FRANK M A G A Z I N E
Issue 03 Aug - Sept 2019
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F R A N K L O V E S
ODACITÉ Blue Aura Cleansing Water
ODACITÉ Blue Aura Cleansing Water Remove makeup, dirt and impurities in one easy step with Odacité Blue Aura Cleansing Water, an energising no-rinse cleanser that helps to refresh and restore the complexion. Infused with micelles, aloe vera, salicylic acid, grapefruit, neem, holy basil and turmeric, this supercharged cleanser banishes impurities without drying the skin. It is rich in vitamins, antioxidants and minerals to nourish the complexion and protect against pollutants and signs of premature ageing. The result is skin that feels clean and revitalised in one quick and easy step. Odacité Blue Aura Cleansing Water is suitable for all skin types, vegan friendly and cruelty-free. www.odacite.com
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E D I T O R ' S N O T E
''Frank is for adult women who want to be informed, inspired, amused, look good and be healthy.''
H
ello gang, I hope you are all having a wonderful summer so far. We’ve been doing a lot of talking this last month to bring you some fabulous interviews starting with Boris Becker at Wimbledon.
Fashion illustration by Jacqueline Bissett
We hear how the champion tennis ace keeps fit and healthy into his fifties. Imelda May tells us about her creative process and we caught up with Max Beesley in LA to talk about the movie business and the latest series of ‘Jamestown' We focus on Gold in our fashion pages shot by the magician of lighting Mr Kim Knott & Beauty editor Fiona Eustace shares her top treatment make up too It's all about designers this month as Melissa Odabash celebrates 20 years in the swimwear industry, Tracey Boyd talks furniture and travel and Jerome C Rousseau tells us what inspires him to create his beautiful shoes. And not forgetting all our usual health and wellbeing pages, recipes, travel ideas, book reviews etc So have a rummage and happy reading.
Melanie & Boris, ME + EM, Max Beesley, Melissa Odabash, Imelda May
Melanie Sykes
*** An online magazine aimed at women 40+. Speaking openly about women's topics without avoiding any issues. www.thefrankmagazine.com
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CONTENTS Cover Model Interview Clare Durkin P10 FASHION Jewellry Shoot ''Be Bold in Gold'' P17 Jacqueline Bissett ''Sparking Earrings'' P20 Sarah Christie ''Absolute Animals Prints'' P22 BEAUTY Jewellery Shoot ''Be BOLD in GOLD''
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Fiona Eustace Treatment Makeup P30 Skin Synergy P32 Beauty Rose Essentials P36
INSPIRATIONAL INTERVIEWS
DESIGN
Singer Songwriter - Imelda May P138
Frank interviews Melissa Odabash P44 Shoe Designer Jerome C Rousseau P50 Gaby Roslin talks to ME+EM founder Clare Hornby P62 Ilu's Mary Moran P70 FRANK talks to Designer Tracey Boyd P76
MELANIE TALKS TO BORIS BECKER ''BOOM BOOM'' P146
HEALTH Delicious Beetroot Recipes with Rhiannon Lambert P84 Dr Louise Wiseman - Pause Button P92 Gabrielle Peacock Alcohol & your health P96 The Sober Hangover - Chip Somers P98 Sober is the New Sexy - Charlotte Dorman P104 Summer Expectations - Kate Tilson P108 FRANK interview with Cloud Gate founder Michelle Adams P112 UP CLOSE & PERSONAL WITH RICHARD MADELEY P118 ICONIC PHOTOGRAPHER TERRY O'NEIL P124
INTERVIEW WITH MAX BEESLEY P154 Isabelle Van Zeijl P162 Hotel Shangri LA - Tamie Adaya P170 Lara Platman interviews Maria Costello MBE P178 Portrait of sn Icon MARY QUANT P184 FRANK FEATURES Open Marriage p192 Piin Dating - Interview with Danielle Dodoo P198 WHAT TO...BUY, SEE, READ & WATCH Feminine Gadgets P214 Worlds Best Bathrooms by Emma Harrison P216 Helen Beard Exhibition P220 Joshua Hagler Exhibition P222 Recommended Reads by Elenor Tattersfield P224 Theatre Review by Tamsin Flower Downton Abbey Samantha Baines P230 AND MUCH MORE.........
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T E A M F R A N K
MELANIE Editor-in-Chief Melanie Sykes Design Director Millie Cooper Beauty Editor Fiona Eustace Contributors Dr Louise Wiseman - Medical Gabriela Peacock - Health Tamsin Flower - Mindset Gaby Roslin - Interviews Kate Tilston - Life Coach Rhiannon Lambert - Food Recipes Shaima Al- Obaidi - Portrait of an Icon Emma Harrison - Travel Lara Platman- Motoring Dale Pinnock- Recipes Eleanor Tattersfield - Book Review Samantha Baines- Film Review Tamsin Flower - Theatre Review
Photo by Sam Hemsley
MILLIE
London hello@thefrankmagazine.com
''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 in her late forties, 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, Millie 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.''
International Distribution | FRANK Magazine FREE Subscriptions Worldwide | www.thefrankmagazine.com Free subscriptions may begin at any time throughout the year. You can cancel a a subscription anytime. Copyright Š 2019 The Frank Magazine.
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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 Summer 2019
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Photographer Kim Knott Stylist Sarah Christie Hair stylist Tim Crespin Make-up Eli Wakamatsu Model/Agency Shalke Gummels at Models 1
C O V E R M O D E L
CLARE DURKIN When did you start modelling? Age 16.. 25 years ago! How were you discovered? I was spotted in the Luton Arndale centre. I was reading a magazine in WH Smith’s when an agents boyfriend approached me. I then went up to London with a friend and walked into models1. They took me on that day and I’ve been with them since. How has the business changed over the years? and how have you adapted to it as you have matured? The business has become more saturated with photographers, stylist, makeup artists and models. It’s probably now easier to get involved in the industry but maybe harder to make a career in. Budgets are definitely tighter. I remember jobs where you’d only have to do two pictures a day, whereas now your sometimes cramming in fifty! Saying that, digital photography means that it’s a lot quicker to get the shot...no more hanging around waiting for polaroid’s to develop! The essence has stayed the same, everybody is working together to create beautiful images. I’ve been lucky enough to continue working as I’ve gotten older. You can never predict when your modelling days are over. You have to just go with the flow and take the work whilst it’s there. Having modelling as a jobs means that I get lots of free time with my kids and develop my other interests. What the out and out bonuses of the industry you are in? I love being surrounded by creative people and work mostly feels like play. It can be hard work at times but I’m usually pinching myself at what a privileged position I’m in. I’ve been on some amazing trips over the years. How would you describe yourself? Low maintenance, down to earth and positive. My happy place is walking in nature and being with my kids. I have two gorgeous boys aged 7 and 11. I love to be with my friends and family. What are your other passions? My creative outlet is ceramics. I love the whole making process. At the moment I do a weekly ceramics class in Forest Row. I absolutely love my 3 hours of making time. I find it so meditative. When you’re throwing a pot on the wheel there’s no room to think about anything else. The throwing, the turning, the glazing, it’s all magic. www.thefrankmagazine.com
C O V E R M O D E L
I’m also studying the Boulderstone Technique and have been for the last 6 months. I have always been interested in alternative health and healing and when I came across this technique I was blown away. I had a hip injury for 10 months and no amounts of physio or cranial osteopathy was making a difference. I had one Boulderstone technique treatment and I got 90% of the rotation back in my hip. After the second treatment I had full recovery. It’s a really quick and direct hands on healing technique that deals with physical injuries and well as any emotional trauma and mental health issues. It can also get rid of allergies/intolerance! I had so many allergies that I’m now clear of. It’s definitely something I’d like to practice in. Unfortunately there are only two clinics, one in Tunbridge Wells and a new one opening in Brighton. www.thefrankmagazine.com
F A S H I O N
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Jewellery Fashion Shoot www.thefrankmagazine.com
l a m i n a S T N I R P As Anna Dello Russo once said “Accessories are like vitamins to fashion� and we could not agree more! Its all about gold in our jewellrey shoot this month so get some and shine. Jacqueline Bissett illustrates her favourite drop earrings with added bling & Fashion Stylist Sarah Christie shares the best animal print classics in the sales to go and get your paws on. www.thefrankmagazine.com
Photographer Kim Knott Stylist Sarah Christie
Hair stylist Tim Crespin Make-up Eli Wakamatsu Model Clare Durkin at Models 1
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Jacket, YSL Dress, Allsaints Rings, Zoraida, Net Ă porter. Bracelets, Carolina Bucci, Azza Fahmi. Necklaces, pearl from Azza Fahmi, gold cross from Katie Mullally
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This page Playsuit, Zara Bracelet and ring, Carolina Bucci Earrings, Zoraida Opposite Earrings, Oscar De La Renta Tank top, COS
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This page Top, AllSaints Trousers , Arket Earrings, Lara Heems Rings, Piligrim and Maya Brenner Opposite Dress, Allsaints Necklace, Piligrim Cuff, Aga
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Necklace, Kenneth Jay Lane, Net Ă Porter Top, Zara Earrings, Piligrim
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STOCKISTS: Kenneth Jay Lane Net à Porter Zara Piligrim AllSaints Arket Lara Heems Maya Brenner Aga Carolina Bucci Zoraida Oscar De La Renta COS YSL Zoraida Azza Fahmi. Katie Mullally
Makeup Artist Eli Wakamatsu using SUQQU Nude Wear Liquid foundation with Blooming Glow Primer, Glow Touch Eyes, Gel EyeLiner Pencil 02, Lip Defining Pencil for the story. Hair by Tim Crespin using L’Oréal Techni Art
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F A S H I O N P I C K
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One of fashion's forever classics, animal print is a great sale buy. Either upgrade a timeless blazer by choosing a leopard print version or reinvent it with a brightly coloured alternative. And for the very bold, go wild by mixing and matching prints. By Fashion Editor Sarah Christie
Penny Misra Snake Print Top ALL SAINTS £54.50
Pleated leopard-sequinned skirt MSGM £180
Gigi Tiger Sequin Midi Dress RIXO £129 www.thefrankmagazine.com
Leopard-print denim midi skirt SEE BY CHLOÉ £77
Kristen cotton voile midi dress REJINA PYO £347
Ruffled printed satin wrap-effect skirt GANNI £87
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Our ZARA favorites
Animal Print Mules ZARA £9.99 Animal Print Leather Bag ZARA £49
Animal Print Loafers ZARA £5.99 www.thefrankmagazine.com
Snakeskin print frock coat ZARA £29.99
Animal Print High Heels ZARA £39
Contrast Animal Print Dress ZARA £19.99
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B E A U T I F U L A C C E S S O R I E S
Diane Kordas Sparkling Earrings "I absolutely ADORE these long, slinky earrings by Diane Kordas. I hadn't heard of her previously but came across her beautifully crafted designs whilst checking out Net-aPorter. Diane is an American designer, fashion trained from Parsons School of Design but based in London- her brand is worn by many cool models & celebrities. These stunning 18 k rose gold earrings can be worn as a pair or solo which is the current trend. They are set with 0.96 carat diamonds.� Jacqueline Bissett Fashion Illustrator
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Illustration by Jacqueline Bissett www.thefrankmagazine.com www.thefrankmagazine.com
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S K I N
C A R E
Beauty editor Fiona Eustace explores the best dual action ’treatment make up’ from lipsticks with attitude to primers that pack a punch, she also brings us the perfect beauty potions that work in sync and are tailored made for any skin types. & Frank choose the essential Rose beauty products to sooth your skin, nourish your hair and induce that all important calm in your life.
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B E A U T Y
E D I T
OXEGENETIX OXYGENATING FOUNDATION £45 I love everything about this foundation, this gel based lightweight foundation goes a long way and it gives fantastic coverage that doesn’t crease around the eyes. Full of natural ingredients like Salix Alba for its anti-inflammatory properties and anti-oxidants like vitamin E to help fight free radicals. This is no longer the industries best kept secret as we are now seeing it on the red carpet with Gal Gadot’s makeup artist leading the way. Hypoallergenic and water proof, this product ticks all the boxes.
t n e m t a Tre keup ma
www.skincity.co.uk
By Beauty Editor Fiona Eustace @fionaeustace
Who wants to wear makeup that can help you look great but also keep your skin moisturised and luxurious throughout the day?. Well you’re in luck, treatment makeup is the new buzz word and I for one am loving it. A self-proclaimed product junkie I love that our makeup can now be infused with skincare. Here are a few of my favourite products that I love to use on myself and my clients.
LIPSTICK QUEEN, FROG PRINCE LIPSTICK £22 Now hold on, green lipstick? This is not the kind of makeup I would use every day! Well this is not as it seems. This little beauty changes colour when smoothed over your lips. The heat of your lips reacts with the green shade and transforms it into a beautiful rosebud pink shade. Containing shea butter and vitamin E to keep your lips super smooth and moist. Now we will all want to be kissing that frog. www.spacenk.com www.thefrankmagazine.com
PERRICONE MD NO MAKEUP MASCARA £25 This amazing 2 in 1 treatment mascara has been clinically proven to nourish and condition your lashes with every application, as well as thicken your lashes from root to tip. Its nourishing formula contains the powerful neuropeptides and biotin which help restore and regenerate creating stronger, fuller lashes. Not only will you be looking fabulous but your lashes will be thank you too. www.perriconemd.co.uk
ERBORIAN BB EYE TOUCHE PARFAITE £34 This is the ultimate get ready quick solution. Its eye care, concealing and BB skin properties work together to provide the best look in minutes. Full of anti-ageing vitamins including A,C and E as well as co-enzyme Q-10 which helps fight against ageing and Purslane, which is a powerful anti-antioxidant. This is and always will be my go to on the run.
t n e m t a e Tr up e k a m www.spacenk.com
OLE HENRIKSEN BANANA BRIGHT FACE PRIMER £28
If you only buy one thing this year you will not regret spending money on this little gem. Created after spending time on set with makeup artists, Ole drew inspiration from a makeup artists secret which he observed using the iconic “banana powder” Can be worn on its own as a natural flawless base, used as a primer, under makeup or even as a highlighter over makeup. The subtly sunny tint will instantly brighten and colour-correct. Full of vitamin C to help target signs of ageing and antioxidants to nourish the skin. Pair with the Eye crème for the ultimate duo. www.boots.com www.thefrankmagazine.com
B E A U T Y
E D I T
Skin Synergy Beauty care that complements your skin type
By Beauty Editor Fiona Eustace
Lets talk Skin…what do we actually know about it and how can we look after our skin?
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It is combined of three layers. The epidermis, the outermost layer which creates our skin tone. The Dermis, which contains our sweat glands and hair follicles. The Hypodermis, which is made up fat and connective tissues. It is our bodies largest growing organ. There are four common skin types; Normal, combination, dry, and oily. Our own skin type is largely down to our genetics but can also change with our stress levels, a change in our hormones and also as we age. When it comes to skin care its essential that we use the correct products to help our skin to thrive. Here are some Do’s and Don’ts to help you have the best skin you deserve Normal and combination skin
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If you have what is considered, ‘normal skin’, you will find that it is the easiest of the four skin types to manage. The sebum, a natural oil that is produced by your skin, and your moisture levels are well balanced, meaning there are fewer problems that arise. When you have ‘combination skin’ this will usually mean you have mostly normal skin but with an oily t-zone (nose, forehead and chin).. When it comes to caring for normal/combination skin, creams that are light in texture can help to hydrate and won’t be too heavy for the day time. I like to use a thicker cream in the evening, applied onto cleansed skin to help keep my face and décolletage hydrated after a long day battling pollutions and everything else life throws at me. These are some of the products that I like to use both in www.thefrankmagazine.com
1 Embryolisse Lait-crème Concentrate
nourishing moisturizer £13 www.boots.com For this price you could overlook this product as a non-contender, but this secret weapon has been on the top=seller list for over 50 years. A light cream with a fresh scent this is suitable for both men and women. It’s a staple for most makeup artists who love to use it backstage at London Fashion Week.
2 Caudalie Instant Foaming Cleanser
£15.00 www.spavenk.com
This rich but gentle cleanser is perfect for daily use, and with soothing chamomile it is suitable for sensitive skin as well. A light foam with a beautiful scent from the natural ingredients, this beautiful cleanser works effortlessly to clean away impurities leaving your skin looking radiant and squeaky clean. Oily skin We can recognize oily skin as it will have visibly larger pores, a shiny appearance and is more susceptible to breakouts. Skin becomes oily as a result of the overproduction of sebum which can lead to clogged pores and acne. Oily skin doesn’t have to be a problem if we know how to look after it properly and take a few simple steps to ensure the skin stays healthy. Wash regularly with a gentle cleanser, without added fragrances or harsh chemicals. Wash with warm (not hot) water and don’t scrub the skin. If you are too harsh on your skin, using too many chemicals and overly scrubbing, instead of cleansing, it can have the opposite effect, causing over stimulation and the production of more oil. A gentle facial scrub used a couple of times a week will be beneficial. When choosing makeup try and use products that say ‘oil free’ and always make sure that your brushes are clean. When seeking the right product for you, look for products that say ‘non-comedogenic’ - this means that they won’t clog your pores. Lotions are the
lightest and so are a good match for oily skin as water is their main ingredient. If you are still having problems with breakouts, and this can happen at any age, then some medicated products that contain acids can help tackle oily skin. The below list gives some basic advice about the types of acids, found in various skin care products; Salicylic Acid - short term use only as it can dry out your skin; Glycolic acid. - helps your skin retain its natural moisture whilst helping acne prone skin by reducing the appearance of any marks left behind on the skin; Alpha Hydroxy Acid - Another exfoliating acid that helps clear away dead skin, revealing younger skin below; Benzoyl Peroxide - this is an antimicrobial, which means it helps reduce the amount of acne-causing bacteria on the skin. All or some of these ingredients will help. If problems still persist then I would recommended going to see a dermatologist.. These little wonders work very well for this skin type. Previse, Purify Hydrating Skin Cleanser. £32 www.wolfandbadger.com
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Full of natural marine and botanical ingredients this fragrance-free cleanser will help keep your pores clean. Using vegan marine algae and extracts of soap bark to help cleanse the skin and with no added oils, you would be hard pushed to find another cleanser that is as good as this allrounder. Vichy Normaderm Anti-blemish care, £11.25 www.boots.com
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The light and non-greasy formula is the perfect base under makeup, providing your skin with up to 24hrs hydration. combined with mattifying ingredients, it will help reduce the signs of large pores. Using patented technology, this product works to absorb sebum and also contains salicylic acid which helps oily skin look radiant.
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Dry Skin As we age hormonal changes, can cause our skin to naturally become drier. This is because our bodies aren’t producing enough sebum,meaning our skin is more vulnerable to the environment. Skin can become dry, red, itchy or flaky and you will usually have visibly more lines. Even though we can’t reverse the inevitable with skincare alone, it’s not all bad news, as there are some products that will improve the way your skin looks and feels. When caring for our skin it is important that we avoid over exfoliating as this will aggravate the skin and cause further irritation. Try to avoid using anything too harsh, like cloths, devices, harsh scrubs, alcohol or strong perfumed products. Instead use products that are rich and thick,like an oil, ointment or cream to help combat the side effects of dry skin. An ointment has a higher concentration of oil compared to cream. These products help trap water in the skin. Look for a moisturizer that contains some of the following ingredients: Ceramides will help form the skins barrier and help retain moisture Emollients, which help the skin feel less itchy and help keep the skin moist and flexible. Sorbitol or Glycerin are both humectants meaning it prevents the loss of moisture as it draws water.
5 Paulas choice Defense moisturizer SPF30 £29.00 This essential glow-moisturizer is rich in antioxidants, skin softening and nourishing non-fragrant plant oil. With the added Licorice root extract this product can be effective in improving an uneven skin tone as well.
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Fresh Seaberry skin nutrition booster £36.00 www.fresh.com This is always in my personal bag. I love this skin booster. It can be added to eye creams for that added nourishment when needed. Full of antioxidant rich ingredients this little gem will give you the boost you need to perk up your skin.
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F R A N K 's fragrance pick of the summer
''Rose Morning'' eau de parfum by
Fresh
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ROSE
essentials
A popular ingredient in skin care, the beauty of roses extends far beyond their pride of place in the garden. For years, the delicate bloom has been recognised for its extraordinary anti-inflammatory and antioxidant qualities so it should come as no surprise that high-end brands like Jurlique, By Terry and Chantecaille use it in many of their products.
ELEMIS Pro-Collagen Rose Cleansing Balm £43
BYREDO Rose Hand Cream £44
HERBIVORE Rose Quartz Illuminating Body Oil £38 www.thefrankmagazine.com
OUAI HAIRCARE Rose Hair & Body Oil £26
Rose Oil Rose Balm Rose Mist Rose Cream CHANTECAILLE Rose de Mai Cream £182
BY TERRY Baume de Rose Crystalline £34
FRESH Rose Deep Hydration Face Serum £42
DIPTYQUE Shower Foam Eau Rose £30
REN Moroccan Rose Otto Sugar Body Polish £35 www.thefrankmagazine.com
R E A D E R R E V I E W
Drunk Elephant T.L.C. Sukari Babyfacial
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.L.C. Sukari Babyfacial is an exfoliating mask whose mission is to improve skin's texture and radiance while minimizing the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. Thanks to a formula that contains 25% AHAs (led by glycolic acid) and 2% BHA (salicylic acid).
The only concern is that the combined AHA potency is intense and can be too strong for some, especially those with sensitive skin. Per Drunk Elephant's instructions, you're advised to use T. L.C. Sukari Babyfacial once a week, leaving it on skin for 20 minutes before rinsing off. While we usually advocate for leaving an AHA or BHA exfoliant on skin longer, at this strength and the formula’s pH, 20 minutes should be long enough for exfoliation to happen. After rinsing, you should see improved skin texture and tone along with enhanced softness. The brand mentions that slight tingling may occur within the first couple minutes—if that's the case and if the tingling persists, we recommend rinsing before the 20 minutes are up. Drunk Elephant took steps to minimize this possibility by including soothing plant ingredients such as green tea, milk thistle, and a form of anti-irritant licorice. You may notice that Babyfacial contains finely milled green tea and chickpea powder. The particles are dispersed so intermittently that you may not even detect them, but either way, they're completely gentle—neither a help nor a hindrance. The bottom line: T.L.C. Sukari Babyfacial delivers on its promises of smoothing all skin types, and although it might seem pricey, it costs less than a professional in-office peel and comes pretty close to delivering the same results. Makeup Artist - Sofia Aldwych
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INTERIORS FASHION HOMEWARE
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20 years ofMelissa
Odabash
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s a former swimwear model who lived and worked in Italy for many years, Melissa Odabash has an innate sense of what women want from their swimwear & beachwear. From the inception of the brand, the collection has been developed and constructed to sculpt and enhance the silhouette. Timeless pieces designed with clean lines and innovative textiles aim to adapt to all body types, making them a must- have for the distinguished global traveller. Congratulations on twenty years of your swimwear brand. Can you believe it? It is such an incredible milestone! I never thought I would still be doing what I love, so feeling very blessed and so grateful to my clients for all their ongoing support! Frank loves the new collection. Where do you find your inspiration? Everyday I get inspiration - whether a market stall, a James Bond movie, the tiles that I discover in Italy which inspire a print - I get inspiration from everywhere! I was in morocco and love all those terracotta colours mixed with Moroccan ceramics. Which part of the business do you love the most, creating the designs, art directing the advertising campaigns, the travel? I love when the finished product is on my models on location as the whole collection starts to come alive and I can see my vision and all the hard work come together. You are the name and face of the brand, PR is all down to you. How do feel about the promotion you have to do? I love it - I live and breath my brand! I started from nothing so I love every aspect of watching it grow. www.thefrankmagazine.com
It hasn’t been easy has it, getting your brand up and running and out there? It has been the hardest journey, no one has any idea how I paved the roads for this industry when no one was doing swimwear! Going door to door, not being paid was so difficult. Swimwear was not really considered part of fashion. There was no internet let alone social media twenty years ago, so everything was word of mouth. This was the era of advertising to get your brand out there, something I could definitely not afford, so I had to be creative with how I got my name out there!
design something for a variety of woman, from Italian to English to American. My collection has a lot of classic silhouettes made from the best fabrics, in elegant styles, that will last you for years. I have a lot of clients who jet set around the world and they want to be chic and fit into all lifestyles - it’s a real mix of clients Your designs are worn by celebrities all around the world. How quickly into running the business did you hit the big time?
My third year starting, my first break I had Naomi Campbell, Heidi Klum, Tyra Banks, Steffi Graff and Karen Muglar ! They were my first models in sports illustrated – so that launched me into department stores. I am lucky that after all these It’s finally paying off, hard work always prevails… years they are all still my clients. I hope. I have been fortunate enough to have had Alisters by the likes of Cindy Crawford, Elle Where did you shoot the new campaign? We Macpherson, Jessica Biel, Beyoncé, The Have to ask, who is the man in the boat on Kardashians for years but it’s only recently, since your ad campaign? How did you cast him? social media that people can see. This year I shot at the Belmond Cap Juluca in It is four years since your first collection Anguilla followed by the Belmond Splendido in of mastectomy- friendly swimwear. What Portofino. Both locations were so different and provided me the most beautiful back drops to my started that journey? collections. I went to attend future dreams charity lunch when they showed the videos of the women and The man in the boat was shot in Capri and he how positive they were. I was crying my eyes out! was the double of Dustin Hoffman he was A week later they asked me if I would join the amazing. We didn’t look to cast him, we just charity and we thought why not do a collection to asked if he would be in the shots. give women back confidence? How many women did you see to cast the new It's already a nightmare getting in a bikini when campaign? How do you choose? you’re not feeling so great about your body, now on top you’ve been through breast cancer!! Well I’m really picky - girls are so touched up The launch was a huge success and we are so these days that they look nothing like their happy it’s doing well to help raise money for books. I went to 3 countries 3 years ago to cast and I finally found Christina, the perfect muse for vision future dreams are building for supporting women post surgery. my swimwear. She is totally natural 32 so not too young and a mother and everyone loves her. Tell us about that collection? I tend to use her every year as my main model and then I take on 2 new girls a year. It’s not easy Well it’s my same fabrics and shapes as my as swimwear is so particular. regular collection but has all the hidden details What kind of women are you aiming at when women need after having mastectomy. Everything is seamless, so no digging into scar tissue and creating your collection? there are special pockets to put your prostheses as a lot of women don’t have reconstruction. I now sell in over 60 countries, so I try and www.thefrankmagazine.com
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There are various design additions that were made to the suits to pay attention to areas that would have scarring and that women may now want covered – a lot of aspects to be aware of during the construction of the pieces. The desire for women post surgery and during recovery to feel confident on holiday is important and very real isn’t it? Yes - my sister had breast cancer and she caught it straight away and was very lucky! We have no breast cancer at all in the family so it was very shocking, but I remember my sister being so self-conscience about going to the beach she kept saying ‘can you see my scars’? There are so many post-surgery complications and it’s just part of what makes us a woman so when that is taken away a lot of women lose their confidence. The feedback I get is incredible, the women often say they feel their lives haven’t changed - they still want to be fashionable and before my collection there was nothing really on offer. www.thefrankmagazine.com
"It has been the hardest journey, no one has any idea how I paved the roads for this industry when no one was doing swimwear! Going door to door, not being paid was so difficult. Swimwear was not really considered part of fashion."
Being in the fashion business is a relentless treadmill and you are always one season ahead. How do you relax, unwind. Do you have any life coaching, do meditation, exercise? It’s such a cut throat biz and I’m so not like that - I’m very down to earth and I love people. It’s such a stressful biz so to let off some steam always revert back to jogging. I have been doing it for 20 years - with great music it just clears my head, especially working out outside! I also love to rollerblade anything that doesn’t involve being in a gym! I eat healthy and I have a house in Florida - that is my escape. Nothing like a beach to clear stress. I’ve tried to meditate but I can do max 10 mins as I just need to move ..lol maybe that’s why I’ve never gained a kilo as I never stop moving.
How do keep you keep the creative flame burning? How much do you rely on your team? I have the best team ever, they are like my family. I wouldn’t be where I am today without them. They help me so much as I am always creating new ideas - that’s the easy part. My team actually have to tell me to stop, as I’ve done too many designs. They know after sampling I usually reject half the collection - I’m a Gemini and change my mind constantly, thankfully they are very patient with me. What’s new at Odabash? I have launched a new jewellery collection I have designed for QVC in July. I have always loved accessorising my beach style with layered chains and bracelets and feel this collection is a great way to offer a finishing touch to your holiday wardrobe. www.odabash.com www.thefrankmagazine.com
F R A N K
I N T E R V I E W
FRANK meets shoe designer
Jerome C Rousseau Photos of Jerome by Alan Strutt
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''I launched with a piece in British Vogue. I mean it was brilliant, the way it happened, just a little luck, and the stars aligned.�
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JEROME C. ROUSSEAU launched his eponymous label with the Fall 2008 collection. Born in Quebec, his interest for design was shaped through art and music. “I started drawing shoes as a teenager after watching a Deee-Lite videoclip. I was influenced by its unique styling, but it was the overstated retro footwear that first caught my attention.” Jerome finessed his design skills for ten years in London and Los Angeles, where he worked alongside Matthew Williamson, John Richmond and John Rocha. He had previously built a strong technical knowledge of footwear design at London’s Cordwainers College, famous for its many reputed alumni. In July 2010, the label was awarded the prestigious “Who Is On Next” accessories prize by Vogue Italia. Modern art, European design, pop culture and nightlife are some of Rousseau’s inspirations. “I initially think in terms of shape, silhouette and structure when I design. It’s later on that I bring fashion in the equation”. His distinctive creations have been extensively featured in Vogue, Elle, Bazaar, Style.com and other publications worldwide. Celebrities wearing the label include Charlize Theron, Cameron Diaz, Scarlett Johansson, Kristen Stewart, Katie Holmes, Jessica Alba, Elle Fanning, January Jones, Olivia Wilde, Miranda Kerr and others.
"I designed a distinctive heel a few seasons ago and it became a signature for my brand. I called it the thorn heel. As in the thorn of a rose. The design of it came spontaneously. I remember I was on a flight to visit my factories in Italy when I sketched it! I feel connected to the silhouette it creates. I like how it captures some of the empty space between the heel and the waist of the shoe.” Photos of Jerome by Alan Strutt
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What does C. stand for in your name?
1990. Groove Is In The Heart and that video totally changed my life. Their music was inspired by disco and house. I'd never heard any of those Great question. My first name Jerome, my full things. Their style was again Seventies' disco surname is Chouinard-Rousseau. Chouinard is my mother's last name. My dad is Rousseau. My meets Sixties' psychedelic. So I thought that they invented platform shoes. parents are a bit mad and eccentric and in the Seventies, when I was born, they decided that us Men and women in the video were coming out of from the house scene in New York. To me they three kids should have both parents' surnames. looked amazing dancing in platform shoes. I was It's fairly frequent today. It really wasn't then captivated. Seeing that video the first time was when I grew up in the north of Quebec. When I started my label, out of respect for my mum, who the biggest kick in the butt, musically and has encouraged me so much, I just couldn't drop visually, an explosion of colour and references. I started sketching shoes for the first time that half of the name. It looks distinctive as well. week in my art classes. Sketching the shoes the It's made it your first question so it proves my point it also celebrates my mother who I wouldn't way I remember them in that video. Sketching them at every angle be here without. When did you first discover that creative side? Are your family creative?
So it kick started a new passion ?
