The List Frome - June 2022

Frome Open Art Trail 2022 JUNE 2022

WHAT A LINEUP

ISSUE 135

The Best Local Festivals for Summer

Frome Festival 2022

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

ALL HALLOWS Preparatory School

Set in a stunning location, just 15 minutes from Frome, All Hallows is a day and boarding prep school for children aged 3 to 13.

A creative and dynamic curriculum, with our pupils’ happiness and well-being at the heart of all decision-making, is producing outstanding results.

An independent school where children move on to their chosen senior school confident in who they are and ready to make the most of the opportunities that lie ahead.

www.allhallowsschool.co.uk

Now registering pupils for Nursery and Reception Class 2023 Please contact Jackie Truelove, All Hallows’ Registrar, to find out how you can secure your child’s place 01749 881609 admissions@allhallowsschool.co.uk

ISSUE 135 JUNE

Rose Langley

F

estival season is upon us! In all honesty, I bowed out of larger festivals a while ago:

One year my mum made me take ‘iron rations’ – her term for food that would last and last. A

the ones where you camp in huge fields and share portaloos with thousands of hungover revellers. Not because I am a snob about that sort of thing, but because it turned out that I only had a finite amount of desire to ‘go for it’. I started relatively young, heading off to Glastonbury aged 14, with a group of mates, not much money, no ticket and a leaky tent. We did this year on year, getting there through complicated methods reserved for youthful non-drivers with boundless energy. We’d find a dodgy looking personage near a gate who would sell us a hand stamp for £3 and in we would stroll. I was there in the years of unfathomable mud. The subsequent years of unbelievable heat, then more mud, and then in my late twenties, my energy evaporated.

Tupperware container of fruitcake, nuts and dried fruit sat at the bottom of my bag, scorned by my companions and a source of great embarrassment to me - until the final days, when we were out of money and everyone remembered that I had consumables stowed about my person.

Suddenly I was the hero and supplier of the weirdest miniature meals - ever tried an almond in an apricot in an apple ring? Now that’s really living. On one wet year our tent slowly filled with water in one corner, and we just observed this, nonchalant and unfazed at the dry end, until the entire tent started to slide slowly down the hill and we had to scramble out. We spent the remaining few days taking it in turns to nap in friends’ tents, which at the time seemed perfectly acceptable. Glastonbury seems a bit different now, a bit more ‘expensive wellies and glitter’ than in the nineties. I’m not sure if either is my bag now. I still love being in fields, but preferably with a maximum of four people.

I have decided that this year, festivals will make a comeback in my calendar, albeit ones which are in close proximity to my own bed.

I saw absolute legends play (Al Green, you complete hero) and brought heart and soul into the cosmic vibes of every poet and performer I came across.

» The List Recommends

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» Festival Feature

12-17

» Recipe with Het

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» Artists & Makers

22-23

» Health & Wellbeing

24-25

» Home & Garden

26-29

» The Fossil

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After writing this issue, featuring several local festivals (not least of all, our very own Frome Festival), I have decided that this year, festivals will make a comeback in my calendar, albeit ones which are in close proximity to my own bed.

Design: blackinkstudio.co.uk Front cover: Frome Festival Cover Illustration: Sholto Walker Copy deadline for the July issue: June 13th 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 «

Flamenco Fusions

The Feeling

Merlin Theatre, 26th June, 7.30pm

Cheese & Grain, June 11th, £32

A flamenco dance and multi-media show by Claudia Caolín Dance & Entertainment. This special evening of theatre consists of six distinct pieces, each featuring an innovative fusion with the traditional Spanish artform of Flamenco, ranging from the classical to the uniquely contemporary, and from the beautifully romantic to the surreally hilarious. The multiple styles of Flamenco will serve as an artistic structure for these creative cross-genre pieces, thereby taking the audience on a kaleidoscopic journey through the versatility of modern Flamenco art.

Pop-rockers The Feeling will be coming to Frome to play a rare one-off show.

Sarah Godsill ‘Meeting Points’ Exhibition The Why Gallery, June 11th – July 26th Frome artist Sarah Godsill returns to The Why Gallery with a new body of work looking at moments of gathering, time spent together around a table. Sarah will be exhibiting a collection of mono prints, ink drawing and oil paintings.

“Time was away and somewhere else, There were two glasses and two chairs And two people with the one pulse (Somebody stopped the moving stairs): Time was away and somewhere else.”

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Playing all the hits and more from their hugely popular Twelve Stops and Home album including Sewn, Rosé, Fill My Little World, Love It When You Call and Never Be Lonely.

