Christmas Hamper Competition – we have 10 to give away!

44

Editor’s NoteWelcome to the November edition of The Magazine, the last one for 2019. I

don’t know about you but I just don’t know what has

happened to this year – it just seems to have flown past. I suspect 2020 will go the same way – talking of which can I ask you all to have a look at page 05 – on there you will see the publishing dates for The Magazine for next year.

As we all know the news is still dominated by Brexit, something that has yet to be resolved and which, as I write, MPs continue to debate in the Commons but seem to make little progress towards resolving. I think we have all had our fill of this subject this year which is why I’ve mostly steered away from it this issue.

I for one am fed up with the whole thing, Boris behaving like a petulant schoolboy, Jacob Rees-Mogg taking the intellectual high ground, Jeremy Corbyn being his usual arrogant and obstructive self and if I have to listen to orderrrrr from the patronizing and pompous John Bercow once more, well I don’t know what I will do!

Hopefully by the time we come to publish

the January edition this will be all over and the country can start to get back to something akin to normality, although what that is in this day and age I have completely forgotten!

Anyway, to this edition, and we have another packed read for you – I hope you do enjoy it. I must say that I have been encouraged over recent months by the response I have been getting from you all. The number of letters and other items for inclusion within The Magazine seems to be on the increase and that is pleasing – after all it is your magazine. So if you’ve got something to say, whether you agree with me or want to disagree with me, please do let me know, I’d love to hear from you and I will always try and publish what I can. Whether I agree with it or not!

It just leaves me with a little space to wish you all a very happy and prosperous Christmas and New Year period – next time you read me will be 2020 – and can I please ask you, if you possibly can to heed my plea on page 07 – a little gesture will make so much of a difference!

Until next time. Ed.

Out and About: Dorset 44

Party conference season – the issues that matter to members

12

TRANSFORM YOUR

BATHROOM

At Accessibility Bathrooms our stylish range of easy access showers and walk-in baths make bathing safe and enjoyable again.

We pride ourselves on our personal service and will help you step by step to choose the best solution for your needs. We take care of everything from the design through to the expert installation and all with a 15-year warranty for your peace of mind.

FREE TOWEL SET

WITH EVERY BATHROOM

0800 024 8522 accessibilitybathrooms.co.uk

TRANSFORM YOUR LIFE

3 Choose from our wide range of easy bathing solutions

3 Designed and fitted with a 15-year warranty

3 Complete 24hr customer service

3 Finance options available

Low easy slip-resistant entry

Simply step in, sit down and relax Enjoy a deep relaxing bath again

Expertly fitted by our team

Accessibility BathroomsM A K I N G B A T H I N G E A S I E R

To find out how we can transform your bathroom call now for your free in-home design or brochure.

AMAZING TRANSFORMATIONS We can work wonders even in small spaces!

REF: NFP

An Italian Delight! 36

Contact usUnit 6, Imperial Court, Laporte Way, Luton LU4 8FE

Tel 01582 721652Email info@nfop.org.uk Website www.nfop.org.uk

Views of contributors do not necessarily reflect those of the Editor or the

NFOP. Every effort is made to ensure advertisers are reputable but we do

not accept responsibility for the supply of goods or services advertised.

Editorial material is the copyright of NFOP unless otherwise agreed in

writing with contributors or suppliers and specifically stated. No item can

be republished or copied without written permission. The magazine cannot

be resold, lent or hired out in any unauthorised way of trade. Photographs

and all other material are sent at the owner’s risk and neither the

magazine nor its agents accepts any liability for loss or damage.

Managing Editor Malcolm Booth

Editor Andrew Silk

Editorial Assistant Anna Blake

Advertising Landmark Publishing Services 020 7520 9474

Printing Precision Colour Printing

Published by Highwood House Publishing Ltd

Contents

News, views & services 4

Community: The UK’s population 6

Loneliness at Christmas 7 An appeal by your Editor

What is the Pensions 7 Ombudsman?

News from the CEO 8

News: The Queen’s speech 9

News: Party conference season 12

Julia Langdon on politics 14

News: Free call blockers for 16 victims of scams

Finance: Estate planning 17

Legal: A Christmas message 18

Health: Malnutrition 20

Health: Can healthy ageing 22 become the norm?