Yes my passion for shoes grew from that band, then I discovered into discovering the history of My family come from a very academic science shoes through a book and realising that shoes background. My mum, is now retired but was a were always very ornate and served a big purpose radiologist. My dad, a mathematics teacher. My in terms of symbolism, in people's status. They brother went into being a business lawyer. And were always decorative. Even from the beginning my sister is now in medicine. So I am very different from them. I'm also the middle child. I of shoes. It was incredible how shoes evolved through history. It’s going on 30 years of an don't technically look a lot like them. I always felt somewhat very different from my family. But undying passion for shoes that just keeps growing. I feel very fortunate to have that. also wildly connected to them. Discovering that the man who made the shoes for As a kid, I loved to draw very technical things like my Walkman and one of my favourite things that band at the time was a shoe designer and that that was an actually job, that changed me. was drawing a bicycle wheel at every angle. It's That was what i was going to do except I grew very complex. Every angle is a totally different up in the north of Quebec where artistic picture. I love those kind of challenges. professions didn’t even exist. Let alone where you can learn them. Eventually, my mum helped What was the trigger for your passion for me with a career advisor and we found a school designing shoes? in UK called Cordwainers College which is where I studied. I studied Fashion Design in Montreal Well As a teenager, music was always a big passion. I was always obsessed with music videos. for a brief time, got some grants and eventually moved to London to study shoe design. It was I loved Adam and the Ants and Duran Duran, life changing. Cyndi Lauper and i was obsessed with Bananarama. How old were you when you came to study in I always loved a lot of theatre within music and London? performers that cared about their presentation, the way they dressed, who played somewhat of a Think 17 when I moved to the UK to study. It character. was the mid-90s, the height of Brit Pop bands like Adam Ant is a great example of that. God, I Suede and Pulp. London really shaped me. The could talk about videos all day. Morten Harket, music at the time and people I met. Some of the A-ha, at the time. I think it was '86. I think I people I met on my first day in the UK are still realised I was gay at nine years' old with that gorgeous Norwegian guy. How could I not? As some of my best friends today. a teenager, there was a band called Deee-Lite. In Those were formative years for me. www.thefrankmagazine.com
So the desire to want to design shoes and doing all the work in order to have that life you out in motion. What were the stages? I designed shoes for ten years before starting my own label. For different brands, different designers. It was something I loved doing but I knew I wanted to do more and I knew I had a voice and a signature style that wasn't out there. Who were you designing for? I worked in UK for brands like Jasper Conran, John Richmond, John Rocha and also brands like French Connection as a freelance designer. Why the move to LA? I moved to the US to follow my boyfriend who I met in London. A brand here called Isabella Fiore offered me a job. At the time they had strong handbag collections and they wanted to launch into footwear. But I wanted to be more hands-on and grow more and that’s why I started my own thing. I started my brand as a project of love. that I saved money for about ten years working in the industry towards starting my own brand and to this day it remains a self-financed start-up. I had saved what seemed like a ton of money to me at the time but it was actually very little to start a luxury brand. I managed to get started on a shoestring budget. I was my sole employee for the first two years, doing design, development, sales, trade shows, production, Promotion and that way you end up knowing how our industry work and the mistakes, we learn from them. How did you kick start the promotion of the brand? I just cold called British Vogue. Sarah Harris was my favourite writer. I told her I'm coming to the UK’. I didn't even have a ticket yet. I couldn't really afford it. ‘I'd love to come and show you a few shoes. Can you give me 15 minutes?’ She said yes and then gave me a date and i just thought I'll make this happen at all costs. So I met Sarah. I was quite intimidated. She told me to bring five key pieces. I had a Big duffel bag of shoes and we went through the whole collection. I wasn’t sure she liked the collection. A few weeks later I was in Italy developing then next collection. I didn't have a second to breathe. I didn't have an hour to sleep. And then Sarah Harris called and she said 'look Jerome, I'd like to pitch a feature to my editor for your launch. I just need to be sure I'm the first and only person currently in the UK for that season to cover your launch'. I just couldn’t believe it 'British Vogue’ and I hadn’t showed the collection to anyone else in the UK yet at that point. You went to the top?! Yes, I went there and then suddenly I launched with a piece in British Vogue. I mean it was brilliant, the way it happened, just a little luck, and the stars aligned. The product spoke for itself. The same happened in the US with Harper's Bazaar and by the time I had a second collection, we had a British Vogue feature and a Harper's Bazaar feature in the US I didn’t have a PR team for the first few years I did it all by myself. www.thefrankmagazine.com
Had did you get your designs on the red carpet? One of my best friends in Los Angeles introduced me to an agency that helps brands do product placement. As an actor she often borrows from that agency for red carpet events etc. She said 'you need to meet Ali at that agency, just bring in ten shoes'. I had ten pairs made. That was the most I could afford at that time. And then, within a week of the shoes being there, we had a pair on Charlize Theron and one on Scarlett Johansson. I didn't even have a shoe at retail yet. It brought good attention and authority to my brand as I was launching. The kind of exposure I had not dare to dream of. The week my first collection hit the stores here we had Cameron Diaz, Katie Holmes…wearing my shoes. Some of these actors understood I had a young brand and took the time to hear my story.They felt part of the story of my brand and some felt compelled to get behind it. It’s extraordinary really that Halle Berry can charge a huge brand a large amount to wear their shoes on a red carpet but will also step up and support young talent and young brands for the right reasons. I’ve been really fortunate. Being in LA has perhaps helped with that too. Had did you get your designs on the red carpet? One of my best friends in Los Angeles introduced me to an agency that helps brands do product placement. As an actor she often borrows from that agency for red carpet events etc. She said 'you need to meet Ali at that agency, just bring in ten shoes'. I had ten pairs made. That was the most I could afford at that time. And then, within a week of the shoes being there, we had a pair on Charlize Theron and one on Scarlett Johansson. I didn't even have a shoe at retail yet. It brought good attention and authority to my brand as I was launching. The kind of exposure I had not dare to dream of. The week my first collection hit the stores here we had Cameron Diaz, Katie Holmes…wearing my shoes. Some of these actors understood I had a young brand and took the time to hear my story. They felt part of the story of my brand and some felt compelled to get behind it. It’s extraordinary really that Halle Berry can charge a huge brand a large amount to wear their shoes on a red carpet but will also step up and support young talent and young brands for the right reasons. I’ve been really fortunate. Being in LA has perhaps helped with that too. Apart from A list Hollywood, who are you designing for? I like to think my customer is as passionate as I am. Not only about shoes but about life, her family, her kids, her work, dancing naked in her living room to music she loves in her favourite shoes. Hopefully my designs! I like to imagine my customer does all these things. I love going to my stores and doing events and meeting the people buying my shoes. It is women of any age, from 20 to 60. Women who are in their fifties are beautiful, they're fashionable. They are knowledgeable about what's happening and they're connected. It's amazing, thank goodness We celebrate that. And I look at who's buying that sandal and it's a twenty-year-old girl and it's also a fifty-yearold woman and they wear it both beautifully and elegantly in their own ways. And style it the way they want it and the way they see it. I love that. t’s funny when men create women's shoes yet have never walked in them. Unless you have? Well, I have actually. I've cheated and I've tried on my shoes but the biggest my factory makes is size 41 at the moment. And I'm a size 43 so I mean I can't say my shoes are comfy when I have to squeeze two sizes' down into a pair of strappy sandals but I've done it for fun at times. www.thefrankmagazine.com
"This boot is called Lecler. I love this material. I developed a brocade that was inspired by the Sixties. It's a very British Mod look from the Sixties’ but reinvented with colours and threads I was using in my own collection. I wanted to reinvent flower power into something more moody. Using black, red, purple and then bringing in the gold lamé thread creates an eye catching material.”
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I really wanted to walk in a pair of heels and understand that process but it's very hard to find a good-quality shoe, like a beautifully, well-made Italian-made shoe in my size. Unfortunately drag queen shoes are technically not very well-made. Usually a lower price point, plasticky material. So it's not really the equivalent of my shoes. But I've done it for pleasure and fun and curiosity. So what inspires you? Are you one of these people that just gets inspired daily, are you always sketching? How does it work for you? Well, unfortunately, I'm not constantly sketching because that's the nature of the business today. You are not only sketching shoes But you're also developing collections. You're researching materials, colours, stories. I also go to my trade shows. I go to promote the collections in stores when it's out. I meet my factories many times a year. That's in Italy so It's a long way. I tend to sketch a new collection in four solid blocks. Four collections a year. Four solid blocks of about ten days to two weeks' minimum depending on how much time I can squeeze into it. That usually happens at night from 8pm when everyone's gone to bed and I can actually focus on that myself. As for Inspiration, I can be inspired by anything. It could be that someone gives me a book. It's on my living room table and I look at it whilst speaking to my mum on the telephone. At some point I’ve casually been looking at it for three or four months. When I start designing my next season, suddenly the only thing I can think of is the art I had been looking at in that book. But you know some designers will research things. They'll be very strategic about it. Thinking 'oh right, there's a big Bollywood film coming out in nine months and that will have an impact on what people are seeing in magazines' and so they'll be inspired by that. I simply can't work like that. Personally I’m inspired by a wide variety of things and some of them will just naturally manifest beautifully into the collections I’m designing. I tend to be inspired mostly by art, design, music, nature and nightlife. I’m also inspired by my travels, friends, a few muses and people I meet. So, talk to me about the new collection and your signature thorn heel? I designed a distinctive heel a few seasons ago and it became a signature for my brand. I called it the thorn heel. As in the thorn of a rose. The design of it came spontaneously. I remember I was on a flight to visit my factories in Italy when I sketched it! I feel connected to the silhouette it creates. I like how it captures some of the empty space between the heel and the waist of the shoe. It’s also a recognizable silhouette that you notice right away on a red carpet on when someone wears it. I’m particularly proud of this heel, and how versatile it is. I can design a simple pump or sandal but with the thorn heel it immediately becomes a Jerome C. Rousseau shoe. Talk us through he ombre stiletto? It’s glitter and patent and ombre all mixed together. I was laughing a little bit whilst developing that material at the tannery thinking 'is this going to work?'. Sometimes you have a vision and you just have to execute it. If I used that material on a huge boot, it would look tacky and over the top. But on a simple strappy sandal, when it's just used on parts of the shoe, It just works. So it's just enough to embellish the foot perfectly. I don't like when a shoe takes over. I think the shoe should enhance the natural elegance of the woman wearing it, her posture and her confidence. I think the running themes across my collections are elegance and luxury. How do you define luxury? To me Luxury is an appreciation of integrity, design and craftsmanship. Too often people associate luxury with excess. I like to think it’s not about quantity. I think the essence of luxury lies in accomplishing the best standards in design, manufacturing and craftsmanship. I don’t think luxury is about branding. I look at the story and the accomplishments behind a design and to me that’s what defines luxury. www.thefrankmagazine.com
Where do you find inspiration? I’ve been inspired recently by Emily J. Snyder. She is a calligraphy artist based here in California. I’m inspired by the way she imagined and invented fonts and by the way she assembles words into artworks. I find it very touching, beautiful and meaningful. I have been inspired by the very unusual angles of the fonts that she has developed. I wanted to kind of reflect all those unexpected angles into my heels and silhouettes. Looking at some of the new heels I have developed, you will see are some unexpected angles whether you look at them from the front, back or side. If you look at the heel that's on my Palma Mule, for example, you’ll see all the shapes as you turn it around, it’s a read 3D sculpture in itself, and it's sort of unexpected. We love the brocade boot in your new collection, tell us about it? This boot is called Sumo. I love this material. I developed a brocade that was inspired by the Sixties. It's a very British Mod look from the Sixties’ but reinvented with colours and threads I was using in my own collection. I wanted to reinvent flower power into something more moody. Using black, red, purple and then bringing in the gold lamé thread creates an eye catching material. You'll see there's nothing printed, it’s all woven into the actual fabric. I love the geometric lines on the boots and the unexpected angles. I guess you can also start seeing the lines of Emily's work if you look at how the curves turn into sharp angles. You can kind of see how easy it is to be inspired by so many different things to create a distinctive shoe. www.jeromecrousseau.com @jeromecrousseau www.thefrankmagazine.com
''As ''As aa teenager, teenager, there there was was aa band band called called Deee-Lite Deee-Lite in in 1990 1990 their their song song Groove Groove Is Is In In The The Heart Heart and and that that video video totally totally changed changed my my life. life. Their Their music music was was inspired inspired by by disco disco and and house. house. I'd I'd never never heard heard any any of of those those things. things. Their Their style style was was again again Seventies' Seventies' disco disco meets meets Sixties' Sixties' psychedelic. psychedelic. II thought thought that that they they invented invented platform platform shoes." shoes."
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F A S H I O N
Gaby Roslin Talks to Clare Hornby Founder of ME + EM clothing Frustrated by how hard it was to find well-made, on-trend clothes that didn’t cost the earth, Clare Hornby founded ME+EM
How did Me+Em all come about? Where did it all start? It all started on holiday with a friend called Emma, hence Me+Em and we both worked in advertising and we'd both just started young families. I had always wanted to start my own business and always wanted to do something in fashion. Emma had very complimentary skills to mine and I thought she’d be a great business partner. We brainstormed for the whole week on holiday about where there were gaps in markets because in advertising you're trained to look for those gaps. We came up with an idea called ‘Pyjama Room’ which was an idea around making women look good at home: Beautiful fabrics, beautiful attention to detail, clothes that you could wear at home and then also wear out and about. Comfy, well-made clothes. That idea ended up being rather niche and we changed the direction of that brand pretty quickly. Pyjama Room became Me+Em two years later. But the ethos around beautiful fabrics, beautiful shapes, attention to detail and being very functional is all there today.
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How was that leap from your past world of advertising into fashion? Isn’t it quite a daunting thing to do? I think not knowing what you're letting yourself in for is a really good thing. I think if I'd worked in fashion, I would never have started a fashion business. It’s probably why I didn't start an advertising business because I knew too much about it. I think naivety is a good thing. I think tenacity is incredibly important. I think it's about understanding that so many skills from one industry are totally transferrable into another. Advertising is all about understanding your customer, being able to run teams, looking at scripts and being able to visualise that script as a TV ad. Budgeting it. Presenting it to clients. It's a process. And actually making clothes for the right customer, seeing a sketch and being able to visualise it in the catalogue is the same process. So actually whatever you are doing, you can transfer your skills into another industry. What makes a successful business in the beginning? I think the idea needs to be about consumer insight. You need have a role in whatever you're doing. It has to be about a genuine untapped market. I think defining that strategy early on and sticking to it is absolutely critical. So the Pyjama Room strategy is the same as the Me+Em strategy. They might be slightly different products but actually committing to a strategy is really critical. The second thing is to understand your route to market. Your idea is only one part of the equation. You can't run three routes to market. You can't be running a website, a wholesale business and a retail business at the beginning. You've got to think, right I'm doing this and I’m going to do this well for however long it takes. So for you, your first route to market was online. Whose idea was that?
commerce. And how did everybody get to hear about it? Was it word of mouth? Launch PR is your biggest opportunity. Journalists are very, very important. This was before influencers. So the journalists were very important. They still are today and I believe you need both. We also sent catalogues out. That’s how we decided to build awareness. So yes it was the press writing about us and the catalogues and then word of mouth. Let’s talk about your first store. We keep hearing that everything is now about online. Yes and I think there's a myth around everything being about online. I think it's changing very quickly. A digital expert told me (and it's even more true today as a digital landscape gets cluttered) that brands are built off-line and converted online. So actually shops are about your online and your online is about your shops. As long as that customer experience is totally 360. Then online is also about getting them discover online and come in and actually physically purchase in a store. If you look at any online business, even Amazon is built offline, the brands are built offline and then they just convert it online. There are very few ecommerce business that genuinely only go online. Let's talk about the design process. So where do you start? We look at data and as we are online business data is critical. We look at customer trends through data. That's the sort of merchandiser role, the merchandiser puts the data behind the project. We buy in a lot of retail trends, so we look at real-time trends and we look at macro trends. We go to a lot of trend shows and go to fabric fairs. We travel the world and look at what's happening across other markets. And then, most importantly, I study the customer. Wherever I am I am looking up, never looking down. Where is the customer? What are they wearing on a train? What are they wearing at an event? What are they wearing at a festival or at a speech day? What are the young girls wearing and what are the older ladies wearing? I look everywhere and feel what the customer wants.
We just decided online was where the growth was and so that’s where we went. Pyjama Room was online and Me+Em was online. We just transferred the skin of the website. We didn't change the construction of the website. So we decided to become an e-commerce business and then we had to stick to that. And that's all we did for five years, nothing else other than ewww.thefrankmagazine.com
"We go to a lot of trend shows and go to fabric fairs. We travel the world and look at what's happening across other markets. And then, most importantly, I study the customer. Wherever I am I am looking up, never looking down. Where is the customer? What are they wearing on a train? What are they wearing at an event? What are they wearing at a festival or at a speech day? What are the young girls wearing and what are the older ladies wearing? I look everywhere and feel what the customer wants.�
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But even though you're looking at all of things Me+Em has a very unique look. I think that's driven mainly by me. Where we fail is when I can't see either myself wearing it or someone whose style I admire wearing it. I visualise very clearly who will wear it, which customer will buy it, where will they wear it and can they wear it lots of places. Can they get a lot of wear out of that one piece? And I think, therefore, the designs are curated via me. Whichever design they have, they take their brief from me and when they present designs back to me I curate them and then I will change them, for example if you’re looking at a print, is the print for that right style? Will that print work for that occasion and is the style right for the occasion and that print. There's a lot of instinct that goes into curating whatever is presented to me. What makes you trust your instinct? Experience now, definitely experience! We have a really tight strategy here. ‘Intelligent style now and forever’ is delivered by what we consistently talk about in the business as the three F's. And they are: Must be Functional, it must be Flattering and it must be Fashionable. I hate the world fashionable but I like iteration! It must be contemporary. Women want to feel modern. But if you miss one of those three F's, it will fail. So you can't make a raincoat in cream, which we wanted because it was fashionable but it wasn't functional. If we had made it in khaki it would have sold. It's just really being aware that you've got to fit all of those three F's into everything that you do and then there's less risk. As I said at the beginning, you have to decide what your strategy is and you have to stick to it. Defining your strategy for a business and understanding your customers is really critical. When you have failures, do you get frustrated or are you able to push them to one side? I don't actually push them to one side I embrace them. You won't move forwards unless you fail. Every time we fail we get to a better place. This season there was a trend colour, which was citrus and my instinct was that we shouldn't do it. I didn't follow my instincts and it failed. So going forward if there’s a trend colour, what we’ll do is take the flattering version of that trend. Failure is fantastic because the team will know now that the strategy works. You almost have to have some failure in order to get yourself more focussed again. Who is the Me+Em customer? What I really don't think about is age. I think age is an old fashioned way to view your customer. The customer is coming in because they, at first and foremost, like the aesthetic. And then I constantly think of women being busy. That's why I like the clothes to work very hard. Can I get on a plane, can I drop off at school, can I go to a meeting and can I go out for drinks in it? At the weekends can I watch a match or go to lunch? Whatever it is that you're doing, the item has to have lots of roles and I need to be able to picture where that person goes and who’s wearing it. And that’s just an instinct thing. So you're customer is ageless? Yes! It's interesting there is a lot about our data that doesn't pick up all of our customers. But I marry up what the data is telling me with what I'm seeing. So spending a lot of time in the shops is as important as looking at the data. My daughters will tell me that at school they’re seeing sixth formers in it. I will see 30 year olds in it but my data will tell me that only 45+ are wearing it. A lot of what's happening is mum's are buying it for their daughters and also buying for their mums. So I think we have quite a cross generational aesthetic.
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"I think not knowing what you're letting yourself in for is a really good thing. I think if I'd worked in fashion, I would never have started a fashion business. It’s probably why I didn't start an advertising business because I knew too much about it. I think naivety is a good thing. I think tenacity is incredibly important. I think it's about understanding that so many skills from one industry are totally transferrable into another.� www.thefrankmagazine.com
"We consistently talk about in the business as the three F's. And they are: Must be Functional, it must be Flattering and it must be Fashionable. I hate the world fashionable but I like iteration! It must be contemporary. Women want to feel modern. But if you miss one of those three F's, it will fail."
We go to a lot of trend shows and go to fabric fairs. We travel the world and look at what's happening across other markets. And then, most importantly, I study the customer. Wherever I am I am looking up, never looking down. Where is the customer? What are they wearing on a train? What are they wearing at an event? What are they wearing at a festival or at a speech day? What are the young girls wearing and what are the older ladies wearing? I look everywhere and feel what the customer wants.”
Let’s talk about you’re price point. Our price point is quite interesting and this is started with an ambition at the beginning. Which is why your strategy at the beginning is so important and then always stick to it... Interestingly you keep coming back to that. Yes. My ambition at the beginning was to offer luxury for less. I didn't understand at the time (as this phrase hadn't been invented yet) but it’s “direct to consumer luxury”. The big growth area in America is direct to consumer luxury. I have an ambition that women should be able to buy beautiful clothes and beautiful clothes come from amazing fabrics. Then an obsession around fit and just the right amount of detail coupled with trends that will live for longer than two or three years. We sell directly to the consumer not via a third party. Therefore you're not marking the clothes up. You are only marking them up once to make your own profit, not someone else's. And that's really important because that’s what gives us that surprising price point. What keeps a brand going? What gives it longevity? That's where trend is important because the world moves on very, very quickly. We live in a very fast paced world and my target customer is busy. She has got lots of reasons to buy clothes. She's working five days a week or she's out and about a lot, she goes to lots of parties, on holiday and she love clothes. If you don't have the fashionable part of the business then there is only so many navy jumpers they’ll come back to buy. You've got to keep the interest going. And if you love clothes, then that's what keeps you coming back. How is it being a woman in business? I don’t really think about the fact that I’m a woman in business. I’m just a person running my own business. I employ men and women and enjoy working with them equally. In many ways, in what I do, I’m at an advantage as I know and understand the customer, because I am the customer. I believe a balance of men and women in business, is vital, as is diversity in age and ethnicity. Also in my case, operating around men and women makes me better at what I do, as I learn differently from both. For example, working with men makes me a more concise communicator as maintaining their attention requires me to be more focused. This can only be viewed as a positive. And finally what is success to you? Success to me is when the business has momentum and we’re beating our targets and the whole team are happy and motivated. Building on success is so much easier than trying to reverse failure. Fortunately, for the last few years, we are experiencing the former.
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F R A N K
I N T E R V I E W
'ILU' feminine, sophisticated Mary Moran is the founder of the luxury activewear brand ILU. Stylish as well as performance driven, like its wearers, the range consists of leggings, crop tops, and super comfy fitted tees. There’s also a calm range, ideal for those into yoga or pilates. We talk to Mary to find out more about her fitness story.
Ilu is a relatively new company what were you doing before? Yes, ILU is only 4 years old. I was a lawyer before, working in the City and in Tokyo. I used to work on structured finance deals, my clients were mainly investment banks. I used to help them structure and write the documents for their deals. Very different from ILU! Why did you start ILU? There were lots of things I enjoyed about working in the City, especially my colleagues and I admit, the salary. I did well, rose up in the ranks and made partner. But I knew I wasn’t passionate about it and I also knew I was hitting a glass ceiling. I had got into health and fitness through an ex and as time went on I struggled more and more, juggling a City lifestyle with the healthy lifestyle I wanted. Then my Dad died very suddenly and that really made me think. Life is short, so short, and you need to make the most of it. It’s important to follow your dreams. I knew I needed to do something different. How has your life has changed and in what ways since you had your career change. Gosh. It has changed SO much! It’s difficult to know where to start. Here are a few things.. I have a dog now, my lovely cavapoo Oscar- who has made so much difference to everyday life. I love dogs, but having a dog while I was working in the City was completely out of the question with the hours I was working. So I thought I would take the opportunity when I left, found a good breeder and went for it! www.thefrankmagazine.com
Truthfully, at first I did wonder whether I had made a huge mistake! It’s hard work, looking after a puppy and training him but so rewarding. I’m single and don’t have children and being frank (well this is the Frank Magazine after all!) I was starting to get a bit cynical about love- Oscar has taught me so much about unconditional love. And how to laugh and have fun, every day. I didn’t realise it when I got him, but I think he’s made the biggest change to my life. My Working life has changed…I still work very hard, but running my own business has made me think much more big picture. Less about perfection on small things, more about what really matters for the business. The importance of networking and connections and it’s nice not having to commute into the City every day at peak hours. Keeping in touch with friends- this is actually one of the downsides of working on a start up. I need to make a real effort to do this now. In some ways, being in the City, it was easy. I would see colleagues/friends every day and meeting up for lunch or a drink after work would happen without much thought. But now I work from home, not in central London, I have to make sure I get out and see people, go to exhibitions and concerts, and have some downtime. What was your light bulb moment regarding Ilu? I’d known for a while that I wanted to work in health and fitness, and in fact I had I trained as a PT part time while still working as a lawyer, pretty unheard of. I loved fitness and working with people to make them feel better everyday but I wasn’t convinced that I could make a business out of being a PT. Then gradually I started to realise that almost every woman in the gym was wearing Sweaty Betty, and (perhaps naively, perhaps arrogantly!) I thought I could do better! My lightbulb moment. Who is your team? On the creative side, I have my designer Kate and production manager Isabel. They are a fabulous team. I also have my PR and my marketing manager. Plus an operations manager and bookkeeper.
Did you have any knowledge of the industry? No! I was so green and naïve! I can say that now with hindsight. I genuinely had no knowledge at all of the industry. I had never even worked in retail. It has been a very, very steep learning curve. Imagine trying to work with manufacturers to create a gorgeous design when you have no idea how a garment is made, what is doable and what is not. In a room with people talking about jacquard v transfer, a digital print v a sublimation print- I didn’t really know what any of them were! The minimum quantities for fabrics, yarns and trims, and how to work our small quantities cleverly around them- for example, by using the same trims/yarns for more than one piece. What different details cost, and whether they are commercial. What kind of finishes can be put on a garment to change how it feels. How to comment on a sample- it’s not just about saying this feels right or wrong. I had to learn fast from my designer and even more from my production manager. I’m not shy of asking questions (I think that comes with age!), but I had to work out tactically when to ask the questions in front of manufacturers and when to save them for conversations with my own team. I also didn’t have any idea on industry standards for dealing with problems. What do you do if the production run comes out too small or too big? If it’s running late? What’s acceptable and what’s not. It’s so hard to negotiate with a manufacturer -especially when the manufacturer knows you are a novice and tries to pull the wool over your eyes. And the fact is, when you’re a small business, usually you will need the manufacturer more than the manufacturer needs you. I am eternally grateful to my production manager Isabel for leading the conversations with our factories. And teaching me what I now know. And if you’re wondering what the answers arewell, fundamentally it all comes down to mutual respect. You need to respect the manufacturer, understand what’s difficult or costly for them and pay them on time and they too, need to treat you with respect and honesty, even though you may be a small client for them. What does ILU mean?
It means beauty in Estonian. Truthfully, I have no connection with Estonia! We were looking for a name that was short and easy to remember and www.thefrankmagazine.com
"I’d known for a while that I wanted to work in health and fitness, and in fact I had I trained as a PT part time while still working as a lawyer, pretty unheard of. I loved fitness and working with people to make them feel better everyday but I wasn’t convinced that I could make a business out of being a PT.�
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ILU came out of a translation machine when we typed in “beauty”. We liked it. But of course, it also means I Love You- which is nice. How would you describe the collections? Our collections are designed for the grown up, modern woman who wants to stay real. The designs are spot on trend, which we translate into sophisticated feminine, modern but tasteful styles. But they are also grounded. We design to flatter the female figure, we work hard to make sure our pieces actually work for fitness/yoga and wash well and we keep our prices real too. What type of women buy the brand? We’re lucky to have a very wide range of women who buy from us- from yogis to fitness pros, from young students to retirees. Most of all, ordinary grown up women who want to keep healthy, feel good and look good. They are looking for outfits that are feminine, flattering, well made and beautifully designed but are still practical and give them great value for money. The fabrics are beautiful, colours fabulous and styles functional. How do you road test the products if at all? And how did you nail all three elements straight away? Aw. Thank you. We try! I have my creative team to thank for the designs and the fabrics- we work well as a team and we all know the brand values. Our designer does the groundwork, researches the trends and puts together initial boards. We then sit down as a creative team, with production and myself as well as the designer to run through the pieces, the techniques we want to use and how they’ll affect the designs; we talk fabrics, merchandising and also practical things like costing, the existing pieces we are carrying over and how the new pieces fit in with them. We always had a good idea of what we wanted to achieve but I think over the last 2-3 years we have really grown into our brand signaturefeminine, tasteful designs, using eye catching innovative techniques (like our tie dye last season), and flattering, contouring lines. On road testing… We do road test- it’s so important. We need to be sure the product works. In fact I personally want to be able to say, hand on heart, that the pieces work. So getting the functionality right is part of my own job. I personally try every single piece myself – I have a reasonably average figure, with lumps and bumps and I want to know how each piece feels. I try different fitness and non fitness activities with each piece. (We cover both the fitness and the yoga/lifestyle spaces.) The squat test, the downward dog, A walk in the park and then I wash them and try them again. I’m now a very fussy consumer and the sharpest critic of our brand! If there’s something I’m not sure about, or where I think maybe my personal preference or my short legs or broad shoulders are not giving a standard fit I will ask someone else in the team or a gym friend to test the piece as well, so I get a second or third opinion. What are your favourite pieces? At the moment, I think it’s got to be the indigo Mindful Vest and the green Motivate Me set. I really love the soft luxe, drapey fabric of the Mindful Vest, and the feminine double layer back detail is just gorgeous. I’m so happy, as it was quite a tricky one to get right and I have seen it through the whole process, from the first sample through to the final production. It’s lovely and very rewarding to see it come out as a beautiful piece! I also love the curved hem at the back and how it’s long enough to cover my bum and stay in place for burpees and downward dogs. Just right! The Motivate Me bra is so comfy and flattering and easy to put on even if you’re in a hurry (I’m ALWAYS in a hurry). The leggings have our signature high waistband, which gives you a flat tummy – never a bad thing!- and the flattering contouring lines down the leg. I personally like the slightly thicker fabric which feels supportive and opaque and I love the green colour, it feels fresh and a nice change from black. www.thefrankmagazine.com
"My Working life has changed‌I still work very hard, but running my own business has made me think much more big picture. Less about perfection on small things, more about what really matters for the business.�
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"There were lots of things I enjoyed about working in the City, especially my colleagues and I admit, the salary. I did well, rose up in the ranks and made partner. But I knew I wasn’t passionate about it and I also knew I was hitting a glass ceiling.”
You have a new range coming out? What can you tell us? Yes! We have a hugely exciting collaboration range coming out soon. It’s a capsule collection of about 7 pieces. Leggings, crops, tops and cover ups. Think scarlets, burgundies and classic blacks. A mix of modern contrasts and classic colour combinations. Cinched in waists, clever contouring and elongating lines to celebrate and flatter the feminine body but we keep it real, as always. These pieces are made from the most comfortable modern activewear fabrics, using the latest seamless techniques. They’re designed to flatter, with high waistbands, double zips and the little details that only women know matter - curved hems, carefully positioned racer backs, long necklines. And at prices which stay real. It’s a collection for the modern, busy grown up woman, designed to make you feel incredibly stylish, but with the versatility and the comfort you need- these pieces will perform and make you look good when you work out and do yoga, but will also happily take you to brunch and through the rest of your busy day. I said this was an exciting collaboration and I can’t wait for it to launch. It’s been a real privilege to work on it and I have absolutely loved– and still am loving!- it. The energy of the creative process, when we sat down and chatted through what we wanted to create, the teamwork, the flow of ideas and the laughs. Being able to be honest and frank, feeling supported and supportive. When collaborations work well, they are a dream. Stardust..which just may be another theme of this collection. Watch this space! www.ilufitwear.com www.thefrankmagazine.com
I N T E R V I E W
FRANK
talks to Designer TRACEY BOYD about her designs and travels
You have had such a varied career lets start Tell us about the BOYD clothing range. at the beginning. Illustrating ….? what was motivation to start that? I started working as an illustrator after doing a years art foundation course in Paris.Nina Campbell and Anouschka Hempel were my first clients to give me private commissions. I put together an exhibition of watercolours showing my irreverent versions of famous paintings I’d studied in History of Art. This work was spotted by the publishers Macmillans then they matched me with Spike Milligan who wrote poems around each painting.I continued working as an illustrator for 10 years working on children’s books of my own, collaborating with Nanette Newman and showing my work as part of The Illustrators annual exhibition at Christopher Beetles Gallery in addition to all sorts of freelance work.I loved being a illustrator but after a while found it a very solitary and a poorly paid existence so I’d often work with friends on fashion projects to get out of the house.This eventually lead me into fashion from illustration.
Having worked part time on fashion projects with PR companies, designers and even a stint in the fashion dept of Harper’s Bazaar,I became increasingly passionate about fashion .My desire to design clothes came from the difficultly I had in finding what I visualised I wanted to wear. I started drawing my ideas and turned them into reality with no training and the enormous help of a very good dressmaker. When I worked as a fashion buyer in a great boutique called Tokio, our customers kept asking what I was wearing so I designed a small collection with the owner Manami Sloely before starting my own label BOYD a year later. How did it feel to get so in demand to the point you could open your own shop? I don’t think I was conscious of being in demand as I was so incredibly busy running the business with my husband Adrian. Right Deluxe tamboured rosewood sideboard for anthropologie
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"It’s all about what I’d love to have in my home with an unexpected mix of materials, eras, shapes and textures from modern to classic. I design as if I’m putting a room together so that the pieces work as well together or equally well as a single piece.”
the business with my husband Adrian, putting on shows, designing all the collections as well as all the textile prints and embroideries. Having my own shop allowed me to show a complete vision of the BOYD woman. When you sell a collection to a retailer, it’s often how the buyer wants to put it together which can be great but can also be very different to how a designer sees their collection being shown. I wanted the chance to show it how I saw it. Is working in fashion a bit of a treadmill always having to look ahead? It can be. So often you’re selecting fabrics and ideas for 2 seasons from now at the same as putting on a catwalk show so actually working on 3 seasons at any one time. I loved the rush of getting into designing a new collection and happily I was only designing 2 collections a year as opposed to current designers having to present between 4-6 collections a year which is just nuts! I find the fashion business is extremely oversaturated now and don’t have quite the excitement about it that I used to, preferring quality over quantity.
folders. When I’m ready to put a new series together I edit and edit my research down, to form a focused direction for a new collection. Do you need to be in a creative zone to get things done or are you an any time any place any where type? My husband Adrian travels with me everywhere and takes constant photos of me working, alot is done in the back of a car or airport or plane. As long as I have a pencil, a sketch pad and my trusty iPad I’m almost good to design anywhere. I’m currently building a studio in the middle of a field which is where I intend to design from in a less transient way in the future. Who are your team? When we started Boyd I had a fabulous team who were like and still are like family. I’ve always liked working with a small, intimate team as am a very hands on designer. I’ve been lucky enough to have Adrian working by my side for the past 25yrs. He’s extremely creative in a different way to me and a great person to bounce my ideas off.
