05.04.15

toZambiaPenzanceThe Cornish childhood of a Hollywood queen

DON’T MISS:+ POLDARK’S

AIDAN TURNER

+ THE RAW FOOD TREND

+ BRIGHT BLAZERS + COOL WHITES & SEVENTIES EYES

Your style updated

THANDIE NEWTON:

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33

6 THE WISHLISTQuirky and sweet picks for you

8 GILLIAN MOLESWORTHGoogle knows my birthday!

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

12 HAUNTED HOUSEFilming a ghost story

16 TOP OF HER GAMESoprano Rebecca Newman on touring with Russell Watson

22 INTERIORSA touch of class in a tower with a fasci-nating history

26 ANNE SWITHINBANK Easter lilies and other � owers

29 BEAUTYSparkle, colour and scent

30 FASHIONWearing wonderful white

32 BRIGHT N’ BLAZINGKathryn Clarke-Mcleod opts for colour

36 MY SECRET WESTCOUNTRYNeal’s Yard Remedies founder Romy Fraser reveals all

40 KNOWING MY ONIONS Tim Maddams experiments

46 MAN & BOY Phil hates � ying

contents[ [Inside this week...

‘Be warned. Don’t try juicing spring

onions. Just don’t’

Tim Maddams, page 40

39 GOOD STUFFHealthy but delicious recipes

10 BESOTTEDCate Blanchett on adoptting her baby girl

36 NORTH COASTA weekend in Barnstaple

SO PRETTYPick these � oral cases7

12 HAPPY JUGGLERMeet a dad and � lm-maker

ONE OF USThandie Newton ‘s Penzance childhood11

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4

[[ [[welcome[ [

Daffodils and primroses are out, the sun is fl eet-ingly warm and here at West we are even think-ing about discarding our thick winter boots. With this in mind, our savvy fashion writer Ka-thryn Clarke-Mcleod is enthusing about spring fashion (pages 32-33), partnering a gorgeous white dress with bright cardigans and jack-ets. Bring on the beach weather!

Spring sunshine cer-tainly gets the creative juices fl owing, and in this issue we meet two people who have followed their dreams to achieve success. Soprano Re-becca Newman, currently on tour with big name Russell Watson, fi rst realised she had a good voice when she starred in the musical Carou-

sel in her home town of Exmouth as a teenager. Success has not come overnight for Rebecca, but been much sweeter, she says, for being all her own work (page 16). We also feature Exeter fi lm-maker Ashley Thorpe who is turning his favour-

ite childhood ghost story, about a haunted house called Borley Rectory, into a fi lm, with a little help from TV actor Reece Shear-smith (see page12). It sounds like clever - and spooky - stuff.

If you fancy getting creative closer to home, meanwhile, we’ve got a delicious raw pecan pie recipe from Ally Mac, and there’s still time, says Anne Swithinbank, to plant lily bulbs to fl ower this summer. I’m off to fi nd my wellies.

CONTACT: westmag@westernmorningnews.co.ukTel: 01392 442250 Twitter @wmnwest

@maryoleary07Great feature by

@CBarnesWMN in @WMNWest about

personal shopping at Debenhams - used it myself

& Di Giles is a genius

[ [Spring sunshine certainly gets the

creative juices � owing

Becky Sheaves, Editor

MEET THE TEAM

Becky Sheaves, Editor Sarah Pitt Kathryn Clarke-McLeod Catherine Barnes Phil Goodwin

Happy Easter!

HELLO, AIDAN!Sorry ladies, he’s engaged9

Tweetof the week

COVER IMAGE: Thandie Newton for Olay, SW News Service

12

13

hen a woman says she has Nothing

To Wear, she means it. Or at least she

does if we take the miscellany in my

own wardrobe to form the basis of an

(admittedly unscientifi c) case study.

You’ll fi nd a selection of slim-into-them skirts,

the designer label piece marked down from a for-

tune to a fi ver at TK Maxx (looks hideous on, but

see what I saved!). The bulk is vintage jumble and

sale-rail bargains, which don’t go, match, or suit

any activity apart from time-travel back to the

mid 1970s.I spend most of my life in jeans and absolutely

adore shopping. Until I have to dress the part.

Something hideous happens when you’re on a

mission to fi nd a special occasion outfi t. A prickly

heat quickly becomes boiling sweat after queuing

for the changing cubicle and getting tangled up

with the security tags and hangers, while trying

to tread your trousers off the end of your legs.

Plus, your pants are on view through that gap in

the changing room curtain.

A hundred shops later, you arrive back where

you started, fl ushed, stressed and desperate.

I’m probably not alone in thinking I’ll be saving

money, time and tears of frustration, too, by

buying a bargain sale item, but then spend-

ing three times as much on accessories that

sort-of go. So, hello, personal shopping - a complete

fi rst for me. It’s something I’d always as-

sumed was not for me, but turns out it is

gratis, obligation-free and an awful lot of fun.

Personal shopping is a service that’s been of-

fered by department store

Debenhams for decades. Di

Giles has been steering cus-

tomers in the right direc-

tion at its Plymouth branch

for 14 years and is also the

expert-on call for stores

throughout the region.

Her eye is largely credited

for Debenhams Plymouth

clocking up the most per-

sonal shopper-recommend-

ed sales outside of its fl ag-

ship Oxford Street store.

Quite an achievement.

Queen D and her col-

league ‘Little’ Di Mabin don’t earn commis-

sion on any sales. And the retailer stresses

that the service is an ‘experience’ they’re of-

fering, not the hard sell.

“When’s the last time you were measured

for a bra?” Di side-mouths in covert tones

when we’re introduced.

Could I be wearing the wrong size? A raised

eyebrow conveys the affi rmative. Di’s also an

expert bra-fi tter and my chunky knitwear

does not defl ect her ability to tell a cup-size

at a glance. She not only informs me which

size bra I ought to be wearing and why, but

correctly guesses the exact size I currently

have on.“I always suggest a bra fi t. You can drop a

dress size when you’re properly fi tted,” she

explains. “A lady came in yesterday and

couldn’t do a size 16 dress up. But with the

right bra on, the zip went up easily.”

I’m looking for three out-

fi ts; casual, smart and spe-

cial occasion. Di quietly sizes

the rest of me up and down,

doesn’t ask my size, makes a

mental note, and heads off on

a mission to womenswear.

“Although I will shop for

an outfi t in the size the cus-

tomer tells me they are, if

they ask me to, I’ll also get

what I feel is right for them,”

she says. “It just comes natu-

rally. I’m always right – and

they usually love it.”

While Di combs the store

for my outfi ts, I get a makeover on the ground

fl oor. I’ve plumped for the Dior concession,

partly due to the fact that the lady behind it,

Pippa, wears it extremely well. She ap-

plies a blended foundation to match my

skin tone, on top of a correcting base

and I get to choose shadow, blush and

lipstick from the rainbow of colours on

display. The results are far better than

I usually achieve for myself and I par-

ticularly love the fl awless base. Free

REAL LIFE

If you’ve ever struggled to � nd

the right out� t for you, then

could a personal shopper help?

Catherine Barnes heads for

Debenhams, and out of her

fashion comfort zone...

Di quietly sizes me up and

heads o on a mission to the womenswear

department [[

The formal choice

My � rst reaction: Can I accessories with a hat? Will these weird

abstract print accessories go?

What I learnt: Loved the dress, but leave accessorising to the

experts! Also, the entire out� t’s by the same label, so colour-coor-

dinating’s been thought through, however random it seems!

My style rating: Dress £110 Debut Shoes

£42.50 Debut Handbag £32 Debut

To Wear!

Help!I’ve

Nothing

PHOTOGRAPHY: STEVE HAYWOOD

WITH SPECIAL THANKS TO: DEBENHAMS PLYMOUTH

W

got!£&*!

Just go without me!

I look like my mum!

What was I thinking?!

fave!

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55

Bathing beauties tea towel, £8.50, from

Newlyn-based cra� ers www.poppytre� ry.

co.uk

If youone thing

buy

this week...

EDSLETTER_1THING_APRIL5.indd 5 01/04/2015 15:48:37

6

the

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

wishlist

This family business is a proper cookshop with a wonderful selection of everything you could conceivably need for baking, cake decorating and jam making, not to mention just rustling up a casserole or a roast. Cake bakers with a love of embellishing their creations can really let their imagination run wild, with a huge selection of piping bags, cutters, colourings, moulds and sparkles. Check out the butter� y birthday cake candles too.Lawsons is at 13 Cornwall Street, Plymouth, see www.lawsonshop.co.uk for other branches and online shopping

adore...Store wePlymouth, Totnes, Tavistock and Ivybridge

Alex Monroe bee pendant, £150, 22ct gold plate on silver from

Polka Dot Gallery in Taunton, Exeter and www.polkadotgallery.

com

Bake Your Own Boyfriend Cookie Cutters, £4.95, www.

thegi� oasis.com

1950s style frilly Betty apron, £20, www.raggedrose.com

Cosy up under this rustic vibe Kizzy quilt, £95, www.aspace.co.uk

SWEET DREAMS

Sweet boy

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7

Wishlist

Tweed-backed Voyage Maison Highland Coo cushion, £49,

from Fairway Furniture, Plymstock.

Raffi a ghillie heel £18 Primark (in store May 28)

Z for Accessorize Jasmine Floral Short Drop earrings £10 from

Accessorize

LICKETY SPOONSSilicone spatulas,

£6.49 each, Lawsons in Plymouth, Totnes,

Ivybridge and Tavistock

Classy cooClassy cooClassy coo

fave!

Quote WMN on Sunday for a 10 per cent discount on the Voyage Maison range from

Fairway Furniture during April

HIGH STYLE

READER OFFER

Just so pretty -a set of three vintage rose mini suitcases, £13.94, www.

luckandluck.co.uk

Wishlist.indd 7 01/04/2015 17:48:32

8

oogle made me a cake for my birthday. When I opened the internet, the letters, usually picked out in bright primary

colours, were unmistakeably made of cake. Surreptitiously I looked at my colleagues’ screens – theirs had no cake. I hovered the mouse over the cake letters. “Happy Birthday Gillian!” said the little speech bubble.

I felt a big smile spread across my face. I felt, unmistakeably, de-lighted – little-girl delight, even though I knew it was just an algo-rithm. My computer wished me a happy birthday!

