Gazette and Diary Magazine
Would you take your pet to your wedding? G cute (12 per cent ). Although we might have become accustomed to the sight of animals making
a cameo at wedding ceremonies, the study actually shows that pets are taking on a much more expanded role. In fact when asked what important role their pets would be playing on the big day, a massive 92 per cent of those in favour of pets’ involvement said they wanted to walk down the aisle with their pet as maid of honour. Over half wanted their
pets to have a starring role in wedding photos and video (56 per cent ) and, although their dinner speeches may leave a lot to be desired, they’re clearly doing something right as a close third came best man (54 per cent ). While it is great that pets are finding roles in their owner’s big days, it is important to remember that beyond the cute photos and special moments, their happiness and comfort is the most important thing whilst they’re there. Anyone considering involving a pet in their wedding day should follow the below tips to make sure that a stress-free day is had by all: • Your pet’s personality – when thinking about the role you want your pet to play, consider their personality. Be sure not to put your pet through anything that will make them uncomfortable or scared; • Check the venue is pet friendly in advance – just under a third (32 per cent ) of Brits said they would not think to check to see if the venue was pet
friendly; • Be treat conscious – although weddings are typically a time for you to overindulge on multiple courses of food, you should make sure that your pet isn’t doing the same. Give guests a heads up that treating your pet isn’t a good idea as they may not be aware what foods are safe for animal consumption; • Notify the photographer – make sure your photographer/ videographer knows in advance that your pet will be involved in any shoots so they can think of some creative ideas of how to get them involved. • Book a pet sitter – a wedding is tiring enough for a human and possibly even more so for your pet. Have someone familiar on hand that can take your pet home and away from the festivities after a couple of hours. The majority of those surveyed (62 per cent ) only allowed their pet at the wedding for two hours or less; this is a good rule of thumb.
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ETTING married is one of the most life-changing moments people experience, so it stands to reason that people choose to spend it with their nearest and dearest. But many Brits will have noticed a subtle change in the wedding pictures peppering their social feeds of late: alongside the bonny brides and gorgeous grooms are esteemed guests of a furrier variety. In fact, new research conducted this wedding season by national pet charity Blue Cross has today revealed that as many as one in 10 Brits* have given pets a central role in their wedding ceremony. When asked why, over a quarter (26 per cent ) said they did so because it helps them remain calm and overcome anxiety on the big day. Brits also said they involved their pets because they are such an important part of the family (20 per cent ) and some said they had to come along simply because they are so
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Timetable for a busy day at Usk Show
U
SK Show organiser’s are looking forward to another excellent Show Day on Saturday, September 9. This year Under 12s can go FREE. Monmouthshire’s busiest and best Show attracts over 20,000 visitors every year and has something for everyone to enjoy. Eleven different sections run competitions and exhibitions on the day, there are demonstrations and displays in two main arenas, free children’s entertainment, a bandstand and 300 trade stands. After having to cancel last year, the Rabbit Show will definitely go ahead and the Poultry Section is running as
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normal, though both are implementing increased bio-security measures. You can also see Horses and Show Jumping, Goats, Horticulture, Homecraft, Vintage Tractors, Steam Corner and a Companion Dog Show. South East Wales Military Vehicle Trust will have a display, Forgotten Skills will be demonstrating their crafts in the Rural Craft Marquee and the Bandstand programme has been extended to welcome performances from Allegra Ladies Choir and Topaz Tribal BellyDancers,as well as two sets from Usk Brass Band. Children can join in the FREE Make-And-Take crafts and other activities at the Junkfish tent. The Countryside Ring will have displays from 10:30am from Black Mountain Falconry, Rowan Working
Horses, Usk Valley Working Gundogs, The Ferguson Club, Amazing Alpacas, Woolaston Bassetts and the Vintage Tractor Parade. They will be joined by a new guest,
David Seamark and his Sheepdog Display, who will demonstrate the skills of a shepherd and his dogs. In the Main Ring, Horse Showing starts at 9am with Welsh Section Cs and Ds, the Hunter Championship, Side Saddle, Retrainig of Racehorse
and Shetland classes. The headline attraction, motorbike stunt show, Broke FMX, will perform their acrobatic freestyle motocross display in two afternoon shows. The Mounted Pony Club Games will be back in the Main Ring and the Curre and Llangibby Hunt will be re-enacting a Meet. The Grand Parade of Livestock from 3:30pm gives visitors a chance to see and learn more about the County’s finest livestock. After last year’s success, the Local Touch Rugby Tournament will take place again, before the assent of Hot Air Balloons at 6:00pm (weather permitting) that closes the day. The Showground is easily accessible from the A449 and is just 5 minutes outside Usk. They have free car parking on-site, or offer Free Shuttle Buses from Usk Square and a Free Park & Ride service from County Hall, The Rhadyr. Full details are available from www.uskshow.co.uk.
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Usk New Start Cat Rescue covers the whole of Gwent and rehomes over 300 cats and kittens every year. All our cats/kittens are in foster homes so that the kitties are fully socialised in the home environment before adoption. We can provide indoor only kitties, kitties that like going outside or kitties suitable for farms and smallholdings. The adoption fee of £50 covers vaccinations, de-flea, wormer, 4 weeks free insurance and 10 days post adoption vet fees for illness. If you would like to adopt one of our furry friends or need help rehoming strays or family pets, please contact Sam Murray on 07535 087970 or through our facebook page: Usk New Start Cat Rescue
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We also need additional volunteers within all areas of Gwent to help with transport, fostering or fundraising. Even the smallest of help can make a huge difference to the rescue.
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Memories of a happy 2016 Usk Show
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A few things you might not know about Usk What’s in a name?
THE town of Usk takes its English name from the River Usk – a name derived from an ancient Brythonic word for river which may also mean "abounding in fish". The name resembles that of many other rivers in Britain and is related to Gaelic word for water and therefore to ‘whisky’. The Welsh name Brynbuga, (English: Buga's Hill), was first recorded in the 15th century.
The birthplace of a historian
Victorian design for a town prison
HER Majesty's Prison Usk is situated close to the centre of the town. It was built in 1842-44 to a Victorian 'rotunda' design, similar to that of Pentonville in London. The architect was T H Wyatt. It became the County Gaol for Monmouthshire in 1870, and operated until 1922. After being closed for more than a decade, it was reopened in 1939, adapted for use as a borstal to hold youth offenders. In 1990 it was adapted again for use as a Category C establishment for vulnerable prisoners, including sex offenders. The sister establishment of HM Prison Usk is HM Prison Prescoed, which is located three miles to the south-west of the town, towards Pontypool.
The birthplace of an intellectual
Usk was the birthplace of Adam of Usk. His Chronicle records the 'Welsh Revolt' in 1403, when Owain Glyndŵr burned Usk to the ground while gaining control of much of south Wales from the English under king Henry IV and his son, later to become king Henry V. The important Battle of Pwll Melyn in 1405 occurred immediately north of Usk Castle, when English forces routed their Welsh opponents, causing much loss of life, including that of Owain's brother Tudur. After their defeat, three hundred Welsh prisoners were executed in front of the castle.
THE British naturalist, explorer, geographer, anthropologist, and biologist Alfred Russel Wallace was born in the village of Llanbadoc, near Usk. He is best known for independently conceiving the theory of evolution through natural selection; his paper on the subject was jointly published with some of Charles Darwin's writings in 1858. This prompted Darwin to publish his own ideas in On the Origin of species. Wallace did extensive fieldwork, first in the Amazon River basin and then in the Malay Archipelago, where he identified the faunal divide now termed the Wallace Line. Wallace was considered the 19th century's leading expert on the geographical distribution of animal species and is sometimes called the "father of biogeography". Wallace was one of the leading evolutionary thinkers of the 19th century and made many other contributions to the development of evolutionary theory besides being co-discoverer of natural selection. His obituary in the New York Times called him ‘the last of the giants belonging to that wonderful group of intellectuals that included, among others, Darwin, Huxley, Spencer, Lyell, and Owen, whose daring investigations revolutionised and evolutionised the thought of the century’.