How and when did you get into designing furniture?
You travel extensively. Where are your favourite places and why?
It started with a random meeting at my house with a friend of a friend. My house had been featured in Elle Decoration and being a furniture manufacturer, he was interested in what I do. There was a white Lacquer desk with Lucite handles that I’d designed for our sitting room which started the conversation around whether I’d be into designing a furniture collection. I had always wanted to design furniture for the home but needed the technical support of an established furniture manufacturer as I had no training and I loved the idea. I was invited to visit his factory in Vietnam, so a month later I was there with a 100 ideas and sketches that we put into work.
My furniture is made in Vietnam, China, Indonesia and India so travels take me East a lot. India inspires me the most as it is so handcraft led and I love the colourful chaos there. With each work trip we try to add on an inspirational journey, like exploring Cambodia by boat from Saigon after working in Vietnam. I was working in Calcutta last year and stayed in a magnificent ancient palace called The Rajbari Biwali on the way to Havelock Island in the Bay of Bengal which I truly loved and will definitely return to. How did your association with Anthropologie USA come about?
What inspires you?
The manufacturer I was working with in Vietnam was approached by Anthro US due to the It’s such a difficult think to explain because it’s portfolio of large US furniture retailers they make never one particular thing, more a collection of for. In turn I showed a series of my mood boards ideas that form a design together, could be to Anthro which they really loved, the fit was anything from a leaf to a shoe heel. I’m constantly perfect for both of us. Four months later they met sourcing, looking, taking pictures, sketching and me in Saigon where I showed them my first 100 making notes that get put into hundreds of prototypes. They took 99 of the designs! www.thefrankmagazine.com
''My furniture is made in Vietnam, China, Indonesia and India so travels take me East a lot. India inspires me the most as it is so handcraft led and I love the colourful chaos there."
Tracey with Adrian Indigo Research in Calcutta
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The furniture is exquisite. I want everything, How would you describe It? It’s all about what I’d love to have in my home with an unexpected mix of materials, eras, shapes and textures from modern to classic. I design as if I’m putting a room together so that the pieces work as well together or equally well as a single piece. Its similar to how I worked in fashion by putting a look together with the shoes, bag and accessories to totally complete my vision. Beauty, balance and designs that don’t feel to try hard or matchy, are at the basis of everything I create. It's a decent price point for such amazing designer furniture. In fashion, I’ve often collaborated with high street brands from Topshop to La Redoute. I don’t think that good design needs to be restricted to a heavy price tag. In many situations I’ve found I can design more elaborately with high street partners as they have incredible sourcing and manufacturing opportunities that achieve these lower price points. I like the fact that my designs are accessible to a wider audience. Do you do interiors privately? So far I haven’t really had time and it’s been mostly for friends. I did have a meeting at my house that lead to a client wanting me to replicate it for his wife as a surprise. It was quite a challenge as our house is filled with a lifetime of collecting ,so to emulate that in 6 months was hard but we pulled it off and she wept when she saw the big reveal.
"In fashion, I’ve often collaborated with high street brands from Topshop to La Redoute. I don’t think that good design needs to be restricted to a heavy price tag. In many situations I’ve found I can design more elaborately with high street partners as they have incredible sourcing and manufacturing opportunities that achieve these lower price points.”
Tracey - Researching at my favourite shop in The Design Museum
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What ambitions do you still hold? I’d love to design a collection of furniture or homeware in collaboration with a European company as feel I’m a very British designer and most of my work is currently done in the US. It can be frustrating when I get so many requests from people in the UK wanting to buy my furniture. Who have been your mentors? family/ colleagues?
Marceau Dresser collection - Tracey Boyd for Anthropologie
Would you like to do more of that?
I’ve been lucky to have a very cosmopolitan upbringing meeting many artists, actors and writers who all had exciting stories to share but my husband, family and friends have been my biggest supporters and of course every person that has ever bought one of my designs whether it’s been a painting, a piece of clothing, homeware or furniture.
It’s definitely something I’d like to do in the future, I’d love to work with a client who wanted me to design a small boutique hotel. It is a wonder that you have had no formal training, yet you have been so staggeringly successful in the design world. You must feel extremely proud of your achievements? I really do feel proud. I love working and have made my living since I was 17. Over the years I’ve become quite fearless. When I started working I worried that I had few qualifications and that I was a lesser person because of it. I did a year’s foundation course in Paris, learnt French and did a 10 week intensive business course in London and that was it for training. I was given a place at one of London’s best art schools but told that they’d take me off illustration and I could whitewash a wall for a year to get it out of my system. That didn’t appeal so I instead I worked as a waitress, shopgirl, florist, stylist...anything so that I could build up enough illustrations to put together a small exhibition. I truly believe my life experiences and my mistakes have taught me more than I would have learnt by being at college for four years. Funnily enough,I now love to do short courses like pottery or monoprinting to learn about things I’ve missed.
Tracey travels in Tropea Italy
Where are you flying off to next? I’m very excited to be launching a new range of furniture with one of USA’s most successful furniture distributors called Four Hands. This will be presented at the major US furniture show called High Point in North Carolina ,USA in October.......then perhaps a little bit of Mexico!
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F
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Health
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R E C I P E S
Rhiannon Lambert Delicious Recipes
Registered Nutritionist Founder of Rhitrition, London's Leading Harley Street Clinic Author of ReNourish and Podcast Host of Food For Thought www.thefrankmagazine.com
Beautiful Beetroot My vegetable of choice is beetroot. Its one of my favourite vegetables, and one of my absolute favourite things about it is of course its colour! It looks almost too good to eat! Beetroot is such a versatile vegetable to cook with. It works really well in sweet recipes, adding a twist on classic dessert recipes such as brownies and cakes; and the colour obviously lends itself well to sweet recipes too! It also works well in savoury dishes, and given how light and juicy it is, its the perfect salad ingredient. It brightens up a plate of green leaves so effortlessly! Most of us are probably used to buying beetroot pre-cooked in shops. This is great for convenience, but personally I think it tastes better when cooked from raw at home. To cook beetroot, simply cut off the leaves about 2-3cm above the beetroot, being careful not to break the skin so that the beautiful purple colours don't bleed out whilst cooking. Then boil the beetroot for 20-30 minutes until soft before peeling off the skin whilst still warm. A word of warning though, it will stain your fingers. Wear gloves if you want to avoid having purple fingers for a week! Another great thing about beetroot is its texture. It holds together perfectly well on its own, but its soft enough to blend really well in things like smoothies or dips. This also makes it a great vegetable for children, who no doubt will also be intrigued by its vibrant purple colour! Again though, its probably a good idea to cover children up appropriately to avoid any stained clothes! Not only does beetroot make for a fantastic cooking ingredient, but the nutritional profile of beetroot has been linked to various health benefits too. For example, its been linked to improved athletic stamina and blood flow, to reduced blood pressure. Its bright purple colour tells you that it’s good for you; the more colour the better! www.thefrankmagazine.com
Beetroot Gazpacho Summer weather calls for a refreshing gazpacho. The cool cucumber complements the sweet beetroot in this refreshing and nutritious dish. Perfect as a starter for any summer party, or lunch al fresco! Serves 2-3 1 hour 15 minutes
Slice the beetroots and save a small handful for garnish. Place the rest in a blender along with the red onion, garlic, ginger, cucumber, coriander, dill, red wine vinegar, soy sauce, lime juice, sumac and pepper.
INGREDIENTS 4 medium beetroots (500g) 2 vegetable stock cubes 1 red onion, diced 3 garlic cloves, crushed 25g piece ginger, grated 100g Cucumber Handful coriander leaves Handful dill 1 tbsp red wine vinegar 1 tbsp soy sauce (or tamari) Juice lime 2 tsp sumac (optional) Black pepper
Add the reserved and cooled cooking liquid, and blend until smooth. Place in the fridge until ready to serve. Garnish with the chopped beetroot, cucumber, dill, and coriander.
METHOD
Drizzle over some yoghurt or sour cream, if desired.
Once the beetroots have cooled, peel the skins away and discard.
Best enjoyed fresh with crusty bread, or keep in the fridge for up to 3 days.
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Beetroot Hummus Try spicing up your hummus flavours with some new herb and spice combinations. I’ve mixed up my beetroot hummus recipe with some Moroccan spices to complement the cool mint. INGREDIENTS 1/2 400g tin chickpeas (120g drained weight) 250g cooked beetroot, sliced Juice lemon Handful mint leaves 2 tbsp tahini 1 tsp sumac 1 tsp ras el hanout (optional) 1 tsp smoked paprika 3 tbsp olive oil METHOD Add all ingredients to the food processor, and blend until smooth and creamy. Scrape down the sides midway through, if needed. This hummus is delicious on toast or served with cruditÊs and crisps, and will keep in the fridge for up to 3 days in a sealed container.
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Beetroot Brownies There are all kinds of ways to spruce up brownie recipes, and one of these is with beetroot. Not only does it make it a fun red colour with a gorgeous gooey texture, but it is also a fun way to get kids interested in vegetables. Makes 12 brownies 1 hour 45 minutes
INGREDIENTS 3 large raw beetroots Flax egg (made with 3 tbsp flaxseed and 100ml water), or 2 eggs 80g diary free margarine 80g light brown sugar 200g dairy free dark chocolate, chopped 150g flour (50:50 split plain and wholemeal works well) 2 tsp baking powder 60g cocoa powder 1 tsp vanilla essence 1 pinch salt 1 handful chocolate chips/cacao nibs (optional)
METHOD Remove the stalks and leaves from the beetroots. Fill a saucepan with water and bring to the boil. Boil the beetroot with the lid on for 40-50 minutes, until tender. Once cooked, remove from the saucepan and leave for a few minutes to cool. While cooling, make up your flax egg, if using, and set aside for ten minutes while it thickens. Preheat the oven to 180 and line an 8inch square baking tin. Peel the skin off the beetroot and slice roughly. Add the flesh to the blender, along with 50ml water, and blitz for a couple of minutes until it forms a smooth puree. With a fork, cream the margarine and sugar in a mixing bowl, and once combined add the flax egg (or eggs), vanilla essence, beetroot puree and a pinch of salt.
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Leave the dry ingredients (flour, cocoa powder, and baking powder) into a separate bowl, and combine with a spatula. Fold in the beetroot mixture gently, followed by the chocolate chunks, and stir to combine. Pour the mixture into the baking tin, smoothing over with a spatula. Bake for 30-40 minutes, until a skewer comes out clean. Leave to cool for 5-10 minutes before sprinkling the chocolate chips or nibs on top, and dividing into brownies. Best eaten immediately, but these will keep well in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.
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Roasted Beetroot and Pecan Salad This is a delicious salad on its own or as a side to your summer BBQ. I love the sweet flavours of the beetroot and the dressing combined with the goats’ cheese, a real summer feel! Serves 2 Preparation & Cooking time: 1 hour
INGREDIENTS 4 medium raw beetroots Mixed salad leaves Handful salad cress 100g English goat’s cheese (soft) 60g pecans Juice orange 1 tbsp honey
Check they are cooked by slicing with a knife – they should be very tender. Once cooked, remove from the foil and discard the skin, before slicing into rounds. Meanwhile, heat a non-stick pan on a high heat until very hot, then turn the heat down to medium. Dry toast the pecans for a couple of minutes, moving the pan constantly, being careful not to burn them. Make the dressing by combining the juice from the orange with a tablespoon of honey. Arrange the salad by topping the leaves with the sliced beetroot, goats’ cheese and salad cress.
METHOD Preheat the oven to 180 C. To roast the beetroots in the oven, wash each and coat in a little olive oil before wrapping individually in foil. Place on an oven tray filled 2cm deep with water and bake for 45-50 minutes.
Chop up half of the pecans finely, while splitting the rest into halves, and sprinkle over the salad. Drizzle over the dressing and enjoy on its own or as a summer side salad.
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Why Summer could be the time to press the pause button and reassess A friend, a book and some clarity in the sun Dr Louise Wiseman
We love making drastic plans to change our lives in January. After the excess of the festive season we assuage our guilt by committing to a new lifestyle, a detox, an exercise regime. After a month of overindulgence, we overhaul our previously quite adequate lives. In doing so, we criticise and admonish our hedonistic behaviour and berate the time we let ourselves go, somewhere around mid October! How about instead of New Year resolutions, we consider a mid Summer redesign of our priorities? Nothing drastic (why detox if you are not toxic?), just a calm, quiet think of where we are now, in the bright light of Summer days and hazy evenings. When our spirits are naturally lifted by higher Vitamin D and our social lives are more ‘lying on the deck’ than ‘snuggling by the fire’. The blazing sun can be just as inspirational as the crackling embers. You might be more motivated to make a change now, whilst the warmer ambient temperature drives your calorie intake a little less than in the snowy months. You can exercise outside and, lo and behold, socialise around it, while you attempt to paddleboard or beach clean. Exercise and nutrition are the gold member access to the first class lounge of life. You probably know now what is best for you, or at least what you should be doing. How about using this as a time to also look at the other areas of that life that might soothe your mental health and give you a happier outlook? Goodness knows, hey, you might rack up more glorious years on the tree of life! It won’t be long before we are in 2020 and now is the time to take stock and make sure you are seeing your opportunities with full on 20/20 vision. With a minor redesign, your life may look a lot more wonderful within a few months. www.thefrankmagazine.com
THE POWER OF FRIENDSHIP We are meant to be connected to one another, from the moment of birth. Friendship gives us a feeling of belonging, a good friend is a constant in a chaotic world, they centre us. They may witness the highs of a marriage, the pain of divorce, the nuances of menopause, but they always nurture us to make us feel more fulfilled. As women we then have more confidence to face the challenges of our world. If we create a new friendship or reconnect with old, we talk, we take on new information, our world widens and our mind benefits. Keep these close friends in your later years and they can help reduce your cognitive decline. Friends make you think. Close friends may prove more potent in protecting our health in later life than family. You feel obliged to connect to family, you seek out your friends through choice.
life, the pain and emotion. In our vulnerability, if it is reciprocated, we feel soothed and energised. It may be an overgeneralisation but women tend to have more intimate and emotional connections with friends, meeting purely to chat. Contrast with men, who tend to choose to meet to take part in an activity. In friendships, we have to be aware of the other person’s life. We may choose to ‘hermit’ ourselves after a bereavement or divorce. Friends have empathy. Whatever we do, studies all show that listening is powerful. One way talking over others will earn no friends. In silent absorption of words, love shows. Like a garden a friendship needs cultivating and nurture.
The power of female friendship is linked back to oxytocin. When we are stressed our oxytocin levels rise to reduce our stress. This loving chemical makes us feel naturally calmer and more serene. Men have more of a ‘fight or flight As women we need a sense of purpose to carry us on and together we are more likely to explore response’ to stress but women need to ‘tend and befriend’. the world, research what is good for our health and take on new habits. Take the dominant role We focus on those we love and seek out other and connect and make firm date plans with your female company which then raises our oxytocin further. Speed dialling your buddy at a time of girlfriends. All who are busy need a prompt to relax and rejoin the group. Be a good friend and distress physically helps your body so the stress show up, prioritise. Book that beach house now does not have knock on effects on your Physiology. ‘Phone a friend’ is a potent health for an Autumn weekend. If you exercise fix, you become the health millionaire. As we get together you are more likely to commit- value even older, good quality friendships have been exercise and friend dates as much as a doctor’s shown to decrease our physical ailments, buffer appointment. Make a commitment to health against depression and anxiety and even give us a together. With close friends you don’t just better survival rate from cancer. discuss your highlight reel, but the grit of your
Use this summer to plan reconnections while the weather is brighter and travel easier. Diarise events to keep you positive in the Winter months. Prioritise- meeting those who make you feel good and give them the same love. Plan- connect diaries and commit. Personal- your close friends have your best interests at heart- vulnerability connects you deeper.
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THE POWER OF JOURNALING Bridget Jones knew a thing or two. Journaling will not replace a consultation with your doctor if you are suffering depression or anxiety, but it may help you deal with your problems and acknowledge your aspirations in a way that has been scientifically proven. Writing by hand, on paper, seems to have a stronger effect than typing on the keyboard. In writing we usually use the analytical, rational side of our brain, leaving the other side free to create and INTUITIVELY feel. Because we are writing to ourselves alone, there is no judgement. Writing about strongly emotional events may upset us initially, but then the evidence is we relax. Our blood pressure and heart rate lowers and in writing we are able to express and impose structure on our anxious feelings, stopping the anxiety inflaming our bodies. Thinking and immediately writing helps us organise our thoughts. Remember worrying and ruminating is not the same as problem solving. Time limit your worrying and journal to cement the facts, then leave it for the day. Journaling can have similar effects to meditation and calm down activity in our amygdala of our brain (fight or flight response). Journaling about engages the thinking brain and downplays the emotional response. It can also literally strengthen the activity of our immune system, improve lung and liver function as we write. Asthma, Rheumatoid arthritis, AIDS and Cancer patients have all been studied and journaling helped with symptoms and disease burden. Prioritise- use it to identify your stressors in order of priority so you can see how to reduce them. Encourage yourself with your words. Plan- plan time to journal. Every day is fabulous, but most of us ‘don’t have time’. Or do we? One line? A gratitude list even? Personal- realise it is for your eyes only. No one to proof read and denigrate. Formulation of ordered thoughts and a plan may actually provoke constructive chats with real friends later. CLEAR OUT YOUR MIND FOR CLARITY Daydreaming is good for health, not frivolous. Hopefully Summer gives you opportunity to daydream on the beach, in the park. We accumulate material clutter in our lives. Possessions promise us a better version of ourselves. Similarly, we accumulate mental clutter. Social media can be as congesting as the clothes in our bulging closet. Small bits of ‘stuff’ every day in your brain stop you having concentration and focus. Take the paper novel to the park and leave your phone for emergencies. Stress overload of ‘too much busy stuff’ means sweating over the small stuff, the inbox, the likes stops us enjoying the big stuff- the picnics, the cuddles. We don’t use our imaginations enough now, we don’t daydream, we check our phones constantly. Use the Summer to reassess your screen use. If we let ourselves daydream we have more focus when needed. You need to work clarity and peace into your life. Work out now how. www.thefrankmagazine.com
Prioritise- think of the expected challenges you will face in the next six months. Stop the negative self talk around this and start having courage to work out how you will achieve them. Again, ruminating is endless and pointless. Go back to your journal. Create a mind map. A colour diagram with you at the centre and your priorities around it. Draw pictures and keep it simple. Your goals and responsibilities around you and one word priorities for what you need to mentally sort. These ideas were designed by Tony Buzan for study and business but they are eminently successful for every day life focus. Go back to your mindmap when priorities go out of focus. Redesign it as the year progresses. Add in long term goals not just the immediate. Plan- plan the time to exercise, get creative and exercise. Better still involve your friends or family. Refine your food and cooking routine to make it simpler, fresher, work for you. Seasonal is freshmaximise it. Online delivery can be free (or cheaper than walking the aisles and gathering processed junk) and you will shop with more clarity with a pen, some paper and an ingredient list. Personal- build in relaxation to your life. Your one on one with yourself. Meditation, bathing, reading, massage, silence.
Silence is golden. In silence we find ourselves. Allow yourself some silence in the sunshine this Summer to energise the you walking into 2020. Dr. Louise Wiseman MBBS BSc(Hons) DRCOG MRCGP My writing does not constitute medical advice or replace any consultation with your own doctor who knows you, can examine you and understands your medical and family history. Always seek the opinion of your health care professional if you have a question about your health or changing your lifestyle. Louise is a former GP, who worked for 15 years in the NHS. She is now using her medical and life experience to write a book ‘Your Best Life- A Doctor’s Secret Guide to Radiant Health Over 40’ www.drlouisewriting.co.uk Instagram @drlouisewrites Twitter @drlouisewriting www.thefrankmagazine.com
ALCOHOL and your health
By Gabriela Peacock Nutritionist
Long summer days lend themselves to a more relaxed attitude when it comes to drinking alcohol. Beer gardens, BBQs, or aperitifs on holiday can mean that consumption during the summer months increases. The message has been mixed, and while no one is advocating drinking as a marker for better health, we have been told that moderate drinking - defined as up to a drink per day for women and up to two per day for men - probably won’t hurt anyone. Or will it? With the non-alcoholic drinks industry booming, it appears there is a shift in favour of slowing down, or stopping all together. WHAT IS ALCOHOL? Alcohol is the name given to ethanol – the substance that makes you drunk. It is produced by yeasts in a process of fermentation as the yeast digests the sugar in fruit (for example grapes when making wine). It is a powerful substance that can affect your mood and mental state. The mechanisms of alcohol intoxication are quite confusing. We’re talking about a relatively small molecule (ethanol) that ends up present throughout the whole brain. Ethanol disrupts the cell membranes of neurons, mildly and temporarily, but neurons are complex and delicate, so this still affects their functioning. Given that all the brain’s functions depend on neurons, alcohol potentially affects the entire brain, all at once. Alcohol suppresses activity in the prefrontal cortex and temporal lobes. The prefrontal cortex is responsible for rational thought, planning, assessment, anger suppression, all the complex things that go out the window after the 4th gin and tonic. The temporal lobes are where memory processing regions are located, and we know how alcohol affects memory. This would explain why we become more incoherent and forgetful, and less restrained, while inebriated. www.thefrankmagazine.com
The liver is involved in the breakdown of alcohol, and is particularly vulnerable to damage by persistent alcohol intake. Firstly fat builds up in the liver, making it harder for the organ to carry out other critical functions. Drink regularly, and the alcohol will continue to damage or destroy liver cells and it’s women who are most at risk. We are twice as sensitive to the toxic effects of alcohol on the liver. Beyond the effects on the liver, alcohol can damage the gastrointestinal tract. Specifically, alcohol and its metabolites promote inflammation of the intestine, including altering the bacteria that live happily in the gut, increasing the permeability of the intestinal lining, and causing dysbiosis. Dysbiosis occurs when disease or environmental factors disrupt the bacterial balance of the gut Studies show that alcohol promotes both dysbiosis and bacterial overgrowth, which in turn leads to an increase in the release of endotoxins that promote inflammation and the cycle continues. Sounds a bit doom and gloom, but what if we’re not ready to give up alcohol entirely? Here are some top tips for drinking safely and responsibly: * Keep tabs on how much you are drinking. A busy social calendar can make this difficult, so as a rule aim for 4 alcohol free days each week. * Have a goal before you go out for the night. You may decide to only have a certain number of drinks, stop drinking at a certain time or stick to non-alcoholic drinks. Whichever you go for, set a limit and try to keep to this. If you’re choosing to avoid alcohol, why not put your hand up to be the designated driver. * Aim to reduce down your intake to 2 standard alcoholic drinks in one evening. If you are catching up with friends over a few drinks, try to make every second one a non-alcoholic drink, such as a soda and lime. * Keep hydrated. Have a large glass of water alongside an alcoholic drink. We know alcohol dehydrates the body, which is why we often end up feeling sluggish and headachy the day after a few drinks. Having a glass of water or soda water between each alcoholic drink can help your body to stay hydrated and reduce the risk of a hangover the next day. * Swap from high sugar choices like beer, cider and wine, to spirits with a diet mixer or soda and fresh lime * Have a balanced, filling meal before you go out. This will help prevent you from picking at the roving canapes or making poor food choices later in the evening after a few drinks. * Downsize your drinks. Instead of choosing a pint of beer, swap this for a bottle. Rather than having a large glass of wine, swap this to a small glass or make it a spritzer with soda and ice. This will help you to keep your overall alcohol intake in check throughout the evening. * Know your triggers. If you’re trying to cut down on your alcohol intake, know which situations you find difficult to avoid temptation. Rather than catching up with friends at the pub, perhaps you could suggest an evening at the cinema. So what are the alternatives? * Water. * Don’t forget that certain foods contain water too! So increase the amount of fruit and salad vegetables you eat. Melon, lettuce, celery and cucumber all contain lots of water * Flavour water with slices of fresh fruit such as lemon/lime/orange, or try something a bit different like ginger, mint, thyme or rosemary. * Kombucha * Herbal tea * Kefir * Tea and coffee count too!
Gabriela Peacock @gp_nutrition
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By Chip Somers
An insight into Women and alcohol consumption today
Chip is a psychotherapist who has specialised in substance misuse for over 34 years. He has founded three charitable rehabs and has advised the government on rehabilitation practices. He is now the clinical director of HelpMeStop a flexible attendance day programme in Acton.
''I
t was the best of times, it was the worst of times” – Dickens’s famous opening sentence to A Tale of Two Cities also goes on to say, “it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness”. I doubt at the time he realised how prescient a statement he realised that was with regard to women and alcohol consumption today. The advent of technology, especially the smartphone has changed many aspects of our society. In its mere 12 years of existence its presence has dramatically impacted on the sexual confidence of both men and women, has opened up a whole new avenue of abuse and anxiety, and has changed everything about how we communicate. That in itself is to be expected in a fast changing and developing society. Everything changes and will continue to do so. Female drinking has gone through an equally dramatic change though perhaps a little slower than the impact of the smartphone. Its impact though is beginning to be felt and not in an altogether positive way. The sexual revolution of the 60’s, with the availability of contraception, empowering women to at last have control over their bodies did not bring alongside it a change in drinking habits. That was still very much a male preserve. Men went to pubs and clubs and drank. Some came home drunk and the stereotypical image of the inebriated male falling in to bed in a useless stupor was all too commonplace. Women, if they drank much at all, drank delicate drinks like sherry or Babycham at home, behind closed doors. It was rare up until the 70’s to see women in pubs. For a woman to be seen drunk in the street would have been a source of huge social and family shame. In ‘polite circles’ the withdrawing room was just that. A place where the women withdrew to chatter, while the men did what men did and tucked in to serious drinks and smoked cigars. www.thefrankmagazine.com
This situation was borne out by the statistics of those entering rehabilitation or local alcohol services for help. In 1984 women made up less than 25% of those people seeking help for alcohol or drug dependence. Additionally the bulk of those were women misusing the, by then, commonly available hard drugs like heroin. Alcoholic women were a very rare breed. Ask anyone at that time what an ‘alcoholic’ was and an image of a man, sitting on a park bench, bottle in hand, would be the description most used. Women drinkers were just invisible. This was either because they were not provided with the environments to do it in, or because they were doing it away from prying eyes. Women with alcohol problems did exist but they were kept firmly out of sight. Over the last 20 years little by little, drop-bydrop this has changed to the point whereby the UK is now fourth in the World on the table of problem drinkers, both male and female. It is difficult to pinpoint when women and alcohol first ‘came out’ but the presence of ‘wine bars’ in the 70’s certainly opened up avenues where women could socialise, be out of the house and drink in a somewhat more civilised environment than the average pub at the time. Dropping in to the wine bar after work, on the way home, or for a night out became customary,
fun and harmless. But it was a significant change. For the first time it was perfectly acceptable for men and women to be seen together in the same public place drinking,‘having fun’, and on occasions getting drunk together. True it was still perceived as a tad unseemly for a woman to be seen ‘incapable’ on the street, but the chorus of disapproval was much less vocal and negative. Women were now able to drink and get drunk in just the same way as men. Society had gone in the space of about 20 years from it being a source of shame, to there been no gender differential regarding drinking, drunkenness or society’s attitude to it. Or so it seemed. Government guidelines on alcohol consumption – always a number that produces an aghast – “How much?” – used to be 25 units for men and 20 for women. The theory being that women, and they do, metabolise alcohol in a slightly more efficient way than men. In 2016 these were equalised so that the recommended safe level of drinking for both men and women is now 14 units a week. This equates to a pretty average sized glass of wine per night. One night, one glass. Most people who do drink find these numbers to be ludicrous and ignore them completely.
My clinic in London is filled with people whose opening gambit is “I can’t possibly be an alcoholic because I only drink a bottle of wine a night with my partner!” The inferred, “So there! Stick that up your clinician’s backside” is often felt but very rarely stated out loud! A bottle of average wine is between 10 and 12 units. Let’s say 11 units. Let’s also assume that both parties drink equal amounts. This rarely happens as someone usually has ‘greater stress’ than the other, but let’s assume equality. 11 divided by 2 = 5.5. 5.5 x 7 = 38.5 units per week. This is nowadays considered perfectly normal, safe drinking by hundreds of thousands of households in this country. 39 units per week is close to three times the recommended safe levels of alcohol consumption. When this is pointed out to people there is often a look of strange disbelief that crosses the person’s face, a kind of ‘that can’t be right’ look. But it is right. It is so right that the UK is now the most drunk member of the soon to be depleted European Union. As a nation we are notorious drinkers, irrespective of gender, age or ethnicity. Now the people who suggest these safe figures are not as we, and the media, and particularly the alcohol industry would have us believe, to be crusty, fun-hating puritanical dullards. They are the liver specialists and doctors who deal annually with the deaths, directly attributable to alcohol, of nearly 8,000 people a year. That’s 22 people a day or as near as damn it 1 every hour. That figure is only for deaths directly attributable to alcohol. It does not include those that die from accidents, associated illnesses and general ill health. Women make up roughly 50% of the population and now make up 50% of those statistics. But it is at that point that the equality starts to fall apart. There has always been an unfair attitude toward women drinkers. Women drink to excess for exactly the same reasons men drink to excess. To avoid emotional pain, trauma and distress. I have never in 34 years of practice met a client, male or female, with an alcohol problem whom once you withdraw the alcohol is revealed as a fully functioning, emotionally stable individual. They are always damaged goods. Women most certainly have, in my opinion, also had to bear a much greater burden of abuse and trauma than their male counterparts. Men are able, and do, abandon children and the inherent responsibility at the drop of a hat. Women trapped by duty and bonding are considered to be reprehensible if they, like many men do, decide that the responsibility of children is too much for them. There are many examples of lionised alcoholic males whose public drunken behaviour, even on TV, is seen as ‘slightly amusing’, a ‘little out of order’ but definitely under the heading of ‘one of the lads’. That male however, whilst being ‘accepted’ by society is, like many alcoholics, causing chaos and distress to their partners and children. Compare that with the attitude of society, or the public, to a woman drunk in public or on TV. Ridicule, approbation and disgust would be the likely response. There is no equality of attitude. Women therefore find it almost impossible to get help if they are also doing their best to look after their children. The fear of the intervention of Social Services is not a threat that many men have to live with. Female drinkers who want help have to somehow negotiate that judgement on their suitability as a parent every day. Only one rehab in London allows for flexible daily attendance, thus allowing a woman to both seek help and support and maintain her childcare commitments. www.thefrankmagazine.com
Women most certainly have, in my opinion, also had to bear a much greater burden of abuse and trauma than their male counterparts. Men are able, and do, abandon children and the inherent responsibility at the drop of a hat. Women trapped by duty and bonding are considered to be reprehensible if they, like many men do, decide that the responsibility of children is too much for them.
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So we are presented today with a situation where women and men drink about the same amount. Women and men die prematurely at the same rate. Women and men create damage and consequences in equal measure. As Life continues to become more stressful, despite the promise that technology would have the reverse effect, the predictions that our levels of alcohol consumption will rise show every sign of being correct. We have available today a veritable supermarket of substances to dull our emotional pain. Drugs both legal and illegal are now so abundant that we hardly pay attention to the drug - alcohol - that right under our noses is causing infinitely more harm, more death and more unhappiness than any Class A drug has ever got close to. Few people realise that alcohol is actually a depressant. Even fewer realise that drinking alcohol on top of anti-depressants totally negates the benefits the drug might have and makes the individual even more depressed. We have all played are part and colluded with a system that makes criticising the negative consequences of over indulging alcohol as being “nanny state’ or boring. Few of us support our friends who decide they would like to change their drinking habits. Most of us think that alcohol is one of the few legal remedies to Life’s problems and stress still readily available. But I am proud to call it out. Drinking excessively is harmful. Harmful to individuals, harmful to relationships, harmful to our ability to work and, of course, devastating to our children who have to live with the inevitable uncertainty of our moods. But in highlighting the fact that we are all drinking too much it would be disingenuous of me to not highlight the glaring inequality of the availability of rehabilitation for women, the inequality of society’s attitudes to female drunkenness and the huge obstacles that women have to overcome to access help without the crippling fear of the involvement of Social Services. To my knowledge there is now no longer a single mother and child rehabilitation unit in the U.K. We must all, of whatever gender, take responsibility for our behaviour, for our drinking and our impact on others. But let us also ensure that we adopt the same attitudes, fight for more resources of help and provide the same opportunities to make the whole process a level playing field. At the moment it is not. www.chipsomers.com
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S
obriety, sober curious, mindful drinking, NOLO (no & low alcohol drinking) and going all in 100% teetotal are all now a big thing in the UK and lifestyle trend that’s rapidly sweeping across the globe.
