West Magazine, June 25 2016 by DCMedia

25.06.16

Out & about South West gems to explore

DON’T MISS: + ‘How I got noticed

by Martha Stewart’

SEX FACTOR

new looks you’ll love

Devon gets ready for an intimate gig with Mr Cardle - pg 16

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G R E E N

T R E E

C O U RT

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A NEW STANDARD OF EXCELLENCE IN RESIDENTIAL, NURSING AND DEMENTIA CARE COMES TO EXETER

Green Tree Court is the luxurious five star flagship home for Lexicon Healthcare who specialise in providing exceptional nursing home environments combined with the very best in clinical care and support. 68 deluxe and superior rooms, 31 of which are dementia friendly and feature superior quality fittings and ensuite bathrooms.

The superb range of in house facilities includes a contemporary café, social activity programme, hairdressers, holistic therapy, physiotherapy suite, treatment rooms, cinema room, library and activity centre and a prayer and quiet room. We also offer respite care and daycare packages. Please contact us for details.

A warm welcome awaits you at our marketing suite at Green Tree Court, 81 Harrington Lane, Pinhoe, Exeter, Devon, EX4 8NS. You can contact us by telephoning 01392 240400, emailing us at enquiries@lexiconhealthcare.co.uk or visiting our website www.lexiconhealthcare.co.uk

“We are waiting to help you discover a new quality of life” Open evening and tour, 27th July, 5 - 7.30pm

www.lexiconhealthcare.co.uk

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‘You never know what you’ll find and on two out of three visits I’ll leave empty-handed. On the third I’ll usually strike lucky’

PRETTY PICTURES Meet Devon’s latest art sensation

Anne Swithinbank is on the search for pot plant bargains p26

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SECRET WESTCOUNTRY Where to go, what to do

AFTER THE X-FACTOR Matt Cardle on the highs and lows

[contents[ Inside this week... 6

THE WISHLIST Our pick of the best treats this week

JUST BETWEEN US... Sh! We have the latest gossip!

AFTER THE X-FACTOR Matt Cardle hits the highs... and lows

WEEKENDS AWAY Mini-break heaven in Devon

WIN AN ART PRINT Pretty pictures from Rosie Harbottle

COOL INTERIORS Smart ideas for your home

ANNE SWITHINBANK How to have perfect pot plants

FOR THE FRILL OF IT Why ruffles are the latest look

CULTURE VULTURE What’s on and where to go

BOOST YOUR WELLBEING Great ways to feel your best this week

HEDGEROW TREASURES Tim Maddams goes foraging

A WEEKEND IN... Get the most out of a trip to Exeter

MAN AND BOY Phil Goodwin and son watch the Euros

LIGHTLY RUFFLED The new fashion trend, sorted

SHADY PLACES

Make your home a summer palace

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THE GOOD LIFE

Eat like an Italian

[ welcome [ Sometimes you just have to take a risk in life... att Cardle certainly has taken some bold decisions in his career. First up, in 2014 the X-Factor winner bravely admitted he had a problem with painkillers and alcohol, and checked himself into rehab. On leaving, he took his singing career in a whole new direction, starring on the West End stage in Memphis, The Musical alongside Beverley Knight. Now, he’s touring again but has left the XFactor razzmatazz behind in favour of small, intimate gigs - including one in Exeter’s Northcott Theatre. You can find out what drives this former painter-decorator on page 12, in Sue Kemp’s ex-

[

of the week @Dawnellis21 Writing up the interview with @LukeFriendMusic for @WMNWest. It’s a goodie!

clusive and insightful interview. Another big decision that paid off handsomely was taken by illustrator Rosie Harbottle, who traded in a successful career for a national design company to move home to Chudleigh and go it alone as a freelance. Clue: a Devon boyfriend named Chris might have influenced her decision somewhat! Anyway, fast-forward to today and Rosie is designing for the likes of Paperchase and M&S, and very happily living with Chris and a whole menagerie of animals in their country home. Read her story, and win one of her beautiful pictures, on page 16 today. Have a great weekend.

He’s touring again but has left the X-Factor razzmatazz behind

TO ADVERTISE: Contact Lynne Potter: 01752 293027 or 07834 568283, lynne.potter@dc-media.co.uk

[

Becky Sheaves, Editor

EDITORIAL: westmag@westernmorningnews.co.uk Tel: 01392 442250 Twitter @wmnwest

COVER IMAGE: by Joseph Sinclair (C) Darwyn Limited

MEET THE TEAM Becky Sheaves, Editor

Sarah Pitt

Kathryn Clarke-McLeod

Catherine Barnes

Lynne Potter

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If you do one thing this week...

Flying from Gatwick these summer holidays? Master the dawn departures with a stay at Yotel the night before, with prices from £75 a night per cabin. This cleverly designed hotel is located right inside Gatwick South Terminal. Cabins boast monsoon showers, fast free wifi and flatscreen televisions and can be booked for a few hours or the whole night. The standard twin comes with comfy bunk style beds or if you want to spread out opt for a premium cabin with a signature convertible ‘SmartBed’ that glides at the touch of a button to any position. Perfect for curling up with a mug of complimentary tea, coffee or hot chocolate. Visit www.yotel.com for more information

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Brass swing lamp £120 www.eclectdesign.com

STRIPES

the

Surfa FitFlops £40

wishlist West’s top picks for spending your time and money this week

Casablanca coffee pot £105.10 Amara

STREET STYLE STAR

REBECCA HOULDEN Rebecca Houlden, 26, is a nurse. We spotted her rocking this cute vintagestyle outfit out shopping in Plymouth. “I wear whatever I fancy and buy most of my clothes from Topshop. I like the style of Mollie from the Saturdays pop group. I wear bright lipstick every day,” she told us. Cardigan: Primark Shirt: Topshop Top: Topshop Shoes: Primark

NIBBLE Send your stylish snaps of you or a friend looking fab to westmag@westernmorningnews.co.uk

Peter Rabbit biscuit birthday card £10.95 Biscuiteers

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Wishlist

fave! GORGEOUS Aldo cushion £52 Amara

BLOOMING Cradle vases from £72 Harley & Lola

Spitfire cufflinks £59.95 www.annabeljames.co.uk

Store we adore... SWEET Embellished bird handbag charm £10 Accessorize

STORE WE ADORE: nes , Tot Fifty5a Aron and Malin Hosie, who run this lovely boutique, believe that you should choose your style and your clothes with as much passion and thought as you choose your food and wine. As well as womenswear for all ages they also sell beautifully scented creams

and eau de colognes, Italian chocolates, handmade Moroccan baskets and jewellery both locally crafted and quirky fashion-pieces. Fifty5a is at 55a High Street, Totnes, Devon, TQ95NP 01803 866681 www.fifty5a.com 7

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talking points Gillian Molesworth

Story of my life... All the world’s a stage n the day this article comes out, I’ll be having my hair and make-up done, donning a floaty green dress and drapey fairy wings, and swanning onto the stage as Titania in Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. At the time of writing, the prospect drives terror into the soul. We’re not ready, we’re not ready! But exAthens, where nothing’s going perience dictates: it will be fine on right for its citizens. They’re all the night. Somehow, it always is. in love with people who don’t We’ve just had our first dress love them back or being forced to rehearsal. If you’re a thespian, marry someone else. you’ll be familiar with dress reBut then they go into the hearsals and how they are almost woods, and it all enters a magical always a disaster. Actors forget muddle. It’s crazy and a little bit lines, cues, entrances – or rush threatening. There are love trion miles ahead of their scene. angles, revenge schemes, fairies, Props and costumes malfunction, drugs, a queen falling in love with sometimes with embarrassing a donkey-headed man. consequences. Did you ever And there’s study sociology? always a moment There’s a concept At the time of in run-up when I called “liminal writing, we’re think: really? Am space”. It’s the place I really about to humans enter for not ready, we’re stand up in front coming-of-age ritunot ready! But of a roomful of als in tribal society. experience people and do Liminal space is this? Are we ever where the physidictates: it will going to be able cal world crosses be fine on the to manage? over into the divine Fortunately, world. Where things night. Somehow the rule is that are not always as it always is the worse the they seem. dress rehearsal, In his usual prothe better the opening night. phetic way, Shakespeare had the There’s hardly anything as sociologists beat in the 1500s. His exciting as being all dressed woods are a liminal space. up, with months of rehearsals And for the actors, so is the behind you and a quiet audience theatre. You don’t play by the waiting to be impressed. And all rules when you’re on stage – gathered up in your mind and you’re free, of social conventions, on your tongue are the words of of your own self. My war-cry is, the immortal Bard, the mighty more liminal space! Have a bonShakespeare himself. Still strong. fire, smear your face with mud, Still funny. Still relevant. dance to the stars, make magic One of my favourite elements happen. Convention is boring. of A Midsummer Night’s Dream Get out of Athens. Or take part in is the setting. The play opens in a play. It’s exhilarating.