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TV’s Boycie at Rare Plant Fair at Llanover House
T
He beautiful gardens at Llanover House, Llanover play host to a popular Rare Plant Fair on Sunday, September 17 A 15-acre listed garden and arboretum with lakes, streams and cascades which are created by the Rhyd y Meirch stream which flows into the top of the garden. Unusual trees, shrubs and flowers have been planted for over 200 years and provide superb autumn colour in a beautiful setting. It is likely that the landscaping trends of Capability Brown influenced the owners in the 19th Century, as seen by plantings of London Plane Trees and Beech which still grow today. The fair will be open from 11am to 4pm, and adult entry, which includes entry to both the fair and garden costs just £5. Refreshments are available, in aid of St. Bartholomews’ Church, Llanover. The organisers are delighted to announce that special guest at the fair will be actor and novelist John Challis best known for his role as Boycie in the BBC sitcoms 'Only Fools and Horses' and 'The Green Green Grass'. Perhaps less well known is John's passion for gardening, shared with his wife Carol. In his latest book, 'Wigmore Abbey' John recounts his arrival in Herefordshire and why he and his wife, Carol, decided to buy Wigmore Abbey. Arriving there in the late ’90s, they threw themselves into the task of restoring the abbot’s
lodging – the only habitable part remaining of what had once been a great monastery. They always had an interest in gardening and once they’d got on top of the house restoration, they went out to have a proper look at the land around them, where they uncovered extensive gardens that were badly neglected and overgrown. John and Carol soon found that they had to strip everything back, and start again with a more or less clean palette on which to create their new garden. Their activity was interrupted when the BBC proposed that Wigmore Abbey would be the perfect location for the ‘Only Fools & Horses’ spin-off, ‘The Green Green Grass’. Delighted with the prospect of not having to drive to work, John and his former OFAH co-star, Sue Holderness, quickly recreated Boycie and Marlene as the out of place country ‘squires’ in a show that ran for four series. Since then, John and Carol persevered with the task of recreating the gardens reaching a point where visitors have come from far afield to see it. It was even chosen to be featured on one of Alan Titchmarsh’s Chelsea Flower Show programmes. ‘Wigmore Abbey, The Treasure of Mortimer’ is a charming, personal book, lavishly illustrated with photos of the interior and the gardens through the seasons, taken by renowned photographer, Alex Ramsay. John will be attending in person the Rare Plant Fair at Llanover House where he will be offering signed copies of 'Wigmore Abbey' and his other publications. 1584920
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F the tasty ready prepared barbecue fayre featured earlier in these pages doesn’t float your boat and you envisage a world where your summer barbecues are nothing less than home made and magnificent, where the chicken is succulent (and not pink), the veggies perfectly chargrilled, and there's not a sausage in sight, you need to meet Raymond Blanc's development chef, Adam Johnson who offers our reporter some tips during a recent barbecue masterclass...
There's no need for fire-lighters Many a British barbecue has started with fire-lighters, a bottle of lighting fluid and some singed eyebrows. Not so at Le Manoir. We're kitted out with aprons, sturdy gloves, tongs and a pretty nifty chimney starter. Practically faff-free, it's just a metal column stacked with coal or brickettes, one match gets it going and, because of the air-flow it allows, your coal gets super hot super quick, and eyebrows remain intact. Step away from the sausages and burgers - you can be adventurous on the grill On the menu meat-wise, the choice is stomachstretchingly overwhelming. Adam handles the trickier tasks, like smoking mussels and cooking salmon on a plank of cedar wood, while a slow hickory-smoked pulled pork shoulder ticks along in the background (which he started the day before - it takes around six to eight hours to have the meat falling apart). He also whacks an entire spatchcocked chicken on
the grill to cook gently (later it gets doused in garlic, barbecued in its skin until soft), while we're put in charge of whipping up a satay sauce for chicken skewers, lamb ribs with harissa, and mango marinated pork shoulder steaks. I told you: No sausages to be found here.
Your side dishes are as important as your meat You can't just focus on the meat though - and no, you can't get away with chucking some iceberg lettuce in a bowl. We slice fennel thinly and dress it with lime and olive oil; shredded celeriac tumbles into homemade mayonnaise and courgettes are trimmed into ribbons and thrown together with basil and garlic. There's corn on the cob too - after all, you can't beat a classic. Even pudding can be barbecued It's easy to feel content after a barbecue if you escape without food poisoning, or snag an ice lolly, but Adam goes all out. He cores and skins a whole pineapple, covers it in a mix of sugar and citrus zest, then spit-roasts it on the barbecue. It becomes caramelised and sweetly charred in places, and is still sticky and juicy. You won't want pineapple any other way again.
Photo/LeManoir.
I
Learn to barbecue with the master at le Manoir
Don't ignore the garden (particularly if you are lucky enough to barbecue at Le Manoir) Whether in your back garden or in the park, setting is important. And at Le Manoir, you get to barbecue by the glass house in the kitchen garden. Nearby, there's Blanc's Japanese tea house and ponds, but it's the spiky columns of artichokes around every corner, the huge polytunnel of courgette plants grown purely for their yolkyellow flowers (to be stuffed or deep fried in the kitchens later), and the trays and trays of micro herbs in various growth states that are really stunning.
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Unlock myths and legends at Wales’s Open Doors 2017 through its Eventbrite page, free entry to its 23 paid-admission sites over the final weekend in September. Some venues have a limited number of spaces or require advance booking.
cider SHOP pen-y-l an far m, PONTRIL AS HR 2 0DL
Llanover House th
Sunday 17 September 11am – 4pm
Visit us to sit, sip and savour cider made in tune with tradition! We’re easy to find, just off the- A465 Abergavenny to Hereford road, near the beautiful Black Mountains.
We look forward to welcoming you – and sharing a taste of our cider!
We offer FREE tastings, and sell snacks, T-shirts, gifts and local produce as well as our full range of ciders. You can also see into our cider shed, and view our cider belt press and mill.
www.TyGwynCider.co.uk This popular Fair is set in this superb 15-acre listed garden and arboretum featuring lakes, streams and cascades. Unusual trees, shrubs and flowers have been planted for over 200 years, during which time the house and gardens have been owned by the same family.
FRtEinE gs!
We’ve plenty of seating inside – and outdoors on the sun deck
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At the Fair you’ll have the opportunity to buy interesting and unusual plants from our specialist nurseries, all of whom are genuine growers offering well grown plants, together with all the advice that you need to help them thrive in your garden.
Llanover House, Llanover, Nr. Abergavenny, NP7 9EF Adults £5; Children under 16 free. For full details visit our website at www.rareplantfair.co.uk
You can buy our ciders in bottles, flagons and bag-in-boxes 1583533
TAURUS
The Bell Glangrwyney is situated within the small rural village of Glangrwyney just outside Abergavenny and is ideally placed for walkers, adventure seekers or those just wanting a warm retreat in a classic country pub.
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HROUGHOUT September people across Wales will have the opportunity to peek inside buildings and unlock the myths and legends that lie deep within towns, cities and local communities thanks to the return of Open Doors. More than 300 of Wales’s most iconic and unusual properties will offer free entry, activities, guided tours or special events throughout the month of September, with some unique locations opening their doors to the public for the very first time. The month-long event offers people living in Wales, and visitors, the chance to explore new, hidden and renowned features of the country’s culture and history. One of the usually-charged places that visitors can experience for free is Newport’s most famous landmark — the Transporter Bridge. Also getting involved in the event is Crumlin Navigation Colliery which commemorates 50 years since its closure this year, and Neath Abbey Ironworks, a birthplace of the industrial revolution which invites visitors inside for the first time in living memory. There will also be the chance to climb to the top of Tredegar Town Clock or learn a new hobby at Cardiff’s only official Croquet Club. Additionally, Cadw is offering the first 25,000 people to register
CRAFTS
4 B&B rooms available for a single night’s stay or make a wonderful base for your holiday
Traditional Country Pub offering Quality Food using the very Best Seasonal Produce Available for events, parties and all special occasions
EXTENSIVE MENU AT AFFORDABLE PRICES DAILY SPECIALS BOARD CHILDREN’S MENU B&B ROOMS DOG FRIENDLY
Visit us for a warm Welsh welcome from Nico, Vasile and the team
Give us a call on 01873 811115 Email: info@bellinnglangrwyney.co.uk The Bell Inn, Glangrwyney, Crickhowell. NP8 1EH
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Three Stunning Restaurant Venues...