Why is there a sudden shift in our behavior? It seems the mass growth and influence of fitness, personal development and the billion dollar health & wellness movement, has led to us to look much deeper into the way we live our lives, leading us to embrace one of more consciousness that we may have previously sought Whether that’s using meditation apps to help us sleep, ditching plastic and eating more vegan foods to save the planet, or taking up yoga and mindfulness to balance out stress, it’s obvious that people now want to explore both new & traditional holistic methods to help them thrive in the intensity of 21stcentury living. And going to a spin or yoga class, verses hitting the bar after work, is certainly a popular choice for those wanting to ease post-work tension. Despite excess the binge drinking culture still being very much apparent in the UK, numerous media reports have stated that that is a huge rise in people activity choosing to change their ‘unhealthy’ drinking habits in order to support their more conscious wellness led lifestyles. Much of this coming from people wanting to perform better both physically and mentally in order to achieve more professionally and within their personal lives. And it’s not only the millennial generation that are drinking less these days, but also women and men in their 40’s are choosing to dramatically cut back or cut out booze entirely in order to live a more healthy and conscious lifestyle. Charlotte Dormon, (39 from London) wellbeing coach and natural health PR has chosen drink more mindfully over the last year and most recently giving up alcohol completely for 90 days in order to focus on her career and start saving for a new home. “Despite really enjoying the social aspect of drinking very much, I really could not deal with the tiredness, hangovers and feeling under par the following day. I knew I love being out enjoying nights out with friends and networking events with a few glasses of wine, but it all came with a price – rubbish sleep, foggy head, sugar cravings and low mood. www.thefrankmagazine.com
When I first gave up, people seemed so shocked and would try to explain all the reasons why it was better to just enjoy having a few drinks, or suggestion that I should just drink on certain drinks like Champagne ‘a special occasion’ - but that wasn’t going to work for me, as living and working in London meant there was always a special occasion. Going alcohol free was by far one of the best health and lifestyle decisions I have ever made. Enjoying weekends without feeling groggy was amazing, my anxiety decreased, my energy levels soared, my mind felt clear and focused and my skin was glowing. I could go out and have fun with my friends on a Friday night, and still make my morning gym class the following day. As well as the health benefits I was experiencing, the financial rewards paid off too. My rather shabby looking bank balance was not in deficit thanks to the massive saving from not drinking overpriced cocktails; a bottle of wine over dinner, followed by expensive Uber ride back home. All in all I’d say it’s been very worth it. Mindful drinking, or going teetotal doesn’t mean just sipping sparking water with lime all night, as there are now numerous new and delicious alcohol-free sprits, wines and beers you can indulge in – all guaranteed to mean you wake up the next day feeling fresh as a daisy. Charlotte picks her favourite tried & tested alcohol free drinks to celebrate feeling great all summer long.
Thomson & Scott Noughty Organic Alcohol free Sparking Wine 750 ml A big cheers to Thomson & Scott for producing another winning bottle of fizz. As well as being certified organic, this brand is big on offering super low sugar and ultra low calories – meaning you have to absolute zero worries about this drink playing havoc with your health. It’s nothing short of a miracle in my eyes and I will be filling my fridge with it all summer long.
Borrago #47 Paloma Blend Non-Alcoholic Spirit 500ml a naturally delicious high quality British made botanical infused drink with no alcohol, sugar, fat or calories. Expect a mouth-watering taste sensation of citrus, pepper and spice. I found lots of ways to enjoy Borrago, but one simple and refreshing option is to mix with Fevertree tonic and garnish with half a slice of orange and a crushed basil leaf. It is by far one of the best tasting alcohol free drink options I have tried along the way.
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Xachoh Blend No. 7 Non-Alcoholic Spirit 70cl For those craving the taste of spicy dark rum, this Middle Eastern inspired drink is sure to delight. Expect a malty, spice and fruity flavour, dancing with the exotic cinnamon, fiery ginger and warming mace and star anise. Enjoy the taste of Xachoh neat over ice, or with any mixer.
Caleño Juniper & Inca Berry non alcoholic spirit Whether you drink alcohol or not, this beautiful looking bottle is going to make your drinks cabinet come to life with its eye-catching vibrant colours. Caleno excites your taste buds with a tropical infusion of juniper, Inca berry, citrus and spice botanicals. Mixed with a good tonic, it tastes tangy, with pineapple, mango and citrus fruit flavours.
Big Drop Lager Gluten Free 0.5% – 6/12 x 330ml With only 46 calories per bottle and free of gluten, Big Drop is worth investing in if you want to stay trim. I am a huge fan of beer and larger and love nothing more than sipping a cool bottle of beer in the sunshine. Brewed in Bermondsey, it’s free of chemicals and has a malty and biscuit like taste that works well either served straight up, or paired with good food.
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Rocktails Citrus Spritz Distilled Botanical Blend alcohol free 250ml Rocktails Citrus Spritz – Due to my previously poor experience of alcohol free ready-to-go cocktails and spritzers, I was expecting to find this drink far too sweet and lacking in unique flavour. How wrong I was, it was everything I wanted and more. Not only DOES the bottle look great, but also the taste totally rocked my world. Just like having a super good quality gin & tonic, you could hone in on the different botanicals infused within the blend. Expect your mouth to be filled with a bouncing bouquet of lemon, basil, grapefruit peel and juniper berries. Serve over ice and prepare to feel happy.
VendĂ´me Mademoiselle Classic Organic Alcohol Free Sparkling Wine 750ml Breath in the aromas of pear, melon, peach and white flowers. With its citrus-lime nose, this sparkling wine is delightful and delicate in the mouth. The lightness of the bubbles give it wonderful depth, freshness and smooth continuity.
All drinks above can be purchased from www.drydrinker.com www.thefrankmagazine.com
Summer Expectations
By Kate Tilston
Kate Tilston has been working as a Life Coach for 12 years now. She specialises in practical coaching methods, encouraging and enabling her clients to find solutions to various challenges they have in their lives. Kate is known for her ability to see things with immense clarity and nonjudgmentally www.thefrankmagazine.com
So the evenings are lighter, we have more hours in the day (kind of) and summer is allegedly here. We are all hoping for sunshine and weather that we can call a “summer” but that has it’s own challenges doesn’t it? Somehow, during winter we can convince ourselves and sometimes quite rightly, that we don’t need to set foot outside our front doors. We can hibernate and not feel guilty about it but in the summer, even if the weather’s not great, with lighter evenings there is a sense that we “should” be out and about and making the most of it. That it’s a crime somehow to be indoors if there is a vague chance that the weather is nice. We come home from work, tired, hot and bothered and feel this unnecessary pressure to be doing something and making the most of the summer. The number of clients I see who put huge pressure on themselves to create lovely memories for their family in the summer holidays whilst grappling with childcare and additional household stuff as the family are in situ all day every day. There are those who are conscious that it might be the last summer their children are at home before they fly the nest and go to University and once again, put themselves under even more pressure to “spend quality time” with them when in reality the said teens would rather be out with their mates – harsh but true 95% of the time. GIVE YOURSELF A BREAK! When I talk with clients about their summer expectations, we talk about the reality of their lives, what has to continue regardless of the sunshine – work, taking care of your family, self – care, going to the gym or fitting in some sort of exercise as well as the inevitable ferrying teenagers backwards and forwards or fitting in family & friend visits (you know the ones, the ones you promised to come and visit in the summer or who are coming to visit you!) So, what can you do? It’s not a failing to ask for help. Are there friends or family that could help with childcare? Are your teens competent enough to jump on a bus or train? Does your garden really need to look like something out of Homes & Gardens or can you enjoy it as it is? Perhaps it’s a worthwhile investment to find someone locally who does gardening who can keep it tidy for you over the summer period. Maybe it’s the time to start doing an online food shop once a week just to free up some of your precious time. Avoid social media comparisons. Just because your friend ‘Sophie’ appears to be glamorously gliding around her garden in a bikini with a gin & tonic in hand whilst supervising angelic toddlers splashing in their paddling pool or your mate ‘Rachel’ has managed to organize her family to jet off to a remote Greek Island not once moaning about the sheer effort and energy she expended getting the packing done, the passports in the right place whilst convincing the teens to not kill each other on the flight. Social media images do not paint the whole picture, which all should be more savvy to by now. www.thefrankmagazine.com
"Stop comparing your life with others! You have no way of knowing who is really doing what, we now live in this weird social media bubble and that does not make it real. Try a simpler approach – create moments, an evening stroll, an impromptu meet up with friends. It doesn’t all have to be super
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My clients and I work out what they’d really love to do this summer particularly with any time off they have. What does it look like? What is necessary for them to function i.e. will they remain sane if they go for a run each morning ? Do they find a yoga class to attend or is it more about not having any routine at all? What does your time off look like for you this summer? My suggestions Set realistic expectations for your summer - take some time for yourself to think about what you want for this period of time? Ask for help – if you’re struggling with childcare, see if there are friends and family who could help out but be specific about when and where, it will make it easier for them to say yes or no. Learn to say “NO” – if you are feeling under pressure, you don’t have to arrange visits to see people, you can say “this summer we are staying put but we’d love to see you if you want to visit” you’ll be surprised how many people will respect that. Stop comparing your life with others! You have no way of knowing who is really doing what, we now live in this weird social media bubble and that does not make it real. Try a simpler approach – create moments, an evening stroll, an impromptu meet up with friends. It doesn’t all have to be super organized. Maybe it’s a year to do things differently, to strip it all back and make it less stressful. Enjoy the simple things, an evening stroll, a glass of wine in the sunshine, sitting in a garden or park with friends. Or just sit in the coolness of your home and breathe. Most importantly, just enjoy the moment.
For more information on how I coach, please feel free to email me Kate@katetilston.co.uk You will also find me on Facebook, Instagram @katetlifecoach Twitter KateTlifecoach
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Cloud Gate
Michelle Adams BSc (Hons) MBAcC LicAc MSc Traditional Chinese and Five Element Acupuncturist, Nutritionist
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Michelle Adams is an experienced naturopathic nutritionist and practitioner of Chinese Medicine, with a focus of Five Element and Traditional Chinese Acupuncture. Michelle is extremly passionate about exploring the limitless potential of the human bodies self healing capabilities, and our connection to creation.
What is your back ground? My back ground was firstly in nutrition and naturopathy. I was a child obsessed with the human connection to the earth and what it provides in sustaining health. I always knew my soul would guide me to bring that original foundation of nutrition to study Chinese Medicine and Acupuncture at some point in my journey. These were practices that were introduced to me from a young age as a normal health protocol by my family. They always had quirky natural health approaches to illness and injury. My father is Trinidadian. There was always a herb of 'bush' to deal with everything. What made you decide to set up Cloud Gate? I have always practiced within other institutes and always had a vision of bringing together all my favourite therapies and practitioners in my own space. Our own space. A space of beauty, integrity and healing, that not only serves our patients and clients, but provides a beautiful environment for practice and growth for myself and other therapists. Healing often does not also happen in just one modality. My vision for The Cloud Gate is for it to provide an open door to multifaceted modalities to healing though the skilled practitioner base. Where did the name come from? The Cloud Gate is named after one of my favourite Acupuncture points. This point is used more in the Five Element Acupuncture style as a 'Spirit Point'. It also had traditional functions and indications, however, the latter is what inspired it. The Cloud Gate is a point that is good for a patient who feels they are living under a cloud, overwhelmed, and unable to find direction, focus and connection. The point is wonderful for those who feel they have lost clarity in thought and vision, feeling as though they are living in a fog or followed by a cloud. Often people see the beauty of the world around them, but are unable to take it in to nurture the soul. The cloud gate is open to allow a way into this beauty that facilitates a means to healing. www.thefrankmagazine.com
What is the ethos behind Cloud Gate ? The ethos behind The Cloud Gate is to provide therapies that use the senses as a means to allow the body to enter a state of healing. It is essentially not our practices that provide the state of healing, but, the practice that allows the body to enter its own state of healing. It is a belief of mine that our senses are a means and obviously not limited to this state. The Cloud Gate aims to provide therapies that stimulate healing via the sense, facilitated by extremely experienced practitioners who not only understand their craft, but understand humility. Touch- Massage/bodywork, energy work, acupuncture Scent- Aromatherapy etc Sound - Sound healing, Breath work, therapy music Taste - Nutrition, Naturopathy, Homeopathy etc Sight - Visualisation etc These are just touching the framework What sort of treatments do you do and what are their benefits? The treatments I offer myself are Traditional Chinese and Five Element Acupuncture. An integrated practice of the two. This also integrates with some Chinese Medicine practice such as Cupping and Moxa .Within this I have introduced my nutritional practice and naturopathic practice ignorer to support treatments. The benefits of Acupuncture are too many to mention in one paragraph, however treatment boosts overall energy, vitality and mental clarity and are a potent stress reliever. I have patients that find benefit for physical, mental and emotional patterns. What sets your apart from other ‘sanctuary’ type places? I wouldn't say that The Cloud Gate is a sanctuary. It is a means of meeting yourself again . A place of embodying healing rather than experiencing it from a surface level. It is a female lead team. Why ? I have been really exploring the realms of conscious and subconious healing and those aspects of mind. I believe that the duality of the two is vital, however, I see subconscious states as the bathing place of dis ease within. We live in such a conscious state in our reality that accessing the subconscious with the intention of healing can produce amazing realisation. The Feminine energy is a wonderful portal to this void and so at this time that is how it shall be delivered in The Cloud Gate. www.thefrankmagazine.com
Why the location? City Island is slowly becoming a creative hub in London. With English National Ballet and London Film School on the Island, inspiration is never lacking. Being surrounded by inspiration is an important part for facilitating others. The Woods Studios, where The Cloud Gate will be located on the island, is a haven for creatives and it is wonderful to be a part of it all. The world is slowly understanding that our wellbeing is crucial to our productivity, this must be exciting for someone who has spent a career trying to push that message ? Not only is our wellbeing crucial for our productivity, it is crucial for the relationships as humans we share on this planet. Our wellbeing is also crucial for the state of the earth. As within, as without. Happy, healthy humans,, happy healthy planet. This is this most exciting prospect.
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“You may encounter many defeats, but you must not be defeated. In fact, it may be necessary to encounter the defeats, so you can know who you are, what you can rise from, how you can still come out of it.� Maya Angelou
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Photography Elisabeth Hoff©
GETTING PERSONAL WITH...
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Richard Madeley is a broadcaster, newspaper columnist and best selling novelist. What has been the biggest surprise in your life that you could never have predicted? Meeting a complete stranger on the cliff-path near our place in Cornwall who smiled at me, and then poked me in the chest and said (with a really rich Brummie accent): ‘I just want you to know, Madeley, that everything you’ve ever said, everything you’ve ever done, everything you ever WILL say or do – I LOATHE AND DESPISE!’ He didn’t realise it, but he made my day. Not least because he had the bottle to say it to my face. There’s so much cowardly abuse floating around on social media, spouted by people too afraid to put their names to their message. Have you noticed how, on the rare occasions they’re dragged blinking into the light and challenged, they get all teary and wobbly and say ‘but honest, I didn’t mean it!’ Pathetic.
Who was your very first pin up and why? Vivien Leigh (Gone with the Wind). I saw her on one of those rainy Sunday afternoon TV movies, a potboiler called Waterloo Bridge, and fell in love with her in about three seconds. I’d be around 13. She had the most perfect face. I found her photo in the movie listings page of the Radio Times, cut it out, and kept it in my wallet until my mother caught me looking at it one day. I think she thought I was looking at porn and she insisted I hand it over for her to examine. I was mortified – and so was she when she realised all it was was her teenage son’s innocent crush. She burst into tears, apologised and gave it straight back. But I felt horribly embarrassed and threw poor Vivien away.
What type of driver are you ? I think I’m good. I’ve only ever had one accident, when I was 17 and stupid and went careering around some single track lanes in the Chiltern Hills in my Ford Anglia (think Harry Potter car) with a girlfriend at three in the morning, and turned us upside down. A farmer came out with his tractor to put us the right way up again and incredibly I was able to drive home. A very chastening experience and I learned a big lesson. I really enjoy driving and I love cars. Recently the Daily Telegraph asked me to take over from Graham Norton as their Saturday Agony Uncle. I was chuffed to boots but secretly I wished they’d asked me to take over their weekend motoring column, ‘Honest John’. I wouldn’t be a patch on him or his advice (he used to be a car dealer) but I’d love to try. My dad was a press officer for Ford and he loved cars too. In fact he was given the very first Ford Mustang to arrive in the UK to prepare for Prince Philip. The night before it was due to be delivered to the Palace, I sneaked our cat Timmy into the car for our ‘last drive’ in it, and he threw up all over the back seat. Dad was up until 3 am trying to get rid of the smell of cat vomit before the royal delivery later that day.
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“I sleep well. Need around seven hours and I prefer to get the light out by midnight. I do a lot of covering for Piers Morgan on Good Morning Britain these days and that means setting the alarm for 4am. Well, in my case, ALARMS. I’m so terrified of sleeping through that I set three of them by the bedside, all synched to go off one minute apart.”
When was the last time you cried and why? I blub all the time, in private. Songs, films, a touching paragraph in a book. Anything can set me off. I take comfort from the fact that Winston Churchill told a new P.A.: ‘I’m a terrible blubber, my dear, never take any notice’. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with men tearing up a bit, but not in public, if they can possibly help it. I suppose that makes me sound old-fashioned but I get incredibly uncomfortable when I see a man crying on camera.
What kind of sleeper are you? I sleep well. Need around seven hours and I prefer to get the light out by midnight. I do a lot of covering for Piers Morgan on Good Morning Britain these days and that means setting the alarm for 4am. Well, in my case, ALARMS. I’m so terrified of sleeping through that I set three of them by the bedside, all synched to go off one minute apart. A lot of people who work on breakfast TV or radio are the same. I know one make-up artist who says she sets seven alarms, all further and further away from her bedside so she has to physically get up to switch them off. That’s a bit excessive, but hey, whatever gets you through the night.
What was your favourite childhood TV programme and why? The Monkees (‘America’s answer to The Beatles’ – as if!!!). I loved their TV series in the ‘60s and sent them a fan letter. I got a mass-produced PR handout in return and was so disillusioned I never watched them again. But they made some good pop tracks – I’m a Believer; Last Train to Clarkesville. I’m also old enough to remember the very first series of Dr Who. My older sister and I watched it, jaws hanging open with astonishment. We’d never seen anything like it on TV before. I can even remember my first Dalek. Next Monday at junior school our very media-savvy teacher Mrs Richmond got us to make our own Dalek out of egg boxes, tin foil and a plumber’s plunger. It looked pretty good, actually.
In your opinion where is heaven on earth? Cornwall. This Easter the sky was so clear and the sun so bright that walking along our local cliff path felt like strolling above the Aegean. We live in a very ancient settlement – it’s in the Domesday book and has Iron Age roots. Back in 1588 local people flocked to the cliffs nearby to watch the Spanish Armada sail past. It took all day, it was so huge. Apparently everyone went home in a state of abject terror: they all reckoned that within a year they’d all be either put to the sword or speaking Spanish. Then Drake sailed out of Plymouth, did his thing (helped by a massive storm) and it all went away. There’s a real sense of connection with history down there and there’s even a long-held belief that Jesus actually landed with his uncle on a local island, Looe Island, when he was a ship’s carpenter working the Phoenician trade routes. That’s a pretty clear nod to Paradise, isn’t it? www.thefrankmagazine.com
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“There’s so much cowardly abuse floating around on social media, spouted by people too afraid to put their names to their message. Have you noticed how, on the rare occasions they’re dragged blinking into the light and challenged, they get all teary and wobbly and say ‘but honest, I didn’t mean it!’ Pathetic.”
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What was your last hand written note or letter and who received it? To our cleaner Sharon asking if she’d let the burglar alarm technician in while I was at the shops.
When did you last laugh till you cried? At Lee Mack and Sally Bretton in Not Going Out. Funniest sitcom on TV today. Lee writes so many jokes into each scene it’s like being machine-gunned with one-liners. Sally’s a perfect foil as Lucy and when she gets her own punchlines she has perfect delivery. Tim Vine used to be part of the cast and I wish he’d come back – he’s the king of the one-liners.
Who or what was your first love? Julie Butcher, Rush Green Junior School, Romford. We were both nine. I don’t think she had any idea.
Are you a night owl or up with the larks? Since I stopped drinking, larks. I’ve been dry since last November and it’s made such a difference, I sleep better, eat better, think better.
What is the weirdest question you have been asked by a stranger? ‘Weren’t you once our Vicar?’ It was asked by a woman at a local fete I opened when I was a reporter for Border Television in Cumbria. Nothing I said could convince her I wasn’t an ex-man of the cloth so in the end I gave up trying and pretended I was. Seemed to make her happy.
Who are your the strong female role models in your life? That's easy. The three most important women in my life - my mother, my wife, and my daughter. They've all shaped me into who I am. My mother was a brilliant mum when I was growing up in Romford, Essex. She taught me self-reliance, self-belief and the crucial importance of an optimistic outlook. I get my positivity from her. My wife Judy has obviously been an enormous influence, pretty much from the day we met in 1983 at Granada Television in Manchester. Our relationship has defined me, as a husband, father and broadcaster. My daughter Chloe is, as anyone who knows her can tell you, a force of nature and a force to be reckoned with. Her determination and energy are awesome and inspiring. I think it's incredibly important to be open to the positive influence one's children can bring into your life. As with all my kids, I'm very lucky with Chloe. www.thefrankmagazine.com
ICONIC PHOTOGRAPHER
Photo of Terry by Misan Harriman www.thefrankmagazine.com
TERRY O'NEIL M
ost people know of my David Bowie with a jumping dog, but few know that I took photos of David Bowie playing saxophone at Peter Sellers 50th birthday party. Everyone knows Sean Connery as James Bond, but there was one time when Sean and I set-up a shot of Bond playing golf on the moon over at Pinewood Studios. I knew Sharon Tate when she was a young star living in London and worked with Elton John at the very start of his career. If every picture tells a story – I must have a million stories. When Frank Magazine asked me to pick some of my favourite – and lesser known – photographs, and tell a few stories behind the images, I was more than happy to oblige. As I look back now at my career – I realize just how lucky I was. I was there – at the right time, in the right city, in the right job – and had access to all those stars. Remember, though, back in those days – they weren’t stars yet! And photographers were very, very important. It was the photographers that got you in the papers. And it was the papers that helped sell records or tickets to films. And all of us – young, with memoires of the war still fresh in our heads, were given the opportunity – for the first time, ever, to pursue the dreams and careers we wanted to pursue. The Beatles were a new band, just recording their first single. Terence Stamp just started to make films. A new model, Jean Shrimpton, looked just like all the girls looked – or wanted to look – as they were strolling down Carnaby or King’s Road. Those years were my beginnings, too. I joke now – I started at the top and never looked back.
Terry
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SHARON TATE, 1968 Sharon and her husband, Roman Polanski, were just a nice young couple. I’d see them around London from time and time and Sharon was an absolute stunning person; she was beautiful. I asked if I could take some portraits of her – she’d use them for publicity – and we really hit it off. She was very sweet with always a big smile on her face. When she told me she was pregnant, oh about a year after I took these photos, I went around to hers to take photos of her again – this time, with a big beaming glowing smile, as she proudly showed off her pregnancy. I happened to be in Los Angeles in August 1969. She called me and invited me over to her house that she and Roman were renting on Cielo Drive. She was going to have some friends over that night, nothing big, and asked if I wanted to come by. To be honest, she told me she invited someone else to the party – and that person wasn’t someone I was friendly with and really didn’t want to see – so I told her that I was really tired, having just flown-in from London, so was battling some jet-lag. I didn’t go to her house that night. And it’s hard for me to even think about what happened, let alone imagine that if I would have said yes, I would have been there, too.
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RINGO STARR OUTSIDE NO. 10 LONDON, 1965 These were the days where you could just walk right to No 10, I’m sure there were guards around somewhere, though. I wish I could remember why we did this, but I do remember it was after Churchill passed away and we thought we should go over and give him a salute! We did have to work quickly though, because this was 1965 – and The Beatles were the biggest band in the world! If Ringo was spotted – well, it would be a matter of minutes before he’d be chased down the street by hundreds of girls. www.thefrankmagazine.com
BILL WYMAN, RON WOOD AND DAVID BOWIE LOS ANGELES, 1975 I was good friends with Peter Sellers, and he was throwing a big party to celebrate his 50th birthday in Los Angeles. When I arrived – it was a who’s who – everybody who was anybody was there. And thank goodness I had my camera with me. Back in those days, especially, it wasn’t unusual for musicians to get together at an event or party and play a few songs. The band that formed that night was pretty incredible. They named themselves ‘Trading Faces’. It was Bill Wyman and Ron Wood from The Stones and David Bowie playing saxophone. Joining them was Joe Cocker and Keith Moon! After the sudden and very sad death of David Bowie a few years ago, we took the time and went through my entire DB archive. I was amazed at just how much I had. We put together a limitededition book and we are now making that book available at a much lower price (£40) that was just published by Cassell in August. I love this picture especially – because it brings back really happy memories – not only of the occasion, a good friends birthday – but how much fun we used to all have when we got together. Not many people can say they witnessed Joe Cocker signing with Bowie on backing sax! landed on the moon, but he got out his clubs and played a little golf.
JULIE ANDREWS SOUTH OF FRANCE, 1968 For the film Star!, I was called in to take some publicity portraits of the star herself, Julie Andrews. This was after Mary Poppins and The Sound of Music – and we wanted to show that Julie Andrews was a great actor – and she could play many different roles. Perhaps the team working with her were concerned that she was always going to be shown in high-neck collars and big billowing skirts – so I wanted to show a more playful side of the actor. I also used colour and black & white film for this series, which was something I started to more and more often, specifically a year or so prior to these shots, when I worked with Audrey Hepburn. The papers and magazines were starting to ask for more colour! But I still prefer black and white.
SERGE GAINSBOURG AND JANE BIRKIN LONDON, 1969 They were the couple at the time. Better known in France than in London and I was a London boy – so I didn’t know them, socially. Jane was a big top model and Serge was one of the biggest celebrities in France. They were going to record a song – infamously ‘Je t’aime … moi non plus’ that was pretty controversial – so they needed portraits done for press, publicity and what not. They were an interesting couple – both had really unique looks to them – and they both knew how to work a camera. I know I did a lot of photos that day, but those negatives are sadly lost. It would be great to find them! www.thefrankmagazine.com
ROBERT REDFORD AND RICHARD HELMS NEW YORK CITY, 1974 I was on the set of Three Days of the Condor in New York City – which starred Robert Redford – and there were rumours going about that the former director of the CIA, Richard Helms, was going to be on the set. Nixon just resigned and Helms was the U.S. Ambassador to Iran, as designated by President Nixon. Helms was being called back to D.C. to testify in front of Congress about various CIA activities, including Watergate. So, it was a pretty big deal the two would be meeting. Redford, besides being one of the best actors, was – is – also very socially aware, artistically aware and politically aware. Three Days of the Condor and his next film, All the Presidents Men, were important films. Timely. It was astonishing that Helms was serving as Redford’s personal consultant. It was by-chance that I was walking-by when I spotted the two men chatting. This was a rare occasion where I stood quietly, so not to bring any attention to myself, and I put on my long lens and snapped.
SEAN CONNERY / GOLFING ON THE MOON PINEWOOD STUDIOS, 1971 I started to work on film-sets in the 1960s. Picture studios would call me to come to the set for a few days and take photos of the ‘stars at work.’ I never really thought that was that interesting – what was more interesting to me was – what did they do when they weren’t working, weren’t in-front of the camera. When you are on a film-set, there’s a lot of waiting around. You sit and you wait for the lights, the setups, make-up, costumes, all the other actors – and for maybe 30 minutes of actual time in front of the camera, you can wind-up sitting around for hours – even all day. I met Sean Connery on the set of some of the earlier Bond films, like Goldfinger, in the 1960s and we just really got-on. He’s great fun – always up for a laugh – and he was always hamming it up for my camera. We had a good time in Las Vegas, too, but that’s another story [laughs]. As I reported in for work that morning, we were in London on the set of Diamonds are Forever, I grabbed the morning papers. There, on the front page, a remarkable photograph: Astronaut Alan Shepard not only landed on the moon, but he got out his clubs and played a little golf. That gave me an idea. I told Sean to go get his clubs. Sean always had his clubs with him – ready for a round of golf if the moment presented itself. We were in Pinewood Studios and I found an empty set that was absolutely perfect. I had Sean recreate the images we saw in the paper – but this time, it was James Bond playing golf on the moon.
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ELTON JOHN WITH COWBOY HAT CIRCA 1972 When I first heard him on the radio, I thought he was brilliant, and he was going to be a big, big star. I also thought he was American! When I tracked down the publicist to see if I could arrange some portraits – I only then realized that this lad, Elton John, was a kid named Reginald and he was living off the Edgeware Road. But I was right on one point – he did become a big star – one of the biggest we’ve ever known. We hit it off right away – and I really enjoyed his music. He never really liked to be photographed. Isn’t that incredible given the number of pictures there are – I mean, I must have 5,000 myself. This year, I’m releasing a book that complies my favourite Elton John photos – it’ll be published later this October by Cassell. Working on that book – the picture selection alone was a task and a half. When we decided on a good selection of images and the running order – what astonished me was not only how he grew as a performer, an artist – but also how he did grow more and more comfortable with the camera. And incredible, too, considering his stage persona – he lit up the stage, still does. And all those costumes! When I was going to meet-up with him, I never did know what he’d be wearing. One day it would be feathers, the next a top hat and tails. This is one of my favourites, though. A very simple portrait, but what an outfit. That’s a Nudie Cohn hat and suit – he’s probably one of the most famous cowboy/western wear designers at the time. He dressed all the big western stars – Gene Autry, Roy Rogers – and he occasionally would dress a ‘rock’ star – like Cher and, of course, Elton. The embellishments are probably all rhinestones and one of these portraits was used on the cover of the sleeve for the single Rocket Man.
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F
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INSPIRATIONAL INTERVIEWS
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S I N G E R SONGWRITER SPORTSMAN A C T O R A R T I S T HOTELIER www.thefrankmagazine.com
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Photo by Naomi Dryden-Smith
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Singer Songwriter Rockstar Goddess www.thefrankmagazine.com
Imelda May B
orn in Dublin in 1974, Imelda May has found fame in recent years as a
solo artist. With a rockabilly music style and a cool 50s look, she was lucky enough to find a niche within the music industry and has been going from strength to strength ever since, creating a growing demand among her many fans for Imelda May tickets to her live performances. As a child, Imelda listened to a lot of 50s music, citing Elvis, Eddie Cochran and Billie Holiday as huge influences over her musical tastes and subsequent career. As a teenager, she dropped out of college to pursue her career in singing, quickly finding work with the swing troupe, Blue Harlem, as well as with rock’n’roller Mike Sanchez. Here Melanie talks to singer song writer Imelda about heroes, poetry and all things music... Hey Imelda thank you for talking to Frank. How has your day been so far? What have you been up to? Today I’m trying to gather myself after a busy week including opening for the Who at Wembley 2 days ago. Im unpacking 4 suitcases.
" I believe in balance. Sometimes I party way too much, . Sometimes I’m calm and zen. I’m healthy overall. I drink loads of water for my vocal chords. But I don’t deny myself anything I fancy. Life’s too short."
the Royal Albert Hall. It’s a very special venue. You can feel the history in the walls. The magic of all those who have performed there. How much prep goes into such a big gig? How many times have you performed there ? How have they differed? ( for you personally in terms of nerves etc) I’ve been lucky to have performed there numerous times. Each time felt wonderful. We’ve performed there for Ceilerudah in honour of President Michael D Higgins historic state visit to the UK. With Jools Holland, with Jeff Beck and David Gilmour.
Last time I saw you, you were at the opera La Boheme. Are you a fan of opera? What did you think of the production? Whats your operatic voice like? it was terrible for me because I got a fit of giggles at the And with my own band. But end because it took forever most special of all was when I performed there heavily for Mimi to die! pregnant, I will always remember that. I love listening to opera but have never been to a Do you suffer with any production before. I love nerves you certainly seemed Pucci so that was a treat for me. It was I beautiful and yes to be totally at home? she did take a while to die! Not really. I get anxious that it I watched you command the all goes well but mostly really excited. It is home to me in a attention of a packed to way. Onstage is where I don’t the rafters Royal Albert Hall. It was the best night get disturbed. I can be myself and connect with the audience. for us punters. How is a Music takes me to another night like that for you? level of consciousness. I always love performing at www.thefrankmagazine.com
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One of the best parts of the night when you venture off the main stage and come and perform in the audience. It felt like an intimate gig. It’s thrilling. You really know how to please your audience? I just have fun and give everything I can. I try to make each gig as special as the last. Im aware people travel and make great efforts to come and see me and I’m very grateful for that. Your fans are very varied in age and demographic? Why do you think your words and voice speak to so many different types of people? I hope its because music has no boundaries. Connections have no boundaries. Or shouldn’t have. Joy, Sorrow, Love, Struggles, Life, all the things I write about what we all as humans share. Do you enjoy being the music business, literally the business side of things? How has it changed over the years for you as a woman? I don’t enjoy the business side but its necessary to do. To understand it order to get my music and poetry heard. And give me the freedom to write, record and be perform. As a woman its changed a little but not enough. There is still the perception that I don’t actually write my own material. I don’t understand that at all. www.thefrankmagazine.com
Who are your team? Who brings out the best in you personally and professionally?