T H U R S DAY 2 J U N E

P L AT I N U M D R AG S H O W £ 16 A DV (+ S E R V I C E C H A R G E ) S AT U R DAY 4 J U N E

FUNK UPON A TIME £ 1 0 A DV (+ S E R V I C E C H A R G E ) S U N DAY 5 J U N E

M AG P I E M A R K E T 9A M - 2 P M | F R E E E N T R Y S AT U R DAY 11 J U N E

THE FEELING £ 32 A DV (+ S E R V I C E C H A R G E ) M O N DAY 13 J U N E

P U B L I C I M AG E LT D £ 3 3. 5 0 A DV (+ S E R V I C E CHARGE) S AT U R DAY 18 J U N E

T H E B E AT £ 2 8 A DV (+ S E R V I C E C H A R G E ) T U E S DAY 21 J U N E

WA LT E R T R O U T £ 31. 5 0 A DV (+ S E R V I C E C H A R G E )

BOX OFFICE 01373 455420

galleries | round tower | studios | shop | cafe 2 Bridge St . Frome . BA11 1BB | 01373 473980 Open 7 days a week | FREE ENTRY

www.blackswanarts.org.uk Registered Charity No.292463

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» the list recommends « The Write Day, The Write Place On the second Sunday of every month, a group of alchemists gather under the eaves of Black Swan Arts to make magic together. Well, that’s what members of TheWriteDay claim that writing in a distractionfree room with other writers does for their work.

Led by writer Jane Elmor, TheWriteDay offers an informal but intensive all-day writing session either in person at The Write Place studios or on Zoom. Jane says she can’t promise that the amazing number of words everyone writes will automatically be woven into spellbinding stories but doesn’t deny that magic often occurs. ‘One of our writers thinks it’s something in the soup,’ she says.

Wordsmiths are invited to bring their work and their wands to TheWriteDay on Sunday June 12th and see what happens. A full day in person (including all-day refreshments and homemade soup) costs £16. Or you can Zoom in for £8. Book at www.writeplace.org.uk

Exciting new modern artworks by local artists

EXHIBITION

AT THE

FROME GALLERY 2ND - 10TH JULY 2022 10:00 - 16:00

22 Christchurch St West | Frome | BA11 1EE www.bathartsales.com

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BATH OPER A PRESENT TOSCA Friday 24th June | 7.30pm | Tickets £18 HANDLEBARDS PRESENT “T WELFTH NIGHT” Sunday 26th June | 7pm to 9pm (in the garden) | £18 PHOTOFROME EXHIBITION Sunday 26th June - 13th July | open daily 10am - 4pm

rooklane@nvbarchitects.co.uk 01373 468040 www.rooklane.org.uk

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» the list recommends « Frome Open Art Trail July 2nd – 10th Frome Open Art Trail, which runs alongside the Frome Festival, sees a host of local artists open up their studios and workspaces to exhibit their paintings, sculpture, weaving, ceramics, glass work, photography, jewellery, metal work and all the other gloriously indefinable, uncategorisable results of their creativity and industry.

Some artists open up their own work environments, others form groups in one artist’s studio or home; others come together to exhibit in easily accessible venues in the middle of town, such as the Bennett Centre.

This annual opportunity to meet the artists and discover fascinating facts about their methods and inspiration is well worth participating in and, of course, the variety, the quality and quantity of work ensures the possibility of some exciting shopping.

Entry to all venues is free, and the trail brochure, with maps and listings of all participating artists, will be available in shops, cafés and galleries all over town.

It’s the perfect aid to planning your viewing excursion round Frome and into local villages.

An innovation this year is the ‘Blue Dot Trail’ – the addition to the brochure maps, of the numerous galleries and art shops in Frome supporting local artists and artisans throughout the year. These retail outlets, some independent or run by small groups of artists, provide important on-going opportunities to exhibit and sell for the extensive community of practising artists - students, emerging, self-employed and professional - in and around Frome.

The brochure will also be available at www.frome-open-art-trail.co.uk.

IG and FB : fromeopenarttrail Enquiries: fromeopenarttrail@gmail.com

Complicit by Winnie M Li – Book Launch Frome Assembly Rooms, June 23rd, 7.30pm Hunting Raven Books hosts a book launch for the latest publication by local writer Winnie M Li: Complicit. It tells of a Hollywood has-been who is approached by a journalist about a male producer she once worked with; is this her chance for revenge – or was she complicit in a system that always preyed on women?

Winnie will be in conversation with fellow bestselling author Libby Page as they discuss the book and its themes of female ambition and male privilege in the workplace, breaking the silence and building community, followed by a Q&A. Both authors’ books will be available to buy on the night, and there will be an opportunity to have them signed.

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Tickets are £3 from www.bit.ly/winniemlifrome, or from Hunting Raven Books.

