The List Frome - February 2023

FEEL THE LOVE FIND YOUR MOJO

with disco queen, Cheryl Sprinkler of Mojo Moves

Morag Stuart & Emma Warren

We’re thrilled to look after The List while Rose is on maternity leave. Thanks for trusting us, Rose! There’s always so much going on in Frome and it is easy to miss those special gigs, restaurant openings or hidden gems, only to find out about them on Instagram the morning after. That is why we felt the need to make it easier for you with our pull-out calendar - stick it on your fridge!

Working on this issue has helped dispel the January blues and made us so grateful for what is on our

doorstep. We have so much to look forward to this year. We all owe it to our community to get out there and support these incredible, innovative and passionate local businesses who are putting their heart and soul into enriching our lives in this wonderful town.

Do get in touch with new businesses, ventures or events we can feature. Can’t wait to hear from you. thelistfrome@gmail.com

We wish Rose and her gorgeous family all the very best.

I’m so happy to be leaving The List in the tremendously capable hands of Emma and Morag. Most of you will probably already know them from one of the many Frome projects, businesses or charities they are involved in, bridging the gap so brilliantly between old and new Frome, or from my previous maternity leave when Emma so seamlessly took charge.

As I head off into the land of midnight nappy changes and unimaginable exhaustion, I wanted to say a huge and heartfelt thank you to you, the brilliant and loyal readers of The List. In the ten years I have been Editor, so much in Frome has changed, but you never have. You are the reason our town is unique, and have successfully created a community so rich, supportive and vibrant that no other town can quite measure up. Here’s to you, and a belter of a year ahead.

Rose x

THE SUNDAY GATHERING

The Bennett Centre, February 12th, 2pm, Free

The Sunday Gathering is a spiritually uplifting fun and relaxed community gathering with live music, singing, storytelling, ritual, contemplation, friendship, kindness, wonder, tea and cake. Everyone is welcome and entrance is free. Bring a cake to share if you’d like to. Doors 2pm. Main programme 2.30pm.

KITCHEN TO TABLEDAVID OAKLEY

WHY Gallery February 25th - April 8th

David Oakley is known for his small-scale domestic still-life paintings and landscapes. In his ‘Kitchen to Table’ series, he explores the beauty of the whole process of preparing food and the shared eating experience, experimenting with ripening fruit and vegetables placed on shelves or grouped together. As well as cooking utensils, old crockery and cutlery, looking at the relationships, and stories between the objects and their original owner. Private view Friday February 24th, 6-8pm. All are welcome.

HENGE

Cheese & Grain, February 10th, 8pm, £16.50 Adv (+ Service Charge)

Extra-terrestrial joymongers – HENGE – have been delighting audiences in the UK and Europe since they landed on Planet Earth seven years ago. Their scintillating live performances earned them ‘Best Live Act’ at the Independent Festival Awards, and they have since cemented their reputation with two acclaimed albums, numerous tours and regular main-stage festival appearances. Their music escapes definition, but occupies a space between rave and prog-rock that nobody knew existed. It is energetic, subversive and invigoratingly playful, jovially going ‘where no-one has gone before’. Ultimately, HENGE are spreading a message of hope which leaves audiences feeling amused and uplifted in equal measures.

BATH DECORATIVE ANTIQUES FAIR

JOY ELLIS TRIO

Cooper Hall, February 4th, 4pm, £16.50 (U25 £5)

Joy Ellis is a jazz pianist, singer and composer based in London and an alumna of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. In March 2022, Joy released her third album with long-time collaborators Henrik Jensen on double bass and drummer Adam Osmianski. Recorded at the end of May 2021, her new material has a relaxed and minimalist vibe in keeping with the album’s title, ‘Peaceful Place’.

Moving through the pandemic, Joy felt there were no words she could sing to capture the grief and sense of loss that she and other people she knew had experienced. Therefore, she decided to compose an album with no vocals at all, using her other instrument and first love, the piano. Expect a relaxed and minimalist vibe in keeping with Joy’s new album’s title, Peaceful Place ’.

