat of love, wisdom and compassion. Watching my own hand cradling candlelight, I thought of how these older rituals are written into our body. Flame is imprinted in our sensory pathways. Its tongue speaks an older language - it guides us along a flickering, instinctive trail. Its creative, generative, emotive force can lead us on a path of transformation. It helps bear up and support others. Life-giving and life-sustaining, it symbolises hope, renewal. In the acutely painful stages of grief, bereavement, or loss of some fragile innocence, our hearts long for a life after death, a perpetual light or continuance - an inviolable flame that endures. It made me think of how other women, our once ancestors, may have felt this. Hearts beating together - seeking sanctuary, drawing inspiration, strength, and guidance from a bright inner flame.
Each woman standing in silence. Holding the light of a flame. www.thefrankmagazine.com
We have only to turn to myth, folklore and history, to evoke a deeper significance.
experience that is shared, yet which is suffered or highlighted by an individual event, social change often follows. Particular events seem to incite this.
Many others are talking of this. Yet often this shift is triggered by something more subtle. It is the ancient call to the Divine Feminine or the Goddess.
EVEN A CAGED BIRD WILL SEEK TO FLY FREELY There is so much to learn by sharing our stories. It helps us to understand what is means to be human. As women we are able to connect and share our deeper truths. Safety is a strange rare thing. You cannot tame it. It feathers quiver, like a bird. Its voice speaks a different wild language, one that is heart-driven, sensory. It calibrates its fear, anxiety or ease by its intuition or instinct. Its wings may be clipped, or caged but as soon as it senses the invisible walls of its confines prising open, a great contained force of motion propels it forwards. Momentarily it freezes, as if startled by sight of that blind empty sky. Then, a summoning of instinct. Blink, and in that moment, it is gone. I am not sure what triggers this. Even a tamed bird, caged all its life, will seek to fly freely. It is only, once its cage is empty, that you realise how, all its life, that bird may have unconsciously known or lived with an inexpressible longing to be freed. Only, as with any wild creature that is caged, familiarised or naturalised to its surroundings, it remained if not passive, then compliant. It is only after that you wonder. Perhaps it never quite sensed or understood the extent of its captivity.
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Sometimes, at times of difficulty or crisis, we intuit how we are intimately and mysteriously interconnected. Those bonds that we sense yet which are hard to explain or cipher. Its deep, rocking waters flow through our psyche like the waves of an ocean. Restless, unformed words drift. The truth of our stories find us through sensation. It can feel like a profoundly tender, urgent heart beat. That soft beating pulse, can catch us open, unguarded.
It is the rippling tide of the collective unconscious.
*
“We have all been profoundly affected, and disaffected by the shocking news of Sarah Everard’s death - a woman who was walking home. To most of us, it felt like losing someone known to us, a friend or family member. It felt uniquely personal. Many of us will always remember her name.”
**
I have no tv. I receive no daily newspaper. I did not know the news until I switched on my radio. And yet all day I felt anxious, upset and restless. I could not sit still. My WEAVING A NEW LANGUAGE body was constantly in motion, busy and moving. I wonder how many others experienced this. I’ve been talking to many women over recent weeks, some Throughout history, women have often been inspired to who are friends, others who were strangers. By sharing our gather. To share an acute sense of loss, grief or pain. stories, we drew closer. Friendships have been forged. Hearts outreaching to connect to a common cause, crisis, Some will be enduring and lasting. I felt deeply moved, or moral injustice. When the greater-many sense an humbled and privileged to listen to each of these voices. www.thefrankmagazine.com
Our stories were different in their specifics, yet strikingly similar in the main. Yet beyond the need to remember, ‘Not all men, no - but all women’, I felt energised, and deeply hopeful. Women are being urged to talk, talk, talk. It is not always easy sharing stories. We each sense its profound importance, yet few of us know quite how or where to begin. This is understandable. Aside from the hope of legislative action, many of us remain unsure, ambivalent, or cynical of enduring, meaningful change. We cannot yet envisage exactly how change will affect our infrastructure - only that our hearts tell us that this is vital and necessary. Whilst the specifics may be different, and importantly to highlight that statistically random violence with fatal mortality is rare, we each understand a wider, entrenched problem through our shared experience. 95% of women will experience sexual harassment or some form of assault (WHO). Statistics reflect this is a fact of life rather than an arbitrary occurrence. This issue has affected millennia of women. It is endemic and systemic. Arguably, one of the shadows of a western patriarchal civilisation upon which our modern world is constructed. So how may we each instigate or invite the change we so desire, to find us? Sharing stories, breaking silence, may seem an unpromising beginning. Yet once a wind breathes, the grasses start rustling. Sparks ignite. Women standing shoulder to shoulder. Being there for each other.
friends and your female relatives. They should not be holding these stories inside.’ Why is this so concept so new to us? Of sharing our most basic experiences? It made me wonder, where and why did the art of storytelling get lost? In older times, our voices would accompany this symbolic weaving of threads. Women would sing as they worked, fingers interlocking, passing, lifting threading, binding together. A collectively bonding and binding process, of repetitive movement, reinforcing or echoing linguistic tropes. Voices were literally written into the body, through a beat of feet, interplay and lift of voices. Palms clapping, eyes glancing, memories stirring together. After in the silence, profound insights. Intuition speaks through the wisdom of the heart. We sense this.
There is an art to storytelling. We need to reconstruct this ancient tradition for our specific times. As Jung describes ‘If [language is a flow of] images with a numinosity you have never experienced, it will be as if you were talking in a dream, The mere words you use will be empty and valueless. They gain life and and meaning only when you try to take into account their numinosity - ie. their relationship to the living individual.” Yet it is hard to weave in anger, fear, or anxiety. These emotions are disempowering, divisive, and curiously empty our hearts of hope or vision. With few threads in a collective drawer or storage, the loom cannot beat. Our hands are empty. Our hearts are grieving. We long to speak. It seems our problem lies deeper. It reflects a more damaging uprooting, trauma and exile of our collective female psyche, an exodus that is reflected by the ecological devastation in the world around us - the very language of our earth and nature:
** * ’Over time we have seen the feminine instinctive nature looted, driven back, and overbuilt. For long periods this SHARING OUR STORIES CONNECTS US TO OLDER has been mismanaged like the wildlife and the wildlands. POWERFUL TRADITIONS For several thousand years, as soon or as often as we turn our backs, it is relegated to the poorest land in the psyche. - BY NAMING OUR EXPERIENCES WE OWN OUR The spiritual lands of the Wild Woman have, throughout TRUTHS history, been plundered or burnt, dens bulldozed, and natural cycles forced into natural rhythms to please others.” As journalist Annie Mac writes, “There is so much power in sharing our stories as women. Men ask your females www.thefrankmagazine.com
Women Who Run with the Wolves, Clarissa Pinkerton Estes Yet nature and growth is cyclical and regenerative. Our lives merely a blink in a more expansive continuum. The female quality of life-giving through our unique attributes and emotional intelligence is instinctive. Mother Earth is our Nature. Our innate nature.
insidious and exerts an unwanted influence or control of another’s free space; an implicit or overt violence of staking territory. It is so part of our soil, sometimes it is hard to feel the earth we walk on. Many women I spoke to described how this language is so pervasive, it is a normal daily occurrence. I listened to, ‘Oh that,’ as a weary refrain. A pervasive presence likened to an acute or chronic tinnitus - so subtle it is like blips of static or a lower reverberating background noise.
I find this deeply hopeful. By each physical act of contribution, we each hold a powerful salve.
In the gaps, or silences we may also be aware of a more subtle gas-lighting. Snider and Gilligan succinctly explore this in the round:
Each woman is tasked to journey into her world, and return ‘Expressing certain thoughts and feelings, our needs, our desires, or god forbid our dissatisfaction, frustration, or with a living thread of her own. The journey may take anger, continues to be a ‘risky’ business. We risk being time. It asks of each of us patience, stamina, strength and labelled ‘shrill,’ ‘too emotional’ irrational, stupid and vision. ridiculed for not being able to take a joke accused of ruining Each thread is unique, precious. Some are uniquely painful men’s fun, their reputations, their lives. At worst, we face or difficult to find. Prised from the living soil of our bodies, violent reprisals. Reprisals which are then justified as legitimate response to our failure to charm, or for our being it is our responsibility to actively contribute by weaving too aggression too sexual, too much. Reprisal which we are these together. Sometimes, it can be hard searching into paradoxically told we could have avoided if only we had the dark places we hold inside us. It asks of us all. been more assertive, as if knowing and protesting were not Through our sharing, as women we hold each other up. We the very acts that imperil our relationships and thus, if not our survival, our chances for advancement. The connect through love, wisdom, compassion. It transforms contradiction is astounding: a woman is blamed for that piecing together into a vividly tender, painful, yet simultaneously being too assertive (too demanding, too healing task. aggressive, in a word, selfish) and not assertive enough (why don’t you walk away or fight back, she is told). Both We may also need to deconstruct the very fabric of our reinforce the illusion that the world is fair, patriarchy is a language. thing of the past, and it is individuals are are lacking.” To unpick threads that are toxic, redundant or no longer necessary. We notice how our own earth exhibits parallels, to much that is needed or missing in our own lives. ***
LISTENING ASKS MORE DEEPLY OF US Misogyny is soon to be classified as a criminal offence. We all know it, yet it is a word few of us like to say. Perhaps it is because its sound and edges are so hard, angular and forceful. It is curiously unable to hold our more intimate, daily experiences. Those that glance, bruise or touch us like shadows yet which are sensed by their hurt, by a sense of shame or more subtle emotion, feelings that are hard to trace and articulate. Misogyny is sexualised hatred. It is gender specific,
“95% of women will experience sexual harassment or some form of assault (WHO). Statistics reflect this is a fact of life rather than an arbitrary occurrence. This issue has affected millennia of women. It is endemic and systemic.”
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“It is not by accident that the pristine wilderness of our planet disappears as the understanding of our own inner wild natures fades”. Women Who Run with the Wolves, Clarissa Pinkerton Estes
Often our eyes to drawn to places we shy from. Three distinct shapes often seek to find us. One is fear. Another, ignorance or willed unknowing. And still another, that hides is shame. Many of us have wondered, where do these stories come from. Who did they belong to before?