Hotly tipped to be one of this Summer’s blockbuster reads, COMPLICIT is ‘a sharp and timely look into the dark heart of Hollywood’ ELLE magazine

ILLYRIA PRESENTS

A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM

AN OUTSIDE PERFORMANCE ON ECOS

SUNDAY 19 JUNE - 7PM

CLAUDIA CAOLÍN PRESENTS

FLAMENCO FUSIONS SUNDAY 26 JUNE - 7.30PM KIT HOLMES WITH AL GREENWOOD FRIDAY 03 JUNE - 7.30PM

Join us for an in-conversation event with the authors Winnie M Li and Libby Page to discuss COMPLICIT

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

Thursday 23rd June 7.30pm The Assembly Rooms, Frome Tickets £3 www.bit.ly/winniemlifrome

Open * ART * TRAIL 2022

JULY 2nd-10th 11am-5pm

FOR MORE INFORMATION www.frome-open-art-trail.co.uk

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» the list recommends «

Bath Opera Presents: Tosca

Funk Upon a Time Cheese & Grain, June 4th, £10

Rook Lane, 24th June, 7.30pm The Bath Opera are touring with the dramatic opera ‘Tosca’ by Giacomo Puccini during June and July 2022. Puccini’s richly romantic score, it is one of the world’s most loved operas. A tragic story of passion and jealousy, it tells the story of the tempestuous opera singer Floria Tosca, as she fights to save her lover Cavaradossi from the sadistic police chief Scarpia.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream Merlin Theatre, June 19th, 7pm Five couples – three human, one fairy, and one mythical – find their relationships sorely tested, intimately probed and indecently exposed when a troupe of amateur theatricals bumble into the forest to rehearse a play.

Shakespeare’s timeless comic masterpiece explores every colour in the spectrum of love, from arranged marriage to elopement, from infatuation to hatred, from chivalric devotion to raw sex. Add to this bawdy mix a heady brew of confusion, magic and mischief, and you have the most perfectly frothy comedy for a moonlit summer evening. Performed outdoors in the ECOS Amphitheatre, this play is bought to life by the incredible Illyria.

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Soul brothers and sisters unite for a very special jubilee party. It’s the inaugural event for Frome’s newest funk and soul party FUNK UPON A TIME… Special guest DJs will be spinning the best in funk, soul, disco and Motown for your grooving pleasure.

From the team who brought you sellout parties with Craig Charles, Huey Morgan, Cuban Brothers and more, this new night promises to showcase the best of the (South) West’s homegrown talent.

in d e p e n d e n t a u s sie c a f E private catering available 14 king st frome ba11 1bh seating inside and out superfood smoothies, cold press juices, specialty coffee, poke bowls, buddha bowls, acai smoothie bowls, sweet treats. nooktheshop.co.uk

01373 471368

@nooktheshop

TUE-sat 9-4

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FROME FESTIVAL 1 - 10 JULY 2022

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his year, Frome Festival will return with a full line-up from Friday July 1st to Sunday July 10th. Headliners include Radio 1 DJ Jo Whiley, Andy Fairweather Low, Wilko Johnson, and the Kris Barras Band, at the Cheese & Grain. Popular vocal group Blake will appear at the Memorial Theatre on July 9th.

Food Feast

Quite possibly Frome’s favourite event of the year, the Food Feast is back on Saturday 2nd, with a great choice of delicious food and drink from local traders, live music and entertainment by the river in the Market Yard. The Frome Street Bandits will open the live music with a procession from St John’s Church at 5pm, making their way to entertain the crowds at Market Yard. The headline band Jump 66 will play, with local support, street performers, Rock Choir, comedy and more.

Ever-popular performance poet Roger McGough, once a member of The Scaffold, who topped the charts in the sixties with hits like ‘Lily the Pink’, will be appearing at the Merlin Theatre. David Olusoga, the historian and TV presenter, will give the second Bob Morris lecture at the Cheese & Grain, discussing his hugely popular programme ‘A House Through Time’.

Roger McGough

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David Olusoga

To celebrate the 30th Anniversary of the Ecos Amphitheatre, a new musical called ‘The Haunting of Richard the Third’ will receive its premiere on July 7th and run for three nights.

The musical tells the story of the last English king to die on the battlefield, and whose body was found ten years ago, extraordinarily, under a car park in Leicester.

One of the distinctive differences about this year is the number of free and outdoor events. There are two free children’s theatre shows, a Turkish dance and music display and two big bands in Victoria Park, a free ‘Richard the Third’ show for Frome College students, and many walks, talks and health events, thanks to generous funding from Frome Town Council, the Cooper Hall Trust and the Foyle Foundation.

www.fromefestival.co.uk

www.fromefestival.co.uk |

The Food Feast, Hidden Gardens, Exhibitions, Concerts, Drama, Poetry, Small Publishers Fair, Theatre in the Park, Frome Tunnels, Open Art Trail, Literary events, Walks, Talks, Workshops and more.

Poster artwork ©Sholto Walker

David Olusoga Roger McGough Jo WHiley dance night Wilko Johnson // Blake Andy Fairweather-Low Kris Baras band

@FromeFestival |

@Frome_Festival

This year’s Hidden Gardens will be open from Fri July 8th - Sun July 10th, 10.30-5pm. There are a record number of gardens this year, details of which can be found in the Hidden Gardens booklet. This will be on sale at the Box Office and various outlets throughout the town, and it’s still £5.00. A digital version which you either print off, or scroll through on your phone, can also be purchased through the website. Tickets will be available through the Festival Box office from Friday the May 20th for Festival Friends, Sunday May 22nd for the general public, and online from Monday May 23rd. www.fromefestival.co.uk.