Gillian Molesworth is a journalist and mum-of-two who grew up in the USA and moved to north Cornwall when she met her husband.

SCARLET &

ladylike

Helen McCrory wore a vibrant, embroidered gown by Singaporean/French designer Andrew Gn to the Baftas recently. She looked the epitome of sophistication and – at 47 – age-appropriate. The printed silk gown is surprisingly subtle, despite its eye-catching fabric and the sheer silk shoulder details really add a romantic element. The Peaky Blinders actress kept her make-up and hair simple, showing that you can have fun with colour with feeling over the top. High-neck dress £89 Very

steal her

style

OR MAKE IT YOUR OWN

OPTION B Romantic OPTION A Relaxed

Tropical print maxi-dress £55 Wallis

Spanish print dress £49 Glamorous

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25.06.16

IT’S ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS! KYLIE MINOGUE says she is “over the moon” after recording the theme song for the forthcoming Absolutely Fabulous film. The 48-year-old pop princess has covered the theme tune This Wheel’s On Fire, which was featured in the original BBC One series. Show creator and scriptwriter Jennifer Saunders – who has a home on Dart-

moor - reprises her role as Edina ‘Eddy’ Monsoon for Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie alongside co-star Joanna Lumley. Talking about her involvement, Kylie said: “As a huge fan of the Ab Fab series and both Jennifer and Joanna, I’m over the moon to be singing the theme song.”

[[ ‘Pumping iron keeps me calm and happy’

WEIGHT A MINUTE CHLOE MADELEY credits weight training with saving her after a dark period where she felt she was “out of control”. The 28-year-old daughter of Richard Madeley and Judy Finnegan battled anxiety as she started to experience celebrity in her own right. Chloe, who spent much of her childhood at her family home in Talland Bay, south east Cornwall, says: “Back then, I was wound up and panicky, and was really struggling. I had very

bad anxiety and was finding it hard to find my way.” After dropping out of her university course, she tried television. “It crept up and up. I felt I was out of control. I was desperately unhappy.” Her life changed when she discovered her love for exercising, and she has gone on to launch her own health and fitness business. “It was so empowering. I got control back over my life,” she says.

Just

between us Gossip, news, trend setters and more – you heard all the latest juicy stuff here first!

MAISIE BACK IN CONTROL Game Of Thrones star MAISIE WILLIAMS, who grew up in Somerset, has rewritten a headline focused around her appearance. The 19-year-old actress, who plays Arya Stark in the popular HBO series, tweeted the alternative to her 1.3 million followers. The original, which was published by the Daily Mail, said: “Unveiled: Game Of Thrones’ Maisie Williams goes braless in sheer lace dress and quirky headpiece at charity masquerade ball”. Maisie tweeted in response: “Game of Thrones actor, Maisie Williams, helps raise thousands at a Summer Masquerade Ball for @NSPCC.” The tweet has received nearly 32,000 retweets and more than 57,000 likes. Good on you, Maisie!

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Hooray: The Queen’s 90th birthday party in Helston was a great day out

Cool cat: Disabled biker Nick Priest of Penryn has a pet cat called Fidget Honey who rides with him on his speciallyadapted mobility scooter

in pictures

Thwack! Harry Medhurst batted well for St Just against Redruth Hands in the air: Valerie Anne’s School of Dance put on a show in honour of the Queen’s 90th birthday at Woodford Methodist Church

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talking points Man alive!

Woof

ONE OF US Famous faces with links to the Westcountry This week:

Jonathan Dimbleby Ten (genuine) drag queen names, just for the pun of it...

1 Hedda Lettuce 2 Courtney Act 3 Summer Clearance 4 Paige Turner 5 Phyllis Stein 6 Sue Nahmi 7 Ima Mann 8 Alsace Lorraine 9 Angie O’Plasty 10 Pauline Pantsdown

1 Cavalier King Charles Spaniel 2 Chihuahua 3 Miniature Pinscher 4 Papillon 5 Shih Tzu 6 Toy Poodle 7 Pomeranian 8 Pug 9 Bichon Frise 10 Shetland Sheepdog

The happy list

What’s in a name?

10 things to make you smile this week 1 Lisa Glass her new Cornish People who have had roses named after them

1 Stephen Fry 2 Barbra Streisand

surf novel Ride, is out now

2 Fresh peaches try the white doughnut ones - mmm...

3 Hanging baskets looking lovely in full bloom

3 Julie Andrews

4 Mary Poppins Theatre

4 The Duchess of Cornwall

5 Yarn bombing naughty

5 Dolly Parton

6 Liskeard Show proper

6 Liv Tyler 7 Queen Elizabeth 8 Brigitte Bardot 9 Paul McCartney 10 Angela Rippon

Radio and TV presenter Jonathan Dimbleby has a home near Dartmouth in south Devon

Teeny-tiny dog breeds

Royal Plymouth this August knitwear in Clovelly all July farming, July 9

7 Elderflower cordial or fizz 8 PJ Harvey playing Eden June 27 - wow!

9 Cider after haymaking 10 Flip flops for cooler feet

Devon: Jonathan Dimbleby has a home in Moreleigh, in the picturesque South Hams area of south Devon.

Children: Jonathan and Bel Mooney have two children - Kitty works for the charity Help for Heroes and Daniel is a television producer.

Presenter: Since 1987 Jonathan, 71, has presented Any Questions on BBC Radio 4. He has also presented numerous travel and political shows on television, as well as live election coverage.

Late fatherhood: In 2007 he married Jessica Ray, a publicist 30 years his junior. They have two daughters. “What I find irritating on behalf of older fathers is that you are looked at with a combination of envy by some men and prurience by lots of people. I find that disgraceful. You fall in DID YOU KNOW? love with whom you fall in love.” Jonathan has

Family: Jonathan is the son of TV presenter Richard Dimbleby and his older brother David presents the BBC’s strong family ties TV show Question Walking: Jonathan to Devon. His Time. Their mother regularly walks 20 mother lived in Dilys Dimbleby kept miles or more in a day: Dittisham near two televisions side“Our local walks cross Dartmouth, where by-side: “So when I farmland and I often his brother David was anchoring the find that farmers are now has a home election for ITV and happy for you to do this David was doing if you ask nicely and the BBC, my mother keep dogs under control could say to us: ‘Of course I watched and close gates after you… I love the every minute of it, darlings’.” dramatic nature of our local coasts but also the way the farmland sweeps Scoop: Perhaps his biggest scoop was down to the sea.” the interview in which Prince Charles admitted being unfaithful to Diana Farming: His first career ambition with Camilla Parker Bowles. was to be a farmer and he studied Farm Management at the Royal Love: Jonathan married to the Agricultural College before joining journalist Bel Mooney in 1968, with the BBC: “If I were reborn, I’d be a whom he had two children. In 2003 Devon farmer by the coast. I love his marriage broke up after he fell in observing the different seasons and love with singer Susan Chilcott, who the impact they have on the natural died from breast cancer that year. environment.” 11

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Back on form X-FACTOR winner Matt Cardle has had a difficult few years but after a spell in rehab he is now touring again. He’s soon to be seen playing live in Exeter and has lots to feel good about, as he tells Sue Kemp

fter the long build-up to the winner being announced and their first single soaring up the charts, many alumni of Simon Cowell’s hitmaking machine quickly fade from

public view. Not so with Matt Cardle, the 2010 winner who seems to be working harder than ever, and who couldn’t be more excited to be back on the road. He will be singing in Exeter, at the Northcott Theatre, tomorrow night. “I really want to reach out to new people on this tour, and I’ve chosen venues which allow that intimacy with an audience. I’m really looking forward to it,” he says. Intimacy is at the heart of Matt’s new tour, as he strips his performances right back and takes a more informal approach towards audience interaction. He’s in a much better place than he was back in 2014, when he decided to go into rehab at The Priory for problems with alcohol and prescription drugs, saying at the time: “Although I loved the show and the success, the pressures were immense. “Gradually, my addictions became a regular thing. People in my home town started to talk and it was only a matter of time before it got in the press, so I decided to take charge.’ Since coming out of rehab, the former painter and decorator from Essex has been starring in