"I think change is good and should be embraced. I hate to get stuck professionally or personally, including how I look as it affects how I feel. I hope to continue to evolve and I feel great.”
I have a wonderful band who I love working/playing with, we know each other so well. My family are and always have been very supportive. My friends too and very understanding when I miss birthdays, weddings, even funerals when on tour. That’s definitely a downside to being smitten with what I do. Art always lures me away! I love your style and it has evolved over the years. How would you describe it at the moment? I think change is good and should be embraced. I hate to get stuck professionally or personally, including how I look as it affects how I feel. I hope to continue to evolve and I feel great. You collaborate with lots of different artist. Who have you connected with seamlessly ? Who is on your hit list? Ive been so lucky to work with so many of my heroes. Lou Reed, Jools Holland, Robert Plant etc. But Jeff Beck and Ronnie Wood are two of my favourites to work with, and play with! They share a similar joy for music as I do, we have fun! What are you listening to at the moment? Which Female artists do you like? I’m crazy about Blake Mills, John Grant, Nick Cave, Heartless Bastards, Mini Mansions, Arctic Monkeys, The Dead Weather, St Vincent, Anna Van Hauswolff. My Favourite female artist I would like to work with would have to be Patti Smith, PJ Harvey or Shirley Manson.
I’ve been listening to ‘Life Love Flesh and Blood I absolutely love it as you know. I’ve been driving with my roof down listening in the sun and feeling very empowered! I Love ‘Bad habit’, Should’ve been You and ‘The girl I Used to be’ makes me cry every time. How do you describe this album? What did this album mean to you? It was my most honest album. I’ve always wrote honestly, but found a way to hide lyrics a little, I wanted to give myself fully to LIFE LOVE FLESH BLOOD. It was therapeutic and freeing. Im almost finished recording the next album and Im more in love with it than anything I’ve done before. When you have such an amazing gift of communication do you take it for granted? How do you keep your voice healthy ? Is it a daily consideration? Not really, I’ve been singing since I was a teenager. I believe in balance. Sometimes I party way too much, . Sometimes I’m calm and zen. I’m healthy overall. I drink loads of water for my vocal chords. But I don’t deny myself anything I fancy. Life’s too short. Life’s experiences help me write with knowledge. www.thefrankmagazine.com
"I write daily, I have hundreds of notebooks. Always one on the go. I write poetry and have so much I’ve decided to work on a book of my poems. I’m very excited as it’s become such a project of love. I want it to be something you would treasure as much as I do.”
How was the Wembley gig on the 6th July? It went really well. I was very humbled to get a standing ovation by the audience. THE WHO were epic. It was a special night. I felt great in my Paul Costello military jacket. I felt great with my band. It was an amazing experience I hope to repeat! What is an average day for you? Are you inspired all the time to write? I know you have your note books. I write daily, I have hundreds of notebooks. Always one on the go. I write poetry and have so much I’ve decided to work on a book of my poems. I’m very excited as it’s become such a project of love. I want it to be something you would treasure as much as I do. Who usually is the first person that you share ideas with? My 7 year old daughter. Children are honest! She is very creative and has exceptional understanding and knowledge of art and gives it me straight! And finally what are you doing straight after this interview? I’ve got to load the dishwasher, Domestic duty calls! I’m working on my poetry / art installation for Latitude next week. Its becoming so beautiful. I’m terrified and excited as I’m pushing myself out of my comfort zone, which is essential for growth. Then I will walk the dog and unpack! Imelda May premieres an exclusive performance art piece in collaboration with Latitude. For the first time ever, May will open up her private world in an abstract and unique peek through the keyhole experience. “Hallowed” is a brave immersive and connective exploration of Imelda May’s recent, dramatic transformation and an introduction to her great skill as a poetic story-teller. Within an illuminated reflective-cube in Latitude’s secluded woodland, Imelda will welcome participants inside a sensory space to watch her write and observe her creative process both within and also ‘on’ her fractured glass walled environment. Supported by an immersive soundscape and emotive projected stills this unusual live project offers a unique and honest reflection of the artist through a window to a room. ’Hallowed’ is a very personal project for me. I’ve put a lot of thought, heart and soul into it. I’ve delved. My reason for doing it is because I’m often asked about my creative/writing process which I find hard to describe. Art leads me. It’s a quiet, calm, safe, almost sacred space for me. And, as are most artists I know, I’m both an introvert and extrovert depending on what I’m doing. So I’ve decided to creatively open up which naturally feels intrusive but my aim is to make it feel inclusive. I want to push my own boundaries of what’s comfortable to me. Art in all its forms should never get comfortable. A little danger/change tends to lead to growth and so I hope to learn from this. Inspire and be inspired. But, as you can imagine, I’m simultaneously nervous and excited about ‘Hallowed’. I’m either crazy or brave! www.thefrankmagazine.com
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BOOM BOOM is back.
BORIS BECKER
The king of Wimbledon talks to Melanie Sykes
Boris is a German former world No. 1 professional tennis player. He was successful from the start of his career, winning the first of his six major singles titles at age 17. He also won five year-end championships, 13 Masters Series titles and an Olympic gold medal in doubles Where did the nickname 'Boom Boom' come be politely rude to a lot of people. from? I've seen you do it. You're very good at it It was actually "boum - boum� and it started when actually. I played doubles in 1985 with Vijay Amritraj. He named me that because he said he never saw I apologise to everybody but it's just the way it is. anybody hit the ball as hard as me. The press picked I'm here for work and I'm not for the enjoyment of the chat. up on it and now its forever there. So is this your favourite two weeks of the year?
It’s how I describe Wimbledon. For me, it's like Christmas. Coming here today is just incredible for me. And, obviously, as you know, I was, I am a fan of yours and your moments here have been really important to my development in a way. How does it feel when you know what an impact your success has been on other people? Even in other areas, not even tennis, you inspire.
It is. It's a bit like Christmas for me. Because it happens for the last 30-odd years. It's the most intense, it's the longest days because of all the television commitments. And sponsorship commitments. And friends want to come and join me at the championship. So, I'm very much looking forward to it. But, at night, I'm happy to sleep in When you're actually in the middle of the action and you play, you don't realise. You're in a tunnel my bed. and you play your matches and you're thinking I've been around with you quite a bit here at about the next match. Only years later, when you Wimbledon and you're stopped every second come back to the scene of the crime in a way, then you notice how many people actually have seen you. person. It's nice but is it difficult? And how many people you have touched with your I think everybody enjoys seeing me and meeting performances or your personality or your point of me and having a chat. But, when I have a one view. And it's wonderful. I think the older I get, o'clock match to commentate on and I have to be the more I actually appreciate it. Because, when there on time, I can't chat to everybody. I have to you're 17 or 20 or 25, you just don't know. www.thefrankmagazine.com
"I'm much fitter now than I was five years' ago. And not that that means I play two, three hours of tennis because I can't. But I do a lot of the biking, cycling, swimming. You know. Eat well. Drink less.� www.thefrankmagazine.com
I saw an Instagram post you put up the other day. It's 20 years since you retired. How did that happen? Has it been a slow process or do you feel like it's gone by in a blink of an eye?
Wimbledon, as far as I'm concerned. Keep talking. Keep talking. Haha! There's nobody that I want to hear more about it from than you.
I was, on social media and I was informed by a fan last Sunday, the 30th June, that this is the Thank you. day 20 years ago, you retired. And it didn't occur to me. I don't celebrate it every year... So it must be fun? I know it's a job and I appreciate it's long hours. Of course not. English is not my first language, right? It's I don't start crying either. You know. 20 years is a German. And the fact that the BBC trust in me long time. I have moments when I come back for the last 15-odd years to do the commentary here it literally seems like last week that I've for two weeks, including the final. You must played here. And then I have moments when it's, remember the final is watched by 800 million you know, November or March, and I don't think people all around the world. And to let a German about the championships, then I feel like it's been do the commentary for BBC One is a great 50 years. A year for me, it's a bit like a dog's year. honour. You know. Multiply it by seven. I have such intense, for good or for bad, time, all the time... But this country adopted you a long time ago, right? You even lived in Wimbledon for a while didn’t you? Yeah, but, you know, I still appreciate it and they adopted me the big, young tennis player but it's Yes but I've moved to Chelsea now. But I did live been a while and the reason I have this job is not in Wimbledon for many years. Not even a mile because I won Wimbledon but because if I can't away from the club here. And I'm a member here. The Chairman always tells me I should come throughout the year and visit. But the place means too much to me. I cannot just take a friend and then go to the bar for a drink or, have tea here. Or whatever they do in the afternoon. It's still the most important place for me. Do you ever play? Why? Well, just for fun? No. It wasn't fun for me. Well, physically, I'm not the way I wanted to be. Because of all the injuries and all the surgeries and this and that. But, I mean I could hit a ball. I mean, I could play with you, for sure. You're heavily involved in the commentary around the world for different channels. You understand the game inside and out. And your opinion counts. You are the star of
Melanie and Boris
www.thefrankmagazine.com
speak, if I don't make sense, If I'm not disciplined in my work, they wouldn't hire me. They'd do it one year but not 15 years. Because everybody wants that job, right? So I'm not here for fun. Of course I like it. But it's a job. I have to concentrate. I have to prepare. I don't know all the players anymore. It's easier to talk about Federer and Nadal and Djokovic but he's playing a South African this afternoon...
Okay. So she's a year younger and she got through and she did what she did. I cried. I cry at Wimbledon all the time. Every moment is a tearful moment for me. What were you thinking about it? How much of parenting and the pushing from parents is integral to that? How was your tennis upbringing? Was it your family dictating it? Yah.
You have to do your homework...
Were you dictating it? I don't even know the name now. I looked at it that this morning and I can't help you. I've forgotten already. terrible memory! I have to do the homework and then I get all the preparations from the BBC studio but I have to do my prep. I mean, I need to know what I'm talking about. So I need to know where he's played the last time, where he's from, what his girlfriend's name is... Gosh. You have to do things like that too because they're in the box and you need to be, they’re is such and such... Yeah. And it's live, you know. People don't understand how difficult live comms. is. You do the radio, right? So you know. Whatever comes out, is out. Stays out. And, you know, Wimbledon is watched by millions of people around the world. So you want to be sure that you know what you're talking about. Did you watch the match last night with Coco...? Coco Gauff. 15 years' old. What are your thoughts about young people, very young people like that playing professional tennis ? When did you start playing?
No. But this is, this is a very sensitive subject. Because we need the young generation to eventually take over. On the male and on the female side. But not everybody is mentally ready to do so. Even though they win a Grand Slam or two. The other example is now Wozniacki. She's apparently the new superstar woman's tennis. Naomi Osaka Won the US Open last year in a dramatic final against Serena, went to Melbourne this year winning the first major of 2019 and then she became a superstar all around the world. And all of a sudden, she can hardly win a match anymore because she can't take the pressure. The poor girl is only 22 years old. I mean, after she lost yesterday, she had to stop the press room because she was crying in front of the world's eye.
"I don't remember the time when I wasn't the parent. For me, everything I do it's because of them. And, as much as I want to give them, they give me so much back without knowing it. You know. Innocently. And just being my children. And that’s for the rest of my life. That's the thing that's most important to me.”
I played my first match, I was 16. www.thefrankmagazine.com
hat's what we forget. We only see them as talent and young tennis players. But are they mentally able to carry the expectations? The pressures? And the role we have to take on? So, you know, young Coco Gauff was her first win. And she was beautiful. And she said the right things. She did say the right things. I was astonished at how she was afterwards. Her composure and what she'd said to Venus and all the rest of it. Yes, yes. But now she's celebrated. Go a year forward, two years' forward, I'm sure she's going to win a big tournament but how is she going to handle if she loses? If she's the champion. If she's expected to win. How can you handle the pressure? What about you? How did you handle it? What was your constitution back then? Do you remember? Of course I remember. Not that it's so long ago... you're so old Boris haha ! I always find upbringing and parenthood and brothers and sisters is very important. You’re tight knit. The people that really look after you day in, day out, are the key. I had wonderful people around me. Parents and sister. I always kept a level head. And the advantage for me, and some of the young players don't have that, my parents didn't need me to win for their financial gain. Big story. My father was an architect and my mother was working hard as well. They were financially completely independent and never needed a one penny from me. So... That's a huge thing...
you keeping fit? So my forties were marked by a lot of injuries, different surgeries. Paying the price for the way I played. You know, it was the nineties. We didn't have the medical support and the medicine that they have now. There comes a time when you are ageing and the wear and tear you start to feel in your body. Because I've done sport all my life. So my forties was marked with new hips, new ankles, you name it. I've done it. My ankles too. My right ankle too a couple of years ago. Something happened when I turned 50. I wanted to recover my youth. So I've changed my diet. I've changed my habits. I do a lot more sports. The way I can. And I'm much fitter now than I was five years' ago. And not that that means I play two, three hours of tennis because I can't. But I do a lot of the biking, cycling, swimming. You know. Eat well. Drink less. You do look really well Well, I'm trying. But it's a daily effort. There are so many medical possibilities nowadays to stay young in your fifties and eighties and I don't mean surgery. I mean by putting natural ingredients into your body. It's all about recovery. When you get older, you recover less. But it really starts with your attention to detail and your awareness that, if you still want to be fit and active, in your fifties and sixties, there are ways to do it. Routine-wise, are you an early riser? If you're not working, what's an average day for you? Because you're a parent too. So I guess you're doing fatherly things. Although you've got some older boys. Yeah. I, actually, I don't sleep that much. I have to have eight hours‌
The young players don't have that. You know, their parents become, they're part of their payroll. They're part of their children's payroll. Imagine the pressure. These young children can't go back to their father and mother because their father tells them not what they need to tell them because it's part of the business. And that is terrible.
If I have a six-hour night, that's a good night for me. I just wake up. So, if I go to bed at ten, I wake up at four. Oh Gosh. And I don't want to wake up at four.
Yes, that's a lot of pressure. So How are you Nobody wants to wake up at four. now? How do you look after yourself? Are www.thefrankmagazine.com
''You're in a tunnel, you play your matches and you're thinking about the next match. Only years later, when you come back to the scene of the crime, then you notice how many people have seen you and how many people you have touched with your performances''
Boris wins the Gentlemen's Singles tennis title at the 1985 Wimbledon Championships
Nobody wants to wake up at four. usually go to sleep 12 or later. So I get to a 6.30, seven. 'Cos otherwise I wake up. I mean there are nights when I go to sleep early because I'm tired. And, if I go to sleep at ten, at 4.30 I'm up and the world's still sleeping. I'm questioning myself what am I gonna do now So What do you do ? Do you read ? I'm a news' junkie. I watch a lot of international news. I watch British news, German news, European, American, you know. Asian news. International news. Just to get a picture of how the world turns around a little bit. So I do that the first hour or two of the day. Instead of reading newspapers, I really go online. I watch sports news obviously. Those are my two topics that I love. What other sports do you like? Football. Of course. Who do you support? Who do I support? You've moved to Chelsea now Boris. My London club is Chelsea, of course. My German club is Bayern Munich. I was a member of the board for a long time at Bayern Munich so I know a little more than your average fan. But I love the Premier League. I love the national team. I love the World Cup. That, for me, is the highlight. I love golf. I love basketball. I like the Olympics. So I'm a sports', news' junkie. And what about how you fuel yourself? You're saying it depends what you put in your body to help, you know, longevity, etc. So, for example, your breakfast would be? www.thefrankmagazine.com
“I commentate for the BBC and I have this job and its not because I won Wimbledon but because if I can't speak, if I don't make sense, If I'm not disciplined in my work, they wouldn't hire me. They'd do it one year but not 15 years."
in your body to help, you know, longevity, etc. So, for example, your breakfast would be? It sounds crazy. My breakfast is usually a green juice. The cucumbers and whatever green there is. It's in a juice. I like to do more celery juice but then I have to mix it and I'm not that great in the kitchen. It's just a blender. I know. Obviously, I'm terrible.
would never shop online. Is it fun living with a 21-year-old ? It's a nightmare .Terrible. He's a terrorist. Hahaha ! Which son is this? My second son, Elias. Yes. So, he's at a typical age where he's trying to break the rules that I invented. I always keep telling him, 'you trying to fool me?' That's so funny. And so we have this wonderful relationship. He came to London last year to study film at a good university so he's a good boy. He's very healthy. I mean, it's this phenomenon I find with 20-yearolds. They're so health-conscious. Oh yes i know, it's brilliant. And they know what to eat and drink and he tells me about CBD. Have you tried CBD?
You don't cook? I haven't yet. I don't cook, no.
I'm on the CBD.
You always dine out then, on that basis. You I need it. I heard that it's so good. never can throw together a lunch or a dinner together? It's amazing. Honestly, Boris, I make myself a turmeric latte, with a big shot of CBD and it No. I don't think I've done it in my life. just chills me out. That's crazy Yeah, yeah, yeah‌ Yeah, yeah, I know. So I live with my 20-year-old And just takes the edge off when I'm feeling son, Elias. a bit angst. It's really good for pain and all sorts of ails. Can he cook? No. But he can juice. He's a very good at planning and juicing and giving me the latest things. I'm good at grocery shopping. I love Waitrose. I only shop online. I hate going there. No, I like to see. I like to smell. Yeah. I hate shopping online. I'm very old-school like that. I
Well I'm still in pain sometimes. Instead of taking all these painkillers , I could take CBD products, that's what I've heard. I haven't done it yet but I want to. So my son Elias is telling me all about it. And he got me into the juicing. He got me into the special water he does. So it works really well. We have different sleeping habits. He likes to sleep for a long time. He doesn't understand the meaning of words.
Meaning if I say, 'we have to leave now'. Now is a very flexible time for him. He takes his 20minute showers in the morning. They drive me crazy but he's a wonderful boy. You know. And how important has parenting been to you, in terms of your own development? I mean, I just recently had to have a sit-down intervention with my eldest and I sat there wanting to laugh. Because I thought 'oh my God, I only feel about 17 myself' and I'm telling this boy and giving him boundaries. But it's also so good for you, isn't it? Yeah. I don't remember the time when I wasn't the parent. For me, everything I do it's because of them. And, as much as I want to give them, they give me so much back without knowing it. You know. Innocently. And just being my children. And that’s for the rest of my life. That's the thing that's most important to me. And when I'm 85 hopefully, this is where I want to be judged. You know. I have four children. They're all great characters. Different personalities. Different backgrounds. All amazing people. Really, really cool people. Grounded right? Grounded and real. They're all real. You talk to them and they're not, you know, pie in the sky. My 20-year-old sometimes. But, you know, the others. My daughter's wonderful and they all know each other. They've met each other a couple of times. So, for me, that's the essence of my life. Yeah. And I love Wimbledon and all my achievements. But what I want to be remembered for is my role as a father. That's so wonderful. Because I know that you've always grabbed headlines and people can define people on certain moments. And the press have a narrative about people. But everybody makes mistakes and everybody grows from them. How do you still just keep going? And putting one foot in front of the other despite bullshit and opinion? Well, I dealt with that since I'm 17. And so that was really a life skill I learnt in my teenage years. Not to take everything too seriously, including yourself. Because I know, as a player, how close winning and losing is. And nobody knows, even the biggest experts, don't know how close it is
sometimes. So, sometimes you get lucky and sometimes you get unlucky. It's just a fact of life. I've been more lucky than unlucky. So good. And the older I get, the more I realise it. And that's really my strength. Because that, you know, I'm 51 now. I have a hell of a life behind me. And you've got a hell of a life ahead of you... And I have a hell of a life in front of me. So this is how I look at it. Yes, it hasn't been perfect all the time. Somebody should raise their hand if their life is always perfect. I wouldn't find anybody. You commentate around the world what other commitments do you have? I'm the head of German tennis. So I run the German tennis programme the last three years for the men. And what does that entail? I mentor everybody. So everybody has the right to talk to me. All the German players that are coming through? All of them From Tsitsipas, Felix Aujer-Alliasime to Zverev. Oh I love him. He's amazing. So, you're like the father...? Yeah. And I like it a lot. And the federation trusts me. I'm going to the Olympics next year. So that is a very big job. And I do it for free. That gives me the liberty to talk freely. If I talk to anybody, even the parents, they know I am there only for the good of the player not my pay packet and that the only thing I want is for their child to play better. Believe me. I know tennis and I know if you're training wrong, or you're training too much. So I can be honest with them. So that's the deal and that's how I like it to go.
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Max Beesley www.thefrankmagazine.com
Max Beesley is a British actor and musician known for his roles in Hotel Babylon, Bodies, The History of Tom Jones, Mad Dogs, Suits, Ordinary Lies, and Jamestown and many more projects. Frank caught up with Max in LA about his life, career, and the movie business.
How is your LA life ? I like many aspects of California. Los Angeles itself is interesting. It can be vibrant, but also quite vacuous, and there is the constant pressure and reminder all around you about work, as everyone in town is somehow related to the business. This can become a little draining. My eldest daughter and my wife love the ocean as do I. It’s a place of serenity for me. The ideal is to at some point move out to Laguna beach. There are so many wonderful places in California and that is one of them.
coming back for work in the UK So I’ve really been a part of the American landscape for around 18 years. Are auditions regular In LA ? How does it work?
The process for getting jobs in America is a little different to what I was used to in the UK. I am in a very privileged position in England and have built up terrific working relationships with producers and television networks over the years. When I first moved over to Los Angeles it was really like starting all over again. There are just so many actors in LA all looking to do How long have you been in LA and why did quality projects and great roles. So you have to you decide to make the leap? have an incredibly thick skin to take knock backs. I first came to Los Angeles on tour as a musician I had come from consistently working for 12 years to being one of many actors in a room with the ‘Brand New Heavies’ I think around wanting the same gig. With that comes an 1991. It was magical to me back then. I incredible amount of rejection. If you can’t associated it with all the American tv shows i’d grown up on like ‘Chips’ and ‘Starsky and Hutch’ separate the ego from the system of casting and the reasons behind some are cast whilst others Driving on sunset the first time was unforgettable as I passed the Comedy Store, The are not you will drown. You have to just keep on keeping on. House of Blues, Capitol studios and also the studio lots of Paramount and Fox. I then semi moved over around 2001 but kept
“I had come from consistently working for 12 years to being one of many actors in a room wanting the same gig. With that comes an incredible amount of rejection. If you can’t separate the ego from the system of casting and the reasons behind some are cast whilst others are not you will drown. You have to just keep on keeping on. I would often turn to writing or studying more to keep my sanity whilst going in and out of the rooms daily and not getting offers. It’s a real leveller for sure. “ www.thefrankmagazine.com
I would often turn to writing or studying more to keep my sanity whilst going in and out of the rooms daily and not getting offers. It’s a real leveller for sure. If you love the work which I do, you keep doing the best you can and then the gigs do drop in. I love the process, I love research, I love preparing and then going to work and trying to do the best job possible not just for me but for the people who cast me and believe me in the role. Does it matter where you live in the world regarding getting roles and being around for castings?
character. Vital. Dialect, personalisation, and most importantly finding the truth in the character so you’re never ‘pushing’ the emotion on set. Really, acting’s about immersing yourself with the role so when you film you can be as natural as possible. That and listening are the most important things for me. Why does the method appeal to you? Some might say it’s a punishing existence.
Method acting has been bastardised over the years. Some actors have unfortunately got the wrong end of the stick. It’s not about being ‘in It doesn't really matter in today's climate where the role’ all day 24/7. That is not really what the you are, whether you're in New York, Los school of acting I was taught in New York is Angeles or London with regards to work and the about. reason being a lot of stuff now a days, the initial It’s about personalising the story and applying catchment dynamic of someone employing you, if some sense memory of your own to the material. you like, is done off taping, and done off tapes. And once you’ve discovered that you are able to So I've sent stuff over to England and when I've switch it on and switch it off when you need to. been in Budapest I've sent stuff over to LA and Some of my friends that are fine actors don’t so on and so forth. It's become such a digital era apply those methods they have their own ways of that casting directors can tell pretty quickly from working and it works for them and they are tapes and they present them to producers and terrific in what they do. directors. And then you get cast just from tapes But for me the specifics I was taught by Sheila and other times that will be the first sort of move Gray in NY have never let me down. It’s mostly on the board toward you flying over and meeting from the Lee Strasbourg school of acting and I’m with the director or doing some reels or a big believer in his methods. whatever and getting the part. it is something that I've thought of because if there are good projects in the UK you want to Most actors are billed as narcissists. What make sure you get your tapes over because you would you say to that? are not in the room. If there is a slight disadvantage it’s that you are not in the room A lot are ! To be truthful going back to what I with these creative people because they can, said earlier. One has to have a thick skin and to a when you're in a room take notes from a certain degree, ego. They are protective safety director and they like to give actors notes to see measures if you like in such a volatile profession. how pliable they are and if they can do the The problems can arise when you think you’ve grafting, If the actor can switch it up. When you nailed it and that can be tempting if you’re are doing a tape you are sending your working constantly and have all the luck in the interpretation of what you have taken off the world. But the reality is, it’s not always going to script. So it's not a necessity. I don't think you be that way. There will ultimately be what I call miss out depending on where you're based. ‘the salad days’ I had them when you’re not working and it can weigh heavily on your psyche. I know how much you prep for your work , Especially when you have a family to support and you are all in. Do you sometimes wish you kids to put through school etc could just rock up and 'fake it'? So when you’re riding the wave again I think it’s Unfortunately I’m a perfectionist. That in itself so important to be gracious and humble and has its difficulties as we never reach perfection thankful. After all, there are many actors out there but I am a huge believer in preparation. It’s that are qualified to do the job but just don’t get absolutely vital to the work whatever the the chance or have the luck. www.thefrankmagazine.com
Do you see the discrepancy between the casting of mature men than mature women? Or do you feel it is the same? Times are changing but I do have to say men have it easier with getting older as actors. It’s shocking how many women get looked over because they are getting older. However I do think that’s changing. For men it’s not as difficult for sure. There is a big swing right now with diverse choices and giving women a stronger voice in the business. More female directors writers etc I do however think at the end of the day you have to hire the best person for the gig regardless of race or gender. Richard McFadden has just said in a recent interview there is a pressure to have a six pack and be in shape as a male actor? It depends on what avenue you’re going down. It doesn’t hurt to be in good shape, equally there are many who are not and there are roles there too. Personally I like staying fit so I can be around for my kids as they get older ! If the work requires weight I’ll put it on if it requires loss I’ll take it off. You can get away with that if you take advice and do it the right way. Christian Bale does it often but is careful with the process. What auditions have you nailed and then failed to get the part? How much do you have to live with rejection?
Capitol studios in studio A synonymous with Frank Sinatra’s recordings. The legendary producer and mixer Al Schmitt mixes it for me. He is a genius. He started with Duke Ellington and this year alone did Bob Dylan’s album, Paul McCartney and Gregory Porter. I think he’s had 21 Grammy noms. So the album sounds terrific. I have Lisa Stansfield, Omar, Paul weller, Fred Durst, Robbie Williams, John Turell on it and more. I Loved the whole process and again it’s about the process for me. I’m not concerned with sales or awards I just wanna do good work myself. Does acting hold your heart more ? Music is my first love I couldn’t imagine life without it but I think I’m a more natural musician than actor and that feeds into what we were talking about earlier. I’m always striving to better myself in everything I do and because acting was a new entity to me back in 1994 I wanted to delve into that world and learn and continue to learn and try to get better and better. Not that I don’t apply the same principle to music it’s just that I’d been fortunate enough by an early age to work as a musician with many of my idols and I wanted a new challenge. Acting was it. How have you handled fame? How has it effected you? Fame. I’m not interested in it or bothered by it. In America I rarely get recognised and that’s great. I’m just a jobbing actor wanting to do good work. And I’m fortunate in the UK in that people have always been kind and nice when I’ve met them and they have seen one or two of the shows I’m in.
Many many many. I remember one time years ago when I had 67 auditions. No joke. I didn’t book one gig.It’s difficult to let go when there are jobs that you love and don’t end up getting the offer but I’ve learnt over the years to let go. I have a little shuffle around the house for about an I see on Instagram you are bit of a man about hour then forget about it. What’s great is when a friend or someone you admire ends up doing the the house, building and creating stuff. You must love it? job and they are great in it. That genuinely takes the sting out of it. I am a bit of a metro man. I do a lot round the house. When I'm not working I like to spend a lot Not many people have the choice between two careers and you are still creating music. of time at home obviously with the family. But part of me routine to keep sane is I like doing a You have recorded an album haven’t you? lot of gardening [laughs]. I'm bang into the old citrus trees, kid - I love 'em. Got to fertilize them Music is always in my bones. I love writing and baby. And jasmine. Box wood. I like clipping that playing and recording. I’ve just finished my first now and again and trimming it up. And then album that I recorded at the village studio in painting & decorating. Santa Monica in the same room Steely Dan recorded AJA and then we recorded strings at www.thefrankmagazine.com
"The prosthetics, of course, were a nightmare in the first year, not for any other reason than just the physical time. 'Cos you know, it's an hour to set, at least two hours in the chair, an 11-hour shoot day. Then it's an hour derig and then another hour home. It's a 16-hour day any way you slice it. It's hard work."
I recently did a small powder room in the house and it looked mint and it's just good for my head. I've always been like that though. I've been a grafter. When I was 17, me dad had me working for me Uncle Wally - labouring - hod carrying, barrowing, knocking walls down and all that shit. So I like all that. I like getting me hands on things, you know what I mean. Yeah. So painting, decorating, gardening, I'm bang into it Will you ever return home to stay?
I miss England sometimes. I love coming back to film there and I miss my family there but I have my own family now in LA and those three girls are Californian babes. Who would have thought it ! Congratulations on Jamestown. How did that gig come about? They asked me about the show. Asked me if I'd like to do it and I looked at, I think it was the first script that Bill Gallagher wrote, and the world really interested me.
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You can get a little bit carried away when you're an actor. The ego makes you get attached to the role that they present to you 'cos you think it’s diverse, multifaceted, it will be a challenge, whatever. And you want to try and do good work obviously but it was more than that. It was the world. It was something that I didn't know about. And the more I looked into it and the more I learned about it, the more I was sort of turned on by the idea of trying to get into this world. I'd worked with Carnival before for Gareth Neame anyway. He was at the BBC when I did Bodies. And he also cast me in Babylon and Hustle and numerous other jobs. And so I knew how important the show would be for him. And, of course this had just coming off the back of Downton Abbey, so the production company was good. The writer, Bill Gallagher, was brilliant. And I looked at the script and I thought 'yeah, this is a wonderful world that I can get my teeth into'. What attracted you to the character of Henry Sharrow?
Max as Henry Sharrow in JamesTown
Well its crazy, there's an act of rape at the beginning of the first episode in season one by him'. And I was like, 'what the fuck? Seriously?' And they were like, 'yeah'. And I thought, well, okay, let me just do more research and read the books'. And it wasn't as sensationalised as it would be in today's day and age.
“Method acting has been bastardised over the years. Some actors have unfortunately got the wrong end of the stick. It’s not about being ‘in the role’ all day 24/7. That is not really what the school of acting I was taught in New York is about. It’s about personalising the story and applying some sense memory of your own to the material. And once you’ve discovered that you are able to switch it on and switch it off when you need to.” www.thefrankmagazine.com
You know. In the seventeenth century, these guys paid for brides to come over. Mail-order brides if you like. It was incredible really. And they're quite outrageous but a great expense. And Henry Sharrow was one of the original landers in 1607 in Virginia. And he'd survived. A great testament to his will to survive because he'd been through the starvation times. He'd been through multiple atrocities out there in Virginia. There was cannibalism, there was mass death. I think it was something like 70 per cent of the original settlers died. And he survived. And his main MO was to provide for his brothers. It was the Sharrows. It was family. And he was, as the eldest, that was his deal. For many, many years. And, when he was rejected by his mail-order bride, who was met by my brother, Stuart Martin who plays Silas Sharrow. There's an instant connection with them. Consequently, it's a terrible deal for her. And on the first night of her arrival unfortunately, this man that doesn't really know anything other than survival and control. And control being the ultimate way in which he does survive. Comes across her by the river and she abhors him, she doesn't want to be anywhere near him. And, initially, I think it wasn't meant to be that type of deal. How do you get your head round a scene like that?
which I thrive upon which is pressure. Trying to find my way out of that emotional maze. And then I started the research into the seventeenth century and with these guys that first arrived there. And then we got our scripts. because if I can create any empathy for this man that's caused pain that's performed a disgusting, horrific act, then that's the challenge, that's the challenge for the role’. So I was in that territory which I thrive upon which is pressure. Trying to find my way out of that emotional maze. And then I started the research into the seventeenth century and with these guys that first arrived there. And then we got our scripts. What a great role and all shot in Budapest. How was that? Yes we got out to Budapest and we saw the set that was built which was absolutely phenomenal. And an incredible design. The costumiers were amazing. Jacquie, my first make-up artist, who was the chief designer on the show, was just wonderful. And I'd occasionally get a call when we'd do make-up tests after the character gets blown up by his own gunpowder, about the prosthetics. It's interesting because the last time I worked for Carnival, I was do I was the leading man on a show where people and everything looks quite nice.