‘An exquisitely talented performer and composer’ Frank Griffiths, London Jazz News

SHEPTON SNOWDROPS FESTIVAL

February 14th - 19th

This month sees the welcome return of the beautiful Shepton Snowdrops Festival, their biggest event yet. The week includes: specialist growers and plant nurseries; exquisite craft by some of Somerset’s finest makers; workshops in willow, wire, ceramics and spring flowers; heritage, history and snowdrop walks; talks; seed swaps; open gardens; children’s drama and story telling; photography and poetry competitions and much more. Special snowdrop spectacles are at the Organic Garden of Yeo Valley Organic at Blagdon

JUDGE JULES

Cheese & Grain, February 18th, 7pm, £20 (+ Service Charge)

The one and only Judge Jules will make his muchanticipated return to the Cheese & Grain exactly a year after his spectacular sold-out show at the venue. The Club DJ that has been there, done that and done it all again for almost three decades! The iconic artist has influenced an entire generation on Kiss FM and Radio 1, and continues to dominate the playlists of millions. Gracing the world’s most iconic clubs and festivals including Gatecrasher, Ministry of Sound, Global Gathering and Creamfields, Judge Jules has released over 100 tracks that include ten top 40 hits. Accolades include ‘Number 1 DJ’ (Mixmag), ‘Best International DJ’ (Dancestar Awards), a regular spot in Mixmag’s Top100 poll and his legendary Ibiza residency.

Burrito Boi’s new bar is open and ready to welcome you! Classic cocktails done well and available with a mexican twist, Local and independent draught beer & cider, organic wines and more!

The bar is in the same building as our restaurantBook a table for food and grab some drinks before or after.

(recent Chelsea gold medal winners) and a private garden with its very own named snowdrop, never opened to the public before. Shepton Art Bank is also hosting a Floral Ball which includes music and entertainment with Mobius Loop. Visit the website for full programme and booking details: www.sheptonsnowdrops.org.uk

RISE

RISE Frome welcomes back weekly classes, and new classes have been added to a diverse calendar for the new year. This includes Pilates and yoga of all types, preschool children’s and baby music classes, adult dance classes, hula hooping and postnatal fitness classes to name a few. The beautiful venue spaces are also available to hire for one-off events and workshops.

The Whittox Gallery, situated in the heights of RISE, continues to show the best of contemporary art throughout the year. Starting with a programme of exhibitions from Spring onwards, the gallery is thrilled to have their first ever resident artist,

Pauline Scott-Garrett, who will be exhibiting in September with installation pieces based on RISE’s history as a sanctuary for the community past and present. The Whittox Gallery’s shop continues to be very popular, sourcing curated work by up-andcoming makers and artists.

KINDNESS FESTIVAL

March 5th - 11th

The world is full of kind people. If you can’t find one, be one. Building on the success of last year, Frome hosts its second annual Kindness Festival next month. The town will come alive to celebrate the contribution that kindness makes to our relationships, to our mental and physical health and to our marvellous community. Co-ordinated by local non-profit group The Good Heart, the festival aims to offer something for everyone.

Watch out for seven days of unexpected and creative acts of kindness and appreciation, self-care sessions, live art, crafting, music, book signings and a very special ‘Caravan of Kindness’, running alongside evening events such as lectures, film screenings and performance.

For more information, to sign up for festival updates, or to find out how to get involved, visit www.thegoodheart.uk or The Good Heart Facebook page.

Frome LGBTQ Community Social

Flow Bar, February 24th, 7.30pm, Free

Established by two friends in summer 2019, the group continues to grow with a wide range of gender identities, sexualities, ages and personalities. Friendly and welcoming to newcomers, they meet on the fourth Friday every month from 7.30pm on the first floor at Flow Bar. Frome Co-hosts are happy to meet new attendees on the night and introduce them to others if contacted beforehand on fromesocial@ gmail.com. There are also monthly walks for those that don’t enjoy bars.