Memphis: The Musical, which saw him sharing a London stage with Beverley Knight for four successful months last year. But after that West End hit, Matt says he is looking forward to giving a more low-key, approachable performance in Exeter, as he explains: “I always like to engage with people, and with this tour it feels more like a Q & A, where I come out and chat to the crowd, and we just chill. “When you’re performing, you don’t always know what your work can do for someone else. “It’s always good to meet people, and sometimes you find out what an impact you’ve had on their life. It’s really important for me to stay connected to my fans.” Matt says that he doesn’t feel under any kind of pressure to perform a certain way these days. “I don’t think there’s the same pressure on me now to live up to people’s expectations,” he says. “It’s a choice, and it depends on your personality and what you want to do with your career. You have to be a little careful in terms of what you say or where you’re seen, but I’ve never courted that kind of

‘ lthough I A loved the show and the success, the pressures were immense. Gradually, my addictions became a regular thing’

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People

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publicity.” Matt, 33, is completely adamant that he has never felt any pressure to present himself in a given manner – even in terms of the gender expectations associated with today’s pop music. “The way I see it,” he theorises, “You’ve got your Ricky Martins and your Ed Sheerans, and everyone in between. I wouldn’t expect to see Ed doing sexy dancing but he’s still a great performer. “It’s the same with women – some will look like Adele, others will look like Ariana Grande. And it’s always possible to get a healthy balance between the two extremes.” Matt’s famous four-octave range certainly puts paid to any comments about a lack of genuine musical talent in TV talent shows – but what advice would he give for budding singers who are wanting to follow in his footsteps? “It took me a long time to find this voice,” he says, “it wasn’t until I was 22 or 23 that I got it.

“The trick is not to emulate other voices too much. And if you are going to be singing a lot, see a vocal coach, just to get a grounding in the right technique. “It’s all about individuality. I think the problem that a lot of people have with performers who come out of musical theatre is that they’ve been trained to lose any rough quality to their voice – so they sound clear, but everyone sounds the same. “That’s why I love the singer James Morrison so much – he sings the way that’s right for him, and I strive to do the same.” All reservations about musical theatre aside, does Matt intend to return to the stage once this tour is at an end? “It would be great to jump back into a show,” he smiles, “But the role would have to feel right. Right now I’m happy just working on landing the new album – then we’ll see.” Matt Cardle performs at Exeter Northcott Theatre on June 26, call 01392 726363 or visit www.exeternorthcott.co.uk

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People

‘I don’t think there’s the same pressure on me now to live up to people’s expectations’

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portraits: Gracie Stewart

People

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It’s Rosie, rosie all the way Devon-based illustrator Rosie Harbottle is getting noticed both at home and further afield By Gracie Stewart

osie Harbottle has always loved drawing and art but as a child she never imagined she could make a living from it. Growing up her dream was to be a zoologist or to run away with the circus. After completing her A-levels at Exeter College, Rosie began an art and design teaching degree but left after a year because she didn’t feel ready and instead went travelling around Asia in 2007. “It was when I was in Cambodia that I met some locals who were desperate for an education but just couldn’t afford it. It made me realise how lucky I was, to have so many choices and opportunities,” Rosie explains. After that wake-up call, she decided to return home to attend the University of Plymouth, where she graduated with a First Class Honours degree in Illustration. After graduating, Rosie applied for a job with the national design company Paper & Cloth as a junior print designer at their Northampton HQ. It was a dream job, she says, which taught her so much about designing for kidswear, stationery, homewares and greeting cards. However, she wasn’t happy living so far from the sea or her family and friends. So in 2012 she made the decision to move back to Devon to become a freelance

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People

illustrator. It was a gamble but one that has paid off handsomely. In 2013, Rosie, now 30, moved in with her boyfriend Chris, who is, she says, “one of my biggest supporters” and together they cleared his spare room and created a studio. “Chris built me a beautiful desk with reclaimed scaffold boards and the bough of an oak tree,” she explains. Based in Chudleigh, south Devon, with their two dogs and eight chickens, Rosie credits her current success with living back in the South West. “This is where I’m happy. A work-life balance is very important to me and there’s nothing better or more inspiring than taking a trip to the moors or the beach. When I’m happy, my work is better,” she says. Working with national companies such as Paperchase, Boden, Marks & Spencer, H&M and Hallmark, as well as several companies in America, Rosie has also found success more exotically, in Morocco. “I often work with Boutique Souk, which is a luxury wedding and events company in Marrakech. Most recently I created wedding stationery for a couple from Italy who tied the knot in Morocco and their photographer 18

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was Catherine Mead, a renowned destinationwedding photographer. Catherine took photos of the stationery I created and they were published in Martha Stewart Weddings, which was truly amazing for me.” But even better than this, says Rosie, was being asked to submit her work into the Trend Bible 2016/2017 Kids edition. “The Trend Bible is a forecasting blueprint for design studios so I was very honoured to appear in it,” she explains. Rosie doesn’t usually sell the originals of her work but her prints, which range from £15 - £40 depending on size, can be purchased from her online store (www.rosieharbottle.com). Occasionally, however, she takes on commissions for original artworks, with prices on request. Inspired by nature and travel, Rosie begins each project by creating a mood board of ideas and colours to help her focus. She’ll then make a few rough sketches for composition and paint lots of different elements before scanning them onto her computer to create the finished piece. “At the moment I’m particularly enjoying pattern making. It’s so satisfying playing around with the elements until you get a repeating pattern that can be applied to all manner of products. “A lot of the work I produce is kept under wraps while I’m working on seasons for the following year. Retailers don’t want to share new designs until the products are ready to be sold.” she explains. These days Rosie creates most of her work 19

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People

‘I just adore experimenting with bright and bold colour’

with gouache or watercolours. “I just adore experimenting with bright and bold colour. It’s great looking back just over the past few years and seeing how much my work has evolved. For years I was quite nervous of using bold colour until I started really experimenting with paints again,” she adds. Rosie credits her fashion designer mother for her love of pattern and colour. “Her hero is [the Arts and Crafts designer] William Morris and that has naturally filtered down to me. My aunt was also always encouraging me to draw, paint and dance. As children, whenever we went to visit her in Bedford she would wake us up in the morning to join her in dancing, moving and stretching to the sounds of African drums or the

Indian Sitar before getting out her huge supply of pens, pastels, paints and charcoal,” she says. Looking ahead, Rosie is planning a range of new prints for her online store and will hopefully branch out into homewares. Her dream is to collaborate with bohemian retailer Anthropologie. She is also going to be featured in the next book to be produced by the prestigious Print & Pattern website, which will be released later this year. You can also see her work at the Native Makers Summer Market at the Royal William Yard, Plymouth on July 16. There is no doubt that Rosie Harbottle is definitely one to watch. www.rosieharbottle.com

Win a print! We have a Rosie Harbottle print to give away, called Stay Wild Moon Child, worth £20. Simply tell us the name of one of the UK companies Rosie designs for. Send your answer, name and contact details to: Rosie Harbottle competition, westmag@westernmorningnews.co.uk to arrive by July 8. Normal terms apply, West will not share your details.

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The Art of Living

Hearth & Cook brings a new experience to home lovers and makers.

Expertly gathered together in our showroom in Exeter is a selection of the finest

products designed to transform homes and inspire wonderful culinary creations,

including an extensive range of beautifully designed outdoor ovens from renowned Danish stove manufacturer, Morsø. Visit our showroom now to see many of these appliances in action or browse our website for more information.

• RANGE COOKERS FROM LA CORNUE AND ESSE • MORSØ STOVES & OUTDOOR LIVING RANGE • ASHGROVE BESPOKE KITCHENS Find us in Oaktree Place, 100 yards behind Carrs Ferrari & Maserati.