*** As Sharon Blackie writes in her inspirational book, If Women Rose Rooted, ‘To change the world, we women need first to change ourselves - and then we need to change the stories we tell about who we are. […]. Stories matter. They’re not just entertainment - stories matter because humans are narrative creatures.’ We may all benefit from this. Excavating our own emotions, helps us shed our own weight. By freeing ourselves, we are more able to nourish others. By inspiring others, we positively nurture and recreate our own framework of language .
Is part of their urgency, knowing we speak for others whose lives are gone? As we look around at our world, we start to make striking parallels, connections. Weaving pathways through the dark woods and forests of our own fears and emotions, is something all stories are built on. It matters to lay different durable threads. To create the story we wish to inhabit.
Connecting to our own bodies, can make us more acutely sensitive to our living environment.
** *
Light irradiates. It exposes shadows, cracks in the bedrock of the very ground we walk on.
“The word is not just a sound or a written symbol. The word is a force; it the power you have to express and communicate, to think, and thereby to change the events in your life.”
We are taught as children not to seek or tread on the cracks - the hinterland of fables, myth, folklore and fairytales. In those cracks, archetypes breathe.
Don Miguel Riez
Archetypes live in our consciousness, a primitive form of psychic energy. Occasionally, events occur in our lives, in nature, in history, that animate these more acutely. The link between physical events, and life ripples, it is alive with feeling.
It is important we each seek to take responsibility and agency to changing the world around us. Our intentions and thoughts as well as our words and actions have outcomes that live on beyond us. We are each directly responsible for the world and earth we live in.
It takes time to understand these wild creatures. They are covert, elusive. Our skin often gives clues and senses their presence, tensing and tightening, relaxing and softening or growing flushed or icy cold.
Ancient wisdom suggests that language is karmic.
Yet sometimes, of their own volition, they surface. “As any change must begin somewhere, it is the single individual who will experience it and carry it through. The change must indeed with begin with an individual; it might be any one of us. Nobody can afford to look round and to wait for somebody else to do what [they] are loath to do, it might be worth while for each of us to ask […] whether by any chance his or her unconscious may know something that will help us.” C. G. Jung
The law of cause and effect is apparent all around us. Our universe offers us clues, and glimpses of nature in the our daily life, offers us simple ways to reframe our life more positively. Wherever we live, nature, the sky, the stars, the moon and sun are accessible to us all. With simple daily routines, it is possible to observe our own reactions to events as they ripple through our body, by sensations, thoughts or feelings. We become less reactive and more reflective. We learn to separate from our emotions. To witness our being.
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Our thoughts offer a key to unlock an invisible cage. Its beautiful simplicity is life changing.
a trinity of values, or qualities constructed to weight bear.
In the Four Agreements, Don Miguel Ruiz explains the irradiating power of love over fear:
One is courage, and supportive storytelling. Another is education through dialogue, sharing and open questions. And still another is unmasking shame, and offering healing.
“This is the first agreement that you should make if you want to be free, if you want to be happy, if you want to transcend the level of existence that is hell. It is very powerful.’
Over time, we learn to inhabit ourselves more fully. This is when our narrative becomes more compelling.
Our very thoughts and words hold our own freedom and vision of change. Stepping beyond our own casual negative definitions challenges each of us. It is a radical yet simple game changer. This first agreement - to ‘Be impeccable to your Word’ sounds so simple - yet it is arguably the most difficult to honour. It challenges each of us, by its chance to transcend our lived reality simply by our innate spiritual commitment to create, enhance and renew the power of each word in our lives.
Our boundaries flex. We become stronger. ** * Visual expression, movement, sound, colour, music and sensory interplay often draw on innate feminine attributes - yet they offer vital skills that may dissolve our daily divisions or castes of gender, knowledge and identity.
Self belief, manifestation and affirmation is essential. Practised daily it is transformative.
Our very stories may help us to sense and heal our society’s divisions. They may also be the very tools we need to share with our loved male companions.
Consciousness enervates. We inspire by sharing.
We learn to sense all that is ‘other.’
Cherishing voice is one half of storytelling. Silence too is invaluable. It gives space for deeper feelings to surface.
Silence also allows creates space for others to speak while we listen. We intuit others more deeply. We sense our connection. We own our shared human experience.
DAILY RITUAL IS STRENGTHENING
** * Making a ritual of candlelight daily can help us. Each day, we irradiate more of the space within and around us. Uplifting and strengthening, it starts a practice of setting boundaries and holding safe space. Sensing emotion helps us to trace it in our body. It can help to daily take a few minutes to do this. Scanning the body, slowly, helps us locate heightened, or sensitised perception - often felt as tension, pain, skin prickling or tingling, fleeting aches, or a sense of a knot, nausea or gut anxiety. Tracing sensory pathways in our bodies, we become more attuned and emotionally articulate. Using positive words of hope and affirmation, starts a process of engineering an uplifting resilient structure, comprised of
“Misogyny is sexualised hatred. It is gender specific, insidious and exerts an unwanted control of another’s free space. It is an implicit or overt violence of territory. It is so part of our soil, sometimes it is hard to feel the earth we walk on.”
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GIVING VOICE TO OUR OWN STORIES MAY BE THE BRAVEST THING WE DO Speaking our truth, bravely, even standing alone, matters.
am safer, as I get older. As a friend and work colleague, ten years my senior, explained, ‘You become invisible.’ Not so with younger women. We have all been there.
I was struck by this in the year after publication of my memoir I AM AN ISLAND.
It matters to place identity and politics of belonging, our shadows aside. For our collective safety, ease and respect, to find common ground in our core experiences of humanity. Women standing by women, in solidarity.
My own story took great courage to write. It too was a process of weaving, or sowing fresh seeds. I had distilled a much greater intensity of experience to light grace notes. Mere glints at a much tougher, lived intensity of experience. I wrote my truth in a way that might resonate. It showed me how closely our grief and love, fear and change are interconnected.
I was glad I trusted my instinct to write as I did. The overwhelming flow of letters, messages, words and gestures of support that were the result, attest I was right to do so. It takes courage and stamina to write so openly. It also asks an equal act of bravery on the part of the reader - it takes courage for us all to journey together. To live our own difficult experiences and truths fully.
I used the sensory body to express this. Aside from experiences of love, loss, grief and friendship, visceral situations, that affect many women, world over, which make the heart beat faster, and are universal.
It also matters that as women we allow ourselves to flex a genre and the role of language to more closely share our sensory experiences, that are intimate yet universal. Emotion is a flowing sea that sometimes cries to be released from our own tightly walled reservoirs.
It can make all the difference to others.
The metaphor of an island, used to express amongst many threads, how isolating, yet all too common, casual or more focused abuse can feel. By making location placeless, a true story that is timeless, generic, moving beyond specifics to embrace light and shadows that touch us all. A vocal minority suggested that my own experiences of misogyny were not true. It belied the reality that often, my voice had been sheltering others - women who had also experienced similar experiences of misogyny. Often these women were vulnerable or alone. My experience was anchored by all the necessary paperwork and signatures, required for publication. Sadly the misogyny I experienced, did happen and situations still occur or persist, although thankfully less often. Already, fresh narrative is unfolding. I hope my book may have helped to change this. All environments hide many covert and implicit forms of control through sexualised territory, aggression and intimidation. Even on a small island, we are wholly proportionate demographically, to our scale our social issues and our micro mirroring the macro - as might be expected. Many women, are too fearful or worn down to come forwards. Incidents may be isolated or more commonly perpetuate over generations. As women it is important we continue to talk, offering mutual support and and sharing our experiences. I for one, am grateful for ageing. In many ways, I know I
It was strangely strengthening, to know I was not alone. And yet it saddens me. Reading the heartfelt stories of women, who were often solitary, I realised that whilst the specifics of our situations might be different, our experiences were similar. As one woman wrote, ‘I was given I Am An Island.’ I resolved never to read it. I thought it would be too close to my heart. It was. You stayed and I left. We share many experiences of island life. Some of mine equally harrowing and equally joyful.’ Sometimes the bravest thing we might ever do in life is to shine a light on our own stories. It helps us redefine our normal. Fear is incandescent. Yet by an act of bravery, of storytelling, we rediscover our agency. And by the light of our flame to seek to help others to find their own. Another woman simply wrote, ‘Thank-you for making me feel less alone.’
“Our very stories may help us to sense and heal our society’s divisions. They may also be the very tools we need to share with our loved male companions.”
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Empathy is an impulse that flows like a heart beat. Practised daily, its healing action is profound. It invigorates everything it touches. It is the life blood of our language. As in nature, the heart exists in balance. It’s two chambers are distinct, yet work in unison. The flow of empathy offers a beautiful parallel - its sensory, healing language unites action and intuition. Perhaps more than any other human attribute, or quality it uniquely holds the power to dissolve our innate differences or divisions. Empathy is the secret ingredient that may inspire us to tell different stories. The ones we need to hear. The words we need to say that will heal.
How then may we share or truly express our innate nature and Being? If our hearts hold all our deepest feelings, and essence, how may we collectively share our most valuable stories and experiences with others? We are ancient beings. Our world is modern. Often, we ourselves our anachronistic. Our human tools of expression are profoundly insubstantial. Yet alive in our bodies, our language is flowing, sensory, visionary. Perhaps it is this flame, the power of our intention, that holds the skeletal key to unpick the locks we share. Many of us are exploring this.
Yet in daily life life, often our words can fail us. Our own The Goddess Within stories often fall short or are inadequate. In seeking to connect, we are unable to express the full nuance and “It calls all those who have vital ancient links to the experience of our meaning. Goddess .. unconditional love, connection to nature, nurture, compassion trust in the flow of life, intuitive We sense each other, yet seeking to connect, we find wisdom, emotional intelligence, sensitivity and ourselves falling through the holes in our fabric, our systems, our own gaps. We also have shed many of our receptivity. traditions that were nature based, and which helped to Our planet has been out of balance for hundreds, if not make sense of our daily existence: thousands of years. We’ve been encouraged to place enormous value on the masculine paradigm: perceiving “ There are no longer any gods how we can invoke to and interacting with the world with logic, rationality help us. The great religions of the world suffer from increasing anaemia - the helpful [spirits] have fled from hard control, forcefulness, solution-orientated thinking and strategising. The dominance of the masculine energy the woods, rivers and mountains […] and have has resulted in global disharmony and lack of disappeared underground into the unconscious.’ C.G. equilibrium. The feminine paradigm has not only been Jung undervalued and disrespected: it has, from a spiritual perspective, been suppressed, traumatised and violated.” I explored this in many conversations with women. Interestingly, many of the words we use to help us feel Sophie Bashford: The Goddess Within safe, are directly sourced from nature. Our modern psyche, our deepest fears and longings, are still deeply rooted in the natural world. Yet often we are disconnected from our own earth. “Sometimes the bravest thing we might Life is like water. All too easily it slips through our fingers. It frustrates and perplexes us. For all our efforts of storytelling, our very words may leave our hearts searching.