YOUNG OPEN 2023

Black Swan Arts, Deadline for entries: February 3rd, Exhibition: March 4th - April 16th

Black Swan Arts is calling for entries to its hugely successful Young Open 2023 competition which will be on show over Spring and the Easter holidays.

The Young Open, now in its eighth year, provides an exceptional opportunity for young people to have their work curated, judged and exhibited in Black Swan Arts’ Long Gallery and Round Tower for hundreds of visitors to see. The competition is open to all young people aged between 5 and 19 years, and is the largest young art competition in the South West.

Winners have the chance to take part in a small group workshop with a professional artist. They will

also receive vouchers kindly donated by local Frome business, Postscript.

Tuesday 31 Jan Wedneday 1 Feb | Thursday 2 Feb

Rook Lane, January 31st - February 2nd, 8pm, £8

A headstrong girl desperate to escape the vice-like grip of institutional life; tensions run high between old aged companions, but without each other what have they got? Young lovers torn apart by war; evacuee children ready to take on whatever Hitler can throw at them! And astride it all is the Matron, a protective figure holding lives together. With a grand old building facing demolition, the last Matron of Keyford watches as a parade of spectres appears before her. The building cannot be saved, but it isn’t too late to resurrect the memory of those who passed through its doors.

Dramakarma present a play about the Keyford Asylum, based on real events and discovered diaries in Frome.

THE BIG HUNTING RAVEN BOOK SALE Ridiculous bargains to be had! Silk Mill, Frome 24th & 25th Feb 10am – 3pm

HIRE

FROME

CONCERTS GROUP PRESENT ELUA

Doors 10.45am Concert 11.30am

Tickets £18 online at www.fromeconcertsgroup.org/subs-tickets

MOJO MOVES

RECLAIM YOUR MOJO BACK FROM THE UNIVERSE

The brand is managed by umbrella organisation Rare Species Theatre Company, a CIC which Adams runs with real life partner Nelly Fowler (who regularly performs as Cheryl’s sidekick Tony Dimonté), and they have just received their fourth round of National Lottery funding which means they can continue to deliver specialist services online and in person as well as their regular classes.

With positive mental health at the top of its agenda, Mojo Moves is Frome’s unique fitness class, combining comedy with a proper dance workout, and is led by the funny, friendly and charismatic Cheryl Sprinkler (not a million miles away from Adams herself but lycra-clad, fearless and with some excellent dance moves).

Billed as ‘immersive comedy aerobics’ from its inception in 2018, it has developed to be much more than that, with people being brought together, forging friendships and finding themselves once more. Adams herself has lived a varied and eventful life, not without its struggles, and it is this life experience backed

With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, what better time to practice some self-care and join Cheryl for Mojo Moves comedy dance aerobics to help laugh yourself fitter & stronger and help you reclaim your mojo back from the universe!

If you were feeling low and a bit lost, you may not think the solution lay in starting your own fitness brand where you dressed as your alter ego to deliver ‘comedy aerobics’, but that’s exactly what Mojo Moves founder Ginny Adams did and, four and a half years on, she’s still at it. Obviously, a thirtyyear history of professional comedy performance and a passion for exercise might have had some bearing on her decision, but the idea, that could have been dismissed as a novelty, has gone from strength to strength, surviving the pandemic and now riding the storm of the cost-of-living crisis.

up by practical qualifications in group exercise and health referrals plus more scientific studies of Polyvagal techniques (to balance the nervous system) and the psychology of happiness, which gives her a deep understanding of how to help others feel better in themselves.

All too often people lose their identities and sense of self as life takes its toll. These classes are designed specifically to help people reconnect with their fun-loving and carefree selves - to rekindle a flicker of love and respect for how amazing and strong they are - and help them to reclaim their mojo back from the universe. Of course, you may already be full of joie de vivre and simply looking for an exercise class that embodies your spirit.