... Across the Brecon Beacons
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Gazette and Diary Magazine
Food blogger Izy’s tips to eating well at Uni
S
o you've bagged the results you needed and landed a place at uni, well done! But chances are you've a lot to learn about what to cook once you're finally fending for yourself. Luckily, food blogger Izy Hossack - who wrote her first cookbook, Everyday Delicious, while she was revising for her AS-levels, and her second, The Savvy Cook, during her first year at university in Leeds - is on hand to give some expert advice. Follow her tips on what to make when, and you'll maximise your brain power, find new friends and avoid eating too many packet noodles in the year ahead.... The new term is about to begin and you need to get your kitchen cupboards in order... Stock up on grains. Get some big bags of rice because they're way cheaper to buy in bulk, and then you can keep them in your cupboard, or share with your housemates. Pasta and stock cubes I always buy at the beginning of the year, and I always stock up on spices and herbs - because if you buy everything at the beginning, that's your basic stuff, then throughout the week you just have to buy vegetables and maybe some cheese or eggs, and you know you have all the other stuff ready to go. You've just moved into halls or started a brand new class and want to win over some new friends... Bake something sweet, definitely. Brownies or cookies, because they're easy to share and easy to make. You're revising for that dreaded exam and need a motivational snack... Make something like hummus and then have some vegetables or pitta breads on hand. I always do this thing where I'm sitting there revising for a few hours and then I get really hungry and there's nothing ready for me to eat. So, if I have some hummus in the fridge, or my chorizo dip, then I can have a snack that I can just take up with me and I can continue revising while I'm eating it. Things are getting stressful with deadlines, exams, too many late nights and a few tricky friendships... If you wanna go for the biscuits, go for the biscuits, I would say. I definitely do that, and if I'm stressed because I'm revising then I know that your brain runs on glucose, so you know, you're giving your brain some fuel! But I think emotional eating is problematic. I definitely do that myself, and I need to disassociate the stress with the stress eating. If you prepare yourself for it - so I know that I will stress eat - then go out for a walk,
take your mind off it, do something alternative. And if when you get back, you're calm but you still want a biscuit, go for it. You're coming home from a night out, and desperately want a kebab... For me, whenever I'm coming back from a night out then I just want bread and butter, so I always have bread in the freezer - access to carbs immediately! Once I came home from a night out and I literally made oven fries - I parboiled potatoes, put them in the oven, roasted them for 45 minutes, then ate them. I don't even know how I stayed up that long and then committed to eating all of them! Have some bread, that would be my go-to. I know some people want a burger, but I'm not that kind of a person. I think that you're never going to stop yourself from doing that, really - if you want some cheesy chips, you're going to get yourself some cheesy chips, there's no arguing with drunk you. You wake up horribly hungover... Bread is my answer for everything! You're feeling a bit lost and overwhelmed by your studies and social life and need a self-esteem lift... Cooking is a confidence boost because you can share it with people, and also, everyone's always nice when you cook for them. They appreciate it. They're never going to be mean, they're always going to be like, 'This is great, this is delicious', and you'll feel great about yourself. • The Savvy Cook by Izy Hossack, photography by Izy Hossack, is published in hardback by Mitchell Beazley, priced £14.99. Available now (octopusbooks.co.uk)
Cyfarthfa Park
@VisitCyfarthfa #DiscoverCyfarthfa Look out for our new walks, talks and workshops! Visit: www.cyfarthfa.com
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Llansabbath Country Farmhouse Bed & Breakfast
A Family Run Bed & Breakfast Just Outside Abergavenny Sleeping Up To 10 Adults
Five Individually Designed Rooms Romantic Rural Setting Hearty Delicious Breakfast Menu Abergavenny, A Great Base For The Brecon Beacons, Castles & Heritage Sites A Mecca For Lovers Of Food Llansabbath House Abergavenny, Monmouthshire NP7 9BY Tel: +44 (0)1873 840022
Book Direct For Discounts Via Our Website Below Or Call Us
www.llansabbathcountryhousebnb.com 1584010
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Gazette and Diary Magazine
Olia relives her childhood for a I new cookbook T'S time you got your tastebuds around some Georgian and Azerbaijani flavours, says Olia Hercules
Britain is late to unearthing the joys of Georgian food, says the writer and food stylist who will be live at the Abergavenny Food Festival next weekend. "Everybody was so busy with the Middle East, and loving that, that we haven't ripened to the Georgian thing," she states. "I'm quite surprised it took so long." Our lack of Georgian love is set to change though, with the release of her second cookbook, Kaukasis. A follow up to 2015's Mamushka, which explored Olia's Ukrainian heritage, this new collection of recipes focuses on Caucasus - the hub of countries packed together like pickles in a jar at the border of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. For the book, Olia, 34, returned to the countries that she, her parents and elder brother meandered through on a road trip to visit family in Baku in Azerbaijan, when she was a toddler. "We drove from the south of Ukraine, through Crimea, took a ferry to Russia and Sochi, and drove through Georgia and into Baku without even warning them. We were just like, 'Oh, shall we go to Baku?' - my parents are crazy wanderlusts - so we drove and we got there and it was amazing." Returning as an adult, Olia retraced as much of that family trip as possible, gathering recipes and ideas along the way. She toured Georgia travelling in "half-broken marshrutka cars; little vans that you can go to another side of Georgia in for a fiver!" - and Azerbaijan, going as far as Lankharan on the border, which is heavily influenced, both in food and culture, by its neighbour, Iran. "We didn't go into Armenia, but I really wanted to go to Nagorno-Karabakh [a region being contested by Armenia, Azerbaijan and Karabakh leaders], where my auntie's old house is, but it's probably destroyed now by war," says Olia sadly. "It's too dangerous, they've started shooting there again. I just thought, 'I'm not going to risk it'."
"Everybody was so busy with the Middle East, and loving that, that we haven't ripened to the Georgian thing,"
Today, Olia, who trained at the famous Leiths cookery school and was a chef-departi at Ottolenghi, is bustling around the kitchen of her East-London flat, pickling huge, shiny unripe tomatoes, but, she says, no tomatoes can compare to the ones you get at markets in the Ukraine and Georgia. "The best tomatoes I've ever tried for sure, they're massive - the size of your head - but flavoursome, juicy, everything you need from a tomato is there." Georgian and Azerbaijani cooking were woven into Olia's childhood, and growing up in the ex-Soviet Union, where ingredients could be really quite scarce at times. She remembers that, if you were eating out, Georgian restaurants "might be OK for food, otherwise it'd be horrible - otherwise you'd really have to go into people's homes to eat well". Meeting home cooks is still something that fascinates Olia, who includes recipes from the people she met on her travels in Kaukasis. "Especially in rural areas, if you go to visit someone, they will have a massive barrel of cheese that they make every morning and then they salt it, or they make buffalo butter, which is the most delicious thing I've ever tried - I could have eaten it with a spoon," she remembers. The markets, particularly in Georgia, are as astounding as the tomatoes, too. "Your mind is blown," says Olia with a grin. "Especially those who love unusual ingredients. You can have little barberries from Tusheti, there's crazy wild plants and mushrooms I've never heard of before, and alycha plums [similar to greengages]. People use them when they're firm and green and quite sour to make this plum sauce, tkemali; a hot and sour plum ketchup." And, if you're looking for herbs (huge fresh bundles of purple basil, tarragon and dill are used in almost everything, even refreshing fizzy drinks), the trick is to "look for an Azerbaijani lady - apparently Azerbaijanis grow the best herbs". For Olia, a season of pop-ups and cookery sessions now awaits as the rest of us slowly come to realise just what we've been missing when it comes to Georgian and Azerbaijani food, and then, who knows? "I can be very organised in the kitchen as a chef, but in life, I tend to..." she says, drifting off, before adding with a smile: "It's all very spontaneous."
PA Photo/Elena Heatherwick/Mitchell Beazley.
Olia in Abergavenny For her appearance at Abergavenny Food Festival Olia will be presenting ‘Eat Your Words’ a unique blend of book club and supper club which celebrates classic and modern day food writing. The books are chosen not only for their wonderful recipes, but also for their vivid prose and ability to sweep you along on a cultural or historical journey. Enjoy all this whilst sat at a table, dipping into dishes from the very pages being discussed. The menu (subject to change) will include a plated starter and dessert with the main to be served on platters as a shared feast for your table. Snack Sourdough, green adjika (Georgian wet mint and chilli salt paste) fresh local cheese, peach, tarragon Starter Chicken and saffron broth with lamb dumplings (plus a selection of herbs, spices to be seasoned at the table) Vegetarian alternative – vegetable and saffron broth with pumpkin dumplings Main + sides Shakh plov (rice dish with layers of meat, barbarries, spices inside) incased in crispy flatbread Fermented green tomatoes, savoury pickled cherries and grapes, fermented gherkins Aubergine serdakh (baby aubergines and tomatoes slow cooked in clarified butter) Georgian herb, spring onion and lettuce salad with adjika (spicy red salt) dressing Pudding Cooked seasonal fruit and berries and buckwheat creme anglaise The four-courses costs £37.50 with a drinks pairing for an additional £15 and the evening wit Olia takes place on Saturday, September 16 at the Masonic Hall in Abergavenny. • For more details visit www.abergavennyfoodfestival.com/programme/eat-words-olia-hercules/ • Kaukasis by Olia Hercules, photography Elena Heatherwick, is published in hardback by Mitchell Beazley, priced £25.