Now, I’m all against corporate invasions of your life as much as the next guy. But I have to admit I did like the cake. Apart from any-thing else, it gave me an excuse to discreetly inform my colleagues that it was my birth-day. “Look, guys, Google wished me a happy birthday!” I said, turning my screen, and got a chorus of gratify-ing “happy birth-days” from around the room.

Birthday man-agement is always sticky, isn’t it. You don’t want anyone to make a big deal, but equally it feels sort of sad when no one knows. It’s no good tell-ing your colleagues that it’s your birthday on your actual birthday – that way they feel mildly guilty and annoyed that you didn’t tell them earlier so they could have done something, like get a card.

But if you do tell them in ad-vance, it’s equally awkward. “Hey guys, just thought I’d let you know that it’s my birthday coming up on

Thursday. Just in case you wanted to bring cake or something. PS, I gave up chocolate for Lent, so a sponge would be good.”

No, what you need to do is slip it into conversation subtly. Like, you strike up a chat with someone and say: “oh, I’m really looking for-ward to Thursday, because we’re going out for sushi.” And then hopefully they take the cue and say, “Is it a special occasion?” And

you can say: “Why yes, actually, it’s my birthday! Not that I like to make a big deal of it.” And if you want you can slip in: “And I’m really hoping the kids will make me a sponge cake, because I gave up chocolate for Lent.”

Don’t have this conversation with just anyone though

– it has to be with that person, usually a woman, who in your offi ce or community is the doer of things, and the organiser of other people. Otherwise you’ll get nowhere. Don’t tell the scruffy disorganised bloke, it won’t even occur to him that you were hint-ing.

Then you come in on Thursday and you can mock astonishment at your nice card or sponge cake. Or in my case, because I forgot to prep everyone, Google cake.

Story of my life...

Gillian Molesworth

In which Google makes my day

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

talking points

G

Actress Suki Waterhouse partnered casual, tousled locks with a full-length shimmery dress for the premiere of the � lm Insurgent, in which she plays the part of Marlene. With its daring plunging neckline and full chi� on skirt decorated with embroideredh sprays of foliage, it is a glamourous look that’s also a bit playful.

steal herstyle

OR MAKE IT YOUR OWN

Glam and shimmery

OPTION BFlapper funPretty Eccentric dress £195

‘I felt little-girl delight, even

though it was just an algorithm. My computer

wished me happy birthday’

OPTION AChic sequinsMiss Selfridge shift dress £120

SPARKLE WITH STYLE,

Miss Selfridge , £120

Suki Waterhouse at the Insurgent premiere.

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9

Justbetween us!Gossip, news, trendsetters and more - you

heard all the latest juicy stu here � rst!

BRAND NEW!

Flapper fun

HELENA BONHAM CARTER has revealed she had to campaign to be given wings to play the Fairy Godmother in Cinderella.The � lm, directed by KENNETH BRANAGH, is a live action remake of the Disney cartoon, and the Fairy Godmother in the animated version is a little old lady in a cape with a wand but no wings.Helena revealed that when she came into the project she kicked up a fuss about not having any wings with her costume .“I said there is no six-year-old girl who is going to believe that I’m a fairy if I don’t have wings,” she said.“I’ve got lots of opinions, but luckily I’ve got a very good relationship with Ken, so Ken said, ‘You can have a lot of say’.”West says: Could that be because you and Ken were an item for several years back in the 1990s, Helena?

He has gained a legion of admiring fans thanks to his role as brooding Cornish hunk Ross Poldark but it seems AIDAN TURNER is well and truly o� the market.According to the Sunday Express, the 31-year-old Irish hunk is engaged, a� er proposing to his girlfriend Sarah Greene, 29, just a� er Christmas. A source told the publication: ‘They are a really close and happy couple,

and marriage is the logical next step for them. Sarah is perfect for him, she’s very protective.” Sarah’s an actress too, most recently seen in TV’s Penny Dreadful.Apparently, according to the same source: “Both of them don’t really go for the glitzy side of showbusiness; they’re happier spending quiet evenings play-ing Scrabble.” West says: Aah, sounds lovely - if a bit boring!

SHUCKS... ROSS IS TAKEN

BESOTTED

ADOPTED DAUGHTER

I’mwingsI had to � ght for my Cate

Blanchett:

CATE BLANCHETT has spoken for the � rst time about her newly adopted daughter, Edith Vivian Patricia Upton.The Cinderella star, 45, and her husband of 17 years, Andrew Upton, are already parents to sons Dashiell, 13, Roman, 10, and Ignatius, six. But earlier this month, she con� rmed she had adopted a newborn baby girl.Now Cate has told Sky News in Australia about being mum to a daughter: “Fourth time around, it’s extraordinary. We’re besotted.”Asked about her decision to adopt, she said: “There’s a lot of children out there who don’t have the good fortune that our biological children do, so it’s wonderful. It’s wonderful to welcome a little girl into our fold.”

with my

Gossip_April5.indd 9 01/04/2015 14:53:42

10

in pictures

Team: The newly formed Help for Heroes pilot gig crew, all with disabilities, rowed their first race in Saltash

Terrificaurus: Constantine School pupil Imogen takes part in Science Day

Namaste: Jessica Antonia practises yoga on the beach at Sennen ahead of a Sirens Surf

Mobile mayor: Lord Mayor of

Exeter Percy Prowse arrives for a photo-call

on his bike Photo:

RichardAustin

WIP_TOP10.indd 10 01/04/2015 13:05:29

11

No eggs?

talking points

Literature’s best-loved rabbits

1 Rabbit (Winnie the Pooh)

2 The Velveteen Rabbit

3 Peter Rabbit (and his sisters)

4 Little Grey Rabbit

5 Mi� y

6 Brer Rabbit

7 Benjamin Bunny

8 Fiver and Hazel (Water-ship Down)

9 The White Rabbit (Alice in Wonderland)

10 James (James Rabbit and the Gig-gleberries)

Bunnies

Easter traditions around the world.

1 Residents of Haux, France make a 4,500-egg omlette

2 Throwing water and spanking with pussy-willow Poland

3 Pot smashing Corfu

4 Egg throwing contests Germany

5 Egg jarping (like conkers) Co Durham

6 Egg knocking Louisiana

7 Påskekrimmen (Easter crime thrillers!) Norway

8 Sculpting lambs from butter Russia

9 Dressing as witches Finland

10 Burning Judas e� gies Mexico

School: Thandie attended St Mary’s Catholic school in Penzance. Her family moved to Penzance from Zambia when she was three - her father Nick came from the town.

Mother: Her mother Nyasha is from Zambia and Thandie lived in Penzance for six years when she was a child. Thandie has said of life as the only black family in the town in the 1970s: ‘It was a beautiful environment, but very backward when it came to racial politics.” An elderly lady screamed racist abuse at her family from across the street. ‘She was shouting horrible things like, “Get back to the jungle where you belong”.

Role model: Helen Giblett, Thandie’s headteacher at St Mary’s, said: “We are very pleased for Thandie’s success. We constantly encourage the children to aim high and when someone achieves their goal they become a role model for the children.”

Cornish in uence: In 2006, Thandie contributed a foreword to We Wish: Hopes and Dreams of Cornwall’s

Children, a book of children’s writing published in aid of the NSPCC. She said the county’s vibrant cultural heritage made it easy for her to “enrich every situation with layers of

magic and meaning”.

Fitting in: Thandie says: “From about the age of � ve, I was aware that I didn’t � t. I was the black, atheist kid in the all-white, Catholic school run by nuns. I was an anomaly.”

In uence: At the age of 16, Thandie began a six-year relationship

with Australian � lm director John Duigan, who is 23 years her senior. He cast her in his � lm Flirting. ‘I was not in control of the situation,’ she later admitted.

Roles: A Ba� a award came Thandie’s way for her 2004 role as Christine in Crash. She has also starred in Run Fatboy Run, Mission Impossible II, The Pursuit of Happyness and she was in TV drama ER for three years.

Family: Thandie is married to � lm producer Ol Parker, with whom she has three children called Ripley, Nico and Booker Jombe, who was born in 2014. The family lives in London.

DID YOU KNOW?

Thandie is short for Thandiwe,

which means ‘Beloved’ in

Xhosa

This week:

Famous faces with links to the Westcountry

ONE OF US

Film actress Thandie Newton, 42, grew up in Penzance.

Thandie Newton

The happy list

10 things to make you smile this week1 Wedding out� ts we love

donning a hat

2 Spectre The � rst trailer for the new Bond � lm is out

3 Gourmet jellybeans Think banana split, pear and marshmallow

4 Google calender now for your iPhone

5 Ankle boots especially suede

6 Cartoon Network Giggling is good for you

7 Old photos put them in a frame

8 Mezze platters sharing is caring

9 Spring runs light and warm(ish)

10 Shimmery eyes big this season

So � u y!

10 types of ¢ u£ y pet

1 Rex

2 Harlequin

3 Silver fox

4 El� n

5 English spot

6 Belgian hare

7 Argente bleu

8 British Giant

9 Blue of Ham

10 Lionhead

WIP_TOP10.indd 11 01/04/2015 13:06:12

Catherine Barnes meets a � lm-maker and dad from

Exeter who has resurrected the haunted house which gave him the shivers as a

child, with a little help from League of Gentleman star

Reece Shearsmith

storyFilming a ghost

People

12

PH

OT

OS:

ST

EV

E H

AY

WO

OD

FEATURE1_APRIL5.indd 12 01/04/2015 12:14:29

hen I meet Exeter film-maker Ashley Thorpe, the children’s TV show Balamory is on, the washing’s midway through a cycle and his

year-old daughter Lily is in her highchair, glee-fully throwing toast soldiers onto the floor.“I’m a freelance dad,” he explains cheerfully, as

he sweeps up crumbs. “My wife, Sue, does a lot of nightshifts, so we work a tag team opera-

tion. With Lily here, I don’t really get to start on Borley till the night.”

Borley is an appropriately nocturnal project to work

on in the small hours. Once he’s put Lily

to bed, Ashley, 42, gets busy res-

urrecting the place once known as

W

13

Ashley Thorpe with his baby Lily.

