The List Frome - January 2022

ISSUE 130

YO U R G U I D E TO E VE RY TH I N G FR O M E

JANUARY 2022

Swapping Cars for Cargo Bikes with Rosanna Morris

PHANTOMS

Artists & Makers Of Frome with Liz Huband of Badger House Leather

Mark Bruce Company presents

A TRIPLE BILL

www.monktoncombeschool.com @MonktonBath

“We felt that Monkton had a unique approach based on the idea that if a child is happy and supported then they will thrive.”Current parent

Thinks Differently Where learning comes to life...

Open Mornings Prep School, ages 2-13: Saturday 5th February 2022 Senior School, ages 13-18: Saturday 12th February 2022 An independent boarding and day school for boys and girls aged 2-18 years near Bath Day pupils are able to join our boarders for the many weekend and evening activities that take place at our School

ISSUE 130 JANUARY

Rose Langley

I

t’s that time of year when we are all on the collective rebound from the chaos

and excess of Christmas. The new year stretches out ahead like a clean, shiny path, unadulterated by the failures of last year. Time to make some changes. Iron out the kinks we failed to flatten last year. Traditionally,

As a self-confessed hater of New Year’s resolutions, I have decided that this year I will write a list, titled ‘Stuff I Want to Do’. it is the season for resolutions and making plans, but when statistics tell us that 80% of resolutions made in January are abandoned by mid February, is there any point in making them? As a self-confessed hater of New Year’s resolutions, I have decided that this year I will write a list, titled ‘Stuff I Want to Do’. It isn’t about bettering myself, or punishing myself.

It is purely a list of things which I think will make me happy, and it goes like this: 1. Look at my phone less. In fact, use it less.

Get to the point where I neither know nor care where it is.

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» Health & Wellbeing

14 - 15

» Artists & Makers of Frome

18 - 19

» Home & Garden

20 - 25

» The Fossil

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2. Teach the dog to do tricks (is ‘no longer smelling’ a trick?).

3. Have a couple of piano lessons and see if I can pick up where I left off…thirty two years ago.

4. Read a bread recipe so that my loaves are less brick-like.

5. Visit Scotland, maybe somewhere windswept like the Outer Hebrides.

6. Read in the evenings (not just watch grim crime drama that haunts my dreams).

7. Use up the 5kg bag of chickpeas which I bought in lockdown and have yet to open (sorry, family).

8. Grow veg. And more importantly, cook and eat veg I’ve grown before it gives up the ghost.

9. Have more people round for dinner (featuring my newly fluffy loaves of bread, some veg and a lot of chick peas) 10. Write letters to people who are important to me. Include real photos.

So that is my list. You’ll see nothing here which, should I fail to complete it, would affect my self worth (though if I fail to improve my breadmaking, it might affect my marital status), no gruelling, punishing, restricting, impossible timetable of self improvement. Write one for yourself, make it fun and kind, and start 2022 resolution-free.

Design: blackinkstudio.co.uk Front cover: Mark Bruce Company Photo credit: © Mark Bruce Copy deadline for the February issue: January 11th

Published by Rose Langley, trading as Make a List Publishing, Sole Proprietor Editor Rose Langley 07957878717 rose@thelistfrome.co.uk . thelistfrome.co.uk *The publishers shall not be liable for any loss occasioned by the failure of an advertisement to appear, or any damage or inconvenience caused by errors, omissions or misprints.

» the list recommends « Walter Trout Cheese & Grain, January 21st, 7.20pm, £31.50 Walter Trout’s back story is a page turner you won’t want to put down. Five decades in the making, it is equal parts thriller, romance, suspense and horror.

There are musical fireworks, critical acclaim and fists-aloft triumph, offset by wilderness years and brushes with the jaws of narcotic oblivion. There are fêted early stints as gunslinger in bands from John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers to Canned Heat, and the solo career that’s still blazing a quarter century later. 14+ (under 16s must be accompanied by an adult)

Slow Time: Somerset Re-acquainted Tour Black Swan Arts, preview: January 14th, 6-8pm As part of the final chapter of the Somerset Reacquainted tour, a new exhibition of solargraphs at Black Swan Arts explores the passing of time. ‘Slow Time’ is the result of a project recording the passage of time initiated during the first lockdown. Led

by Somerset Solagraphic Society, set up by artists Janette Kerr and John Gammans, and supported by Somerset Art Works, this extraordinary exhibition features long-exposure photographs of the Somerset landscape, using nothing more than recycled drinks cans made into pinhole cameras.