***
ever do in life is to shine a light on our own stories. It helps us redefine our normal. Fear is incandescent. Yet by an act of bravery, of storytelling, we rediscover our agency. And by the light of our flame to seek to help others to find their own.”
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LIGHTING A FLAME IS AN ANCIENT CALL TO THE GODDESS There has been a great resurgence in awakening the divine feminine. Yet it is important to understand this by its potential for an inclusive paradigm. One that seeks not to divide or cause strife, or difference, yet purely by offering qualities that are elemental and healing.
stillness. Once every rock, stone, mountain, well and spring was held a meaning, sensed in our sensory body. Archetypes of nature were our guardians and protectors:
I am the womb: of every holt, I am the blaze: on every hill, I am the queen: of every hive, This rekindling of interest in the ancient Goddess tradition I am the shield: for every head, of Celtic mythology, and spirituality has many sources and I am the tomb: of every hope. roots. A longing for connection, a link to older ancestral These nature spirits still live on inside us - they are the ways. Inner transformation is accessible and deeply affirming when it offers a more elemental, instinctive cracks in fabric of our psyche and senses. Nature by extension is alive in the living soil of our bodies. Her guidance. wisdom is as alive today as ever. Many of us have turned to nature, during and post lock down. Listening, we suddenly appreciate quite how much The Triple Spiral, once the ancient symbol of the Goddess, value our earth holds for us all. Instinctively, we have echoes the very weave of our DNA and helix - its ‘cycle of infinitude’ draws the eye to the source of life, death and its missed this. renewal. The presence of light is deeply connected to the daily and seasonal cycles of nature. Our very lives are These enduring threads were passed on by women, over interconnected, anchored and finely attuned to the generations. Even today, many stories have been erased radiance of natural light. Making daily connections to the yet powerful traces remain. flowing energy of the universe, leads to a sense of profound www.thefrankmagazine.com
Collective and intuitive wisdom is as vital today as never before. The word we live in is crying out for change. The symbolism of flame is urgent and relevant. It offers a powerful guiding influence and inspiration. A deeper note that is tender, heart strong and elemental. By irradiating our stories, we strengthen our authentic bonds with all we touch. They become a tool of interconnection with a healing intention that has immense power. Light, like empathy, irradiates and draws all towards it. Its light offers hope.
** * It matters to irradiate our stories.
It asks of each one of us. Standing together. Finding voice. Holding the light of a flame. www.thefrankmagazine.com
We each hold the power to change the world as we know it. Our stories are waiting for us to claim them. The ones we need to hear. Each thought is a flame. Words, a key and pivot.
Love and fear are incandescent. Our intention ignites each potential spark. *** As in nature, the heart’s flow surges through two distinct, interconnected chambers. Systole. Diastole. Its voice reverberates. Safety and freedom lies here.
** * Perhaps, our hearts may sense a wider horizon calling.
Love is an open sky. Its bright flame is universal.
References: Aspects of the Feminine: Carl Jung There are important parallels to be found in this beautiful Man & His Symbols: Carl Jung Modern Man in Search of a Soul: Carl Jung passage from Naomi Klein’s This Changes Everything. The Four Agreements: Wisdom Book: Don Miguel Ruiz The Goddess and the Serpent: Mary Condren Replace the word ‘Heiltsuk' in this extract, and you have The Goddess Within: Sophie Bashford If Women Rose Rooted: Sharon Blackie a powerful mandate for change: This Changes Everything: Naomi Klein Why does the Patriarchy Persist: Carol Gilligan; Naomi Snider When my children are born, I want them to be born into The Examined Life: How We Lose and Find Ourselves Stephen Grosz a world where hope and transformation are possible. I want them to be born into a world where stories still have Women Who Run with the Wolves - Clarissa Pinkerton Estés power. I want them to grow up able to be [Heiltsuk / women] in every sense of the word. … That cannot happen if we do not sustain the integrity of the lands and waters, and the stewardship practices that link [us] to the landscape.
** * www.thefrankmagazine.com
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What to.... Eat
Read
Watch Win www.thefrankmagazine.com
F R A N K
R E C I P E S
Herbilici H
erbs are an essential cookery ingredient and the cornerstone of all international cuisines. It doesn’t take a second for basils heady aroma to transport you to Italy or the cooling taste of coriander to anticipate the flavours of Asia or Mexico. Dried herbs are, perhaps unfairly, considered the inferior choice. Generally thought of as woody, flat and stale which is often because we are guilty of hanging on to them far beyond their recommended best before dates (dried herbs loose most of their potency after a year). Good quality dried herbs have a rightful place in the kitchen. Dried bay,curry and kefir lime leaves add unmistakeable base notes to stews and broths, comparable to their fresh counterparts. Dried tarragon is sweeter and less hard hitting in aniseed complimenting any meat-based stew, and dried oregano can penetrate and smooth the acidity of a tomato sauce perhaps even more so than fresh. Plus using dried herbs allows for greater culinary variety, how often do you see fresh marjoram? Of course, there are many herbs that will always be better fresh. Delicate leafy herbs like parsley, dill and chives add freshness and lift to bold flavours, but only when added at the end of cooking. Unlike dried herbs, which need to time to soften and infuse, fresh herbs lose flavour and vibrancy when heated for longer than a few minutes.This also helps to protect herbs valuable therapeutic properties. Herbs have been used in traditional and herbal medicine for centuries.Along with spices, herbs are the most potent plant food in terms of bioactive compounds. Their rich phytochemical content boasts a wide range of antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and other metabolic, nervous, and general health supporting components.They are also a source of dietary vitamins and minerals (vitamin C, K, calcium and magnesium, to name a few). So next time you’re adding a sprinkling of herbs to your finished recipes, rest assured you are not only elevating the look and taste but taking the nutritional profile up a notch too.
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ious
By Francesca Klottrup www.francescaklottrup.com @francescaklottrup Chef - Nutritional Therapist
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Egg & Asparagus Caesar Salad with Watercress & Dill A slight twist on an old classic. The watercress and dill dressing is much lighter and packed full of antioxidants. Watercress contains a sulphur-based compound thought to play a prominent role in the reduce the risk of hormone dependent cancers and detoxification mechanisms. Whilst the anchovies are a great way sneaking in those antiinflammatory omega fats. Serves 2
Ingredients 4 Large eggs 200g Sourdough, ideally a day old 15g Extra virgin olive oil 200g Asparagus, woody stalks trimmed 4 x Baby gem lettuce, cut lengthways into quarters 60g Anchovies 90g Pecorino, peeled to create shavings 30g Watercress, to garnish 5g Dill, to garnish Watercress Mayonnaise – makes 400g 300g Mayonnaise 120g Watercress 10g Dill 45g Dijon mustard 60g Anchovies 1 tsp Apple cider vinegar Pinch salt & pepper Pre-heat the oven the 200C (Gas 6, 400F). Cut the sourdough into cubes, lightly coat in the olive oil and season with salt and pepper and bake for 10-15 minutes until golden brown. Leave to cool. Steam the asparagus over a pan of hot water for 2-3 minutes (they always takes less time than you think). Then, using the same pan of water, bring it back up to the boil, carefully submerge the eggs and time for 8 minutes. Drain and plunge the eggs into a bowl of iced cold water to stop them cooking. Once cooled, remove the shells, quarter the eggs and leave to one side. Whilst the eggs are cooking, place all the dressing ingredients into a blender/food processor and blitz until smooth. Taste and adjust seasoning to your liking. To make the salad place arrange the salad ingredients in a bowl, pour over the dressings and top with the sourdough croutons. Allergens: gluten, egg, fish. Tip: Not a fan of anchovies? Try adding strips of nori to give that mineral taste of the sea, plus it is rich in iodine supporting thyroid health.
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Chicken Cassoulet Vert with Kale & Basil Pesto
Full of fibre to support digestion, compounds from five different herbs, plus the antioxidants and antiinflammatory properties from the lemon and garlic make this a deeply nourishing dish.
Serves 4
Ingredients Chicken 8 Chicken thighs, skin on 15ml Olive oil Salt and pepper Pesto – makes 800g 350g Kale leaves (large stalks removed) 60g Fresh basil 1 large garlic clove 2 Lemons, zest & juice 200g Extra virgin olive oil 200ml Water 1 tsp salt 250g Cashew nuts, lightly toasted Cassoulet 15g Olive oil 1 tsp Dried thyme 3 tsp Dried Oregano 2tsp Dried tarragon 3 x 400g tins Haricot beans 1 x 400g tin Butterbeans 1 x Large onion, finely sliced 2 x Garlic cloves, crushed 500g Chicken stock 2 x Bay leaves (dried or fresh) Salt & Pepper, to taste
Make the pesto by blending or processing all the ingredients together. Heat a large frying pan on a moderate heat, add the olive oil and place the chicken thighs (skin side down) and cook until crisp and golden (about 6-8 minutes). Turn them over and cook on the other side for 2 minutes, then place on an oven tray and leave to one side. Start the cassoulet using the same frying pan. Heat the olive oil and add the onions, thyme, oregano, tarragon and gently cook until the onions have softened. Add the garlic, bay leaves and beans and cook for further 2 minutes. Add the stock and gently simmer for 20 minutes (you don’t want the stock to completely boil away, add a splash of water and reduce the heat if it starts to look dry). Stir in a few generous spoons of the pesto and add the chicken (skin side up) and continue to cook for 5-8 minutes (until the chicken has cooked all the way through). Serve with the remaining pesto. Allergens: nuts. Tip: Make this vegan but swapping for vegetable stock and replace the chicken with cauliflower steaks or tempeh. www.thefrankmagazine.com
Cod with Gremolata, New Potato Hazelnut & Bacon Rocket Salad Parsley is rich in chlorophyll, the compound that gives all herbs and leafy greens their vibrant hue. Chlorophyll is something of a superfood. It supports our detoxification mechanisms, its antioxidant properties help clear dietary carcinogens, it reduces inflammation and its rich magnesium content helps the body produce energy. Here avocado oil has been used to not only give the gremolata more vibrancy but a dose of those key essential fatty acids.