FEATURE1_APRIL5.indd 13 01/04/2015 12:15:04

14

‘The Most Haunted House In England’. Borley Rectory in Essex was a real building that hit the headlines in the 1920s, as tales of sinister appa-ritions were reported in the newspapers of the time. Over the past couple of years, Ashley’s been filming and animating the tale of Borley in a movie project featuring Room With A View star Julian Sands and award-winning comedy actor Reece Shearsmith (currently on TV with his show Inside No 9). He also had support from be-stselling authors Clive Barker and Neil Gaiman, plus Siouxsie and the Banshees bassist Steven Severin (who’s behind the soundtrack) . Not to men-tion hundreds of members of the public who have helped to fund it, scene by scene. “People come on board and I keep having to pinch myself,” says Ashley, who aims to have the 40-minute film complete by the end of the year.Borley Rectory fascinated him, as it surely did thousands of other children of the 1970s, when the nights seemed darker and a bumper book of ghost stories could make shadows appear to grow longer on the bedroom wall.“I remember my Nan getting me books, things like the Pan horror books, while a book I’d borrow from the library was the Usborne Book

of Ghosts,” he says.“I was more keen on monsters and genuinely scared of ghosts - I’d get night terrors. There were bits in the book I’d skip past - Borley Recto-ry was stuffed with phenomena that frightened me, but I kept coming back to it.”It was an obsession he had in common with League of Gentlemen star Reece Shearsmith, who when he heard about Ashley’s film project, volunteered his services. “I was just cheeky and had Tweeted him,” says Ashley, who created ini-tial interest in the project and raised his shoe-string budget through crowdfunding website,

Indiegogo.“When I said to Reece, you know the state of play, he said, I don’t want any money, I just want to be in it! Once he was on board, it snowballed and then I thought

I could be brave and approach other people I like.” The cast also includes Julian Sands, who nar-rates the tale. Reece plays Daily Mirror jour-nalist VC Wall, whose 1920s newspaper reports about Borley created a sensation. Television actor Jonathan Rigby plays paranormalist Harry Price who investigated the haunted vic-arage peppered with poltergeists, headless coachmen and bricked-up nuns. Price was also a talented magician who’d debunked fraudu-

‘Reece said, I don’t want any money I just want to be in

it. Once he was on board, it snowballed’[ [

FEATURE1_APRIL5.indd 14 01/04/2015 12:15:45

15

People

lent mediums in his time but stirred up plenty of scepticism over his own encounters with the spirit world. “Borley is an illusion and all the ghosts that haunt it are very gothic,” says Ashley. “Many of people that came to the Rectory were quite strange.”Ashley’s used the money he’s raised - around £13,000 - to pay for studio time, filming his cast in front of a green screen. With the action in the can, he then creates the scenery around them, working on the huge computer in his living room. “I’m slave to what the actors do,” he says.The real Borley Rectory burned down in 1939, so Ashley’s set is ‘built’ out of photos and animated digitally, he explains. “It’s an incredibly labori-ous process, but the acting makes it much easier

to create an environment that’s really height-ened and stylised, like the early 1930s films were. It’s supposed to be very gentle and archly old-fashioned. It’s a weird pitch to people, but they’ve been really excited about it.”In between film-making and parenthood, Ashley also runs his own design agency, gives academic lectures and writes for a New York-based mag-azine. He also runs the occasional animation workshop for youngsters.“I think certain things don’t scare children anymore,” he says. “I’ve shown a few clips and Borley seems quite tame. Films don’t do it so much these days, although the computer games they play do; with lots of waiting in the dark and spooky sounds.”His first short film, The Vampire, featured a fleet-

ing cameo by Derren Brown. He’s also drawn on Devon’s wealth of ghost stories, saying: “I was always very much into the Dartmoor myths and local legends.”The whole family, including Sue’s sons Josh, 15 and Ethan, 10, have been involved in other projects. Sue, who’s 42, starred in The Scayre-crow: “A little celebration of us getting togeth-er,” laughs Ashley, who reconnected with his former childhood sweetheart at a school nativity of all places.“She’d just split up with her partner and her son was in the play. I’d been abroad and my nephew was in it. My sister nudged me and said, you’ll never guess who’s sitting next to you? It was a fairytale, really. We first met when we were nine.”Ashley says he’s hopeful there’ll be an Exeter premiere for Borley Rectory, adding: “I’m ab-solutely proud it’s a Devon production. I want to celebrate the fact that you can do something different and demanding and don’t have to aim small, but reach as far as you like.”Then, looking pensive, he adds: “Hmm. I think I might have to change Lily’s nappy; her trousers are getting bigger and bigger.“I’m not really the Prince of Darkness,” he says reassuringly, as he heads off to change her. “I’m the Prince of Pampers.”

Watch the Borley Rectory trailer and find out more at: www.carrionfilms.co.uk.

Ashley Thorpe with actors Reece

Shearsmith (left) and Jonathan Rigby

(right) on set

FEATURE1_APRIL5.indd 15 01/04/2015 12:19:26

16

Notes

Hit

tin

g th

e h

igh

ebecca Newman left music behind for five years. In the end, though, it found her again. And the so-prano with many years of hard work under her belt, busking on the

streets and singing at weddings, is now delighted to be ontour with big name in classical crossover music, Russell Watson.

Rebecca, who grew up in Exmouth in east Devon, had her stage debut 20 years ago aged 14 at the Exmouth Pavilion, in the title role of the musical Carousel. Her mum and uncle, in the audience, had no idea she could sing. “I had never sung on a stage before in my life,” she says.

“When I opened my mouth, my uncle turned to my mum and said ‘you didn’t tell me she could do this’, and she said ‘I didn’t know!’ .”

Encouraged by her stage debut, Rebecca took a job washing dishes in a local pub to pay for sing-ing lessons and garnered her first fans, singing at a wedding in the nearby village of Woodbury. Her role model as a teenager was Sarah Bright-man, then starring in the original production of the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical Phantom of the Opera in the West End. “Sarah was my in-spiration because she was singing her soprano numbers, but she wasn’t at all stuffy or intimi-dating,” she says. “That was really what started

R

Sarah Pitt talks to Rebecca Newman, a soprano with the voice of an angel who won her fans busking on the streets, and is now on tour with ‘people’s tenor’ Russell Watson

Pic

tu

re

s M

ike

al

sf

or

d

Feature2_Apr5.indd 16 01/04/2015 12:43:16

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Interview

Feature2_Apr5.indd 17 01/04/2015 12:44:05

18

it.” When it came to contemplating a career in singing, though, Rebecca did not feel she stood a chance, particularly when she looked around at the hopefuls she met at the local stage school.

“There were these beautiful tall willow danc-ers who had been in show-business all their lives, and there I was 5ft 3 ½, a bit chunky and not a dancer,” she says. “I didn’t think I was good enough.”

So she put her dreams of being as so-prano to one side, and worked for a time for an energy company in Exeter and then in London. When the corporate grind began to pall, she took off for York University to study for a degree, in PPE – politics, philos-ophy and economics – and it was here that she found her singing voice again, singing operatic and classical songs on the city streets.

“I started busking because I desperately needed to make money, but when I discovered the goodwill that came through singing, the amount of people who appreciated the music, I found it really fulfi lling,” she says. “People would come up to me with tears in their eyes and say ‘that was really beautiful, my mother loved that song’.

“There is something about hearing classical operatic music live that is completely different

from seeing it on TV. I would just appear in the middle of people’s day, on the streets, and their emotional response to the music was much more genuine, because they had had no time to put up any barriers.”

It is ten years almost to the day when she started busking, and her career has grown from there. She travelled to other towns and cities to

stage impromptu concerts, selling albums she’d produced herself and gradually building up her fanbase.

Donations from fans helped to realise her am-bition of recording a live album with an orches-tra. Dare to Dream, called after self-penned song which sums up Rebecca’s philosophy, was record-ed with the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra in their home city.

“It was just amazing to hear Dare to Dream for

the fi rst time played by live instruments,” she says. “They started playing the opening chords, and I looked around and thought four weeks ago this song didn’t exist and now I’m standing here performing it with a 32-piece orchestra. For me it was defi nitely one of the high points of my career. It was just incredible.”

The album – which included a track in which Rebecca is joined by all three members of the classical boy band Blake - was released in September last year, and Rebecca’s fans got behind her again to push it to the number one slot in the Classical Albums Charts. This, too, has opened more doors for Rebecca, leading to several appearances on the BBC TV programme Songs of Praise, one of which has still to be televised.

For Rebecca, the tour is vindication of 10 years of hard work entirely off her own bat. She’s almost the same age as Katherine Jenkins, but clearly feels she has had a harder row to hoe than the Welsh singer with the model looks.

“All of the TV talents shows turned me down, none of them would let me compete, so the only option was to do it the old fashioned way, to go out in front of people and show them what I could do,” she says. “And a small proportion of the 100s

[[‘People would come up with tears in their eyes and say

my mother loved that song’

Rebecca won her fans through busking

Feature2_Apr5.indd 18 01/04/2015 12:44:45

19

Interview

Feature2_Apr5.indd 19 01/04/2015 12:46:29

20

Enjoy

and 100s of people who saw me over the years got behind me and bought the album, which was enough to get it to the top of the classical charts.”

And it was her own persistence, too, that saw her secure the invitation to join Russell Watson

on his current tour, his comeback after being seriously ill with a brain tumour. She’d been of-fered a guest slot when he sung in York when a slot became available at the last minute.

“From then on, every time he had a tour I got in touch to say I’d really like to do it. This time I asked again and his manager said ‘I really admire your tenacity’ and they invited me to come along on this tour.”

Both singers have a lot in common. Watson, from Salford, earned his musical spurs singing in working men’s clubs, a career path that has earned him the sobriquet the People’s Tenor, chiming with Rebecca’s affectionate nickname on the busking circuit, the People’s Soprano.

“We have that affinity, neither of us has come along the chorister route, and he has seen how difficult the industry can be since he’s had his brain tumour,” says Rebecca. “Having seen what I do, he has an awful lot of respect for how hard I

have worked.” Emboldened by his support, and praise for a

duet she and Russell sang on stage – “his fans say it is the best they’ve heard him do “ – she is now planning her own tour. She’s not naming any

names, but she’s entertaining hopes of a household name joining her on stage.

“I’m working with some big name acts, and we’ve had interest from a number of people,” she says.