Over 100 participants placed 150 pinhole cameras containing light-sensitive material in locations around Somerset and left them in situ for five or six months. The resulting images have been slowly shaped by landscape and the movement of the sun, slowly creeping higher with the passing of the seasons. The actions of the environment, like rain and other elemental detritus, have also found their way into the images, yet there is an absence of any moving objects, such as people, animals or cars. The sun’s progress is recorded as an accumulation of lines arcing and streaking across the image, leaving a ghostly exposure of the landscape seen in slow time and out of phase with human inhabitants.

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As the pandemic unfolds, our perception of time is challenged as daily routines, plans and schedules are laid to waste. Suddenly, not having to be anywhere means that we have no option but to be present present in the eerie stillness of life, we start to reflect and take stock, find new ways to spend our time, and begin to notice those elements that ordinarily pass us by unnoticed.

Part of the Somerset Re-acquainted Tour, the solargraphs are being shown alongside a collaborative book, initial ‘sharings’ and objects from the project contributed by 63 artist members from Somerset Art Works.

For further information, please visit www.blackswanarts.org.uk www.somersetartworks.org.uk.

PRE S E NT E D B Y

S O M E R S E T R E A C Q UA I N T E D TO U R

SLOW TIME

BY SOMERSET SOLARGRAPHIC SOCIETY

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BOX OFFICE 01373 455420 THE LIST FROME

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» the list recommends «

Mark ‘Billy’ Billingham

The Laefer Quartet is widely regarded as one of the most exciting and dynamic saxophone quartets currently performing in the UK. They have been recipients of numerous awards including Park Lane Group Artists, the Elias Fawcett Ensemble Award for an Outstanding Ensemble in the 2017 Royal OverSeas League Competition, and are Making Music Selected Artists. Formed in 2012 at the Royal College of Music, they were awarded the Boconnoc Music Award during their time there, and have since been performing across the UK at numerous venues, including The Royal Albert Hall’s Elgar Room, St. James’s Piccadilly, and The Forge, Camden.

Cheese & Grain, January 26th, 7pm, £23.50 An evening with Mark ‘Billy’ Billingham, TV’s most experienced, highest ranking and most decorated SAS leader. Billy is a former SAS Sergeant Major Class 1 and bodyguard to the stars, including Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie and Russell Crowe. This is a chance to learn more about Billy’s career and life first hand.

There will also be a Q & A at the end and a chance to meet Billy. Age requirements: 14+

Leopoldstadt Merlin Theatre, January 27th, 7pm Filmed live in front of an audience at the Wyndham’s Theatre in London Regarded as ‘Britain’s greatest living playwright’ (Times), Academy and Tony Awardwinner Tom Stoppard’s critically acclaimed new play Leopoldstadt is a passionate drama of love, family and endurance.

Sunday Morning Concert: Laefer Quartet Rook Lane, January 30th, 11.30am Frome Concert Group presents Laefer Quartet, an outstanding saxophone quartet. In 2017, the Laefer Saxophone Quartet delighted the Rook Lane audience. This time, expect an exciting programme with transcriptions of Farkas and Stravinsky, and original works for saxophone quartet by Guillermo Lago and Joel Love.

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At the beginning of the 20th century, Leopoldstadt was the old, crowded Jewish quarter of Vienna, Austria. Hermann Merz, a factory owner and baptised Jew, now married to Catholic Gretl, has moved up in the world. We follow his family’s story across half a century, passing through the convulsions of war, revolution, impoverishment, annexation by Nazi Germany and the Holocaust. A company of 40 actors represents each generation of the family in this epic, but intimate play.

Filmed live on stage in London’s West End, ‘Tom Stoppard’s masterpiece is magnificent’ (Independent) and should not be missed.

AUSTRALIAN INFLUENCED CAFE superfood smoothies, cold press juices, river roasters coffee, poke bowls, bROTH bowls, acai smoothie bowls, sweet treats.

JUICE CLEANSES available to order - drop in to enquire.

nooktheshop.co.uk

01373 471368

Come and enjoy a New Year browse (and buy all those books you hinted about but didn’t receive for Christmas) Still isolating?

Call 01373 473111 or email winstonebooks3@gmail.com with your order and we will deliver

FREE coffee when you buy a breakfast bowl this January.

private catering available

A Happy New Year from all at Hunting Raven!