The classes are a joyful combination of dance, comedy, drama and song. Cheryl, the selfproclaimed ‘queen of literal dance’ draws her ‘dancespiration’ from ballet to Bollywood, disco, hip hop, Latin and more (you name it, she’ll give it a go) and will have you busting moves like ‘The Robot’ or 80s classic ‘The Sprinkler’ to an eclectic mix of tunes from 1900 to the present day, as well as some well-known TV themes all peppered with Cheryl’s funny observations and asides.

The routines are easy to follow and, even if Cheryl gets a bit carried away, there is such a sense of fun and camaraderie that there is no judgement if you miss a step or two - two left feet are most welcome. Plus, at the Cheese & Grain session on a Tuesday evening, the lights are dimmed and replaced by flashing lights (reminiscent of the best school disco) so no-one can see your cha cha cha!

Mojo Moves live classes are ostensibly for women of all ages and abilities and are particularly effective in reducing some of the symptoms of peri menopause and menopause as well as improving confidence and resilience.

The secret to its success however, is the ability to adapt the sessions to appeal to multiple audiences including dancing with Mother & toddler groups, at schools, colleges and festivals, leading silent disco tours for hen dos & parties, and running corporate wellbeing workshops. They also run a free seated workout for adults with long term health conditions weekly on Zoom and dance aerobics for adults & children with learning differences. Engaging men, women and children with the infectious vibe of love and carefree abandon (with a little bit of silliness).

mojomoves.co.uk

“It’s so much more than exercise”

Photo credit: Ciara Nolan

Silent Disco Tour of Frome Wellbeing Workshop

We have a limited number of spaces available in Early Years for September 2023. Contact our Admissions team now on 01225 721187 to secure your place.

Open

Senior School, ages 13-18: Saturday 4th February, 10am-12pm Prep School, ages 2-13: Saturday 25th February, 9.30am-11.30am An independent boarding and day school for boys and girls aged 2-18 years near Bath

FEB 01

WHAT’S ON FEBRUARY 2023 « » EVENTS CALENDAR «

The Quiet Girl Frome Film Club @ Merlin Theatre, 8pm, £6.50

The Last Matron Rook Lane, 1st - 2nd Feb, 8pm, £8

Harry Styles birthday workshop Millie Moon, (10yrs+, all materials provided) 4.30pm, £30

FEB 02

Izzie Yardley with DG Solaris Night River presents @ HydeAway, 8pm, £10

Meet the Maker: Lomond Wines Tasting Stony Street, 7pm, £20

A Huevo! Mexican street food pop up @ 38 Bath St, 5-9pm

FEB 03

Wine Tasting Evening Frome Lions @ Cricket Club, 7pm, free (book in adv)

Rumble in Da Loft Loft Bar @ 23 Bath Street, 8.30pm, early tkts £3

Jasper Hoiby’s Planet B + Ana Silvera Dave Smith @ Silk Mill, 7pm, £16 early bird

FEB 04

Jumble Sale WHY fundraiser, Masonic Hall, 10.30am-1pm

Frome Punk Fest Cheese & Grain, 3pm, £20

Joy Ellis Trio Cooper Hall, 4pm, £16.50

FEB 05

Magpie Market Cheese & Grain, 9am-2pm, free

Forest Garden Design Workshop Frome Field 2 Fork @ Welshmill Hub, 11am-4pm, £20/40

FEB 15 Iain Ballamy Bar Lotte, 7.30pm, free

FEB 16

Encanto Singalong Merlin Theatre, 2pm, £4

The Gentle Good Night River Presents: @ HydeAway, 8pm, £10

FEB 17 Music, That’s Why WHY fundraiser, The Tree House @ The Vine Tree, 8pm, £15

FEB 18 Judge Jules Cheese & Grain, 7pm, £20

Techmeout: Valentines Ball Loft Bar @ 23 Bath Street, 9pm-2am

FEB 19 Potato & Seed Swap Cheese & Grain, 10m-2pm, £3 donation, (£10 workshop)