Finance: The new £20 note 24

Feature: Post Office Savings 25 Bank oral history project

Online with Brendon Wallace 26

Letters 28

Helpdesk 30

Views: Thomas Cook 32

Joyce Glasser at the movies 34

Christmas hamper competition 36

Collecting 38

Collecting: Ivory 39

Pastimes: What kind of reader 40 are you?

Book reviews 42

Out & About: Lake Garda 44

Branch page 46

Puzzle page 48

Out & About: Worth a Look! 50

NFOP Magazine | November 2019 21

Health

Having nutritious and varied food is important for good health

and well-being throughout life. As we age, it becomes even

more important.

20 NFOP Magazine | November 2019

New research shows three quarters of British adults (75%) wrongly believe it is typical to become thin and frail in later life (over the age of 65), and may therefore miss the

warning signs of malnutrition in older relatives, friends and neighbours. The research also showed that 60% of people believe it is normal to begin losing your appetite over the age of 65. The survey also revealed that just over three quarters (78%) of British people would be uncomfortable talking to an older neighbour about their weight, and 41% would even be uncomfortable talking to a family member or friend.

One in ten people aged over 65 in the UK (1.3 million) are malnourished or at risk of becoming malnourished, and the vast majority (over 90%) still live at home rather than in a care or residential home.

Older people are vulnerable to malnutrition because they are more likely to be ill or have hospital stays, and are also more likely to be bereaved or lonely, which are also risk factors as they may affect appetite or ability to prepare meals. However, it is not normal to lose weight or become thin and frail as you age, and unintended weight loss in later life should be investigated by a healthcare professional.

The management of malnutrition is estimated to cost at least £19.6 billion in England (£23.5 billion in the UK), which is about 15% of the total expenditure on health and social care. Believe it or not, it costs more to manage malnutrition than it does to manage obesity.

MalnutritionDianne Jeffrey, Chair of the Malnutrition Task Force says,

‘Issues around older people, appetite and weight loss are so often misunderstood. We desperately need to get the message across that it is not normal to lose your weight, or lose your appetite as you age. It’s so important to be vigilant, so look out for the subtle tell-tale signs such as loose rings, dentures and clothes and a lack of interest in food.

‘Alarm bells should be ringing if we see the people we care about lose significant amounts of weight unintentionally in later life. There are ways and means to start conversations with people who may be vulnerable, and even just paying more attention to others in the midst of our busy lives would be a great place to start. We also need to make sure that public health messages around what constitutes a “healthy” diet are more nuanced, as currently older people who may be vulnerable to malnutrition do not necessarily recognise that high calorie, high fat foods and carbohydrates can be the right choices.’

BAPEN and the Malnutrition Task Force are looking to raise awareness of the scale of the problem of malnutrition in the UK. The two organisations are calling for members of the public to:• Be clear that losing weight is not a normal part of ageing.

• Look out for older relatives, friends and neighbours.

• Check their own weight and the weight of older people they believe may be at risk using this malnutrition self-screening tool: www.malnutritionselfscreening.org/self-screening.html

CostThe cost of managing somebody with malnutrition is two to three times greater than that of somebody who does not have malnutrition. Older people who are malnourished are twice as likely to visit their GP and have more hospital admissions and longer hospital stays than someone who is well-nourished.

Professor Jane Murphy, Professor of Nutrition, Faculty of Health and Social Sciences at Bournemouth University says, ‘People perhaps do not realise that malnutrition costs the NHS more than obesity. With our NHS already under pressure, and a rapidly ageing population, there is a very clear need for better public health messaging that will help people spot the signs of malnutrition before it is too late.’

Additional findings from the survey include:• A third (33%) of British adults wrongly believe that only

people who live in poverty are vulnerable to malnutrition.

• A quarter (25%) of British adults wrongly believe malnutrition is more frequently diagnosed in children than in adults (in fact one in ten older people are at risk of malnutrition).

• Almost half (47%) of British adults have never had a conversation with an older relative, friend or neighbour about:

- How well they are eating (i.e. nutritious, healthy food etc.)