14 king st frome ba11 1bh

We accept National Book Tokens

@nooktheshop TUE-sat 8:30-4

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» the list recommends «

RISE – A Hive of Creative Activity

Kerchief Theatre and aKa Dance Theatre

RISE Frome will be opening their doors to welcome back their wonderful classes and workshops for the new year. There is something for everyone, from pilates and yoga to classes for children and babies, Tai Chi, Soul Flow Systema and Qigong.

Merlin Theatre, January 15th, 7.30pm Two shows in one ticket: Frome’s own Kerchief Theatre and their new friends from Taunton aKa Dance provide an energetic evening of familyfriendly entertainment brimming with hope and joy.

The Whittox Gallery continues with its beautiful exhibition by Somerset Printmakers, showcasing the latest work from the professional artists who are members of this renowned group, including Julia Manning, Cath Bloomfield, Gail Mason, Bron Bradshaw, Jenny Graham, Judy Willoughby, Sebastian Chance, Sue Lowe, Tony Martin, Pennie Elfick, Jane Mowat and Stéphanie Max. The new gallery shop, situated in the heart of RISE, is becoming a firm favourite on the Frome shopping scene, and will soon be launching its new online shop in the new year.

Unique artwork from the gallery’s latest exhibitions will be on sale, as well as curated pieces from previous artists who have exhibited in the gallery, a stunning collection of gifts from local makers and designers, and carefully chosen books. For further information on classes, upcoming exhibitions, and to see the new online shop, go to: www.risefrome.com

aKa has been whipping up a storm across Somerset with its dance theatre piece A Real Fiction, filled with fun, funk and foam bananas! You can expect the unexpected as you lose yourself in other people’s memories in a hyperactive mix of dance, theatre, mime and pop culture. Loaded with current affairs, childhood nostalgia and one-hit wonders, this work has been co-created with the community, for the community.

Call to Artists For Frome Open Art Trail 2022 The Frome Open Art Trail is inviting artists from Frome and the surrounding villages to apply for the 2022 trail, which will run from 2nd - 10th July alongside the ever-popular Frome Festival. Artists, makers and designers from all disciplines are encouraged to find venues, use their house or studio, 8

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Kerchief has also been entertaining audiences across the county with Boxes, a dynamic piece of theatre about the need for, and value of, hope. Two actors use storytelling, TikTok dances and sea shanties to build a world on stage that is sometimes silly, sometimes serious, and which explores our experience of challenging times, along with the role that hope has to play in getting us through.

or join in with others in a shared space, and apply to take part. Over the last few years the Art Trail has grown in both strength and reputation. It attracts a large number of art lovers who appreciate the opportunity of meeting, and buying directly from, the artist.

Online applications will be open from 2nd January - 27th February. For further information about the event and to apply go to www.fromeopenarttrail. co.uk or email info@frome-open-art-trail.co.uk

ANYTHING GOES THURSDAY 06 JANUARY - 7PM KERCHIEF THEATRE & AKA DANCE THEATRE SATURDAY 15 JANUARY - 7.30PM LEOPOLDSTADT THURSDAY 27 JANUARY - 7PM Venue Hire | Classes | Art Gallery | Food | Gift Shop Whittox Lane, Frome, BA11 3BY | 07712 523734 w w w.risefrome.com | info@risefrome.com

01373 465949 merlintheatre.co.uk Bath Rd . Frome . BA11 2HG

CALL TO

ARTISTS Submissions open from January 2nd - February 27th

TO REGISTER ONLINE GO TO

www.frome-open-art-trail.co.uk

Open * ART *

TRAIL 2022 JULY 2nd-10th (11am-5pm)

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FROME BIRTH TALK Volunteers Needed

f

rome Birth Talk is looking for volunteers! The small local charity provides free professional counselling and support for those who are pregnant, have recently given birth or lost a baby.

The organisation is planning to expand its range of services this year, but it needs help from the people of Frome. You could support their work by taking part in one-off fundraising events, helping at their drop-in groups or becoming a trustee.

Lucy, who volunteers at Frome Birth Talk’s weekly group said, “It’s so lovely meeting all the pregnant women, new parents and babies. I make sure that everyone has a drink,

something to eat and someone to chat to if they want.

It’s a wonderful reminder of what a precious, but also emotionally intense time pregnancy and early parenthood can be.”

Trustee Jess Taylor added, “Volunteering as a trustee for Frome Birth Talk has provided me with the opportunity to work with an inspiring team to help support people’s wellbeing during the birth year - something I feel passionate about from personal experience.”