Elua Percussion Duo Rook Lane, 11.30am, £18

Jazz Club The Cornerhouse, 7.30pm, free

FEB 20 Moon Meditation Elisa Celeste, 7pm,£15

FEB 21 Tarot Card Reading Cordero Lounge, 10am-midday

Making Repairing into a Business Edventure, 9.30am-1pm, £5

FEB 22 Trad Jazz Three Swans, 8pm, free

Dementia Café Masonic Hall, 2-5pm, free

FEB 23 Othello: National Theatre Live Merlin Theatre, 7pm, £10.50-£16

FEB 06 Energy Advice Sessions

FEB 09

Frome Library, 10am-4pm, free

FEB 08

Music Industry Master Class Young People Frome @ Frome College (with Sam Lakeman & Cara Dillon), 6-8pm, free (book in adv)

FEB 24

The Manfreds with Paul Jones Memorial, 7.30pm, £25

David Oakley Private View WHY Gallery, 6-8pm, free

The Big Book Sale Hunting Raven @ Silk Mill, 24 & 25 Feb, 10am-3pm, free

Frome LGBTQ community social Flow Bar, 7.30pm, free

Emma Harris band Stoney Street, 7.30pm, free

Celtic & Transatlantic Sessions Lamb & Fountain, 8.30pm, free

School of Rock Frome College @ Merlin Theatre, 9, 10 & 11 Feb, 7pm, from £6.50

FEB 10 Henge

Cheese & Grain, 8pm, £16.50 adv

FEB 12 The Sunday Gathering Bennett Centre, 2pm, free

FEB 11 Half Term Fancy Dress

Scavenger Hunt Palette & Pasture, 11 - 19 Feb, 11am-4pm, Ice Cream Parlour open

Ed Sheeran Tribute

The White Hart, Corsley, 8pm, free

FEB 25

Prostate Cancer Screening Day Frome Lions @ Frome Methodist Church, 10am-4pm, free

Sounds of Ezra Football Club, FTFC Supporters club, 8pm, £10

FEB 26

Fermented Food Masterclass

Get Pickled @ Redford House, Friggle Street, 10am-2pm, £125

FEB 14

Dinosaurs and all that Rubbish Merlin Theatre, 2pm, £14

Shepton Snowdrops Festival various venues, 14-19 Feb

FEB 28

An Evening with David Flatman and Champagne Bollinger

Eight Stony Street, 7-10pm,£59.90

FALL IN LOVE WITH FROME

Valentine’s Day is coming! Here at the List we see it as a reason to celebrate, regardless of your relationship status. Go out for a meal with your best mate, buy flowers for your mum, get a present for someone who has helped you out - it’s a chance to celebrate love, in all its forms. Our fantastic town has something for everyone.

Valentine Gas Lamp Lighting Celebration

Tuesday February 14th

The famous Valentine Gas Lamp in Frome is one of the town’s most romantic landmarks, set around heart-shaped cobblestones with a ‘love seat’ under the glow of the gas lamp, looking down the historic cobbled streets of Catherine Hill.

The traditional lighting celebration returns this year, a welcome return after Covid, and celebrates its 30th anniversary. Come rain or shine, at 5.30pm a firework will be let off to summon romantic souls to the site of the lamp. All will gather to await the arrival of the lamplighter, dressed in period costume. He will be carrying a traditional lamplighter’s pole and will conduct the lighting ceremony at 6pm. Refreshments will be available.

This rare working gas lamp has been lovingly looked after by Reg Ling for over 30 years, and he’s now looking for an apprentice and more support. A new Friends Group is being established to safeguard this landmark for future generations. Come along and find out more.