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Call 01392 797679 www.hearthandcook.com 14 Oaktree Place, Manaton Close, Matford, Exeter, Devon EX2 8WA

21/06/2016 11:18:38

The south Devon cottages have had a complete make-over

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Interiors

Time for a makeover Interior designer Julie Cunningham tells Sarah Pitt about bringing her decor flair to a pretty collection of Devon holiday cottages

or Julie Cunningham, being given the brief to revamp eight holiday cottages near Dawlish Warren in south Devon was, she confesses, rather nerve-wracking. She had just six weeks to oversee the transformation of the cottages in the run-up to Christmas last year. What is more, her first major job as a qualified interior designer was set to be a family affair – as the properties are owned by her partner Chris’s family. The pres‘I wanted the sure was on. “Chris’s mum and dad, Valerie cottages to be and George, very much wanted a home-fromto be involved – they did up the home and to be cottages the first time around 25 years ago,” says Julie. “I did as appealing in need to make sure everyone was the winter as in happy!” Also scrutinising Julie’s dethe summer’ signs were Chris’s siblings Roger, Mellony and Helen, who together run Cofton Country Holidays, the business started by their parents 40 years ago. “Luckily they all loved what I had in mind,” says Julie, 33. “They are pleased with the results, which was great, as Chris’s dad is quite a strong character when it comes to decision-making!” Julie’s brief was to bring some luxury to the cottages, five on the main holiday park at Cofton, three others close by on the Eastdon estate. While the style of each is broadly the same, the layout was different in each cottage, presenting Julie with quite a logistical challenge. She chose a palette of duck egg blues, gentle creams and sand shades to chime with the Exe estuary views

[[

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Interiors

from the windows. Soft layers of lighting, using the latest LED technology, have been created with uplighters, recessed ceiling lights, table lamps and retro-fitted wall lights. Julie, whose lighting expertise was built up working for Amos Lighting in Exeter, says the aim was to create a cosy feel. “I wanted the cottages to be a home-from-home, because they are open all year around,” she says. “I need them to be as appealing in the winter as in the summer. They are coastal but are also in the countryside, so I have gone for elements of both in the design.” Both the sailing boats and the wading birds which can be seen on the River Exe have been reflected in the ornaments Julie has chosen. She’s also gone for local art on the walls, from Teignmouth-based Laura Wall and Dawlish’s Becky Bettesworth. The challenge for Julie was matching what she wanted in terms of design with the practical considerations of equipping a four-star holiday let. “The decor has to appeal to all age groups and stand the test of time,” says Julie. “I didn’t want it to look dated after a few years. I also had to think about wear and tear. I have got eyelets on the curtains for instance, instead of hooks and eyes, because they are more durable.” She admits that “styles have changed” since

the cottages were originally fitted out 25 years says. “Luckily we have got a free barn at the ago. “They had really dark beams, so I have moment, so it all went in there.” whitewashed them, which has brought in more The pressure was on during the makeover light,” she says. period, as the cottages were due to be let over the All the lighting used was British-made, includChristmas period. They were finished in the nick ing down-lighters below the of time. “The paint was drying kitchen cabinets which cast a as the customers were coming mellow glow on the food that’s in,” says Julie. “And the next being cooked. “It is a really nice day, Chris asked me to marry ‘These cottages light for cooking in,” Julie says. him, so we got engaged the day “You don’t want your food to after!” are coastal but look anaemic.” The couple, who have two sons are also in the The initial outlay in LED aged one and three, are plancountryside, so lighting was a considerable inning to get married in St Mary’s vestment as it is still relatively Church, Cofton, beside the I have gone for new technology. “You can imfamily holiday park, next June. elements of both agine the amount of light bulbs Julie, who also has a daughter, you need for eight cottages,” Molly, 14, from a previous rein the design’ she says. “The thing is, though, lationship, says the project has LEDs are energy efficient and helped her feel she’s really part cost effective because they will of Chris’ family. “It was just last ten years.” really nice that I have been able She sourced wooden furniture from a Devon to do this with the family, and to be accepted in. company, and the family got involved again to Getting engaged the day after they were finished decide what colours they should be painted. “Can was the icing on the cake. You never know 100% you feel my pain?!” jokes Julie. what a scheme is going to look like until you see All the furniture for the eight cottages arrived it finished but I’m delighted with them.” pretty much at once. “We had lorry loads,” she See www.coftonholidays.co.uk

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GET THE

LOOK

Pair coastal chic with country style in pretty, pale colours Brocante lamp table £115.50 furnish.co.uk

Tamar silver finish sailing boat £27 www. artisanti.com

Wading birds cushion £57.50 www.clareloves.co.uk

Mystic table lamp (shade sold separately) £96 www.darlighting.co.uk

Chalker chest of drawers £645 www.loaf.com 25

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20/06/2016 13:09:00

Gardens

ANNE SWITHINBANK

Pot plants Devon’s Anne Swithinbank, panellist on Radio 4’s Gardeners’ Question Time, loves her bargain house plants know there are garden centres full of house plants but I still like to buy them from proper florist shops. This takes me right back to my childhood when I’d gaze through the windows at the pristine plants inside and wish for more pocket money. Instead, I’d have to make do with the half dead plants passed to me by friends and relatives. These were only a step from the compost heap but were usually revivable and formed the backbone of my collection. Parsimony persists and it is the trays of smaller, cheaper plants that catch my eye. You never know what you’ll find and on two out of three visits I’ll leave empty-handed. On the third I’ll usually strike lucky and in the past year have come out with a cluster of parlour palms, watermelon peperomia, drosera and recently, a baby bird’s nest fern. Florists will lovingly wrap your purchase in their special paper, another touch I like. On a recent visit to the glasshouses at Wisley in Surrey, I admired a magnificent bird’s nest You never know fern (Asplenium nidus) and I’m what you’ll find looking forward to watching my and on two out tiny plant grow. It has already doubled in size and this week of three visits I’ll pot it on from the 9cm/3.5in I’ll leave emptypot it arrived in to one measuring 13-18cm/5-6in across the handed. On the top, using good potting compost. third I’ll usually If there is insufficient room to strike lucky push new compost around the old rootball, the answer might be to ‘pot’ the old 9cm pot into the new one, then remove it to leave a hole exactly the right size for the rootball, which is then dropped into place and settled in. Although repotting is easy, there are various common sense rules to follow. Don’t move a plant from a tiny pot into too large a container or the

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roots, surrounded by volumes of wet compost, will not be able to breathe and might suffocate and wither. At the time of potting, a plant should have moist but not sopping wet and certainly not dry roots. If dry, sit the plant in a container of water and then let it drain thoroughly for a few hours before potting. I like to gently break the old rootball here and there to encourage new roots to grow out. Compost should also be just moist. If wet, spread it on a tray to dry a little and if dry, water it and rub the moisture in. After potting, always water plants in promptly without disturbing the compost. Use a can fitted with a fine rose ‘sprinkler’, such as the Haw’s 2.5litre conservatory watering can. Keeping houseplants takes you all around the world in your imagination and I like to imagine the bird’s nest fern in its native rain forest habitat. Widespread in the tropics, you might find it in North Queensland in Australia, Madagascar or New Guinea. There, it mainly grows as an epiphyte in nooks and crannies in the trunks of forest trees, rather than in the ground. Up in the branches, plants are elevated from the gloom below and thrive in light shade and high humidity. The ‘nest’ made by the fronds probably collects some water and detritus to help feed the plant. As house plants, ferns generally need only a weak general purpose liquid feed every month or so when established and making active growth. This tropical asplenium requires a winter min-

imum temperature of around 10 C/50 F but the more temperate hen and chicken fern (Asplenium bulbiferum) from Australia and New Zealand lives happily in my porch, where temperatures dip to just above freezing in winter. Terrestrial or epiphytic, this has a different look, with finely divided fronds decorated by miniature ferns which detached and pushed into compost, will grow independently. In the countryside, the native hart’s tongue (Asplenium scolopendrium) is no less lovely and completely hardy. These often arrive as sporelings in gardens and are welcome for their shiny, evergreen leaves to decorate hedge bottoms, woodland gardens and stumperies.

West reader queries answered by Anne Swithinbank My broad beans are infested with blackfly. I am trying to be an organic gardener and not use sprays but holding back is difficult. What should I do?

The earlier the beans, the less likely are pods to be affected by blackfly. An autumn sowing is usually successful here in the mild South West. Or make early sowings in late January and February under glass. Truth be told, I was late with my beans this year and I’ve just been to inspect them. Ants are moving the aphids about and ‘milking’ them for honeydew, so they don’t count. There were loads of flower bugs which predate on aphids and spider mites but only one or two ladybirds and no signs of their larvae or that of hoverflies and lacewings. Neither could I see husk-like aphids parasitised by wasps. However their eggs might be there, waiting to hatch. I’m going to leave most of the fly, as experience has taught me that they will be a breeding ground for all the above plus velvet mites. Good bugs will then control aphids all over the kitchen garden for the rest of summer. If you must spray, choose an environmentally friendly product and apply after the bees have gone to bed. But you’ll be killing the good bugs too!