If you have time and skills to offer, Frome Birth Talk would love to hear from you. Please email info@ fromebirthtalk.org.uk to find out more or to arrange an informal chat.

FROME CONCERTS GROUP PRESENT SUNDAY MORNING CONCERTS: Tickets go to: www.fromeconcertsgroup.org/subs-tickets Sunday 30 January | doors 11am Laefer Quartet - saxophone quartet Sunday 20 February | doors 11am Lotte Betts Dean (Mezzo soprano) and Dimitri Soukaris (guitar) Sunday 13 March | doors 11am Passecaglia - baroque ensemble Sunday 20th March TED Talk Sunday 27th March Kammerphilharmonie Europa SOLD OUT

email rooklane@nvbarchitects.co.uk or phone 01373 468040 for more details, or to arrange a viewing and discuss the hire in more detail with Sara the venue manager.

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rooklane.org.uk

1 Bath Street, Frome, BA11 1DG _ 01373 764 472 hello@matthewpaulinteriors.co.uk Matthew Paul Interiors Matthew Paul Interiors

British-made woolly socks, knitting yarns and tops for crafting.

47 Vallis Way, Frome, BA11 3BA 015395 68341 | info@arbonsocks.co.uk

www.retributiondistilling.co.uk Distilled and bottled in Frome, Somerset THE LIST FROME

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MARK BRUCE COMPANY PHANTOMS - A TRIPLE BILL

F

rome-based, multi-award-winning Mark Bruce Company was founded in 1991 as a vehicle for the progressive dance theatre of Mark Bruce. The company’s performances push the boundaries of style and expectation, whilst remaining rooted in a strong choreographic language; it draws from a broad spectrum of influences and features a strong filmic aesthetic.

The company also runs a hugely popular learning and participation programme for young people and adults.

This includes adult beginners’ Contemporary Dance classes as well as Silver Swans Ballet in their Frome studio and in residential care settings. Their programme for young people includes a residential Summer School for vocational students, a Junior Summer School for local children and a schools programme.

The Mark Bruce Company was made a National Portfolio Organisation by Arts Council England in 2014 and is an affiliate artist of the Merlin Theatre. markbrucecompany.com @markbruceco markbrucecompany mark_bruce_company

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C o ve r S t o r y

This February, The Merlin plays host to Mark Bruce Company as they present Phantoms - a triple bill of stunning cinematic dance theatre, written, directed and choreographed by Mark Bruce. “It’s great to be building towards performing before a live audience; to share all we’ve been creating in isolation with the real world. Nothing can replace this experience,” he told us.

Green Apples Bruce’s highly popular commanding work is choreographed to music by The White Stripes. It’s a visceral and immediate live experience as two dancers perform within the confines of a rope circle, creating a space of powerful physical intensity and magnetic energy.

“Dark, smart dance theatre” The Stage

Folk Tales Characters from the myths of our past dance to the evocative music of Martin Simpson, including renditions of Beaulampkins, Soldier’s Joy and Betsy the Serving Maid, among others. It’s a collection of life-affirming pieces, at once mysterious, fiery and celebrational.

Phantoms Phantoms is a stunning dance theatre tale of love, tragedy and revenge in a land where our phantoms roam free. Mark Bruce Company presents its trademark cinematic vision: a carousel of dream-like characters in a beautifully savage world falling into chaos, culminating in a surreal, classic showdown on the road. Phantoms features the creative team that brought you Dracula, Macbeth and Return to Heaven, and an originally composed score.

all photos M © ark B

“It has the feeling of an ancient Greek tragedy, but wrapped in a retro thriller adventure on the road in a futuristic, savage Garden of Eden… “ Mark says, “The whole evening features very different choreographic styles. There is a lot of material in it. Green Apples is a blast. Folk Tales is quick footed, articulate and intricate. All the pieces entertain, but Phantoms is a darker reflection on things. Phantoms will be visually arresting. Every scene and every character is archetypal, and deals with different states of being, of how we allow these states to lead us - albeit drag us - and the subsequent consequences, external and internal to ourselves and others. It has the feeling of an ancient Greek tragedy, but wrapped in a retro thriller adventure on the road in a futuristic, savage Garden of Eden…

Running time: 1hr 20 minutes plus interval Age guidance: 11+

“As always, I hope the evening invigorates and inspires an audience. I hope it stirs and triggers the subconscious, allows it to breathe, perhaps even take over for a while. I hope its freedom of imagination allows the viewer to find their own internal Garden of Eden for just a while.”