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» FESTIVAL FEATURE « Opera at The Bishops Palace Opera comes to Somerset this July with glorious works by Puccini and Rossini. In partnership with Project Factory CIC, Opera Brava, Britain’s leading outdoor touring opera company, is bringing Tosca and The Barber of Seville to the beautiful grounds of The Bishops Palace in Wells.

PHOTO|FROME Photo|Frome is a new festival featuring local, national, and international photography. The theme of this very first festival is The Independent Eye – celebrating photography as an art-form and it’s ability to allow the artists to present personal viewpoints and perspectives on the world. The theme also nods to Frome’s much celebrated independent mindset.

Exhibitions will take place at five venues across Frome, including works by well-known, contemporary photographers, work that is of historical importance to the South-West, and projects by emerging and local photographers with wide ranging experience.

Rook Lane plays host to some incredible works as Dave Grohl, Oasis, U2 and other bands in photo form, courtesy of Danny North, one of the UK’s top music photographers. Astronauts are landing, in John Angerson’s NASA Space Shuttle work. Olga Karlovac offers an emotionally rich portrayal of her native Croatia and Hanna-Katrina Jędrosz documents the European Green Belt along the former Iron Curtain.

Conceptual photographer Vanessa Fairfax-Woods offers a unique perspective on the role of women.

And Trinidad-born Robert Huggins captures East London strangers.

A group show from a diverse group of photographers from Frome and the surrounding areas, including acclaimed professionals and dedicated amateurs, will be house at Gallery At The Station, with work ranging from portraits and documentary to abstract and urbanscapes.

Talks and workshops by exhibiting photographers will be taking place throughout the festival. For more information and book tickets www.photofrome.org.

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Wonderful music and stylish performances are promised in relaxed surroundings, with both operas sung in English. If you have never been to an opera before, this is your chance! Bring family and friends, spread a rug on the ground or set out your chairs, have a picnic ready for the interval, and enjoy fabulous entertainment for a fraction of the cost of city offerings.

Producer Bronek Pomorski says: “We can’t wait to bring this amazing music to Wells, and to be able to perform in the gardens of the Bishop’s Palace is very exciting for us. These operas are among the most adored by audiences worldwide and our cast are professional and experienced national and international opera singers who have worked with major companies including English National Opera and Covent Garden.”

Tosca will be performed on 14th July, followed by The Barber of Seville on 15th July. Book tickets online at www.bishopspalace.org.uk . Picnics can also be ordered online through the box office.

Britain’s Leading Outdoor Touring Opera Company At The Bishop’s Palace, Wells

TOS C A THE BARBER OF SEVILLE 14th & 15th July 2022 Bring family and friends for wonder ful music in the beautiful Bishop’s Palace gardens. Bring your own picnic and seating. Artisan picnics can also be ordered online through the box office. Pimms, Prosecco and other refreshments available.

Book online www.bishopspalace.org.uk

Tosca £35 / Under 16 £10 The Barber of Seville £35 / Under 16 £10 Both evenings £65 / Under 16 £15 Gates open 6.30pm per formance starts 7.30pm

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» FESTIVAL FEATURE « Magical Outdoor Spaces From Hearthworks Hearthworks are the award-winning Tipi and Yurt makers who create the famous Glastonbury Festival Tipi Field. Their country workshop in the heart of Pilton is a hive of activity all year round, and they’ve been in business since 1999, employing a number of

Americana Fest

local craftspeople. Woodworkers lovingly shape each piece of wood, and master tailors hand-sew each cover for these stunning, iconic structures.

Celebration of American Culture Americana Fest is a new three-day festival of American culture organised by The American Museum & Gardens. It takes place on 1st -3rd July in the Museum’s spectacular hill-top estate on the edge of Bath, with performances from some of the biggest names in comedy and the UK’s Americana music scene, on four stages. The festival will also offer a variety of entertaining family activities, including a scavenger hunt through the grounds, games, workshops, vintage cars, and American food trucks and bars.

Coinciding with celebrations for Independence Day in the US, the weekend programme includes an allAmerican comedy bill, with comedian Reginald D Hunter headlining on the Friday; award-winning star of the Americana music scene, Robert Vincent & Band headlining on the Saturday; and folkrock legends, The Magic Numbers closing the festival on the Sunday. There are 40+ acts booked to perform across the weekend, the music has been curated by Matt Owens, founder of The 7 Hills and ex-Noah & The Whale band member, the comedy has been curated by curated by awardwinning comedian Jarred Christmas and Somerset based Pop-Up Comedy, with production provided

by JudgeDay whose clients include Peter Gabriel, Birdy, Kate Bush, Robert Plant and the Thin Lizzy estate, together with regular events including Soho House Festival, Cornbury, Greenbelt and the international WOMAD Festivals.