“Alfie Boe has got my CD and has tweeted about it. Michael Ball has

Family on tourRebecca, 34, is joined on tour by her husband Jonathan Fewtrell – known as Jay – who is her road manager and photographer. The couple met on an online dating site, and their first date was one of Rebecca’s concerts in their home city of York. “He sat in the front row so he got to have a reccee before we met!” she says. “Within three months we were engaged.” The couple recently got a labrador puppy, who has come along for the ride on Rebecca’s current tour with Russell Watson, and is a great hit with local choirs who join them at each venue. “He’s a bigger star than I am!” says Rebecca. “He’s called Sampson and we picked him out on my husband’s birthday in January. He’s making friends with all the choirs, he’s a proper little An-drex puppy and everyone thinks he’s beautiful.”

[[‘Alfie Boe has my CD and has tweeted about it... even Kath-

erine Jenkins has a copy’

commented on it and even Katherine Jenkins has a copy of my album, she tweeted her best wishes.

“It is amazing that all these people I’ve been looking up to all these years now have copies of my CDs. Now that Russell has got behind me, it has given everyone else the signal that I’m here to stay.”

Rebecca Newman is currently appearing with Rus-sell Watson on his Up Close and Personal tour. Tick-ets have sold out for the only Westcountry show at the Octagon Centre in Yeovil on April 14, but check russellwatson.com for other dates.

Rebecca with husband Jay and labrador puppy Sampson

and, below, Jay and two of Rebecca’s fans promote her CD

Feature2_Apr5.indd 20 01/04/2015 12:48:07

21

interiors22 fashion30

eat out36 beauty28

Untitled-3 21 01/04/2015 15:26:51

22

Becky Sheaves discovers a restoration which was a labour of love, the China Tower on the Bicton estate in east Devon

f you are looking for a really unusual place to stay, then The China Tower in East Devon is defi nitely a different sort

of holiday home.You’ll have to be feeling fairly fi t,

as the tower has 210 stone steps from the kitchen on the ground fl oor to the lovely sunbathing terrace four storeys up on the roof. But all that climbing is most defi nitely worth it, and The China Tower was deservedly shortlisted in the Michelmores/Western Morning News 2014 Property Awards in the ‘Heritage Project of the Year’ category.

“The China Tower, also known as the Bicton Belvedere, was built in 1839 by Louisa, Lady Rolle, as a folly, and a sur-prise birthday present for her husband, Lord Rolle,” explains Leigh Rix, head of property and land for the owners,

Clinton Devon Estates. “But since the Second World War it was unused and became increasingly derelict.”

You may think it quite surprising that anyone could build a four-storey, castellated octagonal tower as a sur-prise present, but the property is a good two miles from the main house of the Rolles at Bicton, tucked away in se-cluded woodland.

Perhaps another reason for Lord Rolle not noticing the building works is that this was his 89th birthday present. Lady Rolle was nearly 50 years young-er than her husband and had married him when she was 25 and he was 73. It is said that Lord Rolle had to be carried up the winding stairs to the roof ter-race in his bath chair – from where he was rewarded with the wonderful view of Bicton House, with the sea beyond.

The tower gained its name from the

I

Stylish heights

Interiors_April5.indd 22 01/04/2015 11:51:11

InteriorsSitting room

splendour

Lord Clinton, the owner, with Anna Keay of the Landmark Trust outside The China Tower

23

Sleep in style

Interiors_April5.indd 23 01/04/2015 11:52:32

24

Interiors

combine bold colours with tradi-tional detailing to complement the gracious eccentricity of this unusual building

STYLE TIP:

fact that Lady Rolle displayed her china collec-tion there. Lord and Lady Rolle were passionate gardeners and together they created fi ne botani-cal gardens and a famous arboretum at Bicton. Today, the gardens offer a wonderful day out for anyone staying at the tower.

The restoration was no easy task, as Leigh explains. “The tower had never had water or electricity and the roof was letting in the rain. The ground fl oor originally had a range, presum-ably for servants to prepare refreshments, but otherwise there was just one small fi replace on the third fl oor. “The challenge was to retain the eccentric features of the tower while making it comfortable for holiday visitors. For example, we needed to fi t a modern bathroom into a very small space and fi nd builders willing to work on a four-storey tower with only one narrow stair turret.”

The restoration took a full year and began with the whole tower being scaffolded so that it could be re-rendered. The leaded roof was entirely replaced and details such as new fi replaces, be-spoke kitchen and light fi ttings were all carefully

chosen and designed to match the tower’s unique architectural style.

“We also re-instated the charming carriage drive through the woods, which had become overgrown with trees,” says Leigh. “The electricity cabling was buried underground so as to be out of sight and we also dug a bore hole for water, and cre-ated a ground-source heating system.”

Today, the tower is warm, cosy and beautifully furnished. There is a kitchen on the ground fl oor, with a small but luxuri-ous bathroom in a tiny adjacent room. From here, you climb up a winding stone staircase to the fi rst fl oor, where there is an oc-tagonal bedroom. Upstairs again is another, even more charming bedroom, while on the top fl oor is a really beau-tiful drawing room decorated in peacock blues and purples, with period furniture. This unique

‘The challenge was to retain

the tower’s ec-centric features while making it comfortable for

visitors’ [[octagonal room has a window in every possible angle, creating views that are completely absorb-ing. And, if the weather is good, then climbing yet more steps to the roof is a must – the sizeable

leaded courtyard at the top is the perfect spot to sunbathe, or enjoy a gin and tonic, with truly fantastic views over the sea, Bicton park-land and the woods.

The China Tower stands ready to be enjoyed once more and it has,been a huge hit with the Land-mark Trust visitors.

“Usually, the Landmark Trust likes to own its holiday proper-ties,” says Leigh. “But I managed to persuade them to take the tower on a special lease instead. This way, we have an income that can contribute to its upkeep and many people can enjoy staying here.”

The cost of the renovation was £300,000. So even though the tower can command more than £1,000 for a week’s stay in August, Leigh says the renovation was, “not done with an immediate profi t in mind”. Indeed, it is still owned by Lady Rolle’s descendants, the Clinton family, and is a much-loved part of the 25,000 acres of land in Devon that form their estates. “The focus is on respecting the heritage here and taking the long view,” Leigh explains. “Everyone is simply de-lighted that the tower is, at last, safe and in use.”

The China Tower is available to rent for holidays, visit www.landmarktrust.org.uk

Purple gives a regal look.

Interiors_April5.indd 24 01/04/2015 11:53:18

25

Shopping

GET THELOOK

Aristocratic gold and ornate detailing lend a touch of class

Moorish black and gold pendant

£95 www.alexanderandpearl.

co.uk

Lucy Louis XVI chaise longue from £2,680, www.oficinainglesa.

com

Flora table lamp £105, www.

sweetpeaandwillow.com

Purple Ivy bed £659, www.livingitup.co.uk

Barneby Gates deer damask fabric in gold

£48 a metre

Romeo picture frame £18 www.

ayersandgraces.com

Interiors_April5.indd 25 01/04/2015 11:53:46

often break into song whilst gardening, which must be disconcerting for the neighbours. Phrases and tunes rise subconsciously and are often

snatches of hymns lodged deep in the brain. Recently, I’ve been humming “At Easter time the lilies fair and lovely fl owers bloom everywhere At Easter time, at Easter time, How glad the World at Easter time.” An old Sunday School favourite but which lilies spring to mind? Lilium longifl orum is the traditional one, beloved of church fl ower arrangers but if they want those pure white, fragrant trumpet-shaped blooms, they must buy them imported from abroad, as here in the UK the natural fl owering time is high summer. Maybe we should celebrate by planting the bulbs instead, as there is still just time to do this.

These should have been stored in cool conditions, ideally in dry sand or fi bre to maintain their plumpness. If you can only fi nd them suspended in packets, do check to make sure they are not shrivelled. Easter lilies are generally considered to be slightly tender and this, plus a useful height to 1m/3ft and dainty

habit has made them a favourite for pots, to stand outside or under glass in porches, conservatories or greenhouses. This is exactly how I use mine, although they overwinter happily outdoors in a sheltered area behind the greenhouse. I’m sure that in most areas of the South West, they would grow

happily in the ground. Set a single bulb in a pot 17cm/7in across the top, or 3 bulbs to a 25cm/10in pot, using 50:50 John Innes no 2 and a soilless compost, with a little added Cornish grit. If you’ve had problems with lily beetle outdoors, plants under glass should stay clean. One of my old gardening books suggests that by potting bulbs in September and keeping them under glass, blooms can be had by Easter but I haven’t tried this.

Now we’ve been adopted by a cat, I’ll have to make sure he doesn’t collect lily pollen on his fur, as this (and all plant parts) are poisonous to cats and dogs if accidentally eaten.

An alternative Easter lily could be Zantedeschia aethiopica. This arum lily is easy to persuade into fl ower for Easter by lifting and

26

Gardens

I

The � owering time of the

traditional lily is high summer...

maybe we should celebrate

Easter by planting the

bulbs instead

ANNE SWITHINBANK

Easter Flowers

Devon’s Anne Swithinbank, panellist on Radio 4’s Gardeners’ Question Time, on the beauty of lilies

Gardens_Apr5.indd 26 01/04/2015 16:58:21

27

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

This week’s gardening tips

• Lift and divide large clumps of herbaceous perennials before they grow too much. I’m tackling late-flowering, moisture-loving Actaea racemosa to replant a wider group to open their creamy white flowers against Fuchsia magellanica.

• It may be a bit too late for sowing some bedding plants such as pelargoniums, begonias and petunias but these can be bought cheaply

as small plug plants for potting up and growing on.

• Large-seeded, quick growing bedding plants are still possible from seed. Try marigolds, cosmos, nasturtiums, lavatera and ipomoea.

• Pot up cuttings rooted last summer in pots under glass. My Lavendars are growing away well and just right to separate and plant one per 9cm/3.5in pot.

Easter in the gardenAt the top of my list are continuing to plant potatoes, sowing more peas, planting out lettuce and summer cabbage in the kitchen garden. I’ll also be cutting back penstemons, re-cutting generous circles of clear soil around newly planted trees for weeding, feeding and mulching, planting dahlia tubers and gladioli corms. Here are more reminders

I have a sunny border of soil that dries quickly. What small drought tolerant shrubs can I plant for low maintenance,

year-round interest?