The way we shot it, there is an approach by Henry toward her which I think is where he wants to talk to her. And he can't quite compute “I remember one time years ago how to show his emotions. But one thing he when I had 67 auditions. No does know how to react to, is when something is joke. I didn’t book one gig. It’s rebellious or is out of his control. And, difficult to let go when there consequently, when she becomes fearful and wants to escape into the river and get away from are jobs that you love and him, he's losing control. So the core element of don’t end up getting the offer his psyche needs to dominate. And, but I’ve learnt over the years unfortunately, manifests itself in this heinous act to let go. I have a little of rape. Now, when I learned more about the shuffle around the house for period and more about the politics and what was about an hour then forget going on and how women were looked at in those days, I spoke to the creator Bill and I about it. What’s great is when literally just said to him, 'where are we going to a friend or someone you go on the journey?'. And he told me. And I said, admire ends up doing the job 'right, you know what, I want to do the job and they are great in it. That because if I can create any empathy for this man genuinely takes the sting out that's caused pain that's performed a disgusting, of it.” horrific act, then that's the challenge, that's the challenge for the role’. So I was in that territory www.thefrankmagazine.com
And here, we're a very dark character and he said, 'you know, do you want to go heavier with the burn, with the scar, with everything? Because I think it would be a good idea'. And I said 'I'll take your advice on it, Gareth, and yeah, make me look as fucking horrific as you want, man'. 'Cos it's true to the work. Whats the process of the prosthetics? The prosthetics, of course, were a nightmare in the first year, not for any other reason than just the physical time. 'Cos you know, it's an hour to set, at least two hours in the chair, an 11-hour shoot day. Then it's an hour derig and then another hour home. It's a 16-hour day any way you slice it. It's hard work. But Jacqueline Fowler our make up artist was just phenomenal with the design. Then we started shooting and the cast met. It was a gig that I actually just spoke to Paddy Considine tonight. We were coming back from work in Atlanta and I was looking out and I went 'oh, I've just got nostalgic over Budapest'. And it's really because of the crew and the cast on that job. We all still keep in contact and it was wonderful. Such a wonderful job. The third season is the last. It was publicised as the last. I feel very fortunate to have been a part of ‘Jamestown’ It was hugely satisfying from a professional point of view and we all fell in love with Budapest. In all that time filming there I learnt nagyon szépen köszönöm which means 'thank you very much' in Hungarian and that's about all I could tell you after three years. It's the hardest language I've ever tried to learn. You say that but you had to learn the language of the Pamunkey for the show. They were the first nation in Virginia. How difficult was that? It was absolutely wonderful to be able to embrace. It was a big part of season two. The language is Algonquin and it's not been spoken for about 100 years. We literally could have been saying anything. But the production company, Carnival and Bill Gallagher's attention to detail meant there was only one way with it, which was we had to learn it. We had specialist dialect coaches and Jessie Bruach who has a phenomenal mind. All of the First Nations', the Chickahominy, the Pamunkey, the Powhatan. I
mean all of the languages. And we sat with them and said, 'right, talk us through it then. What we looking at.' And he explained stuff and Stuart and I were like, 'oh, fuck me, this is going to be horrifically difficult. This is horrendous.' It's literally nothing that you can connect to. So, we would have to hear the phrase and then phonetically write it out. Then I'd put musical notation on there, like I was scoring a string quartet or something. Raises, falls, phrasing. And then I’d have to write out what it meant in English. And you'd have to do the same for the actor you were working with. Which, in most of my scenes, was Raoul, who was the chief Powhatan and then you'd have to do the drill, over and over, and over again. Photographic memory, see the words, feel the beats, know what you're saying and listen to the other actor on the day and make it as if you've just been speaking it for 11 years. And I would say genuinely that, for one page of dialogue between two men, it's maybe, I don't know, 14 lines each, that would be about 50 man hours of work. Easily. Do you make life long friends when you return to the same cast? Its funny, sometimes you go and do a job and get home and that’s it. But in my experience I’ve been really lucky in meeting good people that I get on well with. I have life long friends I’ve met from work as far back as 1997 when I did Tom Jones. Kathy Burke’s still a good friend as is the director Metin Hussien. Also I think the more diverse and difficult the job the more close knit friendships are founded I speak to Jed Mecurio often who wrote bodies and have a lot of love for all that cast. In fact I can’t think of any job where I’ve not come away with at least one or two good friends that will be in my life. You mentioned you are in Atlanta with Paddy Considine. What are you filming ? Yes I’ve joined the cast of HBO’s THE OUTSIDER based on the Stephen King novel. Its a 10 part series. i’m working alongside Ben Mendelsohn, Jason Bateman, Bill camp and of course Paddy. It’s adapted from the novel by Richard price who did HBO’s ‘The Night Of’ A great part and i’m loving the work.
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Isabelle Van Zeijl Portrait Artist
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n a contemporary art world that condemns beauty as camouflage for conceptual shallowness, championing high aesthetics is nothing short of rebellion.
Van Zeijl takes female beauty ideals from the past, and sabotages them in the context of today. As a women she experiences prejudices against women; misogyny in numerous ways including sex discrimination, belittling/violence against women and sexual objectification. Van Zeijl aestheticises these prejudices in her work to visually discuss this troubling dichotomy, presenting a new way of seeing female beauty. An oppressive idealisation of beauty is tackled in her work through unique female character and emotion.
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Van Zeijl is invested in her images. By using subjects that intrigue and evoke emotion, she reinvents herself over and over and has created a body of work to illustrate these autobiographical narratives. Her work takes from all she experiences in life - she is both model, creator, object and subject. Going beyond the realm of individual expression, so common in the genre of self-portraiture, she strives to be both universal and timeless, with a subtle political hint.
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OWN
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When did you first realise you were a creative person? I grew up in a highly creative family, I was surrounded by Art, Art History books and Contemporary fashion Magazines. I think I was born as a creative person. My home also was also a very unsafe environment, I was exposed to violence, belittling and abuse. I felt an urge to investigate deeply and portray myself to maintain the connection with who I truly am. My tutor at school once told me: If you want to get to know about yourself you have to make self portraits. Did you have any mentors? My photography practice is entirely self-taught and has developed organically from my complex need to capture something that is ultimately beyond the lens. I had always drawn at school and I remember the advice given to me by a tutor: ‘When you really want to know about yourself, you have to make self-portraits’. In ‘The Jane’ series I wear historic armour from the 1600s, displaying physical strength, but also emotional and tangible empowerment. In these intensely personal, self-reflective pieces, I am the creator, object and subject, moving my photographs to reach beyond the genre of self-portraiture. What were you producing when you first started? I studied Architecture at The Royal Academy in BredaI have always produced self portraits. But my earlier portraits were before the time of photoshop. So I made collages. I cut images out of contemporary magazines and blended them with images from Art Books from the Renaissance and Old Master painters. What other artists do you admire and why? To me Alexander McQueen is a genius, one of the most visionary designers of his generation. He pushed the boundaries with his melodramatic and provocative fashion shows. He introduced an entirely new visual language to the world of fashion. He was a designer with exquisite craftsmanship and originality of his designs. His biggest source of inspiration was nature, and natural sciences. Also he transformed his dark past into beautiful designs. Different from other designers he made his models feel like performers on the catwalk, with a role to play. the models had to become the character it had to come from whiten itself. He granted his models permission to lose themselves totally in the moment. He deconstructed the idea of what a woman should look like, what a woman should possess Here the roles where dark , mysterious or triumphant – they were always empowered, Alexander was the enabler. He had a real love of women in that sense. His models had to trust their instinct, no rehearsals.
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What is your process? Do you work alone? In order to stay connected with my authentic self, I work entirely alone, creating the set, make-up, costume and operating the equipment, including all editing, independently from my own studio at home. Beginning with identifying different female characteristics, I have created ‘female heroes’ or role models, who are ideal figures that I embody by wearing significant clothing and using symbolic props to identify them and the strength they represent. In portraying myself as them, I then become them, creating images that are both authentic and surreal My work exists out of multiple layers. Layers of snippets from Old Master painters and Renaissance painting. Layers which carry a symbolic meaning. Biographical layers, my work is a biography of my own person- laity. Layers which refer to different beauty ideals trough time and female characteristics. And of course technical layers. The beautiful top layer, is a friendly invitation to look beneath the pretty shell.
I love her
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Is music important in the studio when you are working? What do you listen to? Yes Music is super super important because it moves me and my work is all about feeling. During the making of THE ONE (my first Orchid piece) I listened non stop to Michael Nyman. I need to work solely and a bit cut off from the world. You do the makeup and styling as well. Who does your hair? I am doing my own hair as well :) I also make the headpieces myself. Except the flower headpieces. I collaborate with Paul Wijkmeijer (Dutch Flower Artist) How long do the shots take in total? It depends, The photoshoot on itself takes mostly one day but sometimes I shoot the next day again when I am not totally satisfied with the result. But after the shoot a very long post editing process starts, that could take months. I work like an Old master painter. I touch every single pixel.
Isabelle
You are an award winning artist. How important is it to be recognised? I think it is important, Since the beginning of showing my works at art fairs, it has received overwhelming attention, most significantly by women but also men, who themselves identify with one of the characteristics in particular, reducing them to tears in some instances. Every individual can take what they need, whether it is inner strength, courage or comfort, or the simple pleasure of beauty in what they ob- serve. The greatest compliment for me is empowering my viewers by my works; the characters and the strength they represent, simultaneously universal and unique. How does it help the business side of your work? It does help, after my work was chosen for the cover image of the Harpers Bazaar my collectors told me they wanted to purchase my work before the solo show opened. They were afraid the work of their choice would sold out. You have collaborated with fashion designers, Iris van Herpen and Claes Iversen, how did that come about? I am very grateful to have worked with the couture of the highly talented Claes Iversen a fashion designer with a passion for authenticity, natural quality and the earthy feel of materials that are true and honest. www.thefrankmagazine.com
BE
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My love for the artistic vision of Claes Iversen is identifiable in the rebellious way I reshape the dresses of this Dutch Fashion Designer Claes Iversen, whose designs I sabotage into new forms. The embroidered flowers on the body indicate the process of our natural and instinctive need to grow and continually progress. This illustrates the transformation from one phase of life to another; including the metamorphosis of a child into a woman. Transformation is a true and lasting change, however, is not a once-in-a-lifetime achievement, but rather a means by which we move forward, towards wholeness. The goal is to express this evolution through visual art. You have your first solo show. How many pieces are you showing? How long has it taken to create the show? The exhibition will include approximately 18 works, charting the personal and artistic narrative of the artist’s journey, showcasing a variety of older and new works.I will show 8 pieces which have their debut here in the UK. It took us a year to prepare this show. Where can people see your work apart from the show? At the moment my work is also on display at Browns hotel in Mayfair. My work is represented by The Cynthia Corbett Gallery and she shows my work in Miami (art Miami) New York (Art New York) I have shown work continuously and internationally over the past ten years, represented by galleries located in The UK, The Netherlands, Belgium, and New York, and exhibiting at emerging and established international art fairs in New York, Miami, Los Angeles, Hong Kong, London, Germany, Belgium, Sweden and Italy. Your work is so beautiful. What are the themes of your work that you want your audience to take away? Beauty is my nutrition! In order to survive and protect myself against external pressures and prejudices denying and eliminate me, I turned my eye towards all that what was beautiful around me. Beauty became my mask, my protection, my purifier, and my creative practice became my escape and refuge. My safe place to go to. As a young girl I wanted to become an actress, but I had to quit these classes, because of the fact that I literally lost my voice as a result of all the emotional violence I was exposed to in my childhood. I couldn’t speak for months. So I started to speak through my self portraits. My work became my voice. Finding and speaking your personal truth, and embracing and living out all that you are takes courage, and it means being vulnerable, that to me, is true beauty.
www.isabellevanzeijl.com SUMMER EXHIBITION 2019 AT WIMBLEDON HQ The Cynthia Corbett Gallery presents the 2019 extended Summer Exhibition, with a special focus on the work of Isabelle van Zeijl. JULY 1 - AUGUST 31, 2019
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L A
Hotel SHANGRI LA The jewel of Santa Monica
with owner Tamie Adaya
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FRANK caught up with at Tamie at her roof top Onyx Bar to talk to her about the Shangri - La and her experience of owning and running such a prestigious property.
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The Shangri-La Hotel (Hotel Shangri-La), built in 1939, is situated on the southeast corner of Ocean Avenue and Arizona Avenue with the Pacific Ocean a quarter mile to the west. Evoking the form of a grand ocean liner, the seven-story structure was constructed in the Streamline Moderne style. The building’s innovative design maximized open air circulation and views. Lacking interior halls, the building incorporated ocean breezes as a cooling element. The building’s L-shaped plan provided every room with both west-facing ocean and east-facing interior patio views. Originally constructed as apartments. Now it is a beautiful Hotel owned and updated by the colourful Tamie Adaya the self proclaimed Provocatrice and bon vivant and we love her for it already! When was the hotel acquired by your family? It was acquired in 1983 by my father. It was as a bed and breakfast and it did really well. My father fell in love with the architectural components of the hotel and the location. He was into real estate at that time and real estate's three major rules are location, location, location. My father grew up in Bombay, he was in love with the Art Deco, Streamline Moderne architecture. The Shangri La reminded him of where he grew up, so he bought it in '83 and then I took over in 2004 as my father was fading. My father died in 2006 and I had his blessing and I did the whole renovation. At the time I was in college, university and not intending to take over. You have a big strong family don’t you, but he chose you to take over? I'm the youngest of six. They're all in Santa Monica. My father planned it that way. My father was a great planner and he'd tell people, nothing happens by luck. My father made money and he thought rather than for my children to enjoy the money after I'm dead, I'd rather my children enjoyed the money while I'm alive. He bought us all houses as wedding presents around him so he could always have us around. Nothing happens by luck, clever man. At the time of your take over ,what were your actual plans at that point? My plans were to be in the music industry. I always hung out with musicians. I used to sing backups for Guns n' Roses when they first came out. I was at the fist gig they ever did. We were just all hanging out. They were starting out and they liked the way I was. They said you guys should sing with us. What are you guys called? And in the moment I made up the name Bitchin' Vixens. Later they got signed by Geffen and then everything changed, the professional strippers came into the picture and then professional dancers and professional backup artists. What did you end up doing after that? Coming from a South Asian family the whole thing was, get married, have kids, so I did and pretty soon I was starting to feel that emptiness and then I realised my father was fading and somebody needed to take over the family businesses www.thefrankmagazine.com
So what state was the hotel in when you took over?
culture, in ancient Egyptian culture. It’s the first expression of modernism in the twenties and it's up lifting. You had Streamline Modern happened during the Great Depression. So if you notice The hotel was in a bad state. My father put in a couple of million dollars to just do a lipstick and Our hotel is not uplift, it's not vertical it's more rounded and horizontal but it's all part of deco. rouge renovation. The hotel has good bones. Bones meaning the structure and the architecture The Shangri -La is the second part of deco. but he couldn't do anything major. The hotel did Who is the hotel aimed at? not have a pool, it did not have a hot tub, the courtyard was just one level. There was no food My ideas for the hotel was designed for a woman and beverage, no restaurant, no rooftop bar and in her forties. She has to juggle being a wife and was always a bed and breakfast. When my father bought the hotel in 1983 there a mother, usually, or a lover and she usually is a working woman. So where can she go where she were not many hotels here in Santa Monica. By can have a tryst with her lover, if she so chooses the time I took over in the 2000s all the major or be with her family and her children and still corporate hotels had come in and they all had have date night? Or be on a girls' trip where pools and they were all spick and span and I she's taking a long deserved break from her knew that if we were going to remain viable I family? And go shopping and go drinking and needed to upgrade the hotel. have a good time? In our forties our parents are aging. And I don't' care what culturally is being So what did you do? said that we're supposed to be equal because let's face the facts: when parents are ageing it's So I brought in the pool, the hot tub, the the woman, it's the daughter that gets stuck with restaurant, the rooftop bar which was converted from the penthouse. I brought in a dining room. caring for the parents more than the son. It's the The beautiful view from the roof inspired me to daughter who has to be the wife and the good mother and still bring home the pay check. We open it up to the public. So the Onyx roof top bar was created. I had the first and only rooftop have so many roles to play and some of them are so conflicting. bar in Santa Monica. So did you instinctively knew what to do to upgrade the hotel? Yeah, Because the weird thing was in Pakistan where I grew up, hotels were the places to go in the early '70s. So I always had envisioned hotels being the nexus for culture, where people get together and people meet. So I had that image in my mind and that wasn't being done here yet. And I basically and I’m not going to let modesty prevent me from telling the truth but I spearheaded the rejuvenation of Santa Monica because when I put this hotel in it became the go-to spot, which is what I wanted. The Shangri - La is for the cultural sophisticate of any age. That's been part of my branding because the hotel's always been very popular with the design community because everything's original even the windows. When I upgraded the hotel we were awarded by the Santa Monica Conservancy for preserving a hotel the way I did. I love deco and deco has its roots in Pharaonic
“There'll be times in your life where you'll be the perfect mother and the perfect daughter and the perfect wife. There'll be stages in your life where you won't be the perfect mother, you'll be decent but you'll be a kick ass career woman. So you will have it all but they will never come at the same time.”
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Pool side at the Shangri La
Roof top view at the Shangri La
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Vintage interior shot in the Shangri La
“Mum will tell me you shouldn't wear that because she wants me to dress more conservatively. She'll say, why don't you wear my clothes? I'm like, mom, I'm thirty years younger than you, I can't wear your clothes. I think my clothes are better.“
bright colours because nobody did in the '80s it was all about black and goth and punk and Vivienne Westwood stuff was all black and zippers and all that. It was great and that's what I did. But it was very hard in the late '90s with grunge and everything to express yourself with colour and everything you found that had colour was frumpy. But after dressing like that 27 years I got so ticked off and bored. That all catapulted after my separation, I just felt like I need to express myself with colour. What are your thoughts on ‘having it all’? I always wanted to do it before then too and I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that when Young women ask me all the time, Tamie, how you know you're not feeling your best, even if do you do it? How do you have a successful you're in a slight depression because you're not career and raise three sons and be married? where you want to be in life or you're not where Because I was married, I'm divorced now. I you want to be in a relationship you don’t want always tell them the myth of the superwoman to express yourself with colour. So it was only till it's fake. You can't have everything all the time, about seven or eight years ago when I started it will all come in stages. There'll be times in finding colour and colour has helped me express your life where you'll be the perfect mother and myself. It also reflects my technicolour the perfect daughter and the perfect wife. There'll be stages in your life where you won't be personality. We are forever evolving our style. When it stops you’re dead. the perfect mother, you'll be decent but you'll be a kick ass career woman. And then there'll be Whats the best thing about being a mature stages in your life where you won't be focusing woman? on any of those things, you’ll focusing on expressing your creativity. So you will have it all The best thing about being in our forties and but they will never come at the same time. beyond is that and it happened to me in my forties was self-love. Self-acceptance. You start She, when you took on the hotel was your mother involved? Is she a creative like you? loving your body. It doesn't matter how fat or thin you are. You say, my god, my body works so No she didn’t want to be involved. She has good well. I need to love my body for everything that it serves me for. I need to love my face and my taste but she's not a creative. eyes work and my nose works and you know. Does she have an understanding of your So us self loving women over forty should creativity and how you express that? definitely be treating ourselves to a stay at My mother is amazing and a very strong woman. the hotel? My mother adores me and I adore my mother. Yes, you can sit in a bath with your lover, with Like any daughter, mother relationship it can the partition open and look at the ocean view. sometimes be fraught…she really doesn’t And then you can go to the pool and bathe understand how I express my creativity. yourselves then go to the bar and have a great She'll tell me you shouldn't wear that because time with a view. And then if you have kids with she wants me to dress more conservatively. you and you’re with your husband, the kids can She'll say, why don't you wear my clothes? I'm play at the pool and play ping pong and you can like, mom, I'm thirty years younger than you, I go shopping at the 32 promenade with a can't wear your clothes. I think my clothes are girlfriend. This is what I designed the hotel for. better. It’s for a woman in her forties who has so many differing expectations and so many different Let’s talk about your wardrobe and style? needs. And the hotel Shangri -La was created as a place to reconcile all her dichotomies. I've always been a punk so I didn't dress in www.thefrankmagazine.com
M O T O R I N G
The return of the Speed Queens, MARIA COSTELLO MBE by Photojournalist Lara Platman
I first met Maria Costello MBE about fifteen years ago at Goodwood Revival, in the holding paddock alongside the classic motorbike she was about to race in the Barry Sheene Memorial Trophy, we briefly discussed if there were any other women racing on the grid that weekend. To this very day Maria and I discuss the same question but with such a difference. So much has changed and it is a very exciting horizon for women in the motor race industry at the moment. With the new W Series launched this year, dedicated to women driving the same format & cylinder of car on the same circuits as the usual mixed mainstream races, of which 20% of the women that made it onto that racing grid this year are from the United Kingdom. The British Women Racing Drivers Club goes from strength to strength and many of the female stunt riders and drivers in the current blockbuster films are from these Isles. Yes, once again, women are being seen behind the wheel more and more. Classic motor racing is also at an all-time high such as the Vintage & the Historic Sports Car Clubs running races, sprints, hill climbs and trials at various locations all over the UK and Europe, along with specific major annual events such as Goodwood Revival, Donington Historic and Silverstone Classic creating a showcase for a variety of races of different eras and race cars including motorcycles too of course. www.thefrankmagazine.com
Historic racing is a very accessible way of getting into motor racing as cars are often handed down through the family, reaching their way to grandchildren - men and women, so the historic scene has plenty of women at the wheel. With these women racing in the clubs, their friends join in, many of which could be women and so once again, after a long silence from women at the wheel, you will find a good number on the grid racing, not holding a starting grid number!
four wheels not my usual two. Have you got used to the 4 wheel car racing line
I know the motorcycle racing line which is completely different to the racing line of a car with 4 wheels. I was being told off a lot when I was being coached for using a different line, the line I know, taking motorcycle lines and even with my sidecar racing it is a different line to a Below is the culmination of two interviews with motorcycle racing line. So I am on this massive Maria, firstly at one of these classic race meetings learning curve adding in three wheels and four to a couple of years ago, Silverstone Classic, where I my usual two. caught up with Maria again as she was just about to race a 1960’s Austin A35 in the Silverstone Now I once said to you. Omg you are mad Classic Celebrity Race, a race notorious for a lot doing side car racing and what about the of incidents due to the pure nature that half the passenger of the side car and you said, “No drivers only recently obtained their Motor racing it’s precision” can you explain just a little licence specifically for that race and secondly a bit about that. meeting just recently at Festival of Speed where, she had just completed racing her motorbike and I think it’s because I read John McGuinness’ her Sidecar at the Isle of Man TT, the first book (with 23 wins of the IOMTT along with 47 woman ever to do so. podiums) and everyone says to him constantly “oh you must be mad riding at that Isle of Man How does this little Austin compare to a place.” motorbike And I get that said to me constantly, I understand You can’t compare a motorbike to it. One has got where he’s coming from but actually, we are 2 wheels, the other 4, it’s a completely different definitely not mad - we have to be dedicated, animal to a bike and I have had 20 years on a focused on so many things it’s a game of being so motorcycle so the motorcycle is just what I do precise, he knows that circuit so well, he knows and the car thing is going to be brand new to where to put his wheels, when to lift on or off, it’s me. Also they simplified these Austin A35’s, so about being precise not being mad. everything is super basic a bit top heavy no slip diffs, there is nothing special in them, nothing So it is your first time out on the circuit new, it’s about you and the machine. I kind of really then with this little A35, have you like that, as it’s a bit like riding a classic bike with ridden on this Silverstone Circuit before all its characteristics intact, very different to something that is modern and super slick. Actually I have done one of my women only track days here on the Grand Prix Circuit. It is a much You have just passed your ARDS motor faster chicane here at the wing so when we get racing exam to allow you to race in the UK qualifying today, we’ll get to see the chicane. on motor racing circuits. I also took my racing exam a couple of years ago and it was Well, you know about different racing lines such fun learning all the flags, the corners and speed and the precision, do you think you and racing lines, but have you had much might get a bit of a bug for racing this car practice to get ready for this race I love trying everything. This is what so fantastic No! We did just a few laps in an Aston Martin, a to have had the opportunity to take my ARDS few in a Mazda MX5, then a few in the Austin race license and do this charity race, A35 before the actual day of racing, today on www.thefrankmagazine.com
now that I have my race license I will be able to race other cars what other things could I do with it. Other things are already being talking about. Meanwhile, I am really looking forward to going out and going round the circuit Just as I did all that time ago when we met at Goodwood before you went out for the Barry Sheen Memorial Trophy, I ask about women racing today. I can see a lot of women racing at this classic meeting, it’s how I wanted to start racing and where I race a car, how is the scene with women in motorbikes? There are 10 women racing this weekend I think and there’s a lot more women in historic than contemporary Probably more accessible for women in the historic scene to go racing and also with sidecars there are more women, but we just have to shout about the women who are doing it and doing it well and say listen you can do it too. Let’s all have a go. Do it! I get back to talking motorbikes with Maria before her race on four wheels as I had recently passed my motorcycle license at that time and she told me about the all women track days she has organised. However, it is modern motorcycle racing that Costello is known for along for her work with getting more women on the race track and in to motorcycling in general. Whilst more recently her side car racing has taken off, we fast forward 2 years and here we meet Maria again when I recently chatted with her just after she completed the Isle of Man TT with both her motorcycle and her side car with passenger Julie Canipa. www.thefrankmagazine.com
Firstly congratulations on making History Maria, two and three wheels at the same Isle of Man TT, how was that experience.
There are plenty to ask as more often than not there are females as the passenger, as you don’t have to buy the sidecar, you are joining a team that already exists. The sidecar is also a really good advertising board, so it can be fairly economical to go racing when sponsors are on board.
I am the first woman to race a side car and race solo at the same TT and with all the disruption in the weather we did 5 races in one day, so I actually raced both races in one day. Both races were reduced to only 2 lap Well seeing as I have blown the chance to races, so it was very doable physically and I came back feeling very proud of myself. It was be your passenger this weekend at Festival of Speed, I would like to be the first in the one of my best TT’s ever. queue please as your passenger somewhere There is another female driver, a very fast lady else. round the TT at the moment, Estelle Le Blond, she had a male passenger whilst I had a Manx After watching you race round the Isle of Man TT circuit on both on the motorbike lady, Julie Canipa so we were the only alland the sidecar I can see that precision is female crew this year indeed precision and not madness at all. If at all possible can you describe what it is like You once told me that you had to get used to race a sidecar, I mean I know you are a to all the different racing lines, how are you doing now with keeping them separate? thoroughbred with your motorbike and you have a different set of genes to me - as I It reminds me of a Royal Ballet Dancer love riding a motorbike, but off road on having to learn 3 pieces at once and remember them all whilst they perform one, trails and I love racing a car, but I would only do that at club level as time and money and understudy for another. How are all prevails and probably too does my lack of your racing lines and how does it work race horse in me, but tell me what IS the with a passenger on board feeling is it possible to put into words With the sidecar, it really is a skill, determination a partnership, a synergy between passenger and Well for one they are completely different riding positions, you are higher on a motorbike as you driver. We don’t have intercoms, no have a greater perspective, whereas my sidecar I communication, but a few set signals for am leaning over my bike inches from the ground example if there are fast riders coming up behind you, you would get a squeeze on the leg with my legs behind me, I am leaning right over - they’re doing their job and I am doing my job, my handlebars, you have a much lower, a very so it works. There are similarities with the racing different perspective of the circuit. lines in all forms of racing actually, if I am Because I know the TT course already, I really driving my side car on the best lines that I can do, that’s where the passenger can do their best enjoyed being in this new low position and learning the course from being on the ground, a job. lot lower. Your toes are scraping the ground sometimes, hitting 160mph top speeds at times. But when you get involved with other traffic, you naturally have to take a different line, or slow down. That is quite fascinating as they have I obviously love 2 wheels, as I have been racing motorbikes for over 22 years and that’s through to keep an eye on what’s going on or they may have to braise themselves to an early braking or and through what I do and love but getting to take the side car to the TT was so special and so get ready for an overtake. enjoyable and I loved every second of learning this new sport at the TT and I wouldn’t want to Maria, I am going to find a lady passenger to interview and ask her everything as to what it is put them up against each other. like being a passenger www.thefrankmagazine.com
I was asked if I could take one to the TT what it would be. It would have been the sidecar. Because this was the new challenge for me. I would think that some people imagine the sidecar to be a sort of ‘Wallis and Gromit’ kind of thing. Can you explain a little about the framework A racing sidecar is beautiful and well worth seeing when they have got their fairings off. My sidecar is an F2 LCR short bike with a 600 cc engine. There are long bikes too but I run a short chassis. LCR is probably the most common sidecar, very cleverly engineered. This one has all the brakes joined together on a bias system used by the right foot and the other foot is where the gears are along with a normal clutch lever. It is close and compact but so is a motorbike. I have foam where my belly goes for comfort and to get a better position for racing. What encouragement can you give to ladies to try side car racing and in fact motorcycle racing, and is it possible for us ladies who are perhaps mid-career, or who have not tried something that seems, on the surface - a little risky www.thefrankmagazine.com
''I know the motorcycle racing line which is completely different to the racing line of a car with 4 wheels. I was being told off a lot when I was being coached for using a different line, the line I know, taking motorcycle lines and even with my sidecar racing it is a different line to a motorcycle racing line. So I am on this massive learning curve adding in three wheels and four to my usual two.''
Is it possible? Why not? I would like have a day on a circuit and do taxi rides all day with my sidecar and raise some money for charity, men and women, to get more people in to sidecar racing. I just need to find a circuit or facility and take people on my sidecar. I am the first woman to be the President of the TT Riders Association, so it will be great to create a day like this. There are loads of classes and experiences with different motorcycles you could choose from, flat track, off road, trialling, circuit training; so many disciplines. All motorcycle manufacturers are connected to a ‘get on a bike’ sort of scheme. Maria, I am your first side car passenger remember, on our day out Let’s do it. I peal myself off of the platform that is the passenger seat of the sidecar, where I have been poised chatting to Maria and leave her to get through scrutineering ready for the hill climbs at Goodwood on both the motorbike and the sidecar. I am literally inches from the ground and begin to ask myself what have I invited myself to do? Being a Sidecar passenger is certainly going to be an exciting challenge?
Lara Platman is a keen motorcyclist, holds a motor racing license and is about to embark on a small adventure in her own 1964 Series2 Land Rover which she fully restored. Lara can be found on Twitter @photofeature and Instagram @photo.feature www.thefrankmagazine.com
P O R T R A I T O N A N I C O N
Mary Quant, photograph by Ronald Dumont, c.1967. (C) adoc-photosCorbis Premium HistoricalGetty Images
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The STYLE ICON who changed the face of FASHION
By Shaima Al-Obaidi
In 1955, when a young Mary Quant aged just 21, opened a boutique named Bazaar on King’s Road in Chelsea, the artist in her sensed that millions of young women longed for something entirely different. At the time, a cultural rebellion was bursting out of Britain which resulted in a shift in attitudes. Women were fighting for the right to work and party like men, as well as embracing the freedom to take control of their bodies when the contraceptive pill was introduced. They demanded to look exciting, feel sexy and shrug off the traditional and repressive gendered expectations of previous generations. With her imagination and flair for design, Quant was able to give women the clothes they wanted by moving away from the tired traditions of a gloomy post-war London, and replaced them with styles that truly harnessed the youthful spirit of the 1960s. She quickly rose to fame and became an instrumental figure for the working woman in the Swinging Sixties. The London designer not only created affordable fashion for her contemporaries, she challenged conventions and revolutionised the way women dressed in a way that allowed them to make a loud and clear statement: I’ll wear what I want and I’m proud, thank you very much. “Snobbery has gone out of fashion, and in our shops, you will find duchesses jostling with typists to buy the same dresses,” she once stated to Vogue. She created her own iconic image with the short skirt, Peter Pan collar, flat shoes, tights and cropped Vidal Sassoon bob - which became the look of a generation. Sandra Howard (previously known as Sandra Paul), one of the era’s most famous models remarked: “[Quant] was simply the only look anyone cared about.” Contrary to popular belief, Quant never laid claim to being the originator of the miniskirt (although she was christened by many as the inventor of the style). In Paris, Andre Courreges was also known for drastically shortening hemlines and the two emerged with the miniskirt around the same time – but it was Quant who popularised the garment as the must-have fashion item and made it her own. She famously said: “It was the girls on King’s Road who invented the mini. I was making easy, youthful, simple clothes, in which you could move, in which you could run and jump and we would make them the length the customer wanted. I wore them very short and the customers would say, “Shorter, shorter”.” www.thefrankmagazine.com
"Mary created her own iconic image with the short skirt, Peter Pan collar, flat shoes, tights and cropped Vidal Sassoon bob which became the look of a generation."