For more details and to book tickets go to americanmuseum.org/americanafest Twitter @Americanmuseum | Facebook AmericanMuseum | Instagram @Americanmuseumandgardens 16

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@

Tipis and Yurts have a magical, romantic and ancient feel to them – there’s nothing quite like looking at the stars through a Yurt wheel or heating a kettle on a Tipi fire. While they do make quirky additions to gardens and inspiring accommodation, Hearthworks have made and installed them for an array of uses and clients all over the UK and beyond. School rooms, yoga studios, retreat centres and hideaways for famous rock stars are some of the more unusual jobs they’ve had, but whatever your passion project is, with structures to hire and buy.

For more information on go to www.hearthworks.co.uk

» REST OF THE WEST «

Love Saves The Day 2nd – 3rd June, Ashton Court, Bristol www.lovesavestheday.org Top Of The Gorge Festival 14th – 16th June, Cheddar Gorge Marstonbury 24th – 26th June at Martson Park marstonpark.co.uk/marstonbury Priddy Folk Festival 8th – 10th July, Priddy www.priddyfolk.org Bristol Harbour Festival 15th – 17th July, Central Bristol www.bristolharbourfestival.co.uk FarmFest 29th – 30th July, Gilcombe Farm, Bruton farmfestival.co.uk Valleyfest 2nd – 4th August, Chew Magna www.valleyfest.co.uk

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cook - eat

BY O U R R ES I D E NT FO O D I E K ATI E FR A S E R

RECIPE Sri Lankan food makes you happy – fact! This Sri Lankan chickpea curry is gluten- dairy- and fussfree, and super quick and easy to make. Fragrant and warming, creamy and light, it’s the perfect curry to share with friends on a summer’s evening.

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Heat coconut oil in a large saucepan, and add the curry leaves, onions, garlic, cinnamon stick and sauté for 5 minutes

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Add the green chillies, turmeric, curry powder and mustard seeds and continue to sauté over a low flame while the aromas are released

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Add chickpeas, stir well to coat them in the spices before adding the coconut milk and simmer for 10 minutes, or longer if you want a drier consistency

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In the last minute, add the cherry tomatoes and season well with salt

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Serve with your favourite rice or a roti and garnish with coriander and fresh chilli

Kadala Parippu f o r t wo (o r 4 a s a s i d e ) • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

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2 tbsp of coconut oil 6 cloves of garlic finely sliced A good sprig of curry leaves 1 cinnamon stick 1 onion, finely sliced 3 medium green chillies, split 1 tsp curry powder 1 tsp mustard seed 1 tsp turmeric powder Salt 1 tin coconut milk 1 jar of Spanish chickpeas A handful of halved cherry tomatoes Coriander and chopped red chilli to serve

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Recipe

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.

THE OWLS TAKE FLIGHT OPEN MON - SAT & MARKET DAY SUNDAYS

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few of the resident Frome Owls flew to London last month to attend the Affordable Art Fair in Hampstead. It was the first time in its ten year history that the much-loved Frome gallery has exhibited anywhere but Catherine Hill… and it was an eye-opening and successful trip to the Big Smoke. The Owl artists involved - Hans Borgonjon, Tess Chodan, Phaedra Politis, David Daniels and Annemarie Blake - took a selection of their varied artistic works to the fair and were welcomed by a very warm London response. The AAF is a highly prestigious event, and the Owls were thrilled to be included as part of the curation. They worked twelve-hour days for most of a week and exhaustion/ hysteria set in after a while! Now safely back on their Catherine Hill perch, they have some beautiful works on show.

O pe n Mon d ay - S atu rd ay 33 C at h e rin e H ill

AFFORDAB LE FINE ART DIREC T FROM LOC AL MAKER S Annemarie Blake • Hans Borgonjon Tess Chodan • Anny Colgan • David Daniels Phaedra Politis • Rebecca Wordsworth

SHOP ONLINE AT

w w w. owl ga l l er y frome . co. uk

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FABULOUS FERMENTATION WITH PAULA FROM GET PICKLED

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wner of the award-winning Get Pickled Somerset, native Brazilian Paula Neubauer is planning a series of summer workshops, starting with her ever-popular Forage and Ferment session with wild plant enthusiast Samantha Williamson. This course, on June 4th, will offer participants the opportunity to learn about safe foraging from an expert, and then discover how to use what you have picked and found in delicious fermented foods. This is a family friendly event, with children under eight going free and eight – twelve year olds half price.