Phantoms runs from: Thursday 3rd February – Saturday 5th February followed by a UK tour The Merlin Theatre, Frome www.merlintheatre.co.uk 01373 465 949

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C o ve r S t o r y

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MOJO MOVES GET YOUR MOJO WORKING

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ojo Moves - the retro dance aerobics class with a comedy twist - is returning with Cheryl Sprinkler, and her winning blend of backing dancer choreography, shamanic rituals and sharp wit to help you reclaim your mojo back from the universe (and after the couple of years we’ve had, who doesn’t need an injection of positivity and laughter with their daily exercise?).

for online and on-demand Mojo Moves from the comfort of your own home, including three weekly HIIT sessions. Cheryl can also bring Mojo Moves to your school, party or other special event.

“Most January fitness offerings use the phrase “new year, new you” to entice you into class, but what if you could get the old you back? The confident, sassy, sexy, sometimes silly, you. The pre-exhaustion of the pandemic you. The free from responsibility, anxiety and loneliness you,” says Cheryl.

Online Monday | Wednesday | Friday 7.45am and 9.30am (Plus online membership exclusive content including stretch and flex, toning, meditation and mindfulness.)

Regular live classes at the Cheese & Grain are back from Tuesday January 4th, and at RISE from Friday 7th. Alternatively, you can subscribe for £9.99 a week

Sign up at www.mojomoves.co.uk and get your mojo back!

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H e a l t h & We l l b e i n g

Face-to-Face sessions Tuesday 6.45 pm Cheese & Grain.

Friday 9.30 am RISE, Whittox Lane.

LENGTHEN

and breathe y'all

bridgehousepilates.com group classes 1-1s

pre/postnatal

Qigong & Club Swinging classes

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

Janie Godfrey Frome Bowen Clinic 01373 452 422 w w w.bowenclinicfrome.com

Movement and meditation for strength, flexibility, balance, coordination and overall physical and mental well-being.

Good for staving off neurological conditions. All ages welcome.

Mondays 6.00-7.00pm and Thursdays 9.30-10.30am RISE, Whittox Lane, Frome, BA11 3BY admin@planetqigong.com or ring 07956160694

SPECIALIST ONE TO ONE EQUIPMENT STUDIO

1:2:1 customised sessions suitable for all Improve strength, balance, flexibility and control

Equipment Pilates is a safe, low impact system of exercise. hello@fromepilatesstudio.co.uk THE LIST FROME

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LESS CAR, MORE GO?

BY ROSANNA MORRIS

S

omething is happening in Frome, something wonderful. Cars are gradually, ever so slowly, one by one, being replaced by cargo bikes.

What’s all the excitement, you ask?

bike literally cancels out the hill (or at least a high proportion of the gradient).

A cargo bike is a bike that can carry a load of some sort, be it goods, groceries, children or dogs. This can ‘You do know Frome is the hilliest town in Somerset,’ be a trike with a carriage on its back; a bucket bike a man says to my husband as he wheels out our that carries loads at the front; or a regular bicycle hefty-looking cargo built to hold extra bike. ‘Don’t worry, it’s “We didn’t want to get weight front and back – electric,’ Phillip replies. the old Royal Mail postal another car for short bikes, for example. For journeys in town, Whether or not it many years, cargo bikes can claim the title of have been ubiquitous in and this was the best hilliest town in the places such as Denmark (tax-free, MOT-free, county, one thing is and The Netherlands hassle-free, super undeniable – Frome – known for their flat, has some exceptionally low-lying lands – but cool) alternative.” vertiginous hills. Not nowadays we are seeing surprising, as someone recently pointed out to me, more of them in the UK as people embrace cleaner, the town was built in a valley. The steep, unforgiving healthier forms of transport. And on Frome roads slopes can be disconcerting for the occasional cyclist, in recent years, more have been appearing – a fleet especially when it comes to carrying heavy loads, but of electric trikes (from Frome company Cycles e-bikes have revolutionised cycling up hills, which Maximus) zipping about carrying organic vegetable means cargo bikes are becoming a viable option for boxes and bread, and children being pedalled about more people who live in places with a topography by their parents to school or nursery on seats on the such as Frome’s. The electric motor powering the backs or in front-facing buckets.