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Poppy Cottage
Self Catering in Abergavenny Monmouthshire 18th Century Poppy Cottage
Poppy Cottage is a charming 18th Century 2 bedroom stone cottage once occupied by iron workers and featured in Chris Barber’s book ‘In the footsteps of Alexander Cordell’. The perfect country retreat for those seeking a peaceful beautiful setting for both a relaxed, or active getaway. Poppy Cottage is a haven waiting to be discovered, with fantastic walks and scenery right outside your front door...
All year round. The minimum stay is 2 nights. Accommodates 4 or 5 people
www.poppycottage.wales 07826 105113
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ANCY tasting something different? We love these alternative wine labels. It's a wine crime we're all guilty of: Buying the same bottle of wine every time we go to the supermarket. We ponder, challenge ourselves to be more adventurous, try to get to grips with the tasting notes, feel daunted, and end up picking the familiar label winking at us from the New World shelf. After all, we've tried it before, it tasted good, and we don't want to make a silly mistake, right? Well, to save your blushes and challenge your taste buds, we're on a mission to get you out of that wine rut. No matter what your favourite style is, here's how to make the switch from sauvignon blanc, move away from merlot and pass on pinot grigio - while bagging a a delicious, come-hither wine that you wouldn't normally take home.
Here are 7 wines from our swap shop... Instead of Prosecco Paul Mas Sparkling Picpoul Chardonnay, France (£10, Morrisons, in-store)
Put back the prosecco and bin the Bordeaux - it’s time to try something new in the wine aisle Instead of Pinot Grigio
Australia are increasingly imitating classic Bordeaux blends and this will go just as well with everything on the grill.
licious discovery. The blossomy scents and generous fruit flavours sing from the glass.
Instead of Merlot
Instead of Rioja Wine Atlas Negroamaro 2016, Italy (£5.48, Asda, in-store) Our go-to Spanish red that's easier to pronounce than neh-groh-ah-mah-roh, why not trade a Rioja for a rich Italian that's hearty and concentrated with bundles of blackberry fruits, a hint of chocolate and those all important traces of spicy oak.
We appreciate prosecco for its light, fresh taste and soft bubbles. Balanced and stylish, this sparkler from the South of France blends rich, creamy chardonnay with light, zesty picpoul for a touch more fruity freshness with pretty aromatics.
Instead of Sauvignon Blanc
Waitrose Vina Taboexa Albarino 2016, Rias Baixas, Spain (£8.29, Waitrose Cellar) A lesser known white variety and a perfect seafood white, albarino shares the same bright, clean flavours of a New Zealand savvy blanc, but with a touch of minerality and juicy acidity that keeps it lively and fresh.
TTD Vermentino Del Salento 2016, Italy (£9 Sainsbury's, in-store)
Pintao Reserva Carmenere 2015, Chile (£10, Marks & Spencer, instore)
Why not try a vermentino as your new house white? Its fresh acidity means it's just as easy drinking as pinot grigio, with a few extra peach and floral notes for something a little more complex. Usually from Sardinia, this one hails from Puglia.
Chile's signature grape, for a time carmenere was mistaken for late ripening merlot with similarly ripe dark plum fruits and generous, rounded body. With aromas of black cherry, plums, soft tannins and a hint of spice, it's definitely the way forward.
Instead of Chardonnay Etoile de Nuit Viognier 2015, France (£5, Asda) If you love the tropical notes of a rich chardonnay, but think some heady florals would make it even more attractive, then viognier is a de-
Instead of Bordeaux TTD Chateau Tanunda Barossa Red Blend 2014, Australia (£10, Sainsbury's) If a Bordeaux is your failsafe Sunday roast red, why not give an Australian blend a go. Talented winemakers in
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48 September 2017
Gazette and Diary Magazine OLIA HERCULES' 'POLYPHONY' COURGETTES
CHETNA MAKAN'S FISH CHOPS
These fishy bites are totally moreish. If you want a quick pick me up, these delicious fish chops should do the trick. Former Bake Off contestant Chetna Makan, tucked into these in Kolkata while researching her new book, packed with street-food delicacies. Just be sure to have a host of chutneys to dunk them in, and a lot of Sichuan sauce...
Ingredients: (Serves 4 as a side)
Ingredients: (Makes 15)
4tbsp sunflower oil 4 shallots or small onions, halved 2 courgettes, cut into 2cm rounds 5 garlic cloves, cut in half vertically 2 long green chillies, bruised but left whole Handful of fresh sour cherries and/or redcurrants Sea salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper To serve: Sourdough bread
3 large eggs 300g skinless cod fillets 1 onion, finely chopped Handful of fresh coriander leaves, finely chopped 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped 2 small green chillies, finely chopped 1/2tsp salt Sunflower oil, for deep-frying Sea salt flakes For the coating: 2 eggs, lightly beaten 100g golden breadcrumbs
Method: 1. Heat the oil in a large frying pan, add the shallots or onions and cook over a medium-low heat until they soften and start turning golden. Remove from the pan. Photo/Elena Heatherwick/Mitchell Beazley 2. Add the courgette rounds and brown on each side. 3. Reduce the heat, add the garlic and chillies and season everything really well. Cook for three minutes. 4. At the very end, add the sour cherries and/or redcurrants and switch off the heat. Taste again and season with some extra salt and pepper if it needs it. 5. Serve with sourdough bread or as part of a bigger feast.
JAMIE OLIVER'S SMOKY CHORIZO SALMON
Photo/Mitchell Beazley/Nahima Rothacker/Keith James.
Courgettes have never tasted so good. This is a veg dish with a twist - even Olia Hercules admits: "I would never in a million years think to pair courgettes and berries." However, this dish, which Olia first tried in a restaurant called Pheasant's Tears, run by chef Gia in Signagi - a town in the eastern region of Kakheti, Georgia makes it work.
Method: 1. Put the large eggs into a small saucepan, cover with water and boil for 10 minutes. Drain and leave to cool, then shell the eggs and mash them in a bowl. 2. In a food processor, blitz the cod to a coarse paste. Add the fish to the mashed eggs, along with the onion, coriander, garlic, chillies and salt. Mix thoroughly so the flavours are well combined. 3. Shape the mixture into 15 balls about the size of a lemon, then press to flatten them slightly. Dip each one in the beaten egg, then roll them in the breadcrumbs until fully coated. 4. Heat enough oil for deepfrying in a deep-fat fryer or heavy saucepan (ensuring the pan is no more than one-third full) to 170-180°C. Line a plate with some kitchen paper. Fry the chops a few at a time for about two minutes, until they are cooked through and golden. Transfer to the paper-lined plate and leave to drain excess oil while you fry the remaining chops. 5. Season with sea salt flakes and serve warm with your choice of sauce or chutney.
TRY IT AT HOME
TOM KITCHIN'S VENISON SAUSAGE STEW
PA Photo/Penguin Random House/Jamie Oliver Enterprises Limited/David Loftus.