- How frequently they are eating

- Whether they are enjoying their food

- If they have lost weight

- If they are keeping track of their weight

- If they are able to cook and shop for themselves

BAPENBAPEN is a multi-professional association and registered charity established in 1992. The organisation raises awareness of malnutrition and works towards advancing the nutritional care of patients and those at risk of malnutrition in the wider community. You can find out more by visiting www.bapen.org.uk or by calling 01527 457850.

The Malnutrition Task Force is an independent group of experts across health, social care and local government united to address avoidable and preventable malnutrition in older people. Established in 2012, the organisation aims to share its collective expertise and work with partners in hospitals, care homes, local authorities and private and voluntary organisations. You can find out more by visiting www.malnutritiontaskforce.org.uk or by calling 020 3033 1522.

Dr Trevor Smith, President of the British Association for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition (BAPEN) says, ‘This overwhelming public misconception that it is normal to become thin and frail as you age is extremely damaging. It is simply not true that it is normal to lose weight as you age, but if people believe it is, then they are not going to be looking out for the signs of someone being at risk of malnutrition. This will mean that people will “slip the net” and miss the opportunity to seek timely advice or support that may be needed.’

‘I am also really sad to see that so many people do not feel comfortable having conversations with older neighbours, and even friends and relatives, about their weight. These survey results show that people are embarrassed, too worried about causing offence. Perhaps it is seen as not very “British”. We are saying that while it may not come naturally to start these conversations, we need to get used to it quickly, as our rapidly ageing population is going to put more and more people at risk.’

DietThe survey also revealed that almost half (49%) of people believe that it is preferable to try and follow a low fat, low calorie diet at all stages of life. However, advice from BAPEN and the Malnutrition Task Force is that if you are vulnerable to malnutrition because of age or illness, consuming more calories and a more nutrient dense intake is better for you.

1.3 Million older people at risk of malnutrition may have missed warning signs because the public believes it is normal to become frail in older age.

Alarm bells should be ringing if we see the people we care about lose significant amounts of weight unintentionally in later life.

75% 60% 78%

% OF ADULTS WHO WRONGLY BELIEVE IT IS TYPICAL TO BECOME THIN AND FRAIL IN LATER LIFE

% OF PEOPLE BELIEVE IT IS NORMAL TO BEGIN LOSING YOUR APPETITE OVER THE AGE OF 65

% OF PEOPLE UNCOMFORTABLE TALKING TO AN OLDER NEIGHBOUR ABOUT THEIR WEIGHT

34 NFOP Magazine | November 2019 NFOP Magazine | November 2019 35

Reviews

Cinema...

JOYCE GLASSER

Knives out

La Belle Epoque

November at the movies

But there’s an elephant in the room that the victim’s faux-liberal, widowed daughter-in-law Joni is purloining Harlan’s cheques.

The Irishman (from the 8th and 27th on Netflix) Cert 15, 209 mins.The ninth film that 76-year-old Martin Scorsese and Robert De Niro worked on together was Casino, nearly a quarter of a century ago. And it might have been their last collaboration had writer Eric Roth not given De Niro Charles Brandt’s memoir, I Hear You Paint Houses: Frank ‘The Irishman’ Sheeran’s account of his life as a Pennsylvania truck driver, WWII veteran, Teamster boss and hitman, who crossed paths with some of the biggest names in American mafia history from the 1950s to the 1970s. Scorsese has turned this little known 2004 memoir into a chilling, magnificently acted and subtly directed work of art that engages the viewer intellectually, if not emotionally.

This is vintage Scorsese territory and is a fitting reunion for septuagenarian actors at the top of their game. De Niro 75, (Sheeran); Harvey Keitel, 79, (“The Gentile Don”, Angelo Bruno); and Joe Pesci (coaxed out of retirement at age 75 to play the quietly terrifying Philadelphia mafia boss Russell Bufalino). Joining the reunion (from the films Mean Streets and Goodfellas) are Thelma Schoonmaker, 79, Scorsese’s editor for the past 50 years, and Schindler’s List scriptwriter Steve Zaillian, 66. Working for the first time with Scorsese, but stealing the show as the uncompromising Teamsters’ Union boss Jimmy Hoffa, is 79-year-old Al Pacino. Though government and industry tend to equate innovation with young people, don’t tell Scorsese. Determined to maintain acting continuity, he experimented with a new de-aging process that works well, if you do not look too closely. This is CGI Botox that does not impede the actor’s mobility or expressions.