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We bought our cargo bike just over a year ago and have concluded that it is one of the best things we have ever bought. We sold our second car, and exchanged it for a greener, cheaper vehicle that has meant one less car on Frome roads. What is more, we discovered something we hadn’t anticipated – not only are cargo bikes better for the environment, they also bring joy.

They make the everyday extraordinary. A mundane shopping trip turns into the most glorious adventure.

You feel empowered and uplifted, whizzing up a steep hill with a weekly shop and a five-year-old on board, not breaking into the slightest sweat. And then there’s the connection to your community and to nature as you peddle along. ‘That tree smells amazing,’ said my daughter one day when we passed a tree surgeon on a street blitzing some branches in a shredder. She also loves the comments she hears, especially from children, when we go by – ‘Love your bike!’, ‘I want one of those’, or simply ‘Wow! Six months ago, Flora Hancox and her husband Oli bought their first cargo bike – a RadWagon from Rad Power Bikes to use for taking their two sons around Frome. ‘We were sick of using the car for short journeys and wanted something more environmentally-friendly – and fun!’ she says. ‘We have already done 500 miles on the bike – which otherwise would have been done in the car.’

They didn’t want to buy a second car but needed a mode of transport for taking their children to school and nursery, which are both on the other side of Frome from where they live. The bike was cheaper than buying a new car, and they don’t have the regular cost of buying fuel. ‘We love everything about it, especially getting up the Frome hills and the fact we get to enjoy fresh air on the way to school without the pain of having to walk with two small children. Mostly, it’s great not to have to use the car so often.’

Charlotte Carson bought her second-hand Babboe City cargo bike four years ago, and her partner added electric to it, to keep costs down. ‘There was no way we could afford an electric version of this bike. It’s really easy to buy electric kits so anyone who has a bit of extra time could electrify a normal cargo bike. We didn’t want to get another car for short journeys in town, and this was the best (tax-free, MOT-free, hasslefree, super cool) alternative.’

She uses hers for everything. ‘When I was pregnant it meant I could get myself and my toddler back home up a very steep hill. As the kids have grown, so has all the stuff to go with them – school bags, sculptures, projects, nappies and snacks – but with this bike I can just throw it all in! We can fit a weekly shop in too, without the kids.’

Charlotte believes cargo bikes are life changing.

‘Each day feels like an adventure, the kids love it and they are really proud of getting around in it. I love the liberating feeling of the wind, sun and rain in my hair.

I love chatting to people while waiting at the traffic lights. I love hearing the sounds of the world around me as we pootle along. But mostly, I love that it isn’t a car.’

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if Frome looked a little bit more like Copenhagen or Amsterdam (a city that fought hard to clean up its congested streets with bicycles) in years to come? When you see sights like Frome’s Missing Links cycle path creeping metre by metre towards Spring Gardens, or hear about neighbourhood projects such as the Innox Hill community bike shed, you can’t help but feel a little bit excited for what could be. Even somewhere as hilly as Frome.

Interested in finding out more about cargo bikes?

Keep watch for events coming up in Frome in 2022, including a screening of the film Motherload, a documentary about the global cargo bike movement. motherloadmovie.com

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liz huband Artists and Makers of Frome

W

e talk to Liz, of Badger House Leather, about how the good life led to her current profession, her love of Frome’s creative community and her missed career in plumbing.

What is your artistic background?

Terrible fidget that learned to make things to avoid driving family and friends to distraction. I’m now a leatherworker.

What made you follow this path?

I have always made things. At work, at home – I think I need to know how things are made and the best way to do that is to attempt to make it! In a crazy world it’s very grounding, I think.

My interest in leatherwork evolved from my experience of smallholding. Years ago (when it was even vaguely possible!) we were able to buy 2.5 acres of land on the edge of an industrial estate. We turned this into a smallholding and managed to be fairly self sufficient. It was like a very noisy, rough-around-theedges good life!

What is your physical creative process? What materials and techniques do you use?

I use specifically vegetable-tanned leather (a tanning process that’s significantly less toxic and more sustainable, and produces leather full of character), natural linen threads, and beeswax.

We reared our own animals for meat, and when we took the animals to slaughter I couldn’t bear to leave anything behind – so I brought the hides back home and attempted the gruelling task of preparing and tanning the hides myself, with limited success, but a new-found love and appreciation of leather.

The experience of rearing animals on a small scale changed my approach to food and actually to all things – natural resources are precious, I wanted to waste less and wherever I could, make things that would last a long time.

I make my bags traditionally using saddlery skills to hand stitch; saddle stitch is deemed to be the strongest stitch there is.