Anne’s advice for your garden

• Check wormeries to make sure worms are happy, not overheating in harsh sun and have enough fresh compostable matter to feed on. If you have a small garden, wormeries are great. You make compost and liquid feed on-site, they don’t smell and make great pets.

Question time with Anne Q

This week’s gardening tips

Last year I bought three young delphinium plants but while one took well, the others had distorted growth and black blotches. They’ve all grown again but the healthier plant is five times the size of the poorer two. These are already producing slightly distorted leaves. Should I get rid of them?

Delphiniums are amongst the most beautiful, stately and colourful of herbaceous perennials but are not the easiest to grow. Slugs tend to home into new growths, a summer storm can send plants toppling and they have their fair share of complaints. There is actually a bacterial disease called black blotch which spreads from soil or rain splash and disposal is the only cure. They can also suffer from viruses the symptoms of which are yellowing, mottling and stunted growth. Personally, I’d have those lagging plants out promptly before anything can spread to infect your one thriving plant. Don’t put the remains on the compost heap.

Send your questions to Anne at westmag@westernmorningnews.co.uk

• Pinks are flowering. Do use their petals in salads and on cakes but remove the bitter base of each petal first. Dead head regularly to keep them looking good. Take non-flowering shoots as cuttings to increase stock. • Plums, cherries and other stone fruits should only

be pruned in spring and summer to minimise the likelihood of infection by silver leaf disease. Should your plums need any corrective pruning, suckers or lower stems removing, do so now. • Make sowings of beetroot, runner beans, carrots, kohl rabi, turnip and plant out sprouting broccoli, winter cabbage, kales and other winter hardy greens. • When harvesting summer cabbage, cut the stalk and leave a stump behind so more greens will sprout. They’ll make good eating in late summer and autumn.

Protect soft fruit from birds or you’ll never taste it properly ripe. Anything not in a cage is best covered with Enviromesh (after flowering and pollination has finished) and secured with clothes pegs. Fleece snags on thorns. 27

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Beauty

[[ ‘What you need is a bit of below-theknee TLC, with our pick of summer’s best products’

Smooth Scholl Velvet Smooth Wet & Dry foot file down to £44.99 from £59.99 Boots The Scholl Wet & Dry foot file can be used while soaking your feet in water – just be light-handed and keep the device moving!

Come up roses L’Or Rose Refining Scrub £15 Melvita This organic product goes on as a gel, then transforms into a rich cream. Massage over wet skin in circular motions to exfoliate, then finish with Melvita’s L’Or Rose firming oil.

Golden

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Rosie for Autograph Summer Rose shimmer body oil £15 Marks & Spencer A shimmering body lotion that will take legs from pasty to healthy in an instant.

Beauty box

fave!

Expert advice from beauty guru Abbie Bray of Newton Abbot

Magic! Starskin Magic Hour exfoliating foot masks £9.99 ASOS You need to wear these for an hour for the exfoliation to work, but they really do, thanks to their lactic acid content. They will save you a trip to the chiropodist, I promise.

Is the excitement of wearing summer frocks or a pair of shorts tempered by the fear of going tights-free after months of sun deprivation? What you need is a bit of below-the-knee TLC. And don’t worry, there are plenty of ways to get your legs smooth, soft and bronzed quickly and easily at home, thanks to some great products on the market this summer. If your soles are suffering a build-up of dry skin, an electronic file is the fastest way to buff them back to life. The Scholl Wet & Dry foot file can be used while soaking your feet in water – just be light-handed and keep the device moving. If you’ve got the time to fake tan, then do so. Or there are some great instant-bronzing products you could try, which work like make-up for legs, such as Rosie Huntington-Whiteley’s shimmer oil for Marks & Spencer. It’s good stuff!

Sunkissed Goldentini body oil and glaze £25 TempleSpa To add a hint of sunkissed glow, without going full fake-tan, this product uses pigment and finely-milled golden particles suspended in oil, so it spreads easily without streaks.

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21/06/2016 11:19:50

Ruffle shirt £35 Orson jeans £42 leather clutch £35 Topshop

Paper Dolls bikini £29 www.littlemistress.com

Rochelle Humes ruffle-front dress £59 Very

Pleated ruffle blouse £125 Karen Millen

Be a frill seeker rom flamenco flounces to architectural curves, the ruffle is rippling through fashion this season. You’ll see them on frocks and shirt fronts, bikinis and blouses. We love this orange dress which pop star Rochelle Humes of The Saturdays has added to her designer collection for Very. Its simple block colour is given flattering interest with its wide cross-over frills. Very feminine and fun for summertime. Swimwear, too, is no stranger to the frill this season. This Red Herriing bikini is a fun nod to the 1970s while the Paper Dolls bikini in smart khaki offers a little more in the way of support up top. And forget being beach body ready - just pop on this pretty control-front swimsuit from M&Co and you’ll be looking gorgeous, thanks to its clever use of frills about the midriff. In search of a chic frill? Look no further...

Dress down from £110 to £77 Oasis

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Fashion

Red Herring bikini £16 Debenham

Ruffle front chiffon top £129 Jigsaw

Per Una maxi dress £55 Marks & Spencer Frilled control swimsuit £30 M&Co

Ruffle top £17.99 New Look

Frilled print dress £65 M&Co

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Trend Have you got a fashion question or a trend you’d like to see tackled? @KathrynCMcleod

Coat, Reiss, Princesshay, sale price £160

HOW TO WEAR IT:

MAIN PHOTO HAIR: ADAM AT SAKS, EXETER MAKE-UP: CLARINS, DEBENHAMS (BOTH PRINCESSHAY) PHOTOGRAPHY: STEVE HAYWOOD

Dusky pink

Shorts, Reiss, Princesshay, £110 Top, Reiss, Princesshay, £90 Shoes, Reiss, Princesshay, £145 Bag, River Island, Princesshay, £35

Kathryn Clarke-Mcleod explores pink’s more powerful side ink. Unlike Aerosmith’s Steve Tyler (“Pink! It’s my favourite colour”) I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with the shade. As in, I love it on the hanger but hate it when I see myself wearing it in the changing room. I always look like an ageing Barbie, not a look I am really going for. This season’s dusky incarnation is a whole other matter though. It’s pink for grown-ups and it’s muted tones make it fair game for just about any skin tone. I especially like it for the workplace. I hate the idea that, to be taken seriously in the office you should don a black trouser suit, repressing your feminity in an attempt to emulate your male counterparts. Pardon my French, but hell no. I’m a woman, I’m good at what I do, and I can celebrate both of those things at once. I especially like Facebook’s Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg’s quote, “In the future there will be no female leaders. There will just be leaders.” In I hate the idea fact, her book Lean In got me so that to be taken fired up I just had to go shopping for an outfit that would look seriously in fantastic as I swanned in to the office you take my seat at the head of a should don a boardroom table. This dusky pink shell top black trouser seemed a good place to start. suit, repressing Made from fabric so light and soft that it was akin to wearing just the right mix of professional your feminity a cloud, it was a pretty good and irreverent. Irresistible. Tuck example of why it is worth the shirt in smartly and throw on paying just a little bit more for a pair of simple strappy heels and a top from Reiss. There are literally a thousand you’re ready for any breakfast meeting summer ways to wear it too. I’m loving the idea of popping can throw at you. Given that the summer in it on with a white pencil skirt and black leather question is a British one, you’d be wise to invest jacket, or even with some oyster cropped trousers in a softly tailored trench too, like this one. It and simple grey courts. adds interest with a hemline longer than the These shorts were a match made in heaven. shorts. And is light enough to be bundled into a Their tailored lines and playful print make them handbag should the mercury soar.