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Chlorophyll is something of a superfood. It supports our detoxification mechanisms, its antioxidant properties help clear dietary carcinogens, it reduces inflammation and its rich magnesium content helps the body produce energy.
Serves 4
Ingredients 4 x Cod loin (approx. 150g each) 750g New potatoes 60g Hazelnuts, roughly chopped 60g Capers, roughly chopped 35g Butter 80g Rocket 8 Rashers of nitrate-free bacon Gremolata – makes 280ml 90g Fresh parsley, roughly chopped 2 Garlic cloves, crushed 200ml Avocado oil 2 Lemons, zest & juice
Make the gremolata buy placing all the ingredients in a blender/processor and pulse until just combined. Pre-heat the oven to 200 (Gas 6, 400F). Place the bacon rashers on a lined baking tray and cook until crisp (approximately 15 minutes). Then leave to cool and chop into small pieces. Then turn the oven down to 180 (Gas 3, 350F). Put the potatoes in a medium saucepan, fill with cold salted water and bring to the boil until the potatoes and soft in the centre but still with a bite (approximately 15-20 minutes). Heat a large saucepan with olive oil, season the fish and sear on each side for 2-4 minutes until lightly golden. Place onto a lined baking tray and bake for 5 minutes (time will vary on how thick the fillets are). Drain the potatoes and whilst they are still hot place them back into the empty saucepan adding the butter, hazelnuts, capers, bacon and season with salt and pepper. Take the fish out the oven, plate adding the potato medley, a side garnish of rocket and a generous helping of gremolata Allergens: nuts, dairy, fish. Tip:Pork loin,chicken or steak are great substitution for the cod and gnocchi or pasta for the potato.
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Mixed Herb Tabbouleh with Sumac & Halloumi Tabbouleh is commonly thought of as a grain dish, it’s actually a parsley salad. Traditionally curly parsley is used as its curly fronds give lift and volume contrasting to the crunchier ingredients used. Here sumac has been added as its wonderful citrus notes complements the clean earthy tastes of the herbs and spring onions whilst cutting through the creaminess of the halloumi.
Serves 2 Ingredients 250g Bulgur wheat 120g Fresh curly parsley 20g Fresh mint leaves 6 Spring onions, finely chopped 250g Cherry tomatoes, quartered 1 Large cucumber, diced 2 Lemons, juice and zest 35g Cold pressed rapeseed oil 15g Sumac 100g Pine nuts, lightly toasted 450g Halloumi, cut into thick slices Olive oil Place the bulgur wheat in a large saucepan and fill with 650ml boiling water and a pinch of salt. Heat on a medium heat, cover with a lid and leave for 20 minutes or until all the water has been absorbed and the grain is light and fluffy, decant into a large bowl and allow to completely cool.
Then mix the rapeseed oil, sumac, lemon juice and zest together and pour over the bulgur and mix with a spoon. Mix all the remaining ingredients (apart from the halloumi and olive oil) into the bulgur wheat. Heat a large frying pan with the olive oil and sear the halloumi for approximately 2-3 minutes each side until golden and the centre is soft. Plate up the tabbouleh, top with halloumi and enjoy. Allergens: nuts, dairy, gluten. Tip: Tabbouleh is a wonderfully versatile base. Change the halloumi for falafel and hummus for a plant-based meal. If you are after something more substantial serve it alongside a tagine or stew. Opt for quinoa or brown rice to make this gluten free.
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B O O K S
The READING List SIMON SAVIDGE, book reviewer and broadcaster known more often than not as Savidge Reads.
The Son of the House – Cheluchi Onyemelukwe-Onuobia (Paperback, Europa Editions, £12.99) One of the things I love about reading is discovering a new debut voice in fiction. An author that you know in the future is going to bring many gems into your reading life. This is the case for me, and I hope will be the case for you, with Cheluchi Onyemelukwe-Onuobia’s debut The Son of the House which I could not put down from the moment I opened it, and what an opener…
walk straight off the page and nestle in your heart as you read on. Onyemelukwe-Onuobia manages to share the struggle for women of all backgrounds in such a male dominated and focused country, against the backdrop of four of its most turbulent decades. All this in under 300 pages, phenomenal. I cannot wait to see what she writes next.
Nwabulu and Julie, two young Nigerian women who couldn’t have come from more different backgrounds, find themselves tied up together in a dank room, place unknown. Whilst awaiting their fate, they start to tell each other their stories. Nwabulu, that of a young girl who became a housemaid at the age of ten, dreaming of a life of education to escape the one of abuse and drudgery she has been living. Julie has lived the polar opposite life, one of education, wealth and privilege. As their stories unfold we discover that these women have much more in common than first appears and just what lead to them ending up in such a perilous situation. I absolutely loved this book. Nwabulu and Julie are incredible, fully formed and fully flawed, characters that
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This One Sky Day – Leone Ross (Hardback, Faber and Faber, £16.99)
READ ME
As This One Sky Day unfolds we follow four of the islanders over a single day; Xavier, who is waiting for the ghost of his dead wife to return; Anise, whose husband may have taken another woman as their children have all been stillborn; Sonteine, whose upcoming marriage is literally the talk of the island and her twin Romanza, who has been ostracized from their family for falling in love with not only a man, an ‘indigent’ man who is seen as lowly and ‘other’.
One of the other things I really love about reading is discovering a ‘new to me’ voice. Leone Ross is just such an author and her latest novel This One Sky Day is quite unlike any book I have read before. On the island of Popisho everyone is born with a little extra ‘somethingsomething’ or as the local people call it ‘cors’. For some this sprinkling of magic is a gift, for others it is a curse. Who can make food taste of anything? Who can heal others? Who can change their shape and size? Who can feel lies like pain? Who can predict deaths?
As we get to know Xavier, Anise, Sonteine, Romanza further through ‘this one sky day’, we watch their lives intertwine and discover the secrets, loves and magic not only of theirs but of those around them too. In doing all this Leone Ross creates a full vision of Popisho, its food, history, wildlife, politics, religion and so much more; all in a vivid beautiful kaleidoscope of colours, flavours, scents and characters. I will admit it takes a little bit of work to get into but give it two chapters and you will be captivated, and the readers reward is huge. I want this to win all the prizes going.
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READ ME
Watch Her Fall – Erin Kelly (Hardback, Hodder & Stoughton, £14.99)
If you are looking for an unputdownable thriller over the coming weeks then look no further than Erin Kelly’s latest Watch Her Fall. This book should not only come with a warning of how addictive it is, there should also be warnings for both the gasps as the twists come and the sense of paranoia and anxiety it induces. Ava Kirilova, after many years of training, has finally landed the ballet role of her dreams… the double role of the pure, virginal Odette and dark, seductive Odile in Swan Lake. It is a role that dancers would, possibly quite literally, kill for. However, once you have reached the peak of your career, what comes next? For Ava it is whispers backstage, where she feels someone is watching and waiting in the wings. Someone who might do anything to get that part from her. I shall say no more of fear of spoilers. Suffice to say I raced (pirouetted even, maybe) through this novel, second guessing the whole time and not expecting any of the twists and turns that came my way. Erin Kelly is one of my absolute go-to authors for psychological thrillers, I have quite literally loved every book that she has written and never guessed the twists as they keep coming. With her latest, Watch Her Fall, she has done it once again – and this one might just be my favourite so far. If you loved the movie Black Swan, and let’s be honest who didn’t, then this will be right up your street.
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Milk Blood Heat by Dantiel W. Moniz (Hardback, Atlantic Books, £14.99)
READ ME
With everything going on, you might be after something that you can dip in and out of. Fiction wise I don’t think you can go wrong with Dantiel W. Moniz’s short stories in Milk Blood Heat, a powerful and exceptionally written collection that celebrates life, whilst very much looking at mortality in every story. The main focus of the stories are around young black girls or women on Florida. In the titular tale ‘Milk Blood Honey’ two best friends who love to adventure around their neighbourhood together, they grow an obsession with death which soon takes a devastating turn. ‘The Hearts of Our Enemies’ looks at the unexpected judgement of a daughter to her mother about an ‘almost’ affair she had. ‘Feast’ is the tale of motherhood as a woman comes to terms with miscarriage, whilst also being a stepmother. In ‘Tongues’ a young woman is subject to
rumours about how many boys she may have slept with and so uses her sexuality to seek revenge. There’s a full spectrum of these women and girls’ worlds, all with lightness and darkness at their heart. Moniz always balances life with death, or vice versa. Often a collection can be a bit patchy, a few duds here or there. Not the case with Milk Blood Heat where there isn’t as single wasted word or sentence that isn’t beautifully crafted. This is all thriller and no filler, from the first story to the last. It is also the unexpected nature of these tales that will have you desperate to find someone else who has read it discuss it with. Perfect, and something a bit different, for a book club or to have on standby when you need a quick fix of fiction at its finest.
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The Book of Difficult Fruit - Kate Lebo (Hardback, Picador Books, £14.99)
READ ME
Another form that are perfect to dip in and out of, and one I am just getting into, are essay collections. The Book of Difficult Fruit is a perfect collection to start with or if you are already an essay lover. Going through the alphabet with 26 ‘difficult fruit’ Kate Lebo combines natural, culinary, medical and personal history and it is fascinating.
As if these histories and ‘arguments for the tart, tender and unruly’ intertwined with personal tales… there are also recipes for treats such as smoothies, ice creams, jams (dogs anus jelly anyone?) as well as tinctures for ‘semideathless’ facemasks, bath and body oils, remedies for stomach aches and even hiker’s toilet paper. Forearmed is forewarned I always say, ha.
Some of the fruits mentioned you will be more familiar with such as cherry, elderberry, plum or rhubarb. Yet even with these fruits there is always something new and exciting to learn. Vanilla might not be as ‘vanilla’ as you think for instance. There are also a whole host of fruits like the durian, faceclock, medlar (also known as ‘dogs anus’ thanks to Shakespeare), thimbleberry and more to get to know and adore. I’ve actually bought a baby medlar tree since reading this book.
Honestly, this is such a huge treat of a book that just keeps on giving. Lebo writes in such an open and conversational way, with some insights into some difficult times for her, you’ll finish it moved, mind expanded, brimming with joy and information alike. I can’t wait to read more of Lebo’s work and frankly (pun intended) I am now desperate to be her best friend. Cannot recommend these essays enough.
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F R A N K
L O V E S
What to watch Amend Will Smith hosts this look at the evolving, often lethal, fight for equal rights in America through the lens of the US Constitution's 14th Amendment.