I like Lotus hirsutus, also known as hairy canary clover. This little evergreen from Portugal reaches only 60cm/2ft tall and has a silvery look, with clusters of pink-flushed, pea-like flowers from summer to autumn followed by reddish brown seed pods. This must have a well-draining soil as it would hate wet roots in winter. To cover the ground, Lithodora diffusa ‘Heavenly Blue’ is a smart evergreen smothered by masses of blue flowers in spring and summer. Dwarf pines add valuable winter structure, so maybe Pinus sylvestris ‘Beauvronensis’ reaching 1m/3ft.

Question time with Anne

We’ve had a lovely show from our helle-bores this year. Is it possible to divide large clumps and when is the best time?

It is possible to divide hellebores but they resent disturbance and sometimes take a while to settle down again. This explains why a lot of gardeners just let them seed around instead. But at least using division, you will end up with plants identical to the parent. Lenten hellebores (hybrids of H.orientalis) make considerable root growth during autumn and winter, so it is generally held that the end of August and start off September is the best time to lift and divide them. Flower buds will already have formed, so they are likely to bloom the following spring but might then take a year or two off whilst putting down new roots. Water the plant first and carry out the deed on a dull, damp day to avoid stress.

West reader queries answered by Anne Swithinbank

Emptycompost bins filled last year, using the rich organic matter as a mulch around plants or to dig in to the surface of kitchen garden beds. Sieved compost is great for adding bulk to potting compost and saves money when filling large containers.

QQ

potting plants in September. I usually mix half garden compost or well rotted manure with potting compost, as they respond well to a rich, moist soil. Having cleaned a clump of tubers, I set three clusters in 25cm/10in pots and keep them in our frost free porch. You have to watch out for aphids, avoid over watering and when they are in good leaf, begin feeding every three weeks. The new flowers are green at first but each ‘bud’ unfurls into a pure white spathe surrounding the spadix or stalk of small true flowers. After flowering, plant back in the garden.

Primroses are another Easter favourite welcome in hedge banks and gardens alike and we also have some pretty pink-flowered kinds which could be old Barnhaven hybrids. Don’t forget primrose flowers are edible, so either scatter some on salads or crystallize the flowers and use them to decorate your Simnel Cake. Whisk an egg white until frothy, paint it on both sides of the petals, coat them in caster sugar and leave on some baking parchment to dry.

I always have trouble believing that the Pasque flower (Pulsatilla vulgaris) is native to the uk, where it is restricted to a few areas of undisturbed chalk grassland. Yet it is quite common as a garden plant and for the last month, ours has been pushing up new growths of leaves and buds plush with silky hairs. As I’m sure it would hate our clay soil, our pasque flower lives in a trough of well-drained compost. Look out for the rich purple blooms in the alpine sections of garden centres. These make generous clumps in sunny rock or gravel gardens.

Gardens_Apr5.indd 27 01/04/2015 13:30:45

28

Beauty

Tried& tested

We present the beauty treats and cheats of the week, all trialled by West magazine’s Catherine Barnes, with help from daughter Tilly, 17.

Tried

LATHER UPThese gorgeous � oral soaps look too pretty to open, but at just £1.95 each you can let rip. Find them at www.acornandwill.co.uk

BRYT Skincare’s paraben-free natural range is packed with

essential oils and plant extracts that are skin-gentle. Its day cream

(£16) protects with SPF 15. www.myfabulouscollection.com

This Limited Collection Nikki Strange

eyeshadow palette’s packed with wearable

shades and is great value at £10. www.

marksandspencer.com

A teensy bit of sparkle can put a gleam in your

eye, especially if you choose a � nely-milled

powder like this. Barry M Dazzle Dust in 103

Eos, £4.59 from www.superdrug.com

fave!

Many colours

DAZZLING

Beauty_April_5.indd 28 01/04/2015 11:09:44

29

the review

Blue liner’s a hot look for spring and it’s all about aqua. Try MAC’s Pro High-def Cyan Chromagraphic Pencil (£14) www.maccosmetics.co.uk

Benecos’ natural lip colour in Pretty Daisy is a subtle, shimmery rosy

pink colour. It also has the moisturing e� ect of a

balm. £6.95 from whole food shops and at www.

benecos.co.uk

Soak it up in Organic Trevarno’s heavenly scented rose

geranium bath salts, £12 at www.trevarnoskincare.co.uk

PINK & PRETTY

And relax...

BLUE LOOK

The above look is so beautiful and easy to adapt for real life, by just turn-ing down the intensity on the colours. Wash Clearwater Pro Longwear Paint Pot (£15.50, MAC, pictured) from the lash line to the crease of the eye and blend out. Apply a black or brown pencil into the lash roots, then add lots of Haute & Naughty Lash Mascara (£19, MAC) to de� ne and open up eyes.

BRIGHT EYES

Glitter bomb

Want a review? Send your request to westmag@westernmorningnews.co.uk

A Seventies groupie trying to emulate her rock icons,” was the explana-tion for the glam rock glitter eyes at House of Holland.Rebecca Butterworth takes us through the look: “Blacktrack Fluidline (£15.50, MAC) was applied as a straight liner all along top and bottom lash lines,

then the rock and roll feel was intensi� ed by lining upper and lower waterlines with Feline Eye Kohl (£14, MAC).“Glitter needs something to stick to, and Mixing Medium Eyeliner is a great product to do this. It’s a clear gel that you can use on its own as a crease-free base for glitter

or metallic eyeshadows. Paint a thin layer onto the eyelid and press PRO Silver Glitter (£17, MAC) on top.“If glitter isn’t your thing, try recreating this look with a so� silver shadow in place of the glitter. Silver Ring Eyeshadow (£13, MAC, pictured) is a great alternative.

Seventies RevivalGet the look:

Seventies style is big news in beauty right now. Katie Wright lets us in on the secret of sultry eyes and rock icon glitter

Beauty_April_5.indd 29 01/04/2015 15:05:17

30

White is the colour for keeping cool and looking elegant - now all we need is some sunshine

o one could claim that white is the most practical of col-ours, but there’s something irresistible about wearing it, a bold style statement which only needs a pair of sunglasses and a suntan to accessorize it. Here are our picks for wear-ing white, from a sleek trouser suit by Kaliko to a cute broi-derie anglaise dress from Lands End. The fedora from New

Look is extremely stylish, and a snip at just £9.99, while the Phase Eight espadrilles with the tie laces would look great on those blessed with a slim pair of ankles! For a dressy do, meanwhile, try one of these from Kaliko which have demure lady written all over them. Just don’t wear white to a wedding, unless you want to upstage the bride!

Whitehot

N

Fashion

M&Co loafers £25

Lands End dress £90

Foli folliebracelet £50

Kaliko trouser suit £129

Fashion_April5.indd 30 01/04/2015 13:37:07

31

Phase Eight espadrilles £79

Kalikodress £129

Abbot Lyon watch £125

New Look fedora £9.99

Kaliko dress £149

Fashion_April5.indd 31 01/04/2015 13:37:53

he Exeter offi ces of Devon and Cornwall Media have moved into the city centre. The list of positives about the move are endless, and right at the top of the list is the fact

that I now sit within striking distance of Prin-cesshay on a daily basis. This came in handy, as swanning about in the urban metropolis rubbing shoulders with the Southernhay set meant that a wardrobe upgrade was unarguably on the cards.

But what to include? This time of year needs careful navigation. It’s by no means balmy, but I no longer scurry with hunched shoulders and a pinched face between offi ce and car. I’m not en-tirely ready to get my toes out but nor do I want to spend the day in my over-the-knee boots. I want to fi t in with the city slickers, but not look like a drone. What a dilemma.

The answer that emerged after a bit of blog trawling? The bright blazer. Not only is it a style staple for SS15, but it works just as hard be it day or night, work or play. Also, it will play nicely with everything else you already own. In fact, this item rivals the leather jacket for versatility.

Blue is big news this season, so I went for this kingfi sher-hued number from Next. I can’t recommend Next enough for their smart tailored workwear. It is sleek, wears well and is expertly made.

I like to stand out a little. In fact, I think there are days where we should all dress as if we are in our own music video. The song is your choice, but the outfi t has to be the boldest blazer you can muster. You’ll be in good company as Beyonce, Rita Ora and Jessica Alba have all been seen embracing brights. There are a few ways to in-corporate them into your wardrobe. I like them best with white. Crisp bright white is the perfect

backdrop, really allowing the col-ours to pop. I was delighted with this shirt dress from Next, which I scooped up at the same time as my blazer. Talk about a hard worker. This is just as home in the offi ce as it is slipped on over my bikini after a day on the beach.

Let’s talk about how not to wear these blaz-ers. Unless you really are in a music video, wear a blouse underneath them. I don’t care if your bra is encrusted with gemstones and your skin is the colour of maple syrup. Cover up, this isn’t the nineties and you are not a Spice Girl.

I’m also going to warn you off anything that

can be considered an actual neon. Bright is fan-tastic, but fl uorescent is more reminiscent of a teenage boy in Miami off to prom.

It would also be remiss of me not to wax lyri-cal about this envelope clutch. These oversized clutches are the new handbag, and the perfect fi t for my new city slicker look. They hint at important documents being stashed inside and are easily tucked under the arm freeing up both hands for the sugaring and stirring of a Costa coffee.All fashion in these pictures is from Princesshay Shopping Centre, Exeter, www.princesshay.com

32

Trend

Unless you really are in a music video,

wear a blouse underneath

them

Kathryn Clarke-Mcleod on why brighter is always better

HOW TO WEAR IT:

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Bright blazers

Shoes, Next, Princesshay, £28

Dress, Next, Princesshay, £34

Jacket, Next, Princesshay, £50

Necklace, Next, Princesshay, £14

Bag, Next, Princesshay, £16

Trend_April5.indd 32 01/04/2015 12:32:59

33

GET THE

look

HOBBS Ezra jacket £179

CREW CLOTHING Ludgrove blazer

£185

ZARA double fabric blazer

£49.99

RIVER ISLAND orange crepe

relaxed blazer £60

NEW LOOK yellow waterfall

blazer £24.99

NEXT shoes £28 and bag £16

Style tipDon’t limit the

brights to the blazer. M&S have an

impressive limited collection gel shine

polish in a variety of playful shades. Try

shocking pink for just £4.