Four great recipes from four With autumn on the horizon, the nights will be drawing Take a trip to the Med with just five ingredients. Jamie Oliver's five-ingredient recipe for smoky chorizo salmon and what better way to get through a wet week, than great chefs for you to try out in will bring a taste of the Mediterranean to your weekday with a big pot of warming stew? suppers. in your own kitchen With these kind of colours, you'd be mad not to whip it up Ingredients: yourself. And you wouldn't be blamed for immediately posting a picture of it on In(Serves 4) stagram. Olive oil 8 venison sausages Ingredients 50g smoked lardons (serves 2) 200g celeriac, peeled and chopped 2 x 150g salmon fil100g leeks, trimmed, chopped and rinsed lets, skin on, scaled, 2 carrots, peeled and chopped pin-boned, from sus2 celery sticks, chopped tainable sources 1 onion, chopped 300g ripe mixed1tbsp tomato puree colour cherry toma30g plain flour toes 250ml full-bodied red wine 4 sprigs of fresh basil 5 juniper berries, crushed 8 black olives (stone 250ml beef stock in) 1 bouquet garni 30g higher-welfare 2 green apples chorizo 200g cooked chestnuts, halved 1tbsp red wine vineHot tagliatelle to serve (optional) gar Sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper 1tbsp extra virgin olive oil PA Photo/Marc Millar/Absolute Press. Sea salt and black Method: pepper Heat a flameproof casserole over a medium-high heat, then add a good splash of oil. When it is hot, add the sausages and stir for 3 minutes, or until they are well coloured all over, then remove from the casserole and set aside. Method Add a splash more oil to the casserole, if necessary, then add the lardons and 1. Put the salmon flesh side down in a large cold non-stick frying pan and place on saute until they have rendered their fat and are well coloured. Add the celeriac, a medium-high heat. As the pan comes up to temperature and the salmon begins leeks, carrots, celery, onion and tomato puree, and continue sauteing for a further to sizzle (about three minutes), flip it over and cook on the skin side for five min1-2 minutes. Sprinkle in the flour and stir for 1 minute to cook out the raw flavour. utes, or until very crisp and just cooked (depending on its thickness). Add the wine and juniper berries, stirring to deglaze the pan, and boil until the wine 2. Meanwhile, halve the cherry tomatoes, tear up most of the basil leaves, then toss it all with one tablespoon of red wine vinegar and a pinch of sea salt and black reduces by half. Add the stock and bouquet garni, then return the sausages and pepper. any accumulated cooking juices to the casserole. Cover the casserole and leave to 3. Squash the olives and discard the stones, then finely chop the flesh. Mix with simmer over a medium heat for 20 minutes, or until all the vegetables are tender one teaspoon of extra virgin olive oil and a splash of water. and the flavours blended. 4. Finely slice the chorizo, add to the pan for the last two minutes, then toss in the Meanwhile, halve, core and chop the green apples. Adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper, if necessary, then stir in the chestnuts dressed tomatoes for 30 seconds. Divide between your plates, with the salmon on top. Spoon over the dressed olives and pick over the remaining basil. and apples and warm through. Serve with fresh tagliatelle flavoured with freshly cracked black pepper. September 2017 49
Gazette and Diary Magazine
Championing local small producers Black Mountain Roast Coffee Talgarth Mill Flour
Taste of Wales
Black Mountain Preserves Welsh Farmhouse Apple Juice Brookes Dairy Icecream
Richard Bavin & The PictureMakers: 13 Sept - 13 Nov Bridge 橋 (CRiC Studio): 18 Sept - 24 Sept. 1585535
Crickhowell Resource & Information Centre, Beaufort Street, Crickhowell, NP8 1BN 01873 811970 tic@visitcrickhowell.co.uk www.visitcrickhowell.co.uk or find us on Facebook, Twitter & Instagram 50 September 2017
Gazette and Diary Magazine
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A busy few weeks ahead for CRiC as it continues to tempt visitors
ust a stone’s throw from Abergavenny, in the centre of Crickhowell, CRiC not only welcomes visitors with information on walks and visitor attractions, but the attractive retail area also stocks a range of uniquely Welsh items to tempt visitors. Alongside the selection of books, cards and gifts, CRiC champions local and regional small producers. Coffee lovers can stock up on the ethically-sourced, freshly roasted and ground beans, roasted in small batches by Black Mountain Roast Coffee for a taste adventure. Flour fresh from the restored mill at talgarth, Welsh Farmhouse Apple Juice made from apples sourced from local orchards, preserves home made in the mountains, Welsh Honey, chocolate and ice cream all add to the great variety on offer in CRiC making it a great place to linger and browse. the small coffee bar with locally baked cakes is an added attraction. On september 27 the coffee bar will join “the world’s biggest coffee morning” to raise funds for Macmillan Cancer Care. this has become an eagerly anticipated annual event, giving yet another excuse for a visit to the centre and Crickhowell. A new addition to Crickhowell’s events at the end of september is the first autumn weekend of guided walks. Bookings for the walks are now being taken and the programme of walks is available at www.crickhowellfestival.com the oriel CRiC gallery’s full program of exhibitions for the rest of the year will not disappoint its many supporters. the summer exhibition includes a number of well-known printmakers and will be followed in mid-september by an autumn exhibition which will include a selection of work from Richard Bavin’s Lea and Paget’s Wood series – ‘A Year in the Life of an Ancient Woodland’. Richard’s work will be showcased alongside that of the Picturemakers – a collective of visual artists working in Mid-Wales (13 september – 13 November 2017). As part of a Cultural Exchange Program (China Bridge) the gallery will from 18 to 24 september host an exhibition of paintings and sculptures from Xinjiang by Mr Liu Jianxin and Ms Yuan Yuan from Xinjiang Normal university in the CRiC studio. the CRiC studio is proving a popular exhibition space with visiting artists and groups such as the square Pegs and the south Wales Potters Association to name but a few’ who will be showcasing their work during the rest of 2017. •Visit www.visitcrickhowell.co.uk for the full program or contact Suzette Pratten at gallery@visitcrickhowell.co.uk for further information.
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Ingredients: (Makes 50-60) 60g split chickpeas (chana dal - available from Sainsbury's) 125g rice flour 125g plain flour 1tsp salt 1/2 tsp chilli powder 10 curry leaves, finely chopped About 120ml water Sunflower oil, for deep-frying Sea salt flakes Chutney of your choice, to serve (optional) Method: 1. Put the split chickpeas into a bowl, cover with water and leave to soak for one hour. Drain the split chickpeas, then grind them to a rough paste using a food processor, adding PA Photo/Mitchell Beazley/Nahima Rothacker/Keith James. one tablespoon of water if necessary to achieve a rough, thick paste that isn't too runny. 2. Put the ground chickpeas, the rice four, plain flour, salt, chilli powder and curry leaves into a large bowl and mix well. Very gradually mix in just enough of the measured water (or a little more, if necessary), a few drops at a time, to bring the mixture together into a soft dough. Cover the bowl with cling film and leave to rest for 30 minutes. 3. Fill a deep-fat fryer or large saucepan with enough sunflower oil to deep-fry the papdi (ensuring the pan is no more than one-third full) and heat it to 190°C. Line a plate with some kitchen paper. 4. Take small portions of the dough, roughly the size of a grape, and roll them into thin discs with a diameter of 5cm. Working in batches, fry the papdi for two to three minutes, until golden brown. Remove with a slotted spoon and transfer the papdi to the paper-lined plate to drain excess oil while you fry the remaining dough. 5. Leave to cool, then season with sea salt flakes and serve with the chutney of your choice.
JAMIE OLIVER’S PLUM TARTE TATIN
OLIA HERCULES' CAULIFLOWER, BROWN BUTTER AND CRUMBS UKRAINIAN chef and food writer Olia Hercules has borrowed this handy revision treat from her Armenian aunt Nina, who grew up in Azerbaijan. "Just before the exams, sat at her Azerbaijani friends' table with sheets of paper covered with lines and scribbles scattered around, they had a snack," explains Olia. "No crisps in those days, but in my view they had something a lot better - cooked cauliflower florets." Here's how you can make your own healthy something to nibble on... Ingredients: (Serves 2 as a snack) 1tbsp olive oil 1 head of cauliflower, about 550g, divided into florets 100g unsalted butter 50g stale sourdough bread Handful of finely chopped flat leaf parsley 1 red chilli, diced 1tsp ground sumac (optional) Method: 1. Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/Gas Mark 6. Brush a large baking tray with the olive oil, spread out the cauliflower florets and roast for about 30 minutes until they are cooked through and starting to colour at the edges. 2. Meanwhile, to make the brown butter, heat the butter in a frying pan and let it sizzle until it starts smelling sweet and nutty. Take the pan off the heat as soon as you smell it and it turns a deep golden colour, pour the contents into a cold bowl and set aside. 3. To make the sourdough crumbs, blitz the bread in a blender or food processor and, if necessary, spread out on a baking tray and place in the bottom of the oven for a few minutes to dry. Then mix with the parsley, chilli and sumac, if using. 4. To serve, dip the cauliflower florets first into the brown butter, then into the sourdough crumbs. Or drizzle the butter over the cauliflower along with some cooked white beans and scatter over the crumbs to make a side dish for some grilled chicken or fish.
TRY IT AT HOME
PA Photo/Elena Heatherwick/Mitchell Beazley
CHETNA MAKAN'S RICE AND DAL PAPDI
"THESE super-crispy snacks are available all over India from little street-side shops and stalls," says former Bake Off contestant Chetna Makan. "I found the ones readily available in Chennai to be the tastiest, and this recipe is my take on that version." She says that a variety of chutneys and "a cup of Masala Chai" are essential when scoffing them. Do as she says.
TOM KITCHIN'S OPEN PARTRIDGE AND PANCETTA TOASTIES WITH ONION COMPOTE
PA Photo/Penguin Random House/Jamie Oliver Enterprises Limited/David Loftus.