Seaspiracy A Netflix documentary takes viewers on a voyage around the world rooting out the many causes of ocean life decimation, but its rhetorical methods distract from its revelations. The turbulent documentary “Seaspiracy,” streaming on Netflix, takes the form of an intercontinental odyssey filled with discoveries. The director Ali Tabrizi serves as our guide and impassioned narrator, and as he voyages from Asia to Europe and back, he strives to frame each revelation as more shocking than the last.
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Coded Bias CODED BIAS tackles its sprawling subject by zeroing in empathetically on the human costs. The film has earned rave reviews by The New York Times, The Hollywood Reporter, Variety and more. The question of ethics in artificial intelligence is more timely than ever, particularly in the wake of the recent news around Google’s firing of Timnit Gebru, former co-leader of Google’s Ethical A.I. team, (who is also featured in the doc, and one of few black women on Google’s A. I. team).
Sherpa Filmed in 2014, this riveting documentary tells the lesser-known story of Himalayan guides who risk everything to support climbers on Mount Everest.
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Horse Power
Photography Philip Storey @storeypics
My journey from living in the fast lane in the motor industry to a more freer, happier life, powered by equine therapy. By Phillipa Sage
I
n May 2016 my world as I’d known it for many years came crashing down and I sank to the lowest point in my life. It was like a bomb had gone off. My long-term relationship had ended and, along with it, the job that I loved. Around the same time my father had a life-changing accident leaving him needing 24hr care. My life until this point had always been full of ups and downs. I had a previous breakdown in my early twenties and was diagnosed with M.E. which meant I spent nearly two years, mostly, in bed. During this time, I was put on antidepressants and over the years that followed of many alternative therapies, I became aware that I had suffered from depression most of my adult life. www.thefrankmagazine.com
In fact, as life unfolded, it turned out I was predisposed to depression when my son, Alfie, then aged 3 was diagnosed with Fragile X and it was discovered I, then 36, was a carrier. As a carrier, one of the most common symptoms is depression. Prior to my diagnoses of M.E., and primarily a physical breakdown when I remember literally not being able to lift a spoon to feed myself, I had been working and playing hard, burning the candle at both ends, never wanting to miss out or let anybody down. I started to have debilitating migraines, weird allergic reactions to food, car fumes, cleaning products and most disappointedly alcohol! I suffered from unexplained severe aches and pains and lethargy. I had endless blood tests and all sorts of tests. It was discovered that I was seriously deficient in things that I didn’t even know a human being needed, like copper, zinc and magnesium. I had toxic levels of all sorts of other things with symbols for names. Even my GP had never heard of some of the things I was being tested for but he did have the wisdom to refer me to someone who did, Dr Sybil Birtwhistle and, latterly, Dr Damien Downing who specialised in M.E and Nutrition. Most importantly, they treated me holistically which although modern medicine is certainly leaning towards, it, it is by no means there yet in mainstream practice. After a few very slow years I ventured back in to the world of work. Despite advice to the contrary I went back to the mad and erratic world of live events in the motor industry, working part-time at first but slowly building myself up to full-time. I loved my work, I loved the people, I loved the travel and the unpredictability. Never, was any day the same. Bizarrely, as a result of my journey and trying to manage my M.E., I combined working on live events all over the UK and Europe with Holistic therapy. I had trained in Massage, Reflexology and Reiki. Having had great results in helping me maintain good health, I became passionate about them all and was keen to help others. Unfortunately, trying to juggle both careers, enjoy a full social life and continue my lifelong hobby of riding, owning and caring for several ponies, I inevitably suffered a few burn outs and setbacks. I used to get so frustrated. I hated my seemingly weak constitution and I constantly observed those around me, wondering why I was different to them. I worked alongside and had friends with hugely successful lives who I continually measured myself against. I was bemused. Fundamentally, we are all made from the same stuff – flesh, blood, bones, nerves, water, hormones, etc. So how was it that I could not cope where others could? I tried to come off the antidepressants (a relatively low dose) on many occasions because I would feel ok, happy, energised and motivated, but over several years of stop-starting it was evident I was far better on them and I accepted that I would probably be on them for the rest of my life. I was lucky I had no negative side effects. I can remember, clearly, a time when I was off them, I had sadly lost my horse, ironically his problems started with allergies and intolerances, just like me, causing relatively mild symptoms like the human equivalent of hay fever (very inconvenient for a horse). His problems eventually resulted in debilitating COPD, (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, a progressive lung disease), causing severe breathing problems and a cough amongst other problems so it was decided it was kinder to put him to sleep. I was devastated and went off for a mini break to Cornwall with a girlfriend. We had a lot of fun but there were a lot of tears too and I had a continuous feeling of despair, I had no motivation to get on with life. A life that was good but it didn’t feel it to me at the time. I decided along with my GP to go back on the antidepressants. Coincidentally, two weeks later, I had to go back to Cornwall again for a friend’s wedding and, as I travelled along the same picturesque roads through Devon, I realised that although I was still sad at the loss of my horse and my life was exactly the same, everything looked brighter and clearer in the world, literally. I can see it now, in my mind’s eye the sky looked brighter, the colours of the autumn leaves and the rolling countryside looked stunning. Everything around me looked sharper and more in focus. Those two trips, one not on antidepressants and one on them, proved to be a great test to prove I needed that medical intervention. www.thefrankmagazine.com
I continued to have ups and downs in life like we all do but there was no greater up when, after a few years of relative stability, I was working mainly in events, and most of the time for Top Gear Live which took me around the world like a rock star as a PA/goffer to Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May. I was living the dream working in the environment I loved, with many old friends in the industry, travelling at least once a month. Work felt like one big joyride, often flying first-class or by private jet staying in luxury resorts, villas or hotels. It was incredibly fast-paced and non-stop working hard and playing harder. On this crazy ride, I also fell fast and hard in love – and as is well documented – into an affair with Jeremy Clarkson. My life at home was in stark contrast. I was a single mum and I used to come down to earth with a bump, although I was so happy to be back with my loveable, very affectionate son. Alfie, as well as having Fragile X, is on the Autistic spectrum which means for him, severe developmental delay, some physical problems and profound learning difficulties. Coming home was like going through the grief of not having a “normal” child all over again and life was challenging, sleep-deprived and very lonely at times. Obviously being on my own and with Alfie’s difficulties, was harder than if I had been in what I’d also hoped for, a traditional family set-up with a father being around regularly to help out, even with the smallest of tasks, like putting the bins out, making me a cup of tea, doing bath and bedtime for just one night, to break up the monotony, and the long days and nights. I realised that for most mothers’ sanity it is healthy to keep a bit of the original you going and to have stimulating grown-up time when you can focus on one task and complete it. Going to work was an absolute holiday for me, only having to think of the job in hand, often fast and with no let-up but at the end of the day I could have a laugh with my friends and colleagues, have a meal put in front of me and a clean, madeup, bed waiting for me.
Working, and especially travelling away as I did, was a huge break and escapism from the strain of worrying about Alfie. I constantly questioned myself. Was I doing enough?Could he be having therapy or medication that could help? Was I pushing him too much or not enough? How did he feel, was he happy? Would he ever sleep through the night? Would he ever be toilet trained? How could I help him be the best he could possibly be? Those questions I know go through most parents’ minds but not every day and not when your child can’t communicate and doesn’t fully understand the world or people around him. The pace of touring picked up and I was asked to work more and more. I became involved with pre-tour planning and logistics which I was able to do from home For several years the balance was really quite good. Although life was hectic and sometimes quite chaotic and stressful I was very happy jet-setting around the world with the man I loved and the job I loved. It seemed Alfie was happy getting input from Corrina, his expert childminder, and his dad who arranged his trips from the USA, where he lived, to coincide with some of my trips. My never-imagined, very unconventional life felt great. Unfortunately, the cracks started to show and, in May 2016, at the same time my father fell down the stairs backwards, resulting in a bleed on the brain and brain damage, my relationship with Jeremy hit the wall. The stress and upset of it all caused me to have my worst breakdown ever. Truly the lowest point in my life. However, it was to be the glorious turning point, as anyone who has suffered life’s cruel dramas will relate to. I came out the other side and realised with hind sight that I wouldn’t have had it any other way. And that’s what I so desperately needed, to learn how not to reach catastrophe point and recognise when things were not working and becoming too stressful. I needed to learn to ask for help before it was too late. www.thefrankmagazine.com
“I have always been passionate about people young or old being truly happy, I now love being able to facilitate that in the dream environment of Mother Nature with my lifelong passion of those magically intuitive horses.” For over a year, I had been meaning to connect with a new neighbour who ran an Equine Facilitated Therapy centre at the farm across the valley from where I lived at the time. They specialised in working with children with autism, which was my initial interest. I have had horses in my life from a young age and have been fortunate enough to have my own since the age of eleven. Alfie has been lucky to have grown up with them and had his first sit on one at about 6 months old. Hilariously, his very first sound/communication was the whickering sound that a horse makes to greet you! Horses have effectively been a therapy for me all my life, along with many other animals, but I was about to encounter another dimension of their almost magical power. I was invited to join a taster at the farm to get an insight into how the therapy worked. I was so looking forward to getting out of the house, having a break and some “me” time in a cosy barn full of horses. After introducing ourselves and a “check-in” to see how we were all feeling, and what our anxiety levels were like at the prospect of being in with the horses, I volunteered to be the first go in with them, along with one of the coaches, Jo. I had reported earlier that I felt happy and relaxed as I was so happy to be in this idyllic setting with my favourite fourlegged friends. A time to breathe. When asked to select which horse I was drawn to, I chose a beautiful, cuddly-looking black Dales mare. I chose her as I felt like I needed a strong reliable cuddle from a dependable sort. (Dales ponies are renowned for their hardiness and good nature.) As soon as I stepped into the corral with the horses, I felt my emotions rising and was slightly tearful which took me by surprise. As instructed, I took my time to connect with Bow, a very striking-looking mare, completely, almost mystically black. (It’s quite rare for a horse to be truly black). I moved in slowly and quietly to stroke her shoulder and gain comfort from her soft, thick fluffy fur, covering her sturdy round form. She wasn’t as keen to be so close to me. My coach, Jo, spotted her swishing her tail, which would not be unexpected on a hot summer’s day, but this was a chilly autumn evening. Her tail swishing was a sign of agitation which prompted Jo to ask how I was really feeling. And then it all came out. I was almost inconsolable, struggling to speak and explain myself. I was encouraged just to let all the emotion out and to take my time. To be honest, I do wear my heart on my sleeve and have been a bit of a bore in the past, I’m sure, spilling out the latest upset in my life. But as a mother grieving the loss of a relationship, as well as supporting my mum trying to cope with dad in and out of hospital and arranging for all the care and changes to the house that were required, I was holding a lot in, trying to just get on and do what I needed to do. Without me telling Jo all the details of what was going on in my life, she advised me to make time for myself, to allow the emotion to come out and rest. At that moment I thought I can’t. I have to carry on. The reality was that the flood gates had been opened and the truth was out. I actually slept quite well that night but in the morning I felt terrible. I was woken well before dawn, as was normal with Alfie, and I went down to make him breakfast only to be greeted with a special package from my dearest Labradoodle – I’ll spare you the detail! www.thefrankmagazine.com