This gorgeous shade is a weekend warrior too. Wear it anywhere from a friend’s wedding (although beware, as dusky rose is one of the top bridesmaids choices for 2016) to a dinner date or a browse around a local market. Best of all, it works a treat with denim. Frankly, I plan on trying every possible combination. Because this time I agree with another sentiment of Tyler’s, and I don’t want to miss a thing. All fashion in these pictures is from Princesshay Shopping Centre, Exeter, www.princesshay.co.uk

Trend_Duskypink.indd 32

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Trend_Duskypink.indd 33

21/06/2016 13:04:55

culture vulture Our guide to what’s on in the South West by woman-in-theknow Sarah Pitt Cute cows

Devon painter Jill Griffin is particularly well known for her engaging cow studies, including ‘Clover’, pictured. Jill is one of a group of Devon artists showing their work at a Devon Pop Art exhibition at Buckland Abbey, west Devon, until July 17. The group got together after feeling frustrated

Seashore theatre A beach on the south coast of Cornwall is set to host two open-air theatrical productions this summer, with renowned Cornish theatre groups performing on stages built directly on the sand. The first show at Carlyon Bay near St Austell, from July 22-24, sees Rogue Theatre performing their Deep Blue Summer Ball - a collection of sea-themed stories told with acrobatics, dancing and live music in the troupe’s inimitable style. And Miracle Theatre’s award-winning The Magnificent Three arrives on the beach for one night only on August 25, described as a ‘rootin-tooting, toe tappin comedy Western’. Find out more at www. carlyonbeach.com/whats-on.

Explore Capability’s acres

at the financial barriers facing artists wishing to exhibit in galleries. They include painters Theresa Shaw, Amy Jobes and Lucy Griffiths, printmaker Louise Thompson and felt artist Sue Lewis. The exhibition is open each day from 11am-5pm at the National Trust property.

Why not celebrate the famed landscape designer Capability Brown’s 300th birthday with a visit to the splendid acres he designed at Sharpham House in south Devon? The Sharpham Trust is holding its summer open day on Sunday, July 3 from 10.30am4pm. There will be arts and crafts, kayaking, storytelling, nature connections and mindfulness workshops, as well as a beer tent. The event is free, with a £4 charge for parking. Or you can leave your car in nearby Totnes, and take Bob the Bus’s free shuttle bus. Find out more at www.sharphamtrust.org.

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Enjoy

Your stars by Cassandra Nye This week’s sign:

Happy birthday to...

Deeply intuitive and sentimental, Cancer can be one of the most challenging Zodiac signs to get to know. Very emotional and sensitive, Cancerians care deeply about family and home and are very attached to the people who surround them. Their ruling planet is the moon, which can create fleeting emotional patterns that the sensitive Cancer cannot control, especially when a child. They can be temperamental but one of their greatest strengths is persistent determination.

Cheryl born June 30 1983 Cheryl has dropped all surnames, which is probably just as well. The Girls Aloud star and X-Factor judge started off as Tweedy, then Cole, then moved on to Fernandez-Versini. As a Cancer, Cheryl can be complicated and could well exhibit personality traits ranging from sweetness and loyalty to petulance and resentment. Now that she is about to turn 33, she is dating Liam Payne from One Direction, who is almost ten years younger than her. But age is just a number and we’re sure Cheryl will continue to surprise us in the years to come.

CANCER (June 22 - July 22) What you need right now is understanding. Before someone else can understand you though, maybe you need to understand yourself. You know what you want, right? The question is, do you know how to get it? Someone who has already achieved this can be of help to you. Just ask! When you know the questions to ask, progress can be swift. Listen to those answers

LEO (July 23 - August 23) Those who make contact have so much to offer that I urge you to listen carefully, Leo. Sometimes you tend to think that you know everything. We like to think so, but how can it be true? Seeking back-up for your ideas does not mean failure.

VIRGO (August 24 - September 23) Making sure that you understand and have control of a new situation is essential. Accepting help is not the same as handing over control. Don’t underestimate your power of attraction at the weekend, Virgo. You may not feel like flirting but letting someone see the ‘true you’ has many advantages.

LIBRA (September 24 - October 23) Do you remember when you last showed your sparkle and charm? Perhaps not often enough? Someone really appreciates what you have to offer midweek. A conversation shows you the potential of this relationship. There is no need to accept everything that is offered to you.

SCORPIO (October 24 - November 22) What a confusing time this can be for you, Scorpio. There are so many paths that you could follow that giving up on all of them could seem the best option. However,

you are made of stronger stuff, aren’t you? Yes, give yourself time to think and pick something that will be fun!

SAGITTARIUS (November 23 - December 21) Others may not have appreciated that you need to consider some things carefully when they are used to making rash decisions. You are in control and need to show it. Making a romantic gesture is not enough this weekend. Some kind of physical or financial move is called for.

CAPRICORN (December 22 - January 20) After meeting a familiar situation this week you may well decide to look back. Sure, it is worthwhile if it stops you from making a mistake. However, bear in mind that pre-conceived ideas can backfire. People change their attitudes and their ideas as time goes on.

AQUARIUS (January 21 - February 19) You may not be perfect, Aquarius, but you are pretty near it at times! Am I being flattering? Possibly. Sometimes you do not receive the recognition and praise that you deserve. Take this little ego boost and run with it.

PISCES (February 20 - March 20) This week, you need to make sure that

someone doesn’t overstep the mark – give them an inch and they might take a yard. With distractions on a few fronts, keep an eye on your love life. It is here that rich and loving moments bring so much joy. Miss them and you miss a lot!

ARIES (March 21 - April 20) In a pretty smooth-running week you may feel that there is a little something missing. What could it be? Are you losing your incentive to move forward because the current trend is so cosy and predictable? Do you need to move ‘up’ as opposed to moving ‘on’?

TAURUS (April 21 - May 21) There have been some strong influences driving your actions recently. Now is the time to fine-tune your ambitions and direction and take more control. Where the input of others can be useful and even welcome, you know what is best for you. Going about it in the most direct way shows you mean business!

GEMINI (May 22 - June 21) This is a straightforward sort of week when you don’t have to try too hard to keep the status quo. Is that what you want, though, Gemini? Somewhere deep inside is there a little voice telling you that there is more out there? A little bit of ambition has a lot to recommend it. 35

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20/06/2016 18:09:21

Wellbeing

the boost Life just got better. Our wellbeing guru Charlotte Dear has handpicked the latest health trends to help you be your best self, everyday

Live life in colour It is widely acknowledged that art is a form of therapy that can help free the mind of unwanted thoughts and anxieties and provide a healthy sense of achievement. So why not try a beginner’s watercolour class with David Simmons at The Bishop’s Palace in Somerset? Classes cost £10 and take place on 30 June, 7 July and 14 July. www.bishopspalace.org.uk

Get fresh There is no substitute for good oldfashioned fresh air when it comes to feeling uplifted, energised and rejuvenated. At Cornwall’s very own safari tent at Hustyn Mine Park in St Breock, spending time outside is a must. A new addition to Canopy and Stars’ selection of weird and wonderful retreats, ‘Courtney’ stands on 15ft high wooden platforms offering breathtaking views across the dramatic pine forests below. During your stay, enjoy wild swimming, adventurous bike rides, local fizz and plenty of Cornish air. www.canopyandstars.co.uk

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NEW MEDS! A recent study suggests that a Mediterranean diet might work far better than cutting fat to lose weight. Distinguishing between “good” and “bad” fats is key, and could help you keep trim this summer while sampling the very best Italian and Spanish cuisine. Nina Parker’s new recipe book, Nina Capri, which focuses on recipes from Italy’s Amalfi Coast, is a delicious way to start. www. orionbooks.co.uk

All too much? If you’re looking for a way to relieve stress through small and practical lifestyle changes, look no further than Staverton Bridge Nursery in Devon. Taking place on 19 July from 10am1.30pm, new workshop Yoga & Food includes a talk on stress relief through food, followed by an outdoor yoga session on the deck overlooking the stunning River Dart. www. stavertonbridgenursery.com

Lend a hand If you have a few spare hours on your hands, volunteering can be a rewarding and enjoyable activity, and one that is guaranteed to generate that feel-good factor. Whether you choose to help out at your local community centre, fundraise for charity or even take the whole family on a National Trust volunteering holiday, you won’t regret using your time to help others.