Schoonmaker conducts us smoothly around a two-tiered flashback structure from Sheeran’s psychologically devastating combat duty in WWII, to his reflective old age. As we move through history, told from the perspective of a mafia hitman, conspiracy theories on the assassinations of John Kennedy (who left Cuban slot machine owners empty handed with the Bay of Pigs) and Attorney-General Robert Kennedy (Hoffa’s nemesis), tend to merge with the murder of Crazy Joe (Gallo) at Umberto’s Claim House, and the disappearance of Sheeran’s close friend Jimmy Hoffa, de-mystified here, but still dodgy. Despite some dark humour, this is an unromanticised, cold-hearted depiction of a paranoid world where disrespect will get you killed, wealth is not on display and people talk in euphemisms. When Sheeran tells Hoffa that he paints houses and does some carpentry, too, it is understood that he will clean up after a hit or sabotage. Scorsese paints a portrait of a man for whom murder is an expression of loyalty, but who pays the price. When Sheeran learns of his lawyer’s death, he asks “who did it” only to learn he died of cancer. Sheeran dies alone in a nursing home, his favourite daughter Peggy (Anna Paquin), the film’s moral compass, having disowned him long ago.

La Belle Epoque (22nd) Cert 15, 115 mins.This quintessentially French film is nonetheless like a cross between Woody Allen’s Midnight in Paris and Robert Zemeckis’s Back to the Future, with advances in virtual reality used to explore the nature of falling in and out of love. In writer/director Nicolas Bedos’ clever, if initially confusing, high concept romcom, the title refers less to Paris’ flourishing artistic scene prior to WWI than to sexagenarian Victor’s (Daniel Auteuil) happier days, some forty years earlier when he sees his future wife enter a café.

The signs that the marriage between Victor, a dejected, retired cartoonist and his beautiful, vivacious, sharp-witted wife Marianne (Fanny Ardant) is in trouble surfaces at a dinner party where they target one another caustically through their crosshairs. Daniel rejects the high-tech world inhabited by family friend Antoine (Guillaume Canet), the temperamental, perfectionist director of a virtual reality re-enactment company. Antoine’s elaborate productions enable wealthy escapists to indulge their fantasies with personalised time travel, provided they are willing to suspend disbelief. When asked hypothetically about his preferred period in history, Victor replies, ‘the last time I slept with my wife.’ So, it is not surprising that when gifted a one-day re-enactment, he chooses May 16, 1974, the day he met Marianne. Antoine’s set designs, cast and script are carefully researched, although actors occasionally pop out of character, including an older

man poignantly revisiting his deceased father. But things get complicated when Antoine casts his alluring, free-spirited girlfriend, Margot (Doria Tillier) as young Marianne, forcing both Antoine and Victor to do some soul searching in the here and now.

The Good Liar (now playing) Cert 15, 109 mins.Writer/director Bill Condon won an Oscar for his screenplay of Gods and Monsters that saw Ian McKellan nominated for best actor. The two reunite in The Good Liar, with Jeffrey Hatching adapting Nicholas Searle’s novel. With Helen Mirren and Downton Abbey’s Jim Carter joining them, the film is a lot of fun, but there are more holes than thrills in this thriller at the outset, though, the filmmakers play an enticing game with two topical subjects that concern older singles: internet dating and elder fraud.

Though a bit the worse for wear, charmer Roy Courtnay (“looking for romance”) has his virtual sights on widow Betty McLeish (“looking for companionship”) through an internet dating site. With a cigarette in hand he ticks “no” next to “smoker” while, whisky sipping Betty ticks “non-drinker”. Real names are revealed when they meet in a restaurant and are pleasantly surprised. Or are they?