That was it, I broke, I was truly exhausted and I suddenly felt completely overwhelmed. In mild hysterics I messaged Corrina and another dear friend and neighbour, Sue. I was in total surrender and was desperately asking for help, something I was not good at. And that was probably the first amazing lesson that that equine therapy taught me – let go of emotion, let it pass and ask for help before you reach breaking point. Not easy to do when you’re in a mess and can’t think clearly but the big lesson is to recognise when things are getting too much before you reach breaking point. Awareness of any problem is the first step to solving it. I was totally blown away by what happened that night in the barn. I observed all the others who went in and chose the horse they wanted to connect with and learnt that the coach gains an insight into the state of mind of the client, even by the choice of the horse and how they perceive that horse’s character or appearance. The horse essentially provides an excellent tool, to guide the coach to ask relevant questions to uncover how the person truly feels and reacts to situations or people in their lives. The science behind this extraordinary therapy is at its very least, quite simple, human beings benefit from being in nature, in the fresh air, away from the distractions and stresses of day-to-day life, literally back to nature. We haven’t evolved enough to cope with the world we live in today and maybe we shouldn’t. If there is any positive that this current pandemic has taught us, it’s to slow down, look after ourselves and appreciate the simple things like walking in the park, hearing the birds and appreciating all that nature has to offer, or simply spending time with a friend. The horse has an enormous heart, on average weighing 7.9llbs compared to an average human heart of 12 ounces. The horse’s heart rate is a lot slower than ours and it has been proven that a human’s heart rate reduces in the presence of a horse. (In a safe environment of course). The horse also has a huge gut with thousands of nerve endings and as with humans they get that gut feeling when something isn’t right and a potential threat is around. As a prey animal with this huge gut they are incredibly sensitive to their environment and anyone in it therefore picking up on our true emotions and energy probably before we have even entered the field. As humans, in our fast-paced, distracting world, many of us have lost the skill of listening to our gut and intuition. It’s still there if you take the time to listen. On discovering this whole other dimension to the horse world, I was now hooked. I was very keen to learn more as a way to heal my wounds, work on my self-development and aim to be the best version of myself. I was also keen to learn how to help Alfie more and others who suffer from autism or any kind of anxiety. I was aware of the language of the horse having read about and seen live, Monty Roberts, Horse Whisperer and trainer to the Queen’s horses. I was also lucky enough to have been taught to ride and care for horses by wise horsemen and women who were influenced by natural horsemanship, respecting and understanding the needs of the horses but I had never studied it in full, to completely understand the language of the horse. I volunteered to help, as an experienced horse woman, at every taster at the farm run by Learning to Listen. I was in awe of how the coaches worked and how the most pessimistic of visitors, who may have only been there to support a child or other family member, connected with their true selves with the help of the horse. I soon signed up for individual therapy sessions and group programs, eventually leading me to train to become one of Learning to Listen’s uniquely trained Transformational Equine Facilitated Coaches. Transformational coaching is meant to provide a quiet, safe place for the client to be heard, really listened to. The coach then facilitates a process asking insightful questions with the aid of observing the horse’s, often very subtle body language, to give clues as to what the client’s true state of mind is. The coach can then feedback and help the client become aware of how they respond to certain situations. For example, a lot can be learnt from how the client initially approaches the horse and how both parties are behaving. The process highlights behaviours and thought patterns that have previously been subconscious. The horses add a very powerful, experiential element. The all seeing/feeling, experience helps to provide tools for life that the client can take away and put in practise in their everyday life. The tools that I am now equipped with help me every day, none less than the “power of the pause” which played out beautifully and comically when learning how I dealt with adversity. We were set the challenge of catching a pony and completing an obstacle course, a couple of the obstacles had to be completed with no head collar on the horse. I thought I’d lucked out with the oldest boy in the herd, Topper, age 37! I had pre-conceived ideas that he would not be scared of anything and I would whizz through the challenge no problem at all. My first mistake was thinking I had to complete the course perfectly and quickly to succeed. There was no winning or losing here it was all about the learning. It’s amazing how most of us immediately start judging ourselves and put ourselves under pressure to complete any task to perfection perhaps trying to exceed anyone else’s efforts. www.thefrankmagazine.com
One of the students didn’t even manage to catch the pony but the learning she took from challenging herself too much without using any help was huge and related back to so many situations in her life. Meanwhile, I had decided to start by using a head collar on the pony first, to make for an easy start and to get the pony’s attention. All went very well to begin with and I hardly had to use the rope, attached to the head collar, at all. He was just happy to be with me and follow me. We were connected. However, when I led him towards an old gym mat that we both had to walk over (most horses would be anxious about a brightly coloured mat that was not usually in their field and felt odd under hoof), I was feeling confident that this old timer wouldn’t think twice. No, he planted his hooves and would not budge. Quite contrary to what I know, as an experienced horsewoman, I started to just pull on the rope. My mind had flipped into slight panic, the voice in my head was saying, “You idiot, you should be able to do this, come on get on with it!” I was embarrassed and laughed at myself, exclaiming to my coach Joanne, “I should be able to do this.” She advised me to just stop a minute and asked, “Do you usually just plough on through a difficult time?” A knowing smile crept across my face – yes, I admitted and realised for the first time, that’s what I usually did. Joanne advised me to take a breath, reset myself and when I was ready walk the pony around to head towards the challenge again. He followed me without me pulling on the rope at all. It was an incredible feeling especially as I went on to complete the challenge, of a slalom through cones, with no head collar. I was totally in the moment, focused on the task in hand and enjoying it. The connection was back because I was at ease and the pony trusted me, was happy to be with me and follow me wherever I went.
“The science behind this extraordinary therapy is at its very least, quite simple, human beings benefit from being in nature, in the fresh air, away from the distractions and stresses of day-today life, literally back to nature. We haven’t evolved enough to cope with the world we live in today and maybe we shouldn’t.” www.thefrankmagazine.com
“I have always been passionate about people young or old being truly happy, I now love being able to facilitate that in the dream environment of Mother Nature with my lifelong passion of those magically intuitive horses.”
Phillipa with son Alfie
Somewhere on route to that gym mat I had started to doubt myself, the pony would have picked up on that straight away without me being aware of it. The pony would have become unsettled, getting mixed messages from me and feeling insecure because he was needing that connection with me, that leadership, without it, he just stopped at which point my very familiar self-doubt jumped right in and the panic set in. The pony really wasn’t comfortable to follow me then. The tools I took away, were, to be sure about whatever it was I was about to embark on and the power of the pause. If things are getting out of control and not feeling right, just pause and take a breath to think more clearly about how you might tackle the challenge ahead. This may be for 5 minutes or 5 days but I’ve learnt that it’s very, very useful. I also had a great reminder of one of my biggest traits – rescuing – I had desperately wanted to point out to the girl heading off to connect with one of the trickiest ponies, without a head collar, that she was doomed to fail. But that’s exactly what she needed to do in order to learn what she needed to learn. The lessons with these amazing beasts and therapy/coaching are endless! Now Joanne Richardson, Sarah Ilaria Northe (my amazing coaches and tutors) and Jo Osborne (my coach at my first taster) are at the helm of this incredible centre that currently provides self-development programs such as the Warrior and training for Equine Coaches alongside a therapy centre for children suffering trauma, children who have social and emotional issues and children who are on the autistic spectrum. It is also in the process of setting up a specialist school for children who don’t fit in to other provisions and benefit from an alternative more expansive way of learning. It was an incredibly intense and challenging journey to finally qualify as a fully-fledged Transformational Equine Facilitated Coach, in 2019. I nearly gave up on two occasions as there was so much course work and I am not an academic, however, Sarah and Joanne literally coached me through it along with huge support from my peers. www.thefrankmagazine.com
I am currently enjoying a much happier, less stressed, fulfilled life, working part-time at Learning to Listen whilst caring for and continuing to grow Alfie to reach his full potential. Having committed to this incredible way of self-development I have continued to grow and gain resilience to face life’s challenges and perhaps most importantly become empowered to create the life I’m truly happy in. Whilst feeling high about my new skills and understanding of myself, I tried to reduce my antidepressants. However, I nose-dived. I was frustrated and disappointed that my new-found belief that my depression was down to my mind-set and I should be able to live without pills, was wrong. I sought help and asked for a one-to-one session with Sarah. What I learnt was, why was I putting myself under pressure when in fact my life was at that time still very challenging, trying to get all my course work done, look after Alfie and earn a living. Sarah asked, “Why would you take that support away?” To date, I am still on antidepressants but I am very confident of reducing them when the time is right, I’m aiming for this summer as I feel stronger than ever and I know I will not ever go back to my rock bottom with all that I am equipped with now. There is a chance I will have to stay on a low dose as a carrier of Fragile X. Research has proved that due to a lack of a certain protein in the brain it causes the disorder and this could be the reason for my potential chemical imbalance. I am, however, in no doubt about the power of the mind and I am now well aware of how to look after it. My advice to anyone struggling with life stresses and mental health, get help, learn to love and respect yourself, to not feel guilty, to indulge in regular “Me” time. Invest in you, doing so will pay you back immeasurably. I have always been passionate about people young or old being truly happy, I now love being able to facilitate that in the dream environment of Mother Nature with my lifelong passion of those magically intuitive horses. And with my new found confidence I have also completed a project that I started whilst touring with Clarkson, Hammond and May and have written a book: Off Road with Clarkson, Hammond and May – Behind The Scenes of Their Rock and Roll World Tour to pre-order go HERE
Follow Phillipa on Instagram @pj.sage For more information on Equine Facilitated Coaching go to: learningtolisten.co.uk follow on Instagram @learning_to_listen_coaching
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The Ultimate High Life as a Pilot with Mags Cunningham
By Motoring Editor Lara Platman
O
nce the home to RAF Westhampnett West Sussex now, in recent years known as the Goodwood Aerodrome, where for me I associate the Estate of the Duke of Richmond with jam packed racing weekends with friends. However, sitting here on this glorious spring day with Pilot Mags Cunningham by the Ultimate High office (which is nestled between the holding paddock of the motor circuit and the airfield itself), I almost forget the visceral noise of pre-war sports cars preparing to get out onto the motor circuit. Instead, there are daffodils surrounding us with gentle noises of aeroplanes in the distance. All in all, it is very peaceful as we sit and chat about Mags’ life as a pilot. www.thefrankmagazine.com
This crazy year aside, what would be your normal amount of flying? I fly with a major airline out of Heathrow for 75% of my time with a roster of three weeks on with one week off and the week off I come to Ultimate High, and any other days I can, I come here to Goodwood and fly.