Tuesday 14th February

Westway Cinema All tickets £4 01373 471612 | westwaycinema.co.uk

Sensual Twerkshop: Self Love & Confidence

6.30pm, Tri Art Dance Academy, £12 via Peaches L’amore @ eventbrite.co.uk

01373 465045 | theoldbatharms.co.uk

Burrito Boi Station Approach, Valentine’s offers 01373 476770 | burritoboi.co.uk

Castello 17 Palmer St, A la carte menu 01373 228100 | castellorestaurants.com

Cordero Lounge Westway, book online, eat in or take-away 01373 472029 | thelounges.co.uk/Cordero

The Cross Keys, Blatchbridge, Valentine’s menu & prosecco offer. 01373 472348

Lo Rapitenc Classic Spanish Guitar & tapas with Jonathan Pickard. lorapitencspanishfood.com/book-a-table

Sat 18th February

Techmeout Valentines Ball, Loft Bar @ 38 Bath St, 9pm-2am. 01373 455387 | 23bathst.co.uk

Our take-out choices through the week

The High Pavement

Meat & Veg Mezze boxes (Thu, Fri & Sat only) 07967 222682

Keren’s Comfort Kitchen

Home delivered meals, graze boxes & cream teas kerenhayden@gmail.com | 07968 753632

Thai Kitchen takeaway, 8 King St, Fri & Sat only (5-8pm) james@thaikitchenfrome.com | 01373 467370

The Old Bath Arms 1 Palmer St, Valentine’s menu

Emotional Freedom Technique

A short term, solution focused therapy for personal or professional change & growth

Anxiety • Phobias • Procrastination Trauma • Limiting Beliefs • Weight Loss Addiction

Discounted Block Therapy Sessions Frome • Bruton • Online Free Consultation Accredited EFT Practitioner

www.eftcoach.co.uk

Gentle, effective, non-invasive, therapy for aches, pains, restricted movement, injuries, stress & many other problems.

TUESDAY 18.45 CHEESE & GRAIN £7.50 PAYG FRIDAY 09.30 RISE FROME £7.50 PAYG

Seated - For adults with long term health conditions.

WEDNESDAY 11.00 via ZOOM | FREE

For other service information, private bookings and all enquiries please email cheryl@mojomoves.co.uk

cook eat

BY OUR RESIDENT FOODIE KATIE FRASER

.

Keralan Cabbage Thoran

Serves 2 as a main or 4 as a side

. 1 tbsp coconut oil (or veg oil is fine)

. 1 tsp coriander seeds

. 1 tsp cumin seeds

. 1 red chilli, sliced and deseeded

. 1 green chilli, sliced and deseeded

. A good handful of fresh curry leaves

.

1 red onion, sliced

. 4 garlic cloves, finely sliced

1 Savoy cabbage, roughly shredded

. 1 tsp turmeric

. 1-2 tbsp coconut (desiccated or grated fresh)

. Salt, and fresh limes to serve

Heat oil in a large frying pan or wok, add coriander and cumin seeds and cook until they start to sizzle.

Add chilli, curry leaves, red onion and fry for a few minutes, then reduce heat and add garlic. (Take extra care not to burn your garlic as it becomes very bitter and not very pleasant if you do).

Oi Oi, Savoy

Happy New Year! Whether you’re Veganuary-ing or not, January is always a good month to load up on all the veg. And cabbage is a good one.

It’s in season, locally plentiful, affordable and versatile, from red to romanesco, kohlrabi to kale, sprouts to Savoy. All the brassicas are vitamin-bombs, rich in vitamins C, A and K, and have innumerable, impressive health benefits. All of which will stand you in good stead for this latter part of winter.

At Hēt, we love the Savoy. It needs very little cooking, pairs brilliantly with punchy ingredients like garlic, ginger and chilli, and the crinkly leaves are perfect pocket carriers for flavour.

Add it to stir fries, stews, salads, or make this super tasty, healthy Keralan Cabbage Thoran to get all the antioxidant and immune-boosting goodness.

After a few minutes, sprinkle over turmeric, stir, turn up the heat and add the Savoy with a good pinch of salt.