Trend_April5.indd 33 01/04/2015 12:33:34

34

Discover

culturevulture

Hall for CornwallPop star turned actor Marti Webb, who readers of a certain vintage will remember as the lead singer in 1980s band Wet Wet Wet, stars as the narrator in Willy Russell’s award-winning musical Blood Brothers over the coming week. Blood Brothers tells the captivating and moving story of twin boys separated at birth, only to be reunited by a twist of fate and a mother’s haunting secret. The

memorable score includes A Bright New Day, Marilyn Monroe and the emotionally charged hit Tell Me It’s Not True. Maureen Nolan, one of the Nolan Sisters, stars alongside Marti as the twins’ mother Mrs Johnstone. This musical ran for 24 years, for good reason, in the West End. It’s unmissable, just remember to bring your tissues. Tickets £11.50-£29.50 from www.hallforcornwall.co.uk or 01872 262466.

BLOOD BROTHERS

The Devon Guild of Cra� smen in Bovey Tracey is currently showing work by aritsts inspired by on ancient landscapes and practices from the Neolithic to

Bronze ages. Work on display in the free exhibition until May 10 includes Helen Marton’s oven gloves patterned with prints found in ancient Cornish clay, and jewellery designers Gary Wright and Sheila Teague’s gold sycamore sta� and

aluminium vessels, inspired by the cra� s of the Bronze Age. Those inspired by the exhibition might like to don their wellies for a � eld trip to a Bronze

Age archaeological site at Bellever on Dartmoor on Saturday, April 18 in the company of some of the exhibiting artists and an archaeologist. Tickets are £15

(£12 concessions), book on 01626 832223.

Re-making the Past

by John Ironmonger (Weidenfeld & Nicolson,

£12.99 hardback, £6.99 eBook)

This warm-hearted, unusual story about the stir created in

a small Cornish community when a young man washes

up naked on the beach has an otherworldly quality about it.

The inhabitatants of St Piran rise to the occasion and take the lost soul into their midst.

But what the villagers don’t know is that Joe Haak has

come to warn of the worldwide collapse of civilisation. Is the end of the world really nigh,

though? And what about the whale that lurks in the bay?

NOT FORGETTING THE WHALE

The superb new guide to the arts scene in the South West by our woman-in-the-know, Sarah Pitt

CV_Events_April5.indd 34 01/04/2015 14:18:29

35

Enjoy

#3

#4

#2

1. Fun With FeathersFalmouth April 7-11Truro-based milliner Holly Young is holding a retrospective of her fi rst fi ve years in design with an exhibition at Fal-mouth Poly. It’s open between 10am and 5pm daily and also features work by up-and coming textile design students. Visit www.hollyyoungboutique.com

2. Eggsplore! National Trust beaches, today and tomorrow1Cadbury have teamed up once again with the National Trust to offer fun family Easter Egg Trails at coastal locations across the South West. All Eggsplorers will receive a delicious Cad-bury chocolate treat at the end of each completed trail. This popular event takes place today at Boscastle, Crantock, Baggy Point and Studland Bay, and also tomorrow at Studland Bay. For details, visit www.eastereggtrail.com

3. Jolly jauntBarnstaple, Saturday April 11Dig out a vintage outfi t and join 100s of cyclists on the amaz-ing Velo Vintage Occasion & Ride, a lovely old-fashioned pedal along the Tarka Trail and chance to make jolly new friends. The dress code is strictly 1920s to 1950s and the fun begins at 9am. There’ll be tea and cake at journey’s end. It costs 21 Guin-eas for adults to register (that’s £22.05 in new-fangled money) and £14.70 for children. www.velovintage.co.uk

4.Yuk! Horrible HistoriesTruro, April 14-18Two brand new Horrible Histories shows are heading to Hall for Cornwall. Book now to meet the fi rst Olympians amid a host of Groovy Greeks, or fi nd out how the Celts were crunched by the Ruthless Romans in Incredible Invaders. Suitable for ages fi ve and up, tickets cost from £21.50. www.hallforcornwall.co.uk

There’s plenty to do right now in the Westcountry, from Easter egg hunts to vintage cycle rides in period costume

the hotlistfave!

#1

CV_Events_April5.indd 35 01/04/2015 14:19:06

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My Secret Westcountry

Romy Fraser

My favourite:

Walk: Stonebarrow Hill to Golden Cap, within the National Trust’s Golden Cap estate on the coast not far from Axminster. The views are inspiring.

Festival: The Green Scythe fair at Thorney Lakes in Muchelney, Somerset in June is a great day out. I love watching the scythe competition. The talks are good too.

Activity: Swimming in the pond here at Trill Farm after work. I live in the old farmhouse and found it in 2007, after a long search to fi nd a great setting where I could begin to create the education centre I had long been planning. Our closest beach at Seaton in east Devon is great for swimming, too.

Westcountry food : I am experimenting with tapping our birch trees for their sap and it

Romy Fraser OBE founded Neal’s Yard Remedies in 1981. A� er selling the business, she moved to Devon to establish natural living and wellbeing centre Trill Farm in Musbury near Axminster. She lives there with best friend and partner Godfrey Boyle and dog Rosa, with regular visits from her two daughters

The Green Scythe Fair

Romy Fraser

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MyWestcountry_Apr5.indd 36 01/04/2015 13:17:30

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is absolutely wonderful! Like a lighter, woody maple syrup (after a lot of cooking!) Otherwise, erm… pasties?!

Westcountry Tipple: Camel Valley sparkling wine is absolutely wonderful

Pub: The Fountain Head Inn at Branscombe. It’s a great stop after a walk along the coast.

Restaurant: I love the Riverford Field Kitchen at Buckfastleigh in south Devon – vegetables take pride of place rather than meat, which is much more in line with the way I eat.

Chill out: Going for a long walk with my dog Rosa.

Weekend away: There is a wonderful working fl ower farm - Churchtown Farm - on St Martin’s in the Scilly Isles. I had a lovely weekend there last spring.

Shop: Our own here at Trill Farm, of course!

Treat: This year I am very lucky to be going to a slow food event in Turkey. I love being really connected with the land and producers who create food with real care and attention.

Secret place: I live in a quiet secluded valley here and the woods are fantastic. I love it when the larch is coming into leaf and further up the hill there is a fabulous glade of bluebells carpeting the forest.

PeopleBluebells

Churchtown Farm

The Fountain Head

Riverford

MyWestcountry_Apr5.indd 37 01/04/2015 13:22:11

38

Enjoy

stone’s throw from some of north Devon’s most spectacular surfi ng beaches, don’t head for the coast before you see what pretty Barn-staple has to offer. There’s far more

than a weekend’s worth things to see and do in this historic market town.

Shop: The town has its own traditional department store, Banburys and a host of lovely independent shops. Donna Flower Vintage is an amazing place for period clothes and a ‘feel free to rummage’, while Emily’s Pantry nearby is great for preserves and cheeses. Turophiles should hot foot it to the Westcountry Cheese

A

BarnstapleA WEEKEND IN...

38

Co, located opposite the town’s Pannier Market which has a cornucopia of stalls to browse. Sewing Bee queens should head to Malbers which is stuffed to the rafters with gorgeous fabrics and trimmings.

Eat: Sheppards does great paninis, wraps and salads to eat in or take away and all profi ts from this cafe go to the North Devon Hospice. Fat Belly Freds specialises in fresh seafood menu. Try duo of gilt head and black bream served with Parmentier potatoes and Mediterreanean vegetables (£15.95). Lilicos does delicious tapas. Its yummy £8.95 lunchtime deal includes two items from the menu, bread or salad and a drink.

Stay: The Old Vicarage B&B has rave reviews (you get homemade cake upon arrival!). Close to the heart of the town, owners Sandi and Bryan welcome many weekend shoppers and theatre goers. A night’s stay in one of its four doubles costs from £85 and they also have a single room (£46).The Barnstaple Hotel’s a 15 walk into the centre of town and has its own brasserie and fi tness spa. A double room-only stay costs from £79, with breakfast £12 per person.

Do: See a play, live comedy or music at the Queens Theatre. Download and follow a heritage trail map from www.barnstapletowncouncil.co.uk. Visit the town museum Monday to Saturday - it’s free! Tour the beautiful gardens at nearby www.castlehilldevon.co.uk, open Sunday to Friday.

Barnstaple square

the heart of the town, owners Sandi and Bryan welcome many weekend shoppers and theatre goers. A night’s stay in one of its four doubles costs from £85 and they also have a single room

The Barnstaple Hotel’s a 15 walk into the centre of town and has its own brasserie and fi tness spa. A double room-only stay costs from £79, with

See a play, live comedy or music at the Queens Theatre. Download and follow a heritage

co.uk. Visit the town museum Monday to Saturday - it’s free! Tour the beautiful gardens at nearby www.castlehilldevon.co.uk, open Sunday

The Pannier Market

The Old Vicarage

Donna Flower Vintage

WeekendIn_Apr5.indd 38 01/04/2015 13:45:17

35

Ally says: You need this pie in your life. A raw pecan pie with layers of raspberry cashew cream frosting and chia cinnamon chocolate, it is super healthy and super tasty at the same time. Don’t be daunted by the layers, it really is nice and simple – the clue is in the raw part of the title

Raw Pecan Pieally mac’s

39

Wellbeing

Method:

Natural food expert Ally Mac lives and cooks in South Devon. Ally specialises in devising good-for-you recipes that are easy to prepare at home. She also sells several of her own delicious healthy products online at www.allyskitchenstories.co.uk

You will need:Bottom base: 1/2 cup medjool dates, 1 cup of raw al-monds, a sprinkling of Himalayan sea salt

First Layer: 1 cup cashews (soaked overnight), a hand-ful of raspberries and a pinch of cinammon

Second Layer:6 tbsp chia seeds (soaked in 3/4 cup of fi l-tered water)1 tbsp raw cocoa (Ally uses Peruvian)1/2 cup juicy raisins1/2 cup medjool dates

For the � nal touch:A handful of pecansA handful of pumpkin seedsA juicy raspberry

Base: Pulse all the ingredients in your processor to give you a crunchy texture for your base. Press into your pie dish and leave to set in the fridge for a couple of hours.

First Layer:Blend the pre-soaked cashews in your blender and add a handful of raspberries and a pinch of cinnamon. This should create a fl uffy thick ‘cheese cake-like’ fi lling. Spread this over your bottom base and set in the fridge for another hour.