Leather is still a by-product of the meat industry – the hides would be classed as a waste product, yet they can be transformed into a material that is pretty much unrivalled in its long term performance: leather.

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TH ELISTFR O M E

A r tists and Makers of Frome

What inspires your work?

The challenge of finding the perfect balance between style and function.

How did lockdown affect the way you work and create?

Initially, the stress caused a pretty dramatic creative block. I just couldn’t make for a while. It was a time where I could draw on some other skills and help in the crisis in a slightly more practical way, and that felt the right thing for me to do. As time went on, I think the lack of structure (and lack of paid work opportunities!) actually led me to having to embrace some new opportunities. So I took part in some larger national craft events and took on some larger

orders for a few other companies and fashion brands, allowing me to generate some income when the direct selling opportunities were a bit unpredictable. And through doing it I met some lovely people. TS Eliot says ‘Anxiety is the handmaiden of creativity’ – I think there’s a lot of truth in this – although I think we are all ready for a little less anxiety for a while!

Where do you work from? Tell us about your studio.

My studio is at the Black Swan Arts Centre in Frome. It’s tiny and brilliant. I have fantastic studio neighbours and a network of support that is amazing. We have felt very very lucky to be based at the Black Swan during this time.

What is your favourite place to be for artistic inspiration?

In the woods. On a hill. Not near too many people, to be honest!

What artists inspire you, and why?

Barbara Hepworth, Henry Moore, Anita Klein – I just like their work and how it makes me feel; it feels completely authentic.

If you hadn’t become a maker, what would you have done?

If I hadn’t been a maker, I wish I had become a plumber! Or a builder….

How do you find the Frome area, in terms of creativity and artistic community?

Amazing. Inspiring, supportive, kind and actually very funny. We’ve recently started a regular makers’ meet-up, which has been great. For makers, it’s really difficult to make it work as a business and it can be pretty lonely – so it’s brilliant to be able to share the journey with others and help out where you can.

Are there any artistic processes/disciplines which you haven’t worked in/with, but would like to?

Wood. I like natural resources: wood, like leather, varies in that no two trees are identical, and I like that.

How can people see and buy your work?

Come and see me at Black Swan Arts 10am - 4pm, Wednesday – Sunday

#Badger_house_leather @Badgerhouseleather www.BadgerHouseLeather.co.uk

THE LIST FROME

A r t i s t s a n d Ma k e r s o f F r o m e

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NEW YEAR, NEW HOME IN FROME PHASE 1 ONLY 1 APARTMENT REMAINING!

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*Average UK EPC source: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/49997/1790388.pdf Help to Buy Terms & Conditions: YOUR HOME MAY BE REPOSSESSED IF YOU DO NOT KEEP UP REPAYMENTS ON YOUR MORTGAGE OR OTHER DEBT SECURED ON IT. Credit is secured against your home. Subject to status, Help to Buy Terms & Conditions and regional property price cap. Eligible applicants will be able to reserve with a 5% deposit and offered an equity loan up to a maximum of 20% of the purchase price (based on the open market value). Applicants are required to secure a 75% of the purchase price by means of a conventional mortgage, savings/ deposit where required. The equity loan is interest free for the first 5 years. This offer is not available in conjunction with any other promotion. Full details will be provided on request. Images used for illustrative purposes only. Prices correct at time of print. *To select homes only.

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EXPERIMENTS WITH PINE THE Trug & Lettuce

A

few years ago, we heard someone talking about using the dropped pine needles from our Christmas trees to use as mulch.

Recently, with the festive season in full flow, we started to wonder how much truth there is in it, if it works, or whether it’s simply a gardening myth. After all, it sounds like it might be feasible and benefit plants that like acid soil, but if it’s not actually doing any good then might we better off just taking the old tree and needles to the recycling centre after all?

So we decided to do some digging. The first port of call was the brilliant Gardening Myths and Misconceptions book, written by the local no-dig advocate, Charles Dowding. We thought if anyone would know, then Charles would.

Alas, we couldn’t find any reference so we started to look a bit further afield and stumbled across an article which started with the premise that if your soil is alkaline – it has a pH value of 7 and above - and you want to make it more acidic then, as pine needles are thought to be acidic, adding them to your soil will help.

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(A quick note about pH and its importance: soil has a pH level between 1 and 14. A value of 1 is extremely acidic, a value of 14 is extremely alkaline, and a value of 7 is considered neutral – neither acidic nor alkaline.