Toss the cabbage in all the flavour, add 50ml water and cook, covered, for 3 minutes. (Covering your Thoran will keep the moisture in, but if your large pan doesn’t have a lid, you can add a splash more water and keep turning the cabbage.)

Once the cabbage is lightly cooked, remove lid, sprinkle over the coconut and toss to cook for another minute or so. Serve with rice or naan, and a good squeeze of lime juice to temper the chilli heat.

Katie runs hēt – a Frome-based takeaway serving up tasty food with heat.

Follow on Instagram @het_frome or email hetfrome@gmail.com to order.

An introduction to Koji

Masterclass with Get Pickled

Have you ever wondered what lies behind the magical umami richness of Japanese cooking? Why miso and soya sauce make everything they touch delicious?

Get Pickled Somerset are hosting guest workshops, and the first will focus on koji mould (Aspergillus oryzae) – the wondrous ingredient that lies behind all those exciting products.

As interest in koji-growing has reached an international audience in recent years, a week-long online international conference on koji has been developed, featuring practitioners and enthusiasts around the globe – KojiCon. We have the pleasure to welcome three koji specialists, two of whom have been KojiCon speakers, for a one-off session here in Frome.  In this half-day masterclass, ‘Introduction to Koji and its Modern Uses’, you will not just learn

more about koji and its traditional uses, you will also get hands-on experience by making your own miso and shio-koji marinade to take home. You will also learn how to unlock the umami potential in your cooking by using koji-based ingredients like miso, aminos sauces, soy sauces, mirin and much more. The day includes a light lunch, with the chance to taste various samples of koji-based ferments developed by participants.

For more details visit getpickledsomerset.com or book direct via eventbrite (search for Get Pickled events)

WHEN: February 26th, 10am-2pm

WHERE: Redford House, Friggle Street, Frome

COST: £125

Bespoke House Surveys

URQUHART & HUNT

H

Lulu Urquhart and Adam Hunt set out on a landscape design partnership 18 years ago, rooting their practice in a shared passion for romantic planting schemes, ecological harmony, applied horticulture, authentic craftsmanship and outstanding design.

RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2022 - Gold Medal & Best in Show Garden Designers of the Year 2022 - House & Garden

When I was small, I made the most amazing discovery. I could walk. Not just putting one foot in front of the other without falling over - any toddler can be thrilled by that. No, it meant I could actually go for a walk, travel, from one place to another. I could move, on my own, away from other people and out into the fields and lanes and woods. I can remember, even now, the exact moment when this happened, which field I set out to cross and which gateway I toddled through. The utter joy of it changed my life.

Did the beauty of the countryside call to me? Was it the lure of some atavistic urge to be at one with creation? Was I a wide-eyed child of nature? Nah: nothing so high falutin. The bliss came from being solitary. I could choose where I walked, and nobody would know where I was or what I was doing. Growing up, I spent most of the school holidays mooching about the nearby hills and valleys by myself. I climbed trees, followed brooks, found ways through thickets, sat on hilltops and watched rabbits. I rarely met a soul.

It was one of life’s great free gifts. You just walked out of the door and went. Anyone could do it –especially all those years ago, when the countryside was much less trimmed and tidy, and was still full of scruffy old corners which nobody bothered about. Footpaths were vague things, mostly unsigned and partly forgotten. Nice stout stiles and neat clicking gateways – you’re joking. But that didn’t matter at all. The essence of this wandering was the thrill of being alone and – for a while – unaccountable, unreachable.

Even this has its limits, though. As an adult (or what passes for one) I once arranged to meet up with some friends in the Lake District. I set off a day early, and did the entire trip by rail, changing trains a bewildering number of times and ending up on the vanishingly narrow gauge line to Eskdale. There I shouldered my pack and tramped off into the wilderness. I could be a secret agent, I thought smugly. Nobody could possibly have followed me. No-one knows I’m here. I’m free! Then I saw a couple approaching out of the mist, waving excitedly. They lived round the corner from me in Somerset.