What is the state of flying aircraft during this Covid-19 Pandemic Mags Despite the Lockdowns, commercial and Upset Recovery training are still being held under safe restrictions and we were very busy in the summer during that window with aerobatic flying. The winter months are always quiet anyway as the ground is waterlogged, so we will begin again with the aerobatics as soon Lockdown restrictions are eased.
What do you actually do at Ultimate High ? I am an instructor and people come here for an aerobatic experience, as an instructional lesson and an aerobatic experience as well as instruction for people who already have their licenses. So for the experience, say it is a gift flight for example, we do a brief in the briefing room and then go to the aircraft strap them in and we’ll do the take off. Then once we get to – depending on how we feel say 2000 feet- we give the controls to the client and then go up to 4000 feet and then often we’ll go up higher and go over the Sussex coast which is so beautiful and do a steep turn to get them used to unusual positions and then we’ll do a loop and then hand the controls over to them and they’ll have a go at doing a loop and we’ll do roll and they’ll do a roll and other manoeuvres. Some people want to keep it quite gentle and others want to rip the wings off the aeroplane.
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You mentioned that you are still running commercial flights and the Upset Recovery training, what is this?
When and how and why did you start?
Well I didn’t know what I wanted to do at school - I’m an example of someone who can be successful even though they wasted their time at school, I started a 3 It’s been found that a lot of aviation accidents over year business studies course as I was told I ought to learn recent years have been attributed to the lack of basic to type got bored and left before the end of year one .I flying skills having been lost by people, so before you had various jobs and adventures and had a boyfriend in would have people who came from the Air Force or like my early twenties and he had a pilot license and we did myself who came from private flying who, gradually some parachute jumps together and some freefall came from being a pilot to an instructor and fly twins then may be a turbo prop then a small jet then a big jet. parachute jumps. I wanted to learn to fly but didn’t really have the money, and then after a very long story, I Now people can do a year-long course to become a commercial pilot and it will cost them about a £120k and ended up with some money and learnt to fly, not until then become a pilot with the hours flown. But they don’t my mid-twenties though. have that experience of basic flying in all sorts of situations. Luckily you acquired some money to learn and So for example the Air France accident in the South Atlantic, off the coast of South America and a few others, had been attributed to the loss of basic flying skills.
Oh my goodness Mags, that sounds awful and terrifying Well, so for instance ‘power and attitude equals performance’ and the pilots didn’t seem to know where they were, so with the Upset Recovery training you get trained in the recovery, if you do a steep turn deliberately then that’s not an Upset but if you find yourself at 90 degrees because of weight turbulence for example then that’s an Upset as it’s not where the aeroplane should be. So we do the training to teach people to have an inbuilt reaction so its push roll recover –it’s a really simple thing to do.
Mags, I have this analogy, whilst I drive a 1964 Landrover my thoughts are that it is similar to learning on a car without power steering without synchronised gear boxes. knowing you are part of how the car is moving along the road. Yes you have to be involved with the driving is a similar analogy to seat of the pants flying, if looks right and is right it normally is right, you really need to know what the plane is doing. It’s different to commercial flying where you fly on instruments a lot more but the same principle applies you should know what the aeroplane is doing.
you got your private pilot license…. Yes luckily in those days you didn’t need a commercial license to instruct so once I got my private license I built up 130 hours then I did an instructor rating to be able to instruct so after that point my flying was free to gain my commercial flying license.
And how long did that take you? Well, I never really wanted to be a commercial pilot because it was seen by the group of friends I was flying with as a sort of traitor to fly as its not proper flying as it’s flying an airline So I instructed for years and it was only when I was 39 that I got into commercial flying.
Now tell me is that an average age or is that quite late on? It’s late now but at that time it wasn’t because people always did it gradually with their private license first.
“Some people want to keep it quite gentle and others want to rip the wings off the aeroplane.”
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“At the moment commercially there are about 5-6% women pilots and captains it’s probably about 3%. However that’s mainland Europe but in India for example it’s over 15- 20% of women pilots. I think there were lots of women in the airlines but major airlines didn’t take women on until 1987 taking on their first 4 female pilots.”
When did women in commercial flying really start – I don’t mean the women who flew back and forth for WWII taking planes from the factory to the airfields or the women who flew round the world in the 1920’s, when did it become the norm in the late 20th century- I sort of mean out of Heathrow today. Well at the moment commercially there are about 5-6% women pilots and captains it’s probably about 3%. However that’s mainland Europe and there is some positive discrimination to try and get more, but in India for example it’s over 15- 20% of women pilots. I think there were lots of women in the airlines but major airlines didn’t take women on until 1987 taking on their first 4 female pilots, that’s when I was just doing my instructor rating, they were the days when airlines would put you through the training but now, because there is enough people that want to do you have to pay for you own training.
Do you think it will get back to normal? Oh I think so. Business travel will take a long time to pick up again. At the beginning of the pandemic most of the airlines said it would be 2023 before we will back to 2019 levels of travel and that seemed absurd at the time but now I thinks that is probably quite realistic. www.thefrankmagazine.com
Mags, back to you what next happened in your career? I used to live in Scotland but the Gulf War happened and there were no flying jobs there at all, and then I did my airline transport exams (one up from the commercial license) – where I was flying light aircraft. I instructed for longer and then got a job with FR Aviation where we provided electronic warfare training with the Air Force. We used to fly around in a Falcan 20 aeroplane without seats but with extra fuel tanks and there was a boffin – electronic warfare operator – and the ground base radars would try to pick us up and the boffin in the back would makes you invisible, work though that shielding,
Were there any women in that company Yes there was a few yes, mainly military pilots doing it but yes. It was amazing flying because we used to go on missions, flying low and we’d go up to Norway for some exercises just fantastic. I also used to do calibration on landing systems and found myself at Dublin airport at 3am sweeping the snow off this aeroplane. And it was at that point of me saying ‘I was never going to join the airlines’, I said, ‘you know what, I think I am going to join the airlines’. Then I got a job with British Mediterranean and flew to amazing places: Kurdistan, Kazakstan Syriah, Ethipia, Petra - in an airbus, now they have about 200 seats I would have probably stayed there but the company got taken over, so I went to join the airline flying out from Heathrow.
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“Business travel will take a long time to pick up again. At the beginning of the pandemic most of the airlines said it would be 2023 before we will back to 2019 levels of travel and that seemed absurd at the time but now I thinks that is probably quite realistic.”
Do people come and see the pilot? Yes it’s lovely – on the ground we encourage kids and anyone who wants to see the pilots to come in to the cabin.
If you wanted to go flying, you can always go to a school like this one at Goodwood Aerodrome…….. Oh definitely and actually, after the pandemic, most airlines it’s not the same financial benefits as it used to be its still fine but it’s not as lucrative. If you have a love of flying, if you can earn doing something else then come flying is a good way really. I mean this is my hobby I am passionate about flying – you have got to be passionate about it. I fly here and at the airline – I don’t want to retire because I am already doing my hobbies. I pinch myself still.
Lara Platman twitter @photofeature Mags Cunningham can be contacted via https://www.ultimatehigh.co.uk/
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THE FUTURE OF URBAN TRAVEL BATTERY POWERED VEHICLES; MOPEDS, MOTORCYCLES & MICROCARS.
Photography Anne Marie Bickerton
Model shown TRENTO DUO
The solution to the ever changing transport issues. stirlingeco.
THE FRANK DIRECTORY
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THE FRANK DIRECTORY
SKIN ALCHEMISTS
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At Canamis, our goal is to create the industry’s leading range of CBD products and make them accessible to all. Our founder, Edward Buckwald, with 25 years as a respected and trusted osteopath has researched, developed and seen first-hand the enormous benefits of CBD and now shares his experience and vision for this exciting new CBD company.
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FRANK INTERVIEW
Supernatural Skin Rupert Kingston Co-Founder of
delilah Cosmetics
R
upert spent years in the makeup industry, working with incredible beauty brands, high profile clients and numerous magazines. He is not only an established makeup artist, but the Creative Director and Co-Founder of British cruelty free brand delilah. Tell us the story behind delilah We launched delilah back in 2014 with the vision to create a boutique style British makeup brand. On the wall in the office we have this statement “An effortless and uncomplicated approach to make-up that is completely cruelty free, vegan, beautifully packaged and easy to love.” That really lives at the heart of everything we do, like a vision statement I suppose When we first launched the brand, we loved the idea that you could elevate the packaging so that the products looked and felt gorgeous, we were inspired by the timeless beauty of the old fashioned compacts and lipsticks, products that looked and felt precious. . The look and feel of that brand came very quickly, we shared this ideal of a simplistic approach to colour and an absolute desire to create ethical formulations that really perform.
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Where did the name come from? The direct translation for name Delilah is "seductive and beguiling”. She was the temptress from the story Samson & Delilah and the name has been a motif throughout history, from the classic song by Tom Jones to the beautiful tune by The Plain White T’s (Hey There Delilah) we loved the idea that the name would encapsulate that attitude of feeling empowered by feeling beautiful. Part of our logo is the Delilah rose a true symbol of British beauty.
What inspired you to create a range of your own? This I going to sound a bit whoo whoo! but I honestly had a very powerful de ja vu moment when I was working at a trade show in Las Vegas. I had been working as a Creative Director for a while doing brand and product development within the make up industry and I had got to thinking about what it would feel like to meet someone and find out by chance that they had my product in their handbag. I was suddenly struck by a very strong feeling that I had been in that moment before. Now, I am not into that sort of thing but something pushed me to realise I had all the experience and contacts that I needed at my fingertips to get this thing moving. I came home from the trip and told my wife Juliet (who is my business partner) and to my total surprise she completely on board! Juliet had her own business as a photographer but it was her drive and passion for detail that helped to really complete the concept for delilah .