MAKING PLANS Ever feel as though your life is one big military operation? Maybe you’re planning your wedding, have recently launched your own business or maybe you’re counting down the weeks until a new baby arrives. Inject some fun into life admin with Newton Abbott’s Pirongs Unique Planners. Design your diary to a tee with personalised photos, text, binding and ribbon from £20. www.uniqueplanners.co.uk

What’s coming up? Tweet us your wellbeing diary dates

@WMNWest or email westmag@westernmorningnews.co.uk 37

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Wellbeing

Perfect lips? It is possible to avoid the signs of ageing, says our expert

I have some vertical lines on my upper lip that have started to develop over the past few years, even though I have never smoked. They are really starting to bother me - is there any way I can get rid of them? HG, Bridport

Medical aesthetician Dr Pradnya Apte says: Aesthetics is a constantly evolving discipline that is essentially consumer-driven. It goes through flux and change both with new techniques, products and even targeting different areas of the face and body. I have noticed this year that a lot of focus has been on the lips and, more importantly, the area around the lips. The vertical lines around the mouth, mainly on the upper lip, are known to aesthetic practitioners as the peri-oral lines but they are also known as “smoker’s lips”. or sometimes “bar-codes”. So why do they develop? Peri-oral lines are influenced by a number of factors and these include age, genetics, sun exposure, repetitive facial movements, lip threading, waxing, smoking and even drinking often through a straw. Lips have a much thinner stratum corneum compared to the rest of our facial skin which makes them venerable to sun damage.

The muscles that surround the mouth are conously “treated”. This process can cost £200-260. stantly being used and the repeated contraction Fractional laser resurfacing is also another of the upper lip muscles when we talk, eat, drink treatment that can resurface the upper lip area and kiss, can result in vertiand promote collagen formacal lines. This is especially tion. There is usually some noticeable as we age, because recovery time needed with the skin becomes thinner due both these techniques and to collagen loss and the slowpatients would normally See a practitioner down of natural fibroblast need a course of three to five who performs cell activity. treatments. lip treatments Peri-oral lines are more Wrinkle-relaxing injecvisible in women than men tions (costing from around regularly, because women have thinner £200) such as Botox can also so that your skin in this area. be used on the upper lip improvements Threading and waxing the area but they have to be very upper lip can also create lines carefully placed to relax the are natural and because the process damages upper lip muscle. Care must subtle-looking the skin and makes it thicker. be taken not to alter the paThere are various ways tient’s natural smile. to treat these lines. First, Whatever you choose, one dermal fillers can be used to thing that I would advise is augment the lips. to see an aesthetic practiPersonally, I use a very light dermal filler like tioner who performs lip treatments regularly, so Perfectha Fine Lines or Emervel Touch. I use that your improvements are natural and subtlea serial puncture technique, whereby small looking. amounts are injected in dots around the upper lip area. I also cross hatch, depending on the severiDr Pradnya Apte runs the Revitalise-Rejuvenate ty of the lines but I have to be mindful of not over MediClinic in Southernhay, Exeter. Visit www.revitalfilling, so the upper lip area is does not look obviise-rejuvenate.co.uk or call 01392 426285

[[

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21/06/2016 12:31:17

ESCAPE TO THE

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21/06/2016 15/03/2016 14:07:51 11:40:15

Drink

Darren Norbury

Beer of the week In the week of midsummer, what better time to enjoy Summer Solstice (4% ABV) from Penryn-based Granite Rock Brewery? This easy-drinking golden bitter is hopped with Target and Citra and has sulphurous notes on the palate boosting the refreshment. Available in cask and bottle.

TAKE THE SQUARE ROUTE The town square will be the venue for this year’s Launceston Beer Festival, organised by Penpont Brewery, which takes place on August 26 and 27. Open from 7-11pm on the Friday and 11am until 11pm on the Saturday, there will be more than 30 beers and ciders.

Cornwall in London

St Austell has confirmed that it will once again have a stand at the Great British Beer Festival (August 9-13). Another chance, then, to watch folk from around the country try the likes of Admiral’s Ale and Big Job and wish they lived down here!

talks beer t was one of those quiet Saturday I place a lot of faith in the young when it nights in the local. My racing tipcomes to pubs and the beer industry. We have ster friend, a Welshman resident in some terrific young people running breweries west Cornwall these days, was in an and, increasingly, taking up pub tenancies and upbeat mood thanks to a successful day on the freeholds, too. It’s viewed, unfairly, as a middlehorses. Penzance Brewing Co IPA (officially my aged or older person’s profession by some, the favourite beer ever, although I Al Murray-esque landlord leanadmit I’m quite biased) was on ing against the bar while Old Jack and fresh as ever. sups his nightly pint of mild. But And then they arrived. The pubs – and increasingly bars, too, I didn’t agree Rhos Keur Cornish singing for that is the nature of the market with it at the group had been performing now – are changing. time but the at a wedding at Penzance and I didn’t agree with it at the time were thirsty for a beer on their but the smoking ban has helped. smoking ban has way home. Cue an impromptu Pubs, on the whole, are cleaner, helped. Pubs performance of some Cornish more welcoming and offer a better are cleaner and community singing standards, range of drinks than ever. For culminating in the anthem Trelmany landlords, food is a must more welcoming awney. All this while many of to help pay the rent but even this than ever our usual fellow punters were is more exciting now than your at home, or gracing some other standard pub grub. The market bar, glued to Euro 2016. has been shaken up by street food There have been other nights like this, for inand that ethos has now permeated through to stance when some of the Mousehole Male Voice indoor kitchens. Here’s the thing, then: if you Choir boys have turned up after a concert (two haven’t been to your local pub for ages, you of their members live in the village). Spontanemight be labouring under the misapprehension ous singing in a Cornish pub takes a lot of beatthat it’s not for you. But if you go and look, you ing. And it’s incredible how it seems to be getting never know, that might be the moment when that more popular with younger people, too. I even thirsty choir walks through the door. spotted a teenager disengage themselves from Darren Norbury is editor of beertoday.co.uk their iPhone! @beertoday

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21/06/2016 12:32:20

Eat

Ingredient of the Week

Navel pennywort with Tim Maddams

oraging is seen as a bit of a bit of a lar oddity I’d like to encourage you to try today specialist activity and for very good is pennywort, sometimes known as navel penreason. You need to know what will nywort (it looks like a tummy button) or as wall kill you, what’s tasty and what’s pennywort thanks to its liking for growing on actually edible but frankly a waste rocky walls and ditch edges. of time. Or, indeed, seemingly a Found it yet? Good, now what waste of time unless you are in to do with it? Well, pennywort the know and have the trick to makes a fine alternative to crisp Pennywort make it a good thing. lettuce and a handy addition to makes a fine Gathering a few blackbersalads and sandwiches – of which ries or some wild garlic is pretty a good egg mayo on brown has to alternative to straightforward even for the most be at the top of the list. It’s also crisp lettuce devil-may-care. Nettles too are quite a good garnish chopped and and a handy an obvious no-brainer. But how added to a potato salad. Or simply do we begin to add a few extra scatter a few leaves about a servaddition to bits and bobs of interest into the ing of smoked fish and lentils. salads and equation without an expert hand The season for this plant is to guide us? long but it’s certainly at its best sandwiches Well, if I may, I’d like to show before it flowers, when the leaves you a little plant that most people are young and small. One note will have seen even if they don’t of caution would be to take care know what it is. And like most plants, once you when you are picking pennywort. It is very shaldo know it, you spot it here and there - it quickly low rooted and you don’t want to rip up the whole seems to be abundant everywhere. The particuplant in carelessness.

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Pennies from heaven By far and away the best use for pennywort is as a little crunchy salad garnish for a bit of steak, marinated in a little five spice and oil, then grilled medium rare. While that’s resting, make a dressing of mustard, soy sauce, chopped ginger, sesame oil and a few chilli flakes, seasoned with a little lemon juice. Toss a handful of pennywort and a teaspoon of finely chopped onion in this dressing and serve it on top. Top off with a few chilli flakes if you like. @TimGreenSauce

Tim Maddams is a Devon chef and author of Game: River Cottage Handbook no. 15 (Bloomsbury £14.99) 41

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20/06/2016 12:56:50

Enjoy

a weekend in

Exeter words: gracie stewart

ull of character and ancient history, Exeter packs a lot into its beautiful streets. Whether you’re a theatre lover, music buff, foodie or art enthusiast, this city has something for everyone.

Stay: Hotel du Vin Exeter (formerly The Magdalen Chapter) is a glamorous retreat housed in a former Edwardian eye hospital. Rooms are styled with bold colours and contemporary wallpaper, adorned with luscious thick curtains and original artwork. There’s a small ‘indoor/outdoor’ heated pool and a spa so you can indulge in massages, body scrubs, facials and manicures. The spa leads directly out to the garden so you can easily sweep from deep relaxation to deckchair in a blissed-out haze. For a double room you can expect to pay upwards of £130, which includes breakfast and wi-fi.