Second Layer:Process your chia mix (you should have a gloopy mix of chia and water), dates, cocoa

and raisins. Dip your fi nger into taste – it will taste as if a divine entity has landed in your mouth! Spread this choco-layer evenly over your raspberry cashew cream and dress with pecans, pumpkin seeds and, as a fi nal touch, a juicy raspberry!

WeekendIn_Apr5.indd 39 01/04/2015 13:45:58

Tim Maddams is a Devon chef and writer who o� en appears on the River Cottage TV series

40

have an Easter confession to make, but it’s not the sort that will require a priest and a curtain. Not, it’s not that bad. But I confess to being a bad cook. And by that I mean I’ve

failed to explore the possibilities of the ingredi-ents surrounding me in ways that will make me a better, more thoughtful cook, who wastes noth-ing, wants for little and makes great cakes.For years I have wished to be, and strived to become, a cook with a simple and elegant connec-tion to food that requires little effort to produce the most inspiring, simple and truly tasty treats at the drop of a hat. You may say, these people do not exist, but they do. I have worked with maybe three or four of them in my whole career - people that I think really, genuinely, GET the whole food thing in an effortless and almost immortal way (sorry to return to the religious theme, it must be the season...) I won’t name names here, but they know who they are. Or at least they should do.

But, I believe that even mere mortals like me can always strive to be better. It’s OK not to be the most naturally talented at what you do. But it’s certainly not OK to get to a certain point and say, that’s enough, I’ll leave it there. Food and cookery are together a never-ending journey that needs living and breathing every day to make cool stuff happen in the kitchen.

In my endeavour to reach this guru-like state of connectivity, I am currently deliberately cook-

ing differently. I am refusing even to contemplate making dishes that I consider to be part of my repertoire, familiar ground as it were.

In a roundabout way that brings me down to business, for I have been tinkering with spring onions for as long as I can remember. They are a great little veg and available all year round, making them a safe bet at the greengrocers but apart from slicing a few for the top of an orien-tal broth or chucking ‘em in a salad there’s not much you can do with these potent little aliums right? Well, that’s what I thought too until I made them my next ingredient of choice for experi-mentation.

So what did I discover? Well, roasted with a little olive oil and a few chilli fl akes, spring onions are an excellent dressing for pasta, while barbecued they make an excellent warm salad with some goat’s cheese and homemade bread.

I wanted to go further though, and change the way I look at spring onions for ever, so I got bolder in my experiementation. And it turns out that spring onions roasted and pureed make an delicious addition to a blue cheese toastie. They make an excellent soup with celariac too, and I also incorporated them into also some very very tasty pakoras.

So, onwards and upwards I go, with new knowl-edge to add to my inner culinary self that will change the way I cook forever. But, be warned, don’t try juicing spring onions. Just don’t.

Ingredient of the Week

Spring onionswith Tim Maddams

Spring onion surpriseThe fi nal best discovery of my little spring onion obsession was spring onion pesto. I made it in a blender with a little garlic, some almonds and plenty of oil and good cheddar, having made sure I chopped the onions and greens quite well before adding them to the blender. Initially, it really was way too onion-y. I thought, oh dear. Not good. But a few hours later and the whole thing had mellowed, become richer, still onion-y but what a transformation. Smeared over hot toast or slathered into cold pork sandwiches it’s a winner - and it keeps brilliantly. Dressed over pasta it sings a sweet song and as a pizza topping it’s hard to beat. It even makes an acceptable dip for crisps or cracker bread.

I

@TimGreenSauce

Tim_Beer_Apr5.indd 40 01/04/2015 13:25:20

he advised me during the talk, making me wish I hadn’t sat in the front row! Dirty glassware will have the same effect, as can certain foods eaten before drinking.

Charlie was in Cornwall visiting family, of whom some were in the audience, and St Austell were kind in hosting this event in their visitor centre and giving us a chance to hear such an in-formative yet entertaining speaker, dry sense of

humour permeating the oration. He has fi rm views on beer and its production, but is generously inclusive. For instance, on fi zzy yellow lager he had this to say: “There are lots of people who like them. That doesn’t make them bad people.”

He wants people to enjoy beer – all sorts of beer – and he works constantly with his tutors and students to improve beer produc-tion methods around the world. Interestingly, he used to pro-mote British beers as the style to aim for when he fi rst visited the

United States and spoke to brewers there. Now he looks at our beers and thinks: “They could do with more hops!”

A great ambassador for Britain and a great ambassador for beer. But sorry, Charlie – the beard’s staying!Darren Norbury is editor of beertoday.co.uk

@beertoday

Drink

ontrary to the picture adorning this page, I sport a bit of a beard these days. Nothing special, no handle-bar moustache or anything. I think it kind of suits me. But never did I

think it would attract the disdain of one of the world’s leading authority on beers.

Charlie Bamforth has spent 16 years as an An-heuser-Busch Endowed Professor in the Depart-ment of Food and Science at UC Davis, University of California. He is a world renowned expert on brewing science… and hails from Wigan. More importantly for us, he married a Cornish girl, Diane, and was at St Austell Brewery recently to give a talk to local brewers and members of the Institute of Brewing and Dis-tilling, of which he is president.

Among his special subjects is foam – or head if you like – reten-tion in beer, and I sat through his talk enthralled that such a seem-ingly innocuous subject could be so complex. A good beer should come with a good head, he says, and from a northerner this cannot be understated! Iso alpha acids in hops help to make a good strong head, as do certain elements, like zinc, common in Bass in recent years.

Fats and detergents, however, will see a head dissipate, which is where my facial hair, particu-larly the upper lip hair, comes in. “Get rid of it,”

Darren Norbury

talks beerC

Westcountry brewers took two of the top three prizes in the Society of Independent Brewers’ (SIBA) national beer competition. St Austell Big Job IPA was named champion bottled beer and Wild Beer Company’s Madness IPA took top spot in the keg category.

Rabbit, rabbitHunter’s has brewed an Easter special called Honey Bunny (4.5% ABV). It’s brewed with an addition of Devon honey and, because it’s named a� er the bunny, has lots of hops, of course! (Sorry…)

AWARDS DOUBLE

41

Beer of the weekSometimes you latch onto

a beer at the start of an evening and � nd that two or three hours later you’re still

enjoying it, the conversation is � owing and the bar sta� still aren’t bored with your

jokes (or are too polite to say so). Atlantic Brewery, of Newquay, has recently bought out Azores (4.2%

ABV), which is such a brew. A delightfully drinkable golden bitter, with deep

resinous hop notes and a lovely and very moreish

bitter � nish. And suitable for vegans, too!

Among his special subjects

is foam reten-tion in beer - it should come with a good

head, he says [[

Expert Charlie Bamforth says beer

needs a good head

Tim_Beer_Apr5.indd 41 01/04/2015 13:27:31

42

cakeLet eatthemisa Faulkner has a lot to thank Ce-lebrity MasterChef for. Since win-ning the show in 2010, the former Holby City actress has carved out a successful second career as a TV

cook, and released three recipe books.The BBC One show was also where she met

Australian chef John Torode, the fi rm-but-fair judge who eventually became her boyfriend.

"I took on three jobs at the same time as Mas-terChef, thinking I would only be in it for a day, and I ended up in it until the end. That was amaz-ing in itself," the 43-year-old says.

"It completely changed my life and I haven't stopped cooking since. It's been amazing, really."

Torode - who she began dating in 2012 - is "lovely, very lovely", according to Lisa, who has an eight-year-old daughter, Billie, from her mar-riage to actor Chris Coghill.

"Somebody said, 'So what's it like at home when you're both cooking?' It's just like we're both cook-ing! It's not like he's going, 'Oh, you need to do that', or, 'Hurry Lisa, you've got fi ve minutes!'," she adds with a laugh.

Things have been busy recently, with the re-lease of her third cookbook, Tea & Cake.

"I wanted to do a book that was just about things that I liked, and memories of tea in days

gone by when I was little - things like sandwiches and cake and tins of biscuits," Lisa explains.

"We run around so much and we are all crazy

busy," she adds. "We can get so caught up in eve-rything that's going on, and sometimes just to stop for fi ve minutes with a cup of tea in a pot and a piece of cake, it's like, 'Do you know what? Everything's actually all right'."

Lisa has also been collaborating with kitch-en appliance makers Hotpoint on a campaign encouraging the nation to cook, which in-cludes sharing recipes for her favourite bakes.

No one should be put off from having a go, she says. "If you've made a cake for somebody you love and there are little dents in it, or the icing falls down the cake, it's how it tastes, who you've made it for and why you've made it [that counts]," she says. "My grandma was properly slapdash, but she was an amazing cook."

Billie, who Faulkner adopted in 2006 when she was 15 months old, is also a keen chef and loves cooking with Lisa.

"I feel so very grateful to have her that I spend as much time as possible with her," says Lisa, who was 16 when her mother Julie died of cancer. "She and I are a right little team."

Lisa turned 43 earlier this year. "It's weird to think that great big number is me," the actress-turned-cook adds. "But when I look back on what I've done, I think, 'God, I've fitted quite a lot in'."

LWe're all busy - but there's

always time to sit down for some soul-soothing tea and cake, as Lisa Faulkner tells

Jeananne Craig

Lisa Faulkner

LisaFaulkner_Replacement.indd 42 01/04/2015 14:11:45

43

Food

400ml milk150g fl our70g caster sugarPinch of salt3 eggs2 tbsp rum (optional)About 80g butter, for greasing200g fresh cherriesIcing sugar, for dusting

1. Preheat the oven to 180C (350F)/gas mark 4.

2. Put the milk in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Take off the heat and leave to cool.

3. To make the batter, mix the fl our, sugar and salt together well, then beat in the eggs, one by one. With a spatula, incorporate the boiled milk very slowly and gently, turning the mixture rather than beating. Add the rum, if using.

4. Generously grease a 2cm deep, 25cm diam-eter baking tin with butter and add the cher-ries, spreading them evenly. Pour the batter over the top and cook in the preheated oven for 30 minutes. Sprinkle with a little icing sugar before serving hot or cold.