SOMETIMES it's hard to think of something fancy to make when you're on a limited budget, and your culinary skills Four more great recipes from WHO doesn't love a toastie? And this version even has maybe aren't the best. But don't worry - Jamie Oliver's a few twists to it. So what are you waiting for? four great chefs for you to recipe for plum tarte tatin will be the new saviour of your Ingredients: dinner parties. (Serves 4) The secret to this recipe is shop-bought puff pastry. Before try out in your own kitchen 4 partridge breasts, you turn your nose up, Jamie swears by it. skinned, Olive oil Not only does it taste Butter for spreading just as good as if 4 sourdough bread slices you'd made it your2 hard-boiled free-range eggs, sliced self, you've saved 8 pancetta rashers, cooked until crispy yourself a whole lot Watercress sprigs of bother. 4 slices cheddar cheese - any strong cheddar will do Sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper Ingredients For the onion compote: (serves 6) 50g butter 600g ripe mixedolive oil colour plums 2 white onions, sliced 1tsp ground cinna1 garlic clove, finely chopped mon 2tsp thyme leaves 120ml maple syrup Method: PA Photo/Marc Millar/Absolute Press. 320g sheet of all-butThe onion compote is ready to use as soon as it is ter puff pastry (cold) made, or it can be stored in a covered container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Heat 6 large scoops of a well-seasoned saute or frying pan with a lid over a medium-high heat, then add vanilla ice cream the butter with a splash of oil. When the butter is foaming, add the onions, garlic and thyme and season with salt and pepper. Cover with a wet piece of greaseproof Method paper, cover the pan with the lid, turn the heat to very low and leave the onions to 1. Preheat the oven sweat for 20-25 minutes until they are very tender. Transfer to a plate and set aside to 220°C/425°F/gas to cool. 7. When you're ready to cook, preheat the grill to high. 2. Place a 26cm nonMeanwhile, place a partridge breast in between 2 sheets of clingfilm and use a stick ovenproof frying meat mallet or rolling pin to lightly bash until flattened. Repeat with the remaining pan on a medium heat. Halve and destone the plums, add to the pan with 30ml of breasts. Pat the breasts dry and season them all with salt and pepper. water and cook for one minute. Heat a well-seasoned saute or frying pan over a medium-high heat, then add a From a height, sprinkle over half the cinnamon, then evenly pour over the maple splash of oil. When it's hot, add the breasts and sear them for 2-3 minutes on each syrup. side until cooked through, then set aside to rest for 5 minutes covered with kitchen 3. Place the pastry over the plums, using a wooden spoon to push it into the edges foil. Fry the breasts in batches, if necessary. of the pan, and trimming off any excess to patch up little gaps, if needed. Toast the sourdough slices on both sides under the grill, then lightly butter each. 4. Bake at the bottom of the oven for 16 minutes or until golden and puffed up. Do not turn off the grill. Making sure you use oven gloves to protect your hands, confidently and carefully Spread the pieces of toast with the onion compote and add the egg slices. Top with turn the tarte out on to a plate bigger than the pan. the partridge breasts, crispy pancetta, watercress and finally the cheese. Place the 5. Dish up with nice round scoops of ice cream, sprinkle over the remaining cinnatoasties under the grill until the cheese melts, then lightly season with salt and mon from a height and drizzle lightly with extra virgin olive oil before serving. cracked pepper.
52 September 2017
FOOD FESTIVAL SITE PLAN
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Gazette and Diary Magazine
FOR CHILDREN, FOR FAMILIES, FOR ALWAYS. Who are we? The South East Wales Adoption Service (SEWAS) is an adoption agency which covers Blaenau Gwent, Torfaen, Monmouthshire, Newport and Caerphilly local authorities. We encourage anyone who is interested in adoption to contact us; there is no upper age limit and you don’t have to be married or own your own home. For an informal, friendly discussion about adoption, contact us using the details below.
“If you’ve ever thought about adopting, we’d love to hear from you”
Who are we looking for? We are currently seeking to recruit adopters who are able to provide a permanent, loving and stable home for children of all ages. We are particularly keen to recruit adoptive parents for sibling groups, school aged children and children with additional needs, but please get in contact if you are interested in any of our children. If you’ve ever thought about adopting, we’d love to hear from you on the contact details below.
Upcoming Events in 2017 If you are interested in finding out more about adoption, our information events are the perfect opportunity to meet the team and ask any questions you may have.
· Weds 6th Sep / 6pm - 8pm · Sat 4th Nov / 10am - 12pm These events are held at: North Wing, 2nd Floor, Block B, Mamhilad House, Mamhilad Park Estate, Pontypool, NP4 0HZ.
For more information...
(01495) 355766
adoption@blaenau-gwent.gov.uk | www.adoptionsoutheastwales.co.uk 54 September 2017
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Life on the fringe - community events take centre stage at this year’s Food Festival
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osTed by the Abergavenny community, a number of mouth-watering, toetapping and story-telling events have been announced in and around the town to showcase the skills and the passions of the local community, as part of this year’s Abergavenny Food Festival. With the main festival taking place across saturday, september 16 and sunday, september 17, Fringe events will be happening throughout the month of september and highlight the breadth of skills and work done by local groups, long after the festival has closed its doors for the year. Many of the events will be free to attend. Please check the website for further details of how to book where necessary. Two ticketed Fringe events for which early booking is advised are firstly, the tour and tasting around the picturesque White Castle estate Vineyard. The tour, run by Robb and Nicola Merchant on Friday, september 15, who bought the land in 2008 with the aim of turning their vineyard wishes into wine, will take guests through their own journey and processes at the vineyard, and includes a full tasting session accompanied by some of the finest Welsh cheeses on the market. And secondly, the Cooking in a WoodFired oven classes which run across the FOODIES: Abergavenny Food Network with former Walnut Tree owner Franco Taruschio festival weekend, with the Abergavenny Baker, Rachel Watson. she will be demonstrations. strating how to mix, knead and bake pizzas in the heat of her hand-built oven, and of Abergavenny Community Centre, 10am – 3pm course you’ll be sampling your efforts in the great outdoors. There’s also a class with The Place for Food - spend saturday afternoon in the company of four deeply inRachel on the sunday, september 17 learning more about baking Turkish Lahmaspiring and knowledgeable speakers as they share their unique and eclectic wisdom cun, a flatbread topped with spiced meat and rolled with fresh herbs and chilli. on the world of food. Mouth-watering! st Michael's Centre, 2pm Tickets for both of these events can be purchased via the abergavennyfoodfestiCooking in a Wood-Fired Oven – join the Abergavenny Baker and try your hand val.com website. Book early to avoid disappointment. at making your own pizza to bake in the wood-fired oven Adult class (min. age 18), 2.30-4pm Friday, September 8: Storytelling for Children - stories from Wales and beyond for 5yrs+ Broadleaf Books, 3-4pm A syrian supper – break bread with local syrian families and share in a culture steeped in history and tradition. Sunday, September 17: Abergavenny Community Centre, 7.30pm All weekend: Cooking in a Wood-Fired Oven – join the Abergavenny Baker and try your hand Creation: A Celebration in Tapestry - the 42 breathtaking panels of embroidery, at making your own pizza to bake in the wood-fired oven painting and mixed-media are a luminescent piece of storytelling which took two Children’s class (min. age 8), 11am – 12:30pm years to complete. on display at st Mary’s Priory Church for the whole of september. Cooking in a Wood-Fired Oven – join the Abergavenny Baker and try your hand st Mary’s Priory Church, 9am – 14pm at making your own Lahmacun, a Turkish flatbread topped with spiced meat and Ceramic Makers’ Market – contemporary ceramics handcrafted by some of the rolled with fresh herbs and chilli, to bake in the wood-fired oven finest artisans in the UK. Adult class (min. age 18), 2.30-4pm The Chapel, Friday, september 15 – sunday, september 17, 9.30am – 6pm Vintage Tea Dance – dust off your dance cards and don your pearls for this joyous bop down memory lane! A tutor-led dance session with tea and cake supplied to Friday, September 15 keep you going. Vintage dress not obligatory but definitely encouraged! Tickets (£6) can be purchased directly from the dance Centre in Abergavenny. Free Field to Fork Workshops with Charlotte Pike - Absolute food heroine, The dance Centre, 5-8pm Charlotte Pike is offering two free family workshops in cooking fantastic, fresh and frugal food from scratch. discover new and seasonal ingredients, explore the origins Abergavenny’s new Chief executive, Aine Morris says of the Fringe at this year’s of our food with your children and get to grips with sourcing and sustainability in a fun festival, “It is incredibly important to us and the longevity of the food festival here in and creative way. Community Centre: the town that the community are supported and showcased in way that conveys the 9– 10.30am Cooking for Babies and Children abundance of talent, passion and togetherness around food and farming in the local 1 – 2.30pm Hands-on Cookery Class for Parents and Children area. The festival is predominantly about real food, real farmers, and real chefs, and Vineyard Tour and Welsh Wine Tasting - Test your palette, your stamina and an being able to share the knowledge and talent in the local community with visitors to array of award-winning Welsh wines & cheeses in the beautiful, rural backdrop of the festival is of huge importance and these events will add a vital layer to the festival Abergavenny’s White Castle estate. in bringing all of this together.” White Castle Vineyard, 3-5pm Access to the festival is with a weekend or day wristband (excluding ticketed What Future for Fish? – join leading specialists dr Rory Moore and dr Alan Terry events) which can be purchased online via the new-look website www.abergavennyas they discuss the urgent need for marine conservation, organised by Just Food foodfestival.com now. NP7 postcode residents are entitled to a 10% discount on st Mary's Priory Church, 6:45pm wristbands purchased in advance online. Children’s wristbands (under 16s) are availRosie Sykes: Festival Feast - Feast away your Friday night with critically acable for free but will also need to be booked via the website. claimed chef Rosie sykes, who’ll be cooking up a three course celebratory supper Wristbands and tickets for all festival events to be held at the Borough Theatre complete with cocktails and acoustic accompaniments. (with the exception of In conversation with Tom Kerridge) are now available to buy in The Chapel, 7pm person from the box office. Saturday,September: This is Abergavenny Food Festival's 19th year running and reaches 35,000 people over what is primarily a two-day festival weekend. Abergavenny Food Network – samples to buy, local produce to try and demon-
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Gazette and Diary Magazine
Wedding Days Choose your bridesmaids carefully...