Occupying an 18th-century building overlooking Exeter Cathedral, ABode Exeter is said to be Britain’s oldest hotel. The hotel has 53 guest rooms with a warm, understated sense of style. All the luxuries of a contemporary space are set alongside the property’s original features. Benefitting from all the charms of the historic cathedral green, Abode Exeter is also seconds away from the modern shopping district, making it ideally placed for taking in the best of the city and its attractions on foot. Double rooms start from £99 per night including full English breakfast.

Eat and drink: The Samuel Jones Smoke & Ale House is a fun place to eat smokehouse-style food or hang out, in a lovely old building overlooking the water on Exeter’s beautiful quayside. The fitout here cost St Austell Brewery £1.5 million in 2014 and it has just won Best New Pub at the national Publican Awards 2016. Lloyd’s Kitchen in the city centre is another popular place to eat, meet and drink. The restaurant is open every morning serving their own Italian blended coffee, freshly baked croissants and cooked breakfasts. The lunchtime menu includes their signature fish and chips, well worth a try.

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21/06/2016 12:35:40

Abode Exeter

Saddles and Paddles

Lorna Ruby

The Double Locks Sa dd les an d Pa dd les

Don’t miss: Exeter’s quayside is located about 15 minutes’ walk from the city centre and is the place to be seen on sunny days. It is one of the most interesting and picturesque areas of the city, popular with locals and visitors alike for its fascinating history, interesting architecture, lively events and its friendly pubs, restaurants and cafes. Shop: Lorna

Ruby is an independently-owned boutique just off the cathedral green, which offers a carefully curated selection of clothing, accessories and homeware from a network of relatively undiscovered brands. Nearby, and lined with quaint gift shops, independent jewellers and vintage clothing boutiques, medieval Gandy Street is also not to be missed.

Do:

The Royal Albert Memorial Museum (RAMM) was awarded Museum of the Year 2012 after a major extension and refurbishment and it is a must-see for any visitor to the city. Free to visit, do check out the Flower Power exhibition of botanical illustrations from India, running now until September 11. This beautiful exhibition showcases early 19th-century illustrations of Indian flora, exploring the plants’ usage in traditional Ayurvedic and modern medicine, visit www.rammuseumexeter.com for details.

Explore:

If you’re not claustrophobic then

Exeter’s Underground Passages, accessed from Paris Street, come highly recommended. Prepare to crouch down, don a hard hat and (possibly) get spooked in what is the only publicly-accessible system of its kind in England and a designated Ancient Monument. These medieval vaulted passages were built to house pipes bringing fresh water to the city. The tours here are hugely popular, especially in the school holidays, so it’s wisest to book ahead on 01392 665887: adults £6, children £4.

Enjoy: During the summer months you can sail the oldest working shipping canal in Europe with

Stuart Line Cruises. Their Exeter Canal trip sails through eight miles of manmade waterway and makes use of two manually operated locks at Turf Locks and Double Locks. Lasting approximately two and a half hours, the one-way trip departs Exeter at 2pm and is only £10 per person.

Discover: You

can hire a canoe or a bike from Saddles & Paddles on the quayside (www.sadpad.com) and explore the River Exe at your own pace. The 18th century Double Locks pub makes for the perfect pit stop for a pint and a spot of lunch. 43

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21/06/2016 12:36:04

Brixham seafront

My Favourite:

My Secret Westcountry Chef Mitch Tonks runs The Seahorse in Dartmouth, which has twice won the Observer’s Best UK Restaurant gong. His Rockfish takeaway chain has twice claimed Best Independent Restaurant at the National Fish and Chip Awards. Mitch’s book Fresh scooped Best Fish Book at the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards. He lives in Brixham, south Devon with his wife Penny and their youngest daughter Issy.

Walk: I walk the breakwater at Brixham twice a day with my dog Charlie. I like the everchanging views, the various colours and clarity of the water, the fresh smells of the fish market wafting over when the wind is in the west. I walk this walk with many friends who also love the one-mile walk. My dad and I walked it regularly together and we lost him last year, so I still feel him out there some days.

Festival: I love Dartmouth Food Festival, it’s small enough to get round and there is a real community spirit and loads of great food. The town really does come out and celebrate all that’s good about our food culture here in Dartmouth. Weekend away:

A trip to Cornwall and a stay at the Idle Rocks Hotel, enjoying the pubs and coastline of Cornwall. It’s a magical place that brings back memories of my first holidays with my primary school in the area, although the Idle Rocks is a bit more luxury than I had back then! I always have that holiday feeling when I head there.

Favourite ingredient:

It is easy to forget but Westcountry fish really is some of the best

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20/06/2016 12:37:36

People

Churston Cove

Dartmouth Food Festival

Knightor Winery

South Devon Chilli Farm

Brixham fish market

The Idle Rocks Hotel

in the world, and living right where it is caught is a treat. And South Devon Chilli Farm’s sauces, which I use in dressings and sauces or just straight on avocados and eggs in the morning.

dream of long journeys and ponder on my ability to be able to make them. I figure the joy is in the dreaming, which one day may lead to me finally breaking free. When there’s no wind I love to swim or go stand up paddleboarding. I just love being in or on the sea.

Favourite tipple: My new favourite drink, right up there behind a morning armagnac, is a glass of vermouth from Knightor in Cornwall, a new discovery of mine. I like it with a shot of gin and an ice cube.

Pub: The Ship Inn at Kingswear. they have the best beer on the planet, some great seafood and great landlords in Heather and Colin. It’s a good locals pub.

Activity:

Shop: I like Mr McCabe’s butchers in Totnes,

I love to sail my little Contessa 26, I

it’s always a good experience shopping there, friendly, helpful, knowledgeable and great meats.

Treat: Being at home when the sun shines, having all the children round the table and spending the night on my boat with my wife Pen. Secret place:

At anchor off Churston Cove

Way to chill out: The honest truth is I just like being at home, I feel relaxed, I love the place and the comfort it offers to me.

www.mitchtonks.co.uk 45

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21/06/2016 12:37:00

My life

man and boy

A game of two halves Phil Goodwin and James, six, watch the Euros hen England and Russia were So, come the England-Russia game, James is drawn to play each other on the momentarily enthused by the idea of two halves opening fixture of Euro 2016, there of his family doing symbolic battle on the pitch. was initially excitement in my AnBut he soon tires of the idea. Also, he is grumpy glo-Russian family. that the TV is no longer under his control. The happy truce under which my father-inWhen he asks me when Liverpool and Exeter law had made Liverpool his foreign team (he City are playing in the tournament I realise he actually supports CSKA Moscow, the former doesn’t quite get it. Soviet Army team) was shatAs the teams line up for tered. We were pitted against the hymns, my wife one another – man against disappears. “It’s We journey man, fan versus fan. your national together from As the sun set, we stood dianthem,” I provided: two clans, two cultures, test. She starts the sweetness of two national anthems. Until, taking the washjoy and eternal that is, the old man declared ing off the line. hope to tearful he had switched allegiance James is building a Lego from Russia to England, on prison for his bad guys. So defeat and bitter account of his nerves. much for the big event. recrimination. It is true that Valera is an Anyway, I watch the What’s not to emotional guy and his coping game, the script of which strategies begin to creak unfolds with agonising like? when faced with defeat on the precision. A deserved pitch. He tends to launch into lead is squandered quite long tirades about donkeys, hurling unprintabrilliantly by England in almost the last kick ble expletives down the Skype tube and swearof a game in which Russia created not a ing that he will not watch another game, ever. single chance. Football does this to a man. Wow, I thought. That is a new twist. They I have to confess my passion for my national must have been working hard on that one team has slowly been drained over the years at headquarters in Soho Square. By now my by a tedious mix of FA incompetence, street other half is upstairs on the computer; the lad violence, tragic defeats, bad managers and the is firing missiles from a dragon ship. I suffer general lack of tournament nous that seems what feels like a defeat alone. to have become our modern hallmark. The next day, we dial up the in-laws in But once the competition comes around I Russia to get their reaction. Apparently, just can’t help getting involved. Summer footValera went to bed at one-nil, utterly ball is one of those collective events which convinced there was no way back for bind us together. We journey together from the Russians. He didn’t even find out the sweetness of joy and eternal hope to tearthe result until breakfast. ful defeat and bitter recrimination. What’s not But then, perhaps a one-all draw was to like? the perfect result for our family?

NEXT WEEK: Chris McGuire on starting his new life in the South West

main picture: Steve Haywood

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20/06/2016 19:18:23

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21/06/2016 11:23:52

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20/06/2016 18:41:31