Once you know the pH value of your soil, you can determine the effects your type of soil will have on the plants you want to grow. Most plants like a soil that is neutral – a pH score of between 6.4 and 7.5. But some plants will only thrive in certain types of soil. Azaleas and rhododendrons prefer acidic soil, and will start to look sickly if the soil is too alkaline. One tell-tale sign of having soil that’s too alkaline is that the leaves of those acid loving plants might turn yellow and eventually drop off.)

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“Geoff has been exceptionally helpful in our buying journey. The survey Geoff produced went beyond what we expected, it was extremely thorough and detailed in a way that was easy to understand and digest.” Rachael H Geoffrey hunt FRICS Chartered Building Surveyor. Author, Building Pathologist.

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www.garstonvets.co.uk THE LIST FROME

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gardening is all about experimentation, getting your hands dirty and following a hunch, or rumour, even when all you do is prove it wrong!

So, if we have plants that need acidic soils, can those needles from our Christmas trees help? Can we use them to alter the acidity of the soil by using them as a mulch? Time to put this to the test – an experiment was called for. So, we took a walk up through the woods by Longleat, where there are lots of pine trees, and gathered up a few samples.

The first things we brought home were some green needles that we took from one of the trees. Then we brought home a bag of needles that were brown and that we had scooped up off the forest floor. We also dug up a small amount of soil from the foot of one of the pine trees. And then finally we dug up some soil from an area in the woods were there weren’t any pine trees.

Mixing each of those samples with some rainwater (we used rainwater as that was the most neutral source of water that we could find) we found that: 1.

2.

3.

the fresh green needles were only slightly acidic the ones that were brown were mainly neutral the soil samples from both areas – those that had pine trees growing – and presumably must have had years of needles falling – and those areas that didn’t - had no noticeable difference in the acidity at all.

So what does all of that actually mean? Well, in terms of what we might do with our Christmas trees, it probably means recycling isn’t going to deprive your garden of some nice acidic mulch. But it doesn’t mean that we can’t get some benefit from our pine needles and Christmas trees; the addition of any organic

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matter can help improve the structure of our soil.

But maybe the most important lesson learned here is that gardening is all about experimentation, getting your hands dirty and following a hunch, or rumour, even when all you do is prove it wrong!

For gardening tips and ideas, follow us on facebook and instagram. @the_trug_and_lettuce @thetrugandlettuce

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01373 301379 or 07974 075221 THE LIST FROME

Home & G arden

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SHELLACS - DON’T DO IT Th e Fr o m e Fo s s i l

L

ast week we got rid of our old gramophone.

And I mean old – with a crank handle and a baize turntable and a tin of blunt needles for the horn. Thus ended an exercise in nostalgia. When we were kids, a wind-up gramophone had kept us happy for hours. We had shuffled through our dad’s venerable Satchmo and Ellington and Rudy Vallee records, plus a few modern hits like “Last Train to San Fernando” and “Diana”. The fragile shellac discs crackled and fizzed round at 78 rpm, and we sang along. But then we got a radiogram and vinyl 45s, and that was that.

Buying an antique wind-up years later was an indulgence. And it didn’t really work – the sound was tinny and scratchy and seemed to come from the bottom of a mineshaft. The magic had gone. The only person who got any fun out of it was our grandson, who put toy cars on the turntable and spun it at max speed to make them fly off. So we advertised it online, and within an astonishingly short time it had been snapped up at the asking price. Two days later, the buyers flogged all the way from Dorset to pick it up, clutching a fistful of fivers.

They were a woebegone, pair who looked as though they’d been poured into their clothes and left to congeal. They stared glumly at the gramophone while I rotated the turntable and wound the handle.

She handed over the cash, now rather warm, and he bent down to pick up the bulky cabinet. Refusing my offer of help, he staggered off towards their car.

“One vital point,” I called after him. “It’s got to be kept upright. If you tip it over, the mechanism falls apart.”

He grunted in acknowledgement.

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The wife, in a sudden burst of confidence, began to tell me why they were buying it. “We don’t know anything about records,” she said, “but that thing will look very nice in our hotel. Used to be the Sheridan. We’re refurbing it. You know – it’s going to have a 1920s theme – all old stuff, curtains, furniture and that. Noel Coward kind of thing.” She leaned closer. “The old folk will love it..” I could think of no worthy reply to this. Then I was distracted by her husband, who was very carefully loading the gramophone. On its side.

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