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HOOSING your bridesmaids is one of the trickiest decisions you’ll make during your wedding planning. Fortunately, wedding expert Tilly Wilkinson is here to steer brides-to-be through bridal party politics Your wedding day should be the happiest day of your life. But we won’t lie; on the journey from newly engaged bride-tobe to finally walking down the aisle, you’ll need to negotiate the expense, the creative decisions and often a fair bit of family politics. A loyal and helpful band of bridesmaids is a boon during family disagreements or moments when you’re having a creative block… but for wedding expert Tilly, one of the most common sources of stress during many couples’ wedding planning occurs when bridesmaids go bad. “We so often hear about friends falling out, either because bridesmaids don’t seem interested or because they prove reluctant to take their duties seriously,” says Tilly, editor of wedding planning website UKbride.co.uk. It’s a good idea to choose your attendants wisely from the outset. Many automatically opt for siblings, or their oldest friends, or perhaps worse, they’re pushed into involving attendants related to inlaws with whom they’re not emotionally close. If, however, those people live further away from you than is practical, or if they’ve demanding careers or a young family to contend with, opting for bridesmaids who are more ‘available’ might be more sensible. Another recommendation is to manage expectations from the outset. If you’re choosing attendants but not expecting too much direct input, there’s less need to be cautious. If, however, you’re keen for them to organise the hen night, help with planning in the run up to your wedding and usher people towards your photographer on the day, or look after children on the day, choose more proactive attendants, rather than more laissez faire ones. It’s possible to gently present your anticipated input before you ask a bridesmaid to take part in your day to ensure you both have a consistent idea of what a bridesmaid does. Remember, too, that the choice of bridesmaid is yours and yours alone. Others who are trying to impose a bridesmaid on you should be politely but firmly told that you’d prefer to choose your own attendants. That’s doubly applicable to those who are trying to dictate such a decision because they’re making a financial contribution to the wedding… contributing to your wedding fund does not mean they can exercise control over your wedding planning! If and when problems do arise, many brides shy away from having an honest conversation with their bridesmaids. Trying to second guess whether a bridesmaid is losing interest introduces a sense of uncertainty and often resentment.
or when bridesmaids go bad…
Many brides find their bridesmaids a super source of help and support during their wedding planning. But like any friendship, it’s important to ensure there’s give and take, and that your bridesmaid, like your fiancé will be there to ensure your wedding really is the happiest day of your life. • Tilly Wilkinson is editor of www.ukbride.co.uk, which has 680,000 members and offers brides the chance to win a dream wedding worth £25,000 every year.
Picture by Eric Ward Heading off problems with a clear conversation that you’d like more input on creative decisions, hen night plans, or expressing your disappointment that they’ve missed wedding dress shopping or dress fitting directly is the only clear way to ensure the relationship doesn’t succumb to frustration. Likewise, if you’re aware that a bridesmaid isn’t happy with your choice of dress or hen night idea, trying to find a compromise that you’ll both be happy with is a better solution than just trying to impose your will… which will no doubt entail an equally honest and direct discussion. Finally, there’s no such thing as being stuck with a bridesmaid. There’s no such thing as a friend or relation you can’t distance yourself from. The role of a bridesmaid is not simply ceremonial, but one that should provide a bride with practical and emotional support. Whilst ‘sacking’ a bridesmaid may make you feel like a ‘bridezilla,’ freeing them from an obligation they’re not inclined to fulfil is better for both parties, even if they’re more inclined to publicly take umbrage and act bitterly than acknowledge their inner sense of relief. Remember then, that getting shot of a bridesmaid who’s hindering instead of helping your wedding planning, or who is simply adding to your stress always remains an option.
1580642
Bill Child Formal Wear
Herefordshire’s leading specialist in men’s and boys’ formal wear to hire. Wedding, evening and highland wear. A superb selection of waistcoats, neckwear and accessories, all available to hire or buy. Guaranteed friendly professional advice. Individual attention. Top quality outfits and service. No deposit, easy parking Come and see us at 17 King Street, Hereford, HR4 9BX Telephone: 01432 344700 Everything to dress men and boys from head to toe for every occasion
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Gazette and Diary Magazine
Wiltshire Farm its autumn and
AS the days become shorter, our jumpers get thicker and the time comes to snuggle up with a warm dinner, and here at Wiltshire Farm Foods we are excited to be launching our new autumn and winter brochure, writes a spokesman for the company Wiltshire Farm Foods is the UK’s leading provider of home-delivered frozen meals. With over 300 delicious dishes to choose from across a variety of ranges, there are options to suit all tastes and appetites, as well as many dietary requirements. Our brochure has a great selection of dishes perfect for winter, such as our tasty Pork and Leek Sausages in Rich Onion Gravy. Cooking for two? Then our ‘Meals for Two’ range is for you, designed specifically for sharing, so now you can order your favourite dishes in a generous portion guaranteed to satisfy two. Our new and improved Indian & Chinese range also features in the Autumn & Winter brochure. With 17 tantalising dishes created with authentic spices and ingredients, you can enjoy the likes of Lamb Balti and Sweet & Sour Chicken; bursting with flavour and guaranteed to brighten your day. 1571052
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Gazette and Diary Magazine
RELAX IN COMFORT THIS AUTUMN
Created by our chefs in Wiltshire, our meals are quick frozen to lock the taste and goodness in, and can be popped in the microwave or oven for you to enjoy whenever you want. The team work closely with our dietitian and have created a dedicated ‘Free From’ range, for those who have to avoid certain ingredients. With options to suit all individual tastes and preferences, this range of meals offers those with allergies more choice and less worry. In addition 150 of our dishes are totally gluten-free – so whether you have an allergy, or you’re simply looking to reduce your gluten intake, you’ll never be stuck for choice. Our service is simple from start to finish. Ordering is easier than ever, whether on our website, or over the phone. Go online or call us for a free brochure to enjoy at your leisure. Delivery is free, with no contracts, and no commitment. Once you’ve received your order, meals are quick and easy to prepare and can be cooked straight from the freezer in either a microwave or an oven. With over 25 years of nationwide service, we are proud of what we do and our customers’ satisfaction is our biggest reward. We have a fantastic range of delicious meals with the added benefit of first-class service and home delivery for you to try today. So call your local office on 01600 892855 for a free brochure or to place your order, or go online at wiltshirefarmfoods.com. 1578252
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LIKES Javel Estate, Three Cocks, Brecon LD3 0SL
60 September 2017
1585310
www.likes.hayonwye.landrover.co.uk
1563583
01497 842100
Gazette and Diary Magazine
Make sure your vision is up to scratch before getting behind the wheel O you and your eyes keeping you alert • Driving at night can be the most problematic area as our eyes age. No