On June 13th Paula is back at Lo Rapitenc for a two-hour condiments workshop, to teach the basic fermentation techniques and how to introduce good bacteria into your diet. You will also create fermented salsa, a hot sauce and preserved lemons. Robin

Sheriff, the power behind Koji Kitchen, will be joining Paula for a guest three-hour workshop on June 18th, to share his expertise on koji-making, to show attendees how to make miso, and to taste some of his fab ferments. Learn about enzymes and mould and explore the use of different beans, peas and veggies for your own miso.

Another sought-after ticket is for the masterclass in Korean cooking by Rebecca Ghim, from Ferm London, on July 16th. In this four-hour session, South Korean Rebecca will share her country’s fermentation traditions and introduce you to variations of kimchi that have evolved in different locations and eras. You will make a batch of kimchi to take home, and learn to cook kimchi fried rice and jeon (savoury pancake) with her own ripe kimchi. This fun kimchi-making masterclass will end with a meal that you have helped to create.

AS FEATURED ON

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TH ELI S TFR O M E

sophia elouise w o o d w o r k studio 4

black swan arts frome

handmade homewares bespoke woodwork 6 Cheap Street, Frome, BA11 1BN 01373 455332 www.marchbankjewellery.com

demonstrations tutorials workshops

w w w. s o p h i a e l o u i s e . c o m @sophia_elouise sophia.elouise.art@gmail.com

U NDE R NE W OW NE R S H I P

F OR A L L YOU R DE SIGN & DE C OR AT I NG N E E D S

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

01373 228388 . 41-42 VALLIS WAY . FROME . BA11 3BA ROSEGARDEN.FROME@GMAIL.COM @THEROSEGARDENFROME THE ROSE GARDEN PAINTS & WALLPAPERS LTD

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ARTISTS & MAKERS OF FROME with Sophia Wormald

What is your artistic background?

I’ve always loved working with my hands, whether it’s drawing, carving, or sculpting. I studied Fine Art before moving on to work with Temper Studio where I was trained in woodworking and worked on some great commissions with them.

After that, I found myself wanting to go freelance to develop my own line of homeware products and services. I currently have a line of homewares which I design and handmake in my studio in Frome as well as working with clients to style and refinish their homes.

What made you follow this path?

I come from a very creative family, with my dad being a sculptor and my mum a creative psychotherapist, there was never a shortage of materials, inspiration, and encouragement in the family. I always knew my work needed to be physical and practical as well as creative and through my training I realised my love of working with natural, raw materials. Working as a freelancer was always the goal, the work of designing and crafting things for people to cherish in their homes is such a lovely and rewarding process.

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

I am predominantly a woodworker but use stone, metals, and textiles also. Lathe work is my favoured process and much of my current work stems from bowl making which I studied through my degree.

This is known in many cultures as sacred with the bowl representing woman or womb. My creative process is guided by the material I’m working with. I 22

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like to think of my work as an energetic collaboration between maker and material – as I give my energy to the material to form it, so it’s physical form and restraints shape that into the final piece. Meditation was a large part of my life growing up and it has come to be the foundation of my practice. I find working to form natural materials meditative and grounding.

What inspires your work?

One thing that inspires my work is the raw material and the potential it holds. Something I really enjoy about woodwork is the slow reveal of the grain and markings which are so unique and give each piece its own character. It’s always a challenge to create something which highlights the natural beauty of the grain without overstating or overcomplicating the design.

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

My very shiny, new and exciting studio is in Black Swan Arts –Studio 4, just next to Dan Musselwhite. I am in the middle of setting this up with all my tools and equipment and is going to be not only a place for me to make and sell from, but I am hoping to run demonstrations and small workshops there for anyone who would be interested in learning a little more about woodwork and turning. It is the first time since uni that I have had a space of my own to make from and its incredibly exciting.

What is your favourite place to be for artistic inspiration?

Around other makers and crafts people. I love collaboration and working together with others to discuss the design or finish of a job. I have been fortunate enough to be taught by so many insanely skilful artists and crafts people (shoutout to George Winks and Johnny Peel of Temper Studio and Dan Gallally of Frome Hardware) and the thing I have admired most in them is their willingness to share and be generous with their time, knowledge, and equipment.

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

What artists inspire you, & why?

There are so many artists whose work I am completely riveted by. Tehching Hsieh is one, his complete commitment and endurance in his work is astounding. I went to see ‘Lost (and Found)’ whilst at the Venice Biennale a few years back and it completely blew me away. As well as artists I find inspiration in writing and philosophy. A favourite book of mine is ‘Geometrical Psychology’ which is an analysis of papers and drawings on consciousness

by Benjamin Betts. Another is ‘Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain’ by Betty Edwards. This book is always a go-to when I’m feeling a little flat creatively and it’s amazing perspective on opening your creative consciousness in a different way is brilliant.

How can people see and buy your work?

I sell work from Frome Hardware, Black Swan Arts Shop as well as my own studio space (Studio 4 at Black Swan Arts).