Mary Quant with Vidal Sassoon, photograph by Ronald Dumont, 1964 Ronald DumontStringerGetty Images
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Mary Quant selecting fabric, 1967 (C) Rolls PressPopperfoto Getty Images
In an interview with The Sunday Telegraph, Quant added: “I was just making what I wanted and what other art student friends wanted from me. Chelsea girls had wonderful legs and they were as keen as I was about it.” Surprised by the uproar it caused at the time, she said: “I never intended to be outrageous. After all, I always wore tights. I had to have tights specially made because of the short skirts. They didn’t exist then except for the theatre. Everyone wore stockings. So I got the theatrical manufacturers to make some for me and then I persuaded another manufacturer to set up. They were absolutely delighted because they sold fantastic quantities and, of course, it never stopped. Such fun.” But, she didn’t stop at miniskirts. Among her many achievements, she went on to invent hot pants (which she said sold faster than they could make them), was at the forefront of massproduction fashion, setting up the Ginger Group and exporting to the US, and modernised the beauty industry’s approach to cosmetics, making the process of applying make-up efficient and fuss free. Quant then turned her attention to home décor – designing an entire household line including bedding, fabric curtains, roller blinds and wallpaper to create a ‘total Quant’ look for the home. If that’s not impressive enough, she also designed the interior of the Mini car. Her desire and drive to make trendsetting fashion for the masses still influences both high end and high street fashion, and paved the way for modern-day brands such as Topshop and ASOS. It comes as no surprise that Quant’s extraordinary effect on fashion is being celebrated at the Victoria and Albert museum, who are currently staging the first international retrospective on Quant’s work from 1955 to 1975. After the museum launched a national call out using the hashtag #WeWantQuant, appealing to members of the public for Quant items lurking in their wardrobes that they would be willing to loan or donate, they were “overwhelmed” with the response. For many, it became a trip down memory lane as women described how they bought her clothes to wear at job interviews, birthday parties and weddings. “We had more than a thousand emails from women – some friends of Quant’s and members of the bohemian circle to which she belonged – but most were ordinary women. Former students, teachers and nurses – some got in touch with us from as far afield as San Francisco and Australia,” said Jenny Lister, the co-curator of the exhibition.
With more than 120 garments on display over two floors, along with accessories, cosmetics, sketches and photographs, most of which has never been seen before, the exhibition showcases her approach to fashion and branding that was far ahead of her time. The exhibition is as much about the social and historical context of the time and showcases her creative, quirky and entrepreneurial mind, leaving visitors with a renewed sense of her power and legacy. “Mary Quant grew up at a time when women were meant to dress like their mothers and went straight out of [school] uniform into pearls and twin sets, particularly in Britain,” Lister said. “With her higher-than-high hemlines, colourful tights and masculine tailored trousers, she helped wipe out British post war drabness and create a bold new attitude to dressing.” “The designs were also Quant’s personal rebellion,” The Guardian reported. It was “her way of avoiding becoming a grammar school teacher (the fate her university educated parents…had imagined for her).” Quant was born in London’s Blackheath in 1934 to Welsh parents. When her mother and father refused to let her to attend a fashion course, fearing that there was no future in it, she studied illustration at Goldsmiths University where she met her future husband and business partner, Alexander Plunket Greene who contributed to her global success. Her muse for fashion came from a very young age, when an anonymous girl was tap-dancing in the room next to Quant’s ballet class. “During [one ballet class], I could hear exciting music coming from next door, and when I peeked through the glass I saw a tap-dancing class take place, and in the middle of the room, a girl a couple of years older than me who was the vision of everything I wanted to be,” Quant told The Week. “She was wearing a short-pleated skirt about 10in long, with a skinny black sweater, black tights and a bob haircut. What struck me was how the whole outfit focused on what she had on her feet: a pair of white ankle socks, and a pair of patent tap shoes with ankle straps … From that day on I was struck with this lovely vision of legs and ankles.” What was impossible for her to vision, was just how quickly her brand would take off in the UK and internationally, making her one of the most significant figures in fashion history. Now at 85 years old, when asked about what she thought of her work at the time, the fashion legend replied: "It was a wonderfully exciting time and despite the frenetic, hard work, we had enormous fun. We didn't necessarily realize that what we were creating was pioneering, we were simply too busy relishing all the opportunities and embracing the results before rushing on to the next challenge!" In 1966, Quant received an OBE for her outstanding services to the fashion industry. And in true Quant style, she famously arrived at Buckingham Palace to accept the honour in a mini skirt. Since, she continued to break the dominance of the French couture houses like Christian Dior, which were largely unaffordable to young people. Quant was quite simply, revolutionary. She was a risk taker who broke boundaries and whose designs still feel as contemporary as they did 60 years after she opened her first store. Her lifelong belief that fashion is fun, freeing and a tool for feminism gave women the confidence to reject the rules and inhibitions of the post war period. “[Quant] expressed the way in which women’s lives were parting from traditional stereotypes,” Lister said. “Her clothes provided a language to express the empowerment of women at a time when words like sexism had barely been invented.” Quant was a pioneer of feminism. After all, she was the same age as her customers in the 60s, which was a rarity in those days. She famously declared: “The whole point of fashion is to make fashionable clothes available to everyone.” As committed as she was, she did exactly that, but also gave women much more. The exhibition “Mary Quant” runs to February 16, 2020.
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OPEN MARRIAGE
Two unrelated perspectives. Tom and Janet, who are both in open marriages, share their personal journey's.
TOM
I have been married to my wife for 8 years. We met a few years before that and back then I never thought we would end up living in an open marriage. I come from a traditional Christian family where you pledge to remain faithful to the end. The plan was to marry, have children, raise them and live happily ever after. We had children and bought a house together but we’d reached a point where it didn't work romantically as a traditional married couple should, but we weren't ready to separate either. Moving to different houses & splitting the family wasn’t an option for us so we decided to give ourselves a bit of time to adapt to the situation and redefine new parameters. That’s when we decided to start having our own romantic lives. It was very difficult for me initially to get it clear in my mind. My wife comes from a more complex family background so for her it was easier to grasp the concept of romantic separation within the continuity of a family life. She was the first to start a new relationship. I knew the guy already and actually thought he was rather nice. I could tell they'd become closer and it wasn't a shock when she told me she had
started seeing him as a boyfriend. Knowing him and knowing her I completely understand why she went for him. In the beginning it was difficult to accept, mostly because we went from sharing everything to me being excluded from parts of her life. When she started a relationship with this man I felt rejected. I wanted to know everything about it, even the most intimate details. We talked a lot and she answered all my questions which helped me eventually accept the situation. I guess I hadn't completely absorbed the separation within the marriage as a fact. It became very real when she started the new relationship. We decided to keep our arrangement to ourselves and didn’t tell friends or family for some time. That helped us to develop our own clear understanding of it before their opinions flooded in. We didn’t want to be influenced by anyone, which was crucial to bringing peace to the situation. Another positive aspect about keeping it private was an amazing increase of our communication and therefore the trust between us. We discussed it so much because it was such a revolution in our union. Paradoxically, despite the fact that we have an open marriage we have become much more intimate and transparent towards one another.
didn’t feel jealous of my wife but I did feel rejected. It took me some time to rebuild my self confidence and understand that I actually had my place in her life and she still cared about me. I “Despite the fact that have had semi long term relationships outside we have an open of the marriage. I’m always very honest about my situation from day one and the women all marriage we have become say they're ok with it and it’s not a problem for closer and more the first few months but after awhile they all end up being frustrated and that's the transparent towards one beginning of the end. another - If you ask me My wife and I love our family life, being able to what place my wife has see the children daily and bringing them up together makes us happy. Falling in love with in my heart today, I'll another woman would mean moving into tell you she is another home & eventually creating a new family and that would be too complicated. I'm everything to me, my not ready for that. I actually started to fall in family, my best friend love with a woman a few years ago and I really and my confidant. “ considered letting myself go for it but i just couldn’t. In order to fall in love I would need to When we did tell people, they felt they had to be mentally available and I'm not. My kids are give us their take on it and sometimes they took still young and my wife and I have worked out sides. One friend said “lucky you! You're married a sort of consensus which suits us both. So I'm and you can have as many affairs as you want not ready to trade that for now. . without having any trouble at home! You've got After the children leave I can definitely see a the best of both worlds! “. family house where we still gather as much as Others merely said ‘it will never work’ but the possible but like traditional married couples we reality is, apart from the lack of romance, we have will have to redefine our relationship when our exactly the same life and family issues as any children leave home. couples who live together. For us the romantic element of our marriage Most people are very judgmental. They has gone but we still connect intellectually and understand the concept of being together or we still share the same values. We are still getting divorced but this in-between situation is completely aligned on all points and very much so far from what they know but I too struggled in sync regarding parenting and our financial with it so I understood their position. life. If you ask me what place my wife has in my After my wife started her first relationship I heart today, she is everything to me, my family, embarked on mine within a few weeks. Basic my best friend and my confident. instinct. I was on a mission and although I was in turmoil I still managed to enjoy flirting again having been off the market for years. My very first relationship didn't last and then I met a woman who was actually in a similar situation. We stayed together for a year. It was an important partnership. It helped me talk about it for the first time and digest it. My wife didn't ask questions about my other relationships. She knew when I was going out and seeing someone but she had integrated the notion of privacy between us much faster than I had and she respected it. However I wanted her to know and I did tell her even if she didn't ask. When our new arrangement was underway I
JANET
I'm quite open sexually, always have been and I find frustrating that sexuality would be such a taboo for most people. It leads them to be very judgmental and most of the time frustrated. When we met 20 years ago, my husband and I were both coming out of long and painful relationships with very jealous partners. I had just broken up with a guy who was constantly doubting my fidelity. I couldn't have a simple conversation with another man without arousing his jealousy. Whenever I'd come back home a bit late he'd imagine I’d been hiding secrets from him. I felt constantly guilty for absolutely no reason and that became unbearable. After 5 years together I ended the relationship.
non exclusive, It meant we'd have to be responsible in our dealings with the situation and our feelings. Jealousy is a result of personal insecurities, the fear that the other one might leave you, the fear of not being loved anymore, the fear of being rejected, the feeling of inferiority etc. if you realise that, these fears might be triggered by the situation but they are absolutely not related to the relationship itself, If you know deep inside that the other one is happy to be with you then there is nothing to fear about, not even an infidelity.
So if you can be totally free and honest with your partner, talk about these fears without being judged but instead being understood, loved more and reassured, then it's a beautiful definition of love. We participated in a few workshops about how to So when James and I met, we talked about our previous experiences, how destructive and painful put this concept in place. Talking about it is one thing, implementing it, another. they had been and how we never wanted to These workshops are like group therapies based experience that again. When it became apparent on Eckart Tolle and Paul Lowe’s philosophies on that we were getting serious we promised each consciousness and self responsibility for one’s other that we would always be together not own feelings. Concretely it means working on because we felt compelled to, but because we living your full potential, being present in really wanted it. We didn't want to impose any rules based on conventions. We wanted to create whatever you chose to do, releasing fear, feeling free of judgment and social pressure. In other an emotional environment where the other one words, how to be fully yourself in your would always feel free and safe to talk about relationships and in your couple without the absolutely everything. influence of conventions and other people's We knew the concept of a traditional relationship judgement. based on sexual exclusivity didn't apply to us. Neither him nor I believed that you could be attracted to the same person for the rest of your life and physical attraction is important for both “If all you need is to of us. Therefore the conversation about potential feel desired and touched affairs came very naturally and we discussed it a lot. We sort of tried to pre-empt the situations: by another man, have a would we want to know about the other one's new sexual experience ‘affairs’? Would we invite the other one to talk because you've been about it? What would be the dangers for us as a couple? Our common ground was that we always married for a long time, wanted to be there for one another, be able to if you just need to stop exchange information safely without animosity and share our feelings if one was suffering. being a mum, a wife and For example if one of us could sense that the just become a free other one was having some fun outside our couple, he or I would be able to question the person for a few hours other one freely without being denied an honest once in a while, well … answer and we didn't exclude the fact that we Why not? ” could be hurt by the knowing. If we made the choice to be really free in our relationship and www.thefrankmagazine.com
But the reality of it is quite challenging because even if you manage not to care about conventions and social pressure you actually don't know how you will react to the other one's infidelity. For example when we’d been to a party together and we had a debrief in the car on the way back home, I'd ask: “who was that girl you spoke to for a long time? Do you fancy her?” then he would say: “yes she's very attractive”. Then I'd been tempted to ask :”are you going to see her again?”.. That's the kind of situation where you find out how you actually cope with the concept of freedom. It’s not easy and it can hurt. I guess being open in a marriage is not about being insensitive to infidelity it’s about accepting it might happen and when it does happen, being able to deal with it without breaking up the relationship. The danger however is that you might develop strong feelings for another person. It almost happened to me. I had an affair with a guy we'd been on holiday with: James and I had been together for 7 years, our son was a young toddler and I was in this nesting phase where all my focus was on him. I was not at all in a romantic or seductive mood and our relationship as a couple was definitely changing. We had become parents and we were mostly communicating about logistics and problem solving than anything else. This man was a friend of my husband but he knew about the nature of our marriage. He openly made me an offer, or rather let’s say he made us an offer since James was sitting in front
of me! I was not prepared for it and I was not in a seductive mindset at all so it felt like an electric shock which woke up the woman in me. After a few weeks of intense flirting I fell for the guy. On paper he was the perfect lover. He knew exactly what to say to make me feel confident and beautiful and of course, it felt so good. James who was totally aware of the situation opened up to me, like a friend really. He warned me the guy was a danger, not only for me but if I was to fall in love I would jeopardise our marriage. He was right, and I ended it. I knew the guy was a player so it felt fine for me to do that. James did suffer about this liaison and to be honest I too suffer a lot when I know he's in an environment where flings are likely to happen. We have now decided do keep our infidelities to ourselves. To be honest they happen much less than when we were younger, which I think is probably better. If you go off track too often you tend to abandon your couple. We've been together 15 years, and we like being together, we make a good match. There are so many reasons that lead to infidelity not least the personal small frustrations that build up. There is nothing more damaging than an accumulation of small frustrations that haven't been sorted over the years however not all frustrations can be sorted. If all you need is to feel desired by someone else, have a new sexual experience because you've been married for a long time, if you just need to stop being a mum, a wife and just become a free person for a few hours once in a while, well … Why not? Just deal with it like a responsible adult.
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OPEN MARRIAGE can it work?
In each of these accounts both the virtues and its dangers come through. They are both trying to find a solution to a dilemma that can normally hit long-term relationships: the tension between the wish for commitment and security (and a longing to retain the parts of a relationship that work), and the too-common waning of sexual desire, as both routine and the resentments of daily living set in over time. For some the erosion of their sexual connection leads them to conclude that the relationship must be dead. And thus begins the pain and disarray of ending. These two couples have reached a different conclusion; they clearly have a lot to live for within their respective relationships. And wish to avoid such pain. They, like others before and presumably after them, are trying a side-ways solution. There is a way to address the dilemma. As we can see from their accounts, it’s had some success and also some drawbacks. Demonstrably from their stories it has kept their marriages and the parts that work alive. But there is a caveat: research on open marriages suggests that they are, for the same reasons these accounts hint at, usually temporary solutions. Generally, either they stop being ‘open,’ or the relationships end. In the meantime they may be seen as a somewhat risky experiment useful to keep a relationship going.
By Professor Janet Reibstein Psychologist, individual psychotherapist & family therapist. discovery. Secrecy was the big problem: on discovery the sense of betrayal was a prime reason a marriage ended but if not discovered, affairs could in theory, keep things going and take pressure off the marital relationship. A small proportion of the people interviewed had, like these two couples, ‘open marriages ’, which obviated the risk of secrecy or guilt and dishonesty. In the aftermath of what has been called the ‘sexual revolution’ and Second Wave Feminism in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s a wave of such relationships had begun to crest —a best-seller by a couple, George and Nena O’Neill, who had one, labelled it, as they also named their book: “Open Marriage.” It was at the time hailed in the popular press as a possible model for the future, squaring the circle of marriage and desire over time, especially given a growing emphasis then on mutual sexual satisfaction. So inevitably academic research followed, including by definition, ours. What we all found was that, in fact, this model did not take off, and soon tailed off, at least as best we could tell from pretty flawed research at the time. They didn’t last mainly for the reasons both couples point to in their accounts: the inability to stem the pain of insecurity and the lack of power to control the wildness of love and lust. While people wish to wrestle down jealousy, insecurity, and envy when other sexual relationships enter, this is usually impossible to do perfectly, though defining the relationship’s primacy as other than sexual exclusivity helps.
In the early 1990’s my colleague, Prof Martin Richards, and I published our uniquely nonjudgmental study of extramarital affairs, Sexual Arrangements: Marriage and Affairs Yet something that can threaten the . Affairs, in general, we concluded, were often continuation of the relationship can almost attempts, like the two couples’ stories here, to always rise up, challenging even the sturdiest save their marriages. Contrary to popular defences against jealousy and insecurity. belief, people having affairs were not Because, actually, they are inevitable responses consciously embarking on exit strategies but to anything threatening a primary, centrally trying to take pressure off the marriages by important emotional relationship to which you seeking things outside of them. If affairs were are ‘attached’ (to a child, a parent, a partner). secret, though, there was a real risk from www.thefrankmagazine.com
Also, imperfect and not- all-knowing beings that we are, we can’t perfectly control the source of those potential threats. So even if you successfully fight off jealousy, as Tom and Janet say they and their partners have done, there can in theory always be a situation in which you can’t. That is what usually ends the open marriage deal—or ends the marriage. In theory some can, over time, escape this. But it’s only luck that does that, so it’s a risk. Once you become what psychologists call ‘attached’ to someone you become ‘attached’ even neurologically . You’re attached when someone becomes the site of your security and is the object of what we can loosely define as ‘love’. That is, someone for whom you have strong feelings, usually fired at first and over time by erotic connection; someone with whom your intimate routines, finances, precious other connections ( children, family, home, close friends, interests) are intertwined. In that situation you are, and become more so over time, “attached.” That’s not just something in your head that you can push away. You become even physiologically affected by it , the ‘sickness’ feelings of jealousy and insecurity). So jealousy and insecurity around someone else threatening your prime position is a primitive and natural response. You can manage it, as these couples do, by having rules around other liaisons: “you can’t fall in love” is the main one. The relationship being special by being ‘closest’ and ‘most honest’ is another. Both these couples are trying to redefine what is ‘special’ that makes their relationship ‘primary’ and so wouldn’t be threatened by other sexual liaisons. But sex has a way of creeping into other areas, unfortunately, and sometimes seeping into areas that feel like ‘love,’ especially when there is a sexual thrall or a shared deep sense of interests and understandings along with sexual attraction. Janet’s story shows, that happened with their mutual friend. The couple survived the pain of this; too many more episodes like this, according to the research, either end the openness or the marriage. Pain is a severe teacher.
people’s - the lovers - responses and needs. Those are the two things that mainly terminate the ‘arrangement’ that open marriages have sought to make to keep their own relationships alive. The lovers can feel used or conned, even though they’ve been ‘told the rules.’ Not many like being out of control, and the couple setting the rules are in control, not the lovers. Again, too many episodes of others’ pain may lead to this experiment’s demise. Indeed, one of the first couples I interviewed for Sexual Arrangements had asked at interview if I would use their real names (all were told they’d be given pseudonyms) because they both felt no shame and also wanted to advertise for open marriages. I did not agree. Wisely, it turned out. Their rules for their open marriage had been clear and explicit, and the bottom line was ‘no falling in love.’ The open arrangement had worked for over ten years and many affairs on both sides. And then, in the week in which the book was published I heard from the wife. Despite their three children and shared home and history, she reported: “He’s left us. He fell in love with the latest affair.” But Tom’s and Janet’s marriages and arrangements might last. If so, lucky them ---if not, hopefully one of their relationships with a lover might. Perhaps? “Even if you successfully fight off jealousy, as Tom and Janet say they and their partners have done, there can in theory always be a situation in which you can’t. That is what usually ends the open marriage deal—or ends the marriage.” “Sex has a way of creeping into other areas, unfortunately, and sometimes seeping into areas that feel like ‘love,’ especially when there is a sexual thrall or a shared deep sense of interests and understandings along with sexual attraction. Janet’s story shows, that happened with their mutual friend. The couple survived the pain of this; too many more episodes like this though according to the research, either end the openness or the marriage. Pain is a severe teacher.”
The problem is that humans can’t legislate against two things: falling in love despite themselves is one, and the other is the other www.thefrankmagazine.com
I N T E R V I E W
Dating in your 40's. Can a new type of dating app really offer a new perspective?
Danielle Dodoo is the Founder of Piin - an app that introduces you to like-minded people, wherever you go in the real world. The real time and intent based matching are Piin's unique features and the beauty of Piin is that it removes the needs for scheduling, encourages offline socializing and takes the guess work out of whether someone is happy to be approached in the real world. You're in your 40's and single. How are you finding it? I’ve been single for a year now and I’m finding it quite fun. It’s taken a while but I’m comfortable with where I am emotionally and what I want and don’t want from a prospective partner, so instead of wallowing in the disappointment when I realise that a date isn’t going to materialise into the man of my dreams, I look at what other things he has going for him, what pleasures he can add to my life and I focus on that. There’s nothing wrong with just hanging out if you know both know that’s what it is! And you never know, sometimes love grows out of unexpected places… The process of identifying these ‘potentials’ is pretty draining though. I have about five dating apps on my phone, but I’ve never really been invested to spend the time and energy required to get any benefit from them. www.thefrankmagazine.com
he stats say that people spend on average 90 minutes a day swiping on Tinder, only to have less than ten percent chance of meeting a match. And don’t get me started on the dick pics and nonsense I get once I’ve taken the leap of faith and shared my number – is ridiculous. One guy messaged me at the crack of dawn saying ‘I’ve just finished at the gym. I’m fully loaded. Where do you want it – on you or in you?!’ I have no words.
built to get you meeting face to face. They are focussed on gamification, keeping you swiping and with algorithms that penalise on ethnic minorities and unpopular profile pictures, I felt it was about time we had something that actually enabled real-life meetups, organically and focussed on getting people offline and connecting in the real world. What tips would you give anyone in their 40s who is starting to date again?
Do you think dating gets easier the more experienced you get?
40 is the new 30! We are all spring chickens in the game of love! But I’d say know yourself, be I think it depends on what you’re looking for and yourself and do the work to figure out what you what stage of life you’re in. Finding something need versus what you want. Tap into your deepest casual these days is easy. Sifting through the desires and harness the right energy to attract timewasters to find a keeper is a bit more what you’re looking for. For me the most challenging and although you hear about some important lesson I’ve learned is to not look for unique fairy tale endings as a result of swiping perfection in every encounter but be open to apps; it’s not common. learning about yourself and other people who But with experience, you gain confidence in who share a moment in your journey. Accept everyone you are. Once you’ve been in the game for a has a past, a narrative and a story they tell while, you can smell bullshit a mile off, you learn themselves every day – just as you do – and be your boundaries, what you’re willing to sensitive to that. You might feel like time is compromise on and what your deal breakers are. running out but that pressure you put on yourself I personally feel a lot freer in my choices now and and potentially on other people, will turn you into spend time with guys I probably wouldn’t have a crazy and will most likely put potential partners dated in my 20’s and 30s but I’m enjoying what off. And if you’re looking for perfection, good they bring to the table and I’m continually luck – it doesn’t exist – but at the same time, learning about myself and what makes me happy. don’t settle. I’ve settled a couple of times and it’s the most soul destroying, time wasting and lonely What inspired you to create Piin? experience I’ve ever put myself through. In hindsight, I would have got more value spending Everyone needs human connection. There are time alone, focussing on my goals, wellness and numerous reports confirming that connecting nurturing my friendships. So just get out there with each other makes us happy and whatever and put that swiping app down. The more you stage we are at in our lives, the desire for love, get out of the house the greater the chance that friendship or for belonging to a community – is you will have a serendipitous encounter. And the essential for our mental health and wellbeing. more experiences you have, the better your According to a 2017 report published by the Jo conversations will be! Cox Commission on Loneliness more than nine million people in the UK often or always feel First impressions are everything. What lonely. advice would you give your users before for But whilst there is a plethora of social networking making a good first impression? tools that enable virtual communities, it can be hard to connect with others in today’s fragmented Relax. It’s not an interview and it’s not a world. With our busy schedules, heads in our monologue. Strike the balance between asking smartphones and the cold approach becoming a questions about them and talking about yourself. dying art - we miss out on opportunities to meet Don’t confine yourself to the boring, predictable people in our everyday lives who might become questions about work. Piin profiles should have new friends, help us grow our business network enough good stuff to act as an icebreaker – look or be ‘the one’. Most apps on the market aren’t at their tags for example. www.thefrankmagazine.com
Are they a ‘coffee addict?’ if so, what’s their favourite coffee shop? Are they a ‘city hopper? What’s their favourite city? Pick up on common interests you can highlight to establish that deeper connection.
you want to get from meeting that person?
Next, think about your body language. Research shows that the first impression doesn’t happen when you hear someone for the first time, but when your see someone. This starts from the I’d also say be mindful of being negative. So approach, so have nice open body language when you’ve had a shit day, everything’s gone wrong you’re about to walk up to someone or initiate and your boss was a dick. Even so – be conscious that conversation. of looking like a moaner or giving signs that you’re always pessimistic. Your energy will set Stand upright. Have your hands visible (so not I the tone of the encounter and you don’t want to your pockets or folded), as that helps with our drain the life out of the other person. Be trust queues. Put your shoulders down and optimistic and focus on being present so you can back – if they are slouched forwards it signals get the best possible outcome of the encounter. anxiety. And open up your smile. Remember, people remember how you make them feel, not what you say. Next you want a great opener. There was a huge research experiment that looked at almost every There is actually a lot of science behind making single pick up line and the most successful opener the perfect conversation and I’ve learned a lot was a simple ‘hello, how are you’? or ‘hey, how from following Vanessa Van Edwards, who is a are you? I’m Mel’. behavioural investigator and expert. She gives Then you can go into what Vanessa calls some pretty good advice on how to use science conversation sparks. The non-verbal cue that to connect with people. you’ve nailed the conversation is when you are engaging their curiosity and making them think So the tips I’m about to give work if you’re on a or say ‘wow, how interesting!’. Across cultures, date, socialising and meeting new friends or at a genders and races, there is one common reaction networking event. First and foremost, you need and that’s the eyebrow raise. You’re looking for to set your intention. The best conversationalists the topics and conversations that make them always set the intent for the conversation and this curious or feel like you’re sharing a moment. helps to avoid those awkward silences. What do Look for mutual likes and interests.
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The people who might be great for us are all around us, all the time. We just don’t see them. In a bar, at a gallery or even a networking event…. experiment with checking to different places where you are most likely to meet like-minded people. Our advanced profiles help you break the ice so you’re not short of a conversation starter and there are advanced filters that give you control of who you see and privacy settings to control who sees you. No dodgy algorithms just go about your day and see who’s single everywhere you go. Any closing words? Ending a conversation is equally as important. Your last impression is just as important as your first impression. Vanessa advises to use a ‘future mention’ like ‘So what are you up to this weekend?’ or ‘what are your plans for the rest of the day?’. Wait for them to tell you and that’s your queue to say ‘well, it was nice speaking with you!’ and wish them the best of luck for that future event or endeavour. Then leave with a smile. How can Piin help people find genuine connections?
Learn from all your experiences. Even the shitty ones will teach you something about yourself. Dating should be fun and a relationship should empower you and give you energy – not take it from you. If you’re feeling empty, aren’t excited about the future with that person then you need to stop ticking boxes and reclaim your time back. Alone time is so much more valuable than killing time with someone who doesn’t make you excited about life. Our relationships can make or break our spirits and a genuine human connection will uplift you.
Chemistry is everything. It’s one of those things that you either have with someone or you don’t. Piin’s goal is to get you to the point of knowing whether or not you click with a match, right away. Imagine you’re out, going about your day – solo or hanging with your friends – and you get an alert to say that a potential match has just checked in where you are. You check their profile out and send an anonymous like. It’s mutual so you meet and find out that although you share the same sense of humour and you’re super comfortable around them, there isn’t any sexual chemistry. But you didn’t lose any time and you might even want to hang out with that person again. With most other dating apps, you don’t have the convenience of being able to meet right away. First you match. You make crappy small talk. If you’re lucky you have a phone Danielle Dodoo the founder of Piin conversation. If you’ve stuck that out, you meet up then find out the guy lied about his height or that you have no natural chemistry. You spent weeks living in hope and wasted effort getting dressed up to go on a date that ended up being a waste of time. www.piinapp.com www.thefrankmagazine.com
Talkin’ ‘bout my generation! By Michelle Dixon
W
e are living in an era of increasing age-diversity in our workforce. The rules against age discrimination in the 2010 Equality Act and the abolition of the compulsory retirement age a year later started the ball rolling.
And as people live longer, and stay active and healthier for longer, we can look forward to the ‘older’ employee being the norm. Currently over 30% of the workforce is over 50, so this trend is going to impact a lot of people, many of them women. That means that having a better understanding of an ageing workforce and the challenges they may face is no less imperative than delving into the concerns of the much discussed ‘millennial’. Employers who are embracing age diversity are likely to come across a host of unexpected issues as each generation struggles to be heard, respected and understood. We are all trying to rub along together in our own version of work utopia. The trouble is when something rubs together for long enough the friction it generates can cause the sparks to fly. As we are now working for longer than ever before, it is possible to have up to five generations working together in the same space. If we scratch the surface of the dynamics at play between the different generations then we can see how important it is to work together in harmony with a mutual respect for what we each bring to the table. As a society we are slowly waking up to what it is to be a woman at work throughout the different ages of our life and the issues that each era can bring, but we still have a way to go. If we cast our mind back to our twenties or thirties I am sure we all have a tale or two to tell about being patronised by an older female colleague who had the advantage on us of 20 years’ plus life and work experience. www.thefrankmagazine.com
Fans of the classic BBC series Are You Being Served will remember the great Mollie Sugden’s wonderful portrayal of the older matriarch Mrs Slocombe as she worked alongside the younger, less experienced and coquettish Miss Brahms played by the equally talented Wendy Richard. Mrs Slocombe would think nothing of firmly putting Miss Brahms in her place just by being tight-lipped and giving her a withering glance.
understanding between age groups is to explore the upbringing of different generations of female workers, from the Baby-boomers through Generation X women to the Millennials (a.k.a Generation Y).