tion prescribed for driving make sure struggle to see clearly after dusk you use it, not having your glasses is • Keep a pair of sunglasses in the a poor excuse when you have had the car in all seasons; low sun on a wet accident. road will make you As a little aside how often do you wish you hadn’t clean your glasses? Even a pristine packed them away windscreen will seem dirty if the after the summer lenses are covered in fingerprints.” • Know the law. You must be able to read (with glasses or contact lenses, if necessary) a car number plate made after 1 September 2001 from 20 metres. To find out more Cars, Vans & Motorcycle (Free Retest) information on this Servicing & Reairs all makes visit the governOld Hereford Road, Abergavenny ment’s driving eyesight rules page. • Stay hydrated. Water is very good in keeping you hydrated and is also good for your MOT eyes. With the Trade Centre added bonus of Motorcycle and Car MOT helping you maintain concentration Supporting Monmouth Show 2011 while driving and riding Servicing and Repair Church Lane,eyeGovilon, Richard said: “Deteriorating Church Lane, Govilon, Monmouthshire sight can often be a sign of otherNP7 9RP Monmouthshire NP7 9RP Telephone Abergavenny health problems so a check-up is a Tel: Abergavenny good idea. If you do have eye831696 correc01873
01873 853058
GOVILON GARAGE Motorcycle and Car MoT Servicing and Repair
matter how eagle-eyed we may think we are, it is a scientific fact that as we get older our eyes become less sensitive to light. Avoiding night time driving is a wise precaution if you are starting to
1570264
Bailey Bros MOT TEST CENTRE
GOVILON GARAGE
01873 831696
1570280
VER time our eyesight deteriorates and previously strong vision can become poor. If eyesight problems are left unaddressed they can often lead to poor reaction times to unexpected hazards or the behaviour of other road users. This month RoadSmart’s head of driving and riding standards, Richard Gladman gives his top tips for keeping your eye-sight up to scratch. • Get regular checks. Eyesight can deteriorate over time without you noticing. If you are having to move closer to the television to read the titles clearly or have noticed even a slight deterioration with your eyes, we recommend a visit to the optician for a checkup; after all we should do this on a regular basis (every two years) anyway and its free for the over 60s • Take a break, eyes get tired too. If you are travelling for long periods of time you should take a break every two hours or every 100 miles, whichever is sooner. This will refresh
B E O N E O F T H E F I R ST TO O W N
ALL- NEW FORD FIESTA
Lee Jowitt AUTO REPAIRS
• Servicing • MOT’s • Tyres • Diagnostics
SUMMER 2017
FULL RANGE OF VEHICLE REPAIRS We now also offer servicing and repairs for Hybrid Vehicles
TEL: 01873 859100
Central Garage Raglan, NP15 2DY Tel. 01291 690423 www.raglanford co.uk Important information 1571109
Conveniently located at the rear of Nevill Hall Hospital 73 Union Road Ind Est, Abergavenny, NP7 7RQ • Tel: 01873 859100 • Mob: 07591 521752 Email: ljowittautorepairs@yahoo.co.uk
Raglan Ford - Raglan
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OPEN: Mon - Fri 8.00am - 5.30pm Sat 8.00am - 12.30pm
Official fuel consumption figures in mpg (l/100km) for the All-New Fiesta range are: urban 40.9-80.7 (6.9-3.5), extra urban 67.3-94.2 (4.2-3.0), combined 54.3-88.3 (5.2-3.2).Official CO2 emissions 118-82g/km. The mpg figures quoted are sourced from official EU-regulated test results (EU Directive and Regulation 692/2008), are provided for comparability purposes and may not reflect your actual driving experience.
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PETS’ CORNER I Isen's close call with a slippery serpent! Pawfessional Touch Dog Grooming Services
1576882
101, Bailey Street, Brynmawr. NP23 4DN 01495
618377
Visit our dedicated Small Animal Team
The annual Petplan Veterinary Awards are open now for 2017! You can nominate your favourite members of our team if they have impressed you this year. Entries can be made online or you can pop in to any of our branches for an entry form.
We look forward to seeing you all at the DON’T FORGET ABBEY EQUINE Usk show on the 9th September, drop by our
Experts Equine Health stall andin come and meet us Abbey Vets Abergavenny branch
St Arvans Chambers, Hereford Rd, Abergavenny NP7 5PR Tel: 01873 852391
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SEN is a weimaraner who was out and about enjoying life whilst on holiday with her owner, when she was bitten on the face by an adder. Adder bites are rarely fatal in humans but can be much more serious in dogs. In the initial stages of a bite the patient experiences extreme pain and dramatic swelling. If the swelling is around the head or neck, we worry about it pressing on their windpipes, but luckily Isen never had a problem with her breathing. As the bite progresses, we can see problems with infection (there can be horrible bugs in snake mouths!), blackening and dying of the tissue that was bitten (called necrosis) and blood-clotting issues. Isen was taken in to see Abbey vets Hannah and Amanda and was placed on pain relief and fluids to prevent her from going in to shock from the toxin. Her face was very swollen and this got worse over 48hours until eventually her chest even had swelling over it! We kept an eye on her clotting ability and she did indeed start to develop a problem - however Isen's body started to recover quite quickly after day three so things stopped getting worse and she was on the road to recovery! Adders are the UK's only venomous snakes and they are endangered. They do not attack unless they have no escape options left, so usually the snake has been trodden on by an unsuspecting dog and reacts to protect itself. The majority of bites occur between June and August. Adders enjoy basking in sunshine and bites occur more commonly on rough, open countryside and also on coastal areas. If your dog is bitten: • Call your vet straight away • Try and keep him calm and carry him to your vet appointment rather than let him walk to try to slow to spread of venom
Gazette and Diary Magazine
CALL THE EXPERTS TREE SURGERY
TIMBER PRESERVATION
ADVERTISING
GRANITE SPECIALISTS
CLIVE FRANCIS Tech Cert (Arbor.A.)
1579153 1573781
GATES
WINDOWS
PLUMBING
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Tel. 01874 712247 Mob. 07770 563020 Maintenance & repairs to: windows, doors, conservatories, sky & roof lights, guttering, handles, hinges & locks, any age any make.
1579155
GARDEN MACHINERY
31 Chapel Road, Abergavenny, Monmouthshire NP7 7AA Tel: 01873 859273 Mobile: 07976 515722 e-mail: clive4trees@aol.com
1570267
1579148
Free Quotes All aspects of Tree Surgery & Tree Felling Work Undertaken Fully Qualified & Insured
Supplier and installer of: windows, doors, conservatories, electronic roller garage doors, fascia, guttering and glass. Replacing misted up/broken down units. Over 20 years experience.
Qualified Local Reliable
No job too small 01873 812 686 or 07880 877 090
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1579157
MEMORIALS
TAXIS
MOT SERVICE
OSTEOPATH
TAXIS TAXIS
1578021
Julian’s Taxis JULIAN’S Taxis AIRPORT SERVICE • REASONABLE RATES QUALITY ASSURED • 6 SEATER GALAXY TAKE AWAY FOOD COLLECTION
07970 182283
Our success is due to a few things Our prices which are always competitive OurTARMACADAM service which is second to none But, most of all I have the best customers! Thank you for all your loyal support over the last 9 years, and I hope you continue your support into 2012.
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Hope you had a Merry Christmas & we wish you all a Happy New Year
1573070
1579206
ACCOUNTANCY
BLINDS 1573064
Dorrell Oliver Ltd chartered accountants
Tarmacadam & Asphalt
Linden House, Monk Street, Abergavenny, Monmouthshire NP7 5NF Tel: 01873 852113 Fax: 01873 858523 www.dorrells.co.uk
Specialist (Est 40yrs) Tel: 07970 182283
h: 01873 810653 m: 07831 448506 m: 07894 009541 www.lewisandlogan.co.uk w: Contractor to Government and Local Authorities
✦ ACCOUNTANCY ✦ AUDIT ✦ TAX ADVICE FOR NEW BUSINESSES
1570285
Roads, Drives, Cars Parks etc.
h: 01873 810653 Roads, Drives, Car Parks etc, or paving m:Laid 07831by 448hand 506 Laid by handmachine or paving machine m: 07894 009ESTIMATES 541 FREE ESTIMATES FREE 1573713 w: www.lewisandlogan.co.uk
REMOVALS
M. PREECE
1571118
ROOFING CONTRACTOR
GARDENS
Dragon Treecare Ltd Arboricultural Contractors
All aspects of tree surgery work undertaken Full NPTC Qualified/Fully insured For quotes please contact Geraint Folkes
New Roofs, Slates & Tiles uPVC Fascias & Guttering Repairs
FREE ESTIMATES
1570783
01874 711137 07720 859621
TREE CARE 1583639
ROOFING
TAXIS
07966 091675 or e-mail: info@dragontreecareltd.co.uk
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