Roy and his partner Vincent (Carter) operate a high-stakes financial con game in their sham office and so we wince when Betty volunteers that she paid cash for her car – and house. Betty’s compassion for Roy’s sudden ill-health results in him moving from the dull suburban house he abhors. When the two are settled into a platonic life together, Betty decides to join Roy in investing in Carter’s get-rich-quick scheme. When Betty persuades Roy to take a city-break in Berlin, she neglects to mention that her grandson Steven (Russell Tovey), who is doing a doctorate on Albert Speer, will be their guide. With the Berlin trip and a long expository flashback out of left field, the twist becomes increasingly unrealistic, particularly for someone not backed by the CIA or Interpol. Betty’s perfect English accent is the final straw.

Harriet (22nd) Cert TBC, 125 mins.Filmmaker Kasi Lemmons’ (Eve’s Bayou, Talk to Me) Harriet is conventional and lacking in finesse, but the eponymous Harriet Tubman is the most inspiring super-hero of the year. And Cynthia Erivo (Widows) has transformed herself into this real-life abolitionist, Civil War squadron leader, and suffragette – she died in 1913 – down to the angry glower and righteous conviction conveyed in her photographs.

Born Araminta “Minty” Ross on a Maryland plantation, Harriet’s (her “free” name) cruel owner unlawfully prevents her from joining her free husband. In her mid-20s, Minty makes the perilous 100-mile walk to Philadelphia, finding shelter and support through the Pennnsylvania Anti-Slavery Society. Instead of getting a paid job in Philly, she becomes a conductor on the network of safehouses known as The Underground Railroad, leading 70 Maryland slaves, including her parents, to freedom. She returns to Maryland for her husband, but, believing her dead, he has remarried. There are moments of tension as her sadistic master (Joe Alwyn) hunts her down, and a cart full of runaways is about to be searched. But the journeys have a generic feel to them, and there is too

little time left to devote to her Civil War raids on Confederate troops that freed 700 slaves. Where the film gets interesting is in its depiction of Harriet’s songs, visions and fainting spells. In Philadelphia, Harriet is given a gun, but her spirituality is a shield. Harriet believes that God guides her to safety and by the end of the film there is no other way to explain it.

Knives Out (29th) Cert 12A, 130 mins.For a guaranteed fun night out, cosy up to the hilarious Agatha Christie-formatted whodunnit Knives Out. Imagine a cross between play-within-a-play Death Trap; the detective novel spoof musical Something’s Afoot, and the twisty parlour-game, The Last of Sheila, and you have some idea of what to expect. A delectable ensemble cast includes Christopher Plummer, Chris Evans, Jamie Lee Curtis, Don Johnson, Toni Collette and rising star Ana de Armas as the Ecuadorian nurse at the heart of the mystery. Writer/director Rian Johnson comes down to earth after 2017’s Star Wars: The Last Jedi and settles in a Gothic pile on the edge of a Massachusetts mill town, where family patriarch Harlan Thrombey (Plummer) has been found with his throat cut in an apparent suicide. The family had gathered to celebrate Harlan’s 85th birthday but are now more openly focused on his will.

Rian cleverly front loads all the exposition of the family members and their whereabouts and motives in an ingeniously written and edited police investigation that crosscuts amongst the family members who cannot keep their stories straight. But there’s an elephant in the room that the victim’s faux-liberal, widowed daughter-in-law Joni (Toni Collette), is purloining Harlan’s cheques to send her daughter to private school, is the first to notice. Seated in the corner is “the last of the gentlemen sleuths”, Mr Benoit Blanc (Craig), speaking not with a Belgium accent, but a southern drawl. Despite describing himself as a quiet, passive observer, Blanc will stomp through a cauldron of venomous hypocrites, class privilege and racial prejudice to expose the bitter truth.

There’s a ghost in the house...Oh gosh! I do love a ghost story,

especially when the ghosts are real! What a plethora there are to choose from here as we are presented in

the opening pages with no less than half a dozen dead people. There’s Robert Richardson and Tom Whittaker, dead on the battlefields of Flanders, Jim Burrows, who died in an abortive attempt to save little Lydia Marcham from a housefire at Haverton Hall, not to mention said Lydia’s grandfather and grandmother and her older sister Stella’s fiancé Gerald, another sad victim of the global conflict that is WWI. The stage is set for a haunting at Haverton – then the action abruptly changes to Greyswick Hall, where Stella has been summoned to shore up the spirits of her sister Madeleine, newly-wed and pregnant and consumed with strange fancies. Stella brings along her maid, Annie Burrows, who, it seems, is a conduit for the dead to speak as more and more