225g raisins225g sultanas125g dried fi gs, chopped125g glace cherries, halved110g chopped dried apricots1 Earl Grey tea bag110g light muscovado sugar110g dark muscovado sugarJuice and zest of an orangeButter, for greasing110g ground almonds1 tbsp golden syrup2 eggs, beaten450g self-raising fl our1 tsp ground mixed spice100ml whole milk

1. Combine the fruits in a large, heatproof mixing bowl. Pour 300ml boiling water onto

the tea bag and leave to brew for a minute or so. Discard the tea bag then dissolve the sugars in the hot tea, add the orange juice and zest, and pour over the fruit. Stir to com-bine, then cover and leave to soak overnight.

2. The next day, preheat the oven to 150C (300F)/gas mark 2, and grease and line a 900g loaf tin with greaseproof paper. Stir the ground almonds, golden syrup and beaten eggs into the soaked fruit mixture then sift in the fl our and mixed spice. Stir to combine, adding the milk if the mixture seems a little stiff, then spoon into the lined tin.

3. Bake for two to two-and-a-quarter hours, or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. Transfer to a wire rack and leave to cool completely. Cut into thick slices and serve spread with butter.

The above recipes were created by Lisa Faulkner for Hotpoint and are in her new book Tea & Cake by Lisa Faulkner, published in hardback by Simon & Schuster, price £20

EARL GREY TEA LOAF

CLAFOUTIS LIMOUSIN

Lisa and boyfriend, MasterChef's John

Torode

Clafoutis Limousin

Earl Grey Tea Loaf

LisaFaulkner_Replacement.indd 43 01/04/2015 14:12:18

44

Living

he all new Mercedes C-Class has landed, and it’s here to take the fight to BMW and Audi in the very competitive compact executive sector. Prices start from £27,000,

which makes the new C-Class a tad more expensive than the old model and slightly more than its rivals.

But spec-for-spec, it offers a lot more bang for your buck and with weight-saving and wind-tunnel work carried out, the new model is up to 20% more efficient. Mercedes has taken technology and style from its top of the range S-Class, to give the new C-Class levels of refinement and luxury not seen in this sector before.

From the outside, it has the same low-slung sleek look of its much more expensive sister. You can’t really appreciate how luxurious the sweeping interior is until you sit in the seats. The centre dash cascades from three eyeball air vents down to the centre armrest, sort of cocooning the driver, but you still get a sense of space.

The infotainment system can be controlled either by a rotary dial or a touch sensitive pad, which is very intuitive and looks great on the seven-inch screen perched above the centre console.

Standard equipment is comprehensive and includes a DAB radio, Bluetooth connectivity, a seven-inch multimedia display, two USB ports, cruise control, tyre pressure monitoring, dual-zone climate and a stop-start system.

Rear passengers don’t lose out either as the rear seats are as sumptuous as the front, even if the leg and head room is a little on the tight side if you are above average height. As for luggage space, it has a 480-litre boot – which is the same as its rivals.

The C200 sport is fitted with a 2.0 litre turbo charged petrol engine, producing 184bhp, 0.62 in 7.5 seconds and a top speed of 147 mph. Mercedes claim that the C200 can get a combined cycle of 53.3mpg. I took it for a run to London and back and got an impressive 47.6mpg, while getting just over 600 miles out of a tank, not too far away from the company’s claim, and pretty impressive for a big car with a petrol engine.

Mercedes has decided not to take on the BMW 3 series in the handling stakes, but to concentrate on ride comfort, and boy does it show. Even after four or so hours behind the wheel, you feel like you’ve only been driving a couple, and it takes the driver assist to tell you to take a break by putting a coffee cup up on the dash. That’s the problem with the seats – they are just too comfortable and

Car guru Scott Squires of Plymouth road-tests the new Mercedes C-class

Comfortable LuxuryMotorS

T

you want to stay in them for hours.Flick the Agility switch to Sport or Sport+ and

the car shows its sportiness, the steering weight increases, the suspension is stiffened, the throttle response is more immediate and the seven-speed automatic gearbox holds the gear changes till the red line. In Sport or Sport+, the C-Class will handle what you can throw at it without a fuss.

BMW and Audi had better be looking in their rear view mirrors as the C-Class in approaching fast and on interior quality has taken the lead, while driving dynamics are good, they don’t quite match the BMW 3 series. But do you want a

44_45Todays_Gadgets_Apr5.indd 44 01/04/2015 12:26:58

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gadget notebook

5 April 2015

TECH TIPS: VERSATILE HANDSETS

The latest mobile technology trend is seeing a shi away from smartphones that can do just about everything. The new focus is on handsets that are best for doing the essentials that you need them for. Here’s our pick.

At a glance

Engine: 2.0-litre, 4cyl turbo-charged petrol Power: 184bhp 0-62mph: 7.5 seconds Top Speed: 147 mph C02: (g/km) 51.4mpg/ 128g/km Price: From £27,000

car that handles well but leaves you feeling tired after a couple of hours, or do you want a car with a limousine interior that you could drive all day?

Brit brand

Silver surferThis boasts extra-large icons and large, easy-to-read display

text , great for older people joining in the digital revolution. Its music player, calendar, email and internet browser are

easy to get to grips with. It also has a very loud volume level and an SOS ringer that can be programmed to call or text up

to three numbers with a pre-recorded message. Amplicomms PowerTel M9000 Ampli� ed Smartphone -

£129.99 from hearingdirect.com

Hard-wearing Gorilla Glass and a water-resistant splash guard make this phone very durable. The handset runs on Android with access to a million and more apps and a   ve megapixel camera backing up to a 4GB memory, which is expandable up to 32GB via a MicroSD card. Motorola Moto E - £59 from tesco.com

Made in the UK, this handset boasts a dual SIM card capability for roaming freedom, and presents Android-powered apps on a very decent   ve inch display. The   ve megapixel camera is good and it’s a home-grown brand, worth your support.Trooper2 5.0 - £89.99 from kazam.mobi

Budget savvy

Despite only having access to Windows apps, this handset running their 8.1 so� ware

is actually is a very decent option. With the extremely intuitive digital assistant Cortana

inside, it’s really fun to use.Nokia Lumia 630 - £99.99 (SIM Free) from

carphonewarehouse.com

Colour option

44_45Todays_Gadgets_Apr5.indd 45 01/04/2015 12:27:40

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man and boy

Flight or fight [[

my life

re you an optimist or a pessimist? A glass half-full or half-empty person? It is a tough one to answer. We would all like to think we are happy-go-lucky and just glad

of what we have. If anything – and this may betray my fondness for a drinking session – I am a probably a ‘where-is-the-next-glass’ kind of guy. So, after months of darkness and gloom – much documented in these pages, as a result of my honest approach to a weekly column – the changing of the clocks to British Summer Time is a welcome development. Recent family events have made the year an absolute stinker so far and the arrival of spring is a good omen for the rest of 2015. So much so, that I decided to make a few plans for the coming months and book some holidays: a ferry trip to Spain and the annual pilgrimage to Mother Russia, where the in-laws await, in sunny Sochi.

The Iberian adventure is a doddle to put to-gether but plans to visit the Caucasus region always raise the same old problem: how to get there. And with no direct flights it boils down to a long trip via Moscow or Istanbul, usually at some god-awful time, like 3am. When my wife suggested a Turkish stopover, I raised my eyes at the prospect of another protracted journey. This was interpreted, incorrectly, as a fresh example of my – to her mind childish – aver-sion to flying, and provoked an outpouring of statistics to reassure me of the relative safety of air travel.

As a seasoned worrier, I have heard all this many times before and found no solace. I countered that the randomness of the recent Alpine disaster was hardly encouraging. My

wife, a fully paid-up glass-full type, sees every crash as a step towards total safety – another lesson learned. Now I consider myself a perfectly normal air traveller. I don’t like it, I have a few drinks, I watch a film, we land and I get on with my life. What can I say - I don’t like speed, I don’t

like height. Go figure. I again refused to go on the course for nervous flyers – yeah right, just what I need: another flight but this time with-out even going anywhere.

Shortly afterwards, though, I did by accident find myself reading an article full of interviews with air crash survivors. As you do. The story claimed an amazing 56% do survive, though not always without serious injury and disability. And it was a fascinating insight into the ‘how and why’ of walking away intact - a genuine treasure trove of helpful tips.

It seems during such crises, your true char-acter emerges and you discover whether you are built to fight for survival or simply give up. Those with the survival instinct, it seems, are shrewd enough to note down mentally a few key positional details before take-off in order to ensure they are ready for the worst. There are other things to be mindful of, even down to the selection of clothing. I would dearly love to share them here, but you never know - we may be on the same plane together one day. You un-derstand.

Anyway, during our conversation, my wife attempted to highlight the irrationality of my ‘slight’ air phobia by suggesting I had never revealed any similar problem when sailing. I had to confess that I have been quietly check-ing out escape routes from the cabin to the life-boat station on ships for years. It had just never occurred to me to do the same with planes. It had felt hopeless. But 56%? Now they are odds! Call me paranoid. You can never be too well or-ganised. Optimism and pessimism be damned. In the world of the survivors there is only one motto – he who prepares wins!

It seems that during such crises your true character emerges...

whether you’ll fight for survival or simply give up[ [

A

Phil Goodwin, father of James, four, contemplates air travel

ManandBoy_April5.indd 46 01/04/2015 14:21:47

POWDERHAMCASTLE, GARDENS & DEER PARK

PlymouthPlymouthTo celebrate our new menu we are giving you

We have launched an exciting new menu made up of a range

of smaller tasting plates giving you the opportunity to try

and share a variety of delicious River Cottage classic dishes.20% off your food bill with this ad*

To receive your discount, simply bring this ad

in with you when you dine at the Canteen.

No 1 Brewhouse, Royal William Yard, Stonehouse, Plymouth, PL1 3QQ � 01752 252702*Discount is available on weekdays only, not valid on Saturday or Sundays. Advert must be handed to server to qualify for 20% discount. Offer valid on food only. Not valid inthe deli or on drinks. Maximum party of 6. Subject to availability. This offer expires on 30 April 2015

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With spectacular views over Carne beach on the beautiful Roseland Peninsula, the Quarterdeck is open all day for coffee, light lunches, Cornish cream teas and relaxed evening dining. Fresh, local seafood is a speciality.

Combine your visit with a good coastal walk and enjoy a lovely day out.

Carne Beach, Veryan in Roseland, Nr St Mawes, Cornwall www.quarterdeckrestaurant.co.uk Table Reservations 01872 501111

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