I also have an online shop which includes my whole range of woodwork and textile work and a portfolio of exhibitions. www.sophiaelouise.com @sophia_elouise Sophia.elouise.art@gmail.com

If you hadn’t become an artist, what would you have done?

I think if all creative careers were out of bounds, I would have become a psychologist. I studied Psychology at A level and couldn’t get enough of it. I think that’s why a lot of my work is inspired by mindfulness and philosophy – I’m so curious about the mind and its ability to express itself and communicate in all sorts of abstract and creative ways.

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

It’s fantastic. I came to Frome almost by accident as I needed a place to live, and it was a close commute to my job at the time. After spending three years in Cornwall, coming to Frome felt like home with its steep hills and winding cobbled roads. I had no idea at first about its creative and energetic community, but I was so thrilled to discover how supportive and creatively inspiring it is. I have had nothing but support from other creatives and crafts people and that is something I’m so grateful for. Competitiveness has its place in some fields, but I’m a firm believer that in creativity, the only way to develop is to share and be inclusive, and that’s exactly what Frome does.

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

So many! I would love to learn weaving and loom work. A friend of mine is a textile artist and weaves the most beautiful pieces. Throwing as well, I have worked with clay a lot for sculpting, but never thrown and it looks such hard but rewarding work.

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

23

DANCING IN NATURE WITH SOPHIE BOLTON

S

ophie Bolton is an ecstatic dance facilitator and DJ based in Frome. She’s responsible for getting the town on its feet and dancing.

From her Sunday morning silent discos in the lush and beautiful Victoria Park, to her regular Tuesday night sessions in Selwood Academy, her classes are becoming popular with people of all ages and abilities wanting to exercise and have fun.

Sophie is a former children’s special needs yoga teacher and passionate dancer, and has been facilitating ecstatic dance for the last eight years.

Her classes offer a safe and light-hearted atmosphere, allowing participants to use dance as a meditation and offering a place to express feelings through movement, all with a banging soundtrack!

They would dance in a circle around a fire as a way of helping them to find solutions to problems.

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He a lt h & We l l b e i n g

‘Dancing takes you out of the hamster wheel of your thinking mind to remember why it’s fun to be alive in the present moment. When I dance in nature, I notice trees and appreciate them all the more. I note their shapes and contours, and it seems to awaken something in the soul, something our ancestors were only too aware of.

They would dance in a circle around a fire as a way of helping them to find solutions to problems. Movement to music is like a shamanic healing.’

For further information go to www.DancingInNature.com

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You can buy Hibi bars from Oakville Naturals on Badcox The Frome Independent Market (on the bridge) www.hibibotanics.com . @hibibotanics Handmade here in Frome . Free delivery in Frome

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

25

THE UNIQUE FLAVOURS OF WILD FOOD WITH DAVE HAMILTON

There was no single event, no road to Damascus moment that got me into wild food. Instead, like a weed, it crept in almost under the radar. By the time I reached my late twenties, it had grown from a passing interest to a near obsessional driving passion. I would go for long walks armed with a copy of ‘Food for Free’ and a wildflower guide with one single question of every tree, weed, berry, nut and shrub I found: can I eat it?

Now, over a quarter of a century later, the reason this passion hasn’t left me is that there are still foods and drinks which are not only best picked fresh and wild, but they can ONLY be found by foraging for them. There are wild spices like hogweed, their seeds a heady mix of citrus and bitter cardamom. It’s still a little early for these but if you do find them, they can be picked green or ripened, just be sure of identification! Or you could try pepper dulse, a tiny seaweed found clinging to rocks along the British shoreline. Packing a punch far greater than their tiny size, these diminutive seaweeds have a peppery truffle-like flavour (hence its alternative name of sea truffle). Then, just coming in there are the seeds of Jack-by-the-Hedge, which can be made into a delicious mustard, giving a fiery kick to a wrap, or an extra dimension to a humble cheese sandwich. The roots have a mild horseradish-like flavour and can be made into a horseradish sauce without the need for a gas mask. Under trees and shrubs, you’ll find a little purple-flowered mint relative called ground ivy.

Its leaves have a smoky richness which sets it apart from other members of this family. It can be used as a culinary herb, giving an edge to all kinds of dishes, or steeped in hot water and drunk as a comforting evening tea to wind down after a long day.

IVAN’S TEA

Ivan’s tea has a flavour closer to green tea than traditional herbal teas like nettle or peppermint. Naturally caffeine-free, it can be drunk at any time of day.

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• One of my favourite late spring and early summer treats is to harvest the leaves of rosebay willowherb and make a delicious tea known as Koporye or Ivan’s tea. It’s a poignant reminder of more peaceful times that this traditional Russian tea is also drunk in neighbouring Ukraine, where it is still prepared in the shadow of the Carpathian Mountains.

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Remove the leaves by pulling your hand down the stem, gathering fistfuls as you go – this can be done at home or with the plant in-situ to ensure it still goes to seed.