inexplicable things begin to happen. A child has died in this house … maybe more than one. But what does the ghost of little Lucien Brightwell want? Well, the truth, of course, and it’s up to Stella to help. Grief for her own lost lover spurs her on as she enlists a somewhat unwilling Annie in her quest, battling against the scepticism of the redoubtable dowager Lady Brightwell, her companion Miss Cook and their formidable housekeeper Mrs Henge – a Mrs Danvers in the making, if ever I saw one! The joy of this story lies in its unashamed Gothic atmosphere. Rooms are dark, corridors are cold, servants appear with no warning from concealed doorways. Portraits of the dead stare down on the unnerved living. Stella must tiptoe through a minefield of miasmas, ever present to danger not just from the dead but from the living, who do not

want her to uncover the truth. A satisfying and shiver-inducing tale of family tragedy, loss and redemption.

The Lost Ones by Anita Frank is published in hardback by HQ, RRP £12.99

Can love ever die?That’s the question posed in this epic romance. Sixty years after their last meeting, Roya Archer and

Bahman Aslan are reunited in an American nursing home. How did they get there from their native Iran? What has happened to the shy schoolgirl and the activist student who met at a stationery shop in Tehran? We’re taken back to 1953, where amongst the fountain pens, shiny ink bottles and

colourful notepads, the young couple exchange notes and poems and fall in love. They believe they are destined to be together but Fate has her own plans. For on the eve of their wedding, as Roya heads to the town square to meet Bahman, violence erupts and he never arrives. Alone and forlorn, Roya makes a new life for herself in America – but she never forgets Bahman. This beautiful love story takes us back and forward from the present day to 1950s Iran, a place of political turmoil where day-to-day life goes on as normal. The sights, sounds and smells of the city are brought vividly to life as Roya and her family go about their daily routine. Her loving mother, forward-thinking father and pert sister are delightful characters, a perfect foil to Roya’s dreamy nature – and her salvation when her heart is broken. This slow-burning progression through the lives of two people who only ever wanted to be together will surely touch your heart.The Stationery Shop of Tehran by Marjan Kamali is published by Simon & Schuster in paperback on November 28, RRP £8.99

Smarting from a bitter divorce, Jenny Bowen is leaving her life in London behind and heading for her childhood home on Scotland’s west coast. As she

boards the sleeper at Euston and searches out her room, she spots a dropped toy rabbit and hands it back to the young woman and little girl a couple of doors down. Hours later, the young woman is found dead, but there is no sign of the small girl, nor, when police come to investigate, any record of her having ever been on the train. The police conclude the woman has died of a drugs overdose, and dismiss Jenny’s concerns about a little girl as the product of an overactive imagination. But Jenny knows what she saw … and sets out on a quest to track down the truth of what happened that night on the train.

In her head, Jenny compares the disappearance of the little girl to that of Alice falling down the rabbit hole. But really it is

Jenny who has fallen into a weird parallel world where awful, unexpected things can happen;

where strangers mean danger, where CCTV images lie, and where the people who should be on your side are unable – or unwilling – to help. I don’t think it’s any coincidence that the name Jenny Bowen is somewhat akin to James Bond, as what begins as a promising thriller noir morphs into something closer to an action-spy movie where Jenny must pit her wits against cold killers and arch villains who believe they can get away with murder. Like Alice in Wonderland, Jenny has to believe six impossible things before breakfast, but there’s no kindly caterpillar to help, just a battle-scarred transport policeman and her own courageous determination to save the little girl at the heart of the mystery. With a cracking pace and unexpected twists, raw tension crackles from every page of this riveting read. My heart was still in my mouth long after I finished it!

What She Saw Last Night by MJ Cross is published in paperback by Orion, on November 28, RRP £7.99. Three years after the Great War

has ended, families are still trying to piece together the fragments of their broken lives. So many

husbands, fathers, fiancés, brothers and sons have died or disappeared, to lie forever in a foreign land. Photographer Harry feels the families’ pain – having survived the war he is back in France, taking photographs of the men’s last known positions, or their graves, for their loved ones. But Harry has another mission, for he himself lost two brothers. Will rests in a French cemetery but Francis’s whereabouts are unknown. Then Francis’s widow, Edie, receives a photograph of him through the post that she’s convinced has been taken recently.