The Baby Boomers were the first generation of women who went out to work and dreamed of careers to rival the men. Generation X were the children these pioneering women raised in the 1970s and 80s. They were known as the Thinking back, I can recall one of my own first ‘latch key kids’ because they would let managers was the sort of woman who put fear themselves in after school before their mothers into her male counterparts. She was a lioness, came home from work. These Gen X children sleekly circling her enclosure and deliberately were part of an era that interesting in other making her presence known. It took a few ways, too. There were fundamental changes in months of her intimidating me with ‘the look’ social values, and Gen X grew up cynical and before she realised I was on her side and she disaffected and only Punk spoke to them. The let me be one of her ‘cubs’. It was a golden music scene was hailing a new revolution and moment for sure! I felt I had at last broken in identities were being formed. Raving was a to the inner circle of womanhood at work. But way of life - The Land of Oz at Heaven on a my goodness they made me work hard to get Monday night was full of bright young things. there. Technology had also started to change our lives forever. Gen X women didn’t want just a However, I can also look back and see how I job, they wanted a career and a family too have matured in attitude and in my outlook they wanted it all. For some Morgan Grenfell over the years. You’d have thought we managing director Nicola Horlick, known as would’ve moved on from 1980s sitcoms, but Superwoman in the media, appeared as the older female managers may be fuelling the ideal, she showed us you could have six often negative images and harsh comparison children and still be a professional high flyer. of the older versus younger woman in the Or at least she could! We Gen Xers were workplace that we still frequently see in the hungry, we were brave. press. I know for some it feels incredibly frustrating to be labelled a ‘millennial’ with all Fast forward some 20 plus years and the negative connotations that can go with it, Generation X women are running companies. but is there a hint of truth in those stereotypes We are the bosses, and now we are now of how each generation behaves within the recruiting our future replacements. The workplace? women we take on are often from Generation Y, whose presence in the workplace is We should accept that during our 40 plus currently greater than any other generation. years in the work environment we are going to They’ve had some tough knocks, too, just like meet certain individuals who have different or us, but they’ve also been called nurtured and conflicting agendas or styles to our own, and pampered because their parents perhaps felt perhaps appear alien to us because their guilty about being absent while they built their values and behaviours are so different from own careers. However these Millennials are ours. But again experience has taught us to more confident, ambitious and socially aware find the common ground with people, to look than any previous generation and we should for their drivers, understand their salute them for that. They don’t hope for a backgrounds, beliefs and experiences and to work life balance like we did, they bloody put it all to good use for the benefit of us all. demand it. They see it as a positive to bounce from job to job every two to three years. I believe that one way to gain a better www.thefrankmagazine.com
They will find a way to fit yoga into their day and no doubt their office has fresh fruit delivered daily and beers at 4 o’clock on a Friday around the football table. If any millennials are reading this, and feel that we have treated you poorly based purely on your age, I’d hope that us Xers didn’t mean to talk down to you or patronise you, even though we acknowledge that we can use the same tone at work that we might use at home when the dishwasher has not been filled after our 100th time of asking. It’s our bad! Sometimes we can feel weary as it’s not uncommon for us to have 20 plates spinning at any one time and we are just trying to keep them all in the air at the same time. Whilst it’s no excuse for poor behaviour, some of the symptoms of the menopause can have a dramatic and unsettling impact on our wellbeing and it’s only recently that we have felt able to talk about this in the workplace. And of course being the boss can be a lonely and difficult place! We are sorry for our mistakes. But equally you shouldn’t be dismissive of us, believing we are out of touch just because we are older. Your sensitivity to everything can be alien to us as we have had to weather the rough times for women in the workplace to make the path you now take so much easier than it was when we started out. But we are proud of that path we laid! Your youth hasn't put our noses out of joint, but we are bewildered at your enthusiasm to do a spinning class at 6am, and we aren’t sure we know what a downward dog is, but we know it wouldn’t show us at our best angle. However, we admire your hutzpah, energy and belief in yourself! You’ve opened our eyes to many new experiences and you have the confidence and drive that perhaps we didn’t have at such a young age. The thirst for knowledge has been made so much easier to quench as advances in technology have progressed and aided your talents. It would seem that technology is the new rock ’n’ roll and therefore could we ask that you share your knowledge with us, give us your top tips on how to use these new-fangled gadgets and not hold us to ransom with them. Show us how to use the ‘gram’ and just generally be on our side. Be our friend and champion us and we will champion you. Society has historically almost dismissed the peri- and post-menopausal woman as having little relevance, but for the first time in history we are finally finding our ‘roar’ and we want to use it in a positive way. Shouldn’t we downplay the generalisations about each generation and stand together shoulder-to-shoulder as we learn from each other and share our knowledge, whilst simultaneously nurturing and supporting each other’s well-being? Put simply, the key to working together in a harmonious and compatible way is to try our very best to understand each other, our motivators, our fears, our experiences and our values. If I know what makes the younger woman tick, that can only be a good thing. We can talk to each other and share our frustrations as well as our hopes and aspirations. The more we learn and genuinely listen to each other, developing our strengths and embracing our age diversity, the more chance that great things can be achieved. I’d often be lost without my trusted team of Millennials supporting me, cheering me on and bolstering me up when I feel fatigued, or jumping in to help me when I’ve forgotten the right cable for the PowerPoint presentation which I’ve spent all night preparing. Together we are powerful, united through our gender regardless of age! www.thefrankmagazine.com
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Madmen & Madwomen the sub-plot of Patriarchy in White-Collar Offices By Tamsin Flower
‘ The overwhelming experience of women in a society dominated by men is that of being silenced.’ Magda Lewis I think we can agree that much of our western understanding of ‘patriarchy’ is transmitted by popular culture. It makes sense that an order of power passed down through centuries and across continents has an identity formed through massmedia, with a familiar (almost compulsory) presence in period TV shows and films. When I mentioned this article to a couple of friends, their response was: ‘Oh, like Madmen.’ Chat then inevitably meandered to that Margaret Atwood phenomenon on Netflix. The past, or dystopian past, is a safe place to explore the imbalance of power isn’t it? Because we’ve almost won that battle, right? (Ahem, wrong.) After all, in the West, we’ve witnessed several waves of action to redress the balance... from ‘Votes for Women’ to equal pay and reproductive rights rallies to models and musicians owning the power of their sexuality while adhering to the media’s fetishes. And then there’s the most recent renaissance of Feminism. Just as early Millennials were beginning to echo their Dads in associating feminism with braburning and the ridiculous (I was in that student common room), humanitarian organisations reopened our eyes to global issues such as FGM and child-marriage. This, conflating with whistleblowing in the entertainment industry and more widely broadcast approaches to gender as a spectrum, has inspired policy-making in UK organisations. Our schools touch on representation and stereotyping in PSE and celebrities make statements on current injustices that are watched almost as much as the films and TV shows in which they star.
maintain that power at the systematic cost of women’s potential, happiness and basic human rights. We know this narrative to be true while acknowledging that many men have bucked this trend . It is a broad statement and by taking in huge swathes of history should be. I also admit that the phrase ‘being the aggressors’ is my understanding of how patriarchy has endured and not everyone’s. There is the power of institutional habits, passed down from generation to generation like an irreligious religion. Maybe sticking to the narrative above, and it’s familiar sub-plots - *Woman works and fights hard to break glass-ceiling, *Woman is forced to marry old, rich, disgusting man against her wishes, * Woman is exiled from her community following pregnancy and abandonment by man...are cultural habits/conventions too. But some stories of ‘now’ are so self-reflective, insidious and economically sensitive (‘audiences won’t pay money for it’) that we still shy away. I want to talk of something ‘small’ and close to home - the nuances of female relationships and specifically, how women facilitate or enforce patriarchal values at work.
At some point in recent history, (before working for my current employers), I experienced a parallel trajectory to a friend working in the finance sector. We will call her Amy. Amy and I were aligned - both experienced, intelligent graduates in our mid-thirties who had branched out into new professional disciplines with new roles to match. To paint a social-economic picture of us, we were mid-career millennials working for privately owned companies in that little publicised area of the UK, the East Midlands. We were, and are, also conscious feminists, who The narrative in both these worlds (fictitious and actively support women and girls in our reported) unfolds like this - Men, being the communities to explore their talents and be aggressors, inherited power and have, throughout ambitious. centuries and decades, upheld practices to www.thefrankmagazine.com
Over the course of a year, myself and Amy exchanged stories about our workplaces, stories which began as humorous anecdotes and progressed into ones that induced worry for the other’s dignity and sense of identity. Many realisations about the state of white-collar offices in the UK arose from these chats, not least that in a time when wellbeing at work is on the national agendal, there is often a total absence of human resources, time and evaluation invested in it...outside of the wealthiest corporations. A more personal theme of this ongoing conversation was the shorthand language we used to describe our experiences - one that proved useful for the format of instant messaging during lunch-breaks and phone-calls in loud commuter buses and cars. This language, these terms, developed organically like most language that proves efficient. Sentences revolved around ‘making small,’ ‘shutting-down,’ ‘progressblocking,’ and inevitably...‘the fossils.’ ‘Making Small’ Forgive me for stating the obvious, but we’ve all been a child and, if born in the UK, a student. The roles of child and student in relation to guardian/teacher (according to the historical mores of institutions) involve behaviours such as: passivity, protracted quiet listening, humility (when being scolded/’told-off’), copying/ mimicking the processes demonstrated to us by our guardian/teachers and the assumption of low-status. The emotions that these situations trigger in us are therefore familiar and the behaviours are (for some), easy to fall into during adult life. Equally, guardian/teachers have traditionally been expected to demonstrate: authority, instruction, control, verbosity and the assumption of high status. It barely goes without saying that Childhood and Studenthood are a strong part of our behavioural conditioning. But there is danger when adults fall into these binary, black and white behavioural patterns at work. Although diversity is a constant imperative, you could say that the white-collar workplace AT LARGE (in the UK) embraces adults of all genders and orientations, from a range of socioeconomic, educational, geographical and racial backgrounds and as such, is an arena that requires a behavioural code of sensitivity,
equality and respect across the hierarchical framework. This is necessary to survival and success. But what happens when those entrenched in the binary pattern encounter those culturally conditioned to see all working adults as equals? A common thread of mine and Amy’s experience with our Baby-Boomer colleagues was what I referred to as infantilizing and Amy, more emotively, referred to as ‘making small.’ We were both working with small groups of women who can be described as ‘Baby-Boomers’ in their mid-fifties to mid-sixties, some of whom were semi-retired. There was a demonstrative quality to the incidents of ‘making small.’ In my case a woman who I worked with, who was not my manager, would make reference in front of our volunteer cohort (also of retirement age) that she was ‘training me’ or would choose to ‘teach’ a process for a peripheral operational task during the times the volunteers were present and do so with the voice and manner of a teacher speaking to a child or senior addressing a junior in an old-fashioned office. Perhaps most surprisingly, members of the retired volunteer cohort would, without inhibition, ‘instruct’ me on aspects of my job (a specialism in which they had no collective knowledge or experience), while physically ignoring my requests to them for collaboration and assistance. Absurdly, following an enthused conversation with a colleague about an area of development, one of the women asserted ‘it’s like having Bambi in the office isn’t it; she’ll learn!’ It was not said with fondness. On calmly questioning the woman who had said this, I was promptly ‘shut down’ by my colleague who loudly scolded me with the words ‘we do not talk to our volunteers like that Tamsin!’ as an ‘adult’ might to a toddler. Meanwhile, in the world of Finance, Amy, who is a trained accountant, was being coerced into watching who she described as ‘the fossils’ teach her processes markedly lower than her skillset with the kind of verbal instruction that would convince a listener that she was still in Key-Stage Two. We were both employed on the basis of interviews and CVs that illustrate a breadth of experience above entry-level and the varied lifeexperience synonymous with our ages and backgrounds.
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"The narrative in both these worlds (fictitious and reported) unpacks like this - Men, being the aggressors, inherited power and have, throughout centuries and decades, upheld practices to maintain that power at the systematic cost of women’s potential, happiness and basic human rights. We know this narrative to be true, while acknowledging that there were, and are, many men have bucked this trend. But some stories of ‘now’ are so self-reflective, insidious and economically sensitive (‘audiences won’t pay money for it’) that we still shy away. I want to talk of something ‘small’ and close to home - the nuances of female relationships and specifically, how women facilitate or enforce patriarchal values at work.”
‘Shutting Down’
centric but thought-provoking. If one impersonal thing could be identified as a major root-cause behind my Baby-Boomer colleagues motivation to What is ‘shutting down?’ Interestingly, the verb‘shut me down,’ it would be technology. We phrase to ‘shut someone down’ is not used as an deride and fear things that we don’t understand, idiom example in many dictionaries. But it does have a presence in online dictionaries and guides unless we subscribe to an mind-set of learning and expansion. Not only were my proposals to to current slang. It is something instantly recognisable as a feeling and action. One user of solve a digital issue ignored by virtue of my being younger and female, but it became clear that an online forum defines ‘shutting-down’ as ‘the colloquial way to say making a person stop doing accepting them would mean the Baby-Boomers’ adaptation to a new system, acquiring new skills something.’ But in all contexts it describes one and eventually creating something that could have person abruptly ending the verbal been used, modified and engaged with by all, communication of another. In a community of speakers, to lose one’s voice is to lose a large part thus engendering a depletion of control. Amy’s story of technology and consternation included of one’s agency. two hours of being ordered to complete accounts A little further into mine and Amy’s dialogue, I with a Nineteen Seventies ‘Adding Machine’ when relayed the experience of being silenced in the an Excel formula would have completed the job office. Following my formal complaint of in a matter of minutes without a margin of human derogatory personal comments from my older error. There are many other hair-raising stories colleagues, I was instructed not to participate in and subplots that I could mention here. But work-based conversations between teammembers unless I was invited to speak specifically finally and tellingly, I was disciplined by my employer for ‘putting (myself) forward’ in about my area of functionality...which I was not, ever. Fortunately or unfortunately, I had previous brokering relationships with stakeholders in a bid experience of aspects of my colleagues’ work and to optimize a modest budget. This was her request at interview and the purpose of my being occasionally offered some thoughts and factual there. The more relationships, social collateral and answers when they appeared stuck. These were invitations I gathered, the fewer networking and ignored as it became clear that the role my industry events I was sent to until I was kept ‘fossils’ envisaged for me was to keep quiet, do inside the office. the minimum requirement of my job and not Stories (fictitious and reported) help us contribute. This was not true of the other understand cause and effect - incidents, processes under-50 in the office - a man with less industry and ramifications. This one doesn’t look like specific experience and confidence. Perhaps the most obvious instance of shutting down was at a Madmen. There are no men in suits treating wives like children or ‘shutting down’ secretaries who meeting in which I was speaking. A hand was have good ideas. In this sub-plot the secretaries waved in my face with the dismissal ‘yeah, repeat a cycle of oppressive behaviour, thus trying whatever’ to which my boss smiled with to render a new generation in their image, amusement. whether consciously or not. I will never forget the Amy’s most obvious encounter with ‘shutting down’ was what became known as ‘the arrogance distaste with which my Baby Boomer colleague spoke/reacted to my preferences and life-style conversation.’ As Assistant Finance Manager, it choices and I suppose this is what it boils down was essential that she managed and delegated workload within her team, while answering to her to - politics of difference. I have worked with some beautiful minds of the Baby Boomer and X manager in a separate office. Characteristically, generations and with women of all ages who are she did this with great confidence before being called into a meeting room and warned ‘not to let committed to supporting each other’s growth through a mindset of expansion. But it’s time we confidence border on arrogance.’ Anyone who knows Amy will know arrogance is antithetical to shed light on these insidious, negative behaviours her personality, spiritual practice and upbringing. by telling new stories...before women such as myself and Amy reach for more language and new words to describe them. ‘Progress Blocking’ On a diversity training programme, I was offered a ‘generational differences chart.’ It was USwww.thefrankmagazine.com
“Amy and I were both working with small groups of women who can be described as ‘Baby-Boomers’ in their mid-fifties to mid-sixties, some of whom were semi-retired. There was a demonstrative quality to the incidents of ‘making small.’ In my case a woman who I worked with, who was not my manager, would make reference in front of our volunteer cohort (also of retirement age) that she was ‘training me’ or would choose to ‘teach’ a process for a peripheral operational task during the times the volunteers were present and do so with the voice and manner of a teacher speaking to a child or senior addressing a junior in an oldfashioned office.''
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W H A T
T O
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S H O P G A D G E T S
Feminine Gadgets Feminine gadgets for strength and tone, here are six of the latest innovations... Elvie Trainer An award-winning Kegel trainer for a stronger pelvic floor. Better bladder control, faster postnatal recovery and enhanced intimacy. Fun workouts. Results in less than 4 weeks. £169
PeriCoach PeriCoach Kegel App For Smarter Pelvic Floor Muscle Training. Pelvic floor muscles are muscles like in any other part of the body. Exercising them properly restores tone and strength. PeriCoach combines a pelvic floor training sensor, that you insert and squeeze against, with an app on your smartphone (Android or iOS). It provides guidance through your training session and monitors your progress. £145 Silkn TIGHTRA After childbirth or hormonal changes such as the menopause, a woman's intimate part can look and feel different. Drooping labia, weakened vaginal walls, diminished pleasure during sex, dryness or urinary leakage can cause concerns and insecurity. The revolutionary Silk’n Tightra employs the clinically tested and proven Bi-Polar Radiofrequency energy, which is able to relieve such symptoms without the need for surgery. £309.00 www.thefrankmagazine.com
Innovo Non-Invasive Pelvic Floor Toner INNOVO® treats the cause (your weak pelvic floor) of your bladder weakness. This non-invasive technology helps to restore your pelvic floor muscles safely and completely externally - there are no probes. Clinically proven to reduce urinary leaks - live your life again without worry, and track your progress with INNOVO®'s personalised 'Restore the Floor' app• Clinically proven to reduce urinary leaks - live with confidence, and track your progress with INNOVO®'s personalised 'Restore the Floor' app. From £219.00 - £278.27
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iTouch Sure Including Probe - Pelvic Floor Exerciser Bladder weakness is not a normal part of the aging process, nor should it be simply accepted as a normal part of life after childbirth. Bladder weakness is a treatable condition and shouldn't simply be 'managed' through the use of containment pads. A safe, drug-free, non-surgical solution, the iTouch Sure Pelvic Floor Exerciser provides freedom from the use of containment pads and can help sufferers return to a more normal lifestyle. The iTouch Sure Pelvic Floor Exerciser is simple and easy to use, with digital controls and 4 preset programs which have been clinically tested to provide long-term relief from incontinence. Price: £46.99 www.thefrankmagazine.com
THE NED, LONDON The Ned’s bathroom is a masterclass in vintage loveliness. Everything from the retro black-and-white checkered floors to the sumptuous velvet sofa make us feel that we are living in luxury New York penthouse in the 1920s.
The World’s most instagrammable bathrooms
From Sketch’s egg-shaped stalls to the Philippe Starck’s retro-futurist aesthetics at Le Royal Monceau Raffles, take a peek into the most instagrammable bathrooms in the world. www.thefrankmagazine.com
THE LUDLOW, NEW YORK Located on the Lower East Side, the bathrooms at the Ludlow scream laidback luxe thanks great features like a Hollywood-style vanity, brass fixtures and a huge floor-to-ceiling window – all complimented by its soft and minimalist colour palette.
PRESIDENTIAL SUITE, LE ROYAL MONCEAU RAFFLES, PARIS Heading to Paris? We would stay in the Presidential Suite at Le Royal Monceau Raffles for the bathroom alone. It is truly a sight to behold. With Philippe Starck at the helm, the suites retro-futurist design features a grid of mirrors, a Japanese toilet, a walk-in shower and a claw-foot bath – you may never want to leave.
THE ARTSUITE, HOTEL PUNTA TRAGARA, CAPRI With views of the Fariglioni rocks of Capri below, the bathroom of the Artsuite at the Hotel Punta Tragara is nothing short of stunning. Take an indulgent dip on the pristine white jacuzzi bathtub whilst you admire the spectacular view from the arched window.
THE SILO HOTEL, CAPE TOWN Located six floors above the Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa, the bathrooms at The Silo have some of the best views of the city. British designer Thomas Heatherwick was responsible for the remodelling – creating a stark contrast between the hotel’s industrial exterior with its indulgent interior. Why not relax in the freestanding bath underneath the glamorous chandelier whilst taking in the glorious views
SKETCH, LONDON As you enter the bathroom at Sketch, you might be forgiven for thinking you are being transported into a film set for an arthouse film. Each of the bright white cubicles are in the shape of an egg that contrast against the rainbow-tiled ceiling. www.thefrankmagazine.com
PRESIDENTIAL SUITE, LE ROYAL MONCEAU RAFFLES, PARIS Heading to Paris? We would stay in the Presidential Suite at Le Royal Monceau Raffles for the bathroom alone. It is truly a sight to behold. With Philippe Starck at the helm, the suites retro-futurist design features a grid of mirrors, a Japanese toilet, a walk-in shower and a clawfoot bath – you may never want to leave.
ANNABEL’S, LONDON This rose-hued haven in the heart of Mayfair is an Instagram dream thanks to its pink silk rose ceiling, silk flowers, gold ornate birds and pink onyx shell shaped sinks. Designed by the Martin Brudnizki studio with the theme of ‘English eccentricity’ in mind, this decadent décor also features a hanging unicorn sculpture that presides over the grand staircase. www.thefrankmagazine.com
E X H I B I T I O N
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Following Helen Beard’s inclusion in the critically acclaimed Unit London group exhibition,21st Century Women, last year, the London-based painter returns to the gallery this September for her largest solo exhibition to date. The show will present Beard’s largescale vibrant works that explore sexual acts and the broader context of relationships. Beard’s colour-field, oil paintings of subverted and re-drawn pornographic material take back ownership of sexual imagery from the predominant male gaze. The show at Unit London follows the artist’s widely acclaimed ‘True Colours’ exhibition at Damien Hirst’s, The Newport Street Gallery, where she has exhibited a number of times before.
Helen Beard exhibition Unit London 6 September – 5 October 2019 www.thefrankmagazine.com
E X H I B I T I O N
This July, Unit London presents an exhibition by American contemporary artist Joshua Hagler, whose work explores an ongoing fascination with American history in the context of current sociopolitical issues, alongside personal experiences. Chimera, opening at Unit London gallery on the 19 July, will present a new body of Joshua Hagler’s large-scale oil paintings, which characteristically depict chaotic arrangements of human figures, often
psychologically charged and in varying states of tension and conflict. The exhibition centres around a number of topics, namely evangelical religion and fading dichotomies such as right wing / left wing, hero / villain and good or evil. Chimera includes a haunting representation of Michael Jackson in ‘My God’, which asks audiences to consider the popular hunger for hero versus villain archetypes and its inherent duality.
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Joshua Hagler: Chimera Unit London 19 July – 31 August 2019
Babel www.thefrankmagazine.com
B O O K S
By Eleanor Tattersfield
The Art of Love By Kate Bryan
Here are some recommended reads for the summer months.
Often books on art history can be an little impenetrable and off putting for those under the misguided conception that there is something they don’t understand about art. This book is an exception, Bryan explores the art world through the relationships of famous couples of art history in which we are allowed access to the the intimate world from which their art is created. A secret offering, an insider’s perspective on the art. It is an intriguing way to enter the world of these artists and a great door through which to start to explore their work or to inform a greater understanding.
The artists discussed range from Frieda Kahlo to contemporaneous artist couples like Idris Khan and Annie Morris. The illustrations throughout of both the works and the artists give the book a uniform and graphic look which belies the value of the vignettes into these extraordinary couples’ lives. This book is a great stepping stone into some of the art world’s greatest figures : jump in!
For example to know of the seemingly mundane and identical daily routines of Gilbert and George and their strict, twin-like existence which extends to their creative process is to be able to consume their work with a little more insight. In the instance of Gilbert and George it is difficult to untangle their coupling from the work as it is intended to be joint work and they themselves are walking, living works of art. The stories of the unrelenting pursuit of love by Picasso are well documented and mainly the women he pursued easily fell under his spell. Bryan discusses the impact of the woman that bucked that trend, Francoise Gilot, and how she got under Picasso’s skin. We get to know of her power over Picasso which imbues the portraits he painted of her with so much more. www.thefrankmagazine.com
Carol by Patricia Highsmith Better known for the Ripley books, Patricia Highsmith also wrote Carol, a semi-autobiographical story about a lesbian affair between a shopper and a shop assistant in 1950’s New York which was also made into a film starring Cate Blanchet in 2015. So far removed was this novel from her Ripley books and containing the then shocking details of gay love, that her publishers made her use a pseudonym Claire Morgan. As with the Ripley books, Carol also reads like a page-turning suspense thriller but with the imagery of this great love story. Carol meets Therese whilst buying a doll for her daughter for Christmas in one of New York’s great department stores. Therese is so taken by this extremely elegant and mysterious lady that on procurement of her address for the shipment of the doll, Therese, a theatre study student takes the bold decision to send her a personal Christmas card. Thus begins the illicit and deeply felt affair. The description and atmosphere she creates of New York in this period is unforgettable as is the plight of the women’s romance in the face of Carol’s ensuing custody battle and the ever present private detective sent to stake them out. You will not want to put it down for a minute. www.thefrankmagazine.com
A lIfe of my own By Claire Tomalin This is a wonderful memoir of such an interesting woman living in a fascinating time and place. Much of the action taking part in Gloucester Crescent in the 1970s and 1980s. Her husbands, her lovers, her friends, her colleagues, her lodgers were all people of influence and intrigue in the intellectual media world of this period in London. She lived through incredible tragedy : the early death of her baby boy and her husband at 41, her daughter’s battle with depression and eventual suicide and her second son born with spina bifida. Through all of this she found a way to carry on. She worked constantly and her wealth of acclaimed biographies are testament to the level at which she carried on at. As she says in the prologue, ‘Even when you are at the worst moments and would like to give all your attention to grief, you still have to clean the house and pay the bills, you may even enjoy your lunch.” This is an extraordinary account of an intelligent and capable woman trail blazing her way into the very male world of literary editing at the New Statesman, the Observer and The Sunday Times. Later she found her true vocation as an acclaimed biographer of Shelly, Dickens, Austen, Pepys and Hardy. She struggled by her own admission to write an account of her own life, but I think you’ll agree if you read it, she needn’t have worried.
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The Closed Door & other stories By Dorothy Whipple I might just single handedly start the Dorothy Whipple fan club. For those who don’t know her I am jealous that you have all she has written ahead of you. Whipple is published by Persephone Books on Lambs Conduit Street - and again, if you are fortunate enough not to know of this book shop I am jealous that you have all that they have published ahead of you. Dorothy Whipple is a writer from the inter war period whose prose is witty and insightful : her writing was a big influence on the better known writer of this period, Elizabeth Taylor. Her short stories and novels are resplendent with unforgettable characters and surprising twists. She is a deeply observant and compassionate writer that manages to bring a scene to life with great economy and absence of fuss. The Closed Door is a great entry point for Whipple. Its is a book of shorter stories and within it is a masterclass of a short story called The Rose. She explores the complexities and absurdities of relationships in this case a second marriage, the entire dynamic of this couple is seen through an episode that must amount to about twenty minutes one morning. It is both funny, dark and moving, classic Whipple. If you love her writing as much as I do then go on to read ‘They Were Sisters’ and ‘Someone at a Distance’… I am inclined to use that oft used expression of the moment : my pleasure!
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The exposition is played out through the overture as we see and hear the Johnson women’s relationship meander through the piazza. Mrs Johnson is the archetype of a protective mother to Clara, who is the original Review by Tamsin Flower innocent - curious, and Book by Craig Lucas, Music and Lyrics by Adam Guettel. unselfconsciously beautiful. Gentle jokes around North American and Italian cultural differences begin here and continue throughout, sometimes with effect and at other times with the slight scent of timefilling. However, all is harmless, evocatively designed, and the story is easy to read. The Johnson’s encounter with Clara’s soon-to-be lover, Fabrizio Naccarelli, is a meetcute involving the wind and Clara’s hat. Fabrizio’s tame pursuit of this golden girl leads to the Johnsons meeting the Naccarelli family, a tryst that sees Clara losing her barings at Italy - romanticised by all, from musical theatre occupying the night-time and a dispute about Shakespeare to Monteverdi, E. star spots. Renne Flemming the lovers’ intended marriage M. Forster to Nora Roberts. We plays mother, Margaret Johnson because of Clara’s age. know all the romantic codes to daughter, Clara with poise, that make up fiction about that depth, velvetine vibrato and a The strand of complexity great, sensual, boot in the credible southern US accent. running through The Light in mediterranean. There must be Dove Cameran’s interpretation the Piazza is intimated in the an ingenue and her chaperone, of daughter, Clara, holds true to first half by Clara’s mother. there must be a sexual threat in the simple emotional range of Margaret prevaricates over the form of an italian heartthe script. With a background allowing the romance to take throb and there must be scenes as a Disney kid, she is a skilled place, as punctuated by some of awakening and realisation singer and demonstrates ease nice tragi-comic exchanges around mythic statues and with the demands of the music, between herself and Mr piazzas. It is the stuff of fantasy often transcending it with Johnson on the phone. Our sometimes encountered in life. purity of pitch and tone. Rob interest is piqued when Mrs Houchen delivers a skilled Johnson refers to Clara being The Light in the Piazza, a new performance as Clara’s beau, different from other girls and in musical with book by Craig embracing the operatic need of more protection. As an Lucas and lyrics by Adam opportunities offered by his audience we feel comfortable Guettal, employs all of these role as an enamoured Italian. with following this trail, tropes without hesitation. Set in Indeed, the show selfhowever the narrative the fifties and adapted from consciously exhibits its breadcrumbs dropped until the Elizabeth Spencer’s 1960 novel, commercial potential as a last third are very light of touch. the show is cast as sumptuously hybrid of opera and musical The treatment of Clara’s as its subject matter, with theatre with numbers such as Il disability or injury provokes performers from the parallel Mondo Era Vuoto and Aiutami. pause for thought. worlds of opera, TV and www.thefrankmagazine.com T H E A T R E
THE LIGHT IN THE PIAZZA The Southbank Centre
Finally, we are told via a monologue from Mrs Johnson that Clara has suffered a head injury in a riding accident and that this has effectively frozen her mental age. The denouement of the show is a wedding - a virtuous, happy wedding that is advocated by Mrs Johnson in the belief that love will conquer all. The presence of Clara’s disability and the show’s rather 1950’s approach to glossing over its nature and implications create a tonal incongruence that isn’t entirely resolved. Although this theme may be apt for melodrama, we are a contemporary audience conditioned to approach such issues with detail, on the nose. The Light in the Piazza is exceptional because of its enticing premise and sublime score, as delivered by genuinely talented and shiny stars. Although it doesn’t quite fulfil its rose-tinted promise, the sound of any narrative gear-shifts will be drowned out by dreamily orchestrated, gorgeous songs like ‘The Beauty Is’ and ‘Statues and Stories.’ Following its run at The Southbank Centre, You can catch The Light in the Piazza in LA and Chicago this Autumn/Winter.
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F I L M
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Downto n A bbey the mov ie
Downton Abbey film preview
Release date in cinemas across UK 3 September 2019
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By Samantha Baines Comedian, actress and writer @samanthabaines
ho hasn't missed the upstairs/downstairs dramas of Downton Abbey, not to mention an innocently named dog called Isis? We need not fear as our next Downton instalment arrives this September in the form of a full length feature film. Yes, that means the talents of Maggie Smith will be enlarged in all their cinematic glory and haven't we missed her.
All of our favourites will appear, phew, the aforementioned Maggie Smith, alongside Hugh Bonneville, Elizabeth McGovern, Michelle Dockery and Laura Carmichael as the upper class Crawley's, as well as everyone's favourite 'downstairs' couple played by Jim Carter and Phyllis Logan. Cinderella star Lilly James will not be appearing however there will be a host of new names appearing in this big screen version: we can expect Imelda Staunton, Geraldine James, Tuppence Middleton, Simon Jones, David Haig, Kate Phillips, and Stephen Campbell Moore among the cast. Simon Jones and Geraldine James will play the King and Queen which suggests that the family are still moving in high circles.
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Many of the original cast have been propelled to international success since their original stints on Downton so it's warming to see so many return and suggests high things of the script by Julianne Fellows. Fellows also penned the TV series, which first aired in the UK in September 2010 set on the fictional Yorkshire Estate of Downton in 1912. Four years on from the Downton Abbey finale in 2015, the film picks up in 1927 (two years after the TV show ended) and spans two years in the Crawley's lives, including a visit from the King and Queen. The Emmy nominated, Michael Engler directs the film, an interesting choice to have an American director at the helm of such a quintessiantially British story. Engler is probably best know for directing Sex and the City, 30 Rock however he did direct several episodes of the Downton TV series including the finale, so the franchise should be in safe hands. What can we expect from this movie sequel? Well, we know that Imelda Staunton plays Carter's wife and the extended trailer hints of a stand off between her and Maggie Smith. The trailer is full of suspense, a whisper of Lady Mary leaving Downton and a gay kiss so we definitely expect drama. It looks like Branson falls in love with a maid played by Tuppence Middleton and we can expect a war between the King's servants and our favourite Downton ones. There's beautiful costumes, intrigue and snogging so it looks like the perfect movie.
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M O V I E R E L E A S E
‘The Goldfinch’ Directed By: John Crowley Starring: Ansel Elgort, Nicole Kidman, Oakes Fegley, Finn Wolfhard, Sarah Paulson, Luke Wilson, Jeffrey Wright, Ashleigh Cummings
From Warner Bros. Pictures and Amazon Studios, “The Goldfinch” is the film adaptation of Donna Tartt’s globally acclaimed best-selling novel, which won the 2014 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction. Directed by BAFTA Award winner John Crowley (“Brooklyn”), the film features a multigenerational cast led by Ansel Elgort (“Baby Driver”) as Theo Decker and Academy Award winner Nicole Kidman (“The Hours,” “Big Little Lies”) as Mrs. Barbour. Theodore “Theo” Decker was 13 years old when his mother was killed in a bombing at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The tragedy changes the course of his life, sending him on a stirring odyssey of grief and guilt, reinvention and redemption, and even love. Through it all, he holds on to one tangible piece of hope from that terrible day...a painting of a tiny bird chained to its perch. The Goldfinch. www.thefrankmagazine.com
“The Goldfinch” is produced by Nina Jacobson (“The Hunger Games” films, “American Crime Story”) and Brad Simpson (“World War Z,” “American Crime Story”). Mari Jo Winkler-Ioffreda, Kevin McCormick, Sue Kroll and Courtenay Valenti served as executive producers. The screenplay is by Oscar nominee Peter Straughan (“Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy”), based on the novel by Donna Tartt, which spent 30 weeks on The New York Times Best Sellers list. The film also stars Oakes Fegley (“Pete’s Dragon”) as Young Theo, Aneurin Barnard (“Dunkirk”) as Boris, Finn Wolfhard (“Stranger Things,” “It”) as Young Boris, with Sarah Paulson (“The Post,” “American Crime Story”) as Xandra, Luke Wilson (“The Royal Tenenbaums”) as Larry, and Jeffrey Wright (“The Hunger Games” films) as Hobie. Rounding out the main ensemble cast are Ashleigh Cummings (“Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries”) as Pippa, Willa Fitzgerald (“Little Women”) as Kitsey Barbour, Aimee Laurence (“Chicago P.D.”) as Young Pippa, Denis O’Hare (“American Horror Story”) as Lucius Reeve, and Boyd Gaines (2014’s “Driving Miss Daisy”) as Mr. Barbour. The behind-the-scenes creative team included Oscar-winning director of photography Roger Deakins (“Blade Runner 2049”), Oscar-nominated production designer K.K. Barrett (“Her”), editor Kelley Dixon (“Breaking Bad”), and costume designer Kasia Walicka Maimone (“Bridge of Spies”). The music is by Trevor Gureckis (“Bloodline”). “The Goldfinch” is a presentation of Warner Bros. Pictures, in association with Amazon Studios, a Color Force Production, a John Crowley Film. The Goldfinch will be released nationwide on 27th September 2019 by Warner Bros. Pictures www.TheGoldfinchMovie.net www.thefrankmagazine.com
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