Wash the leaves, then pat dry and lay them out on a sheet (or similar) to wilt for 4-5 hours if sunny, or 12 hours if cloudy.

Roll the leaves 2 - 4 at a time into little balls then put them into a ceramic bowl.

Cover the bowl with a tea-towel or saucer and leave to ferment for at least 6 hours or as much as 1 to 4 days. Longer ferments produce a more complex flavour – I prefer a 3-day ferment as on the rare occasion it can attract mould after 4 days.

Once fermented, it will have a floral smell and will have lost the grass-like scent.

Dry in a dehydrator or on the lowest heat in a conventional oven for 4 -12 hours, checking until it feels dry.

Store as you would black tea. Drink with or without a milk of your choice.

Wild Food Courses Summer to Winter 2022

29 June | Nesta Campsite (near Frome) Forage and Feast - Includes Buffet of delicious seasonal food and a drink 17th September | Woodland Forage (near Frome) A lovely autumnal walk to find plants and mushrooms of the season.

18 September | Family Woodland Forage Groups of 2 adult and up to 3 children are welcome.

1 October | Nesta Campsite (Near Frome) Forage and Feast - Includes Buffet of delicious seasonal food and a drink

A Personal Garden Planning Service

10 December | Wild Spicy Rum Workshop Forage for wild spices before returning back to the warm to make your spiced rum.

The perfect course for someone wanting to make their own Christmas presents.

elizabeththegardenplanner.com Call or text on: 07814 959520

All courses led by Guardian Masterclass Forager and The Daily Express’s ‘Forager to the Stars’ Dave Hamilton davehamilton.co.uk @Davewildish

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www.garstonvets.co.uk THE LIST FROME

Home & G arden

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Ch sup oose loca portin g l bu sine ss

Control of light and privacy in your home Stylish and contemporary design to match any of your rooms Unrivalled customer service and after care Insulating for winter months

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Through our combined online and traditional marketing campaigns, we reach an average of 350,000 people a month, and have several buyers looking to purchase.

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Alistair Burchett Sales Advisor

We can make your next home happen. Call our Bruton Office if you would like further advice.

Rosa Clutterbuck Lettings Manager

bruton@lodestoneproperty.co.uk 01749 605099

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shaftesbury@lodestoneproperty.co.uk 01747 442577

wells@lodestoneproperty.co.uk 01749 605088

S W Plumbing For all of your plumbing & heating needs

Call us now for a free no-obligation quote

“

S W Plumbing did all the plumbing work on our extension.

Excellent service and prices.

South West Plumbing are a small team of professional plumbing & central heating engineers based in Somerset.

We provide a full range of services from installation, service and repair of full central heating systems and boilers through to bathroom, kitchen and water softener installations.

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Bespoke House Surveys

By Frome’s admirable independent period property surveyor “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

01373 301379 or 07974 075221

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29

Couldn’t Have Happened to a Nicer Bloke Th e Fr o m e Fo s s i l

W

e pedalled towards Tucker’s. There was a cloudless sky above, a dry road beneath, and – from our saddles – we

could see the bluey wooded hills beyond Great Elm and Faulkland in the distance. The first leaves were unfurling in the hedgerows, and the first lambs (now pretty tubby) were bouncing about the fields.

Before us dangled the prospect of a pint and a packet of Nobby’s very excellent Nuts. Downsides were few – muddy puddles, clouds of thunder flies, the odd pothole, protruding brambles – as we bowled beatifically along. Then came the cars.

Country lanes are narrow and modern cars are big – in some cases, laughably so. Mere cyclists, especially those over seventy, have to be as jumpy and quick-witted as said lambs if they’re going to survive. Keep looking behind, keep listening, go slow round blind bends, be very afraid. And, in fact, most drivers are the soul of courtesy and either slow right down or stop and wave you by as if you were royalty. But a few do not (generally insecure males in gargantuan SUVs).

On the final stretch, we heard cars growling up behind us. So we pulled in, left legs braced nonchalantly on the bank, and watched them ease slowly past, before pushing off again up a gentle slope and resuming our lengthy discussion about lawn mowers. But, hist! was that yet another vehicle approaching, at a worrying speed? Yes, it was: a Beamer, of course, and in a hurry. As we scrambled once more into the bank, it roared up, horn blaring. The driver – a smoothlooking gent in a cravat – sneered at us and mouthed something unrepeatable. Then he was gone, over the hilltop. Blessed silence descended.

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Yet again, we brushed ourselves down and resumed our innocent way. The talk, if I recall rightly, moved on to the planting of early potatoes. But the encounter still hung in the air, like the stench of petrol fumes.

We crested the slope and freewheeled round a wooded bend, and there, halfway up the hedge at an angle of forty-five degrees, like a discarded toy, sat cravat man’s car. CM himself stood fuming beside it, and he in turn was being berated by a man whose van he had narrowly missed in his headlong onrush.

We cycled silently past, anxious not to spoil this delicious moment.