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What is your top tip as a makeup artist and beauty brand founder?
delilah range, which one would you choose and why?
The big mistake most women make with their makeup is that they take just a few products and apply them too heavily. Great makeup is about learning how to use fine layers of a few more products than you usually use. It won’t take any longer to do but it will look smoother and cleaner on the skin and certainly more comfortable to wear
That really depends, it changes from month to month but if I absolutely had to choose right now I would say our Under Wear Foundation Primer, it is a big hit with professional makeup artists and customers alike. It makes your skin feel amazing he moment you put it on and your foundation just looks beautiful when applied on top.
How do you stand out from the crowd?
Is there a particular kind of product that you would really like to create/make, but haven’t been able to do yet?
Good question, the beauty industry is a crowded space and colour cosmetics brands are popping up all over the place, fast beauty with products that come and go, endorsed by whoever the latest influencer is. We really don’t get involved in any of that. I believe you don’t need to do things differently, you just need to do them really well. The products are beautifully made, we are obsessed making them perform perfectly. We are lucky enough to have really loyal customer base who tell us all the time how much they love to use our products
If you were to pick one hero product in the
Yes, pressed powder. As a makeup artist I have had pressed powders in my kit for years. They have fallen out of favour a little bit these days and I think that is a shame. They are so useful for touching up throughout the day and just giving that hint of coverage. We are really experimenting at the moment with a whole new generation of powder, matte doesn’t need to look dry and cakey anymore, I think there is a way to create that flattering luminosity that we all love without the shimmery shine. Can’t tell you any more than that!
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Would you consider expanding the brand with, for example, skincare products?
What is next for delilah?
Keep creating beautiful products, we need to focus on the online revolution a bit too. Makeup is still little behind fashion and food when it come to online shopping, sure customers are happy to reorder a product online that they have already tried, or a colour that they know. Its helping them to take a risk and discover new products that is the challenge for the online business. The answer is to Do you follow a skincare routine? focus on engaging content and to build trust. I have started some videos on our Instagram called Tips I wouldn’t call it a routine, I clean my skin with a Tuesday where I just share my ideas about how to facial wash in the shower, Malin & Goetz solve the types of makeup challenges we get asked Grapefruit Face Cleanser, I have quite about. They are becoming more popular and it has combination skin and this cleanser just leave my made us realise that this the of content needs to be skin really clean. I always try to moisturise morning and night. In the summer I use the Cult 51 a real focus for us. serum, its just leave my skin feeling plumped up without feeling oily. During the winter I have fallen in love with the Weleda Skin Food, a great vegan brand, it kind of leaves my skin dewy looking! Not right now. We have talked a lot about skincare, think if we did move into the territory, it would be more about preparing the skin for makeup, or gentle effective formulations for removing makeup at the end of the day, especially for products like long wear foundations.
''My hero product is the Under Wear Foundation Primer, it is a big hit with professional makeup artists and customers alike. It makes your skin feel amazing he moment you put it on and your foundation just looks beautiful when applied on top.''
delilahcosmetics.com www.thefrankmagazine.com
FRANK INTERVIEW
LOELLA Changing the World one brush at a Time Cruelty and vegan free make up brushes.
Interview with Loella's Founder Nadine Oei
Loella strives to create high performing makeup brushes that are affordable and stand out from the crowd. as well as helping empower women around the world. By Fiona Eustace
Tell us a little about what inspired you? How did it all start? I decided to leave my corporate job and career in banking and was looking for something more creative yet still challenging to do. I’ve always been very interested in ‘adjacent’ niche segments within a larger industry as I feel there are often a lot of overlooked opportunities. In this case, I was looking into the cosmetics industry and instead of focusing on the actual main product of makeup, I started looking into the tools to apply the makeup with. I felt there was a lot of room for professional grade makeup brushes that balance out style and affordability, whilst also being vegan and cruelty free. www.thefrankmagazine.com
Let’s talk a little bit about the brand. Why Loella? From the get-go, I was keen on incorporating a positive message in the brand, as I believe the beauty industry sometimes gets an unfairly bad rep. I believe that applying makeup can really empower women in feeling their most confident and beautiful self and I wanted that empowerment to come through in every aspect of the brand, from the brand name (Loella means ‘Famous warrior’), to the collection names and even the names of the brushes.
So would you say that you want Loella to have some kind of positive impact in the community? Absolutely, we want to empower women both in beauty and in life. And to walk the walk on that, we are also donating 10p of every brush that we sell to the amazing #iamtheCODE foundation, who are teaching girls all over the world to coding and STEM skills. We really want to do our small part one brush at a time.
Let’s talk more about your products. What does Loella offer so far? We currently have three collections, our original Girl on Fire collection, then the Wild as the Ocean collection and most recently the Femme Fatale collection. The first two
collections are perfect for an everyday look and easy application, and the latest collection has 12 gorgeous, more detailed brushes, which are perfect for professional makeup artists or avid makeup lovers.
Can you also tell me a little more about your latest launch and collection? Our latest collection is the Femme Fatale collection, which we designed together with the wonderful Sarah Exley, who is Head of Makeup at X-Factor and Love Island. Sarah loved our original brushes and once I got to know her, we just had to create something together. Sarah brought her over 20 years of experience in the industry to create this wonderful set full of beautiful detailed brushes that still allow for fast and precise application and facilitates a wide mix of makeup techniques. The set includes for example a brush for nose contouring, tight lining, under eye powder setting and many more gems!
Do you have a favourite brush that you couldn't live without? I have to admit since I am not from a beauty background, I keep my daily makeup very simple. So I love our Buffed up Briony brush (from the original collection) to apply and blend my foundation and I am obsessed with the Killer contour Kirsty brush from the Femme Fatale collection (which I actually use for contour, blush and highlight all at the same time!).
''Loella is all about empowering girls and women to stand out from the crowd, both in beauty and in life, as the name Loella (meaning 'famous warrior') suggests.'' www.thefrankmagazine.com
What would you like to create next if money and time wasn't a factor? I would love to create a full and complete set of over 30 to 40 brushes that really has every brush anyone could ever need to create a complete look. I love all the brushes that we currently have, but I always think of new brushes that I wish we could include in our current range as well!
Will you do another collaboration? I would love to do another collaboration if the right partner comes along who can bring something new to the table! It is such a pleasure to work with experienced people in the industry since they really understand day-to-day what is required from their makeup tools… and we can provide it in an affordable way with of course the signature Loella stylish twist!
How do you see the future of Loella Cosmetics? I have many more ideas for new brush sets and other makeup accessories that I would love to launch in the next few years. Ultimately, I would love for the company to be a well-known name in the industry for high quality, affordable and chic makeup accessories and tools.
EMPOWERED WOMEN EMPOWER WOMEN Our brand is all about empowering girls and women to stand out from the crowd, both in beauty and in life, as the name Loella (meaning 'famous warrior') suggests. To stand by our brand mantra, we are literally empowering girls all over the world with each makeup brush we sell. Loella is super proud to partner with #iamtheCODE, a foundation that is teaching girls in disadvantaged communities the skills and confidence to become the coders and tech entrepreneurs of the future. #iamtheCODE is a pivotal movement to mobilise governments, business and investors to support young women in STEAMED (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Mathematics, Entrepreneurship and Design) through learning how to code, creative learning and cracking problems. #iamtheCODE has been recognised by the World Economic Forum, UBS, Microsoft, The UN High Level Economic Empowerment, and UN Women for its methodology around STEAMED education. The mission of #iamtheCODE is to build a generation of 1 million women and girls coders by 2030. Through technology and digital literacy training, they are tackling the current global STEAMED skills shortage in marginalised communities and thereby creating the next generation of digital leaders. Loella is supporting #iamtheCODE through on the ground projects as well as donating 10pence of every brush we sell to #iamtheCODE. We are doing our modest part in changing the world, one brush at a time!
''To stand by our brand mantra, we are literally empowering girls all over the world with each makeup brush we sell. '' www.thefrankmagazine.com
Use code FRANKMAG for 10% off the whole website valid until 31 May 2021.
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Beauty Favorites A quick guide to a few of products I use on a daily basis By Fiona Eustace
Rosalique 3 in 1 anti-redness miracle formula SPF50 £29.99
fenwick.co.uk
Now I am back at work and having to wear a mask more often, my skin is feeling irritated and sore. I love the feeling of this formula, it soothes my sensitive skin and protects me against the sun. It is a great primer before makeup and the green tint reduces any redness. Perfect.
Booming Bob Body Oil. £16.99 I love using this oil as it’s not too sticky and soaks in quickly leaving a gorgeous scent.
lonedesignclub.com
Burt’s Bees Natural origin squeezy tinted lip balm £5.99 I am a big fan of Burt's Bees products and I have not stopped using these since they popped through the post a few weeks ago. Four gorgeous shades that will leave your lips so soft and with a subtle tint of colour.
burtsbees.co.uk www.thefrankmagazine.com
By Terry Hyaluronic powder £42.00 I have fallen in love with this powder all over again and I can’t believe I ever stopped using it. It doesn’t make your makeup look dull, in fact it will always leave you with fresh looking skin but without the shine. Full of hyaluronic acid which also helps your skin. What's not to love.
byterry.com
Olaplex 5 £26 My hair has been in need of some serious TLC these last few months. So while I wait for the Salons to open I have loved using the olaplex range, especially No:5. Perfect for that extra moisture boost that doesn't weigh down fine hair. Check out the treatment mask No:3, gorgeous!
lookfantastic.com
Kevyn Aucoin Unforgettable lipstick cream £24 This has been in my handbag throughout lockdown and even though I haven't been wearing a lot of makeup, I have still been adding this lipstick to my looks. Creamy and with just enough colour to make you feel made up without feeling over done. Rita Hazan Triple Threat split end remedy £24 If I could bottle this up and make it into a perfume I would be a very happy lady. This product smells devine and it works wonders on my fine coloured hair. It smooths out my split ends without weighing down my hair. Check out the whole range.
selfridges.com
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“We need women who are so strong they can be gentle, so educated they can be humble, so fierce they can be compassionate, so passionate they can be rational, and so disciplined they can be free.” Kavita Ramdas