The question of whether Francis is alive or dead shapes the narrative of this story, but it has so many more layers – not least how long one can hold onto hope. And what drives Harry

on. Is it love for his brother, survivor’s guilt or his growing feelings for his brother’s wife? As he retraces his route from Calais to the battlefields, memories of the war are vivid in his mind. The pace of this novel is slow, but Caroline Scott’s descriptive prose is so heart-achingly beautiful that the reader is caught up in each moment, hoping that Harry will trace not only his brother but all those thousands of young men who have “lost their bones, their blood and the very name that bound them together”. A rich, poignant story of life in the trenches and beyond, this is the best WWI novel I have read since “Birdsong”.

The Photographer of the Lost by Caroline Scott is published by Simon and Schuster in hardback, RRP £12.99

Book reviewsKATE GOODMAN LAYS OUT HER CHOICES FOR NOVEMBER’S BOOKS

Reviews

NFOP Magazine | September 2019 4342 NFOP Magazine | September 2019

Their names liveth for evermore

On track for a multi-layered murder mystery

NFOP Magazine | November 2019 4544 NFOP Magazine | November 2019

Out & About

If you’ve ever been to Lake Garda then you’ll know just what attracts people to this beautiful part of Italy. If you haven’t been, you simply don’t know what you are missing!

Right: Duomo di Santa Maria Annunziata in Salò

Above: Limone sul Garda, a historic and picturesque port at the northern end of Lake GardaBelow: The small town of Malcescine, nestled on the eastern shore.

Did you know that apparently some 7% of all tourists who head to Italy each year make for the shores of beautiful Lake Garda? That may not seem that much, but when you consider that

Italy is the fifth most visited country in the world for tourism – with in excess of 58 million visitors a year – then that’s one helluva lot of people!

If you’ve ever been to Lake Garda then you’ll know just what attracts people to this beautiful part of Italy. If you haven’t been, you simply don’t know what you are missing!

Lago di Garda, as it’s known in Italian, is Italy’s largest lake. It is over 50 kilometres in length – that’s about 30 miles to you and me – and is over 10 miles wide at its widest point. The lake’s sheer size means that it straddles three Italian regions; Lombardy in the west, the Veneto in the east and Trentino-Alto Adige in the north. It’s dotted with many lovely towns to explore, is enclosed by spectacular scenery, and has a temperate climate. It is also within striking distance of many other beautiful Italian tourist destinations meaning there is always plenty to keep you occupied during any visit to this area.

So where to start?Given the huge size of the lake you can be forgiven for finding it hard to decide exactly where to stay, which town to choose as your base, whether you should head for the north of the lake, the south or somewhere in the middle!

I chose Limone sul Garda as my base. The town lies towards the northern tip of the lake and is famous for its lemons; its mild climate making it an ideal location to grow lemon trees. In fact in the 19th century the town was literally surrounded by lemon groves, and whilst the lemon is still very important to the town’s economy, its importance has now been overtaken by tourism. You might be forgiven for thinking that the town derives its name from the lemon, but you would be wrong. The name is derived from the Latin word limes, which roughly translated means border because Limone is right on the border between the Lombardy and Trentino-Alto Adige regions of Italy.

Like most towns on the lake Limone has a beautiful promenade and a picturesque historic centre. Away from the lakeside you are quickly walking through tiny streets that wind their way up into the hillside; streets in which you can quite easily lose yourself for a morning or more. The promenade positively bustles with life virtually all day long and well into the evening there are plenty of shops, bars and restaurants making it a pleasant place to sit and enjoy a drink whilst watching the world go by. But the highlight of Limone has to

be the footpath / cycle path that has recently been built and which hugs the cliffs above the lake, heading towards Riva del Garda. It has fantastic views of the lake and makes you feel as though you are floating in space as you walk or cycle – easy to find and well worth the time and effort!

What to do?The first thing I would recommend you do once you have settled into your hotel, is take a one-day lake tour. This is a great way of getting your bearings and starting to experience the beauty that the lake has to offer. The tours allow you to see the magnificent scenery and experience more of the towns; you will soon start to realise the sheer size of this natural phenomenon.

On the tour I took one of the highlights was the town of Salò, which is the largest city on the western part of the lake and its lakeside promenade is the longest on the lake. It has a fabulous church – Duomo di Santa Maria Annunziata – built in the late gothic style. The church can trace its history back to 1453 and is definitely worth a visit (ladies will need a scarf or shawl to cover the shoulders if wearing sleeveless tops or dresses). Salò is famously where the Fascist state Repubblica Sociale, led by Mussolini, was created in the later years of World War II.

From Salò the ferry took us across to the beautiful little town of Sirmione. The town sits at the tip of a narrow peninsula – some two miles long – that reaches into the lake like a big finger! Sirmione is another pretty town and is famed for the Grotte di Catullo – a vast Roman villa – that now lies in ruins, and is considered by many as the most important Roman site in northern Italy.

With its cobbled streets and being surrounded by water, Sirmione is undoubtedly pretty. But in my opinion it is spoilt by the sheer number of people that crowd into its narrow streets and alleyways; all brought to the town by the numerous day trips – as was I. It’s a lovely place to visit – just don’t do it in high season!

MalcesineI would urge you to take a trip to Malcesine, not just for the pretty town and its historic castle – although both are well worth taking time to explore – but to take the cable car to the mountainous plateau high above the town itself. The cable car operates daily for ten months of the year, and takes you to the top of Monte Baldo. You change cars half way up and the second car gives you a spectacular 360 degree view of the lake as it gently rotates as it climbs. Once at the top you are free to do as you wish; have a drink in the Sky Bar; take one of the many waymarked trails that are well laid out and easy to follow; or walk out to the end of the plateau, which gives magnificent views over the lake and surrounding countryside. It is said that on a clear day you can see Venice. You can even watch the paragliders take off and if you are feeling adventurous enough you can actually take a flight yourself – now that would be one hell of a way to see the lake!

If you make the trip to the top of Monte Baldo do make sure that you have some warm clothing with you. The cable car takes you up to an altitude of about 1,750 metres, so the weather can be quite chilly, despite it being nice and warm when you set off!

Getting aroundGetting around the Lake Garda area is relatively straightforward and very pleasant. By far the most popular and enjoyable way is to take one of the many ferries that zip across the lake all day long, taking visitors and locals from town to town. The ferries are very frequent and are reasonably priced and you can opt to take a fast ferry all the way from the north of the lake to the south, or vice versa, dependent on where you are based.

Buses are also available – although they are less frequent and the routes certainly aren’t anything like as pleasant on the eye as travelling on the ferries – but they are relatively cheap and reliable, so are an option.

Food and drinkAs you can imagine (this being Italy) food is plentiful and

good. Pasta of course is a staple, but the fresh salads are wonderful, and the fish is very tasty. The area’s climate means

that it is well known for its food production – especially its fruit and vegetables – and this is reflected in the freshness of the produce that is served. But best of all are the wines – the area is known for one of the best areas for red wine production in Italy – the town of Bardolino on the lake itself. Most of the wines served in the bars and restaurants are from grapes grown on the hills and terraces that surround the lake; there’s not many food miles travelled around here that’s for sure.

Further afieldShould you wish to see more of the wider surrounding area then you can take a fabulous day trip into the mighty Dolomites. Verona is on the doorstep and a little further away is that tourist honeytrap – Venice. However, to be perfectly honest, if you are only going for a week then there’s plenty to keep you occupied just exploring the lake and its many beautiful, little towns. In fact there’s so much to see and do that you simply cannot cover it all. The best way to find out is to visit the lake yourself – trust me you won’t be disappointed.

An Italian delight!By Andrew Silk

Getting thereLake Garda is located close to several airports. The closest is Verona, which is well served by UK airlines. Brescia is also an option as is, slightly further afield, Milan. It all depends on which airline flies to the area from your local airport. My flight from Gatwick was a mere 1 hour 45 minutes into Verona. For more information visit www.visitgarda.com/en.